Saturday, January 31, 2009

It's a start

O.K. So I started a blog. Don't know how far I'll go with it.

I'll be pasting my notes from FB here, so if you've already read them all, then you're in for a repeat. If not, sit back & get comfortable--I'm long winded.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Looking for dawn

Looking for dawn, Friday, 01/30/2009 at 4:45pm on FB

As I throw my legs over the bed, my feet search for my slippers, situated on the floor next to the bed. I slide my feet in, grudgingly rise, & shuffle my way through the darkness, to the bathroom. I take joy in the fact that at this time, I’m only making one trip to the bathroom each night. Very soon, I will need to make multiple trips to the bathroom each night. (I’m eight weeks pregnant, now. After the baby is born, no telling how many times I'll be up each night!)

Darkness. It hides sin. It keeps us from seeing truth.

One of my favorite pastimes (of the mind) is to ponder what heaven will be like. I have so many questions. (Maybe you have some, too?) Will we have to go to the bathroom? Will angels have wings with feathers like a bird, or skin like a bat? (Bats are mammals-I’m not saying that angels are mammals--I have no idea--that’s another question.) How will we travel? Just think of a place, & we’re there? Will I still need to take “classes” to learn new things? (I think we will always be learning.) Will I always be able to sing on key? Will I know all the words to the songs? I think there will be animals in heaven--but will my pets be there? Will I be able to communicate with animals? I have dozens of questions--I won’t list them all here.

Last night, Abbie asked me if she would be able to see God’s eyes, when we get to heaven. I told her, yes. She asked if we could meet God together. I know she’s little, & meeting new people is scary to her now, but I pray that she will KNOW God, long before we go to heaven. (Abbie is only 3 years old, now.)

I’m reading the book by C.S. Lewis, titled “The Problem With Pain.” In it, Lewis talks about the doctrine of The Fall, & what man may have been like before the fall. He suggests that his spirit was in COMPLETE control of his body, even over involuntary things like being hungry, or tired, or digestion, or having to go to the bathroom. The spirit was not overwhelmed by these “desires” of the body. It’s hard to imagine that much control over your being. Of course, that control was forfeit when man decided to elevate his own desires above God. We now inherit an entirely different body, than that of the paradisal man. How much easier it would have been to worship God, without the “pull” of our flesh. Now, our flesh rules us. We live in sin, death & darkness.

“The people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned.” Matthew 4:16 ESV

Jesus is the light that has dawned on us.

“For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6 ESV

We can’t see Jesus completely now, because of our flesh. But one day, in heaven, we’ll meet Him & see His eyes.

“For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” I Corinthians 3:12 ESV

I’m really looking forward to that day. No more darkness.

How about you?


“For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light.” Ephesians 5:8 ESV

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Try not to yawn . . . (25 Random Things)

Try not to yawn . . . (25 Random Things) Saturday, January 24, 2009 at 1:08pm on FB

I don’t normally “do” this kind of thing, but since RHONDA requested it, I’ll oblige (plus, I like to write.) (This is not like my normal notes.)

(note to blog reader: an omission of FB directions has been made)

Try not to yawn . . .

1. I’ve been married to Jim for 12 wonderful, years. He spoils me.

2. I have a delightful 3.5 year old daughter, named Abbie, and I’m pregnant with our second child due in September. (Yeah, I know. I'm too old to be pregnant again, but hey, God knows what He's doing.)

3. I have 3 older sisters, (Di, Dawn & Patti) who are my best friends (besides Jim.)

4. I am a great aunt! My nephew David & his wife Jael have a 1.5 year old son named Jack-Jack, & my niece Michelle & her husband Jon, are expecting a little girl in June.

5. I have 7 nieces & nephews on my side of the tree, ages 16 through 26. (David, Michelle, Marc, Julianne, Bethany, Erica & Steven.) I have 9 nieces & nephews on Jim’s side of the tree, ages 3 through 30. (Holly, Courtney, Lindy, Jamey, Zach, Austin, Brett, Addison, Seamus.) I miss them all.

6. From 1988 through 2007, I moved 16 times. My garage is still cluttered. (The life of a military dependant.)

7. From 1986 through 2005, I had 15 different jobs. (The life of a military dependant, again.) (My favorite jobs were at Credit Unions--SOOO much better than banks!)

8. I’ve lived in:Michigan-Romulus, Hawaii-Honolulu, Mililani, Laie, Kaneohe, North Carolina-Jacksonville, Tarawa Terrace, Hubert, Midway Park, California-El Cajon, Virginia-Virginia Beach, Suffolk (I know, this kinda goes with #7. Sorry, but it's hard to think of random things.)

9. The first church I attended (at 4 years old with the neighbor lady) was Lutheran. Since then, I’ve been a member of the following churches: Independent Baptist, Southern Baptist, Non-Denominational, Presbyterian, Methodist. If they preach GOD’S WORD, it’s all good. Won’t be any denominations in heaven.

10. I like to read, but don’t find much time for it (now that I’m a mom.) Priorities.

11. I’m having a hard time coming up with random things & I’m not even halfway through yet.

12. I love music, but don’t find much time for it (now that I’m a mom.) Priorities, again. You can check out my favorite artists on iLike Music--on my tabs.

13. I wrote a script. (that’s random)

14. My favorite color has always been blue, but I like orange, too. (not necessarily together.) See my other post “Colors.”

15. I would rather wear jeans. (I graduated from a Christian High School--we had to wear dresses to school every day. Ironically, all through grade school & middle school, I never wore a dress because when I was in kindergarten, I wore dresses every day until a boy knocked me down on the playground one day & everyone could see my underwear. I’ve obviously never forgotten that incident, & it has scarred me.) TMI--but hey, it’s random

16. I was alive in the 60’s. See my other post “Do the Math.”

17. I hold a green belt in Chutoku Ryu Karate. See my other post “Meaningless Dribble.”

18. I am SCUBA certified. See my other post “Meaningless Dribble.”

19. I served as an interim youth pastor (with Amye, at Enon.) (I also helped out with the youth at Integrity, when Chad was unable to make it on Wed. nights.)

20. I served as a 4 year old Sunday School teacher. (That is SOOO NOT me! It was Kim’s fault.)

21. Of all the churches I‘ve attended & places I‘ve lived, I can recall singing in the choirs of 4 different churches. (That doesn’t include helping out Integrity with leading music when someone else was absent. Julie made me do it.) Alto, Second Soprano & Tenor. Now I just sing lullabies.

22. I was baptized by my Great Uncle Lonnie (may he rest in peace) with 44 other people (yes, all during the same service) including my Dad & my sister, Patti.

23. My Dad can fix anything.

24. I used to be a clean/neat freak, but had to give up the obsession once I had Abbie. Priorities. (I’m still a freak.)

25. I hate to cook, but I do like to mow the lawn.

O.K. Was that random enough?

Psalm 139: 1-16 (NIV)
1 O LORD, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD.
5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,"
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Comments posted on FB:

Rhonda Pennington Newton at 3:26pm January 24
I especially like the SCUBA info - have you ever gone deep sea? I'm too claustraphobic!

Pamela J Meeker at 4:26pm January 24
I think the deepest dive I logged was between 30-40 feet. Not very deep.

Brad Scott at 5:21pm January 24
Your dress story is hysterical. Goes to show there's a reason for everything.

Pamela J Meeker at 5:40pm January 24
Yeah, Patti knows the boy who knocked me down. He was about 4 years older than me. He liked Patti. He was Kara Evens' step-brother-I forget his name. Patti said I should have told her about it back then & she would have beat him up for me.

Hope Klos at 9:05pm January 24
25. I hate to cook, but I do like to mow the lawn.You and Di MUST be related ;)

Julianne Joy Scott at 9:15pm January 24
haha.. i was thinking the same thing, hope :)

Hope Klos at 9:15pm January 24
hahaha(: you know what they say!Great minds think alike!

Pamela J Meeker at 9:24pm January 24
Oh, I meant to write this one, so it's the new #11. I know at least nine "Jim's" off the top of my head, besides my husband. There may be more, but my brain is not working properly at this time. (Jim Kelley, Jim Gant, Jim Warner, Jim Baird, Jim Rose, Jim Lucas, Jim Simpson, Jim Blevins, Jim Fuchs) Funny--when I first met my husband Jim, I couldn't remember his name for about 2 months.

Hope Klos at 9:26pm January 24
What about your father!Isn't his name Jim too?

Hope Klos at 9:27pm January 24
OH wait. thats Bill.My bad.

Rhonda Pennington Newton at 9:32pm January 24
My mother-in-law and both of her sisters are married to different men named Don! I guess it's not too weird to know that many Jim's!

Pamela J Meeker at 9:35pm January 24
All 3 sisters married to Don's!!??? Must be hard when the family gets together.

Hope Klos at 9:48pm January 24
"different men named Don!"Well I sure hope it isn't the same man! :P

Kim Hrush McIntyre at 8:34pm January 26
Pam, I am excited about the new addition. Cool! My mom's bday Sept. 17. Congratulations!!!

Friday, January 16, 2009

Justice or Mercy?

Justice or Mercy? Friday, January 16, 2009 at 5:30pm on FB

I just read today’s blog post by Dr. Albert Mohler, president of the The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. http://www.albertmohler.com/blog.php. He writes about the “American Way” and the assumptions that we, as Americans, believe along this line of thinking.

Dr. Mohler does not endorse these assumptions. He is just making us aware of the fact that “in America, an identifiable "American way of life" rules as an operational worldview for many persons -- perhaps even replacing more fundamental convictions.”

One of our assumptions is, that “Eternal punishment in hell is not consistent with "the American experience" or "the American way." The God of the Bible, in other words, does not act in ways consistent with what many people consider to be American ideals. Sending people to hell is just not fair.”

What would be “fair“ or just?

Justice: the administering of deserved punishment or reward. (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/justice #5)

What do we all deserve? None of us is without sin. Hell is what we all deserve.

Now, do you want "fair?" Or do you want MERCY?


Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (NASB)


Comments posted on FB:

Patti Fife at 6:10pm January 16
I'll take an order of mercy, please, with grace on the side. Thank you Jesus!!

Diana Lynn Scott at 7:16am January 18
Me too! What She's having!!!!!!!!!

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Where we goin'?

Where we goin’? Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 7:47pm on FB

Every morning when Abbie wakes up, she asks me two questions. The first one, “what day is it?”. Then, “where we goin’ today, Mom?” She’s 3 ½. Surprisingly enough, Abbie knows that on Sunday, we go to church. On Wednesday, we go to Walmart. And on Saturday, Jim takes her to the pet store (to look.) If our schedule ever deters from this, she is not happy. I like schedules, myself (BIG UNDERSTATEMENT.) If my plans are ever hindered, I don’t always take it in stride, like I should. This is one of my many faults. Bear with me. I’m workin’ on it.

We make lots of plans in life. We plan on graduating from high school, then college (plan altered here!) We plan on getting married, buying a house & having kids. (Not everyone plans on having kids.) We pad our IRA’s in hopes that we will have enough to last as long as we do. We plan on helping our kids through college, praying for them as they find a spouse, & waiting for them to have kids of their own--so WE can be grandparents. We’re blessed to live in a country where we have the opportunities to accomplish our plans.

So, what’s the plan after that? Death. It’s inevitable for all of us. (Heb. 9:27) Have you planned for it? By planning for death, I don’t mean having a life insurance policy, last will & testament & a trust fund in place. Death is just another stage of our life--as a whole. Our whole life does not only include this wasting body that we carry around with us every day. Our whole life includes our soul & our spirit, as well. We may be finite beings, but that is not because our lives come to an end. We are finite because we have a BEGINNING. God created us in His image with a body, soul & spirit. (Gen. 1:26-27)

I’m not writing here to argue theology. There are some good Christian apologetic authors that I can recommend, if you have an interest in that line of thinking. I just want to know if you have a plan. As my friend on FB, I feel that God brought you to my attention to pray for you, as your name comes to mind. And I have. I would not be a good friend, if I didn’t share God’s plan with you.

Do you have a plan? I do.

Do you know where you’re goin’? I do. (I John 5:13)

Here’s what I believe:

I believe that Jesus is God’s son. That He lived on earth to show how much God loves us. He willingly gave His life on the cross to pay the penalty for us not living right, and God raised Him to life on the third day. Jesus made it possible for us to have a right relationship with God, if we just accept His forgiveness, and believe, God will do the rest. (I John 4:10)

We are all sinners & need a Savior. (Rom. 3:23)

Holy Spirit moves on each one of us, when God calls you to believe in Him, but we need to give up our plans, and let God have control. That’s hard for a lot of people who think they can run their lives better than God can.

Who better to give you a new plan for life than the One who created you. The psalmist says God created my inmost being & knit me together in my mother’s womb. All the days of my life were written in His book before I was born. I am fearfully & wonderfully made. (Ps. 139:13-16)

God loves you. You have to decide if you want to accept His love. Your decision now, will determine the permanent “plan” for your soul & spirit after your body is gone.

God’s Word says that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved--meaning, your spirit & soul are secure with God. (Rom. 10:13) If you’ve never asked God for forgiveness, never accepted His plan for your life, you can do it now! Simply pray a prayer similar to this one: Dear God, I know that I’m a sinner. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. Please forgive me & come into my life & be my Savior and my Lord. Thank you for a new life. In Jesus name, Amen.

If you don’t have a plan for your WHOLE life & would like me to answer more questions for you, please shoot a message to my inbox here on FB. (Note to blog readers: please leave me a comment requesting more info.) If you don’t believe any of this--you think when you die, that’s the end, then I think you’re pretty brave to go through your WHOLE life without a complete plan. What if you’re wrong? That would be the biggest mistake of your life. Look down deep. I’m sure you’ll find that YOU WERE MADE FOR MORE THAN JUST THIS LIFE.

I’m going to heaven. I hope & pray I'll see you there.

How ‘bout you? Where you goin'?

We All Die
Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. Hebrews 9:27 (NIV)

God Created You
God spoke: "Let us make human beings in our image, make them reflecting our nature” . . . God created human beings; He created them godlike, reflecting God's nature. He created them male and female. Genesis 1:26-27 (MSG)

How You Can Know
I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. I John 5:13 (NIV)

God Loves You
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. I John 4:10 (NLT)

We All Sin
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23 (NIV)

God Has Set Things Right
But in our time something new has been added. What Moses and the prophets witnessed to all those years has happened. The God-setting-things-right that we read about has become Jesus-setting-things-right for us. And not only for us, but for everyone who believes in him. For there is no difference between us and them in this. Since we've compiled this long and sorry record as sinners (both us and them) and proved that we are utterly incapable of living the glorious lives God wills for us, God did it for us. Out of sheer generosity he put us in right standing with himself. A pure gift. He got us out of the mess we're in and restored us to where he always wanted us to be. And he did it by means of Jesus Christ. Romans 3:21-24 (MSG)

God Has a Plan for You
Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out; you formed me in my mother's womb. I thank you, High God—you're breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration—what a creation! You know me inside and out, you know every bone in my body; You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit, how I was sculpted from nothing into something. Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth; all the stages of my life were spread out before you, The days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day. Psalm 139: 13-16 (MSG)

Call on God
For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13 (NLT)


Comments posted on FB:

Diana Lynn Scott at 9:16pm January 14
Wow!I love Jesus and His plan is MINE!

Patti Fife at 6:07pm January 16
I will see you in heaven (& hopefully many times before that too) !