CHEERS!

Last fall, we happened to pass by a local high school cheerleading team practising, and we stopped to watch for a while. It made me think of something I had just heard on the news. Something that shocked me. Cheerleading is the second most dangerous youth sport in this country. No kidding! It is a major source of life altering trauma, second only to football. When you think about it, football players have helmets and protective gear, but cheerleaders have none. Plus they have no mats and no spotters. And if you have seen some of their moves lately, they are quite something, with the throws, pyramids, and jumps. The bible says that cheerleading is a wonderful thing. And it's something that we can all do, no matter what our circumstance. Did you know that it is considered a gift, to be used and given freely? Kind of like love.

"We have different gifts, according to the grace given us...if it is encouraging, let him encourage..." Romans 12

"For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."

1 Thess. 5:9,11

Blue

Excuse me for posting so many photos today, but since I am so blue, I just couldn't decide which to leave out. So I put them all in. The bible doesn't seem to use the word depression, instead it uses downcast. It even suggests there are benefits to being sad, which I would not disagree with. After all, how can we know how to empathize with and comfort others if we have not needed it ourselves at some point? So as these pictures and Ecclesiastes testify, being blue can be a good thing.

"Crying is better than laughing. It blotches the face but it scours the heart. Sages invest themselves in hurt and grieving. Fools waste their lives in fun and games." Ecc. 7:3,4

Blowing His Nose

Phil has been a song leader in church, is in the choir, and plays accordian and piano. I tell you all this not to brag, but to introduce you to the newest instrument he has mastered, and here it is. The nose flute!! And I bet you thought this post was going to be about a sinus infection or a cold! I have posted on the nose flute a long time ago, but I think it's hilarious, so I will milk it for all the laughs I can get. As you can see, this is a real instrument, and he keeps a stash of them to hand out to wary visitors. It is placed over your nose and mouth, you close up the back of your mouth and blow only through your nose. It's played with your nose breath. It's very tricky to play and took him a lot of practice to get right, now he can play everything from rock to hymns. He played it once at a church wedding. If you don't believe me, here is the picture. The guests in the fellowship hall made a wide circle around him, not knowing what to expect. He played "Here Comes The Bride". The marriage broke up just a few months later. God actually breathed his own breath into Adam's nostrils, thus making us in his image. This does not mean that we look like him, but we have a bit of God's spirit in us. We enjoy creating, we enjoy beauty, these are things that come from God. Who knows where the nose flute comes from!

"God formed man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive-a living soul!" Genesis 2:7 The Message

Snow Day!

Today we picked Ella up from school at lunchtime. My header is the mitten decorations on the windows that the little kids had made. I promised her that as soon as we all had lunch she could make a snowman and play in the snow. And did she ever!! She is showing you how much fun it is outside and beckoning for you to join her. The snowman came out pretty good, considering we could only find a paper bowl for the hat and tomatoes and rocks for the face! For some reason, she insisted on naming him Harold! After that, her hat came down over her eyes, and yet she made snow angels, had a snowball fight, and ran around like it was nothing. I don't know how she could see!! Every so often, she would stop and eat some snow, and I would yell at her to STOP! So I got some clean snow and made snow cream when she came in, yum! Her rosy red cheeks were a joy to behold. Not so for Harold, who was melting fast. RIP, Harold.

"The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory." Psalm 97:5,6

THUNDERSNOW!

I've been through the thundersnow and lived to tell about it!! Yesterday, we had thundersnow! Don't believe me? Take a look at the headlines from one newspaper we subscribe to; several states just had this rare phenomenon. There are only about six reported each year in the whole country, as conditions have to be just right. The air near the ground has to be warmer than the air higher up, and the temperatures must be very precise. We were wakened by the thunder and saw the snow. For a second it seemed that we were in some kind of alternate universe! But as you can see, our little light still shone through the whole thing. These pictures were taken over the last two days at different times. But you'll have to imagine the thunder!

"Listen to it! Listen to his thunder, the rolling, rumbling thunder of his voice. He lets loose his lightnings from horizon to horizon, lighting up the earth from pole to pole. In their wake, the thunder echoes his voice, powerful and majestic. He lets out all the stops, he holds nothing back. No one can mistake that voice-His word thundering so wonderously, his mighty acts staggering our understanding. " The Message Job 37

Pressed

Yesterday I talked about Gethsemane in my post, so imagine my surprise to hear Pastor Joseph Prince talking about it today on T.V. Gethsemane means olive press, and it was where Jesus was pressed for us. The Israelites will tell you that the first pressing produces oil used to light the temples, the second press is used for medicine, and the third is for soaps. And like the first press, Jesus brought us out of the darkness and into the light. Like the second press, Jesus is our medicine because by his stripes we are healed.. and of course the third press, cleansing. He cleansed us. Being pressed can bring forth wonderful things.

"We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." 2 Cor. 4:8

In The Garden

After we were done coop snooping, we were about to head home when the GPS suddenly announced that there was an Olive Garden a mere 15 minutes away. It then announced that it would not take us home until we ate there, because we needed the nourishment for the trip. Since neither one of us have any sense of direction, we were literally held captive as said GPS piloted the car there, sat us down, and forced us to order two delicious meals plus dessert. What did I ever do without it? These wineglass stems fascinated me. Those are not bubbles in them, they are the reflections of the strings of tiny lights strung from the ceiling above. I took a picture of the whole scene, but lost it. Did you know that the word Gethsemane means olive vat, or olive press? The Garden Of Gethsemane was a garden called the Mount Of Olives, and probably was full of olive trees. Some people say there were two gardens of note in the bible, but I think there are three. The garden Of Eden, The Garden Of Gethsemane, where Jesus was taken prisoner, and the garden where Jesus tomb was. Three Gardens, each a major turning point with God. Amazing things happen in Gardens.

"At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there." John 19:41,42

"They have taken my Lord away," she said "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking it was the gardner, she said "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary." John 20:13,16

Chickening Out

I've been unusually tired and so sleepy all day...ever since that visit to the coop!! Anyway, I'm taking tonight off from posting since my tirdness has rendered me bird brained! Maybe by going to bed kind of early I'll be up with the chickens? Nah!!

Chicken Coop Church

Today we traveled almost 100 miles away to see a church in a chicken coop. Go ahead, call me crazy and have a good laugh! These pictures document our little Sunday jaunt. My friend gave me this article from the paper and said she thought I might like to post about it. It is in a city we have never been to and didn't know where it was. Well, what better way to try the new GPS for the first time? So off we went. We quickly found out that it was almost an hour and a half away, yikes!! But we decided to go for it, because it was a sunny day and it would be our first day trip to try out the GPS. It worked great. As you can see, it was way back near a woods, we would never have found it on our own. The church is actually in this chicken coop. It has been there for 37 years and is believed to be the nation's longest running gospel sing. It holds about 300 people. Those two trailors may have housed the Sunday Schools. The pastor of the church used to gather eggs there as a child. Sadly, he just passed away, and the building is now closed as a church. This makes me think of Chicken Little. I guess the sky really did fall for these people. At least the coop did. As the sun turned into a big orange ball and sank, we clucked drowsily to each other as we headed home. Well...we did make one more stop, but that's for tomorrow.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." Matthew 18:20

Not Using My Head

Have you noticed anything different about the layout of my blog in the last three days? Well, you have heard of the headless horseman. I am now the headless blogger. That's right,

a few days ago, my headers all shrunk to the size of all the other pictures. It doesn't matter which template I use or what picture I use. Tiny header. That first picture is really the header. A blogger friend of mine is having the same problem. And another blogger friend says it is a new blogger issue that has not been fixed yet. Oh well, things could be worse. At least I can post. I have hope that at some point, my small header will grow.

"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in it's branches."

Matthew 13:31