Monthly Archives: July 2006

We tried out Laura’s Pepperoni Rolls and those were a HUGE hit! Even Hubby liked them!
Variations that would also be good:
Roast beef lunch meat, havarti cheese, with onions and mushrooms
Ham and American cheese
Spinach, feta cheese, and mushrooms

I finished The Purpose Driven Life book and I still find it disturbing. Many things that he claims as fact can not be backed up Biblically, but the average person will not know that unless he looks up each verse and challenges any “fact” assumptions that the author presents. Several other red flags in the book are very subtle. I honestly don’t think the author intended evil toward anyone, but the Evil One is cunning and he permeates our culture to the point that many Christians don’t even notice his infiltrations. Rick Warren makes several good points in his book, but because his book mixes the truth of God’s Word with man made philosophies I would strongly caution readers.

Pg. 9 – “By the end of this journey you will know god’s purpose for your life and will understand the big picture- how all the pieces of your life fit together: Having this perspective will reduce your stress, simplify your decisions, increase your satisfaction, and most important, prepare you for eternity.”

Wow, who wouldn’t want that? I wonder if Paul, who was thrown into prison, beaten, and chased out of many towns for preaching God’s message, felt like his stress was reduced? What about Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian Jew that was put into the death camps during the Nazi invasion? None of her decisions were simple. (She was thanking God for fleas and lice because it kept the German soldiers from abusing her further and from stopping their Bible studies.) Christians WILL be persecuted if they are doing what is right and not conforming to the rest of the world. Should it be our goal to have an easy, carefree life, or should we be fervently watch dogging and exposing the talons of evil which seek to choke the Church and lay wast to the believers’ testimonies?

John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

I was also troubled by Mr. Warren’s use of Scriptures. He quotes many scriptures but he does not include the references in the text for easy verification, instead he puts them in an appendix in the back. As I flipped back and forth and looked up most of them as I read, I noticed that he preferred to use EXTREMELY LOOSE translations and paraphrases of the Bible. While none of the translations are entirely perfect in translation, the modern day paraphrase Bibles (Living Bible, Message, etc…) are very far from the original, to the point of changing the meaning of the texts. He explains that he used paraphrases so that we could better understand in a “fresh new way”. I would have rather he told us the meaning of the Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic words to better define his points, rather than dumb verses down with simplified English. That being said, I also noticed a pattern of telling a story, quoting only a portion of a verse, and then using some other form of man made literary device to make the point instead of using God’s Word as his arguing point. Following is one example.

Pg. 25 “Romans 12:3 (from The Message Paraphrase) The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us. This poem by Russel Kelfer sums it up:…..” (followed by a 20 line poem.)
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I looked up Romans 12:3 (King James Version) For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

The meanings are obviously focused differently. The paraphrase is used to support the author’s point about the reason for our existence. If you read the surrounding verses in the Bible, the context of the verse is not defining life purpose, but to warn believers not to rank themselves above one another based on their Spiritual Gifts. Then we spend 20 lines listening to a poem when we didn’t even get an accurate representation of God’s Word in the point verse. This is a writer’s technique, if you are unable to strongly support your point, add an antidote, quote, or human interest story to deflect from the fact by making your writing interesting and amusing to read. If he were writing a entertaining magazine article, it would be fine, but he is mishandling God’s Word, and supplementing another man’s poetry to make his point, while stating his intent is to reach confused Christians to give them Godly direction.

There are other red flags that have been raised, which I have not even touched. I did find some articles that addressed them though.

1. Scripture Mishandling examples can be found here and here

2. Flawed View of God can be found here

3. Proof Texting can be found here

4. Number Driven Marketing issues can be found here and here

5. Occult Infiltration articles can be found here and here

Other books of reference include:
The Dark Side of the Purpose Driven Church by Noah Hutchings
Fool’s Gold?: Discerning Truth In An Age Of Error by John MacArthur

Rick Warren is well followed, but his writings are mixed with lots of pop psychology and feel good pep talks. I do find reason to caution others in their commitment to his writings and methods as the slope is slippery when one begins to deviate from scripture even slightly. Our culture is one that is not willing to be inconvenienced or sacrifice. I was impressed that a Christian book would be so well read if it was truly preaching the message of getting out of our comfort zone and sacrificing comforts and self wants for God’s glory. After reading “Purpose Driven Life”, I was dissappointed in his lack of depth and his “what can my relationship to God do for me” attitude.

With all our moving, we have sat in a number of churches and been encouraged by many to look for a “Purpose Driven” church. I have read many of his devotionals and felt that I was being lead to look into things further so that I may give an answer for why I don’t embrace his teachings. I have a better understanding of his ideas and have detected the subtleties that were troubling me. Each person must account for his own choices, but as always, memorize Scripture, pray, research, and discern based on God’s Word, for It is the final authority.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

For our actual anniversary day, we went white water river rafting with the fine folks down at Noah’s Ark. This is always the highlight of my trip. I absolutely LOVE to go rafting. The sun, the water, the scenery, the excitement of a little white water, and squeals of children make for a great afternoon. We loaded up all willing family members and headed out. After the initial safety talk and boat assignments, we were off! The 1st part of the trip was sunny and just as I remembered. Our guide pointed out landmarks and answered questions. We noticed some clouds forming but we were “mighty rafters”.

My brother’s raft got too close to us so we held an all out water war. My Dad and Hubby managed to UTTERLY soak them , (under the blessings of our guide) and made OUR raft “the raft to fear”! Some unknown rafters challenged our water faring prowess but we restrained ourselves since half of their boat was pathetically shrieking that they did not want to get their hair wet. (Note to future rafters: you WILL be in a BOAT, on the WATER, heading for MORE violent WATERS…..if you want to keep dry….. you should STAY HOME!!)

We noticed it was getting darker and we began to hear the reverberation of distant thunder bouncing off the mountains. Our fearless leader said we would press on. (We were already soaked so rain was not an issue.) We had successfully navigated a few smaller rapids and were coming up on the larger, “Zoom Flume”, which is pictured in the above photo.

In that photo, you will note that my mom is sitting in the back on the left hand side. About 30 seconds after that picture was taken, our raft hit a pocket and we all bounced. Grandma went up as she had previously, but when she came down, the raft had shifted and my dad watched her land in the river at the beginning of the rapids. The guide started yelling to row backwards, my dad was debating jumping in after her, we weren’t making any progress towards her, and the boat behind us was getting ready to head down on top of her. She assumed her “river position” and we watched her try to stay clear of rocks as she bobbed under and resurfaced in the rapids. The boat behind us almost snagged her, but she bobbed under again on a surge and our guide and Grandpa grabbed her and hauled her out of the river.

She handled it like a trooper, she was a bit scraped up but I think we were all shaken more than she. It took a while for the metallic taste of adrenaline and the sick helpless feeling to pass, but Mom has always been strong, and this was no exception. After a brief stop to check for injuries and collect equipment, we were off again. The rain came down hard. The sun was blocked by clouds chilling everyone to the core, (we would have been shaking anyways), but Mom was ok. God received many heart felt thanks for watching over her that day and Grandma has bragging rights for making it through the rapids solo! Go Mom!

Deer Valley Ranch is even more fun now that I can watch my children experience it as I did as a child. We had a group of 22 (only one family couldn’t make it this year). Within 10 minutes of arriving, the Imp found a deer to feed and pet!

We went up into the mountains to 4×4 and we stood on the Continental Divide at Tin Cup Pass.

The boys took horseback riding lessons and we all hiked to Agnes Vaille Falls to play in the waterfall.

We celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary with a date night at a local gun range and dinner at a quaint little Mexican restaurant that we found in town.

The Imp wasn’t quite old enough for riding lessons, but we were able to lead her around and fuss over her too!

This was sent by a friend of mine (we don’t know who started it, but it was too funny not to share)! I can so relate since I have sensitive skin and thought it would be wise to try a Nair product when I was a teen……it wasn’t pretty!! Enjoy.
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All hair removal methods have tricked women with their promises of
easy painless removal – The epitorture, scissors, razors, Nair and now…the
wax. My night began as any other normal weeknight. Come home, fix dinner,
play with the kids. I then had the thought that would ring painfully in
my mind for the next few hours: “Maybe I should pull the waxing kit
out of the medicine cabinet.” So, I headed to the site of my demise: the
bathroom. It was one of those “cold wax” kits. No melting a clump of hot wax,
you just rub the strips together in your hand, they get warm and you
peel them apart, and press them to your leg (or wherever else), and you pull
the hair right off. No muss, no fuss. How hard can it be? I mean, I’m
not a genius, but I am mechanically inclined enough to figure this out.
(YA THINK!?!)
So, I pull one of the thin strips out. Its two strips facing each
other stuck together. Instead of rubbing them together, my genius kicks
in so I get out the hair dryer and heat it to 1000 degrees.
(”Cold wax,” yeah…right!)
I lay the strip across my thigh. Hold the skin around it tight and
pull. It works! OK, so it wasn’t the best feeling, but it wasn’t too bad. I
can do this!

Hair removal no longer eludes me! I am She-rah, fighter
of all wayward body hair, and maker of smooth skin extraordinaire.
With my next wax strip I move north. After checking on the kids, I
sneak back into the bathroom, for the ultimate hair fighting championship.
I drop trou’, and place one foot on the toilet. Using the same
procedure, I apply the one strip across the right side of my bikini
line, covering the right half of my *hoo-hoo*, and stretching down to the
inside of my butt cheek (Yes, it was a long strip). I inhale deeply, and
brace myself….RRRRIIIPPP!!!!
“I’m blind!!! Blinded from pain!!!!….OH MY GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!” Vision
returning, I notice that I’ve only managed to pull off half the strip. CRAP!!!
Another deep breath and, RRIIPP!! Everything is swirly and spotted.
I think I may pass out…must stay conscious…Do I hear crashing
drums??? Breathe, breathe…OK, back to normal.
I want to see my trophy – a wax covered strip, the one that has
caused me so much pain, with my hairy pelt sticking to it. I want to revel in
the glory that is my triumph over body hair. I hold up the strip!
There’s no hair on it. “Where is the hair??? WHERE IS THE WAX???!”
Slowly, I ease my head down, foot still perched on the toilet. I
see the hair. The hair that should be on the strip. I touch. I am
touching wax.
CRAP! I run my fingers over my body which is now covered in cold
wax, and matted hair. Then I make the next BIG
mistake…remember my foot is still propped up on the toilet? I
know I need to do something. So I put my foot down. “OH NOO!” I hear
the slamming of a cell door. “Hoo-hoo*?? – Sealed shut! Butt?? Sealed
shut! I penguin walk around the bathroom trying to figure out
what to do, and think to myself “Please don’t let me get the urge to
“GO”. My head may pop off!” What can I do to melt the wax? Hot water!!
Hot water melts wax!!! I’ll run the hottest water I can stand into the bathtub, get in,
immerse the wax-covered parts, the wax should melt, and I can gently wipe it
off right??? ……..WRONG!!!!!!!
I get in the tub – the water is slightly hotter than that used to
torture prisoners of war or sterilize surgical equipment – I sit.
Now, the only thing worse than having your nether regions glued
together is having them glued together, and then glued to the bottom of the
tub…in scalding hot water. Which, by the way, doesn’t melt cold
wax. So, now I’m stuck to the bottom of the tub as though I had
cement-epoxied myself to the porcelain!!
God bless the man who had convinced me a few months ago to have a
phone put in the bathroom!!!!!
I call my friend, thinking surely she has waxed before and has some
secret of how to get me undone. It’s a very good conversation starter –
“So, my butt and hoo-ha are glued together to the bottom of the tub!”
There is a slight pause. She doesn’t know any secret tricks for
removal but she does try to hide her laughter from me. She wants to know
exactly where the wax is located, “Are we talking cheeks or who-ha?”
She’s laughing out loud by now…I can hear her. I give her the
rundown, and she suggests I call the number on the side of the box.
YEAH-RIGHT!!!! I should be the joke of someone else’s night.
While we go through various solutions, I resort to scraping the wax
off with a razor. Nothing feels better than to have your girlie goodies
covered in hot wax, glued shut, stuck to the tub in super hot water,
and then dry-shaving the sticky wax off!!
By now the brain is not working, dignity has taken a major hike, and
I’m pretty sure I’m going to need Post-Traumatic Stress counseling for
this event. My friend is still talking with me when I finally see my saving
grace….the lotion they give you to remove the excess wax. What do
I really have to lose at this point? I rub some on, and “OH MY
GOODNESS!!!!!!!”
The scream probably woke the kids, and scared the dickens out of my
friend. It’s sooo painful, but I really don’t care. “IT WORKS!! It works!!”
I get a hearty congratulation from my friend, and she hangs up. I
successfully remove the remainder of the wax, and then notice to my
grief and despair….THE HAIR IS STILL THERE…….ALL OF IT!!!!!!!!!!
So, I recklessly shave it off. I’m numb by now. Nothing
hurts….. I could have amputated my own leg at this point!
Next week I’m going to try hair color…… Now that’s funny.
(NOT!)

We are back from our summer vacation/family reunion at Deer Valley Ranch and it was wonderful! We just got in from driving 30 hours in 2 days which was NOT wonderful. Details and pictures will be coming once I dig out from under the mountain of laundry and find the memory card from the camera.

Do you believe in Absolute Truths? That things are either wrong or right and situational ethics should not change where they stand? The sermon Sunday was about the armor of God and the pastor pointed out that the belt of truth was mentioned 1st because it is what holds everything else together. God brought several verses to mind and it definitely gave me food for thought. This was part of the Armor of God passage, teaching us how to stand against the powers of Satan and his minions.

Ephesians 6:14a Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth

One must put on a belt, it doesn’t happen on its own. The Truth is the Bible, the unerring word of God, so we must actively seek to “put it on” or read and memorize scriptures daily for our Belt of Truth to be in place. The belt holds the other pieces of armor in place, it also serves as a support system to our central body core. So it is, with our Christian body. God’s Word gives us support, protection, and makes our faith possible. If the Bible is not 100% true and applicable in this day and age, how could we have any hope that the salvation portion still holds true? This bothers me to think about since I know many Christians who pick apart what portions of the Bible are “applicable” and what parts are not.

In the accounting of Cain and Abel, God had laid out specific instructions on what animal sacrifices He desired. Cain refused to offer a blood sacrifice and instead offered some of his produce. God was displeased and rejected his offering. Cain felt that the whole blood sacrifice thing wouldn’t need to apply to him because he wasn’t a shepherd, he was a farmer. God REJECTED his offering, and because Cain got angry and continued in his course of rebellion, he ended up killing his brother and being banished as a nomad with a curse upon him. At this escalated point in his sin, he was not given a 2nd chance, he was banished and cursed to wander with some sign that others would recognize as the curse of God on him. (Genesis 4:1-16)

James 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

In the accounting of Jonah, God intended for Jonah to go and preach repentance to a people that was Jonah’s enemy. Jonah had seen God work before and knew there was a good chance these people would repent and stay God’s wrath on their city. Jonah also knew the terrible things that they did and the social hostilities between his people and theirs. Jonah decided to ignore God’s instruction and instead he hopped a boat going the opposite direction to witness to a different group. God was displeased and had Jonah swallowed by a large fish or whale. Jonah was given a 2nd chance. (Jonah chapters 1-2)

In the accounting of Achan, Joshua was told how to bring down the walls of Jericho and advised that every living thing should be killed and all plunder was God’s and better not be found in the possession of an Israelite. Achan followed directions to a point, but then decided to stash a bit of the treasure for himself. God’s wrath was kindled and He cursed the entire camp of Israel. They began to lose their battles and feared that God had forsaken them. Joshua ran to God and God told him to search his camp. Achan was found in possession of the forbidden loot. Achan, his wife and family, and his animals were all stoned to death. Achan thought he could follow most of God’s law and still be fine. He knew it was wrong, but he stole it and then hid it in his tent. Achan didn’t get a second chance. His family paid the price along with him and the Israelites lost lives in battle as a direct result of his rebellion. You can’t rationalize that some of God’s laws are applicable while others are not……the cost is just too high. (Joshua chapter 6-7)
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2John 1:9 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

John 14: 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

James 2:18-22 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works. 19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble. 20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 22 Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?

James 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.

God makes it very clear that it is faith in Jesus Christ and not works that bring a person to salvation.

Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

However, God also makes it equally clear that if an individual has accepted Christ through faith, THERE WILL be a change in their lifestyle. If there is not, God warns that he will spit them out and reject them. I know of many Christians who seem content to live like nice people but never distinguish themselves from the nonbelievers that are also nice people. I know I have gone through seasons where I was content to slide in my Christian walk. I think that this should be taken as a HUGE warning since there are many passages dedicated to this issue.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Revelation 3: 15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

1Corinthians 11:32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

Just something to ponder. I’d love to hear others’ insights or comments as well.