Aliens Against Jesus?

I had the weirdest dream last night. I can only remember bits and pieces but it was crazy.

It goes a little something like this…

Aliens were attacking the Earth, abducting people and trying to destroy the people that wouldn’t go. They came in giant stealth-plane shaped ships (except they were not low profile, but more bubbly…but they had the stealth shape). Flying high, seeming to case things, out and then zipping by low to the ground, then flying high again and finally landing.

Somehow, I knew these aliens were looking to take us to another world and wanted us to worship them. I would have none of it, and started singing praises to God, declaring that He was the only one I would worship and that I had saving grace, nothing to fear, because if they killed me, life would just be that much sweeter.

Soon, I had lots of people singing and worshipping God and this made the aliens VERY angry at me. They started trying to hunt me down and I was sent on the run. They were throwing tornadoes at my neighborhood, trying to destroy everything and everyone that was precious to me, but I continued to run. How did I outrun stealth planes and tornadoes you ask?? Well, hello…this is MY dream isn’t it?

I was hiding in the cat walks of the roof of my house (who’s house has cat walks, not mine???), continuing to think about God and the fact that they could do nothing to me that would last eternally. I wasn’t scared, but running so I could stay to save more people from such a terrible fate. Then, I was washing my hair under a tree in my neighborhood (how?? i have no idea) and ringing it out when Carlos from college drove by in a convertible with a very pretty woman and asked me why I was washing my hair instead of running…

Sometimes, folks, I am impressed with my own brain…interpret that!

Signs

I’m not sure if it’s because I’m pushing thirty (wwaaaahhhh), or just because I’m finally settling happily into my role as wife and mommy, but I’ve noticed some alarming traits lately…things that would have made me cringe in my high school and college years…which were NOT that long ago thankyouverymuch!

1. I have been known, on many occasions, to try to turn the radio volume down, when it wasn’t even on, because the air conditioner in my car was too loud.

2. I enjoy budgetting and look forward to paying bills. -in my defense, i would rather not have the bills, but paying them means i’m one month closer to getting rid of them! Plus, I like to tell things what to do…and my money usually listens

3. I have a slight obsession with the British show “How clean is your house?” and the show “The World’s Heaviest Man” about Manuel Uribe.

4. I get up with the sun…and generally want to go to sleep with it too.

5. Mowing the lawn is fun.

6. I cannot stand concentrated, loud noise. I even didn’t really enjoy a really good concert last summer because it was too loud.

7. I can’t imagine hanging out all night anywhere except my bed and enjoying it.

 

See, I told you…boring and old I’m getting…boo hoo

Well Look Who Showed Up in the Blogroll

Really, I thought that you just needed a good long look at my beautiful face.

 

I kid.

 

Actually, life has been hectic (I’m still really struggling with the whole baby thing…here I have friends that are desperate to have kids, and I’m so scared of losing another one that I’m avoiding even the idea of another baby like the plague, we also finally ditched that stinky old nasty apartment and bought ourselves a HOUSE! it’s amazing. i’ve also been to weddings, graduations, helped K’s brother and fam move in to his new house, and well, I’ll stop boring you will all my excuses), and the bloggy world sort of lost its luster to me for a while. In fact, it’s still not all that luster-ful (look at me, I’m George Bush ), with my lack of consistent readership, I’m starting to feel like I did back when I moved to Cali in the 8th Grade. A big fat outcast.

 

Anyway…

 

 I’m back today and if I can think of something interesting to say, I might even be back tomorrow too. I’m not promising anything though.

 

Not that the two of you that still remember WHO THE HECK I EVEN AM don’t already talk to me on a regular basis anyway…ha ha!

 

Just a side note, I DO plan on updating my recipe blog much more frequently, starting with a yummy breakfast recipe today!

 

And a side, side note…I’ve started the love dare with my small group. Though it is pretty intensely focused on marriages that are already on the brink, I’m pretty excited about it and think the group of couples we’ll be going through it with is going to be a lot of fun…and a catalyst for a lot of cool discussion too. I’m a little cautious because I feel that it almost forces you to come up with things…kind of like I felt when I did Beth Moore’s Breaking Free…so I’m trying not to become a hypochondriac when it comes to my relational health. Not that either of these are bad studies, don’t hear me say that…because if you know me, you know I loooove Beth Moore, and both of these studies hit on issues that are REALLY prevelent in our world…just not necessarily in MY world.

 

Can I learn to love better, to be more patient, kind, and faithful? ABSOLUTELY! and that is exactly what I plan on getting out of this, but the more I read about these things…the more I feel like my marriage is in a really good place and I have a husband that is rare and amazing.

 

I am also learning about how hard and painful marital issues really are and that when I do come across people that are suffering in their marriages, I will love them that much more. I had no idea that people actually lived in loveless marriages…(i know, i know, that sounds incredibly naive)…I just thought they broke apart because they had differences that were irreconcilable, but I honestly believed people still love each other. My naivete may be due, in part, to the fact that I have always wanted to see the best in everyone and everything (even though I may come across as cynical sometimes…ok ALOT of the time, I always secretly desire for people to be GOOD and am SO disappointed when they’re not). It may also be due to the fact that my parents have been married since they were teenagers, my grandparents have been together since they were 12, and my other grandparents have been married for over 30 years. Oh, and then it may have something to do with the fact that I love, love, love sappy love story movies. With happy endings of course.

 

In any event, divorced and struggling couples are going through SO much more than what I ever imagined, and because they are having so much trouble loving each other, and maybe even themselves, they need a lot of extra love and encouragement from us…AND there’s hope because loving your spouse isn’t something your heart leads you to do, it is something you lead your heart in doing. (I stole that from the guys that wrote the book )

Hello My Name Is…

Mamajo.

(and L)

Nice to meet you!

I thought I’d finally show you a picture of the front side of us since I actually really like this one

Antique Mommy’s at it Again

…and I LOVE it!

Please read this post from Antique Mommy about prayer in public school. The public school system is something that is a BIG part of my family’s life, and I couldn’t agree with Antique Mommy any more than if I had written the post myself.

I am Christian. I love my God with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind.

That is exactly why I do not believe that we need to ‘return prayer to the schools.’ You’ll see why when you read AM’s post and be sure to read through some of her comments too. I think you’ll be surprised at the response.  So, get over there, read it, and then come back and comment!! No comment will be moderated in any way. Feel free to speak your mind…I would love to hear what you think.

She hasn’t completely sold me on the sports thing though…come on ya’ll, could you imagine Texas schools without football??!!??

Strong Enough to Show His Love

I was touched this afternoon by the way in which President Bush reacted to his wife’s recent surgery. There was something endearing, and something awfully incredible about the fact that the man who boldly took on the responsibility of running our country, the man whose job it was to remain stoic, even in the face of immense danger, was strong enough to show his love.

As the President turned red-faced to the doctor whom he had entrusted his wife’s life, and thanked him so graciously, you could certainly tell that there was nothing more precious to him than the woman who has held his hand all these years.

Yes, America, real men do cry, they do love. Real men can stand against the enemy, they can carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. They do not beat their wives, nor belittle their children, they cherish them. They do not lie and cheat as a means to an end, they stand up for their beliefs and they have faith. They understand that the greater power comes from freedom, not control. They cry when their wives are hurt, they rejoice when she is better. Real men are strong enough to show their love.

JoMama’s Updates

I’ve been updating a lot over at EatAtJoMama’s. Come check out the yummy recipes I’ve added…some of them even have pictures!

Praise God in the Good and Bad Times!

You already know all about the trials we’ve been going through the last few months. Death after death after death, culminating in the hardest storm our family has ever had to face with the loss of our second baby.

Though we were sad and at times absolutely heartbroken, we hope that you can see that we never, ever lost hope. The wonderful and incredible thing about having a saving, personal relationship with Jesus is that we know He is always there. We know that no storm, no matter how furious, can tear our family and our faith apart. Jesus is our constant source of strength, our foundation, and our glue. We’ve praised Him through this season of storms for making us stronger, for teaching us about grace, and for being our rock over and over and over again.

Now, it seems He’s finally brought us into a new season and we will not forget that our happiness comes from Him as well.

And why are we so happy right now, you ask?

Well, we’re finally able to, and are currently in the process of…

BUYING OUR VERY FIRST HOUSE!!!

I can’t even tell you how much of a dream come true this is. I am SO excited!

And the best part about it is that we KNOW that ‘It’s a GOD-THANG’.

We have waited, and waited, and waited upon the Lord, and He has done things that we know only He can do!

It’s been quite a ride already, and we’re sure it’s not over. SO many good things have already come out of this and I can’t WAIT to share them all with you!

SO Blessed

I just wanted to pop in here and tell ya’ll that I am feeling very loved. God really is incredible and so are the people He puts in your lives!

Comment and tell me someone God has put in your life as a blessing for this season!

Thanks!

“These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.”

Thanks a lot to Kim and JLI for showin me some love. It was very sweet!

I don’t really have a purpose for blogging, except maybe to keep track of things over time since I have a horrible memory. Most of what gets posted is just knee-jerk brain spew. There is very little said here that is calculated or even edited.

I’d also like to hope that people would find something here that would make them laugh and offer them encouragement. If something I write makes you stop and think, whether you agree or disagree, I would be one happy blogger.

Thanks again ladies! The only other regular blog writer that hasn’t already gotten this that I actually know is Nikki, so my list is pretty short, but she’s very cool and has the most excellent music on her blog.

WHAT day is it??

Is it Wednesday?

Is it Thursday?

Is it FRIDAY?? Have I lost two days already? No? Ok, good…it’s only Thursday…

Have you ever spent so much time at home that the outside world seems to stop moving? We’ve had all sorts of germs floating around here in our little apartment…and everyone has been sick during some or all of the last two weeks or so.

BUT, we’re better now!

And there is not a germ left to be had. (Ok, well maybe there are a couple) I disinfected the entire house with hospital grade cleaner, stripped the beds, and collapsed on the couch as the last available spray of lysol exited its environmentally non-friendly can.

I was so the Batman of germs.

Bang! POW! Splat! Begone sickies!!

Open Letter

Here’s just a little something I needed to get off my chest today…

Dear Lady at the Park,

My daughter and I saw you, and a LOT of your son, today while we trying to have a little fun. I think it’s nice that you came out to enjoy the gorgeous day God made for us. Next time you decide to take your smart mouthed heathens screaming brats whining babies sweet little twin boys out in public, please remind them both that free form, drawers around your ankles, in your face penis-wielding, peeing in public is not appropriate behavior for a boy that is either in or quickly approaching kindergarten!

That’s right I said PENIS. Please tell your son to keep his in his pants, or at the very least, out of plain sight.

My two year old daughter and her sweet innocence thank you very much.

Sincerely,

PEED Off Mamajo

PS- Should you have a teensy weensy judgement lapse and not remember that there are hundreds of choices of concealing foliage next time, when you get a hairy eyeball from the other mothers on the playground, please at least apologize instead of looking at them like they’re stupid and wondering why they’re gawking at your child and frantically trying to distract their own children.

prettyplease and thankyouverymuchmmmk.

10 Things

Edit: For some reason, my paragraph return isn’t working on this post…sorry for the terrible formatting.

I’ve been tagged by Kim…

For this one, the rules are simple – list 10 honest things about yourself – and make it interesting, even if you have to dig deep! Then tag 7 bloggers that you feel embody the spirit of the Honest Scrap Award. I’m tagging anyone that’s reading this that feels like doing it…have fun.

10 Honest Things about Me

1. I’ve spent my entire life (no joke!) wishing I was thin and beautiful. Even when people tell me I am (beautiful, not thin), I don’t believe them.

2. I have another blog: EatAtJoMama’s, but I’ve only posted on it three times. It has great potential to be much better than this one because it is a much lighter topic, but I forget about it.

3. I’m actually pretty smart, and am a nerd at heart. I love to do research and write reports, but I super-suck at any math that’s more complicated than basic algebra.

4. I used to be an ameteur adrenaline junkie. I’ve cliff-jumped, para-sailed, driven jeeps in the rocky hills of a tropical island, swam with snakes and alligators (though I didn’t really know it), “rock” climbed tall walls, been on a zip line, tried to ski, tubed at way faster than safe speeds, been on the giant free fall swing at astro-world (when it existed), rapelled, and probably more that I’m not thinking of. I haven’t done any of that stuff since I got married. I’ve gotten very lazy in my ripe old age of 28.

5. I love the beach, and would spend every sunny day there if I could, but I will never swim in the ocean again. I used to love it as a kid, but I have developed a huge shark-a-phobia.

6. I definitely spend more time on-line doing nothing than I should.

7. I was a jerk in high school and the first part of college. I wouldn’t have liked me then…well, actually I didn’t!

8. I feel guilty that I don’t use the education I got in college. It didn’t come natural to me, and it took a lot of work to learn what I did, and now I feel like I’ve wasted it.

9. I love to listen to music, play my violin, and sing, but I don’t pay attention to it anymore. I wish I did, but I don’t make the effort.

10. I never feel like I’m the best at anything. I wish there was just one thing I knew I was the best at.

Ok, that was NOT very fun…I think I’m going to have to go to counseling now

The Bible Story: OT Week 1

Ok, here’s the highlights I promised. This week so far we’ve tackled Genesis 1-14 and Matthew 1-5:26.

In Genesis:

We start at the very beginning, literally at darkness, nothingness, and move quickly to light, earth, living things, and then MAN (Ish) and eventually his helpmate (I LOVE that word) – WOman or Ishshah. Remember that man was created out of the dust of the earth, but woman only from the rib of man.

In Eden, God lays out Adam and Eve’s initial responsibilites which basically includes, eat, rule over the animals, take care of the garden, make babies, and DON’T TOUCH THE TREE (of knowledgeof good and evil)! So up to this point, Adam and Eve don’t really know anything except, bliss, love, and God…and everything is peachy.

Enter the antagonist, the serpent, the tempter who at this point is a beautiful and cunning creature…and we know the rest of the story. So let’s get to the punishment for the disobedience (yes, that’s right I said disobedience!) Adam and Eve were not being punished for eating the fruit, in fact that was just a symptom of the sin…they were being punished for disobedience.

Here are their punishments:

The serpent – is now a disgusting, feared, lowly reptile that sneaks around on its belly in the dust.

Adam – 3:17b-18 “Cursed is the ground for your sake, in toil you shalle eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth to you and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread.

Eve – 3:16 “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband and he shall rule over you.” Ouch! Way to go Eve.

Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden and left to fend for themselves…which, according to their punishments, is not going to be an easy thing to do.

Eventually, A & E have two boys Cain and Abel, one of which is a very good and godly boy and the other who is, well…a lot like the rest of us. Cain (the bad boy) kills his brother out of jealousy, and really because in some twisted way, he thinks it will be a good thing…

Oops! DUH! It is not.

And thus, cain is left wander as punishment, never really making anything out of himself but, because his brother is dead, ends up being the only one left to populate much of the world…and thus God begins to get a little, or A LOT, angry with his people.

God reaches a point where he decides that the earth is bad that he just needs to start over. He does, however, find favor in one of Cain’s descendants, and saves him and his family, along with some animals, from the distruction. Guess who that is? Yep, it’s NOAH.

Crazy old Noah builds the ark and, according to God, takes his wife and their sons Shem, Ham, and Japheth. At this point, I think we’re at least (because we don’t know if the recorded lineage skips any generations) 1575 years after the creation of Adam and at least 670 years after his death.

After the flood waters receded, and God gave Noah the ok to leave the ark, Noah built an altar to the Lord and made a sacrifice to Him.  God also made a covenant with Noah (a promise) that He would never send another flood to earth and the he would remove the curse from the land (remember, Adam’s punishment).

Among other things, God also tells Noah that the descendants of his sons will branch into three different kinds of people. Shem’s will have a unique relationship to God (is this the beginning of the Levites? I don’t remember), Japheth’s will be the earthly leaders (the artists, scientists, officials, and speakers) and that Ham’s descendants (or the sons of his sons Canaan) will become the servants.

Now eventually, God’s people began to get a little full of themselves again and they thought they could rule above God’s authority. In Babel, where they were all together as one people, they attempted to build the world’s tallest altar to themselves…God decided enough was enough, and scattered them all over the world and confused their language too…so they couldn’t come back together and try anything stupid again.

Is this starting to read like an ancient script of  “As the Earth Rotateth” to you yet? Funny how we’re stilling screwing up in the same ways. You’d think after a gajillion years we’d learn something. ANYWAY…

OK, fast forward about 400 years or so to Gen 12 and the life of Abram (son of Shem, son of Noah). Abram had been living with his wife Sarai (one of only a few biblical wives to be NAMED thus far), taking care of his nephew Lot, in the city of Hanan with his father and their family when God told him it was time to go. They had no children, but took Lot, plus all their livestock, stuff, and servants at hit the road…at 75!

Because of his obedience to God telling him to leave, God made a covenant with Abram that he would become a great nation with lots of land and so many people that they would outnumber the dust! He also told them he would be a blessing and would be blessed. God threw in the entire Kingdom (to be given to him at a later date) as well to sweeten the deal.

Abram and his family and Lot and his crew eventually decided that one town wouldn’t be big enough for the two of them and Abram gave lot his choice of land. Of course (ingrate!), Lot took the nice land and settled on the Jordanian plain while Abram headed back toward Canaan and settled nearby in Hebron.

Ok, hang with me we’re almost to the end!

Now, years later some kings got hungry and “made war” with the kingdoms Lot was planted in (Sodom, Gamorrah, Ellasar). The former kings won and pillaged both Sodom and Gamorrah and took Lot and all of his stuff with them too.

Though most of the losing army fled for the hills or fell into tarpits (LOL), one made it out and told Abram what was going on. Abram headed out with 31 of his best men, hunted the winning kings down, and brought Lot and all of their people and stuff home.

Abram, being the incredibly cool guy that he is, gave a portion of the spoil to the men that helped him fight and the rest back to Sodom and presumably, after being praised by the king of Sodom and blessed by the king-priest Melchizedek, went home.

All in a days work huh? We can already see that God has great things in store for Abram and that his relationship with Lot will be interesting to say the least…

So, what do you think?

…and you thought the Bible was boring…pshaw!

Stay tuned next time for the NT recap of Matthew 1-5.

A Year With God

Last week, Kim invited me to join her in reading through the Bible in a year. So, by way of a Crosswalk generated scripture list, we are scheduled to have it done by January 27 of next year. We’re reading a little from both the Old and New Testaments, and have started right in the beginning at both Genesis and Matthew.

If you have never read the Bible before, or if you became a Christian later in life and don’t have the knowledge base you get from learning stories in Sunday school your entire childhood (that’s me!), this is a great way to get a solid overview of God’s story.

It is very important I think, especially if this is your first time to really dive into God’s word, that you read both from the Old and New testament at the same time and don’t try to read from the very beginning. It is so important that you are learning from both the history and the application of our faith.

The Old Testament is like a history book. It tells us of the lives of the people who came before Jesus, of their successes and great failures. It is a story of the human experience, of sins like hatred, jealousy, lust, that so easily overtake the human heart. Imagine, we are experiencing the same struggles, the same hardships, and the very same SIN that has been plaguing humanity since just after the BEGINNING OF LIFE! Hello…we are not alone!

The OT not only lays out these acts of God’s people, the earliest descendants of Adam, Noah, and Abram, but also tells us about the acts and the absence of God. Sometimes, He was working so close to the people that they could hear, sense, and sometimes even SEE Him in a very real way. And, later, He removed some of them from His immediate presence because they had gone so far astray, but I assure you it was His hand that was still at work. The OT recounts the story of God, the story of life, of humanity.

The new testament is an account of God’s promises being fulfilled and of the birth, life, and death of the Messiah, of Jesus. The new testament gives us a look at what had become of God’s people so many years after they had foresaken Him. It tells of both the great tragedy and great joy of the cross. The new testament is our application, our manual by which to live by. In it lies examples of great faith and love along with great hardship, all for the sake of our salvation and ultimately, for the glory of God.

I hope you will join us in unfolding this story together. I’m so excited, and though I’ve read the Bible before, I’m taking a different approach and trying to glean as much I can from the sheer story of the Bible. From creation to the cross, from the cross the second coming, from person to person, Adam to me, I am hoping to understand the pen of the Lord a little better and to let it’s wisdom, His wisdom, and the greater picture write that story on my heart.

At the very least, check back here from time to time, and I’ll try to recap the story for you as best as I can. This is no substitute for doing it on your own though, God has something amazing to teach YOU too!