Another Prayer for Obama

Although I am not Roman Catholic (anymore), I am greatly concerned when a man of the cloth is sanctioned by his superiors for instructing his flock to live by godly principles.

And, I must heartily add my own "AMEN" to his prayer (above).

Regarding the New President

A Prayer for the New President

and
A Gracious Commentary

Annabelle

Ain't she sweet?
Counting the days until we meet!

For Rebecca!

I don't know anyone who loves brownies more than Rebecca does. Personally, I like the centers of the brownies, with no crust, but for those that like the crunchy edges, here's a recommend!

I must also tip my chef cap to "Mrs. Dean", a friend whose brownies are renowned around the world thanks to Yvette's delivery of a sampling when she went to Singapore in October.

I can't wait to bake some brownies for Rebecca at Christmas time. Somehow, I think Caleb will appreciate that as well.

Which Way Will the Cookie Crumble?

Our local (favorite) bakery is offering two new decorated cookies through Tuesday. Do you want to guess which sell more often? Personally, I think one should have been lemon and the other full of nuts. ;-)

Haiti Charity Jewelry Auction

Recently our good friend Yvette visited Josh and Rebecca in Singapore. While there, they all went to Bali for a long weekend. Yvette brought back some fabulous hand-made jewelry. We have made these available on auction on our ebay store.

ALL proceeds from these pieces will be given to the HAITI CHRISTIAN HOSPITAL. Our young friend Dustin is helping there full-time and permanently. The people are the poorest of the poor, and have recently been further devastated by Hurricane Ike. They have been cut off from food and water, and are suffering malnutrition and disease as a result.

We invite you to look at these great pieces of jewelry and consider bidding on them. They would make lovely gifts, or personal items. We would consider it gracious if you would link to this blogspot!

Photo by Dustin V., full-time aid worker in Haiti

BFF

Debbie was in town for one day only, but it was wonderful to spend seven hours with my BFF. (I didn't know what that meant until last week...it's Best Friends Forever)

I'll always be grateful to my B.Bro (that's Bigger Brother to me) for giving me not only a great sister-in-law, but a BFF.

Thanks Dave!

A Princess' Logic

Yesterday, while working in San Anslemo, Shay and Charity stopped by with the kids. Samantha, aged just-turned-four, asked if we had brought our dog with us. I told her we hadn't, and that she would have to come and visit Olive.

She opened her sweet eyes wide and punctuated her words with her little hands waving,
"Gram, I really, REALLY, REALLY want to see your dog,
because I really, REALLY, REALLY don't have a dog."

Can't argue with that.

Happy Birthday Caleb!

I can 't believe you are already TWO YEARS OLD! And what a fine young boy you are.

Thanks for telling me your first joke tonight on Skype. Let me see if I can retell it right...

"Row, row, row your boat.. to the BUS stop!" (followed by the cutest giggle)

I love you SO much!

If My Faith is Fraudulent

I am taking a stand on personal things in my life right now that are very costly.

If my Lord Jesus Christ is just an historical figure and his dried bones heaped in a long-lost tomb somewhere in Israel, if the Scriptures that I have believed for 34 years are merely man's musings, if the cries of my heart are not heard from above, I am making painful sacrifices for a Lie.

Anyone who thinks being a Christian is like leaning on a crutch is mistaken. It is more like diving off a high cliff and trusting that you will be grasped before you hit the canyon bottom.

I am falling, once again, into His Everlasting Arms.

A Picture is Worth a 1,000 Words!

The Source of Traffic Laws

Have you ever grumbled while sitting at a l-o-n-g red light, watching a car two blocks down approach, going the other direction, and sail right through? ("Not fair!") ...I've done my share of complaining, and have thought about the reasoning behind traffic laws many times while waiting. I recently read the following short article in a favorite magazine of mine, Answers, and took the liberty of publishing it here. It succinctly presents the same conclusion I've come to...

It is impossible to pass a law that is free from moral implications. The real question is not whether man can legislate morality, but which system of morality will be legislated. All laws are either explicitly moral or procedures that uphold a moral concept. Even laws requiring traffic lights impose "morality". The purpose of traffic lights is to stop people from having accidents, thus protecting property and preserving life.

Even simple laws, like traffic lights, presuppose that:

a) order is good and chaos bad
b) property rights should be honored, and
c) life should be preserved

Each of these principles is rooted in the Genesis (Biblical) account of origins:

a) God the creator, who declared His work "very good" (Genesis 1:31), is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33)
b) He commanded man to bring order into creation by taking dominion over the earth, thus laying the foundation for property rights (Genesis 1:28), and
c) He established the sanctity of life as the first principle of lawful government (Genesis 9:5-6)

These are the unspoken moral assumptions behind a traffic light.

Name That Female Vocalist/Musician!

Listen and then, guess.

Don't look at the other guesses in the comments until you are ready to make yours!

I'll confirm or deny in a while....

She's the Little Sister... in case you were wondering.

VACATION!

Since we've not had the opportunity for a vacation in a while, I've been thinking of what sort of vacation I'd like if we could plan one.

I'm interested in your reflections on the subject!

One of the best I remember was in 1997. The three kids and I had only ONE DAY to spare, and we headed to the ocean. We visited two different beaches, and had dinner at a surfer joint. Ask any of the kids; we all agreed that one day *miraculously* stretched to feel like a week. We thoroughly enjoyed each other, the sparkling ocean and the weather- and came home so refreshed!

All for the cost of a tank of gas
(not too much $$$ in 1997) and a pizza dinner.

It's a Girl! 6 lbs, 15 ozs. ANNABELLE VICTORIA!

Born about 12:30 AM PST (3:30 PM Singapore) August 27. She's here and she's perfect!

WELCOME, PRECIOUS GRANDDAUGHTER.

Compassion

A fellow PowerSeller on eBay lost her two grandbabies in a tragic accident.

I've set up a fund to help with burial expenses. You don't have to be an ebayer to contribute. Here is the link.

Thank you for your kindness.

Thriller!

My mom asked to cook my favorite meal for my birthday, and I asked for "Thriller". It is a shortcut version of lasagna, made with large shells instead of long lasagna pasta, and dispensing with the ricotta cheese. Delicious, nonetheless! She adds Italian hot sausage, mozarella and lots of garlic.

The mystery is how she named it "Thriller". Hopefully she'll clear that up in a comment...

Here we are, ready to dish it up. Thanks, Mom!

P.S. Dig your new eyeglasses.

My Funny Hunny

Now that we're working 40-50 hours a week selling on ebay and at our antique co-op in Marin, I haven't done a lot of cooking or dishes. Rick has never complained; in fact he frequently runs out for tacos, sandwiches or salad while I take a nap! He does a good job of digging socks out of the laundry basket and overlooking dusty blinds and unswept floors. And, he's picked up a whole lot of new household chores- voluntarily. (Yeah, he's quite a guy!)

Since I've had my new MacBook Pro, I've been enjoying working on the laptop online in the kitchen where it is light and open. It gets me out of the crowded office in the back of the house.


Today, I was working at the kitchen table, and Rick walked by and remarked, "Sweetie, if anyone asks, tell them you've been spending lots of time in the kitchen! I won't tell them what you're doing!"