BEAUTIFUL FALL MONDAY AND OTHER THOUGHTS

There's something wonderful about fall. The crisp cool air, the bright blue skies, the scent of leaves as they begin to change colors and fall to the ground. Here in Florida fall comes slower than other places. My cousin in Indiana has already had snow, thankfully we seldom see snow in Florida, although we do have some cold nights and see frost regularly. We had our first frost on Sunday and it officially began the fall season for me.

Today I had to visit the dentist again, visit number four out of the nine I need. He filled two teeth, deep fillings. Why I mentioned this is because I have a problem with dentists, they bring on anxiety attacks. Anyway, I've been doing all these visits on faith, claiming God's promise that he will keep me in perfect peace. So today, I was having a little problem and I changed the station on the walkman they'd given me so I didn't have to hear the drill. The Joy FM popped up and playing was Casting Crowns Voice of Truth. My faith was immediately restored and the tears began flowing as it was a message from God that He is keeping His promise. I know that Dr. Parent didn't understand the tears, but for me that song was a precious gift, a reminder that I am a daughter of the King of Kings, a child of God, a Princess.

I'm off to church for finance committee meeting, gotta love it. Hope you have a wonderful fall evening, enjoy the precious gifts from God.

THE TWELFTH IMAM

I truly enjoy reading Joel C Rosenberg's end times fiction. I am a huge fan of his Political Thriller series (The Last Jihad, The Last Days, The Ezekiel Option, The Copper Scroll, Dead Heat) and when the opportunity to read THE TWELTH IMAM opened I eagerly agreed to read and share my opinions. My mother always told me I was never short of opinions on things, as I've grown older I see she was right!

The ironic part of reading this book is that I live just outside Gainesville Florida. While we're most famous for our Florida Gators champion football and basketball teams, recently we were in the news for quite another reason, a small local cult was threatening to burn the Koran. This set off a firestorm in the media, but for me it brought this book to life much more clearly. Things written made perfect sense to me.

As a Christian I look forward to the second coming of Jesus Christ and his Millennial Kingdom. I was never aware that Islam also believes there will be a "messiah" coming, in the form of the last Imam. Joel C Rosenberg never fails to bring new things to light while providing an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride of suspense.

Even if you have not read the Political Thriller series you will enjoy the suspense and intrigue of THE TWELFTH IMAM. This one is another winner for Joel C. Rosenberg.
This book was provided by review by Tyndale House Publishing Company.

CHANGES

While I was cooking dinner the other night my husband and I were watching our 6:30 news of choice: World News Tonight with Diane Sawyer and she was reporting on Delaware's Republican candidate, Christine O'Donnell, and how she is being raked over the coals for things she said in her teen years. I began laughing and told my husband I'd better never run for national office then because in my teen years, as a member of our local high school newspaper staff, I wrote an article supporting the SDS! Ah, we were so young and militant, wanted to change the world! We wanted an end to the horrors of the VietNam War and we wanted to end dress codes in schools. I remember walking to school on that first Earth Day in 1970. My parents thought I was crazy.

As I write about it it brings to mind the song THOSE WERE THE DAYS, "Those were the days, my friend, we thought they'd never end, we'd sing and dance forever and a day. We'd live the life we choose, we'd fight and never lose, those were the days, oh yes, those were the days."
Well, those days did end, and I grew up. Suprisingly enough, my views on the world grew up as well. I might note here that I re-read that article (yes, I still have a copy) a while back and I wondered what I was thinking as I penned it and I could read the wide-eyed innocence in my words. So pie-in-the-sky. I think any politician should receive complete immunity on their own pie-in-the-sky stupidity in high school.

Now, I'm extremely conservative. Politically, I've done a complete 180 over the last since I first voted. Let's face it, we don't see the world as it really is when we're young. It takes time, experience, years of wisdom, and some grace to see the truth of politics. I think that's why the Tea Party and similar grass roots campaigns are picking up so much support of late, and why candidates like Christine O'Donnell, who are advocates of no more "business as usual" in Washington D.C. are doing so well. The American people are tired of the government digging into our pockets so deeply they've ripped off our pockets completely.

I still say if the government had given the bail-out money to the registered voters instead of the banks, car makers, Wall Street, etc., the economy would be completely stable by now. We would have bought new homes, cars, goods, and services. Instead, some CEO has a new $4000 shower curtain in his bathroom and his wife's dog has a matching fur coat. There's simply something wrong with this picture. Well, maybe I haven't changed so much after all.

TEETH

Everyone loves a beautiful smile. Nothing can win the heart faster than a heartfelt smile. Beauty queens win because of their smile. Politicians are charismatic because of their smile. Movie stars spend a fortune on having the most beautiful teeth. We put a lot of importance on having perfect teeth.
Unfortunately, mine aren't so perfect anymore. Aging takes its toll on our teeth, so today I must take the first step and go visit my dentist to have two molars extracted. I'm doing my level best to be brave and to not have a panic attack, to simply breathe deep and know that I am in God's hands and nothing can happen to me that He does not allow. Part of my problem is I have never had novacaine before...nope, not for one single filling, cleaning...sans novacaine! You'd think I'd be thrilled, I won't feel anything, but I fear that needle. Silly, I know.
My plan, close my eyes, open my mouth and sing over and over in my head the words to Voice of Truth from Casting Crowns, Completely from Ana Leigh, and Redeemer from Nicole C Mullen. God promises to keep me in perfect peace if I keep my mind stayed on Him and also promises that His perfect love casts out fear. I'm counting on it!

A Beautiful Poem

Roses
by Joyce Kilmer, 1917

I went to gather roses and twine them in a ring,
For I would make a posy, a posy for the King.
I got an hundred roses, the loveliest there be,
From the white rose vine and the pink rose bush and from the red rose tree.

But when I took my posy and laid it at His feet
I found He had His roses a million times more sweet.
There was a scarlet blossom upon each foot and hand,
And a great pink rose bloomed from His side for the healing of the land.

Now of this fair and awful King there is this marvel told,
That He wears a crown of linked thorns instead of one of gold.
Where there are thorns are roses, and I saw a line of red,
A little wreath of roses around His radiant head.

A red rose is His Sacred Heart, a white rose is His face,
And His breath has turned the barren world to a rich and flowery place.
He is the Rose of Sharon, His gardener am I,
And I shall drink His fragrance in Heaven when I die.

The Waning Days of Summer

August is half over, school starts next week and summer is waving good-bye as it retires until next year. This has been the hottest summer on record here in Florida, and the humidity has been horrendous. There's been times it's been so hot and humid it's been hard to breathe and I've lived inside as much as possible this year. One good thing about that, I've read a lot of books I had on my shelf and even gone back and re-read some golden oldies.

I'm looking forward to fall, it's my favorite time of year. I'm looking forward to putting away the Americana decor from my home and bringing out the fall colors. They're so relaxing and comforting. It'll be time to put away the summer fruity candles and bring out my favorites, Autumm Wreath and Home Sweet Home...there's nothing like a Yankee Candle for bringing the scents of fall inside.

I'm ready for fall...are you?

ASK A SMART ALECK QUESTION, GET A SERIOUS ANSWER!

The other night my sweet husband was telling me how since he's been reading his Bible every day he's noticed it has all the answers to life's questions. Being the smart-aleck I can be at times, I asked, "do you suppose there's a diet in there that would really work?" (We'd also been talking about our need to eat healthier and for both of us to lose some pounds.)

I didn't give it anymore thought until I was surfing the television channels as I played with Kyle and noticed a man reading Isaiah 55: 1-2. What caught my ears was the phrase, "let your soul delight itself in fatness." That brought to mind one of my husband's favorite phrases, "oh forget the diet, eat what you want and die fat and happy." I don't think that's what this scripture really means. What it really means is that we work and struggle to try and find happiness. Instead we find depression, anger, tiredness, or _____ ( fill in your personal blank here) and then we eat to try and medicate that feeling. Instead of eating to live, we live to eat. We plan our next meal before we digest the one we just ate. If you're anything like me, if there's a piece of pie in the refrigerator it calls my name until I go eat it. We eat when we're really not even hungry, we eat because the clock tells us it's time to eat.

Anyway, I recalled Daniel in Babylon and how he didn't want to eat the King's rich foods and instead asked for pulse and water. Pulse? what's that? Basically it's seeds, whole grains, fruits and nuts. Hmmm that sounds more delicious than pulse! Then I remembered Ezekiel being in the wilderness and God giving him a specific recipe for bread...that's in Ezekiel 4:9. Then I read Ezekiel 4:10 and found out God even says how much meat to eat...."20 shekels a day". Okay, what's a shekel? I looked it up and 20 shekels of meat is 8 ounces. And there we have it....God's perfect diet! Whole grains, nuts, seeds, fruits and 8 ounces of meat a day, water to drink. How easy is that?

So I'm giving it a try.....I'll let you know how my progress goes as time goes along.