THOUGHTS AT THREE A.M.

LIVING A LIFE, HOLY AND PURE!

Yes,I know it's a touchie subject.This is not an everyday thought or goal,and it certainly isn't popular,for most of us.But I must confess, I've thought about it a lot. Purity.Holiness.Concepts so foreign and archaic that the general population have never spoken those words, unless they were talking about the nature of the drugs they are haggling about,or the condition of their t-shirt.Or, if it is discussed, it is only in a disparaging way,in the vein of being unutterably boring,like who do you think I am? The Pope? Or Mother Theresa? As if this ideal is beneath them.When in truth, it is a sad state of affairs, when such things as being a virgin, shall we say, is a topic only spoken of as a thing of the very young,the very ugly, or nerds.No, the current trends are to laugh at such things as the 40-year-old Virgin.Yet, a virgin is purity personified.A rare commodity in this present day.So rare, it is almost always a set up for a joke.Something depicted in movies as something to rue and be avoided at all costs, not just by men, but by women as well.Unbelievable,but true, that a person in their teens should be ashamed to admit to being pure and Virginal! This is the climate our culture has reached,in my lifetime.It used to be a scandal if a 16 year old girl wasn't a virgin, and now, it's a scandal if she is! Like it's a disease that must be cured! But as anyone would know if they take a bit of thought to the matter, impure or unholy behavior does not begin by itself.By the action.It begins, in the mind of man, in entertaining the unholy thoughts,and impure desires, unencumbered. It is furthered along by putting one's self in the position of the occasion of sin.Being alone with the wrong person.Dressing immodestly.Going to the wrong places,frequented by immoral types of individuals,and engaging in questionable activity.It's all so obvious,that I can almost hear you say, Oh, but Featherhead! We know all that. We thought you were going to tell us something new and different. Oh yeah? Well, if that is the case, then why do we have so many people every other day, on talk shows, saying oh, we didn't mean to fall in love, or to have an affair, it just happened! Had those people avoided the occasion of sin, it wouldn't have happened, would it? If Society didn't wink at skirts up to there,and cleavage down to there, believe me, there would be so much less of this mess going on.Ladies, you can get mad at me if you want to, but men know what I am saying is the truth.Your not just looking pretty and modern, you are stirring men's thoughts up with that sort of clothes.Gals, you can sit there and look innocent if you want to, but don't look now, your halo is slipping down over one eye. You may protest that this is just the fashion, but if you really sought purity and holiness, you'd be making an effort to find clothes that maintains a little mystery about your body,instead of showing off all you've got to the whole world. Call me names, I don't care. The truth is the truth.May as well admit to yourself at least, that you enjoy those looks from men, and we all know we like it when it is made known to us that others find us attractive. And this is not just exclusive to women.You men do it too.Why else would you wear tight pants,and those muscle shirts? Not because it's comfortable. Not when you bend over,and your face turns pink and red and purple because you can't breathe! What's the point of the clothing harangue? Vanity.Pride.One can't be very Holy, if pride is involved in the way you dress.I know this is not a topic upon which one wants to dwell, and yet it is an important part of a Christians everyday life.We are called to life lived in purity and holiness,and at the same time, so few seek after ways to bring it about. I was taught from little on, that when it comes to what to wear, it is very simple.It doesn't matter, as long as it is clean,neat and in good taste.The first two being self-explanatory, let's focus on good taste.Waist bands should be up around the waist,not down around the hips.Exposing the belly-button may be cute on Jennie, or on stage on Britney Spears, or a belly-dancer, but doesn't look right on a young, unmarried lady, on her way to church, school, work or the grocery store,or a date.(Oh, that's right...it's not dating anymore, it's hanging out.) Roll your eyes if you want to, but if it is in full view, it's touchable.A male comedian once noted, that if we women could read men's minds, we would never stop slapping them. Am I making any sense to you? The point is, being a decent woman in today's world, fraught with temptations so abundant,it is foolishness to leave yourself wide open to unwanted advances.Your outward appearance may not match your heart, but men go by what they see,so unless you dress in an appropriate fashion,typifying your faith in God,and his holiness, then you can expect to be treated as less than a lady.I know.I have been spotted as a lady by totally strange men,such as cab drivers and mechanics, and in every case, they have cleaned up their actions,speech and demeanor, and given me such respect,all unsolicited,that I was somewhat taken aback. How did you know? I would ask, when they would say, you are a lady, aren't you? One man came right out and said, you're a Christian lady aren't you? I'm not sure how he knew, because I don't even remember what I was wearing, other than I know I had on some new kicky black patent leather high heels,I had just bought and worn out of the store, blew the muffler on my car,and went straight to Midas. He was the mechanic that drove my car into the service bay.But in one minute, he had sized me up.Maybe it was the Christian radio station that I might have left on in the car, or perhaps it was one of those days when my Bible was perched next to the gear shift on the front seat,or it could have been that I was dressed up in a black pants suit,because I like to dress nice when I go shopping.No holy jeans, or ripped seams for me.Whatever the case,it only goes to prove that whatever you do, wherever you go, you are being observed, and those around you make assumptions on what they see. So. Step back a minute. What do they see when they look at you? You should see who and what you are. Do you? You are what you are.Of course, God sees past the outward appearance, into our hearts, that is what we are taught.And it is he who judges our purity and holiness,which is involved with the imputed righteousness granted us by our redeemer,Jesus Christ,by faith. And yet, some of that purity and holiness should be reflected in our outward appearance,and as I stated earlier on in this post,it all starts with our thoughts. What you stay your mind upon, will have an outward effect on what you do. Can you imagine yourself, keeping your thoughts on God,and his word,and not having some of that becoming a part of your lifestyle? If you considered this post to be of a different sort, as some sort of blueprint for you becoming pure and holy, then perhaps you will be disappointed.But I hope not. See, all I can do, is point out the truth as I see it,and point the way to the Lord, and it is then the Holy spirit, moving upon your heart, that brings about that purity and Holiness,within you.However, I don't think I am wrong in saying that it would be a step in the right direction for you to clean up your outward parts,bringing them into agreement with what is happening on the inside!

OUI?

SCENE OF ANOINTING OF KING DAVID!!

I followed a referrer back, and the request was for the scene when David was anointed to be king,so now, here is that scene, straight out of my Expositor's Study Bible.  I Samuel, chapter 16 verse 6: And it came to pass, when they were come(Jesse and his sons), that he( Samuel) looked on Eljiab, and said, surely the Lord's anointed is before him.(This was David's brother,and he looked the part of a King. This shows us that even a great Prophet like Samuel cannot trust his own intuition. To have done so, would have been to have  grossly violated God's will. vs.7. But the Lord said unto Samuel, look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature, because I have refused him: for the Lord sees not as man sees, for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.( and only God knows the heart of man) vs.10:  Again,Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, the Lord has not chosen these.vs.11: And Samuel said to Jesse, Are here all your children? And Jesse said, there remains yet the youngest, and behold, he keeps the sheep...(a type of Christ as the good Shepard) And Samuel said to Jesse, send and fetch him for we will not sit down till he comes hither.( David was the youngest,and apparently his father Jesse thought it would useless to bring him into the house. Generally, those who are totally rejected by men are the very ones whom God chooses.)vs 12: And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy( red-haired) and withall of a beautiful countenance( The Hebrew says, with beautiful eyes) and goodly to look to (to look at, handsome) and the Lord said, arise, anoint him, for this is he! (it is believed that David was about 15 years old at this time,it would be years before he would take the throne,but this was the beginning of the glory days of Israel.) And I assume that at this point, everybody else was allowed, finally, to sit down! vs.13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren,and the spirit of the Lord came upon David from that day forward.

And, there you have it. A very simple ceremony, with no trumpets blowing, no heads of state in attendance, no banquet, no parades. Just an old Prophet of God, pouring oil on the head of a 15 year old red-haired boy, and the holy spirit enveloping him, as he stood there dripping oil,his red hair shinning even brighter for the experience. Although on earth it was a quiet moment, you know that angels were shouting on the hills of glory, for it was through David's lineage that Christ would be born,and he would be called, The Son Of David!

OUI?

SUGGESTIONS TO HELP YOU FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR!!

I've noticed someone looking for George Younce's song....the Lyrics to his heartrending rendition of "Should you go first and I remain" only, this person, not being certain of the actual title, somehow got it switched around,and was seeking " If I Go First, and you are left.." Sorry to say, dear friend, you are not going to find what you are looking for,if you keep that up. So, here's my idea. When it comes to the ever popular Gaithers Homecoming  Friends,If you don't get any action on the first to third passes, then it might be time to change the wording, just in case you memory of the song is imperfect. Just a helpful hint.There are a lot of us out here that are very willing to look up what you are searching for...and as a matter of fact, I have already blogged on the lyrics to George Younce's song, but your not going to find them that way.Also, be aware that when you are searching, the Internet will pull up compilations of blogs that may lead you to believe you have found what you are looking for, when In actuality, it is a mishmash of several different blogs, put together to respond to your request.This is not the author's or blogger's fault. Once we have posted a blog, it is out of our hands as to how the information is distributed. We certainly have no intention of misleading you. However, the Internet, as I mentioned before, will choose a word here,and a word there, to respond to your search.So, if your search turns out badly, don't just give up, try it again, a different way!

Good luck,and better luck next time!

OUI?

I NEVER WANTED A VCR!!!

After years of accumulation, a recent search has just brought back to me how it all started. My Tom and I were doing well enough to be able to do better than just live hand to mouth, and had purchased a nice stereo system for Yon son, and a color television for ourselves, and he suggested we get a VCR as well. Yon son, said, Yeah! That would be cool. But I, having been elected to be in charge of the purse strings, poo-pooed the whole idea. I had many reasonable arguments against it. We didn't need such a thing. That was going just a bit too far.The fact was, I didn't want to go too far into debt. The debate went on and on, until finally, we paid off one of our goodies,and got a special offer from the rent-to-own place, and I finally crumbled.Well, it turned out better than I had thought it would, because I wasn't stuck at home watching wrestling or a ballgame every Saturday night then. I was able to convince Tom that now that he had his VCR, we could tape his programs, and he could take me out to dinner and dancing instead. After that, I sort of warmed up to the convenience of being able to tape my favorite movies, like "Auntie Mame" and "The King And I", instead of hovering over the listings on the t.v. schedule, hoping to catch them.That is how it started, but I am not sure how things got out of hand. It started out small enough. I would buy a new tape when I knew some  programs were coming up that I wanted to tape and keep. As for Tom, he had two tapes he kept with his name on them, to tape his stuff over and over.I, on the other hand, had a dozen tapes.Then forty.Then I got saved,and found a wonderful preacher, who I watched on a daily basis, and taped every day, and watched them over and over,when he wasn't on. Before long, I had a hundred tapes, and was being teased about the lady who didn't even want a VCR! For my birthday that year, Tom and Yon son bought me another television set,and another VCR for the kitchen,and as far as I can tell, that is when my collection really took off. This all started, as I said years ago, and now I have an entire room given over to nothing but tapes...(oh, and now, DVDs as well.but that's another story ) I now possess literally hundreds of tapes...I have no idea how many, but I have just gone through weeks of searching for a song, which I finally found,for which I am duly grateful. Whew! What a task! Lord, but I am glad that is over.I look at that room with shelves stacked high, and three deep with tapes, some of which I have purchased commercially. Most of which I bought blank and taped myself. And I wonder. Just when was it I lost all control over this? I didn't even want a VCR, and now, I have more tapes than anyone else in the family.More movies, more preaching tapes, more gospel music tapes,and more writing research tapes than I could possibly have imagined anyone acquiring in a lifetime,and it only took me about twenty years to do it.

Oh, well. I guess I am just living proof that people can change!

OUI?

AMERICAN GIRL CLUB AND MAGAZINE,PARENTS, INVESTIGATE BEFORE GETTING YOUR DAUGHTER INVOLVED!!!

Parents, take caution! More than once now, I have gotten calls from radio listeners who say that they have been informed, over the radio, that American Girl magazine and girls club, along with Mattel toy makers, are somehow involved with advocating Roe V. Wade. Now, I am not in the business of spreading rumors, so I went to the website, American girl,and where it is true that Mattel is linked with American Girl club and magazine, without actually signing up for the mag, or the club, or even the email, as far as I could tell from just casual investigation, there was no hint of such a thing, but that doesn't mean anything. It looks all very innocent and sweet, but that in and of itself tells us nothing about the content of the actual magazines.The come-ons for the magazine are all carefully worded to imply that the magazines are all " age appropriate" and they of course change from little girls, 3-8 years, to pre-teen 8-12 , and up to and including teen-agers from 13 on.But what is true is that Mattel has dolls advertised, so at least part of the information I received is factual, which leaves me with some doubts in my mind that the rest could be true also. I suppose, were I to be the mother of a girl who would be interested in such merchandise, and was alerted as I am doing to you, that such could be the case, I would proceed very carefully and scrutinize the magazine from cover to cover before allowing  my girl to read it, but for me to feel comfortable with it, I would have to read every issue before she, or they could, and than could get real tiresome. And, I suppose it would also depend upon your stance on pro-choice for your daughter. Myself, personally, I would rather discuss that sort of subject with my girls when I felt it necessary to have those conversations, and not be prompted by an article in a magazine which I had all unknowing let fall into my daughter's hands.

That being said, do as you see fit, and let your conscience be your guide!

OUI?

WHAT KIND OF CLOTHES DO THEY WEAR IN EGYPT?

Did you not see Indiana Jones in "Raiders of the Lost Arc?" That film for the most part, took place in Egypt.And, it is my understanding that the national dress style has not changed much for years. The dress  of the men consists of wide cotton drawers tied with a cord at the waist, a loose shirt, a cotton waist coat, and over all, the principle garment...the" gallabiya"...a wide sleeved collarless shirt that falls to the ankles.The typical headdress is the "lebda",a brown felt scull-cap, round which a white scarf is sometimes worn, turban-wise. The feet are usually bare, but heavy heelless slippers "balgha" of yellow leather may be worn.

Women wear long, wide drawers, a long chemise,and over them, a rather shapeless cotton dress with long sleeves, and a flounce on the bottom, which often trails on the ground. Out-of-doors she wears a black cloak, " Milaya" which covers the head and may be drawn across the face when men are met. The simplicity of their costumes are relieved by ornaments. Necklaces of beads, often in blue, to ward off the EVIL EYE. Bracelets of colored glass, silver or even gold, and anklets of copper or silver, which married women always wear.

This is the way the peasants, farmers and other working class dress.As the clannish Egyptian social level rises, one will see more and more western influence not only in education, but also in dress, but by and large, the old ways of Egypt die hard.

OUI? 

ALICE IN WONDERLAND AND THE DOORMOUSE

"Twinkle, twinkle, little bat,

how I wonder what your at

up above the world so high,

like a tea-tray in the sky,

           twinkle, twinkle, "

And that, m'dears, is absolutely all I recall the doormouse ever saying, beyond  "CAT!" in the disney version of "Alice in Wonderland." I noticed someone was looking for some connection to these two and math...Honey, I have searched every file in my brain to come up with an answer for you, but I have labored and brought forth, NADA! The only remote connection I could come up with, and believe me when I say it is remote, is that the MAD HATTER wore a hat with the size on the outside of the hat. 7 3/4. I think. I mean that is reaching, even for me!

Now, in the original book, through the looking glass, at one point Alice is on a chess or checkerboard, which has 64 squares...and at one point she is only 3 inches high, but after that I just sort of run out of ideas....sorry. Better luck next time!

OUI?

UH-OH! STAND BACK! SHE'S OFF ON A QUEST AGAIN!

That's what they say when they see me, with that look in my eye, digging into drawers and bookshelves and closets! Anyone who knows me, when something has been misplaced,knows I will stop at nothing, leave no stone unturned, nor any piece of paper unmoved, if I am on a Quest! It doesn't happen often, but when it does, get outta my way! Just now, It is the June Our Daily Bread, which annoyingly enough hung on my 'fridge all through May, and then got moved to the top of the DVD player, and now, I can not find it. The other is an important letter I just got,and now both have grown legs, and walked off! SHAZBOTT! There. That helped. But it did not recover my stuff. However, I will find them. I always find them. I may have to engage in some creative logistics, but find them I will! I may turn this house upside down, and make a terrible mess, but I will not give up until I have achieved my goal. Now, I do not enjoy the prospect of having a terrible mess to clean up, however, I will endure it because I will not quit. I just hope that no one had the nerve to throw them out. That could be very upsetting. let's see....trash pick-up was tuesday, and I had both on wed...that means, they are still on the premises, somewhere, and even if we have to search the bags in the garage, I will find them!

well, I found them, so, nevermind.

OUI?