There's a rather sizable hole right in the middle of my kitchen ceiling. I can now look upon parts of the house I never wish to see again. All I can hope and pray for is that the repair of the ceiling is not ridiculously expensive. It was difficult enough to fix the plumbing problem since our -not so- lovely warranty company are such butt wipes. Our company covered $43 dollars of a $143 dollar bill.. incredibly helpful. I hope nothing else goes wrong with our house because this warranty company is pretty incompetent.
I am so thankful that there is a difference between a house and a home. It's a very good thing that the house condition is not a reflection of the condition of the home. The value of a good house may be any number that fluctuates and follows patterns of an -uncertain- economy. However, the value of a good home is and cannot be bought; rather by nature, it is priceless. Although the condition of my house is that exactly up to par, I'm thankful that this has no effect on the condition of our home. Sure, stress levels are higher when unexpected expenses arise on top of existing expenses. Can everybody sing, oh the joys of homeownership? At the end of the day, I am thankful to have a house in an economy with ever-increasing foreclosures. However, I am infinitely more grateful that I have a home both in this life and in eternity.
Its hard to keep everything in perspective until you step back and look at the bigger picture. I am so grateful to have a God that not only can see the BIG picture, but loves me enough to let me play a part in that for His honor and glory.
"Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said,
'Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
And naked I shall return there.
The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
Blessed be the name of the LORD.'
Through all this Job did not sin nor did he blame God."
- Job 1:20-22
What a beautiful reminder of true worship and trust in God...
In other news:
Apparently the White House referred to Christmas Trees as “Holiday Trees” for the first time this year which prompted CBS presenter, Ben Stein, to present this piece which I would like to share with you. I think it applies just as much to many countries as it does to America . . .
The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.
My confession:
I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejewelled trees, Christmas trees. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are, Christmas trees.
It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, “Merry Christmas” to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it. It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu. If people want a crib, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.
I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period. I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.
Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.
In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.
Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her: “How could God let something like this happen?” (regarding Hurricane Katrina). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said: “I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?”
In light of recent events... terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbour as yourself. And we said OK.
Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said okay.
Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'
Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
Are you laughing yet?
Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it.
Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us.
Pass it on if you think it has merit.
If not, then just discard it.... no one will know you did. But if you discard this thought process, don't sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in.
My Best Regards, Honestly and respectfully,
Ben Stein
Love this! Beautiful honesty is never over-rated. I will not start my Obama-rant because my job is to pray for him and everyone on down...
Best wishes and love; as my cute nephew would say, *cheers*
<3
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