Non-Stick Pasta

In the spirit of all things that "work", I am posting this for Works for Me Wednesdays at Rocks in My Dryer.

This is probably something you already know, but I discovered how to keep my pasta from sticking together ... non-stick spray oil. After cooking and draining the pasta, I sprayed the pasta with butter-flavored Crisco and tossed it to cover the pasta. It's low fat and low calorie! Works for me!

How Nerds Watch Football

This is how you watch college football ... nerd-style. Each fan has his/her own laptop. We may be nerds, but we have some seriously great surround sound and HD viewing of our beloved teams.

Go, Red Raiders! We will hit 'em, we will wreck 'em, hit 'em wreck 'em Texas Tech and the victory bells will ring out!

Monk Day

Princess is studying the Reformation period in school, thus, they are celebrating Monk Day this week. Here is the costume I made this weekend.

Shhhhh. Don't tell anyone that we used the McCall's pattern "the grim reaper" for our Monk costume pattern. :)

sick

It's a weekend to be sick, evidently. I did accomplish something yesterday. I made Princess' costume for school this week. I'll post a picture later.

Photo Fun

Mary suggested finding the photo folder on the computer and selecting the 6th folder and the 6th picture.

Down memory lane. Here we are on the first day of preschool. I think she's attempting to hold 5 fingers up for Mommy's camera. See how her arm is sort-of rounded from the elbow to the wrist? She broke her arm around the time this picture was taken and the doctor assured me the arm would straighten. He was right, but it took a long time to straighten.

As I sit here, I realize that this was half of her lifetime ago. She will be 10 in 5 weeks. The time does fly. The old saying is certainly true, "The days are long, but the years are short!"

UPDATE: She's only three in this picture, not five! What was I thinking?

Pediatric Electrophysiologist

I am a blogging wonder today. This is my third post.

Our sweet pediatrician sent a referral to the pediatric cardiology group. By the next morning, they called to schedule her appointment. We have an appointment with a pediatric cardiology specialist called an electrophysiologist. Princess has her appointment on Wednesday morning.

She has been in the nurse's office almost every day for the past two weeks and sometimes twice per day. The nurse checked her heart beat today and sure enough, she heard that irregular pulse. It's like there is a regular rhythm to the irregularity. Weird.

This morning I was also having heart pain and King said it sounded like I have an extra beat or something. Bless his heart. He's not a cardiologist. I probably should have my heart checked as well. Princess first.

Date Night Redeemed

We had date lunch today. We ate outside on a patio and it is a beautiful day! Great conversation, good food ... good times.

And then we bumped into The Undertaker. I had heard that he lives in the 'hood, but I'm the worst person with famous people. I really don't care about anyone's wealth, fame or lack of one.

And, I'm so not the fan of wrestling or else I would be impressed to be in the same room with this guy. Having said that, I was impressed. His stats say that he is 6 feet 10 inches and 300 pounds. That sounds small compared to how I perceived him at lunch today. The dude is huge. His tatooes alone must have weighed 50 pounds.

Anyway, good times. And, we ate Mexican food this time. :)

Date Night (Burping mentioned)

Tuesday night was highly anticipated. Our babysitter arrived and we were out the door within minutes. We decided on our local Chinese food establishment for our nourishment as they have great service, it's quiet, not too expensive and the servers are attentive without interrupting. We had a myriad of fun topics to talk about over google eyes. Tuesday nights are a highlight of our week.

Not. Last. Night.

First, we were seated beside an older couple who had evidently arrived moments before us, so we were on the same service schedule (drinks, soup, egg roll, entree, etc). Second, this older, heavy man had a burping problem. Third, King and I quickly got off on a bummer of a conversation that needed to be talked about, but was unpleasant.

So, here we sat. We talked and (BURP!) and we talked some more (BURP!) and before long, King got this look on his face and started smiling. (BURP!!) I lost it, ya'll. I got the giggles so bad and seriously, we are sitting like 2 feet from their table. No one else was seated near our tables, so they heard our conversation and we heard their conversation, what little there was between burps. I headed to the powder room to extinguish the giggles. As soon as I sat down again at the table, BURP! (eyes rolling)

So, the nail in the coffin was the waiter. I think he must've been the patriarch or something. Toward the end of our meal, he started talking incessantly to us about centering yourself and all that matters is your happiness, and halloween is coming and the ghosts like beautiful weather, and ON and ON! He even talked about how the nose is centered on the face. (eyes rolling)

Ya'll. It was just a bummer of a date night. I can't wait for next Tuesday. And we are NOT eating Chinese food.

Organizing Stuffed Animals

We have an unbelievable quantity of beanie babies, Webkinz and all manner of stuffed creatures. Princess loves 'em. So, I bought a shoe organizer and matching hamper at Target to organize her collection. The small ones are cuddled together on the back of her bedroom door and the other guys are cuddled together in the large wicker basket in her closet. Stuff 'em in the pockets or squash 'em in the tall basket and she's done. Works for me! (Check out WFMW at Rocks in My Dryer).

Doctor's Office

I picked up Princess from school at noon because she was in another low episode and the nurse detected a strong heart murmur. She has never had a murmur before, so we went to the pedi this afternoon to check it out. During the low episode at school this morning, her heartrate stayed over 100 bpm and was irregular. At the pedi's office, her heartrate was regular, no heart murmur, blood pressure was fine. This very interesting and makes me hope we can get into the electrophysiologist soon.

Early Bird

Princess found this abandoned nest this weekend.

Early Bird

Oh, if you're a bird, be an early bird
And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.
If you're a bird, be an early early bird-
But if you're a worm, sleep late.
by Shel Silverstein

The Challenge Has Begun!

I have begun my Abdominal Bootcamp. If you hear a scream about 5:30 a.m. CST tomorrow, you'll know that it is simply the little Queeny-weenie sitting up in bed.

We did a bit of organizing on Saturday

Remember my pantry, dishes and shelf paper project yesterday? Dixie was underfoot the whole time, so I had to take a picture of Mommy's Little Helper. Isn't she cute?

Princess finally put up her posters! I thought she did a great job. This collection so defines her.

While organizing and cleaning yesterday, we got out the cool weather accessories. Princess found my driving gloves. When she was 4 years old, Princess would put my gloves on her feet and pretend to be a chicken. Thus, I present to you ... Chicken Feet.

Mish Mash of Thoughts

Friday was a very busy day. Pardon my absence. Today King has gone dove hunting and Princess is at her sewing class.

What am I doing? I have a college football game blaring in the background and I am simultaneously: organizing the pantry, unloading the dishwasher, putting shelf paper in my kitchen cabinet shelves, loading the dishwasher and doing laundry.

Then it hit me ... thoughts of you, my dear reader. I thought I'd see what you are doing. Are you having a good weekend? I hope so. I live for the weekends. I purposely schedule restful weekends. As evidenced by my above paragraph, it's not that I do no work, but I at least do work on my schedule. That's so nice.

The past couple of months (maybe three?) there have been many emotional topics that King and I have been working through as a team. These decisions are ones that we made together and are remaking. I can't get specific, but suffice it to say that there are more than two and less than six big decisions that we are making right now. Sometimes we sleep well and sometimes, we wake. He woke up at 1:00 this morning and then came back to bed around 3:00. I woke at 4:00. We are pretty much 100% one in heart in our decisions together, but it's still hard to make emotional decisions. It takes a LOT of time, prayer and wisdom. Wisdom seems to come slowly for us ... especially me.

I don't know why I'm saying all of this except for the fact that what you read here is only a glimpse of what is going on with me. Sometimes there is so much on my heart that I cannot share. And when I sit down to blog, I'm stumped. Yesterday was one of those days. I truly was every busy and barely had time to catch my breath, but I also had a heavy heart and didn't know what to say to you. :) Today I know what to say: Go, Football!! Saturdays filled with college football are just very happy days. :)

Peel A Boiled Egg

Go check out Mom's Crafty Life for a totally new way to peel a boiled egg! After you watch it, come back and tell me if you tried it and if it worked. That video totally cracks me up!

WFMW: Kitchen Organization!

Works For Me Wednesdays is having a Kitchen Organization Theme! Woo-hoo! This is where I display my love of all things iron and curvy. Some things must sit out on the counter, therefore, I choose cute, curvy ironwork to organize my counter clutter!

I present to you, the fruit stand. Love it. Thank you very much, Mr. Costco. This allows my fruit to naturally ripen and reminds me to eat it all while on beautiful display. I would love to have skin as pretty as that peach sitting there. Mmmm, so soft.

Think Paul McCartney's song "Ebony and Ivory" while singing, "Onions and Pep-pers live together in perfect harmony, side by side on my counter, oh lord why don't we?"

If you have an aversion to paper goods, please skip to the next picture. At the palace, the King, Queen and Princess use a fair amount of paper goods for meals. This cute little organizer (Costco again!) makes it all so adorable.

I have this thing about plastic containers. They must be with their own kind, ya know? So, each size gets it's own square footage of the drawer and they "nest". Awwww. Nesting plasticware, so sweet. And organized. :)

Mexican Lasagne

BessedwithGrace hosts a kitchen carnival on Tuesdays. What a great way to get new recipes!

Mexican Lasagne
Serves 12

2 lbs ground beef or ground turkey
1 - 17 oz can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup salsa
1 - 15 oz can Mexican style diced tomatoes
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 - 16 oz carton cottage cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp oregano
10 corn tortillas
1.5 C. shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese

Brown meat stirring to crumble. Drain excess fat.
Add corn, salsa tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Simmer 5 minutes.
Combine cottage cheese, eggs, and oregano, mixing thoroughly.
Place 5 tortillas in bottom of lightly greased 13x9x2 casserole, overlapping to fit.
Layer in order listed, 1/2 of meat mixture, cheese mixture, 5 tortillas, and rest of meat mixture. Sprinkle with cheese.
Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serves 12.

Enjoy!

Morning

Lamentations 3:22-24
"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Presenting The Sunday Morning Pancake

This gives a whole new meaning to the term "breakfast burrito".

Score!

We purchased most of her clothes last night. Here is a sample of one of her new shirts. King said, "She needs that shirt, no matter what the price is!" True. Her dad can fix anything. Now, I want a grown up version to reflect what my Father God can do...

Please send money:

Cash, checks, credit cards, gold coins are all accepted. My daughter has outgrown all of her clothes. Ok, not completely. She can wear one pair of pjs and her school uniforms. Nothing else fits. Not socks, not underclothes, not shorts, not jeans, not shirts. Nada. I have to go shopping this weekend and while I normally would love a shopping trip with my very best girlfriend, I am a teeny bit overwhelmed with replacing her entire wardrobe. At the very least, it sounds physically exhausting. And then I think of the financial pain I must endure. I'm feeling a bit woozy.

It's Been a Long Day ... G'Night

The time has come for me to gush forth in exuberant tones about my foam mattress. "What in the world?", you ask. Yes, well, I would have said the same thing before acquiring this horizontal delight.

No, I'm not a paid sponsor for Isoform. No, I get no benefit from my endorsement of this bed except for the tiny fact that I might encourage someone else to take the foam plunge and have nocturnal bliss. Ya'll, it's just that good.

As I said before, I was very skeptical. King assured me that we had 90 days and that was plenty of time to sleep on the mattress and decide if we liked it. Evidently, there is a "breaking in" time for these foam mattresses where they go from somewhat warehouse stiff to ... sheer delight. Not too soft, not too hard, just perfect. Ya'll remember the story of The Three Bears? Remember at the end of the story, Goldilocks tried the three beds and baby bear's bed was "just right"? Papa Bear's was too hard (Select Comfort) and Mama Bear's bed was too soft (spring coil), but Baby Bear's bed was juuuust right! As soon as she lay down, she fell fast asleep.

Yeah, you know it ... Baby Bear's was the foam mattress. I'm just sayin'.

Weight Loss Tips

A bit of background:
I'm the gal in the green shirt. I've always been the size of my tiny friend in the black shirt. That is, until Periodic Paralysis came into my life 10 years ago. As I have said before, I have two different types of paralysis episodes. For one type, I take Potassium Chloride to abort the epsiode. For the other type, I take sugar to abort the episode. I had the "sugar kind" for the first initial years. There's nothing like the process of laying in the floor paralyzed then eating sugar to abort the episode to pack on some pounds. When you repeat that process multiple times per day, every day ... you get dramatic weight gain.

My Periodic Paralysis is managed very well now and I can work on losing weight. (Previously, the moment my body got hungry, it would trigger a paralysis episode. Thus, it was a little difficult to burn the fat.) So, I had to come up with some creative tricks.

1. Eat every 2-2.5 hours.
2. Eat very small portions. I'm talking only what fits in an 8 oz coffee cup size for lunch.
3. Eat a fold-over sandwich instead of the double slice of bread sandwich. You'll cut about 40-80 calories simply by omitting that one slice of bread.
4. When eating a tuna salad sandwich, don't. Just eat your tuna with a few crackers and some grapes. Again, when you can omit the bread, you will save calories.
5. Eat only about 60-80 calories for snacks.
6. Use a saucer or child's plate for your meals. It's amazing how much easier it is to be content when your plate looks full than when you have a small portion on a huge dinner plate.
7. Eat lots of fruit and veggies to fill you up.
8. Trick yourself when your tummy feels empty and you want to snack. Drink tea or coffee or water or something to fill your stomach with less that 20 calories.
9. When eating out, eat the never ending salad beforehand (dressing on the side).
10. When your meal arrives, ask for a "to go" box and box up 2/3 of your meal.Listen to your body to find your satiation spot. For me, I unconsciously sigh when I am satisfied. If I stop at my "sigh" then 10-15 minutes later, my food has settled and I am completely satisfied. If I continue eating after my "sigh", then when my food settles I am full. (And I know my body is going to have to store that extra amount of food that I continued eating.)
11. Have a free day or free meal! Eat your favorite dessert once a week. (Just keep in mind that nothing is free in this world except God's grace. If it goes on your body, it must eventually come off.)
12. Love your body. It's reality. It's the tent you live in on this earth. If you are married, you husband hears how you talk about your body and over time, it can influence him. So, love that bod and teach the young women around you the same. For you are fearfully and wonderfully made!

This is how I look now. I'm not down to my skinny size anymore, but I'm fairly content where I am. I take medication that makes me gain weight and I have a life-altering medical condition. These two things mean I will always be different from my skinny self, but hey. I like the new me. That works for me! (Check out WFMW at Rocks In My Dryer)

You've Got a Friend in Mommy

Periodic Paralysis episodes make your body so tired and your muscles ache. It's exhausting. Princess has begun having multiple paralysis episodes every day. Thankfully, she is only weak and not fully paralyzed yet, but that doesn't change how her muscles feel after an episode. I am so very thankful that since this is God's plan for her that I was given the priviledge to walk the path before her. I am so thankful to have gasped for air, to have joints dislocated, hospital stays and multiple exercise EMG tests. I can walk before her, hopefully with grace, and know ... truly know how she feels. I don't want anyone to ever have Periodic Paralysis, much less Princess or King. But, since it is reality for Princess, I want her to know that just like Buzz Lightyear says, "You've got a friend in me".

And since this is the week of You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zB2gPZRsz0Q

You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
Just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got troubles, well I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and we see it through
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
Maybe
But none of them will ever love you the way I do
It's me and you
And as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see
It's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me

C'Mon, Follow Me!

How about this new gadget? It's new to me anyway. I know there are a number of you who check this blog regularly because I can see you in my stat meter. Click on "Follow Me" on the right side under my Shelfari.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

As Princess says, this recipe is "easy peasy lemon squeezy". It makes two pot pies.

1 can chicken (rotisserie is better, but this is the easiest version)
2 small cans or 1 15 oz can Veg-All veggies
1 15 oz can corn
2 cans cream of chicken soup
splash of Fat-free 1/2 and 1/2 (about 1/3 C)
2 packages of 2 pillsbury pie crusts (let set 15 minutes from the refrig before use)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all ingredients except pie crusts. Separate veggie mixture into two equal parts. Lay one pie crust in pie pan. Fill pie pan with one of the veggie mixtures. Lay 1 pie crust over the top of the pie pan and pinch crusts together. Use sharp knife and make holes on top. Be creative! Bake for 40 minutes at 350. Turn broiler on for the last 2 minutes to brown crust. Repeat process for 2nd pot pie. Amaze your family and friends.

C.J. Mahaney - A Testimony to God's Grace

This is a piece of CJ Mahaney's testimony. He asks the question that echoes in my soul ... Why am I called? Why me? "Once and for all I do not know, but the response is intense gratitude..." Charles Spurgeon

Mark Driscoll on Predestination

In light of my earlier post about questioning God, I thought I would post this great clip from Mark Driscoll. This cuts right into the middle of Mark's sermon, so he is preaching with a raised voice. The story of his daughter's near death is profound. The story is about 1/2 way through.

I need to put a laptop in my bedroom. I think of the best blog topics right before sleep every night. Well, not every night, but many nights I think of something fun to write about. The next morning? Can't remember a thing.

Yesterday, however, I had a conversation with a friend about asking God "Why?". Here are some thoughts I have had regarding "Why?"

1. Asking God "Why" assumes you will be able to understand His answer
2. If you can understand "why", then you can understand the mind of God
3. If you can understand the mind of God, then you are not human
4. If you are not human, you don't need to ask the question "Why"

Basically, asking questions of God assumes that you can grasp concepts from the infinite mind of God with your finite mind.

I'm not saying it's wrong to ask "why". I do think it is unreasonable and we set ourselves up for disappointment. A three year old misses Daddy who is fighting in Iraq and asks Mommy why Daddy cannot come home. The mom can explain why, but the child is not equipped to understand the answer. That is a really poor example, but it reflects my perspective on asking God questions. I believe that God truly wants to tell us answers to many of the "whys" of life because He gave us the bible. The bible is His answer to our questions and the origination of many of our questions. The problem is when we read the bible and say, "Ok, now I want to know more." Well. We cannot understand "more". We cannot even understand the totality of the bible.

Take the issue of unconditional election, predestination, foreknowledge versus man's free will. Who on earth can explain the existence of these being true at the same time? I haven't heard anyone truly explain it without taking scripture out of context or applying a different meaning to the scripture. God says He foreknew, called, elected and predestined some for eternal life. We can wonder. We can guess. We cannot fathom how they can both exist at the same time, yet they do both exist. See below, noting that the emphasis is mine:

Romans 8:28-30 "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. "

Acts 13:48 "When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed."

Ephesians 1. Just read the whole chapter, but focus on the following verses:

"For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. ... In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory."

These scriptures must be taken seriously. We cannot explain them away. Yet, it is unfathomable how God allows us free will and at the same time has appointed some for eternal life and others for damnation.

In the end, we can ask God "Why" for any question we have, but we must remember 2 Cor 4:17-18
"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Prolonged QT Interval?? Who knows...

This is all I have thought about today. My sweet Princess is experiencing some sort of heart rhythm issues which I think are related to her Periodic Paralysis. She has daily episodes of weakness, but no full-body paralysis. We are managing her PP as well as possible. We went to see the pediatrician today to begin some cardiac testing. We will know more as the days and weeks progress.

Biggest Loser

I watch one tv show in a 365 day period. That show is The Biggest Loser. I know, I'm a freak of society. I hate TV. It dictates my schedule, feeds me tidbits of information at a time and loads me up with a secular worldview. The only redeeming reason for a television is college football which is why we do not have the television hooked up the majority of the year.

Back to TBL ... I love biographies and this show is like an inspirational video biography. The determination and perseverance is so inspiring. Tonight is the kick-off. I wonder what will happen??

King and I are beginning a 6 week challenge for pushups and crunches. I will be working toward 100 knee pushups and 50 obliques, 50 upper and 50 lower crunches. My core is going to boot camp. When I have episodes, I will have to cease the bootcamp, but I will work toward this goal with the hope that I can keep my paralysis at bay.

Kipper

Tonight we were in Petsmart buying dog food. Princess loves animals. Loves 'em. She has two parakeets and a poodle. She wants to add 2 hamsters to the mix. Nay. The King says "No!" We'll see if the King persists.

We were reflecting on our animals while in Petsmart tonight (as we looked at the tiny hamsters). It reminded me of Kipper, our ragdoll. He is with another family now because we all developed allergies to the lovable little "pumpkin heart", as Princess says. He may be a "pumpkin heart", but there is nothing little about him! He is a serious dough boy and terribly lovable. Here's to you, you lovable little "pumpkin heart". May your new family love you as much as we still do!

Ike

I love a good thunderstorm, but sheesh. This thing takes up the whole Gulf of Mexico! We are not on the coast, so no real danger. I'll update as the weekend wears on...

A Stubborn Queen

It’s 3:00 a.m. and I can’t sleep. Very unusual for me, but I have a lot on my mind. I guess that explains it.

We are in a wonderful small group (6 families walking through life together, studying God's Word and loving each other like family). As our topic, we are reading and studying the book "Sacred Marriage". It's wonderfully challenging.

I really wish there was a You Tube of my life before Periodic Paralysis. I was fun and friendly Queen, but I was willful, independent, stubborn Queen. I never saw myself as I truly was. King would tell me each time I balked, “You are re-evaluating my decision and my leadership.” That left me indignant and angry. I was not! How dare he even say that? And even if I did re-evaluate, then what was the threat? If he was secure in his decision, what did it matter that I re-evaluated things before I decided what to do?!

(shaking head) There was no leading me in those days. King dragged me where he wanted me to go and I only went there if I wanted to go. It was ugly and sad for years. Well over a decade. Honestly and truly, I don’t know why he stayed with me except that he had no other option. He is too loyal to break his covenant and also, Christ equipped him to stay. The worst part, my friend, is that I continued this behavior long into my horrible paralysis years. (My Periodic Paralysis was triggered by my hormonal change when I weaned my daughter. For years, I had full body paralysis episodes all throughout the day and some nights. Some would last 5 minutes and some episodes would last 45 minutes.) Here the guy was dressing me and attending to my basic physical needs and I was basically telling him he had no authority in my life. By his very sacrifices on a daily basis, he had earned the right to be my leader, but I was too willful. I cannot tell you how many times I lay in the floor or on the couch or in some crumpled position, barely breathing and was doing battle with God. Over and over, repeatedly, God physically showed me just how much control I really had in my life. None. If we measure my control on a scale of 1-10 ... I had -5.

I really am at a loss to describe the change in my heart and direction over the years. God didn’t move a millimeter. His design is perfect and He will not budge in this area. I’ll sum it up by saying, God finally got my attention and my desire to live His way, not mine. This is still a constant battle. I was trained for years to push back against someone else controlling my life and my sin nature is powerful and strong. Praise God, the Holy Spirit is inexplicably stronger. The funny thing is this: King has never wanted to control me. He has only wanted to lead me and to do what God designed him to do.

If you are married, I hope you will learn from my mistakes. If you are not married ... please ... learn from my mistakes. Marriage is a beautiful picture of our relationship with Father God. He is a tender leader and He will only put up with so much before he disciplines. Been there, done that. I gotta say, it is immeasurably good to be disciplined by Father God. He is so loving and gracious and completely knows my limits. I never want 1 Corinthians 5:4-5 to come to pass for me...

"When you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. "

Rather, I prefer Psalm 103:8-14

The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.

Small Town Football Games

Due to Hurricane Ike, we rescheduled our football game from Friday night to tonight. There's nothing quite like participating in football festivities. The corn dogs, nachos, frosty water bottles, squeals of children running with friends, and the clash of helmets and pads fill the air with the fun of small town football. The community of friends all watching out for each other and their children is endearing. New families are welcomed and given special name tags so we can welcome them with true southern hospitality. It's one of my favorite aspects of autumn. I love football. I love the fellowship of gathering around young men who are learning discipline and good sportsmanship. I love the smell in the air and the feeling when I am at one of these football games. I feel a part of Normal Rockwell's paintings and I find a certain twinge of sadness when the buzzer sounds at the end of the game. The cowbells are pack up, trash is gathered, kids are divided among families and we all wait again for the announcer in the pressbox to call us to attention for our next home game.

Worrying

A little background for our worry story:

I have been reading The Little Pilgrim's Promise aloud to Princess before bedtime. Just last night, we reached the halfway point in the book where the main character, Christian, makes it to heaven, aka The Celestial City. Along the main character's journey (pilgrimage), he has faced hardship, worry, learning to trust, fear, just to name a few emotions and struggles.

We live in a country setting with a creek that runs behind our house. We have our share of creatures. One morning this week, there was a cat fight in our front yard. I'm not convinced that the cats were domestic, but it was too dark to see them. Ever since then, Princess has been worried about the animals in the front yard. Tonight, we came home from our friend's house and it was dark outside. In a small voice Princess said something about being afraid of those cats outside.

I reminded her about Christian and how the King of the Celestial City wanted Christian to trust and not worry. To which she replied, "I'm not worrying, I'm just being practical."

Gotta love it.

Beauty in Difficulty

Sometimes life is thorny. It hurts. Don't sit still in the pain. Look for the end result:
James 1:2-8
2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. 6But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; 8he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.

If all of reality is found on earth, we are completely and utterly without hope. But our hope is not found on earth.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. Matthew 6:20

When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." Luke 18:22

Give up everything to follow Christ. Persevere through trial. Store your treasure in heaven. It's thorny now, but the reward is priceless.

Blogging Meme

The Queen B did a fun meme today.

Here are the rules:

1. Write about 5 specific ways blogging has affected you, either positively or negatively.

2. link back to the person who tagged you

3. link back to this parent post

4. tag a few friends or five, or none at all

5. post these rules— or just have fun breaking them

I started blogging to keep family updated on our life. I handle 100-200 business emails every day which doesn't leave me very much time for chatty emails. So, I thought, "I'll try this blog thing..." I am really glad I did because it turned into a family journal that chronicles our life. I have pictures, stories, musings and heartaches chronicled. The funny thing is that my SIL is the only family who reads my blog. Thanks, J!

I have learned some cool stuff during this blogging adventure! Like how to clean the mold out of my front loading washer, canning & cooking, how to motivate my daughter to be a responsible citizen, and that Katy loves me. But wait. I knew that before I started blogging. BTW, Katy is having her baby tomorrow morning! Pray for her and baby Sarah Grace!

I can spend waaaay too much time blogging and reading blogs. 'nough said.

My blogging has inspired my King. He is blogging for the company now so the employees know what the CEO is thinking. Fun!

My favorite item to share is that my blogging has encouraged and challenged my faith while connecting me to so many wonderful women of faith. Like the average bear, I love comments on my blog. I repeat to myself often, "If you want a friend, be a friend." That means commenting on other blogs. Ahem. So, I am training myself to comment on these other blogs that I so enjoy. The following women, among others, have truly challenged me this year. Check out their blogs:

• Sumi - who loves Jesus and witnessed her baby girl fly home to the King of Kings this year.
• Heather - who loves Jesus and witnessed her best friend and soul mate fly home to our Precious Redeemer this year.
• Lisa - who loves Jesus and authentically shares her walk with Christ ... both the highs and the melancholy lows. The girl loves chocolate and reading ... two of my favs.
• Lisa - who loves Jesus and brings Proverbs 31 into perspective

I'm tagging you, my friend. Write on your blog how blogging has affected you. Don't have a blog? Get one. I promise that you will enjoy the ride.

The Elegant Lady

Drama, I tell you. It's highly esteemed here at the palace. Why do math homework in regular clothes when one may recline on the setee in a formal gown? (Notice the sweet teddy bear peeking at Princess from the top of the sofa!) I love these days between childhood and adolesence. It reminds me of Luke chapter 2, "... Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Power Tools and Football

It's been a good weekend for King. He went dove hunting last night and today is using new power tools. He's doing ductwork for the A/C, hanging mirrors and hooks for me in the hallway and running cable so we can watch college football on the projector.

I'm excited about my mirror and all, but gimme some college football! Woo-hoo!

Episodes and Princess

I didn't get to post yesterday because I spent almost the entire day in paralysis episodes. My sweet husband has helped make my office so accomodating to my health issues. I have a leather couch in my office, just 3 steps from my desk. I spent the day coming into and going out of paralysis and working in between episodes. Thankfully there were hardly any calls in the morning when the paralysis was at it's worst. Later in the day, when I had improved, the calls started pouring in. God's timing is perfect.

The episodes I have been having are "low potassium" episodes. My K+ (potassium) levels are not actually low in my body. They are low in my blood and high in my muscle cell . I have to manage the correct balance of K+ in the muscle cell. I really do not know what is causing all of these low K+ episodes. Treating the episodes is very tricky.

Princess also has these same type of episodes. There are several ways to determine the type of episode we are having and none of them requires a blood draw. Low K+ epsiodes affect our emotions differently than high K+ episodes. With low K+ episodes, we feel depressed and very sad. No one likes us, everyone hates us, we might as well go outside and eat worms. Ya know, depressed.

High K+ episodes make us feel A-N-G-R-Y. Like hormonal, PMS rage filled irrationality. Ya know, angry.

It really is interesting to "read" our bodies and learn how many different evidences there are for the levels of our electrolytes. Who knew?

I've had day after day of these low K+ episodes for atleast 10 days. This morning my K+ was low again. It's always a bit sad when Princess leaves for school, but on low K+ days, I just hate to see her leave. This morning it was especially hard because she is going home with a group of friends and I will not see her again until late tonight. It's at times like this that I want to keep her in a cocoon and never let her grow up. Wisdom prevails and she ventures off into her little world to learn, grow, be challenged, have her feelings hurt, laugh, tell secrets with girlfriends and generally live a full life.

If I listen to my body, I can learn what my potassium levels are like and I can take the necessary precautions. However, if I listen to my heart on days like this, I will surely be led astray. Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyone cure. Who can understand it?" Proverbs 28:26 "He who trusts in his own heart is a fool, but he who walks wisely will be delivered." So, it takes wisdom and self-control to allow life to be normal. Today Princess left for school, friends and football game. King will go dove hunting tonight. I will curl up with a book or a Jane Austen movie and eat comfort food. I will choose to rejoice when I feel sad. I miss my beloveds, especially when my K+ is low, but I know that our reunion will be sweet!

Pride and Prejudice

Over at "5 Minutes for Books" the topic is Pride and Prejudice. Alas. My heart flutters. I have been intimidated by Jane Austen for years. I thought only really brainy people read Jane Austen. Then, on a whim, I asked the King to buy me the complete and unabridged works of Jane Austen. We love to hit Barnes and Noble (aka The Library, as my toddler used to call it) on date night. This time, Jane Austen's complete works called out to me.


I read Sense and Sensibility first and finally got the hang of the language. I was right! Jane Austen is for brainy people, but those of us less endowed can still enjoy her works.


My next plunge into the Austen pool of verbosity came with Pride and Prejudice. I love these characters! I just wanted to shake some sense into Lydia and Kitty. I think being "boy crazy" is timeless. Mary is someone with whom I can completely relate. I'd much rather spend my time reflecting and thinking than traipsing off to a nearby town to gossip. And Mrs. Bennett! Where do I begin? Bless her sweet, ditzy heart. I think she truly loves her girls, but doesn't have enough good sense to value Lizzy's deep thoughts and Mary's reflections. It's all about superficiality with Mrs. Bennett: looks and boys. Jane is wonderful because she is beautiful and Lydia is beloved because she shares mom's penchant for a Red Coat.


As far is "first impressions" (as the book was first entitled), I don't think Lizzy's pride/prejudice struck me until 1/2 way through the book. I know, I'm a little slow. Watching Darcy's and Lizzy's characteristics being revealed is like watching an oceanliner turn about. It's a slow process. The passion displayed by both is really fun. I enjoy it because the King and I are so like this couple. King is not a prideful guy, but he is wonderfully passionate and strong in his convictions.


Some of my favorite lines:

Lizzy to Lady Catherine "Neither duty, nor honour, nor gratitude have any possible claim on me, in the present instance. No principle of either, would be violated by my marriage with Mr. Darcy."

Lizzy to Wickham: "But I think Mr. Darcy improves on acquaintance."

Lizzy to Mr. Bennett regarding Darcy: "I do, I do like him, " she replied with tears in her eyes, "I love him. Indeed he has no improper pride. He is perfectly amiable. You do not know what he really is; then pray do not pain me by speaking of him in such terms."

Mr. Bennett to Lizzy: "I could not have parted with you, my Lizzy, to anyone less worthy."

Alas!

Mr. Blogger is satiated. Finally. I can blog again.

So, I'm sitting here toying with the decision to post what I just read. It's so ironically funny, but posting about politics is sooo taboo. This is just funny though. I would shake my head at this regardless of who said it.

Let me preface this by saying that my logic sounds very much like this sometimes. I get caught in a loop and no one understands me. I have sympathy for this guy. I just hope he doesn't really believe what he said and can clarify what he really meant.

Ok, so I was reading the news and ran across this:
Obama: I Have More Executive Experience Than Palin ... Barack Obama contends that he is more experienced in executive matters than Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin because he has managed his presidential campaign for the past 18 months.

The rebuttal by McCain's spokesman: "For Barack Obama to argue that he’s experienced enough to be president because he’s running for president is desperate circular logic and it's laughable."

Now, I don't want to scoff at Obama, but really. The election is in 2 months! He's qualified to take on Putin and Amadenajad because he's been running for president? He can wrangle our economy because he managed campaign contributions?? Obama needs to be telling the American people some serious qualifications like ... I don't know ... actual change he has caused while an elected official. How about economic change he wrought? Any?

The sad thing is that Obama, the presidential candidate, is being compared to the other party's VICE presidential candidate. Lord, have mercy.

Hello?

Blogger ate my post yesterday. Three times. I decided to quit feeding the frenzied blog if it was so hungry. I mean, after three very long postings, you'd think the blog would be full, no?

Let's see if Mr. Blogger is still eating posts...

Extensive Reading

"... And she must improve her mind by extensive reading..." - Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice

Mom of an Only Child

I am the mom of an only child. I always thought I would have atleast 4 children. What I didn't know then is that a genetic neuromuscular disorder was lurking in my body. Periodic Paralysis would peek its head up over the years, but was never a problem ... just an annoying nuisance. My pregnancy triggered the disorder, and after years of diagnostic searching, we found out that each of my biological children has a 50/50% chance of inheriting it.

Ouch. How do you consider having another child when you know that child has a 50%/50% chance of inheriting a life-threatening neuromuscular disorder? Big, big questions have to be asked. Much, much prayer is laid in the Throne Room at the feet of Father God.

After long prayer, talks and research, we decided to have no other biological children. Talk about dying to self! My whole dream was to be an amazing wife and fun, rowdy mom to a houseful of little people! God has quietly spoken into my heart over and over of His Plan for me ... not my plan for Him. It's an ongoing lesson, learning to submit to His Sovereignty.

So, there are times when stranger's comments or "helpful" friends grieve me. Statments like, "Is she your ONLY?" "Why don't you just adopt?" Or my personal favorite, said to me when Princess was 3 or 4, "When are you due?" Ya'll. I'm not even really fat. I think I've long destroyed the outfit I was wearing on the day that question was asked!

I think it's not only disappointment that I feel, but fear. My grief is stoked by my own sinful fear. Fear of what Princess will go through as we age, fear of her early death, fear of her loneliness, fear of not being in control. Mommies love being the "go to" person. Or atleast, this mommy loves being the "go to" person. I can handle it ... whatever it is. Bring it on. But, truly, I can't handle it. Jesus, please don't "bring it on". My huge imagination creates enough "what if" scenarios that stoke my fearfulness.

Thankfully, God in His sweetness, calls me to His chest to rest and trust. He has an only child, afterall. He has watched His Son die. He will lead me in all things and in all wisdom. He is the perfect parent. I simply need to trust.

Drama

As you know, I've been reading Jane Austen recently. I have read Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and am now reading Mansfield Park.

I have come to the conclusion that drama does not go out of style. Jane Austen's characters are quite the drama queens and kings. Take Mr. Collins for example. He is the obsequiously proud character in Pride and Prejudice. After having his marriage proposal flat out refused by Elizabeth, he continues verbally fawning at her feet with the following, "I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the alter ere long." Pul-leez.

Now, on considering how the Austen characters are full of drama, I thought of the grandious words we fling around today. "That was awesome!" "It was a miracle!" "I was amazed." "It left me speechless." Ok, now come on. How many of us women are truly left speechless? We're standing there talking about it, afterall.

Drama is a good thing. It never goes out of style. As you choose your words today, consider your drama level. Are you a 4 out of 10 on the drama scale? I think I tend to be about an 8 out of 10 most days ... especially on the days I eat chocolate cake. "It was to die for..."

2 postings for August

Impressive. That's quite a blog hiatus. If I did have any readers of this humble blog, they have long trickled away. Since it's just you and me, can I ask you something?

As a writer, do you ever have those times when you sit down to your keyboard and feel so awkward? It's like I'm in jr high all over again. I've determined to ignore the mocking sound from my brain. The very brain that is supposed to be assisting me in my writing has, for the past month, teased and mocked me when I sit down to write. I have decided to persevere in this brain wrestle. I will not be mocked. I will blog, no matter how awkward the words feel to me.

Awkward. Isn't that a perfect spelling for that word? The k flanked by the w's is just awkward looking. Perfect spelling.

So, one of the things I have been doing in August is reading Jane Austen. My friends. This is no easy task. I do not speak "Austen-ese". I stopped at one point and simply counted the words in the sentence I had just read. I counted out loud so that King could be duly impressed with my undertaking of classical literature. Sixty-seven words in that one sentence. Not just any words, mind you. Words and phrases like obsequiousness and "joyful alacrity" and abhorrent and prodigiously. Jane Austen seemed to be very fond of the words "exceedingly" and "amiable". Actually, I think she was fond of words in general.

I'm hooked. It takes a while to get the hang of the language, but the joys of reading Austen are wide and deep. She had a great sense of humor.

Nothing to Say

I have not blogged because I have nothing to say. It's not that life is boring. I sit down to blog and my words come out ... weird. So, instead of writing alot, I'll just share pictures.

Have you ever seen a cuter poodle? I thought not.

Mosab Hassan Yousef

This is a long post, but very interesting ... thrilling actually. Just think: a young man responded to Christ. Not just any young man, but a Palestinian (which is the same people as the Philistines of long ago.) Not just any Palestinian, but a member of Hamas. Not just any Hamas member, but the son of the leader of Hamas. This compells me to be bold in sharing Christ. Who am I to think someone is "too resistant" to the gospel?

"Faithful is he who calls you and He also will bring it to pass." 1 Thess 5:24

Son of Hamas Leader Turns Back on Islam and Embraces Christianity
Tuesday , August 12, 2008
By Jonathan Hunt

Mosab Hassan Yousef is an extraordinary young man with an extraordinary story. He was born the son of one of the most influential leaders of the militant Hamas organization in the West Bank and grew up in a strict Islamic family.
Now, at 30 years old, he attends an evangelical Christian church, Barabbas Road in San Diego, Calif. He renounced his Muslim faith, left his family behind in Ramallah and is seeking asylum in the United States.
The story of how his life unfolded is truly amazing, whether you agree or disagree with his views. Below is a transcript on an exclusive FOX News interview with Hassan as he tells firsthand how a West Bank Muslim became a West Coast Christian.

JONATHAN HUNT: Why, after 25 years, did you change?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I believe that all those walls that Islam built for the last 1,400 years are not existing (sic) anymore. They don't recognize this. They built those walls and made people ignorant because they're afraid. They didn't want people to discuss anything about the reality of Islam, about the big questions of Islam and they asked their followers, the Muslims, 'Don't ask about those certain questions.'
But now, people have media. If the father closes the door for his daughter not to leave the house, she's going to go behind her computer and travel the world. So people easily can get information, knowledge, searching (sic) engines, so it's very, very available for everybody to study about Islam, about other religions. Not from the Islam point of view, but from other points of view.
So for the next 25 years this is for sure going to make huge change in the Muslim and the Arab world.
JONATHAN HUNT: You speak from a unique perspective, a man who grew up not just in an Islamic family but as part of an organization seen by many people around the world as an extreme force in Islam: Hamas. What is the reality of Islam? You say people don't see the reality; What is the reality of Islam?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There are two facts that Muslims don't understand ... I'd say about more than 95 percent of Muslims don't understand their own religion. It came with a much stronger language than the language that they speak so they don't understand it ... they rely only on religious people to get their knowledge about this religion.
Second, they don't understand anything about other religions. Christian communities live between Muslims and they're minority and they (would) rather not to go speak out and tell people about Jesus because it's dangerous for them.
So, all their ideas about other religions on earth are from Islamic perspectives. So those two realities, most people don't understand.
If people, if Muslims, start to understand their religion — first of all, their religion — and see how awful stuff is in there, they'll start to figure out, this can't (be) ... because most religious people focus on certain points of Islam. They have many points that they are very embarrassed to talk about.
JONATHAN HUNT: Such as?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Such as Muhammad's wives. You will never go to a mosque and hear about anyone talking about Muhammad's wives, which is like more than 50 wives — and nobody knows (this), by the way. If you ask the majority of Muslims, they will not know this fact.
So they're embarrassed to talk about this, but they talk about the glory of Islam, they talk about the victory, the victories that Muhammad made. So, when people just like look at themselves and see they're defeated, they have ignorance, they're not educated, they're not leading the world as they're expected to do. They’re think they want to get back to that victory by doing the same, what Muhammad did, but disregarding (sic) the timing. They forget that this happened 1,400 years ago and it's not going to happen again.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do they want to destroy Christianity?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Islam destroyed Christianity from the beginning and Muslims don't recognize that they stabbed Christianity (in) its heart when they said that Jesus wasn't killed on the cross. They think that they honor him in this way.
Basically, any Christians understand that this way, (but Muslims) tell Jesus, okay, we don't care, you didn't die for us. Someone sacrificed his life for you, (but) you tell him, okay, you didn't do it!
This is what Muslims are doing basically. But they don't understand that this is the most important part of Christianity: the cross!
So, they are ignorant, they don't know what they are doing and it explains what an evil idea it is behind this Islam.
JONATHAN HUNT: What specific event or events began to change your mind about Islam?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Since I was a child I started to ask very difficult questions, even my family was telling me all the time, 'You're a very difficult person and we were having trouble answering your questions. Why are you asking so many questions?' This was from the beginning, to be honest with you.
But I felt that everybody — and my father was a good example for me because he was a very honest, humble person, very nice to my mother, to us, and raised us on the principle of forgiveness, okay? I thought that everybody in Islam was like this.
When I was 18 years old, and I was arrested by the Israelis and was in an Israeli jail under the Israeli administration, Hamas had control of its members inside the jail and I saw their torture; (they were) torturing people in a very, very bad way.
JONATHAN HUNT: Hamas members torturing other Hamas members?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Hamas leaders! Hamas leaders that we see on TV now, and big leaders, responsible for torturing their own members. They didn't torture me, but that was a shock for me, to see them torturing people: putting needles under their nails, burning their bodies. And they killed lots of them.
JONATHAN HUNT: Why were they torturing people?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Because they suspected that they had relations with the Israelis and (were) co-operating with the Israeli occupation against Hamas ... So hundreds of people were victims for this, and I was a witness for about a year for this torture. So that was a huge change in my life. I started to open my (eyes), but, the point (is) that I got that there are good Muslims and bad Muslims. Good Muslims, such as my father, and bad Muslims, like those Hamas members in the jail torturing people.
So that was the beginning of opening my eyes wide.
JONATHAN HUNT: You talk about the good Muslims, like your father, yet you still now renounce the faith of your father. Could you have not been a good Muslim?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Now, here's the reality: after I studied Christianity — which I had a big misunderstanding about, because I studied about Christianity from Islam, which is, there is nothing true about Christianity when you study it from Islam, and that was the only source.
When I studied the Bible carefully verse by verse, I made sure that that was the book of God, the word of God for sure, so I started to see things in a different way, which was difficult for me, to say Islam is wrong.
Islam is my father. I grew up for (one) father — 22 years for that father — and another father came to me and told me, 'I'm sorry, I'm your father.' And I was like, 'What are you talking about? Like, I have my own father, and it's Islam!' And the father of Christianity told me, 'No, I'm your father. I was in jail, and this (Islam) is not your father.'
So basically this is what happened. It's not easy to believe this (Islam) is not your father anymore. So I had to study Islam again from a different point of view to figure out all the mistakes, the huge mistakes and its effects, not only on Muslims — (of) which I hated the values ... I didn't like all those traditions that make people's lives more difficult — but its effects also on humanity. On humanity! People killing each other (in) the name of God.
So definitely I started to figure out the problem is Islam, not the Muslims and those people — I can't hate them because God loved them from the beginning. And God doesn't create junk. God created good people that he loved, but they're sick, they have the wrong idea. I don't hate those people anymore but I feel very sorry for them and the only way for them to be changed (is) by knowing the word of God and the real way to him.
JONATHAN HUNT: Does it worry you that in saying these things — and given your background and your words carrying extra weight — there is a danger that you will increase the difficulties, the hatred between Christians and Muslims in the world right now?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: This could happen if a Christian person will go talk to them about the reality of Islam. They put Christians on the enemy list anyway, before you talk to them about Islam. So if you go to them and tell them, as a Christian, they will be offended immediately and they will hate you and this will definitely increase the vacuum between both religions — but what made someone like me change?
Years ago, years ago, when I was there, God opened my eyes, my mind also, and I became a completely different person. So now, I can do this duty, while you as Christians can help me do it, but maybe you wouldn't be able to. (Muslims) have no excuse now.
JONATHAN HUNT: How difficult a process has this been for you to effectively walk away from your family, leave your home behind? How difficult is that?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Taking your skin off your bones, that's what happened. I love my family, they love me. And my little brothers, they’re like my sons. I raised them. Basically, it was the biggest decision in my life.
I left everything behind me, not only family. When you decide to convert to Christianity or any other religion from Islam, it's not (enough) to just say goodbye and leave, you know? It's not like that. You're saying goodbye to culture, civilization, traditions, society, family, religion, God — what you thought was God for so many years! So it's not easy. It's very complicated. People think it's that easy, like it doesn't matter. Now I'm here in the U.S. and I got my freedom and it's great, but at the same time, nothing is like family, you know. To lose your family —
JONATHAN HUNT: Have you lost your family?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My family is educated and it was very difficult for them. They asked me many times, especially for the first two days, to keep my faith to myself and not go to the media and announce it.
But for me it was a duty from God to announce his name and praise him (around) the world because my reward is going to be that he's going to do the same for me. So I did it, basically, as a duty. I (wonder) how many people can do what I can do today? I didn't find any.
So, I had to be strong about that. That was very challenging. That was the most difficult decision in my life and I didn't do it for fun. I didn't do it for anything from this world. I did it only for one reason: I believed in it. People are suffering every day because of wrong ideas. I can help them get out of this endless circle ... the track the devil (laid) for them.
JONATHAN HUNT: Have you spoken to your father recently?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance to communicate with my father because he's in jail now and there is (sic) no phones in the jail to communicate with him.
JONATHAN HUNT: Have other members of your family told you how he's reacted?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They've visited him from time to time. Till this moment, I don't know his reaction exactly but I'm sure he's very sad (over) a decision like this. But at the same time, he's going to understand, because he knows me and he knows that I don't make any decisions without (believing strongly in them).
JONATHAN HUNT: Is it making his life more difficult among fellow Hamas members?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. My family, including my father, had to carry this cross with me. It wasn't their choice. It was my choice, but they had to carry this cross with me and I ask God — I pray for (my father), all my brothers and my sisters here in this church, praying all the time for them — 'God, open their eyes, their minds, to come to Christ. And bless them because they had to carry this cross with me.'
JONATHAN HUNT: Tell me about Hamas and the way it works. Is Hamas a purely Islamic religious organization as you see it, and that's where, in your eyes, its faults lie, or are there other parts of it which are a problem for you? Or is Hamas a good organization? What is Hamas to you?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: If we talk about people, there are good people everywhere. Everywhere. I mean, good people that God created.
Do they do their own things? Yes, they do their own things. I know people who support Hamas but they never got involved in terrorist attacks, for example ... They follow Hamas because they love God and they think that Hamas represents God. They don’t have knowledge, they don't know the real God and they never studied Christianity. But Hamas, as representative for Islam, it's a big problem.
The problem is not Hamas, the problem is not people. The root of the problem is Islam itself as an idea, as an idea. And about Hamas as an organization, of course, the Hamas leadership, including my father, they're responsible; they're responsible for all the violence that happened from the organization. I know they describe it as reaction to Israeli aggression, but still, they are part of it and they had to make decisions in those operations against Israel, (for) which there was the killing of many civilians.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe Israel blameless in the conflict?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Occupation is bad. I can't say Israel — I'm not against any nation. We can't say Israelis, we can't say Palestinians, we're talking about ideas. Israel has the right to defend itself, nobody can (argue) against this. But sometimes they use (too much) aggression against civilians. Sometimes many civilians were killed because those soldiers weren't responsible enough, how they treat people at the checkpoints.
My message even to the Israeli soldiers: at least treat people in a good way at the checkpoints. You don't have to look really bad and it's not about nations, it's about just wrong ideas on both sides and the only way for two nations really to get out of the endless circle is to know the principles that Jesus brought to this earth: grace, love, forgiveness. Without this, they will never be able to move on, or break this endless circle.
JONATHAN HUNT: You've seen your father jailed, you've been in prison yourself. You've seen Hamas carry out acts of terror against Israelis, and yet you say everybody needs to rise above that?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. This is the only choice. Nobody has magic power to do something for the Middle East. No one. You can ask any politician here in the U.S., you can ask any Palestinian politician or Arab politician, Israeli leaders; no one, no one can do anything. Even if they believe in peace now: they're part of the game.
They're part of the trick. They can't, even if you find a brave person, like Rabin, who was called by an Israeli to make peace with the Palestinians and give them a state, no one, even if you find a strong leader, they can't do this. You can't force an independent country to give another country independence. (Especially when) the other country wants to destroy it.
Everybody is hurt. Israeli soldiers, they lost their friends. Palestinians, they lost their children, their fathers. (There are) many people in prison still, and many people were killed. Thousands. So everybody will never forget this. If they want to keep looking to the past, they will never get out of this circle. The only way to start (is just by) moving on. They were born under the occupation as Palestinians.
The last two generations, it's not their choice. The new generations from Israel — if we say disregarding the existence of Israel is right or wrong, what's the guilt of those people who were born in Israel and they have no other country to go to? It's their country now, that's how they see it. And they are going to keep their resistance and defense against whomever. (They will) say, 'Get out of this land!' So the only way is for both nations to start to understand the grace, love and forgiveness of God, to be able to get out of this.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe that Israel can ever strike a peace deal with Hamas?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There is no chance. Is there any chance for fire to co-exist with the water? There is no chance. Hamas can play politics for 10 years, 15 years; but ask any one of Hamas' leaders, 'Okay, what's going to happen after that? Are you just going to live and co-exist with Israel forever?' The answer is going to be no ... unless they want to do something against the Koran. But it's their ideology and they can't just say 'We're not going to do it.' So there is no chance. It's not about Israel, it's not about Hamas: it's about both ideologies. There is no chance.
JONATHAN HUNT: Aren't you terrified that somebody is going to try to kill you for saying these things — which would be approved of according to parts of the Koran?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: They got to kill my ideas first, (and) that's it, they're already out. So how are they going to kill my idea? How are they going to kill the opinions that I have? ... They can kill my body, but they can't kill my soul.
JONATHAN HUNT: You're not afraid?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: As a human, you know, I can be very brave now, I'm not thinking about it at this moment and I feel that God is on my side. But if this will be the challenge, I ask God to give me enough strength.
JONATHAN HUNT: Have you been threatened?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: No, not really. Honestly, most Muslims and Muslim leaders here in the U.S. community, European communities, they are trying to get ahold of me. They are calling my famiily, my mother, and asking for my contacts. They are telling her, 'We want to help him.'
JONATHAN HUNT: They think you need help?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Yeah, they think that Christians took advantage of me, and this is completely wrong. I've been a Christian for a long time before they knew, or anyone knew. I love Jesus, I followed him for many years now. It wasn't a secret for most of the time, and this time I just did it to glorify the name of God and praise him.
They're not dealing with a regular Muslim. They know that I'm educated, they know that I studied, they know that I studied Islam and Christianity. When I made my decision, I didn't make it because someone did magic on me or convinced me. It was completely my decision.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you miss Ramallah?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: Definitely. You've been there and you know how a wonderful country (it is). Very, very beautiful. It's a very small spot and it has everything — this is why people are fighting for that piece of land. I definitely miss Ramallah. Jereusalem. The Old City.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you believe you will ever be able to go back?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: I think I belong to that land, and sooner or later I'm going to go back, no matter what. If they want to kill me, they (will) do whatever they want to do. I have a family there, they love me, they completely support me now with my decisions. Maybe they don't want me to talk to the media but they believe that I made a decision that I completely believe in. So they support me, so I love my family. I'm going to go back there again one day. I love my town.
JONATHAN HUNT: Do you think you'll ever go back to a Middle East living in peace?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: There will be a 100-person peace when Jesus comes back, when he judges everybody. His kingdom's going to be 1,000 years and it's going to be completely peaceful and it's going to be the kingdom of God.
JONATHAN HUNT: What is your basic message to any Muslim listening to this right now?
MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF: My message to them is, first of all, to open their minds. They were born to Muslim families — this is how they got Islam and this is just like ... any other religion, like growing up (in) a Christian family, or growing up (in) a Jewish family.
So my point is that I want those people to open their eyes, their minds, to start to understand and imagine that they weren't born for a Muslim famiily. And use their minds.
Why did God give them minds? Open their hearts. Read the Bible. Study their religion. I want to open the gate for them, I want them to be free. They will find a good life on earth just by following God — and they're also going to guarantee the other life.

Customer Support

Blogspot is obviously having trouble the past week. They labeled a bunch of blogs as "spam" over the weekend and now after clearing that mess, they have pasted a label on my blog "Not Updated in over 80 Days. Please Update." This is silly because my 100 blog posting was posted on Thursday. I mean, it was a long weekend, but not over 80 days. Or perhaps the BlogSpot folks had such a horribly long weekend that it seemed like it was 80 days! Bless their hearts.

On occassion, I have customers that make my day very long. Not always, as we have very nice customers on the whole. Today there is a customer who is testing my nerves. I can only imagine how the Blogger folks have been dodging the bullets this past weekend. Some of the most demanding, rude people are those who are using something for free (like Blogger). My trying customer today is one of those. He's using the trial version of the software, has not paid for it and is fairly demanding and rude. I get to be nice. No matter what. Which in turn makes me practice being nice to the blogger people.

:)