Teabag wasteland

Dust mites. I'm agin' 'em. They are the little varmits that have been bothering my Amy. I don't like 'em. I don't like 'em a bit. Ever since we've returned from allergy testing last week, I've waged war against them. I swiffle everything - ceilings, walls, floors, vents. You name it, I swiffle it. We bought a spray that's supposed to eradicate 'em - so I spray and vacumn. Now Amy has a bed cover so the bed bugs don't bite. We'll keep fighting, but I'll wager that there are still a few lying around.

Amy dear is on a yeast-free/sugar-free diet for a while, too. Any of you who know Amy can imagine how hard that is on her. Pat, pat, pat. She is also allergic to our cat, Marius. And moldy things, too. It goes without saying that we have joked quite a bit lately. I had the uncontrolable giggles when I made Amy some special pizza with homemade whole wheat flour and real pulverized tomatoes. Wish I had photographed that. It was hilarious.

Soon wild ideas start to flutter through one's head inventing imaginary moldy, sugery, yeasty beasties everywhere. (Did I just say, "yeasty beasties"?)

Just look at these teabags.














Don't they look exactly like the perfect habitat for mold? And what if a cat happened to walk by. ::involuntary shutter:: Need I say more?

Why do we have such a collection of teabags? you ask. Finals week. Well, that's my excuse. Canny contributed at least half of these bags, and I don't know what her excuse is. Comfort food I suppose.

I even have Rob contributing to the depleted teabags around here. We have a cup together almost every afternoon. He's thinking about switching from Apple-Cranberry herb tea to Green Tea even though green has some caffeine. What do you think he ought to do? I told him, "Heck, I drink Green Tea all evening long and it doesn't bother me."

We're wild and crazy. I know.

A day made just for you

I’m sure preachers are always trying to present familiar topics in a fresh way. Pastor York succeeded in doing just that today. Based on the Bible, he presented the principle that we should observe the Sabbath as a special day unto the Lord. His approach brought together supporting arguments that I hadn’t previously thought about.

We always have an outline on the back of our bulletin that can be used to aid in our understanding and retention. Here’s what I jotted down - for what it’s worth.

Intro. – Story about a credit card commercial shown during the Olympics about identity theft.

We might laugh at an “identity theft” commercial, but not if we are a victim.

One of the greatest lies foisted upon the church that has stolen her identity is that the fourth commandment is abolished.

Receive joyfully what God Himself gave to you!

I. God made the Sabbath so you can cease from your labors.

Man’s life is to be filled with activity. Even in the Garden – they were busy. God ceases from work on the 7^th day and man should too. When God completes His work, He just enjoys looking at what He’s made. We should follow His example and enjoy the goodness of His hand. We should remember that He is the Creator.

A seven-day week is not the result of a natural solar or lunar cycle like a 24-hour day or the seasons. The seven-day week is a gift from God. God has given us carefully defined boundaries, but sometimes if we go outside God’s boundaries and wander into worry or self-seeking pleasure, we begin to lose our identity.

II. God made the Sabbath so you can rest in your Redeemer.

In the Bible, the 10 commandments were given twice in their entirety. The wording of the fourth commandment brought out different applications each time. The first time in Exodus 20 helped the children of Israel remember the created order. The second time in Deuteronomy 5 helped them remember their great redemption from slavery.

As we study the word “Sabbath” in the New Testament, we see that it was a busy day for the Lord Jesus. In the gospel accounts, the Sabbath is the day that Jesus is the busiest. As opportunities present themselves, we can follow His example by spending some of the Sabbath in acts of mercy.

We also see that the very day that Christ was resurrected was the day that God instituted the Christian’s new Sabbath Day > the Lord’s Day. Pentecost also came on a Sunday.

The church is weak because we don’t come together to celebrate the Lord’s resurrection as we should.

III. God made the Sabbath so you can be holy in your conduct.

This day is to be set apart. A paraphrase from BB Warfield goes something like, “We don’t serve God by doing the same thing all the time.” Righteous things done at a wrong time are sinful, i.e. cheering for your kid at a basketball game is good – cheering for your kid at an orchestral performance is bad.

Spend time in worship. Heb. 4:9, “There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.”

Conclusion – Hold up both hands.
Rhetorical question:
Which finger do you want to have cut off?
Therefore,
Which of the Ten Commandments do you want to cut out?

Valentine's day

My husband surprised me with a special Valentine dinner! Good thing my trusty cell phone has a camera!

Here's how it all came about. We were scheduled to have a weekly bible study with some friends that evening so I didn't think anything about it when Chili told me that it would be scheduled an hour earlier than usual. I arrived at the Mission and waited with him in his office. I didn't think anything fishy was going on when he kept having to leave to "check on things." As I sat with my back to the door, he kept looking out the door behind me and making affirmative gestures. I sat, clueless, babbling on.

Then he arose and led me down the hall to the conference room where we have the bible study. He opened the door to a dark room, and my eyes were drawn to a couple of candles on a table.



The scene slowly sunk into my brain as I processed what I was looking at. One end of a long table was set with a intimate candlelit dinner. I don't exactly remember how I reacted. I think it was a mixture of jubilant exclamations and hugs.








Here's how it looked for a minute with the lights on.












Aaaah ... life is gooooood ...















A little bubbly? Mmmm, grape sparkling water!














Here's my food brought in from Olive Garden - it was a chicken dish (of course).
















And Chili's was a shrimp dish.














It turned out that Patty Tegeler and her girls did the fetching and decorating, but it was all my dear hubby's idea.

Great husband,

good friends!

A couple of things

Candace has been accepted into the prestigious University of Glasgow. She sent in a long application for an overseas study program indirectly through Indiana University via Butler University. There were no guarantees whether she could get into the highly competitive U. of G., but she did. Now she will receive more specific information. We still have a few issues to work through with the Scottish university. So we're not totally sure where the Lord would have Candace attend college this next year, but we are thrilled that the possibility of attendance at such a famous university remains an option. Way to go, Canny!

Amy and I spent all yesterday morning at an allergy clinic in Indianapolis. The Lord showered us with His great love and care as we got to spend the entire time (3 hours) with a very sweet and knowledgeable allergy specialist. This lady carefully injected Amy with 52 different solutions under her skin and gauged the reactions. As we waited the 15 minutes between each round, we visited with this sweet spirited lady who after finding out that we were about to enter into the ministry in Scotland professed her belief in Christ. Of course, she was very attendant to what she was doing with Amy, and she was extremely knowledgeable about steps we could take to help cut down the external and internal conditions that were causing her allergies. We also talked about our families and about politics. She told me about this website. Check out www.stophernow.com if you want to know about that part of our conversation. :-)

Gotta get ready for school now since Tuesday is my busy day with two Latin classes and a English Grammar/Writing class. I was just thankful to God this morning and wanted to share that with you.

Ben's work

Watch out everyone. Ben drives. Well never without me. The good news for me and anyone who happens to be in his way is that he's pretty good at it. We did the parking lot practice the first two times then he graduated to a quiet street and now he drives me to the bank and library and anywhere else I need to go.

Sometimes if Ben's not driving me around, he rides with Amy as her bodyguard. Like this morning she had to take him with her when she went to pick up some little friends for the annual Walk a Mile in My Shoes event for the Rescue Mission. She has to take him with her when she goes shopping at night, too.

Even Canny has to procure his services when she goes out of town to the Layfayette Fire Side Chats. Although this Sunday night she'll take Amy with her instead. Amy can look really intimidating to bad guys when she wants to (or is that just timidating?)

His dad needs Ben around when he hankers for a game of foosball. He rustles up another rowdy opponent like himself. You couldn't have doubted that a game was going on in our house this very morning.

Last night, Ben had to go with me to the bad part of town where the Yorks live to borrow "Apples to Apples." This shady form of entertainment is a board game that causes those who play it to talk with loud and rapid voices. Just ask my girls and their friends (and Ben of course).

Sounds fishy to me. But that's Ben's work.

The crowning glory

As a memory aid, I want to jot down some points I remember from today's sermon.

Title: Restoring the Masterpiece (Gen. 1:26-31)

Intro - Story of the theft of the valuable painting, "The Mona Lisa" from the Louvre Museum in Paris. (Application: We are created in the Image of God and that image has been shattered as the result of the Fall but not wiped away permenantly.)

I. The Image of God in Man defined: Man is the crowning glory of God's creation. Since we are created in the Image of God, it is our capasity and our duty to serve God and love people.

II. The Image of God in Man shattered: Luther believed erroneously that the Image of God in Man was completely lost in the Fall, but fallen man still retains the Image of God like a shattered mirror. The reflection is distorted.

III. The Image of God in Man has been redeemed: I Cor. 15:49

IV. The Image of God in Man realized: Since we were going to come to the Communion Table, we were reminded that as we partake of the meal, we proclaim the Lord's death until He returns.

Amen.



Nota Bene:

After a wonderful service and a special time around the Lord's Table, we enjoyed a wonderful fellowship lunch with everyone.

I visited with a friend from the Elkhart congregation for a while this evening.

Then I led her over to the Fishers and picked up our kids (including my Amy) who had been away all weekend at a youth conference for juniors and seniors in high school. Amy had a blessed time of which I'm thankful.

We'll see Josh in less than two weeks!

Just wanted to share my Sunday with you. Have a great week!