Help me! My son just brought home another pet. That, in itself isn't why I need help. Here's why: we now have 2 male dogs, 2 male cats, 1 male iguana, and 1 male rat. Top that off with 2 sons living at home and a husband. I am surrounded by males!!! This is getting mighty scary! The males outnumber the females nine to one!

OK, let's take a look at the good side..... hmmmmm....... well........ hmmmmm.........

I didn't get this updated yesterday. It's not that I didn't try. I sat and tried to think of something to put here and all I could think about was the greed and rudeness I had witnessed the night before in trick-or-treaters and their parents. I don't want to dwell on it and I don't want to go into detail.

I probably had around 125 trick or treaters since that is how many Christian tracts I figure I passed out. The seeds have been planted. Now, Lord, send the rain!

I kept all the back up from all my pages on a zip disk. My zip drive makes some weird noises sometimes so when I heard a new, weird noise I didn't think much about it. It went on for a while and then I began to have difficulty accessing the files. I just figured I needed a new drive.

It was the disc itself!! I couldn't open complete files any more. Oh NOOOO!!! I prayed that God help me get the files off that disc. I copied them to my hard drive. It kept locking up. I knew God wanted me to have this online ministry, so He must also want me to have a complete back up. It's not just a back up, I am always adding or changing things and I need to have those files to do that. I prayed with stronger faith and.....all the files but one copied. That one I was able to recreate very easily. HALLELUJAH!! Thank you my wonderful Father!! I have another story about faith if you are interested. It is called, "Nothing Wavering."

Link to the 11/2/99 Bible study.

The weather around here is getting scary. Well, scary might not be the right word. Maybe totally unpredictable or hard to understand or not normal or annoying might better describe it. Last week we were in 90+ degree weather (which had been pretty consistent for the most part since APRIL!) and now, all of a sudden, it is raining and cold. What happened to the transitions between seasons? The weather is getting more and more unstable!

This just might be a small way that God is trying to get our attention. He is the only thing that is stable and totally dependable. When I say the only thing I mean THE ONLY THING! We can't rely on even our own selves to be stable and totally dependable. Think about it! How many things in your life are you able to lean upon and know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you can depend on them?

I read a life changing book this weekend. It is called The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney. Have you ever felt like there is sooooo much more about having a relationship with God than you could ever know or imagine? Have you ever felt like you were chasing a rainbow in your seeking to know Him better? Well, you will be encouraged and inspired to reach for greater heights in your relationship with the Lord when you read this book! It is awesome!

It is for people who want to get closer to God regardless of the cost. Are you a God Chaser? Are you continuously seeking Him? If so, this book is for you. If you can't find it in your Christian bookstore you can find it at one of the links I have on my shopping page.

Oh oh oh, it is soooo hard to keep my thoughts and my heart toward God when I am around people who are not Christians! I can't walk as they walk! I can't talk as they talk! I must, I must, I must keep my mind in the heavenlies!! I must be a light in the midst of darkness! I must be a window through which people can see Him! Oh, my heavenly Father, I need your help! My flesh is so very weak! Help me to live in the Spirit!

Link to the 11/8/99 Bible study.

I'm sure you've heard where someone's life "flashed before their eyes" when they were in a near-death experience. I'm in a similar mode only it is the WEEKS that are flashing before my eyes. It seems every time I blink another week has flown by! I can't believe that Thanksgiving is almost here!

People look at me as if I'm crazy when I tell them that I'm busy. People who have a 40-hour a week job don't understand how someone who doesn't could be busy! Gosh, I don't even have time to do things around the house that need to be done. I finally took the time yesterday to work on getting my ironing pile down to a manageable size at the expense of other things that need doing. OK, enough whining, I've got work to do! :^)

Are you a God seeker? Do you feel there is more to having a relationship with God than what you have? Are you combing the Bible looking for morsels to feed your appetite for Him? Welcome to the club!

Allow me to offer you some encouragement. There is so much about God that we will never know or understand. There is so much more than what we are currently experiencing that we CAN experience! There is so much more that He wants to do here on earth through us. He wants to touch us as much as we want to be touched. He wants to commune with us as much as we want to commune with Him! He is willing and He is able. He is reaching out to us. Any shortcomings are on our end.

The main problem is our sinful nature. Yes, Jesus died that our sins be removed. However, examine your life. How repentant are you? Be honest because you cannot fool God as easily as you can fool yourself. How much pride, self-centeredness, and all-around "self" do you have? God requires sacrifice as He did in the Old Testament and as was required of Jesus in the New Testament. Think about what is involved in a sacrifice. It is not partial; it is complete. The sacrificial animal had to die and Jesus had to die, not partially....completely!

In order for you to gain entrance into the Holy of Holies you need to die. I'm not talking physical death. I'm talking about a spiritual death, a death-to-self. Check out this week's Bible study. It goes into a little more detail on this subject.

As you leave here, keep this in mind: You might be the only opportunity that some people have to experience God. Keep your mind and heart full of Him so you will be prepared!

My family would be grateful for your prayers of peace and strength. One of our dogs died today. He was 11 years old. He gave us a lot of love and we miss him. Thank you!

Link to the 11/15/99 Bible study.

Are you going to be having your Thanksgiving dinner with non-Christians? Perhaps you should begin praying for the right words and offer to give the Thanksgiving prayer that day. After all, God knows the exact word or words that will speak to someone's heart. You can offer yourself up to be that vessel that is used to speak those words!

Remember, Thanksgiving is not about eating a lot, watching football on TV, and napping!! It is a day set aside to give thanks to our Lord in heaven who loves us dearly. Do you have anything for which to thank Him? How about the very air you breathe? How about for that healthy arm, hand, heart, nose, or jaw? You can think of quite a few things if you dedicate yourself to it!

Well, the high school football team my husband coaches is going on to its second week of playoffs. That means that my job as a coach's wife and as a booster mom (my son is on the team) goes on and on. Between that and the band booster club I just don't seem to be able to catch up on living! The two things that are the worst are that I don't have enough time to spend more time with the Lord and I haven't been able to exercise.

Lately I've felt like my spiritual life has been on hold. I get up early each morning to spend time with the Lord, and I've not been able to focus on Him. When I pick up my Bible I don't feel the burning desire to absorb it like I used to feel. When I pray I feel like I am disconnected.

This is one of two things. It might be satan trying to distract me from my relationship with the Lord. The other, and more likely thing is that the Lord is preparing me for something or is removing something from my life that displeases Him.

Either way I have to stay focused on what I know to be truth and not begin to question the things I know to be true. I have to stand on the solid ground that I know is there, even though I can't bring it clearly into focus right now. I must not stop trying to read the Word even though it doesn't feel as alive as it has in the past. I must not discontinue my praise and worship even though I don't feel like it. I must never forget that God is always by my side even though I cannot see, hear, smell, or touch Him.

This situation is only temporary and I have to stay focused on what is beyond it!

Thank you for your prayers and kind comments about us losing our dog. I haven't had the time to slow down and really grieve yet. I've been trying to spend time with our other dog. He was a stray we took in about two years ago. He misses his pal, maybe as much or more than we do! If you wrote, I'm sorry if I haven't had time to write back to you. My email is stacking up just like my regular mail! Sigh!

"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus." (Rev 22:20) (Do you think now would be too soon??)

Link to the 11/23/99 Bible study.

Well, football season is over for this family. The team lost in the second round of playoffs. Fortunately, the awards assembly isn't until January. Otherwise, as an active member of the booster club, I would have to be getting ready for that!

Band marching season is winding down, too. They have one more field show this coming Saturday. Then they have a whole bunch of long practices the week before New Year's because they've been invited to march in the ROSE PARADE!! Isn't that cool? I'm not sure of the details yet, but I know they are marching.

I thought my hubby was going to put up the Christmas lights yesterday. I washed the blinds and the windows in the front of the house. The Christmas lights light up the windows and if they are dirty it is very noticeable. The lights aren't up yet, but the windows are ready!

I've got to start bringing my Christmas decorations down from the attic. (At least I can get them myself this year. My husband put a floor in our attic and a pull-down stair thing. It is terrific! No more up and down the ladder to get things out of the garage rafters! This is so much easier!!) It is so hard to believe that Christmas is almost here! Where has the time gone??

Today I want to work in my garden a bit. I have to get a few things planted for spring harvest. Hopefully I'm not too late.

I also have to be planting the Word in my head. I have found that by reading my Bible through over and over I have planted quite a crop. The more I read the more it all comes together. I have locked in on quite a few truths and am continuously locking in on more. I still can't go directly to the "address" of scripture but I know it's there. It is like a stew in my head. It is all mixed together, but not so much that I can't taste the individual ingredients!

Oh, dear, how funny!! I just read this over and I have gone from my garden, to a garden in my head, to stew in my head!Oh, my, too funny!!

Did you have a thankful Thanksgiving?

Link to the 11/29/99 Bible study.