What happened to Christmas?

I am so sick and tired of the buy, buy, buy mentality that so many people have.

George Carlin does this great bit on people and their stuff.



Honestly, is that what Christmas is all about? Our church did a sermon series on

Unwrapping Christmas. Before the service started they played this video:




It's from the Advent Conspiracy web site where they pose the question,

What happened to Christmas? I encourage you to check it out.

Our minister spoke on Beyond the Feast. He brought up that fact that we all get caught up in buying products and services because of the promises that are made, but when the gadget, food, movie or other object doesn't live up to the promise we are back out there looking for more.

Those promises are never truly going to fulfill us; we gorge ourselves asking the question: is there something more? The answer is yes! There is something more, but we can't find it at Target or the grocery store. We need to use our sight, not our eyes, to guide us, to change our hearts so that we can move into action and make lasting changes in our lives. So that we can

find that lasting hope.

I call you into action, make a difference this holiday season and stop

buying all that stuff.

more green ideas

Just a quick review, for the sake of, I don't know, saving the planet. Beth Aldrich and Airwear are teaming up to make sure everyone knows that there are greener choices out there.
Some of the choices we have made are to buy locally when ever possible. If you have a fresh market in your area, you should find out what local farmers are growing. I promise that you will find a lot of healthy choices and you will also be supporting your local growers.
Another greener choice is to use cloth grocery bags when you go shopping I wrote about it here. If you will just buy one bag every time you go to the store, before you know it you won't have to use any plastic bags and you will be saving money. Yes, that right! Many local stores will reimburse you whenever you use your cloth bags.
Most recently, I wrote about using filtered water instead of bottled water here. Plastic bottles aren't not only bad for mother earth, the chemical are dangerous to our bodies too!
Another "environmentally friendly thing we do around here is to recycle.
Any and all of these choices are great. And don't forget that Airwear is using environmentally conscious practices. For example they use 100 percent recycled water and 100 percent recyclable packaging.
Oh, and for those who are plagued with noxious paint fumes, the University of Southern Miss's
polymer science department had developed an environmentally friendly paint. You can read more about it here.

Young Adult Books for Not so Young Adults

When I discovered I was pregnant with my first child I put down the books I read (mainly Anne Rice's vampire chronicles) in favor of those on pregnancy, child development and later, children's books. Several years passed, when quite by accident I happened across a blog that opened the door for me to start reading a genre of books I never would have thought I'd read, much less enjoy. I'm sure you've heard about Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. Since reading her books, I have found myself reading a number of young adult books including The Mortal Instrument series, by Cassandra Clare.

My sweet daughter decided to dress as the one of the main characters, Clary Fray, for Halloween.

Well, as you might of guessed, I didn't stop there. I have read more than a couple of young adult books that would be considered to be urban fantasy/paranormal romance in nature.

Apparently there's quite a debate over what to call this new genre of book. Urban fantasy books are supposedly set in a modern day time period and contain supernatural elements where as, paranormal romance books have to do with mythical, supernatural or what-have-you love stories. Personally, I don't care what the books are labeled as as long as they are well written and entertaining.

I have provided a list of authors and book with links so that you might find a book or two that you would enjoy reading. I would also appreciate any suggestion of books you've enjoyed.

I recently read Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater. Shiver is a wonderful book about a girl saved from a wolf attack by one of her attackers. As she grows, she becomes more and more interested in the wolf who saved her. She has an opportunity to return the favor by saving his life. That leads to having to take a second look at her own reality. Maggie has also written several books about fairies, a topic I never really found interesting until I read her first book, Lament. It has a basis in Celtic folk lore that I found interesting. You can purchase it here. I am currently reading the second in that series called Ballad.

Another book that I fell in love with was Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Hush Hush was just released last month. It is a truly a phenomenal story! I promise that Patch will make you question anything you've ever read about fallen angels. She will soon publish the second book in that series; it will be named Crescendo .

Note: There is a wonderful give-a-way going on over at Books Gardens and Dogs where you can win an ARC of Hush Hush so go forth and tell everyone you know to sign up to win!

Sarah Rees Brennan, an Irish author, wrote a wonderful book called The Demon's Lexicon that is a must read in this genre. It's about two brothers whose father was murdered and their mother was driven mad by magicians. While they are running from the demons and their magic, Alan finds himself marked by a demon. As Nick began to question his brother's honesty his world unravels. You really don't want to pass this book over. The second book in this series will be The Demon's Covenant.

Another good author to read is Holly Black. She is best known for her collaboration with Tony DiTerlizzi on the best-selling Spiderwick Chronicles. You can access her web site here. She has also written Tithe, Valiant, and Ironside, a faerie series.

Lisa McMann has a paranormal series which I found very intriguing. The first in her series is Wake, followed by Fade and soon to be released Gone. Janie has the ability to enter into the dreams of others. It's not until she starts working at a local nursing home and befriends an elderly women with similar skills, that she learns to how she can use her unusual talent. Lisa has a contest going on here where she is giving away copies of Gone. You really don't want to miss out!

Candor by Pam Bachirz provided an interesting look into what I already suspected about all these ideal neighborhoods popping up in Florida. Oscar appears to be the perfect teen, but he knows how to fight "The Message." Now he must save Nia or lose himself trying.

Other authors/books that I have on my 'to read' list include Carrie Jones' Need, Immortal by Gillian Shields, Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games, Melissa Marr's Fragile Eternity, and Evermore by Alyson Noel.

But most importantly Beautiful Creatures by Kami Farcia and Margaret Stohl is to be released December 1, 2009. Now, if you want to win a signed ARC and a plethora of other goodies you can go here and enter the contest!

Irish Beef Stew

When the weather starts to cool off I get a hankering for stew. My favorite is Irish beef stew. I have the ingredients listed below with a rough estimate of how much to use since I'm not really one to measure.

Ingredients

1/8 cup olive oil
1 - 1 1/2 pounds stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces coated in seasoned flour
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
3 pounds potatoes, peeled, cut (about 7 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons flour

water
Optional:
1 cup of Guinness beer
1 cup of red wine

I like to season my my beef with salt and pepper before I dust with a little flour. Next, I heat my oil in the skillet and brown my meat adding the garlic right at the end. Then, I add the beef stock simmering the meat for an hour before I add the potatoes, onion, carrots, and additional seasonings. I add several cups of water bring to a boil before I turn the heat down, cover, and simmer all afternoon.

Serve with sour cream and crusty bread.

Bottled Water Versus Tap Water; What's Your Choice?

Many times what is right for me and my family isn’t what is right for you and your family. And yes, it is difficult to make the right choice, but I am going to try and forgo convince for the sake of the environment. I drink a lot of water, all bottled. There are so many different thoughts on bottled water. Many people talk about the cost of buying water verses just simply drinking tap water. According to this article here “Commercially-bottled water costs $.25 to $2/bottle…[while] Municipal tap water costs less than a penny to fill a gallon jug! This article here talks about the rise in tooth decay due to the lack of fluoride in bottled water. But, I am only going to focus on two issues; one the chemicals in the bottle that may or may not harm you and two the concern for the environment.

I’m sure you’ve heard the discussions about the chemical bisphenol A (or BPA) but, if you haven’t you need to know that BPA’s a chemical found in soft/flexible plastics that has been found to leach into the food or liquids you drink when heated. Environmental Health News has an article here that explains the side effects of BPA including heart disease and diabetes. The main concern is said to be when the plastic is heated in the microwave or left in the car, but now there is a Harvard study that says BPA is also leached into cold liquids. If BPA is as dangerous whether the food/liquid is cold or heated makes me just a little nervous. If you are concerned about the BPA's in other products, the Green Guide has a great article here about what to look for when purchasing plastic containers.

Being concerned for the environmental is another reason to stop purchasing plastic drinking water.I didn’t feel so bad about my use of plastic bottles while we were collecting them to recycle, but as we found out while living in central Arkansas, no one would take our plastic for the purpose of recycling and we were forced to throw away several large garbage bags of plastic bottles. Now I don’t know what your local recycling center accepts, but you may want to find out before you dismiss the issue. Just click here and enter you zip code to find a recycling center near you.

According to this article only 12% of plastic bottles were recycled in 2003. In fact, I dare you to keep up with ALL the plastic your family uses in a week, including what you use outside the home. Put it all in a garbage bag then at the end of a week look at how much plastic your family has throw away. Now I want you to multiply that by the 112 million families that live in the United States. That’s a lot of plastic; what do you think happens to all of that plastic?

I'm a realistic individual; I know our family won’t be able to give up plastic all together. I'm just talking about taking a small step toward reducing our carbon footprint. So, we decided to buy a PuR water system.

We picked this one up at Sam's Club. It was very reasonably priced and will hold up to 18 8oz cups of water, it even came with 2 aluminium bottles. As you can tell it doesn't take up much room in the fridge.

Okay, so who's up for the challenge? Let see how many plastic bottles we can keep out of the landfill this year!

Exceptional Grace

Remember in school when you learned all the rules. Do you also remember that there are exceptions to rules; like -i before -e except after -c.?

Leviticus, the third book of the Old Testament, contains the laws; including dietary restrictions and rituals of worship, as well as details of ritual cleanliness. Many fundamentalist, people who believe in a strict adherence to the Bible, follow these laws. They live by the rules. Now, that sounds like a very reasonable thing to do; but is really?

In Acts 10: 9-16 Peter is told in a vision to not call anything impure that God has made clean. Now understand that Peter lived by the rules of only eating food that has been cleaned according to the law and now he is being told to eat this food that God has made clean. The story continues in verses 17-28 when Peter is ask to go to a Gentile's house. Jews viewed Gentiles as unclean . For Paul to enter Cornelius home he was saying the he would not call any man impure. Paul was living by the exception to the rules.

The choice is the same for us. Will we be bound by the rules of being friends with people who believe just as we do or will we be more interested in the exceptions. It is not always easy to lay down those rules that we have spent a life time following, but isn't that exactly what God is asking us to do?

I have to believe that God is up to something, and that I should ere on the side of grace. So ask yourself; are you the type of person that lives by the rules? Or are you the type that lives by the exceptions?

How Do You See The World?

When you go to a 3D movie, you have to wear special glasses or you will miss out on the special effects. No one wants to sit in the theater and watch a fuzzy picture while everyone around them is reaching out or dodging the spear aimed at the audience, but don't we do that every day?

Have you ever tried to look at a situation from someone else's perspective? It is not an easy feat. I know I usually think I'm right and everyone else is wrong, but is that really the case? Is it really possible that I am always right and everyone else is just missing the big picture? I have to admit that it is very unlikely that I know more that everyone else. I am like the individual who sits out there without the 3D glasses on wondering why everyone isn't seeing what I'm seeing.

Our sermon was about seeing things differently. Now I'm not much of a Christian praise band music lover, but the band performed Brandon Heath's song Give Me Your Eyes.

The chorus goes something like this:

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach

Give me your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see

In other words, he is asking to see through the eyes of Jesus. If you did try and do that, would you change the decisions you make? Would you change your behavior? Would you still curse that guy who cut you off in traffic if you knew that his son was being rushed to the hospital? Would you refuse to leave a tip to the waiter who spilled your soup because he was distracted by the because he's being evicted for not being able to pay his rent? Many times we miss the opportunities that are right there in front of us. Then we are faced with living with those regrets. I for one, do not want to have a life filled with regrets.

There's a '98 Gwyneth Paltrow movie titled Sliding Doors . After loosing her job Paltrow's character, Helen, has her life take two different paths because of a very small jester. In one story, her life goes on as if she made the tube. Where as in the other version, the door slide closed causing her life to take a very different path.

It can be just that simple for us too. One small event may cause our lives to take a very different path. Or better yet, we could be the one who changes another's life. We could let that guy in front of us so that he can get where he needs to be, or give that deserving waiter a decent tip and allow them to be able to pay their bills. I would like to be able to change my perspective. I want to look at those around me with love and understanding, instead of with a selfish insipid sense of entitlement.

I am going to change the way I see the world....

Sam Bradlley Live

After listened to Classic Rock for the past IDK how many years, I finally broke free of the Grateful Dead rut I was in and started listing to more modern Indy Rock music. May people who haven't known me for very long would be surprised that I had such narrow musical taste. Others, that have known me for years, can't believe how eclectic my current playlist has become. I can't contribute my recent open-mindedness to any one event, but I am enjoying the freedom to download copious amount of music on my Zune.

I have written about Sam Bradley and my love of his music before. I have also seen YouTube clips and downloaded free MP3 songs from ReverNation. I've known that he puts on shows in the Vancouver area where he lives, but being here in the deep south I seriously doubted I'd ever get to see him.




Then it happened, I read on his MySpace blog, that he was going to be in Nashville. Well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to drive a mere 350 miles to see him perform in the intimate setting of 3rd and Lindsley.

Yes, the show was incredible. Sam got on stage at 8p and played non stop for an hour. He was funny, charming and very personable.

************************************

I was also able to see him in NOLA at the House of Blues several month later, and he was just as gracious and wonderful as he was in Nashville.

tattoos are addictive!

I’ve given a great deal of thought to getting another tattoo. Now, for those of you who don’t know me, I used to say that I was only going to get one tattoo. When I was younger I got a tattoo on my left shoulder of a shaman. Ever since then I've wanted another one. I ended up putting flames around the shaman. It looks like the figure is dancing in the fire. I thought be adding the fire I hadn't actually broken my oath to only have one tattoo. For a while I considered adding a tattoo of the earth behind the fire so that it looked like the world was on fire. Then the reality of the size the earth would have to be, to be recognizable, set in and I decided against doing that. Now I’m back to the point where I still want a tattoo. If my mother is reading this her mouth is wide open and she’s saying, “NO!” but come on Mom, get over it.

Anyway the whole point is to get your input. Please help me decide which tat I should get and where I should get the it. I especially like the "tribal" type tats. The one above is the symbol for Gemini, which is appropriate. I also like the idea of something Celtic in nature.



As for location, I want it to be seen, but not all of the time. My foot maybe? Or my ankle? The nape of my neck? Any other suggestions? Some of the ideas I have are probably out of my budget, but they are so cool! Please look at the ideas below and let me know what you think. You can pause the slide show and read the label by moving your mouse over it. Remember I need an idea of where to get it and which one you like. Thanks for you input!

Moonlight

I recently posted a video of one of my favorite musicians, Sam Bradley. If you haven't hear him sing you really should. His voice is soulful and sexy. The exciting news is that he is currently in Paris cutting an album.

I also posted about a current favorite book series just last week. You must put Clarissa Clare's The Mortal Instruments books on your library list. I promise you will enjoy both of these books and don't forget book three, City of Glass, comes out this March.



Now I have to tell you about my all time favorite TV series, Moonlight. No not Moonlighting, just Moonlight. It was last seasons most highly rated show on Friday night. Sadly, CBS did not commission a second season. I understand that fans had started an internet campaign to try to bring back Moonlight. Hopes have been raised and dashed several times, but it doesn't look like we are going to see Mick St. James anytime soon.



I didn't start watching Moonlight until the second to the last episode. After watching it for the first time I about fell out of my chair. The acting was sensational and the plot line was exceptional. I can't say anything bad about this series. The DVD from the first season was release recently. I had it on the top of my Netflix query and have spent the past two weekend transfixed by Mick and Beth's relationship. There are 4 disk in the collection so give yourself time to sit back and watch. You can also check your local listing, I believe the SCI-FI is showing re-runs every Friday night, but I recommend starting from the beginning.

The Mortal Instruments Series

I know, I know I haven't posted in a coons age. Sorry but I've been a bit burned out what with NaBloPoMo and the the holidays, but I promise *fingers crossed* to make an effort.


I thought I'd take a moment and post a books series that I recommend reading. Like the last series that I read, an on-line friend recommended this book and I'm hooked. The first book in Cassandra Clare's series of The Mortal Instruments is City of Bones. I would describe this book as a science-fiction urban fantasy with a twist. Here we meet Clary a 16 year old artist going to an all-ages club with her best friend Simon. While there she witnesses three shadowhunters; Jace, Isabelle and Alec, kill a demon boy. Since she is the only one who can see the shadow-hunters, Clary begins to question her whole world. This ability to see through the glamour, and her missing mother lead her into a life she never could have imagined.



As much as she wants her life to go back to the way it used to be, the magical world of the fairies, werewolves, vampires, and shadowhunters has its hold on the young Clary. In the second book, City of Ashes, Clary continues her search for her mother, who she now knows was once a shadowhunter herself. All the enjoyable characters from City of Bones are there, ready to give you the ride of your life. And it is a ride you will truly enjoy!



The third book in the series, City of Glass is due to be released this March. I have so many questions I want answered which I won't voice since I don't want to give any spoilers away. I did, however, read a review that blew my socks off and thought I'd pass the link along to you here.

Too Far Gone

I have a new favorite song that I wanted to share with everyone. I realize my favorites change with the breeze, but this guy is really worth a listen.




If you like him you can download this song and one other here.

FEMA moving at government speed

In August of 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

Three years later FEMA's trailers still sit in Hope, Arkansas. Now there's government bureaucracy at work.

Happy Thanksgiving

Wishing all a wonderful day full of love, hope and thankfulness.

Hurry Sicknes

Are you suffering from Hurry Sickness? You can diagnose yourself quite easily.
Are you constantly focused on getting things done?
Are you preoccupied with escaping?
Does it seem that time is passing too quickly?
Do you have a constant sense of urgency?
Do you desire a simple life?
Do you have little time for love?
If you answered yes to most of these questions then you have Hurry Sickness, not to be confused with being busy. Being busy is an outward condition. Hurry Sickness is and inward condition of the soul having to do with competing priorities
So here are five thing you can do to cure what ails you.
1) slow down
2) say no
3)declutter
5) use leisure in life giving ways
To be content is not having all you want, but to want only what you have.

Are You Suffering from S.A.D.?

With Thanksgiving upon us it's the perfect time to examine what we have to be thankful for. As Americans who live in a country where we can worship freely and voice our opinions without fear of retribution, why is it that we are always complaining? I think the we are just down right ungrateful.

What does it mean to be ungrateful? The dictionary says it's being thankless. I feel like we are blind to the the blessings, we always want more I wish I had this or that. Our pastor calls that condition S.A.D. The S stands for stressed, the A for angry and the D for depressed. Look at 2 Timothy 1:3 tells us

"I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers."

If we have poisoned ourselves with S.A.D. Then what we need to do is stop blaming others and make a decision to change our attitude. Yes, it is a choice and it is up to us to stop magnifying the bad. When we put the negative parts of our life under the microscope they get distorted and we are not able to look at the big picture. So many times we say if God would just speak to me, tell me where to go or what to do, well, guess what He is speaking to us. In Ephesians 5:20 He says,

"always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

To give thanks in all circumstances, this is God's will for us. Not just when things are going well, but all the time we are to give thanks. When we focus on God's blessings we will be blessed.
If you don't believe me just look at this study here. Dr. McCollough and Dr. Emmons conducted a study on gratitude. Basically, people were divide up into several groups. One group was instructed to focus on everything that is wrong in the world while another group was instructed to focus on the goodness. The results were outstanding. The gratitude group was less angry, more energetic, determined, joyful, they exercised more and had fewer illness. I think that says a lot for what ails this country, myself include. We are all suffering from Eeyore syndrome. As you know from the old Winnie the Pooh cartoons, Eeyore was always under a cloud of misery. Let us remember that when we choose to live like that we won't be able to see sun shine through.

Have you ever wondered why people who have been raised in some of the worst circumstances rise above all of that? It's because of their outlook on life. The choices that you make not only have an effect on you, but the effect those around you. I want to use this up in coming holiday to focus on the blessings in my life. To have an attitude of gratitude. I think this simple choice will make a big difference in my life, anyone else willing to give it a try?

Beloved Pets

As I was looking through old pictures the other day I saw one of a dog I used to have. She died shortly after my husband and I were married. She got me to thinking about all the other pets I've had and how they have effected me throughout the years. I remember my parents telling me that I was afraid of dog as a little girls. They would encourage me to pet friendly dogs we encountered until I wasn't afraid anymore.

The first dog I brought home was part German Sheppard and part Collie. We named him Trouble. Now I don't know if his name was a self fulfilling prophecy or if it was just his nature, but he was trouble. I remember that he would grab hold of my shirt sleeve and lead me around the yard. He dug holes everywhere. Eventually, we gave him to someone who could handle big a dog.

One birthday I got a first poodle. She was black, but turned silver over the years. I named her GiGi after the Gayfer Girls at the old Gayfer's department store. Being an only child, that dog became my best friend and I was heart broken when she died.

The next dog I got was a poodle too. She was white and tiny as could be. I named her Giggit after the Giggit movies. She was there with me during some of the worst times of my life. She's the dog that died after my husband and I were married. I think he loved that dog more than he loved me.

We adopted Ayla shortly after Giggit died. We named her after a character in the book Clan of the Cave Bear. She's a sweetheart. Don't get me wrong, there have been times I wanted to toss her out the door. Like when she'd bark and wake the baby up or pee on the carpet. That's probably why my husband and her have such a close relationship now. He wasn't there when I had taken such care to get the baby to sleep only to have her screaming in her crib all because the dog was barking at a squirrel in the front yard. I know that she will die one day and that there will be another dog in our lives, but I just can imagine life without our Ayla.

making soap

I have always wanted to make my own soap. Many years ago, soap was made from lye and animal fats. The lye was obtained by pouring rain water through hard wood ash that had been burned at a high heat in a sort of filtering system. You can make your own filtering system out of a water tight wood barrel. You would need to put the barrel up on blocks in a remote location so that it wouldn't get knocked over. Then you would drill a hole near the bottom of the barrel and place a cork in the hole. Next, you would need to add a layer of river rock, followed by a layer of hay, then top it off with the hard wood ash. Finally, you would pour in rain water; leaving up to six inches from the top of the barrel. This would need to sit for three days. After that you could place a container under the cork and fill the container deep enough to float a potato. If the potato didn't float a quarter size piece above the water line, the solution would be too weak and you would need to either add more ash or drain all the water and pour it back through the barrel letting it sit for another 3 days. If the potato springs up, the solution is too strong and you would need to add more rain water. Remember not to use metal containers or utensils because the lye will react with metal.

For the sake of this process the lye was purchased. As you remember lye was taken off the shelves several years ago, but you can now purchase it on line specifically for soap making.

The following are all items needed to make a basic 10 pound batch of soap:

3 three pound cans of Crisco.

4 cups cold water

1 18 ounce can of 100% LYE!

large stainless steel spoon

10 qt pot for melting

9 pounds of Crisco

1 measuring cup candy thermometer

2 qt plastic pitcher Large plastic bucket (must be able to hold all the oil with room to stir)

shallow rectangular cardboard box (like the kind used to hold a case of cokes)

2 white kitchen sized plastic garbage bags

2 old thick blankets

goggles

Playtex rubber gloves

old clothes

Optional items: 1/4 cup honey 3 tbs oatmeal (finely ground)

First we measured out the lye by weight.

Next we added the lye to the water. The lye and fat need to be within 5 degrees apart between (100 and 120 degrees) Always add the lye to the water, not the other way around.

As you can see the lye heated up room temperature water to almost 217 degrees.

Next we melted the lard.

It took the lye a while to cool down, but when the two were within 5 degrees of each other we mixed them together in this large plastic container.

Once we reached trace** we added honey and oats.

You can add other essential/fragrance oils if you like.

We then poured the mixture into our box mold that we had lined with a plastic garbage bag.

At this point you must cover the soap and allow it to cure** for 24 hours.

**TERMS:

Cure time- the length of time to let the soap air dry and the water content of the soap to evaporate.

Saponification- the chemical process of making soap

Essential Oils- these are natural oils that are extracted by various means from plants and fruits to form scent. Rose Essential oil etc. These are extremely volatile and not stable when making cold process soap. They are also extremely expensive.

Fragrance Oils- these are man-made or synthetic oils. The hold up very well when used with cold process soaping. They are inexpensive and easy to use.

Lye Solution- water or milk after Lye has been added.Setting up- when the soap is left ALONE UNDISTURBED (no peeking) for 24 hours to turn solid.

Trace- refers to the stage of soap where the soap leaves a "trace" of the spoon trails. The consistency of the soap is similar to thick pancake batter.

24/7

We recently finished a study where the following question was asked: What is our purpose? I got to thinking about how we, so many times, look outside at the world to fill up that emptiness inside of us. If I have the right house or the biggest SUV or I weigh less, then everything will be okay. Why is it that we keep looking for worldly things to fill that emptiness?

Our Bible tell us that our purpose is to worship God. I don't mean for an hour on Sunday mornings. I am talking about worship that effects our whole lives. When we worship, we are to submit to Him, to pay service to Him, to glorify Him, and to make a sacrifice to Him. In Romans 12:1 Paul says that in view of all that God had done for you, you are to present your whole body as a living sacrifice. In other words, we are God's twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. What happens in that hour on Sunday morning should set the stage for every other hour in our lives.

In a recent survey, business owners were asked the simple question, how are you doing? The majority responded by stating that they were tired. I know I feel tired most of the time too. Isaiah 40:30-31 says that those who wait on the Lord will have their strength renewed.

We were asked who we serve? Do we serve God or the all mighty dollar? If I answer that question honestly, I don't like the answer. The Bible tells us that if we don't serve God then we will grow weary. But if we serve the Lord then our strength will be renewed.

So, we are to take our daily tasks and do them as service to God. We were also told that worship takes preparation. How many times have you fixed the kids lunches and laid out their clothes the night before going someplace? When we take that time to prepare for the next day things go much smoother. Worship is the same way. When our lives are all about knowing God, then we will know life. We are to worship everyday and focus on submitting to God then we will know and abundant, joy filled life.

Tee Time

My sweet boy is taking golf lessons at the First Tee. The World Golf Foundation created The First Tee back in 1997. Not only do they teach golf skills, they also teach core values. We are lucky enough to have a location here in Arkansas. Once a week for the past several

weeks our he has participated in group golf lessons.

What I really like is that he seems to soak up everything he's learning in the Life Skills classes. They teach personal and social skills including respect, integrity, good sportsmanship, self-reliance, self-control and and goal setting. So for only $50.oo a year he can be a member of the First Tee and for and additional fee he's able to participate in these classes. I am hoping to get him involved in individual classes early next year. Just think, you may be looking at a picture of the next Tiger Woods.