Get off the Boat

Jen, Finding Heaven Today, has a post on...fear which is what I call most of the unknowns in life. She talks about leaving the boat which reminds me of the card someone sent Dave and I when we bought this farm. The card showed two people, standing at a crossroads, with a sign that pointed "Normal" and "Off the Beaten Path". The couple stood at the lane that lead to "Off the beaten path" and the caption said, "George, are you sure we should do this?"

Dave used to say, "Once you get off the boat, you can never go back." He and Cathy were going to sell out, move to Hawaii and raise blood hounds except cancer changed those plans and she died. Eleven months after she died, I met Dave and he and I moved to Hawaii and lived for a while (separate bedrooms) because he needed to find his bearings. Little did either of us know it would take six years for him to regain equilibrium but he was worth every day of wait. Evidently, he thought the same of me.
We bought this farm and moved from Richmond where we'd each lived for years. It was a great decision; it taught us to rely on each other, to depend upon each other and it was the beginnings of a foundation that stood us in good stead over the years. What cemented that foundation, that trust, that love was when we began to travel. 

The first time I ever needed a passport, I was invited to teach in Russia. Thankfully, Dave decided he wanted to go and the two of us landed in the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport where we wandered around for a while. Long story short, the people who were supposed to meet us were detained...for a week...and Dave and I were on our own. The man who'd put the trip together had arranged for a car and driver; eventually, Dave and I were found and, after a phone call to ascertain it was legit, we loaded our luggage into a van with two Russians, one of whom was ex-KGB. Oh yeah, talk about fear factor -smile-. We drove for about five hours before we arrived in Yaroslavl where I was to teach first. It didn't take long for Dave and I to surmise our translator, the ABC no-neck guy as he was quickly labeled, was a severe alcoholic...by eleven o'clock in the morning! God knows what he translated that week but our reception was warm and I still correspond with some of those people we met, so it might not have been too bad. I think. 

Dave and I "got off the boat" to make that trip and it was the beginning of a lot of trips, most of them mild adventure that made for wild adventure and a lot of memories. Were we frightened? Oh yes...but we did it anyway. Like I told my mother when she had a panic attack over our going to Russia, "If God can take care of us in Virginia, He can take care of us in Russia. It's not a problem for God." In the years since, He's taken care of us, and now me, in almost thirty countries and in situations that were sometimes...tense. (Remembering here the Russian Mafia in Gori, Georgia and camping in the Moroccan Sahara Desert nine clicks from the Algerian border.) Since Dave's death, God has kept me safe in Sint Maartin and I feel confident He's also kept me safe each and every day since.

A few years ago, a friend told me she admired me and I was surprised. I asked her why and she said, "because you're not afraid of anything." Again, she surprised me and I told her, "Oh yes, I'm afraid. I'm afraid if I say "no" to God, He'll stop giving me opportunities."  Getting up in the morning takes a lot of faith and courage. How do people who don't have God in their lives manage? I mean, why bother? Life is full of unknowns; it's full of what if's and, for me, it's full of Jesus. 

I don't know what the future will bring, heck, I'm not sure what all I'm doing tomorrow but I do know my future includes Jesus. 

And that means I can step out confidently, in the direction of my dreams. What's your dream and will you join me?

Blessings ~ Dave ~ travel ~ mild adventure ~ Jesus ~ 

Sabbath Keeping

"...You, O Lord, are our Father, 

Our Redeemer from of old is Your name."

~ Isaiah 63:16 ~

"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person. He believed in me." ~ Jim Valvano ~ 

"It is a wise father that knows his own child." ~ Shakespeare ~
"To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter." 
~ Euripides ~ 

"When a father gives to his son, both laugh. 

When a son gives to his father, both cry." 

~ Shakespeare ~

"I decided in my life that I would do nothing that did not reflect positively on my father's life." ~ Sydney Poitier ~

"Dad taught me everything I know. 

Unfortunately, he didn't teach me everything he knows." 

~ Al Unser ~ 

"I would want my legacy to be that I was a great son, father and friend." 
~ Dante Hall ~ 
"To be as good as our father's, we must be better. Imitation is not discipleship."  ~ Wendell Phillips ~
"Any fool can be a father but it takes a real man to be a daddy!" 
~ Phillip Whitmore, Sr. ~

"Fathers are angels sent from heaven." ~ unknown ~

"My father didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him 
do it."  ~ Clarence Budington Kelland ~

"The most important thing a father can do for his children

 is to love their mother."  

~ unknown ~

"Fathers be good to your daughters. You are the god and the weight of her world." ~ John Mayor ~ 
"A father carries pictures where his money used to be." ~ unknown ~ 
"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong." ~ Charles Wadworth ~

"Never raise your hand to your kids. 

It leaves your groin unprotected."

~ Red Buttons ~

"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass." "We not raising grass," Dad would reply. "We're raising boys." ~ Harmon Killebrew ~
"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and son." 
~ Johann Schiller ~
"When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years." 
~ Mark Twain ~

"Don't make a baby if you can't be a father."

~ National Urban League Slogan ~

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't." ~ Barbara Kingsolver ~
"My son, a perfect little boy of five years and three months, had ended his earthly life. You can never sympathize with me; you can never know how much of me such a young child can take away. A few weeks ago I accounted myself a very rich man, and now the poorest of all." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, who, in his grief, gave us "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day". 
"Are we not like two volumes of one book?" 
~ Marceline Desbordes-Valmore ~

"This, then, is how you should pray:

"Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be your name,

thy kingdom come,

thy will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,,

the power and the glory."

~ Matthew 6:9-15 ~

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept one week, then we begin again.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Mildred ~ Kim ~ Sandra ~ Townsend family ~ Dustin ~ Quesenberry family ~ Timi and family ~ Maggie ~ Lillian's family and friends ~ persecuted Christians ~

Ponder This

Someone said, "My idea of hell is the thought that I have to live in the world you seem itching to put together."

"We have become increasingly an audience waiting to be entertained. Never before have we been able to live in a world with so many forms of unreality."

"There are times we need to be protected from the seduction of eloquence."

"Beware of the emphasis of advertising and other liberal media. They are becoming the creators of our moral ethic."

"Sometimes I feel I have set sail on the Sea of Ambiguity, in the good ship Mediocrity, to the port of Wishful Thinking."

"It's not only later than you think,

 it's sooner than you expect."

"A fanatic is someone who redoubles his efforts long after he has forgotten his aim."

"He had such an ego problem; he was always having a group portrait taken of himself."

"She was one of those people who gave out of things to say long before she stopped talking."

"He has the ability to use fine phrases that have no meaning."

"She had a really dully personality. In fact, she could brighten up any room just by leaving."

"Things are not crucial to life."

"The more complicated life becomes, the more necessary it is to see that our priorities are right."

"My great concern is not that you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure."

"The average person will go to great lengths to avoid hard thinking about serious issues. We allow some unknown columnist, commentator or celebrity to tell us what to think."

"Violent behavior is an expression of failure. It always takes more brains, resourcefulness and heroism to make peace than war."

"If you do what you've always done, 

you'll get what you've always gotten."

"Many people go through life riding the gaily painted prancing horse of a merry-go-round. The motion and music may be fun, but they discover that after many revolutions they have gone no where."

"She was born ignorant and has been losing ground ever since."

"Life is a one-way street and you're not coming back."

"Tact is the art of recognizing when to be big and when not to belittle."

"To keep solvent, pay as you go, and, if you can't pay, don't go."

"The kind word that fails today, may bear fruit tomorrow."

"Life is short and we're one breath closer to the end."

We must never forget the responsibility knowledge brings. There are a few core ideas that define what it means to be an American. They are:

*individuals are responsible for themselves, their behavior and actions and for their own happiness.
*individuals have rights essential to the pursuit of happiness.
*government can properly promote only the general welfare of citizens, not the welfare of special and particular groups.
*government exists to secure our rights, not to create and deliver us happiness.

Blessings ~ our right to make our own happiness ~ the U.S. Constitution ~ freedom from debt ~ the ability to learn ~

Sabbath Keeping

"Call to me and I will answer you 

and tell you great and unsearchable things 

which you do not know."  

~ Jeremiah 33:3 ~

"Rules are for the obedience of fools and the guidance of wise men."
~ Douglas Bader ~
"Immaturity if the incapacity to use one's intelligence without the guidance of another."~ Immanuel Kent ~ 

"Men give advice. 

God gives guidance." 

~ Leonard Ravenhill ~

"For hundreds of millions of Americans who believe in God, prayer is our bridge between Earth and Heaven, our way of opening our heats to the Lord. Through this intimate relationship we find peace and guidance." ~ Nick Rahall ~ 
"The Bible tells us that a sparrow does not fall without God's notice. I know he will help us meet our responsibilities through his guidance." ~ Michael Cardone ~
"Do not assume that divine guidance flows only when you are in need of help. Guidance continues to flow whether or not you have problems. It transcends problems, heartbreaks, and traumas, flowing through dreams and illuminations. ... Whether guidance comes during times of tranquility or trauma, however, it is up to you to have the courage to acknowledge it." ~ Caroline Myss ~
"Discipline is a symbol of caring to a child. He needs guidance. If there is love, there is no such thing as being too tough with a child. A parent must also not be afraid to hang himself. If you have never been hated by your child, you have never been a parent." ~ Bette Davis ~ 

"The path to guidance is one of love and compassion, 

not of force and coercion."

~ anonymous ~

"Parenthood...it's about guiding the next generation...and forgiving the last."
~ Peter Krause ~

"Instead you ought to say, 

"...If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

~ James 4:15 ~ 

If you'd like a name added to the prayer list, please let me know. Names will be kept for one week then we begin anew. Around the world, people are praying.

Prayer Keeping ~ Maxine ~ Jim ~ Greg ~ Pam ~ Kim ~ Sandra ~ Quesenberry family ~ Timi and family ~ Emma ~ Jeremy ~ persecuted Christians ~ 

What's Your Excuse?

Adam was a liar

Noah was a drunk

Abraham was too old

Isaac was a daydreamer

Jacob was a liar

Joseph was abused

Moses stuttered

Gideon was afraid

Samson was a womanizer

Rahab was a prostitute

Jeremiah was too young

David was an adulterer

Elisha was suicidal

Isaiah preached naked

Jonah ran from God

Naomi was a widow

Job went bankrupt 

John the Baptist ate bugs

Peter denied Christ

Zacchaeus was too small

Paul was too religious

the disciples fell asleep

Martha worried

Timothy was too young

Lazarus was dead

the Samaritan woman had many failed marriages

What's your excuse?

Blessings ~ great examples ~ God's grace, mercy, love, patience ~

What Could Go Wrong?

Have y'all been following the latest on the NSA (National Security Agency), FBI, Obama and Verizon? Or, Obama, NSA and Skype, Facebook, Gmail, AOL, Apple, PalTalk, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo? In my opinion, the Constitution has been trampled on by all President's since before I've been voting. Oh sure, they've all had such good reasons...war, terrorism, peace, profit...the list makes me gag. It's like saying there's a war on drugs. Dave used to say, "The more times someone says something the better the likelihood it's all a lie." Have we heard the truth in our lifetimes? I submit the answer is NO, unless you've been reading your Bible. Orders have been issued to invade privacy, ignore Constitutional rights and now that they're being found out, the spin cycle is in action.

The Washington Post reports that PRISM, in place since 2007, is a direct invasion of our privacy AND A FELONY except, until yesterday, the public knew nothing about it. Seems we believe Microsoft when they state, "we respect your privacy". Ummm, what privacy would that be, Microsoft, because you were the first to sign up for information mining with PRISM. 

You think because you're a liberal, voted Obama and "aren't doing anything wrong" you're safe? Or do you think you're safe because  your mobile phone supplier isn't Verizon? Think again, poppet, because denial isn't a river in Egypt. This information is either being gathered, or in process of being gathered, from ALL communications companies.

For years, Natural News and InfoWars have reported on data mining, information gathering and our Constitutional Rights being trampled. Obama is good with all this and says, "secret NSA surveillance is a critical tool in protecting the nation from terrorist threats" as reported in The Guardian. The Democratic chair of the Senate intelligence committee, Dianne Feinstein, said the Verizon court order has been in place for seven years. "People want the homeland kept safe," she says and I add, "Yes, safe from YOU and your ilk."

Lest you think I'm anti-Democrat (which I am) you must also know I'm anti-Republican. The cretins have sold us out and there's not a man, or woman, among them who won't sell their eternal soul for filthy lucre which, news flash, they won't be taking with them when they go to hell. Or heaven should such a miracle happen.

Bush and his minions put The Patriot Act into action and it's been used since to commit felonies, ignore the Constitution, run rough shod over We, the People and, IWB (idiots we be), we've been allowing it. Republican Jim Sensenbrenner is "troubled" by the revelations of the Guardian. Sensenbrenner is also one of the authors of The Patriot Act and now the chickens are coming home to roost. He says he's written Eric Holder, Attorney General (hasn't he resigned yet?) to question "if US constitutional rights were secure." 

HELLLLLLO, let me help you with that, Jim. No, our rights are NOT secure because the Constitution is no longer secure and it's due, in part, to YOU and everyone who signed on with Bush's The Patriot Act. Rarely, are the ACLU and I in accordance but in this instance, we're on the same page. According to the Guardian article, the deputy legal director at the ACLU, Jameel Jaffer said, "From a civil liberties perspective, the program could hardly be any more alarming. It's a program in which some untold number of innocent people have been put under the constant surveillance of government agents.
"It is beyond Orwellian, and it provides further evidence of the extent to which basic democratic rights are being surrendered in secret to the demands of unaccountable intelligence agencies." 

The Guardian article states Verizon gives to government spy agencies *the phone number of both people on the call, *the geographic location of the Verizon phone user, *duration of call, and *unique identifiers which allow the phone to be tracked. 

This information may be used by the NSA to reveal *your name, *home address, *social security number, *driver's license number, *credit history, *employment and *criminal history.

People, these are felonies and Obama says, "it's justified". The abuse of power is rampant and justified by our elected officials. David Rockefeller, Bilderberg member, said, "We are on the verge of a global transformation. All we need is the right major crisis and the nations will accept the New World Order." For more about the Bilderberg organization, see here, here and here.

Dear God. Have mercy. 

Blessings ~ GOD, He's our only hope ~

P. S. Vic, MonkeyWrangler, says check into the following for encrypted information and storage: Moxie Marlinspike's TextSecure and Red Phone are now operating as Whisper Systems. Also, PGP now GnuPG. 

P.S. 2 Moxie Marlinspike's recent article speaks to insecure communication, tools such as Red Phone and someone in Saudi Arabia who seeks assistance with a "surveillance problem". Marlinspike is light years ahead of me in the high tech department (for one thing, he helped write the code for Twitter) and I don't claim to understand 80% 90% of what he's saying. I do, however, understand enough to know I don't like this brave new world. I don't like it a'tall.

The Harley Biker

~ Levi Lily, my lion ~

A Harley biker is riding by the Washington, DC zoo when he sees a little girl leaning into the lion's cage. Suddenly, the lion grabs the girl by her jacket and tries to pull her inside his cage! The biker jumps off his Harley, runs to the cage and, with a power punch, hits the lion on the nose.

The lion jumps back, letting go of the girl, and the biker returns the child to her terrified parents. A reporter, watching everything, tells the biker, "Sir, that was the  bravest thing I've ever seen!" 

The biker replies, "Well, it was nothing, really, the lion was behind bars. I saw a child in danger and acted as I felt was right."  

The reporter says, "I'm a journalist and tomorrow's paper will have this story on the front page. What do you do for a living and what political affiliation are you?"

The biker replies, "I'm a Marine and a Republican."

The following morning's newspaper headlines read:

U.S. MARINE ASSAULTS AFRICAN IMMIGRANT

 AND STEALS HIS LUNCH

which, pretty much, sums up the media's approach to news these days.

Blessings ~ Levi Lilly ~ humor ~ laughter ~ U.S.Marines ~