hungry sinners or pharisees

i love helping at alpha. there are a couple of hungry people in my group and i just love them and i just want to love them to Christ. they find it hard to believe that Jesus could love them as much as He does. they find it hard to believe that they could be forgiven for their many sins. i love talking to them. i love telling them how much Jesus loves them. i love telling them they are precious, beloved children of God. i love telling them that there is absolutely nothing that they have ever done that Jesus won't forgive them for. i just love telling them about Jesus. i can see Him at work in their lives and i get so excited and am so happy for them.

they are going to be more blessed than others in the group because they know they are sinners and Jesus came to save sinners just like them.

it's the others i can't reach that remind me of the pharisees. they are not hungry, they are not searching, they are closed-minded to what Jesus is trying to teach them and what He is offering them.

prayer

Heavenly Father rescue me from the misery of blaming others for my sin. Help me to admit my own guilt and to bring it to you for forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Amen.

husbands

years ago i had asked God for a husband but for the past few years i have vacillated between wanting one and not wanting one. and God isn't going to give us something we're not even sure we want. i know i don't need a husband because God fills that place in my heart.

years ago i thought i was in love with a man that talked about God and the bible. i could listen to him for hours. it used to stir my senses listening to him. i have a friend that knows the bible very well and i realized yesterday that that turns me on. it opened my eyes to a new truth, one that i knew but had never really applied it to myself.

i have always looked at man's outward appearance but God looks at the heart. we each have a favourite 'thing' we look at in a person. i notice eyes and hands, some people notice smiles, others notice ears or noses.

when i lived in costa rica and invited the youth on saturday nights to come to church they would say they weren't dressed for it. i told them God didn't care what they looked like He just saw their hearts.

thinking about how this friend talks about God and the bible made me realize i don't really care about eyes or hands i just care about a person's heart for God and their relationship with Him. age difference never meant anything to me but a person usually has their stereotypical opposite in mind, ie tall, dark and handsome. but i have to admit listening to this friend talk about God and the bible really stirs my senses.

the beauty of math

Is this a God thing or what?

Maybe math/physics really is related to seeing the patterns of music.

After all, great musician's have always claimed that it is!

Beauty of Math!

1 x 8 + 1 = 9
12 x 8 + 2 = 98
123 x 8 + 3 = 987
1234 x 8 + 4 = 9876
12345 x 8 + 5 = 98765
123456 x 8 + 6 = 987654
1234567 x 8 + 7 = 9876543
12345678 x 8 + 8 = 98765432
123456789 x 8 + 9 = 987654321

- - - - - - - - - - - -
1 x 9 + 2 = 11
12 x 9 + 3 = 111
123 x 9 + 4 = 1111
1234 x 9 + 5 = 11111
12345 x 9 + 6 = 111111
123456 x 9 + 7 = 1111111
1234567 x 9 + 8 = 11111111
12345678 x 9 + 9 = 111111111
123456789 x 9 +10= 111111111

- - - - - - -

9 x 9 + 7 = 88
98 x 9 + 6 = 888
987 x 9 + 5 = 8888
9876 x 9 + 4 = 88888
98765 x 9 + 3 = 888888
987654 x 9 + 2 = 8888888
9876543 x 9 + 1 = 88888888
98765432 x 9 + 0 = 888888888

Brilliant, isn't it?

And look at this symmetry:

1 x 1 = 1
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111=12345678987654321

Now, take a look at this...

101%

From a strictly mathematical viewpoint:

What Equals 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?

Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%?

We have all be en in situations where someone wants you to GIVE OVER 100%.

How about ACHIEVING 101%?

What equals 100% in life?

Here's a little mathematical formula that might help answer these questions:

If:

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.

If:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K

8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

And:

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E

11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But:

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E

1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

THEN, look how far the love of God will take you:

L-O-V-E-O-F-G-O-D

12+15+22+5+15+6+7+15+4 = 101%

Therefore, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that:

While Hard Work and Knowledge will get you close, and Attitude will
get you there, and it's the Love of God that will put you over the top!

philippines

march 28 i am going to the philippines for 2 weeks with manna ministries, people i have met at northview. they have planted churches there and just go to show God's love to people that don't know Him. they said that the filipinos are amazed that white people would travel so far just to tell them about God.

it all just came together yesterday. i had been talking to their son at alpha 2 weeks ago saying that i had been checking out their website and that i'd like to go to the philippines and he said they were going in a month.

they asked what talents i had and i couldn't think of any, nursing, singing, drama, sports - nada i just love God.

so i'm typing out tagalog phrases so i can hopefully communicate a little although we will have interpreters.

i'm building points on my visa until my tax return comes in.

girls night out

Girls Night Out is a two-hour evening of faith, fellowship, and fun for women. The program begins with a short music program led by one of our artist and worship leaders. A social time follows, giving participants an opportunity to mingle, share their experiences, and indulge in delicious snacks.
For more details, please go to www.gnolive.ca

Tuesday April 15th at 700pm
Chilliwack Alliance
8700 Young Road
Chilliwack BC

I went to this before and the speaker had an amazing testimony and was absolutely hilarious. If I remember correctly it was free and they just took a love offering.
Plus they had a free gift for every woman there. It's definitely an evening you'll enjoy.

speaking in tongues

paul tells us to eagerly desire spiritual gifts.

in the past 6 or 7 months two people had told me i had the gift of speaking in tongues. they had tried to encourage me in speaking in tongues but it just wasn't there and i felt silly trying to make up words. i know what my other spiritual gifts are and speaking in tongues had not been one of them. last week i was reading 'drawing near' and it was talking about speaking in tongues and it said to just open your mouth and let it happen. so i did and it did. it was total gibberish. i have heard many people speak in tongues but i'd never heard anything like what was coming out of my mouth.

this weekend at the alpha weekend away i wanted to ask someone about it. there were a few pastors i knew and many others i knew but i went to someone else. i asked an elder from northview about it. i wasn't sure how to talk about it because it sounded like gibberish to me i thought he would think i was a kook or something.

he said we should pray about it. he started praying and all of a sudden he's speaking the same gibberish that i was. tears were just pouring down my face and when we both stopped speaking at the same time he told me to keep going. when i opened my eyes i saw his eyes filled with tears.

he said he had started speaking in tongues about 6 months ago but he thought he must be making it up himself because it was such gibberish. he had never heard anyone else speak it before. he was happy to hear me speak it because it was confirmation to him that it was a heavenly language and not something he had made up. neither of us have the gift of interpretation so we have no idea what we said.

that the Holy Spirit led me to talk to this particular man whom i had never spoken to before was also confirmation for me.

1 Cor 22: Tongues, then, are a sign, not for believers but for unbelievers... Someone who came up for prayer was surprised to hear someone else speaking in tongues and said it helped them to believe.

raising peliquey in el salvador

peliquey's are a sheep raised in hotter climates for it's rich meat. they eat anything and are easy to raise, they have babies every 6 months and mature in 6 months.

world vision supplied 3 farmers with a male and 2 female peliquey's and when each has raised 11 animals they will start marketing them. they eat anything and what appears to be hay is the leaves left over after harvesting beans. they will be able to feed their families and supply their communities with fresh meat. wv gave the farmers the option of raising ducks, chickens or peligueys and 3 chose the sheep. they provide everything, the pens, the training in raising the animals and business and marketing.

fish farming in el salvador

world vision contributed the money to buy the materials to build the first tank and with help from other organizations supplied the money to build additional tanks (1.8 metres deep) and for fish fry and food to get this community set up with a fish farm. it's a 15 man coop and everyone pitches in and they get fresh fish. wv provided the business and marketing practices and training so everyone involved in the coop can earn income as well. wv provides materials and training and the people in the community supply the labour.

it had started as an irrigation project for a vegetable garden but it was too hard to get the water from the tank to the garden so they gave up the garden and started raising tilapia.

world vision sewing project in el salvador

world vision gave these 3 women a sewing machine, the materials needed to get started and training in how to sew, business and marketing and training in how to invest their income. they had made a couple pairs of sheets, tablecloths, aprons and pillow cases. they sell their merchandise in the local village but we bought everything they had and gave it to the family we were building the house for.

unbelievably though these women do not have electricty and the corner where their sewing machine is is so very dark even in bright daylight. i can imagine they won't have good eyesight for long.

but having this sewing machine gives these women an income in which to feed their children and a sense of pride in their accomplishments.

world vision projects in el salvador - computers

wow! it was wonderful to see all the projects world vision is involved in in el salvador.

world vision places a high priority on education and this is a computer classroom wv donated to the school. wv provided the money for the computers and pays for servicing them. the lady is the school principal and the man is danilo our translator.

the computer centre started in 2003 and 420 kids from grade 5 to 12 have taken courses. last year the school children won a national award in creating a website. the 3 best students get certified by microsoft. grade 12 students come to the centre to use the computers. the teachers and community leaders also learn how to use the computers.

most of the kids in the grade 3 class we visited are sponsored children. there was a boy in grade 3 that looked a little embarrassed when the teacher said he was 14 years old. i was just glad that he's getting the opportunity to go to school, better late than never.

faith in el salvador

at the end of our trip i went to the beach with another girl from the team. we registered at a small, new hotel, walked down the beach, then watched a soccer game across the street from the hotel. when i tried to lock our door on the inside the lock wouldn't work so i asked the staff if they could fix it. they used a little wd40 and the lock worked.

during the night we heard people talking in the walkway (hallway) that went from the street through the hotel to the beach. we didn't understand what they were saying so we didn't pay any attention to them. about 10:30 someone tried to break into our room. i just figured it was maybe another guest who had too much to drink and had the wrong room.

i had absolute peace and calm, my roommate however was terrified. i couldn't help but talk about how God knew exactly where we were and that nothing could touch us that He didn't allow and that i knew He had His angels watching over us keeping us safe.

the next morning when i was talking to God i asked Him about the gift of faith. we are given spiritual gifts to help people. i can see how i can use my other spiritual gifts to help people but i was asking Him what good it was having faith if i didn't know how to use it and i couldn't use it to help people.

a while later 3 police and the hotel staff came to our door asking if we had been disturbed during the night. i told / showed them what someone had been doing as they tried to get into our room but as they didn't speak any english i didn't understand everything they said. i closed the door and again the lock didn't work. hm a new hotel, the lock didn't work, then it did when we needed it to, then it didn't.

as my roommate was still afraid we decided to leave. we called the transportation company we had been using and they came and got us. the driver spoke english and told us that the 3 hotel staff had been tied up during the night while the robbers posing as guests broke into every room and stole or smashed everything in sight. considering that our driver told us that gangs just kill people for the sake of killing i thank God that our 3 young staff were only tied up and not hurt.

my roommate told me that due to circumstances in her life she had lost her faith. she has it back now. thank You Jesus.

our armed guards in el salvador

i had read that el salvador has the 3rd highest homicide rate in the world and believed it when we were met by 2 armed tourist police who stayed with us for the duration of our stay. even in the rural areas we couldn't cross the road and one of them would follow or watch us. they were absolute gems and i felt like royalty as they stood out in the street to stop traffic for us. there were armed guards in front of world vision national, in front of the gated compound where we stayed and in every kind of business everywhere we went.

world vision el salvador

the staff are amazing. their love and passion for the people they serve is evident in everything they say and do.

there are 5 adp's (area development projects) supported by canadians but there are lots more that are supported by other countries.

the wv national office visits the adp offices every week to deliver mail for the sponsored children in the adp as well as go over programs.

in 2001 there were 2 major earthquakes in el salvador leaving 2 million people homeless. considering that most houses were mud packed structures most of them collapsed in the earthquake. at a cost of $6400 for each house world vision has built 2000 houses since the earthquake, that's almost $13 million. the world vision houses are 46 square metres and made of concrete blocks.

people must own their own property in a safe area to get a world vision built home. if they don't own the property wv could build a house and then have the owner tell the people they have to leave as was the case with Damaris and her family.

sometimes the government helps but the houses they build are 7 square metres smaller than what world vision builds.

after the earthquake one family slept tied together at night because they lived close to where there was a landslide. world vision bought property for them and built them a house.

3% of the adp's budget goes to rebuilding houses. since the quake 5% of sponsorship money has gone to housing.

world vision national has 4 doctors, 1 dentist and 2 psychologists to provide preventive health and help to the communities. there are doctors and health care providers in each adp office. each newly sponsored child gets a medical checkup. the ministry of health has programs designed for each age group, moms & babies, teens, seniors, adults, etc.

they provide health training for teens and kids, have special projects for HIV cases and will have a rehab project for disabled kids to work with physiotherapists. physiotherapists from other countries are going to train people in their own communities how to care for disabled kids.

world vision aids program promotes abstinence, condoms and fidelity.

the culture is such that the men sleep with lots of women and women don't tell the men to use condoms because men would think that the women were not pure. the government provides anti-viral drugs.

health, education and christian impact are the first needs met by child sponsorship.

wv has a rapid response team and training in adp's for emergency response and security measures.

40% of the people live on $2 a day, 3 out of 10 kids are severely malnourished and 1 in 5 can't read, 90% of the rivers are polluted and 45% of the people lack good water.

wv is training mothers in nutrition and teaching agriculture and improving existing methods.

it is very hard to come back to this culture. my sister was showing me her latest acquisition, an expensive ipod that plays music, games, takes pictures, etc. all i could think of were the malnourished children of el salvador.

el salvador

this 4 year old cutie, Damaris, lives with her mother Wilma and father and 9 year old sister Cindy in a house made of empty rice sacks and black plastic. her crossed eye is the result of malnutrition. she lives in a mobile home and when the property owner, an american, tells them they have to leave they pack up their bags, literally, and move. they have no bathroom, they just go in the field somewhere. the father earns $80 a month and they pay $3 a month for water.

Alpha

last fall i felt that God was leading me to help out at the alpha course. towards the end of the course i thought about helping at the next course. nope. i told God i didn't want to help at the next course because it would be winter and i hate the cold. i told God i would help at the spring course.

my pastor asked if i'd lead a table at alpha for people from our church. i had said yes but when i thought about it being in the winter i kept thinking no-o i didn't want to do a winter course. it is so cold and even inside it's cold and i sit there in pain in cold. i don't know if it's from the cancer or that i've never acclimatized from 38 degree weather in costa rica but i really feel the cold.

i told greg i couldn't lead a table because i was going on a mission trip. i told the alpha leaders that i would miss a couple of weeks hoping they would say they didn't need me. then i would be off the hook and i could help in the spring. they said missing 2 weeks would be ok as long as i would be there for the weekend away.

the weekend away is absolutely the best weekend but in the winter i'm thinking the worst weekend cuz you're outside a lot. i hate winter, i hate the cold and i hate being outside in the cold.

i went to the training meeting last week and one of the leaders talked about treating each person coming to alpha with love and care and protect them and treat them if they were own beloved family. i thought of my daughter.

the next morning i thought of how selfish i was being, thinking of my discomfort at being cold and my daughter and what the leader had said. i thought how i had to with my whole heart love, care for, protect and treat each person as i prayed someone would be loving my own daughter,caring for her, protecting her and treating he as if she were their beloved child.

God calls us to preach good news to the poor whenever, wherever. He gave me a wake up call that morning. i thought of Jesus again and His suffering. knowing the suffering ahead of Him Jesus gave His life for others.

how is God trying to get your attention?

THE TOP TEN PREDICTIONS FOR 2008

1. The Bible will still have all the answers.
2. Prayer will still work.
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise to God.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

God whispers in your soul and speaks to your mind. Sometimes when you don't have time to listen, He has to throw a brick at you.

It's your choice: Listen to the whisper, or wait for the brick.

Sadly most of us wait for the brick.

pain free

I met a lady yesterday that had fibromyalgia so bad she lived in pain although she took a lot of painkillers every day. One day after drinking Xango for awhile she woke up and thought she was paralyzed because she couldn't feel any pain anywhere. Then she realized she'd moved her hands and could feel them and was amazed there was no pain at all.

I know it works for cancer because I went off it for 3 weeks. I wanted to see if I could prove a point to my doctor so I stopped and I will never do it again. I felt like 100 years old, like I'd been hit by a mack truck, I had no energy at all, the brain fog was back, the bursitis in my hip was back, the pain in my hands was back and the cancer pain was everywhere. Now back on it for a couple of weeks I am almost pain free again, the brain fog is gone and my energy is back.

Thursday I see the oncologist and I am looking forward to seeing the results of my blood work and how it compares to 3 weeks ago.

A lot of people tell me that they go to their doctor who asks them what they are doing. They tell them the only difference is drinking this juice and the doctors tell them to keep drinking it because there is such an improvement in their health.

poison of unforgiveness

last week a friend at church said she felt led to invite me to a study at her place on the battlefield of the mind.

i'm looking forward to it. we are at war against the forces of darkness and we need to know how to protect ourselves. it's great to know that in the end God wins the war but we need to be ready for battle each and every day because satan will use whatever methods he can to destroy us.

drugs and alchol poison our bodies and destroy our minds but unforgiveness is worse, it poisons our soul. it doesn't do anything to the person we harbour the unforgiveness against, sometimes they aren't even aware of it, but it eats us up inside robbing us of the joy we have when we are in a relationship with Christ. when we become christians and grow in a relationship with God we consider Christ's atoning sacrifice. when we consider how much we have been forgiven how can we not forgive others. we don't forgive others for their sake, we forgive others for our sake. and when we can forgive others and the poison drains out of us satan loses the battle.

Happy New Year!!!

had a wonderful time last night having dinner at the old spaghetti factory with some friends. afterwards we went our separate ways, some had to work today and were going home and some were going to see a movie that my grandchildren want me to take them to so i didn't go with them.

this morning i met a friend for a very long coffee at timmy's.

it's going to be a good year.

working at sally ann

i volunteer in the kitchen at salvation army every thursday morning. i start the day bagging fruits and vegetables for the clients. the donations vary from day to day but we always get bread and buns. when we have so much of an item we just leave them in cases for people to help themselves. we put everything on rolling shelving units and the clients can help themselves.

yesterday we were busier than usual so i took one of the shelving units outside. men were instantly attacking the shelves above me and on both sides of me to get at the food and i was getting knocked down. i could hear a man tell the crowd to let me get back inside. it was kinda scary and made me think of what must happen when people panic.

some people just want what they want and to hell with everyone else.

the best part is serving coffee to everyone while they are having lunch.

last week a lady asked if she could hug me and pray for me. she said she never hugs anyone. she had lived in vancouver's east side and she said her life and memory were destroyed there but that God had resurrected her into a new life in Him. she prayed that God would double His use in me. it was a switch but it was cool.

i love working there.

Christmas eve

i wanted so much to go to Christmas eve service with my grandchildren but instead went to my sister's for dinner. i couldn't get to my own church but stopped in at a church on my way home and managed to get the last 15 minutes. after singing silent night i wished the small, wrinkled little old lady beside me a merry Christmas. she wished me the same and hugged me. i had no idea how badly i needed that hug but after saying God bless you to her, and she to me, i left the church and started weeping as i walked out to my truck and started driving home.

BBB's top ten scams

This year’s list of the Top Ten Scams sees some old dogs coming back with some new tricks. New social marketing websites like Facebook and MySpace have opened new doors for identity thieves to access your information, while some unscrupulous door-to-door gas marketers put this category back on this list.

I have never signed on to facebook or myspace and can not believe the number of people that are on it. seeing this report on the better business bureau's website just confirms my suspicions that facebook and myspace are wide open to identity theft.

BBB

**TOP TEN SCAMS**
This year’s list of the Top Ten Scams sees some old dogs coming back with some new tricks. New social marketing websites like Facebook and MySpace have opened new doors for identity thieves to access your information, while some unscrupulous door-to-door gas marketers put this category back on this list.

A DIFFERENT CHRISTMAS POEM

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.

My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.
The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.

My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps Canadian, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."

"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.
No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Dieppe on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."

My dad stood his watch in that Korean Land',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
Something red and, white, ... A Canadian flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a trench with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

"So go back inside," he said, "harbour no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

naturopathic vs traditional medicine

saw the naturopath last week, my numbers were so high they were almost off the scale. he asked if i had pain anywhere because his tests showed that i had inflammation everywhere. he asked if i still had the supplements he had given me, truthfully i said i did have them but i didn't tell him i hadn't been taking them.

i have pain in my ears, in my jaw, almost everywhere except maybe the small toe on each foot.

yesterday i saw my gp and told him i felt like 100 years old and like i'd been hit by a truck. he told me to quit taking the hormone drug he had prescribed 3 weeks ago because depending on a stress test (because the least effort exhausts me) he was going to order, which wouldn't be til january, they wouldn't be good for me. as it was i hadn't picked up the prescription yet but this is something he has prescribed for me for the past 15 years. he told me to take baby aspirin instead.

as the naturopath has said my lymph nodes are so completely congested they are causing the inflammation/pain. him i believe and i wonder what's the point of the gp's tests.

i can go to the naturopath and he can tell me which organs aren't functioning properly and he can give me supplements that restore my health. i go to my gp who prescribes something then tells me i shouldn't take it and can not tell me why there is so much pain in my body and yet he thinks all naturopathic medicine is a crock.

he's ordered blood work that is totally different from what the oncologist does so my wanting to have proof in black and white that couldn't be disputed isn't going to happen.

so in the morning i'll do the glucose fasting blood work and right after i'm back on xango. i may not be able to prove it on paper but my entire body will know the difference.

i know when i see the naturopath again that my numbers are going to be back down in the normal range because the inflammation will be all gone.

the research on mangosteen shows that it's effective in reducing inflammation in the body. it also says that most diseases are caused by inflammation.

i wish i could afford to give it away because i am convinced it will relieve people's symptoms. i know it will relieve mine.

i have pictures of a langley burn victim whose face and neck were badly burned and after applying strips of gauze soaked in xango the burns on his face totally healed. his hands didn't because he kept washing his hands after applying the gauze. this is another amazing xango testimony.

i gave a small bottle to a cbc student and told her i didn't expect her to buy it but asked her if it helped her extremely bad acne to tell others what it did for her. we agreed it might not do too much because it was a small 3 oz bottle. she told me it had helped a little and believed more would have helped more.

xango - it's a food product not a drug

xango - it's a food product. people have asked about it and said they want to ask their doctors about it to see whether it's ok if they take it together with the meds they are taking.

i wonder - do they take their orange or apple juice to the doctors to ask if it's ok to take them with their meds? what do they think mangosteen is?

absolutely i agree - people should check with their doctors when they're prescribed drugs to make sure there are no contraindications. you definitely want to make sure that the drugs your doctor has prescribed for you last year are what you should still be taking this year, and that they won't cause any problems with the new prescription he wants to give you.

i'm amazed at the number of stories i've heard lately from people that have gone to their doctors for whatever and the doctor's are saying 'oh are you still taking that medicine?' like they don't know. every one has said their doctor has taken them off the old drug. they have so many people going through their doors they don't remember who you are or what they've prescribed for you.

doctors and pharmacists have to know their drugs to know to warn about this or that. you have to read the warning labels on everything to make sure you can take cough syrup with aspirin and to know how much to give what age group.

oranges - just eat 'em. apple juice - just drink it. it's food - it's good for you.

doctors will even tell you it's good to eat fruit. fruit is good for you. you know - an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

well in this case it's mangosteen fruit - it's food - it's good for you. it's a fruit - fruit is good for you. and a lot of people are finding a couple of ounces of mangosteen juice a day is keeping the doctor away.

i have to remember to ask people when they say they want to ask their doctor if it's ok to drink xango if they also ask if it's ok to drink apple and orange juice.

Diabetes - Globe and Mail

i read the following article (check the Globe & Mail archives to view the whole article) and shook my head. lately i have become more aware of the risks associated with taking prescribed medicines. they warn about taking certain meds with foods, take others without foods, don't take with this drug, don't take with that drug. it's scary.


Study flags Avandia risks
ANDRÉ PICARD

From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

December 12, 2007 at 10:01 AM EST

A new Canadian study provides the strongest evidence to date of the dangers of the popular diabetes drug Avandia, particularly when used by seniors.

The research, published in today's edition of The Journal of the American Medical Association, is the latest in a series of studies calling the safety of the drug into question.

Older diabetics taking the drug have a risk of congestive heart failure 60 per cent higher than those taking other diabetes drugs, the study found. Those on the drug also show a 40-per-cent jump in the risk of heart attack and a 29-per-cent increase in the risk of death.

100 years old & hit by a truck

i feel like i'm a hundred years old and i've been hit by a truck. wanting relief from pain and stiffness in my hands i started drinking xango. i had no idea it would do anything for the cancer. i heard stories from people saying they'd been healed of cancer but until i stopped taking it on the 29th i had no idea what the difference was. i wasn't expecting it to do anything for the cancer. man was i wrong.

my cancer is in my lymph nodes which are all throughout the body. some i can actually see that they are swollen. but the pain is everywhere because the nodes are everywhere. it goes through my core front to back, it's in my armpits and going down my left arm and it's in my groin. the rest of my body just aches everywhere with occasional stabs of pain. i have no energy at all and the least effort exhausts me. and of course the pain and stiffness is back in my hands.

but.... relief is in sight. i remember feeling this way before i went on xango and now that i know that xango will take the pain away and restore my energy i am so looking forward to the 17th when after i see my gp and have tests i'll be back on it.

when someone asks me how i'm doing i say i'm fine. i figure no one wants to hear about my aches and pain. now i know that xango is making a difference so when i am back on it i can truthfully say i am fine.

after this i don't ever plan on being without xango again. i thought of what a wuss i would be at the end stages of the disease but if i keep drinking xango maybe i'll never get to the end stages.

God and Xango

since i started drinking xango and have noticed how it has helped me and listened to others tell me how it's helped them i have wanted to tell everyone about it. people say they have this or that ailment and i tell them about xango.

i know it works. i know it works for me. i believe it will work for others. so when people tell me they are sick i want to tell them about xango because i want them to get better.

i know God works. i know He works for me and i know He will work for others. so why don't i tell sick people what He will do for them when i know i want them to get better and i know He will make them better.

some people that are physically sick don't want to hear about xango. they don't believe it will do anything for them.

spiritually sick people don't want to hear about Jesus. they don't believe He can do anything for them.

i've been thinking about this 'comparison' a lot lately. i find it so easy to talk to people about xango and i want to talk to them about xango because i want them to get better.

i absolutely love talking about Jesus. He's my favourite subject. why will i go out of my way to talk to people about xango but only talk to people about Jesus when they ask me.

we live in a sick society. xango may give you relief from physical symptoms of illness but Jesus is the absolute sure-fire cure for what really ails you.

depending on what ails you, you need to keep drinking xango. i drink 1 oz 3 times a day and i feel great. but as i've discovered when i haven't had xango for a few days the pain comes back and i feel crappy.

you need to keep drinking in Jesus too. saying you believe in Him is one thing but if you really want to feel great you need to take Him in regularly throughout the day. i know when i don't get enough of Jesus. i feel empty and terrible.

you only drink 1 oz of xango and don't notice any change - drink more.

you only spend 1 minute with God and don't notice any change - spend more time with Him.

i thank God that He gave us the mangosteen to help us feel better. i thank God and praise Him for the precious gift of His Son to save us and His Holy Spirit to make us better.

xango and non-hodgkins lymphoma

i stopped drinking xango a week ago to prove a point to my gp. i had no idea i would notice such a difference myself considering i only started drinking it for the pain and stiffness in my hands.

i hurt. for the past several days i've noticed that the lymph nodes in my groin and armpits are painful, my hands hurt and are stiff again. i'm determined to see what the difference would be in my blood work from almost 3 weeks without xango when my gp checks me out to being back on xango for 3 weeks and being re-tested by the oncologist. i can tell him how i feel but if he can see the facts for himself how can he deny them.

most people are skeptics and need proof before they believe in something. thinking of Jesus just now and even then people didn't believe when the truth was right in front of them.

cancer

I read something that says we all have cancer cells in our body so it's just a matter of time before everyone of us gets it. And hearing daily of someone else being diagnosed with cancer I'm believing it.

I stopped Xango 3 days ago to see if it makes any difference in how I feel from the cancer and my lymph nodes that had hurt before Xango, that didn't hurt on Xango, are now hurting again. I saw my doctor on Thursday and he said he wants to do a head to toe physical on the 17th so I wanted to not be on Xango and see what my blood levels and everything says and then when I see the oncologist on Jan 10th compare my blood levels again.

I talk to friends who are all coming down with colds or flu and I'm not sure I want to have either so I can prove a point to the doctor except that I do want to prove the point to the doctor.

World Aid's Day

There is no medical cure for HIV/AIDS. There is hope for those affected. This pandemic not only devastates human lives, it leaves broken hearts in despair and without hope. On this World AIDS Day, I call on churches and Christians around the world to pray for those suffering from this terrible disease and to ask God for His intervening, healing hand. My personal prayer is that each individual affected by HIV/AIDS will sense God’s love and come to know—in a personal way—the Creator and Savior of their souls, Jesus Christ.

Franklin Graham President and Chief Executive Officer Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

A Guide For Prayer: World AIDS Day Thank you for praying with us for the estimated 33 million people around the world who suffer from the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Pray for the thousands of young people who become orphans each day because they lose parents to AIDS. Pray that God will provide for these children and comfort them.

Pray that the Holy Spirit will intercede for those who suffer, that they might experience God's healing hand and find real hope in His love.

Pray for families who face emotional and financial difficulties because of this potentially costly disease.

Pray that the love of Jesus Christ will shine through doctors,missionaries, workers, and volunteers worldwide as they labor to comfort and care for the millions who suffer from HIV/AIDS.

Pray for HIV/AIDS education to increase throughout the world so that people will know how to protect themselves, prevent the spread of this deadly virus, and make wise choices that honor God.

Pray that God will give people the courage to speak up and take action in ways that will change the path of this pandemic.

Praying for Regions of the World

Pray for Africa—the continent that has suffered the most from the effects of HIV/AIDS. Pray that wars will cease and economic instability will be solved in African countries so that the spread of HIV/AIDS will lessen and people will have access to decent nutrition and medical care.

Pray for Asia, where Franklin Graham will be visiting November 29-December 2, 2007 for the Hong Kong Franklin Graham Festival. AIDS is a relatively new struggle for Asian countries, but it is a real threat. Pray that God will bless Asia, bringing citizens to salvation, unity, and understanding.

Pray for Europe, the Caribbean, North America, and Latin America, as well as other areas of the world where people endure the consequences of the AIDS crisis.

prayer request for el salvador

The US State Department Consular Information Sheet says - The U.S. Embassy considers El Salvador a critical crime-threat country. The homicide rate in the country increased 25 percent from 2004 to 2005, and El Salvador has one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

i like to learn about places i am going to visit and was surprised to read this. so another prayer request is for safety, strength, health and that i would remember all the spanish i've ever learned.

facebook

unbelievable! i have so many people that have invited me to join them on facebook but i have always said no. it just seems to me that the potential for identity theft is too easy.

i created an identity to search for someone that might be on facebook and it wanted my email address. i'm ok with that. but it also wanted my password to my email account. i'm definitely not ok with that. giving someone else my password to my email account exposes my whole life. if i have mine or someone else's personal information saved in an email that means that anyone that has access to the facebook files has access to my personal info.

there are so many stories out there about id theft / fraud - are you willing to take a chance?

people say they feel so violated when their house has been broken into because some stranger has gone through all their personal things. i think i'd be a little shaken up if someone got into my email.

El Salvador - World Vision

I received an email from World Vision asking if I wanted to go to El Salvador on Wednesday. I was so excited I was almost jumping out of my skin. It was like every nerve end in my body was exposed and I had to go to the gym to burn off the energy.

I would've applied right then and there on line but I wondered if it would've been possible to take my granddaughter (who turned 16 yesterday) with me so I needed to know when spring break was and the age limit with WV. Turns out she's not eligible.

Then I wondered about health issues. I don't really feel that I have any but a doctor might say otherwise.

I prayed about it Wednesday night asking God if it was just my desire to go or if it was part of His purpose. I woke up Thursday morning thinking of Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.

So then I emailed that absolutely I wanted to go. I got a phone call yesterday saying I was accepted, I was ready to go home and start packing.

I have been praying for months for boldness and for opportunity. In August I told God I wanted to travel. He has given me a spirit of boldness and power and He has given me opportunities. And now He is given me a trip.

Actually a second trip, I forgot that I went to Salt Lake in October. He is blowing my mind.

Now the deal is I have to come up with about $3500 and find 5 child sponsors for kids in the area where I'll be working, in 2 months. The trip is Jan 25 to Feb 3. I found one sponsor already and chose a little girl on line. Her name is Milagro de Jesus, Miracle of Jesus. I don't know that she is in the right area but was told that she would be considered one of the 5. If you think I chose her because of her name you'd be right.

Considering I'm unemployed I'm not sure where I'm going to get the $3500 but trust that God will provide.

I have a few prayer requests - that I would be able to come up with the finances, that I would find lots of child sponsors, for health, for God's strength to do the job and that God would use me to bless others.

Xango

Salt Lake City. what a blast. i went to the 5th annual Xango convention. when asked if i would go i said i couldn't, i was unemployed and didn't have a dime. that was on a monday. i told God that if He wanted me to go He'd have to provide. tuesday night i got a phone call saying that if i would go someone was going to pay for me. like i'm going to turn down a free trip for 5 days to salt lake city.

there were 10,000 people at the convention, people giving testimony after testimony about how Xango had helped them. i heard a catchy phrase Xango will make you healthy and wealthy. besides all the testimonies about people's improved health there were many stories of how people's finances have improved too.

people are wanting to get healthy. people are tired of taking prescription drugs that have adverse reactions or other complications. i want to see people get healthy too.

i originally started taking Xango for pain and stiffness in my hands. at a meeting a couple of weeks ago someone mentioned that he was more alert and had more clarity. i thought oh yeah i've noticed that too.

tonight a lady said that her mom had really bad bursitis in her hips and how Xango had cured the inflammation and taken the pain away. i had totally forgotten i had bursitis in my hip 1 1/2 months ago.

i had a cortisone injection in my hip in january when i was out for foot surgery and i hadn't had any pain until august when it started flaring up again. it was so painful i couldn't imagine having a needle stuck in my hip and wondered how i could get general anaesthetic to get the hip shot. until the lady talked about bursitis tonight i had totally forgotten that xango had taken my bursitis pain away.

i swear by the stuff now, everyone i know that has been taking it for awhile and knows the benefits of it swears by it, people that i have been giving bottles to for them to try all want to keep taking it.

God created plants for us to eat which would also heal us. xango is the best example i've heard of yet that is beneficial for so many things.

someone you know that has crohn's disease swears by xango. it doesn't cure him but it relieves all his symptoms.

what is your health worth? or the health of your loved ones?

i heard someone tonight saying how xango had cured their cancer. although xango makes no such claim to cure anything, it is a food not a drug, it's testimonies from people like you and me that is exploding this juice in the marketplace.

if you were healed of something would you not tell others about it? especially if they were sick and there was a chance they could be cured or at least their symptoms relieved?

MS is one condition that responds to Xango. if you had MS would you at least not want to try anything that would slow it down, relieve the symptoms?

i'm almost getting my juice free now. i've told a couple of friends, they've told a couple of friends, they've told a couple of friends.

wouldn't you drink a juice that was so good for you if you could get it free?

wouldn't you like to make a few bucks as well.

people make money selling avon, amway, mary kay and we think nothing of spending a LOT of money on make-up. do you not think your health is worth way more.

there is a lot of scientific evidence to support xango's claims. check it out.

http://www.mangosteenmd.com/
http://www.mangosteenfruitinfo.com/
http://www.xango.ca/
http://www.myxango.ca/teriboyd/

Mangosteen juice

this stuff certainly seems to be a very effective cure all.

the painful stiffness in my hands was gone in 10 days.
one friends acid reflux is gone
another's ibs is gone
another's arthritis is gone
other's complexions are clearing up
sleeping better
carpal tunnel - gone
fibromyalgia - gone

ok so you're thinking no big deal - to these people - it's a big deal!

i have met people who have been cured of various types of cancer and other ailments too numerous to mention. i'm sold on it and so it seems that everyone that tries it is too. let me know if you'd like to try a bottle.

check it out -
http://www.myxango.ca/teriboyd/
http://www.mangosteenfruitinfo.com/
http://www.xango.ca/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez/

humanmetrics.com

Jung personality test

Your Type is
ISFP
Introverted Sensing Feeling Perceiving
Strength of the preferences %
44 50 50 44

Xango

This is for those of you who asked me to tell you the results of me taking it myself.

I started taking it two weeks ago and already I have found the stiffness and pain in my hands is gone. I had so much pain in my right wrist from using a trackball on the computer that I was going to get a wrist support. It's gone now. Today my gp asked about pain in my hip that he had given me anti-inflammatories for. I hadn't taken them because they gave me heart burn and I had it so bad I didn't want anymore. I haven't had any pain in my hip and had actually forgotten about it until he asked me about it. And I almost never have heart burn anymore.

Yesterday I printed an article about a chiropractor using it and recommending it to his patients. I was going to give it to my chiropractor this morning but it turns out he uses it already, just for all over general good health.

you can check it out at http://www.mangosteenfruitinfo.com/ for more information or on my website at http://www.myxango.ca/teriboyd/

thanksgiving

as people are getting ready to celebrate thanksgiving i think of big turkeys and huge platters of food and rich desserts. i think of people sitting around the table stuffing themselves with more food than their bodies need and afterwards complaining that they ate too much. i hope that you find these pictures disturbing. enough so that it convicts you to give so that others may live. as you are sitting around the table bloated from eating to excess i hope that you think of the millions that are dying daily of starvation.

repeatedly God tells us to feed the hungry and take care of the poor. are you?

answered prayer

it's been an amazing week. 3 solid answers to prayers that i have been praying for years or months. my precious granddaughter getting baptised and to be in the water with her. it was so awesome.

the other 2 were significant to me but not nearly as amazing. if you know me you know i hate to speak in public. i choke, have anxiety, shake like crazy, etc. for months i have been praying for boldness. for months i have been praying for self-control. i told people i couldn't give a world vision presentation standing up in front of a bunch of people. i told my granddaughter i didn't have any self-control, i would buy the family pack of chocolate bars intending to eat 1 and put 3 away and always ended up eating all 4, the same day.

then last week someone gave me a book 'the tongue - a creative force' by charles cap. it's a good book. it talks about how we say we can't do something and because we've said we can't - we can't. so when i said i didn't have self-control i didn't. when i said i could get up in front of people and talk in public - i couldn't. but when i asked God to give me a spirit of power, love and self-control in Jesus' name, He did. there is a lot in the bible about the tongue. God spoke and it was. if you claim this power in Jesus' name you will have it.

2Tim1:7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

Praise God!!!

My 15 year old granddaughter was baptised September 23 along with 3 other teenagers and 2 adults. We were blessed with a beautiful fall day and once you were in the water it wasn't so bad. Thank you all for being part of such a special day.

Mangosteen

I went to a meeting about Mangosteen Tuesday morning, skeptical but willing to listen to what they had to say. I thought if it was something I believed in I could tell others about it.

Mangosteen is a fruit from Southeast Asia. It contains xanthones which are powerful anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants function as a balance for free radicals in the body. Free radicals are potentially harmful, yet oftentimes natural substances in your body that, when left free reign, build up and cause diseases like cancer, heart disease, and more.

Personally my joints hurt and I don’t want to have to take pain killers because they give me major heartburn all the time. I’m not expecting it to cure the lymphoma and the manufacturers don’t make any claims of that nature. I’m not expecting it to fix my back but if it relieves the joint pain I’ll be happy.

The more I heard about it this morning the more people I thought of that needed to hear about this. I heard testimony about the hostess’s young nephew who has autism and how Mangosteen had changed his life. I heard testimony about someone with celiac disease and how it had changed her life. These were from people that were at the meeting. I saw video-taped testimony of a man with cancer that was given 6 weeks to live. He is now healthy and touting the benefits of Mangosteen. There were numerous other testimonies from people with all kinds of complaints. It sounded almost too good to be true.

One of my ex co-workers swears by it. I had asked what the difference was if she went off it and she said there was such a difference on it that she would never want to go off it to see. I have also talked to others that swear by it.

It so impressed me that I wanted to share this information with you. Several people have said they use it already and friends have told me how they have been healed of fibromyalgia, carpal tunnel and arthritis. I started taking it yesterday so I'll know soon enough whether it's going to help me. Please let me know if you would like to learn more about it. I would be happy to show you more information. I hope that if you choose to order Mangosteen that you would place your order with me. You can order from me personally or directly on-line at http://www.myxango.com/teriboyd/
What would you try if you thought it would help you feel better? The cost is less than a cup of coffee a day, and it tastes great.

global issues

Do kids learn enough about global issues in school? 6% Yes - 94% No

President Kennedy was shot! Princess Diana killed in car crash! Stories like these are probably the 6% of global issues that kids learn in school.

Does anyone teach that 30,000 children die every day from starvation? Do north american kids know that not everyone can turn on the tap to get clean drinking water and that most people in the world suffer disease and death every day from drinking dirty polluted water? Do they know that most people can't go to the refrigerator any time they want to get something to eat? Do they know that not all kids have shoes, not all kids have beds to sleep on, kids go to bed cold because they don't have central heating or enough blankets? Do they think that because it's 40 degrees in the daytime in Africa that it's always hot and wonder why African kids would need blankets? Do they know that 40 million people have AIDS? Do they know that people are still dying from TB in other areas of the world?

My sister-in-law told me Saturday that she thought that TB had been eradicated in the world. The WHO reported that as of 22 March 2007 there were 5,116,611 new and relapsed cases of TB throughout 208 countries, including 1,484 in Canada. We take our kids to school and they get immunized against TB, it's automatic and we think nothing of it.

We need to educate our children. They need to learn that there is more to life than themselves and their little corner of the world where everything is handed to them.

education

Did you send anyone off to school this morning?

There are mothers and fathers around the world who wish that their sons & daughters could receive an education. It seems poignant on a day like today to remember those children who are impacted by extreme poverty; children who will never receive an education.

Won't you please consider sponsoring a child. Child sponsorship provides more than an education, it can help lift a family out of their extreme poverty, it provides for health care, clean water, improved agricultural methods.

When I talk about child sponsorship people may say they sponsor a child. Why not sponsor 2, 3 or even more children. Proverbs 22:9 A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor. If God says this in the bible, and the bible is the truth, do you not believe God will bless you for sharing your food with the poor. Stretch your faith and trust God - He will bless your generosity.

I have child sponsorship folders if you wish to see any, otherwise you can go on-line at worldvision.ca and you can choose a boy or girl from any country where world vision canada operates.

And may God bless you as you trust in Him.

Proverbs 14:31
He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

Proverbs 19:17
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

Proverbs 21:13
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.

Proverbs 28:27
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.

Jeremiah 22:16
He defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me?" declares the LORD.

Mark 10:21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."

His purpose

the dark moments of our life will last only as long as necessary for God to accomplish His purpose in us. IT

i've had an awful lot of dark moments in my life, very dark moments. as i consider this i can see how God has used them to accomplish His purpose in my life. i can also see where He has carried me through times when i couldn't walk by myself.

i was rebellious as hell, i wanted no part of Him, and i was miserable as hell.

surrendering my heart, mind, body and soul to Him was THE best thing i have ever done. it's true, He is a jealous god, but when you give Him your whole heart He blows your sox off. praise God.

abundant life

i have read and/or been told a lot lately that God wants us to have this abundant life and i have been wondering what that means. it seems a lot of people think it means material things. i was surprised when i read a pastor saying he wanted a pool for his family. they prayed about it and God provided, but not after the pastor was ready to buy it on his charge card. whoa! it was second hand but still. a few months ago i wished i had a recliner, i don't know if i even prayed about it and within a week i had a recliner. whoa!

as i consider what i have been reading and what a friend has been telling me i wonder if i am limiting God. i am content should i be asking for more. i had to think about what i would even ask God for.

i am in the process of painting my apartment. it was something i had talked to God about saying it would be nice to have my apartment painted but i couldn't afford it. i didn't think i could do it myself but as i waited for the painter to paint the wall because of a plumbing problem i was impatient and tried it and found i could do it myself. it's almost finished at a cost of a couple hundred compared to the $1200 i was told it might cost.

i don't have a lot of material possessions but that's ok, desire for material possessions diminished after mission trips to costa rica. but i am abundantly blessed with contentment and joy in my relationship with God.

from something i read 'i truly believe that when people are face to face with the bare essentials that they are the happiest, with less to gripe over and less to worry about.'

prayer

we're often like spoiled kids on christmas morning who really don't care if dad shows up as long as he's stacked the gifts we asked for under the tree.

is that what your prayer life is like?

prayer is about getting more OF God, not more FROM God. we pray to get to know Him better. it's relational - speaking with God as we would with a spouse or friend for the purpose of building our relationship. how long would you have a friend if it was always about you.

i just want to know Him better, to sense His presence, enjoy His company and hear His voice. the more i know Him, the more i am content, the more joy i have. the only way to experience lasting joy and contentment is through an intimate relationship with Jesus.

if you don't have contentment and joy start talking to Him. He is the source of all good things and He wants to bless you with abundant life.

devotionals

in touch is a monthly magazine with wonderful short stories and daily devotionals. you can view it on-line or get it delivered free. to view or subscribe go to www.intouch.org.

favourite scripture

mine is romans 8:28 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.

a couple of weeks ago at bible study we each said our favourite scripture. when i said mine someone remarked that you don't say that to someone at a funeral. although i have thought this in my mind when at a funeral it isn't something i would say to the grieving person, although if you read the proceeding post you might find the grieving person saying it to you.

in this month's in touch magazine there's an article from augustine that says "imagine that God told you to write down every blessing you wanted Him to provide. when you completed the list, imagine further that God came to you and said i will give you everything you requested, on one condition, you'll never again hear My voice or sense My presence.

i read this and thought no way, there is nothing i want for myself that i would choose over a relationship with God. but then i thought of my unsaved family and as i cried and prayed i thought how i would give up everything for them, for their salvation, even to the point of death. as i thought of one death, mine, for the salvation of many, my family, i thought of Jesus. His sacrifice, His death, for you, for me, for all, one death for the salvation of many.

people have prayed for me, for healing, but i have never prayed this for myself. i have no idea if God plans to heal me or not. but if His purpose is to use me to bring my family to Himself then i consider that He is working for my good because i love Him, because i consider good that my family would be saved. in all things i pray His will be done.

what is your favourite scripture and what does it mean to you?

forgiveness

monday - international forgiveness day. i read an amazing article in In Touch magazine last month. it's an incredible story of forgiveness and how God uses people. it's 3 pages long and starts on page 26. it's shannon ethridge's story, how she became a christian when while driving she killed a woman riding a bicycle. the article is called love without limits.

shannon and gary (the dead woman's husband) both testify to the truth of Romans 8:28 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.

the link is http://www.intouch.org/atf/cf/%7B865500FE-874B-487B-A95C-C0B327D0A690%7D/JULY07mag.pdf

my new job

not having any clear direction on where God is leading me i thought about going to cbc to study the bible. i prayed about it but didn't get an answer. i had checked it out on-line and decided to audit the courses as i thought it was going to be cheaper. when i went there this am i found out it was cheaper for one course only and any additional courses would be full price. not sure where my finances are i said i wanted to think about it.

when i left northview i had mentioned that maybe i would volunteer at sally ann. i had several appointments & stuff to do today and after leaving cbc i was headed to wal-mart and figured i would stop in at sally ann and get a job application, then carry on to wal-mart.

i had applied there a year ago but then got hired at northview. i told the receptionist that i had completed an application a year ago & i had been playing phone tag with the hr lady last year before getting hired at northview.

she called hr and they said to send me up & i got 'hired' on the spot. i said a quick prayer in the elevator on the way up. they had one spot to fill in the kitchen on thursdays so that's me. sylvia, the hr lady, asked if i was interested in volunteering in an admin role helping her occasionally but i said no.

it all happened so fast but i felt good about it, and kinda nervous at the same time, like it was out of my comfort zone. and although i thought i was going to go to cbc i guess it's not where God wanted me cuz classes were on thursdays. it's only 4 1/2 hours one day a week but that's ok.

and for 2 months i can volunteer with samaritan's purse.

i feel like a pusher - world vision child sponsorship, samaritan's purse operation christmas child, alpha.

i had to laugh when i viewed my blog after i'd written this post - Philipians 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose. this does seem to be His purpose.

it's winter

omg it's august 26 and i've got my fleece liner on inside my jacket and the heater on in my car. what am i going to do in 4 months?

employment

at first i thought i wanted to be a hairdresser so i took a course in hairdressing in high school. after working a short time in a salon as a hairdresser's assistant i decided it wasn't for me. i couldn't stand on my feet for long periods of time.

then i worked as a plan checker working on hanna barbera cartoons for canawest films. it was piece work and i worked my tail off and made a huge amount of money for a 17 year old (for anyone). it was fun but short lived.

i applied as a general office clerk, doing bank deposits, opening & distributing mail, etc. i wanted to be more so i took various accounting, bookkeeping, secretarial courses etc. so for the last 40 years i have done secretarial, adminstrative type work, because i could.

last tuesday at our staff meeting the pastors were talking about having certain jobs because it was something we could do but was not necessarily what we were gifted at or had a passion for. i did administrative type work because i could do it but it is the second lowest in my spiritual gifts.

when i went to live in costa rica i remember telling someone who asked what i would do for work if i came back. i said i could always be a waitress. not sure why i said that, i've never worked as a waitress. i don't think i could remember anyone's order.

i'm going to a new bible study in abby and each week we sit outside and have a bbq. i pick up the dirty dishes and serve coffee. someone asked what i was going to do for work and i said i had been in to pizza hut and they were looking for help. one fellow said he owned a pizza hut and he would hire me (he was kidding).

i hadn't thought about it, picking up the dishes and serving coffee, i just did it. i volunteer at northview and it's always in the kitchen. i have volunteered at ugm and it was in the kitchen and one time a bunch from new heights served easter lunch and i was joyfully picking up garbage.

right now when i think of employment the only thing i can think of is volunteering in the kitchen with salvation army, which is where i had applied the week before i got the job with northview. the only catch is i need a job that gives me an income.

as i consider this as a possibility i can see how it fits in with all of my spiritual gifts. when i think of what i have actually worked at all my life that kind of work doesn't interest me in the least.

until i get it figured out, or God leads me somewhere, i am going to a meeting thursday with samaritan's purse to see how i can get involved with operation christmas child.

wouldn't it be awesome if we could all work at what we are passionate about and what God has gifted us for.

dreams

something has been happening in my life for the past few months that lead me to believe that God might be planning on blessing me with a husband.

i have watched as God has orchestrated events in my life lately and thought of all He has done since I came to know Him. the more i know Him the more i am aware of Him, His small quiet voice, His leading in my life, answers to prayers, etc.

knowing that my job at northview was not going to last i have been asking God to give me a dream or a vision of what He has in store for me.

may 21 i had a dream that my boss gave me a raise. 1 1/2 months later he did.
may 22 i asked Him if He ever gave me a dream to give me the same dream 3 times so i would know it was from Him.

i've talked to different people about how when they asked God for a husband they gave Him specifics. i had asked God for a husband 7 or 8 years ago and again 4 years ago but since then God has become the desire of my heart. so feeling that this might be where God is leading me i told Him he absolutely must be a godly man after God's own heart.

i have been content being single for a few years now. i think things started changing when my best friend of 38 years died in may. all of a sudden i didn't have that intimate human relationship. although i can talk to God and He does talk back, it's not in the same way as a best girlfriend does. i was telling God that i missed her, that i missed that deep, intimate human relationship and i asked for someone new.

june 23 i was talking to God and asked Him what He wanted and He said "I want to bless you."

july 4 i started having more dreams, intimate, spiritual dreams.
july 14 caught(?)susy's bouquet
july 21 dreamt i was at my own wedding - dreamt this for the 3rd time
july 24 had a dream and saw a man this time, i know who he is and he is a very godly man

i have since listened to women say when they met their husbands they didn't even like them for whatever reason, they weren't their type or whatever, that they knew them for awhile, then one day their eyes were opened and they saw them differently.

with all the dreams that i have had and God telling me He wants to bless me i wonder if one day this man and i will look at each other and see ourselves differently. i look at him now and know that he is the man in my dreams but he is not the man of my dreams. i just don't have a man of my dreams.

unemployed

except for a few months after having my daughter and for a few months after having moved out to mission from vancouver, and a few months after coming back from costa rica i have worked since i was 15.

tomorrow is my last day of work. i like working, i have always worked, and this new phase of my life that i am entering into unemployed is kinda scary. i have no idea what i will do with myself.

when i quit my job in 2004 to go live in costa rica i knew i was following the call that God had put on my heart. now i haven't a clue. i'm not scared or worried though because i know that He is in control and that He will provide for my needs.

i caught the bouquet!

it's a first, except that i can't actually say i 'caught' the bouquet. i was in the front line of a bunch of girls and put my hand up when the bouquet was thrown. i thought it tipped my fingertips as it went over my head but then it came back over in front of me. i'm guessing someone behind me grabbed for it and instead of catching it knocked it backwards. when it came back over it landed on the floor right in front of me. for a split second i waited thinking someone was going to dive for it. no one did so i bent over and picked it up. it's absolutely beautiful.

hm...

woo hoo!!! we won!!!

i have a costa rican flag painted on my face, a sticker on my arm, i'm wearing a very large flag that hangs down to the ground, screaming my lungs out as we score the winning goal and the game ends!

and i'm how old???

today costa rica played scotland in the world cup u20. the scotland fans outnumbered the tico fans i'm sure. they were certainly more vocal, not at all like the tico fans are in costa rica. i was yelling some futbol phrases in spanish but no one else was joining in.

it was a wonderfully exciting game with split second second goal in additional time followed by the whistle ending the game.

after the other games i headed straight to my truck to get going before all the crowds. tonight i hung around with a bunch of other tico fans to get pictures of the team.

walking around with my painted face and costa rica jersey it was cool speaking in spanish to other fans. and translating for fans who didn't speak english. and alexandre guimaraes, who used to be the tico men's coach and is now panama's coach, was in the stands & as i was looking for other tico fans i saw him and we smiled at each other.

it was so worth every penny!

soccer tryouts

i don't normally watch reality tv shows but i have been following one where 22 teenage mexican boys have been chosen out of 300,000 to go to a training camp to hone their skills. any number of boys are eliminated weekly and the winner will have the opportunity to play with man u, the english premiership's champion this year. what an amazing opportunity for these kids that were chosen from all over mexico. it is exciting to watch them practising and learning new skills. today they were told that 2 boys would be going home but at the end the judges said they were all so close that no one would be going home today. they were all so very happy. i look forward to seeing the winner play in the english league.

a couple of years ago real madrid was in costa rica and was having a training school for young players. i asked dany if he wanted to try out for their school. he was a very good soccer player but could not imagine having to leave costa rica to play in europe. besides his favourite team was barcelona. i wonder how things might have turned out.

world cup u20

it has been so cool to go to the world cup u20 in burnaby. the weather has been beautiful and it has been sold out each day. the teams i've seen are from zambia, spain, uruguay and jordan. the most vocal fans have been supporting zambia and uruguay. the most entertaining have been the zambian fans with their songs and their drums. there are several uruguayan fans around me and one fellow has a very passionate running commentary (in spanish of course which so reminds me of going to games in costa rica).

last sunday i talked to the zambian team manager (?) & told him i support a boy in zambia and asked if i could get a team picture. i took a few pix while they sat in the stands after their game but wanted a picture of them in their uniform. he told me to come back yesterday. knowing how excited the boys in costa rica get about their futbol team i thought boyd (my boy in zambia) would be equally excited to get a picture of his national team. last night when i went to see the team they weren't there, then they were warming up, then it was late and i wanted to get out of town and avoid all the traffic. they play again saturday in the first game so i'm going to try again.

the second game saturday is costa rica vs scotland. i will be there with my red jersey and my white jersey so i can switch depending on which jersey the team is wearing, my jacket and my hat and my 2 1/2' x 5' flag.

not being the most popular sport in north america people are surprised at the attendance records. but if you consider the cultural diversity in canada and that fact the futbol is the most popular sport in every other country in the world i don't know why they are so surprised. swangard is sold out and people still line up at the gates hoping to be able to buy a ticket. people at every entrance asking if anyone has tickets to sell.

i do have one complaint though. you can buy tickets that specify a non-alcoholic section which is what i did. it didn't mean squat. every person around me had 1 or 2 beer at a time. i heard the woman behind me say she had spilled her beer on herself. have you ever been to a sporting event where when someone scores the fans jump to their feet...

no i have another complaint. you could not take food or drink into the stadium. they were throwing out every food / drink item that you had as they searched your bags/purses as you walked through the gate. then you had to pay $3 for a bottle of water and stand in line forever to buy food. to buy a game ball - $180. not too many people are buying game balls.

so they enforce one rule to make money and don't enforce another rule to make money. so i go full and pray that no one spills beer on me.

i can't wait for saturday.