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Is it just me, or does spring seem exceptionally beautiful this year? Everything is in bloom, the bradford pears, the dogwoods, and especially the beautiful cherry trees. I have always been a fall lover, but spring is really starting to grow on me.

I think it's because spring truly represents new life coming from that which was "dead." Obviously the power of Christ can only bring what is truly dead back to life, but I think nature allows us a glimpse into that power. For instance, last fall I planted pansies in my front flower bed. This February when it got down in the single digits, I thought they were lost forever. They were completely crippled and shriveled up. But once the sun started shining again and the temperature stayed consistently warm, suddenly I had fresh blooms and the front of my house looked alive again. It was an amazing thing to watch.

When Jesus was killed, He did not just appear dead. He was, in the great words of the munchkin coroner on the Wizard of Oz, really, most sincerely dead. I recently read a book that made me think about for the first time that Christ experienced hell on my behalf. He actually went there in my place. I've always thought about his suffering on the cross, but never about his suffering after death. He went to hell for me. And, praise God, He fought death and won the victory. He has defeated death. He has defeated the powers of Hell. I am forgiven because He was forsaken. I'm accepted because He was condemned. I'm alive and well, His spirit lives within me, because He died and rose again.

Thank you, Jesus. You are my king, now and forever. Happy Easter everyone!

I'm struggling with how to write about this, because I have no way of putting myself into the place of the Edwards. My husband has never run for president. I have never had breast cancer. I've certainly never had it return with such a scary prognosis. So I honestly can't say how I would react in such a situation, as my good friend pointed out last night. Perhaps I would want him to go ahead and run in defiance of the disease. Personally, I think I might be too selfish for that. I would want my man home with me, helping me through the agony of chemo or whatever option we chose for treatment without the insane life of the campaign trail. But that's me.

What really bothers me about the whole thing is the way it has all come out. I find it very suspicious that a story leaked the morning of his big announcement to say that they were getting out of the race, like anyone would have expected him to do. It came from a "very reliable" source, "extremely close to the Edwards campaign." We know how leaks work. They meant for that to get out. If you weren't going to get out of the race, why call a press conference in the first place? Okay, so maybe they thought it would be better PR if they came out and admitted that he was going to keep campaigning while she was fighting death than for it to leak, which probably would have made him look like a sleazebag. I can see that. But the whole thing had a very contrived and exploitative feel to it. Maybe it's just because John Edwards feels contrived and exploitative.

I honestly wish Elizabeth Edwards the best. I hope that she is able to beat this cancer. I hope that she sincerely does want her husband to keep up the campaign pace throughout her suffering and she wasn't put up to it for the supposed good of the nation. As if we need that. How good can his judgement be if he tied his presidential hopes to John Kerry? And I can only stomach the geeky thumbs-up through the primary season. I really don't want to have to look at it for the next 18 months and, God forbid, four years after that. One presidential campaign was more than enough!

The cynical side of me thinks that perhaps he's just seen The American President one too many times. But I think this was exactly the kind of press he was hoping for. The super-cynical part of me wonders how long until Hillary comes up with some mysterious illness of her own, so as not to be upstaged. Ouch - did I just say that? Perhaps I'm up too early.

I'll reserve further comment until I see how it plays out. If this is the last we hear about the cancer from them until there is something major to report, then I'll take it back. But if they release each and every doctor's report, then I'm holding to my theory that they are allowing her disease to be exploited for political gain. I guess either way I am judging. I'll have to think about that.

Where has this been all my life?!

No birthday cakes for my baby. He tried his first hot Krispy Kreme doughnut tonight. At first he just took a bite or two. Then he started diving for the doughnut. I finally gave in and let him have it. He was shoving it into his mouth as fast as he could. Sugar was everywhere! I'm not sure, but I think he liked it...

Happy Birthday, Bryant!

I can't believe that a year has gone by since you came into our lives. What incredible joy you bring us each and every day. You are a gift from God and we love you beyond measure. Grow in wisdom and stature, sweet baby. We love you so much!

Have you heard of Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda?

Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. (Matthew 24:4-8)

Last night we finished up Bradley's birthday week with a trip to Chuck E. Cheese and his best friend spending the night. Amazingly, it wasn't that crowded to start with, maybe because most of Nashville was apparently heading south for Spring Break. The kids had a blast, as usual, and Jeff and I actually got to eat somewhat in peace while they were off playing their games. It was Bryant's first visit where he actually could tell that crazy things were going on. He seemed impressed with Chuck E., but only from a distance. When he got too close, things went sour. I can't blame the kid; those things totally freak me out.

Afterwards we went to Maggie Moo's for dessert. Dylan kept his mouth nice and clean with an ice cream cupcake, but Brad and Bailey wanted to wear their flavors home!

This time we were able to corral Bryant with a high chair and booth. Next time we'll probably be chasing him around everywhere. Let the fun begin...

Warning: If you don't watch 24 or Lost, you will have no idea what I'm talking about in this post, so please don't waste your time. :)

I'm totally behind on tv shows, having been gone for ten days and otherwise just crazy busy. So I decided last night not to try and catch up on 24, but just jump into the most recent episode and see if I could figure out what had been happening. Fascinating episode to jump into. My thought for the show is: When did they start allowing people who have been institutionalized to have sharp objects such as a paring knife available to them? And although I knew something was coming, I still jumped out of my seat. Kudos, Jean Smart!

I also watched 3 Losts ago, "Tricia Tanaka is dead." What a fabulous episode! My favorite moment:
Hurley: Shut up, you red... neck... man.
Sawyer (looking impressed): Touché.

Hilarious!

My baby is 8 today. I guess he's not my baby anymore, but he'll always feel like that. I know everybody says it but I just can't believe how fast the time has gone. When I think about everything that has happened since that day, it definitely feels like it's been a bunch of years, but they flew by in such a blur. I try to think about him being Bryant's age and I can just barely remember bits and pieces.

I'm trying to cherish every moment, I really am. Those days that I'm so frustrated with him I want to scream, I always try to go in his room after he's asleep because I fall in love with him all over again just listening to him breathe. This is one amazing kid God has loaned me, and I am eternally grateful.

This is such a weird age. His teeth are all crooked or falling out. His pants are all ripped at the knees, each and every pair. He is starting to scold me for embarassing him in front of his friends. And yet there are times when I'm reading to him at night that he will throw his arms around me and tell me he loves me so much and I can hear the earnestness in his voice. It's like he's pushing me away with one hand and holding on for dear life with the other. I feel the part of his life that I have control over getting smaller and smaller and it scares me to death.

And yet I know that he has to be free to make mistakes, for learning how to deal with them are what shape us and mold our character. If I could teach him everything from my experience without him having to experience pain, then I would so want to. But would that allow him to grow? Fortunately the choice is not left to me. This is a new phase in trusting God. I know there are many more to come.

Happy birthday, sweet Bradley. Your momma loves you so.

Now THIS I can REALLY get excited about!!! :)

pretty please?

Now this I could get excited about...

March 11, 2007, 11:33 am
Fred Thompson Considers Running
By Kate Phillips
Former Senator Fred Thompson, who now plays a district attorney on “Law & Order,” told Fox News today that he’ll make a decision in the coming months about whether to jump into the field of Republican candidates vying for the 2008 presidential nomination.
“I’m going to wait and see what happens,” Mr. Thompson said. “I want to see my colleagues on the campaign trial, what they say, what they emphasize, whether they can carry the ball next November.”
“I think people are somewhat disillusioned. A lot of people are cynical out there. They’re looking for something different,” he said.
Mr. Thompson, who served as a senator from Tennessee from 1994 until 2003, said he was leaving the door open for a return to the political stage. Political writers in his home state have been reporting in recent days that former Senator Howard Baker has been testing whether there’s support among conservatives for a Thompson run.

written Saturday afternoon, somewhere in San Juan...

Yesterday, I was sailing on the Caribbean Sea all day long. Life was good. So good.

Today, I am sitting in an airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We got here at 7:45 a.m., thinking we were in plenty of time for our 9:50 a.m. flight. We realized something was up when we had been waiting in the check-in line for over an hour and were just now getting near the counter. About that time we learned that due to volcanic ash somewhere around Puerto Rico, no Delta flights had arrived, and therefore there were no Delta flights for us to leave on. Fortunately, we were here early enough that we managed to squeeze onto the 3:40 flight, which at last check of Jeff’s phone is supposed to be delayed until 4:15. If it leaves then we will feel fortunate. (As an update, our plane actually left at 5:00 p.m. We did make it onto our Atlanta-Nashville flight at the last possible minute, but our luggage didn't. It was delivered to us Sunday morning.)

This place is obviously packed, as five planes worth of people that were supposed to depart this morning are still sitting here waiting to cram onto the afternoon flights that were already pretty much full. And there is nothing here. No Chili’s, no Outback (yes, Orlando has an Outback), no nothing. Well, there is a random fried chicken restaurant that the line is backed up about two hours for. We went ahead and got ours about 10:25 because Jeff was afraid they were going to run out. I think he was right. We just saw a Jet Blue plane take off. If they can take off, then what the heck is up with Delta?!

Anyway, this day will not ruin the memory of our incredible vacation. After I last blogged, we went to Grenada. We were only there until about 2:00, and we sailed for the island of Bonaire.

Now, being somewhat of a geography geek, I’m ashamed to admit that I had never even heard of this island. But if you ever have an opportunity to go there, definitely take it. The island is absolutely gorgeous. There are only about 14,000 inhabitants, as compared to the 125,000 or so of Aruba. It is so pretty with all the red tin roofs, and just feels calm and relaxed. The beaches aren’t much, but because of that the water is crystal clear. It was amazingly beautiful.

We took an island tour up to the north part of the island. Bonaire is one of only four natural habitats for pink flamingos, and we were able to see a few. Our tour guide, Edgar, informed us that the reason they flock to Bonaire is for the abundance of little baby shrimp, and that it is because they eat these shrimp that their feathers get so pink. The more shrimp they eat, the pinker they get. That’s why the babies are so pale. I did not know that.

Wild donkeys also have the run of the island, which is incredibly desert-like in its vegetation to be an island surrounded by water. But they only get rainfall about three months out of the year, which makes agriculture difficult. The island imports virtually all of its food because hardly anything grows there. Being 60 miles north of Venezuela, it also serves as a repository for all that Hugo Chavez oil. Since the big tankers have a hard time with the shallow shoreline of Venezuela, they pull up to Bonaire and get it from the storage tanks instead. Fascinating stuff.

Our last port day was in Aruba. Since we hadn’t done hardly any shopping, we spent the morning looking for souvenirs to take back to the kids. We planned to take our stuff back to the boat and then head out to the beach, but once we got back on the boat the laziness kicked in and we decided to enjoy the coastline from our favorite spot on the top deck of the ship. We decided that our next cruise we will definitely take a shore excursion and go snorkeling somewhere. But for this trip we were totally content to just hang out and do nothing. There’s a lot to be said for a week of doing nothing. That night was formal night, so here we are all fixed up.

And then, as I said, yesterday was spent sailing north from Aruba to San Juan. I loved that our last day was a full day at sea because it is a 100% stress-free day. We literally laid out up on the top deck all day. The only thing we had to do was pack, but packing to go home from a trip isn’t nearly as hard as packing to go. You pretty much just stuff everything in your bags.

Since we had a 9:50 flight, we got to get off the ship this morning at 7:15, which was really cool until we entered the land of airport darkness. But it could be worse. I’m listening to a child who is as sick as all of us are of being here have a full-fledged screaming tantrum. While this is annoying, at least it’s not my problem. I feel bad for his mom though.

So if you are reading this, then I am home. Our trip was amazing. Since my mom-in-law was at the pediatrician four times and the ER once in her first five days of keeping the kids, I’m thinking it may be the last one we get to go on for quite some time, so I’m going to savor it as long as I can!

Thank you, Gale and Gene and Mom and Dad and Darlene and Brandon!! You made it possible for us to be here and we love you for it.

news from the cruise

I’m e-mailing this post to my blog, so forgive me if it looks weird.  I have no idea how it will show up once I’m done.  This seems the easiest option since I can write everything down and then just log on long enough to send my e-mail to Blogger.  The boat charges 50 cents a minute for Internet access, and it would take way too long and be way too expensive to try and blog the traditional way.  So, sadly, I can not post any pictures right now.  Those will have to wait until I get home.

 

We boarded the Crown Princess about 1:30 p.m. on Saturday.  Our room is on the 10^th floor with a balcony big enough for two lounge chairs, so we have spent a lot of time by ourselves on our little private balcony.  Well, it’s private as long as you stay back close to the door under the 11^th floor balcony.  If we stand at our railing, the people above us can look right down on us and see if they like what we’re eating.  But at least we have the option of staying out of view or being seen, and that’s really nice. 

 

The boat didn’t leave Puerto Rico until almost midnight on Saturday, which was nice because it was a pretty view and it felt like as long as we weren’t moving, our vacation time wasn’t ticking down yet.  But it was also kind of weird to go to dinner and the show knowing that we were still sitting in the same place we’d been since boarding.  Since we were still had access, I found out that evening that whatever Bailey had had passed to Bryant, and he was now throwing up every 30 minutes.  Fortunately, since my mom-in-law knew exactly what it was and had something to fight it with, his was stopped after about 5 hours instead of being the all-day affair it was with Bailey, and didn’t involve a trip to the emergency room.  Thank God for grandmothers!!

 

Anyway, part of the reason we didn’t leave until so late on Saturday is because we were only going to St. Thomas, which is about 50 miles away from San Juan.  We were going so slow that it felt like we were just drifting along.  We were docked by 7:00 a.m.  Since it was our first day on the ship and Jeff and I have been to St. Thomas before, we decided to just stay on the ship.  It was a fabulously relaxing day.  Our view was amazing, because we like to lay out at the highest point of the ship.  We just moved from one side to the next depending on whether we were in the mood for the ocean view or the island view.  Very stressful choices we are making this week!  After getting enough sun, we came down to our cabin and spent the rest of the afternoon either on or balcony or watching a movie in our room.  We decided to try the traditional cruise dining experience this time, and our seating isn’t until 8:15.  We are loving this because it allows us to not feel like we have to rush back to our room and get ready.  Because we are doing the traditional dining, we have the same two servers every night.  Now they know that I want water in my lemon and we want decaf coffee with our dessert so we don’t have to tell them.  It’s just there when we get there.  I know those of you who are experienced cruisers don’t think this is a big deal, but our other two cruises we have done the anytime dining, which is just like showing up at a new restaurant every night, except for the obvious differences like just getting up when you are finished and leaving without receiving a bill. 

 

Yesterday we were in St. Kitts.  Since we’ve never been here, we did decide to walk around a little bit.  It turned out that the view of the island was much prettier from the ship than getting up close and personal, so we didn’t hang out too long.  What was so pretty about the island from the water was the very green meadow-like hillside.  It reminded me a lot of England, which was appropriate since it is a British island.  We walked around a park called Independence Square which used to be a slave market.  Very sobering thought.  We went inside this run-down Catholic church that is still operating, but felt so sad.  The time line of Catholicism on St. Kitts that we read on the wall said that only about 6% of the island is Catholic, which of course sent my mind wandering towards the inclination of the other 94%. 

 

The interesting thing about St. Kitts was that the locals pretty much left us alone to wander.  A lot of times you can’t go five feet without being approached to either buy something or just give them money.  The only person who spoke to me was offering me weed, and it was very much under his breath, much like walking past people in New York City with stolen watches.  I was a little surprised, but the paper the ship had given out said that this would very likely happen and to please not be tempted because there’s nothing they can do about it if the police catch you.  Amazing that people would be so stupid!

 

Yesterday afternoon we had a couples massage – yes, straight out of the Bachelor.  Except our faces were pushed down in the donuts the whole time and we were worked over pretty good by two little Phillipino ladies.  Mine was so cute.  She called me Ann because she said she couldn’t pronounce the Leigh.  I think if it had been spelled Lee or Li she wouldn’t have had a problem, but I didn’t want to push it.  I kept wincing at first until she finally said, “So, you really just want it light?”  I said, “Yes, please!”  After that it was much better.  I’m really such a wimp.

 

We left St. Kitts around 3:00 p.m. and started booking it towards Grenada, where we are this morning.  We had only gone about 7 or 8 knots the two previous nights, and last night we were kicking it at about 22!  There was no doubt that the boat was rocking.  I was amazed watching the servers in the dining room carrying so much food on these trays when I had had a hard time just walking to my seat without hanging on every now and then.  Of course, I was in high heels, which those of you that know me well will not be surprised that I was having trouble walking.

 

So this morning we have arrived in Grenada.  I’m curious about this island, because my youth minister in high school spent two years here as a journeyman missionary.  They call it the spice island, so I think we’re going to see what we can find for Jeff’s kitchen.  We are only here until 2:00, because we have another 450 miles or so to go to reach Bonaire.  Don’t forget to check us out on the web cam, www.princess.com/bridgecams/crown_bridge_cam.html

 

Hope everyone back home is having a fantastic week.  We are doing a whole lot of nothing, which is exactly what we had planned.  It amuses me that older folks still ask us if we are on our honeymoon.  When I tell them we have three kids they always look at us like we must have started really early.  I always feel compelled to tell them how old we are and how long we’ve been married.  The look of shock is hilarious.  But I told Jeff that one day in the not-too-distant future people will no longer think we are on our honeymoon and it will make us sad.  Time has a funny way of doing things to your body that you just can’t help.  But we are here to relax and rejuvenate and reconnect.  So far it’s going just as we planned.

Okay, now for some details. We arrived on this gorgeous island about 2:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday. It took us about an hour to get out of the airport, onto the shuttle, to the Thrifty rental place and finally get our black Jeep Wrangler and be on the road (it's so pretty!) Jeff had already downloaded the coordinates to the Westin Rio Mar in our TomTom, so we just punched it in and were off. We accidentally missed a turn, though, and ended up on a toll road. This would have been fine, but we pulled up to the express lane where you have to have exact change, which we didn't. The lady took Jeff's dollar and casually meandered over to make change. By the time she was back there were about a dozen ticked-off Puerto Ricans blaring their horns at us to move on. It was funny, because if that had happened in America Jeff would have been the one laying on the horn! But all we could do was laugh and drive on.

We arrived at our resort about 4:30 p.m. and our breath was taken away. The hotel we are staying at is located on a couple hundred acres of beach/jungle/mountain territory. There is a mile of private beach nestled back in a little cove. It is simply stunning. Our room is on the back side of the hotel, so we have this view.

Since I have been spending so much time reading Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers lately, I can't help but be reminded of Mt. Sinai and how the Isrealites saw God descend upon it in a pillar of cloud.

Not only is our view gorgeous, but we are right next to the rain forest, so the sounds of birds and all kinds of other creatures fill our room at night. It is amazing.

We were so tired on Wednesday night that we walked around a little bit, had supper, and were literally in bed by 8:30. Unfortunately we had some bizarre ghost in the walls of our room that would rattle the closet door every time someone opened and shut a door in the hall. So Thursday morning we kindly requested a room change and they were gracious enough to accommodate us.

We spent Thursday moving back and forth between the beach and one of the two pools. This was our view late in the afternoon. This pool actually has cushions for the chairs, so we were happy to get to lounge here for a couple of hours.

We had dinner at the main hotel resteraunt Thursday night, and when we got back to the room I called my mom-in-law to check on the kids. That's when I found out that due to a violent day of throwing up since about 9:00 a.m., my Bailey had been taken to the doctor and was now at the emergency room getting rehydrated and given anti-nausea medicine intraveneously. This doesn't sit well with a mommy thousands of miles away and unable to do anything. I'm so thankful for mine and Jeff's parents being able to take complete care of our children in our absence. It is worth its weight in gold to know that even though I'm not there, my baby is in good hands. But I can't wait to see her nonetheless.

Yesterday we decided to hop in the jeep and do a little sightseeing. We drove down to Old San Juan, which is where our ship will be docked today. There is an old, and I do mean old, fort located right at the tip of the cliffs, and we spent an hour or so touring it. The original structure is from the late 1500's, but has been updated over the centuries. The last battle the fort saw was in 1898 during the Spanish-American war. One of the rooms even had cannon fragments in the wall from an American battleship.

The scariest part were all of the tiny little staircases and alcoves where the soldiers would shield themselves from outside attack. This little tunnel was a place where a soldier with a musket would stand at the end and fire out on the sea. For a quasi-claustrophobic like me, I had to do a whole lot of convincing myself to walk down to the end and look out. If the wind hadn't of been blowing so hard, I don't know if I would have been able to do it. But the view was worth a look, even if it was quick!

We ate lunch at Popeye's chicken (don't ask) and stopped by Belz Factory Outlet mall on the way back so Jeff could get another swimsuit. The rest of the afternoon was spent lounging on the beach and by the pool again. We ate dinner at a resteraunt in the hotel called Palio's, wonderful Italian food. But every time we have eaten we have had visions of the food that is to come beginning tonight!

So I need to wrap this up, because Jeff is busy in the room packing up our stuff to head over to the port. We will board our ship around lunchtime, but we won't actually leave port until about 11:00 tonight. We are only going to St. Thomas tomorrow, which is less than 50 miles from here. We are going to be poking through the water tonight!

I don't know if I'll be able to have access to wireless via my laptop on the boat or not, so I may not get to blog about the cruise until after we get back. If not, I hope you enjoy your week. I know I will! :)

Hola from Puerto Rico! After a crazy day of travel, we are finally here. This is the view out back from the hotel lobby. Not planning on blogging very long, because the beach is calling me.

Observations of Puerto Rico from our drive over from the airport - feels like Miami; looks a lot like Nolensville Road. Except for knowing you are a couple of miles from the ocean, and yet seeing these gorgeous mountains on the other side, which is truly a beautiful sight. But we drove past every American fast food resteraunt imaginable, Walgreens, Sam's Club, Office Max. There is even a Belz Factory outlet mall between our hotel and the airport. It was hilarious!

But now we are tucked away in our island resort, and the views are amazing. Jeff is drooling over the three golf courses. I told him he could go try and hook up with a group, but I think he's going to come to the beach with me instead. It's currently 76 degrees at 9:00 a.m., with a forecast of 86.

Hope all of you back at home are surviving the storms. Looks pretty bad on my radar. Thanks to all of you who are pitching in to help the grandparents take care of our children. You are making this vacation a possibility, and we are totally in your debt.

Love and best wishes!

why I need a vacation

Some of the most frustrating words you will ever hear as a mommy are, "It's a phase. He'll grow out of it." That's so not helpful in the moment.

My son is into everything. We call him the destroyer. He pushes, pulls, lifts, climbs, bangs, eats, rips and throws anything and everything he gets his hands on. He has learned how to lift the air vents out of the floor and does so constantly. It's only a matter of time before something valuable gets pitched into the black hole. He's now on the brink of full-fledged walking, and the thought of it alone is exhausting.

But all of that is relatively normal stuff. Not so with the baby bulimia. You see, my child has taken a liking to gagging himself. He sticks his thumb and/or pointer finger all the way in the back of his throat until he chokes. This usually occurs while we're driving down the road and scares me into pulling over unless one of the other kids can assure me that he's simply sticking his finger down his throat again. This has been just annoying and upsetting. But today it has spilled over into maddening. He managed to stick them so far back in his throat that he actually did make himself throw up. A lot. Over the side of the crib onto the floor and everywhere in between. Sorry if you have a weak stomach, but I need to vent.

So, if anyone knows anything about this bizarre behavior, please let me know. The "it's a phase" I got from the nurse at my pediatrician's office is just not cutting it. I need something a little bit more implementative than that. (No, I'm not sure that's a word.)

Maybe I'll just go to Puerto Rico. Grandmas are good for stuff like this.

My Jesus, My Saviour

A couple of years ago I had a friend who was not a believer and had almost no knowledge about what's in the Bible begin to ask questions about my faith and what I believed was the Truth. I was thinking last night that I have no idea who is reading this blog, since only a couple of you write back. ;) So I'm thinking that it's entirely possible that some of you happening upon this site don't know Jesus and may not know why He came to earth and why we who are believers love Him like we do. Back when my friend was asking questions, I sat down and wrote out the following. I hope those of you who don't know Him will be inspired to find out more about the King of Kings, Precious Redeemer, Lamb of God. And for those of you who do know Him, I hope this will remind you of what an amazing God we serve. God bless you all.

The book of Genesis is about the very beginning of God’s relationship to man. The Bible teaches that God is timeless. He has always been. There was never a time where He wasn’t there. He also has many angels, whose purpose is to both serve Him and worship Him. At some point before creation, one of his angels, named Lucifer, decided that he wanted to be equal to God. Isaiah 14:12-14 tells how Lucifer was cast out of Heaven. The Book of Revelation makes reference to the fact that he took 1/3 of the angels with him. These angels were no longer servants of God, but servants of Lucifer, who is also called Satan. They are no longer known as angels, but demons.

So, the first part of Genesis is about when God created the world. It goes through all of the different things that He created. Then in chapter 1, verse 27, you see that He decided to make man. God created us for the same purpose that he created the angels, to have fellowship with Him and to worship Him. However, just like the angels, He also created us with a free will. We can choose for ourselves whether we want to follow Him or not. Otherwise, the love would not be complete. If you only love something because you have no choice, how sincere can that love be?

So like I was telling you the other night, from the very first people God created came the first disobedience. Satan lured Eve into tasting the fruit from the only tree in the garden that God had commanded them not to eat. This again was giving them a choice. They were able to eat from every other tree in the whole place, just not this one particular tree. So, of course, that’s the one they ate from. At that point, man was cut off from God. And starting right then, there had to be restitution for sin. God didn’t stop loving Adam and Eve, but they lost that perfect communion that they had had before they chose to sin. From that point on, every human has been born with a sinful nature. I’m sure you’ve been around your sisters’ kids enough to know this is true. No one has to teach a 2-year-old how to lie. It just comes naturally.

So the rest of Genesis is stories about the first people on earth. Several generations after Adam and Eve, the world had gotten so wicked that God could only find one righteous man and his family. That man was Noah. Because He had decided to destroy the earth, He commanded Noah to build an ark for his family, and then a pair of all the animals as well. I’m sure you are somewhat familiar with that story. Once the flood was over and the waters had receded, God promised to never again destroy the earth by flood, and gave the sign of the rainbow as a promise that that would never happen again.

A few generations later, God chose a man named Abraham to be the father of many nations. All three major religions of the world trace their roots back to Abraham; Jews and Christians through his son Isaac, and Muslims through his son Ishmael. However, the Jews are God’s chosen people. They are special above all others. Abraham’s son, Isaac, had a son named Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons, who became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. One of those sons was Joseph, who through a series of unfortunate events ended up a slave in Egypt. Because God looked favorably upon Joseph, he ended up becoming the number two guy in Egypt, just under Pharaoh. When a famine came over the whole Middle East, Jacob’s sons moved all of their families to Egypt at Joseph’s invitation. This is where they grew in number for many years, truly building a nation of Israel (which is what Jacob’s name was changed to.) After Joseph died and time had passed, the new pharaohs didn’t have any reason to want to treat the Israelites favorably, so they were eventually made slaves. The people cried out to God for deliverance, which is where Moses comes in.

Most of the story of Moses is in Exodus. I know you might at least be somewhat familiar with the basics. Moses went to Pharaoh and told him to let the Israelites go. He refused over and over, and God sent plague after plague on Egypt until the last straw. On that last night, he sent an angel of death to kill the firstborn son of every Egyptian family, including the pharaoh's. However, he told the Hebrews (Israelites) how to avoid losing their firstborn sons. They were to kill an innocent lamb and put the blood of that lamb on the doorposts of their homes. When the angel saw the blood, he would “pass over” their homes and the people inside would be safe. This was the very first Passover. And it set the stage for what would happen many hundred years later on a Passover weekend, when the blood of Jesus would be shed for the sins of the entire world.

Well, Pharaoh finally decided to let the Israelites go after this terrible night. The Israelites gathered up all of their stuff and headed out of there. This is called “the exodus.” Pharaoh later changed his mind and chased after them, which is when God parted the waters of the Red Sea and the people crossed over. When the Egyptian army was trying to cross over as well, the waters came crashing back down on them and they were destroyed. While the Hebrews were in the desert, God gave Moses many instructions on how the people were to live. This is what’s known as “the Law.” Part of that law was the very famous Ten Commandments. There were also very detailed instructions on how to make sacrifices to atone for their sins. This always involved the killing of an innocent animal to pay for the sins of the guilty.

OK – to make a long story a tiny bit shorter, Because of disobedience, the Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years but finally ended up in Canaan, which was their Promised Land. This is where modern day Israel is today.

The rest of the Old Testament is stories of the Israelite people rebelling against God, being punished by God, and turning back to God. God loves these people so much, yet they could not remain faithful to Him for very long. The people decided after a while that they wanted a king just like everybody else had, so God let them have a king. They had some really great kings, such as King David, and some really terrible kings as well. But throughout the entire Old Testament, God promises his people a messiah, a savior, a deliverer. They long for him and watch for him. Between the Old Testament and the New Testament are 400 years of silence. God stopped sending prophets to the people, and they didn’t hear audibly from Him for four generations.

In the meantime, the land of Israel came under the rule of several different empires, finally ending with the Romans. They were forced to pay taxes to Rome, send their boys as soldiers and do all of the things expected of Roman subjects. They hated this, and longed for their promised Messiah, who they believed would come in as a military hero and get rid of all the oppressors Israel had been dealing with and they would finally be on top for once. They were not at all looking for, nor expecting, The Prince of Peace.

The first four books of the New Testament -- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are also known as the Gospels. “Gospel” means “good news”. Each one of these books tells the story of Jesus from a slightly different perspective. They are all beautiful in their own way, and I recommend that you read all four of them. Jesus Christ was the most amazing person to ever walk the face of the earth. He is so easy to fall in love with just reading about how He treated those he came into contact with, and then seeing what He went through out of His love for us. (By the way, if you haven’t seen Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion,” it would give you incredible insight into this sacrifice. It’s hard to watch, but an experience you will never forget.)

The basic gist is found in John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.” God sent Jesus to be the final sacrifice to save us from our own sins. This is what makes Christianity different from all other religions. Every other religion talks about what you have to do to get to God. Christianity talks about what God did to get to us. It was an unbelievable sacrifice on His part, and yet He would have done it even if it was only for one person. He did it just for me. He did it just for you. God loves YOU so much that He sent his only son to die on your behalf, to pay the price for your sins so that you wouldn’t have to. He did it so that you could spend eternity in Heaven with him, instead of having to serve out your own sentence of death for the rest of time. This is why they call it Amazing Grace.

So, the rest of the Bible talks about the beginning of the Christian church, and there is a wealth of fabulous information packed in those pages. But there is plenty of time to read and absorb and study the Bible. You don’t have to do that before you can decide to follow Christ. The fact that you are searching is evidence that God's Spirit is working in your life, seeking to draw you to Himself. This is not something that mankind does naturally, because we seek to be the answer to all the questions in our own lives.

To respond to this drawing of God, the only requirement there is, is that you confess to God that you need Him. Confess that you have sinned and that you need and gratefully receive His forgiveness. Thank Him for the precious gift that He is freely offering. Invite Him to be the ultimate authority of your life and acknowledge that He is your saviour. Ephesians 2:8-9 says that it is by grace that you have been saved, through faith. It goes on to say that salvation is a gift from God, and not something that you can work for. If we could do something to earn it, then that would give us a chance to feel like we are somehow responsible for it, and that would just feed our pride. The best part of salvation is that there is absolutely nothing that we can do to earn it. Isn’t that a blessing? It’s just there for the taking. All you have to do is ask.

You asked me the other night if I feel guilty all the time, and wouldn’t it just be better to not know that I’m offending God, or something like that. I can tell you that nothing could be farther from the truth. Yes, there are times when I feel convicted that I acted in a way that I shouldn’t have, but that just gives me an opportunity to confess my sin to God and thank Him once again for his grace, that he could love someone like me. I mean, it’s not like you never feel guilty about something you have done, is it? You just think of it as your conscious. It’s actually very freeing to just be able to admit to God that I screwed up once again, and to know that he’s ready to forgive me and forget all about it.

Once you invite Christ into your life, the best part is that He never leaves. No matter what you do. Romans 8:38-39 says, “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” I believe that with all my heart.

Now, here is the part that also makes Christianity different from all other religions. John 14:6 says, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” Christians get ridiculed for being exclusive. We are hated because we believe that there is only one path to salvation. But the fact is, if you believe the Bible is God’s word, then this is what God said. He didn’t make it difficult. He just made it specific. You either choose to believe that Jesus is who He says He is and accept that personal gift, or you don’t. But God desperately wants you to choose Him.

I pray that if this is the first time you've thought about Jesus as God's gift to humanity that this will set you on an investigative course and you will begin to seek out the truth for yourself. You will not be disappointed in what you discover about Him. And it just might change your life.

I was getting ready to blog about how it must be a slow news day when cable news has a split channel between K-Fed going to a custody hearing and the ongoing saga of who gets Anna Nicole's body. But before I began I linked over to the Living Proof blog and read this fantastic post by Beth's youngest daughter, Melissa. She saved me a lot of time and said it much better than I could have dreamed of. Hope your thoughts are as provoked as mine!

Now I can get back to my Sunday school lesson...

Serenity now...

I'm leaving for the Caribbean in 5 1/2 days. My mother-in-law will be here on Tuesday. On Saturday we found out that Bailey had strep. No big deal, happens about once a month. She got the antibiotic shot and we're good to go.

Tuesday, Bradley started running a fever. He was diagnosed with strep. But due to hearing Bailey's elaborate tale of screaming at the top of her lungs when she got the shot (which she actually did), my son was shaking in his boots from the time we got out of the car that he was going to get that shot. So I agreed to let him take the oral antiobiotic, which he started Tuesday at lunch. Yesterday he was feeling fine, looking great. Puerto Rico, here I come.

Today he woke up with a fever, headache, stomach ache and cough. Yep, we are now infested with influenza B. I'm starting to panic just a little bit.

Fortunately Bryant had the flu shot in January, so he got his booster this morning and I think he'll be fine. None of the rest of us got the flu shot because we never get the flu. I realize how stupid that sounds now.

So my sweet pediatrician wrote my entire family, sans Bryant, prescriptions for Tamaflu. $200 later, I'm shoving a "preventive" drug in us all, praying with all my heart that none of the rest of us come down with this. I just have a bad feeling about getting the flu in San Juan, or even worse, on a cruise ship! So if you hear stories in a couple weeks about the Crown Princess having to dock due to a flu epidemic, you'll know what happened.

If you love us, and this isn't too selfish of a request, can I ask you to pray that this illness will be confined to Bradley and that he will be rid of it as quickly as possible? I pray that he will be fever free by the time Jeff's mom gets here and that Bailey won't show any signs by then either so I can decontaminate this place.

Next year, flu shots all around.