The Next Great Praise & Worship Hit

(Please note, sarcasm to follow)

Dancing in Love

Dancing across your alabaster waves
Singing the melody of my heart
Rolling around the fields of your grace
Swimming the river of your sea

Chorus: Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance

Gazing across your effervescent wonder
Looking at your spectacular love
Climbing the mountain of your joy
Your peacefulness enthralls my heart

(Chorus)

Skipping across the rainbow of light
Towards the thrill that is a pot of gold
Drinking your wine of intoxicating mercy
Resting in the arms of your love

(Chorus)

(Dancing in Love, M & M, 2009)

Now, compare the above "song" (and I use that term loosely) with the following:

Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
’Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ’tis He, ’tis He!’
Tis the long expected prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
’Tis a true and faithful Word.

Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting his distress:
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.

Ye who think of sin but lightly,
Nor suppose the evil great,
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed!
See Who bears the awful load!
’Tis the Word, the Lord’s Anointed,
Son of Man, and Son of God.

Here we have a firm foundation,
Here the refuge of the lost.
Christ the Rock of our salvation,
Christ the Name of which we boast.
Lamb of God for sinners wounded!
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.

(Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted - Words by Thomas Kelly, 1804)


Have you ever noticed how songs that are sung, or rather presented, in church, er, worship, services today seem to not have a lot of depth in them? Heck, in fact sometimes they seem like they could be a better fit for a love song to a boyfriend/girlfriend? Just insert his/her name where he or him is and you'll see what I mean. In fact, I was joking around with DH a few weeks ago and started singing I Give You My Heart to him:

I give you my heart
I give you my soul
I live for you alone
Every breath that I take
Every moment I'm awake
Oh, have your way in me

Can someone please tell me where the substance in this song is and how it pertains to God/Jesus/Holy Spirit? Is this what our "worship" services have sunk to? Can we not have any songs that have deep, theological meanings? As DH once said, I think I may have to toss my cookies someday.

Now, mind you, there's nothing wrong with songs about a relationship with God. However, to balance that out, we should be explanining WHY to have that relationship and HOW to get that relationship. Why are so many preachers and worship leaders/music ministers today so afraid to use "big" or "taboo" words like justification, sanctification, propitiation, substitutionary atonement, imputed righteousness, and hypostatic union, and, most importantly, the S word? Don't know that one...stay tuned, I'll reveal it later...

Nope, I'll go ahead and reveal it now, so I hope you're sitting down...it's Sin.

Haven't Gotten Rid of Me Yet

Not that anyone is trying to...at least, not that I know of, anyway! I haven't blogged much lately - why, I'm not sure. If you ask DH he'll tell you I have a lot to say about a lot of things, but I can't seem to put them down on paper - or computer, as it may be. I wish I had some deep, philosophical, theological, meaty topic to expound on, but nothing's coming to mind at the moment; give it time, however, and it probably will.

DH & I got an XBox 360 & bought Guitar Hero World Tour. This game has taught me at least one thing - my goal in life better not be to be a guitar player. I am not the most coordinated person in the world, but I did used to play the flute & have sung in a few choirs in my day, so I can't use the excuse that I have no musical inclinations. I'm just not cut out to be the next Eddie Van Halen. DH, however...no, he's not either, but he has an entertaining time trying (keep an eye out on You Tube...just kidding, Mark. I love you!)

6 months we've lived in our house now...I love that saying - OUR house! It's not another individual's house, or a property management company's house, it's our house! That does make a lot of difference into how you take care of it, I've noticed. I didn't think it would, but it does. I'm almost to the point where I look forward to getting up on Saturday morning & do my share of the housework - notice I said ALMOST! :-)

Yep, I'm Still Here

Yes, my adoring fans (all one of you, and you know who you are!), I'm still here. Actually, I forgot my password & couldn't get into my blog...but, obviously I've remembered it.

The big update - WE BOUGHT A NEW HOUSE! Well, new to us, anyway. It's the first home I've ever purchased (2nd for DH). As you may (or may not) remember, we used to live across from the country of TU (the best undefeated football team in the state, IMHO). At the end of June, we received a letter from yet another property management company that they would be taking over the management of our house. They were also changing the rules & were going to require all rent payments payable & due on the 1st of the month. This would be a big change for us as we normally paid by the 11th (per agreement w/the original private landlord). This only gave us about 3 days to pay rent, as we had already budgeted for DSD to attend Falls Creek for the first time. Well, that lit a fire under my tushy, so I walked over to QT the next day (Saturday), and picked up a paper that shall remain nameless for the World of Homes. I chose some open houses that I thought we might be able to afford and we spent the weekend looking. Now, mind you, we have been through some financial challenges in the last 3 years, so I had no idea how much we would be able to afford. For all I knew, a cardboard box would be our next home - no offense to those of you that live in one. Anyway, we looked at several homes over that weekend. On Sunday, we went to a open house of one of DH's parents' friends' house. The realtor was the same one that sold his dad's house. We decided to retain her as our realtor. She recommended someone w/Bank of America to contact about a mortgage. She told us that he should be able to get us a mortgage and, if not, would let us know what we could do in order to get one in the future. Over the next couple of weeks, we looked at houses and got our pre-approval letter. There was one day in which we looked at 5 houses, but kept coming back to the first one we looked at that day. It was a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1 car house with a double driveway, large front porch and a covered patio. We eventually put an offer in on it, then found out there was another offer on the table. At this point I felt we should be on HGTV on either House Hunters or My First Place. The sellers decided to work with our offer and came back with a counteroffer. We countered their counteroffer with another offer, which they accepted. A week before we were scheduled to close, they found out the roof needed to be repaired. We already knew this & had told them about it. They had someone come out & do an estimate, then presented us with the option of a) repairing the roof and we would keep the brand new washer & dryer that were in the house, or b) they would have the roof completely replaced, take the washer & dryer with them, and add $250.00 to the cost of the house. Hmm, new roof or washer & dryer? I think I'll take new roof for 500.00, Alex. I'll save another post to go over closing day. We thankfully had enough money left over to buy our own brand new washer & dryer...front loaders, thank you very much!

So, it's been almost 2 months now & I really love this house. We've had one housewarming party for people at my work and will probably have another one for our Sunday School class & people from DH's work.

That's about it for now...I'll also update you on the denture situation later - can you believe it'll be a year tomorrow? Geesh, how time flies!

Paper v. Plastic

So, I'm watching the news and, once again, the left coast wackos are trying to legislate crap. They now want to force people to pay to use plastic sacks at the grocery store or, in Seattle, ban both paper & plastic. It's something about the plastic being bad for the environment. Guess what, wackos - paper bags attract bugs, which I'm sure are also not good for the environment. Sorry, but I refuse to pay for using plastic bags and, besides, I do reuse them - guess what I use to take my lunch to work? You guessed it, plastic bags from Wally World. If that's not recycling, I don't know what is.

DH and Our Trip

For those of you who have read DH's blog, you'll note that, yes, he got a tattoo. How do I feel about it? I'm proud of him; he's been saying for sometime that he wants to get one, but he could never get the nerve. Have I mentioned before that he's a wimp? He won't give blood, because he doesn't like the pain, so what does he do now? Go and get inked. It actually looks pretty good. It's an outline colored forest green. He plans to go back in the future & get it colored in. If you're wondering what a triquetra is... (http://www.apologetix.com/apologetics/apologetics.php) It's in the upper left corner of the webpage.

On a related note, if you get a chance, check out the group that has the triquetra on their website - Apologetix. They are a Christian parody rock band (think Weird Al).

Okay, outta here for now...

We Won!!!!!

Okay, "we" didn't win, but I still feel like I was a part of it.

UNO THE BEAGLE WON WESTMINSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is the first time in the history of Westminster that a beagle has won Best in Show...and it beat out 2 ugly poodles!!!! I'm with DH, I can't stand poodles. I was rooting for the dachshund, which I've never seen win the hound group, but I was glad to see the beagle win.

The sad thing is, I think I was more about excited about the dog show than I am about the presidential race. I'm not quite sure what to think about that.

2 more sports items of note: NASCAR officially begins this weekend with the Daytona 500 (go Jeff Gordon!) and, more importantly...pitchers and catchers report to spring training tomorrow!!!! Gee, can you tell I'm a sports fan?! :-)

Magster 5000 v. 1.0 - 3, Old Sparky - 3

Shortly before the ice storm, we had a new, albeit unwanted, addition to our family - a small, grey, four-legged animal with a thin tail. Yep, we had a mouse, and its name was NOT Mickey, Minnie, or Jerry. Let it be known that I HATE MICE!!!! Just ask my DH, Okie Rambler (more on that momentarily). I never knew how many ways there were to kill mice until I did some research. Whoever made the comment about building a better mousetrap knew what they were talking about. However, before we had the opportunity to purchase one of these fine products, we discovered we had one right under our nose - the Magster 5000, version 1.0, otherwise knows as Maggie, our miniature dachshund. We had come home from work and discovered her handiwork on the kitchen floor. Thankfully, the only mess to clean up was the body of the departed -- score one for the Magster! A couple of nights later I went into the kitchen and what did I find? Another corpse. Now, remember...I HATE MICE!!!! So, what did I do at 1 in the morning? The same thing any self-respecting married female would do: I woke up DH and had him dispose of it. I'm so glad he loves me, otherwise he might have made me take care of it! I went back to the research and discovered a trap we've affectionately nicknamed "Old Sparky." The proper name for it is the Victor Electronic Mouse Trap. It is an enclosed, battery operated box that sends an electric shock to the mouse, killing it in approximately 20 seconds, hence the title "Old Sparky." The best part, for me, is that I never have to see the mouse! You just go and get your DH and have him dump the mouse out, reapply the peanut butter or bait of your choice, and wait for the next criminal. As of this writing, Maggie has rid the world of 3 mice, as has Old Sparky. I thought we had gotten rid of them, but, alas, about 5 minutes ago (Happy New Year!), I saw a live one in the kitchen. So, if you need to rid your house of mice, we could probably make some sort of deal to rent you the Magster 5000...or you could spend about 20 bucks for Old Sparky.

The Nerve of Some People...

...and I use the term people loosely.

DH & I have been busy at church lately with our Christmas drama; tonight was opening night. I thought things went extremely well...this was the upside to our evening.

In case I haven't mentioned it before, we live in the neighborhood across from Skelly Field @ Chapman Stadium (or whatever they're calling it now), which is always interesting on game days. Tonight was the Jenks v. Union 6A state championship. We got home from the play @ approximately 10 PM and what did we find, but some pickup truck parked in OUR driveway. I had to park in the driveway across the street from us (with their permission). She said she had problems earlier in the evening with a male from Jenks. When she asked him to move his van because he was blocking her driveway, he said "whatever, I don't have to do that," and tore the ticket off of his windshield. He, of course, was from Jenks. At least an hour later, someone finally came and moved their vehicle out of our driveway. I followed them as they pulled out of our driveway and the passenger rolled down her window and looked at me as if to say, "Can I help you?" I advised her that next time they may want to park in the street as they were parked in our private driveway without our permission and, upon our return, we were forced to park in a neighbor's driveway. She looked at me, without taking attention away from her cell phone, and said, "Sorry." The driver then continued backing out of the driveway as I reminded them again to not park in people's private driveways (I guess that's how things are done in Jenks - you can just pick a driveway of your choosing to park in). DH heard the commontion and came out of the house, raised his voice a bit, and advised them to go ahead and go back to Jenks. (Oops, forgot to mention they had a Jenks Trojans license plate on the front of the truck & that they appeared to be high school students?) The female driver yelled "shut up" and drove off like she owned the place.

To this day I will never understand why some people feel they are better than others simply because of where they live...

Week 2 (or so) Update

I think I'm finally getting used to having dentures. Most of the time I forget I have the uppers in, and I'm now able to wear the bottoms on a pretty consistent basis now. I'm now in the process of retraining my mouth how to eat. I have begun to eat some solid foods. We went to Furr's over the weekend and I had some fried fish and a bit of hamburger steak. I'm looking forward to the day when I can eat a cheeseburger and/or a steak. I keep telling myself I just had surgery two weeks ago and I need to pace myself.

Sorry I don't have any deep theological or political insights for you; if you're looking for those, check out DH's blog. The last I knew, he was writing a series on why to study and learn about the Reformation.

1804 Brouhaha

Maybe it's just me, but does HB 1804 mention the word "Hispanic" anywhere? I was under the impression that it targeted "illegal aliens." I don't know about you, but in my dictionary if you look up the word "Hispanic", the words "illegal aliens" are not to be found in the definition. Could it be that those against it are having their consciences tweaked just a bit? I don't have a problem with Hispanics; I do have a problem with illegal aliens.

I saw the news tonight about the rally held against 1804 and noticed they were pinning up ribbons. DH had a good idea (I'll beat him to it & put it on my blog before he does his!) - what about ribbons for the victims of the crimes caused by illegal aliens? What about ribbons for the millions of dollars spent by legal citizens of the United States to support the illegal aliens living here illegally? Again, I'm all for people coming from other countries who arrive here and make a decision to become a legalized United States Citizens My beef is with those who want to have their cake & eat it, too, those who want to work here & get all the benefits without the responsibility.

Update After Week 1

Well, it's been a little over a week since I began "the first day of the rest of my life." Okay, maybe that's a little dramatic, but nevertheless, I've embarked on a new journey: life with dentures. Have you ever realized how much you use your teeth? As I write this, I'm only able to wear my top dentures. The swelling is finally beginning to go down on my bottom gums, thanks to the steroids (on a side note, maybe I should try out to be a pitcher for the Rockies - can't do any worse than any of the others in the Series). I go back to the dentist on Wednesday to have the stitches removed.

It's nice to know that I'm a pioneer - my extractions were the first ones that took the dentist two days to perform. Apparently I have a strange body in the fact that it metabolizes the numbing medicine at a fast rate, so much so that he was unable to extract the bottom teeth without a great deal of pain (okay, an inordinate amount of pain). In fact, even when I was completely numb, he still couldn't, so he had to numb each tooth individually. Anyway, after this exciting adventure, I spent most of last weekend taking Lortab and holding ice packs to my face. I made it for my first public outing on Monday - off to the dentist to have stitches out. Could anything go "normal" for me? Of course not. The gums were still too swollen to take them out, hence the steroids. They do seem to be working, thankfully. Now, back to the question I posed earlier - did you ever realize how much you use your teeth? My diet consists of Slim-Fast shakes, Carnation Instant Breakfasts, soups, cottage cheese, yogurt, and jello. I have made a couple of recent discoveries, however. I can handle baked potatoes, eggs, M&M's, and Reese's Pieces. My immediate goal is to try and get the lowers in for church in the morning; I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Oh, on another side note, I do not wish to receive a copy of the Koran, in case anyone is wondering. I know that I wasn't asked, but I figured I'd head it off at the pass. If they have the right to offer it, I have a right to reject it.

This Isn't Called "Ramblings" for Nothing

I feel like I need/should blog, but I can't think of anything pressing at the moment, so y'all are going to get to hear what's going on in my life at the moment. I'll try to balance the negatives with positives, rants/raves, so to speak:

Rave - I got a promotion at work! As previously stated, I work for the company that Mr. KIT owned until recently, when he sold it to Enterprise. Heck, with the moolah he made he could build himself and KIT their own pedestrian bridge to nowhere, but I digress. After a change in management, I was not happy with the way things were going in our department, so I took the initiative and attended a 3 day class to learn about insurance. This class would prepare me to take the Oklahoma Adjusters Licensing exam, which I did and I passed, thank you very much. The next week one of our claims adjusters left for greener pastures so I knew my time was at hand. I've been biding my time until this past Tuesday, when I was informed that I got the job, which comes with a nice raise! I am going from an hourly position to a salaried position. I've never had a salaried position before, so this is a whole new realm for me. This will take effect Friday, 10/19/07, but will I be there? No, and why, you may ask? See next paragraph --

Rant/Rave - I am going in Thursday for dental surgery. I'm having my teeth extracted and getting dentures. Don't I just sound excited as all get out about it? I'm too busy being nervous about the pain I'll have to endure, though the insurance coordinator assured me that my teeth are probably in bad enough shape that once they start the extractions, they'll all fall out with no problem. I'm picturing a row of dominoes all lined up; the first one gets knocked down and the rest follow. I knew my teeth were in bad shape, but I didn't think they were that bad. Word to the wise - get your yearly dental checkups and save yourself from this down the road. On the surface, I'm not jumping for joy in the fact that I'm 42 and will have a full set of dentures, but I know in the long run it'll be all good. I'll be able to eat what I want, I'll feel better, and I'll be much less self-conscious about my looks. As an added plus, I'll lose even more weight because I won't feel like crap for about a month and everything will taste like plastic (so I hear). As for another positive, this will help me make my weight loss goal at Weight Watchers faster.

In regards to one of my earlier posts, I'm still in a wait and see mode with the ORU situation. I'm not sure what to make of the fact that Billy Joe Daugherty has returned to the Board of Regents. I know we should continue to pray for them, that God will work through this situation and bring them to a place where they can discover who God really is and they will be able to see the errors of their false teachings.

Since coming out of the Charismatic/Word Faith movement, I've had to basically start over again in learning about the Christian faith. I've had to realize that it's not about what you want God to do for you, but what God wants you to do for Him and what He can do through you. This has not been an easy journey as I've had to discard many of my former beliefs; in fact, it's been quite earth shattering at times - just ask my DH. There have been nights I've cried because I've been so confused; I felt like my foundation had been shattered. I've become a little more discerning about who I listen to and read now and who I let influence my beliefs. I've discovered that there's more to know about the Christian walk than meets the eye. I've learned that between the book of Acts and the present day, there is a rich church history waiting to be discovered by many Christians. I've learned how important foundations can be. I'm also learning what those foundations are and how important it is to be grounded in them. For anyone else who might be going through this situation, I recommended some books in an earlier post.

See, I told you this blog wasn't titled "Ramblings" for nothing.

Change of Pace

Now that the river vote is over with, I'm tackling another local piece of news, the lawsuit brought against Richard and Lindsay Roberts. As I'm writing this, I'm listening to Larry King interview them. Is it me, or do they sound like politicians? They were not able to give straight answers to any questions that were asked. I think my favorite response was regarding the text messages to troubled males. Lindsay answered the direct question in a roundabout way and blamed it on her teenaged daughters and their friends. Richard chimed in that "they have a ministry to these wayward young people." Like I said in an earlier post, I'm sure Lindsay was just sending them Scriptures.

Right, and Jimmy Swaggart was just ministering to the prostitutes, males buy Playboy Magazine to read the articles and then go to Hooters for the wings...

Don't try to pull the wool over my eyes, Roberts family. I'm trying to do my best to keep in mind "innocent until proven guilty," but I'm finding it really hard. Richard mentioned how he received an overwhelming vote of confidence from the ORU Board of Regents. Has anybody checked the Board of Regents lately? The last I knew, it was filled with the who's who of the Word Faith movement and, unfortunately, I don't think most of them know the meaning of the word "accountability." It is said that you are known by the company you keep. What shames me the most is that not many people seem to be surprised at this turn of events. Is that what most people think of Christians? I pray that we can use this time to examine our own hearts.

Tuesday

Don't forget to get out and vote on Tuesday. In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm voting NO. If they had a space for HECK NO, I'd vote that way. This city does not need another tax; it needs politicians who will handle the money already given to them instead of misspending it then asking us for more. We also need leaders who know the meaning of the word "prioritize." Wouldn't you just love to go to these people's homes and look at how their budgets are handled? Are they spending their money on "wants" instead of "needs"? Isn't that what they're asking us to do? I don't fall for the idea that our city, nay, our region will completely fall off the face of the earth if this tax doesn't pass (sarcasm fully intended). Also, who's to say they'll actually spend the money on the river? They'll probably spend King George's 117 million then use the actual tax they take in on the arena or some other "need" they see fit. I'm thinking we need to buy our politicians a dictionary for Christmas.

On an upbeat note...

BYE BYE YANKEES!!!!

I'm not upset in the least to see the Yankees beaten by the Indians. I've been a Yankee hater for as long as I can remember. Why? I think it's because my mom liked them, so I felt the need to create a rivalry and have hated those da** Yankees ever since. Since my Cubs didn't make it, I'm rooting for the Rockies since I've seen several of them play when they were with the Drillers.

A New Talent

Apparently the Yes crowd has a new talent - they can see the future. The quote is that "we won't have this chance again for a long, long time." Bull hockey. I'm sure if/when this one doesn't pass, they'll reorganize and try to shove it down our throats again and again and again until it passes; look how many times the Vision 2025 ideas were thrown at us until we fell for it. I admit it, I was guilty and fell for the "it's better than nothing" mentality that was fed to me by the local media. Thankfully, since then I have discovered the alternative forms of media since then and have become better informed.

Guess what? I can see into the future as well. I predict that, if/when this tax passes, they'll come back to us sometime soon with a road tax/bond proposition...and, we'll fall for that, too.

On a happier note - OU 28, Texas 21

BOOMER SOONER, BABY!!!!

I know, my Cubs are down 2 games to none...don't remind me. I'm starting my "Go Rockies" chant...and the Yankees are down 2 games to none as well, so we're in good company.

My Take on Happenings at ORU

I'm surfing along and what do I see on Yahoo! News, but the headline "Scandal Brewing at Oral Roberts U." Now, living in Tulsa and knowing that a lawsuit has been filed by 3 former professors, seemingly stemming from Richard Roberts need to have RPM (Randi Miller) as Mayor, I was curious. I about blew up when I got to this section:

Richard Roberts is accused of illegal involvement in a local political campaign and lavish spending at donors' expense, including numerous home remodeling projects, use of the university jet for his daughter's senior trip to the Bahamas, and a red Mercedes convertible and a Lexus SUV for his wife, Lindsay.
She is accused of dropping tens of thousands of dollars on clothes, awarding nonacademic scholarships to friends of her children and sending scores of text messages on university-issued cell phones to people described in the lawsuit as "underage males."


As a former Charismatic and onetime member of Victory Christian Center (pastored by ORU graduates the Daughertys), I feel that I need to translate these items for the less initiated. I'll take them accusation by accusation:

A) Illegal involvement in local politics: "I've had a word/revelation/new thought from above - get involved, because the way to get the people saved and onto our team is through the leaders."

B) Numerous home remodeling projects: "I want our mansion on earth to look just like our mansion in Heaven; we're worth it, because we're children of the King."

C) Using the university jet: "It will get us where we need to go quicker so that we can witness to more people." Side note - the plus being they won't be treated like Joel Osteen's wife was after she went ballistic on a public airplane.

D) Luxury automobiles for Lindsay Roberts: "I'm a princess of the King; God would want me to have them so I can show others what they can attain when they get saved."

E) Spending sprees on clothes: "I'm a princess and I need to look like one."

F) Scholarships to children's friends: "We are called to help the less fortunate. The Bible said the poor you would always have with you, but that doesn't mean you have to be one of them."

G) Texting of underage males: "I wanted to let them know that I was with them when they most face temptation (1-3 a.m.)." I'm sure she was just sending them Scriptures.

For those of you who think I'm just a bitter ex-Charismatic who's mad because she's not living in a mansion and driving a fancy car, let me set some things straight. I never completely bought into the "name it and claim it" theology. I couldn't tell you why at the time, but I knew that something about it sounded fake. I so wanted to believe in it, especially the Scriptures regarding healing. I had some health issues that I knew (well, was told) that God would heal if I just had enough faith. I struggled with that the entire time I was in the movement. I prayed, and prayed, and prayed, but eventually just settled it in my mind that it was my cross to bear. Yet, I was always analyzing and searching to see what sin I had in my life that I needed to get rid of so God would heal me. I look back at this now and think how self-centered that view is, rather than being God-centered, which is really how He wants us to live. I thank God that I was not in the movement when my mother in law was diagnosed with cancer and six months later went home to be with the Lord, at which time she received her ultimate healing. I'm sure they would have told her that she didn't have enough faith or there was some sin in her life she needed to deal with that was not allowing her to release her faith and enabling her to live in victory. My MIL was probably the Godliest woman I've ever known. She left a legacy of love that lives on through her family. She accepted and adopted me into her family before I was even married to her oldest son. If that's not a picture of Jesus adopting us and grafting us into His family, I don't know what is. There are times that I regret the time I spent in the Word Faith camp, but then I realize that it is a part of who I am today. Going through that and realizing that life is not always hunky dory and doesn't always work out the way that we THINK it should but the way He KNOWS it needs to be. We are here to glorify Him, He is not here to glorify us. I pray that these leaders will see the errors of their teachings and are one day able to strip away all of the trappings and get to know the real God, the real Jesus, the real Holy Spirit. How will they do that? By reading the real Bible thoroughly, not just the parts they want to see that will tickle their fancy.

Don't get me wrong - I'm not one of those Christians who believe that by living in abject poverty, we somehow glorify the Lord. God has not said that life would be easy and that we would just sail through until we get to Glory. He has said, however, that He would be with us every step of the way. Another benefit of having come out of the Word Faith movement is that it has given me a deeper longing for His Word and a desire to get back to the basics. I have found several books on that topic:

Major Bible Themes by Lewis Sperry Chafer and John Walvoord
Jensen's Survey of the Old Testament by Irving Jensen
Encountering the New Testament by Walter A. Elwell and Robert W. Yarbrough
A Popular Survey of the Old Testament by Norman L. Geisler

If you need more recommendations, feel free to contact me and I'll look through our books at home and see what I can come up with for you.

I've also discovered Bible teachers such as John MacArthur, Charles Stanley, Charles Swindoll, John Piper, and John Barnett. You can find most of them on http://www.oneplace.com/.

Updates from the Rambler's Household

I'm happy to say that I was able to put my computer desk together - all by myself, thank you very much! Mind you, I had to purchase a battery powered screwdriver because the glue wouldn't hold, but, hey, it's working and I got to use my first power tool!

Also, DH now has a blog (see the Links section) - please view! He's got a lot to say and he's not afraid to say it! Just one of the many things I love about him!

As we speak, my Cubbies (NL Central Champs!) are in the process of losing game 1 to the Diamondbacks, but, as Scarlett would say, tomorrow's another day.

The latest commercial I caught for the river tax (before muting it) showed kids and their dreams. You know what one of my dreams is (other than starring on Broadway and writing the Great American Novel)? It's to live in a city that functions effectively without being bribed and held hostage by the so-called philanthropists and one that knows how to wisely spend the money alotted to them. I know, it's a pipe dream, but it could happen -- couldn't it?

Latest Goings On

I was attempting to put together a computer desk (more on that in a bit), when I overheard the latest begging to get us to vote Yes for the river tax. Actually, the only statement that I can remember dealt with a child attempting to guilt me into voting yes. Is this what that side has stooped to? I am sometimes ashamed to admit I live in Tulsa - this would be one of those times.

As for the aforementioned computer desk...I finally was able to purchase a desktop computer (HP, for those of you taking notes) and purchased a desk for it. I'm ashamed to say it, but I was bested by the desk. Who knew it was so difficult to keep screws straight? Thankfully, DH has a friend who loves putting things together, so he'll be over tomorrow evening to put it together.

Commonalities

KOTV had a story tonight about how the River Tax Yes people were going to have a hard road to travel to convince people outside Tulsa to vote yes for the tax. They showed a 23 year old male who had returned to Tulsa after graduating from OU. He made a statement that there was nothing exciting to do here; that there weren't any young people here. When I heard that statement, I thought of the seeker sensitive church movement. Isn't that there same claim? That the only way to get younger people in is to have programs for them, to play with and manipulate their emotions? We know there's no substance in the seeker sensitive churches; could we say the same thing about the Yes River Tax movement?

Just Say No

I'm already fed up with the ads trying to guilt us into voting "Yes" for the river tax. If these philanthropists want to improve the river, why don't they pay for it themselves and not expect the government to subsidize their "donations"? I guess that they don't have to drive on our roads; they can just use their hovercrafts to get from point A to point B. What am I thinking? They have people they pay to do that for them!



Before anyone gets the idea that I all I do is rant and rave about things I don't like about Tulsa, let me tell you, I love Tulsa! I'm originally from OKC and have been here since 1988. I missed the MAPS Projects, so I can't shed any light on those. I would much rather live up here than down there; at least here I can get the brown dirt out of my clothes.



I've heard a figure of 9,000 jobs floated around, but it sounds like those would only be temporary jobs and they would disappear as soon as all the work is done. Has anyone from the Yes crowd been able to substantiate the numbers they keep throwing at us? I haven't found anyone that can.



In their latest commericals, they use the old standby idea "do it for the kids." I would rather have smooth streets, or at least passable streets for my DSD (darling stepdaughter) then a river that she might not ever go to. Besides, if the streets stay in the shape they're in, no one will be healthy enough to enjoy the river. Everyone will be on pain meds for their injured backs and necks.



On a side note, and a much happier note, it's September and my Cubs are in first place!