Something to Think About...

There's an old adage among Christians which generally comes up in the face of catastrophe and essentially says there is no reason to fear because we know how the story ends and God wins.  


Amen to that, right?


Well, yes. 


 And no. 


I've started to realize that not many Christians (including myself) really know how it's going to end.  We simply know that God wins.  However, I've felt compelled to learn more than that and while, in reality, I know so little about prophecy and the end times, the more I learn, the more I want to know.  Thankfully I have a good friend who wants to learn about this too and we often have conversations about what is going on.  And from conversations with her, listening to online sermons by Pastor Ray Bentley, reading books by Chuck Smith and Joel Rosenberg, and reading through numerous websites, here is what I know and why I am SO EXCITED to be living in this generation:


Signs and Seasons:
Genesis 1:14 - "And God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons, and for days and years. ' "


That word signs means "signals" and the word seasons literally means "appointed time."  So let the lights in the sky be for signals and for appointed times.  


The Lunar Zodiac contains 12 constellations which most of us are very familiar with.  If I asked you your zodiac sign, you could probably tell me.  However, this mindset is a warped interpretation of what these stars are actually telling us.  


In Psalm 19:1, David says that "the heavens declare the glory of God and the skies proclaim the works of His hands."  And he's not lying.  The Lunar Zodiac gives a wonderful depiction of God's story, starting with Virgo, the virgin, and ending with Leo, the lion of Judah.  


Feasts:
Leviticus 23:4 says "These are the appointed feasts of the LORD...which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them."  


That reference to "time appointed for them" is the same word used in Genesis 1:14 for seasons.  Basically, each feast has been given a season, an appointed time, to happen.  The other key element in this verse is that these feasts belong to the LORD - not necessarily to Israel, despite the fact that they are often referred to as the Feasts of Israel.  If we belong to the Lord, these feasts should mean something to us as well.


Now, if you know nothing about these Feasts, here is a basic summary:


There are 7 feasts: 4 spring and 3 fall.  These feasts are celebrated every year on specific days, however they also represent major prophecy fulfillments and, so far, those prophecies have happened on actual feast days.


1. Passover - fulfilled, by Jesus at His death
2. Unleavened Bread - fulfilled, by Jesus at His burial
3. First Fruits - fulfilled, by Jesus at His resurrection
4. Pentacost - fulfilled, by the Holy Spirit at the Day of Pentacost


Summer Harvest


5. Trumpets - unfulfilled
6. Day of Atonement - unfulfilled
7. Tabernacles - unfulfilled


Now, before I go into this next part, I must pause and say I do not know when Jesus is going to return.  It could be tomorrow, it could be 50 years from now.  However, I do believe it is soon - if not within my lifetime, then very possibly within my childrens'.  


Like I said, all feasts are given appointed times.  However there is one feast - the Feast of Trumpets - where a precise date could not be given because it was determined by the new moon.  To solve this problem, this feast was (and currently still is) celebrated over the course of two days.  In other words, while we know the feast is coming, we don't know the exact day or hour of this Feast.  Verses to keep in mind regarding this feast:


About the day of Christ's return, Matthew 24:36 says "No one knows about that day or hour."
I don't necessarily think this implies Jesus will be returning during the Feast of Trumpets (though, hey, He could!), but 1 Thessalonians 4:16 tells us that Jesus will return with the sound of a trumpet so I do believe there is some sort of a connection here.   


Miscellaneous


There is a lot more I could go into, such as Palestine's attempt to separate out from Israel, the return of many Jews to Israel (including Russian and Ethiopian Jews), South Sudan becoming its own state, the massive size of China's army, etc.  There is just SO MUCH going on right now and I only know a small percent of it.  But MAN is it exciting to hear about!  




(Note:  I apologize if this post seems to come out of left field.  I know it doesn't fit in the context of anything else I've written, but as a Christian, I cannot help but take notice of all that is happening right now and that excitement found its way here.)

In Case of Emergency

In case you weren't around, Southern California had a power outage a week ago.  This meant we didn't have electricity in our home for SEVEN HOURS.  I thought we were going to die.  Yet leave it to the loss of our indoor lighting to motivate us enough to go outside and meet our next door neighbors.

Aaand, yes, also purchase some necessary equipment in case of an actual emergency.  Here is some of our loot:

 Non-perishable food.  Okay, technically it is perishable.  But not for quite awhile.

Honey, on the other hand, NEVER EXPIRES.  So I bought these little puppies.

Tools and basic essentials, including flashlights and batteries, a tarp and bungie cords, lighters, markers (not sure what these are for, but the list said I had to have them), and of course duck tape.

First aid kit, iodine tablets (for water purification), emergency blankets, and hand sanitizer.

A large blanket (we need more, I know) and basic toiletries, including toilet paper, chapstick, toothbrushes, feminine products, etc.

Here is Stuart's favorite part:  the crank radio.  This awesome thing will also charge our smart phones!!  

Water!!!  I read that water should be kept in sturdy containers (preferably not the one gallon jugs as those can easily get punctured) so how happy was I to find these 5 gallon jugs.  I bought 2, but will probably grab a couple more as its recommended to store at least a weeks worth of water, 1-gallon per person per day.

And a rolling trash can to store everything in.  This makes for easy transport and keeps it out of the way.  Of course the water won't go in here, but everything else will.  How clever is that?

Not pictured:  Yes, I also ordered some potassium iodide in 2 different doses (for the kids and for us).  Not that there will be another radiation scare but if there is, we won't be panicking and spending hundreds on a couple tablets. Which did happen after Japan's earthquake.   Also, I only pictured a portion of the food.  I have duplicates of nearly everything, plus some instant soup.  All in all, I'd say a solid weeks worth of food for our family of 5.

You know, as I was walking around the store piling my cart high with food, first aid stuff, and camping gear, I know I must have looked a wee bit insane.  I have no doubt my cart was a tell-all for what my intentions were.  But so what.  There is something remarkably comforting in knowing you've made preparations to safeguard your loved ones in the event of a disaster.  I kept talking about making an emergency kit, but never made it further than an extra jug of water housed in our garage.  But talking and doing are not the same thing.  So I'd encourage you to print out a basic emergency kit list and buy one or two things on your next shopping trip.  Keep it in a box either in a closet, a garage, or in the trunk of your car.  I guarantee if an emergency ever happens, you won't regret a cent of what you put into that kit.

The Fork

I dislike forks.

And spoons.  Knives are okay, ice cream cones even better, but I really really dislike forks.

On the other hand, I love good-tasting food.  And in my personal opinion, forks taste like metal.  I would never consider metal an ingredient in any gourmet dish, yet somehow we've democratically approved sticking it into our mouths and calling it normal.  Isn't that the exact same thing we discipline children for?  No wait, somehow it's different because this particular metal has been molded into pointy spikes and holds food, right?

I call it weird.

So if you wonder why carne asada burritos, fish tacos, and sushi are so stinking delicious, don't blame it on the ingredients.  Instead let's give credit where credit is due: no forks.

The Walk

The more "organic" time I spend with my children, the more I start to worry about them.

Today we went on a walk.  Nothing sophisticated.  Just a walk.  On this walk my son questioned me about a warning sign.  You see, several months ago he learned how to read "Warning."  So now he asks what the warning is on anything that says warning -the mattress tag, the refrigerator, the seat belt, the dryer...everything.  Including the neighbors sign:

Umm....picture not to scale.  =)

Typically, he asked what the warning was.  So I explained:  well, it lets people know that the house has an alarm.  So that way if someone thinks about going inside when the people aren't home and taking their stuff, they won't because they know an alarm will go off.

To this he replied:  "OR the secret spies can just go in."

I wrinkled my forehead and the walk continued.  Whenever we go on walks, my two daughters collect a bouquet of gorgeous weeds and pass them on to me, to which I take proper action and diligently position them in my hair.  By the end of these walks I generally look like an upside-down pomander.  But whatever - it's for the children.

I wasn't sure if my hair was too full or if she just wanted to secretly keep a flower for herself, but I glanced back at my youngest stuffing a flower into her pocket.

(Fine, I admit it, these pictures are fakes.)

Sweetie, the flower's gunna get smooshed.  (Yes, my word usage is atrocious when I'm speaking to my 3 year old.)

"That's okay Mommy - we can just water it."  

Sheesh.  That is seriously the LAST time I let a tv show teach my children.  

Catching up.

Four score and 7 years ago I started Project Pizza.  Then I never finished.  So here is Project Pizza Attempt #2 in 5 seconds or less:

Looks great, but I have a little secret.  The bottom is black.  Project Pizza Attempts #3-6 involved Digiorno.  I figure since I didn't order them and I rearranged the pepperoni, it counts as semi-homemade.  Well, with a little bit of this...semi-homemade...I can take full  credit and qualify them as total successes.  Yay me.

As for my hundred push-up challenge (I know, you thought I forgot about this), I'm doing semi-amazing.  I actually haven't given up yet, however, I manage to forget to push myself up on the days I'm supposed to, so instead of doing it every other day 3x a week, I'm doing it every 3 days, period.  My max so far has been 20 push-ups.  TWENTY!  And I've had several people ask if I'm doing them on my knees.  No way!  I've been doing these puppies on my toes.  And hands.  I'd be pretty crazy good just doing them on my toes, huh?

Oh, P.S. I just got a phone call from the company we're applying for life insurance from.  They're required to ask 2 million questions so they know how much to charge you for insuring your life.

Her: "Have you gained or lost any weight in the past 2 years?"
Me: "Umm...gained some."
Her: "And what caused this weight gain?"
Me: Paused to think about this then "laziness, I guess."

She just laughed.  Hard.  She laughed so hard, she had to pause the interview.  Then the next 10 questions contained more laughter.

Next time I'm blaming it on the kids.

Learning the Art of Budgeting.

Ever since we paid off all our debt, my husband and I have been learning to live on a budget.  While we've managed to stay out of debt, not wasting money is still a learning process for us.  Here are a few lessons I've learned along the way:

1. My husband and I found out we prefer dates that don't include movie theaters.

2. Pizza or spaghetti once a week is NOT going to kill us.  

3. Oatmeal is about the cheapest breakfast option there is.  

4. Kids grow out of clothes (or stain them) TOO fast to buy them all new.  

5. I won't buy used underwear, but I still can't buy my daughters princess underwear.  Why?  Six pairs for $9 or nine pairs for $6? Hmmm.

6. There is an AWESOME play structure Downtown....and it's free.  

7. There are killer finds to be found at the thrift store.  Such as a Camelbak filter cleaner:  spent $1.20.  Sold it on ebay for $14.  Sweet.

8. I can make some pretty decent iced coffee (thanks Jenny for the help!) that costs pennies to make.

9. New bestsellers:  $14.  Used bestsellers: $1  

10. My kids don't mind not being in every activity.  They don't notice that they're not wearing Baby Gap.  They don't need the latest toys or the fanciest bike (in fact, two of my kids don't even HAVE bikes).  They just want me and Daddy to notice them.  And play with them.  Read to them, and talk with them.  And all of that is 100% free.  

See, I'm learning.  =)

Because. That's Why.

So, you already know we had a very very busy two weeks.  Very busy.  One could almost say they were Massively busy.

And when life becomes that busy, one stops cooking.  Yet one must not stop eating.  So we didn't.  Instead we ate things like pizza, pasta, burgers (In-N-Out, of course), and frozen yogurt.  All delicious, but they all have one thing in common:  they should be consumed in moderation.

Oops.

No worries, friends, because a couple weeks back my husband and I watched an intriguing documentary about an unhealthy guy who went on a juice fast and became healthy.  My husband promptly suggested we do this, which of course we promptly didn't.  (Hey - life got busy then.)

Anyhow, when the couple weeks were over and our extra flab was extra flabbier, we decided to go for it.  Only we've modified it slightly.  Instead of drinking solely juice for all our meals, we drink some form of this twice a day:

....then follow it up with some CRAZY DELICIOUS (but healthy) dinner - because by that time I want FOOD!

For those of you who just freaked out because you thought we were drinking creamed spinach, it actually started out looking like this:

That's some orange juice, a banana (natural sweetener, yaya!), a whole carrot, red chard, and some kale.  Talk about food coloring, eh?  I thought this looked pretty.  My husband actually goes lighter on the banana (as in NO banana), lighter on the kale and chard (which I think might actually mean NO kale or chard) and a lot heavier on the frozen fruit.


P.S.  Why did I decide to do the hundred push up challenge?!?  I ache all over and have to go at it again tomorrow.  AGH!  So, who's going to join me?