Fleeing Picket Fences

2008-04-14T00:11:00.001-07:00

2008-03-27T21:24:00.000-07:00

"No son we can't shot at them, they aren't ready for heaven yet, but we are."

I am watching End of the Spear and that line really stuck out to me.

Martyrs they give their lives without resistance. Because they know where they are going.

Reflection...

Two prayer requests

2008-03-25T09:27:00.000-07:00

Keep in mind because there were minors involved not all the details were released, but here is what I have been able to piece together from the paper and from what other people have told me.

This last Friday three girls (they might be sisters but I am not sure) around the age of 8-10 were walking their dog in a gated community next to the town I live in. Then out of nowhere this man walks up to them and starts stabbing. One girl is dead, one is in critical condition because she was able to break free and one thankfully was able to run away and call for help.

Please pray for the two girls left behind, and the family of the little girl that died, he is a very popular local doctor and most of the town knows him and his family.

On a more personal note, can you also please pray for my aunt. She went in for back surgery this last week, but when she came out of surgery she was in more pain then ever. It took all weekend (easter weekend) but they figured out that she has a screw touching a nerve. So she had to stay in this hospital and they are going back in for surgery today.

Pray for her, her husband, daughter and all the family she has around her right now.

Thanks!

2008-03-05T21:19:00.000-08:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SISTER!!!!!!!!!

Language!

2008-03-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, about the age of about seven, I came home one day with some new words that my best friend Cherry's older sister had taught me. I loved new words, and so I wanted to try them out, well I was very confused when my mother almost dropped the bowel in her hand when I said them. For my mother's credit she didn't overact, she very calmly explained that these were words that were "bad" and should never say them again.

Fast forward...

Yesterday I was in Taco Bell getting some lovely health food, when the gentlemen next to me remarked on how there was a lack of a certain hot sauce. And in this question addressed to the room it seemed as a whole, he choose to lace it with words that used to make a sailor blush with shame.

No one batted an eye.

Why is now okay to swear in public? Fifty years ago if you swore in front of a lady the rest of the men in the room would take you outside, now the women swear sometimes as bad or worse then the men.

Am I being to sensitive, well i have always thought I should just ignore it, but, why should I have to?

I am tired of so many people swearing against their mother and worse my God and letting is slide. I don't want to get used to it dang it!

But I am a loss as to what to do about it.

Map stalker?

2008-03-01T17:12:00.000-08:00

So if you haven't noticed I have a cool little map over to the right here on my blog -------------->

I like it because it shows all the different places people have read my blog, which in this blog is not very many places, but on my news blog it is all over and so it is really cool.

But, I have discovered a downside.

Because I have the very awesome Firefox browser everyday (sometimes because I am bored twice a day) side click on my blog tab and say open all in tabs and all the blogs I read cascade across my screen.

Again a cool thing, or so I thought.

Today though I have discovered something, a lot of my friends have this map. And because I am out here in the boonys here in nor cal.... everyone can see how many times I go to that blog.

My dot keeps getting bigger.

So the question I have is... does this make me a map stalker......

Ok so laugh at me all you want... you all live for the most part in riverside.... you just don't understand... you can go all you want because it is all oone big dot...

I digress...

So in case you haven't figured it out I am bored....

so if you haven't in a while, give me a call... I hate calling people because I never know when they are in class, work or what ever...

I have no life so pretty much anytime is good for me....

someone should give me Nik's number to prank call.... I have Rachels... but I don't want to bother her.....

and yes.... I am sure this is not the best composed grammatically speaking...

but I don't care...

hasta

2008-01-11T10:41:00.000-08:00

What are you doing this August?

I am part of a group set to spend 3 fun days helping to give away food, clothing and free medical and dental screening to migrant workers.

The thing is we need help, and I am hoping that God will lay it on your heart to come join us.

Right now I am just asking for people to pray about joining us. If all you can commit to doing is praying for us, that would be greatly appreciated.

We will be kicking it off on early Monday Aug. 4 with the free medical and dental screening. The next few days we are going to have a VBS for the kids, give away food, clothing, books and New Testaments.

We for this event will be working in partnership with the California Southern Baptist Convention. They will be doing this kind of event all over central and northern California all summer long.

If you want some more info give me a call or shoot me an e-mail at fpfences@yahoo.com.

2008-01-02T12:47:00.000-08:00

New Cellular Phone Laws that Go Into Effect July 1, 2008

Minors (under 18 years of age) VC §23124	Drivers 18 years of age or older VC §23123
are prohibited from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone, including a hands-free device, and/or a mobile service device (pagers, texting devices, laptops, etc).	are prohibited from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless a hands-free device is used.
Exceptions: emergency situations, for example: calls to law enforcement, health care provider, fire department, etc. while operating a vehicle on private property.	Exceptions: emergency situations, for example: calls to law enforcement, health care provider, fire department, etc. emergency service providers operating an authorized emergency vehicle during the course of employment. while operating a vehicle on private property. a person operating a commercial motor truck or truck tractor (excluding pickups), implements of husbandry, farm vehicle, school bus, transit vehicle, or tow truck, if using a two-way radio operated by a “push-to-talk” feature that does not require the device to be close to the ear.
The fines for both laws are: $20, first offense plus administrative fees. $50, second or subsequent offenses plus administrative fees.

2007-12-24T23:32:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-22T15:16:00.001-08:00

Don't send a lame Starring You! eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

2007-12-22T14:38:00.001-08:00

Don't send a lame Holiday eCard. Try JibJab Sendables!

2007-11-10T21:49:00.001-08:00

Britney Spears has the same phone as me...

I don't know what is scarier, that I know this, or that I feel the need to post this...

I just felt that I hadn't posted anything for a while...

The 'Right Way' to beat your wife

2007-11-04T16:28:00.000-08:00

Saudi Marriage 'Expert' Advises Men in 'Right Way' to Beat Their Wives

Friday , November 02, 2007

Move over, Dr. Phil, there's a new relationship expert in town.

He's Saudi author and cleric, "Dr." Muhammad Al-'Arifi, who in a remarkable segment broadcast on Saudi and Kuwaiti television in September, counseled young Muslim men on how to treat their wives.

"Admonish them – once, twice, three times, four times, ten times," he advised. "If this doesn't help, refuse to share their beds."

And if that doesn't work?

"Beat them," one of his three young advisees responded.

"That's right," Al-'Arifi said.

Click here to view the segment at MEMRITV.org

He goes on to calmly explain to the young men that hitting their future wives in the face is a no-no.

"Beating in the face is forbidden, even when it comes to animals," he explained. "Even if you want your camel or donkey to start walking, you are not allowed to beat it in the face. If this is true for animals, it is all the more true when it comes to humans. So beatings should be light and not in the face."

His final words of wisdom?

"Woman, it has gone too far. I can't bear it anymore," he tells the men to tell their wives. "If he beats her, the beatings must be light and must not make her face ugly.

"He must beat her where it will not leave marks. He should not beat her on the hand... He should beat her in some places where it will not cause any damage. He should not beat her like he would beat an animal or a child -- slapping them right and left.

"Unfortunately, many husbands beat their wives only when they get mad, and when they start beating, it as if they are punching a wall – they beat with their hands, right and left, and sometimes use their feet. Brother, it is a human being you are beating. This is forbidden. He must not do this."

Take that, Match.com!

San Fran

2007-10-15T17:05:00.000-07:00

So Jen made a comment on my last posting about a poster ad in San Francisco that has created a bit of controversy. It was so controversial that it even cause the Miller brewery company to request that its logo be pulled from the ad.

This is the link to the pic if you want to see it (there is nothing “bad” in the pic... just a bunch of men in leather.... just really didn’t want to post it on my page).

Actually Jen thanks, I had not heard of this. If you didn’t want to fallow the link to the pic, well it is an “advertisement [that] portrays Christ and his disciples as half-naked sado-masochists.”

The thing I find most disturbing... is that I had not heard about this. It is not that I hear about everything that is being covered by the news these days... but I keep a pretty good pulse, and I had even seen a passing reference to this. In fact when I went searching for the news article the only reference I found was in none main stream, ok hardcore right winged Christian news sights.

Political correctness is my sneaking suspicion.

Ok... your thoughts?

****update****

I was just struck with a thought... what if this was done to another religion... like Islam?

Protests in the street... leading the news for a week...

my afternoon

2007-09-27T21:53:00.001-07:00

I had my first flat tire today, only it wasn’t just a flat tire, I think it exploded...

I had just picked up my grandpa and his wife from the airport in Sacramento and I was coming home on I5 I heard this WHRRRRRRRRR and I could smell burnt rubber. Well I work at a car lot and I know (because I hear the guys mumbling about stupid car drivers all the time) that I knew to get off the road as quickly as possible, so I pulled over, and that is when the fun started.

First we had to find out where all the stuff was, I mean come on, is the first place you look for the jack under the driver’s seat... I mean come on. Then we had to take the stupid hubcap off, witch I have done before and theoretically it should take like a few seconds.... well five min. later LeEtta and I figured out somehow (I am still not really sure how I think we both did something at the same time) how to get it off. Well the rest was pretty strait forward, I mean I have changed a tire before (my dad said I wasn’t allowed to drive until I could at least change a tire, and check my oil and water).

The rest of the ride was fun, we couldn’t go to fast because of the spare, but we made good time.

The worst part, I was taking them to the volleyball game my dad and I were reffing in upperlake. I only missed like the first ten points of the first game which was good because when we were changing the tire I was thinking I would only make it for the varsity game.

I am tired now.

work

2007-08-20T00:56:00.001-07:00

This is what I stare at every day...

yeah... a cup of coffee and a good book and I am set for the day...

Calling a Generation

2007-08-15T13:31:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I went with some people of my church to the assisted living place in town to take part in the worship service that they have going out there every week (assisted living is the place in between retirement housing and a nursing home, you have your own "apartment" but you have a nurse call button and staff to check in on you).

I was delighted when one of our older church members came to join us, his wife has Alzheimer's and they both are not able to go to church any more. It had been quite a while since i had seen Mr. Terry, I could never call that man by his first name because just his presence demands that kind of respect. This is the man that many years ago was the head deacon in my church when the pastor at the time ran off with I believe it was the church Secretary... or something like that. This man as I have heard so many of the long time church members talk about held that church together until another pastor, the one before my dad, came.

Well let me tell you that just seeing him there, singing the hymns, tears rolling down... was enough to make my day. But later on gave me pause, are we raising up another generation of Mr. Terry's? I was fortunate growing up to have both strong men and women of God to look up to and strive to be like. They came from many different walks of life, but all had one common thread, they loved God with all of their heart's, and they lived a life that made others want to know the Jesus they served.

It not something that enough people want to think about, but the older you get, the more people under you look to you for leadership. I myself have a girl that follows me around all the time at church asking me questions about this and about that... and I have to remember not to blow her off, I remember when I was in 3ed grade and following around different people....

I don't know, maybe with time and age we will gain the wisdom that so many of the older generation now seem so have. But as more and more of them are now no longer with us, I am I forced to admit I am a bit worried.

2007-07-30T00:19:00.001-07:00

San Fran

2007-07-29T16:41:00.000-07:00

Just a few pics from my trip with my dad to san fran. We had a lot of fun... more later...

Bay Bridge

The Island in the back is Angel Island... My grandfather was stationed there during the Koren War.

lol I have my own gate

we were sold out all three nights I was there, yes I saw home run #754

this, is where they send you if you are bad (San Quentin)

If you don't know what this is... I can't help you...

clearlake

2007-07-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

oh so dry, but oh so pretty

california baptists

2007-07-16T21:32:00.000-07:00

yeah...

Southern Baptists in California create competing state convention
By Hannah Elliott and Greg Warner
Published June 26, 2007

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (ABP) -- Southern Baptists in California have started a new alternative state convention that will compete with the 67-year-old California Southern Baptist Convention for denominational loyalty.
California is the fourth state to witness such a move, joining Texas, Missouri and Virginia. In those states, alternative Baptist conventions have resulted in competition with the more traditional organizations for contributions and membership.
Ron Wilson, a Los Angeles-area pastor, said he helped create the California Baptist Conservative Coalition as a way to organize California Baptists who are discontent with the way the traditional state convention divides up its money and the way the national Southern Baptist Convention counts church contributions.
Wilson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Thousand Oaks, Calif., has been a trustee of several SBC national agencies, including the North American Mission Board currently, which all would receive more support under the new structure.
“We’ve got three things we’re going to do,” Wilson said. “We’re going with a 50-50 split [of contributions] with the national convention and the [new] state convention. Our statement of faith will be the 'Baptist Faith and Message.' And we are going to meet three times a year.”
The “50-50 split,” which evenly divides the offerings of coalition churches between the SBC’s national Cooperative Program and the new state convention. Wilson said the purpose of the new group is to give more to the national SBC in order “to have more money spent on actual missions.”
The current division of funds in the traditional California State Baptist Convention is 28 percent for SBC and 72 percent for the state convention's own ministries, much of it spent to start and assist California Baptist churches.
Wilson said 25 percent of the money contributed by his congregation to denominational missions goes to the traditional California convention, while 75 percent goes to the national convention. With the new convention, his church plans to give 50 percent to the new group and 50 percent to the national Cooperative Program. That will allow members to manage more closely which missions to support, he said.
SBC leaders have worked in recent years to revive Cooperative Program giving, which funds the convention's mission boards and other agencies. But those efforts have been hindered, some say, by state conventions that keep a large percentage of church donations for in-state mission work.
Since conservatives won control of the national SBC in the 1980s, they have reshaped the SBC's ministries and agencies more to their liking. But they have not gained similar control in all of the traditional state conventions, leading some to form alternative groups.
If the Southern Baptist Convention officially recognizes the upstart California convention -- as it has the two others founded by conservatives -- all the money sent from the new convention to the SBC will be counted as Cooperative Program giving. Currently a church like Wilson's, which bypasses the traditional state convention and its 28-72 split, usually does not get credit for supporting the Cooperative Program.
Pastors like Wilson and Wiley Drake, well-known radio-show host from First Southern Baptist Church in Buena Park, Calif., think they should get credit for the money given to state conventions -- and they say no one at the national level has listened to their request.
“We feel like we’ve been sort of disenfranchised," said Drake, last year's SBC second vice president. "We just have felt like we haven’t been heard."
Drake said the new convention's 50-50 split of donations is a key attraction for his church, especially because of the small church’s limited budget. "This [new coalition] is something that has been going on for a long time. We’ve had this thing going all along, but it wasn’t organized.”
Wilson said non-profit status for the new group has already been processed and approved by the U.S. government.
Leaders at the tradition California Southern Baptist Convention, however, said they had not received any formal word about the new group.
Terry Barone, editor of the California Southern Baptist newspaper and director of the traditional state convention's communications division, said he heard Wilson announce on the floor of the recent SBC annual meeting the plans for the new convention, but he hasn’t “received any information regarding what was said.”
“The local church is autonomous,” Barone said. “We think Ron [Wilson] has a perfect right to do this if this is what he wishes to do. That’s one of the jewels of being a Baptist -- that we have the autonomy to do what we think is best from the standpoint of a local church, state association or national convention.”
The theme of the newly minted coalition is “a new way, a new day.” Wilson said he plans to pattern the group after the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The nine-year-old Texas group, largest of the four, counts 1,800 churches as members and has an annual budget of $9 million.
So far, there is little detail on how the new California convention would spend the money it receives.
“We’re really going to be between an association and a state convention. An association not determined by geography, but we want to do church starts,” Wilson said.
The group will start out as a loose coalition that focuses on mission work and fellowship, Drake said. He declined to name churches considering membership and said he hasn’t yet decided whether to ask his church to vote to join.
Wilson said he expects between 75 and 100 churches to be affiliated with the coalition by the end of its first year, with the potential to eventually incorporate up to 400 churches. Members won’t have to be present to vote on convention business, and “natural leaders” will emerge, rather than be elected. The first person hired to staff the group will be a secretary, Wilson said.
The California Southern Baptist Convention has 1,800 member congregations.
“We’ve been thinking about doing this since 1994,” Wilson said. “There was a group that wanted to do it then. Looking back, I think we should have done it then. Unfortunately I spooked and said, ‘Let’s wait and see how things develop.’ We are going to do it now, and we’ll just see what people will do.”
Still, Drake stressed that his church is not wanting to leave the California Southern Baptist Convention. If the existing state convention suddenly “sees the mission opportunity for the 50-50 split,” his church would rethink joining the new coalition, he said.
There is no reason why the two competing conventions can't co-exist, he said.
“I have a good relationship with the state convention,” Drake said. “I’m not ready to throw in the towel, so to speak. At least from my perspective, I would still want to be connected with the California Southern Baptist Convention.”

Bert

2007-07-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

This is Bert, and he is an awesome old man.

He shares my very dry sense of humor.

Today he comes up to me and says, be kind to all the ugly men you meet… do it in honor of me.

That is nothing though… he went up to Dale and said, “Don’t ever die, then I wouldn’t be the second ugliest man on earth”…

The man is a riot.

guilt

2007-07-12T20:17:00.000-07:00

This is my dog daisy, you know that she did something wrong by two tale-tale signs...

One, she has that look in her eyes and you can't see it but she is smiling.

Two, she is wet... that means my dad found the garbage she left on his lawn and so he sprayed her with the water hose...

Yeah it’s really funny...

Today was a long day.

2007-07-12T19:26:00.000-07:00

I woke up really early this morning, went to the Judges Breakfast with my dad… I was the only one there under the age of 40 I think.

Then I went with my church prayer walking. They started in January, we take a few streets at a time and pray for every house on the street. Today we prayed for 51 houses, with those 51 we have prayed for a total of 1921 homes. Mad awesome.

This afternoon I got to drive to Spring Valley. For all you non-Clearlake people Spring Valley is a community for people who don’t really want to have neighbors, most people have a few acres separating them. Anyways, it was an absolutely beautiful drive… it is hard to explain, it was not beautiful I am sure by many people’s standards, but I found it breathtaking. It is really dry out there, the people out there even have to ration there water. The dryness makes it absolutely ugly… but that same ugliness makes it beautiful. It is like a great painting that is filled with great sadness, in its sorrow it brings great joy.

Anyways the reason I went out there was to pick up Mike, we went to see Harry Potter! It was so good! Now I just can’t wait until the last book comes out this month… I know I am such a nerd…

Anyways right now I am watching the Last King of Scotland while I type… not a bad movie… just kind of depressing, I am sure once I finish the movie it will be better.

I will end my day I hope with my guitar, I am once again learning how to play… I had forgotten how much I missed it.

Peace out!

Church Picnic

2007-07-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

I love church picnics!

Shooting!

2007-07-01T21:55:00.000-07:00

Today I learned how to shoot! We have a couple in our church, the Barnetts and they took us out to a range out in the boonies. Yeah I actually didn't do that bad...

In honner of the late Ruth Graham

2007-06-15T16:03:00.000-07:00

Dear God, I prayed, all unafraid,

(as we’re inclined to do),

I do not need a handsome man,

But let him be like You.

I do not need one big and tall,

Nor need he be some genius,

Or wealthy, Lord, at all;

But let his head be high, dear God,

And let his eye be clear.

His shoulders straight,

Whate’re his eathly sphere;

And let his face have character,

A ruggedness of soul,

And let his whole life show,

Dear God,

A singleness of goal;

That when he comes,

(as he will come),

With quiet eyes aglow,

I’ll understand that he’s the man,

I prayed for long ago.

–written by Ruth Graham in 1939 (at age 13)

Goodbye riverside

2007-06-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

Please pray for my dad, today he tore his meniscus in his knee. He goes in Tuesday for a MRI to find out how bad it is and if he will need surgery.

The thing is, my mom and sister are going to be in Mexico for the month of July for a language class.

Because of this and a few other reasons I am moving back to Clearlake the last week of June.

I would have gone sooner… but I have Rachel and Nik's wedding to go to and there is no way I am going to miss that, and besides my mom and sister are with him now.

Pray for me also this is a big change for me.