Mark 6 & 7

We read Mark 6 and 7 today and I thought I would write my notes with Katie's perspective.  Katie doesn't always comment when we read the Bible.  I always ask her if she understands and sometimes she questions it and sometimes she seems to "get it".  Tonight was one of those nights that she seemed to be "on".  Maybe it had something to do with having just finished our homework for our Mountain Mover's class on Tuesday, maybe she was still in "the zone".

The first time that her voice piped up while I was reading was when during Mark 6:14-29.  This is one of the Bible stories that touches me because the death of John the Baptist seems so wrong.  Not just that he was killed but that he was killed over something as trivial as a reward for a well performed dance.  Apparently my daughter agrees with me.  She was upset with Herodias...I believe indignant would be a better word for the look on her face and the attitude with which she stated, "That girl is NOT nice."   I do find it interesting that "Herod respected John and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him.  Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him."  Mark 6:20    How many times are we disturbed when we talk to God - feeling convicted by our own actions/thoughts - and yet we like to listen to Him.   I believe that what Herod was feeling may have been the conviction that we feel at times.

The other thing that Katie picked up on was the same topic that I've been considering.  She commented at the end of Chapter 7  that the people were not listening to Jesus when they spread the word of what he was doing after He told them not to.  I thought it was interesting that she noticed this...although not listening is a regular topic of conversation in our house, so maybe she recognized it purely as something she'd been hearing about herself. :)   It is human nature, I think, that when you are told not to say anything, one of the first things you want to do is go out and say something.  But I'm not sure that I can blame these people, they were hearing amazing things, seeing miracles...it would have been extremely hard not to tell people.

"They were completely amazed and said again and again, 'Everything he does is wonderful.  He even makes the deaf to hear and gives speech to those who cannot speak.'" Mark 7:37    Yes, I think that would have been hard to keep to myself.

Mark - the first week

I learned quite a bit this week, and while it was of course based on the Bible readings, I have a couple books on understanding Bible verses that helped as well.  (And I believe I owe a thank you to my Pastor for pointing the books out to me.)

There are three things in the first five books of Mark that always confused me.  Two are pretty big, the other not so much.  I always wondered why Jesus didn't want people (or demons) to talk about what he was doing or who he was.   What I've read is that demons were known liars and a demon testifying would not do Him any good.  That made sense to me.  The problem with people testifying for Him is that His ministry would not have progressed the way He wanted it to.  People had a preconceived notion of what a Messiah was (which I do remember from one of the Sunday messages, but I didn't put two and two together) and He was not that Messiah.  So people needed to get to know Him and His teachings before they thought of Him as the Messiah. 

I read something about dealing with this issue in Hard Sayings of the Bible by ...several authors that I loved and want to share it.  "Those who take the risk of faith and commit themselves become disciples and learn more, but others receive teaching only in obscure parables."   People have wanted to commit me alot during my lifetime, but this time I'm going to agree with them.  I definitely want to commit.

And speaking of parables, I have to admit something.  I never understood the new/old wineskin and/or new/old clothing parable.  I do now though.  Again, thanks to my new books, I learned that the new wineskin/clothing represented Christianity and the old wineskin/clothing represented Judaism.  Jesus was not reforming Judaism, he was offering something completely new - Christianity.  And Thank God for that and all the comes with it.

The last thing I never understood is somewhat petty, but having found it in the Hard Sayings of the Bible, I felt better knowing that I wasn't the only one that had wondered about it.   When Jesus sends the demons into the herd of pigs in Mark 5:13, I wondered why?  If not because it didn't seem fair to the pigs, what about the livelihood of the pig herders?  Well, apparently the answer to this is pretty simple.  It's a matter of perspective.  Pigs were unclean to begin with, so from a Bible perspective, not a huge leap to put unclean demons into unclean pigs - well actually huge leap in reality, just something that is not incomprehensible.  But the more important point may be that "so precious is human life that, when necessary, a whole herd of animals may be sacrificed for one or two people".  (From Hard Sayings)

I am really enjoying this Bible reading plan so far!

Day 5

I haven't forgotten about the blog, but I am going to post tomorrow or Thursday, one of the "reflection days" when I have more time on my hands.

In case I didn't make it clear for those who don't go to my church but may be reading, we read for 5 days and have 2 days for reflection before we read for another 5 days.  If anyone would like the reading schedule, I would be happy to share.

Talk to you soon!

Day 4 - Mark 4

There are a few things that I take away from chapter 4 in Mark. 

One is from the parable of the seeds.  I want to be the seed that fell on good soil representing those who hear and accept God's word.  I think I am, but sometimes I feel inadequate (okay, all the time) and while I'm trying to hear and trying to accept, sometimes it's hard.  But I know that "I can do anything through Christ who gives me strength"  Philippians 4:13, so I know that I will be fine.

The second thing that strikes me in this chapter is Mark 4:25 "To those who listen to my teaching more understanding will be given."  I like to think that the more I listen and try to understand, the more understanding He will give me. 

Thirdly, the story of Jesus calming the storm reminds me of a saying that I've heard, although I'm not sure of the origin.  It says "Sometimes God calms the storm. Sometimes he lets the storm rage and calms his child."  I love that saying.  Even if the world is whipping around us and tossing us around, we can go to God for peace and calm.  That's a very comforting thought.

First Church of God

I wanted to share that our Sunday messages can be found on the church's website, the Link is on the right hand side of the blog, as will be the Pastor's blog once I add it.   You can listen to the messages  or download them.

Day 3 - Mark 3

"Anyone who does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:35


It is going to be a short one today since I was originally intending on doing only a couple per week. I took out my new favorite book "Commonly Misunderstood Bible Verses" by Ron Rhodes and I have to admit, a couple of passages that were throwing me are much clearer now. I'll be getting back to that later though.


For now, I hope everyone that was going to do the daily reading is enjoying it, and those that are just reading the blog - if any :) - may get something out of my rambling.

Day 2 - Mark 2

My favorite part of Mark 2 is when Jesus speaks about the sabbath. "The Sabbath was made to meet the needs of the people, and not people to meet the requirements of the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord, even over the Sabbath." Mark 2:27 (My bold)


We need to use the Sabbath to remember, to be in the Word and to reflect. The life of this world gets in the way too much. We need to focus on what is important. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone focused on what was TRULY truly important. Imagine that.

Day 1 - Mark 1

He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord's coming! Clear the road for him!' ''Mark 1:3 One of my favorite verses.

More to come ....

Wow it's been a long time!

Beginning January 1st our church is doing a 5-minute a day bible reading that will get us through the New Testament by the time the year ends. I am going to attempt to post as we go. I've been wanting to turn this blog into a place I can discuss the Bible and I believe this may give me a way to get started... and hopefully the time will come as well. I probably won't post every day, but I'll try to post frequently.


There are 5 days of reading and two days of reflection. Each reading should be approximately 5 minutes. The first week of January - from the 1st through the 5th - are Mark Chapter 1 through 5. See how that worked out? :)


See you soon!

Interesting

I find it interesting that sometimes the people that care are the ones you least expect it from.

Puppies in Politics

Poll shows Obama should buy puppy

"Among pet-owners, McCain has clawed his way to a marginal advantage; 42 percent supporting the Republican, 37 percent the Democrat, according to the results of an AP-Yahoo News poll.."

I was thinking when I said that I wanted to discuss politics that it might be the economy, the environment... you know, something ... totally boring but important? LOL But turns out, it's more important for Obama to have a puppy. What makes me think his girls might have started this poll??? Sounds like something a certain 6 year old would do.....

Not political

Ducks causing major havoc.

Three-vehicle crash blamed on ducks

Associated Press

5:43 AM CDT, July 5, 2008

PALATINE, Ill. - Illinois State Police are blaming a small flock of ducks for a three-car accident that blocked a major highway near the Chicago suburb of Palatine.

Master Sergeant Rene Benavidez says the ducks walked onto Illinois Route 53 Friday afternoon, and a driver had to slam on the brakes to avoid hitting them.

After the sudden stop, the first vehicle was rear-ended by two others.

Benavidez says three people suffered minor injuries from the crash and one of them had to be extricated from a van by the Palatine Fire Department.

The whole highway was shut down for about 15 minutes and traffic was diverted onto Northwest Highway.

The ducks were not injured.

I just had to laugh at "The ducks were not injured." It reminded me of the "________ were not hurt in the making of this film."

I have to say...

The hits on this blog come from some very unusual parts. All different countries. It's very odd, since I really don't say much. I'm sure Google is responsible for it, but it's just amazing to see where the hits come from.

Anyway, thought I'd post a little on here since it's been a while. And, you know, we have this election thing going on. I have to say, I didn't post during the democratic primary...wait...oh, there was a republican primary too?... sorry, must have missed that. The reasons for not posting during the democratic primary was because I literally cannot discuss HC without losing my mind and didn't want to turn the blog into a shouting match - although I know Libby would have backed me up!

So, I thought since I would like to have an intelligent conversation on Barack vs. McCain, here would be a good place - WHERE I CAN DELETE THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T AGREE WITH ME! MUUUHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, sorry, I didn't mean that. Unless stuff gets belligerent that of course I'll delete! But I don't see that happening. Unless it's me. And then I'll have to add Libby as an administrator so she can delete me.

There are already a couple issues that I need to look into further regarding Barack/McCain. One, oil - and I am happy to hear that McCain has decided it's okay to do drilling offshore. I have to see what his other plans are for other forms of energy. I heard that 67% of Americans are FOR off shore drilling. And 18% are opposed. Proving once more that America's school system needs some work since we can't even add up to 100. LOL Then, of course, there's the war. But I really need to read more on that.

Please feel free to add issues in the comments, I can turn them into posts later!

Super delegates

Could someone explain to me why we need these people? I don't get it, and it's making me a bit crazy. Can't we just get rid of these people and have the popular vote rule? I do try to make things simple sometimes, but I just don't understand the need for them.


And is it just me or has someone decided that Florida will just not be able to vote in any presidential elections. LOL I hope they get their act together by November.

Stupid Studies

I heard on a commercial for the news tonight that a study was done that showed anxiety affects pregnancy. Which led me to a rant, which my husband had to sit through in person, regarding just how stupid some studies really are. Have you ever wondered why on earth a particular study was done? Some just sound so obvious to me that I can't believe money was wasted on them.


We need more studies on the benefits of chocolate! Not ridiculous studies on things that are obvious to everyone to begin with.


Anyone got a good one for me?

I don't think I'd want this cat snuggling with me....

I don't ususally quote a whole story, but this one was just crazy. But I'd be afraid to see him sitting next to me!

Amazing Cat


PROVIDENCE, R.I. - "Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing-home patients are going to die, curling up next to them during their final hours.


His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.


He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," Dr. David Dosa said in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.


Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University.


The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a third-floor dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses.


After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He'd sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would wind up dying in a few hours.


Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.


Oscar is better at predicting death than the people who work there, said Dr. Joan Teno of Brown University, who treats patients at the nursing home and is an expert on care for the terminally ill.


She was convinced of Oscar's talent when he made his 13th correct call. While observing one patient, Teno said she noticed the woman wasn't eating, was breathing with difficulty and that her legs had a bluish tinge, signs that often mean death is near.


Oscar wouldn't stay inside the room though, so Teno thought his streak was broken. Instead, it turned out the doctor's prediction was roughly 10 hours too early. Sure enough, during the patient's final two hours, nurses told Teno that Oscar joined the woman at her bedside.


Doctors say most of the people who get a visit from the sweet-faced, gray-and-white cat are so ill they probably don't know he's there, so patients aren't aware he's a harbinger of death. Most families are grateful for the advanced warning, although one wanted Oscar out of the room while a family member died. When Oscar is put outside, he paces and meows his displeasure.


No one's certain if Oscar's behavior is scientifically significant. Nursing-home staffers aren't concerned with explaining Oscar, so long as he gives families a better chance at saying goodbye to the dying.


Oscar recently received a wall plaque commending his "compassionate hospice care."

Update on Chicago cop

There has been a website set up to keep track of what is going on in Mike Mette's case for anyone who is interested. http://mikemettedefensefund.com/ I'm still very annoyed by this and even more annoyed by the Chicago Police Department who is putting paperwork through to fire him even though his appeal has not been heard yet. He's been lumped into all the other bad cops out there that have been in the news lately for violence...forget what the actual story is.

I've sent in a couple emails that I've found on various sites. If anyone is interested in email addresses, let me know.

What is going on with the Catholic Church?

Roman Catholic Church views

"Pope Benedict XVI reasserted the primacy of the Roman Catholic Church, approving a document released Tuesday that says other Christian communities are either defective or not true churches and Catholicism provides the only true path to salvation."

"It was the second time in a week that the pontiff has corrected what he says are erroneous interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, the 1962-1965 meetings that modernized the church. On Saturday, the pontiff revived the old Latin mass -- a move cheered by Catholic traditionalists but criticized by more liberal ones as a step backward from Vatican II."

I just officially left the Catholic Church last October to attend a non-denominational Church which I love, First Church of God, and this article shows why I think that there may be a mass exodus under this Pope. The arrogance of the Catholic Church really upsets me at times. The Bible does not have a Catholic denomination in it, so WHY would they think that they are the only denomination that will be saved? I really see this Pope taking the Catholic Church back years and years under his term and it really bothers me.

I don't want to offend my Catholic readers, ahem, Dad, but I just don't understand this philosophy.

I'm so annoyed, I might have to give the order....

Iowa Court needs a lesson in justice

I am beside myself with the injustice displayed in this Iowa court. I will be writing to anyone that I can think of about this one. Complete stupidity. Apparently in Iowa, if you are defending yourself on your own property (or in this case your brother's) and the assailant is well connected, you become the assailant and are sentenced to 5 YEARS in prison.

This isn't the whole article, and it is worth the rest of the read to click on the link. I hope that his appeal works, this just sounds so impossibly wrong it makes me seeth.

"In an Iowa criminal case that smells of a thousand hogs, a young Chicago police officer was sentenced last week to 5 years in prison for defending himself against an attack by two large, drunken men, even though he testified that he repeatedly tried avoiding a fight.

There is a U.S. Department of Justice office in Iowa. What is happening to Chicago police officer Michael Mette bears some serious federal inquiry.

Dubuque District Court Judge Monica Ackley agrees Mette was attacked, he tried to avoid conflict, two large men hounded him down the street, and one of them got into Mette's face and began pushing him, repeatedly, before Mette threw one punch and knocked the guy out.

Still, she's sentencing this young Chicago cop to prison, she wrote, because that's the law in Iowa.

Mette has no clout in Dubuque. But Dubuque is a small town, and the intoxicated man's daddy is a boss in a giant Iowa trucking company."

Runaway Wrecking Ball

Runaway Wrecking Ball Goes On Pa. Rampage
1,500-Pound Ball Injures 3 After Breaking From Crane Demolishing College Library


Run Away Wrecking Ball


I know I haven't posted alot in here, and I thought I might actually shut this blog down, but I just had to post this picture. How would you like to look in your rear view mirror and see that coming at you? Yikes!