oleteach

Reply to Witches & Dragons in Parenting JoeUser Forums

If they had come to my door I would have loaded them up with sweets...They look like they had some fun.

Reply to Pics From Her Birthday in Parenting JoeUser Forums

Great pictures, xtine. K and Gabe looks so wonderfully young and innocent beside those two old duffers. You can call my old duffer anything you like, he had many labels but he is absolutely sure of who he is. K never missed an opportunity to tease him.

Reply to Las Vegas and Cirque Du Soleil in Entertainment JoeUser Forums

Glad to see that you are back safe and sound and I trust that both you and El are rested and refreshed.

Reply to I am Making a Ton of Bread! in Misc JoeUser Forums

Greywar, This is an excerpt from my upcoming novel. Your Great Grandmother Elizabeth would also have been proud of your bread making abilities. “Making bread called for a fair amount of work, but Elizabeth was adept at this task. Before long, she had kneaded the dough until it had just the right consistency and shine. She placed the large lump of dough in a greased pan

Reply to I am Making a Ton of Bread! in Misc JoeUser Forums

Great! My boy, I am so proud! You remember my failed attempts to bake bread when you were at home. Dad's hack saw came in handy. I have a broad smile on my face right now...just from knowing you have surpassed me in so many ways.

Reply to Second reading, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) in Religion JoeUser Forums

In reply to NBS: It is so true, we need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. So often we come to the Lord only after we have worn ourselves out with our own efforts. We come out of desperation. We say, "God, I don't know what else to do, I have tried and tried to overcome in this situation, but I give up. Help me!" And the Lord answers, "Really? .... Are you finally turning to Me? You are honestly going to rely on Me? Why d

Reply to A Spirit of Fear vs. A Spirit of Boldness in Religion JoeUser Forums

You are facing your fears head on. That is so great because we are just not meant to live by our fears. As you go on, be assured that Jesus is there with his mercy and help. We are not meant to walk through dark valleys alone. Take His hand, be confident as you whistle through those dark, scary fears with Him beside you. The first thing that we should feel confident about is that we have already been saved; that is a done deal the moment we

Reply to Second reading, 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A) in Religion JoeUser Forums

Psuedo’s words: “Turning out all anxiety is difficult. Not worrying about the things that matter most to you is nearly humanly impossible.” I agree totally with you in this statement. I would emphasize one word out of four of your words, “IS NEARLY HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE. You have imspired me to write an article on why we don't have to fear situations that seem humanly impossible. You know where to look. Fear Not! </f

A Spirit of Fear vs. A Spirit of Boldness in Religion JoeUser Forums

My apologies: I still haven’t taking the time and effort to learn how to make links. Pseudo wrote in his blog (http://pseudosoldier.joeuser.com/) the following comment which inspired me to write this article. Psuedo’s words: “Turning out all anxiety is difficult. Not worrying about the things that matter most to you is nearly humanly impossible.”

Reply to Unequally Yoked in Religion JoeUser Forums

I think your interpretion is right on, pseudo. It could relate to all relationships but I do think, for the most part it refers to marriage. It just makes sense to seek marriage with a person who has the same basic beliefs, that is Christians with Christians. I am yoked right now with a Christian, a stong one, but he does not belong to the same church as I do. Sometimes I feel unevenly yoked because he is much more mature in his Christian faith than I

Reply to If You Do Wrong, You = Weak. Not YourJob = Evil ! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

greywar, This article really takes a load off my shoulders. I am not responsible for your mistakes! Alleluia! Thank you. No really, I agree with you. We can all sit around and wallow in self pity, blaming others for not giving us every advantage, making excuses for our own bad choices and feel like the whole world is organized against us. But that accomplishes nothing. That's the way tha

Reply to Got a Job! in Misc JoeUser Forums

Glad to hear it! Have fun.

Reply to A Glorious Day in MN in Home & Family JoeUser Forums

HC, thanks for the comments. I will be looking you up in the blog index to see what you are contributing.

Reply to A Glorious Day in MN in Home & Family JoeUser Forums

xtine, how I wished that I could have had Katy along for the day. It was such a great family gathering in a truly beautiful setting. We even went for a 45" boat ride on the Mississippi. I think she would have loved it. It was a lot nicer than that cold, breezy trip we took on Lake Itasca with her. BRRRRRR that was cold. I met a family from Germany. The kids were on the boat ride and so I was able to talk with them for awhile. They spoke great English a

Reply to A Glorious Day in MN in Home & Family JoeUser Forums

greywar, I looked up the word "notwithstanding." It is used most often as an adverb. so I take it you were not trying to describe Christ. If you were using it as a preposition, it could mean "regardless of" or "in defiance of." So I take it you mean, in so many words, "Leaving Christ out of this...these are my thoughts." I could be wrong, of course. The whole point of my article was to give thanks to my Creator who keeps my heart beating e

Reply to Jewish Settlers Resisting Gaza Pullout = Counterproductive? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Great article! I still feel great sympathy for those who have to start over in a new place. I read that the government is giving them some compensation if they leave peacefully but if not they could lose up to one third of the compensation. It would be interesting to know just how much compensation they will get. We can only hope that peace will follow. Enough already of neighbor killing neighbor. Enough already of greed and hatred.

Reply to North And South Korean Families Reunited with Technology in Politics JoeUser Forums

Wow! I would say this is definitely a step in the right direction. I am glad to see that you are still interested in what happens in the country where you spend a good number of years. Also glad to see you are blogging again.

Reply to Renaissance Festival 2005 in Home & Family JoeUser Forums

I appreciate your description and photos of your great day. I didn't attend the Renaissance this year but went instead to attend the last day of the Irish Fair Celebrations. It was so great.

A Glorious Day in MN in Home & Family JoeUser Forums

Yesterday started with worship, prayer and fellowship. Then in the cool of our sunny, fresh Minnesota weather, my husband and I traveled to Harriet Island in the Mississippi River located on the edge of St. Paul to take part in the last day of Irish Fair Celebration. We experienced a wide variety of Irish dance, song, bands, art, and culture. I

Reply to Outlook Not So Good in Blogging JoeUser Forums

Great methods of teaching here, master teacher. You do well.

Reply to What shall I read? in Misc JoeUser Forums

Try Angels and Demons by Dan Brown...the same author as The Da Vinci Code. It was so truly captivating to me that I wanted my husband to enjoy it too, so I ordered the unabriged audio version that we have been listening to on some short out of state trips. Next week, we hope to finish it on a much longer out of state journey. Try it, you will like it, I promise.

Hail to True Friendship in Personal Relationships JoeUser Forums

Today, on the Fourth of July (Actually, It's the third, but I am in the mood.) , I am thinking about the wonders of having a friend who is really committed to me. Those kinds of friends don’t come into a person’s life very often, but I have been blessed several times in this way. My present friend is much more than a casual friend. I have many of those. T

Reply to We are outta here! in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Bless you, my son. I do hope that better days are all that are in store for you.! Hurry. Be safe.

Reply to Quit whining and defend your religion in Misc JoeUser Forums

Another great blog with terrific insights into the quirks of human beings who have lost their sense of what is truly valuable in their lives. What great lack of integrity we can see in those who hypocritically use religion as an excuse to get out of service to others. True happiness is to be found, only when we reach out to others. "The Sabboth was made for man, not man for the Sabboth," is the rule of thumb that Jesus gave us to guide us in

Reply to A parting of the ways; The Hard Road in Misc JoeUser Forums

Why do I always get tears in my eyes when I read your blog? You have such a gift for spelling out your feelings and your love of life. Thank you, once again, for sharing your thoughts.