The Last Sunset of 2010

Listen to the sunset,
Hear its silent sigh
As it falls down the horisen
Warning, the moon is nigh

Listen to the sunset
Hear its silent threat
That darkness will be upon us
It makes everyone upset

Listen to the sunset
The vanity of its words
How beautiful this sunset is
With its colour, and birds

Listen to the sunset
See its pretty hue
But I cant enjoy the sunset
If I am not with you

All the pretty colours are meaningless
So are the birds, and the sounds
Because it all means nothing to me
If you are not around

Just remember this though,
Promise you wont forget,
Even if your far away,
We'll be watching the same sunset

So listen to the sunset
Enjoy its beauty true
When you see it, think of me
And I will think of you

Lilli Singh

The Water Closet Diaries

"Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits."
---Satchel Paige

My periodic visits to the water closet give me an opportunity read, I have several books in each closet, or as Satchel puts it, "I sits and thinks."
As I looked out the door this morning I noticed that the squirrels are munching away on the hedge apples that I tossed along the tree line. Every year in the fall I have to pick those things up and get them out of the yard. On one occasion I noticed all the hedge apples had fallen with the exception of a few that were hanging on. As I eyeballed those remaining
apples hanging on to to the bitter end, I thought about the things we sometimes hold on to and just can't seem to let go of, those things that, "so easily beset us". I think from time to time we all struggle

with forgiveness, bad habits.....something that breaks our fellowship with Jesus and those whom we say we love. We have to remember we are in a spiritual battle. The Deceiver uses every means at his disposal, people and circumstances, to disrupt our lives in such ways  that the things we do will not bring honor to God. Picture this:
It's Sunday morning, the church is packed. The devil decides to pay a visit. The door burst open, and a rolling black cloud rolls in with the devil in its midst. People jump out of the pews and run outdoors,screaming, all except two. One was the pastor, and the other is an elderly farmer.
Satan is a bit perplexed. He points to the pastor and says, "You! I can understand why you didn't run away, you are in your Lord's house, you preach against me everyday and you aren't afraid of me. But you, pointing to the farmer, why are didn't you run out scared like everyone else?"
The farmer crosses one leg over the other and drawls, "Why, I'm surprised you don't recognize me...I've been married to your sister for 36 years!"

Wouldn't it be nice if we could start the year with a clean slate, so to speak. I don't think it can be done with resolution, aim, striving or proposal. I believe it come when we understand we can't do the difficult things in life with yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit. Most of the easy stuff, we seem to handle just fine:

• Loving: It's fairly easy to love those who love us. The bump in the road is loving those who don't love us.
• Anger: Calm seem to prevail when things are going well, but what happens when the coarse of events don't go as we'd like.
• Are we infinitely patient; disposed to suffer long; give without expectation; serve without recognition; forgive, bless, pray for those who give hate in return? Is it possible to rejoice in the valley of despair caused by disease, job loss, rebellious children?

It takes the love for and of God to pull this off.  With the fuel of God's love burning in our hearts, our

love is patient and kind, not ill-mannered, selfish, or irritable. With God, our love is eternal, it is filled with hope and faith. It is easy to forgive an offense because we have been greatly forgiven. We have someone residing in us that has already overcome this world and enables us to live triumphantly regardless of external circumstances

I believe that the coming year will be an extraordinary one. Beginning this year, 1.1.11, we will as a church, read the bible through in a year. Think of it. Everyone looking into the mirror of God's word and allowing His Spirit to teach us all things. I hope we will entrust this coming year to God and pray that He orders our steps, gives light to our pathways, and shields our hearts.
I pray that we will be like the tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever we attempt, may God cause it to prosper.
     
                                                    jim

Hugh Masekela with Paul Simon

Music that makes you want to dance or at least pat your foot.

acappella--lead me to rest

It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

God gives us the sun to light up the day
And with the moon, He lights up the night.
The night sky is sprinkled with millions of stars,
What a wonderful, glorious sight!

He gives us the beautiful flowers that grow,
We enjoy them throughout the year.
He gives us the birds to sing their sweet songs,
What music we’re privileged to hear.

The sound of the rain on the roof as we sleep;
The silence of snow as it falls.

The beauty of leaves as they turn red and gold,
What memories of life to recall.

The loving affection of family and friends;
The love of a dear precious pet.
God gives us all this to enjoy here on earth,
But the greatest beauty we haven't seen yet.

For when we reach Heaven and He welcomes us in,
And we enter through the gates by His grace,
The beauty and glory; the wonderful sights,
Will forever be etched on our face.

Emily McAdams

Rachel & I would like to wish everyone a

Merry Christmas and we pray that the coming year will be one of tremendous opportunities To Love, To Learn & To Lead. May the blessing of God fill your days. We hope that you find that perfect balance of duties to family and responsibilities at work and worship. We pray for peace and joy and hope you have great cause for celebration, knowing that the one who loves you unconditionally remains at the center of all your activity.

Jim & Rachel

The Last BBQ?

I hope you took advantage of the wonderful weather we've had the last few days. There's nothing like throwing a few steaks or burgers on the grill. Maybe a few ears of corn on the cob, maybe some peppers. Yummm.
The only down side of the warmer days are: the BUGS come back. I don't care how cold it gets, all it take is one nice day and it's business as usual for my tiny friends. As I was taking the trash out this afternoon I was attacked by a swarm of renegade mosquitoes. The only thing that saved me was the steak I threw their way. It's not good when one has to pay tribute to the bugs to venture outside.

The great thing about grillin' in the winter is, you not only get to create and cook great masterpieces, you stay warm while doing it.
Here is a great recipe for you to try.

African Apricot Chicken On Skewers

Ingredients:

3 pounds boneless chicken breasts -- cut into 4 inch
-- chunks
2 cloves garlic -- minced
salt and pepper to taste
4 medium onions -- finely chopped
2 tablespoon oil
1-1/2 teaspoons coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1-1/2 teaspoons hot curry powder
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoon apricot jam
2 tablespoon flour
30 dried apricot halves
1 onion -- cut into 2 inch
2 bay leaves

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine chicken pieces, garlic, salt and pepper; set aside. In a medium frying pan, fry onions in oil until golden. Stir in coriander, cumin and curry powder. Stir to coat onions, then add brown sugar, lemon juice and jam. Add 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. When cool, pour over chicken. Add bay leaves and refrigerate overnight. The next day, thread meat with onions and apricots on skewers. Grill over coals or broil in oven (7 minutes on each side). While meat grills, remove bay leaves from marinade and transfer it to a heavy pot. Bring to a boil. Serve over rice.

 Remember: You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be happy, and it shall be well with you.
Ps. 128:2

Breakfast

This is a Great way to start the day.

Breakfast Tacos

Ingredients

• 6 ounces chorizo sausage
• 8 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce (e.g. Tabasco™), or to taste
• 1/2 cup salsa

Directions

1. Crumble the sausage into a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until evenly brown. Set aside.
2. Heat one skillet over medium heat, and heat another skillet over high heat. The skillet over high heat is for warming tortillas. In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Spray the medium heat skillet with some cooking spray, and pour in the eggs. Cook and stir until almost firm. Add the sausage, and continue cooking and stirring until firm.
3. Meanwhile, warm tortillas for about 45 seconds per side in the other skillet, so they are hot and crispy on the edges, but still pliable.
4. Sprinkle a little shredded cheese onto each tortilla while it is still hot. Top with some of the scrambled egg and sausage, then add hot pepper sauce and salsa to your liking.

TIPS

The Handyman Can

TIPS FOR THE WINTER SEASON

1) Furnace Inspection

• Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.
• Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.
• Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.
• If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.
• Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

• 2) Get the Fireplace Ready

• Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.
• If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.
• Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.
• Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.
• Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

• 3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

• Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.
• Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.
• Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.
• If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.
• Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

Keywords: handyman repair restoration

The Promise of Christmas

This is a good listen.

http://tinyurl.com/5a964y  Check out today's message.

Encouragement for Today

I read this devotion and thought I'd pass it along.

 December 10, 2010Birds of a FeatherAmy Carroll

"When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, 'Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.'" Luke 19:5 (NIV)         

Devotion: Breaker of social norms. Savior. Messiah. The Christ. Maybe you can think of some other titles and characteristics of Jesus, but what do you think about that first one?

I read a challenging book recently that made me ponder Jesus as someone who flew in the face of socially acceptable relationships. As I thought, I realized that although Jesus' associations might not raise eyebrows in today's culture of "tolerance," He had some friendships that were very controversial in His time.

Jesus ate with sinners. He took time to teach women. He told favorable stories about Samaritans, a group hated by the in-crowd for their race. Turning things upside down, He chose to befriend the people that most of His culture rejected.

"Birds of a feather flock together" didn't seem to be true for Jesus, but I know it's been true for me. I have tended to befriend those like myself. I naturally gravitate toward women who look like me, think like me and worship like me.

But Jesus often calls us beyond our natural inclinations into the realm of the supernatural. In His counter-cultural world, Jesus calls us to love our enemies. He commands us to bless the poor. He invites us to love the seemingly unlovable.

I've been examining my own thoughts and habits, and I've recognized that often I think and act in a way completely opposite of Jesus. I have endorsed the religious and dismissed the lost. I have embraced my peers and ignored wise elders. I have elevated the educated and disparaged the simple. I've adored those with their feet on a pedestal and written off those with no platform at all.

Ringing around in my little girl memory, along with old friendship advice, is a Sunday school story about a man named Zacchaeus. He didn't have the right job, and he wasn't tall in stature or long on respect. Zacchaeus wasn't positioned well in society. He positioned himself to see Jesus, though, and for Jesus that was enough. They became friends for eternity that day.

It makes me wonder who I have overlooked that God may want to position as my friend? The gray-haired widow walking slowly down the hall at church? The woman sitting on the park bench that may have slept there the night before? The lady who speaks with an accent or may not speak my language at all? The poor, the lonely, the different-than-me? Let's make a pact to look up from our comfortable circle and look out at a world that's dying to have a friend like Jesus...or like you and me.

Dear Lord, I have not chosen my friends as You did. Would You help me to see value in each person the way You do? Help me to look beyond my current circle of friends and begin to include those that You include. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Randy Newman "Louisiana 1927"

Weekend Project: Spider Rifle

Birds of a Feather

It's six o'clock, an alarm breaks the morning silence, light displaces the dark, silence gives way the radio, coffee maker, dog barks and cat meows. The Adventure Begins. 
It began this summer when Rachel's great niece came to live with us. She brought a trunk full of energy and an endless amount of conversation, which begins when she wakes up and ends sometime after she falls asleep. She talks to me, she talks to Rachel, the dog, the cats, the birds and when we've all run for cover, she talks to herself. I read somewhere that a female speaks about thirty thousand words a day, Aaliyah passes that mark around noon and then really hits her stride. One thing that has worked in our favor is that she's started writing. YEA!

We were talking about poetry one day and I asked her if she'd ever written a poem.....her hand hasn't stop moving. She's writing stories and poems and words with accompanying artwork. She writes on note pads, writing tablets, 3x5's, scraps of paper, and of coarse she has to make posters. Aaliyah's becoming so prolific that I built her a little desk.  Let's not forget to mention how appreciative of this wonderful respite which is allowing our weary ears time to rest and heal.

I was thinking the other day about the joy, frustration, energy, challenge, noise, upheaval, and blessing that's come with having a small child in the home.
I've had to dust off my parenting skills and sharpen a few of them because Princes A. is constantly testing the limits and we've had to gently keep her in check. I know it hasn't been easy for her having to leave her family, home, school, friends, pets.....It's been a big adjustment for her and us and most of the time we all do pretty good.

I noticed Aaliyah cleaning up around her desk today and thought about how much of a mess my desk is in. It seems no matter how much I try, and I do try, to organise this stuff it always looks the same. I'm convinced there is a conspiracy taking place. I'll have to keep an eye peeled for the culprits.

All this got me to thinking this:
We are Birds of a Feather.

Aaliyah: Shoes all over the place.

Jim:  Glasses and coffee cups all over the place. I can't find my shoes.

Aaliyah: Papers, charts, pictures scattered about.

Jim: "Have you seen that book I was readin', it was on my desk?"

Aaliyah: Clean desk.

Jim: I want a clean desk.

Aaliyah: Could eat pan-cakes seven days a week.

Jim: Call me Uncle Jamima.

Aaliyah: Likes to talk.

Jim: I recording all conversations. (Evidence)

Aaliyah: Young but thinks she old.

Jim: I am old. I look like my grand-dad.

Aaliyah: Knows everything.

Jim: I've forgotten what I don't know.

Aaliyah: Skips, jumps up and down, & spins.

Jim: When I get down (back in the day, that really meant something) I can't get back up.

 Aaliyah: Has a loose tooth.

Jim: I just paid twelve hundred dollars for a new tooth.

Aaliyah: Has a new crown. (She's a Princess)

Jim: I need another crown unfortunately I don't have another $1200.

Well, that's it for this bird. P.A is in bed now but of coarse she had a few questions that needed answers before she could finally settle down, and I think she's still listening, hoping to hear something interesting.  Our day ended on a good note, our cat Caillou made his way back home. He was AWOL for 2 days and so there were smiles all around and Aaliyah is taking credit for his return. She told me that she prayed for his safe return last night and she wore her cross all day.
Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving; (Colossians 4:2)

My Back Yard

I'm sitting here listening to the chimes as they make music in wind and thinking about the forecast I heard earlier this evening reminded me of how beautiful it is after the first big snow fall. It seems so clean and the air is so refreshing, it's difficult to come in.

Shopping Penguin - Parry Gripp Song Of The Week

Brown Friday

As you know, thousands of people are gearing up for one of the busiest shopping days of the year. Imagine if you will, people all over the city checking their lists, pouring over newspaper ads, browsing the Internet, putting fresh batteries in the walkie/talkies, putting numbers in their cell phones. There's the matter of what to wear: something warm for those showing up early, some stores will open @ 3am; why not 12am so that people can "git'r done". Some will opt for comfort, jogging/warm-up clothing. Oh, lets not forget the speedsters all decked out in Lycra/spandex (don't get in their way!)
All this frenzy leads up to a mad dash to every mall, shop, boutique and vendor in the city, buying everything that's not nailed down because it's on sale, and admittedly, there are some great sales.

Several years ago I decided to take a different path, slow the pace down a bit, forget all the ads and sleep in. Instead of zipping around buying everything I can get my hands on to give to everyone I know, I go down to my basement where I have a stockpile of stuff I've bought over the years because it was such a great deal and pick out a few things. It's great, no crowds or noise. I can sift through the cxxx I thought was such an incredible deal (haven't used any of it) get it ready to pass along to someone else who will stick it in their basement until they can pass it along. I'm saving loads of money and helping others at the same time. Brown Fridays are great.

Be careful out there.

jim