The gift giver is often the one that truly receives the gift

I've met a lot of Christians that are not big on tithing. I can understand someone not being eager to give 10% of their money away let alone to give an offering of more, especially when they don't have it to spare. Only my brain has never really thought that way. I enjoy giving and I like getting creative with it. I see nothing wrong with giving to the church but I like to know specifically who I am helping or which catastrophe the money is going to make right for someone. I grew up watching The 700 Club and fell in love with Pat Robertson because he reminds me so much of my dad and Pop. I learned at that young age the laws of reciprocity. Danny and Lucy and I live by the motto, you can't out give God.

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

We eventually, along with some other charities, chose CBN because Operation Blessing is wherever the latest horrific news story is. It's so difficult to be sure which organization one can trust to donate to. We don't worry about this with CBN. And one thing that has always impressed us is how they have been around for so long and managed to avoid scandal. Other then the media picking on Pat that is. Recently, we had the blessing of upping our tithe to them and last night we were honored to participate in our first, monthly conference call with Pat Robertson. Lucy was very excited to listen in. I will admit I was a little disappointed that it wasn't more personal because there are about 100 people on it at one time, but it was still cool.

I know not everyone is a gigantic fan of Pat Robertson but I think he's real and to me that is a rare and precious trait.

Anyway, on a side note, I start up at Regent University in January. I was awarded a merit scholarship based on previous college grades.......how ironic is that for this high school flunky? I will continue to work on my major in English but will add a double minor of Religious Studies and Communication. I was going to take Spanish but they're no longer offering it. I'm a little bummed but Communication will be fun too.

I'm off now to watch Ratatouille. I love a good rat movie! Remy is soooooooooo cute.....I just want to squeeze him!

BFWOD...Brain Fart Word of the Day

I reserve the right to have one brain fart word of the day. This is a word that I have completely forgotten how to spell for the day or one that I have drawn a blank on and remembered later...obviously. How can I write it on here if I can't remember it?

So...the BFWOD is: Vegetable. Which I have forgotten how to spell. Thank you spell check!

Complete and Utter Total Rant...so unlike me..hee hee

I don't have too much to share today. Next Monday Lucy will perform in her first play with CYT. She's been taking a class for the past two months and has a couple of lines and one singing solo in the Mickey Mouse Club themed showcase. I pray so very much that she does not freak out when she sees the audience. She is so theatrical when she's in a comfortable setting but can be shy when she's around strangers. Of course, I'm not really complaining about that but still.

I got on a kick talking about vegetables earlier and thought it funny that last night I had made myself carrots and broccoli and Lucy came out of her room and saw my plate and cried, "no fair!" She wanted carrots too. So I dished out a bunch for her on a plate and when I went to get her bed set up for sleep later that night, there was the plate, empty. I laughed and told Danny how funny it was that our child wanted carrots so badly. I guess this is my doing because I love veggies! Fruit upsets my stomach when I eat too much and I've never really been ridiculously fond of it anyway. I mean, I'll eat what I need to and I don't hate it but it is not the same love affair I have with veggies. Lucy and I are big fans especially of carrots, cooked or not, asparagus with a little I Can't Believe it's Not Butter, spray and a sprinkle of garlic salt and broccoli, seasoned the same way. I often throw in a bit of Thyme as well. I also love artichokes, cooked whole or the hearts. Lucy likes them cooked whole and dipped in vinegar. She love vinegar now...oops! What have I done?

Another favorite is the Salmon my dad catches in Alaska every year. He usually catches enough for the entire year. A family favorite is boiled Salmon, fresh asparagus and a few baby red potatoes. I could eat that every night for the rest of my life and be happy. I usually throw light herbs onto the Salmon because it doesn't need much and some capers. Those only go on mine though because they are not a favorite amongst my other family members. Garlic usually finds its way into the majority of my recipes because it rocks! I hope this food rant is not making Liz more nauseous. I don't know why I started ranting to begin with.

So, there is something incredibly cool happening in our little world tonight and I will leave it as a surprise and tell all about it tomorrow. And now, I will spend some time attempting to talk myself into cleaning. I will clean my house...I will clean my house....I will not clean my house...wait, how did that not get in there?

A Very Lifetime Day

We decided to visit Faith Chapel today. This was my church from childhood. We had talked about going for a while but I felt apprehensive because I knew it wouldn't be the church I remembered and I had such wonderful memories. I was afraid to be disappointed. At first I did feel a bit strange in being back, but then the singing began and I got that wonderful tingle that one gets when they are worshiping and it was like I was home again. We're going to go back and see if we can find a family there once more.

We managed to get to the boat after church. Only for a short time but I told Danny we could make it a weekly event. I love the feel of the cool wind blowing on my face as the boat glides along. A gentle rocking. It's so serene out there with nothing surrounding us but the crystal blue water. It brings back some really good childhood memories. I guess it was just one of those nostalgic days. Danny and I call them Lifetime moments.

Halloween Pictures

Background

I wanted to add a picture of my brother Michael so I thought I'd throw in a little background information while I'm at it. I was adopted at 6 months old and have an almost 19 year old sister, Kat. However, I am one of five kids because I also have Michael who is 24 years old and on my biological dad's side. Brandon is around the same age as Michael and Nicole is 22ish and they are from my biological mother's side. I haven't seen Brandon and Nicole for over 10 years because my bio mom and I had a falling out. Michael comes to visit yearly and has become one of my best friends. Lu loves her Uncle and he is very good to her. This picture was after mine and Danny's anniversary party on November 5, 2006. It was a Roaring 20's affair and I hope Lucy's beautiful face is appreciated. Obviously that is not what I wore to the actual party....I had on...GASP....a dress!

Trick, Treat & Pass Out!

I will attempt to get some Halloween pix of Lu up soon but we absolutely could NOT find the digital camera (I may have packed it during the fires) and had to buy a disposable at Rite Aid. This year, because Lucy is a bit older, the costume stakes went up and there was curling of her butt length hair with enough hair spray to hold Diana Ross' hair in place during a hurricane. I made sure to throw her in the shower before bed because I feared her eyes would be stuck shut by morning if she slept on all that spray. There was also makeup application and the right shoes to match the outfit, be comfortable for walking and not make her too hot or cold. Because we bought her fairy outfit a couple months ago, we couldn't for the life of us find the green wings that went with it. Luckily, any decent fairy mother keeps a backup pair of wings for just such an occasion and so we pulled out the purple ones and went on our merry way.

Then, we walked and walked and walked...all over Crown Hills which, go figure, has just a few hills. Then we visited with "Pa Tom." By the time we got back I was exhausted but stayed up with a friend visiting from out of town until after midnight. When I finally fell into bed, and I mean fell, the cat started to meow, Danny decided to get up and watch TV and the dog sneaked into my room. I don't know what time I finally fell asleep but I passed out and slept hard.

Halloween was fun and Lucy looked gorgeous, I'm a little jealous. I'm glad it's over for the year and as usual, I'm sure the candy will find its way to the top of the refrigerator where we'll notice it next Halloween and then throw it away. I think Lu's about the thrill of collecting the candy more than eating it. She even told one lady that she wasn't allowed to chew bubble gum...that's my girl!