We're moving about 15 minutes from here.  From the city, I say that tongue-in-cheek, to the county.  And alllll the land to the south of us is BLM land so no one will ever build in front of us.  Not that there's much building going on anyways.  It's a manufactured home built in 1998 and it's on 4.5 acres.  You enter into the living room and to the right is the hall to two small bedrooms and the bath and in front of you is the living room and to the left is the kitchen and dining room, then a short hallway to the laundry room and pantry, master bedroom at the end of the hall with its own bathroom and two walk-in closets.  The front view is all the way to the mountains on the other side and also you can see a little curve of the Rio Grande river. 

Technically, we're waiting to hear on our final loan approval Monday, so my husband just told me not to get overly excited, which, out of breath, I told him it's too late.  I'm excited!  And we already agreed that in our new place we will remove our shoes at the front door to keep the carpet nice like we used to do when we owned a home in California.  And it has a pantry!  Space.  Sigh.

It's 1200 square feet which is bigger than I wanted, but not too big.  It's has a dirt road about 1/8th or 1/4th of a mile to the front door from the old highway.  It's very bumpy which is fine for the truck, but in my little car I'll have to drive slow.  Best of all it has a well built corral for the girls (Bella the horse and Becca the mule) and a very nice covered area for hay.  It has a bomb shelter.  So, Kathryn, you can come to my house if you need protection from any bombs. 

I want to put some water out and see if we get any quail or birds out there.  I love bird watching.  We had a bird bath outside our dining room window in California. 

It has a private well and my boss at work spent a few long minutes Friday telling me horror stories about drought and people's wells going dry.  I can't walk in fear about that though.  A lot of people have wells.

I pray the inspections all go smoothly and that we hear that we got the loan on Monday!   

"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done."  Romans 1:28

I'm studying Romans and this verse is with me today.  Rome was in a bad way in the first century, and yet the Gospel thrived.  God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

I'm looking forward to moving.  I can't wait to see the morning sun rise there.  I've heard it's beautiful.

I want to go to Hobby Lobby.  They had several Bible verses for wall hanging.  I want one good one for the living room.  One good one.  How to pick!

I love my husband with all my heart. 

Taboola.com needs to be flushed down the toilet

This Sunday morning I'm reading the news.  I'm waiting a little while till I take husband out for Father's Day.  The article I'm reading on Huffington Post is "Dick Cheney: Edward Snowden Is A Traitor And Possibly A Chinese Spy".

I finish the article and at the bottom I see thumbnail pictures with in small grey text "You May Like".

What may I like?  May I like these articles they say I may like?  Because here are the headlines for the articles Taboola claims I may like:

"Coco Shows Booty Popping Progress in a String Bikini"

"MMA Fighter Breaks His Penis During Sex"

"Danny Brown Receives Oral Sex From Fan On Stage, Keep Rapping"

"See Just How Gorgeous Killzone: Shadow Fall Looks"

The last one, I have no idea what it's talking about and I'm not clicking.  The others are disgusting and foul.  I'm careful about where I surf.  Usually you get cookies and they know what you've been surfing and so you'll receive adverstisements, for example, based on what you've already looked it.  But I didn't look at anything that should send me such filthy recommendations.  How could I get such icky recommendations?

Last week I did google Kate Middleton's topless photo.  Could that be it?  I thought, how stupid could a princess be to be half naked anywhere in the world.  I thought they had to be super blurry.  Well, I found them and they're more in focus than I expected, but could Huffpo be tracking my searching?  It was the only questionable search I did.

Then I noticed the articles were brought to me by one Taboola.com.  Went to their site and it reads, "People like your content.  Some just don't know it yet."

Gross.

So I should stick to TheBlaze which doesn't use Taboola.  Here's a nice article from The Blaze:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/06/16/cute-video-alert-sea-lion-pup-jumps-onto-boat-cuddles-with-driver/

Phillipians 4:8
"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

Yesterday I baked a German chocolate cake for my boss for his birthday and he liked it a lot.  I was not sure what to make but he likes chocolate and my husband said make German chocolate for him.  It was a good call.  But it's time consuming and I didn't want to make it all Sunday long.  I took a nap.  Finally I got up because I could avoid it no longer and got in the kitchen and as soon as I started getting the ingredients together and mixing I was happy.  My husband always has the best ideas.

I downloaded a load of sermons on the book of Romans from Calvary Chapel.  Can't wait to start listening tonight.

Today my right femur ached all day during work.  I was slow thinking at my desk.  I felt annoyed with my boss because he flew speedily through the repetitive steps on the computer and I wondered if he was doing it purpose.  I on the other hand am slow as molasses.

Three times I was forgetful during Zumba.  My brand new routine that I was totally prepared for, I flubbed a little.  After dinner I suddenly was so angry at pastor for being a fake and a fraud.

Then I started my period tonight.  That's what was wrong.  Those darn hormones.  They can be  pesky!  My poor husband said that he knew something was wrong with me when we talked on the phone this morning.  I haven't the foggiest idea what he's talking about but he's known me long enough that I guess he knows if something's wrong with me.  Heh!

Maybe now it'll all even out and at least however my day is tomorrow I will know exactly what to attribute anything to.

I'm eating Haagen-Daz and am getting a headache.

I love my daughter-in-law very much.  She is beautiful and a good mother and wife.  I love her a lot.  I didn't tell her tonight, but I should have.  It's her birthday and she's 34.  A very good age.

The whole earth groans because of sin.

First day of Memorial Day week-end.  Our hay delivery day.  We're getting 150 bales.  It's a lot of hard, hot, itchy work moving 150 bales off the semi and into storage.  My husband is working 3-midnight today and he went with them.  He can take a nap later.  I hope he sleeps well for his nap.  Usually the day after hay delivery everyone is sore.  He's never had to work on the day we get our hay.  Son and he should be here in about an hour or less now.  I feel worried.

Jesus.  He isn't just partly human and partly divine.  He is completely human and completely divine at the same time.  The divine nature made it impossible for the him to err or sin in any way.  (From the commentary book I've ordered from Amazon.)  That's how he was able to live a perfect life.

Augustine said, "The New is in the Old concealed.  The Old is in the New revealed."  That so rocks.  Little ditties like that I can remember and then I can launch into why the OT is still relevant today.  One friend said to me, he doesn't like the angry, violent God of the OT.  Well, the God of the Old Testament is the same God as the New Testament.

And I read somewhere, can't remember where, it's a sad fact that leaders who chose a path of error or sin rarely turn back from it.  Where did I see that, and is it true.

unregenerate: Not reforming or showing repentance; obstinately wrong or bad.

Or in my words, bad fruit.

We got one mouse!  Aw, he's so small.  I'm real sorry to kill him.  I was sitting here and I heard a pop!  I went to our son's room and told him I needed him.  So he got up, after some drama because he makes a small thing a big thing, and he got his little flashlight.  I said, what should we do with the little body?  He said, "Get a taxidermist?"  Yeah, always the comedian.  Anyway, we tiptoed to the cupboard, I don't know why we tiptoed, and he opened the cupboard very slowly.  And there he was.  Poor thing.

My son went outside and got the trash picker-upper.  He had to add more drama to my life which I could do without by climbing over the wood fence around the porch, what little fence there is I mean, and I could hear the wood creak.  If he fell several feet onto the concrete I would not be happy.  I told him not to do that and by the time I finished saying it he had the picker upper and was standing in front of me. That's very irritating. 

He used the picker-upper to pick up the trap and put it outside in the trash.  I wondered if we should keep the trap, ew, so I woke my husband up.  He doesn't have to go to work tomorrow so he wasn't mad.  Not that he ever gets mad when I wake him up anyways.  I wake him up a lot.  I ask him if he's awake till he's awake, then he says why did I ask him if he's awake if he didn't answer.  Then to make sure he was listening to me I shined my iPod in his face, only for half a second.  He was awake.  He asked me why I shined my iPod in his face.  To see if he was hearing me, I said!  Anywho...

He thinks there's only one mouse.  If true, then the second trap won't catch anything.  He said the traps are only ten cents apiece so just throw it away.

If I think of the disease on the mouse and think of it relieving itself in my cupboard it makes me a little sick.

Onwards and upwards.  I have to hit the hay now.  I was going to go to bed at nine, then I was going to bed at ten, and now it's 10:30pm.

I unfriended my church on my stupid FB page.  Tonight I think I will not attend there anymore.  I must find a new church home.  God will guide me if I ask him to.

Found some mouse poops in the cupboards.  We put traps there with cheese but those little meese must be smart.  They took the cheese and didn't set off the traps.  So tonight we put peanut butter on them.  We put out poison but I guess they didn't take it or it just didn't work. 

First we heard strange sounds in the wall by the washing machine.  I said, what is that?  My husband couldn't hear it so I got up from the table and found the sound and stood by it.  "That sound"!  Do you hear it?  Then he heard it.  Two days later teeny little poops under the bathroom cupboard.  Two more days later two little poops in the spice cupboard.  Yuk.  I don't hate mice.  I like mice, but not in the house. They're under the house I think and squeeze in through the tiniest little spaces.

I loved learning about God's angel army.  Tonight I'm going to listen to "Are Just a Few Being Saved"?

When I got home from work I thought Kathy was gonna come learn how to make pie pastry, but she made other plans.  So I put everything away and sat down and I was suddenly so tired.  I went to sleep.

My Word With Friends partners are all slow today.  I only had about four plays today.  I need to find a new partner or invite an old one or two to a game. 

I'm reading online articles.  I read that forgiveness is granted; trust is earned.  And that if you lose love, you lose everything.  Or maybe it said if you have not love you have nothing.  Something like that anyway.

Pastor and his wife left town permanently today.  Went back to Oklahoma where they were born and raised.  They came here a little over 30 years ago.  Built a church from the ground up and it ends like this.  I am left to wade through whatever this is going through my mind.  He didn't do it to me personally.  I know that.  It feels like he did though.

I think of the times I went up for alter call.  What a farce it must have been and God saw it all.  I'm really grossed out.  I don't want to go up for an alter call anywhere ever again.

And the DNA test came back.  The child from the affair of nine years ago is his.

Pastor's wife had bruises on her shoulders when she said her good-byes last Friday.  One of the husbands went to their house and was going to beat up Pastor.  My guess is she stood between to stop it and got moved out of the way.  I'd say, Pastor's just lucky the husband didn't take a gun.

The two women have not been seen anywhere in town.  It's been a full week.  Going on two now.  So far they're staying in their houses.  I don't know how the one who is a marriage and family counselor can keep her job going.  That seems like a farce too.  A mockery of marriage. I feel sad and sorry for the children and all the families. 

Every saint has a past.  Every sinner has a future.

 

Pentecost Sunday is May 19th this year.  Tomorrow.  It marks 50 days after Easter when the Holy Spirit arrived.  The apostles didn't stay inside the upper room and keep it to themselves.  They TUMBLED out of the upper room and into the streets!  And that was the beginning of the church as we know it. 

I believe with all my heart that the furnace of affliction in the family of God is always for refinement, never for destruction.   God didn't send his Son for the righteous.  He sent Jesus for the sinners.  And who would that be?  All of us or some of us? 

It's all of us.

Acts 2:1–4

And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

I stayed home.  Mayela and Kathy went to Caballo but couldn't find the church.  So, they drove to Cruces (70 miles) to church!  And, the preacher was visiting from Oklahoma and he preached on missions.  Could it have been more perfect?  Kathy has a missionary's heart.  She's just bustin' to do mission work.  Last w/e she and Mayela went to Juarez.  They want me to go, but my husband says no.  Juarez is dangerous.  The drug cartels and murdering and raping and the news shows dead bodies that they sat in chairs on the side of the road with notes attached to their chests with ice picks, and bodies hanging from bridges.  It's horrifiying.

So Mayela and Kathy went to Juarez.  They walked over the bridge instead of driving.  Long story short, they gave beans and rice and clothes to a family.  The little girl cared not a whit about the clothes.  She liked the breakfast cereal.  She held onto the cereal box and would not let go of it.  Photos show her holding tightly to the cereal.  They ate it with water and were exceedingly happy.  Kathy cried and cried and Mayela has a photo of that too.

The little boy, about eight years old, liked the hand-me-down cowboy boots.  Kathy asked him why he didn't put them on.  He had placed them is a cubby with a fabric drape in front of it.  He told her he didn't want to use them up. 

The poverty there, so close to us, is heart rending.  They had no heat.  No electricity.  No running water.  They live like that every day.

Mayela and Kathy talked to the preacher after church.  He said he'll get them into a class to learn about missionary work.  Mayela, I'm so proud of how assertive and articulate she was, said they have no church right now and are kind of lost.  He said he knew of our church and that he and some other pastors have plans to talk with out pastor about resigning.  She said he didn't used the word "resign" but that's what she thought the word he used meant.  I'm so glad to hear some godly men will come to our rescue.  My church needs help.

I love my pastor.  I miss him.  I wake in the morning and think of he and his wife and family.  He has a gift, for sure.  A God-given gift for preaching and teaching and connecting people up to the Word. I'm a product of that church and he taught us to always look to scripture.  We are not to be like fledglings, opening our mouth and swallowing whatever is before us!  Our job is to check the scripture, and I know what 1Tim 3 and Titus 1 say. 

I just want everything fixed; to go back the way it was.

I don't want to go to church tomorrow. 

I got new wispies cut in to frame my face and my husband said he likes how it looks, so, BAM, that's good.

I'm hungry and I have to go to bed and I don't want to get up and go to a church tomorrow.  I can worship anywhere.  I have been worshipping anywhere and everywhere on Sundays.  Have gone to three churches now.  But it's a drag.  Total.  Drag. 

Technically, it's not that I don't like the churches, it's just that the people are all so old.  I guess when you get old and have no desire to commit the usual sins it's must be easier to live in faith, because, like, what are you going to do against God anyway?  It's all been done and all that's left is going to church on Sunday.

Husband started his seasonal job today so that's good.  We'll easily afford hay for the coming year.  Sal invited him to watch football at his house when football season arrives and Sal is nice and has a nice family.  It would be enjoyable for my husband I think.

We got rid of cable last week, so no more O'Reilly for us.  That, and McLaughlin are the only shows we'll miss.  We waited till the Bible show was over then cancelled.  Satan rules the cable tv networks anyway, so no great loss.

Got a massage today and it was very nice.  She did my hands and feet and neck.  I really enjoyed it.  I used the gift certificate that I bought a year ago for Ryan, but he never came back to town so figured I ought to go ahead and use it.  I've had some terrible massages in the past, but she did a good job.  She's not a clock watcher.  That's unusual.  She said she's coming to Zumba next week!  It's been over ten years since my last massage.

I don't want to go to church anymore.  I used to look forward all week to Sunday.  Now every week I dread it coming closer and closer. 

Someone put one of my hair photos on Pinterest and she said "pretty braid" and there were three repins.  I am happy.

I just realized that I can google "What time is it in (name a place)?" and Google will tell me what the time is there.  Very useful for when you're playing Words With Friends with people in other countries!

I got a new Ficcare today.  They are sure slow mailing their product out.  But the package was classed up.  They now have a dark chocolate brown box with the word "Ficcare" in script on top.  Inside, the clip is in a pretty little chocolate brown bag.  I really want the plain shiny silver Maximas clip.  It's online and in their printed info sheet, but you can't select it to buy it.  I emailed and asked if they'll have it soon and they said yes, and suggested I look at their other clips.  Now why would I write about one clip and ask them when it'll be available again unless that's the clip I want.  I don't want any other.  I don't want the Ficcarissimo matte silver.  I settled for another, a striped one, but it's wasn't my first choice.  The shiny silver is still not in stock.

Church was outstanding.  The visiting preacher is a young black man attending Oral Roberts University and he preached on David from the book of 1Samuel 30:1-9 and 30:16 -19.  The theme was "I'm recovering everything the enemy has stolen from me."  David encouraged himself in the Lord and we should do the same.  And God said..."Pursue!"  Very wonderful sermon.  It's wonderful to see young people on fire for God.  He must study the Word extensively every day.  It flowed out of him and filled my ears and my soul and my spirit.  Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but God delivers them.  And now is not the time to backslide.  Now is not the time to go to the things of the world.  God has not left us ill-equipped.  That's part of what I learned Sunday.  I went up for alter call and said my church family is in distress and I want prayer for that.

They left the gate open when they went to the mountains Sunday.  I was late to church because I was running up and down the neighborhood trying to catch Bella and Marmalade.  Thank heaven for Laurie Chavez.  I called her.  She helped me.  She's a good, good person.  Nine o'clock a.m. I'm running around in circles in the house because our horse and mule are loose up the street.  I thought to call animal control but couldn't find the phone book.  I went to the shed to get two harnesses, but I didn't know the combination.  So I thought who can I call.  Husband was at gun training class.  Son in the mountains.  I called Laurie.  She drove over here and must have come right away because she was here in ten minutes.  I owe her.  She got Marmalade and the she got Bella and we walked them home together.  She even walked with Marmalade and drove her vehicle - holding Marmalade's rope out the window at the same time!

Now I have shin splints and sore quads today.  Zumba tomorrow.  Not sure I can teach at my usual pace.  My shins do hurt so much.

Sow mercy. Sow grace. Sow kindness. Sow faith.

(From the song!)

I'm refreshed.  Renewed.  I listened all night to Andrew Wommack on grieving.  Four podcasts.  Okay, I listened to two.

Romans 8:18 - "For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for and and conferred on us!" 

The chapter is about life in the Spirit.  We're empowered by the spirit of God to overcome sin.

And Paul was in far more dire straits than I.  My sadness is nothing compared to his.  He was in a dungeon so dark.  He was whipped.  His back laid open.  And he was chained.  He couldn't even sit comfortably.  And, he sang.

Everything will be all right.  I have to keep getting out on Sunday morn and not sit in the muck.  Must get out and be with the people of God.  Forsake not the assembling...

I lied.  On Sunday, I didn't really like the church that much.  I didn't dislike it, but I miss my church.  My church.  My church family.  Usually there's about 175 people at my church on an average Sunday.  Last week there were 80 I heard.  My church family is blown to bits.  Little pieces scattered all over.  And what's worse, most of them I never told them that I loved them.

I downloaded four Christian podcasts about dealing with grief.  Hope it helps.

Sometimes I'm mad.  Mostly I just feel like crying.  A big moaning cry that shakes my whole body.  Then it goes away. 

Pastor's been dilly dallying with a church member says Pastor's wife.  I don't know if she has absolute proof, but that's what she said.  She knows scripture, I know that for sure.  My friend says the divorce will be particularly ugly because they've both chosen lawyers in town.  Two lawyers in town who absolutely hate each other.  That's a fine scenario. 

Zumba was good.  Tuesday I had 11 peeps.  This month's Zumba DVD is a gold mine of cute choreography.  I've found five routines I like.  That's a record.  One of the songs is "Take On Me" by Aha from the '80s.  Really cute dance routine.  Love it. 

Went to a church this morning. It was good. The pastor mentioned a Hillsong song that the chorus just learned and I was looking forward to hearing and singing it. It was a hymn. Haha! Not what I expected. The title is "Holy is the Lamb" from Revelation. After church we (we three amigas) were singing it and singing it but we couldn't remember the right words so we made up our own. Funny how you get a song in your head then you're humming it the rest of the day.

The fields are white for harvest. Harvest is not the problem. It's the laborers who are few.