Missy, Corie and Murphy got a tug-o-war toy they could all enjoy at the same time.
I certainly have seen this truth displayed powerfully in the past year. I see it all the time in smaller, everyday matters. Some circumstances seem really difficult as I approach them... dread takes over and I tend to make those circumstances more monstrous than they really are and wonder to myself, "How will I ever survive?". And often, once the 'ordeal' is over, I look back and see that it wasn't really an ordeal at all, but blessing. Sure, it was tough at times, but it was good too. And when I have truly experienced an ordeal, I can see the blessing of our God all the more clearly.Ecclesiastes 7:8
8Better is the end of a thing than its beginning,
and the patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
There's a lot to unpack there, but I just thought I'd share.2 Timothy 2:22-26
22So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 23Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. 24And the Lord's servant[d] must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, 25correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, 26and they may escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.
We elected to sod the front yard and seed the back yard. Given it's August in Mississippi, we are running the sprinklers 2-3 hours a day until the sod "takes." Thankfully, Batch and Tim installed a sprinkler system so watering the lawn is not such a chore. There are a few more plants to add to the garden and some mulching to be done next weekend, but all in all, this will be the new appearance of our house!
Luke sitting in the middle of his new kitchen!
A view down our LONG island with the pantry in the background. We should get countertops and the rest of our appliances next week!
A view of our "famous" living/dining room from the kitchen
The master bedroom...not much to see here but at least there's a bed!
If you had told me a year ago that I'd be excited about a washer and dryer I would have thought you were crazy, but even I am enjoying these new additions to our home.
One of the guest bedrooms- we used some antique beds Mom had in storage. The cute bedding is courtsey of Lois!!
The front of the house with our NEW front door!! Doesn't it look great? We will likely start on landscaping next week so I should have more exterior pictures to post then.
Master bathroom cabinets...there's also a wall cabinet I actually installed!
We've had a fun couple of weekends away, but are looking forward to some time in town to finish up the house and actually move in! We'll need some volunteers to help us clean it and get it liveable so if anyone is interested... :)
AND 
Youngest: The youngest child tends to be the most creative and can be very
charming -- even manipulative. Because they often identify with the underdog,
they tend to champion egalitarian causes. (Youngest siblings were the earliest
backers of the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment.) Successful in
journalism, advertising, sales and the arts, famous youngest children include
Cameron Diaz, Jim Carrey, Drew Carey, Rosie O'Donnell, Eddie Murphy and Billy
Crystal.
Only Children: Only children have similar characteristics to first borns and are
frequently burdened with high parental expectations. Research shows they are
more confident, articulate and likely to use their imagination than other
children. They also expect a lot from others, hate criticism, can be inflexible
and are likely to be perfectionists. Well-known only children include Rudy
Guiliani, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Alan Greenspan, Tiger Woods, tennis' teen
queen Maria Sharapova and Leonardo Da Vinci.
Batch and our friend CW work on hanging the insulation board. The next step on the exterior work will be siding. Inspired by the beautiful homes of the Springhill and Fairhope, AL areas, we've decided to use cedar siding.
Moving inside the house, we find the first of our cabinet order...it's the vanity and linen cabinet for the "jack & jill" bathroom! The remainder of the order should arrive sometime next week!!
I'm Scooter...pretty funny if you ask me! :)
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I also have a growing concern for the PCA. This is a conflicted denomination. This conflict does not come from the Left at all, like it does in so many of the older fellowships in America. This denomination is not fighting about homosexual ordination or the adoption of anti-Semitic overtures with regard to the state of Israel. This conflict, and the spirit that energizes it, comes from the far Right. You see, the PCA has a very vocal minority of folks who just can’t stop arguing. They seem to thrive on polemics. Every controversy known to conservative Christianity seems to eventually find its way into the PCA. I have been reminded of this again over the last few weeks. One theological overture after another keeps surfacing and making its way into the bloodstream of the PCA, poisoning the missional good of this fellowship over and over again. I do not know how long this group can sustain this kind of hostility.How long can we sustain this kind of hostility?
Frankly, in many ways the church, or at least cultural-Christianity/American-evangelicalism (and I am afraid maybe even much of the PCA), has lost sight of the communal aspect of our calling. We have made church into a building or a denomination or a system of narrowly defined doctrines or a place you go on Sundays (and sometimes Wednesdays) and have forgotten that we are commanded to "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. "
The Armstrong article and the Schaeffer ideas intersect where the church has forgotten: that it is for Christ.Naturally Smart You're a naturally smart person. Your intelligence comes to you naturally, rather than from instruction - and you are better with applied or more real-world things... which comes in handy, here in the real world. 40% applied intelligence 60% natural intelligence
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Anyhow, its very cool; check it out. If I ever start running again, I'll use this tool to plan routes. In fact, instead of sitting here reading/writing about it, I should actually go get some exercise.How does it work?
Click on the map to set a starting point. Then keep clicking from point to point to draw a route. Click on any of the markers for your route and see how far this point is from the start and what the estimated time would be for a given speed.
Building a running community
You can save your maps by clicking on any of your markers and hit "Save Your Route" to add it to the database. Next time you or anyone else looking in your neighborhood is looking for a route, they will see your pin.
“… What’s the trouble about this place? Not that people are quarrelsome --- that’s only human nature and was always the same even on Earth. The trouble is they have no Needs. You get everything you want (not very good quality, of course) by just imagining it. That’s why it never costs any trouble to move to another street or build another house. In other words, there’s no proper economic basis for any community life. If they needed real shops, chaps would have to stay near where the real shops were. If they needed real houses they’d have to stay near where the builders were. It’s scarcity that enables a society to exist… if I can come back with some real commodities --- anything at all that you could really bite or drink or sit on --- why, at once you’d get a demand down in our town…. You’d soon get people coming to live near --- centralization. Two fully inhabited streets would accommodate the people that are now spread over a million square miles of empty streets. “
The Intelligent Man in C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce describing Hell.Does this sound familiar to anybody?
It sounds to me alot like much of America.
And certainly in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I can see how scarcity and suffering has forced people back into a certain level of community. You're alot more likely to visit with your neighbors when you know you both have similar needs and sufferings.
I can't decide whether abundance, suburban sprawl, the great-white-flight, air-conditioning and drive thru everything have killed community or if the lack of true community has driven the growth of our culture of convenience.
Thoughts? Please share.2"There is none holy like the LORD;After our adjuster submitted our claim a few weeks ago, we have been wondering what the status of our claim was. We made some calls today and got word that they (the wind insurance company) have processed the claim and approved the settlement for 100% of our policy value! They claim to have already sent the check, but to our old address. They are issuing a new check to be sent to us at the Leavengood's.
there is none besides you;
there is no rock like our God.
3Talk no more so very proudly,
let not arrogance come from your mouth;
for the LORD is a God of knowledge,
and by him actions are weighed.
4The bows of the mighty are broken,
but the feeble bind on strength.
5Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread,
but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger.
The barren has borne seven,
but she who has many children is forlorn.
6The LORD kills and brings to life;
he brings down to Sheol and raises up.
7The LORD makes poor and makes rich;
he brings low and he exalts.
8He raises up the poor from the dust;
he lifts the needy from the ash heap
to make them sit with princes
and inherit a seat of honor.
For the pillars of the earth are the LORD's,
and on them he has set the world.
1 Samuel 2: 2-8
..."The house that we lost on the beach was an older home that we had
bought and renovated," said Holly Batchelder. "That is something my husband and
I enjoy."
...
"Our house that we lived in prior to Katrina was completely destroyed on
the beach in Gulfport," Batchelder said. "The house that we bought after Katrina
had about 6 feet of water in it. It's on the the Biloxi Back Bay. It's not
waterfront. It's across the street from the water."
...
"It is a different situation for them," Holly Batchelder said. "They don't
usually start with as little as they started with this time."
She said she and her husband and the Raths have been friends since their
days together in college at Mississippi State. She won't reveal details about
how each couple made over the other's living room; that's a surprise for the end
ofthe show, she said.
But she did let on that each couple wound up with a living room in which
they can live -- something many displaced homeowners in the area have not had
for months.
Now it's a matter of addressing some electrical and plumbing issues so they
can move in and continue working on the rest of their new-to-them house,
Batchelder said.She and and her husband and their friends are grateful for
the helping hand extended by TLC and "Trading Spaces."
"I never imagined them being down here," she said. "We are extremely
thankful that they did, and we think they enjoyed it as much as we did."
Until then, homeowners Batch and Holly Batchelder of Biloxi will say only
that the whole experience was fantastic and they'd do it again, if asked.
...
"There is nothing we would change about the room," Batchelder said. "It's
beautiful. They really pegged us on our taste," he said of the Raths. "They
really did an outstanding job."
However, that room is all they've got so far.
The Batchelders are still living with friends, unable to move into their house
due to contractor problems with finishing the rest of it. They bought the
storm-damaged house after Katrina destroyed their beachfront home.
...
"We'd hoped to be able to be in the house and have a party," Batchelder
said, "but we're going to watch in our surrogate home with our adopted family
and try to make the most of it."
Read the article in its entirety here.
"We were literally starting from scratch in the house," Holly Batchelder
said. She and her husband enjoy renovating homes but this is more daunting.
"Having one room done sets the tone for the rest of the house. It's very, very
helpful. It gives us some direction.
"Everybody was really great, easy to work with. They were completely
taken aback by the situation down here," Batchelder said of the Philadelphia,
Pa.-based crew. "I think it was a good experience for them, a good experience
for us as well. ... One of those once-in-a-lifetime things you'll always be glad
you did."
"Ya'll are the luckiest people I know"Her tongue was planted firmly in cheek.
3Not only so, but we[c] also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
I am writing you to let you know that Will Hayes (MSMS Class of 1993) passed away on Monday February 13, 2006 in Little Rock, Arkansas. The visitation will be 5-8pm on Friday February 17 in Canton, Mississippi at the Breeland Funeral Home. The funeral service will be held at 11am Saturday February 18, 2006 at the First Methodist Church (across the street from the funeral home.) Cards can be sent toWhether you knew him or not, please pray for Will's family, that God's comfort and peace would envelop them in what must be an extremely agonizing time.
PO Box 153
Canton, MS 39046
More information will be posted on the website (www.msmsaa.org) as it becomes available.
Sepideh Baghaii
MSMS Class of 1996
An irrefutable argument for alcoholic beverages in the Old Testament is revealed by the Hebrew word shekar, which is used some 22 times and literally means "inebriating drink."...My favorite line: "The Moses Stout Text, then, is diluted and becomes a symbol not only of translation dishonesty, but of the watered-down message of much of evangelical Christendom."
...The shekar was so pleasing to the Lord that he commanded it as a drink offering to himself saying, "And the drink offering thereof shall be the fourth part of an hin for the one lamb: in the holy place shalt thou cause the strong wine to poured unto the Lord for a drink offering" (Numbers 28:7)....
...Deuteronomy 14:26 ...is the classical drinking text for both Calvinists and Lutherans. We may reverently call it the "Moses Stout Text." It reads:
And you shall now bestow that money for whatsoever your soul lusts after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever your soul desires: and you shall eat there before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice, you and your household.
What Romans 8 and 9 is to Arminianism (pulverizing the idol of free will), so is Deuteronomy 14 to prohibitionism. As we see in the Moses Stout Text, the "rejoicing tithe" may be spent for "wine, or strong drink [shekar], or for whatsoever your soul desires...." The people of God are not only permitted to drink shekar, but are to drink it "before the presence of the Lord," and "in the fear of the Lord" (14:23). Also, the Hebrew verb here for "lust" ('avah in Hebrew and epithumeo in Greek) is the same verb found in the Decalogue, where God commands us not to covet (Deuteronomy 5:21). Only here an amazing thing is said: God states that it is lawful to "lust" after wine, or strong drink, so long as these things are not the cellared property of your neighbor. Thus, the Moses Stout Text commends strong alcoholic beverages in five ways: (1) we may drink wine and Moses Stout; (2) we may even lust after Moses Stout; (3) we must always drink wine and Moses Stout in the fear and presence of the Lord; (4) we must rejoice when we drink wine and Moses Stout; (5) our households may drink wine and Moses Stout with us.
The one translation of the Moses Stout Text that bestows a probable nonalcoholic sense is the New King James Version, with its "similar drink" rendering. The translation is so bold that it is bald; that is, the whiner bias of the translator is plainly exposed. Elsewhere, the NKJV renders shekar "intoxicating drink" (Isaiah 5:11), but here in Deuteronomy 14, where the meaning is not negative but overwhelmingly positive, the word is given special treatmenet so that intoxicating drink is not readily associated with good things. The Moses Stout Text, then, is diluted and becomes a symbol not only of translation dishonesty, but of the watered-down message of much of evangelical Christendom.Drinking with Calvin and Luther, Chapter 7- Scripture & Spirits; pp. 143-145
The ceilings have been mostly ripped out, the mold treatment occurs tomorrow and the framing/furring should start on Tuesday.
As some of the Leavengood family enjoys Christmas morning, you can see a small puppy on Lois' lap...that's her Christmas present from Doug-- a new Westie appropriately named "Mistletoe"- aka Missy to most of the family, but Batch and I prefer "Toey" (well, she does have a habit of biting your toes...) Oh, and did I mention...the day after Doug bought Missy, another Westie breeder called and in order to keep Missy a surprise, Doug agreed to let Lois buy a puppy from the 2nd breeder...by the end of January, there will be 2 puppies ruling the roost at the Leavengoods...and one grumpy old dog (Luke) running for the hills!
