Long Distance Mad Lib #1

A gift for our friends, Eric and Mindy is below because she says we can't play Mad Libs anymore since we are moving. So I grabbed one we did last year together and typed it out for her. Happy now Mindy? *smile* I figure we can do long distance Mad Libs until they come to Missouri some day! So, here's our "Pippy Longstocking" one we did last year (the words in purple were supplied by the group. Eric was the one who wrote them down for us):

"Pippy Longstocking walked strinkingly and boldly, a tense stiffness in her skin. She walked to the United Universal Unitarian Church on her Wednesday night off which she missed a lot due to her campaigning job. She consoled herself with 133 hours of overtime.

The Apostolic Church was only 666 blocks away so she started walking spitefully while smoking a cherry soaked dog hair joint, telling herself to stay fleshly. She was a bit gushy because she had been witnessed to a few months prior by a progesterone cream addict.

Pippy Longstocking never carried much pepper spray with her so all she could offer him was her Obama Berry Soda. She yelled out "CHANGE!" and he stumbled as she went toward the church for toilet paper. Pastor Ahmadinejad saw Pippy snickering now and held his heel open to her. She said, "SO! Can you spare a dollar for an incoherent lady?"

- Roger, Tamara, Eric, Mindy

The Big Question

Video says it all. By the way, I was one of those religious people who went to church for years too! No one told me I was a hypocrite...

Scripture Cake

Scripture Cake

I found this recipe today in "The Encyclopedia of Country Living." By the time you make this cake, you will have had some time with the Lord too!

Apparently you have to use the King James Version to get the right cake mix. That should make all the KJVO people happy for the day :)

I put the real directions in a light gray next to the ingredients. DON'T CHEAT! God is watching you!

1 C Matthew 10:42 (water)
1 C Jeremiah 6:20 (sugar)
1 C Samuel 25:18 (raisins)
1 C Matthew 25:4 (oil)
1 tsp. 2 Chronicles 9:9 (spices)

What to do next:

• What the psalmist asked God to do in the first part of Psalm 35:23. (stir)
• What the lump of figs were to lay on in Isaiah 38:21 (boil)
• Do what the Rich Man in Luke 16:24 wanted his tongue to feel like. (cool)

Then add:
2 C 1 Kings 4:22 (flour)
1 tsp. Luke 12:1 (leaven)
1/4 tsp. Luke 14:34 (salt)
1/2 C Genesis 43:11 (nuts)

Then do this:

• What the people were supposed to do to their swords in Isaiah 2:4. (beat)
• What the ten women were to do to the bread in the oven in Leviticus 26:26 (bake)
• What they planned to do after killing the fatted calf in Luke 15:23. (eat)

Sounds Heavenly! Okay, that was my attempt at a joke. Tell me if you made it.

- Tamara Slack

Forgiveness

NOTE: If you are a woman reading this and have ever done something you think might have been "immoral" or had something done to you that you didn't want done to you (keeping this as kid-friendly as possible), please do continue to read and then watch the video about the Rose. I care about you and hope you get much from it.

Friends, family or whoever is reading this, please watch this video I posted below if you get a moment. STOP! The answer to your question is "No, you can't skip all I wrote and skim down to the video." You have to read this first. I have a tracking system on this blog that tells me who has skipped down to the bottom first after you clicked on the blog from your email. Okay, I lied. But it was only a WHITE LIE! Oh yeah, there are no colors of lies. I suppose if I lie, I am a liar and need forgiveness. Will you forgive me? Okay, so the video made me stop and think for a long, long moment and prompted me to type this blog entry. Put on your "oh this is about Jesus again" filter on first. You don't think I'm going to write a whole blog entry without mentioning the one I love most in my life, do you? And please, if you end up reading this whole blog entry and watching that video, post something on my blog here or email me or SOMETHING! I hate silence. All complaints can go directly into my email box. If I get nothing, I'll just assume you didn't read this. (Either that or my tracking system will kick in...)

So moving on, why is it that it seems Christians judge so much? Could it be because of what this guy in the Rose video says he heard from a pastor years ago? The final part of the clip at the bottom is THE POINT of Christianity. Don't miss it, please. Maybe this is why when I talk to people who want nothing to do with their Creator and Lord of glory who died on the cross, they think I'm talking about: "clean yourself up first." That's a false gospel, my friend. How do you think you can clean yourself up for your Creator? What could you possibly do to look good in a perfectly holy God's eyes? Really, answer the question in your head. What could you do if you stood before Him if your heart gave out right now? What would you say?

"Oh, I gave money to the poor!" And He would say, "So?"

"I stopped this or that sin recenlty!" And He would say, "that's nice, but that's not what is required to go to Heaven."

"I went to church last week!" And He would say, "And the demons go to church too. Anyone can attend church, but a building doesn't get you to Heaven."

"I stopped yelling at my kid!" And He would say, "That is good! But when a rapist stops raping a woman and tell the judge so, is he less guilty after he stopped? No."

Come on, answer it. What will you say when He asks you why He should let you into Heaven? Your answer goes here: ___________________ .

(Hint: if the sentence starts with "I" then you probably won't get in.)

No, no, no, no, no! It's not about: "clean yourself up first." It's about: "we are all unclean, messed up sinners and need God's mercy, every one of us." If people would just understand that Christianity is not "religion," but a relationship with the Savior. That Christianity is not about being a "moral" and "good" person. That it's not about doing good or doing better than you were before or even better than your neighbor, co-worker of family member, but about being FORGIVEN. Here's what the Bible says in a nutshell:

• God is holy and just (in other words, He is without sin and keeps His word).
• God created all things.
• You are one of the things He created and loves.
• God has moral laws (i.e. you shall not steal, you shall not lie, you shall not look with lust, etc.).
• You broke those laws and that's called sin.
• God hates sin and will not tolerate it (and you thought I was being intolerant as a Christian? God detests sin and will refuse anyone who has sinned without forgiveness. Hey, not my message!).
• Because God is holy and just, it would be against His character to allow you to be with Him in Heaven. (for instance, if you stole something last week from a store and this week you went before a judge, that judge would be unjust and corrupt if he just let you go for no reason. Imagine if someone came in and raped your mom tonight. Would you want a judge to just let the guy go? NO! You want justice. God is thorough in His justice).
  
• Nothing unclean and tainted with sin can be in His presence because He is holy. That means you and I can't go to Heaven as we are.
  
• Because God is also love, He sent His Son, Jesus Christ who fulfilled the Law completely to suffer what you should suffer, that is, the full wrath of God on the cross.
• You did the crime, Jesus paid the fine (and to think how many times we have taken Jesus' name in vain and not given Him the honor due Him!).
  
• Jesus rose from the dead, defeating death (in other words, the resurrection... why Easter is celebrated).
• Jesus requires you to repent (turn to Him with a change of mind about your ways) and trust in His good works, not yours. Period.

That is how a person gets to Heaven, by Christ's good works, not yours. You need to ask His forgiveness. He extends grace to the humble and contrite. Is that you?

Stay with me... the video clip is coming up. If you got this far without hating Jesus or rolling your eyes at me as you read or wanting me to take you off my email list, I'm already in shock and quite pleased! Keep reading...

The gospel is not:

• Come to Jesus and He will give you a nice life, nor
• Repent of your sin and live a sinless life, nor
• Clean up your life first and then come to Him, nor
• Do everything you can to be like Jesus, nor
• Come to Christ and then you can sin however you like.

Simply put, the gospel is GOOD NEWS, that Jesus Christ was punished in the place of sinners. If you're not a sinner, you're good to go and you don't need His forgiveness, just pass "GO," collect your $200 and enter Heaven on your own good works, but refer to Revelation 21:8 before deciding that's the way to go.

If you are a sinner, then you need a Savior. Which is it? Have you lied? Stolen? Looked with lust? Hated anyone, ever? Said a cuss word? Had sex outside of marriage? Used God's name in vain? Disobeyed your parents at any time? Gossiped about anyone, ever? Or done anything else that has offended God? If so, then you are just like the rest of us and qualify for grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Christ did not die so the self-righteous would inherit eternal life. The self-righteous need to repent of their pride. He died so that those who would confess that they need His righteousness, would inherit eternal life.

The BAD NEWS is that sinners should be punished (that's called Hell in God's court... hey, I didn't make up the idea of Hell; I don't even LIKE the idea of it. I'm just telling you what the Bible says), but the GOOD NEWS is no matter how much of a broken, beat up sinner you are, no matter how much bad or wrong you have done in comparison to the people you know, He will give eternal life to those who turn from their sin (repent) to Jesus Christ and believe the gospel. Now, with that said, please watch this four minute clip:



If you think you are going to Heaven, but aren't sure, instead of looking to me as someone who is judging you, just examine yourself. I'm not your judge. You have one Judge, that is your Creator. I'm just a sinner who has been forgiven and want you to know that forgiveness and freedom too. One who is just like you, who needs a Savior. You know better than me if you have kept the most important commandment. Jesus said, " you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength." (Mark 12:30) Here are a few things to read in case you aren't absolutely sure when you die that you will have forgiveness of your sins. Just click on one blue link below or read them all:

How to Become a Christian

What if I'm Pretending?
My Life After Death
Need God

Answers for Seekers

Is Christianity the One True Religion?

Was Jesus Really God?

Blessings,
Tamara Slack

More Before Pictures of New Home in MO

More of the house! The story of the move is HERE. Dana and Jim have been so helpful. They went out to the property yesterday and took bunches of pictures for us and explained what each were. I'm posting some here:

Some more views from inside and outside the house:

The Living Room:

The Kitchen
(Cindi - here's the kitchen table I was talking about in the email this morning):

One Garden Bed (hopefully we will be putting several beds down using the Mittleider Method and having enough food so we won't need the grocery store so much):

Front of the house (mmmm! I can see flowers in that bed, can't you?):

Cindi - here's the mirror I mentioned. Is it staying? See below:

- Tamara Slack

Psychiatry, Your Opinion Please

Psychiatry: An Industry of Death

All I ask is that you do study this topic yourself and form your own opinion. Some people think psychiatry is the way to go. I do not. Check out this 5 minute video and post your comments if you don't mind. THANKS!

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 1

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 2

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 3

The Birth of Modern Psychiatry 4

Tamara Slack

Close Fans Afghan for Kim Slack

Close Fans Afghan

November 2008
Made for Kim (step-daughter) for her birthday

This took about 10 days. I used Caron Simply Soft Plum Wine colored, worsted weight yarn. The pattern comes from "A Year of Afghans Book Eleven."

Here's a close-up picture of the stitches:

And here's a picture of my wonderful husband putting on the many, many tassels for his daughter's afghan. He's not the crocheting type, but he wanted to help me :)

To order handcrafted crocheted items from my
Etsy store, visit http://www.Hesed.Etsy.com or click HERE
You can also email me at YarnDesigns@gmail.com

- Tamara Slack

1920's Felted Brown Crocheted Cloche

Brown Felted 1920's Cloche

Panda's Wooldbale 100% Pure New Wool in Cocoa (4 oz.)

Pattern was almost 2x the size of the finished felt project

Measurements: Fits 20" to 22" head, Crown to Brim: 8.25"

Here is the cloche in progress. The picture on the right is about 2/3 done.

The unfelted process is done. I crocheted my heart out to get this thing done! You can see how very large it is prior to felting. The picture on the left is the full size:

And voila! A felted cloche in 100% wool:

To order handcrafted crocheted items from my
Etsy store, visit http://www.Hesed.Etsy.com or click HERE
You can also email me at YarnDesigns@gmail.com

- Tamara Slack

Josias' Afghan

Josias' Afghan

FINALLY! I'm done with baby Josias' afghan. Like John Piper says, I will never, never, never, never, never, never, never do one of these again! Alright, his "nevers" were much more interesting, but that's all I have! When I say "never," that can actually be translated into: "I can be bribed to do one of these again for $100.00," Haha!

I would do it again, but not without complaining. It was super detailed with little itsy bitsy yarn with tiny little crochet hooks. I'm surprised my sanity is still intact (well, that's still questionable). Anyway, I made this for my good friend Angela Williams' baby. The deal is that if she ever complains about her crocheting skills, she has to box this baby up and mail it back (got that Angie?). So here's how the afghan evolved:

Slow and steady.... one little block at a time:

I did this many times over and voila, like magic (read: many hours!), there's a lot of squares:

So, now since I didn't use a chart already drawn up for me, I had to come up with my own plan of attack on how this thing will come out:

Lookin' good, right? Yeah, so now, how do you put this thing together to make a baby warm? You concentrate hard, silly!




And then smiles come when it starts to look like a real afghan:



LOOK! It looks like something (kinda):

Uh-oh, I forgot I have to figure out a way to do edging. Never did a pretty edging on an afghan, only a basic looking thing, so I came up with this:

Well that looked a little funky with the seperation between the fans, so I added another round with white:

THAT made the difference:

And finally... ready? Here it is...

JOSIAS WILLIAMS' BABY AFGHAN:

(alright I messed up; I forgot to take a picture of the entire afghan with the border... ugh!)

Measurements of the afghan: Squares: 5.5” Finished afghan without edging: 24” x 28.25” Finished afghan with edging: 26.75” x 31.5”

I used a pattern from Ravelry called "Butterfly Square" but did not do the full square, making the "butterflies" less in the square. I used Bernat Softee Baby Yarn, using an "F" and "G" hook depending on which yarn I was using (I found one color to be slightly lighter than the other). I made 30 squares and each square took about 30 - 45 minutes to complete (you do the math!) and attached the squares by slip stitching each stitch on the back (this thing WILL hold together now!). The edging is a basic shell but I had to improvise, making a much larger shell around the initial blue one.

To order handcrafted crocheted items from my
Etsy store, visit http://www.Hesed.Etsy.com or click HERE
You can also email me at YarnDesigns@gmail.com

Some funny guys with their "never, never, never" version of John Piper is HERE

Alright, here's some real Piper on:
1. Dads and Daughters,
2. What You Should Do with Evil
3. Don't Want to Be Rich

- Tamara Slack

Helpful Links for Those on Psychiatric Medications

Benzodiazepine Addiction, Withdrawal, and Recovery HERE

Dr. Peter Breggin's website HERE

FDA warns about Prozac and Librium HERE

Accidental Addict book HERE

Benzo Island Discussion Forum HERE

Dr. Heather Ashton's DVD HERE (I have no relation to her and make no money from sales of her informational video. I've found the video helpful for me as I withdraw from Klonopin and hope it helps others out there. My hope is that this DVD gets into every doctor's hands here in America!)

The Benzo Book HERE

- Tamara Slack

Are Antidepressants Addictive?

Doctors say "no." Most people on them say, "yes." Check out Ruth's story and see what most doctors deny. She's one of many accidental addicts (this is part one of two videos):



And part two:

Merging my blogs

When you look up the word, "daunting," you should find the definition: "merging three blogs into one."

That's how I feel. But it needs to be done. I like to blog, but I stay away from it too much because I have too many blogs! Merging is the answer. So, whether you like to hear about my crocheting or need information on my finds about getting off benzodiazepines, or like to read about Christian things, it will all be in one place now.

I can just see the guys cringing now... "we have to look at sewing stuff?" Yes. It's called self-discipline. You can manage! Ha! And the atheists who like the crochet stuff who want nothing to do with God saying, "What? I have to endure stuff about Jesus Christ?" Yes. You will one day when you die anyhow, so you might want to get used to it.

For now though, I'll still have Benzology HERE and Sew And Stitch HERE.

I will keep Yarn Designs HERE and not merge that since that's strictly for my ETSY STORE.

- Tamara Slack

Craigslist Tupperware and Books

Temporary post showing Tupperware for LOT sales and books. See Craigslist post HERE for description of each LOT ($40.00 per lot OBO or $100.00 for ALL the Tupperware):

LOT #1 BELOW:




LOT #2 BELOW:




LOT #3 BELOW:



BOOKS, VHS, DVDs:

- Tamara Slack

We are moving!

Well, the doors have swung wide open for a move to Missouri from Ohio. I know pictures are important and I have them down below, but you have to go through the narrative first.

WARNING! Jesus Freak information follows. If you already don't like me because I'm a Christian or because I take the Bible literally, or maybe I've told you about how to get right with Jesus Christ and that He is the only way to Heaven, be warned. You'll be reading something that gives our Creator the glory He is due! Carrying on...

It's important to me as I told the Lord I wanted Him to have all the credit due to Him as this in NO WAY could have been done by us alone. You'll understand as you read this.

Okay, here's a teaser (it's so cool!!!). Here are aerial views from Google Maps of where we are and where we are going:

1. Where we are now, click HERE
2. Where we are going, click HERE

We were looking into moving three years ago to an area near this one in Missouri, but a few things happened that prevented us from going. One is that the Lord brought me into a right relationship with Him which turned my life upside down and so moving was the last thing on my mind!

I've lived in the city almost all my life. Coming from the Bay Area in California and landing in Columbus Ohio, it's a huge desire of mine for me to live in the country. It's been such a learning experience for me as I've pondered and asked the Lord if I'm being selfish, whether we should be content where we are, or if it's okay to go and what He would like us to do there. Decisions like this are hard for me because for so many years, I heard false teachings from the Bible (well, from false teachers!) which says, "if you come to Jesus, He will give you stuff! You'll be amazed. He is all into health and wealth." That's a false gospel and sends many to destruction. However, God is good and sometimes blesses His children beyond belief. I can't always discern what He is doing because of the cult-like theology I was taught.

Anyway, I found after prayer, my heart was not content where we are here in Ohio and so God had to bring me to a place where He showed me the serious sin of idolatry and covetousnes. I was miserable, to say the least, and realized how much I needed His hand on me through a period of repentance. He finally got me there! And so I ended up leaving all of it in His hands (a BIG thanks to Dana and Angela on this too!), realizing His sovereignty in my life extends far beyond my salvation, making that narrow gate REALLY narrow! Not that it didn't creep up on me and I didn't worry about things or desire this new house badly, but Scripture would come to mind and one thing I held onto the last couple days is a famous word from John Piper which says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

It gave me time to sit and think, "Tamara, are you really satisfied in Him?" Do you need this house to be satisfied?" "Is it moving that will make a person satisfied?" The answers were No! I don't need anything but Him and He has promised me a better country when I go to be with Him anyway:

"But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." (Hebrews 11:16)

It hasn't been such a roller coaster ride for my husband, Roger, as it has been for me, but he sure is pleased about where we are going. He hasn't wanted to move for a while now, but is now very interested in moving! He will be transferring his job to one in the city out in Missouri and he is doing a wonderful job packing, getting things prepared to go, and keeping my emotions a little more under control. This is a difficult move for my son though. He doesn't want to go, but knows he must and so we are trying to make the best of it. I enjoy him so much and hope he makes his home near us when he gets his own house, but I'm also leaving that up to the Lord.

We want to thank certain people who the Lord has used for this move. Jim and Dana who have worked constantly on finding a place for us. Jim is even taking his five vacation days to come out to help move us! Dana homeschools their three children and in the midst of all this, plus their home business, and Jim working full time, she has managed to do lots of picture taking, contacting owners of homes, and much, much more. The Lord has given her such faith that I've leaned on her many times for support in this. Thank you Jim and Dana! And Angela... oh my! She has been my rock on many occaissions through trials, times of repentance, frustrations, joy, and lots of prayer. I love you, Angela! You've taught me much. Mary Alyce has been such a support to us since my son has come home and is in full support of this move, thinking it's the best thing for our little family. She and I have committed to praying on the phone with each other on Fridays and I'll tell you, she is some lady! Pastor Tim and Becky have prayed and prayed (and prayed!) for us. Just knowing Tim trusts the Lord and His guidance for us, knowing that to me, seeking Christ and His plan for us is important has given me a sigh of relief as I want so much to be in God's will. He and Becky pray for us quite a bit and I know this has been on their hearts as they've sought our Lord. Thank you Pastor and Becky! Cindi, I know we will get to know each other better in the future, but I've got to say that the conversations we've had on the phone so far have proven to me that you are a very kind and gracious person and we look forward to taking care of your home and property. And thank you to all those who have prayed, who have supported us and forgive us if we have missed you in this post or if we have not communicated about this move earlier. It's been a long process, but going so quickly!

The Lord has given us more than we asked for in all this. Well, that's just like Him, now isn't it?! On my TOP 7 LIST was:

1. Living in the country,
2. Having neighbors more than 5 steps away from us (preferably a LOT more),
3. A little bit of land so I can garden much more than in Columbus,
4. Not too much more money than what we pay for the house we are renting now,
5. Within driving distance of a Lowe's for Roger's transfer,
6. At least 3 bedrooms, and
7. Near the Amish (great neighbors and resources!)

I know, I know, a biblical church should be on the list, but I figure we would drive if we had to in order to hear the word preached right and have good fellowship. The church we attend now is about a twenty minute drive anyhow.

So how did my good and gracious God do with my list? He basically threw it out and showed me HIS list with a "Tsk! tsk!" on His lips as He opened the floodgates of blessings and basically said:

1. Country? You want country, Tamara? I own cattle on a thousand hills. Have you forgotten this my beloved daughter? How does fourteen acres of land sound? (Me: I feel as little as Job in chapter 42)

2. Five steps between you and neighbors only? Ye of little faith. How is three or four football fields away for the closest neighbor? (Me: Okay Lord, that's totally fine with us!)

3. Fourteen acres; I own it all. You can use it, but be sure to take care of it. (Me: Oh yeah, You DO own it. I have to keep remembering that!)

4. You want to pay around the same amount for a house with FOURTEEN acres of land instead of the one you have now with NO land? Ha! How does $10 less per month sound? (Me: Uhhhh... yes, we can manage $10 less and put it toward Roger's gas money for commuting to work; thank you again.)

5. Done! And have Roger put in the transfer paperwork. There's some openings in Ozark for him to look at soon.

6. Three bedrooms isn't what I want for you, Roger, and Rick. The house will have four bedrooms and a second bathroom that you can finish up later. I will work with you on your debt in the next year so there will be an option to buy it in a couple years from Cindi. (Me: Oh my!! I've never owned a home. Are you sure? Ooops! Scratch that last part!)

7. You only want to be near the Amish? How about 1.5 miles down the road there will be an Amish store and the Menonites in town who you can buy your produce from that's organic? By the way, dear one, there's a co-op for food from farms near you. Oh, and also, I have wild berries that grow there, so you can have all the berries you like, and they are organic, just the way I made them! (Me: Mouth shut at this point.)

AS IF THAT'S NOT ENOUGH... He added to the whole thing by giving us a landlord who is super nice, will allow us to have animals like a HORSE on the land, let us fix up the place as we see fit, and she already has organic gardening beds done up where pesticides, herbicides, and especially Monsanto hasn't touched!

So here are some pictures... the first set are
where we live now in Ohio...

Front of the house (ours is the white one on the right... the neighbors are about 5 steps away):

4 views from our front door:

View from our living room window:

Back of house (ours is the white one... neighbors are so close, it's hard to close in on one house at a time):

Our backyard and views on both sides
(I was standing just outside the back door):

The street where we live now:

Front of the house garden. We split it with the guy who lives on the other side of the house. The picture shows our portion:

View of the alley behind our house where we park:

Winter in our front patio and back yards:

Believe me, I am really thankful for what the Lord has given us thus far with the house in Ohio. I'm not at all complaining and now I believe I would be content living here as I gave up my "dream" knowing He is good and whatever He does is good whether it FEELS good or not!

With that said, allow me to introduce my God's list of what He is allowing us to take care of in Missouri in picture form....

The front of the house (little girl not included!):

Some of the view:

Our nearest neighbor (about 1/5 of a mile away):

The swing (!!!) and garden in the back:

The driveway (which is 2/10 of a mile long and the mailbox is at the end!):

The nearest place of business which is 1.5 miles from our new home is below. It's a garage. There is an Amish store close by also:

The wrap around deck (goes from one side of the house to around the back):

More pictures of the house inside and out are HERE.

"Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens!
Praise him for his mighty deeds;

praise him according to his excellent greatness!
Praise him with trumpet sound;
praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding symbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord! - Psalm 150

- Tamara Slack