Pray for Matt Chandler

Click HERE to watch video of Pastor Matt Chandler of The Village Church give a 4 minute talk just before surgery to remove a tumor from his brain. Please pray for he and his family.

""Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" In all this Job did not sin with his lips." - Job 2.10

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." - Rom. 8.35-37

- Tamara

Happy Thanksgiving My Proverbs 31 Friends

I've thought all morning what I can be thankful for this year. I talked with the Lord quite a bit about it! There's just too much to be thankful for, so I chose to thank Him for my friends in whom I see Proverbs 31 being worked out in their lives.

I'm thankful for...

Dana, my good friend with whom I have a special friendship that never ceases to amaze me as we have seen many different phases of life for the past five years. I know I can trust every corner of my heart with her. A wonderful blessing! She truly lives out much of Proverbs 31, but especially "She looks well to the ways of her household." - Proverbs 31.27 and her earthly reward, I see, is "[her husband] praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."" - Proverbs 31.28-29

Mindy, whom I've known the least amount of time of all my friends, but with whom I share much in common. I'm thankful to the Lord who continues to strengthen our friendship though we live states apart. I'm grateful for the vast knowledge the Lord has given her and discernment about how to keep our bodies healthy. The Lord has given her a generous heart that yearns to see the hurting suffer less, wanting more of God and less of her. "She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy." - Proverbs 31.20

Renee H., a long distance soul sister with whom I share a great deal in common regarding our "geeky" ways with books and anything we can get our hands on regarding doctrine and evangelism. We can go for months without talking on the phone then pick up as if we hadn't skipped a beat. That's a huge blessing! I admire the strength the Lord has given her in times of trouble and thank Him for granting her endurance. "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong" - Proverbs 31.17

Betty, a woman after God's own heart. I thank the Lord for her love for Him, her testimony before this lost world, and her humility and gentlesness. Her gentle words to opponents of the gospel humble me and make me want to be more like her. "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." - Proverbs 31.26

Sarah, a good friend who I can count on when I have good day or a bad one. I thank God for her transparency and diligence in warring against sin wherever she finds it in her life. Tired of being decieved in life about her Lord and how He works, she is diligent in keeping her life loving the law of the Lord, staying faithful in her fear of Him. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised." - Proverbs 31.30

Marla, another long distance friend from whom I glean much truth. Most of us show many struggles in many areas if we look to Proverbs 31, but if there ever has been a woman whose life shows all of Proverbs 31, I would say that it has been Marla. The Lord has blessed her with much joy and such a carefree spirit, one who has a wonderful balance of grace and truth that it's difficult not to covet the gifts He has given her. "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." - Proverbs 31.25

Angela, the woman I look to for godly advice about how to be a wife. I'm thankful for the wisdom God has given her as she has grown so much in such little time. I'm thankful for the gentle rebukes she gives me because she wants my best before God and my husband and for the many hours we spend on the phone laughing, praying, and just chatting. She truly is a picture of "An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain." - Proverbs 31.10-11

The Lord has blessed me with many other friends, but I would be here all day typing if I listed them all. I have not forgotten anyone... Julie, Patte, Loretta, Rhonda, Terry, Shana, Deb, and others. You're all a blessing! Having all these friends, now that is something to be thankful about for sure! I asked God three years ago when He forgave all my sin, past and present, to give me friends since I had not known friendship with other ladies for over fourteen years as a false convert. Well, I had one friend, Dana, with whom I shared our false convert ways! The Lord granted Dana salvation at the same time He did for me, so He continued our friendship which has grown deeper.

But most of all, I'm thankful to the Lord who has the power in a word to create big things like galaxies and small things like me. I'm thankful to Him for answering my prayer for friendships, but in bigger ways than I thought to ask. I'm thankful He did not choose to look at me when deciding to make me born again, but He looked at His Son so that I would never get the credit for salvation and so I would be continually be kept in awe at His awesome works. I'm thankful that He keeps His promises and will make me endure to the end while the road is bumpy and narrow. And I'm thankful to Him for granting me friends who will walk this path with me.

"I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me." - 2 Timothy 1.12

Happy Thanksgiving, my friends!

Love,
Tamara

Crockpot Shredded Beef Recipe

Going through a few of the recipes from AllRecipes, I've found one that I've changed and added other people's ideas and recipes to for the most amazing shredded beef in the crockpot.

Cook time is 8 to 10 hours.

1 (4 - 5 lb) Chuck Roast 1 Tb. Sea Salt 1 tsp. Black Pepper 1 Lg. Onion, chopped 2 tsp. Chili Powder 1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp. Paprika
2 tsp. Cumin (divided into 1.5 tsp. and .5 tsp)
2 Tb. Vinegar (I use apple cider)
5 oz. Hot Sauce (use a mild one)1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 Clove Garlic, minced (or just use 1 tsp. Garlic Powder instead)
1 Beef Bullion Cube

Trim excess fat from roast. Spray inside crockpot with non-stick spray (or use a little olive oil). Place roast and all ingredients except Paprika and 1/2 tsp. Cumin into the crockpot. Add several inches of water (not even to half the roast though).

Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours (until it is easily shredded).

Remove the roast and shred with two forks. Place it back into the juices in the crock, adding the Paprika and the 1/2 tsp. Cumin. Cook on low for another hour or two.

If this is started at 9am, dinner will be ready at 6 or 7pm! Next time, I'll be using two crockpots at one time to cook two roasts and freeze lots of the meat for later use in taco shells, over rice (like Chipotles!), and even as pulled beef sandwiches. Also, you can brown the meat prior to the crockpot in a couple tsp. of Olive Oil.

For more recipes on this blog, click HERE.

My other blogs can be found HERE and HERE.

- Tamara Slack

Getting John 8.24 Right

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Getting John 8.24 Right

Remember what Jesus said as a warning:

"Unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins." - John 8.24

There's a lot we can be wrong about, but on this one point, we better get it right or according to Jesus, there are eternal consequences. The question is, "who is Jesus?" Is he:

• God?
• An angel?
• A good teacher?
• A liar and blasphemer?

If we get this wrong and Jesus said you will "die in your sins" for holding to a wrong answer, it's imperative we figure out who Jesus is. Below are some passages from God's word that will help. Look at the Scriptures and see for yourself. Don't take my word for it! I'm just human like you and had to look at the evidence the same way as anybody regardless of my feelings or religious background. Take God's Word:

CREATION - Who created the world?

1. "Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable." - Jehovah (Isaiah 40.28)

2. "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom. And, You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed. But you are the same, and your years will have no end." - Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1.8,10-12)

3. "For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together." - Jesus Christ (Colossians 1.16,17)

Who, by the verses above created the world, Jehovah or Jesus Christ?
Fill in answser: ____________

*************************************

FIRST AND LAST - These passages speak of the first and last (imagine you sitting at your computer right now and saying of yourself, "I am the first and the last!" Wouldn't that be blasphemy? Yes, unless you are God speaking of yourself):

1. "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god." - Jehovah (Isaiah 44.6)

2. "I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades." - Jesus Christ (Revelation 1.17) This one is obvious; only Christ died but he called himself "first and last" making himself equal with God the Father.

3. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." - Jesus Christ (Revelation 22.13)

4. "I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth" - Jehovah (Isaiah 48.12-13) But in Hebrews 1.8-12 above, God's word says that the Son laid the foundation of the earth.

Who, by the verses above is the first and the last, Jehovah or Jesus Christ?
Fill in answser: ____________

*************************************

SAVIOR: - Who is the savior according to God's word?

1. "I, I am the Lord, and besides me there is no savior." - Jehovah (Isaiah 43.11)

2. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." - Jesus Christ (1 John 4.14)

Who, by the verses above is the savior, Jehovah or Jesus Christ?
Fill in answser: ____________

*************************************

GOD - How many Gods are there?

1. "Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me." - Jehoavah (Isaiah 43.10)

2. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - Jesus (John 1.1)

Who, by the verses above is God, Jehovah or Jesus Christ?
Fill in answser: ____________

*************************************

JUDGE OF THE WORLD - We will all stand before God when we die., that much we know, but who is it that we will stand before?

1. "For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written, "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." - Jehovah (Romans 14.10)

2. "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance." - Jehovah (Isaiah 45.23)

3. "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." - Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5.10)

4. "so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Jesus Christ (Phillipians 2.10,11)

Who, by the verses above is our judge and to whom shall we bow, Jehovah or Jesus Christ?
Fill in answser: ____________

There's no reason why you and I can ever say we were ignorant about who Jesus is. Open your Bible to see if what I quoted above is true. They aren't my words. I wasn't alive yet when these words were written. If you disagree, you need to take it up with God. Jesus is clearly not an angel like the Jehovah's Witnesses say. He is not a spirit brother of Satan as the Mormons say. He is not just a good teacher as the Muslims say. He is God, as the Bible says.

This is an interesting passage about the Jews who wanted to kill Jesus. We have to ask, "why were they so angry? Why would they want to get rid of this Jewish man, Jesus?" See the discussion they had that is recorded in John 10.31-33 below:

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him.

Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?"

The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God."

Did Jesus deny that he is God when they said he was making himself God? No, he did not. They eventually did kill him, but Jesus never denied the accusation about him being God.

You can visit CARM's website that show Jesus is God. It has much more Scripture to prove who Jesus is. I suggest also reading John 8 through 10 which helped me study this out for myself. It's good to have teachers but it's bad to have ones who are deceived themselves. The Bible will never lie to you. Read it for yourself. According to Jesus, your etenal life does depend on it.

Note: John 8.24 states "I am" not "I am he" though most English tranlations add "he" in the verse. Jesus is clearly identifying himself with the "I AM" of the Old Testament who is God. See Exodus 3.14. In the Greek, Jesus says, "ego eimi" which is I AM. As James White from Alpha & Omega Ministries points out, "The specific phrase ego eimi occurs 24 times in the Gospel of John." He goes onto explain how the words ego eimi and the usage of these words in the book of John as in comparison to Exodus 3.14 clearly show that Jesus is claiming to be God. The Jews understood this and so they wanted to stone him for blasphemy, for calling himself ego eimi (I AM) Put yourself back in those days and imagine yourself to be a Jew who understood the Old Testament well and you've known all your life that God calls himself ego eimi or "I AM." A man comes along calling himself Jesus, doing good works and calls himself "I AM" just like in Exodus 3.14! Blasphemy! Or is it? You, just like the Jews in those days, would be furious. It's similar to how a Christian would feel if he heard a man in the pulpit at church this Sunday say, "If you do not believe I am Jesus Christ, you will die in your sins." You would be pretty upset because of the blasphemy this man was committing against your Lord! Now you may not pick up stones, but you wouldn't stick around to hear the rest of his sermon, would you? Well, the same holds true for the Jews. Jesus never said he is not I AM, but that he is the I AM of the Old Testament. He clearly stated he is the God of all mankind and that every knee will bow to him, including mine and yours. For further explanation of the Greek text, see James White's article called, Purpose and Meaning of "Ego Eimi" in the Gospel of JohnIn Reference to the Deity of Christ.

- Tamara Slack

Zucchini Pizza Bake

Now THAT is a zucchini! I let this one grow out rather large, but it was crisp and tasty! For the recipe below, I would use smaller zucchinis than shown. This is just one I had in my garden.

Zucchini Pizza Bake

2 Large Zucchini (or 4 small)
4 - 5 Strips Bacon
1/2 Med. White Onion (diced)
2 Cloves Garlic (or 2 tsp. crushed garlic)
2 tsp. Olive Oil
1/4 tsp. Thyme (powdered)
3/4 tsp. Cumin
1 1/2 tsp. Dried Chives
1/2 tsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 1/2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
4 tsp. Parmesan Cheese
2 - 3 C Shredded Provolone Cheese (or any white cheese)
1 1/2 C Spinach (torn in small pieces)
Fresh tomato (diced)

Oven 350 degrees.

1. Fry bacon until crispy, drain and cool.

2. Cut zucchini lenghtwise and remove inside with ice cream scoop. Set aside insides then cut up the shells into bite sized pieces.

3. Microwave bite sized pieces of zucchini for 10 minutes in microwave at 70%.

4. Cut up insides of zucchini and place it and the diced onion and garlic with olive oil in a pan to saute until the moisture is nearly gone.

5. Add the seasonings and bacon to the pan when it's done sauteeing and mix well.

6. Lightly grease an 8" x 8" pan with olive oil and start layering the dish like this:

• Bite sized pieces of zucchini
• Inner parts with onion
• Parmesan cheese
• Provolone cheese
• Spinach

Repeat layering until done, making sure to end with some of the zucchini / onion mix tops the layers. Place in oven for 35 minutes with last 5 minutes topping the casserole with the rest of the Provolone cheese until melted (5 mins.). When ready to serve, top with fresh tomato.

- Tamara Slack

Butternut and Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Check out my very first pumpkin we grew and used in this soup (Or is it a watermelon? I thought this was a watermelon Ha! I bought seeds for an "exotic" kind of watermelon this year that was supposed to be an orange-yellow watermelon but when Roger opened this baby up, it was a pumpkin... hey, I didn't say I was a master gardener ya know!):

We vine our melons and squash so it takes less room. In the pictures above, you'll see for a butternut squash and a pumkin on the same trellis, it didn't take much room. Next year we plan to vine everything we can in the dirt and not in pots. The netting you see is from some cotton yarn I crocheted just for my veggies. Hey, it takes the stress off the veggies and they will never fall off the vine this way! Plus, I get to feed my crocheting addiction.

I finally created my own recipe and it's yummy! Perfect for the season as it's getting a tad chillier out lately. I played with these ingredients to the point where I think I like it just as I have it below. I may use celery and an extra apple at some point, but Roger and I like the spices just the way they are.

Here's a picture of the soup in the pot before pureeing it in the blender with the squash in the oven and the onion sauteeing:

We started a garden very late this year, so we didn't get much out of it, but this pumpkin was my baby! Now if you know me, I hate wasting money and food so I had to figure out something to do with this pumpkin that would end up in our tummies and not carved up on our porch! So playing around with a recipe I tried before using butternut squash as a soup, I have a soup now in which the four main ingredients are Pumpkin, Butternut Squash, Granny Smith Apples, and Potatoes. It's very, very bad for my hypoglycemia, so I can only have a little bit at a time, but it's a treat! Here's the recipe I've come up with:

Butternut and Pumpkin Soup

2 Butternut Squash
1 Small Pumpkin

2 Granny Smith Apples (peeled and cut up in 1" pieces)

3 Medium Potatoes (peeled cut up in 1" pieces)

2 Carrots (or 12 baby carrots)

1.5 Medium White Onions (cut into 1/2" rings)

1 Stick Butter (yes, butter, no margarine!)

12 tsp. Chicken Broth Mix (or 10 C chicken broth)

10 C Water

2 tsp. Parsley (dried)

1 tsp. Thyme (dried / powdered)

2 tsp. Marjoram

1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

2 pkgs. Cream Cheese (optional)

1. Cut the squash and pumkin down the middle lengthwise. Remove fibers and seeds (save seeds to grow next year!). Place in oven at 350 degrees until tender and you can pull the skin off (about 1 to 1.5 hrs.). You can also microwave them for about 10 minutes if you cut them up in smaller pieces.

2. Cut up into small pieces (about 1" pieces): potato, apple, carrot.

3. Place in a large pot: cut up vegetables and the chicken broth mix and water (or the 10 C chicken broth), and all seasonings. Bring to a boil, then simmer until vegetables are almost softened.

4. Slice the onion into rings. Put 1 stick butter and the onion rings into a seperate pan and saute.


5. Add to the simmering pot the squash and pumkin after removing the skins and the onion and butter mixture.

6. When all vegetables are tender in the pot, turn off heat and little by little, puree the soup mixture in a blender, adding the cream cheese if you so desire.

This batch will make about 25 - 30 servings. If you want to freeze some of this soup, do so prior to putting the cream cheese in the soup.

We noticed the cayenne pepper taste a little more with the batch in which we chose not to use the cream cheese. Both are yummy though!

Some things you can add after cooked, pureed, and in your individual bowls:

• bacon pieces
• sea salt
• chunks of cooked veggies like carrots, potatoes, etc.
• milk or cream to make it creamier and thinner consistency
• shredded white cheese

ENJOY! If you make this, please post a comment and let me know how you liked it and if you changed anything and the outcome. I'd love to hear what you think! Oh, and if you want to make less soup as this is a very large batch, take out one butternut squash and 1/3 of the rest of the ingredients.

- Tamara Slack

Is Jesus Intolerant?

I heard it put recently that if you take all the world religions and put them in one box and then put Christianity in a separate box, we'll see the one major difference between them. In your mind, put Hinduism, Islam, Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormonism, Seventh Day Adventism, and any other religion into one box and then Christianity into the other one. Got your boxes filled? Okay, let's go:

Box #1: This box contains all religions except Christianity. They all say you have to do good to go to Heaven (or Paradise or to get your own world). Like what? Well, like do nice things for people, have a good attitude, read religious material, knock on doors to tell people about your religion, etc. These are pretty good things to do, actually. I mean, if you really believe there's going to be judgment after death, what more loving thing can you do than knock on someone's door to tell them how to get out of that deal? But if earning brownie points for doing good deeds (or the other side of the coin: not doing bad deeds) is the way to go, how can we know how many brownie points we need to earn in order to be right with God?

Mormons at my door say I have to have faith and also do the best I can and then when I die, I will go to one of the three heavens and become a god (well, only the men get to be gods; women get to be their servants for eternity).

Jehovah's Witnesses have knocked on my door and basically the result is that if I read the Watchtower's material, obey Jehovah, don't have a blood transfusion, don't talk to apostates (and much, much more!), I may get to be on the new earth, but if I'm not one of their 144,000, then I won't be with God.

With Islam, the Muslims have told me that if I do more good than bad, then I will enter Paradise, but it's up to Allah in the end anyway. So I can work all my life to try to please him, but I may end up in Hell anyway. And, if I were a male Muslim who did get to go to Paradise, then I could inherit 72 virgins! But again, I'm not a man, so I don't get the benefits of this.

There's quite a pattern in Box #1. All include a list of do's and dont's and none has to do with forgiveness. Okay, let's look into Box #2.

Box #2: In this box contains one thing: Christianity. It says we have all been bad and no matter how much good we do, we can't please a holy, perfect God. Not even if I do more good than bad? No. In fact, Jesus Christ even goes so far as to say, "be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Matthew 5:48) Whoa! Let me do a mental checklist:

Have I always obeyed my parents? No. Ask my mom!
Have I always cared for people? Nope.
Have I always put God first in my life? No.
Have I kept my mouth from evil (gossipping, cuss words, etc.)? No.
Have I had pure thoughts all my life? Yeah right!
Have I always been sexually pure? No.

Alright, we've proven I'm not perfect, so according to Jesus, I'm not fit for Heaven. Yeah, so if the word "gospel" means "good news," I'm not smiling! Should I just toss the Bible then and go back to Box #1 since I've already blown it? No, I need to look at the claims of Jesus Christ first and his offer for imperfect people like me.

He goes onto say, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6) A little intolerant sounding! And so it is. Jesus will tolerate no man made religion that says we need to better ourselves to be with God when we die. He says he is the only way to get to God. He says no one is good and that we need forgiveness. Ah! That's the missing key that is not in Box #1. In that box, good works is the way; in this box, Jesus Christ is the way. Good works vs. forgiveness. Can you imagine telling your kid who spills milk on the carpet, "son, you must pay for that by doing something good for me!" No! You offer forgiveness, not tell him to work it off in order to be right with you.

Talk to anyone in those other religions and you'll find you have to work your way up to God by doing a list of things that hopefully will please him. But what about forgiveness? No. It's not available in those religions. Only Jesus Christ can offer forgiveness of sin. That's what happened on the cross. Paul wrote a letter in the first century and said, "We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:20-21) In other words, Jesus Christ who never sinned (knew no sin) took on sin on the cross where he was punished in place of sinners in order that we might be reconciled to God. Spilled milk can be forgiven if we agree with God that we have done wrong and turn to him for forgiveness. For "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us." (1 John 1:9-10) Jesus says to repent and believe the gospel, not repent, believe the gospel and do a laundry list of things to be reconciled to God. Quite a difference in the two boxes.

There is a third box. It's called Atheism. In other words, the person who is an atheist knows there is no God. Quite a claim to know there is no God, actually! It's still religion in that they have a set of beliefs and since atheists have minds and use their minds to form beliefs, they are in fact, religious, just not the "submit to my Creator" kind of religious. There's a great video of one of the leading atheists in the world who does what he can to rid the planet of the myth of God; he was interviewed about his beliefs in this 6-minute clip where he talks about a designer. Click here to see it.

Christianity is a relationship with the Creator. It's not a list of do's and dont's, but the story of a holy God looking down on his rebellious creation and instead of turning away from them, he stretched out his arms on a cross and said, "I love you" with his blood. Trust him for forgiveness or go on thinking you're good enough without him. There are no other options.

You can read more about the religions of Box #1 here.
And more about Christianity here.

- Tamara Slack

Last Blog Entry of the Move

Roger and I at Joe and Marla's house a couple weeks ago:

Well, here's the last blog entry of the move before the actual MOVE! We are working very hard on this thing. It's fun, but very tiring. Roger got his transfer to the Lowe's out in Missouri, so we are set there, but boy, moving out of state is proving to be a task!

Our friend, Dana, who you should know by now if you've been reading about this move... here's Dana:

took more pictures of our new home out in Missouri for us and emailed them to us. So I thought I would take some time from packing, selling furniture, and all the fun and exciting things we've been doing to post those pictures as well as some others of this transition.

I'm looking forward to doing our garden and Roger is going to build a greenhouse for me (how cool is THAT?!). I already have a spreadsheet of my garden beds on Excel (if you know me, you know I'm a chart freak anyway). My friend Chris deVidal has been helping me with using the Mittleider Method and learning about using Sea Water. He wrote about it HERE and his blog is HERE. The sea water info is on the second page of his article. If you are at all interested in gardening, read that article he wrote, especially if you've already done Square Foot Gardening.

The pictures I posted last time for our new home were from the end of March. These new ones below really show that Spring has definitely sprung.

The original story of how the Lord worked this house out for us is HERE.

Mom, if you're reading this, you need a blogspot.com account so you can post feedback to me! Love you :)

We've had a fun time with friends as we have "good-bye" get togethers at Joe and Marla's house and Eric and Mindy's too. We've played games, prayed together, laughed, taken lots and lots of pictures and of course had FOOD! Below are some pictures of our time together the past couple of weeks.

From left to right: Marla, me, Roger, Eric, Mindy, Mary Alyce, Sarah, Fred, Audrey, and Merrick:

Below is me on the left and Mindy on the right:

Then me and Sarah... this is a purse I made for her:

Food and games; is there anything better than those two things together? (left to right is Roger, Fred, and Mary Alyce):



Eric and Roger caught with their hands in the cookie jar... again:



Fred who I just love going out to the courthouse with! I'm going to miss you Fred! He gave us a going away gift... it was a mousepad with a picture of us on our first time witnessing with most of the gang... thank you Fred :)


My son, Rick on the left, Joe in the middle, and Sarah's son Merrick playing basketball... look at how tall my kid is!



Mary Alyce and Merrick (Sarah's son) playing the "Drawing Game" at Joe and Marla's house:



Roger and I at Joe and Marla's house (by the way, we are told Roger is NOT wearing pink, but a nice salmon colored shirt, your thoughts?):



Another one of the "gang" from left to right is Joe, my son Rick, me, Roger, Eric, Mindy, Mary Alyce, Sarah, and Fred):



A night at the Upton's house:

Roger cleaning out the garage still in Ohio and most of our boxes for the move:

Oh and here's one of our two kitties moving with us (he is more like our DOG! He will fight anything non-human in his territory), Stew:

Had to add in here Roger's favorite plant. We got this as an itsy bitsy plant and look 5 years later! It's called "Crown of Thorns" and is a cactus:

My son and husband are BRILLIANT! Brilliant, I tell you. We bought some of those "As Seen On TV" vacuum bags for our bedding and clothes which are great, but Roger and Rick came up with another way of doing it using trash bags and clamps. It's much cheaper. I'll post another entry some other time with some before and after pics of how to do it without the major cost (read: if you like to be cheap!). But here, check out how the expensive ones do:

BEFORE with a regular sized pillow and after sucking out the air:

And now here are some pictures of the new house seen between the tree... the garden area in the back:

And the cows we'll be seeing off our deck are below. The neighbors have something like 600 acres and so thing won't be silent. I expect to hear a moo or two with the picture of the gate where they can come in and out too:

Will post again when we get there! Have a blessed day. And don't forget to leave me some feedback!

Tamara Slack

A favorite passage lately has been 1 Corinthians 15:3-6. During Easter, I thought, "now either the Resurrction of Jesus is true or it isn't. There is absolute truth. Either Jesus was a liar or He is Lord." ...

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised in the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep."

- Tamara Slack

A Late Easter Post

Just listen, watch and think about it:

In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm

What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand

In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save

'Till on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live

There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again

And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Brought with the precious blood of Christ

No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny

No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand

Craigslist Furniture

I'm trying to get all the pictures up of the furniture for the Cragislist ad (you can see the ad by clicking HERE), but am having difficulty with Craigslist. Well, for now, here are the picture of most (and the plants) that I listed on Craigslist.

HEADBOARD (dimensions 77" wide, 25.5" height, 10.5" deep): Entire front of it. Hard to see, but the mirror has etchings on it. The view from the mirror shows my bed:

Right side of the headboard showing the cabinet closed:






Cabinet open (there is one on both sides of the headboard):

You can see the extra space between the cabinet and the top here where books or other things can go:

Dining Room Table and Four Chairs. Measurements of top of table: 42" x 53" (WITHOUT the leaf). The leaf adds almost another 18" to make it almost 71" long). We had taken it apart for the move, but then realized we can't take my beloved table (I LOVE this table!)... here is the top of it:



Here is the leaf that makes it even bigger (oval / oblong):



With the table comes 4 chairs. Here is one of them (the green seats I purchased separately, but you can have them):



The bottom of the table and showing one leg so you get the idea of how the table would look when you put it back together:



My Baby Plant (VERY hard to part with) is approximately 90" from the top of the soil to the last leaf which actually touches the ground from where you see in the pic below. I've been growing it for several years. It needs to be re-potted.



Snake or Mother-In-Law's Tongue Plant. Is a couple years old. Needs re-potting... see pic below:



Recliner. Blue and comfy! See below:



Computer Table. I guess that's what this is called. It pulls out as you can see.



2 Night End Tables. One is scratched as you can see in the picture. Right now they are used in my bedroom to hold up my headboard that you saw in the pictures above. They've come in handy and each have a good sized drawer. Picture below:


Desk. Has three drawers on left side with one main drawer on right. Is scratched up but very usable. Measurements are 40" x 20.5" with height at 29.75":



Multipurpose Table. Measurements are: almost 29" in height, 46" x 35" (with both leaves / sides down, it is 46" x 19"). Great table for just about anything. It can be a dining table, a study table, a table for various projects, can be used for your computer, your child's homework, etc.... picture shows with both sides UP:




Dr. Scholl's Toe-Touch Foot Spa. Been used 3 times. Not taking it with us on the move. It has the instruction manual and all pieces. The model is DR6622. I forgot to take pictures of the extra parts. They are in bags and are used for various kinds of foot massages. If you click HERE you can read about it on Amazon. See below:

If you are interested in any of these furniture pieces, go to the Craigslist ad and email me through there. The headboard is a very heavy piece and you will need help to come pick it up if that's the piece you are interested in. I have set prices you can see on Craigslist except for the foot spa and the plants.

- Tamara Slack