The Ant and The Grasshopper

I know some of you out there aren't "political" (ie: unconcerned whatsoever about politics)...but for those who are.....or one day will be..........
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The ant works
hard in the withering heat and the rain
all summer long, building
his house and laying up
supplies for the winter.

The grasshopper thinks
the ant is a fool
and laughs
and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the shivering
grasshopper calls a
press conference and demands to
know why the ant
should be allowed to be warm
and well fed while he
is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC, PBS, CNN,
and ABC show up to provide
pictures of the
shivering grasshopper
next to a video of the ant
in his comfortable home with a
table filled with food.

America
is stunned
by the sharp contrast.

How can this be, that in a country of such
wealth, this poor
grasshopper is allowed
to suffer so?

Kermit the
Frog appears on Oprah
with the grasshopper and
everybody cries when they sing, 'It's Not Easy
Being Green.'


ACORN stages a
demonstration in front of
the ant's house
where the news stations film the group singing,

“We shall overcome.”
Then So and So Preacher has the
group kneel down
to pray to God for the
grasshopper's sake.


President Obama condemns
the ant and
blames President Bush,
President Reagan,
Christopher Columbus, and the Pope
for the grasshopper's
plight.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid
exclaim in an
interview with Larry King
that the ant has gotten rich off the
back of the grasshopper,
and
both call for an immediate tax hike
on the
ant
to make him pay
his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the
Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act
retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined
for failing to hire
a proportionate number of green bugs
and,
having nothing left to pay his retroactive
taxes, his home is confiscated by the
Government Green Czar
and
given to the
grasshopper.

The story ends as we see the
grasshopper and his free-loading friends
finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food
while
the government house he is in, which, as
you recall,
just happens to be the ant's
old house, crumbles
around them
because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant
has disappeared in the snow,
never
to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a
drug related incident,
and the house, now abandoned,
is taken over by a gang of spiders
who terrorize the ramshackle,
once prosperous and
once peaceful,
neighborhood.

The entire Nation collapses bringing
the rest
of the free world with it.
________________________________________

Thanks, Jeni :)

Zion jumped from Lesson #30 in Saxon Grade 1 to #53 today....because we were sooooooooo wasting our time w/ busy work....things she already knows.

Stuff like this would've stressed me out at one time. Not crossing every "t" and dotting every "i."

No longer.

I so do not like the control issues I used to have. They were fear based.

I feel FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

For those praying for Damon...he called asked us to send him another MacArthur Study Bible.

Lost his last one.

The fact that he remembers MacArthur's name is a miracle. Oh, that he would find his way to Grace.

10 Random Honest Things About Me

Tagged by Galilee.

1. I have an aversion to brangelina.
2. I am a big time procrastinator.
3. I hardly EVER iron anything.
4. I cannot face life w/out cheese & bread.
5. I love film & the written word.
6. Given the above 2 in 1 answer (I am a cheater.)
7. I miss someone deeply.
8. I loved my childhood.
9. I would marry my hubby all over again (just not in a restaurant called Jezebel by a unitarian minister.)
10. I am a conservative hippie.

After Earthquake, Haitians in the US Turn to Religion for Answers - Sphere News

After Earthquake, Haitians in the US Turn to Religion for Answers - Sphere News

Roe vs. Wade..... 37 Years

Great. We get Zion all calmed down & settled after our recent middle of the night false house alarm episode...when just as she's about to head off to bed this evening...our good ole' emergency broadcast system starts telling everyone to take cover in basements (not many in AZ....under tables...in closets...in bathtubs????????) due to the TORNADO warning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


There she was...our "big girl/baby girl"... Zion Evangeline... shaking like a little leaf sitting superclosehuddledtogethertight in the pantry on the floor by the cereal.

I am AMAZED when I think of all the info we have at our fingertips. Do you remember life before you had a computer? Before google? Before youtube?

It is such a different world...this one our children are growing up in...compared to the one we did.

(Does not apply to... my "spring chicken" friends who've had a computer since day one...and a microwave for that matter...I'm addressing us old "fuddie duddies.")

As a home-educator...I've had my share of moments of panic over the years. Are they getting enough?

After I calm down, I remember....

...there's no possible way that we can teach our kids everything but we should be teaching them how to find the information they need when they need it, how to think, and how to communicate.

I for one, am so thankful for the information I have access to.

Massachusetts.

The status quo is no longer. Growing up...we talked politics around the dinner table. It was just a given. Massachusettes and the way she would go...I mean.

This is pretty big news.

One of the "other" men in my life. That's right. There's a few.

Bradley knows about them so don't go and start gossipin'.

Change The World

Update:

More Change the World stories.
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Update:

We were taking our seats...preparing our hearts to hear the Word of God...when two bags of change arrived.

32 more dollars for Haiti!!!!!!!!!!

A bit ago, we had a neighborhood fire. Directly behind our home...another burnt to the ground. We were alarmed to the goings on by a hovering helicopter (directly above us.) The blades cutting through the air were loud. The foreign noise lasted for well over an hour in the middle of the night. It did sound as if we were in a war zone...and when we looked out our window...tall flames lit the mountain. Pretty frightening for little Zion. She's been skittish at bed time ever since.

Last night, however...she took the brave leap of staying with her sisters downstairs while Bradley and I got our bed back :)

Wouldn't you know it...like thunder and lightening pots and pans clinging and clanging...sirens roaring...our house alarm was triggered at 3 a.m.

The next 2o some odd minutes were spent talking w/headquarters...discerning which window triggered...why it triggered...discussing how weird it was that it triggered... all in a dark house...which never seems creepy but it did last night...w/Zion shaking like a little leaf at my side.

Go figure?

Encouraged by Voddie Baucham today.


I have come to understand through the instruction of wise teachers over the years that when a "believer" finds themselves in direct opposition to orthodox Biblical teaching it is a very real possibility that there is an area of unexposed sin which is clinging...grasping...kicking...and screaming..doing it's very best to hide.

The teachings of John MacArthur Jr....Alistair Begg...Voddie Baucham (to name a few) can be found at John Piper's(we differ in one area as far as I can tell...which does not divide us) site Desiring God...as well as through their own ministries.

Remember, every single man is imperfect. With that said, these teachers are trusted spiritual leaders. Might one speak to our hearts in a certain area...in a deeper way than another? Of course.

Ozzie

I've been crying a lot. Sad deep down...this week...what with Haiti... and with the need for a memorial service (which was so lovely) but so unexpected...after a conversation w/a girlfriend who is grieving the loss of a grand-daughter and a son. After a conversation w/another dear friend who is grieving the loss of her beloved father. Braverijah said exactly what my heart was thinking, "Boy, we sure have been going to a lot of funerals lately." 3 in the last month or so.

Also...lots of stuff w/attachment and healing going on. Attempting to process the confusion, hurt, and anger around me. Processing my own confusion, hurt, and anger. Being disappointed...and personally attacked out of the blue on top of it.

It's not that I don't feel the Lord's presence because I do. Very strongly. He is so near that it makes me weep.

Ozzie helped this morning.
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My Utmost For His Highest

"I heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send?" Isaiah 6:8

When we speak of the call of God, we are apt to forget the most important feature, viz., the nature of the One Who calls. There is the call of the sea, the call of the mountains, the call of the great ice barriers, but these calls are only heard by the few. The call is the expression of the nature from which it comes, and we can only record the call if the same nature is in us. The call of God is the expression of God's nature, not of our nature. There are strands of the call of God providentially at work for us which we recognize and no one else does. It is the threading of God's voice to us in some particular matter, and it is no use consulting anyone else about it. We have to keep that profound relationship between our souls and God.

The call of God is not the echo of my nature; my affinities and personal temperament are not considered. As long as I consider my personal temperament and think about what I am fitted for, I shall never hear the call of God. But when I am brought into relationship with God, I am in the condition Isaiah was in. Isaiah's soul was so attuned to God by the tremendous crisis he had gone through that he recorded the call of God to his amazed soul. The majority of us have no ear for anything but ourselves, we cannot hear a thing God says. To be brought into the zone of the call of God is to be profoundly altered.

Christians: ....if you are not grieved deeply by the pain and suffering in Haiti...consider this message a red flag.

So I get up early today 8 a.m. (ahhhhhh the joys of home-education) only to realize that my son, Braverijah is returning from an even earlier morning bike ride. ???????????? Huh????????????? This is the kid who very much likes to sleep in when there is nothing pressing to get out of bed for. And by sleep in ...I mean noonish (he goes to sleep very late.)

Braverijah has decided not to attend classes this semester. He's got 50 some odd college credits under his belt and he's seeking a break in the routine. He wants to find a job and he wants to create.

So, at the age of 18...on his own (maybe responding to gleaned wisdom?)...he has come to this conclusion. "I feel more productive when I get going early."

He's off to a quiet coffee shop to write (self imposed goal) for the next few hours. He is excited about the story he is working on. He is a good writer. He has passion.

I guess we could be the sort of parents who are angry/upset/super worried that he is taking a break from classes. I guess we could rant and rave about it. Plead or manipulate. But we are not those sorts of parents.

Oh, Lord....that we will continue to see the fruit of our attempts (failed as they might be)...blossoming in his life.

One day...Lord willing...he will be the Priest, Provider and Protector of his home.

Oh, Lord...that our many missteps and failings as parents would be covered by Your all sufficient grace.

That our boys and the boys in our circle...would become strong men of faith...walking in all humility before You...their King.

One day....Lord willing there will be men marrying our daughters. Lord, prepare these men for the great task which lies ahead of them.

Change The World

UPDATE:

$26 more. That's $130.80 total so far!


UPDATE:

$7.80 more. That's $104.80 so far! Collected door to door in the neighborhood.

Add that to our personal contributions....and little by little each one of us can be used to Change the World. Keep collecting, friends.

UPDATE:

$30 more. That's $97 collected so far!
UPDATE:
$67 collected in our neighborhood.





Change the World is a ministry idea I've had in my mind (I'm convinced Lord given) for a few years now.

Here we go:

Tomorrow morning we will be distributing letters attached to every doorstep in our neighborhood.

Dear Neighbors,

We are collecting aid for Haiti. If you are so led, please place the loose change in your pocket/purse into this bag and leave it where you found it. We will pick up tomorrow morning (9-10am)...the 16th. 100% of funds collected will be donated to Haiti through Grace Community Church.

The Gregg Family
phone #

Change The World

UPDATE:

Funds will be sent to Grace Community Church.

Visit here for teaching.

Visit my smugmug store. Click on the Wall Art Gallery.

100% of proceeds from Jesus is Lord orders placed in January (above the cost of production) will go to Haiti. Currently looking into which ministry to donate through.

Will keep you posted.




Community car wash...bake sale...garage sale...concert...ideas for Haiti?

Change The World

I don't know all the ins and outs, pros and cons historically...but is it possible to do something similar to Vietnam's Operation Baby Lift or....wasn't something similar done during WWII in England?

Would churches rise up? Families rise up?

Click PAUSE on my Music Player first.

Mcabe, Braverijah, and Johnna in Mexico with an adorable little baby.

UPDATE:
Missionaries on the ground. Cousins of a dear family in our home-fellowship.
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UPDATE:

John MacArthur's prayer after Katrina:

Well first of all, Father, we do pray for Your grace to be abundant and to abound in that situation. We grieve for those who are without hope in this world. We grieve over those that have perished without Christ. We rejoice over those believers who have gone on to glory. We are heartbroken over the terrible suffering and tragedy of those people who were the poorest of the poor and had the very least and now have even less, and we pray that through this their hearts might be turned to you that they might not be bitter or angry, but that they might consider their own sinfulness, the inevitability of their own death, that they might know that they're living on borrowed time, that they might assess the threat the way it should be assessed, that life is short and death is sure. We pray that through this time many would turn to You, not to show anger and not to question You but to cry out for mercy and grace in repentance and believe the gospel. We pray that You'll strengthen churches and believers to proclaim the gospel in this time, to do it faithfully and clearly. May the church step up and speak honestly about judgment, about Christ's return, about the inevitability of death, about the potential for disaster. May we use this time to warn the unconverted of the coming tragedy of death without salvation. We pray that the church would abandon its weak message, abandon its superficiality and cry out with the truth of the fact that hell is a reality, death is inevitable, salvation through Christ is the only way of escape. So may Your church be faithful in this time and may many come to faith. We pray for those all around the country who are now viewing this and saying, Wow, what a horrible thing, I'm glad I escaped. May they too know that they must repent or they will perish. We pray that You'll strengthen churches as they minister, as they labor, as they show love in the name of Christ, as they help in the restoration and the rebuilding. We just pray that You'll use that as an opportunity for the gospel. We pray that You'll cause the radio stations to find their way back to the airwaves to declare Your truth again and the churches to be rebuilt to send forth the message of Jesus Christ. And may we know as well that this is what all of us in this world deserve is divine judgment and it's only by grace through Christ that we escape it and do so eternally through Your mercy. We commit ourselves, Lord, to You to be used in this time, however You would see fit. In Christ's name. Amen.

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Praying for Haiti.

Lots of conversations about the implications of such widespread devastation this evening. More orphans. Lost birth parents etc.

My kids know about the loss...but their beloveds do not yet know.

As my kids process...I am sure questions will arise about their own situations and the what ifs of life's tragic unknowns.

Upon learning the news, Zion eased off the couch and returned with the globe. Finding the pink and green masses far far away...she wanted to know in a trembling voice if Russia and Kazakhstan have earthquakes.

If you are led...please pray for G & J ...and all that news such as this brings up in their healing hearts.

As pastor said on Sunday..."the circumstances of our lives...there is no better classroom."

Art Lessons

Once again, hanging in London at the Opera Gallery.

31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with craftsmanship, 32 to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze...

My Sister's Keeper

Not the bestest film in the entire world...but even so....it managed to make all the girls in the home cry. Myself, Galilee, Jemima, Zion , and Gaby (sleep-over guest)...all moved to tears...feeling like big dorks wiping our snots away while the end credits rolled.

Lots of conversation.

Damon

For those praying for Damon...please continue to do so. There's been news...via facebook.  

Big Love

New season of Big Love starts tonight! This show is psychotic.

And "no"....we are not LDS.

We (some of us in the home) are evangelical born again followers of the Biblical Christ...saved & living by grace.

In a nutshell:
Mercy....not getting what we deserve.
Grace...getting something we don't deserve.

Children Underground

"It's sad. It's not fun to see. It's not enjoyable. It's a horrible state. I feel bad for those kids. I would hate to be like that. I'm glad I live with you guys. I feel really thankful to have you guys. I wish that could happen to them. I'm praising the Lord that I have you guys. I'm glad that I have protection and discipline...because that shapes you, you know?" G

"I can't explain it in words. If I talk, I'll cry." J

The Journey

Finished my outline. Things are becoming clearer in my mind.

Hit my very own Belly of the Whale....and am now traveling the Road of Trials :)

Fun times!

It's strange... in a weird way....having these teens and 20 something's in my living room playing poker till all hours of the nite...while having a set of tweens...and a "baby" all living under the same roof.
What a journey! Are we done?

Only the Lord knows the answer to that question.

Why am I asking?

I do not know.

The Journey

Pages 1-7 complete....at least until the re-write.

1/2 the outline finished as well. It's been a productive day. I feel good. Like I am in love with the writing process.

Like I am in love with my characters and their story.

Like I can do this.

Like it is Lord given.

Like I am humbled.

500 days of Summer

Really good...structure wise. Well acted by Joesph-Gordon Levitt and Zooey Deschanel. Supporting characters were spot on. Loved the cinematography and soundtrack too. L.A. location didn't feel like L.A.

Julie and Julia

Wonderful film. I really like Nora Ephron.

Meryl Streep, Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci are favorites as well.

Made me want to cook. Made me want to eat. Made me want to write.

Cedars of Lebanon

UPDATE:

RE-write finished!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And, I am very pleased.
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We're in serious re-write mode over here. Up to our ears in re-structuring...plot points...dialogue...character development...etc. Up all night...w/ideas. Haven't had a creative download from the Lord like this in a very long time.

I love when writing is all I can think about.

My poor kids...they have been abandoned to fend for themselves. Thank goodness there's lots of coloring books, puzzles, and craft stuff lying around.

I do venture downstairs to feed them. But then, I see that the house is a mess and I head back upstairs to the computer.