Thank You!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Psalm 118:1


Last week I received this beautiful Thank You card.  Inside of the card it says, "Your ministry is such a blessing because you have a wonderful way of bringing others into His presence.  Thank you for your music ministry."  It really made me feel good that someone took the time to go and buy this card and send it to me to say "Thank You."  Sometimes people forget to say "Thank You" when someone does something nice for them.

One time there were ten people who were very sick with a terrible disease called leprosy.  When Jesus saw them, He touched them and they were healed.  They were so happy that they ran up and down the streets singing and dancing.  One of them stopped and went back to tell Jesus, "Thank You."  Jesus said to him, "Weren't there ten who were healed?  Where are the other nine?"  Only one out of the ten said, "Thank You."

God does so much for us!  Every day he provides everything we need: food, clothing, and a place to live.  Do we ever forget to say, "Thank You?"   Let's stop right now and say "Thank You" and ask Him to help us remember to thank Him every day.

Dear Lord, you give us everything we need, but we often forget to say "Thank You."  We thank you now, and ask you to help us to remember to give thanks every day for all that you give us.  Amen.

The Waiting Place

"Therefore keep watch because you do not know when the owner of the house will come back—whether in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or at dawn. If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: 'Watch!' " Mark 13:35-37 (NIV)

I have heard that if you live to be seventy years old, you will spend three years of your life just waiting. Waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting in the doctor's office, waiting for lunch to be ready, waiting for recess time at school.

In his book, "Oh, the Places You'll Go," Dr. Seuss talks about a place called "the waiting place." He describes it as a useless place where people are just waiting.

    Waiting for a train to go
    or a bus to come, or a plane to go
    or the mail to come, or the rain to go
    or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
    or waiting around for a Yes or No
    or waiting for their hair to grow.
    Everyone is just waiting.

I don't particularly like waiting, do you? I don't like it, but I don't know of any way to avoid it. We all have to spend some time in this "waiting place" that Dr. Seuss talks about, but I don't think it has to be a useless place. While we are waiting, life goes on, and we must make good use of our time. What can we do? Well, we could read a good book or call a friend on the cell phone. We could make a list of things we need to do today or, we could even study for our weekly spelling test. Well, maybe that's going a bit too far, but there are many things we can do besides just waiting.

Today is the first Sunday of Advent. Advent means "to come." Do you know what's coming? Of course, Christmas is coming. This is an exciting time, but it may also be a difficult time of waiting -- especially for children. Waiting for the day when you can open the gifts that you see under the tree. What can we do to make this time of waiting for Christmas more than just a useless time in the waiting place? Well, we can think about the true meaning of Christmas. We can think about Jesus and his love. We can think about giving instead of receiving. We can enjoy all of beautiful music and the decorations of the season. When we do those things, we will find joy in the waiting place.

We are waiting for Christmas, but we are also waiting for something else. We are waiting for Jesus' return. He told us that he would come again and he told us to watch and be ready for him. What should we do while we are waiting? We should worship and praise him, love and serve him, and share his love with others. When we are doing those things, we will be ready for his return, and we will find joy in the waiting place.

Heavenly Father, as we spend time in this waiting place, we look forward with great joy to the celebration of Jesus' birth and to the day when he comes again. Amen.

That office space is perfect for this person:




I think they fell asleep on the job so the works mates decided to finish the job they started.

Hi Workin4Him,

I, too, must agree with your husband. If you live close as you say then there is no reason that you shouldn't work on building a relationship throughout the year. It is difficult to do so when one lives 3 hrs away and makes it easier to visit that far away only on holidays.

Hi unworthy_servant,

Those are some good points. Don't worry about the  spelling. It is close enough to be understood.  

Hi unworthy_servant,

Welcome to Christians Unite. There are some wonderful Christians here and some great fellowship. I hope that you will enjoy your time here.

Even though this is a different field of science it is more proof that the Bible is in fact true. Scientists unknowingly make this proof every day.

Job 40:15  Behold now behemoth, which I made with thee; he eateth grass as an ox.


Ancient Grazers: Find adds grass to dinosaur menu

Sid Perkins

Analyses of fossilized dinosaur feces in India reveal the remains of at least five types of grasses. The finding not only provides the first evidence of grass-eating dinosaurs but also shows that grasses evolved diverse forms much earlier than scientists had previously recognized.

Bits of silica called phytoliths indicate the grasses' presence. The tiny crystals, which form within cells of many plants, are especially plentiful in grasses, according to Caroline A.E. Strömberg, a paleobotanist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. Because each type of grass produces distinctly shaped phytoliths, scientists use the readily preserved grit to identify the mix that once grew in an area.

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Ten Commandments display defended

MUSKOGEE (AP) -- Haskell County commissioners, responding to a lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union, have defended a Ten Commandments monument outside the local courthouse .

In their response Thursday, commissioners said the display is not a sign of government endorsing a particular religion. They said it is of "outstanding governmental significance" and secular in nature, a part of people's everyday lives.

The lawsuit filed last month on behalf of Jim Green of Stigler, a retired veteran who regularly does business at the courthouse, is the first in Oklahoma since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June that displays of the Ten Commandments on government property are not inherently unconstitutional.

"I think it's all nonsense, but we can't back up now, and we don't want to," said Haskell County Commission Chairman Sam Cole, who is being sued individually as well for being part of the panel.

"I think (a Ten Commandments display) ought to be on every courthouse lawn. That's what pretty much everyone here wants except one man. We're for it, and we'll fight. I was raised to fight for what I believe in, and I believe in this."

American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Tina Izadi said the group stands behind the lawsuit.

"We're going to allow this to play out in the judicial system," she said.

The group's complaint is that the monument promotes the Christian faith to the exclusion of all other religions.

The suit claims that the "monument's celebration of the Ten Commandments as a religious text suggests that adherence to a particular religious creed is a prerequisite or an advantage to those seeking justice in Haskell County."

The commissioners answered that contention by saying: "It is not the primary purpose of the monument to endorse any religion. ... No reasonable observer would perceive that the government is endorsing religion through the monument."

The commissioners voted in November to erect the 8-by-3-foot granite slab, which features the text of the Mayflower Compact on one side and the Ten Commandments on the other. A Stigler pastor persuaded 17 area churches to raise the $2,500 needed for construction of the display on the courthouse lawn, about 90 miles southeast of Tulsa.

 Quake jolts southeastern Iran

A mild earthquake measuring 4 on the Richter scale hit the provincial capital of Yassouj in southeastern Kohgilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province in the wee hours of Saturday.

According to the seismological base of the Geophysics Institute of Tehran University, the quake occurred at 01:11 hours local time (21:41 GMT Friday).

The tremor was felt in an area measuring 51.53 degrees in longitude and 30.58 degrees in latitude, the report added.

There are no reports of any casualty or damage to property.

Quakes of varying magnitudes often occur in Iran, which is situated on some of the world's most active seismic faultlines.

 Strong quake hits Indonesia
From correspondents in Washington DC
November 20, 2005

A MAGNITUDE 6.5 earthquake has hit Simeulue, Indonesia, the US Geological Survey says.

"A strong earthquake occurred at 1410 GMT (1:10 AEDT) on Saturday, November 19," the USGS said on its website.

"The magnitude 6.5 event has been located in Simeulue, Indonesia," (1440km) north-west of Jakarta.

Simeulue is near the Aceh region devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami last year.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre in Hawaii said it had no information on the quake because it has no monitors outside the Pacific region.

The centre said, however, that earthquakes of such a size had the potential to create a tsunami.

Firefighters Battle 4,000-Acre Calif. Fire

By JEFF WILSON
The Associated Press
Saturday, November 19, 2005; 10:35 AM

VENTURA, Calif. -- Calming winds have helped firefighters battle a 4,000-acre wildfire that prompted a voluntary evacuation of about 200 ridge-top homes.

Fierce Santa Ana winds fanned the late-season blaze that started early Friday in School Canyon _ a hilly, rocky area between Ventura and Ojai, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles.

The blaze was 15 percent contained late Friday and officials hoped to make significant progress through the night as crews dug around the fire's borders and the winds died down, said Inspector Ron Haralson of the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

"We still have a few hot spots, but the fire is mostly laying down," he said.

The origin point and cause of the fire were under investigation.

At midmorning, a wall of flames as high as 30 feet snaked along hillsides, and by early afternoon a huge plume of whiskey-brown smoke carried ash to the nearby Pacific Ocean.

In just a few hours, the wind-driven fire tripled in size. But the fire calmed down in the early evening as a cooler onshore breeze helped decrease winds and temperatures.

The National Weather Service canceled a wind advisory, but forecasters cautioned winds would continue in the area through early Sunday at 15 to 25 mph with isolated gusts near 35 mph.

The fire roared down School Canyon heading to the northern edge of Ventura. At one point, it burned to the backyards of several large homes.

"We have a lot of crews up there and are making every effort to protect those structures," said Joe Luna, a spokesman with the Ventura County Fire Department. "But we are confident that the winds _ when they calm down _ will allow us to put this out."

Many of the stucco homes in the area have tile roofs, and fire officials said requirements that brush be cleared around houses had helped.

Still, firefighting equipment was headed to Ventura from throughout the state. Bulldozers and hotshot crews worked their way up Highway 101 from Los Angeles. Water-dropping helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft also were called in to assist firefighters on the ground.

Late Friday, FEMA authorized the use of federal funds to help the state battle the fire.

Florida Fears Tropical Storm
# The south of the state, still recovering from Hurricane Wilma, could be vulnerable to Gamma, forming in the western Caribbean.

By Ken Kaye, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

MIAMI — This can't be happening again. Can it?

Just as South Florida comes up for air, it could be under attack again in a scenario extremely similar to that of Hurricane Wilma.

 Forming in the western Caribbean on Friday, Tropical Storm Gamma was projected to hit southwest Florida by Monday afternoon. It could bring winds as high as 65 mph, heavy rains and a high potential for tornadoes — almost exactly one month after Hurricane Wilma.

The good news, at this point: Gamma was not expected to grow into a hurricane. In addition, a cold front could weaken it or guide it south of the state, said meteorologist Jamie Rhome with the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

The bad news: Even if it arrives as a weak, sloppy system, it could be devastating to the thousands of homes in the region with blue tarps and roof damage after Wilma, said Tony Carper, Broward County's director of emergency management.

"We have a lot of homes that are in a weakened condition," he said. "There's a lot of patchwork roofs all over the place, and it could severely impact those. And that's not to mention mobile homes."

Rhome says residents shouldn't panic.

"While we want people to pay really close attention to this system, we don't want mass hysteria — given South Florida's sensitivity to tropical systems," he said.

South Florida already has been struck twice this year, first by Hurricane Katrina on Aug. 25, then by Wilma on Oct. 24.

Late Friday, Gamma, the 24th named storm of what already was the most active hurricane season on record, was southeast of Belize City, wobbling northwest at 5 mph. It had maximum winds of about 45 mph, barely tropical storm strength.

It was expected to graze Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula by Sunday and get pushed toward Florida by a cold front.

"What you have here is a Midwest cold front versus a tropical system, clashing," Rhome said, adding that the course of the storm would be determined by "whichever one is stronger."

If the forecast track holds, Gamma could dump widespread rains of three to five inches over South Florida, starting as early as Sunday. Some areas could get more than six inches, said meteorologist Dan Gregoria of the National Weather Service in Miami.

Gamma's track had much uncertainty because "the models are all over the place," said Paul Milelli, Palm Beach County director of public safety.

His greatest concern: The storm's rapid forward speed combined with the cold front means that "the potential for tornadoes is very great." Tornadoes can cause severe damage beyond the winds and rain in a tropical system.

Tropical Storm Gamma Forms Near Honduras

Tropical Storm Gamma Forms Off Central America, May Threaten Florida by Start of Next Week

MIAMI Nov 18, 2005 — Tropical Storm Gamma the 24th storm of the busiest hurricane season on record formed Friday off the coast of Central America, and forecasters said it could threaten Florida by the beginning of next week, perhaps as a hurricane.

Tropical storm warnings were issued for the coast of Belize and the Bay Islands of Honduras. Mexico issued a tropical storm watch for the eastern Yucatan Peninsula, which was hit hard in October by Hurricane Wilma. Six to 15 inches of rain were possible.

The long-term track from the National Hurricane Center indicated that Gamma may take a path similar to Wilma's and head northeast toward the Florida Peninsula. Wilma sliced across the southern portion of the state Oct. 24, causing widespread power outages and more than 20 deaths.

At 10 p.m. EST, Gamma's maximum sustained winds were near 45 mph and it was located about 45 miles north-northwest of Limon, Honduras, and about 175 miles east-southeast of Belize City, Belize, moving northwest at near 5 mph.

The storm causing flooding and landslides in Honduras that killed at least two people and prompted the government to evacuate hundreds from coastal towns. President Ricardo Maduro said soldiers were bringing in food, water, medicine and blankets.

In Belize, a small plane belonging to the exclusive Blancaneaux Lodge resort, owned by filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, disappeared Friday shortly after taking off with two passengers, whose names were not released. A search was also under way for five fisherman whose boat capsized.

Gamma extended the Atlantic's record-breaking storm season. The previous record of 21 named storms had stood since 1933, and for the first time, officials had to turn to the Greek alphabet for names.

National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov

New Dead Sea Scroll Fragments
There is only one place on earth where an unending stream of evidence substantiating the Bible is discovered year after year. Granted, it’s been 40 years since the major discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls thrilled biblical archaeologists and others who love the Word of God.

The latest discovery—two small fragments of animal skin, brown with age, with Leviticus 23:38-39 and 43-44 inscribed in ancient Hebrew—are now in the hands of the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA). How they got there is an intriguing story in itself. About a year ago, Professor Chanan Eshel, an archaeologist at Bar Ilan University in Tel Aviv, was summoned to an abandoned police station near the Dead Sea for a clandestine meeting with a Bedouin Arab. After explaining that he’d been offered $20,000 on the black market, the man asked Eshel to evaluate the fragments. It would be hard to describe the emotions that surged through the professor’s heart as he examined the skins. “I was jealous that he had found them instead of me,” said Eshel, who has worked in the Judean Desert for nearly 20 years. “I was also very excited, though I didn’t believe I would ever see them again.” Months later, after learning that the fragments had not left the country, Eshel bought them with $3,000 provided by Bar Ilan. The skins were turned over to the IAA, which is now testing them for authenticity. They are the 15th find in this area and date to the Second Revolt against the Romans under Bar-Kochba.

The discovery sparked renewed hope among biblical archaeologists that the Judean Desert has much yet to yield. “No scrolls have been found in the Judean Desert since 1965,” said Eshel. “This [find] encourages scholars to believe that if they bother to excavate, survey and climb, they will still find things in the Judean Desert. The common perception has been that there is nothing left to find there, but that is clearly wrong.”

Al-Zarqawi Threatens to Kill Jordan's King

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) - An audiotape purportedly from the head of al-Qaida in Iraq Friday threatened to kill Jordan's King Abdullah II and bomb more hotels and tourist sites.

The speaker on the tape, identified as Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, also said the group's suicide bombers did not intend to bomb a Jordanian wedding party at an Amman hotel last week, killing about 30 people.

Al-Zarqawi said the bomber who detonated his explosives in the Radisson SAS hotel on Nov. 9 was targeting a hall where he claimed Israeli and American intelligence officials were meeting.

That bomb caused part of the roof to fall in the wedding hall.

Al-Zarqawi accused the Jordanian government of hiding casualties among Israeli and American intelligence agents, and he insisted al-Qaida in Iraq was not targeting fellow Muslims.

"We want to assure you that ... you are more beloved to us than ourselves," al-Zarqawi said, addressing Jordanians.