Books, Books, Books

books, writing No Comments

I missed yesterday blogging. Yesterday was nothing to write home about as the saying goes. I spent a lot of time clearing out my e-mail and trying to get something done I could have been reading the book I Gave my husband for Christmas. “The fall of Lucifer” the first book in the Chronicles of Brothers series by Wendy Alac. I was able to get my darling husband the first two books in the series for Christmas. Mario is not much of a reader, the Bible each morning and books he is studying for the next level of his ministers degree. I never knew it was a four step process now he is just certified, three more classes he gets licensed. certified can run out in two years a license is a longer term affair. These two books are the only thing I’ve ever seen him read outside of the Bible or textbooks. He tore through them like Sherman through Georgia. I have them now to read but I don’t those two books to consider, I was already reading six books, not to mention working on writing one. Even at that I am on chapter three of the first book in the series. I guess I am in no hurry to read them no matter how good it is because there are supposed to be seven books and only these two we have now have been written yet. Book three is due out around the end of the year. I just don’t want to be waiting as long as I will have to for the next book. If I finish a few of the others on the way to waiting for book three to come out it will not seem like it’s taking so long. I remember a friend who was waiting between book 2 and 3 of the fellowship of the Ring leaving Frodo at the top of the mountain stung by the spider guarding the back entrance to Mourdor. Talk about a cliffhanger… I don’t look forward to waiting most of the year for the other shoe to drop.

Annette
“It is only with the heart that one sees rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery- from The Little Prince.~   http://onceagain.freeblogit.com/ and
http://sites.google.com/a/wildblue.net/my-corner-of-the-world/home and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/just4christianwomen2journal/ and http://annette-agnello.livejournal.com/


A Look at Dake’s 74 Facts About God

books, scripture study No Comments

Years ago I got a copy of Dake’s Annotated Bible it has a huge amount of footnotes and last year I decided in doing my regular reading I would read all of Dake’s footnotes this trip through the scriptures. Most of his notes are good but frequently he estimates costs of things and prices have risen considerably in the last 50 years. a live sheep costing under a dollar or a bull under five has become unrealistic today. However most of the notes are very good.

Here are His 74 facts about God. (found as a note to Neh 9:5)
1. His name is glorious (v5)
2. He is exalted above all possible blessing and praise from man
3. He alone os Jehovah (v6)
4  He made the heaven
5. He made the heaven of heavens
6. All the hosts of the heavens
7. The earth
8. All things in the Earth
9. The seas
10. All things in the seas
11. He preserves all things
12. He is the object of worship of the host of heaven
13. He chose Abraham (v7)
14. Brought him out of Ur
15. Gave him a new name
16. Found his heart faithful (v8)
17. Made a covenant with him
18. Gave him the land of Canaan
19. He kept His words
20. He is righteous
21. He saw the affliction of Israel in Egypt (v 9)
22. He heard them at the Red Sea
23. He showed signs and wonders in Egypt
24. He knew the pride of the Egyptians
25 He made Himself a great name
26. He divided the sea before Israel (v11)
27. He destroyed the Egyptians
28. He led Israel in the day by a cloudy pillar (v12)
29. He led Israel by night by a pillar of fire, to give them light
30. He came down upon mount Sinai (v13)
31. He spoke audibly from heaven
32. He gave Israel right judgments
33. Gave them true laws
34. Gave them good statutes and commandments
35. He made the holy Sabbath known to them (v14)
36. He commanded the precepts, statutes, and laws by Moses
37. He gave Israel bread from heaven for their hunger (v15)
38. He brought forth water out of a rock, for their thirst
39. He promised them that they should inherit the land He swore would be theirs
40. He is ready to pardon (v 17)
41. He is gracious
42. He is merciful
43. He is slow to anger
44. He is of great kindness
45. He does not forsake His people
46. He forsook not His people in the wilderness (v19)
47. He led them in the way
48. He gave them His good Spirit to instruct them (v20)
49. For 40 years He sustained them in the wilderness, so that they did not lack anything (v21)
50. He kept their clothes from wearing out during the entire 40 years
51. He kept their feet from swelling
52. He gave them kingdoms and nations so that Israel possessed their lands (v 22)
53. Multiplied their children as the stars of heaven (v23)
54. Brought them into the land, which He promised their fathers
55. Subdued the nations of Canaan and gave Israel their lands (v24)
56. Gave Israel the riches of earth and they delighted in his goodness
57. Many times He delivered them from the enemies who vexed them (v27)
58. He heard their cries in time of trouble, and gave them saviors who saved them from their enemies
59. Many times He left them in the hands of their enemies,when they had sinned (v 28)
60. When they returned to Him, He showed mercy again, and delivered them
61. He testified against them that He might bring them again to His law (v29)
62. For many years He was patient with them in their backslidings (v 30)
63. He sent prophets by His Spirit to rebuke them
64. At last He scattered them into all the lands of their enemies
65. Yet for His mercies’ sake He did not utterly consume them (v 31)
66. He did not utterly forsake them, for He was gracious and merciful
67. He is our God (v32)
68. He is great
69. He is mighty
70. He is a terrible God
71. He keeps Covenant and mercy
72. He has been just even in judgment
73. He has always done right when others have done wickedly (v33)
74. He is great in goodness (v35)

Most of these facts are very positive and there was also a list of the Israelites sins which account for the harsher facts. You can learn a lot from the footnotes. Today I learned how very old Ezra was when he stood reading the law (Deuteronomy), another time I learned that the 10 plagues from Exodus were direct attacks against the Egyptian gods. There can be a lot in footnotes though some can be wrong like the cheep livestock listed in this 50 year old Bible.

It is always worthwhile to look closely at what God is telling you. There are many methods to learn and a great many wonderful authors and teachers who want to help.

Annette
“It is only with the heart that one sees rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery- from The Little Prince.~ http://onceagain.freeblogit.com/ and
http://sites.google.com/a/wildblue.net/my-corner-of-the-world/home and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/just4christianwomen2journal/ and http://annette-agnello.livejournal.com/


From Battleships to Biblical names

Pearl Harbor, books, church, groups No Comments

Well it is the end of another day this is a day of history. Pearl Harbor is a dark part of history, “A day that will live in infamy.” That’s what President Roosevelt called it. On one of the groups I’m in had Pearl Harbor as a prompt today and the discussion on the group has been more about fathers. Two of us in the group had fathers who were there. Fathers who had memories, locked within that they couldn’t share and never forgot.

I guess for this generation it will be the twin towers, before that it was the Kennedy’s both president, and senator, and Martin Luther King. I wish for us to never face another horror like those, but I know we will.

That’s enough of that. This morning the pastor had everyone laughing talking about men’s room manners. My husband had to work today and I asked him if that was really the case, he said it was. If you want to know more of what was said I had only heard of it once before. It was in the first of Isaac Asimov’s Robot novels. I will always remember something else that book it is the only place I ever heard of about someone being named Jezebel, the lady hated her name and insisted on being called Jessie. The other memorable thing about her was her husband was Elijah. Can you imagine someone named Jezebel being married to someone named Elijah? The Biblical Jezebel was out to kill the Biblical Elijah.


Did you ever read “Alice in Wonderland”?

books, writing No Comments

I don’t know if it was in Alice in Wonderland or the sequel Through the Looking Glass but in one of then the Red Queen tells Alice “Sometimes you have to run as fast as you can just to stay in one place.” That’s how I have felt the last couple of days.

I am in several e-mail groups and a few days ago I wasn’t feeling well a few days ago ago and left about half of it unprocessed. Which would mean unopened, much less unread. Yesterday I was out shopping most of the day so I got further behind. I’m still not caught up.

It is shocking how much of what comes in the inbox that I never get around to reading. I save a lot of it and out it aside with the best of intentions some I have lost through computer disasters. I lost a lot through computer disasters viruses, my husband’s upgrades (sorry sweetheart), or simply bad moves on my part.

I wish I were a speed reader so I could get through all the things set before me to read. Actually I tried to teach myself to speed read. Some of the things I was able to pick up, other things were just unnatural.  But then when I get to reading I get to writing either notes, or comments, or original writings sparked by that inspiration.

Well, since I missed a day of blogging in the daily blog challenge I posted two entries today.

Annette
“It is only with the heart that one sees rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery- from The Little Prince.~ http://onceagain.freeblogit.com/ and
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/just4christianwomen2journal/ and http://annette-agnello.livejournal.com/


Lured by Promise

books, groups, writing No Comments

I was reading Genesis the last couple of mornings in the Dakes Annotated Reference Bible by Finis Jennings Dake. Anyone unfamiliar with that Bible you find more notes per square inch than you will find in any other Bible. Some of the notes are pretty dated1963. I recently read Leviticus in that Bible and he had priced the various animals with the prices of 40 years ago. A lamb probably cost a lot more than $20 today. All the offerings were priced with prices of 30 years ago. Some of the references are as good as they ever were I plan to write a devotional with the words that appeared on the Liberty Bell. Thanks to him I learned they were a biblical quote. I did not realize that before. If those ACLU types ever get hold of that fact they will probably try to get them removed like the arms of the cross in the Mt. Solidet cemetery.
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Lately, I have been writing again. It was as if everything dried up and there were just no words. To write now I am part of many conversations on the internet and writing on other things. I think it basically comes down to reordering my life. Even though writing has always been for late in the day I am getting much more done with the writing in the morning. Though I still haven’t worked on chapter six of my book though God did give me the direction to go late in August. I need to get back to working on the story but I haven’t been able to get back there since the critique group only having one critique and that from the one who responded to my critique with such a lack of grace. I have done a lot of Bible study over the years and it stood out that the woman had not really looked at the whole chapter. One can’t just cut and paste the word at will to force it to say what you think it should say and that is what she did. I suggested two relatively simple changes to make it make the scripture she cited and her devotional to agree.


Decisions, Decisions

books, family, revival No Comments

I assume you have heard of the Lakeland Revival, with Todd Bently as the main speaker. That is something I want very much. If you have seen any of it you either love it as a source of hope or hate it as a fake. I have seen God’s power enough before to recognize the truth of God’s mighty move there. Of course for a touch of joy there is a price of pain. We will have to go to see Mario’s relatives in Louisiana before we can go to Florida for the Lakeland experience. I am hoping to receive healing for the damage from the stroke and the damaged wrist, so I can put up my hair again. Even shoulder length hair is hot this time of year.

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Lately I have been reading a wonderful book called Baby Catcher by Peggy Vincent. It is the story of a nurse in the 60’s. A mother in the 70’s and a Lamas coach then, a midwife. It takes you through the funny things and the frightening things she has experienced in her years as a baby catcher.