Take Me Out To The Ball Game

On 6/13 I spent my 34th birthday with my family and friends in a luxury box suite at a Reno Aces baseball game.  We had such a great time.  I won 20 tickets, plus VIP parking.  The stadium does not have a parking lot so you have to pay $5 or $10 to park close or hike from the nearest casino. Can you believe that the game just happened to be on my birthday?   I know who orchestrated that and if you don't know, you better ask somebody.  We had an amazing view, the weather was perfect and the Aces won but I can't remember the score.  The mascot came to our suite and sang happy birthday to me even though we have no clue exactly what the mascot is.  Here are a few pics from that special day.  Maybe you can tell me what that mascot is supposed to be.


 

Does Ace look like he's gettin ready to slap the back of my head?

Me and my Bestest Friend aka Soul Mate

My youngest daughter

Say cheese Mom

Sisters from another mister

 

One of these girls is my daughter

 

Mom and Grandma

Life is good

My daughter enjoying the view

Happy Birthday to me

We love this game

They say he was created by Pixar Studios,
he's supposed to be a monster.



The Judas Kiss (muah)

 



BE-TRAY

1. to deliver or expose to an enemy by treachery or disloyalty: Benedict Arnold betrayed his country.

2. to be unfaithful in guarding, maintaining, or fulfilling: to betray a trust.

3. to disappoint the hopes or expectations of; be disloyal to: to betray one's friends.

4.  to reveal or disclose in violation of confidence: to betray a secret.

5.  to reveal unconsciously (something one would preferably conceal): Her nervousness betrays her insecurity.

6.  to show or exhibit; reveal; disclose: an unfeeling remark that betrays his lack of concern.

7.  to deceive, misguide, or corrupt: a young lawyer betrayed by political ambitions into irreparable folly.

8.  to seduce and desert.

You will experience betrayal many times in life either as the deceived, the deciever or both.  Since we live in a fallen world it will most likely be both.  As you can see, there are many, many ways to commit an act of betrayal.  Can you think of a time when someone betrayed your or "sold you out"?  If you know how it feels to be punched in the stomach then you know how it feels to be betrayed by someone that you love or trust.  I remember when I was about 6 years old, a boy on the playground that I barely knew punched me in the stomach. :(  I actually lost my breath for the first 5 or 10 seconds.  I was in such shock that someone would do that to me for no reason.  I would later learn that boys don't always have a reason for a lot of the things they do.  (Honestly, I think he thought he was He-Man or G.I. Joe because this was back in the early 80's.)  For those of you that have never had the wind knocked out of you, take it from me, that's exactly how it feels when someone betrays you.  Like a straight up sucker punch.


Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, not with a gut punch but with a kiss. I don't know which one is worse. The coldest part about this story is that Jesus knew who would betray him and when they would do it.  Although I don't think that made it any less shocking or painful for Jesus.  His words to the 12 disciples while they were at the table during the last supper were, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me."  This made them all sad, then one after the other denied it.  Then Jesus said, "The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me.  But woe to that man who will betray the Son of Man.  It would be better for him if he had not been born."  


By this point Judas had already collected his 30 pieces of silver and was just waiting for the opportunity to deliver Jesus over to the chief priests.  Judas actually had the nerve to respond by saying, "Surely you don't mean me Rabbi?"  Really Judas?


Jesus answered, "You have said so."  In other words, "Now you know, that I know, that you know, that you have already sealed the deal."  Needless to say, Judas ending up hanging himself.


Whether you have been sucker punched, thrown under the bus, sold out or cheated on, you can recover from such a shady situation.  The key point is forgiveness which isn't easy but it's necessary in order for you to "mount up with wings as an eagle and soar above your circumstance".  Trust God to reveal things to you and leave vengeance to Him.  I know what your thinking.  That's easier said than done.  That may seem true but you need to know and believe without a doubt that with God, all things are possible.


You may have found yourself acting like Judas a time or two.  If you find yourself throwing the punch or doing the kissing, you can redeem yourself.  You must repent by turning away from your demons.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.  Allow God to transform your heart and your mind.  We often betray and deceive ourselves when we don't acknowledge how wicked our own hearts are.   It's so much easier to see everyone else's evil ways and judge them.  But when you walk with God, He is always going to tell you before you betray Him or that He knows you will betray Him just like Jesus did with Judas.  That's our cue to check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.


Ponder this, if Judas would've asked God for forgiveness, he would've been forgiven.

There's Hope

It doesn't cost a thing to smile, you don't have to pay to laugh, you better thank God for that.

This is a very upbeat and inspiring song by India Arie called, "There's Hope" (see below).  I absolutely love her music.  She is an example of someone who loves the Lord.  Can doubt be found where there is hope?  I don't think so. 

When we start getting down and frustrated, we should only focus on the negative long enough to accentuate the positive and mount up with wings as eagles, Isaiah 40:31.  Focus on what you can do for another person to help them overcome a negative situation.  At the same time, be sure you are strong enough to avoid getting caught up in their mess.  I don't recommend doing this w/o God, that's for sure. 

A very close friend of mine lost her husband in a tragic accident about 8 months ago.  This woman has taught me a lot through her own life experiences, not just the death of her husband.  She never lost her hope in God.  She gave Him the glory through it all.  She has plans to go on a mission trip to Africa this fall to do what?  Help someone else in need.  The main thing I have seen her do throughout this journey is be there for everyone else around her.  She opened up her home for a recent bible study that I attended.  It was the greatest bible study that I have ever been a part of.  God used her for all of our benefit and let me tell you, the presence of the Lord was there every time.  The Holy Spirit was in our midst.

Through her pain and grief, her faith never, ever wavered not one tiny bit.  She is a living example to me of God's power manifested through our trials.  She didn't mind sharing the details of everything she went through from that tragic day til now.  She shared every single emotion, and there were many on any given day.  And that's why we are so close.  She helped me stay close to God during some very difficult times in my life.  I told her that I wanted to write about her story and of course she didn't mind one bit.  This is a person that shares God by sharing her own personal struggles, flaws, joys and pain.  The good, the bad and the ugly.  Her integrity is very important to her so being honest comes naturally for her.

Nothing happens by accident.  God uses everything that we go through in our life to show Himself to us.  If you don't see Him, believe me when I say, there is hope.  If you seek Him, you will find Him.  And when you do, you will know that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength, Philipians 4:13

Rapscallion's

Last weekend at the MS Walk, my mom bought a raffle ticket and gave it to me.  Thanks to her, my husband and I won a Sunday brunch for 2 at a restaraunt called Rapscallion's.  We had never been there before but everyone around us expressed what a great place it is.  Thank you Mommy!  Since today happened to be Sunday, we decided to steal some time together, just the 2 of us.   

The skies were blue with a good mix of sunshine and clouds and  the temp was about 70 degrees.  That's perfect weather in our book so we rode our motorcyle's to the restaraunt.  

It's a hidden hot spot located near downtown Reno.  What a dainty little restaraunt, with very neat landscaping.  There were table's and chair's outside and even a few tree's for shade. Quite a few people were dining out on the patio enjoying the sunshine.  The inside had a very charming ambiance but since the weather was so nice, we decided to soak up some vitamin D outside.  There was only 1 small table available with 1 chair so the staff found another chair for us. The service was exceptional, as was the food.   They started us off with warm blueberry muffins and fresh fruit with some kind of pink, creamy sauce drizzled on it.  We were also served champagne. 

My husband ordered New York steak and eggs.  His steak was tender and medium well, just the way we like it.  I say "we" because we always share our food with each other.    

I had what was called "Joe's Special Scramble".  It consisted of scrambled eggs with sauteed mushrooms, spinach, onions and italian sausage.  A preferable and perfect combination for me.  Both our orders included home fries which had a wonderful flavor.  We could only take a few sips of our champagne so we ordered a glass of orange juice which came to us freshly squeezed.

 

That did it, we were both extremely pleased with Rapscallion's, all the way around.  We were sure to give our compliments to the waitress and the chef. 

It's days like this that we really cherish.  We have to schedule dates with each other more often. 

D Day, Really?

How many times will a man try to predict the end of the world?  I really hate it when people take God's word and try to mislead people.  That's adding to His word and they will be held accountable for doing that.  Believer's do not be fooled.  The bible is clear about the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Yes, there are signs of the end times and it appears that we have seen them all, but no man knows the exact day or hour.

Let's go to scripture, shall we?

Matthew 24: 4-28 speaks all about the signs of the "End of the Age"

Verse 11 says; "Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many."
I was very saddened to see all the people on the news today that believe the claims of one man by the name of Harold Camping that "Beyond the shadow of a doubt, May 21 will be the date of the Rapture and the day of judgment," is what he told the Associated Press.  Now if that's not a false prophet, then I don't know who is.

Matthew 24:42-44:
⁴²"Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.
 ⁴³"But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.
When some is robbed, they never know ahead of time.  It's when they least expect it.  When you are away or not paying attention, that's when you and/or your stuff gets taken.
 ⁴⁴"For this reason you also must be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.
It doesn't just say that we don't know when, but when we don't think He will come is when He will come.  If you don't know what time to catch a flight, how can you be ready for it, right?  Well, if you want to be ready when Jesus comes, you better be saved.  That way, you won't need to know when because you will be ready for whenever.
 
Mark 13:32-33:
 ³²"But of that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
If Jesus doesn't even know, then why would any man claim to know?  Do you really think you know more than Jesus?
 ³³"Take heed, keep on the alert; for you do not know when the appointed time will come.
God says the only thing you need to do is be on alert, in other words, "Pay attention".

See to it that no one misleads you.  You should study God's word to show yourself approved.  His word will never return void, meaning if He says it, it will come to pass.

Matthew 7:14-16 
 ¹⁴"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

  ¹⁵"Beware of the ^(A)false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ^(B)ravenous wolves.

 ¹⁶"You will ^(C)know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?

(New American Standard Bible)

Why Do Bad Things Happen.......To Good People?

When I first saw the story about another missing mommy, Krista Dittmeyer I honestly didn't have peace about where she could possibly be.  She was reported missing Saturday morning after a passerby found her car running and her 14-month-old daughter in the back seat. The car door was open and the hazard lights were blinking.  I thought, "There is no way she left her daughter behind like that on purpose, so this couldn't possibly have a happy ending.  Lord, I pray for Krista, that you would have mercy on her soul.  For her family that you would comfort them while they grieve.  And Lord, for her daughter, I pray that she will be brought up to know You and to love You.  In Jesus name, Amen."

Why do bad things happen to good people?

This is the question of the millennium.  I have not only heard this question many times, I have asked this question myself.  I really sought to get some understanding.  The best answer I got was that we live in a fallen world.  No one is exempt from tragedy, trauma and trials.  When I think of joy w/o pain or sunshine w/o rain, the only place that comes to my mind is.......Heaven!  This world we live in is a far cry right.  Realizing that God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts brings me comfort because I trust Him.  For me He is the only one that I can say that I trust 100%.

You might ask how I can trust someone that I cannot see.  It takes faith.  I have written about faith many times.  I have a history with God.  He has shown me in more ways than one that He does exist and He is in control.  He didn't say that I would not experience pain, but when I do face trials, He promised to walk with me.  I not only believe that, I know that because He has walked me through some very tough challenges.

Bad things happen to everyone and so do good things.  The question you should be asking yourself is, "Will I go to Heaven?"  That is where only "good" things happen and where you will only find "good" people.

It Is Well Within My Soul



Warrior

 I always have songs in my head and I have written many songs.  This is a song I wrote a few month's ago.  I have been a little shy about sharing with people but what the heck,

 It Is Well Within My Soul.

It is well, it is well within my soul
Where the Holy Spirit dwells, and let's me know
I can do all things, with Him by my side
He will give me strength, He will provide

The Lord is good, His love is kind
His word will never return void
I once was lost, but now I'm found
He placed my feet on solid ground

I thank Him, I praise him, I magnify His name
Oh Lord, Oh Oh Lord
He made me, He saved me, He forgave my sins
Oh Lord, Oh Oh Lord

It is well, it is well within my soul
Where the Holy Spirit dwells, and let's me know
I can do all things, with Him by my side
He will give me strength, He will provide

He died for me, He set me free
I can't believe He would do this for me

They hung Him high, they stretched Him wide

He hung His head and for me he died

But that's not how the story ends

Oh Lord, Oh Oh Lord

For in 3 days, He rose again

Oh Lord, Oh Oh Lord

It is well, it is well within my soul

Where the Holy Spirit dwells, and let's me know

I can do all things, with Him by my side

He will give me strength, He will provide.