Faithful One

The following two songs are samples from a recording of my cousin, Rebecca.

She, her husband, and children are currently living "abroad" working through World Hope International which is a faith based relief and development organization that strives to alleviate suffering and injustice through education, enterprise and community health.

Her husband teaches English, and Rebecca has a ministry among the women...it is a very tense situation living where they do... but God has led them to this place, and He is FAITHFUL. Please remember them in your prayers.

If you are interested in supporting their ministry by purchasing the entire CD, contact me and I will direct you to someone who can help you do this. 100% of proceeds go to their ministry.

Enjoy!

Song #1: Faithful One

Song #2: San Dunyaya

(FOR BEST RESULTS, PAUSE BLOG MUSIC BEFORE STARTING...)

Psalms 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

Psalms 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalms 27:14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

John 16:33 I have told you these things, so that in me your may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Josua 1:9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Joshua 1:5 As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.

Psalm 18:2 The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn on my salvation, my stronghold.

Proverbs 3:5,6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

Lamentations 3:22, 23 Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

Hebrew 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is
faithful.

Mally the Alley Cat

I am not fond of the feline population.


Maybe it has something to do with the fact that at an early age I developed an allergy to them...


Maybe it is because, at around the same age that I developed those pesky allergies, I was informed of the "fact" (actually an old wives tale...) that cats could, and most certainly would, if given the chance, suck the milky breath of life away from a new born infant.

Or, maybe it is just because I watched Lady and the Tramp during my impressionable years... Do you remember Aunt Sarah's two Siamese cats, Si and Am? If you do great... if not, here is a brief recap: Si and Am created all sorts of mischief and caused all sorts of trouble for Lady (the dog heroine of the movie). Lady manages to keep the goldfish and canary safe from harm, but she begins to bark when the two cats go up the stairs to see the baby (!) and try and steal its milk. Lady ends up "scaring" Si and Am and when Aunt Sarah happens along, they pretend they are hurt. Aunt Sarah then takes Lady to a pet shop to have her fitted with a muzzle, but Lady escapes the shop...and so the story continues...


I hated that part of the movie! It was so unjust...and, needless to say, at a very early age my regard for cats hit rock bottom.


When Mr. M's parents, Bill and Sherilyn, lived here, they had this very vicious "outside" cat...Mally.* I don't know if they bought her or if she just started hanging around their house, but Sherilyn has a very soft heart for animals...except birds**...and she was faithful to feed Mally. To reciprocate her mutual feelings of respect and admiration, Mally would leave her latest "conquests"- various species of fowl and field mice- on the door step...
much to the chagrin of the household.


When the Marshall's moved, Mally sort of disappeared. She was always very independent and was not at all domesticated... but Sherilyn felt bad for Mally and worried about her. She would often ask if we had seen her. We assured her, No, no we haven't seen her, I am sure she is doing fine...living like a jungle cat...eating like a king...


One day Mr. M was walking to school when Mally appeared! She walked around him and snuggled up to his legs...
Most people would take this as an invitation to reach down and pet the "friendly" cat...but he knew better... reach down and pet this cat and you may lose a finger!


Nevertheless, Mr. M was beside himself with excitement. Mally had found him (think theme music from Homeward Bound...) and remembered him! He immediately called his Dad/Mom to share this joyous news.


Now we have a cat.


This is our arrangement: she jumps up onto our window seal, taps the window with her tail, and posthaste we give her some food. She then vigilantly guards our stoop during the night.
In the morning she is gone...exploring her jungle, I guess.

Often I will catch a glimpse of two flashing eyes peering through the blinds into our living room. At first it really freaked me out. But now whenever I get the feeling that "someone is watching me"- I know I am not being paranoid... it's just Mally.


Mally. She is the perfect cat for me. She doesn't asked to be cuddled and held... she would rather not be. All she wants is a family to belong to... a home base, so to speak, and maybe a little Kit Kaboodle.***

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* Name short for Malicious.

**She has a fear of birds...no malevolent tendencies towards the aforementioned.

***Purina brand cat food.

Ode to Aerolatte...

I have been enjoying one of my Christmas gifts on a daily basis...my aerolatte. It is one of the greatest gadgets ever invented!
This battery operated piece of mechanical ingenuity is able to magically turn an ordinary cup of "Joe" (and a dash of International Delight creamer) into a light and frothy latte that is worthy of the hefty price tag other coffee joints (scavengers) place on their overrated, rather bitter selection.
I highly recommend mass hysteria over this product...

Post Script

Originally, I wanted to create & post a movie/slide show to share our Christmas adventures...but, I knew it would take me too long to get it all together
(not to mention the fact that the music I wanted to use was in Mr. M's Christmas stocking just waiting to be discovered...).
So, I did a mini slide show...without music, etc. However, after I convinced Mr. M. to open "just one" stocking stuffer a little bit early... I went ahead with my original plan, and now it is finished.
Although a lot of these pics were in my original mini slide show...(sorry)...I just had to post them again.
Why?
Because, by George, this is MY BLOG...and I can do whatever I please!
Besides, I promise... this is the last time I will post any of these Christmas photos.
Thanks again to all our wonderful family members for making Christmas such a great time.
We love and miss everyone of you!

For best results pause the blog music before starting...

2008...Here We Come!

2007 has passed. Resolutions have been made. Diets have commenced (or recommenced). School is back in session.

The tree no longer looms magically in the corner filling the mind with poignant memories of Christmas past...now it serves as 6.5 foot, not-so-subtle, reminder that Christmas is over and redecorating is in order... soon!

I toyed with the idea of highlighting or recapping all of lasts year's "major" events (like finding those really cute shoes on sale the day after Thanksgiving)...but I won't because, one, I am too tired to think, and two, I can't remember the second reason.


This I do remember: it was a good year. So many memories were made and are apparently stored deep in the recesses of my ever aging mind...fortunately, I have discovered that most memories grow better with age...like cheese!

So for now, I will let last year's events simmer...like a thick, hearty marinara sauce...



...is anyone else hungry?