Book Challenge

I have decided that I'm want to do a book challenge. You are welcome to join me, or just read about mine, or make up your own challenge! But here's my question: What should I read?? I looked at several book challenges online and couldn't find any that I liked so I made up my own outline. I am setting my goal at 50 books with no set time limit and now I need some input. My categories are:
-10 Fiction
-5 Non Fiction
-5 Kids/Juniors
-5 Teen
-5 Missionary/Non Fiction Spiritual
-5 Inspirational Fiction
-5 Sci-fi/ Fantasy
-5 Classics
-5 What-ever-happens-to catch-my-eye

I want all of the books I choose to be ones I have never read before and my goal is to blog a review about each of them. Have some suggestions? Tell me them! Want to join in? Please do!
Thanks!

3 Day Military Diet

I'm not usually one to get caught up in new "fad" diets but I decided to give this one a try. (I figured if I could have ice cream on a diet and still loose up to 10 lbs in three days it was worth a shot!) I did some reading up on it and there are mixed reviews which I will discuss but first: the diet

Day 1
Breakfast- 1/2 grapefruit, 1 Slice of toast with 2tbsp Peanut Butter, 1 cup coffee or tea
Lunch- 1/2 cup of Tuna, 1 slice Toast, coffee or tea
Dinner- 3oz of meat, 1 cup Green Beans, 1/2 banana, 1 small apple, and 1 cup vanilla ice cream

Day 2
Breakfast- 1 egg, 1 slice of toast, 1/2 banana
Lunch- 1 cup cottage cheese, 1 hard boiled egg, 5 Saltine crackers
Dinner- 2 hot dogs (no buns), 1 cup broccoli, 1/2 cup carrots, 1/2 banana, 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream

Day 3
Breakfast- 5 Saltines, 1 slice of cheddar cheese, 1 small apple
Lunch- 1 hard boiled egg, 1 slice of toast
Dinner- 1 cup tuna, 1/2 banana, 1 cup vanilla ice cream

Salt and pepper are ok, no other additions. No substitutions. Drink lots of water. You can alternate 3 days on 4 days off, 3 days on until you reach your goal weight.

That's what you're supposed to do. Sounds pretty good right? I can't follow it exactly for one reason: Dry tuna is NASTY. So I modified it. 1 tsp of mayo and 1 tsp of mustard and it was edible. Mom also brought home delicious cheese spread that we never buy so I also added 2 saltines with 1 tsp cheese spread to my lunch. I made up for that by doing an hour long workout class at the Kroc Center though..... I also slightly modify the toast with a tsp of butter. Who wants to eat dry toast? Or dry tuna?  Still, even with my modifications I lost 1 1/2 lbs already!

Anyway, some people claim this diet is not enough calories and that you are essentially starving yourself, which means the weight will come back once you get off the diet. Others said that it works great and is not dangerous or unhealthy and that as long as you don't go crazy afterwards and eat humongous portions, the weight should stay off. . I decided to would go ahead and try it. I am currently on day 2 and everything seems to be going great. I am drinking more water than I usually do but I didn't drink enough to begin with so that's not a bad thing! I haven't felt like I am starving myself at all. What's hard is watching my family eat cheesy garlic bread with spaghetti sauce while I sit in the corner telling myself that I LOVE hot dogs..... (I did end up snagging one bite off of the cheesy bread. SO worth it!) So, even with the little bit of cheating I did I still lost weight! Seems like a pretty good diet to me!

Rachel Rae

My Cup Runneth Over

My cup truly runneth over after this meeting and so I want to try to let some of it overflow onto paper, or rather, my blog. This week was the 30th anniversary for Heritage Baptist Church and in my opinion, was one of the best meetings ever. EVER. If I didn’t know better, I’d think these preachers all call each other up before these meetings and say “So, what are you preaching on? Ok, I’ll preach on that too!” It never ceases to amaze me how the sermons are all related. They all come from different men with a variety of preaching styles but is always a common thread that binds them all together. Let me show you what I mean….

Monday, 1st Preacher: Br. Russell Hoover- Following in Dad's Footsteps

Text- Deut. 17:14-20

Solomon represtents many 2nd generation Christians. He started out well but lacked the closeness to God that David his father had. The older he got the more he allowed things to turn his heart away from the Lord.

2nd Preacher: Br. Rocko Shanks- The Approach to Supplication

Text- Eph 6:6-7, Est. 4:8

Esther approaching the King is a picture of the Christian approaching the Lord.

When you approach the Lord, you need the right Target (God), the right Timing (Be patient when necessary), and the right Tone (IF it pleases you, not I, I, I)

3rd Preacher: Br.Wall-

Text- Phi.1:27

What is your behavior telling others about you and your God? Does your conduct reflect Christ? We should be standing fast, for Christ is coming soon, and we ought to be unified with other Christians. Strife and Vain-glory is what destroys that harmony.

4th Preacher- Br. Terrance Calvin

Text- Gen. 24

Eliezer as a picture of the Holy Ghost- He: 1)Performs the will of the Father, 2) Preached of the Father and the Son, 3)Presses you into a Choice, 4)Presents you with gifts, 5) Preserves Rebekah on her journey, 6)Leads her on the right Path, 7)Puts her together with the Son. The focus was on point 4- The Holy Spirit is SUPPOSED to convict you, but he can be rejected, point 7- With out the Holy Spirit you can not have fellowship with the Son. When the Spirit moves on you, don't hinder him, respond.

5th Preacher- Br. Tim Shanks-

Text- Ex.33:1-3

God's presence is everything. Why would you want to do "God's work" if He isnt in it? 1. The presence of the Lord requires a softening of your heart and neck (v3), 2. The presence of the Lord requires separation (v16), and 3. The presence of the Lord requires scripture (34:1) Dont replace a relationship with an empty routine.

6th Preacher- Br. Tom Bard-

Text- Ps68: 1-8

Trouble is what draws us close to God. We have this "I'll call you if I need you" mentality towards God and so it takes trouble for us to desire His presence. You cannot manufacture Gods presence in your life. However, we often restrict His presence. You must determine for yourself that you want God.

7th Preacher- Br. Bill Anchor

Text- Is. 52:13-15

Our problem is that we do not see sin as exceedingly sinful. Our sin hung Him on the cross and we act like its no big deal. Then, we ignore when He tries to draw close and remove the sin in our lives. He is A-Z (He had a really great A-Z list of titles for the Lord but I couldnt get them all written down).

8th Preacher- Br. Mike Fluech

Text- Luke 15:24-32

Are you the older brother? He was a grump on a stump, a kill joy. We are Christians and should have the joy of the Lord! What killed his joy?: v29- Complaining, v29 Coveteousness, v30-Criticism of others, and v31 Complacency

And that was just day one! I've never heard so much preaching on the presence of God before and it certainly hit the nail on the head. I have found that sometimes I do things for the Lord but I'm doing it without Him and then thinking myself "Well, I did fill-in-the-blank so I must be pleasing the Lord". I had forgotten that he wants friendship and closeness with me, not just my doing things to be a "good little Christian" as one of the preacher's said. I'm so thankful that God knows right where I am and what I needed to hear. And I'm thankful that He cares enough about me that He will work so hard to get my attention.

I love you Lord. <3

California 2011

We went to California last week. Or rather, a week and a half ago. Its always an adventure going on a long trip with 7 people in the car.... Thank the Lord for a variety of music and 3 sets of Adventures in Odyssey!

Anyways, while on the way, Greg likes to stop at historical landmarks and museum things. Here we are at a logging museum.
We always laugh at the way the game show gals pose around the winner's prize and so.....

There was a whole historic logging town that you could walk around. One thing it showed me is that people haven'e changed that much since then. What gave me that idea? The out house. "Why?" you ask? Because there were clear differences in the boys and girls out houses:The girls out house had two holes. You know how we always go to the bathroom in groups....

Ok,fast forward a few days, cuz I didn't take pictures every day.
We went to the Maritime Museum of San Diego, which basically means "The place to see cool, old boats". The best two were the Star of India and the HMS Suprise.
It was pretty cool seeing all these regular modern boats on the sea and then, suddenly you see these massive piratey (yes, piratey is a word) ships in the harbor.


This is the Star of India, but it was just too hugeto get the whole thing in the picture. It was 3 decks of historical awesomeness!! This ship has been around the world 21 times and is 148 years old! You can check out the museum's website if you're interested http://www.sdmaritime.org/

A worker named "Captain Al" hung out with use for a while. He saw our matching shirts (Our Heritage Baptist Shirts, I might add) and asked how we had "had compassion and made a difference" that day. He gave us our own personal tour and taught us how to furl and unfurl the sails. See, they had a mast and sail built inside the ship so that incase you fall off, you don't die. Here we are, furling away!

Come to find out, he was an actor in Master and Commander:Far Side of the World, as is the other ship, but I'll get to that in a minute... See the red arrow? That's him.

Here we are with Captain Al

Onward! Here is the HMS Surprise!
Not only was this seen in Master and Commander, but its also seen in Pirates of the Caribbean 4, as Cap. Barbossa's ship! Pretty sweet huh? I'll continue this tomorrow!

Epic Chores!

Do you have things to do that are monotonous, boring, or just plain distasteful? My method will make even the most mundane chore EPIC!
Step 1:
Find and download some epic music, like this-


(Note awesome Star Wars clips)

or this-



Step 2:
Listen to said music while doing your jobs. Suddenly, the fate of the world seems to rest on your shoulders!!! No longer is you job boring! You aren't washing dishes, you are Destroying the Dastardly Dish creatures! You aren't vacuuming the floor, you are Vanquishing the Villanous Dust Bunnies! Every task now seems so very EPIC!! Save the world by doing chores!!!


Order my Epic-Music Cd for $19.95, plus Shipping and Handling and you too can have Epic Chores!!
;)

Under Conviction...

We have been having really great meeting at church this week. Br. James Knox came up from Florida to preach it. On the way home, we somehow started talking about an incident from when I was little. I don't know how it came up, but it sure was funny and its definitly worth sharing.

When I was young, 5 or 6, we lived in a trailer in Florida. We had a long hallway (I suppose it wasn't really that long, but it sure seemed long to me at the time!) that, on several occasions, I would run up and down. I had been told multiple times not to run in that hall but on this particular day, I did it anyways. There was an air vent at one end of the hall and I somehow managed to trip on it and send myself sprawling. I skinned up my knee and started crying. When Mom came running to see what was wrong, I made the statement "God gave me a spankin' for running in the hall!"

As Mom recounted the tale, she looked back ay me, smiled and said "You sure were under conviction."

And I started laughing. Really hard. She looked back at me, not getting what was so funny. See, that was definitly not what I was thinking. What I was really thinking was "If I explain to Mom that God already gave me a spanking, then I don't need to get in trouble with her!!!"

Hats, Coats, and Cloaks

I felt like talking about my love of dramatic accessories today. Anyone who knows me knows I have a love of coats. Big dramatic coats. Especially leather coats. Coats and cloaks are kinda my thing. I own a black leather trench coat that is my absolute favorite. Cloaks too. They're so big and flowy.

My lesser known fashion obsession: hats. Its lesser known because I dont own very many. Sure, I have several beanies for winter but I'm talking cute hats. Like this one:










The Newsboy

And this one:

The Cadet

But my favorite hat is...... the FEDORA!!

And NOT just because Indiana Jones wears one, although his is pretty great. It is not just a guys hat either. They make cute girl ones too!

It seems no hero is complete without a hat, a coat, or both. Even Jesus had a great coat! It must have been a nice coat because the soldiers didn't want to rip it apart, they cast lots over it instead!!! I wonder if He had any hats.....