Top 10 Things I Learned from B90days

Since I am done with reading the entire Bible I have been reflecting on what I learned over the last 90 days and here is my Top Ten List of Things I Learned from Reading the Bible in 90 days:

10- that the ark of the covenant contained not only the 10 commandments, but a jar of manna, and the staff of Aaron and there was a lot of work involved in moving the ark from place to place, for example: it had to be covered in blue fabric, only certain people could carry it, you couldn't look at it, etc

9- that temple worship/ sacrifices were really gross and I am so thankful for Jesus' sacrifice that fulfilled all sacrifices

8- that Bible characters were not some holier than though people, they were normal people with issues and weakness, even Solomon the wisest man and lover of God turned to other gods and God used them despite their weaknesses

7- many books make more sense having read other books, for example, Psalms makes a lot more sense after having read the history of King David and the prophets makes more sense after having read the history (Kings and Chronicles)

6- that the Israelites were easily distracted and very quickly turned their faith to other things, just like us and they aren't that much different then us now

5-  I knew that there were many prophesies about Jesus in the Old Testament, but actually discovering them through the reading instead of just getting them pointed out was eye opening- there are so many throughout the Old Testament

4- that even the famous characters doubted, for example, John the Baptist doubted if Jesus really was the messiah and Moses doubted that he could go against Pharaoh to free the Isrealites

3- that Jesus would bring salvation to the Gentiles and it is written in the Old Testament, I wrongly assumed it was an afterthought, I didn't realize salvation for the Gentiles was prophesied in the Old Testament, it was part of the spoken plan

2- that the Bible isn't just a rule book, but a story and can be just as interesting as any novel about people and the ups and down of their faith, I was sad when the Old Testament was over because I was drawn into the story of the Israelites and didn't want the story to end

1- that the Bible is alive and finishing reading the whole thing is not the end, but the beginning, I can't wait to read it again and I have a hunger for it to be "written on my heart"

what do I do now?

So last night I finished up Revelations which means I finished up reading the entire Bible, the entire thing.  I don't think it has really sunk in yet that I really read the entire thing, every book, every chapter, every verse.  I have been a follower of Jesus for many years and I have attempted unsuccessfully to read the entire Bible countless times and I finally accomplished this goal.  Finishing is bittersweet, I am in awe and excited over the accomplishment, but I am sad the experience is over.  I have had an amazing time reading and having twitter discussions with people from all over and I have learned so much.  I am sad that I am done reading about the Israelites and their story, my feelings are similar to finishing a good book or when I finished reading The Shack, I don't want it to be over and I just want to read more, to find out what happens next.  I don't want to say good-bye, though it really isn't good-bye since the Bible is one of those books that you discover something new every time you read it.  After reading the entire Bible, I have way more questions then answers which is awesome because I have a desire to learn and understand more which will hopefully keep me reading and interested.  One of the most surprising things that I learned about myself from this experience, I love the Old Testament, before this I loved New Testament, but now that I can see that the Old Testament is an incredible story about imperfect people doing amazing things through God who is so forgiving.  I also really liked discovering the references to Jesus that are hidden here and there throughout the Old Testament.  I am amazed how the Old Testament makes so much sense with an understanding of the New just like the New Testament makes so much more sense with an understanding of the Old.  I really understand the importance of reading ALL the Bible and not just verses here and there.  So here I sit during my usually Bible reading time and don't know what to do with myself, I am a bit overwhelmed, what do I do now?  I hope that I will continue to read daily and get into a good habit of spending time each day growing in faith.  As a reward for completing the challenge I promised myself a new Bible since the two I have are in really bad shape, but finding something new is a bit daunting, there are so many options.  I am really leaning towards a chronological study Bible so I read everything all over again, but in the order in which it happened. 
So 66 books down, 0 to go!

Easter Egg Hunt

So what do you do when you have 3 kids under 4 to entertain on a cold spring Saturday morning and it is almost Easter?  You take them to an Easter egg hunt/ petting zoo.  Fortunately, I had a little help, my mom came with us because I don't know if I could have managed everyone on my own. 

All 3 kids jumped into the stroller and we walked over to the church putting on the festivities.

The kids really liked the "Easter" bunny.  They kept trying to feed it grass. 

 Lance and his "girlfriend," smiling with the "Easter" bunny.

They also had some puppies which Lance loved and he was so good with them, he was very gentle.  The puppies were so cute, I wanted to take one home with me.

One puppy fell asleep in Lance's lap.  I would have taken it home with me, but then I thought about having to house train a puppy and reconsidered a puppy quickly.

 After years of trying, I finally got Lance to go on a pony ride.  I told him it was just like the carousel he liked at the zoo, just alive, although it doesn't make any sense, he relaxed a bit and enjoyed his three circles around the petting zoo.

 Lily was a bit scared at first, as you can see, but made it without crying or freaking out. I tried to get E to ride the horse, but she was too afraid, which makes sense if you think about how large these ponies are in comparison to themselves.

 The ducklings and chicks were also adorable and I wanted to take them home with me as well.

Me, ms. germ freak couldn't resist picking them up and holding them, which means they were pretty darn cute.  

After enjoying the animals, playing with sidewalk chalk, blowing bubbles, face painting and standing around for awhile it was time for the Easter egg hunt. 

Lily, after gathering two eggs was done, she sat down, opened them up and tried to eat what she had.  It is funny how she is content with a little and didn't care that there were hundreds of more eggs she could have gotten, she was content with her two.

E, like Lance knew that the object of the hunt was to find as many as you could, and she filled her basket up fast. 

Lance and E tag teamed the egg finding, and Lance was a great sport about letting E get some eggs too. I was so proud of him.

Lance showing off his findings. So despite the 40 something degree temperatures we had a nice morning outside and the kids are asleep worn out from their busy morning, Saturday morning fun was a success.

unexpected turn of events

So after a week and half of waiting and e-mailing the company to get a final answer I gave up on the job I had applied for back in February.  I was really disappointed as I had mentioned last week, but there was nothing that I could do so I got over it and wouldn't you know it, Tuesday when I checked my e-mail I had an e-mail from the company and they offered me the job.
I was so excited and totally blown away.  I figured after more than two weeks of no response it was a definite no, but I was wrong.  Though this job seems perfect, working at home, doing something within the education and science field, with pay that is worth my time I have no clue how it will really be.  I hope it won't be too boring and tedious and that I will enjoy using my brain again.  I am excited about being able to contribute financially to our family and helping us to reach our goals.  The store fire last June has put us at the bottom of the ocean and I hope that this will help us to get our head above water and maybe just maybe on dry land.  I want to be debt free and have money in savings, but it is pretty hard to do when there isn't always enough money in a month to pay the basic bills.  Hopefully it is only up from here because I am pretty tired of being down.  I am extremely thankful for this job opportunity and have hope that things really will get better.

going, going, going

With the exception of today it has been so nice outside- sunny and warm- heavenly.  I LOVE SPRING! 
We have literally spent every possible moment outside.  Life has been pretty darn good with the exception of Lily's bad sleeping habits, she has been getting up multiple times during the night- this shouldn't be happening for a 19 month old, right?  I think it may be because she isn't eating enough during the day, she gets so darn distracted and is so buy she doesn't like to stop and eat.  Anyways, life has been busy and going by so fast and somehow I got behind in my Bible in 90 days reading which kind of freaked me out because I only have a week left.  I am floored, in one week, hopefully I will have read the whole Bible, WOW!  Well thanks to rainy and chilly days I am caught up in my readings, YEAH!!!  I never realized how much Old Testament stuff is in the New Testament until now, knowing OT really helps make sense of NT.  So the gospels were easy reads, Acts was long, Romans was tough, never thought I would get through Romans, Corinthians were familiar and just had a taste of Galatians.  There is so much in these New Testament letters and so much stuff I want to know more about, I want to know more background information because I think it will then make even more sense.  It feels good to be finally caught up, I have been at least a day behind for two weeks now and I am excited to see the finish line!  So let's see 47 books down, 16 more to go

disappointment

A month ago I responded to a job posting.  It was a work from job home with good pay and related to my degree and previous experience as a teacher.  The pay was pretty decent too.  I got a response right away with an evaluation assignment which I completed.  A few days later I was contacted to give two e-mail addresses of my references.  They contacted two references then I was contacted about setting up a phone interview.  The phone interview was postponed due to a large project the manager was working on and then postponed again when the same manager was ill.  I finally had the phone interview a week ago Monday and I thought it went fine.  The interviewer told me that she would I guess contact whoever she is suppose to and then I should hear something within a week or week and half.  Well today is a week and half and still nothing.  Bummer.
No news is never good news for me and I am disappointed.  I was really hoping this would work out.   I really want to help out our family financially so the burden would not all be on the shore, I wanted to pay down our debt, have money in savings, have a little extra to fix up the house and complete the projects that have been on hold for years.  This job seemed to be perfect, work from home with hours that I set doing something that I know and enjoy, uh, I am just so bummed.  In January, I thought I that keeping one of Lance's school friends would be perfect, though their were a few drawbacks, but it didn't work out and then this possibility came along and this is even better, so I hope that if this doesn't work out that means there is something better, but I can't imagine something better.  Sometimes I really want a billboard that clearly explains what is the right choice to make because the road signs are all so confusing. 

MIA

it has been warm and sunny and we have spent literally every waking moment outside, it is so nice
I am so thankful for spring especially after all the snow we had this winter.

a big old game of catch up

I got really behind in my reading of the Bible in 90 days.  I got behind because I got a good way through Ezekiel and I was totally lost so I started over from the beginning.  I am finally caught up- actually I am ahead because I just finished the whole Old Testament.  I am attempted to say Holy Cow, but that is a bad OT kind of joke, so instead WOW!  I have read the entire Old Testament!!!  Today's reading stopped before the end of the Old Testament, but I was so close I had to just finish it, I like natural stopping points. Reading the whole Bible, especially the whole Old Testament is something I have always wanted to do, never thought I would and never ever thought I would read it in less than 3 months.  Yeah God!  Many of the prophets were really hard for me.  I guess because I knew the outcome, Israel was going into captivity and Jerusalem and the temple were going to be destroyed.   Of all the prophets, I did enjoy Haggi, Zechariah, and Malachi the best (I also enjoy Isaiah, but he was last week), oh yeah, and Daniel was good to.  After making it through the prophets I really want to read the Old Testament in chronological order, I think it would make a lot more sense to me since I got confused going back and forth in time with the prophets.  One thing that really stuck out to me was how many references there was to Jesus.  I had always heard/read that there are many references in the prophets, but actually seeing them in context was pretty cool.  I was also surprised at how small verses I was familiar with were found in the prophets I had never really read or really knew the names too such as "he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" Zephaniah 3:17
Since I was behind I was reading a little faster than I would have liked to, but I did make sure that I had some clue as to what it all meant.  So far this past week's reading has been the hardest for me, well actually it was Jeremiah and Ezekiel that was difficult, but I made it through, somehow.  I can't believe that I have been able to stick it out and I am so looking forward to the New Testament and hope that it will make a lot more sense now that I have read the WHOLE OLD TESTAMENT!  I still can't believe I read the entire Old Testament.
This whole experience has been such a journey and in a couple of weeks I am going to be sad when it is all over with.  What am I going to do with my time?
39 books of the Bible read, WOW!

Top Ten Songs that Have Gotten Us Through Winter

Not being able to play outside because of snow on the ground has been brutal.  We are not fans of the short days and long nights.  In a little house with two kids and limited outside time we have needed to find ways of getting some energy out.  So we dance.  Here's a our list of Top Ten Songs that have gotten us through winter and helps on rainy days too.   I should admit, some of these songs I don't know the lyrics to so if they are talking about something unappriopriate for children then it went over my head so I figure it isn't bad since if I don't get it. Most of the songs we first heard from the soundtrack of snowboard videos which generally are more unique then the standard play-lists on the radio. 

Counting down from 10 to 1, with 1 our favorite:

10- Shadow of Def by Brave Saint Saturn
this one is old, but funny and makes me laugh, and the kids enjoy dancing to it too

9- Thunder by Nuttin' but Stringz
this we heard this for the first time on Noggin, I like the blend of hip-hop with strings

8- Fly Away by Grits featuring Mac Powell
i love Grits

7- Float On by Modest Mouse
a snowboard movie find

6- Deliverance by Bubba Sparxx
reading the lyrics I realize it isn't that great and there is a bad word, but I never knew it, but this one is bad, yet good, i think another snowboard movie find

5- Kids by MGMT
this is from a snowboard short found on You Tube, "magic flashlights," even if you don't care for snowboarding, this is a cool video and I have no clue what the lyrics may say, but it is a cool sounding song

4- Zero by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs
this is the song that Lance LOVES we recorded him dancing to it and he sings a long with some of the lines

3-  Wake Up by Arcade Fire
from Where the Wild Things Are

2-  Daylight by Matt & Kim
I don't know how Jeff found this song, but I love, it is just fun, have no clue what the lyrics may say, but they play it as background music after church so it can't be bad?

and our all-time favorite

1-  One Day by Matisyahu
have you heard this song?  it is awesome!  the lyrics give me goosebumps but it is fun to dance to


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