What's in a Name??

So as my profile states, I am a tutor for an On-line Education Company. For the past several weeks I have spent time calling, registering students, so of course I come across lots of new names. For security purposes, I won't list the full names here, but I just had to share the names that I have encountered.

I called the first house and asked to speak with the parents of Typreshion (I pronounced it Ty-pre-shon) only to be corrected and told that his name is Ty-pre-SHE-on!

OK, so I understand that this is America and we have the right to name our children whatever we want to name them, but to cop an attitude when I get it wrong! You have got to be kidding.

So I go on down the list only to discover that we women must really love our men. How do I know that?? With names like Stevondra, Anthonisha, Darshaneil, and Lloydricia it's hard to deny it ladies!!!

And just so you know, I am NOT making these names up.

So Ladies, as I stated before, it is certainly your prerogative to name your child whatever you choose, but please have a little patience with those who may just get it wrong the first time.

New Lamp

I ordered this new lamp from Target.com for my bedroom nightstand. I am making changes to my house room by room and I realized that I really do not care for the lamp on my nighstand. I went to Target the other day to get this one after seeing it on-line, but I did not see it in the store.

So at any rate, I ordered it tonight and am anxiously waiting it's arrival! I'll let you know how much I like it when I get to see it in person. :-)

Psalm Sunday #12

Psalm 12

1Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.
2They speak vanity every one with his neighbour: with flattering lips and with a double heart do they speak.
3The LORD shall cut off all flattering lips, and the tongue that speaketh proud things:
4Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
5For the oppression of the poor, for the sighing of the needy, now will I arise, saith the LORD; I will set him in safety from him that puffeth at him.
6The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.
7Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever.
8The wicked walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted.

What I love about David is that he knew where to turn for help. This Psalm begins by David asking the Lord for help. Help Lord because godly men and faitful men are hard to find. David then talks about those around him who speak vanity and with flattering lips and a double heart and then goes on to say what will happen to those that act that way.

This passage reminds me of those those who say whatever is on their mind without giving any thought as to how it may affect others. God says that the person who does that is foolish.

I think of times that I have said things without regard for feelings of the person who is being addressed or spoken of. Probably because of being attacked or the like, but does that justify being able to speak whatever I want. I would say not since God says that vengeance is His.

I love the end of this Psalm where is says, the words of the Lord are pure words...purified seven times. In order to have pure words, we must have a pure heart, for out of the abudance of the heart, the mouth speaks.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight oh Lord my Strength and my Redeemer.

Our Seeds Have Arrived

Our seeds finally arrived and we are very anxious to get them started. I will post pictures just as soon as we get started. We have had so many other things going on that we haven't really had time to get to them.

I ordered a copy of the All New Square Foot Gardening book and hope to have it soon.

My next project is to purchase some bulbs to plant in the front yard. I'm thinking of Tulips and Calla Lillies and Dahlias.

When we moved into this house, I planted Dahlias in the front yard. They bloomed to be one of the most beautiful flowers I have ever seen.

Then the rabbit came. You know, I used to think rabbits were cute until one ate my beautiful Dahlias!!

My daughter named him Peter because as I chased him in the back yard (well what did you expet me to do, he ate my dahlias, LOL) he couldn't find his way back under the fence.

My daughter said that she saw a rabbit the other day. I guess I better get my gun be careful.
:-)

Menu Plan Monday (Breakfast)

This week I decided to post my breakfast menu. Breakfast is normally our largest meal of the day. We have dinner for lunch and then at dinner time we have something light such as a sandwich, fruit, popcorn or some combination of the like.

Sunday-Breakfast Burritos (Scrambled Tofu, Potato, and Boca Sausage Links wrapped in a tortilla)

Monday-Pancakes and fruit

Tuesday-Leftovers

Wednesday-Waffles and fruit

Thursday-Leftovers

Friday-Vegan French Toast and Fruit

Saturday-Leftovers

Psalms Sunday #11

Psalm 11 (KJV)

1In the LORD put I my trust: how say ye to my soul, Flee as a bird to your mountain?
2For, lo, the wicked bend their bow, they make ready their arrow upon the string, that they may privily shoot at the upright in heart.
3If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?
4The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD's throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.
5The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.
6Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.
7For the righteous LORD loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright.

David had many enemies in his lifetime and seems at times to be consumed with the fact that wicked men are after him. In spite of his fears, he knew that God would protect them from those enemies (if He saw fit) and that in the end everything is in God's hands.

In verse 5, David seems to be offering comfort to his own soul by stating the fact that Lord trieth the righteous. Could you imagine what your life would be like spiritually if you never had any challenges to deal with? It is through these challenges that we are able to grow and build spiritual muscles.

For the righteous Lord loveth righteousness; his countenance doth behold the upright. I love this verse because it speaks to the character of God. He loves righteousness because He is righteous. Can two walk together except they be agreed? So in order to walk with God, who is righteous, we must take on His righteousness and become like Him.

My prayer is that we will behold His righteousness and become like Him.

Lingerie Hanger

I use this handy dandy little gadget to dry my lingerie instead of putting them in the dryer. It hangs in my laundry room and I can hang the lingerie as soon as it comes out of the washer.

It works for me! For more tips that work, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

No Seeds Yet

I placed my order for seeds and thought that I was well on my way until I received this e-mail:

On your recent order your credit card # was invalid.
Visa cards have 16 numbers, you typed in 15 numbers.
Please go to http://www2.blogger.com/www.heirloomseeds.com/main/index.html and re-submit your order. Thank you.

Well now, I cannot tell you how many times I have ordered things on-line. I even have a paypal account. I guess I hadn't had enough water that day to power my brain. :-)

The good news is, I placed the order again and the seeds should be here soon. In the meantime, I can go ahead and purchase the peat pellets and the covers that they go into.

It rained here most of the day and is supposed to be pretty wet most of this week, so we will stick to our inside preparations for now.

Nice Origami Website

I found this neat little website that has instructions for all types of origami. What I like about it is that the instructions are animated, so you can actually see what the fold looks like and how it is made. How cool is that?

You can check it out here at Origami Club. Be sure that you are visiting the English version as the original site is in Japanese. :-)

Bible Bowl Practice

In order to keep myself encouraged to read and study my Bible everyday, I joined the Bible Bowl Team at my church. Every year, BAYDA (Black Adventist Youth Directors Association) hosts a National Bible Bowl Competition.

Yesterday a few of the churches from my federation met for a practice tournament. I did OK on the books that I have already read, but I have yet to get to Lamentations and Micah (The books for this year are listed in the left column). I should have read Leviticus already, but I have procrastinated! Have you seen how long the chapters are in Leviticus?? I did manage to read chapter 12 since it look comparatively short. :-)

At any rate, I wanted to give you an idea of some of the questions that are asked at the National Competition which will be held somewhere in the Northeast this year. I'll post more details as I get them.

So get your Bibles ready...

Q: Who said it and to whom was it said: "Art thou in health, my brother"?

Baby Shower Games Update

The baby shower went very well and everyone was thrilled with the games. The games I used were:

1. Rice and pins-Place tiny safety pins in a bowl with a bag of rice. Player has one minute to find as many pins as possible while blindfolded.

2. Cotton Balls- Place a bag of cotton balls in a bowl. Player has one minute to scoop as many cotton balls as possible into another bowl while blindfolded. Cotton balls on the floor do not count! :-)

3. Baby Food- Players must guess the baby food by either smelling or tasting. I removed the labels and labeled each jar with a number. The players passed the food around and took a guess. I got food such as carrots, squash, sweet potatoes. They all look very similar. :-)

4. Clothes Pins- Each player receives a clothes pin when they arrive and is not allowed to say "baby" the whole time during the shower. A player who says baby, loses his/her pin to the player that catches them. Players without a pin are out of the game. The player with the most pins at the end of the game wins.

5. The Price is Right-In this game, I purchased several baby items and recorded the prices. The players must guess the price of the baby item. The player that guesses the most items correctly without going over is the winner. It helps to tell the players where the items were purchased.

6 Name the Baby - In this game I the names gave the names of several animals and the players had to guess what the animal is called when it is a baby. Anybody know what a swan or eel is called when it's a baby?? My 9 year old won this game!

I love to win a nice gift so for the game prizes I got a $10 gift certificate from Barnes and Noble, a body wash and sponge from Bath and Body works (They were having a wonderful sale!), a scent diffuser from Pier 1 a candle from Pier 1 and a set of 3 heart shape tea light holders from Family Christian Book Store
I spent about $35 for the gifts including the gift bags and tissue paper. Can you say bargin shopper!! :-)


Oh and by the way the items that I bought for game #5 were my gifts for the baby. I put them in one of those straw laundry baskets from Wal-Mart.

Special thanks to Rona for posting my need for games on her website and thanks to Captains Wife and Fiestymom for responding and helpin' a sista out. :-)

Psalms Sunday #10

Psalm 10 (King James Version)

1Why standest thou afar off, O LORD? why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
2The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor: let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
3For the wicked boasteth of his heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, whom the LORD abhorreth.
4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
5His ways are always grievous; thy judgments are far above out of his sight: as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
6He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved: for I shall never be in adversity.
7His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
8He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.
9He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den: he lieth in wait to catch the poor: he doth catch the poor, when he draweth him into his net.
10He croucheth, and humbleth himself, that the poor may fall by his strong ones.
11He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten: he hideth his face; he will never see it.
12Arise, O LORD; O God, lift up thine hand: forget not the humble.
13Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God? he hath said in his heart, Thou wilt not require it.
14Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite, to requite it with thy hand: the poor committeth himself unto thee; thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man: seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
16The LORD is King for ever and ever: the heathen are perished out of his land.
17LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed, that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

In this Psalm about the wicked, verse 4 stands out to me. The wicked through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God; God is not in all his thoughts.

I think of all the decisions that I have made without consulting God first, and while I would never want to consider that it is because of pride, I'm not sure that it could be anything else. It is so easy to apply for a job based on a degree or make a decision about a purchase based on how much money we have, but why is it that we don't stop to consider what God has to say about it?

This verse has made me think of how important it is to allow God to take control of all things in our life and that not doing so is to allow our pride to take over. And we all know what the word of God says about pride.

According to Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction and a haughty spirit before the fall. And isn't that what normally happens when we take matters into our own hands and choose not to consult God first?

So I am reminded of Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct thy paths.

Aren't you thankful that God is willing to direct your paths if you just trust Him?

For more views on this Psalm, visit Butterflykiss21

Psalms Sunday #9

This was supposed to be posted for last week, but I am a little behind. :-)

Psalm 9 (King James Version)

1I will praise thee, O LORD, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
5Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
7But the LORD shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
8And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9The LORD also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, LORD, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
13Have mercy upon me, O LORD; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
15The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16The LORD is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God. For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19Arise, O LORD; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20Put them in fear, O LORD: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.

As I was reading this Psalm, I kept getting stuck on the first verse. David says that he will praise the Lord with his WHOLE heart and that he will show forth the marvellous works. I couldn't help but ask myself "Do I praise God with my whole heart"? or do I only give the part that is easy to give.

When people look at me, do they know that I serve the Most High God? Can they tell by my conversation? Can they tell by the music I listen to? Can they tell by the clothes I wear? Or do they only know that I am a servant of the most High because I tell them so?

I had a conversation with a friend once who said that he was going to take a break from singing at church to work on another project. I said to him " Are you going to be singing for God"? He asnwered, "Of course, I always sing for God" I said "Ok let me ask you in a different way. Will the people that you are singing to know that you are singing for God"?

My prayer is that I will be able to praise God with my whole heart and that my actions (and thoughts) will show forth His marvellous works.

For more views on Psalm #9 visit Butterflykiss21

5 Year Old Point of View

On Sunday I was in the kitchen getting the things ready for the baby shower. On the counter were the things I bought for the baby.

Christopher: Mommy, who is that stuff for?
Me: It's for baby Fitzhugh
Christopher: (With a very blank look on his face) No Mommy, It doesn't fit me!

Mopping the Floor

I absolutely love to use the Swiffer to mop my kitchen floor. Use it to mop nightly and your kitchen floor will always be clean. It only takes a couple of minutes and is very easy to use. What I also love about it is you don't have to buy the wet or dry cloths that go with it. You can cut up an old towel and use it in place of the cloths.

It works for me!

For more great tips, visit Shannon at Rocks in My Dryer.

Sew Fun Fridays

Shereen is hosting Sew Fun Fridays and is looking for those who are "Sew Crafty" to share their creations. Other hobbies and crafts are welcome as well.



My current project is this quilt that I started making for my Grandmother almost 2 years ago. The quilting class at church has started again and so I'm going to finish it before her birthday this year! YAY!!

I have finished everything but the edges.

To share your current projects, or to see the projects of others, visit Shereen's page.

WalMart Encounter

One of the Ladies from my church is having a baby shower this weekend and I am in charge of the games. I went to Walmart today to get the supplies that I need. We were shopping as usual and I saw a Lady that looked strangely familiar. I knew that I knew her from somewhere, but I couldn't place where. She passed by me and said "Hey, I know you!". I responded by saying Hey, I know you too! We exchanged more conversation to find out that she teaches the Science class at the Co-op my daughter attends on Wednesday (for violin).

I see this Woman once a week and I didn't even know her name. So, I apologized for not knowing her name and introduced myself and the children.

Why do we pass people every week, every day sometimes, and not know their name???? Are we afraid that they will bite us if we ask? Maybe we think that they really don't want to be bothered. Maybe WE don't want to be bothered. I'm not really sure, but if I call myself a Christian, I just have a hard time believing that Christ would walk past the same person every week and not introduce Himself. So I am making a commitment to start with the people that I see every week and stop, ask them their name, and introduce myself.

On to the second part of the Walmart Encounter...


It's time to checkout and it seems like every person in front of me has $300 worth of groceries in their cart. So I keep going and keep going until finally I get behind a lady who only seems to have $150 worth of groceries in her cart.

I have to wait minute before I can start loading my items because the whole conveyor belt is full of groceries. While we waited patiently, my daughter struck up a conversation with the lady regarding the beautiful hyacinths in her basket. Turns out she bought them for a baby shower she is holding this weekend.

So I tell her that we too are going to a baby shower and that I am in charge of the games. Her eyes lit up instantly. She does not know much about baby showers and needed some ideas for games. So I told her all the games I had planned and showed her the supplies in my cart. She was ecstatic!

She went on to tell me how she had prayed to God to help her with the games. "I didn't know what I was going to do, so God sent you". "Isn't God good", I replied.

The cashier is listening the whole time and comments on how she loves it when she learns new things from her customers and how she had just had the most awful customer but it was OK now, because we had brightened her day.

Who knew? I went to Walmart to get some supplies and got so much more.

Now the sad part is, I have no idea what the lady's name is. I didn't even think to ask. You would think I would have learned that from the previous experience that just happened not even 20 minutes earlier! :-)

My First Birthday Gift Arrived Today!!

About 6:30 the doorbell rang. I wasn't expecting anyone so I wondered who it could be; it was the UPS Man. There was a large package for me. I had no idea who it was from. My Birthday is not until Sunday so I was not expecting any gifts...yet. ;-)

The outside of the box had the sender listed as Red Envelope. I still had no clue who it is from. I excitedly open the box to see this gorgeous red box inside. The picture here is after my lame attempt to tie the bow the way it was before I ripped it off like a child on Christmas morning.

The picture does not do it justice, but the box was breath taking. At this point, I didn't care what was inside. It could have been a tooth brush. LOL


Inside were these Bamboo frames from my girlfriend Leilani, who is on assignment halfway across the world in the Phillipines. She knows that I've been working on decorating the house.

Smooches to you! I love it!