Wednesday, October 21, 2009

My Review of Thorlo Hiking Crew Socks

Originally submitted at REI

This hiking crew sock keeps feet dry and comfortable.


Thorlo are always a best choice!

By PnP from Sacramento, CA on 10/21/2009

 

5out of 5

Gift: No

Fit: Feels true to size

Pros: Good Design, Durable, Wicks Away Moisture, Comfortable

Best Uses: Hiking, Running, Daily Use, Backpacking

Describe Yourself: Casual Adventurer

Thorlo socks are always a best choice for any activity, and they cover all the bases for fit, etc. BTW, if your socks "get a funky smell", the problem is your feet, NOT the socks, especially Thorlo!

(legalese)

Relationships

Honesty and Trust are hallmarks for any healthy relationship. But we are imperfect people, so accountability and forgiveness are also needed. It takes self sacrifice and perseverance, but the blessings are worth it.

"Five Things I Wish I Had Known Before I Was Married":

#1: Marriage is not all about you. It's not about your happiness and self-fulfillment. It's not about getting your needs met. It's about going through life together and serving God together and serving each other. It's about establishing a family. It's about committing your lives to each other even though you may be very different in 10, 20, or 40 years from the people you are now.

#2: You are about to learn a painful lesson--you are both very selfish people. This may be difficult to comprehend during the happy and hazy days of courtship, but it's true, and it shocks many couples during their first years of marriage. It's important to know this revelation of selfishness is coming, because then you can make adjustments for it, and you will be a lot better off.

#3: The person you love the most is also the person who can hurt you the deepest. That's the risk and pain of marriage. And the beauty of marriage is working through your hurt and pain and resolving your conflicts and solving your problems.

#4: You can't make it work on your own. It's obvious that marriage is difficult--just look at how many couples today end in divorce. This is why it's so critical to center your lives and your marriage on the God who created marriage. To make your marriage last for a lifetime, you need to rely on God for the power and love and strength and wisdom and endurance you need.

#5: Never stop enjoying each other. Always remember that marriage is an incredible gift to be enjoyed. Ecclesiastes 9:9 says, "Enjoy life with the woman whom you love all the days of your fleeting life which He has given to you under the sun; for this is your reward in life and in your toil in which you have labored under the sun."

only by Grace & Love, Pat & Patti

Friday, October 16, 2009

All those emails of questionable value . . .

Okay, first a disclaimer or confession . . . I know I am among those who fill up in-boxes with sometimes annoying emails. I do hope, however, that at least some people find a measure of worth in my messages? I often get several emails a day from friends, which are nothing more than the latest "tabloid" cyber gossip. They belong in the same category with FaceBook and Twitter, although maybe not as mundane as some of those posts?! Likewise those "chain emails" of truly questionable "security" that are often used to "search" your hard drive or simply your mailing lists. I suppose for some these are entertaining, but I fail to find the true worth in the circulation of these shallow missives. Again, I hope my own frequent messages hold some treasure, if only for a few? I can usually be confident that if I quote God's Word, I can't go wrong.

So herewith, some great practical and holy advice for living:

Philippians 4:1-9

1Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
Exhortations
2I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. 3Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow,[a] help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.


Colossians 3:12-17

12Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


AMEN.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Encouragement . . .

The following is an excerpt from a recent letter I sent my daughter. I began to realize as I reread it myself that there are many people who need this same encouragement from our loving God. Life is full of struggles and times of stress, we need to "find" those places of peace whenever we can . . . and be thankful.

obG, pat


I have put together some of God’s promises that apply well to your life right now, I hope they will encourage you, as they have me over the years. Whenever you get anxious or stressed, remember that He is always very close . . . take a deep breath and breath out slowly, then let Him fill you back with His fresh air. And, remember all you have to be thankful for . . . you’ll see that in the long run “it’s all good.” So, here you go . . . be encouraged:

First from Isaiah 40, yes you know some of this –

Isaiah 40

Comfort for God's People

1 Comfort, comfort my people,
says your God.

11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young.

26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens:
Who created all these?
He who brings out the starry host one by one,
and calls them each by name.
Because of his great power and mighty strength,
not one of them is missing.

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

One of my favorites . . . thanksgiving is the antidote to worry and anxiety:

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. [Philippians 4:4-7]

And finally, in no special order, here are many of God’s promises if you will only quiet yourself and listen for His voice speaking His love to your own heart:

"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God[a]; trust also in me.” [Jesus]

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” [Jesus again]

when you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. [Proverbs 3:24]

I will lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O LORD,
make me dwell in safety.

I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.

2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.

3 He put a new song in my mouth,

Psalm 121

1 I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

2 My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

4 indeed, he who watches over you will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

6 the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7 The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

8 the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Psalm 139

1 O God, you have searched me
and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.

4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O God.

5 You surround me with your love—behind and before;
you have laid your hand upon me.

6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, [a] you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.

15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

17 How precious to [b] me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I awake,
I am still with you.

23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

"Don't be afraid, I've redeemed you.
I've called your name. You're mine.
When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,
trade the creation just for you.” [Isiah 43]



Yep, He loves you that much, and His plans are good (Jeremiah 29:11), to prosper you and give you a blessed future.