Wordless: Verse 10

Random Thanks...for Sunday Seven 2

Thank you Lord for my family. They put up with my procrastination, disorganization, and quirkiness. It cannot be easy to live with me.

Thank you especially for my husband….my best friend. The one person who knows my secrets, my shame, my lows, as well as my highs….my perfect forgiving friend.

Thank you Lord for my home. Yes, it needs my loving touch. Things need to be put in their place. Dust needs to wiped from the counters, tables, and window ledges, but it is our home. Such as it is it is my sanctuary…my refuge from the world….a place of comfort and safety….of loving arms, acceptance, and understanding.

Thank you Lord for my vehicle. Lord, I know, I know. It was so junky and trashy my child finally gave up and cleaned it out for me. Why would I deserve that dream car of mine when I don’t take care of the one I have been provided? I will try to do better. Really….

Thank you Lord for my memories. They are very hard to deal with times. They haunt me, they make me cry and laugh, but they are mine and make me who I am.

Thank you Lord for the scenery that greets me each day. The beautiful sky, the green grass, the sounds of the birds and insects buzzing about…even the mosquitos, Lord. :)

Thank you Lord for your beautiful word. Everytime I read it I’m amazed at the new things I discover and the new connections that can be made.

Finally, Lord….thank you for the opportunity Sunday Seven has brought me so that I can take the time to give thanks.

Thursday 13: Verse 6 13 of the Fastest Growing Churches

One of the interesting things I found out over at Outreach Magazine is a list of the fastest growing churches in the U.S. for 2006. The data is based on membership gains for 2005. Go take a look. Is your church on the list?

Here are the top 13 fastest growing chuches according to the report:

1. Lakewood Church gain in ’05….12,000 members. The picture is from the inside of Lakewood Church. Wow!

2. Park Cities Presbyterian Church gain in ’05….5,018 members

3. New Birth Missionary Baptist gain in ’05…3,500 members

4. Salem Baptist Church, Chicago (website was not working) gain in ’05…3,366

5. Without Walls International Church gain in ’05…3,330

6. Asbury United Methodist gain in ’05…3,240

7. St. Luke Community UMC gain in ’05…3,037

8. Willow Creek Community Church gain in ’05…2,900

9. Grove City Church of the Nazerene gain in ’05…2,861

10. Community Bible Church gain in ’05…2,858

11. Lifechurch.TV gain in ’05…2,847

12.St. John Baptist Church gain in ’05…2,500

13.Jericho City of Praise gain in ’05…2,500

Elementaryhistoryteacher and I worked on our posts together tonight and used the same computer. If you tried to visit her you ended up here. If you are looking for her Constitutional Convention 13 visit her HERE

Wordless Wednesday: Verse 9

The explanation is in the first comment.
Find out more about Wordless Wednesday HERE

Sunday Seven...Being Thankful For My Southern Heritage

Here in the great state of Georgia it would seem that we are still trying to come to terms with our ugly past regarding slavery and our secession from the Union. Currently many African American groups are demanding that our General Assembly make a formal apology for slavery. It looks like a done deal and I have no problems with this at all. What I do take issue with is some of our Southern heritage groups have tried to retaliate by demanding their own month long observance for the history of their heritage. I could go on and on and on about this issue and how absurd it all is but I won’t. I would like to show in my seven though there is much more to southern heritage than some might imagine…..

1. I am thankful for my father who has researched our family back at least seven generations. There is something quite satisfying to know how you are connected to the early history of a place and to know that your children have that family history to hold on to and to pass on.

2. I am from a long line of English men and women who tilled the land. They arrived in South Carolina and at one point crossed the mountains into Georgia where they obtained land in the lottery. I know that they were made of much sterner stuff than I…..before the advent of superhighways and Wendy’s drive-thrus they trekked across mountains that I now vacation in and rent fancy cabins with fantastic views from my outdoor hot tub (not to mention the funnel cakes).

3. I’m thankful for my grandfather many times over named Isaac who fought in the American Revolution at the Battle of Cowpens and other places in the South. I’m also thankful for my ancestors who fought in the Civil War. Sadly I have no journals, letters, or other primary sources to let me know why they fought. Census reports from the years before the war do not indicate any slaves were owned so it can be concluded that they didn’t have a stake in the outcome of the war in that regard, however, they did fight for the south. Was it states rights? Was it hope that their fortunes would improve allowing them the same lifestyle of the minority wealthy planters? I’ll never know, but obviously they felt a certain way and made a stand and stuck to it. I guess all Americans must grapple with this problem since many of the architects of our liberty from English tyranny held slaves while stating all men are created equal. I guess you just have to put yourself in the context of the times.

4. I’m thankful for my Uncle Homer who could always be counted on to gather up young and old alike following our dinner-on-the-ground during our annual family reunions. He would shoo us all into the church for singing. He couldn’t sing a lick but it was such fun to see how enthusiastic he was standing up and leading all of us while we melted in the hardbacked pews since there was no air conditioning for the church back in the 70s. There were always plenty of the paper fans with funeral home advertisements on one side and pictures of Jesus on the other for us to revive one another with though.

5. I’m thankful that here in the south you can get away with more political “UN”correctness as far as talking about Jesus, the Bible, and other matters of chuch without offending anyone. I mean when you live in a small town and everyone goes to one of the three or four churches, well……it’s just not that big of a deal, you know. The biggest religious controversy is which denomination lets out first and takes up all the booths at the diner.

6. I’m thankful for the 89 acres that has been in my father’s family for three generations. The picture with this post was taken back in the 1960s on ‘the place”. The view is looking across the street from my grandfather's house to his mother's place. It was built in the late 1890s. Since my dad is now surrounded with countryclub communities I doubt it will stay that way for long, but my children enjoy walking over the same fields their grandparents, great-grandparents, their great-greats, and their great-great-greats planted, plowed, and harvested by hand…….no slaves, no workers----just them and a mule and a plow.

7. Finally, I’m thankful for the heritage of food in the South. Cornbread, Vidalia Onions, creamed corn, fried okra, green beans, cole slaw, fried apple pies, fried green tomatos….I could go on and on…..all types of wonderful foods my ancestors never went to the store to buy….they raised it all themselves on the land and prepared it themselves.

It would seem that as I come to the end of this Sunday Seven focusing on heritage you could say mine is tied up in land and God. These are two of things that brought Englishmen to America, so how could my heritage be anything else. God and land…..God and country……God and the United States of America!

Thanks for visiting. You can see my most recent posts HERE

In God We Trust

My husband received this in an email today. I guess he and I are the only ones in America that haven’t seen it. The text of the email said:

“In March, 2005, this song was performed at a Diamond Rio concert. They received an immediate standing ovation, and continued to do so every time they perform it! Sadly, major radio stations wouldn’t play it because it was considered politically incorrect. Consequently, the song was never released to the public. If this song speaks to your heart, share it with friends and loved ones. Then let us cease being the silent majority and join together as Americans.

Go to this link if you'd like to email it or place it on your blog, etc.

A Peachy Keen Carnival

Well it’s that time again…..time for the Georgia Carnival. My 13 for this week was included.

You can see all of the Georgia Carnival at Provocative Church.

It’s so peachy keen!

Thursday 13 Verse 5: Bible Facts

Without further ado here is 13 Bible facts:

1. There are 31, 173 verses in the KJV Bible.

2. The shortest verse is John 11:35….”Jesus wept.”

3. The longest verse is found in Esther 8:9. Here are all 90 words…..”Then were the king's scribes called at that time in the third month, that is, the month Sivan, on the three and twentieth day thereof; and it was written according to all that Mordecai commanded unto the Jews, and to the lieutenants, and the deputies and rulers of the provinces which are from India unto Ethiopia, an hundred twenty and seven provinces, unto every province according to the writing thereof, and unto every people after their language, and to the Jews according to their writing, and according to their language”

4. The “Wicked Bible” or “Adulterous Bible” was printed in 1632. The word ‘not’ was accidentally left out of the 7th commandment….It read “You shall commit adultery” from Exodus 20:14. Ooops!

5. The longest word in the Bible is found in Isaiah 8:1. Here is the verse with the word highlighted: “Moreover the Lord said unto me, Take thee a great roll, and write in it with a man's pen concerning Mahershalalhashbaz.”

6. Ezra 7:21 uses every letter of the alphabet except for “j”. Here is the text: “And I, even I Artaxerxes the king, do make a decree to all the treasurers which are beyond the river, that whatsoever Ezra the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven, shall require of you, it be done speedily,

7. Two chapters from the Bible are nearly identical…..II Kings chapter 19 and Isaiah chapter 37

8. Two books of the Bible don’t refer to God at all…Song of Solomon and Esther.

9. Money is not the root of all evil. According to the actual text (I Timothy 6:10) the LOVE of money is the root of all kinds of evil.

10. The Bible was written by approximately 40 different men over a 1600 year period, dating from 1500 B.C. to 100 years after Christ. These men wrote this Scripture as they were given inspiration by God (2 Timothy 3:16)

11. We have many translations of the Bible, but most Americans don’t realize Noah Webster of dictionary and Blue Back Speller fame also completed a translation.

12. The Geneva Bible, the first version where chapters and verses were used (1560) is also known as the “Breeches Bible” because Genesis 3:7 is translated to say, “They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves breeches.”

13. About 170,000 Bibles are distributed each day in the United States.

Wordless Wednesday: Verse 8

An explanation is in comments.

Archaeo-Porn: Playing Fast and Loose With the Facts

In a recent article at TVWeek.com James Hibbard asks, “Is Discovery burying “Lost Tomb”?

The article is very interesting considering I didn’t even get to see the March 4th airing of the much touted and much blogged about James Cameron. I even blogged about it…see the links at the end of this post.

I guess I was so concerned about it that it slipped my mind. Later when we realized we had not watched the show we tried to tune in later in the evening since they generally rerun their lineup after midnight. So, at bedtime we turned to the Discover Channel and we looked at the online tv guide. It indicated the show would be replayed. When we hit our tv remote button to identify the show it gave the title, but what we were watching was far from the James Cameron show. Hmmmmmm……..Now I know why.

Hibbard’s article states:

Last week, Discovery abruptly scheduled a panel debate to air after the documentary, moderated by Discovery newsman Ted Koppel. Discovery's announcement of the panel emphasized that Mr. Koppel "has no connection to the production of 'The Lost Tomb of Jesus'" and that "the panel will explore the filmmakers' profound assertions and challenge their assumptions and suggested conclusions." When the panel discussion aired, guests criticized the documentary as "archaeo-porn" that played fast and loose with the facts.The day after the March 4 airing, Discovery yanked a planned repeat of "Tomb" from its more hard-news-branded Discovery Times Channel.

Since I don’t get the Spanish version and don’t subscribe to HD Theater I guess I’ll just have to miss the latest Cameron epic.

Durn…..and I was really looking forward to some good “archaeo-porn” too.

Other posts by Elisheva on this issue:
James Cameron Makes Titantic Claim: Jesus DNA Exists
A Sane Voice Regarding the James Cameron Show

Wordless Wednesday: Verse 8

Looks kind of Biblical, huh? Check out the comments for an explanation.

Georgia Carnival-Edition Five

Welcome to Got Bible? and the fifth edition of the Georgia Carnival.

If you have a website and are interested in hosting an edition of The Georgia Carnival, please let elementaryhistoryteacher know via this email address: gamind@mail.com.

Thanks to everyone who helped spread the word about the last edition. As always links to the carnival are much appreciated.Next week’s edition will be hosted by Bill Reichart from Provocative Church. Writers are invited to send contributions to: breichart@bigcreekchurch.com or this handy submission form. Submissions should be received no later than 6 p.m. Thursday, March 15, 2007. Please include the title of your post and URL, if possible. Barring unforeseen circumstances, the carnival should be posted sometime Friday, March 16th.

If you know of another Georgia blogger send them elementaryhistoryteacher’s way so they can be added to the blogroll. If you would like th blogroll code for your blog send your request to gamind@mail.com, and now....on to the carnival....

Online Business

Amzi is an online business owner and student at Georgia State. He offers How to Save Gas Going to Work/College In Metropolitan Cities from his blog titled American Desi Notes

Religion

David Parker from Another History Blog not only teaches the history of American religion at Kennesaw state he has also been busy Defining "evangelical". Simply fascinating!

The Georgia Carnival’s next host, Bill Reichart from Provocative Church asks, “But why do we confess? God already knows our sin. We aren’t telling him anything He doesn’t already know.” Therefore….Confession Is Good For the Soul

Blogging From the Hospital

Marilynn is at the hospital…..and is Remaining Relevant in Changing Times. Hat Tip: Elementaryhistoryteacher

Long Ago and Far Away Memories

ET, who shares wonderful area history and personal memories at Chicken Fat ,recalls family memories of his great grandparents with William and Emaline Again. Anyone who thinks murder, bastardy, running from the law, and fighting for what one believes in is something new needs to read this very interesting post.

Seems Just Like Yesterday Memories

Ellie Bee over at What now? Gives us the real scoop regarding What was it like when you..... Intrigued? Head on over and find out what “what” was like.

Harriette from South of the Gnat Line gives us a whole new twist on the “What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas line” with her post What Happens in the Outhouse Stays in the Outhouse. Let’s just say the whole thing is simply “precious.”

Education

Grasping for the Wind's Otter shares a very interesting program for homeschoolers in his post Masterworks Tours 2008.

Alone On A Limb's Terrell shares his Latest Project with us. Click through and see some wonderful Georgia landscapes. Oh if only the Earth could speak words….

Elementaryhistoryteacher from History Is Elementary and Georgia On My Mind weaves all sorts of connections between Revolutionary War hero Nathanael Greene and our great state in her post Nathanael Greene: Adopted Southern Son. Make sure you click on through to part two.
So there you have it…edition five. The next edition will be found at Provocative Church on Friday, March 16, 2007. Submissions will be accepted through 6 p.m. eastern time on Thursday, March 15. Submissions can be emailed to breichart@bigcreekchurch.com or use the handy submission form here. The prior edition of the carnival can be found here.