I love cruisin, yes I do! I love cruisin, how bout you???

Hello world!  I'm finally back and semi caught up from my amazing, fantastic, incredible vacation.  I realized that it had been 19 months since my last vacation...I guess that could explain my extremely wacked out self just prior to leaving for our cruise.  Let me just say, anyone who is comtemplating giving a cruise a try, please keep this info in mind...

YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!

For my first cruise, I chose very carefully and did a tremendous amount of research on each cruise line to determine which one I would enjoy the most.  I must say that my choice of cruising with Celebrity was a fantastic decision!  I could not be happier with my cruise experience with Celebrity and I think everyone should sail with them at least once!

While on our cruise, we received word that another Carnival cruise ship had engine issues and the cruise line decided to fly all of the passengers home from St. Maarteen...this made me oh-so-thankful I did not allow the inexpensive ticket prices of Carnival to sway my decision to choose Celebrity.

I'll do another post a little later on the rules my sister and I made for first-time cruisers...information I did not find on any blog or forum during all my weeks of pre-cruise research...it's good stuff!

Until then, please enjoy my sweet little cruisin video :)

  

3 days and counting

Today, I feel like a high school senior with 1 week left to graduation...which is equally exciting and frustrating at the same time.  See, I'm going on my first week long true vacation in more years than I can count.  In fact, I'm going on my first cruise ever and am supremely excited about it!!!

I've decided that 2013 is my year!  Since declarations are best christened with action, my first action was to do something I've wanted to do for years and just never had...take a cruise!  To say that I'm excited is a dramatic understatement; to say I'm really done with work and cannot wait until 6pm tomorrow evening is the biggest truth you've heard today.

On a final note, let me just say that choosing cruise parking (having never been on a cruise before) is much more intense than booking the actual cruise.  After tons of research and reading a thousand forums and reviews, I honestly had no idea what to do...and then...Facebook saved the day!

I found a parking lot that had several great reviews that were very recent...but one of the reviews (from the end of February) was from a guy named Matt Keller.  Now, I have never met Matt, but when I clicked on his Facebook profile one thing stood out to me...he just happens to be a Pastor!  I swiftly took that as an answer to prayer and booked the parking lot.  If my parking experience ends up like Matt's, I will be sure to tell him thank you for his unsolicited good counsel :)  Night all!

The Bible pt. 1

Let me just begin by saying how much I enjoyed watching part 1 of The Bible mini-series.  Watching the miracles of God being depicted on the History channel was both surreal and amazing.

While checking facebook I couldn't help but notice all of the criticizing going on from Christian people...this is disheartening to say the least.  Of course, this is only my opinion...but then again, it is my blog so I'm definitely entitled to my opinion in my space.

Here are just a few of the facebook posts I've seen this evening:

*Some things bothering me about The TV series The Bible : the Hebrew land of Goshen was NOT affected by the 3rd plague and on... They made it seem like it was dark in Goshen as well. Also, there was a cloud that God placed between the Egyptians And the Israelites so that the Israelites could cross the Red Sea... They were held back until until the right time.

*There were many inaccuracies. Sarah never ran after Abraham when he was going to sacrifice their son. And that was no ram!! Oy, my boys were really disappointed.

*Wow... A little disappointing!!

*It’s been brought to my attention, by a reliable source who conducted thorough research, that there are a number of unbiblical and very questionable things in “The Bible” television series–about the deity of Christ, the character of God, and the reality of sin (among other things). In light of this recent revelation, I cannot endorse this series. If you choose to watch it, I would urge you to do so with a discerning heart, testing all things.

While I can understand that as Christians we want any retelling of God's story to be accurate as possible, I feel many have missed the big picture while focusing on such small minor details.  Does it really matter that the land of Goshen "seemed" to be affected by the angel of death?  Does it really matter that the movie depicted a lamb instead of a ram?  Do either of these things diminish the miracles that God did or the strength He showed on behalf of the people He loved?  I think not.  I've spent some time thinking about what Jesus would think if he was watching; I cannot for one moment think that He would get wrapped up in the details of a film depicting His story when the bigger picture is that thousands and maybe millions of people have now had the opportunity to watch on screen the amazing works of His Father. 

Let's look at some facts:
The average screenplay created from a book is 1.5 - 2 hours long; most books that are turned into screenplays have around 16-20 chapters...in fact, the Lord of the Rings series has 30 total chapters and the sum of screenplays equal 9.2 hours of total viewing time. In stark contrast, the Bible has 66 books & 1189 chapters and the entire story is being scrunched into 10 hours minus an average of 35 minutes of commercials per episode = approx. 7 hours of total viewing time.  I don't think most people understand how much longer this production would have to be in order to add many of the factual details they have complained about; for the time constraints & budget, I am amazed.

If we used the number of hours in the Lord of the Rings movies compared to the books as a guide, the Bible series would have to be over 20 hours of solid viewing time (if we made each of the 66 books a chapter) - making it almost 3 times as long as it currently is in order to supply a similar amount of detail.  The fact that for 7 hours over a 5 week span may possibly open the truth of God's Word to those who have never heard it before is truly amazing.  After all, I feel that most screenplays created from books were made to interest the watcher to actually read the book...I know, a shocking thought!

Imagine what would happen if thousands of people were inspired to actually read the Bible after watching this series to find out for themselves the detail of what actually took place all those years ago...this could inspire a revolution for Christ that the world has never known! 

I wish Christians could gain a new perspective and not be so focused on being factually accurate.  There is definitely a time and place for complete detailed Biblical accuracy; however, in my opinion, a 7 hour mini-series on national television is not it. 

God can use anything to show how much He loves us & call us to Himself...He has used a flood, a talking donkey, countless foolish things, rubbing mud on a man's eyes...and maybe even a 5-part mini-series called The Bible on the History channel that may contain a few historical inacurracies.  Instead of looking for inaccuracies, I choose to pray for this series - that people's hearts and minds would be open to the truth of God's Word and His love for them by watching it.  I also pray for Christians to remember that this mini-series is probably more for those who do not know Christ than for those who already do.

PS - I have totally been inspired to go back & read the stories shown on tonight's episode before next Sunday...hope I can read it all!

And so it ends.

If you read my last post, I was on a water fast...and boy, do I have stuff to tell!

My last blog left off on day 4 feeling nothing short of not-so-hot; however, I felt that if I just pressed on (like all the blogs and forums said) that those feelings would subside & I'd hit my fasting stride.

Day 5 was very similar to Day 4 only the headache was not as severe and since it was Friday, I left work at 3pm and could spend the rest of the day in my pajamas...never a bad thing :)

Day 6, however, was a world of difference!  For the first time in 5 days, I had absolutely NO HEADACHE!  Praise Jesus!!!  While I was supremely thankful for that, I noticed quickly upon waking that I seemed to have virtually no strength...to the point of having to stop 1/2 way through my shower just to catch my breath.  This was a new development and one that forced me to pace myself and move much more slowly. 

Day 7 gave way to even more weakness, but also included major stomach acid issues (or so I thought).  From everything I had read, the digestive system (including stomach acid and bile) vitually comes to a halt during a water fast once the body realizes it's not getting anything to digest.  However, there are some people whose bodies never get to this point...in fact, their bile keeps producing...and you guessed it, I'm one of those lucky ones!  Day 7 just happened to be the Super Bowl - if you're a football fan, the last thing you want to be is weak and tired when the Super Bowl is on.  The bile got so bad that it actually felt like it was burning a hole in my esophagus...even drinking a small sip of water was excruciatingly painful.  After some sobbing & conversation with God, I decided it was time to break the fast.

All of my research said I should break my fast with fresh juice & my friend had a juicer, so off to her house I went (of course, while the Super Bowl was enjoying the now-famous black-out).  She juiced, I drank...it's wonderful to have good friends to help take care of you :)

By the next morning, I was in even more pain than the day before & had no idea what to do to help the situation, so as before I consulted with the Lord and He told me one word...potato.  I researched to see if anyone had ever broken a fast with potatoes before & after 2 hours of searching, I finally found something helpful.  I found a blog from a man who had used potatoes to break his fast, but the reason why definitely caught my attention:  he said that the enzymes in freshly squeeze juice are terribly high & for some people, it's extremely hard on their digestive system after fasting.  AHA!  That was the reason the juice made me worse...but the potato made me better!  I'm so thankful that God is infinitely smarter than I am & if I listen to Him, He'll always lead me in the right direction.

After that, I decided to stop researching & stop reading blogs and forums & just pray to ask for His wisdom.  He created my body so He knows it (and what it needs) better than anyone else!  It took me 7 full days to regain all of my strength & eat a regular meal, but He sustained me through it all.  Now for the good stuff:  even though I endured several difficult things, God used this fast to bring about healing in my body and I'm sooo thankful He did!

1. chronic headaches = GONE
2. chronic sinus pressure = GONE
3. over 20 years of lower back pain on my right side = GONE
4. autoimmune hive issue of 3.5 years = GONE

PRAISE HIS HOLY NAME!!!  I knew this fast was for a reason, but I could not have fathomed that all of those things would be completely erradicated from my body.  I'm often reminded of the story of Jesus' first miracle; most people remember the fact that He turned water into wine.  But the thing that always stands out to me is what Mary says to the disciples "Whatever He says to you, do it."  I strive to apply this directive in my life daily; no matter if I understand it or not, whatever He says to me, I should do it!  This fast was a true example of Mary's exhortation...I had absolutely no idea why I was doing it, but He said to and I followed...and now, my body is FREE from issues that could have kept me from His Kingdom business...I'M FREE!  Glory to His name!

Just remember, whatever He says to you, DO IT!  If you follow this simply formula, He'll never lead you astray!