Thankful Tuesday ~ A Pastor Who Preaches Mercy

Today I want to let the whole world know that I’m thankful for my pastor and his family.
(I apologize for the poor pic, but you know I don't like to do posts without pictures).

Tyler, Sis. Sullivan, Pastor Sullivan, Kadee, & Trent

My pastor, Ken Sullivan, is awesome! He is always preaching about showing mercy and forgiveness toward others. He preaches love, kindness, mercy, and empathy all of the time. And, he doesn’t just preach it, but he lives it. I’ve seen times where people have made big mistakes; and he’s given them mercy. He has also taught us that you can tell if someone who calls themselves a Christian has the work of the cross in the life or not by observing their actions. We are all human, and we all make mistakes. Erring and sinning is just a way of life – however, it’s our responses to our mistakes, failures, and sins that show whether or not we truly have the work of the cross in our life. God’s word is very clear that in order to be forgiven, we must forgive others. If the cross is working in your life, you will show mercy and forgiveness to others, even when it’s undeserved; especially when it’s undeserved. After all, that’s what Jesus Christ does to us every day. It’s mentioned many times in the Bible. Just this one quote alone “His mercy endureth forever.” is mentioned in 42 verses (King James Version).

Pastor Sullivan relaxes after my sister's wedding; November 15, 2008

This morning on my drive in to work, I was listening to Good Morning, Gina onThe Fish , and she was having a discussion regarding the Christian high school girls’ basketball coach who was fired after winning a game 100-0 and refusing to apologize as the school board wanted (story on Fox News here ). I chimed in with my two cents saying “It shouldn’t matter whether it’s a Christian school or not - I don’t think it was nice of him or that it taught good sportsmanship for him to chant “100, 100, 100” and not put in his second string until the last few minutes of the game. I think he should have put in his second string after half-time. However, the school is being hypocritical by not showing him mercy and firing him.” This is what I thought of instantly because my pastor preaches mercy.

There were many other good quotes I heard from other callers such as:

· God’s word tells us to follow through with something we start; so if we say that the losing team should have forfeited, we’re telling them it’s okay to quit if we aren’t winning or things aren’t going our way. We’re also sending a message to the winning girls that we should quit when we’re doing a good job; that we shouldn’t finish it through to the end.

· By firing the coach, they’re telling the other team that they aren’t responsible for their actions of not making any points.

· Another caller thought it was terrible and that he has no idea of what mercy and empathy means, but that he shouldn’t have been fired, he should have been suspended until he wrote an essay on mercy and empathy.

What do you think?

Pray for Keith Smith

Please pray for Keith Smith, tenor of freeWAY, who was involved in a car accident Monday night, and is facing further surgery tomorrow at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital. He is a long way from home (San Diego) and needs everyone's prayers. More info can be found on Jana Allard's blog.

The Stranger

This has been circulating around the internet for some time. It was not written by me, nor does it pertain to me; however, I think it has an interesting message and should be read by all.

The Stranger

A few years after I was born, my Dad met a stranger who was new to our small Texas town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around from then on.

As I grew up, I never questioned his place in my family. In my young mind, he had a special niche. My parents were complementary instructors: Mom taught me good from evil, and Dad taught me to obey. But the stranger...he was our storyteller. He would keep us spellbound for hours on end with adventures, mysteries and comedies. If I wanted to know anything about politics, history or science, he always knew the answers about the past, understood the present and even seemed able to predict the future! He took my family to the first major league ball game. He made me laugh, and he made me cry. The stranger never stopped talking, but Dad didn't seem to mind.

Sometimes, Mom would get up quietly while the rest of us were shushing each other to listen to what he had to say, and she would go to the kitchen for peace and quiet. (I wonder now if she ever prayed for the stranger to leave.) Dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions, but the stranger never felt obligated to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our home... Not from us, our friends or any visitors. Our longtime visitor, however, got away with four-letter words that burned my ears and made my dad squirm and my mother blush.

My Dad didn't permit the liberal use of alcohol. But the stranger encouraged us to try it on a regular basis. He made cigarettes look cool, cigars manly and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (much too freely!) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing. I now know that my early concepts about relationships were influenced strongly by the stranger. Time after time, he opposed the values of my parents, yet he was seldom rebuked... and NEVER asked to leave.

More than fifty years have passed since the stranger moved in with our family. He has blended right in and is not nearly as fascinating as he was at first. Still, if you could walk into my parents' den today, you would find him sitting over in his corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name?


We just call him 'TV.'

He has a wife now....We call her 'Computer.'

Welcome to Citrus Heights ~ Traffic Laws Strictly Enforced

21453. (a) A driver facing a steady circular red signal alone shall stop at a marked limit line, but if none, before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection, and shall remain stopped until an indication to proceed is shown, except as provided in subdivision(b). (b) Except when a sign is in place prohibiting a turn, a driver,after stopping as required by subdivision (a), facing a steady circular red signal, may turn right, or turn left from a one-way street onto a one-way street. A driver making that turn shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk and to any vehicle that has approached or is approaching so closely as to constitute an immediate hazard to the driver, and shall continue to yield the right-of-way to that vehicle until the driver can proceed with reasonable safety.

As I was running late to work this morning, I approached a busy intersection on the way to the freeway. My light was red, but the opposite traffic was turning left. I made a "very quick" stop and proceeded to turn right. A car followed me, and then a motorcycle officer. I noticed the officer's lights were on, and thought he was pulling over the other vehicle, but he was pulling me over.

He gave me a citation for CVC 21453(a) "red signal", failure to stop

I informed the officer that I thought I did stop, and his reply was "tapping your brakes is not coming to a complete stop."

So now, I'm trying to decide .. should I go to court and contest the citation; or do I just go into debt and pay the astronomical fine and pay for traffic school so that I avoid the "1 point" being added to my driving record?

I am praising God and thankful that it was just a citation; I wasn't in an accident; and money is nothing to God. God is good all the time, in the good times and bad, the happy and sad. I am praising God for this wake-up call to ALWAYS STOP COMPLETELY, DON'T JUST TAP YOUR BRAKES... and may this serve as a reminder to all you drivers out there... traffic laws are strictly enforced; especially in these bad economic times where cities and jurisdictions are hurting for money.

How to Knit ~ Continental Style

I first learned to knit almost 6 years ago when I was pregnant with Staci. My audit partner at the time, also named Rhonda, was knitting, and she got me interested. She was able to make scarves for Christmas presents using just one skein of Homespun yarn; and she made it look easy and relaxing. Since my commute to work was light rail at the time, I thought it would be perfect to learn how to knit, as this was something I could do and feel like I was accomplishing something on my ride home from work each day.

Off to Wal*Mart I went. I returned to work the following week with my size 11 needles and Lion Brand Homespun yarn. Rhonda showed me what to do, but then when I got home, I couldn't remember exactly what she did. I looked online and used Lion Brand Yarn's website (a great site with tutorials and free patterns), and used the pictures to teach me what to do. I fell in love with knitting, but as I watched Rhonda the next day, I realized that she knits differently than I do.

I then discovered that I knit "Continental" style. To me, it is so much faster and easier... and I am one that if there's a faster way to do it, count me in.

Rhonda has continued her knitting classes and is currently working on a sweater for her granddaughter's first birthday. She uses tiny needles that are the size of chopsticks, if not smaller.. ... I still prefer size 11 needles as my all-time favorite, but I adore the larger size needles as well.

I was browsing knitting patterns online and found this tutorial on Continental Knitting and wanted to share.

Have a great day!

I Am Pentecostal, and I'm Not Ashamed

The CLC Mass Choir will be conducting another live recording! Friday, January 27, 2009 at 7 pm. The sanctuary seats 6000 people, so all are invited to attend. I was at the last recording in 2006 when they recorded this video ... it was a great night - fabulous Christian music; like a free concert! Yeah us!!!

If God Is For Us

I was inspired by Mariah's post to google songs with the lyrics "If God is for us, who can be against us", and found this one:

If God Is For Us

Verse 1:
We may stumble on our own
But in strength we cannot fail.
We were weak but now we’re strong
And we are destined to prevail.
Cause when we stand to fight the fight
We will conquer by His might.

Chorus:
If God is for us, who can be against us
When God is on our side?
If God is for us, who can be against us
When God is on our side?

Verse 2:
No enemy can stand against the power of His sword.
We are safe within his hand and battle is the Lord’s.
Whenever we face sure defeat God assures us victory.

Repeat Chorus

Wordless Wednesday

Staci asleep at church under the pew chairs, with her legs through the arms of her jacket!

A Clutter of Patterns

When I became a blogger, a post on Pattern Rescue was one of my first topics. Jacki, one of the three members who make up Pattern Rescue, has created a blog entitled A Clutter of Patterns. They are currently hosting a logo contest, in which I've submitted the first three entries. I am not a graphic designer, and have not taken any classes in graphic design.... these images were created in Power Point and saved as jpg's. The one thing I don't like about this route compared to PhotoShop is that once the images are saved as jpg's, the text pixelates (not sure if that's a word or not, but I think you know what that means).

Thought I'd share with you my entries ... check them out here.