Monday, February 28, 2005

While I'm On the Subject of Ebay

One of the guys in OSF has listed his cast, yes a cast for his broken arm, on Ebay. It's got just over a day left on the block and bids are up over $25!!

It does have some incredible artwork on it, especially for the Sci-Fi fan.

See it HERE!


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 10:01 AM

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This Diamond Ring...

I'm selling this on ebay for a friend. She is trying to finance a trip to Australia, her homeland, this summer.

It's a beautiful diamond engagement ring, so if you are in the market...go bid HERE!


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 9:39 AM

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Saturday, February 26, 2005

Another Cult?

Katie received a reminder in the mail today about donating blood. Notice where the Bloodmobile is going to be! LOL



Posted by Susan L. Prince at 7:48 PM

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Friday, February 25, 2005

Living Strong, Dying...

It is good to live strong,

but it is better to die saved.

My DIESAVED bracelets arrived today, so I'm wearing one right now. I'm hoping it helps me with a couple of things:

- as a conversation piece and witnessing tool
- as a self-accountability tool

From DIESAVED:

Wearing the band is a constant reminder of the brevity and fragilenes of life. It is good to LIVESTRONG but more important that WHEN we die we DIESAVED. The band is a useful tool to help people address their own mortality, and to recognize that we all die and have a choice where we spend eternity.


I've had people come into my store and ask for the LIVESTRONG bracelets. I don't carry them...but go buy them somewhere! They help fund cancer research and fuel awareness, plus they carry a positive message, and there's nothing wrong with that.

I don't know if DIESAVED will catch on like the LIVESTRONG bracelets, but in the meantime I hope that I can get some mileage out of them. Knowing me, if the DIESAVED movement catches on, I probably won't like it anymore anyway! LOL

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 11:06 AM

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Tuesday, February 22, 2005

How Popular is Your Name?

I found this site and it's fun to type in the names of family members and see that in fact, the names they have are popular to the era in which they were born. That's not really newsworthy I guess, it's kind of like "duh", but it was still fun to poke around there.

Check it out HERE!

Discovered via I've Gone Undone while surfing Blog Explosion.


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 9:35 PM

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Monday, February 21, 2005

My Senior Year

Found at the Starloft, thanks Jennifer!

What year was it?
1983-84

What were your three favorite bands?
Duran Duran, Rush, The Pride of Highland Marching Band!

What was your favorite outfit?
Jeans and I had this old rawhide pullover shirt that I loved wearing...I think it was inherited from Grand-dad. Loved that leather smell. Then, one day, came the chocolate ice-cream stain. Bummer...wonder what ever happened to that shirt?

What was up with your hair?
It's still basically the same style now! LOL (I've never been one to spend too much time on my hair!) It was a bit lighter though...I used to spend a lot more time outside and in the sun and my hair was more blonde than it is now.

Who were your best friends?
Lynn Hale, Kim Ross, Suzanne Boleman, Jenny Sasala and Lori Eimer

What did you do after school?
Softball or band rehearsal, if there wasn't practice or rehearsal it was General Hospital!

Did you take the bus?
yes, althought I walked a quarter mile daily to catch it, and again to get back home.

Who did you have a crush on?
I can't recall that I did. I don't think I had a crush on anyone my senior year.

Did you fight with your parents?
no

Who did you have a CELEBRITY crush on?
Kevin Bacon...Footloose!

Did you smoke cigarettes?
never

Did you lug all of your books around in your backpack all day because you were too nervous to find your locker?
No, I never used my locker, instead I took over a "slot" in the band room. To this day I sometimes have dreams that I go back to school and just know there is stuff in my locker but I can't recall the combination to get it out!

Did you have a 'clique'?
no, not really.

Did you have "The Max" like Zach, Kelly, and Slater?
who? I have no idea what this is referring to.

Admit it, were you popular?
no, only in my exclusive circle of friends, namely band people.

Who did you want to be just like?
my mom

What did you want to be when you grew up?
Band director (and I was for awhile)

Where did you think you'd be at the age you are now?
I never really imagined myself in the future. I still don't.

That was fun!

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 7:31 PM

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Shedding Our Shed

The post below will share some of my experience from this morning.

Here is a picture of the end result of whatever happened. You can see where the shed was, and now where it is. The worst damage is the broken chain link fence, and the fact that the lawnmower had been tipped (since corrected) over and leaked gasoline onto the tent, and the carpet that was out there waiting to be cleaned.

It is strange to note that the neighbor's plastic chairs were still sitting in their comfy spot on their patio. It must have been some weird freak wind that came through in one instant, because there was nothing sustained going on at all except major ground to cloud lightning. Hearing the "crash" sure was scary though!

We, or rather Katie, has been working hard around the house trying to declutter. I think this was God's way of helping us declutter. Much of the stuff in the shed is now in the trash out at the road. The incident was quite "motivational"! LOL

Ah, and notice at the closest edge of the shed's platform, that Spiderman is dead.


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 6:40 PM

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Storms of Life

I woke up today to a very eerie green-orange sky. Through the shades it almost looked as if the sun was shining brightly at 6:30am. I got up and peaked through the shade and remarked "eerie".

I continued to get up to get ready for work. In the shower I heard the thunder and decided to cut my shower short.

When I got out of the shower, Katie yells from the other room that the wind suddenly picked up and a burst of hail hit. She and Tif got into the hallway (our tornado shelter) and when we looked out the window, our out shed was lifted off the platform and crashed into the fence surrounding our yard. Everything in the shed is now exposed to the elements.

The lawn mower was tipped on its side and leaked gasoline all over the tent. The fence needs repaired where it is now damaged.

Looks like I will be calling the insurance company this morning.


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 7:40 AM

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Wednesday, February 16, 2005

Ha! Just What I Thought!

Raise 'em like babies and they will grow up to be wimps!

Maybe this is why I have such trouble hiring people who want to work!?!

I am all for being encouraging and promoting self-esteem, but not necessarily when it isn't deserved.

Trophies for simply participating? C'mon...what does that say to the team that worked hard and deserves that first place trophy? Getting that raise just because you stuck around long enough? What about the people who diligently completed their assignments and excelled at their position? They are the ones who deserve the raise!

I'm wondering, is this where all that graduation ceremony stuff for pre-schoolers and kindergartner started? What's with that anyway? Let's celebrate a REAL accomplishment...earn that diploma, then have a graduation ceremony! Now that's something!

Life is hard. You have to work to achieve something. Awards and recognition have a place only for those who work hard and deserve them. If everyone is rewarded because they participated, the accomplishments begin to lose meaning.

Awards and recognition, regardless, are meaningless. I prefer to look to my reward in heaven.

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 8:00 AM

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Monday, February 14, 2005

Sin

Sin.

"Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." 1 Peter 5:8

I do what I don't want to do.

I don't do what I want to do.

"The wages of sin is death." Romans 6:23

Sin means I live eternally separate from God.

But, God doesn't want that. He created me to be eternally in His Presence. I no longer have to pay with my death, because Jesus Christ did. Jesus Christ died in my place, taking on my sin, and then conquered death by rising from the grave. He paid the wage for my sin and now the "gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23

Sin.

Why doesn't God take it away? I pray that he removes it and it remains.

So, in studying a bit of Hebrews 12 the other day I noticed this verse "let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..."

While God took away the wage of sin by sending Jesus to die in my place, I still have a responsibility to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles". I'm not supposed to sit and wait for God to take the sin away, I have to "throw it off"!

I can't sit idly by and wait for it to disappear...because that won't happen until I decide to get rid of it. God is ready and willing to take sin from me, but first I must choose to give it to Him.

It is a choice to give the sin to Him and then "fix my eyes on Jesus".

I pray that God makes me hate sin as He does.

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 10:11 AM

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Thursday, February 10, 2005

Website Update

I've been working on our Sisters in Christ website. My goal was to simplify and streamline. I think I accomplished that. I also updated and added some new things as life has changed since I originally uploaded three years ago.

I updated the picture page and also added a page that displays some of Katie's artwork. I started updating the music page and made it a Music and the Arts page to highlight some of the stuff Katie and I involve ourselves in.

Have a look around and let us know what you think, or point out any bugs you notice. It is still a work in progress and I haven't added all the linkage I plan to. But, it's a a start.


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 11:13 AM

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Sunday, February 06, 2005

Five Things You May Not Know...

I grabbed this from Jax.

Five Things You May Not Know About My Time in School:

  • In high school I played softball (DH and right field) and was a trumpet player in every ensemble I could find to participate in.
  • I really enjoyed art and took many classes including: stained/leaded glass, watercoloring, and acryllics. I once earned an honorable mention in a district-wide art show for a sketch of a baseball catcher I did in less than a minute.
  • I rode the bus to school everyday from kindergarten through my senior year in high school.
  • In college my marching band career was ended when I badly sprained my ankle running down the steps because I was late to rehearsal.
  • My college class ring (that I am still wearing) has incribed on it that I earned a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) when I actually earned a Bachelor of Music. I had a roommate who was a nurse and I would hear the term BM (bowel movement) a lot. I just didn't want that inscribed on my class ring! LOL



Five Things You May Not Know About the Jobs I Have (or Had):

  • I had my first job delivering the Akron Beacon Journal newspaper when I was in 5th grade. That was during the winter, the blizzard, of 1978. That was my first and last winter delivering newspapers!
  • My first "real" job was working in the office of Discount Drug Mart while in high school, thanks to my Ma!
  • The only time I was every "counselled" for poor job performance was as a coupon counter. I HATED counting coupons! Booooooooooooring!
  • I was a band director at Keystone Middle School, and assistant marching band director at the high school, from January of 1991 to June of 1995. One acheivement while there was the creation of the middle school jazz band, the Keystone Kool Kats! The kids loved it!
  • I currently manage a music retail store and have aspirations to own my own Christian music, movies and books store.



Five Things You May Not Know About My Online Life:

  • Since that first dial-up moment in 1998, I don't think I have been offline for more than three days at one time.
  • I enjoy gaming and once was a member of an online baseball league. (I made the playoffs two seasons in a row!) Today I am an active member of the Outlaws of Sherwood Forest gaming community where I play Battlefield 1942.
  • I have always used my real name online and never once have I been stalked or murdered.
  • I have always had a webpage online since my first went up in 1999, and I still maintain one, along with this blog that started in September of 2002.
  • Katie and I first met online when I answered her request to pray for her then husband and their marriage.



Five Things You May Not Know About Where I Live:

  • I live in the South. In Tennessee to be exact, and it has been culture shock to my system. I moved here from the Midwest (Iowa, Ohio) in January 2000, and five years later, I'm still suffering from shock!
  • I live in the "Bible belt".
  • I live in a house, the first house that I purchased all by myself. It is God's Gift to me and my framily.
  • I live 3.5 miles from church.
  • The town where I live is Humboldt, TN and is located nearest to Jackson, and between Memphis and Nashville. It is about an hour and 1/2 from Memphis.



Five Things You May Not Know About My Home Life:

  • I share a home with my best friend Katie and her two kids. I call myself the "Not-the-mom".
  • I sleep on a futon.
  • I don't watch tv, so I don't bother with cable. I stick to select movies or watching old television series like Little House on the Prairie or M*A*S*H on framily nights.
  • Framily Nights are special times that the framily [friends (me) + family (Katie and her kids)] spends together. This is a night of watching a movie together, sharing dinner out together, or going to the movies. We looooove Framily Nights!
  • I have a dog named Whyzer ("weezer") and he has been a faithful companion for thirteen years. The veterinarian can't believe he is thirteen!



Five Things You May Not Know That I Desperately Want:

  • a closer relationship that is always growing in Jesus Christ
  • better focus on God through prayer
  • to allow Christ to work through me
  • show the love of Christ to all people I come in contact with
  • to glorify God in all that I do...at home, at work, at play, at bat, EVERYWHERE and in EVERY WAY!



Five Things You May Not Know About What I Do in a Typical Day:

  • When I awaken I do these things...in this order: Put on my glasses, get up and walk to the kitchen and turn on the computer, let Whyzer and Cheri (Katie's dog) out, use the restroom (while the puter boots up), feed the dogs, let the dogs in, check email, read the news online, shower and get ready for work.
  • If I'm working days, I take the kids to school. I also pick up the kids we carpool with. I never thought I'd hear myself say "pick up the kids we carpool with"! I'm 38 and single and have been all my life...that's what makes saying that sound so weird to me! LOL
  • Wednesday is my usual day off. Katie and I celebrate "God day" and start it off with breakfast at Cathey's Restaurant in Trenton, TN where the best waitress in the world works. Her name is Faye.
  • I stand/walk at my job for 8-9 hours a day
  • I rarely go a day without laughing with my best friend Katie and/or her kids. The other day I lost it when Tif had the hiccups. They were those noisy painful kind and it was disrupting our M*A*S*H viewing so Katie said "Tif! Hold your breath!" Tif said "tried that, didn't work", so her mom suggested "well, then, at least keep your mouth closed" and Tif replied "I tried that too and then my ears started popping". LOLOLOL

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 11:00 PM

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Friday, February 04, 2005

Baby Got Book

Bob's Bible Blog pointed me to:

Baby Got Book

I laughed out loud! Heartily!

I love how the dude in the video falls in love with, and calls his girlfriend "hot" because of the size of her...ermmmmmm, size of her BIBLE!

My favorite scenes:

  • Trying to fit the big Book into the backpack
  • the couple praying in the grass
  • the ol' stretch to put his arm around her while studying the Word
  • "...so HOLY"
  • I just love the fact that the dude falls head over heels for her because she is a true committed Christian


While it's humorous, it is also endearing to me because of the Source of his love for her.

Check it out!

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 8:43 AM

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Wednesday, February 02, 2005

Tracts

I have a mission given me by my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

It is to "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." (Mark 16:15)

Now, there are many ways to "preach" and every Christian has his/her ideas about how to do it. I prefer to establish relationships with people, and eventually get to the point where I can share my faith. Sometimes this sharing happens in small, tiny moments of conversation and sometimes God blesses me with a huge window of opportunity during a long talk.

Some can confront people with the truth of the gospel in a matter of fact way on a street corner or doughnut shop.

Some leave tracts in strategic places or pass them out to strangers.

I think God uses each of these methods in wondrous way to prick the hearts of a seeking non-believer. I do wonder sometimes though, if some of our efforts are in vain?

I have a thing about tracts. I think there is a proper way to use them, and an improper way. To me, a tract should be used as a "springboard" to a conversation. It should not be left on the floor! Have you seen those tracts that are made to look like a $10 bill? A person reaches down thinking "jackpot!" and suddenly realizes they've been duped. How is that effective? It gets tossed aside, that's all.

I sometimes find tracts scattered throughout my store. I find them laying in browsers, placed on the counters, some even on the floor. Frankly, it makes me angry because to me, those tracts are litter! It's more trash that I have to go around and pick up! How is that effective? It's poor stewardship of the money spent by the church on the tract, and it's litter! It's disrespectful of a place of business!

Now, do I believe God can use that $10 fake bill, or the tracts littering my store on occasion to prick the heart of the non-believer? Yes, but is this what Jesus had in mind when he said "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation"? I think He meant what He said...he said "GO! PREACH!" Not, go leave tracts in hopes that someone will find it and get saved! I think dropping tracts all around is cowardly, and people use this way of "preaching the Good News" to ease their own conscience. Somehow it makes some people feel like they are following the command to go and preach, or to be a witness.

I do carry a couple of tracts in my purse. I keep them there mostly for me to use as reference when it's time to point someone to Christ. I have given one away to a person who came to me asking questions about my faith and used it as a conversation starter. There are times to leave tracts with people because they can spark questions and that can lead to conversation and open doors of opportunity to share the Gospel. Giving tracts to people can also help one "measure" where a person is in their spiritual journey. If they toss the tract aside, that person probably does not have an open heart at that time to receive the Good News. If that person reads it and shows an interest by asking questions, that may be a heart that is ready to hear.

When I first met Katie, she used to have "thank you for your service" tracts to leave with a tip for the server. It was set up like a card and included a thank you, the Roman Road illustration, and a place Katie could leave her name and phone number, in case the server wanted to ask questions or talk. It was a simple tract with a more personalized touch. We haven't been able to find a tract quite like it, but in my search recently I came upon Jesus Tips.

I like the idea of the Tract being the form of an envelope in which to place the tip money. On the outside flap there is room enough to put the server's name on it. I think that is a great idea to personalize the tip! It's also a good idea to leave a decent tip too, if you are wanting the server to pay any attention to the "tips" on the envelope!

The "tips" are interesting, for example:

#1 Asking Jesus into your heart is not the way to be saved.


or...

#5 Only those who hate their life every day are true Christians.


What do you think? You can see all of the "tips" HERE.

When I first read the tips, I was puzzled. Then I thought about it for a moment and considered the fact, that in the "Bible Belt" where I live, many people profess to be "Christians". I hear people, who I see to be people living in direct contrast to Biblical principles say things like "I asked Jesus into my heart when I was such and such age", or "I was saved when I went to camp one summer".

Each of the "tips" on this tract has a bible verse to complement it:

#1 Asking Jesus into your heart is not the way to be saved.

Luke 14:28 Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?


So, I see the point of the "tip", pointing out that there is cost involved in serving Christ. It is more than simply asking Jesus into your heart. It is asking, and also receiving and committing to abide in Him.

I can justify the "tips" on this tract, but they seem to me like their purpose is really to "debunk" popular myths people may have about Christians in general. I'm not sure they really stress the importance of understanding that:


  1. God LOVES you and offers a wonderful PLAN for your life.
  2. Man is SINFUL and SEPARATED from God. Therefore, he cannot know and experience God's love and plan for his life.
  3. Jesus Christ is God's ONLY provision for man's sin. Through Him you can know and experience God's love and plan for your life.
  4. We must individually RECEIVE Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord; then we can know and experience God's love and plan for our lives.


There is a list of seven tips, after which there is a statement to the reader "to discover Jesus Christ's terms of peace ask for the FREE book Even the Demons Believe" and directs them to http://www.jesustips.org . I can't comment on the book because I haven't read it, so I ordered a free copy. I just want to make sure it is sound doctrine before I "advertise" it.

Any thoughts on tracts in general? Do you use them? If so, how? If not, why not? Have you ever been influenced by what you read on a tract? I'm really curious to know your thoughts on these "Jesus Tips" tracts I've found, so leave a comment and share your opinion!

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 1:02 PM

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Intellectual Suicide

Hosea 4:12 "They consult a wooden idol and are answered by a stick of wood."



This is one of my favorite Bible verses because it cracks me up. I think God uses a bit of sarcasm to make a point and it cuts like a knife. I know it does me.

God is admonishing people for worshiping idols. Idolatry is a bad thing and in this chapter of Hosea one sees the results of worshiping things other than God. If one puts all of their heart and intellect into worshiping a tree, one basically commits intellectual suicide. Trees have no intellect. Trees can do nothing for you. They do not mend broken hearts. They can not guide you to right choices in life. They can not save you from eternal damnation. What does that say about the one who worships them?

It makes me think about money. I don't like to say I "worship" money because to look around my house and at my stuff, one could clearly see that I don't have a lot of it. Most of the furniture in this house is pre-owned and hand-me-down. A lot of it has seen better days. I've had the same clothes for many years (Katie keeps telling me to update). My problem with "worshiping" money is that I am constantly worrying about not having enough to pay the bills. The fact is, I have NEVER done without a need. Not once. I work hard and earn money to pay bills. Sometimes I wonder if I am not a slave to it. I give way too much credence to green dollar bills when I worry about it. It is intellectual suicide. Green dollar bills can do nothing for me. I might pay off a bill and that is good, it is being a good steward of my money, but it can not mend a broken heart. It can not guide one to make right choices in life (and many times it does the opposite!). It can not buy you into heaven. What does that say about one who worships money?

When one looks at a piece of wood and asks it for advice, for help, for guidance...what the heck is that piece of wood gonna say? or do?

When one counts on that money to solve every problem, what is that piece of cotton and linen going to do for you?

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Posted by Susan L. Prince at 8:28 AM

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Tuesday, February 01, 2005

It Finally Happened

It was bound to happen sooner or later, I ran out of disk space at Truepath.com and had to purchase more room, or upgrade my plan. The upgrade was more cost efficient, so I went with that.

Truepath has been a great host for my website and blog. I've been using their service for years and they have provided about 99% uptime, and great support when needed.

I thought about just moving some stuff to another host or something, but I just don't feel like going through the hassle.

This post is the first one to use the additional bytes of space!


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 6:19 PM

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Feed the Addiction

THIS will draw a crowd to your blog.

It's a ZOO out there!

Great, something else to get addicted to!


Posted by Susan L. Prince at 8:24 AM

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