fresh air

how great is it when you can clear the air with someone?
i just love it when God keeps up His end of the deal by blessing those who speaking honestly & humbly to those around us (which, by the way, is always! we just don't always have the nerve to do it).
it's not appropriate for me to share the details of the conversation, but i will summarize. there is a relationship in my life that was strained because of some perceptions between us. there was nothing sinful involved, so confrontation was not needed. we simply weren't on the same page.
but, after much soul-searching on my part, i knew i needed to speak up. God blessed us with the appropriate time and place and method of communication for me to speak from my heart (which i hope is always honest and humble).
the best part is that, unbeknownst to me, God was preparing the soil. the message was received with its true intent and fresh air has entered our relationship.
it's not over. we've still got work to do. but, we are going to work on it, work through it, work together (the three of us: them, me and God).

Blessed Redeemer, why does it always surprise us when Your plans work for us? thank You for Your patience with us and thank You for choosing to redeem us. please continue to teach me sincerity, honesty and humility for they are clearly the best ways to show Your love--the love that builds those who know it and welcomes those who don't yet know it. Soli Deo Gloria!

15 biblical ways to find a wife

perhaps you've seen this already, but after blogging about my anniversary, i wanted to offer some advice to all my single male readers. be blessed by the Word of God.

• Find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she's yours. Deuterononmy (Deuteronomy 21:11-13)
• Find a prostitute and marry her. Hosea (Hosea 1:1-3)
• Find a man with seven daughters, and impress him by watering his flock. Moses (Exodus 2:16-21)
• Purchase a piece of property, and get a woman as part of the deal. Boaz (Ruth 4:5-10)
• Go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife. Benjaminites (Judges 21:19-25)
• Have God create a wife for you while you sleep. Note: this will cost you a rib. Adam (Genesis 2:19-24)
• Agree to work seven years in exchange for a woman's hand in marriage. Get tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then work another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That's right. Fourteen years of toil for a woman. Jacob (Genesis 29:15-30)
• Cut off 200 foreskins off of your future father-in-law's enemies and get his daughter for a wife. David (I Samuel 18:27)
• Even if no one is out there, just wander around a bit and you'll definitely find someone. (It's all relative of course.) Cain (Genesis 4:16-17)
• Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest. Xerxes (Esther 2:3-4)
• When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, "I have seen a ...woman; now get her for me." If your parents question your decision, simply say, "Get her for me. She's the one for me." Samson (Judges 14:1-3)
• Kill any husband and take HIS wife. (Prepare to lose four sons though). David (2 Samuel 11)
• Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It's not just a good idea, it's the law). Onan and Boaz (Deuteronomy or Leviticus, example in Ruth)
• Don't be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity. Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)
• A wife?...NOT!!! Paul (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)

15 biblical ways to find a wife

perhaps you've seen this list before, but in light of my entry "anno domini", i wanted to include these biblically sound methods for men to find a mate.

• You could find an attractive prisoner of war, bring her home, shave her head, trim her nails, and give her new clothes. Then she's yours. Deuteronomy 21:11-13


• Hosea found a prostitute and married her. Hosea 1:1-3


• Moses found a man with seven daughters and then impressed him by watering his flock. Exodus 2:16-21


• Boaz purchased a piece of property and got a woman as part of the deal. Ruth 4:5-10


• You could go to a party and hide. When the women come out to dance, grab one and carry her off to be your wife. Judges 21:19-25


• God might create a wife for you while you sleep (Note: this will cost you a rib). Genesis 2:19-24


• Jacob agreed to work seven years in exchange for a woman's hand in marriage. But, he got tricked into marrying the wrong woman. Then he worked another seven years for the woman you wanted to marry in the first place. That's right--fourteen years of toil for a woman. Genesis 29:15-30


• David cut off 200 foreskins off of his future father-in-law's enemies and got the daughter for a wife. I Samuel 18:27


• If you feel like no one is out there, just wander around for a while and you'll eventually find someone. it worked for cain, but it's all relative of course. Genesis 4:16-17


• Become the emperor of a huge nation and hold a beauty contest. -- Xerxes or Ahasuerus (Esther 2:3-4)


• When you see someone you like, go home and tell your parents, "I have seen a ...woman; now get her for me." If your parents question your decision, simply say, "Get her for me. She's the one for me." -- Samson (Judges 14:1-3)


• Kill any husband and take HIS wife. (Prepare to lose four sons though). -- David (2 Samuel 11)


• Wait for your brother to die. Take his widow. (It's not just a good idea, it's the law). -- Onan and Boaz (Deuteronomy or Leviticus, example in Ruth)


• Don't be so picky. Make up for quality with quantity. -- Solomon (1 Kings 11:1-3)


• A wife?...NOT!!! -- Paul (1 Corinthians 7:32-35)
  

anno domini

the year is defined as being the interval between two successive passages of the sun through the vernal equinox. of course, what is really occurring is that the earth is going around the sun but it is easier to understand what is happening by considering the apparent motion of the sun in the sky.
the vernal equinox is the instant when the sun is above the earth's equator while going from the south to the north. it is the time which astronomers take as the definition of the beginning of spring. the year as defined above is called the tropical year and it is the yera length that defines the repetition of the seasons. the length of the tropical year is 365.24219 days
are you still with me?
In 46bc julius caesar established the julian calendar which was used in the west until 1582. in the julian calendar each year contained 12 months and there were an average of 365.25 days in a year. this was achieved by having three years containing 365 days and one year containing 366 days.
The discrepancy between the actual length of the year, 365.24219 days, and the adopted length, 365.25 days, may not seem important. But, over hundreds of years the difference becomes obvious. The reason for this is that the seasons, which depend on the date in the tropical year, were getting progressively out of kilter with the calendar date. pope gregory xiii, in 1582, instituted the gregorian calendar, which has been used since then.
your eyes are glazing over. stick with me on this.
the change from the julian calendar to the gregorian calendar involved the change of the simple rule for leap-years to the more complex one in which century years should only be leap-years if they were divisible by 400. for example, 1700, 1800 and 1900 were not leap-years whereas 2000 was.
The net effect is to make the adopted average length of the year 365.2425 days. the difference between this and the true length (365.24219) will not have a serious effect for many thousands of years. the error amounts to about 3 days in 10, 000 years.
so what is the point of all this science and history?
happy anniversary to rhonda and me! married 2/29/00 and still in love!