I love podcasts

How I spend time...
listening.
taking notes.
telling others about the great things I've listened and taken notes on.
repeat.

Current favorite podcasts...

• The Phil Vischer Podcast   (Christian discussion of current events and topics)
• I'll even admit to a "spiritual crush" on Skye.  
• Unbelievable  (90 min debate between various Christians and non-Christians)
• Vox (Mike Erre, Christian, various topics)
• Freakonomics  (Various topics from the view point of Economists - seriously interesting)

Podcasts/teachings you really should listen to:

Faith & Doubt 
VOX - Mike Erre
     Mike talks about what faith ISN'T and then moves on to what it is.

Necessity of Doubt, Faith & Doubt part 2
VOX - Mike Erre

     Part 2, Mike gets into more of what faith IS and more about doubt.

My life group is joining our church and reading through the Bible in a year.  We decided to make it a bible study and just talk about what we are learning each week.

No lie, Old Testament (OT) can be hard.  I had to admit that I didn't recognize God in some of the OT.  that opened the discussion up to someone else sharing the same issue and we were able to talk about it.  We ended with the idea that while we don't claim to understand all that we're reading, we do know who our God is and because of that we'll choose to trust Him in our lack of understanding.

That night was Tuesday which means New Phil Vischer Poscast download!  They discussed some of the exact questions we had and gave a different perspective on it.  Wonderful!  Such a lovely answer to our prayer just that evening.

Interpreting the OT and NRB

Phil Vischer Podcast - Phil Visher, Skye Jethani, Dr. John Walton

I'd love to hear your thoughts if you choose to listen to any of these.

aspartame

It started about 6 years ago when I had to stop using Equal cold turkey due to some pretty serious side effects.  I was a heavy Equal user.  I thought it was the best thing ever created!  I have a major sweet tooth and it demanded to be fed.  I put lots of Equal in everything I drank and ate.  Why not... no calories. :)
I'm not one of those rabid anti-aspartame people because I don't like them... and I didn't listen to them.  After all, I was perfectly fine and I used more Equal than the average person.  If any of these scary side effects would occur, I was the #1 potential person to display such side effects and I was fine.  So leave me alone!  

Until one day I wasn't fine.
I started having ocular migraines.  I would lose vision in one eye or lose the ability to focus.  It really freaked me out, but then, I found out what it was and since I get migraines, the ocular wasn't so scary and bonus... little to no pain (for me anyway).  Way easier to deal with than a traditional migraine.

Then I started getting these sharp pains and really bad headaches; then these headaches were combined with vision loss.  I would get vision disturbances.  Then my vision started going.  Let me tell you... when you start having eye problems; everything comes to a screeching halt!

What was happening to me?!!!

I booked an appointment with a neurologist (but had to wait a week for my appointment).

My vision got worse,  I started losing my field of vision and it was freaking me out.  The headaches were bad.  I wasn't feeling well and I'm sure the stress didn't help.

So... I turned to my best friend Google.
typed in:  sudden onset headache with vision issue (or something like that) and every single entry had to do with aspartame.

I've since done that search and you get results all over the place.  

So I thought... what have I got to lose?  I stopped aspartame that day and within 3 days all my symptoms were gone!!

I've tested this "diagnosis" a few times myself and each time aspartame is added back in I get  the headache back within an hour.  That is enough for me.

So, I don't use aspartame anymore.
I switched to "real" sugar (you know the white processed stuff).

Amazingly... my desire for sweets DECREASED!  I just don't understand that!
Maybe it has something to do with eating something real or caloric and processing that vs. pretend sugar?  

So... I won't go around shouting from the rooftops that aspartame is the embodiment of evil.  But... if you are having headaches all the time, you might want to look at this as a cause and make some changes.  :)

potlucks

Years ago, a group of guys were getting together to put the info and schedule etc. together for a church softball league.

One of the wives (my friend) INSISTED her husband go pick up a couple pies from Marie Calendar's because all there would be avail was chips and soda if he didn't bring something else.

He argued that the guys would do better than that!

Their food that night?

chips

soda2 pies

 

 

 

proof the world is coming to an end

 

Nicki Minaj has a clothing line for Kmart.

women in the church

We have it all wrong because we don’t understand how Paul wrote and what God means.

Does Jesus condemn woman as filthy and seductive?  Does He say that our speech is not to be heard?

Does Jesus say that women are less than men?  Less morally capable?  Less intelligent?

Well, the Talmud (oral Jewish law, Pharisees were famous for it… adding to THE Law from God)

Nowhere in the OT does God say that women cannot speak in church.

Go ahead and check. J

Apparently the Talmud does say to silence women.  This sounds much more like a Muslim teaching to me and since they are all from the same line, it’s not a stretch that this teaching would be in both systems.

The Talmud clearly affirms the silence of females:
“A woman’s voice is prohibited because it is sexually provocative” (Talmud, Berachot 24a).
“Women are sexually seductive, mentally inferior, socially embarrassing, and spiritually separated from the law of Moses; therefore, let them be silent” (summary of Talmudic sayings).

“It is a shame for a woman to let her voice be heard among men” (Talmud, Tractate Kiddushin).
“The voice of a woman is filthy nakedness” (Talmud, Berachot Kiddushin).

Does this sound like the voice of Jesus?  Do you think this is the kind of thing He said to the woman at the well?  To the adulteress the crowd was trying to stone?  Does it even sound like Paul?  It really doesn’t.  It sounds like man’s heart.  Like his desire to control and rule over things.  Look around the world and where greed and corruption flourish man is in control without being accountable to God.  Without a relationship with the creator of the world who desires an ongoing and intimate relationship with us.  What I really see above is that man’s heart is evil and corruptible if they think that every time a woman opens her mouth it is sexually provocative.  Typically, in our culture it is men who have the stronger sex drive.  I think it interesting that they try to put their own sins upon the woman.

I don’t see the Bible teaching that spiritual gifts are based on what chromosomes you have.  They are not dependent upon the sex of the recipient.  Thus, woman can have the gifts of teaching and pastorship. 

You can read more at THIS BLOG.
(THISis really good too, though I warn my Catholic friends, you will not like what she has to say)

And my new mantra for when people talk about how wives are to submit to their husbands is to reply… and husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church, even to the point of laying down their life for them.  That’s the kind of man I will submit to!

I'm officially cool

Because I now know:
how to spell shawty (vs. shorty which is the decidedly less cool spelling)
and what it actually means (term of endearment for your "bro" or your necessarily hot/sexy girlfriend.)

you're welcome.

Signs of wisdom..... if you look deep enough

From an email...
Thanks K

I love stuff like this.  Especially when there is no threat of some level of impending personal doom if I don't share it with 10 people.  (For the record, I automatically delete those.)

stuff you need to know

What I'm Reading

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clarkhoward/travel/mac-users-being-fed-pricier-hotel-searches/nPfRc/

...and if you were thinking that a Cruise would probably be a great deal right now...
you're right!

http://www.clarkhoward.com/news/clarkhoward/travel/italian-cruise-ship-disaster-and-its-impact-indust/nGTx5/

I found an Alaskan cruise for less than $500 and am now attempting to work out the airfare and convincing my husband that we need a vacation.  (wish me luck)

I even asked a couple of friends if they would like to go do this on the off chance my husband says yes.


Update:
Darn... husband said no.
Any of you have luck with it!?