Thoughts to help us through tough times

Our love and our prayers to all who are suffering in tornado-devastated Moore, Oklahoma.

FOTM’s pnordman sends us these nuggets of wisdom — reminders to help us weather the storms of life.

And here’s one from me:

~Eowyn

A Little Brain Game.

points awarded for lack of coffee.  :)

Why is our little fox so puzzled? Can you find all of his friends in this beautiful puzzle by Currier & Ives:

OH click pic for a better view!!!!

I found this here.

www.moillusions.com/2013/05/puzzled-fox-optical-illusion.html

It’s a FaceBook Page and you can either play there  or here.

~Steve~

Sunday Devotional: Pentecost

Bless the Lord, O my soul!
O Lord, my God, you are great indeed!
How manifold are your works, O Lord!
The earth is full of your creatures.

If you take away their breath, they perish
and return to their dust.
When you send forth your spirit, they are created,
and you renew the face of the earth. (Psalm 104)

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always. Whoever loves me will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him. Those who do not love me do not keep my words, yet the word you hear is not mine but that of the Father who sent me. I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you.” (John 14)

Stephen Beale writes:

Christ is God in the flesh nailed to the Cross. He is the God who wept and slept, who ate food, and who sweated in the Garden of Gethsemane. The images of the Holy Spirit, on the other hand, are of a radically different character: tongues of fire, the heavenly wind, the dove that flies away.

In Christ, we touch and see God. The Holy Spirit, on the other hand, seems to be God intangible. But Scripture also speaks of the Holy Spirit in terms that assure us of His definite presence in our midst. [...]

“The Holy Spirit is the kiss that the mouth of the beloved Son imprints forever on our hearts,” writes Jesuit theologian Blaise Arminjon. “The same kiss eternally united the Father and the Son within the Trinity is now uniting us to them.” The ‘divine kiss’ is indeed an apt name for the Holy Spirit, by whom Mary conceived Christ. The Holy Spirit is also the one who washes away original sin in baptism and who makes Christ present in the Eucharist—all of which unite us, in Christ, to God the Father. Put simply, the Holy Spirit is the ‘kiss’ that unites humanity to divinity.

~Eowyn

Creation: The Little Red Rose

Please take a good look at this picture and tell me what is the dominant flower color you see.

Click pic to enlarge!

It’s red, right?

There are FOUR clusters of little red roses; each cluster is a separate plant.

If you click the pic to enlarge, you’ll see that I painted, in yellow, arrows pointing to each cluster. Above each arrow is a number: #1, #2, #4, #5.

Here’s another pic of two other little red rose plants. I painted, in dark red, arrows pointing to each plant, and the numbers #3 and #6.

Click pic to enlarge!

That’s the little red rose that followed me 200 miles, about which I first wrote in October 2011. (Please click here to read that account!)

Six years ago, when I moved from my townhouse in a city 200 miles away to join my husband, I took my many pots of flowering plants (mainly roses) with me. But I had to abandon two little red rose plants because they grew in the ground.

Two years after I moved here, the little red rose miraculously sprang up in a large pot of mauve-colored roses (#1). Then, another little red rose shot up in a pot of salmon-colored roses 2 feet away (#2). Then the little red rose somehow managed to propagate itself across a brick path (see composite pic below) to yet another pot of pink-colored roses (#3). Then, a little red rose began sprouting from the ground (#4), then in yet another pot (#5), then across the brick path again to a pot of yellow-colored roses (#6).

Click pic to enlarge!

Six years ago, I was in anguish because I thought I was abandoning the little red rose to certain death.

But the little red rose didn’t abandon me.

And now it’s the dominant rose in the garden!

“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” (Matthew 6:28-29)

For our God is a loving God. May He be praised!

~Eowyn

And Now We Have Zipper-Gate Well Sorta

In a crowded city at a crowded bus stop, a beautiful young woman was waiting for the bus. She was decked out in a tight leather mini skirt with matching tight leather boots and jacket.

As the bus rolled up and it became her turn to get on, she became aware that her skirt was too tight to allow her leg to come up to the height of the first step on the bus.
Slightly embarrassed and with a quick smile to the bus driver she reached behind her and unzipped her skirt a little thinking that this would give her enough slack to raise her leg.
Again she tried to make the step onto the bus only to discover she still couldn’t! So, a little more embarrassed she once again reached behind her and unzipped her skirt a little more and for a second time attempted the step and once again, much to her chagrin she could not raise her leg because of the tight skirt.
So, with a coy little smile to the driver she again unzipped the offending skirt to give a little more slack and again was unable to make the step.
About this time the big Texan that was behind her in the line picked her up easily from the waist and placed her lightly on the step of the bus.
Well, she went ballistic and turned on the would-be hero screeching at him “How dare you touch my body!! I don’t even know who you are!”
At this the Texan drawled “Well ma’am normally I would agree with you but after you unzipped my fly three times, I kinda figured that we was friends.” 

~Steve~                                  H/T   dailyjokes.co

The other side of death

This is the most beautiful explanation of death.

Ever.

A sick man turned to his doctor as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, “Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side.”

Very quietly, the doctor said, “I don’t know.”

The sick man was beside himself, sputtering, “You don’t know? You’re a Christian man, and you don’t know what’s on the other side?”

The doctor was holding the handle of the door. On the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with eagerness and joy.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said:

“Did you notice my dog?

He’s never been in this room before. He didn’t know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear.

I know little of what is on the other side of death. But I do know one thing. I know my Master is there and that is enough….”

~Eowyn & Joan

Let’s See who Else The I.R.S. Picked On.

let’s just pile on shall we.  :D    ~Steve~

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From the http://washingtonexaminer.com

May 15, 2013 | 2:40 pm | Modified: May 16, 2013 at 9:35 am

Report: IRS denied tax-exempt status to pro-lifers on behalf of Planned Parenthood

IRS officials refused to grant tax exempt status to two pro-life organizations because of their position on the abortion issue, according to a non-profit law firm, which said that one group was pressured not to protest a pro-choice organization that endorsed President Obama during the last election.

“In one case, the IRS withheld approval of an application for tax exempt status for Coalition for Life of Iowa. In a phone call to Coalition for Life of Iowa leaders on June 6, 2009, the IRS agent ‘Ms. Richards’ told the group to send a letter to the IRS with the entire board’s signatures stating that, under perjury of the law, they do not picket/protest or organize groups to picket or protest outside of Planned Parenthood,” the Thomas More Society announced today. “Once the IRS received this letter, their application would be approved.”

Planned Parenthood endorsed Obama in 2008 and 2012.

The IRS also pressured another pro-life group about its religious activities. “The IRS withheld approval of an application for charitable tax-exempt recognition of Christian Voices for Life, questioning the group’s involvement with ’40 Days for Life’ and ‘Life Chain’ events,” according to the law firm. “The Fort Bend County, Texas, organization was subjected to repeated and lengthy unconstitutional requests for information about the viewpoint and content of its educational communications, volunteer prayer vigils, and other protected activities.”

The IRS admitted last week to that some members of the agency targeted Tea Party groups for discriminatory reviews of their applications for tax-exempt status. The Justice Department has initiated a criminal investigation into the matter.

just thinking out loud, but that DOESN’T seem fair.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/report-irs-denied-tax-exempt-status-to-pro-lifers-on-behalf-of-planned-parenthood/article/2529750

We Need A Laugh Or Two. Hope This Does It.

 

Baby Mole

A daddy mommy and baby mole are in their hole relaxing one morning when daddy mole sticks his head out of the hole and says, “I smell pancakes”.

Mommy mole sticks her head out the tiny hole and says, “I smell pancakes too…pancakes with maple syrup!! Baby mole come smell the pancakes with maple syrup”.

Baby mole sticks his head upwards to get to the hole and exclaims “I cant smell anything but moleasses?!”

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Sex vs Secs

An 8-year-old girl went to her dad, who was working in the yard. She asked him, “,Daddy, what is sex?”,

The father was surprised that she would ask such a question, but decides that if she is old enough to ask the question, then she is old enough to get a straight answer.

He proceeded to tell her all about the ‘birds and the bees’. When he finished explaining, the little girl was looking at him with her mouth hanging open. The father asked her, “,Why did you ask this question?”,

The little girl replied, “Mom told me to tell you that dinner would be ready in just a couple of secs.”    ( Ouch )

~Steve~                                       H/T   http://dailyjokes.co

 

A new life for blind dog living in trash pile

This is Fiona, a blind flea-bitten dog found living in a pile of trash in an alley in Los Angeles.

Unless you have ice where your heart should be, you will cry watching this.

Just know that there is a happy ending!

Dogs like Fiona — and cats, too — are bred to be pets, to be our companions and to love us unconditionally. They cannot survive in the streets or in the wild. Whoever that abandoned this darling little dog to the mean urban streets of L.A. is cruel and heartless and deserves a special ring in Hell.

Hope For Paws (HFP) is a small animal protection and welfare charitable organization founded in 2008 in Beverly Hills, California. It has filed the Form 990 with the IRS.

According to Charity Navigator, in 2011, HFP had income of $84,025 and total assets of only $17,202. I cannot find a rating for HFP on Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, or Guidestar. There are 9 reviews of HFP by nameless individuals who gave HFP an average rating of 3.67 on a scale of 0 to 5, with 5 signifying excellence.

Contact info for Hope For Paws:

8950 W. Olympic Blvd. #525
Los Angeles, CA 90211
(310) 880-1416

To donate: www.hopeforpaws.org
E-mail: contact@hopeforpaws.org

H/t FOTM’s joworth.

~Eowyn

Gosnell verdict: Guilty of 3 counts of 1st degree murder!

The jury just delivered a verdict in a murder case virtually suppressed by the State Run Media.

Vince Lattanzio reports for NBC10 Philadelphia that after 10 days of deliberations and an announcement that they were deadlocked on two charges, the jury in the murder trial of former Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell just reached a verdict.

Guilty! – on 3 of 4 counts of first-degree murder.

Guilty! – of involuntary manslaughter in the death of former patient Karnamaya Mongar.

The jury of seven women and five men weighed more than 250 counts against Gosnell with the most serious being four counts of first-degree murder.

Gosnell, a resident of West Philadelphia, was charged on January 14, 2011 with 263 crimes, including first-degree murder in the deaths of four babies. Prosecutors allege Gosnell delivered the babies alive during abortion procedures and then killed them by snipping their spinal cords with scissors.

The 72-year-old is also charged with third-degree murder in the of former patient Karnamaya Mongar, 41, who died after she was given a lethal dose of pain killers and anesthesia during a 2009 abortion procedure at Gosnell’s West Philadelphia clinic, the Women’s Medical Society.

The majority of the 268 charges levied against Gosnell are related to Pennsylvania abortion-law violations. Whereas his defense attorney argued Gosnell would inject a drug into his patients’ uterus to stop the fetuses’ hearts before they were delivered, prosecutors Joanne Pescatore and Ed Cameron say Gosnell regularly performed late-term abortions on babies older than 24 weeks — the cutoff age in Pennsylvania.

At 24 weeks, a baby can hiccup and begins trial breathing with his own lungs. The baby can now survive outside of the mother’s womb with medical help.

This is what a 24-week-old baby looks like. His name is Toby and he was born premature. Toby is now a healthy 4-year-old boy:

Kermit Gosnell’s crimes came to light on February 10, 2010 after investigators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Agency raided the inner-city clinic at 3801 Lancaster Avenue following a tip that a prescription pill mill was operating inside.

Agents were met, not with an illegal narcotics drug operation, but rather, unsanitary conditions. Investigators testified they found blood-stained rooms, filthy and old equipment and untrained staff. Aborted fetuses were stored in a basement freezer in plastic food containers and bags next to employee lunches. Severed feet from aborted babies were found preserved in jars around the clinic.

Warning! Pictures below!

†

The conditions found inside the clinic led Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams to call the clinic a “house of horrors” in a 2011 grand jury report.

Over the course of the trial which started on March 18 and lasted two months, former clinic employees testified against Gosnell.

Adrienne Moton, 35, was the first to testify that several abortion procedures in court including one where the mother delivered the baby into a toilet. The baby struggled in the bowl before she snipped its neck with scissors. Moton admitted to cutting 10 babies’ necks, calling the snipping  “common practice” at the clinic. One baby boy was nearly 30 weeks old when he was aborted. Gosnell even joked about the baby’s size saying he was so big the baby could have walked to the bus stop.

Lynda Williams, 44, with no formal training and only an 8th grade education, testified how she would administer pain killers and anesthesia acting as the clinic’s anesthesiologist. Williams was the person who delivered four doses of drugs to Mongar during her procedure. She described how the woman’s skin turned gray and her breathing slowed following the last dose. She also admitted to snipping the neck of one of the babies Gosnell is charged with murdering.

Both women pled guilty to third-degree murder in exchange for their testimony against Gosnell. They face 60-120 years in prison.

Other workers described babies being born alive, watching them breathe and seeing their limbs move before being “snipped.” Some described the babies as “aliens” who squealed and made odd noises, others said it would “rain fetuses” in the clinic.

During her opening arguments on March 18, prosecutor Pescatore told jurors that for Gosnell, his abortion practice was all about the money. “He had high volume and maximum profit,” she said. Police found $250,000 in cash during a 2010 search of his home.

Prosecutors claimed Gosnell would upcharge for pain killers and let the patients choose the amount of anesthesia they wanted. They were broken down into four categories — local, heavy, twilight and custom.

Pescatore also said Gosnell, who is black, would treat patients differently based on their race. White women would be taken to cleaner exam rooms and be treated directly by Gosnell. Black women would get dirty rooms and unlicensed workers.

†

This is for all the babies murdered by Kermit Gosnell, and for the hundreds of millions of babies aborted in America and across the world:

~Eowyn