Salty Zebra

  This is CoPilot's interpretation of God forming Adam from the dirt and breathing life into him. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our image, after our likeness, so they may rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move on the earth.” God created humankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them, male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26-27  People often consider humans to be animals. You learn this in high school science class, that we belong to the mammal class, in the primate order with the family of Hominidae. This gives the impression that we are very similar to apes, and it is true that we share some characteristics with them. But then, we share characteristics with dogs too, and birds, and even fish. Yes, we share more characteristics with primates, but when it comes to organ transplants do you know what they are most likely to use after other humans? Pigs...

  The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them. By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing. Genesis 2:1-2  With the benefit of hindsight, we, as humans, can see all that had to go into making creation possible. God knew exactly what had to be done, and in what order, to make it work. He couldn’t create the elephants before the land or the trees before the sun. Each thing had to be done in a particular order so that it could succeed. This is the greatest argument I’ve ever heard against spontaneous evolution. So many things had to come together all at once in order for life to happen. A creature would have had to develop lungs to breathe, vessels to move blood and a heart to pump it, not to mention a brain that could control all of those functions, simultaneously. That just can’t happen friends. I’ve heard some embrace an idea that God created the world throug...

   When I heard that Love God Greatly was going to do a six week study covering Genesis to Revelation, I laughed out loud! Then I became intrigued. I've always been a fan of seeing the overarching story of scripture, and I guess this is how you do it!   This study starts us of in the beginning, Genesis. The first week explores how history started out in the Garden of Eden and then looks at the fall, the flood, and the Tower of Babel. Next, we'll get to know some of the Patriarchs. Week 3 has us focusing on Moses, the Exodus and the Old Testament Law. In Week 4 there's a lot to cover from Israel's kings to it's Exile and return from Babylon. Finally, in Week 5 we'll get to meet Jesus and learn about His pivotal role in the history of humanity. And lastly, we'll look at the New Testament Church including the role of the Holy Spirit as well as end times prophecy in the final week of the study.  As always, I'd love for you to join me in this study! You can f...

 The MSC Yacht Club is their version of the ship-within-a-ship concept made popular by cruise lines in recent years. Cruise ships have gotten bigger and bigger, and consequently filled by more and more people. Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, currently the largest operating cruise ship, has a gross tonnage of 248,663 and accommodates nearly 10,000 people between guests and staff. As you can imagine, this creates some level of chaos and crowding. For people like myself, introverts and those with sensory processing issues, that can be a nightmare. Enter the ship-within-a-ship idea. MSC cruise line actually pioneered this feature in 2008 on the MSC Fantasia. In the Yacht Club, you have a private area that cannot be accessed by the general population of the ship. Things are quieter. Staff are friendlier. Food is better. You get the idea. You still have full access to the features in the rest of the ship if you want to go to a show or enjoy some of the specialty dining, but you have ...

 This has been an interesting study! I've had a massive family situation this summer which sort of derailed my usual routine. You may have noticed that my posts were more sporadic and less varied than normal. I'm happy to say I completed the study though before the next one starts tomorrow! I'm looking forward to writing this recap on the plane home from Florida tonight. I'm hoping the 10,000 foot view will put this study into perspective 😉.  We started our the first week in chapter one of Ephesians. Paul addresses this letter to the "saints" in Ephesus,  and identifies himself as an apostle, which motivated me to learn about these words . I am so encouraged by Paul's statement that we were chosen in Christ before the beginning of the world ( Ephesians 1:4 ). This taught me that no matter what I'm facing or how impossible it seems, God already has it worked out  ! Continuing on, I explored the darkness of slavery to sin that I was trapped in before Je...

Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel. Ephesians 6:19  I've shared on this blog about many of the diseases and conditions I face, like Elhers-Danlos Syndromes and a Pilocytic Astrocytoma brain tumor , but the one that hits the hardest, that I dread the worst, is foot in mouth disease. That is to say, I have always found myself saying the wrong thing! It's a little better here because I can think through and review what I say before it goes out to the world, but that review and editing process does not seem to function well in my brain in real time! This has been compounded as of late by my struggle with impulse control and my apparent loss of filter. I'm told this is common in women my age, so I try not to stress over the thought that the brain tumor is causing it, but I do wonder sometimes. When the importance of this is most on my heart is when I have opportunities to ...