Mmmmmm, Carrot Cake

Now don't cheat. Go with the first dessert you choose. If all the eight desserts listed below were sitting in front of you, which would you choose (sorry, you can only pick one)? Pick your dessert and then look to see what psychiatrists think about you. They say it's pretty accurate!

Here are your choices:

1. Angel Food Cake

2. Brownies

3. Lemon Meringue Pie

4. Vanilla Cake with Chocolate Icing

5. Strawberry Short Cake

6. Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Icing

7. Ice Cream

8. Carrot Cake

No, you can't change your mind once you scroll down, so think carefully what your choice will be.

OK - Now that you've made your choice, this is what the researchers say about you... SCROLL DOWN. No Cheating.

1. ANGEL FOOD CAKE -- Sweet, loving, cuddly. You love all warm and fuzzy items. A little nutty at times. Sometimes you need an ice cream cone at the end of the day. Others perceive you as being childlike and immature at times.

2. BROWNIES -- You are adventurous, love new ideas, and are a champion of underdogs and a slayer of dragons. When tempers flare up you whip out your saber. You are always the oddball with a unique sense of humor and direction. You tend to be very loyal.

3. LEMON MERINGUE -- Smooth, sexy, & articulate with your hands, you are an excellent caregiver and a good teacher. But don't try to walk and chew gum at the same time. A bit of a diva at times, you set your own style because you do your own thing. You shine when it comes to helping others and have many friends.

4. VANILLA CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING -- Fun-loving, sassy, humorous, not very grounded in life; very indecisive and lacking motivation. Everyone enjoys being around you, but you are a practical joker. Others should be cautious in making you mad. However, you are a friend for life.

5. STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE -- Romantic, warm, loving. You care about other people, can be counted on in a pinch and expect the same in return. Intuitively keen. You can be emotional at times but a true person in every way. You like to do things yourself: not asking for help. You help others learn about themselves.

6. CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE ICING - Sweet; always ready to give and receive. Very creative, adventurous, ambitious, and passionate. You can appear to have a cold exterior but are warm on the inside. Not afraid to take chances. Will not settle for anything average in life. Love to laugh.

7. ICE CREAM -- You like sports, whether it be baseball, football, basketball, or soccer. If you could, you would like to participate, but you also enjoy watching sports. You don't like to give up the remote control. You tend to be self-centered and high maintenance.

8. CARROT CAKE -- You are a very fun loving person, who likes to laugh. You are fun to be with. People like to hang out with you. You are a very warm-hearted person and a little quirky at times. You have many loyal friends. You were meant to lead and teach others. A wonderful role model.

I guess you can tell I chose the carrot cake. It does pretty much describe me. I do like to laugh and I think I am fun to be with. I mean, at least people seam to enjoy hanging out with me, either that or they are Great Pretenders. LOL!

I know for sure that I am quirky. I looked that word up and it means idosyncratic, original, unusual, odd, strange, eccentric, distinctive and last but not least PECULIAR. Yep, that's me. I am a peculiar people. :D

I do have loyal friends and for that I am thankful. Now, about leading and teaching others, I can see that as long as it is leading them to and teaching them about Jesus Christ. I can only hope and pray that I am a wonderful role model. A role model for how a true Christian should live, that's my desire.

Tag You're It!

Tag! You're It!
Another blog game!Jana Allard tagged me, so here we go.

Here are six unspectacular things about me:
1. I would rather detail my bathroom than go grocery shopping!
2. I LOVE the smell of a freshly bathed baby.
3. I love to walk barefoot in the sand on the beach.
4. Nothing is more precious to me than those special moments with my grandson.
5. I can not tolerate anything cluttering up my dinning room table.
6. Spring and Fall are my most favorite Seasonal bulletin boards to create.

Meme terms & conditions
1. link the person who tagged you
2. mention the rules on your blog
3. list 6 unspectacular things about you
4. tag 6 other bloggers

I Tag: Yvonne, Alice, Catherine, Janet, Miss Noel, Loretta

Caleb's 1st Roller Coaster Ride

Last Saturday on September the 20th, my daughters, grandson and I went to the Kern County Fair for the entire day. We had a wonderful time. Caleb rode his very first Roller Coaster ride. It took his mother a little over 15 minutes to convince him to give it a try. He was so scared but once the ride started he was ecstatic. He was ready to go again when the ride was over.

As I have posted before, Caleb suffers from Sensory disorder and Dyspraxia disorder. He has an extreme fear of heights and water. A while back Sis. Karen Harding came to our church and she said if anyone needed prayer to come up front. My daughter took my grandson up front to be prayed for. Since then, God has worked many miracles in Caleb's life. Before Sis. Harding had prayed for Caleb, we could not get him to take a bath in a tub that had the plug in it and where the water came over the top of his feet because of his fear of water. He never played in a swimming pool due to his fear of water. Since she has prayed for him, Caleb now plays in the tub and plays in a swimming pool. Praise God! Now we see him on a roller coaster conquering his fear of heights as well. My God is a prayer answering God. He is doing wonderful things in Caleb's life and for that I am forever thankful.

God Keeps His Promises!

The above plaque is a gift that I received from a dear friend, Carla Giovannetti, in Eureka, CA. She gave this to me about 12 years ago. It now hangs on my wall in my computer room. It's a sweet reminder that God keeps His promises.

Twenty-nine years ago when I came to the Lord, I went through a very trying time in my life. My marriage was destroyed, I had 3 small children and an enemy that was out to destroy me at all cost. The situation was so bad that I did not know which way to turn. I remember Pastor and Sis. David Downing telling me that the best thing to do was take it to the Lord in prayer and fast. They told me that when I saw this individual the best thing to do was SMILE. Was that ever a hard pill to swallow. However, Proverbs 15:1 does read "A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger." So I guess a gentle smile is just as good as a soft answer. So that is just what I did. Every day I smiled at her and every day she literally flew into a rage because of it and continued to say more evil things against me.

About two months later she approached me and said "We need to talk." I was shocked and said "OK". She then began to ask me to forgive her of all that she had said and done against me. She then told everyone that she had lied against me and that the stories she had told were all untrue. This lady said that every time I smiled at her it convicted her and she could not sleep at night. She wanted to know how I could even consider smiling at someone who would do such evil things to me. I told her that it wasn't really her doing these things but it was the enemy of my soul that was using her against me to try and trip me up so that I would fall and I could not be a testimony to those around me about how good my God is and the change He has made in my life.

Oh it wasn't easy to keep smiling day after day. I cried many tears and prayed many prayers but through it all God made Himself very real to me. I began to REALLY KNOW HIM. His Word came alive and He gave me a chapter, Isaiah 54:4-17. You have to really know the situation and what went on in my life at that time to know why this particular chapter means so much to me. But I won't go into that. This is MY Chapter. It holds a special place in my heart. I return to it often. This chapter got me through my first battle. I treasure it dearly. It holds my hand. It is my safe haven. When I feel that I am getting weak and weary I return here and say, He did it before, He can do it again. This chapter has walked with me for 29 years now and will continue to walk with me.

I recently shared the story of how this chapter came to me with my girls. I told my daughters that they need to get a chapter that will sustain them in the Lord. A chapter that will be their shelter in the time of storm, a rock to stand on. A passage that they will forever cling to through out their walk with Him. A chapter that will only come from God during a time of trial and tribulation. This chapter will let you know that everything will be alright, for you are a child of the KING! It will bring you peace in the midst of your storm.

Two weeks ago at prayer meeting I was praying for my son who is gone astray from the Lord. At one point all 3 of my children were gone astray. You know, Proverbs 22:6 reads "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." There is no guarantee that our children will not backslide. We must train them in the way they should go. If, for some reason they do choose to be a prodigal child, there is the hope that they will come to themselves and return to their Father's house. For the verse says "when they are old, he will not depart from it." This lets me know that the prodigal child will return. Five years ago my youngest daughter prayed through. Recently my oldest daughter prayed through. Now I am believing God for my son as well. While in prayer the Lord led me back to MY CHAPTER, Isaiah 54. But this time I went straight to verse 13 "And all thy children shall be taught of the LORD; and great shall be the peace of thy children." This is a promise the Lord gave me 29 years ago. The only way my children can have this great peace is if they are serving Him. Therefore, this tells me one thing, my son too, shall return to the House of the Lord! My son will also pray through just like my daughters have. My son WILL once again live for the Lord. Then the last part of verse 13 will be fulfilled "...great shall be the peace of thy children."

Oh Yes, GOD KEEPS HIS PROMISES!

Happy 7th Birthday Caleb!

"The Importance Of Rest"

My doctor has been stressing the point to me about how important it is for me to get the proper rest I need at night. So important in fact that he wants me to take a small dose of sleeping pills to help me rest at night (which I refuse to do). Dr. L says that while we are sleeping that is when the body sends out signals and the repair agents go in search of areas in the body that needs repairs. Then it begins the process of repairing any damage it finds.

I thought about what my doctor said so I looked up some info online and found the following:

Sleep is essential to the immune system. Without adequate sleep, the immune system becomes weak, and the body becomes more vulnerable to infection and disease. Sleep is also a time of rest and repair to neurons. Neurons are the freeways of the nervous system that carry out both voluntary commands, like moving your arm, and involuntary commands, like breathing and digestive processes. Sleep repairs cellular damage caused by our busy metabolism, and even grows new nerve cells in the brain. Many hormones, substances produced to trigger or regulate particular body functions, are timed to release during sleep or right before sleep. Growth hormones, for example, are released during sleep, vital to growing children but also for restorative processes like muscle repair.

Sleep helps to organize memories, solidify learning, and improve concentration. Proper sleep, especially sleep where you are actively dreaming (REM sleep), regulates mood as well. Lack of sleep can make you irritable and cranky, affecting your emotions, social interaction, and decision making. Sleep deprivation also affects motor skills, enough to be similar to driving while drunk if seriously sleep deprived. Driver fatigue, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, causes over 100,000 accidents and 1500 deaths each year.

After reading this I woke up the next morning and this was on my mind again. Instantly I thought to myself this is so much like the importance of the "REST IN THE LORD". If we do not refill our souls on a daily basis and attend church regularly then we are depriving our spirits of the much needed rest that it needs to survive. Isaiah 28:12 reads; "...This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing." When we enter into the house of the Lord or when we are at home, and our spirit is low and our hearts are heavy all we have to do is enter in to His presence and drink from the fountain of Living Waters, refresh our souls and get that rest that we need to heal our weary land.

Jesus said in Matthew 11:28; "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest". This is how we survive. This is how we repair our spirits when things from the world attach themselves to us and try to drag us down and pull us under. We go to Him and He will heal us by giving us the rest that we need for our soul. He will go in and make the necessary repairs to our spirits that we need in order to survive.

There are signs that one may be suffering from sleep deprivation. Some of these signs could also be used as signs of not enough spiritual rest as well. For instance:

a) increased clumsiness

Now is not the time to become clumsy in serving God. Hebrews 10:25 says; "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." We need to attend the house of God.

b) difficulty making the right decisions

We need to hear the Word of God to help us make the right decisions, Romans 10: 17; "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."

c) feeling especially moody or irritated

The Word of God will also help us have the right spirit and attitude and we won't be so moody and irritated. Let's portray The Beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12

D) Sleep deprivation can be dangerous not only to you but others around you

Let's not be sleep deprived spiritually. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."

Scientific American provides a detailed description of brain activity during the stages of sleep and wakefulness. The sleep stages and brain activity are:

Stage 1 (Drowsiness) - It last about five or ten minutes. Eyes move slowly under the eyelids, muscle activity slows down, and you are easily awakened.

Stage 2 (Light Sleep) - Eye movements stop, heart rate slows, and body temperature decreases.

Stages 3 & 4 (Deep Sleep) - You’re difficult to awaken, and if you are awakened, you do not adjust immediately and often feel groggy and disoriented for several minutes. Deep sleep allows the brain to go on a little vacation needed to restore the energy we expend during our waking hours. Blood flow decreases to the brain in this stage, and redirects itself towards the muscles, restoring physical energy. Research also shows that immune functions increase during deep sleep.

REM sleep (Dream Sleep) – At about 70 to 90 minutes into your sleep cycle, you enter REM sleep. You usually have three to five REM episodes per night. This stage is associated with processing emotions, retaining memories and relieving stress. Breathing is rapid, irregular and shallow, the heart rate increases, blood pressure rises.

There are stages of rest in the spirit as well.

Stage 1) You come into His presence and you just sit there. You don't praise or worship. You just soak up the splash over of the blessings of what others receive from their praises and worship.

Stage 2) You praise Him a little, sing, but you don't put your whole heart into it, just enough to feel Him but don't over indulge.

Stage 3 & 4) You come into His presence with praise and Thanksgiving. You start out with praise. You give it your all. You sing, shout, dance, or cry tears of joy before the Lord. But before long you are WORSHIPING Him with everything you've got. You are in DEEP. Then before you know it, in comes the refreshing and the REST that you need.

Let's enter into his courts with praise and into his gates with thanksgiving. Let us get that refreshing that we need to go on. It's time to enter into His presence and bask in the beauty of the Rest that only He can give. When your spirit is refreshed in the Lord then you will find that your mind will also be at peace, your body will find rest, and your soul will find joy.