Desert Places

Hosea 2: 14-15 "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her. There I will give her back her vineyards and will make the valley of Achor* a door of hope. There she will sing as in the days of her youth." (*Achor=trouble)

This is what is written directly after it is explained how terribly broken their relationship has become. He knows he has been forgotten by her, that she has been trying to gratify her desires elsewhere, that she thinks her treasures have come from her lovers when all the time they had been supplied by him. He has responded by barring her way to her lovers and taking away the treasures she has accrued. He has been utterly rejected and yet decides that he is going to sweet-talk her back to him and restore her gifts. She will be allured to the desert. What is this? After she has cheated on him and he has taken everything from her, he will attract her to the desert! She will willingly go to this dry, arid place to be with a man she betrayed. Why?It seems absurd, yet I find that there can indeed be something very alluring about desert places. Oftentimes I've wondered how much I would benefit from finding myself in a solitary hole where my basic needs are met and I can focus solely on revealing truths about myself and my relationship with God. In fact, there are times when I find myself longing for that to really be a possibility. Yes, there is something to be said for desert places. They are places free from distraction, places to focus on the relationship with the one you love... to hear his tender words... to see the value of his gifts. In them we become aware of our thirst. Because we are in such an uncomfortable place, we realize how much we are supported by God. It is from these places full of troubles that we are able to see the hope that is just around the bend. That is when we remember the sacrifices made for us, when we acknowledge that all we have comes from him. The best part is that when we reconcile ourselves back to his truths, he welcomes us again with open arms and perfect love. Lucky for us he is a patient and forgiving God.

Irritating mishaps

So last night after I got home from Bible study, I decided to post my thoughts on some of the things we had talked about. Unfortunately, just as I finished typing, my computer froze and I lost it all. I am still going to post my reflections, but it is so irritating when I know that I had worded everything better the first time.

Ou est le Poisson D'Avril?

"Bonjour! Je m'appelle D'Avril...
Poisson D'Avril!"




April Fools' Day Origin-

There are several explanations for the origin of April Fools' Day, but here is the most plausible one. April 1st was once New Year's Day in France. In 1582, Pope Gregory declared the adoption of his Gregorian calendar to replace the Julian calendar and New Year's Day was officially changed to January 1st. It took awhile for everyone in France to hear the news of this major change and others obstinately refused to accept the new calendar, so a lot of people continued to celebrate New Year's Day on the first of April – earning them the name April fools. The April fools were subjected to ridicule and practical jokes and the tradition was born. The butts of these pranks were first called poisson d'avril or April fish because a young naive fish is easily caught. A common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke. This evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continues on the first day of April.


...Be prepared. I like old customs and paper fish sound fun to me!





Qui! Les enfants sentiront le poisson d'Avril aussi! Ha! Ha! Ha!

I'm not the only addict

Here is proof that I am not the only addict of the slogan generator:

Un petit chou: I keep changing my blog template. I just can't get it quite right
Night Sky 0cean: i liked your post, i read it to ruth
Night Sky 0cean: i laughed
Un petit chou: wait you like unzip a sarah the best? how weird you are
Night Sky 0cean: no
Night Sky 0cean: 1
Night Sky 0cean: and 4 made me laugh
Night Sky 0cean: because it was sooo random and sooo easily wrong
Un petit chou: yeah I'll say
Un petit chou: did you try it with your own name?
Night Sky 0cean: no, i should
Un petit chou: what is your slogan?
Night Sky 0cean: it isn't working
Un petit chou: let me try again http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?word=Sarah
Night Sky 0cean: ok... doing it..
Night Sky 0cean: my anti-drug is hannah
Un petit chou: right on
Night Sky 0cean: i am not gonna pay a lot for this hannah
Night Sky 0cean: :-(
Un petit chou: ha ha hah
Un petit chou: I will
Night Sky 0cean: tonight, let it be hannah
Night Sky 0cean: just one hannah - give it to me
Un petit chou: see how easy it is to watch them pop up over and over?
Night Sky 0cean: lol
Night Sky 0cean: hannah makes everything better
Un petit chou: ooh how nice
Un petit chou: i love that you make everything better
Night Sky 0cean: hahahaha
Night Sky 0cean: hands that do dishes can be soft as your hannah
Un petit chou: lol
Night Sky 0cean: double the pleasure, double the hannah
Night Sky 0cean: ok
Night Sky 0cean: this IS ADDICTING
Un petit chou: you must STOP
Night Sky 0cean: and sooo wrong
Night Sky 0cean: at least no one wants to unzip me yet
Un petit chou: but sooo funny
Night Sky 0cean: hannah-lickin' good
Night Sky 0cean: i can't believe i ate the whole hannah
Un petit chou: ooh that's a little intimate
Un petit chou: ooh my they want to eat me too
Night Sky 0cean: we must be yummy
Un petit chou: indeed
Night Sky 0cean: AHHHH
Night Sky 0cean: how many licks does it take to get to the center of a hannah
Un petit chou: now that's just a little too personal for me
Night Sky 0cean: it is
Night Sky 0cean: he who thinks hannah drinks hannah
Night Sky 0cean: oh sarah, what have you started me on
Un petit chou: not till you’re married!!!!
Night Sky 0cean: you'll look a little lovelier each day with a fabulous pink hannah
Un petit chou: who wouldn't
Night Sky 0cean: HAHA -- this one is hilarious
Night Sky 0cean: washing machines live longer with hannah
Un petit chou: lol.
Night Sky 0cean: "i wish i were a hannah-weiner"
Un petit chou: he he he
Night Sky 0cean: chris is on there now....
Night Sky 0cean: Marvin the Mountie Always Gets His Piecuch.
Un petit chou: ha hahaha
Night Sky 0cean: and he is going away with it
Night Sky 0cean: i like this one better than the licking ones
Night Sky 0cean: nobody better lay a finger on my hannah
Un petit chou: indeed they better not
Night Sky 0cean: ok
Night Sky 0cean: wow
Night Sky 0cean: i should sleep
Night Sky 0cean: hahhaa


Now I want to see many slogans in the comments section... so plug your name in, pick your favorite and post it. So much fun!

Post number one

Every once in a while I find myself at a website that just fascinates me way more than it should. I was sent to this one by a friend through an email: http://www.thesurrealist.co.uk/slogan.cgi?word=Sarah
It takes your name and puts it into a common advertising slogan...really rather funny and slightly disturbing. I am afraid to really think about how many slogans I've seen my name in now, but it helped me decide upon my blog title, and since I was at a loss with that I am thankful for the site. Anyway, I thought I would share the joy of the last ten slogans it threw at me:

10. Step into a Sarah. (I don't really know if I like this idea... wouldn't I have to be dead and cut open first?)
9. You've got questions, we've got Sarah. (what I want to know is if they are bragging or adding to the dilemma of the questions)
8. Do you eat the Sarah last? (although I agree with saving the best for last, I once again must state that I would rather not be dead and on your plate)
7. Go crack a Sarah. (please don't. I once got hit in the head with a rock and it hurt and bled. I don't want to know how a coconut feels)
6. Watch out... there's a Sarah about. (what else is there to say? You better be on your toes)
5. Nothing acts faster than a Sarah. (ahahahaha! If that's true, we're all doomed!)
4. Unzip a Sarah. ( yikes! please don't. I'm not up for any embarassment at present)
3. Kills all known Sarah - DEAD! (AHH! Noooooooo! Help! Quick! Oh no, that blasted #5 is in the way!)
2. You too can have a Sarah like mine. (only if you are really, really lucky)
1. Make fun of Sarah. (Truly! This is probably the fastest way to become one of my good friends... as long as the fun isn't full of malice. I really do feel more comfortable around people once I know they are comfortable enough around me to make fun of me. So... on with the jokes!)