Who Says it Has to be Itsy-Bitsy?

The Evolution of the Swimsuit

86-year-old Veteran Sniper Still Has Perfect Aim

Woman hiding with kids shoots intruder

LOGANVILLE, Ga. —

A woman hiding in her attic with children shot an intruder multiple times before fleeing to safety Friday.

The incident happened at a home on Henderson Ridge Lane in Loganville around 1 p.m. The woman was working in an upstairs office when she spotted a strange man outside a window, according to Walton County Sheriff Joe Chapman. He said she took her 9-year-old twins to a crawlspace before the man broke in using a crowbar.

But the man eventually found the family.

“The perpetrator opens that door. Of course, at that time he’s staring at her, her two children and a .38 revolver,” Chapman told Channel 2’s Kerry Kavanaugh.

The woman then shot him five times, but he survived, Chapman said. He said the woman ran out of bullets but threatened to shoot the intruder if he moved. To read the rest of the story, click here.

How Great Thou Art – Vance Perry

A Miracle for Justus

A few weeks ago I asked many of you to pray for our little friend, Justus. He had been badly burned and was in immediate need of prayer. Here is his story:

Justus Day 2

Justus Day 3

Justus Day 6

“It was Thursday, April 1, 2012, in the early afternoon when my phone rang at work. It was my wife and I knew something had to be wrong because she never called and knew that I wasn’t supposed to answer.  I answered the phone with a lump in my throat and immediately knew. She was crying and our 17 month old son was screaming in the background. She had poured a cup of boiling water for tea. What she thought to be out of reach wasn’t. With her back turned for a couple seconds he entered the room and had reached up and tipped it over onto his head, face, cheek, neck and shoulder. 

After spending an hour in the ER and having little aid or peace of mind, we knew we needed to do something else. The doctor considered it 2nd and some parts even 3rd degree burns. He told us our son may have scaring and possibly need skin grafts! The following day Kevin introduced us to PXP and Alpha Energy. We began spraying intervals of Alpha Energy and Coloidal Silver every 20 min day and night! We also began giving him PXP Forte’ 1/2 tsp 3 times a day. The infection quickly subsided and we started seeing improvement in about 2 days. Kevin kept assuring us this would help it heal and improve the chances of him not scaring but none of us expected the results quite this good! After 4 days we backed the spraying to every 30 min still day and night. After 6 days his face was healed enough that he began sleeping in his play pen next to our bed. We stopped spraying at night to allow him and us to get some sleep.

Justus Day 42

As I write this its been about 3 weeks and I would say he is at 95%. He is his normal self and as you can see the deep gouges in his face and ear are completely filled in and smooth. He has NO scars. The scabs in his hair are taking a little longer to work themselves out but I am confident he will not only never remember this incident, but that he looks as though nothing ever happened. We thank God for bringing Kevin into our lives at the time that He did and for giving us the strength, wisdom, and guidance.

Through prayer and these products from Enzacta, life CAN be the same as it once was. For more information please feel free to contact us at http://www.liferebuilt4good@gmail.com and check out www.greatesthealthsecret.com.”   ~Brad, father to Justus, the miracle boy

Update to the story – take a look at the picture I took of Justus last week when I took their family pictures. God has been very good to him!

Justus, July 11 – 3 months later

Akiane Kramarik’s Prince of Peace

Check out the amazing story of Akiane Kramarik and her art here.

11.11.11

Iowa Couple Married for 72 Years Dies Holding Hands, 1 Hour Apart – ABC News

 

By CHRISTINA NG

Oct. 19, 2011

A devoted Iowa couple married for 72 years died holding hands in the hospital last week, exactly one hour apart.

The passing reflected the nature of their marriage, where, “As a rule, everything was done together,” said the couple’s daughter Donna Sheets, 71.

Gordon Yeager, 94, and his wife Norma, 90, left their small town of State Center, Iowa, on Wednesday to go into town, but never made it. A car accident sent the couple to the emergency room and intensive care unit with broken bones and other injuries. But, even in the hospital, their concerns were each other.

“She was saying her chest hurt and what’s wrong with Dad? Even laying there like that, she was worried about Dad,” said the couple’s son, Dennis Yeager, 52. “And his back was hurting and he was asking about Mom.”

When it became clear that their conditions were not improving, the couple was moved into a room together in beds side-by-side where they could hold hands.

To read the rest of the story, click here.

Watch “Tea Party Member Stuns Crowd! ORIGINAL!!!” on YouTube

Happy 100th Birthday Lucy!

One hundred years ago Lucille Ball was born and we continue to laugh to this day. Happy birthday, Lucy! Here is part of an article to whet your appetite about TV’s Funniest Lady on AolTV.com with 15 Lucy Fun Facts.

 

by Kim Potts, posted Aug 5th 2011 12:30PM

I love Lucy, you love Lucy, we all love Lucy! And in honor of what would have been Lucille Ball’s 100th birthday on Aug. 6, here are 15 Lucy facts that might surprise you.

Betcha didn’t know that:

1. After two decades spent trying to become a movie superstar, Lucille Ball was 40 years old when she finally became a Hollywood player with the debut of ‘I Love Lucy’ in 1951.

2. Lucy was not only a genius performer, but a smart, innovative businesswoman: she and husband/co-star Desi Arnaz introduced the idea of syndicating TV shows, and she was the first woman to own her own film studio (Desilu).

3. Among the other TV series produced by Desilu: ‘Star Trek,’ ‘The Untouchables’ and ‘Mission: Impossible.’

4. She attended acting school in New York City … with Bette Davis.

To see the rest of this article along with some videos of Lucy, click here.

Christian Liberty – Permission to be Free

I made reference a few days ago on my Facebook status that our Pastor, Weng Liew, had “hit one out of the park.” He sent me his notes tonight and I have his points listed below. Make sure you slooowwwlyy read through them. At first glance they appear to be the typical sermon on Christian liberty, ie: do right, do your best, don’t use your liberty to sin, etc. But take the time to read what he has to say. Read each word carefully. If you do, you’ll see why our whole family celebrated last Sunday night by recapping what he said and how he said it. It was surreal. We’ve known pastors who see Christian liberty the same way we do – it’s between us and God, no right to judge, keep your walk with the Spirit and your life will please God, etc. but we’ve never heard a sermon, a pastor, actually give us permission right from the pulpit to live according to our own personal convictions. Wow. WOW.

The sermon was executed with a heart of love from a humble servant who desired to see his people live in freedom – freedom to choose their own path, directed by their own personal relationship with God. There was no condemning judgement, pressure to conform, or self-righteous spirit. Though I agreed 100% and already held the exact same thought process regarding Christian liberty, I experienced a deep peace after that night. It’s a peace I wish for all my friends and family who name the name of Christ and try to serve and please Him with their lives.

Here are the specifics on Pastor Weng’s sermon.  As you read it, pretend it’s being told to you by one who loves you as Christ loves His own. Better yet, pretend as you read that Christ Himself is telling you about the freedom you can enjoy in Him. Jump up into His lap and let Him set you free.  Pay particular attention to the last 5 words – they are key. “God recognizes each as such.

(Romans 14:1-23)

1. We need to remember what we are saved from – the bondage and chains of sin. We are free INDEED (completely, absolutely, forever) through Christ.

2. All things are lawful to the child of God, although not all things are expedient (1 Corinthians 10:23). Thus, while a Christian cannot “break” the law as he is no longer under the law, does not give the right to sin. While we are at liberty to act as the Spirit gives liberty, not all actions are expedient, i.e. prudent. Out of all the things one can do in a given situation, one course of action is best. This is what edifies another brother or sister in Christ, not that which becomes a stumbling block to them.

3. The pinnacle of Christian liberty is to willingly do more (not less) than required by the law to love one another.

4. We must remember we are all servants of Christ. Just as in the secular world we do not judge another man’s servant, we are not to judge each other. We are all accountable ultimately to Christ alone. One who abstains from certain meats does it to glorify God. One who eats all meats in thanksgiving to God does so to glorify God. So both believers glorify God by being true to their own conscience (must be done in faith to please God) and God recognizes each as such.

5. My Christian liberty is not to be flaunted so it becomes an hindrance to another believer. Whenever at a disagreement with another, we need to yield (even if we’re “right”).

6. Charity covers the multitude of sins. When we truly have charity one to another, we don’t even see their faults.

7. Believers need to remember we are on the same team. We have the same indwelling Holy Spirit. A brother or sister in Christ is NEVER the enemy. Satan is ALWAYS the enemy.

Expelled!

12 Year Old Logan, The Sky Angel Cowboy

Wow. Who’d have thunk it?

I had attended a wonderful ladies’ Bible study for about 2 1/2 years when I lived in Battle Creek. We’d have discussions quite often on how we’d like to see the church community change, mostly in the line of fellowship and support. We dreamed of a family type atmosphere during our weekly church services much like there used to be back in Bible times where the believers would meet in a home and share their lives in an intimate way. We had this in our Bible study each week … and we wanted it in our church.  There would be a time of exploring the Word with discussion as well as a time for prayer requests –  which included a family type comfort where one would feel free to share failings as well as triumphs. We had thought that perhaps our Christian world had become too sterile, unable to cross the line of intimate fellowship without opening the gate to gossip or murmurings. We walk in, we sit down, listen, and we leave. Rote. Sterile. Lonely. Often the reason behind a lack of intimacy in church is a fear of sin getting in the door or our walls of defense will be penetrated. Either way, it’s a lifestyle of fear.  I remember one pastor telling me a long time ago that he didn’t encourage in home Bible studies because they often turned into gossip or gripe sessions.

But sin gets in the door in all situations, if we let it.

I had another pastor who desired his people to become more entwined in each others lives much like my desire has been, feeling a kinship and a desire to win the world for Christ through relationships.

We came very close to our dream church when we were at our last church. There was great fellowship and we felt very at home. It was a breath of fresh air to just walk into the church building because there were kind and generous people inside – true believers who whom you felt a great kinship in Christ. The preaching was amazing and we grew under the pastor’s teaching. Yet I still craved the closeness I felt at my weekly ladies’ Bible study. One close friend said that we probably couldn’t have the spiritual/emotional intimacy in a formal church setting because of the pews – all facing forward, sectioned off with our backs to each other. I believed she was right. We’ve all set ourselves up to live separately, with thick walls that say, “Don’t come in too close.” Fortunately we didn’t get that message from our pastor’s family or others in the church. We felt loved and accepted there, mostly because of the example the pastor and his wife. They loved us no matter how we messed up or how imperfect we were.

Sunday night I was totally flabbergasted when our evening service took a different turn than what I’m used to. Wow. This new church of ours does that very thing that I had craved so long – we had a time of sharing where each person felt comfortable enough to open up the doors to their hearts and let it be exposed for a refreshing and cleansing – unlike I’ve seen before in a church setting.  We are new at the church, yet we don’t feel like we are new. It is true that you can travel to any part of the world and feel at home where there are fellow believers. The only time that would not ring true would be if the fellow believers are not loving and inviting in the way that we are charged to be in the Scriptures.

Wausau is our home now. I’m very glad it is where God has called us.  We look to the future with a strange sense of expectancy. It feels good to have a song in my heart…oh, The windows of heaven are open, The blessings are falling tonight. There’s joy, joy, joy in my heart, For Jesus made everything right. I gave Him my old tattered garment, He gave me a robe of pure white, I’m feasting on manna from heaven, And that’s why I’m happy tonight.

USS Bulkeley Nabs Pirates

Our son-in-law’s ship now has its own group of pirates onboard. Read about it here.

Ryan Frederick is Here!

Irena Sendler

For many years Irena Sendler – white-haired, gentle and courageous – was living a modest existence in her Warsaw apartment. This unsung heroine passed away on Monday May 12th, 2008.

Her achievement went largely unnoticed for many years. Then the story was uncovered by four young students at Uniontown High School, in Kansas, who were the winners of the 2000 Kansas state National History Day competition by writing a play Life in a Jar about the heroic actions of Irena Sendler. The girls – Elizabeth Cambers, Megan Stewart, Sabrina Coons and Janice Underwood – have since gained international recognition, along with their teacher, Norman Conard. The presentation, seen in many venues in the United States and popularized by National Public Radio, C-SPAN and CBS, has brought Irena Sendlers story to a wider public. The students continue their prize-winning dramatic presentation Life in a Jar.

Irena Sendler

Irena Sendler was born in 1910 in Otwock, a town some 15 miles southeast of Warsaw. She was greatly influenced by her father who was one of the first Polish Socialists. As a doctor his patients were mostly poor Jews. In 1939, Germany invaded Poland, and the brutality of the Nazis accelerated with murder, violence and terror. At the time, Irena was a Senior Administrator in the Warsaw Social Welfare Department, which operated the canteens in every district of the city. Previously, the canteens provided meals, financial aid, and other services for orphans, the elderly, the poor and the destitute. Now, through Irena, the canteens also provided clothing, medicine and money for the Jews. They were registered under fictitious Christian names, and to prevent inspections, the Jewish families were reported as being afflicted with such highly infectious diseases as typhus and tuberculosis.Irena Sendler was so appalled by the conditions that she joined Zegota, the Council for Aid to Jews, organized by the Polish underground resistance movement, as one of its first recruits and directed the efforts to rescue Jewish children.

But in 1942, the Nazis herded hundreds of thousands of Jews into a 16-block area that came to be known as the Warsaw Ghetto. The Ghetto was sealed and the Jewish families ended up behind its walls, only to await certain death.

The Warsaw Ghetto

To be able to enter the Ghetto legally, Irena managed to be issued a pass from Warsaws Epidemic Control Department and she visited the Ghetto daily, reestablished contacts and brought food, medicines and clothing. But 5,000 people were dying a month from starvation and disease in the Ghetto, and she decided to help the Jewish children to get out. For Irena Sendler, a young mother herself, persuading parents to part with their children was in itself a horrendous task. Finding families willing to shelter the children, and thereby willing to risk their life if the Nazis ever found out, was also not easy.With their help, she issued hundreds of false documents with forged signatures. Irena Sendler successfully smuggled almost 2,500 Jewish children to safety and gave them temporary new identities.The children were given false identities and placed in homes, orphanages and convents. Irena Sendler carefully noted, in coded form, the childrens original names and their new identities. She kept the only record of their true identities in jars buried beneath an apple tree in a neighbor’s back yard, across the street from German barracks, hoping she could someday dig up the jars, locate the children and inform them of their past.

Irena Sendler, who wore a star armband as a sign of her solidarity to Jews, began smuggling children out in an ambulance. She recruited at least one person from each of the ten centers of the Social Welfare Department.

Some children were taken out in gunnysacks or body bags. Some were buried inside loads of goods. A mechanic took a baby out in his toolbox. Some kids were carried out in potato sacks, others were placed in coffins, some entered a church in the Ghetto which had two entrances. One entrance opened into the Ghetto, the other opened into the Aryan side of Warsaw. They entered the church as Jews and exited as Christians. “`Can you guarantee they will live?'” Irena later recalled the distraught parents asking. But she could only guarantee they would die if they stayed. “In my dreams,” she said, “I still hear the cries when they left their parents.”

Irena Sendler accomplished her incredible deeds with the active assistance of the church. “I sent most of the children to religious establishments,” she recalled. “I knew I could count on the Sisters.” Irena also had a remarkable record of cooperation when placing the youngsters: “No one ever refused to take a child from me,” she said.

In all, the jars contained the names of 2,500 children …

Nazi Genocide

But the Nazis became aware of Irena’s activities, and on October 20, 1943 she was arrested, imprisoned and tortured by the Gestapo, who broke her feet and legs. She ended up in the Pawiak Prison, but no one could break her spirit. Though she was the only one who knew the names and addresses of the families sheltering the Jewish children, she withstood the torture, that crippled her for life, refusing to betray either her associates or any of the Jewish children in hiding. Sentenced to death, Irena was saved at the last minute when Zegota members bribed one of the Gestapo agents to halt the execution. She escaped from prison but for the rest of the war she was pursued by the Nazis.The children had known her only by her code name Jolanta. But years later, after she was honored for her wartime work, her picture appeared in a newspaper. “A man, a painter, telephoned me,” said Sendler, “`I remember your face,’ he said. `It was you who took me out of the ghetto.’ I had many calls like that!”

After the war she dug up the jars and used the notes to track down the 2,500 children she placed with adoptive families and to reunite them with relatives scattered across Europe. But most lost their families during the Holocaust in Nazi death camps.

The Holocaust

Irena Sendler did not think of herself as a hero. She claimed no credit for her actions. “I could have done more,” she said. “This regret will follow me to my death.” She has been honored by international Jewish organizations – in 1965 she accorded the title of Righteous Among the Nations by the Yad Vashem organization in Jerusalem and in 1991 she was made an honorary citizen of Israel. Irena Sendler was awarded Poland’s highest distinction, the Order of White Eagle, in Warsaw Monday Nov. 10, 2003, and she was announced as the 2003 winner of the Jan Karski award for Valor and Courage. She has officially been designated a national hero in Poland and schools are named in her honor. Annual Irena Sendler days are celebrated throughout Europe and the United States.

In 2007, she was nominated to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. At a special session in Poland’s upper house of Parliament, President Lech Kaczynski announced the unanimous resolution to honor Irena Sendler for rescuing “the most defenseless victims of the Nazi ideology: the Jewish children.” He referred to her as a “great heroine who can be justly named for the Nobel Peace Prize. She deserves great respect from our whole nation.”

To read more go to: http://www.auschwitz.dk/sendler.htm

In 2007, Irena was up for the Nobel Peace Prize … she was not selected. However, Al Gore won, for a slide show on Global Warming and recently Barack Obama won for a speech on peace. What has this world come to?

Ben Stein’s CBS Sunday Morning Commentary

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday  Morning  Commentary. My confession: I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish.  And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees…  I don’t feel threatened..  I don’t feel discrimina ted against.. That’s what they are, Christmas trees. It doesn’t bother me a bit when people say, ‘Merry Christmas’ to me.  I don’t think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto.  In fact, I kind of like it.  It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year. It doesn’t bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu ..  If people want a creche, it’s just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away. I don’t like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don’t think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians.  I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.  I have no idea where the concept came from, that America is an explicitly atheist country.  I can’t find it in the Constitution and I don’t like it being shoved down my throat. Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren’t allowed to worship God as we understand Him?  I guess that’s a sign that I’m getting old, too.  But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to. In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different:  This is not intended to be a joke; it’s not funny, it’s intended to get you thinking. Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her ‘How could God let something like this happen?’ (regarding Hurricane Katrina)..  Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response..  She said, ‘I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.  And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out.  How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?’ In light of recent events… terrorists attack, school shootings, etc..  I think it star ted when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK.  Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school.  The Bible says thou shalt not kill; thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself.  And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave, because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son commit ted suicide).  We said an expert should know what he’s talking about..  And we said okay.. Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out.  I think it has a great deal to do with ‘WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.’ Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell.  Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says.  Funny how you can send ‘jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire, but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing.  Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Are you laughing yet? Funny how when you forward this message, you will not send it to many on your address list because you’re not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it. Funny how we can be more worried about what other people think of us than what God thinks of us. Pass it on if you think it has merit. If not, then just discard it… no one will know you did.  But, if you discard this thought process, don’t sit back and complain about what bad shape the world is in. My Best Regards,  Honestly and respectfully, Ben Stein

Daniel Goes to College!

Recently we were able to get funding for Daniel to go to Shepherd’s college. He’s happy as a clam and enjoying college life. His teachers told us at our visit last week that he’s an excellent student. I said in my heart, “Of course he is, he’s a Frania!” I guess I can’t claim humbleness when it comes to my kids. The first year he will work on the basics like math  and grammar. The second year he will begin either horticulture or culinary studies. This is a three year program, so we are hoping that each year we can get his funding renewed.

Below are some pictures of Daniel’s dorm and one of him sporting the bronze medal that he brought back from the Special Olympics.  The last pictures are of him playing BB with his Dad in the Shepherd’s gym.