Challah Cover Discovery

Scripture Reading: Vayikra (Leviticus) 13:38-14:57

Beef Bruschetta Skillet (link to recipe in yesterday's post): Everyone really liked this. I used kosher regular cheese instead of non-kosher Velveeta.

If only this would happen when I'M knitting!!!













Crochet Snuggle Tubbie: As soon as I finish this second one I'm going to have to switch to knitting because my hands are starting to hurt from the crocheting. I'll have to table my plans for Snuggle Tubbie #3 until my hands start to hurt from knitting. I think each process uses just enough different motions to give me relief from the stresses and strains of the other.



Challah Cover: I came across this pattern yesterday, and it is absolutely beautiful! This may jump right to the front of the Queue because I already have the thread for it, and I believe I can find the right size needles today so that I can start it as soon as I finish Snuggle Tubbie #2. The rest of the things in the Queue are in need of something I don't yet have or haven't yet done, etc., but I could dive right into this Challah Cover, and I've needed a formal one for a long time. I will probably make it big enough to cover 2 loaves, though.




Scrubs: I definitely could have done without the men with breasts/breastfeeding/breast milk fight scenes--ick! But the rest of the show had the usual good mix of comedy and poignancy. The babies sure were cute. I will miss Perry when the show is over. He's always been my favorite.





Survivor China: Well, James should have known they'd probably turn on him now. He didn't think it through very well because any agreement with him for final 4 meant they would have to agree for him to be in the final 2 because they knew he had both idols. If he had really thought that through, he probably could have figured out that this would be the time for them to turn on him since they had enough numbers to do so. Now we're wondering how the rest of the survivors are going to survive since it seems like James did pretty much everything around the camp.


Dinner Tonight: Pizza.

Contemplating Cat Tunnel

Scripture Reading: Vayikra (Leviticus) 11:1-13:37

Lev 11:46 ‘This is the Torah of the beasts and the birds and every living creature that moves in the waters, and of every creature that creeps on the earth,
Lev 11:47 to make a distinction between the unclean and the clean, and between the living creature that is eaten and the living creature that is not eaten.’ "

Cheesy Mexican Chicken (link to recipe in yesterday's post): The whole family thought this tasted really good, but all agreed that it needed more sauce, so the next time we have it, I'll try doubling everything but the chicken breasts, corn chips and rice.

Crochet Snuggle Tubbie and Cat Tunnel: It's going much faster now, and I should be able to finish Snuggle Tubbie #2 in the next couple days. I'm close to running out of the black yarn I've been using, and when I do, I'm going to switch to the last skein I have of the same yarn, which happens to be white. It's Wal-Mart Mainstays, and it is my least favorite among the worsted-weight yarns I have on hand, so I thought this would be a good use for it since it's going to get really dirty and beat up. I don't think I'll be purchasing any more of that brand unless it's going to be for a rugged utilitarian use like this. I'm planning to make a Snuggle Tubbie #3 in the large size, and if that doesn't use up all the Mainstays yarn, I'll move on to another pattern I have for a cat play tunnel. In fact, I'll probably go ahead and make the tunnel anyway even if I have to use some of the other yarn I have on hand. Before I can make it, though, I have to get the metal craft rings that are needed for the tunnel to maintain its shape. Wal-Mart didn't have any, so I'm going to have to look for them online.

'Til Death: We laugh a lot when we watch this sitcom. I've loved Brad Garrett since he was on 'Everybody Loves Raymond', but the rest of the cast are great, too. I think the next-door neighbor, Steph, tends to get the best lines. Anyway, the interplay between the four main characters is usually pretty funny.

Kid Nation: So far, I've refrained from commenting on this show because who wants to say anything negative about kids? A lot of the fun of talking about reality shows is poking fun at the people on them, but when the people on the show acting childish are actually children, that's pretty much to be expected and not very notable. It's the adults on reality shows who act childish and socially inept that invite biting commentary. For some reason, my children keep begging to try out for this show, but I'm still saying 'no'.

Kitchen Nightmares: The episode we watched was about an Italian restaurant called Campania in New Jersey. My favorite part was when Gordon told off the nasty old woman customer who did nothing but make untrue complaints about the food. Apparently she has quite an influence on her family (or whoever the 'lucky' people at her table were) since none of them dared disagree with her and went along with her complaining feedback. Nothing like ruining everyone's evening out by causing an ugly scene. Or maybe they all do that on a regular basis in an effort to get a free meal.

Clash Of The Choirs: We're really looking forward to this upcoming show, which I believe is supposed to begin December 17. It sounds like people try out for the celebrities, who then pick who they want in their choir. Loved Drew Lachey in Dancing With The Stars, so looking forward to getting to know his brother Nick on this new show.

The Moment Of Truth: This is a new show coming up on Fox. Apparently it's kind of controversial because contestants have to answer 21 questions while hooked up to a lie detector. If they pass the test, they get $500,000, so lots of incentive to be completely honest. The catch is that they're going to get asked all kinds of sensitive, intimate and perhaps self-incriminating questions. I read that a version of the show airing in another country got canceled after a woman admitted that she had hired a hitman to kill her husband. I guess it was worth the prize money to confess to a felony! Of course, we never cease to be amazed by all the things people will do to humiliate themselves on TV, so I think Husband has already programmed it into the DVR.

Dinner Tonight: Beef Bruschetta Skillet

http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/kraft/75173/beef-bruschetta-skillet

Queue-ing Up

Scripture Reading: Vayikra (Leviticus) 8-10

Lev 9:23 And Mosheh and Aharon went into the Tent of Meeting, and came out and blessed the people. And the esteem of יהוה appeared to all the people,
Lev 9:24 and fire came out from before יהוה and consumed the burnt offering and the fat on the altar. And all the people saw and cried aloud and fell on their faces.

I found it interesting that it seems that immediately after this happened that Nadab and Abihu decided to go before YHWH with strange fire--

Lev 10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aharon, each took his fire holder and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and brought strange fire before יהוה, which He had not commanded them.
Lev 10:2 And fire came out from יהוה and consumed them, and they died before יהוה.

They would have been better off had they followed the example of the rest of the people and fallen on their faces instead!

Curried Beef Kabobs: My husband loved these, remarking, "It's all my favorite things!" I left out the tomatoes, though, since they are not among his favorite things. I loved the smell and taste of the marinade. The kids loved the kabobs, too.

Crochet Snuggle Tubbie: It seemed like it took forever to tear out the 4-1/2 rounds of the sides last night, but I finally got that done and also managed to get about 2-1/2 rounds re-crocheted in the stitch pattern I had used for the first Snuggle Tubbie. It's already looking much better, so I'm sure I made the right call in starting over on the sides. (That's Sherbie in the picture.)

The Queue: I'm thinking about starting a new section on the left-hand side of my layout here for things I'm thinking about making, planning to make, getting prepared to start making, etc. In Ravelry we have a section in our notebooks for this type of brainstorming and preparation called the 'Queue'--"where ideas for future projects are kept". This is a great tool for organizing because ideas don't come to us sequentially in a nice neat orderly fashion. We'll see something and think, "Oh, that would be good for _____________ ." Other times, we're looking specifically for a certain type of thing, but may find several different good possibilities that fit what we're looking for or several things a certain intended recipient might like, so we need to investigate each possibility further before we know which one is 'the one'. It's great having a place to collect all these thoughts and ideas.

Also, even when we're pretty sure we're going to make a certain thing, there may be prep work required before we can get started--needles/yarn/accessories that need to be rounded up and/or purchased, gauge swatches to make to determine for sure which needles and yarn are needed, measurements to take (or request) to know for sure which size to make, etc.

So, when you see a knitter or crocheter working on a project, it is very likely that s/he is also working on several more projects in her/his head while stitching away. For instance, I may be crocheting a Snuggle Tubbie right now, but visions of mittens, slippers, sweaters, skirts, blankets, afghans and even butterflies are dancing in my head. (see The Butterfly Project at http://www.hmh.org/minisite/butterfly/index.html )

JourneyMan: I'm not absolutely certain, but I think Dan's brother finally believes him about what's been happening to him. (I was kind of in and out of the room basting the broiling kabobs while JourneyMan was on.) Anyway, I hope Jack does finally believe him because then at least it won't all be on Katie's shoulders to be Dan's sole support system in such a difficult situation. The way the whole thing has played out between the two brothers makes you wonder how you would respond if your sibling told you something like that was happening to them, doesn't it?

Dancing With The Stars: No big surprise that Helio and Julianne won, but I feel kinda bad that Mel and Maks (discovered on the show graphics last night that that's how it's actually spelled) didn't. I thought she was an awesome dancer, but I think that their disappointingly disjointed free-style dance is what tipped the balance in Helio's favor since his free-style was much more of a crowd-pleaser. Or maybe Helio was more popular in the audience voting all along. At least Marie has admitted, "We knew every single week that we were here because of [my fans]. Obviously, I'm not the best dancer. We know that." It was a relief to read that because we were getting the impression she did think she was the best dancer and deserved to win. My husband predicts that brother Donny will be on the next season of DWTS.

The Biggest Loser: Okay, I have to say this--It is MORE than mere soy sauce that caused Bryan to have low weight loss percentages week after week. Ever since this show came on the air I have wondered why they do not do a 24-hour camera surveillance like on 'Big Brother'. This way, the cheaters could not get away with, "I did everything I possibly could, blah, blah, blah....." Also, it would be nice if the truly biggest loser (going by total percentage of weight loss) actually won. Instead of "the biggest threat" (i.e. one of those with the best weight loss records, AKA the biggest losers) being voted out by the poorer performers, how about just sending home each week the one who posts the lowest weight loss percentage?

Dinner Tonight: Cheesy Mexican Chicken.

http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/kraft/52510/cheesy-mexican-chicken

The Snuggle Tubbie Blues

Scripture Reading: Vayikra (Leviticus) 5-7

Lev 7:26 ‘And do not eat any blood in any of your dwellings, of bird or of beast.



Crochet Snuggle Tubbie: I am not happy with how this second one is turning out. I tried doing the stitch pattern for the sides differently than I did for the first one, thinking I might be getting the directions more correct this time, but the sides are flopping out rather than standing up like the first Snuggle Tubbie did. So, I made the decision to frog the 4-1/2 rounds of the sides that I've already done and start the side rounds over, doing the stitch pattern the way I did on the first Snuggle Tubbie. My husband always rolls his eyes when I do this (unravel my work), seeing it as unnecessary perfectionism. He has a point this time since after all this is 'just' a cat bed, and the cats have all been piling on top of the first Snuggle Tubbie and flattening down the sides anyway (not cocooning in it as I had envisioned). But for some reason, I just like for my things to turn out 'perfect', even if I'm the only one who knows it.



What the first Snuggle Tubbie looked like BEFORE being given to the cats:

What the first Snuggle Tubbie looks like now AFTER the cats have had their way with it:

Chuck: I like this show. There are enough clever and funny parts to keep my interest, and I like all the characters. I think in some ways it reminds me of 'Get Smart' with a good mixture of comedy and adventure. I like how Chuck is really a genius even though he lives with his sister and works at the Buy More--the ultimate underachiever. I'm also enjoying the new coupling of Morgan and Anna. And their boss cracks me up--"Don't knock on my door for ANY reason."

Dancing With The Stars: What more can I say about the Marie voting bloc? It looks like the judges are doing their best to counteract it. After this many weeks, her remarks are starting to grate on my nerves--"I'm one of the biggest doll designers in the world"--to which I say, so what? This is a dancing competition, not a doll-designing competition. Although Mel was my favorite going into the finals, I think she and Max blew it in the free-style round. I actually turned to my husband while that dance was going on and said, "This is just too disjointed." And that's exactly the same word Len used when he gave his assessment afterward--'disjointed'.

Helio and Julianne may have leaped to the lead position with their free-style being so good and entertaining and superior to the others. I still think it is an injustice that Sabrina got cut so early while Marie stayed week after week after week, and the producers may want to think about making the show just entertainment and not a competition, like watching 10 celebrities for 10 weeks and seeing how much they improve (or not) week by week. Otherwise, if it continues to be a popularity contest (a la Marie), that could be done in one show--trot out all the celebrities and let everyone vote for their favorite regardless of dancing ability and that's that.

Dinner Tonight: Curried Beef Kabobs

http://food.yahoo.com/recipes/taste-of-home/114708/curried-beef-kabobs;_ylt=At6qoo9XGJHLS4XoIISyW41IY.Y5

We Don't Eat Any Fat Or Any Blood

Yesterday's Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 39-40; Vayikra (Leviticus) 1

Exo 39:42 According to all that יהוה had commanded Mosheh, so the children of Yisra’ĕl did all the work.
Exo 39:43 And Mosheh looked over all the work and saw they did it as יהוה had commanded, so they had done. And Mosheh blessed them.

Today's Scripture Reading: Vayikra (Leviticus) 2-4

Lev 3:16 ‘And the priest shall burn them on the altar as food, an offering made by fire for a sweet fragrance. All the fat belongs to יהוה.
Lev 3:17 ‘An everlasting law throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you do not eat any fat or any blood.’ "

(We cut off the fat and only eat meat that was slaughtered by kosher method so that the blood was drained out, or we salt and soak the blood out if we're not sure how it was slaughtered.)

Crochet Snuggle Tubbie: I'm still working on the medium size, and it is taking much longer than the small one. The base is 3 rounds bigger, which I believe translates to 30 more stitches on each round of the sides. It's frustrating that it's taking so long because I have other things I want to do, not to mention all the mending I HAVE to do before I can even get to the want-to-do's.

The Amazing Race: I cannot tolerate that Jennifer of Jennifer & Nathan. What a whiner! Can you BELIEVE how she not only wanted Azaria and Hendekea to LET her be first, but then even verbalized to Phil how they should have done so?! What a loser. If she wants to come in first, then she needs to race and run fast enough to come in first--duh!






Dexter: It's difficult to imagine how Dexter is going to extricate himself from his current predicament. And isn't that Lila sooooooooo irritating? She's rivaling Debra for the most offensive character on the show.



Dinner Tonight: Crockpot Meatballs.

First Crochet Snuggle Tubbie Finished

Scripture Reading: Vayishlach (And He Sent)



Torah: Breisheet (Genesis) 32:4-36:43
Haftarah: Hoshea (Hosea) 11:7-12:12; Ovadyah (Obadiah) 1:1-21
Ketuvim Netzarim: Mattithyahu (Matthew) 26:36-46; Ibrim (Hebrews) 11:11-20




I finished the first Snuggle Tubbie last night, which is a small. As it turned out, our medium-sized kittens fit into it with room to spare, so it didn't turn out as small as I thought it would. This is Benjy trying it out for size--

Now I'm working on the second Snuggle Tubbie, this time a medium, and we'll see if our full-grown cat will fit into it, or whether she'll need a large.

The Next Great American Band: I actually got on the phone and voted last night for The Clark Brothers. I really want them to win. I can't believe what a big sound they have with only 3 guys. I'm happy that all my favorites are still in the competition. I'd like to see Tres Bien go next time.

Dinner Tonight: Turkey and Basil Spaghetti.

Entertainment Management

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 36:20-38:31

Exo 38:22 And Betsal’ĕl son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Yehudah, made all that יהוה had commanded Mosheh.

Our Thanksgiving dinner was delicious! Hope everyone enjoyed theirs as much as we did ours.

Today, I thought I'd write about TV in our house. This is something I have absolutely no control over and am basically a bystander--lol.

As we got newer TVs that got progressively more technologically advanced, I eventually lost my ability to even turn them on properly. With the many-buttoned remotes, if I try turning one of the TVs on, I end up with a screen full of snow, and no amount of button-pushing will get me to an actual channel.

My husband laughs at my ineptitude and just repeats the 'simple' turn-on formula, which I think I'll remember the next time I attempt watching TV when he's not around, but it always turns out the same--a screen full of loud staticky snow. So, now I just tag along when he's watching TV.
Even if I could manage to decode the various formulae and competently operate all the machinery, I wouldn't be allowed to when he was around anyway. And if I dared to attempt it when he wasn't around, I'd be taking the chance of messing up his intricate recording schedule for the DVR.

Since he's good at all that TV/satellite/DVR/DVD player management, I'm content to leave all that to him, and I have the benefit of being entertained while I'm knitting, crocheting or sewing.

Every once in a while, I will read about a movie or TV program that sparks my interest, and I will write down the name of it and ask him if he can find it and fit it into the recording and playback schedule. Occasionally, I'll hit the jackpot with this, but at other times I'll get a response like, "I won't record anything with subtitles", or (upon my recent request for "Knit & Crochet Today") just raucous laughter.

Dinner Tonight: Turkey Sandwiches (what else?)

The Snuggle Tubbie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 34:1-36:19

Exo 34:14 for you do not bow yourselves to another mighty one, for יהוה, whose Name is jealous, is a jealous Ěl –


I found and started this pattern last night called Crochet Snuggle Tubbie from The Snuggles Project:

http://www.snugglesproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=76&Itemid=29

I had some difficulty understanding the directions, but with a few trial-and-errors, I think I'm on the right track. Even if I'm not doing exactly what the pattern calls for, I at least like the way it's turning out, so I'm going to stick with my interpretation of what I think the pattern is saying.

So far, I've finished the base and 2 rounds of the sides following the formula for the small size, and it does seem small. It looks like it will work for the youngest kittens, but I'll probably have to do at least a medium, if not a large for the older kittens and my 1 adult cat. I'd like to do one for each of them.

We had Callie (one of our youngest kittens) try it out for size.

Time to start getting everything ready for our Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey is smelling sooooo good!

Dinner today: Roast Turkey, Mashed Potatoes with Turkey Gravy, Dressing, Nutmeg Green Beans, Pea Salad, Rolls with real butter and Chocolate-Chip Pan Cookies.

All recipes (except the Pea Salad and Chocolate-Chip Pan Cookies) are available in the Thanksgiving Menu Mailer here:

http://www.flylady.net/pages/Thmm1.asp

Cat Bed Trial

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 31-33

Exo 33:11a Thus יהוה spoke to Mosheh face to face, as a man speaks to his friend.

Exo 33:20 But He said, "You are unable to see My face, for no man does see Me and live."

At first, these appear to be conflicting statements--how can Mosheh speak with Elohim face to face and yet still live?

The One he spoke face to face with was Yeshua Messiah, the earthly manifestation of Elohim that man can see, hear, touch.

1Co 10:1 For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brothers, that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea,
1Co 10:2 and all were immersed into Mosheh in the cloud and in the sea,
1Co 10:3 and all ate the same spiritual food,
1Co 10:4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed, and the Rock was Messiah.

Last night, I tried this pattern ( http://www.moonarts.com/blog/free_patterns/pages/kitty-cozy-print.htm ) for a cat bed, but I could tell it was coming out too small, probably because I was using a worsted weight yarn, and I think the yarn the pattern suggests is probably a super bulky weight. I tried to add rounds, but I didn't like the result, so I'm probably going to try something else.

Dancing With The Stars: Sabrina sure demonstrated why she should still be in the competition, if not the winner! She definitely got robbed being eliminated so early. And now Jennie is gone. too. Marie's voting bloc is apparently unstoppable, despite her less than perfect dancing.

The Bachelor: How many different excuses can the guy come up with? What a ridiculous load of conflicting double-talk. And HE requested that the show fly DeAnna's father in so he could ask for her hand! He "tried SO hard". Tried so hard to WHAT? The only thing that seems to fit is that he tried so hard to be straight, but he just couldn't make it happen, so he had to "take the high road" and cut both women loose.



Dinner tonight: Sesame Beef Steak Sandwiches using last night's leftovers.

The Afghan Grows

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 29-30

Since finishing the blue Jackyll & Hide, I've been knitting on the Homespun Leafy Border Afghan during TV-watching time (my prime needlework time). Typically I cannot work on these big projects for long periods of time without getting bored, so I tend to work on them while I'm trying to decide what to make next or while looking for and acquiring what I need for my next project.

Currently, I have the yarn for a baby blanket and just need the right-size needles in order to start that, but I'm not absolutely certain that the pattern I've been planning to use is what I want to do. I keep thinking I may come across a pattern I like better. Also, it's not that urgent since no one in my family is expecting a baby right now.

I don't have the sport-weight yarn I need for a project that is more urgent than the baby blanket, so I've been shopping around online for that. I also want to make cat beds, for which I can probably use yarn I already have, but I'm still looking for the 'perfect' pattern. For instance, in my online shopping around yesterday, I came upon a book that had a pattern for a 'cat bag'. Sadly, there was no picture of it, but I've been wondering if it would be worth the $11 or so to buy the book and see if it is something my cats might like more than the bed patterns I've found so far.

So, each evening that these things stay in the queue, the afghan grows a little more.

The Bachelor: Perhaps this is what happens when a man is desperate to prove to his family that he is not gay. It has always been disgusting to watch how these guys string along the women they're not going to pick, but at least in previous seasons, those women got dumped for a woman the guy wanted slightly more, or at least he was able to tell her that because, like a real man, he actually chose one of the women. In this case, they all got dumped because he didn't want any of them. Under such circumstances, there is no excuse for how he encouraged them to open up and pour their hearts out all over the place. Plus, he said about both of the final women that he could see himself married to her or spending the rest of his life with her and all that blather. Like DeAnna said, "It doesn't make any sense." There's some buzz that he picked someone else and that this is revealed on tonight's After The Rose Ceremony show, which was taped last Friday. One rumor I read is that it is one of the show's producers. Another rumor is that he's taken up with Sandra Bullock! Pretty much anything one can imagine would make about as much sense as what we've already seen.

Dancing with the Stars: I thought Marie did better than she ever has, but I still think she's not up to the level of the other 3 contestants, so she should be the one to go. Jennie Garth is the most impressive as far as how much improvement she's made throughout the show. Derek is an awesome teacher and choreographer! He has really transformed her into a swan! While I also love Julianne and Helio, I believe the winners should be Mel and Max. When the show started, I did not want to like Mel B, the Spice Girl, but she has been so consistently great at the dancing, and personality-wise, she just kept winning me over throughout the season, so that now she is my favorite, and I hope she wins.

Weeds: Looks like Nancy is going to try to get out of Dodge, but will she try to go legit? And what if the wildfire doesn't burn down the rest of her neighborhood? She may end up being in a heap of trouble. Guess we'll have to wait and see what happens next season.

Dinner Tonight: Sesame Beef Steaks
http://www.savingdinner.com/

Half Of Our Cats

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 26-28

Exo 26:30 "And you shall raise up the Dwelling Place according to its pattern which you were shown on the mountain.


Today I took pictures of some of our cats. Well, technically those pictured here are kittens since they're less than 1 year old.






Cuddled up on the front step were Callie (calico female) and Tom (gray tuxedo male).


















On the side table of the glider was Lacey, a beautiful velvety gray Siamese mix female.

On one of the benches was Patty, my special tortoiseshell female, the oldest of the kittens.

Hiding behind the glider I found George, a ginger tabby male.

The other four were out enjoying themselves beyond the front veranda, so I'll have to photograph them at another time.

I'm currently looking for a good cat bed pattern so I can make them some cozy places to cuddle and nap.

Watched Idiocracy last night. We were laughing outloud!

Dexter: As easily predicted, Lila has gone even more psycho, and thankfully Dexter is now onto her, but he's probably already let her know too much. She is probably going to come to an ugly end.

Dinner tonight: Indian Chicken. http://www.savingdinner.com/

Blue Jackyll & Hide Finished

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 23-25

I finished the blue Jackyll & Hide last night and took these pictures this morning. He's pretty happy with it and continues to wear it around the house, even though it must be way too hot since the temperature here is still in the high 70s.

Link to Ravelry project page: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Tuppence/jackyll--hide-2

The Next Great American Band: I LOVE The Clark Brothers! I like the rest in this order: Sixwire, Denver and the Mile High Orchestra, Dot Dot Dot and Light of Doom (they're so cute!). I liked Cliff Wagner and the Old #7 at first, but they've just kind of faded for me. I never liked Tres Bien because the lead singer has a problem staying on tune. I'd really like to see The Clark Brothers win. It would great to see what they'd sound like if more family members joined them.

I Am Nana

Yesterday's Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 21-22

Today's Scripture Reading: VaYetse (And He Went Out)

Torah: Breisheet (Genesis) 28:10-32:3
Haftarah: Hoshea (Hosea) 11:7-14:10
Ketuvim Netzarim: Yochanan (John) 1:19-51

Hos 13:4 "But I am יהוה your Elohim since the land of Mitsrayim, and an Elohim besides Me you shall not know, for there is no Saviour besides Me.

Today was my oldest grandchild's birthday. She is now 12 years old, the same age as my next-to-youngest child. She lives in another state, but I was able to reach her by phone and wish her a Happy Birthday. She's a beautiful girl and a championship dancer. I can't wait to see her again.

My 18-year-old daughter got a new puppy yesterday, and he is so cute, but I forgot to take pictures when I was there. Now I'm looking for doggy-wear patterns for him!

I finished the blue Jackyll & Hide balaclava tonight, so hopefully I can take and then post some pictures tomorrow. This one was for my 7-year-old son, and when he saw that the eyeholes were done (thus nearing completion), he asked me to throw it at him when I finished it. This is based on the fact that my husband likes to lay on the floor while he watches TV, and of course, my preference is to sit on the couch doing needlework, and it has become a 'thing' for me to toss over to him whatever I've been working on when it's completed for him to examine and admire. So, my son wanted to be the one his balaclava was tossed to when it was done. He sure got a kick out of it when it landed on him!

Identity and Idolatry

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 18-20

In this reading, the 10 Commandments are given at Mount Sinai. Like many people, I memorized these as a child and was taught that the First Commandment was:

"I am the LORD thy God. Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

However, this is not how the text actually reads, and it was very helpful and a real eye-opener to discover what the First Commandment really is.

Exo 20:1 And Elohim spoke all these Words, saying,
Exo 20:2 "I am יהוה your Elohim, who brought you out of the land of Mitsrayim, out of the house of slavery.
Exo 20:3 "You have no other mighty ones against My face.
Exo 20:4 "You do not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of that which is in the heavens above, or which is in the earth beneath, or which is in the waters under the earth,
Exo 20:5 you do not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, יהוה your Elohim am a jealous Ěl, visiting the crookedness of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
Exo 20:6 but showing kindness to thousands, to those who love Me and guard My commands.

In verse 2, YHWH identifies Himself. Verse 3 is a prohibition against idolatry, which is elaborated upon in verses 4-6, which explain the prohibition and the reason for it. Verse 3 does not go with verse 2. It obviously goes with verses 4-6.

Verse 2 is the First Commandment. It is about His identity, who He truly is, so that we will be able to differentiate between Him, the true Elohim, and false gods (mighty ones). First and foremost, we need to know and understand in Whom we believe. He identifies Himself as the Elohim who brought Israel out of Egypt (Mitsrayim), out of the bondage of slavery. The Commandment is to believe only in Him as the one and only true Elohim.

He identifies Himself specifically this way so that we will know that if we are worshipping anyone or anything else other than the One who redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt, then we are committing idolatry as described in the Second Commandment. We cannot truly keep the Second Commandment unless we know who our Elohim (God) is.

If we do not know exactly who we are worshipping, we are in danger of violating the Second Commandment, so that is why He gave us a specific way of identifying Him. He also says that He does not change:

Mal 3:6 "For I am יהוה, I shall not change, and you, O sons of Ya'aqob, shall not come to an end.

Jam 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change, nor shadow of turning.

What He gave us at Mount Sinai is still in effect today, just as all the covenants prior to Sinai are in effect, because He does not change, and He does not break covenants.

He did not send His Son to begin a new religion in the First Century. His Son was there from the beginning. He was there on Sinai giving those 10 Commandments because ALL came to be through Him.

Joh 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.
Joh 1:2 He was in the beginning with Elohim.
Joh 1:3 All came to be through Him, and without Him not even one came to be that came to be.

He doesn't change.

Heb 13:8 יהושע Messiah is the same yesterday, and today, and forever.

It's so reassuring that He doesn't change. Who would want to worship a capricious, mind-changing, covenant-breaking god?

Small Stash Basket Finished

Scripture Reading: Shemot (Exodus) 15-17

Exo 15:26 And He said, "If you diligently obey the voice of יהוה your Elohim and do what is right in His eyes, and shall listen to His commands and shall guard all His laws, I shall bring on you none of the diseases I brought on the Mitsrites, for I am יהוה who heals you."

Isn't that a great promise?

Last night, I finished the Small Stash Basket, which is a relief because it was starting to get painful to do because it has such a tight gauge. I do like the way it turned out.

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/Tuppence/small-stash-basketscts/Tuppence/small-stash-baskets

Last night's TV viewing--

Curb Your Enthusiasm: Okay, I'm stumped. Were those scenes at the end of the show supposed to be what ACTUALLY happened, or what Larry was imagining might happen?

Weeds: Is Judah really there, or is Shane using that to say what he himself actually wants to say?

Dancing With The Stars: I love Marie as much as the next person, but it's been getting more and more ridiculous for her to still be there. It's a dancing contest, not a popularity contest, and better dancers than she have left before her.

The Biggest Loser: I almost did some dancing myself when they finally voted Amy the whiner/quitter/conniver off! I was impressed with her after-the-show weight loss, though, since it seemed like during the show she must have been cheating a lot to put up such low numbers every week. By the way, I don't think that 'triathlon' was one. In real triathlons, I'm pretty sure it's one continuous race without having to stop and wait to start the next thing until your competitors get to the starting line with you. Meaning that once Kae finishing cycling, she should have been able to immediately get on the treadmill to do the run, and then when she was finished with that, she should have been able to immediately jump into the pool and start swimming her laps. If it had been a REAL triathlon, she might have won.

JourneyMan: We definitely got more answers about the whole Livia thing and a little bit of why she keeps showing up in his leaps to the past than we have in any previous episode, but it's still frustrating not knowing the complete story of how and why the whole time travel thing started in the first place. I generally love time travel stories, but I still want everything to make sense. I'm wondering if that professor guy started the whole thing.