Ephesians 2- Part 2

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Study and learn. Be changed.  Ephesians 2 Made Alive in Christ 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not
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Tadpoles and Pheobe eggs...and laughs in the oddest of places

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We went out of town for Easter and when we returned, I saw that my pond had a leak somewhere. I had Russell to brave the spiders that might be lerking near the outlet so that he could unplug the waterfall, because the waterfall is usually the problem...most of the time. This morning I started the task of removing rocks to get down to the liner to see if I could see what the problem actually happened to be. I found it after looking a minute or so. Some critter, likely a chipmunk since a family lives 4 feet away under the pine tree by the waterfall, chewed through the top of the liner allowing water to leak at the top of the waterfall. After fixing the leak, putting more water in, I plugged the pump that controls the waterfall...and started to inspect every inch of the waterfall. To my surprise, I found thousands of tadpoles in the waterfall. I love listening to the spring peepers at night..I imagine these tadpoles are their doing. If the chipmunk hadn't caused a leak, I might have missed that blessing. I saw the phoebe return to its nesting site it used, last year....right under our deck. After spying to make sure the mother wasn't close by, I peeked in. She already has 3 little eggs! Another blessing! Last year, one tried to fledge out too soon. I had to pick it up out of the yard and place it back into the nest. Perhaps this is the one nesting here this year... Finally, John-Michael gave me a laugh in the oddest way. As you know, he has a tumor disorder, neurofibromatosis (NF)- he has tumors on some of his nerve endings. I am constantly trying to get him to eat better as there is no medical treatment. All I know is to try to get as many good vitamins and minerals in him as I can. Well, we were eating dinner with a friend and her 7 children a few nights ago. The mom was giving all of the kids water to drink because with her 7 and my 3....that's a lot of drinks to fix. John-Michael didn't want water. So he says, "Mrs. Lee, may I have orange juice?" She said no...all of the kids are having water. He then says, "Mrs. Lee, orange juice will make my tumor not grow?" Little stinker... He got orange juice. ....
Looking for the blessings,
Rachel

Comments

  1. PerriApril 5, 2010 at 6:58 PM

    I'd say John-Michael is "Playing" the hand he was dealt. Funny kid.

    ReplyDelete
  2. RachelpApril 6, 2010 at 7:51 AM

    Yes, John-Michael is a smart kid. I have to fight myself not to baby him. Intellectually, I KNOW I should not baby him, but emotionally...it is hard not to do so...

    ReplyDelete

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