AP: Word of the Day

AP writes:

I thought a while ago I should unsubscribe from the Dictionary word of the day. Moma signed me up for this a couple of years ago to prep for the SAT. But now that I am a college Senior it seemed as if it was not serving its purpose anymore. I'm so thankful I kept it! The funniest words come through! Here are just a few of them:

Slugabed \SLUHG-uh-bed\, noun:

One who stays in bed until a late hour; a sluggard.

Viand \VAHY-uhnd\, noun:

An article of food, now usually of a choice or delicate kind.

  

Smithereens \smith-uh-REENZ\, noun:

Small pieces; bits.

Acta \AK-tuh\, noun:

Official records, as of acts, deeds, proceedings, transactions, or the like. 

Lucifugous \loo-see-FOO-guhs\, adjective:

Avoiding light.-----------(Interesting since Satan's name is Lucifer and he hates God, who is light.....)

Hobbledehoy \HOB-uhl-dee-hoy\, noun:

An awkward, gawky young fellow.

Frabjous \FRAB-juhs\, adjective:

Wonderful, elegant, superb, or delicious.

  

Brobdingnagian \brob-ding-NAG-ee-uhn\, adjective:

Of extraordinary size; gigantic; enormous.

Quaggy \KWAG-ee\, adjective:

1. Marshy; boggy.
2. Soft or flabby.

Tittle \TIT-l\, noun:

1. A dot or other small mark in writing or printing, used as a diacritic, punctuation, etc.
2. A very small part or quantity; a particle, jot, or whit

Kenspeckle \KEN-spek-uhl\, adjective:

Conspicuous; easily seen or recognized.

Mojo \MOH-joh\, noun:

1. Personal magnetism; charm.
2. The art or practice of casting magic spells; magic; voodoo.
3. An object, as an amulet or charm, that is believed to carry a magic spell.
4. Good luck or favor concerning an event or individual.

Yeuk \YOOK\, noun:

1. An itching sensation.

verb:
1. To itch.

Cheechako \chee-CHAH-koh\, noun:

A tenderfoot; greenhorn; newcomer.

There are so many funny ones!!!!!!!!!!! All this to say, you should sign up for the Dictionary word of the day; it provides you with a fantastic vocabulary and you will laugh twice! (once on your own and then again when telling all your friends!) =)

Have a great day!

Ashton =)

Fred

Hello everyone!

I want to share with you a special story of what happened in my life today and ask you to partner with me in prayer. Today as I was doing school in the basement, my entire house's electricity went off. Unfortunately since all my school work is on the computer and internet, I was unable to do school. So I went to the Grandview McDonald's because they have free wi-fi. (Personally I think it's just to get you to purchase food but yeah....=) )

There was quite an unusually large number of seniors in the McDonalds so I assume they had some type of gathering or celebration or something. Personally I love elderly people. I love to listen to their stories and listen to their wisdom. Most people in my generation don't give them a second of their attention and act as if they don't exist. What great wisdom we are missing out on! We shouldn't shove them in a corner just because they need us to talk a little slower and louder......we should listen intently to what they have to say because they have lived life and know what's coming our way.

As I was sitting there working on my biology homework a very sweet, older gentleman saw me working on my computer and saw the symbol of the brand of my computer on the back of my screen. Jokingly he asked me if my computer was an Apple. I was like, "No sir." wondering what he was going to say next. He said that if it was, he was going to ask if he could take a bite out of it. =) I smiled at this old man's humor. Little did I know this little encounter was going to last 1 1/2 hours.

He started talking to me about how the companies were trying to get our money by showing us that we needed the newest, latest, better version of everything. I responded by saying that my generation would be wise if we would listen to the advice of our grandparents and parents. He said that we should also listen to Christ. I heartily agreed and then he asked if I was a Christian. I said that I was and his next question was if I was part of the International House of Prayer. I said that I was and that my parents are on staff there. At this point I was thinking that he was in favor of the International House of Prayer but his next comment quickly put me in place.

He told me that people from IHOP are antichrists and freaks. Immediately I knew my place was not to argue with him and prove him he was wrong but to rather listen to what he had to say and just question him on why he thought that way. (Later I found out that this instinct was from the Holy Spirit because anyone who knows me knows that I always like to argue and prove I'm right until, well I'm right! =) Also during the conversation I felt a trembling that would rise up inside my stomach to my jaw where it would tremble. I was like, "Not now Holy Spirit! =)" And I kept seeing flashes of light out of the corner of my eyes.)

I asked him why he thought IHOPers were antichrists. His answer was incorrect in that he said that we didn't teach from the Bible; that we paraphrased and taught from the paraphrased version and that was punishable by eternal damnation. He is correct in the fact that if you change the Bible by adding or taking away from it that you are putting yourself in the position of eternal damnation. (It says that in Revelation) He said that the leaders had taken the scriptures, added and taken away from them, and were teaching from that. I had no idea where he got this idea but I knew that the IHOP leaders only teach that which is straight from the scriptures. He was wrong about the IHOP leaders. Mostly the one he kept referring to was Mike Bickle. I told him that Mike Bickle even puts the exact words of the NKJV into notes and hands them out so people can search it out for themselves what he is teaching. This brought us to another point.

He said that the only real version of the scriptures was the original documents due to translation errors by humans. I asked him how the originals were true if they too were written by humans but he didn't have an answer for me. He only said the NIV, NKJV, KJV, NAS, ESV, and many others were wrong. (I don't believe this though.) We talked about many of history's translators, like Wycliff, and I was very thankful for my education where I had studied this! =)

This man was so right on so many issues but just a little bit wrong on a couple of parts, which throws all of it off. He said that he had studied 23 different translations of the Bible, including the Greek and Hebrew. He believes that all scripture is God breathed and infallible. He believes that only God is God. He believes we are saved by grace and that salvation is a free gift from God.

But some things I knew were wrong. He said that there are 3 stages of life for humans. 1) The first generation of humans being before Jesus' death in which men had to perform offerings (works) and attain salvation. 2) The second being the ones after Jesus' resurrection who receive the gift of salvation freely. 3) And the third being those who live in the final days. That in itself wasn't wrong but he said that we don't need Jesus' blood. He said that Jesus wasn't God, but merely an image of God. But then he said that if we reject Christ we will burn in Hell for eternity forever, which is correct. So instead of pointing out he was wrong I simply asked him, "If Christ isn't God, then why does it matter if we reject him or not?" He had to ponder about that one for a while and eventually told me he didn't know the answer.

Another question I asked him was, "If Christ isn't God then how was he born of a virgin?" He responded by telling me that all things are possible with God (true) but that Christ was only an image of God (false). I asked him what he thought about John 1:1 where it says that the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. Wouldn't that be Christ---God? He didn't have an answer for that one either.

Another thing he said was that God and Satan don't dwell on the earth....at all. (false) I asked him if he thought that demons could control the minds of humans and he said no. (I knew this was wrong). Since I could tell he knew the scriptures, I asked him this, "If God doesn't dwell on earth then answer me this. In Acts when Jesus left his disciples, he said that he would send a helper for them and he sent the Holy Spirit. Is the Holy Spirit God?" His answer was that due to the languages of Greek and Hebrew, words mean different things in different orders next to other words. He said that there are 8 different meanings of the words Holy Spirit, one being God and the others meaning a 'good' spirit. In this case, he said, the meaning was a 'good' spirit. He said that God took their bad spirit and gave them a good one. (This is true, it's the message of salvation, but not the Holy Spirit). He also said that man was born good natured with eternal life and that men choose against Christ, when the truth is we are born eternally damned and we receive the free gift of the Christ's salvation.

He said that there were no Christians on the earth today because Christians were the one's who did works, and we didn't need to do works anymore because we were out from under the law. That is true that we are not under the law of Moses anymore and don't need to offer sacrifices because Jesus' blood covers all. But I believe he was wrong about there not being Christians on the earth. True, there are people that claim they are Christians who are not and many of the churches do teach heresy, but not all. There are true Christians on the earth who give up their lives for Christ and true churches who teach the exact words of scripture.

He was so smart. He was able to back up some of what he was saying with correct scripture left and right. He said that he had studied with the Jehovah Witnesses, the Mormons, the Catholics, and many others......no wonder the deception on his mind! He does say that they are not teaching the correct truths of the scriptures, so he is right about that. He said that he was so grateful that I listened to him. He said that most people will just combat everything he said with a statement and not even listen to him. So I was so grateful that the Holy Spirit had allowed me to shut my mouth and just listen and inquire; and not teach. This way the Holy Spirit was able to plant a seed through me in this man.

This man's name is Fred L. Please pray for my newly encountered friend. He is so close and yet so far. And due to his age, I'm not sure how much time this man has left. Please join in with me in praying for this man!

Also please pray for me. Today was the first time I have ever had to really defend my belief in Christ....on my own without my parents or others with me. I had to depend on what I had learned from Scriptures and what I had learned by spending time with Jesus. And while I feel like I was used by the Holy Spirit, I also feel like I failed miserably. After the McDonald encounter, I came home and sobbed for about 2 hours telling my family of my day. How could I profess to be a Christian when I clearly came up short in reciting verses to back up my theology when this man was quoting scripture left and right and most in context. He even knew the verse address! My calling of being a missionary was very squashed too. I spent 1 1/2 hours with a man who was so hungry for the truth, and I felt like I couldn't convincingly state what I believe.

McDonald's on October 19th, 2010, was a divine encounter set up by the Lord. I'm so grateful He was able to use this to teach me how much more I need Him. I press on towards the goal He has set for me!

Thank you for praying with me for the salvation of Fred! He is blinded and needs to see the truth! Come Lord Jesus!

Blessings,
Ashton

AP: October 15th.....a special day in history!

AP writes:

Well, my October 15th has been great for multiple reasons! I worked this morning at the Holiday Inn and it was incredibly busy. It was hard work but very enjoyable. Today was also my cousin (well, half cousin) Kaeo Skeele's birthday. =) Also on this glorious day I am getting together with some of my friend (Kawase's, Kimberly, Stan, Dacia, and some others) to watch the movie How To Train Your Dragon. It will be good to hang out with them outside of dance. In addition to all of these, I found out from dictionary.com that smithereenes is a real word that means small pieces or bits. That practically made my day. =)

But, let's get to the real news. =) So today I took another test. Well, actually the same test I took before and failed. History of the United States 2. Again. Not cool for a girl who can't stand history and would rather be doing algebra all day. It took me down the first time but I conquered it the second time gaining the 3 credits I should have earned before. Adding these credits to my already earned credits gives me 90....which means.......

I'M A COLLEGE SENIOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so super excited and pumped!!! I only have 7 more tests. Technically I would only have 5 but two other tests have gotten the best of me as well. But I will conquer them too! =) I was so excited I was doing a party/happy dance in the car driving back and this lady in the other lane saw me and pointed me out to her husband who was driving and they were laughing at me. But I just smiled and waved at them cause my day was going great and it gave them something to laugh at. =)

October 15th, the day I became a senior in college........................while technically still a freshman in age! =)

~Ashton =)

KP: Manna_4U

KP Writes:

Praise the Lord!
Wow, it is such a blessing to see our heavenly Father pour out such a rich blessing in abundance. Jeff and I have each been working with a ministry within IHOP-KC called Manna_4U. As the name implies, this is a ministry to help provide food for individuals within our community who are physically hungry and currently without monetary means to buy food. Typically the food comes from local grocery stores who donate items that are near the 'sell by' date, fruit/vegetables that are less than perfect, or items which have damaged packaging such as a crushed box, peeling label or dented can. (Yes, I have read the reports. You do not need to email me about dented cans.) The recipients can come to Manna_4U three days per week for a couple of hours in the afternoon and 'shop' from the items available that day. The selection is always changing, based on whatever is provided for that day-hence the name Manna.

I have the privilege of working while people come and shop on Mondays. It is great to be able to pray with and encourage people who have such a humble spirit. Singles, mothers, fathers, families, people of all ages from all walks of life come. One thing that blesses me is the gratitude of the recipients, not just for the material provision of food but to the Lord for His faithfulness. Because these folks are 'forced' to live by faith, they do not take having food to eat for granted. Most of the people in America that I know do not rely on the Lord for food. That don't have to. Food is a given. No faith required. Not really any need there pressing them to pursue the Lord. Sadly the truth is that our needs are actually God's gift to us, to direct our attention and affections toward Him. Oh that we would love Him with such pureness of devotion that this would not be the case.

Also working with Manna_4U, Jeff has been able to assist Skip in picking up food, as well as off loading 'the quail'. Specifically the Lord opened a door in July/August for the ministry to receive a donation 8000 pounds of frozen meat each month. In fact, this last load was 11,000 lbs! That is a LOT of bacon, bologna, chicken, ham, etc....Jeff helps to put the pallets in the freezer for storage before distribution. The humorous thing was that there were actually some quail in one of the deliveries!Pray not only for continued supply but also increase. There are many hungry people in this current economy. Pray that the Lord will abundantly bless the businesses of the grocery stores and distributors who so generously donate. Pray also that our weak hearts will pursue Him in abundance and in lack.

Blessed to be a blessing,
Kristian

KP: Come Out of the Clutter and Hear God #2

KP Writes:

A couple of our readers have emailed and said that they are unable to read the portion of my 'clutter' post that I copied and pasted. So, I am posting it again, typing the entire post in hopes that they can read it. Sorry. I guess I have learned that not all computers can recognize things we copy and paste.
Kristian

Come Out of the Clutter and Hear God-reprinted from 9/23/10

I was reading a posting on Elijah List this morning and was struck by a posting written by Garris Elkins. I have copied excerpts from this timely message to Americans and the American church. I concur: Simplification is much needed in America. The clutter has gotten so deep, 'up to our ears' I would say, that we can no longer hear the Lord. Read on and be blessed!


"We are living in cluttered times that have produced distracted lives. Family activities and careers ask for their fair share of our day. Ministry commitments ask us for more of our time. The needs of others stand in line at the door of our lives and want to come in. Each of these demands are good by themselves, but together they can become overwhelming in their ability to fill every spare moment of our lives. At some point we must push life back and create a place to listen to what the Spirit would say.

Paul addressed cluttered lives when he wrote to the Church in Corinth: "The time that remains is very short. So from now on, those with wives should not focus only on their marriage. Those who weep or who rejoice or who buy things should not be absorbed by their weeping or their joy or their possessions. Those who use the things of the world should not become attached to them. For this world as we know it will soon pass away. I want you to be free from the concerns of this life." I Corinthians 7:29-32

Later in verse 35 Paul wrote:
"I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible."

Paul was listing, among those things that can distract us, our relationships, our failures, our successes and our possessions. When all the stuff of life begins to fill our lives, we become absorbed into them and take on their shape - and our image changes. Like we clay, we are crafted into an image of the distractions in our lives instead of being absorbed and molded into the image of Christ.

Now is the time to push back the clutter and distractions of life that are occupying your time and space and draining away your energy.

God is asking His people to unclutter their lives where His Spirit can set down and do extraordinary things. Remove the clutter and distractions and welcome the coming of the Lord."


I choose this day to push back the clutter and distractions and be crafted into the image of Christ. Will you choose the same?

Love ya,
Kristian

KP: You are Probably Not Old

KP Writes:

Well now. I have been informed and updated by my 'college daughter'....It seems that before this morning I was not in the know, but now, I have the latest, breaking, 'scientific' classification. I was sitting at my desk reading an all inspiring teaching about Holy Spirit and the strength of the Lord as described in Isaiah 40, you know-feeling quite inspired when Ashton said, "Moma, you are not old." Curiously, I pursued her train of thought and was informed of the facts from her current text. Psychology currently describes old as the following:

65-74 Young Old
75-84 Middle Old
85-and up Old Old

Well then. I am not by definition, old. Some of my readers, well you have entered the classification scale of old, but not to worry- you are not Old Old, nor even Middle Old-but you may be pushing the scale!

Lynn S. and Margaret K. once gave reference to Psalms 92: 12-14 when someone mentioned 'old' and it is my prayer for me as I grow 'old'.

"The righteous man will flourish like the palm tree,
He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Planted in the house of the Lord, They will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still yield fruit in old age;
They shall be full of sap and very green,"

Love ya,
Kristian

P.S. I wonder what tomorrow will bring? All I started out to do was meditate on the Word. Hum...

KP: Birthday Gift

KP Writes:
My newest prized possession is a hit for the Price family! For my birthday I asked Moma and Dick for a hammock. I was really excited that Dick was able to find one online at Sierra Trading at the end of the season at a clearance price. Being a proud owner of a fabulous hammock I had the task of suspending it for use. I asked Jeff to 'just hang' it from our patio covering, "like from chains or something". Well the problems were many ranging from a sloping ceiling, to support rafters not being in the correct spot, to taking up the entire covered area where our patio table sits....That is when Jack and Doe and Uncle Dick came to my rescue giving me checks for my birthday. At first I hadn't been sure what I would spend it on until I received a call from Jeff who was at Lowes. Guess what had been clearanced.....hammock stands, the big ones like what I needed. He bought one, brought it home and I immediately wanted to try it out. Unfortunately it was raining cats and dogs which if you know MO weather means the wind was blowing (as always) and so the drops were driving horizontally. Not to be stopped, we set up the hammock in the living room.

It was great. The four of us became quite fond of the indoor hammock: Ashton lays in it with her laptop preparing for tests, Mallory reads in it, Jeff takes five to regroup between tasks, and I have found it to be my favorite place to lay while downloading my day in a 5 minute capsule to Jeff, who so lovingly swings me with his foot while he sits the couch. All good things must come to an end....today we were having 15 people over for prayer so we had to move the hammock out of the front living room. (We thought we might need to get to the piano.) Each of the young adults found time to test drive it even though it was quite cool outside. (We warmed up to 62 after having been 35 last night!) But don't worry, the Prices have decided when it is too cold to lay in the hammock it will be relocated to the basement school room for the winter. Ahhh! Thank you everyone for a wonderful birthday gift.
Love ya,
Kristian

AP: Team Gatherings

AP writes:

Hello all! 

I'm so sorry that I haven't blogged in forever but hopefully that will change. =) 

Today we were blessed to be able to have a team gathering! The Kawases (with the addition of Dacia!) and koalas (Stan, Kimberly, and I-we renamed ourselves while on the trip =) ) and our families got together at my house today for fellowship and prayer. It was really encouraging to see everyone and be together again. One of the things we had noticed while on the trip was that God was using our group as a support group for each other. We had what we called "flamily" meetings where we would go around one by one and tell what was on our hearts and then pray for each other. God was able to minister to our hearts in deep, powerful ways through these times so we felt it was essential to continue them! We prayed for each other today and one of the big concerns for lots of people, including me, was where to go from here. Where was God leading us in our lives and how to faithfully walk His plan no matter how hard the decisions seem to be was the big question that needed answering. We were asking God for his wisdom and clarity in hearing His voice. 

We were also able to pray for all the churches we visited. To name a few we prayed for Living Waters Church in Tainan, Taiwan, the Hongodai church in Yokohama, Japan, Ricky Gordon's church in Shizuoka, the Bostroms and their community in Kakegawa, the churches in Kure near Hiroshima, and many of the surrounding churches we have maintained contact with. It was a great time of intercession for our beloved friends!

Because we were able to have Dacia with us, who is a daughter of the Bostrom family living with the Kawases for school purposes, we were able to have direct prayer needs from Kakegawa. Please pray for Mrs. Bostrom as she is suffering with a pain in her forearm, back, and other pains. Also please pray for them as they are in the process of acquiring an old public school building for their Christian school. While this is a tremendous blessing it also comes with lots of stress due to the monetary aspect. Pray that God would bless them financially to be able to compensate the teachers who have to work an additional job for enough income.

We are planning on being able to have regular meetings as God allows! I'm so grateful God has enabled us to maintain such a closeness as a team and as friends.

I will write more later!

Many Blessings,
Ashton =)