I had a dream the other night. It was of people I don't even know. In my dream, an older couple with their daughter were in our house, not the house we have now, but a different house. I was surprised when I saw them. They were decorating our wall with newspapers and made a newspaper curtain for our door. They were totally making themselves feel at home by making our house a mess. The daughter went right in to our bedroom without asking permission and laid down on the bed and started smoking. I finally told her that smoking was not allowed in our house and to take her smoking outside. By then, I was starting to get aggravated. I grabbed an air freshener and started spraying the house, but I realized that I was using the glass window spray, but I was so angry already that I did not care. My husband, who was taking the whole thing in stride, finally told me that he will tell these people to leave as I was getting so upset. The whole time, I never heard these people speak in my dream. I was reading their minds by their uncaring and disrespectfullness through their actions. When they left, my hubby told me that they were his distant relatives and they came to bring him a gift--2 aprons and he was already wearing one of them. I told him that just because of the gift he let this people stay with us who were so self centered and do not have regard for our feelings.

In the same dream, I was in the backyard and I saw a young boy hanging out there. I asked him how he got inside the backyard. He said the gate was opened and he helped himself in. I told him that he has to go, but the boy became belligerent and remained where he was. When my hubby warned him that he would take him home and tell his parents of his self-centered actions, he demanded to get something that we owned, and then he would leave. He was holding a shoe string in one hand, and I guess that's what he wanted of ours to take with him. End of the dream.

This dream stemmed from an incident that happened four days ago. On our way for a visit to see my husband's mother, we stopped  to have a late lunch/early dinner before continuing on our trip. We did not realize we were at a wrong place at the wrong time. When we got back to our vehicle, someone had broken into our truck and stole my new laptop, my husband's duffel bag with clothes, my make up bag with sundries, my husband's retired ID (which really did not have any info there except his name and picture from his former job) and some other items. Thank goodness that I shut down my laptop and it has a password. I did not have any personal info in it because it's new, but still, I was glad that I had put a system password.

But still, it was a traumatic experience and left me shaken. I never experienced where my personal things were stolen. Years ago, someone stole my old car once and when I had it repaired for the small damage made, the same criminal tried to steal it again, but this time, this person failed. I knew it was the same person because the place was a park and ride for carpools. That was a bad experience, but I got the car back. This time I felt like my privacy was invaded and I was violated. For two days, I almost felt paralyzed. I lost material stuff and I don't really put too much attachments into them, but I lost two rings that have sentimental values for me. They cost less than the laptop, but the sentimental values cannot be replaced.

In the midst of it all, we reported the incident to a law enforcement and did a police report. We were told that in the area where we stopped, it's notorious for break ins, shopliftings and hold ups. We could not tell because the shopping mall was not rundown or anything that would indicate that it was a hangout for criminal activities. Where we used to live, that type of a shopping mall would not be a place for criminals. But then again, no one knows. We are always careful when we go on a trip to the point that I would be paranoid leaving my things inside a vehicle. For some reasons, my husband and I's guards were down that day. For some reasons, I put too much credit for a place just because it's in the south. That people are more godly in the south and would not do such a thing. Was I wrong! These places in the south are as infested with criminals as the rest of the country and the world is. I keep on forgetting that people are by nature evil and not basically good. The Holy Bible has said it. You cannot trust anyone. Anyone that does not revere God and is not fearing His wrath, has an evil mind overcome by the devil. Anyone who does not know and does not worship God and does not have a relationship with Him is dead in sin and destined for eternal damnation.

Although my spirit was shaken, I was not defeated spiritually. I questioned God's power and miracles for two days; but with this experience, it proves many things. God could have given us free will with our actions, but He still is in control in regards to our lives. It proved also that the devil with the help of his cohorts, including humans, will do anything in his power to discredit God. And that was exactly what the devil was doing with my mind in the past two days. And since he could not attack my health and could not change my mind about God's unconditional love for me, he attacked me through my possessions. He was waiting for the time that I was vulnerable and he got me with the help of these lost humans who totally disregard the feelings of others as long as they can fulfill their self-centered desires to please themselves. This will not make me go back to being bitter and resentful of people because of this ordeal brought by these abusive humans. But this nightmare makes me vigilant and always on guard in any given situation that would inflict inconvenience, trauma and pain.

My husband told me that the minds of these criminals are so screwed up that they think the rest of the world owe them something that belongs to them. They want a piece of the pie that law abiding citizens possess lawfully and have worked hard to have. These criminals think that they should also have them even if they have to use force to obtain them.

What goes around, comes around. What you sow, you will reap--you sow hurtful and sinful deeds, you reap the same. I have given this incident to God. I am not carrying this burden, but cast it upon the Lord. I'm moving on, because I have a God that always takes care of my needs.

Romans 12:19 (New Living Translation)

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say,

   “I will take revenge;
      I will pay them back,”^[a]
      says the Lord.

Since God is going to take up your cause and see to it that justice is done, you can lay it down. You don’t have to carry anger and bitterness and resentment and revenge. Indeed you dare not. Jesus warned that an unforgiving heart will destroy you in the end (Matthew 6:15; 18:35)

So wrath is connected with God’s response to something that deserves vengeance. And then it says, “I will repay.” So God’s wrath is treated as a repayment to man for something man has done.

So just taking this verse alone, with its pieces, we could venture a definition of the wrath of God like this: the wrath of God is God’s settled anger toward sin expressed in the repayment of suitable vengeance on the guilty sinner.  http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByDate/2005/204_Gods_Wrath_Vengeance_Is_Mine_I_Will_Repay_Says_the_Lord/

Daniel 12:2 (New Living Translation)

 Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace.

Mark 9:43-48 (New Living Translation)

43 If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell^[a] with two hands.^[b] 45 If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet.^[c] 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’^[d]

Matthew 13:41-42 (New Living Translation)

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Isaiah 66:24 (New Living Translation)

24 And as they go out, they will see
      the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
   For the worms that devour them will never die,
      and the fire that burns them will never go out.
   All who pass by
      will view them with utter horror.”

"I always had a lot of questions about the world, even in kindergarten. A big question to me was fairness. If I'd grown up in some other religion, would I get the same shot at Heaven as a Christian has? My mom would come into my room and talk to me. I was very fortunate to have that dialogue with her, but in high school I started to realize that I felt differently from others."

Brad went to Springfield's Kickapoo High, excelling at school debates and sports. As he got older, his religious doubts increased.
 
"I had crises of faith," he says. "I thought you had to experience things if you want to know right from wrong. I'd go to Christian revivals and be moved by the Holy Spirit, and I'd go to rock concerts and feel the same fervor. Then I'd be told, 'That's the Devil's music! Don't partake in that!' I wanted to experience things religion said not to experience."

By the time he entered college, Pitt had scuttled his fundamentalist beliefs. "When I got untethered from the comfort of religion, it wasn't a loss of faith for me, it was a discovery of self," he says. "I had faith that I'm capable enough to handle any situation. There's peace in understanding that I have only one life, here and now, and I'm responsible."

I ask Brad about the pivotal influences on his 1986 decision to abruptly leave the University of Missouri before his graduation Surprisingly, he mentions a girlfriend but asks me not to use her name.

"You made me think about this girlfriend I had in senior year," he recalls. "She was a Methodist preacher's kid. She wasn't that into me, truthfully, although we were together for a semester. "

When I tell him I am the son of a preacher, too, he smiles and nods.

"Well," he continues, "she was tough, man, although really cool. She had an older brother who was killed in a four-by-four accident, which was not uncommon out there." He refers to a four-wheel drive crash. "She was a hardcore realist. She called me on so much bull—about any romantic ideas that I had grown up with about life. It was my first year in college."

Brad studied journalism at the University of Missouri at Columbia, hoping for a career as an art director in advertising.

"She helped me more than anyone else as far as setting off in my own direction," he explains. "It was my first year in college and I was pushing back against the religion thing. In my eyes it was a mechanism of guilt , this engrained system, used to keep the flock in servitude." Brad was raised a conservative Southern Baptist. "Guilt is the thing I find most evil about it. It's the thing I rail against the most. She helped me in defining what I believed.

"Religion works," he goes on. "I know there's comfort there, a crash pad. It's something to explain the world and tell you there is something bigger than you, and it is going to be alright in the end. It works because it's comforting. I grew up believing in it, and it worked for me in whatever my little personal high school crisis was, but it didn't last for me. I didn't understand this idea of a God who says, 'You have to acknowledge me. You have to say that I'm the best, and then I'll give you eternal happiness. If you won't, then you don't get it!' It seemed to be about ego. I can't see God operating from ego, so it made no sense to me.

Exceprts on Brad Pitt's recent Parade Interview on Religion

Jennifer Aniston's remarks that Brad Pitt lacks a sensitivy chip, this interview surely has proven the truth to what she said. Not only that Brad is insensitive to Jennifer's feelings, he is also lacking a sense of responsibility to what his comments about God could do to the young generation of today who are already confused and self absorbed as he is.

I've always liked Brad Pitt, but after reading this interview, my admiration for him is now waning. I've come to realize that he is just like all the rest of these "Hollywood anti-God and do not need God in their lives group of confused wealthy actors". Jesus Christ is right when he said

on:

Matthew 6:24 (The Message) 24"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.

Luke 12:16-20 (The Message)16-19Then he told them this story: "The farm of a certain rich man produced a terrific crop. He talked to himself: 'What can I do? My barn isn't big enough for this harvest.' Then he said, 'Here's what I'll do: I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones. Then I'll gather in all my grain and goods, and I'll say to myself, Self, you've done well! You've got it made and can now retire. Take it easy and have the time of your life!'

 20"Just then God showed up and said, 'Fool! Tonight you die. And your barnful of goods—who gets it?'

Jesus said on Mark 8:36 (New Living Translation)

36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?^[a]

Lack of sleep may be deadly, research shows

September 24, 2007 06:39:50 AM PST/ Reuters news

People who do not get enough sleep are more than twice as likely to die of heart disease, according to a large British study released on Monday.

Although the reasons are unclear, researchers said lack of sleep appeared to be linked to increased blood pressure, which is known to raise the risk of heart attacks and stroke.

A 17-year analysis of 10,000 government workers showed those who cut their sleeping from seven hours a night to five or less faced a 1.7-fold increased risk in mortality from all causes and more than double the risk of cardiovascular death.

The findings highlight a danger in busy modern lifestyles, Francesco Cappuccio, professor of cardiovascular medicine at the University of Warwick's medical school, told the annual conference of the British Sleep Society in Cambridge.

A third of the population of the UK and over 40 percent in the U.S. regularly sleep less than five hours a night, so it is not a trivial problem, he said in a telephone interview.

The current pressures in society to cut out sleep, in order to squeeze in more, may not be a good idea -- particularly if you go below five hours.

Previous research has highlighted the potential health risks of shift work and disrupted sleep. But the study by Cappuccio and colleagues, which was supported by British government and U.S. funding, is the first to link duration of sleep and mortality rates.

The study looked at sleep patterns of participants aged 35-55 years at two points in their lives -- 1985-88 and 1992-93 -- and then tracked their mortality rates until 2004.

The results were adjusted to take account of other possible risk factors such as initial age, sex, smoking and alcohol consumption, body mass index, blood pressure and cholesterol.

The correlation with cardiovascular risk in those who slept less in the 1990s than in the 1980s was clear but, curiously, there was also a higher mortality rate in people who increased their sleeping to more than nine hours.

In this case, however, there was no cardiovascular link and Cappuccio said it was possible that longer sleeping could be related to other health problems such as depression or cancer-related fatigue.

In terms of prevention, our findings indicate that consistently sleeping around seven hours per night is optimal for health, he said.

One of my dreams came to fruition. Last Friday, my grandson took a hard tumble. Thank goodness it was not head first according to my hubby, but the other way around. His behind took the most beating, but thank goodness again that his training pull up pants sort of cushion his tush. But the fall was enough to confuse him and a dizzy spell from the fall made him vomit. My husband checked his ears, mouth and eyes. We gave him a warm bath and him and his pappy took a brief walk outside the house.

Poor kid, he was traumatized and drained that we did not have to tell him to take an afternoon nap. He went straight to bed and went night night. We observed his breathing and I had to wake him up after an hour because I did not want him to have a deep sleep in case he hurt his head from the fall. Early Friday morning, he bumped his head under our coffee table that he used as a hideaway and a escape from his grandma who loves to take his pictures.

I told my son to monitor him when he picked him up and headed for home. When the little one's mommy called Saturday, she told me that the little one seemed ok and playing and smiling and still mischievous. I had to watch him yesterday when his mom dropped him off to work two hours at her office. My grandson seemed that he had forgotten the incident and he was back to his normal self of being spunky. I assembled a Thomas train set for him yesterday and he was so thrilled that I put it together for him, but I had a problem having the  tank engine go through the railway. When his mommy came back, she figured out how the tank engine would work and my grandkid was so excited and bragged about his mommy's ability to have the tank engine moving smoothly. It was so funny because being with the little one everyday, I could read his expressions like a book.

Anyway, I'm glad that my grandson is okay and "up and running" like his Thomas train engine. I just could not believe that my dream about him falling and getting hurt the following week, after I had the dream and; he was in the mindful eyes of his grandpa who was 'supposedly' watching him.

Before I forget those dreams I had, I better write them here:

Last week, I had these two dreams...

I was inside a building with my hubby and grandson and inside this building, there were many hidden areas. I could see inside a glass window, but the person inside the room could not see me. My hubby and my grandson were separated from me and they were inside this room where I can see them. The next scene was my grandson bumped his head and it started bleeding. My hubby started panicking and here I was in panic also and started looking for an entrance or a door leading to that room, but I could not find the way to that room.

The second dream was about a person that I don't know died. My daughter-in-law's mom told me that Kim Zimmer's (Reva of the Guiding Light) brother died all of a sudden. When I asked her how did he die, Hulk Hogan's daughter said she can check the internet and would chat to someone who knew about it. She then told us that Kim's brother died when he was bitten by a snake in his backyard. His neighbor's kids accidentally let go of their pet snake.

Sunday night, I had a dream that I participated in a health fair. There were different booths I got excited about except where they were taking blood for test. I was told by my friends that if I do it, the people conducting this test will pay me $1,000.00 after completing all the requirements. My friends seemed to have done the test.  After thinking about it, I decided to go for it. This person  inside the booth pricked the tip of my finger with a big injection needle and left the needle that my finger  started to hurt. It did not bleed, but it was swollen. I regretted the whole idea, but it was already too late. After that painful experience, I was told to fall in line to get to the register to show an empty bottle, but I could not figure why I have the empty bottle. All of a sudden the cap came off and  a sharp sibilant sound came out of the bottle. My friends  were telling me to put the cap back because it would invalidate my chance of getting $1,000.00. But I was having such a hard time putting the cap back that it was making me nervous. I woke up from the dream.

Anyway, I've found a way not to forget my dream. If I wake up in the morning and still remember my dream or dreams, I should immediately write keywords on a piece of paper about my dream. That's what I did yesterday morning.

When I was cleaning my files on my Yahoo Geocities control panel last night (I finally cancelled my plan that I initiated in 2002 for my website use without ads), I came across a name tag that reminded me of a person I used to work with about 3 years ago and became my good friend. I could not help but became emotional when I thought about her because it brought back a painful and sad memory about this person when she was fired by her manager. It was the most saddest day of her life and all of us in our vanpool where she used to be a part of was feeling so sad for her. She was a very good person and she worked very hard. Her only problem was her difficulty in speaking English. Her manager gave her such a hard time because of that. She would confide to me of her meetings with her manager and the things she would tell her which affected her self-esteem. The experience hurt her so much that she was never been the same. I would get a chance to talk to her on the phone from time to time since it happened and her cheerfulness and sunny disposition were no longer there. I tried to contact her when we relocated to another state. Her voice had a tinge of sadness to it and cut short our chat and said that she would call me back, but I have not heard from her since then.

Mysteriously, her former manager last I heard is still suffering from a physical illness that seemed to not go away. She was having this problem for years, but it got worse, even with a surgery she went through, especially after my friend was fired. I've seen this same situation with other people where I used to work, through the years--higher ups that abused their positions and mistreated those under them and others. I knew of someone that passed away untimely after a short battle with cancer.  

One of my good friends that I still keep in touch with told me that I should not take it personal about old friends that don't communicate anymore even if I would try to communicate. She said that sometimes they could be having some personal problems in their lives and would rather not talk about it and the best way is to avoid talking with anyone.The weird thing for me is they were emailing me and seemed like very excited to hear from me; and all of a sudden, they just stopped communicating.  I've been experiencing this with two old friends of mine and I even emailed them if I have done something wrong, to forgive me. And if they don't feel like responding back, I would understand. I have not heard from them. Although I feel sad, I've realized that people move on. They have so many things going on in their lives that I just have to understand that and let go.

I've been having dreams almost every night, but I was preoccupied with so many things, that I could not write them down here.

Anyway, let me see if I can remember some of the dreams... There was one dream where I was having a good time with a former co-worker/friend and she was telling me that she could not believe how my personlity changes outside of work environment. I told her that I was advised not to be so friendly at work, because work is work and should be taken seriously. It was a weird dream because I already experienced in real life that type of scenario in the past where I was told several times that I am a different person, once they've known me in a personal way.

Man, I thought I could remember the dream I had Saturday night... I totally forgotten it.

Anyway, my hubby and I had such a great time yesterday... woke up early because we decided to make a little trip to Starbucks to have coffee for him and green tea frappucino for me. First we stopped at the Kolache Factory next door to Starbucks. My hubby bought a Sunday paper, ordered our 'fix' at Starbucks and stayed there for two hours reading the paper.

 http://www.kolachefactory.com/

What is A Kolache?

 

A kolache  is a wonderful pastry made by those who are of Czech ancestry.

The following are descriptions of kolache  from books about the Czech Texans:

"The Czech people are famous for their pastries, one of which is the kolache...The fillings--poppyseed, pineapple, apricot, cottage cheese and prune are prepared before baking.  No one uses a recipe. Kolaches are made from a formula handed down from generation to generation in Czech families."

(The Texians and the Texans:  The Texas Czechs, University of Texas, Institute of Texas Cultures at San Antonio, page 31);

And,

"Today, the only Czech word that many Texans know is koláč --the term for the famous circular tart made of double-risen dough whose center is topped or filled with a sweet sauce made of "mák" (poppyseed), cottage cheese, prunes, peaches, or other fruit filling."

(Krásná Amerika: A Study of the Texas Czechs, 1851--1939, by Clinton Machann and James W. Mendl and published by Eakin Press, Austin, Texas; 1983.)

Pronunciation and Meaning:

 In the Czech language, one (of these pastries) is called a Kolač: the little "v" (called a hacek) over the last letter makes it sound like our "ch"--Kolach. 

The plural:   "Kolaches" in English and "Kolach" in Czech.

According to some sources, the word Kolač is related to a word meaning "pocket," describing the way the fillings are tucked into the middle of a sweet roll.  A Czech dictionary defines lang=cs>Kolač as "the national sweet bread."

Two of the most popular fillings are poppyseed--Mak (pronounced like "mock") to make Makóvey Kolaché and prune-- to make Slivkóvy Kolaché.

We then headed to our neighboring new community to see what's new there and checked the model homes we haven't seen from our model home hopping last year. We spent a few hours there and I think we've seen about five or six model homes.

For early dinner, we've decided to go to the new Luby's in our neighborhood. We had some leftovers so today, we will have some good eats, especially desserts that our little grandson may find good to eat. He's very picky with food since he turned two last year. He's back from his out of town birthday party with all kinds of presents. He opened our gifts to him last Friday and he has a box full of presents from his great grandma from California waiting for him to open today.

A dream I still remember...

This was a dream I had this week. I had other dreams but I could not remember them. I couldn't go back to sleep in the guestroom this week. I've been working out at night lately,  I have so much energy when I wake up in the morning that I am ready for the day.

My grandson has no problem, he could sleep in no time. I love watching him sleeping. He is like a little angel when he is asleep. The innocence of a youth--I always pray that God protects him from the evilness of this world.

My dream this week was about my wallet. The setting was a place of gathering. In a truck, all the guests' belongings were piled up in the open bed of a truck. When I checked my bag, I could tell that someone messed up with the contents inside. When I looked in my bag, my wallet was gone. I was so mad and I panicked. In my dream, I tried to do a rewind, like rewinding a VHS tape, but each time, I would check my bag, the wallet was not there.

One of the things I am careful about is making sure that I have my wallet and all its' contents in my bag. When I use my debit and credit cards, I always recheck if I put it back in my wallet before I leave the cash register and again, when I get out of the store. My husband thinks I am paranoid. It's a force of habit for me. I don't see nothing wrong with it--better safe than sorry... I shred all our personal mail... identity theft is rampant... the devil and his cohorts are working overtime and you could see their works all over in the media, the internet and tv and magazines. Awareness is much better than ignorance.

Last Sunday, the dream was about hanging out in a lobby near the bathroom. People were just sitting around doing nothing. The funny thing was instead of the porter being next to the door assisting visitors (it seemed like a hotel), the person was inside a theatre booth where you pay to enter the movie house. The porter was a woman that I saw in a soap opera I used to watch.

Sometimes, someone would bring food that smells so delicious that people in the lobby would follow the smell. Sometimes I would have the food that has an aroma to die for. People would be asking who has the food that smells so good. No one would say anything. They would ask me and I would just smile and pretend that I do not have the slightest idea who was carrying the food among the crowd in the lobby.

I felt pretty rested when I woke up this morning. I did not have to wake up early today as my grandkid was not dropped off by his mommy. I do not know why, but usually I've never been told until maybe the night when we will have to watch him the following day. It feels good to enjoy quiet moments in the house. My hubby is at work, so I have the house all to myself. I could watch a TV show of my choosing; or not watch at all. Our area is very quiet and you could hear a pin drop, that's how it's so peaceful inside and outside the house. The only thing I could hear is the air condition system turning on and off.

When I have a restful sleep and then a quiet time, I feel so blessed by God because He gives me the time to dwell on Him and His many blessings and favors and, protection He has been bestowing me ever since I've discovered His thoughts and His ways. There is no dull moment when you are aware of God's presence. He is a giver of peace, joy and love ten times more than this world can artificially and temporarily give.

I always feel I'm in the best time of my life now. My mind is so organized aside from being peaceful. I am so thankful that God allows me to have this beautiful life now. I am always thankful to Him who always provides for my needs.

To Train Up A Child

For the first time, I could not remember my dream in the guestroom this morning! My two year old grandson was a bit restless in his sleep this morning, so when he would move, he'd wake me up. Without his knowledge, he was hitting my face with his little hand.

I knew I had a dream because I retained bit and pieces of it here and there. But the whole dream was just not so clear. Between suddenly waking up and going back to sleep, I knew I had two dreams. Shucks! I wish I could remember them.

Well, my grandson's mommy is off tomorrow for Independence Day, so, I would not see him until Thursday.

My dream on Sunday though was still clear in my mind. In my dream, I was a lot younger and I was working in a commercial plaza. No indication as to what job I hold, but I was always roaming all over the building. I was in different stores all the time. When it was time for lunch, I went to a small, dark refreshment store that serves lunch. I ordered some food and when it was ready, I realized I did not have my purse with me. So, I told the store owner that I will be back leaving behind the food I ordered. When I went back to where I was working, I got sidetracked with all the things I was seeing in some boutique or small fashionable shop checking clothes and costume jewelry and what not. When I remember about the food I ordered, it was late into the night and stores were closing. I felt bad that I was not true to what I promised to be back to pay for my order.

Happy