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Welcome to the Get Lost Online Love Feast! Thanks for joining me and hundreds of teen girls from across the nation. It was a blast touring these past few weeks to prepare for this feast! Let's devour the love of God so completely that the violent craving is a distant memory!
Each day I'll post worship music to focus your heart, a key Bible verse, and a prayer to pray just prior to a short excerpt from the love feast chapter in Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love. If you want to go deeper, just get a copy of the book.
Get Lost in His Proposal • Inviting Others To The Feast
Focus your heart in worship by listening to this song:
"Carry The Cross" Christy Nockels
Gain heart focus by praying Scripture out loud:
Lord, Your Word says that people will know that I'm Yours by how well I love. I want to love well. It also says that a great way to express that love is to invite others to be Your disciple too. Imagine all the love in this world if we could master Your great commandment. Please help a great movement of love to begin with me as I seek ways to share Your agape. (Based on John 13:35)
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:35
He was wearing those funky shoes designed with individual toes. You know the kind? They were worn and dirty. Had walked a lot of places. In his hands he held a book titled Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hahn. Any other time, my mind would fly into action, internally debating what was wrong with that title. This time, however, my heart responded with more intensity than my brain.
What is that? I didn't know. But some sort of emotion was welling up.
He opened a little black journal and began writing. I felt sure he was recording deep thoughts. Heavy determinations. My eyes traced the faded tattoos on his left arm. These were young arms, so why was the ink scarred, stretched, and aged? As if it had been blasted away.
I didn't let my gaze go any higher. When you're seated next to someone on a plane, making full-on eye contact means you're ready to talk. I didn't feel like talking. And this was an international flight. If I started now, I'd be engaged in conversation for a long time.
Thirty minutes later, I could sense by his open, floppy hands that he'd fallen asleep. So I looked over at his face.
And gasped.
He was beautiful. My heart was transfixed by smooth features, a gentle, barely-there mustache, and a soft scar that ran from his neck to the hole where his eye should have been.
I wept.
And I cannot tell you if it was because his eye was missing or because he was so beautiful to me. I'm not generally prone to tears. I knew God was speaking to me, and I needed to figure out what he was saying.
Why am I thinking of my own son right now? Is his mother's heart broken by this disfigurement?
A while later, he woke up angry. Complained to me about the food service on the plane—chicken for first class and nothing for us—and ordered some Jack Daniel's whiskey. Then some more.
Suddenly, he was chatty.
"What are you working on there?" He pointed to the pages of this manuscript on my tray table.
I told him about getting lost in God.
Using more than a few f-bombs to punctuate his convictions, he told me that Christians were hypocrites, the Bible was made of words voted on by fallible men, and no one has any idea what happens after we die. "Living people talking about an afterlife is like virgins talking about sex. What do they know?"
He had a point.
He reminded me again that Christians were hypocrites.
I told him that I agreed. "Many Christians live hypocritical lives."
After a little more conversation about what was wrong with Christians, he gave me a lesson in curing marijuana. In case I'd ever need it. Told me that his travels would eventually take him to Nepal, where they age it so well that he thought he might smuggle some into the U.S. Then he told me how. In case I'd ever need to.
"What happened?" I asked, gesturing toward his face.
"Thanks for not ignoring it," he said, softening instantly. "Most people just stare. Afghanistan. Buddy stepped on a land mine. Didn't make it. I took some of it on my left side. Lost my best friend that day." He went on to say his unit took more losses than any other in all of Afghanistan during his time there.
"I'm sorry," I muttered. "And thank you."
We were quiet.
"That must be really hard for your mom," I said, fishing for an answer to my heart's bleeding.
He straightened. "Don't know. My parents aren't involved in my life. Well, we do have an e-mail relationship. They're missionaries, and I grew up with my dad telling me I can't lose my salvation. Now he says that I have."
"Oh," I said. Before I responded with a theology lesson, I mentally checked in with God's Spirit. Pausing. Listening in my heart. I felt that I wasn't going to sort that one out for him on a flight to Panama. I changed the subject. "I couldn't bear it if I weren't in my son's life. He's twenty-two. How old are you?"
I wanted to take him home.
We continued talking even after the plane landed, hesitant to separate. We went through customs together. Waited at baggage claim together. He told me he was just beginning a two-year tour around the world. Didn't know where his journeys might take him.
I was praying the road might lead back to his mom.
And to Jesus.
When his backpack finally arrived, he strapped it on and stood squarely in front of me.
I hugged him as I would my own Robby. Held him long and tight.
"I love you, buddy."
And then he left.
In the book of Revelation, we find a familiar passage:
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me" (3:20).
The illustrations we often see for that verse feature a blondish, blue-eyed Jesus standing outside a big oak door. Pretty fake. A better picture would show His dark Middle Eastern eyes looking directly into yours. He has no desire to enter some little picture-perfect building. His intention is to be invited to fill a human heart.
This verse is often used to invite lost people into a love relationship with Jesus, but that's a gross misuse of these words. They actually weren't addressed to unbelievers, but to the Church at Laodicea—to believers.
They are for you.
And for me.
Jesus is asking you and me to feast with Him. To eat of His presence and to be satisfied. And He is pointing to another, bigger feast, which brings us back to the beautiful picture that marriage presents of Christ and His beloved bride, the Church.
The book of Revelation is filled with wedding talk. One Bible scholar says the language of human love kicks off from the start:
The first word of the book suggests as much. The term apokalypsis, usually translated as "revelation," literally means "unveiling." In John's time, Jews commonly used apokalypsis to describe part of their week-long wedding festivities. The apokalypsis was the lifting of the veil of a virgin bride, which took place immediately before the marriage was consummated in sexual union.
And that's what John was getting at. So close is the unity of heaven and earth that it is like the fruitful and ecstatic union of a husband and wife in love.78
The climax of the book of Revelation in chapter 19 finds us witnessing the wedding of Christ to His Church. And then,
The Spirit and the bride say, "Come!"
Revelation 22:17, niv
That's you and me—in cooperation with and obedience to God's Spirit—extending His proposal of spiritual marriage to those who've yet to accept it. If we truly love Jesus, our lives will be consumed with inviting others to love Him too.
So why didn't I try to solve the theological confusion in my friend on the airplane? Well, I did. Let me explain.
No one has ever won someone to Christ by being right. We win people with love. So I just loved my new friend. Didn't try to set things straight on the differences between Jesus and Buddha. Didn't try to convince him that the Bible is the infallible Word of God. Didn't try to tell him Christians are perfect. We're so obviously not. On that he was right.
We can be such Pharisees.
It's easy to become so consumed by rules about living out the faith that our hearts become hardened, cold. We grow so obsessed with being in the right that we lose sight of what's most important to God. Just like the Pharisees of Jesus's day.
One particular Sabbath a bunch of Pharisees overheard Jesus teaching. Over the preceding weeks, they'd been growing jealous of Him. How had this simple, unattractive man from Nazareth gained such attention from "their" followers?
They decided to test Him.
"Teacher." The sarcasm oozed from their voices. "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" (Matthew 22:36)
Jesus knew they wanted Him to pick a commandment and stick it to the crowd. Surely there was one He could use to correct them. Put them in their places.
He didn't do it.
Ignoring all of the Ten Commandments, bypassing the Levitical law, He said,
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind.… Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37, 39).
Love God. Love others.
He told them to focus on love. It's not that the other stuff doesn't matter. Jesus knew that the book of Deuteronomy included all those rules for a reason. To help us see that we're not enough in and of ourselves, and to keep us moving toward Him. But on their own, those laws are nothing. Our theology is nothing. Without love? Nothing. (See 1 Corinthians 13.)
The particular truths of our faith fall into place only when people extend and receive love. Jesus said, "On these two commands depend all the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 22:40). In other words, the rules and great teachers have nothing to offer if they don't come wrapped in love.
The Pharisees didn't say much else that day. They were silenced because Jesus didn't support their passionate fixation on the laws, nor did He negate them. Instead, He trumped them. His wisdom was too weighty for their foolish minds to grasp.
They actually thought they were inviting others to follow God with their rules.
They weren't.
And neither can we.
People won't know you love Jesus because you march in a prolife rally or picket against same-sex marriage. They won't know you love Jesus because you refuse to smoke or drink with them. Living a nearly perfect life won't count for much, and winning a theological conversation about the difference between Buddha and Jesus won't help either. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't do those things, but if you do them without love, you will never succeed in inviting someone into a relationship with Christ.
We can easily become like the Pharisees in sharing the gospel.
Unless we open the door of our heart when Jesus knocks.
If you have questions about how to do this, return to Love Feast Day 1, where I explain it more clearly. It is no mistake that we have come full circle. Hear me on this: When I was a twenty-something, I was fully saved and fully certain of it, but my life bore little fruit. I wanted desperately to be on the front lines of ministry, but every attempt failed. I was using my words to tell people about Jesus and nothing was happening!
I heard the knock of Jesus on my heart's door. He wanted to fill me with His Spirit more deeply. I opened the door and invited Him to overtake all of me. And He did.
It was as if I'd experienced Him for the first time. I was changed, and the satisfaction in my life—the fullness—spoke more loudly than any words I could have used.
To be clear, I'm not saying that extending love to the lost never comes with a clear invitation—a proposal, if you will—to enter into a love relationship with Jesus. Sometimes you have to be direct, but such interactions must be saturated with love. After someone has tasted of your deep reservoir of agape, you can invite that person to the wedding feast.
Write Your Story
The Great Commission is found in Matthew 28:19–20. It says, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." I believe this call to action from Jesus is a natural response to the greatest commandment to love God and love others. How are you living this out in your life? If you can't write about that, confess to the Lord whatever is holding you back and then write out your intentions to join the Spirit in inviting others to feast on His love.
For a talk-show meet's video-style video of me and some of my favorite girls talking about today's Love Feast, watch this video.
This is a partial excerpt of Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love (Chapter 16). I'm happy to provide this as a gift as you join us for the ten day love feast. For the full text of Day Ten of the Love Feast, you need a copy of Get Lost. This is the last day of the Love Feast, but the book has a lot more to add to this experience.
Imagine being molested by your dad and then abandoned by him. It would mess you up. Such was the story of "Caitlyn" who I met after she attended one of our Pure Freedom events. At the time, she was a resident in a home for the most at-risk teen girls in the nation. One look into her eyes betrayed the woundedness.
Then, I overheard her talking about how she wished she and her house mates could have Boyfriend Bears. It brought tears to my eyes. Here's one of the most hardened and hurt teens you'll ever find. And she wanted a white, cuddly bear to hold. You won't believe how she responded when she got it.
Welcome to the Get Lost Online Love Feast! Thanks for joining me and hundreds of teen girls from across the nation. It was a blast touring these past few weeks to prepare for this feast! Let's devour the love of God so completely that the violent craving is a distant memory!
Each day I'll post worship music to focus your heart, a key Bible verse, and a prayer to pray just prior to a short excerpt from the love feast chapter in Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love. If you want to go deeper, just get a copy of the book.
Get Lost in His Sacrifice • Submitting To His Cross
Focus your heart in worship by listening to this song:
"Hosanna" By Hillsong United
Gain heart focus by praying Scripture out loud:
O Lord, You created me in Your very image. In the image of God You created me. You created me female, distinct from male. Through this distinction, together we can be a full picture of You. Sometimes this happens in marriage when You call a man to leave his father and mother and to hold tightly to a wife. One wife. In that way, we become one flesh just as Your distinctly different parts—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—are really only One God. This is such a mystery to me, but You say marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church, and I choose to believe that. Thank You for letting me reflect You as a woman. Help me to do it with the same kind of sacrifice that You displayed and want to see mirrored in my life. (Adapted from Genesis 1:27; Ephesians 5:31–32)
Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."
Matthew 16:24–25
A sinful woman comes to a feast where Jesus is reclining.
The others are feasting on food.
She's there to feast on His love.
Upon her arrival, the others turn up their noses. They don't understand why she's even there. They know her scandalous past. But they wonder if Jesus knows.
For the record, He does.
And He knows that her past is precisely the reason she is there. She wants to erase it. Start over.
She takes out a little alabaster jar of expensive perfume. Breaks the wax seal on top. Pours the expensive perfume on Jesus's feet and wipes them first with her tears, then with her hair.
The meaning is clear.
She's completely His.
No man will want her now that the symbol of her virtue—that jar with its wax seal intact—has been ruined. In her world, only a woman with such a jar would ever be chosen by a man. She knew what she was doing when she broke open the jar and spilled out the perfume. She was saying, "There's no one else that I could love like You. And nothing that means more to me. My future is dead. I'm Yours completely."
Jesus once said:
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love [agape]has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:12–13
He loved you enough to give His life for you.
Do you get that?
Maybe you can identify with my confession: I have heard the story of His death so many times that my heart has become hardened. (If the person in the movie theater eating popcorn and opening candy wrappers next to me during the crucifixion scene of The Passion of the Christ theatre is any indication, I'm not alone.) How can I say it so that you hear the story in a fresh way? So that you don't brush past the grief and loss and gravity of His sacrifice?
Let me just remind you how the earth groaned and suggest that it has not mourned in such a way since:
"It was now about the sixth hour and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed" (Luke 23:44–45).
Darkness covered the land for about three hours in the middle of the day. The sun hid. I believe the hush may have been suffocating. Fear-filled. All nature seemed to lose its ability to function, stunned by the horrific sacrifice occurring at the dead center of God's love plan. Creation reported the enormity of the sacrifice. The depth of the spiritual darkness.
It cannot go without noting that the sixth hour was the exact time that the Jewish priests would begin the slaughter of the Passover lambs. Passover, you'll recall, was the Jewish feast that had brought Jesus and His disciples to Jerusalem. They would have been among two and half million faithful observers crowding the city. Each family would bring a lamb for the priests to offer up. To picture the gore of the scene, simply consider this: in the year AD 70 Jewish historian Josephus recorded that the priests offered up more than a quarter of a million lambs on the Temple's altar—256,500 to be specific.73 Each lifeless and blood-drained. You can imagine the stench of dying flesh, pools of blood, and the mad swirl of flies that descended onto the sacrificial lambs.
In timing His death to the day and hour that the Passover slaughter began, Jesus provided a vivid picture of what He was rescuing them—and us—from.
His body lifeless.
His blood drained.
The stench of death on Him.
The flies swirling on His body.
Just soak that in.
Imagine the weight of the darkness. The hollow silence. The fear that tormented those at the foot of the cross. Surely all of life was coming to an end.
And it was.
At least life as it was once known.
Luke 23:45 reads:
"And the curtain of the temple was torn in two."
At the moment of our dear Savior's death, the darkness subsided. The three inch thick temple curtain that separated mankind from the presence of God in the Holy of Holies ripped in two, giving us access to His presence.
Our freedom from sin and death came at a great cost, but our Savior held nothing back.
And He encourages you to love just as sacrificially.
We don't always get to choose our sacrifices, as the sinful woman in Luke 7. Sometimes sacrifice is thrust upon us. Such was the story of Heather Bullock.
She had a dream life complete with a dream guy. And a dream proposal that happened on a boat while dolphins jumped in the water. On top of all that came a dream house highlighted by a rainbow overhead when Heather and her fiancé found it. (No kidding!)
After six years of dating, this college senior's life was going just like she'd planned. The wedding invitations had been sent. Her dress was ready. The next three months couldn't go fast enough.
Then came the text.
He didn't love her.
He wanted out.
Taylor Swift's twenty-seven-second breakup telephone call from Joe Jonas doesn't hold a candle to this heartless act. Breaking an engagement by text?
Heather was left breathless. She cried more tears than she thought possible. Spent hours in the fetal position. Tossed and turned and watched old episodes of I Love Lucy through the night.
And her Savior saw her. The Word who was and is and is to come, may just have inspired these words for her long ache of a night:
You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle.
Are they not in your book? (Psalm 56:8)
For the next four weeks, she mourned the death of her love and her life as she knew it.
Then came the sun.
It rose over lingering thunderheads that Thursday morning, creating a spectacle of God's glory that called even a brokenhearted bride to worship. It felt like a promise to her crushed spirit. In the morning rush to her student teaching assignment, she snapped a quick picture with her iPhone. She didn't aim. She didn't look. Until she got to school. There she grabbed her phone and glanced down to see what she'd captured.
It wasn't what she expected.
Tears flowed. Not tears of grief but of hope.
In the photo on her iPhone the glorious morning rays served as a backdrop to a solid telephone pole, which created the unmistakable silhouette of the cross. Heather found herself breathless once again, but this time from the magnificence of a certainty that she knows a Love that never leaves, never hurts, never rejects.
(Creation still reports the truth of the Sacrifice to us, doesn't it? But now it sings with the lightness of hope—of new life springing up in our places of death.)
At some point, each of us must choose if we will hold tightly to the broken pieces of our shattered plans as victims do, or if we will drag them up and hoist them onto the altar of sacrifice as victors do. Heather chose victory.
The sacrifice is evident in her seemingly supernatural ability to thank God for the groom who left her…because he told her before the wedding and he respected her desire to remain pure. (Now that's a girl diggin' for gratitude!)
The sacrifice is what gave her the strength to crumple up the wedding vows she'd written with her fiancé and renew her vows with Jesus.75
The sacrifice is what gave her the strength to abandon her plans completely and ask God to reveal His plan for her. And it's what brought her to me.
You see, on one of the bad days, she decided she might just have to become an astronaut. Even visited the NASA website to learn how. Upon hearing of her wayward Googling, a true friend helped her redirect it.
"Let's Google 'ministry internships for Christian women,'" her friend suggested.
They did.
And found mine.
For a blessed season of my life Heather was been continuing to heal, all the while fearlessly pouring out everything she has into the hearts of teen girls through my ministry. (Which I'd take over being an astronaut any day!) That's what I call sacrifice. Giving Him everything, when it feels like nothing is left.
Heather modeled for the photo on the cover of Get Lost which is quite fitting. She's as lost in God as she's ever been.
God's will is what we would choose if we knew what God knows.76
—Nancy Leigh DeMoss
I realize that this devo seems to be all about breaking up with boys. That was not my intention when I drafted it, but then I realized that if we are to truly be released from the Violent Craving (which I taught about on tour and you'll find more on it in the book) we must be willing to sacrifice our hopes and dreams for marriage even if we are never called to do it. This is a book, after all, about getting so lost in God that a guy has to seek Him to find you.
But the sacrifice is not just about boys.
It can be about anything.
For me it has been about horses.
I remember the first time I sat on a horse. Though still a little girl, I felt power and energy perched atop that sorrel Quarter Horse belonging to my Uncle Ron. My desire to have one of my own was birthed in an instant.
As I grew older, I thought I might outgrow my desire, but I never did. So I never stopped asking God to give me a horse. Just one! Then in the midst of writing books, organizing ministry events, and even starting a Christian high school with my husband, I sensed God ask me to stop asking.
"I'd like your horse," I felt God whisper.
I wept. I didn't want to give Him my dream.
I grieved. Wrestled with God for a good week. "I'm doing a lot for You. Can't I just have this one thing? I'm working hard for You. Please!"
I felt God say, "I need your resources right now. That's a distraction."
Though I knew it was true, my heart's response was so ugly. I pleaded. I begged.
Then He reminded me of how much He's given.
That His cross was far heavier.
That this was a really small one for me to carry.
At last I willingly sacrificed my love of horses. The desire was erased. Surrendered completely like nothing I've ever known in my life.
And I was okay with that.
What enabled me to do this was certainty in the fact that God is no killjoy. He delights in giving us good gifts. In fact,
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change" (James 1:17).
God wants to give you so much. In fact, the book of Ephesians says that everything He has is yours. But He asks you to give everything that is yours to Him.
Write Your Story
Did any specific dream or item come to mind as you read the stories of the sinful woman or Heather Bullock or my love of horses? If so, start there. Begin to write about it in the lines below and ask God if it is something He wants you to sacrifice. Here's the real question: is it His? Could you give it to Him if He asked for it? Will you, if He already has? He wants all of you.
For a talk-show meet's video-style video of me and some of my favorite girls talking about today's Love Feast, watch this video.
This is a partial excerpt of Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love (Chapter 15). I'm happy to provide this as a gift as you join us for the ten day love feast. For the full text of Day Nine of the Love Feast, you need a copy of Get Lost.
Welcome to the Get Lost Online Love Feast! Thanks for joining me and hundreds of teen girls from across the nation. It was a blast touring these past few weeks to prepare for this feast! Let's devour the love of God so completely that the violent craving is a distant memory!
Each day I'll post worship music to focus your heart, a key Bible verse, and a prayer to pray just prior to a short excerpt from the love feast chapter in Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love. If you want to go deeper, just get a copy of the book.
Get Lost in His Story • Joining In The Work Of His Heart
Focus your heart in worship by listening to this song:
"Where You Go, I Go" By Kim Walker
Gain heart focus by praying Scripture out loud:
I submit myself to You, God. I am resisting the devil. Please cause him to flee. I choose to draw near to You today with the promise that You will draw near to me. Clean my hands because I am sinful. Purify my heart because I can be so double-minded. You have permission to make me mourn and weep, and to turn foolish laughter into mourning. I want to humble myself before You, trusting that You'll lift my heart back up. (Adapted from James 4:7–10)
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. And greater works than these he will show him, so that you may marvel."
John 5:19–20
God wants you to join in His story by being at work beside Him. More than that, He wants you to be so committed to the work He is accomplishing that you do nothing unless it is initiated by Him. That was Jesus's work ethic. He revealed it to His followers as recorded in John 5:19–20.
God is always at work around you. Joining in this work is a part of the great romance you can have with Him. When He shows you where He is at work, it is an invitation to join Him. To ignore His offer would be like ignoring a love note from a guy who makes your heart spin. To see it from that perspective, let's turn again to the love story in Song of Songs.
From the very beginning, the Maiden is eager to know where Solomon is at work. Early in the story, she pleads,
"Tell me, you whom I love, where you graze your flock and where you rest your sheep at midday. Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your friends" (Song of Songs 1:7, niv).
She seems to know that working side by side will be a vital part of their intimacy, so she yearns to know where he is at work. She doesn't want to have foggy vision—as if wearing a veil—about what he's up to. And she doesn't want to work alongside his friends. She wants to be his helper.
A helpmate.
Does that word make you bristle? I have to admit, I struggle with it. All too much of my mind has been programmed by the feminist movement, which has accomplished some good but sadly fuels my self-sufficiency and self-power as a woman. This tends to make me self-focused.
The idea of women being helpers has been a point of contention for several generations. Our culture programs us to be strong and independent. (Translation: in charge of our own lives!) But God encourages us to let Him be in charge. And that means we have to get over ourselves. Let me show you something I discovered that helped me embrace the idea of being a helper.
Genesis 2:18 reads: "Then the Lord God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone: I will make him a helper fit for him.'" God chose to call Eve a helper. In the original Hebrew language He called her an ezer kenedgo for Adam. The word ezer means "helper" and the word kenedgo means "to accompany." We see that God created the first woman with the intention that she would accompany man in order to help him.
Ready for the beauty?
Only two references in the Bible point to a woman's being an ezer, a helper. All the rest describe Someone else in that role. God is called our ezer multiple times in the Old Testament. Here's just a sweet taste:
There is none like God…who rides through the heavens to your help [ezer].
Deuteronomy 33:26
Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, the shield of your help [ezer], and the sword of your triumph!
Deuteronomy 33:29
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help [ezer] and our shield.
Psalm 33:20
Blessed is he whose help [ezer] is the God of Jacob.
Psalm 146:5
Being a helper is no second-class position. What a privilege we have as females to reflect the concerned helping quality of God our Maker. He certainly does not walk subserviently behind us, but comes tenderly alongside us in a position of strength. That's what it means to be a helpmate. Yet this beautiful privilege of being a helper within marriage has met with the firm resistance from hearts molded by the feminist mentality. Mine included.
The irony of our resistance is that helping is deeply rooted into the hearts of women. It comes out readily in our friendships, for example. Girlfriends are eager to help plan parties or study for an exam. We'll help a girlfriend run for class president or paint her bedroom. We're more than willing to help each other get ready for a date or make a big decision about a relationship. We find it satisfying to help one another move to a new apartment or to make a batch of noodle soup when a friend falls ill. (Guys don't make noodle soup for each other, no matter how much they might believe in its ability cure all ills.)
Women are wired to be helpful. So why do we resist the idea of a woman helping her husband?
I'm praying my silly head off right this moment that you'll get this. Honestly, I'm praying that I'll get it too. I struggle continually to be less self-centered and to be helpful in marriage. I am burdened with the heavy armor of defense so that no man can hurt me or take advantage of me, which makes no sense because I have a husband who gives himself to me readily in service and sacrifice. He always wins the tally on picking up the kids, outdoing me with caring for our home, and surprising me by meeting needs when I'm overloaded with life. Why on earth do I sometimes struggle to give myself back to him? The Curse rises up if I am not hidden in the secure agape of Christ, and I seek to control myself, him, and everything about our relationship.
My head spins at how this will look in your life when we fast-forward a few years with the third wave of feminism sweeping so many into me-centered philosophies and me-driven purpose. I see it in the young women I counsel who lead and control every aspect of their dating relationships. We can't experience mutual self-giving while we're hiding behind the armor of self-control and self-protection! If we are to embody God's self-sacrificing agape, we will have to take that armor off. And pick up the task of being helpers.
And to be clear, being God's helper doesn't necessarily mean you'll become the next Mother Teresa or marry a pastor. He might send you to Wall Street as a single woman. You see, helping is really defined by something much simpler than full-time Christian service or grand dreams. It's the little things that count.
I'm often asked by young women how to start a ministry or write a book. Please don't ever ask me that question. I loathe it. My answer is always the same: "Find one heart. Minister. Then let God show you another." God's story does not unfold solely in big things—like finding yourself in a ministry to heal the sexually broken hearts of teen girls or going to India to rescue little girls. Let me show you how He most often calls us to work alongside Him. In The Message James 1:27 reads,
Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived.
(I interrupt this passage to simply note that terrible four-letter word rearing its ugly head once again: self!)
This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and the loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.
Genuine expressions of your love for Christ are often quite small, simple even.
~ Join the girl no one ever sits with at lunch.
~ Baby-sit for a single mom.
~ Take a meal to a sick family.
~ Rake the leaves in the yard of the grouchy old man next door.
~ Take a walk with the little girl down the street whose parents are never home.
~ Clean the house of a family in which the financially struggling parents are both working two jobs and never have time to catch up.
~ Sit on the street with a homeless person and listen to her story.
Your opportunities to work alongside God will be revealed through your friendship with Him. He will invite you into His story in ways that uniquely fit you—but He may also lead you to do things that are not in your comfort zone.
Last year Lexi and my other daughter, Autumn, and their friend Caleb noticed that a single mom with cancer was struggling to make Christmas special for her fourteen-year-old daughter. They would tell you that they felt ill-equipped to help, but knew they were supposed to do something for this small, fragile family. Their friendship with God prompted their hearts to take action. Before I knew what was happening, those three had a Christmas tree strapped to the top of Lexi's RAV4 and were raiding my garage for "all those Christmas ornaments you never use." Later, while filling that family's living room with all things that glitter, they noticed that the cupboards were bare. A trip to the grocery store fixed that. I'm fairly sure that the only people who knew about their efforts were me, the mom, and her daughter, but I'm convinced those three teenagers passed God's test for pure religion that day.
We often dismiss these simple acts of kindness as domestic tasks better suited for a middle-aged women with kids, but putting the gospel into action is a worthwhile task for any male or female of any age. Getting lost in His story, you see, is all about bending to Him moment by moment. Just as a compelling novel unfolds scene by scene, God's plan for your life will most likely be revealed one glimpse at a time, with the next word blossoming beautifully from the previous step of obedience.
The fact is, starting a ministry is a woefully small ambition. You'd do much better to reach for something bigger: the role of being God's helper.
Write Your Story
I'd like you to get honest about your emotions concerning the idea of being a helper. Purge your heart. You might answer these questions in your journal. Do you need to repent of resistance to the role of helper in your future marriage? Do you need to repent of resistance to helping now by baby-sitting, cleaning, or other things that require practical labor? What insights has God brought to your heart about helping through today's love feast? After you've taken some time to get it down on paper or in the comments below (I'll be able to counsel and answer any questions), ask God to show you a practical place where you can help someone today.
And then do it.
For a talk-show meet's video-style video of me and some of my favorite girls talking about today's Love Feast, watch this video.
This is a partial excerpt of Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love (Chapter 14). I'm happy to provide this as a gift as you join us for the ten day love feast. For the full text of Day Eight of the Love Feast, you need a copy of Get Lost.
Welcome to the Get Lost Online Love Feast! Thanks for joining me and hundreds of teen girls from across the nation. It was a blast touring these past few weeks to prepare for this feast! Let's devour the love of God so completely that the violent craving is a distant memory!
Each day I'll post worship music to focus your heart, a key Bible verse, and a prayer to pray just prior to a short excerpt from the love feast chapter in Get Lost: A Girl's Guide To True Love. If you want to go deeper, just get a copy of the book.
Get Lost in His Exclusive Love • Embracing the Peace of Faithfulness
Focus your heart in worship by listening to this song:
"Love" By Sara Groves
Gain heart focus by praying Scripture out loud:
Jesus, You said that the glory You had is now mine. You said that we are one even as You are one with the Father. You are in me and the Father is in You, so we are perfectly one. Help me to know this so that the world will see You and so that I will know how very loved I am by You. (Adapted from John 17:22–23)
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.
Matthew 22:37–38
As much as we'd like to believe we've come a long way from the foolish, ancient days of idol worship, I'm convinced we have not. Oh, we may not bow down before a wooden statue, but most of us bow our hearts toward an idol or two every day.
Idolatry is one of the most frequently addressed issues in Scripture. It's even included in the Big Ten. "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" (Exodus 20:3, kjv). Since God does not address nonissues (especially in this list of commandments), maybe we should take note.
Many of the worship practices related to ancient idols—such as Asherah—included a sexual element. Lust and sexual conquest lured the Israelites into the cultural norms of the surrounding nations. Now, consider how closely sex and lust are entwined with the things that so often receive our attention. How much time do we spend in front of the electronic altar of our screens, lured in by Jersey Shore, The Bachelor, or even sitcoms that that cheapen the sacred act of sex? We carry iPods loaded with lyrics that would certainly make us blush if we read them out loud. Believing the lie that "it's normal and it won't really affect me," we watch dancers caress stripper poles on televised music awards. Is it really that different from the Asherah poles back in the day?
My point is, you don't have to twist yourself into Sanskrit worship positions or hang crystals in your bedroom for idols to be present in your life. You don't even have to be worshiping the cultural idols of sensuality. The list of idols is as long as the list of people on this planet! Satan can twist any passion or desire God has planted in our hearts and turn it into an idol if we are not careful.
And if we do not recognize and cast aside these idols, there will be consequences. Why? Because when we offer our heart to other gods, we give the enemy permission to occupy our lives. We will lack peace because he will do what he has come to do. Steal things. Kill what he can. Destroy your life. It's that simple.
Let me show you how to identify if an everyday, hard-to-detect idol could be stealing your peace.
Romans 12:1 serves as a helpful litmus test for identifying idols. I memorized this verse in high school and it has always been meaningful to me. It reads:
I appeal to you therefore…, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Our worship should involve the offer of ourselves as a human sacrifice to the God who sacrificed Himself for us. He wants all of you. Exclusively. Nothing less.
So the question that reveals your idol is simple: to what are you offering yourself as a human sacrifice? At the end of the day what takes a bite out of who you are and what you do? What controls you? Does something distract you from activities that should be priorities—reading your Bible, going to class, getting up to take a shower, studying? In what direction are all your energies and thoughts going?
You see, an idol doesn't have to be inherently bad—porn, erotica, drugs, or eating disorders—to suck the very life out of you. It simply has to demand that you sacrifice yourself, spend yourself, invest your heart, soul, or mind.
I see it every day in not-so-subtle ways.
Romantic love can be an idol. The girl who idolizes romance believes lies like "I can control a guy who wants more than I do physically" or "I don't have value unless I have a boyfriend" or "If I break up with him like I know I should, I will end up alone." She may not speak these lies out loud, but she lives them out in her actions. Her heart is always flirting, ever seeking, and constantly hoping for a guy. She flits from boy to boy or does whatever it takes to keep the one she has. She's convinced that to be without one would kill her. (The thief comes to kill.)
Money and material things can be idols. The girl who idolizes money and stuff believes lies like "If I just get that pair of jeans, I'll feel better about myself" or "I can't tithe until my own needs are met." Since your money really belongs to God, He deserves the first part of it, not the last. And those jeans aren't going to fulfill you any more than those wooden Asherah poles were going to make the Israelites have more babies! Have you been conned into placing greater value in money and stuff than in God? (The thief comes to steal.)
Your body image can be an idol. The girl who idolizes her appearance believes things like "If I just be a size or two smaller, I'll be beautiful" and "If I only drink liquids and avoid solid foods, I'll feel better about myself" and "I'll control guys with the way I present my body." Or even "It's the guy's problem if he thinks this low-cut blouse is a turn-on!" Such lies eat away at the very core of your physical and emotional being. (The thief comes to destroy.)
Boys, nice things, and presenting yourself well are not inherently bad, but something—anything—can become an idol when it controls your body and soul and mind nearly every waking hour. If the gift means more than the Giver, you've crossed the line into idol worship.
Perhaps one of the most misused verses in the Bible is Matthew 7:1: "Judge not, that you not be judged." This simply means that we should not be judgmental of people, but nowhere in Scripture are we told not to judge things, activities, and philosophies. In fact, the apostle Paul urges us to "try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord" (Ephesians 5:10). So have at it!
Just how far does God take His claim to our exclusive love? Well, to be honest, He takes it farther than my mind can sometimes fathom. Jesus said, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:26). Our love for Him is to be so exclusive and so far above our love for anything else, He says, that our love for our family should be like hate in comparison to our love for Him.
And yet…He also commands us to honor our father and mother.
Oh boy! This is getting difficult. Complex. (Love stories can be like that, can't they?) Let me share with you the complicated story of a girl who "hated" her father and mother but also honored them in the quest for an exclusive love relationship with the God of the Universe.
Reina is a vibrant Japanese Christian. No one in her devout Shintoist family had ever married without an omiai. Omiai is the term for an arranged marriage, a custom still practiced by some in her culture.
Despite her family heritage, Reina wanted no part in an omiai. She had read my first book, And the Bride Wore White, as a teenager and used it to decide what kind of guy she would marry. Using my "wish list for him," she'd prayed through what she believed God wanted her to be looking for in a husband. Her list included one peculiar item. In addition to "godly Christian," "interested in ministry," and "a college graduate," her list included "not my omiai." She knew her husband-to-be would be selected for his class, Shinto religion, and bloodline. She would be expected to have sex with him before the marriage in order to seal the deal. If she did not go through with it, she would be shunned by her family for having dishonored them. The stakes were high.
Reina was living in Hawaii as a twenty-one-year-old student when she got the call from her parents. "Good news! Your omiai has been announced!"
Lean in to hear how God honors us with a life just brimming with peace when we protect the exclusive nature of our love relationship with Him. Through the next few weeks, Reina treated her parents with great honor and obeyed them in every way. She knew that if God ordered her to honor her father and mother, He would make it possible even in this difficult circumstance.
One day as she and her mom were going out to shop, God's Spirit spoke to Reina in a small voice: Ask your mom about her relationship with your father. Through the day, Reina looked for the right time and prayed for the right words. Then it came.
"Mom, do you ever wish my father treated you differently?"
The floodgate of her mother's heart opened and tears flowed. Her mother confessed that she had not wanted to marry him, but did so because she didn't want to lose her family. She told her daughter how much she loved her and was sorry for putting her in the same position she'd been in years ago.
That day her mother took action to remove the family's obligation to the omiai, all because her daughter had acted honorably and respectfully to her and had stayed in tune with the Spirit's voice.
Peace reigned in their home (even if it looked elusive for a time), and Reina soon met and became engaged to a wonderful Christian man. And get this: her parents adore him!
~ Mary the Mother of Jesus…gave up her reputation for Him.
~ Mother Teresa….gave up a life of wealth for Him.
~ Modern missionary Katie Davis…gave up marriage for Him.
~ Joan of Arc…gave up her life for Him.
What Are You Prepared to Give It Up for God?
Write Your Story
Sit quietly and consider what activities, entertainment, and philosophies you are investing your time in. Ask God's Spirit to give you discernment about all of these things. Are you sacrificing yourself to one or more of these things? If so, write it down and purge your heart on these pages. When you have finished, select an older, wiser friend to confide in.


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Battle of the PACs in Orange County Congressional race
Political ads are designed to attract attention. But a new ad by the candidate challenging an Orange County Congressman is shining a light on the political action committee that paid for the TV spot.
The ad for Democrat Jay Chen looks like a 1960's black-and-white horror movie, complete with monsters and a screaming blonde. The announcer says it's a "creature from Washington: Ed Royce. His votes are real, but we can stop him."
Royce, the ten-term Republican Congressman from Fullerton, objects to the political action committee that financed the ad: America Shining. Filings with the Federal Election Commission show the entire 565-thousand dollars in America Shining's account come from one person: Shaw Chen, the candidate's brother.
Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, says it's unusual for a relative to organize a super PAC, but "not unheard of." She says it's perfectly legal as long as there's no coordination with the candidate, which Jay Chen has said is true in this case.
Former CA Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally remembered at service
Sharon McNary/KPCC
Pallbearers escort the casket of former California Lt. Gov. Mervyn Dymally at his funeral at Holy Cross Mortuary, Oct. 17, 2012.
Funeral services were held Wednesday in Culver City for Mervyn M. Dymally, the "Godfather of African-American politics." He died last week at the age of 86.
California's only black lieutenant governor served during Gov. Jerry Brown's first term, and he was credited by many as helping to build an indpendent African-American power base in the state.
The Trinidad-born teacher advanced swiftly in American politics after he became a citizen in the 1950s. He first served as an Assemblyman, winning election in 1962.
Kenneth Orduna, Dymally's longtime chief political operative, recalled his friend as a simple man.
"Of all his accomplishments and positions he held, the chairman was a humble man and on the inside a country boy from Trinidad," Orduna said. "He had a burning desire to help people no matter what their station in life may have been. The chairman 's life was about doing the people's business."
That's My Issue: Accessibility
Kim Bui/Amy Lieu/KPCC
Erika Toriz tells KPCC her concerns about accessibility of election information.
This post is part of KPCC & WNYC's "That's My Issue" series, and represents the views of its author, not of either station.
My husband and I took a trip to Napa and we were reading the propositions one by one. And we were very confused. We are both educated, we both understand and we both can read and comprehend papers. But it took us five hours to go through them, and we still had confusion on more than a few of them.
My main concern is that we need to make [politics] more accessible for the regular citizen. This is something very important that I can't believe it's so difficult to comprehend.
People don't want to come to vote, especially for the Latino communities that are Spanish-speaking. I mean, if it's hard for us to understand what to educate people, I can't even imagine what it would be for the regular people.
Maven's Morning Coffee: Sheriff gets oversight, undocumented immigrants get ID cards, politicians play musical chairs
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will appoint a monitor to oversee the L.A. County jail system in light of abuse allegations against sheriff's deputies.
Good morning, readers. Welcome to the Maven's Morning Coffee -- a listing of the important headlines, news conferences, public meetings and announcements you need to know to fuel up and tackle your day.
The Maven's Morning Coffee is also available as a daily email. Click here to subscribe.
Today is Wednesday, Oct. 17, and here is what's happening in Los Angeles:
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors will hire a special monitor to oversee the jail system. Sheriff Lee Baca estimates it will cost $69 million to implement dozens of reforms at the jails. Los Angeles Times, KPCC.
A library card that would also act as an identification and pre-paid debit card for undocumented immigrants was approved by a Los Angeles City Council committee. Whether the card would be accepted by law enforcement agencies is unknown. The card would not be a driver's license and could not be used as a valid ID to board an airplane. Los Angeles Times, Daily News, KPCC.
KPCC launches MyBallot voter guide: Every Southern California 2012 election race, tailored to your ballot
Grant Slater/KPCC
Voters at a polling location yesterday.
Yesterday we launched our "MyBallot" voter guide. It includes coverage of every race, proposition and measure that will be on a ballot in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura Counties.
To access information, just enter your address, and the app will deliver a rundown of each race (from President to community college board), proposition and measure applicable to you, as well as links to KPCC and other coverage and candidates' answers to some of your questions.
(Rest assured, no information you enter will be collected or disseminated by KPCC or any third-party organization.)
You'll also be able to save your choices on your mobile device or print them out so you can bring them to the polls. If you're accessing the voter guide from your phone, the app has a streamlined mobile version as well.

subset: commoncrawl


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Originally published Thursday, December 5, 2013 at 10:05 PM
'Caught in the Web': a tangled tale of cyberbullying in China
A movie review of "Caught in the Web," a story of cyberbullying in China. Though harboring flinty truths and staffed with popular stars, it's a messy collision of strained portrayals, semi-comic incidents and tear-jerking tactics.
The New York Times
Movie Review
'Caught in the Web,' with Chen Hong, Gao Yuanyuan, Yao Chen, Mark Chao, Wang Xueqi, Wang Luodan. Written and directed by Chen Kaige. 117 minutes. Not rated; for mature audiences. In Cantonese and Mandarin, with English subtitles. Sundance Cinemas.
The New York Times does not provide star ratings with reviews.
Chen Kaige, who remains best known for directing the Cannes prizewinner "Farewell My Concubine," shouldn't be faulted for attempting a state-of-the-nation look at China today with his new movie, "Caught in the Web." But this story of cyberbullying and its discontents, though harboring flinty truths and staffed with popular domestic stars, is a messy collision of strained portrayals, semi-comic incidents and tear-jerking tactics.
In Chen's movie, an executive's assistant, Ye Lanqiu (Gao Yuanyuan), is tormented by mobs on the Web after a budding reporter (Wang Luodan) films her denying an elderly man a seat on a bus. Per an unnecessarily overloaded premise, the source of her irritability is unimpeachable: a diagnosis of cancer. The witness' sister, a journalist and producer (Yao Chen), picks up the story but does not know that her live-in boyfriend (Mark Chao) has been hired by Ye as a companion for her last days on Earth.
Meanwhile, Ye's understanding but imperious boss (Wang Xueqi) lords it over his wife (Chen Hong) after she tries to turn the screws over suspected hanky-panky with Ye. The older couple's relationship, a brooding faceoff played out in the cold comfort of their well-appointed home, is overshadowed by choppily assembled intrigue and the martyrizing of Ye.
Chen's camera placement often feels too much like a bid to mix things up, and the occasionally goofy soundtrack cues seem to have been bought in bulk. While the film tackles an admittedly slippery contemporary moment, its grasp is weakened by divided attentions and unwieldy approaches.
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Arizona Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals sign Jonathan Dwyer and Ted Larsen
The Arizona Cardinals added a couple new players late Wednesday.
The team announced it had signed running back Jonathan Dwyer to a one-year contract and offensive lineman Ted Larsen to a two-year deal.
Terms of the deals were not released.
Dwyer, 24, spent the first four seasons of his NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He appeared in 36 games, rushing 230 times for 971 yards and two touchdowns. He's also caught 27 passes for 176 yards.
As for Larsen, the 26-year-old North Carolina State product spent the last four seasons in Tampa Bay and started 31 games. He has played both center and guard.
Most Popular
Cardinals Audio
- Jake Plummer, former ASU and Cardinals quarterback - Tuesday November 25Jake Plummer says there's more than just bragging rights riding on this year's Territorial Cup.
- It's Paul's Call with Paul Calvisi! - Tuesday November 25The Territorial Cup is about to get extremely real on Paul's Call.
- Calais Campbell - Cardinals defensive end - Tuesday November 25Arizona Cardinals defensive end Calais Campbell expects the team to bounce back this Sunday against
- Who Impressed/Who Depressed - Monday November 24Dan and Vince discuss who impressed and who depressed them over the weekend.
- Bickley Blast - Monday November 24How vulnerable did the Cardinals look after their loss against the Seahawks?


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The sixth-annual Great Bend Storm Special Olympics Turkey Bowl will kick off at 10 a.m. Friday, Nov. 28, at Great Bend High School's Memorial Stadium. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m.
NEWTON - Central Plains football coach Chris Steiner felt the positive energy heading into Eight-Man I championship week.
NEWTON – The Hanover Wildcats will have images of Layne Bieberle dancing in their heads.
NEWTON – The battle of Claflin High classmates swung Victoria High's way.
The Denver Broncos suddenly are looking fragile. They need to end their November swoon quickly or even could face the possibility of not playing in January.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Chiefs signed veteran Jason Avant on Friday to help a beleaguered and injury-prone group of wide receivers, reuniting him with Andy Reid, his longtime coach in Philadelphia.
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - As Samaje Perine churned up the yards, the rain-soaked crowd at half-filled Memorial Stadium chanted his name.
LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Long Beach State coach Dan Monson has wanted to see his team come together defensively. They obliged Friday night with a dominating performance in front of a packed home arena.
The possibility that the State of Kansas could rob highway project funds to solve the state's fiscal crisis has come up at recent Barton County Commission meetings. Local officials are worried about work that is promised to the area but that now may be delayed if not cancelled.
LARNED - Bernice S. Zook, 91, passed away Nov. 20, at Diversicare of Larned. She was born Nov. 28, 1922, in Stafford County, the daughter of Owen E. and Powerley Gilliland Smith. A lifetime area resident, she was a beloved mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and homemaker.
NORTH NEWTON - Harold W. Seyfert, 93, died Nov. 20, at Kidron Bethel Healthcare Center, North Newton.
ELLINWOOD - Edwin LeRoy Stoppel, 86 , passed away at Woodhaven Care Center in Ellinwood, on November 21, 2014. Services are pending with Minnis Chapel in Ellinwood.
Encouraged by the lowest gas prices in recent memory and a brighter economic outlook, the number of those going over the river and through the woods this Thanksgiving weekend will be the highest in several years.
"These aren't your grandmothers' quilts," has become an unofficial tagline for the Shafer Art Gallery's annual exhibit from the National Quilt Museum - and for good reason. The ornate designs and craftsmanship of the 18 quilts on display far exceed that of what most people likely think of when they hear the word "quilt."
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VICTORIA - An Ellinwood woman was taken to Hays Medical Center after the compact car she was driving hit a deer carcass, at 5:52 a.m. Friday on Interstate 70, 2 miles east of Victoria in Ellis County.
The Barton County Sheriff's Office spent much of Thursday responding to vehicle vs deer accidents.
Hillary Clinton sniffs, "Don't let anyone tell you that, um, you know, (smirk) corporations and businesses create jobs."
Last week's tragic shootings in Canada and Washington state are certain to lead to new calls for gun control. The media-generated fear over "lone wolf terrorists" will enable the gun control lobby to smear Second Amendment supporters as "pro-terrorist." Marketing gun control as an anti-terrorist measure will also enable gun control supporters to ally with those who support any infringement on liberty done in the name of "homeland security."
Gentiva Hospice will sponsor a program, "The Basics: Memory Loss, Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease," for those who are or know someone who is affected by Alzheimer's disease, at 1:15 and 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 13, at the Carl Soden Recreation Building-Burnside Room, 1214 Stone Street. The program provides information on detection, causes and risk factors, stages of the disease, treatment, and much more. Tips for dealing with the holidays will be discussed.
CLAFLIN - The toughest challenge for state-ranked eight-man football teams is finding a way to stay sharp despite playing until halftime in most games.
Hoisington High's second football playoff challenge takes the Cardinals to Minneapolis for a 7 p.m. Class 3A showdown Saturday.
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) - TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin finished the last game by encouraging the kicker before the game-winning field goal and apologizing to teammates in the locker room for his subpar performance.
KANSAS CITY (AP) - Alex Smith took the snap from center, looked to his right and saw Dwayne Bowe open in the end zone.
No. 1 Central Missouri vs. No. 4 Central Oklahoma
LAWRENCE (AP) - Anybody watching Kansas last week could tell that something different was going on, though it had nothing to do with the personnel or anything else happening on the field.
Courtesy photo
As a distance runner with a mile-wide competitive streak, one thing I have learned over time is that there is always room for improvement. There is always room to run farther, faster or finish higher than I did in the last race. When I am competing against myself, my best today is never what I want to settle for tomorrow.
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Friday, November 21, 2014
Thursday, October 30, 2014
New England Autumn
"New England Autumn"
PF56, Edition 1/3
Temporarily photographed against a black background for contrast.
I just finished cutting edition 1/3 of this piece- editions 1 and 2 are commissioned work. Will start work on the watercolor painting for this one and on cutting the second one this weekend.
Posted by Bee at 6:55 PM No comments: Links to this post
Friday, September 19, 2014
Hummingbird finished!
Edition 2/3, watercolor painting backer.
Posted by Bee at 7:26 PM No comments: Links to this post
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Work in Progress
Remember how I always say that I have a short attention span and work on multiple pieces at once? I give you Exhibit A. And this only has the 6 that are in semi-recognizable states- I probably have at least 6-8 more that are bare starts.
Posted by Bee at 1:45 PM No comments: Links to this post
Saturday, September 6, 2014
Friday, September 5, 2014
Breaking Wave II, Final Edition!
Available unframed on Etsy or framed at art shows or on request.
Posted by Bee at 2:01 PM No comments: Links to this post
Monday, September 1, 2014
New giraffe cutting finished!
Cuttting 1 of 3 is done!
Posted by Bee at 9:03 AM No comments: Links to this post
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Oak Leaf sculpture is done!
I am hoping to make this one of my jury slides for next year's applications..
Posted by Bee at 6:37 PM No comments: Links to this post
Monday, August 18, 2014
Finished ACEOs
Got the paintings done on two of the art cards that I finished cutting while I was onsite at Levis last weekend- Gingko and Breaking Wave.
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Duck blinds for lease by the day or season.
newport, Arkansas
Call for pricing etc
Duck blinds for lease in northeast Arkansas, between Cache River and Bayou deview. Duck pits are located in rice and soybean fields. Duck pits are all 20 ft with dog boxes, We are approx 90 miles from Memphis Tennessee, 22 miles southeast of Jonesboro Arkansas, 9 ...
Arkansas Duck Hunting
Weldon, Cash, Grubbs, Hunter, Arkansas
6,000.00 - 10,000.00
Arkansas duck lease available - White River, Cache River, Bean fields, Rice fields and Timber by Dave Donaldson and Lake Ashbaugh
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DONT WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE ALL GONE...... Bean field $5500 with Bayou Bean field near White River. Guaranteed water $5500 4787509000 South.... Near Elaine and Mellwood. White River Area Bean field.. backs up to Bear bayou $6200 Milo field $6900. LEASED Rice field ...
Stuttgart Arkansas, Arkansas
$575 per day
Stuttgart Arkansas , We have 15 fields for SELF GUIDED $575 PER DAY & Guided waterfowl hunts in Timber!.Hunting 8 farms near Stuttgart Arkansas , and 5 farms in Southeast Missouri. We are offering Arkansas self guided duck hunts $575 per day per group. Arkansas duck ...
Waterfowl Lease in Red River Bottom
Haworth, Oklahoma
$2,500 per member
Waterfowl lease open from September 1st to February 1st and consists of no more than 11 members with a limited guest policy and blinds. Property is an expanse 1300 acres (800 flooded in winter) and a 220 acre lake over a mile in length. This seasons food plots include ...
Timber and fields available 2014/2015 season
Hughes, Hunter, Cache, Arkansas
$6500.00 - $22,000.0
60 acres - Cache $6,500.00 160 acres - Hunter, AR $7,000.00 Hughes, AR - whole farm $22,000.00
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Executive Lakefront Home & Retreat
Union, South Carolina
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North Dakota hunting, www.jasperduckhunting.com
Robinson, North Dakota
See website
North Dakota hunting. Jaspers Duck Acres One of the best places to hunt geese and ducks on 3,000 acres of private land. Lots of potholes and water. We are located 75 miles North East of Bismarck and 65 miles North West of Jamestown in the Central Fly Way Zone. A hunting ...


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- Freeport murder suspect Damon Dixson taken into custody in Rockford
- Local gas station employee arrested for selling liquor to minor
- Renewable Fuel Standard delay 'a mixed blessing,' Bustos says
- Rockford delegation presents inaugural 'Rockford Award' to Norwegian Air
- Education in Illinois making slow progress, according to report
- Illinois GOP Congressional delegation: Obama's immigration plan undermines rule of law
- Suspect, 17, charged in Halloween hit-and-run in Roscoe
- Saint Anthony College of Nursing president to retire
- Man found guilty in deadly August 2013 crash at Mulford and Garrett Lane
- 'The Price is Right Live!' at Coronado March 1; tickets on sale Nov. 21
On Music: MIDEM presenters aim to stop music piracy
By Jim Hagerty
Staff Writer
Stopping music piracy was the main topic this week when the MIDEM trade show moved into its final sessions.
More than 7,000 attendees arrived in Cannes, France, Saturday, Jan. 22, for the five-day show. The annual event was centered largely on how to stop millions of users from downloading free music and buying from vendors in a growing Internet black market.
Insiders say the ability to download music for free not only comes with financial consequences, it prevents new artists from breaking into the mainstream. Even as iTunes and other digital download services gain steam, pirate software still makes it possible for millions to obtain large catalogs of music for free.
"Music fans have never had such choice and ease of access to licensed music," International Federation of the Phonographic Industry CEO Frances Moore said. "Around the world, legitimate music services are catering to the lifestyle, taste and modes of access preferred by consumers."
Meantime, the numbers continue to tell the story. Last year, total album sales by debut artists were only about one-quarter of where they were in 2003. While some new artists do give away a song or two, and some are leaked digitally, the majority of material is still available through free downloads.
"On the Internet, you still find millions of tracks downloaded without the people who made this music—the creative minds behind all these tracks—receiving fair payment," jazz musician Roger Cicero said. "Some of us are in the lucky position of continuing to benefit from our past successes, so Internet piracy mainly hits young, up-and-coming talents for whom every single euro really counts."
Cicero hasn't been alone in his claims. Napster came under fire in 2000, after Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich became an unofficial spokesman for musicians, after realizing hundreds of back catalogs were being distributed through the free peer-to-peer network.
The MIDEM show wasn't entirely encased in doom-and-gloom. In spite of piracy, more than 400 licensed online music services exist today. In 2010, digital music revenues increased by almost 7 percent.
Show presenters also unveiled innovative tools to help musicians earn additional money while their albums are marketed. In the last five years, scores of online publishing houses have emerged. Each specializes in placing music into films, advertising, television and video games.
MIDEM, which stands for Marché International du Disque et de l'Edition Musicale, is the world's largest industry trade show. More than 200,000 companies have been represented, and some 20,000 journalists have covered the event since 1967. The 2011 show was held at the famed Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, the site of the Cannes Film Festival.


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One sure sign of recovery in boom-and-bust power-generation markets is the renewed growth in the planning and construction of power plants. Active efforts are underway in generation development in...
Gas Market Outlook
Why America's bridge fuel faces a road block.
development. Ventyx estimates that since 2005 approximately 80 GW of planned coal-fired power generation capacity was cancelled compared to only 6.5 GW of coal-fired capacity additions. While the regulatory and permitting process has been brutal for new coal plants, there are approximately 4 GW of coal-fired power generation capacity additions currently under construction and expected to come online through 2011. However, the longer-term outlook is less clear.
Ventyx currently assumes that major federal environmental legislation will be passed that will include a national RPS goal of 15-percent renewable energy by 2020 and require power sector CO 2 reductions in the range of those outlined in the Waxman-Markey legislation passed by the House in mid-2009. The increasing carbon reduction requirements under such a scenario and the resulting CO 2 allowance prices would drive an increasing number of coal plant retirements. However, carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) likely will become commercially feasible around 2020, and through a combination of retirements and retrofits the coal fleet will begin to transform over the 2020 through 2030 time period.
The resulting Ventyx forecast of U.S. power sector demand for coal and natural gas produced varied predictions. Coal consumption will decline as retirements increase around 2020 and despite the assumption of CCS availability, coal demand will be relatively flat after 2025. In contrast, power sector natural gas consumption essentially will be flat through 2020 during the build up of renewable energy to the 2020 RPS goal, but natural gas demand will increase rapidly after that point.
As with any forecast there are uncertainties and alternative assumptions that would alter the forecast results. The near-term outlook for gas demand could be understated if the current push for renewable energy fades. Without a national RPS, renewable energy additions are likely to slow compared to our forecast, and natural gas-fired generation likely would increase. The long-term outlook for gas demand also might be understated, since there's no guarantee that research and investment to make CCS commercially viable will come to fruition.
The projections above highlight the challenges for natural gas producers: For the next 10 years natural gas demand growth looks weak due to the renewables push and difficulty in dislodging coal-fired power plants without a substantial increase in the price of carbon emissions. For the gas producers that have invested billions to gain premier positions in emerging shale gas plays throughout North America, tepid demand growth over the next decade will make for lean times and potentially affect the level of future investment. Producers focused on higher cost conventional gas production might find their days numbered.
Beyond 2020, natural gas demand requirements are more likely to increase and the increases could be substantial. Gas demand in 2030 might be as much as 20 Bcfd higher compared to current levels, assuming carbon restrictions disadvantage coal post-2020 and renewables penetration slows after reaching the 2020 national RPS standard. Based on current rates of shale gas production growth and robust resource estimates of shale gas in North America, it's plausible to increase production to supply the incremental natural gas required. The challenge for North


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Mitt Romney sets voting record!Submitted by Walty on Wed, 04/25/2012 - 20:43
Mitt Romney set a record with at least two of Tuesday's primary wins, but it's an achievement the presumptive Republican nominee probably won't be bragging about.
The former Massachusetts governor won Delaware with 56 percent of the vote and Pennsylvania with 58 percent. According to University of Minnesota political scientist Eric Ostermeier, that marks the first time that a presumptive GOP nominee has failed to reach the 60 percent mark in a contest conducted after his last major challenger exited the race.
"While Romney avoided the embarrassment of winning with a mere plurality, never has a presumptive nominee won a primary contest with such a low level of support at this stage of the race with his chief challenger no longer actively campaigning," Ostermeier writes at Smart Politics, the university's political site. Smart Politics reviewed Republican primary election data since 1972.
While the Romney campaign insists a win is a win, Romney's below-60-percent victories in Delaware and Pennsylvania come after months of questions about whether the ex-governor will be able to unite Republicans around his candidacy.
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romney's support is lukewarm at best.
obama can't fill an arena. (I am going to research other incumbent presidents' campaign kick offs for crowd size.)
Ron Paul supporters are still energized and working hard. He is still drawing huge crowds.
These things give me a lot of hope for our/Ron Paul's success!
Footnote: Is obama using airforce 1 to travel to these campaign events and if so is he repaying us from his campaign funds?
Formerly rprevolutionist
Except his chief challenger (Ron Paul) is still campaigning
you stole the words
... right outta my mouth
YEAH! AND he always has been!
YEAH! AND he always has been! Just no one knew it but US because they are DUMB!
Does anybody think this is
Does anybody think this is significant?
It's More AMMO
In the gun that will blow Mittens outta the water.
I've linked to it myself..and the most relevant statement?
This One:
"the first time that a presumptive GOP nominee has failed to reach the 60 percent mark in a contest conducted after his last major challenger exited the race"....
FOCUS on the LESS THAN 60% FACT...That's the real deal.
It shows how UN-Electable Mittens really is!
Wait till the scandals on Romney's "PONZI SCHEME" hit the streets.
Not to mention this:
"Beyond the blackened skyline, beyond the smoky rain, dreams never turned to ashes up until.........
...Everything CHANGED !!
I have two goldfish .....
I have two goldfish ..... sorry I thought we were talking 'bout stuff that doesn't matter
- jk


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The world is eating too much meat, and that's bad news for the earth's forests, arable land, and scarce water. That's the conclusion of a report released this week by the Washington-based Worldwatch Institute. Global production of meat hit a new high of 308.5 million tons last year, up 1.4 percent, according to the United … Continue reading
Just when we thought the slaughterhouses couldn't get any worse for workers, consumers and animals alike, new rules are coming out of Washington DC that will make the whole situation worse than ever. Under the "Modernization of Poultry Slaughter Inspection" rule, a processing line could run at 170 carcasses per minute, and only one inspector- … Continue reading
There is a quiet environmental crisis brewing and it's very serious. It's so widespread that it affects the entire world. It's so dangerous that the great humanitarian, the Dalai Lama, considers it a greater threat than nuclear weapons. It's sneaking up on us, it could easily hurt more people and cause more disruption than global … Continue reading
A new landmark study by researchers at the University of Minnesota's Institute on the Environment looks into how to feed another 3 billion people, the expected increase in global population before it levels out. The food necessary for the extra 3 billion is "the diet gap" facing humanity. As their report says, "Sustainably feeding people … Continue reading
The latest global warming research makes clearer than ever that there's no fixing, or even mitigating, a climate change catastrophe without a worldwide switch to a vegetarian diet. Don't look for alternatives to save us, such as grass-fed beef which is actually worse. Nothing else can be substituted for going veg, and even the most optimistic … Continue reading
The swine flu is here and it's serious this year. It will make some sick, some so sick they need to be hospitalized, and sadly some will die. Because there are no uniform reporting requirements in Washington, and because most will tough it out at home, it's hard to get reliable statistics, but we do know … Continue reading
The news about chicken just keeps getting worse. As if we needed yet another reason not to eat chicken, the Obama administration has just caved in to "big chicken" by issuing new slaughterhouse regulations. These will save the industry over $256 million every year by speeding up the pace of processing and reducing the number … Continue reading
Those concerned with animal welfare often ask the following question: isn't it kind of arbitrary the way we care for, love, and protect some animals, such as cats and dogs, while allow others such as cows, pigs and chickens to be raised under harsh conditions, only to be slaughtered under even worse circumstances? The … Continue reading
We've written in the past about just how miserable it is to work in a slaughterhouse, given all the abuses and injuries that take place there. This article takes a look at worker conditions at the slaughterhouse's counterpart on the world's oceans and in seafood processing plants. Most of us live and spend almost all of … Continue reading
Farm Sanctuary is special. While there are a number of animal welfare groups out there, some of which go beyond cats, dogs and wildlife to include farm animals, there are very few which devote themselves solely to the farm animals. Farm Sanctuary was founded in 1986 in response to the abuses of factory farming, and … Continue reading


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NBA London Live 2013
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Mike Woodson Head Coach of the New York Knicks sets up his team for a... News Photo 159578335Basketball - NBA Pro,England,Head Coach,Horizontal,London - England,Mike Woodson,New York Knicks,Practicing,Set,Sport,Sports Team,Sports Training,Sports Training Drill,The O2 - England,UKPhotographer Nathaniel S. ButlerCollection: National Basketball Association 2013 NBAELONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 16: Mike Woodson, Head Coach of the New York Knicks sets up his team for a drill during practice at the O2 Arena on January 16, 2013 in London, England. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2013 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)


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New Kia Optima Reviews
Autobytel has reviews that will walk you around a car, give you a peek under the hood and get you behind the wheel with an industry expert. Browse by category or get into a specific brand to see how well a car does when put to the test.
Showing 7 of 19 reviews for this vehicle
Kia Glides Into the Green Car Market with the 2011 Kia Optima
Kia glides into the green car market with the introduction of its very first hybrid car - the 2011 Kia Optima Hybrid. Debuting at this year's Los Angeles Auto...
Five Fuel-Efficient Family Sedans to Consider for 2011
For car shoppers with a family, finding new cars with enough real estate to accommodate the little ones is an important consideration. While SUVs and minivans are good...
EPA Estimates Put 2011 Kia Optima at Top of Mid-size MPG List
EPA estimates suggest the all-new 2011 Kia Optima delivers 24 mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway. These numbers place the Optima at the top of the list when...
2011 Kia Optima First Drive ReviewFarewell midsize vehicular appliances
It's hard to garner enthusiasm for a midsize car. I'm not saying that a buyer shouldn't consider one; it's just that most midsize sedans quicken my...
New 2010 Kia Optima Offers Exceptional Value in Mid-size Class
 The new 2010 Kia Optima comes with one of the lowest base MSRPs of any mid-size sedan ($17,995). Add in solid gas mileage and a 10-year extended warranty,...
Kelley Blue Book ® - 2009 Kia Optima OverviewVehicle Overview from Kelley Blue Book
Overview: EDITORS' NOTES The 2009 Kia Optima continues to offer buyers a well-built, well-equipped family sedan...
2006.5 Kia Optima ReviewKia's midsize sedan is all new and moving upscale
Most of us have heard the expression "champagne taste on a beer budget," but Kia is refuting that notion with the introduction of the redesigned 2006.5...


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Alliance Boots thrives thanks to KKR medicine
Several years ago a journalist asked US buyout firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts for a photo of its co-founder Henry Kravis. As none was available, someone close to the firm recommended using a photo of Jonathan Pryce, the actor who played Kravis in Barbarians at the Gate, the film about the firmâs $25bn privatisation of US tobacco company RJR Nabisco in 1988, which at the time was the largest ever buyout.
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By Matthew Birt -
20 July 2013 08:44
Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa both admitted that their primary focus for tomorrow's US MotoGP round at Laguna Seca is to avoid crashing to collect as many vital world championship points as possible.Factory Yamaha rider Lorenzo was an impressive sixth quickest in practice yesterday and only 0.427s off the best pace on his surprise return from injury.Lorenzo emerged in California from a nightmare two-week spell that saw him break his left collarbone twice in the space of 15 days in Assen and the Sachsenring.Two big operations later and the reigning MotoGP world champion, who had initially ruled himself out of competing at Laguna Seca, was back on track to try and ensure he didn't lose too much ground in the title hunt.Lorenzo is 11-points behind Repsol Honda rival Marc Marquez and despite many of his rivals predicting he will be a podium threat tomorrow, the Spaniard says a top three is unrealistic.Lorenzo is struggling mainly in the hard braking sections at the tight and technical Laguna Seca track, particularly at the first and last corner and the world famous Corkscrew.All three are hard braking points from high-speed into left hand turns that place extra stress on Lorenzo's fragile shoulder, which now has a titanium plate and 10 screws in it after his Sachsenring high-side eight days ago.Lorenzo told MCN: "I expected less pain on the bike because in Assen and Sachsenring I didn't feel so much pain. I was almost perfect or at least at 90% and I hoped to be better. In the braking I am struggling so much, especially at the first corner, the Corkscrew and the last corner. I have to use a lot of power in my legs and use the right side of my body as much as possible to minimise the power of the left."Lorenzo reckons he is only riding at 70 to 75% of his normal strength but when asked what his target for the race is, the double MotoGP world champion added: "The first target is not to crash and to feel better than I am now and not worse. Obviously I am here to get as many points as possible and to be realistic we are not in the condition to fight for the podium in normal conditions. Maybe a realistic place will be fifth to seventh."Lorenzo won the battle of the busted collarbones in yesterday's opening practice, with Pedrosa struggling down in 11th position.The luckless Spaniard lost the lead in the world championship a week ago when he fractured his left collarbone in a practice spill in Germany.Pedrosa opted to sit out a cold and cloudy FP1 to conserve energy and in FP2 a best lap of 1.23.129 left him 1.089s behind teammate Marquez.Pedrosa's ambitions for the race are the same as Lorenzo's, as he seeks not to surrender too many points to Marquez, who won his second premier class race in Germany.Pedrosa said: "I had a little bit of pain but I did some laps to get a feeling on the bike and this was important to see if I was able to ride. I am just trying to save some energy and try to recover for tomorrow. The target is to make the full race but I am not sure what pace I can be on or what my result can be but I will just try and be there on Sunday and do the full race. Obviously I can't crash. I just need to try and take some points and get this race done, get some rest in the summer and be back strong for the second half of the season."For coverage of the Laguna Seca MotoGP round, see the July 24 issue of Motor Cycle News.
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21 July 2013 21:05
21 July 2013 08:23
1 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda 1:21.568
2 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1:21.752
3 Stefan Bradl LCR Honda Honda 1:21.959
4 Alvaro Bautista Go&Fun Honda Gresini Honda 1:22.085
5 Cal Crutchlow Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:22.187
6 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team Ducati 1:22.226
7 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha Factory Racing Yamaha 1:22.290
8 Nicky Hayden Ducati Team Ducati 1:22.504
9 Aleix Espargaro Power Electronics Aspar ART 1:22.733
10 Bradley Smith Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1:22.812
11 Randy De Puniet Power Electronics Aspar ART 1:23.269
12 Alex De Angelis Ignite Pramac Racing Ducati 1:23.616
13 Danilo Petrucci Came Iodaracing Project Ioda-Suter 1:24.057
14 Colin Edwards NGM Mobile Forward Racing FTR Kawasaki 1:24.108
15 Hiroshi Aoyama Avintia Blusens FTR 1:24.460
16 Hector Barbera Avintia Blusens FTR 1:24.618
17 Yonny Hernandez Paul Bird Motorsport ART 1:24.670
18 Karel Abraham Cardion AB Motoracing ART 1:24.761
20 July 2013 19:57
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iMac 27" 2014 i7 3.5 16GB Ram Latest model ONLY 4 MONTHS OLD!! 8 months left on warranty
In brand new condition with all original packaging including shipment box. This iMac retails at £1,949. It was brand new sent to me from apple with a one year extendable warranty 3.5GHz quad-core Intel Core i7 Turbo Boost up to 3.9GHz 16GB (four 4


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Posts tagged ccp-atropos
EVE Evolved: Time dilation and the war on lag
When EVE Online launched back in 2003, it quickly gained a following of over 40,000 subscribing players. With around 5,000 solar systems for players to explore, those players spread themselves throughout the galaxy rather than gathering in one place. Players would often come together to trade or ...
EVE Evolved: The war on lag
It seems as though everywhere I go to read about EVE Online, someone is complaining about lag. Throughout the game's seven-year history, developers and server engineers have waged a constant battle against the lag monster. Frequent upgrades and code overhauls have ensured that the capacity of each ...
Upcoming EVE devblog series to show CCP's lag-busting efforts
With EVE Online's single-shard universe, the server hardware and game code have to be continually updated to cope with the game's constantly expanding playerbase. Each time the server is upgraded, node stability and lag in large fleet battles improves significantly. Unfortunately, this trend of per...
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Letters to the Editor
Date: July 31, 2013
by: Observer Staff
+ Manatee County will change forever
There is a disease in our county called Long Bar Pointe (LBP) and, especially, the countywide text amendment to our comprehensive plans. The purpose of the text is to encourage water-related or water-enhanced uses as a component of mixed-use projects located along coastal and adjacent to navigable waters and arterial roads.
If the promoters can pull this off, it's not too crazy that our permanent erosion control and construction line on Anna Maria Island could be done away with.
These guys probably have a group of investors and connections with local state and federal governments.
Developer Carlos Beruff says this will be magnificent. Hundreds of people believe this will be a horrible mess. It's a disgrace.
Katie Pierola
Currently 0 Responses
- Dec
3 Advent Study
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
- Dec
6 17th Annual Jingle & Jog Road Race and 1 Mile Fun Walk
8:00 am
- Dec
6 Manatee Aubuon - OPEN HOUSE at Felts Audubon Preserve
8:00 am - 11:00 am
- Dec
7 6th Annual Charity Event
12:00 pm - 4:00 pm
Puppy paradise
Com has found a home!
Money man
Lakewood Ranch Town Hall's Finance Director Steve Zielinski is the community's money man, and he's got the cufflinks to prove it.
Observer on the hunt for displays
We're making our list of the best holiday lights displays in East County and checking it twice.