How to Play Angry Birds Jenga Death Star Game

Am I in a cult or what does a good pastor look like?

Been hurt by the Church? It's not your fault

This is the Facebook Live Video of Christmas Eve at Grandma Patti Jo's house

Christmas 2017

I am phat!!

 I know it's a pro logo, I know it's slang and I love it anyway! I love me some Proverbs 11:25:

The liberal soul shall be made "fat". Get it? phat?

Check it out in the:
Jubilee Bible 2000
The soul who is a blessing unto others shall be made fat, and he that fills shall be filled also himself.
GOD'S WORD® Translation
A generous person will be made rich, and whoever satisfies others will himself be satisfied. 
NET Bible
A generous person will be enriched, and the one who provides water for others will himself be satisfied. 

So I had to check out the some definitions. To be Liberal is to be abundant, copious, ample, lavish. It also means to be open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values. We are that first, we are liberal (from the heart of Christ within us). Cause lets face it, me personally, I tend to be stingy and cheap, that is in my flesh.

THEN, we are made PHAT! Which is slang to be excellent, hot and sexy. Definition added for all us old fogeys out there. I have to admit I had to google what "phat" meant in slang. I am going to move the future tense used in the translations to present tense because we know that God is timeless and just cool like that and doesn't make us wait for phatness for 20 years or until we die and go to heaven.

Hurricane Irma Refugees, a story of abandoned kittens

There were six of us all together born outside. We couldn't see the rain because our eyes were not opened yet, but we felt it. We were curled up in a tight kitten ball getting soaked while the winds blew and the world changed forever in Southwest Florida. We had no idea where our mother was when we finally opened out eyes. We were hungry and cold and wet and cried and cried and cried for her. She never came back. All we knew was each other and the damp ground we could only squirm around on. We cried out for her for two days straight when at last the strangest thing happened, we were lifted up, dried by strange hand and place on a towel and in a cardboard box. Of course, we had no idea what this strange place was but we were dry and getting warmer. It smelled funny and made us nervous. Then a hand again picked us up and shoved a strange thing in our mouth, it was sort of shaped like our mother and we one by one latched on and nursed. That was sort of comforting and the hunger went away, we were so tired, we finally fell asleep in our strange new funny smelling world.

Breakfast Before the Storm

I took this picture at First Watch in Fort Myers and had every intention of going back and making some Vegan comment after I posted it. However, Hurricane Irma came to visit and I was so distracted I totally neglected my blog. Anyway First Watch is a great place to eat vegan.

"The Science of Good Taste" Really? Re-engineered potato chips? yummy....

Evidently Winn Dixie thinks this is good marketing. These pictures come from their magazine slipped into my bag after shopping there. Call me old fashioned but I don't like the idea of white lab coats "cooking" up my food.

Have to add pictures of my bird

Added a cameo at Fort Myers Memorial Gardens

We just added a cameo picture to Mom & Dad's crypt

You can't have a blog without some pictures of kittens

June Bug in June 2017

Beware sleeping tigers in kittens clothing

Failing to be Vegan at Red Lobster in Fort Myers

Okay, I understand that going to a Red Lobster and trying to not eat seafood is NOT a recipe for success. But this restaurant is my mother's favorite and she was paying. But they did have hamburgers and personal pizzas on the menu for others who may not care for seafood, but are there with their families. Get with the growing trend Red Lobster, at least offer one vegan choice on the menu. Not a lot of vegan choices. I ended up eating shrimp alfredo. My daughter Susan had lettuce wrapped shrimp and a side of veggies swimming in butter. Don't get me wrong all the food was very good and those of the family who were not vegan were in serious food heaven. The service was good and the staff was friendly and very accommodating to my mother who was using a walker. 

Wise Men Still Seek Him, MAGI Ministries.org

The Magi’s story is one of the best loved tales in the Bible. It is possible we would not have the gift giving at Christmas today without the story of their gifts for the young Jesus. The Magi bring the first Christmas gifts. But, today many Christians wrongly believe that the Magi were “Kings”. Let’s examine how this idea came about.

Early Christian writers said the Magi were Zoroastrian priests (see this Catholic Bible history link). Not a single early Church writer calls the Magi “kings.” Their journey from the East, following a magical star is in Chapter two of Matthew. Matthew’s gospel was written to Jewish followers. For the Zoroastrian Magi to recognize Jesus would add to the Hebrew belief of Jesus as the Messiah. It was widely believed by the Jews that Zoroastrians prophesied three saviors to be born. The three gifts they bore may represent the gifts of “Good Thoughts, Good Words and Good Deeds” – the ancient Zoroastrian motto.

To see the Magi as “Kings” is to completely miss the importance of their visit to Jesus. It is the first time in the Christian Bible that Jesus is recognized as a “Savior.” Almost any 1st Century Jew would have understood the significance of the Magi’s visit. When we repeat the myth of them being kings we are taking away their importance in Mathew’s gospel. Another good site is Wikipedia’s page on the Magi of the Bible http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Magi

Even if the Magi visit is completely legend (and many Persians and Zoroastrians have thought it fictional) Matthew has created a brilliant literary twist for his 1st century audience. in first chapter Matthew records Jesus’ full genealogy, back to King David. Today our eyes gloss over the long genealogies of Chapter One. Yet, these were vitally important to Matthew’s audience. He leaves no doubt about his beliefs on who Jesus was and what his mission was to be. The Magi are in Chapter Two confirming what Matthew states in Chapter One – that Jesus is the future ruler and savior of the world. To change the Magi and make them “kings” takes away the power of the opening book of the gospels.

Mathew’s first century audience would likely have laughed at a story that made the Magi into kings. However, when the kings story arises, nearly 600 years after the death of Jesus, the Magi were no longer respected – and neither were the Jews. Once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire it became important to full full the Bible verse which says that all the kings of the earth would bow before Jesus. But, no early church historian taught that the Magi were kings rather than traveling Zoroastrian priests or missionaries. The idea of the three wise men being kings developed much later after Christianity became the religion of the Romans.

The Magi may have even been the first missionaries. It is possible that Jesus’ Great Commission at the end of Matthew is based on the missionaries Zarathustra sent out as there is little history of missionaries in Judaism or any ancient ethnic/tribal faith. Only Zarathustra’s Magi were sent to all nations to teach a better way of living. There had never been anything like the Magi in the ancient world.

Let’s read the Gospel of Matthew as he intended it and as his first readers read it. The Magi were priests and astronomers. They were NOT alchemists or magicians (although the term “magic” comes from Magi). However, the word Magi actually means “generous” or “benefactor” – as in the word “magnanimous.” The Magi were traveling missionaries – their faith called for them to seek “saviors” and to teach that each of us is a potential savior of our world. The word “savior” had a different meaning to the Magi as it does to today’s Christians.

Early Christian writers said the Magi were Zoroastrian priests (see this Catholic Bible history link). Not a single early Church writer calls the Magi “kings.” Their journey from the East, following a magical star is in Chapter two of Matthew. Matthew’s gospel was written to Jewish followers. For the Zoroastrian Magi to recognize Jesus would add to the Hebrew belief of Jesus as the Messiah (http://members.efn.org/~opal/therealmagi.html).

The Magi opened the heavens for their followers and found the savior of the world. This ministry proudly bears the “name” Magi for they were strangers in a strange land turning their world upside down with their supernatural revelations and, yes, their gifts. They came from no where and left to go back home to obscurity but left their mark on history by pointing out to everyone the child on which all of history pivoted on, Jesus.

Patti Jo

Being Vegan in Southwest Florida

Like many people my vegan journey started by watching the Netflix documentary "What the Health." And I have to say it is a "journey" because though I made the decision on a Saturday night to begin eating only plant based foods on Sunday (July 2, 2017), I was unable to fully comply with my decision for a couple of weeks. First I had to buy the right foods, which, I had planned on grocery shopping on Sunday anyway. Then I discovered that my local Winn Dixie had very few vegan choices, other than the produce section itself. Then I tried to go out to eat, what a disaster.

The Mix, on Palm Beach Blvd, had absolutely no vegan choices. I ended up having to eat fish and french fries. I've had better luck at Perkins in Lehigh Acres, at least there I could have a southwest salad and have them hold the chicken and add extra avocado. Today my family wants to go to Red Lobster on Cleveland Ave. I will let you know how that goes.

This is where you can catch some of my older stuff

Patti Jo - Author

Coffee & Conversation Spring 2017

Remembering Samantha

Found a new park in Olga, FL

Vacation in Ohio and Chicago

Personal vacation time across the midwest. Marshall and I travel for him to be in his buddies wedding and we stop off in several places along the way.