Gossip (EP)

Gossip is great, right? It helps you learn so much about yourself that you did not know. Hehe. To take a serious look at gossip visit today's encore post from March 7th, 2011.Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Be Kind to Jerks (EP)

If we are not, then we only become like them. Click here to read today's encore post from January 14th, 2011. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Father's Love Letter (EP)

It is so beautiful how the Bible works together with itself to give us such a message of how we are loved. See some scriptures telling a story in today's encore post from July 15th, 2010. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Church (EP)

Are you a Christian who does not go to church? Does that ever leave you feeling lonely? Today's encore post from April 6th, 2011, takes a look at why it is healthy for your spirit to be a part of a church body. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Life as a Talk Show Guest (EP)

Yes, you read that correctly. Sometimes it is funny to look back at life and wonder, "What was I thinking?" Whatever you do in life, though, remember to be yourself and be real. Today's encore post is from May 18th, 2010. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

T.H.I.N.K. (EP)

Since I have seen people posting something similar to this on Facebook this past week, I figured that I would share this post from June 9th, 2010. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Ice Cream Hangover (EP)

How does someone who does not drink alcohol wound up sick from it? Today's encore post is from August 9th, 2010. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

What Would You Say? (EP)

Everyone needs compassion. Would you give it? Today's encore post is from June 7th, 2010. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Like at First Sight (EP)

Why do adults make it so difficult to accept one another while young children can make a new friend with just about anyone? Today's encore post is from August 6th, 2010. Click here to read it. I look forward to your thoughts and comments, and remember to enter my giveaway!

Encore Presentations

Since I decided to get back to blogging, it seems that a few things in life have kept me too busy to actually focus long enough to write much. However, since people are reading again, I do not want to leave my little blog sitting quietly. Thus, I decided that for the next couple of weeks, while I am getting other things situated, you (whoever you are reading this right now) will have the opportunity to read some posts that I choose to make an encore appearance. Fun, right?! I hope that you find them interesting or encouraging. Starting tomorrow, look for a different post each day. Personally, I will be looking forward to your thoughts and comments, and, as always, please spread the word!

Like my blog on Fb at http://www.facebook.com/wordsfromdug

Check out my current Giveaway here.

Bible Verses for Women

Are you a woman looking for some Bible verses for women that are relevant to you? There are so many women who do not realize how much of God's Word is actually intended for them. As a matter of fact, if we want to get right down to it, all of the Bible verses for women can be found between Genesis 1:1 where, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth," and Revelation 22:21 where, "The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people. Amen."

My List of Bible Verses for Women.

That is right, Ladies, it is all there for our learning, for our guidance, and for our benefit. All Bible verses are for women as well as for men and children. Together, let us look at some specific Bible verses and what they mean to you.

Specific Bible verses for women.

Genesis 2:18 tells us that "The LORD God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'” From almost the very beginning of scripture, the Bible tells us that woman was created for man. We were created to be man's helper, man's partner, man's companion. Man was not created to live alone, and woman was created for him. How special is it to know that women were created for such a grand purpose?

In Psalm 32:8 we are told that "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you." The Bible make it so simple. No, it [life] is not always easy, but our guidebook is simple. The Lord God tells us exactly how we can live a life in a relationship with Him. Do you live in a relationship with God? Do you want to?

“Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” If you are looking for Bible verses for women, Titus 2:3-5 is about as direct as they come.

Many women either are or will be wives, and there are Bible verses that offer guidance for women in this area. In Proverbs 12:4, we are taught that, "A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones." If you are a wife, are you a wife with whom your husband – and the Lord – can be pleased?

“In the same way, [all of] the women are to be worthy of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything." Do you live your life the way that 1 Timothy 3:11 tells us? Take a good look at yourself. Are you a woman who is worthy of respect? If not, then how can you change your ways to become that woman?

You may be a woman who is struggling with something right now. Isaiah 41:10 reminds us to "fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." If we let it, that Bible verse can be quite encouraging! Do you know that God is willing to be right there with you in your times of need if you will invite Him to be? Of course, He wants to be with you in your times of joy, too!

If you are lonely, be encouraged that you are never alone when you are in Him. Isaiah 43:1b encouraged, “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Wow. God knows YOU. He knew who you were going to be before you were born. He loves you. He wants you in His family.

John 3:16-17 is a passage that you may already know. It tells us that "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." Could you imagine the extent of that love? Could you ever love someone so much that you would let them torture and take away your own child for their benefit? Pause for a moment....

Can you even comprehend how powerful that love is? Not likely. Yet God loves us so much that, as these Bible verses tell us, He made that sacrifice...yes, even for the women. Do you know Jesus? Please tell me if you would like to. He definitely wants to know YOU.

”Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:7-11 makes it clear that we are called to love one another. These are good Bible verses for women because for women, who by nature can be catty, this can be a challenge, and we need to be reminded. You may be thinking that you are a very caring and nurturing person, and you might be – to your family and friends – but do you also love the people that you do not like?

Romans 15:7 adds that we are to “Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”

Please share this list of Bible verses for women!

While there are so many more Bible verses for women, this list includes some that I felt lead to share with you. Are you someone who was seeking Bible verses for women? Did you find something here that spoke to you? I do hope that you have been pleased with what you have read here and look forward to your comments. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I am here to share God's Word with you, and if I do not know an answer, I will do what I can to find out for you.

P.S. Remain encouraged because "He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion."

GIVEAWAY...a detour from the alphabet posts.

As I am restarting my blogging [again] after about seven months away, I need to entice my readers to return and frequent my blog [again]...and hopefully attract new readers. Words from DUG is a Christian blog. While I may not always discuss faith-based topics, my faith will be the main focus of this blog. Hopefully I can learn something. Hopefully I can teach you something. Hopefully you can teach me something. Either way, hopefully you enjoy reading and commenting on what I decide to share.

Now....

Do you like chocolate, strawberries, pound cake, bananas, pretzels? Do you like cheese, broccoli, breads, steak cubes, apples? Do you like fondue? Would you love to have this adorable, heart-shaped fondue set (napkin not included).

Here is how you could possibly nab it:

1. Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect by scrolling down slightly on the right and clicking to join my followers. Post a comment telling me that you did this.

2. Follow this blog's Facebook page. Post a comment telling me that you did this.

3. Follow this blog via NetworkedBlogs. This makes it easier to know when I post because a notice will show right on your Facebook News Feed. Post a comment telling me that you did this.

4. Refer friends. When they follow this blog, ask them to comment on this post to let me know that you referred them.

5. Browse around and post a comment here to tell me one entry that you like on this blog. Of course, be encouraged to post as often as you would like on any other posts, as well!

Here is the fine print, even though it is the same size print:

When I get up to 100 followers at each of numbers 1, 2, and 3, then I will give away the gift above (or sooner if I choose, but that is not likely). Starting with the first commented posted, the comments will be numbered one through ?, and I will use random.org to determine the winner. The winner will be posted here on the blog. If the prize is not claimed within seventy-two hours, then I will choose a different winner the same way, and so on until the fondue set has been claimed. I will only ship the fondue set to an address in continental USA.

L = Letterboxing

Yes, I skipped K, but I can go back to it later, right? Since more and more people have been asking, I figured that it was probably about time to add a post to my little blog about letterboxing. That is right. You know that you have been wondering. Now you will hopefully get your curiosities satisfied so that you do not wind up like the proverbial cat.

World English Dictionary

letterboxing (ˈlɛtəˌbɒksɪŋ)
— n
1.	a method of formatting film that enables all of a wide-screen film to be transmitted on a television screen, resulting in a blankstrip of screen above and below the picture
2.	a type of treasure hunt in which a box, known as a letterbox ,is hidden in a remote rural location and clues are provided as to its whereabouts

Sooo...we will go with the second definition today.

There are so many fun and fantastic aspects to letterboxing, but the gist of it is that it is a scavenger hunt. What I enjoy about letterboxing that it is something that I can do with my guys. It is family-friendly and a good activity for any age. It gets us outside in the fresh air. It gets us exercising. It gets us thinking and puzzle solving. It gets us doing something together.

Are you still with me? Do you think that you might like to give letterboxing a whirl?

To play, you would need your own "signature" stamp, a journal, an ink pad, and a pen. Oh, and you will need a trail name. Your trail name can be whatever you choose. Some people choose a name indicative of a hobby or a twist on their real name or something else.

Clues can usually be found on the internet, though some are word of mouth (WOM). We mostly use AtlasQuest, yet there are also other letterboxing web sites. Here is how it works:

1. Get a clue. (Yes, I told you to get a clue.)

2. Follow the clue, and find the location to which it takes you.

3. When you get to the end of the clue, you will hopefully find a letterbox.

4. When you find the letterbox, there should be a rubber stamp and a logbook inside of it.

5. Stamp your signature stamp into the logbook to indicate that you were there. Some people put the date and the city and state from which they traveled to find the box (even if it is in your own town). It is neat to look through a logbook and see from here people have come.

6. Take the stamp from the letterbox and stamp it into your journal. To me this is like collecting passport stamps of all of the letterboxes that you have visited. Some people like to write next to the stamped image in their journal the name of the stamp, the person who planted it, the date they found it, or any number of other things. It is your journal, so you can write or not write what you choose.

7. Pack the stamp and logbook back into the secure, hopefully weather-safe container, and re-hide it exactly where you found it. If you can, hide it better than you found it.

This may seem like a lot, yet that is simply because I have attempted to walk you through finding a box with as many details as I think will help you understand. In reality, once you find a box, the process of numbers 4-7 might take you about three minutes.

HOWEVER, there is one thing that I have not yet mentioned. Letterboxing is a fun past time, and it can bring joy and adventure to your personal or family activities. What you do not want to do, though, is ruin it for the next person who goes to look for the box after you. With that in mind, it is important to be stealthy when you are hunting and retrieving a letterbox. The idea is to not let people who might be around you see or know what you are doing.

People who do not know what letterboxing is simply would not understand why you are digging behind that trash can or burrowing through the leaves at the park or sneaking off on some clandestine mission with someone else's wife.

In addition to the thrill of the hunt, this obsession...err...addiction...umm...hobby has given us so much more. Letterboxing has taken us to some beautiful places that we did not know existed and may never has seen otherwise. We have been to some events where we have met some super people. We have made some friends that, chances are, we would not have met outside of letterboxing.

Plus, part of the fun of this surreptitious hobby is that you get to be part of a sort of secret society, and doesn't that make you feel special?

J = John

Sometimes it is interesting to look deeper into a person, their purpose, and they journey. Today I am sharing a bit more about John the Baptist. Lisa and Mikel guessed that my "J" blog entry would be about Jesus, and they are partly correct. What I want to discuss today is John's role in the birth and the life of Jesus. To some of you, this will probably be review, yet I hope that some of my readers will learn even a small new thing about John the Baptist.

Elizabeth was a socially respectable, Jewish woman from a family of priests. Elizabeth and her husband, Zachariah (or Zacharias) prayed for years for a son or daughter, yet it seemed that Elizabeth was barren, and they grew old without being blessed with a child.

Zachariah, being a descendant of Aaron, spent his life in the priesthood. The two loved God and lived to please him. Even though they did not have any children, Elizabeth and Zachariah served God faithfully because they believed that He knew best.

How do you feel when you beg God for something for so long, and you do not seem to get what you want no matter how much you ask?

They thought often of the promise that God had given to the Jews died many years before that someday God would send a Savior to the world, a son of David.

At that place and time, the priests did not always work in the temple. They took turns, so to speak. When it was Zachariah’s time to serve, he left his home in Judah and went to Jerusalem. His duty at the time we are discussing now was to burn incense on the golden altar, in the holy place. This was the first room in the temple where only priests might enter.

One day while Zachariah was offering the incense, there appeared an angel on the right side of the altar. The angel was watching Zachariah, and he had never seen an angel before. Zacharaiah was afraid.

How would you feel if an angel was suddenly there with you? Do you think that you would know it was an angel?

Luke 1: 13-24
¹³ But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. ¹⁴ He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, ¹⁵ for he will be great in the sight of the Lord. He is never to take wine or other fermented drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even before he is born. ¹⁶ He will bring back many of the people of Israel to the Lord their God. ¹⁷ And he will go on before the Lord, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the parents to their children and the disobedient to the wisdom of the righteous—to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”

¹⁸ Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.”

¹⁹ The angel said to him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news. ²⁰ And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their appointed time.”

²¹ Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah and wondering why he stayed so long in the temple. ²² When he came out, he could not speak to them. They realized he had seen a vision in the temple, for he kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.

²³ When his time of service was completed, he returned home. ²⁴ After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.

Elizabeth had a young cousin named Mary. During Elizabeth’s sixth month of pregnancy, Mary came to visit her and shared her own news of pregnancy.

Luke 1:39-45
³⁹ At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, ⁴⁰ where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹ When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. ⁴² In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! ⁴³ But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? ⁴⁴ As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. ⁴⁵Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

It was to Elizabeth that Mary sang her song of praise. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about three months.

Have you ever been so grateful to God for Him including you in His plan that you actually sang out your praises?

Around the time that Mary returned to her home, Elizabeth, in her old age, gave birth to a son.

During the time of Zachariah’s silence, he wrote on a tablet to tell people things that he could not speak. His writing tablet may have been a small slate which could be erased and reused, or it may have been wooden. As far as I can find, we do not know for sure.

Luke 1:59-60
⁵⁹ On the eighth day they came to circumcise the child*, and they were going to name him after his father Zechariah, ⁶⁰ but his mother spoke up and said, “No! He is to be called John.”

The townspeople would not take Elizabeth’s word for it.

Why do you think they did not believe her?

Luke 1:61-66
⁶¹ They said to her, “There is no one among your relatives who has that name.”
⁶² Then they made signs to his father, to find out what he would like to name the child. ⁶³He asked for a writing tablet, and to everyone’s astonishment he wrote, “His name is John.”⁶⁴ Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue set free, and he began to speak, praising God. ⁶⁵ All the neighbors were filled with awe, and throughout the hill country of Judea people were talking about all these things. ⁶⁶ Everyone who heard this wondered about it, asking, “What then is this child going to be?” For the Lord’s hand was with him.

*Genesis 17:11, Leviticus 12:3

John grew up and became strong in spirit. He lived in the wilderness until the word of God came to him. Then he went into all of the country around the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.

Luke 3 refers us back to the words of Isaiah, the prophet (Isaiah 40):
“A voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. And all people will see God’s salvation.’”

Malachi 3:1 also foretells of the coming of John the Baptist:
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come,” says the LORD Almighty.

John preached to many people. Even tax collectors and soldiers came to be baptized and asked him what they should do. His teachers were so good, and people wondered if John might be the Messiah.

Luke 3:16
“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Matthew 3:13-15
¹³ Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵ But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. ¹⁶ And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷ and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Mark 1:9-11
⁹ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. ¹⁰ And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. ¹¹ And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Luke 3:21-22
When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

John 1:32-34
³² And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. ³³ I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ ³⁴ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.”

Why was Jesus baptized? Why was Jesus’ baptism important?

The story of John the Baptist continues, leading up to his imprisonment and beheading by King Herod. My intention for today was to focus on the story leading up to his birth and how he paved the way for Jesus, his own kin, which was the incredible purpose for which God gave him to Zachariah and Elizabeth, who so loved the Lord themselves.

Did we leave off with I for Ichthus?

J will be heading your way soon!

Can you guess what it will be? If you comment at the blog with the correct answer first, then I will send you a giftee.

-Dug...getting back in the game.