My General State of Mind & Body is.....

..better.

I am recovering from my illness. Thank you for your patience. I am sure it was murder to wait and see how the whole boat trip went for me. (Suuuurrrre.)

It went roughly okay considering we had a motley crew aboard the ol' pirate ship. Harharr!!!......Oh, sorry. Obviously, better does not mean entirely well. :)

I didn't go crazy suprisingly!!!! We had beautiful weather the whole time and thankfully, God staved off my illness until 10 minutes (literally) after I had gotten home.

So, now you tell me you want a play-by-play? Well, I must leave out a few facts, change a few names, and omit the mutinous crew members we left behind on the desert island!!!!!!!!!!!!!........I am doing it again, aren't I?

ANYWAY!!!! The boat didn't sink, I didn't get wet, I didn't have to drive the boat (which is good, I probably would have run us aground), we got roughly enough sleep, we got to eat Mexican food when we went ashore in Rainier, Saturday night, and I didn't have any TERRIBLY clutzy moments except when I almost shoved someone overboard in a FIT OF ANGER THAT DROVE THE REST OF THE CREW TO BODILY CONSTRAIN ME AND THROW ME IN THE FISH HOLD........sorry. I couldn't resist.

The only really, kind of, sort of bad part of the trip that made me very grateful to have 6 strong men aboard was when we saw our motel for Saturday night. That is like a Hollywood gansta' movie all on its own and deserves a separate paragraph.

We reached Rainier, I dunno, around 3-4? We parked at the transit dock which was nice with big rusty-red metal pillar things (piers??) with those sparkly white cones on top that make them look like bullwarks to a fairy-tale castle. (I know I am mixing up my adjectives but it is my story, I can do what I want.)

Anyway, we reached the transit docks, and (duh!) docked. Those of us (M, B, JP, U.J., me, and B) who were going to stay at the motel gathered our stuff and walked the two blocks or so to the motel.

The motel looked like one of those druggie nests that you see on "Cops." The current tenets looked no better and appeared to be meth-users, and over half of them looked like they lived at the motel. I started to hyper-venilate as we waited for the owner to come back from grocery shopping. I was really beginning to be concerned and I thought it would be a good idea to check the post-office's "wanted" posters for his face. Maybe he was a murderer or an undercover drug-lord!!!!!!!!

I exaggerate too much in my mind. Someone needs to blindfold me the next time we stay at a 1/2 star motel.

Anyway, the owner wasn't too bad and the room was much better than the rest of the motel looked. It smelled though. I was still freaking out though and I split with Becki A.S.A.P. back to the boat.

Once back at the boat, the motel was out of sight but not out of mind. But I rapidly became grateful for the relatively safe life that God was blessed me with. Some people would be overwhelmingly grateful for one night in a motel like that, since it is better than sleeping under a bridge with murderers and druggies.

So I accepted the motel as a challenge as well as sharing an extremely uncomfortable futon and found that that motel was THE quiestest motel I have EVER slept in. (Possibly because all the other tenets were stoned.)

The rest of the trip went great. It was beautiful weather. We had gorgeous sunrises both Sat. and Sun. I got to practice my sketching and best of all, I got to hang with my cousins a.k.a. my adopted brother and sisters a.k.a. my best friends, besides my own brother and sisters.

I know this was annoyingly long. You can scan it, you have my permission. :) But if you are really bored, it is a good time-filler. :)

One-Liner

I am SICK. Too sick to relate the trip and how great it went. Sick, sick, sick. My apologies for keeping you in "suspense." (Ha!!!)

Regarding My Potential for Insanity

This weekend I am going to go on a trip on my uncle's retired 80-foot fishing boat, that someone donated to him. It is going to be a two-day voyage and I am regarding it with apprehension. There are going to be 10 people (5 of whom are full-grown males which doubles the space they consume) onboard, most likely two video cameras and several still cameras.

The reason I mention the cameras is just because they seem to detract from what little space is going to be on the boat. I, myself, am going to be behind one of the cameras and I plan to burn up rolls of film, for practice I guess. I think that two days is ample time to use up at least 5 rolls for an avid photographer, don't you?

I am also regarding it nervously because the last trip we went on which was only a hour and a half long, I got thoroughly soaked which ruined the trip. So I plan to bring two jackets, 4 pairs of pants and 4 pairs of shirts, two for each day. Oh and as many socks as will fit in my spacious backpack.

The other problem is that there is no working bathroom which is bad. But I suppose I will fast all day and that will solve that problem.

I am going to work on my self-control because on such a little boat (well it seems little for so many people and for so long) I will naturally tend to go crazy, absolutely "postal" as my cousins say. In order to avoid this I will spend a lot of time on the roof of the boat's house (which is the crowded shelter that has the galley, the crew quarters, the captain's stateroom {which is no bigger than my bed!!!} and the bridge), and an equal amount of time on the deck and a short time below in the engine room. So if anyone is looking for me during the trip, I will be either there, there, or down there. :)

Allow me to explain why I would EVER want to be in the engine room (not to mention that the engine is emblazoned with the unlucky words "K-19".) Well, it is really loud and there are lots of harmful fumes because the engine kind of leaks but it is SO luxuriously warm down in the "hole." Also, I can be sure that I will get privacy down there!! I spent 15 minutes down there on our last trip and it was only 1 1/2 hours long. (Maybe that is why I kind of went crazy towards the end.)

So that's my plan for the trip. It probably won't turn out this way. I don't think it will be a pleasure cruise because someone mentioned that my uncle was bringing sanders and paint so we could de-rust the boat's house and paint it.

Well, I will be sure to tell you how it goes when I get back. (Although, maybe my psychiatric therapist (since I will probably need one when this is over) may tell me it would be too painful for me to look back on the trauma of this coming weekend.)

Bon voyage to all you who are (luckily) staying home with running toilets, spacious homes, and comfortable beds. Send me a postcard!!!

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This is a disclaimer in case Uncle John reads this:

I AM looking forward to this trip. It will test my mettle. I am mostly a brave person. I can handle it for YOU, my precious uncle!!!

(Hahahahahaha!!!!!)

I got published again!!

Yay!! Another website has published me. But they only accepted one of my poems. ("Broken Boxes") Anyway you can check it out at http://www.churchpoetry.com/Broken_Boxes.html. I am really grateful for these opportunities from God. I am still waiting to hear from Guideposts.

I do not mean to be boastful about any of this!!! I am just so excited that God is maybe finally deciding to use me in a bigger way for Him.

I have my Icebreaker speech at Toastmasters tomorrow at 6:15 AM!!!! It is titled "I Am In This War For Good," because my theme is about be a soldier for Christ. I will update how it goes. Pray for me!!!

"Paper Lantern"-A Brief Poem

Brown paper.
Mashed and formed to create an empty ball.
A facade, a case.

Spun around by the slightest breath.
Suspended by the smallest string.
Paper lantern- a shell made
To carry a bright flame.

Skin, bones.
Scratch, molded by unseen fingers,
Into a complex cage.

Spun around by ideals,
Images, emotions, and celebrities.
Suspended by a thread of life, held by unseen fingers.
A facade, a case.

Pretty face, long, lean legs, finite mind.
Brown body- a shell made to carry a soul.

2-12-05
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This poem is imagery. I don't know what picture it will give you. I am not going to explain this poem. I am going to use my "artistic license" and let you discover the truth in this poem for yourself. But like in life, even though it is sometimes hidden, there is always an underlying current of absolute truth.

Christ is THE absolute truth.

REALLY QUICK!!

I need prayer for EVERYTHING!!! :) Currently, I am going to a speech club called Toastmasters, on Tuesdays mornings (@ 6:00!!!). I am trying to get better at communicating. I know that some of you (people who have met and known me) have experienced first-hand how I make verbal mistakes (like getting too intense and sad to say, talking over someone) and so you all, I hope, are willing to have patience with me as I learn these really valuable life lessons in communication. But anyway, I am relatively new to speaking passionately about spiritual topics(because I am CONSTANTLY growing in this area) so I am going to Toastmasters to work on it. Anyway, I have a chance to witness because at least once a month
I have to give a 4-6 minute speech and I plan to use every opportunity to witness to these people at the meeting.

Well this post was rather scatter-brained but it is late. I just want prayer, please and thank-you!!!

Remember to stand fast in the Lord!! Even when you don't understand or disagree just throw yourself at Christ and just TRUST. He, unlike anyone in the world, ALWAYS has our best interest at heart. :)

Below....

That button is the home page of the site I got published on. Look under the site directory buttons under Poet's Pages and then under new poets. I am the second listed. But I have already had 14 visitors to my page there so looks like some you have already gone. Thanks!!!

I am also trying to get publised in Guideposts, which is a huge inspirational magazine. I sent in those two poems and two photos since apparently they publish photos too. I don't think the poems will get published but I am praying!!! (I am hoping one of the photos gets published though!)

I feel like God has given me the ability to write and communicate effectively so I am trying to cultivate that to His glory.

To easily get to my other page....

Wahoo!! I got published!!!

Hey!! I got two of my poems "published" on Cross Way Publication's website!!! check me out at: http://www.christianpoetry.org/selentry-3.php?aid=761

I am so excited. I also sent in my poems and some photos to Guideposts, a HUGE inspirational magazine. I don't think my poems will get published but hopefully my photos will.

(Sorry that you have to type the whole address out. For some reason this set-up doesn't allow links inside of posts. But it shouldn't be too hard to type it out. I will add poems to it as soon as I write them. Keep looking!! Thanks!!!)

Super Bowl and Other Comments

I just got home for a VERY exhausting trip to Astoria, OR to work on an 80-foot retired fishing boat that my uncle is restoring into a sea-plane carrying/God's creation exploring vessel. I got so little sleep the three nights we were there that I am barely functioning right now. (Yawn.)

Anyway, I just wanted to say how entirely disgusted I am with the Super Bowl. Just look at how many "men" freak out about it. Millions do. I wish we could transfer that excitement to a win in the battle of good vs. evil, God vs. Satan. Is it that there is no suspense since we know that the end of the "game" always is 1 billion-0, in favor of God. :)

There is so much more I could say about this but I just had to sound out my anger at this. If you are a guy, and you did NOT watch the Super Bowl (especially if you had the opportunity to) you are TRULY unique!!!!! Congratulations!!!

We need more MEN a.k.a. warriors in this world. We could never have enough soldiers in Christ's army.

(Please forgive the scatter-brainedness (yes, my spelling, I know!!) of this post. I am too tired and angry to say more. Goodnight!!!!)

No Special Reason

Hello. This is my first "journal" like entry. It isn't based on one thing and it isn't brilliant (not like any of my posts are) it is just ME, today, this moment. We all need to write sometimes and just feel free to say what is on our minds.

So here goes...

Today has been a normal day. In case y'all don't know I am a high-school senior, homeschooled high-school senior that is. Anyways, today I have been trying to finish off a particularly annoying subject (for good!), Business English. I have been practicing writing quarterly reports for companies I don't know anything about, memos to people who don't exist, and resumes with a job history I certainly don't have. So it has been fun to try on lots of different hats sort of but I am tired of Business English. Well, enough complaining. At least I got a break from math. Uuugh!!! That is a whole different story.

I had to go to the orthodontist today. Some piece of "hardware" broke. Anyway, I have had my braces on for 5 years and I am so tired of them. But guess what?? I only have 3 weeks left, Lord willing!!! YES!!!!

Before that I went lap swimming. I love swimming. Or did. I was on a team for 6 years and I kind of wore out my passion for it. But I really like going and just swimming for an hour. I especially like lap swim because I am always the fastest and all the old people with stiff joints are amazed, unless one of my old teammates is there, in which case they are the fastest...:) It really makes me grateful that I don't really have any substantial problems. (For people with real problems check out this website....www.persecution.org (or .com))

Anyway. I went for an 8-mile bike ride last Thursday and I really ripped up my knees. Still paying for it. But at least I am not paralyzed.

I am so tired. But I am trying to keep everything in perspective. There are thousands of people who are WAY MORE tired and they don't even have the promise of a fluffy bed with warm conforters to look forward to. I do. Thank you, Lord!!

I think everyone needs to keep their lives in perspective. Especially those of us who have it relatively cushy. Someone always has it worse than us. We can only be intensely grateful to God for our lives.

Speaking of which, why do most people think that they should give God the bad stuff in their lives but withhold the good things? God gave so God also retains the rights to take it away. I think it would be a whole lot easier to always be willing for good things to be taken away than to be clamping on with all physical might. (Maybe then God wouldn't need to take it away.)-->(Just a speculation.)

Well, I really need to get to bed. But I have a few things to do before I hit the sack. Goodnight, one and all.

STAND YE FAST IN THE LORD AND IN THE POWER OF HIS MIGHT!!!!!!!

A Poem by Me

Four walls, a top, a bottom,
In gray and musty white, I lived my life.

Then came the cross,
With His box-breaking, life-giving sacrifice.

Out of the four walls, a top, a bottom,
Free as a bird in the endless blue skies.

Soaring free, nothing around me,
His gift holds me up, and I sing, with glee.

Boxes are scattered on the ground.
Yet, I am not found...there on the ground!

Chances arise to drop from the skies,
And return to the four walls, a top, a bottom.

Yet FLY, FLY away!!!!
The boxes are burning, consuming, destroying.

Their contents, unknowing, turn from my pleas,
And willingly go on with their destructive destinies.

Yet FLY, FLY away!!!!
If I cannot bring them, I flee them.

Fly from the boxes when they approach,
Fleet to the foot of the cross.

The cross where He died,
Broke the box, and set us free.

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Thank you, Lord, for your indescribable gift of life to me!!! I should have died to pay for my sins but I can be free from guilt and pain if I accept your sacrifice of love and live in faith!!!!! I choose YOU!!!!!!!

2 Quote of the Month-Dr. Ariel A. Roth

I always love to find supremely good quotes from liberals (and non-liberals) who have found the indisputable truth to be against the evolutionary theory. I am currently reading a wonderful compilation of 50 scientists research disproving evolution. Every Christian and indeed anyone who just sincerely wants to know the truth should read this book. It is called, "In Six Days" edited by John F. Ashton, Ph.D.

The first quote speaks to the statement that creationism is merely a matter of faith, therefore it is religious not scientific. However, we can very clearly see that it takes faith to believe in ANY concept, including evolution, as Dr. Roth states.
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"In fact, it seems to me that it takes a greater degree of blind faith (where there is no evidence) to believe in evolution than in the creation model of the Bible {where there is resounding evidence to prove its statements}."

AND-

"We are thus faced with the fact that after 2 centuries of conjecture,
a workable mechanism for evolution has not been found. While the perseverance of evolutionists is commendable, it would seem that by now it is time for science to give serious consideration to other alternatives of origins, such as creation."

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My friend sent me this. I think this is fascinating.
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Q: What is the shortest chapter in the Bible?
A: Psalms 117

Q: What is the longest chapter in the Bible?
A: Psalms 119

Q: Which chapter is in the center of the Bible?
A: Psalms 118

Fact: There are 594 chapters before Psalms 118
Fact: There are 594 chapters after Psalms 118
Add these numbers up and you get 1188.

Q: What is the center verse in the Bible?
A: Psalms 118:8

Q: Does this verse say something significant about God's perfect will for our lives?
A: Yes

The next time someone says they would like to find God's perfect will for their lives and that they want to be in the center of His will, just send them to the center of His Word!

Psalms 118:8
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."

Now isn't that odd how this worked out (or was God in the center of it)?

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Flowing Blood

I donated blood today. I joined the 5% of Americans who do donate. It was my first time. That was a big thing to the score or so of middle-agers who worked the Red Cross Blood Mobile today. I wasn't supposed to donate blood. But my mom called and found out that I could donate today so ten minutes before she left, she told me that I was going to.

(I must impart at this point that I have an extremely active imagination. It was good I didn't have very long to think about being stuck with a needle (twice!) because I only would have dramatized it mentally. As it was, I had 20 minutes to freak out while they checked me in, etc.)

I was worried about the nurse having to take a sample of my blood to check for iron content. But it wasn't that bad. It was like a thorn quickly catching on your skin. Didn't hurt too bad, and didn't stay hurting.

Next, I sweated over if I had enough iron in my blood. (I really need to eat more veggies!) It didn't pass the 15-second drop test. (She put it in some vial of blue liquid and if it had had enough iron, it would have dropped in less than 15-seconds.) Then she went to swirl it around in some machine that sounded like a blender. It separated my red blood cells from my plasma. If my blood cells were higher than 38, I would pass. Fortunately, I did. On to phase two.

I had to go to the "privacy" table to fill out a confidentiality sheet. There I made my first mistake, but it was an honest one. (No, I didn't look at someone else's sheet!) I was supposed to answer questions 1-39. I was already under the assumption from talking with Mom that half the page was for guys and the other page was for girls. And when the nurse told me to answer to question 39, she pointed at what I assumed was the female side of the page. Therefore, I only answered one half of the page. I probably slowed the whole process down because the male RN who took charge of me next quickly pointed out my mistake and had to leave me alone for 3 minutes so I could answer everything else.

I don't really understand the point of keeping your answers private from the RN's. They see them anyway. But that is the way the system works, so far be it from me to stand in its way.

Then I was lead over the water post where I was made to hastily consume a paper cup full of ice water. (I don't really see the sense in this ritual because I don't think the water would have affected my bloodstream very quickly, but if it works, I'll go for it.)

After downing the ice water, I was lead over to a square of lawn chairs, the type that are longer than your body and recline or sit straight up as desired. Anyway, I was kitty-corner to a very attractive guy who looked to be about 26. He reminded me of Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, and Ben Affleck. (He had a square jaw, brown eyes, and Ben's hair. Hahaha!)

This time, the person who would be actually drawing my blood was a young, engaged woman. She was witty and cheerful, but slightly sarcastic. Some woman, who was a volunteer, who I had never seen before, informed her that it was my first time donating. She sweetly threatend the young woman that she had better be nice to me.

The next bit passed in a blur. My memory returns very distinctly when she draws out the needle. Yikes that was one big momma of a needle!!!! She told me not to look but I couldn't help myself. I lost it. It was so big and I was concerned that it would hurt really bad. I wouldn't let her insert the needle so she got another lady to try to distract me. Here is where it kind of goes downhill. I didn't need another lady, I didn't want another, I didn't want the extra attention that she drew to my corner of the donation floor. But she came over anyway. She started in on the what I was going to do in the New Year but my sixth sense told me that the needle was getting closer and closer to me skin. (If you slowly move a sharp pencil towards your forehead, right in between the two eyebrows, you will feel a strange tingling sensation, identical to the one I felt at that moment.) I didn't want the element of surprise. I just wanted to prepare myself. So after two hits and miss and practically everyone was looking, (fortunately, the cute guy had left before all this, although if he had stayed I would have probably stood up stronger to the fear) I finally accepted it. And you know what it wasn't that bad.

I filled up my allotted pint-size bag very quickly, since I got big veins from my mom. I was wrapped in sticky red gauze to keep my wound clean and told to keep my needle wound dry. Then the same old lady, who had given my young medical assistant a hard time, came over and held my arm all the way to the cookie table. I felt just fine and not dizzy at all and I felt badly that an old woman who had a broken heel and a leg cast was supposed to be supporting me when I felt that I should be supporting her.

The cookies were good. So was the lemonade. There were two old ladies staffing it and they too had me down two cups of ice water. But this time I actually wanted it.

The whole experience was fine. I wore my "Be nice to me, I gave blood today!" sticker with pride, to teach swim lessons. I had had fun, it was a new experience and I think that next time I will be far better prepared for the needle and I will know to fill both sides of the page and to not wear a long-, tight-sleeved shirt to donate blood. (Although with that bunched up and constricting my blood flow, who needs a blood pressure cuff?)

But overall, I saw that more people need to donate blood, especially with the testimony of the Asian tsunami. Who knows when a tsunami will hit the Northwest Coast and kill and injure hundreds of thousands?
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(God does.)

Quote of the Month-Ben Franklin

Many people do not realize this but our nation is facing the onslaught of legislation known as "Hate Laws". This will make criminals of Christians when they speak against any minority such as homosexuals. Please visit www.hatelawsexposed.org to see what you can do. Join the fight and stay free. These new laws will affect EVERYONE.


"A nation of well-informed men who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them cannot be enslaved. It is in the religion of ignorance that tyranny begins."

Is THIS Really What The Feminists Fought For?

In this age of rampant porn and woman abuse, it makes me wonder-if the feminists of the early 1900's were alive today, would they regret what they fought for? Would they try to undo the eternal damage that has been done to the female image? I think so. This is why:
Look back to the 1900's. What did the feminists give us that is entirely good? Well, they helped to give us the right to vote, which is great. They fought for certain equal rights which is good. This is good but I am at a loss for what else is ENTIRELY good that they gave us. However, I can think of a lot of other things that have turned really, really bad that they are also responsible for.

1. They fought for the woman's right to have an abortion. This is the worst of their crimes. It is not the woman's right to choose to abort after she has conceived. It is the female's choice before she has sex, before she chooses to open herself to the possibility of conceiving. Thereafter, she has no choices. (Unless she would die if she were to carry to full term, it is NOT her decision to take someone else's life into her own hands and end it.) There are thousands of couples out there waiting for a child of their own. How dare one woman assume that simply because SHE doesn't want her baby, no one does.
2. They fought for the rights to wear men's clothing a.k.a. pants. Actually, I appreciate this. I like not having to spend 2 hours buckling petticoats and lacing corsets. But this style has been blown out of proportion and has resulted in the wide-spread idea that it is just great to dress sensually and immodestly . Young girls walk around in belly shirts and low-rise hip-huggers since they have foolish parents and it is "in-style." Teenage girls have sex and get pregnant partly because their low, cleavage-baring, and mid-riff showing shirts and tight pants that are simply too suggestive and "come-hither" for their hormone-driven boyfriends. Where is the beautiful modesty of women? What happened to the mystery and beauty that surrounded marriage? There are no secrets left. Pornagraphy has filled in the blanks.
3. They fought for equality with men. In God's scheme of things, we, the females, are not helpless, we are helpers. We are important links but we are not THE link. The men are the warriors, the heroes, the "bread-getters." This "equality" has resulted in a shabby respect for men, an over-cropping of masculine, dominant women. This is NOT God's way.

I am NOT thankful for most of what the feminists have done. There is so much more evil that has resulted from this siege of anti-Biblical, anti-God, ideas. Well, I am different. I have respect for the men in my life that deserve it. I am a strong young woman. I will need an even stronger man to balance me. I am walking in God's way. And I think that the feminists of the early 19oo's would be shocked. They would gasp in horror and wondering what skewed their plans......Simple. Sin did. It is Satan's plan. Men were created in the image of God in the Garden of Eden, women were created as helpers to the men. Destroy God's image of masculinity...set women on the throne... and everyone is just plain messed up.

My final note: Follow God's plan, live in peace and joy and marital and domestic happiness (this of course is providing that you pick either a strong Christian man for a husband or a strong Christian female for a wife.)

Satan's plan will and has screwed everything up but God's plan, the right one, will set everything right....

A Photo by Me

Flower Fades, but the Word of God stands forever

Jericho: Is the Biblical Story Fact or Fiction?

The ancient city of Jericho was located 6 miles from the Jordan River and about 10 miles northwest of the Dead Sea. Jericho was a very prosperous city with a large spring inside of its walls and a fertile plain surrounding it. A major east-west road ran next to the city and then intersected with the Jordan River, “making Jericho a strategic crossroads.”
The city was humanly impregnable. It had massive inner and outer walls surrounding about nine acres of land. The outer stone retaining wall of the city was about 12-15 feet high with a mud brick wall on top of it. The mud brick wall was 6 feet thick and about 20-26 feet high, resulting in a retaining wall that was roughly 6 feet wide and 32-41 feet high.
The main dwelling area was inside the second wall, similar to the first mud brick wall but higher. What made this wall seem so much larger was that it was on top of an embankment. Jericho was basically built on top of a huge mound or “tell”. This all loomed over the Israelites during their march around Jericho.
There were about 200 people per acre inside of the second wall, which surrounded 6 acres. This means that there were about 1,200 people living inside the second wall. There were also many people living between the first and second wall. They were substantially poorer however. We know this because the homes inside the second wall were more expensive since they were the safest from enemy attack. But in time of war, these people would flee to the inner city for sanctuary. So there were several thousand people inside of Jericho when the Israelites began their 7-day siege.
Jericho was very well prepared for a siege. They had a spring inside their walls and they had just harvested their crops. They could have lasted a siege for perhaps several years. But the siege that resulted in the destruction of the “world’s safest city” lasted only seven days, as the Bible tells us.
An archeologist by the name of John Garstang carried out excavations in the 1930’s. He discovered two very important things.
1) The Bible tells us in Joshua 3:15 that the Canaanites had just harvested their crops. This was backed up by Garstang’s discovery of entirely full jars of carbonized grain, meaning that the siege of Jericho was a very, very short one. Also why was the grain still present? Grain was very valuable and was always plundered by the conquering army. The Bible gives us the answer in Joshua 6:24. God commanded the Israelites to take nothing from the city except the valuable metals, gold, etc., and dedicate them to the Lord.
2) The Bible tells us in Joshua 6:20 that the walls “fell down flat”. He also discovered that the walls of the city had fallen outward, not inward as should have happened if under siege or under the decaying influence of time.
And what about Rahab’s home? Did any archeologists discover something to prove her existence? The answer is yes.
A German archeologist team carried out an excavation in 1907-1909. They discovered that a portion of the lower city wall did NOT fall down when the rest of the walls did. That portion was still standing to a height of over eight feet. What is even more fascinating is that there were houses built against that portion of wall. It is highly likely that that is where Rahab’s house was. The city wall formed the back wall to these homes and the portion of the wall was very close to the hills of Judean wilderness where the Bible tells us the spies hid for three days in Joshua 2:16, 22.
What about the destruction of the city by fire? Did archeologists also discover proof of this? And again, yes.
An archeologist named Kathleen Kenyon carried out an excavation in 1952-1958. What she discovered entirely backed up the Bible’s story:
“The destruction was complete. Walls and floors were blackened or reddened by fire, and every room was filled with fallen bricks, timbers, and household utensils; and in most rooms the fallen debris was heavily burnt, BUT the collapse of the walls of the eastern rooms seems to have taken place BEFORE they were affected by fire.”
On a final note, Kathleen Kenyon claimed that Jericho fell around 1550 B.C. Her study has had a huge effect on the scholarly world. BUT, Dr, Bryant Wood discovered that “Kenyon’s analysis was based on what was NOT found at Jericho rather than what was found.” She looked for a certain type of imported pottery from that time period and when she didn’t find it, she assumed. However, Dr. Bryant discovered two things.
1) He found that Kenyon excavated in a poor section of town where they could not have afforded such imported pottery to begin with.
2) Also, he discovered that she HAD found indigenous pottery that dates precisely to the time of the biblical conquest of the city but had inexplicably ignored it. She also overlooked the fact that other predecessors had found such pottery and also Egyptian amulets that date to the time of the destruction of Jericho by the Israelites.
Therefore, archeologists have yet to find and prove anything that speaks against the biblical timeline of Jericho’s fall. When archeology is looked at objectively, everything in conjunction to the biblical story of Jericho’s demise that can be proved archeologically has been proved. The Bible remains the speaker of facts when Jericho is the subject.

Why the Social Stigma?

Why has our culture elevated the status of models to such an extreme? Why do we normal females feel so inferior to their standards? Why do we feel the need to starve ourselves and change our faces to fit into a cookie cutter ideal? This has been such an amazement and an hardship for me. I once felt the overwhelming desire to look like them. I may have been blessed with a bit of height but I have also been blessed with a curvy, feminine body. It has taken me a while to see the good side of this and I have learned much about the true life of models.
They have to eat very restrictively, resulting in physical pain and mental depression. They have to sacrifice any morals they may have in order to get more photo shoots and magazine spreads to elevate their status in their own community of unreasonable goals. A few of these women were born with lithe, slender bodies and tall frames. But many of them have subjected their bodies to rigorous exercises in order to lose weight that their bodies really can't spare and in order to fit into size 0 costumes.
They aren't ever really content. They can't be. God designed the female body to be a delight to the eyes. The bone thin idea of beauty is unrealistic and unattractive. We have only accepted this as beauty because the skewed media has presented it as so. God did not plan for this reconstruction of the perfect ideal of the female body.
Many former models have come to realize the stupidity and unrealisticness of these standards. They have let their bodies return to their natural body weight, and yet have continued in their line of work. The media calls them the "plus size" models. Why? They are what they should be. "A la natural" models. They are helping to return us females to our roots and the way that God means for us to be. Happy, content, and right at our natural weights. Not bone thin and on starvation diets....