crystalwriter scribbled: Thank you for the comment, Rose. I'm glad you understand my points. Since I wrote this, God has added even more to my understanding, such as "obedient faith" is the faith that pleases Him. It's that line upon line and precept upon precept stuff, and it's part of what makes it so wonderful to serve a living God.

crystalwriter scribbled: Thanks for commenting, Paula. It's important for me to know that my point was correctly conveyed, which is, as you said, that we celebrate the Giver more than the gift. I don't know if I found the James 4:3 verse in my studies, but it supports my point as well. I have just gotten so frustrated with people treating faith like it's something we achieve on our own and using it as a tool to judge others. Because of my frustration, I had to pray, and this is what came forth of the prayer. It helped me battle the false guilt created by those things for which I've prayed (such as healing for my neck) and not received instant and non-surgical healing. I trust God completely and greatly desire to know and heed His voice and direction to me. I hope that if He had said not to have surgery and just believe, I would have obeyed, but that is not what I heard from Him. Those who were teaching the finger growth stuff also told me that if I did not believe in complete healing instead of surgery, my condition would get worse. That was a hard battle to fight before God comforted me with these Scriptures.

crystalwriter scribbled: Hi Irene, Sorry I didn't respond to this before. I somehow missed the notification or something. Anyway, thank you so much for the compliment. And I'm glad you like the background too. I'll be playing with some other backgrounds when I get the time. If you're interested in the software I used to create it, it's called "Silicon Mirror" and it's only $12 for the non-trial version at http://www.torpor.com Thanks again, ~Crystal

crystalwriter scribbled: Thank you, Teralyn. I hope you have a lot of writing (and reading) in your future. I look forward to seeing you post some stuff here on Scribd, and thanks again for the great comment.

crystalwriter scribbled: Thank you for this well-stated, to-the-point article. For those of us who have lived through one or more of those issues which bring about a spirit of rejection, knowing that we have the power to reject its fruits brings strong hope.

crystalwriter scribbled: Hi Voni, I finally remembered to come back here and read this ;-) I like the idea here of taking a true back-story and presenting it before a fictional creation. It's a great story from a Christian perspective, but there are some ideas attributed to Judaism that you may want to fix. Of course, it depends on your audience, but if you want accuracy in case a Jew or converted Jew should read it, here's what you need to know... 1. There's no "W" in Hebrew (actually Yehudi), so Yahweh would be YHVH or Yahveh. 2. Jews have been taught that to say Yahveh or Yahweh is disrespectful, so instead they say, "The Name" which in Hebrew is "Ha-Shem." 3. If they use "God" or "Lord", they use "G-d" or "L-rd" to make sure it is not confused with god or lord that refers to Ba-al or other false gods. 4. The father saying he should not have allowed the lamb to become a pet is actually opposite. To choose the best lamb was to choose the most beloved, and usually a family pet. This lines up with the fact that Jesus was not just perfect, but also loved more than any other type of son. The word "only" in "only Son" is actually the word "unique" and He was unique in both who He was, and in the position He was sacrificing along with His body. Beyond that, I'm not sure about the label "Father Moses" or the attribution of God moving on the King's heart. These may be things we say or use out of Christian habits, but in all the Jewish stuff I've read, I haven't seen usages such as these. I would recommend you read about Passover from a Jewish perspective, and my favorite site for that is http://www.chabad.org. I am amazed at the stuff I read there that describes what Christ means to us as Christians when untaught Jews do not even realize it. I visit the site quite often. Finally, for your question-marked Scriptures, I think you want Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. Let me know what you think of my comments. It's your story, of course, so nothing HAS to be changed, but I figured you would want my input from the perspective of Jewish stuff I've learned in the last few years. ~Crystal

crystalwriter scribbled: Thank you so much for posting this article. And thank you for adding my article to your favorites, as I would not likely have found this one if you had not. I've added a link to this to my Del.icio.us bookmarks as well.

crystalwriter scribbled: This looks tasty, and I always like the mix of salty, sweet, and crunchy. In addition, you created a nice simple Power Point display that is easy to read, and Scribd read it without even having to access my PP program. Also, you are welcome and invited to share this with other Christian writers in the "Christian Writers on Scribd" group. ~Crystal

crystalwriter scribbled: One of my best friends is a waitress at a Bob Evans. You captured the atmosphere perfectly.