Living Above the News

Here are the notes from Sunday's awesome message: Dr. David Cooper, Mt. Paran, Dec. 28, 2009 Mark 4:35-40 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, "Let us go over to the other side." Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?" He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, "Quiet! Be still!" Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" There comes a time in our lives when it’s time for us to move from where we have been to where God wants us to be—a new place with new opportunities, new goals, etc. However, some of us are stuck where we are. Know there is...

My dear husband gave me a really nice Starbucks French press kit for Christmas. I get up on Christmas morning, with the goal of making one of the best cups of coffee I've ever enjoyed. The history: When Starbucks started serving their Pikes Place coffee as their signature coffee (whoever told them that was a good idea should be shot)--if I go there in the afternoon, I will sometimes ask for a French press coffee, because it's bold, strong, and has wonderful taste.  One day, I got a French press from Ikea and thought I could make this incredible brew at home. In the 6 months or so that I've had that French press, I have never been able to copy what they make at Starbucks. It always came out tasting horrible and weak. I even watched someone on a YouTube video, but still couldn't get it to work out. We thought it was the grind, as in maybe it wasn't coarse enough. I'd pretty much given up on the idea. Anyway, when I opened this fantastic gift on Christmas Eve, I re...

Year of Living Greatly It’s that time of year again to write a note and let you know what the DeMelos have been up to for the last year. We try to keep up with everyone throughout the year. Even with email, Facebook, MySpace, and blogs, it’s amazing how we can still lose contact with folks. This year started off very nicely. Daniel’s son, Pedro, was here visiting from Brazil. We went to Disney-Epcot and Universal Studios. The bad thing about the trip is that I have never experienced such cold weather in Florida! We were accused of having brought the cold temps with us. Despite the freezing air, (or maybe even because of it), we created memories with Pedro that will last us a lifetime. We hope the “little dude” (as I call him) will be coming to live with us in January. We will be so excited. There will be an adjustment period for all of us. We will be going from no having no kids to having a teenager. And Pedro will be learning English and will be in a much larger school than he is c...