Laurie L.C. Lewis's Blog: Bloggin' It Up Here, page 24

LINCOLN'S THANKSGIVING DAY PROCLAMATION

Washington, D.C.
October 3, 1863

By the President of the United States of America. A Proclamation. The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.  In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.  Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth. By the President: Abraham LincolnCopyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

A NOTE FROM A MOTHER IN ISRAEL

(A friend of a friend sent this email describing what life is like for her family during these bombings in Israel. It gives a startling, personal glimpse into how quickly things have intensified over there.)

Much has happened in the past two days. Unfortunately, everything points to longer, more intense fighting over an expanding area.
It's after 11 pm on Friday so my brain isn't as working as well I would like, but I will try to list the most important points. Even as a I write a military transport helicopter is flying low over the house. This is very unusual on a Sabbath eve, and even more disturbing since we are not in the south where the missile firing and fighting is.
This morning started normally with rocket fire into Israel. School has already been cancelled for anyone within 25 miles (40 kilometers) from the border with Gaza. On one hand it meant children weren't travelling out in the open. On the other, it meant that most of them were home in houses / apartments without accessible bomb shelters.
At about 10 a.m. a ceasefire went into effect while the Prime Minister of Egypt made a solidarity visit to Gaza. During the 2 hours he was in Gaza Israel did not attack any targets inside of the Gaza Strip. In return, Hamas was not supposed to shell Israel. Israel made no attacks during those two hours; Hamas' interpretation of "cease" was more flexible. During the PM's visit more than 100 rockets and missiles were fired from Gaza into Israel - all aimed at civilian targets. In addition, during the visit there was a continuous firefight along the Israel-Gaza border between Israeli and Hamas soldiers.
 Egypt was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israel. That was in 1979 and I was a kibbutz volunteer in the northern Negev when that happened. A couple of years later Egyptian president Anwar Sadat was assassinated by the Muslim Brotherhood for his efforts. Jordan is the only other Arab country to sign a peace agreement with Israel. In any event, technically Egypt is an ally of Israel. Once the Arab Spring happened and the Mubarak regime fell, everything changed. The treaty still exists on paper, but on the ground things are very different. The Muslim Brotherhood is now in power, and many of the leaders have been calling from day one to end the treaty with us. Egypt has also - against the terms of the treaty - moved soldiers and tanks into northern Sinai, on Israel's southern border "in order to fight against Beduin smugglers" who con trol the area. Beduin smugglers do control the area, and they also work hand-in-glove with Al-Qaida training camps in Sinai. Both groups are rivals of the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt has also received massive financial and military aid from the US. Their army is well-equipped and well-trained. Both the Egyptian President (the head of government) and the Prime Minister (a more ceremonial position) are members of the Muslim Brotherhood and both hate Israel.
This morning the prime minister visited Gaza. He toured a hospital and some of the sites which Israel has hit in the past three days. Then he gave a press conference which chilled me to the bones. I watched in live in Arabic with simultaneous translation into Hebrew. The president is young and clean-cut and charismatic.
During his speech he referred several times to the "Muslim nation / people", referring to the entire Arab world (in other worlds, a caliphate). Each time was in reference to the Muslim Nation coming to Palestine to protect it against the terrorist Zionists and their murderous attacks against innocent Palestinians. In addition, he called upon each country with a Muslim leader to supply men and resources to fight against the Zionist state in order to "restore" Palestine and to return it to its proper capital of Jerusalem. He also promised that Egypt would do everything in their power to help the people in Gaza fight against Israel. Remember, this is a legal ally of Israel, even if it meant negating the treaty.
 The Egyptian PM did three things in this speech which I consider to have dangerous implications not only for Israel, but for the world:
1) He inferred that Egypt was at the head of what will become a greater Arab political entity (what centuries ago was the caliphate);
2) He called on all Arab and Islamic countries to fight in a jihad against Israel;
3) He stated officially that Egypt would provide men and resources to help Hamas fight Israel (including equipment supplied by the US), and at the same time junk their peace treaty with Israel.
 At one point during his speech he held up a bloody hand, stating that this was blood from the son of a Shahid (a martyr - or in other words, a terrorist who had been killed), and that this child's blood would be the symbol for the fight against Israel. If this was indeed blood, it means that he deliberately painted himself with blood.
 A couple of hours later President Morsi of Egypt also gave a speech, repeating much of what his PM had said, also promising to send physical support to help the Palestinians in Gaza fight "the aggressor". For the first time since this operation began, a missile was fired into Israel from Sinai, which belongs to Egypt.
Earlier this evening Iran issued an official statement in which they also promised to send money, arms and possibly men to help the Gazans in their "noble struggle against the Zionist aggressors."
Tunisia and Turkey (also a former ally) did the same. The only thing between Israel and Turkey is Syria. All the Syrian towns along Israel's border are now under the control of al-Qaida.
Nasralla, the head of Hisballa in southern Lebanon, has also held a mass rally calling for Israel to be wiped out.
The initial call-up of 14,000 Israeli reserve soldiers went up to 30,000 this morning, and up to 75,000 this evening. In short, things are not looking good.
 There has been a break of a few hours since I started this letter. It is now 2 in the morning on Saturday. Military helicopters are flying over my house, heading east. East means the Golan Heights and the Syrian border.
 I have to be at church in a few hours (we meet on Saturday here in Israel), so I need to try and get some sleep. I'll try to write more before I leave.
 Ann, Israel
It is now 3:30 in the morning on Saturday, the sabbath. Half an hour ago the army called to give my son Bryan his emergency call up. He doesn't live at home, but in Eilat, so they will get hold of him there. In a few hours he will be back in uniform. I don't even want to think about what awaits him. I just know that I will never forget the look in his eyes when he came back from Lebanon.We would appreciate your prayers. Ann
Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

GRATITUDE GIVEAWAY HOP

This is one of my very favorite annual blog posts, and many thanks again to Kathy Habel at "I'M A READER, NOT A WRITER," for again sponsoring it.

This hop was set up to thank readers who've purchased my books, visited my blog, read my posts, and commented throughout the year. I'm grateful to all the new readers and followers who hop by. It hasn't been a productive writing year, but rather a year of discovery as my family has battled the problem of Mom's dementia, but that in turn, has become the catalyst of my new novel--"The Rabbits of Alsace Farm."

I'm going to be featuring one character each week. This week, if you visit my web site, you can meet the matriarch of the book.

But business first.

My prize for this hop is an autographed copy of any of my books , personalized for any reader of your choosing, so this would make a nice Christmas gift. I'll even throw in a lovely family book about America so you can surprise two loved ones this holiday. And if you've read all my books, I'll be delighted to choose a book for you written by one of my talented friends.

You can enter multiple times, and here's how you do it:

1. Be or become a follower of this blog.

2. Please help me launch my new author page on Facebook by "LIKING" of following me there. I previously did everything--family news, books news, silly news--from the same page, but I'm separating my professional posts.

3. Visit and my web page, read a short sample of "The Rabbits of Alsace Farm,"where you'll meet the matriarch of the book. Come back and post that you visited.

4. Friend me on Goodreads.

That's it! Now please have a fabulous Thanksgiving, and visit all these other wonderful hops!

Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

CLEAN YOUR SHELF BLOG HOP

I need this hop . . . really need it! I'm cleaning up and tossing out, so the winner of this hop will get to tell me their favorite genre or genres and I'll supply two books from my personal reading shelf that I think they'll enjoy.

Many thanks to the sponsor of this hop, Kathy of  I'M A READER, NOT A WRITER, for sponsoring this chance to clean out my shelf!

Entering is easy. I just set up a new Facebook page for fans of my books, and I need to get the word out. So all you need to do is:

1. Be or become a follower of this blog,

2. And "LIKE" that new page. That's it!

Now visit these other stupendous stops on the hop!


Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

A 72-HOUR MIRACLE FOR THE VICTIMS OF SANDY

It might be said that local help sent to Nassau County, New York residents—some of the hardest hit victims of Hurricane Sandy—came as the result of one couple being in the right place at the right time, and prepared for “such a time as this.”

President Kevin Calderwood and his wife Sydnee are residents of Reston, Virginia currently serving a three-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the New York, New York South Mission, which covers this devastated area which includes such hard hit villages as Lynbrook, Rockaway, Broad Channel, and Freeport. President Calderwood is the president of that mission, supervising two hundred missionaries from various parts of the world who rode out the hurricane. As soon as it was safe to venture out, President Calderwood and the president of another mission of three hundred missionaries mobilized their young men and women into work teams to relieve suffering and assist in the clean-up efforts.
Flooding left buildings dark and cold, a dangerous set of circumstances made more so by plunging temps and reports of another storm heading for the coast. Seeing the level of need, and the difficulty agencies were having addressing those needs, gave President Calderwood an idea. Fifteen years earlier, when he served as the ecclesiastical leader for the Church’s Oakton Virginia Stake, a district of nine congregations, President Calderwood and his wife supported a Church-based program called Gifts of the Heart, which collected donations of clothing, household goods, toys, etc, which were made available to others in need. The program continues to be a giant success in Oakton under the leadership of a new stake President, Scott Wheatley, who is also a close friend of the Calderwoods.
On the evening of Friday, November 2, President Calderwood contacted President Wheatley describing the critical needs in Nassau County, and the concerns he had for the army of five hundred missionaries who were dispersed and displaced in dangerous circumstances as they served the people of the Rockaway Penninsula.
President Wheatley immediately called for an emergency run of Oakton Stake’s Gifts of the Heart program, then he contacted the presidents of surrounding stakes including Washington, DC; Annapolis, MD;  Baltimore, MD; McLean, VA; Mount Vernon, VA;  Frederick, MD;  Ashburn, VA; and Annandale, VA; inviting them to organize their own drives to collect warm clothes, shoes, coats, and other critical items, including $25 gift cards to buy food for the missionaries. What happened next was nearly miraculous.
Through emails, and announcements from LDS pulpits, the invitation was passed to congregants who in turn passed the word to neighbors. The response greatly exceeded all expectations as families in each of these areas filled bags, and eventually filled church buildings with goods to be loaded Monday night and shipped to New York by Tuesday. When the size of donations was reported, President Wheatley knew they would need more trucks than the two contracted to carry the goods to New York. When Paxton Van Lines owner Kevin Paxton heard about the need, he offered trucks, drivers, and boxes to assist in the relief effort. Five trucks were needed Monday night, and more trucks are being sent over the following days to other locations as more donations pour in.
The Frederick Stake—which consists of eight wards or congregations across Frederick County, and parts of Carroll, Howard, and Montgomery Counties—received hundreds of bags of clothing and raised over $9000 in donations. A few dozen workers sorted and packed two pick-up trucks and a medium trailer, all of which were filled to capacity when they left for Oakton Monday night. The men who drove the loads were astonished to see cars and trucks in lines that spanned blocks as they waited their turn to deliver goods. Another semi-truck will ship the remainder of Frederick’s donations in a few days.
Laurie Turner, Assistant Public Affairs Director for D.C. Metropolitan Area of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints estimated that between four and five hundred volunteers were on hand in Oakton to receive, sort, pack, and load the combined donations. It was also reported that over $50,000 dollars was collected that night, and more money and donations were collected the following week.
A high school student volunteering at the Frederick chapel on 199 North Place was astonished by the constant arrival of donations. Said she, “It’s like the miracle of the loaves and the fishes.”Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

THE MAGICAL POWER OF A PILE OF DIRT

I lived a storybook moment a few weeks ago. It was sweet, innocent, timeless, a magnificent kindling of the innate glow of childhood flickering within each of us, dimmed by wizards of retail electronics and pre-packaged toys, and set free by a pile a dirt.

I promised my four-year-old grandson that on my next visit we would play in his giant pile of sand. On one of the last warm days of fall, when his older brother, Tommy, was off playing video games with the big boys, Christian and I donned our "play clothes," (he loved that I called my old jeans, t-shirt, and sneakers my "play clothes,") and jumped into the sand pile left over after their home's construction. To my delight, his six-year-old sister, Keira, set aside her Barbies and joined in the fun.

We found some leftover bricks and rocks to add to our building supplies, and used whatever we found lying around to dig and trench. An hour into our project we had laid out a city based on David Macauley's book "Castle," and of course we had an awesome castle with a high-banked moat, in the center.

An older neighbor boy happened by with the intention of joining up with the video-game squad. Intrigued by what we were doing, he stayed and joined our castle-brigade. He and Keira took on the role of structural engineers and began digging tunnels intended to connect to the moat Christian and I were constructing. As you can see, we were feeling quite pleased with our success.

Sadly, life interrupted play, as it so often does, and Christian was pulled from the sand pile for his annual parley with the pediatrician. Fortunately, the basic construction was complete, and I promised him we'd save the filling of the moat for his return.

Keira was also being beckoned to leave the sand pile to meet up with her friends, and this grandma thought sandbox time was over for the day. Not so.

My green-shirted friend was committed to digging his lake and completing the moat construction, and so, the two of us dug on.

The castle took on a life of its own, and like a brick-and-sand Pied Piper, it drew other children to its magic.

Two football-playing brothers, friends of Christian's older brother Tommy, stopped by to check out our project, and even these "big boys" were bitten by the sand-bug. Without a word of overt encouragement, they set down their Nintendo paddles and joined  in the fun.

 With the majority of the castle and moat-work completed, they began working on way-cool details like dungeons, highways, and secret pits while my green-shirted compadre continued digging his "piece de resistance"--the giant lake.

We added a tower, complete with a sock-flag, and thought how perfect it would be if we had a princess to hold captive within the tower's room. At that moment Keira and her friends happened by, and they were happy to provide a Barbie princess for our city, but better yet, they stayed on the crew and began constructing gardens, forests, and flowerbeds to decorate the castle grounds.

 Remember the lake-digger? Well, around the fourth hour he happened upon some actual animal-constructed tunnels and a new project commenced--the tracking of the tunnel-digger. Was it a snake? A vole? A prairie dog? We weren't sure, but eventually the engineer was revealed--a fat toad!

Now all the kids, from four to ten years, the Barbie-girls, and the Nintendo-gamers, crowded in around the "lake" to observe this exquisite find. Tommy ran upstairs to the family's current toad collection and brought down a fitting competitor to challenge the hoppability of this new interloper, and within minutes, the Great Toad Races were on!

The games continued for about an hour while each child took turns holding, petting, and launching the toads on new races. When grandma finally intervened on behalf of the poor toads, declaring that the royal games were over, the group took the new toad to the tank to meet the rest of the gang, and I was left alone to marvel over the work of some twenty little hands.

When Christian returned home, we ambled back out to show him the progress. The honor of filling the moat fell to him and his little friend who worked hard to rebuild walls collapsing from the garden-hose flood. Six hours had finally passed when we were called out of the sand pile to prepare for a new adventure.

Before leaving I gazed at the sopping mounds of sand and smiled. For a few hours shovels and pails beat out Barbies and Nintendo paddles. The thrill of a toad tunnel offered greater fascination than electronic mazes. Imagination ran wild and free.

Time stood still, and in some ways, moved backwards to days before electronic entertainment. These kids could have been Tom and Huck and Becky on the shores of the Mississip. They were me and maybe you, when a baseball and bat could hold the rapt attention of a dozen or more kids for an entire afternoon. It was childhood at its best and most innocent, and it made me smile to see that  as complicated as the world may seem at times, there is still magic in a pile of sand.






Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

SPOOKTACULAR BLOG HOP

SPOOKTACULAR BLOG HOP  Many thanks to Kathy at "I'M A READER, NOT A WRITER"; AND Rhiannon at "THE DIARY OF A BOOKWORM," for co-hosting this mega-hop. If you're a new visitor, thanks for stopping by, and if you're a regular, I hope you'll like the news this week. I share insight into my new manuscript, The Rabbits of Alsace Farm , and news about a new blog I'll be launching soon.   Rabbits deals with two individuals caught up in one woman's slide into the rabbit hole of dementia. Tayte Donnelly and Noah Bradhurst believe they are irreparably broken, and for good reason. They've never had a successful relationship with anyone, incuding their parents. But when their lives connect with Agnes Devreaux Keller, they discover gifts they never knew they possessed, and if they can avoid repeating mistakes from their trouled pasts, they may be able to not only help Agnes, but save themselves as well. This project is very personal to me. Visit my web site and read more bout the book and the web sit I'm setting up to help families dealing with this devastating disorder.  And now, let me tell you about my prize--a $25.00 Amazon gift card, and here's how you win. You can enter multiple times, but each entry must be posted separately to be counted. 1. Be or become a follower of this blog.2. Follow me on Facebook3. Pop by my website and read about "Rabbits of Alsace Farms" then report that you visited.4. Follow me on Twitter.  5. Friend me on Goodreads.Now please visit all these other wonderful blogs.

 Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

WRITING TIP- HIT THE YARD SALES

I've been setting up for a big, Church yard sale we call a Give-and-Get, and I've been enjoying the treasure of books flowing in. Parents may balance the budget by cutting out new books for themselves, but they'll will stretch to but something educations for their families, and as a result, some wonderful, slightly-used, non-fiction books are available for cheap or free.

I picked up a great book on castles last night. I don't writer medieval romance, but you never know when knowing the ins and outs of castle construction may come in handy. I might have a character travel to Europe and be held captive in a castle somewhere. Lots of possibilities. Best of all, each time I learn something new, fascinating new ideas and story lines fill my brain. It's awesome!

Great research cab be conducted online, and at libraries, of course, but when you're stuck, when you need an idea to break the mental log jam, sometimes thumbing through a few books will present a myriad of never-before-considered ideas.

So make a list of topics about which you could use a few good research books. I keep a few on military weapons, lost of historical references,  several on colonial life, emerging religions in America, and medical books that detail treatments available during certain periods. I'd like to get my fingers on some books that illustrate historical fashions. it would save me countless research hours to have that info at my disposal.

So make your list, and hit the yard sales. Amazon is also a good choice for used books, but be frugal. Consider how many books you'll have to seek to recoup your research investment. I say, go yard-selling first.Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

IN HONOR OF COLUMBUS

I fell in love anew with Christopher Columbus while researching Free Men and Dreamers. I say anew because this great explorer enjoyed at least an annual love fest in classes during my grade school years. We colored dittoed renderings of the Nina. Pinta, and Santa Maria, studied his life and wrote reports about his amazing discoveries, we recited the poem, "IN 1492."  A cardstock print of Columbus hung in the front of our room along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. Are any of them still hanging in classrooms?

Did you know Columbus set sail with a desire to spread Christianity to people who had never heard of the Christ? Did you know he wrote a book about the spiritual whisperings he felt were guiding him? Did you know he returned to Spain in chains?

Like most of our traditional heroes, the luster of Columbus's accomplishments is dimming. No one was aware of the dangerous germs the Europeans carried in their systems, nor of the consequences contact with native peoples would have on them. Disease spread to a people without immunity, and many died. It was tragic, and unforeseeable. Also tragic is the idea that political correctness has reduced the heroic accomplishments celebrated in my day to a study of their failings. They are measured against modern sensibilities rather than being judged against the information available to them in their day. One by one, they fall.

So let's stop the clock for a second and revel in Cristobal Colombo's accomplishments. I'm posting a link to a short quiz, and I'm offering two shelf-worn but autographed books as an incentive to take it.

We'll do this on the honor system. Take the quiz, and report your score. The person with the highest score will win the books.

Ready, set, go.

Laurie





Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)

SCORE ONE FOR THE LAWYER

If you've read this one before, forgive me. I just love it so much, and in honor of Columbus Day, I had to dust it off again. For a history lover, this is nerd-humor heaven! I'm told this is a true story. If it is, I need to find this attorney because he is now my idol. If it's not, three cheers for the creative genius who came up with this!

*******
A New Orleans lawyer sought an FHA loan for a client. He was told the loan would be granted if he could prove satisfactory title to a parcel of property being offered as collateral. The title to the property dated back to 1803, which took the lawyer three months to track down. After sending the information to the FHA, he received the following reply.

(Actual reply from FHA):
"Upon review of your letter adjoining your client's loan application, we note that the request is supported by an Abstract of Title. While we compliment the able manner in which you have prepared and presented the application, we must point out that you have only cleared title to the proposed collateral property back to1803. Before final approval can be accorded, it will be necessary to clear the title back to its origin."

Annoyed, the lawyer responded as follows:
(Actual response):
"Your letter regarding title in Case No.189156 has been received. I note that you wish to have title extended further than the 206 years covered by the present application. I was unaware that any educated person in this country, particularly those working in the property area, would not know that Louisiana was purchased by the United States from France in 1803, the year of origin identified in our application.

For the edification of uninformed FHA bureaucrats, the title to the land prior to U.S. ownership was obtained from France , which had acquired it by Right of Conquest from Spain. The land came into the possession of Spain by Right of Discovery made in the year 1492 by a sea captain named Christopher Columbus, who had been granted the privilege of seeking a new route to India by the Spanish monarch, Queen Isabella. The good Queen Isabella, being a pious woman and almost as careful about titles as the FHA, took the precaution of securing the blessing of the Pope before she sold her jewels to finance Columbus 's expedition.

Now the Pope, as I'm sure you may know, is the emissary of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and God, it is commonly accepted, created this world. Therefore, I believe it is safe to presume that God also made that part of the world called Louisiana. God, therefore, would be the owner of origin and His origins date back to before the beginning of time, the world as we know it, and the FHA. I hope you find God's original claim to be satisfactory.

Now, may we have our loan?"

The loan was immediately approved. Copyright 2009 Laurie LC Lewis, (To obtain permission to copy or reprint any portion of this post, please contact the author at lclewis2007@gmail.com)