A lost tooth

My sweet son lost his 3rd tooth this week.  It was one of the front top two, so now he has been exhibiting a huge toothy grin :)  Babies aside, I think this is one of the cutest milestones young children go through. Whose momma heart doesn't melt with a toothy grin from any child, let alone your own.  I few months ago I thought that I wouldn't see much more of my son's smile.  He had such a rough year at school, that I was starting to wonder if he was just starting to show the melancholy part of his personality.  Fortunately he has recovered as the outgoing, bubbly, clown of a sanguine that I've always known him to be.  And this new smile seems to fit superbly.  Its also a reminder that he is slowly starting to outgrow childish things. While it may be quite a while until he is an adult, or even a teenager, the time is passing.  My first child is growing!

As Christians, I think that God also marks the milestones of our faith. From baptism to heaven, God is watching our accomplishments.  I can just imagine an omniscient grin as we stop stumbling over our words when we pray, as we learn how to dig deeper, and ask harder questions.  As our faith grows and strengthens.  I can also imagine how bittersweet it must be when we pass that childlike stage where he teaches and guides you and pass into the "grown-up" role of being an instrument utilized by Him to reach others.  Godseeker, I'm praying that as you increase your influence, and increase your ability for your mission (really I see so much potential now), and I pray that your dh will be by your side the whole time.  Jomama,   I thought about you as I was stocking up on binders and paper last night ;) 

Love, Hugs and Selah,
A.

Hug From a President

I received this as a forward.   Thought you all might like to see it.

It started out as a fluke. Lynn Faulkner had been
> offered an extra ticket to a Bush campaign event by
> his neighbor Linda Prince. Mr. Faulkner decided to
> offer it to his 15-year old daughter Ashley who he
> expected would decline, as she would have to miss
> some school to attend. But his daughter surprised
> him. Ashley reminded her dad how four years ago
> they attended a similar event when then Texas
> Governor George W. Bush visited the same spot on the
> campaign trail.
>
> Ashley remembered attending that event with both her
> father and her mother Wendy Faulkner. It was
> raining that day and they all stood in the rain
> awaiting Governor Bush "eating Triscuit crackers"
> enjoying the time together and hoping to get a
> glimpse of the would-be president. Ashley recalled
> holding her mothers hand as they waited. So she
> decided to go again this year, but this time her
> mother could not attend. Wendy Faulkner was
> murdered on 9/11/01 in the south tower of the World
> Trade Center. She was there on the 104th floor for
> a one-day meeting. Ashley decided to miss school in
> honor and remembrance of her mother and attend the
> event.
>
> So the trip was on. Linda Prince, along with Lynn
> and Ashley Faulkner, were off to the Golden Lamb Inn
> in Lebanon, Ohio for the event. The group arrived
> early and got a spot close to the front. As the
> event wound down, the president worked the line in
> full campaign mode shaking hands and signing
> autographs. As the president passed the group, Mr.
> Faulkner got an autograph, and the president
> continued on until Linda Prince spoke up, "This girl
> lost her mother on 9/11," Prince told the president.

> Then everything changed.
>
> "The president's entire expression transformed," Mr.
> Faulkner told me on Sunday. "He turned and came
> back against the flow and his eyes locked on
> Ashley's. His face showed a man who was no longer
> the president, he was a father and a husband."
> President Bush made his way back to Ashley and he
> embraced the 15-yeal old young woman. "She snuggled
> in with the president just like she did when she was
> a little girl with her dad," Mr. Faulkner said. "I
> know it's hard," Mr. Faulkner heard the president
> tell his daughter. "I'm okay," Ashley told the
> president. The embrace continued.
>
> Mr. Faulkner had his Kodak digital camera with him
> and debated on invading this very private moment
> between his daughter and the leader of the free
> world. "For 20-30 seconds the president belonged
> exclusively to Ashley," Lynn Faulkner told me. So
> he decided to capture the moment without invading
> Ashley and the president's privacy. He held up his
> digital camera, not even aiming with his eye and
> with one click snapped just one picture. It showed
> in detail the face of a compassionate man who just
> happens to be the president comforting a young woman
> who lost her mother in the 9/11 attacks on America.
>
> Mr. Faulkner told me that he saw tears in his
> daughter's eyes, and saw emotion that he hadn't seen
> from his daughter in 2 ½ years. Ashley told her
> dad, "The way he was holding me, with my head
> against his chest, it felt like he was trying to
> protect me, he wanted to make sure that I was safe."
> That feeling is captured in a very clear way in
> this moving unscripted photo. It's the only photo
> of this special embrace as the press corps had
> already been ushered back on the bus. And the photo
> was never meant for publication. All Mr. Faulkner
> did when he returned home from the event was e-mail
> it to 15 friends and family. But by the middle of
> last week, I had received the photo from eight
> different people. Others were also receiving the
> photo and forwarding it along. It became an
> Internet phenomenon, as it was e-mailed around
> America.
>
> Mr. Faulkner called the embrace "President Bush's
> precious gift to my daughter." And with his small
> act of e-mailing that photo to friends and family,
> the picture can now become a gift to the American
> people.
>
> And as sad as the story is the release and
> publication is a good thing. Disgusting photos
> coming out of Iraq for the past 10 days have shocked
> Americans, as they should have. But no longer are
> the terrible images of 9/11 shown. While the Iraq
> prison photos have been picked up by the elite media
> and shown time and again, this touching photo has
> gone largely ignored by the mainstream media. But
> the alternative media has made this touching
> powerful photo one of the most e-mailed photos of
> last week. The Internet once again took over where
> the elite media failed. Matt Drudge ran it on May
> 7th, as did the Page 2 Politics journal, and
> hundreds of other blogs. Millions have now seen it,
> but millions more need to. It gives a stark
> reminder why America is at war with radical Islam
> and other terrorists around the world that are
> determined to cause this kind of pain to other
> American families.
>
> The images of 9/11 have faded in the minds of far
> too many Americans. This picture and this family's
> riveting story give a stark reminder of why America
> is at war. Each day around the globe our soldiers
> are fighting in an attempt to prevent any other
> event as terrible as the murders that took place on
> 9/11. Look hard at this picture. See the
> compassion and sadness on the president's face.
> Look at this young woman, see her grief and listen
> to her father's words. Ashley and her sister Loren
> just spent their third Mother's Day without their
> mother, as did thousands of other children who lost
> their mothers on 9/11 at the hands of ruthless
> uncaring terrorists. Imagine yourself in that
> position.
> 

 

Another Death and a Tribute

I'm not quite ready to talk about my new decision.  That will come in the next day or so.  In the meantime, Heiress' blog brought up some thoughts I've struggled with since the loss of a friend this spring.  A college friend.  As a sort of catharsis, I wrote a tribute for her.  At the time, A. and I had been talking about the importance of writing down your testimony and being proud of it (Jomama, I believe, gave us the Hebrew word for such a thing, but it slips my mind).
 
Anyhoo, here's the tribute I wrote.  It raises tough issues on the fairness (or unfairness) of life, and has given me a whole bunch of stuff to grapple with.  Maybe one or all of you have some comments that could help with  wisdom and perspective.
 
 
 

Thea's Story 

 

 

I've been mulling over the thought that we should  write down our testimony and be proud of it.  A friend suggested it.  I think it's  a wonderful idea and I'm going to do it.  In the meantime, I'm pretty sure Thea's story isn't written down anywhere, as she was notoriously self-deprecating.  She wouldn't be proud of her story, or anything about herself, but I'm pretty sure she was proud of the part God had in her life.  So I'm writing as much of her story as I know, which isn't much. We walked side by side for a time, and both moved on.  That's the way it is with college friends.  Some you stay in touch with.  Some you don't.  Some you forget, and some you remember quite well.  Some feel like friends, even after you lose touch, and some just feel like memories.

 

Thea always felt like a friend.  As if, had I ever seen her again, we would have taken up where we left off, talking about things, about God, and laughing.  A lot.  Thea loved to joke about things.  She wasn't pretty, which probably contributed to her self-image problems.  She would joke about herself, about her looks, in such a way that you couldn't help but laugh.  She wanted you to laugh.  The hurt would have been if you didn't laugh.   But there was something about the way her friends laughed.  You laughed and cared at the same time.  And I think that's why she joked so much about herself.  She didn't so much want to hear you laugh. She wanted to hear you care. 

 

Thea, I guess, had an exceptionally rotten childhood.  Not that she talked about it. She didn't have to.  You just knew.  Last week when my friend called, she alluded to the fact that Thea had finally revealed some things to her, and it was no surprise to me.   Thea never married, although she had been proposed to at some point.  She  said no and broke a man's heart.  I don't think she would have been capable of receiving love from a husband.  Her "emotional ears" just didn't work that way.   

 

At Bible college, we were required to work in some area of Christian  service.  My favorite was choir.  I would have stayed in choir the whole time, but you could only get "Christian Service credit" one semester, then you had to do something else.  So I moved on to nursing home, which I loved, and did various other things.  The one service I hated, but got roped into, was "street ministry."  We were supposed to go out there and talk to the teens who congregated and bought drugs downtown.  Can you imagine?   I remember complaining to Thea about it one time.  My contention was that people just don't come to Christ because one person meets them on the street and presents Him.  You have to establish a relationship.  I made it sound really good, and I thought I was being spiritual and caring.  My real problem, though, was fear.  It smacked of salesmanship, which was the last thing I wanted to do with God or anything else.  My presentation, I thought, made good sense, and I was so self-absorbed that it took a moment notice the hurt, slightly angry look on Thea's face.

 

 "I did."

 

 "You did what?" I asked.  

 

 "I came to Christ the first time  somebody told me--on the street."  She told me she had been on the street, and somebody told her, and that was all she needed to hear.  She told me she KNEW she needed God.  She didn't need to  be told twice.  Thea eagerly fulfilled her Christian service credit in street ministry, and then after she had to move on to something else, she would still go do street ministry.  Even after she graduated from college, she would be out there on Friday nights, a Bible under one arm, telling teens and roughnecks about God.  I don't know if she ever led anybody to Him that way.  Maybe she did.  But she sure was giving back to God for what He did for her.

 

 Thea always had close friends.  She attracted people with her sense of humor, and kept them--somehow.  Her friends were always intensely loyal.  I've heard somewhere that you can always tell the quality of a person by the people who love them.  Well, Thea was intensely loved, and always seemed a bit confused by it.  Those "emotional ears" again.  

 

There's a story in the book of Mark about a man who was  deaf and had a speech impediment.  Someone brought this man to Jesus, and there's a story there which is really neat, and easy to miss.  The story reeks of Jesus' compassion, but you have to read it with your imagination wide open.  He had a crowd with Him, but He took this man aside, away from the crowd.  This was a miracle, but perhaps not a sign.  This one was not for the crowd.  It was just for the man.  Anyhow, He put His fingers in his ears, then did something--odd.  He spat, and touched the man's tongue.  But it's what He said that always gets to me.  He sighed (why?) and He said, "Ephphatha."  It's an Aramaic word.  It means "Be opened."  And his ears were opened.   

 

The story always stikes me.  Why did they include the Aramaic word?  They never did that anywhere else.  Was it because that's an important word, and I need to have my attention flagged to it?  Sometimes, people have a spiritual "speech impediment."  You know--maybe they say the wrong thing, maybe they're caustic, maybe they're contentious, or whatever.  But God gets to the heart of the matter.  It's about what they're not able to hear.  "God loves you."  "God has a> purpose for you."  "Your life matters."  Some people cannot hear that.  Perhaps they need their own miracle, away from the crowd, away from the limelight.  They need God to touch their spiritual ears, say "Be opened."  Maybe they're stuffed so full of the earwax from their horrible childhoods or bad experiences that they couldn't hear a thing if God stood next to them and yelled His love to them. Maybe we all need to have God sigh and say, "Ephphatha."  "Be opened." 

 

As far as I know, Thea never received that miracle.  She never understood the fact that people cared about her, in spite of the fact that she always had loyal friends around her.  So it's only natural that she did not stay in touch with her old friends.  She would have been surprised to find that anyone wanted to be in contact.  Friends would find her, and lose her again, as she would move somewhere else.  

 

Thea had a walking stick and a little 110 camera, with which she would take the most amazing photographs.  Her work could have won awards, and she took her pictures with that 110 camera that most serious photographers would never have used.  One day a few years ago she was out hiking and got herself injured and stranded in a remote location.  I don't have more details than that.  I just know her injuries immobilized her.  When she was rescued, she had extreme frostbite.  Between her frostbite and her injuries, she was disabled and unable to work.  She was indigent in her last few years.  Her friends were helpless to help her.  My friend expressed to me that she would have had her come live with her, but she had kids and Thea couldn't stand even a minimal noise level.   At least she was unable to move to another location.   You could keep in touch with her.   Then she disconnected her phone.  You couldn't even email her anymore. 

 

Then last week I learned she had died in November.  None of us even knew until last week, graduation week at my old college.  She died alone, and was found a couple of days later.    I'm still stunned by the way she died and the last few years of misery.   But from what I hear, she found solace in the Lord, although she said she was mystified by the fact that He kept her around when she couldn't do a thing for Him.   I like to think about Thea running around heaven with her sparkling clean ears, following Jesus around, listening to everything He has to say.   Really listening. 

 

  (The story of Ephphatha is from Mark 7:31-35.)

Three deaths and a baby

I've been thinking a lot about life and death lately. Nothing morbid, just comes with what has been going on. Several things. First as my Selah sisters know we have a cat that I have had for 10 years. Now this cat has gotten to be not so nice. In fact he started to bite and has taken to relieving himself on my children's toys. Well, I have combated this for 7 years. Yes 7, I checked with the vet. Long story short, I obviously love the cat or would not have put up with it this long. It was a pretty good cat. Plus I am one of those people that beliefs pet as a cute kitten, pet for life. My kids also love the cat. Even though the cat wants nothing to do with the kids. Well, the other day the vet called and my husband and I had to decide to put the cat down. This is not an easy decision. I really turmoiled with the guilt, fairness, and all aspects of the issue. It was best, overall, for the family and the cat that his life end.
And so that night we had the championship little league game. We waited and said nothing to the children. It was a tight game. I found my self screaming and cheering more than I ever have. Praying for a win. Hoping that would make the news a little less painful. We lost. I got home with my oldest son and was waiting for my husband and youngest boy to break the news as a family. Then he did it. My oldest son went running through the house calling, "kitty kitty kitty". I about lost it. "Mom, where is the cat?" came the question. "At the vet" was all I could muster. His body was, in fact, at the vet. "When's he coming home?" Well, how do I answer that? "Uhm...err...ya see...hey sorry about the game...I mean...well your dad..." Ok even to a 7 year old  I sounded like an idiot. "When is he coming home, mom?" More direct this time. I had it at this point I had to tell him. "He's not." was all I could say. Then I lost it.
We both cried. My husband got home, we told our littlest one. We all cried. My 3 year old looked up and said "kitty died for our sins." Which gave us all a chuckle. And we followed up explaining no Jesus died for our sins.  My older son had a memorial service the next day. I was very impressed with how he handled it. We had family over and he played a Michael W. Smith song I think it's "Friends Forever" and he prayed.
A few weeks have passed now. I still miss the cat. The oldest one still cries every now and then. The little one wants a dog. And I keep thinking about how we mourn with hope. That we know we will see our loved ones again. The oldest wanted to know if there are cats in heaven. I told him I don't see why not. The bible talks about other animals. So there could be cats.
 
We were getting ready to go visit some family in St. Louis the other day. My kids were very excited to see their second cousins. Then we got a phone call that my husbands aunt died. Plans changed. This was the grandma of those cousins my kids were going to visit. Our hearts broke a little that day. She died unexpectedly in her sleep. She ws a wonderful woman and role model. I really enjoyed her company. I can't help but feel a little joy for her. I know (as did she) that she is now with Jesus. I know she is hearing those words, "well done my good and faithful servant." I know the plan is Gods and not my own. He knows why she had to go now. And I also know I will see her on the day Jesus comes in on the clouds.
 
My oldest son has a school friend, J. that had a grandma die this week as well. He asked to send her a get well card. (The friend not the grandma) and so we did. I think loosing his cat has made him think about how his friend must feel. He picked a card with a verse from proverbs, "A friend loves at all times". In it he wrote "J. you're grandma died. I hope you feel better soon." When we sent a plant to the funeral home we requested that J. receive it after services. This was my son's idea. He wanted her to have something to care for and remind her of her grandma. Just like we have a little cat memorial area in our sun room now. Funny how kids adapt and learn very quickly.
 
Lastly, one of our Selah sisters had a baby. A beautiful girl. What a thing of God both life and death. He decides when and where we come into this world. He stays with us through it all and He is there to great us when our work here is done.
 

Decision Time

Okay, as per my earlier post on choices, I suddenly find myself facing a big decision.  Unfortunately, I can't go into details right now.  I sure could use prayers from all of you!!  For WISDOM.
 
Thanks,
 
-Godseeker

Thoughts on tomatoes and the spirit

Tomatoes are the longest of all fruits to ripen, I've determined. My mystery plant, which has stated that he is definitely a pumpkin, already has pumkins turning orange. The cucumbers are burning out, much to my appreciation, I mean really how many pickles does a family need? The peas and lettuces are long gone, the peppers have already given us quite the harvest. Even the sweet corn is ready.

I go out to look in upon my tomatoes nearly every day, if not three times a day. I finally have 1, that's right one, tomato that is slowly making the dramatic change. First she was swirled with pink, almost the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. Then slowly orange took over, and that orange just keeps deepening, and hopefully next time I go out to check she'll be bright red,and then we can break out the blt fixins! The rest of the tomatoes must be under the impression that fashionably late is the way to go. The are at the most getting the pale green/chartreuse color that comes before the blush.

Do you think God awaits for us as Christians to ripen? Does he look in on us everyday, or more often, just to see if its happening yet? Does he examine our hearts thoroughly to see if there is any hint of the lightening of the green or perhaps, Joy of all Joys the blush? Does he take pictures,and call the angels over to have a peek? Does get all proud and anticipate our impending ripeness? Does he make plans for our ministries once we reach that maturity. Is it with great joy that he dances out to the garden on the day that its time for the harvest? Singing a new song designed specially for his bounty? And imagine the immense joy following the harvest of the first very precious fruits, that He can come out with a pail and reap the abundant harvest when the fashionable late finally turn?

Selah,
A.

Praise Him!

I drove for 4 hours with my two small children out of town and I loved it. My kids have a TV and were thus pretty zoned out. (So no, this was not an educational moment for my kids) I had the cd player and some worship cd’s and just spent 3 hours singing praises. I am not a singer. In fact most people would probably prefer NOT to hear me sing. But to sit in my own car and belt out with all my heart love to Jesus and the Father and the Holy Spirit was cool. The trip went by in a blink. I found myself pulling into my destination and reluctantly turning off the music. There was something very moving about an extended one on one time thanking and worshipping. And to think there will come a day when all we do is worship Him. I can’t wait!

The goat 

A Goat and a Dream

It's amazing how you can go from nothing to say to not knowing which of several things you want to narrate.

Okay, I'll start with the bizarre.

First, you have to understand that we live in a basic, suburban-type neighborhood. Although the neighborhood is surrounded by a small strip of woods, it's mostly just houses and yards. So yesterday when my 4-year-old daughter, who was looking out of the front window, mentioned a deer, she got my attention. I looked out, expecting to see a big dog. It was big all right, but it wasn't a dog. It was a large nanny goat, looking to be in need of milking. She was headed for my open garage. And behind her cruised three police cars.

Well, this was better than O'Reilly on TV, so there we were--a family of four, hanging our heads out the windows, watching the show. The first thing I noticed was that the police didn't seem quite equipped to handle the situation. Just a bunch of officers glancing nervously at one another as they walked gingerly toward the goat. I don't know what they thought they would do if they caught her. The goat moved on pretty quickly, but the police force set up headquarters in front of our house and headed out after her, so I knew the show would be back. Eventually an animal control truck turned up, and those people seemed a bit better prepared, with a couple of those poles with loops on them--you know what I mean.

The show went on for a while. It was never really resolved. Everybody just sort of came back here, got in their cars and went back to their respective headquarters. Last night my husband was kind of scared to go running.

* * *



I've been reading Deuteronomy lately. In fact, I just finished it up. The last few chapters relate how Moses, who knew he was going to die, pulled together the nation of Israel and gave them his last message from God. The basic message was this: choose. They could choose God, and choose to live--to live well, live abundantly, and there were specific things God would bless if they chose Him. But they could choose to not choose God. That would be to choose to die, and they would spiritually die, and many of them would die physically, because God's special favor would be lifted from them, and they would be exposed for the weak humans they really were without God's help.

So I've let that sift around inside me for a couple of days, and this morning I had one of those "God speaking to me" kind of experiences. What I'm about to tell you--it's absolutely true. But I can't prove it, since I'm the only one who experienced it. So you'll have to choose whether you want to believe it or not.

I dreamed that I was getting ready to do some sodbusting in my backyard, creating some more garden. But then I noticed that there were some wild onions growing among the grass. Now, where I grew up in the south, wild onions came up everywhere, the bane of homeowners trying to keep attractive yards. But when I saw it, I thought how cool it would be if I just let the onions grow up. Who knew--maybe you could even eat them. I'd have to find out. And even if you couldn't, I would still have something nostalgic to remind me of when I was growing up. So I was getting ready to choose not to cultivate a productive garden. I was going to let these weeds grow here, just to remind me of the "old country."

Then I woke up, one minute before the radio alarm was set to go. And I must not have been quite awake, because I remember thinking, "Oh, they're going to play, 'Choose Life (a Christian song based on that passage in Deuteronomy.)'" In my twilight dream state, it didn't seem strange that I would know what was going to come on. Then the music started, and it was "Choose Life." How weird is that?

I don't know what choices or decisions are coming my way, but I'm kind of excited and kind of scared.

I know this was God speaking to me about something, but I wanted to pass it on, just in case anyone else needs a reminder.

"I call Heaven and Earth to witness against you today: I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love GOD, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him. Oh yes, he is life itself, a long life settled on the soil that GOD, your God, promised to give your ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob." (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20, The Message)

Judging a book by its cover

I think we are all guilty of doing what we ought not do. Librarians and teachers probably enjoy this line, "don't judge a book by its cover". I am especially guilty of this, I always look for a pretty cover with good art on it or an old one with fraying edges and a simple design impressed into its hard cover. At a book sale recently I was going through the childrens books. There was a certain book there with a lot of copies, I ended up picking the hard bound one with the dust jacket still intact and a cute picture of a raccoon on it, Godseeker :) I've been meaning to write this blog for almost 2 weeks now, I'm glad I waited because God has added a few things to this.

So a couple of weeks ago, at the library the kids were doing an art project for the summer reading program. Once they got started I headed upstairs to walk through the "Mom books." The books are divided out into sections, fiction, biographies, Sci Fi, non-fiction, and classic literature. As I was wondering through the sections and checking out the covers, I noticed that each section has its unique personality because of the types of covers that are chosen to represent the books. For example, the biographies seem boastful because all the pictures of the important people whose lives were incased inside these volumes. The fiction had a daydreamy feel, and so on.

I had trouble finding the classic lit section because of recent book shifting and the fact that this library is older and architecturally rich, which unfortunately leads to darker corners. When I finally found it. This overwhelming feeling of wisdom and experience oozed from the old fraying covers. Like a long chat with a good friend, or after a night of Selah study. This is where I first noticed each section having its personality. Elizabeth George says about reading books in her book Life Management for Busy Women "The greatest writers and theologians and teachers in the world are sharing the fruits of their decades of study. They are distilling their knowledge down ... to people like you and me." She goes on to encourage us all to seek out the wisdom in the books out there.

The lamp of the LORD searches the spirit of a man; it searches out his inmost being. Proverbs 20:27 I imagine God as an older sage like man sitting in a comfy armchair, with a lamp shinign over his shoulder. He has an open book on his lap. The pages are tattered from much use and bookmarked and postit noted, very much like I see the bibles that people have been carrying for a long time. When I step closer in I see my name, A., as the title of this volume, and I see on his shelves, many other volumes, with Godseeker, Jomama, and heiress among others on their covers. You see as we are seeking Him out through His Book, He is seeking us out too.

Our church had a float in a parade recently. We decided to hand out pocket size Gospels of Mark. These small books had the neatest covers on them. I wasn't sure how they would be received, but people were taking them happily, and we even had some people ask for them! I pray that as these people are reading the Word of God, God will be seeking out them, and creating additional opportunities for people surrounding them to be a witness.

****

Update on the mystery squash. Its setting fruit on, and it is appearing to be a pie pumpkin! I hope everyone likes pumpkin pie, because there is going to be a lot of it this fall from the looks of things :) My tomatoes are still green, but there are a lot of those too. I'm going to have to buy more jars soon for my canning.