Thank you for visiting my home page at Angelfire.
Come in,
sit down, relax, converse...
My personal web site ain't that bad
AND it could be worse! 
Well, I haven't done any
updating for a long time, but I've
thought about it often. Unfortunately,
it doesn't understand ESP & won't update
itself.
So, here it is February 22nd,
2004, already. I'm updating this page mostly because of the new pages that I needed to get linked to it, so I'm not putting much here for introduction today. But I will soon.
Anyway, my last update was in August, 2002, at which time we were all still reeling good and strong from 9/11. Having heard many statements concerning why YaHVeH let happen what happened on that day, and on many troublesome days since then, I felt the need to communicate what YaHVeH put on my heart when I began to ask the same questions. For me to communicate best, I write poems. So, here is my poem, dedicated to the victims and families of ALL terrorism, and of all pain and suffering in this life ...
FREE WILL
Free will, I say, to all free will,
To do as you desire.
Tis the greatest of all gifts given to man,
It can help, or burn, like fire.
Many men seek to do all good,
Neither hurt a friend, nor foe.
But some abuse this gracious gift,
And make God's head bow low.
So let us not blame God above,
For some men and their evil deeds.
Let us instead use our own precious gifts,
To comfort a heart that bleeds.
An object or word can cause great pain,
In the hands of hatred and spite.
But in the hands of men filled with love,
It's a balm of healing and light.
May God be thanked for His many gifts.
Let all men use them for right.
And may we bless Him by doing His will,
And fighting only love's blessed fight.
Copyright ©2002 Crystal A. Murray
And, as I also previously noted, "If we keep our eyes on The Creator and not His creations, we can stay strong. Remember, He is the God OVER our circumstances, not OF our circumstances. Just as He did when Joseph's brothers sold him to Egypt, He can take a circumstance prepared for evil and work it to the good. ALL things work together for the good...Romans 8:28a."
Now to start the ball rolling on your visit, let me first take care of a little piece of possible confusion, especially for those of you who are return visitors. I had previously removed the letter "o" from God & Lord in my pages as it is a Hebrew form of showing respect, and of showing that you are speaking of The Almighty--just like capitalizing the "G" & "L". I have changed most of them back (I have a lot of pages to look at & more than one site so they won't all be done) to avoid the confusion, and I prefer to use His Holy Memorial Name, YaHVeH, anyway, since the root for both "God" and "Lord" is also used when speaking of Baal...as in false "gods".
And, with that taken care of, here is a cool Scripture search tool for you. When you enter a word to search, you will be taken to your results on the Crosswalk website where you can find even more information like "Current Religion News," "Topic Search," "Christian Radio on the Net" and much more. And, no, I don't get anything for sending you there but a warm, fuzzy feeling.
Besides, here's what's important anyway...
The Word of YaHVeH is NOT cake for special occasions only, but it IS Bread for daily use. Hide it in your
heart; It will light your path and, many times, the paths of others. So, on to the search tool...
I was my Grandma's 1st grandchild,
And I was born on her 40th birthday,
I wasn't born near where she lived,
But we soon joined her in L.A.
Every year we shared a party,
And lots of birthday cake.
Until 1988, when she left this world,
I miss her for goodness sake.
One day I'm hoping that we'll meet again,
If our paths had the same destination.
My path has a sign that says, "HEAVEN - THIS WAY,...
FOR ETERNAL CELEBRATION."
If I can stay on this path, no matter how tough,
Someday I'll see my dreams come true.
I'll meet friends & loved ones in our home on high,
And - best of all - Yah-Shua will be there too!
Well, I guess by now you
can see that I like to write poetry. Actually, I like to write just about everything, but
poems & songs tend to top my list. I also LOVE to sing & I
am currently working on my debut album called
"HALLELUJAH MEETIN'". It's upbeat,
country-gospel, and will be available
when I decide I can quit making any
changes in it. As a typical codependant
woman, I'm still finding faults with it.
For those of you who have been waiting
since I started the project in 1997,
thanks for your patience. Anyone who
would like to be on my mailing list to
be notified of the release date, please
contact me by e-mail. As a writer (and I can officially say that now since I just got published, AND PAID for it - for the first time - in July 2003), I
belong to some great offline fellowships... My first - and favorite - group is my local writers' group, LOUISVILLE CHRISTIAN WRITERS(LCW). The link leads to our first group home page which I will keep on my site until we get our own domain name and such. Right now, you won't find a lot of info, but you'll find some GOOD info. For starters, we've got our soon upcoming, and first-ever, "Creativity For Writers" workshop. For anyone who would like more information, I've placed links there to all 3 pages of our online brochure. Also, I've placed a link to my new "Writer's Links" page with - you guessed it - links especially for writers. Oh, and you'll also find a link there for the upcoming "Kentucky Christian Writers' Conference" which will be held at the end of March, 2004. And about this last-mentioned conference, I've got to tell you, this is one of the best writers' conferences I've ever been to. It is both a true writers' conference and a true Christian conference. Plus, the price of only $100 covers 2 days of conferencing & workshops, and 2 full meals, plus some snacks along the way. In addition, attendees have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with a live editor or publisher for critique or to pitch them an idea. I just can't say enough good about this conference. As a matter of fact, here's a link directly to their page so you can check out this year's keynote speaker and workshops ... KCWC Finally, LCW is an affiliate of
American Christian Writers (ACW) out of Nashville, Tennessee. They also have a number of conferences around the United States each year, and our group will be hosting a one-day conference for them in July. I'll get more info up on the LCW site as it comes in.
Another of my fond interests is reading; I am currently "eating up" and greatly enjoying "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. I'll place some links to their site soon, but I'm way past my bedtime for this session. Another few of my favorites are... "No Wonder They Call Him The Savior" and "God Came Near", both by Max Lucado. If anyone can bring to light YaHVeH's grace & mercy, this man can do it. I'd tell you some stuff, but I don't want to ruin it for you. If you get ANY of his books, get "No Wonder...";
Also...
I like all of David Feldman IMPONDERABLES books like "Why Do Clocks Run Clockwise" and "When Do Fish Sleep." Those are 2 books & 2 sample questions that he answers in a fun and witty manner. I mean, did you
know that Wintergreen Lifesavers sparkle if you bite 'em in the dark? How about that Curad (and Kroger brand) bandage wrappers sparkle when you peel them in the dark? Dave will tell you why & how. He does have a website with a list of his books, but no questions as of yet. On his site, however, is a
COOL Gender Survey"where you
an give YOUR OWN opinion as to why the opposite sex behaves as it does. Dave has chosen one
of my questions, AND one of my answers
for his new book which comes out soon. As a long-time fan, I am excited about being included, and ESPECIALLY about the autographed copy of his book that I'll get for free. I'll close this page for now, but there are some more pages - some which lead to PLENTY of links - below. I'll try to update a little sooner next time. Beseen is shutting down, so I need to find new chat and board rooms, but until then, you can e-mail me if you like.
Crystal's 1st Page
of Links This is the same as the link under the doors above. Last updated in January, 2001. (I know, I've got a lot of work to do!)
Crystal's Creative Collection of Stuff (Poetry, Song Lyrics, Thoughts, Etc., and a picture of myself that upsets me 'cause it looks just like ME & the photographer PROMISED it would look like Cindy Crawford or some other super model.) (ha ha)
My Haiku Page as listed above (with lesson &
examples for writing your own Haiku.) It's a lot of fun and a great writer's exercise for learning how to be concise! It's not easy to put full thoughts into so few words & syllables, so it forces the writer to focus a little more.
My Favorite People, Places and Things On this page, I have listed the names of some family members (eventually it will be all of them), and then used the letters in their first names to tell something about them. I've got 17 people up there so far, and I don't think I've duplicated any adjectives yet, but it's been challenging. (By the way, this is also a great English exercise for those of you who teach or homeschool. I'll put the whole lesson up eventually, but it's enough for a short exercise as it now stands.) Also, I've added some of my favorite places, so look here for a mini travel guide that covers areas from the Eastern U.S., all the way to the West Coast. A Letter To The Love Of My Life, my husband. We are nearing 13 years of marriage and, even when there have been some hard days and times, we have committed to the long haul. I'm learning that committment may actually be more important than love in keeping a relationship together. When emotions are raging and the negative ones fight to overshadow the love, you just can't give up. My husband's 1st Home Page with info on Genealogy, Jefferson Cnty, KY, Cemeteries, and KY Nat'l Guard Jobs. My newsletter creation and archive site for God's Kitchen Sink...main page. And, yes, it's another one of those things I have a lot of work to do on. I know more about html now so I can try to figure out why some things just haven't been working. BTW, If you like my
site, click here to...
Vote for me!
Please take a moment to let me know
you "flew" by for a visit.
Well, my old counter quit working & I didn't have a counter for almost 2 years, so here's the new one with at least my first thousand page hits represented. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and all of you who have returned, and welcome to my newest visitors. And, whether I have a counter or not, remember, "EVERYBODY COUNTS TO YaHVeH" and in His eyes, we ALL sparkle. I would like to thank
the following
sources for their help and/or images
used in creating this site... "Angelfire" (see links at top of
page), "Geocities", Bravenet.com (and Beseen while I used them).
I would also like to thank & applaud WEBTV for the ability to use & view these resources without the huge
investment of a computer (though I have one now, but I learned & created the beginnings of this page solely from my WebTV - now MSNTV - unit). I've learned
stuff, I've gotten in touch with old friends & made new ones, and - most of all - I've had fun! P.S. Watch for my new page of Messianic
Hebrew information, and my personal testimony, coming soon (hopefully) to a website near you ... this one!
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follow their links from here, just click
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to check out.
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