Isaiah 58...yes, the whole thing.

"Cry aloud, ,spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching God. 'Why have we fasted,' they say 'and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?'

In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, and exploit all your laborers. Indeed you fast for strife and debate, and to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, to make your voice heard on high. Is it a fast that I have chosen, a day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, and to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?

Is this not the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickness, to undo the heavey burdens, to let the oppressed go free, and that you break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; when you see the naked, that you cover him, and not hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, 'Here I am.'

If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, if you extend your soul to the hungry and satisfy the afflicted soul, then your light shall dawn in the darkness, and your darkness shall be as the noonday. The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and strengthen your bones; you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. Those from among you shall build the old waste places; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell in.

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable, and shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words, then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; and I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken."

cause apparently some people look at this.

just a taste of jamaica 2007 - the trip with 16 family members. just simply amazing. there are no more or better words to sum it up. so i'll just explain the photos. the first if a view from my room/balcony - just captures a tiny portion of the beauty of not only this resort, but of jamaica. then an early evening photo of the ocean. thirdly, a group photo at the gazebo. (i won't tell you all the names) next, a gorgeous sunset. the following photo is me with a friend, david, whom we got to know a bit from the entertainment team. he led the water polo and assisted  (to our enjoyment) with dance lessons. last, but not least, a sample of our dance lessons...that day was salsa. note, my salsa partner is the tall, dark and handsome man from spain, in the background.

and now back to a sad reality - the work world. i am still adapting. there was a bit of "culture" shock at first. but jamaica, another beautiful country in this wonderful world that God created.

it was time for some new photos. these are some from our mohonk weekend for my dad's birthday. pictures in order (elizabeth peeking, greta in the pool, alex in the pool, alex with aunt jan at the rink, greta and elizabeth on skates). good times had by all.

i think i suffer from allergies. just getting over a cold when it began to revisit me last night. i have been resisting the thought of having allergies, but so many people seem to be developing them these days...i might as well be one more in the count.

la bilirubina. juan luis guerra. what a great classic merengue song...i wish i were on the island of the dominican republic dancing my butt off. it would be this weather, that's for sure. is spring ever going to visit us in new jersey? or are we going to jump from winter to unbearable summer heat?

i'll leave you with those thoughts...

Currently Listening It's About Time By Jonas Brothers see related

i might as well stick with the holiday entries...

happy st. patrick's day. as if st. pat was even irish. what a silly holiday. i think people just use it to legitimize their desire to drink heavily. i know, i should be out at some great irish bar - casey o'tooles, thatcher mcgees, willie mcbrides - but i'm not. i am dog/house sitting...my usual location for xanga updates. i guess this place is just inspiring in that way. no wonder kate has such great blogs.

i've become a march madness fanatic. adam and kate's dvd player isn't working (a nice way of stating that adam accidentally cut the wires for some reason), and i get tired of flipping channels every half hour or even every hour, so why not leave it on channel 2 and enjoy some good basketball. like right now, i am hoping that michigan state will upset UNC - though i'm not sure why. i don't have anything against UNC, and even though i went to college in michigan, i don't enjoy the state much. so if michigan state doesn't pull it off, i guess i won't be all that disappointed. but all in all, some crazy upsets happening this year.

tanner is the funniest dog i know. and no, not funny as in playful funny. funny as in he sleeps 95% of the day. maybe that isn't funny. maybe that is just depressing. i do think he realizes that his life with kate and adam is coming to an end. he's not stupid. ever since that alex came home, tanner's role hasn't been the same. but back to what i was saying - yes, this dog sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. then he has a sudden outburst of energy, only to find himself back sleep position. he randomly digs out his bone from his basket of goodies, but his biting on it is very short-lived.

speaking of alex. i just happen to have some more adorable pictures. what can i say - i can't resist this kid.

well, that's all from me. maybe you'll hear from me again at the next holiday...cause i don't think i'll be dog/house sitting here ever again - no, it hasn't been a bad experience. but with adam and kate moving and all, things change.