A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day....06-25-03....Hall of Fame #4

Billie

[Billie]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

Free Republic made its debut in September, 1996, and the forum was added in early 1997.   Over 100,000 people have registered for posting privileges on Free Republic, and the forum is read daily by tens of thousands of concerned citizens and patriots from all around the country and the world.

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day was introduced on June 24, 2002. It's only a small room in JimRob's house where we can get to know one another a little better; salute and support our military and our leaders; pray for those in need; and congratulate those deserving. We strive to keep our threads entertaining, fun, and pleasing to look at, and often have guest writers contribute an essay, or a profile of another FReeper.

On Mondays please visit us to see photos of A FEW OF FR'S VETERANS AND ACTIVE MILITARY

If you have a suggestion, or an idea, or if there's a FReeper you would like to see featured, please drop one of us a note in FR mail.

We're having fun and hope you are!
~ Billie, Mama_Bear, dansangel, dutchess, Aquamarine ~

A GREAT BIG

to all our Hall of Famers and to all of you who have become part of our Finest Family ... as regular contributors and supporters who drop in every day to say hello and give a 'pat on the back' to the "Freeper of the Day" and the hostesses.  We wouldn't be here without you. : )

It's been nine months today since our debut, and we're still having fun. We hope you are. As promised, for your information and perusal, here is our third "Hall of Fame" - a list of all those who've held center stage ... from Monday, June 24, 2002 through Friday, March 21, 2003.

"Getting to Know You"

Previous Hall of Fame Threads

09-23-02 .................................. HALL OF FAME #1
12-31-02 .................................. HALL OF FAME #2
03-24-03 .................................. HALL OF FAME #3

March, April 2003

03-25-03 .............................................. DEADHEAD
03-26-03 ...........JIMMY VALENTINE'S BROTHER
03-27-03 ............................... JOHNHUANG ESSAY
03-28-03 ..................................... MOZART LOVER
03-31-03 .............. A SALUTE TO OUR MILITARY
04-01-03 .......................................... LADTX ESSAY
04-02-03 ........................................................TATZE
04-03-03 ............................... JOHNHUANG ESSAY
04-04-03 ...................CONGRESSMAN BILLYBOB
04-07-03 ...............CYBER RALLY, FINEST STYLE
04-08-03 ...OUR LOVE AFFAIR W/ FIRST LADIES
04-09-03 ............................ NAME THAT FREEPER
04-10-03 ............................... JOHNHUANG ESSAY
04-11-03 ............................... MR. CONFETTI MAN
04-14-03 ................................. VILIGANT CITIZEN
04-15-03 ....................................... HOBSONPHILE
04-16-03 ..............................EASTER TRADITIONS
04-17-03 ............................... JOHNHUANG ESSAY
04-18-03 .................................... EASTER SPECIAL
04-21-03 ....BUSTER, EXPLOSIVE-SNIFFING DOG
04-22-03 ...............................DAUGHTER OF TGSL
04-23-03 .................................................. CMSGOP
04-24-03 ................................JOHNHUANG ESSAY
04-25-03 ..........DOLPHINS & SEALIONS IN IRAQ
04-28-03 .........................LADYX & JWFIV ESSAY
04-29-03 ......................................... LADTX ESSAY
04-30-03 .................................... MARTIN_FIERRO

May 2003

05-01-03 ............................. JOHNHUANG ESSAY
05-02-03 .............................PIPPIN'S THOUGHTS
0505-03 ...................................CINCO DE MAYO
05-06-03 ....................................................EXIT148
05-07-03 .....................................ALOHA RONNIE
05-08-03 ..............................JOHNHUANG ESSAY
05-09-03 ........................MILITARY FOSTER PETS
05-12-03 ..............................MILITARY MONDAY
05-13-03 ....HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
05-14-03 .........................HURRICANE HUNTERS
05-15-03 ..............................JOHNHUANG ESSAY
05-16-03 .....BETSY ROSS, PROFILE IN HISTORY
05-19-03 .............................MILITARY MONDAY
05-20-03 ......................................... RABID RALPH
05-21-03 ............NEW - WEEKLY FREEPER PETS
05-22-03 .... SPACE FOR RENT (JH VACATION)
05-23-03 .......................SWEET HOME ALABAMA
05-26-03 ...................................MEMORIAL DAY
05-27-03 ............................MILITARY TUESDAY
05-28-03 ...........FR PETS KITTY & BOBBI (FTH)
05-29-03 ...............................JOHNHUANG ESSAY
05-30-03 ............VOICES OF OUR PRESIDENTS

June 2003

06-02-03 .............................MILITARY MONDAY
06-03-03 ...................FACE OFF AT THE FINEST
06-04-03 ........FREEPER PET ROSCOE (BILLIE)
06-05-03 ............................ JOHNHUANG2 ESSAY
06-06-03 .. LOVE, FRIENDSHIP & GOOD STUFF
06-09-03 ...............................MILITARY MONDAY
06-10-03 ...fR PETS SMOKIE & SYLVIE (DANSY)
06-11-03 ........................................ LIGHTHOUSES
06-12-03 ............................ JOHNHUANG2 ESSAY
06-13-03 ............................... FRIDAY THE 13TH
06-16-03 .........A CELEBRATION OF WHOEVER
06-17-03 ..................FREEPER FUN IN THE SUN
06-18-03 ............BELOVED PRESIDENTIAL PETS
06-19-03 ............................ JOHNHUANG2 ESSAY
06-20-03 ..................................................... BILLF
06-23-03 ............................MILITARY MONDAY
06-24-03 .....................FR FINEST ANNIVERSARY

"Sunrise, Sunset"
Neither near nor far away;
God's living masterpiece
Returns to us each day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

......and so will we

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 06-23-03 Military Monday 06-24-03 FR Finest One Year Anniversary

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

1) Click on the graphic to open the Calendar.
2) Once there you can click on any month and even click to the right to go into next year. Once you are in the month that you joined FR you will need to click on the number in the calendar and then an add item screen will come up.
3) In the next box enter your name in the "Calendar Text" field and then click on submit.
4) If any of the screens fail to load simply click on refresh in your browser and that will usually fix it.
5) If all else fails or simply if you want me to do this for you send me a FReepmail and I will gladly do it for you. ~Mixer

[Dubya]

Federal Reserve policymakers are widely expected to cut key interest
rates to their lowest level in 45 years Wednesday, giving a nudge to
the sluggish US economy. Market analysts are divided, however, on
whether the Fed will announce a quarter- or half-percentage-point trim
at the conclusion of their two-day meeting. After a dozen cuts since
2001, the bellwether federal funds rate stands at 1.25 percent.

[ST.LOUIE1]

Billie, this wonderful day could not have happened had it not been for our beautiful Ms.D'Bear
She put 'everything' together in her own stylish way and pounced when the timing was right. She even beat Aeronot. (sp?)LOL

Thank you, fuzzy, for all of your hard work in bringing this together.

You deserve a....

[Billie]

Does this surprise remind you of our Great Hijacking Efforts in 1998 - and Freeper Island?

You were in on this, too? :)

Yes! It does! (but we never hijacked a thread unless it needed it LOL) I am reminded of a comment some FReeper made on a thread that got completely side-tracked: "This is a nice thread - what was it about?"

Thanks, Maggie! I love you, too!

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Billie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

[Billie]

Thank you for the birthday wishes, CD - haven't seen you in a while, so am especially flattered. :)

[Dubya]

"If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?" (Psalm 130:3, NIV).

---

A Smog in my Soul

by Robert J. Morgan

One day, as I was caught in bumper-to-bumper traffic, my mind inhaled a dense cloud of "spiritual smog." Feelings of guilt filtered through my heart like toxic fumes, choking it with regret and raw memories. I was en route to an early-morning breakfast, and I hadn't slept well. Too much on my mind. Too busy. My defenses were low, and the poisonous vapors seeped in.

I recalled a cruel word that I had written about a woman who was now dead. I saw the face of a man, name forgotten, whom I had struck in a moment's passion. I remembered my failure to witness to Christ before a neighbor who later committed suicide. Acts, thoughts and habits -- some only recently confessed to God -- came to mind. I felt sick.

Christians are often seized by guilt for sins that are already confessed and forgiven. Like many other believers, I have felt sadness, shame, lingering regret, wafting depression -- smog in my soul. It's one thing to confess sin; it's another thing to accept forgiveness.

The Psalmist David said, "My guilt has overwhelmed me like a burden too heavy to bear. My wounds fester and are loathsome because of my sinful folly" (Psalm 38:4-5, NIV). David, too, lived with regret.

But as I gripped my steering wheel, another of David's psalms came to mind -- Psalm 103:12: "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12, NIV).

The distance between east and west is infinity. The two never meet. Charles Spurgeon wrote, "If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it, must be entirely gone."

I pondered this. When God forgives sin, he forgives it completely -- as though it had never occurred.

But when I continue to brood over sin that God has already forgiven, I underestimate his love, doubt his grace and discount the scope of his pardon. It is as though I fear that the death of Jesus Christ is not adequate, that his blood is too weak, to justify me.

Accepting God's forgiveness, on the other hand, aligns my thinking to God's Word. It separates my sin from my forgiveness by the distance of infinity.

Psalm 103:12 dispersed my noxious thoughts. As my mind cleared, so did the traffic, and I traveled on with joy.


Prayer
Lord, we are thankful that You do not keep records of our sin. Help us to remember that You have completely forgiven our sins and wiped them away. Remind us today of the power of Jesus' sacrifice for our sin, so that we may live without regret. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[MHGinTN]

Happy Birthday, pretty Lady! ... The words of a Rod Stewart song come to mind at this point ... 'Forever young' ... my voice isn't as gravelly as his, but I sang it out loud anyway. As we say up here in the mountains, 'God bless you real good on your special Day, Billie.'

[Billie]

Dubya, thank you so much. :)

[Pippin]

I'll try but I can't find it on my favorites column. when I clicked on the link I thought was it, it kept saying that the page was unavailable.

[Billie]

What a sweet thing to say, Leni! I'll save you 'one' of the end pieces - thank goodness, there's more than one on a round layer cake!

[jwfiv]

Another special, fine day we find ourselves in...good morning to all our Hostesses and all Friends and neighbors.

Happy Birthday to Billie!

[JustAmy]

Surprise ...... hope it is the happiest ever.

[Billie]

Yes, you did it. :)

And that cake may not be real pretty, but it looks pretty good. :) What I really want is the one that Mo1 promised to bring yesterday though. :)

[The Thin Man]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BILLIE!

                                                                    Enjoy your cake! :-)

[Billie]

Thank you, Pippin. You are all too sweet to do this. And yes, I was TOTALLY surprised. :)

[jwfiv]

Hi, dear Pippin...a bluish sky here today...hope your corner of Freeperville is simply PERFECT...)

[JustAmy]

L O L

[Billie]

..... but Louie made us do it, Billie, ....honest! That's my story and I'm stickin' to it. LOL!

Payback for his surprise whole BIRTHDAY THREAD!!! (he said he would 'get me' for that!)

[Mama_Bear]

Billie, this wonderful day could not have happened had it not been for our beautiful Ms.D'Bear

Oh, shucks.......you're giving me way too much credit. (But, I'm sure not going to turn down that smoooochie hug........you can plant one of them on me any time, LOL) ;-)

This was a JOINT effort, but you, dear wolf, were the instigator. (Even though it looks like our sweet and gracious Billie isn't going to yell at us, I'm still stickin' to that story.) LOL!

Two of my bestest friends....... ((((((((((Billie and Louie)))))))))

[dutchess]

Billie...Have to tell you that Lori was a great "substitute mentor!". It's been awhile since I've had to create a background/table etc. from scratch and was feeling pretty overwhelmed. She jumped right in and did the pretty "finishing touches"! (THANKS LORI!)