Truth or Dare?

The newest self-help, 'try to be a better person', book that I have started reading is The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick. It is the book that the character played by Kirk Cameron, in the movie Fireproof, gets from his father. Our new church is showing the movie this weekend, and I am really excited to see it with John. In the back of my mind, I have been thinking, "I can't wait till he sees it". The movie trailor talks about having romance, which is something that girls need a lot of because we want to live the fairytale. So I think, where can I get this book for him? I go pick it up, and start reading a little to see what the book is gonna tell him to work on, and guess what I find....

Dare #1 is be patient. Definately not my strong point. You are supposed to be quiet and say only nice things, even if something happens to make you want to snap or say something out of anger. Dare #2 is be kind. You are supposed to do an act of kindness for no good reason except to be nice, even if you don't feel like it. God is soooo funny!!! Those 2 dares are definately for me. So I decided to keep the book myself and work on me instead of worrying about John, and we will see how things turn out. Maybe John can get his own copy later. In all the recent turmoil and stress, it is easy to point the finger, instead of looking honestly into yourself to see what you can do to make things better. Broken hearts, pride, and anger are many times the obstacles that we let stand in our way. However, God calls us to love one another unconditionally, even when we don't feel like it very much.

"Now these 3 remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love."

I Corinthians 13:13

Happy Stinkin' New Year

So far the new year is got no where to go but up. Still trying to sell the house, and have recently been called off more than I have gotten to work. I know the Lord will take care of us, no matter what, but I get tired of worrying about finances sometimes. Just pray for our family, that we can cling to each other and support each other through these hard times.

On a lighter note though, I did get the new Chris Tomlin CD with my free music points from BMG. The songs, "You Lifted Me Out" and "God of this City" which talks about God lifting us up out of our circumstances and about greater things that are yet to come, are awesome reminders that God is always there with us. Hearing Caleb blast them out in the back seat while I was driving down the road, was the sweetest thing I've heard. Hearing your kids praise God, always makes it a brighter day.

Just Trying to Understand

I have sat here at work all night and thought about a recent blog I read, and the fact that some of the best preachers I have ever heard speak, aren't preaching anymore. Some of you guys know the same people I am talking about, Kelly Carmichael and Chad Doerr. I think these 2 have a wonderful gift of delivering a message in such a humble way, that you feel inspired, not reprimanded. After listening to them, you just wanted to go out and be better. I know that God speaks through them powerfully. So, why then are they not using this gift now?

Don't get me wrong, I don't for a minute believe that either of them have fallen away from Christ or have entered into any decisions without much prayful consideration. I am just posing a question for thought, and maybe someone can help me work through this in my mind. The Bible talks about the "last days" and "false prophets", but it also talks about being led astray. How do we know whether these "doubts" about whether we are following God's will, or for example, if they should keep preaching, are not of the devil? I mean what better way for Satan to win a battle or two, than to render 2 wonderful ministers, who are making a real impact for God, less effective? I believe that Satan can manipulate and lead people in the wrong direction under the disguise that it is God's will. So, I have to sit and wonder if taking these 2 guys out of ministry and putting them out in the secular world as a cop and UPS driver, is of God or Satan's manipulation?

Again, please don't misunderstand, I am, in no way judging their Christian walks. I know that they have hearts that are humbly seeking God and his will. I just look around and see so many preachers that get up and preach fire and brimstone, but forget the first commandment of love. They can preach all day, the steps of salvation, but forget to tell you that God is real and alive, and if you seek him...he wants to have an active relationship with you. I see people who go the church every time the door is open, but look at me like I am crazy when I talk about how I listen to God and what he is trying to teach me. Kelly and Chad, among others, have taught me to take my relationship with God to a different level and I just wonder how many people are gonna miss that opportunity to hear from them now that they aren't preaching. Who knows, maybe they will reach more, or maybe my limited human mind just doesn't see God's plan yet, I don't know. Just wondering and thinking out loud, maybe you guys are thinking about this stuff too.

How is This Possible?

A friend of mine is a teacher in a town near Springboro, Ohio. We were discussing how she was trying to include Jesus in her lesson about Christmas, without getting fired. She told me that not one of the children, in her 2nd grade class, go to church.

How is that possible? Not even one child, out of a class of over 20, goes to church. They don't even know about the simplest of Bible stories. Why is it that we took prayer out of school? I have to wonder if it wasn't so that our kids wouldn't start asking questions about God, and we might have to get up early on Sunday and take them to church.

I'm sorry, but that is one of the saddest things I have heard. I worry, what has the world come to that so many don't even know why we celebrate Christmas. Christ came to earth to save us. He left heaven, to be a cold little baby, born in a barn and our kids don't even know that this was the greatest gift we could have ever been given. We really need to encourage our kids to invite a friend to church, and pray for those who don't know Christ our Savior.

The Prayers of Children

Just had a praise that I wanted to share. This week Brett had overheard me talking about the election, and the worries I have about what the world is coming to, and it made him worry about Jesus coming back. He had the normal questions about if he was going to heaven, and if Caleb and Paden would be there too. Inevitably that led to questions about his Dad and if he would go to heaven or hell. I told Brett that his Dad had been taught the truth, but that he choses to live without Christ right now, but we could continue to pray that God would soften his heart and bring him back to the Lord.

Brett prayed really hard last week, and I prayed with him. However, I have to admit that I really didn't have any faith that Jim would ever come back to church, because he has a lot of issues from his past that have hardened his heart. On Friday, when Jim came to pick Brett up for the weekend, he told us how he had worried about going to hell all week and that he knew he needed to get his life right. He said that the Lord convicted him all week. Brett just smiled and you could tell that he was so happy that God had heard his prayers. Jim took Brett to church on Sunday morning to the Vineyard church, and they had to write their sins on a piece of paper. Jim said it really hit home with him, and he was going to get involved in a small group and go every Sunday. Amazing!!

God does answer prayers...and he especially listens to the prayers of children, I believe. I had to repent and pray for forgiveness for not having faith that God can do all things, that he loves all his children, and he can soften the heart of the most unlikely soul. So don't avoid witnessing or praying for someone that you think is too tough or too far gone, our God can do all things.

23 Minutes in Hell

Here is another good but scary book. Bill Wiese had an experience that allowed him to see what hell was really gonna be like, and it terrified him. He says, in the book, when he came to, he screamed in terror for 20 minutes before his wife could console him. It is so scary to think about going someplace like that and spending eternity.

After the recent election, and my dream last year about Obama, it really scares me. I worry about my kids and what the future holds for them. What kind of tribulations will they have to endure? Will I be there for them when times are scary? I pray the Lord opens people's eyes before it is too late.

A Spooktacular Birthday

Caleb's birthday party was a hit. Over 14 kids showed up at our house dressed in their Halloween costumes to help him celebrate his 6th birthday. We played, "Who's the ghost?", Pin the nose on the pumpkin, and the pumpkin toss. There was a constume contest, batman cake, and ghost shaped pizza. All in all, it went well and Caleb said it was his best Birthday ever.
Surprisingly, the baby did not cry at all over the costumes.

Thursday is Paden's first trick-or-treat night. I can't wait to see how he does. Brett says he is too old, but I would like to get one year of all 3 of my kids dressed up for Halloween in the picture, so I am still trying to talk him into one more year. They say that the firetrucks drive by and throw out candy to the kids where we live. That is a treat when they bring it to you and you don't even have to leave the house. I'll be sure to post some pics.