I don't know about you, but I often wonder why we make things so hard? God has made things pretty clear in His Word, and if we would just follow what He says, life could be so much better. But our flesh gets in the way and instead of seeing how closely to His Word we can walk, we tend to see how far away we can get but still be okay?? There is nothing that God has asked us to do that is not for our own good. His ways have a reason, and whether we agree with them or not is not the issue. He knows what is best for us. So when the Bible says "God hates divorce", it is because He knows the consequences for His children. I found this recent article on Citizenlink.com interesting. Who knew a Supreme Court could actually take a biblical stand?
"A dozen billboards around the state of Georgia urge citizens of the Peach State to “Get Married, Stay Married.”
The sponsor of the billboards is not a pro-family organization, a church, or even a coalition of churches.
The sponsor? The Georgia Supreme Court.
The billboards, 48 feet wide and 14 feet tall, add the slogans “Children do better with parents together” or “For Children’s Sake.”
The cost of $50,000 was picked up by the Georgia State Bar, and an outdoor advertising association donated the billboard space.
The billboards were posted in connection with a two-day conference, sponsored by the high court, designed to explore ways of strengthening marriage.
Georgia’s chief justice correctly observed that, “If we can’t do something about family dysfunction, we can’t do much about crime,” and added that the state faces a “crisis with families, divorce and crime.”
And Georgia’s governor reinforced the idea that strengthening the institution of marriage is not just a private matter but has enormous public policy implications as well. He noted that cases involving broken families “clog the courts of our state,” and the breakdown of the nuclear family is adding enormously to the state’s overburdened penal system.
An astonishing 72% of Georgia’s incarcerated juveniles are from fragmented families, and 65% of trial cases now concern families and children. Sixty percent of poor families are led by single mothers and 25,000 Georgia youths a year – 25,000!! – are admitted to detention centers.
“Children of divorced families,” said the governor, “are 12 times more likely to wind up in prison.”
The chief justice agrees, arguing that marriage is the best crime and poverty prevention program that exists, and laments the fact that “we are growing up in a culture where there is no shame or expectation or understanding” of the problems of divorce and absentee fathers."
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Spur One Another On
I thought this was a good post by Mike Cope the other day. I thought it would be neat to ask the same question and hope that some of you will reply.
"Paul established the church in Thessalonica on his 2nd missionary journey (Acts 17). He left under the pressure of persecution. As he reflected on his ministry there, he described it as that of an encouraging father.
Before long, Paul found himself in Athens but couldn’t stand not knowing how the young group of believers in Macedonia was, so he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to encourage them.
Now, as he writes 1 Thessalonians from Corinth, he told them to encourage each other (4:18; 5:11).
What would happen to a church if the people there devoted themselves to encouragement? What if we learned in the assemblies how to spur one another on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24f)? What if we found ways through notes, emails, text messages, calls, etc., to build each other up through the week? "
Who is it that encourages you and spurs you on to good works?
I think the two people in my life that spur me on to good works with their words of encouragement would be my husband Steve and my mother.
"Paul established the church in Thessalonica on his 2nd missionary journey (Acts 17). He left under the pressure of persecution. As he reflected on his ministry there, he described it as that of an encouraging father.
Before long, Paul found himself in Athens but couldn’t stand not knowing how the young group of believers in Macedonia was, so he sent Timothy back to Thessalonica to encourage them.
Now, as he writes 1 Thessalonians from Corinth, he told them to encourage each other (4:18; 5:11).
What would happen to a church if the people there devoted themselves to encouragement? What if we learned in the assemblies how to spur one another on to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24f)? What if we found ways through notes, emails, text messages, calls, etc., to build each other up through the week? "
Who is it that encourages you and spurs you on to good works?
I think the two people in my life that spur me on to good works with their words of encouragement would be my husband Steve and my mother.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Slum Dog Millionaire
So watching the Academy Awards Sunday night who would not be touched by the sweet faces and voices that accepted award after award for Slum Dog Millionaire? Those sweet little children and knowing they were having an experience of a lifetime. So I told my mother yesterday afternoon "why don't we go see Slum Dog tomorrow afternoon". Then last night I searched movie times and discovered the movie was rated "R". No......I then went and researched why it was rated "R" and this is what I found.
"Slumdog Millionaire is, quite simply, one of the best films of 2008. It is a fable, and if you try to apply the strict rules of reality, you will come away disappointed. Instead, surrender to the contrived magic of a film that dares to use dialogue like this …
"Come away with me." "And live on what?""Love."
Director Danny Boyle on the 'Slumdog' set… with not only a straight face, but an unabashed, unrepentant, irrepressible idealism. Slumdog Millionaire pulsates with life and should be celebrated loudly and lustfully. You won't find a better romantic crowd-pleaser all year. Although there is sadness and tragedy in a film that examines poverty with a Dickensian forensic lens, there is also something greater—humanity and humor, dignity and majesty that never ceases to shine through."
Oh yeah...my kind of movie then I kept on reading.
Much of Jamal's life has been spent searching for Latika, his childhood friend and adulthood love. Jamal loses her several times but always finds her again—a loving pursuit that has a spiritual echo. Theirs is a chaste affair, and he's the very model of chivalry: When she needs a towel after a shower, he gives her one with his eyes squinched shut. And after Latika's face is disfigured by a knife, Jamal gently kisses the scars.
The film's most religious person is, improbably, Salim. When he hears from his brother as an adult (after the pair has been separated for a long time), his first words are "God is great." He may be a killer by vocation, but he still wakes up early in the morning to bow toward Mecca, praying for the forgiveness of his sins.
So I keep on reading trying to find out why it is rated "R".
Seems like there is quite a bit of violence that I won't write about so not to ruin the plot for others of you. Then I read this next:
"Deeply accented English makes a precise profanity count difficult: There are at least three f-words, close to 10 s-words and a handful of uses of "b--ch," "d--n," "h---" and "bloody." God's name is misused four or five times. Vulgar words sporadically stand in for the names of sexual body parts."
A lengthy scene takes place around shack-like, open-bottomed latrines. It includes frank talk about bodily functions and culminates with Jamal diving into raw sewage to escape a locked outhouse. The boys make rude sexual gestures....
An 8-year-old Salim is seen naked from the side and rear: He runs to the showers after Latika mischievously crunches up hot chilies and places them on his genitals (hidden from moviegoers by a blanket) while he's sleeping. The scene is played for laughs, with Latika and the rest of the orphanage chortling over his reaction."
Well bummer, now I can't go see the movie. I can't in good conscience go see a movie where I know there is going to be vulgarity and taking the Lord's name in vain. It is just the line I draw for myself in trying to apply Philippians 4:8 to my life. "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
"Slumdog Millionaire is, quite simply, one of the best films of 2008. It is a fable, and if you try to apply the strict rules of reality, you will come away disappointed. Instead, surrender to the contrived magic of a film that dares to use dialogue like this …
"Come away with me." "And live on what?""Love."
Director Danny Boyle on the 'Slumdog' set… with not only a straight face, but an unabashed, unrepentant, irrepressible idealism. Slumdog Millionaire pulsates with life and should be celebrated loudly and lustfully. You won't find a better romantic crowd-pleaser all year. Although there is sadness and tragedy in a film that examines poverty with a Dickensian forensic lens, there is also something greater—humanity and humor, dignity and majesty that never ceases to shine through."
Oh yeah...my kind of movie then I kept on reading.
Much of Jamal's life has been spent searching for Latika, his childhood friend and adulthood love. Jamal loses her several times but always finds her again—a loving pursuit that has a spiritual echo. Theirs is a chaste affair, and he's the very model of chivalry: When she needs a towel after a shower, he gives her one with his eyes squinched shut. And after Latika's face is disfigured by a knife, Jamal gently kisses the scars.
The film's most religious person is, improbably, Salim. When he hears from his brother as an adult (after the pair has been separated for a long time), his first words are "God is great." He may be a killer by vocation, but he still wakes up early in the morning to bow toward Mecca, praying for the forgiveness of his sins.
So I keep on reading trying to find out why it is rated "R".
Seems like there is quite a bit of violence that I won't write about so not to ruin the plot for others of you. Then I read this next:
"Deeply accented English makes a precise profanity count difficult: There are at least three f-words, close to 10 s-words and a handful of uses of "b--ch," "d--n," "h---" and "bloody." God's name is misused four or five times. Vulgar words sporadically stand in for the names of sexual body parts."
A lengthy scene takes place around shack-like, open-bottomed latrines. It includes frank talk about bodily functions and culminates with Jamal diving into raw sewage to escape a locked outhouse. The boys make rude sexual gestures....
An 8-year-old Salim is seen naked from the side and rear: He runs to the showers after Latika mischievously crunches up hot chilies and places them on his genitals (hidden from moviegoers by a blanket) while he's sleeping. The scene is played for laughs, with Latika and the rest of the orphanage chortling over his reaction."
Well bummer, now I can't go see the movie. I can't in good conscience go see a movie where I know there is going to be vulgarity and taking the Lord's name in vain. It is just the line I draw for myself in trying to apply Philippians 4:8 to my life. "Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise."
Monday, February 23, 2009
Ladies Retreat
I was the chairman of our Ladies Retreat committee again this year and am thankful that all the many details that we planned for months and months were blessed by our great God and we had a wonderful weekend. 58 ladies were able to enjoy our time together.
Our theme was "Quilted By The Master: Pieced Together For His Kingdom".
We had found a book entitled "Quilts from Heaven: Parables from the Patchwork of Life" by Lucinda Secrest McDowell. We decided the quilt has basically four parts: the scraps, the batting, the lining and the binding. So we designed 4 sessions around those four parts. The scraps were each of us as individuals and what God is doing in our lives. We entitled our first session, "Patterns of His Faithfulness". We were blessed to hear from Angie Akeman and her story of God's faithfulness in her life of helping she and her husband survive a difficult time with his depression, how he helped them survive over fiver years of infertility and how He remains faithful as they now have a medically challenged 3 1/2 year old, who has spent 369 days of her life in the hospital. Angie reminded us to hang on to God's truths. A few that are important to her are:
God is good
God never leaves us to walk the journey alone
He is not surprised by anything
He is sovereign
He is working, even if we can't see it.
We are created the way He wants us to be. Her quilt pattern was "Broken Dishes" and we emphasized that God can take all of our pieces if we give them to Him and make a masterpiece.
Our second session was entitled the "Stitches of His Love" and our Speaker was Lajuana Bryan (who will be 80 in two months) she did a wonderful job of speaking to us about how God takes us as individuals and places us into community and the things we can do to either build that community up or tear it down. She also told us several stories about her dear husband Alan who died several years ago but was passionate about evangelism while He was alive. It was so obvious she misses him dearly, but is committed to carrying on his legacy as she wants to tell others about her Lord. Her quilt pattern was called "Sunbonnet Sue" Our third session was entitled "Lining of His Grace" and our speaker was Carla Holland, the mother of our missionaries Chad and Amy Carter. Her quilt pattern was "Trip Around The World" and she helped us realize how God desires us to reach out to the world with His good news.
Our final session on Sunday morning was entitled "Binding Our Lives to God's Direction". Our speaker was Angela Tooley. Her quilt pattern was the Mariner's Compass and she did a great job of helping us see how God is the one to direct our lives. My favorite quote from Angela was "God does not give us an itinerary, He just points us in the right direction?" Angela also paraphrased I Corinthians 12.
"Now the quilt is not made of one piece but many. If the lining should say because I am not the top I do not belong to the quilt, it would not for that reason because to be part of the quilt. And if the batting should say, because I am not the beautiful stitch work, I do not belong to the quilt, it would not case to be part of the quilt. If the whole quilt was just the batting where would the beautiful pattern design be? But in fact God has arranged the parts and pieces of the quilt, every one of them. Just as He wanted them to be." It was a perfect paraphrase for our retreat and just pulled the whole weekend together.
A really neat activity we did was to make 4 prayer quilts. A prayer quilt is a quilt that has ties on it and you say a prayer and tie and knot and the reciever of the quilt is then covered in prayers. We made one for our missionary Amy, two for sweet ladies at R.E. who have been battling illnesses and one for Pam Cope of Touch A Life Foundation.
The blessing of being on the planning committee is watching God just do His thing and bring all the pieces His together. We give Him the praise and the glory for a wonderful weekend.
Our theme was "Quilted By The Master: Pieced Together For His Kingdom".
We had found a book entitled "Quilts from Heaven: Parables from the Patchwork of Life" by Lucinda Secrest McDowell. We decided the quilt has basically four parts: the scraps, the batting, the lining and the binding. So we designed 4 sessions around those four parts. The scraps were each of us as individuals and what God is doing in our lives. We entitled our first session, "Patterns of His Faithfulness". We were blessed to hear from Angie Akeman and her story of God's faithfulness in her life of helping she and her husband survive a difficult time with his depression, how he helped them survive over fiver years of infertility and how He remains faithful as they now have a medically challenged 3 1/2 year old, who has spent 369 days of her life in the hospital. Angie reminded us to hang on to God's truths. A few that are important to her are:
God is good
God never leaves us to walk the journey alone
He is not surprised by anything
He is sovereign
He is working, even if we can't see it.
We are created the way He wants us to be. Her quilt pattern was "Broken Dishes" and we emphasized that God can take all of our pieces if we give them to Him and make a masterpiece.
Our second session was entitled the "Stitches of His Love" and our Speaker was Lajuana Bryan (who will be 80 in two months) she did a wonderful job of speaking to us about how God takes us as individuals and places us into community and the things we can do to either build that community up or tear it down. She also told us several stories about her dear husband Alan who died several years ago but was passionate about evangelism while He was alive. It was so obvious she misses him dearly, but is committed to carrying on his legacy as she wants to tell others about her Lord. Her quilt pattern was called "Sunbonnet Sue" Our third session was entitled "Lining of His Grace" and our speaker was Carla Holland, the mother of our missionaries Chad and Amy Carter. Her quilt pattern was "Trip Around The World" and she helped us realize how God desires us to reach out to the world with His good news.
Our final session on Sunday morning was entitled "Binding Our Lives to God's Direction". Our speaker was Angela Tooley. Her quilt pattern was the Mariner's Compass and she did a great job of helping us see how God is the one to direct our lives. My favorite quote from Angela was "God does not give us an itinerary, He just points us in the right direction?" Angela also paraphrased I Corinthians 12.
"Now the quilt is not made of one piece but many. If the lining should say because I am not the top I do not belong to the quilt, it would not for that reason because to be part of the quilt. And if the batting should say, because I am not the beautiful stitch work, I do not belong to the quilt, it would not case to be part of the quilt. If the whole quilt was just the batting where would the beautiful pattern design be? But in fact God has arranged the parts and pieces of the quilt, every one of them. Just as He wanted them to be." It was a perfect paraphrase for our retreat and just pulled the whole weekend together.
A really neat activity we did was to make 4 prayer quilts. A prayer quilt is a quilt that has ties on it and you say a prayer and tie and knot and the reciever of the quilt is then covered in prayers. We made one for our missionary Amy, two for sweet ladies at R.E. who have been battling illnesses and one for Pam Cope of Touch A Life Foundation.
The blessing of being on the planning committee is watching God just do His thing and bring all the pieces His together. We give Him the praise and the glory for a wonderful weekend.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
The Fun Of Aging
I won't be blogging for the next few days as I am going on our Ladies Retreat. Hopefully, I will have some things to share on Monday after I return.
A friend sent this email today and I just thought it was fun. Some of us are closer to realizing some of these than others :) I put my favorite two at the top.
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape,
So I got my doctor's permission to
Join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But,
By the time I got my leotards on,
The class was over.
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
The eyesight to tell the difference.
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman:
'And what do you think is the best thing
About being 104?' the reporter asked.
She simply replied, 'No peer pressure.'
The nice thing about being senile is
You can hide your own Easter eggs.
I've sure gotten old!
I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement,
New knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes
I'm half blind,
Can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine,
Take 40 different medications that
Make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.
Have bouts with dementia
Have poor circulation;
Hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.
Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92.
Have lost all my friends. But, thank God,
I still have my driver's license.
Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked,
'How old was your husband?' '98,' she replied.
'Two years older than me'
'So you're 96,' the undertaker commented.
She responded, 'Hardly worth going home, is it?
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.
It's scary when you start making the same noises
As your coffee maker.
These days about half the stuff
In my shopping cart says,
' For fast relief.'
A friend sent this email today and I just thought it was fun. Some of us are closer to realizing some of these than others :) I put my favorite two at the top.
I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape,
So I got my doctor's permission to
Join a fitness club and start exercising.
I decided to take an aerobics class for seniors.
I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But,
By the time I got my leotards on,
The class was over.
THE SENILITY PRAYER :
Grant me the senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway,
The good fortune to run into the ones I do, and
The eyesight to tell the difference.
Reporters interviewing a 104-year-old woman:
'And what do you think is the best thing
About being 104?' the reporter asked.
She simply replied, 'No peer pressure.'
The nice thing about being senile is
You can hide your own Easter eggs.
I've sure gotten old!
I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement,
New knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes
I'm half blind,
Can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine,
Take 40 different medications that
Make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts.
Have bouts with dementia
Have poor circulation;
Hardly feel my hands and feet anymore.
Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92.
Have lost all my friends. But, thank God,
I still have my driver's license.
Just before the funeral services, the undertaker came up to the very elderly widow and asked,
'How old was your husband?' '98,' she replied.
'Two years older than me'
'So you're 96,' the undertaker commented.
She responded, 'Hardly worth going home, is it?
My memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Also, my memory's not as sharp as it used to be.
Know how to prevent sagging?
Just eat till the wrinkles fill out.
It's scary when you start making the same noises
As your coffee maker.
These days about half the stuff
In my shopping cart says,
' For fast relief.'
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Wants vs. Needs
I saw this quote the other day and it caused me to think, do I really trust God when I say "give me this day my daily bread."?
Day by day we are given not what we want but what we need. Sometimes it is a feast and sometimes.....swept crumbs, but by faith we believe it is enough. Barbara Brown Taylor
Day by day we are given not what we want but what we need. Sometimes it is a feast and sometimes.....swept crumbs, but by faith we believe it is enough. Barbara Brown Taylor
Monday, February 16, 2009
Is Nothing Sacred
One of my husband Steve's favorite singers is Meatloaf. The highlight of Stars On Ice for him was that one of the skaters skated to Meatloaf's "Is Nothing Sacred". I don't know that I had ever heard it before, but the words were powerful. In this day and age where divorce is running rampant and more the norm than not, it is a thoughtful reminder that our God's plan was for marriage to last forever.
If a love as strong as ours, couldn't make it all the way.
Can anything make sense at all?
If a love so deep and true, couldn't stand the test of
time.
Then Mount Everest could slide and Jerusalem could fall.
Is nothing sacred anymore? Is forever just another word?
Is a promise something people use to keep when love was
worth fighting for?
If we can say goodbye, if we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
If we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
I can hear the final words, every sentence that was said.
Don't know what turned our lives around.
It doesn't matter who was right.
There's no justice in a dream.
Never thought a heart could break without making a sound.
Is nothing sacred anymore? Is forever just another word?
Is a promise something people use to keep when love was
worth fighting for?
If we can say goodbye, if we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
If we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
Our love was as certain as the dawn.
As solid and safe as any love can be.
Our love was a star to wish upon.
And you thought that I'd saved you.
Could've sworn that you saved me.
....
If a love as strong as ours, couldn't make it all the way.
Can anything make sense at all?
If a love so deep and true, couldn't stand the test of
time.
Then Mount Everest could slide and Jerusalem could fall.
Is nothing sacred anymore? Is forever just another word?
Is a promise something people use to keep when love was
worth fighting for?
If we can say goodbye, if we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
If we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
I can hear the final words, every sentence that was said.
Don't know what turned our lives around.
It doesn't matter who was right.
There's no justice in a dream.
Never thought a heart could break without making a sound.
Is nothing sacred anymore? Is forever just another word?
Is a promise something people use to keep when love was
worth fighting for?
If we can say goodbye, if we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
If we can say goodbye.
Is nothing sacred anymore?
Our love was as certain as the dawn.
As solid and safe as any love can be.
Our love was a star to wish upon.
And you thought that I'd saved you.
Could've sworn that you saved me.
....
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Looking Back
John's sermon text was from Isaiah 43 today.
This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
I realized that I am spending way to much time living in the past. Thinking about how life was before my accident. It will have been 4 years in about 8 weeks. I am stuck there. Grieving for the way the things were. Wanting them back. Wanting my life back. In being stuck there I realized today that I have not given God an opening or opportunity to do a new thing. He can do something new with me and it may even be better than what it was. So I am going to do my best to let go of the past and let God reveal my future. I am going to trust Him to make all things new. Maybe somewhere down the road I can tell you what He did, or perhaps if you know me well enough it will be obvious.
This is what the LORD says—
he who made a way through the sea,
a path through the mighty waters,
who drew out the chariots and horses,
the army and reinforcements together,
and they lay there, never to rise again,
extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:
"Forget the former things;
do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
and streams in the wasteland.
I realized that I am spending way to much time living in the past. Thinking about how life was before my accident. It will have been 4 years in about 8 weeks. I am stuck there. Grieving for the way the things were. Wanting them back. Wanting my life back. In being stuck there I realized today that I have not given God an opening or opportunity to do a new thing. He can do something new with me and it may even be better than what it was. So I am going to do my best to let go of the past and let God reveal my future. I am going to trust Him to make all things new. Maybe somewhere down the road I can tell you what He did, or perhaps if you know me well enough it will be obvious.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Loving My Valentine
So Steve and I had a lovely Valentine's Day. The day began with some morning cuddling and Steve saying "you are my Texas squeeze, if we lived in Maine you could be my main squeeze." I cooked us breakfast, we cleaned up and then headed out for Stars on Ice. It was a good show, not as good as some I have seen in the past. Several skaters I had never heard of, but some champions as well. One of my favorites is Michael Weiss and he did not disappoint.
I don't think I have ever watched Sasha Cohen in a competition where she did not fall, and today she fell twice! That must be so embarrassing. I was disappointed that neither of the pairs skaters did a death spiral. I think those always take my breath away. One thing neither Steve or I thought of, was since it was ice skating the arena might be cold. Fortunately, I did have a jacket in the car and that just gave us reason to snuggle. One of the blessings (I guess you would call it that) of not being able to climb stairs is that we get handicapped tickets now, and the seats are just so much roomier. We then had dinner at Saltgrass, only a 45 minute wait, which we didn't think was bad on this night. All in all it was a sweet day :) I am thankful for my Valentine and so blessed to be able to share life with him. I love you Steve. Thank you for being the best husband any woman could ask for. I am thankful you call me your love and blessed to call you my love.
Friday, February 13, 2009
He Said What??
I found this article from Chuck Colson's Breakpoint interesting. I wrote President Obama and asked him to explain his inconsistency in belief and politics, but have not heard anything .
"At the national prayer breakfast last week, President Obama seemed to signal that he has seen the light and is abandoning his radically pro-abortion agenda.
At least, that's the only reasonable conclusion one could make after hearing the President, who says he's a Christian, also say: "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know."
So I could only surmise that the President now concludes that "no God" would condone the 1.6 million abortions performed each year in America: 1.6 million innocent lives destroyed.
But I've checked the White House website, and it's very clear that God's disapproval hasn't changed the administration's agenda one bit. Here's what the White House website says: "President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Administration."
Well, in one way I'm glad I wasn't at the breakfast this year - I was speaking instead at Moody - because I'm not sure I would have been able to stay in my seat.
How can a president of the United States say that "there is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being," when he himself favors a woman's right to have an abortion under virtually every circumstance? How can he say that when, as an Illinois state senator, he voted against the Illinois Induced Infant Liability Act, which would have protected the lives of babies who survived late-term abortions? When he even had the audacity to describe the act as "One more burden on a woman . . . I can't support."
President Obama is a highly intelligent man with a huge job on his hands. I know what the White House is like, and I pray for him fervently every day. But how does such an intelligent man make a statement like this without understanding its implications for his own pro-abortion policies?
The only way to explain it is to understand the intellectual environment, called postmodernism, in which President Obama and his peers have been raised. Generations of Americans have now been taught that truth is subjective. You have your truth, I have mine. And, even worse, I can't "inflict" my version of truth on you. The law of non-contradiction has been suspended.
So politicians can tell us over and over that they can't allow their personal faith to affect their views on public policy. Or they can take two completely opposing positions at the same time: like believing that no God condones the taking of innocent life and at the same time, condoning-even promoting-the taking of an innocent life.
The problem isn't simply President Obama and his views on life; the problem is a postmodern culture which believes that truth is merely a matter of opinion, and that therefore the sanctity of innocent human life is simply an expression of one viewpoint among many.
I have argued for the last 20 years that postmodernism would lead to the unraveling or our society. The fact that so few noticed the contradiction in what the President said and the policies he pursues tells me that we're far along in the unraveling process. "
"At the national prayer breakfast last week, President Obama seemed to signal that he has seen the light and is abandoning his radically pro-abortion agenda.
At least, that's the only reasonable conclusion one could make after hearing the President, who says he's a Christian, also say: "There is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being. This much we know."
So I could only surmise that the President now concludes that "no God" would condone the 1.6 million abortions performed each year in America: 1.6 million innocent lives destroyed.
But I've checked the White House website, and it's very clear that God's disapproval hasn't changed the administration's agenda one bit. Here's what the White House website says: "President Obama understands that abortion is a divisive issue, and respects those who disagree with him. However, he has been a consistent champion of reproductive choice and will make preserving women's rights under Roe v. Wade a priority in his Administration."
Well, in one way I'm glad I wasn't at the breakfast this year - I was speaking instead at Moody - because I'm not sure I would have been able to stay in my seat.
How can a president of the United States say that "there is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human being," when he himself favors a woman's right to have an abortion under virtually every circumstance? How can he say that when, as an Illinois state senator, he voted against the Illinois Induced Infant Liability Act, which would have protected the lives of babies who survived late-term abortions? When he even had the audacity to describe the act as "One more burden on a woman . . . I can't support."
President Obama is a highly intelligent man with a huge job on his hands. I know what the White House is like, and I pray for him fervently every day. But how does such an intelligent man make a statement like this without understanding its implications for his own pro-abortion policies?
The only way to explain it is to understand the intellectual environment, called postmodernism, in which President Obama and his peers have been raised. Generations of Americans have now been taught that truth is subjective. You have your truth, I have mine. And, even worse, I can't "inflict" my version of truth on you. The law of non-contradiction has been suspended.
So politicians can tell us over and over that they can't allow their personal faith to affect their views on public policy. Or they can take two completely opposing positions at the same time: like believing that no God condones the taking of innocent life and at the same time, condoning-even promoting-the taking of an innocent life.
The problem isn't simply President Obama and his views on life; the problem is a postmodern culture which believes that truth is merely a matter of opinion, and that therefore the sanctity of innocent human life is simply an expression of one viewpoint among many.
I have argued for the last 20 years that postmodernism would lead to the unraveling or our society. The fact that so few noticed the contradiction in what the President said and the policies he pursues tells me that we're far along in the unraveling process. "
Thursday, February 12, 2009
19 1/2 years
The first thing I heard this morning was "happy 19 1/2 year anniversary". I had got up at 6:00 a.m. to use the restroom. Ever since we were married Steve gives me a card, book, or some little something on the 12th of every month, the day we got married in August 1989. Today, he gave me the new "Mama Mia" video. But the most special gift He gave me this morning was praying over me before he left for work. For the first years of our marriage I would get up and fix Steve breakfast and we would pray before he went to work. Then when I went to work, I didn't fix breakfast anymore because I couldn't go back to bed afterwards (as Steve gets up at 4:30 a.m.), so he would wake me up and pray over me before he left. Since my accident, he no longer wakes me up in the morning and thinks I need my sleep. I sleep so hard that most mornings I don't even hear him getting ready for work and when I do wake up, at 6:30 or so (not that I get up then :)) he has already left. So he doesn't pray over me anymore. I was reminded this morning what a special time that is and I need to tell him to start waking me up again :) What a blessing it is to have a husband to pray with and who prays over you! And who thinks the 12th of every month is a special day, even after 19 1/2 years.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
I Have Decided
Driving to a meeting today I heard the old Amy Grant song "I Have Decided". It brought back some really good memories. I used to sing this song all the time in an effort to change the way I was living. I have always had a fairly low self esteem and have had trouble believing I am who God says I am. I am better at believing that some days than others. I just know that Satan likes to have me self loathe and when I do, I usually turn to food to make me feel better (which it really doesn't) but I buy into that lie. So just listening to that song makes me do a U-turn. Perhaps I just need to start each day listening to it? Do you have a song that makes you do a U-turn? I would love to know what it is.
I have decided,
I'm gonna live like a believer,
Turn my back on the deceiver,
I'm gonna live what I believe.
I have decided,
Being good is just a fable,
I just can't cause I'm not able.
I'm gonna leave it to the Lord.
There's a wealth of things that I profess,
I said that I believed,
But deep inside I never changed;
I guess I'd been deceived.
cause a voice inside kept telling me,
That I'd change by and by,
But the spirit made it clear to me,
That kind of life's a lie.
I have decided,
I'm gonna live like a believer,
Turn my back on the deciver,
I'm gonna live what I believe.
I have decided,
Being good is just a fable,
I just can't cause I'm not able.
I'm gonna leave it to the Lord.
So forget the game of being good,
And your self-righteous pain.
cause the only good inside your heart
Is the good that Jesus brings.
And when the world begins to see you change,
Don't expect them to applaud.
Just keep your eyes on him and tell yourself,
I've become the work of God
I have decided,
I'm gonna live like a believer,
Turn my back on the deceiver,
I'm gonna live what I believe.
I have decided,
Being good is just a fable,
I just can't cause I'm not able.
I'm gonna leave it to the Lord.
There's a wealth of things that I profess,
I said that I believed,
But deep inside I never changed;
I guess I'd been deceived.
cause a voice inside kept telling me,
That I'd change by and by,
But the spirit made it clear to me,
That kind of life's a lie.
I have decided,
I'm gonna live like a believer,
Turn my back on the deciver,
I'm gonna live what I believe.
I have decided,
Being good is just a fable,
I just can't cause I'm not able.
I'm gonna leave it to the Lord.
So forget the game of being good,
And your self-righteous pain.
cause the only good inside your heart
Is the good that Jesus brings.
And when the world begins to see you change,
Don't expect them to applaud.
Just keep your eyes on him and tell yourself,
I've become the work of God
Monday, February 09, 2009
God-likeness
I read this quote today from Oswald Chambers:
"The expression of Christian character is not in good doing, but God-likeness.
God's life in us expresses itself as God's life, not as human life trying to be Godly."
Wow. My head knows that I need to empty myself to be filled with God, but there are more days than not when I just flat get in the way. I wonder at what point it will happen, when others look at me and say "look at God" instead of "look at the good things Lynn is doing". Perhaps when I say "thank you God for working through me" instead of "look at what I am doing for you God". I am so thankful for the spiritual leaders that have gone before us like Oswald Chambers that rock my theology to the bone.
"The expression of Christian character is not in good doing, but God-likeness.
God's life in us expresses itself as God's life, not as human life trying to be Godly."
Wow. My head knows that I need to empty myself to be filled with God, but there are more days than not when I just flat get in the way. I wonder at what point it will happen, when others look at me and say "look at God" instead of "look at the good things Lynn is doing". Perhaps when I say "thank you God for working through me" instead of "look at what I am doing for you God". I am so thankful for the spiritual leaders that have gone before us like Oswald Chambers that rock my theology to the bone.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
You Just Never Know
For those of you that know Hal Pruessner, don't you think this was him Penn (of Penn and Teller) is talking about?
If you don't know Hal, he passes out Bibles whereever he goes and to whomever he meets. He has passed out countless cases. I need to be more bold like Hal, and then God does His work. You just never know what your seed planting will produce.
If you don't know Hal, he passes out Bibles whereever he goes and to whomever he meets. He has passed out countless cases. I need to be more bold like Hal, and then God does His work. You just never know what your seed planting will produce.
Saturday, February 07, 2009
Signs of Aging
Another funny from You Make Me Laugh.
You know you're getting older if:
1. You and your teeth don't sleep together.
2. You try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.
3. At the breakfast table you hear snap, crackle, pop and you're not eating cereal.
4. Your back goes out but you stay home.
5. When you wake up looking like your driver's license picture.
6. It takes two tries to get up from the couch.
7. When your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.
8. When happy hour is a nap.
9. When you're on vacation and your energy runs out before your money does.
10. When you say something to your kids that your mother said to you and you always hated it.
Hey you can't fight it right?? So we might as well laugh about it and enjoy it :)
You know you're getting older if:
1. You and your teeth don't sleep together.
2. You try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.
3. At the breakfast table you hear snap, crackle, pop and you're not eating cereal.
4. Your back goes out but you stay home.
5. When you wake up looking like your driver's license picture.
6. It takes two tries to get up from the couch.
7. When your idea of a night out is sitting on the patio.
8. When happy hour is a nap.
9. When you're on vacation and your energy runs out before your money does.
10. When you say something to your kids that your mother said to you and you always hated it.
Hey you can't fight it right?? So we might as well laugh about it and enjoy it :)
Friday, February 06, 2009
My Kind of Diet
Saw this in my Laugh For A Day:
"According to a recent article I just read on nutrition, they said eating right doesn't have to be complicated. Nutritionists say there is a simple way to tell if you're eating right. Colors. Fill your plates with bright colors. Greens, reds, yellows.
In fact, I did that this morning. I had an entire bowl of M&M's. It was delicious! I never knew eating right could be so easy.
I now have a whole new outlook on life."
"According to a recent article I just read on nutrition, they said eating right doesn't have to be complicated. Nutritionists say there is a simple way to tell if you're eating right. Colors. Fill your plates with bright colors. Greens, reds, yellows.
In fact, I did that this morning. I had an entire bowl of M&M's. It was delicious! I never knew eating right could be so easy.
I now have a whole new outlook on life."
Thursday, February 05, 2009
I Stand Amazed
Remember the lyrics of that old hymn?
"I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazerene,
and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean"
I frequently stop and ask myself that question. How could Jesus love me? Why would He leave the heavenly realms to come to earth for me? It is amazing to think about, that Christ who had it all, left it all for me? "Christ himself was like God in every-thing.... But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant" (Phil. 2:6--7 NCV).
I recently read this quote by Max Lucado:
"I was asking myself that question when I spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots of the tree north of my office. We've been neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the trunk. We're mutually amused. I could watch them all day. Sometimes I do.
But I've never considered becoming one of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts? Count me out.
But count Jesus in. What a world he left. Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to him. Earth's finest cuisine would be walnuts on heaven's table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail? It's nothing compared to God becoming a one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.
But he did. The God of the universe kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (John 1:14 NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a thing."
So thanks to Max and God's Word, again I just sit and think about that and I stand amazed. Thank you God for loving a sinner like me.
"I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus, the Nazerene,
and wonder how he could love me, a sinner, condemned, unclean"
I frequently stop and ask myself that question. How could Jesus love me? Why would He leave the heavenly realms to come to earth for me? It is amazing to think about, that Christ who had it all, left it all for me? "Christ himself was like God in every-thing.... But he gave up his place with God and made himself nothing. He was born to be a man and became like a servant" (Phil. 2:6--7 NCV).
I recently read this quote by Max Lucado:
"I was asking myself that question when I spotted the squirrels outside my window. A family of black-tailed squirrels has made its home amid the roots of the tree north of my office. We've been neighbors for three years now. They watch me peck the keyboard. I watch them store their nuts and climb the trunk. We're mutually amused. I could watch them all day. Sometimes I do.
But I've never considered becoming one of them. The squirrel world holds no appeal to me. Who wants to sleep next to a hairy rodent with beady eyes? (No comments from you wives who feel you already do.) Give up the Rocky Mountains, bass fishing, weddings, and laughter for a hole in the ground and a diet of dirty nuts? Count me out.
But count Jesus in. What a world he left. Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to him. Earth's finest cuisine would be walnuts on heaven's table. And the idea of becoming a squirrel with claws and tiny teeth and a furry tail? It's nothing compared to God becoming a one-celled embryo and entering the womb of Mary.
But he did. The God of the universe kicked against the wall of a womb, was born into the poverty of a peasant, and spent his first night in the feed trough of a cow. "The Word became flesh and lived among us" (John 1:14 NRSV). The God of the universe left the glory of heaven and moved into the neighborhood. Our neighborhood! Who could have imagined he would do such a thing."
So thanks to Max and God's Word, again I just sit and think about that and I stand amazed. Thank you God for loving a sinner like me.
Wednesday, February 04, 2009
Grace and Racism
I have been attending Ladies Bible Class for about nine years. One thing you cannot say about our LBC is it is a shallow study. All the studies cause us to dig deep and are thought provoking. So today in our lesson on grace was dealing with racism. Not a topic that we discuss very often. Not a topic I like to talk about or admit to. I actually don't think I am a racist, but I am prejudiced. Not so much toward skin color but towards people that are covered with tattoos and with homosexuals. Today in talking about the good Samaritan story, the author posted these comments that I had never thought of before.
A Collection of Attitudes (taken from The Life Application Bible)
-To the expert in the law, the wounded man was a subject to discuss.
-To the robbers, the wounded man was someone to use and exploit
-To the religious men, the wounded was a problem to be avoided.
-To the innkeeper, the wounded man was a customer to serve for a fee.
-To the Samaritan, the wounded man was a human being worth being cared for and loved.
-To Jesus, all of them and all of us were worth dying for.
We were then challenged to look at our own attitudes and how we treat people we have trouble accepting. What is my approach? Discussion, exploitation,avoidance, financial gain, love, sacrificial giving? Then the question was posed "what does it take to get to the place of love and sacrificial giving?" For me? It is realizing that is what God wants me to do. After all He loves someone like me...and constantly reminding myself of that fact.
A Collection of Attitudes (taken from The Life Application Bible)
-To the expert in the law, the wounded man was a subject to discuss.
-To the robbers, the wounded man was someone to use and exploit
-To the religious men, the wounded was a problem to be avoided.
-To the innkeeper, the wounded man was a customer to serve for a fee.
-To the Samaritan, the wounded man was a human being worth being cared for and loved.
-To Jesus, all of them and all of us were worth dying for.
We were then challenged to look at our own attitudes and how we treat people we have trouble accepting. What is my approach? Discussion, exploitation,avoidance, financial gain, love, sacrificial giving? Then the question was posed "what does it take to get to the place of love and sacrificial giving?" For me? It is realizing that is what God wants me to do. After all He loves someone like me...and constantly reminding myself of that fact.
Monday, February 02, 2009
Cleanliness
This is a follow up to my post the other day about Jesus washing us whiter than snow. I was told that last Wednesday night, at Wednesday service, people spent time contemplating if they were faced with Jesus as the blind man was in Mark 10:51 and Jesus said "What do you want me to do for you?", what would I say? It is important that when we are reading the Word we realize that the people were just like us. So putting myself in the picture will often give me a different perspective, a transforming perspective. Such is the case of Jesus and the lepers in Luke 5. Here, Jesus takes time for the outcasts of society, He stops and gives them His undivided attention. He touches the untouchable, loves the unlovely and unloveable. I am that leper disfigured by my own sin, not very desirable, definitely not loveable. I look in Jesus' eyes and wonder why would He love me, why would he want to touch me? Yet the truth is if I am willing to be cleansed, Jesus is willing to cleanse me, to heal me, to make me whole! Pretty amazing that He is willing to take me from being a leper to being His daughter, a princess in His kingdom. Amazing that
He does not touch me out of pity, but out of an overwhelming compassion for me. He touches me not out of ignorance but out of a deep knowing of who I truly am. He doesn't wait till I am clean to embrace me, He embraces me and makes me clean. But He doesn't just do this once, He does it over and over, because I sin and feel ugly and unclean over and over but thankfully His blood, according to 1 John 1:7, continually cleanses me from all my sin. So the other part of the leper encounter that I can personalize, is am I the leper that remembers to thank my Lord? Or do I take my cleansing for granted? As I typing all of this the Sonic Flood Song comes to mind:
Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need
Holiness, holiness is what You
want from me
So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I
long for
Faithfulness is what I need
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what
You want from me
He does not touch me out of pity, but out of an overwhelming compassion for me. He touches me not out of ignorance but out of a deep knowing of who I truly am. He doesn't wait till I am clean to embrace me, He embraces me and makes me clean. But He doesn't just do this once, He does it over and over, because I sin and feel ugly and unclean over and over but thankfully His blood, according to 1 John 1:7, continually cleanses me from all my sin. So the other part of the leper encounter that I can personalize, is am I the leper that remembers to thank my Lord? Or do I take my cleansing for granted? As I typing all of this the Sonic Flood Song comes to mind:
Holiness, holiness is what I long for
Holiness is what I need
Holiness, holiness is what You
want from me
So, take my heart and form it
Take my mind and transform it
Take my will and conform it
To Yours, to Yours, oh, Lord
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I
long for
Faithfulness is what I need
Faithfulness, faithfulness is what
You want from me
Sunday, February 01, 2009
Inaugural Prayer
Chuck Norris had this fascinating perspective on Rick Warren's Inaugural Invocation.
You can read it by cutting and pasting this address in your browser (don't know why blogger isn't letting me do a link ?)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87094
You can read it by cutting and pasting this address in your browser (don't know why blogger isn't letting me do a link ?)
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=87094
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