Just a quick update for everyone who hasn't heard yet! We are expecting again!!!
I am so undeserving of this gift from God. I always think about how people when they are pregnant with #1 or #2 say, "Oh, it is such a blessing from God." But when they find out I am expecting #6 or #7 that doesn't get said from the world. If one or two is a blessing then 6 or 7 is a triple blessing!!! That's the way we see it. We are so very blessed!
I hope everyone is searching the scriptures daily with an open soft heart! I have noticed lately how the people that asked Jesus to open their eyes got their eyes opened. I have been praying that the Lord would open my eyes to His word and He really has.
I hope everyone has a blessed week in Jesus!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
The Jesus Road to Salvation!
Grace and peace to you!
You've probably heard of the Romans road to salvation. Well this is going to be Jesus' teachings about salvation. I've been wondering why the world as a whole just skipped right over what Jesus said? I think it is because they are hard sayings, who can hear them? It seems that everyone wants to interpret salvation from Paul's writings but shouldn't we start at the start? What did Jesus say?
What if I said that the sins you commit each day will not be forgiven unless you forgive other people their sins?
What if I said to be saved you must live by the teachings of Jesus?
What if I said that if we do not feed the hungry and clothe the poor, we will not see heaven?
Again, what did Jesus say? He said Matthew 6:15 "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Matthew 7:24,25 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock."
Matthew 25:32-46 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." I don't know what you think about those verses but they sound pretty serious to me.
There are others too like: Matthew 7 21-23 " Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord (they have faith that He is Lord) shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Okay so they had faith that he was indeed Lord and they even had works so what were they doing wrong? They were regarding iniquity in their hearts. The Lord had most likely convicted them of something but they continued to justify it. They justified their sin or just said we don't have to try to be good only Jesus is good. When really we need to be holy as he is holy. Yes of course we are going to sin but are we abiding in willful sin? I believe that if you are abiding in willful sin after being saved then the Bible tells you that it would have been better for you to never know the way of righteousness than after you have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. The Bible is full of warnings! Why are they there if it ultimately doesn't matter? Why did people allow themselves to be burned if it really didn't matter anyway? They could have denied Jesus (saved their life) and then repented. Would they still have gone to heaven? They obviously didn't believe that because they were burned at the stake. Can we all agree that there is something to be lost? Or are the scriptures wrote in vain?
I pray that you keep your eyes on Jesus and living in a way that is pleasing to Him. Walk in the Light! God Bless You!
You've probably heard of the Romans road to salvation. Well this is going to be Jesus' teachings about salvation. I've been wondering why the world as a whole just skipped right over what Jesus said? I think it is because they are hard sayings, who can hear them? It seems that everyone wants to interpret salvation from Paul's writings but shouldn't we start at the start? What did Jesus say?
What if I said that the sins you commit each day will not be forgiven unless you forgive other people their sins?
What if I said to be saved you must live by the teachings of Jesus?
What if I said that if we do not feed the hungry and clothe the poor, we will not see heaven?
Again, what did Jesus say? He said Matthew 6:15 "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Matthew 7:24,25 "Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not for it was founded upon a rock."
Matthew 25:32-46 "And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth [his] sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me: Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed [thee]? or thirsty, and gave [thee] drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took [thee] in? or naked, and clothed [thee]? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done [it] unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done [it] unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did [it] not to one of the least of these, ye did [it] not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." I don't know what you think about those verses but they sound pretty serious to me.
There are others too like: Matthew 7 21-23 " Not every one that saith unto me. Lord, Lord (they have faith that He is Lord) shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Okay so they had faith that he was indeed Lord and they even had works so what were they doing wrong? They were regarding iniquity in their hearts. The Lord had most likely convicted them of something but they continued to justify it. They justified their sin or just said we don't have to try to be good only Jesus is good. When really we need to be holy as he is holy. Yes of course we are going to sin but are we abiding in willful sin? I believe that if you are abiding in willful sin after being saved then the Bible tells you that it would have been better for you to never know the way of righteousness than after you have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. The Bible is full of warnings! Why are they there if it ultimately doesn't matter? Why did people allow themselves to be burned if it really didn't matter anyway? They could have denied Jesus (saved their life) and then repented. Would they still have gone to heaven? They obviously didn't believe that because they were burned at the stake. Can we all agree that there is something to be lost? Or are the scriptures wrote in vain?
I pray that you keep your eyes on Jesus and living in a way that is pleasing to Him. Walk in the Light! God Bless You!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
For the Serafino's!!
Greetings in the name of Jesus Jacob, Isaac, and all the other Serafinos!
I hope that you are all growing and being encouraged in the Lord!I'm sorry for being confusing. My main point is the people that are so badly deceived. They say they know Jesus and think they are going to heaven but ultimately they do not read their Bibles and have no desire to. They know that if they read God's Word a lot of their lifestyle would have to change. Or they read their Bibles and don't obey it. The thing that is so sad is that they are going to a church that is telling them not to doubt their salvation and being assured of going to heaven. This just isn't biblical. We are just seeing how easily we can be influenced and deceived and we read God's Word almost everyday. We have been pondering lately about how narrow that narrow path is. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Luke 13:24 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:14 Few there be that find it, we have to look for it? These people are seeking to enter in and won't be able. They are really trying to enter in! Yet only few there be that find it!
Yes, the Lord loves us immensely. He gave His life for us, he is merciful, and full of grace for us. However, if we don't love Him then how is He going to say to us, Well done thou good and faithful servant? If we don't love Him we are not going to Heaven. Jesus does command our obedience. He even commands us to be perfect as His Father in Heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." If you think about it we can be perfect. We are perfect on Sunday morning for church, right? We don't yell at each other or show any outward sign of anger when we are in front of each other. We can do that when we are in the privacy of our own home as well. I don't know about you but for me this is very convicting to think about. When we have company over do we go out of our way to be polite? Yet Jesus is a guest in our home everyday. We can do it for Him as well. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in they name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23 "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" 1Peter 4:18 Heaven? Doesn't sound like it to me. We don't just have a get into heaven free ticket. Also see James 2:17-19 and we see that faith without works is dead and even the devils believe and tremble. I think we should consider if we found a Bible on a desert island and read it cover to cover would we think we have unconditional eternal security. Would we think that it doesn't matter how we live? I sure wouldn't see that. Yet, that is what almost EVERYONE teaches people. I don't want to have anyone's blood on my hands. I would rather be over careful than to assume. Jesus was bold when He spoke to others and He told the truth no matter how bad it hurt the hearer. That is what we need to do. We need to take heed to Jesus' warnings.
Okay, I think I kind of went off on you. Just learning from God's Word and excited! I pray that you took it that way! Thank you for your replies! And remember, "The heart of the righteous studieth to answer....." Proverbs 15:28 One thing we have always tried to maintain is an open heart to study God's word over and over again. Even when we think we KNOW something. We are there again right now studying things that we felt we knew. Keep a soft heart and so will we!
Peace out! :0) With Love In Christ!
I hope that you are all growing and being encouraged in the Lord!I'm sorry for being confusing. My main point is the people that are so badly deceived. They say they know Jesus and think they are going to heaven but ultimately they do not read their Bibles and have no desire to. They know that if they read God's Word a lot of their lifestyle would have to change. Or they read their Bibles and don't obey it. The thing that is so sad is that they are going to a church that is telling them not to doubt their salvation and being assured of going to heaven. This just isn't biblical. We are just seeing how easily we can be influenced and deceived and we read God's Word almost everyday. We have been pondering lately about how narrow that narrow path is. "Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able." Luke 13:24 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:14 Few there be that find it, we have to look for it? These people are seeking to enter in and won't be able. They are really trying to enter in! Yet only few there be that find it!
Yes, the Lord loves us immensely. He gave His life for us, he is merciful, and full of grace for us. However, if we don't love Him then how is He going to say to us, Well done thou good and faithful servant? If we don't love Him we are not going to Heaven. Jesus does command our obedience. He even commands us to be perfect as His Father in Heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:48 "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." If you think about it we can be perfect. We are perfect on Sunday morning for church, right? We don't yell at each other or show any outward sign of anger when we are in front of each other. We can do that when we are in the privacy of our own home as well. I don't know about you but for me this is very convicting to think about. When we have company over do we go out of our way to be polite? Yet Jesus is a guest in our home everyday. We can do it for Him as well. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in they name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." Matthew 7:21-23 "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and sinner appear?" 1Peter 4:18 Heaven? Doesn't sound like it to me. We don't just have a get into heaven free ticket. Also see James 2:17-19 and we see that faith without works is dead and even the devils believe and tremble. I think we should consider if we found a Bible on a desert island and read it cover to cover would we think we have unconditional eternal security. Would we think that it doesn't matter how we live? I sure wouldn't see that. Yet, that is what almost EVERYONE teaches people. I don't want to have anyone's blood on my hands. I would rather be over careful than to assume. Jesus was bold when He spoke to others and He told the truth no matter how bad it hurt the hearer. That is what we need to do. We need to take heed to Jesus' warnings.
Okay, I think I kind of went off on you. Just learning from God's Word and excited! I pray that you took it that way! Thank you for your replies! And remember, "The heart of the righteous studieth to answer....." Proverbs 15:28 One thing we have always tried to maintain is an open heart to study God's word over and over again. Even when we think we KNOW something. We are there again right now studying things that we felt we knew. Keep a soft heart and so will we!
Peace out! :0) With Love In Christ!
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Do you know Jesus?
Hello everyone! I am still alive and doing well! Not that anyone ever checks my blog anyway. I wouldn't if I were you! :0)
I have been so convicted lately by my 5yr old daughter, Paige. She has a new wonderful habit! She asks everyone we meet if they know Jesus. And guess what? They do. So then she asks them if they love Jesus and guess what, they all do. Then she asks them if they have a Bible and yes they do. Then the HARD one, "Do you read your Bible?" More times then not this is where they say, "No." So first I am convicted because my sweet daughter who is 5 is caring about people's salvation more than me! Then I am just sad that people think they can claim Christ and not read His word and obey it. I'm sorry but Jesus does not say this is possible. He says "If you love me you will keep my commandments." How can you keep His commandments if you don't know what they are? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, & quacks like a duck and says I'm a chicken would you believe it? How about if it looks like the world, walks like the world, & talks like the world and says I'm a Christian? Will Jesus believe that? So what does Paige say when they say no they don't read their Bibles? She says, "Well, read it alot! Have a nice day!."
I hope that everyone is keeping their eyes turned upwards in great hope and anticipation to the returning of our Lord and Savior! I also pray that you are striving to enter into the straight gate. My next post will be about How to be Perfect!
Well, Read it Alot!!!
I have been so convicted lately by my 5yr old daughter, Paige. She has a new wonderful habit! She asks everyone we meet if they know Jesus. And guess what? They do. So then she asks them if they love Jesus and guess what, they all do. Then she asks them if they have a Bible and yes they do. Then the HARD one, "Do you read your Bible?" More times then not this is where they say, "No." So first I am convicted because my sweet daughter who is 5 is caring about people's salvation more than me! Then I am just sad that people think they can claim Christ and not read His word and obey it. I'm sorry but Jesus does not say this is possible. He says "If you love me you will keep my commandments." How can you keep His commandments if you don't know what they are? If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, & quacks like a duck and says I'm a chicken would you believe it? How about if it looks like the world, walks like the world, & talks like the world and says I'm a Christian? Will Jesus believe that? So what does Paige say when they say no they don't read their Bibles? She says, "Well, read it alot! Have a nice day!."
I hope that everyone is keeping their eyes turned upwards in great hope and anticipation to the returning of our Lord and Savior! I also pray that you are striving to enter into the straight gate. My next post will be about How to be Perfect!
Well, Read it Alot!!!
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
The World is Changing!
This is a very eye opening video, please take the time to watch it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysBJ5G4m67s
Then take the time to let me know what you think. Should we be refusing one of God's greatest blessings (CHILDREN) in our lives? I really liked this quote.
"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing. But in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject a blessing. Something is terribly wrong with this picture."~Doug Phillips, Vision Forum Ministries
I hope everyone is growing in the Lord and confessing His name daily!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysBJ5G4m67s
Then take the time to let me know what you think. Should we be refusing one of God's greatest blessings (CHILDREN) in our lives? I really liked this quote.
"The Bible calls debt a curse and children a blessing. But in our culture, we apply for a curse and reject a blessing. Something is terribly wrong with this picture."~Doug Phillips, Vision Forum Ministries
I hope everyone is growing in the Lord and confessing His name daily!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Dying to yourself
This is from a book called Pure Gold:
"But now let us face the real question, How to die to self, and let Christ be all and all in us. In the first place, do we really believe such a state is attainable? Have we looked at the blessed Christ until we have obtained a clear conception of what it is to lose ourselves in union with Him? Have our spiritual eyes surveyed this blessed possibility, until it's attainability in this life has become a settled conviction with us? Then have we calmly, deeply, irreversibly settled it that there shall be none of self and all of Christ? Are we prepared to make that the motto of our lives? Do we think it, dream it, pray it, breathe it, drink of it, bathe ourselves in it, until it becomes a subtle, steady, all-prevailing passion in our minds, none of self and all of Jesus?"
I was greatly challenged by this. I don't know about you but I have not been very good at dying to myself. In fact, I think about myself a lot. I have 6 children to care for so I can not be totally selfish but I sure do find time to do what I want. In fact just in church last Sunday we were going over Titus 2. That is a hard role to try to fill. It includes dying to yourself a lot. But we shouldn't die to ourselves to fulfill Titus 2, we should die to ourselves so that Jesus gets the glory that He deserves. So above and beyond making Him the Lord of our lives is He our all and all in us? The Lord is really working on me with this and I do want to die to myself. I do know that ANY good thing that I do comes from the Lord and Him working in me, I know that I have nothing good in myself. Let's walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh!
Also one other thing that has been on my mind. It is okay to feel good when we are being obedient to the Lord and following the Holy Spirit's promptings. I have heard people talking about how they only feel good when they are being good. They say it is a works mentality. I don't agree. I think scripture is full of examples where we should do good things. I can't stand the mentality that we are to be failures all the time. Yes we do fail but Jesus is powerful and can set us free from sins. He didn't save us so that we could live pathetic lives here. We are to be lights and how can we be lights if we are constantly struggling? If we are constantly struggling then we need to examine why. Do you examine yourself daily? Are you humble? Could someone share with you your faults without you being defensive? If someone had something to say about an activity that you partake in would you examine it? Since becoming a Christian I see so many people that are hard to entreat, and prideful and wouldn't even consider being wrong. We should always be willing to study again and again the Word of God. We are human and can be wrong. Plus we need to be testing the spirits and observing the fruit. We can tell good fruit from bad fruit, can't we? So why do we act blind when something is causing bad fruit in our families? Let's get to the root of it. Then let's get rid of whatever it is that is causing it. We can't help others when we are struggling. With the Lord all things are possible! We serve a powerful and awesome Lord!
"But now let us face the real question, How to die to self, and let Christ be all and all in us. In the first place, do we really believe such a state is attainable? Have we looked at the blessed Christ until we have obtained a clear conception of what it is to lose ourselves in union with Him? Have our spiritual eyes surveyed this blessed possibility, until it's attainability in this life has become a settled conviction with us? Then have we calmly, deeply, irreversibly settled it that there shall be none of self and all of Christ? Are we prepared to make that the motto of our lives? Do we think it, dream it, pray it, breathe it, drink of it, bathe ourselves in it, until it becomes a subtle, steady, all-prevailing passion in our minds, none of self and all of Jesus?"
I was greatly challenged by this. I don't know about you but I have not been very good at dying to myself. In fact, I think about myself a lot. I have 6 children to care for so I can not be totally selfish but I sure do find time to do what I want. In fact just in church last Sunday we were going over Titus 2. That is a hard role to try to fill. It includes dying to yourself a lot. But we shouldn't die to ourselves to fulfill Titus 2, we should die to ourselves so that Jesus gets the glory that He deserves. So above and beyond making Him the Lord of our lives is He our all and all in us? The Lord is really working on me with this and I do want to die to myself. I do know that ANY good thing that I do comes from the Lord and Him working in me, I know that I have nothing good in myself. Let's walk in the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh!
Also one other thing that has been on my mind. It is okay to feel good when we are being obedient to the Lord and following the Holy Spirit's promptings. I have heard people talking about how they only feel good when they are being good. They say it is a works mentality. I don't agree. I think scripture is full of examples where we should do good things. I can't stand the mentality that we are to be failures all the time. Yes we do fail but Jesus is powerful and can set us free from sins. He didn't save us so that we could live pathetic lives here. We are to be lights and how can we be lights if we are constantly struggling? If we are constantly struggling then we need to examine why. Do you examine yourself daily? Are you humble? Could someone share with you your faults without you being defensive? If someone had something to say about an activity that you partake in would you examine it? Since becoming a Christian I see so many people that are hard to entreat, and prideful and wouldn't even consider being wrong. We should always be willing to study again and again the Word of God. We are human and can be wrong. Plus we need to be testing the spirits and observing the fruit. We can tell good fruit from bad fruit, can't we? So why do we act blind when something is causing bad fruit in our families? Let's get to the root of it. Then let's get rid of whatever it is that is causing it. We can't help others when we are struggling. With the Lord all things are possible! We serve a powerful and awesome Lord!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
You Only Have Today!
Today is a GIFT!
By Nancy Dickens
Life can change quickly. The Bible warns us that our lives are like a vapor, or the grass of the field, which pass quickly and are gone. I know that and yet would never have imagined that in a few short months I would go from Crusade staff member, tennis and basketball mom, supporting girls in college and helping out at my 4 year olds' preschool to dealing with cancer, losing all my hair (yes, I am balder than my husband now.), dealing with nausea, fatigue, and various other side effects, and learning to live and flourish in the midst of it all. I could never have imagined. My life over the past few months has brought me to a place of serious evaluation and contemplation. When I was diagnosed with cancer I quickly realized that certain truths in my life had become more crystallized and in focus, and that certain extraneous habits and fears were something I no longer had time or energy for. I no longer had the luxury of looking at life and events through the eyes of one who is confident of the future and expectant of all of the milestones that would be a normal part of living out life together in a family. I had never been guaranteed that future and realized after my diagnosis how much I had presumed upon it. The first moment of this realization came at a baby shower just a few days after I was diagnosed. At all of my baby showers I collected the wrapping paper from my gifts so that I could wrap my gifts later in life for my children who were then having baby showers of their own. I have wrapping paper saved from Beth, Bri, Drew, and Will's showers, for the day I can celebrate their children's births. As I was explaining this tradition to my friend at the shower I realized, "Would that be me? Will I be there when my children celebrate the births of my grandchildren?" The second moment came when Dave was looking out the window as we were driving and saw an RV. He mentioned something about that would be us when we were older - something we have always joked about. I couldn't help thinking "Really, will that be us? Will I be there with Dave when I am older, ready to travel and spend our later years together?" It didn't take me long to realize that I needed to process through a good deal of "life change" and decide what my diagnosis and treatment would mean about how I would live life and experience the Lord in the midst of sickness and uncertainty. Here are some of my ponderings regarding the Truths in My Life: . God is the source of everything and worthy of all praise and honor. I have never been more sure of the privilege it is to be in a relationship with Christ and more aware of how He is my sustainer in this process. . David has always been "the one" for me. I have always been keenly aware of how fortunate I am to have David as my husband but that has definitely been brought even more to light during this difficult time. He continues to be such a perfect match for me that it makes me incredibly thankful. . Life is meant to be lived with care given to each day, for each person brought across our path, each child that needs our attention, and each kind and compassionate word that needs to be spoken. My life is not about which milestone I will survive to see, it's about which person I choose to care for today and who the Lord will bring across my path that I will truly choose to see and touch. Life seems too short to me right now for anything less.
My addition: Why does it take something like this for us to remember how precious life is? After reading this I found myself smiling more at my children and just being generally happier. Today is all we get! Why do we forget? Besides all of that we need to rejoice in the Lord, not in our life. I try to rejoice in a clean house or obedient children and it fails me, only the Lord can give me the real joy in my life!
By Nancy Dickens
Life can change quickly. The Bible warns us that our lives are like a vapor, or the grass of the field, which pass quickly and are gone. I know that and yet would never have imagined that in a few short months I would go from Crusade staff member, tennis and basketball mom, supporting girls in college and helping out at my 4 year olds' preschool to dealing with cancer, losing all my hair (yes, I am balder than my husband now.), dealing with nausea, fatigue, and various other side effects, and learning to live and flourish in the midst of it all. I could never have imagined. My life over the past few months has brought me to a place of serious evaluation and contemplation. When I was diagnosed with cancer I quickly realized that certain truths in my life had become more crystallized and in focus, and that certain extraneous habits and fears were something I no longer had time or energy for. I no longer had the luxury of looking at life and events through the eyes of one who is confident of the future and expectant of all of the milestones that would be a normal part of living out life together in a family. I had never been guaranteed that future and realized after my diagnosis how much I had presumed upon it. The first moment of this realization came at a baby shower just a few days after I was diagnosed. At all of my baby showers I collected the wrapping paper from my gifts so that I could wrap my gifts later in life for my children who were then having baby showers of their own. I have wrapping paper saved from Beth, Bri, Drew, and Will's showers, for the day I can celebrate their children's births. As I was explaining this tradition to my friend at the shower I realized, "Would that be me? Will I be there when my children celebrate the births of my grandchildren?" The second moment came when Dave was looking out the window as we were driving and saw an RV. He mentioned something about that would be us when we were older - something we have always joked about. I couldn't help thinking "Really, will that be us? Will I be there with Dave when I am older, ready to travel and spend our later years together?" It didn't take me long to realize that I needed to process through a good deal of "life change" and decide what my diagnosis and treatment would mean about how I would live life and experience the Lord in the midst of sickness and uncertainty. Here are some of my ponderings regarding the Truths in My Life: . God is the source of everything and worthy of all praise and honor. I have never been more sure of the privilege it is to be in a relationship with Christ and more aware of how He is my sustainer in this process. . David has always been "the one" for me. I have always been keenly aware of how fortunate I am to have David as my husband but that has definitely been brought even more to light during this difficult time. He continues to be such a perfect match for me that it makes me incredibly thankful. . Life is meant to be lived with care given to each day, for each person brought across our path, each child that needs our attention, and each kind and compassionate word that needs to be spoken. My life is not about which milestone I will survive to see, it's about which person I choose to care for today and who the Lord will bring across my path that I will truly choose to see and touch. Life seems too short to me right now for anything less.
My addition: Why does it take something like this for us to remember how precious life is? After reading this I found myself smiling more at my children and just being generally happier. Today is all we get! Why do we forget? Besides all of that we need to rejoice in the Lord, not in our life. I try to rejoice in a clean house or obedient children and it fails me, only the Lord can give me the real joy in my life!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Only 4 days left & Praising God!
Four days left with our raw food adventure. It has been so easy. The food has been so good. I think our next step from here is going to be 80-85% raw food and we're going to be changing some other things too. I have a cookbook called Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and we are going to be implementing some of her ideas. She recommends soaking or sprouting all of your grains or flour before using them. Basically if you soak your flour in kefir or another cultured milk product it activates the enzyme phytase, which works to break down the phytic acid in the bran of grains. We are also going to be making whole grain sourdough! I'm very excited about that. I think I will love the taste. In any case we are going to be much more careful with our health. It is so true that you pay for it one way or another, either at the grocery store or at the doctors office. All I know is that I feel great. I have a 6 week old baby and I do not need a nap. I've been taking naps for the last 5 years. Not just 30 minute naps either. I get so much more done now! I feel like a better mom.
Anyway, I left out praise where praise belongs and that is to the Lord. My prayer has been to be healthy to serve the Lord. He has given me wisdom and I am so thankful for that. There are many things that go along with diet. A good conscience toward God & others, a grateful attitude, & even physical exercise. The Bible says that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Just having a merry heart does our bodies good. So I praise and thank the Lord for what he is doing for our family! To God Be the Glory!
Anyway, I left out praise where praise belongs and that is to the Lord. My prayer has been to be healthy to serve the Lord. He has given me wisdom and I am so thankful for that. There are many things that go along with diet. A good conscience toward God & others, a grateful attitude, & even physical exercise. The Bible says that "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine." Just having a merry heart does our bodies good. So I praise and thank the Lord for what he is doing for our family! To God Be the Glory!
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Our Raw Food Adventure!
I wanted to share this amazing thing with all of you! Troy and I have been raw now for 3 weeks and we are feeling wonderful! We committed to eat 100% raw food for 30 days and are loving it! Troy's carpal tunnel has been gone since about the 2nd or 3rd day. The pain was so severe he was not sleeping well at night. The B-6 in all of the green leafy veggies we are eating helped him that fast! My energy is through the roof! I haven't felt this good since I was a child. To anyone out there that desires good health or just wants to feel better~ try raw food. We start with a green smoothie or fruit for breakfast, then have a big salad or sandwich with dehydrated bread for lunch and then I make something elaborate for dinner like pizza, tacos, sunburgers, or "pasta". I use a dehydrator for crust, crackers, breads, burgers, ect. I keep it at 105 so that it doesn't kill the enzymes. It has helped so much because the food feels like what we are used to only it tastes better! And tonight we had some raw ice cream to finish our night. Let me know if you would like the recipe, it's super simple. Anyway, I'm sure there's a few of you out there that would disagree with a diet such as this one so I have a challenge for you. Try it! I will try to post some pictures of the delicious food we are eating in my next post! TTFN
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
We have a baby boy! Elias James is here!
We are in awe of our new baby boy! It doesn't matter how many children you have, each new baby is a miracle and it's all new again! The Lord was so good to us and the baby was born in the Lord's perfect timing.
Elias James was born March 23rd at 8:29pm after 17 hours of labor. Actually 16, I had a one hour break! It was such a different labor and birth. My last two children were born in 7 hours. I have to admit that I expected that again. However, everything about this baby and birth was very different. My labor was very good and I loved the communion with the Lord with each contraction. I listened to hymns as I was in the bathtub. Only the last hour and a half were unbearable and that was due to a cervical lip. I always get a cervical lip and it is a terrible thing. It prevents the baby's head from coming down and it just causes a tremendous amount of pain. Once I finally made it past that then Elias was born in 5 minutes.
The Lord has greatly blessed us!
Monday, March 16, 2009
41 weeks and the Lord is in control!
I'm just amazed at how the Lord works and keeps us leaning on Him every step of the way. I have really been struggling with not having this baby yet and really thought today was the day! I have been having some serious contractions all day and they just kept getting stronger. So I called my midwife and guess what~ She is at another birth right now helping a first time mom with twins! This mom is also over 40 weeks (did I mention she's having twins?). Obviously my midwife can't be in two places at once so the Lord just stoppped my contractions. It truly is in His hands and I have total peace about it. What an awesome God we serve! So Lord willing, the next post should have a picture of our new blessing!~ God bless you all!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
39 weeks & 3 days!
I can't believe it has been so long since I posted anything! I will try to do better. Don't hold me to it right away but I will be trying to post at least once a month. I have so much I could say but so little time to type it. Plus I have not enjoyed sitting in this uncomfortable chair for the last few months.
So baby update~ Due in a few days but will probably make me suffer for a little while after that! My babies like to do that to me! There was a great time of testing my faith during these past few months. Baby has been in the wrong position for the majority of the time. I really let that control my mood for awhile. When baby was head down I was happy but when baby was head up I was frustrated and so easily irritated. It was not good. I would give it to the Lord and then take the worry right back. Finally, I was able to truly give it to Him and He gave me peace back. It was and is so nice to rest in Him and not worry. I can say that I think I am learning a little faster but right away would have been ideal! Baby remained in a breech position for several weeks but now is head down and has been for almost a whole week! Yeah!!! Now I am just waiting for His timing so I can have this baby. This is a hard one too because I think I know the perfect time, it was a couple weeks ago.:0) But I guess the Lord has a different birth date in mind!
I hope everyone is doing good! Questions for the month are~ How is your quiet time? Are you communing with God and feeling satisfied with your relationship? How much of the Bible do you read each day?
My quiet time is sporadic right now. I am communing with God, He keeps me depending on Him and I love that. I read at least one chapter usually more and usually everyday. The children and I read the proverbs that goes with the day, March 7th read the 7th chapter. Then we have a Bible time and memorizing with our schooling. I have to be careful not to count these times as my Bible time because I am not alone with the Lord during these times. They are great but do not make up for a true quiet time with the Lord where I talk to Him and He talks to me through His word.
I just encourage everyone to read and really seek the Lord with all your heart.
Oh, vehicle update~ The Lord gave us a couple of cars and that was a blessing. Now we also have a van that seats 8 with room to grow to 12! It is a very nice van and we are loving going places as a family again!
I hope everyone has a blessed Lord's day!
So baby update~ Due in a few days but will probably make me suffer for a little while after that! My babies like to do that to me! There was a great time of testing my faith during these past few months. Baby has been in the wrong position for the majority of the time. I really let that control my mood for awhile. When baby was head down I was happy but when baby was head up I was frustrated and so easily irritated. It was not good. I would give it to the Lord and then take the worry right back. Finally, I was able to truly give it to Him and He gave me peace back. It was and is so nice to rest in Him and not worry. I can say that I think I am learning a little faster but right away would have been ideal! Baby remained in a breech position for several weeks but now is head down and has been for almost a whole week! Yeah!!! Now I am just waiting for His timing so I can have this baby. This is a hard one too because I think I know the perfect time, it was a couple weeks ago.:0) But I guess the Lord has a different birth date in mind!
I hope everyone is doing good! Questions for the month are~ How is your quiet time? Are you communing with God and feeling satisfied with your relationship? How much of the Bible do you read each day?
My quiet time is sporadic right now. I am communing with God, He keeps me depending on Him and I love that. I read at least one chapter usually more and usually everyday. The children and I read the proverbs that goes with the day, March 7th read the 7th chapter. Then we have a Bible time and memorizing with our schooling. I have to be careful not to count these times as my Bible time because I am not alone with the Lord during these times. They are great but do not make up for a true quiet time with the Lord where I talk to Him and He talks to me through His word.
I just encourage everyone to read and really seek the Lord with all your heart.
Oh, vehicle update~ The Lord gave us a couple of cars and that was a blessing. Now we also have a van that seats 8 with room to grow to 12! It is a very nice van and we are loving going places as a family again!
I hope everyone has a blessed Lord's day!
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