Good Friday . . .

Today is the day that our Savior took away our sins.
A friend posted on Facebook that he recently watched The Passion of the Christ again, a movie that I would actually like to watch again myself.
But it reminds me of something that breaks my heart and lifts my soul with joy all at once.
HE died for ME.
ME - who is completely unworthy of salvation.
ME - who spent much of my early adulthood denying His existance
ME - who is a sinner through and through

A few years ago I went with my church's youth group to church camp. At the end of camp we had a walk through, where I'd lead the kids through a maze of dark rooms. In each of the rooms, there are sounds, smells, flooring, even tactile items to make it seem that you are there listening and experiencing the last few days of Christ's life on Earth. You experience the last supper, the arrest, and the trial. But the one thing that got every child in that entire camp, the one thing that affected ME more than anything, was the death. In a dark room you only hear three things. First, the crack of a whip, over and over. Then, the sound of nails being driven into a piece of wood. Finally a man cries out in Aramaic: "Eloi Eloi lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"


Even now this simple scene gives me chills.


Jesus knew what he was on Earth for. It wasn't as though he WANTED this to happen to him - on the contrary, he asked God many times to save him from this deed. But he knew that God's will must be fulfilled, and HE was God's will.


So he took it. Every lash of the whip. Every drop of saliva that the soldiers spit on him. Every drop of sour wine they shoved into his face to drink. Every pound of the hammer. And every. single. nail.


He didn't see our faults. He didn't see our sin. All He saw was God's will and His love for us. For ALL of us. He wanted us to have salvation, weather we wanted it or not. His undying love and grace and mercy saved us all  from an eternity without Him.


We are filthy. All He sees is clean. We are ugly. All He sees is beauty. We are unworthy. All He sees is worth.


There is a song that I am reminded of right now by Nichole Nordeman called "Anyway". There is a line that goes:


"You called me beautiful when you saw my shame, and you placed me on the wall anyway . . ."


God sees our beauty and our worth. He knows our needs and fulfills them.
Almost 1000 years ago He fulfilled our need for salvation by sacrificing His own.
God Bless you all.

Be Blessed

One of my biggest downfalls is that I try to do everything myself. And I do mean everything. From cooking to cleaning to child rearing to school (I finish my BA in May). It is VERY rare that I ever ask for help or that I even ACCEPT help. This kind of irritates some of the most important people in my life - namely my husband. So it is something that I've been working on. When we try to do it all ourselves, this can be harmful to us in so many ways. We get stressed, we get exhausted, we get depressed, and often these things make us sick - literally - with an array of different physical problems.  Sometimes it's important to ask for help.


As it is in our earthly lives, so it applies in our spiritual lives. I personally  find it hard to stop and ask God for help, and then ALLOW him to help. As a result, I am not ALLOWING his blessings to flow. Because of this, I am stressed, exhausted, depressed, and have been sick - both in the physical and the spiritual sense.


Yesterday, God gave me another one of His "kicks in the butt" as I like to call them. I wasn't allowing Him to take control, so He forced it upon me in a blessing that I did not expect. At first I was angry - why did this person do this when I didn't even ask for or need the help. Then, I prayed about it. And I realized that God touched this person's heart on my behalf. He told them that I needed something. They rose up and answered the call, and I am so glad they did. 


It has taught me that I need to allow God to take control in my life and I need to ALLOW the BLESSINGS to happen instead of trying to take control myself. I need to stop and ASK for help. As my anonymous (to you all) person told me in a message "The opposite of pride is the virtue humility - and we grow when we humble ourselves to ask for help. So, know that we would never judge you . . . but would be more than willing to answer the call."  This touched me in a way that I never imagined. You see, this person - who has been a blessing in my life for more years than I care to mention - never fails to send me just the right message when I need it. God has a way of getting to me through them.


God loves it when we stop and say "I can't do this". Maybe He's a bit of a control freak, in fact. But I, for one, am so glad he is. Because only when we stop and say "I need you, Lord" can our relationships with him grow.


God's blessings to each of you!  

Sunday Scripture . . . The Book of Isaiah

For the last couple of days, I have been reading Isaiah in my daily bible reading. I know that many people think that with it being the Christmas season, I might want to be in John, or Mark or Luke, reading about Elizabeth and Mary and the angels that spoke to them. But no, Isaiah is really the place to be.

There is no other book in the Old Testament that has as many prophecies about the coming of the Christ child than Isaiah:

7:14 (NIV) Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

9:1(NIV) Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the Gentiles, by the way of the sea, along the Jordan

9:6 (NIV) For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

53:5 (NIV) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 

53:9 (NIV) He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

53:12 (NIV) Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

These are just a few of the dozens of prophecies about Christ in Isaiah. Why is this important?

Through Isaiah (and other prophets), God was preparing the Way for Salvation. God realized that humankind was incapable of salvation on their own, so he made the choice to intercede on our behalf. God came to earth, first as a child, then as a man, with the sole purpose of sacrificing himself for the good of all man. 

How much must he love us to do this? I am so humbled to think about it. 

I encourage anyone that reads this blog today to peek into the book of Isaiah and see what I'm talking about. Throughout the book, Isaiah is admonishing the Israelites, but in the midst of the scolding there is a message of love, hope, and salvation.

Happy Sunday, everyone.

God bless you all!

She's Baaaaa-aaaack!! Back with a message!

Wow, it seems like forever since I've been writing. I've missed it tremendously. Between schoolwork, moving, cleaning, family raising, etc, it just seems I didn't have the time anymore! But I have made a vow that I will MAKE the time - at least once a week - to sit down and blog. Why? Because I miss it, and I miss my followers (most of whom I follow back!).

We've moved! We left our rent house (which we pretty much hated) and moved into a nice 120 (almost) year old home. There is a lot of history in this house, from a lot of families. Most recently, my husband's family. His grandparents bought this house in the 70's and it's been in the family ever since. We are blessed to be here - rent-free - and we believe the utilities will be a lot lower as well. Those two blessings will enable us to repair our credit and save up some money. It will be nice to be debt free.

Christmas is coming - YEA! I love this time of year. I'll love it even more when we get the Christmas decorations up. The music, the decor, the movies . . . the COOKIES! I have made a promise to myself (and my kids) that I will try MANY different cookie recipes this year. Of course I've already made a batch of my I-wish-they-were-famous chocolate chip cookies. Next - snickerdoodles. Then gingerbread, sugar cookies, candy cane cookies, and Kissy-Thumbprints (thumb prints with a Hershey's kiss instead of jam). Yes, 'tis the season for sweets in the DeMoss house!

Speaking of Christmas, this brings me to a very important message - What is Christmas about?

For many people this year, Christmas is going to be hard. They will scramble and go into debt to make sure their kids get a "good Christmas". But what makes a good Christmas? Is it the gifts? Is it the mountains of food piled up on the table? Is it the decorations, the music, the movies, the cookies?

No. Christmas is about three things - memories, family, and a tiny little baby that was brought into the world to atone for man's sin.

We, as a society, teach our children that Christmas is about how many toys Santa brought, or how many candy canes Billy can fit into his mouth, or how many cookies did mommy bake (yes, I am guilty of this as well). But we should be stepping up to teach our children "in the way they should go". This year, for example, my kids will get one or two okay gifts - nothing overly special or fancy - from "Santa". The rest of the gifts (three gifts to represent the Magi that visited Christ) will be used items from a thrift store or from yard sales. We want our focus this year to be on the REASON for Christmas. They'll get tons of other stuff from their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It's our job, as parents, to teach them.

I urge you to this year focus on the Christ Child this season. Teach your children about the blessing of grace and salvation, teach them about charity and giving.

This is what the Lord commands of us.

Atheism Revisited

There have been a few things weighing on my heart recently, and atheism is one of those things. About two years ago I wrote this post on atheism and Christianity. In the post I stated my beliefs that Christians are a leading cause of atheism. I still stand by that statement - let me explain.

I have a very good friend that is a non-believer. I'm not sure WHAT his beliefs are, to tell you the truth, but he says that he doesn't believe in "any of it". By that, I take it to mean that he doesn't believe in ANY religion (he sports a few pagan tattoos and has a few books on druidism, so I thought that was what he was into, but I could be wrong). Now, here's the kicker. His brother is an out-and-out atheist. He believes in NOTHING - not any religion, nothing paranormal, nothing spiritual, NOTHING. As far as he's concerned, there is no point to man's existance on this earth. Now, on the other hand, their father is a devout Christian. He is a believer through and through. Quite often this family gets into . . . debate over religion, because one person will make a comment about the other's beliefs.

Here's my thoughts on this:

As Christians, it is our DUTY and our CALLING to teach others about Christ. That being said, there's a way to go about things and there's a time and a place for things as well.

For example:
Telling someone that they are going to hell because they're Muslim while you're in the middle of a shopping mall is not going about things the right way, nor is it the proper time and place.

On the other hand:
You have a friend notice a cross you're wearing and asks you about your beliefs. They make an offhanded comment about how "every Christian" believes a certain way. This is an opportunity given to you by God to teach the facts about your beliefs, thus opening up a dialogue where you can share your personal faith.

Shoving your beliefs down ANYONE'S throat - NO MATTER WHAT THAT BELIEF - is NOT the right way to go about it.

As I said in the previous post, people didn't come to Christ because he was shouting at them from the street calling them names and telling them they were going to hell. On the contrary, Christ sat and spoke softly to those that were surrounding him and wanted to listen. They may not have agreed with what he was saying, but they were listening because they WANTED to, not because he was forcing them to.

So . . . those are my two cents (again). It's just something I had been thinking about lately, that I wanted to share with you all. What are your thoughts on religion? I would love to hear YOUR two cents . . .

Wordless Wednesday

For more Wordless Wednesdays visit 5 Minutes for Mom or Marvelous Mommy

Looking for Magic . . .

I love taking my camera with me everywhere. 

Sometimes, there's no telling what you might find peeking out at you from around a corner or hiding amongst the trees. 

I can't say photography is my entire life, rather more of a hobby that I hope to make some extra money at some day. 

But the thing about photography is that it has opened my eyes to a whole new world - a world of God's majesty and wonder. 

A world filled with the magic of our Father and all he has created for us.  

Today I would like to share some of that magic with you:

Peace in the Woods

 

A Memorable Afternoon

A Child's Laughter

A Serene Moment

And a Child's Wonder

Each of these things come from God. Gifts to us to show his mercy and love. Today, I challenge you to find some of God's magic for yourself. It might be a raindrop, a rainbow, a hug, a smile, or a beautiful sunset.

Matthew 7:7 says " . . .Seek and ye shall find . . . " 

Why not give it a shot?

TYVM!

It's time, folks, for another edition of

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

Wanna play and get some free therapy? Go see KMAMA at The Daily Dribbles!

To my children for refusing to get along for longer than five minutes.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

i really didn't need to finish photoshopping those nature photos for my portfolio

To my landlord for replacing our dishwasher with the cheapest disposable model around

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

i thought the whole point of a dishwasher was that I wasn't supposed to have to do them . . . ?

To the birds who think my car is a battle zone

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

i always wanted a polka dot paint job

To mother nature for making me a woman and putting me through torture once a month

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

no, i really didn't need "special time" with DH this week

To all the authors of the photoshop "help guides" that you find all over the internet and teach you absolutely nothing

THANK YOU VERY MUCH!

who needs to make money doing what they love anyway?

And a very, truly sincere THANK YOU VERY MUCH! goes out to my friends, family, and other loved ones for keeping my family and I in your prayers over these past few weeks, thank you for the phone calls, the hugs, and the food. And a very special THANK YOU VERY MUCH! to my Lord and Savior for bringing Grandpa Home where he belongs!

God Bless!

Making Your Home Sing Monday!

Making Your Home Sing Monday:
This is something new for me, but to learn more about it, go to MomsTheWord
I am a day late this week.


What better way to make your home sing then by SINGING!


The Bible tells us to "It is good to give thanks to the Lord, to sing praises to your name, O Most High" Psalm 92:1.  In fact, throughout the book of Psalms, David talks about praising God with music throughout.


God loves to hear us proclaim his name in song.  It doesn't matter weather or not you think you can sing, it is all pleasing to God.  


So as you go about your daily chores today, try singing a song that you love that reminds you of your relationship with God.  Remember everything we do we do in His name, even housework. He sees what we do every day for our families, and it makes him happy to see us diligently working to make our homes a better place.

Perfection-Free Zone (1 Corinthians 13:10)

1 Corinthians 13:10 " . . . but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears . . ."

I used to get so frustrated when I looked at my home.  It was filthy.  It was worse than filthy in some respects. Cluttered, dirty, ugly.  When I'd clean, I'd be exhausted within fifteen minutes.  Why?  Not because of the mess, but because I was striving for something unattainable - perfection.  There was only one perfect being that ever walked the earth, and frankly, I'm not Him.

It took a while for me to see the problem with perfection.  It made me crazy.  I would clean, and turn around and it would be imperfect again.  I would throw my hands up and yell "what's the point?".  I fussed at my children, my spouse, myself.  I was miserable and so was everyone around me.  It was not until I finally realized that perfection wasn't going to happen that I was able to let go of this mindset.

I look around now at my imperfect home.  My floors are currently not vacuumed, swept, or mopped ( I will get to that later this week) but the floors are picked up and free from clutter.  My sink (due to a broken dishwasher) is currently filled with dirty dishes.  But my stove top, my counters, and even my appliances are clean. I have dirt behind the refrigerator, under the couch, behind the toilet.  But you can't see it.  It drives me crazy, to a point, to know that these imperfections are there, but then I think about my own imperfections in my sinful, human nature.

God doesn't seek perfection in us, why should we seek it in our own lives?  I am not perfect.  I am a sinner.  I try to do God's will, but sometimes it eludes me.  I forget to read my bible one day, I skip church services to sleep in, I yell at my children, I even say a choice word or two to idiots in my child's school car line.  God loves me anyway. So, I have to look at my home imperfections in the same way God looks at mine.  They're there, but forgivable. They exist, but they don't change the heart of my home.

I have deemed my home perfection-free.  I no longer seek perfection, but rather I seek "good enough".  If I'm good enough for God, with all of my imperfections, then my home should be good enough for me with all of its imperfections.

God and Housework . . . ?

I went back to "Sink Reflections" last night, and read Marla's take on marriage. Then I read it again, to make sure I really understood the message. The jist of it is (what I get out of it anyway) is that we CAN do it all, we just have to stop thinking that everyone has to do "their fair share".  In other words - if it's not getting done, just do it yourself. I need to go back and re-read this message periodically.  I'm notorious for using the words "It's not MY mess" and "Well, if they're not going to clean, I'm not . . . ".  Of course, I've gotten much better about that over the past few months and realized that I can't EXPECT them to do it. No, it SHOULDN'T all be on my shoulders, but most days if I don't do it, it won't get done.

So, I need to take a deep breath and forget when DH forgets to take the trash out - just pack it up and take it myself.  And I need to forgive when DD doesn't clean her room - just grab a trash bag and get after it.  The point I'm trying to make is this - if you are a wife and mother, and especially if you are a stay at home mom, more falls on your shoulders.  That's just the way it is.

If you want to look at it from a biblical standpoint, Titus 2:4-5 says "Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God." Proverbs 31 speaks of the Noble Wife throughout. Verse 13 says "She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands". Proverbs 31:15 "She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls." And verse 17 "She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks." And 27 "She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." The point I am trying to make here is that we should be looking at it all as a blessing to our families and to God.

It is for God that we wash the dishes.  It is for God that we make the beds.  It is for God that we vacuum, mop, scrub, wipe, and plan. It is for God that we raise our children. If we go through our days with God in our hearts and minds, then the "details" about who's doing the work (us) is forgotten.

Cleaning Frenzy!

It's spring time again! We all know what that means, right? Taking down the drapes, cleaning out the closets, decluttering the kitchen. Right? Well, not for me. That's right, I have taken a vow to SPRING CLEAN NO MORE. Why? Well, first of all, let's face it, unless you are "B.O. (born organized)" it is NOT going to get done. And if it does? Well, it's not going to make much difference b/c by next week it's all going to be right back to where you started! So what's my point?

Rather than planning on doing it one weekend, a year, why not plan on doing it ALL THE TIME! Stay with me here . . . No, I'm not crazy.

If you've ever heard of Marla Cilley (a.k.a. the Fly Lady), then you know just what I'm talking about. She has devised her own system (taken from several different systems and mixed in with her own genius) that takes away the need for "spring cleaning".

It's all about the baby steps. What's a baby step you may ask? Well, a baby step is EXACTLY what it sounds like. Rather than jumping right in and cleaning your entire house from top to bottom, Marla has shown us how to do smaller chunks of things, one at a time. And it all begins with shining your sink. But that's just the beginning. For the fist 28 days, you have a new task to try. Everything from the ridiculous to the mundane. But by the end of it all, your home will look better than it has ever looked.

The secret? Don't do more than you can do in small chunks of time. Got 15 minutes? Do a declutter in one of your messiest rooms. Only got two? Put out a hot spot. Get the point?

One of the Fly Lady's mantras is "You can do ANYTHING in 15 minutes". How true this is. From cleaning a desk to scrubbing a bath tub. It might not be DONE in 15 minutes, but it will surly look better than it did before you started!

And DON'T try to shoot for perfection. WHY? Well, because frankly, it's pretty much unattainable. In her book "Sink Reflections", Marla tells us "We are imperfect beings and PRAISE GOD FOR OUR IMPERFECTION" (15). The only perfect being that ever walked the earth was Christ himself. Although as Christians we should strive to be Christ like, we cannot attain it - which is why He paid the ultimate price for us. Not to mention the fact that the need and desire for that perfection is what got our homes as messy as they got to begin with.

SO, if you have a home that is frankly, embarrassing, then DO something about it. One 15 minute segment at a time.

Incidentally, my own mantra combines the wisdom of the Fly Lady and the catchiness of Geico - "15 minutes now may save you an hour or more later". And it is so true.

So, go. Meet the Fly Lady at www.flylady.net. And while your at it, go pick up a copy of Sink Reflections. I promise you, she will change your life. She changed mine!

Five year olds and Soccer Balls

We're Kickin' It - "Pre-School" Style!!

These kids were so fun to watch. In between throwing the ball the wrong way, getting stuck in soccer nets, and pouting when they missed the ball or had to go to the "back of the line", there was fun and frolicking, and a TON of laughs!

This is Emily's best friend from school, Nathan. They were SUPPOSED to be practicing throwing the ball back into play by throwing it to their coach. Nate missed. He may have hit a bird or two, though . . . we're not sure.

My beautiful princess. She is loving this soccer thing!

Lance, Nathan, and Emily. We have no idea what Nathan was telling Emily, but apparently it was HILARIOUS because right after this picture was taken, they both started laughing hysterically.

The Rockets!! Boy . . . what are we in for?



Soccer is great fun. I never in 1,00,000 years thought that I'd be in this place. I always thought that I'd be alone and raising 50 cats by now. But God had other plans for me. He brought me an amazing husband, and granted me not one, but two beautiful children of my own. Not only that, but he blessed me with two "bonus" kids that are equally special!!

Thank you God for my blessings!

Being Thankful . . . Again . . .

As Thanksgiving Day looms over the horizon, I am reminded once again of things that I need to remember daily to thank God for. We need to take a step back and remember to be thankful ALWAYS - not just one day a year. Here's my list of what I'm thankful for . . .

I am thankful . . .

. . . For my God and my Savior
. . . For my wonderful husband
. . . For my amazing children - all four of them
. . . For family and friends
. . . For computers and internet
. . . For television and Dish Network
. . . For food on my table and clothes on my back
. . . For a roof over my head
. . . That Ronnie is able to work and has a job
. . . That I am able to continue my education
. . . That I am not a turkey, cranberry, green bean, or potato this time of year
. . . That I can love
. . . That I AM loved
. . . For cell phones
. . . For puppies and kittens
. . . For Jeff Dunham (Jefah-fah Dun-Haaam . . . dot coommmm)
. . . To be alive and healthy

Love to you all.
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!!!

God is so good!

Well after this heck of a week, we get a phone call from our landlord telling us that she has a plumber coming out RIGHT THEN. We rush out to meet them at our house. The plumber (Keith's Plumbing from Nocona, to give him a plug) found where the pipeline went, did a little digging, and found out that we have another (hidden) cleanout close to the house. He runs his rooter through, and pulls out a wad of roots the size of my arm!!

With our pipes clear, we run out to check the mail.

Ronnie has recieved a check for an overpayment of child support - $152 worth!!

THEN I notice ANOTHER check in the mail - for me, from my OB/GYN - this was from a credit I had from Jake's birth.

It was, get this, $1094!!!!

ALL our prayers have been answered!!!

We will be able to 1) Pay off all our bills, 2) go to TRF with room to breathe, and 3) have enough left over to put up in savings for the next unforseen emergency.

He is SOO GOOD!!!

Being Thankful . . .

Have you ever spent a single day of your life not being able to take a shower, wash dishes or clothes, or even go to the bathroom or brush your teeth?

We are so there.

Our sewer is messed up. REALLY messed up.

I am looking at this and saying, Okay God, what are you trying to teach me THIS week . . . then it hit me. THANKFULNESS. I have been so set on the things that I DON'T have lately that I forgot to take a step back and remember the things I DO have.

For example, Ronnie's company went to three day work weeks. He was offered a position that will give him a larger salary during this time. That, and the partial unemployment check he will be getting, puts us back where we need to be in order to pay our bills and stay on track. THEN, the ENTIRE plant went to a two week furlow (temp layoff) EXCEPT his section and one other. If that's not God, I don't know what it.

And yet, instead of being thankful for what God has granted us, I have been whiney about "oh, we don't have a second car" or "oh we only have one bathroom" or something else silly and insignificant.

So now, instead of ONE bathroom, we have NO bathroom.

God is chastizing me . . . And you know what? I'm THANKFUL for it. See out of this, I have learned a very valuable lesson. Life is not about the HAVE-NOT's. It's about seeing the little things God gives us on a daily basis, and counting those blessings. It's about saying thank you every once in a while for that little butterfly or that shooting star . . .

I am looking at what we're going through right now, with the job situation and the sewar situation, and seeing it in a whole new light. Now, I am THANKFUL because Ronnie and I are going through this TOGETHER - as a team. I have the man I love beside me, loving me and supporting me through it all. I have him to hold on to in the midst of a nervous breakdown (of which I have had at lest three this week). I am also thankful because we have God on our side. And like my husband, I have Him to lean on and talk to.

So, as I stare at the unflushable toilet today and pack our bags to stay at my mother's until we have a usable bathroom, I am still THANKFUL.

God's Will

Sometimes I have to step back and ask myself, "what is it that God is asking of me?" Right now, I know that God is asking for sacrifice, and I am more than willing to make that sacrifice, I just don't know WHAT to sacrifice, see? Is it the cable and the internet? Is is all our "stuff" that just seems to accumulate in the corners of our house consistantly? Is it the cabinet full of canned goods that I'll probably never use? Is it our house? Our freedom?

See, I'm one of those Christians that occasionally needs a good kick in the butt. God has to be really streightforward with me and pretty well yell what He wants, otherwise I just don't get it. It's not that I don't listen. It's not that I don't pray about it. I just need it to be shoved in my face sometimes.

WOW.

Thank you Mary, for sending this.

The following was written by Ben Stein and recited by him on CBS Sunday Morning Commentary.

My confession:

I am a Jew, and every single one of my ancestors was Jewish. And it does not bother me even a little bit when people call those beautiful lit up, bejeweled trees, Christmas trees.. I don't feel threatened. I don't feel discriminated against. That's what they are: Christmas trees. It doesn't bother me a bit when people say, 'Merry Christmas' to me. I don't think they are slighting me or getting ready to put me in a ghetto. In fact, I kind of like it It shows that we are all brothers and sisters celebrating this happy time of year.

It doesn't bother me at all that there is a manger scene on display at a key intersection near my beach house in Malibu . If people want a creche, it's just as fine with me as is the Menorah a few hundred yards away.

I don't like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period.

I have no idea where the concept came from that America is an explicitly atheist country. I can't find it in the Constitution and I don't like it being shoved down my throat.

Or maybe I can put it another way: where did the idea come from that we should worship celebrities and we aren't allowed to worship God as we understand Him? I guess that's a sign that I'm getting old, too. But there are a lot of us who are wondering where these celebrities came from and where the America we knew went to.

In light of the many jokes we send to one another for a laugh, this is a little different: This is not intended to be a joke; it's not funny, it's intended to get you thinking.

Billy Graham's daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her 'How could God let something like this happen?' (regarding Katrina) Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said, 'I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?'

In light of recent events... Terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body found a few years ago) complained she didn't want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school . The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK.

Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr Spock's son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he's talking about. And we said OK.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves.
Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with 'WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.'

Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world's going to hell Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.

I knew I loved Ben Stien for a reason.

And the #1 Cause of Atheism Is . . .

Christians.
Don't believe me? Ask any Atheist you know why they chose that path rather than Christianity.

Christ never pushed his beliefs on anyone. Those that wanted to listen, did. Those who didn't, didn't have to. He wanted people to come to him WILLINGLY. Not to be forced guiltily into it by someone yelling at them about hellfire and damnation.

His deciples came to him from their own free will. Those that were chosen, were chosen for their willingness. He never told Peter that he was going to go to Hell if he didn't follow the Lord. Mark either. And John, Matthew, Bartholomew, Andrew, James, Philip, Thomas, James, Simon, Thaddeus, and even Judas came willingly when called. They weren't yelled at. They weren't bereted consistantly. They weren't bullied into believing.

What's my point to all this?
You can't force faith.

It's either there, or it's not.

If someone comes willingly and asks about my faith or my relationship with Christ, I will be more than happy to share with them all I know and then some.

If they aren't interested, that's okay. I'll save the bible verses for someone that is.

It's not that I don't believe in being a Witness. I do. It's just that I firmly believe that with some people, it's a losing battle.

They'll come willingly when their called.

I did.

Another Kick In The Butt . . .

I like to say sometimes that God likes to kick me in the butt every now and again to remind me where my spiritual loyalty lies. My hubby's amazing cousin posted this link. For the past ten minutes I have been bawling my eyes out. This wonderful woman went through something that no family should ever have to endure. As I read her story I was amazed by her amazing faith in God. She took this challenge as God giving her an oppertunity to witness to others. Rather than asking "why" she only said "thank you". Eternally grateful for what she HAS rather than being bitter over what she DOESN'T have.

I really need to learn from this woman. I find myself asking "why" all the time. I find myself wanting MORE - always feeling that we don't have what we NEED or that we don't have ENOUGH, when the fact is, we have MORE than enough. We have more that a lot of people. We always have enough food. We have a roof over our head. We have clothes on our back. We have a car. We have friends and family that love us. And we have our children. Rather than whining about not having enough room, or not having enough "stuff" I need to step back and take notice of the beautiful things I do have.