Just in case

Just in case you thought you aren't that big a player in God's kingdom let me shatter your doubts. God is always at work. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose" Romans 8:28.

So if He's always at work and all things work together for His good then you are a BIG player.

Our family has seen this firsthand over the last couple of weeks. When God brought us through a tough church home transition we thought it was to benefit our family; to bring us closer to Him and to teach us Biblical truth we had never been taught before.

However, God was simply using us (in addition to catapulting our family into a blessed realm of theological understanding) to minister to others. Not a verbal ministry but by our actions. We were oblivious to how God was using our life to effect other families.

When I received a phone call a couple of weeks ago from a friend from the previous church I was apprehensive. I actually was going to let it go to voice mail. Oh the blessings I would have missed out on!

Then today I get a Facebook message from a friend from that church. God has been doing the SAME things in their life! I am so glad she took the step to ask me about the new church we are attending. Because she did, a path has been forged that brings us together in a special way.

To doubt God's providence is to doubt His sovereignty! I can't wait to see what happens next!

False preacher anyone?? Part 2

This is SO not the type of music we listen to but an exception is made for the GREAT message spoken! Enjoy ;)

False preacher anyone?? Part 1

My heart breaks. I weep. I plead with God to protect the eyes, ears and souls of those who sit hypnotized by false preachers of today.

Quotes from Rob Bell in his book Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith and an interview in Christianity Today.

[The Bible is a] "human product...rather than the product of divine fiat"

**read 2Timothy 3:16 for truth**

From his book Velvet Elvis Rob writes this about Hell:

"When people use the word Hell what do they mean? They mean a place, an event, a situation absent of how God desires things to be. Famine, debt, oppression, loneliness, despair, death, slaughter- they are all hell on Earth. Jesus' desire for his followers is that they live in such a way that they bring heaven to earth. What's disturbing is when people talk more about hell after this life than they do about Hell here and now. As a Christian, I want to do what I can to resist hell on earth." p. 148

"Heaven is full of forgiven people. Hell is full of forgiven people. Heaven is full of people God loves, whom Jesus died for. Hell is full of forgiven people God loves, whom Jesus died for. The difference is how we choose to live, which story we choose to live in, which version of reality we trust. Our's or God's." p. 146

"Now if there is a life in Heaven and we can choose it, then there's also another way. A way of living out of sync with how God created us to live. The word for this is hell: a way, a place, a realm absent of how God desires things to be. We can bring heaven to earth; we can bring hell to earth. For Jesus, heaven and hell were present realities. Ways of living we can enter into here and now. He talked very little of the life beyond this one because he understood that the life beyond this one is a continuation of the kinds of choices we make here and now. For Jesus the question wasn't how do I get into heaven? But how do I bring heaven here? The question wasn't how do I get in there? But, how do I get there, here?" p. 147

***no where is anything he wrote found in scripture. John 18:36 says "My kingdom is not of this world" There are many references to hell in scripture: Mat 23:33, Luke 12:5, 2Peter 2:4. The truth: have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ the son of God and be cleansed of your sins. Die and go to heaven. Deny Jesus Christ- die- go to hell. ***

Rob Bell's about the virgin birth of Jesus:

"What if tomorrow someone digs up definitive proof that Jesus had a real, earthly, biological father named Larry, and archaeologists find Larry's tomb and do DNA samples and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the virgin birth was really just a bit of mythologizing the Gospel writers threw in to appeal to the followers of the Mithra and Dionysian religious cults that were hugely popular at the time of Jesus, whose gods had virgin births? But what if, as you study the origin of the word "virgin" you discover that the word "virgin" in the gospel of Matthew actually comes from the book of Isaiah, and then you find out that in the Hebrew language at that time, the word "virgin" could mean several things. And what if you discover that in the first century being "born of a virgin" also referred to a child whose mother became pregnant the first time she had intercourse?" p. 26

***Luke 1: 34-35, Matthew 1: 24-25, Isaiah 7: 14***

All of this information and more was found in this YouTube video:

Today's church

Can it be said any better?? The video at the end is a 7 minute investment. Well worth it.

"Sanctification starts with the pastor. His responsibility is to feed and protect his flock. As a pastor, I'm not called to be a stand-up comedian, a self-help guru, or a sex therapist. My job is to teach the Bible, thoroughly and accurately. I'm responsible to encourage and catalyze the spiritual growth of God's people. Anything else is a distraction.

Too many pastors today neglect the priority of sanctification for their congregations. Instead of helping God's people feast on the riches of His Word, they throw their efforts into attracting nonbelievers. Shrouding their teaching in pop-culture references and comedy routines designed to appeal to unbelievers, they withhold the only true source of spiritual nourishment from the Christians there who are hungry. Often the people in the pews don't even realize what they're missing, content instead to be entertained into spiritual starvation.

It's my prayer that you're in a church that does stress the importance of holiness - where your sanctification is encouraged and stimulated, and where you're fed throughout the week on the riches of God's Word. If you are, let me urge you to thank your pastor and church leaders for being faithful to their calling and in the example they set for your congregation. Let them know you're thankful for their commitment to God's Word, and that you're praying for the Lord to bless and sustain them." - John MacArthur

Spiritual Gifts

I have no idea why God loves me so much.

Today I wrote a blog post on my cloth diaper blog ( www.allaboutclothdiapers.com ) announcing that I would be donating all proceeds to a friend's adoption journey.

I have received so many amazing comments from friends and blog subscribers. I cry every time I read one but I fear that the praise is misdirected.

I, like anyone else, appreciates kind words but really my act of giving has nothing to do with me. I am but a worker for my Lord and Savior. I don't always listen to him but he spoke very audibly to me about this blog post.

I knew without a doubt that God wanted me to help Dave and Jessica out financially and he provided an easy avenue for me to do that. My cloth diaper blog has grown enormously because of God's blessing.

God's word always says it best.

Romans 12:3-8
³For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his^b]">[b]faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

I know that my biggest spiritual gift is contributing to the needs of others. I don't always act upon the calling like I know I should. But when I do the feeling is amazing.

If you would like to help my friend achieve her dream of becoming a mother head on over to my cloth diaper blog for more information.

www.allaboutclothdiapers.com

Praying for Stellan

It's crazy how small this world is. Last year MckMama and I exchanged comments b/w our blogs. She had readers but then trouble was discovered w/ baby Stellan. That's when her blog exploded and now everyone I know reads her blog! How amazing is it that millions are praying for her son?!! Talk about humbling. No wonder she has more peace than 99.9% would have during this crazy time.


I am adding this to Stellan's name gallery, it is a mosaic of the verses James1:2-4 and James 1:12.

I am so R I C H !!!

LOL! Rich on the word of God that is! When the Lord speaks to you in multiples you know you need to listen up. This mornings audio Bible time of Luke revealed a very well known verse that even an unchristian child had memorized.

Luke 6:31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.

I looked it up in my Bible and taught it to Haley (and the other 2 that weren't really listening. Haven just wanted me to turn the cartoons on *sigh*). Then I got my coffee, turned on the computer and read my Daily Bible Verse.

Romans 2:1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

I will be honest this verse has caused many a "discussion" with my husband and I. I tend to fear judging anyone (although of course I do and not always in a nice way) where as my husband feels it is important to view others mistakes and learn from them; in essesence look at someone who has very obviously taken the wrong path in life and do all you can to dissect how they got there and run like hell the other way. Me, I pity then make an excuse for that person then agree that yes I wouldn't want to be where they are and defend that person...

Jesus didn't live the way I am (Thank you, God!!). My husband is modeling for me a route that is more biblical. Call someone out on their obvious wrong doing, don't sugar coat it (yummmm, love that sugar) and learn from each other. I certainly would want someone to call me out on my errors...okay well not always but it is for my good. And I prefer it not to be my husband but for some reason it always is. Bah! I need thicker skin.

God is so good to us poor saps. We don't deserve the rich teachings he provides for us. I mean really, I have been so bad you'd think he would have given up. But no, each day I read my Daily Bible Verse and listen to the Bible on CD I learn something completely new and life changing...even if I have heard it a thousand times.

Right Choices = Controversy

Why is it that doing the right thing or letting it be known that you are not just like everyone else causes controversy? I have actually had someone (someone very close to me) yell at me for making them feel bad for the choices they made--NOT because of something I said, mind you--but because of the way I live! What the heck??

Then I had a mom call me the other day about homeschooling and she told me her daughter's teacher said she couldn't read ahead because it might make the other students feel dumb. So okay, let's put a ceiling on this girl and teach her that being smart is a bad thing. Makes sense. I have learned to keep my lips tightly pursed. God has been good to me on that one. My tongue used to get me in lots of trouble. (Proverbs 10:19, Proverbs 17:28, Proverbs 21:23)

The thing that gets me the most is people who get offended by my choices are Christians. Yet the Bible is very clear:

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

I choose to not conform to the ways of the world (most certainly the ways of America). I choose to homebirth, not vaccinate, not circumcise, use alternative health, cloth diaper, breastfeed, co-sleep, profess my faith, submit to my husband, allow God to control my family size, spank my children, say NO, and make decisions based on long term results not instant gratification. I'm far from 100% on some of those, especially that last one. But that's why God blessed me with a very wise husband!

A woman emailed me the other day and I'd like to share part of it: (emphasis is mine)

Hey girl!!
I am in your small group at MOMS and I was wondering if you can help
me out. My family in general is moving in the direction of healthy
eating but this is ever more important right now. X needs to
change his habits from normal to pretty strict because of his
headaches. We need to eat fresh, non soy, no preservatives and
nitrate free.
Why am I telling you this? I think I heard you telling the helpers
at class that you did not want the kids drinking juice, I don't
either!! So this morning I thought of that statement and wanted to
email you. But anyway, I have been praying about this eating and you
came to mind. If you have any suggestions, book to recommend I would
love any help in this area. It is very hard to decipher through all
the millions of internet searches and books available!!

This is why you live by example. There is always someone watching and God will use you to glorify Him. I was in awe for days after this because it is so easy to think everyone thinks you're crazy (most do). But there are those who want a better life. Those who are just waiting for you to show them that you have some answers.

I invited this mom over and well I gave her more than she wanted I'm sure. It's kind of hard to stop yourself when you get started. But she went home and this was her reply email:

Ok. You have given me the tools to see that our food is
POISON!!!!!!!!!!!! X and I have checked out every label and are
going to transition all our foods to be MSG free among other
things!!! It is amazing what the FDA does not tell us and what they
allow in our foods. X and I have discussed that we feel so
betrayed by the food companies. Can't believe it.

Thank you for the information. I think it was info that we needed to
hear.

It is up to us to determine our paths not the FDA, CPS, Dept. of Health, CDC, Hospitals or media! I love that our children are a great example of smart choices we've made. The choices are never easy but then again Jesus told us we'd have trouble on this side of heaven. (John 16:33)

Paul's words are so full of inspiring, direct words. I feel this is a great end to my post:

1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

Phillipians 4:6

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God"



AEIOU



A: ASK



What is anything? What is everything? What does petition mean? When do I present my requests to God?



E: EMPHASIZE



Do NOT be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING, by PRAYER and PETITION, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to GOD.

NOT= never

ANYTHING= God can overcome all things

EVERYTHING= Nothing is too big or too small for God

PRAYER= How awesome that God is always there to listen to me

THANKSGIVING= I am so undeserving of God's love...THANK YOU!!

GOD= Master of all things, Great, Magnificent, Loving GOD!

I: ILLUSTRATE

is there a story or illustration you have heard in regards to this scripture?

O: OTHER SCRIPTURES

Ephesians 6:18 "and pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."
1Timothy 2:1 "I urge then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone-"

U: USE

God show me how I can use this scripture in my daily life.