Be Intentional

This is the greatest advice I can give myself.  I have found much joy and much contentment in the last few weeks by purposing to be intentional in everything I do.  What are my intentions, you might ask?  To glorify God.  Wow, Sunday School answer, right?  Wrong!  I have a terrible habit of meandering through life half awake, blindly doing menial tasks with no purpose other than the fact that they need to be done.  I am guilty of not taking pride in my roles, and when I do take pride in them, it's the selfish, self-exaltation kind of pride- the kind the God of heaven abhors.  Not the pride a blood-bought redeemed child of God ought to take in serving others and serving her Lord- so that others will glorify my Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16).  So, I have tried very hard lately to not just do what I have to do because it needs to be done, but do it all as unto the Lord. (Colossians 3:17 & 23, 1 Corinthians 10:31)  Scripture doesn't suggest this principle, it commands it!

I have awakened to a joy in doing what I was made to do.  Not just as a human: to glorify God.  But as a wife: to serve my husband, to be his helper, to submit and trust him, as he submits and trusts our Lord; and as a mother: teaching Dylan about the Lord, homeschooling her, caring for Lennox; as an employee: serving my family, my father- who is my employer; as servant of God's Church and even very important as one who keeps a home organized and resourceful. 
When I know these are my God-given roles to fulfill and I am either being a false witness of His grace in me or I am being a purposeful servant of the Lord- it matters greatly!  If I will only begin a task with the mindset, "What I do matters greatly today- it matters to the Lord where my heart is when I complete this task and when I do this I am bearing His name,"- I can find great joy and contentment in even the smallest thing!  Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?

 So, why then, is it so easy to fall back into walking my blind little circles, just milling around completing tasks (or sometimes not even completing them!!)? It's. That. One. Word. Sin. Sin. Sin.  My old nature likes to fight hardily with my new identity.  We will fight this fight until we are with the Lord in glory.  I can not wait for that day!  In the mean time, being mindful, intentional and being self-aware and brutally honest with myself- that I can easily fall into that rut- is the best way for me to fight. I have written about the same thing here. I can't kid myself- and neither can you.  We have to be on guard against the ease of sin, the ease of idleness, and the ease of letting ourselves run on auto-pilot.  I think we can soundly say that if we are meditating on God's Word, meeting with him regularly in prayer, and surrounding ourselves with brothers and sisters that would spur us on to good works (Hebrews 10:24-25), and actually listening and taking care to meet the needs of others- as in our spouses and being careful to seek out ways to serve those in our body and in our community, we can beat this thing with the strength and power of the Spirit that lives in us.  This is the God of the universe- he made me, and he deserves to be the center of everything I do.  I am purposing the make that the truth in my life.  How about you?

How Will They Know if No One Tells Them?

 But how are they to call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  Romans 10:14

A few months ago, Dylan and I were snuggling in bed one early morning. She said to me in a voice filled with distress, “You know, I was talking to Hannah* about God, and she don’t really remember him.”

Dylan isn’t converted, and I pray that God would truly open her eyes to himself soon, but I am thankful that she has an understanding of who God is, not because we are some great parents, but because he has helped us understand the magnitude of our high calling as parents.  

I want Dylan to see her father and mother savor Christ.  I want her to be able to close her eyes and picture his character in her mind based not only on Scriptures she has been taught by us but by the vivid picture we paint of him in our lives, by stories we tell her of his faithfulness, discipline, love, omnipresence, and holiness.  I want her to see me at my wits end- and I want her to see me turn to him.  I want her to remember when things get tough and her heart is aching that her parents went through heartache and trials and rejoiced in them because, by God’s Spirit, they were able to recognize that those afflictions were blessings from God to make them more like Christ.  I want to know that though she may not KNOW him now, she knows about Him, she can in no way doubt his existence, his presence and his faithfulness in the lives of her parents.  I don’t want to fail her in this.  I pray that I would point her to Christ when she’s being disciplined, that she may know that these commands she has been given are impossible to keep apart from a change in her very nature,  I pray that God’s mercy would be reflected at times in me when I can show her that though she deserves much punishment, I will show mercy to her as the Father has shown much mercy toward me.  I pray that I show her humility and my own need of Christ when I deal with her wrongly and must ask for her forgiveness.

"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:6-9

I think that these verses speak of what our goals as mothers, parents should be.  We should be breathing Christ to our children.  It shouldn’t always be like this, ‘Now sit here, open this bible and study this memory verse until you know God.’  Though, there is a time and place for that most certainly.  But Christ should be on our lips, in our hearts, in the way we speak to our children, the way we play with our children, the way we discipline them, how we drive in traffic, how we love our husbands, the way we pray, and how we serve our church.  I think in “writing them on the doorposts of your house,” it’s more than an actual written word, but a declaration by the life of your home,  “We are God’s people, we speak of him, we live for him; he is our identity.” 

May our children never say to us, ‘Why did you not tell me about God?”  May it never be said of our children, “They don’t really remember him.” 

We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord , and his might, and the wonders that he has done. He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments. Psalm 78:7

Worth saying again: Ten Reasons I Love my church...

I originally posted this in December of 2008, but it is worth saying again!  Too many times is the bride of Christ slandered and spat upon, but she is beautiful because she is loved by God.  Though the Universal Church is filled with imperfect sinners, it is being led and perfected by a most glorious, most perfect Savior.  He will complete His work, and she must strive to live for Him, no matter what comes against her. 

10. Godly Examples: I have so many examples of godly wives and mothers around me; women doing what they are called to do in Titus 2. My husband has a great group of godly men to surround himself with that strive to fulfill their roles as husbands in Ephesians 5.

9. My daughter has a wonderful group of children that I know and love to play with. I don't have to wonder about their parent's beliefs, question their home-lives and hope she is surrounded by at least a mediocre example of a biblical family. I know their home lives, I know their values and I know that they don't separate Sunday morning from the rest of their lives.

8. My pastor's wife: I love her, she's a great friend and dear sister to me, and I have never known a more godly example of biblical submission and meekness (controlled strength) in a woman as young as her. The beauty of the love for her husband makes me want to be a better wife to mine.

7. Fellowship: I know that lots of churches get together to "fellowship" and never speak of their Lord. Well, I have had more rewarding conversations in the last year with my dear brothers and sisters in Christ than I have had in a long time. And though we joke around are get silly, we do glory our in Redeemer and can't help but speak of Him.

6. A Desire for Holiness: For the most part there is a large group in our church that has decidedly began to strive for holiness. Through our own personal studies and through the teaching of our pastor, we have grown to know the Lord in such a way that we long to know Him more and long to do what pleases Him; Men who desire to be holy in all their conduct, mortifying the deeds of the flesh, loving their wives as Christ loves the church, and being both prophet and priest in their homes. Women who desire to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord and children who would strive to honor their father and mother.

5. My Pastor: He loves the Lord and you can see it in his life. You could come by his home unannounced and see that what he preaches on Sundays is what he strives to live out for the glory of God the rest of the week. He is a dear friend and loves to have fun, and is out to prove that Christianity isn't boring. He desires to rightly divide the Word of God and pours over the Scripture each week to ensure that he is able to do so. He loves the church and does his best to protect her from all ungodliness and understands the weight of his calling to keep guard over our souls. (Plug: Pray for your Pastor!)

4. Teaching and Application: Not only does our Pastor do a great job of teaching and urging the body of believers to learn and apply all that is in Scripture, but we have other men who use their gifts of teaching to do the same. We have women in our church that strive to teach the younger women in all godliness. We have fathers that do what they are called to do in teaching and raising their children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I am thankful that teaching is held in such high regard in this body.

3. Balance: We understand that we are to be ever-reforming. We understand that God is sanctifying Himself a people. But it is our greatest challenge in holding doctrine so highly that we do not go off into idolatry of doctrine and practices. I pray that we would continue to have balance and to remember the first things first: "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto You. Matt. 6:33"

2. Truth: It is held in high regard here. We know who provides absolute truth and we understand the inerrancy of the Word and we do our best to apply these truths to our lives and pray that the Spirit would teach us all things. In a world where truth is relative, it is a wonderful solace to find a place that regards highly a word of Truth.

And the number 1 reason I love my church:

1. She's the bride of Christ and He holds her more precious to Himself than the apple of His eye, how could I not love her if I desire to be like my Lord?

Your King is Coming...

"When through fiery trials, thy pathway shall lie, My Strength all sufficient, shall be thy supply; The flame shall not hurt thee, I only design, thy dross to consume, thy gold to refine..."

Trials come.  Not they might, not they could;  trials do come.  Trials hurt.  But without a breaking, there will be no mending.  We are weak and wretched, and like the gold the goldsmith works with, without the fire, there will be no purging, no cleansing, no strengthening, no shining. We would be kidding ourselves if we said we were not in need of sanctification.  Many of us have prayed and asked God to reveal our sins to us and to set our hearts ablaze for Him alone, and the most likely way for Him to do this is to put us through the fire.  My sinful heart leans on too many other things and people to help me "make it" in this world and I need Him to strip me of them so that I may clearly see that all my strength and supply is in Him alone.  He does what is best for His children; He does what is neccesary to turn our hearts back to Him. 

If you, like myself, have prayed for more faith, more trust in Him, and to be purged of your sins,  I do believe He is answering our prayers.  It would be easy on the flesh if we could just ask for those things, click our heels together and be perfected, sinless people, but that is not the way it works with God. I have seen that in my life over and over.  Like my sweet friend told me once, "If God would have told me just how things were going to turn out, I suppose I would be happy, but I'd be no closer to Him."  I think she hit the nail on the head.  He's giving us a longing for home.  Our true home- because He is there.  If I were comfortable here, would I actually long for heaven as I do when I experience sinfulness and heartache in myself, my friends and family, and this world?  He gives us trials for many reasons, and He clearly gives us the reasons in scripture. 


1 Peter 1:6-9 states:


In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith--more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. (emphasis mine)


Well,  it is necessary to be sanctified or we'll never be fit for heaven.  So we can understand, these trials must come.  

So, how then saints, can we rejoice in these afflictions?  Well, they are making us more like Christ:

Romans 8:28-29 says, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." (emphasis mine)

How else can we rejoice in these afflictions? Well, they are helping us to grasp the fact that God is all we have and all we need:

Habakkuk 3:17-18 says, "Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord ; I will take joy in the God of my salvation." (emphasis mine)

We are afflicted,  I am sure of it, but there are those who have lost even their very lives for the sake of Christ's name and His Kingdom.  We do endure momentary afflictions and pains, but have we given our very breath, yet?  We can call on God to execute justice on the unjust, but can we cry with the martyrs about the Lord avenging our blood?

Revelation 6:9-10 states, "When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, "O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" (emphasis mine)

No,  I have not suffered to the point of shedding my blood.  I mustn't forget that Christ promised afflictions, persecutions, trials, death to self...

Hebrews 12:3-8 says, "Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? "My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives." It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons." (emphasis mine)

But He also gives me hope in my discipline,  I am a "son" and I am being treated as such!  Praise the Lord,  Thy Rod and Thy Staff-- they DO comfort me! (Psalm 23:4)

How else can we rejoice in discipline? I will close with the most glorious... Christ! 
He is coming, He will return, He will avenge His children, He will scoop us up and take us home.  Striving will cease, emnity will end, sin will be defeated along with death and our eyes will remain forever on Him and not on ourselves.  Our hearts will rejoice in doing what they were made to do!  Worship will be sweet and unending.  Hold on Church, your King is Coming!

Sin vs. My Garden

And to Adam he said, "Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, 'You shall not eat of it,' cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;"thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field.By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return."  
Genesis 3:17-19


If you go through life day by day and ever doubt that the Bible is truth and it is the living, breathing Word of God, you should plant a garden.  I love to garden, therefore I enjoy fresh vegetables and fresh salsa and I hate weeds and bugs.  Not 3 days ago I had some broccoli growing beautifully in the midst of my garden and yesterday I had the remnants of broccoli plants that were teaming with these nasty green worms who looked rather satisfied and plump.  I, did however, enjoy practicing my dominion over those rude little pests as I flicked them to oblivion!


A garden has been a friendly reminder that sin is real, its effects are real, and not only on my vegetable garden, but in the garden of my own heart; sin's weeds fight everyday to choke out the lushness that God has planted within me.  May I always be diligent to keep that garden pruned and be on guard of parasites desiring to wage war against my soul. 


Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
1 Peter 2:11

Preparing to expand our little family...

We are in the home stretch with Lennox. I am feeling well, just tired. I am battling a case of bronchitis right now that took me to the hospital last night because my doctor thought my shortness breath and elevated heart rate could be a sign of a blood clot on my lungs, which it could have been, but upon examination, it was not! Praise the Lord! We are so thankful for the Lord and how He has carried us through this pregnancy and every trial He has placed before us. God is faithful when we are not, He is good and His goodness is not dependent upon our circumstances.

I got word over the last two weeks that on the evening of December 27th, I will go into the hospital to be prepped for labor induction the following morning. I can't believe that in just over 2 weeks, Lennox will make his appearance into the world in person. This little person has been making himself known through crazy kicks and full body rolls for months now, and I think he is running out of room! His due date is January 18th, but because of the increasing risk of blood clots for both me and the placenta (which could place him in danger) He will be arriving 3 weeks early. Fine with me. He's already weighing about a pound less than Dylan at birth! According to the measurements, he is going to be a big boy!

I have so enjoyed this pregnancy, for many reasons. One namely, is that God has taught me not to hold on so tightly to people or pregnancies. Martin Luther's verse in "A Mighty Fortress is our God" really explains this biblical concept well: "Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also: the body they may kill, God's truth abideth still, His Kingdom is forever!" We can not cherish things, even people above God, His truth, and His Kingdom. Those things- and those things alone, are eternal.

Thank you for all your prayers and support, I am asking that they continue in the last few weeks. I may not post again before he's born, but I hope to get a good photo post afterward!

An Update on Us

Tyler is getting pushy, so here’s my latest report...

Dylan just celebrated her 4th birthday on March the 20th. She enjoyed time spent with her friends at a Cowgirl themed birthday party. We had a blast making the cake, grilling hotdogs, visiting with friends and family, having Stick Horse races and playing “Pin the Tail on the Donkey.” Dylan had lots of aspirations about turning four. For the entire month leading up to her birthday, she began most sentences with, “When I’m four...” These were thoughts on reading more, riding her big girl bike, etc, etc... Apparently, the pressure came to be too much on her, now she has been telling me she just wants to be three again. The girl is her own person, no doubt. I do see both Jim and I in her, but there are times when she does and says things and people ask, “Where does she get that?” and I just have to shrug my shoulders because, I have no idea! She is quite the comedian and has recently taken up “Knock-Knock” jokes. Some of them don’t have a punch line that makes any sense, but some of them she’s gotten down! She is still working on reading and is doing very well. She is beginning to recognize words without sounding them out and last night at church she read 1 John 4:19 to me. That is why we are teaching her to read, so that she may utilize the treasure that is God’s Word. I was so happy to see that accomplishment take place. I was publicly educated and I have nothing to say but I loved my teachers, well most of them, they taught me to read, they taught me to love to learn and for the most part, they had a positive impact on me-but none of them taught me the Gospel; but I am so glad that I was the one to teach Dylan to read and teach her a lot of other things and that her main focus on learning will be to the glory of God. I can teach her to read the bible, I can teach her about science, using creation, and most importantly, I get to be the one that is with her those eight hours a day! Besides Jim, she is my best friend and I am so glad God has blessed me with her!

Chester and Randall fighting to the finish!

Dylan and Daddy racing

Dylan and Lydia racing with tongues waggin'

Our Wild Mustang Cake

Our gift to Dylan was a swing in the tree in our back yard... needless to say, she loves it!

If her smile seems a little stressed, it is because she was just disciplined for disobedience. Training up a child in the way she should go does not stop at their own birthday parties!

My little Hambone!

Jim and I have been led by God to begin to pray about the possibility of adopting a child or children, if He so chooses to allow us to do so. He has truly opened our hearts to caring for a child as our own. He has allowed us to see the great beauty of adoption and especially the beauty of the doctrine of adoption as we see in Scripture in regards to Salvation. The fact that God would take us in, love us as His own, make us heirs with Christ, give us a name when were were “once not a people” and make us “God’s people.” How could we not want to do that for a child of our own? We would desire your prayers in this area of our life. We do not want to step out ahead of God, and we desire His will and perfect timing in these things. We have discussed this with Dylan and helped her to understand that Mommy may not have a baby in her tummy but that God may still give her a brother or a sister. She has thus requested a brother AND a sister. We shall see! We just want to honor God in what James 1:27 says, “Pure and undefiled religion is this: caring for orphans and widows and keeping oneself unstained by the world.”

Beverly and I will be attending the “Children Desiring God 2009” conference in MN at the end of this month. I have never been, so I am greatly excited to be apart of that. I am hoping that God would use this to grow me in both my spiritual walk, but also in my teaching of Dylan and the children at church. I began last month to teach the children that are Dylan’s age on Wednesday nights at church. So far so good! I am teaching them about the attributes of God using Desiring God materials and I am also introducing catechism questions each week. We started catechizing Dylan when she was almost three and it has been a tremendous blessing to see her learn and grow as well as us learning along side her! We pray that God’s Holy Spirit would come one day to apply the truths she has learned to her little heart. We are also going through The Attributes of God by A.W. Pink as part of our family devotional time.

We started “Mentoring Men” and “Mentoring Women” classes a few months ago at church and that has been a tremendous blessing to our body already. I have seen the men grow and step up to the challenge of leading their homes and strengthening the body by growing in love and wisdom. May God be honored by strong men in the church! We ladies, as well, have learned a great deal about what it means to be woman. We certainly cannot look to society to teach us that, so we are ever thankful for God’s Word to direct our steps and light our path.

In other news, Dylan got pony! Her name is Sunny and all I can say is that Dylan has Papa wrapped around her finger! Here's a photo of Dylan and her new buddy...






Well, that is all I have to give right now, so I will close!

Love and Blessings,

Why do you do what you do?

As I was sitting here thinking of which passing thought to write upon, it hit me. Why do I want to write this blog? Seriously. Why? Is it some writing itch I've been scratching at for most of my life? Yes. Is it to keep my friends and family updated on things and thoughts that run through our lives on a day to day basis? Yes. Is there a vain bone in my body that would like to think more than my husband reads this thing? Oh, I am sure. But, but, but? Do I do it for the glory of God? Oh, I certainly hope so. I have noticed, and I hope this entry will cause you to do so as well, when I do something as unto the Lord, I have the most joy and I feel closest to Him. And when I do something for my own vain glory and for my own selfish gain, I can actually FEEL my wretchedness. So here I sit, asking you, "Why do you do what you do?" We all have our "thing." We also have those mundane tasks that we all have to do on a daily basis. It doesn't matter how useless the work may seem to us or how wonderful it may seem to us; if we are not doing it for the Lord, it is nothing.

"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 10:31

Do you want to know something? I think that is a command. And I think if we aren't striving to keep this command in all things, we are in sin. May God grant us repentance.

When I was thinking about what to write I had just spoken with a dear sister that had lots to do around her home to prepare it for her husband to hold a lunch there tomorrow. I reminded her first of all, to work diligently as unto the Lord; secondly, to remember who she is serving: Her Lord, the wonderful husband He has blessed her with; and God's children at this luncheon. This is key. We not only should be doing everything FOR the Lord, but this should also lead us to worhsip Him more fully, knowing that we can do NOTHING apart from the Lord, no matter how simple the task may seem, we couldn't even lift a finger apart from His abundant grace. Have you ever heard the hymn, "I need Thee every Hour?" Annie Hawks wrote that hymn and this was her response to the question of how she came to write it.

"One day as a young wife and mother of 37 years of age, I was busy with my regular house hold tasks. Suddenly, I became so filled with the sense of nearness to the Master that, wondering how one could live with out Him, either in joy or pain, these words, “I Need Thee Every Hour,” were ushered in to my mind, the thought at once taking full posession of me."

When you remember that you couldn't complete a task apart from Him, how could you leave Him out of the "why" you are doing the task?

We must be mindful of ourselves, our attentions, our intentions, and our tasks in such a way that we are always bringing our motives behind things before the throne of Grace. When we ask ourselves why we are doing something, we should be asking ourselves if it is pleasing to our Lord and honoring to His name. Jim and I have been teaching Dylan to read and in doing so, we are trying to instill in her why we are doing it. We want her to be able to read because it is an important gift from God. He has blessed us with His Word in our own language, men died so that we may be able to have it; and we should desire to read so that we may know what He requires of us, what He says about who we are, and most importantly what the true Gospel actually is. We need to be careful that in teaching her to read at a young age, we do not pride ourselves in her accomplishment. We have to remember every gift is from above and it's not of our own ability that we can do anything.

Well, God just reminded me today to check my motives on all things, to do everything for Him, and to joyfully serve in any way I can for that brings Him glory. May He grace you with the same remembrance as well.

On my Economic Soap Box...

Are Americans really falling for the government's logic: "The only way to get out of debt and save this economy is to get into more debt by spending money we've (and you've) borrowed in order to jumpstart things!" How is this feasible, I ask you? It seems like little more than common sense will provide the answers we need. Do companies fail? Do people lose jobs? Is it a natural cycle and consequence for over spending, borrowing more than you afford, and lending to those who can't repay? YES! Will borrowing more money to buy things we can't afford correct the problem that we are in because of the aforementioned habits solve things, then? NO!
Are we in this mess because our country and economy is so fueled by consumerism and pride in ownership, egomanics, and finding value in what you own instead of who you are? Yes! Can we look to Scripture to see if we are handling things in the financial realm of our lives the way God would have us? Most certainly. We should look first to the Scriptures and then act in prayer and obedience to what they teach us. Can we please take a look at Proverbs 6 before we go and borrow $800 billion?

1My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
have given your pledge for a stranger,
2if you are snared in the words of your mouth,
caught in the words of your mouth,
3then do this, my son, and save yourself,
for you have come into the hand of your neighbor:
go, hasten,[a] and(C) plead urgently with your neighbor.
4 Give your eyes no sleep
and your eyelids no slumber;
5save yourself like a gazelle from the hand of the hunter,[b]
like a bird from the hand of the fowler.

6 Go to the ant, O sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise.
7 Without having any chief,
officer, or ruler,
8she prepares her bread in summer
and gathers her food in harvest.
9 How long will you lie there, O sluggard?
When will you arise from your sleep?
10 A little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to rest,
11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber,
and want like an armed man.

Proverbs 6:1-11 (emphasis mine)

My husband has taught on these Scriptures to individuals in debt situations. I am positive there was a time in the history of our government when they looked to these verses and held them in high esteem for they are the words of God. We should run like the gazelle to get away from the debt that will easily devour us. We must work hard and save like the ant. Our country--government and individuals--have learned their financial disciplines from a fat and lazy grasshopper. Let us be sluggards no more!

As Christians, we should become less and less like the world. Our finances and stewardship should be in direct opposition to that of the world's. We must remember that though we may tithe that "10%;" the other "90%" is truly God's too, and how we spend it, save it, use it, or waste it will directly reveal our heart's desire and inclination towards God.

Martin Luther said once,"In salvation, there should be a conversion of the heart, but also the pocketbook." That is definitely true. May God open our eyes and hearts to hear and see what God would have us to do to honor Him in our finances. May we be different than this "consume and enjoy" society we live in today.

Do you support Planned Parenthood?

Do you support Planned Parenthood? Maybe you should read this before you answer…

The following excerpts are taken from a book which brings out all of the core ideas at the roots of each of the 3 waves of feminism and firmly refutes them with the Scriptures. Radical Womanhood by: Carolyn McCulley Do not think for one minute these ideas or variations of the same have not crept into the church or modern day Christianity. When a large family walks into your church, do you rejoice in the full quiver that God has so graciously blessed the parents with, or do you gasp and recoil at the burden "that poor woman" must bear?

Margaret Sanger was the founder of the modern birth control movement and a vocal proponent of eugenics-the theory of race improvement that was at the cornerstone of Nazi Germany. Sanger believed that all evils stemmed from large families, especially large families she deemed as unfit. As she wrote in her 1920 book Woman and the New Race, “The most merciful thing that a large family can do to one of its infant members is to kill.”

In 1921, Sanger organized the American Birth Control League, which later became the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Sanger founded the birth control movement on two goals: limiting the reproduction of the “unfit” and challenging Christian teaching by creating a “new morality.” She campaigned against women breeding “those numberless, undesired children who become the clogs and the destroyers of civilization.”

…Sanger was so confident about the fruits of birth control and abortion and the new race that she predicted exactly the opposite of what came to pass:

“When motherhood becomes the fruit of a deep yearning, not the result of ignorance or accident, its children will become the foundation of a new race. There will be no killing of babies in the womb by abortion, nor through neglect in foundling homes, nor will there be infanticide… When the last fetter falls the evils that have resulted from the suppression of woman’s will to freedom will pass. Child slavery, prostitution, feeblemindedness, physical deterioration, hunger, oppression and war will disappear from the earth…”

She was utterly wrong in her account of what she believed would be the “fruits” of birth control and abortion. She failed to take into account that it was not an unborn child’s fault that these things were happening, some she deemed unworthy of life did not hold the sole responsibility for these issues. The heart of these problems were sin, they still are sin, and abortion and separating sex and marriage are sin, not a way to correct these “social issues” she abhorred. Her words still ring in my ears as I type this. Especially her inaccurate account of which I will quote to you now:

“… There will come a Plato who will be understood, a Socrates who will drink no hemlock, and a Jesus who will not die upon the cross…”

I could barely type those words. We know as Christians that there is only one Redeemer of man, there is only one way to cover the sins of God’s children, and that one way alone is by the blood of the cross. Sanger’s view was that the consequences of sin would disappear if we could only allow women freedom from “religious” guilt to engage in sex without the restraint of marriage and without the fear of pregnancy and if it ended up happening anyway, it could be done away with so as to purify the human race and end the drain that “unfit and unwanted” children are on society. We know that sinful man will always produce sinful man. God is the only one who can grant life, both physically and spiritually.

May we always seek to have our worldview come from the Bible alone and may we seek to part more and more each day from the schemes and fallacies of the world.

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” James 4:4

I would rather spend the rest of my days on earth as an enemy of the world than to spend all eternity as an enemy of God.

10 Reasons I love the church God has placed me in...

10. Godly Examples: I have so many examples of godly wives and mothers around me; women doing what they are called to do in Titus 2. My husband has a great group of godly men to surround himself with that strive to fulfill their roles as husbands in Ephesians 5.

9. My daughter has a wonderful group of children that I know and love to play with. I don't have to wonder about their parent's beliefs, question their home-lives and hope she is surrounded by at least a mediocre example of a biblical family. I know their home lives, I know their values and I know that they don't separate Sunday morning from the rest of their lives.

8. My pastor's wife: I love her, she's a great friend and dear sister to me, and I have never known a more godly example of biblical submission and meekness (controlled strength) in a woman as young as her. The beauty of the love for her husband makes me want to be a better wife to mine.

7. Fellowship: I know that lots of churches get together to "fellowship" and never speak of their Lord. Well, I have had more rewarding conversations in the last year with my dear brothers and sisters in Christ than I have had in a long time. And though we joke around are get silly, we do glory our in Redeemer and can't help but speak of Him.

6. A Desire for Holiness: For the most part there is a large group in our church that has decidedly began to strive for holiness. Through our own personal studies and through the teaching of our pastor, we have grown to know the Lord in such a way that we long to know Him more and long to do what pleases Him; Men who desire to be holy in all their conduct, mortifying the deeds of the flesh, loving their wives as Christ loves the church, and being both prophet and priest in their homes. Women who desire to submit to their husbands as unto the Lord and children who would strive to honor their father and mother.

5. My Pastor: He loves the Lord and you can see it in his life. You could come by his home unannounced and see that what he preaches on Sundays is what he strives to live out for the glory of God the rest of the week. He is a dear friend and loves to have fun, and is out to prove that Christianity isn't boring. He desires to rightly divide the Word of God and pours over the Scripture each week to ensure that he is able to do so. He loves the church and does his best to protect her from all ungodliness and understands the weight of his calling to keep guard over our souls. (Plug: Pray for your Pastor!)

4. Teaching and Application: Not only does our Pastor do a great job of teaching and urging the body of believers to learn and apply all that is in Scripture, but we have other men who use their gifts of teaching to do the same. We have women in our church that strive to teach the younger women in all godliness. We have fathers that do what they are called to do in teaching and raising their children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord. I am thankful that teaching is held in such high regard in this body.

3. Balance: We understand that we are to be ever-reforming. We understand that God is sanctifying Himself a people. But it is our greatest challenge in holding doctrine so highly that we do not go off into idolatry of doctrine and practices. I pray that we would continue to have balance and to remember the first things first: "Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness. And all these things shall be added unto You. Matt. 6:33"

2. Truth: It is held in high regard here. We know who provides absolute truth and we understand the inerrancy of the Word and we do our best to apply these truths to our lives and pray that the Spirit would teach us all things. In a world where truth is relative, it is a wonderful solace to find a place that regards highly a word of Truth.

And the number 1 reason I love my church:

1. She's the bride of Christ and He holds her more precious to Himself than the apple of His eye, how could I not love her if I desire to be like my Lord?

A Carlson Update...

Well, Tyler, this one's for you, and well for anyone else thinking what Tyler was only brave enough to say! I can write and update on our family and write of spiritual things simultaniously, because that is how we ought to live. We MUST look into our lives and see God so intermingled within every aspect of them, and if we do not see this, we are not truly living a life consecrated to Him.
You asked for it Mr. Looper! Here are some pictures of us over the last month or so and an update us in general and then more specifically, our quest to enlarge our family...

God desires that we walk in His statutes and all of His promises are true. We have lived in Fort Worth since we were married in 2003 in the wonderful home that my grandfather built in 1952. My father grew up there, I did, and then my parents graciously gave us that home in which to start our own family. Without the provision of God and giving heart of my parents, I do not know where Jim and I would be today. We lived our lives as singles believing the lies the world taught us about money, and we also had begun to carry those beliefs into our marriage. We were in sinning with our money. We were in debt on stuff we didn't need, we were not tithing regularly, and we were living beyond our means, and also not saving. All of these excerises are sin based on the principles of Scripture. God really convicted Jim and myself of these sins, and our merciful Lord granted us repentance. We began studying the bible on these subjects, we started studying Christian financial principles by different teachers and most importantly we began to apply the truths of the Scriptures to our hearts and our lives. We put into action what we had learned. We became "doers of the Word" not just hearers. It has been hard work, it takes lots of prayer and discipline, and we could not have succeeded without the power of God enabling us to do so. We were once in debt to many for things we did not need. We began paying bills one by one, until they were all but gone. We put our old home on the market, and we were able to sell it and purchase a new home within a 6 week time frame. The "old" us would have had all the debt we accrued before and then also a new home payment along with it. But God taught us patience and endurance, and delayed gratification. Thank you, Lord, for that. Our desires were to be able to move into the same town in which our church buidling resides, so that we would live within the community in which we minister and to live closer to family, friends, and our family business. The Lord has graciously provided. His ways are right and true, and if we would have gone about getting our desires on our own we would have failed and we would be in opposition to God's precepts and His will.
Just look at what Psalm 37:3-6 says,"Trust in the Lord , and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday."

We have seen the truth in that lived out in our lives. I praise God for giving us strength to obey and eyes to see what is unseen. God gave us the desires of our heart BECAUSE we took delight in Him, and because we delight in Him our desires change from worldly desires into desiring God's will. When your delight is in the Lord, your desires change into godly ones.

So, in June 2008, we moved into our new home just 8 minutes from church! It has been a wonderful blessing. Our wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ were so helpful in moving and painting. They are awesome. God's bride is beautiful and growing ever more precious in our sight. We love them and do not know what we would do without them. We are a body and Christ is our head.

We began homeschooling Dylan over the course of the past year. It has been a tremendous blessing already, in that we are able to bring Dylan to the office with us. The uniqueness of my situation allows me to fulfill my wifely duties as keeper of the home, as well as being an industrious wife (both of which are described in Proverbs 31) who helps in making our family business a successful one. Dylan has a classroom area at the office and we greatly enjoy it. We have a bible time, then I am teaching her to read using a great resource called Teach your Child to Read in 100 easy Lessons by: Siegfried Engelmann, Phyllis Haddox , and Elaine Bruner. We are on lesson 23 currently and Dylan can read some simple words. We are teaching her that the most important reason to learn to read is so that we may read God's Word. We are reading some abridged classics as well. We will move onto unabridged when she's a little older, at 3 1/2 years it is a little hard. We just started Black Beauty today and we recently finished Heidi. I recently reduced my work week to 4 days and it has already proven productive. Dylan and I are able to spend some great time together and I am able to teach her to do things around the house. She helps me throughout the week as well, but this seems to be our own special time together. We are able to get things done on Friday that allow us to spend our Saturdays and Sundays with Daddy. We will surely use some upcoming Fridays for "field trips". It has been a joy to take part in educating my child. I know that God calls us to raise our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord and I pray that as parents we will always take that seriously. As for us, the best way we can do that as a family personally, is to homeschool our child. I am so thankful to the Lord for giving us the unique opportunity to do what we are doing. I am also thankful to my father for providing us ways in which to do so and also catching the same vision as he sees His Lord raising up a godly heritage within his family.

Most of you either know by knowing us or by reading this blog that we have a desire to have more children, but the Lord has not yet granted our petition. We went through 2 miscarriages before we had Dylan and then 2 more after Dylan in late 2007 and early 2008. But most of you do not know we just had another loss that we did not even know about until it was too late. I had an appointment with a new doctor and we have some new treatment options. I have a blood clotting disorder that did not know about until May 2008 and I also have an issue with egg development and hormones. So there are many new medications that are out there to treat these disorders that will hopefully prevent further losses. I would not trade my miscarriages and heartache for anything. I believe my Lord knows best and I believe what 1 Peter chapter 1 says is true. I know that God addresses each one of His children's sanctifcation personally. He gives us various trials so that our faith can be purified. I love my God for that. He does not react to situations, He brings them about. When you are a child of God, there are no accidents and no tragedies. He is Truth and His Words are truth and as a believer, we ought to quietly rest in His sovereignty. I know that without His Spirit it would be utterly impossible to make those statements, so I am thankful He's given Him to us. We still hurt when these things come about, but we also rejoice! We give a testimony about our Lord, we can't help but speak of Him, we can not help but tell others of how He is working in our lives. Well it is most easy to thank the Lord when things go our way, but it is a much more beautiful testimony to sing praises to Him when they don't. Your words seem to have more weight and more richness, and more belief about them when you speak sweetly of Him when things are not all right. Trials are an opportunity to know Him more, praise Him more, and love Him more. Children are always closer and more dependent on their father when they are humbled into KNOWING they need him. Let us not forget in times of plenty that we need Him just as much as in times of want. Do not cry out to God to take this cup from you for your comfort, for He may be giving you this cup so that you may ask for more of Him.

Prayer Requests for us: That no matter what, our focus would not be turned from Christ; that I would not desire more children above my Lord and my desire and petition would be that of Hannah's in 1 Samuel 1 & 2 and that I would not just give sacrifices of praise back to God for granting my desire, but that I would give my children to the Lord fully and wholly. And if the Lord chooses not to grant us more children, that I would praise Him all the more.

I pray that our testimony and update will be a blessing to you, reader, and that you would continue to grow in your love of your Lord and that you will follow Him with all you have. But most importantly, I pray that each of us knows that nothing is more important than to give God the glory that He is due.

Part 1: By Faith: Moses an excerpt from J.C. Ryle's book: Holiness

"Faith was a telescope to Moses. It made him seet he goodly land afar off-rest, peace, and victory, when dim-sighted reason could only see trial, barreness, storm andt empst, weariness and pain.
Faith was an interpreter to Moses. It made him pick out a comfortable meaning in the dark commands of God's handwriting, while ignorant sense could see nothing in it but mystery and foolishness.
Faith told Moses that all this rank and greatness was of the earth, earthy, a poor, vain, emty thign, frail, fleeting, and passing away; and that there was no true greatness like that of serving God. He was the king, he the true nobleman who belonged to the family of God. It was better to be last in heaven, than first in hell.
Faith told Moses that worldly pleasures were "pleasures of sin". They were mingled with sin, they led to sin, they were ruinous to the soul, and displeasing to God. It would be small comfort to have pleasure while God was against him. Better suffer and obey God, than be at ease and sin.
Faith told Moses that affliction and suffering were not real evils. They were the school of God, in which He trains the children of grace for the glory; the medicines which are needful to purify our corrupt wills; the furnace which must burn away our dross; the knife which must cut the ties that bind us to the world.

Marvel not that he refused greatness, riches, and pleasure. He looked far forward. he saw with the eye of faith kingdoms crumbling into dust, riches making to themselves wings and fleeing away... and only Christ and his little flock enduring forever.
Wonder not that he chose affliction, a despised people and reproach. He beheld thigns below the surface. he saw with the eye of faith affliction lasting but for a moment, reproach rolled away, and ending in everlasting honor, and the despised people of God reigning as kings with Christ in glory.
Was he not right? Does he not speak to us though dead, this very day? the name of Pharaoh's daughter has perished, or at any rate it extremely doubtful. The city where Pharaoh reigned is not known. The treasures of Egypt are gone. But the name of Moses is known wherever the Bible is read, and is still standing a witness that "whoso liveth by faith, happy is he." " - J.C. Ryle's chapter: "Moses" in Holiness

So what is Ryle trying to tell us by looking to Moses' example? He goes on to say...
"For one thing, if you would ever be saved, you must make the choice that Moses made- you must choose God before the world."

Noooo, he's not saying that in the anti-electionary statement! The theme of this book is holiness. God has not called us to impurity but holiness, says Paul in the 1st letter to the Thessalonians: "For this is the will of God, your sanctifcation...For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore, whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." (1Thess. 4:3,7-8)

What then?
So, where does this leave me as a woman, a wife, and a mother? It leaves me to meditate on God's Word and examine my own life, my own heart, to see the parts of the world in which remain in my grasp. I have to seek out where society has warped my worldview, and bend it back towards the Scriptures. I must look at my heart and see if it is inclined to any evil, any worldiness, any thing that would set my affections away from Christ, and strip them away to be able to fully follow Him. I must examine my thoughts and goals and let them go if they are not honoring to my Lord, honoring to my husband, and beneficial to my family, and food for my soul. I must look to the unseen by faith as Moses did to behold the true prize and the true beauty and the true King of my life.

May you read this excerpt from Ryle today and strive to live by faith in obedience as Moses did. Amen.

My next post will be another excerpt from Ryle's book and it is a look at Lot and the fact that "he lingered".

12 Things you should NOT do to your husband By: Camilia Brown

For all of us ladies, it is an every day struggle against the body of death we were born into and society's feminine movement does nothing to help us wage the war. Our ever present help is our loving and patient God and we must look to him to help us fight this war.

"A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." (Proverbs 12:4)

Read at your own Risk!

"Things You Should Not Do To Your Husband.” By: Camilia Brown

1. DO NOT treat your husband as one of your children. You are not running the household, he is. So no matter how busy you think you are or how many tasks you might have to perform at once you should not address your husband in this way: “Honey come here! Do this! Hold that! Grab this! Deal with this or that!” Now I am all for asking our husbands for help when he is available to give it, but bossing him around is not becoming of a wife. We must conduct ourselves as his help meet and not treat him as if the reverse were true.

2. DO NOT act as if you are more spiritual than he is. I honestly have a hard time with women who act as if they are the spiritual leaders of their family; as if they are doing all the spiritual reformation in the family while their husbands are busy with other pursuits and just tag along with regard to spiritual matters. We’ve all heard women say things like: “Well God told me this is the best for our family so I had to take the decision, because my husband is not there yet... I am praying for him though!” Even if it were true that a woman might be more spiritual than her husband, this attitude is a usurpation of the authority that God has given the family. There is never room for this kind of behavior in a Christian home. Honestly, my thoughts are that women who set themselves up as spiritual gurus in the family and brag of being more spiritual or knowledgeable than anyone else have proved themselves to be the contrary.

3. DO NOT talk over him and in a gathering DO NOT talk more than he does. If he doesn’t talk much than talk even less. It is just not becoming to women to do all the talking as if they speak for the family.

4. DO NOT complain about him to others. Don’t make him look foolish in front of anyone and don’t talk about his weaknesses to anyone.

5. DO NOT compare him with other men. You married an individual with different qualities, different style and vision. He is not like anyone else. He is the man that God has given you the task of loving and serving, and you should consider it an honor to be able to carry out that duty. Note to unmarried ladies: Make a list with the qualities a future husband MUST have to avoid your being totally dissatisfied. If it was not that important before you got married don’t nag him or be dissatisfied about it after you get married.

6. DO NOT nag him continuously about a matter. Did you hear the expression? DRIP! DRIP! DRIP!? I don’t like it when the children come even close to being drips, so I am sure no husband would appreciate it either.

7. DO NOT make him feel he doesn’t measure up to your expectations. Encourage, don’t criticize and most important...be content!

8. DO NOT be afraid to bring to his attention sins that he should deal with or concerns that you might have in regard to his conduct. It is a wife’s duty to encourage her husband in his spiritual growth. While it is not the wife’s duty to assume the role of her husband’s conscience, she is the closest to him and can encourage him grow in ways that others cannot. Our husbands must trust that we are help meets to them and that we are honest and sober minded in our reproof.

9. DO NOT always speak your mind. This doesn’t mean we should not have an opinion, but most of the time it is better to hold our tongues rather than “state the facts.” Choose your words carefully in soberness, patience, and love. This does not mean that it is wrong to be open with your husband about your concerns or being honest when he asks our opinion. There is a greater respect and trust that your husband will show toward your opinion when you find this balance.

10. DO NOT seek out parallel lives with him. Become acquainted with whatever job he does and get involved if possible, even if by just listening to him talk about it. Don’t think about your husband’s pursuits in terms of: HIS career, HIS hobbies, HIS this, or HIS that. I hear women say: “Well he is busy with his pursuits and I with the children.” Yes we have different roles but we work together towards the same goal: to Glorify God in every area of our lives. You can’t be a proper help meet for your husband if you are not involved in everything he is doing whether you are interested or not.

11. DO NOT become too busy to listen to him or do things for him. When you start to have lots of children it can become really easy to do this, but remember you are made to be a help meet for him.

12. DO NOT let your appearance go because you have married him now. Make yourself pretty for him. Yes he loves you no matter what, but you made sure that you showed him that you care enough to look nice for him before you were married, you should care more, not less, after he actually becomes your husband. It is not a matter of keeping his affections, but rather continuing to give him all that we have to offer. 5 minutes a day is all it takes.

"I have made my share of mistakes and still do. Many of them are listed above. I am still a work in progress, so please don’t take this to mean that I think I have arrived. I thought listing a few resolutions and observations, may be helpful to someone else." -Camilia Brown

As Silver Refined

On March 14, 2008 Jim and I went in for another sonogram at almost 8 weeks pregnant and the results confirmed what I had already suspected… The baby did not grow as it should. There was no heartbeat, only a very underdeveloped baby. I had not experienced the extent of morning sickness that I usually do with pregnancy, so I had already had a hunch that things were not going well.

The good news is that upon this loss, I was able to find out that with my only term pregnancy (Dylan), I was actually taking double the hormonal dosage that I have been with these last two pregnancies that ended in miscarriage.
I won’t pretend that I have this all figured out or that I don’t struggle with sorrow or grief, but I have learned through trials and the Word of God that everything that I am told by this world to think and to feel is the complete opposite of the eternal mind-set that God calls us to have.
I feel pressed down hard by God. But the comforting thing is that it is HIS hand that is on me. I can go to the scriptures and see that He is doing this to purify me and conform me to the image of His Son; to make me more like Christ. At this point in my life I feel incredibly loved by God. He loves me enough to do what is best for me, even if it means that I hurt. That is what a true parent does for His child. His hand is moving in my life to give me the greatest good, which is becoming more like Him. Hebrews 12 speaks of the discipline from an earthly father and our heavenly Father: "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:10-11
I have assurance from His word that in His grand plan, His glory and my good never supersede one another. My good is never at stake for His glory, nor does He sacrifice His glory for my good. They are in a harmonious balance. Everything He does is both for His glory and my good. What a wonderful comfort I can find in that! God’s wonderful plan to truly display His glory to all people includes doing me good all the days of my life.

"…I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." Jeremiah 32:40b

Have you heard the stories of how they purify gold and silver? They heat the metals up to a heat in which the precious metals are not burnt, but liquefy, at this melting point, the "dross" floats to the top. Dross is all the scum and impurities that are within. They then can scrape the dross off of the top and the outcome is a more pure silver or gold. They do this over and over to create a more pure form. God does the same with His people and the bible testifies to this. The important thing to take note of in the purification process is that the gold or silver is not consumed by the heat, not burnt up. The same thing happens with us, we are heated up so hot to cleanse us of impurities, but not so hot to destroy us. What a beautiful picture of the care God takes in refining us. He cleanses us for our good and for His glory. The old hymn "How firm a foundation" beautifully proclaims this truth:
"When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;The flame shall not hurt thee; I only designThy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine."

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers." Romans 8:28-29

Our good that is worked out in His purpose is to conform us to Christ!

"Bless our God, O peoples; let the sound of His praise be heard, who has kept our soul among the living and has not let our feet slip. For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried." Psalm 66:8-10

"… and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, "They are my people’; and they will say,"The Lord is my God." Zechariah 13:9b

"In this you rejoice, thou now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." 1 Peter 1:6-7

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1:2-4

Before all of this happened, I decided to purchase 2 new cds. One I knew the songs on, another I didn’t. I couldn’t decide which cd to purchase that I was not familiar with, but I did see one that was a collection of songs based off of an old book of Puritan prayers. I thought that has to be good. Well, I must praise God for inclining me to that purchase. The first song on the CD says it all and exactly what I needed to hear. Here are the words based on a prayer written by an old Puritan hundreds of years ago…
When You lead me to the valley of vision
I can see You in the heights
And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision
It’s here Your glory shines so bright
So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown
To be low is to be high
That the valley’s where you make me more like Christ
Chorus:
Let me find Your grace in the valley
Let me find Your life in my death
Let me find Your joy in my sorrow
Your wealth in my need
That You’re near with every breath
In the valley
In the day time, there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night
And the deeper that I go into darkness
The more I see Your radiant light
So let me learn that my losses are my gain
To be broken is to heal
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed

Every circumstance you are in is for a purpose. It may be to draw you to God for the first time, or draw you back to Him if you have strayed; it may to make you realize you have a desperate need to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. Whatever your circumstance, whatever your trial, my prayer for you is that you would seek after God and feel your desperate need of Him.
It is a glorious thing to rest in God’s sovereignty and power in your life. God grants me the faith to believe upon His word and promises because they are truth and He is truth. That was Jesus’ prayer for you as well. "Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth." John 17:17

When God leads you into the valley, may it be a valley of vision for you, to clearly see His glories. Rightly honor Him by knowing that it is His sovereign hand that leads you to both mountains and valleys and His purpose for those valleys were written before one of your days every began. "… in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there were none of them." Psalm 139:16b

So based on this Scripture, along with hundreds of others; God not only knows the future; the whole story, the God of that created the universe, wrote the story!
May the magnitude of His glory, knowledge and power cause you to fear Him, revere Him, and long to know Him.

Do you have Assurance?

In Romans 3:23, it says that "ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"; and look at what Ephesians 2:8-9 says about salvation: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one can boast.
Of all the important parts of the gospel I claim these two as essential:
1) God gives us the gift of faith, we can not muster it up on our own... and the faith he gives us in turn allows us to receive his message of grace and repentance.
2) We have to realize that we have sinned against God, and he is Holy and we deserve Hell as punishment, but by His own blood he paid our fine, and by His power he gives us a new heart: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away; behold the new has come." 2 Corinthians 5:17 Christ's regenerating power ALONE can cause us to bear good fruit for Him.
It is not that works (good deeds) can save us, we know that is not the case by looking at the scripture in Ephesians I noted above, BUT we know that as a RESULT of salvation and because of our love for Him because of what He did and does for us, we will most certainly bear fruit: Look at what Jesus himself says in Matthew 7:15-20,"So, every tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits."
Here is the part that ought to make each of us fearful and wrestle with our faith to see if we are in the faith, the next thing Jesus says after the above passage in Matt 7 is verse 21: "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." and then in verse 23: And then I will declare to them, "I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness."
Why do you think practically 80% of our population in the US says they are Christian, more loosely that they "believe in God" but something less than 20% of Americans regularly attend church. And of those 20% can you name a precentege that actually bear fruit? I could almost easily say it's about half of that 20%. You can come to the conclusion of the Scripture I wrote out above and see that the Bible testifies to what you see in America and American churches presently.
It is not about judging others in condemnation or some how thinking you are better than them. It is about believing the truth of the Gospel that people will die and go to Hell if they are not a new creation in Christ. It's about loving someone enough to show them the Scriptures that are diametrically opposed to the life they live and the profession of belief they make.
Let me give you this scenerio: Imagine that I drive up to the White House and get to the security gate and say, Hi, I'm Mendi and I know President Bush and I would like to see him. They would look at me and laugh, and if I am lucky they'd call and ask around, and President Bush would say,"I don't know that person and I have never heard of them in my life." Now, think of that same scenerio and President Bush calls the security gate and says, "Hey,that is my best friend Mendi, Let her in and throw a party!"
See the difference? Millions of people claim to know Christ, but does He know them?
I will leave you with some other scriptures in Matthew 7:13-14: "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
I meant to only write a few lines on this subject, but it is something I am truly passionate about. I have many around me that have been led falsely by false teachings that they can just SAY they are Christians and get baptized and go on living in sin without every being changed and still go to Heaven. Scripture teaches on the contrary... and I want people to know this. I would rather someone wrestle in prayer and over the word of God about their salvation than have a false sense of hope and go to hell.
I beg you to examine yourself, what you claim as your assurance, and test it with the Bible. Is your assurance in man-made methodology like "walking an aisle at church, repeating the "sinner's prayer", or even some type of church sacraments like baptism or communion?" If you hope is not found in Christ alone and His redemptive work upon the cross and you can not look to the Scriptures and examine your life and say, "I am a new creation, God has changed my heart. I hate the things I once loved (my sin) and I love the things I once hated (the things of God and God himself).
Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test! 2 Corinthians 13:5
Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, Philemon 2:12
I leave you with these two passage of Scriptures: The Works of the Flesh and the Fruits of the Spirit…
WORKS of the FLESH
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
FRUITS of the SPIRIT
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk (a manner of lifestyle) by the Spirit.
Galatians 5:22-25
Which one of these passages describes your life? If you can not say after reading the following Scriptures that you are of a new nature, you must cry out to God for Salvation.
I love you all and I plead with you to examine yourselves.