Where was God?

I should've posted this at the end of December, when it was still 2012, but I figured, better late than never!  (That's usually my motto - ha ha!)

Anyway, when things go wrong, you often hear the question "Where was God?"  Where is God when evil happens?

There have been entire books devoted to answering that question (a really good one to read on the subject is "If God is Good" by Randy Alcorn).

But, why do we never hear "Where is God when good happens?"

John Piper asks this very question in his post, "Where was God in all the Goodness of 2012?"
Here is that post.....

As this year ends, the question I am asking is: Where was God when so many good things happened this past year?

How can God be a God of justice, yet allow so much good to happen to people who dishonor him by disbelieving in him, or giving lip service to his existence, or paying no more attention to him than the carpet in their den, or rejecting the kingship of his Son, or scorning his word, or preferring a hundred pleasures before him?

How can God be righteous and do so much good to us who are so unrighteous?

Where was God in 2012?
Where was God when nine million planes landed safely in the United States?
Where was God when the world revolved around the sun so accurately that it achieved the Winter solstice perfectly at 5:12 AM December 21 and headed back toward Spring?
Where was God when the President was not shot at a thousand public appearances?
Where was God when American farms produced ten million bushels of corn, and 2.8 million bushels of soybeans — enough food to sell $100 billions worth to other nations?
Where was God when no terrorist plot brought down a single American building or plane or industry?
Where was God when the sun maintained its heat and its gravitational pull precisely enough that we were not incinerated or frozen?
Where was God when three hundred million Americans drank water in homes and restaurants without getting sick?
Where was God when no new plague swept away a third of our race?
Where was God when Americans drove three trillion accident free miles?
Where was God when over three million healthy babies were born in America?

Here are a few of the answers given by God himself in his word.

1. God was reigning from his throne to do his sovereign will.“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases.” (Psalm 115:3)
“He works all things according to the counsel of his will.” (Ephesians 1:11)

2. God was reigning from his throne to prevent much sin and harm in the world.“God said to [Abimelech, the king of Gerar], it was I who kept you from sinning against me. Therefore I did not let you touch her.” (Genesis 20:6)
“You know what is restraining [the man of lawlessness] now.” (2 Thessalonians 2:6)

3. God was reigning from his throne to give a witness to his goodness and his patience.“God did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” (Acts 14:17)

4. God was reigning from his throne to summon the world to repentance.“Do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

So as the year ends, I bow my head as an undeserving sinner, amazed that I have not been swept away. And even more, that because of Jesus, I am forgiven, adopted into God’s family, and destined for eternal life.

God has been good to us. And his best gift is the one that will be there when all the others fail. Jesus, crucified, risen, reigning.

Easter makes Christmas - Resurrection Sunday edition

Finally, my follow up to Easter makes Christmas - Good Friday edition. (I also wrote a post back in 2009 titled The Truth About Easter)

The crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, the substitute for my sin, the sacrifice on behalf of the sins of the world - was incredibly important. In fact, just before breathing His last, Jesus cried out victoriously "It is finished!" because He had accomplished His purpose in coming to earth.

For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

So, if He already accomplished that by dying, then how important is the resurrection?

It is everything!

And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. 1 Corinthians 15:14, 15, 17-19 (emphasis mine)

The resurrection of Jesus Christ proves His deity and is the only reason we can have faith in our own resurrection upon His return.

If He did not rise from the dead than He is a liar (for He claimed that He would rise on the 3rd day!), the scriptures are false (for they proclaim the resurrection again and again), our faith is futile and we are still in our sins - and death is the end. If He did not rise then neither will we and we have no hope of eternal life.

Just look at the disciples! Before the resurrection they were timid and fearful. John was the only one who even showed up at the cross - they were all in hiding!

Nancy Leigh DeMoss says...
But then came the news of the resurrection and then the gift and empowering of the Holy Spirit. The combination of those things transformed those first disciples into a bold band of believers who were willing to lay down their lives for Christ’s sake. The church was birthed and it spread through the proclamation that Christ died for our sins and was raised from the dead.

A timid, weak, disbanded group of men suddenly became a bold team of believers willing to die proclaiming Christ's resurrection. People do not die for what they know to be a lie.

DeMoss continues to list seven implications of the resurrection - there is hope in the most desperate of circumstances, God always keeps His promises, death is no longer to be feared, our own bodily resurrection is assured, God has accepted and approved the work Christ did on the cross and therefore accepts and approves those of us who are in Christ (no longer any condemnation for our sins!), the power and dominion of sin in our lives has been overcome, and the very same power that raised Christ from the dead is available to us!

Wow - the importance of the resurrection simply cannot be overstated. It is significant beyond measure.

Why We Celebrate Easter
The birth was an event
The life only an example
Until the death gave them meaning
and the resurrection gave them power

Why we celebrate Easter

Of all the events that defined the life of Christ
A miraculous birth, test in the desert, supernatural baptism,
sermon on the mount, the working of miracles
The Bible commands us to remember only one

His sacrificial death

Why?

Why are we not commanded to celebrate His birth
or commemorate His miracles, but to remember His death?

In His birth, He became Emmanuel, God is with us
But in death, He became Saviour, God saved us
And in resurrection, He became Redeemer, God has renewed us

In birth and life, He revealed the possible
in death and resurrection, He made it possible

He became our example, in how He lived and loved
We couldn't become it until He died and rose

It was not enough that He was our Teacher
He had to become our Saviour, Redeemer

"It is for your good that I am going away...
unless I go away, the Counselor will not come" John 16:7

Without Easter weekend we only see His example
With Easter weekend we become His example
Without Easter weekend we're merely good people
With Easter weekend we're a holy people

His birth was the incarnation
His life was a revelation
But His death was our salvation
and His resurrection is our restoration

Easter
That's why we celebrate...

If you are a skeptic and need to see some evidence of the resurrection, I highly encourage you to purchase The Case for Easter by Lee Strobel (less than $4!) - which contains all the chapters relevant to the crucifixion and resurrection that are in his larger volume, The Case for Christ.

To Lent or Not to Lent - that is the question

To Lent or not to Lent - that is the question.

Well, obviously it's not the question anymore cause that would be WAY too late!

I have never observed Lent before. By that I mean that I have never sacrificed something for the 40 day period before Holy Saturday (day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday) in order to focus and prepare my heart for Easter, identifying (in a very small way!) with the sacrifice and suffering of our Saviour.

In truth, due to growing up in Evangelical Protestant churches, I hadn't really ever heard much about Lent. But there has been a growing trend to "give up something for Lent" and the more I heard about it, the more I found the idea of heart preparation and focus on Jesus to be an appealing one.

With two of our daughters having March birthdays, my own being in April, Spring Break thrown into the mix, and the fact that Easter is always at a different time each year - I find that the Easter season just sneaks up on me and is over almost as soon as it's begun.

(OK, I just about got myself on a rabbit trail there, and I so do not have time for a post that long right now, so I'll save it for another time. Look for an upcoming post titled "Easter Beats Christmas!")

But what I liked even more than giving something up for Lent, was reading in my cousin Tammi's post about purposefully taking on something new and adding deliberate acts of generosity and kindness to the observance of Lent (see Love Life Live Lent for more details on this philosophy).

Sidebar: Technically the period between Ash Wednesday and Holy Saturday is more than 40 days because Sundays are supposed to be a "day off" so to speak.

So, I had decided I wanted to do it, now what exactly was "it" going to be?

Well, I considered giving up desserts or something like that. But in all honesty, the pretty big side benefit to giving up desserts is losing a couple pounds and quite frankly, made that seem less than altruistic to me. So that one was out. (Note: I'm not accusing anyone else of less than pure motives, just saying that my own would be)

In the end, I decided to pretty much copy my cousin Tammi (us Tammy/i's are pretty smart after all!). I decided to give up any extra-internet use (Facebooking, blogging, surfing, etc) unless I had completed my goals for the day. I'm obviously still doing my Bible blog (as that would be part of the goals for the day!), and I do check email (need to for business, plus that is simply one way people get ahold of me, and is honestly not my time-waster). But other than that - no internet usage until goals have been accomplished.

Now you know why you haven't seen me around here or Facebook much lately!! (except when we were on our little family holiday - not many goals on those days, ha ha!) I may as well have banned myself completely - which shows that either my goals have been way too high, or I've previously been wasting way too much time on internet frivolity. Most likely it's probably a combination of the two - giving me future food for thought.

In keeping with Love Life Live Lent, I have also been doing a little something extra for somebody every day - whether it's simply putting a note in the girls lunches, bringing bread to a neighbour or inviting someone over for dinner. Not necessarily big things. But something.

And last, but certainly not least, I have also been following along with a special Lenten Bible study hosted by Nancy Leigh DeMoss on Revive Our Hearts Radio, using the 31-day devotional book The Incomparable Christ, by J. Oswald Sanders. I jumped on this one pretty late, so I still haven't received my book, but the devotionals have been fantastic even without it. I have really been enjoying this series and am so glad I decided to follow it.

So, in regards to the original question - to Lent is the answer!

Do you observe Lent? If so, what are you doing (or should I say, not doing)?

Spring?

It's middle of March, which in some places means it's springtime. Where I live? Not so much.

Well, I guess that's not totally true. We have had some days where the thermometre has managed to crawl above zero (celsius), but we've also had days of -40!! It is spring, it's not spring, it is spring, it's not spring - the back and forth of the weather is definitely not my favourite part of spring. And it doesn't make for fabulous road conditions either.

But what it does do, is provide a light at the end of our long winter tunnel. Though the days of wooden swing sets, slurpees and venturing outdoors jacketless seem far off, they ARE coming. And they're coming sooner today than they were a month ago.

In the meantime, I'm gonna go bake some more bread, stay warm and maybe read a book or two! :)

Thankful Thursday - Lest We Forget

Today, on Remembrance Day, I am thankful for the countless soldiers who sacrificed themselves for the sake of freedom.

All sacrificed years of their life; all sacrificed being able to continue their lives as usual, to be with their families, to be there for births, first steps and more; all sacrificed the naivete of not knowing what war is truly like.

And some sacrificed through wounds - physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

And some sacrificed through death.

I am thankful that they fought (and still fight!) for our freedom.

I am thankful when they fight for the freedom of other countries too weak to fight for themselves.

I am thankful they willingly fight so that I am not forced to.

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

Which reminds me of another sacrifice I am thankful for.

Romans 5:7-8 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus sacrificed the glory of heaven .... for us.

Jesus took on the sins of the world and endured the wrath of God and separation from His father - so that we could be free from the punishment of sin.

Jesus sacrificed - physically, mentally, emotionally, physically - for us. For you. For me. While we were sinners, because we were sinners, because He loves us - He offers the gift of eternal life.

I am thankful He died for me.

I am thankful because we are all incapable of paying the penalty for our sins and needed Him to do it for us.

Today, I am thankful for freedom - in all it's forms!



* Click on the Thankful Thursday button to visit our host and other thankful bloggers.

Did YOU know? Important ethical information

Updated from a previous post from 3 years ago.

This is a sensitive area of discussion, but I'm willing to take the plunge! I hope I do not offend anyone - that is not my intent. My intent is to inform, to encourage your own research (don't just take my word for it!) and to decide what to do with this information (remember - doing nothing is also a decision). I have issued the challenge - are you prepared to take it?

Virtually everyone I have spoken to IRL has not been aware of this - for some reason this news is just not getting out. So, I'm doing my part to spread the word!

So, I'm going to start by providing facts, then I will provide links to some research I have done, and then I will state my opinions - I bet you can't wait for that part! :)

The fact - one of the ways the birth control pill works is to prevent implantation of a fertilized egg. Assuming you believe that life begins at conception (as most Christians do) - this is a chemically induced abortion - a fertilized egg is a baby.

The pill works in 3 ways
1) The main way it works is by preventing ovulation. No ovulation = no possibility of pregnancy and therefore, no ethical dilemma. However, this is not 100% effective. Especially nowadays with the lower dosage pills being common, this is not anywhere close to 100% effective - which means the other 2 mechanisms often come in to play.
2) The second way it works is by changing the cervical mucous to prevent sperm from reaching an egg should ovulation occur. This too, is totally fine. Preventing fertilization is not wrong. However, this mechanism is also not always effective. This is when the other mechanism comes into play.
3) The 3rd way it works is by thinning the lining of the uterus so that should fertilization occur, it would make it much more difficult for the five to seven day old baby to attach to the lining in order to receive the nourishment needed to grow. If the baby cannot successful implant, the baby will die and be expelled from the body during menstruation - this is called a chemical abortion.

Assuming that life begins at conception, this is a serious ethical problem.

So, that's it in a nutshell. This is also true with IUDs, Depo-Provera and Norplant (in fact in some of those the abortifacient effect is it's main mechanism)

Here is some research...

The most comprehensive and detailed research I've found was done by Randy Alcorn who actually set out to prove that the pill did NOT work in this way. If you click on this link you can find Randy's article (I think it's broken down into 9 parts) as well as a host of other articles on the topic. Randy Alcorn interviewed everyone from the pill manufacturers, their pharmacists and physicians as well as numerous other medical texts and references.

Here's a few quotes from his article....

On March 24, 1997, I had a lengthy and enlightening talk with Richard Hill, a pharmacist who works for Ortho-McNeil's product information department. (Ortho-McNeil and Searle are the largest birth control pill manufacturers.)

I then asked Hill if he was certain the Pill made implantation less likely. "Oh, yes," he replied. I said, "So you don't think this is just a theoretical effect of the Pill?" He said the following, as I took detailed notes:

Oh, no, it's not theoretical. It's observable. We know what an endometrium looks like when it's richest and most receptive to the fertilized egg. When a woman is taking the Pill you can clearly see the difference, based both on gross appearance -- as seen with the naked eye -- and under a microscope. At the time when the endometrium would normally accept a fertilized egg, if a woman is taking the Pill it is much less likely to do so.

I asked Hill one more time, "So you're saying this is an actual effect that happens, not just a theoretical one?" He said, "Sure -- you can actually see what it does to the endometrium and it's obvious it makes implantation less likely. The only thing that's theoretical is the numbers, because we just don't know that." (emphasis mine)

And how often does this third mechanism come into play? IOW, how many chemical abortions are there every year from the pill? The answer will likely astound you. First to have something to compare to - there are approx 1.5 million abortions a year in the US. (not chemical abortions, "regular" surgical abortions where there is deliberate termination of a known pregnancy). It is impossible, of course, to give an exact number of how many chemical abortions happen due to taking the pill (it could be done, but the tests have not been performed) - however it is possible to scientifically predict the numbers. The numbers are shockingly high - between 834,000 and 4.17 million chemical abortions every year. See this article for details on how these numbers were calculated.

There are numerous other sites that state that this is how the pill works - everything from non-Christian organizations like Planned Parenthood (who recently revised their website to make it appear more theoretical), to Christian organizations like Crisis Pregnancy centre. All you have to do is google "abortifacient effect birth control pill" and tons of links will show up.

Here are a few more links for you....
Growing Debate About the Abortifacient Effect of the Birth Control Pill and the Principle of the Double Effect - written by Walter Larimore, MD (formerly on staff with Focus on the Family)
The Birth Control Pill Documentary: 28 Days on the Pill
Resources for 28 Days on the Pill - a huge list of resources used by the documentary
LifeSiteNews article - pro-abortion advocates confirm the pill prevents implantation of embryos
Review of Randy Alcorn's research book
"Birth Control" Pills Cause Early Abortions - article by Prolife America

In your own research, don't just ask you doctor and accept a quick "oh no, it's not an abortifacient" and think you've done your duty, even if your doctor is a Christian.

First of all, not all doctors are aware of this effect of the pill (Dr Walter Larimore was unaware of this effect, and it took a lot of his own time and research to convince him of it's reality). If they dismiss your concerns, tell them about this research and ask them to perform their own and that you'd like to discuss it again.

Secondly, not all doctors define life as beginning at fertilization (especially non-Christian doctors). Some define life as beginning at implantation in which case they obviously would not consider the pill abortifacient.

Frankly, I've been amazed and disappointed at the apathetic response I've gotten from many of the people I've talked to about this affect of the pill. The only reason I can think is that they feel like if they don't research it themselves they don't have to act on the information. After all, the pill is a super convenient method of birth control. Unfortunately it is birth control, and not conception control. Another reason for the "head in the sand" response is the desire for it not to be true. Believe me - I understand that desire. We used the pill for 5 yrs, completely unaware of this affect. And it grieves me to think that I may have unknowingly caused the death of a child. But, how much more wrong would it be to continue to use it blindly, after knowing about the possibility of chemical abortion?

One thing I want to mention. There are many women that need to take the pill for medical reasons - having nothing to do with conception. I don't see an ethical problem with this provided that an additional, alternative method of true conception control is used to negate the abortifacient effect of the pill.

So, what to use instead?

When done correctly, Natural Family Planning or NFP (NOT the rhythm method) is even more effective than the pill. It does take work, and you need to educate yourself in order to do it correctly, but it's effective - over 99% effective!

Other options include barrier methods, spermicide, etc. And of course, for the truly paranoid, more than one option can be used at the same time! :)

So, my encouragement to you (should you believe in life at conception), is to cease using the pill (or use it in combination with another method) and research it yourself. I'm sure you will find that the risk is simply too high - especially when alternative methods of conception control are available that work and that have NO risk of causing an abortion. I know some of the other methods are not as convenient, but is convenience a valid reason to risk a life?

I highly encourage you to read Randy Alcorn's book (available for free download in its entirety here).

If you have any questions, I'd be more than happy to answer any that I possibly can. Please feel free to forward this to everyone you know. The word needs to get out. As in any medical situation, people need to be informed - especially since lives are literally at stake.

What are we missing?

Yesterday, I read about a little social experiment that took place in the DC Metro Station and it definitely made me ask myself - what am I missing?

On January 12, 2007 Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world, played some of the most intricate and difficult pieces ever composed on a violin worth $3.5 million. And virtually no one noticed.

The Washington Post article is lengthy one, detailing how it came about, what they were expecting and the actual results.

Just a few days earlier Joshua Bell had performed for a sold out crowd in Boston where people paid $100 for decent seats. And then he performed incognito at the Metro station where he remained virtually unrecognized (only 1 person recognized him!) and earned a paltry $32.17

And here's the quote from the Post article that struck me the most....
There was no ethnic or demographic pattern to distinguish the people who stayed to watch Bell, or the ones who gave money, from that vast majority who hurried on past, unheeding. Whites, blacks and Asians, young and old, men and women, were represented in all three groups. But the behavior of one demographic remained absolutely consistent. Every single time a child walked past, he or she tried to stop and watch. And every single time, a parent scooted the kid away. (emphasis mine)

I see my kids in those kids.

I see myself in those parents.

And it almost makes me weep.

Logic says it should've been different if I was there. Though not a world class musician by any stretch, music has played an integral part in my life and for a few years I was practicing piano for hours every day. I'd like to think I would've noticed the talent. I'd like to think I would've appreciated the extraordinary music being performed in such an ordinary setting. I'd like to think I would've taken the time to stop and enjoy this once in a lifetime opportunity.

But I'm pretty sure that's wishful thinking. Granted, it would depend on the circumstances and whether I was in a hurry to get somewhere. But the truth is, my propensity to procrastinate means I'm almost always in a hurry to get somewhere because I'm always late. So, the odds are rather huge that I would've hurried right past him, dragging my kids behind me despite their appreciation for the magnificent that has not yet been dulled by the me-first, more is better, rush, rush mentality that permeates our culture.

And the sad thing is, in Randy Alcorn's words...

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life? (emphasis mine)

13 Things to Look for when Choosing a Husband - Part 3 - Conclusion

If you haven't already, please read Part 1 and Part 2 of this 3-part series - 13 Things to Look for When Choosing Your Future Husband.

Here are the last 4 things on my list....


10) He needs to be able to communicate and he needs to be honest. Men, stereotypically, are not as good at communicating as women. But they can communicate and they need to know how to. You want to marry a man who is able to verbalize his wants and expectations. He needs to be able to hear your wants and expectations. And then you both need to be able to come to a compromise if those wants and expectations are different. Compromise does not mean one person has to give in. Often true compromise is both people giving slightly and meeting in the middle. Sometimes one person has to give in entirely, but it should not be that way very often, and when it is, it should not always be the same person doing the giving in. Both of you will be coming into the marriage with different backgrounds and therefore, different expectations. This is ok as long as you are both able to communicate your expectations honestly and then adjust them accordingly to make your relationship work for you. Honesty is always the best policy. You cannot trust someone who is dishonest. Be honest about your expectations. You cannot read each other’s minds and you can only work with what you know. Being shy and not talking are two different things. Even shy people are able to talk to those they are close to. It is essential that he is able to honestly communicate with you.

11) He needs to have a good work ethic. You want to marry a man who will be willing to work hard to provide for you. It doesn’t particularly matter what type of job he has (as long as it’s ethical of course!), it matters that he is self-motivated and a hard worker. This is especially true if you are desiring to be a stay at home mom when you have children. Again, this doesn’t mean that he has to have a high paying job, but that he is not going to shirk his responsibilities, and that he will work hard to provide for you and your children.

12) He need to be self-controlled. Self-control is important for so many things – managing anger, avoiding addictive behaviours and especially overcoming temptation in regards to sexual purity. You both need to determine ahead of time where to draw the line in regards to sexual purity. If he does not respect and value you enough to do this, then you deserve someone better. If sexual purity in regards to pornography is a struggle for him, he needs to be willing to have an accountability partner to help him fight this temptation – that is not something he will be able to do alone. You don’t need to find someone who is never tempted, you need to find someone who chooses to do the right thing despite the temptation.

13) He needs to be the man God wants for you. There are so many more qualities I could list, but the most important thing is to be willing to wait for the man God has for you. You are far better off waiting for the right man, no matter how long that takes, than marrying the first guy that comes along and being miserable for the rest of your life. And sometimes it’s not that there is anything wrong with a particular guy, but he still may not be the one God intends for you to be with. For ex – if you feel called to the mission field, and the man you want to marry is not, then that is not the man God wants for you. Waiting for God’s timing can be difficult, but it is always worth it!

Kiandra, my prayer for you is that you will continue to grow into a woman after God’s own heart. I pray that you will seek God when determining who your future husband will be and that you will have the patience to wait for His timing. Keep in mind, that even if you marry the one that God has for you, marriage is not always easy. The first year or so is often the most difficult as you are getting used to living with someone else 24/7, sorting through your different expectations of how your household should run, and just figuring out how the whole marriage thing works. A good marriage does take effort. But that effort is so worth it! If you are both focused on God, if you are focused on serving Him through your marriage, if you are focused on serving each other – your marriage will be blessed more than you could ask or imagine!

I have one last suggestion – pray for your future husband now already. Pray that God will mold him into the man he wants him to be. Pray that God will put people in his life to draw him to Jesus and to strengthen his relationship with God. Pray for his parents. Pray for his friends and for his teachers. Pray for him. Through the amazing power of prayer, you can bless his life before you even meet him. What a priviledge!


So, that concludes my 3-part series "13 Things to Look for When Choosing your Future Husband". Any big ones you think I left out? I know I didn't cover everything, but if there's a major one I missed, I'd love to hear it. What are your thoughts?

13 Things to Look for when Choosing a Husband - Part 2

If you missed my first post on this subject, please read Part 1 of this three-part series first.

Here are the next five things on my list of things to look for when choosing your future husband....

5) He needs to handle anger and disagreements appropriately. Everyone gets angry at some point. But we need to be slow to anger - having a quick and fiery temper can be a recipe for trouble. The emotion of anger is not necessarily a sin. What we do with that anger is also important. Does he last out in hurtful words? Does he become violent in any way? Does he simply not deal with his anger at all? Does he withdraw or bottle up his anger? All of those are major red flags! Rather he should try to calmly talk it through, he should pray for the person/situation. He should try to resolve the situation and seek a solution to the problem. He should be willing to compromise his own desires in order to resolve issues, but he should not be willing to compromise his values or beliefs.

6) He needs to take responsibility for his own actions. Everyone makes mistakes. An immature and selfish man will tend to blame someone else for his mistakes and avoid taking ownership of his choices. A mature man, a man you want to be married to, will be able to admit when he has done wrong, take personal responsibility for his wrong choice, ask for forgiveness and make restitution when necessary.

7) He needs to have a servant heart in order to be a servant leader. Marriage is a big adjustment. You can no longer make decisions based on what is best for you alone, you now have to make decisions based on what is best for both of you. And nothing reveals selfishness more than having children! The man you choose to marry needs to have a servant heart. He needs to be able to set aside his own desires if that is what’s best for his family. You want a man who will want to do whatever he can for you out of love for you. How can you tell before you marry him if he will have this servant heart? By observing how he is with other people. He should be empathetic towards people and their troubles, willing to offer a helping hand when he can. He should be generous with his time and money. In short, he needs to be unselfish, willing to put other’s needs ahead of his own.

8) He needs to have things in common with you. The saying opposites attract is not always true. It depends what you’re opposite about! This doesn’t mean that you need to enjoy all the same hobbies – but you need to be ok with the ones he has, because that’s not going to change when you get married. It’s ok for married couples to do some things separately, but more often than not, you want to do things together. This also doesn’t mean that you have to have the same views on everything – but you definitely need to agree on your core values and beliefs and any other issues you consider to be major ones.

9) He needs to be willing to change, but you cannot expect him to change. Everyone has weaknesses and you can’t expect him to be perfect. You have to decide if his weaknesses are ones you’re willing to live with forever. Yes, he could change, and he should change if he is desiring to grow in his walk with God. But you cannot marry someone with the expectation that he will change a specific weakness or character flaw after you get married. Marriage never solves problems – in fact it usually makes the problems worse. And becoming parents makes the problems worse yet. He does need to be willing to change. Similar to #8 – he needs to recognize his own flaws, be willing to take responsibility for them, and then be willing to do the work necessary to change them. However, you cannot make him change and there’s no guarantee that he will.


Stay tuned next week for the conclusion to this 3-part series. (And, yes, I know I'll be in Orlando next Monday - gotta love scheduled posting capabilities!)

13 Things to Look for when Choosing a Husband - Part 1

My friend Pam recently created an incredible birthday book for her firstborn's 13th birthday. It's a book of wishes, prayers, advice, etc, from meaningful people in her life that her daughter can look to, especially during the turbulant teen years. A book that will remind her of all the people who care about her, and have invested in her life. A book of advice, a book of humour, a book of memories, a book of encouragement. I think this is just such a fabulous idea. Her daughter brought it to church this past Sunday and I got a little peak at the finished product and it turned out absolutely amazing! I think I may be copying this idea for my own kids.

Anyway, now that the book is no longer a surprise, I'm going to post my submission to this wonderful project. It turned out to be pretty long, so I think I'll break this down into 3 posts and post one every Monday for the next 3 weeks. Obviously this is not an exhaustive list, as there are definitely more than 13 things to consider in a husband, but I dare to say, if he fits the bill for all 13 on the list, things are certainly headed in the right direction.

So, without further ado, may I present.....

13 Things to Look for When Choosing Your Future Husband

Happy 13th birthday Kiandra! I am honoured that your parents asked me to contribute to this special book. They love you so much and I know you will treasure this gift forever.

Nathan and I happen to be married for 13 years now, and I thought I would share with you 13 things to look for in choosing your future husband. Other than your choice to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, choosing your husband is the most important decision you will ever make. With that in mind, only date someone you would seriously consider marrying. The purpose of dating is to find a suitable husband. “Falling in love” causes you to ignore red flags, to ignore advice from concerned family and friends, and to excuse inappropriate behavior because you are looking through rose-coloured glasses. Keeping things at a friendship level is vitally important until you are sure he possesses all the qualities you are looking for. With that in mind, here are 13 things to look for in a future husband…

1) He must be passionate about continuing to grow in his personal relationship with Jesus. Do not assume that just because he goes to church that he is a Christian. Do not assume that because he is a Christian that he is committed to continuing to grow in his faith. The only way you can discern this is by getting to know him on a friendship level, watching how he interacts with those around him (especially his family – as we are most ourselves in front of the people who know us best), listening to the advice of your parents and other wise (older) friends and family and other people whose opinion you respect (youth leader, pastor, etc). The Bible is clear that we should not be unequally yoked with unbelievers – choosing to do so will only result in heartache. He needs to be passionate about his relationship with God, willing to challenge you to grow in your own faith, and to be the spiritual leader of your home. This does not mean that he has to be outgoing. But he cannot use a shy personality as an excuse not to lead.

2) Make sure your parents approve of your choice. I know that sounds old fashioned. But your parents are wise people. They love you more than anyone else in the world does, and they have loved you before you were even born. They have prayed for you and your future spouse, they have poured into your life and invested in you like no one else has. No other people in this world want you to succeed in life and to have a godly and fulfilling marriage more than your parents do. They are older and wiser than you and will be able to see red flags much easier than you will be able to. Respect your parents and seek their blessing in your choice of a marriage partner.

3) A sense of humour goes a long way baby! Though this isn’t necessarily a high priority and is really more of a personal preference, having a sense of humour certainly makes life easier and a lot more fun! Marriage is not always easy, life is not always easy. Being able to look at things with a sense of humour, being able to laugh at yourself, being able to joke around together and have fun together is important. Sometimes there’s nothing to do but laugh or cry – and laughing is so much more fun! Of course, there is a line here as well – the sense of humour should not be at someone else’s expense. People can hide a lot of insecurities by insulting other people and masking it in a joke. Virtually everyone makes fun of other people at some point – but it should never be cruel or crude. An appropriate sense of humour is a great asset in a future husband!

4) He needs to be respectful. You can tell a lot about someone by the way they treat others – especially their family and their elders. I mentioned this in a previous point, but people are the most themselves around their family or other people who know them best. They have nothing to hide – these people know their every character flaw. It is especially important to see how he treats his mother, as this is a pretty good indicator of how he will treat you. He needs to have respect for all people – no matter their gender, race, social status, age or anything else. He needs to see all people as the image bearers of God that they are and treat them that way.



There ya have it - the first 4 things on my list of 13 to look for when choosing your future husband. Stay tuned for Part 2 next Monday.

Until that Glorious Day

Last week I attended the burial service of an elderly friend of my mom's.

The burial service happened to take place in the same cemetary as the one my first dad was buried in on October 7th, exactly 30 years ago. For the full story see my previous post about my confusing family tree here.

I had never been to see where he was buried and so my mom took me to find his grave site.

It was rather strange. Due to my Christian faith and personal relationship with Jesus, and my knowledge of my dad's same faith - I know that he is in heaven with Jesus right now. I know that he is a grandfather to our two babies that I lost early on in pregnancy. I know that they, and many other family and friends, are waiting for the return of Christ to earth, and that all of our bodies are like a veiled image of what our glorious resurrected bodies will be. And yet, our earthly bodies - flawed as they are/will be until that day - are still such a personal and important part of who we are. It's how we relate to each other, how we interact with each other, how we know each other, how we show love to each other.
And this is the place where his earthly body was laid to rest, the place where the memory of his earthly life is etched in stone. And so, it is special. Important, yet eternally insignificant at the same time. For there will come a day when we will meet face to face in our glorious resurrection bodies. Our bodies will be unmarred by sickness, death or pain, the lack of any memories on my part will be irrelevant, and our reunion will be joyful and complete. Perhaps he will even get to introduce me to my children. Who knows? The details we may not know. But this we do know - it will be glorious indeed!

What a Day That Will Be - words and music by Jim Hill

There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forevermore on that happy golden shore,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

There'll be no sorrow there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness, no pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the One who died for me,
What a day, glorious day that will be.

Chorus
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
And I look upon His face,
The One who saved me by His grace;
When He takes me by the hand
And leads me through the Promised Land,
What a day, glorious day that will be.
What a day, glorious day that will be!

And until that day comes, I will rejoice in my many blessings. Including the blessing of having two earthly fathers to love me, invest in me and teach me to love my heavenly Father.

Until Then
But until then my heart will go on singing,
Until then with joy I'll carry on,
Until the day my eyes behold the city,
Until the day God calls me home.

Thankful

This Thanksgiving weekend I am thankful for....

- a wonderful husband, a servant leader, involved and dedicated father, my best friend, someone who can always make me laugh, my teammate, my soulmate, the love of my life
- 4 amazing children whose energy wears mine out, but whose characters are each unfolding, individually, into beautiful works of art - the responsibility the Potter has given us to help Him shape them is frightening, humbling and exhilarating
- a Saviour whose love overwhelms, whose patience never ends, whose strength never wearies, whose faithfulness reaches to the skies, whose forgiveness is ever merciful, whose justice is sure, whose mercy is indiscriminate, whose power is infinite, whose passion and love for each and every one of us despite His intimate knowledge of our deepest thoughts and feelings is unfathomable and yet gloriously true
- the health of my family
- having a heritage of faith in God
- our house, van, truck, Nathan's job, all the things we've been blessed with
- a wonderful church family to encourage us, uplift us, and hold us accountable

and much, much more!

Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Fasting - spiritual or physical?

Something I've been thinking about (and have been asked about) in regards to fasting for weight loss is how that practice would influence fasting for spiritual reasons. I'm not necessarily sure I have all the answers, but I'm going to think out loud here for a bit.

My biggest thought is that it comes down to the motivation behind the fast.

I am rather embarrassed to admit that, along with never having read the Bible all the way through before this year, I have also never fasted for spiritual reasons. I haven't heard much teaching on fasting before, and have never researched it myself and honestly haven't thought much about it at all, until now.

According to Brad Pilon's Eat Stop Eat, there are numerous physical benefits to fasting, including decreased body fat & body weight, decreased blood glucose levels, dereased insulin levels & increased insulin sensitivity, increased lipolysis & fat oxidation, increased growth hormone levels, decreased food related stress and more.

And, of course, there are spiritual "benefits" to fasting as well. The goal of fasting for spiritual reasons is to focus on God, to draw closer to Him, to gain wisdom or guidance before making a decision, to fellowship with God at a deeper level. Fasting does not change God, it changes us.

Here are a few articles I found about fasting.....
Christian Fasting
What does the Bible say?

So, this is why I think it comes down to motivation.....

You can fast without growing closer to God. Fasting for purely physical reasons (to lose weight) is simply not eating. You are not praying instead of eating, you are not focusing on God, you are not growing closer to Him - you are simply. not. eating. That's it. That is what I have been doing these past few weeks - all of my fasts have been purely from a weight loss motivation.

Now, here's the trickier part - can you fast for both physical and spiritual reasons at the same time?

My answer is ..... it depends.

Way to straddle the fence, eh? Stick with me here and I'll explain...

If you are trying to lose weight and gluttony has been an issue in your life, or you have been turning to food instead of to God for any reason, I think it is possible to fast for both spiritual and physical reasons. By doing this you are addressing the root of your weight problem and are drawing closer to God - losing weight (though still intentional) is a result/benefit of your spiritual fasting. I am not familiar with the exact teachings of the Lord's Table bible study and weight loss program - but I would think that this is an excellent example of benefiting from fasting both spiritually and physically.

However, if your desire to lose weight (even if it's a lot of weight) has nothing to do with your desire to grow closer to God, if you have not acknowledged the spiritual roots of your weight issues, then you are fasting for purely physical reasons and will not experience the spiritual benefits of fasting as there is no spiritual motivation/intention behind the fast.

Also - if your relationship with God has no correlation to your desire to lose weight (such as my goal of losing those last few pounds of babyweight), if your motivation for losing those last few pounds is purely physical, then you are also fasting with a physical motivation and not a spiritual motivation and will therefore not experience the spiritual benefits of fasting.

So the hard question is - knowing the physical benefits (weight loss in particular) of fasting, can you/I fast for spiritual reasons only, without having a hidden agenda of losing weight at the same time?

The answer to this question of course, is very personal. Only you (and God, of course!) know your heart and the true motivation behind your decision to fast. But yes, I believe it is possible. If I feel that God is wanting me to fast, or I feel that I need to fast in order to gain insight or to grow closer to God - I can absolutely make a conscious decision to fast for spiritual reasons. If I do so though, my day will look different than if I was fasting for physical reasons. If during this spiritual fast I'm not praying more than I normally would, or reading my Bible more than usual - then my motivation was not spiritual and I will not receive any spiritual benefit from the fast. But if my actions jive with my motivation then I am fasting for truly spiritual reasons and I will receive the spiritual blessings that come with it.

Another questions is - if you fast regularly for physical reasons (like I have been), will it make fasting for spiritual reasons too "easy", or too routine, so that you'll miss the point/benefits for fasting?

This could be a potential problem if the focus of a spiritual fast was on food and not eating it.

Not eating food is the focus of physical fasting.

Growing closer to God is the focus of spiritual fasting.

The truth is, spiritual fasting does not have to involve food at all! In fact, for some people and their health situation, that could be a very unwise decision. You can fast from many things - food, only certain types of food (such as meat), tv, Pepsi, computers, etc. The point of fasting is to give up something physical with the goal of growing closer to God. So, if routine physical fasting has made giving up food too easy - then simply choose another item to give up when you want to fast for spiritual reasons.

In other words, you can't use that as an excuse not to fast for physical reasons. :)

Should Christians be fasting? Yes, absolutely they should be and this is something I have not done, and need to start doing. Consider the following scripture passage (emphasis mine)...

Matthew 6:16-18 When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to men that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

The scripture says when, not if. It is not commanded, however it certainly appears to be expected. And with the benefit of growing closer to God, having our will line up with His instead of ours, receiving wisdom and guidance - why we would not?

So, those are some of my thoughts. Agree? Disagree? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

3 Things Every Parent Should Teach Their Kids - Blog Hop

The theme for this week's blog hop is "Three Things Every Parent Should Teach Their Kids".

Here are the "rules"...

You don't have to be a parent to participate. Everyone was a kid at some point, so you know important things they should be taught.

To keep from getting alot of the same obvious answers, try to be specific and let's bypass some of the obvious: be honest, love your parents, love God, be kind to others, accept Jesus as your Savior.

This is not a list of the MOST IMPORTANT, so do not feel like you must list the highest priority or the obvious, which will end up having the same thing repeated by everyone over and over. Try to be specific and creative. This your three items with a sentence or two explanation.

1 - Manners. Our society has completely embraced the idea of personal entitlement and totally validates self-absorption. Perhaps because of this - using good manners can make a big impact on how others view and treat you. Showing respect for others is a good way to gain their respect in return.

2 - Personal responsibility. Accepting personal responsibility for their actions is a huge lesson for kids to learn. Nobody can make you do anything. You are responsible for your choices. You are not responsible for other people's choices - but you are responsible for your reaction to them. I believe children that have a solid sense of personal responsibility will also have much higher self-esteem.

3 - Girls dressing modestly, boys treating girls respectfully. This is so totally a two-way street. Girls have the responsibility to dress modestly, recognizing how visual guys are. The guys have the responsibility to exercise self-control and to behave like gentlemen.



Special thanks to Purell Hand Sanitizer for sponsoring this blog hop.

More Beautiful You

I found this song through the latest edition of Friday Faves at It's Almost Naptime - I don't think I'd heard it before, but I absolutely love it.

Click here to watch/listen to More Beautiful You on Youtube.

THIS is the message I want my girls to believe...

More Beautiful You by Jonny Diaz

Little girl fourteen, flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn't straight, her body isn't fake,
And she's always felt overweight

Well, little girl fourteen, I wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care, your skin, your body, and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies, disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one, the things that you've already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you've got a man, but he's got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well, little girl twenty-one, you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But I can promise you there's a man whose love is true
And he'll treat you like the jewel you are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies, disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

So turn around, you're not too far
To back away, be who you are
To change your path, go another way
It's not too late, you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights, hope to forget
Can disappear, they can all be washed away
By the one who's strong, can right your wrongs,,
Can rid your fears, dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark, distorted view
And with His light, He will show you truth
And again, you'll see through the eyes of a little girl

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies, disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Mom 2 Mom - Encouraging our children's relationship with Jesus

Welcome to the Mom 2 Mom Carnival - Encouraging our children's relationship with Jesus.

Don't forget that all participants are eligible to win a giveaway (more on that at the end of this post!), so get started on writing your own post ASAP!

First of all, I'd like to admit that I completely stole this idea from Missy at It's Almost Naptime. Over a month ago she did a post about this exact same topic and I personally think it's one of the best posts I've read on the topic and it really got me excited about sharing more ideas with each other and encouraging each other.

So - these are some of my thoughts on how we can encourage our children to have a better, deeper and personal relationship with Jesus.

Disclaimer - these are some of the ideas we've used in the past, use presently and might use in the future, but we obviously don't do them every day or perfectly - not at all. Just keeping it real.

1) First of all, we can't teach something we don't have. We obviously need to have a relationship with Jesus ourselves, but even that in itself is not enough. We have to make this relationship a priority in our lives. It needs to be authentic. Our children are not stupid. They see us at our worst and at our best. They know what is really important to us. At least, they know what we're showing them. So, if we're not showing them, we need to start. They need to see us spending time in the Word (or at the very minimum they have to know that we have this Quiet Time).

2) We also need to show them that not only is this relationship a priority, living out our faith and living to give glory to God is the most wonderful way to live. They need to see our joy! This is something we talked about in our last True Woman Tuesday lessons. If we don't find it joyful to be a follower of Christ, why would they want to?

3) This is just an extension of #1, but in order to direct our children to Jesus, in order to describe Him accurately to them, in order to live in a way that reflects Him - we need to know what we're talking about. And the only way to know that is to be in the Word and to connect with God in prayer.

I have absolutely failed at this for probably most of my life. This year I made a commitment to myself (and to God) to read through the entire Bible for, embarrassingly, the first time in my life. Since then I have been using the One Year Bible reading plan and discovered the somewhat sad fact that it really only takes me 10 - 15 minutes to read each day's reading. That's right. I have never consistently taken 10 - 15 minutes of my time to read through the Bible before. I admit that I have skipped days, but I always catch up! I am now over half way done. And this is a great start. But next year I want to go deeper. I will probably get the Life Journal which also has it's own One Year Bible reading plan but also provides space to journal about each day's reading - digging deeper into the Word, studying it instead of just reading it.

Don't let this discourage or overwhelm you. I know how hard it is to set aside time consistently when there just doesn't seem to be any extra time between diaper changes and sibling disputes, laundry and dishes, cooking and cleaning. But know that ANY time that you spend in the Word or in prayer is time well-invested.

4) We gotta walk the talk for our children to see. Fairly obvious point, but such an important one. We need to admit to them when we fail - their respect for us will not diminish by acknowledging our weaknesses. To the contrary, it will increase it!

5) Nathan reads the Bible with the girls and prays with them before bed every day. We have numerous Bibles that we use for this. Our church gives out bibles to every child who is dedicated by their parents, plus we have a few of our own, so we have quite the stash that we rotate through. From our church we have The Early Reader's Bible, The Beginner's Bible and the Young Reader's Bible (we got a 2nd copy of The Beginner's Bible when Jacob was dedicated). I picked up the Little Girl's Bible Storybook at a garage sale one year - it tells the Bible stories from the viewpoint of the women in the story, and has a bit of a devotional and discussion after each story as well. We also have a devotional for little kids that we got from Costco called God and Me. Nathan usually reads one day's devotional from God and Me, followed by one Bible story from one of the numerous Bibles we have available! (We basically take turns going through each one). My absolute favourite kids Bible storybook is the Jesus Storybook Bible and you can find my detailed review of it here. It is absolutely incredible how the author weaves the ultimate story of Jesus into every OT story.

6) I also want to teach our children how to study the Bible for themselves. Emma has started using the Children's Life Journal (see my full review here) and I think this is just an excellent way to help get kids started in Bible study. My parents gave the kids a Bible in the New International Reader Version for Christmas one year, and this is fabulous for this purpose. It's written in easier to understand English which makes it easier for them to understand what the verses are saying. As they get older I plan to order the How to Study Your Bible for Kids by Kay Arthur. Emma would be ready for that right about now, so I may do that soon.

7) Instilling the Word of God in the hearts of our children is invaluable! Obviously they get a lot of this in Sunday School and any kids club programs they're involved in, but really, you can't memorize too much scripture. I've always found it hard to find time for scripture memory, until I came up with this time saving tip. I work on their memory verse while I comb their hair! This is something I have to do every day, so I may as well make the most of it! Mondays through Wednesdays we work on their Kids Club verse (clubs is Wednesday evenings) and then Thursdays through Sundays we work on their SS verses.

Awhile back I purchased My ABC Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts by Susan Hunt. Each letter of the alphabet has a corresponding Bible verse, and each verse has a story to illustrate the meaning of the verse. It doesn't help a whole lot to memorize verses you don't understand, and this is an excellent way to do it! The girls really like this book, even though I haven't used it as much as I'd like to say I have. My plan is to read it to them during breakfast and then go over the verse with them once their done eating (you know - so the manners we taught them don't go out the window by talking with their mouths full!).

Another very cool idea for memorizing verses is one I just got from Missy. There are some amazing cd's out there called Seeds Family Worship that are simply awesome. And the best part is that the music is actually fun to listen to - even for adults! Don't believe it's possible? Well, then - check out the following tunes on YouTube... Do Not Be Anxious (Phil 4:6-7) and Cast Your Cares (Psalm 55:22) or Young (1 Timothy 4:12). Yep, loving it! I ordered 3 of the cd's (Seeds of Courage, Seeds of Faith and The Power of Encouragement), just got them this past week and so far am loving them!!

8) Shaping our children's worldview to reflect a biblical worldview instead of a cultural worldview is pretty crucial. There are several to go about this.

His Little Princess is a wonderful book for those with princesses of your own in your house. Since our girls love princesses, I thought this would be perfect. It's a series of letters written from God (the King) to His princesses (yes, our daughters!). Each letter has a Bible verse to go with it, and a prayer as well. Here is a sample letter...

My Chosen Daughter...
You are not a pretend princess, my child. You are a real princess, and I am your God, the King of all kings. I chose you before you were even born to be my princess. You are very important in my kingdom. I have chosen you to do something special that only you can do. I have amazing plans for you, both now and for when you grow up. Remember, a crown and a palace do not make you a true princess - it is your love for me and for others that will make you special. If you read my words every day in the Bible, I will teach you all you need to know about living like a daughter of the King.
Love,
Your King and Father in Heaven
"You didn't choose me, I chose you." John 15:16

And here's the prayer to go with it...
Dear God, thank you for choosing me to be your princess. I feel so special knowing I belong to You. Help me to remember to act like I am yours, because I need help. I'm glad you are my King who can make me shine for You! I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

Even though we are not Catholic, I bought another book (after reading Missy's post) by Susan Hunt called Big Truths for Little Kids which teaches children the basic truths of faith using catechism questions and stories to illustrate them. Basically, theology that kids can understand! I realized this was lacking when I found out our kids didn't know about the Trinity - they thought there was God and Jesus and had no clue about the Holy Spirit. We don't always think of all the things we need to explain to them, this is a perfect way to make sure we're not missing any big blanks that need filling in!

If (likely when!) they start to question their faith - a process every child needs to go through really to make their faith truly their own (and not just their parents), some more great books that I already have and will go through with them are a series by Lee Strobel - the Case for Christ for Kids, the Case for Faith for Kids, the Case for a Creator for Kids and Off My Case for Kids.

Another huge part of shaping their worldview is monitoring their entertainment choices. I have recently made some changes to our kids tv viewing habits. They are now only allowed to watch one show per day. The more of a cultural worldview you are exposed to, the more it affects (ie changes) the way you view things. I also cut out some of the shows that they watch - not necesarrily because they were bad, but because they deal with topics that are simply too old for them, or encourage a worldview that we don't agree with. Garbage in, garbage out as the saying goes. And really - if they're completely immersed in our culture's worldview (through tv, video games, magazines, etc), can we really expect them to form a worldview that's any different?

9) Teachable moments. Take advantage of them and if they don't come up - create them! Especially when it comes to sex education. And, yes, I have a few good books for you about this too! A Chicken's Guide to Talking Turkey with Your Kids About Sex by Dr. Kevin Leman is an excellent way to prepare yourself, pretty much from the birth of your kids, the healthy way to discuss sexuality. God's Design for Sex Series is really good too - it has 4 books for you to read with your kids at different ages. This is an area where parents have to really step up. If you don't teach them about sex, they're going to learn it in school - and they're likely going to learn it wrong, and they're for sure going to learn it in the wrong context.

10) Be plugged in. Know what's going on, know who your kids friends are, know what's happening in school, get to know their teachers, volunteer in school, be genuinely interested in their interests. Spend time with your kids! I really think quantity rules over quality. Truly. I mean when do you think quality time happens anyway? It happens when you're spending time with your kids. You can't force it, you can't plan it, you can't schedule it, you can't add it to a list. If you're not around, it's not going to happen. Quality time happens in the middle of quantity time.

11) Invest in your marriage. Nothing gives children more security than knowing their mom and dad love each other and will always be together. Make your marriage a priority, second only to God.

12) Talk about Jesus in everyday conversation, all the time.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.

Whew! I think that's all I got for now. I can't wait to read what you guys come up with.

Oh yeah - the giveaway! Bet you thought I forgot after all that typing. :)

One amazing things about the Seeds Family Worship cd's is that they actually come with 2 cd's in each package - one to keep for yourself and one to give away to a friend. So, I am going to be giving away one of the cd's! Simply make a post (or comment or email) with your ideas of how to encourage your children's relationship with Christ before Monday morning and you are entered! Everyone is eligible to win - Canadian, American, Australian, whatever.

Oh, and here's the link to Missy's post that started this all! I'm taking the liberty of adding her post to the Mr. Linky below.

And, please - link up directly to your own Mom 2 Mom post so we can all be encouraged. Thanks!

I feel good - da na na na na na na!

Having recently felt convicted about doing a better job keeping my house in order consistently, I have to say that I had a very productive day today! Even though I slept in and only got up just before 9 o'clock!! Ahhh, summer holidays! I love me my beauty sleep.

So, what did I all accomplish today?

I obviously fed (and cleaned up after) all my MSC - Many Small Children (awesome acronym stolen from MckMama)

I exercised - as in dripping-with-sweat exercised.

I baked about 7 dozen oatmeal chocolate chip cookies (see recipe below) - 5 dozen of which are for this week's day camp at our church. I even let my kids help!

I got at least 1 and a 1/2 hrs of bookwork done while my MSC played outside or napped (Jacob).

I read my Bible reading plan for today (and only had to read today's as I was all caught up!)

I read devotions with the girls on the deck in the afternoon (more details on this to come next week!)

I played with the girls outside. Even though she finally learned how to pump, Olivia could still be pushed on the swing all day long I think.

I set up the sprinkler under the trampoline AND the slip n' slide for my MSC and their friends to play in.

I had 3 of my MSC's friends over for lunch - at the last minute!

I went for a walk with all my MSC, meeting my MIL to bring Nathan and his dad some cold drinks on this fairly hot day.

Made a delicious supper - bbq'd chicken breasts, whole wheat rice, potatoes (for Nathan and Emma - I do NOT eat potatoes), corn and garlic bread.

I made Sophia and Olivia banana splits (but did NOT have any myself - woohoo!) while Jacob was shopping with my wonderful husband, and Emma was at her first pyjama party(not sleepover!) with her friend. OK, I do admit to having at least 3 strawberries (we used strawberries instead of cherries) dipped in whipping cream. OK, ok, I also ate 3 (yes three!) of those delicious cookies fresh out of the oven - well, 2 right away, and then one later warmed up in the microwave. Just keeping it real. Cause I'm all about honesty. Even it when it works against me and my image. :)

I read Sophia & Olivia a Bible story and prayed with them before bedtime (while the other 2 were still gone - it's not like they were being grounded from Bible storytime or anything!).

And I blogged....twice today!

And then there was obviously the just normal, everyday stuff like changing diapers, sweeping floors (after every meal - due to our lovely dark hardwood floors - ok, our MSC have something to do with this as well), swiping bathrooms, washing feet, settling arguments - well, you know!

So - mission accomplished for today. And I feel grrrrrreat!

OK - here's the recipe as promised. This is the fake Neiman Marcus oatmeal chocolate chip cookies recipe. Neiman Marcus actually developed a chocolate chip cookie recipe in response to this hoax - but I'm actually using the hoax recipe itself cause it's really good!

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 cups brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
5 cups blended oatmeal (yup, put 5 cups of oatmeal in a blender and blend away!)
4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
24oz chocolate chips
3 cups chopped nuts (optional)

The recipe also calls for 8oz Hershey bar grated - but I don't usually do this, normally because I don't stock that in my pantry! I have sometimes added some chocolate chips to the oatmeal while blending, but I didn't today. I needed to save some to make Mocha Banana Chocolate Chips Muffins (maybe tomorrow's project?) - I've got ripening bananas going on in a big way right now.

Beat together butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Add oatmeal, flour, bp, bs, salt and mix. Add chocolate chips and nuts (we don't do nuts). Love me my KitchenAid mixer!!

Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes. Makes about 7 dozen cookies using my medium Pampered Chef scoop.

Imitators

I was really struck by one verse of my One Year Bible reading the other day and I wanted to expand on it here a little.

2 Kings 17:15 They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their fathers and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, "Do not do as they do," and they did the things the Lord had forbidden them to do.

Is there a difference in the way we (as Christians) live compared to the way the world lives? Or have we become imitators of the "nations" surrounding us?

Do we live according to the world or according to the Word?

Can people tell we are different by the words we speak? I don't just mean cursing (though of course that applies as well!). Are we building each other up or tearing each other down?

1 Thess 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

The following passage is long, but it is beautiful, and challenging!

¹ Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? ² Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.

³ Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

⁵ You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

⁶ Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
⁷ Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
⁸ he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

⁹ Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
and gave him the name above all other names,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

¹² Dear friends, you always followed my instructions when I was with you. And now that I am away, it is even more important. Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. ¹³ For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. ¹⁷ But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. ¹⁸ Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy.

We certainly should be living differently from the world!

1 John 2:15&16 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

The first step is, of course, to become a Christian. But sometimes, even after accepting Jesus Christ as a Saviour, it is hard to let him be Lord of our lives. To allow Him to work in our hearts, changing us to be more like Him, to finding out what His plan is for our lives and to follow it (sometimes we're scared He'll call us to the jungle of Africa as a missionary if we do that!). For every decision in our lives to be influenced by the fact that we belong to Christ, and we reflect Him (by both our words and our actions) to a watching world.

I've heard it said that you can tell a person's priorities by 2 things - how they spend their time and how they spend their money.

If we truly love Christ, we will want to obey Him, we will want to glorify Him in all we do and say, we will want to live for Him alone.

If we are truly living out our faith, it will show in the things we say, the movies and shows that we watch, the way we interact with our friends and family, in every. single. aspect. of our lives.

And, yes, that will mean being different.

Is there a difference in your life?

Who are you imitating? The world or the Word?