Gianna Jessen

“Gianna Jessen does not quit. Giving up is not an option to her. Gianna has what she refers to as the “gift” of Cerebral Palsy. She weighed a mere 2 lbs at birth and the doctors said she would never be able to hold up her head, sit up, crawl or walk. She began to walk by the age of three years old with the help of leg braces and a walker.

Gianna doesn’t believe that her Cerebral Palsy takes away her life, but, rather, enriches it. . . she walks with a slight limp today and runs marathons. On April 30, 2005 she completed her first 26.2 mile marathon after running just over 7 hours and was presented with the coveted blank blank award! On April 23, 2006 she completed the London Marathon as well. She is now determined to run marathons all over the place, because she was never supposed to even walk!

Gianna understands the plight of orphans, being one herself. She was placed into the foster care system early on in life, eventually being taken into the loving home of a woman named Penny. Penny has been a mother to 56 foster children in her life. Gianna was later adopted by Penny’s daughter, making Penny Gianna’s grandmother. According to Gianna, Penny saved her life.

Gianna is a Christian. Her life was given to her by the grace of God. She shouldn’t be walking, but more miraculous still; she should not even be alive. Gianna’s biological mother was 17 when she had a saline abortion in her third trimester. Many Americans don’t realize it is legal to have an abortion throughout all nine months of pregnancy. After being burned alive for approximately 18 hours in the womb from the saline solution, Gianna was delivered alive in a Los Angeles County abortion clinic. Her medical records state, “born during saline abortion”…this is what caused her Cerebral Palsy.

Gianna’s travels and experiences have led her all over the world. Her life has been covered by many major news media outlets, including, most recently, the BBC News and World Radio, Sky News, and The Good Morning Show in England, reaching many people with a message of hope and conviction. In November 2005, Gianna spoke in several colleges all over Ireland and in December of the same year, spoke at a meeting held at the House of Commons in London. She has returned to England this year to speak in several parochial and public high schools. Gianna’s audiences include: churches – church youth crusades and women’s ministry retreats; various corporations as a motivational speaker; secular and Christian youth organizations and schools – middle school age through college, as well as several times before Congress – most recently having her testimony read before the Supreme Court in Carhart v. Gonzales”

Gianna Jessen’s biography – http://www.giannajessen.com/EPK/bio.html

37 years ago, the Supreme Court decision was made that a woman had the right to her own body. What about Gianna Jessen’s right to hers? What about the rights of the women who survived their own abortions and were not given aid? What about the women who were burned alive, suffocated, dismembered, had their brains crushed, and so on? What about their rights to their own bodies? What about the men? Aren’t we equal?

The problem with our nation, isn’t the babies or “accidental pregnancies.” No the problem lies with this people who have gotten to this place of self-righteousness, worldly success, selfishness, arrogance, and greed – that they don’t want babies unless it’s “convenient.” The problem lies with the closed eyes because it IS too hard to even read what is ACTUALLY being done and it SHOULD be! The problem lies with the parents failing to take responsibility in raising their children up in the way of the Lord so they feel enough love from God and their parents that they don’t reach out for cheap thrills. The problem lies with the boys who’ve turned into men that don’t know how to love a woman because they have not been taught or trained respect and the women who don’t respect men because they’ve never been taught or trained that they themselves are worthy of love. The problem lies with the women who are more concerned with a career than the future of their children. The problem lies with the father who is afraid of responsibility and abandons their young children. The problem lies with the fact that MEN don’t have a right to their OWN CHILD while in the womb yet they are EXPECTED to step up once the child is BORN. The problem lies with the mindset that women are so freakin’ great that the life of a child doesn’t matter.

BUT IT DOES! That child’s life MATTERS!!!

We have become a rebellious nation, kicking and screaming against the guidelines of God like toddlers as if it’s nothing – but OPEN YOUR EYES at the world we live in!! Look at the rise in rate of acceptance for divorce, abortion, homosexuality, promiscuity, rebellion, and dishonor for parents as if these things are just a natural part of what life is! These things have become more acceptable because of our rejection of God’s Truth and ultimately the rejection of Christ.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.

They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth—men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.” 2 Timothy 3:1-9

“When they sin against you—for there is no one who does not sin—and you become angry with them and give them over to the enemy, who takes them captive to his own land, far away or near; and if they have a change of heart in the land where they are held captive, and repent and plead with you in the land of their conquerors and say, ‘We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have acted wickedly’; and if they turn back to you with all their heart and soul in the land of their enemies who took them captive, and pray to you toward the land you gave their fathers, toward the city you have chosen and the temple I have built for your Name; then from heaven, your dwelling place, hear their prayer and their plea, and uphold their cause. And forgive your people, who have sinned against you; forgive all the offenses they have committed against you, and cause their conquerors to show them mercy; for they are your people and your inheritance, whom you brought out of Egypt, out of that iron-smelting furnace.” 1 Kings 8:46-51

“Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.” 1 Peter 2:11-12

Near His Heart…

“But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.” Genesis 2:18, 21-22

Commentator, Matthew Henry states, “That the woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved.”

How much more so should we cherish our babies who are fashioned at the very center of our being.

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:12-16

“From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother’s womb you have been my God.” Psalm 22:10

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…” Jeremiah 1:5

Choosing abortion is choosing to destroy what God has created.

“He Heals the Brokenhearted”

“About 1 in 3 American women will have had an abortion by the time she reaches age 45.” Guttmacher Institute

“93% of women regret their abortion.” David C. Reardon, Aborted Women: Silent No More

Symptoms of Post-Abortion Trauma reported by Rachel’s Vineyard:
*Bouts of crying
*Depression
*Guilt
*Inability to forgive yourself
*Intense grief/sadness
*Anger/rage
*Emotional numbness
*Sexual problems or promiscuity
*Eating disorders
*Lowered self esteem
*Drug and alcohol abuse
*Nightmares and sleep disturbances
*Suicidal urges
*Difficulty with relationships
*Anxiety and panic attacks
*Flashbacks
*Multiple Abortions
*Pattern of repeat crisis pregnancy
*Discomfort around babies or pregnant women
*Fear/ambivalence of pregnancy

Obtained from – http://pinckneyprolife.org/PPL/Post-Abortion%20Trauma.htm

If you, or someone you know is experiencing post-abortion trauma, please visit:

~www.rachelsvineyard.org or
~www.hopeafterabortion.com

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” Psalm 147:3

“I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child.” Amos 1:13

Man Pleads Guilty to Murder Charge

“Posted: Nov 18, 2009 7:52 PM EST
Updated: Nov 18, 2009 8:32 PM EST

Amarillo, TX – A Roswell man has pleaded no contest to six felony charges, including second-degree murder, in the death and dismemberment of a New Mexico woman.

Allen Dale Bruce entered his plea Monday. Leatha Ann Tidwell’s body was discovered under a camper shell covering her pickup in Clovis.

Bruce was driving that truck when he was pulled over for speeding in Parmer County last spring. The vehicle was towed to Clovis and that’s where the discovery was made.

Prosecutors say Bruce hit Tidwell over the head with an axe and then chopped her body into pieces. Bruce faces 25 years in prison.”

From KFDA TV News Channel 10 – http://www.newschannel10.com/Global/story.asp?S=11533362

Sounds gruesome doesn’t it? Anyone would read this story and be a bit shaken at how a man could ever do such a thing to another human being.

Now, imagine a hollow tube with a knife-edged tip (kind of sounds like a miniature axe), but imagine it as a vacuum (29 times more powerful than a household vacuum). what could such a thing do to a person? What could such a thing do to a baby?

Hard to imagine? This very instrument is used in what’s called, the “suction method” of abortion and is used to tear a 12 week old gestating baby (aka fetus) and placenta into small pieces and sucked into a bottle and is discarded.

At this same time, another method used is called “dilation and curettage” where they’ll use a hook shaped knife and cut the baby into pieces and then scrape it out and discard it.

During these 12 weeks the baby’s eyes have begun forming and hair is apparent. They suck their thumb, can do somersaults, jumps and can squint to close out light. They can frown, swallow and move their tongue. They have all their toes, their heart is beating, and their spinal cord is well into its development.

It should be hard to read this. I hope you won’t stop though. This is too important for you to close your eyes to because such practices as above and below are being condoned by law to take place to unborn children.

Aging up to 18 weeks, the “dilation and evacuation” method may be used. This involves a pair of forceps and its teeth twist and tear the bones of the unborn child. It continues until the baby is completely dismembered and removed. The spine and skull must be snapped and crushed in order to remove them.

Salt poisoning is used after 16 weeks (four months). A needle injects the poison into the baby’s sac and the baby swallows the fluid and is poisoned also having the outer layer of skin burned off. After over an hour the baby will die and within 24 hours labor will occur and the mother will give birth to her dead or dying child (many cases under this method have been born alive and either left alone to die or have been rescued and later adopted).

Another method includes cutting the baby’s umbilical cord while in the womb, allowing the baby to suffocate to death (he/she is not yet born so the law suggests that they are not an “actual person”… this is then “humane”) where they will either remain until death or will be delivered by c-section and left alone in a corner of the room to die from neglect or exposure.

While yet another method, called, “Partial Birth Abortion,” is done anytime after 30 weeks. The baby is pulled from the birth canal by it’s legs and is completely delivered except for their head (if the head is delivered, they are considered “born” and as such would constitute murder charges if the following method were used at such a time). Scissors are jammed into the baby’s skull and opened to enlarge it. At this point the brains of the child are sucked out causing the skull to collapse and is removed and discarded.

Summary of above “abortion” methods:

Mutilation, deformation, mangling, torture, violent, premeditated, destruction, maliciously ending the life of.

All of these words are also in the definition of MURDER: (1-) To kill with premediated malice; to kill (a human being) willfully, deliberately, and unlawfully. (2 -) To destroy; to put an end to. (3 -) To mutilate, spoil, or deform, as if with malice or cruelty; to mangle

What does “abort” mean? “To miscarry; to bring forth young prematurely” (Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary – 1913 + 1928).

To kill doesn’t necessarily mean any more than the deprivation of life. A killing can be accidental or done in defense with no chargeable fault. To murder is to kill with malicious forethought and intention. “Abortion” as we may believe it to be is not abortion at all. It is MURDER. There is nothing humane about how these children’s lives are being taken.

The lives of these unborn babies are of no insignificance and have their great value and purpose for life. No woman’s personal choices, traumatic experiences, health, nor circumstance holds a value of higher importance than the life of these precious little ones. Yet because they have no voice to be heard, no words to speak, no strength to take a stand – millions of these innocent, blameless, pure, undefiled souls are being murdered every year, thousands upon thousands in a given day.

From my blog entry titled “Abortion Awareness” – http://psalm128.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/awareness/

Margaret Sanger – Famed Founder of Planned Parenthood

*Stalin saw to the slaughter of at least fifteen million Russian and Ukrainian kulaks; Mussolini massacred as many as four million Ethiopians, two million Eritreans, and a million Serbs, Croats, and Albanians; and Hitler exterminated more than six million Jews, two million Slavs, and a million Poles. Margaret Sanger, the foundress of Planned Parenthood, and the impassioned heroine of various feminist causes célèbres, was responsible for the brutal elimination of more than thirty million children in the United States and as many as two and a half billion worldwide.

Information above is from “A Complete Online Biography of Margaret Sanger” Publication 1995 – http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/39ba_47e.htm

*Margaret Sanger aligned herself with the eugenicists whose ideology prevailed in the early 20th century. Eugenicists strongly espoused racial supremacy and “purity,” particularly of the “Aryan” race. Eugenicists hoped to purify the bloodlines and improve the race by encouraging the “fit” to reproduce and the “unfit” to restrict their reproduction. They sought to contain the “inferior” races through segregation, sterilization, birth control and abortion.

Information above is from “The Negro Project: Margaret Sanger’s Eugenic Plan for Black Americans” – http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=1466&department=CWA&categoryid=life

*Margaret Sanger admitted to neglecting one of her children who died of pneumonia at age four. Indeed, she always acknowledged that she wasn’t right for family life, admitting she was not a “fit person for love or home or children or anything which needs attention or consideration.”

Information above is from “A Dark Past: Contraception, abortion, and the eugenics movement” – http://article.nationalreview.com/print/?q=ODUxZmVmZDM0ODY0MTFhOWJhOGIwOTYwYjRmMDQ2ODk=

“… I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19 (NKJV)

What Does the Bible Say?

As we come closer to the 37th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to legalize abortion, we must look to God for the answers in a society that lives based on selfishness and convenience.

What does the Bible say:

Q. Should a child conceived as a result of rape or incest be aborted?

A. “Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor shall children be put to death for their fathers; a person shall be put to death for his own sin.” Deuteronomy 24:16 (NKJV)

Abortion Awareness: http://psalm128.wordpress.com/2008/06/01/awareness/

Forget Politically Correct!

This week marks 37 years since the Supreme Court decision overturned a Texas interpretation of abortion law and made abortion legal in the United States. The Roe v. Wade decision held that a woman, with her doctor, could choose abortion. The consequences of Roe v. Wade? Approximately 49,551,703 murdered children. Approximately 50 million human beings, not yet born, have been killed – maliciously and having premeditated such acts with deliberate intent to end their life.

This conversation to many has become taboo because of the many women who’ve aborted their babies. It’s not “politically correct” to address this as tragic and heinous. It’s insensitive to cause anyone to feel ashamed of their choices and even arrogant to stand up for one’s beliefs against such a choice.

I realize that this law passed for women. It passed for our rights as a woman to our bodies. What it did not and does not consider are the lives of these babies that are just as valuable as these women. We are all valuable. We are all important. We are all created for life.

Abortion is murder. This isn’t a statement to stir up angry feelings or hurt someone who’s made this choice. This is a statement made to bring truth in a world full of clouded judgment. Abortion is murder. These babies are tortured and destroyed worse than the very trash in our homes.

Injecting poison, removing limbs, vacuuming brains from their skulls. These are people who have no voice, screaming in silence until their life has been taken from them. This is MURDER. This is WRONG.

This week marks 37 years since the Supreme Court decision was made to legalize abortion. This week marks 37 years since we brought a curse upon ourselves, our families, our land. God have mercy on us!!!

“You shall not murder.” Exodus 20:13

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, By man his blood shall be shed, for in the image of God He made man.” Genesis 9:6

“Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.” 1 John 3:15

~http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html
~http://www.visionforumministries.org/issues/life/roe_v_wade_and_biblical_patria.aspx
~http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?action=search&word=murder&resource=Webster%27s&quicksearch=on

“A girl still in school cannot get an aspirin from the nurse without ‘parental consent’, but if that same girl wants to get an abortion, that same nurse can drive her to a local abortion clinic and get one, and THE PARENTS WILL NEVER KNOW! And your tax dollars will pay for it! This week marks the 37th year that the Supreme Court legalized murder of babies! GOD HELP OUR TWISTED MINDS & CLEANSE US FROM THIS EVIL DEED!” John Muncy

~http://parentingteens.about.com/od/teenpregfact/a/abortion_laws.htm

Did “I Have a Dream” for the Unborn?

It wasn’t until just today that I read a quote by Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, declaring the thought out plan to deceive the American people:

“We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal. We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.” ~Margaret Sanger, December 19, 1939 letter to Dr. Clarence Gamble

Along with this, the truth regarding the idolized and praised “Martin Luther King Jr.” was revealed to me also. I know I’ve been guilty of the common phrase suggesting that “if Dr. King was alive today, he’d be fighting for the pro-life cause.” Simply, this is not so.

In 1966, along with three other men, this man received the PPFA Margaret Sanger Award as was given annually to those recognized distinctly for their excellence in leadership in furthering reproductive health and reproductive rights. In his acceptance speech he declared his position on such matters as follows:

“There is no human circumstance more tragic than the persisting existence of a harmful condition for which a remedy is readily available. Family planning, to relate population to world resources, is possible, practical and necessary. Unlike plagues of the dark ages or contemporary diseases we do not yet understand, the modern plague of overpopulation is soluble by means we have discovered and with resources we possess.”

Does this sound like the “Martin Luther King Jr.” you’ve believed in? He made a way for our fellow man, he shared a dream that all men were created equal and would be treated as such – but he was not pro-life. He did not speak up for the unborn babies who cannot speak for themselves.

“The Negro constitutes half the poor of the nation. Like all poor, Negro and white, they have many unwanted children. This is a cruel evil they urgently need to control. There is scarcely anything more tragic in human life than a child who is not wanted. That which should be a blessing becomes a curse for parent and child.” MLK to PP 1966.

Yes, such is a cruel evil and the parent should be ashamed of themselves for not wanting that child because our children come as a blessing despite how little we parents deserve our precious children.

I am thankful for the movement towards equal treatment – but I will no longer praise this man as I had before because now I see that he denied the most basic beliefs of the Christian faith and saw unwanted children as curses for which “a remedy is readily available.”

“Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets.” Luke 6:26

~http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=555
~http://www.jesus-is-lord.com/king.htm
~http://mlk-kpp01.stanford.edu/
~http://www.plannedparenthood.org/about-us/who-we-are/reverend-martin-luther-king-jr-4728.htm

True Beauty of a Woman

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a [meek] and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.” 1 Peter 3:3-4

Wives are to be meek and quiet. What does this mean?

*Meek: mild temper, soft, gentle, not easily provoked, or irritated.

*Quiet: peaceable, not turbulent, not giving offense, mild, meek, and contented.

Despite what many believe about these words, they are not contrary to the equality between men and women, they do not disregard feminine value, nor do they state in any way that women are unimportant. We are called to be like Jesus!

“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” Matthew 11:29

“For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.” John 12:49-50

“I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” John 14:12

“To disagree, one doesn’t have to be disagreeable.” Barry Goldwater

Disagreeable is defined as the following from Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913 + 1828)

1913 edition:

Dis`a*gree”a*ble (?), a. [Cf. F. désagréable.]

1. Not agreeable, conformable, or congruous; ontrary; unsuitable.

2. Exciting repugnance; offensive to the feelings or enses; displeasing; unpleasant.

1828 edition:

DISAGREEABLE, a.

1. Contrary; unsuitable; not conformable; not congruous.

2. Unpleasing; offensive to the mind, or to the sense; but expressing less than disgusting and odious. Behavior may be disagreeable to our minds; food may be disagreeable to the taste; many things are disagreeable to the sight; sounds may be disagreeable to the ear, and odors to the smell. Whatever is disagreeable gives some pain or uneasiness.

Having a meek and quiet spirit is choosing to refuse the disagreeable spirit as part of who you are.

“As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.” Proverbs 11:22 (KJV)

“Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout is a beautiful woman who shows no discretion.” Proverbs 11:22 (NIV)

“A beautiful woman who acts foolishly is like a gold ring on the snout of a pig.” Proverbs 11:22 (CEV)

Discretion:

Original Hebrew Word: טָ֫עַם

Transliteration: taam

Phonetic Spelling: (tah’-am)

Definition: From ta’am; properly, a taste, i.e. (figuratively) perception; by implication, intelligence; transitively, a mandate — advice, behaviour, decree, discretion, judgment, reason, taste, understanding.

Braided hair and fine clothing makes a disagreeable woman beautiful no more than a gold ring in a pigs nose makes a pig beautiful.

Kristi

Stand For You – Jonny Diaz

So long politics it’s time to start being me
Take the chains off my lips it’s time to set my tongue free
Some might just turn their heads but some will raise a fist
And You told me to stand so I won’t back down from this… See More
They say there are no absolutes but are they absolutely sure

In a world that tries to water You down
Where beliefs cannot be spoken to loud
I’ll stand for truth
Where they claim Your way isn’t wide enough
And they do their best just to cover You up
I’ll stand for You

Hello reality it’s time we embrace honesty
Teach me to speak with truth and love and with humility
You made a promise that You’re coming back to Earth
So how selfish am I if I don’t go tell the world
They say just be sincere but could they all just be sincerely wrong

They might remove Your name from money
But You own it all the same
They kicked You out of school that’s funny
Cause how could You go away
In a land that’s built upon Your Word
It’s amazing You’ve been banned
To think that we control You is absurd
So for Truth I’m here to stand!

The Princess and the Frog

We should all be aware that watching Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog” is simply a poor choice, especially in allowing it for our children.

Filled with voodoo magic, demonic forces, dark powers, tarot cards, and a “shadow man” determined to capture wayward souls in the city, this alone would seem obvious for Christians to steer clear from.

It gets better though. They go on a quest to find Mama Odie, a Voodoo priestess (whom even pluggedinonline.com, a site designed by focus on the family to alert Christians of what is in films regards the scenes she is in as carrying with them a “subtle Christian subtext”). They go to her in hopes that she can turn them back to normal.

Additionally, wishing on stars as if the stars were God himself is a continual practice throughout the movie, as well as a representation of Greek mythology in regards to a new star appearing after the death of one of the characters.

Aside from occult and pagan practices, this also includes kissing and the frogs’ tongues getting knotted together. Immodest dress with tightly fitted clothing, cleavage, mention of “flashing the neighbors,” and inappropriate innuendos of “loving women” is also seen during this G rated film.

Christians should not be bringing their children to see this film. There has been a craze in the recent years among Christians that continue to use occult practices to be an allegory to the truth and is misleading many!

It’s a scary day when many Christians’ standard has become “I watched Disney all the time when I was a kid and I turned out fine” but the truth is, these very same Christians are not willing to give it up. It’s about time we Christian’s open our eyes and see the dangers of dabbling in practices that go against GOD’S standard on our lives. We might have made it out, but who’s to say our child won’t? Who’s to say they’ll not be drawn in?

“But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” Matthew 18:6 (see also Mark 9:42 & Luke 17:1-3)

As my friend John Muncy says, this is “What We NEED To Hear But Do Not WANT To Hear!”

Elizabeth Krueger’s Lesson of the Day

Thanks again Debbie!

You CAN Change Your Emotions
Yes, you CAN change your emotions. You are not a helpless victim of hurt feelings, irritability, and anger. We can and must learn to alter our tempers and deny our feelings, when necessary, and teach our children to do likewise.

Colossians 3:8 (NAS) tells us: “But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, {and} abusive speech from your mouth.” Since here and many places elsewhere in scripture, we are commanded to control our emotions, it’s safe to assume God gives us the ability to do so. God tells us what to do, and that we can do it, so all we need to do is obey Him. In the same way, we have the ability to teach our children to control their emotions. All they need to do it obey us, as we wisely discipline them and train them according to God’s word.

For this commandment which I command you today is not too difficult for you, nor is it out of reach.”
- Deuteronomy 30:11

-Excerpt from “Raising Godly Tomatoes“

Elizabeth Krueger’s Lesson of the Day

Thank you for posting this Debbie!!

Not All Emotions Are Good (From “Raising Godly Tomatoes”)
It is not wrong to have emotions, but unbridled emotions are dangerous and potentially devastating. Adults who feel righteous indignation upon seeing the innocent suffer, or children who grieve the loss of a grandparent, act properly and nobly. But not all emotions, displayed freely, are good. Both the adult who loses his temper when frustrated, and the child who throws a fit to get his way, are equally reprehensible. Emotions are attributes of God Himself, engendered in us when He “created man in His own image”. The challenge is not to eliminate emotions, but to manage them in ways pleasing to God and in accord with His image.

Because God is gracious, He helps us in this task of becoming like Him, by revealing to us in His word, when we are to feel certain emotions and to what extent. We are to “hate” evil, for example. We are to “be miserable and mourn and weep” over our own sins. We are to “rejoice” in Him. We are to “love” our neighbor. And so on. In addition to His direct instructions, God offers His example, so that we might imitate Him. Thus, when Exodus tells us that God is “slow to anger,” we too must be slow to anger. When the Psalms describe Him as compassionate and longsuffering, we are to seek to be the same.

Jesus is, of course, our supreme example. His emotional repertoire was vast and we are given many examples thereof. Jesus was “consumed with zeal” when He saw God’s house being misused. He “felt compassion” for the lost and taught them, and for the sick and healed them. He “wept” when His dear friend Lazarus died. His soul was “deeply grieved” when He prayed in the Garden. And ultimately, Jesus demonstrated “love”, beyond compare, by laying down His very life for our sakes. In all that He did, He set an example for us to follow and gave us the power to do so.

Along with the biblical descriptions of wisely managed emotions, the Bible also gives us many examples of mismanaged and unrestrained emotions, beginning with Cain who murdered his own brother in anger, to Moses who lost his temper and struck the rock, to the malice of the Jewish leaders who sought to put the Son of God to death. Never are these displays excused because the perpetrators did not have the ability to control their tempers. Apparently God felt they did. In the next few chapters I am going to discuss emotions as they relate to parenting small children and how, in practical ways, we can help our children become masters of their own spirits and hence live the rest of their lives free from the bonds of emotional slavery.

Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth”
- Exodus 34:6

I Love My Husband

I love my husband.  He is such a good man.
He has a continuing desire to always be loyal
to God, me, and his children.
He is faithful and trustworthy.
He is always there to support me, encourage me, defend me,
and correct me where it’s needed.
And I am so thankful that he only has eyes for me!
I am more blessed than I deserve.
I love him more than I could ever express by what I do or say.
He is the perfect man for me
…

even as the imperfect man that he is.

Kristi

Vote Yes on 1

Question 1 on Maine´s November 3rd election ballot will read: People´s Veto: “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”

Many people are voting “Yes on 1″ in Maine tomorrow, for many different reasons. Some because they think it’s wrong for their personal reasons, for others because they are rude and judgmental people, and then there is me and others like me who simply have no personal agenda but simply trusting the Bible as the inspired Word of God.

My loyalty lies first with God, even before my loyalty as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, friend, and as an American. Scripture tells us to love God first and love our neighbors as ourselves second.

As Christians, we are not to condone or ignore sin and this includes homosexuality and the altering of marriage which was created by God to be between man and woman (Genesis 2:21-24; Matthew 19:4-6). Christians should stand firmly against the idea of same-sex marriage for the simple fact that the Bible expresses homosexuality as sin.

We are given a free will to choose our will or God’s will. Be careful not to quote scripture out of context in an attempt to condone what the Bible says is a sin. I had sex with my husband before we married. God commands us in His Word not to fornicate and, as Christians, we should have heeded His instruction. Instead we chose to put Him second to our sexual relationship. We knew it was sin and have asked God to forgive us and we aren’t to try and justify it.

Since both homosexual desires and actions are condemned in the Bible, it is clear that homosexuals “marrying” is not God’s will, and would be, in fact, sinful.

If you don’t agree with the Word, than this does not apply to you. As for me, my convictions are rooted in the Word so for me to vote “No on 1″ would express my loyalty lies somewhere other than with God.

Christians need also to remember that we are to share the love of God and the forgiveness of sins that is available to all, including homosexuals, through Jesus Christ. We are to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) and contend for truth with “gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15).

As Christians, when we make a stand for truth and the result is personal attacks, insults, and persecution, we should remember the words of Jesus: “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you” (John 15:18-19).

Please, vote yes on 1.

Kristi