Little King and the Countess

Ryan's lesson last night was on the third commandment. Do not take the Lord's name in vain. Ryan went on to say that it is not just saying curse words or replying to a hammer hitting your thumb. It applies in any misuse of God's name. We take His name in vain when we do not stand up for it when others misuse it. We are God's hearalds. When we disobey God, God's name is marred because we, as Christians, are attached to His name.

The reason God's name is so important is that it has meaning. In the Bible times, a family thought long and hard when naming their child. Names had great meaning back then. Today, parents do not really think about the meanings behind the names. They pick what sounds cute. Back in Bible times, when God called out and set apart his people, he changed their name.

Some examples are Abram to Abraham. Sarai to Sarah. Jacob to Israel. Saul to Paul. These name changes meant something. Sarah means "princess". The name is fitting because through her many great nations came forth.

Ryan's name means "little king." It is ironic, yet fitting that he married a Contessa, Italian for countess. When thinking of a name for our son, we decided that we wanted his name to mean something. Christian Chadwick was chosen for a number of reasons. The first was the actual meaning behind the names. Christian means "follower of Christ." We both have one goal, to raise him through the knowledge and teaching of God. Chadwick originally meant "from the warrior's tow" or "protector and defender". We want to not only raise him up in God's Word, we want him to be a mighty warrior for God!

So you see, names have meaning. We should be mindful of that meaning. God's name is the name above all names. We should be defenders and protectors of such a mighty, holy name.

No Idols

On Wednesday nights, Ryan has been speaking on Exodus 20 and the 10 Commandments. Many people wonder what application it can have on our lives today, having been given to the Israelites so many many years ago. Last week Ryan spoke on idols.

Exodus 20: 4-6 says, "“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

The first commandment we studied was who we worship, and the second commandment here talks about the method and how we worship. We don't need a little pocket Jesus to bring out and worship, we just need God and our relationship with Him. He requires a relationship based on faith, with no tangible thing to hold on to.

Our challenge for the week was this, to search our hearts and pray for God to reveal things that we placed above God and things we idolized. To me, God instead decided to reveal to me a new found vigor for stewardship. Maybe because money seemed to be important to me. I'm not sure. But I have become a saver, a deal seeker, and a coupon-clipping wife. I feel better knowing that I have spent the money God has blessed me with wisely. And I feel better knowing that the check I write back to give to God is a little fuller because of how wisely I have been with what He has given me.

Sometimes God's answer isn't exactly what we expected. This week's certainly was not what I expected as an answer when I started Ryan's challenge for the week.

There is a Time for Everything

Ecclesiastes 3:1 "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens"

God's timing is always better than our timing. That is a lesson that has been permeating through everything lately. We weren't planning on having a baby anytime soon. According to us, we couldn't afford a baby. I wanted to finish my Master's Degree first (graduation is Nov 2011). I wanted to save up a good nestegg first (we lost a lot of it back in Spring of 2008). We wanted to have five years together (we will have been married 4 in Dec 2010) before children. You see, the things that kept us from "being prepared" in our eyes were our own desires and wants. I wouldn't trade this baby boy for any of the above wants and desires. God truly knows our hearts and knows what is best for us.

For those of you who are waiting on Mr. Right. Focus on God and being happy and content with him. Thats what I did. In no way did I want to date in high school. I went on a date (prom, etc.) but it was just for fun and with guy friends. The probability that you will marry your high school sweetheart is slim to none. Don't get me wrong, there are people who do. But I went to college expecting to get my degree, then find a husband. I wasn't going for my MRS degree. What happened? God had the perfect man for me waiting on the corner of the street to help me move into my dorm. First he was my best friend. Now he is my husband and father of my baby boy. Keep God first. And remember His timing is always better than our own.

B90X - Reading but no Blog

Ok. I have done my B90X reading. Just not really any time to blog. Will be out of town until Saturday, but will try to keep the blogging back up when I return. I am keeping a journal of my B90X reading, so I won't miss anything when I make my next blog.

B90X Report - Life of Joseph

B90X Report - When you look at the life of Joseph, you can see a man whose life was touched and protected by God. God appeared to Joseph through his dreams. God protected Joseph when his brothers tried to kill him through a brother who cared for him, Reuben. Joseph was strong in his beliefs with Potiphar's wife. God protected him when he was put in prison. God worked through Joseph to interpret dreams.

Today's reading went further into Joseph's life. And I am going to kind of put two days together since tomorrow is Sunday.

God used Joseph to put him where he wanted him to be - as a ruler of Egypt, second to only Pharaoh. Through Joseph, the tribes of Israel were spared in their originators - Joseph's brother. God puts us in places that he wants us to be so that we may do His work. We may not understand why we are there, but God has a plan for our lives.

Just the other day Ryan and I were able to make the day of a lady at WalMart. We gave her a galloon of milk. It made her day!

Day 4 Reading : Genesis 40:12 - Genesis 50:26

Day 5 Reading: Exodus 1:1 - Exodus 15:18

B90X Report - Like Father, Like Son

B90X Day 2 Report - Like Father, Like Son

My little man will be here in February. Ryan and I are very excited. On the ultra sounds I have had, he has been doing flips. I looked at Ryan and said, "He is going to be just like his father." And if he is, I am going to be so proud of him. If he is not, Iwill love him just the same.

I feel that is how God viewed Isaac and Abraham. Twice Abraham did not trust that God would protect him and his wife. Twice Abraham told kings that Sarah was his sister and not his wife. With Abraham, it was just a half-truth. Sarah and Abraham had the same father but different mothers. Both times, God interferred and did not let anything happen to Sarah. He protected Abraham and Sarah's marriage.

In Genesis 26, Isaac and Rebekah returned to King Abimelech. This is the same king that his father Abraham deceived in Genesis 20. Isaac tells the king that Rebekah is his sister and not his wife. This wasn't even a half-truth for Isaac and Rebekah. It was an outright lie. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. King Abimelech was no fool. He watched Isaac and Rebekah and saw Isaac treating Rebekah as a wife, not a sister.

How many times must God provide for them for them to get it? God provided a wife for Isaac. God protected Abraham and Sarah in foreign lands. Yet, they continued to lie and deceive to "keep safe." They feared they would be killed over the beauty of their wives.

Day 3 Reading: Gensis 28:20 - 40:11

B90X - Day 1 Report

Day 1 of B90X was reading Genesis 1:1 - 16:16. It took about an hour and a half, with me taking some notes. God has opened my eyes to scripture that I never knew existed! I have read through Genesis many times; however, I never saw these words until now.

In Genesis 1:11, God said 'Let the land sproud with vegetation - every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.' How many times have I read that? Taking is metaphorically, God made us to produce what we are. If we are bad, we produce bad fruit. If we are focused on Christ and his goodness, we will produce good fruits. We can't produce that which we are not.

In Genesis 8:21b God said "I will never again curse the ground because of the human race, even though everything they think or imagine is bent toward evil from childhood." I know that this theme is present throughout scripture. I just didn't know this was what God said when he gave the first rainbow.

When I think of famous battles in the Bible, I think of David and Goliath or Joshua and Jericho. I don't normally think of Abram (Abraham) and 318 of his men. Genesis 14 talks about a great king who destroyed many kingdoms and eventually defeated and looted Sodom, taking Lot and all of his treasures with them. When Abram heard of this, he gathered 318 of his men and took off after his nephew, Lot. Abram and his men not only destroyed this great army, taking back the possessions and people looted from the cities. He also made the remaining army flee for their lives! How great our God is that with 318 men, he defeated a great army.

Day 2 Readings: Genesis 17:1 - Genesis 28:19

The B90X Challenge

I tried this (although six days after Elevation Church did) last year. I barely made it through and had to double up on two of the days.

I have printed out another copy and have decided to do it again. B90X is an intense Bible reading plan. You must commit to 90 days straight of a few hours of reading a day. I am committed. I am going to read through the Bible in 90 days and this time, I WILL NOT fail.

Day 1 Reading : Genesis 1:1 - Genesis 16:16

So here goes!

Free Stuff - Not always a Scam

SWAGBUCKS

Ok. So I have been using Swagbucks for awhile now. You can see the widget for more information for Swagbucks on the right side of my page.

Well, I have always been skeptical when it came to offering "Free Stuff" on the internet. I have installed the Swagbucks toolbar, signedup for swagbucks, and use the search engine instead of google or a favorite to get to my favorite sites (i.e. facebook, myspace, ebay, amazon, etc.) I also try to take part in the daily polls and surveys. What has it gotten me thus far? Well, I have saved up enough swagbucks to get three Amazon giftcards, won a Swagstakes rug for the nursery, and gotten a neat little pair of earrings!

If you know how to work it without giving away too much personal information, this is DEFINITELY worth it!

COUPONS

Another subject is couponing. I have recently become a coupon junkie! With a baby on the way, money is getting tighter. I thoroughly enjoy running through the store and saving money! Especially if you can catch a double or triple coupon day at your local grocery store!

My favorite coupon site is www.southernsavers.com. It is a MUST for any mom! And if you don't have kids, well you can save money too! I bought Huggies wipes for $0.97 the other day. And no mother can ignore $6 packs of diapers!

I have recently kept a tally of CVS extra care bucks with coupons. If you play it right, you can actually get PAID to shop! For example, when there is a rebate on a Pepsi product and CVS offers extra care bucks when you buy so many. I got PAID for buying four packs of Pepsi the other day.

Satan's Methods of Deception

I have been doing another Bible study on Eve. There is so much we can learn from the first woman; however, I want to focus on how Satan deceived Eve. I know he continues to try and use these methods to deceive me and keep me from doing God's work. Sometimes, he even uses Christians to do it. So don't ever put your guard down. Satan is good at what he does.

" 'You won't die!' the serpent replied to the woman. 'God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.' " - Genesis 3:4-5

This is a story everyone seems to know by heart. However, I do not think we really take time to look at the contrast between what God said and How Eve and Satan quoted God.

1. Doubting the truthfulness of God

The first method Satan uses is casting doubt on the truthfulness of what God said. He did this when he told Eve, "You won't die!"

In Genesis 2: 16-17 God said:

1. From any tree of the garden you may eat freely
2. but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil
3. you shall not eat
4. for in that day you eat from it you shall surely die.

In Genesis 3: 2-3 Eve quoted God is Satan as:

1. From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat
2. but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden
3. God has said, 'You shall not eat from it or touch it
4. least you die.'

Read each again. Do they say the same thing? No. They are similar but Eve adds to what God really said. She changes the perspective. Satan uses this to not only bring doubt to Eve's heart, but he also uses Eve's misquote to misquote God himself.

Remember, keep in God's word. If you can't quote God correctly, you won't be able to see past Satan's lies and misquotes of God's Word.

2. Doubting God's Motives

Satan says to Eve, "For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." Satan tells Eve that God isn't looking out for the wellbeing. Satan suggests that God is holding Eve back from something good.

Unbelief

"But despite all the miraculous signs he had done, most of the people did not believe in him." - John 12:37 NLT

This verse may come as a bit of a surprise to some of you who read this. I have struggled recently with unbelief. I believe in my God! I believe that Christ died for my sins, rose from the dead, and now (since 1992) has resided in me. I have a clear remembrance of the day I accepted Christ.

My unbelief comes in the form of not trusting God with every aspect of my life. Over the years, I have trusted God with a lot of things. But my baby, apparently, did not fall in that list until today. I have struggled since the third grade with asthma and allergies. They are chronic problems, not just the every day allergies. I used to get sick only during the spring and fall. Some teachers put me outside in elementary school. The problem was that outside the classroom was also outside the building. We had no indoor hallways. This going outside made it worse...and caused me to miss school.

When I got to middle school, my medical problems took a drastic change. It was like a night and day affect. I seemed to get sick all the time, not just during certain seasons. I had just recovered from a second battle of strep throat. My doctors didn't know what to do with me. They couldn't understand how medicines that used to work, suddenly stopped. This escaladed until eigth grade. In eigth grade I never went to school. I was put on homebound. A teacher picked up my assignments from school, came to my house for an hour a day, and I had tons of work to complete before she showed up the next day. During this time, even the hospital ER began to just drug me up and send me home. During this time I went in circles from pulmonologist, to allergist, to family doctor, to ENT and in a continuous circle. Every doctor tried what they thought would work, and when it didn't, sent me on to someone else.

I had one brilliant doctor who finally took out my tonsils my freshmen year of college. This drastically decreased the amount of time I spent sick. Two years later, I had a doctor tell me I might have cancer. They decided to take out a lymph node instead of biopsying it. When they went in, they took out two. PRAISE THE LORD! The biopsy came back negative for cancer; however, it was labeled as a chronic infection - same as my tonsils and adeniods two years prior to this.

It wasn't until after I graduated college that we discovered the method to the madness. The entire time I had PANDAS. Apparently, when I had one of the episodes of strep I developed an autoimmune disease. This disease caused an involuntary muscle spasm - or a tic - to be developed, which set off my acid reflux and asthma. The only time I could get peace was when I was asleep...because the involuntary spasm wasn't like the reflex of breathing....it did not occur when my brain was in sleep mode. Thankfully, I outgrew it or something. But the damage has been done to my lungs before that with my chronic asthma and allergies I continue to struggle with to this day.

So what does all this have to do with my baby and my unbelief? A LOT! I was on so many medicines, and many of them trial medications, that one doctor took me off of them saying that they could cause med to be infertile. So for the longest time there has been doubts in my mind whether I could even conceive. When I found out I was pregnant, that burden was lifted off my shoulders and I praised God with everything I am. But.... I found out non of my medications were safe for the pregnancy. That includes the nasal spray, preventative and emergency inhalers for asthma, my singulair, allegra, lortadine, and acid reflux medicines that were prescriptions had to go.... so now I am on very low dose over the counter wanna-bes. They don't do the job...but God is slowly helping my body heal and adjust. I have been so worried that either the stress that my asthma puts on my body, or the medications I took for a month before I found out I was pregnant, or the fact that I have a lengthy family medical history would make my baby an unhealthy baby.

I talked to the NP and midwife at my OBGYN on Thursday. They both told me that God doesn't make mistakes. That every baby was put on this earth for a purpose and a method to serve God. (we were talking about the downsyndrom and some other testing they want to do) That helped ease the way to what God told me tonight through various methods. First, was the music for DNOW. "God is healer" and "Healing is in [His] hands" were a major theme in the music. Then God used a wonderful lady to help answer so many prayers that I had today about various other things. God just reminded me tonight that he was in control of my baby and my future whether I wanted to let him have the reigns or not. I used to say My god is bigger and He CAN do it...now I have a new motto. My God is bigger and He WILL do it!

Nursery is Coming Together

No, we are not setting up the nursery yet...we plan on doing that with the help of my parents and his for Thanksgiving this year. We have picked out a theme of Winnie the Pooh. My best friend and I loved Winnie the Pooh ever since we were kids! We had nicknames for the three of us. We had a Tiger, Robyn, Pooh, and Piglet in the group. So much of my childhood through teenage years had Winnie the Pooh in it.

We have a crib - pictured above - without this bedding. We painted it white (you can see in the picture with the Winnie the Pooh stuff). A sealy mattress! We also have a basinet. Not pictured because my mother is working on turning her wedding dress into a basinet skirt. She is also making pink and blue ribbons so that depending on what this one is...and what we have in future pregnancies.... we can use the same furniture.

Baby Wright

I am just a little over ten weeks now. I have been good as to not gain any weight so far, but generally women lose weight at this point in the pregnancy because of morning sickness. Knock on wood, but I have not had morning sickness thus far.

Our life has become a little busy with youth, my grad school, and preparing for baby! I am currently not working and loving the time I can spend preparing for baby! Our nursery theme is already set. It is very non-gender specific. Which is great because I can use it for baby number 2 regardless of gender. Yes, we are already talking about baby number 2.

Who did Cain Marry?

This is a question I know I will probably take with me to Heaven. I had always been told that Cain married a sister and their children married their sisters, brothers, and cousins; however, a few months ago someone told me about a theory that God created other people after Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden. This satisfied me until I started a deep study of the women of the Bible. I came across Genesis 3:20 "Then the man - Adam - named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all who live." I would be interested to find any other theories on this. Because I cannot see myself believing now that God made other people besides Adam and Eve is Eve was mother of all who lived.

Shrimp Memories

My grandpa Turner passed away a year and a half ago. Every day, I see reminders of him. We went out to eat at Cracker Barrell and I ordered fried shrimp. When the order arrived, my dad started smiling and then laughing like crazy. We all looked at him in astonishment. He said it reminded him of his dad.

One night after my dad graduated from high school, my grandpa took my dad out to eat just the two of them. They were farmboys and back then shrimp wasn't something so readily available this far up state as it is now. My dad ordered shrimp and halfway through eating it, my grandpa looked at my dad and chuckled, "Son, I don't think you are supposed to eat the whole thing." My dad had been eating the entire shrimp! Tail and All!

We're Expecting!

We're expecting! That's right! The week before I am to start school again for my master's. We find out that I'm pregnant! I am so excited! We called everyone we knew yesterday! I am going to use this more now as an update for everyone on my pregnancy.God is amazing! On Mother's Day my mother-in-law almost did not make it. She was in ICU for three weeks. And spent another week in the hospital before she came home. She still cannot do much and tires out very easily. She told Ryan that what made her get through it and decide to quit smoking is that she was wanting to be there for her two current grandbabies and for the one Ryan and I was going to have. We laughed it off and said "Yea, someday". What we didn't know was that the very month she said that, I would get pregnant!My God is bigger!

Pretty Little Liars Review

Pretty Little Liars does not sound like something you want your children to watch does it? Would you be even more surprised to know that it is also a very popular teen book series? I am shocked that ABC FAMILY would continue with the "family" audience, yet promote shows that are against core American family values such as Secret Life of the American Teenager and Pretty Little Liars. I will applaud ABC in one aspect, which they cleaned up the language of strong cursing to instances of “Holy Crap!” and “Screw a duck!” However, are these phrases we want our kids saying? They are, in essence, just a euphemism. The intention is still the same as the original word.


I downloaded the first book just to see what the hype was about with my preteen and teen girls I teach from school and church. Just the first chapter made me want to throw it down. I urge parents to read into what their children are watching and reading these days. So much of our society is about sex and drugs now. Do we really want our girls to read about a swimmer who is struggling with being a lesbian, a girl who is making out with her AP English teacher, a girl who "outdoes" her older sister by sleeping with her sister's boyfriend, or a bulimic girl who wants to get her boyfriend to go against his virginity pledge? If that is the kind of things you are ok with your daughter reading, then by all means, you are the parent. I will know what my child watches, what is out there on Monday and Tuesday nights during primetime on a quote "Family" television station. THIS is NOT a FAMILY show!

God-talk and God-acts

My Bible history class watched The Passion of the Christ this week for Passion Week. I am so blessed that I can present the Gospel in the classroom. I read them a passage from The Message. I normally do not like The Message because it is not a verse by verse translation, but rather a paraphrase. I did, however, like the way it phrased James 2:17 "Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous."

I challenged my eighth graders this week to not only talk about what they saw in The Passion, but to also show that love they saw through their acts. James wrote in the same chapter that if we walk by a hungry friend and say "Be filled with the Holy Spirit" yet we do not provide for their physical hunger, what good have we done?

My challenge was simple. Tell others about Christ, yes. But do not just tell them about His love for us. Show them.

Don't Judge a Book by Its Movie

I teach a group of seniors for Calculus just before lunch and let them eat in my classroom rather than going to the overcrowded lunch room. Yesterday, we started discussing a few books that have recently come out as movies. Have you ever noticed the minute details of a book and just wonder how in the world they are going to fit everything into a two hour film? The answer is simple - they don't. Understandably, some aspects of a book have to be cut for time reasons. Why then, have movies begun to alter endings of books we have come to cherish?

We discussed a few books, including Dear John, The Timetraveler's wife, and My Sister's Keeper. I will try to explain without giving away too much of the endings. In My Sister's Keeper, the book is so much better in the movie. They change too much of the ending and it alters the message of the storyline itself. In Dear John, I actually prefer the movie ending to the book. Although I enjoyed the insight into John's character and thoughts, I threw the book across the room after the final chapter. My small group that I assist in at church went to see the movie opening day. I accompinied them with full intension that I would also hate the movie. In this case, I was very happy with the ending.

My conclusion is this, don't judge a book by its movie or vice versa. You may find yourself surprised at the difference.

Not a Feel-Good Jesus

I have been reading After I Believe: Experiencing Authentic Christian Living by Mark D. Roberts. It was a book I received in college, yet never read. In the first chapter, Roberts describes the four basic ideas about the Christian life. My favorite of these sections is "Idea #2: The Christian Life is Feeling Joy and Peace in the Lord."

Roberts talks about the "initial blush of emoition" a new Christian sometimes feels. Jesus promises us joy. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says "Be happy and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually." The is an emotional side of Christianity, but Roberts warns that "we must beware of the tendancy to reduce Christianity to feelings alone."

When we reduce Christianity to emotions, we are left with a feel-good Jesus who makes us happy and rich. Many churches have fallen into the feel-good Jesus theology and forgotten about the Jesus who died and suffered for our sins.

As God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
— Colossians 3:12 (NIV)



The definition of compassion is "a deep awareness of and sympathy for another's suffering." How aware are we of the people around us? Do we notice when they are in pain? Do we notice when they need someone to talk to?

The definition of kindness is "the quality of being warmhearted and considerate and humane and sympathetic." Are you a kind person? When someone you do not particularly like comes around, are you kind to them? Do you treat them with consideration or do you just hope they leave as soon as they can.

The definition of gentleness is "politeness of the heart." The definition of patience is "good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence." If you struggle with patience, be careful with asking God for more patience. The saying "Be careful what you wish for" applies here. Recently, I prayed for God to help me with my patience. His response has been to make me wait, to give me a week of subing my most challenging class for another teacher, and, most recently, giving me the nasty stomach bug that has come around.

What We Learn from Barabbas...

What can we learn from this bandit? I know what you are thinking. He's a robber! He's a criminal! What you do not understand is that we have a lot in common with this rogue.

For those of you who do not recognize the name, Barabbas was the criminal who the crowd demanded to be set free. You see, it was a tradition during the Passover festival that Pilot release one prisoner. He gave them a choice to set Jesus free, but the crowd cried out that they wanted Barabbas. You see, if Barabbas had not been set free, he would have died on the cross. Pilot found that Jesus had done no wrong. Barabbas was a convicted felon.

I don’t know what happened to Barabbas. But I know something: the next time that I will read the crucifixion passages or see them played, I will know that I was like him, dead in trespasses and sins, destined for the cross, and exactly as him I was released and set free by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who took not only Barabbas’ place in the cross but also ours.

On the Waiting Road

Recently, Ryan and I have learned the hard way what it means to wait. Waiting on God is becoming easier and easier. I have to admit, I feel like a child. Wanting something so bad it is all I focus on. I can't eat, sleep, or do any other thing without thinking about what I want.

I am reminded of the commercial on TV for J. G. Wentworth. "It's my money and I need it now!" It seems that society today is teaching us that it is our right to get what we want and when we want it. That we are entitled to it. This is so directly against what God's Word teaches.

My new verse that I have stuck on my mirror in the bathroom is Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; Be strong, and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." How hard waiting seems to be for us, specifically my generation and younger.

Waiting... it is the most challenging command to follow. Love your enemies is nothing compared to the waiting.

Blessings from the Wrights as we are currently in a wait and see period in our lives...

Oh Where Can He Be?

I have a directional handicap friend who left for Oklahoma over twenty days ago and haven't heard from him since...I wonder if I should call China to find him...

Tim Hawkins Concert!!!

Ok, so most of you who know me well know I LOVE Tim Hawkins! He is my favorite comedian! I love his parodies and his jokes about the south! He's ten times better than Larry the Cable Guy, Ron White, or Jeff Dunham!

So for a very late Valentines Day gift, my hubby and I bought tickets to see him in Aiken, SC for May 22nd! I am sooo stoked!

For those who want a taste of Tim Hawkin's (family friendly and Christian clean) material. Go to www.timhawkins.net

What Would You Do For Your Treasure?

For today's post, I feel like going back to my sermon notes in my Kindle from Ryan's lesson last night. God really used my husband's message to the youth to open my eyes last night.

The main passage he read from was Matthew 13:44-46:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls. When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

The first question Ryan asked was "What is the Kingdom of God?" On earth, it is the Body of Christ - the Church. We are God's Kingdom here on earth. When we are born again, we enter into this earthly Kingdom of God. In Eternity, the Kingdom of God is Heaven. Everything else will be destroyed. It is only those who enter into the Kingdom of God on Earth, that will join in with the Kingdom of God in Heaven. Jesus says “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt 6:10). What he is saying is that may God's earthly kingdom (the church) reflect God's heavenly kingdom.

The second question Ryan asked the youth was "What are we willing to give up to get that?" Simple enough, he explained that none of us in the room have every truly been asked to give up everything like the two men in the parable. We cannot comprehend the choice of being asked to give up everything like they did. Ryan then pointed out Romans 12: 1 -2:

And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.

You see, we ARE called to give up everthing. We are called to become living sacrifices. To give up our lives. To die in our sin, and be raise as a new creation in Jesus Christ. It is not we who live these lives now. It is Christ who lives in us. Our lives are not our own. It now belongs to Christ. A living sacrifice is what we english teachers call an oxymoron. That is, the words "living" and "sacrifice" should be contradictory. They are, indeed, opposites. For in the Old Testament, when something was sacrificed, it was killed. Death was the outcome of a sacrifice. Whether it was an animal or a crop offering. The crops were cut from their lifeforce, the roots.

Ryan ended the same way I ended my last post. As Christians, we are just like the two men in the parable above. We have found a treasure of great value - Christ. We should not only give up everything to get this treasure, we should tell everyone we know about the treasure we have found! If you were to wake up tomorrow and find out you have become a millionaire overnight, you wouldn't keep it quiet! You would want to scream and shout about it! I know I would. We are called in the Great Commission to go and tell! Baptise and make disciples!

What will you do with YOUR treasure?

Finding God's Purpose In The Storms

Praise You in This Storm
words by Mark Hall/music by Mark Hall and Bernie Herms

I was sure by now, that You would have reached down
and wiped our tears away,
stepped in and saved the day.
But once again, I say amen
and it's still raining
as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain,
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away.

Chorus:
And I'll praise you in this storm
and I will lift my hands
for You are who You are
no matter where I am
and every tear I've cried
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
and raised me up again
my strength is almost gone how can I carry on
if I can't find You
and as the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
and as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise
the God who gives and takes away

Chorus

I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth
I lift my eyes unto the hills
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth

Chorus


This song has been a great ministry to me of late. Its hard when you find out someone close to you is gone. Its even harder facing it each and every day. Especially when you do not know if that person is a Christian. Ryan's best friend from high school committed suicide three years ago today. He basically lived with Ryan and his friend Chris. They were like brothers. He was Ryan's best man in our wedding. Just a few weeks after we were married, he was gone. Ryan knew something was bothering him at the wedding, but we guess he was too into making it "our" day to bother Ryan with his troubles. Today is a hard day for Ryan and for me as well...

Over the holidays, another one of my classmates passed away in a wreck. That makes four while we were in school and about five since we graduated in 2002. It is really hard. I shudder to think about why I did not stand up then for my faith as boldly as I do now. I never even asked some of them about God. I am not proud of it. Ryan knows he shared Christ with Chad. Chad even took one of Ryan's old Bibles and read through it. He asked Ryan some questions about what he had read. Atleast Ryan has that. I'm ashamed that I do not.

I hope and pray that each of you do not have those regrets. Be bold in your faith. Share God's wonderful story! Pray for those you have shared it with constantly!