God Bless America, Land That I Love

Well, election day is over and I must say that my heart has been heavy. But then I just read this.
And hardly anyone can say things better than Beth Moore.

Although my vote didn't turn out the way I had hoped, it's still my duty to support and pray for our President and our great Nation and to unite with others for the cause of Christ.

To be a light for Him in this world.

To do otherwise would be just what Satan would hope for, as Beth said so well.

Today, I was thinking what a great nation we live in that we are able to vote for the candidate we choose, and for that vote to be counted fairly. Many people throughout the world do not have that opportunity.

And I'm also grateful, although I may not agree with some of the things he supports, that our nation has moved past prejudices of the past to elect an African-American leader. I pray that this Presidency will bring people of all colors together, because each of us was created in His image.

I'm continuing to pray that God will bless the United States of America as only He can...........

Change....it is a comin

It's 2:30 am on the eve of Election Day and I've been awake for two hours now. I simply cannot sleep. Never before have I had so much on my mind. My heart is in constant prayer for the choices that will be made tomorrow (today).
I have not slept well since last Thursday. If you read this, you've seen my posts on 40 Days for Life, the pro-life campaign that's taking hold across our nation. I have prayed outside an abortion clinic before, but never when it was open. Last Thursday was my first time, and my life has been forever changed.
I witnessed countless numbers of cars drive by the clinic multiple times before they got up enough nerve to enter the driveway. Once in the driveway, you could hear the conflict going on in the cars, and it took one mom 20 minutes to get out. As cars pulled in the driveway, and as people opened their doors and got out, we began to lovingly say to them, "Please don't kill your baby.....come talk to us......your baby's heart is beating, please let it live." And, while I was there, everyone kept on going into the abortion clinic.
On Sunday, our group was so extremely fortunate to meet Kim, a mom whose third child, sweet little Emily, has Down Syndrome. She told us about being counseled that it was okay to abort her baby because of the diagnosis, but praise God Emily was there with us on Sunday, just as beautiful as could be! She had become particularly active in the pro-life movement after having Emily. At the closing vigil, another prayer volunteer who worked near the clinic told a story about Kim. Because of her work's proximity, she was able to walk to the abortion clinic to pray during her lunch every day. She said she would never forget the day she walked around the corner and saw Kim's hands raised in the air, and she was saying "Praise the Lord!!!" She had just counseled a mom who had decided to keep her baby. That was the first of two saves that day. Kim said her pastor asked her, "How did it feel to be a part of saving two babies lives?" Her answer was, "it made me sick to my stomach, because I saw how many babies weren't saved that day." And I've pretty much felt the same way since last Thursday.
And if this election goes as the media predicts that it will, many more lives will be lost. Senator Ob@ma has said that one of the first things he will do as President will be to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, preventing governmental interference in a woman's right to choose to terminate at any point in her pregnancy. This means a woman can legally have an abortion up until the moment that baby is born. And Obama isn't for the Born Alive Protection Act either, which would require the baby to be kept alive if something goes wrong and the baby doesn't die as a result of the abortion. Basically, it would just be left to die.
Oh, friends, what is wrong with our nation when we are more concerned with the economy than we are with human life? When we worry more about our retirement portfolios than we do about a baby in the womb? I believe the economic downturn in our country is directly related to our moral downturn. People want to live their own way without consequence. And so, come tomorrow, the election will go one of two ways......one way will promote a more liberal way of life, one in which we're able to live our lives just the way we want without repercussion and the other way will be that which hopefully will return our nation to the ideals it was founded on by its Creator. No candidate and no party is perfect and neither am I, but I believe we should vote for the candidate whose stances most closely line up with standards outlined in Scripture.
I am thankful that God's hand is on this election and that He is in control and whichever candidate is elected, it will be no surprise to Him. He's Got The Whole World In His Hands!

Halloween Ghosts

Here are my cute little Halloween ghosts!! :)

The first grade at Noah's school is having their own little fall festival tomorrow, and I signed up to bring enough leaf cookies for the entire first grade. Well, there's no way to make leaf cookies except roll them and cut them out. So, last night Noah, Brooke, & I started on our first few batches. Can you tell what their favorite part was? The flour, of course! They helped me put colored sprinkles on the first batch and while I was getting the second batch ready, just look what they got into! At first, it was fairly mild (above picture), but then I took a little break to play on my iPod for a minute, turned around and saw this! Of course, my little sensitive Brookie started crying because I was dying laughing (see pic below). There was flour EVERYWHERE!!! You can see it in the floor behind them. It was all over the entire kitchen and then there was a flour trail to the bathroom where they tried to wash off a bit. It was one of those times where you really want to get mad, but you just can't because it's so funny!

Her shirt was dark brown and she had on dark denim jeans. Hope this stuff will all wash out! It took forever just to get it all out of their hair! And now I have three more batches to make tonight....just when I got it all cleaned up!

Who wouldn't love those little faces?

Also yesterday, Brooke had laid down to pout about something on the green rug in front of the fridge and all of the sudden I heard her just start crying. Guess what had happened? Her earring had gotten hooked on a loop of the rug and she couldn't raise up without that rug being hooked on her ear! That is SO Brooke - if something random's going to happen, then it'll surely happen to her.

Speaking of random, I think I just keep rambling from subject to subject, so I guess I'll close. :)

Happy Fall y'all!

40 Days for Life - Take 2

I received this story yesterday in my daily email during the 40
Days for Life campaign. You simply must read it! I can only
imagine being there as this played out. Just a testimony that
God puts people right where He wants them at just the right
moment!

Unexpected joy arrived one evening at the 40 Days for
Life vigil outside the Planned Parenthood location in
Sioux City, Iowa as people gathered to pray.

A bus from Michigan broke down at the fast food
restaurant right across the street. The bus was
carrying a Christian drama team -- including 13
children with disabilities. The assistant director
saw the vigil across the street, so he walked over
and started asking questions.

Stormy, one of the vigil participants, had a bunch of
questions for him as well. When she found out who
they were and what they did, she asked if they would
put on a play -- right then and there.

"They did! Right there, facing Planned Parenthood,
these special kids and friends re-enacted the Passion
of Christ," Mary reports. "The young man who
portrayed Jesus had Down syndrome. He stretched out
his arms and 'hung on the cross.' "

The assistant director said he cries every time he
watches the kids do this play. "It might have
something to do with the actor playing Jesus," she
said, "who gets so emotional that he can't stop
crying."

Before they left from their home town of Holland,
Michigan, their principal had told them that he
didn't know when or where, but he just had a feeling
they would hold one additional performance at a time
and place that was not listed on their original
schedule.

"We are sure glad it was here," said Mary. "They were
terrific and they were so pleased to perform for
people who respect all life. Their replacement bus
arrived just after the kids were able to receive lots
of applause and thanks and a 40 Days for Life
bracelet."

The death of the innocent Lord and Savior -- staged
in front of Planned Parenthood, an organization
responsible for ending hundreds of thousands of
innocent lives every year; performed by special needs
children, upon whom the abortion industry has
declared open season -- how powerful!

There is indeed joy. And there is indeed hope.

Lord, I ask that you continue to work through this campaign. Work through the hearts of the abortion providers, work through the hearts of those that are seeking abortion, but Lord, most of all, work through the heart of ME. Help me to show mercy every time it's needed...just as it has been shown to me. Put me in the path of those who may feel that abortion is the only way out of their situation, Lord. Thank you for the many women who chose not to abort, even though it seemed abortion would be the easy answer. Lord, I have no doubt that once their precious children were born they were so thankful they had not! I am so burdened about our nation now, Lord. It seems that many times, those who are 'for' the murder of these innocent children are also for "saving the Earth." Oh, Lord, how mixed up we are when the environment becomes more important than human life! God, bring us back to You. You are the Creator of life, the Source of life, and the Giver of eternal life. Thank you for that, Father. Help me to live for You and let everything I do be a reflection of Your love. Amen.

40 Days for Life - Praying to End Abortion

I meant to post on this yesterday, but didn't get to. Yesterday was the Kick Off day for 40 Days for Life, an annual national campaign to end abortion.

Last year, a sweet friend in our Sunday School class organized a day that members from our class could spend praying outside a local abortion clinic. What a humbling experience. As we stepped onto the property, I think all of us were overwhelmed with emotion. It was as though we could almost sense how many precious, innocent lives had been ended there.

But I am so happy to report that through 40 Days for Life, innocent lives are being saved one by one. At 6:30 yesterday morning in New Jersey, a couple went into an Abortion Clinic and was handed a flyer and saw people praying. Ten minutes later, the couple came back out, seemingly arguing. Before they left, the woman looked at the people praying and made the sign of the cross. One baby saved! Minutes later, two babies were saved in New York City. Even into the evening yesterday, lives were being saved and changed through the transforming power of Christ's grace and mercy.


No matter how the pregnancy came to be, God knew that child before it was formed. I pray when these girls, and those that are going through the pregnancy with them, feel there's no other way but abortion, that God would put someone in their path to love them, to guide them to experience the mercy that all of us experience when we sin and ask for forgiveness. The mercy that opens its arms and comes running to us and gives us the grace to make it through whatever may come. Lord, let ME be an instrument of your peace.

The Campaign has a prayer focus for each of the 40 Days. Today's is: Pray for those who work in the abortion industry and for those who have repented of commiting abortions and have resolved to defend life.

I'm going to end with the prayer in today's Campaign devotional:

Lord, we thank you for those who have repented of committing abortions and have resolved to defend life. We too repent and resolve.

We repent of every instance in which fear has made us silent when we should have spoken. We repent of the ongoing bloodshed in our land, and for thinking that we can deprive the unborn of protection but keep it for ourselves.

We resolve that we will advance the cause of righteous candidates for public office, and that we will be more afraid of offending you by our silence than of offending others by our speech. We resolve that we would proclaim your name to the nations, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Will you join me in praying that prayer and in praying for all those involved and affected by the abortion industry?

For more information and to find out available times to pray in your area, visit www.40daysforlife.com.

My Little Cha Cha

Well, life's been busy around our house lately, in large part because I'm trying to prepare for the move and getting our house on the market, but there's a special little two-year-old that makes everything a little more interesting. We like to call her Cha Cha (thanks Pa!). Don't let that cute little face fool you.....she's no angel. :) She cracks me up -- I've never met a child that age that has such a sense of humor or could get into as many things as she can.

Exhibit A:

Look closely at the doughnuts. Do you notice anything odd about them? Yes, that's right, a bite has been taken out of each one. I had picked up a special treat for the kids after dropping little man off at school one day (the doughnuts) and thought they could have one for an after school snack. Everything was quiet while I was upstairs working that morning. I came downstairs to find this box on the table and this little face looking up at me:
Is that a guilty little chocolate covered face or what? And notice her top - she had also taken her clothes off and put a bathing suit on backwards! I couldn't help but laugh!! Then, a couple of weeks ago I was in our study making some phone calls for Sunday School and Brooke came running in saying, "Mom, you're not gonna like this. Come and see what Eva has done!!!" And I went in the kitchen to find our betta in this condition:


Little Cha Cha had dumped not one, but two, complete bottles of fish food into Dory's bowl. Dory already has issues - (s)he is a little gender confused. If you know bettas, by looking at him (her) you can tell he's a male but our kids wanted to name him Dory (from Finding Nemo) and pretend he was a girl. So we refer to him as a 'her' all the time anyhow. And now the poor thing is about to bust a gut from trying to eat that food. I quickly cleaned his (her) bowl and after a few days of uncertainty, I'm happy to report that Dory is still with us.
So, we're just a cha-cha-ing along, trying to make just as many messes as we can along the way!

**no animals were harmed (well, at least not killed) in the creation of this blog entry. :)

He's There

I hesitate to post this after my little Smoothie Commercial. That post revealed my warped sense of humor (please forgive me). This one just shows what God has been teaching me.
After reading Melissa's post, I was prompted to put this song on my blog, because I just can't get it out of my head. Most of you know by now that we're moving and I've struggled with it a bit because I just love where we're at. But most of the time, that's when He moves you! And, praise Him, he'll be wherever we go....He's already gone ahead of us! Please pray for us as our family goes through a time of transition and busy-ness, that we'll continue to keep Him at the center of all we do! For now, though, just enjoy this beautiful song!! :)