Tuesday, October 8, 2013

My Prayer Warriors





Sunday was a very special day for me. The elders brought Rich and I up to the front at the beginning of services and prayed over us. One of our elders, Eric told the congregation what I was about to do in Haiti and the conditions there. I was deeply touched by each of them hugging me and praying over me. Godly men praying for protection, courage and light in a very dark place.

Then Sunday evening our small group met as usual and we spent a lot of time talking about my trip and what it all entails. Each and everyone of the group prayed over me, pouring their hearts out to a Father asking for the care and protection of one of his daughters. I went home Sunday night feeling very covered in prayer. Ready to meet the challenges that will be put before me.

Many people came up to me after church and told me they were praying and never before have I felt so in need of those prayers. Scripture says, perfect love casts out fear. I believe it and am so thankful I will have a small army of people praying daily for my adventure.

God's people are prayer warriors  and for that I am truly thankful.




Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".

Friday, October 4, 2013

Pornography



I was trying to figure out just what kind of picture I should use for my next blog on pornography and came across a picture I purchased a few years back of a tornado. I tornado builds silently up in the atmosphere before it ever touches down. And when it finally touches down it wreaks destruction with anything in it's path. Homes are destroyed, people are killed and life is in chaos. That is a great description of pornography.

Before my husband became disabled he spent alot of his time not only as a minister but as a certified Marriage and Family therapist. We have lived in so many different states that we have friends scattered far and wide. On particular day out of the blue came three different cries for help. All three families were in crisis at considering divorce. Two out of three of them came as a complete surprise to us. Here is the kicker, all three families were in crisis because of pornography.

Until this point I was pretty clueless to what was really going on in the porn industry. I remember when Focus on the Family's very own Dr. James Dobson was asked to sit on a panel in Washington to study the effect of pornography on the nation. He was physically sick at what was shown to the panel. He spent many months going back and forth to Washington trying to get a grip on this growing problem. That was many years ago.

Welcome to 2013. We are in a battle or the hearts and minds of our children and for each other. Satan has found a wonderful way to pollute children's minds. It can be found on Mama's phone or Daddy's tablet or their friends at school or on the bus. No need to hide in Grandpa's shed anymore and look at dirty pictures in Playboy. Don't get me wrong, sensual picture of nude women are not okay. Internet porn though is a whole new ballgame. There are videos and they are free. Videos using children being abused sexually.

If you think your family has not been affected then I am going to make a really bold comment here, it is just a matter of time or your head is in the sand and it is already happening. Unless you live in an Amish community with no electricity and phones then you and your children have been exposed. When a child searches for something as innocent as a Disney cartoon character porn can pop up without ever searching for it.

Pornography is ruining marriages all over this country and pornography is stunting our children and our future grandchildren to have a warped sense of sexuality. It appears that there is no correlation between people who claim to be Christians and those who don't. It can happen in rich families as well as poor families. It can happen anywhere and anytime. In fact, over 50% of pastors watch porn. It is sick and it is disgusting and it is ruining our children's lives.

I am pleading with you to go do your own research. Covenant Eyes has a website with all kinds of stories and data. There is help for those who suffer from this terrible addiction. More on that next time. Are you a woman who suffers in silence? You don't have to. There is help. Are you addicted to porn yourself and don't know how to get out? There is help for you. Nothing is impossible with God.

More next time.
In Christ Alone,



Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Purity



Once a year our congregation sets one Sunday aside to talk about purity, not only in teenagers but in all of us. Our youth minister gets up and does a special sermon on the topic and has all the teens and their parents sit together. Rings are bought and vows are made and it is beautiful. Our minster had a particularly poignant sermon this year that really touched my heart.

He said something that really was powerful. "Unplug from the culture and plug into Jesus" Unplug from the culture, now there is an interesting topic. He challenged not just the teens but challenged all of us to unplug from the culture. Never before in the history of the world has the culture wreaked with sexuality. The easy access is what is killing our people, not just our teens.

You want to raise Godly children that will keep their eyes, their ears and their mouths from evil, unplug from the culture. Now you don't have to go Amish to do that. I was talking do a dear sister in Christ the other day about being in the season of teenagers. Everyone from the TV, to the music, to the McDonald's down the street urges to embrace the culture Whole ad campaigns embrace the idea that you "just do it!"

I know detractors will say there has always been unholiness and they would be right. However, the access to pornography has never been easier. You don't need to sneak into the garage of daddy or the neighbor, you just have to turn on your phones and there it is. In broad daylight we can surf the Internet sitting in church and look at hard core porn. It's not just teens but people of all ages. No sneaking necessary.

I remember raising our daughter and how hard it was on her, even in the great church we attended to be different. Not to be different for difference sake but to embrace a life of holiness. We talked openly about the dangers of embracing the world's view of sexuality and purity. While other teens in the church were reading teen magazines telling girls to embrace lesbianism and how to be a great lover our daughter was reading Focus on the Family's teen magazine called Brio. When the girls walked around town dressed like hookers she was wearing cute but modest clothes. Do you think it was easy for her? Nope, she felt alone at times, she also laughed at the bizarre teen magazines and for that I am so thankful.

It is hard raising teens today. I think much harder than I had it when I was a teen. Did you know that the rise in female addiction to pornography is rising at an alarming rate? Teen girls and grown women addicted to porn? The world is crazy! How do we train another generation to remain pure when the culture is screaming, "just do it?" You spend the early years of their lives impressing on them the value of having a pure heart. I hope to do a couple of articles on this topic Lord willing before I head out to Haiti.

I have also asked someone very close to me to write about what happens when you give into the temptation and dive headlong into pornography and the havoc it causes. And then the lesson of redemption.

Stay with me as we explore ways to unplug from the culture.
In Christ Alone




Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

I AM Thankful


Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done. There is a song in the hymnal called Count Your Blessings. Our apartment is being overrun by huge suitcases, medical supplies and baby stuff. My desk is crazy. I barely have enough room to type because all the "stuff" is crowding the key board. I am squeezed into this tiny space, threatening to explode. But explode I will NOT.

I am so happy today, not just grateful but happy. Happy that my dream of serving others outside the borders of our country is coming true. Happy because I have amazing friends who have stepped up to make this all possible. I remember when I first read the article on the back of Midwifery Today. Wanted, midwives to come and serve in a birth center for Haitian women. The statistics are daunting.

I remember my first conversation with hubby about the possibility to go on this adventure. How in the world will we pay for the trip he asks? With a smile I assured him God would provide. And boy has he provided! From the perfect stranger in the bank who closed out her account one day while I was there and handed me the money and told me to get help women in a foreign country to a long time reader who knows a whole lot more about me then I do her. To all my dear sweet friends and family members who stepped up without question. To an OB doctor who has been to Haiti and has stories to tell and medical supplies for me. To the woman who has collected 50, yes 50 receiving blankets and wants to donate them to Mama Baby.

Generous hearts all of them. I will be taking a brand new top of the line fetal doppler with me along with iron supplements, cranberry pills for urinary tract infections, to protein powder, cloth diapers and a myriad of other things,  and to the church that supplied all my shots to go over in the first place. Generous hearts all of them.

The time is short and I still have three babies to held deliver before I go. My heat overflows with thankfulness today. God is my redeemer and to him I gave all praise and honor.

In Christ Alone,




Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".