Wife of a Street Preacher

Gestapo Grambo at Wal-mart

2011-07-04T19:15:00.001-05:00

Hi all!

I know it's been awhile. We have been so busy, and of course some of you know I injured my back. I had a bulging disc and spent 4 days in the hospital, where I also found out I am diabetic. Needless to say they started me on 2 medications for diabetes. I am presently off all pain medication and muscle relievers. I used Ibuprofen for awhile and now only take it occasionally when I get some pain. I still have some numbness in my ankle and foot which they believe was nerve damage. Anyway, I have also stopped all diabetic medicine and have been dieting and slowly working out on the treadmill. My numbers are way down.

So, back to the Gestapo Grambo. We were shopping at Wal-mart today and as we were picking up a few items for a friend we had two different receipts. As we were leaving, my husband stopped for the restroom and my daughter ran back to get some strawberries that were on sale. I headed out by myself with one receipt. Here is what was in my cart. 4 Propel Zero (which are my drink of choice now), a pair of shoes we purchased for my daughter, 2 five gallon buckets for our friend and 4 lids (you can purchase them separately). I had the receipt for the buckets and lids. As I neared the exit, I smiled and told the nice little old lady to have a nice day. Little did I know I was talking to Grambo. She immediately came over and asked to see my receipt and wanted to know which register I had checked out at. I gave her the one I had, and before I could explain anything, Grambo grabbed my cart and started digging through it. I quickly explained that I only had a receipt for the items for our friend and that my husband had the other receipt. "Where is he?" she interrogated. I said he had stopped to use the restroom and would be right out. "How long do you think he will be?" Grambo growled. I told her he should only be a minute or two. She continued her iron grip on the cart. Then she asked where the other buckets were. I said we purchased 2 buckets and 4 lids, they are sold separately. "Oh!" she exclaimed as she studied the receipt again. Next she looked at me and said, "So, you have 2 waters and a pair of shoes?" "No," I replied, "There are 4 waters and a pair of shoes." She re-examined the cart. Right! In the middle of this I had to ask her if we could move out of the way of other customers trying to get out the door. All this time, Grambo retained her grip on the cart. One more question, "What does your husband look like?" I think she heard the irritation in my voice when I replied, "He will be here shortly." She had to enter the store again and left me in the breezeway momentarily. I considered just leaving, but instead sat down on the bench to wait for my husband. When he appeared I told him about Grambo and her Gestapo attitude. He glanced back and saw her staring at us and said, "Let's go". I headed for the door with my daughter and husband right behind me, when I heard her shout, "Sir! I need to see your receipt." I continued to leave with our daughter and my husband returned to show her the receipt. Needless to say, this woman should have been at home, not out in the workplace. First off, had I been someone stealing something, she would not have been a very effective hindrance to my leaving.

As an older woman, if she was a Christian, which I have no evidence of, she should be home. Women are to be keepers at home, not out working. Also she should (if a Christian) be teaching the younger women. Imagine if women left the workplace and fulfilled their God given roll of being a keeper at home. It would free up jobs for the men who need them to support their families. Titus 2:3-5.

Every Idle Word

2011-04-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

Hello Ladies,

I haven't done a post on here in quite awhile. I apologize for that. It would partially be how busy we have been and part of it is I have been thinking a lot lately about whether posting on here is worth it. Honestly I believe some of that thinking is due to everything happening the past year or so. We have seen so many of the brethren fall by the wayside. Some have completely left the faith (Unsaved? Maybe.), others have had marital problems (including divorce), then there are the ones who have gone into false doctrine, and others who have quit streetpreaching. Although we have continued on and kept up the ministry of streetpreaching and witnessing, it still causes you to wonder. Anyway, I have decided to do a new post, and it will have nothing to do with any of the above.

The Lord has really laid on my heart the verse Matthew 12:36. "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment." I wonder how often we say things idly without thinking first. Our family likes to have fun and joke around, but sometimes the joking becomes overly silly and I just wonder how the Lord looks on that. There are even times that the joking becomes disrespectful. You know like a brother or sister responding to an older brother or sister and they do not have the correct tone, or step over the line in what is said. This doesn't just occur with children though, adults are just as guilty.

How often have you been around adults and the joking becomes inappropriate in a sense of things being said that are just to be funny, yet we never would say them in a serious manner. Have you ever sat around joking and making fun of the way some one looked or acted? Yes, even our family has done this, but is it an idle word that will be judged? Yes, most likely it will. Or maybe you have jokingly responded to your spouse in a manner, tone or with words you never would if you were serious. And if you say them in all seriousness that is wrong also! But will the Lord judge us for that? Most definitely. The verse says every idle word.

Now, I am not saying you can't have fun, but when does the fun step over the line? It may be a little different for each person, but have you ever taken time to consider this? I am much more than I ever had before and I hope this will encourage you to think also. Here are just a few points to consider:

1. Is what I said disrespectful?
2. Is what I said making fun of someone, whether they are present or not?
3. Is this something I would repeat to that persons face?
4. Am I teaching my children to be disrespectful?
5. Is what I said going to hurt someone's feeling?
6. Is this something I would say if I was not overtired or stressed?
7. Am I hanging around someone who causes me to say things I normally would not?
8. Is what I am saying really necessary?

Hope this helps ladies! Until next time.

Teachers of Good Things

2010-11-24T18:08:00.000-06:00

Good day ladies! I have something to share with you, that the Lord has laid on my heart. I am really concerned about our young ladies that are being raised in our Christian homes today. Traveling around as we do gives me an opportunity to see and hear what is going on in many of our churches and I fear we are failing at raising the next generation of godly women.

For our text I want to use Titus 2:3-5 and take some time to break it down into what we are supposed to be training our daughters in. Titus 2:3-5:The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. Now, just that warning at the end tells me that this is something important to our Lord. It is not a suggestion. Our behaviour and the way we train our young ladies reflects on our Lord. Do you want to cause the word of God to be blasphemed? I sure don't! So let's take some time and look at this passage a little closer.

First of all there are requirements for the aged women who are to be teaching, not only should they teach it, they should also be living it! Their behaviour should be showing holiness. How many women can you look at today and really say, she is holy? Can you name more than a handful? They are not false accusers. I would take that so far as to say that they are very careful when mentioning someone else. They definitely are not the ones running around talking about everyone. Not given to much wine. That one is self explanatory. Although for those who will argue and say it is fine to drink, just not in excess, try inviting someone who has had a drinking problem over and let them see alcohol in your refrigerator and then try explaining it to them. Or maybe you can hand the cashier a gospel tract while she is ringing up your alcohol and try witnessing to her. And last but not least, she is to be a teacher of good things. What good things is she to teach? Glad you asked!

First of all she should be teaching by example, but then the Lord gave us a list of things that should be taught. The young women are to be taught to be sober. That means a serious demeanor. Not that they don't ever laugh or have fun, but that they take their Christian walk seriously and do not have a spirit of foolishness. I am sure everyone knows someone who is foolish all the time. They don't seem to take anything serious. Life is a joke to them. Remember the Bible tells us in Proverbs 22:15 "Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him." God does not intend for your daughters to grow up and be foolish. He wants you to train them to be holy women. If I am going to be looking for advice, I want to talk to someone who is serious and will respond to me in a serious manner, not joking or taking my problem lightly. Make sure you are training your daughters to be sober. No, it doesn't mean anytime they are silly or having fun you spank them. They are children, but as they get older you should see them maturing and growing out of their childishness.

After this is discreet. Discreet, and chaste which will be the next characteristic we discuss are closely related. She is discreet. Does not draw attention to herself. She works quietly behind the scenes. It also means she is careful in what she discusses. She does not tell her friend's personal or secret details that they have shared with her. How many times have you shared something embarrassing with a friend only to have them later bring it out in a humorous way to others? Did you ever want to share anything with that person again? This does not mean she keeps quiet when it is something she should go to her parents about. If it is sin, or something that could harm her friend, she should immediately go to a trustworthy adult with the information. Do you have a friend you know you could share anything with and know that it will be kept just between the two of you? If you train your daughters to be discreet, her husband will never have to worry about her sharing something she shouldn't with her friends, or even her parents that he might find embarrassing. Remember, I am not talking about sin that needs dealt with. In that situation it should only be told to the proper person to deal with it. What a lot of heartache would be saved if we could teach our daughters to be discreet.

Next is chaste. This is one of the sadly neglected characteristics we should be instilling in our daughters. From the time they can toddle around we should start teaching them to be chaste. To keep their bodies covered. To not be loud and boisterous. And yes, this includes the way they dress too. A young lady who dresses to show off her body is not chaste. I am going to center on attire first. Obviously you know from previous posts that pants are not modest apparel for young ladies. They split the legs and show off more of the body then they hide. I won't spend a lot of time on pants because I want to hit some areas that mothers and young ladies who think they are dressing modestly are either not aware of or they just don't care. Many times my two sons have to avoid even looking in their direction. Mom, teach your daughters how to sit in a skirt or dress and make the skirt/dress long enough that when they sit down you can not see up their leg. Every outfit your daughter owns should be checked in the sitting position to verify that it remains modest. Also, teach her how to bend to pick something up off the floor. You know, how to squat down instead of bending at the waist. Another thing to check is if the skirt/dress is too form fitting. Males that see you or your daughter should not know enough about your shape to be able to go out and make purchases for you, if you get my meaning. They should not be able to see the outline of your form. Keep it loose and flowing. No, you do not have to all look alike and dress like the Mennonites, but keep it loose. I usually wear jumpers, and my two oldest daughters wear skirts (Pleated, so they are loose.), and then a loose blouse. My youngest two daughters wear a mixture of dresses, jumpers, and skirts with blouses. As far as tops go, they too need to be loose enough they don't show off your daughters form to other people. Now, when I say loose, that only means the way it hangs on the body, when it comes to the collar area around the neck that is another thing. When your daughter bends over a pew to shake hands, or leans over to speak to a young child, her top should not fall open enough to reveal her underclothing. Notice the name, UNDERclothing. It is meant to be under the clothing. All to often even with me, a woman will bend over the pew to shake my hand and I have to avert my eyes. Why would your daughter reveal her body when it can be prevented. I wonder how many men and boys have had to control their thoughts when you or your daughters have bent over? Also these skin tight sweaters, or the sweaters that look like they were designed for a pre-schooler are designed to show off a woman's chest area. Why do you allow your daughter to wear these? If you have any specific questions feel free to email me.

Now we will discuss chaste in other areas. Does your daughter (and remember when I say daughter, apply this to yourself also mom) draw attention to herself when she enters a room? Does her appearance, attitude, loudness, her eyes, draw attention to her? If she is dressing modestly, she should not be attracting attention, but then again there are some that do. Have you ever seen a girl sort of slink into a room? The way she walks, draws men's eyes, and her movements attract attention. Start early to teach your daughter how to walk, sit, stand, how to move her hands, even the way she uses her eyes, must be instilled in her. Does she have a tendency to look around the room and stare. Start training her. The strange woman used her eyes. (See Prov. 6:25) Does your daughter use flattery to get attention? Train her now. A young lady who is holy will not be talking about the boys, nor be constantly talking to them. Yes, she will speak to them, but most of her conversations should be with young ladies (and I stress the ladies part) and then the other godly women who will help and encourage her to grow. (See Prov. 7:21) Also 1 Peter 3:4 talks of a meek and quiet spirit.

Keepers at Home, another big one being broken left and right in our churches that claim to teach the Word of God. A woman, is meant to be a keeper at home. First we will discuss the position of a Keeper at Home and then some of the things we should be training our daughters to help prepare them to be keepers at home. First off, God has designed a woman to have a head (leader) in her life. First her father and then when she is marries, her husband becomes her head. So, a young lady should be in the home under the headship of her father then she marries and she is under the headship of her husband. On the street, I am often questioned by women who do not like the thought of a man being their head (leader). My first question to them is, do you work and do you have a boss? Normally at that point I receive the response, "That is different." Really? Does your boss oversee your work? Does he tell you what to do? If you do something wrong, does he come back and let you know so you can correct it? What is the difference? Just as there is structure in the workplace, God has structure in the home. The man is the head and breadwinner, the woman is the helpmeet. So many women argue over this yet have no problem obeying their boss at work. I haven't figured that out yet! Actually if you look at it the way I do, that makes him responsible for all choices and decisions he makes, I will only be judged on whether I submitted or not.

A woman is to be a helpmeet. She should be helping her husband where ever it is needed. This is what we should be training our daughters and young ladies to do. They do not need to be going off to college, where they will have a head that God never intended them to have, and where they will be learning to be outside of the home. Remember a woman's career is to be a keeper at home. She should be learning this from her mother and other women in the church. Do not be deceived by the world into thinking that she must have a higher education. What she needs is to learn to be a keeper at home. That includes going into the workplace before she marries. Do not teach her to be the breadwinner and to be independent. Train her in the way she should go.

Well, now that we are through with that part, let's move on to the things we should be teaching our daughters at home. There are so many things that can be covered in this. Please realize some these are age related. Use your judgment on when to implement some of the training. Keeping a budget. She needs to know how to shop, whether for groceries, clothing, gifts, etc and to stay within her budget. Teach her to balance a checkbook and to keep account of her spending. All of mine (around 12 years old) have been assigned grocery shopping, for a week at a time, where they had a given amount to spend. They had to plan the meals and stay within the budget. Obviously with planning meals, they need to know how to read a recipe, how to divide it or double it as necessary. Writing up a shopping list, comparing prices, using coupons, etc. And with this is the ability to cook and prepare a meal. Can she bake? Suppose her husband tells her he is inviting 3 men and their wives over for dinner. She needs to be able to plan and prepare the meal. Can she properly set a table? Does she budget her time so the meal will be ready on time? These are all things you can be teaching right now.

Can your daughter do the laundry? Does she know how to separate the clothing. Use this to train a young one her colors. When to use stain remover? If she needs bleach? How about folding the clothes. A young girl can start with folding washcloths and towels. How about ironing? Will she be able to iron her husbands clothing for Sunday or for work? Does she know if starch is needed? How about sewing? You can start out simple with a pillow, or simple skirt and work into harder items. Can she sew on a button that has fallen off? Give her extra buttons and let her practice sewing them on a scrap of material. I unfortunately did not learn to sew until I had little girls who needed bloomers and skirts that were long enough. Now, both my older daughters can sew. One of them liked sewing so much she has far exceeded my sewing. She can take sleeves from one pattern and adjust them to the bodice of another, and then add a completely unrelated collar.

What about cleaning the home? Teach her to sweep, vacuum, and mop. Does she know not to mix bleach and ammonia? Have you taught her to dust, clean windows, clean the sink and tub, and yes, even clean the toilet. Does she know how to remove stains from carpet? Cleaning the kitchen after meals? Wiping down the stove and appliances, even doing dishes. If you have a dishwasher can she run it? Properly? What about how long food can be refrigerated before being thrown away? I am sure there are loads of things you can think of to add to this list now that we have it started. Teach her how to make a bed, change a lightbulb, etc.

What about child care? Make sure your daughter knows how to change a diaper, give a baby a bath, how to nurse, properly dressing a baby. How to carry a baby. Teach her to support the head. Include health care here. What to do about earaches, sore throats, headaches, when to seek medical help. All of this will help her to be a keeper at home, and make her life a lot easier when she gets married. And if she does not marry she can use this knowledge to help and train others.

And of course do not forget to teach her the Bible. How it applies to her. Teach her to study, and how to teach a lesson to a child or someone else. Make sure you have taught her to pray. And most of all teach her ways to serve the Lord. Through training others, helping the elderly, cooking meals for families that are in need, watching children so parents can have a night out, sitting with someone who is sick,... I m sure you can come up with others.

Next on the list is good. This one should not need much explaining. She is trying to live a life pleasing to God. If it is in God's Word, she is doing her best to obey it. She does not live in a lifestyle of sin. No, I do not believe in sinless perfection, but I do believe that sin should have less and less of an influence in our life as we grow.

Obedient to their own husbands. We did cover this a little bit up above, but let's discuss it a little more. Obedient! Do you want your children to be obedient? Are you setting an example? Yes, there is a difference, because you are his wife, not a child, but would you be happy with your children if they obeyed you the way you obey your husband? Do the children see you argue and disagree with your husbands choices? Do they hear you say I told you so? Why? Shouldn't you be the example to them? This does not mean you are a doormat, you are just fulfilling your position. Remember what is important is that you are doing what the Lord tells you to do, which is to submit and be obedient. See also:Ephesians 5:22-24. Do you obey your husband the same way that the church is subject to Christ?

I know this has been long, but I hope it has been helpful. We are losing our young ladies to the world, and the only way it will stop is by obeying the Word of God and training our daughters and other young ladies. Are your children grown? Then take another young lady under your wing. Does your daughter have friends who could use a godly influence in their lives? Be that influence. Step up and do what the Lord has designed you to do, yes even requires you to do.

Look at God's Creation!

2010-10-13T19:55:00.000-05:00

Grand Canyon in background.

Hi ladies!
It's been awhile. We have been so busy lately. I am barely keeping up with my review and giveaway blog, but I wanted to share some pictures from where we have been recently. We did go and meet some street preaching friends in Utah for the Mormon General Conference. We were able to take pictures on the way there, but the best pictures are from Arches National Park and the Grand Canyon. I am just going to post some on here for you to see. This post is mainly the Grand Canyon, I will do another one shortly with pictures from the Arches.

This was one of the sites on the way to the Grand Canyon.

Look at this view!

This was looking down at one spot.

Aren't the colors gorgeous?

My husband did a video about creation.

Beautiful View!

She had a lot of fun!

We saw him wandering along the beside the sidewalk.


See how long!

That's a long way down!

This was off to the right of one of the lookouts.

These little guys got real close.

Cute!

Posing nicely!

We were able to get some up close shots.

They let us approach to within about 4-5 feet.

Your Children Are Arrows!

2010-08-04T06:44:00.005-05:00

Psalm 127:3-5-"Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate."

As a family we have been discussing these verses quite a bit lately, and I just wanted to share some of the thoughts we have had. And I hope this will help someone out there.

First of all, an arrow doesn't just appear, someone creates them. Mom and Dad have the job of shaping and forming these arrows. A bent arrow, an arrow without the feathers to guide it, or without a sharp tip is pretty useless. So it is our job to shape and form these arrows to fulfill their purpose.

An arrow needs to be straight to be of any use. You children need to be trained to have Biblical beliefs and standards. Help them to memorize Bible verses. This will help them to stay straight when temptations arise. Psalm 119:11-"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Only with God's Word will your children be able to stay straight. Are you training them in the Bible? Can they answer basic questions concerning their faith? Could they refute a cult member? Or would one of these temptations cause them to bend, or twist from the path God has desired for them?

An arrow needs to have a sharp point. It is a defensive weapon. We are in a spiritual warfare. Ephesians 6:12-"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand." Your child needs to be trained to be sharp to be able to stand while in spiritual battles. They need to be sharp, for the Bible commands us to not only "not sin", but we are to reprove sin. Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." Proverbs 27:17-"As iron sharpeneth iron: so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." A parent should do the main sharpening, but what type of friends is your child around. Are they going to help sharpen him, encourage him in his Christian life, or are they going to make him dull and useless? It is your job to be watching over who your child is with, are his friends spiritual? Not just Christian, are they going to encourage your child in his walk?

An arrow also needs to be clean. A dirty arrow becomes useless, and if not cleaned, will eventually be thrown away as useless. 2 Timothy 2:4-"No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier." 1 John 3:3-"And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." A dirty arrow will not fly straight, the tip will rust and the feathers will become useless. Are you training your child to stay clean? Or is your child dirtied by the world you have allowed in the home through worldly toys (characters from movies, the occult, supernatural, etc.), books (Are they encouraging your child in Biblical values? or are they teaching your child worldly views?), video games ( occultism and violence) and tv (once again occultism, violence, unbiblical standards, even anti-biblical)? Are your arrows clean?

Also, an arrow needs to be used. Do you take your arrow out of the quiver? Or do you so shelter them that they are never doing anything for the Lord? No, don't send your arrow out into the world unguided, and unprepared, but do some target practice. Take them with you when you witness. Allow them to see and learn under your guidance. The same with streetpreaching. Take them with you. Yes, there are some events children just should not be at. You should be training them though. Take them to streetpreach outside a rock concert and explain why the music and environment are wrong. Wouldn't you rather they learn it with you present and able to direct them? Explain to them why alcohol is wrong. When they see the affect of sin, and hear the Bible's directions about it, if you are training them properly they will become stronger and be able to stand. But, if you shelter them all the time they are in your home, and they have never had training, how do you expect them to stand, when they are no longer under your roof? Take them with you, allow them to witness. There is nothing like being stumped by a question on the street to encourage more studying of God's Word. Arrows are meant to be used! Your child needs to be able to defend their faith, stand up for what is right and witness to the lost. Are you preparing them to be a useful arrow? Or will God be unable to use them?

Well crafted arrows are used as models in designing more arrows. Would your child be used as a model for designing more like him? 1 Timothy 4:12-"Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." Is your arrow someone that other parents would want their child around because he is a good example of a Christian? Is your child showing qualities and characteristics of growing in his Christian walk? Would your child be a pattern for other arrows?

Remember, eventually an arrow must leave the quiver and do it's job. Is your child being prepared for this?

I really hope that this is an encouragement to you to press on and keep shaping the arrows God has given you.

Growing Children

2010-05-31T07:34:00.003-05:00

Hello Ladies,

It's been awhile. We have been very busy on the road! I have also been busy starting and growing my review and giveaway blog.

Anyway, I was talking with a fellow street preachers wife and we were discussing how many parents shelter their children too much. Now, before you get upset, read through what I have to say and see if you agree.

Traveling around and visiting different churches I get to see a lot of parents and children and how they interact. I get to see how much they actually train or don't train. Before I go on here let me say, we are not perfect. We are constantly learning and readjusting, but I believe having six children, two of whom are at 23 and 25 are still traveling with us and serving the Lord, two teenage boys who are out on the street ministering with their dad, and two younger girls that are following in their sisters footsteps, that perhaps this might be something that would be helpful.

As a mother it is your job to shelter and train your child. You start out when they are very young and you guide them and protect them from things that could harm them. You should be deciding who their friends are and what they are allowed to do. You decide what they watch, the books they read, what they do for pleasure and play. This is like starting seeds inside under a plastic cover or with a plastic bag wrapped around them. You don't expose them to any harsh weather or extremes that may stunt their growth, damage them or even end the life of the plant.

But, as the plant grows, you remove the covering, still keeping the plant inside the house, sitting in the window still protected from harm. I compare this to when we take our child shopping and we actually start to point out things that are sinful or bad and begin to train a little more. We used to point to the beer, and alcohol in the store and say "Are you ever going to touch that stuff?" and they would respond "No!" usually rather emphatically because it was a little game to them. Before you raise your eyebrows and say, "You actually walked your children down the alcohol aisle on purpose?" Yes! For one it is usually on the same aisle as a main staple we use, like water or bread, but I wanted it instilled in them while they were young that alcohol and wine were bad. Same with cigarettes and magazines, or anything else that we saw. Billboards, music in restaurants, even different styles of dress.

As your young plant grows and begins more hardy and able to bear more, you move it outside. Sometimes under cover again, or with strings to attach it to a small pole to guide it's growth. During this time period, because all along they have been receiving training and have been fed the Word of God and have been nurtured, we begin to expose them to a little more. I may allow them to read books that I have not personally read (Use your head on this!), but that I have heard from a friend that it is a good book or maybe we saw at a church, and tell them if they find anything in it that is wrong to let me know. You would be amazed at what your children will bring to you when you have trained them to watch for things. This is also the time when they can play with friends and not be under your eye at all times. Everyone of my plants has been trained to tell me if friends bring up something inappropriate or uses language they shouldn't, or if they talk casually and constantly of things of the world. Once again they have been trained for this stage. Just as you watch your plant and decide they are ready for more exposure to the elements, you should do the same with your children.

Eventually, you know that your plant is hardy and can withstand more. We take our children to events to preach under our supervision. They do not wander off with friends, they stay near us where not only are we preaching and witnessing, but we are training. They can see the results of sin. They see what rock and country music produce. They see the person throwing up in the gutter from drinking alcohol, or the foolish way they act when they have been drinking. They see the young girl who is hanging on a young man, no longer pure and selling herself just for some affection. We use these opportunities to train the children. Tell them what happens when you sin and disobey the Lord and His Word. On the way home from witnessing we discuss people we have talked to and even how sin has kept them from accepting Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

Mothers, your children can not stay in the little hothouse you have created for them forever. If you keep them there until it is time for them to step out on their own, you have most likely ruined them. They will not be able to survive, because they have never been exposed or trained. Realize I am not talking about walking into a bar, allowing them to wade in sin, I am saying allowing them with you at their side to see the results of sin. I am seeing more and more children who are never trained about the results of sin, wallowing in the pigpen of sin the moment mom and dad lose control. Why? This child was sheltered from the results of sin and was never trained by the Word of God and mom and dad why certain things are wrong. I have seen too many parents say alcohol is wrong. Why? Because, I said so! How about giving your child some verses and telling them the results of sin. If you keep your plant in a hothouse for years, and then suddenly put them outside with no support, or preparation, they will be damaged and possibly not survive. Perhaps you will stunt their growth permanently, and they will never become what God wanted them to be. If they never spent time tied to the pole to guide their growth, they will fall and possibly grow in a direction they are not supposed to go.

Remember through out all this they are being fed the Word of God and watered, and guided. And, remember I am not saying allow them to experiment with sin. What I am saying is if they never are told, and they never see the results of sin and how it can ruin lives, when they are finally outside, chances are they will be damaged.

Just as an extra note, our home church has a boy's academy where my husband has been able to assist at times and talk with the boys and you would be amazed at how many boys who come from sheltered homes, tell him they feel like they are missing out. Or they just want the chance to experiment with things. Why? Because in many of their homes mom and dad just said no, and never explained why, or showed them the results of sin.

I am not teaching that you should not shelter, but I am using an example to show if you continually shelter and never prepare the plant (child) for exposure, you are dooming your plant. I hope this helps some one out there, and feel free to comment.

Friends in Ohio Starting a Church!

2010-04-09T20:27:00.002-05:00

Hey all,
I am doing this post because some friends of ours are starting a church in mid, central Ohio. Do any of my readers live in that area or pass through occasionally? Obviously the family street preaches like we do. They are very strong on the family, only use the KJV, and have standards. They would love to find some like-minded believers even if just for occasional fellowship. If you or someone you know lives in this area please email me and I will send the information on to them. blessed6mom@yahoo(dot)com
Thanks!

WOW!! Have We Been Busy!

2010-04-01T14:36:00.003-05:00

Hey Ladies,

We have been so busy since I last wrote. We went to the home church for a visit. What a blessing to be around friends that are family! It was really an enjoyable time. We also managed to get in a few weekends at Spring Break. We stay away from the beach area, but it still gets pretty wild at times. Our favorite corner is right in front of a Walgreens where a very busy intersection is. The Walgreens employees really do not like us, and apparently neither does their management as they went so far as to change their sign to read "We do not support this group". Amazing isn't it! I suppose they support the drunken spring breakers though!

Anyway we had some very interesting conversations. One young man driving by told my son that the Bible says "Judge not". When he was asked where that was found, he replied, "In the BLEEP Bible." Amazing! We were of course approached by several "Christians" who claimed there was a better way, but none wanted to demonstrate for us. I was told that John the Baptist had long hair because he was a Nazarene. Now one John was not called a Nazarene Jesus was, but there is a difference between a Nazarene and a Nazarite! The same young man told one of my sons that when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He told him to go and sin no more. And I always thought He said that to the woman taken in adultery!

Of course we received the normal, "You're judging" and "I'll see you in hell" etc. We also received many number one signs. I am glad they thought so highly of us. One that really stood out was a young man who tried to tell us we were building walls and that no one was being reached. Mind you, when he said this we had approx. 20 people who had stopped to talk to us. When my husband asked him to show us the right way, he would not. Needless to say, my husband told him that if we were building walls, then people were climbing over them to reach us.

One last thing I would like to mention, we have friends in Ohio starting a Baptist Church who would like to get hold of other like minded believers in the Ohio area. If you would be interested in contacting them please email me and I will forward your email to them.
Thanks ladies!

UPDATE ON OUR FAMILY AND GASPARILLA!

2010-02-17T08:12:00.005-06:00

Hello All,

I haven't done an update in awhile and thought maybe you would like to hear where we have been up to. If you follow any of my family member's blogs, you are aware that we recently preached the Gasparilla Festival in Tampa. Some of the men from our home Church were able to come down, along with friends from Sopchoppy, FL, Brooksville, FL, Buffalo, NY, and Chicago, IL.

The night before Gasparilla we went out to Ybor. It was a pretty quiet night there. We didn't stay late as we knew we would be on the street most of the day Saturday. Saturday morning we took a busload to Tampa for the Gasparilla Parade. There didn't seem to be as many people as previous years. I am not sure if this was due to more Police Officers, or perhaps the rain expected that afternoon.

We had some very interesting conversations. One being a woman who approached me because I was holding a sign about women being keepers at home. She could not believe I would choose to stay home. Then she said we could not survive on one salary, and that we MUST be on welfare. When told we were not and that we had a family of 8 total she asked if my husband made 100,000 a year because that was the only way we could make it as you need to make 15,000 per person per year. AMAZING! We then told her it was easier when you don't purchase alcohol, cigarettes, cable, etc. That is when she finally got mad and walked off with her girlfriend.

I was asked how much money we were paid for holding signs like that on the street. I responded with, "If you know someone who will pay me to do this, please let me know." I was also asked if I would sell my sign that said women should be keepers at home. He even promised to walk up and down the street with it. Of course we had the normal responses of cursing and vile talk, along with throwing food, beer, and beads at us. And people say America is not that bad.

That evening we went back out to Ybor. This was not a quiet night. A woman tried to spit in my husband's face and when I stepped in between them with one of our signs she punched the sign into me twice before dodging into a bar. Then we had a young man confront my husband who kept saying that he was a Christian. Needless to say the truth came out after a conversation with him and he took off with his friends to a gay bar. We did have some trouble with the police until a supervisor came out and said we were fine and to leave us alone. This was a really vile night. A young man flipped his hand in my son's face and knocked his cap off. We also had a several good conversations that night.

We will be doing Spring Break soon. Please continue to pray for us and safety on the street for our family and for other Street-preachers also. We recently received news that 2 street-preachers were gunned down in south Florida. It is getting worse out there!

OTHERS MAY, YOU CAN NOT

2010-01-26T22:58:00.004-06:00

I have always enjoyed this; poem?  Tract?  Have you ever felt this way?  This
was written by G D Watson 1845-1924.  Just thought I would share it with you.
Also if anyone has a personal salvation, please email me. Enjoy!

If God has called you to be really like Jesus He will draw you into a life
of crucifixion and humility, and put upon you such demands of obedience,
that you will not be able to follow other people, or measure yourself by
other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other people do
things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful, may
push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans,
but you cannot do it, and if you attempt it, you will meet with such
failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others may boast of themselves, of their work, of their successes, of
their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such
thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification
that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others may be allowed to succeed in making money, or may have a legacy
left to them, but it is likely God will keep you poor, because He wants
you to have something far better than gold, namely, a helpless dependence
upon Him, that He may have the privilege of supplying your needs day by
day out of an unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hidden
in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for
His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.  He may let
others be great, but keep you small.  He may let others do a work for Him
and get the credit for it, but He will make you work and toil on without
knowing how much you are doing; and then to make your work still more
precious He may let others get credit for the work which you have done,
and thus make YOUR REWARD TEN TIMES GREATER WHEN JESUS COMES.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch over you, with a jealous love, and
will rebuke you for little words and feelings or for wasting your time,
which other Christians never feel distressed over. So make up your mind
that God is an Infinitely Sovereign Being, and has a right to do as He
pleases with His own.  He may not explain to you a thousand things which
puzzle your reason in His dealings with you, but if you absolutely sell
yourself to be His love slave, He will wrap you up in Jealous Love, and
bestow upon you many blessings which come only to those who are in the
inner circle.

Settle it forever, then that you are to DEAL DIRECTLY WITH THE HOLY
SPIRIT, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or
chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that He does not seem
to use with others.  Now, when you are so possessed with the living God
that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this
PECULIAR, PERSONAL, PRIVATE, JEALOUS GUARDIANSHIP AND MANAGEMENT
OF THE HOLY SPIRIT OVER YOUR LIFE, then you will have found the vestibule
of Heaven.

3rd in the Salvation Series

2010-01-16T14:26:00.005-06:00

This is the testimony of a friend I met over the internet who lives in my home state and that I have not yet met in person.

E________'s Testimony

I love to hear stories of how people are born again. It's a story that I never, ever grow tired of sharing my account. It is rather lengthy, but nonetheless, it's my testimony.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. --Psalm 40:2

Sunday, September 21, 1997
After the sermon on this Sunday morning, I stopped fighting God's beckoning and accepted Him as my personal Lord and Saviour. I was gloriously saved. I remember when the burden of sin I was carrying was lifted from my shoulders. What was truly amazing about it what that I didn't even know that I was carrying it. I guess if you had two 20 pound ankle weights bound to your ankles from the day you were born, you would be used to toting them, right? I remember how the whole world seemed different. At the time, I was a college student. I was 18. The next day I remember walking through one of the grassy areas, going from class to class. I remember taking a deep breath and actually appreciating how wonderful everything was. The air was sweet. The grass and trees were beautiful. The birds sang in such harmony. The sun made seemed to shine right down on me. Everything just seemed so ... different.

I had so much more that lead me up to that Sunday morning. I was not raised in a Christian home. I love my parents. I think they did the best they knew to do, to raise me right. I also believe that if they had known as young parents that God was “important,” for lack of a better word, they would have had us kids in church. They taught me that there were consequences for certain actions. They taught me to make good decisions. But, I grew up knowing nothing, absolutely nothing about God. I knew there was a God of some sort. Jesus was born of Mary and Joseph. I knew Adam and Eve were the first people. That sums up anything I knew about God.

I never hated church or God or anything. I had several friends who went to church. I was invited to go to church summer camp a few times, but I would never have gone off with a load of people I didn't know that well. When I was 16, a friend of mine, Julia, invited me to go to a Southern Baptist Church for a Wednesday night youth night. It was the first time I had ever heard Gospel preaching. I didn't understand everything. But I knew that I needed to get something right. Looking back, I see that God the Holy Spirit was drawing me. I was upset and crying, but wouldn't go to the altar to speak to the youth pastor. I was scared...frightened, really. Why was I suddenly feeling something wasn't right? My friend who invited me told me that I could talk to her mom if I felt better about talking to someone I knew. But my mind was made up. If I just ignored the problem, it would go away. Julia invited me to go to church with her again, but there was noooo way I was going back there. I didn't know this until a few years after I got saved, but Julia and her mom (her dad was stationed overseas at the time) prayed for me every night. I've never had the chance to thank Julia. She was, as far as I know, the only person who was burdened enough for me to pray for me.

I guess when I was about 17, I started dating a boy from a Catholic family. I went to church with him. I was still very scared of church. I started crying when we pulled up in the parking lot for the first time. I couldn't even go inside. I told him about going to the Baptist church and how scary it was for me. He promised me that Catholic church wasn't scary like a Baptist church. I never actually made it in the church service that day, but the next week I did. He was right. It wasn't scary. I didn't feel the conviction there. I could just sit and listen. I always left church just the same as I came in and lived the same from week to week. Later, I learned that the "scary" I was feeling was the Holy Spirit. God wanted me to know that I was lost and that I needed Him to make me whole.

After attending the Catholic church for over a year, I stopped going. I wasn't seeing the Catholic boy anymore. I was out of high school and felt it was time to grow up and stop playing “the good little girl.” Seeds of rebellion were taking deeper roots. I came dangerously close to getting involved in diverse wickedness. I stared seeing a guy that I worked with. He invited me to go to church. I told him that I was a Catholic (though I was never baptized or attended catechism), but I would still go to church with him. My mind was no where near God, but I'm so glad that I was on His. I was just going because my boyfriend asked me to go with him; I certainly was not looking for God. The church was again Baptist, but now I wasn't scared. After all, I was "spiritual" in my little religion I had made for myself. What was to fear? At that church, I heard the glorious Gospel preached clearly and concisely from God's Word. The same feeling I had before came again. Soon, it got to where I felt conviction whether I was at church or not. It gnawed at me day and night. During the invitation that September morning, I remember thinking that I was just so tired of fighting God. Why not just come to Him? So I did! I remember as I took the first step toward the preacher, that my feet felt like lead weights. But God just gave more grace. After that first step it almost felt like God just picked me up and walked the rest of the way for me. I told the preacher that I needed to be saved. I talked with his wife. She took the Bible and showed me that I was lost and bound for hell. But she didn't leave me at that. She told me that Jesus had already taken my punishment (whew!) and that all I had to do was accept His finished work. I bowed my head in prayer and asked Jesus to save me. I had prayed before that day many times. This day it was different. It felt like I was actually talking to God and He was hearing me. I didn't know what exactly to pray or what to say, but thank God He looks at the hearts.

So what did I do to get saved, you may wonder. Well, that's just the thing. I didn't do anything. Salvation isn't something you do. You can't do it. It's something that Jesus already did. God showed me that I was a sinner. Romans 3:10 states, ...there is none righteous, no not one. No matter what you can do it's not good enough. In order for you to be good enough for heaven, you have to be as good as Jesus. C'mon, no one is near that good! Romans 3:23 tells us that ...all have sinned and come sort of the glory of God. Nearly everyone agrees that they're not as good as God, but that's still not enough. Jesus knew that nearly everyone in the world would hate Him, but He still went to the cross. Why? Romans 5:8 tells us why: God commended his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. Jesus knew that He would be rejected, but even still He showed us His love by dying for us...making us a way to go to heaven. So we know we're not as good as God, and we know God died to make a way for us. But the question is still out there: How do you know you're going to heaven? Look at this: Romans 6:23: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. I spent my whole life sinning. I was born in sin. I'm not a sinner because I sin. I'm a sinner because I am flesh and blood. If I barked, I wouldn't be a dog. The dog barks because he is a dog. That's what they do. People sin, not because they purposely try to. They were born that way. God says that someone must pay for those sins. Someone who can pay for them. What do you mean? Say my best friend was going to go to jail for a debt of $10,000. She could say she was going to pay, but she didn't have the money...didn't meet the requirement. I could offer to pay, but I don't have the money either...I fall short too. Someone who can meet the requirements must pay. God required a sinless, perfect sacrifice for sin. That was only 1 man - Jesus. He's the only One who can pay the wages (payment) of sin. If you don't accept the offer of the One who can pay, then you will be required to pay yourself. That would mean eternal death...in hell. The second part says, the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ gave Himself as a gift, because He loves us and doesn't want hell for us. Acts 16:31 reads, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved... So, if you accept the fact that you're a sinner, that your sins separate you from God and heaven, that Christ died in your stead to make the payment for your sin-debt, and then simply believe Him, the Bible says he is saved. Now, take a look at Romans 10:13 - For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Once you accept that God did so many wonderful things for you, call upon Him. That word "call" simply means to appeal to. And don't worry, God won't grade you on your prayer! "God, I believe you. Please save me." is plenty sufficient. Those years ago, I accepted these simple facts and trusted Christ's sacrifice. I promise you, that He is real. When someone as awesome as God gets inside of you, you know!

That day, he changed me. I'm not the same that I was. After God did so much for me, all I wanted to do was please him. I didn't know of Romans 12:1-2 yet, but it only fitting that since God had done so much for me, the least I could do was try to please Him. By God's grace, taught me so much. By His grace, He'll keep teaching me and conforming me to His image. I'll never be as faithful to Him as he is to me, but He always has been and always will be faithful. I still fail. I'm still a sinner, but I'll always be God's child.

Series on Salvation Testimony #2

2010-01-15T22:11:00.003-06:00

This testimony is from another good friend who also has a family that street preaches.

Kat's Testimony:

I have been saved since March 1989. At the time, I was in college and I had a good friend that was saved 6 months earlier. The day after he was saved, he contacted me and told me about it. He was so excited, crying tears of joy. He explained the Gospel to me and gave me a Bible. Inside this Bible he had written, "Believe, Receive, and Repent." My friend encouraged me to read the Gospels, which I did. Over the next few months, we had many conversations about spiritual things. One question that he asked me was, "Do you know if you will go to heaven or hell when you die?" Of course I answered, "Heaven, I think." In my mind at the time I thought, "Don't all good people go to heaven? I'm good." But Isaiah 64:6 says, "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."

That big question weighted me down for some time and I knew I did not want to end up in hell - eternally separated from God. I honestly knew that I could never be good all of the time. The verses that the Lord used to bring me to salvation were Romans 3:10 and 23; Romans 6:23; and Romans 10:9-10, "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." I knew I was a sinner and that I needed to confess my sins and repent. That is exactly what I did! It is something I knew I could not avoid. I knew if I rejected Jesus Christ, I would end up in hell.

The Lord has been good to me, teaching me truth, and how to live in this world (Titus 2:11-13). It is so wonderful to know that when I stand before God, I will have the righteousness of Jesus Christ as a covering over me and that I do not have to stand alone ("I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels" Isaiah 61:10.) Jesus Christ is my mediator (1 Timothy 2:5). His blood has cleansed me from all unrighteousness ("And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" Revelation 1:5).

The Lord used my good friend, not only to bring me to salvation, but also to unite us in marriage a year and a half after I was saved. We have now been married for 19 years and the Lord has truly blessed us!

~Kat

1st in My Series on Salvation Testimonies

2010-01-14T10:20:00.005-06:00

This is from a good friend, who serves the Lord with her husband on the streets of the USA.

SALLY'S Salvation Testimony:

My salvation testimony is not gory and stunning like some, but I like it that way. Sometimes I wonder just what I was saved from, as I never experienced the "trenches" of sin.I find it hard to really deal with the lost because I cannot relate to them...but that in itself is also a blessing. It's not until I am witnessing on the street that I see how fortunate and blessed I truly am.

I was born into a Christian home and was raised by parents that took us to church every time the doors were open. One night, during a revival meeting at the church we were attending, an evangelist was preaching on hell. He showed a graphic film about hell and how it "could" be. Well, I distinctly remember crying and asking my dad what I needed to do to not go to hell. Granted, I was scared but it was a Godly fear. My dad then gave me the plan of salvation and I asked the Lord Jesus to save me. I think I was six. The date was never written down but when I am asked about my testimony, that is the day I remember. I don't regret my salvation at all and am so thankful for what God has done in my life.

A Quick Note

2010-01-13T21:30:00.002-06:00

Hello Ladies,
After my last post I decided that I wanted to share some salvation testimonies. So over the next few days, I am going to post some of my family's testimonies and those of a few friends whom I have asked to share about how they were saved. If you would like, you are free to post your own testimony in the comment section. I love to hear how people have come to know the Lord, and the change He has made in their lives.
Ephesians 2:8-10 "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE?

2010-01-01T14:29:00.005-06:00

Hello Ladies,

First off I want to mention my youngest daughters each started new blogs. The first one is called Little Lady in Training. The second is God's Little Lady. They are using them to post recipes, stories they are reading, etc. You might enjoy stopping by. They are listed in the sidebar under my Family Blogs. My husband has also begun a couple of new blogs. One is of short stories he has written. And the other is a full length book that he is posting one chapter a week. They are also listed in my Family Blogs in the sidebar.

Now on to this post's actual subject. This is mainly just some thoughts lately that people have brought up, and I am going to use them to try to get some of us to think. Several people have asked over the years "Why do some people seem to live in the world, love the world and still claim to be saved?" I often have wondered if they got the same thing I did when I was saved. I have come to the conclusion that many of them are not saved. Yes, there are some who are babies in the faith, and some who have back-slidden, but I believe that there are many who truly never believed.

I mean, what exactly are people trusting in who say they are saved, and do they REALLY believe it? I have met many who say, "Oh yeah. I believe Jesus died for me." But, when you question them more they often get angry, or tell you that it is none of your business. Now, if you are REALLY saved, wouldn't you want to tell about it? I mean the Scriptures do say, Let the redeemed of the Lord say so. Psalm 107:2 Or maybe you have seen the church signs that say "Try Jesus, if you don't like Him the Devil will take you back!" Now, Scripturally that is just not so. Jesus is not a pill that you try. Nor if you take Him for salvation can the devil take you back. Ephesians 4:30 says-"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." If you are sealed until the day of redemption by the Holy Spirit, how could you become unsealed?

Many times when you push someone regarding what they are trusting in you find out it is just a vague concept of Christ. "Someone told me and I don't want to go to Hell". Answer this for me: if someone does not fully trust Christ for his/her salvation are they really saved? If someone says they are saved, but are not willing to say other ways are wrong, can they REALLY believe that Jesus is the only way?

Oh the many times we have run into people out on the street who say they were saved when they went to Sunday School, but they no longer go, nor do they have any thought of reading their Bible, or prayer, but they are saved because they trusted Jesus in Sunday School. My question is, do they trust Him now, and did they REALLY believe then, or was it just the thing to do? Did they really understand?

Did you get what I got, when you came to Christ? If not I am begging you to do a checkup. Do you REALLY believe that He died on the cross to pay for your sins? Did you realize that you were guilty of sin and before Christ you deserved to go to Hell? If not, do a checkup. If you didn't deserve Hell, then what exactly did Christ save you from?

I guess this post was more of a wandering through some recent thoughts and discussions. I hope you enjoyed it and maybe it made you stop and think.

I also hope you enjoyed that study on Modesty. I think I will do some posts like that myself. Something where I don't try to answer, but you study it out for yourself. Take care everyone until next time, and please keep us in your prayers.

AN IMPOSTER EXPOSED

2009-12-21T13:57:00.006-06:00

Hi Ladies,

As a family recently we were sitting around comparing how many characteristics that are associated with Jesus Christ (God in the flesh) are being attributed to Santa Claus. It is amazing if you stop to think about it. Now, for the record I am not one of those that says if you take Santa and change it around it becomes Satan. You could say if you take dog and change it around it becomes God and that is just wrong! So, here are some points we came up with.

1. The Lord dwells in the North. (See Ezek. 8:14, Psalm 48:1,2, and Isa. 14:13,14) And where does Santa live? The NORTH pole.
2. The Lord is described in Daniel 7:9 and in Rev. 1:14 as having hairs as wool, as white as snow.
What color is Santa's hair and beard?
3. Read Isa.63:1,2 and tell me what color his apparel is. Then go to Rev. 19:13-"...with a vesture dipped in blood. Who else wears red? Santa.
4. Mark 6:3 says: "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary..." How many pictures have you seen of Santa working with wood preparing toys?
5. The Lord has no beginning or ending. See Hebrews 7:3, and Psalm 93:1,2. Where did Santa come from? How is he still living?
6. We are to fear the Lord. Psalm 76:7, Psalm 111:10, Psalm 34:11. Ever heard the little poem with the line "He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice."
7. Read Deut. 33:26. Who else claims to ride in the air?
8. "Ho, Ho, come forth, and flee from the land of the north, SAITH THE LORD..." HO, HO, HO!
9. Now check Mal. 3:16, Rev. 5:1, and Rev. 20:12,15. The Lord has a Book. A list. "He's making a list and checking it twice." Sounds a little too much alike to me.
10. Prov. 15:3 says: "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." See also 2 Chron. 16:9
"He sees you when your sleeping, he knows when your awake, he
knows if you've been bad or good..."
11. Jesus said to suffer the little children to come unto me in Mark 10:14. Now, who comes to Santa?
12. Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given you..." Who do little children ask for things at this time of year?
13. A white horse. In Rev 19:11, Jesus is riding a white horse. Do you know who used to ride a white horse?

Most people are not aware that until the nineteenth century, Santa flew through the sky, visiting housetop to housetop, not in a sled drawn by reindeers — but on a white horse. It wasn’t until the poem, The Children’s Friend, was published in 1821 that the magical white horse was transformed into reindeer.

On the eve of December 6, the myth told that this bearded, white-haired old “saint,” clad in a wide mantel, rode through the skies on a white horse. (Renterghem, Tony van. When Santa Was a Shaman. St. Paul: Llewellyn Pub., 1995, p. 111)

14. Psalm 139:7,8 states that the Lord is everywhere. Isn't it amazing that Santa seems to be able to be every where too?

15. 1 Thess. 5:2 says that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. Isn't that what Santa does? Enters homes and no one knows.

16. Titus 2:13 "Looking for that blessed hope, and glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ." We are told to be watching. 1 Thess. 5:6 Who are children watching for on the evening of Dec. 24th?

17. Have you ever noticed in malls that Santa sits on a throne and children line up to sit on his lap, and they are then asked have you been good or bad? Sounds sort of like Psalm 11:4, 1 Kings 22:19, and Rev. 20:11,12.

18. And then there is the Christmas spirit. But we have the Holy Spirit.

These are just a few of the similarities my family found. You all know who the great deceiver is and he is doing his best to deceive many right into Hell. Satan wanted to be like the most high and by using Santa Claus he is doing a good job. By the way, just for the record Santa is feminine. Santa Maria, Santa Monica, etc.

Now many children will be asked this year, Do you believe in Santa? No, he is not the one to believe in, Jesus Christ is. Perhaps we should be using this time of year to ask: "Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?" I am sure this post will be knocked by many because you do not mess with Santa. He is almost holy to most people, another amazing similarity.

If you have another similarity feel free to post it in a comment. If this has opened your eyes, Praise the Lord. We have six children, the oldest being almost 25 and none of them were ever taught to believe in Santa. If you dislike this post, still feel free to comment. But just remember if you tell your children that a little, fat jolly man dressed in red brings them gifts, YOU ARE LYING!

So, take note who the imposter is!

MODESTY BIBLE STUDY

2009-12-14T14:06:00.007-06:00

Today I am posting a Bible Study done by Laurie at Modest Apparel USA. She has a website where you can order modest apparel of course. Anyway I thought some of you might like this and I asked her permission to publish it. Hope you enjoy!!

KJVmail.com

BaptistMail.com

Modest Apparel USA.com

Fundamental Preaching.com

Bible Study On Modesty

How a women should portray herself as a Christian 1 Tim

2:9 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves

in _________ _________, with ______________

and __________;not with broided hair, or gold, or

pearls, or costly array;

What does "modest" mean?

Your definition:

______________________________________

_____________________________________

____________________________

Dictionary definition: _____________________

____________________________________

_____________________________________

Definition of shamefacedness:

____________________________________

_____________________________________

____________________________________

_____________________________________

Definition of sobriety:

_____________________________________

How should a woman "professing" godliness adorn

herself? 1 Peter 3:4 But let it be the hidden man

of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even

the ornament of a ______________

and ____________ spirit, which is in the sight of

God of great price.

What does the Bible say about nakedness?

Exodus 28:42 _________________________________

___________________________________________

________________________________________

__________________________

Leviticus 18:

____________________________________

_____________________________________

____________________________________

Isaiah 47:1-3 _________________________

___________________________________

____________________________________

_____________________________________

How should a woman conduct herself ? Titus 2:5 The

aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as

becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to

much wine, teachers of good things; 4 That they

may teach the young women to be sober, to love

their husbands, to love their children,5 To be discreet,

chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their

own husbands, that the word of God be not

blasphemed.

What do these words mean :

sober

___________________________________

discreet _____________________________

___________________________________

chaste

___________________________________

why should a woman conduct herself in this manner?

that the ______ ___ _____ be not

blasphemed Titus 2:3-5

What does the Bible say about a women wearing

men's clothing?

__________________________________

___________________________________

__________________________________

Deut 22:5 5 The woman shall not wear that which

pertaineth unto a man, neither shall a man put on

a woman's garment: for all that do so are

______________unto the LORD thy God.

What is an abomination?

_________________________________

__________________________________

_____________

What might the Bible principle be here?

___________________________________

___________________________________
____________________________________

Why do you think it is so important for men to look like

men and women to look like women?

____________________________________

Does God want us to be pretty and colorful?

___________________________________

Proverbs 31: 21-22 She is not afraid of the snow

for her household: for all her household are clothed

with scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings of

tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.

Are we accountable for the spritual growth or

stumbling of others?

_________________________________

__________________________________

_________________________________

Rom 14:21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor

to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy

brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

Does God know our heart? ______ How do people know

us (or judge us)? ____ Can people read your heart? ____

Can you read someone else's heart ? ____

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his

countenance, or on the height of his stature;

because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not

as man seeth; for man looketh on the ______________

_____________, but the LORD looketh on

the ________________.

If we are called to minister to others should we

be concerned about what others think of us? ____________

___________________________________________

How do you "feel" when you wear the following items?

(feminine, dowdy, sexy, tough, cool, hip, discreet, pretty,

wholesome, professional, powerful, smart, )

jeans__________, tight top ________ , top showing

cleavage ___________, skirt or shorts showing your

thigh (upper part of the leg), tight long skirt,

________ , long skirt and loose fitting top ________,

jumper dress__________ , long flowing flowery

dress __________, high heeled shoes __________,

jacket and skirt set __________, bathing suit _________,

tank top, ________culottes _____________,

jean skirt with a slit up the front past the knee _______,

long skirt with a side slit past the knee_____,

pants suit __________.

How should we do ALL things? 1 Cor 10:31 Whether

therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do

all to the _________ ____ ________

Things to discuss or think about:

Do these Bible principles apply to all ladies ? ____________________________________

____________________________________

What all this means to YOU? ________________

___________________________________

____________________________________

______________________________________

Do these Bible principles apply to you all the

time/everywhere or just at church? ____________

______________________________________

Do you think it matters how we look? ___________

_____________________________________

______________________________________

________________________________________________________________

NEW GIVEAWAY ANSWERS IN GENESIS

2009-12-02T08:42:00.016-06:00

CLOSED
I have another GREAT giveaway! Answers in Genesis has graciously given a $25 gift certificate for their store. Answers in Genesis or AIG is one of the VERY BEST at educating families about Creation versus Evolution. http://www.answersingenesis.org/ It all has to do with your world view. Ken Ham had a vision for this museum and what a vision it was! The Museum is in Kentucky, just south of Cincinnati. Information follows:

2800 Bullittsburg Church Rd. Petersburg, KY 41080
* Located seven miles west of the Cincinnati Airport
http://creationmuseum.org/

We purchased a 5 year membership over a year ago and have returned there 14-15 times. They have many creation displays, a planetarium show that is magnificent, a petting zoo, and speakers that hold the interest of everyone in the family. My younger daughters of course love to see Buddy Davis. He sings about creation and often has a small show or craft activity for the children. I think they know most of his songs by heart! Two of my other children enjoy Jason Lisle and Carl Kerby. We even manage to catch them when they speak in churches we are around.

This ministry has strengthened my children in their ability to deal with people who believe in evolution when we are on the street. When I get stuck I call one of them over.

The Museum has a store, which is where the gift certificate comes in. They carry just about anything you could desire on creation and then some. From dvds to homeschool material, to t-shirts, childrens books, toys, all in one store. My youngest daughter loves the Kids Answer Series. And for 7th grade up they have the Answers Academy. A set with dvds, workbooks, leaders guide, etc. Some of my older children have done this. Visit the store here: http://www.answersingenesis.org/PublicStore/

This Giveaway will also be posted on my blog At the Fence, but you may only enter on one of the two sites. Please do not enter on both. This will close at 11:59 pm CST on Friday December 18th. I will use Random.org to choose the winner. Please leave a way to contact you. You will have 48 hours to respond and then a new winner will be chosen if you do not respond. Now for the Giveaway!

1. To enter you must visit the store at the link above and come back and comment on one item that you are interested in. THIS IS MANDATORY BEFORE YOU ENTER ANY OTHER WAY! (1 entry)

2. Become a follower on this blog, or my new blog, At the Fence http://atthefence.blogspot.com/ If you follow on both you earn 2 entries. Please leave a comment for each. (1 entry for each) If you are already a follower, you must leave a comment to earn the entry. I will not enter you automatically.

3. Sign up to receive their newsletter by email. Leave 2 comments letting me know. (2 entries) You need to go to their home page to do this. http://www.answersingenesis.org/

4. Blog about this giveaway, and leave a comment with the link to your post. (1 entry)

5. Put my button on your blog. (Wife of a Street Preacher or At the Fence) 1 entry
per button. Leave a comment.

CHICAGO STREET PREACHING

2009-12-01T11:49:00.004-06:00

Hi Ladies,

We have been in Chicago this week for some street preaching. We went to downtown Chicago on Friday, yes on Black Friday, and then again on Saturday. The more time I spend on the street, the more conviced I am of how wicked America has become.

We had a sign mad up that said Christians Don't Watch New Moon or Twilight. This is one of the highlights of the season. It is a movie about vampires and such and has a good size following. Amazingly enough the book was written by a Mormon who attended BYU (Brigham Young University). Now, I can understand the unsaved being upset by the sign, but professing Christians? We actually had 3 (2 young men and 1 young woman), who stood there and argued for over 45 minutes. Do you see a problem here? They also were fine with drinking alcohol, Christian Rock, etc. They had some sort of tie in with Moody College as they mentioned it several times and how wonderful it was. When we brought up that this movie was occultic they had no problem with it. It's just fiction. The Bible is very clear on the occult and that Christians should have nothing to do with it. Ephesians 5:11-And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. As our conversation continued long hair on men was mentioned and one of them said "John the Baptist was a Nazarene!" My husband asked him where he got that one from. I was able to jump in and tell him that John the Baptist was not a Nazarene, but that Jesus was called a Nazarene, and that he was not a Nazarite like Samson, there is a difference. He was at least embarrassed over his statement. My husband continued to deal with the 3 of them until it was time for us to leave. This happened on Friday, and we continued to have the same type of response on Saturday.

We also had a man show up with long gray hair. He did help draw a crowd as he stood near us and commanded Adam to appear. He also told us to prepare to see Mary and Gabriel the Archangel. He did not like being recorded so when he seemed to be getting a little more excited we turned both video cameras on him and he left. Not before admonishing us with "A foot was cut off and did not bleed, it is found in James 5 and Isaiah 22." Don't bother looking it up.

Some of the responses can not even be posted here because of the vulgarity and crudeness that were used. And it was from all ages and both genders. The women are worse than the men now. I still stand there amazed when a woman starts yelling and using vile language, while her husband stands there like a puppy waiting for her to get done. We also had parents that would not let their children take any literature and some even covered their children's ears. Now, I understand when people are cursing, but preaching?

Another funny incident was a march by some group like PETA. They went past on the other side of the street, protesting animals being used for food and clothing. Several carried signs about wearing fur, or had pictures of pigs behind bars. It was definitely interesting. I mentioned to Bro. Will who was standing there that I thought the Lord had made the first animal sacrifice. You know, to clothe Adam and Eve. The global warming people were out too!

That's all for now. Please keep us in your prayers!

My New Blog

2009-12-01T10:47:00.004-06:00

Today I just want to take a minute to mention another blog I have begun. It is called Christian Book Critique and I will be using it to review books. Many of the books I will cover will be from my own library. Also, Thomas Nelson has allowed me to become a book reviewer for some of their books, so I will occasionally be reviewing books that they provide. I will try to always list a source for the books I review.

I will only list Christian books, and will always give my honest opinion. Obviously these will be affected by my personal beliefs and convictions. I want the books I recommend to be ones that will influence and challenge us to draw closer to the Lord and to take a stand for Him. The children's books I review will most likely not be found in your "average" Christian bookstore, but as stated above I will try to list a source that carries the book. Please understand I am looking for more than your average Christian book. I do not want a book that encourages my children in any way to be worldly or to lower their standards. Books that will reinforce what they are learning at home, in church and through their own Bible study.

If there is a book you have read and think I might be interested please let me know. Thank you.

AND THE WINNER IS.....

2009-11-23T09:14:00.002-06:00

Well, today is the day. Using Random.org the winner is.....zachsgran!!! How often does the very last number get picked? Congratulations!!! I will be contacting you by email and then either myself or Keepers of the Faith will notify you with the code to use online. Thank you to everyone who entered. I just wish I had more to giveaway.

A Friends Giveaway

2009-11-20T14:50:00.005-06:00

Here is a link to a giveaway that sounds like an interesting book. http://thebondurantfiles.blogspot.com/ If you are interested
drop into her blog and sign up.

A GREAT GIVEAWAY! $25 GIFT CERTIFICATE

2009-11-09T19:04:00.003-06:00

CLOSED
Hello again Ladies,

After doing my recent post on "What are They Reading", I contacted Keepers of the Faith, and they have graciously offered a 25$ gift certificate to the winner of my drawing. Since we recently covered good reading this seemed like the perfect giveaway. The winner will receive a code to enter in their website. Believe me, this is one of the very best sources of Christian reading for your family. They have reprinted many old Christian books.

When you visit their site please be sure and read how they pick their books. It is under articles. They have very high standards and have 22 points they use to choose books. These points would be useful in all the reading choices we make.

Keepers also carries curriculum and small projects for varying ages. They encourage girls to be girls and boys to be boys. We have used both their Contenders for the Faith and their Keepers at Home books. They are used for clubs, but can easily be used by the homeschooling family. Obviously if you read my previous post the "Pansy" or Isabella Alden books are some of my favorites. All my children read them and enjoy them. There are of course many others to choose from.

To visit their website you can go to: www.keepersofthefaith.com.

Now for the drawing.

1. To enter leave a comment here regarding one of their books that you have looked at and think you might enjoy. (Only do this once)

2. Do a post with information regarding this giveaway. Please leave another comment when you do this so I will know to enter you again.

3. Start following this blog, and leave a comment letting me know.

4. Encourage someone else to sign up and have them leave your name as reference.

You may enter using one or all of the ways listed above, but the first option must be completed to use any other options.
I will end this Giveaway on November 21st at midnight CST. I will draw a winner using random.org. The winner will be posted Monday November 23rd. I will list the name of the winner (first name only). I will also notify the winner by email, so please be sure and include a way to contact you. You will have 48 hours to respond, or I will draw another name. Thanks so much for your interest. I want to add, you do not need to have a blog to enter, but I do need a way to contact you such as your email.
CLOSED

WHAT ARE THEY READING?

2009-11-05T14:00:00.000-06:00

Ladies,

I have been thinking a lot about the reading material we put before our children. Now, I don't allow the worldly secular books, or even modern Christian ones in our home, but I thought I would write a post about some of our favorites and ask each of you to leave a comment if you know of other GOOD Christian reading.

We read many biographies both about missionaries and preachers from the past. Some of my childrens favorites include:Sam Jones, Peter Cartwright, Billy Sunday, Mordecai Ham, Gladys Alyward, George Mueller, Hudson Taylor, Adoniram Judson, and Eric Liddell. There are more that they read but these top their lists. Each of my children has their favorite and they try to gather (collect) books and information on these individuals. Moody and Whitefield are a couple more. Most of these individuals have at least 1-2 books written about them and some have several that you can find. We always treasure them even more when we find the older copies. Most of our sources for these books are old book stores, and of course online, such as e-bay.

Another type of book we read is doctrinal, or teaching. The boys (and girls) both read sermons from the old preachers. Spurgeon, Edwards, Moody, just to name a few. We also attempt to read as much on Creation versus Evolution as possible. My children love visits to the Creation Museum in Petersburg, KY. They always visit the book store there to see what is new. If you have never gone it is well worth the trip! The books they have available are well worth reading. A few examples are: The Answers Book, The Kid's Answer Book Series, The Collapse of Evolution, Refuting Evolution 1 and 2, Taking Back Astronomy, The Great Turning Point, Evolution Exposed, and my youngest loves just about anything done by Buddy Davis. Then we have books on witnessing (One Hearbeat Away and One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven both by Mark Cahill, The Best Kept Secret by Ray Comfort), different books on the Bible, Did The Roman Catholic Church Give Us The Bible? by David Daniels, the Cults (The Kingdom of the Cults, Books by Dave Hunt, Books on Mormons by Gerald and Sandra Tanner), etc. I also have to recommend 2 books my husband wrote. 1. Twenty Years Fighting the Devil 2. Holy Fire (A manual for Modern Day Street Preachers)

When it comes to Christian fiction, I usually say the older the better. Our very favorite is an author who went by the pen name of Pansy. Her real name was Isabella Alden. Her books were written around the late 1800's early 1900's. She was a Pastor's wife who used some real life situations in her writing. I have seriously never read a fiction book that I liked more than hers. Most of her books are directed at young ladies, 15-?. Yet, she has several for younger children and boys. I have approx. 60-70 of her books in hardback form from the 1800's to early 1900's. At one point Tyndale re-published some of her books, as she is Grace Livingston Hill's aunt. Unfortunately they published them as romance, which is not accurate. She takes a strong stand against alcohol, the dance, playing cards, etc. and she takes a strong stand on living a Godly separated life. I will break down some of her titles into groups.

Younger Children
Her Mother's Bible
The Browning Boys
Bernie's White Chicken

Boys
Three People
The Man of the House
Tip Lewis and His Lamp
Reubens Hindrances

Young Ladies 12-?
Ester Ried
The Kings Daughter
Jessie Wells
Chrissy's Endeavor
Mag and Magaret
Eighty-Seven
Julia Ried
Miss Dee Dunmore Bryant
Wise and Otherwise
Her Associate Members
The Randolphs
Household Puzzles
Cunning Workmen

She wrote many more, but this is just a small list to get you started. You can also purchase reprints of her books through a ministry called Keepers of the Faith. They have reprinted many old books and are an excellent source of reading material for Christians. Their website is www.keepersofthefaith.com . Once you read the criteria they use in choosing books you will be impressed.

Other books we try to have in our home are the old books done by the American Tract Societyand other ministries like them. When I say old I am talking once again about the late 1800's early 1900's. Some of our favorites include: Lady Linnet, The Little Captain, The Mine, Ernest's First Knife, Happy New Year, The Silver Cup, The Little Hebrew Captive, Helps Over Hard Places For Girls, etc. Once again, many re-prints of this type of book can be found at Keepers of the Faith. A couple others I really recommend would be Pilgrim's Progress and Holy War by John Bunyan, and Mr. World and Miss Church-Member by W.S. Harris. Also, Ten Nights In A Bar-Room by T.S. Arthur.

We also enjoy many of the poetry and song books by Francis Havergal, who wrote the hymn Take My Life. She had a book based on that hymn called Kept for the Master's Use. Another excellent book. Pansy wrote a book entitled Clean Hands that quotes portions of this book. One of my personal favorites.

We also have a tendency to pick up old hymnals. We have some that were used in Billy Sunday revivals. Also an old Sam Jones Hymnal. It is amazing some of the songs in these older books.

My older daughters really enjoy books that detail some of the struggles in America today. Such as So Help Me God (by Roy Moore), Backfired and America's God and Country (William Federer), Courting Disaster (Pat Robertson), Faith and Freedom (Staver), From Tyndale to Madison (Michael Farris) etc.

One of the very best things to do with these books is to read them together as a family. I highly recommend any of these books and would love to hear some of your favorites. Thanks!

WINNERS

2009-11-02T16:13:00.000-06:00

The winner of the first set of Shampoo and Soap is Noel of (redeemed) Unique Art. The second set goes to Jammie (Abiding in the Truth). If you two ladies will contact me at blessed6mom@yahoo.com with your mailing address I will get these out near the end of the week. Thank you to all who entered.

Silas

2009-11-02T16:04:00.001-06:00

Hello,
I wanted to let every one who has been praying for Silas, that he went to be with the Lord early Sunday morning. Please continue to pray for his family. I have an address on the side of my blog if you wish to send a card to the family. If you desire to know more you can read his mother's blog which is in the list of blogs I follow. It is KD for the Congo. Thank you all of you who have prayed for Silas and his family.

**SILAS BLACKBURN*NEW INFORMATION!!!

2009-10-29T13:03:00.000-05:00

I was not going to do a new post until the giveaway was over, but I find that I must. Silas Blackburn is a two year old from our church. He has been diagnosed with a form of cancer. He has been battling this for a while now. I just received information that he is at the hospital having seizures. Please pray for this young man and his family. Thank you.

OCTOBER 30th-We have been informed that Silas has been sent home. There is now a tumor behind his eye.They have said there is nothing they can do. He is on morphine for the pain. Please continue to pray. Even if there is nothing they can do, we as Christian know Someone who can!

FALL BLOGGY GIVEAWAY

2009-10-27T19:00:00.000-05:00

I found this giveaway on another blog, and thought I would like to join in. So I am giving away 2 sets of Melalueca Soap and Shampoo. The first is the Original Shampoo (8 fl. oz.) with the Mint Scent Liquid Soap (8 fl. oz.). The second is the Herbal Shampoo (8 fl. oz.) with the Citrus Scent Liquid Soap (8 fl. oz.). Both soaps are antibacterial. This giveaway will end at 12:00 pm Central time on Monday, November 2nd.

There are 3 ways to enter the drawing.
1. Leave a comment on this post.
2. Sign on as a follower, or e-mail me that you already follow
this blog.
3. Do a post about this giveaway with a link to this blog.

Check out www.joyfullyliving.blogspot.com to view other giveaways.

The drawing will occur Monday November 2. I will post the winners Monday afternoon. You have 48 hours to respond with your shipping address. Otherwise I will need to draw another name.

THE TORAH

2009-10-21T10:23:00.001-05:00

Ladies,

I am really concerned by the young ladies who on their blogs are trying to teach others to obey the Torah. In the first place young ladies are to be learning from their Biblical authorities, such as their parents, pastors and the older women. Second, the Torah or the Law, (contained in the books of Genesis to Deuteronomy in the KJV) is written to the Jews. Yes, we can learn from them and yes, we can obey, but not all is for us today. If I wrote a letter to my daughter and stated that she was to bake a pineapple upside-down cake and included the recipe, and then told her she was to deliver it to our church at 1:00 on Monday and give it to Kelli, you could read this letter and follow the directions for making the cake, but obviously you would not deliver it to Kelli at the church. Why? Because those instructions were not for you.

Now lets look at some verses that explain why we are not "under" the law. Romans 6:14-15-"For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin because WE ARE NOT UNDER the law, but UNDER GRACE? God forbid." One last reminder, before you say that I am giving a license to sin re-read my last post. It is clear in Scripture that the Lord expects us to live holy lives. Galatians 5:16-18-"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye ARE NOT UNDER the law." Try reading Acts 15. I am just going to quote a few verses here, but I would appreciate if you would read the whole thing. Verse 10-"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" Verse 24-"Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and KEEP THE LAW: to whom WE GAVE NO SUCH COMMANDMENT." Verse 28 and 29-For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well." Please take time to study these out. Yes, we are to live holy, but we are not UNDER the Old Testament law.

Another thing that has been mentioned is keeping the Sabbath. Out of all the commandments that Christ repeated, nowhere does He state we are to continue to keep the Sabbath. And you must realize that in the gospels the law was still in effect. For one, it was directed to the Jews. Remember my example earlier about the cake. Exodus 31:13-"Speak thou also unto the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you." Exodus 31:17-"It is a sign between me and the CHILDREN OF ISRAEL for ever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed." Then let us look at the example the disciples set after Christ was crucified. Acts 20:7-"And upon the FIRST DAY of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow;and continued his speech until midnight." The Sabbath is Saturday, the first day of the week is Sunday. Also in 1 Corinthians 16:1-2-"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the FIRST DAY of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." Here are two verses that show them meeting on the FIRST DAY of the week, not on the Sabbath.

Once again I want to emphasize that I believe in living holy. Not because I must keep the law, but because Christ died for me. And it is clear in the New Testament that we are to live holy, set-apart lives. 2 Corinthians 7:1, Romans 12:1-2, Romans 13:14, Ephesians 2:10, Ephesians 5:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 1:9, etc.

For those young ladies who believe you must follow the Torah, do you really follow and obey the Torah? Remember if you offend in one point, you are guilty of all. (James 2:10) I am not doing away with the law, but we are not UNDER the law. It is there for a purpose. We use it on the street to show people that they are in sin. Once they realize they are under sin and guilty before God, we give them the gospel.

I am going to end this with three verses. Galatians 2:16 and 21"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if RIGHTEOUSNESS come by the LAW, THEN CHRIST IS DEAD IN VAIN." And last of all Galatians 4:16-"Am I therefore become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?"

SALVATION

2009-10-17T14:30:00.000-05:00

Hello Again Ladies,

I am doing this blog for a number of reasons. 1. Some people lately have been questioning eternal security. 2. Some young ladies have been discussing the Torah. 3. So many people we run into on the street "claim" to be "saved". I am not sure if I can accomplish this in one post, but because all of these in some way overlap, I am going to try. If needed, I will carry this over into another post.

I believe that one of the reasons people come to the conclusion that you can lose your salvation is that they run into many "professing" Christians, who are living in sin. Most of these professing Christians will tell you they are saved and that no matter what they do, God will forgive them. Thus the Christian who is truly trying to live holy come to the conclusion that you must be able to lose your salvation.

My question is, "Did they ever have it?". Usually when we deal with people like this on the street if you dig deep enough you find out that their testimony is severely lacking. Or they don't want to discuss it at all, which also makes me question if they ever truly were saved. I recently had one young college student argue with me that she was saved, and that what we were doing- street preaching- was wrong. When I pushed her to tell me how she became a Christian, she said her parents were Christians and she had always been one. She was not a Christian! Another college student replied that she believed in God and that was why she was going to heaven. Believing in God does not make you a Christian. James 2:19 states-Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well; the devils also believe and tremble." As my husband has stated, we need to be spiritual surgeons and dig a little deeper when one professes to know Christ to see what they are actually trusting in and if there was a genuine conversion. Many believe they are saved because they prayed a prayer, or walked the aisle, or have a general belief in God and these will not save you.

If we study the Scriptures, I believe you will see that one error we make today is WE try to win the person. It is our job to witness. When we try to coerce or SELL them on Christ we really are not witnessing properly. A person must come to the Lord because they have been convicted of their sin, and realize how unworthy they are. I know many people who will admit that all have sinned, but when you press the point that they are guilty before God they get very uncomfortable and respond with a statement like "I'm not so bad." That tells me they have never had a true conversion. You can not be saved, if you think you have nothing to be saved from.

Another problem is that when people became Christians in the New Testament and even up to about 100 years ago, people knew that to be saved they would have to give up their lifestyle of sin and follow Christ. We have lost that. And as Christians we no longer preach that. Salvation is not just a fire escape. A Christian follows Christ. Is he perfect? No. But he is striving to be and is allowing Christ to change him.

Let's look at a few Scriptures. Ephesians 2:8-19- For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God; Not of works lest any man should boast." Now most people stop right there. You are saved by grace through faith, not works. Which is true, but why do we not follow up with verses 10-"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." God expects us to change and grow, not continue the way we were. Romans 6:6-"Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not SERVE sin." Many quote Romans 6:23-For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.", but do not use verse 22 right before, "But now being made free from sin, and become SERVANTS to God, ye have your fruit unto HOLINESS and the end everlasting life." Titus 2:11-12-"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, DENYING UNGODLINESS, and WORLDLY LUSTS, we SHOULD live SOBERLY, RIGHTEOUSLY, and GODLY in this present world." 2 Corinthians 5:17-"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he IS a NEW CREATURE; old things are passed away, behold, all things are become new." 1 Corinthians 6:9-11-"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? BE NOT DECEIVED: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such WERE some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are SANCTIFIED, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." It sure seems obvious that when we get saved, we will be different.

Repentance is left out of most gospel messages today. Christ preached repentance, John the Baptist preached repentance, Peter preached repentance, Paul preached repentance.... Now most people who will use the word "repent" like to say it just means you change what you believe, but once again lets look at some verses. Ezekiel 18:30-Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God, Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Matthew 3:2-And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:8-Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance. Matthew 12:41-The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and behold a greater than Jonas is here. What was the response? See Jonah 3:5-10. In verse 8 it says "...let them turn every one from his evil way, and from the violence that is in their hands." Mark 1:15-"And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye and believe the gospel." Acts 17:30-"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:" Acts 20:21-"Testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." Acts 26:20-"...and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." 1 Thessalonians 1:9-"For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye TURNED to God, FROM idols to SERVE the living and true God;" This is just a sampling of the verses on repentance. I use the following example on the street to explain my salvation. I was walking in one direction serving myself and my sin, when I learned just how wicked I was before a holy and just God, and realized that Jesus Christ had shed His blood for my sin and had suffered and died for me. From that point on I turned and served and followed Christ, no longer going in my direction, but a totally new one. If we truly realize what Christ has done and what the high cost of our sinful living is, how can we not follow Him and serve Him the rest of our life? I do not serve Him to be saved, but because I am saved.

Regarding eternal security. If someone is living like they are unsaved more than likely they are, and we have every right to question their salvation. As a matter of fact, we should question it! Do not just pat someone on the back and assume they are saved. Now we come to the point, if someone is saved it is eternal. Ephesians 1:13-14-"In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were SEALED with that Holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." So, if you are sealed by the Holy Spirit until the redemption, how can you unseal yourself? Another question I have is, if you can lose it, are YOU doing something to keep it? If so, that means you believe in works for salvation. What about 1 Corinthians 5:5-"To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."? Ephesians 4:30 says "And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Once again you are sealed. And how long? Until the day of redemption. Now, before you start saying that I believe you can live any way and still be saved, remember the first part of this post. Also, God will chastise you if you are in sin. And it could be through death. Read Hebrews 12:5-8. And in 1 Corinthians 11 in verse 30 it says that for this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

I am going to have to cover the Torah in my next post. I believe that this post is long enough and covers a lot of ground. Please understand why I am waiting. Thanks!

IS DISPUTING OR DEBATING WRONG?

2009-10-10T15:19:00.000-05:00

Ladies,

I have been on several blogs recently that state something along the lines of, "I do not allow debates or disputing on my blog." Yes, it is your blog and you can choose to run it anyway you like, but I encourage you to take a moment and read this post.

In the book of Jude, verse 3, we are told, "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should EARNESTLY CONTEND for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." When I looked up the word contend in the Websters 1828, it said, -To dispute earnestly, to strive in debate, to reprove sharply, to strive to convince and reclaim, to quarrel, to dispute fiercely. Also in Acts 17:17 Paul disputed, in Acts 19:8 it says disputing and persuading, in Acts 19:9-disputing daily. The Bible also uses the word "reasoned". Try looking those verses up. Obviously you do not have to reason with someone who agrees with you.

My whole point is this ladies, perhaps you are the one the Lord is going to use to help someone come to a better understanding of God's Word. Or maybe the Lord is trying to teach you something (none of us has reached perfection). Having to defend your point or even, dare I say it, CORRECTING SOMEONE, will actually make you stronger. There may also be someone who reads your blog who may be having the same doubts or questions and by you allowing someone to comment who disagrees with you and then responding properly you will be able to answer their doubts. If your blog is really there to help someone, then shouldn't you also try to help those who disagree?

Debating is not always wrong. Perhaps you could ask the person to email instead, but please don't just block someone because they disagree. Did you understand everything about the Christian walk when you became a Christian? Are there any beliefs you hold to now that you disagreed with first? What if someone hadn't taken the time to explain it to you. Would you be where you are now?

I would just like you to take some time and prayerfully consider this. Thank you.

PURITY

2009-09-28T16:52:00.000-05:00

I recently had the privilege of teaching two classes at a Church my husband spoke at. One was on Dress Standards and the other was on Purity. I truly enjoyed both classes and feel like it was a help to several there. We have developed a close relationship with this Church and it made getting my points across even more important as we have come to know many of the young ladies there. So, I thought I would share some of it here. We covered verses for several parts of the body, and spoke about ways we were to keep each one pure.

Our eyes-Job 31:1, Proverbs 27:20
Our mouth-Proverbs 13:3, Proverbs 12:22
Our hands-Ephesians4:28, Psalm 24:4
Our ears-2 Timothy 4:4, Proverbs 20:12
Our heart and Mind-Psalm 101:2-5, Phil. 2:5, Proverbs 24:4

Each of these should be kept pure. We need to do our best to keep from seeing or reading anything that the Lord would consider sin, or even something questionable. That includes young ladies who read "Christian Romance". Many times this causes an unrealistic desire for romance in a young lady. (Older ones too, start to compare their spouse with the perfect man of fiction.) Our eyes need to be guarded from seeing nudity. (This includes magazines at cash registers that reveal too much.)

Our ears need to be guarded from hearing coarse language or jokes. If you have "friends" that use foul language or tell filthy jokes, you need to separate from them. Also included in this would be listening to gossip. The music you listen to, perhaps the videos you watch all need to be carefully chosen that they do not cause you to be unclean.

The mouth should never be used to gossip. Even telling something that is true, is often gossip. What about lying? Or maybe teasing. Have you ever hurt someone by teasing? Do you use vulgarity? Or even crude talk? It is wrong to hear these from a man, but when they come out of a woman's mouth it seems twice as bad.

Do you use your hands for good? Or do you push, or shove your siblings? Or perhaps your hands hold things that they ought not. Such as a book, or magazine. Do you touch things you know that you should not? Have you ever slammed a door in anger? Would those be considered clean hands?

Each one of these areas can affect your heart and mind. Is your thought life pure? Anyone can have an idea enter their mind, but do you allow it stay there and dwell on it? If even the thought of foolishness is sin and the Bible clearly states that if a man lusteth after a woman that he has already committed adultery in his heart, how would other thoughts we entertain be regarded by our Lord?

Purity must be maintained in all areas of our life, but the main reason I brought this up to young ladies was to keep themselves pure physically also. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 7:1b "...It is good for a man not to touch a woman." Obviously this applies in reverse. The physical relationship between a man and a woman is to be after marriage. Young ladies who win a young man by allowing liberties, will often loose him later. 1. You have lost his respect. 2. You will often loose him, because he wasn't really looking for marriage, and he received what he wanted. 3. Is this really the type of man you want to marry? Isn't it funny that in the marriage ceremony the Preacher says, "You may NOW kiss the bride." That sure sounds like she has not been kissed prior to the wedding altar.

Someday the Lord is going to bring a godly young man into your life, and he will be looking for a godly young woman. Wouldn't it be awful if he was unable to choose you because you had allowed some impurity in your life? Imagine having to take second best because you were not worthy of God's first choice for you.

Something that might help is to make a list of what we would like to have someday in a spouse. And I mean you can get as particular as you like. Obviously someone saved, but don't you want someone who is dedicated to the Lord? We put more effort into picking a new car or a dress, then we do who we will marry. Most people have an idea of what they want when they go shopping, but when it comes to a spouse they seem to just pick what "looks" best. Why on such an important decision do we spend so little thought?

At this point I have two older daughters who have never held hands with another male, other then a family member. They have never been kissed and have made the choice to remain pure and untouched until the wedding altar. I feel that the Lord has truly blessed me by both my daughters. I am praying that each of my children will have this conviction. We believe in courtship. I have heard many Christians say they also believe in courtship, but to me their version seems more like Christian Dating. Each time you date a different person you give away part of your heart. What will you have left to give your spouse?

Here is an example of courtship. A young man has been seeking the Lord, praying about a spouse. The Lord gives the young man direction and after praying and seeking his parents guidance, he has decided that this is the young lady the Lord desires for him to marry. He will then approach the father of the young lady and ask his permission to court. At this point the father will most likely have some questions to ask, and then the young ladies parents will pray. After receiving an answer of yes from the Lord, they will then ask their daughter to pray and seek the Lord's face. At any point in this if the Lord gives someone an answer of no, it proceeds no further. If the young lady has been given a yes from the Lord, then courtship will begin. This means they begin to see each other only with a chaperon. They are never left alone. The whole goal is marriage at this point. They are not dating. The only reason this courtship would not end in marriage is if there was a major problem that arose, or someone had hidden something. You do not court one young man and then decide you are not compatible and choose another young man to court. That is DATING!

I hope this has helped in some way. If you disagree, feel free to comment, but please be able to back up what you believe. If you have any other points you think would prove helpful please comment also.

LADIES,WHAT HAVE WE LOST?

2009-09-23T08:10:00.000-05:00

I have recently been doing some thinking on how as Christian women we have lost our femininity. Now, I am not talking about wearing makeup, nail polish, jewelry, expensive clothes and hairstyles you spend hours on, but I am talking about our overall appearance and demeanor. Personally, I do not wear make-up and I believe if someone does it should be so little that it is not noticeable. Someone should not look at you and say, "Wow, makeup!". But...I just have to wonder if God is pleased with the lack of femininity in Christian women of today. 1 Timothy 2:9-In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in MODEST APPAREL, with SHAMEFACEDNESS, and SOBRIETY; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array. This verse actually hits both extremes which we see out there consistently in our women that profess to be Christians. They have either swallowed the lie of the feminist movement and show no interest in being feminine, or they overdress, use too much makeup, and their hair looks like they spent half the day working on it. Both extremes are wrong. The Lord desires us to be feminine, but we are not to draw attention to ourselves by our appearance. As a note to young ladies, if you win a young man by your appearance, you will have a hard time keeping him. A godly young man is going to be looking at your character, and your Christian walk.

I am also seeing wives that do not seem to have any interest in training their children. They either wait until they are angry and then bellow at the child. To me this is a mother without natural affection, which is a sign of the last days according to 2Timothy 3. These mothers seem to have no embarrassment over the way their children are behaving, nor do they feel any shame over their own behavior. Some even keep pushing the child off on the father to deal with. We saw a child verbally show disrespect to his mother and nothing was done about it. Why? Where are the mothers that are happy to be a wife and mother, training their children to love and serve the Lord? We have heard for so long that if you stay at home and take care of your children (even going so far as to homeschool) that you are foolish, you need to get out and do something for yourself. And we are falling for this lie. We are sending our children off to someone else to train so we can go out and be someone. WOW! What could be more important then to raise up a GODLY generation?

And last but not least, women are no longer submitting to their husbands and some are even proud of it. Remember, I am not talking about the unsaved, I am speaking of those that name the name of Christ. I had one Pastor's wife say that she had a problem with submission. Now, this was not someone claiming an area she needed to work in, she was proud of it. I have seen women rebuke their husbands. I wonder how he feels. Others hinder their husbands ministry by not being supportive, or complaining anytime he has to do something ministry related. There are several verses regarding submission and in Titus 2:5 it actually states that we have blasphemed the the word of God when we are not obedient to our own husbands.

Ladies let's get back what we have lost. We need to fulfill the calling that God has placed on us and become the wives and mothers we need to be. We are supposed to be salt and I believe we have lost our savour, Matthew 5:13

"LET YOUR LIGHT SO SHINE BEFORE MEN, THAT THEY MAY SEE YOUR GOOD WORKS, AND GLORIFY YOUR FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN." Matthew 5:16

WORLDLY CHURCHES

2009-08-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

"Woe to them that are at ease in Zion,..." Amos 6:1a (or the USA)

Hi All,

Just wanted to let everyone know that all is well. We are visiting with a friend this week and then back on the road again. Also I have added a small slideshow, and a guestbook in my sidebar.

Now, on to my topic. Lately we have visited a few Churches while traveling. These were listed as Baptist, and fundamental. The one we found through a listing on the internet that lists Independent, KJV Churches. Imagine our surprise (although not too surprised) to see that they have electric guitars and drums. One even had them behind plexi-glass to soften the sound. Along with the band, they each had a group of singers who swayed and moved with the music. Some were younger (teenage) and some were older. The males usually just tapped their foot or swayed, but the females were very sensual. I started this off in this manner to say, had they been singing hymns, this would not have happened. I can not imagine a woman singing and swaying sensually to Amazing Grace, The Old Rugged Cross, etc. This is a product of wrong music.

We were able to speak with the youth director from one of these Churches and he argued that you needed to listen to the words, that the beat had nothing to do with it being right or wrong. But when confronted with the fact that my 16 year old son should not have to sit there and watch women gyrate to the music he actually paused and said that I was right. When we pushed the matter and said that it was the beat that caused the movement he didn't want to agree. Why are they so blind? Or are they really blinded? Perhaps they are too worried about pleasing the youth, or even the congregation. If they changed the music, how many people would they lose? Is that supposed to be our goal? To please man?

At one of the other Churches they were very obvious about trying to bring in the youth. Most of the youth dressed like the ones we run into on the street. My husband had to avert his eyes and warn our boys not to even look at one of the girls because she was wearing shorts comparative with what Hooters waitresses wear. But, what do you expect when the Pastor met us in shorts and a t-shirt for Wed. evening service? They also had the electric guitar and drums. Once again the women were "moving" to the music. After my husband spoke on the cults they opened up for questions. And isn't it just like the Lord to work in the situation. The Pastor actually asked why the cults were growing so fast while our Churches appear to be dying. Praise the Lord! My husband told him it was because the Church is not different from the world. Modern Christianity dresses like the world, watches the same movies as the world and listens to the same music as the world, thereby making it ineffective. We are trying to win them by being like them. And he said that many Churches are filled with unsaved people, who prayed a prayer, but never really were converted. We can not win them by being like them. The Bible clearly states in James 4:4-"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." Many of the youth at this Church had been there for 2 years or more, yet they still dressed (revealing dress for the girls, shorts and rock shirts on the males), looked (long hair on the males), and talked like the world. In no way were they becoming a peculiar people. Titus 2:14-"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." The youth felt comfortable here because the world was welcomed.

I guess this post was once again a place to vent, but it does make me pause to wonder. When are Christians going to wake up and realize where we are headed?

WITNESSING

2009-08-17T20:37:00.000-05:00

"Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame." 1 Corinthians 15:34

The Lord put it on my heart to address witnessing in this post.. I find even with the ministry we have there are times I fall short in this area. Sometimes the children are faster than I am to speak to someone or hand them a tract and I become lazy in my response to people. I find I need to constantly be on the alert for people that the Lord puts into my path whom I should witness too. I do not want anyone to be able to say, "She never told me." I should be the one who tells my relatives about Christ. I should be the one who my neighbor hears the gospel from. Someday I will stand before the throne of God and I want to hear Him say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

As a family we often go out door-knocking with local churches. I find more often than not people use this time to invite someone to church rather than to witness. We are to win them and then bring them to church. Otherwise our churches are full of unsaved people, when in reality it is supposed to be a group of called out believers. I have found that most people are uncertain of how to proceed at the door. They feel unsure of themselves, so it is easier to just hand someone a tract and invite them to visit church. I had a few ladies ask me to help them with this and would like to give a few pointers here. After introducing my self and giving the name of the church I am representing, I usually ask if they attend a church in the area. If they respond with a yes, I ask where and their answer will then give me an idea of where to go. Obviously if they tell me Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I know they are Mormon and can head in that direction. Should they respond Lutheran, Methodist, etc. I usually ask them if they have been born-again and if they can tell me what happened to them. If they answer that they are not born-again, I proceed with the gospel. Many times someone will respond, "I was baptized, or attend church, or maybe I read and pray." Once again I now know where to head with the conversation. I find door-knocking is usually the hardest conversation to get going. The best way to overcome this is to just go. You will be challenged to find more answers. I always tell people if you don't know the answer, tell the person and let them know that you will get back to them. Do not ever try to bluff your way, just be honest and tell them you will look into it and would like to visit again with an answer.

We need to be studying to have an answer to give every man that asketh us a reason of the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15). God has commanded us to be prepared and we need to continually hide the Word of God in our hearts so that we can answer the questions people ask us. 2 Timothy 3:16,17 says "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 2:15 says, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth". If we spend time studying and preparing ourselves, the Lord will bring the verses to mind when you need them. I have had many people say, "It is just too hard to memorize. I just can't do it." We do what we want to. We memorize all sorts of things through out our lifetime, words to songs, statistics, phone numbers and addresses. We remember what is important to us. If we really wanted to we could learn more verses. What are we willing to give up in exchange to be more knowledgeable of God's Word? Video time? Reading time? Sports time? Craft time?

We also need to be in prayer regarding our witnessing. Not about if we should witness, God has already commanded us to do that. We should be in prayer that we will have the right spirit, that the person will be open, the Holy Spirit will be free to work, etc. 1 Thess. 5:17-"Pray without ceasing."

So, I guess my question is, "How many of you will say with me, I have not been witnessing the way I should?" I personally intend to spend more time in memorizing scripture, prayer, and witnessing, actually telling someone about the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation. I don't want anyone to be able to say, I met her once and she never told me about Jesus Christ."

A FEW HELPS FOR TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN THE BIBLE

2009-08-07T08:01:00.000-05:00

I have recently had someone request some ideas of how we train our children to know their Bible so I decided to share some of them here. Some will be quick and easy, others will take time. Some require your involvement, while others they can do on their own. Most require consistency.

1. Devotions, both personal and family. During family devotions my husband has the children take turns reading verses, and often asks them questions regarding the verses they read. Obviously he keeps it at their level. He does not ask the 8 year old the same type of question he asks our 24 year old. Sometimes he has the boys lead devotions, helping to prepare them for when they have their own families. For personal devotions each person needs to find a quiet place for their own reading and prayer. If a child is too young to read someone will read to them, or we use the Bible on CD. This really made our one M feel important that she had a CD to listen to for Bible reading. Also encourage them to keep a prayer journal. Perhaps you could put pictures of family, friends, missionaries etc. together in a book for them to look at as they pray. Let them request prayer for others.

2. Another activity we use is copying the Bible. They each have their own copy book and use it to copy a book of the Bible. We assign a certain amount of time on the days they copy. Most spend at least 1/2 an hour copying. If you have a really young one start with 5-10 minutes. It will also help their English, writing and punctuation skills. Just another added benefit.

3. We also plan crafts based on the Bible. They have made arks out of clay and added animal cracker animals. They also design pictures for their wall that include Bible verses. We made door-posts out of craft sticks and then used water with red food coloring, to study the Passover. Use your imagination and let them use theirs.

4. We have assigned memory verses. For the whole family. We assign verses and give a date when they need to be done. Sometimes we quote them and others we write them out. We do not require as many verses when they are younger. While the older children learn 3-4 verses only 1 is assigned to a younger child. Copying the verses on an index card is a big help. Or placing the memory verses in places around the home where everyone will see them and practice. (Like while brushing teeth) Encourage each other in this. Do not make it a time of competition or discouragement. We want our children to love the Word of God and hide it in their hearts. There may come a day when that is all they will have.

5. Another fun activity is Bible quizzing. My husband lines everyone up and does sword drills. Or we will sit around a table. He asks a question, for which we must find an answer. Sometimes he will give the address of a verse (such as Roman 3:10), and we have to find it. Everyone learns their Bible this way. After telling us what to find, he says "Draw your swords!" and everyone races to find it first. Occasionally he does questions just for the younger ones. This helps the children to know their Bible better.

6. We have times of play witnessing. One person knocks on the other persons door and witnesses. We start out easy, but slowly get more difficult. Sometimes we practice witnessing to a Jehovah's Witness, or Mormon, etc. Not only does this increase their Bible knowledge, but it increases their confidence when in a real situation. Our children really enjoy this and try to make it as difficult as possible.

7. We have stocked our bookshelves with Christian Biographies and older Christian fiction. Also doctrinal books that will help them. Another big portion of our shelf is creation books. Once again, if you have a child that can't read assign another child to read to them. Or something my children really enjoyed was reading a book into a recorder, then the others could listen to it also.

8. Keep loads of tapes and CD's on hand for them to listen to. Get CD's of preachers, evangelists and missionaries for them to listen to. They can play them in the car, while going to sleep, or during a quiet time. Have plenty of good quality Christian music for them to listen to. And of course they can always listen to the Bible on CD. And then encourage them to use these. Stop filling them with the world and get them excited about the Word of God.

9. Each of our children has a favorite old missionary or preacher and we encourage them to collect books, etc. on that person. Sam Jones and Peter Cartwright are two favorites in our family. One of the younger girls likes Billy Sunday. Use these to encourage them. Find out what you can about these individuals. We have visited the Billy Sunday Museum and home site, and have been to Sam Jones home. We also visited Sgt. Yorks Museum, another of my sons favorites. Things like this might just be what encourages your child to preach or go to the mission field.

10. Another obvious way is to teach them the Books if the Bible. You would be amazed how many supposed Christians we meet who can not quote the books of the Bible. Once again it is something that will help them find things quicker in their own Bible.

11. When they were little we even changed the name of games. Instead of Duck, Duck, Goose, we played Adam, Adam, Eve. It doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to change things like that.

12. Something else is to allow them to act out Bible account. Let them work together and then show you their results. Let them make costumes and props. Sometimes this can be a little amusing.

I think that will be all for now. If you have an idea please post it in the comments, you never know who you might help or encourage in that way. And remember to use all you can to encourage your children in their knowledge of the Bible. It will help them to first of all come to Christ as their Saviour, then it will help them to grow, witness to others, and as I said before, there may come a day when their Bible is taken away and all they will have is what they have memorized.

Some Silly Sayings

2009-08-05T10:24:00.000-05:00

Hi All! I decided to write a post on some of the silly responses we receive on the streets. Thanks for the idea Sally!

We are often amazed at some of the statements or responses we receive on the streets. Yes, they are funny, but it also shows just how little the Bible is known. Years ago you could have brought up the name of someone in the Bible and most people would at least have a general knowledge about the person you were referring to. But today America is generally Bible ignorant.

1. Recently in Buffalo NY, a young man approached my 13 year old son and started yelling at him, "Solomon had long hair, Solomon had long hair!" My son looked at him for a moment to see what else he would say and sure enough, he added, "And Bathsheba cut it off!" Now I will admit that we both started to laugh, and when we informed him that it was Samson and Delilah, he responded, "Well, I knew it was something like that."

2. Once when the family was preaching in front of a bar on New Years Eve, we had a biker approach in response to preaching about the damning effects of alcohol. He informed us, "Monks made wine in the days of beer."

3. While at a University football game in Tallahassee as we were heading for our corner, I overheard 2-3 young women talking about one of the preachers who was with us. She seemed to feel that she knew her Bible much better than he did. I decided to approach her. I asked her if she knew her Bible well, to which she responded that she did. I asked her where the book of Hezekiah was. She stated that it was in the Old Testament. When I informed her that there was no book of Hezekiah, she said, "If you would read your Bible more you would find it, it is in the minor prophets!"

4. We are often also told that "Jesus turned the wine into water!" Yes, wine into water. I am not sure where they are going with that argument.

5. Or there is always the response "Thou shalt not judge! It is one of the 10 Commandments!"

6. When my husband questioned a group of young women about the book of Hezekiah one responded with the Old Testament. When he told her that there was no book of Hezekiah, she said "Hezekiah? I thought you said Zachaus." I assume she meant Zacchaeus.

7. Or there was the time we were approached and the young man said, "You all are Mennonites and don't use electricity, right?" I can understand someone mistaking us for Mennonites, but we did have 3 camcorders going at the time. We also have been asked if we arrived at an event in horse and buggy. Now I am not talking about someone being sarcastic, these people were serious.

8. I had a young lady at a parade one time tell me that Jesus had kicked another young boy off the roof of a house, but had then brought him back to life. She stated this as fact, and told me that she had read it in a book.

Well, I only have a few minutes left so maybe I can post some more of these another time. Please keep us in your prayers as my husband is recovering from pneumonia and our 15 year old stepped on an old rusty nail that went about an inch into his foot. It has definitely been a busy couple of weeks for us. Thanks for all your prayers!

UNGODLY SODOMITE AMERICA

2009-07-25T13:23:00.000-05:00

The picture of the bride is a man, so is the fairy.
The van claims to be a Baptist Church.

I used one of my husband's phrases for the title of this blog. I really had not intended to do another blog so soon, but we went out today to warn and witness at the Harrisburg, PA "Gay Pride Fest" and I really was angered by what I saw. Now, we do events like this on a regular basis, but it really starts to wear on you. You travel a distance, (in this case it was about 45 minutes from the Church we were with), and there are no other local Churches out there rebuking sin. There was a gentleman and his daughter from New York who traveled down to rebuke the sodomites. But where were the local churches? Now, I have a hard time believing that there are no Churches in the Harrisburg area. Where are they though when it comes to rebuking sin in their city? This is why America is on a fast slide into Hell. Why aren't Pastors encouraging their congregations to be out there to warn and witness.

The other thing that angered me was the amount of children being brought out there to participate. Several children marched in the parade and even more stood by watching and catching candy and beads thrown by the sodomites. Why would anyone want their children exposed to such utter vile, wickedness. These children were able to watch floats go by with cross-dressers, transvestites, men and women basically dressed in underwear, and men dressed in women's lingerie. One woman even walked by and allowed her daughter to watch this parade of perverts, yet plugged her ears so she would not hear the preaching. America is definitely headed to Hell.

Then there were the elderly people both watching the parade and marching in it. You and I both know they were not raised that way. It used to be grandma and grandpa were a wonderful older couple you could trust the children with, but not anymore. They have become just as vile. Some of the older women even participated in the Silent Witness group that intentionally tries to block the preachers and their signs from the view of the public. There was one woman riding in a car carrying a sign that read "I am a Gay Christian". Maybe she never read Romans 1. How wicked is America going to become before Christians wake up and realize what is happening. There were many people running for office that marched in this parade. What do you think will happen if they get into office?

Why were there not more Christians out there raising their voices in outrage? What is your average Christian going to do when they take away our Bibles or put us in jail for being intolerant? Most Christians won't even be affected. They will hand over their Bibles and continue on their merry little way thinking to themselves "Well at least God knows my heart." Your heart is displayed by your actions. These people have deceived themselves.

Many claim the preaching and signs are too hard. I ask you what is too hard for a group of people that have so far gone from what God desires. In Romans it says that God gave them over to a reprobate mind. Jude says in verses 22 and 23-"And OF SOME have compassion, making a difference: And OTHERS save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, HATING EVEN THE GARMENT spotted by the flesh." God is love I kept hearing. Yes God is love and He LOVED (Past tense) you so much that He died for you. But God is also just. Try reading Psalm 5:5-The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou HATEST all WORKERS of iniquity." Or maybe Psalm 7:11-"God judgeth the righteous, and God IS ANGRY with the WICKED every day." And then there is Psalm 11:5-"The Lord trieth the righteous:but the WICKED and him that LOVETH violence his soul HATEH." So what is our problem? We want to be politically correct. How can I tell someone they deserve Hell? If you don't warn them, their blood is on your hands.

And have NO FELLOWSHIP with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather REPROVE them.
Ephesians 5:11

When I say unto the WICKED, thou shalt surely die; and thou givest him not WARNING, nor speakest to WARN the WICKED from his WICKED way, to save his life; the same WICKED man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Yet if thou WARN the WICKED, and he TURN NOT from his WICKEDNESS, nor from his WICKED way, he shall die in his iniquity, but thou hast delivered thy soul.
Ezekiel 3:18,19

One last thought, they call it Gay Pride, I believe there is a verse appropriate for this-"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18

Who is Training Your Children?

2009-07-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

I have decided since so much of a stir has been started recently concerning nurseries, that I might as well join in. When my husband and I had our first child, we just followed everyone's example in our church and placed our daughter in a nursery. But...we have grown and learned a lot in the last 24 years. Shortly after our daughter was born, my husband entered the military and we made a few moves. It was during this time through experience and studying God's Word that we changed our mind on nurseries. First through experience we learned that you never know exactly who churches have working in the nursery. Sometimes it is teenage girls. Now before you respond, "My teenage daughter knows how to handle babies!", please consider that not all teens do, and there is often more than one infant or toddler to watch. Also we visited a church that HIRED an unsaved woman to work in the nursery so that church members would not miss the service. They said she wasn't going to church anyway, so they might as well employ her. Just the person I want watching my infant! I am sure she was Holy Spirit filled when dealing with the infants and toddlers. Also it broke up the family unit. And it doesn't stop with nurseries. After that it is Sunday School, Jr. Church, AWANA (or some similar program). Right up until teen years when Youth Groups start. When do they finally rejoin the family? When do they learn to sit in church and pay attention to a sermon? Instead they learn that church is all fun, games, entertainment, socializing with friends etc. The Bible "stories" they have been told are all exciting and filled with cute little cartoon characters. No wonder at 18 many young people leave the church. It is not entertaining anymore. They have no interest in spiritual things. They never went witnessing with their parents because they were too busy with their friends, they have no interest in service because they have always been served.

The nursery, Sunday School etc. also cause a break in the family unit. They now spend more time with their peers. What their friends think is much more important to them then what dad and mom think. They get affected by peer pressure. Dad and mom no longer know what their children are being taught, nor the other influences their "friends" are placing on them. Not to mention the unsaved youth that participate. Far too often they are influenced by youth that are bussed in. And once again this break continues until they are 18 and can finally join the family once again. Who wants to break the family unit up? Satan or the Lord?

Most parents look at the nursery as a babysitter. They no longer have to deal with their child, or try to train them to sit through a service. Their child is considered a distraction or inconvenience. Yes, it will be trying at first, but once they are trained look at the benefits. They are with the family unit. You know what they are taught and can discuss it with them at home. You are aware of their friends. They are learning more than little stories. And who does the Lord expect to train your child anyway? They no longer have the negative influences. What would be better for your child? Be honest.

Another quick thought. Nurseries? Hmmm... Could they be named that because they were used for nursing? I have no problem with a room for nursing mothers. They can go nurse and return to the service. Wouldn't that be a wonderful idea?

After thinking all this through we studied Scripture. Where in scripture did they separate the children when they worshipped? Were there any examples of a nursery? How did Jesus respond when the disciples tried to prevent children from approaching Him? In Matt. !9:13,14-The disciples rebuke those bringing the little children to Jesus, and He responded, "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven." Many times in the Old Testament it states that "all the people" or "all the congregation". I really see nowhere in Scripture where they used someone to watch the children while everyone else met together to worship. Proverbs 22:6 says to "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Now, maybe the reason we are losing so many youth as they get older is that we never really trained them up in the way they should go. Instead we allowed them to play and be entertained in nurseries and Sunday School rather than training them for the Lord. Where are they going to learn to worship and praise the Lord? In Church with their parents. Where are they going to learn to give to the Lord? In Church with their parents. Where are they going to learn about serving the Lord? With their PARENTS! I sure hope this helps someone. Please feel free to comment and leave your ideas.

Are You Guarding Your Home?

2009-07-04T15:06:00.000-05:00

Hi all. It's been awhile. We have been very busy since the last post. I am not going to cover where we have been as some others already have. Instead I am once again going to hit a subject that is consistently showing up in churches.

As the wife and mother, staying at home where we belong, we need to be monitoring what is coming into our homes. (Music, books, videos, etc.) I am finding many homes, including Pastor's homes, that are allowing influences in that will not only hinder their children's spiritual growth, but could harm it. Maybe that sounds harsh, but with the ministry we have, we see the results of this influence in the unsaved and it is now showing up in our Christian homes. We need to be more thorough in checking what is brought in.

I am seeing many books that have magic, witchcraft and the occult in "Christian" homes. This includes, Lord of the Rings and C.S. Lewis. This should not be, the Lord is very clear on witchcraft and the occult, but what about the books that encourage dating, lying, or other actions that are deemed sin in the Bible? Many books today even in our "Christian" bookstores are not very Christian. In these books the children go behind their parents backs to do something they were told not to do. Or they rebel against their parents. Do you preview the books your children read? Are you aware of the attitudes and values being taught in their books? If the character commits sin, is it dealt with as sin, or is it just overlooked and forgiven without any repentance on the character's part? What type of salvation message is promoted in the book? I encourage you to check out what your children are reading. Even books for the very young teach evolution and other anti-God messages.

On to videos. More and more parents are allowing Disney videos into their homes. I am not saying you should have no secular videos, although that would probably be best. What I am saying is are you allowing things in that should not be allowed. Once again we are facing the same questions. Is there magic, or occultism? Like Mary Poppins, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Secret Garden, etc. What about occultism? Like Pocahontas (where trees and such have spirits), or maybe The Little Mermaid. Maybe you allow videos where the children have wrong attitudes, or dress inappropriately. Is this raising them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord? Or training up a child in the way he should go? Does the video in anyway mock God or take away from His character? Like Pollyanna. Everyone says "Pollyanna"? Yes! In the story a Pastor is under the control of a wealthy woman who only wants him to preach hellfire and brimstone, then under Pollyanna's influence he starts preaching only on the love of God. There needs to be a balance and this has none. Is God always love? Is He not also just and righteous? Does the video teach there is no result of sin? Do they teach your young ladies that she has to be beautiful? Or does it teach her that her Godly character is more important? Does it teach appropriate dress standards? Do you allow someone into your home on the screen in clothing you would not otherwise allow in your home? Are your children drawn to a certain actor or actress? In Little Nemo, Ellen Degenerate is one of the voices. What are their standards like? Is it someone they should be looking up to and getting their values from? What about videos like Veggie Tales where people from the Bible are portrayed as cartoon characters. I want my children to take the Bible and it's teachings seriously. In the video on Esther, when Moredecai reveals the plan to attack the King the two men who are caught are sent to the island of perpetual tickling. Can you find that in your Bible? I sure can't

Last thing I will cover is music. Do you children walk around with headphones or earbuds on? Are you aware of the groups they are listening to? Are the groups really Christian? Have you ever checked out their website to see what type of testimony they have? Do they dress in a manner that pleases the Lord? Or do they look just like the world? Obviously any rock music is ruled out, but are you allowing groups that are borderline? Does the music really honor the Lord? We were recently in a church that allowed, for want of a better term, "Christian" rock. The young ladies that were on "stage" singing all wore tight jeans some of which were in the latest style of being torn. They were all swaying and bouncing to the music. Several had tight or low cut tops. Now is that honoring to the Lord? My main point regarding this church though is that the music was very generic. "I can feel you holding me", Your hands support me", etc. There was no clear mention of the Lord in the song. Is this the type of music your children are listening to? Where any God could fill the gap? I am also finding that many of our young children's songs are borderline blasphemous. We treat the Lord and other people mentioned in the Bible as little cartoon characters, and then wonder why they no longer believe the Bible when they get older.

We are fast losing our next generation. Most young people in our Churches know nothing about how to witness. They know very few Bible verses. Much of this is because we are allowing the TV, their music, books, and friends to influence them more than we do. When is the last time you memorized Scripture with your children? Or read the Bible together? Do you sing together, music that is pleasing to the Lord? Do you read Christian books and biographies together? Have your children ever gone witnessing with you? Are you putting books, videos and music in front of them that will draw them closer to the Lord? Do they know how to lead someone to the Lord? IF YOU WERE TAKEN OUT OF THEIR LIFE TODAY, WOULD THEY FOLLOW THE LORD OR WOULD THEY FALL INTO THE WORLD?

Modest and Chaste?

2009-06-12T11:51:00.000-05:00

I know I have covered this in a previous post, but something I recently saw has brought this to mind again. Our family was recently in Nauvoo, IL visiting a friend. Nauvoo has the second most important Mormon Temple. The prime visiting time for the area was slowly approaching. They also have a pageant each year, just not on the scale of Hill Cumoruh. Anyway, the BYU Ballroom Dancers were performing at an outside stage. There was no charge, so we went out just to see what they did.

Imagine my surprise to see actual ballroom dancing going on. The group competes around the country, and has apparently won several awards. They are the world's largest Ballroom Dance team. Now, this is not a group that is secular, they claim to be "Christian". I was really amazed that they allow their young "ladies" to dress and dance in this manner. Several of the dances are very seductive, and sensual. Also, more than once you saw ALL the way up their leg. They were wearing those tight little short type things under their dresses, that cheerleaders wear under their uniforms. Many times the young men were grasping their legs to hold them up and twirl them around. I am talking behind the knee and thigh. Now, no young man will ever be touching my daughters that way. Beside all these things the music was very worldly. They played a Dean Martin song, the Charleston, along with a few rock songs. Why would a group that claims to be religious allow this? First off, they are not Christians, they are of the world, thus they do worldly things. But, I have often wondered how a group that claims to know God, can do things that are obviously contradictory to that claim.

The other reason I have done this post is that I see this type of thing creeping into Christianity. There are "Christian" schools that have cheerleaders, or that allow the girls to dress in culottes (just long shorts), or hold proms and dances. It is also showing up in our churches. Young ladies and grown women are beginning to look very sensual. Between tight clothing, slits in skirts and dresses, revealing tops, etc., even their EYES! I have seen many young ladies in churches that try to catch the males eyes. Or they wear their bangs partially covering their eyes, and look out seductively trying to make eye contact. Proverbs 6:25 speaking of the strange woman says, "Lust not after her beauty in thine heart; neither let her take thee with her EYELIDS." Proverbs 7:13 says:So, she caught him, and kissed him, and with an IMPUDENT FACE said unto him,". I am seriously seeing a lot of this behaviour among our youth. We seem to think if they wear dresses a certain length (even if there is a slit), they attend church, sing in the choir, play an instrument, that they are doing all right. But, what about their hearts? Do their actions, the way they walk, and talk say something different. I am afraid so. We need to be turning their hearts to the LORD, before we are going to see any real difference.

Mothers, it is our job to be doing this. It is more than just saying, "We only wear dresses and they must reach the knee." They need to know what the Bible says about modest apparel. My husband thinks it is amusing to run into a Pentacostal woman and ask her why she wears long dresses. Inevitably the answer is "because I am Pentacostal". Why is it not, "Because God's Word says to dress modestly"? We need to be training and being the example ourselves. Mom if you are dressing in less than you should or in revealing clothing, do not expect your daughter to be chaste and modest. If you look seductive, so will your daughter. Our daughters need to remain pure and undefiled and their appearance should match up with that. I also think the verses of 1 Peter 3:2-4 would apply here. "While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." Our conversation, our manners, even the way we speak, and volume of our speech all apply. I believe we have dropped the ball with our young ladies and we need to pick it up again.

Here are some things we should be looking for. Is my daughter dressed appropriately? Do the males in church look at her with more interest than they should? Does she appear modest? Do you have to question the clothing she wears? Do you find her looking around at the males? Is she loud? When she enters a room do her actions draw the attention to her? Does she make eye contact with the males more than she should? Are her friends more male than female? Is she interested in spiritual things? Does she participate in the spiritual activities of the church? (Street preaching, door-knocking, nursing home, etc.) Or is she only interested in the fun activities for the youth? Do you have to remind her to have her quiet time with the Lord? Does she memorize Scriptures on her own? I am sure there are many more things you could look for, but this is just a few that come to my mind. I hope this helps or encourages someone.

Being the Video Recording Person for Your Husband

2009-06-10T12:30:00.000-05:00

This post is definitely ministry based. I often receive questions regarding Camcorder use on the street, so I am going to try to answer some of the basic ones here.

First of all, I highly recommend a dvd camcorder or one with a built in hard drive. I know people who use the mini-dv, but the ones I have used I did not find reliable. Often the tapes would stick or break and then we were out the video, which at times may be your only proof of what happened. Also make sure you have enough batteries. If you can only afford the one battery, then you need to be careful of what you record so you don't have a dead battery when you need your recorder the most. After purchasing your camcorder familiarize yourself with it BEFORE going out on the street.

If you are the person responsible for video recording make sure you stay on a constant alert, watching for approaching officers, or any person who might cause trouble. Listen to the conversations going on, and see if any of them seem to be getting heated. If so approach with your camcorder on. Sometimes just the sight of a video camera stems the problem. If an officer approaches, you should have already seen him coming and have the camcorder on. You need to be close enough to record what is being said to the street preacher. If it is a pleasant exchange you can slowly move off, but stay close enough to step back in if needed.

Do not allow people to intimidate you into turning off the recorder. An officer may request you turn off the recorder, but you do not have to. The only time they really have the right to make you move is if you are interfering with them doing their job. And if they have made an arrest, they can ask you to stay a certain distance away. If you feel like they are being too aggressive and they ask you to stop recording, you can always lower the recorder to your side and continue recording the conversation. I also recommend using black electrical tape and covering the spot on the front of your camcorder that lights up when recording. This will hinder people from knowing when you are actually recording.

If an individual requests that you do not record their conversation base it on the street preacher and how volatile the situation is. My normal response is "If you do not want recorded, step out of the picture." You by law are allowed to record people dealing with the street preacher. I have had the police called several times for recording conversations and have never had the police side with the complaintant. We even had one woman attack us after the officer she called told her we were allowed to do what we were doing. She made the mistake of going after my daughter while the officer was still there. He pulled her off and handcuffed her. We did not press charges.

My normal response to an officer requesting we stop recording is "No, Sir." Very respectfully of course. If he continues to push it, I tell him, "An officer doing his job in public, has no right to expect his conversation be private." I have not ever had one push any further, although I am sure there are some that do.

Another thing is make sure you are willing to go to jail for what you are doing. If not, perhaps someone else should have the video recorder. I have found that at this point officers do not get as aggressive with females doing the recording as they do males. I don't know how long this will last, but at this point it seems better to have a female do the recording.

A few last minute tips. 1. If you can record without having your lcd screen out, do so. It is too easy for someone to grab and break. Some are designed so they can be flipped around and placed against the recorder. 2. A zip-lock baggy works well in rain to protect your camera and you can still record through it. 3. Carry an id. 4. Always have a camcorder when you are out street preaching. No matter what venue it is, you never know how someone will respond. 5. When recording an officer zoom in at least once on his name tag and/or badge number. This always helps later if there is a problem.

Hope this helps someone. If I missed something, let me know.

Matthew 10:16-Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves,

Ephesians 2:10-For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Have You Ever Been Accused of Spiritual Gluttony?

2009-05-30T07:02:00.000-05:00

My husband was preaching in Chicago and during his sermon he mentioned something about gluttony and suddenly this idea came to me. I spent the next day studying and was amazed at how many verses I found that would apply to this subject.

Many of us watch what we eat and try to diet, but have you ever had to do that spiritually? Do you over eat spiritually and have to be told you are feasting on the Word of God too much? Or are you spiritually starving yourself? In Ephesians 5:18 the Bible states "And be not drunk with wine wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit." Filled, or full. Are you filled with the Spirit, not just getting by on as little as possible? Are you filled? Here are some other verses on being filled:
1. Acts 2:4 -And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost.
2. Acts 6:3-...full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.
3. Acts 11:24...full of the Holy Ghost and of faith...
This is just a small list of some of the verses I found on being full of the Holy Ghost. The Bible has many other things we are to be full of. The above verses also state that we are to be full of wisdom and faith.

Gluttony also implies a desire for food. Do we desire spiritual food? 1 Peter 2:2-As newborn babes desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby. Acts 13:7-...desired to hear the word of God. In Matt. 4:4 Jesus said "It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Do we desire and seek spiritual food the same way we do the food to nourish our bodies? Are you spiritually fat?

Here are a few other things we are to be filled with. We are to be filled with faith. Acts 6:5-...full of faith and of the Holy Ghost... Acts 6:8-...full of faith and power... We are to be filled with good works. Acts 9:36-...full of good works and almsdeeds... We are to be filled with knowledge. Rom. 15:14-...that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Col. 1:9-...that ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. Just a few more verses. Phil. 1:11-Being filled with the fruits of righteousness... Eph. 3:19-...that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

And then there is joy. Romans 15:13-Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing... John 15:11-...that your joy might be full. John 16:24-...that your joy might be full. 1 John 1:4-...that your joy may be full.

The Bible clearly states that there are some things we are to be full of. How are you in these areas? Could you be accused of spiritual gluttony? Or is there a famine in your life? Amos 8:11-Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.
Are you filled?

Chicago, Indy 500 Update

2009-05-29T08:05:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

We had a really good time in Chicago. We were there for 14 days. Jim preached a 4 day Revival Meeting, and we street preached downtown each weekend. Many from the Church went out with us. The altar was full all 4 days. One 14 year old boy made a profession of faith. You really had to be there to see the struggle going on and the Holy Spirit convicting him. I was wondering what the battle would have looked like if we were able to see the spiritual side of it. We almost had a riot break out one Saturday. Pastor Teesdale was holding a sign that said "There is no such thing as a Christian homosexual." That was all it took to set them off. We had anywhere from 75 to 125 people around us for about 45 minutes. Hope and I had all we could do to keep our camcorders on all the volatile situations. One woman threatened to break my camcorder and bash my face in with it. All recorded of course.

From Chicago we proceeded to the Indy 500. We had to set up beds for close to 50 men, women and children. This was one of the largest turn outs for the Indy. People were pulling in at all hours Friday evening. Saturday we covered the Parade. More people received tracts this year then in the past 2 years. That evening the men went out to Georgetown. No women were allowed as it is a drunken party the night before the race and is known to get violent. Then Sunday morning we covered the race. We had more upset Catholics then normal. The police did have to pull one young man away from us who was upset over homosexuality being sin. He attended Catholic school. Several of our friends from Chicago were able to come to the Indy 500 and managed to hand out several tracts. What a blessing it was to have them there. Thanks to all who were able to come and help.

Monday we spent the day cleaning up the Church and setting it back in order. We really appreciate Liberty Baptist Church in Indianapolis for allowing us to use their facilities. We would really have a hard time putting this all together without their help.

We are now in Nauvoo, IL. With the second most important Mormon Temple. The Carthage jail is also nearby where Joseph Smith was held. We will be taking a small break here also.

Later today or tomorrow I will post a study I did while in Chicago. I found it very interesting and I hope you will too.

Kentucky Derby and America

2009-05-08T09:55:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we preached at the Kentucky Derby. It was just more proof of how fast America is going down the tubes. Each year less people take tracts, and more people are outright defiant. We did have one profession, where a young man knelt down on the street and accepted Christ. And there were several good conversations. We have even received an email from one of the young ladies we spoke to. But.... the overall response was very negative. Most people going by mocked, cursed, exposed themselves, etc. I want you to realize that these are the people you see each day of your life, just they are not held back by rules. These are the doctors, teachers, cashiers, waiters, etc. who are no longer bound by etiquette. Now they are free to be what they really are.

A young woman started a riot at the end of the day on Saturday. She was a Catholic, that I had been dealing with, who was very upset that we were teaching the children that Catholicism was wrong. She kept wanting to to talk to the children, after using very foul language with me, and could not understand why I would not allow her near them. She claimed to know the Bible very well, even stating that she had been a chaplain for 2 years, but she could not tell me where the book of Hezekiah was. Now, before you jump and say that there is not a book of Hezekiah, I am very aware of that. She said there was, but would not tell me where. Every so often she would leave, and then she would wander back and try to talk to one of the children. Anyway, she ended up grabbing my husband by the back of his collar. After we pulled her off she ran around slapping at several people. All of the sudden she ran up and punched my daughter, who is 22, in the face. Now, all my daughter was doing was camcording. She had not talked to this woman at all. Needless to say, my daughter ended up with a black eye, and two tiny blood spots in her eye. Several of the street preachers jumped in to pull her away. In the meantime, her husband, brother and a few other men joined in pushing and punching at the street preachers. She also attacked another street preachers wife, by grabbing her camcorder that was attached around her neck. She did break their camcorder. Last of all she bit one of the preachers on the back of his thigh. Yes, I said she bit him, and she did not just quickly bite and let go she clung to him like a bulldog. When police were called, they stated that they could not arrest her, as they did not see it happen. And people think America is getting better.

This was just one incident that happened. There were many times we had to step in and prevent someone from attacking one of the preachers. We also had a few people who thought they were funny by swearing at the children. Now, remember, I am talking about average America. How far do we have to go before Christians wake up and realize just how bad America has become. They all sit at home, attend church, and never leave their own little Christian world. We need to leave our comfort zone and get out there and warn and witness before it is too late.

"This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures, more than lovers of God; "
2 Timothy 3:1-4

CLEAN HANDS AND A PURE HEART

2009-04-28T21:19:00.000-05:00

I wanted to do a post on one of my favorite verses. It is Psalms 24:3,4-"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and a pure heart: who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." I first noticed this verse a few years ago when reading a book called "Clean Hands". It was written in the late 1800's or early 1900's by an author who went by the pen name Pansy. Her name is actually Isabella Alden, and she was a preacher's wife, who used real situations she had seen in fiction form to help others in their walk with the Lord. In the story a young woman is given a book to read and a challenge from her Pastor to keep her hands clean on a trip she is taking. She does not understand what he means until she reads the passages he has marked for her in the book. The book he gave her is called "Kept for the Masters Use", by Frances Ridley Havergal. After reading the short story mentioned first, I was really hoping to find a copy of Kept for the Masters Use. Imagine my amazement when just a few weeks later my husband brought home a copy in a box of books he purchased at a yard sale. The book, Kept for the Masters Use, is based on the author's song, Take My Life.

Now, after giving some background information I want to bring out some thoughts the Lord gave me after reading the book. Some are from the book and some are my own thoughts. I want to center on clean hands in this post. She mentions in the book that our hands are the Lord's, and as such we should use them for His service. But she takes this further by asking if we ever hold in our hands something with which the Lord would be displeased. A book that is not as clean as it should be, in it's storyline or the language used. Or that questions the Bible, or the Lord and His authority. What about a game, or video, cards, etc. Do you have any books, videos etc. that have magic, or language or that border on any of these, such that you know the Lord would not like. Do you have magazines that promote the feminist movement or thought? She then delves into things such as, do your hands ever write something that is not true, or that would hurt someones feelings if they read what you wrote. Do you exaggerate when you repeat a story or event in your letter or email? Maybe write the story so you look a little better? And if that is not enough, she asks, if you have ever closed a door a little hard because you were upset or aggravated. Would the Lord be pleased with the use of these hands? Do you ever set anything down a little harder so someone will know how you really feel?

1 Cor. 6:20 says "For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." If our bodies are no longer our own, but are the Lord's, should we not then use them in ways He would see fit, and not use them for things He would disapprove of? Are our hands as clean as we would like them to be? Or are there stains on them which are not visible to the eye? And of course this even goes for spiritual things. Is there someone we should have witnessed to, but didn't? Is there blood on our hands? (Ezek. 33:8).

How clean are my hands? How clean are your hands? Are there ways we can improve in this area? Just some food for thought.

Submission

2009-04-22T11:57:00.000-05:00

I have recently had several conversations regarding a wife's submission to her husband. It is very funny to see the different responses you get. One person said "A wife is not a door-mat." Another responded "I leave all decisions up to my husband and that way he is responsible before the Lord." Some churches preach so much on the woman being submissive, yet they never say anything about the husband loving the wife as Christ loved the church.

In Ephesians 5:22, it says "Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord." Now that is something I have always been in awe of. Do we obey our husbands, do I, obey my husband as I would the Lord? If the Lord Jesus Christ stood there and asked or told me to do something would I respond in the same manner I respond to my husband? Would I sigh, or do it with rebellion in my heart? Would I respond grudgingly? Would I argue? I really don't think so. So why would I respond to my husband that way? Verse 23 continues with-"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body." Verse 24: "Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." In everything!

We need to realize that submission is a heart matter. I can look submissive on the outside and be rebellious on the inside. That is not true submission. Submission is willingly submitting to the authority in your life. I wonder if the reason we have so many unsubmissive children is because they are just following our example. Mom, do you sigh, or withdraw when you disagree with your husband's decision? Do you talk back? Now before you think I take this too far, I will let you know I do believe I can ask my husband a question regarding his decision or give my advice, as long as it is in the proper attitude. And yes, I know the husband is to love the wife as Christ loved the church, but we are not talking about him right now, and you are to follow whether your husband does or not. The Lord does not say, "Only obey your husband if he obeys Me." Titus 2:5-"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. " Obedient to their own husbands, that what? That the word of God be not blasphemed. Your obedience or lack of it can blaspheme the word of God. 1 Peter 3:1-"Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that if any obey not the word, they may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives." Look at the emphasis the Lord places on our submission.

Some wives have husbands who are out of town for periods of time, and they are in complete control while the husband is gone, but realize the husband is putting her in this position, and even here she is submissive to him. All her decisions should be based on what he would want done. And when he comes home, she needs to hand the reins back over with the proper attitude. No, I do not believe a woman is a door-mat and never makes any choices on her own, but I do believe she will consider her husband's opinion in her choices. Just as she would the Lord.

I will have to close for now, as we are on the road and have limited internet. I hope this helps someone.

"Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord; whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement."

A PATCHWORK QUILT and THE CHURCH

2009-04-07T11:16:00.000-05:00

Recently a Pastor we know mentioned he was going to do a sermon some day comparing Christians and the Church to a quilt. It sounded like a really good comparison, so I took the idea and ran with it. Here are some of the points I was able to come up with. Perhaps you can think of more.

1. A truly old fashioned patchwork quilt was made out of old clothes, table cloths, etc. that were ready for the burn pile or trash heap. Unusable and good for nothing. Just as we are when we come to Christ. Isa. 64:6-"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we do fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind have taken us away." Romans 3:10-12-"As it is written, There is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no not one." See 1 Cor. 6:9-10, and Gal. 5:19-21.

2. Then the seamstress takes the clothes, cleans them up and cuts away the torn, ragged, and stained portions. Just as the Lord removes sin from our lives and prunes us to be used. Ephesians 5:26-"That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word." See also 1 Cor. 6:11, and John 15:1-6. Titus 2:14-"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."

3. In the quilt all types of material are used, each having been used for different purposes. Denim, cotton, flannel, linen, etc. all used in one quilt. Each one coming from a different place; some are fancy, some plain, some prints. We see that in our churches. God has called different people, from different places with different talents. Ephesians 4:11-12 "And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:" God called: Mark 1:16-19-fishermen, Matthew 27:54 -a Centurion, Matthew 9:20-22-a diseased woman, Luke 5:27-a publican, Luke 10:38-42-2 women, Luke 17:16-19-a leper, John 4:39-a woman at the well, Acts 8:27-39-an Ethiopian eunuch, and the list could go on and on.

4. The pieces are then placed in the quilt where they fit the pattern best. Each one has it's place. The Lord places us where He wants us. Where we best fit His purpose. 1 Cor. 12:18-"But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him." See-Ephesians 2:19-22.

5. They are then sewn together. Just as the Lord has joined us together. Ephesians 2:21-"In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:". 1 Cor. 12:19 "Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular." 1 Cor. 12:27

6. The old fashioned patchwork quilt was meant to be used, not just placed on display. It was useful! Just as we are to be used! Ephesians 2:10-"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."
Romans 12:1-"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service."

And here is a special verse to finish this post: "That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish." Ephesians 5:27

AN UPDATE AND A CHALLENGE

2009-04-03T19:56:00.000-05:00

Hello all,

We have been at our home church the past month and will be heading out tomorrow, right after a dear friends wedding. We will once again begin our trek north. All of us will miss our home family. It seems like we just got here and now it is time to leave.

As we travel the USA, we make stops along the way. Be it for groceries, gas, food, etc. There is something we do, that I would like to place as a challenge before you. As you know we have 6 children, and my husband and I both became concerned several years ago by the magazines placed at the check out counters, right at eye level for children. (And the titles of the articles on the front of the magazines are getting worse, they are not improving.) So, we decided to try and do something about it. My husband goes from aisle to aisle and places all the offensive titles in a shopping cart and then takes it to a manager and states that he will do this every time we are in their store. I try to take a different approach and bring several magazines to the manager and tell him how offensive I find them. Then I say something like, "To shop in your store, I MUST leave through one of your check outs." To which they agree. I let them know that I am not asking them to stop selling the magazine, as I know that sin and trash sell, although it would be nice if they would stop. I then bring up a suggestion of having each store open a few family friendly aisles that are labeled as such, so I know it is safe to exit through these aisles. Most managers respond that it sounds like a good idea while looking at me as if I am crazy. I have had a few silly responses. Such as the manager who said, "It's only Cosmopolitan." He did change his tune a little when I showed him the titles on the front. And another manager stated, "If I tell my children not to look, they won't." Well, neither would mine, but I shouldn't have to in a Wal-mart. I have had one store actually start this. It was a grocery store and they seemed to like the idea.

Anyway, my thought is, if more Christians would take a minute to complain perhaps more companies would consider this. Why do not more people complain? Aren't we supposed to take a stand against sin? Are we afraid of looking silly? If more Christians took a stand over the years, we would not be where we are now. For some reason we became afraid of offending people. And yet, look what it has cost us. Years ago this would not have been tolerated. Pastors, fathers, mothers, grandparents, etc. would have said enough is enough. But unfortunately we have become very comfortable in the world we live in. We are "at ease in Zion", or the USA as the case may be. Satan has duped most Christians into believing the lie of not offending anyone. We believe the first part of Ephesians 5:11-"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness", but we no longer follow the second half, "but rather reprove them." What will it take for us to take a stand? Or more importantly, what will it take for YOU to take a stand. As a Christian, do you have the Holy Spirit of God? In John 16:8 it clearly says, "And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness and of judgment:". Are you allowing him to work through you?

Taking a stand against sin of course applies to many more areas of our life, I am just challenging you in this one area. Perhaps each of you can think of other areas, such as when someone swears in front of you, or takes the name of the LORD in vain, maybe someone tells a filthy joke in front of you. Do you take a stand then? Maybe some have to take a stand against relatives or friends, the Lord will give you the strength to do this.

As Christians let's take a stand for Christ, and maybe by doing so, we will affect someone else.

Ephesians 5:14 says, "Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Verse 16 then says, "Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."

Are you redeeming the time?

Does God Really Mean That Women should Be Keepers At Home?

2009-03-31T10:16:00.001-05:00

This subject has been coming up a lot lately, so I just thought I would try to cover it here. It is amazing how many times we take one verse and would die for it, but if we don't really agree with what the Lord says in another verse we try to get around it. "Surely God does not mean keeper at home!"

Titus 2:5-To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
The word keep means to guard the home. See Proverbs 4:23-Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. This verse is about guarding your heart. You can not guard your home if you are not there. Now some people who don't want to obey this say, "Then you can never leave your home or go anywhere." Isn't it funny how we try to bend or twist what someone is saying. Yes, you can go out, but that is very different from having a regular job. Another verse that applies is 1 Timothy 5:14-I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion for the adversary to speak reproachfully. This is speaking of young widows, but the Lord says they are to GUIDE the house. The Lord clearly has a place for the woman and it is not out in the workplace.

Also, the Lord has given the woman a head, and that is her husband. He does not intend for her to have two heads. You are to answer to your husband, not your husband and a boss. When in the workplace women open themselves up to many temptations and trials that the Lord never intended for them to bear. Such as men flirting, filthy jokes, worldly music, along with just generally being exposed to the world's way of viewing things. Ephesians 5:23-For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Now, I sometimes hear "What about the Proverbs 31 woman, she sold real estate?" Let's go to that verse. Prov. 31:16- She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. Well, she did buy a field, but what did she do with it? She farmed it! It would be like you having a neighbor who had a couple of acres for sale, your husband gives you permission, you purchase it and plant a garden. This in no way is a real estate agent! Before someone says, "Oh, but she sold linen and girdles." She sure did. A home business. Did she go to the factories to produce these? Did she open her own shop? No. She made these at home (possibly with the help of her daughters) and sold them when she went to town.

Another point I want to make is she is in direct contrast to the strange woman of Proverbs 7. Proverbs 7:11-(She is loud and stubborn; her feet ABIDE NOT IN HER HOUSE:
Now I wonder why that is there? Do you think maybe the Lord put that there to contrast her with the Godly woman who is a KEEPER AT HOME?

When you are a keeper at home, you are the guard of your home. It is your job to watch what enters your home. You know what friends your children are playing with, the type of music they are listening to, the books they are reading, etc. Your job is to be your husbands help meet, you also have those obligations. Perhaps to have dinner ready, help with his ministry, or anything else he might need. It is your job to raise and teach the children. The next question always is, "What if I don't have children?". You tell me, does the Lord say they have to have children to stay at home? Or that it is fine to be outside of the home if there are no children? I don't see it anywhere in scripture. Perhaps the Lord has other work for you, if you have no children. Like praying for others, helping the sick, teaching other sisters, etc.

This is how we should be raising our daughters. Should we send them out in the workplace as teens, only to tell them that they are not to work once they marry? No. We are to train them in the way they should go. You should be training your daughters to be Keepers at Home. Why would you send your daughters out into the workplace to be around the filth, and temptations they will be exposed to? Yes, they need to know what the world is like, but it should be under parental supervision like when you go shopping, or witnessing, or whatever may take you outside of your home. Especially witnessing, where they can see the results of sin and you can be there to explain it to them.

Now after all this I have another answer to prayer and I want to relate it to this post. The Watson family has been on the prayer list and a gave one update previously. This is the family that was living in their church for a short time. Notice when times got a little rough, he did not consider sending her out into the workplace. Anyway, recently when they returned home they found a note from the woman who gave them the gift. In the letter she requested that they call her as she wanted them to meet her husband. When they met him they found out that he plays football for the National League, and wanted to meet the people who had been talking to his wife. Needless to say, he had been raised in church, but presently does not attend. Bro. Watson was able to witness to him and give him a very clear gospel. (Another person to add to our prayers.) While there he said his wife would like to attend their church, and since while they are living there they can not have services he offered them an option. He owns several homes, and does not live in the state of the team he plays for. One of his homes has been on the market for 3 years and has not sold, and he has offered it to the Watsons to live in, rent free!! And his wife will be able to attend their church!! Praise the Lord!!! What an answer to prayer!

Please pray for Kyle as he has surgery today to have his lymph node removed and biopsied. I will post any other information as it is made available.

To end this post, what a privilege the Lord has given us ladies. To be a help meet to our husbands, to train our children for Him, to guard our homes from Satan's influence. Don't let the world make you feel inferior, or ashamed of the place the Lord has given you. It is a blessed position and by fulfilling it to the best of your ability you will be blessed!

Proverbs 31:28-31-Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Answered Prayer

2009-03-24T16:55:00.001-05:00

The only word I can think of right now is AMAZING. I just recently posted prayer requests in the sideline of my blog, asking for prayer for a few people who have requested it. And we already have answered prayer. I just have to share this incident with you because you might be the one who reached the throne for this family.

We have only known the Watsons a little over a year. They are a street preaching family and love the Lord. Recently the husband has been short on work, and they had to move in with family, they are also expecting blessing number 4.

My daughter received an email from them recently and I was given permission to share the story.

It all actually started awhile ago, when they were praying to have a visitor at church. Bro. Watson pastors the church. The next morning a colored woman showed up. She was having marital problems and was considering divorce. They counseled and advised her that to serve the Lord she should stick with her husband. She left with her 2 children and was not seen again, until... The Watsons decided to move into the church. Anyway, this past Sunday one of the children ran in and said someone had pulled into the parking lot. When they went outside, there was the woman they had counseled. She said she had found a new church and had rededicated her life to the Lord. She was still with her husband and though it was hard, she was trying to be patient. She said she had driven by hoping to see someone previously and no one was there until this morning. She had something she wanted to give them. She left them with a check. It was for $1000. Needless to say this family had a wonderful time of rejoicing. Something I want to add to this story is they were out street preaching Saturday evening. Being faithful.

I hope each and every one of you has been praying for this family. Imagine meeting them in heaven someday and finding out that your prayers reached the ear of God and He responded to your request. James 5:16...The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Philippians 4:6-Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Please continue to pray for these other requests, and continue to pray for the Watsons. Also especially pray for Kyle as he is having more tests done this week. And add Anita to your prayer list. I met her on our trip this past weekend, and she is having some problems and is unsaved.

Psalm 34:1- I will bless the LORD at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

AMEN!!!

Venting a Little

2009-03-23T08:12:00.000-05:00

Hello Ladies,

It's been awhile. We had to make a quick trip to PA to our storage area. Needless to say we have had very little extra time. 4 day trip total. 2 days up, 2 days back. We did get to see a few friends for about 45 minutes while there.

Anyway, I just want to hit on the clothing issue one more time, as it has been on my heart since dealing with some "Christians" during Spring Break. I promise not to get on this subject again for awhile.

While out preaching at Spring Break, 3 young women approached us. All 3 were in shorts and tops, but the straps to their underclothing were showing. These 3 proceeded to tell us that they were going out to the beach in bathing suits. Only 1 stated that hers was a 1 piece. They had come down FOR Spring Break. When I spoke with the one girl and asked her if that was modest she replied she was going to be wearing a 1 piece suit. I told her that if someone on the beach lusted after her, she was just as guilty for putting temptation in front of him. To which she replied that someone could lust after someone in a modest dress. These girls all professed to be Christians who loved "Jesus".

Now, yes, someone could lust after a woman in modest apparel, but where is the idea of going as far as we can for the Lord? Do I just do what I want, or am I responsible for the way I dress, and how I might tempt someone? Where is our responsibility these days. No one is responsible. Every one places the blame on someone else. Just as Adam and Eve did. If our children turn out wrong, I hear the parent say "It's not my fault, I raised them right." I believe God promised in His Word that if you train up a child inn the way he should go, he WILL NOT depart from it. Somehow when it comes to certain verses we just don't believe God. The whole world has become that way. I heard a report of a woman traveling in the north west during the winter. She was caught on a highway during a blizzard and complained that the government did not get water and blankets to her fast enough. Where is her responsibility? She was traveling, in the winter, in a place known for storms. Shouldn't she have brought some items with her in case she was caught in a storm?

Anyway, I guess today was just a day to vent a little. We have a whole generation of youth out there who have no idea of taking responsibility for their actions. Now, before I get emails telling me that there are youth that are responsible, I know that. I am saying as a general overall picture today, there is a response of "It's not my fault." Which is why we also have trouble convincing them that they are sinners. If nothing is their fault, why would they be guilty? All of this just makes it harder to witness to them. Well, thanks for letting me vent today.

Spring Break in Panama City Fl. March 2009

2009-03-15T11:50:00.001-05:00

Saturday we went to Panama City Beach to preach at Spring Break. I do not need to tell you we did not go down to the beach, but preached at an very busy intersection a few blocks away. Traffic was really backed up and it is a 5 way intersection, so there were plenty of Spring Breakers to preach to. We did get a few thumbs up, but most of the response was very negative. We used a sign with the saying "Ask me WHY you deserve Hell?" We got the saying from a very good friend who has since gone to be with the Lord. (Boy do we miss him on the streets.) Anyway it opened up several good conversations. Some who asked were just goofing off trying to act smart in front of their friends, but some seemed to want to know.

I had a young lady on a bike approach and she told me we were going about this the wrong way. I was able to talk to her for a short time, and when asked if she followed the Lord, she said she was going on a mission trip to the Honduras. I was able to explain to her that going on a mission trip did not mean that she followed Christ, and gave a short illustration to let her know what I meant. She said she was trying. Anyway to make the story short, she has only been saved for about a year, and said she would study it out. We gave her a tract to take with her as she went on her way.

We did have a few girls come out in very immodest dress, who had obviously been drinking, and wanted to know why what they were doing was wrong. They would get upset, hop in a vehicle passing by, ride down the road, jump out and come back. Mind you they did not know the men whose cars they were jumping into, it was just one big "party".

One young man, upset by the preaching when he first showed up across the street, finally was so under conviction that he just had to cross the street and correct us. He said that all we were doing was preaching lies and ruining his good time. At first he was very sarcastic, and vile, but after Bro. Buddy dealt with him for a short time, he calmed down and you could see the conviction on his face. Then what happened? His girlfriend, who was across the street interrupted and he left. Just like Satan to break up a good conversation when someone starts listening. I am praying that the things he heard enter his heart and make him seek more.

We had a few things tossed at us, and the normal cursing, and mocking, but overall it was a good day. We were able to hand out many tracts and hundreds of people heard the gospel.

I held this post so I could add the preaching from Sunday afternoon. We had 27 people out on the street with us, and had a really blessed time. Most of the young men preached and the women and children held signs. The young children out there are a real blessing to watch. They get so excited over passing out tracts, witnessing, etc.

My husband and I were able to witness to 3 girls who came out. They were headed to the beach and had come down for Spring Break and all three claimed to be saved. They were very upset that we would be holding signs and preaching to people. They seemed to have no problem participating in Spring Break, wearing bathing suits, etc. From the conversation we were able to see that they were very deceived.

Being out there really makes you see just how wicked and deceived our nation is. We had several yell that there is no God, many stated that they were going to hell (and did not seem to care), others were vulgar in their statements and gestures. How wicked will this nation have to become before Christians in our churches wake up and start warning and witnessing.

Every one who came out really enjoyed the street preaching and they are looking forward to more in the future. You should have heard all the chatter in the van on the way back about being on the street. We made it back about 45 minutes before evening service.

Pray for One Another

2009-03-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

Hello Ladies,

I would like to start a list of prayer requests on my blog. I am really concerned that we do not pray enough for one another. My husband has started something that is a good idea. When someone asks for prayer, he immediately prays with or for that person. So often when someone asks for prayer we answer quickly " Sure I will pray for you." But how long does that last? Do you continue to pray for their request? Do you ever check back to see how they are doing? Do you pray as much for your sisters request as you do one of yours?

1 Thess. 5:17 says "Pray without ceasing." Obviously this does not mean you sit in a prayer closet all day every day and just pray. It is more an attitude of prayer throughout your day. Pray as you fold laundry, pray as you do dishes, when you walk, or do your treadmill, any time you can. When the Lord brings someone to mind, pray for them. Eph. 6:18 says "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;". We need to be praying for one another.

Another problem we have is sometimes WE don't want to burden others with our requests. Yet how is someone to know you need prayer if you never tell them? We are to bear one another's burdens. (See Gal. 6:2) James 5:16 -"Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." You could insert woman in there. Can you believe how much is in that one verse? Confess your faults to each other. Pray for one another. That ye may be healed. And then the hard one, effectual and fervent prayer of a RIGHTEOUS man. You must be right with the Lord when you pray. Also note it is not just casual prayer. "Be with Paul, be with Timothy, Amen." It is to be fervent. And our prayers should be specific. "Be with Hannah and heal her ear infection. Help her to sleep at night so her mother can also get some rest, etc." And continue to pray until you know the person is better, has been saved, or whatever the request may be. Check back with the individual you have been praying for.

Just another quick thought. Do you pray as much for people as you talk about them. Perhaps if we did we would see more results. "Can you believe the way Sister ______'s children act? She never disciplines them?" Have YOU prayed for her and the children? "Brother _______ missed Church again!" Did YOU pray for him?

Now, if you have a prayer request you would like posted, you can email me at: blessed6mom@yahoo.com and I will add it to the list. And if you would please notify me when it needs removed.

Thanks!

Street Preachers Wives

2009-03-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

Hello Again,

Today I want to talk to street preachers wives. Although much of this will apply to other ladies, this is something that has been on my heart for a long time. All too often we are running in to Street Preachers whose wives do not support what they do. They either will not go out on the street, or they directly attack what their husband is doing.

Ladies, your husband faces enough out on the street. The unsaved, and professing Christians are both out there trying to argue with him and this is very discouraging. He is in a spiritual battle. You should be supporting him. Encouraging him in the ministry that God has given him. We are to be "help-meets". That would include not hindering or discouraging your husband. And you do not have to be vocal to do this. Many of you know exactly what I mean. You turn silent, unresponsive, or even cold in your responses when street preaching is mentioned. You have other things to do when you know that he would appreciate your going out on the street with him. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands. If you KNOW that he would like for you to go out and you don't, are you being submissive?

Does your husband know that he has your support? Do you pray for him and his ministry? Do you encourage him when he feels down? Do you ask him how things went and genuinely listen when he tells you about his time on the street? (As I said, this does apply to other ministries and just general home life.) If your husband was questioned as to whether or not his wife was behind his ministry, what would his honest answer be?

I realize that some women are afraid of the street preaching ministry, but why? Do we fear not being able to answer someone? Our Lord addresses that when He says "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear." 1 Peter 3:15 Or Psalm 107:2a-"Let the redeemed of the Lord say so..." Are you embarrassed? Try Romans 1:16-"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." Or Mark 8:38-"Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." Yes, it might be hard or a struggle the first few times you go out, but it will become easier. As people ask you questions, you will be challenged to study more, so you will have the answers. And this will make you more confident. Read and pray before going out, this will give you spiritual strength.

Please pray for and encourage your husband. He needs your support. Tell him you appreciate and support what he does. You may be the only one encouraging him. You may also be the only one praying. Make sure if you have children that they know you support daddy and what he does. Lead them in prayer for the ministry. Get names of people your husband has spoken to and pray for them. And make sure your children go with you when they are old enough to go out and help. Even a young child can hold a scripture sign.

Ladies, when you married your husband, his ministry became yours also. He needs your loving support. Until next time.

Your Sister in Christ,
Lori
Ephesians 2:10 "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them."

Christian Sisters Please Read "Chaste or Chased"

2009-03-05T14:15:00.000-06:00

Hello Sisters,
I am going to comment on something that is probably a very touchy subject. We travel the USA street preaching and my husband also preaches in churches. One thing that is disturbing to me is my sister's dress or lack of it. I have a husband and two sons who are exposed (no better word for it) to Christian women who do not know how to dress. All too often these women are exposing themselves and probably causing more men then they are aware of to a temptation that they should not have to face in the Lord's House. Why would a woman who claims to love the Lord wear a blouse that exposes her cleavage when she bends over to shake the hand of a young man (or woman) seated in a pew? Or why would she wear a skirt/dress that that is so short it reveals most of her leg when she sits down? Ladies do you check your clothing out before wearing it to Church? Try standing, sitting, bending, etc. in front of a mirror before leaving home. There is also the issue of slits in skirts that show far more leg than should be seen. I have seen many ladies expose their legs well above the knee due to the slit in their skirt/dress. WHY? I am tired of having to tell my sons to avert their eyes while in Church. My husband has mentioned many times that he must avoid looking in certain directions at church because of ladies attire. Yes, I expect this to happen when we are in a more liberal Church, but I am presently speaking about King James, Independent, Fundamental, Baptist Churches. The Bible clearly teaches us to dress modestly. See:1 Tim. 2:9 Or perhaps we should look at Proverbs 7:10 where it mentions the attire of an harlot. According to this verse she was in the clothing a harlot would wear. Do you realize that there are women who claim to be Christians who wear less than a harlot wore 100 years ago? So why do Christian "Ladies" dress in this manner? What will you say one day when you stand before the Lord and He asks why you caused a man to lust by your dress? I really want to believe that this is done in ignorance and if shown what they are doing that these ladies would change their dress. I know there are women out there who dress for the purpose of attracting attention, and they enjoy what they are doing. This is SIN! To expose your body with the intent of having males look at you is wrong. But, even if you are not doing it intentionally is it not still sin? Sisters, what will you do? Will you continue to wear clothing that is inappropriate? That draws attention to your body? That could cause a man to lust? Will you change the way you dress? What would the Lord have you to do? Thank you for allowing me to share this with you.

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