What is in a name?

So I ran across this blog from a friend of a friends... Who knows what my grandchildren's names might be if this idea catches on!

America, America, God Shed His Grace on Thee...

In browsing the cover page on iGoogle this article caught my eye. The title "Be good not godly" certainly is catchy. But I might ask, why are they even saying "Be good"? Why not say what they really think and just write "Go ahead and do whatever you want to do. Who cares what another thinks." We would not want them to stifle their proclivities now, would we?

This comes on the heels of a conversation I had with a co worker the other day. Her statement was along the lines of what is the big deal if the gays and lesbians want to get married? Who cares? What is it going to hurt if they have the right to get married? All I can say is, God Help Us!

The generally polled statistic is 92% of Americans believe in God. I might amend that to say they believe in a god. But lets give the benefit of the doubt, and if the do believe in God, what good is it if they do not fear him? And what good is it if they don't know him? And what good is it if, after all is said and done, he does not know them?

James 2:19 Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

Matthew 7:23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.


I struggle with being "in [their] face" at these times and coming across less than gracious, but with mamby pamby being the order of the day, people are lulled to sleep and don't even know it. They are like the man I saw on my way into work the other day. He was nearly laying down on a bench outside of the mall precariously close to falling off of it, with a lit cigarette barely in his hands, and falling asleep. I made my way passed him just as sleep overtook him. The cigarette finally dropped out of his hands, his head hit the hard metal bench, and he was jolted awake. He looked up at me like I had pushed him!

People everywhere are falling asleep. We need to be a hard surface for them to wake up on! And we need to extinguish the ember from their verbal cancer before it hits the ground and ignites the unsuspecting and unguarded minds of those around them. OK- weird analogy, but it was so visual to me! What if that man was in a home and that happened? Certainly the bench would have been a very unjolting cushy couch, and the concrete ground would have been a nice soft petroleum-based synthetic carpet ready to ignite from the fallen cigarette! Many have died in real house fires from this exact scenario. How many are dying and we don't see it. Fires of destruction in their minds. Plumes of smoke that choke out the truth of the Word of God.

Isaiah 9:18 For wickedness burneth as the fire: it shall devour the briers and thorns, and shall kindle in the thickets of the forest, and they shall mount up like the lifting up of smoke.

There is another smoke that needs to billow. It is from incense that comes with our prayers.

Revelation 8:4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

This is powerful stuff. This gets mixed with Fire from the throne of God, and is thrown down to Earth to overcome all kinds of wickedness. I know this is in Revelation, but if God wants to throw down Holy Fire that is mixed with prayers of the saints in this day to combat the evil of this world, I want mine to be included! This is not a battle to be fought on Main Street or Wall Street. This is a battle to be fought in the closets of our heart communing with God pleading for the life of this nation. The colors of our flag may not fade or run, but they do bleed. And we are bleeding. Badly. Only god can staunch the flow, and heal our land. But it starts with "If my people...".

Why did the Chicken?

Everyone has heard the timeless joke... why did the chicken cross the road? These answers are new to most though! Enjoy a good laugh, and thanks to Joni for the heads up!

WHY DID THE CHICKEN CROSS THE ROAD??

SARAH PALIN: Before it got to the other side, I shot the chicken, cleaned and dressed it, and had chicken burgers for lunch.

BARACK OBAMA: The chicken crossed the road because it was time for a change! The chicken wanted change!

JOHN MC CAIN: My friends, that chicken crossed the road because he recognized the need to engage in cooperation and dialogue with all the chickens on the other side of the road.

HILLARY CLINTON: When I was First Lady, I personally helped that little chicken to cross the road. This experience makes me uniquely qualified to ensure right from Day One! that every chicken in this country gets the chance it deserves to cross the road. But then, this really isn't about
me.

GEORGE W. BUSH: We don't really care why the chicken crossed the road. We just want to know if the chicken is on our side of the road, or not. The chicken is either against us, or for us. There is no middle ground here.

DICK CHENEY: Where's my gun?

COLIN POWELL: Now to the left of the screen, you can clearly see the
satellite image of the chicken crossing the road.

BILL CLINTON: I did not cross the road with that chicken. What is your definition of chicken?

AL GORE: I invented the chicken.
JOHN KERRY: Although I voted to let the chicken cross the road, I am now against it! It was the wrong road to cross, and I was misled about the chicken's intentions. I am not for it now, and will remain against it.

AL SHARPTON: Why are all the chickens white? We need some black
chickens.

DR. PHIL: The problem we have here is that this chicken won't realize that he must first deal with the problem on this side of the road before it goes after the problem on the other side of the road. What we need to do is help him realize how stupid he's acting by not taking on his current problems before adding new problems.

OPRAH: Well, I understand that the chicken is having problems, which is why he wants to cross this road so bad. So instead of having the chicken learn from his mistakes and take falls, which is a part of life, I'm going to give this chicken a car so that he can just drive across the road and not
live his life like the rest of the chickens.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN: We have reason to believe there is a chicken, but we have not yet been allowed to have access to the other side of the road.

NANCY GRACE: That chicken crossed the road because he's guilty! You can see it in his eyes and the way he walks.
PAT BUCHANAN: To steal the job of a decent, hardworking American.

MARTHA STEWART: No one called me to warn me which way that chicken was going. I had a standing order at the Farmer's Market to sell my eggs when the price dropped to a certain level. No little bird gave me any insider information.

DR SEUSS: Did the chicken cross the road? Did he cross it with a toad? Yes, the chicken crossed the road, but why it crossed I've not been told.

ERNEST HEMINGWAY: To die in the rain, alone.

GRANDPA: In my day we didn't ask why the chicken crossed the road. Somebody told us the chicken crossed the road, and that was good enough.

BARBARA WALTERS: Isn't that interesting? In a few moments, we will be listening to the chicken tell, for the first time, the heart warming story of how it experienced a serious case of molting, and went on to accomplish its lifelong dream of crossing the road.

ARISTOTLE: It is the nature of chickens to cross the road.

JOHN LENNON: Imagine all the chickens in the world crossing roads together, in peace.

BILL GATES: I have just released eChicken 2008, which will not only cross roads, but will lay eggs, file your important documents, and balance your checkbook. Internet Explorer is an integral part of eChicken 2008. This new platform is much more stable and will never crash or need to be rebooted.

ALBERT EINSTEIN: Did the chicken really cross the road, or did the road move beneath the chicken?

COLONEL SANDERS: Did I miss one?

We shall see...

As of right now, this is the best guess all of the analyzers and political polls can make. For up to the minute, look here.

As a Bible believer, regardless of todays results, God is still on His throne. His word is still my authority. In the end, Satan loses and God wins. Very good news to me!

It is just all of this in between stuff that is a bit of a distraction!

Unfortunately as you can see by this little map, I live in #31 state which is solidly blue. Not what my one vote represents. My kids are figuring out what year their 18th birthday will be in so they know when their vote can be made. I remember doing that to see how old I would be when the millennium changed. Wow, was I going to be old by then...! Great, and 8+ years have passed since then.

But whether you are 18 yet or not, and whether your state reflects your vote or not, if you are a Christian, one of God's people called by His name, there is something to be done today that will matter.

2Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

I want to hear from heaven, have my sins forgiven as a nation and as an individual, and have my land healed. But have I humbled myself? Have I prayed? Have I sought God's face? Have I turned from my wicked ways?

Surely God's way is a good way.

The electoral vote will for sure decide the out come regardless of the actual popular vote, and I completely believe our founding founders of this country were far more wise and God-lead than men of today, as they saw a need for this system in the beginning. In only four elections has the popular vote not agreed with the electoral vote. After today, it may be five. We shall see.

Forgiveness

Each time through the Scriptures I am amazed at how the Holy spirit is at work to make the passages that have been read before, become alive and fresh again. Sometimes I am tempted to think, "I have read that so many times, I should just skip those few verses/chapters and just get to something I don't know!" How proud and haughty my spirit is! God is SO faithful, and truly the Word of God is "Quick and powerful" !

This time in Matthew, I have had so many "light bulbs" in passages that before I have read through and not thought twice about!

Like in Matthew 3:12, where it talks about the wheat and the chaff, and how He will fan the threshing floor, and the chaff will blow off and be burned with an unquenchable fire. Compare that with the verses on the whole armour of God, and how if we have it all on, we will be able to "STAND", and not be blown about- applicable today too! The wheat and the tares are sown together, but only the wheat- the fruit that remains- will be able to stay on the threshing floor to be gathered into the harvest. Very cool!

And in Matthew 5:2 "And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, " why does the Spirit direct Matthew to pen "opened his mouth"? Why not "And Jesus said", or "He spake unto them"? It just struck me as different. Like just by Jesus just opening his mouth the knowledge poured out of him- almost like it was water flowing from a vessel that was so full it was only contained because previously his mouth was closed.

And then in Matthew 6:22-23 "The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness! "

Compare that with a companion passage in Luke 11:34-35 "The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. "

From these passages, I think "light" is good or bad. "Single eye = full of light= good" but "Evil eye = Darkness=bad", but the "light" can be darkness if my eye is evil. SO ... is light just that which shines from me, good or bad? Good question. It is not that which goes into a man that defiles, but what comes out... right?


And then in Matthew 8:13, I love when Jesus says "as thou hast believed". What restrictions do I place on God's power in my life because I have not believed as BIG as he is?! I don't even really comprehend all of what that could mean in my life!!

One of the biggest "Oh My's" was from the story of the man being forgiven the huge debt equal to millions of today's dollars but would not forgive the few bucks owed to him. It concludes in Matthew 18:34. "And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. "

Wow, what unforgiveness reaps! How many people are delivered to the tormentors of bitterness, shame, hatred, self loathing, anger, regret... because they refuse to forgive. Whether the person needing forgiveness is a parent, an estranged friend, a person who has harmed you in word or deed, or... as is very likely... yourself, YOU MUST LEARN HOW TO FORGIVE!!! Victorious, spirit filled Christian living is impossible while chained up in the bonds of unforgiveness, never loosening the chains of the tormentors. And might I add, by our own choice.

Suffice it to say, all of these questions are good. They challenge my mind and notions that may or may not be right. They remind me that God is very VeRy BiG, and I am not. They also tell me that I need to read every little thing in the Bible as I get to it, because it is alive, and good for food, and water to wash my dirty and corrupt flesh.

Onward Ho! The Scriptures await!

Fall Candy Apples!

I love making candy apples, and my children love eating them! I sometimes double dip them and then use the candy string to decorate them- so pretty! They are shiny and look like glass with bubbles in it! The crackle and crunch of the sugary coating mixed with the cinnamon-y flavor only to be out done by the tart crispy juiciness of a fresh, newly harvested upstate NY apple... DELICIOUS!

And just perfect for assisting in the removal of a child's first loose tooth!
At least her first experience was a "sweet" one!

ps. forgive the terrible picture quality! While I love cell phones with cameras- they really are not great shots! Where is Jen when I need her!

The past weeks in a nutshell!

I have not posted in a while as there have been so many thoughts swirling that no one ever seemed to stand out more than another... they all just keep piling up til I feel a little over whelmed to post one just one.

When my hubby first started having to preach, and prepare messages, he often felt the same way. He would have a great topic some where in I Corinthians, and start out by asking everyone to turn to Genesis... I guess a "brief" Old Testament survey never hurts, but it is hard to catch the "Main points" of a message like that. Such has been my life the past few weeks!

(And please know my hubby is a great preacher! He has since... and very effectively... learned less is really more in the aspect of a single sermon!)

So in the interest of brevity, I want to just hit a few hi lights.

Dan and I celebrated our 19 wedding anniversary. It was during the week Encounter Revival Ministries was here, and while we celebrated, it was far from in the traditional way. We took our kids and our hosted girls out to dinner- at Wendy's- and had only 20 minutes to chow it all down and get everyone to their respective obligatory locations... in separate cars. It was memorable if not romantic!

Olivia ended her soccer career as a high school student on an amazing high note. They were at the championship game in Cohocton on a lighted field at 8:30 pm one VERY.BRISK. October evening. The fans all wore snow suits and winter gloves and hats! Well, the rival team had an undefeated season, and only one of their wins was not a shut out. One goal had been scored on them the ENTIRE SEASON! Needless to say they were arrogantly overconfident and full of themselves very good competition!

Well after half time, no score. Zip-Zip.

After entire game, no score. Nada-Nada.

After not one but two 5 minute sudden death OT, no score. Fans were screaming and teeth were chattering. The waves of excitement could be felt **hundreds of miles** away!

The entire seasons Championship Title now rested on one goal keeper, and 5 kickers from each team.

Shoot Out.

First up for Rochester Rapids... my daughter, Olivia. No little pressure rested on her shoulders at that moment!

The ENTIRE crowd of fans became eerily quiet... it was 11:oo pm... and 31 degrees. She took two steps back... surely not enough to get the power behind it to break the keepers hand as it whizzed by clear the upper 90! Whoosh! The keeper barely feels it skim her fingertips and it is SCORE!!!!!! The crowd erupts and the Rapids are up 1-0!!!

They shoot- miss!

We shoot- Katie makes it!!! Rapids are up 2-0!

They shoot- score... their fans give a brief cry of victory, but we are still up 2-1.

We shoot- miss. We are getting nervous.

They shoot - miss! We are getting hopeful!

We shoot- miss. They still could pull this off. They have two more tries.

They shoot- miss. Our side shouts in excitement of possible victory!

Our final kicker is our keeper still in the opponents net. She ran across the field to be our final kicker.

The crowd became silent so that even breathing stopped. The chattering of teeth was all that broke the deafening silence. Liz's cleats could be heard by all as they crunched onto the newly frosted grass... she took her few steps and belted it into the net! SCORE! RaPiDs WoN 3-1!!!!!!

I know all of this not because I was there... sad for me!!! Dan gave me a play be play on my cell phone! I was so bummed to have missed it as I was **hundreds of miles** away in Old Forge, NY.

"Why?" You might ask.

Well, a great friend from church has asked if she could head up the Ladies Prayer group for our family. Wow! That makes things seem so very real and close! Well she and her hubby have built an amazing Log Cabin in the Woods of Old Forge. (All caps because it truly deserves accolades!) It is a gorgeous setting and even more a stunning home. She whisked me away for a the weekend to really get to know each other, and to get a good direction for our prayer group! What a great time! I still missed "The Game"... but as you can see it was for a good cause! To top it all off, they are generously and without compensation offering this home to our pastoral and missionary families to use for a mini retreat if they should choose! WELL... if that is not a great offer!

It is a blessing that our church has such amazing support for our missionaries. Having been part of the "sending teams" for so long, I know what a blessing it is for those I have supported prayerfully and financially. I have heard them tell over and again how they would not be nearly as "successful" without it. Now as a family that is "going to the other side" and actually preparing to be one of the sent, I am even more aware of the power of prayer and the importance of consistency in my support- both financially as well as prayerfully!

My time spent up in the mountains really caused me to think again of all that our family has experienced these past few years. Dan and I have time after time felt the Lord confirming and encouraging us to continue on in this path. His word has been our source of strength when we feel discouraged or like we are treading water. He has sent people in our path that are veteran missionaries as well as people who are only a few steps ahead of us. We are so thankful to God that we have all of these people to learn from, to be encouraged by, as well as to be co laborers in the Great Commission!