Through a Child's Eyes

This week is Vacation Bible School week here at my church. Every year we have about 400-500 children each day, and ours is one of the most popular VBS's in the community. We have music and songs, puppet shows, exciting Bible lessons, crafts, games, and refreshments. The kids love it and although it is an extremely exhausting week, it is well worth it. Number one, we get to see precious young souls come to understand the Gospel and get saved. And we get to plant seeds in the younger children and help them to grow to love Jesus and learn that it is fun to be a Christian. We get to help the older kids grow spiritually.

I'm a "master teacher". I have the privilege of teaching the Bible lesson each day, and trying to instill in my kids the importance of applying what we learn in Scripture to our personal lives. I get to see kids as that lightbulb goes off and something clicks - they suddenly understand something they didn't understand before. They grow excited about reading their Bibles and praying to God. It's an awesome responsibility for which I spend much time in prayer and preparation. I ask for God's guidance and of course, He always comes through and gives it.

The single most humbling aspect of what I do though is in the one-on-one counseling I give to kids who come forward with questions or response to the Gospel. Leading a child to the Lord is different from leading an adult. You assume the adult fully understands God's plan of salvation before they are saved, but with a child, you have to be careful not to push them into something they don't really understand or are not spiritually mature enough to do yet. So I spend enough time with the children to make sure I believe they comprehend their decision to trust Christ for their salvation. And if there is any part of the plan that is unclear to them, I encourage them to think about it some more, continue to ask questions, and when they know they are ready, to come back and talk again. I've counseled three children so far this week, and only one of them was really ready. The other two have not fully grasped what Jesus did for them yet. But they're being drawn, and they're seeking. God will harvest them when they are ready.
The one precious soul who got saved yesterday was ready. There was conviction in her eyes and in her words. She cringed as we discussed the pain of the cross and Jesus's willingness to go to Calvary voluntarily - to pay for her sins and for mine. When we prayed together, her prayer was as sweet and sincere as a child's prayer always is. "Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I'm sorry I've hurt you with my sins. Please forgive me. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I'm ready to trust You and accept your free gift of heaven."

After she prayed, we rejoiced together. I then encouraged her to be baptized as an outward sign to the world that she'd become a Christian. I encouraged her to share her good news with her friends. She hung on every word, and was very excited as I told her we were now sisters in Christ. Before she went back to her class, she asked if she could see the baptistry. So I took her to it.

As I opened the door to the baptistry, I realized that it hadn't been used in about 2 weeks, and the water had not been drained. Looking down the steps into the water that looked slightly green in color, I thought in my mind, "Yuck. I wouldn't want to step in that water. Wish I hadn't shown her this." She peered in and down the steps, and looked at the painted mural over the baptistry. I quickly shut the door and with somewhat of a sigh, said, "Well! What do you think?" Her reply made me lose my breath momentarily. Instead of seeing the baptistry the way I had just seen it, she saw it through God's eyes.

"It looks like a holy place," she said.

Yes, Bailey. You could say that. It is a holy place. Thank you for reminding me of that.

Sometimes the teacher can be taught by the student.

Where Have all the Real Women Gone?

I’ve heard it said often – Where have all the real men gone?

Well, for one thing, they’ve been redefined, repackaged, indoctrinated, and feminized by the world. They’ve all been encouraged to get in touch with their “feminine side” but discouraged not to heed to their “masculine side”. White males have fared the worse. They’ve been beaten down by a culture that glorifies women who aren’t feminine and men who are.

Fortunately there are still men who are real men, but they don’t make the news. They go about their daily lives, working hard, loving their wives and kids, serving God, and fellowshipping with other real men who haven’t lost touch with who they are – who God made them to be.

But again, I ask, where have all the real women gone? I see plenty of females running around, but they’ve lowered themselves to new levels. They dress like hookers. In normal conversation, they use words that would have made grandma cringe. They scowl at men who would dare to open a door for them. They pursue sexual encounters with the fervor of a teenaged boy and they’ve abandoned the mothering instinct for their children and replaced it with a “let ‘em be kids” mentality that boils down to a destructive permissiveness that is producing a narcissistic generation that will only lead to a further decay of society as we know it.

I was walking into a grocery store the other day and dared to let my eyes meet the eye of one of several girls out on the prowl at the local shopping center. The one with jet black hair and a bright red streak running down the middle of it, with body piercings in more places than I cared to see, and with her stomach hanging slightly over the edge of her too-tight low cut jeans promptly gave me the finger and mouthed the corresponding curseword at me because she evidently didn’t like it that I glanced her way. I smiled in a somewhat condescending way and went right by, but my heart sank. She couldn’t have been more than 16 years old. What does the future hold for her? I wondered if sex had already become so familiar to her as to be boring. Does she look at herself in the mirror at home and like what she sees? What does she dream about as far as her future is concerned?

God’s plan for man and wife is perfect. Submission is actually a freeing concept. The attention and care I receive in return far outweighs any negatives. God holds my husband responsible for our family – not me. I respect and love my husband and treat him so. I recognize him as the final authority in our relationship and in our family. In return, he treats me with love and care, and puts me on a pedestal I don’t deserve – opening doors for me, putting my wants ahead of his own, treating me as the weaker vessel, and showering me with love and attention. Any woman who wouldn’t want that needs her head examined.

I respect myself and try to live as God would have me to live. I pity the women I see who have no respect for themselves and who show, through their appearance and actions, that they think their only worth is sexual. What a sad future they are setting themselves up for. And it will probably be a lonely one as well.

Follow up on Idiots or Liars article

The Northeast Intelligence Network has a post on this same incident I posted on yesterday. You can read it here.
Basically, after their investigation into the story, it is clear that their vote on the people involved is that they are liars, not idiots. (although I think it could be argued that they are both).

Home Depot has plenty of shop vacs in stock, but you'll have to go to Lowe's to buy your fertilizer.

Reminds me about an incident that happened in my community just a few months ago. A tanker carrying chlorine was stolen from inside a fenced area. As far as I can determine from local news accounts, it was never found.

Coming to a WalMart near you? Kaboom.

Idiots or Liars?

There used to be a song on the radio, of which I don’t remember the name, but part of the lyrics went like this:

“things that make you go hmmmmm….”

Well here’s one story that’s got me going “hmmmmm”.

At 7:18 this morning, this report said that while the truck driver was taking a rest, a tractor trailer rig from Texas carrying 5000 pounds of fertilizer was stolen Sunday from a stretch of road used as a rest stop for truckers. 12 hours later and 20 miles away the rig was found – empty. The police were obviously concerned because it was 5000 pounds of fertilizer that contributed to the OKC bombing in April of 1995.

Then later at 10:30 am today, this report came out reiterating the story about the stolen tractor trailer rig, only this time it said the concern was that 10,000 pounds of fertilizer had been stolen. But wait. We were all wrong, they said. It wasn’t 5000 pounds of fertilizer – in fact it wasn’t even 10,000 pounds. You see, it wasn’t fertilizer at all. Instead, it was 28 pallets of shop vacs headed to a Home Depot in Tracy CA.

Now I’m not a truck driver, but I think the DOT is pretty strict about hauling fertilizer across state lines. Don’t think there would be any question on the part of the truck driver what he was hauling. But then, hey…fertilizer, vacuum cleaners – I get the two confused all the time…

Seeing Liberals for What They Really Are

I stumbled across this article, and before I had finished reading it I was cheering and calling my family in to read the rest of it to them. I don't think I've read a finer synopsis of what a liberal is than this. After completing it, I scrambled to find the name of the author, trying to guess what brilliant American conservative had penned these words and was more than a little suprised to find out who the author really was. This one is being printed out to be copied and passed around.

An excerpt:

"Those who argue that liberal confusion is due to stupidity are flat out wrong. Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, John Edwards and many of their ritzy friends consistently display uncommon ingenuity and cunning in the management of their worldly affairs. Rather than lacking in brainpower, these people suffer from something worse. They have been stricken with that moral madness that so frequently grips those who turn against God. It is a madness whose roots are ultimately spiritual and one that is all the more insidious for the fact that it hides behind a façade of apparent normalcy."

Buying Opposition to the War

These protesters are against the war in Iran (if you pay them for it).

Next time you see a group of anti-war demonstrators, think back on this.


Here’s an excerpt:

“A coalition of liberal and anti-war groups, the organization is advertising online for activists, offering a "generous stipend" of $400 a week. More than 100 organizers will likely be hired. The ads say they "could be assigned to targeted legislative districts anywhere in the country -- you will receive your assignment after you have been accepted."

I've got a GREAT idea. Why not hire illegal aliens? They need the money, and they work cheap, right? They don't even have to speak English. You liberals can make their anti-war signs for them and teach them a couple of slogans like "We hate Bush" and "American Soldiers are baby killers". They don't even have to understand what they're saying. Then when the protest is over, you can offer them amnesty for their service to the country, put them on welfare, and teach them how to vote Democratic.

ACLU Prepares to Defend the Offended

As was expected, the ACLU has announced that they have received a complaint about the “religious activities” at our local graduation ceremonies. The person, who remains unnamed, claimed they were “very disturbed” by what happened.

Evidently, God is very disturbing. Jesus is very disturbing. Putting faith in a higher power and acknowledging Him publicly is very disturbing.

I guess I don't know what is disturbing. You see, I think homosexual marriage is disturbing. I think Muslims chopping off people's heads is disturbing. To me, child pornography is disturbing. But evidently, I don't really understand the concept of being "very disturbed".

The local ACLU Director was quoted as saying, “Just because you’re the majority, it doesn’t give you the right to trample on the minority.” He called the prayers at the graduation “government sponsored religion.”

Trample on the minority? Show me the bruises. Prove the emotional scars. Prove that the students who led the prayers work for the government.

But of course, we’ll probably never know who this person is.

The ACLU Director indicated that they would probably file suit “using a pseudonym because people are very intimidated and afraid that if they speak up they will be ostracized and made to feel unwelcome in the community.”

Turns out the person who complained was not related to any of the graduates.

Why the heck did they come to the graduation then? Got nothin’ better to do on a Tuesday night than go to a high school graduation even though no one you are related to is graduating?

I smell a set up. In fact, I smell something worse than that.

“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.” Ephesians 6:12-13

Defying the ACLU

With so many things wrong with our public schools these days, this story gives me pure joy to tell.

My old Alma Mater had it’s graduation ceremonies this evening.

Last year, the ACLU sued the local school system because prayer was said at the graduation. When the ACLU found out that prayer was planned again for this year’s ceremony, they threatened to sue again. This spurred the students into action. The senior class voted to pray at graduation despite the ACLU, and several students got together to sell T-Shirts ahead of time that said “In Jesus’ Name” on the front and John 14:14 on the back “_If ye shall ask anything in My name, I will do it.” – JESUS.
Two of my adult sons, who are both alumni, attended the ceremonies and brought back this report:

There were several thousand people in attendance, including 400-500 of the T-shirts in the audience. The pledge of allegiance was said (including the “under God” part).

There was a student led invocation, in Jesus’ name, and a student led benediction in Jesus’ name – and in both prayers, when the “amen” was said, it was said by the whole auditorium in unison.

The valedictorian, in her commencement address, spoke about the most influential person in her life – the person that had been with her from her early days in school, who would be with her in college, and throughout the rest of her life – her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Again, the audience cheered and gave a standing ovation. At the end of the ceremonies, when the graduates removed their robes, there was a sea of Jesus t-shirts among them.

The ACLU can do little to the several thousand in attendance, so of course, they will go after whomever the law will permit them. But they lost this battle, regardless of the legal outcome. We need more of this spirit in this country today. When Christians unite and stand firm, we cannot be silenced. A few thousand people in a little high school in a southern town in Louisiana proved that tonight.

Beauty Pageant Hypocrisy

The Miss World contest is marketed as having contestants who are role models for young girls – not only beautiful, but intelligent, poised, and virtuous and “as not solely about beautiful young women but a pageant that assists and promotes the growth and development of the individual’s skills, self-esteem and provides a greater sense of worth for the nation’s young women.”

In order to supposedly uphold high standards, most pageants used to bar women who have ever been pregnant from competing. The standard has changed in recent years. Now most pageants exclude only women who have ever given birth.

In other words, it’s ok if you’ve been pregnant, but if you want to be in our pageant, you have to have had an abortion if you did get pregnant.

What kind of message does this give to young girls in the pageants’ effort to promote growth and development of individuals’ skills, self-esteem and provide a greater sense of worth?

When the recent Miss Jamaica World winner became pregnant during her reign, she was asked to step down and give up her crown (and rightly so). However, she was then given an alternative. In order to keep her crown, she could elect to abort the baby.

Hats off to Miss Sara Lawrence. Not for her immoral behavior by having sex outside of marriage, but for refusing to have the abortion and instead stepping down. After all, two wrongs don’t make a right.

Salutations of disgust to the Miss Jamaica World’s franchise holder, Mickey Haughton-James for suggesting that Miss Lawrence kill her unborn baby so as to keep her title.

For the full article, you can go here.

When God's Got Your Back

My husband is preparing to go on a mission trip in two days. He and six other men are flying to a little town called Pristina in Kosova (part of the former Soviet Union) for two weeks. There is a small Christian church there in that predominantly Muslim city that is reaching out with the love of Christ by giving something of value to the community.

This small little town once had a public park and playground, but Communism and war has ravished it. So our church, in cooperation with a Romanian group, has purchased a complete playground equipment package, plus tools, materials, plants, bedding material, etc. and the two groups are going to meet together in the middle of that small town and build a really nice park and playground so that the families in the area will have somewhere to bring their children to play. The people of the town are very excited about it. The Mayor and other local dignitaries are planning on having a press conference and grand opening upon completion, and have asked that our group bring an American flag so that they can fly it next to theirs. (and you thought the rest of the world hated America). The group has even had UN NGO status bestowed upon them.

I will post more on this trip later, but wanted to share how God has been protecting my husband from the enemy, who OBVIOUSLY does not want my husband to go on this trip.

You see, my husband has the spiritual gift of soulwinning. He has led many people to Christ, and has a passion for the lost. He has a way of communicating the Gospel that is powerful and convicting, but not threatening. He is praying that God will use the entire group and him personally to reach the lost for Christ. So the enemy has been doing everything in his power to stop my husband from going. But each time a new hinderance was thrown in his path, God put a stop to it.

First, my husband and I both became very sick with sinus infections just in the last week or so. God took care of that. We’re both healing well.

My husband was called to jury duty a week before the trip. They said going out of the country was not an excuse for getting out of duty. God took care of that. In the final pick of the twelve, my husband was not chosen.

Unexpected bills started falling on us. God took care of that and supplied the money.

My husband slipped on some sawdust and fell onto a moving table saw. God took care of that. Miraculously, in spite of his hand actually coming in contact with the moving blade, my husband got out of it with just a few minor scratches.

A brown recluse spider bit my husband, and he really didn’t realize it until almost a week later. God took care of that . When he went to the doctor, the doc was amazed that the skin around the bite had not totally deteriorated, and released my husband to go on the trip with a few antibiotics to go with him just in case.

On the way to the Doctor’s office, my husband came within inches of having a major wreck with a truck and trailer. God took care of that.They both saw each other in the nick of time and swerved.

A landlord called to say a tree fell on the house of my husband’s key employee on Thursday. They had two jobs that they had to finish before today, and my husband felt sure the employee would want to take off work to see about his house, which would keep them from completing the job. God took care of that.The employee elected to stay and finish work for the two days – said he needed the money and there was nothing he could do about the tree until the landlord had it removed.

As far as my husband and I are concerned, God has shown himself to us in a very real way this week. It’s as if He’s saying “I’ve got your back”. So am I worried about my husband traveling halfway around the world and spending two weeks in a predominantly Muslim country? Not at all. God can take care of that too.

For those of you who would, please pray that this trip will have a major impact on this little community and open the doors even wider in order to spread the Gospel. Pray that my husband will be used by God to be a witness to whomever wherever God leads.

For English, Press 1

I don’t want to press “1”.

If I call my electric company, I have to press “1” for English.
If I call my phone company, I have to press “1” for English.
The same goes for my bank, my mortgage company, etc. etc.

I was in the pediatrician’s office a few months ago with my nephew. The cartoon network was on. The cutsie little cartoon characters were intermittently speaking in English and then in Spanish.

This is the United States of America for cryin’ out loud!

I found out recently that English is not the “official language” of the United States of America – at least not at the federal level. It is, however, the official language in 25 of the 50 states, and there is a grass roots effort to make it the official national language as well. (Who’d have thought that would ever be necessary!)

The most recent statistics I found say that 82% of the population of this country speaks only English at home – that’s from age 5 on up. Now as far as my publicly educated brain can determine, that means that only 16% of the population speaks another primary language. So why do I have to press “1” for English in over 90% of the business phone calls I engage in!!?? It couldn’t be indoctrination, could it? It couldn’t be that the government is trying to acclimate us to the inevitable?

By law (key words here), in order to become a naturalized citizen, one must be able to speak English. But hey, if you don’t follow one law, why should anyone expect you follow another? If you aren’t in this country legally, why learn the language? You don’t have to speak English to apply for welfare. The government employees will meet you on your level – in your language – so you can get your rightly deserved free meal ticket. After all, you worked hard running, walking, swimming and climbing over barriers to get to this country. The least the government can do is agree to support you for the rest of your life now that you’re here.

Guess I’d better go and brush up on my Spanish. I suspect that the new North American Union is going to come out with an official language, and I’ve got a hunch it’s not going to be English. Might offend someone.

Press 1 for English
Press 2 for Spanish
Press 3 for Arabic
Press 4 for all other languages

Or hang up and get lost. You probably don’t fit in anyway.

After all, it’s not your country anymore.

Helping our Enemies

Liberals are naive enough to think that the reason terrorists hate us is because we don’t do enough to help them. One recent quote I read was this:

We want to address violent acts by extremists? We look to deal with the root causes of poverty, lack of education and perceived attacks against Islam.

A top Palestinian representative, Sheik Ahmad Bahr, is calling for the death of all Americans and Jews.

Here is a portion of his “sermon” at a Sudan mosque last Friday:

"You will be victorious" on the face of this planet. You are the masters of the world on the face of this planet. Yes, [the Koran says that] "you will be victorious," but only "if you are believers." Allah willing, "you will be victorious," while America and Israel will be annihilated.”

"Oh Allah, vanquish the Jews and their supporters. Oh Allah, count their numbers, and kill them all, down to the very last one. Oh Allah, show them a day of darkness.”

Guess who the single biggest donor of assistance to the Palestinian people has been? The United States of America. So much for dealing “with the root causes of poverty, lack of education and perceived attacks against Islam.”

Frank Salvato addresses this issue well:

The United States has given over $1.5 billion in aid to the Palestinians over the past decade, channeling most of the aid through non-governmental entities. Over the same period of time the vitriol aimed at the United States coming from the leaders of Hamas, and those groups aligned with Hamas, not to mention the Palestinian people, has grown exponentially. The experiment of trying to buy the child’s love has failed miserably and, as in real life, the child has grown to resent the adult, this time to the point of wanting to kill him.

Now contrast Bahr's words with these words from Scripture:

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Luke 4:18

Islam - the Religion of Peace.

Today is my Birthday

Today was my birthday. I've been on this planet for a little over half a century now. I don't feel that old. I wouldn't go back and change anything - even all the mistakes I've made - because everything in my life has brought me to where I am today...and I like where I am. God has been good to me. Merciful, kind, generous. I have the wonderful privilege of being married to the most wonderful man in the world - my soulmate, my friend, my confidant. I have the best job in the world, and I go to the best church in the world. If I died before midnight tonite, I'd have no complaints. As I said, God has been good to me.

My dad gave me a card that almost caused a heart attack:


It had a picture of Hillary on the outside and the caption read:

"President Hillary Clinton"

On the inside it said:

"See, there ARE some things scarier than growing a year older!"

I spent the morning in the Doctor's office, and the rest of the day lying around in misery. I have a severe sinus infection and I'm running fever with it. Hopefully all the meds the Doc gave me will kick in shortly. But I'm not complaining. It could always be worse. Hillary could be president.

Being Nice Doesn't Make it Right

My sister lived in New Mexico for many years before cancer forced her to move back home closer to family. I had several opportunities to visit her, and have some personal observations about the Mexican people.

In the city where my sister lived, whites are a minority. And in a case where one people group is predominant over another, you often get a chance to see the true collective personality of the predominant group. I would have to say that the Mexican community in general (at least in that town) is a group of warm, caring, polite, and loving people. My sister lived in the same neighborhood with, worked with, friended with and worshipped with many Mexicans. I loved the people I met, and felt right at home. I’ve said all this because I don’t like being accused of being a racist – which almost inevitably comes up when one starts talking about the illegal alien problem in this county. How many of these individuals I met are actually legal American citizens? I can’t say. Some reports tell us that over half of the Mexicans living in the United States are illegal aliens. The number of the illegal aliens from Mexico has more than doubled in the last decade and now makes up 69 percent of the U.S. illegal population.

The problem with touchy-feeley liberalism is that being nice doesn’t make everything all right. God Himself said that there are none righteous in His eyes, so if we’re patting each other on the back for being “nice”, it still doesn’t excuse our sin.

The illegal alien problem and all it entails is one that the media doesn’t fully cover.
For instance:

*Only about 2% of the illegals in this country are actually picking fruit and vegetables.

*41% are on the welfare rolls.

*10 out of every 100 babies born in this country are to illegal aliens.

*60% of Housing and Urban Development funds go to illegals.

*13 Americans are killed every day by drunk illegals with no auto insurance. That’s over 4700 Americans yearly.

*Some $397 billion dollars in Social Services has been given to illegals in the last 10-12 years

*Some $14 billion dollars has been spent educating the children of illegals in our public school system

*There have been over 300,000 illegals incarcerated during that same period of time, costing the taxpayers approximately 1.5 billion dollars.

When we stand before God someday, He’s not going to have a big set of scales on which to put our good deeds and our bad deeds to determine whether or not we get into heaven. When faced with our own sin, we’re not going to be able to say, “but, God, look at all the good things I did – how nice I was to this person, or how I helped that person…” It won’t mean a thing. Because God’s standard is perfection – which is why He paid the price for us on Calvary – He knew we were incapable of perfection. And if we haven’t accepted this free gift of salvation that He offered us, then we will be rejected by heaven and have to spend eternity away from God in hell. In other words, He’s not going to give us amnesty.

Illegals should face the consequences of their actions as well. They’ve broken the law and are putting a huge burden on the taxpayers of this country. Amnesty is not the answer. Deportation is the answer. Even if we are unable to search out and find every illegal in this country, if our government would start punishing the illegals – round them up, put them in jail, and then send them back – if we would secure our borders, then that would have to send a message to those who are considering coming over here illegally – that it’s not worth the risk. We need a president and a Congress that will put the American people’s interest ahead of their own, and ahead of the illegals’.

Being nice doesn’t make it right.


Sources: Human Events
immigrationcounters.com