Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Proof Hurricanes are not "Acts of God"

Hurricanes bring death, destruction, fear, financial devastation, and turmoil. Any Bible reading Christian knows that such behaviour is not characteristic of a loving God. Yet, we hear people repeat the mantra "Natural Disasters are Acts of God". Not so.  And now, finally we have iron clad evidence to back it up.

The 2012 election.

I am extremely saddened by the results of the election. Mostly I am saddened for my children and their children who because of another four years of the same will be burdened with even more of an Obama mess. To put the National Debt into an easy to get perspective, here is a cost comparison. The cost of 4 Yrs at a Private College = $130,468; A Median-Priced Existing Home = $173,100; The U.S. Debt Per American Under 18 = $218,676.

If you add all Americans at any age, the Debt still tallies over $50,000 per person which would make my family of 7 owe $350,000. Of course that is before another four years of the same Obama.

Money, or lack thereof, however is not even close to the primary concern or consequence from last night. Under forced universal Obama heath coverage, all Christians will be funding the murder of innocent children. Due to social sanction in 1973, abortions rose to 1.5 million per year, over 4000 a day. How many more innocent lives will be sucked out now that it is free? In addition, certain contraceptives are abortifacients therefore providing so called "free" contraceptives to all will add to the number of abortions extemporaneously.

Hope that Government handout is worth it!

Is it really true that 58% of women hold a strong favorable opinion of President Obama? They say women put him over the top for this election with a strong turnout in support of Obama. Can it be that women are that gullible to believe there was some kind of "war" against them? Did the walk along the Jersey shore with Gov.Christie looking so caring and presidential really persuade last minute decisions to turn to Obama? Is Bruce Springsteen actually still relevant? Are there some who still believe negative ads laced with lies don't work?

Sad Indictment.

I also just heard the turnout among Christians was again low. Maybe it was difficult to support a M&M  (Moderate & Mormon). Maybe the lack of unity among churches hurts more than we even imagined. What was voted for yesterday was evil. Plain and simple Evil won. Not because God wanted it that way or because it was somehow needed to usher in the second coming. Evil won because our country voted it in and now the perpetrators of evil both in this world and the world beyond are gloating and partying over the big W.

Obama said voting is the best revenge. Some commentators questioned  what or who the revenge was targeted at.  Now we know what. At least in the spirit realm, the revenge was against those that dared bring back morality, decency, and honestly into the USA. Revenge is a powerful motivator and it won.

Too bad Christians are not 1/10th as ticked off about the onslaught of evil.

Elections this close are won on momentum. A famous slogan in youth ministry is "You are only as good as your last event". What was the last event that apparently turned the tide for Obama?

Hurricane Sandy.

Sure it began with the media hiding Benghazi and protecting their Messiah at every turn. Turns out a "strong finish" would have worked far better than Romney simply "running out the clock" as well as other things he could have/should have in hind sight. However, it is so hard to believe how Barak Obama was granted yet another four years considering the state of our country!

The obvious cover up of what went down concerning four dead Americans this Sept.11th, 16 trillion in debt, double plus gas prices, 23 million out of work with unemployment over 8% for 43 months, 14+% underemployed or quit looking for jobs, 42 million on food stamps, death panels deciding who gets health care, unlimited and now free abortions, same sex marriage, an incumbent who says America is no longer a Christian nation, anti Israel rhetoric and action to name a few. The message of this dismal job was actually beginning to get through despite the orchestrated media blackout of reality.

We know this pile of evidence of presidential failure was getting out because Romney was in the lead several points nationally and in most of the swing states. It appeared that Obama's agenda would finally be stopped for our children and for the glory of God!

And then it happened... the last "event". Hurricane Sandy.

I hope the bear hug from political rival Chris Christie providing the perfect last minute fake bi partisan photo op for the uninformed and last minute deciders was worth the thirty pieces of silver Governor.

Did Hurricane Sandy help push Obama over the top to a second term like many are saying?

Four more years of the same anti-Christian, anti-God policies, could not have been God's will.

Act of God?

Think again.


pw

Monday, September 17, 2012

Top 5 Ways to Go Green!

Have you ever had a discussion with your child about going green? If your child watches any TV, listens to the radio, goes to school, or has friends with parents, chances are they are fully aware of "Going green".

I thought it would be prudent to help the omnipresent environmental movement with some thoughts from a lifetime of experiences of the effectiveness of going green. Of course I am not a scientist, not even a wanna be scientist. I have no formal education on the vital benefits of protecting the planet, yet like you I read and hear about it everywhere, and so do my children . . . everywhere!

I have a hard time getting my son to take out the garbage once a week, nevertheless convincing him to separate the trash into two or three varied colored receptacles. Truth is, I am a little old school when it comes to the environmental movement, and admittedly a little "green" at it. Like all children from the good old days, I learned how to save energy and respect the planet solely from my parents.

I was taught by my mother not to litter, so I am proud to say I faithfully refuse to let my kids litter. We "close" the lights when we leave a room, though every time I remind my kids, they laugh at me for using the word "close". (NJ term?)  "Close" by the way means to turn off the lights. Why? Because they cost us money! Oh, and I also freak when the faucet drips or a toilet runs. Not so much due to the waste of H20, but mainly because I am terrified of floods. It is a recent quirk. I find myself checking all water sources ie potential leaks in a Adrian Monk kind of way.

Actually, I guess it is this new found fear of floods, that leads me to the first of my top five ways to go green.

So in the tradition with keeping up with the green Joneses here are my
                            TOP FIVE WAYS TO GO GREEN:

1) If you buy an old house, make sure to change all your toilets out for the one gallon flusher type. Why waste precious water by using the older toilets that use three, even six gallons each time you pull down the handle. A one gallon per flush, green approved, toilet is a no brainer if you want to go green.
THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS... our "older" water waisting toilet finally broke a few years back and we had no choice but to replace it with the new kind. Instead of one flush it took two or three flushes to do the same job. With seven people in the family, it did not take long for the need of a permanent plunger to sit real pretty next to the new green jewel. One day I forgot to check the water saver john and since it was clogged (it was usually clogged) and subsequently flushed, a small leak rained down from its brand new porcelain sides onto the floor, into the AC vent, throughout the floorboards, which eventually damaged our ceiling in the middle level of our two story house. Consequently, a massive flood ruined our kitchen and family room with hundreds of gallons of dirty smelly pee water. It ended up costing $20,000 in ceiling, drywall, floor, and cabinet repairs to rectify the disaster. Oh and swapping to the so called Eco friendly water saver green toilet -ended up waisting a ton of precious water as well!

2) Make sure to buy an Eco friendly washer machine because if you wash a lot of clothes, its important to do whatever you can to use less soap, less water, and of course less energy.
THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS . . . When our kitchen got destroyed by our Eco friendly upstairs toilet, as part of the renovation we also purchased new appliances. We decided to add a new washer and dryer to the second mortgage while we were at it! Why Not? Unfortunately, unlike my old washer that actually cleaned clothes, this shiny new green friendly washer turns out less than desirable results. Gone is the need for lots of water and that useless agitator thing in the middle! My new Maytag has one huge hollow basket by which I can do less loads by filling it up even more! I just put the small cup of special more expensive HE detergent on the bottom and then I fill up the mega basket, set the dials, and push the start button which locks the door. Loud, strange, weird, non- cleaning kind of noises soon follow. One day a sock "flew out of the basket" (words from the repair guy) and got caught between it and the side of the washer. I noticed that the next load did not drain properly and eventually it would not lock or work at all. Being one day out of warranty I hesitated to call a repairman. It cost us $450 dollars and 10 days waiting for the special Eco friendly part. The icing on the cake was when the guy banged off the basket, removed it and carried it to my bathroom to empty it in the bathtub - dripping the whole way! Funny, my old washer did not have a spot for socks to mysteriously jump out and cause damage. I also was able to simply set the dial to drain so that I could DRAIN THE WATER WITHOUT REMOVING THE ENTIRE MEGA TUB WITH A CROWBAR! On top of all of this, the clothes never really smell clean with my new Eco friendly washer so I finally decided to double the amount of more expensive HE soap to have some resemblance of fresh laundry. You know like the good ole days, the days before the new Eco friendly toilet flood! 

3) Nothing like a brand new dishwasher. Even if you have to pay a little more,  make sure yours meets all the green standards!
THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS ... Eco friendly dishwashers suck! There really is no other way to describe them. Since phosphorus hurts the environment by harming some fish, my kids have to eat off of dirty plates unless you do several preventative things. First you have to buy non phosphorous, non effective cascade or the like. But dare not use it unless you also buy the expensive rinse aide. Once a month you also have to buy the gook out product because there is just not enough power and not enough water going through that thing to clean the pipes or your dishes. And don't forget to fully wash everything first, and turn on the hot water in your sink for a while before you turn the Eco friendly dishwasher on. I was also told by a repairman to always use the highest setting with all the other buttons pushed to the max setting, hold my breath and hope it works.
I remember a time when I basically threw in everything, food remains and all, into my old dishwasher and it never ever ever gave me a problem. Amazing how much water you save when you do dishes the old fashion way... once, by using a real, non green, dishwasher!

4) Before you throw out anything stop and say to yourself, can this be recycled? What we do not need is even more non bio-degradable filth flying around the landfills of Wichita! Can I get an A-men?
THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS . . . besides the proven effectiveness of certain metals like tin, most everything else is simply not cost efficient to use, recycle and reuse over and over. It costs more energy to actually do the recycling making the solution worse than the problem. One day we will be able to link the cancerous plastics we are told to watch for in baby bottles, microwavable plastics, etc. to this environmentally wacko notion that we must all reuse the same plastic over and over. The invention of plastic was such a great invention due to it's drastically inexpensive production. In other words its cheap to make it so go ahead and throw it out! I don't like the new water bottles that bend in your hand due to their thinness or toilet paper that crumbles apart. Although the flimsy paper may help with the AlGore clog prone toilets!
Regarding the removal of rubbish, remember the good ole days when we use to burn it to ashes! Why not use the burning technique advances that do the job while also trapping the air pollution? Yeah, we have those available! It sure would save the environment by eliminating the fumes from the plethora of garbage and recycling trucks as well as the resources it costs to bury the mounds of trash into our soil. Not to mention the toxic clean up that is eventually needed even miles away from some city land fills. If I did not trust the government and the environmental movement so much, I would think that this whole recycle thing we are all guilted into is just a HUGE money maker!  (Good planet, bad people, send money)

5) Replace all those old light bulbs with the curlycue type. It will save the environment because they last longer and use less energy to boot!
THE ONLY PROBLEM WITH THAT IS ... a little thing called mercury. The days of throwing out your light bulbs are over. This new type not only costs way more, it can not, by law, be thrown in the regular trash. It also uses way more electricity to heat up than a regular light bulb so it is better to not "close" the light when you leave a room. It is recommended to leave them on if you think you may be visiting a room again soon. In our family alone, we would need to leave the lights on  24/7 in the kitchen, living room, bathrooms, and hall. The only time it's safe that we will not "visit a room again soon" is when the kids go to sleep and turn off the light for bed. Leaving on the curly bulbs because they cost more than regular light bulbs to initially heat up just might take away from some shelf life - the very reason we are suppose to buy them! To me a pack of four old fashioned bulbs for 77 cents seems like the way to go, law or no law! Plus do you know one person that does not agree that the curlycue bulbs are UGLY?

Below are a few honorable mentions before I end this. 

Sunscreen or die!
All of a sudden the populous is in need of vitamin D supplements. Why? Maybe because we do not get enough sun because we are told to never go outside without sunscreen on every corner of our exposed body. Unless your shirt is thin, which it is then recommended that you put on sunscreen on that skin as well!
Doctors are now emphasising that men and women need to get approximately 20 minutes of sun (without any sunscreen) to ensure the body produces enough vitamin D to remain healthy. - Unbelievable.

Kill the babies, but save the whales!
Growing seal population could be the reason behind more shark sightings.
By protecting baby seals and the endangered great white, we now have many many more of both of them because with the prey plenteous, so is the predator! It is now frightening to go in the ocean. Personally, I would rather have less people maimed or eaten than extra great whites or seals ... just saying.

Wind turbines and their connection to forest fires is never mentioned in the news.
Better to blame republican smoking hunters! - Or George Bush.

Polar bears are dying off, also not true. 

Ice caps all over the planet are melting. Not!  
While the Arctic ice has retreated (as in the 20's and 50's BTW)  the Antarctic ice is growing at roughly the same pace.

Global Warming is caused by bad humans is simply not true!

As in all the facets of the Go Green movement, other sides to potential reasons behind climate change are not open for discussion in your child's classroom. They are being misled and cheated by not ever being shown the conservative side of the coin. 

If we, due to laziness, peer pressure, or lack of care, never bother to study these things to see if they are true or merely money makers, then our future will be the reward of the few at the deficit to the many.

Just because your child's school, that movie star you think is cool, or those wonderfully professional journalists who have no agenda but to report the news even though they all repeat the exact left wing talking points, does not mean it is real science.

Call me an optimist but I want to believe we are not all brainless morons who think the recent uprising in the middle east, for example, is the fault of a youtube video and not the result of Obama's blunders, apology tours, and foreign policy inexperience. 

As the world's economy and safety get increasingly worse, I would like to hope that that mindless crowd is shrinking.

Because the truth is - the all powerful, all knowing, all growing, green movement for the most part is one big fat green fraud!

I know this not because I am a published expert, but because I have personally experienced it.
My guess is you have too!


pw









sermon notes 9-16-2012


PROVE IT    

If showing the love of God leads to repentance and promises fulfilled, would not the opposite (animosity, criticism, disdain,) repel the lost and work towards the enemies goal of keeping us defeated and unproductive in the things of God?

One of the LAST VITAL TEACHINGS

John 13:33-38 NLT

Dear children,
I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going. 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

1 Peter 4:8 NLT

Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.


1 Peter 4:8 THE MESSAGE

 Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up
, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer.
Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything.

THE BASICS ARE REQUIRED

Luke 11:42 NLT

42
“What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens,[a] but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.

Luke 11:42 Message

…You keep meticulous account books, tithing on every nickel and dime you get,
but manage to find loopholes for getting around basic matters of justice and God’s love. Careful bookkeeping is commendable, but the basics are required


Romans 13:8 NLT

[ Love Fulfills God’s Requirements ] Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law.



LOVING OTHERS ASSURES OUR OWN HEART TOWARDS GOD!

1 John 3:18 NLT

18 Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.


1 John 3:18 MSG

18-20
My dear children, let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love.
This is the only way we’ll know we’re living truly, living in God’s reality. It’s also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.


1 John 4:16 NLT

16
We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.
God is love, and
all who live in love - live in God,  - and God lives in them.

LOVE IS GREATER THAN KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE LOVE IS THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING KNOWLEDGE!  - Or Knowing God!

*Ephesians 3:18-19 NLT
18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
20 Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

Colossians 1:8-10 NLT

8 He has told us about the love for others that the Holy Spirit has given you.
9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
 

JESUS’S GOAL:
John 17:23 (MSG)
20-23 I’m praying not only for them
but also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,

So they might be one heart and mind with us.

Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they’ll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they’ll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you’ve sent me and loved them
In the same way you’ve loved me.
24-26 Father, I want those you gave me
To be with me, right where I am,
So they can see my glory, the splendor you gave me,
Having loved me
Long before there ever was a world.
Righteous Father, the world has never known you,
But I have known you, and these disciples know
That you sent me on this mission.
I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.

Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT
24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.

 

LOVE NEVER LETS GO!

Romans 8: 33-39 NLT

35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 36 (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”[a]) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[b] neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

MSG: None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.  – (never letting go!)

Conclusion:
*Love proves God is real to the world.

*Love enables us to be our brother’s keeper because it covers a multitude of sin.

*Love passes knowledge and understanding.

*The more love we operate in the closer we are to knowing him
and being like him.

*We are commanded to do all things that promote the Love of God because Love IS the goal to unity,  end time harvest,  and the catalyst to all faith and answers to your prayers.

*Love does not fail. 

Our example of loving others is Jesus.
Our ability to love like Jesus loves is in the person of the Holy Spirit
Christians are better at loving the world, then loving each other
We assumed that loving the lost is the commandment in John 13.
yet at the same time we bite and devour one another which in effect is
Hating the Lost!  


John 13:35 says..  Christians, Disciples, Brothers, Sisters:
 
 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Prove it!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

The War of Women

Already a proud member of the mother of five, I thought it would be beneficial to join another group: "Women for the War on Women." Hoping you'll join me.

When Sandra Fluke argued that a Catholic University should pay for her birth control I was embarrassed for her and for the nation my daughters are living in. If sticking up for religious liberty, family values, innocent babies, traditional marriage, school choice, abstinence only, etc makes me part of a war on women, then so be it. If being against tax payer funded birth control is a war on women than sign me up.

Inquiring why my health insurance went up 300+ per month, I was told that it was the mandatory yearly check-ups for all of us and that my daughters, age 13 &15 were now (thanks to Obama Care) covered with maternity as part of our insurance. Really? When my husband and I planned our family we chose not to include maternity because simple math told us it was not beneficial. Now I'm paying for my daughters' maternity insurance? The smug agent replied "Well, you just never know". Well, I know a few things.

Maternity insurance is mega expensive. It is much cheaper to mandate the morning after pill and get rid of the need for that coverage. Caring for a disabled child is mega expensive. It is much cheaper to pass a bill to post birth abort a less than perfect baby. It's usually always about the money.

But then there's Rush.

Let's face it men cannot be the ones to articulate the absurdity of a Catholic college student making a case for the government to pay for her birth control, morning after pill, abortion or whatever. In doing so the most popular advertisement magnet lost seven sponsors almost overnight. (Good Luck with your quarterly reports by the way!) When things have gotten so low that even money doesn't talk, it's time to speak out or shut up and give up.

Sure Rush should have not used those insulting words. But maybe we should be asking ourselves why should he think for even a moment that he needed to? Maybe, just maybe, it is pretty darn difficult to get the attention of the masses without something outlandish being uttered. After all the brainwashing began many decades ago and we are facing the generation who think it is pliable to force taxpayers to pay for services that we feel are sinful, destructive, and even murderous. Remember, murder is on God's top ten list.

Real women do not get excited about participating in the destruction of our society. We are nurturers by nature. The majority of this nation are pro-life. Who are these women that Rush (or anyone else) is at war with? Not me!

When we moved to Kansas we found a Catholic OBGYN and had our last three children in a Catholic hospital. After having my baby at age 38 I inquired about more traditional birth control. I was surprised to find out that my Doctor would not prescribe it. He took the time to explain why stating the stats on increased STD's, breast cancer, how the pill works as an abortifacient, future infertility concerns etc. This was a well respected Doctor stating facts. Sure his religion would not permit it but he showed me why he would not offer birth control purely with medical facts.  He was professional in his explanation kind of like Santorum without the hate mail and stuff.

We should not be surprised that the organized left has such power to persuade advertisers from leaving Limbaugh. Remember what they did to the Komen Foundation when it decided not to pump funds into an organization that doesn't even provide mammograms for women?  The Komen Foundation is about Breast Cancer. Abortions increase the risk for breast cancer. Why should they pump hundreds of thousands per year into Planned Parenthood who is the biggest abortion provider in the country?

The newly resigned head of the Foundation, Karen Handel, said, "Planned Parenthood launched a vicious attack on a nonprofit organization that fights breast cancer,” ...  "They unleashed Armageddon on an organization for $680,000." 

Armageddon was released on Rush. What or who will be next?

The fact is the Komen Foundation received emails running 3 to 1 in support for the defunding, and within two days of the news, online donations were up 400 percent. There was great support for the decision; it was just drowned out by the strength in the area of social media.

Speaking about social media...

I recently tried to post a time clock on facebook which counts up how many abortions are performed in a single day or year. The link was immediately flagged as "harmful to your computer" as to stop folks from clicking. My computer wasn't harmed. The fact that 93 babies were killed in the few minutes it took to view the time clock was a bit harmful!

Zukerman is Obama's bud.

New York Magazine reported about the latest cozying up between Facebook and the White House. Obama's agenda and Zukerman's brilliance and personal information access is a match made in hell.

Just think about it for a moment. It doesn't matter how superior the republican nominee is he will be destroyed. He will be fighting against Obama's machine which includes almost every social media group and all of the main stream media - twisting, distorting, cheating, lying and laughing at anyone who comes in their way. As women maybe we should consider not letting them portray us as all on the same page.

We are not on the same page as Maddow. We are not even in the same library!

Though it looks pretty bleak in terms of getting truth out there with all the lies, distortion, and now orchestrated bombardment, my husband did remind me of a truth that cannot be misconstrued... in the end, we win! Until then every time a women speaks out for religious liberty it matters.

Real women, like real men, are not looking for a government hand out. We feel pride in raising our children the way we choose to raise them. We are capable of working our way to increase just like any man. We can and should stand up and proclaim proudly that we have God given and at the time of this writing American given rights to live our lives freely.

We do not want to pay for any ones birth control, not ever. We do not want to pay to have someone's child killed. It is our CHOICE not to pay for it! We do not want to sit back and watch Sarah Palin, Laura Ingram and Michelle Malkin and others get verbally abused and threatened because they do not suck up to the elite media and elite Hollywood.

Yes it is true that in the last days, good will be called evil and evil will be called good. What was once noble (to stand for one's beliefs) is now looked upon as strange and harmful. It is not that we are outnumbered but more like overshadowed. The left is much louder attempting to destroy anyone who voices a contrary opinion. However, still consistent voices for traditional, moral values will prove to be an essential element  in seeing our nation return to it's conservative roots. There are more of us!

Many more!

So join me on the war against the fabricated twisted view of what they want us to believe women are in this country. Women either too brainwashed to know better or too lazy to do anything about it.

I am so proud of Karen Handel. She didn't compromise her stand by resigning from the Komen Foundation. I am so proud of Patricia Heaton who had the guts to ask for her tweets to call Rush's advertisers to show support for him. Sure she had to suspend her twitter account due to the outlash of disgusting, horrific, threatening (I'm guessing here) responses to her twitter account. Thankfully, she's back on Twitter now.

What also is back is the voice of what has always been the heart of a woman. Protection of our children. Freedom for our nation. And the right to call wrong wrong. No matter what the consequences.

We don't need any man to speak for us.

Thanks anyway, we'll take it from here.


pw





Sunday, January 22, 2012

5 out of 5

Since I have been a proud member of the mother of five club since 1998, I thought it would be fitting to write about my 5 kids. My husband and I are currently batting 1000 with our five children. 5 out of 5 have turned out better than imagined or predicted in the norm of things. So different from each other yet similar in all the important stuff! From common sense and wisdom to nurturing, creativity, discipline, athletic and comedic ability our 5 are uniquely positioned for accomplishment. Some personality traits are strikingly similar while others are a stark contrast. But all 5 out of 5 are born again, God fearing Christians . . . 5 out of 5 are family oriented choosing to be around our home and each other. 5 out of 5 are in the ministry in some aspect. 5 out of 5 are insightful and thoughtful of other people. All 5 are good looking on the inside as well as the outside. I know that I am just a tad bit bias!

I also understand that the enemy continues to win all our kids over with various temptations, deceptions and lies. We all have heard of once innocent children falling away and forsaking the hopes and dreams their parents had for them. Broken families are a favorite pursuit of the devil. I have heard stories of parents who raise all their kids alike, yet end up with at least one bad apple. Some would say it is almost inevitable. Not so! The only inevitable thing is the reliability of a forgiving savior combined with the absoluteness of His uncompromising word, opportune wisdom, and unconditional love. I believe in second chances and miraculous combacks, yet, I also strongly believe in the power of preventative prayer!

Actually, in the case of our children we did not "raise them all the same" which may have helped toward the present outcome. Every child is unique and requires a somewhat specialized raising technique. We did not raise our kids by following a "how to" book. We did not even plan it out! It was simply adhering to the wisdom of the Holy Spirit for each individual child in each individualized and unpredictable situation. Flexible in the small things, yet firm in the absolutes in scripture.

One thing that has always been paramount to us is that we show love and respect to all 5 of our children equally. Some may require more time, some may require more training, but as the Bible says... there is no difference in His eyes or in our eyes and hearts.

It is also no secret that living the Christian life has rewards in varied ways. Favor, confidence, and power over temptation are a few of those rewards. Yes, we showed our children the way and believed for their salvation and commitment to Christ, but it is their choice and responsibility to serve him day by day. Our kids have never known anything but a busy life of full time ministry. Yet they have never felt left out or put aside for others which almost always leads to resentment towards God when ministers' children grow and mature.

How did all 5 of our kids never suffer from the infamous PK syndrome? What did we do as parents that caused the current success? Is there any advice or formula that I could share in this blog? Maybe. Early on there was a deliberate decision to put our family first while pursuing ministry. We did ministry together, all of us, all the time. Many times our small children would fall asleep on the pew or in a restaurant booth. In youth ministry they were just part of the equation. We had skinheads hold them as we vacuumed (saved skin heads!) and death punk rockers sing and play with them in the church van. We took them everywhere. They learned who we were in ministry by personal observation. We also didn't remove fun from serving God. We had fun in and out of church!

When we became senior pastors of WOL back in 1989 our two children at the time were just 1 and 3 years old. We made it a practice to not ignore them when they wanted to show us their Sunday School page or ask us a question, even if we were talking to a new visitor. It was pretty basic knowledge to us that if we ignored them or put them off even at that early age, they would feel that church or ministry was more important than they were. So we made a conscience effort not to.

It may be a shock to some that we missed church services for important out of town events that meant a lot to our kids. One time a successful guest minister spent a week in our home and witnessed one of those times. He was very successful and my husband asked advice from him, "What is the secret to your success"? He replied without hesitation, "Well, "I would never miss a service for a ballgame for one thing." Wow! Thankfully, we let that advice fall by the wayside and left it there all these 29 years. Sadly, that successful international minister ended up losing his family, his wife, his kids and his ministry. People may not agree or understand, but the scripture is crystal clear that to not take care of your own family makes you worse than an infidel or unbeliever. And what good would it do to gain the whole world, grow a vast soul winning ministry and loose the very ones that God expects you to daily raise up to follow Him? The answer is obvious, but those following that advice are few. And it is the future (the children) as well as the ministry who ultimately loose.

People have asked us how our children have turned out so well even during difficulties in ministry. The best way I can share my insight on that is to share the following story.

Recently, one of our children was brought aside to help an old friend with his problem. During the conversation the subject turned to how our child's Dad and brother were the reason for this persons' fall. After sitting and hearing some of the most far-fetched satanic twisted hogwash, our adult child simply said "This was the first time I ever heard anything negative about Dad." The key word here is "first". Too many times in the ministry or even in secular jobs, bad stuff is being said about Dad. True or untrue, your kids need not be a part of that cancer. The other thing that came out of this story is how our other child, who was falsely accused, handled the situation. Instead of being bitter, his heart was towards the person who had fallen into the hands of the enemy. Although it is hurtful especially to me as mom, it is God's acceptance and truth that allow unfairness to be viewed in perspective to the overall picture. Seeing hurting and hurtful people with the eyes of compassion is redemptive as well as felicitous with scripture.

Training up a child in the way he/she should go includes more than just an introduction to God and His rules. It includes attributes and character only revealed during hardships and unjust times.

Observed reaction is more vital than observed action. Attention is more vital than praise. Although praise is important! A sense of family security along with individual honor will hold up when the signs point elsewhere and the odds are against you. Anyone can force your kids to put down the iPod and have some family time. But when they choose to spend time with you, such as it was for my recent birthday celebration, full of unique and special presents, it becomes the greatest gift of all.

Our youngest child just turned 13 and so for us there are still some years left for child rearing. But looking ahead I can see the writing on the wall. 5 out of 5! All fulfilling the call on their lives and passing this great success story on to their own children. Even to a thousand generations! A-men!
Deuteronomy 7:9



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CURL: The truly dismal state of the union - Washington Times

CURL: The truly dismal state of the union - Washington Times