tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-355387122024-03-09T11:11:09.507-05:00What I Learned from The Word Today"Discover Truth for Yourself" by learning to study the Word of God inductively.
The way I'm learning to do that is through Precept Ministries International.
PMI exists to establish people in God's Word, just as Psalm 119:38 says...
"Establish Your Word to Your servant, as that which produces reverence for You."
Jesus said that God's Word is Truth...don't you want to know it?Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.comBlogger360125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-48513779747219531632017-12-08T17:02:00.001-05:002017-12-08T17:02:29.025-05:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=d1d5a841cc&view=fimg&th=1603814a709de01a&attid=0.1.2&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ8OIrbzrDsXyxie0lZaGuhuu_sGOLlg_6Dsg9KKx613gdHgqAOz9tjC1-DGrclJ4TzUUvGIWZtFnKSCLdfJRIwJ5lAdzfwWj5vL6MOlEzL7J7vLx8i8xOsXALM&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1512769938227&rm=1603814a709de01a&zw&atsh=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" id="m_4623926688538255243A707D138-D5FE-42A7-89B7-A15D3C2175CA" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=d1d5a841cc&view=fimg&th=1603814a709de01a&attid=0.1.2&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ8OIrbzrDsXyxie0lZaGuhuu_sGOLlg_6Dsg9KKx613gdHgqAOz9tjC1-DGrclJ4TzUUvGIWZtFnKSCLdfJRIwJ5lAdzfwWj5vL6MOlEzL7J7vLx8i8xOsXALM&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1512769938227&rm=1603814a709de01a&zw&atsh=1" /></a><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=d1d5a841cc&view=fimg&th=1603814a709de01a&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ8Mn_AS0WaEnNiPPh5xRlXnvCjQwSynrw4vZB0wtKZ1wP0qwgQFoCOKqKvwY1ZHSYyX7aviVkJzrTuwW4UCdZlt2-xE1aQU0k9c3uES79NAZoYhBLVGYIJ6lnE&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1512769938227&rm=1603814a709de01a&zw&atsh=1" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="CToWUd" id="m_46239266885382552435D979FB1-B288-431D-989C-E33BAE0937DD" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/?ui=2&ik=d1d5a841cc&view=fimg&th=1603814a709de01a&attid=0.1.1&disp=emb&attbid=ANGjdJ8Mn_AS0WaEnNiPPh5xRlXnvCjQwSynrw4vZB0wtKZ1wP0qwgQFoCOKqKvwY1ZHSYyX7aviVkJzrTuwW4UCdZlt2-xE1aQU0k9c3uES79NAZoYhBLVGYIJ6lnE&sz=s0-l75-ft&ats=1512769938227&rm=1603814a709de01a&zw&atsh=1" /></a></div>
<blockquote style="background-color: white;" type="cite">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Friends,<br /><br />Welcome to part two of my review of The Family Honor Plate.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">To see a video of me opening ours, showing all of the pieces that are part of the lovely package you or those you send this to will receive, please visit my blog page -What I Learned From The Word Today on Facebook. </span> </blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white;" type="cite">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I've tried countless times to upload the video here, but am having one of <i>those computer </i><strike>days</strike> weeks. You know the ones...if it CAN go wrong, it will...pray for me friends, I might be bald soon. I'm that close to pulling my hair out!</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Now, back to the happy review...I love this product so much, and I especially cherish the founder's heart for the WHY behind this amazing plate.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I can’t stress enough what a quality gift this would be for anyone you love. </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="🎁" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f381" goomoji="1f381" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f381" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />The plate itself is a THICK ceramic. It is sure to last for generations. What a sweet treasure for any family to pass down through their generations.<span style="margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="❤" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="2764" goomoji="2764" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/2764" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span>️<br /><br />Little children would have so much fun painting this, and like the teapot that my sweet daughter and I painted together years ago, as referenced in this video, the paintings of your little one onto this plate will become a source of sweet memories for all of you as they grow up. <span style="margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="🎨" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f3a8" goomoji="1f3a8" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f3a8" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span><br /><br />When I look at our little teapot today, I don’t see the childish painting marks Brennan made, but am instantly transported back to the day I sat next to my sweet little girl, watching her beam as we worked on the teapot together.<br /><br />I’m ashamed to tell you this, but I still remember how much I wrestled with the cost that the resort was charging for the experience. I came so close to telling her we couldn’t afford to do that activity.<br /><br />Then I looked into her little six year old eyes as they exuded excitement over the prospect of painting pottery with her Mommy, and decided to get over the cost and enjoy the experience with her. <span style="margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="💝" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f49d" goomoji="1f49d" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f49d" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span><br /><br />That was one of the smartest decisions I ever made as a mommy. We both still cherish that little teapot, but even more so the time we spent together.<br /><br />YOU and your family can have an even richer experience, at a fraction of the cost, by working together to design your own Family Honor Plate. <span style="margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="💕" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f495" goomoji="1f495" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f495" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><img alt="💕" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f495" goomoji="1f495" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f495" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span><br /><br />Now that mine are teens, it can sometimes be hard to come up with special memory making activities to do together. I can’t wait to paint this with them on Christmas Eve!<br /><br />I love the heart of the founder.<br />Read her purpose for creating The Family Honor Plate:<br /><br />Step #1 MOM AND DAD - BE THE EXAMPLE. BE THE ROLE-MODEL:<br />The virtues are listed in the center of the plate for mom and dad to use as their anchor, their moral compass to guide them in how they need to show up for and to their children. This is how our children learn what character (Christ's Character) is, what it looks like, what it feels like. Our children are watching us and learning from us. </span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />Step #2 BE ON THE LOOKOUT:<br />Look for the good choices and attitude your kids/spouse are making and showing throughout the day. Track it back to the virtues and character it shows.<br /><br />Step #3 CELEBRATE THEIR CHARACTER:<br />Turn dinnertime into a celebration when you catch someone making good choices and showing good character and present their meal on the FAMILY HONOR PLATE. This is when you:<br />· Talk about the choices they made and the virtues and character that it showed (Be specific).<br />· Talk about how they made everyone involved feel and the impact they had on people and how that is POWERFUL and BEAUTIFUL.<br /><br />I encourage you with all of my heart...go to <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://honorplate.com&source=gmail&ust=1512855769479000&usg=AFQjCNFTI7u_nNfrbJ2a_pJtSqUxz3pHbg" href="http://honorplate.com/" target="_blank">honorplate.com</a> and get some of these for your friends and family members for Christmas!<br /><br />They. Are. Precious!!<br /><br />There’s even a 20% discount for multiple orders placed at the same time, so you can accomplish much of you Christmas shopping in one stop at <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://honorplate.com&source=gmail&ust=1512855769479000&usg=AFQjCNFTI7u_nNfrbJ2a_pJtSqUxz3pHbg" href="http://honorplate.com/" target="_blank">honorplate.com</a> . <span style="margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="🙌" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f64c" goomoji="1f64c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f64c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span>🏼<span style="margin-left: 0.2ex; margin-right: 0.2ex;"><img alt="😃" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f603" goomoji="1f603" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f603" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /><img alt="🙌" class="CToWUd" data-goomoji="1f64c" goomoji="1f64c" src="https://mail.google.com/mail/e/1f64c" style="margin: 0px 0.2ex; max-height: 24px; vertical-align: middle;" /></span>🏼<br /><br />#honorplate<br />#flyby</span></blockquote>
Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-71041885957304178212017-12-08T16:34:00.001-05:002017-12-08T16:34:55.092-05:00Such a FUN Gift For People of All Ages!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;">Friends,</span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">Merry
Christmas! </span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Happy
Hanukkah!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Are you
looking for some unique ways to make lasting memories with your family during
this most wonderful time of the year?</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">In this
post and my next I’m going to share with you two exciting gifts that my family
was recently given which we have absolutely loved!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">These would
make such wonderful presents for your loved ones this Christmas! </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">❤</span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">️</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPhvWzNdzF9J2khkYLkKDWvKzTopf8ANjLhy9Bj0B3tvkA6lEog_1ujhQkt2qo271dsxLF7WJLTWkRp_1QHlPkJFssspmvQN1Q2J0CYXHpsv-eH2XGwe7iJSy4ACuSbwIzAE/s1600/LetsTalk3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfPhvWzNdzF9J2khkYLkKDWvKzTopf8ANjLhy9Bj0B3tvkA6lEog_1ujhQkt2qo271dsxLF7WJLTWkRp_1QHlPkJFssspmvQN1Q2J0CYXHpsv-eH2XGwe7iJSy4ACuSbwIzAE/s1600/LetsTalk3.JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white;">The
Let’s Talk! Table Thyme Discussion Cards have been a huge hit with my kids and
me over many a homeschool lunch day! We have discovered some deep dreams that
each of us hold; we’ve laughed together until we've wiped away tears; and we’ve had even more complex questions arise from
our nudged discussions thanks to these interesting and unique cards.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">When we
recently had friends come for Thanksgiving, I listened with glee as six kids
aged 10-17 sat around the dining room table using Let’s Talk! as a game,
giggling their heads off as they listened - yes, you caught that right, they
LISTENED to one another’s answers!</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LgkG41UPLw/WisE2E4wB5I/AAAAAAAAA0Q/BRJjN-UT5tMh3_jADCVtUyAKATR0DOhagCLcBGAs/s1600/LetsTalk4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="320" data-original-width="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6LgkG41UPLw/WisE2E4wB5I/AAAAAAAAA0Q/BRJjN-UT5tMh3_jADCVtUyAKATR0DOhagCLcBGAs/s1600/LetsTalk4.JPG" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
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<span style="background: white;">No
“smart” phones invaded their tender time of deepening relationships with those
they hold most dear. </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">❤</span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">️</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">The video
in my next post will give you more information about the flagship special gift
that the founder of The Family Honor Plate has designed. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">See the website at<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?hl=en&q=http://honorplate.com&source=gmail&ust=1512852243096000&usg=AFQjCNEEg3qTQItvlEctuQ03dv8nY2cG9g" href="http://honorplate.com/" target="_blank"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">honorplate.com</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">for a wonderful place to choose some gifts that are sure to be cherished
in your family for generations.</span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">One last
thing I loved about these gifts...they come packaged beautifully!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background: white;">Just
opening the box was a source of excitement as we peeled back the pretty yellow
tissue paper to discover what was inside! So this is the perfect gift to send
to family or friends for Christmas. The wrapping has been done for you! </span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">❤</span><span style="background: white; line-height: 115%;">️</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;">There is a current special running for 20% off when you choose to include multiple gifts in your online cart. :) </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><span style="line-height: 27.6px;">Merry Christmas! I hope you and those you love make as many happy memories with these darling gifts as we are. </span></span></div>
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</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; line-height: 115%;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">#flyby</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-61780786400825899862016-09-13T19:58:00.000-04:002016-09-14T00:05:45.492-04:00The Afters - Live On Forever (A CD Review and Opportunity to Win!)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEiul3bNcfE/V9iQB-FuYkI/AAAAAAAAAyc/k9UYqyQWnC8REIkeeMNvQ52xtiPrbXIygCEw/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEiul3bNcfE/V9iQB-FuYkI/AAAAAAAAAyc/k9UYqyQWnC8REIkeeMNvQ52xtiPrbXIygCEw/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Live On Forever</b></i>, the most recent CD by <b>The Afters</b>, has met with an overwhelmingly warm reception in our home!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Read that above statement this way... </span><br />
<span style="color: lime; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">My kids LOVE this CD, and I'm just close enough to the edge of cool that I'm enjoying it too. ;)</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The vocals and even some of the beats and melodies remind me of music that I loved when I was in high school and college, yet from bands whose lyrics didn't edify my heart like </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>The Afters </b>do. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">(Those were the days before I was a Jesus follower.)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As I type this, I'm listening to <i><b>Battles</b>,</i> one of my favorite songs on the CD.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;"> Perhaps one of my favorite songs EVER!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: georgia, 'times new roman', serif; font-size: large;">The incredibly sound doctrine of the lyrics of this song are reminding me that: </span></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Jesus goes before me</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He fights my battles for me</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">He surrounds me on every side </span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">His love is my armor</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Ah, what amazing truths for the Believer to cling to in times of unconscionable trials!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">As someone who has recently come through some of the most painful and trying years of my life, when indeed it felt at times that enemy armies really did surround me and were constantly on the march (another nod to the lyrics of this song), I am wishing I'd had this CD to listen to and let my spirit soak in during those brutal days! </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The song<i> <b>Battles</b> </i>is a beautiful reminder of Exodus 14:14 - </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"The LORD will fight for you, while you keep silent."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Hands down, this is my favorite song on the CD!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><b>You can see the music video for <i>Battles </i><a href="https://youtu.be/MQJWT017Jwc">here</a>.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">A close second is <i><b>Wake Up My Heart</b>. </i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">How true is the lyric </span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">"<u>I want to love all the things that You love</u>" ?! </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Amen, and amen, and amen again!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">The Lord knows exactly what we need, and when we need it. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">This CD arrived very close to the day that our beloved friend and pastor went to be with Jesus. The grief feels at times like it will swallow us up, yet listening to the truths from several of the songs on this CD has been the most tender gift from God, as it is helping us process the pain.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Interestingly, it was out of several heartbreaking situations that brought about their own deep grief, that <b>The Afters</b> were inspired to write the songs for this album. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">God's timing never ceases to amaze me!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">I really am enjoying the music and the heart of <i><b>Live On Forever</b></i>, and would LOVE nothing more than to share it with YOU!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">One of my blog readers is going to win a FREE copy of the CD, which will be mailed directly to you from the publisher.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">So please, comment below and I'll enter your name into the giveaway.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">Also, read below to find out five or more ways that you can be entered into the drawing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;">To buy a copy for yourself, here are some places you can find the CD...</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.smarturl.it/LOFAlbum-iTunes" target="_blank">iTunes</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.smarturl.it/LOFAlbum-GPLay" target="_blank">Google Play</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.smarturl.it/LOFAlbum-Amazon" target="_blank">Amazon</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="https://open.spotify.com/album/4sVbYL5y6d2nMX2H5LggGx" target="_blank">Spotify</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Get connected with <b>The Afters</b> at their website by clicking <a href="http://www.theafters.com/">here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook under their name.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I hope you enjoy their music as much as we do. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My kids are LOVING it! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Not only do the lyrics hold Biblical truth, but the songs have a beat that you can dance to! :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i>Disclaimer: I haven't read every single lyric, but those I have, I agree with completely!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What are you waiting for?! </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Here are the many ways you can be included in the random giveaway drawing:</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">* Comment below</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">* Leave a Comment on Facebook - on either my <a href="http://facebook.com/jesicawomack">personal page</a>, or on my Facebook blog page, which you'll find here: </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://whatilearnedfromthewordtoday.blogspot.com/2016/09/the-afters-live-on-forever-cd-review.html">What I Learned From The Word Today</a>, or both! :)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">* Leave a comment on this post on <a href="http://twitter.com/jesicawomack">my Twitter account</a>, or re-tweet this post</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">*Share this post on any social media platform (but please be sure to let me know in the comments below or on this post on Facebook where else you shared so I am certain to give you credit for your extra shares)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Do any or all of the above, and be included once for each of the listed ways to win in the random giveaway that will award a copy of </span><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="color: blue;"><b>Live On Forever</b></i><span style="color: blue;"> </span></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">to one blog reader.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">You have at least SIX potential ways to earn an entry to win. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Best wishes that YOU are the winner because I think you'll LOVE this CD!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC's CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising"): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller/FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification."</span></span></div>
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-73850528927415292782016-06-06T17:30:00.002-04:002016-06-06T17:31:18.310-04:00Phil Wickham's CHILDREN OF GOD - a reviewI'm so excited to have been chosen as a reviewer for Phil Wickham's new CD, Children of God!<br />
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What's been interesting to me about Phil's work on this CD is how it spans the generations in our home.<br />
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I personally love the way he presents the Doxology as the first song on the CD. It's delivered in a new and interesting way, yet is still quite reverent.<br />
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My kids were ecstatic when I turned the radio on in the car and they heard Phil's voice, because they've come to love his work. They listen to Christian radio while taking care of our animals several times a day and had heard a few of his songs on their favorite station, and had already discovered how much they love his music. 😃<br />
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My husband was listening to Children of God yesterday while he waited in the car for me to come out of an appointment, and he said that he found it to be very relaxing.<br />
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So it's funny to me that my kids are ready to get up and dance when they listen to this CD; my husband is relaxed; and I am drawn by the Doxology into a heart of reverent worship.<br />
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I have to say, this is an impressive feat to have accomplished all on one CD!<br />
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Children of God by Phil Wickham...I think you'll find it one you'll want to add to your playlist.<br />
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<span class="s6" style="font-family: "calibri"; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px;"><span class="bumpedFont15" style="font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 27px;">Buy Links:</span></span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">iTunes</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">: </span><a href="http://smarturl.it/PW-COGiTunes"><span class="s8" style="color: #386eff; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">http://smarturl.it/PW-COGiTunes</span></a><span class="s4" style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;"> </span></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Amazon: </span><a href="http://smarturl.it/PW-COG-Amazon"><span class="s8" style="color: #386eff; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">http://smarturl.it/PW-COG-Amazon</span></a></div>
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<span class="s4" style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">Spotify</span><span class="s4" style="font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">: </span><a href="http://smarturl.it/PW-COG-Spotify"><span class="s8" style="color: #386eff; font-family: "helvetica"; line-height: 21.600000381469727px;">http://smarturl.it/PW-COG-Spotify</span></a></div>
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* I received this CD for free in exchange for my honest review. *<br />
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<br />Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-2385611073733168272015-04-08T20:27:00.000-04:002015-04-08T20:28:12.501-04:00GUEST BLOGGER: My Daughter's Review of The Good Book Movie<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">What a treat it is to welcome my sweet daughter as a guest blogger today!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This is her review of The Good Book movie.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The Good Book is a very touching movie. Wanting to be a filmmaker myself, it showed me new ideas and new ways of how to produce a film.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I love how they incorporated the Bible and how they kept the sole focus on God.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For a silent film, The Good Book says a whole lot!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I love how they showed the different struggles that people can go through. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">My rating for The Good Book movie is a FIVE STAR! </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Spoiler Alert***</span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My favorite story line is when Ruth helps Sarah (the homeless woman) to find a job. In the Bible it says that when we help the weary and homeless, we will be helping Jesus. </span><br />
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<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mat&c=25&v=37&t=NASB#s=954037" target="_blank">(Matthew 25:31-40)</a></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br />What I learned overall is that everyone has bad days and everyone goes through hard times. If it is burning your house down, or losing your baby; being homeless, or being a martyr for Jesus Christ, God will always be with you no matter what.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-20088477891481395342015-04-05T22:40:00.000-04:002015-04-05T23:27:18.951-04:00THE GOOD BOOK - A Movie Review and Giveaway<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">HAPPY RESURRECTION DAY!!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I have a very special gift for one of you.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's a copy of the recently released evangelical Christian film,</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><i>The Good Book</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">This film has received a 5 Dove rating from The Dove Foundation, but not only that...click <a href="http://www.goodbookmovie.com/#!the-good-book/cm82" target="_blank">goodbookmovie.com</a> to see the other countless awards it has won.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">What makes The Good Book such a unique and powerful movie is that it's a <i>silent </i>evangelical film. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Yes, you read that correctly. It's a <i>silent</i> film. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">I've labored in my mind over how to share with you the incredible impact that this tender movie had on my heart, and on the hearts of my children, without giving away the entire story.</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In a word, this beautiful story highlights the truth of this Scripture:</span><br />
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<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="bibleTable" id="bibleTable" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 25px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 614px;"><tbody style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<tr id="verse_734011" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><td id="yui-gen65" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 108px;"><div id="yui-gen66" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 3px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"> <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Isa&c=55&v=11&t=NASB#s=734011" id="va_734011" rel="tools" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;">Isaiah 55:11</a></span></div>
</td><td id="yui-gen54" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 375px;"><div id="yui-gen53" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; white-space: normal;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; <br style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;" />It will not return to Me empty, <br style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;" />Without accomplishing what I desire, <br style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;" />And without succeeding <em id="yui-gen55" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">in the matter</em> for which I sent it.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">and this one: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="bibleTable" id="bibleTable" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-collapse: collapse; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 16px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 25px; padding-right: 25px; padding-top: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 614px;"><tbody style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<tr id="verse_1137012" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;"><td id="yui-gen55" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 108px;"><div id="yui-gen57" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 3px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 0.8em;"> </span><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Heb&c=4&v=12&t=NASB#s=1137012" id="va_1137012" rel="tools" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 3px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;">Hebrews 4:12</a></span></div>
</td><td id="yui-gen51" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.4em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 20px; padding-top: 5px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 375px;"><div id="yui-gen52" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(249, 250, 251); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-top: 4px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; white-space: normal;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.</span></div>
</td></tr>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">all without one word being uttered!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">From the time that my son was a young boy, he has loved giving Bibles to people. I'm sure some of that originated from our family tradition of handing Bibles out on Halloween, but it was when he discovered the countless Gideon Bibles sitting on the shelves of a Goodwill store that the Lord planted a seed of ministry in his young heart.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">At the time, our church was directly across the street from a Goodwill (<i>full of amazing designer clothes</i>), so we'd often stop in after church. :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Caedmon would make a run for the shelves with the Bibles, and the gracious managers allowed him to take as many as his little hands could hold.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He'd lovingly choose the ones in the best condition, and then would have one with him at all times to hand out to people he met.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He'd give them to homeless people.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He handed one to a Muslim man in Lowe's one time.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He made sure all of the neighborhood kids had one.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It's been quite sweet to watch over the years as our son has recycled discarded Bibles.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Yet, when he watched The Good Book, the Lord used it to ignite afresh that spark of evangelism in him. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">In the movie, a Bible is passed from one person to another, and each time the person giving it puts their name in the Bible.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Caedmon is back to handing out recycled Gideon Bibles, but now he's also putting his name in them. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">After seeing the film he said, </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">"Mom, if someone is given a Bible with the name of the person who gave it to them written in it, they'll be less likely to throw it away!"</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">While my little family may never know the difference that God's Word may make in the lives of the many people to whom Caedmon gives a Bible, <i>in The Good Book movie we have the great privilege of watching the stories unfold of how the Word of God literally transforms the lives of those who receive it!</i></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here's a trailer for the movie:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/2URYCOv1-K4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2URYCOv1-K4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I so encourage you to get a copy of this movie for your next family movie night! It will no doubt be the inspiration for many rich conversations about the power of the Gospel, and the role we as Believers have in sharing it with others, out of obedience to the Lord Jesus.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">You can buy a copy at one of these two places online: </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=309312&event=ESRCG" target="_blank">Christian Book Distributors</a></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.christiancinema.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=5400" target="_blank">Christian Cinema</a></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">and I <i>think</i> you can also find it at Lifeway Stores.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">But, you may also be able to win the copy I have so graciously been given by the director. :)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here's all you need to do. You'll have extra entries for any of the below actions that you take. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">1. Comment on this blog post.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">2. Comment on Facebook where you saw the link to this blog post.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">3. Re-tweet this blog post on Twitter.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">4. Share this blog post on Facebook.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><strike>5. Bring a pan of gluten-free, sugar free brownies to me. </strike> </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>That's a joke. Don't do that. I'll think you're a stalker!</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">After you watch the film, <b>be sure</b> to watch the interviews. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">There's one with an older man who tells the story of smuggling Bibles into former Communist countries, and his passionate love for God's Word and for people made me think of the countless faithful saints throughout the years who have sacrificed their very lives so that others could have God's Word in their hands.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I want to live with that kind of focus and passion!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">One last exciting thing to share is this...</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">The writer and director, Sharon Wilharm and her husband are at work on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">Faith Flix Films' next silent movie, Providence...and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;">our family is SO EXCITED because all four of us get to make our film acting debuts as background actors in this beautiful movie! </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I can't WAIT!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Here's a synopsis of their upcoming movie:</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Providence - <i>A love story forty years in the making.</i></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: magenta; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Rachel and Mitchell both grow up in the small town of Providence, Tennessee. Their paths keep crossing and at one point it looks like they'll finally get together. But the opportunity slips away and they go their separate ways. It takes a tragedy many years later before they're reunited. This time will they let the moment pass or will they take a step of faith and trust God to work a miracle in their lives?</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">You can see the cast by clicking <a href="http://www.goodbookmovie.com/#!providence/cxrc" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">OK, so get busy commenting, tweeting, and sharing for your chance to win a copy of The Good Book! </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'll do a random drawing for the winner on Wednesday, April 8th.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Again, Happy Resurrection Day!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">With much love,</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Jes</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-10859304156636861352015-02-06T15:18:00.004-05:002015-02-07T00:54:23.179-05:00ROADMAP GENESIS - A Movie Review and Giveaway<div>
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<b style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: large;">Here are the many ways you can be entered to win your very own copy of Roadmap Genesis:</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>1. Comment below.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>2. Share this post on Facebook.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>3. Tweet this post, including @JesicaWomack @RoadmapGenesis and #RGChallenge</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>4. Pin this post. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>I will choose a winner by random on February 12th. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'm excited to have been invited to review this documentary, and have been asked to give my unbiased opinion of it.</span><span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><br /></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It's tough to know where to start, to be honest.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I LOVE documentaries, especially ones that interview random people on the street as Nolan Lebovitz does in Roadmap Genesis. In the film, he asks people, <i><b>"I say Genesis, you say..."</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The myriad of answers to this simple question truly gives us a glimpse of where our society is with regard to the authority and inerrancy of God's Word.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It made me ask myself what my response would be, for Genesis holds so much. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Would I have started with creation? The flood? Original sin? </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'd like to think I would have answered, <b>"Elohim,"</b> God in three persons from the very first chapter of Scripture!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that the responses of the people interviewed reminded me afresh that we who love and believe the Bible to be inspired by God...literally God breathed, </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">(<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=2Ti&c=3&t=NASB#s=1128016" target="_blank">2 Timothy 3:16-17</a>), and the very person of Jesus Christ (<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Heb&c=4&t=NASB#s=1137012" target="_blank">Hebrews 4:12</a>; <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=1&t=NASB" target="_blank">John 1:1</a>; <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rev&c=19&t=NASB#s=1186013" target="_blank">Revelation 19:13</a>), cannot afford to sit idly by, content with heads full of knowledge of the Scripture.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We MUST be driven by hearts of <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Col&c=3&v=12&t=NASB#s=1110012" target="_blank">compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience</a>, and love to reach out to those who don't know the Lord. It's with a heart and life surrendered to Christ Jesus on a daily basis that we will be able to help others learn how to study and understand not only the applicable <b>truths</b> of Genesis, but of the whole counsel of God's Word.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">One of the things I loved about this film is the fact that God used the birth of Mr. Lebovitz's first child to make him evaluate how he was numbering his days upon this earth. He turned from making violent Hollywood films, to focusing on creating content that he would be proud to share with his family.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">In the film he interviews Ken Ham of Answers in Genesis, along with Governor Mike Huckabee and countless others. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Some of the "experts" who speak on the book of Genesis are incredibly off base, while others offer a fresh perspective, worthy of consideration.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I especially enjoyed hearing from Alan Dershowitz, Professor of Law, Harvard Law school. He explained his opinion of the issues found in Genesis being the very foundation for the establishment of the Law in the book of Exodus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'm still chewing on that comment...I LOVE it when people make me delve deeper in my thinking on a topic with which I feel familiar!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This documentary has a few graphic (very short) clips at the very beginning...a contrast between the movies Mr. Lebovitz used to make and the ones he now does. I wanted to make you aware of that, should you consider watching this with your children.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">There is also one clip of art that shows a naked man (think Renaissance painting).</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">In addition, there is quite a focus on doing good. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">While we know that God's desire for us is to do this very thing, only that which is done by the power of the Holy Spirit living within us will ever change the hearts of men.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">We can't <b><i>do</i></b> enough good to earn the unmerited favor of God. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If we could, then Christ Jesus died in vain.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>We must remember...not I, but Christ. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As one who enjoys documentaries, I found this film incredibly interesting because I appreciated hearing all of the different perspectives on Genesis, even the ones that I believe are pretty off, as it challenged me anew to share the TRUTH of God's Word with others. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">People need to know the truth, and my experience is that they come to know the truth of the Word for themselves when we teach them how to study the Bible inductively.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbrcYZe9Zv8" target="_blank">See a preview of Roadmap Genesis here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here's the official promo for the movie:</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Roadmap Genesis</i> is a film documentary that makes the case that the Book of Genesis is a roadmap containing guideposts on how to live a productive, fruitful, and fulfilling life that will help our society lift itself out of its current decline and return it to prosperity, promise, and accomplishment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>When Filmmaker Nolan Lebovitz found himself at a crossroads in his life, he knew he had to choose between continuing to make the Hollywood suspense thrillers that were his livelihood and trying to make the world a better place for his new young family. After much struggle, he found his answer in the Book of Genesis.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"></span>He decided to combine his love of the Book of Genesis with his passion for film making and set out to travel the United States, interviewing clergy and public figures in order to build an undeniable argument about the continued importance of the Book of Genesis as guiding force in our Judeo-Christian country.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><i>Roadmap Genesis</i> invites Americans of all faiths to engage in a dialogue about the relevance of the Bible in the modern age. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Through interviews ranging from <b>Gov. Mike Huckabee</b> of Fox News Channel to <b>Rabbi David Wolpe</b>, from <b>Alan Dershowitz</b> to the Archbishop of Chicago Cardinal <b>Francis George</b>, from <b>Erick Stakelbeck</b> of the Christian Broadcasting Network to <b>Ken Ham</b> of Answers in Genesis and the <b>Creation Museum</b>, and many, many more, Nolan explores the rules that God has set forth to help us maintain a successful and working society.</span></div>
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<b>S O C I A L • C O R N E R </b></div>
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<b>Check out & share the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbrcYZe9Zv8" target="_blank">TRAILER</a> </b></div>
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<b>Official </b><a href="http://roadmapgenesis.com/" target="_blank"><b>WEBPAGE</b></a></div>
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<b>Official <a href="https://www.facebook.com/roadmapgenesis" target="_blank">FACEBOOK</a></b></div>
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<b>Official </b><b><a href="https://twitter.com/roadmapgenesis" target="_blank">TWITTER</a></b></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Please join us in the Roadmap Genesis Challenge to spread the message of Genesis!</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Pick your favorite verse of Genesis and create a video of you reading it from your own personal Bible. Then tag as many of your friends as you'd like and challenge them to read their favorite verse as well. In this way, we can both share the Book of Genesis with all of our friends, and stand up and be counted as people of faith. </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Don’t forget to tag the Roadmap Genesis Facebook Page and add the link <a href="http://www.roadmapgenesis.com/" target="_blank">www.RoadmapGenesis.com</a> on your post.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: large;">Our hope is for the challenge to spread wide enough that we can assemble a video of the entire book of Genesis one verse and one person at a time.</span></i></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>Here are the many ways you can be entered to win your very own copy of Roadmap Genesis:</b></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>1. Comment below.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>2. Share this post on Facebook.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>3. Tweet this post, including @JesicaWomack @RoadmapGenesis and #RGChallenge</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>4. Pin this post. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: x-large;"><b>I will choose a winner by random on February 12th. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Much love to you today,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><b>Jes</b></span></div>
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<i><span style="color: #10171f;">"<b>Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”):</b> Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post. <u></u><u></u></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="color: #10171f;">Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. Or if you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”</span></i></div>
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-47095163875401645642014-11-04T14:01:00.000-05:002014-11-05T13:58:08.336-05:00What It Was Like To Have An Abortion<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>*UPDATE at the end of this post. Written 11/5/14*</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had planned to write this days ago, in the hope that it might help someone decide how to vote on Amendment 1 in the state of Tennessee.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My prayer today will be that this isn't too little, too late.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've shared my story many times with women one on one, and I've always shared it when I've led a women's retreat or a Bible study by weaving it into why it's SO important to know how to study the Bible for ourselves.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Today is the day to share it here.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I will be closing comments for this post.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">******************************************</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I grew up under a Biblical false teacher who taught from the pulpit that abortion was a woman's right to choose because a baby wasn't a human being until it took its first breath of life on its own. He taught that the moment they took their first breath was when "spirit life" was breathed into them.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What a lie!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let's see what <b>God </b>says about when life begins:</span><br />
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<b> <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jer&c=1&v=5&t=NASB#s=746005" id="va_746005" rel="tools" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #39547f; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;">Jeremiah 1:5</a></b></div>
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<b>“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, <br style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;" />And before you were born I consecrated you; </b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Psalm 139:13-16</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>For You formed my inward parts;</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>You wove me in my mother’s womb.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I will give thanks to You, </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Wonderful are Your works,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And my soul knows it very well.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>My frame was not hidden from You,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>When I was made in secret,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth;</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And in Your book were all written</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The days that were ordained for me,</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>When as yet there was not one of them.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In order for you to understand how indoctrinated I was with this lie, let me explain further.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">From the time I was 7 years old, I had to listen to a tape of this false teacher nightly, take notes, and turn them into my mom. I trust that her heart intention was good. She had just been deeply deceived because she didn't know how to study the Word for herself either, so she fell prey to this man's lies.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My mother lost my sister before I was born. Jennifer was stillborn at 9 months, and I can remember asking my mother from the time I was a very little girl if I would meet Jennifer in Heaven. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The answer was always, "No baby, she never had spirit life breathed into her. She was ashes to ashes and dust to dust."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet, every October my sweet mother grieved the loss of my sister. I could see it on her face. Sometimes we'd talk about it when I was older, but I had nothing to give her. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No words to encourage her that she would indeed see her baby girl one day.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There are parts of my life story that I could write here that might give you some compassion for the choice that I made to have an abortion, but to share those could shut down any hope for the future that I hold for some I love. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, if you choose to judge me for something I did when I was lost, that will be between you and the Lord. Good luck with that if you go that route.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I lived a life of immorality prior to coming to know Jesus in June of 1999. Gross immorality.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In 1993 I dated a man 19 years my senior because I was so desperately looking for a father figure. Three months into the relationship I announced to my family and friends that I was breaking up with him because he was too controlling.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next day, I found out I was pregnant and within the week we were engaged. Insane. Absolutely insane!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I carried the baby three and 1/2 months, and was in a car accident. A few days later, I started to bleed and when I went to the doctor it was confirmed that the baby didn't make it. What was explained to me is fuzzy all these years later, but I think that the baby had stopped developing prior to the wreck. (That matters to the story as follows.)</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Of course, they didn't call it a baby. They called it a fetus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But I remember how kind that doctor was. He was old enough to be my father and I remember him lovingly and gently trying to give me counsel with regard to the path I was on with my life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If only I had listened!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was pretty devastated when a few days later, I miscarried the baby in the privacy of my apartment. I remember reaching into the toilet and picking up what I had passed and thinking that it just looked like a clump of clay. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't see a body. I just saw a gray clump. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In that moment, I decided deep in my heart that what the false teacher had taught all of those years must have been truth. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had always been one to say, "I could never have an abortion, but I believe it's a woman's right to choose."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That moment in time changed my mind. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Six months later, after breaking up with the father figure and going about my life of business woman by day and free-living woman by night, I was pregnant again. By someone else.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For many, many years I had purchased birth control through Planned Parenthood. I started that in college because Planned Parenthood provided birth control on a sliding scale fee. In essence, it was pretty close to free.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Once I had a successful career, I even wrote checks to support Planned Parenthood because they had been so "good" to me when I was broke.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So yes, I had birth control. It seems it just didn't always make its way to my mouth.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I simply cannot put into words for you how out of control and insane my life was at this time. I was a spiritual and emotional wreck, but no one would have known it unless they were looking at me through Spiritual eyes.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When I found out I was pregnant the second time, I called the guy to tell him just because I thought it was the right thing to do to let him know that I wanted to have an abortion. I felt he had a choice in the matter, I guess.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It was at that time that he disclosed to me that he already had a child. She was 7 years old, and he hadn't seen her since she was a baby. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That spoke volumes to me. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the time, I was 24 years old with a budding career. I desperately wanted to be married with children, but I didn't want to be a single mom who worked while her child was in day care all day long. I also didn't want to be judged by anyone.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I chose to abort my baby.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It breaks my heart to tell you this, but I even had a very precious family whom I love to this day who sat me down and offered to adopt my baby if I chose to carry it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Oh my gosh, I can barely write that without totally losing it!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The day came for the abortion. I took a Friday off of work, and scheduled it for that day so I'd have the weekend to recover.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Much of the day is a blur to me. I remember being in the waiting room, with the precious woman who offered to adopt my baby and with the guy who was paying for the abortion.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was then called back to have an ultrasound. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The tech asked me how far along I thought I was and I said, "About six weeks."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Oh, you're probably going to have to go home and let it grow for another six weeks before we can do this," she said while rubbing my belly with her wand..her screen turned so only she could see it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I distinctly remember saying, "Oh, please! You have to get it today. I'm not emotionally attached yet, but I know what it is to be 12 weeks along, and I will be if I have to wait that long."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She continued with the ultrasound and then said, "OK. I see the heartbeat. We can get it today."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me write that again..</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"OK. I see the heartbeat. We can get it today."</span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>I never saw the heartbeat. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>I never saw the sonogram picture. </i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>I was never even asked if I wanted to see it.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>There was no counseling given to me. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>No one asked me if I had considered the long term ramifications of the "choice" I was about to make.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NO ONE TOLD ME THAT A BABY IS A BABY FROM THE MOMENT OF CONCEPTION!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am a mother to living children today, and I can tell you this...when I first saw their heartbeats on the sonogram monitor, I wept both times. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">WHY?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>BECAUSE I SAW THEIR LITTLE LIVES INSIDE OF ME!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The next thing I remember is being on the operating table with several people in the room. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember the doctor was very crass and hard. I don't remember kind nurses, or anyone nurturing in the least.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The sound of the suction that was used to vacuum my baby from my womb sounded like the loudest shop vac you can imagine. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After the shop vac came lots and lots of scraping.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember hearing, "I'm pretty sure I got it all. She's gonna be sore. Check her well for bleeding."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then I was sent to recovery, which was a big room full of beds lined side by side. It was like the pictures we see of old hospital wards.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I was in SO MUCH pain, and kept asking for something for it. </b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Nobody helped me.</i></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I just laid there writhing and moaning out until the "doctor" came out and said,</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"> <b>"Shut her up! She's going to scare the others in the waiting room!"</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then I was given more for the pain.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I spent that weekend with my dear friend. She lovingly cared for my every need, as I bled and bled and bled.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By Monday, I was back at work as if nothing had happened.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, I'd like to share with you the rest of the story...</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On June 11, 1999 I was radically saved by Jesus. It was 13 days into my marriage with my beloved husband of 15 years.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We suffered countless miscarriages. By 2005, after our two living children had been born, my reproductive system seemed only to be able to produce miscarriages and intense pain.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So with tears in my eyes as they rolled me down to surgery, I had a hysterectomy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">BUT...I made the doctor who performed it PROMISE me that she'd take a picture of my womb and show it to me after the surgery.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She asked why and I explained about the abortion and she wanted to give me a counseling session on forgiving myself.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I stopped her and said, </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>"I KNOW that I am forgiven by Jesus. He has made that abundantly clear, both through His Word and through His Spirit. I just HAVE to know if my choice impacted my ability to have the big family that I always dreamed of having."</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A day or two after having the surgery, she walked into my hospital room as I was reading my Bible. I'd never seen someone actually <i><b>physically bristle</b></i> at the sight of God's Word, but she did. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She then produced the photographs of my womb. I wasn't trained to know what I was seeing, but it sure looked horrific.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I asked her, "What does that tell you?"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She said very simply, "You were butchered. I'm amazed that you have any children at all."</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Did you catch that?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">"YOU WERE BUTCHERED."</b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">"YOU WERE BUTCHERED."</b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;">"YOU WERE BUTCHERED!!!!!!"</b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let me be very clear here.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am not blaming anyone for the choices I made. They were sinful choices made by a lost young woman full of sin, and full of self.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">However, I do want you to know something if you're considering having an abortion... <b>the industry did NOT CARE ONE BIT about my health. </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They didn't care about my future. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They weren't trying to help me long term.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>If they had been, they wouldn't have butchered my womb.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's that simple.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few years after the abortion, I remember walking into a church and it was Sanctity of Life Sunday. I'd never heard anything about it, but everywhere I looked men were wearing little baby feet pins on their lapels.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">When the pastor started teaching against abortion, I literally had to be held in my seat by the person I was with because I was so close to coming out of it and screaming, </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"KEEP YOUR POLITICS TO YOURSELF! I'M HERE TO HEAR A SERMON ON THE BIBLE!!"</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was SO deceived.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I was SO lost.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I SO needed Jesus Christ to take away that evil, hard heart and give me the new heart that He promises to those who enter into the New Covenant through Him!</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A few months after I became a Christian and God gave me my new heart, I was pregnant with our son and I remember asking the Lord to please tell me whether or not what I had done by having an abortion was sin. </span></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He tenderly but clearly whispered to my heart, <i><b>"It was murder."</b></i></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love that the Lord knows us each so well, and He knew that I needed Him to answer me that clearly. He didn't condemn me, because His Word is true!</span></div>
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<tr id="verse_1054001" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><td id="yui-gen81" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; padding: 15px 0px 5px; vertical-align: top; width: 108px;"><div id="yui-gen82" style="border: 1px solid rgb(249, 250, 251); box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 3px; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;">
<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Rom&c=8&v=1&t=NASB#s=1054001" id="va_1054001" rel="tools" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;"><b><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">Romans 8:1</span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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</tbody></table>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've never again questioned whether or not I committed murder. I know I did. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also know that I'm forgiven in Christ.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">JESUS took my condemnation! </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Jesus paid the price for EVERY SINGLE SIN I've ever committed, or will.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I didn't know that with every ounce of my being, there is no way I could publicly share this story, but I do so with my husband's permission and with much prayer from many precious sisters in Christ who have been lifting me up, knowing I was going to write this.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>If you live in Tennessee, as you go to the polls today, please...VOTE "YES" on Amendment 1.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Women who seek abortions should have protections put in place for them both emotionally and physically...protections we don't have for them today.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Remember what my doctor said to me in 2005?</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">"YOU WERE BUTCHERED."</span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Please, let's help protect other young, lost women from having any part of their future ruined.</b></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Let's do all we can to help them choose life.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Won't you please pray with me, if you're a Believer in Christ Jesus?</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>"Oh Father God,</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thank you for your forgiveness which you grant to us when we believe that Jesus is your Son and confess with our mouths that you raised Him from the dead. Thank you for the gift of repentance that you grant to us, hand in hand with the gift of faith.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>LORD, Amendment 1 doesn't stand a chance of winning without Your Divine hand making it happen, and the truth is LORD that we as a nation have so sinned against You that You don't owe us a victory in this.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So I come before You Lord, and I confess as Nehemiah did the sins of our nation, the sins of our fathers, and my own sin.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We PRAISE You LORD, that you don't need numbers to accomplish Your goals. You proved that beautifully when You reduced Gideon's army from 22,000 to 300 men and then gave them victory over their enemies without them even having to lift a sword!</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We plead with You, LORD, to move on behalf of the remnant of Your beloved who delight in You.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We plead with You on behalf of the women who don't yet know you, but who know of the abortion mills, and of Planned Parenthood and look to them as a refuge as I did.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Lord, please use this post to save lives. </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Please use it to speak reality into the minds of Tennessee voters today, and into the hearts of women who are considering abortion both today and in the years to come.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In the Name of Jesus Christ I ask,</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>By the power of Your Holy Spirit who indwells me, </b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And to Your Majesty and Glory, Father.</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Amen."</b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jdg&c=7&t=NASB" target="_blank">Here's the story of Gideon. It's amazing, and I pray you'll read it.</a></b></span></div>
<div>
<b style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I hope you'll come back to my blog and read part two of this story. I'd like to tell you of the amazing hope that Jesus gave me with regard to my baby that I aborted. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But that's a story for another day.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have my full permission to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, however you are led if your motive is to help save another woman and her baby.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Much love to you,</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jes</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yeyyl_Y0yPY/VFkh9Vj9YDI/AAAAAAAAAv0/lpkcpqOrNfo/s1600/yes-on-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Yeyyl_Y0yPY/VFkh9Vj9YDI/AAAAAAAAAv0/lpkcpqOrNfo/s1600/yes-on-1.jpg" height="218" width="320" /></a></div>
<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>UPDATE: PRAISE GOD from Whom ALL blessings flow! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Amendment 1 passed in Tennessee!!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>It truly is a miracle given to us by Almighty God that it did. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Planned Parenthood was funneling money into our state from all over the country. The list of donors for "No on 1" had countless Planned Parenthoods on it.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We who were for "Yes on 1" were outspent dramatically.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We were also outnumbered.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>PRAISE GOD...it truly WAS a GIDEON story! Did you read that link above? If not, here it is again. You NEED to read it! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jdg&c=7&t=NASB" target="_blank">Gideon's Story</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The "No on 1" campaign commercials were full of lies. Yet when you reason through that tactic by using Scripture, it only makes sense. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Jesus says this of Satan, the thief...</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=10&v=10&t=NASB#s=1007010" id="va_1007010" rel="tools" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;"><b>John 10:10</b></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have <em id="yui-gen95" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">it</em> abundantly.</b></span></div>
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<div>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Do you see that? Satan's goal is to KILL! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Jesus came to give LIFE!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Scripture also says this of Satan: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<b> </b><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=8&v=44&t=NASB#s=1005044" id="bV_1005044" rel="tools" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;"><b><span style="color: blue;">John 8:44</span></b></a></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue;">“You are of <em style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">your</em> <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">father</span> <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">the</span> <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">devil</span>, and you want to do <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">the</span> desires of your <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">father</span>. </span></b></div>
<div id="yui-gen28" style="background-color: #f8f8da; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(209, 206, 161); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">He was a murderer from <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">the</span> beginning, and does not stand in <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">the</span> truth because there is no truth in him. </span></b></div>
<div id="yui-gen28" style="background-color: #f8f8da; border-bottom-left-radius: 3px; border-bottom-right-radius: 3px; border-top-left-radius: 3px; border-top-right-radius: 3px; border: 1px solid rgb(209, 206, 161); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top;">
<b><span style="color: blue;">Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own <em style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">nature,</em> for he is a liar and <span class="criteria" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">the</span> <span class="criteria" id="yui-gen30" style="border-color: rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(0, 0, 0) rgb(158, 11, 15); border-style: solid solid dotted; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">father</span> of lies.</span></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Do you see THAT?!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Satan: </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The father of lies.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>A murderer from the beginning.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>There is NO truth in him.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>He is a LIAR.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>So, it's no surprise that those working against the protection of LIFE would lie in their ads. For every woman who chooses LIFE for her baby, they lose money. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>TODAY IS A DAY TO CELEBRATE!!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Let's pray! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>"Oh God Almighty,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>How we PRAISE YOU! How we THANK YOU!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>You are so, so amazing LORD! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>With eyes pouring tears, we thank you for the victory that YOU gave us yesterday.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>It was by Your hand, Your mercy, and Your sovereignty working through countless precious of your saints who have fasted, prayed, and toiled in Your Name for over 14 years that this victory was secured.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We pray now, in the Name of Jesus, that the number of murdered children in our state will be reduced drastically. We ask that You would even drive the abortion mills out of our state, and out of our country.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thank you Lord that you still redeem Rahabs today. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jos&c=2&v=1&t=NASB#s=189001" target="_blank">Rahab's story</a> & <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Heb&c=11&v=31&t=NASB#s=1144031" target="_blank">Here</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>You still bring beauty from ashes. <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/search/search.cfm?t=KJV&Criteria=beauty%20ashes#s=s_primary_0_1" target="_blank">Scripture</a></b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And You still rule from the heavens! </b></span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="bibleTable" id="bibleTable" style="border-collapse: collapse; border-spacing: 0px; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: black; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-size: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 0px 25px; position: relative; vertical-align: top; width: 614px;"><tbody style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">
<tr id="verse_581019" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;"><td id="yui-gen70" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.8em; line-height: 1.4em; margin: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: top; width: 108px;"><div id="yui-gen71" style="border: 1px solid rgb(249, 250, 251); box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 3px; padding: 4px; vertical-align: top; white-space: nowrap;">
<a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Psa&c=103&v=19&t=NASB#s=581019" id="va_581019" rel="tools" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 3px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: top;"><span style="color: blue;"><b>Psalm 103:19</b></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><b>The L<span class="yhwh" id="yui-gen69" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 0.8em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">ORD</span> has established His throne in the heavens, <br style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;" />And His sovereignty rules over all.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>We love you with all of our hearts.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Thank you.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>In the Name of Jesus,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>By the power of Your Holy Spirit, </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>and to Your Majesty we pray,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Amen."</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Love to you today reader,</b></span><br />
<span style="color: #741b47; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Jes</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-36014924418991131652014-10-29T17:45:00.000-04:002014-10-29T17:45:51.237-04:00Hey Momma of Littles, With Your Bible On Your Lap...<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear Momma of Young Children,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been thinking about you so much lately. You don't know it, but I see your FaceBook posts and I often just stop and pray for you. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know you're tired. I imagine you're stressed. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You may feel at odds with yourself because you have baby weight you haven't lost. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Your house may not look like Pottery Barn and Pinterest make you think it should. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You have so many things you're responsible for!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember those days. It truly does seem like yesterday that I was getting my kisses from brownie batter smeared lips, and changing more dirty diapers than I could count.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wish so much that you could come sit in my cushy chair and let me prepare a hot cup of tea for you and just pour my heart out to you face to face.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Since I can't, I'm hoping you'll hear what I have to share...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I <b>really, really, really</b> messed up big time when my children were little and I was feeling overloaded. I did something that I so wish I could take back today. But I can't.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I outsourced. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I found a way to have someone come into my home and spend lots of the playtime with my children so that I could do the things I thought were more important.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At times, I pursued different careers at home so that I could just get a break.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh, what I wouldn't give today to have a do-over!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would never again outsource my time with my children, as I now know that people aren't kidding when they say that it goes so fast.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a teenager now, and one who soon will be. How that happened so quickly, I can't tell you.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I would go back to those days and I'd outsource housekeeping if I could, but not playtime.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, may I tell you what I did right?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I shared my passion for God's Word with my children as though I was giving them the very breath they needed for living.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Because that's how I need it, and I knew the same was true for them.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before they were old enough to read, I taught them how to observe the text of Scripture by teaching them to ask the 5Ws and an H questions of everything I read to them from it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Word has always been a huge part of our lives, of our day.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember when my son was born, and how it took me 3 days before I could get myself settled in his nursery...him in my lap, and me reading the Word over him. At that point, I NEEDED the Word! It had been THREE days since I'd been in it, and that felt like an eternity.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just last night one of my children was humming and I asked, "Is that a hymn?"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Their response was, "Yes. Anytime something comes into my head that I don't want to be there, I just start humming a hymn."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">WO</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">W!!</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Thank you, Lord!</span></b><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remember a book that shaped my heart so deeply back then. It's by Ruth Graham Bell and it's called, "Prodigals and Those Who Love Them." You can find it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Graham-Ruth-Prodigals-Those-Hardcover/dp/B00J5T994A/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1414616002&sr=1-3&keywords=prodigals+and+those+who+love+them+by+ruth+bell+graham" target="_blank">here.</a> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This book made such an impact on my heart regarding my most important role as a mother because in it are the stories of John Newton and St. Francis, both who lost their mothers at a young age. One at 7 and one at 12, if memory serves me correctly.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet BOTH of them gave credit to their mothers and what they had poured into their hearts when they were boys, as being what God used to draw them to Himself when they were men.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So Momma, may I encourage you?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That open Bible that's on your lap...please read it to your children. Please realize that even when they're wee little ones, God will use His Word in their hearts.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And if your Bible is on your shelf, please go get it. Open it to the book of John and read to your precious babies about Jesus.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You don't have to rely on Bible stories...you can read the actual Word to them.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Let them draw pictures as you read. Let them build what they're hearing with Legos. Teach them to act out a Bible verse or lesson...either with their little bodies, or with their favorite stuffed animals.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just give them the Word. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You'll never regret it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My children are old enough now that they're teaching me truth from the Word, and it's AWESOME!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My son LOVES the Old Testament...Kings, Chronicles, Samuel...I think he's read them all about 10 times. He amazes me when he starts telling me about the battles he knows so well, and the precepts he's learned that lead to application for his life...and often for mine. :)</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My daughter loves Esther and Ruth, the Psalms and Proverbs. She's so quick to run and get her Bible and hand it to me, page open to the Scripture she thinks would be an encouragement to me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't tell you any of this to brag...for I have Christ and Christ alone in Whom I boast.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I share it with you to let you know that when the season for reaping what the Lord has had you sow into your children comes, you can't begin to imagine how AWESOME it is!!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please, make pouring the Word into your children your absolute chief ambition as a mother. I am begging you. Truly, pleading with you.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't leave that as a once or twice a week job that somebody at church takes care of.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is NOTHING you will ever do as a mother that will have a deeper, more eternal impact on your child (and their children, and their children...) than teaching the Word to them yourself.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Just think...your obedience to God in this one area has the great potential to affect GENERATIONS...some you'll likely never even meet!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I recently received my Grandmother's Bible in the mail. She's been with the Lord for many years now. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I remembered all the times that I had gone to her home and how every morning without fail she'd spend an hour in her chair reading the Bible, and as an adult now I wanted to see for myself what she'd observed from it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's hard to write this without just weeping, but her Bible is FULL of notes that only a true student of God's Word would have known to write. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The front cover lists the dates of all of the times that she read the entire Bible cover to cover within a year.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's such a gift having her Bible here to read, such a gift!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yet I can't get one question out of my mind. Of all the times that I visited her home, why didn't she ever insist that I sit with her for that hour? Why didn't she teach me what she knew and loved so dearly? Had she done that with her own children when they were little? </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All questions for which I don't have answers.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There was one time with her, though. I hope I never forget it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">She was living in an Assisted Living home and her sight had gotten so bad that she couldn't read anymore. I was visiting her. It was just the two of us. I asked her what she'd like to do, and she told me she'd like for me to read the Bible to her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Where would you like me to go, Mom?"</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"To the book of John, honey. It's my favorite."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I opened up her large print Bible and read to her, and she soaked it in like...well, like the breath of life that it is. It was such a sweet time to share.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">About a year later, I was at her bedside for 6 excruciatingly painful days, as I watched her die.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">By day 6 I was so MAD at God that I went into the bathroom and almost screamed at Him through my tears..."Is THIS how you treat someone who has served You their whole life?! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is THIS how you honor Your servants in their last moments?! WHY can't You just let her die?!"</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In that moment of my complete brokenness, the Lord was so gracious to me. He showed me that He had known all along how mad I was at Him, and that He hadn't forsaken her. He was still in control.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I walked out of that bathroom and said, "Let's pray over her."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My mother, aunt and I stood over my Grandmother and prayed. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then we decided to read the Word over her. I remember one of them asking, "Where should we read?"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I knew.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">We went to John. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">John 14..read it <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Jhn&c=14&v=2&t=KJV#s=1011002" target="_blank">here</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After I read John over my beloved Grandmother for the second and last time, we then sang Amazing Grace together.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And all of a sudden, the death rattle was gone. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My sweet little Mom took one last breath...a peaceful one, and her soul was instantly in the presence of her beloved Lord.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I kissed her one last time, and left the room.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I really hadn't planned on going into that whole story. But if it causes just one mother, one grandmother to stop and evaluate how you're spending your valuable time with your children and grandchildren, then I'll consider that it was worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Much love to you today,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jes</span><br />
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<br />Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-72011943834334438922014-10-09T22:31:00.000-04:002014-10-09T22:31:02.386-04:00How To Discern The Difference Between Conviction and Condemnation<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This is a topic that has been on my mind for many years now. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I've searched the Word, sought Godly counsel, and spent hours in prayer.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I am compelled to share with you what I've learned, as I know that I'm not the only one who has struggled in this area.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">My deepest heart desire is to honor Jesus in what I say and do, yet I'll be the first to tell you that I fail daily. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I cling to the hope that I have in 1 John 1:9 that says, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Have you ever stopped to ask yourself the WHY behind that verse? WHY does God continue to forgive us and cleanse us when we choose to walk in unrighteousness (sin)?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">To answer that question, there are a few things we need to consider...</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">1. Confess in the Greek means to agree with God. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">To me, practically speaking, that means when I confess my sin to my Father I tell Him,<i><b> </b></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><i><b>"LORD, Your word says that you hate the perverted mouth, yet I just said a curse word.</b></i></span></div>
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<i style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>You HATE that, and You sent Jesus to pay the price for the very sin that I just committed. </b></i></div>
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<i style="color: blue; font-size: x-large;"><b>I am sorry, LORD. I want to hate this sin the way that you do. Please forgive me, LORD."</b></i><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">TRUE confession means that we call sin what God calls it. We don't sugarcoat it when we sin. We go to our Father with a broken and contrite heart and seek His forgiveness.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">2. IF - that IF is so important. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">IF we confess our sin, He has a promise for us to claim when we do. He is FAITHFUL. God NEVER breaks His promises. NEVER!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">3. He is RIGHTEOUS. Think about that for minute. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">God is the <b>only</b> completely righteous judge. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When He forgives us our sins and cleans us from ALL unrighteousness, He does so based upon the completed work that <b>HIS SON</b> did for us through His death, burial, and resurrection. When the Father looks at us through our covenant with Him that is in Jesus, He HAS to forgive us our sin because once we've confessed, what He sees in us is the righteousness of Jesus!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">4. We are then cleansed from ALL unrighteousness. Everything! </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I was talking with one of my family members recently and they were saying, "But this is all my fault because of the sin I committed."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">That "sin" they were referencing was long ago confessed and forgiven. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I looked at them and said, "I don't know what you're talking about."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">They said, "The sin. The wrong things I did."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Again I said, "I don't know what you're talking about."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Once more they said, "The bad things I did. You know..."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I told them, "God says that your sins are forgiven. It's not my job to keep a running tab on them."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Oh, what a precious look came over my sweet family member. What relief flooded their face!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I want to encourage you with something, Reader.</span></div>
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<li><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If you are in daily fellowship with God...</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If you are a woman in Biblical submission to your husband...</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If you have Godly Titus 2 women whom you are transparent with about your life and whom you ask to help you see any blind spots that may be areas of sin for you...</span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And if you are keeping short account of your sins, confessing as soon as the Holy Spirit convicts you of them, PLEASE...please hear my heart on what I'm about to say...</span></li>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If you are living like what I've described above and people have set themselves up as your judge, telling you that you're in sin when you can't see Biblically that you are, nor can your husband or Godly counselors, I encourage you to let those situations rest in the hands of Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">If you have sought a one-on-one time to speak with those who are accusing you, and they refuse to meet with you, or they set stipulations upon your meeting that are not in accordance with God's Word, you are free.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What might that seeking look like?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Scripture tells us to GO TO one another. To talk WITH one another. When someone instead decides to try and convict you in the court of Facebook Messenger, email, or some other form apart from talking with you in love, I believe you are released.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Released to what?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">To pray for them. To pray diligently for them. To pray for God to bring reconciliation in His timing, but until then, to move on in what He has called you to in your walk with Him.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What if the one who is accusing you is bound up in legalism, or in false teaching?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I believe that there is a definite time to divorce yourself from such a situation. Paul admonished the Galatians for being so easily bewitched by those who were trying to take them back under the Law. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He also wrote several times and called false brethren or false teachers out by name, warning the Body of Christ not to associate with such people.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">There's a vast difference between gossip and calling a false teacher just that. Paul gives us examples of both in his letters to the churches.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What if they tell you they have a "word from the Lord" for you?</span><br />
<span style="color: red; font-size: large;"><i>Well, my knee jerk reaction is to tell you to run for the hills, quite honestly... <u>unless</u> that word comes straight from the Word and they come to you in a spirit of humility with their Bible open, and their hearts and attitude controlled by the love of Christ.</i></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>If you are a new creation in Christ, you have</b></span><span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b> the Spirit of God dwelling within you.</b> And if you're living a life like I described above, you can be assured that He is faithful to convict His children when He sees a reason to.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A wise counselor would approach you in humility with an "I may be seeing this incorrectly, but could we please talk about a few things?" kind of attitude. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A false teacher, or a friend who isn't operating under the power of the Holy Spirit comes with guns ablazing because they see themselves as servants of God sent to set you right!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">How do we tell the difference between conviction and condemnation?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Ask yourself this...</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">What does Jesus do in your heart when you've sinned?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I can tell you what He does in mine. He makes it crystal clear! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He doesn't tell me what a piece of junk I am. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He doesn't call me names. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He doesn't berate me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He tenderly, but firmly if needed, reminds me of my unconfessed sin and calls me to repentance. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I once had to call a national company and ask someone in customer service to forgive me for something I had done. She wasn't the person I had originally talked with, but I knew that I HAD to call and ask for forgiveness.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The sweet voice on the other end said, "Oh, it's ok Mrs. Womack."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I replied, "Thank you, but it's not ok. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'm a Christian and what I did was sin. It's so not ok. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">It's what my Savior came and died for, to pay for that sin. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I know I'm asking you to speak on behalf of your whole company, but would you please forgive me? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Is there anyone else that I need to ask forgiveness of? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'm so very sorry."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And yes, I wept through the call.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">So what does condemnation look like?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Someone else trying to force <i><b>their</b></i> agenda on you.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"You will act as I WANT you to act, and you'll do it on MY TIMELINE, or I will slander your character to anyone who will listen. I'll also hound you and hound you like a playground bully until you do what<b><u> I </u></b>think you should do."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"I will write every single grievance I have against you into an email or a letter and send it to you, even after you've graciously asked me to talk with you on the phone, or to come over and have a cup of tea with you to talk things out."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"I will tell you every ugly thing I think about you in a short novel because you didn't act the way I think you should have."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"I will believe the worst in you instead of being big enough to return your phone calls and discuss the issue with you like an adult."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><b>This is condemnation, and it <u>DOES NOT</u> come from Christ! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Where is the love of God in any of the above?</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Some years ago I was walking through a situation with someone whom I now believe with all of my heart to be a false brethren...after hours and hours in the Word, on the phone with Godly counsel, and on my face, that conclusion became very clear.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'd never before encountered such calculating evil in my life! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Scary, manipulative evil.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Because this was such a new experience for me, I didn't know what had gone so wrong. I spent HOURS crying out to the Lord asking Him to show me my sin. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I begged Him by claiming 2 Timothy 3:16-17 to Him over and over. I'd say, "Lord, you tell me your Word is breathed by You and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness. Lord, PLEASE...reprove and correct me! PLEASE show me where I'm wrong in this!"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I have lost count of the number of times that I cried that prayer out to Him, and nothing ever came. He never once revealed that I had sinned in the situation.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Instead, He provided a first hand witness that to this day says she will tell the entire story of what happened if ever the Lord leads us to take it to this person's authority.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And, He gave me Exodus 14:14 to cling to for two years... </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">"The Lord will fight for you while you keep silent."</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And for two years I did, except for with a very few people so close to the situation that there was reason to discuss it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">There were so many times that I could have set the record straight with one phone call, with one Facebook post, etc.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">But I kept silent.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Then one day the Lord laid it heavily on my heart to speak about it. So many people were being hurt, lied to, and manipulated that He made it clear it was time to say something.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I did so without using a name.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">OH the backlash that came from that! </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">YET also....the freedom that it gave countless confused saints! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I've lost count of the number of people who reached out to me thanking me for sharing as I did. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As the backlash hit, I again went to my Titus 2 women to ask if I'd done something wrong. I went to the Lord in prayer and seeking Him through His Word.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">The condemnation quickly came, and it was vicious! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I'll never forget that night.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">He laid Ecclesiastes on my heart. A book I had never studied in full.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;">This is where He sent me...to <i><u>Ecclesiastes 3:7</u></i>, and I was dumbstruck as I read the words on the page...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="nasb_A" id="yui-gen41" style="background-color: #f9fafb; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; line-height: 1.6em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_662001" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">1 </span>There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—</div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662002" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">2 </span>A time to give birth and a time to die;</div>
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A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.</div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662003" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">3 </span>A time to kill and a time to heal;</div>
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A time to tear down and a time to build up.</div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662004" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">4 </span>A time to weep and a time to laugh;</div>
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A time to mourn and a time to dance.</div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662005" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">5 </span>A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones;</div>
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A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.</div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662006" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">6 </span>A time to search and a time to give up as lost;</div>
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A time to keep and a time to throw away.</div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662007" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">7 </span>A time to tear apart and a time to sew together;</div>
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<b><i>A time to be silent and a time to speak.</i></b></div>
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<span class="vnum" id="verse_662008" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">8 </span>A time to love and a time to hate;</div>
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A time for war and a time for peace.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He is not a God of accidental phrasing!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">There is a REASON that "be silent" comes before "speak."</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Wow, even now as I read back through this entire passage, it speaks to relational situations of strife.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Who knew there was a time to embrace and a time to shun embracing?!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But doesn't that make sense?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The application of that one verse alone is wide. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When the person or people in your life who are attacking you fall into any of the below categories, perhaps a time to shun embracing is in order until God restores your relationship, should He choose to.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">1. They don't take responsibility for their own actions, but are quick to blame you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">2. They are always in some sort of drama.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">3. You've never heard them say they could be wrong, nor heard them apologize for <i><b>anything.</b></i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">4. They judge you, or take offense at things you do that had nothing to do with them. And they do so without ever asking your intent. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In essence, they are fabulous story writers!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">5. They "prophesy" over you, yet won't come to you in humility (and fear and trembling at the fact that they're supposedly speaking for God!) as God the Father sent His prophets of old.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">6. They quote Scripture at you that is completely out of context.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">7. They air all of their previous grievances with other people to anyone who will listen. They are gossips.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">8. They hide behind email, letters, or Facebook. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">9. They LOVE being looked up to, and will do just about anything to elevate themselves.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">10. They're constantly judging their Pastor, or a respected ministry, or other Believers...yet they'll never go and speak to those particular people face to face.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yep, I think these are calls for a Biblical time to shun embracing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Yet, never shun praying. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 1.6em;">Praying casts your cares upon Jesus.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Praying sets you free. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And one last thing I've learned...sometimes Jesus allows these times in our lives to draw us deeper into relationship with Him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That's been my experience. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can truly tell you that all I want, after all I've been through, is Him.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My family is RICH icing on the cake of my relationship with Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My friends who are true are blessings I don't deserve, but whom I deeply cherish.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 1.6em;">Trials complicate our lives in many ways, but they also simplify them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They clear away the fluff very quickly and force us to find that which we will cling to. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For me, it's Jesus Christ and it always will be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Look to Jesus. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Just trust Him to walk you through the pain, because He will. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And He will deal with those who are falsely accusing you. You don't need to defend yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">He is the righteous Judge, and He will fight for you while you keep silent.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I pray that you are encouraged, and set free in Christ to lay aside anything which is taking your eyes off of Him and the purpose He has for your life, to His glory.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If that's conviction...you know what to do. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>1 John 1:9 it.</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; line-height: 1.6em;">Do it now, don't wait another second!</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If that's condemnation...cast it to Jesus, and trust Him with the situation. He will guide you as you seek Him in prayer, His Word, and Godly counsel.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In His Love,</span></div>
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-41776336225406982262014-08-13T00:11:00.000-04:002014-08-13T00:11:32.479-04:00Why Robin Williams' Death Hurts So Much<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My heart hurts.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Bear with me as I try to get through writing what's in there.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I never met Robin Williams, never had the pleasure of working with him, never even saw him anywhere but on a movie screen.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><u>Yet his life mattered to me.</u></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">He had the great privilege of going to the school I so wanted to attend and had been invited to audition for, The Julliard School. Thus, I followed his work closely for many years.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anytime someone would ask me who I thought the best actors alive were, he was always at the very top of my list. He always will be.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Watching him in film taught me so much as an actress. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His timing was impeccable. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His improvisational skills unbelievable. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">His ability to read an audience, uncanny.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even after I became a Christian in 1999 and my taste in movie content and comedy changed, I was always excited when I learned of a movie he'd be starring in that I felt I could watch without compromising what I now wanted to have filling my mind.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But here's the part that has made me so sad about his death.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>I <u>personally</u> understand his despair all too well.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I know what it is to just want out, to feel like no one would care if I were gone, to truly believe somewhere deep in my heart that death by my own hands would mean freedom.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Shortly after my husband and I were married, I found a journal that I had kept from the time I was 14-29 and had written in once or twice each year. At the time that I found it, I was a brand new Christian. That information matters for the context of the rest of what I'm going to share.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After finding the journal I asked my husband if I could read</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to him </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">from it...thinking this discovery was going to be some fun and silly way to share who I had been as a young teenager and younger woman.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I started reading it to him, I was absolutely dumbfounded as <b>page after page</b> I found that everything written in it was about suicide. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Everything.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Every. Single. Post.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Over FIFTEEN years!</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But there I sat, reading this journal with new eyes...as a new creation in Christ Jesus, and for the first time ever I could see and understand the total bondage that I had been in for decades.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please don't read more into what I'm saying here than what I've written.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't know what was in Robin's heart and mind. I don't know what his state was before the Lord, and I won't even entertain comments about that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>All I'm saying is that I personally understand the total despair that someone feels and believes when they buy the lie that their life has no value. </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>And the thought that someone whose genius I so respect, someone I had come to care about over years of learning from him in the acting arena...the thought that <i>Robin Williams </i>hurt as deeply as I had, and felt as hopeless as I once did, truly crushes my heart.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Suicide was my plan out of the very painful life that I lived for many years. Years of more messed up, sick stuff than I have the time or energy to share with you. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">While I never attempted it, I KNEW what my plan was...and in my mind it was foolproof.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That night as I read my journal </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to my new husband</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, my journal so full of such deep heartache , I suddenly got up, went into our garage, and lit every single page of it on fire.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have had 8 friends take their lives. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One was a woman in her 60s who had been a Christian mentor to my mother.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One was my college boyfriend.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One was the first person to befriend me at my new High School when I was a Senior.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One was his best friend, and a friend of mine. Such a neat guy!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One was a very dear friend of mine who was like a brother to me in my late 20s. I wrote about him previously <a href="http://whatilearnedfromthewordtoday.blogspot.com/2008/03/2-corinthians-513-21-for-if-we-are.html" target="_blank">here.</a></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It never gets easier to handle the pain of losing someone to suicide. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The questions that swirl in our minds. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The range of emotions from rage to total brokenness.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The desperate wishing that we had known just how dark their world was, and how much we wish they'd have reached out to us, or that we'd have known to reach in.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No doubt there are countless people in Robin's life who are walking through the above feelings right now.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Won't you please pray for them? </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Pray earnestly. Pray on your face. Pray with compassion.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Losing someone to suicide is one of the most helpless feelings in the world.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I dare say, as helpless and hopeless as the person who made the decision to commit it likely felt.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you have come to this page because you're battling thoughts of suicide, please...hear my heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That is not God's plan for you! You were created to give glory to His name, and to have fellowship with Him through His Son Jesus Christ.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jesus broke those bonds in my life, and He wants so much to do the same for you.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Satan wants you to believe that no one would care. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That no one would likely even show up for your funeral. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That your family and friends would be better off without you. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That you don't even <i>have </i>family and friends that would miss you.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Every single one of those is a lie from the pit of hell.</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Robin Williams was a total stranger to me, as are his friends and his family members. Yet, even as I write this tears are streaming from my eyes.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>His life mattered! </b></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To them. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">To God. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Even to me...a complete stranger.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My guess is that it mattered to you, too.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Please, I beg of you from the bottom of my heart. If you're contemplating taking your life, reach out to someone right now.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think of the horror stories of the loved ones of my friends who committed suicide...from the father who found his son two weeks afterward on Father's Day, to the brother who got a random phone call from some man on an Indian reservation in the middle of nowhere explaining that he'd found my friend Paul in his truck after a week of being there.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think of my own precious brother who came home from college one weekend and took me on a bike ride and poured his heart out to me because my mother had found my journal...my precious brother who saved my life that night through his tears.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't know how to reach out, but he knew how to reach in.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And his tears touched my heart enough to let me know that <i>someone </i>would care if I were gone.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Dear reader, please don't pass judgement on that which you don't understand. </span><br />
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<span style="color: blue;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Instead..PRAY</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> for the Williams family and their countless friends.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Reach in</b></i> to the one you know needs someone to care about them.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Reach out,</b></i> even if it means calling an anonymous suicide hotline.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Look up.</b> Jesus cares more than you can ever imagine, and He desires that you be set free.</span><br />
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In His Love,</span><br />
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-29434462884909474822014-07-20T08:02:00.002-04:002014-07-20T11:57:23.194-04:00Your Husband's Porn Addiction Likely Started Way Before You Met Him -
Finding Compassion<span style="font-size: large;">Ladies,</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Are you a parent? </span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Any chance you have a son?</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I want you to imagine with me for a minute that your son is exposed to pornography at the ripe age of 7. </span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Perhaps 11.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Maybe he's lucky and doesn't see it until he's 14.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Would ANY of those ages be acceptable to you as a mom?</span><br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you can answer yes to that question, there's no way you'll agree with the rest of this post, but I hope and pray you'll keep reading it anyway.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Every letter is written to a specific audience, and this post is written to Christian women, so please read it in that context.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some research shows that 99% of men will have been exposed to pornography at some point in their lives. I find that hard to believe. I think it's more like 100%.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">My son was first exposed in a thrift store/swap shop in the town in which I live. We were just strolling through looking for home furnishings and there on the wall was a photo of a woman from the 40s, laying completely naked at his eye level.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Some men see pornography a time or two in their lives and it never grabs control of them.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">In my experience of counselling women, these men are in the minority.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">So why am I writing about this? </span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The past two weeks have been intense weeks of ministry for me. I've been confronted afresh on several levels by the ramifications of sexual sin and how it affects women and families.</span><br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">I have wept with these ladies, prayed with them, pointed them to the Word of God, exhorted them to stand in the gap for their husbands, and hurt with them over their heartache and the betrayal that they feel.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Please hear my heart...I will never condone something that God says is sin. I simply want to help you hurting wives process through this heinous battle against sexual sin that your husband may be fighting.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I know one woman whose husband was first exposed when he was in the second grade...by his brother, who purposefully showed it to him and then said, "Now that you've seen it, you can't tell anyone."</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I know another whose husband went to visit his grandparents on his mother's side shortly after his parents were divorced, and while there found two ARMOIRES full of pornographic magazines.</span><br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">He was just entering puberty at the time, his father had previous issues with pornography which in part broke his mother to the point of leaving, and there he sat without a mother to care for him or a father to set a Godly example of following Christ in sexual purity.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">And guess who welcomed him into her bosom for <i>false</i> comfort?</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">The woman on the glossy pages.</span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">What I want you to KNOW, hurting wife, is that your husband's pornography issues most likely started way before you met him. </span><br>
<span style="font-size: large;">(I know people call it addiction, and perhaps it is, but one can be addicted to any sin.)</span><br>
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<span style="font-size: large;">If you step back from your pain for a minute and picture him as a little boy, or a teenager - and realize THAT was the moment when Satan barraged him with missles from Hell, does that help you find compassion for him and a willingness to stand in the gap for him and help him heal?</span><br>
<br>
<span style="font-size: large;">Let me give you a more personal expamle of finding compassion and walking in it when one didn't really have to.</span><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Many years ago my husband came home from work and we were having our fifteen minute debrief together while he was changing out of his work clothes. When it came time to take his belt off, he unbuckled it and lifted his arm high in the air to pull it quickly out of his pant loops.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">INSTANTANEOUSLY I broke down weeping.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Seeing that belt lifted high in the air when he was standing up and I was sitting down at a much lower level, brought back memories from my childhood that were deeply rooted in my soul. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">To this day, my precious husband only removes his belt in a sideways manner. It takes him much longer to get it off, but he found COMPASSION for me. Based upon things that happened to me in my childhood, there are other more intimate considerations that my sweetheart makes for me...and every one of them requires a sacrifice on his part.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">What about you, wife?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Are you willing to sacrifice and put on a heart of compassion in order to be used of God to help your husband heal?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I have another question for you to consider...</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Were you ever exposed to pornography prior to your marriage?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I know I was. Growing up in the piney woods of Texas, those woods were my place of refuge. I would spend HOURS playing by myself. The first exposure I remember was in a fort that I had built that some older boys had obviously found one night. The beer cans and the magazines were my evidence.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">That didn't become a stronghold for me that stayed with me into adulthood, but young men are wired differently. As we know, they are generally visually stimulated more than women are.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">This is one reason that we mothers of young girls need to be DISCERNING in what we allow them to wear.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Do you REALLY want some teenager, or some MAN, looking at your daughter like 68% of men in church look at the women on the pages of their pornographic magazines and websites?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Do you not realize that men have visual triggers? </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I know your daughter looks beautiful in her string bikini...but WHY, OH WHY are you teaching her that parading her body around at the swimming pool is the way to find her value?!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Do you not realize that's what you're telling her when you allow that?!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I've witnessed Christian young men at public swimming pools DESPERATELY looking for a safe place to let their eyes land. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Christian Mommas, I implore you...WAKE UP!!!!!!!!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">My son and I have an agreement. When we go to the community pool, if we get there and he feels that the visual struggle is too strong for him to be able to keep his thought life pure, all he has to say to me is "Mom, we need to go."</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">That's it, and we're gone. I don't care if it's taken me an hour to get out the door. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I am willing to sacrifice all I need to in order to give my son the greatest opportunity for spiritual purity.</font></div><div><br></div><div><font size="4">As moms and as wives, we need to be a harbor in the storm for our sons and husbands. We need to create an atmosphere of openness in our homes, so that they can be honest with us about how we can help to protect their hearts.</font></div><div><br></div><div><font size="4">If you're aware that your husband is fighting a battle with pornography, I BEG you to be a safe place for him to be transparent. You may not want to know every single detail, so use wisdom in the questions that you ask him.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">However, you cannot heal if you will not DEAL.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Your man can't heal if you refuse to DEAL.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Sweeping the sin of pornography under the rug and acting like it hasn't invaded your home would be as foolish as doing the same with alcoholism, crack addiction, or tax evasion.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Your marriage will have no hope of healing if you choose to ignore the sin.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">There are some friends that stick closer than a brother when it comes to pornography, especially with the Christian man...they are:</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><b>Emascuation</b> - Satan's lie is that looking at this garbage is going to make them more manly. It does JUST the opposite. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><b>Lying</b> - This one needs no explanation. Just know this...getting to the root of sexual sin is like peeling an onion. There's almost ALWAYS more to the story than what you're told at first.</font></div><div><font size="4">I have lost count of the number of women who have told me that their husbands confessed to them that they'd kissed another woman. I'm sure there are times when that's the truth...but sadly, they haven't been the majority in my experience of working with hurting wives. </font></div><div><font size="4">Why is a man going to step into the waters of adultery and once in, stop at kissing? </font></div><div><font size="4">If you want to see your husband healed, don't be naive, and be willing to ask the hard questions and give him a safe place to be honest.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><b>Anger</b> - Yep, it's almost always there. Sometimes it's passive aggressive, but it's there.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><b>Manipulation</b> - It comes in many forms.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4"><b>Blaming</b> - Your husband's choice for sexual sin is NOT YOUR FAULT!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Reason that out with me...</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">If he was exposed to pornography and sexual sin prior to meeting you, how is it your fault if he has chosen to continue in it? Don't accept the blame for his sin.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Again, I want to use a personal example. When my pastor uses personal stories to illustrate his messages, I always "get" them.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Before I was a Believer, I cursed like a sailor. I'm not kidding you when I tell you I could cuss in full paragraphs without taking a breath. Cursing wasn't considered a sin in my home growing up...I never heard an apology for the filth that was spewed at any given moment. Cursing was just how anger was to be handled.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I'd love to tell you (OH, how I'd love to tell you!) that the moment I was saved Jesus took away any desire to ever curse in anger again. He took SO much away the instant I was saved, but not cussing. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I have to daily depend upon Christ, daily turn to Him when I'm angry and beg for His help not to fling out a doozie.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Let me be clear on this... I HATE THIS SIN!!! I HATE IT!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Yet I have to BATTLE it, and I don't always win...because sometimes I choose to walk in my flesh instead of by the Spirit.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Ugh. Just sharing that with you makes me want to PUKE!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">So with that information, let's go back to your husband.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">He's in a battle. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">What would you be doing for him if he had signed up to serve our country on the front lines?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Wouldn't you be PRAYING for him?</font></div><div><font size="4">Wouldn't you STAND IN THE GAP while he was away serving?</font></div><div><font size="4">Wouldn't you BEG GOD to give him victory, to protect him, to keep him safe?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Ladies, please do that for your husband if he is in the spiritual battle against sexual sin.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">I promise you, a plan won't fix him. </font></div><div><font size="4">A 12 step program won't give him freedom. </font></div><div><font size="4">And, I hope you take great comfort in this truth....YOU CAN'T FIX HIM, either!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Sexual sin requires heart surgery for the Christian man, and a heart transplant for the man who isn't in Christ. (He needs a NEW heart...the one promised to us through the New Covenant.)</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Please, I beg of you...</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Don't punish him. Set boundaries that are healthy and God honoring, but don't become his judge.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Be wise in whom you seek counsel from. "Christian" counselors who never open the Bible are a dime a dozen, and you'll find someone at every turn who will tell you to pack up and leave him.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Realize that if 100% of men have been exposed to pornography at some point in their lives, leaving your current husband in hope of a better draw next time isn't always the answer.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">That being said, there are many who will tell you that because he hasn't committed <b><i>physical</i></b> adultery, you have no Biblical right to divorce. I couldn't disagree more. (See Matthew 5) </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">But, as Christians we don't live by our <i><b>rights</b></i>...<b>we live by that which gives the most glory to God.</b> Is God going to be more glorified if you stay and forgive, and fight, and beg The Lord to give you a testimony out of your heartache that will help other families heal and stay together, or is He going to be more glorified if you pack and leave?</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">STAND in the TRUTH that The Lord wants your husband, you, your marriage, and your family spiritually healed. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">My hope and prayer is that this will happen for you WHILE you're still married, but if your husband refuses to bow his knee before the King of Kings and he chooses his sin over Christ, you have to KNOW that God is sovereign even over that. He will comfort, protect, and guide you should you find yourself a widow to sexual sin. </font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">He will also give you a testimony out of your heartache that He will use to minister to other women.</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS!</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div><font size="4">Much love to you,</font></div><div><font size="4">Jes</font></div><div><font size="4"><br></font></div><div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br></span></div>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-30070902856898708002014-06-06T03:09:00.001-04:002014-06-06T03:09:44.460-04:00Please Don't Try To Emasculate My Men...And Ladies, Don't Allow Women
to Do It To Yours!It happens daily.<div><br></div><div>The emasculation of American men by women.</div><div><br></div><div>Some women do it to their own men.</div><div><br></div><div>Some are brazen enough to try it with men who belong to other women.</div><div><br></div><div>I'm going to climb up on my soap box for a minute. It won't be long, but I do hope it will get the point across.</div><div><br></div><div><u><b><i>I</i></b> </u><b><i><u>am (gleefully!) a woman under submission</u>. </i></b></div><div><br></div><div>I am crazy, madly in love with my husband. I consider the privilege of submitting to him as my leader one of God's greatest gifts in my life.</div><div><br></div><div>Submission in the Greek is a military term which simply means to place oneself under one's rightful authority.</div><div><br></div><div>Is my husband my authority?</div><div><br></div><div>You can BET YOUR BIPPY he is! </div><div><br></div><div>Scripture tells me that when I submit to him, I'm doing it as unto the Lord Himself.</div><div><br></div><div>Here's where the real beauty comes in, though...my husband loves me in a way that I truly never knew ANYONE ever could, or would love me.</div><div><br></div><div>He loves me to a degree that I never dreamt I would be worthy of.</div><div><br></div><div>He serves me in love. </div><div>He speaks to me in love. </div><div>He considers me in love.</div><div><br></div><div>He treats me as the weaker vessel, in love.</div><div><br></div><div>He is also AMAZING at helping me set healthy boundaries for myself, and sometimes he just SETS THEM FOR ME!</div><div><br></div><div>So when my husband sets a boundary for me, his wife...within his rightful role as the head of his household and another woman tries to blow right through it...we have an issue.</div><div><br></div><div>A BIG ONE!</div><div><br></div><div>And if your husband sets a boundary for you and another woman completely dismisses it, you should see that as a big issue too...and defer always to your husband's leadership.</div><div><br></div><div>When my husband, who leads an entire office of brilliant men and one very amazing woman, is treated by any other woman within MY sphere of contacts like he needs to bow and beg their permission...we have on our hands a MAJOR PROBLEM!</div><div><br></div><div>Ladies, please...hear my heart. </div><div><br></div><div>DO NOT stand for another woman handing your husband his manhood on their clipboard!</div><div><br></div><div>If you find yourself in a group where the men have been relegated to floor sweeps and are not welcomed as respected contributing members, run for the door!</div><div><br></div><div>That is not a group that is set up according to Biblical principles. </div><div><br></div><div>Period.</div><div><br></div><div>And unfortunately this mindset can be rampant in the homeschooling world.</div><div><br></div><div>Before I step down from my soap box, I have to add one more thing.</div><div><br></div><div>We emasculate our YOUNG men in this country every single time that we treat a teenager like he's a boy and not a young man.</div><div><br></div><div>Our son will be 14 soon. He's not a boy anymore. He's a man!</div><div><br></div><div>If we were Israelis, he'd be just 2 years away from being conscripted into the army.</div><div><br></div><div>By the time he was a <b><i>teenager</i></b>, Brother Andrew was sneaking around his town filling Nazi gas tanks with sugar in order to protect his village from their impending infiltration.</div><div><br></div><div>Benjamin Franklin was an apprentice learning a trade <b><i>by the time he was 12.</i></b></div><div><br></div><div>Dietrich Bonhoeffer was being trained by his father to not just rattle his lips at the dinner table, but to fully develop his thoughts before he allowed them to escape his mouth. Is it any wonder that<b><i> at age 28</i></b> he was equipped to break away from the Reich Church to start the Confessing Church in Germany and parts of Europe?! </div><div><br></div><div>And he did so against the advice of several of his mentors, because he could discern the situation of the day and KNEW what action was needed.</div><div><br></div><div>He knew that any church that denied the Jewish people, ceased to be a church.</div><div><br></div><div>Praise GOD that his father hadn't waited until he was 20 to train him to be, and treat him as a man!</div><div><br></div><div><i><b>I'm SICK of the mentality in our country that believes that our 13 year old sons are still children.</b></i></div><div><i><b><br></b></i></div><div><i><b>They're NOT!</b></i></div><div><br></div><div>Or at least, they're not supposed to be.</div><div><br></div><div><i><b>Did you know that Daniel was 15 when he was taken into captivity in Babylon?</b></i> Remember him...he stood for truth and righteousness among pagans...and I've heard the silly argument that says he was schooled in all the ways of the Babylonians, therefore he was mature and wise.</div><div><br></div><div>That's garbage!</div><div><br></div><div><b><i>He had FIFTEEN YEARS of training in the Law of the LORD!</i></b></div><div><b><i><br></i></b></div><div>And Daniel 1:17 makes it clear that God gave Daniel and his three friends "...knowledge and intelligence in every branch of literature and wisdom..."</div><div><br></div><div>Daniel 1:4 has a time reference that is key. It lets us know that these young men showed intelligence in every branch of wisdom, were endowed with understanding and discerning of knowledge, and had ability for serving in the king's court...AND THEN they were taught the literature and language of the Chaldeans.</div><div><br></div><div><i><b>See, their training in truth and wisdom came from God's Word, which they'd had poured into them for 15 years! It DID NOT come from the Babylonians!</b></i></div><div><br></div><div>Job 28:28 tells us that God Himself said "...the fear of the LORD is widsom, and to depart from evil is understanding."</div><div><br></div><div><b><i>It was God's WORD that grew Daniel into the MAN that he was at 15! </i></b></div><div><br></div><div>Do I want my son to have fun and enjoy the next years while he's still under our roof?</div><div><br></div><div>Without a doubt, I do!</div><div><br></div><div>But I'll tell you this...our amazing young man would lay his life down in a hot minute for me or his sister. He wouldn't come running up to me in fear, hiding behind me trying to figure out what to do if danger threatened.</div><div><br></div><div>He would do what a MAN would do!</div><div>He would defend! </div><div>He would fight to protect us! </div><div><br></div><div>And when the lies of the world come hurling at him, he stands for TRUTH!</div><div><br></div><div>He's not afraid to call sin, sin.</div><div><br></div><div>He is compassionate, and gracious, but he is very black and white about what is Godly and was is not, and I love that about him. </div><div><br></div><div>Is he perfect?</div><div><br></div><div>No. He comes from two very imperfect parents, so I suppose imperfection is in his genes.</div><div><br></div><div>Is he manly? </div><div><br></div><div>Absolutely!</div><div><br></div><div>Is he still learning?</div><div><br></div><div>No doubt.</div><div><br></div><div>Does he make his Momma and Dad so very proud to call him ours?</div><div><br></div><div>With all of our hearts.</div><div><br></div><div><b><i>We dearly love our young MAN!</i></b></div><div><br></div><div>Ladies, I pray this post will be a beacon call to all of us.</div><div><br></div><div>NO woman should ever have the right to emasculate our husbands or our sons. None!</div><div><br></div><div>And we better make sure we don't ever do it ourselves.</div><div><br></div><div>Let's let our speech and actions toward our husbands be edifying, encouraging, respectful, appreciative, and God honoring.</div><div><br></div><div>Come to think of it, let's apply the same toward our young MEN.</div><div><br></div><div>Much love to you tonight,</div><div>Jes</div><div><br></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lBAw086YnOg/U5FpNfmh9XI/AAAAAAAAAuc/TqEVrbBI4o8/s640/blogger-image--658434902.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-lBAw086YnOg/U5FpNfmh9XI/AAAAAAAAAuc/TqEVrbBI4o8/s640/blogger-image--658434902.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">It seems like yesterday that Caedmon was the little baby on the floor...now he's 5'9" and solid muscle!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sj5L7yOohX0/U5FpKcN_0nI/AAAAAAAAAuM/me88DjNoMHk/s640/blogger-image-297445321.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-sj5L7yOohX0/U5FpKcN_0nI/AAAAAAAAAuM/me88DjNoMHk/s640/blogger-image-297445321.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Caedmon's Godly example, my beloved husband. </div><br><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Gk5LV3yXDoA/U5FpL82MC-I/AAAAAAAAAuU/ifNn6yhT-K8/s640/blogger-image--1767251469.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Gk5LV3yXDoA/U5FpL82MC-I/AAAAAAAAAuU/ifNn6yhT-K8/s640/blogger-image--1767251469.jpg"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Caedmon at TeenPact Tennessee in February.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I'm proud to say that he wrote a resolution in favor of Medical Marijuana, and it passed 8-5. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">OK, so in truth....<i><b>I was pretty much in shock when he told me what his resolution was,</b></i> but truly was impressed with the research he used and argued in front of an ultra conservative group...well enough so that his resolution was passed!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">Now we just need to send him before the TN State Legislature to speak on the topic! :)</div><br></div></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-26257658422303501812014-06-05T21:58:00.001-04:002014-06-05T21:58:47.090-04:00My 5 Year Long Health Journey from Wizard to WarriorMy doctor is amazing.<div><br></div><div>The first time I met him he sat back in his chair, smiled and said, "You're a warrior."</div><div><br></div><div>I asked him to elaborate and he explained that another doctor friend of his says that there are two types of patients...warriors and wizards.</div><div><br></div><div>I understood the warrior part, but needed explanation on the wizard, to which he said something along the lines of, "Oh, those are the ones who want ME to fix them. They don't take any personal responsibility. They're just looking for the magic pill."</div><div><br></div><div>I understand wizard patients. I was one for many years.</div><div><br></div><div>Many of you have asked for information on how to treat MS and other auto-immune diseases through diet, lifestyle changes, and supplements.</div><div><br></div><div>This post (and perhaps a few to follow) will be my personal testimony to the above.</div><div><br></div><div>It's likely going to be a long read, as there's much to share...so grab a cup of tea and pull up a chair.</div><div>Or, print it out and save it to read when you have time.</div><div><br></div><div>Here we go...</div><div><br></div><div>After the birth of my daughter, I never lost the baby weight. I also didn't eat well for many years. I tipped the scales at 192 pounds, which is quite a bit for someone who only hits 5'5" if I'm in traction!</div><div><br></div><div>I'd wake every morning wondering how quickly I could get downstairs to guzzle 1/2 of my 2 liter of Coca-Cola to start my day. As soon as breakfast was over, I'd be planning what I was going to eat for lunch. As soon as lunch was over, I was wondering what dinner would be.</div><div><br></div><div>At the time, we lived in a master planned community and my kiddos were little. We spent countless hours at the pocket parks in our neighborhood and my husband would often drive straight from work to meet us at the park. Then we'd all pile into the van and head to Denny's, or the Mexican food restaurant, or Subway for dinner.</div><div><br></div><div>Fried chips. Fried fish tacos. French fries. </div><div><br></div><div>Fried.</div><div>Fried.</div><div>Fried!</div><div><br></div><div>I didn't KNOW...I had NO idea what those horrible oils were doing to my brain and to my cells.</div><div><br></div><div>I didn't know that the optimum ratio for Omega 3s to Omega 6s in a cell is 1:2, and that my diet was so creating an horrific imbalance of 1:50!!</div><div><br></div><div>One day a friend of mine and I were talking about the prevalence of adultery in our churches, and she shared that she had been really thinking about the sin of gluttony...and seeking God about it in her own life.</div><div><br></div><div>God used her words to PIERCE my heart about the sin in my own life. I was drowning in gluttony! </div><div><br></div><div>That night I cried out to God and confessed my sin, and asked Him to please give me an undying hunger for His Word. I told Him that I wanted to wake in the mornings thinking about dining on Scripture, and I wanted my last thoughts at night to be a longing for His Word as well.</div><div><br></div><div>He so graciously answered that prayer and within no time, and truly by no doing of my own, I had dropped 20 pounds. </div><div><br></div><div>When people would ask me how I'd lost the weight, I always told the truth...that I confessed gluttony in all sincerity, and God in His lovingkindness removed 20 pounds and changed my cravings.</div><div><br></div><div>It always amazed me that even after hearing those words, people would inevitably say, "But you had to be obedient. Good for YOU!"</div><div><br></div><div>Bless their hearts, they either just didn't GET it, or didn't WANT to get it.</div><div><br></div><div>In 2005 I had a surgical hysterectomy that took FOREVER to heal from.</div><div>In 2007 I had sinus surgery that took TWO FOREVERS to heal from.</div><div><br></div><div>I truly didn't heal from the sinus surgery. It was terrible! </div><div><br></div><div>In 2008 I got terribly sick with what we thought was the flu, but we never did get a clear diagnosis. We flew to Denver to visit my brother and his family that summer, and the higher we went into the mountains, the sicker I got.</div><div><br></div><div>We returned home at the end of July and I was sick ALL. SUMMER. LONG!</div><div><br></div><div>I took antibiotic after antibiotic and nothing helped. Finally, I was put onto Levaquin and within a day I took myself off it because the side effects were so heinous.</div><div><br></div><div>The very next day, Shane packed me into the car and we drove to the ER because we thought I was having a heart attack. I didn't THINK I was dying, I KNEW I was!</div><div><br></div><div>The whole way to the ER, I was telling Shane through my tears what to look for in his next wife. I was begging him to make sure that she was totally in love with Jesus, and that she'd be a tender and sweet Mommy to our babies.</div><div><br></div><div>I didn't know it then, but I do now. What I had was a terrible reaction to Levaquin. </div><div><br></div><div>ALL of our medical files now say, "NO QUINOLONES!"</div><div><br></div><div>If you want to know more about how horrid these drugs can be, just do a Google search on them...or Google the word "Floxing."</div><div><br></div><div>From that point, around September 2008 through June 2009 when I was diagnosed with MS, I saw a Naturopath and just tried to get healthy...but I felt HORRID!</div><div><br></div><div>(To be continued. My Sweetheart is ready to hang out with me!)</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-60444046501979492392014-05-23T05:22:00.001-04:002014-05-23T05:25:59.535-04:00Babes of the Broken, What GIFTS!What I learned from the Word Today (which was long ago written on my heart)...<br />
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All of those precepts that God writes on our hearts as we study His Word, at some point He will allow us to learn experientially because He will have us walk through them.<br />
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And He doesn't waste ONE BIT of our pain and suffering when our sole focus is on Him being glorified in and through us.<br />
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Total surrender requires us to go so much deeper than we ever thought it did.<br />
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Last night, I was so brokenhearted. There are not words to express to you how broken I was.<br />
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In 15 years of marriage, through countless fires of hell, my husband has not ever seen me that broken.<br />
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I was weeping so hard that I couldn't catch my breath.<br />
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My precious children heard me and came running to me.<br />
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As I laid down on our guest bed in a pool of tears, my children...one almost a man, one a tender hearted young woman now, laid down on either side of me and PRAYED THE WORD over me!<br />
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One laid on my right side, cuddled up as close as she could be. The other on my left, lovingly rubbing my arm as he prayed.<br />
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My son, I truly believe, has the spiritual gift of discernment...and to be bathed in the words of his prayer as he NAILED EVERY SINGLE THING that I'm battling right now, literally left me dumbfounded.<br />
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And my sweet girl...my precious, tender-hearted daughter...oh, how her loving words to our Father soothed the deep aches in my heart and helped me find my breath again.<br />
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All that TRUTH that God has used me to pour into them since they were wee little ones (you can go back to 2006 or so on this blog to read about our times together in the Word when they were young), came pouring back out as the Holy Spirit ministered to me through my children.<br />
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IT. WAS. AWESOME!<br />
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Then they went to their beds and I stayed awake with the Word, and God brought me to an even deeper place of surrender.<br />
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It likely won't make sense to many of you...but that doesn't change the truth.<br />
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He showed me through His Word that I have to put EVERYTHING and EVERYONE on the altar before Him.<br />
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Every gift in my life is from HIM...they cannot become idols to me.<br />
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None of them!<br />
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So up they went on the altar in prayer...<br />
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My children.<br />
My husband.<br />
My reputation.<br />
My friends.<br />
My acting.<br />
My training students.<br />
My everything.<br />
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All I could do was pray through my tears, "LORD, it's all yours. Whatever You choose to do, just please, please, please don't let me doubt you. Don't let my faith fail. Don't let me dishonor You. Just be glorified in me, please Father...however that may come...just let me be found faithful to You. Jesus!"<br />
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And today, I awoke to new mercies.<br />
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And more of His truth.<br />
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Young moms, I beg you...pour the Word into your children. Don't let your wants or your desires for anything of this world become more important than pouring the WORD into your children.<br />
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Proverbs 31:27-28<br />
"She looks well to the ways of her household,<br />
And does not eat the bread of idleness.<br />
Her children rise up and bless her;<br />
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:<br />
"Many daughters have done nobly,<br />
But you excel them all."<br />
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Let those words be your charge, Mommas.<br />
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Start today. Start now.<br />
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Just trust God and start!<br />
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Let your life count, as you allow HIS LIFE to shine through you.<br />
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In Him Who NEVER changes,<br />
Jes<br />
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<br />Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-19980380212363158262014-05-20T04:04:00.000-04:002014-05-20T12:49:24.637-04:00Pick your Paulina Wisely<div class="nasb_PM" id="yui-gen39" style="background-color: #f9fafb; border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top;">
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Some of you may know, and some may not...I am a trained actress. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've had the great privilege of studying under some of the best acting teachers in the </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">country.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One trait that every great actress possesses is that she is constantly observing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My phenomenal acting coaches drilled this into my head! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Although I'm not saying that I'm great.</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I should ever hope to play a homeless woman, I better know how she walks, how she </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">talks, what </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">she carries in her cart with her. I need to try to determine her back story. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What does she eat? How </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">does she smell? Dress?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I desire to play a debutante, a lion tamer, or a widow the same holds true.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Thus, I am an observer. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>ALL THE TIME, I am observing.</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Pretty much anywhere I am, I can tell you who is around me within about a 24 foot </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">radius. I can tell </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">you who they're with, what they're wearing, perhaps even what they're </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">eating...definitely what </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">they're driving if I'm in a parking lot.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I'm in a restaurant, my back is never to the door. If I'm in a parking lot, I'm scouring it </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">as I walk to </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">my car.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've avoided being mugged 3 times because I'm constantly watching what's going on </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">around me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And I do this with the people in my life, especially when looking for mentors and </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">those whom I am willing to give the right to speak the hard things into my life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are they living a life I'd want to imitate?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Is their marriage in Biblical order?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How do they talk about their husband?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How often do they talk about other people behind their backs?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How much time do they spend in the Word of God and in prayer?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What do I see in their children? In their relationships with their children?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How do they spend their time and their money?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Do they give of their first fruits to the Lord, every time, without fail?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And, when they give counsel...do they wait upon the Lord? Are they tender hearted? </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Compassionate? Loving?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are they willing to speak the hard things into my life when I ask them their true opinion, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">not sugar-</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">coating anything, but also with a love for God first and a love for me second?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Are they people of humility, or are they always right?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Have I ever heard them say that they were wrong? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That they had to ask forgiveness of </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">someone?</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are the qualities that I look for in a Paul(ina), and I am so incredibly blessed to </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">say that I </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">have several in my life. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are the women that I call when I'm certain I've blown it with my kids, my </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">husband, my friends.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They are the ones that I call when I'm in a torrent of confusion and can't see the truth in </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">a situation. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They're the ones that I can tell anything to, knowing that it will NEVER be repeated.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They're the ones who know my failures, because they make it safe for me to share them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They pray for me. They counsel me. They laugh with me. They cry with me. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They reassure me when I've done nothing wrong, but have been falsely accused. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And...just as importantly, they let me know when I've really messed up and they pray </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">with me to </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">have the </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">courage, </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and the words </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to make things right.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They are women who dearly respect and love their husbands, and who NEVER talk </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">disrespectfully </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">about them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They are women who KNOW the Word of God, and have an ability to offer quick </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">application of it to </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And interestingly enough, almost all of them are 10 - 20 years older than I am.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With age, and time in the Word, comes wisdom. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am the beneficiary of So. Much. Wisdom!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">These are the women who truly could say to me, as Paul said to the Corinthians, "be </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">imitators of </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">me," because in countless ways, I'm already trying to be!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They share with me the hard things they've done in their lives because JESUS called </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">them to. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One of my Paulinas cared for her mother in her home for 7 years as she was dying. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Almost before she </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">had time to catch her breath, she then moved her father and step </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">mother (who had caused the </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">breakup of her parents' marriage) into her home and </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">lovingly cared for them. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On her step mother's death bed, she repeatedly shared the Gospel with her...and she </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">knows today </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that her step mom is now with Christ. As is her mother, and her </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">father...both of whom she also </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">shared the Gospel with in their last days.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This Paulina has taught me about giving. I didn't grow up learning much about </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">that...sacrificial </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">giving, abundant giving. It's because of her that God tugged at my heart </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that first fruit giving is </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">obedience, but that sacrificial giving...that's where the real joy </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">comes in!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's also because of her example that I know that one day if the Lord calls me to care for </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">some of </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the people in my life who have caused me the greatest heartache, I'm prepared. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I've already given </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">the Lord my word that I would wipe their bottoms and clean their </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">bedpans if that's what He calls me </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to do.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">All because my Paulina went before me, and set such a breathtakingly beautiful example </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">for me to </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">imitate!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I cherish my Paulinas. I dearly, dearly love them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">They make me better because they point me to Jesus in love and graciousness, and they </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">love </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">me...oh, how they love me...as I do them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you don't have a Paulina in your life, and you'd like to see your relationship with Christ </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">really </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">grow by leaps and bounds, I encourage you to pray and ask the Lord to bring one </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">to you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">But observe her first. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Use the questions I've shared above if you'd like...and add those which are important to </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">you.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Don't just give anyone the privilege to speak into your life, make sure you've tested their </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">character </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and walk with Christ, through observation first.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As hard as it is to believe, even Christians can be used as weapons of unrighteousness </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">when we </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">aren't walking by the power of the Holy Spirit. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">That's called friendly fire, and it's terribly painful.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Be wise. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Observe.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look for Paulinas who know more of the Word than you do...considerably more. And are </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">living it </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">out on a daily basis. Those are the ones who will give you Godly counsel in grace </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">and love.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look for a Paulina who loves God and loves others, because she will be able to LOVE </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">you, as Paul </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">said he </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">did the Corinthians...(even in their </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">pridefulness</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> and sin).</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Look for a Paulina you want to imitate, because you observe her imitating Christ Jesus.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And once you find her, tell her often how very much you love and appreciate her!</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In His Love,</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jes</span></div>
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<b style="color: blue;"><u><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">1 Corinthians 11:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066009" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">9 </span>For, I think, God has exhibited us apostles last of all, as men condemned to death; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">because we </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">have become a spectacle to the world, both to angels and to men. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066010" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">10 </span>We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are prudent in Christ; we are weak, but you </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">are strong; </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">you are distinguished, but we are without honor. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066011" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">11 </span>To this present hour we are both hungry and thirsty, and are poorly clothed, and are </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">roughly </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">treated, and are homeless;</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066012" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">12 </span>and we toil, working with our own hands; when we are reviled, we bless; when we are </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">persecuted, we endure; </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066013" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">13 </span>when we are slandered, we try to conciliate; we have become as the scum of the </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">world, the </span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">dregs of all things, </span><em id="yui-gen46" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">even</em><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> until now.</span></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066014" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">14 </span>I do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>beloved </i></span></b><b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>children. </i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066015" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">15 </span>For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet <span style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">you would</span> not </i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">have</span> many </i></span></b><i style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>fathers, for in </b><b>Christ Jesus I became your father through the </b></i><br />
<i style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>gospel. </b></i></div>
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<b><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><span class="vnum" id="verse_1066016" style="border: 0px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); box-sizing: border-box; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: top;">16 </span>Therefore I exhort you, be imitators of me.</i></span></b></div>
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-38182179895743115132014-05-16T03:19:00.001-04:002014-05-16T03:19:41.118-04:00Why I Gave Myself a SpankingI don't know how it happens, really...but anyone who has given birth to more than one child can attest to the truth of what I'm about to tell you.<div><br></div><div>These precious babies come out of the same womb, children of the same two parents, yet they are so often completely and totally opposite personalities.</div><div><br></div><div>Can I get an "Amen" from the Mommas of the world?!</div><div><br></div><div>I have one who came out of the womb (after 18 HOURS of BRUTAL labor - at home - no drugs), and as tired as I was, I couldn't WAIT to hold and nurse this little gift of mine.</div><div><br></div><div>So the midwife put the child on my chest, and DADGUM if the little brat didn't cry like stuck pig until Super Dad swept in, swaddled, and cooed the little toot into a state of bliss!</div><div><br></div><div>I have another, also born at home with no pain aides except for 2 ounces of Castor Oil, whose labor was a breeze and who couldn't wait to be buried deep in my arms as soon as possible, nursing like it was the best thing on earth.</div><div><br></div><div>From the moment one of my two arrived, I just "got" them. We're so much alike in so many ways, that it's scary sometimes. This is the kid whose sin I can see a mile away, because I've committed the same ones myself so many times.</div><div><br></div><div>This is also the kid to whom I speak and hear my own mother's words coming out of my mouth to them. </div><div><br></div><div>This one has the same life motto I did for so many years, "Go Big, or Go Home!" </div><div><br></div><div>(Oh, how I pray age and time in the Word has matured me in that!)</div><div><br></div><div>This child of mine will SIN RIGHT TO MY FACE...and then fight to the death to defend it.</div><div><br></div><div>UNTIL....and this is SUCH a big until. UNTIL I send them to their room and tell them to hit their knees and then get into the Word, and not to come back to me until they have.</div><div><br></div><div>Without fail, when they return there are tears of TRUE repentance spilling down their cheeks and they humbly apologize and ask for forgiveness. We hug. We pray. We deal with whatever discipline is needed, and then we start afresh.</div><div><br></div><div>But my other child is different.</div><div><br></div><div>So, so different.</div><div><br></div><div>I spent a full year of this child's life begging God to help me understand them. I loved them..no question on that, but I certainly didn't "get" them, and I remember feeling so certain that this little baby didn't even LIKE me.</div><div><br></div><div>I entreated The Lord to PLEASE knit our hearts together, and He so graciously answered that prayer. We are now super close and have a very precious relationship.</div><div><br></div><div>Yet this child is still so much different than my other one, and much different than me in many ways.</div><div><br></div><div>They sin covertly. They are not quick to repent. They are not easily convicted by time in the Word.</div><div><br></div><div>So a few weeks ago, right in the midst of me battling major adrenal burnout and a tough, tough time with MS brought on by unbelievable grief and stress, this child decided to lie to me.</div><div><br></div><div>A day earlier they had tried to manipulate me in front of other people by saying, "My friend wants to know if they can..."</div><div><br></div><div>My response, "Oh, really? Well, your friend is standing here too. So since this issue obviously doesn't pertain to you, since it's only your friend who wants this, why don't you just let your friend do the talking?"</div><div><br></div><div>I was madder than a hornet! My kid was covertly lying to me!</div><div><br></div><div>I hate being lied to, and I hate being manipulated. I got my fill of both as a kid, and mastered both arts myself before I became a Believer.</div><div><br></div><div>So here we find ourselves the very next day, and this child I love has lied to me (covertly, they thought) again...and is busted because I saw it so clearly.</div><div><br></div><div>I talked with them. I prayed with them. I tried to drill down to the root with them, and while I definitely saw remorse, there was no true repentance.</div><div><br></div><div>So I got up and left the room and cried out to God, asking Him to show me what to do to make my child understand the severity of their sin.</div><div><br></div><div>I called to them from the laundry room and when they came in I said, "Go get a wooden spoon."</div><div><br></div><div>I truly can't remember the last time I spanked one of my kids. </div><div>#1, With the effects MS has had on my right hand, it hurts me more than it does them.</div><div>#2, They're just past the spanking age, in my opinion...at least for most things.</div><div><br></div><div>But that day I KNEW...a spanking had to occur.</div><div><br></div><div>This child is a Believer, and I feel pretty certain their spiritual gift is mercy.</div><div><br></div><div>I kept asking God, "WHAT discipline will get through to my mercy driven child?"</div><div><br></div><div>So we went into the library and talked some more, and I held and hugged them and told them how much I loved them. We talked about Hebrews and how it tells us that God disciplines those whom He loves. We discussed how discipline is training in righteousness.</div><div><br></div><div>And then I told them to lean over the couch.</div><div><br></div><div> Oh, that took some doing!</div><div><br></div><div> The tears started flowing, and the up and down again movements to solidify in their mind that this was really about to happen took a good 30 seconds.</div><div><br></div><div>I said, "The more you prolong this, the more I will view it as disobedience, and the more swats will be required. So you should just resolve yourself to it and lean over."</div><div><br></div><div>FINALLY they did. </div><div><br></div><div>They just about gripped the green chenille right off of the loveseat...face buried deep into the cushion,</div><div><br></div><div><b>Then I lifted that spoon high in the air, and with all of my might I slammed it right onto MY leg.</b></div><div><br></div><div>It startled my child, and they looked up at me in total disbelief.</div><div><br></div><div>I lifted it again and slammed my left leg two more times as hard as I could.</div><div><br></div><div>The tears started flowing from my sweet child of mercy. <b>"Momma, stop! Please stop!"</b></div><div><br></div><div>I lifted it again and moved to the right leg...three slams of that hard wooden spoon on my thigh.</div><div><br></div><div><b>"Momma, why are you doing this?! You didn't do anything wrong!"</b></div><div><br></div><div>Six swats later; six swelled areas on my thighs; a sore hand, and MS irritated nerve endings that felt like they were on fire....and tears, by now from both of us.</div><div><br></div><div>I took my dear child's face into my hands and I said, <b>"Sin COSTS! What I just took for you PALES in comparison to what Jesus endured on the cross for your lying and manipulating!"</b></div><div><br></div><div>We both wept as we talked about<b> the HIGH PRICE of grace, and mercy</b>...and that we are NEVER to forget what Jesus did to reconcile us to God when He sacrificed His own life for us, that we might have life eternal instead of the curse of death.</div><div><br></div><div>My guess is that some of you will read this, and will consider me a fool.</div><div><br></div><div>That will be sad for you if that's what you choose to take from this story.</div><div><br></div><div>What my dear child finally learned that day is what TRUE repentance is. I am confident that they will never forget that day, and what their Momma took that they deserved.</div><div><br></div><div><b>A person with the gift of mercy was heartbroken over their sin, all because they saw tangibly how it affected someone they love.</b></div><div><br></div><div>Spiritual mission accomplished! "Thank You Lord, for giving me that insight!"</div><div><br></div><div>I've no doubt that before they consider lying, or trying to manipulate again, they will first be reminded by the Holy Spirit of the high price Momma paid that day...but even more so, of the unbelievable price Jesus paid for their sin over 2,000 years ago.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div><br></div>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-7243500625923053012014-04-07T02:50:00.000-04:002014-04-07T02:50:19.814-04:00Are You Bitter and Blaming, or Forgiving and Free?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I realize that many of you don't know my whole story.</span><div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I've sought the Lord many times on whether or not to share it in its entirety here on my blog. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The main reason that I haven't yet is because I'm waiting.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Waiting on what, you ask?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I'm waiting like Joseph did.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I'm hoping and praying while I'm waiting, and I'm growing in grace (truly) and in the knowledge of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ while I'm waiting.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Joseph is such an amazing example in my life. He was deeply hurt by his brothers, endured heartache after heartache as a result of their decision to sell him into slavery, yet Scripture repeatedly says this about Joseph: <b>"But the LORD was with Joseph."</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">With every trial, with every false accusation...<b>the LORD was with Joseph.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">We never know what other people have endured in their lifetimes, but I think that the older we get, the more we realize that most people <u><b>have endured something.</b></u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><i><b>The evidence of HOW they've made it through their heartaches is found in the fruit of their life.</b></i></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Did they grow bitter? Do they live blaming others? Are they stuck in the past pains?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Or, did they entrust those heartaches and disappointments to the Lord? </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Have they allowed their griefs to be what has driven them into a deeper relationship of abiding in Christ?</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Anytime that I'm asked to speak before a group of women, I'm very transparent about what I've lived through...the sin of others that has caused such pain, as well as my own sinful choices before I was in covenant with Jesus.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">My beloved friend Kay Arthur taught me the value of being real with people...I learned from her that by doing so, it frees others up to be honest about areas of their own lives that have kept them in bondage...areas that they need to surrender to Jesus Christ and be set free.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">When I teach or share my testimony, there are always women who come up afterward and ask to talk. Or, there are phone calls that come in over the following few weeks.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The precious ladies open up and tell me their stories...stories of abuse; adultery; abortion; abandonment...and every time I think to myself, </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"You use it all, LORD. You truly do turn ashes into beauty for Your glory. You truly do bottle every tear that falls. You are TRUE!"</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">It's an awesome privilege to have another woman open up to me and share that which has most burdened her heart. It's a gift to sit with her and pray over her, trusting and knowing that Jesus wants her free and gave His life to ensure she could be.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Ladies...please hear me on this. Those words whispered to you from another woman about her trials and heartaches are SACRED. DO NOT utter them to other people. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Be a Titus 2 woman...one from whom the younger women can trust and learn.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">And if you're a younger woman, find some older Titus 2 women and let them pour into your life.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">As I continue to seek God about when and where to share my testimony I will tell you this much...there are parts of it I've chosen not to share here, even though I know without question that it would give great hope to others who have lived through what I did.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Why? Because to do so might forever shut doors of opportunity for the Gospel to go forth to the very ones from my past who need it the most. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The reality for me is this...</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><i>Only</i> through the power of Christ in me, I've forgiven without being asked to. Joseph did the same.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I'm praying for a day of reconciliation like God gave Joseph. It seems an impossibility to me, but I know that nothing is impossible for God.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">I'm hoping for salvation for many in my family. Joseph told his brothers that God sent him before them to preserve life. I'm hoping for the same with these family members, spiritually speaking.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">What an awesome thing to KNOW that while I'm praying, and hoping, and waiting... </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">The LORD is with me! </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">And not only <i>with</i> me, but His Spirit dwells <b><u><i>within</i></u></b> me. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">If you're a Believer, a true child of God in Christ Jesus, His Spirit dwells within you also!</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Thus, there isn't anything you can't forgive, because He will enable and empower you to forgive others as you have been forgiven by Him. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>You can't live a life of true forgiveness and be in bondage to bitterness at the same time.</b></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Much love to you tonight,</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Jes</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">"The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear Him, and rescues them."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Psalm 34:7 </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">NASB</span></div>
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Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-64366996152733993772013-09-23T15:33:00.001-04:002013-09-23T15:33:24.810-04:00Traversing Dark Valleys<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-variant: small-caps;">A Psalm of David.</span><br />
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<div class="nasb_PN" id="yui-gen32" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_501001" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">1 </span>The L<span class="yhwh" id="yui-gen51" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">ORD</span> is my shepherd,</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen33" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
I shall not want.</div>
<div class="nasb_PN" id="yui-gen49" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_501002" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">2 </span>He makes me lie down in green pastures;</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen34" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
He leads me beside quiet waters.</div>
<div class="nasb_PN" id="yui-gen35" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_501003" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">3 </span>He restores my soul;</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen36" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
He guides me in the paths of righteousness</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen37" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
For His name’s sake.</div>
<div class="nasb_PM" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top;">
</div>
<div class="nasb_PN" id="yui-gen38" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_501004" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">4 </span>Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen52" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
I fear no evil, for You are with me;</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen39" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.</div>
<div class="nasb_PN" id="yui-gen40" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_501005" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">5 </span>You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen41" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
You have anointed my head with oil;</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen42" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
My cup overflows.</div>
<div class="nasb_PN" id="yui-gen43" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="vnum" id="verse_501006" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; color: #5c749a; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">6 </span>Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
And I will dwell in the house of the L<span class="yhwh" id="yui-gen48" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;">ORD</span> forever.</div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<br /></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<br /></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-size: 0.9em; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<br /></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I've been walking through a dark valley with MS for the past many weeks. </span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I keep thinking that if I push myself hard enough, I'll push through it. This is a default of mine...I've been a fighter for as long as I can remember. By that I mean, I haven't been one to let tough things stop me.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And there's been a lot of tough in my life. If you've ever heard my testimony, you know I'm not exaggerating. </span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">As I read verses 2-3 above, I realize what an obstinate sheep I am. The Lord knows what I need at this season in my life. He knows how hard my body is battling. He knows my thoughts...the discouragement I've felt over not feeling good.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">And He has provided me with the most precious husband in the world, along with a dear friend who is also my Naturopath....these two speak truth into my life.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Both of them have put me on bed rest. </span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet, I fight them on it. The thought of days or weeks in bed is absolutely overwhelming to me.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I had no idea how hard it would be to be a willing patient!</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">See...I'm really just an obstinate sheep. </span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">When I read the verses above, I see the Psalmist following the Lord as He makes him lie down...and as He leads him beside quiet waters.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Peace in the midst of a dark valley.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">So why is it so hard for me?</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Why do I fight it so much?</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">A dear friend of mine also has MS. She's had it for 25 years and is in a wheelchair.</span></div>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; color: blue; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; font-size: large;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif';"><div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She loves me enough to say the hard things to me, like she did last week when she told me, "Jes! You can't PUSH THROUGH MS! Pushing with MS just makes things worse. You have to listen to your body and obey it."</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">She then went on to detail for me what I will lose if I don't slow down and take it easier on myself.</span></div>
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif';"><div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I can't begin to explain to you how hard these dark valleys of MS are. </span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">They are lonely. They are boring. They are times that the enemy of my soul loves to shoot his arrows of deceit into my mind, telling me what a burden I am to everyone in my life.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yet, when I am obedient and I slow down...I see the peaceful fruit of righteousness. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">I see my children enjoying the time when mom is at a standstill. We crawl up onto my bed and spend time reading and learning new things.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Math, English, Spelling, Bible...we enjoy learning together.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Serving, Loving, Edifying,Talking...we enjoy living together.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Yes, it has felt like the valley of the shadow of death at times lately...and when the pain is so great, it can be exhausting...but through it all the Lord is with me, and my precious family and friends have been so supportive.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Goodness and lovingkindness really do follow me.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Discouraged, but not defeated.</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Love to you today,</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;">Jes</span></div>
<div class="nasb_PO" id="yui-gen44" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 0px; border-top-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: arial, helvetica, 'sans serif'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 20px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: top;">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
</span>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-2463811739587931022013-04-22T04:51:00.000-04:002013-04-22T04:51:23.360-04:00The ONE Thing Christian Women Long For From Their Husbands<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I've often heard it said that men are pretty simple with regard to their needs in marriage.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">At the top of most of the lists are respect (that's Biblical); adequate time making love (that's Biblical too-and fun!); food to fill their tummies (women are to be lovers of their husbands and keepers of their homes, so this is also Biblical).</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Let's see...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Respect</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Naked time</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Food</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Doesn't seem too hard to please my man...and my guess is that yours isn't much different.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">May I be so bold to speak to Christian men for a minute?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I gotta say, this is new territory for me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My blog has been for women...for years.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The ministry God has given me has been to women as well. Since I started teaching women how to study the Bible in 2004, there have been hundreds whom I've worked with.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If I had $5 for every woman who told me the ONE THING that would mean the world to her in her marriage, I would be sailing the Atlantic Ocean on my dream boat right now.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Guys...I promise, we're pretty simple too.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Christian women want from our husbands what </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Christ placed in our hearts </b>as our deepest desire.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">WE WANT YOU TO WASH US WITH THE WATER OF THE WORD!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We want you to be IN THE WORD.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We want you to WANT TO KNOW GOD, and this comes by knowing His Word.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We want you to GROW in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, by getting to KNOW HIM in the very Word that He has given you.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I was telling a man recently about the story of King Josiah.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He became the King of Judah at 8 years old. </span></li>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">At 16 years old, he began to seek the God of his father David.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Hold up here...David wasn't his father! </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Amon was. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>David was his forefather. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Josiah's own father was an idol worshiper who lived an incredibly pagan life. He forsook God, and thus <b>Josiah couldn't look to his own father's example for guidance</b> on how to rule. </i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>Josiah discounted his father because his father discounted GOD!</i></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>DADS, IS THAT THE LEGACY YOU WANT TO LEAVE FOR YOUR CHILDREN?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">When he was 20, Josiah began to purge Judah, Jerusalem, and Israel of all idol worship in the land. </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<ul>
<li><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">At 26, after he had purged the land and the house of the Lord, he began to repair the house of the LORD, which had fallen into great disrepair due to the neglect of it and the idol worship that was taking place.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In the midst of repairing the house of the LORD, the book of the law was found. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When it was read to Josiah, (who had been seeking the LORD for 10 years by this point) </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">he:</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">tore his clothes; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">immediately sent his servants to inquire of the LORD for him from a prophetess; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">tendered his heart; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">humbled himself before the LORD; </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">and wept before God.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">AND AS A RESULT, GOD heard him and did not send His burning wrath upon Judah until Josiah had gone to his grave in peace.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">When I shared this story with a man recently, he said, "THAT'S IT! THAT'S IT! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It starts in the White House! </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our President needs to humble himself before God.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">It starts in the White House!"</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><u>MEN....listen up, PLEASE!</u></span></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>IT STARTS IN YOUR HOUSE!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>WHEN, OH WHEN are the men of this country going to make the Word of God a priority in your own homes?!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>WHEN, OH WHEN are you going to start obeying God's Word and wash your wives with the water of His Word?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>WHEN, OH WHEN are you going to take GOD SERIOUSLY when He commands that you teach your children His Word?</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I'm not trying to man bash, and I realize that some of you will take it that way.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I can't change how you choose to receive this exhortation.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I just think it's time that someone tell you <b>straight up</b> that your wives are <b>STARVING </b>for you to be the spiritual leaders in your homes!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I hear it so much that it's like a broken record.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Your sons are being discipled by your wives...either that, or you're leaving it up to their Sunday school teachers and youth group leaders.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>EPIC FAIL, DADS. </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u><b>Your boys need to be taught God's Word by YOU!</b></u></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They LONG to be led into the rich meat of God's Word by YOU!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Your daughters are going to grow up and look for a man much like you, most likely.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b><u>Don't you WANT her to have a man that will pray God's Word over her?</u></b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And your Christian wives?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They NEED you to lead them according to the Word of God. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You want to know something else?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You know how you struggle with your eyes? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">You know how your thought life can too easily take you down the path of lust?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want a tough wake up call?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Your Christian wife who has been praying, begging, and longing for you to lead her and your family in the Word may very well be struggling too.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Know what her struggle is?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She sees the men in your church who ARE in the Word...who are passionate about their walks with Christ...and if she's not totally surrendered to Jesus, her thought life can too easily become, </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"I wish I had a husband like <i>that</i>.</span><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"> </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">I wish MY husband would do family devotions with us. </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I wish MY husband would turn the stupid t.v. off and open the Bible with me.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I WISH MY HUSBAND WOULD LEAD ME IN THE WORD."</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Guys...our days aren't so much different than the days of Josiah.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our fathers have shirked their responsibilities with regard to God's Word in our homes, and as a result everyone suffers.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Our kids are falling away from church in droves once they hit high school or college, and we wonder why?!?!?!?!?!?!?!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Marriages in the church are falling apart and we wonder why?!?!?!?!?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Pornography addictions; sexting affairs; extramarital affairs; lack of heart intimacy in marriages; disrespect from our kids...it's all so prevalent, and we really have to wonder why?!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>MEN...PLEASE, I BEG YOU ON BEHALF OF YOUR WIVES </b>who have cried many tears sitting on my couch, have shared many heart desires about their longing for you to lead them...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>I BEG YOU...</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">MAN UP!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>Decide TODAY that you are going to OBEY GOD and lead your family in the Word.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We don't expect you to be perfect at it.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">WE aren't perfect at it...none of us are. Your wife isn't, and you won't be.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">GOD doesn't expect you to be perfect either.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">He only asks that you be obedient and make His Word preeminent in your home.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>GUESS WHAT? </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>HIS WORD IS PERFECT! </b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>JUST READ IT!</b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want more respect from your wife? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want to be the man she's always dreamed of? </span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want to help protect her thought life?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>LEAD HER IN THE WORD!</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want more naked time with your wife?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I PROMISE YOU, she is going to find you so amazingly sexy the minute you start obeying God and assume your rightful role as loving spiritual leader of your home, that you're going to have to fight her off!</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Want more yummy food from her?</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My best guess is that if you tell her brownies will help you be a better expositor of God's Word, you'll have a batch waiting for you when you get home.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please..quit wasting time complaining about the government, and govern your families according to God's Word.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">It doesn't start in the White House.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>It starts in YOUR HOUSE.</b></span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In His Love,</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jes</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-46313948830286097322012-09-09T17:58:00.000-04:002012-09-09T17:58:40.635-04:00When It Hurts So Bad That It's Hard To Breathe...<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I heard a sermon once about the man who was lowered by his friends, through the roof of a house where Jesus was in the hope that the Lord would heal him.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">For the life of me, I can't remember what the pastor was teaching because I couldn't stop thinking about the man's <i>friends</i>.</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The story is found in both <a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/Bible.cfm?b=Mar&c=2&t=NASB#4">Mark 2:4</a> and Luke 5:17</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Here are the verses from Luke...</span><br />
<span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">17</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">One day He was teaching; and there were </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">some</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> Pharisees and teachers of the law sitting </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">there,</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and</span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">from</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">present</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> for Him to perform healing.</span><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">18</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> And </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">some</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> men </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">were</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> carrying on a </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">bed a man who was paralyzed; and they were trying to bring him in and to set him down in front of Him. </span><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">19</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> <b>But not finding any </b></span><b><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">way</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down through the tiles with his stretcher, into the middle </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">of the crowd,</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> in front of Jesus. </span></b><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">20</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><b> <u>Seeing their faith</u></b>, He said, </span><span class="rl" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">" Friend, your sins are forgiven you." </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"></span><span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">21</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> The scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, "Who is this </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">man</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" </span><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">22</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> But Jesus, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">aware of their reasonings, answered and said to them, </span><span class="rl" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">"Why are you reasoning in your hearts?</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">23</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><span class="rl" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">Which is easier, to say, 'Your sins have been forgiven you,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">24</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><span class="rl" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins,"</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">—He said to the paralytic—</span><span class="rl" style="background-color: white; color: red; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">"I say to you, get up, and pick up your stretcher and go home."</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">25</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> Immediately he got up before them, and picked up what he had been lying on, and went home glorifying God. </span><br />
<span class="vnum" style="background-color: white; color: rgb(92, 116, 154) !important; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 0.8em !important; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px; vertical-align: top !important;"><a href="http://www.blueletterbible.org/tools/printerFriendly.cfm?b=Luk&c=5&t=NASBP&x=13&y=6#" style="color: #324395; text-decoration: none;">26</a></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> They were all struck with astonishment and </span><em style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">began</em><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"> glorifying God; and they were filled with fear, saying, "We have seen remarkable things today."</span>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><br /></span>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Think with me about these friends for a minute.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">How they must have loved this man! They heard that the Healer was home and they were trying desperately to get their paralyzed friend inside so they could lay him at the very feet of Jesus!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But they were shut out. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">No room.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Standing room only would be an understatement for this story.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">That didn't stop this man's friends, though. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Instead they climbed up on the roof, and Mark tells us that they had to remove the roof and dig an opening in it so that they could lower their friend down to Jesus.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Can you even begin to imagine?!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They had to get up there first. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Then they had to get <i>him</i> up there, stretcher and all. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Then remove the roof, </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">then dig the hole, </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">then finally lower the pallet upon which he was laying paralyzed, </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">all. the. way. down. <u>without dropping him</u>.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">See why I've never been able to forget the <i>friends</i>?!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Friends like these are often few and far between. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">They're the ones that you hold so closely that your hearts are laced together as Jonathan and Davids' were.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I am so awesomely and amazingly blessed to have a friend like this. In truth, I have a few.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But this one..."my Jan" as I call her, is so much more than a friend to me. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She's my Nathan. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She's my sister. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She's my Hur.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>Nathan</u> because she speaks truth to me in a way that always hits the nail on the head, and she does it so lovingly in the power of the Holy Spirit...but I am always changed by what she says...changed in a way that matures me as a follower of Jesus and draws me deeper into relationship with Him.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><u>My sister</u> because she truly means that much to me...having the same blood running through our veins couldn't make her any more dear to me than she already is.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><br /></span>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><i>Scripturally misguided are those who tell us that friends are not family.</i></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Another of my precious sisters puts it this way, </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>"We have our physical families, and we have our spiritual family that God gives us in Christ."</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Perfectly said. The Apostle Paul would agree </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>whole-heartedly, as he always referred to Timothy as his true child in the faith and as his son.</i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>Often times, our spiritual family is more family to us than the ones we were born into. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i>How gracious God is to give us the body of Christ!</i></span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">And Jan is my Hur because she prays for me, and lifts my "arms" when I'm weary, and encourages me with the washing of the water of the Word.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I would lay my life down for her without pausing to think about it for a second.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She is also one of the most faithful servants of the Lord that I've ever known, in addition to being one of the best Precept leaders I've ever had the sheer gift of learning from!</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">The last 5 years or so have been incredibly hard for my dear friend, on countless levels.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">She moved from California to Arizona because they discovered that her health had been badly compromised by mold, and were told that the air in Arizona would be better for her.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">In Arizona, she contracted a very rare virus called Valley Fever and has been incredibly sick from it.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Her body is frail and has been through the ringer from chemotherapy treatments.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">We thought she was doing better, but this week she received news that the spot on her lungs has grown drastically.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">My Jan.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">"Oh God, not my Jan. Not again. Please Father, not again."</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">Would you please, please, please pray with me for Jan?</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">This week she and her family will be moving cross country, from California to Corpus Christie, Texas.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please pray that she will be given abundant grace for the drive.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please pray that the Lord will direct her right to the doctors that she needs and that she'll be able to quickly get the care/surgery/medicines that will help her.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please pray for the Lord to heal her completely.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please pray for her family.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please pray that she will connect quickly with others in Corpus Christie who will help and serve her.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Please pray, as would be her request, that God is glorified in and through every bit of this trial.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Oh that the Lord would see the faith of her friends and choose to heal her!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I don't think for a minute that this disease is about sin in her life, so please don't read that into my story just because that happened to be the case with the man in the Bible.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jesus forgave that man's sin in order to demonstrate his divinity to the scribes and Pharisees. Period.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I don't profess to know why God is allowing this to happen to my precious friend. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">But neither of us doubt </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">that <b>God has a plan</b>, </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">that <b>God is just</b>, </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">that <b>God is love</b>, and </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">that <b>God is good</b>.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><i><b>Even in the bad, God is good.</b></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I know that many of you have prayer chains at your churches and within your Bible study groups.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Would you please add my Jan to them?</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">If she were the only friend I had in my life, I would consider myself one of the most blessed people to have ever lived. How gracious God is, that He has given me others as well.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Many of you are some of those friends, so I plead with you to help me </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">remove the roof and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">dig the hole and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">lower her pallet before the feet of our Lord, through prayer.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">I will be forever grateful.</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">I love you Jan. So, so much!</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: blue; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;">And I love you reader, thank you for praying...</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;">Jes</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'trebuchet ms', arial, helvetica; font-size: 13px; text-align: justify; text-indent: 30px;"><br /></span>Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-3897229861797920852012-05-08T22:45:00.000-04:002012-05-08T22:45:26.379-04:00He Will Baptize You With the Holy Spirit and Fire...I found the post I wrote a few years ago about this portion of Matthew chapter 3.<br />
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Read it in context of Matthew 3:7-12.<br />
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<a href="http://http://whatilearnedfromthewordtoday.blogspot.com/2007/10/he-will-baptize-with-holy-spirit-and.html">http://whatilearnedfromthewordtoday.blogspot.com/2007/10/he-will-baptize-with-holy-spirit-and.html</a><br />
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Much love...<br />
JesJeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-62007803523936663742012-05-08T15:33:00.000-04:002012-05-08T15:35:48.892-04:00Matthew Chapter 1 - 3 Observations...I'm writing now from my iPad, and haven't a clue as to how to format my entries with color or cool fonts. Sorry if the layout is boring...hopefully the content won't be. :0)<br />
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I'm so excited that some of you want to join me and journey together through the New Testament over the next several months!<br />
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As you know if you've read much of this blog, or even the mission statement for it, I love studying the Bible inductively, and deeply desire for you to learn to do so as well.<br />
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However, I've found that I can be working through an inductive study and still have 10-15 minutes a day to simply read and soak in more of the Word.<br />
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Thus, as we walk this road through the New Testament together, I won't be treating it as an inductive study, per se, but without a doubt much of my training in studying that way will come out.<br />
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I find that after using the method of inductive study that I've learned through <a href="http://precept.org">Precept Ministries International</a> for these past 13 years, even when I'm reading I'm thinking inductively...which makes for an even richer reading experience.<br />
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Today was my start in reading the New Testament through for the second time, and I so enjoyed doing it with my children.<br />
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I'm just going to highlight some of the verses that jumped out at us this time through, but I want to encourage YOU to please post your "ah-ha" moments, as yours will likely be different than ours. This is where doing this study together will be fun and interactive.<br />
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My precious friend and spiritual mother, "Momma-Nan" as she's so lovingly called here, shared with me that when she first became a Believer she read through the entire Bible, and as she did so she underlined in red anything that really stood out to her.<br />
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That might be a neat thing to do to help you...I love that idea!<br />
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A word about Matthew chapter 1. It's IMPORTANT! Please don't skip it just because it has a bunch of names in it. Each one of them is important, and tells a part of the redemptive story of who our Lord is. Perhaps you'll even see a name that jumps out at you as one that you're familiar with.<br />
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OK...these are the verses that stood out for us today:<br />
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<b><br />
Salmon was the father of Boaz by Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse. Jesse was the father of David the king. <br />
David was the father of Solomon by Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah. (Matthew 1:5, 6 NASB)</b><br />
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I want to take a second here because these verses are so HUGE!!!<br />
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Salmon was married to Rahab...remember her? She was the prostitue who protected the spies when they went in to spy out the Promised Land before taking Jericho. The fact that she is in the geneaology of Jesus is so AWESOME to me. You see, Rahab forsook her life of sin and allied herself with the One true God of Israel, and God in His grace provided a Godly husband for her and blessed her with a son.<br />
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Instead of her story being all about her sin, through Jesus it became about her redeption...and then the redemption of of any sinner who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.<br />
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Ruth is a very similar story. She was a Moabite...born and rasied under hideous pagan worship. During a famine in Israel, her soon-to-be-father-in-law took his family into Moab where he and his two sons (who took Moabite wives even though they were told by God not to) lived long enough for Ruth to marry one of his sons.<br />
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Both sons and her father-in-law ended up dying in Moab, but God spared her mother-in-law Naomi, and Ruth made a decision to forsake her family and the pagan worship that she'd been raised under to make the same decision that her soon-to-be new husband's mother had made...to enter into covenant with the One true God...the God of Israel.<br />
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The Lord went on to bless her with a Godly husband and with a son who was the grandfather of King David.<br />
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I love this story so much, because it gives me such personal grace.<br />
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I too was like Rahab in many ways. I too was raised under false teaching and had to make a decision to turn from it completely. I too have seen the unmerited favor of God in my life through a husband who loves Him and cares for me as Boaz did for Ruth. <br />
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And I too have been given a mighty son in Christ...a young man who loves the Lord and is so hungry for His Word.<br />
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I just think it's AWESOME that Boaz was raised by a former prostitute turned redeemed daughter of the LORD, and that he didn't hesitate to take Ruth (a former pagan) as his wife when he saw her heart for the LORD GOD...and that together they raised a son (Obed) who raised a son (Jesse) who raised a son (David) who raised a son (Solomon)to know and love the LORD.<br />
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Not that any of those men were perfect...and certainly Solomon found himself in the very cesspools of pagan worship from which his great grandmother and great-great grandmothers had been saved...yet he had been given TRUTH...what he chose to do with it was up to him. <br />
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Next verse: <br />
<b>Josiah became the father of Jeconiah and his brothers, at the time of the deportation to Babylon. (Matthew 1:11NASB)<br />
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I love that because of Josiah's obedience to God, by tearing down all of the high places in Judah, God protected his time in the land and he didn't have to live through the deportation. Again, God's grace...<br />
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Next:<br />
<b>But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:20 NASB)<br />
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Not sure where I've been...but this was the first time that I "saw" that God called Joseph "son of David." WOW! Super cool!!<br />
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Next:<br />
<b>but kept her a virgin <i>until</i> she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. (Matthew 1:25 NASB)<br />
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This verse makes it clear that Mary was not a virgin forever. That, along with the verses that we'll see as we go along that show us who Jesus' brothers were.<br />
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Next:<br />
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<b>When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. (Matthew 2:3 NASB)</b><br />
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We all found this interesting...why was all Jerusalem troubled? Hmmm...<br />
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Next:<br />
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<b>After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. </b>(Matthew 2:11 NASB)<br />
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Their first reaction to seeing the King of Kings...do you see it?<br />
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Can you even being to imagine what yours will be?<br />
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Next:<br />
<b>Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi. (Matthew 2:16 NASB)</b><br />
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According to the time determined from the magi...this seems to clear up the question about how old Jesus likely was when the magi found Him. He likely was about two years old, not the baby in the manger that we think of.<br />
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Next:<br />
<b>But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming for baptism, he said to them, "You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? (Matthew 3:7 NASB)</b><br />
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A viper is a snake found in that area of the world that looks like a stick. Yet they are incredibly deadly. One may pick the "stick" up and be immediately struck to their death. John calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a BROOD of vipers...deadly, deceptive, looking one way while being something completely different.<br />
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Next:<br />
<b>"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. (Matthew 3:11 NASB)</b><br />
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This verse, and the ones that follow it are SO IMPORTANT to read in context. When you slow down and study them in this way, you'll see that John is making several contrasts...being baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire are two different baptisms, not one.<br />
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One of them is a blessing, the other a curse...read these verses slowly, and ask the Lord for discernment.<br />
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You do NOT want to be baptised with fire! <br />
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I wrote about this in detail some years ago. If you do a search in the box above, you can read that post in it's complete form.<br />
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Next and final:<br />
<b>and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."</b> (Matthew 3:17 NASB)<br />
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Jesus had just told John that they had to baptize Jesus in order to fulfill all righteousness, and immediately upon doing so, God the Father lets everyone know that Jesus is His Son, and that He is well pleased with Him.<br />
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Throughout the gospels we will see that Jesus came to fulfill every prophesy God the Father ever made about Him, and that Jesus obeyed every command the Father gave Him.<br />
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One thing you might want to do as you read through the gospels, is highlight every time that you see a prophesy fulfilled. You'll be blown away!<br />
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In closing...when you're reading the New Testament and see words in ALL CAPS, those are words that have been quoted from the Old Testament. Your Bible may have the cross-references in the margins. If so, I encourage you to read them in context of the chapter from which they come.<br />
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If that's too much this first time through...don't sweat it.<br />
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OK...time to share your insights...as little or as much as you like. <br />
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My posts won't always be this long, as I won't have this much time...just wanted to share today, I suppose. :0)<br />
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When you do post, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE let it be what YOU are seeing from your own personal reading time. Please don't quote what your commentary tells you; what your Momma told you; or what you heard on the radio.<br />
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This whole adventure is so that you and I will read and listen to the leading of the Holy Spirit.<br />
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In closing...if the same person who sent me anonymous comments when I was blogging before chooses to do it again, I will no longer refrain from letting others know who you are. This blog is for God's glory, and not to be used to propogate your false teaching. I DO NOT want comments from you, and I expect you to respect my wishes!<br />
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I know EVERY SINGLE TIME that you visit my blog, and I see EVERY SINGLE PAGE that you visit...you may read all you like, but do NOT download another picture of my family and do NOT comment. <br />
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To everyone else...sorry you had to read that little digression above...but it had to be said.<br />
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I'm not proofing - sorry for any misspellings today.<br />
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Much love in Jesus,<br />
Jes<br />Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-79930635724422875132012-05-07T23:53:00.001-04:002012-05-07T23:57:02.884-04:00Through the New Testament in 90 Days...Give or TakeI'm beginning my second read through the New Testament, and I'd love for you to join me.<br />
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The goal is simple...three chapters a day, 260 in total. That means we should be able to read through it in 90 days.<br />
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I started a 30 day plan through the New Testament last November, and realized very quickly that I simply couldn't digest THAT much meat in 30 days!<br />
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I'm not interested in shoving in the Holy Word of God...I want to revel in it, soak in it, enjoy it...have time to mull through what I'm reading.<br />
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So, in short order I decided just to take it at my own pace...and that turned out to be 6 months.<br />
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This time through I'm hoping to read it in 3...but I want you to know that if it takes me 6...or if it takes you 9, it simply doesn't matter.<br />
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What DOES matter is that we are going to be disciplining ourselves to be head down in the very Words of our God...and that as a result, our walks with Him are going to GROW and DEEPEN, and our lives will never be the same as a result of having met with Him through His Word on a regular (goal is daily) basis.<br />
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I'll be blogging about what I'm learning this time through, and I would be SO, so excited if you'd post some of your observations as well.<br />
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Please know a few things going into this...<br />
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1. There will be so many days/nights that you won't FEEL like doing it. Those will be the very times that God will have something so RICH for you...so pick up your Bible, pray for the Holy Spirit to teach you, and DO IT ANYWAY!<br />
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2. The same will happen to me...so please pray for me as well.<br />
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3. Please, if you're committing to do this with me, post a comment below so that I will know to be praying for you as well.<br />
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I can't wait to hear from you through our journey together.<br />
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It will never be too late to start...so if you read this post and find that I'm already in Jude, just jump in at the beginning and post your comments and observations. I'll read every one, and as I do, I know that I'll be encouraged afresh and excited anew!<br />
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Much love to you tonight,<br />
JesJeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35538712.post-49728660495115681382012-04-27T02:02:00.000-04:002012-04-27T02:02:38.075-04:00My Fearful Trek Into RevelationI want you to know that I realize it makes very little sense that I've been afraid of reading the book of Revelation.<br />
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Yet, it's true.<br />
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There are parts of it that I've studied over the years, as cross-references have led me to do so and I've always reaped much from those times of digging in.<br />
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However, if I have ever read it cover to cover I have since forgotten that I did so.<br />
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I've been dragging my feet, if you want to know the truth.<br />
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There. I've said it!<br />
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Here's a little background, and then I'm going to actually tell you what I learned from Revelation today. <br />
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What an idea, eh?<br />
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I grew up under a false teacher, in what I most definitely believe was a cult. This teacher pounded on and on about the future, and painted some pretty scary pictures in the mind of a 7 year old little girl, as to what my destiny was going to look like.<br />
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Then, in my 20s I landed in my first Precept class. I only went one time, as a guest of a guy I was dating at the time. Their class was in part 2 of Precept's Revelation study (I think each part takes 6 months, and there are 4). I was absolutely CLUELESS during the discussion time, and when they played the video of Kay Arthur teaching I was absolutely sure that her head was going to start spinning around any minute.<br />
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The most humorous part of this story is that Kay is the very person whom the Lord used in my life to teach me how to study His word, just weeks after I became a believer. She is now a beloved friend, and cherished mentor. <br />
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Yet, at the time that I first heard her teach, I was lost...and spiritual things are only discerned by those who have His Spirit. <br />
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No wonder I felt like I had landed in a room full of aliens when I went to that first study.<br />
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Fast forward many years to today...<br />
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I'm now in a role of teaching other women how to study God's Word inductively, and our group has been doing a study called "Marriage Without Regrets" since last September. It's a wonderful, marriage-changing study and it's been such a blessing to see all that God has used his Word to do in the lives of the precious women with whom I study.<br />
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Last November I found myself wanting more. I was so hungry for even more meat, and I couldn't comprehend doing another Precept study while leading the one on marriage. So I sought the Lord on what to do, and felt very clearly that He was calling me to read through the entire New Testament.<br />
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I started a reading plan on my YouVersion app on my phone called "New Through 30," meaning that it's set up for one to read through the NT in 30 days.<br />
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I began the plan with great intentions, yet quickly realized that eating that much MEAT in a single sitting was way too much for my mind to be able to digest.<br />
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Thus, I took it at my pace and enjoyed the journey. I reveled in learning more about Jesus through each of the Gospels, and found it quite interesting that Luke ended up being my favorite Gospel author.<br />
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I was captivated by every word of the book of Acts.<br />
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Romans....ah, Romans. My life chapter.<br />
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Paul's letters...what LOVE he had for the churches!<br />
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I could go on and on...and perhaps I will one day soon.<br />
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BUT then came Revelation.<br />
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Squuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!<br />
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Can you hear the sound of my brakes being slammed straight to the floor?<br />
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I'm not kidding when I tell you that I've been trying for days to start. <br />
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DAYS!<br />
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So I confessed this truth to my kiddos in passing - I forget if it was today or yesterday.<br />
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And tonight, when we all crawled up for night time snuggles and prayers, my young warrior man came armed with our Sword of the Spirit.<br />
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That kid astounds me!<br />
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He turned right to Revelation and started reading to us...although both he and I know that he did it for ME.<br />
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Bless his heart, he made it through just a few verses and was coughing so hard that he handed the Bible to Shane, who then continued on and led all of us through both the reading, and the revolving of the mind that goes into dialogue when we study the way we've been trained to.<br />
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So here's what I learned from Revelation tonight...just a few high points from chapter 1.<br />
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v.9 John mentions the Lord's Day - historians say this is Sunday, and explains why we worship on Sundays instead of Saturdays now that we're not under the Old Covenant - I just didn't know that John mentioned it.<br />
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v.17, John fell at the feet of Jesus, "like a dead man" and Jesus' first words to him were, "Do not be afraid..."<br />
Jesus holds the keys of death and of Hades.<br />
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AWESOME!<br />
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If John was told not to be afraid, and he was literally having the future laid out for him to see and record, and Jesus was so kind as to touch him and tell him "Do not be afraid...," then I truly have nothing to fear in reading this book.<br />
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I wonder if I'm the only one who has been afraid to dig into Revelation?<br />
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Sure was amazing having my son and husband read it over me tonight. Talk about a way to start!<br />
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Love to you tonight,<br />
Jes<br />
<br />Jeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11587437772555795721noreply@blogger.com0