Life?

Tomorrow is a very important day for the state of Mississippi. We vote on an amendment......Amendment 26, which states:

Amendment 26: What it says?

Amendment 26 - The Mississippi Personhood Amendment-- is a citizens initiative to amend the Mississippi Constitution to define personhood as beginning at fertilization or "the functional equivalent thereof." Its purpose is to protect all life, regardless of age, health, function, physical or mental dependency, or method of reproduction. The entire proposed Amendment is as follows:

Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Mississippi: SECTION 1. Article III of the constitution of the state of Mississippi is hereby amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION TO READ: Section 33. Person defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term 'person' or 'persons' shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning or the functional equivalent thereof." This initiative shall not require any additional revenue for implementation.

(NOTE: Please understand that the inclusion of the word cloning in the proposed Amendment does not in any way condone cloning. There will be an entire section on the web siteposted soon explaining why this wording is necessary and answering any questions.)
We the people of Mississippi were required to collect and certify 89,285 certified signatures from registered voters (equally divided throughout the state of Mississippi). We far exceeded this requirement - collecting well over 130,000 and having over 106,000 certified.
Now, in November of 2011, we have the opportunity to vote on the question. If the majortiy of the people voting in vote YES on Amendment 26, abortion will be outlawed in our state; cloning and other forms of medical cannibalism will be effectively stopped; and a challenge will be set up to Roe v Wade.

Now, I have talked with people on facebook, through email, and face to face who have argued that this will end up making miscarriages a crime, birth control pills illegal, and invitro fertilization illegal.

Here are my thoughts.....

No one has ever been arrested because they had a miscarriage....unless there was other criminal activity involved.

No, birth control pills will not be affected.

And, more and more medical experts and government officials have emphasized that invitro will not be affected.

Even if the later two were affected.....I still could not bring myself to vote no on this amendment.

I cannot vote against LIFE! And, yes, I don't know how it is not to be able to bear children. However, I have a heart for adoption.....there are too many children out there needing a family. I have seen friends of mine adopt...and it is hard, but a beautiful and rewarding thing.

So, do what you want...but my Father in heaven (and on earth) have had some long talks about it....and I know what He wants me to do.

Making a difference....

Today, I hope I made a little bit of a difference. I taught the Sr High and Jr High Youth in Bible Fellowship (Sunday School). An area youth pastor/football team chaplain passed away last Monday. I did the lesson on struggling with the "why's".

I hope a helped a little. I shared interviews of Abby Rike for Biggest Loser who lost her husband and two children in a car accident. I also shared about Bobby Petrocelli....he lost his wife when a drunk driver drove through their bedroom.

So many "why's"! I have to remind myself daily that I may never understand.

God's plans are way higher than ours. His thoughts are so much more vast than mine.

But, what I am thinking about today is.....what difference can I make everyday in someone else's life?

I challenge you to do the same. It may be a text, phone call, a smile, a visit....just find a way to reach someone else every single day!

Now, you know....you all have to keep me accountable! :)

Just like the men in the movie "Courageous", all of us can stand up, be courageous, and fight the fight daily. We can make a difference!!!!

My testimony

I guess if I am going to reveal myself to the world, I might as well share my testimony.

I was born into a very strong Christian family. We grew up Southern Baptist. I was active in all aspects of church. At around the age of eight, I really felt the Lord tugging at my heart. It was not until I turned nine that I gave my life to Christ.

I was blessed to have a very supportive youth group. This, in turn, gave me a base of friends who were a great influence on me during junior high and high school. I felt even in junior high that God was calling me into ministry. In high school, I thought about youth ministry, but I only knew of "male" youth directors.

College was more of the same. At 19, I surrendered to the ministry. I began in music and youth ministry. At this time in my life, I thought I had the Christian walk all figured out. Boy, did I have that wrong!

The next few years, I even served in children's ministry in addition to youth ministry. I began teaching and was called to a United Methodist Church. There, I truly had to examine what my beliefs were. The kids really challenged my faith. I also saw that I had lived a double life in college. I was one person at church, another person in everyday life. I also was blessed to attend something called Cursillo. It truly was a turning point in my life. I felt a fire for God like I had never felt before.

Years later, I met my husband. He became a Christian later in life. He asked if he could ask questions since he did not know many Christians. I had to truly search the scriptures at times.

After the birth of our first son, we prayed and felt God was calling me to take a break from church ministry as a "career". It was then that I went back to teaching (I had gone full time for four years.) part time with a GED program. We changed churches. I then felt God calling me to serve him without a "title" behind my name. ie, youth minister, children's minister, etc.

We have since moved to another town and serve in another church. This church is truly part of our family. I have never been in a more caring and loving church.

The story is to be continued.........

Beth Moore - Be Yourself

I love, love, love this woman! She is awesome!

Jennifer Rothschild on Good Morning America

Wonderful testimony....she is such a wonderful speaker and leader!

Proverbs 31:15-19

Proverbs 31
15 She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls. 16 She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. 17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks. 18 She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. 19 In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.



Well, I got up early today. Seems my oldest child, who usually is hard to get up even at 8 am decides that 5:45 am is a perfect time to get up. So, I got up and did some sweeping, mopping and cleaning. Now it is only 7:14 a.m., and I can sit, study, and blog. Working hard and working hard EARLY is something we all have a hard time with.....or at least most of us. :)

I have never been a morning person. I can say that I am a procrastinator, to say the least. This is something I really, really need to work on!

Lord, help me to work vigirously. Help me to be wise in the decisions I make financially for my family. Give me wisdom and energy to make our home an open place of ministry.

We don't want to have a home that is stuffy or a picture out of a magazine. We just want people to feel loved and supported when they come into our home.

Lord, this is your house, not ours. Help me to be a good steward of what you have "loaned" us to use. Help me to make others feel welcomed beyond measure here. :)

Amen

Where is my treasure?

Love this post and this blog!
Where is my treasure?

Proverbs 31: 13-14

Okay, here it the next two verses I need to study:
Proverbs 31: 13-14
 13 She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands. 14 She is like the merchant ships, bringing her food from afar.

My mom was a seamtress. She learned from her mother. She even worked at Movie Star (a clothing factory) when she got out of high school. I worked the summer after graduation at the L'ton center of Movie Star. I was on the "assembly" line. I surged the side of tshirts and underwear. (Or, should I say "attempted to").

I was not the best at the surging or sewing machine. Needless to say, I did not "make production" a lot of days. However, there were women I worked with who "owned" that machine. They never were paid even near their worth when it came to what they could sew.

My mother was so good at it that she was a supervisor even in her early 20's. She even brought that talent home. I can remember afternoons filled with the sound of the sewing machine running. My sister and I wore many dresses with the same material. She even made my dress for my junior prom. :)

She also worked in the garden and keeps a wonderful array of flowers in her yard year around. I am not that talented. But maybe, here in the "middle age" phase of my life, I can learn.

Okay, so J is probably not going to like any shirt of pants I make, but at least I can sew a button back on or stitch a hole in a knee. I have a lot of lessons to learn from my mom, even still.

However, I think these verses just shows that the Proverbs 31 woman is frugal and hardworking. She loves her family and works hard for them.

America has become "allergic" to hard work. We love a paycheck....just not the work.

The church we attended in Texas just finished a series called "My Stupid Job". Pastor Z mentioned that the church preaches on a lot of things....but seldom talks about work. He brought up so much about how God gives us our jobs, whether it be an office job, a teacher, an engineer, or a stay at home mom.

God wants us to approach our jobs as if He is our boss....and really, He is our ultimate boss! So next time I dread doing laundry, or sewing on a button, I will remember I am doing it for the glory of God!

Check out http://www.revyourlife.com/ for podcasts of the "Stupid Job" series!