S Club Mama

Tonight we watched an Andy Stanley DVD series portion from his Big Church DVD series. It's not about the church being big but more being a big deal. I've been thinking of the afterlife a lot (my great-grandma passed away last weekend), so it meant a lot to me to hear this sentiment. In the church, we talk a lot about stuff. Where we sit. What we sing. How we dress. We also talk a lot about theological stuff. End of times. Gospel discrepancies. Baptism - sprinkle or dip. Communion - single serve or community cup. On and on. We talk a lot. None of it's bad to talk about. But when it overshadows the most important thing, it's bad. Here is that most important thing: Jesus Christ died for our sins (yours and mine). He was buried. He was raised. He appeared.  I pray that with my grandma's passing, everyone at the funeral will hear the gospel message and so decide to have that relationship with Christ, our Savior. So when they pass, they will be home with ...

I write a lot of book reviews on here. I know that may not interest most of you, but I love books and I love free books so that's why I do it. I read a LOT last year! 33 actual books, 9 audio books (add .5 to each of those numbers because I was halfway through a book and audio book when the year turned over). One of those .5 books was " Give Them Grace " by Elyse M. Fitzgerald and Jessica Thompson. I just finished this book yesterday. I hate when people say something "wrecked them." I pray this book wrecks me, ruins me, whatever. I pray this book is not just another book that I've read on parenting. That it's not just one that I loved loved loved that fades with time. I WANT this book to change my life. It has already...but for how long? I don't know and only time will tell. But this is powerful stuff. It's not a system of ABC and your kids will be perfect little darlings by Friday. It's not do XYZ and your kids will always follow Christ....

Yesterday, Anthony & I were baptized at church. To clarify a few things - Anthony was baptized as a baby, I in 8th grade. His was not his choice (of course) and mine was really out of fear of hell. In the denomination in which we were raised, it's believed that you must be baptized to be saved. We believe differently now. We believe that salvation comes from knowing that Jesus Christ paid for your sins on the cross with his own blood. Baptism is an outward confession of that faith. We have both been following the Lord for almost 10 years and were really convicted the past few weeks to be baptized. We were blessed to have our friend Cale baptize us; he's played such a large role in strengthening our faiths and has become one of our best friends. And then our boys were there to watch us (usually they'd be in children's church); that was really special to me. Squirt is still pretty young and may not have this as a long-term memory (but he kept talking about how ...

Twenty-two days of thankfulness. Not enough. Twenty-four hours of day of thanks giving. Not enough. Daily minutes in repentant prayer. Not enough. Moments (even years) of good works. Not enough. Countless hours of striving. Not enough. Not enough. One God. One Trinity. Enough. One and Only Son. Enough. One cross (not any old cross but His). Enough. Hours of torture. Enough. Countless drops of blood, sweat, and tears. Enough. One final breath. Enough. Three days, then risen. Enough. One gift. Enough. One life. One eternity. Are you enough alone? No. But, believe, and He is. Enough. Happy Thanksgiving. May you count your blessings one by one. May you thank Him for those blessings, one by one. May you remember the one blessing that is enough.

Over the weekend, Japan was wrecked by an earthquake and a tsunami . So many are lost. Most are searching for dead, burying dead, or trying to avoid death. Something so many of us won't ever have to think about for ourselves. However, something that I've been thinking about is that on a normal day, 55,000 people die without hearing the gospel . Now, factor in all the natural disasters in the past month, year, decade. How many of those people died without hearing the Good News of Jesus Christ? I realize there isn't a lot that many of us can do about reaching people outside of our hometown, home state, home country (besides, of course, financial aid which is always a huge missionary outreach - don't underestimate the power of your dollars at work, especially if your heart is in the right place reaching out). So focus inward. Does your family know that Jesus died for them? Do your neighbors know that Jesus paid the price for their sins? What about your church? Is the...

We all know this time of the year can lead to stress and the blues due to the hustle, bustle, and preparations made for family festivities and other gatherings. There is a lot to do: buy gifts (after thinking of said gifts), go to Christmas programs, bake or make Christmas goodies, travel or prepare your home for guests. It really is astonishing how much we must accomplish this time of the year. However, I urge you to take some time and relax. Christmas is not about gifts, Santa Claus, or even getting together with family. The true meaning of Christmas is the miracle of a virgin birth and the baby boy who came of that union between Mary and the Holy Spirit. That baby boy who would grow to become the King of Kings. That baby boy who humbly became flesh after sitting on a throne in heaven. That baby boy who died for your sins (and mine) on a cross at Calvary. So, while you are preparing for the end of this week, please keep this in mind: C - Come      ...to the seas...

Honestly, today's sermon was so beautiful. It centered around 2 Corinthians 5, the whole chapter. Our Heavenly Dwelling 1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to pl...