Emmy's New Do......

My mommy tried to cut my hair, but it didn't work out very well. Yesterday, she took me to Wal-Mart so they could fix it. What do you think?

Yessssssss!

Since someone on our LOSTblog just enlightened me to the fact that Uncle Rico is Ben's father (how did I miss that?), I thought I would share my son's favorite scene from my all-time favorite stupid movie, Napoleon Dynamite.

He was, is, and is to come

He Is
By Aaron Jefferey

In Genesis, He's the breath of life
In Exodus, He is the Passover Lamb
In Leviticus, He's our high priest
In Numbers, the fire by night
Deuteronomy, He's Israel's Guide
Joshua, He's salvation's choice
Judges, He's Israel's Guard
In Ruth, the kinsmen's redeemer
1st and 2nd Samuel, our trusted prophet In
Kings and Chronicles He is Sovereign
In Ezra, He's the true and faithful scribe
In Nehemiah, the re-builder of broken walls and lives
In Esther, He's Mordecai's courage
In Job, the timeless redeemer
In Psalms He is our morning song
In Proverbs, He is our wisdom
Ecclesiastes, He's the time and season
In Song of Solomon, He is the lover's dream
In Isaiah He is Prince of Peace
In Jeremiah, the weeping prophet
Lamentations, the cry for Israel
Ezekiel, the call from sin
Daniel, the stranger in the fire
Hosea, the forever faithful
Joel, the spirit's power
Amos, the strong-arms that carry
Obadiah, the Lord our Savior
Jonah, the great missionary
Micah, the promise of peace
Nahum, our strength and shield
In Habakkuk and Zephaniah, He's brings revival
In Haggai He restores that which was lost
IN Zachariah, He's our fountain
And in Malachi,
He's the son of righteousness rising with healing in His wings

AND THAT'S JUST THE OLD TESTAMENT
In Matthew Mark Luke and John, He is God and Messiah
In the spirit filled book of Acts, He is the reigning fire from Heaven
In Romans, He is the grace of God
Corinthians, the power of love
Galatians, freedom from the curse of sin
Ephesians, our glorious treasure
Philippians, the servant's heart
Colossians, He's God and the trinity
Thessalonians, our calling King
In Timothy, Titus and Philemon, He's our mediator and our faithful pastor
In Hebrews, the everlasting courage
In James, the one who heals the sick
In 1st and 2nd Peter, our faithful shepherd
In John and Jude, He's the lover coming for His bride

AND in the Revelation, in the very end, when it's all over, said and done, when time is NO MORE. He is and will always be the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, Prince of Peace, son of Man, Lamb of God, The Great I am, Alpha and Omega, God and Savior He is Jesus Christ the Lord HE IS EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED!

The Scoop on the Saint.....

Did you know that St. Patrick was not Irish?

Did you know that there was no green beer in the original story?

No parades?

Did you know that St. Patrick was kidnapped from Wales at the age of 16 and sold into slavery?

He found Ireland "all heathen, and left it all Christian."

If you would like to hear the true story of who this man of God was, click here.

Have ya'll seen this?

God A-Z

I have been challenged to go through the alphabet with praise to God. Tonight I had the privelege of attending a women's ministry meeting and the devotion was focused on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18. I am going to start with "A" and praise God with attributes about Him. The devotion leader said this revolutionized her walk with God. So, here goes:

Awesome
Avenger
Almighty
Abba
Adonai
All-Sufficient
All in All
Absolute
Amazing
Atoner
Ancient of Days
Always
All-Knowing
Able
Alpha
Annointed

You try......any other "A's"? Let His praise continually be on my lips..........Psalm 34:1.

Dear Sisters,

God has been laying something on my heart and He won't leave me alone.

I know that as a believer in Jesus Christ, we are called to be set apart--sanctified. There is so much I want to say and so much I'm scared to say.

I will let God have the floor first, okay?

1 Peter 1:13-19 (bold and italics my emphasis)

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy.'

Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect."

That being said, I have just felt some conviction over some of the material I have been reading by my fellow sisters in Christ, as of late. I would never, ever single anyone out. I believe God will convict those who need to be convicted. I don't write this to be self righteous. I do, however, believe it is our responsibility as believers, to hold one another accountable.

I remember a time, early in my Christian walk, having a sister in the Lord "call me out" on something that was inconsistent with my testimony. I would expect the same from you all. I want my life to be an offering to Christ. I believe our publications on our blogs should be an offering to Christ. Does that mean we can't be silly or funny? No, of course not. But there is a line that must be drawn somewhere that asks the question, "Will this help my witness or hurt my witness?"

Sometimes I think we, as Christians, try so hard to be like everyone else that we fail to set ourselves apart. We want to be "relatable", but we end up being just like the world.

James 4:4 says,

" You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God."

This doesn't mean that we aren't saved, but it begs the question, "Who is our Lord?"

Like I said, I don't want this to point the finger at any one person. This is just something God has been laying on my heart for some time now and I want to be obedient. It may not be popular and I may upset some of you, but if you are upset, ask yourself, "Is my witness being helped or hindered by what I say on my blog?" Ultimatley, we will all answer to our Heavenly Father. Are your words consistent with your actions?

On This Day, 11 years ago.....

Saturday, March 7, 1998 was exactly 11 years ago today. The day started with me waking up, putting on some sweats and heading to First Baptist Church of Boca Raton for my prayer meeting. I knew that if any day needed prayer it was today. After all, I was fulfilling one of God's most important callings on my life.

Sara was there.

Robin was there.

Kristie was there.

Susan was there.

Wendy, Martha, Isabel, Rhoda, Jean. They were all there.

The scripture passage was found in Philippians 4 starting in verse six:

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."

So, that's what we did. We prayed. I treasure that morning and look back on it often. After all, a day like that has never happened to me again. You see, just a few short hours later--half past four--something miraculous took place. I trusted God with something I knew was beyond myself. My life and someone else's life would become one.

The words that were sent out on embossed card stock just a month and a half before said:

And now abideth

Faith, Hope, Love, all three

and the greatest of these

is Love

1 Corinthians 13:13

Desiring God's will for their lives

and believing that includes each other

Melissa

and

Eric

together with their parents

invite you to share their joy

as they are united in the Lord Jesus Christ

on Saturday, the seventh of March

Nineteen hundred and ninety-eight

at half past four in the afternoon

First Baptist Church of Boca Raton

Boca Raton, Florida

I knew it was going to take a step of faith for me to trust. I'm an anxious person and Sara knew that when she planned this prayer meeting. The odds were against us. I knew that. I really knew that. The divorce rate is over 50% and these stats were rolling around in my head long before March 7th, 1998. That's why the words on our wedding invitation were so important to me. I believed that if I knew it was God's will for us to marry, then we were going to be okay.

When I first walked into the church, that Saturday, I could hear Susan and Kathryn singing "Panis Angelicus".

The words are just as beautiful in English:

Bread of Angels, made the bread of men;

The Bread of heavenputs an end to all symbols:

A thing wonderful!

The Lord becomes our food:poor, a servant, and humble.

We beseech Thee, Godhead One in Three

That Thou wilt visit us,as we worship Thee,

lead us through Thy ways,

We who wish to reach the lightin which Thou dwellest.

Amen.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I couldn't believe this day was here. We were actually doing this! Then, the organ started. My attendants started their procession, one by one. Hannah, just a little less than 3 years old, was my flower girl. She was sucking her thumb and I'm still not sure if she ever dropped a petal. Cute doesn't begin to describe her. Anthony, 3 1/2 years old, walked rather confidently with his ring pillow. It's hard to believe they are both teenagers now.

Eric and I both, when our eyes finally met, could not hold back the tears. We both had flashes of the craziness that was our relationship. So much wrestling with God and ourselves. Not knowing who to trust. Our flesh was tempting at times, but the Spirit won out. Thankfully.

The last eleven years have seen us through living all around the country, being away from our loved ones, serving in ministry, having children.......renovating a house, a national tragedy....3 presidents.....

God is faithful even when we are faithless. Sometimes the only thing that's kept us holding on has been our vows to God. Through hard times we have come out stronger. Loving someone is more than just what you feel. It's more than what you say. It's a commitment and it takes work. We live in a fallen world. Sin has corrupted what God meant for beauty. That's why marriage is hard and takes work. Our promise to God, our friendship and deep conversations have been the constant in our relationship. I'm thankful God knew who I needed. God will continue to sustain us.

Update on Lauren

Lauren is doing fine. We went to the doctor yesterday thinking she was getting a cast put one, but no such luck. Her wrist is still too swollen. So, we have to go back to the doctor weekly to have it X-Rayed and see if the swelling has gone down. She is in a lot less pain than she was. The doctor gave us a smaller sling for her arm, so yesterday we went to Michael's and got a bunch of fun stuff to put on it. I'll post a picture as soon as I can.