Out of the Mouth of Babes

The boys pointed out that I had made a 'hole' in the back of Cayden's head while giving him a haircut. I said, "Well, I'm not perfect."

Ethan asked, "Why aren't you perfect mom?" "Because I'm a sinner." I responded.
Ethan then said, "That reminds me of the verse in Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

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Today, Cayden watched me swallow three large vitamins. I told him not to ever take this or else he might choke and die. He said, "Then I'll go up? To heaven?" I said, "Well, how do you go to heaven?" He responded, "By being really good?"

Ethan then said, "Oh, no, no. It doesn't matter if you're really good. You can't go to heaven that way. You have to believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved. Acts 16:31."

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Due to another altercation, the kids were reminded of Cain and Abel. Perplexed, Cayden asked, "Why didn't Abel have a shield so that he could block the blows and maybe if Cain threw a rock at him it would bounce off the shield and hit Cain back?"

Ethan rolled his eyes and told him, "Don't you know? There was no metal-working before Jubal and Tubal-Cain were born!"

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I called the kids to come and pray at night and Cayden jumped into his bed and under the covers. I said, "No, we need to get up." (We pray sitting or kneeling up, not lying down.) Ethan said, "Yes, that reminds me of a verse. Remember what it says in Leviticus 10:3: "I will be treated as holy" because God is holy.

Morning Dedication

ALMIGHTY GOD,
As I cross the threshold of this day
I commit myself, soul, body,
affairs, friends, to thy care;
Watch over, keep, guide, direct, sanctify, bless me.
Incline my heart to thy ways;
Mould me wholly into the image of Jesus,
as a potter forms clay;
May my lips be a well-tuned harp
to sound thy praise;
Let those around see me living by thy Spirit,
trampling the world underfoot,
unconformed to lying vanities,
transformed by a renewed mind,
clad in the entire armour of God,
shining as a never-dimmed light,
showing holiness in all my doings.
Let no evil this day soil my thoughts, words, hands.
May I travel miry paths with a life pure from spot or stain.
In needful transactions let my affection
be in heaven,
and my love soar upwards in flames of fire,
my gaze fixed on unseen things,
my eyes open to the emptiness, fragility,
mockery of earth and its vanities.
May I view all things in the mirror of eternity,
waiting for the coming of my Lord,
listening for the last trumpet call,
hastening unto the new heaven and earth.
Order this day all my communications
according to thy wisdom,
and to the gain of mutual good.
Forbid that I should not profited
or made profitable.
May I speak each word as if my last word,
and walk each step as my final one.
If my life should end today,
let this be my best day.

~ Valley of Vision

One Nation Under God

PAUL HARVEY'S ON-AIR PRAYER

"Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and to seek your direction and guidance. "We know Your Word says, 'Woe to those who call evil good', but that is exactly what we have done.

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem.
We have abused power and called it politics.
We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.
Search us, Oh God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and setus free. Amen!"

Commentator Paul Harvey aired this prayer on his radio program, "The Rest of the Story," and received a larger response to this program than any other he has ever aired. With the Lord's help, may this prayer sweep over our nation and wholeheartedly become our desire so that we again can be called "One Nation under God."

My Elijah Syndrome

I had posted this the other day due to overwhelming disappointment with participation in our Bible Study. I really wasn't sure if I was alone or not and I could no longer keep the tears back. So many posted after that, I feel embarrassed - but encouraged. "Lord, I and only I am left." And He said, "No... actually..." So, I've moved that post to here.

Hey guys,
I don't know who is actually still with me in this study. I know that some of you are keeping at your own pace and just not posting but it's hard to tell... Right now, I have to admit that I'm really disappointed. I was really looking forward to studying God's precious Word together once again, but you know the feeling when you're with a group of friends and you're talking and talking and then suddenly you look around and notice that you're all alone? Well, that's kind of how I feel! (Estera, I have to say, you have been such an encouragement to me - seeing how busy you are and how faithfully you've stuck through all these past studies). Anyway, I understand what a busy life is like - so that's definitely not the reason RIGHT? I just pray that even if you are not posting, the Lord is your first love. That He has preeminence over all your other activities. That He is at the top of your list. That catching up on friends, email, TV programs, books, mags, movies, dining out and music are NOT more important than keeping your heart for the Lord.

He is SO worthy of our attention. His Word is so WORTHY of filling our hearts and minds. He alone is WORTHY of all our affections and thoughts. I pray that you, my beloved family and friends, find Him to be so. I pray that even if this study is not for you, you are still spending time daily communicating with Him, intimately familiar with His character, His goodness, His grace, His guidance. I pray that you HUNGER for Him, for His Word, for Holy Spirit power. I pray that nothing stands in the way of pursuing Him: not pursuing pleasure, pursuing careers, pursuing praise of other men, pursuing worldly knowledge, pursuing a bigger income, better resume, a more luxurious lifestyle. Christ alone.

Yes, perhaps I sound fanatical. Because I am. I am fanatically in love with the Lord Jesus. I am fanatically in love with His Word. I cannot live without Him. I do not WANT to live without Him. I have been praying for each of you by name since the study started - and trust the Lord is working in your hearts and lives. I want to continue in this study but I'm not sure how many others are. Even if there's two of us, that's ok. I will continue. If you want to continue... PLEASE stick to your commitment. Pray before you say, Yes, I will do this. and then discipline yourselves to stick with it. And remember that the reason for posting is to encourage one another and to keep each other accountable. It was so wonderful in past studies knowing that we were all spread out over the states and Canada and we still were connected with the Word.

I might regret and erase this post. I don't know. But I'm not going to pretend that it doesn't hurt me. I will pray to see if the Lord wants to continue this study. Perhaps at a future time. I don't know. Regardless, press on. Life is brief and it will soon pass. The only thing that will withstand the fire are the gold, silver and precious stones. What will matter is what matters in eternity.

Love you all, Jules

Why another blog?

I'm not sure.... I feel compelled to get some thoughts out there... I'm tired of writing things out in my journal, especially when I can type far faster. The Lord has been really dealing with some issues in my life and He has proven Faithful and Above All. I am recording this in order to look back and praise Him for who He is and what He has done in my life. and perhaps some other blah blah.