About: CHRISTIANITY OUT OF BALANCE

The task of identifying dualistic thinking can be somewhat tricky, because several different forms exist. However, the three-part grid of Creation-Fall-Redemption gives us a powerful tool of analysis. Throughout the history of the church, various groups have tended to seize upon one of these three elements, overemphasizing it to the detriment of the other two—producing a lopsided, unbalanced theology. For example, stressing the Fall too heavily tends toward pessimism and negativism, while overemphasizing Redemption can lead to triumphalism and complacency.
...Consider the typical evangelistic message: “You’re a sinner; you need to be saved.” What could be wrong with that? Of course, it’s true that we are sinners, but notice that the message starts with the Fall instead of Creation. By beginning with the theme of sin, it implies that our essential identity consists in being guilty sinners, deserving of divine punishment. Some Christian literature goes so far as to say we are nothing, completely worthless, before a holy God.

This excessively negative view is not biblical, however, and it lays Christianity open to the charge that it has a low view of human dignity. The Bible does not begin with the Fall but with Creation: Our value and dignity are rooted in the fact that we are created in the image of God, with the high calling of being His representatives on earth. In fact it is only because humans have such high value that sin is so tragic. If we were worthless to begin with, then the Fall would be a trivial event. When a cheap trinket is broken, we toss it aside with a shrug. But when a priceless masterpiece is defaced, we are horrified. It is because humans are the masterpiece of God’s creation that the destructiveness of sin produces such horror and sorrow. Far from expressing a low view of human nature, the Bible actually gives a far higher view than the dominant secular view today, which regards humans as simply complex computers made of meat—products of blind, naturalistic forces, without transcendent purpose or meaning.

If we start with a message of sin, without giving the context of Creation, then we will come across to nonbelievers as merely negative and judgmental. After an extended trip through Africa (described in Dark Star Safari), the writer Paul Theroux said one of the saddest moments in his journey was “hearing a young woman [missionary] tell me that she was heading for Mozambique and adding, ‘They’re all sinners, you know.’” Theroux concluded that missionaries only make people “despise themselves.” We need to begin our message where the Bible begins—with the dignity and high calling of all human beings because they are created in the image of God.

-Excerpt from Total Truth by Nancy Pearcy

**I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK!

About: Proverbs 31:30

Dear friends and readers,
I've been thinking alot about false beauty in our culture.
Thanks to a dear friend for bringing this to my attention!

(Guys take note: this is a post mostly directed towards ladies. You can read and comment if you want, but I'm writing it from a female's perspective to other females :)

(I also can't believe I'm posting this picture! haha... x.x)

ANYWAY!

Beauty. Female.
These two words almost always go hand in hand.
We as women want to look nice. Attractive. Beautiful.
But the question I want to pose tonight is:
Is that really what matters?

We do our hair. We makeup our faces. We dress as cute (and hopefully as modestly - completely different post :D) as possible.

Sadly, in our culture today, that's the extent of all to many a female's worries.
Well, that and "climbing the social and/or business ladder".

I want to point all females to Proverbs 31:30~
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

And I Timothy 2:9-10~
⁹ likewise also, that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, ¹⁰ but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. (italics mine)

I've been convicted of being too concerned with my looks personally. I've taken way too much time to get ready to some place. "What will people think of me?" or "How do I look?" have crossed my mind more times than necessary, I'm sad to say.

Now, I want to clarify one thing... just in case anyone out there is thinking what I think you may be thinking. :) I'm not against trying to look nice or lovely. I just don't believe it's right to focus too much on it.

God has been working in my life to concentrate more on glorifying Him... making a conscious decision to do so. He has been teaching me to live my life "with good works", striving to live for Him and being loving to family. (Saying none of this pridefully, but thankfully!)

I've been so changed in this area that I don't even mind sharing this below picture with you (too much ;) I posted this scripture on it because I want to tie it to my daily ritual of getting ready for the day.

1st picture, before makeup: 2nd picture, after makeup
Shocking, eh? haha

I pray that the Lord will continue this new work he's begun in me! (Philippians 1:6)
God is good in that he is faithful to complete it!

What are your thoughts on this issue?
Did I make sense? :)

Hope to hear from you.
Blessings~

About: Slobbery Kissies

I can only assume it happens when you're two ;)
Hope you enjoy these pics as much as I do!
Short and sweet, yes.

Alvederzane for now, y'all!

About: Praying for Haiti

Lord God in Heaven!
Please help these people.
~
Help them live.
Help them work.
Help them trust.
Help them understand.
~
Give them hope.
Give them peace.
Give them courage.
Give them grace.
~
Comfort them.
Shelter them.
Guide them.
Protect them.
~
Bring them to You! Show them Your love and Your peace.

Heavenly Father, I weep for the family members they lost. The friends they can't find. The homes they've lost. The wounded they have do dig out. The dead they've had to bury.

God, I don't know what else can be said!
I have the urge to ask why?
To feel utter despair!
To feel hopeless!

HOWEVER~

..::This is my comfort in my affliction, that your promises give me life. (Ps. 119:50)::..

Lord, giver of comfort, if nothing else, if I make no other sense in this post...
LET YOUR WORD RING TRUE!

I pray these things in Your precious Son Jesus' name!
Amen.

Dear readers.
Please keep the people in Haiti in your prayers.
They suffered a horrible earthquake yesterday (1.12.10)
I believe it reached the scale of 7.0... the worst on record.

Forgive me, but my hyperlinking isn't working.
Go to~ http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/01/earthquake_in_haiti.html to see pictures. Thanks to dear Jean Marie for sharing this site.
**I also caution, just as Jean did:
"Viewer discretion advised by me, please, I'd say, if you are 16 and younger, please do not scroll through these without a parent either: viewing them first, or looking through them with you, as there is some disturbing content."

Let's brainstorm to see how we can be of service... Pray without ceasing... Do whatever we can to help!
This is a horrible thing that happened. And, though it may seem bleak, remember, dear ones... GOD IS SOVEREIGN AND RULES OVER ALL!

His faithful daughter and servant, I remain.

About: The Feminist Agenda vs. God's Design for Women

THE FEMINIST AGENDA -- In their leaders’ own words:

1. "The simple fact is that every woman must be willing to be identified
as a lesbian to be fully feminist." (National NOW Times, Jan.1988).

2. "Since marriage constitutes slavery for women, it is clear that the
women's movement must concentrate on attacking this institution. Freedom
for women cannot be won without the abolition of marriage." (radial
feminist leader Sheila Cronan).

3. "Being a housewife is an illegitimate profession... The choice to
serve and be protected and plan towards being a family-maker is a choice
that shouldn't be. The heart of radical feminism is to change that."
(Vivian Gornick, feminist author, University of Illinois, "The Daily
Illini," April 25, 1981.

4. The most merciful thing a large family can do to one of its infant
members is to kill it." (Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood,
in "Women and the New Rage," p.67.

5. "In order to raise children with equality, we must take them away from
families and communally raise them." (Dr. Mary Jo Bane, feminist and
assistant professor of education at Wellesley College and associate
director of the school's Center for Research on Woman).

6. "Marriage has existed for the benefit of men; and has been a legally
sanctioned method of control over women... We must work to destroy it.
The end of the institution of marriage is a necessary condition for the
liberation of women. Therefore it is important for us to encourage women
to leave their husbands and not to live individually with men... All of
history must be re-written in terms of oppression of women. We must go
back to ancient female religions like witchcraft." (from "The Declaration
of Feminism," November 1971).

7. "Overthrowing capitalism is too small for us. We must overthrow the
whole... patriarch!" (Gloria Steinhem, radical feminist leader, editor of
'MS' magazine).

8. In response to a question concerning China's policy of compulsory
abortion after the first child, Molly Yard responded, "I consider the
Chinese government's policy among the most intelligent in the world."
(Gary Bauer, "Abetting Coercion in China," The Washington Times", October
10, 1989).

9. "Let's forget about the mythical Jesus and look for encouragement,
solace and inspiration from real women... Two thousand years of
patriarchal rule under the shadow of the cross ought to be enough to turn
women toward the feminist 'salvation' of this world." (Annie Laurie
Gaylor, "Feminist Salvation," "The Humanist", July/August 1988, p.37.

10. "By the year 2000 we will, I hope, raise our children to believe in
human potential, not God." (Gloria Steinhem, editor of 'MS' magazine.)

Source: Center for Children's Justice in Denver, CO (Robert Muchnick -
www.childrensjustice.org )

*~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
Dear readers,
If you're like me in any way, these statements just made you heart sick.
Not only are all these statements blatantly evil, but they go totally and completely
against what God has instituted for women.
I encourage you to take a few minutes and read over these scriptures.

Titus 2:3-6
³ the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things— ⁴ that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, ⁵ to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.
⁶ Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,

Proverbs 31:10-12
¹⁰ Who can find a virtuous^" wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
¹¹ The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
27,28
²⁷ She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
30.31
³⁰ Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

I Timothy 2:11-14
¹¹ Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. ¹² And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve. ¹⁴ And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

What are your thoughts on this matter?
I hope to hear from you!
Blessings~

Hey y'all!
Please pray for Olivia. She sliced an artery in her left hand between her thumb and index finger today while we were cutting apples. She had to the rushed to the ER and received 3 stitches. It hurts so bad to see my little sister in so much pain!

Vigilantly,

About: Happy Birthday to a Dear Lady! :)

Happy Birthday, Mrs. Lynn (mmy2!)
You've been such an encouragement to me and "I thank my God upon every rememberance of you"! (Phil 1:3)
Thank you for your friendship you've given more than freely over this past year that we've known you... Hard to believe it's only been a year, eh? :)



We've done so many wonderful things together!
We've:
-Cooked together
-Sang together
-Had all nighters (several) together
-Gone a'thriftin' together
-Gone to church together
-Eaten together
-Talked together
-Been goofy together
-Danced together
-Prayed together
-Laughed together
-Traveled on wonderful day trips together
-Gone to Barberville together :)
-Worked on music together
-SPENT TIME together!

I want to wish you a very happy birthday today! I pray that the Lord will richly bless you today as you go about celebrating, working, relaxing, or whatever it is you're going to be doing today!

i ♥ you!

About: What My Family and I Have Been Up To :)

Hey y'all.
I know it's been such a long time since I've posted, and for that I'm sorry. I've just had tons of things going on. Things that take many many hours of preparation and leave no time whatsoever for blogging. At all. Really. :)
I love Christmas! It's the season to celebrate our Savior's coming to earth in the form of a baby to die for our sins. What wondrous love! It's the most wonderful time of the year! ;) If I may use the term so loosely.

Really and truly though... our Christmas season is just like the song!
~There are kids jingle belling
~And everyone telling you "Be of good cheer"
~With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends came to call
~There were parties for hosting
~Marshmallows for toasting (bonfire)
~And caroling out in the snow (skeeters actually since we live in Florida :)
~And tales of the glories of Christmases long, long ago (how about the first one?)
~There was much mistltoeing
~And hearts that were glowing
When loved ones were near

We did all this and more this past Christmas season! Lemme think back over the past few weeks and try to give you a brief synopsis of what's been going on.

*Que story telling music*
It aaaaaall started back the week of December 18th.... ;)

1} December 18th: Hannah and Peter's wedding! Beee-yooou-tiful! Anna has some pictures up and will be posting more soon!
2} December 19th&20th: We performed at Celtic Christmas in downtown T-town. It was SOO much fun! :)
3} December 21st: Block party for neighbors all up and down the street. Then Anna and I went to a "Princess party" and went to see the Princess and the Frog (cute movie :)
4} December 22nd: Stone family annual Christmas bash! I believe we had around 110-120 people here! :)
5} December 24th: Christmas caroling (in the skeeters) and snacks afterward with the J. and D. families and Jean. Fun night!
6} December 25th (Christmas): Late awakening, family gift exchange, C.C. for lunch, then back up here for dinner with some friends at church. We got to play around on harps! Anna and I figured out a duet for "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"! That's my next instrument! ;)
7} December 26th: We went to my dad's brother's house (Uncle Doug) and had our annual Stone family get together. Then played some super fun dancing game on the Wii. That night we went to a Christmas jam at the W's Fuuun! :)
8} December 28th: Amazing evening spent with more friends! Thanks L. family for your hospitality! :)
9} December 29th: Friend came over for a bit. THEN! :) We sisters went to Wal*Mart and Target and bought funky socks/shirts and did a photoshoot. That night, we went to see The Princess and the Frog again :) Only with Liv this time since she didn't get to see it yet.
10} December 30th: YC started... we made it for a few sessions, but then Anna and I went to Hannah and Peter's house to help them tidy up and unpack boxes from wedding presents! :) That night, got Liv and we practiced music for playing in Cocoa Village (which didn't happen btw *sigh) THEN! Anna and I went back to our host family's home and played Wii and stayed up till 2:30 with Rachel talking! :) Had a great time doing that though we payed for it the next morning :)
11} December 31st: YC again and scavengar hunt... we left early to practice once more for the performance that didn't happen *sigh*. Anyway, that night, we went to the J. family's New Years Eve party and played games all night. We stayed till 7:30 a.m. on the 1st o.O
12} January 2nd: New Years dance at the F's house. Soooo many different types of dancing! :)
12} January 3rd: We joined our church and had 2 J. families over along with 2 other guys from church. We played games all afternoon and then went back to church for communion. We then went to frisbee with Amanda and froze to pieces while making memories! Another fun night!

Aaaaand that's what we've been up to lately *sigh* It was a very very busy time for us!

Now that you know aaaalll about my Christmas season... ;)
How was yours?

Praying blessings upon this, the new year of 2010!