The cat came back . . .

I know this is not the normal time of year to start a year long project, but I just started a read through the Bible chronologically in one year challenge using www.bibleinayear.org. I've never actually read through the Bible chronologically, so I'm excited about that.
   We all want to increase in our faith. Well, faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God, so if we want faith, we need to be in the Word of God. If daily devotions isn't something you do, I encourage you to start that. It's a time of devotion to God, encouragement, gaining focus, and hearing from God.
     Honestly, one of the reasons that I started wanting to read my Bible, was because of a letter than one of my sisters wrote me when I was somewhere between 10-12 years old. If you have a younger sibling who may be struggling to read their Bible, don't be afraid to step in and encourage them. You never realize the influence you have over your younger siblings. Use it for God!!!

Okay, so, I'm not really a cat person, but the other day, I was sitting in the gift shop at the corn maze, and this kitten wandered through. I was kind of busy, so I didn't notice it at first, but it climbed up into my lap and crawled all over me. :( 

And then fell asleep in my lap. It eventually woke up and left, and then returned for round two and three. Apparently, it decided it likes me . . . Like I said, I'm not really a cat person, but I figured you might enjoy seeing the pictures anyways. :) 

Today's Holocaust

    Some family friends were in the area, and I had the privilege of reading an article that one of them had written. With her permission, I'm going to share that article here. If you're pro-choice when it comes to abortion, I challenge you to read it and think through it very carefully. If you're pro-life, I challenge you to read it, think it through, and consider sharing what you believe with someone who may disagree.

   Article - Today's Holocaust
   Author - Annie H.
   Age - 15

Today's Holocaust

      Every day, thousands of babies are dying. These are not normal deaths because they are done by doctors. Not many people are aware, or excuse it by saying that they're not really people. This is today's holocaust, and as Christians it's our duty to stop it. Abortion is just as evil in God's eyes as the holocaust. Sitting around and doing nothing to save millions of babies' lives, is worse than refusing to save the life of one full-fledged adult if you have the power to do so, because each baby is a special creation of God and is fearfully and wonderfully made, as Psalm 139:14 says. Here are some ways you can help: Pray; Vote pro-life; Volunteer at a pregnancy counseling center, and if you know anyone considering abortion, let them know of the consequences and point them in the direction of a pregnancy counseling center where they will receive help and support spiritually and physically.

       Let me ask you this question: if it's okay to kill unborn babies, but considered "murder" to take the life of infants after they're born, WHEN does a baby become a human being?? Before you put this down, I want you to understand what abortion really is. If you are pro-choice and think abortion is okay, than this is what you are agreeing with.

  D&C method - The abortionist puts a long, loop-shaped knife into the womb. He cuts the baby into pieces and scrapes them into a container for disposal.

  The suction method - A hollow tube is attached to a suction apparatus inserted into the womb. The suction tears the baby into pieces which are suctioned out and thrown away.

   The hysterectomy method - This is done during the last three months of pregnancy. The mother's abdomen and uterus are surgically opened and the baby is removed and allowed to die slowly.

   The saline method - This method can only be used after the sixteenth week. A strong salt solution is injected through the abdominal wall into the amniotic sac where the baby lies. As the baby swallows the solution, he is poisoned, and dies. The mother delivers the dead baby about a day later.

  So, if you are pro-choice, you are saying that it's okay to throw away human life.

Forcing women not to have an abortion is not the answer, and it is not showing the love of Jesus. We need to lovingly share with them that abortion is not the answer, and will just bring them more hurt and pain. What they really need is salvation.

 Thank God that your mother chose life!

Priscilla here again. I'd like to add something to that. If you're already pro-life, I'd like to challenge your thinking a step further. Think of children as a blessing, and let God control your family size. I can't tell you how many times, I've heard pro-life, Christian people talking down about children. Oh, they want children! But not too many. Comments like . . . "I could never have that many kids." "How do they survive?" "I'd like to wait at least a few years after marriage before having kids." "I'm not going to have kids that close together!"
     The Bible is very clear on the fact that children are a BLESSING! Why wouldn't you want God's blessing in your life? Why would you say, "Hey God, I want you to bless me, but I'm too selfish to want that blessing now, can you wait a few years?" Do you trust God? Then trust God to give you the right amount of children! He's not going to give you more than you can handle.
    I'm so grieved when I see christian's using birth control. First off, birth control pills do not always stop you from getting pregnant! Sometimes, they allow a baby to be conceived, but then cause a miscarriage. In a sense, birth control pills are a form of abortion. And, even if they weren't, why would you have your doctor help you control your family size? Do you not want God's blessing? Do you not trust God to give you the right amount of children? Do you think God wants to ruin your life?
    Don't look at mom's with lots of kids and complain about how full their hands are, and how hard they must have it, and how you could never do that. Instead, look at them from a Biblical perspective. They are blessed! Sure, their hands are full, but so are their hearts! God gives grace, and I REALLY respect people who are willing to trust God with their family size.
   If you've never studied children from a Biblical perspective, I challenge you to do that. What does the Bible say about children and family size? Are you living in accordance with what the Bible says?

Drum Roll Please . . .

ANNOUNCING MY LATEST PROJECT . . . 

  COMING THIS NOVEMBER TO A CITY NEAR YOU . . . 

The Fudged Up Murder

So, I've been working on this book for a while now, and hopefully, I will have it out THIS NOVEMBER!!!! :) :) :)

The Fudged Up Murder is my 'cozy-small town-Christmas-old lady-fiction' mystery novel.

   "Do you think they'll blame me?" one of the elderly Martin sisters asked. "It was my fudge that killed the man."

      "It's our fudge," Auntie Bertha corrected. "And, of course, they'll blame us."

      For the elderly Martin sisters, the Christmas Season has never been so exciting . . . or so deadly! When their nephew Clay, an officer in the local police force, is asked to solve the case, things get personal. Can the aunts be cleared? And what about the new neighbor girl? Can Clay trust someone that's clearly hiding something to help him save his aunts? Is it possible to share the true meaning of Christmas with an unsolved murder in town? Or will they all spend a merry Christmas behind bars?

When Doubts Come . . .

     I know many of you out there in blog-reader-land, are just like me. You grew up in a Christian home. You knew the gospel before you knew the alphabet. You could quote John 3:16, and it was easy to "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ . . ." (Acts 16:31)

      You knew that, "Christ died for OUR sin, according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures . . ." (1 Corinthians 15:3b-4) You knew we'd all sinned. (Romans 3:23) You knew the punishment for your sin was death. (Romans 6:23)You never doubted that, "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners . . ." (1 Tim. 1:15) And you knew that,  "Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." (Romans 10:13)

      It was EASY for you to call upon Jesus. It was logical. It was Simple. It was True.

THEN . . .the doubts came.

And everything you knew to be true, came into question. For some of you, you never experienced doubts, and that is AWESOME, but I know that many of us struggled in our childhood, younger teen years, or even our older years with doubts. Doubts we couldn't explain away. Doubts we couldn't answer.

   When I was 3 1/2 years old, I accepted Christ. I remember it. I gave my life to God, and I knew I was saved. But when I got older, I struggled a LOT with doubts. It wasn't until I was 16 years old, that I KNEW with certainty that I was saved.

    I heard the voices of doubt in my head. "What if you didn't mean it last time?" So I prayed over and over. I heard other doubts . . . "Why would God save you? Why would a Holy God love you?" I struggled. I KNEW the truth, but I struggled. I could tell myself what the Bible said . . . but I still struggled.

    Why?

Because at some point in my Christian life, I took my eyes off of the cross. I doubted, because I was looking to the wrong person. Like Peter, my eyes were off the Savior, and on the waves. I looked at my faith, and doubted, because my faith was weak. Then I realized, it's NOT how hard I believe that saves me!!!! It's God that saves me. I can pray. I can beg God to help me MEAN it this time. I can try to have faith, but if my eyes are on my pitiful attempts at faith, I'm going to DOUBT!

   I had to step back . . . and give it to God. I had to come to the place where I could say . . . "God, I know you love me. I know you died for me, and I know you saved me because I called upon you in faith. Right now, I doubt MYSELF, but I'm SURE of YOUR LOVE."

    God is the SAME yesterday, today, and forever!

God doesn't say one day, "Call unto me and I'll answer thee!" And say the next day. "Figure it out yourself." God WANTS you to KNOW that you're saved.

    So, for me, I doubted because my eyes were off of Christ. What about you?



   I'm sure I'm missing a few, but from my limited experience, people doubt because of one of three things.

1. Feelings.

They don't FEEL saved. Well, feelings lie. Our feelings change from day to day, but God DOESN'T. Think back to a time in your life when you felt close to God. Guess what? He's still the same. He's still there. He hasn't left. If your feelings have changed, it's not reason to doubt God, it just means you're an emotional person! Don't trust your feelings. Feelings change, God NEVER CHANGES!

2. Sin in Your Life.

From personal experience, I can say that when there is sin in my life, I can't maintain a good relationship with God. When we're not in a good relationship with God, we're going to have doubts. We NEED to stay close to God. If there is sin in your life that's holding you back from loving God the way you should, DEAL WITH IT!!! There is NO sin that is worth holding onto instead of God.

3. You're Not Saved.

It's possible to grow up in a Christian home and know all the facts, and not be saved. Your faith cannot be in your family's Christian status. Your faith can't be in your church, or your pastor, or your parents. Your faith can't be in a prayer you said, or even in your own faith. Your faith MUST be in GOD, and GOD alone! If you're not sure about your salvation, MAKE SURE!!!! We don't know how much time we have left on this earth, and we need to KNOW that we know that we know we're saved. God wants to hear from you. He stands, offering the living water to all. If you're thirsty, COME TO HIM!



Maybe you're not sure? Maybe you're having doubts, but you don't think it's related to any of the above three things. That's okay. Whatever the issue is between you and God. Take it to Him!



    Do you want to know a secret? God actually gave us a book so that we could know if we were saved or not. Ever read 1st John? "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that yehave eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God." 1 John 5:13.



  READ 1st John. There are SO MANY things in 1st John about KNOWING we're saved.

You Can KNOW!

What if you know you're saved, but you're confused . . . you don't have a date where you can say you got saved because you were so young, and maybe you've heard someone say you have to know the date. Well, just like a child being born, there is an EXACT day, where you were born again spiritually, but remember, there are many people in the world, who don't actually know what day is their birthday is. Some cultures don't keep track, some children's parents never told anyone before they died. So, I'm NOT worried about the date, what I am worried about is . . . DID it happen? Can you say with certainty that there was a time when you put your faith in Christ? Maybe you don't remember because you were so young. Do you have faith in God now? Then there was a day when you put your trust in God. When it happened is not important. DID it happen? Is the important question.



   Maybe you've never done that. Don't put it off. Talk to God! If you have questions, ask them! Talk to your pastor, or parents. Feel free to ask questions here! Get the answers you need.



   If you're saved, and you're doubting it, let go, and trust God. If there's sin, deal with it, if there's doubts, cling to Christ.