A Tribute to Dr. D. James Kennedy

I read THIS TRIBUTE today from Dr. Kennedy's daughter. What a difficult time they have had, but at the same time what an incredible blessing to have such a Godly heritage!

Her closing remarks as she prepares herself for her father's going Home:

Paul said, “I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” I believe my dad always pressed towards that prize and when he steps into glory, he is going to meet Jesus who will welcome him and say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” Now it’s our turn to run the race and press toward the prize. We can cross the finish line and hear “well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

Sewing Party!

We are having a SEWING PARTY to make sun dresses and shorts for an orphanage in Liberia that a friend of ours is adopting from. Today I am trying to get the patterns cut out and make a few examples. I plan on having it set up as an assembly line so we should be able to get quite a bit done! Right now I have about 20 moms and daughters signed up to help...should be LOTS of fun! Not only will we be able to help the orphans as God commands us to, but we'll be brushing up on sewing skills with our daughters!

My friend Robin posted some pictures of the area that her new little one, JT, will be coming from on her blog. When you start feeling sorry for yourself and think of how you are struggling, look at those pictures and then you will realize just how RICH you are! And the reason our country is so RICH in everything is because of God leading and blessings our forefathers who were willing to be bold and obedient to the Lord, no matter what the cost. So many gave their blood and life for this country and now their descendants sit back and enjoy the rewards. They are ignorant of the Truth (spiritually and historically), and what is worse they don't want the knowledge, because then they too would have to be responsible. Most Americans are complacent and only pursue material gain and comfort at all cost.

I best stop now before I get on too big of a rant. May God shake this country from it's slumber and raise up Godly men and women to restore us to our foundation!

Free People Are Not Equal

Olivia is working on a Political Science Class that she is going to teach this fall. While working on her research this morning she came across this quote, I just LOVE it! She has also posted it on her blog, Heart of a Southerner.

Free people are not equal
and equal people are not free.

Government has nothing to give anybody

except what it first takes from somebody,
and a government that is BIG enough
to give you everything you want,
is big enough to take away everything you've got.


~ Lawrence W. Reed
Seven Principles of Sound Public Policy

Nine Heros

When I heard about the nine firefighters killed in a warehouse
my heart just sunk. What a tragic accident. But what a credit to those men that they were able to rescue two people. Every time Jeff and Josh respond to a fire call I pray that they return safely. I admire and respect their heart of service. I know God is sovereign.

"This is a profession that we must never take for granted,
there's a fire raging and they go toward it."
~~~Mayor of Charleston

When you pray each day remember your public servants, especially the firemen and policemen. Tonight nine families are walking through the valley of grief.

What is a firefighter?
He doesn't preach the brotherhood of man.
He lives it.

Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
John 15:13

Those who oppose God's people advance the Kingdom!

Blessed were the protesters, for without them, the Creation Museum would not have been so big, Answers in Genesis leader Ken Ham said before the controversial building's ribbon-cutting on Saturday.

"The Lord directed us to this piece of property, right on a major freeway at a major interchange. And we decided to build a far bigger building (nearly 60,000 square feet), and a far bigger vision and a far bigger impact around the world - and I just want to thank, sincerely, the local secular humanist group."

~~~

Now THIS was exciting to read! (go here and look down on the right for the rest of the story, under Ribbon Cutting) We are hoping and praying that we can visit this museum when we travel to New York to see family this summer. We love Ken Ham and his work.

This story just goes to prove (once again) that God does work ALL things for HIS GLORY! Praise the Lord!

Pround Mama Moment

Olivia gave her speech on why young people should care about politics and government to the Blount County Republican Meeting tonight. She did an excellent job on presenting her speech and we were so proud of her. She spoke just before Gary Palmer of the Alabama Policy Institute. He was so encouraging to listen to, and had many, many kind words for Olivia, publicly and privately afterwards.

He spoke of an analogy of planting oak saplings, so that one day they would grow up strong, referring to the leaders of the next generations, which is part of what Olivia's speech was about. She told him after the meeting that she did not plan on being a great oak (leader) one day, that she hopes to be a helper, a supporter of a Great Oak (a strong Godly leader). He paused and looked at her, smiled and said, "Olivia, you WILL be a great oak, because great oaks have many acorns." It was all I could not to cry! As we were leaving the building he was walking behind us, talking with someone else. I heard the other person saying, "She (Olivia) does not want to be a leader." Mr. Palmer replied, "The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the nation."

It was an exciting evening. I look forward to see how God is going to use her love and passion for truth, righteousness and government for HIS glory!!!

*************

Here are Olivia's herbs that she brought in today for drying.
She loves to garden!

We did manage to get the kitchen painted this week.

Olivia and Emma did a great job helping.

His Mother's Pain?

This has been a sad week for our country due to the shootings in Virginia. I feel for those left behind, even more I feel for the shooter's parents. I don't know anything about them, but I doubt that their son's actions pleased them. Being the mother of a prodigal, I know the pain and humiliation that can come from your child's actions. I wonder how his mother is holding up? I wonder if she is a Christian and can rest in her Savior? Not only has her son done these things, but she is having to deal with his death. Can there be a deeper pain?

It is sad that whenever an a horrible crime happens people's first reaction is to play the blame game. It's the parent's fault, it's the schools fault, it's the rich kid's fault, it's the music's fault, it's TV's fault, it's the gun's fault and it goes on forever. I'm not saying that these factors do not contribute to a person's actions, but because a person chooses to commit a crime/sin, it is not necessarily someone else's fault. Look at Cain and Able, their parents actually walked with God in the garden and Cain committed one of the cruelest sins. Does Scripture tell us that it was his parents fault? Look at the story of the Prodigal Son. Does Scripture tell us that it was his father's fault? No, the Word says that his father was a righteous man.

The truth of the fact is, we live in a fallen world, full of sin. Each of us is responsible for our own actions. And apart from God's grace, we are all capable of the same sin as Cain. Blaming other people, taking away citizen's rights or making more laws, will not change anyone. Christ alone is the answer. Truly seeking Him and sharing Him with others is the only way to change our world. Sadly, the more our country moves away from God and His truth the more dangerous our surroundings will be.

Let's not only pray for those in Virginia, but let's remember the shooter's parents also, I can't imagine their pain.