ByGrace

Yesterday, as I was reading the devotion in Baptist Bread , I was reminded that some people keep Thankfulness Journals, in which they write down five things they are thankful for each day. I've kind of half-heartedly tried that in the past, but never got very far with it. Mostly because I'd forget to write in it each day! But the verses used yesterday kind of stopped me in my tracks and made me think. They were Psalm 119:164-165 . . . Seven times a day do I praise thee because of thy righteous judgments. Great peace have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them. That "seven times a day" is what the devotion was about, so it especially caught my eye this time. At first I thought, "Remembering to stop seven times a day to thank the Lord for things? I'd never remember in the midst of my crazy side-tracked days!" Then I thought of the journals I'd read about and tried, that had been for five things. I realized I could do the same ...

I've read lots of opinions on lots of things during my years online. Wes was a programmer in the US Air Force from 1990 till 1996, and naturally, as e-mail and the internet came into more common use, our family was on the front edge of technology. I remember searching the web for Christian women's sites, and finding very little. After a while, more and more Christian sites began showing up, and I began reading and joining forums. It came to the point that I was reading about lifestyles varying somewhat from my rather mainstream independent Baptist upbringing. Some of it made sense to me, other things were a little far out there for me. None of it was wrong, though, and everyone had Scripture to back up what they believed. The latest thing to hit the internet is the blog. Everybody has one, at least everyone who knows what a blog is! And that includes me, of course. I love blogging. Anyway . . . we all read each other's blogs and it's almost like a parallel soc...

A couple of months ago, I began using the devotional booklet Baptist Bread for my personal devotions. I've also been using the Bible-reading plan included in the devotions, because my chronological reading just wasn't going well, plain and simple. Now I read the morning passage listed in Baptist Bread, then at our family devotions we read the chapter in Proverbs that corresponds to the day's date. Which brings me to what I wanted to say! LOL On August 14th, the Scripture passage for the morning was Romans 14, and the Proverbs reading was chapter 14. I like to write down a verse each day that particularly speaks to me, and on this morning I wrote down Romans 14:19, which teaches us not to judge what another servant is doing, but to "follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another." To edify means to instruct and improve the mind in knowledge generally, and particularly in moral and religious knowledge, in faith and h...

Now if you ask me what I am I just say Christian... not 'Born Again', because that's another chink and that's how the separation starts. I read this quote a while back, and it just amazed me. The person who said it has a Catholic/Anglican background, leans toward becoming a Methodist, and is an avowed ecumenist , by which I'm not surprised. The "chink" spoken of is referring to doctrinal differences that supposedly divide Christians. Though the term "born again" has been used indiscriminately by various celebrities, politicians, and televangelists for as long as I can remember, and probably longer, it is a term taken directly from Scripture, used by Jesus Himself, before the term "Christian" was ever used. In fact, "Christian" was a derogatory name at its beginning. So to discard the use of "born again" and use the word "Christian" to avoid causing division is quite illogical, in my opinion, not to men...

Last week, when my friend Donna and her kids were here, the girls (ages 7 and 10) asked if they could watch a movie. We put in one of the Love Comes Softly DVDs, and at the very end, there's a short kiss. The girls covered their eyes (which is what they are accustomed to doing when unmarried people kiss in a movie - good training!), and this was their conversation: "Oh, no! They're kissing!" "Yep . . . and you know what kissing leads to!" At this point, my ears perked up, 'cause I naturally want to know what kissing leads to, being married and all . . . ;) "Yeah . . . MARRIAGE !!!"

As the moms and I sat and talked yesterday, naturally our discussion included much about children. At one point, one of the other moms, who also has teens, said, "If people would just realize that they're raising someone's husband or wife . . . " Boy, that struck a chord with me! My children have been pretty much my world for over 18 years now. They are a part of me, a part of my life. Most anywhere I've gone, they've gone with me. We traveled with them for 2 1/2 years as we raised our support to come to Canada to start a church. We've watched them grow, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and we've laughed a lot. Oh yeah, laughter has been a big part of our lives! They've seen me cry a lot. They've seen us get angry with them and each other, and we've ironed out the things causing the friction. They are a part of us. But they are not going to live with us forever. Someday they're going to get married and have families ...

I want to wish a Happy Father's Day to the three dads in my life - my very own Daddy, my husband Wes, and my father-in-law, Wesley, Sr., whom I call Dad. Not many women can say they have three men whom they love and cherish who all serve the same Lord, faithfully and completely. They are three men with widely differing personalities (trust me on that!), but united in their Savior. The Lord has indeed blessed me with three men that I can point to as examples for my boys to follow, and for my daughter to use as a measure of the kind of man she should look for. I love my Daddy for his unfailing love for me and his lifelong example of what it means to live a real Christian life everyday, not just on Sundays. He's a gentle and compassionate man, but not weak in any way. Thank you, Daddy! I love you! I love my husband most of all! He is a strong leader for me and our children, a man who stands for what he believes and makes no apology for it. He's a diligent provider for...