Out of the mouth of Babes!!!!

Just a quick story to make you laugh (I hope). In our house, we are all VERY pro-life. This is an issue we feel strongly about, but we don't discuss it in front of the kids. We just don't want them to learn about it at such a young age. BUT, somehow Ava has learned that one candidate is for "killing babies."
Last night, we were in the car and we hear from the backseat, "Hey Lukas, do you know what I'm going to call the president that wants to kill babies? Stupid-head!!" We couldn't help but bust out laughing! Probably not our best parenting moment, especially since stupid isn't a word she is aloud to use.
Oh, the things that girl comes up with!!!

I voted today. It felt great to do my part in determining the direction of our country. This election has taught me a lot about what I truly believe and stand for and what I don't. For that I am grateful. I just can't wait for this day to be over so we can finally know who has won (unless we have a repeat of 2000, which I hope is not the case).

Fed Up!!

Here I sit pondering thoughts that I haven't been able to get out of my head all morning, and even for weeks, maybe even months. I have sat by and listened (or read) as things I have posted on Facebook that had nothing to do with hatred or intolerance were attacked, and so were my beliefs.

I am fed up with people calling evangelical Christians intolerant people filled and motivated by hate just because we stand up for what the BIBLE says is right and not what the world says is right. I'm fed up with being told that I have to be tolerant of things I do not believe in or that God believes is wrong and while every other religion in the world is "tolerated" but mine is pushed aside and not "tolerated." Let's take a look at the definition of tolerate. According to dictionary.com tolerate means "to allow the existence, presence, practice, or act of without prohibition or hindrance; permit; and to put up with." As far as I can see, Christians have been pretty tolerant of the sins of America while our freedoms and our beliefs are slowly removed from our country. THAT, my friends is INTOLERANCE!!!

I'm FED UP with being told that I am a hypocrite for being pro-life and supporting the war, like I don't value the lives of the men and women who CHOSE to give their lives for the freedoms we enjoy in this country and so that other people around the world can have those same freedoms and to prevent hundreds of thousands from being slaughtered by ruthless dictators. WMDs aside, that is enough to take out someone like Saddam Hussein! I'm fed up with people telling me that I don't care about lives in Darfur and other places like that where horrible violence is taking place. Darn right I care, and I think our country needs to step in there as well.

I'm fed up with hearing about the fact that over 4000 men and women who HONORABLY GAVE their lives for the people of Iraq and the US over the last 7 years while the truly intolerant flat out ignore the 16.000+ murders that TOOK lives of people INVOLUNTARILY in our own country in 2007 alone!

I'm fed up with being told that because I believe that God clearly states in the Bible that homosexuality is wrong (Leviticus 18:22 'Do not lie with a man as one lies with a woman; that is detestable.; Romans 1:27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.) that I am intolerant and hateful. True Christians do not hat anyone. They love the people and hate their actions. There is a difference. I have known plenty of gay people in my life and I don't hate a single one of them. I love them all. I do not believe their actions are ok, but I don't hate them. God knows I've done plenty of things that are not honorable to God. I'm not perfect! That makes me human. I have free will to do whatever I choose. God gave me that free will with the hopes that I will choose Him. That's the great thing about God. He didn't make us robots and program us with all of our thoughts and actions ahead of time. He programmed us for worship, and we choose what or who we are going to worship. Some choose money, some lust. I choose God. The creator of all life.

Which brings me to my next thing I am fed up with. I'm fed up with being told that I am an idiot and naive because I believe in a 6 day creation. Come on! Can you actually tell me that it takes more faith to believe that, God aside, an intelligent being created the universe and everything in it than it does that it randomly happened from things that dust that was in the atmosphere? Where did that dust come from? Take a look at the world and everything that is in it. Look at all of the animals and people and plants. Look at all of the intricacies of it all. The differences (some drastic) in them. It takes more faith for me to believe that all of that came from one single cell (which had to come from somewhere, by the way) than it does for me to believe that there is an intelligent being out there that created it all!

If you can't tell, I'm a little bit passionate about all of this, and I have sat silent for WAY too long and listened to the intolerance against the people of God and I am FED UP!!!!!!!!!

Hilarious Video!

Check out this video. It was sent to me. It is a clip of the Ellen Degeneres Show, but it is absolutely HILARIOUS!!!! I laughed till I cried.

http://thefunnystuff.net/viewmovie.php?id=905

SNL Sketch

I really like Sarah Palin, but this sketch is absolutely hilarious. This is a shortened version that was on Fox News this morning, but you can see the whole 5:30 version (which, in SNL style, can be offensive to some) on Youtube. Check out this video! I die laughing every time I watch it! Tina Fey came back to impersonate Sarah Palin and she is a dead ringer!!! I've never seen anyone on SNL do a more accurate impersonation before!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-a2zykFatZY

In other news, please continue praying for our job search. We are pretty much at a stand still at the moment, as not much is being posted. Please pray for God's continued wisdom and guidance for us as we continue on in this journey.

Please Pray

Well, things here are quite interesting at the moment. Things at work leave a lot to be desired. I am really struggling with the way things are going here. I know that I need to get out of here, but I am awaiting God's timing. Kendra and I REALLY want to be back into full-time ministry, but we are searching for just the right opportunity to be sent our way by God. There are many things to take into consideration. While we will go wherever God wants us to go, we would like to stay within a days drive of family.
We also have to take into account the fact that we would have to take a pay cut for this to happen. We understand this and we are fully intending (and have already started) to pair down the budget. We know that God has called us to be a homeschooling family, which means that Kendra needs to be home with the kids, not out working. So, my salary needs to support us.
I am quite excited about some of the possibilities there are right now. One church in wants me to come in for an interview (but it sounds like they are doing other interviews in the same week, so it isn't like this will be the last step from what I can tell.) I sent my resume to another church today and I have already heard back from them. They want to set up a time to have an initial conversation via phone! That makes me feel really good.
So, please pray for wisdom and guidance in these times and pray that we will recognize God's timing in all things. Please pray for patience for me in this situation at work. I really need it.
Thank you all for reading my blog and for praying for my family. Yor prayers are highly appreciated!!!

Funny Stuff

So a friend of mine at church told me to go to YouTube and search Improv Everywhere. Well, today I did and the videos I saw were hilarious!!! Improv Everywhere is a group based out of New York City that plays pranks in public for the sole purpose of making cranky New Yorkers smile. These are clean pranks that do no harm. On was the hug patrol. The news went along and taped this one. About 20 people went and knocked on random strangers doors telling them they won 100 hugs from the mayors office and proceeded to go in and give the person that answered the door 5 hugs each!!!
Many of you have walked past the store Abercrombie and Fitch and seen the pictures of men with no shirts on all over the place. Well, the got a group of 111 men to walk into A&F with no shirts on and go shopping!!!
One of my favs were the redheads protesting Wendy's restaurant for inadequate portrayal of redheads in their logo!!
So, if you want a good laugh, go to YouTube and search Improv Everywhere or you can go to their website Improve Everywhere and check it out!!

Life Lessons

Why is that learning some lessons is easier than learning others? It's easy to learn that if you touch a hot burner you will burn your hand, so don't do it again. Other lessons in life are much more difficult to learn. You've heard the definition of insanity a million times, I'm sure, but here it is again. Insanity is doing the same things over and over again expecting different results. Well, by definition, I am insane. I do (or in some cases don't do what I should do) the same things over and over again and get frustrated with myself when the results are the same. HELLO!!!! Wake up!!! If you want lasting change, you have to do what brings about lasting change. Lasting change doesn't come by your own strength, it comes from Christ and seeking Christ's face, digging into God's word and talking to him regularly. Why then do I seek God for some things and try unsuccessfully to do other things on my own and then get mad when it doesn't work. That's just plain stupidity! ;)
Today, I'm vowing to stop being stupid and insane! :)