Dr. Patrick Johnston's Sermon & Fun at the Aquarium!

Dr. Patrick Johnston spoke at one of the OSA rallies last week and here are some excerpts from his sermon. You may have seen the viral video of him and his family's (wife and nine kids) rendition of "The Twelve Days of Christmas." I absolutely adore this family and all they stand for. Look them up to learn more: http://www.johnstonfamilyministry.com/

The Law of God is written on man's conscious (Romans 2:15) and God still punishes nations for disobeying His Law (Jeremiah 189, Psalm 79:6).  

"Don't mistake God's longsuffering with complacency."

"We want the blessings and promises of God but we don't want to hear the commandments and commission of God."

DO NOT DELUDE YOURSELF INTO THINKING YOUR SIN IS OKAY. Isaiah 59:1-2

"A lot of people think Jesus' death on the cross got God born again. They say, 'God was all wrathful in the Old Testament but now it's all about love and grace in the New Testament.' In all the preaching in the book of Acts the word "love" is mentioned zero times whereas the "fear of God" is mentioned ten. Another great post-resurrection passage is James 4:4- friendship with the world means enmity against God."

I really hope someone posts a video of his whole sermon. It was powerful and truly inspired by God's Word. I was writing as fast as I could while listening but there is so much more to glean from what he spoke.

More to come.

We took a family day on Friday and went to the aquarium. Here are some pictures!

You may notice above that Abigail is a little walking machine these days! She even tries to run!

Operation Save America

This week Keith, I, and the kids are in New Orleans with a group called Operation Save America. We are here to preach the gospel and see abortion come to an end in this city and in America as a whole. The first time OSA came to New Orleans in the 90s, there were 10 abortion mills in the city. Now there are only two. Planned Parenthood is currently trying to build a huge surgical abortion facility on S. Claiborne Avenue that we pray never goes up.

We got in town Saturday and had a 6:30 night rally. Then on Sunday we all broke up with our small groups and went to various churches. We were given First Unitarian and Universalist Church of New Orleans. That was a huge eye opening experience that I don't have time to write about right now but will soon. Last night we had another rally. This one they called a Solemn Assembly because it was a time for us to repent of our personal sins, the sins of the church, and the sins of our nation. It was a very humbling experience. At the rallies I am bombarded with the Truth of Gods Word. Here are some notes/Scriptures I jotted down during the last two rallies:

Fear is a sin that I struggle with quietly on a massive scale. So many times I quench the Spirit of God because of fear in my mind. Psalm 27:1-3, along with many other passages say we should not fear. One of the leaders of OSA said this Saturday night - "We say if we love something/someone more than God it is idolatry... So wouldn't it also be considered idolatry if we fear something/someone more than God?"

Every night at 7:14PM during our rallies we say 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

"We not only influence people by what we say, but also by what we do NOT say. When we do not say things, the world will think those things are not important."

God hates the hands that shed innocent blood-Proverbs 6:17
All I know is of God hates abortion, I hate it too!

Abortion is a GOSPEL ISSUE. It is all about who rules and whose laws reign.

There are so many more Scriptures that I wrote down but Abigail is waking up so more later!

Half Marathon Training Update

My official training "schedule" doesn't start until the 20th but I have gotten a good head start on my running lately. My goal for the first half marathon I ran in 2012 was to simply finish it. My goal for my second is to not walk any of it. This goal seems really unattainable at this point but I know where the true battle lies: in my mind. When I begin training my body, whether it be through exercise or self control in other areas of life, I truly see that is where the battleground is in both my physical and spiritual life. For this reason, I love the following verses about RENEWING our mind. There is something so refreshing and invigorating about that word: RENEW! Here are some of the verses:

Romans 12:2 - Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the RENEWAL of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 4:22-24 - To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be RENEWED in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Philippians 4:4-9 - Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will GUARD your hearts and YOUR MINDS in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK about these things.

Isaiah 26:3 - You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is STAYED ON YOU, because he trusts in you.

We must fight to keep our minds guarded and stayed on Him!

Last week I ran 2 miles without stopping. I forgot to post this picture when I did:

This morning I ran 3 miles without stopping! Woohoo! Almost 1/4th of the way there!

Abigail's 1st Birthday Party!

Man... how time flies.

I decided on a ladybug theme for her party a few weeks ago. It turned out great thanks to my wonderful mother. :) Speaking of her, she spoke at a ladies' conference a few years ago and the theme was LADYBUGS.
Living
As we
Daily
Yield to
Being
Under
God's
Sovereignty
I love that and will always remember it anytime I see or think about a ladybug.

Here are some of my favorites pics from yesterday:

I did that ladybug cake all by myself! Proud mama moment.

 The two photographers. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. :)

 This is the point in the festivities where Abigail decided to sing the chorus to "It's my party and I'll cry if I want to"...

Then she opened her presents and was happy again.

 Children truly are a blessing from the LORD!

Surprise Party & Modesty

Well hello there! It has been a while. Glad you stuck around.

I have been in Texas this past week for my mama's 56th birthday. We threw her a "carnival theme" surprise party and it was a blast! I came back home to Mississippi yesterday but left Elijah in Texas. I miss that boy!

I love this woman. She is my hero.

She looks pretty surprised, eh?

I have a new-found love for podcasts thanks to the 300 mile drive from my house to my parent's house in Texas. "Ask Pastor John" is one of my favorites. I listened to his podcast about bikinis and modesty and this quote struck me on the drive so when I got back home I listened to it again and wrote it down. It applies to so many more areas of life than just modesty but I think I really needed to hear it. Not gonna lie... sometimes I want to look "sexy." I have found that the closer to my goal weight I get, (I'm down almost 30 lbs since February! Whoop!) the more tempting it is to wear less clothes.

I would stick around but I hear a little munchkin waking up from her nap. I'll leave you to mull over this quote for a while:

"I would say this to any woman or any man that dresses inappropriately:

Until God has become your treasure,

Until your own sin has become the thing you hate most,

Until the Word of God is your supreme authority that you feel to be more precious than gold, sweeter than honey,

Until the gospel of Christ's death in your place is the most precious news in the world to you,

Until you have learned to deny yourself short-term pleasures for the sake of long-term joy and holiness,

Until you have grown to love the Holy Spirit and long for His fruit more than man's praise,

Until you count everything as loss compared to the supreme value of knowing Christ,

your attitude toward your clothing and your appearance will be controlled by forces that don't honor Christ." - John Piper