No Really, I'm Not Here Anymore! (I'm Here: www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com)

For the stragglers...

JOIN ME AT www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com

Or if you're busy, just subscribe here and you won't miss a thing!

:)

Hey You! (Yes, *You*) Read This!

I will no longer be posting at this domain! In fact, I will be deleting the posts on this blogspot very soon, so please head on over to www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com and join me for a fresh cup of coffee! (Please be patient as everything on the new site is not 100% yet - getting there!)

Oh, and no need to unsubscribe from this blogspot and resubscribe - it just switched automatically (thanks feedburner!).

I'm Back! Wanna Know My New Gig?

So, do you remember this absurd post about the picture that I had taken for "something exciting?" Well, I can finally reveal what my exciting news is!

But first, some disclaimers.

1. You don't actually get to see my exciting *new gig* just yet, but you do get to *meet* the other gals who are a part of it.
2. No, I'm not currently having a book published (you all think I'm so much cooler than I really am!)

Are you ready?

Well, you're just going to have to first click here where you will find my new domain and design! It's not completely functional yet, but should be by tomorrow...and then the information on this blogspot blog will be dropped like a hot potato, so make a note!

Now what are you waiting for?! Scoot on over to my new site and become privy to my exciting news!

A Couple of "Gems" To Tide You Over

Well friends, I'm disappearing for a few days, but in the meantime I leave you with these little gems...

Awkward Family Photos

One week of printable menu/grocery list recipes

TAKE TWO ASPIRIN AND CALL ME WHEN YOUR CANCER IS STAGE 4

Are You A Faithful Christian? (5:16 STUDY ALERT & Winner!)

Are you...

Faithful in prayer?
Faithful in the Word?
Faithful in sharing the gospel?
Faithful in loving others?
Faithful in perseverance?

I want to be more faithful.

One way of helping me to be faithful is by rising early to pray and be in the Word, which in turn leads to me having more confidence in sharing the gospel, loving others, and persevering.

With that said, I would like to invite you to be a part of the new 5:16 book study. I have a desperate need to know how to pray...more, better, etc., so I have chosen the book Prayer, The Great Adventure, by Dr. David Jeremiah to read.

If you'd like to participate, get the book and we'll kick off the first "discussion" on Thursday, August 20.

I'm not sure exactly on the discussion format yet. Would you like to use the forum, or would you prefer to have a weekly link-up where you post your thoughts on the current chapter on your blog, both or something else entirely?

I'd love your thoughts...and to know if you are in!

*The winner of the Dining Rooms Direct giveaway is....

Melanie, of Bella-Mella! Yay! Congrats friend! Please email me with "winner" in the subject line. :)

I Don't Even Know

Sometimes I am so overwhelmed by the evil in the world...I don't even know how to pray...

Free For You Because, Well, Free For Me ($65!)

*This giveaway is now closed.*

Here's the deal. Dining Rooms Direct contacted me about having a giveaway for you. I was about to kindly reply, "no thanks, I'm limiting my reviews/giveaways" when what they wanted to give away caught my eye. A $65 gift certificate. I figured you all might like that, so I said, "let's do it!" They are also sending me one of these Coffee Serving Sets, and since I don't have one, it was a bit of a motivator to let them plug their site.

FYI - I am only planning on doing giveaways that I think are worth giving up blog space for.

With all that said, let me introduce you to Dining Rooms Direct, an online store that sells more than dining room sets (thank goodness, because otherwise $65 wouln't get you very far!).

They sell this cute little number (this is what I'm getting):

And this kids snack set...


Pillows...
Plates...

And these fun placemats...



The above items, part of the notNeutral collection, are some of my favorite items, but you can use the $65 gift certificate for anything you want on their site! They have bedding, home decor, and you guessed it, dining room furniture!

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment.

Really, that's it.

But try and be somewhat creative...you know, not just "enter me please, thanks!"

I mean, I'll still let it be counted, but it's so not fun...and you know me, I like fun.

:)

Contest will be open until 9pm Eastern time on Sunday the 26th. Winner will be announced on Monday.

*This* My Friends Is The Sweetness!

I love a good party.

I also love meeting new friends. Now, Robin, one of the hosts of this hoppin' party, has asked that we keep our posts simple, so I will do that by sharing only two things with you in this post.

Are you ready?

Here they are:

1. If you want to meet me (pretty please...I like you too!) click right...wait for it, wait for it...HERE!
2. If you like free stuff (hello, of course you do), then you must come back at midnight (or, you know, tomorrow) because I am having a $65 giveaway! Yea, I know, so rockin'!
   

Okay, that's it...short and sweet. Oh wait!

Hmmm...

What if you decide you wanna be pals? Gosh...that would be awesome. If you are a fellow java-hugger, or you just want to be my buddy, click here and we can coffee-talk everyday! Every.Day. You can also follow me on Twitter @sarahmaeblogs.

Sweet!

I Need Mary Poppins

I'm in a kerfunkle, and have been for a couple of days.

I feel out of sorts, tossed about, and just plain lazy. I don't like being lazy...laziness always make me feel crummy.

I need Mary Poppins on days like today. I want her to sing to me "a spoon full of sugar" and snap her little fingers until my home is clean. I want to fly a kite, and maybe even soar into wild blue with it. I want to jump into a painting and frolic (love that word) through the field with no cares at all. I want to curl up in a cozy bed, and instead of doing the singing, I want someone to rub my head and sing me to sleep.

I even want to feed the birds.

Okay, not so much on that last one. Actually, when I'm in a kerfunkle, I'd rather shoot the (loud, chirping at dawn) birds.

I don't really mean that.

On most days, that is.

Anyone have a chimney I can borrow?

Just So You're Privy...

I am working really hard at my new blog design (okay, so my designer is working really hard, but I'm driving her crazy, so that counts!) so please bear with me over the next week if I don't post very much. I am planning on having a guest post on Friday where a company is going to give you a $65 gift certificate to their store, so that's a perk, right?

Pray for my designer ya'll, I think she might strangle me! (Emily Rose, you are amazing!)

The .Com Is Coming Very Soon - Get Ready To Re-Subscribe Or You'll Miss All The New Articles!

www.likeawarmcupofcoffee.com will be my new home very shortly (as in, a little over a week), so please subscribe to it now (if you can) so you don't miss the move!

Nothing is there yet, by the way, so technically I have no idea if you can subscribe yet!

:)

Are You Hungry? How About A Beauty Spree...

Jesus didn't ask us to first evaluate the circumstances of the poor when He said to feed them.

There are people in your local community who are hungry. Maybe they're hungry because they lost a job, made foolish financial decisions, or just can't seem to make ends meet. Either way, you can help.

You've heard of shopping spree's right? Of course you have! You've gone on a few yourself...for yourself, right? It's okay, we've all done it (well, many of us). But how about going on a "beauty spree?"

What's a beauty spree you ask?

A beauty spree is when you go out to buy items, such as food, to help those in need. Helping people - loving them and meeting their needs - is beautiful. Beauty isn't what we wear, how long our eye-lashes are, how perfectly small our nose is or how cute we are in that new dress...no, beauty is a condition of the heart.

Let's mold our hearts (and our children's hearts) into something really lovely. Let's feed the poor today.

Today.

Call up your local food bank and ask what their immediate needs are. Get the kiddos and go on that beauty spree! You will not only be loving God by loving others, you will be a living example of true beauty to your children.

Being beautiful works for me!

(Don't have a local food bank? How about donating a $1 to blood-water mission?)

"When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest. Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am the LORD your God." Leviticus 23:22

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13

"He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses." Proverbs 28:27

"Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.'" Matthew 19:21

"But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind." Luke 14:13

Your Thoughts Please...

Below is a quote given in 1872 (when women couldn't vote and therefore had no political power) in regards to women being members in the state bar (and becoming lawyers):

"It is true that many women are unmarried and not affected by any of the duties, complications, and incapacities arising out of the married state, but these are exceptions to the general rule. The paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother. This is the law of the Creator. And the rules of civil society must be adapted to the general constitution of things, and cannot be based upon exceptional cases. " Justice Bradley, Supreme Court,1872

Thoughts?

The Upside Of Feminism?

Voting
Education
Jobs

I'll be exploring this topic in days to come...

Sold-Out For Life, Part 6 - Chromosomes, Christians & Murder

When does life really begin?

That is the question.

In fact, in 1973 when abortion became a legal right in the United States, not being able to discern when life begins was a major convincing factor in the fateful decision:

"We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy, and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer...we do not agree that, by adopting one theory of life, Texas may override the rights of the pregnant woman that are at stake."

Here's what strikes me in the above paragraph: "When those trained in the respective disciplines of...theology are unable to arrive at any consensus..."

As Christians, the question of when life begins should be as easy a question as "who are we created in the image of?" If we read our bibles, we know that God knitted us together in the womb, that human beings are created in His image, and that the murder of an innocent is prohibited. We have made complicated these simplicities. I am not suggesting that the circumstances around the truth are simple, many times they certainly are not. What I am saying is that to the person who knows Jesus, the basic truth of when life begins is simple.

The below article nails it:

Argument For The Silent: A Biblical Case Against Abortion
"...if the unborn are human beings, killing them is forbidden because it is an attack on the image of God... It is a scientifically certain fact that the event of conception (or, perhaps more narrowly, fertilization) is the first event in the history of the human being. Prior to conception, what exists are a mother’s egg and a father’s sperm. When fertilization is complete a new human being is brought into existence that is genetically distinct from the mother and father and that exists as a distinct entity. Therefore, from the moment of conception what exists is a human being with potential for growth and full realization." Read the full article here.

"You shall not murder." Exodus 20:13

Six

My Six List Today

1. Make yummy breakfast while kiddos color and listen to Karen & Kids
2. Bible Time w/ kiddos
3. Clean Kitchen - fridge/floors also
4. Pick-up dining room and living room - load of laundry
5. Banking
6. Time in the Word during kiddos naps

Interspersed in the tasks will be lots of giggling, cuddling, reading library books, training, and play. :)

Tonight I'll continue to work on my Sold-Out For Life series.

What's your six list today?

Sold-Out For Life, Part 5 - "If you don't like abortion, don't have one"

If you don't like murder, don't murder.

If you don't like child abuse, don't abuse a child.

If you don't like rape, don't rape anyone.

Does this make sense to anyone?

Somebody? Anybody?

Yea, didn't think so.

Please Don't Hate Me, But...

...I think I'm going to let Saturday Score die.

In fact, I've already killed it.

But don't worry! I still have some *sweet* giveaways I'll be doing...just more randomly, and not very often.

K?

You and me - we're still cool?

Oh, by the way, the winners of last week's Biggies Wall Stickies Saturday Score are...

Denise - Pets
Jessie - Dinosaurs
Tami - Butterflies

Congrats! Email me with your snail mails please! :)

Sold-Out For Life, Part 4 - Would You Hold Her Hand?

Would you hold her hand?

If she listened and cried

and really tried

would you hold her hand?

If she gave up and gave in

emptied the womb within

would you hold her hand?

If she raged and cursed

chanted choice first

would you hold her hand?

If she grew and aged

as life turned the page

and she wept at the face

that she chose to replace

and she felt and then knelt

at the throne of grace

would you still be there

holding her hand

or would you have left

that day

when she lived in the grey

not the black and white

we deem worthy to fight?

if you let go

love

loses.

Sold-Out For Life, Part 3 - Secret Clubs (Guest Post)

Today's article comes from Heather Gemmen Wilson, author of Startling Beauty: My Journey from Rape to Restoration. She speaks internationally on the subject of hope and forgiveness. Visit her web site at www.heathergemmen.com.

My husband had gone to a meeting at church and my children were asleep down the hall when a stranger entered my bedroom, waking me from a deep sleep. Through the dim light reflecting from the hallway, I saw his silhouette—and vaguely understood that a tall, black man with thick arms stood a few feet away.

I didn’t scream. For a few seconds, I didn’t really understand what was happening. “Who are you?” I asked.

I might have rolled over and disappeared back into my dreams, but the ugliness of his laugh shocked me into wakefulness. I sat up quickly, and he yanked a knife out of his pocket.
“Oh, no,” I whispered, holding my hands up toward him as if sheer willpower would keep him away. “No. Don’t do this.”

***

Someone once told me that after she was raped she felt like she joined a secret club she never wanted to be part of. I cried when she said it, because it was true for me too. Suddenly I knew things in a profound way I didn’t want to know at all—things like shame, and doubt, and fear. And I knew how much ugliness there was in this world.

The overpowering emotions I experienced didn’t go away the next month, or even the year—but neither did my community. Like every good church, mine had an impromptu “casserole committee”—when a member was hurting, the others rushed in with food. I hadn’t much understood this casserole obsession until I was its beneficiary and discovered that hot meals made by loving hands comfort the soul better than Band–Aids on skinned knees. All the little acts of service—from lawn mowing to housecleaning to babysitting—said what I needed to hear: “I love you.” “You are one of us.” “We’re in this with you.” Slowly I began to notice more joy than despair, more confidence than fear. And so much love was poured into me that there was no room left for shame.

One of the tokens of kindness given to me at that time was a puppy. This darling little beagle proved remarkably protective and became our family’s watchdog. I went outside one bright winter day to find little Gus growling menacingly. I looked around to see what was threatening him, but didn’t notice a thing out of place. Feeling a little spooked, I stroked his ears, hoping to calm him; but he bared his teeth and raised his hackles. Then I saw it, the menacing figure that Gus kept at bay: A great. Big. Snowman.

It took awhile to convince my small protector that this intruder was no threat. I pulled off the orange hat from the snowman’s head and tossed its raisin eyes and carrot nose in Gus’s direction. He ate them, and moved slowly forward. By the time I had yanked the sticks out of the snowman’s sides and the scarf from its neck, Gus saw the wilting lump of snow for what it really was: an empty threat.

My community disassembled my snowman. They helped me to see that my hackle-raising fear of physical harm, and the even greater suspicion that my faith had been wrongly placed, was unnecessary. I had not been abandoned by God, and his people proved it.

***

It has been over a decade since the rape, and I’ve experienced many life changes since then. I gave birth to a precious baby girl, conceived that fateful night, and she is now my daily reminder of God’s restorative love. We adopted a little boy we knew from our inner-city neighborhood where we lived—and he now towers over me, a godly young man who brings much laughter to our family. Eight years after the rape, my husband, who had joined me in joyously welcoming our daughter and who still loves her today, suddenly abandoned the marriage—and I am now building a new home and blended family. I’ve moved from Michigan to Colorado to Indiana. I’ve experienced the death of loved ones and the birth of a grandchild. Yet through all those changes, one thing has remained constant in my life: God’s faithful love. And I see now how much more beauty exists in this world than ugliness, even when life is hard.

I don’t know what secret club you have joined, but I am confident that God is in it with you, loving you and drawing you to him. I pray that you too will be startled by beauty.

I Can't Resist - "Twitter Will Kill You" (David Crowder Band Rockumentary)

This is ridiculously stupid...and yet I feel I must post it because, well, it's stupid and funny. I couldn't resist, please forgive me! (I know, it's eating up my right-hand sidebar...a sacrifice I'm willing to make.)

Sold-Out For Life, Part 2 - Whose Heart Do You Trust?

Photo Credit: Food For The Poor

What would say to a woman who was raped and wanted an abortion?

She has been wrecked by a wicked crime, and now the poison of evil has brought forth a pregnancy. A pregnancy that would lead to a baby who would share the DNA of a monster...including physical features that would be a daily reminder of the shame giver.

Easy is not in the Christian vernacular (or at least, it shouldn't be).

If you bleed red then your heart cries out for mercy and you empathize with her wanting an abortion. It makes sense. Why traumatize her with a living reminder? Why?

I have not been raped, but I have had an abortion. While I cannot speak for all women, I can say that abortion leaves very similar imprints that rape does: shame, guilt and depression, to name a few. It is a trauma, but one that gets pushed deep down, usually lying dormant for a long time, because while rape is a known evil, abortion is supposed to be okay...just a simple medical procedure. For many women, however, it is not simple at all.

I used to work in a crisis pregnancy clinic where I listened to several women over the period of two and half years tell me that they didn't have a choice, that they had to have an abortion or X,Y, and Z would happen to them (parents would "kill" them, people would know, no money, have to finish school, not ready, etc.). They cried as they watched that second line appear, and they cried as they held their bellies knowing full well that they were about to offer up something more than a clump of cells with that "simple" procedure. They knew. And they hurt.
Rape hurts. Abortion hurts. Women deserve better on both accounts.

Trauma upon trauma doesn't heal a person...it invites deeper pain and longer lasting scars.

Here is the crux of the matter though, it really doesn't matter what we think or how we feel because our hearts are deceitful. We don't have all the information, so to speak, so for us to think we can follow our hearts when they cry for another just won't cut it...it so often leads to wrong, even when we mean it for right. The only heart we can truly trust in is God's heart. He knows all things, he knows the beauty in the speck, and He is more merciful than we could ever dream of being. He is also sold-out for life, because He is the life (and soul) giver. We really don't get it, but He does. We only understand the temporal, but He sees the eternal. There is more.

I hate rape. I hate evil. So while I offer up no easy solutions (there are none), I will also offer up no compromise because I believe in hope. I wrap my arms around the victims of rape and I cry with them and I ache deeply for them. I also hope for them.

Real, messy, hope.

Real, messy, life.

Hope. Life. Trust. I trust the heart of the life-giver, even when my own heart doesn't understand.

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." Jeremiah 17:9

"The hearts of men, moreover, are full of evil and there is madness in their hearts while they live..." Ecclesiastes 9:3

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." Matthew 15:19

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26

Holding on to hope works for me.

Sold-Out For Life, Part 1 - Crap, Beauty, & A Speck

"A person is a person, no matter how small." Horton Hears a Who

I believe in the speck.

That tiny little speck that bears the possibility of life. The possibility of an intricately weaved soul imprinted with the image of God, floating in an unseen world, knowing nothing about what is...or what could be.

What could be?

I believe in something greater than myself.

I believe in a God that knows that life is messy and being human is a raw deal in this tear-stained wasteland of sin and heartache.

I believe in a God that jumped into the mess and traded beauty for crap on our behalf. He knew something we didn't. He knew we couldn't be beautiful without Him.

He knows something else we don't know.

He knows the beauty in that speck.

That speck that can't be seen or heard or touched.

He knows.

And He knows pain and He knows fear and He knows past and He knows future.

So I trust the God who waded in the crap to free the beauty in me when He says...

He created my inmost being. He knit me together in my mother's womb. When He told me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made and that I was not hidden from Him when I was made in the secret place when he saw my unformed body. I believe Him when He said all my days were ordained for me before one of them even came to be (Psalm 139:13-16).

So even though the life in that speck is invisible, I am reminded that

My God

is invisible too.

And yet

I believe.


I'm also here today...figuring out how to stay on track.

Sold-Out For Life...
Part 2 - Whose Heart Do You Trust?
Part 3 - Secret Clubs
Part 4 - Would You Hold Her Hand?
Part 5 - "If you don't want an abortion, don't have one"

Why I'm A Sold-Out Pro-Lifer (Even In Cases Of Rape)

Series starts Tuesday.

Karma

"At the center of all religions is the idea of Karma. You know, what you put out comes back to you: an eye for an eye...Along comes this idea called Grace to upend all that...Love interrupts, if you like, the consequences of your actions, which in my case is very good news indeed...I'd be in big trouble if Karma was going to be my judge. I'm holding out for Grace. I'm holding out that Jesus took my sins onto the Cross."

-Bono, quoted in World, August 6, 2005

Saturday Score! Get Biggies Wall Stickies!

The winner of last week's L. Herbert Designs Art prints are...Tobie of Tobie's Tall Tales & Tiny Truths! Yay!

Today's Saturday Score is...

Biggies Wall Stickies!

"Ahhhhhhhh.....butterflies! Butterflies, butterflies, butterflies!" My two year old was clearly ecstatic when we showed off the Biggies Wall Stickies (Biggies Innovations) that we had put into his and his sisters bedroom (she picked butterflies and it will eventually be her and her sister's room, so butterflies it was!). He was literally amazed - it was so cute! He had the biggest smile on his face just looking all around the room at all the different big butterflies! My little girl liked them as well. She took in all the insect glory with a quiet sweetness...and a big smile. "Thank you mommy for the butterflies."

Bedroom before (boooooring):

After...

Super fun and colorful!

Cool, huh?!

These wall stickes are such a cinch to put on - just peel and stick - no "bubbles" or anything. If you change your mind about where you want them, they easily pull right off with no damage to your wall or the stickies. They also have more then butterfly stickies - they have dinosaurs, planets, insects, pets, and flowers! They don't skimp either - we got nine big butterflies in our Biggies Wall Stickies pack.

Biggies Innovations is super generous! They are giving THREE SETS OF WALL STICKIES away, which means that there will be THREE WINNERS!!! The sets that are up for grabs are: butterflies, pets and dinosaurs. (This company also makes Wall Murals, "Swipe-Offs," Window Well Scenes and "Design-a-Signs.")

How To Enter

• Leave a comment telling me which Biggies Wall Stickie is your favorite.

*For Extra Entries* (leave a separate comment for each please)

• Blog about this giveaway
• Subscribe to Like A Warm Cup Of Coffee
  

Fine Print

• Open to U.S. residents only
• Must be 18 years of age or older
  

Have a GREAT Saturday friends, and good "luck!" :)

Never miss a Saturday Score (or coffee) by clicking here!

Are You Relevant With The Message?

"If you preach the gospel in all aspects with the exception of the issues which deal specifically with your time-you are not preaching the gospel at all." Martin Luther

"I find it refreshing that Jesus Christ met people where they were. His words touched nerves...He met people as they were, not as they "ought to" be. Angry young men, blind beggars, proud politicians, loose-living streetwalkers, ignorant fishermen, naked victims of demonism, and grieving parents were as clearly in His focus as the Twelve who hung on His every word." Chuck Swindoll

I simply argue that the cross be raised again
at the center of the market place
as well as on the steeple of the church,
I am recovering the claim that
Jesus was not crucified in a cathedral
between two candles:
But on a cross between two thieves;
on a town garbage heap;
At a crossroad of politics so cosmopolitan
that they had to write His title
in Hebrew and in Latin and in Greek...
And at the kind of place where cynics talk smut,
and thieves curse and soldiers gamble.
Because that is where He died,
and that is what He died about.
And that is where Christ's men ought to be,
and what church people ought to be about.

-George MacLeod

I'm meditating on Matthew 10:16-42 today. I want to be relevant.

Are You Weary?

This is for you...

Cry Out To Jesus

"Let me know that you're near me, let me know your touch. Let me know that you're near me...let that be enough." Switchfoot

What Is Pure Religion?

Imagine with me, if you will...

It's mother's day. You are so blessed to be honored by the five children God so graciously rewarded you with. You are also thankful this day for the husband you have, for not only is he your best friend, your lover, and your protector, he is also your provider, allowing you to be a full-time homemaker and homeschooling mama. As you are pondering these blessings in your heart, the phone rings. You answer it with joy in your voice, anticipating the low, husky voice on the other end as your treasured sweetheart. It is not him. It is another voice, one with hesitancy in it. As you listen, you begin to shake, stuttering nonsense out of disbelief. Drunk driver? Accident? Dead? Your world has just been completely devastated. Without a say in the matter, you have just gone from wife to widow.

Can you imagine if the woman in the above scenario were you? Once the shock had worn off, you would have to live...but how? You so desperately want to stay home and raise your children yourself, but how could it possibly happen now? There is a way, because there is a ministry that wants to help.

Gleaning The Harvest is a ministry that seeks to care for the fatherless and the widows. They reach out by helping to provide monetary support so these mothers can continue to stay home with their children. Isn't that beautiful? I thank God for ministries such as this. Here's the deal though, they need help. Two families are currently under their care, and they need support. Please consider helping? All monies go directly to the families and their is no minimum amount to give; every dollar counts.

Would you head on over to their website and check it out. Maybe you can partner with them by grabbing their button for your blog, or perhaps donating to one of the single-mother families in need.

To read the full mission of Gleaning The Harvest and where they got the name for their ministry, see here.

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." James 1:27

Helping widows works for me.

Michael Jackson, A Return To Dust

"...all come from dust, and to dust all return." Ecclesiastes 3:20

Michael Jackson was a man who had millions of followers. He was known as the "king of pop" and he will leave a legacy of music and mystery.

He was also worshipped. People are committing suicide because their god is now gone.

Gone.

Just like all of us will be one day. We will all return to dust. Only one man has risen victorious over death, and His name is Jesus Christ.

He was a man. He is God. He is the King of everything.

Who do you live for?

What Do You Mean, "Seek Unity?"

I received a few comments from sisters in Christ who were confused on this statement from a previous post:

"In all things, and in all our differences, we need to love one another and seek unity."

Let me clarify.

We seek unity on our commonality, Jesus Christ.

I also think that if we put as much time and effort into sharing the gospel as we do critiquing the body of believers, we would possibly see more souls bending a knee at the cross.

With this said, I am a bold truth-seeker and giver. It is my deep desire to see Christians maturing so that they can be free to get out of themselves and get onto the great commission...and any and all purposes that God has ordained for them. I am eager to see the imperfect, works-in-progress saints persevere in truth and love and grace.

It is not my duty to judge the motives of my brothers and sisters in Christ. It fact, I believe this is a great sin. It is, however, a saints calling to exhort and admonish actions when they are contrary to the Word of God. Having the responsibility to speak truth in love should remind us of how precious the Word that is entrusted to us. We need to know the Word, ask for wisdom, and walk in humility daily if we are to be the sweet fragrance of Christ, not only to a dying world, but to our adopted family in Jesus.

I also find it to be very prudent to know the difference between an opinion, a persuasion, and a conviction.

Opinion - A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.
Persuasion - A form or system of belief. Adamant about it.
Conviction - The state of being convinced or convicted; strong persuasion or belief; especially, the state of being convicted of sin, or by one's conscience. You can back it up Biblically.


I HIGHLY recommend you take the time to read the article, Glorious Grace, by Jasmine Baucham. Excellent.

Such A cute Preggo!

Not me, silly, my friend Jessie from Muthering Heights!

She is the very first bloggy friend I have met in real life, and let me just say, what a delight!

You never know what it's going to be like when you meet someone in person after only knowing their online "personality", but thankfully, Jessie and I clicked immediately and found many things to talk about.

If you are not familiar with her blog, scoot on over there and say "hello." You will find yourself laughing and enjoying her thoughtful posts. This post in particular had me cracking up!


*I look forward to spending time with you again soon friend!*