I am so excited and very proud to say I am now officially the oldest of 9 children! :) Samuel Ira was born today! We are 20 years and 12 days apart.  He is just precious and sweet! A true gift from God! I'm tickled there is another newborn in the house! :D Altho... there are so many people to share him with. LOL! Trying to snatch him anytime I can! ;) Will get some more up about him and pictures soon! :D I am just soo happy he's here!
I am so blessed by God to have another sibling to love, to watch grow up and to TRY to be an example of how to live as our Messiah did!
Thank you God for the blessing of this precious babe! Such an awesome Shabbat this has been!

©AmandaDixon2009

My wife came up and told me that Sesame Street had done another spoof. This time it was a skit called "Desperate Horse-wives." I got a groan when I asked if the characters were less than neigh-borly.

In all seriousness, I'm not that thrilled with how the folks at Sesame Street parody network TV shows. While I am sure that the creators mean simple and innocent fun with their skits, I believe it also sends the message that the shows they represent are normal and acceptable in normal households. I'm not sure how normal we are, but Desperate Housewives is a show that we do not let in our house. My children know that when Extreme Makeover Home Edition is over and they hear, "Previously on Desperate Housewives..." power to the television is to be immediately terminated. It's almost comical how they scramble to turn it off, as if they were diving on a live grenade.

While it may not be a grenade, many TV shows are painfully difficult for us to watch these days. Some of the shows are so corrosive, I wonder how anyone can possibly watch them. Consequently, some nights we simply don't turn on the television set. Instead, we will read a good book or play a game together, if we don't split up to do separate things. We avoid the shows not because we like feeling superior or cerebral, but because we've found that these shows actively interfere with our hearts and minds.  

^8-9Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies. (Philippians 4:8, The Message)

I can't come out with a list of TV shows that I think are bad or good. The verse above should be more than enough for the average Christian, especially when it's paired with the conviction of the Holy Spirit. Each person is responsible only to God for decisions like these. However, Jesus did give us a special charge with children.

"And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. Mark 9:42 (NIV)

To me this verse means that God takes the destruction of children's innocence very seriously. This is why the Sesame Street skits irritate me. It feels like they're playing with fire. Look smart all you want, but I would prefer if they would just stick with "C is for cookie," and the yip-yip monsters.

What? You've never heard of the yip-yip monsters?

Yip Yip

| MySpace Video Thanks Jodi!

I strongly suspect that those who would spend 30 minutes decrying Federal corruption and bureaucracy wouldn't spend 30 seconds on Google looking up who's on their local school board. If there was ever a weak point in democracy, this is it.

Thanks, Mike Rosen, for your thought-provoking commentary.

Growing up that was a song I always loved to sing. Everyone wishes to have peace in their lives. Everyone is searching for:

Philippians 4:7
"Then God's shalom, passing all understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with the Messiah Yeshua."

People want to have a peaceful life. There are different ways people try to get peace from: watching streams or waterfalls, watching the sun set, reading a book, listening to music, drinking their favorite beverage, watch the snow falling, or listening to the rain, taking a drive, etc. Each person tries to find a way to receive peace in their lives. We all know those will never really give us the peace we long for. They are not the way to have peace in your life. They will not last!
Scriptures tell us that peace is a fruit of having the Holy Spirit in our lives:

Galatians 5:22-23
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, self control. Nothing in the Torah stands against such things."

Letting the Holy Spirit in our lives gives us so much fruit and peace is another one of those wonderful fruit! We will have peace and life when we live in the Spirit and have a mind of the Spirit:

Romans 8:6
"Having one's mind controlled by the old nature is death, but having one's mind controlled by the Spirit is life and shalom."

I don't want to have a flesh-ly mind. I don't want death. I want everlasting life and peace that passes all understanding. Before you can have true peace in your life, you have to know Christ.

John 14:27
"What I am leaving with you is shalom -- I am giving you my shalom. I don't give the way the world gives. Don't let yourselves be upset or frightened."

Jesus is the only one who can give us true peace. His peace is something that only He can give. It is a peace that is like no other. The world's peace will not last. It is a temporary fix. If you do things to get peace, they are just temporary... You can only watch a stream or waterfall for a while. You can only read a book til its over. You can only listen to music til the song ends. You can only watch the sun til its down. You can only drink your favorite beverage til its gone. You can watch the snow falling til it stops and melts. You can only listen to the rain til the sun comes out. And you can only take a drive til the road ends! There is only one way to have peace and a peace that lasts and that is the peace that you can only find in our Savior... its eternal! It is everlasting, and it is perfect!

Isaiah 26:3
"A person whose desire rests on you you preserve in perfect peace, because he trusts in you."

When we trust in the Lord and do what He wants from us, then we shall have peace! I have found that it doesn't matter what we are going through in our lives... no matter what it is... we can find peace. Even in the midst of the hardest time of your life and you cannot see the end of the anxiety you have, its already there in our Savior. He has it!

The only satisfying peace that we long for comes from God. He wants to give us peace.

Psalm 29:11
"May ADONAI give strength to his people! May ADONAI bless his people with shalom!"

Not only will the He bless us with peace, but when we have peace its much easier to make peace and that is another blessing:

Matthew 5:9   
"How blessed are those who make peace! for they will be called sons of God."

We all know how much we need peace, when you have it, don't you want to make sure everyone can have peace too? When Jesus gives us His peace, our lives will be so enriched! When you have peace in your life it is very easy to share peace with us and live in peace.

Hebrews 12:14
"Keep pursuing shalom with everyone and the holiness without which no one will see the Lord."

See? When we live in peace the world shall see that it is from God. What a wonderful testimony to the salvation of Christ! When people see us living in peace and have peace in our lives, people will want it and wonder what makes us so peaceful. We can share Christ with them and tell Him that we have His peace. And sharing the salvation, love, and peace that comes through Christ is our mission as a child of God.
Everyone wants peace to flow like a river that never stops moving! I think the true meaning behind the song is to have the peace that will never end. Rivers don't usually end... they are always flowing with water. I want my life to be flowing with peace all the time!
Shalom to you!

©AmandaDixon2009

1.  God.  The single most important type of listening I try to do, and teach my children to do. The best praying is the "listening" kind, where I just sit, and seek God's will, and let Him reveal it to me, for the day, for the moment.  He always does--always in line with His Word. And, if I remember to listen and follow, it ALWAYS works.

2. My husband. This is harder for me, and still a struggle for the children.  We are all working towards having good ears and a closed mouth.  But if I just stop and really listen to my husband, I can better meet his needs. I know what is on his mind, and can determine what might help him or encourage him.

3. The parents.  My children are exhorted daily not to let any of their parents' words "fall to the ground," even in the smallest commands, exhortations, or suggestions.  We remind them, biblically, of how the success of their life depends on this, and how it trains them to also stay in the listening mode to God (especially as they grow older, and grow spiritually).

4.  The children.  I try to keep my children's hearts by remembering as much as possible to stop, tune completely in when they are talking to me, and look them in the eyes--even if it means kneeling down or picking one up.  This way, I stay in tune to their hearts--their needs, their desires, and can better train them up in the way they should go.

5.  Sermons.  When we need one, we hold devotions with Dad (kind of like a family church service).  We all get "sermons" from Dad as he studies and then shares the things he learns--the things he meditates on. My children get mini-sermons from me throughout the day as I teach them the Word of God and God's ways as they apply to our every day lives. When we really want to target an area, we still use sermons by Dr. S.M. Davis.  

6. Others.  I try to listen when I get a phone call, or am visiting or fellowshipping.  I try to remember to pray to have a servant's heart and to serve, listen, encourage, and praise all whom I come in contact with. If I get an email that requires response, I try to take time to read it through several times, to sleep on it, and pray about it--I pray to really be able to listen.  And then I also pray at the same time, about how to respond.  This is double listening--because listening best to others also means listening to God at the same time for leading about how best to minister.

6. Music.  I'm not much of a music person.  I almost NEVER turn on music in the home or in the car.  I can rarely worship in Spirit and in Truth through music--because to me, most music is distracting from how I commune with the Lord. But there are times I just want to praise Him, and sing praise to Him with all my heart, and mean every word I am singing.  I wait until I feel led to do so--as in, I just "HAVE" to sing.  Then I go get the CD player, send the kids out to play, and put in 2nd Chapter of Acts (Hymns or "20"--anyone hearing me on this?), or Keith Green ("Rushing Wind," "Psalm 23"), or Selah.  This happens about once every other month.  Sometimes the kids and I do a good pick-me-up of singing with some Keith Green songs.  Have you ever heard, "He'll Take Care of the Rest," or "So You Wanna Go Back to Egypt?"  How about, "You Put This Love in My Heart?" or, "The Sheep and the Goats." But this is not often.  I sometimes (once a week or so) have my  son play some hymns and have my daughter sing along.  I like listening to the children play the piano--they play hymns and classical.  Once a year I'm in the mood for a little classical music or some opera.  I was energized by hearing John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" over the loudspeaker at the store, and my husband and I had a great walk down memory lane hearing the 70s-80s-90s track playing in a restaurant one evening (all the CDs we USED to own!  Hootie, Blondie, UB40, and more). The older kids have iPods/MP3 players. They listen mostly to Keith Green, 2nd Chapter of Acts, Randy Travis, Michael W. Smith, Del Way, Selah, and Growing in Grace (a local SG group we liked--but they no longer exist). Sometimes they can listen in the car, with permission. Sometimes they dock 'em and play music while they're playing legos or blocks with the babies. 

And about once a year, I sit down and play on the piano.  That's about all I get the time for!

Now--am I the only one who knows and loves 2nd Chapter and Keith Green?  Chime in, here.  My life song has been "Make My Life a Prayer to You."  Am I the only one (besides my kids) who loves bebopping to "He'll Take Care of the Rest?"