At Church Sunday, I was asked about having a get together for one of the older ladies at church, Mrs. Hewitt.  I believe she is the oldest member, and she is one of the most faithful and loving ladies.  She is quiet, calm, everything you expect to see in a lady. 

I offered to make a cake for the get together.   I thought about making an Angel cake, but ended up settling on a Barbie Princess cake instead.  Although some people might not think a Barbie Princess cake is fitting for a 70 plus lady, I think she'll absolutely love it. 

And of course, the kids LOVED liking the spoons when I was done with them!

Blessings,

Hope

Garrett's Spots are just about gone!  Yeah.....so I'm wondering if it was Chicken Pox....he was vaccinated, and broke out about 2 weeks after the vaccination,  and now this....but this was definetly NOT an allergic reaction to the medicine he was on...I've seen allergic reactions, and this just was not one.....I guess we'll have to wait and see if Isabella breaks out (she's the only one I didn't vaccinate, and I won't).  I never did get a straight answer fromt he Dr as far as how effective the vaccine is, or if/when he will need a booster shot.....

Sadly, if I knew then what I knew now, I would NOT have vaccinated them against the chicken pox.   At the time, I was told they HAD to be vaccinated to go to school, and I had not yet made up my heart to homeschool the boys....

You can follow this link to read more about the Chicken Pox vaccine....now I know, it can be argued that we have made some great advances in medicine due to the use of embryonic cells, but that is not up for debate with me....I FIRMLY oppose abortion for any reason.....whether a person believes in God or not, God put that child within the mother for a reason, and if HE didn't want it there, HE would not have allowed HIS will to be done.  

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee,..."

Isaiah 45:12 "I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, [even] my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded. "

http://www.lifeissues.net/writers/tay/tay_20abrchickenpoxvac.html

The following article is a direct publication by the makers of the vaccine, Merck.  The first paragraph descibes how the vaccine was developed.

http://www.merck.com/product/usa/pi_circulars/v/varivax/varivax_pi.pdf

The sad thing behind these vaccines is that we are not told the whole truth.  The fact that it is made using  human embryonic lung cell cultures.  one reason I believe we are not being told this is because MANY parents would NOT allow the vaccination with this information.  Upon reseraching this further, I am appauled to find many more vaccines have been created using embryonic cells....

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/medical_ethics/me0044.html

The good thing is that some alternatives are being offered at this point.....

http://www.dgwsoft.co.uk/homepages/vaccines/alternatives.htm

I could not however find information about an ethical alternative for the Chicken Pox vaccine....

Blessings,

Hope

Today I was reading in Proverbs, chapter 17.  There is so much good 'stuff' in Proverbs...it can be hard to pick out just one verse that speaks to you.  But today, a verse jumped out at me.  Literaly caught my attention and didn't let go.  Verse 28 : "Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise...."

This can be applied to all of our lives on a daily basis....how many times do we react without thinking, or respond without preparing our words.   I am so very guilty of that.  Calvin is forever telling me to 'hear someone out'  or, when I tell him about a situation, he advices me not to say anything.  He is so much wiser than I am. 

Holding our tongues can be a wicked habit we've obtained, reinforced by years of loose lips and lack of discipline....I feel that while I am much better at holdig my tongue, I sometimes do a poor job at it.  It is a habit I developed as a child, which grew bigger as an adult, and now it is a thorn in my side.  A loose tongue can be destructive to friends and loved ones.  Many times, a person's heart has been hurt by simple words.

Blessings,

Hope

My brother called me 2 days ago and left me this message."HOPIE!!  Call me!...I need to borrow a few life jackets!"  

He lives in Fort Kent, about 3 and 1/2 hours north of me.  The St John River had begun to flood and they were evacuating people.  I think he should have asked for more than a life jacket!  Maybe a boat would have been more sufficient. 

In the picture below, you can see the Catholic Church on the left side of the road, and the old Convent, which is now apartment buildings, in the lower right corner.  The St John River is the large river behind the church, and behind the convent i(you can't see it) s part of the much smaller Fish River. 

Sadly, my other brother, who is a Post Master in Fort Kent, had to drive through some water on his way yo work, and Mom told me his car shut down.  The electrical unit is ruined, and it will cost over $500 to fix it!!!  I don't know if his insurance will cover it - let's pray it does. 

http://bangornews.com/news/t/aroostook.aspx?articleid=163746&zoneid=175

At times like these, it is important to remember God's many promises, and that he keeps his promises - "And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This [is] the token of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living creature that [is] with you, for perpetual generations:.I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud:And I will remember my covenant, which [is] between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh." Genesis 9:11-15

Rest assured and remember that God promised to never cause a flood so severe as Noah saw, though it might feel like it!

Blessings,

Hope

I want to post some information regarding Salvation. I have been in contact several people who do not understand the term, so I am going to post an article I came upon some time ago.  This is not my work.  I am unable to find the original source for this.  But, it does a good job explaining Salvation.

         What is salvation?

     Salvation is being saved from the righteous judgment of God upon the sinner. 
     A lot of people think that salvation means being saved from yourself or the devil.  But that is not accurate.  All who have sinned against God are under the judgment of God.  This judgment is known as ****ation where God condemns to eternal hell all those who have offended Him by breaking His Law.
      This does not mean that God is unfair.  It shows that God is holy.  God must punish the sinner.  But, He has provided a way of escape so that people will not face His righteous judgment.  This means that God is both holy and loving.  He must manifest each quality equally.  So, being saved from the wrath of God is called salvation.
      Salvation is found in Jesus, and only in Jesus, who is God in flesh (John 1:1,14), and who died for our sins and rose from the dead.  1 Cor. 15:1-4 says...

"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, ² by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. ³ For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,"

     This is how salvation works:  All of us have sinned against God and deserve judgment.  But Jesus never sinned (1 Pet. 2:22).  He lived the Law of God perfectly.  In this He has a perfectly righteous standing before God.  When the corrupt Jewish leaders forced Rome's hand into crucifying Jesus, God used this crucifixion as the means to place the sins of the world upon Jesus (1 Pet. 2:24; 1 John 2:2).  This is when Jesus became sin on our behalf.  2 Cor. 5:21 says,

"He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him."

     The crucifixion became the place where Jesus bore our sins in His body and suffered in our place. "But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed," (Isaiah 53:5).  Remember, no sinner could please God perfectly and no sinner could offer a perfect sacrifice to God.  Only God in flesh, Jesus, could do that. 
     So, since there is nothing we can do that is righteous before God (Isaiah 64:6 says our righteous deeds are filthy rags), then we cannot please an infinitely holy and righteous God by anything we do.  But, Jesus who is perfectly righteous before God the Father, died in our place.  What we could not do, He did.
     If you want to escape the righteous judgment of God, then you need to trust in the sacrifice of God. You need to be made right before God, by God.  This righteousness of Christ is given to you if you accept him, trust in Him, and believe in what Jesus did.  This is why the Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith.  "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God," (Eph. 2:8).
     When you trust in what Christ has done on the cross, and in no works of your own (since they aren't good enough anyway), then the righteousness of Christ is given to you -- even as your sins were "given" to Jesus.  Its like a trade.  He gets your sin.  You get His righteousness.
Once you have trusted in what Christ has done, then you possess eternal life and you will never face the judgment of God.

 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand," (John 10:27-28).

Blessings,

Hope

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4 :32

     How do you know God is working on you?  I think when the same verse is brought to your attention by 2 different people at 2 different times, and then when the Lord Himself urges you to reflect on this verse, that's a pretty good indicator that God is working on you.  Good!  I need to be worked on.  We all need the steady maintainence that only God can provide us.

     So, if God has directed me to this verse over 3 times lately, what does that mean?   It is time for me to stop, stand still, and listen to God.  What is he trying to tell me?  Why does he want this verse to roll over and over in my heart? 

     I've failed in this area, could this be why?  Could it be that I've lost my temper, or maybe I've been short with someone?  Or, who have I not forgiven?  Who did something to me that upset me, and I couldn't let it go?

     God uses many different ways to teach and guide us, but how are we to learn His ways if we are unwilling to hear them?

     My prayer at this moment to our Heavenly Father:  Lord, I pray that you will cleanse my heart of all sin, of all anger, of all unforgiveness.  Whatever it is that I've chosen to carry, I give to you.  I cannot carry these burdens alone.  I cannot serve you while trying to serve myself.  I know Lord that you will teach me to be kind, tenderhearted and forgiving.  Direct me in your ways father.  Amen.

Hope

My children have been watching me.  Before coming home to be a full time mom, I was a travel nurse and worked 3 hours from home.  I would take a position close to Mom and Dad so they could watch the children while I worked.  Before we left our home, I would make sure I had my baggie of gospel tracks.  I usually had the boys pull out 3 or 4 as soon as we go ton the road.  We would leave them at the rest stop, or give them to whomever we met along the way.  Often, the boys would suggest who to give them to.

Either way, whichever it is, they are important.  Little pamphlets designed to be given to people to tell them about Salvation, about God.  Often times, a person will not hear you out when you witness, or will casually listen, but not really hear what you are telling them.  Giving them a track affords the opportunity that when they are alone, they can read through it in the quiet of their home, and perhaps they will allow the Holy Spirit to begin working in their life.

Today, we had a guest preacher.  My boys knew this, but couldn't place his face, so when they saw a stranger come into our little church, they started speaking to him, and offered him a Gospel track, telling him "This is what we give strangers so they will know about God."  My husband had dropped the children off at the church and left to give a ride to an older man who doesn't drive.    I had followed behind with the baby and hadn't made it to church yet.  My boys assumed this man did not know the Lord, and took that opportunity to share with him.  Neither my husband nor I knew of this, until during the service the young preacher shared with the congregation what these two young boys had done. 

The joy that filled my heart at the notion that these tender young souls were concerned enough about others to share Gospel tracks cannot be described.  Often, we rather the kids not see what we are doing, that they might learn a bad behavior.  But this time, I was pleased that the children have been watching!

Hope