Approach this situation with awareness of who is Boss. As you make plans for the day, remember that it is I who orchestrates the events of your life. On days when things go smoothly, according to your plans, you may be unaware of My sovereign Presence. On days when your plans are thwarted, be on the lookout for Me! I may be doing something important in your life, something quite different from what you expected. It is essential at such times to stay in communication with Me, accepting My way as better than yours. Don’t try to figure out what is happening. Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance for the good that will come out of it all. I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU, AND THEY ARE GOOD.

(Isaiah 55:9-11; Jeremiah 29:11)

Merry Christmas to You and Yours!

This video absolutely stole my heart. Totally worth watching all 7 minutes as this bright little girl recants the story of how Jonah disobeyed God and ended up in the belly of a big fish. Super duper CUTE!!!

The story of Jonah from Corinth Baptist Church on Vimeo.

Dear God,

You tell us through Paul in Philipianns 4 to not be anxious about anything and in everything to pray with thanksgiving, and present our requests to You.

Here is my prayer:

At this very moment, my grandpa is undergoing a quadruple bypass heart surgery to fix problems discovered during a heart attack he suffered last week. I pray today for strength. Strength for my family, my grandma, the nurses and doctors performing the operation and especially for my grandpa. I pray that the doctors are able to repair his heart and that when the time comes to take him off the machines I pray that his heart takes over in a way that only You can orchestrate.

I know that aging and death are a natural part of Your plan and I know in my heart that what waits for Your believers in heaven is something greater than anything we can experience in this lifetime. But I still struggle with the pain of seeing someone I love hurting. Please heal our pains and provide us comfort.

I ask that You use this opportunity of togetherness to unite our family so we can share in Your mercy and grace. I pray that those that don’t know You see You working in their lives and the life of grandpa and reach out to You for help. I pray for laughs, smiles and happiness during these difficult times. And Lord God, more than anything else, I pray for my grandpa’s heart.

Amen.

P.S. – As a special prayer for my Grandpa, I pray the Colts win big on Sunday night. The excitement of a close game is always fun but after a successful surgery I think his heart would appreciate an easy win.

This blog post summarizes my thoughts about a recent New York Times article, How Christian Were the Founders? It’s a long article, but definitely worth the read.

There is a battle going on in the state of Texas that may shape the Church/State/Classroom relationship across the country for decades to come. Texas sets the educational guidelines for most of the states in the US. Their Board of Education sets the direction of the content that is printed in textbooks that are adopted by 46 other states. And right now there is a huge fight going on about how Christianity fits into the historical context of our country.

Christian Conservatives, myself included, believe that because our country was founded as “One Nation Under God” we should work to merge Christian beliefs into our educational system.  We believe that the Bible and Mosaic law provide foundations for American law and therefore should be taught as such.

David Barton, leader of WallBuilders, continues the argument and suggests that the following points are derived directly from the Declaration of Independence, and therefore should be included in American history lessons.

1. There is a fixed moral law derived from God and nature.
2. There is a Creator.
3. The Creator gives to man certain unalienable rights.
4. Government exists primarily to protect God-given rights to every individual.
5. Below God-given rights and moral laws, government is directed by the consent of the governed.

Liberals will argue that the First Amendment clearly strong arms a separation between church and state, but I agree with David Barton. The founders were all Christians, and the purpose of the First Amendment was merely to ensure that no single Christian denomination be elevated to the role of state church.

I believe that every American is free to choose their own religion and their own God (or none at all). It’s not my place to tell you what to believe. But I think we would be overlooking a very important part of our history if we ignored the forefathers beliefs in our understanding of the framework of our democracy.

“Those people who will not be governed by God will be ruled by tyrants.”

- William Penn

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• America: A Christian Heritage…to be Reclaimed (dakotavoice.com)
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• Texas Schoolbooks – Changing History? (lockergnome.com)
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I stumbled across the Twitter profile for pastor Mark Driscoll from The Resurgence (@pastormark) and his Twitter bio struck a chord.

He describes himself simply as “A nobody trying to tell everybody about Somebody.”

I wish I could say the same thing about myself. Too often I take credit for my successes and find excuse for my failures. I don’t share the good news of Jesus Christ often enough.

If I could just let the power of the Holy Spirit guide me, I could use my gifts to share the power of God with those that don’t know him.

What about you? What does your walk look like? Want to talk about it?