Ok, so now I’m kinda mad that Hollie put the link to Bring the Rain on her site.  I just happened to go back and see  Angie was saying.  I found that the family had suffered another loss, 7 weeks after losing Audrey.  Todd’s sister, Nicole(Sponberg), lost her infant son, Luke, to what appears to be SIDS.  The testimony this family has displayed makes me want to go crawl in a hole until I can live like that.  It’s just amazing to see how God is touching their lives in his own unique way. 

So, now I go back and see an older post about breaking pottery.  Dang it, if I didn’t feel like breaking this big flowery pitcher Beth has.  I’m guessing she may beat me to it.  Just go check it out, and wish you could have faith like this woman as I wish I did.

I happened to see this on Hollie’s blog.  As I decided to stay up and have some “me” time while everyone is in bed, my “me” time has turned into “Audrey” time.  If you are familiar with the christian group “Selah”, you know who Todd Smith is.   He and his wife have an amazing tory of faith and praise in the eye  of death.  Please, for the love of all that is good, set some time aside, and go to Angie’s site.  Read from the beginning.  You will feel hurt you have never felt for another person, as well as a respect and admiration for them beyond expectations.  Here is a link to the very first post in the story of Audrey.  After you read the post, go to the end of the page and click “newer post”.

Tonight, my heart was broken by my daughter.  We were having the typical night of the kids going crazy  and disobeying everything we say.  Kaitlyn went a bit too far, and she was told she was getting a spanking.  When I took her into our room, she continued to tell me she would be good.  I told her not to try to make a deal with me.  Anyway, as it neared to the spanking, I talked through with her what she had done.  She understood that what she did was sin and needed to be punished.  She knows about Jesus dying for her, and has trusted in him as her savior(which is something we will not question but nurture and search for fruit).  As I talked about God punishing his son for our sin instead of us, I explained to her what mercy is.  I told her that mercy is when we sin and should be punished, but God chooses not to punish us but chose instead to punish Jesus on the cross.  The conversation then went like this:

ME:  Daddy is going to give you mercy tonight.

Kaitlyn(Balling hysterically): But, I don’t want it!  I don’t want it!

ME: Wait, wait, wait.  Kaitlyn, that is a good thing.  Kaitlyn, stop crying. 

Kaitlyn:  Please, no.

I then had to explain to her that mercy is not what God did to Jesus, but what he didn’t do to us.  So, we sat and talked while she calmed down.  We then prayed, and she asked Jesus to forgive her for sinning.  It was sweet, but I couldn’t imagine what was going through her head when I said that to her. 

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I haven’t posted much as of late, simply because  I’ve had no motivation.  Beth and I have had a very rough last couple of months, and my blog was not on my list of things to do.  While I was absent, I hit 10,000 visits to my site.  Just thought I’d share it with you.

In the Bible a person’s name is a description of his or her character. Likewise, the names of God in Scripture are various descriptions of God’s character.  In a broad sense, then, God’s “name” is equal to all that the Bible and creation tell us about God  When we pray, “Hallowed be your name” as part of the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9), we are praying that people would speak about God in a way that is honoring to him and that accurately reflects his character.  This honoring of God’s name can be done with actions as well as words, for our actions reflect the character of the Creator whom we serve (Matt. 5:16).  To honor God’s name is therefore to honor him.  The command, “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in wain” (Ex. 20:7) is a command that we not dishonor God’s reputaion either by words that speak of him in a foolish or misleading way, or by actions that do not reflect his true character.

from “Systematic Theology” by Wayne Grudem, Page 157

This man displays exactly what it means to love your enemies.  Check the story out.

This is an encouraging post from Abraham Piper, son of John Piper.  He and his wife lost their baby 6 months ago.  The way he, his wife, and their entire family responded in faith to God’s promise of hope should encourage us to rethink how faithful we are to God in the trying times.

A man of such great taste in hair style such as Josh Harris must be a wise man whose words are worth heeding.  Seriously, though, a while back I wanted to start studying my Bible better.  I decided to start in 1 Corinthians.  I took a new approach this time.  I decided I would not only read, but listen to respected leaders’ sermons on what I was reading.  So I would wear my mp3 at work and listen to Josh Harris speaking on 1 Corinthians.  It gave me a whole new perspective on what the text was saying. I never noticed in my own reading how the big issue with the Corinthians was pride. 

I’ve since started reading Josh’s blogthrough my google reader.  His site is one of my most frequented sites now.  He has done a series on Jeremiah 29 recently.  Check out the three parts here, here, and here, as well as future posts on the topic.

It is good to read what someone like this has to teach on the scripture.  He isn’t starting with a topic and fitting scripture to hs lesson.  He is taking a passage and allowing it to speak for itself.  A sermon is so powerful when the speaker just teaches scripture and allows it to speak for itself.

I was reading through my Google Reader today and found this excellent post by Josh Harris.  I did not see one thing in this post that I disagree with.  I read it in detail very deliberately, and I agreed with literally every word.  Check it out.

End of the Spear is a great true story of faithfulness to God.  If you haven’t seen it, go get it.  There is one line in the movie that brought me to my knees.  “No one took my father’s life!  He gave it!”