Strange Fire?

Some of you evangelicals  may know about the conference "Strange Fire" that John MacArthur had last week.  MacArthur is a well known reformation author/pastor. He basically wrote a book and had this conference to combat problems he sees in the Charismatic/Pentecostal world.  MacArthur is Calvinist and a Cessationist- which means he believes that visions, revelations, voices from heaven, messages from the spirit world...,dreams, speaking in tongues...,trips to heaven, anointings, miracles, are all lies, all false, all deception." (some of these things I wonder a bit about)  MacArthur believes that the Gifts ended at the end of the Apostolic Age, around 100 AD.  He has been very critical over the years of the Pentecostal/charismatic movement.    SO he is not a part of that movement but yet he feels the need to bring correction to it.

http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nakedpastor/2013/10/john-macarthur-sends-500000000-charismatics-to-hell/  

God in Hell” (by nakedpastor David Hayward)

 

 

 

 

Read the above blog, it's a good discussion on this. 

 

 

 

Here is the whole conference if you are interested.....   http://www.preteristglobal.com/?p=718

 

 

I have listened to most of Joni Eareckson Tada's session.                              

 http://www.preteristglobal.com/?p=718          She was injured in a diving accident years ago and paralyzed.  She talks about her journey.  While I am compassionate towards her and encouraged by many of her writings......I do feel she is biblically wrong in believing and teaching that her accident was from God to her for the purpose of "growing her"

 

Now of all people in the world, I do believe that trials grow our faith.  I firmly believe that.  However I do not believe that God Himself preordained the trials nor do I believe He sends them.  I believe we live in a fallen world and LIFE happens.....  there is death, disease and accidents, sin, and sinful hearts.....   all those things together bring plenty of heartache to the world.  We don't' need God's help in having more heartache!   As in a famous Madea statement  "I can do bad all by myself"  Well the human race can do bad all by itself.....LOL

 

I also do not believe that the devil brings trials into our lives either for the most part (like 99.9% of the time)   Again the human race can do bad all by itself.....

 

Jon and I were talking about this....obviously ANYTHING to do with healing or suffering, is interesting to us as we walk the path we are on.  Just looking at our situation.....not even taking into account my little ones who were born disabled....let's just look at Selah's accident.....  if I were to go with the argument that Joni E Tada gives for her accident that "God caused/allowed/preordained it to bring her closer to Him"   How would that work with Selah?

 

I can see that Selah's accident caused Jon  & me to draw closer to God BUT would God cause/allow/preordain the accident to punish Selah or "draw her closer to Him?"  Selah had the understanding of an 18 month old prior to the accident......it's not like she had the intellectual capacity of an adult by any means. 

 

Did He cause the accident for Jon's and my growth....that is sick.  I guess if God was into the business of hurting people, He would have chosen Jon or myself to be in a coma, or injured so we could personally grow..... Obviously I do not believe God is like that. 

 

 Did He cause the accident for others to 'get saved"?   Some folks have suggested that to us....that God allowed the accident in order to draw people to Him......ok, that is just SICK!!!!!!   Jesus died on the cross to bring others to God.  He paid the price for the forgiveness of sin....He doesn't need to put a mentally delayed child into a coma in order to bring people to Him.  Selah did not have to pay some penalty of sin. 

 

We think and discuss things like this.  We are so careful NOT to try and come up with some type of doctrine JUST based on our situation but based on what the BIBLE teaches.  When you study the bible, you must study the bible in Context and you study by comparing scripture to scripture, using the whole bible, not just cherry picking out ONE verse to make a point.

 

 

Joni Eareckson Tada did have an experience in a "healing meeting"  that I can certainly relate to.   she was in a huge meeting, setting in the "handicapped section" (the real handicapped section- wheelchairs, canes, walkers)  and people were being "healed" in other sections and then the service was over, no one came to her section except to ask them to take turns on the elevator.....

 

We took Sam and Shad to a "healing meeting" and took them forward for prayer.   When I got to the minister, I turned the boys toward him and the guy almost peed his pants!!!!  It was even funny to me at the time.  Here were two little boys who were obviously in need of a miracle.  Shad is basically missing an eye and Sam is very obviously blind.....  These little guys were not like some of the folks who came forward for headaches, diabetes, even cancer....it was in your face.....

 

The preacher barely prayed for Sam who obviously needed more than just his eyes healed to be whole.  Then he prayed for Shad and told Shad to cover his good eye and asked him what he saw.  Shad said "nothing"  he thought it was a game or something.  Then the guy just left us.  He was totally overwhelmed, it's one thing to pray for someone's headache, it's quite another to pray for major obvious disabilities.  If we were to take all the kids NOW to a healing meeting, the guy would for sure pee in his pants LOL!!! 

 

Now I say all of that "tongue in cheek"  Personally I believe God can heal.  But I also believe that He choses to allow the natural laws to this world to prevail in our lives.  In other words, I believe God could cause someone to live for 500 years.....but because of the Fall of Man (Adam and Eve in the garden) natural laws of sin & death went into affect.  Now Jesus came to forgive us of sin, and give us eternal life.  So He freed us spiritually from the Fall....but physically we are still dealing with it.   

 

Anyhow getting back to the whole MacArthur/Strange Fire conference ......

 

I believe that someone who is not in our movement is pointing out some major issues within the movement.....

 

I am NOT a Cessationist by any means....I feel God has spoken to my heart before and I believe He has had some of his servants even give me a word from Him a couple of times that totally was for real.  I believe God can and still does "signs and wonders", I believe He still heals, I think I even still believe in speaking in tongues and of interpretation of tongues ....

 

HOWEVER.... I believe that many Pentecostals/Charismatics have very very faulty theology.  I believe that many would rather have a "word from God" than to get into the word of God!  I believe that many seek after signs & wonders & healers rather than seeking after Jesus.  Many would rather have a message in tongues, than have a doctrinally sound sermon.  Many want the excitement and thrill of hearing from God and some are so out there.....

 

Oh my....one day a friend and I went out to eat and the owner of the small place we went to started talking to us....oh but did she have stories....angels' visits, god's protection....story after story....BUT when she was asked where did she go to church....she told how she had a problem with this church and that church and this pastor and that pastor.....   Please know my eyes were rolling out of my head......    Often I see the P/C movement like that lady.....they want all the signs and stories but they don't want to have the disciplines in their life of healthy church attendance, tithing, submission to authority  (cause they are God's CHOSEN so they don't need to listen to a pastor) 

 

Then you have the crazy false NON biblical teachers who are in the Pentecostal/Charismatic camp.....  The Word of Faith "health and wealth gospel" Hagin, Copeland, Benny Hinn, Meyer, Joel Osten.... the list goes on and one....

 

 

So we almost end up having to have someone from the outside to come in and point out the excesses!   Because for some reason, pastors do not teach their folks enough sound doctrine so that their congregations can discern for themselves the false doctrine.   Many pastors do try and teach sound doctrine but unfortunately people often have itching ears and they'd rather hear how God will give them a new car and a new house (and I do believe in the blessing of God)   than how to walk  through valleys.

 

I think all churches have their strong points and have their weak points.  I think the P/C churches have the strong point of hearing a fresh word from God, livelily worship, inspiring messages....but can be  weak on sound doctrine, aren't strong in walking with folks through trials, and based on too much emotionism.  They also don't have a strong outreach to the poor, needy and sick - often the outreaches are done in order to "win" the person to God or the church, rather just reaching out to help and leaving the outcome in God's hands.  And don't let me get started on their response to orphans.......not much of one......

 

The mainline churches are generally strong in the "social gospel" area and basic doctrine.  They seem to be freer to reach out to others without trying to "win" them.  But often there is no inspiration, no personal  or practical application and not a big emphasis on living a holy sin free life. 

 

So I think we can all learn from each other.  No church or movement is perfect....no one's doctrine is perfect  (except mine LOL)   I feel if we believe in Jesus as Savior we are all brothers & sisters, even if I don't like you LOL! 

 

So MacArthur, who by the way, is the 5th cousin of  US General Douglas MacArthur, that might explain his militant way of slamming the P/C movement LOL!!!!!

 

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Ok sorry if this blog was boring to you......doctrine is very interesting to me.  I have a BA in Biblical studies and love to study and debate.   I appreciate my heritage in the Pentecostal movement but I am not blind to the problems we have.  but I love the movement, the freedom of the Spirit.  I have been in services where I felt God's presence in a special way.  I've heard messages in tongues and the interpretation of those tongues given that were from God.  I've been in large services where the whole congregation went silent before the Lord, even small children who were silent, as a message in tongues were given.   I've had a few dreams that I feel were directly from God.  I've felt "impressions" in my heart that I've felt was God's leading.  I've had a few "words" that I believe came from God....the woman in the mall was the most amazing...  I believe that God sent an angel to me in China to help me and Shad, I mean a real angel.....like from heaven above.....  I even believe I was in a service about 17 years ago where we heard angels singing.....   I was a bit overwhelmed by that!    I think these things are little glimpses of what lies ahead for us.....  but I think most of our walk with Christ is a walk by faith and not by what we see or feel......

 

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Everything is good here, everyone is doing good, no issues. Sarah's bumps are gone.  Selah is doing good.  I meant to take pictures today but we had a lot of folks to talk to after church and then it was time to go eat:) 

 

We are so excited about what God is doing in our church....it seems He maybe opening a new door of ministry  again.   The Spanish ministry is off and running.....We are getting the word out and excited for this opportunity to partner with a ministry that can meet the needs of our community. 

 

We do want to impact our community.  While we want to do everything without any ulterior  motives, we do want to see people come to know God and have peace in their lives.   We do love to see growth in our church as we can grow together and meet the needs of the community together.  It's a good thing to fellowship together and to have each other as friends to encourage each other in our walk with God. 

 

It's exciting to see what God is doing. 

 

 

 

'LIVE YOUR LIFE SO THE PREACHER DON'T HAVE TO LIE AT YOUR FUNERAL"

Today was a memorial service for a beautiful lady from our church.  The service was peaceful & moving.  Irene was a lady who was deeply loved by many.  She had long term relationships with her friends & family.  One of her best friends was here, they'd been BFFs for over 60 years!  Irene was a spunky happy person. She was so interested in our church and seeing it grow, she said "one day this church will be filled"   Well it was filled to overflowing today as people streamed in to show love & respect to Irene and her family.  What a joyful, well lived life.....no regrets.....

The funniest thing happened this morning, I was getting ready and Shad came running to tell me that the florist was here, so I hurried up and grabbed some clothes to go out.  Later I realized I had grabbed my one chrisitian tshirt....  I LOVE IT (and I'm not into "chrisitain" tshirts  But this one says on the back, 'LIVE YOUR LIFE SO THE PREACHER DON'T HAVE TO LIE AT YOUR FUNERAL"    (I know the grammar ain't that good LOL)

How appropriate.....

Irene lived her long life well, no one had to stretch the truth today....they were all able to share about her character and her good deeds.

That's how I want to live my life.  I want to live my life truthfully, faithfully, and whole heartedly devoted to God.  I don't want anyone to say that I "talked" a good talk but there was no real walk there....   I want people to be able to say I gave it my all.  That  I loved my God and my family and others....  I don't want to live just for myself.    I don't' want a selfish life, I want to live freely....with an open hand, ready to do what God leads us to do. 

We all have ONLY one life or YOLO (you only live once)  I want my life to count for God.  What about you?   I was challenged by the service today to live this life that I have whole heartedly for God.   Don't live your life with a clenched heart and hand, especially if you are a Christian, live your life freely, joyfully & boldly.  Love others, build relationships, be kind, be faithful......  then when it is your time to go, you can go with a peace that is beyond anything this world could ever offer. 

I'm a better person for knowing Irene, the world is a less place today but I am challenged to live my life even more fuller for God.   I hope others will be able to say the same about me one day. 

Bullies

BULLIES 
 
Just the word looks mean doesn't it? 

I was bullied as a child.  I was poor, raised by my great aunts, had freckles and glasses....I was a perfect target.  I was made fun of and bullied.  One boy was so mean to me on our bus....but one day I'd had enough and I hit him hard with my lunch box, didn't have any other problem with him LOL.   But  girls were the worst.....there was this one girl who shall remain nameless....her father was a big shot in our home town and she thought she was  a big shot too.  She was mean to everyone.  I'd dread seeing her come down the sidewalk.  The funny thing, is since high school no one has ever seen her, someone told me she married and divorced, has no kids and has gain a ton of weight.  She never comes back to reunions or anything.....I wish she would LOL (ok that is mean lol) 

My oldest son had someone bully him in school....he ended up dealing with the boy himself.....it became a legend... he knocked him down.  So I picked him up from school, he told me, I parked the car and ran in the school thinking surely he was suspended.....  I talked to the principal who said "Good for Steve, the boy got what was coming to him"   I was relieved .....and very glad I was dealing with a common sense principal.  BTW Steve never had another problem with the boy and he eventually got expelled from the school.

The first day of kindergarten I walked Shad in and introduced him to his class.  Shad's bad eye is small and I worried about someone saying something to him.  And he is Chinese, not many around our small town.....   Sooooo the first thing out of this little girl's mouth was "What happened to his eye?"  Ok just for the record, she did not say it nicely at all.....the tone of her voice was mean.  I have never wanted to slap someone's kid as much as I wanted to slap that girl.  I calmly explained that he had an accident as a baby.  Then I left him there and cried all the way home.  When I picked him up, he told me what a GREAT day he'd had and he and that girl (he said her name) had played all day together....  and he has never had another problem at school.  Granted he goes to a small Christian school but Shad is so self confident, people just are drawn to him to want to be his friend.  His eye is not an issue. 

So I know reading this you might think we are rather violent, I hit a boy with a lunchbox, Steve knocked a boy down....I wanted to slap a kindergarten girl.....  well ......  I've never hit anyone else with a lunchbox, Steve has never hit anyone else either and that girl never got slapped LOL! 

And obviously I've written on here many times of how my little ones are stared at and how people feel they can just freely ask questions of us.  I do not like it and I think it is rude.  Do I think it should be criminal????? NO!!!!!!   But be obnoxious and I have no issue calling you out on it!

Have you heard about the case of the 12 year old who killed herself in Florida?  That happened near here, where we used to live....   Here is a link where the Sheriff is debating whether or not to charge the parents of the girls who bullied her.

This is my FB post about it.  (got some interesting debate going on)

"I'm going to write a blog about this....I feel IF anyone should be held responsible, it should be the parents HOWEVER I am not sure I think anyone should be criminally charged with this. There is the 2nd amendment and we do have free speech..... I am not for bullying BUT a person needs to know how to deal with it. I was bullied and I learned how to deal with it..... I think the mom of the girl who killed herself has some moral responsibility too. If that had been my kid, I would have been more involved, moved her to a different school, took away her phone and computer, contacted the school regarding things...... I LOVE Sheriff Grady Judd but he tends to do things in a "Jerry Springer" type way so he gets media attention. (that being said I'd vote for him any day LOL) "


http://foxnewsinsider.com/2013/10/17/should-parents-two-florida-bullies-be-charged-after-12-year-old-rebecca-sedwicks-suicide


This article said the mom did move her from one school to another.....and was proactive but yet she did not know that things were continuing. 

Personally what worries me is the whole "freedom of speech"  I think the girls that bullied her were absolute little stinkers  ( actually I can think of other words but.....)   that being said, they bullied her....  they did not kill her.    She made the choice to end her life.  I think a lot of folks bear some responsibility here.  The girls who bullied her were awful, I would guess their parents were not overseeing them very well.  I can not imagine one of my kids doing that and me not knowing about it.

One time Steve had some friends over and a girl texted one of the boys and the boy texted her back something mean like "you are a fat cow" because the girl kept texting and texting him.  Now my son was not even involved and I knew about the whole thing and spoke to the boys about it and they apologized to the girl.....LOTS of drama........some of the players were big DRAMA folks......   but the point is we as parents knew what happened and made sure it didn't' happen again.

So my point is.....KNOW what your kids and their friends are doing.....

I feel like the school didn't deal with this very well...and I feel like the mother of the girl who killed herself could have been more proactive.  Listen if it had been my kid and it things could not have been dealt with I would have continued to change schools, put her in a private school (there are several Christian schools in that area that have all kinds of scholarships ) homeschooled....whatever I had to do.  I would have also taken away her phone and computer. 

I've been cyber bullied...... Guess  what I do?  If they are on FB I block them, they can't see me and I can't see them.  There are four people I've blocked over the years.  One I knew in real life, one who said she went to college with me and two from the adoption world who are just loonies in my opinion.....  So blocked the kids....

There is a blog that is devoted to being anti adoption.  They have a whole big long post on us, blaming us for Selah's accident and saying basically it only happened because she was adopted  (guess they forgot we had a bio son who was involved and who is only alive by the grace of God as he was also gone when pulled from the water)   I read it ONCE and I did comment and put my blog on here so people who read it could see for themselves the truth about our lives.  PLEASE do not go looking for it, only because I absolutely HATE for them to get any publicity whatsoever.....  So it can't get much worse than someone saying you wanted your child dead.......   So what do I do????   I consulted with a lawyer and an FBI agent, they watch the site IF it ever got to the point that there was slander, I would sue them.  But they are wimps and don't even put their names up.....let me tell you if I have something to say about someone, you will see my name on it!    Other than the first time I read it, it does not bother me at all.  Why should it?  I know the truth and everyone in our lives knows the truth.....  so I ignore it.

I have a few more weird than nasty remarks that come up on my blog, I just delete them and don't publish them.  But I rarely have mean remarks, usually I have very sweet remarks on my blog. 

When we are in the news, and the news is online and has a comment section, I do not read it.  I'll have a friend who will tell me something that is written and I just tell them I don't' read the comments.   Why should I?  Some are great and some are usually not so great.  I think the people who make comments on news article tend to forget they are talking about real people......

So that all being said,  cyber bulling is not physically harmful and you have to go and look for it  and you can block the bullies out of your life......

I'm very sorry this little girl died.....she must have been very sad and I'm sorry for the mom too.  It was all awful, but I doubt that cyber bulling was the only bad thing going on in her life.   I'm sure there were other factors going on in her life.......


The girls who bullied her and the parents should be ashamed of themselves.  One girl is being very nasty and the other one is being repentant.  One set of parents is sorry,  one set is as defiant as their daughter.... and the sheriff talks about that....

It seems to me the girls were charged BECUASE one of them wrote on FB that she had bullied the girl and didn't' care that she had died.  Ok that is nasty.....but is it criminal????????

There is still freedom of speech.  I may not like what you say, but you still should have the right to say it....   I'm surprised that we don't have tons of lawyers defending these girls....

We don't for one reason, now it is politically correct to be against bullying.  ( I'm against it too don't' get me wrong) 

But I think this goes deeper.  I think that making and enforcing laws like this, is the beginning of such Politically Correctness PC like we've never seen. 

I think it will (and is in some places) even getting to the point that a minister can not say that a specific sin is wrong because it will offend someone.   It will all become a hate crime.

I am so not into calling anyone names, and I am so not into being mean to someone regardless of what their life choices are.....

But I can see how this all can play out.  

I like Sheriff Grady Judd, I knew him before he was sheriff, we were on some task forces together and I like him.  I voted for him when we lived in Polk county and would vote for him again, however he does seem to like to play towards the cameras and has become quite famous.  There is a joke, "where is the most dangerous place to be in Polk county? the answer "Between Grady Judd and a camera"  LOL    He is famous for some of his statements like the one time one of his deputies was killed by a convict and the entire sheriff's force went after the guy.  When they found him, the guy was shot 68 times.  When asked WHY he was shot 68 times Grady Judd said "because my deputies ran out of bullets"   That is classic GJ......One time we were up in NY and saw him on national news as he was tracking down kiddie porn offenders....  My point is, he tends to go for the cases that get a lot of attention.  I don't know charging these girls, is really the right or legal thing to do.  Now I'm not a lawyer and I've been out of the criminal justice system for almost 10 years so I don't know the laws about bullying and certainly don't know about cyber bullying laws either.  But I do think this is taking things to the extreme. 

I'll probably get slammed for my opinion on here.....but I just think sometimes you need to use common sense.   And I feel that is lacking here......


AND I have a question....WHY did they link her suicide to the bullying?  Was it just based on the mom's statement or did she leave a note?  To me that would matter and I have not seen anything that has told me that she left a note.....I may have just missed it, I haven't followed this too much on the news. 

Thursday thoughts

 

Look what we won today!  We won the Tailgate Giveaway from Sonny's B-B Q thanks to Steve entering it in a text!   We love Sonny's, I have a new addiction to it lately LOL!   Steve is always winning something by sending texts....I never bother to do things like that but I'm glad he does LOL. 

 

Also our therapist told us of a family that is giving away their handicapped accessible bike!!!!!  I've wanted one for Sam and Sarah but they are so very expensive.  This will be great for them to use.  I could hardly believe it when she told me about them!  What a blessing for my kids.  I'll post pictures, it's hard to explain one but they have more structure and helps.

 

 

 

 

So we have all that great news....

Then I get a call that changed our focus...

 

One of our dear church  members passed away this morning.  Irene was one of the most cheerful people I've known.  She always had a smile and a kind word.  She had a great sense of humor....  We knew she was nearing the end of her life, but it came a bit more sudden than we had expected.  It made all of us think about eternity and what lies ahead.  When I shared with the kids and our nurse (who knew her) we all said how we knew she was having a great time right now, enjoying heaven, meeting Jesus and all her loved ones who had gone before.  With her happy contagious spirit, I could just imagine her in heaven, being so amazed by all she saw......  but we will miss her greatly.....

 

Being a pastor's wife means sharing in a lot of happiness and also a lot of sadness that otherwise you might not see.   Death is very hard for me.  Funerals are hard for me but I was raised that you go and pay your respects.  It makes you think about YOUR life and the fact that one day it will end also.  It makes you think about eternity....  We generally take our kids to funerals (not so much the little ones) but I think it is healthy for children to learn to care about others and show respect.  I appreciate Steve when we were talking about the funeral and plans he immediately offered to do the church yard and help clean so everything would be perfect for her service:)  I love that he thought of honoring her in that way.

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Steve, I'm sitting here doing my blog, and I hear a screech....I go outside and see the Driver's Ed car up ON our sidewalk.....it was NOT Steve, he was sitting in the back seat. He said the person who was driving was doing good....till that point LOL!    So for me the hardest thing about Driver's Ed is him riding with someone else driving!!!   He does a great job on his own!

 

Selah has had a really good day, she looked so cute while she was in therapy and didn't get upset at all.  I love it when she is relaxed and able to have full range of motion.  I'm so thankful for our wonderful physical therapist that works with her and Sarah so faithfully.  We are blessed!

 

 

Look at that range of motion on her leg:)  I love it!

 

 

Sarah woke up today with a case of the "scabies"   It's not really scabies but she had scabies for so very long it went into her system and there is another name for it, it's not contagious....can't remember the name.  We had her treated by a dermatologist last year and he told me that under stress this would return....I guess she got stressed out at the doctor's yesterday.  I had to order her lotions to put on it. 

 

When we got home from Ukraine with the girls last year, we got home at 12 midnight, we had appointments scheduled for 9 am with our pediatriacn.  I walked in holding Sarah and he said "scabies- I'll write you a script for EVERYONE"  I told him I'd been holding her for 6 weeks and hadn't got anything so he sent us right to a dermatologist and then he explained what it was and that it's not contagious but something she may always carry in her system.   So this is the first flare up she has had since the first couple of months she has been home.  Poor baby it was under her arms and on one hand.  But I'm thankful they just called in the medicines so I could hurry up and treat her. 

 

So please keep our dear Irene's family in your prayers and our girls.....thank you!!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Good report!

Great news!

Sarah's cardiology appointment went great.  She has no issues, and looks like she never did....we won't have to go back for any follow up with her.  Ukraine must have just put that on her diagnosis to do it, no evidence of any heart issues! 

 

However she was ticked off, she must have remembered the shots from a week ago...... she fought like a wild girl:)  About kicked the guy in the crotch who was trying to do an EKG on her.  LOL  She can be a little wild cat!

 

BTW Sarah has doubled in weight since coming home!!!  From 19 pounds ( at 5.5 years old) to 39.8 pounds (at 6.5 years old)   No wonder none of her clothes fit LOL!~!! that makes me happy/sad at the same time.  Happy that she is full and growing, sad that she lived with malnutrition for 5.5years!

 

 

 

 

Here are some happy pictures from yesterday afternoon- outside playing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The boys pushed the little ones on the swings in exchanged for some video game time:)  Works every time LOL  It was so beautiful we all stayed outside for almost 2 hours. 

 

Hope you all have a good night, Selah is doing good, thanks for the prayers!

Big Announcement and prayers needed for Sarah!

Our church is starting a new partnership with a Spanish ministry.  They will be meeting on Sunday, Tuesday & Thursday nights at our church.  We are working out all the details but they start tonight and we are excited about this!   I'll have more details this week but we are excited to get started with them.   This has been a desire of ours for years, to have a ministry reaching the Spanish speaking community in this area.  It's amazing to see things start to come to pass that has been in our hearts for years!!!!!!  It all happened SUDDENLY!  That is how God seems to do things for some reason!

Out here in the country we have a community of Spanish speaking families and we have reached out to them over the last 7 years, but we never had anything to offer them in their language.  Now we will have something to offer them!  We are excited!  The great thing is, Jon works with this group and leader in the prison, they come in and volunteer in the chapel.  So they have years of ministry together and Jon knows their hearts.   That is important when you are partnering with another ministry!



We are having an nice cloudy day with little misty rain and it's only 77 degrees!  Practically winter here in Florida LOL

I got a chance to go to lunch with one of my BFFs.  For several years we went walking together everyday.  Then she started working full time.....now we only get two hours a week to catch up.  We both have 5 kids each so we are rather busy LOL. It's always good to reconnect....one of the highlights of my week.  I'm not a person who has to have someone with me all the time but it is so nice to have a friend that you can just share with them about everything and hear all about their life too.  I prayed for a long time for a friend like this who lived near me.....now I need to pray that they win the lottery so I can see her more LOL!!!!!



Last night I started a beef stew in the crock pot....I woke up to my house smelling divine!

Recipe for  Beef Stew
- one BIG crock pot
-package of lean stew meat
-bag of baby carrots
-5 celery stems cut up
-one McCormick package of stew seasoning
-lots of pepper
-lots of potatoes.  )I used almost two bags)
-carton of beef stock
-add water to cover  everything. 

combine everything into the crock pot, set on low and go to bed!   By the morning you will have a wonderful smelling house and a nice stew done.  **** I use organic carrots and celery.  Usually I have my own potatoes from the garden but not this time.  I also buy the stew meat that is from cows who are grass fed.

So now that supper is already done, I can just be lazy for a little while:) 

As I was copying some paperwork from the girls adoption, I found one little statement that scared me!  On page 4 of our adoption decree, it stated that Sarah had a congenital heart defect.  MY heart just about stopped!!!!   She certainly has never had a problem that our pediatrician has picked up on and she has been under anesthesia  two times for eye exams with no issues.  BUT with our luck, I do not want to take any chances about this!!!!  Of all the paperwork and "medical records" this was never told to us and it could mean absolutely nothing, I just happened to see it.....BUT tomorrow she has an appointment with cardiology for "the works" EKG, echo and exam.....hopefully this will be a one time thing and we will never have to go back again for her.  Sam has a small PDA/heart mummer and sees them every 2 years.  Some kids with PA do have heart issues so it has me a little worried for Sarah but she is so active and has so much energy I can't imagine there could be anything wrong.  But of course, my mind can run away with it too!  So pray for my sweet baby girl, she is so precious and she is my shadow.  I don't' want her to have any more health issues.  I will update tomorrow!

Hope everyone has a good evening!!!!  Selah is doing fine, she had therapy today and is relaxing now.  Please as always keep her in your prayers!

Meet the Killen Family!!!!

Our names are Asa and Katherine Killen. We have been married for seven wonderful years and the Lord has blessed us with two precious little girls; Zoe who is five years old and Piper who is two.
My calling to adopt is rooted in my beginning. My parents had tried for years to conceive a child of their own to no avail. They were getting older and as time passed they started realize that their dream of parenthood may never come true. So, they went about life the best they could and focused most of their energy to ministering to unwed Mothers. It was not uncommon for my father to visit abortion clinics in Tennessee on the weekends; he would leave pamphlets of information and offer his council to any of the women who wanted it. But one Saturday in November he came across a young woman sitting in the corner of the waiting room nervously shaking her leg and fiddling with the clipboard of paperwork that she was suppose to be filling out. My father went and sat beside her and began to tell her about Jesus Christ and how he died for the remission of all our sins. They had been speaking for a while when the lady looked up from the clipboard and said, " I can't raise this baby. Do you know of anyone who would take it?". My father smiled and said, " Yes ma'am, you are looking at him." Needless to say, she did not abort her baby that day and five months later I was born. My birth Mother relinquished her rights at the time of my birth and I went home with my parents when I was three days old. Adoption, quite literally, SAVED my life.


I grew up proud. I knew that I was adopted and it was always celebrated and rejoiced. I realized at a very young age that Lord would someday call me to adopt as well.

About a year ago the Lord laid adoption on my heart in a way that we simply could not ignore. We had recently miscarried our third child and were still in the grieving process and yet the Lord was calling us to pursue an adoption. It was an overwhelming concept but we knew that the time had come. At the time we didn't know where we would adopt from, what kind of adoption, or even how we would even go about getting started. So, we prayed. We are young and definitely not wealthy. But the Lord said, " Do this and I WILL provide"…so we had faith.

A couple months later those prayers were answered. We were about to leave church one Sunday when we were told about a group of Ukrainian orphans who were in town with a group called Bridges of Faith. This organization brings about ten orphans to America and gives them a Christian camp experience while teaching them the word of God as well as offering some stability and love to each child. That afternoon, we decided to cancel our usual Sunday plans and go spend some time with the children. To make a long story short; they stole our hearts and we knew that the Lord had given us our answers. We were suppose to adopt from Ukraine.

That night I went home and instantly started searching the Ukrainian database for children. I prayed for each child as I clicked through the pages. At the time we truly had no intentions of getting started right away…but then I saw Aiden. I can't quite explain the feeling or what it was that made me notice him in the sea of faces; and yet I knew at that moment that he was meant to be our son. I showed my husband the picture and he wasn't really interested in the least. I felt anger rising. How could the Lord call me to this child and not my husband?! It wasn't fair. I went to bed early that night and prayed for the Lord to give my husband clarity and understanding. The next morning when I got up he had already left for work. I went about my day as usual but Aiden was constantly on my mind; and then around noon I got a text message from my husband that said, " Aiden has really been on my heart. How do we get him home?".

The next few months were a blur of home study preparations and paper chasing. In November I found Aidens picture on an adoption grant web site and was put in contact with some missionaries who actually knew him! We were thrilled to finally hear some details about our precious little boy! But as they started to tell us about Aiden we realized that he was not a typically developing child. My heart broke as they told me that our sweet boy was completely blind, non verbal, self injures, and is perpetually swimming in his own world. He is left strapped to a high chair for an upwards of eight hours a day or is confined in the group playpen. He is alone, scared, unwanted, and unloved in a country that fails to see his infinite value and worth. However, despite hearing all of these things about him our love for Aiden was left unwavering.

My human heart cannot fathom the abuse and neglect that our precious son has endured. But the Lord has ALWAYS had a bigger plan for him. We are expected to travel in a few months to see our precious boy. The road has been long but God has been holding our hands every step of the way. He has provided EVERY cent so far that we have needed to cover Aidens ransom. As of right now we are only $5,000 short of being fully funded for the second child!!! We are not sure where the money is going to come from but we do know that the Lord will provide. We are also planning to bring home another child with Aiden.   A little boy who is at the same orphanage who has CP (cerebral  palsy) stage 3.  The little boy is 10 years old. 

Thank you so much for reading our story; please keep Aiden in your prayers. Pray that he stays healthy and safe until we can get to him. We feel so very blessed to be entrusted with carrying out our Fathers will.
With Love,
Katherine and Asa Killen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Look at Aiden's life now....

 

 

Aiden as a baby, just brought to the orphanage.....so sad

 

His family is waiting!

 

 

 

If you'd like to give to rescue these children, please send a check to

GRACE CHURCH

7060 Berry Road

Zephyrhills Fl 33540

 

attn: ORPHAN MINISTRY

 

Follow their blog

http://ourfamilyhisway.blogspot.com/