Take my Son.....

A wealthy man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.. When the Vietnam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.About a month later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands..He said, 'Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.... He often talked about you, and your love for art.' The young man held out this package. 'I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this.'The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.. 'Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift..'

The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected. The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son. The auctioneer pounded his gavel. 'We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?' There was silence...Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, 'We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one.'  But the auctioneer persisted. 'Will somebody bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding? $100, $200?' Another voice angrily. 'We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Gogh'S, the Rembrandts. Get on with the Real bids!' But still the auctioneer continued. 'The son! The son! Who'll take the son?'

Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. 'I'll give $10 for the painting...' Being a poor man, it was all he could afford.. 'We have $10, who will bid $20?' 'Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters.' The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son.. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections. The auctioneer pounded the gavel.. 'Going once, twice, SOLD for $10!' A man sitting on the second row shouted, 'Now let's get on with the collection!' The auctioneer laid down his gavel. 'I'm sorry, the auction is over..'

'What about the paintings?' 'I am sorry. When I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will... I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this time. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!'

God gave His son over 2,000 years ago to die on the Cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is: 'The Son, the Son, who'll take the Son?' Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything!  FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, WHO SO EVER BELIEVETH, SHALL HAVE ETERNAL LIFE...THAT'S LOVE God Bless.

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

This story reminds me that there are so many things that we take for granted OR that we think are bad things happening to us,when in fact they aren't always what they seem.  Just very metaphoric to my life in some aspects:

Two traveling angels stopped to spend the night in the home of a wealthy family. The family was rude and refused to let the angels stay in the mansion's guest room. Instead the angels were given a small space in the cold basement.As they made their bed on the hard floor, the older angel saw a hole in the wall and repaired it. When the younger angel asked why, the older angel replied, "Things aren't always what they seem."

The next night the pair came to rest at the house of a very poor, but very hospitable farmer and his wife. After sharing what little food they had the couple let the angels sleep in their bed here they could have a good night's rest. Then the sun came up the next morning the angels found the farmer and his wife in tears. Their only cow, whose milk had been their sole income, lay dead in the field.

The younger angel was infuriated and asked the older angel how could you have let this happen? The first man had everything, yet you helped him, she accused. The second family had little but was willing to share everything, and you let the cow die. "Things aren't always what they seem," the older angel replied. "When we stayed in the basement of the mansion, I noticed there was gold stored in that hole in the wall. Since the owner was so obsessed with greed and unwilling to share his good fortune, I sealed the wall so he wouldn't find it." "Then last night as we slept in the farmers bed, the angel of death came for his wife. I gave him the cow instead. Things aren't always what they seem?

Creative Arts Ministry

I have always felt that we are all put on this earth to serve using our various talents and abilities.  I have loved helping people my entire life.  Especially those I do not know. I feel I have a knack for certain computer programs and can be quite creative with crafty projects and gifts. If someone asked a favor, I rarely said no, no matter what was asked.  It is always comforting to hear that God feels this say way too. That we are here to serve others and him.  That we are all on the same level and no matter if it is your boss or your subordinate, you are to serve them the best way that you can.  I firmly believe this and I have done my best to live by this as well. The first opportunity to serve at the Church was as a greeter/usher/welcome desk/bulletin giver...but I just felt that my talents are greater than what these were offering and that I should see if there was something else I could do where I felt I was able to really get creative.  So when I heard about the Creative Arts Ministry, I was all for it.  My friend sings and although I love playing guitar/singing, I am not in any way ready to do it in public. There were other areas of the Creative Arts Ministry from sound to stage help to lighting.  I was up for whatever they threw at me, so I took the guidance of someone on the Ministry and signed up for Video Production.  This past Sunday, I served for my very first time.  I shot video of the entire early service.  It was much harder than I thought it was going to be. I wasn't sure what I was doing and how close I should focus on the people on stage. The Pastor walked from side to side so much that I was afraid that I was making people sick watching my camerawork.   I do know with all things, you have to start somewhere and learn.  I was just hoping I did a great job and I still pray that I did.  In a couple weeks, I will be doing the Media for the Creative Arts Ministry.  I am very scared!  I love slide shows and I consider myself to be a PowerPoint expert, but it seems to be a very important duty and I don't want to mess it up.  So please pray for me to have the aspiration and ability to do a great job!

The Daily Audio Bible

One of the biggest blessings in working on my relationship with God is that I found the Daily Audio Bible.  Being in the year 2011, technology has flourished and made it easier to find and use information, virtually, remotely, and at your fingertips.  It really is amazing what is out there at no cost to the consumer.  I have a wonderful family and great friends.  Two friends knew I was interested in purchasing an iPad.  They got together and surprised me with one and I LOVE it.  Tony loves it too.  We got through stages where sometimes he uses it more and the others I do.  All in all, it is a fun and wonderful tool.  On the iPad, there are zillions of apps that you can download to help you with anything you need...some with a minimal cost and many that are free.  I figured there was an online bible or something I could download to make me more engaged in reading my bible.  Bingo! God's will found me the perfect thing.  I saw it in the free section of the apps and not really knowing what it was all about, I downloaded the app to my iPad. On this, you could listen to streaming audio.  It was a week or two into January and luckily for me, I wasn't too far behind from January 1.  I listened to the January 1 audio and I was thinking how perfect this is...better yet, they offer a reading plan that mimics what the DAB does each day, so if I wanted to read the bible verses after listening to the audio, I could. Brian Hardin is the moderator and he has a talent for this type of thing...coming from the music industry and his father being an evangelist...he certainly found his calling.  I love love love it and better yet, he explains things that are a bit ambiguous.  He really keeps me engaged and I can't wait for the next's days audio.  What I didn't like about the app is that you needed an internet connection and although we have wifi at our house, I mostly wanted to listen to this in my car on my long drive to work and back.  Luckily after a little searching, the DAB offers podcasts that you can easily download to your iPad or iPod to listen to.  Perfect!  At the end of each podcast, call ins are heard by people around the word with prayer requests, blessings for answered prayers, and just affirmations to what the DAB family brings.  These really tear at my heartstrings, but they also fill my heart with joy that I've become a part of a family, all of whom I've never met in person, but feel very connect to. Thank you Brian Hardin and the DAB family.  I am blessed to have you.  It has been over two months for me and I am going strong.  I have told several people about it and I just love sharing this gift with others. As you always say, I love you all very much!

Everything Happens for a Reason

We have all heard of 'unanswered prayers', of 'blessings in disguise', and 'the power of prayer'.  I believe in all three and possibly they are really all intertwined.  I have always felt that everything happens for a reason and if you pay attention, there are signs all around us.  When I entered the new church for the first time, I had so many signs telling me that this felt right.  From seeing my friend singing in the choir to our little girl going to the nursery willingly against her usual antics to having a package of kleenex right in front of me when I needed it the most to having Tony hold my hand the entire time.  It all felt right. The music, the atmosphere, the trendy-ness of the church, the type of church, the message about resolutions/goals in the sermon, even the Associate Pastor resembling my high school boyfriend.  It just all seemed to have a theme for me...all things of comfort and security.  I joined a Faith Based Direct Selling company called Thirty-One to supplement my income and offset daycare.  My upline in this company was the girl who introduced me to this church. The same girl who was singing in the choir.  Tony and I took a membership class and on the last day, on the decision page, the page number said 31. I remember, circling it and showing Tony...he said 'it's a sign' and I felt the same way.  I really thought Tony would have more reservations about joining, but he has been a guiding light in our new path towards a relationship with God.  He has been positive, confident, and has held my hand the entire way. Why did it feel that I was pressuring him before we went and then later it felt almost as if he was pushing me a little.  He didn't even realize it though....why was I a bit scared, a bit apprehensive, a bit unsure. I was confident this was the right time, the right place, and my right mentality. But I still had our life issues looming over our decision.  I wanted to join and be a member and work on my relationship with God more than anyone could imagine, BUT why was I letting these outside issues affect my decision.  Tony was usually more practical than me when it came to stuff like this and he was so confident.  It felt great and that was the biggest sign of all. We were in this together, but as individuals. We weren't pressuring each other and we weren't' doing this out of obligation. More importantly, we both know we have lots of hard work ahead. It isn't just a paper you sign or a choice of what time to go to church on Sunday. This is an all or nothing thing and we were ready, quickly, for what lies ahead.  I believe that our unanswered prayer of our house not selling turned into one of the biggest positives of our life...we found a Church, but more importantly, we found God again.  We still are praying for the house to sell, but we are also putting a lot of faith into God's plan for us. It feels right and we need to trust in the Lord.  Like I said, it is not going to be easy for us.  We have to work to change our mentality towards putting all of our faith in God, putting him as #1, and being a living Christian every single day.  For me, all of the signs are helping me get there. They will help me evolve.  As individuals, we'll take our own avenues of how we accomplish this and for me, it is through lots of daily prayer for both answered and unanswered prayers.  Thank you God for both!

Born Again

The day of Tony and my baptism happened yesterday and it was a truly amazing experience. I was scared, excited, and not sure how to feel all at the same time.  I was worried about my family and friends showing up for the event and if they'd find me and the seats that I've reserved.  I got most of them to their seats and Tony and I were on our way to get ready. We brought shorts and a change of clothes. They gave us shirts that said "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.  The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20.  We wore them proudly and went to sit in the congregation.  The service was the most emotional for me thus far, next to my first day in church.  They had the most inspiring service from the music, to a video of God role playing with a man, to 10 testimonials to the study of the scripture.  I was doing really good in not being emotional, but of course that was quickly changed.  The video of the role play was dear to my heart. One man played God and the other played a guy who tries to control his relationship with God. The dialogue was inspiring and powerful because it is how all of us think and ultimately, we are scared of what we all have inside of us because we are ashamed of some things we are hiding or that we've done.  But God chooses us and he chisels us away to we can be his masterpiece.  The man playing God had his chisel and hammer pretending to chisel away at the sins of the man.  Things like 'lust, greed, control freak, anger, etc' and the man wants to be a masterpiece and says 'okay, I'm ready, but just be aware of what you are going to find in there..I'm not worthy' and God explains that he made him a masterpiece and all things he creates is perfect in his eyes, but we have to work for perfection.  It touched my heart and of course I cried. Although, I know they were just role playing and it was acting, but seriously, the man's crackled voice exclaiming he is ready to put his sins out there, was so compelling.  The service continued with an amazing solo by a girl singing Natalie Grants song. If the song wasn't inpact-ful enough, what happened next started my water works a flowing. Ten people came out to give their testimonial and forgive me because I am actually tearing up as I'm writing this.  The first woman came out holding a huge white posterboard that said 'Abandoned at Age 8, lost, felt unloved' and then at the bottom said 'found God, the church is my family'. I got the largest lump in my throat (I'm actually getting one now) and it touched my heart. I weeped loudly and Tony grabbed my hand. She walked down off the stage, turned her posterboard around and her gigantic picture appeared, she hung it on a rack and walked away. There her picture say and stared at us. Nine more people walked out with boards saying 'Addicted to Porn, sex addict' to 'Control freak, verbally abusive, always right' to 'Party lifestyle, binge drinking' to 'Bi-racial, hard life' and all of their bottom portions of their poster boards said 'Forgiven' 'Accepted by God' 'Found Jesus', etc. and I weeped more and more while they came out and put their pictures up.  The sermon was about Saul, a Christian killer who was chosen, baptized, and became the Apostle Paul and how it was relevant to baptisms.  As the Pastor was speaking, he said that Saul was to stand up and be baptized and how it didn't mean that he needed to prepare, or work on being a better person, or start reading the bible...it was all about being saved today and starting a new life today.  That God had chosen all of us and no matter what dark secrets and sins we hold onto, what is stopping us from being reborn as Christians.  That was our cue to stand up and walk towards the baptismal.  So the 7 or 8 of us did.  As we walked, the Pastor said that it is just like that and he welcomed others to do the same.  Almost 20 more (don't quote me on the number), came forward without being prepared and with no worries. They walked forward and got baptized along with us.  I was the first to go and felt compelled to be a leader. I really don't know how to explain it. I walked into the warm water and the Pastor said some things, I repeated my confession and I was dunked under water and pulled back up again.  He hugged me and everyone cheered.  Tony went next and I did not feel immediately different or that a weight had been lifted. Tony said he felt a weight was lifted in him and even my grandmother who watched said 'don't you feel that a weight has been lifted', but I did not feel that at all.  What does this mean? Should I have felt something, do I feel bad for this, why didn't I.  I feel that there is real work that needs to be done.  That I have a lot of things I need to work on. I felt that I have a bigger purpose in life and that to get there is through the salvation of God. I feel the weight is here nor there. That I feel reborn, I feel happy, I feel excited, but most of all, I feel READY to begin my journey. To work on my relationship with God, but more importantly to work on letting God chisel away at my sins so I can become his Masterpiece.

The Music Moves Me

There is something about Christian music that just moves me.  I have always been a fan of it and I can remember when I was in junior high, my Aunt made me some mixed tapes of various artists namely Amy Grant and Micheal W. Smith.  I played those tapes over and over again. I knew all the songs and even today and throughout the last 20 years, I still remember El Shadai from Amy Grant, as well as Friends by Micheal W. Smith.  I have played both on guitar and I probably will never forget them.  Music has been a big part of my life.  I was never a big singer, but I had played the saxophone and violin for 6 years each in my high school years.  After college, I met a musician who I was with for 7 years and married for one of those years. With the band lifestyle came all that they say about bands and unfortunately, it is very hard to see the truth about things from the inside.  Although our life was filled with fun, we had a horrible relationship. We did have great times, but we had some pretty low moments too. We just were not right for each other and as much as we tried, we were just two puzzle pieces meant for two different puzzles.  He was not a faithful partner and he never ever put me first.  He brought out the worst in me and I truly became something I didn't like. But years has gone by and when I look back, I do know there were many good things that came out of my marriage with the Musician. I realized that I know what I need and want.  I also realized that I am good enough to be #1 in someone's life.  Because of relationships formed via the Musician, I met my current husband who was and is an angel sent from heaven to save me from a bad path I was going down.  The other thing about the Musician, is that he bought me my first guitar as well as brought me to love music more than I thought.  I have a deeper appreciation of music and I learned a lot about it too.  I took lessons early on and have played for several years now. Although, I'm not the greatest, I can carry a tune and I know I will improve over time. The Musician was not a big fan of my growth in learning guitar and/or singing.  He was not supportive because he has always needed the spotlight.  I think this hurt me deeper than he'll ever realize but it has really made me want to prove that my efforts are far more rewarding than the acceptance and support from him.  We are friends today and I know what his life will end up like and yes, I do feel sorry for him.  He has pretty much had the same pattern with every relationship he has ever had.  I was just one that he married.  All were long lasting relationships, all he left for someone new, all he was not faithful, all had the same remarks and comments, and all really it never really mattered what the girl wanted because it will and always will be about what the Musician wants.  He can be a great guy, but not to the person who should be a top priority (after God, of course).  That's okay.  It was hard, but I left that situation because I have a lot to offer someone and I know that there would be someone who appreciated me for me. Luckily God was watching over me and led me to Tony, who is wonderful beyond explanation and I will spend the rest of my life trying to prove to Tony and God that I deserve such a perfect person for me. When I walked into the new church, the music took my breath away. It has been over 15 years since I had listened to Christian music. I think the only song I've heard is Josh Groban's 'You Raise Me Up' which I love.  The instant I heard the music, I had the urge to sing.  I am NOT a great singer, but at least I try, right?  The music moves me and the words are just amazing.  My friend from Church told me about a radio station called JoyFM.  I was hesitant because I'm a loyal listener of my current station of modern pop music. I really did not want to change, but I had this intriguing sense to just check it out.  Within 12 hours, I was hooked and listening non-stop, downloading Pandora radio, checking out concerts, buying some CDs, and now I just can't wait to find time to write a song or two.  Isn't it amazing how there is a genre of music dedicated to one person. Every song created is all about God, our love for God, our salvation, and anything to do with God.  Amazing. Do you think that would get tiring or old, but it never does.  It is peaceful and good. I love it and I am excited to dive into Christian music. With less than a week into it, I feel like it's home.

My Grandma's Revelation

My Grandma has been a religious figure in my life since I was born.  I knew she was a minister's wife, although they divorced years ago.  She attended Church every Sunday and I can still picture her with the red robe she wore for the choir. She was always great at praying and it is amazing how these past few years I've noticed even more how she is the designated prayer at all of the weddings, family gatherings, events, etc. And she is really good!  I don't think I have ever prayed out loud before and not on behalf of a large group.  I have a feeling that this will become something I'll be doing at some point and I will make sure I pay more attention when my Granny is praying. We had her 80th birthday party last weekend and I decided that it would be a great time to fill her in on our new church and plans for baptism.  When I told her, she said 'Oh, I am just so thrilled, this has truly made my day' and she weeped.  Then when I told her we were attending a Christian church, she was even more excited.  Realize that I have always thought that Methodist was my Grandma's religion by choice, but she shared that she has been searching for a Christian church, but they don't have one in the small town of hers. So she goes to the Methodist Church because it is the closest in her mind to a Christian Church, although there are few things that she doesn't agree with. She loves the Church and she has been a faithful servant her entire adult life. Some of the things she was saying about how they baptize (sprinkling the babies) and a few other things aren't in line with the bible.  I was really amazed and happy to hear her views and thoughts. I will always think super highly of the Methodist Church that I grew up in, but it is quite interesting to hear her say this stuff about a Christian Church versus a Methodist one. I had to explain to Tony the difference between Christian Churches, Protestant, and Catholic. It was actually quite hard, but I finally was able to paint a good picture.  Christian churches follow the bible and have not added their own traditions. Back in the early days the Churches tended to be either Protestant or Catholic in the bible religions.  The trend lately has been for churches to get back to the original motive and before there were all of these different types of religions. It focuses on the bible and I definitely like that. So it was a great birthday for my Granny and she plans to drive a couple hours to watch us get baptized. Out of anyone in my life, I know it means more to her and prouder than anyone else. I couldn't be more thrilled.

Being Baptized

We learned in the process of becoming a member that you had to be baptized by submersion in this church to officially become a member.  There are other criteria to do, but one of the 6 or 7 areas is being baptized.  Tony was baptized as a baby in the Catholic church with sprinkling of water on the head.  I remember having the same sprinkling done for me, I think, when I was young in the Methodist Church and then when I was about 8 or 9 in a Baptist Church by submersion.  Then I was confirmed in 8th grade in the Methodist Church.  I enjoyed going to Church on Sundays for Sunday School, going to many mission/church camps, but I know that I believed in God, but he wasn't number 1 for me.  We also realized that by being baptized in this new church, that it would be during service in front of everyone.  We were both amazed, but ultimately, we were okay with it.  This church does something every year called D-Day which means Decision Day.  A chance for you to decide on various things you've been praying on or trying to make a decision.  When talking to my friend at Church, I asked her when Tony and I should get baptized and she said, 'what about D-Day' and honestly, it just felt right.  It was a couple weeks away and seemed almost appropriate. Tony agreed and when the Associate Pastor called to confirm a date of baptism, I told him D-Day and he was thrilled.  We haven't exclaimed it to the world that we are getting baptized and we do feel that it should be more of a private thing...but to those who we have let know about our new church and even about us being baptized, we did send them an invite for come support us and for lunch after wards.  We realize that religion is such a controversial subject and honestly, some people don't even want to talk about it.  Others, they are set in their ways and if you don't feel the same way they do, it is hard for them to be supportive. The issue that seems to be prevalent is that Tony is Catholic and was baptized as a baby by sprinkling of water.  However, according to the bible, a true baptism is by submersion into water.  I do believe this and I do see the metaphoric meaning behind it.  All of us on earth are sinners and we are dead, but when we take Christ into our hearts, we become alive again.  A baptism via submersion is an outward signification of a rebirth into a life of Christ.  When you go under the water, you are dead, but when you come out of the water...you are reborn and you are now truly alive.  There is word to be done to be a true Christian, but this is the beginning of the beginning. Now, this is how I see it and honestly I got chills writing it.  I know that some of Tony's family may not agree with his decision to get baptized because they say 'well, he already is baptized', but I want to say 'but what Church has he been going to' 'what Church do you go to' 'do you practice being Catholic?' 'has Tony gone to Church since he was in high school' and there is so much more that comes to my mind.  Am I being a bit defensive...certainly...should I give them grace....probably.  But it is so hard because religion is so controversial. I was baptized, I think twice.  One by sprinkling and one by submersion. That doesn't mean I'm a Christian.  Yes, I have prayed almost every day of my life, but that doesn't mean I am a Christian either.  When they say in the bible that you take off your old clothes and put on your new clothes daily when you become a true believer and follower of Christ, I believe it. Tony and I both think about that almost every day now.  When we want to lash out at someone cutting us off in traffic or something doesn't go our way...we think 'put off our old clothes' meaning put off your old ways of buying into sin and 'put on your new clothes' of seeing things through the eyes of God and giving grace or having patience, etc.  Just imagine if we all did that, the world would be a happier place. My point is that the decision for Tony to do this is 100% his own free will.  I have not made him feel obligated to attend church, to buy the bible he intently researched and couldn't wait to arrive, to attend the starting class, to be baptized...honestly, he got me through some of my issues. I was almost not sure how to feel and he comforted me by having his own faith that this feels right.  We have been a bit lost and now we want to be found.  We have an amazing life already, but we know we are truly blessed by God for all of these things.  Now it is time to embrace our true calling to live a life of Christ. Not when we pick and choose, but every day, all day. To be better at husband and wife. To be better parents. To be better works. To be better children. To serve God and give talents freely. To really believe that he is #1. To strive for righteousness all the rest of our days. I'm ready, how about you? So this Sunday, we are set for baptism. I'm scared, excited, and ready!