Journal of Faith: Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling Philippians 2:12

I know that a lot of people consider Halloween to be just a fun day, but for some it is a day where evil runs freely . I refuse to give evil any day of any week, and today I declare the day of the Lord God almighty. Every day has belonged to God from the very beginning, and what God has blessed no one can curse. This is the day that the Lord has made, and I will rejoice and be glad in it. October 31st is a victorious day of Jesus Christ just like every other day. Victory is the Lord's and no so-called evil holiday will change that. All power in heaven and earth was given to Jesus and as joint heirs with Jesus Christ every christian has that same power within us to do great works by the spirit of God through Jesus Christ. I am calling every christian to stand and declare the day of the Lord today and every day. Is it wrong to dress up, no. Is it wrong to eat candy, not prudent but not evil. This isn't about dressing up or eating candy. I just believe that God should be glorifie...

I am now the result of reaping too many of the benefits of nursing. Before I got pregnant I was very happy with my weight. I was a solid, but my no means fat. I was pretty much muscle with just enough cushion to say "hey I am a woman and proud of it". I was pretty active during my pregnancy, but still managed to gain about 35 lbs. It actually didn't look bad on me, but as soon as I had the baby I knew that somehow the weight would have to go. Fortunately for me I opted to nurse. One of the great advantages of nursing is that your weight comes down faster. I lost the weight in no time at all but failed to realize that since I was still nursing my weight was still coming down. I am now smaller than I was before I had the baby, and none of my clothes fit right. I know that most women wouldn't complain about getting thin, but I hate it. I liked not being able to be knocked over by rude people who disrespected personal space, and I don't like the prospect of having t...

As I write this my strong willed son is trying to find his way out of bed and back with mommy protecting his precious milk supply. My son of late is completely unsatisfied unless he is held by me and can check on his milk regularly with a gentle (or not so gentle) pat. He also has decided that he hates diapers, being fed, playing with baby toys, and of course sleep. I thought I could ware him down on the nursing thing, but so far I have been very unsuccessful. When he realized what I was doing he pushed to nurse more than ever. It got so bad today I just had to put him down and walk away at which point he followed me and grabbed my legs to cry into. Babies sure know how to get us. I thought about just starving him out, but that seems a bit cruel. On top of this I am sure everyone else in my house would be begging me to feed him too since they would have to hear the crying also, and boy can he cry. Not only is he strong willed, but he is strong everything! Today he pushed over ...

I have had some interesting experiences with young (and old) men since I have had my son. After I had him I thought that I would stay away from the dating thing for a while so when a man would try to talk to me I made sure to bring up my son. I thought this would deter them, but I was highly mistaken. Some of them were even intrigued, and began sharing about their children! This would have been nice if these young (and old) men were upstanding people, but they showed themselves to be less than that. I made sure to mention the Lord and my faith, but that didn't stop them either except for one man who walked away when he found out I was studying ministry in school. One guy even tried to kiss me!!! It was an awful experience. It seemed to me that these men were trying really hard to get me to go along with them. One man insisted on talking to me every day I was on the bus trying to get me to accept his phone number or give him mine. It took me asking a complete stranger to sit next t...

So my son is now 14 months old, and has started copying people and things. What is it about babies that they pick up on everything you don't want them to? My son the other night walked up to his grandma when he was mad and pointed a finger gun at her. He proceeded to "shoot" her blow on his gun and put it away. This all happened with the backdrop of a cute little western Veggie Tales Story on the television. I was floored and thought "could it have been Veggie Tales?" I looked up and realized that it couldn't have been the cute christian cartoon because it had no shooting. I was left completely confused about that strange act committed by my baby boy to his grandmother (and the next day me when I told him it was time to go to bed). It turns out he saw his father do it once when we were over to visit him. Of course his dad laughed when I told him what his fathering resulted in. I only left them alone for a few minutes! There are some other things th...

I just got back from a library visit with my son, and I must say that if you have a child the library is where it's at. I was showed around by the children's books librarian and they have everything! You can even borrow toys from the library, and the toys get sterilized in between each borrower. They have play times, reading times, parties, contests, clubs, and all sorts of events. I hadn't been to the library in a while because of some heavy fines, but because I was a part of the early literacy program for my son they WIPED AWAY all of my fines!!!! I am so excited that I can use my library card again. I am even considering seeing if there is a baby book club somewhere. Parents I encourage you to take advantage of your local libraries. They are like a little piece of heaven. They even have Veggie Tales (which I love to pieces). They have videos and books on several other series' as well like Charlie Brown, Thomas the Tank Engine, and Winnie the Pooh. My son...

Well it is about that time. I am an adult, and after talking with my mother we both agreed that it is time for me to get myself together to go out on my own. It was a hard decision for both of us because I really love being close to my mom and she considers me to be her best friend. Unfortunately two women in one house can get a bit strained. It doesn't help that we have one car, one computer, one television, one sound system, and two tempers! As the oldest I have a definite take charge attitude, but my mom as the next to youngest in her family doesn't. This translates into my mom forcing herself to actively take a leadership role while I am struggling not to say anything, which often fails. I have always been one to speak my opinion (my poor mom), and as someone who has a pretty good ability to translate from man speak to woman speak and back again my family has found my communication to be helpful. Lately, however, I find myself just trying not to say anything because it all ...

I consider myself a pretty tough cookie, but my one year old is proving to be even tougher. By tougher I mean that he has a thirst for discovery that is unaffected by calls from mommy, warnings from mommy, timeouts from mommy, or finger taps (and I do mean little TAPS) from mommy. He wants to know everything about everything and things like naps, diaper changes, and bath times are of no concern to him. When he focuses in on the item or activity of the moment nothing else is good enough for him. He knows what he wants and he takes no substitutions. I know that consistency is the answer, but a screaming baby can become a real issue in a house with other people. I guess I am just trying to say that I am tired and the rest of my family is tired too. Even as I write this my precious little dear is screaming his head off trying to get to the computer. My son is wearing us all down. It is compounded by his teething. When my son was born he was a very logical baby. If he needed som...

I have spent the last year with my son trying to establish a solid relationship with him and making sure that he feels secure. Now that I am looking for a job I have people suggesting babysitters all over the place. It is like I am wearing a stamp that says babysitter needed. I live with my mother, but I don't want to put any more of a burden on her. She loves us both, but it would be great for her to have some time to herself. I already feel terrible for encroaching upon what is suppose to be the beginning of her second wind. I have two younger brothers, but one of them is an adult so it is like she has one child or at least it would have been if I hadn't gotten pregnant and come back home. Needless to say she has been jipped and she needs a break! I have an aunt who does home daycare, but she lives a ways away. I also don't want someone trying to take my son's loyalty or asserting themselves where they shouldn't. I have trust issues so the idea of me p...

This is probably a question that many young mothers have whether they are single or not. When I realized that my son's everything depended solely on me and the kindness of others, I saw the future that I started to build for myself fading away. I planned to get my degrees in Ministry and Communications and work with those to create a more solid connection between ministries and the world. I wanted to work with crisis organizations and radio stations to connect people with safe places to go where they could get help, advice, protection, and unconditional love. I wanted a family, and by family I meant a husband followed by children. I thought I was ready to jump full force into the work that the Lord had for me. I wanted to pull all of the good that I could from the church to help the world in a way where people would accept it even if they had been burned by the church before. I wanted the church to see that they really can make a difference if they work within their purpose and th...