Thursday, January 29, 2009

I'm officially a fan of Kurt Warner!




Let's face it, I don't know a whole lot about NFL football nor it's players, until it's playoff time and Super Bowl Sunday approaches. Well, it's in just 3 more days and I wanted to give a little promo to the ARIZONA CARDINALS!!!... Mainly for this guy right here, Kurt Warner. This dude is 37, (rock on!) and is married to a beautiful lady named Brenda with whom they have a total of 7 children!!! But the story is what really got me...


Kurt met Brenda in 1992. At that time Brenda was a single mother of two, and one has special needs! (there's hope for me yet! :)) He fell in love and married her, then they had 5 more children of their own! In 2001, Kurt and Brenda started the "First things First" foundation which is a Christ based organization that reaches out to poor kids and hurting families, and seeks to share the love of God while making their dreams come true! Kurt and Brenda work to support single parents, personally host week-long Disney World vacations for children with life threatening illnesses, make frequent visits to children’s hospitals, host Special Olympics clinics, host Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless…the list of projects goes on and on. I'm touched especially with their Disney World project, because it blesses me to know that kids who's families never would've afforded a trip like that, get to have their little dreams come true! ... That and the fact he married a single mother of two- obviously scored big points in my book. Super Bowl Sunday I'm rooting for the Cardinals knowing that a win for the team is going to be a win for even more kid's lives to be touched!!!

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

The Buddy System


No body should be without a buddy! One reason I had two kids instead of one, was for the simple fact that I wanted my children to have each other as friends. Since my sons are Autistic and my youngest, Ethan, has more set backs than my eldest, Aidan, they are not able to really play with each other yet. When we go out to public play grounds Ethan is happily in his own little world while Aidan recognizes other children are present and wants to engage in play. I recently shared something with a friend that I want to share here because I wonder how many of us live with similar feelings and wonder if we are alone in them...
The feeling of fear has visited me off and on for different reasons and seasons in my life. Fear of being alone (not like one night, but a lifetime of nights), fear of not being known, the unknown, and fear on behalf of others who fear. The Bible says to not be afraid, and I know this is our command, but we face the temptation daily to not only fear for ourselves, but take on the fears of those around us. Why? Fear is contagious. (More on that later.) Good thing is, Love is contagious too!
And now, our weekend McDonald's trip: I took them to the McDonald's play ground this weekend and a group of girls that Aidan wanted to play with told him to go away, telling him that something was wrong with him and she wanted all the boys to leave. (my boys were the only boys in the room) Aidan seemed oblivious at first but then she kept telling him something was wrong with him and to go away and I saw the hurt on my son's face. He went over and stood by the window. My heart broke. I cried for a minute and then I realized he had turned and was watching me. All of a sudden I decided to ignore the “size” rule for the play ground... I smiled at him and took off up the tubes of the playground and told him to come get me! Within minutes we were playing and having a good time- my hair in an outstretched static ball from the slides, we played. I know I can not always be there for Aidan, and I know he may face ridicule and rejection again, but for every moment I can offer myself I will be his buddy when he has none.
The Bible says, "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."(1John 4:18) When I remember this verse I remember that God IS love, and He loves me, Aidan, and Ethan. His Love can stand strong in us despite the rejection we face, despite ridicule, despite a seeming loneliness that utters lies of our true state; which is Christ in us, Christ behind us, Christ before us.
"For He has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.' So we can confidently say, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; What can man do to me?"
He is the Buddy that sticks closer than a brother. And that's the Buddy System. If I impart anything to my children, let it be the Love of God! When it comes down to it, that's everything we need.


Monday, January 26, 2009

Obama vs. Alveda King







As, you can tell by my last post, I'm a pro-life girl, as I see unborn babies as humans with a God given right to life, as the rest of us. But we currently have a President who made it a top priority in his first few days in office to lift a ban on abortion assistance in other countries. Now we are not just forced to fund the killing of our own, but our tax dollars will now be used to fund the irresponsibility of parents around the world who kill their offspring for convenience. In a time of economic strain, I can think of no more insane way to further the national debt. It's just pathetic! Fortunately, I am not the only one who thinks so. Ms. Alveda King, niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (oh yeah!) stood on White House steps with a group of peaceful protesters to beg for the lives of unborn children world wide. Alveda King placed 1,400 flowers in front of the White House Friday, in honor of the estimated 1,400 Black babies that will be slaughtered today thanks to legalized abortion. In a LifeSite News article, King was quoted as saying:

"Over 45 years ago, my Uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote from a Birmingham jail cell that ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ Today, there is no greater injustice than that suffered by the 4,000 babies, 1,400 of them black, who die on any given day at the hands of abortionists."

Of course, Alveda had no big stand up against the man now holding the pen of presidency. Her voice didn't make news headlines. And Obama there inside, with one signature, one swipe of the hand- had millions sentenced to death. Think I'm harsh? I'm not the Judge in the end, however I pity our President when the day of Judgement arrives.

Here is, a sister in Christ, a truth speaker, a hero of mine: Alveda King- true to the nature and heart of her Uncle.

May "Freedom Ring" also on the unborn babies with no voice of their own... Sarah Christoph's dream... and one of many.

The irony that the first Black president is also the most pro-abortion president in history could not be more tragic.

Sunday, January 25, 2009

LIFE

"You will know the truth and the truth will set you free." - Jesus Christ

1. Existing fetal homicide laws make a man guilty of manslaughter if he kills the baby in a mother's womb (except in the case of abortion).

2. Fetal surgery is performed on babies in the womb to save them while another child the same age is being legally destroyed.

3. Babies can sometimes survive on their own at 23 or 24 weeks, but abortion is legal beyond this limit.

4. Living on its own is not the criterion of human personhood, as we know from the use of respirators and dialysis.

5. Size is irrelevant to human personhood, as we know from the difference between a one-week-old and a six-year-old.

6. Developed reasoning powers are not the criterion of personhood, as we know from the capacities of three-month-old babies.

7. Infants in the womb are human beings scientifically by virtue of their genetic make up.

8. Ultrasound has given a stunning window on the womb that shows the unborn at eight weeks sucking his thumb, recoiling from pricking, responding to sound. All the organs are present, the brain is functioning, the heart is pumping, the liver is making blood cells, the kidneys are cleaning fluids, and there is a fingerprint. Virtually all abortions happen later than this date.

9. Justice dictates that when two legitimate rights conflict, the limitation of rights that does the least harm is the most just. Bearing a child for adoption does less harm than killing him.

10. Justice dictates that when either of two people must be inconvenienced or hurt to alleviate their united predicament, the one who bore the greater responsibility for the predicament should bear more of the inconvenience or hurt to alleviate it.

11. Justice dictates that a person may not coerce harm on another person by threatening voluntary harm on themselves.

12. The outcast and the disadvantaged and exploited are to be cared for in a special way, especially those with no voice of their own.

13. What is happening in the womb is the unique person-nurturing work of God, who alone has the right to give and take life.

14. There are countless clinics that offer life and hope to both mother and child (and father and parents), with care of every kind lovingly provided by people who will meet every need they can.

15. Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and will give all who trusts him the help they need to do everything that life requires.

By: John Piper

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Muslim warfar training camps on US soil.


Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has stated that radical Islam "seek to take over governments from North Africa to South Asia to re-establish a caliphate they hope one day will include every continent. They have designed and distributed a map where national borders are erased and replaced by a global extremist Islamic empire." I don't know about you, but I don't want a world ruled by Sharia (Islamic) Law! A world where "infidels" convert to Islam or pay the infidel tax (at best) or get their heads cut off (at worst). This may sound far fetched, but folks, it's happening all over the place. Many stories never reach the news due to fear of more of the same, or a desire to not pin point one religion for violent acts- a focus on being politically "correct". However, of all the religions, Islam is by far the most violent. If you start researching, you'll discover that the numbers and passion of those who follow Allah is rapidly growing and the violence of the some is expanding to the many. The Christian Action Network (CAN:http://www.christianaction.org/) has produced an important new film about the 35 para-military training camps in 22 states in the U.S. and Canada. These camps are sponsored by the terrorist group Jamaat ul-Fuqra (JF) and its notorious Pakistani founder, Sheik Mubarak Ali Gilani. The film is entitled: “Homegrown Jihad: Terrorist Camps Around the U.S. This eye opening video is to be released in Feb. 2009. A preview of the video shows instructors teaching students how to use firearms, scale walls of buildings, and come up behind someone to slice their neck, as well as more clever methods of befriending a man before killing him. These camp grounds have "no trespassing" signs and are guarded by armed men. The premiere of the full length one hour and five minute version of “Homegrown Jihad" is scheduled for February 11th in Washington D.C. The documentary chronicles JF and Sheik Mubarek Ali Gilani's MoA (Muslims of America) terrorist training camps in the US. It exposes their vast criminal activities involving murder, assassinations, weapons smuggling, counterfeiting, drug trafficking and terrorist exploits over nearly three decades. The FBI knows about these camps, but I didn't until recently... did you? Lets spread awareness, protect our freedom of speech by speaking instead of being trapped by fear of imperfect political correctness, fear of slander, or fear of personal attack. The bible says "perfect love casts out all fear." We speak the truth in love. We love because He first loved us. We lift Him up and share His love to our allies and enemies- yes, we love our enemies, and pray for those who persecute us! This is what we do because this is who we are.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Drawing the line


What I am about to say is very general, but the more I'm aware of the world around me the more I am aware that we all need a Savior, a Prince of Peace, a King, an advocate, a Father. There are two sides to every battle, and where you draw the line on things like tolerance can be hazy at best. People are naturally sinful, we "All fall short of the glory of God." He however never falls short of His glory... so the question for every situation, every battle, every trial, every win every lose in this world is this, "Where is the Lord?" When our lines of communication, peace, love, hope - every thing we do in our own capacity to best live our lives utterly fails, then we look up for the line being drawn down to us. And this is where we draw the line, on a daily basis- our line- our connection to Christ is the only line that matters, the only thing that sustains, gives meaning, gives hope, and makes things like love, joy and peace a reality is Jesus. ...And suddenly I am not confused, and suddenly the things of earth grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.

Awareness

Here are just some posts, blogs, and videos that I track/view. I am becoming increasingly aware of what is and has been going on in our world and discovering how best to respond as an individual. I really like the way Joel Rosenberg has been responding for example, and you can see his blog here:

http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/

And here are some eye opening videos:

http://www.terrorismawareness.org/what-really-happened/

http://www.jihadwatch.org/ -(not a video, but a good source of info)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1M4eH9Kk7I&eurl=http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3Xl68kP4wo&eurl=http://www.frontpagemag.com/Default.aspx

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-871902797772997781

http://www.ushmm.org/

http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/

http://www.moonbattery.com/

http://sheikyermami.com/about/

And these are just a few... There is even more info out there for any of you interested. My hope for the end result of the happenings in Gaza and Israel is stated in my comments to a Muslim fellow that was welcome to post his comments under the Fox news report on my previous post. I encourage my friends and any one else out there to see our comments below. What I explained to him is my heart on the matter and my stand for Christ.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

A Pakistani Muslim finds Jesus

I found this Testimony on Testimony Share, a great web site, by the way! This one really stands out to me as a reminder that God is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and He still works miracles!

This testimony was sent by Azali, who is from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Azali was an ardent follower of Mohammed until the seeing the results of a challenge he laid out before some Christian students. The testimony describes how this man was converted to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.
And He said unto them: “Go into the world, and preach the gospel to every Creature.” (Mark 16:15)
When I was 14 years old I was studying in a convent school at Saddar Karachi Pakistan. I belonged to a Muslim family. My parents forced me to learn the Qur’an by heart when I was seven and so I did. I had a lot of Christian fellows (or acquaintances) at school.
I was surprised to see them studying while I always found Christians of low profile in the society. I discussed and argued a lot with them about the accuracy of Qur’an and rejection of Bible by Allah in Holy Qur’an. I always forced them to accept Islam. Often my Christian teacher told me not to do so. He said, “God may choose you as he chose the Apostle Paul.” I asked them who is Paul, I know Muhammad only.One day during our discussion I challenged them to burn the Holy Books of each other. They should burn the Qur’an and I should do the same with the Bible. We agreed: “The book which would burn, would be false. The book, which would not burn, has the Truth in it. God Himself would save His Word.” Unfortunately they were not ready to do this because they were frightened. Living in an Islamic Country and doing such a thing could lead them to face the law and meet its consequences. I told them I could do this by myself.
First I set the Qur’an on fire and it got burnt before our eyes. Then I tried to do the same with the Bible. As soon as I tried it, the Bible struck my chest and I fell on the ground. There was smoke all around my body. I was burning, but from a spiritual fire.
Suddenly I saw a man with golden hair, wrapped in light on my side. He placed his hand on my head and said to me “You are my son and from now on you will preach the Gospel in your nation. Go! Your Lord is with you.”
Then I saw the stone on the grave, which was removed. Mariam Magdalene spoke to the gardener who probably took the body of my Lord. The gardener was Jesus Himself. He kissed the hand of Mariam and I woke up. I felt very strong as if when someone would strike me, I could not be hurt.
I went home and I told my parents about all what happened. But they did not believe it. They thought that the Christians got me under magic, but I told them that all this happened before my very own eyes and that many people were watching this. They still did not believe and they turned me out of my home and refused to accept me as their family member.
I went to a Church close to my home; I told the Father there all about what happened. I asked him to show me the Bible. He gave me one and I read about the event of Mariam Magdalene and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior on 02-17-85.
My Family refused to accept me. I went to various churches and got more knowledge about the Word of God. I also followed many Bible Courses and then I got a ministry.
Now after 20 years, I have seen many people come to the Lord and accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Thanks to the Lord, I am now married and have a Christian family. Me and my wife Khadija are involved in the work of the Lord and able to share the miracles God has been doing in our lives.
Even though it is not easy and we face many hardships, we feel like Paul who went through hardships and suffering for the Glory of His Savior, who went Himself through suffering during His walk on earth and on the cross. We thank God the Father for sending His Son to this earth and giving us free life through Him.

Friday, January 2, 2009

Praise Jesus for Mosab Hassan!



Mosab Hassan Yousef, 30, said that his decision to abandon his Muslim faith and denounce his father's organisation had exposed his family to persecution in his home town of Ramallah and endangered his own life.
But despite the cost, Mr Yousef told The Daily Telegraph that he is convinced that speaking out about the problems of Islam and the "evil" he witnessed back home would help to address the "messed-up situation" in the Middle East and one day bring about peace and enable him to return.
"I'm not afraid of them, especially as I know that I'm doing the right thing, and I don't see them as my enemies," he said. "I do think about this a lot. But what are they going to do? Are they going to kill me?
"If they want to kill me, let them do it. I'm not going to stop anyone. It's going to be my freedom.
"My soul's going to be free of my body, not flesh any more."
Mr Yousef, who is known as Joseph by friends at the Barabbas Road church in San Diego, California, arrived in America 18 months ago but only recently made "the biggest decision of my life" to go public with his conversion to draw attention to how the Palestinian leadership is "misleading" and exploiting its people.
"Palestinians look really ugly in front of everybody in the world and they are very, very good people ... they are misled, and their picture is very dark because of this leadership.
"They need some help, they need people to stop lying to them, and lying to the world."
Mr Yousef was raised as a Muslim by his politically powerful family. His father, Hassan Yousef, a highly respected sheikh born in the West Bank town of al-Ghaniya near Ramallah, is a founding member of Hamas, whose military wing has instigated dozens of suicide bombings and other attacks against Israel since it was formed in 1987.
Hamas now governs the Gaza strip after ousting the more moderate Palestinian Authority led by Mahmoud Abbas, whose administration now only controls the West Bank.
Mr Yousef said that the decision to leave the home he loves and his family including five brothers and two sisters had made life hard for them.
"They are definitely suffering because of what I've done," he said. "They are not a regular family, they are a very famous family, and Muslims around the world praise my family, praise my father. So when I came with a step like this, it was impossible to think about, it was crazy.
"I knew from the beginning my family would face an impossible situation. It wasn't their choice but they have had to carry it with me. It's difficult for my mother, she's crying all day long. Every time I talk to her, she's crying."
His mother, Salsabin, told The Daily Telegraph that she and her children were "in daily contact with Mosab" but she declined to comment further on his new life.
Mr Yousef said that his father, who has spent more than a decade in Israeli jails for his involvement with Hamas, was in prison when he "got the worst news in his life" - that his son had become a Christian and left Ramallah. "But at the same time he sent me a message of love.
"Everybody is asking him to disown me. You understand if he disowns me he will give terrorists a chance to kill me. "He loves me as a son and he believes that what I've done was something I believed in, but at the same time it's very difficult for him to understand and he won't be able to understand."
Many saw him as heir apparent to his father, who retains great influence both within Hamas and in Palestinian society, winning election to the Palestinian Legislative Council in January 2006 from his prison cell.
But Mr Yousef said that his questioning of Islam and Hamas began early. His father, a pragmatist who has even suggested Hamas would be willing to talk to Israel under certain conditions, would often accept his concerns, such as the targeting of civilians.
Mr Yousef said that his doubts about Islam and Hamas crystallised when he realised not all Hamas leaders were like his father, a moderate who he describes as "open-minded, very humble and honest".
Mr Yousef said that he was appalled by the brutality of the movement, including the suicide bombers seeking glory through jihad.
"Hamas, they are using civilians' lives, they are using children, they are using the suffering of people every day to achieve their goals. And this is what I hate," he said.
It was after a chance encounter nine years ago with a British missionary that Mr Yousef began exploring Christianity.
He found it "exciting", he said, and began secretly studying the Bible, struck by the central tenet "love your enemies".
Nevertheless he does not advocate the "collapse of Islam", but rather for people to acknowledge that after 1,400 years "it's not working any more".
He said: "It's not taking them anywhere. It's making them look ugly."
He hopes that Muslims will begin to question their religion and "fix it" by rejecting the parts that call for "killing others, cutting hands, cutting legs, torturing people and asking for destruction of entire civilisations".
He said that after he converted to Christianity, he decided he had to escape and "live my life away from violence because I couldn't coexist with that situation as a Christian."
"I was thinking, what is my responsibility now? To see people dying every day or to stand up and say, this is wrong, this is right and be strong about this? So I had to make this move."
He plans to write a memoir about his "transformation" that he hopes will inspire others and to found an international organisation to educate young people about Islam and preach a message of "forgiveness", the only way he thinks "the endless circle of violence" between Israelis and Palestinians can be broken.
"I know this take a longer time, but this is the right way to do it, to build a new generation, a new generation who understand how to forgive, how to love."
It is a vision his new church shares. In a posting on the Barabbas Road website entitled "Joseph's story", the most unlikely member of the congregation is described as "a miracle" who left a society steeped in "brutal and bloody warfare" and instead "turned to Jesus".
"He is most certainly the face of things to come; an Ambassador to those oppressed by Islam. He is passionate about liberating his brothers and sisters from the darkness of a false religion, and living the truth that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Light."
Back in the West Bank, however, many are distressed about his move.
"It is upsetting not only to his community and to his family but to all Muslims," said Abdel-Jaber Fuqaha, an Islamist parliamentarian and friend of the family who described Mr Yousef as "a straightforward, observant Muslim".
"But the worst impact is on his family, and his father. This is a thing that is more unique to our Middle Eastern culture. It is the most difficult thing, to convert from one religion to another."
He suggested that Mr Yousef may have been pressured into conversion in exchange for financial help or permission to stay in the US, given his background - allegations Mr Yousef rejects.
"I didn't come to Christianity for money, I came to Christianity because this is the way we can live a better life," he said.
"I love my people. They have the right to live like any other nation on Earth. But at the same time, I want to help them [get] on the right track."
By Catherine Elsworth in Los Angeles and Carolynne Wheeler in Ramallah

FOXNews.com - Escape From Hamas - Specials

FOXNews.com - Escape From Hamas - Specials


For some time now, my Dad and I have been following some research on Jihad radical Muslim movements and it's impact on Christians, Jews, Homosexuals, and all who will not convert to Islam. I recently removed a video called "FITNA" from my blog due to unusual visits from Iran, Indonesia, and the Philippines, on my site meter shortly following. The man who will be on Fox news tomorrow night at 10pm has given me courage to once again speak up about the danger to our freedom of speech as Americans and especially as Christians who believe that Jesus (the author of Peace) is the Lord! I will not be silent in fear and I will be posting much more in days to come. Everyone, please watch the interview! We are to be awake in these last days and praying for Israel as well as our enemies who seek to abolish the name of Jesus and silence the voice of freedom.