A Heart for Heaven

Oh, Winter Comes

So I’m in bed right now, typing away at this little blog post before I catch some zzz ( does anyone know where “catch some z’s “originated? lol), trying to be comfy and cozy though incidentally today was quite warm for being January. But it’s SoCal, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

For some reason, we sweet southern Californians like to forget about winter as soon as the holidays are over…

Uhhh, no, not me. Need I remind folks that winter started less than a month ago??

All this beach-y, bikini-ready,”nicer weather” talk can wait. I’m in NO RUSH to get to spring, and even less so, summer. Bleh.

So I was MORE than happy to spend some vacation time in central Oregon with my honey. The snow and mountain air is totally my thing, totally our thing. We went last year for our honeymoon, and this year we went to celebrate our one year. I think we’ll be making this a yearly occurance 😉

Highlights of the trip?

Umm, EVERYTHING.

Just chillin’ with some deer. No big.

I’m one to get really cutesy when I see animals, usually spewing out: “Awwww look at that cute little [blank].” Possum? Cute. Snake? Cute. Everything is cute.

Anywayssss….

Everyone we met in OR was extremely nice, so it was no surprise to find a sticker on a tip jar that read: Be Nice, You’re in Oregon.

I love that! Why can’t Angelenos been known for their niceness?? As soon as we landed back in LAX, we instantly felt the change in vibe 😥

Upon arrival, our taste buds ruled our decision making. We’ve been aching for Next Level Burger since last year, so naturally, that’s the first place we wanted to go.

And then a few hours later, sweet little Angeline’s in Sisters, OR. I mean, just LOOK at this food.

Cozy little Angeline’s. Incredibly fresh.

Actually, our taste buds ruled pretty much the entire trip. Pizza run at 9 p.m.? Suuuureeee. A huge bag of popcorn to accompany our walk back to the cabin? Suuuureee.

Northern Thai food at this rad little restaurant downtown that our tour guide recommended? Suuuuure.

I really fell in love with Downtown Bend. The ambiance was unbeatable. I seriously cannot wait to go back. Last year we went snowboarding on the slopes of Mt. Bachelor, but husband and I decided we wanted to do something a little less extreme, yet still have some fun in the snow. I refuse to ski, so we looked into snow shoeing. What is that, you may ask? It’s basically snow hiking, with special, odd-looking shoes that enable you to trek through all that powder. The sun was shining so perfectly against the snow, everything around us glittered. It was so beautiful.Being immersed in the snow and mountains like that is amazing. Perfect quiet, perfect air, perfect weather. We walked knee-deep in snow, so the walk was still quite vigorous, but it was so worth it. I even lost a glove in all the excitement. My hope is that a little high desert critter is using it for warmth >.<

And I haven’t even mentioned the tax-free shopping( I made a pit stop at Natural Grocers for some local organic lip balm) and the totally awesome-yet-kind-of-awkward-to-get-used-to gas pump attendants.

I love Oregon.

Defiling the Temple

What substances-legal or illegal- should Christians be avoiding?

Your body is a temple.

I’ve often wondered what that means.

So, what does it mean?

I read a comment online once that read: “Your body is a temple, so do with it whatever you please.”

I was a little uneasy about that response.

Is that how we are to look at our bodies, as something we can use, abuse, and do whatever we want with?

Many people will say, yes, that is exactly what it’s for.

On the contrary, I believe something different.

With recent stories I’ve heard of people and their substance addictions, it makes me think that the “freedom” we feel we have over our bodies is really more like bondage.

Addiction, whatever it may be over, is not freedom.

And how does one get addicted? It starts with just one moment, one decision to indulge…

I believe my body belongs to God, and is not mine to do whatever I want with.

“For you (we) are the temple of the living God” (2 Cor. 6:16).

“If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are” (1 Cor. 3:17).

Now, I already know some people are thinking, “Well, this doesn’t apply to me. I’m not a believer of anything the Bible has to say. I don’t believe my body belongs to anyone but me, and I’m also not an addict.”

Well, I believe it does apply to those people too, but we won’t get into that right now.

The main thing I want to get to is this:

How do we determine which things defile our bodies?

After reading 1 Cor. 3:17, I thought, well this clearly says we are not to defile our bodies, which is the holy temple of God, so clearly I know not to indulge in drugs, alcohol, premarital/extra-marital sex, etc.

BUT

I really don’t think it is clear to a lot of people.

In fact, I heard a debate between several Christians over why it is or is not okay to drink alcoholic beverages or smoke marijuana.

And the flood gates were opened.

Now, even though those debating folks are Christians, and I’ll tell you what, they had differing opinions as far apart as the east is from the west.

It made me think that this issue really is difficult to address because it’s such a sticky topic.

How do you answer from the Bible? How do I give an answer that is more than just a personal story or personal experience?

Then there are those people who ask, “Well golly, Em, don’t you think if you’re abstaining from alcohol and drugs, then you should abstain from things like pain relievers and sugar?”

I just want to shake my fists at those folks. Other than responding (quite fervently) that those things are very different, I kind of feel like my responses are lacking.

Are they different? Should I avoid sugar the way I avoid alcohol?

So you have people who avoid alcohol and drugs, but those same people are indulging in soda, coffee, processed foods, and over the counter pain meds.

Sticky topic, right?

So, what do you do? If you are a follower of Christ, how would you respond in way that isn’t just personal or anecdotal? What’s the right thing to do?

Until next controversial topic,

How to Get People to Stop Worrying About You

When worry, well, worries you.

(Just kidding, you really can’t).

But it would be nice wouldn’t it, to stop worrying and to have other people stop worrying?

In light of the tragic incident that happened here in San Bernardino County, CA Wednesday and in light of a conversation I had with someone, I feel the need to write about something I think we can all relate to:

worry.

I’ve always worried too much, even in my youth.

Yes, there are lots of things I worry about.

There are times when something will spark in my mind, and I’ll dwell on it until it snowballs, causing my heart to race to the point where I either start crying or completely stonewall.

I know, what a cry baby. I get caught up in the “what ifs” and it terrifies me to think of anything tragic happening to any of my loved ones. Yes, that includes my darling little kitty love (cue baby voice).

And hearing about tragedies makes me wonder how I would act or what I would do in those situations. I often find myself thinking about what I could do to prevent those things that scare me from happening, or how to be prepared, or how I would cope with loss…

A crazy thing about Wednesday’s tragedy is that it happened blocks away from where I babysit a precious little one year old every week…blocks away from where we go on our morning strolls together.

Immediately, I thought: there is no way I’m going to want to go walking now.

And I also immediately thought about how all the God-scoffers out there are probably thinking:

How can anyone believe in God when all these tragedies are happening?

But, that’s another post for another time.

Juxtaposed with worrying about what’s happening around me is the worry people have for me. They worry about my future, my plans, my career goals, how I’m going to make it in this world…

Some people believe what I’m currently doing is not what most people view as “success,” and I get that.

I don’t agree with it, but it is what it is.

If people are worried for me, especially when I feel they really don’t need to be, it stresses and bums me out, almost to the point where it wrecks part of my day (because I’m in my head a lot).

I could easily get wrapped up in worry. Worry about what others think of me, worry about who I might offend with my blog posts, worried about the nasty comments I’ll get, worry about using my education, worry about making enough money and being successful…

But who defines success?

For me, bringing someone to Christ is a success.

Most people, even Christians, don’t think that way. We all get wrapped up in worry and wrapped up in how the world defines wisdom and prosperity.

I could scream at the top of my lungs the reasons why people don’t need to worry about my current situation, but that won’t do any good.

What does good, at least for me, is what God has to say.

There is so much beauty in God’s promises, justice, and love.

In times of great stress, great kings turned to God. In times of great loss, humble men turned to God. In times of persecution, the apostles turned to God.

On the cross, Christ turned to God.

Fret not, trust, be still and know…

that God is God.

I believe He has a plan for me, and I believe I’m in the exact place He wants me to be right now. I just have to commit and be patient, no matter what people say or think.

My vision of success is not your visions of success, or anyone else’s for that matter.

God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Though the earth be removed, I will not fear (Ps.46:1,2)

I could live my life in constant worry, but is that really living?

Until next,

Lies in Your Love

Put forth constant effort against the evils that seek mastery over you.

Oh man, with a quote (and a title) like that, where do I even start?

If I can get my fingers to stop rubbing my ultra dry and irritated nose and start typing, maybe I can formulate my thoughts better….(essential oils anyone?)

Okay. So, not long ago I gave what seemed to be casual advice to someone. The advice seemed entirely insignificant and harmless at first—it was a quick and normal response for me. Sure, I said. No big deal, I said.

Except it wasn’t harmless. And it shouldn’t have been normal either!

I didn’t realize it until after the advised action took place (before my very eyes and ears) that I had given terrible advice, and encouraged behavior completely contrary to the character I am trying to develop…

Here’s what I did. Hold onto your seats…

I encouraged the person to lie.

Oh, wow, you’re probably thinking, that’s it? No biggie, smalls. Everyone lies sometimes.

Unfortunately, that is probably true. However, this did not change how I felt afterwards.

I felt terrible, and guilty.

Should I have just brushed it off like no big deal? My friend didn’t seem to think it was a big deal, so why should I? I mean, I’m not the one who actually lied.

And then I read Prov. 6:16, 17.

Lying is an abomination to God. An abomination! Can you believe it?

Well, yes, I can.

First off, thou shalt not lie is in the 10 Commandments(#9)— God’s unchangeable law, to which I still hold utmost value.

Second, God is truth (Deut. 32:4, John 14:6, 1 John 5:6).

Third, God commands His believers (that’s me) to love our neighbors.

How can I truly love my neighbor (i.e.,everyone) if I’m lying to them, or even encouraging a lie?

Not only was the person on the lying end a person I indirectly wronged, but I also wronged my friend by encouraging unloving behavior.

To quote Paul, without love, I am nothing.

True love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth. (1 Cor.13:4-6).

So what I can do is ask God to deliver me from a deceitful tongue, because it is only through His strength that I can conquer.

And there must be a constant effort to fight against what comes naturally to me.

I realize fighting against what comes naturally to us is totally opposite of what we’re all used to hearing and opposite of what many people might believe…

Nevertheless, here’s to unashamed boldness.

So I’ll end this post with this question: Is it really ever okay to lie?

Until next,

❤

One, You’re Like a Dream

I was a total spaz today.

Not sure why…

I woke up pretty early to make sure I had time to blog, because I’ve been putting it off since Monday!

But of course, there are always things for me to do, it doesn’t end! I’m not at all complaining, because I love being a housewife (and reader, and blogger, and baby sitter, and bible bookworm, and church teacher, potluck planner, etc., just to name a few 😉 )

The two hour time I allotted myself to run errands turned into closer to three, and I was making wrong turns, doing dumb things, asking dumb questions (Ummm, Siri, how many cups make a pound?) and acting completely awkward at the market (which I always tend to do anyway lol). ‘:)

I don’t know what it is about shopping and money and grocery store aisles that kinda spaz me out…I need to work on that.

I think I think about things too much, and that ends up wasting time…AND I HATE WASTING TIME. I’m a conundrum…hmm.

I also think spend to many minutes on my phone. I wonder how I would do without it for a week…

ANYWAY. Speaking of being a wife, this week happens to be our one year anniversary. Crazy! It’s been such a blast. I’ll spare all the details of our first year, but I won’t spare any details of how we celebrated!

Okay okay, so I’ll try to keep it short 😉

Sunday we had an amazingly fun photo op by Michael Alegre Media. We took photos at our old school (where we met) and recreated an old photo.

Photo by my best friend in 7th grade — Photo taken by my best friend in 7th grade…

While we were out, I asked my in-laws to come to our place to decorate the living room with balloons with photos of our first year attached to each string. Surprise!

Then on Monday morning I snuck out to hide clues at some of our favorite places for a scavenger hunt, which was totally fun to plan. Surprise, surprise!

I have yet to master the flat lay, but here’s the idea:

We then took a trip to the place we got married and reminisced :’)

We even picked up a one year anniversary cake from our wedding cake baker too! (Yeah, that whole saving the top part in the freezer for a year thing didn’t work out so well.) Still super special and super yum.

Came back home to some Netflix and chill (hold your snickering, we actually watched Netflix and chilled.)

And topped all this celebrating off with a dinner date at Crossroads Kitchen.

Super fun, super yum, super not-enough-time-in-the-day to enjoy my amazing husband.

Hope this was sort of as fun for you to read as it was for me to write 😉

Until next,

❤

Would You Like Some Context With That?

Hey there.

Well, I must say, naming one of my blog categories as ‘lesson learned’ has been entirely appropriate. I’ve learned some important things this past week.

It’s crazy how much an extra perspective can change the game, and change a course of action, and I am grateful for some advice that was given to me about a week ago, because things could have turned into one big old ugly mess.

Except, it kind of already did.

Enter damage control.

Hopefully it’s not as bad as I think it is, but this little ordeal had me thinking more and more of how grateful I am for some other things, too:

Perspective, and its dear friend, context.

You see, perspective and context are both wallflower friends until the end. They are always standing near the outskirts, often left out of groups, not usually invited to the party until the very last minute, and only because logic pipes in on their behalf every now and again.

So, I have become quite fond of these two in the last week, for more than the obvious reason that I was always quite the left-out loner too 😛

You see, I had a concern that I was only seeing from one side. I didn’t even think there could be another side.

But you see, dear reader, there is always another side. Maybe even more than one.

And POP, I had a revelation., and I didn’t want to go through with what I had initially wanted to do.
I’m still holding onto some aspect of my initial concern, but I now see things a whole lot differently.

So this reminds me of something else:

You can’t always get what you waaAaant *cue Mick Jagger, yet agaaAaain*

I hope you sang that in your head the way I tried to type it. Yeah, I know I’m lame but whatever.

Okay, okay focus. So yes, I may have had the right intentions about this issue, but doing what I had planned to do does not make it the right thing to do, especially when thinking on behalf of the others involved. This reminds me of what I heard someone once say (pardon my paraphrase):

You can do good things, but that does not make those things the right things.

And a follow up question: Are you doing the right things?

So hold on there, Jethro. How do you know when you’re doing the right thing? Can the right thing also be the good thing?

Hi there, perspective.
There are TONS of “good things” I want to do, but whether or not they are the right things for me to do is another matter.

So back to the initial question: How do you know?

I can only give the answer for what I’ve been striving to do:

I pray about it. The only right thing I care about doing is what is right in God’s eyes.
I seek answers in prayer, in reading God’s word or other inspired writings, and talking to other like-minded people. Who knows, those good things could very well be the right things, too.

To bring this full circle, here are my points:

The good thing might only be good in one aspect, and is not always the right thing.
The right thing is what matters.
Perspective and context are smart little fellows and should never be left out of anything, ever.

So I’ll take a breath, relax, and take some time to seek advice before going down a road that only I see is paved in gold.

❤

There’s a Darkness Inside

I’ve been at a state of unrest.

For the last month or so, I’ve felt this heaviness that has been weighing me down. Quite literally, my heart has felt like it’s sinking.

I’ve been seeing media filled with ugliness, diffusing darkness and pervading pure evil.

Some of what I have seen is for social awareness, while some of it is just plain evil for the sake of entertainment.

It makes me sick. It makes me sad. It makes me all sorts of mess.

Last week, what seemed to be an innocent act of watching an old movie on some old channel on a Sunday afternoon turned out to be a wellspring of unwanted images.

And I am yet again reminded of why I don’t watch all that much of anything anymore.

Whoever said we are not affected by what we see/watch/hear should allow me to be a part of their next case study…

Because I am most definitely affected.

And man, I just wanted to run somewhere and throw up.

And even writing this right now is bringing back those feelings,

›››BUT‹‹‹

This post is by no means to highlight the darkness. Rather, it is to highlight the light.

Two days ago, I was listening to a sermon my mom had given me a few weeks ago.

It took me those few weeks to finally listen to it, but the timing couldn’t have been better.

It was about fear, and at the very opposite side of the spectrum, faith.

And as I was listening to this particular sermon, I was on my way to teach my class at church.

A class in which we just happened to be learning about how faith in our lives is so important.

The timing, I say!!

It took that sermon and some tears to make me see that the fear, anxieties, sadness, and burdens I have been feeling could only and all be lifted away by Christ and the faith I put in Him.

And then those four sweet words…

“Ye shall find rest”

A wise woman writes: “[Christ] has borne the burden of our guilt. He will take the load from our weary shoulders. He will give us rest. The burden of care and sorrow also He will bear. He invites us to cast all our cares upon Him…”

That was it. I was burdened, weary, and heavy-laden, and I was not giving those weights and feelings to God. I was weighed down by the burdens that only Christ can remove.

So I gave it all to Him.

There are times I feel so guilty and weighed down by the things I’ve done and the problems I see, that I question my own existence.

But then I hear a sermon that reminds me not to let fear take over my life, and to remember the faith I have in God and the promises He makes.

And to hold onto that faith.

This is incredible liberation.

So whenever I feel this way again, whenever I let the bad things in the world or in myself get me down, I can remember to cast my cares upon Him, because He cares.

Thank God for that.

❤

Hello, September

Hello there, friends.

Well, this month has been crazy busy and super awesome. Why, you may wonder? Well, it just so happens that it’s my birthday month (yay), and I am not one to just celebrate a day—Oh no, I take the whoooleee month (teehee). So to celebrate turning 26, my husband and I planned a road trip up the California coast for the first weekend in September. There were a few bumps along the way, patience was tried, and I got grumpy a few of the nights (I get cranky when I’m tired ^.^) BUT despite the minor problems, we had a lot of fun and made some more memories to our ever-growing adventure book.

And also, this:

: Squash Tower at Heirloom Expo in Santa Rosa,CA

I can’t believe it’s almost a year since we’ve been married! I have been blessed beyond belief with the young man of my dreams.

The rest of the month included things like Disneyland, my birthday dinner with family, a visit from Mom, Granny, and G-pa from Texas, church activities, and baby-sitting. Whew!

And tomorrow marks my dad’s birthday, so the celebration continues into October!

I absolutely love autumn, and I am so anxious for cooler weather to hit dry SoCal—it’s felt like summer since spring!

Okie dokie, then: what does October have in store? Aside from a visit to the pumpkin patch (if I can keep convincing my husband it’ll be worth the drive hehe), I will be taking care of a lot of new and exciting responsibilities. Since I’ve been a stay-at-home wife since I left my full-time job in June, I’ve had a lot of time to think about what I wanted and needed to do.

Now, some people may think I am on vacation 24/7 since I don’t have a job, but much on the contrary!

I have lists of things to do each day to ensure I maintain order and cleanliness in my home, while also making sure I spend time with God, prepare my lesson for my class, read substantial learning books, practice language skills, take time to write, prepare meals, take care of our cat, and be ready to greet my husband when he arrives home.

I’m telling you, I still look forward to weekend relaxation!

I am so happy that I am so less stressed and irritable now that I’m home and not in an office, and I have been inspired to follow my dreams and my passions.

Amen to that!

❤

Neither Do I Condemn You Pt. 1

Justification in sin, or salvation from it?

There might be someone reading this right now who’s thinking, “Ugh, religious gibberish again, yuck. This girl is a”religious” nut.

But those of us in the world of biblical knowledge have heard of that word—sin— and are familiar with the story in the Bible of the woman caught in adultery, whom the religious zealots of the time brought to Jesus to condemn and stone her (John 8).

And what are those famous words everyone remembers?

Neither do I condemn thee

And that’s it. Jesus did not condemn her for her sin, so He does not condemn me for mine.

So, you take your bow, applauding yourself as you close the book on that verse, walking away and dusting off your hands from any kind of accountability.

But then you stop and think, or…does He?

The verse continues to say go and sin no more, but I don’t know if anyone really thinks about that part. Or if they do, most people think Christ’s death on the cross meant we’re free to sin as we please and still inherit eternal life. I don’t believe that.

“Try as I might, I could not find justification anywhere in God’s word for continuing in my lifestyle of sin.”

This quote is from Victor J. Adamson’s testimony, and hearing it made me remember those times in my teenage years when I’d be sitting in church with my mom, scavenging throughout the pages of the Bible to find some scrap of justification for the sin I was living in.

Of course, it was to no avail. I knew deep down what I was doing was wrong. But still, I lived that way for years, abandoning any kind of conviction and convincing myself that this is who I am.

I know we humans have the tendency to crave the things that are bad and harmful to us. It’s our nature.

For example, sometimes the smell of cigarette smoke stirs in me the desire to have one. But the difference between me now and me a few years ago is that I run from the temptation, not run to it. I pray for God to help me. I trust my whole life to Him, especially in that moment of utter weakness. So yes, there is a struggle.

So, do my struggles mean God has not truly given me the victory over them? I dare say, certainly not. It’s all a process, and a worthy one at that. If I still lived the way I used to, who knows where I’d be right now. Probably not married, probably forming addictive and destructive habits, and definitely not happy.

Someone, who happens to be in a relationship, recently told me that infidelity in my marriage would be inevitable, that sexual desire is natural. So he shamelessly eye-balled a girl sitting across from us, dismissing any consideration for the girl he had waiting for him at home.

This made me really sad. The thing that he does not understand is that yes, sexual desire is natural. Lust is not. But who believes that these days?

There are numerous things I can say feel natural to me, but I refuse to give in to them.

Last summer, I was faced with a major temptation, and I thought I would lose all control and ruin all I had overcome in the last four years. I tried to avoid it, but there it was in my face every single day, and it got to the point where I started letting my guard down little by little.

I had to stop it right there, otherwise I’d be trapped. So I prayed, hard. I prayed for God to take that desire away from me, especially when I was around it.

And He delivered. It was like the desire had been entirely lifted from me, and I was able to be around it without even the slightest urge. Still, I know I can’t just prance around certain people and environments thinking I’ll be okay, because I need to avoid the temptation at all costs, which is why you won’t find me hanging around bars with my friends anymore or watching inappropriate movies/television. I was around that particular temptation every day because I did not have much of a choice.

So that is what I must do: give it all to God. Don’t even let the idea creep in, or if it does, get rid of it. If I trust in myself, I’ll fail.

Someone might say, “Dude, I feel sorry for you. You’re fighting against who you really are. That’s ridiculous. What kind of God do you serve?”

I serve a just God. A God of infinite love, yes, but also a God who is intolerable of sin.

Rom. 12:2: Do not be conformed to this world, but continually be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you may be able to determine what God’s will is—what is proper, pleasing, and perfect.

If I am to follow Christ, I must abstain from sin, not make excuses for it.

Until part 2,

Wise and Willing Hearts

Greetings, dear friends.

In my post A Life that was Changed, I mentioned how I was asked to teach a class at my church. That was about seven months ago, and it has been a little rough at times. I don’t have all the answers, and preparing biblical concepts and spiritual lessons for a class is no joke — it’s serious. I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but I chose to teach the 11-17 year olds. Most of my students are between 11 and 14, which is probably my favorite age group because I personally loved being 12 (after all, it was at this age that I crushed on the boy who is now my husband 😉 ).

Usually each lesson has a very impactful teaching, so I always make the lesson goal applicable to my own life so my students know we’re on this road together.

About three or more weeks ago, I was reflecting on all the things I purged myself of that were inhibiting my spiritual growth. I was amazed at how God had transformed my life with each and every part of my old self that I had given up.

Even though there are times of struggle, there is no denying the change that God has made in my life, my thoughts, and my actions.

Then, a thought crept into my head: There is one major thing in my life that so many of my family members in Christ have left behind as they trekked on their path to God. But surely God convicts us about things on a personal basis, so giving up that particular thing might not apply to me. Besides, I could never give it up.

And so I closed that thought and moved on.

About a week or so later, I was prepping my class’s lesson titled “Wise and Willing Hearts.” It was a lesson about true devotion to God and having a spirit of sacrifice. .

So there I went, preparing the lesson, ready to suggest and advise them on things they need to be willing to sacrifice that could be keeping them from whole heartedly committing to God, or things that might be distracting them from growing spiritually.

At the end of my class the day of this particular lesson, I asked them:

So what are you willing to give up?

What is distracting you from God? What could be blocking you from hearing His voice? I had them all write their answers down on a piece of paper, to be kept private between them and God.

But then I thought to myself, what am I willing to sacrifice that I know would be very difficult for me to give up?

And then that particular thought about that particular thing I love popped into my head. Whoa, I thought. Could God be asking me to give this up for Him, to replace it with something better? Is this thing blocking His communication with me? Am I willing to give it up?

Friends, I never thought I would even let this idea get this far. But one thing is for sure:

I love God, and whatever it is that is distracting me from Him must go.

Is it hard? Yes. Is it without struggle? No. Is God there to help? YES.

I know so many people who think I’m stupid and crazy for serving a God they think does not exist. I can’t change how they think by saying words they don’t agree with, but I can show them by my lifestyle, by my willing sacrifices, how much God has done for me. What better testimony is that?

So begins my prayerful journey in determining what I must do…

Until next time,