Busyness of the Season

Time has flown since I last posted and my days have been quite full. We have had several people battling sinus and upper respritory infections here, but they all seem to be on the mend now. My parents came last Monday and left on Tuesday, Wednesday night we went caroling with the Pedersen family, tomorrow night we will visit a Messianic Jewish homechurch near here, Sunday night we will have church with the Pedersens along with Christmas dinner, Monday night we're having friends over for dinner and Tuesday night we will be meeting with some of our friends that will be in town from PA. On top of that, Gene is out witnessing tonight, as usual, and won't be home until about 1:30am. So, as you can see, things will be quite busy here for a few days. This is not how I usually schedule things; we try to keep our life much simpler than this, but this is just how things worked out this week.

December 31st will be our 22nd wedding anniversary; it's so hard to believe. In some ways it seems just like yesterday that we met, and in other ways it seems that Gene has always been a part of my life. I don't know if the fact that we met just a couple of months after I was saved had anything to do with it or not, but I'm thankful that he has been at my side for the last 22 years. The Lord truly blessed me to by providing me with such a wonderful, loving, Christian husband.

Here's a picture of us on our wedding day. I wish I could say that we haven't changed a bit... but who would believe that?!

Brittany's a Winner!

My niece Brittany Buck entered one of her drawings into the Saddleshop.com Christmas Contest. She was selected as a winner, and we are very proud of her. Brittany loves horses and competes in both Equestrian with her rescued horse, Lady Liberty, Libby for short, and Western with her paint horse, Nikki. She has done very well in the two years she's been competing.

Here is a picture of her with her horse Nikki.



Here is a picture of her with her horse Libby.

The Lord Has Been Busy With Me

The Lord has been using the past couple of weeks to get me to examine many areas of my life. One of the areas He has been dealing in greatly is evangelism. Now, for those who don't know us that well, my husband is very involved in Biblical evangelism. If you want to understand that more you can read his article Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire. Gene has been very involved in this for nearly 3 years. We give out tracts wherever we go, and he goes out most every Friday night to witness one to one in downtown Houston. The girls and I often give out tracts when we go out, and I've gone with Gene to malls a few times, but only as an observer. I have approached a group of teens, and began a conversation with them, but didn't get very far due to my nerves. I have really been hiding behind my skirt when it comes to this issue. I have given many reasons, that, in reality, are just a bunch of platitudes. I have said things about my role as a wife, and questioned if as a woman I should approach a man to talk to him about Christ, and on and on. But, the truth of the matter is, that it was just a smoke screen. These thoughts were just a bunch of lies from Satan to keep me from doing the very thing that Christ called us all to do, "preach the gospel unto every creature." (Mark 16:15) That wasn't a conditional command. He also said, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15), and, "And he said unto them, follow me and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt 4:19) These don't sound like suggestions to me; it sounds as if these were our marching orders.

I was in a conversation recently where this came into question. The person I was speaking to asked me if I thought we were all required to witness to people. I was surprised by the question, but he was sincere. I answered him that yes, we are all commanded to evangelize, there are no exceptions made in the scripture. It doesn't say, "Preach the gospel unto every creature.... unless you are a teacher, or have the gift of helps or administration". No matter what our gifting, we are responsible for evangelizing, no ifs, ands, or buts. And to be clear, sharing the gospel means opening your mouth and sharing with someone that they will face hell if they are not saved on the day that they die. It isn't just living a good life and hoping that someone will come and ask you what's different about your life. How many people have done that to you lately, or ever? I can say that no one has ever done that to me.

The thing that God really showed me was that even though I was confident of what His word said, I wasn't putting it into practice as I should. Gene's favorite verse to quote to me, or anyone else that says they are terrified, is: "And I bretheren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech, declaring unto you the testimony of God.For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling." (1 Cor 2:1-3) He then looks at me, or whomever he is talking to, and says, "See, you're qualified, just like Paul!"

Now that God has fully gotten my attention and even made me convict myself by my own words, I have decided to go with Gene into downtown Houston on Friday night. Yes, it's going to be one of the coldest nights so far this fall, and yes, I'm going in weakness, fear and with much trembling. The next two verses in 1 Corinthians are what I'm going to focus on though: "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Cor 2:4-5). I covet your prayers for Gene and I and several others who will be downtown with people who are going to bars and who really need the gospel. And I challenge you to examine yourself and see if this also applies to your life.

If you are unsure how to share the gospel, please go to Living Waters or Way of the Master and you will find all the information you need.

E-mail Problems-- Continued

If you changed my e-mail after my last post about it.... beware, the problem wasn't fixed yet. For some reason when Lindsay changed the settings, they didn't take. I was only made aware of it several days later. So now the address is right. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Varied Intrests

Today as I was leaving the library, looking at my stack of books and videos, I thought about how much you can tell about a person by the books they are reading. As varied as our books are, so are the topics of conversation around here. Today alone we have covered a number of topics, such as how to honor our Lord and Savior through the holidays, what names should we address God by, how should we use the Jewish Holy days in our Christian life, to Lindsay's friend having a "Peter" costume made by his mother and sister for the opening of "Narnia", and camping.

I'm thankful that the Lord has given us various interests and is leading us on a pathway of discovery of Him in all of these things. It is such a joy to search His word on so many different issues to see what He says to them all. One of the harder things is separating our emotional feelings on a subject and just listening to His word on them. Lindsay has been discussing Christmas on her blog, and we have been having many discussions on it here at home. Lindsay visits a message board by the Ludys and the conversation there has become very heated in reference to what the Scriptures don't say about Christmas. Lindsay has even been described as "Scrooge" because of her views(anyone who knows her would say that's not the case).

I hope the Lord continues to teach me for the rest of my life. I want to always be curious about what He has to say on a subject and not ever feel that I have the answer until I have thoroughly researched what He has to say about it. I also pray that I will allow His Word to teach me and guide me, not letting my emoitions on a topic sway what I do.

Here is the list of the varied things I checked out today. This is in no way an endorsement of these books; I haven't read them as of yet. The way I research something is to have many books on the subject to see what different authors have to say on the topic. If you were to see me in deep Bible study, you would probably find me at the table with several translations of the Bible, a Topical Bible, Matthew Henry's Commentary, a Strongs Concordance and The Complete Word Study New Testament, by Spiros Zodhiates all spread out. That's just my own way of searching something out.

A Family Haggadah in Every Generation (Julie, you will have to help me with this one!), by Shoshana Silberman

The Jewish Holidays, by Michael Strassford

Jewish Festivals, by Saviour Pirotta

Menorahs, Mezuzuas and Other Jewish Symbols, by Miriam Chaikin

Wonders and Miracles, by Eric A Kimmel

Milk and Honey: A Year of Jewish Holidsays, by Jane Yolen

The Tapestry of Jewish Time, by Rabbi Nina Beth Cardin

Hanukkah: The Family Guide to Spiritual Celebration, by Dr. Ron Wolfson

The Jewish Festivals, by Hayyim Schauss

The New Jewish Wedding, by Anita Diamant

Feed Your Family for $12.00 a Day, by Rhonda Barfield

Making and Keeeping Creative Journals, by Suzanne Tourtillott

Throne, Dominations, by Dorothy L. Sayers and Jill Paton Walsh

Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries videos: Have His Carcase and Gaudy Night (Thanks for the recommendation, Carmon!)

Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs and The Foggy Mountain Boys: The Complete Mercury Sessions cd

E-mail Problems

I was just made aware, tonight, that the e-mail address linked from this site is an old one of mine that has been out of service for several months. If anyone has tried to e-mail me and I haven't replied, that is why. If you have sent me an e-mail through this site, please re-send it as I would love to hear from you. I pray that I haven't inadvertently offended anyone by not replying. Please forgive the inconvenience of this oversight.

Do unto others

In our family we have what is referred to as our #1 rule. It it the golden rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." When I am talking to the girls about a behavior issue, it is amazing that nearly every time we come back to this rule. Whether it is talking ugly, being selfish, hitting (yes, my girls do occasionally hit each other), or disobedience to me, it all comes back to this rule. My desire is that my girls will grow up to consider their actions and words in relation to others. When the scriptures talking about denying ourselves, that is in part what it is referring to. There are many times that we could justify our actions, calling it righteous indignation or some other euphamism, when in reality it is just sin. At this time of year people tend to be more easily offended because of their busyness. When you are at a register and things are taking longer than you would like, or the cashier makes a mistake, stop and think about this rule. How would you like someone to respond to you?

I remember reading an Isabella Alden book that begins with a brother challenging his unsaved sister to apply the golden rule to her life. It was a very difficult thing for the sister causing her to want to give up many times. It is also difficult for those of us who are believers. I pray that you will examine your life as I am mine, to see if there are areas in which you should be applying this rule to your life more often.

Posting

It is obvious that I have not been posting very regularly. I often justify this by saying, "I'm too busy," or "I don't have much to say." I'm going to try to change that and not let these two thoughts keep me from writing. I need to recognize that something that may seem small to me may be the very thing that someone else needs to hear. So I'm going to try to be more diligent in my writing. I may write several smaller things on a daily basis as opposed to writing fewer long articles. I'll just have to see where the Lord takes me in this journey and what His plan is for it all.

Ponderings

I have had several things I have been pondering lately. I am still trying to work them out and find scriptural proofs for some of them. I will list some of them here, and would appreciate it if you would post any comments you may have on any of the topics.

--pastors--- the need or not for them in a small homechurch. What was their exact role in the first century church

--authority in the church--- who has it, and how much. Do people today too willingly follow a man and give him authority over them as opposed to the true and only priest of the church--- Christ

--false teachers--- at what point is someone classified a false teacher? Knowing we are all imperfect, but isn't ther some line they can cross? What is it? Scripture is clear that we are to avoid these.

--Lord's supper--- how are we to observe this in light of the New Testament?

This list is in no way complete! But it will suffice for now. Please share your thoughts or scriptures.

Some of these issues seem to have contradictory answers in the scriptures. We know that God is not a God of contradictions, but of order. He never changes; He's the same today as yesterday. So, how do we settle the seeming contradictions? There is a quote by Spurgeon that helps me greatly. I guess if he couldn't reconcile all of scripture, I shouldn't feel so bad.

Spurgeon said:

That God predestines, and that man is responsible, are two things that few can see. They are believed to be inconsistent and contradictory; but they are not. It is just the fault of our weak judgment. Two truths cannot be contradictory to each other. If, then, I find taught in one place that everything is fore-ordained, that is true; and if I find in another place that man is responsible for all his actions, that is true; and it is my folly that leads me to imagine that two truths can ever contradict each other. These two truths, I do not believe, can ever be welded into one upon any human anvil, but one they shall be in eternity: they are two lines that are so nearly parallel, that the mind that shall pursue them farthest, will never discover that they converge; but they do converge, and they will meet somewhere in eternity, close to the throne of God, whence all truth doth spring. (New Park Street Pulpit, 4:337)

Wonderful Weather

Today a cold front moved in and the temperature is down to 55 degrees F here in Houston. What a blessed relief from the heat it is. The high today was in the upper 80's. For our Northern friends, it seems unbelievable, I'm sure.

I'd say that we are settling back in after our camping trip and Gene's Bootcamp, but truth be known, it won't slow down until after January. I know it slows down for most people after December, but our anniversary is Dec 31st, Lindsay's birthday is Jan 16th and mine is Jan 25th, so that makes our January just as busy as November and December.

Our camping trip was great, as the weather was perfect. The campground we went to was beautiful, and I really loved watching the trees changing colors. We did have some obnoxious crows who felt it their duty to wake us all at 6:30am. They would sit in the trees about 15 feet off the ground cawing to each other until about 6:45, just long enough that you were so awake that you couldn't go back to sleep. We went on hikes every day we were there except Sunday. Some of them were pretty easy, and on others you felt like you should be a mountain goat. On Saturday night I learned a new game, Spoons. If you've never played it, it's lots of fun. We had 23 people playing in 3 groups at one large table. We had a lot of fun laughing and joking as we played. There was also the terrifying experience of me making the toilet explode. Let me explain; one of the toilets had been having problems with the water continuing to run, and one of the park rangers had taken the lid off and propped it on the tank leaning against the wall. Well, at some point I moved, the lid went crashing to the floor, severing the water line. Suddenly there was a fountain of water coming out of the floor spraying me. Me, the woman in the stall next to me and Lindsay came crashing out trying to get out of the way. I was laughing hysterically! I tend to do that in situations like these. I did find out later that you could hear the crashing of the lid for a very long way. Of course, the story made its way through the camp that I was the woman who broke the bathroom.

Gene had an awesome time at bootcamp, I am hoping he will update his blog this week with info on it. There are many great stories and God is to be glorified in all that happened.

While he was away the girls and I were busy bees. We moved every piece of furniture in my room and re-arranged it. I love the new set up and our bedroom/ home office is much nicer and roomier with this arrangement. I also took the time to organize our closet and de-clutter. Hopefully, this will all work toward helping me to be a better manager of my home.

International Readers

I have had a strange occurance that I don't understand in relationship to my blog. I have had many readers from various countries such as India, Germany, UK, Canada, Macedonia, Latvia, Egypt, and Khabrovsic, Russian Federation. The thing I don't understand about these visitors, and the thing they have in common, is they have all done searches on Google or MSN on my first name, Lora. Does that name have some international meaning I don't know about? It's not even as though it's spelled the "normal" way. If you are an international reader, please enlighten me as to why people are searching that name all over the world.

I pray that what I'm writing may in some small way impact these readers and that they may hear of the saving grace of Christ through these meager efforts.

What we're up to

We are all scurrying around here like squirrels trying to get ready for our camping trip. We will be camping with 10 other families, about which the girls are quite excited. We will be going to Bastrop State Park in the Hill Country of Texas. The pictures we have seen of it are beautiful, and we expect the trees to be in their radiant fall colors. We will leave on Thursday and return this Sunday.

Next Thursday, Gene will be going to Evangelism Bootcamp
and will be gone for four days. He's very excited about the trip. Be praying that the Lord will use it as a time of encouragement for him. Also pray for the people that he will be encountering; many of them will be college students at the University of Texas.

I have several entries I'm working on, but they are longer and I will post them when I get back. I will also post pictures from the camping trip and other things as I am able.

How do you esteem your salvation?

This last weekend we had an international day with the Pedersen family. This is something their family has done for many years, and this is the second time they have been kind enough to invite us to join them. In preperation, we spend time studying the selected country, this year it was Tanzania, and we prepare native food. Studying Tanzania has been very eye opening, and I have really enjoyed it. It also gave me a little glimpse into what Dr. Black and his wife Becky Lynn will experience when they go to Ethiopia. You can read more about their upcoming trip here. When thinking about these countries and many around the globe where there is persecution for aligning yourself with Christ, I think of a quote by Thomas Paine, "That which we gain too easily, we esteem too lightly." Christ shed his blood equally for all who are His, so in that sense, the grace that we have wasn't gained easily. But in America, being a Christian will not cost us our lives, nor do we suffer persecution(I don't consider the little ridicule we get to be true persecution). When thinking of our liberty, I think of the man in Ethiopia that Dr. Black met whose 8 year old daughter had been murdered, decapitated, and thrown in the river, all because he was a Christian. That is what I would deem true persecution. The truth of the matter is that the believers in the countries where persecution is rampant appreciate their salvation much more than the average believer in America. They are willing to put their lives on the line to tell others about the saving grace of Christ. Most believers in America never share their faith; the statistic is that less than 2% of professing Christians regularly share their faith. Why is it that in America where we have the freedom to say what we wish, many Christians wish to keep thier mouths closed? I believe the answer lies in the quote by Thomas Paine.

Christian Femininity

Lately I have been discussing with my 20 year old daughter, Lindsay, the image of womanhood being put forth by many in the homeschooling community. Being a homeschooling mother of five daughters, this is something that concerns me greatly. I am in no way a feminist; in fact I have a much more conservative view on the role of a young woman than most homeschoolers I know. Lindsay stays at home, ministering to her family and others as the opportunity arises. She does not go to college or take online courses. She does do independent studies here at home, following her interests. Our feeling is that we are preparing our daughters to be wives and mothers, and we try to develop the skills necessary for those roles. Though as any of our friends will tell you, we by no means have girls who are only interested in only “girlie” things. They love nature and the outdoors and love to explore God’s creation. At our house the yelling of, “Snake!” sends them running. Not away from the snake, but to it. They have a dad who loves his girls and loves sharing his knowledge of God’s creatures with them.

The vision of a Godly woman many seem to hold is that of a Victorian woman. The vision of tea parties with finger sandwiches, and sitting around doing embroidery while all the women talk. Some have even suggested that we should dress more like women of that time. They also promote little girls only doing “girl” things such as sewing, reading, playing instruments, cooking and such. The impression is given that they shouldn’t be exploring, hiking, digging in the mud or climbing a tree. I must confess, I have a hard time keeping our 20 year old out of a good climbing tree. I have even heard some say that we should act weak in order to make our men feel strong.

I have also seen rise to the idea that little girls should be dressed as “little ladies” all the time, with their frilly dresses. Any one of my girls will tell you that I prefer them to wear skirts, and that I think they look more feminine in a skirt, but it’s not appropriate all the time, nor necessary. This brings to mind the scene in the “Sound of Music” when Maria is in trouble for making play clothes for the children so they don’t have to play in their “straight jackets.” Many people who promote this idea are also of the dresses only mindset. That’s a whole other argument that I won’t get into; it’s enough that you know that we have been on both sides of this issue, and have peace about where we stand now.

A couple of years ago we were in a church that very much promoted many of the ideas I’ve been discussing. Being in that situation, I would tend to discuss with the women there only very surface issues. We discussed Homeschooling, cleaning house, sewing and such. I was made aware that this was the norm by a church leader’s wife. I asked her a question about doctrine, and her answer was, “I don’t worry about such things, that’s for my husband to decide.” I won’t go into all that I felt at that time, but it greatly disturbed me to hear this statement. God gave me the Holy Spirit, just as He did my husband, and He wants me to understand and decide my feelings on doctrine and other issues as well. He did not call us unto Himself so that we could be mirrors of our husbands, or of an other person, we are to only mirror Christ. There are many times that Gene and I have disagreed on interpretation, but that doesn’t mean I don’t submit to his decision. God has used our differences to help me grow greatly. You have to put a great deal of trust in God and your husband in order to disagree in principle but be willing to submit in these instances. And no, I don’t always do a great job in this area, but God is growing me in it.

During the time we were at that church, I had a conversation with a woman who would, as time went on, become like a sister to me. I remember telling her of one of my pet peeves about house cleaning and she made some comment about being more than just a housekeeper. I don’t remember the comment exactly, and she wasn’t being rude, she was just making a very good point. There is more to my life than how to wash clothes or teach science. God has much meatier issues for me to be discussing with my friends in order that I might be sharpened or that they might.

What should we then teach our daughters? To be Godly, must we all be Victorian women sitting back sipping tea? (Mind you, I love a good cup of tea.) To find the answer, I did what we should all do, and that is look at the scriptures. I’m not going to use the obvious ones. Yes, we should be keepers at home and try our level best to fit the Prov. 31 model, but let’s look at some real people. To just mention a few, in the Old Testament there was Zipporah, Rachel, Rebekah and Ruth. When Moses and Jacob met their future wives, the girls were tending their fathers’ sheep. Have you ever thought what it would be like to be tending sheep in the desert? These women were out in the elements, climbing rocks, chasing and watering sheep. Not exactly the Victorian image, is it? When Issac’s servant met Rebekkah, she watered his camels. Ruth met her second husband while gleaning in his fields. These were physically hard, dirty jobs. None of these women paint the picture that has been given us of femininity. Yes, there was Esther, and she spent a great deal of time preparing herself for the king. But she was the exception not the rule. Just as if you look at the Victorian period, those able to sit back, drink tea and embroider in their beautiful dresses were the exception, not the rule. Most women at that time had a very hard life. They worked from the time they arose until they went to bed. Their work was backbreaking, dirty and endless. Most of us would not have been among the elite if we had lived during that time. I believe it is wrong to give our daughters a romantic vision of what it is to be a woman. Being a Godly woman is too complex an issue to wrap up in the package of a single type of woman. To my husband, I want to be beautiful like Esther, have devotion like Ruth, to be able to fulfill the model of the Prov. 31 woman, and to be devoted to Christ like Mary Magdalene. I want my daughters to see me as able to handle whatever situation may arise with a cool head and confidence. I also want them to see me asking for help when it’s truly needed, not just for the sake of femininity. I desire for them to see my devotion to Christ and my husband on a daily basis. Above all of this, I want my daughters to love the Lord their God with all their hearts, souls and minds.



Lora on 10.25.05 @ 12:36 AM

The World Series

Sports are not something I spend a great deal of time on, because I don't have the time to give to them. But what kind of Houstonian would I be if I neglected to mention the Astros going to the World Series? This is something I can get up for. I probably won't spend a lot of time watching the game, as I have two live in monitors who will keep me abreast of what's going on, and when it's exciting, I can then watch. Even after saying this, I do enjoy the team spirit aspect of the game. On Thursday, the Mayor asked the people of Houston to go sockless for this weekend, which you can read about in this article. Lindsay and I were going shopping today, and I had my usual socks and tennis shoes on, ready to head out the door, when Lindsay reminded me that I wasn't supposed to wear socks. So I began taking off my shoes and socks one foot at a time. About then, Rachel, 11, walked up and asked me why I had one sock on and one sock off. I told her I was taking my socks off because the Mayor asked us not to wear them because the Astros were playing the White Sox. She looked at me and said, "No, really Mom, why are you taking them off." I tried to tell her I was serious, and all she could do was laugh and roll her eyes. When we went out, we saw tons of people wearing Astros hats and shirts and even painting their car windows (no, I won't go that far, at least not until later in the week). wink After the final playoff game the other night, I was outside sitting on my swing wondering why I was hearing so many fireworks and car horns, then it hit me; people were celebrating the win. It was strange to hear fireworks in the middle of October. Hopefully we'll be hearing them again later this week.

Go Astros!

To Blog or Not to Blog, That is the Question

It is obvious that I have not been posting as frequently as I would like to. The reasons for that are varied, and some of them will be covered in a later post. There are many times my lack of blogging can be very discouraging, and I can see no point in it. Yet I feel a strong desire to share my heart and life in this way. I see it as such a remarkable venue to reach people, both saved and lost. I have recently had people come to my blog by doing a search on my first name, Lora, on MSN. They have come from India, Germany and here in the US. It is extremely encouraging, and humbling, to realize that someone from another country, who hasn't been exposed to Christ, may find out about Him by reading on my blog.

I have found many blogs that I enjoy visiting, which are listed in my Blog Roll. Some of them are simple, quick thoughts the author shares, and others are deep, challenging thoughts. My favorite is the blog of
Dr. David Allen Black. I find his blog challenging my thinking and encouraging me to stretch my thought process. Too much in today's world is shallow and requires little thinking. I don't find that to be the case with Dr. Black's blog or his articles. Here is one of his posts from Wednesday, which I found very encouraging and which summarized many of my thoughts and feelings.

6:18 AM “What would Jesus blog?” is a question being raised in cyberspace these days. Indeed, I have often asked myself, “Why blog?” or “What should I blog today?” (Some are surprised that yours truly blogs, but that’s a post for another day.) Personally, I view my blog (and website) as a ministry of encouragement to the church at large. That is, to the extent that I am called to participation in the church, I am called to ministry, even costly ministry. In other words, I am only a minister. By “minister” I do not have in mind a title of clout and authority. The word minister is not a title of power but a designation of servanthood. I am reminded of what Jesus said to His disciples about honorific titles such as “Rabbi” and “Teacher.” He said, “Don’t be called Rabbi, for one is your Master, even Christ, and you are all brothers” (Matt. 23:8). Of course, this does not mean that I am not a teacher by profession and calling. It means that the basic relationship between me and other Christians is that of brother and brother. I do not desire a “following” – God forbid that anything like that should ever happen! We who minister via the Internet must be careful not to stand in the place of God to other men. I am but a fellow-creature. But as God’s creation I must be where He wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do.

But back to blogging. I used to think that ratings and rankings were important. We all tend to emphasize big works and big numbers. Nowhere more than in America are we caught up with the syndrome of size. But this emphasis is not of faith. To think in such terms is to return to the old, self-centered flesh. Not only does God not say that size and importance go together, He even reverses this and tells us to be very careful not to choose a size that’s too big for us (Rom. 12:3). More subtle still is the tendency to make one point of doctrine central. I can reason, for example, that since I am a Reformed Baptist the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is to be emphasized on my website above all. Yes, this doctrine is important to me, but some of my friends have stressed it so much that this dogma, not God, has become the center of their ministry. This can be done with any doctrine or interest we may have. As soon as we do this, it is like a flat tire that makes the whole car bump. KSMilmaid reminds us that blogging is like singing. If you have a song in your heart it is difficult not to let it come out. Whether you are a good vocalist or a lousy one matters little. Though it is important how we labor for the Lord, our basic mentality should be this: I am by choice a bondservant, and it is my Master who is central, not me. When this is not our mentality we have lost our way, whether the cul de sac involves blogging or some other activity.

Jesus said His yoke is easy and His burden light. That’s how blogging is for me. I would like to think it’s because I am co-yoked with Jesus. It is a matter of sharing what He puts on my heart to share. It's just that simple. The Holy Spirit (dare I say it?), not some supposed inner strength or psychological integratedness, is the source of the overflowing rivers of living waters. The waters are not to be dammed up until they become a stagnant pond. They are to be a flowing river.



Dr. Black's article hits on so many of my favorite "hot buttons", one of my major ones being the equality of the bretheren. Not equality between men and women, for I feel God designed two specific and seperate roles for men and women, but between believers. God gifted us all, only differently. Paul goes into great detail to discuss how we are made different from one another, yet we all are called to similar purposes. The first purpose of any Christian should be the furtherance of the gospel. Sadly, too few see this as their resposibility, which is another "hot button" of mine. Many say that they are called to this or that ministry and that evangelism isn't their responsibility. But if we look in Matt 4:19, when Jesus called Peter and Andrew, He didn't say, "Come and let me show you how to have a mega church or how to start some really great programs." He didn't even say, "Lets find a building, let me heal some sick people, and then we'll wait for the people to come to us." He said, " Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." How many fish have you ever caught while sitting in a building waiting for them to come to you? You have to go to them, and you have to be prepared with the right "bait." Most people today don't have a clue how to witness to others, and they have bought into the false teaching of lifestyle evangelism. This teaches that if you just live a "good life" you can lead others to Christ, and that you should only tell people about the love of Christ. I feel the best way to learn how to evangelize is by following the teachings of Christ. He never told a proud hearted man or woman about the love of Christ, he would confront them with the 10 Commandments. You may be thinking I've fallen off a turnip truck, but it's there, in black and white. Look at the story of the rich young ruler(Mark 10:17-22) and the woman at the well( John 3:7-42). He confronted both of them with the Law. These thoughts may be new to you; if so, please check out my husband's mini-book, "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire", at his website GNN Katy.

You may not blog at this point, but I pray that God helps you to realize that He has things for you to share with others. To you they may not see like much, but for the person you share yourself with, it may just mean the difference in where they spend eternity.

Hurricane Rita: Our Experiences

This post is going to be rather long, as it will cover our hurricane experiences, which covered many days. Thank you for your patience in reading this lengthy post.

Monday, Sept. 19
I went to Wal-Mart to begin working on a price guide, comparing prices at different stores. I hadn't done this in a couple of years and felt I needed to do it again. I went alone,, as it was a tedious task and I needed quiet time to think. As I was walking through the aisles, I began noticing that everyone, and I seriously mean everyone, had water in their carts. Many had camping supplies, batteries and candles. I had seen the news after church on Sunday night, and they mentioned a category 1 hurricane that was going to hit the tip of Florida. I wasn't worried about it as I didn't see that causing us any concern for many days. Boy was I wrong. I called Gene at work to see if he had heard anything about a hurricane, and he informed me that they had 5 projected paths, and 4 of them hit Galveston/Houston. I had seen what a hurricane could do as we went through Andrew in 1992, so I immediately got batteries and wicks for my kerosene lamps. I knew I now had to change my plans for the day completely.

I called Lindsay and we worked on our plan. She was already cooking dinner at home, so the plan worked out to be that I would come home and quickly eat, finish my shopping list and then we would do our shopping that night. I knew that in a couple of days there would be no water to be had. I did underestimate the affect hurricane Katrina would have on everyone.

We left the house about 8pm and were rushing to get to Sam's before it closed at 8:30. Usually at that time of night, the store is quite empty. We were stunned to see the parking lot full of cars. When we were inside, we saw that carts were piled high with water, convenience foods, toilet paper, paper plates and drinks of all kinds. They had water on pallets at the front door so that it was easily accessible, so we got the amount we thought we would need. We picked up the other needed items and then went to get into line. It looked like Christmas Eve, with the lines about 10 deep. When we got to the cashier, we were talking and she told us how some stores were already out of water, and that they were out of batteries. I was pleased I had thought to get them earlier.

We went to Wal-Mart next to get the food we would need for the next couple of weeks. I made my menu in such a way that if we didn't have power for a couple of weeks, I had things I could cook on our camp stove. Wal-Mart was frenzied, to say the least. There were only a few bottles of water, and the shelves were emptying quickly. We got what we needed and stood in a long line, again, and then headed home.

At this point, I very naively thought we would ride out the storm at home, in our mobile home. The forecasters were stating that if a category 3 hit Houston, the winds would be about 100 mph where we are. I did research and found out that our house would be destroyed with those winds. We discussed a few options, but it was getting late, so we tabled the discussion until Tuesday evening.


Tuesday, Sept. 20
After I got going, I turned on the news and got online to check the weather. I realized from what I was seeing that we needed to quickly make decisions about our plans. We had some dear friends who offered us their home, but we have two dogs to consider, and we are loathe to put 5 kids and two dogs on someone. Our first plan was to find a hotel room and ride out the storm there. I began by finding hotel chains that were pet friendly, then I began calling around. After many phone calls, the closest place I could find a hotel room was San Angelo, TX. On a good day, it's a 6 1/2 hour trip. I couldn't imagine it in evacuation conditions. I called Gene and we discussed it and decided that San Angelo was only going to be a last resort. We then came up with our second plan. Most of our family lives in the northwest corner of Louisiana in Bossier City. There is a lake there that both Gene and I grew up going to, at which we decided to camp. I called and made reservations for us and a tentative one for some friends. I felt much better having a plan. I could then begin the preparation for it to be carried out.

Once we had our plan I decided to e-mail our friends and let them know what was happening in our lives and to also see what they were going to be doing. I sent out the e-mail and got many responses. God used this time to truly show me what His family is all about. We had many offers to stay with friends, some from our newer cyber friends. Their offers of hospitality brought tears to my eyes. We received offers from California, Virginia, Illinois, and Alabama. These were all from our cyber friends we had never met in person, which made the invitations even sweeter. We had several offers from friends here also. God really showed us through this storm what a wonderful Christian family we have and how important it is that we show His love to people in tangible ways.

The rest of the day was spent in getting things ready for the trip and making another run to Wal-Mart. It amazed me how everyday there was less and less. It also began to bring home what could happen in the future if there is a real oil shortage. Many people compared the shelves to the time of WWII during rationing. Having never lived through something like that, I really couldn't imagine what it would have looked like, but now I have some small idea.


Wed, Sept 21

We began our day by packing and cleaning the house. I wanted to leave the house clean on the off chance that it was still here when we returned. I did get many questions from the little ones who were doubting my sanity. They couldn't understand why I would want to clean a house that was about to be destroyed.

As the day turned into evening, we saw what the evacuation was turning into, total chaos. We decided to change our plans of leaving Thursday mid-morning to leaving as soon as we could get everything ready.

The Pedersens offered to keep our computers and any other valuables we wanted safe, so Lindsay and Gene took our computers and the instruments to them. We didn't want to put too much on the Pedersens, so we took our pictures, sewing machines and keyboard to Gene's office.

After Gene left with our possessions, it began to hit me that we truly might not have any more than the shirts on our backs when the week was over. That is a very sobering thought. I have tried to hold onto our worldly possessions very loosely, trusting God to give and take. I try to be giving, and I've even been told that I am too giving. I personally don't think that is possible. Through this experience, I have learned that there is a great difference between choosing to give something away and having it taken from you. God showed me very clearly that I am willing to give up what I choose, but that I am not willing to give up what He chooses. It shows me that I don't trust Him with as much as I thought I did.

This may sound silly but the most emotional time for me was when I had the younger girls help me pack their clothes. We had the clothes all on my bed. We picked out the camping clothes, then needed to pick out a few good clothes to have in case everything was destroyed. It was very difficult for me to tell them you have to pick out 3 skirts and we'll get a few of your good shirts to go with them. The reality that this may have been all that they had left in the world was very real to me. They were also allowed to take a backpack with some of their favorite things.

Lindsay, Hannah, Rachel and I didn't sleep at all that night. We packed and loaded the van and got everything ready. Gene slept about three hours, at most. Sarah and Caroline slept about four hours. I was concerned about Sarah not sleeping and the stress of it all on her. Sarah not having enough rest and stress will cause her to have seizures, and not knowing what we would be facing as we drove, that was the last thing I wanted.

Thursday, Sept 22

4:30am -- We were ready to head out. Our van doors were about to pop open from everything we had packed inside. The girls decided to bring their mice, fearing they would die if the house was destroyed. We had to leave the birds and iguanas in the house, which caused a great deal of concern in the younger girls. We did let the birds out of their cage to fly around the girls room, hoping to give the a little chance at survival.

As we got onto main roads, I was surprised to see several cars. I thought the roads would be pretty empty at that time of day. That would be nothing compared to what we would see as the day went on. As we turned north, we came to a stop sign at Clay road. At that time of day, you normally wouldn't see any cars on it. When we stopped at the sign, there were cars farther than you could see. It reminded me of the end of the movie Field of Dreams. The next road we crossed, 529, was the same way. As we took this back road north, our plan was to go west on 290 to avoid some of the traffic. When we got to 290, our plans changed. The cars were at a standstill for as far as we could see.

We traveled the back roads and got to the only spot on our trip that was extremely slow. We had a stretch of 10 miles that took us an hour to drive. We stopped at a gas station to get gas at about 7am. We would normally get to this point in an hour from home. We talked to people who had been on the road since 1:45. On a normal day it would take about 30 minutes to get from our house to theirs. We felt blessed that our trip was going this well. After we passed this small town, the roads opened up for us. A lot of the people were trying to get to 45 headed north in Huntsville. When we passed over it, people were sitting still, some of them outside their cars. We didn't see it on the road, but saw reports on the news of people pushing their cars in cases like that to conserve gas.

We drove the back roads through the country, which was a beautiful way to travel. The sunlight streaming through the trees early in the morning was beautiful. It was hard to fathom that a huge storm was headed our way.

This was taken at about 7:30am on one of the many back roads we took.

This is one of the signs directing evacuees to shelters. This one was in Lufkin, TX.

From here out our trip to Bossier was pretty easy. The travel was much like a holiday weekend with lots of people at every stop. We made the trip in about 8 hours, though it's normally a 6 hour trip.

We got to the lake and set up camp and then we went swimming. This was the younger girls' first time to go swimming in a lake. The temperature that afternoon was 100-101, so the water felt great!

A picture of our camp.

Another picture of our camp.

A picture of the lake and swimming area.

We had our first and only casualties of the storm on Thursday afternoon. The girls' mice had gotten overheated in their boxes in the van, so the girls put cool water on them. It seemed logical at the time: the water cooled us off, so it would probably help them.... wrong! I have never felt more helpless than when Hannah was looking at me with her big beautiful brown eyes pleading for my help as her mouse was seizing in her hand and then died. At that point I really wanted to have a good cry. But I couldn't. I was in the tent trying to get dressed from swimming, all the girls' mice were dying, and Gene's stepmother had just arrived. On top of that, his mother was due to arrive at any minute(mother and step-mother don't usually occupy the same place at the same time). Oh, and Gene was gone to the store to get ant spray as we were being invaded by ants. Add to this that I had only had about 30 minutes sleep in the van, and you realize that only the grace of God got me through this.

We had lots of family that came by the lake to see us, bringing us fans and other supplies. As the evening wore, on we began to hear that we would have 50-75 mph winds at the lake. Gene's brother, Guy, told us he had been preparing for us to come and stay with him. So it was decided that we would stay with him on Friday and through the weekend.

Friday, Sept 23

We began to break camp after breakfast. Gene made two trips to Guy's house to drop stuff off. The girls did a little exploring and we took some pictures of the lake and scenery. Katie, our catahoula mix dog, was tied to a picket line. Katie is a bred hunting dog and loves to chase things, namely any wild animal she can. Katie was watching this squirrel about 20 yards away, and it was more that she could take. Suddenly she ran toward the squirrel and popped the picket line. Once she treed the squirrel she was quite happy, and came back to us when called. Gene re-tied her to the picket line and we continued packing. A little later we heard her whining. She was watching yet another squirrel. We let her off the picket to have some fun. Once she treed the squirrel, she happy again and we re-tied her. During one of Gene's trips to Guy's, we hear Katie whining, again. It was that same squirrel as last time. It was playing under some trees about 10 yards away from the edge of the lake. The girls and I discussed it and decided to let Katie have a little more fun. We didn't know how much fun she'd end up having though. I had her sit as I untied the picket line, then I told her to "Get the squirrel!" Off she ran with the girls all running behind her. I stood and watched as she treed the squirrel, and just as I was about to call her back, she changed direction and headed for the lake. There was a goose swimming in the swimming area, and Katie decided if she couldn't have squirrel, goose would be a great substitute. The younger girls were screaming, some were panicking that she'd go out too far. The goose was squawking and flew away, and Katie turned back and headed to shore, feeling that she'd done her job for the day. You need to understand that Katie entering the water never even entered our minds. Katie HATES water. She hates baths and whines the whole time. So to see her jump in the lake was quite a surprise for us. It was also great because it took our minds off of what was headed toward us.

Here's a picture of Katie on her picket line.

Hannah, Rachel and Caroline on the beach at the lake.


We finally got to Guy's house about 1pm. We ate lunch and began taking baths. A bath has never looked so good to me! We were dirty, dusty and sweaty. I know that southern women usually only glisten, but these southern women were sweating from the heat and working in it. Later that night, the girls and I went to dinner with my parents and one of my brothers and his wife. It was a great time of visiting together. When we left the restaurant, the sky was magnificent, fortelling of the storm to come.

The sunset from the Fire Mountain parking lot.

Lindsay and I stayed up late watching the news to see when and where the storm would hit. I made it until the eye wall hit on the Louisiana/Texas border. We had dodged the bullet and Houston wasn't being hit. I felt conflicted about the change. I was happy we weren't being hit, but I had a friend who was.



Saturday, Sept. 24

We awoke about 8 am after a good nights' sleep, and shortly thereafter, the power went out. We made a quick trip to the store for supplies, and then came home to Guy's and settled in. Guy's wife, Fancy, was supposed to go to work at Dillard's, but they closed the store due to the storm. After we returned, we ate lunch and watched the news and movies together. Yes, we were without power, but had a generator that we used for the TV and refrigerator. We didn't have water, and with 9 people in the house you need to have toilets. We became creative and put buckets on the deck to collect rainwater for the tanks and refilled them as needed. We were able to keep up with the storm and they kept telling us to prepare for 50 mph winds. We were ready, but they never came. We had a lot of fun just visiting together and relaxing. I made red beans and rice for dinner, and just as I was finishing up, the power came back on.

We spoke to the Pedersens by phone, as we had every day since we left. They checked on our house, and everything was fine except for a little skirting being blown in. They told us that it was like a ghost town here, with most stores, even Wal-Mart, being closed, and there being relatively no traffic on the roads.


Sunday, Sept. 25

The storm went around us where we were, but there were trees down in the area. We spent the day preparing to leave on Monday. Gene's dad and step mother came by to visit, and later in the day, his mom and step dad came to visit. Fancy had to work all day, and Guy, who's a nurse, had to go in that afternoon. It was a quiet day for the girls and I, as most of the work was being done by Gene.

A picture of the van as Gene was working on getting it ready to load.


Monday, Sept 26

We loaded up the van and headed out around noon. We made a couple of stops and got to the outskirts of town around 1pm. We filled up the tank before we left Shreveport, LA, knowing that the gas shortage would be one of our biggest enemies. Guy had given us three 5 gallon gas cans that we filled and strapped to the top of our van. We had family members who were concerned that the situation would get desperate and we would be robbed of the gas. That didn't happen, though gas was very scarce. We passed many stations that were out of gas. Maybe 7 out of 10 were out. If there was gas to be had, there was a long line for it. The first time we tried to stop for gas, we were in line, about 3 cars back from the pump, and they ran out. We finally were able to get gas in Lufkin, though we had to drive a ways out of the way, and it took us about 30 minutes to get to the pump, and you were only allowed to get $30.00 in gas. We were blessed though; we saw lines that would have taken about an hour to get to the pump.

If you can't read the sign, it says that they are out of gas. This is just one of the many closed stations we saw.

This is a picture of a gas line near Lufkin.

There are police helping with this line.

This is where we finally got our gas.



We got dinner at Church's Chicken in a small town named Liberty. We had to get drinks at the convenience store, as Church's didn't have drinks or ice because they had been without power. It was hard to get cold drinks, because the stores had been without power also.

After dinner, I was on the cell phone checking in with some people, and, because I wasn't navigating, but talking, we missed a turn somewhere and ended up on 45, the one place we didn't want to be. We got off as soon as we could, and took a road we thought would connect with one we were supposed to be on. We were wrong; it took us back 15 miles to Huntsville. We then filled up with gas and got on the right road home.

We arrived home at 9:45, very tired travelers, but so thankful to have a home. The girls were thrilled that the birds and iguanas were safe and sound. We really appreciated that the Lord had blessed and protected us throughout the whole ordeal. As pictures began coming in from Beaumont, Port Arthur, Lake Charles and Vermillion Parish, we realized how blessed we had truly been.

We want to thank all of you who prayed for us; your prayers were felt. God taught us many things during this trip. My prayer for myself is that I will trust God with all I have, whether I get to keep it or not.

I know this has been incredibly long, but I wanted to share the complete story with you so that those who've never been through anything like this could get a better feeling for it. Thank you for taking the time to read it.

We're Back!

We arrived back home at 9:45pm on Monday night after a long 8 hour drive. Everything here was in good condition with only a couple of minor problems. The Lord did a lot through this ordeal and taught us much. I will be posting more on my thoughts and observations in the days to come; time doesn't permit it at this time. Thank you all for your prayers and concern. There were many offers of shelter, and they were all greatly appreciated. It is heartwarming to know that our cyber-friends are so concerned about us. It is also a great testimony to the greatness of our spiritual family.

Forced Blog Break

I will not be able to post for several days, as we will be evacuating due to the hurricane. We will be going camping near family, which the girls are very excited about. Please pray for our family as we travel. Sarah has already become very emotional, and the reality of the situation has begun to hit the other girls. There is a possibility, though not necessarily great, that our home could be destroyed or greatly damaged. Our prayer is that everything will be just fine, but we have to face this reality also.

For our friends who will remain in Houston, you will all be in our prayers.

Hurricane Rita

I was at Walmart today working up a price comparison sheet when I noticed that every cart that passed me by contained some assortment of water bottles. I had seen the news last night after church and knew there was a hurricane near Florida, but hadn't given it much thought. I called Gene to find out what was going on, and he told me they were predicting that Rita would hit Galveston and that they were already doing a voluntary evacuation of the island. We discussed our plans and I picked up a few things then, such as D batteries and propane. I didn't have my grocery list with me, as my plan had been to go shopping tomorrow. I noticed that things were a bit busier at Walmart than normal, but the magnitude of what was already happening here was to hit me later.

I had decided to get gas at Walmart before heading home so that I would have a full tank. I was quited surprised to find a line at every pump; I've never seen this happen at these pumps. This was still just a taste of things to come.

After returning home, I checked out the news and saw this path projection, which wasn't very encouraging. Lindsay and I ate quickly and then headed to Sam's. We arrived there about 8, thinking that Sam's would be pretty empty, as it usually is at that time of night. We couldn't have been more wrong! When we walked in, they had moved flats of water bottles near the entrance and the flats were dwindling fast. Everyone had cases of water, snack food, toilet paper, paper towels, plates and cups. We were amazed at how much their supply was reduced from the usual amount. After getting our water, etc., we headed to the checkout lines. That was even more amazing! They had about 8-10 lines open, and each one had about 10 people in it. Usually you consider it busy if you have 2 or 3 people in front of you. The woman who checked us out said that they were already out of D batteries, and that Conroe(a small town a good deal north of us) was already running out of bottled water. She also told me that all of their managers were running registers because they hadn't expected the rush of people.

We went to Walmart next to get groceries, a different one than I had been at earlier in the day. The first thing we did was head to the water aisle. I wanted to get gallon jugs of water to put into my freezer. If you allow them to freeze solid, it helps preserve your food for a longer amount of time. Then as it thaws, you can use it for drinking and cooking. When we got to the bottled water, there was hardly anything there. As we shopped, we saw many things were very depleted, and the canned goods aisle looked like it had been looted. What was amazing to me was the amount of junk food people were buying, chips and crackers and other snacks. They didn't seem to know how to think about providing for their families without power. Our plan is to cook up most of the food we have and put it in the freezer, moving it to an ice chest later if we have to. We can then easily warm it up on the Coleman stove at meal times. I would probably be tempted to do that more, except with Hannah and Rachel's food allergies, we can't. Hannah can't eat hardly any prepared foods, as they contain soy.

I am happy that people are taking the threat of the hurricane seriously. Too many times, people want to wait until they are sure where it's going before they get out of its way, then it's too late. Look at all the people of New Orleans to see the results of this thinking. I met people who left New Orleans on the Sunday morning before it hit, and it still took them 20 hours to get here. It's normally only a 5-6 hour drive. After going through Andrew in Baton Rouge, I take these things seriously. We were a good bit inland from where Andrew came ashore, but its devastation was felt by those in Baton Rouge and many towns north of there.

After getting home and relaxing a little while, I began to think of what the next week could be like and all I had to do to prepare. During Andrew, we spent the worst of the storm with some friends, as we had a mobile home back then too. I began remembering the drive home and what it felt like wondering if my home would still be standing. As I thought of that, I looked around, wondering if my home will be here next week, or will I be like all of those from New Orleans who are homeless. What would that feel like? Even if it doesn't happen and the hurricane goes somewhere else, there will still be those who lose their homes. Thinking of how I would feel can at least serve the purpose of making me more empathetic. We don't usually think about our homes being taken from us suddenly. We expect when we drive down the street, our homes will be just as we left them. Next time you drive down your street, try to imagine how you would feel and all that you would have to do if you came home to your house being destroyed. I think that we all too often don't want to think about such things because it makes us feel insecure. We see our mortality and the lack of control we have over things. We often pay lip service to the thought that all of our things belong to God. But do we really hold onto them that loosely? What things are really most valuable to you? What would you take in your van or car if you had escape an impending disaster? Our van has very limited space once you add our children and some clothes. I will have little room to pack much other than ourselves.

As you watch the track of the hurricane, think of all the people in its path and the very real decisions they are making. We will have to leave our pets here. I know to others they are just animals, but to little girls they are very special and are greatly loved. I know how hard it will be for them as we drive off and leave the animals here. They will all realize what could happen. I think of all the people in New Orleans who had to do the same thing. There are so many emotions and experiences that you go through when dealing with something such as this. The other day I met a woman who had been to the Convention Center in New Orleans(that is where things got really bad), and she was telling us how when it had started raining last week and she heard a helicopter at the same time, it sent her into a panic attack. The effects of Hurricane Katrina will take a very long time to pass.

Please keep us in your prayers as you go through this week.

Happy Birthday, Sarah

September 10th was our daughter Sarah's 18th birthday. That's a special day in anyone's life, but for Sarah it was doubly special. When Sarah was born, she seemed like every other girl baby, though she was especially happy and easy going. She began reaching all of the normal milestones a mother looks for, such as rolling over, smiling at her parents and sister. At 6 months old we began to notice that she wasn't trying to sit like she should. When it was time for her 6 month check up I shared some of my concerns with my pediatrician. Everything was going great until he measured her head. I will remember the next thing he said for the rest of my life. He looked at me with a great deal of concern in his eyes and said, "Mrs. Keeth, for some reason Sarah's head isn't growing like it should. She has microcephaly." Microcephaly just means, small head. He was unsure of the reason behind the problem and wanted her to see a neurologist. He told us to watch for seizures, but that it would take up to 3 months to see a neurologist.

This news sent me into the deepest pit of dispair that I have ever been in. It seemed as if it was all a dream. As the days went by, I found out that some children who have microcephaly slowly die as their brains grow but not their heads. To me this was an unthinkable situation to be in, to slowly watch my baby die was more than I could bear. I began to pray that she would die in her sleep from SIDS. In my thinking this would be easier on everyone. She wouldn't suffer and neither would we. I thought I had figured out the best solution for everyone, if I could only make God see it my way.

The weeks went by, we finally were able to see the neurologist. During those weeks, Gene had switched jobs and we didn't have any insurance. We ended up seeing a neurologist at LSU Med Center in Shreveport. We waited 5 hours in a waiting room and when we finally saw her it was a horrible experience. This was a teaching hospital and they treated Sarah like a specimen, not a person. They acted as if nothing they were saying should affect us emtionally. The doctor told us in no uncertain terms that, "She will never walk, talk or do anything. You need to institutionalize her and get on with your life." The results of her exam were that she had Cerbral Palsy,Developemental Delay and Epilepsy.

I don't know what I would have done without Gene at that time. He was so strong always reminding me that God was in control and had a plan.

A few weeks later, I noticed that Sarah didn't react when I vaccuumed under her baby bed. She just laid there laughing and smiling at me. I took her in for some testing and we suspected she was deaf. It wouldn't be until she was nearly two that we had the confirmation that she was.

Time went on, and Sarah was a light into my life, and into everyone's she met. She was always happy and joyful. I can remember going to see a neurologist at Texas Scottish Rites Hospital in Dallas. He was the first one to give me hope. Sarah was 18 months old and couldn't sit or even support her upper body weight. He examined her and when he was finished he said, "I can't tell you why medically, but I believe Sarah will be able to do whatever you allow her to do. I can look into her eyes and see that there is more to her than what you have been told." That was all this mother needed to hear! A week or so later I went to see her pediatrician again and told him what the neurologist had said. His answer was, "I don't believe that. There is nothing to show me that." His words didn't deter me though, I had been given hope. God knew that's what I needed.

Within a few months Sarah began to sit. And then she learned to pull herself up onto things with her one good arm. She had this funny frog hop that she did instead of crawling, but it didn't slow her down at all. She didn't learn to walk and wasn't potty trained until she was 4, but at 18 that doesn't really matter.

Sarah is still a light in our lives and in the lives of many others. You will usually find her smiling or laughing, especially if you do something embarassing, like tripping, in front of her. We have so many stories about her that it would take hundreds of pages to tell them. Most of them would have you in tears from laughter.

There are still difficulties with Sarah. There are many things she is unable to do. She can't ride a bike, scooter, skate or drive though she thinks she should be able to. She can't walk long distances without a wheelchair because she tires out. She also can't imagine saying hurtful words to someone on purpose. She can't understand not trusting in God or denying His existance. She can't understand that there are people who judge her because she's different. Or that people wouldn't love her as she loves them.

Lately Sarah's emotions have been a roller coaster, and we're all along for the ride. At times I get discouraged, wanting to fix things (I'm famous for wanting to be able to fix things and getting frustrated when it isn't fixed instantly). I can remember being in a Bible study right after I got saved, I was 19. We were studying Job and discussing the trust that God had in him to know that Job would never deny God. I remember praying, you guessed it, that God would trust me like that. I joke about it and say be careful what you pray for because you might get it. But ya know, I wouldn't change a thing. If it hadn't been for Sarah I would probably be one of the most shallow Christians around, depending on myself and not on God. I learned that as long as I think I'm in control, I don't depend on Him, I depend on myself. Today I know that God only gives me the grace to handle what comes at me, not for today, but for this minute. It's not a day by day walk with Him, but a minute by minute walk.

In whom are you trusting? What if something happened to one of your children or your parents? Would you trust that God would sustain you? That He will carry you through? I pray that you will examine yourself and see exactly in whom you are trusting.
Lora on 09.18.05 @ 09:17 PM

This Last Week

Things have been very hectic in the last week! On Labor Day, we had two other families over to eat dinner, with a total of 14 extra people, making the total sitting down for dinner here 21. For those of you who don't know, we live in a 1200 sq ft mobile home, so 21 people eating inside made the walls bulge out. We had a great time, with great fellowship, so being really close and really friendly was worth it. The older kids had a great time visiting and playing music together, and the parents and younger kids had fun just visiting. Lindsay posted some pictures on her blog if you'd like to check them out. Our menu for the evening was red beans and rice, salad, homemade rolls and homemade cookies.

On Thursday we celebrated Sarah's 18th birthday two days early(more on that in another post). It was a good thing we did, because I ended up getting some type of stomach bug last weekend.

We also got Hannah, Rachel and Caroline new glasses during the last week and a half.

I met, by phone, one of our new blogging buddies, Laurie MacDonald. Her daughters Carol and Bonnie are in my blog roll. It has been a blessing getting to know their family. We're praying that they will able to come and spend some of the cold winter down here in the balmy South with us.

On Saturday, Gene took Lindsay, Hannah and Caroline to a Bluegrass festival at Trader's Village, and Saturday night they, along with Sarah, all went to folk dancing.

This week has been equally busy. I can't believe it's Wed. night already! We may be having a friend over for chicken and sausage gumbo and crawfish etoufee' tomorrow night. Lindsay is going to show him some of the programming she has learned for setting up our blogs.

Next on our list is putting out fall decorations and sorting through winter clothes so that we see what we need to sew. If any of you sew, which do you prefer for your girls, skirts or jumpers? I am considering going to jumpers, because if a shirt has one spot on it, you can't wear it with a skirt, but you could with a jumper. I'd like to hear your thoughts and experiences in this, so please share.

Astrodome

Gene was able to get into the Astrodome twice to witness to people. To read more about his adventure go here.

A Day in a Shelter

Let me preface this article by explaining some of the realities of shelter living. Please understand that I have a great deal of compassion for all of these victims. It hurts my heart to see people suffering and while I wish it on no one, I also recognize that if it weren't for sin we'd all still be in the garden and there would be no hurricanes. There are many things to consider about the refugees from New Orleans. First, many of these people are very poor and live in conditions of which we couldn't dream. Secondly, many live a lifestyle full of violence, drugs and alcohol. Think of suddenly taking thousands of people who are used to drinking or taking drugs to escape their life and putting them all in a small space after removing their crutches. Add to the mixture the despondancy of losing everything. This is a recipe for any number of problems. Additionally, imagine that you are a Christian and have to live in close quarters with a group of people whose lives are as different from yours as East is from West. As you read what happens in their day keep all of these thoughts in the back of your mind and contemplate how you would feel in their situations.

7am-- People are beginning to stir. You make your way to the bathroom along with everyone else, getting dressed in the small stall. There are only 5 stalls in the restroom with about 25 women to share them. There are only 3 sinks and one large mirror for you all to share and little space as you all are trying to get ready together(lest you remember days like this at camp with fond memories, imagine that this could be your morning for months). You then go and straighten up your cot or air matress on the floor.

Breakfast--You have a choice of cereals or doughnuts, milk, juice, etc. You sit around the table with a few of your family members who happened to get out with you and many strangers you know nothing about. In your mind you wonder what they were like before this tragedy occured. Where they drug dealers, thieves, rapists? There are some who are quite kind and friendly, but there are those who make you wonder, that you wouldn't want to be alone with. Uncertainty is always in the back of your mind.

Mid-morning--You wait your turn to ride in the bus to the local rec center to have your turn taking a shower, then ride to the relief center to get a few pieces of clothes to wear. Many of these people are hard working, so taking charity is difficult for them, and the feeling of hopelessness, not knowing when they will be able to provide for thier families again.

After you return to the shelter, there is nothing to do but sit around and wait for the next thing, which is lunch. The children are beginning to get stir crazy, and the level of noise is hard to explain. There's no place to be alone, to have quiet, or to think. Going outside is unbearable, as the temperature is still soaring into the mid 90's.

Lunch arrives--You are thankful for the food and those who brought it, but in your mind you remember those who don't have much food, if any, and those who are still sitting on rooftops awaiting rescue.

After lunch, there is not much to do but sit around or lie on your cot. There's a t.v. blaring in the other room, but nothing is on it that you want to see. So you sit or lie on your cot contemplating your life past and present. You remember all that you have seen over the last week and wonder about what your future holds.

Dinner time finally arrives and you eat the meal, thankful, but wishing you could have some of your favorites. It begins to sink in that you really have few choices right now, and that most things are dictated to you by your circumstances.

After dinner--there are still a few hours to burn before getting ready for bed. Your early evening is spent much like your afternoon. There are several who have babies under 1, who spend most of their time holding the baby, and those with children who have been trying to fight off their children's boredom and keep them out of trouble.

Time to start getting ready for bed. Back the bathroom to change in the stalls. You had a hard time finding something to sleep in. You probably are sleeping the the jeans you wore all day because you don't really have anything else.

When you finally lay down, you hear all the noise of people trying to settle the children who are disoriented and want their own rooms and beds. You hear the muffled crying of people as they begin to think of the incomprehensible things that have happened. They remember where they were a week ago, and how they never could have conceived of the drastic change their lives would take. You think about family members whom you haven't heard from. Still in the back of your mind is that lingering feeling of uncertainty, "Who are these people sleeping here?" You know nothing of the men sleeping in the bed across from yours. You try to sleep as best you can.

The sun rises and you begin again, wondering, "How long will this go on? How long until I feel secure again?"

This gives you an idea of some of the thoughts and feelings of a person living in a shelter. The shelter we have been working in is very nice. All of their physical needs are being met. For the most part, people are extremely appreciative for the help they are receiving. But as time goes on things will change. It is extremely difficult to keep a large number of people together under these conditions without some problems, some of them big ones. Consider this, if your neighbor had a child who behaved in such a way that you didn't want your child around them, you would have your child stay in your home or yard away from them. Now imagine that this child is sharing your house with you. Not someone of your choosing, just someone who was randomly put into your house. If you combine the emotions of losing everything with the stress of living under these conditions, you have a very difficult situation to deal with.

The refugees need prayers on so many different issues. I can't fathom them all. This is going to have far reaching implications throughout our land. My prayer is for people to see their sin and turn to God in repentance. Yesterday there was a woman at the Superdome who said, "When I get out of here, I am going to change my ways! I've been in hell, and I don't ever want to be there again!" Without realizing it, this woman was speaking of repentance, an important part of the salvation process. I pray the Lord will use this to humble the hearts of many. James 4:6 tells us that, "God resists the proud heart, but gives grace to the humble." It may take something like this to make people see that they don't control their lives, but God does. Nothing happens that is a surprise to Him. If you are reading this and you haven't realized that you have sinned before God and are storing up wrath, read this and you can assess yourself.
Lora on 09.03.05 @ 11:50 PM

Katrina Update

Wednesday I decided to try to find some families from New Orleans to see if I could minister to them in some ways. I prayed about it and decided to go to some hotels here in Katy. I prayed about it all morning and didn't really expect to find many people as we are on the West side of Houston. I was surprised to find the hotel parking lots full of Louisiana cars. I spoke to the manager of the hotel, who wasn't very helpful, and found that I could talk to people in the room where they come down for the continental breakfast. I wasn't really sure what I could do, so I just started talking to people. Some of the people were from the West Bank (across the river from New Orleans) which didn't flood, but many were from the East Bank (inside the "bowl") Looking in their eyes reminded me of pictures you see of holocaust victims. The blankness and uncertainty in their eyes broke my heart. I can't imagine watching on my the news and seeing everything I know under feet of water. As I said in a previous post, New Orleans is a special place to our family, a place of many happy memories. It brings me to tears to see it in that condition, I can't imagine it being my home.

I met one older lady who lived one of the hardest hit areas, she was having a hard time comprehending how she could start over at her age. We talked about how we don't have to know how we will have the grace to face tomorrow, God only gives us grace for this day, and often only for the very minute we are in. It is so hard to be so limited in the amount of help you can give, but it's causing me to lean on God in this situation. Everytime I come to tears and me heart is hurting for these that are suffering so much, I send up many prayers.

God did bless me with some successes where I was able to offer tangible help, and I'm thankful for that. Today I saw two of the families I spoke to in Wal-mart. They smiled and waved and we talked like old friends. I hope that the connection of seeing a familiar face helped them, I know it helped me to see them again.

These are the family names of some of the people I met. Please pray for them as you think of it.

The Marquez family: They have not heard from a brother and are two families together and a grandmother, there home is in one of the hardest hit areas

The King family: their 7yo son has had to go to the hospital twice, being very sick, may need surgery

The Guzzardi family: daughter saw dr. here, has been having chronic ear infections, the are from LaPlace, north of New Orleans, so their home should be ok

The Juno family: will be needing shelter after tomorrow

The Corkern family: wife and 83 yo mother traveled here to avoid the storm. Had to leave husband in a city a couple of hours from New Orleans because he had back surgery a few weeks ago. She will go to pick him up tomorrow and then drive back to Houston.

The Kozel family: They are a family with about 8-10 people here. They are from the West Bank and are hoping to go home soon.

The Darwin Family: Their home is under water and both of their jobs are within the city. So, they have lost jobs and home. They are unsure what they will do in the future, they may relocate to a different state to be near family.

The Lee Family: They live and the husband works within the city. They also homeschool and will be replacing all of their books.

These 8 families are only a drop in the bucket, but it will give you a small idea of what many families are facing.

Hurricane Katrina

I've been watching the news this evening with such sadness in my heart. We have lived in Katy (near Houston) for the last 3 years, but before that we lived in the Baton Rouge area for 15 years. I had 3 of my 5 children in Baton Rouge. It is home to us. New Orleans was a place that we have made many memories in. We've been to the zoo, the aquarium, the theatre.... all special memories. It's so hard to realize that all of those places are gone or under water. Then you think of all the people, who have lost everything... homes, jobs, and especially loved ones. There aren't words to express the sadness I felt for the man in Mobile whose wife was swept away from him as he held onto his two grandsons. I can't imagine the helplessness he felt. Our prayers go out to all of those who are affected by this. May God reveal Himself to them during this time.

Also, pray for us as we would like to minister to the families that are more or less stranded here in Houston. Many are running out of money, need clothes etc.. Pray that we may find those to minister to and that we would be able to share the gospel with them. If you can think of any ideas for ministering, please let me know.

What is your garden's harvest?

When I weed in the garden, it is a time of peaceful reflection for me. The other evening as I was out there pulling that resilient grass, I began to see how many things in my garden remind me of the relationship between God and man.

Two vital things that all plants need are food and water. They have to have those two things in order to thrive. God has provided the two things we need for our growth and development: His Word and the Holy Spirit. He illustrates this in the story of the Ethiopian eunuch, in Acts 8:26-40. After the conversion of the eunuch, God supernaturally removed Phillip and left the eunuch with His Word and the Holy Spirit. It tells in verse 39 that the eunuch went away rejoicing. How often do we complain and blame others for our lack of knowledge and understanding of the scriptures, when we are the ones responsible for taking the time to open His Word and ask for wisdom and understanding?

It is also vital that a plant is rooted in fertile soil. When I was weeding, it was really quite easy to pull the weeds up, as the soil was soft. If it had been hard packed clay, it would have been extremely difficult to remove them. Part of what has kept my garden's soil soft and fertile is the mulch I laid down. The mulch works like a filter, much like the Holy Spirit. The mulch allows the water to reach the soil, but keeps out the weeds. The Holy Spirit works in a similar fashion. It allows the nourishment of God's word to feed our souls, while helping us discern sin. The Holy Spirit protects us from a great deal of sin, by the means of our conscience, and when sin does take root, it's much easier to pluck out when the soil is fertile, like the weed. There will be some sin that keeps trying to get a firm grip, like those pesky weeds. But if the soil is fertile and the gardener(me) is diligent in self-examination, it will eventually be plucked out.

As we can see, weeding and tending the garden is vital for the health and growth of your plants. Spiritual weeding and tending are just as vital. The only way we are going to know that difference between the weeds and the desirable plants is by spending time in God's word and in prayer.

The purpose of a plant, from its perspective, is to reproduce. Everything it's doing is working towards that goal. Whether it produces a flower or fruit, it is trying to multiply itself by making a seed. In our walk with God, that should be our primary goal also. We should be striving to cast as many seeds as possible. You can cast seeds by handing out tracts, witnessing one to one, or open air preaching. The important thing is that you cast your seed. It is estimated that only 2% of professing Christians share their faith. That means the other 98% are like ornamental pear trees-they look real good, but aren't producing anything.

What condition is your Spiritual garden in? Do you have weeds taking over, or are your plants producing wonderful seeds?

If you are unsure how to share your faith Biblically go to GNN Katy or Way of the Master to find out more.

The Business of Blogging

Today has been one of those days that you seem to run around a lot but don't seem to be able to see what has been accomplished. Lindsay and I spent hours going back and forth between computers trying to get everything updated for this blog, our ministry blog and our ministry website. A lot was accomplished but it's just hard to see. We still have a little to do on the ministry site, but are nearly finished. (at least til I come up with something else I want to add...)

Tonight Lindsay and I went to see some friends, the Hudsons. They are in the States from the Netherlands so that the wife, Marie, can recuperate from an illness. It has been wonderful to spend time with them this week and get reacquainted with them. We have kept up by e-mail, but it's so much better to be in person.

We are also happy to have a friend home from Boot Camp. Andrew, if you see this, WELCOME HOME!

Tomorrow while Lindsay is helping the Hudsons, the girls and I will be having our errand day. Tomorrow night Gene and Lindsay are supposed to go to Edwards Theatre and witness. Please pray for them and for there to be no rain as we've been having evening storms a lot and the theatre is outdoors.

I hope to be adding some more pictures to the Our Life section in the next few days. I just need to take the time to upload them.

I hope you will visit some of the other blogs on my roll, these are some that I have enjoyed reading though I am finding new ones all the time. I've really enjoyed getting to know other families and share in their lives and ministries. If you have a blog and it's not posted here, let me know.