Happy Thanksgiving

I just wanted to wish everyone a blessed and happy Thanksgiving this week. I pray that everyone has family and friends to share this holiday with. Let us never forget the religious roots of this holiday and remember to give thanks. God rarely, explicitly tells us in his word anything mystical about his plan for our lives. One of the only times that God speaks clearly about a path for every individual is when he mandates for us to give thanks in EVERYTHING. I know that I have nothing to complain about this year and only many blessings to give to God and to my friends and family that have been so faithful in prayer, financial, and emotional support.

We will be spending thanksgiving with Josh and Jessica Froese in Belleville, Illinois. Jessica grew up in Marietta and is the daughter of Dave and Karen (Schaad) Dayton. Many of you know her. Reese, Gentry, and I are going to leave Friday to go to Cleveland to be with my mom Dec. 1 for her major milestone 60th birthday. We are excited to be with her and celebrate this day. We'll be back with the wonderful hubby by Wednesday, December 3rd to meet him on our trek again.

God bless and eat lots! At this point I have ballooned so much that I have no pride left. I will happily indulge in gluttony a little more this week. Love you all!

Expelled

Recently I watched a documentary that I feel every Christian should watch. Although not a religious documentary or movie, Ben Stein's "Expelled" is a very poignant look into the atheistic society that is trying to be created in our country and world. The movie explores the issue of evolution versus intelligent design and shows the systematic way in which science has suppressed any opinions other than the opinion of evolution. Darwin's theory has so many holes in that can be filled with intelligent design, but scientists are refusing any discussion of this.

One of the most interesting interviews on the documentary was with a man who wrote a book called "The God Delusion". His book uses supposed scientific fact to prove that anyone who is religious or believes in God is delusional and insane. I had a major "go God" moment when I looked this book up on wikipedia. This book increased amazon.Com's sale of religious books by 50% and increased sales of the bible by 120%! God will not be stopped. Our freedoms are being suppressed and it is time that we get our head out of the sand and fight for our cause as much as they are fighting for theirs. The theory of evolution if embraced fully will never stop future Hitler's and Stalins. If in fact natural selection is the way of the universe, nothing is stopping abortion and euthanasia. In fact, planned parent, the biggest proponent of abortion, was birthed out of the theory of evolution. This blew my mind!! Planned parenthood is one of the biggest political machines and agendas behind feminism and the liberals. This movie will inspire you to move out of your comfort zone and start proclaiming Christ. What we have is truth and truth will endure!

Update

Here is just a quick update on our life. we are currently still in Illinois. We have had a great time here and have seen God move wonderfully in our services. We have mainly been basing out of the St. Louis, MO area on the Illinois side. We have, however, been able to be in northern Illinois some and enjoyed a day of sight seeing in Chicago while in the area ministering. Gentry is now saying "uh oh" and continuing to work on his Gerber modeling career. Reese is still rambunctious and feisty and an instant celebrity everywhere that we go. After Illinois, we head to Missouri, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana. Although we have seen snow flurries already, we are hoping to get down south before our sewage tank freezes. I have heard this is not a fun experience=) I'm not sure if it would be good for our marriage for Jonathan to be chipping away at my sewage with an ice pick. haha.

I have to drop a quick note on politics. First of all, I was glad the election was over because I was sick of hearing about it. secondly, why in the world are we already discussing 2012?! I can't handle 4 more years of straight campaigning. When did being president become the same as winning an Oscar and being a celebrity? Where is the respect and solemnity for the highest seat of government in the world? While downtown Chicago I didn't know if I was in Stalin's Russia or the USA. There were literal monuments, signs, plaques, and billboards of Obama down there that are literally reminiscent of communist Eastern Europe. I'm not kidding, I've been there and I've seen it both in Europe and here in the USA. I'm not knocking Obama with the statement or endorsing him either. He's my president elect, therefore I respect and pray for him. The same is true of the Republican side too as well anyway. i saw a photo of Sarah Palin in a bikini in a newspaper today at the Republican governors meeting. Knock it off Obama and Palin. You are vying for respectable and high places of authority, not for the winner of the teen choice awards.

I'm off my soap box now. Love and Kisses!

Life Lessons

Recently I was sitting in Chipotle restaurant giving thanks to God for allowing someone to invent burritos the size of a human head, and I was struck with inspiration. For those who don't know, Chipotle is fast food Mexican, but I feel almost like a heretic to place it in a fast food category. It actually has been a Buckland doctrine since we started living on the road. (Shameless Chipotle plug that I wasn't even paid royalties to endorse) On my soda cup in chipotle was a quote from a man that invented a specialized form of agriculture that said something to effect of, "If you can fulfill your life's work in one lifetime, then you're aren't thinking big enough.". This quote really inspired me to sit and reflect on my own life. Are my goals lofty, or are they just self centered and simple? Can all of my dreams and desires be fit into the span of one lifetime?

Oftentimes so many people aspire for wealth, possessions, and even fame and these are all fleeting ideas and doctrines. Wealth can be obtained in a nano second if you are lucky enough to win the lottery. Almost any possession can be purchased with the right amount of credit, and fame can be forced if you pursue your 15 minutes. Have we all been striving for goals that are mundane and even meaningless? Maybe your pursuits are bigger than that. Maybe you want to help feed the hungry and clothe the poor. However, even these pursuits can be done rather quickly if you fit them into your schedule.

What can you do with your life that will live beyond your physical existence? Many people do estate planning and buy life insurance policies so that they can bless their descendants with an inheritance beyond their current means. This is a phenomenal blessing and gift that you can give to your children and grand children. Oftentimes only a few dollars a month can buy you a several hundred thousand dollar policy. This is not an investment made for you, but an investment made for others. You can also purchase endowments where you buy a life insurance policy in life to bless a non-profit organization in death. Many gorgeous churches have been built buy someone having their church be the benefactor of their life insurance policy.

Certainly though there must be more to life that we can give in our death than just money and inheritance. Matthew chapter six gives us the cure for anxiety. It gives us the cure to trying to find our legacy. We spend too much of our lives worrying about things that have no eternal benefit.

Matt 6:25-34
25 " For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 " Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. 30 "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! 31 "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' 32 "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
34 "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.NASU

Dr. Martin Luther King never saw the fulfillment of his dream and his life's work, yet his legacy is living on in a way that was deemed impossible 4 decades ago. His life was about more than his earthy gain. The Apostle Paul said to live is Christ but to die is gain. John the revelator will never see the prophetic fulfillment of his visions, and yet he left us with a word and a guide for which to chart the course of our lives and the end of days. Jesus Christ only ministered for 3 years on earth, and yet the man who was God clothed in flesh has made a global impact that despite persecution, war, and hate still remains. Could Henry Ford have even conceived a Hybrid car in the deepest recesses of his imagination? Probably not. However, Henry Ford's legacy lives in every second we turn the keys in our ignition regardless of the brand of car we drive. Could Thomas Edison have ever anticipated an i-phone, a blackberry, or a combination TV/computer/phone? It is highly improbable, yet his work and imagination lives on every second that we text message and call to stay in touch with family and friends.

Not all of us are genius inventors, mavericks, and crusade fighters, however all of us can leave a legacy. If we can come into contact with one person and change the course of their destiny, our life's work will live on into death. Every church that we visit while on the road represents a man and often a man and his family entering into a city with a passion and a burden to share the truth of the gospel. Many of these churches are no longer pastored by their founder, however, every one of them echo of a dream and vision far beyond one lifetime. The men, women, and their families that speak into the lives of others will be remembered no only in a heavenly eternity, but on earth beyond their lifetime as long as earth remains. What can you do today that will make your life's work live beyond your lifetime? An abundant "purpose driven" life is a life that goes beyond expectation and duty and steps into the realm of charity and sacrifice.

John 10:10
10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
NKJV

Lessons from the Play Place

As a mother to two young boys living in 32 feet of space, I am familiar with play places and parks all around the country. In a desperate attempt for them to run and crawl off all of their excess energy, we cart them to different places and let them play with reckless abandon. In some ways I feel like my full time job is to be an event organizer for a small pre-school consisting of 2 children, my own. While sitting and waiting for them to be ready to leave one day it dawned on me the consistency of some things I observe. Whether in the east coast, the south, or the mid-west I notice things about children and their interactions with each other that we could take to heart and learn from. Herbert Hoover was quoted as saying, "Children are our most valuable natural resource."

The Bible has several clear passages about children. These truths I have observed as a mother. There is a passage about the faith of a child that I have seen demonstrated in Reese numerous times. Any ailment, hurt, or disappointment simply passes with a "in Jesus name Amen". Gentry also loves to yell Amen from the top of his lungs. If only I could have faith that every negative experience in life is immediately gone without a second thought simply by calling on Jesus. The Bible demands this type of faith from us in the Gospels. We are to receive without question. Here are some lessons in life we can learn from children that are also spiritual principals.

Mark 10:15-16 15 "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." 16 And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them. NASU

#1: Small Children do not Discriminate and neither should we

When I watch my boys play with other children, they have as much fun and invest as much energy into playing with every child regardless of race, gender, and religion. Basically the only thing children discriminate on is the basis of "My dad is bigger than your dad." Children do not see color or gender as an obstacle to friendship. In doing this, children also do not minimize their difference. Oftentimes adults feel that to be colorblind or not sexist we must deny our differences. This is not accurate. Rather than deny our skin color or gender, we must embrace it and all play together.

#2: Small Children do not know a stranger

While this may invoke fear in mothers, small children do not know a stranger (unless they are the painfully shy hide under mommies skirt type) This is a great quality in life. We should play with all people and treat them kindly. Children are accepting and we should be too.

#3: Money has no value

Where children are concerned, they'd rather have 5 pennies than one quarter. Children do not judge others based on how much money they have. Reese also loves to share(with everyone but Gentry that is). If we give him a gum ball, he wants to buy another for his friends. As adults, we struggle buying for our friends because it is money out of our pocket.

#4: Children love to have fun

While this is a simple and basic point, adults take life too seriously. Many events in our life are out of our control. Sometimes we need to embrace that and enjoy life. If events are out of your control, no amount of worry, fear, pondering, or begging will change them. Enjoy what you can.

#5: Dance

When music is playing, whether in the mall, in church, or in the car, it is time to wiggle your hips, twirl your wrists, and roll your feet. My boys are dancing 24/7 and dancing is not only good for your hip size and health, it brings laughter.