Yes,

he can.

"I've been to the mountain top"

In Martin Luther King's last speech he said, "I just want to do God's will, and He's allowed me to go to the mountaintop and I've looked over and I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight, that we as a people will get to the promise land...so I'm not worried about anything, I'm not fearful of any man, mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord."

Every time I hear him I am deeply moved, as I'm sure many are...because he spoke boldly with beautiful articulation and peacefully fought for equality, an inalienable right...God given and an American right.

Will there be another man or woman like him? Speaking and peacefully fighting for another inalienable right again...a God given and an American right. Maybe there is and his name just might be Shawn Carney.

In the Psalms, God says, 'For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb' and 'Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be' and written in our Constitution, 'endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' Maybe, if you take God out of the equation, and before high tech abilities could detect the heartbeat three weeks after conception, one could argue abortion was not illegal according to the Constitution. But, because we know when the baby's heart begins to beat and all the different stages of development, how can abortion still be legal??...webster says death is characterized by the permanent stoppage of the heart...on the contrast, life is characterized by a beating heart.

Shawn Carney began 40 Days for Life, an epic movement similar to the peaceful march and gracious influence of Martin Luther King on civil rights that brought about equality in America. The 40 Days campaign is motivated by love, has given life to thousands, gives us hope that we too can be unafraid, and that one day we will be on the mountaintop to see the promise land.

wise words...

The Good Shepherd and He is God

John 10

Jesus is the Good Shepherd who willingly gave His life for His sheep.

The Good Shepherd knows His sheep and His sheep know their Good Shepherd.

Those who intimately know the Good Shepherd completely trust in Him.

Jesus' words and works prove He is God and our words and works prove in Whom we trust.

True and lasting security is in Jesus Christ alone.

Jesus cares for His sheep, every one of them...

Brooke's prayer...

God,

Put mercy on me, because that is good.

The end

Friday Night Fun

Kyle and I heard giggling from around the corner and we saw this:

Brooke pulling Kameron

all around the house

and Kameron holding on

and enjoying the ride!

this is what...

Erin does to an apple, nothing left but a stem and seeds...

good morning

and good morning to You too, Lord...

Stages of Faith

John 9

The beginning step of faith is stepping out into obedience.

God uses opposition to build our faith.

When you are convinced that Jesus is the Son of God, bold faith and worship will happen.

Going...

Rogue.

Just started reading it. I didn't really care one way or another about Sarah Palin, but this book will light your patriotic fire, give you hope for America, and will sell you out for Sarah Palin. She is governed by convictions and 'the people', not politics.

You will also see why the left wing media hates her and tries to destroy her...because, in my opinion, liberals want to be the flagship for compassion and they are not compassionate for many reasons, but the most obvious, to me, is their view on life...if only you could ask the unborn babies and their mothers, almost all mothers regret and grieve over their abortion, I think they'd agree...

but Sarah, she is compassion...

Charlie flew home...

tonight. He's our Elf on the Shelf. Named by Brooke, but always referred to as female. "She moved!" "She's cold." "She's gonna tell Santa."

We had a lot of fun doing this with the girls this year...even though it didn't improve behavior...pretty sure my girls names should be on the naughty list :)

Fearless...

by Max Lucado...just bought it today and I'm sure I'll read it fast...it comes highly recommended and for someone like me, fear is something I deal with, consciously and subconsciously, every day. Here's what Max says about his new book.

We fear being sued, finishing last, going broke, the mole on the back, and the sound of the clock as it ticks us closer to the grave. Every season seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

And it feels dreadful. Fear sucks the life out of the soul, curls us into an embryonic state, and drains us dry of contentment.

Wouldn't it be great to escape it? What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats?

According to Jesus, this is possible. The one statement He made more than any other was: "Don't be afraid." In this book, Max Lucado invites you to consider Jesus' invitation to courage.

Fear will always knock on your door. Just don't invite it in for dinner. And for heaven's sake, don't offer it a bed for the night.

The promise of Christ and the contention of these pages are simple: we can fear less tomorrow than we do today.

Sounds good to me! Here's wise words on Wednesday:

John 8

Jesus condemns all sin, but He offers the gift of forgiveness to all who confess sin.

Receiving Jesus' gift of light---we have eternal life; rejecting Him---we walk in darkness and death.

True freedom is found when you believe and act on the truth of God.

Half and Happy

A half marathon is ENOUGH for me :) Rachel and I are DEFINITELY happy halfers...

We went to the 23 mile marker to see our friend Aimee and cheer her on and I can tell you, seeing the marathoners at the 23 mile mark is not pretty. Not at all. One man was completely bent over in a 90 degree angle from cramping and still running, every other man had blood dripping from their chaffed nipples, and all of the runners faces were disfigured with pain and sheer will to finish. I knew how I was feeling only doing half their distance and it isn't a feeling I want again any time soon...maybe ever.

Last night I vacillated between running and not running today. When I went to bed last night I was not running. But when I woke up and saw Rachel getting ready I changed my mind. I wanted to get this half over with...didn't want to train or sign up for another one when I was this close to being done with it. So, Kelly dropped us off at the American Airlines at 7 and we hung out in there with the other crazies. Took off at 8 and ran Turtle Creek, so pretty, and then uphill across 75, to Greenville, down the M Streets and back, down to Katy Trail...we ran the last three miles in 24 minutes...it was downhill and we were thinking maybe we could hit the 2 hour mark...didn't make it, 2:04, but we never cared about our time...only just at the end when we thought maybe we could do it...

Brooke called me after the race to ask me if I was missing her and to tell me that she worshiped and thought about God and how much He loves her today...she went to big church with Mimi and Papa to see Erin sing in the choir...Kyle taped Erin and boy, she LOVES to be on stage...she smiled so big and sang her little heart out!

Tonight I feel yucky and ready to go to bed...hopefully redeeming a gift certificate to Bella Renova tomorrow, if I can get in!

feeling...

GREAT today :) So thankful for all the well wishes, for a quick recovery, and for my parents who took care of my girls for two days! Being sick is a REALLY nice break...despite the sore yucky throat, fever, aches, and night sweats :)

I will take pictures this weekend with Rachel!

Getting nervous :)