Fear and Uncertainty

I have said before, I am not a very political person, but this year I have had quite a bit of passion for what is going on in our government and decisions that need to be made. I know that is probably true for many people during an election year. Anyway, along with this passion I have been led to fear. "What if the wrong person is put into office?" "What will happen to this country?" and, with the economy right now and the decisions needing to be made I wonder "how is this going to affect my children?"

So, I decided to fast every Wednesday until election day. I have only fasted one other time in my life and that was when my friend Leanna's husband was critically injured. I am sharing this with you with hesitation. I don't want to sound like the person "praying out loud on the street corner". I share it with you because I have had wonderful "God moments" when I have fasted.

Instead of dinner last night I went to an old sermon outline from July when we had Dan Seaborn preach at our church. The topic was "The State of the Nation" One of the very first things he says is that "We as a nation have made the decision to be a Nation under God". We say this each time we say the Pledge of Allegiance. His sermon was not telling us who to vote for, instead he was encouraging us to continue to choose Godly leaders. All throughout the Bible there are examples of what happened to nations that chose a leader who did not follow God's ways and examples. As long as we continue to call on God to look on our nation we will be blessed.

As Ronald Reagan once said "America was founded by people who believe(d) that God was their rock of safety. I recognize we must be cautious in claiming that God is on our side, but I think its alright to keep asking if we're on His side."

I realize that there needs to be seperation of church and state. But, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't continue to look for Godly morals in our leaders. Sit down and really think what may happen if we elect a leader who does not have these morals. Again, this thought brings fear to my mind.

Now comes the good part. With that fear and overwhelming sense of urgency and fasting I was led to a chapter in the Bible that I wrote down wrong on my sermon outline! I wrote Isaiah 32:22 and there is no verse like that! But, catch this, God wanted me to read Isaiah 32!!! It just gives me chills. Follow along what the Lord is sharing:
"Behold, a king will reign righteously, And princes will rule justly. And each will be like a refuge from the wind, And a shelter from the storm, Like streams of water in a dry country, Like the shade of a huge rock in a prached land. Then the eyes of those who see will not be blinded, And the ears of those who hear will listen. And the mind of the hasty will discern the truth, And the tongue of the stammerers will hasten to speak clearly. No longer will the fool be called noble, Or the rogue be spoken of as generous...But the noble man devises noble plans; And by noble plans he stands...Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, And in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places;" Isaiah 32:1-5, 8, 18
The footnote from verse one led me to Jeremiah 23:5 "Behold, the days are coming, "declares the Lord, "When I shall raise up for David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wisely and do justice and righteusness in the land." referring to Christ as the King.

I do not need to be fearful when Christ is my King. Yes, we need to make good decisions when voting and need to encourage and pray for our congresspeople to make Godly decisions. But, ultimately, Christ will Reign!! This is only a passing place for those who are Christians. If you belive in Jesus Christ your true home is in Heaven! He is the One who will NEVER break any promises. My Deliverer is coming!

Fireproof - my critique

Excellent movie!! If you did not watch the trailer, look about two posts down and you can click on "trailer" and watch, be sure to turn my music to pause first. Anyway, I can't say enough good things about this movie. I thought it was well-written, well-acted and spoke truth. We plan on purchasing it when it comes out on DVD. I'm not sure if anyone actually reads my blogs, but, chances are that if I do have some readers there may be more than one in a marriage that they are not happy in. The greatest example in the movie that was given was grace. The husband was telling his dad all the reasons why he and his wife shouldn't be married anymore, about how different they are from one another and about how his wife pushes him away and rejects him. He wonders how he is supposed to continue to love someone that does these things to him. It just so happens that during this conversation his dad is standing underneath a cross and it just hits him that this is exactly what Christ does for him. Loves him even though he pushes Him away and rejects Him. Another great phrase that a friend told him was basically that instead of love leading your heart, you need to make love a choice and lead your heart with it. This movie was a great reminder of the fact that Marriage is a covenant meant not to be broken. And, the biggest way to keep a marriage together is with Christ's help, leading and examples. That's my two-cents worth, now, go see it and judge for yourself!!

A morning at the Apple Farm

My Aunt Ellie from California has been out for the past month to Michigan. My parents, she and her friend from her hometown have had fun exploring Michigan and Northern Indiana together. We have had the priviledge of being able to visit also with her on a few occassions and will greatly miss her when she leaves on Tuesday. Anyway, today we went to an Apple Orchard in town and also to the Fish Ladder along the river. The salmon are trying to get upstream to lay their eggs and their "jumping" up the ladder is always interesting to watch. It was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed ourselves.

Field trips and Swimming

Abby had a field trip on Thursday to a Pony Farm nearby. I was able to go along. We had fun touching baby animals, feeding goats, riding a pony and going on a hayride.

Thursday afternoon Abby and I were able to go watch one of Josh's last days of swimming lessons. His school has two weeks reserved each year for 2nd, 3rd and 4th graders to have swimming lessons. It's a great program.

Fireproof

This is supposed to be a superb movie regarding marriage. I'll let you watch the trailor for yourself to see what it is about, but the producers also have put out a book titled "The Love Dare" which we will most likely be purchasing.

I first heard of this movie about 6 months ago while listening to Family Life Today. And then I saw Kirk Cameron on the "Today" show yesterday. What a great testimony! Apparently there was also some discussion on the "Family Life Today" broadcast today. Anyway, I am so geeked to go see this movie and based on the reviews highly recommend it to all. We plan on seeing it within the week with our friends the Wilmots. We have a mutual babysitter and are making an evening of it. This movie is by the same people that wrote "Facing the Giants" and I think it is important to support these Christian films.

See the trailor for yourself, I think you'll get the "Fireproof" fever as well.You will need to scroll down to the bottom of my blog and pause my music in order to not get a headache from the double noise. Also, I apologize for part of the screen being shortened. I don't know how to fix it!

Frog and Toad are Friends?

Josh, Abby and Todd have found a new pass-time. We have many toads of all varying sizes in our yard. So, they decided to create a "toad habitat" with Todd's old aquarium. They have made a lovely little dwelling for these creatures and so far I'm okay with it as they remain outdoors (although there is some talk of letting them hibernate in the aquarium in our basement over the winter...). This weekend we were at my parents and they have a small pond in their front yard where frogs like to live. So, my dad caught Josh a frog. We now have a frog habitat next door to the toad habitat. Josh has read some Frog and Toad are Friends books at school and we wondered if one of his toads might like to be a friend with the frog, but decided their environments are a bit too different for a small aquarium. The plan is to let the frog go tomorrow after Josh's friend Nick sees it. The kids have been having fun comparing the differences between toads and frogs. Maybe Todd and I could homeschool after all... (just kidding!)

60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration

We just spent a wonderful weekend with Todd's side of the family. It is his folks 60th wedding anniversary in a couple of weeks and they treated the family to a night at a hotel in Fort Wayne. Terri and Evan were in from Montana with their four children, so it was a great time to get together. What a blessing to have these memories. Not many people make it to 60 years of marriage, so this definately was a celebration that couldn't be missed!


Having pizza together...

Mom and Dad (or grandpa and grandma, or great-grandpa and grandma to some) with the little ones

Mom and Dad Kuiper with their kids - Todd, Karen and Von

The "Kuiper" family. Mom and Dad Kuiper are responsible for this whole bunch (and there are still 6 more that weren't able to make it!)