Ello,
So it's been a while since I posted. Oh, well. I had a life to live. Anywho, two weeks ago I spent the week at my Aunts house. She and my uncle just moved from Boulder Creek to Elk Grove. They still had a lot of stuff at their old house, so Nick and Uncle Scott drove back down there and spent a couple days their loading the rest of the stuff into the trucks. I stayed with my Aunt Lynn to keep her company and to help her unpack and get settled. I had a very fun time. We went shopping alot and painted their house, and unpacked box after box. They have the entire house painted now( it was a yellow color all through the house before, and my Uncle and Aunt hated it, so they wanted it painted right away) and I hear it looks really good. I haven't seen it yet though. I hope to soon. We are going to celebrate the 4th of July at their house, so I will probably see it then.
Then last thursday, Samantha, Nick and I spent the day at our church, helping paint stuff and decorate for V.B.S. which is July 14th-18th, from 9:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m. It was very exuasting, but we had fun. I did discover though, that making fake water and palm trees is rather hard. We were glad when it was over and we got to go to the pool for an hour. A relaxing ending to a hectic day. Ahh!
Today we celebrated Samantha's 11th birthday. ELEVENTH!!!!!! Aunt Lynn and Uncle Scott came up, and so did Omi. I can't believe my little sister is eleven. She is growing up so fast. She is so smart, pretty, and sweet and I love her to death!!!!!!!! Love me, love my Sam!
Tomorrow I am going to my dear friend Colette's graduation party. She ROCKS and I love her so much. I am very proud of my Coletty, but I am also sad that she will be leaving for C.B.U this August. I will miss her ever so much. I wish her a blessed life, full of lots of love. I love you C.C. YOU TOTALLY ROCK GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I will post pictures of Samantha's party soon, but right now I can't cause our computer isn't working right, at this moment. Hopefully it will be working soon!
Right now I am thankful for:
My sweet, lovely, understanding sis, Samantha
My awesome mentor and friend, mom
My Prayer Warrior and other mentor, Aunt Lynn.
My true friend and advisor, Colette.
Right now I am praying for:
My cousins T.J and Tony's salvation.
Our nation
For my brothers and sisters to be grounded in Christ.
Well, gotta go.
Yours Truly,
Elizabeth Bennet
Bye the way, Joy, if you are reading this, I MISS YOU SOOOO MUCH AND LONG TO SEE YOU!
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Long time, no post.
Friday, June 6, 2008
A Choice?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Abortion: The very word makes me shudder and leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Pictures of tiny, mangled, bloodied bodies fill my mind. Innocent babies killed, murdered by cruel hands. Hands that, usually, are given permission to kill, by the very woman who is carrying the babe in her womb. Abortion is one of the worst murders a human can commit, according to the word of God. Psalms 10:8 says, “He [the wicked man*] sitteth in the lurking places of the villages: in the secret places doth he murder the innocent: his eyes are privily set against the poor.” The secret place mentioned in that verse just happens to be the womb of a mother. Certainly a baby is innocent. And as the website, Rapture Ready, says, in an article about abortion, “No person who is fully aware of another’s total innocence normally kills that other human being. Even wild beasts such as like lions and tigers do not kill their own kind, but rather, they fight to defend and protect them. But, today, man has made himself even lower than brute beasts by slaying innocent unborn babies.”
* brackets mine.
Children are precious in God’s sight and are a God-given reward and gift. Rejecting a baby by abortion is not only wrong, it is throwing God’s reward and gift, from Him to us, back into His face. You are basically ungratefully spitting in His holy face, and telling Him that you do not want His reward and gift. Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. (psalms 127:3)
“But,” you may say,“ it’s simply a fetus. It can’t feel anything. It’s not alive.” No? From the moment of conception that fetus is a living baby. A baby is a human being and can feel pain. Nurse Brenda Shafer describes one baby’s reaction as it was being murdered by a partial birth abortion.
“... the baby’s body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. All the while his little head was stuck inside[*the uterus]. Dr. Haskell took a pair of scissors and stuck them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startled reaction, like a baby does when he thinks he might fall...."
Don’t you tell me it isn’t excruciatingly painful for the innocent babies. I am sure the only reason that poor, helpless, oh, so feeble, little baby did not scream audibly, was because its tiny head was still in its mother’s womb.
Abortion is a thing of Hitler, who killed the weak, elderly, ill, and helpless.
He believed in survival of the fittest. He was also a man after the Devil’s own heart, and was a cruel, heartless brute and murderer. Why follow after his footsteps?!!!! We are called to defend and protect the helpless, and surely a baby is helpless. It cannot fight for itself. It depends on it’s mother, it’s mommy, to nurture, love, and protect it. A baby lovingly puts its trust in its mother. And yet everyday, 126,000 priceless babies are being killed, many with the permission of the baby’s mother; that’s 4000 babies a day, 167 babies an hour, 2.75 babies a minute, one baby ever 22 seconds. And that’s just the rate for legal abortions alone. Forty-six million innocent babies are killed every year by legal and illegal abortions.
Still not convinced? Well, O.K. Abortion goes against God’s command, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” In other words, you shall not murder. Not only does abortion go against God’s commandment, it is an abomination to him. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Killing a helpless baby is shedding innocent blood. It is the murder of an innocent human being. It is wrong, because it is the murder of a human being who is created in God’s own image and that God knit together in the mother’s womb.(Psalms 139:13-16).
Of course, if you refuse to believe that the innocent blood in that verse refers to abortion, you’re probably still not convinced. How ‘bout this. Abortion does not always work and a baby is born into the world disfigured, maimed, and in pain. You call this barbaric act civilized!? You call this vulgar action pain free!? You call this crude savage act decent, proper, and appropriate, sometimes kind!!!!???
Little Tucker went through four different abortion attempts. By a miracle he survived all of them. But in the last attempt, when he was aborted in the seventh month of pregnancy, the abortion procedure ripped his tiny legs and most of his fingers from his body. He was adopted by a loving Christian family, and is very happy with them, but a lot of pain could have been spared, had his biological mother decided not to try and takes his precious life.
Abortion is shirking from responsibility, and is cowardly. No matter what the circumstances of the pregnancy are, it is your responsibility to take care of, nurture, and raise your baby. It is cowardly to murder the precious baby, just because you don’t feel obliged to take care of it, or don’t feel that you are ready to be a parent yet. Abortion is refusing to take responsibility for your actions and/or sin. Even if the pregnancy is because of rape or incest, you are not justified to commit the sin of murder. Do two wrongs make a right? I think not! The baby should not be punished for his father and/or mother’s sin. Murder is not the answer.
If you are still clinging to abortion and it’s barbaric methods, here’s one last try to convince you.
In Bible times, if anyone was to kill a baby in the womb he was to have the same penalty as a murderer.
“If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (Exodus 21:22)
Obviously, God doesn’t want us to kill babies. If you STILL aren’t convinced though, try looking up these website’s. I will warn you though, the first one does have very graphic pictures.
“But,” you may say,“ it’s simply a fetus. It can’t feel anything. It’s not alive.” No? From the moment of conception that fetus is a living baby. A baby is a human being and can feel pain. Nurse Brenda Shafer describes one baby’s reaction as it was being murdered by a partial birth abortion.
“... the baby’s body was moving. His little fingers were clasping together. He was kicking his feet. All the while his little head was stuck inside[*the uterus]. Dr. Haskell took a pair of scissors and stuck them into the back of the baby's head, and the baby's arms jerked out in a flinch, a startled reaction, like a baby does when he thinks he might fall...."
Don’t you tell me it isn’t excruciatingly painful for the innocent babies. I am sure the only reason that poor, helpless, oh, so feeble, little baby did not scream audibly, was because its tiny head was still in its mother’s womb.
Abortion is a thing of Hitler, who killed the weak, elderly, ill, and helpless.
He believed in survival of the fittest. He was also a man after the Devil’s own heart, and was a cruel, heartless brute and murderer. Why follow after his footsteps?!!!! We are called to defend and protect the helpless, and surely a baby is helpless. It cannot fight for itself. It depends on it’s mother, it’s mommy, to nurture, love, and protect it. A baby lovingly puts its trust in its mother. And yet everyday, 126,000 priceless babies are being killed, many with the permission of the baby’s mother; that’s 4000 babies a day, 167 babies an hour, 2.75 babies a minute, one baby ever 22 seconds. And that’s just the rate for legal abortions alone. Forty-six million innocent babies are killed every year by legal and illegal abortions.
Still not convinced? Well, O.K. Abortion goes against God’s command, “Thou Shalt Not Kill.” In other words, you shall not murder. Not only does abortion go against God’s commandment, it is an abomination to him. Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.” Killing a helpless baby is shedding innocent blood. It is the murder of an innocent human being. It is wrong, because it is the murder of a human being who is created in God’s own image and that God knit together in the mother’s womb.(Psalms 139:13-16).
Of course, if you refuse to believe that the innocent blood in that verse refers to abortion, you’re probably still not convinced. How ‘bout this. Abortion does not always work and a baby is born into the world disfigured, maimed, and in pain. You call this barbaric act civilized!? You call this vulgar action pain free!? You call this crude savage act decent, proper, and appropriate, sometimes kind!!!!???
Little Tucker went through four different abortion attempts. By a miracle he survived all of them. But in the last attempt, when he was aborted in the seventh month of pregnancy, the abortion procedure ripped his tiny legs and most of his fingers from his body. He was adopted by a loving Christian family, and is very happy with them, but a lot of pain could have been spared, had his biological mother decided not to try and takes his precious life.
Abortion is shirking from responsibility, and is cowardly. No matter what the circumstances of the pregnancy are, it is your responsibility to take care of, nurture, and raise your baby. It is cowardly to murder the precious baby, just because you don’t feel obliged to take care of it, or don’t feel that you are ready to be a parent yet. Abortion is refusing to take responsibility for your actions and/or sin. Even if the pregnancy is because of rape or incest, you are not justified to commit the sin of murder. Do two wrongs make a right? I think not! The baby should not be punished for his father and/or mother’s sin. Murder is not the answer.
If you are still clinging to abortion and it’s barbaric methods, here’s one last try to convince you.
In Bible times, if anyone was to kill a baby in the womb he was to have the same penalty as a murderer.
“If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman's husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.
And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life,
Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot,
Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” (Exodus 21:22)
Obviously, God doesn’t want us to kill babies. If you STILL aren’t convinced though, try looking up these website’s. I will warn you though, the first one does have very graphic pictures.
http://www.gotquestions.org/abortion-Bible.html
Try studying these verses too.
"For thou has possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvelous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being un-perfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them"
(Psalm 139:13-16).
(Psalm 139:13-16).
"Whoso shall receive one such little child in My name receiveth Me"
(Matt.18:5).
Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God
(Psalm 22:9-10).
This is what the LORD says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you...
(Isaiah 44:2)
Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked
(Psalm 82:3-4).
Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? (Proverbs 24:11-12).
The word of the LORD came to me saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart...."
Jeremiah 1:4-5a
[The LORD said] "... do not put an innocent... person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.” Exodus 23:7
If you have committed the sin of abortion, Jesus is gracious and compassionate. He will lovingly forgive you, and will throw your sin at the bottom of the sea, if you go to Him with a humble, broken, and remorseful heart, and truly repent of your sin. He will gladly forgive you and engulf you in His arms of love. The Lord will forgive you and give you a new heart and life.
* “If you have already had an abortion, please do not feel that this was written only to bring you under guilt and condemnation. What is done is done and cannot be changed. God has your child in heaven with Him, and longs to forgive you, if you ask Him to. Once God forgives a sin, He literally forgets it, and DOES NOT HOLD IT AGAINST YOU ANY LONGER! Please do not hold against yourself what God has forgotten.“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”(Isaiah 43:18 25). Receive His love, for He loves you just as much as the child you lost. He already took your sin and bore it upon Himself, so you would not have to bear the punishment, which would be eternal separation from Him. He knows the agony you've gone through better than any other, for He was there too, with you. Open your life to Him and let Him give you “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair.” He will make you into “an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3).
* “If you have already had an abortion, please do not feel that this was written only to bring you under guilt and condemnation. What is done is done and cannot be changed. God has your child in heaven with Him, and longs to forgive you, if you ask Him to. Once God forgives a sin, He literally forgets it, and DOES NOT HOLD IT AGAINST YOU ANY LONGER! Please do not hold against yourself what God has forgotten.“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I, even I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”(Isaiah 43:18 25). Receive His love, for He loves you just as much as the child you lost. He already took your sin and bore it upon Himself, so you would not have to bear the punishment, which would be eternal separation from Him. He knows the agony you've gone through better than any other, for He was there too, with you. Open your life to Him and let Him give you “a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of the spirit of despair.” He will make you into “an oak of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display his splendor.” (Isaiah 61:3).
“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20
This sign says it all.
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
I don't date. I love the look of surprise and shock on peoples faces after I proclaim this statement. Some are worried I won't be able to find a husband, because of my radical notion, while others get offended, because they or their children date(d), and either attack me, or simply walk off, nettled and aggravated. There are those who ask me how on earth I think I'm going to find a spouse if I don't date, and there are those who want to know why on earth I don't. Then there are the very few who nod their heads and say, “That's interesting. But what exactly are you going to do to find a husband, if your not dating?” Pretty much all of them think I'm kinda weird though. I don't care, I'm use to being though weird. And I am. I am not your average girl, and I don't meet the standards of this world. And you know what? I don't want to be. I am not going to play the dating game, like the rest of this world. I am not going to try guy after guy, like trying new kinds of cosmetics. I am worth waiting for, and so is my future husband. The dating system is a corrupted system that is simply a game that people play. Its focus is how dating this guy, or this girl, can benefit you. How can my wants be satisfied; how can my desires be fulfilled; how can my lust be gratified. But shouldn't we try to please God, and not us. How God's wants for my life be fulfilled; how can God's desires for my relationships be gratified. Should not we let God write our love story, with out interfering with what He, our Lord and Savior, wants. He wants only the best for us, and He loves us so much he died for us, so I think he can handle writing our love stories. If we are constantly dating, flirting, and playing around with guy after guy( or even just one or two guys) what are we going to have left for our future husband, whom God has picked out for us? If we have slowly frittered away our hearts, what will be left of them for our husbands? Would you not want to give your husband all your heart, all your love? How can you do that, if you have given so many other guys, or even just one guy, pieces of your heart, your emotions, your love, your lips, and perhaps even your virginity and your body? Joshua Harris, in his book, 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye”,which by the way, is one of my favorite authors, had a story about one of his friends' dreams.
*“It was finally here----Anna's wedding day, the day she had dreamed about and planned for months. The small, picturesque church was crowded with friends and family.
Sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows, and the gentle music of a string quartet filled the air. Anna walked down the aisle toward David. Joy surged within her. This was the moment for which she had waited so long. He gently took her hand, and they turned toward the altar.
But as the minister began to lead Anna and David through their vows, the unthinkable happened. A girl stood up in the middle of the congregation, walked quietly toward the altar, and took David's other hand. Another girl approached and stood next to the first, followed by another. Soon, a chain of six girls stood by him as he repeated his vows to Anna.
Anna felt her lip begin to quiver as tears welled up in her eyes.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she whispered to David.
“I'm...I'm sorry, Anna,” he said, staring at the floor.
“Who are these girls, David? What is going on?” she gasped.
“They're the girls from my past,” he answered sadly. “Anna, they don't mean anything to me now...but I've given part of my heart to each of them.”
“ I thought your heart was mine,” she said.
“It is, it is,” he pleaded. “Everything that's left is yours.”
A tear rolled down Anna's cheek. Then she woke up.
Sunlight poured through the stained-glass windows, and the gentle music of a string quartet filled the air. Anna walked down the aisle toward David. Joy surged within her. This was the moment for which she had waited so long. He gently took her hand, and they turned toward the altar.
But as the minister began to lead Anna and David through their vows, the unthinkable happened. A girl stood up in the middle of the congregation, walked quietly toward the altar, and took David's other hand. Another girl approached and stood next to the first, followed by another. Soon, a chain of six girls stood by him as he repeated his vows to Anna.
Anna felt her lip begin to quiver as tears welled up in her eyes.
“Is this some kind of joke?” she whispered to David.
“I'm...I'm sorry, Anna,” he said, staring at the floor.
“Who are these girls, David? What is going on?” she gasped.
“They're the girls from my past,” he answered sadly. “Anna, they don't mean anything to me now...but I've given part of my heart to each of them.”
“ I thought your heart was mine,” she said.
“It is, it is,” he pleaded. “Everything that's left is yours.”
A tear rolled down Anna's cheek. Then she woke up.
How many men or women do you want lined up next to you on your wedding day? How many times do you want to give your heart away in short-termed relationships? Will you have anything left of your heart to give to your husband or wife? Do you want to take from girls and guys what isn't yours but their future spouses? Do you want to give away what rightfully belongs to your future spouse? Now, I know that I don't want men lining up next to me on my wedding day. I don't want to give my heart away time and time again in short termed relationships. I want to be able to give my whole heart to my husband. I don't wish to steal what doesn't belong to me, and I have no right in taking, away from other girls. If your future husband or wife was watching you with your boyfriend or girlfriend, do you think he/she would be smiling. Do you think he'd be applauding you as you kissed your boy/girl friend? Do you think he'd be grinning as you were flirting with some guy or girl? I don't think so. In fact I would think that he'd be seething with anger and hurt. He'd probably want to knock the block off of the guy who you were with. And your future wife; she would probably be standing there and depending on her temperament, would have tears welling up and running down her cheeks, or she would be gritting her teeth in hurt and anger, and would chew you out, as well as slap you. No thank you, I don't date, and no one asking me to go out on a date with him could ask me in such a way that could possibly tempt me! I would rather go the safer godlier way of courtship and betrothal, where marriage is th assumed outcome of the relationship, in which case, both people involved are mature enough to get married. Yes, people can and do still get hurt in such relationships, and yes, people can and still do things they shouldn't be doing with each other with each other. But, a lot less then people in dating relationships, and there is a lot more communication and safety inside the courtship approach. Of course, courtship is different for everyone and there is no one right way to do it. I intend to save my kiss for the altar. I would rather we were never alone together and that there is always a trusted adult with us. I would like to save hand holding and most physical touch for when I am engaged. And if my parents do not wish for us to court, or marry, I will respect their wishes for they are my parents and my authority, next to God.
I know that what I have said will offend and annoy a lot of people, but, I really don't care. I am an opinionated young lady, and like I said, I'm not your average girl. I am not going to act like everybody in the world, because I am average. God sets my standards. I despise dating and the dating system. But I have friends who do dating and 'dateship', and I love them. I can not find dating good and okay under any circumstances though and abhor it, along with the things that go along with it, like flirting and chasing after boys. I am not saying that I have never done these things. I have. I'm not perfect, I am a sinner like everyone else. I have flirted, I have chased, I have sort of kind of had a dating relationship with a guy. But I have been forgiven by Christ, and I have repented and turned from my sin. I no longer flirt with guys, I no longer chase after boys, and as I said in the beginning, I don't date.
I'm not saying that I'm not attracted to boys any longer, or that I don't have occasional crushes, I do. God created men and women to be attracted to each other. But He also wants us to exercise self control. And when I have crushes on guys, instead of dwelling on them, I try to dwell on Christ, and to pray, and spend time with my Lord. I don't always do this, but I try to, because I see crushes as time away from God; time spent uselessly dreaming of the guy, and constantly thinking on the guy, instead of thinking on my Lord and Savior, and spending my time doing what Christ wants me to do.
God is writing my love story, and I don't have to chase after guys, and date this one and that to 'catch' myself a husband. God has the man that he wants me to marry picked out for me, and in God's timing, not mine, I will court and marry that man. Until that, I'm single, and though I don't always like that fact, I try to remember that it is a blessing to be single. I can do certain things for my Jesus, that I would not be able to do as easily as a married woman. I have a more flexible schedule and ya know what?! I would rather let God have control of my life, including my love story, then try to take over and screw things up.
God is writing my love story, I've kissed dating goodbye, and I don't date.
* 'I Kissed Dating Goodbye' by Joshua Harris, chapter one
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
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