I’ve been thinking for several days now about starting the blog back up. My hope would be that I would occasionally have something worthwhile to say, whether it be interesting, funny, encouraging, or whatever. There are some things that I want to share, so here are some thoughts and things that have been going on in my life:


Surely the most important thing I have to say is what God has been doing in my life. Last Thursday God really began speaking to me and stirring my heart. He really made me aware of my pride, my tireless efforts, my lack of trust in Him, and my inability to do any good on my own. God’s discipline is difficult, but it is good. Had it not been for Him showing me these things, I would not have found such sweet fellowship with Him once again. You see, I (and most likely you too) can often get to the point where we are doing good things (reading our Bibles, praying, going to church, saying and doing good “Christian things”) but without the right motives and heart, these things are useless, fruitless, and honestly they displease God. My challenge has been to seek God with all of my heart, and to meditate on Him throughout my day. Many times I read my Bible, hear God speak to me, and go through the rest of my day without whatever he had taught me coming into my mind.


Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my rock and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14
This has been my prayer. Without my words and meditation being acceptable in His sight, I am just going through the motions. My words must be acceptable, yet my meditation must be acceptable too. That means, even the depths of my heart that no one else can see. That means, I can be doing and saying things that seem great, but my heart could be completely wrong. May my words, my actions, AND my meditation, my heart be acceptable in your sight O Lord!

Philippians 2:3-5
V3-4”Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility, regard others as better than yourself. Don’t look merely to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”. How backwards this must seem to the world. You mean, I’m supposed to regard others as BETTER than myself? This can ONLY be done in humility.

V5- “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus.”
What a challenge to me. James 4 verse 10 says “Humble yourself in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” The truth is, if we exalt ourselves, God will humble us. If we humble ourselves, God will exalt us. Doesn’t humbling yourself and having God exalt you sound so much better? He has humbled me through His word, that is for sure. And I’m sure it won’t be long before I need to be humbled again. But he is good, he is so merciful to show me the things that keep me from intimacy with Him.

“ because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.” Proverbs 3:12

thankful

I've recently been inspired by my big sister to make a post when she lovingly said "What's wrong with you?" She has also inspired the content of this post as well. I was reading her blog yesterday and she was listing things that she is thankful for. It got me to thinking, and I thought that was a great idea for a post, so here it is.
-I am thankful for God's love and His hand of guidance over my life. I'm thankful for the joy He gives me and the relationship I have with Him. Unbelievable.
-I am thankful for Benjamin, the best husband any girl could ever ask for. I'm thankful that he works hard to provide for us, that he keeps me laughing, and that he is always telling me how much he appreciates me and how beautiful I am. He follows God wholeheartedly, and pushes me to do the same. He is so much fun to be around, and I enjoy everyday with him. I'm also thankful that he does the dishes.
-I am thankful for the incredible family that I come from. My parents are two of the greatest people I know. God has blessed their life and their influence tremendously because of their willingness to serve Him and live a life that pleases Him. They have given an incredible example, and I am proud to follow in their footsteps.
-I am thankful for my sister, brother in law, nephew Jake, and Austin who is on the way. My sister is definately my best friend and even though she lives 9 and 1/2 hours away, she is the best big sister I could ask for. Brad is my cheesy sweet brother in law who is the nicest guy you will ever meet. Jake is the smartest, cutest, funniest kid I have ever known, and I absolutely cannot wait to meet Austin!
-I am thankful for all of my extended family...from in-laws, to grandparents, to aunts, uncles, friends, and cousins. They are all a huge blessing to me. I have really learned this past year to not take them for granted. I am also thankful that my Papa, Nana, and Gramma are now in Heaven with Jesus.
-I am thankful for a great church family. We are so blessed and cherish all of our relationships in our Sunday School class, and everyone else.
-I am thankful for a great place to live...that is just a walk away from some of our best friends....speaking of them, I am thankful for them too and so glad that God brought them into our lives when He did.
-I am thankful for a great job with some great people. I am thankful for the kids I get to be with everyday, and for their smiles, laughs, hugs, and hilarious quotes.
-I am thankful for my car. I'm thankful that it works well, and thankful the Ben and I have two of them.
-I am thankful that I can afford to go to the grocery store and buy whatever we need, that we can have nice things, and that we can go out to fun places.
-I am thankful for the Office season 5. Seriously, I am.
-I am thankful for my cell phone. What did we do before those things were invented?

Okay, I could seriously go on and on. God is so incredibly good, and I often find myself asking why He chooses to bless me so much. I know I am completely undeserving, but I am so thankful. Now tell me what YOU are thankful for!

long overdue

I can't believe that I am just now blogging about our vacation that was over 3 weeks ago. Since then, life has been very busy with school starting back. It has been very good though, I have a great group of kids.
As far as vacation goes, we had a blast. We drove to Madison Mississippi which is where my sister, brother in law, and nephew live. We stayed there for a few days, then they went with us to Gulf Shores, Alabama. It was definately the nicest beach I have ever been to. The water was clear, and the sand was white. It was a really nice area. We had a great time. There's not much more I can say to describe it, so I will post pictures. Thanks for reading!

24

That's how old I am. I had a fantastic birthday yesterday. I have the greatest family. My Mom and Dad took Ben and I to Bricktown for dinner last night. It was really fun visiting and walking around. After that, we all went back to our apartment and Sarah and Toby came over for cake and ice cream. It was fun getting to spend my birthday with some of my favorite people. And next week I will get to see the rest of my favorite people. I also got some great gifts! Thanks Benjamin, Dad, and Mom! You are the best. And Friday night I get to go on a birthday date with Ben! Here are a couple of photos from the evening. Leave me some comments!

-Stacy

What is truth?

“Therefore Pilate entered again into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?” Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm” Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king for this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to THE TRUTH. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” And when he had said this, he went out again to the Jews and said to them, “I find no guilt in Him.”

John 18:33-38

What is truth? This question posed by Pilate is a very valid question; it is one of the most important questions one can ask. Unfortunately, like Pilate, most people do not actually bother to seek the answer. Pilate with his question basically ends the conversation and dismisses Christ and His claim that He came to testify to the truth. Christ would have told Pilate the answer had he actually wanted to know. In John 14:6 before this event, Christ said, “I am THE way, THE truth, and THE life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” There is a reason Christ used the word “the”, and not the word “a”, and I purposefully emphasized the word “the” in this verse because with that word, Christ is asserting that truth is exclusive and absolute. He is also saying that truth only comes from Him.

We know truth to be exclusive and absolute in every facet of life. For example, in mathematics we know that 2 plus 2 equals 4. 2 plus 2 does not equal 5, and it most certainly does not equal whatever we want it to equal. If a first grader said that 2 plus 2 equaled whatever was good for him then he would get the question wrong. 2 plus 2 equals 4. Truth is exclusive; it is absolute.

In music we know that if you set down to a piano and play the keys to Mary Had a Little Lamb then you will play Mary Had a Little Lamb. You will not play one of Beethoven’s symphonies, and you certainly will not play just whatever song is the perfect song for you (unless that song is Mary Had a Little Lamb), you will play Mary Had a Little Lamb. Truth is exclusive; it is absolute.

In our work lives we know that we better do want the boss tells us to do, we can not just do the exact opposite of what our boss tells us, and we most certainly cannot do just whatever we want to do because that is what is right for us. If we were to do those things then we would not have a job for very long. Truth is exclusive; it is absolute.

And yet for some reason, when it comes to religion and spirituality, a large group of people have fallen into the illogical trap that truth is relative. What is even more alarming is that many so called Christians have fallen into this trap believing things like the Bible is relative, and open for one’s own interpretation. These people are led astray by their own flawed logic, and faulty reasoning, and their views are supported by many popular false teachers such as Brian McLaren. These teachers have absolutely no logic skills, and their reasoning is so faulty that it could not even be considered rudimentary at best. I want to just examine the faulty reasoning of one of Brian McLaren’s quotes. This quote was actually on the last blog I made about McLaren.

“I don't think we've got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be 'saved'? I don't think the liberals have it right. But I don't think we have it right either. None of us has arrived at orthodoxy."—McLaren

This is a perfect example of the flawed logic of relativism and the postmodern view. Three times in this quote McLaren uses the words, “I don’t think”, so three times he gives his opinion, but then the foolishness of his mind is displayed when he says that, “None of us has arrived at orthodoxy.” So basically McLaren uses three statements of an opinion to support what he believes to be a factual statement, that is, “none of us has arrived at orthodoxy.” This is flawed logic. The problem with McLaren’s last statement is that it is an absolute, exclusive statement. By this statement, McLaren is saying that he knows the truth about the Gospel, yet in his 3 prior statements he said that no one knew the truth about the Gospel. But somehow, though no one knows the truth about the Gospel according to McLaren, McLaren himself knows the truth about the Gospel. This is a direct contradiction of basically everything McLaren says, and yet he himself cannot see his own foolishness.

On a grander scale, let’s look at the statement “truth is relative” (something McLaren very much believes, particularly when it comes to the truth of God’s Word). This too is an inherently contradictory statement. Once again this statement supposes that truth is relative, which if were true would mean that ALL truth is relative, but the problem is that that is an absolute statement; it is not relative. If all truth were relative then the statement “truth is relative” would also have to be relative, but it is not, it is absolute. Why is it that we understand truth to be absolute in every facet of life, and yet when it comes to the most important facet we reject this fact?

Despite these things though, people are still flocking to hear the lies of Brian McLaren, and the gospel according to Brian McLaren and Rob Bell, and others like them. People are still spending millions of dollars to buy their lies in their books, and they are gobbling them up as if they were the actual Word of God. People have given up on the concept of thinking. That simply is not cool anymore. Or as McLaren might say, it is not relevant. It is no longer cool in our society to actually reason, and use logical thinking skills. Well, God gave us the ability to reason, and to think logically, and if people want to abandon their logic than that’s fine, but don’t think that your false logic is Christianity. Because it is not, it certainly is not from the mind of God. God is not a fool. If something is a legitimate Christian belief then EVERY facet of it will match up with God’s word, not just bits and pieces. It is just amazing that people will elevate the words of people like McLaren over the Words of God. Paul, the greatest Christian who ever lived, and author of much of the New Testament, had even his words tested in light of Scripture by the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11, and the Bereans were commended for this. If the Bereans were to test even Paul’s words, then we most certainly are to test the words of people like Brian McLaren and Rob Bell.

Finally, if you think I am being mean, rude, judgmental, harsh, etc, then once again, as I said in my last post, please actually read and STUDY the entirety of God’s word. Jesus died for THE truth. Nice guys generally do not get crucified. If truth were relative then Christ would not have to die. Also if truth were relative then every single one of Jesus disciples would not have faced a martyr’s death. Why would they need to? Peter was crucified upside down because he passionately loved the truth. Paul was imprisoned and beaten ruthlessly countless times, and eventually executed because he stood for the truth. John (Jesus’ closest friend) was exiled to an island of solitude where he died because he proclaimed the truth. McLaren himself has said that he does not understand why Jesus had to die. Of course he doesn’t understand. In John 8:31-32 Jesus said, “If you continue in MY WORD, then you are TRULY disciples of Mine; and you will KNOW THE TRUTH, and the TRUTH will make you free.” Amen. No one but God could have said it any better.

IT'S A BOY!

No, I'm not preggers... but my sweet sister is. They found out yesterday that their little baby is a BOY and we will welcome him into the world around Christmastime. We are very excited. One of the most special blessings in my life has been being an aunt, and I can't wait for another little sweet baby boy to love on. Congratulations guys, we are so excited for you and love you very much.

In other news, Ben and I are headed to spend the weekend with his family in Oologah. We are pumped about spending time with them, and about seeing The Dark Knight. I'm afraid it is going to be terribly creepy, but I have already heard that it is an amazing movie. We will see.

I also found out this week that one of the teachers at my school is leaving. We have 9 Pre-K classrooms and only 4 "big" rooms...these big rooms are much larger than the others. Anyway, I am in line next to get a big room, so I will be moving all of my things and setting up a new classroom sometime soon. I am very excited to get a bigger room...and the moving process will be so much fun! :)

Hope everyone has a great weekend. Leave me some love.

Brian McLaren=False Teacher

"For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those WHO DID NOT BELIEVE. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day, just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of ETERNAL fire. Yet in the same way these men, also by DREAMING, defile the flesh, and REJECT AUTHORITY..........But these men revile the things which they do not understand; and the things which they know by instinct, like UNREASONING animals, by these things they are destroyed. Woe to them!.....These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you WITHOUT fear, caring for themselves;….doubly dead,……casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved FOREVER….These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak ARROGANTLY, flattering people FOR THE SAKE OF GAINING AN ADVANTAGE.”

--Jude 4-16

Hey this is Ben, and I am writing this post because the past several weeks God has really just opened up my eyes about how much falsehood there is in His church. I realize that there have always been false teachers in the church for as long as Christianity has been around, as evidenced by this letter written by Jesus' own brother, Jude, about 2000 years ago, but it just seems like today it is an epidemic. This truly is a problem in our churches and it truly is a cancer. Many false teachers are leading their followers straight to hell. That may not sound like a nice, popular, or politically correct thing to say, but it is true. I for one am sick of it. I am sick of reading error and seeing the skin of truth stuffed with a huge lie, and I am sick of Christians not actually studying God's Word to see what it says, and not speaking against these teachers, but rather embracing them, and their lies. One such well known, well liked, very popular teacher and author is Brian McLaren. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that he is a false teacher. If I did have a doubt I would not write this, but the best way to tell if someone is a false teacher is to look at their fruits and to look at how their teachings match up with God's Word. I am convinced that Brian McLaren's teachings are far from God's word, and even opposed to it. If you don’t believe me just read a few of his quotes below (underneath his quotes I have put answers). I also just wanted to put in bold how much he likes to say things like “I think”, “I don’t think”, “I suppose” and other things like that, that show his arrogance and belief that scripture is not correct, and that orthodox Christian doctrine that has been around for 2000 years is not correct unless it matches up with his Mystic Gnostic, “original” thoughts.

“I don't think we've got the gospel right yet. What does it mean to be 'saved'?.... I don't think the liberals have it right. But I don't think we have it right either. None of us has arrived at orthodoxy."—McLaren

Answer—to be saved means that you have confessed and repented of your sins, and have accepted by faith that God by his grace sent His only son Jesus to die on the cross for your sins and that He rose again physically from the dead. If you have not done, or do not believe all of those things then you are not saved and you are going to hell. That is what it means to be saved. For more on this see The Bible.

"Frankly, many of us don't know what we should think about homosexuality. We've heard all sides but no position has yet won our confidence so that we can say "it seems good to the Holy Spirit and us."—McLaren

Answer-Homosexuality is a sin, and just like every other sin, it leads to death, and God hates it. God specifically refers to homosexuality as an abomination. Scripture cleary says that homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God. What is “good to us” does not matter, that is not truth. The only thing that matters is what God said about it, that is truth. For more on this see The Bible.

"What if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan?".... What if he didn't come to start a new religion--but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?"—McLaren

Answer—if this is the case then He would be no different that Buddha, Muhhammed, Gandhi, Stalin, or Hitler. He would just be another man, spouting off his worthless opinions about life, and what he considers to be “utopia”just like any of these other men. Also how did Brian McLaren become so “blessed” that he seems to know what this secret message is? Any fool can ask an ignorant question like this. For example, what if Jesus came to show us that the secret to true happiness in marriage is found when you live in adultery? This clearly is not in scripure, but anyone can say such a statement and say that it is a secret that only God has revealed to him. For more on this see The Bible. His message is no secret.

The Christian faith, I am proposing, should become (in the name of Jesus Christ) a welcome friend to other religions of the world, not a threat”—McLaren

Answer-Certainly, and if we are going to be a welcome friend of all religions then we must also welcome those who sacrifice humans (there are still many religions of the world that practice this). We must also welcome those individuals that like to strap bombs to their chests and go stand in a crowd of civilians blowing their brains and bodies to shreds. We must also embrace those who say that Jews, African Americans, and any non-white person is below an animal, and we must also welcome every other false teaching, and abominable lie, no matter how grotesque or insane. Jesus never welcomed other religions of the world. Sure He loved people and tolerated them and so should we, but we must never tolerate falsehood; it is non-tolerable. For more on this see The Bible.

That’s good for now. I am going to be making more posts on this later. Also for those of you who think that I am being rude, intollerant, mean, or judgemental, then please read Jude, 2 Peter, Revelation 17, Jeremiah 23, Mark 9:42, Matthew 15:1-12, Luke 11:37-53, and the rest of The Bible and its entirety. God hates false teaching, and leading of His people astray, regardless of what one’s motives are.