Stunning! Evangelicals and Catholics Daring Marriage Report
Here is an excerpt from a joint Evangelical Catholic statement on marriage.
As Christians, it is our responsibility to bear witness to the truth about marriage as taught by both revelation and reason—by the Holy Scriptures and by the truths inscribed on the human heart. These age-old truths explain why Christians celebrate marriage—the coming-together of a man and woman in a binding union of mutual support—as one of the glories of the human race. Marriage is the primordial human institution, a reality that existed long before the establishment of what we now know as the state.
Click http://www.firstthings.com/article/2015/03/the-two-shall-become-one-flesh-reclaiming-marriage-2 to view the rest of the statement.
This is a guest post by Stephanie K. Taylor, Sophie West’s best friend. Stephanie has a degree in journalism from Oklahoma State University. From her bio at her blog: “Go Pokes! I love all things music and art. Running is my therapy. Cooking is my joy. Fashion is my playground. I am quirky, sarcastic and I often fall walking up steps. When I am not spending my time being super graceful, I am writing.” She blogs at
stephkt.wordpress.com/blog Whenever I am asked to share my story, I always think to myself, “Where do I start?” In my twenty four years of life, though only a short time, it seems as though I have lived a lifetime. I like to tell people that I am an old soul. My story has had it’s fair share of ups and downs, highs and lows, good times and bad times, and I wouldn’t change any of it. It’s given me a testimony to encourage other people, a big part of which includes the story of my mom.
Hearing What the Spirit is Saying unto the Church! In 1Corinthians 12, the Apostle Paul lays out for the church an explanation of Spiritual Gifts. If you read the list, you will see that three of the gifts are vocal. Prophecy is words inspired by the Spirit in a known language. Tongues are words inspired by the Spirit in an unknown tongue. Interpretation of tongues is a Spirit given rendering of an unknown tongue. Below is an example of the gift of prophecy.
The following excerpt is taken from a prophecy that was given by Lynne Hammond on December 5, 2012.
Most people are busy, very busy. There is enough in life to carry you along. But if you allow the currents of your life to just bear you along, if you don’t intentionally set yourself to grow beyond yourself, you will become nothing more than a rocking chair believer. You know what a rocking chair believer is? It is one who sits in the same chair, the same place every day. If you are not growing, if you are stuck in a chair whose only activity is back and forth, all you will do for your constant going is wear out the carpet. In order to become more than that, in order to move forward with significant progress, you have to do so with intention. You have to do growth on purpose.
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The Teen Pregnancy Crisis is Worse than You Think
American teenagers are getting pregnant at a rate three times that of Spain and fifteen times that of Switzerland. Three out of every ten teenagers are estimated to get pregnant at least once before they turn 20. The total amounts to 750,000 teen births a year.
Source: Relevant Magazine – http://www.relevantmagazine.com/issue-73-januaryfebruary-2015
This is a guest post by my youngest daughter Sophie West. All parents think their kids shot the moon. I am no exception. In Sophie’s case though, I think she is part owner of that hunk of cheese in the sky. She is the delight of her Dad’s heart for sure. Those that know me understand I have a tendency to get a bit weepy when discussing my children. You can image what a mess I am in by having her as a guest on the blog today. So, pass the tissue please and read on.
I suppose it’s only fitting that I introduce myself to you, as that is what most people do upon meeting each other. I am the youngest born to my father Emery and my mother Sharon. I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but you may call me Sophie West, and I’m a twenty something year old whose passion revolves around three things; My God, my family and words. These areas that I have centered my life on are seemingly typical responses to the age old question “What is important to you?” Well the first two are in any happenstance. Americans the world over have professed a deep and abiding love for God and family. But the two that I’m going to focus on are My God, and my words.
It is not enough to put our revelation into action, we must become students of miracles. That means the miracles that we experience must shape our thinking. God uses miracles to train us how to see differently. A miracle is a school. – Bill Johnson
In the ancient Near East, dreams were one of several ways people sought to see the future and to make decisions that would be beneficial to them. In some societies, people went to temples or holy places to sleep in order to have a dream that would show them the best decision to make . Dreams are important and part of the fabric of life on planet earth. What can we learn about them and how they impact our being?
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Take Me to Church? Half of Pastors Believe Faith Will Become Online-Only Experience
What do you think of online cyber-church? Please leave a comment in the comments section or leave a voice mail by clicking on the side tab.
Here is an article on the subject from Christianity Today: http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2015/february/how-pastors-now-use-internet-ministry-barna.html
Sometimes alien thoughts buzz in people’s heads like bees doing what’s normal. Even people wishing to do God’s complete will get stunk with the humming question. “What if I married the wrong person. What should I do? How do I correct the mistake and get back into God’s will?” Let’s look at the hiss coming from this question.
Why Playing It Safe Does Not Work
It is a curious coincidence that ‘stephanos’, the Greek word for crown, translates also as ‘Stephen’. Wasn’t Stephen a Christian martyr, perhaps even the first Christian martyr? At least Acts thinks so (Acts 7:58-60). With bold spirit breathing words, Stephen declared God’s dealings with Israel. I have read his words often and marvel at the turn in Acts 7:51. Stephen signed his own death certificate with those words. Couldn’t he have left those words out and lived longer? I mean, his story was accurate to this point. Do you muse about this? How many could Jesus have saved through a life lived instead of one tossed aside? God was using him to do miracles and wonders (Acts 6:8). Why not pile some more wonders up? You know stack them high and deep. Jesus has the answer to this. He said, “A single grain of wheat doesn’t produce anything unless it is planted in the ground and dies. If it dies, it will produce a lot of grain (John 12:24 GW). They buried Stephen. Devout men did what devout men do (Acts 8:2). Before his warm body could grow cold, the wonder of wonders started. Gospel germination began. The disciples scattered preaching everywhere because of Stephens death (Acts 11:19). Stephen produced more in his death than all the miracle credits he would have amassed by leaving verse 51 out of his sermon. And as for Stephen? ‘Stepahnos’ Stephen will wear the first New Testament awarded ‘stephanos’ crown of life. It’s all because he spoke out verse fifty one instead of playing it safe.
For more on this subject see ‘Enduring Tests and Trials: The Crown of Life; James 1:12’
Psychological studies establish that by age five a child has formed a fairly definite impression of himself. The same studies reveal that self-esteem is not closely related to social position, family work background, education or any combination of such factors. A young child sees himself from the reflections of those close to him, mainly his parents. How they react to his activities largely determines the self image he builds . Having a wrong self-image can absolutely hinder God’s plan for your life. How can we identify and change a negative self-image?
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Here is an excerpt from a joint Evangelical Catholic statement on marriage.
