How many times....

can you sing the VeggieTales theme song in a 30 minute car ride? A LOT! On our way home tonight from dinner Luke was unhappy. Mommy forgot to put the paci (yes, he is almost 16 months old and still uses it in the car and to sleep) in the diaper bag. The only thing that kept him from crying was me singing the theme song to VeggieTales... over and over.. Oh, what I will do for that little one that I love so much!

Important things on my mind..

Most who know me know how I feel about abortion. I HATE it. I am prolife 100%, no excuses, no exceptions, no 'special' situations. It does not matter to me how a child is conceived, it is still a child. I believe the moment an egg is fertilized it becomes a human. I am totally against all forms of abortion, including the Pill... and I'm not talking about the 'morning after' pill. I'm talking about the regular ol' pill. I'm sure I will blog about that soon. So, with ProLife Memorial Day around the corner (Monday, October 1) I just wanted to share some imp. info on Planned Parenthood, one of the largest (if not THE largest) performer of abortions in the US. Yes, I know, they are links and it might require some reading... but be informed... and just read it anyways! Because I said so!

Basic Facts about PP

Quotes by PP

Big supporters of PP Also notice on this link at the bottom where the 'Dishonorable mentions' are listed. Among them are: the American Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, March of Dimes...!

48 million unborn babies have been murdered since 1973... Prolife Memorial Day, 10-01-07

~YUM~ (My weekly menu).. and the bread lady

Menu for the week:
*Golden Chicken w/ Noodles (Crock pot), salad
*Baked Fusilli w/ Italian Sausage, garlicky broccoli and cauliflower
Oven Fried Chicken Fingers, Green Beans, Roasted Red Potatoes
Cheese ravioli, salad, garlic bread
Pork Chops (BBQ), baked beans and cole slaw

The items with (*) are recipes from some cookbooks that I have. If they turn out good I'll post the recipe! When I plan a menu for the week (which I have gotten out of the habit of doing) I usually only plan 5 meals because the other are nights (usually church nights) when we just eat a sandwhich or left overs. Occasionally we might go out to eat but that's rare!

~Update- I saved this menu this morning before I went to the grocery store. The second item, which is from a Paula Deen magazine has been changed to 'Baked Rigate w/ Italian Sausage'. Even my beloved Publix didn't have fusilli pasta! Oh and I added garlic bread to the cheese ravioli because the lady at the bakery pressured me into another loaf. ;) Sometimes I just can't help myself. It didn't help that she gave Luke a cookie right before she went into her bread spill. Let's give the kid a cookie and maybe his mom will buy some bread! I don't think she remembered me from just 2 days ago!

Tonight, Emeril and Pop Quiz

So, tonight (church) was awesome. It's so great to find people who think and believe like we do. It's really rare now days. So many people are so wishy washy w/ their faith (which is not even faith at all). It's nice to find some REAL solid believers. It's sad too.. that they are so few and far between. We had a guy come speak that R met not too long ago. They (he and his wife) are super sweet and are all about Jesus!

Important facts:

~ A sound Christian is sensitive to their sin. You can't be a true Christian and just not care when you sin. It will hurt you! Just knowing that I have hurt and grieved my Heavenly Father hurts me! 1 John 1:8 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." People today generally think they are pretty good... and what does Scripture say about that? They are deceived by their own self and the truth (Jesus Christ is the Truth) is not in them!! A true Christian recognizes the sin in their life and is bothered by it until it's gone! Does your sin bother you or do you even recognize the sin in your life?

~ A sound Christian daily strives to be like Christ. 1 John 2:6 says, "He who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk just as He walks." Does anything about your daily life remotely look anything like Christ? Are we walking in His ways?

~A sound Christian hates the things of the world. I find that as I grow closer to the Lord, the less TV I watch! Seriously, is there anything on TV that is decent anymore? I mean I was watching Emeril the other night and he said a curse word! Ahh.. please don't mess up my Food Network with filth! The Bible says that God hates sin... but we live in a world that glorifies it! Sin is fun and pretty to the world.. but it should literally make us want to puke! I desire for that. Sin put Jesus on the cross! 1 John 2:15 says, "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." Wow, what a verse. I know lots of so-called 'Christians' who love the things of the world. That verse, straight from God's Word, says that the Love of the Father is not in them.

~ A sound Christian continues. So, this is probably my favorite one. How come SO many people get saved... then baptized... come to church for a while and then they disappear off the face of the earth? They aren't saved.. plain and simple. 1 John 2:19 says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be manifest, that none of them were of us." A soundly saved person continues in the faith! Did you catch that in the verse, *if they had been of us, they would have continued with us*?? Are you continuing?

The most important point from tonight~ When you think of your salvation experience... when you examine yourself (that's what this was.. a test! Are you saved???) don't look back to a prayer you said! Look at the life you're living NOW. The "Style of life" that you're living now should be proof of your salvation. Lot's of people say prayers.. but many of them do not 'continue'. I know many of them personally... Oh Lord, convict hearts.

You know you have a toddler when...

... you're getting ready for bed and find an unopened box of Annie's Mac and Cheese laying in the floor of the computer room.

Publix & muffin recipe

Ok, let me just say that I love Publix. I have recently started shopping there because I'm sick and tired of WalMart. In Carrollton, Publix is close to Target so it's perfect.

So, call me a dork but I actually like to grocery shop! I guess maybe it's because I love to cook and bake so much. I like to buy good food and Publix has so much more of it than WalMart. Just their produce alone is 100 times better. I seriously had to restrain myself from buying stuff today. I did let the lady at the bakery talk me into some freshly baked bread. And I might add that it was great with the chicken salad that I made for supper.

Now I know there are better grocery stores out there... Trader Joes, Whole Foods... but when all you're use to is a Piggly Wiggly or WalMart, Publix beats them hands down.

And no, Publix is not paying me for this.. ;)

Luke hates oatmeal. Luke loves muffins! Luckily I found this recipe on www.allrecipes.com and tweaked it a little bit. It's low in sugar & healthy which is what I love. They are really good but if you're looking for that' super sweet, fake blueberry' taste this is definately not the recipe for you. I made these today for the second time and this time added a mashed banana (that was on the verge of yuck!) and Luke gobbled 2 up!! R also ate one and liked it.

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins (12 muffins)
1 1/4 c quick cooking oats
1 c AP flour
1/3 c white sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 t salt
1 c milk
1 egg
1/4 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 c frozen blueberries

Combine oats, flour, baking powder and salt. Mix in milk, egg and oil. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Fold in blueberries. Pour in greased muffin cups 2/3 of the way full. Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes. YUM!

A day in the life of...

What did Luke do today?

• refused to eat any kind of vegetable
• refused to ride in his wagon (I can forget any attempt at exercising)
• only asked for a 'nana' twice today, which is a record
• watched VeggieTales and danced like a mad man
• when told that he had company coming to see him, looked up and said 'Bebe' (Aunt B) who left for 9 months this morning.. :(
• pulled an empty raisin box and 1/2 pint of ice cream carton out of the trash can for fun
• gave his Mommy lots of grins to help her forget about the trash can incident
• laughed out loud

Seeing his face and smile today is a gift that I am so grateful to get to experience every single day! I am so blessed!

Peace like a river

Time Alone With God

Peace...

"Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." Col. 3:15

~"Peace comes in situations that are completely surrendered to the sovereign authority of Christ." ~Beth Moore

As a child of God, peace is attainable in every situation. It only comes though when we surrender and give total authority to Jesus Christ.

"Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you." 2 Thes. 3:16

Worms & Butterflies

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." 2 Corin. 5:17

What does it mean to be a new creature? To be different, not the same... Even more than that though. It means to be a completely, totally NEW (definition~ fresh: original and of a kind not seen before) person. Hmmm.. of a kind not seen before. That would mean people should not even recognize you! I'm so thankful Christ made me new. What I was before was an ugly ol' worm! Jesus Christ turned me into a beautiful butterfly! Ok, that's corny but it's true!

I say all of this #1, because I'm thankful for my new life in Christ. I am not the same Crystal that I was 5 years ago. Everything about my life has changed. But #2, I'm worried that there are so many people out there professing Christianity without any newness about them at all. I mean now days, everybody's a 'Christian'. But if you look at what the Bible calls someone who has really met Christ, it's totally different than what most "Christians" look like today (inside and outside of the church). Should our standard not be the Jesus Christ of the Bible?

To be a Christian means to be Christ-like. So (remembering the fad of the WWJD braclets), what would Jesus do? Would Jesus hide hatred in his heart? Would He lie? Would He tell nasty jokes? Would he watch movies with foul language? Would He miss church on Sunday? Would He sit at the bar (or in front of His TV) and down a few cold ones? Would He read His Bible? Would He look at ugly things on the internet? And the list goes on..

Ephesians 5:1 says, "Therefore be imitators of God as dear children."

First post and testimony

So, I've been thinking a lot about this 'blog'. I actually created it a while back and have been praying and thinking about it ever since. I have felt led to start this for a while but just wasn't sure.. What is the blog going to be about?... me & my family... my walk with the Lord.. random things (I'm sure)... I pray that it will be a light. I know that first I want to share my testimony.. that is where life began anyways so why not start there?

My family started going to church 'regularly' when I was around 9 yrs old. When I was 10, I started worrying about hell.. and going there (as everyone should). So, I talked to momma and daddy about it and they called the preacher. I remember the pastor and youth pastor coming over and talking to me.. and using those colored pieces of paper to explain the gospel. That's all I remember... then I got baptized. So, the years went by. We were VERY active in church. There Sun AM & PM and Wed night... you know 'those' kind of people who go every time the door is opened. I was really involoved in my youth group, even considered a leader in the youth group when I got older. I was a good student... for the most part did what my parents told me to. One night after revival I just felt sooo convicted. I talked to my parents again.. I just didn't feel 'saved' and we prayed 'the sinners prayer' at my kitchen table. I got baptized again.. this time I got it right, Right? I was 16 years old at the time. Well, I went on through out my senior high years... going to church, hanging out with my Christian friends, being a good girl, going to youth camp and mission trips... Let me say, those days I never chose the best guys to date... and neither did my friends). To make a long story short the 2nd half of my senior year I decided it was time to live it up. Party hard.. That's what all teenagers do at some point, right? No biggy, huh? (um, unless you die!) In college it got worse.. and that's all I will say about that. The first semester of my sophomore year strange things started to happen. For some reason some of my best friends just ditched me. We just didn't hang out much. I couldn't really understand why. Then my Grandaddy got sick.. very sick. He was immediatly put into ICU. At first they didn't know what was wrong with him... but he ended up having that flesh eating disease.. that is very rare. He had cancer and was having treatments so he was already weak... it was just a matter of time. I didn't 'go out' during his illness. I was too afraid that something would happen at the hospital.. and I would be too 'out of it' to make it to the hospital. So, I pretty much hung out with my family and at the hospital for those 3 weeks. Although those 3 weeks were so hard, God was doing amazing things in my life. He was revealing to me the people in my life that really cared... Him(of course), my family and my church family. None of my friends came to the funeral. At this time I was still going to church most Sunday mornings... but I had tons of excuses for missing Sunday night and Wed night. I mean I had to go some to keep my parents happy.. but soon I started going back more and more. About 2 months went by of me getting more involved with church... but my heart was still missing something. Another tragedy happened, a friend of mine (with whom I had been 'on again/off again' friends with and cared about) killed herself. During the week following I hung out with some old friends of mine... I mean, we all needed each other and I especially wanted to be there for one particular friend. But that week showed me a lot. I realized that I didn't want to live the lifestyle they were living. I guess being 'out of it' for a few months had opened my eyes. They didn't even really care about me.. Where were they when I needed them? Sometimes you have to hit rock bottom and be left with no one.. no one, but God. I think at the time I just realized that there was more to life than the way I had been living. God was drawing me... I remember going home one night and crying out to God alone, in my room. "I can't do this anymore on my own... I've made a mess of my life.. Please forgive me... I give it all to You." Rededication, right? Well, my friends and I unofficially parted ways. Over the next few months I got back in my Bible and started studying.. got involved in a Bible study. This question kept going over in my mind... 'Was that night alone in my room my TRUE conversion? or was it just a redidication?' I said a prayer at 16, right? and I meant it.. right? Surely... I just had a 'season of sin'. Or was there something more to that prayer? One night I was praying and finally I just asked God, "When did I truely, REALLY get saved?" I felt that God asked me a question in return... "Would you ever go back and do those things you did in high school and college now, after that prayer you prayed a few months ago?" I immediately knew the answer... 'NO! Of course not' So, that was it. I knew that after that prayer I said in Febuary of 2002 I could NEVER go back and do those things that I did before. Now, not that I was perfect by any means... but I would never do most of those things again. Obviously those 2 previous 'prayers' meant nothing! My true salvation experience was in Feb. 2002. I again went forward and publically professed my faith and got baptized... for the 3rd and final time. I've never been the same. And guess what? That's the thing... when you meet Jesus.. and I mean REALLY meet Him... you will NEVER be the same.

2 Corinthians 5:17~ Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Looking back I can totally see where God was pouring out His grace on my life. I did not deserve His grace and mercy, but I am so thankful for it. The Holy Spirit was drawing me to the Savior of the world. How awesome is that?

More thoughts later.. I will leave thinking about the awesome God who loves me (and you) so much....