HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Just a short note to say Happy New Year to all my blog friends. I am excited to see what 2009 holds for all of us (The Rapture? maybe). Anyway, I pray that you all have a blessed New Year! (And who knows? Next time you visit Waiting for the Shout, things may look a little different - New Year...new look? Maybe ;-).

Revelation 21:3-5

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Breaking My Blog Fast

**UPDATED** I added a few more pictures to this post. Yesterday, Blogger was not working correctly and it would not let me add any more pics and it still will not allow me to post captions beside the pics......maybe blogger is mad that I took such a long break~!


So, Christmas is over and so is my blog fast. It was a much needed break since things have been so busy around here. You probably dont know this, but I tend to put unessecary pressure on myself to meet my goal of blogging three times per week (even when I have nothing to say-- as you all well know and if you didnt know, you will find out by the end of this completely boring post). And, yes, I do realize that blogging is not my job, but when I set a personal goal, I am just anal OCD enough that I feel I must meet it (with the exceptions of weight loss and exercise of course). On a side note, I would like to point out that even though I have taken an extended leave of absence from the blog, I have not lost my mad striking skilz.

Thank you all for your Christmas wishes. I hope your Christmas was a blessed one filled with lots of fudge, cakes, non-dry turkeys, sweet potato casseroles (much like the cold one that I make ), appropriate presents that you did not have to return, relatives that did not get on your nerves, and most of all Jesus.

Speaking of gifts that you dont have to return.......I wonder, is there anyone left in the world (besides my Father in Law) who still likes fruitcake? Seriously, I would hate for Claxton to go out of business, but why are people still giving fruitcakes for Christmas gifts? Just curious.

We had a good Christmas here. Seems like they go by way too fast. My house looks like a tornado swept through leaving a wake of toys and games behind. Somehow, we ended up with more toys than Toys R Us (how would one make a backwards R on this thing?). We never buy the boys toys for Christmas, only clothes, they love that ;-). And Santa brings them three toys each. The vast majority of toys come from the grandparents and aunts - for which we are eternally grateful, because while they junk up my house, they also provide hours of entertainment which in turn allows me to do laundry, clean, and blog. So, lots of toys = win/win for everyone.

As I type, Lake is playing a Playstation game that Aunt Lisa got him. It is called The Bible Game. The player plays games like Daniel in the Lion's Den (played to the song "Indescribable") and The Tower of Babel (where you try to get the tower to fall), and then there are Trivia Questions, which are not easy. It is really a fun game (I lost at it last night - I landed on Wrath of God in the Grace of God final round and locusts ate all my points - sounds cheesy, but it is actually a great teaching tool).

We sang this song in church yesterday

And Kaden has been walking around the house pumping his hands in the air singing "We praise our hands in the sanctuary"......gets his mad lyrical skilz from his dad who makes up words to songs because he has lyrical altzheimers......

So, in the spirit of all things "SALE", I went to Michaels, Bed Bath & Beyond, KMart, Lowes, Decorator Warehouse, and Stein Mart to purchase leftover Christmas stuff. Got lots and lots of stuff on the cheap (like I have somewhere to put it all). If I am not mistaken, I have enough wrapping paper to last until the year 2020 or until Jesus comes back. (Hopefully the latter will come first! - Woohoo! 2009 might be our year, people!)

Every year for Christmas, the hubs and I give all our family members a calendar with pictures of our boys on it. (Because what says I'm cheap"I love you" more than a personalized calendar? And doesnt EVERYONE want to count down their year with MY kids? ;-) (Seriously, all those calendars ARE expensive...$18 a piece!.....and I have lots of family......whatever.) This year, apparently there were snow storms that caused outages at 2 of the three Fuji labs that our Wal-Mart uses to make their calendars. I was told that the calendars would likely not make it by Christmas Eve. But God.......wonder of all wonders, Wal-Mart Photo Lab called at 7 pm on the 23rd and said "Come and pick up your calendars!".....Praise the Lord, 2009 can proceed as scheduled for our families. I was worried that we would have to continue 2008 for a little while longer until the calendars came in and I am seriously ready for 2008 to be over, people! OVER!

Well, I am sure there are a thousand and one other things I could bore you to tears with (like ALL 250 of my Christmas pictures), but I will save those for later....cause there is only so much boredom a person can take in one day (I like to spread out the boredom so it isnt so boring, if you know what I mean).....I will be back later in the week and hopefully back on my three posts per week schedule next week. Thank you those of you mom,dad who have read to this point.......Here are a few pics from Christmas - blogger is acting weird or there would be captions.....

Merry Christmas

Hey Blog Friends!
I have not forgotten you or my blog. I have been so busy with Christmas preparation and a few other things that blogging time has been non-existent. Today, I took the kids to the mall to have their pictures made with Santa (it's a tradition now) and I went to Belk to pick up some make-up.....the lady at the make-up counter reminded me several (and I mean SEVERAL) times that they give professional makeovers for just $35. It's enough to give a girl a complex. Anyway, I will not be back on the blog until after Christmas so I wanted to wish all my blog friends a Merry Christmas. You all bring me lots of joy and happiness. I love your comments and so enjoy the fellowship that we have even though many of us have never met in person. You guys are a blessing to me and such and encouragement.

I am praying that all of you have a Jesus-filled Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

While You Were Sleeping

"While You Were Sleeping"

Oh little town of Bethlehem
Looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep
A giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark
There shines an everlasting light
For the King has left His throne
And is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man
And stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem
Looks like another silent night
The Father gave His only Son
The Way, the Truth, the Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history
As a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping
While you were sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies
That save the trees and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark
There's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned
And has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again
And leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history
As a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping
Will we be sleeping

United States of America
Looks like another silent night

Long Time, No Type

So, in the past few weeks I have violated my own "blog three days a week" rule. I hate it when I break my own rules. As I said in my earlier teeny tiny post, I have been too busy doing life to write about it. If I told you all the things that I have been doing over the past week, your head would spin. And you know what? I bet if you told me all the things you have been doing lately, my head would spin too. We are all WAY too busy, especially at this time of the year.

I wish I had some spiritual truth to impart to you, but it seems that I have been too busy to hear any truth being spoken over me lately.....oh wait, maybe that IS the spiritual truth I am supposed to share. When we get caught up in a flurry of activities and responsibilities, our ears can become deaf to the voice of God. And He desperately wants to speak to us.

Have you ever felt disconnected to one of your children? You talk, but they are too involved with something else to listen to you...like what they are doing is more important than what you have to say to them. I bet that is exactly how God feels with us. He speaks, but we are so involved in our whirlwind lives that we cant hear Him .....or we choose not to hear Him.

I think too often we see God as this big deity somewhere up in the sky who is waiting to rain on our parade that we forget that He loves us like no one else ever could. He loves each of His children equally, yet differently, just like we love our own children equally yet differently. When our kids ignore our voice, many times it is because they are afraid we are going to correct them or discipline them......we do the same thing with God. And many times that is exactly what He does....correct and discipline, but I wonder how many times we ignore Him when He just wanted to say "I love you, daughter" or "I love you, son".............I wonder how many rhema words I have missed because I was too busy or too stubborn to stop and listen.

Yes, I think that is the spiritual truth that I am supposed to share with you today (or maybe it's just for me). This is the day that the Lord has made, let us slow down to listen and be glad in it......(that's from the BBV - Beth's Blog Version). Have a great day, ya'll!

In case you were wondering......

In case you were wondering, I have not forgotten that I have a blog. I have been a tad busy this past week and unfortunately life has gotten in the way of blogging as it does so often.......I will be back soon to share some life changing information with you.......okay that may be a slight exaggeration, but I WILL be back soon........and I am sure by then I will have something to say...................

WorthShip

Have you ever felt like seeking God is hard work? I mean we put pressure on ourselves to have consistent daily quiet times, go to Bible study, be at church every time the doors are open, and "be good little Christians". Nothing wrong with trying to be a good Christian or having set daily quiet times or going to church/Bible study (those are all admirable things), but are we doing those things in order to seek God or out of duty? Are our actions sincere or are we simply going through the motions.


No where in the Bible does it say "Thou shalt go through the motions necessary to make a good impression on God and others". God knows our hearts even better than we do. He knows when we are sincere and when we are playing church or trying to get the "Christian of the Year Award". I think all too often we forget that everything we do should be an act of worship to God.......not just going through the obligatory daily routine.



In John 4:19-24, Jesus is talking to the Samaritan woman at the well..........

"Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

The word worship in this verse comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "weorthscipe" which literally means "worthship". When we worship in Spirit and in Truth, we are showing God how much He is worth to us...........and sadly, when we go through the motions and "half-heartedly semi-worship" out of obligation, we are also showing God how much He is worth to us.

I think we limit worship to what happens in the pews at the local church, but when we are given new life in Christ, we are called to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.....not just on Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesdays at 6:30, but in our daily lives. Everyday worshippers are the ones God is seeking -- people who can worship God in Spirit and in Truth without a worship leader and a 3 bullet-point sermon. See, where you worship really doesn't matter, Whom you worship and HOW you worship Him is is what is really important. The steeple and the pews are irrelevant to a person who desires to worship in Spirit and in Truth.


John 4 says that the Father actually SEEKS those who truly worship Him in Spirit and in Truth........the word "seeks" here means to enquire, desire, to seek after. God enquires about, desires, and seeks after those who drop the Phariseeical obligations and simply worship Him for Who He is.

So, if you see seeking God as hard work......stop working and start worshipping......and then HE will seek YOU!

Not much

Busy day today. House stuff. Laundry here, etc. Lake b-ball practice. The hubs Christmas party for work -- figuring out what to wear so I don't look like a dork (hope I win a good door prize ;-). Anyway, you get my point....not much blogging time for me today. But here are a couple of things I wanted to share.....................


A friend of mine from church told me about this site that does a blog personality test. Thought some of you might be interested in trying it (if you haven't already...I am usually the last person to know about these type things). Here is what it said about my blog...............



ESFP - The Performers

The entertaining and friendly type. They are especially attuned to pleasure and beauty and like to fill their surroundings with soft fabrics, bright colors and sweet smells. They live in the present moment and don´t like to plan ahead - they are always in risk of exhausting themselves. The enjoy work that makes them able to help other people in a concrete and visible way. They tend to avoid conflicts and rarely initiate confrontation - qualities that can make it hard for them in management positions.

I am not sure about the management thing...I have a degree in Management and have never had a problem telling people what to do.....;-) hahhaaha

Another friend of ours at church has a son who is in the running to be in Gap Kids advertisements. If you want to, you can vote for him every day for the next couple of weeks. He is in the 5-10 yr old category and his name is Jett......bottom right corner. He really does look like the ultimate Gap kid, so if you get a chance, cast a vote for him here:

http://gap.eprize.net/castingcallphase2/index.tbapp?affiliate_id=2c


Hopefully, there will be more time for blogging later on.......

Oh Christmas Tree and a Meme

Since I am going out of town tomorrow (just for the day), I thought I would post my Christmas tree thingie a little bit early..........

So, it's Christmas Tree Friday. For those of you who are playing along by posting pics of your tree and/or favorite ornament, please leave a comment so we can all go to your blog and see your tree. I would make this a Mr. Linky/sticky post, but I have no idea how to do that, so let's just do it the old fashioned way.........it will help you empathize with the early settlers in this vast territory we call blog land.

I took pictures of my trees and I realized that they look just like the pictures of my trees from last year....could be because they are the same trees with the same ornaments. Matter of fact, if you had come to my house 8 years ago, you would have seen the same trees and the same ornaments (well, for the most part). So, if you are a little leery of putting your Charlie Brown tree out there for the world to see......don't be....you are in good company. Seeing everyone's trees might actually give us all some inspiration and cause us to be better tree decorators next year (or this year if you are my sister and don't put your tree up until the week of Christmas and take it down in late March).

This is the tree in our dining room.....it has all the kids ornaments on it.........

This tree is in our living room. It is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.....well, the same last year and the year before and the year before.........love the ornaments - they are all gold and glass........next year, when I have a NEW tree (did ya hear that hubs...hint hint -- he doesn't even read this blog ;-) I think we will add some color........

This is a little hard to see, but it is a tree that has Snow Buddies on it....the tree is really skinny and only 5 ft tall.

These are some of my favorite ornaments. The one in the middle says Jesus (can hardly see it -- my photographer stinks - I am firing her as soon as this post is published). Then there are the ones the boys made that are in the shape of a cross and an Icthus....you can also see one that is a glass ball with the wise men and the stable on it....................

So, Stephanie tagged me for a meme.....I know you are thinking how blessed you are to get to see inside my home AND inside my head all in one day...........I'm supposed to answer the following questions with one word (anyone who knows me in real life knows that one word answers are not possible for me and following man made rules is a little difficult for me, so I will do my best --- and that's the best I can do).

1. Where is your cell phone? Side pocket of my new purse that I think is so pretty (the purse not the pocket--had been using my old purse for a long time --- very thankful for the new one.

2. Where is your significant other? Work

3. Your hair color? Reddish/blondish

4. Your mother? Donna - for more information, visit her on the web at http://www.anchoredontherock.blogpsot.com/

5. Your father? Eddie - for more information, visit him on the web at http://eddie-eddiesplace.blogspot.com/

6. Your favorite thing? raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens, brown paper packages tied up with strings.....these are a few of my favorite things

7. Your dream last night? cant dream if you don't sleep

8. Your dream/goal? too many to list...I am only supposed to use one word in my answers!

9. The room you’re in? den

10. Your hobby? blogging

11. Your fear? that a snake will come up out of my toilet while I am sitting on it

12. Where do you want to be in six years? raptured

13. Where were you last night? a friend's house

14. What you’re not? skinny, rich, gorgeous, a liar, fake, a musician, regular

15. One of your wish list items? new boots

16. Where you grew up? I was raised Blountville.....AKA. Blount-vegas in the great state of Tennessee, Baby!!! I will tell you where I am when I actually grow up.

17. The last thing you did? put some goldfish crackers in a bowl for Kaden

18. What are you wearing? My daily mommy uniform.....jeans, a hoodie, and my Merrell's

19. Your T.V.? black tube type TV currently showing cartoons--- you know the kind they keep telling us will not work in January because the whole world is going digital??? Yeah, that's us. I am not a fan of TV with the exception of January - April during American Idol or while watching Fox News (or Life Today)

20. Your pet? saltwater fish --they hate me---don't ask

21. Your computer? HP Pavilion -- flat screen monitor, yet no flat screen TV in this house---tell you anything? We actually got a flat screen for the new house, but it is still in the box ............

22. Your mood? a little dazed and confused

23. Missing someone? my sane self

24. Your car? filled with travertine samples, cabinet doors, tile samples, paint chips, and various things the kids have made in Sunday School for the past few weeks

25. Something you’re not wearing? Depends undergarments, a kilt, a band uniform, a thong, support hose, parachute pants, a gun, an oxygen mask, leg warmers, braces, a flower in my hair, a Member's Only jacket, a jock strap, welding gear, a shirt with my name on it, a fireproof suit, a turban......this could go on forever---guess that's why you are only supposed to use one word.

26. Favorite store? all stores that have 50% - 70% off

27. Your Summer? Disney..........have I mentioned that I would love to live in Cinderella's castle and my children tell me everyday how much they miss Disney?

28. Love someone? yes, several someones

29. Your favorite color? ORANGE!

30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday when Kaden said "Mommy, instead of cutting me and Lake out of your belly when we were born, why didn't the doctor just slap you on the back so you could burp us up?" Yeah, that's my boy............

31. Last time you cried? I laughed so hard I cried, a few days ago when I was reminded of the police chase that happened during my high school graduation (yeah, we ARE TN rednecks, people......). One of my friends (Justin) was playing a beautiful piece on the piano while another guy (who I didn't know very well--okay we went all through school together, but we weren't close) ran from the police. He actually stepped on graduates (one of which was yours truly - stepped right on my white gown!) that were seated listening to the guy play the piano.....the guy who was running, got up on the stage and said "You're not gonna take me out!" (or something to that effect) as the deputies lunged toward him.....it went on for about 15 minutes during our graduation. Why was he running you ask? Well, he had sewn a Harley Davidson bandanna to his cap and gown and the school officials would not allow him to walk with our class (I use the term "class" very loosely)........................fun times brought back to memory by Facebook.

A Little Less Heavy Than the Last Post and a Chance to Play Along

So, since my last post was a little shall we say, unpopular, I thought it was time to lighten things up a little and you know what that means, right?????............

You guessed it correctly, time for a little randomness (for those of you who are still reading this blog after my last post ;-).................................


First, I would just like to say that I PATIENTLY followed a man on a back hoe for 7 miles on the way home from taking Lake to school this morning. Yes, here in TN people drive farm equipment right on the main highways. It's like living in Amish country except our farmers drive John Deere's instead of horses and we have electricity. Only in Tennessee, people, only in Tennessee.

I am under the gun on the Christmas card picture this year. Normally, I would have already had the picture taken, printed, the envelopes addressed and stamped with this years Christmas stamp. This year, however, I have run into a couple of roadblocks. The first roadblock is that I haven't actually had time to get the boys into their obligatory "Christmas card outfits" that we bought them to take the pictures and the second roadblock is I have no idea of what background to use. And Cassie, you can rest assured that I will not be carrying any furniture into my yard for this.....while your pictures are very good (as usual), I do not have the drive (or the Nikon) to take such fancy pics..................so, any and all suggestions are appreciated.........especially from those of you who are professional or amateur photographers (unlike me who has the point and shoot and doesn't know focus from zoom about photography;-).

So, you have probably heard that the University of Tennessee has picked Lane Kiffin as their new head coach to replace the ousted Phil Fulmer. I don't really know much about Kiffin other than that he is like 12 and has a reputation of not playing well with others. I hear that his dad will be bringing him to all the games, so maybe behavior will not be an issue. Hopefully, he will pull TN out of their losing streak.

I am getting kind of sick of seeing tree hugger bumper stickers on cars (no offense to those of us who actually do love trees). You know the ones I am talking about.....the Subaru Outback with the Universalist Unitarian Church sticker, the sticker that says "Torture is a Moral Issue", "Who Would Jesus Bomb"?, Save the Orcas, Save the Three Toed Tree Sloth, Save the Red-Eyed Tree Toad, Honk if you Love Mother Earth (who is "mother earth" anyway?)............... You've seen 'em, right? These people cover their cars in bumper stickers and think that people following them can read them all without x-ray vision.........accident waiting to happen if you ask me.......(do these people really believe that their bumper sticker is going to put a fire in my belly for the plight of the horny toad????).....Forgive me if this is stereotyping, but it seems that the people who drive these cars are always the ones going 20 miles under the speed limit in the fast lane.

Yesterday morning, I drank a large cup of Mayfield Egg Nog. Good stuff. After I drank it, I decided to check to see how many calories a cup of egg nog contained............To my horror, I found that egg nog is not measured in cups, but half cups and each half cup equals 180 calories. A Half cup of egg nog? Why even bother? By my calculations, I drank 480 calories in one cup yesterday morning...........why is it that all things that taste good make us fat? Just another way that life as we know it, is completely unfair ;-)

This is my new favorite song. Once I start singing it, I cannot stop. I find myself dancing and pretending that Mandisa is actually in my house and singing backup for me.......You have no idea how many times I have actually said, "Mandisa, come on!" like she is really here in my living room..............yes, I do have a problem. The first step is admitting it. What's the second step?

Last night my kids were watching a Christmas show on Nickelodeon while I was checking emails. A commercial came on that caught my attention. There was a bald guy standing with his arms crossed and he said, "If ever there was an all American gay boy, then I am it"........My ears perked up and I said to myself....did he just say "gay boy"?.............before I could switch channels, I heard him say that he is HIV positive.........I will admit that I didn't hear the whole commercial, I was too busy falling all over myself trying to get to the channel changer...........All American gay boy?? What is up with that? My kids have no idea what being gay is and I cant understand why on earth Nickelodeon would think that commercial is appropriate for a children's channel. I was already opposed to most of the programming on Nick (well, the shows that come on after 1 pm). Now we cant even watch commercials on cartoon channels? Does the phrase "hell in a handbag" mean anything to you? It should, because that is exactly where this world is going.............................

OKAY, here is the part where you can play along......I think it would be fun to post pictures of our Christmas trees and our favorite ornaments. Believe me, my tree is NOT spectacular in any way (matter of fact the whole back of it is pretty much gone, but it faces a wall, so no one knows). I love looking at other people's trees, so if you want to on Friday, post a picture of your tree and/or your favorite ornament(s). This could be lots of fun.........hope you will play along......I wont tag anyone because I dont want you to feel pressured.........

Okay, enough with the randomness.......Have a great Wednesday!

Just How Narrow IS The Way (Warning: This post may not be popular)

**I am going to go ahead and preface this post by warning you that its contents may offend some people. As a matter of fact, this post may actually cause some of you to delete my blog from your favorites list, but these are thoughts that have been spinning around in my head for some time and it is time that I put them down on paper (well, on computer). If you are offended by these words, ask yourself why you are offended................**

Recently in blog land AND in the real world I have been accused of being narrow minded. I wont lie, there is truth in that accusation. I do tend to see things in black and white and I am vocal about my views. Am I always right? Of course not, but when it comes to spiritual views, I make no apology for being narrow. Yesterday, in his sermon, our pastor reminded us of a very simple truth: Truth is ALWAYS narrow. Doesn't 2 + 2 always equal 4????

Lately, I have been thinking alot about how Christians blend in with the rest of the world. So much so that at times it is hard to tell the difference between a follower of Christ and the God-less. I am sure that satan laughs at how much God's people act like his people. Because, the narrow truth is that you are one or the other....you either belong to satan or to God....according to the Bible, there is no 'in-between'.

We know there is no middle ground when it comes to following Jesus, we are either hot or cold....luke warm will get you spewed out of His mouth, right? Matthew 7:13-14 tells us "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it" .Yet, we continue to ask "Just how narrow is the way that leads to life?" Instead of taking Him at His word that the way to righteousness is very narrow, like children, we keep testing the limits to see how far we can go without going to far. I could give you example after example of how we put our hands on the cookie jar and look up at God to see if He will smack our hand or allow us to have the cookie.

As Christians, we are called out of darkness and into the light. We are to put off our old selves. Behold He makes all things new. We are to steer clear of even the appearance of evil, yet you can enter any restaurant and watch those who call themselves Christians drinking the same alcoholic drinks that the rest of the world is drinking. The devil loves for a Christian to give the appearance of evil....and don't we associate alcohol with evil? Drunk drivers, drunken wife /child beaters, etc ,etc.???

Many will argue that in Bible days, the people drank wine.......and it's true, but they drank at least 3 parts water to one part wine, so it wasn't the wine of today. Others would say that Paul urged Timothy to use a little wine to settle his stomach....that is also true, but today we have all sorts of medicines to remedy an upset stomach. And let's be honest, if you use these passages as excuses for drinking, then I have to ask you if you adhere to the Bible in every other instance as you do when it comes to drinking alcohol. See, we Christians love to twist the words of the Bible to suit our own pleasures and trust me, satan loves nothing better than when we twist God's Word in order to justify our sin. How do I know that Christians twist the word of God to suit their own purposes? I have done it myself many times.

As I said earlier, the Bible tells us to stay away from even the appearance of evil. God knew that we would have opportunity after opportunity to ruin our witness just by hanging out in places we shouldn't hang out and doing things that would cause people to question our testimony. Even the Christian now days rarely errs on the side of caution. Fifty years ago, a Christian thought about the appearance of evil and what the rest of the world would think of them if caught in an ungodly place or in a compromised position (a good example is that years ago it was unheard of for a young man to be allowed to be alone with a young woman). Yet today, we think it's okay to go to the R rated movie even though we know there will be cursing and nudity. Many Christians think it's okay to go to bars just to fit in with the crowd, to live with someone that is not your spouse, to cheat the government, to cheat on your wife/husbandto gamble, etc etc. We have forgotten the verse that commands us to do nothing that would cause our brother to stumble. Jesus hung out among the sinners in order to influence them not to fit in with them.

Why do Christians think this way? Because we have "broadened" our minds and in turn taken it upon ourselves to broaden the narrow way. The narrow way has been replaced by complacency to sin, and complacency that remains unchecked will ALWAYS result in spiritual death (and possibly physical death). We have decided that we would rather be popular than good (and that we would rather our kids be popular than good). Unfortunately, what is popular is rarely right. It is as if the emergent church mindset has crept in and taken over even the most conservative. Our deep love of the world has caused us to ask God over and over "Just how narrow IS the gate?", when we should really be asking Him to help us stay STRAIGHT on the path without veering to the right or left.

Might be time to check our relationship with Jesus and ask Him to show you where we are just like the world and where we need to narrow your thinking. The world is always going to call us narrow minded, but the world is not our final judge....Jesus is and the path to Him is very NARROW. At the Rapture, I have a feeling that many who call themselves Christians will be surprised to find that the way was much more narrow than they thought.