Dangers of the Last Days

"You should know this, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of[a] vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.  (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) These teachers oppose the truth."

2 Timothy 3:1-8

Today in the midst of doing meaningless maintenance on my house. God spoke to my heart... what if He were to come back right now..... what if in the next few days the end of the world was coming... would my house maintenance really matter. No - His answer is No it wouldn't matter... and it is not what he wants me to be busy about.  I guess Lydia and the Prov 31 woman did alot of working on meaningless stuff and the Bible tributes them as "good women" and so stuff does need to be done but i know my thinking still needs to line up with HIS thinking.... with His perspective i can do as i am suppose to.

Even tonight as i am listening to the bible doing my dishes these words above were so close to home.

Are these truly the last days? I know that we don't know that but boy do those words seem like today. 

I love Him and His word, it is like guide putting me on the right path when i falter. Like medicine to my soul. 

what if everyone said yes....

said yes to what Jesus was putting on their heart.... no matter HOW CRAZY it seemed or HOW IMPOSSIBLE it was....

like Noah did

like Moses did

like Gideon did

...not caring what PEOPLE said about them.

What would happen.....  i get the honor of seeing this all of the time... and it makes me elated.

this week i am thinking of.... 

A mom of 4 kiddos under five years old saying yes i am going to design clothes to give away for donations to build a women's shelter for abused impoverished women in India.

A grandma saying yes i will clear out my basement and make a place to sew things that will impact impoverished children and gather other women to join me and make things too.

A mom of 4 saying yes God, i will coordinate women to make quilts for impoverished orphans.

A mom that enjoyes the safety of home saying yes i will go all the way to India and teach women to sew and start sewing businesses. 

A woman saying yes i will quit my job doing things i know to work and do the things i don't know so much to build YOUR kingdom among the nations. 

and so many more yes's to Jesus..... a family gives to build a water well.... a woman gives to make a sewing kit for a impoverished woman.... a friend in India runs around getting everything together... a child fills a water bottle full of change to helpgive a child in India clean water for a lifetime...  a woman that ralley's her facebook friends... people just saying yes. 

It is beautiful..... and watch out .... it's contagious. 

In a little over a week we go as a family to India with 2 other friends to share and show HIS love. To teach some beautiful women how to sew and start a business to help them. We will also teach them what HE thinks about them. How HE created them for a purpose and  HOW He sees them as HIS unique beautiful priceless invaluable creation with a heart song that only they can sing. Some of these women have been taught all of their lives that they are worthless and treated that way too. Some of these women need simply a business to meet the basic needs of life. 

Please pray for us... we are excited about what He is up too and humbled that He wants us to be apart of it....... us..... sinful.... inadequate ... selfish... fragile ....us.... that is the beauty we don't have know everything, or be skilled, or whatever... we just say YES and HE does HIS great plan.

We could say no.... HIS love for us would be the same... we would just miss out on expereincing HIM in the place of YES. :) 

elated. 

here is a few videos of the boys last time we were in India as a family: :) 

....that is how they make gravel in India... :) 

it is written...

"man does not live on bread alone but every word that comes from the mouth of God"

What brings LIFE and life to the fullest.
What brings JOY one that cannot be stolen.

God's words do. Today i was watching a movie about Jesus with the boys - a sick day for all at our home -  the movie was simple... a bit long... and borderline put you to sleep or mesmerize you... then when the above words were spoken it was life a knife to my heart.

Truth does that... God's words do that... they have the power to change a soul by just by hearing them.

In the movie the character said it differently than above...
"A person does not only live by eating. A person lives by [hearing] and doing everything the Lord says."

He = life

and not just any life... the life the creator designed us to live. If we know that HE = LIFE then we must know that anything that would replace the "HE" in that equation would = DEATH. 

1 John 5:21 was the theme verse for Perpetua's 1st birthday and is our prayer for her as well and us. As i think about myself i beg God to show me anything that i put in His place... i want that life to the fullest the one that is found in HIM. i want to run the race with my eyes on HIS undistracted. 

We always do a theme for the kids birthdays that points back to the Creator. This theme focused on HIM and the heart. We made all of the decor for less than $4. Heart strands ( just used a needle and thread instead of a hole puncher but here is a good tutorial)  and sewed heart shaped papers together and hung them everywhere (click here for a good tutorial). The boys helped with both. 

we made a heart cake :) 

 The boys used their own money to buy Petcha gifts. 

 We even played some funny party games having to do with the heart.

5 GAMES

1. KEEP AWAY FROM ANYTHING: A child gets a heart clipped to their shirt then all of the other children/adults go to a corner/another room and count to 15/30 while the child with the heart hids well. Then every one goes hunting to try to steal the heart. Whoever steals the heart gets to be the child with the heart. WE EVEN TRIED WITH LIGHTS OUT AND A FLASHLIGHT... lots of laughs and fun! 
2. GUESS WHO: Blindfold one child and secretly pick another child to come up and say "God love you" or “I love you” or “Your family loves you” in a silly voice. Can the child guess who's whispering to him?
3. WHAT IS THE RIGHT PATH FOR YOUR HEART: Map heart Game (print out) 
4. BLINDED BY LOVE: What you will need: Chalkboard or Whiteboard, 3-4 Blindfolds Directions: Have children go up to the chalkboard at once. Blindfold each child, and hand each a piece of chalk. Ask them to draw a heart. And then take a look – they will laugh at it and then try again (other things/Perpetua smiling) 
5. ARROWS IN YOUR HEART: Straws, heart bowls/dishes, and cutips -  shoot them in the hearts by blowing putting the cutip in one end and blowing on the other. See how many you can get in.