My Sweetheart

Jason and I were just thinking this evening how it was 18 years ago today that he asked me to marry him (and I excitedly said yes!).  Those 2 kids sitting on the bank of that lake that Saturday night didn't have a clue where all life would take them, but they knew without a doubt that God had put them together.

What an incredible life we're sharing together!  All this...and eternity with our Lord.  I am humbly thankful for all with which the Lord has blessed me.

To Rule Them All?

For fans of both Lord of the Rings AND Ron Paul:

"Our goal is not political power…our goal is to live free, because we know that means we live better. When political power becomes the goal, we have lost the mission. Some people think that if we control the system, then we can use to our benefit. But government power is like Tolkein’s one Ring, that controls them all. Some Republicans think that we can use power only for good. We know better. We know power corrupts. Our goal is not to win elections so we can impose on people our version of what is good. Our goal is to throw the one Ring into the fire of the Constitution !"

--Marianne Stebbins, Minnesota Chair, Ron Paul 2012 Campaign, during her speech Aug 26, 2012 in Tampa, FL at the Ron Paul Rally.

Well said!  And if you missed Ron Paul's speech at the We Are the Future rally in Tampa, here it is in its entirety.  Ron Paul begins at 10 minutes in.  I have to listen to Ron Paul speeches periodically to remind me that there still are honorable and sensible people in the world.  Ron Paul will go down in history as a hero....a "Christian Thomas Jefferson".

Pepper Stringer

Seth will be 9 years old in a couple of weeks.  All that boy has had on his mind for many months now is DOGS!  Using his filtered iPod browser, he researched and learned all about different dog breeds.  He took screen shots of different dogs and decided what he would name each one if he could get one of that breed.  Then, one day, a lady in the pet store let him hold a miniature Australian shepherd.  That was it.  The boy eats, breathes, and sleeps miniature Australian shepherds.  And so, the search began.

 Finally, we came across this 12 week old Blue merle, who is now part of the family.  Seth named her Pepper, and she's just precious!

 You can see her beautiful eyes.  Her left eye is half black/half blue.  Pretty wild looking!

 A puppy?  Really? Am I up to this?  We don't really need it! 

But, it's for my sweet boy.  

And I'm sure she'll fit in fine with our coon dog, 40+ chickens, a dozen or so rabbits, 2 cats, tree frog, 2 jellybean frogs, and beta fish.

Wise Advice

“One reason we are so harried and hurried is that we make yesterday and tomorrow our business, when all that legitimately concerns us is today. If we really have too much to do, there are some items on the agenda which God did not put there. Let us submit the list to Him and ask Him to indicate which items we must delete. There is always time to do the will of God. If we are too busy to do that, we are too busy.”

― Elisabeth Elliot,
"Secure in the Everlasting Arms"

- Posted using my iPhone

Perpetual Youth

I had an experience recently that was a real eye-opener.  I would love to be able to share all the details, but in consideration of the fact that my blog is open to the public, I feel it would be best not to do so.  I certainly have no desire to hurt anyone's feelings.

To be brief, the experience involved me speaking (on behalf of LMO) at a youth rally.  I took my 2 daughters with me.  What we encountered was just downright embarrassing.  The 2 rock bands were a disgrace to the Holy God about Whom they claimed to be singing.  It was so loud it scared my baby girl and shocked my 12 yr old.  Adults made fools of themselves in the name of doing anything for Christ.  When the Bible speaks of the foolishness of the gospel, I feel pretty confident in not interpreting that to mean getting up on a comfortable, air-conditioned stage and acting like an ape.  Whatever I have said in the past about youth groups, let me just say that I was much too nice about it.

I have taken a lot of heat about this subject through the years, but time has shown us that we have done a grave disservice to our kids by inventing a new way of evangelizing them.  By "reinventing the wheel", we have completely departed from New Testament faith.  We've lost confidence in the glorious gospel and the power of Holy Spirit preaching, and put our trust in recreation and psychological games.  We mock a Spirit-filled man of God and flock to metrosexual dudes with holes in their jeans and untucked shirts.  We've traded the "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs" for (....I'm trying to be nice here...give me a minute...) generic, mediocre, chants to the beat of a pagan drum.  And our children are lost.

My 12 year old, one of the church pianists who plays beautifully from the Church Hymnal and carries herself with a mature grace and charm well beyond her years, was dumbfounded.  "Mom, do they not realize how silly they look?  I'm embarrassed for them."  It grieved me to see the "dumbing down" that was taking place. Where is the challenge to embrace a serious walk with Christ?  What can be gained by encouraging perpetual youth?

And our children are lost.

As I was discussing this with a friend yesterday, her daughter shared this video with me.  I LOVE the Blimey Cow guys!  They're a perfect testimony to homeschooling, and the ability it gives people to think outside the box of mainstream mania.  This video sums up the futility of youth groups, as well as why they draw so many kids, most of whom sadly do not make the cross-over into grown-up church. (Of course, the Bible NEVER makes a distinction!  When Paul wrote to the Colossians and the Ephesians, addressing the children and the parents, he never paused for the youth pastor to bring his group in to hear the reading of the letter.  He expected they were all sitting together in the congregation listening as a family!)

You Either Love Him, Or You Don't Understand Him

Today is the birthday of possibly the most loved (by patriots) and most hated (by politicians) man in our modern U.S. history, Dr. Ron Paul.

The one and only "politician" who has been 100% consistent throughout his career, whether it's running a wildly successful OB/GYN practice (personally delivering 4,000 babies) while not accepting MedicAid, to refusing a government pension and returning his Congressional budget balance to the treasury each year.  Ron Paul has been a lone voice in heralding Christian principles such as

• sound money vs. fiat currency 
• just war; non-interventionism (PLEASE, PEOPLE, DON'T CALL HIM A PACIFIST.  HE SERVED IN THE U.S. AIR FORCE AS WELL AS THE NATIONAL GUARD.  THERE'S A DIFFERENCE.  LOOK IT UP)
• limited government that doesn't regulate the righteous, but instead only restrains the wicked (I Tim. 1:9; Romans 13:3)
• the sanctity of human life
• marriage as a sacred institution, not a government institution
• The Golden Rule (spoken by Jesus originally, not Ron Paul!) as foreign policy

Ron Paul has reminded us all of what made America great.

Let's all lift a glass of raw milk in honor of Dr. Paul's 77th birthday!

Tara...with Energy!

She's back. New and improved. Version 3.7 with all malware and viruses removed. Increased battery life and speed.

For my blog readers that may not know, I have been sick for months (since Christmas!) with what I now know to be a 1.2 cm infected kidney stone. After months of fever and pain and drug reactions, it finally came to a head a few weeks ago with a blockage. Hospitals, ambulance ride (NOT fun!), outpatient surgeries, stent, lithotripsy....long story short, I am finally better and so thankful to be feeling great!
I'm anxious to get back to blogging, and of course...it's election season, so I've got plenty to say LOL.

Thanks for your patience with my "blahg", and here's a shout-out to my faithful friend, Angela, who actually notices when I'm not blogging and is sweet to call and see what's wrong. (Thanks, friend!)

And here's a funny for the day:

- Posted using my iPhone