DISQUS

Ha ha...Emily, that was great!!! I had forgotten that but I do remember the well thought out sentences we "got" to write! Good times!! :)

ded, I think you make a good point in that we shouldn't expect from unsaved people a standard that we as Christians would hold. The Bible makes it clear that there are different standards for those of us who walk in the light.

For me, the outrage is the idea of a child posing nude in front of a camera being given a place and it being ok simply because she is a "rock star". Whether Christian or not it just makes me sick to my stomach. It makes me want to cry for that little girl that her parents (again saved or not) wouldn't protect her and let her be a child. Instead, they allow the pressures of the media to rob her of that innocence and as a result I am sure she is feeling the back lash of it which I am sure hurts her feelings and is hard to understand.

I do think that we can tend to be too judgmental of non-Christians at times. I know that I want to be careful not to do that, but my bone to pick is really with what this did to this young girl and as a result for those kids who looked up to her (whether right or wrong), it took away some of the fun and games of it and threw it into a place a 6 year old, 8 year old or even 15 year old shouldn't have to consider at this point in their lives. We have, however, gotten to have some good talks with our oldest about it and for that I am grateful!

I certainly hope this thing is not being blown out of proportion. In fact, I wish more people would stand up and say enough is enough. Andrea, I am Ben's wife and we do monitor EVERYTHING our daughter watches and listens too. We believe in teaching our children through life experiences and the world around us and not constantly sheltering them just to cut them loose when they get into college. We need to teach our kids to be Godly despite their surroundings. We have kept a close eye on Hannah Montana/Mylie Cyrus in the event she would turn to this kind of thing. Unfortunately, her parents cared more about money then protecting their own daughter. We would NEVER envy any part of their lives. I would rather be poor then have the life where I had to sell my own daughter to make a quick buck!!!

Sarah, I thought about the not working side too. I have def. gone through those periods as well, but I tend to do what has a finished product. That usually is work so that was what I would turn my hand to. I am glad that it is working itself out as I put boundaries up because I would go from one extreme to the other never feeling balanced. It def. takes some time to work out the kinks, but I think once you do that it is well worth it to have that time with the kids and still be bringing in some much needed money :)

Yes, def. a story for the scrap books! A few of the pics from our "wonderful" day are in our gallery. He does look too old with his hair cut!!

Too funny. I hadn't thought about literal v. figurative box thing but oh so true :). I will be emailing you for those numbers, Chip!!

What a great way to put all of this. We are so surrounded by wealth and the worship of it that we tend to put more value in that then in the value of the gospel. This was a great message on just that!

These are all such encouraging comments. It helps to know I am not the only one dealing with these issues. It is so true too that so many times what gets in the way of overcoming pride is pride itself. I loved what Sarah said about when we try to worship God in our own strength we end up worshipping ourselves..OUCH. Thanks for all the comments. Very encouraging!!

Ha ha! I knew we were similar!

These comments are good..keep them coming. Thanks to all of you who visit and comment. It makes doing this blog thing fun! Rodney, I figured you were gleaning all kinds of amazing wisdom out of the mothering and recipe posts! I am just so surprised.

You guys are hilarious!! Keep em coming

You guys are sweet! It sounds like there are a lot of doers out there :). Thanks for all the encouraging words. As Priscilla said "Let the excitement and the unknown of life begin as long as God is on the journey with me!" Too true. I sure do hope that we can all have adventure following God! Thanks guys, you are awesome (in the words of Jessica).

Jessica, I really think that you hit the nail on the head here. It is our natural tendency to think of ourselves first and our American culture further encourages us to pursue personal fulfillment and comfort. The thing is that too many times we spend more time wrapped up in this then in pursuing God's glory and making His glory known. Great point...Thanks!

It is Travis Cottrell's band (the guy who tours with her). He is wonderful.

These are great to know. I will def. be trying out Shutterfly since there have been so many good comments on them. Thanks for all the input so far!!

Ah yes. Thanks, Ber. I meant to put that in there. And thanks for the advice on freezing them the other day. It has worked wonderfully and I don't notice a difference in the taste/texture at all.

Yeah. I just dusted it off this week and was impressed all over again :)

The Mac idea sounds awesome. I will be looking into that :)

No, we have never had it be tough. The nice thing is that you are putting it in there raw so you 15 min. isn't too long. Really the recipe says to watch for when the shrimp is pink so it may not take the full 15 min. Sometimes I leave it in there a bit longer to toast the cheese a little more, but that doesn't usually take more then the required time.

So, I just realized that I posted the backwards day a week early. I already have a couple good answers though. Thanks. I will have to link to this again next week to get even more answers :)

This dish really is good. Every time I make it people ask for the recipe :). And of course with garlic, olive oil and tomatoes you can't go wrong!!! Cathy, I would love to cook it for you and Sabrina. We could make a night of it :) I am sure it would be fine with chicken too although I have never tried it. I would think you would have to cook the chicken beforehand or bake it in the dish for longer though.

Ok. I really do agree that we shouldn't bash Joel Osteen in a public sermon. I really don't know much about the guy to be honest with you. From what I can tell he is void of sound theology and doctrine. It is so important to not build a ministry simply around personality. I listened to Joel's most recent sermon from their website and he said something that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

He said that he isn't called to teach "any kind of deep theology or doctrinal stuff" but just wanted to encourage people. People who criticize him are only jealous of his success. He doesn't listen to his critics because they bring him down.

Ok... so if he isn't teaching theology or doctrine, what is he teaching instead?

Great story, Debbie. It is amazing how God put his protection around that little car. I am glad he kept you safe and you have a good story to tell!

Sarah, I think I remember you guys doing that. That is funny...I remember it seeming so much fun! I guess days of being snowed in would start getting old after awhile :) And I was laughing so hard about the dog stealing your food! Great story.

lew,
Great idea! Growing up, we always kinda hid away on Halloween night. As I grew up I was bothered by that but didn't realize why. It was because we were hiding away from the world when we had an open door. Since then we have spoken about it many times and my parents say that they regret doing that now. Rodney, good perspectives!

Ok...so I should probably say here that Ben is one of the friendliest people I know and hates no one. In fact, I rarely even see him dislike anyone. He doesn't hate Josh Groban...he actually bought me a CD once to be nice and romantic. He also goes whenever I ask to get feminine products (sorry Ben I had to squeal on you) :)