WORDS ARE WEAPONSThis is my story. The story of how I found God and how things have been going since.
I guess I'll tell you more about my background first. My parents met in '87 when my Dad was on a business trip in Holland. They fell in love and 9 months later I was born. By the time I was born, my Dad was already back in the US and my mom was left to raise me by herself. She's a great person who sacrificed a lot to raise me and if I may say so myself, she did a great job.
In the summer of '95 I met my Dad for the first time and my parents fell back in love. My Dad divorced his wife and my mom and I moved to the US in December of '96. I loved the fact that my parents were back together and I felt so safe. But, it didn't last long, my parents seperated again in the summer of '97 and my mom and I moved back to Holland.
That's when my rebellion started, at the early age of 9. I started mouthing off and I was so angry. My Dad was all the way in the US and I blamed my Mom for their break-up. I felt abandoned and alone.
By the age of 12 I smoked cigarettes and pot. I was in 8th grade and started skipping school, so I could hang with my "friends" and get stoned. We were the bad kids your parents warned you about. I longed for my fathers love and tried to find that with boys. That left me even more hurt and I just got more and more angry.
I continued down this road until I was about 17. I finally saw that this kind of behavior wasn't getting me anywhere and it wasn't making me happy, either. I started to distance myself from my "friends" and quit smoking pot. I still didn't go to school though, but I started working. I was still clubbing and doing all sorts of dumb stuff, but I was changing for the better, slowly but surely.
When I was 18, I knew this wasn't good enough. I heard about being saved, but I didn't think it was possible for me. I'd done so many horrible things, how could God ever forgive me for that? How could He forgive me for hurting the people who truly loved me?
I started reading the Bible online on BibleGateway.com. I read how God forgives, I read about His Love, but also about His Hate. He Hated the things I was doing. It kind of made sense, but it didn't click yet. I continued my search and landed on Danielle's blog. I started reading, but I didn't just take her beliefs and made them my own. I started comparing her statements to the Bible and discovered that she was speaking the Truth!
I was so happy! I wrote her an email and she wrote me a long email back. I turned to her with all my questions, my fears, everything. She reached out to me and helped me with all of it. She gave me advice, encouraged me to keep reading the Bible and find things out for myself, but she was always there when I needed help.
This happened about 8 months ago. Danielle is now one of my best friends, who continues to encourage me and teach me. I repented of all my sins and I've never been happier. God has been so great to me, I never imagined I would find this kind of happiness. But I did.
It's been a long road and there's still more to come, but I know with God on my side, I will survive anything.
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As Christians we are used to being ridiculed, insulted and laughed at for our beliefs. We stand up for Truth, but are often called liars. At times it can be hard not to get discouraged, but we must remember that all that we do is in Christs name.
We lose people around us, "friends", family, because they don't agree with our views. They claim to be "tolerant", but don't tolerate our beliefs. They can reject us as hard as they reject the Truth.
It's often hard for them to understand why we give up our wordly pleasures, because they can't see that the happiness God gives us is way better! We suffer for our faith, but we suffer in His name! Rejoice my brothers & sisters!
Philippians 3:7-11
But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
Never lose faith, we all suffer, but Christ suffered for us! Is it to much to ask to "suffer" in return for all He has given us? He died for us, for our sins!
Put on His armor, stand up for Truth, because NOTHING is better than to bring Glory to our LORD!
1 Chronicles 16:29
Give to the LORD the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness!
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Related => Going Down in Blogger History
After watching the movie "Thirteen" tonight, I knew I had to write about it.
The movie is about a 13 year old girl named Tracy Freeland. A young adolescent growing up in a fatherless home. When she befriends Evie - the most popular girl in school - she gets dragged into a world full of drugs, sex, alcohol and crime.
In the movie it becomes obvious how much she longs for her father, for his attention. Since she's not getting it, she turns to other things to get attention.
Sadly, it's becoming a trend in the world for fathers to abandon their families. The statistics are heart wrenching. The effects on the children are huge, although we try to deny this. In today's society there's no longer a stigma attached to divorce. It's considered normal to give up on your marriage as soon as it gets tough. All of this can be traced back to the years when feminism started coming up and we let God slip away in our lives.
Let's look at some of the statistics:
=> An estimated 24.7 million children (36.3%) live absent their biological father.
=> Children in single-parent families are two to three times as likely as children in two-parent families to have emotional and behavioral problems.
=> Three out of four teenage suicides occur in households where a parent has been absent.
=> Adolescent females between the ages of 15 and 19 years reared in homes without fathers are significantly more likely to engage in premarital sex than adolescent females reared in homes with both a mother and a father.
=> With the increasing number of premarital births and a continuing high divorce rate, the proportion of children living with just one parent rose from 9 percent in 1960 to 28 percent in 1996. Currently, 57.7 percent of all black children, 31.8 percent of all Hispanic children, and 20.9 percent of all white children are living in single-parent homes.
=>The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services states, "Fatherless children are at a dramatically greater risk of drug and alcohol abuse"
The list continues here => Fatherless Statistics
These statistics are absolutely horrible. Since people have started to deny God, the divorce statistics have skyrocketed. They don't feel they can be held accountable by anybody, let alone God.
The Bible is clear about divorce:
Deuteronomy 22:19 - They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the girl's father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
Malachi 2:16 - "I hate divorce," says the LORD God of Israel, "and I hate a man's covering himself with violence as well as with his garment," says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.
Luke 16:18 - Anyone who divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery, and the man who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.
1 Corinthians 7:10-11 - To the married I give this command (not I, but the Lord): A wife must not separate from her husband. But if she does, she must remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband. And a husband must not divorce his wife.
Of course, the basis of marriage is friendship. But another thing that is also very important, is that we embrace our God given roles. Men are supposed to be the providers and leaders of the family, while the women are supposed to be the heart.
When feminism came up, a lot of women left their homes to start careers and make money. This resulted in the breakdown of the family. The heart of the house was gone, which led kids into rebellion against God.
God created men in His image. He created women to be their husband's helper:
Genesis 2:18-22 - The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.
So you see, women were created to help their husbands. To support them, encourage them & care for them. When feminism came up, women left their homes and the roles that God has given them. This has feminized men & masculinized women.
When the roles get all messed up, men can't love their wives like they're supposed to and women can't honor their husbands like they should.
If we don't honor God as we should, there is also more room for evil to come into a marriage. Pornography, violence, drug abuse etc. Naturally, this also breaks down a marriage.
When all this evil enters our lives, it's hard to keep our relationships healthy. The only way is to turn to the Lord, repent and start living the way He intended.
Partial-birth abortion is a controversial subject in our society today. The topic of partial-birth abortion can spark heated arguments on the Senate floor, in the workplace, to the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice groups. I believe to get a clear understanding of what partial-birth abortion is it should be seen from the baby’s viewpoint.
My name is Baby Jane; I was conceived through a one-night stand. My mother, who is a very successful businesswoman, started a small business in lower Manhattan that just recently expanded. My father is someone my mother knew briefly before my conception.
Before my mother knows I exist, I am already eighteen days old, my heart is formed, and my eyes are beginning to develop. At two months, my mother has not seen her menstrual period, and makes an appointment with the doctor. By this time I am well proportioned, being 1 1/8” long and weighing 1/30th oz. All my organs are present, and my heart is beating sturdily. My stomach produces digestive juices and my liver is making blood cells, even my little kidneys begin to function, while my taste buds are being formed.
After my mother discovers she is pregnant, she goes home despondent. The next few weeks are a whirlwind. She cannot locate my father and the real problem is her business. What will she do? Who can she trust to run it? She discusses her situation with close acquaintances. They have many solutions, but which one is right? The subject of abortion enters the conversation. Would this be an option?
I am now 4 months old, I have fingerprints, my eyelids and palms are sensitive to touch, and I can even suck my thumb, and have fingernails. I can kick, turn my feet, make a fist and even practice breathing. I can grasp a hand, swim, and turn somersaults. If I were born now I would not survive.
My mother has kept her monthly doctor appointments. I am 6 months now. Fine hair grows on my eyebrows and head. I have a chance of surviving at this age.
From the outside it seems that my mother has resolved her feelings about her pregnancy, but she is taking the advice of a close acquaintance, and is seeking information about abortion. She finds that there are many different types of abortions. One is the menstrual extraction method. This is a very early suction abortion, often done before the pregnancy test is positive. Another is the suction-aspiration method. In this method, the abortionist must paralyze the cervical opening and then stretch it to insert a hollow plastic tube with a knife-like edge on the tip that cuts the placenta from the inner wall of the uterus. The abortionist then proceeds to suck the baby’s body into pieces. This suction is 29 times more powerful than a home vacuum cleaner. Then there is the Dilatation and Curettage (D&C) method. This procedure is similar to the suction method except the abortionist inserts a curette, a loop-shaped steel knife, up into the uterus, and cuts the placenta and baby into pieces and scrapes them out into a basin. Hemorrhaging is usually profuse.
Because I’m now over 6 months old, the doctor and my mother choose partial-birth abortion. This is a breech-like delivery. The entire infant is delivered except the head. Scissors are jammed into the base of the skull, and a tube is inserted to suck the brains out. The dead infant is pulled out.
The appointment is scheduled and the day is set. I am 6 ½ months. My mother enters the hospital alone. Where are her acquaintances now? She is taken to her room, and given medication to ease her nerves. It is time for the abortion. My mother is prepared and wheeled into the operating room. Labor is induced. Once her uterus is dilated, the procedure is set into motion. I feel someone grabbing at my legs with forceps. It is not time for me to enter this world. I can her their voices. I can just make out my mother’s voice. I scream in my world, I am not ready. Nevertheless, I am pulled into the birth canal. I am delivered down to my head. What has happened? Why did they stop? Something is piercing the base of my skull. The pain is too much for me to bare. I scream and move to avoid the piercing, however; I am held in place. The person holding me is puncturing my skull, and opening the hole by opening the scissors. The scissors are removed. By this time I am losing blood and consciousness, I can barely feel the insertion of the suction catheter. As my brains are sucked out my last thoughts are, “Why? Why? Why did my mother allow this to happen to me? Didn’t she love me as I was being formed in her inward parts, or was I an inconvenience?” These questions will not be answered now. My skull has collapsed and I am removed lifeless.
There are no flowers for me, just a cold slab for my little body to lie on. How could this have been prevented? Not just to me, but the many other Baby Janes and Joes. What laws are there for my life to be preserved? There are laws to preserve the wildlife and the trees, and there are laws to save the sparrows, but my life is worth more than many sparrows. I could possess a hope and a future, nevertheless; the law allows such barbaric crime to be brought against me. Who will eventually stand for my rights? What government official or Supreme Court judge will be bold enough to go against the grain, and stop calling good evil and evil good?
Vanessa Harris at AbortionFacts.com
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When will we stop killing our babies?
