Thoughts from Within

Frustrated. Every morning this week, we have been getting up at 5:30 a.m. One would think that would be plenty of time to get our morning Bible reading and prayer in as well as get around for what will certainly be a long day. This just also happened to be the week I started back at my part-time job at the newspaper. There I work three nights a week from 8-midnight. The job doesn't particularly pay well, but it helps out with the grocery bill on an already-tight budget. The week gets very crazy come Wednesday... We go to work all day where we are surrounded by kids all day, go home in the afternoon just long enough to get dinner ready and clean it up and then off to direct the children's Bible Club at church (more kids). Get home, brush kids' teeth, get their tired, cranky bodies in bed and crash ourselves on the couch (usually near 10 p.m.). Thursday starts the same way, but instead of children's club it's dinner, clean up, bath night for our three kiddos and work ...

Well, tomorrow begins a new school year for my family. This year marks the 9th year of operation at Ottawa County Christian Academy, the school Shauna & I helped found in 2004. Xoie, my oldest, enters the first grade and Jaxan, my middle child, enters kindergarten. I think I blinked... Wasn't Xoie just born yesterday? Last week, she lost her first top tooth while crunching an apple. She looks so different! -- in a way... so grown up. And Jaxan... he was just toddling around last week! What is happening to the time. I remember when I started first grade. Knowing how fast time escapes us, I am saddened to see my babies grow. And though it would be a nightmare to keep them at their current ages, I must cherish every moment I have with them at this age because tomorrow they graduate.

The topic of voting came up today at work. It was suggested that a mutual acquaintance would not be voting for either Romney or Obama this fall because he "was not crazy about either." Purposely forfeiting the right to vote in what will be the most important election our country has held since its founding is to me the most unpatriotic, irresponsible thing a citizen of this country can do. Really, there are only two choices for Americans this November. Romney or Obama. Although we may not support every aspect of a candidate, we -- as Christians -- are obligated to choose the more moral of the two . There are those who will argue that they will be casting a vote for a third party candidate or writing in a candidate's name on the ballot, even though they admit it will amount to nothing. Let me just suggest that it will amount to something... It will amount to less votes going to the one candidate that has the better chance of unseating the current President. A "no vo...

It simply amazes me how people who claim to be saved for years will blatantly showcase their rebellion to doing the right things. This goes to all the "Sunday morning" crowd. You know... the "established" Christian who knows that they should not forsake the "assembling of the themselves together," but refuses to attend any other service during the week. That is nothing more than open rebellion to God's Word. Shame on them. Funny how these same folks call the pastor or the church office and complain about the hardships they are facing. Yeah, spankings hurt. When you rebel against God's will, he is going to chastise you. The mind-blowing fact about this group is that they just don't get it. Their consistent rebellion leads to consistent chastisement. Are they that oblivious to the fact that their rebellion and chastisement are connected. That maybe stopping the rebelling process would stop all the spankings? Or maybe they are just content being s...

A few weeks ago, I was out in my garage organizing a bunch of unwanted items for a garage sale. To kill the silence, I turned on the radio. One of my favorite things to listen to is talk radio, usually on the AM dial. I also like listening to Crosstalk on CleanAirFM, which is what I tuned in to that day. The topic of the discussion that day entailed a photography company being tried in a discrimination case involving their refusal to provide services to a homosexual couple. The photography company clearly stated they reserved the right to withhold services at anytime if the event or business opportunity violated their religiously held beliefs. This is a stipulation many businesses, especially Christian businesses, adopt to protect themselves and their moral standards. The host of the show laid the groundwork for discussion by siding with the photography company saying that it was their right to withhold services and that it was wrong for the courts to proceed with discrimination charge...