Free Book

My husband and I love books. You should see our library!! So we want to share our love with others. (Plus we want to encourage other believers with new books that will help them in their walks with the Lord.) I already told you about his book give away and now I am doing the same!

The book is The Heart of the Cross by James Montgomery Boice and Philip Graham Ryken.

Publisher Review: These 21 devotional readings probe the events surrounding Calvary--especially Jesus' words from the cross--to give a richer understanding of the amazing love that drove Jesus there. This book reminds us that the cross is a vivid reminder of the inexhaustible depths of Jesus' loving, ultimate sacrifice and of our dire need for redemption.

So if you would like to enter the give away, just post a comment and leave me your e-mail address. You can blog about it if you have a blog, post me the link in a comment, and that will get you two entries! Sorry, but you need to live in the USA to win.

The drawing will be held on July 1st.

Update on Teen Pregnancy

17 Pregnancies a 'Coincidence,' Says Teen

Here on Good Morning America, you can listen to more updated information on the 17 teens that got pregnant.

Zucchini Bread- thief!

I found a Zucchini Bread Recipe that we all enjoy. My friend gave me some zucchini at church yesterday, so I made some bread today. While it was cooling.... I noticed that my son was chewing on something... he kept leaving the room and coming back.... so I went to see what he was doing! His little hand was reaching up and he was enjoying some bread!!

Here it the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups white sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, salt and nuts; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.

I just use a bread baking stone and do not have to grease or flour the pan. I also leave out the walnuts, but you can add them if you like.

Teens had pact to get pregnant, report says

I just finished reading this article about a group of girls, all in high school, that decided to get pregnant.

You can read this article for all the details.

I am not sure what motivated them. I know it stated that they all wanted to raise their babies together, but honestly they have no clue what any of that includes. Raising children is not easy, even when you are married to a wonderful husband. Are they looking for someone to love? Do they need to feel a part of a family? What message are they getting from their friends, family... anyone?

This is one reason why it is so important to teach our children the way they should live. We are to teach them to love the Lord and obey His commandments. (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

We as parents are also to love our children. I think that many teens go looking for love because they have not received it from their families.

Here is a new update to the original story!

Are you free?

I don't know about you, but I have been struggling with my freedom. Now different things may enter your mind when you hear the word free. It all depends on your situation or circumstances. If you are shopping- you would love to see a free sign, or if you live in America we talk about our freedoms all the time that have been given to us. Even people in prison long to be free.

But the freedom I am talking about is different. I am talking about being Truly Free! A freedom that makes you want to stand with your arms outstretched and bask in the beauty of what you have.  The kind of freedom that makes you want to scream "I'm Free", or laugh, or cry, or just about any other emotion you have. 

The freedom I am referring to is the only True freedom, the one that comes from Christ.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." (John 8:36)

What is this freedom referring to? Being free from your sins. Free to live without the burden of sin. Free to live a new life, one that is pleasing to God, because you are no longer bound to sin, but are set free. (This freedom only comes if we believe that Christ died and was raised again to take away our sins so that we would have this freedom.) Now this freedom does not mean that we will not sin, because we still do- but that we are not under the bondage of sin- we are not slaves to it. It does not control us or motivate us because the Spirit of God has made us new creations that are free. Here is what The Word tells us us:

"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood" (Revelation 1:5)

" Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man [Christ] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses. " (Acts 13:38-39) 

" For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:5-11)

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom." (2 Corinthians 3:17)

So what is the struggle? The struggle comes with trying to still carry the burden of my guilt and shame. I cannot experience true freedom when I carry guilt around, beating myself up over my sin. I am set free from sin, not a slave of any kind. Christ has set me free. I need to understand the Truth and apply it to my life. God's Word says:

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh," (Romans 8:1-3)

 "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1)

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”” (John 8:31-32)

I know the truth and the truth will set me free. I pray that I lock this truth on my mind when I start to feel bound again. What Christ did for me was sufficient to take away all my sin, all my guilt, and all my shame. Satan (1 Peter 5:8)tries to make me believe the lies that I need to feel guilty, but Christ has washed me clean and I am FREE.  I am to-"Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God." (1 Peter 2:16) May we all begin to grasp what our freedom is and enjoy what Christ has made possible- for those who are found in Him.

Great Book Giveaway!

My husband is doing a book giveaway each month. Click on the link above for more details! This month the book is Jesus Among Other God's by Ravi Zacharias. Go here to see his post on it!

Another giveaway!

I absolutely love to carry my new baby girl in a sling. It is easy, hands free, and she is right beside me! Well, Simple is giving away baby slings from Mod Mum. They are all so very cute! But I think I like the Claire the best. 

So if you are interested in possibly winning this then go to Simple for the rules.

New Book

I just started reading a new book my husband got me for Mother's Day. It is called Helper By Design - God's Perfect Plan for Women in Marriage by Elyse Fitzpatrick. I hope to blog about this book as I read further. I know this is something that most women who are married may struggle with. I am praying that the Lord will use this book in my life, by His grace and for His glory.

Free Audiobook of the Month - The Pilgrim's Progress

John Bunyan was a simple maker and mender of pots and kettles who received very little education. In spite of that, he penned the most successful allegory ever written. He lost his first wife and was imprisoned for twelve years for his compelling-but unlicensed-preaching. Nevertheless, his preaching about the gravity of sin, salvation by grace, the cost of discipleship, perseverance, and the glory of eternal life lives on in the signs and symbols of The Pilgrim's Progress. Embark on a perilous journey with Christian, the lead character, from the City of Destruction to the luminous safe haven of the Celestial City. The journey will encourage you to "set your hope fully on the grace to be given you" amidst the obstacles of life.

Just go HERE add the download format of The Pilgrim's Progress to your cart and then use the coupon code JUN2008 during checkout to receive your free download.

An Amazing Story!

Baby Miraculously Survives Abortion, Expected to Live 'Normal' Life

Here is what happened:

A mother who decided to abort her son because he may have inherited a life-threatening kidney condition is overjoyed that he survived the procedure.

Jodie Percival of Nottinghamshire, England, said she and her fiancee made the decision to abort baby Finley when she was eight weeks pregnant.

Percival's first son Thane died of multicystic dysplastic kidneys — which causes cysts to grow on the kidneys of an unborn baby — and her second child Lewis was born with serious kidney damage and currently has just one kidney, the Daily Mail reported.

"I was on the (birth control pill) when I became pregnant," Percival, 25, said. "Deciding to terminate at eight weeks was just utterly horrible but I couldn't cope with the anguish of losing another baby."

A short time after the abortion, Percival felt a fluttering in her stomach. She went to the doctor for a scan and discovered she was 19 weeks pregnant.

"I couldn't believe it,' Percival said. "This was the baby I thought I'd terminated. At first I was angry that this was happening to us, that the procedure had failed. I wrote to the hospital, I couldn't believe that they had let me down like this.

"They wrote back and apologized and said it was very rare," she added.

Dr. Manny Alvarez, managing health editor for FOXNews.com, said Percival's situation is actually quite common.

"Women that have early terminations in weeks six, seven and eight, many times the pregnancy is so small that doctors miss removing the baby," Alvarez said. "The danger is that the failed attempt can damage the baby. That is why these patients who get early terminations need follow-ups."

Another scan a week later confirmed the baby also had kidney problems, but doctors told the couple the baby was likely to survive, so they decided he deserved another chance at life.

In November, Finley was born three weeks premature. He had minor kidney damage but is expected to lead a normal life.

Children in the "Worship Service"

I have thought about this a lot in the past and especially now that I have children of my own. So I would like to know your thoughts about having little children gather with the body for worship. Here are two blog entries that you can read. He is thinking through this issue and I have commented on one of his posts.

Read here and here.

Please respond and let me know your thoughts on this issue- and your biblical reasoning. I would like to hear from young, old, single, married, those with children and those without.

Updated Pictures

Here are some updated pictures of my babies!