A Good Read...

Over the summer, on the way to our family reunion, I read an eBook called "Thriving on One Income." It was written by Mrs. Kimberly Eddy, who runs this website. Now, I'm not married yet, but as most of you know...I'm in a courtship, so I'm headed that direction. I would really recommend reading it, even if you don't see marriage anywhere in your not-too-incredibly distant future. Mrs. Eddy is a home school Mom of a large family and she stays at home. She shares a lot about how the Lord has so richly blessed them as they strive to walk in obedience to His word by having her keep their home. So many months their budget simply doesn't "work out" on paper, but God continues to provide. The book, though not that long, was such a huge blessing for me. It thrilled my heart to see how God had provided for them. She also has many excellent tips on being frugal and whatnot to keep things manageable with one income. So, anyway...I highly recommend it. It's not very expensive...$7.95, and there is no shipping fee (it just downloads to your computer). You can order it here on the Biblical Womanhood site. It's on the second page. If you read it, let me know what you think. :)

"Orlando's Dr. Mengele"

So, apparently the death mills are already scheduling murders for next week. The Orlando Sentinel reporter who has been covering the story called and spoke with "Dr." Pendergraft's PR person, Marti MacKenzie, and she freely admitted they were scheduling appointments, even though they have not yet been given the go-ahead by the state to open up shop. They have filed an appeal with the state and are confident that his license will be returned by next week. It is my prayer that it won't happen. Please, join me in praying for the mills to stay closed, and justice to be met. May God be glorified and may His will be done.

You can see the e-mail Patte sent out about it here, on the blog of local radio show host, Pat Campell. Feel free to comment on his blog in response. He'll probably get a lot of flack for posting it, so I'm sure encouraging words would be nice.

I'll do an update about my life and whatnot probably tomorrow. I've just been SO busy. It'll be a long post...beware!

God is SO good

This morning was glorious. I believe it is the first time I've gone to the abortion mill and enjoyed it. The presence of the Lord was there with us as we worshipped Him together. It was an amazing time of prayer. We wept tears of joy, because no babies were slaughtered there this morning; no mommies paid a hitman to dissect their innocent, precious baby, who bears the image of Almighty God. Most of us, too, wept sorrowful tears, as well...for the babies who weren't so fortunate...for the ones who never did see the light of day, the babies whose names are known only by God. So many untold stories, unlived lives because of the murder. For the past year I've been going there weekly; for some its been much longer. Each week we would arrive hoping that the Lord would be willing to save some. And at times He did use us, His humble nobodies, to rescue a baby or two from the gruesome death they were so immanently facing, and in the thrill of one life being saved, we (or at least I) had a tendency to forget that so many were still in there, being taken to the slaughter. Only God knows how many babies have died in that place. There have been times I've gone there and forgotten that just feet away, two dozen babies were being torn up, feeling their limbs ripped off, silently screaming, heard only by God.

I've got a confession...I've gone there sometimes not so much with a heart to serve the King, but just because "it's what I do." When I first started going to this field of souls, there was a brokenness like none other that I've felt. And over the months and weeks of going, it has faded to an extent. There are times when I am completely broken, but not like that first time. The brokenness was painful, but sometimes I miss it. It was a brokenness that compelled me to do everything I could; it made me willing. It compelled me to get on my face before God and cry out to Him for the lives of these babies, and the souls of their mothers. And while I'm still willing and praying, sometimes I just go through the motions and "do what I do." But the fact of the matter is...every week, babies are being murdered. Each life is just as important, the soul of every mother no less in need of a Savior than the ones who were there the first week. How I wish I still had the brokenness I did. It is my prayer that that brokenness will return, for good. No, I don't want to be unable to eat for days...and I don't particularly want everything I see to remind me of each mother; I want to be able to focus when I read and talk to people, and go through my day...but I still long for my heart to break like it once did. I want to return to the battlefield with real zeal and passion. I want to serve my Master, as He deserves to be served.

But we rest from our holy labors for a short moment. We glory...glory in the present, and in the thought of eternity, knowing that nothing WE did could have begun to compare to the work our LORD has so graciously accomplished. We glory for the moment, but we are soldiers trained for battle by the Lord of Hosts. And we aren't ready to retire. Even though no babies will be killed at 1103 Lucerne Terrace for the time being, 4500 babies a day in this nation are still being murdered, and millions of people are lost and headed, rather quickly, for an eternity in a devil's hell. We glory for the moment, yes...but our work is not yet done.

Qui tacet consentit

Just thinking ...

I would not be suprised if there was a resounding SILENCE, no matter what we sent out to alert the church and call her to action on behalf of the little babies here in Orlando. On the whole the sons of the devil don't care and with very little exception, the visible church doesn't seem to be much different than the world.

I certainly would like to see far greater scrutiny and investigation by the media into this story. The Sentinel sure is doing a dismal job of seeing past the "women are going to have a harder time finding a place to go for late term abortions in the state of Florida". Oh my! The poor mothers ... have to go searching for place to labor and deliver their children into toilets or have them dissected alive, now that Pendergraft is temporarily out of bu$ine$$.

I'd like to see this story blown open and placed in the court of public opinion with all of the gory details. Pendergraft and his cronies have a license to kill. They commit attrocities that amount to crimes against humanity with very little interference from the government or the church. The right questions to be asking here are:
"Who are the real victims of abortion?"

"Who are the perpetrators of abortion?"and

"Who are the co-conspirators of abortion?"

Qui tacet consentit

Our silence in the face of abortion implies
consent.

There is a quote in the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC which says:

Thou shalt not be a victim.

Thou shalt not be a perpetrator.

Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.

I think we'd better stop standing by.

Patte Smith

Sanctuary Ministries

Just an e-mail Patte sent out...very well written, and so true. The church these days is too busy having their potluck dinners and short-term mission-vacations, and having their comedy hours to realize the wickedness going on in their own back yards, and do something about it! Babies being torn to pieces, shoved down garbage disposals, birthed into toilets and drowned...humans created in the image of Almighty God stuffed into Medical Waste Bags alive, and left for dead. This is America. And people still sing "God bless America.." every 4th of July and Veterans day at their church services. It seems to me it would be far more appropriate to be on our faces before God BEGGING Him to bring this nation to repentance, BEGGING Him to have mercy and end the sin in this country before He pours out His wrath on us. Right now...that's all we deserve--the wrath of Almighty God...and if we don't repent, that's exactly what we'll get. And repentance has to start in the churches...and right now, they'd rather warm pews and have their ears tickled and return to their sin Sunday evening than to repent and actually live as disciples of Jesus Christ. It really is shameful. Wake up, church.

Friday, Friday, Friday

So, I haven't gotten a whole lot done today. Got up at 5, and talked to Ben until nearly 8. We have family devotions at 6, but my Dad was up late installing my new fan in my bedroom, so he slept in. I don't really know why it is that I'm stopping to blog; I've got a number of things to do today. I'm finding it hard to concentrate on most things, from the thrill of the mills being closed down. I need to do some cleaning, do school, and have my quiet time with the Lord before around 4:30. A 9-year-old girl from my church, named Precious, is spending the weekend with me, while her parents get away for the weekend to celebrate their 18th anniversary. I don't know Precious very well, so it should be a good opporunity. She seems like a very sweet girl. As for tomorrow, we are (the ministry crew) heading to the mill for a time of prayer and worship. We won't be heading out at 6 AM, because, Glory to the LORD, not one baby is being torn from his mother's womb tomorrow. After prayer and worship, we'll be having a breakfast out with everyone. I'll be spending the rest of Saturday with Precious, probably doing some baking, and getting to know her. Sunday is the LORD's Day, so we'll be worshipping and sitting under the preaching of the Word of God yet again. What a huge blessing that always is.

I hope everyone has a splendid weekend. Many blessings!

-Mary Jo

Oh! During my devotions, I've been reading Matthew Henry's commentary, along with the Bible. It is so very excellent..I highly recommend reading it. It can be found, in its entirety for free here.

Link to News Story...

Here is a link to a news story from the local news about what's going on. Apparently they're updating the page periodically.

5 FLORIDA ABORTUARIES CLOSED DOWN!

"Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen."
Ephesians 3:20-21

Hello everyone..
I was planning on doing a normal entry today catching up on day-to-day life and whatnot, but then last night...we got some of the most amazing news ever. "Dr." James Scott Pendergraft, who owns 5 abortion mills in the state of Florida--including Orlando Women's Center (if you click on "services" and then "third trimester" you will find that they even advertise illegal third trimester abortions--it's only legal in this state if the mother's LIFE is at risk, not for fetal abnormalities, etc), the one I've been ministering at for a little over a year--is under criminal investigation by the state, and his license to practice medicine in Florida has indeed been suspended. He is charged with performing illegal third trimester abortions and administering drugs to the women illegally. Right now, all five of his abortuaries are closed. The Lord is so magnificent! So many innocent babies have been slaughtered at this "doctor's" hands; hopefully, he is not allowed to heartlessly murder another baby as long as he lives. I might go down to the mill with my Mom later. There will be media there, and it would be good to have Christians there answering questions, and we also might be able to get more information, if the workers are at the mill despite its being out of business for now. May God be glorified in all this, and work His perfect will! I'll post more as I get it.

This happening has been my prayer for the last year..may God forgive me for not trusting that He would accomplish it.

Glorying,
Mary Jo

"Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God!"

The preaching of the Word by a man of God is so wonderfully precious. I am truly blessed to be in a local church where the Word is solidly proclaimed by a pastor who is sold out completely for the Lord!

Today's sermon was so splendidly convicting. The passage Pastor Dave preached from was Matthew 16:13-17.

The whole sermon was excellent, but when he got to verse 16, when Simon Peter confesses, "Thou art the Christ the Son of the Living God," he had so many wonderful things to say. I can't remember them all...thankfully, we got a copy of the CD of the sermon! The reality of Peter's confession, that Jesus IS THE Christ, the Son of the Living God should compel those of us who believe to absolutely radical obedience, to a life completely sold out for Him. And the reality of it is...if that fact has NOT compelled a person to bring forth fruit that is suitable for repentance (Mathew 3:8), then they simply have not grasped the reality of Christ as Lord...and if He is not a person's Lord, He is not their Savior, either.

I thank the Lord for revealing the Truth to me. As Christ said to Peter, "Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." (Matthew 16:17) A person can have a head knowledge of the gospel, and can even appear to follow Christ for a time (until trials come, and they prove they are not in the faith), but unless the Spirit of God reveals the truth (which won't usually happen without the faithful preaching of the Word) to a person and awakens their Spirit, they simply won't "get it," as Simon Peter did.

Also in the passage is the verse where Christ says "on this rock will I build my church," which the Roman "church," uses to support their faulty apostolic succession deal with the pope. The problem is, they are simply wrong. Their whole religious system is built on a faulty interpretation. When Christ says "you are Peter" the word he uses for Peter is "petros" (in the Greek) which means 'a pebble' and when He says "on this rock will I build my church" the Greek word is "petra" which is the word for a very LARGE rock. Clearly, the rock upon which He was to build His church was not Peter, who two verses later, Christ called "Satan," but rather, on the truth of what Peter said. Christ, the Lord, is the rock on which the church is built! Pastor Dave gave us a few other points to use in refuting this false roman doctrine:

• No where else in scripture is Peter called a rock
• He is a worthless foundation (Matthew 16:22)
• The early church simply was not built on Peter
• Never once was a successor of Peter mentioned in the Bible
• The entire New Testament teaches that Jesus Christ is the Rock (1 Corinthians 3:11; Matthew 16:16~the confession of Peter is Jesus Christ, the Rock He refers to in the following verse)

So, needless to say...church was splendid today. The preaching was wonderfully convicting, and the fellowship was sweet. Praise God!

Hope you all had a wonderful, worship-ful, preaching-ful LORD'S Day!

><> Mary Jo <><>

For Your Enjoyment

If any of you know the Murches, you might get a kick out of this post on Lauren Murch's blog.

It turns out we're not going out evangelizing, but we might still go to the abortion mill. And no hotel...we shall brave the sweltering heat. The house is 91 right now... :O

Oh! Happy Birthday, Bob Meyer!

No AC...96 degrees...

So, the last couple days have been moderately good. :) On Wednesday, I was able to get ALMOST everything on my list done. I didn't get to run or read 1 John...and I only memorized Matthew 5:23-24, but I hope to try and finish the chapter in time for Wednesday. Yesterday, I did school, exercised, and did something pretty fun with Mom (sorry for being inconspicuous!).

Today was pretty good until this afternoon. I got up at 5AM and had my quiet time. I dosed off for a couple minutes, but was still able to read 2 chapters and pray. I talked to Ben for a while, and then I made banana bread. It turned out good, too! :D While the banana bread was in the oven, I ran. I just finished week 2 of the couch-to-5K plan. I might do week 2 for another week, though. We shall see. After I ran, I made some eggs and sausage to go with the banana bread. Over breakfast, Mom and I listened to John MacArthur. His current series called The Disciples' Prayer is REALLY good! I highly recommend it. You can listen to it for free on his website. We're going to purchase the MP3s so we can have it on hand, and give it to a few friends as well, once the radio broadcast is over.

After breakfast, I cleaned up the kitchen and took a shower. I decided to start working on school, so I got out my history book...and then I fell asleep. I ended up sleeping until 1 this afternoon. It was a waste of time, but I guess I needed it. When I woke up, it was really hot in our house. As it turns out, our air conditioner is shot. It's 96 outside and about 88-90 inside the house. So, I'm camped out in my parents room with my laptop, a fan, an icepack, and a glass of ice water (and my cell phone with its dead battery). It feels pretty good! We're supposed to be getting a new AC installed tomorrow. It'll be nice...AND *drumroll* it will cool my room, unlike our current one.

I feel pretty bad for our dogs, and the cat. They're all soo hot; especially Carly, our beagle/husky mix. My parents are thinking about us all staying at a hotel tonight, with our dogs and the cat.

In other news...
My 10 Volume set of Spurgeon sermons came in the mail tonight. I'm thoroughly excited about it! Maybe I'll post pictures or something. Haha. It's got hundreds of his sermons in it. So much good stuff in them..what a great preacher. I so wish there were more like him today!

Well, I need to find out what the deal is, and get ready to go, if we're going. Your prayers are appreciated...tomorrow, we're going to the abortion clinic and out evangelizing with the people at church as always. Please pray for the Lord to step in and save babies, and souls.

Blessings,
Mary Jo

"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."
~Jude 24-25

It's Just One of Those Days...

Today is one of those "blah" days.

I've been doing something all day, so far, but it feels like I've done nothing. I got up this morning, and had my quiet time. I was able to pray and read without falling asleep! So, that was a blessing. I want to do some more reading later. I'm still in 1 Kings (sorry, Ben!), and Ben and I are reading 1 John each day (the whole thing, every day for a month: How to Study Your Bible), so I'll need to read that at some point today.
After I did my reading, I talked to Ben for a while, but not long enough! He was on Aaron's computer, and Aaron was up early, so he had to go around 6:30. So, once he left, I made some homemade tomato salsa, to go with breakfast...Mom made huevos rancheros (eggs with salsa and cheese, in a tortilla).
After that, I messed on the computer. I've added my blog to a couple of different blog listings and such, and I also linked to some blogs I read regularly. The links are on my sidebar.
So, now I'm posting...about nothing! The thrills. I might post again later, if anything interesting happens. So, I guess I'm off to get things done now...

To Do Today (in case you care...you probably don't, though :D ):

• Exercise (Couch-to-5K Running Plan) and shower
  
• Clean outside of appliances
• Clean counters
• Focus clean the kitchen counter
  
• Dust (TV/Computer screens, mirrors, glass tables, wood furniture, etc)
• Laundry
• Clean the bathrooms
• Focus Clean the sinks
  
• Organize under the bathroom sinks (be afraid, be very afraid...)
• Read Economics Pages 165-175, Do Quiz #12
• Finish Anatomy Module #4, Do Study Guide
• Read American History Pages 161-170
• Read Chapter 11 of The Gospel According to Jesus, by John MacArthur (for Women's Group tonight)
• Finish memorizing Matthew 5:23-26
  
• Read 1 John
• Make White Chili and Cornbread for dinner

Wow! And I need to be ready to leave by 6:15...can I do it?
I sure hope so!

><> Mary Jo

"Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there by any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."
~Psalm 139:23-24

Joy In Christ's Presence

"In Thy presence there is fulness of joy." ~Psalm 16:11

I started a book today by Charles H. Spurgeon. Most of you probably know who he is. It's called Joy in Christ's Presence. An excellent read so far. I have to confess that as of late, my reading and prayer time in the mornings has been lacking...trouble focusing, falling asleep...it's not good. As I've been reading this book today, I've been struck with a couple of things...in His presence there is fullness of joy; I should be thrilled to enter into His presence, humbled that I might come before the throne of Almighty God and repent, praise Him, and make my requests known Him. But lately, I've just not experienced that 'fulness', and it is, of course, my own sinfulness keeping me from it. As Paul said in Romans 7:24, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" My heart longs for the day when we will see Him as He is, and be perfectly like Him, glorifying Him perfectly for eternity. But for now, there is a war in my members; a battle between my flesh and my spirit. May God give me grace that my spirit might win.

The other thing that struck me was Spurgeon's description of being "visited by Christ" (not physically, of course, but his spirit being "visited" with Christ's presence). It brought to rememberance the night I was drawn to Him by His Holy Spirit, and turned from my sins in repentance. There was a joy that's quite unlike any joy I have yet to feel. The sweetness of being filled with His spirit, but at the same time, a painful recognition, perhaps for the first time, of how truly wretched I am. O that I might have that same joy again!

This passage was probably my favorite part of the book from what I read today, so I'll end this post with it:

"My first discovery of Christ's injured love was overpowering, and its very hopefulness increased my anguish, for then I saw that I had slain the Lord who had come to save me. I saw that mine was the hand that made the hammer fall,the hand that had driven the nails with fasted the Redeemer's hands and feet to the the cruel tree. This is the sight that breeds repentance: 'They shall look upon [Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him' (Zech. 12:10). When the Lord visits us, He humbles us, removes all hardness from our hearts, and leads us to the Savior's feet." ~Charles Spurgeon, Joy in Christ's Presence