My Story, Part 2: I'm a Bible Thumper now! :D

So, the years following my joining the church, I didn't really change any, except ofor the worse...not what is to be expected from a new convert, eh? I finished up elementary school and started middle school...I was a typical kid. I had started getting into things I shouldn't have, like using foul language, hanging out with bad kids.

In seventh grade, I started going to the student center at church for Sunday school as well as Wednesday night activities. During this school year, I started becoming aware of the urgency of evangelism, towards the end of the year. I think God was working on me, preparing me for what was the come.

Every summer, the student center at FBCO hosts "Camp Orlando". It's a week-long trip. We stayed in cabins, and they had someone come out and preach 2-3 times each day; it was almost always the same person each day. During the day, aside from the 'fun stuff,' we met with a small group a couple times each day. We would talk about all sorts of spiritual things, like what needed to get out of our lives that wasn't pleasing to God, what people we needed to stop hanging out with, and other such things.

One night, the camp preacher was talking about how important it was to live in a way that glorified God, if we were going to call ourselves Christians. I don't remember all that was said, but it really hit home for me. I felt an incredible conviction of my sin, and cried out to God asking for forgiveness, and asking for Him to help me live in a way that pleased Him...to help me stop doing things that were sinful. Literally, immediately, it just 'clicked.' I stopped cursing right away; it hasn't been the slightest struggle since. A passion grew in me to read and understand God's word, to pray more. I suddenly desired fellowship; I wanted to talk about the things of God. The following school year, people even noticed I was a different person. I evangelized the best I knew how, whenever I got a chance.

Later that summer, I spent three weeks at Appalachian State University, taking a class through Duke TiP. There, my faith was tried. I wasn't quite sure exactly how to go about sharing the gospel, but I certainly knew I needed to. I developed a certain reputation there. While there were a lot of things I could have said and done differently, had I had more knowledge, God used that time to grow me, and hopefully seeds were planted, despite my ignorance about many things.

The first time I was ever 'persecuted' happened to be that first week at TiP. It just so happened that right after it was over, I went to read my Bible, and read the beattitudes for the first time in my life.

"Blessed are ye when men shall revile and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so persecuted they the prophets who were before you."

Also that summer while I was gone, my Mom's Mom (the one I'm named after) died, after a long battle with emphysema, a lung condition caused by her years of smoking. She had lived with us since I was two, so this was a very hard time for me. How thankful I am that I was able to press into God during that time.

At the time, I didn't relize the reality that I had just been saved at camp; I was told I had recommitted my life. However, looking back, in view of what scripture says about salvation, I have no doubt that until that night, I was still a hell-bound rebel in the Kingdom of God. I don't go to FBCO anymore, so I don't go to Camp Orlando either. However, God used that year at camp to finally get it through to me to repent of my sins and start living for Him, to submit to His Lordship. For that, I am ever grateful.

No matter how much our Lord changes me, there is still so much more left. Since that summer, I have learned a lot more, and grown a lot in my walk with the Lord...but there is still so much more to learn, so much more growing to do. How I long for glory, when we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is!

Into the Field of Souls

I'm off to the abortion mill this morning...it's supposed to be a "full house"...40 mommies have made appointments to slaughter their precious little ones today. If you read this before it's too late, please pray that babies would be saved from their imminent death, and also that souls would be spared from the wrath of God.

Deliver those who are drawn toward death, And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Surely we did not know this,” Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it? He who keeps your soul, does He not know it? And will He not render to each man according to his deeds? ~Prov. 24:11-12

When will the church in America wake up, and see what Christ died for? They are millions of little babies being ripped to pieces in our own back yards; billions of people headed for a devil's hell. We can't just sit back and act like we don't know; God knows we know...and we'll all be held accountable for our apathy!

My Story: Part 1, The Younger Years

So, I've decided after a bit of thinking, that I will share my testimony. This will be in parts because it's long, but I figure if you want to read my blog, you might as well know where I'm coming from. It might be boring for some (maybe even most), but alas...it will encompass a lot of aspects of my life, beginning when I was just a wee one, all the way through when I became a true, born again Christian. Thinking back on my life, and seeing God's clear hand in it really makes me wonder how people can not believe in the sovereignty of God (popularly known as the five points of Calvinism *grin*), but I digress....that is another topic for another day.

I was my parents' first (and only) child, born in a small town in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. Mom and Dad hadn't planned me, but I do suppose that since I came into being, God did! :o) So, two years (just about) into my parents marriage, I was born. I was almost Geneva, and I was almost Sofia...but I ended up being Mary Jo(sephine), after my maternal Grandmother. I think the name fits rather nicely; it's grown on me these past 17 years, I reckon.

Fastforward a couple of years: My parents were not Christians when I was a little girl, but my Dad's Mother was faithful to the Lord. She began taking me to church with her every Lord's Day, when I was quite young. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and when my Grandparents took a long trip to Florida, I was still anxious to attend church, so Mom and Dad decided they'd go ahead and take me. This was huge. I truly believe it was the answer to my Grandmother's prayers, as the prayers of the righteous do truly avail much! Just years before, my Dad had been embarassed that his mother was a Baptist, and certainly did not want to get married in a Baptist church...but one fine Sunday morning, he found himself sitting in a pew (probably close to the back, but I could be wrong...I never asked about that detail), with his wife, in the very Baptist church he had opted OUT of getting married in. Eventually, Grandma and Grandpa came back to North Carolina, and Mom and Dad kept on going to church. Within the next year or so, they both professed faith in Christ and were baptized together. This was probably the beginning of the path to becoming true Christians, but I think they would both say they were genuinely converted later on.

Now, we can fast forward a few more years. When I was four, we moved to a small town in Ohio where my Dad had been hired to be the publisher of the newspaper (it had a different name back then, and was owned by a different publishing company). After a series of completely crazy events, we ended up leaving there to come to the sunshine state when I was just a few weeks shy of turning 8. Dad moved before Mom and I did, as he needed to start working right away, so he found a church that we would attend together when his girls (Mom and I) joined him in Florida.

The following summer, I went to Vacation Bible School. It was that week at VBS that I asked Jesus into my heart, or accepted Him as my Lord and Savior (however you want to put it). Of course, I now know that that is not the Biblical gospel (accepting Him as your Lord--aka MASTER--and Savior can be biblical, depending on what is meant by it, but it is generally preached as a form of antinomianism), but at the time it was what I was told was true. (for those of you who preach that...try to find where it says in scripture that that's what we're to do) I recall at one point even asking my Dad where it said it in the Bible. "I'm sure it's there," I said, believing what I'd been taught at church, "But I'm just wondering where." We never did find the passage. The following December I was baptized, and joined the church.

At this point in time, I would venture to say that my "conversion" was a false profession. While I had done what they said I needed to do to be saved, there were a couple of problems. Namely, what they said doesn't square up with what God's Word says; that is "Repent and believe the gospel!" Needless to say, I had not repented, and my belief didn't really go deeper than an acknowledgment of the facts--Jesus died for my sins on the cross so I could go to heaven.

So, that's the beginning of my story as well as I can remember it. I praise God for those years, but thank Him for His mercy and forgiveness in that I did not live any of them for Him. But, He knew every detail of my life before I was even conceived; in fact, before the world was even created.

Stay tuned for Part 2 (I haven't come up with a title for it yet :oD )!

My Hope Chest

Ben built me a hope chest while we were together this month! It is so beautiful, and is currently adorning my bedroom. We brought it into the house on Tuesday, and he helped me put my (eventually our) things into it! It's made of very nice pine, and it has a cedar lining, to prevent bugs from eating linens and other such things; I hope to have a number of linens ready for when we get married, so that was a nice touch! The latch is a window latch, which I'm sure will prove to be nice and child proof, should the Lord choose to bless us with children after we're married. Along with the hinges, there is a hinge of some sort that we found to hold the lid open, which is nice, since it is such a heavy lid...it makes it easier to close, and it's conventient to be able to keep it open. It matches the bedroom furniture my parents are going to give us after we're married (that's why I picked that stain). The pictures were taken in my front yard before we brought it in.

If anyone is interested in purchasing a handcrafted, custom hope chest, let me know! If you email me (or just comment, if you'd rather) specifications for size, type of wood etc, I could get Ben to quite you a price. They can be made nearly any size, with any kind of wood and whatever hardware you like. It's hard to find a nice, quality hope chest these days, so this is rare! I've wanted one for quite some time...long before I knew Ben. I think it's pretty neat that he was able to make it for me. :o)

Yes, I'm in love! :oD

Us out back yesterday before he left

Ben left yesterday morning; I cried as always. I just love having him around. He is my closest friend, and the love of my life! Things just feel perfect (most of the time *wink*) when we're together. He's such a godly man...I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with him!

Sorry for my extended absense from the blog-world. I should be back permanently; when Ben is here, he takes priority over my blog (I'm sure y'all understand)! :o)

I'm Back :o)

So, it's been a million years since I've posted.

When life throws lots of wonderful things at you all at once, blogging doesn't take priority. :o) I'm with my beloved, and we've been doing all sorts of things out and about, and I love spending time with him more than I love blogging! haha

But just a bit about what's going on...don't forget about me, readers!

We spent a week at his family's house. While we were there, he made me a beeeautiful hope chest, which was a bit broken after it was shipped here (it ended up a smidge too big to put in the car), so he'll fix it tomorrow or Tuesday, so that is VERY exciting! I've been desiring a hope chest for quite some time, and who would've known that my future DH would be the one to build it? :)

We got to my house this past Monday, after an uneventful drive down. On the way, we stopped to drop off two birdhouses at a store that had its grand opening on March 15; the owner wants Ben's products in her shop...we're praying this will be the huge income boost we need to get married! May God's will be done in all things!! :o)

Since we've been here, we've had plenty of fun. One day, we went to Bright Light Books, a wonderful used bookstore (it started as a Christian bookstore, so they have a very large Christian section). Between the two of us, we had $60 worth of credit there, after trading in some books, plus I had $16 left from my last trade in, so we got lots of books (the total was $100, so we paid $24):

~The Fundamentals (2 vols.)
~The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible(5 vols.), recommended in Knowing Scripture
~The New Bible Commentary, also recommended in Knowing Scripture
~The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible
~The Person and Work of Christ
~The Religious Affections
~The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination
~Matthew Henry's Commentary (unabridged in 1 vol.)

Those were all very good buys, by very godly men of the past. I'm so thankful our Lord has blessed us with their writings!

This week was also the Ligonier Ministries National Conference, which was held in Orlando. Ben and I went, and boy was it wonderful! The topic for this year was Contending for the Faith, and the speakers were R.C. Sproul, R.C. Sproul, Jr., John Piper, John MacArthur, Al Mohler, Jr., and Ravi Zacharias. It was such an edifying and informative time...I've very thankful for the opportunity we had to attend! We also bought some books there (...can you tell we love good books? *grin*). Here are the titles:
~Meet the Puritans (it was buy 2, get 1 free)
~A Taste of Heaven: Worship in the Light of Eternity
~Contending for Our All

The conference ended yesterday, and today was a blessed Sabbath. My Pastor preached an amazing sermon from the beginning of Matthew 25, the parable of the 10 Virgins(it's hard to believe he's only got 3 and a half chapters left!)...it brought me to tears more than once. I truly fear for the lost. How fearful it would be to fancy yourself a true believer, and stand before God and find out you're not, and it's too late to repent, too late to be saved; to say "Lord, Lord" to Christ and be told He never knew you, as His holy angels cast you into hell, to be tormented for eternity, knowing if you had only repented, you could be rejoicing in Heaven, enjoying God forever. May we all examine ourselves to see whether we be in the faith!

After church, Pastor and his wife invited us over to their home for Sunday dinner! That was also a huge blessing. It was a sweet time of fellowship.

Well, I better get going because folks (Ben and Mom and I...Dad is out of town) are getting hungry! :)

Many blessings,
Mary Jo

Late Nights at Grandma's House

So, as of Thursday, I am in North Carolina at my Grandma's house. After a flight delayed 3 hours due to bad weather, Dad and I landed at about midnight and got here in the wee hours of the morning on Friday, and we went to bed at about 3! That is 5 hours later than my normal bed time, so I slept pretty late on Friday (about 9:30, I believe). We are here celebrating my Grandma's birthday...when we arrived, my Aunt Dana, whose family lives in south FL, was already here. Friday night, my cousin, Katie, and her husband, Chris, came, as well as my Aunt Dianne, and very late, my Aunt Debbie arrived. We've had a really nice time, although I haven't gone to bed before 1:30 since I've been here. . .my schedule is totally out of whack! That's fine, though. I've really enjoyed the fellowship with my family. Everyone but me is leaving today. This afternoon, Ben is coming here after church (his church is halfway between his house and Grandma's) to pick me up (yaaay!). We're leaving tomorrow morning sometime to go back to his family's house. I can't wait to see him *grin*

We'll be at their house for a week, and then we head back to Orlando. I'm not sure how long he's staying, but I'm sure happy that we'll have a nice long visit! He's coming down for the Ligonier Ministry's national conference. We're going to that together, and then he's going to stay a few extra days once it's over. :o)

I don't know if I'll get to post at all until I get home, but if Ben decides to take a nap or something (which seems unlikely), I'll try!

Have a BLESSED Sabbath!
Mary Jo

Eight Reasons Why I Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead

This was on John Piper's blog this morning, and I thought it might be interesting for y'all to read. It's a summary of an article that can be found here, called "Eight Reasons Why I Believe That Jesus Rose from the Dead."


1. Jesus himself testified to his coming resurrection from the dead.

2. The tomb was empty on Easter.

3. The disciples were almost immediately transformed from men who were hopeless and fearful after the crucifixion (Luke 24:21, John 20:19) into men who were confident and bold witnesses of the resurrection (Acts 2:24, 3:15, 4:2).

4. Paul claimed that, not only had he seen the risen Christ, but that 500 others had seen him also, and many were still alive when he made this public claim.

5. The sheer existence of a thriving, empire-conquering early Christian church supports the truth of the resurrection claim.

6. The Apostle Paul’s conversion supports the truth of the resurrection.

7. The New Testament witnesses do not bear the stamp of dupes or deceivers.

8. There is a self-authenticating glory in the gospel of Christ’s death and resurrection as narrated by the biblical witnesses.

Birdhouse-Replica

So, after remembering hte contact info. for the blog I have for Ben's business, I posted today for the first time in months. The post can be seen here.

One of the things I mentioned was the birdhouse that is auctioning right now on eBay, pictured above. If you wish, take time to read the post I wrote; it has a bit of an 'update' on the business as well as a couple of lovely pictures!

Mrs. Wilt's Proverbs 31 Series

Mrs. Wilt (see link on my sidebar) has been doing a series called the Elusive Proverbs 31 Woman. Today was the third post, and I highly recommend you read the first two as well as today's.

The Elusive Proverbs 31 Woman
The Elusive Proverbs 31 Woman: A Woman of Virtue
The Elusive Proverbs 31 Woman: The Excellent Wife

Here is part of today's post:

Proverbs 31: 23 states, "Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land." At first glance, this verse seems to reflect on the character of the husband, but in reality, it is a reflection on the character of his wife. She is of such excellent character that he is known through the land. Her goodness enables him to take his place among the leaders of the land and be all that God intends him to be. Dear ladies, do realize that each word that comes out of your mouth in regard to your husband either builds him up or tears him down. One of the verses I am memorizing right now is Proverbs 12:4: "A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband; but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones." Do you realize that virtuous women are viewed by our Lord as jewels in a crown for their husbands, but contentious women are viewed as a CANCER? What a powerful illustration! Just as cancer eats away bit by bit at the human body until it is consumed and life taken away, so do the words of the contentious woman eat away at her husband (spiritually, mentally, and emotionally) until he becomes weak from the strain. Let it not be so- choose instead to be a "mason of kindness" in your words to others regarding your mate. Never let a word cross your lips that does not build and strengthen his reputation among those you know.

Please take time to enjoy this edifying series of posts! :)

House Keeping Meme

So, I've never done one of these before, but I read it on Mrs. Wilt's blog (I just started reading it recently), and she said if you read it all, consider yourself tagged. :o) So I'm going to do it (keep in mind, I don't have my own house to keep):

Aprons- Y/N? I think they're very cute, but I don't usually wear one...I have a couple my Grandma gave me, that her Mom made. I might make a couple for my self once I know how to use my sewing machine.

Baking- Favorite thing to bake? Hmm...I think probably chocolate chip cookies, because that's what I always send to Ben. :o) And I like sending him things! But, I enjoy baking almost anything.

Clothesline- Y/N? Nope...no place to put one.

Donuts- Ever made them? Nope...those aren't healthy. :o) I try to make helf-ful things for my family, though sometimes I "splurge." Haven't made donuts though.

Everyday- One homemaking thing you do everyday? Hmm...make the bed

Freezer- Do you have a separate deep freezer? No place for one...once Ben and I get married, and we have our own place, I'd love to have one, though. (hint, hint *wink*)

Garbage Disposal- Y/N? Yes! I use it multipe times each day... <3 (haha)

Handbook- Y/N? I have a homemaker's binder...I think it will probably be more of a serious thing when I'm keeping my own home. I enjoy it, though. :)

Ironing- Love it or hate it? Eh...I don't do it too often; I try to get things out of the drier quick enough. When it needs to be done, it needs to be done, though.

Junk Drawer- Where is it? I think there's more than one...my desk has a drawers that's unorganized...and we have 2 in our kitchen and one in the coffee table. That's pretty bad!

Kitchen- Design and decorating? Let's see...we have dark granite counter tops and the walls are a chocolate color. The cabinets are white, and there are sort of victorian looking decorations atop the cabinets.

Love- What is your favorite part of homemaking? I don't know yet. I haven't really been able to decorate a home yet.

Mop- Y/N? Usually, I use this little swivel electric broom thing. I mop sometimes though.

Nylons- Wash them by hand or in the washer? eeeh! I HATE wearing nylons. I think we hand wash them, though.

Oven- Do you use the window or open it to check? Both.

Pizza- What do you put on yours? I usually just put cheese and pepperoni and some seasonings

Quiet- What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? I usually read

Recipe card box- Y/N? I'm working on it. ;)

Style of house- It's a typical FL home.

Tablecloths and napkins- Y/N? We don't have a tablecloth on the kitchen table, but we use placemats, usually only paper napkins.

Under the kitchen sink- It's kind of smelly...that's where the trashcan is. We keep some cleaning supplies under there though.

Vacuum- How many times a week? once a week.

Wash- How many loads do you do a week? 4 or so

X’s- Do you keep a list of things to do and cross them off? I love lists :D

Yard- Who does what? Dad does it all...we don't have a garden

ZZZ’s- What is your last homemaking task for the day? clean the kitchen and 'tidy'

I'll copy Mrs. Wilt...whoever read this, consider yourself tagged. If you do it, comment and let me know :o)

On the Sidewalks at Orlando Women's Center

That photograph is of a pre-born infant at 20 weeks gestation.

Many small children, smaller and larger than that baby (between 13 and 40 weeks--they say they don't do 3rd trimesters any more, on their website, but that's a lie...all you have to do is call and ask) were murdered today at 1103 Lucerne Terrace, the address of Orlando Women's Center. Paula, Patte, Mom and I were there to witness against the atrocity. No one talked to us, besides on angry Grandma (to a baby who is likely dead by now, after being delivered into a toilet inside the killing place) who shoved Patte. We called the police about it, but somehow they didn't consider grabbing her and shoving her an act of assault, so a report was filed, but nothing else was done. If I'm not mistaken, one of the officers who came was one of the ones who came when we called about the baby in the bag.

We stayed from about 7:45 until about 9. I thank the LORD that even though we don't see the fruit of our labors every time, His word does not return void, and each and every time it goes out, He uses it to accomplish His will.

Tomorrow, it's back out to the field of blood, to try and rescue the perishing (physically AND spiritually), as our Lord commands. Your prayers are much appreciated.

Of Fresh Bread and New Schedules

So, today I made bread using Marmee's Best Bread recipe. It turned out really good, if I might say so myself. :o) I've been wanting to make a bread that is healthy, but still kind of soft, and not really dense, for sandwhiches. Ben doesn't usually like homemade bread for sandwhiches, because of its denseness, so I decided to try and make some that's not so dense...and this recipe is perfect! It has some wheat flour, and some All-Purpose. I had to cut the recipe in half, because I do not have a Bosch. Our Kitchen Aid Mixer started making funny sounds when I turned it on, so I turned it off, and then I smelled motor oil, so I opted out of mixing it with the mixer, and ended up doing it all by hand. It still turned out delicious. Halfing it made three small loaves for me. Two of them are in the freezer, and one is already half way gone...Mom and I like it a lot ;o)

In other news, I made a new schedule for myself. I decided I need more time for housework and also to work on my needleworking skills. Any time left over during my housework time will be devoted to that, in addition to the time I already spend working on it. I decided I'm going to start getting up at 5 every day, so my day will last a little longer ;o). I've been working up to that point, as I was getting up at 5:45 every day for a while, and the last few days I've gotten up about 5:25, but I think I'm going to go ahead and "take the plunge" so to speak. My new schedule is as follows (but is, as always, subject to change):

5-7: Get up, make bed, "freshen", do my devotions, exercise
7-8: talk to Ben
8-10:30: make breakfast, dinner prep, clean kitchen, housework, needlework (if time)
10:30-12: shower, freshen up, scripture memory, practice flute
12-1: make and eat lunch, clean kitchen, practice piano
1-5: walk dogs, study (the Bible), study for NT Greek
5-6: computer time
6-7:30: make dinner, eat, tidy house, do any breakfast prep.
7:30-9: get ready for bed, straighten up, read
9-9:45: talk to Ben
9:45: go to bed

Going to bed at 9:45 should give me plenty of sleep, assuming it doesn't take me forever and a day to fall asleep.

I've also decided I'm going to change my cleaning routine for a while, because I want things more organized around the house. Once they're how I want them, I'm going to go back to my normal cleaning routine (which is different tasks each day: appliances Monday, dusting&counter tops&other wiping Tuesday, toilets&sinks Wednesday, hard floors Thursday, carpet Friday). I'm going to spend my cleaning time in a room each day until it's clean. I worked in my room for a while today...about an hour, and only got through my desk. Actually, I have a little left to do to have that how I want it. Once I finish my room (desk, dressers, closet, floor, under the bed, plastic bins), I'm going to organize all the other rooms. I'm going to spend a set amount of time each day cleaning, and once the time is up, I'm going to quit, and if the room isn't done, I'll finish it the next day. :o)

Response to Post Containing Liberty Counsel Release

A couple of days ago, I posted a press release from liberty counsel, and my friend, Jay Rogers, posted an interesting comment, that I thought y'all should read:

Matt Staver is seriously wrong here.

Free speech ought not extend to blasphemy or defamatory speech in the public square. Furthermore, schools ought to be able to discipline however they choose.

The problem here is that we've extended the term "public" education to a taxpayer supported government run monopoly.

The monopoly simply needs to be defunded. That would solve this case.

Let's say you were part of a church and some of your members attended a parade with a banner blaspheming Jesus. Can your church then excommunicate the blasphemers? Of course!

Can a private Christian school expel a student who is a professing satanist? Of course!

What about a private business? Can a business fire an employee for ethical and moral corrruption in private life? Can a boss fire an adulterous employee? Of course!

So why can't a school suspend a student for 10 days for deviant behavior? It can and should.

Matt Staver argues that since it is a "public school" the right to free speech in "private" life supercedes the school's right to discipline.

Schools have a right to discipline students just as churches, private businesses and clubs have a right to expel their members.

The so-called "public" nature of government education is not really public at all. What we have is a privately run government monopoly.

We pay these students' tuition through our taxes. When families take on this responsibilty themselves the nature of "public" schools will change.

A school should be able to discipline whoever they want -- however they want -- but the federal government has a stranglehold on "public" education -- a title that ought to be shared by competing private and Christian schools. That way, these suspended students could take their banner and their tuition money to any school that would allow this rebellious behavior.

Collecting Recipes and eBay auctioning

Today, I decided (quite randomly) to orgnanize the recipes I have collected over the year or two I've been teaching myself to cook; the ones my family--and Ben--have really enjoyed. I don't have any recipe cards, but I have a Collected Recipes Cookbook, similar to this one on Amazon (it is the same thing, but with a different cover). My Grandma gave it to me last year, and also gave me a bunch of the 'family recipes' to put in it. It has magnetic pages, which is really nice! I've made a list of the recipes I use from my cookbooks, and also from Tammy's Recipes and I'm planning to order some recipe cards from somewhere on-line. Once I get them, I'm going to write each recipe on a card, and put a piece of magnetic tape on the back of the card, and organize them in my cook book. I'm kind of excited about it, just because I've never done it before! :o) So, that's what I've been working on for a long time today.

I also did my first ever eBay auction for Ben, which will be going up tonight. I'll post a link once the auction starts. :D

Public Schools Could Hamper Free Speech Rights of Students off Campus

I received the following e-mail from Liberty Counsel this morning:

February 20, 2007

Supreme Court Could Extend the Reach of
Public Schools into Private Life

Today Liberty Counsel filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case that could affect the free speech rights of all public school students while they are away from campus.

If the Supreme Court rules the wrong way, then government-funded educational institutions could legally punish students for expressing their personal beliefs off campus. This could mean the abolition of free speech for public school students. A school could ban students from appearing at public events to express views that school officials oppose. One likely scenario would be for a school to silence students expressing views favoring traditional marriage. Students would essentially give up their right to freedom of speech by enrolling in a public school.

Pray that the Supreme Court does not choose to muzzle students from expressing their ideas while off campus. The effect would be chilling and the First Amendment would become nothing more than a hollow shell.

This is a huge concern. While the number of godly students in the public school system is dwindling, this could largely effect many of them, who are open in talking about their faith in Christ, and preaching the gospel to the lost and perishing, as well as taking a stand for traditional, Christian values in the public square. Perhaps more Christian parents will realize what an ungodly place public schools are, and consider pulling their children out and schooling them themselves, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Biblical Womanhood Valentine's Day Contest

Crystal hosted a Valentine's Day contest for unmarried women over at Biblical Womanhood, and the last day for entries was February 16. The idea was for unmarried girls to think of ways to encourage others, and not mope on February 14th.

Everyone who did an entry was placed in a drawing, and the winners were announced today. :o) I was a runner-up! So, I get a virtuous woman bracelet as a prize.

So, that is exciting!

Any piano players out there?

As some of you may know, I've been working on playing piano again, after quitting at the age of 11 or 12 (I don't even remember...it was sometime in middle school). The books I have are for kids, and I'm now 17, so it is sort of frustrating playing books written for 6-9 year olds (or something like that). So, I am looking for a teach-yourself piano book that is not for children. Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Staying Home...

So, for the first time in a long time, I am staying home from church today. I have come down with a really bad cold, and feel really tired (even though I had 8 and a half hours of sleep), so I am going to stay home and rest. It's sad, though. :o( I really dislike missing church. It's the Lord's day, and I love being in His house with His people! Thankfully, I can have CD of the sermon, so at least I won't miss out on that completely. :o)

I'm going to sleep some, and then I'll probably do some reading or something edifying. Just because I'm sick doesn't mean it's not the Sabbath!

Another Busy Day

Aaah...it feels so good to get a lot done during a day. Perhaps I didn't get that much done, but I've been "doing" all day, so it feels good anyway :o) This morning, I allowed myself to sleep in a little bit (I got up at 7:10 instead of my usual 5:30), since I was up until about 11:15 (I didn't get home until 10:40 or so from the fellowship at my friends' house), and then had a hard time getting to sleep.

Last night was so much fun. I'm really grateful that Mom and Dad let me go. They planned their date on the other side of town so I could fellowship with the girls while they were out enjoying eachother's company on Valentine's Day. :) Five of my friends just moved into a house together, and they hosted a get together last night. It really was so much fun. The fellowship was so sweet...I enjoyed myself a lot. :D Women's group is going to be held there every week now until the church building is built, starting next Wednesday! I think it will be a lot of fun.

But anywho...this morning, I talked to Ben for a while and then exercised with my Mom. After that, I had some breakfast and got to work. I cleaned the hard floors (which didn't take too long), and then I put together some Farmhouse Chicken, for lunch. We were going to have it for dinner, but Dad has a meeting, and Mom and I are going to go to Orlando Culinary Academy, where a friend from church is going to school, and we're going to have dinner there; apparently they're showcasing what they've learned this evening. :) The chicken turned out pretty good, though it is less healthy than I thought it was when I added it to our menu plan for the week. After that, I grilled the last chicken breast in the package to use for salads. Then, I made Dad a dinner to take with him to eat on the way to his meeting tonight. Right about the time I finished that up, he came home to get some lunch, so I spent some time with him (I love my Dad *grin*). I went on the computer for a little while, while I waited for butter to sofften, so I could make banana bread. The fruit of my banana bread labors are in the oven right now, and they sure smell good. :) Banana bread is a wonderful way to use super ripe bananas. The recipe I make makes two loaves, so I can freeze one for another day. I like being able to do that. Then, you have a homemade breakfast in a matter of minutes!

I'm going to see if Mom wants to play Yahtzee now, so I'm going to go!

Hope everyone is doing well!

My "Valentine"

I know, I'm a day late...but I got this idea from Erin's blog...and I thought it was neat, so I'm going to copy her. :o)

Some of the (many) reasons I love and respect Ben:

~He loves God and helps me understand scripture when something confuses me
~He's incredibly sweet to me, and puts up with me even on my really emotional, off-days.
~He's a hard worker...he's trying very hard to get the money for us to get married. I know I probably don't show him how much I appreciate it, so he probably doesn't know how much I do...but I really do. It makes me admire him a lot, and it also makes me feel special..that he'd work hard just to be able to marry little old me. :o)
~He's appreciative. Whenever I bake him things (even if they aren't very lovely--like flat chocolate chip cookies), he shows his appreciation, and seems as though he enjoys them (hopefully, he actually does :o)
~When he's around, I feel a sense of safety that I don't always when he's far away in Virginia. There's just something about having him close by that makes me feel extra secure.
~He's my very closest friend. I can tell him anything in the world, and know that he'll still love me.
~When I look at the average 21-year-old guy, I am amazed at how different Ben is from the status quo. He's focused on his walk with the Lord, and getting ready to settle down, and provide for a wife, and eventually (if God is willing) a family. He could be having the "fun" (ie: doing the wicked things) that the average guy in his age range does...but he doesn't even think those things look fun! And I think that's wonderful. :)

I love and respect Ben because he deserves it. He's a wonderful man with a heart for God, and I very much look forward to spending the rest of my life with him.

New Recipe Wednesday

So, I'm not planning on having weekly "new recipe Wednesday" or anything, but I tried 3 new recipes this morning, and I'm planning to try one more before the day's end.

First, I made some chocolate chip cookies, using the recipe from Tammy's Recipes. They don'tlook very much like the picture, but they still taste good. Those are going in the mail to Ben today. :o) They're already in the bags ready to go in a box. Hopefully, he'll enjoy them!



Next, I made Italian Scrambled Eggs, also from Tammy's Recipes. I was a little nervous about it, just because it's an unusual recipe, but it turned out good, and both of my parents said they'd like to have it again. :) I didn't take a picture of that...and it's already been eaten! The only thing I did differently was reduce the recipe by 25%, because we only need 6 eggs (2 each). I also used real pepperoni, instead of turkey pepporoni, since that's what we had on hand.

After breakfast, I made a Cinnamon Sprinkle Cake to take tonight to a time of fellowship for us single gals, at the home of some of my friends. I don't know how it tastes, because I'm not going to test it before I'm there...I might have Dad have a taste, though...just to be sure it's good. I'm sure he won't mind. He's got quite a sweet tooth. ;o)

When my Mom gets back from the grocery store, I'm planning to make Southwest Dip to take to the get together tonight, also from Tammy's Recipes. :o) I really like that site, in case you couldn't tell. I highly recommend you check it out. Every time I click through it, I am inspired to attempt new recipes! And usually, the ingredients are normal ingredients you would have on hand. I'm also going to make a fruit salad. I'm going to somewhat by the "recipe" Tammy has for fruit salad, but will be adding extra ingredients, I believe. :o)

Now it's on to put together some salad with grilled chicken for lunch...!

Just One of the (many!) Benefits...

...of being in love with a carpenter :)

As I probably mentioned before, Ben made me a bookshelf while he was down here for a few days. I just wanted to show it off...because I'm really enjoying it. It's beautiful; he's so talented...and he made it for free! :) It's hanging on the wall above my desk, in my bedroom. It's so very convenient to have all my books right there...and I think the shelf adds a nice touch to my bedroom. Thanks, Ben!


The big set on the bottom left are my wonderful John Calvin Commentaries that I just got in December for my 17th birthday, from my parents. They're probably the "crown" of my bookshelf. *wink*

Right now, Ben and I are reading through the Westminster Confession of Faith together, as well as going through the Larger Catechism, three questions per evening. Here is a picture of the copy I picked up at Bright Light Books, the used Christian bookstore I mentioned on a previous post. I got it for a very reasonable price, and it's like new!

So, there you have it :)

Please Pray

"Ashey" who I mentioned in yesterday's post is reconsidering murdering her infant. Please pray that she will not do it.

Of Saved Babies, Back Yard BBQs, and Sabbath Rest

My weekend was pretty nice. After an incredibly stressful,saddening Friday at the abortion mill, a relaxing weekend was much invited. It's very easy sometimes to feel "crippled" under burdens you have, but thankfully when we are weak and lean on God, He is made strong. Praise Him that His grace is indeed sufficient for us!

Saturday, we headed back to the death camp at 6 in the morning. Early on, the people there for infant slaughter seemed incredibly hard-hearted. I was definitely trying to prepare myself for another disheartening day. Later in the morning, a Roman Catholic man named Mark who has an ultra-sound machine, showed up on the sidewalk. Having an ultra-sound machine there is such a wonderful tool to encourage the women to have mercy on their babies.

The first mommy came out about an hour after he arrived, to get her ultra-sound. After seeing her tiny baby bouncing around inside of her, she decided she could not go through with it! She and her friend came together to have abortions, and she went in and tried to get her friend to come out. I'm not sure whether her friend did or not.

While "Natalie" was still in the van seeing her baby, "Ashley", a sweet girl Patte had talked to earlier in the morning came out and said she had changed her mind and decided not to kill the baby, and wanted an ultra-sound. Unfortunately, the baby didn't show up because she is so early in pregnancy. Ashley was planning to visit an wonderful local adoption agency today to begin the process of picking a couple to adopt her little boy or girl, as she doesn't think she's ready at this time to care for a child.

While the other babies were still slaughtered on Saturday, the two saves simply make being there "worth it." It thrills my heart so when a woman spares her child from his or her imminent death! Please pray that we will be able to keep in touch with both Mommies, and ultimately lead them to the Savior!

We left the abortion mill shortly after for evangelism with our congregation. My group, consisting of Mary Anne, Leah, and myself, spent most of our time speaking with three separate teams of Jehovah's Witnesses. One of the leaders was a former elder, and was so incredibly hard hearted. His wife, leading her young daughter, was hard hearted as well. The last young man, David, who was out with his father (who spoke only Spanish) seemed to be fairly open to the Word of God. He has my Dad's number...pray that God will soften his heart!

After evangelism, we came home to let the dogs out and then headed back to the east side of town for a BBQ to say good-bye to my good friend, and fellow minister (on the sidewalk), Jesse, who is heading to India for missions, and won't be back for an entire year. It was a very sweet time of fellowship! The food was pretty good too ;o) It's hard to believe it will be a whole year until he's back on the sidewalks with us! His fiancee probably thinks it will be unbearable...but she'll be planning a wedding while he's gone. :o)

Sunday was also wonderful. I love my brothers and sister in Christ. Fellowshipping with them, and sitting under the sound preaching of God's word is truly quite edifying! My Sunday School class is going through the book, The Excellent Wife, by Martha Peace. It is a really good book--I highly recommend it to any lady who wants to be a godly wife :)

Today has been a fairly quiet day. I've been able to read and clean, and exercise...it's been nice. I love being a stay-at-home daughter!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Child Brought to Orlando Women's Center Abortion Clinic in Garbage Bag

Today was late term killing day at notorious abortion mill, Orlando Women's Center. As many of you know the way they do late term abortions there is that they put cytotec pills in the vagina of the women one day, to soften the cervix and prepare it to deliver a baby, and then the next day, the women come in and take the same type of pills orally and labor is induced. Once contractions get really heavy, and the women feel a lot of pressure, they are asked to sit on the toilet for when their little baby comes out. There have been times, however, when the infant is born before the doors open at the clinic, and today was one of those days.

Patte Smith and I were standing in the back of the abortion mill this morning calling out to women, when a young couple came up to the building. I followed them as far as I could pleading with them to spare their child.

"Please, don't go in there. If you've only inserted the pills and you are waiting to take some orally, your baby is unharmed. The pills do nothing to the child. You might have even felt her moving since you came here yesterday."

Until the baby is out, labor can be stopped. The pills do no harm to the baby.

Shortly after they went in, the baby's father came outside to get something out of the car. As he waited for the clinic workers to open the back door, we spoke with him, concerning his child. He looked at us and said, "You don't understand," as he held up a large white garbage bag and then said, "This is my child." Clearly, it was. The rather large infant (easily a third trimester baby, though I don't know for sure) was wrapped in what appeared to be a blood-soaked towel or blanket, inside a large garbage bag. We could tell (s)he was a very late term baby, because his/her weight pulled down the bag. As the young man stood there, we pled with him to bring the child to us, and he looked at us for a long time, and then the clinic worker, Sonia, took the child and told us to shut up. Clearly what happened was the Mother delivered the child before she was able to get to the abortion clinic; perhaps last night or early this morning.

We asked the police officer who was there on duty as a security guard to go inside and check and see what was going on. We didn't know whether the baby was dead or still alive, nor did we know whether she was 3rd trimester. Since we know they are scheduling third trimester abortions, it certainly was not outside the realm of possibilities. Charles refused to do anything. As Mom and Paula pled with him to do something, I went back into the back with Patte. After she called the AHCA, FDLE, and the FDoH, with no response, she called 9-1-1. Thankfully, officers came shortly after, and one went inside to investigate. We just found out from the officer who investigated that he didn't even know we were the ones who called 9-1-1. He said he never saw a baby or a bag. So, for now, until the medical waste folks come to pick up all the sacrificed children, the little baby's body is probably in a freezer inside that wretched place, unless they destroyed him already, somehow, to get rid of evidence.

Perhaps, that precious infant did not die completely in vain...perhaps the LORD will use his death to bring an end to Pendergraft's wicked infant sacrifice. Please pray that the LORD will mightily use the death of this precious little boy or girl made in His own likeness, for His glory...something good out of something terribly, amazingly, awfully horrible. Pray that they will take the body in and find out it was indeed an illegal third trimester abortion; pray that they find he was born alive, as well. The truth of this wretched industry needs to go out. The killing must stop. This nation must repent. We certainly are not the "land of the free" or the "home of the brave" anymore.

Baby Rowan Born Alive and Left to Die

If you've been reading my blog for any period of time, you'll probably remember me mentioning Baby Rowan, a baby boy who was delivered into a toilet alive at Dr. James Scott Pendergraft's EPOC Abortion clinic in Orlando, and left to die. The following is a video made by a friend of our ministry's, including the 911 calls. I highly suggest you take the 5 minutes and 30 seconds to watch and listen.

"And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them." ~Ephesians 5:11

"Are You Better off Single?"

I found a link to this article on Crystal Paine's blog, and since it's been a few days, I'm probably one of the only bloggers left in my "niche" who hasn't responded to it yet. As she said, some articles are so upsetting, you're not quite sure what to say. For those of you who don't want to take the time to read it, it is an article from MSN's Single's site that gives 10 reasons why it's best not to get married. It must be one of the most self-centered and ungodly articles I've read in quite some time. I have yet to be married (though it hopefully won't be too long!), but scripture says that a godly marriage is a picture of Christ's relationship to His church, and while I know all marriages are far from being perfect, like Christ's love for the Church, if they even resemble it, it must be something amazing. I am going to list each reason they give, and respond to it. :o) It shouldn't be hard to prove each point to be completely wrong.

1. You have a better body.
When you are married, you have someone who is committed to you for life, and admires you for so much more than simply your body. When your body is becoming less and less attractive (it happens to everyone eventually!), they will continue to love you. A godly husband treasures you for far more than your body.

2. You're more likely to achieve great things.
I disagree completely. It is only obvious (and I've heard there is data to prove it) that men are far more likely to be successful if they have a supportive wife. The saying goes, "Behind every successful man is a great woman" (or something like that). Additionally, what is greater for a woman to "achieve" than the blessings of raising godly children to serve the Lord and reach their generation with the gospel?

3. You do less housework.
There's nothing wrong with doing a little "extra" housework. Nothing can begin to compare to the joy of having constant fellowship with a person you love with all your heart, even if it means you have to do some extra cleaning. I feel sorry for someone who would trade the blessings of marriage for the sake of not doing as much housework. Plus, even if you're not married, do you really want to live in a pig pen anyway? Keeping a clean home for my family now is such a joy...how much more will it be when I'm keeping house for my husband?

4. You can do what you want with your money--including keep it.
I'm "stealing" someone else's point for this (see Crystal's post), but truly, the living cost for one person versus two under the same roof is far less than if both people lived in two separate houses. Not only that, but a stay at home wife has far more time to shop frugally, and make food from scratch, in order to save more money that way. Not to mention it's healthier! Additionally, even if you aren't married, we are commanded by God to be wise stewards. Spending our money wisely is pleasing to God. It does not, however, please Him when we go hog-wild and buy whatever just because we can.

5. You have better sex.
You shouldn't be having sex if you aren't married. God's word is clear on this matter. It even says that fornicators will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Any sex that takes place outside the bonds of marriage is Satan's cheap replacement, for something that God created to be precious, and even holy, in its proper context.

You are far more likely to contract all sorts of diseases, in addition to having emotional problems, if you are giving your body to multiple people, as opposed to if you give your entire self to one person for life, who has waited for you, also. Sleeping with anyone other than your spouse is nothing but selfish indulgence in something that is not yours to have. In marriage, you are given a picture of Christ's love for His bride, as I already mentioned. Husbands have the opportunity to lay down their lives for their wives, and wives have the opportunity to serve their husbands and families and the church serves Christ!

6. You're better rested and smarter.
You have the constant companionship of someone you adore. What way to get rested up than to fall asleep in the arms of the man who's committed his life to you! As far as being smarter...two heads are always better than one. When you have someone you can be vulnerable with, there is always a person to bounce even your craziest ideas off of, and get honest answers. When he is a godly man, he has your best interest in heart, as well as the glory of God!

7. You're less depressed.
There are loving arms to fall into when you do get sad. There is a set of shoulders to cry on, that belong to the person who loves you more than anyone else. You have a person to share all of life's trials as well as life's joys with.

8. You have better friendships.
You get to spend the rest of your life with your very closest friend, getting to know him better and better, and falling more and more in love with him, and you are also able to encourage another person in their relationship with God!

9. Your travel tales are enviable.
You have someone to follow wherever he goes, to support and be supported by. Not only that, but you have a room-mate who loves you no matter what, if you do decide to go on vacation! :o)

10. You know yourself--and what you want out of a relationship.
You get to spend the rest of life learning about your spouse, and being known by him (or her, if you're a man). There will be someone to cheer you up on your down days, who knows you in and out...and you'll be able to do the same for him.

Like I said, I've never been married, but when the day comes, as long as we keep Christ at the center, I know it will be glorious, no matter what trials we go through. We'll have Christ and eachother to lean on for life. It grieves me that our society has become so debased as to be in support of the ideas portrayed in the article...may God grant repentance to this nation before His judgment further falls on us!

So...

What do y'all think of the new template?

Bathroom Cleaning Question

Do any of my readers (I know I have *some* readers, since I'm just over 1,500 visitors) have any ideas (ones that truly work) on how to go about cleaning the water-stain rings inside the toilet bowls? I looked online, and there are so many suggestions, but I don't know which ones will work! Perhaps a seasoned homemaker might shed some light on the issue! The stains aren't terribly bad, but they are un-lovely, nonetheless. :o)

Please comment if you have any tips. Thanks in advance!

~MJ

Basic H

With the company coming tonight, I've been wanting to find something to clean (like countertops, etc--but they're already clean!) with my new cleaner that came yesterday!
Basic H is an organic, biodegradable, non-toxic concentrated cleaning solution. Last week, I was cleaning the bathrooms with 409 All Purpose Cleaner and my hands got dry and cracked and the inside of my nose got sore (from inhaling it), and I was thinking how nice it would be to have a cleaner that's easier on one's self. That same day, Crystal posted about Basic H, which she had just started using. She gave it a good review, so I thought we'd give it a shot. It makes 48 gallons, so for $12.00 plus shipping, it really is a pretty good deal! You can use it to clean just about everything. You mix different amounts of Basic H in with different amounts of water to get the right combination. For All-Purpose Cleaner, it's 1/4 of a teaspoon with 16 oz. of water.

The bottle lists the following things you can clean using Basic H: kitchen, appliances, furniture, woodwork, fixtures, walls, stainless steel, sealed granite, marble, and bathrooms, pots and pans, windows and mirrors, floors, woolens, nylons, and fine fabrics.

I haven't used it yet, so I can't recommend it personally. I'll let y'all know how it works out. :o)

Today...

...is going to be really busy!!

I got home late last night from women's group, so I didn't get to bed until about 10:45-ish. Everyone is coming down today, so Ben called me at 5:20, to let me know that they were well on their way to Richmond to pick up folks. I went back to sleep until 6:15, and I've been moving kinda slow. I intended to exercise this morning, but I am not going to have time. We're leaving at about 8 to go to Orlando Women's Center...it's their first killing day of the week. Mom and I will be the only ones there for a little while. Appointments begin at 9, so we're going to try and be there about 8:30. It's good to get there early.

When we get back, I'll need to exercise and get the house ready for company. I need to vacuum and mop, and just straighten up around the house some. It's relatively clean since Mom and I have been keeping up with the chores...there's just clutter that needs to be put away. Since there will be 20 people spending the night (in addition to the three of us), I need to get the rooms ready for people. Maybe I'll do before and after pictures of my cleaning efforts today, just for fun.

We're getting KFC for dinner tonight (well, the chicken...I'm making sides to go with it), so that should be fairly easy.

I need to do a couple things before we leave, so I'm going to head out!

Neat New Website

Through BiblicalWomanhood.com, I found a really neat website. Check it out when you get a chance!

His Help Meet

It's Cold!

For Florida, it's pretty chilly today. When I got up this morning, it was 38*, and there is a freeze warning for tonight. We got some things to cover our plants with; our citrus trees (orange and lemon) are blossoming, and if they freeze, we'll have no fruit come next winter! That would be a bummer! It's waaay better than fruit you find at the store...our lemons are HUGE and our oranges have great flavor. We didn't plant either tree...they were in the yard when we got here, and we don't have to do anything to them to take care of them (besides cover them if it freezes). :o)

Today has been fairly productive. I didn't get everything done that I wanted to, but I was able to exercise, read a lot of Calvin's commentary on 1 John (so good), and I also made lunch, and I'm working on dinner. The multi-grain quick bread is in the oven, and the chicken for the soup is cooked, but the soup is really quick (about 10 minutes cooking--!!), so I'm going to wait until the bread is closer to being done before I start the soup.

I also was able to work on Greek for about an hour, clean the kitchen (Monday is the day I work on cleaning appliances), and walk the dogs with my Mom. I'm hoping to do a little more reading after this post, and then eat, and talk to Ben later tonight.

There will be a big crowd on Thursday night and Sunday night. I'm looking forward to that. I'm also looking forward to getting to spend some time with BEN over the weekend (he'll be here from Thursday night until Monday morning). I can't wait to see him!

I need to maybe try to keep my blog more on one topic/theme...but, I don't know how I'd NOT talk about any of the things I talk about (my day-to-day, pro-life stuff, and Christianity). I guess they all sort of play a part in my Pursuit of Holiness. :o) That works. Thoughts?

Does anyone know of any frugal ways to keep plants from freezing? We tried sheets last year, and they didnt work, so this year we bought the stuff they recommended on the news (which ended up being $45!!! *gasp*).

I think I'm going to start using my camera more often, and putting more pictures on the blog. Do y'all think that would make the blog more interesting?

Back to the kitchen!
-Mary Jo

Jill Stanek on Way of the Master Radio

"Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee..."

For those of you who don't know of her, Jill is an outspoken pro-lifer who was a nurse at an Illinois hospital until she was fired. She has taken quite an interest in the born-alive babies who have been born at James Pendergraft's death mills here in FL. Please take the time to read through the following is a quote from the 1-22-07 Podcast from Way of the Master Radio.

"We listen to stories about the holocaust and we can't believe it and the civil war and the civil rights movement and incredible stories throughout history of mankind not just being so unkind to mankind ... but of torturing and killing them and we wonder how could that have happened? And we are living in those times right now... "~Jill Stanek to Todd Friel

Now for a news article. It's quite lengthy, so I have bolded or colored some of it, for those of you who want to skim. Some of you might already know a lot of what she says, but many of you might find it shocking, and learn some things about the abortion industry that you never knew:

Nurse's Testimony shocks Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee

SPRINGFIELD, IL, March 27, 2001 (RFM NEWS) EXCLUSIVE RFM News has exclusively obtained a written transcript of Nurse Jill Stanek's written testimony before the Illinois Senate Judiciary Committee's hearing on the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. Stanek, a labor and delivery nurse at Christ Hospital and Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Illinois, was first to expose an abortion procedure which many are calling "live-birth abortion."

Stanek will appear in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday afternoon in Springfield. Following is a transcript of Mrs. Stanek's testimony.


I am a Registered Nurse who has worked in the Labor & Delivery Department at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Illinois, for the past 5-1/2 years. Christ Hospital performs abortions during the second and even third trimesters of pregnancy. The abortion method being called into question that Christ Hospital and other Illinois hospitals practice is called "induced labor abortion." This abortion technique sometimes results in infants being aborted alive. In the event that an infant is aborted alive at Christ Hospital, she or he is given no medical assessments or care whatsoever, but is left to die. The induced labor abortion procedure can be performed using a couple different medications, but the goal always is to cause a pregnant woman's cervix to open so that she will deliver a premature baby who dies during the birth process or soon afterward. At Christ Hospital the physician inserts a medication called Cytotec into the mother's birth canal next to the cervix. The cervix is the opening at the bottom of the uterus that normally stays closed until a mother is about 40 weeks pregnant and ready to deliver. But Cytotec irritates the cervix and stimulates it to open early. When this happens, the pre-term baby drops out of the uterus, sometimes alive. In the event that a baby is aborted alive at Christ Hospital, he or she is not given any medical care, but is rather given what my hospital calls "comfort care." "Comfort care" is defined as keeping the baby warm in a blanket until the baby dies, although until recently even this was not always done. The baby is then offered to the parents to hold until he or she dies. If the parents do not want to hold their dying aborted baby, as is most often the case, it is left to nursing staff or support staff on the floor to hold the baby until he or she dies. And, until this past December, when staff did not have time or the desire to hold the baby, the baby was taken to our Soiled Utility Room and left there alone to die. Christ Hospital's comfort care policy, #WHS492, only requires that live aborted babies be checked for signs of life once an hour, or "as needed in order to verify time of death." It is not uncommon for a live aborted babies to linger for an hour or two or even longer. At Christ Hospital, one of these babies once lived for almost an entire eight-hour shift. Last year alone, of the 13 babies that I am aware of who were aborted at Christ Hospital, at least four lived between 1-1/2 to 3 hours, two boys and two girls. Christ Hospital says that it compassionately aborts babies with very serious mental or physical handicaps. But Christ Hospital will also abort for life or health of the mother. So at least two of the second-trimester babies who were aborted last year, for instance, were completely healthy. One night, a nursing coworker was taking an aborted Down's Syndrome baby who was born alive to our Soiled Utility Room because his parents did not want to hold him, and she did not have time to hold him. I could not bear the thought of this suffering child dying alone in a Soiled Utility Room, so I cradled and rocked him for the 45 minutes that he lived. He was 21 to 22 weeks old, weighed about ½ pound, and was about 10 inches long. He was too weak to move very much, expending any energy he had -- trying to breathe. Toward the end, he was so quiet that I couldn't tell if he was still alive, unless I held him up to the light to see if his heart was still beating through his chest wall. After he was pronounced dead, we folded his little arms across his chest, wrapped him in a tiny shroud, and carried him to the hospital morgue where all of our dead patients are taken. Other coworkers have told me about incidences of live aborted babies whom they have cared for. A Support Associate told me about a live aborted baby who was left to die on the counter of the Soiled Utility Room, wrapped in a disposable towel. This baby was accidentally thrown into the garbage, and when they later were going through the trash to find the baby, the baby fell out of the towel and on to the floor. A nursing coworker told me about an incident she was involved in last spring that she said "I just can't stop thinking about." She participated in the abortion of a healthy 23-1/7 week baby who was given no medical assessments or care after delivery, but was allowed to languish for 2-1/2 hours until she died, even though she showed early signs of thriving. Just three weeks after this baby was aborted, another mother came to the hospital under similar circumstances, carrying an identically aged baby, and she was offered the same options. But she said that she wanted her baby. And so present at her delivery – because Christ Hospital is a Level III mother/baby care hospital -- was a neonatologist, a pediatric resident, a pediatric nurse, and a respiratory therapist – all assigned specifically to take care of that little girl at delivery. And for the two days that I tracked her, that little girl lived. Christ Hospital is one of only 11 hospitals that the State of Illinois has designated as a level III perinatal institution -- its highest ranking -- which means that Christ Hospital is considered to have both the best equipment and the most highly trained medical personnel care for the sickest of the sick mothers and babies. Another nurse friend told me about the patient she was caring for who had chosen to abort her second trimester baby, having been told that the boy had gross internal and external fetal anomalies. When her baby was aborted alive, however, he looked fine. The mother became hysterical and screamed for someone to help her baby. A neonatologist was called over, but told the family that the baby had been born too early to help. The mother was so traumatized that she had to be tranquilized, and it was left to the grandparents to hold the little baby boy the ½ hour that he lived. Last July, I was asked to testify before the U. S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution regarding the babies I knew about who were aborted alive and left to die at Christ Hospital. Another nurse who worked at the hospital, but who has since moved to Virginia, Allison Baker, also agreed to testify. Allison described walking into the Soiled Utility Room on two separate occasions to find babies left naked on a scale and the metal counter. She told about the patient, that she herself had, who didn't know that her aborted baby might be born alive, and after he was taken to the Soiled Utility Room she kept asking, "Is he dead yet? Is he dead yet?" Allison and I were called to testify in Washington in regard to a bill called the Born Alive Infants Protection Act. This bill simply clarifies an apparently confusing tenet -- that any baby born alive, completely separated from his or her mother, whether through abortion or not, has the same rights as American citizen human beings that you and I have. This would include the right to medical assessments and care -- and not just "comfort care" when a baby is not wanted. The Born Alive Infants Protection Act flew through the Judiciary Subcommittee, which had some well-known pro-choice congresspersons on it such as Jerry Nadler and Maxine Waters. It then passed in the House by a large vote of 380-15. Almost everyone on both sides of the abortion debate clearly saw that what was being discussed was infanticide. It was still confounding that 15 Congresspersons could vote against this bill in favor of infanticide, but they did. World Magazine listed these people and called them "the Fanatical Fifteen." The congressional session did end before this bill could be introduced in the Senate last autumn and still stands to be reintroduced in the House very soon. Meanwhile, here in Illinois, life and death go on. Four months ago, Christ Hospital unveiled its "Comfort Room." So now I can no longer say that live aborted babies are left in our Soiled Utility Room to die. We now have this prettily wallpapered room complete with a First Foto machine, baptismal gowns, a footprinter, and baby bracelets, so that we can offer keepsakes to parents of their aborted babies. There is even a nice wooden rocker in the room to rock live aborted babies to death. It is wrong that current Illinois law mandates a doctor to pronounce a born-alive aborted baby dead but does not mandate the doctor to assess that baby for life and chances of survival. It is wrong that Illinois law mandates both birth and death certificates be issued – admitting that these aborted babies are indeed human – but does not give these babies any rights whatsoever to medical care. No other children in Illinois or America are treated this way. It is just not right that a baby should be left to die simply because her mother does not want her. It is not right that the very doctors who may be miscalculating due dates and fetal birth weights or misdiagnosing fetal handicaps are the same ones deciding that these babies should not be assessed after delivery. They're being allowed to destroy the very evidence that might make them liable for lawsuits if they have been wrong. What is the difference between a teen-age girl at her prom putting her unwanted baby in the garbage to die and the medical staff at a hospital putting an unwanted baby in a Comfort Room to die? There is no difference. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
On August 5, 2002, President George W. Bush signed the Born Alive Infants Protection Act into law. It recognizes that babies born after failed abortions are citizens and have all rights provided under our Constitution and laws. Jill Stanek was invited and was present at the signing ceremony in Pittsburg, PA. The U.S. Senate passed this bill by unanimous consent on July 18, 2002. The U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill in March, 2002. It is still unclear how Christ Hospital will respond to the new law. In 2002, Senator Patrick O'Malley introduced Born Alive Infants Protection legislation. Two of three bills were passed by the Illinois Senate, but these bills were killed in the Illinois House Health Care Committee. Even though many strong abortion supporters in the U.S. Senate approved of this legislation, it was denied a vote in the Illinois House. In 2001, the Born Alive Infants Protection legislation introduced by Senator Patrick O'Malley was passed by the Illiinois Senate, but all three bills were rejected by the Illinois House Judiciary Committee so the bills never got to a vote by the entire House. Jill Stanek was fired by Christ Hospital on August 31, 2001. Since that time she has continued speaking about the live birth abortion procedures used at Christ Hospital. She ran for state legislator in the March, 2002 primary, but lost to the incumbent.
~~~~~~~~~
Why is this allowed in "the land of the free"? Why does the church sit by, like so many did in Nazi Germany, and pretend like there's nothing going on...like there's nothing they can do, as babies are being slaughtered by the dozens. We're not even just talking about precious 10 week old infants...these are babies who could live outside the womb with proper medical care. This is complete wickedness. It needs to stop. And it will only stop when the church in America obeys God. God, have mercy on our land!

Thankfully, the BAIPA has been passed, but if you think it is effectively enforced, think again. I have not personally heard of any charges made under it. Here in FL, there are a number of babies who have been born alive that I know of, and nothing has really happened.

Baby Rowan
Baby Brass

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." ~2 Chronicles 7:14

photo from robynsnest.com

Inexpensive Books

Lately, I have been buying a lot of books. I've had some money from birthday and graduation, and there are so many excellent books out there by such godly, intelligent people, they are worth buying. But, also lately, I've been training myself to have a more frugal mindset, and try and save money. When I find a book I want, I usually look at 3 to 4 websites before making a purchase. Those include Half.com, Amazon.com, and eBay.com. I don't usually buy books right from Amazon.com, but rather from people who sell their books through amazon. If you buy from a Half or Amazon, they usually have a standard shipping cost for any books. eBay, however, is different...people can charge whatever they want for shipping.

In addition to those, Christian Book Distributors, as well as the Westminster Theological Seminary are great on-line bookstores, with books that are marked down. If I wouldn't be saving a considerable amount ($5 or more), I prefer to buy from a Christian place as opposed to half, amazon, or ebay. WTS has a standard $5 shipping cost, no matter how much you order. CBD has an affiliate program. I was going to sign up for it, but you have to be 18 or up...come December of this year, I'm in! :)

Another great way to save money on books is to find a used bookstore. Here where I live, there is a used Christian book store, called Bright Light Books. They sell other types of books, but primarily, they are a Christian bookstore. Their prices are great, and every month a book is in, it goes down about 10%. So, books that have been there since March '06 are 50% off. Another benefit of buying from them, is you can trade books for credit or cash. They give you 33% of what they'd sell the book for in cash, or 50% trade credit. I haven't taken advantage of this yet, but while Ben is down next weekend, I plan to take some books over. Also, if they don't have a book that you want, they'll find the least expensive, quality copy they can and sell it to you. The benefit to buying it from them instead of finding a used copy yourself is you can trade for it.

God has so richly blessed His people with many godly men and women who write wonderfully, edifying books! We Christians ought to take advantage and feed ourselves as much godly literature as we can. And since we ought to do that, we ought to get ahold of them as frugally as we can!