Goin' To The Chapel...And We're...Gonna Get Married

We had a pantry shower for a lady in our church that is getting married. We are very excited and happy for her. She and her groom-to-be have their homes established already so we had a pantry shower for them. It was nice.



Mrs. Ava and Mrs. Becky did a great job, as usual, with the shower food.

Mrs. Ava asked Mrs. Gayle's best friend...who also happens to be Mrs. Gayle...to bring a Word to the ladies. She did a great job.

My mom was there. :)

After we ate we got to the good part. The gifts!

Of course there were some that still lingered around the cupcakes and peanuts!

:D

Can you blame them?

Rebecca sat with Mrs. Gayle and wrote down the pantry items she received.

There was a lot of laughter last night. Everyone had a good time.

We were all intrigued to see what was in this uniquely wrapped gift, which was a cast iron skillet. I love cast iron!

I love her expressions. :D

The lady in red is Mrs. Malkmus. She and her husband started the Hallelujah Acres. They are such sweet people.

The last gift of the night was a "gag" gift and, trust me, it would make you gag!

POTTED OPOSSUM MEAT!!! There was a story there between her and the lady that gave it to her. So funny.

Then Mrs. Gayle told another hilarious story involving a dead cat and her freezer. We were rolling!!! Even Celine, there, was in shock by this story. Absolutely crazy!!!

So the night was filled with happiness for the bride and groom, funny stories, good food, great fellowship, smiles, and laughter!

Congratulations, Mrs. Gayle, to you and your fella. We can't wait to celebrate your big day with you.

Lovely Lunch at Lucille's

My mother's middle name is Lucille, in case you were wondering.
:o)
She invited the kids and I over for lunch today so we happily said yes! My mom is a great cook and today she fixed chicken the way I like it, southern green beans, baked potatoes, corn, and biscuits. It was delish!
How she does her boneless skinless chicken is, she'll season it, then batter it in egg and buttermilk, roll it in flour and fry it. Once it is fried, she'll put it in a baking dish and cover it with cream of chicken soup she mixes with some milk and then she bakes it. The chicken becomes tender and mmm, mmm good!


Harrison shoveled in the taters and corn like they'll never be grown again.


Hannah enjoyed hers too. But at this moment she was just stopping to cheese a little for the camera. Very little, obviously. haha


My sweet mama.

For dessert we had some Blue Bunny ice cream. Can you give a shout for Blue Bunny? The White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookie was so good! I'll be on the look out for that.

After lunch we made our way to the tv room and watched Rebecca of Sunny Brook Farm with Shirley Temple. My mother has always loved Shirley Temple. It was cute. We all enjoyed it and most of all we enjoyed time with mom.

Hannah and I will be leaving in a little bit for a pantry shower we're giving for a lady and man in our church that are getting married in the next couple of weeks. I'm very happy for them and look forward to the shower tonight. I'll have pics of that, hopefully, tomorrow.

Thank you, mama, for a superb lunch and the flick. I love you!

Prayer Request

Praying for Kristin today. She is undergoing brain surgery to remove a tumor. She's a pastor's wife with young children. Her CATs last night showed a spot on her lung also. They are more concerned about the tumor right now and will investigate the spot on her lung later. There is a possibility that it is from a blood clot she had last year. Please pray for her and her family and for the doctors today.
ETS: They did not do Kristin's surgery. After viewing more tests done before surgery, they found extensive amounts of cancer in her liver and lungs. They want to do a biopsy on the tumor in her head and figure out what kind of cancer they are dealing with and how and if they will do any treatments. This was a huge blow to them, as you can imagine.



Also, the update on Becca is getting better. She is still having some issues. Here is her mom's most recent update: Becca is doing really good, she is having memory issues and is still extremely weak. Has to be fed, can't hold her head up, or her arms and legs. Heard baby's heart rate today, 162, which is real good. Please cont to pray for her strength to increase, and her memory. Thanks so much to EVERYONE.

Of Ovens and Friends

Here a few pics of Justin during his training. These were taken a few weeks ago when they were doing a lesson in trusting your fellow fireman. While several held a ladder in the air, one would climb to the top, turn around, and come back down.


He did it! Better him than me!!



One of the guys in the academy took this picture. I liked it.


He came home the other night and was quite dirty, as you can see.

He called Saturday afternoon to say they were getting ready to go into "the oven" and wanted pictures. They heat up a trailer to around 1200 degrees while the students go inside for about twenty minutes.

While the first crew went in the second crew waited outside. Some of them goofing off. Like here. :)

Then it was the second crews turn. He was in the second crew. That's him in the middle.

My fireman. :)

His instructor, Mr. Blanton, was loading "the oven" with wood to be burned.

That's him on the left inside "the oven."

There was a small hole in trailer and his instructor said I could take pics there if I wanted to. This was the best shot I could get. He's in there somewhere.

After twenty minutes, he came out smoldering. He was smokin'! haha

He was really hot. Can you tell? Bless it!

I was proud of him and all the other fellas that went through. I would not have liked that!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday night we went out with our good friends, Mark and Jeannie, to a place called The Carolina Cafe. We went there solely for their honey buttered homemade crescent rolls and wouldn't you know it, they were OUT!

We went to Dairy Queen for dessert. It was yum-O-licious!

We had a very good time with lots of talking and laughs.

Thanks, Mark and Jeannie, for a great night! We enjoyed sharing our date night with y'all.

A Word of Encouragement For My Heavenly Siblings

Have you ever just needed to take a breather from everything and everyone and take a good long walk all by yourself? I have. The few times I have done this I am thinking things through that have been weighing on my mind and heart. Most of the time talking to the Lord and seeking some kind of answer from Him. Listening closely to see if the heavens will open up and I hear an audible voice, but of course that doesn't happen. I guess you could say that I am not walking alone after all, since I have the Lord to talk to and walk with me.

It is the same in our Christian walk. There are times when we feel we are walking alone, but we are not. The world will not understand why we live and believe the way we do. There will be times when we stand for the things of God and the world will stand against us. The Bible says,
"If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you." John 15:18

Even David, the beloved King of Israel, had his haters. In Psalm 71 he cried out unto the Lord, "O God, be not far from me: O my God, make haste for my help. Let them be confounded and consumed that are adversaries to my soul; let them be covered with reproach and dishonour that seek my hurt."

He was sounding pretty desperate, wasn't he? I have felt that way before. Maybe you have felt that way too. Maybe you feel that way now. Verse fourteen follows up with David's resolution.
"But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more. My mouth shall shew forth thy righteousness and thy salvation all the day; for I know not the numbers thereof. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only."

We are in the world, that's a fact. There will be those in our lives that will stand against us, and that is a fact also. They will hate us because they hate the things of God. When we come to that realization and accept the fact that we all have haters, we'll stop worrying about ourselves and the hurt they inflict on us and begin lifting them in prayer, that God will show them what He has shown us. And in the mean time, resolve that, even under fire, we WILL continue hoping and praising, and telling of His great righteousness, and His alone.

I Do Have Other Children

I've been posting a lot about Justin lately. I figured I had better post about my other two children because I'm proud of them too. :)

Hannah will be sixteen soon. After several trips to our local high school, I was finally able to get her signed up for driver's ed. She is very excited and very nervous. Truthfully, she does not want to drive. She's always been a cautious back seat driver and most of the time reprimands me for going over the speed limit or not slowing down in a curve. Let's just say my kids have always buckled up without me having to tell them. haha It will be interesting to see how she does when it is time to be behind the wheel and not behind the person behind the wheel.

:D

Hannah's been teaching Harrison sign language and he is picking it up very quickly. I'm proud of both of them. Hannah for taking the initiative to make him her student and Harrison for being such a good student for her. She is using the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Conversational Sign Language by Carole Lazorisak and Dawn Donohue if you want to check it out.

She is also working to earn money towards some things that SIGMA is getting ready to do. Revival camp at Brother Tony Hutson's church in Tennessee and also summer camp. She's been praying the Lord would open a door to earn money for these two things and He is already blessing her.

Harrison has started saving up for an iPod Touch. Bruce bought one with his birthday money several weeks ago and Harrison has been very intrigued by it. He just started saving up and has little over $10. That should cover the taxes.....almost. But he's pretty thrifty and very good at saving so I have no doubt he'll have his iPod Touch before we know it. He's a very determined young man.

He is growing like a weed! He's as tall as I am. Which doesn't say much because I'm slightly on the short side. But for his age he's tall. He has, both, long legs and a long torso. Just a few weeks ago I was buying him fourteens. He has outgrown those and we just went up to the sixteen/eighteens. We bought new tennis shoes and dress shoes also. He is now wearing a 7.5 to 8 in men's shoes. He's ten.

So that's it for the Hannah and Harrison update. Bruce and I are blessed with some pretty great kids. :)

I'm sitting here in my very warm and quiet house, knowing that in just a few minutes I need to leave my very warm and quiet house to go clean another house. It's cold outside and I do not want to move.

It's been nice sitting here listening to the birds chirp and knowing that spring is just around the corner. Which means warm days...pretty flowers...flip flops............allergies. :/

This has been a great week. Valentine's Day spent with the loves of my life, lunch with my crazy brother, a man accepted Christ at church last night, and having our moms over for dinner tonight. Chili is on the menu.

Bruce had a health assessment this morning when he got off work. Everything looked pretty good. There was one thing that concerned me and that was his triglycerides. I'm going to do an Internet search on that and see what I can do to help so it doesn't get in the bad zone. It wasn't too bad, but it was high enough to raise an eyebrow, if you know what I mean. So we'll see what we can do.

Justin is very sick. If you think of him, please say a prayer. I hate to think of him sick and having to run out in this cold, damp weather, not to mention trying to focus on the book work and tests. All the talk of pneumonia and all, I sure don't want him to get it.

Here's an update on Becca from her mom and dad on Tuesday for those that have been praying for her:

Mom's update around 2:00 am, "Becca is not out of the woods but doing really good, in fact she stuck her tongue out at me twice today, even with the vent still in. Please continue to pray for her, the baby and Michael."

Dad's update around 11:00 am, "Just saw Becca and she is doing amazing. Breathing well and looking great. Should be off of ventilator soon. Thanks for answered prayers"

James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray for one another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Lunch With My Brother

I haven't seen my brother, in what feels like, forever. So today we had lunch together at a local Japanese place and we had a good time!

We told a lot of stories about daddy that had us both laughing our heads off. I'm sure the people near us thought we were insane. It was a great time.

I love you, John! We need to do this more often.

Love, Love, Love, Love....

Love comes in all different forms. Husband to wife, parent to child, grandparents to grandchild, friend to friend. It doesn't matter how you share it, so long as it's shared. Valentine's Day is more than just me and my sweetheart. Although, without him, it would not be the same.

We celebrated Friday night by going out to dinner, exchanging gifts, and doing some other things uptown, enjoying the holiday a few days early.

This morning, the children woke up to a valentine card and a box of chocolates for each of them. Harrison was very eager to pass out his valentine cards to the family, but also eager to open his box of chocolates. LOL

Bruce took last night off from work. We had decided to pay our mothers a visit and spread the love around, so to speak. :) But before we went to see them, we stopped at one of our favorite Mexican Restaurants, Los Arcos. We exchanged cards. I gave Bruce one of his favorite candy bars. Are Reece's cups considered a candy bar? They're round. So what would they be classified under? You tell me.


Bruce has written me some of the most BEAUTIFUL poems over the years. I always look for his poems first thing and if he doesn't write one, I am genuinely disappointed. He did write me one for Valentine's Day and it was so sweet!


After lunch we visited with our moms. We took them a Valentine card and some Calla Lilies. I thought they were so pretty. We had some nice visits. When Bruce and I got home, he got in bed to rest before going to work tonight, while I picked up Hannah and Harrison to take them to see their grandmothers. So all in all, I think our mothers had a hard time feeling too lonely. I am sure, though, that their sweethearts were on their minds all day.


These are the pretty calla lilies we got our moms.

I love you mom! I love you, Marie! Y'all are the best moms ever!! We had a good time visiting with you and hope you had a good time with us too! :) Happy Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Date

Bruce has been working six days so it was nice to have him on his normal schedule this week. We decided to celebrate Valentine's Day a few days early. We went to the Outback for supper and to exchange gifts, hung out in Gastonia for a little bit, stopped at Wal Mart to pick Harrison up a few things he needed, and ended our night at Krispy Kream. If we make an effort to go to Gastonia, we're stopping at KK's! And the kids always love to see us come home with a box of doughnuts for them. By the way, he bought me a bottle of some of my favorite perfume, Happy Heart, by Clinique, which also came with a new makeup bag and lots of makeup. YAY! He also threw in some other things. ;0) Thanks, babe! I loved my gifts!!

ME
and my Valentine!

We had a very good time, even though he was so tired. You can still see how sleepy his eyes were. I love my Valentine. I am truly thankful for him. He is a blessing in every way. He keeps me laughing and can always make me smile. I had been so excited all day, knowing that we were going out. I've missed my Friday night dates! I love you, Bruce!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We took my mom a few things she needed on Saturday. She has been very sick with bronchitis. She really hasn't gotten over it from last year. She's had some serious dizzy spells and I've tried to tell her to stay down and take it easy, but she doesn't cooperate very well. LOL She's doing ok, although she does need a lot of prayer to get better.

Love you, mom! :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The newest update on Becca is that she was fine at 4:00 this morning. She had been opening her eyes on command and even followed her mom with her eyes as her mom was leaving the hospital room. But this morning, around 7:00, one of her lungs collapsed and they had to put a tube in. She takes a couple of steps forward and then one back. But thankfully, she is making some progress. Thank you for the prayers that have gone up on her behalf and please continue to pray for her when you think about it. She's not out of the woods just yet.

Singing With the Inspirations

The Inspirations were at our church Thursday. We always enjoy having them. Of course a few of our own groups sang too.
Vintage was the first group up...


Followed by Tradition.

And then the Inspirations. There are a few new guys and I was very impressed. They had some great voices.

Pastor Goodman enjoyed singing a line or two with them.

And then, of course, Sons of Faith sang too.

You couldn't have heard better singing than Thursday night.

Ephesians 5:19 "Speaking to yourselves in songs and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord."

Such a GREAT Day!!

I was really hoping for NO SNOW, which we were told would most likely come last night. When I got up this morning there was a dusting but nothing more. I was happy. Snow is pretty to look at but I do not like being out in it.

It's actually been a beautiful day today, a lot like spring. I met a friend for lunch at a restaurant I've never been to but everyone seems to enjoy. I'm glad we went there. I'll have to take Bruce. He'll like it. We had a great time sitting there catching up for two hours. It wasn't enough time, but we'll make up for it some more again soon.

After lunch I stopped at a thrift store that I've passed by a thousand times and never went into. I've been looking for a bar stool for some photo shoots for a few weeks. Every thrift store I've been in hasn't had one and even on freecycle no one had one. Well, there was one person that replied, but they were about an hour away. I can buy a new one for what I'd spend in gas. LOL My hopes weren't high going into this thrift store, and sure enough there were no bar stools on the floor. When the owner asked if he could help me find something I told him and he said no, he didn't have one. Then said to wait a minute, he thought he actually did. And he did! He sold it to me for $5. It's nice too. I was so happy.

I stopped at another thrift store and found Harrison a pair of jeans for $3. They still had the tags on them so I saved about thirty dollars on them.

My last stop was to pick up a Valentine's Day card for my Valentine. He's been working six day weeks for over a month, but they're giving everyone off this weekend so they can celebrate Valentine's Day. So we're going to do our Valentine's Day this weekend instead of on the fourteenth.

When I got home my new camera lens had arrived. YAY! And just in time for tonight. Our church is having The Inspirations tonight with some singing from out own church people before hand. Looking forward to that and using my new lens. :)

Inquiring Minds, Prayer Requests, and Vintage

Anonymous, I did answer your question, but the special prayer request pushed it down. So you can read what I believe about salvation here. :)

Here's an update from Becca's dad: "Not much of an update, but Becca really needs prayer today. Doctors and nurses are really working hard but she needs a miracle."

She definitely needs prayer. Please pray.

The other night we went to hear our Associate Pastor preach and hear our bluegrass group, Vintage play and sing at a local church that was having special services for a missionary couple we know.

We didn't have much time so we stopped at Burker King for supper. Bruce was very hungry, and obviously very thankful. haha And no, he did NOT eat two whoppers and two fries. One of those whoppers and fries were Justin's. :) He's so crazy. Gotta love him!


Me and my little son. Yeah, right!!


Vintage was getting set up. Justin has recently started playing the banjo for the group and he's donig a great job. He never ceases to amaze me. And Hannah too. She is something else on the piano. She's getting better and better but still won't play in public. I suppose if she enjoys it for herself that's good enough for now. I know I sure enjoy it!




The meeting was actually for Brother Leroy and Mrs. Joyce. They're going to be missionaries and the pastor of this church wanted to have a special service for them with all the offering going to them for their missions. They were thankful for that.


And then Brother Johnny preached. I get so tickled at him sometimes. He is so animated with his eyes and voice inflections. I get cracked up at him but his messages are always great.

We had a good time and enjoyed the service. I just found out last night that Tony Hutson was at a nearby church. I would have loved to have gone. Tonight we'll be at our own church and tomorrow night our church is having the Inspirations. So we'll be there. Lord willing we'll be able to hear Brother Hutson Friday night if he's going to be there. If not, that's ok. We're excited about going to his teen camp meeting in April. It's always good.

Special Request

A childhood friend and her family are going through a very hard time right now. Her daughter, (Becca) is a newlywed, and expecting their first child. She came down with pneumonia, as well as other medical problems, the latter part of January. February 1st they put Becca in a medically induced coma.

So far the baby and mom are doing ok. According to her dad last night, she is off her pain meds and her stats are great and they want her to come out of her coma. However, this morning, she still has not woke up and they are doing a CT scan to see what is going on.

It seemed to be looking very grim just days ago, but Becca has made great improvements. The family is asking everyone that will, to please pray for her and the baby. And the doctors as they work to help her get better.

She is Becca Garrett. Remember her husband and parents also. This has been very difficult for them all.

ETS: Becca's mom updated her fb page with this: This morn she wasnt responding to nurse, so they took her off all sedatives. She responded a little to induced pain later in the day. They have since reduced vent to 35% if she can hold her own they will reduce it again tomorrow. MD wants to order a CT if she cont to not respond, but other MD say its normal with all the meds she has been on. Please continue to pray for healing. Thanks

Thanks!

Heaven, I Really Get To Go

Someone posted a comment on a friend's facebook status telling about this website. Everything is American made. I thought it deserved some promotion. I haven't gone through the whole site, but fully intend on checking it out some more.

One thing I have enjoyed about blogging is being able to share my family and my faith with others. The Lord has blessed me in more ways than I deserve and I am truly thankful. So when I received this comment by Anonymous I was more than happy to make a blog post out of the answer:

Hi Kristi,

Since you kindly agreed to answer questions concerning your faith, I hope you will answer mine. I would like to know what are you exact beliefs concerning salvation and what exactly do you mean when you refer to someone as "saved" or "unsaved"? Do you believe that, for instance, a Catholic who reads the Bible in a modern
French translation is not saved? Do you believe that salvation is obatained when one recognizes Jesus as his Saviour? Once saved, is his salvation guaranteed for ever, no matter how he behaves? I hope you will answer my questions. Thank you.

Since my dad passed away in October, I have experienced some extremely, emotional highs and lows. But never once have I doubted God's existence or questioned the pain that He knew I would feel. As a matter of fact, it is through my dad's passing that, I think, I have actually moved up a level in my faith. Heaven has become sweeter to me, than ever, and I really get to go there! Never in my life has God been more real to me and never has He shown me things about myself that I might never would have seen had I not experienced the pain that comes from losing your hero. My dad was such a unique person. With faults, of course, but he was a great Christian and was able to share his relationship with God with others like no one I've ever known. And I want to be like that too. It's not about being Baptist. It's not about what I wear or how I feel. It's about God. It's about His Son, Jesus Christ. It's about the Holy Spirit.

The Bible doctrine I follow teaches that a person is either saved or unsaved. So when we speak of someone who is "saved" or "unsaved" we are referring to those that have either accepted or denied Jesus Christ. Those who have repented and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior, are saved. Those who have not repented and accepted Him as their Lord and Savior are not saved. We can look at a person's life and make an assumption of where they are in their salvation, however no one can say who is saved and who is unsaved, but that person and God. It is a personal decision, which affects your personal relationship with Christ.

Anonymous asked, "Do you believe that, for instance, a Catholic who reads the Bible in a modern French translation is not saved?" Again, I can not know for sure if that person is saved or not. Only they and God know that. I will say that I do not believe in the teachings and rituals of Catholicism. I base my entire belief system on the Word of God, the Bible. No where in my Bible does it teach that Mary was a co-redeemer, and therefore I will not pray to her for salvation or anything else I kneel in prayer for. There are many aspects of the Catholic religion that I do not believe in because those teachings go against the Holy Scripture and what it teaches.

We've all seen the verse John 3:16, whether we've read it in the Bible, or on a sign at a football game, lol, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that WHOSOEVER believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." He loved the world, which includes me, you, and the said Catholic mentioned above. Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." None of us are born without sin. But John 3:16 makes it clear that we are all able to come to salvation through Christ. God is Holy and therefore, he must punish sin, but made a way of saving the sinner. If we do not accept that way of Salvation, we will spend eternity in Hell. Revelation 20:15, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

In order to have our name written in the book of life, we must accept His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ into our hearts. God loved us so much that He sent Christ to earth, to become a man and die on the cross of Calvary, so that me....and you....and anyone else could be saved.

Someone must pay the penalty of sin. It was either us, or a sinless substitute. Christ was that sinless substitute, shedding His blood so that OUR sins could be put away, giving us eternal life in Heaven with Him.

Christ finished the work. He died, He rose again, and He sits at the right hand of the Father interceding for us today. All we have to do is believe.

I remember a preacher one time preaching on how much faith it takes to believe. And it does take faith, but not as much as you'd think. You'll have some that do not believe at all. Some that will only believe if they are a witness to something. And then those that believe with a childlike faith. And that is what we need to accept Christ into our hearts. The faith of a child. Mark 10:15, "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein."

In order to be saved, one must admit that they are a sinner, realizing that Christ has paid, in full, the penalty of our sins, and then receive Him as Lord and Savior."

Do I believe that once you're saved you're always saved? Absolutely. I did several blog posts on why I believe in eternal security and so you can read those by clicking the link below:
Why I Believe in Eternal Security

I don't believe that eternal security gives you the right to do whatever you like under the security you're going to Heaven. I believe that a true believer will have the Holy Spirit within, guiding them and discouraging them to live in sin. We're all going to sin, but to dwell and live in sin is a pretty good sign you were never really saved to begin with.

I am sure that my post has probably drummed up more questions or disagreement and that's fine. But it's not what I say or believe that matters. I encourage anyone that wants to know about salvation to study the Word of God on their own. When you desire to know how to become a Christian, God will show you in His Word. A good place to start is the New Testament. The Old Testament sets up God's law, but we are living in New Testament times and are not under the law any longer, but under grace. Some verses good to read are what we call The Roman's Road. These verses help lay out the foundation of our doctrine. Look them up. They're good verses! :)

Romans 3:10-12 As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unporfitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God."
Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."
Romans 5:8-9 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Romans 4:21 "And being fully persuaded that, what the had promised, he was able also to perform."
Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."
Romans 10:11 "For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed."

This is what I believe and what I base my faith upon. Thank you, anonymous for asking.

Inquiring Minds Still Wanna Know....

I received another question from "Anonymous" and then a similar question from another "Anonymous" on how I feel about courtship and a quiverful of children. Thanks again, to both of you for being nice in your asking.

Here were the questions:

#1 Kristi, thank you for answering my questions.
I do have one more, if that's all right.
How do you feel about courtship vs dating? Do you believe it is a sin for a dating couple to hold hands or kiss before they are married?

#2 Hi Kristi,
As someone who was not raised in the Christian faith I have wondered what your feelings are on the following issues (if you do not answer I totally understand) but hope you don't mind me asking. The first is, as a fundamental Christian, what is your view on those Christians who are Quiverful? The second is, what are your feelings on dating and "courting"? Do you allow your children to date, or should they be courting someone before they marry them? For clarification, my understanding of "courting" is that you do not spend time alone with the other person, a chaperon needs to be present (but if I am mistaken please feel free to "set me straight". Also, did you date your husband or did you court him before you both got married? One final question, do you follow the belief that your children should remain at home until they get married? Thank you for reading my comment. Although I was not raised in the Christian faith, I was not allowed to date while I was living with my parents. For myself personally, I can see advantages and disadvantages to both dating and courting. As for the Quiverful issue, I have mixed feelings about it, while I am not totally against those who believe that way, I have to honestly say I do not totally support it 100 percent either.

These are sensitive subjects for some Christians so I want to make sure my answers are respectful of them.

First of all, yes, my husband and I dated, if you can call it that. We met a few weeks before he left for the military, so we got to know each other, mainly, through letters and phone calls. When he would come home we would date. For our own family we do allow dating. Although I feel we are still treading water in that area, seeing our oldest is the only one allowed to date at this time. So far, his dates have either been chaperoned, at church gatherings, or a group thing. He was and is so focused on school, work, and the academy he hasn't really had time for dating. That's why I still feel we're treading water. I'm sure he has held hands, snuck a kiss...or two...but I don't think it is a sin. Most Christians that do courtship, fall back on I Corinthians 7:1, "Now concerning the things you wrote unto me: it is good for a man not to touch a woman." This verse is not a commandment, but rather a warning. The chapter goes on to say that the reason it is good not to touch, is because one thing can lead to another and that, as Christians, we need to be careful what we do that can lead to sin. The marriage bed is the only bed that is undefiled. The Bible is clear about fornication, so we need to guard ourselves against it and it is important to teach our children that. On the subject of courtship, I support any family that does it the right way. I've seen it work in the lives of other blog friends and also friends we know in person. The way it has been done has been a blessing to watch and it is even more of a blessing to see how successful it has been in their marriages. I think it falls under family government, rather than Biblical command. I am for courtship and support families that do it.

Do I believe children should remain home until they marry? Not necessarily. I think that falls under training our children again. If we train them to be hard workers, save their money, and be responsible with paying their bills, and seeking God's will for the right spouse, I have no doubt they'll be fine should they decide to leave home as a young adult. I would like to see my children be responsible in those areas before they do leave home, so it's up to me and their dad to make sure they understand the importance of a dollar. This moving in and out of the home, back and forth, in and out, shows a failure somewhere. I understand that things happen and sometimes children have to come home, but when parents have not taught responsibility in these areas it can only lead to chaos. Personally, I would like to have time alone with my husband and see my children responsible enough to be on their own and have happy families of their own, visiting for birthdays and holidays, and Sunday lunch. Not moving in and out and in and out because they're irresponsible and too immature to know better. For dating, courtship, leaving home, and anything else in their children's lives, Christian parents should rely, but not neglect the training part of Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it."

What are my views on Christians who are quiverful? I LOVE THEM! I was raised an IFB fundamentalist and have been steeped in fundamental families. I don't recall my parents ever discussing the whole quiverful issue. My dad was a graduate of Bob Jones and at the time he was in school it was a very fundamentaist University. Not so much now. But even then I don't recall hearing them discuss having lots of children. It wasn't until I was an adult and married on my own that I even heard the term quiverful. To be honest, I only know a few families that actually trust God enough to decide how many children they have. Are you familiar with the Duggars? I love to watch their show 19 Kids and Counting, but they are not the norm for modern Christian Fundamentalists. The largest families I know personally have six children. Bruce and I wanted more children, but because of difficulties with our third child that could have resulted in one or both of us dying, we decided that three was our quiverful. :) God knew that if one, or even two doctors, had told us not to have anymore, I probably would have anyway. But God wanted to make it clear to me and had EIGHT doctors tell me not to have anymore children. I admit I was devastated. But, I prayed and asked the Lord to remove that desire from me if it was not His will for me to have anymore and He did remove it. But I also admit that I am looking forward to spoiling grandchildren when that time comes. I can tell you right now, it's going to be very bad. I will be happy to spoil them rotten and send them home. I am not in any hurry, but I do look forward to grand parenting one day, because every child is a sweet blessing from the Lord. Psalm 127:3 "Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is His reward."

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know

Here is a question that came the other day from anonymous. After the whole email ordeal I've been more careful about anonymous comments, facebook friend requests, etc. But I decided to answer this comment anyway.

"I like your blog and have followed for a while but sometimes I get confused about where you stand as a fundamentalist. Could you clear that up for us about where you stand on skirts, Bible translations, racism, head coverings, submission, home schooling, home church and anything else that may be associated with fundies? And do you work? If not, how do you feel about women that work outside the home?"

I had no idea I was so confusing, but yes, anonymous, because you were kind in your comment I will answer your question.....or questions. :)

First of all, thank you for stopping by and for leaving a comment.

Am I a fundamentalist?>>>>>>>> YES! I am. I am not a fundamentalist because of the crowd I run with, but rather because I believe in the fundamentals of the Bible.

I usually do not like that term. Mainly because it is associated with so many things now days. Mainstream fundamentalist are labeled this simply because they have different standards and ways of life that the rest of the world just can not understand. Then you have the extreme fundamentals that blow up abortion clinics or the twin towers, for their "cause." I also shiver at being called an IFB Fundamentalist because we tend to club each other over the head on issues, which makes us all look like a bunch of idiots. We tend to forget what the main goal of Christianity is, and that is winning souls to Christ.

I am an Independent Fundamental Baptist, or IFB.

I am KJV only. I believe the King James Bible is the only correct translation for ENGLISH speaking people. There are many that believe it should be for all languages, but it is not. Do I believe a person can be saved reading another version? Yes, I do. Some that run in the IFB circle say that it is impossible. But God is not limited to a version of the Bible and therefore, if He chooses to use another version to speak to the heart of the unsaved who is searching for salvation, I believe He can and will. But the KJV is for me. I do not own another version. I do not want another version. We do not believe the KJV will take us to Heaven. It's whether or not you believe in Jesus Christ and have accepted Him as your Savior. That is the most important thing. I won't argue over the KJV. For one thing I have never seen anything positive come of it. You won't find me on forums that debate it or passing emails to someone. I think that sometimes fundamentalists get so caught up in fighting their standard that the vision to win souls is lost.
"For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in Heaven." Psalm 119:89

Skirts. I like 'em. I've said it several times here at Thimble Thoughts that the Bible is clear on working out our own salvation. God knows areas in our lives where we need more help than someone else does. And in the area of how a lady should dress, the Lord knew my weaknesses. Do I believe you have to wear jumpers everywhere so people aren't sure if you're coming or going or skirts clear down to the ankles to where your toes are barely sticking out? No. And I have skirts that are knee length, but I do prefer the longer skirts. Bruce wouldn't care if he came out today and saw me in a pair of pants. He probably wouldn't even blink. It's my decision and my conviction and it was made between God and me. Some of the Godliest women in my life wear pants. Am I Godlier than them because I don't? Absolutely not. It's just something that God and I worked out together in my own salvation. I do believe in modesty. There are many ways to define it. And that is a WHOLE other blog post. LOL
"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety: not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;" 1 Timothy 2:9


Racism. It does not fit in with my type of fundamentalism. So to answer the question, I'm against it. Red, and yellow, black, and white, they are precious in His sight. God is not a respecter of persons. Every soul is precious. The "whosoever will" is not just for the white, IFB Christian, and we are told in Matthew 28 to go out into all the world, preaching the gospel and baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
"Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons." Acts 10:34

Head coverings. I really don't have any thoughts on head coverings, except I have never thought a lady needed one to show submission to her husband. The Bible is clear that our hair is our covering. I don't think our hair has to be clear down to our waist though, either. Not that I mind it. As a matter of fact, if Hannah's hair wasn't so thick and heavy she would have it. And if mine would grow nicely past my shoulders, so would I. Back to coverings... I've never known anyone in person that uses a head covering. I have seen some other bloggy friends use them though. Again, I believe that is an area where you have to work out your own salvation. If you think God would have you cover your head with something other than your hair, then cover away. But I can't find anywhere in Scripture where we need to do that. Therefore, I do not use head coverings and God has never dealt with me about that.
"But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering." I Corinthians 11:15

Submission. Oh me. This is such a broad topic with so many different views. I do believe God set up a chain of command for the home. From top to bottom is God, the husband, the wife, the children. Children obey the parents, wife obeys the husband, and husband obeys God. But the Bible also says that the husband is to love the wife as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for it. I have seen marriages where the husband likes to spout off the submission verses, but tends to skip over the whole love your wife part. And vice versa, actually. In our home, I believe Bruce has the final say in everything, but fortunately, Bruce isn't the type that believes he HAS to have the final say in everything. We talk and discuss things, weigh our pros and cons, and make decisions together. But if there is a decision made and I disagree with it, I let him know I disagree, but I won't fight with him over it. See, I don't have to give an account for the decisions he makes in our home. I'll only be accountable for how I respond. I heard someone at a ladies meeting say one time, "Submission is 1% action and 99% attitude." And that's what I believe. As my Pastor has said before, anything with two heads is a monster.
"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is head of the church: and he is saviour of the body." Ephesians 5:23

Homeschooling. We homeschool our children. I use to think that homeschooling was for everyone and was somewhat of a homeschool snob. But God showed me early on in my homeschooling endeavors that good kids come from Christian schools and public schools too and my kids have formed some tremendous friendships with children from all types of educational backgrounds. For us, homeschooling is certainly a conviction and I try to encourage and help those that are getting started just like a friend of mine helped me. Most people want to know, first thing, where we stand on socialization. We're for it! I don't believe we have to keep our kids away from every person that does not think like us. Giving them opportunity to socialize can be a great way of training them in everyday situations that they will encounter later and when we're not around for them to ask us how they should handle it. Usually when something happens, we always sit down as a family and discuss it, go over from a social standpoint and a Biblical standpoint of why or why not what happened was wrong or right.
"And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deuteronomy 6:7

Home church. I had never heard of home churches until a couple of years ago. I really didn't know what to think of it, but after searching the Scriptures I can't see where it is Biblical. I understand that the reasoning behind it is because the first churches were started in the homes. And that's great and all, but God set up the church to be distinct and laid out a specific plan and order for how the church was to be set up. I could be wrong, but from what I have seen in home churches, it's more like a big Bible study where there is no real Pastor, but the men take turns giving the Bible lessons. As it stands right now, I do not believe in home churches or that they are ordained of God. If people want to get together for Bible studies, that's great, but we should all be a part of a local church, which is set up in God's design. Again, there was a reason God designed the church the way He did and established the under shepherd, which is the PASTOR. You can study on all of that in I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, and Acts.

Do I work? I have not worked outside the home in fifteen years. I am currently trying to start a photography business. So far it is going good. I think I've come a pretty good way since I started just taking pictures. I still have some things to learn. I'm reading more and watching tutorials and I hope that the business takes off because I love it. Because we homeschool, it is a way to, not only earn a small income, but it's something I can work around our schedules. Even the Proverbs 31 woman worked to help earn for her family. On top of loving to take photographs, I like to see the look on people's faces when they love their pictures. I also clean a house every other week. I've been doing that since sometime in September.
"She maketh fine linen and selleth it; and delivereth girdles to the merchant." Proverbs 31:24

No, I do not have a problem with women that work outside the home. My mother worked when I was growing up, but she was always home before we left for school and she was home when we got home from school. So I know she worked, but I don't remember having a "working mom", if that makes sense. Once we were all grown, she took a job as internal auditor for a company based in Savannah, Georgia. She traveled Monday through Friday across the Eastern US, and came home for the weekend. She loved it. I did not love it, but only because I worried for her safety. My dad missed her through the week, but he was fine with her working and when he would have time off or if she had to work through the weekend, he would go with her or drive to wherever she was. If daddy had not wanted her to take the job, she wouldn't have. She seemed to always be able to balance being a Godly mom and wife, who also happened to work outside the home. She was a great example to me in that area and I can respect the many Christian women in my life that continue to keep their home and work outside of it too. The Bible says that we, women, are to be keepers at home. I think as long as you're able to work outside the home, without neglecting the role God laid out for you as a keeper at home, there is nothing wrong with working outside the home.
"To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed." Titus 2:5

I can't think of anything else about "fundies" that you would want to know. But you're always welcome to ask. Thank you again, Anonymous. I hope this answers some of your questions and you are less confused about where I stand as a fundamentalist.

He Passed and How 'Bout Some Music?

I went to a birthday lunch for a friend of mine today. We ate at the Olive Garden, then back to the church for some cake. But this cake wasn't it! When I got home from the birthday lunch, Hannah told me Chip called and said Justin told him to call and tell us to have the cake ready, he passed his EMT state exam. He is now certified as emergency medical technician. So after church tonight mom and Hannah stopped for cake and ice cream and we had a little celebration for him. I think he'll probably go for the next level when he gets out of the fire academy. I'm not sure, but I have a feeling he's thinking about it. Anyway, the cake was so good. There was German chocolate, coconut, red velvet, and yellow with chocolate icing.


He had received a certificate in the mail yesterday but we were confused because they said the results wouldn't even be posted until Tuesday or later. But it was confirmed today. So he was on cloud nine when he got home.


While I was cutting the cake for everyone, Bruce was being a dork. LOL I love my goofy hubster.


He bought a classical guitar last night and played a little something for us. It has a beautiful sound!

I told Hannah last week that he was exhibiting all the signs of wanting a new guitar. So when he asked me last night if I'd be ok if he brought one home, Hannah and I just looked at each other and laughed.

So yay for Bruce's new guitar. And yay for Justin passing his exam.

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."