Sad news

I'm ashamed of my State. Well, not the entire State. But I am ashamed of those voted in office by the People, to be of service to the People, which seem to be doing a bad job of serving.

The NC Senate passed an "official apology" for slavery. In a Bill passed by the Senate, it afforded that the system of slavery that was LEGAL (an institution that grew thanks to the YANKEE slave trade, but that's another blog in itself) 150 years ago is the cause of the many dysfunctions of many Black communitites TODAY.

Well, I have a different theory. There are 2 major causes for the dysfunction of not only a large portion of the Black community, but for American society in general. The first is just down-right sin. That is the bottom line-a lack of godliness and a personal pursuit of Christ's holiness and righteousness. Because we've been inundated by the PC'ers, New Agers, Humanists, Evolutionists, Communists, Socialists, and other ungodly "ists", we have become a society that anything goes, if it feels good-do it!, super sexualized, immoral, immodest bunch of people whose critical thinking and common sense skills have been flushed down the toilet.

The second reason for the dysfunction of society is the government itself. When Abraham Lincoln destroyed America by making shredded wheat out of the Constitution, he set into motion the beast of federal tyranny that has grown larger than life and runs rampant amongst us today. When the federal government took away the Peoples' right to govern themselves, and exchanged it for the ability for IT to govern us, we started our downward spiral, slippery slope we are now on.

At the beginning of all of this, it left much of the Church in apathy. The job of the Church is social welfare; feeding the hungry, encouraging the poor in spirit, building and running hospitals, being a light to a dark world where those wandering around in the darkness would see the Light of Christ and come. But the federal government didn't say to the Church, "We'll help you do these things", it said "We'll do these things instead of you." And the Church instead of saying to the government, "No, you do your job and we'll do ours" said "OK, you can do whatever you want." That has left the Church in America floundering, and therefore is the basis for my first reason above.

Now, I realize there were some few courageous souls who have fought against this tyranny from the start. Today there are fewer still. And there dont seem to be any in the NC Senate.

Forefathers John Calvin, Robert E. Lee and my Heavenly Father

But although our mind cannot conceive of God, without rendering some worship to him, it will not, however, be sufficient simply to hold that he is the only being whom all ought to worship and adore, unless we are also persuaded that he is the fountain of all goodness, and that we must seek everything in him, and in none but him. My meaning is: we must be persuaded not only that as he once formed the world, so he sustains it by his boundless power, governs it by his wisdom, preserves it by his goodness, in particular, rules the human race with justice and judgement, bears with them in mercy, shields them by his protection; but also that not a particle of light, or wisdom, or justice, or power, or rectitude, or genuine truth, will anywhere be found, which does not flow from him, and of which he is not the cause; in this way we must learn to expect and ask all things from him, and thankfully ascribe to him whatever we receive. For this sense of the divine perfections is the proper master to teach us piety, out of which religion springs. By piety I mean that union of reverence and love to God which the knowledge of his benefits inspires. For, until men feel that they owe everything to God, that they are cherished by his paternal care, and that he is the author of all their blessings, so that nought is to be looked for away from him, they will never submit to him in voluntary obedience; nay, unless they place their entire happiness in him, they will never yield up their whole selves to him in truth and sincerity.

From "Institutes of the Christian Religion" by John Calvin

Are you a Southerner or a Yankee?

Take this here little test-it will do either one of two things: it will confirm what you already knew to begin with, or it will suprise you at the way our beautiful Southern dialect is being polluted by the harsh Yankee tongue.

This was posted on one of my favourite forums

The Dixie War Room

I Am The South

by Louise Nettles Allen

I was born on April 12, 1861, in the Harbor of Charleston, South Carolina and the Constitution of the Confederate States of America is my Birth Certificate.

The blood lines of the South run through my veins, for I offer freedom that each State should regulate her own affairs, according to its best interest. I am many things and many people.

I Am The South.

I am millions of living souls, and ghosts of thousands who died for me. I am the Farmer-made soldier who did not turn his back during Pickett's Charge. I am the Rebel Yell that was heard across many of my rolling fields, protecting our homeland.

I am Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson: I stood at Fort Sumter and fired the shot heard through our young nation. I am Longstreet, Hood and Patrick R. Cleburne. I am General's Johnson, Beaugard and President Jefferson Davis.

I remember how we fought in Gettysburg, Cold Harbor, Vicksburg, and Atlanta. When duty called I answered and stayed until it was over. I left my heroic dead in Chickamauga, in the fields of Shiloh, on the bloody hills of Mannassas and the mountains of Kennesaw.

I Am The South.

I am the Mississippi River, and the cotton fields of Alabama and the piney woods of the Carolinas. I am the coal fields of Virginia and Kentucky, the Florida coast and the Louisiana bayou. I am Richmond, the Capitol of the Confederacy. I am the forest, field, mountain, and rivers. I am the quiet villages and the cities that never sleep.

I am the Heritage that's been forgotten, the dying memory of a way of life that is being still. You see me in the twilight and hear me in Dixie, as the past continues to fade away each year.

Yes, I Am The South, and these are the things I represent.

I was conceived by force, and God willing, I'll spend the rest of my days remembering my birth. May I always possess the integrity and the courage, and the strength to keep my Heritage alive, to remain a Loyal Southerner and stand tall and proud to the rest of the world.

Do not forget who we are, what we are and where we came from.... This is my goal, my hope, my prayer.
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Oh, I found out yesterday my sister is having another girl...Yea!!! Aunt Dessie x 2!

A sad day is looming

In a way I look forward to tomorrow, and in a way I dread it. Our usual Thursday afternoon "Lunch and Pray" group will meet to break bread, fellowship, and pray together. The focus of our prayers for the last 5 1/2 months have been for our church, as we are in the process of searching for a new pastor. This Sunday will be the final message we hear from our pastor, Don Watkins. So, as he joins us in prayer tomorrow, it will be bittersweet.

Joyfully in the Lord, he is going (and we are sending) him to Paducah, Kentucky to plant a church. This area is in real need of Reformed teaching. It is an exciting thing to see, when the Lord takes His people to places they never thought they would go. In that same vein, our congregation is looking forward to see just who the Lord brings our way, not only to fill the pulpit temporarily, but to take over as "Resident Shepherd."

Tomorrow I will make something special for dessert and make sure I have plenty of tissues in my bag. And though we are prepared to let Don and his family go, Sunday will probably be one of the most difficult days of our lives.

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On a brighter note, I found an article link through LOS...rather uplifting, I think.

http://www.accessnorthga.com/news/ap_newfullstory.asp?ID=75646

Vacation Details

Been a while...I realize this. OK, I am going to try to keep this more updated.

I just got back from a "vacation." I don't get many of those, and this one was especially enjoyable and relaxing.

I went to the annual Highlands Study Center conference in Abingdon, Va. and afterwards stopped by my sister's in Raleigh, NC for a couple of days.

I have been wanting to visit the Study center for a few years but it never worked out that I could get away. Well, I decided this year I was going, even if I had to walk. Well, thankfully, I didn't have to walk; in fact I bought a new (well, "new-to-me" anyway) car, so I drove. Thirteen hours in the car up there was splendid, just the Lord and me, singing and praying to Him as I drove. But by mile 600, I was so ready to be there and out of the car!

Abingdon turned out to be one of the most charming places I have ever seen. I love history and there was no short of it there. I spent some time at the Martha Washington Inn and Barter Theatre. I got to stroll along Main Street for a while, just taking in the sights and breathing the cool mountain air.

The conference began Friday evening. Of course RC Sproul Jr. spoke, along with his guests-RC Sr., Doug Phillips and his father Howard. The overall theme was "Honor", but Doug's messages really moved me, sometimes to the point of tears. I came away so convicted about the attitude of my heart at times, especially in regard to honoring my parents. Although I may honor them on the surface, many times my heart does not.

As a kid, I remember rolling my eyes and giving a big dramatic sigh, as if they just had no clue. I may not roll my eyes or heave a huge sigh outwardly, but I most certainly do inwardly. Heavenly Father, please forgive me and give me a spirit of honoring not only my parents, but all other authority, especially Yours.

OK, back to Friday. I had been praying for a few weeks prior to meet people who I could connect with and possibly get to know while I was there, since I would be going solo. While I was sitting there in my seat in between breaks, a lady behind me tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was by myself. She introduced herself as Valerie and invited me to join her and some other folks for some game playing later on that night. Well, the Lord sure did answer those prayers!

I met a few other ladies, their husbands and children and we played games until about 1am. We talked about a wide variety of things, laughed and had fun. I dragged myself back to my hotel just to get back up in a few short hours.

Saturday's messages were just as awesome as Friday's; however, the one that I loved the most was RC Jr's "Delivering the Kingdom to the Father." The Wedding Feast of the Lamb. The New Jerusalem. Heaven. Events and times that many times I fail to look towards. Things and places as we know them now will oneday be destroyed. All of our material possessions, our silver and gold will perish, things that we hold on to dearly will rot. So, why then do I have a hard time relinquishing? On that day-the beautiful, glorious, awe strickening, unfathomable day of the Lord, all things will be forgotten except seeing my Lord and my God as He truely is, seeing Him through a new, unblemished set of eyes, beholding the likeness of His face and placing my fingers over His scars. In a place where "Jesus feeds me" (thank you RC Jr for that phrase that I can never forget.)

What is the Church?

I have heard several sermons regarding the "church" lately, from both good, and well, other preachers. My pastor has been doing a series on the church and what it's purpose is, in every detail.

The church is not the building where Christians meet, nor is it any one particular congregation or denomination. The bottom line is: the church is the Body of Christ presently, globaly, currently being sanctified and cleansed, for her future role of Bride of Christ. (Eph. 5:27) Therefore we must look at what Jesus wants His church to look like, versus how the world wants the church to look.

Let me start off by telling of my experience tonight. I sometimes visit a Saturday night service at a local Church of God. Even though I am reformed and would NEVER give up my reformed theology (or Sunday morning services at my church), I have friends that I love dearly and they attend this COG. Well, they had a guest "pastor" tonight, and I use that term loosely, because I am not sure if he is a pastor or not. I can tell you though, that he read maybe one verse out of the Scriptures. On top of that, the verse had nothing to do with the purpose of the church. He goes on to tell us the church as to stop focusing so much on the inward and focus outward, to stop being in a "football huddle" and be more open to the "unchurched" that come through our doors, to make the church a more accepting, friendly atmosphere where people want to belong.

Can I tell you, I wanted so much to blurt out numerous things during that "sermon." OK, I cannot completely disagree with what he said. But I declare, he missed the boat BIG TIME! Not once during the whole message did he mention that the purpose of the church was to bring praise, honor, glory and worship to our Lord! That the purpose of the Body is to edify and encourage Believers! That the reading of the Word and the sermon are FOR THE BELIEVER! No, not one time was anything like this mentioned.

You know, we should be welcoming and loving when folks come into our midst. Jesus set that example for us in many of His encounters. But we should never forget that the Bible is for the Believer. To the mind of the unbeliever, the Bible is foolishness and irrational. In His sovereignty, God the Holy Spirit of course can and does use His Word to bring an unbeliever to belief. But we should never make ourselves look like the world in order to make the world comfortable in our midst. No, in fact, the unbeliever should feel very uncomfortable in the presence of the Triune God, and in the presense of His Word. (I know, we Believers should too feel some level of discomfort, for in our process of sanctification, we are in much need of daily repentance-but that is another topic for perhaps another time. Thankfully, as Believers, the great divide between us and our Father has already been bridged. So even our discomfort is temporary.)

Also, I know we are commanded by Jesus in the Great Commission to go out and make disciples of the nations and that is a command that every church should take very seriously. So yes, the church should have an outward approach. But again, no mention of what He is doing through His church. The message I heard tonight was all about "us", the human happenings of the body of Christ. Not even a footnote on His glory, His praise, or His worship.

When we lose our "upward" focus, our "inward" and "outward" focus become out of focus and and then all we are at best is a big motivational speaker convention.

God, please continue to cleanse and prepare Your bride, that you may present her faultless and without blemish at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Amen.