Go Miss California!!

I just could not wait until this Thursday to share this story.

During the Miss USA pageant Sunday, finalist Carrie Prejean, Miss California, was asked about gay marriage by Perez Hilton, the openly gay celebrity blogger who was serving as a pageant judge. She replied that she believed that marriage should be between a man and a woman. The next day, Hilton criticized her for the remark, and pageant organizer Donald Trump suggested that her answer may have cost her the crown. She was first runner up. GOOD FOR HER!! I guess she was unaware that lying and trying to please the world is what gets you rewarded here. I am so glad she knows her reward is in Heaven.

I did a little reading on her and this is what I found:

"I knew there were secular judges,but I felt I needed to express my passion for the Lord."

Carrie Prejean is dedicated to serving the Lord and is not at all shy about her Christianity--even on national television. As the new 2009 Miss California USA, Carrie has shown that she can balance the pressures of national competition with her desire to share Christ's love with younger women.

Carrie has recently been serving with a ministry that seeks to reveal Christ's transforming love to women in the adult entertainment industry. Led by a young women who herself was delivered by Christ, the group "gets real" with these women and discusses their problems and life struggles. Carrie feels that she can connect with women her age and believes that God is using her to bring hope to others.

In addition to her passion for young women, Carrie has volunteered at the local International Ministry Center where she has helped refugees learn to speak English. She is also involved with Voices for Children, a mentor program for children in foster care. "I've been extremely passionate about that. I especially have a heart for helping young girls with low self-esteem. I want to focus on San Diego and give back to my community", she said.

Carrie is currently a student at San Diego Christian College, but decided to take the spring semester of 2009 off to prepare and compete in the Miss USA Pageant, which took place on April 19th. Her goal is to return to SDCC to finish her Bachelors Degree, and to later obtain a Masters Degree in the field of Special Education.

Women of Passions

So I just won the book Women of Passions from the amazing Julie Arduini and even though I have only read the introduction and Julie's work I am already so blessed!

Of course I know Jan Ross and Julie. (If we talk to someone we know them right??) And I was happy to see some more names in there that I recognize. It is true stories and testimonies from twenty-six individual authors. In December the book won the Christian Choice Book Award.

I have added their blog to my blogs worth reading list. I think you will be blessed if you check them out.

Fulfilled Prophecy

So I don't know if you have ever heard of this site or not but I like it. Fulfilled Prophecy is a website for unreported news, Commentary, Resources and Discussion of Bible Prophecy.



This is what they say about themselves:
Our Position:
Fulfilled Prophecy is a Christian, end-times site that believes it’s possible the world may have entered its last seven years before Christ’s return — a time prophecy scholars call the 70th Week of Daniel. For reasons why, read our Overview. We report on recent events that have occurred in Europe and the Mediterranean that appear to be fulfillments of ancient Bible prophecies — events that have gone unnoticed by most Christians. These events include the rise of a 10-nation military alliance, the creation of a powerful office that appears to match the office of the Antichrist, and the strengthening of a covenant between many nations for a period of seven years.
Even if it turns out these are not the final seven years of human history, we believe that, as Christians, we’re obeying Jesus’ commands to watch for the signs of His Second Coming and to be ready for His return (Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21) — teachings that are neglected by much of the church today.

Check it out.

Mistaken Identity

I just finished reading Mistaken Identity by Don and Susie Van Ryn, Newell, Colleen, and Whitney Cerak, and Mark Tabb. Some of you may know this is a true story about a tragic accident in April of 2006. I had been wanting to read this since the book came out but I forgot about it for a while then was always on the waiting list. I don't really buy books so I just had to wait until a copy became available at the library.

When I first started reading this, I did not know Taylor University was a Christian college. I just kept thinking "Wow, how wonderful these students come together to pray!" A little further into the book it explains it is a Christian University. (duh)

Anyway, this is a story of a tragic car accident involving a van full of Taylor University students and staff and a semi. The only student to survive the crash was Whitney Cerak. However, the faculty called to the scene to identify the bodies mistakes her for Laura Van Ryn. Her parents choose not to view the body because they do not want that image of their daughter burned into their minds. They proceed to have a funeral for her and grieve the loss of their daughter.

Meanwhile the Van Ryn family care for Whitney around the clock thinking all the while she is Laura. There are a few pictures in the book that made me wonder how they could not know this was not their daughter. To me they look nothing alike. Her face was not covered in bandages. Even though I am sure the picture in the book was not what she looked like when she came to the hospital. Yes they beat themselves up over that and asked themselves the same question once they found out the truth. I wonder if the desperate need to have their 22 year old daughter alive is what allowed them to over look the little things that just didn't seem quite right. The wrong family cared for the wrong girl for five weeks. After five weeks she started to come out of the coma and was able to tell them her name was Whitney.

The whole time I was reading this book, which was full of their blog entries during this time, I was so awestruck with their faith. Both families knew without a doubt they would see their loved one again. They knew God's strength would get them through the tragedy. The way they were able to think about and pray for all the other families affected in the midst of their grief was just so inspiring.

I want my faith to be that strong. I want what they have. Even though the book was about tragedy and so many wonderful lives being lost, it was mostly about hope and faith. It was encouraging and about looking to God even when you don't understand His plan.

Something Good

Thursday already?? Well most Thursdays I like to join the amazing Julie from The Surrendered Scribe for Current Events.

Today I wanted to share something I caught the end of during Good Morning America while I was getting ready for work. The only thing I remembered was the name. Birthday Blessings. I thought wow that sounds cool so I wanted to check it out. Of course I searched online and found their website. On their website this is their introduction:

Birthday Blessings began as a family outreach project in the fall of 2005, with a desire to bring happiness to underprivileged children while also providing a meaningful and hands-on service opportunity for our own young children. As we considered how we could work together to help make a difference in our community, we began thinking about homeless children and the sadness and emotional challenges they face. Knowing how important birthdays are to our family, we decided to help homeless children celebrate their birthdays; an idea built upon the hope that every child, no matter the circumstances, deserves an opportunity to feel the joy and value of being recognized on his or her special day. Today, with the help of numerous volunteers and supporters, Birthday Blessings continues to grow, bringing joy and support to hundreds of homeless children every month.

To date, Birthday Blessings has provided parties and presents for over 500 homeless children, celebrating with more than 2,000 underprivileged youth in our city.
Since November 2008, our Blessing Baskets program has provided a healthy and positive start to life for over twenty homeless babies.

What an awesome concept! I know how expensive birthday parties can be nowadays. This idea just really touched my heart. You can donate to this cause on their website.

A Walk To Remember

This movie came out in 2002. I saw it way back then and liked it but did not get out of it what I do now. Of course back then I was just getting into church and did not see faith the way I do now. I was not really in need of believing in miracles.

I caught it on tv Saturday and I loved it soooo much I went out and bought the dvd. I watched it 5 times this weekend. Yes really! And yes I cried every single time. I made both my kids watch it hoping they will get something out of it, even if only the consequences for your actions aspect.

I see my son in this movie with the father/son relationship in turmoil. I see the ability to be content no matter the circumstances if you choose to be. I see that God can and will perform miracles even in the most unlikely people if we don't give up on them.

A line in the movie really stuck in my brain; "Without suffering there would be no compassion."

I do not want to ruin the movie for those who have not seen it. However I will say this is such a great movie to renew your hope and faith. It made me believe in pure love again. It is now my favorite movie of all time!

Go watch it and let me know what you think!

Get Back Up

This goes along with what my pastor was saying this week. He said no matter how much you dislike your life at the moment, there is someone worse off than you. So quit complaining.

While this man in this video is such an inspiration and he is content, he still does not have what most of us take for granted every day.

Make A Wish

Every year at Christmas our church takes up an offering for Make A Wish. While this is wonderful, we learned that we are the only church (at least in my state) that does this for them. Say it with me: WHAT?! This makes me sooo sad but thankful to be part of such a fantastic church. It makes me so happy to know I am part of touching others lives in such wonderful ways.



Here is a little about them:
Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has enriched the lives of children with life-threatening medical conditions through its wish-granting work. The Foundation's mission reflects the life-changing impact that a Make-A-Wish® experience has on children, families, referral sources, donors, sponsors and entire communities.

The Make-A-Wish Foundation was founded in 1980 after a little boy named Chris Greicius realized his heartfelt wish to become a police officer. Since its humble beginnings, the organization has blossomed into a worldwide phenomenon, reaching more than 167,000 children around the world.

Although it has become one of the world's most well-known charities, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has maintained the grassroots fulfillment of its mission.

A network of nearly 25,000 volunteers enable the Make-A-Wish Foundation to serve children with life-threatening medical conditions. Volunteers serve as wish granters, fundraisers, special events assistants and in numerous other capacities.

As the Foundation continues to mature, its mission will remain steadfast. Wish children of the past, present and future will have an opportunity to share the power of a wish®.

http://www.wish.org/

Malachi 3:3

Malachi 3:3 says: 'He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.'

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God.
One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining Silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities. The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot; then she thought again about the verse that says: 'He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.'


She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, 'How do you know when the silver is fully refined?' He smiled at her and answered, 'Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it.'

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

Pass this on right now. This very moment, someone needs to know that God is watching over them. And, whatever they're going through, they'll be a better person in the end.

'Life is a coin. You can spend it anyway you wish, but you can only spend it once.'

Now, I don't know if this process is true but I like it.

Good Search .com

I want to spread the word in case you are not already aware of Good Search.com.

They are just like Google. You use them as your search engine and you pick your charity that you want them to donate to. Every time you use them, they send .01 (yes a penny) to your charity. I know that does not sound like much but I know I do about 50 searches a week so that comes out to $26 extra raised for St. Jude Children's hospital per year for something I do anyway. Year to date St. Jude's has raised $1,867.12.

They have a list of charities to choose from. Check them out!

http://www.goodsearch.com/

The Shack

I just have to RAVE about this book~ on the back cover it says "You will want everyone you know to read this book." IT IS SOOO TRUE! This book made me sob and laugh out loud in the same chapter. I am sure it will affect everyone differently depending on their life experiences, where they are in their walk, and their beliefs. However I truly feel everyone will get something out of this. It may help you see God in such a way relating to him will be easier. If you are angry at God, maybe it will help you let that go. If you don't believe in him at all, maybe by the end of it you will. I am sure I am going to read this book again. It's that good.
http://www.theshackbook.com/