Gateways to Joy

How do we know if or when we should stop having biological children? Should we stop ourselves? This is what I call a "hot" topic.  This talk can get attitudes fueled quickly for some.  It's sort of like topics on abortion, women being submissive, staying at home . . . Personally, this was a question that my husband and I had to ask ourselves. But before we were able to sense the direction God was leading us, family members, friends, church members and lo and behold, even strangers, would ask the dreaded question, "Do y'all plan on having more?" I never could understand why it mattered to people that we didn't ask to help us in anyway with our children.   People who weren't involved in our lives cared to know.  Why?  Whose business is it? Rarely do we allow our children to sleep over people's houses, and we never let anyone other than my mother and a few times my sisters-in-law keep our children.  We never had our hands out for money...

It's AMAZING to see the Lord moving right along in today's "social media" society.  Facebook, Twitter , blogging and all the other multi-facet networks that are used via online are all helping Christians around the world to literally connect in unique ways and make a difference in the lives of others.  We're using our gifts and talents in ways that only a decade ago, we never conceived as being possible. Today's post proves this point, and shows us how this is happening in the blogging community around the world. Compassion Bloggers a two year old online ministry works with bloggers in using their influence to help transforms lives of children and their families in poverty worldwide. How are we doing this?  We do this by... posting banner ads on our blogs telling stories that compel, you, the reader, to sponsor a child. Not only that, but we bloggers also get together and travel halfway around the world to see first hand how Compassion Internat...

You've heard the saying, "Live long enough and you will ..."   That truth seems to be more and more credible to me with each passing year. Why is it pray tell that people I've been friends with for years I'm begining to see in a new way?  I kid you not, I have a few friends who care more about perception than they care about truth, reality or substance—and they are Christians!  A few go so far as to say, "Well if it can't be proven then ..."  They feel like if you can't prove they have or are lying ... if you can't prove this or that about them then it's not the truth, it's only your perception until proven otherwise.  THIS INFURIATES ME people, it really does.  But it also saddens me...really grieves me.  I think to myself, "How can you open God's Word, sit under His teaching and be so cavalier about the truth?"  Then God reminds me of me and my sins and short-comings and I try to season myself with love and grace ...