A brief study of Clubfoot

Tightly would up legs

Congenital Bilateral Talipes Equinovarus.  I had no idea when I got pregnant that this diagnosis would be in my future.  When we were told at the 20 week ultrasound that our baby would be born with clubfoot on definitely the right foot and probably the left also, we had no idea what we were in for.  We tried to just forget about it, and "pray away the diagnosis".  I'm not poking fun at people that have prayed and been healed.  I prayed my HEART out that the doctors were wrong and my baby was perfect.  I prayed for Colton to be born in His perfect image, and to PLEASE have perfect feet.  I tried damn hard not to google "clubfoot".  And I didn't tell a soul for the next 20 weeks.

Bilateral, meaning BOTH feet

When he was born, I was afraid to ask.  When David didn't say anything right away, I felt elated.  Surely, he would have said something to me the second he showed Colton to me.  Surely he would have given me some indication that all was not right.  But he didn't and I felt elated that I'd actually managed to pray hard enough that we managed to stave off a lifetime health issue.  And then once we were all together in the recovery room, he casually mentioned that, "Looks like he does have that foot thing, but it will be fine".

Casts #1

I felt like my heart exploded into a million pieces.  My nightmare scenario had come true.  Casts, surgery, and 5 years of bracing followed by a lifetime of possible relapse.  My sweet baby infant losing his babyhood to hospitals and doctor appointments.

This is how good his feet looked after 9 days in the first set

I quickly learned the "lingo".  Ponsetti bar vs. Dobbs bar.  Markell boots vs. Mitchell boots.  Plaster casts vs. Fiberglass casts.  AFO's, bnb, bilateral, unilateral, complex.  I felt like my heart was breaking when my MIL insisted that Colton would be "cured" by the casts and would never have to wear his brace.  She believed in the glory of God that He would heal the baby, and his feet would be so perfect that he'd never even have to worry about a Mitchell boot.  When I mentioned to my husband that it didn't work like that, he blew up at me and got very upset that I was being negative and not believing.  But here's the thing; I WAS still praying, every DAY for the road to not be impossibly bumpy.  I cried the day Colton was casted the first time.  I cried when we came back a week later to have the casts cut off with a power saw.  It broke my heart when we gently scrubbed the casting material off his sensitive little legs that were checkered with red marks, dry spots, and painful looking places all up and down his legs, but MAINLY around the ankle area.  I was so optimistic he wouldn't need surgery and could be flexible enough that the casts would be enough.  Again, not to be.

After casts #2

The casting phase was the worst.  I felt like I couldn't even change his diaper any more.  The casts were right up against his diaper to covering the tips of his toes.  The peanut gallery on facebook said the casts didn't look good; they were too bulky and the toes came down too far.  What they didn't know is I was at one of the top rated Ponsetti hospitals IN California.  I didn't even know if they'd accept him as a patient; their referral process is for the BIRDS.  When we got the call that he'd gotten in, I was so happy.  His doctor comes well recommended, and the program is huge.  Kids travel from all over to be treated for clubfoot at the Sacramento Shriner's, so I felt very lucky we'd made it in.

After casts #3

Anyway, his knee was bent at 90 degrees, and he could no longer kick his legs to move gas along in his digestive system. He became very fussy and agitated.  He would wake up the second you tried to put him down at ALL.  He was showing signs of silent reflux, and I just knew he was soooo uncomfortable all the time.  I couldn't even give my baby a bath.  I wanted to cry every time I strapped him into his car seat because with each subsequent set of casts, it seemed like his legs and feet were rotated more and more out until his toes were practically upside down.  After his tenotomy surgery, his fat, bulky casts were squishing his toes and David actually snipped the cast back.  Problem there is by cutting the cast, he made a sharp edge that I could SEE was rubbing a sore spot on his toe.  3 weeks of that misery with no breaks.  At least with the previous 3 casts, he was cut out of them and he got about a 40 minute break each time.  The surgery casts were 3 weeks in, then cut them off and go straight to bnb.

Surgery casts

It took me time to realize that God has been with us this whole time.  I'm a member on several CF facebook groups, and I realize that Colton has been a perfect, textbook case for CF.  3 sets of casts (pretty much the bare minimum), dual tenotomy (most cases end up needing it done) 3 months in 23 hour bnb, then naps/night time for 4-5 years.  And let's ALL be honest.  It's a miracle that most of us have been blessed with "normal" babies.  Birth is so incredible and SO many things can go wrong.  If I have to have a baby that isn't "perfect" (and to me, he IS perfect), then clubfoot is a pretty good gig to have.  There are outlying cases that require painful surgeries, external fixator devices to stretch bones/tendons/ligaments, relapse after relapse, complex cases requiring custom AFO's and serial casting long after the 7-10 week mark, and in some EXTREME cases, amputation.  God has blessed us beyond measure with an "easy" and smooth experience.  We got in with a good doctor, we have good insurance, and the baby has really been cooperative with treatment.  He almost never cried both during casting, and during the removal process.  Dr. Lerman said he came through the tenotomy like a CHAMP.  Our casting techs were amazing (RIP Matt) and the atmosphere is always so upbeat and positive.

Perfect little feet, NO MORE CASTS!

I encourage ALL the parents that are dealing with a clubfoot diagnosis to trust your gut.  DON'T be lulled by doctors promising "early release" from bnb.  Even though the idea of bracing until age 5 is daunting, it's been PROVEN that the relapse rate significantly decreases.  The key is routine, routine, routine.  We gave Colton his free time at the end of the day, and once the boots and bar came back on, it was time to have a bottle and go to bed.  We went with the Dobbs bar because it allows some measure of freedom and movement.  We play with him in it, and let him kick to his heart's content.

Mitchell boots with Dobbs bar.  YES, they were a pain in the butt until they were broken in, but now we have no issues at all.

I'm grateful for our journey; Kody was a pretty damn easy baby.  Colton's been more of a challenge, but still is so, so good.  This is our journey, and we're taking it step by step, day by day.  I'm so grateful for God's grace and for trusting us to be the parents of this incredible little boy.  I'm SO excited to say that Colton has been granted 12 hour wear, and now get his "naked legs" all throughout the day.  He has slept like a CHAMP since the switch on Tuesday (KNOCK ON WOOD).  Once he's Kody's age, he'll not even remember any of this part of the journey.  I'm no longer embarrassed or self conscious about Colton's diagnosis, and I hope to encourage other parents on this same path.  Ask questions, research, advocate.  I love my baby's little feet!!!

After 4 months, we're finally FREE!!!  12 hour wear and hopefully by God's grace no more casts/surgery/long days in the bnb!

Just ... wow

I'm not even sure I know where to begin.  This crazy journey called Life is progressing on a track I'm not sure I ever saw coming.  For the most part, I have stopped living my life through facebook and other social media sites.  Losing 2 of my best friends over a stupid internet spat made me realize that REALITY is not always virtual.  So not only do I not post on the horse board that got me in trouble, I really don't even go there to "lurk" much any more.  The down side is that I've disconnected from the horse side of things ... for now.  The up side is that I've been focusing on other things.  Apart from posting "day trip" pics on Instagram and then sharing to facebook, I don't do much other than read what my "friends" have to say on a daily basis.

The bottom line is this; life is changing BIG time for us, again :)  And yes, it's a good change, it's an AMAZING change!  I didn't think for a second that life would go in this direction, but it is what it is.  For one thing, some months ago, my husband and I made a decision to stop birth control.  I just turned 36 in February, and here I was still taking BC pills every day.  I HATE the pill, I don't ever want to take it again, but ANY other method of BC other than "permanent" isn't an option for me.  So, the question was, have a permanent procedure, or stop the Pill and see what happens?  Well, we chose the latter and now I'm expecting!

I don't question God, EVER.  His plan is what it is, I just try to have the courage to follow along and be involved in it.  My due date is April 6.  Only 12 weeks along, so no idea if girl or boy.  We WILL find out, for sure.  Kody and David are both happy and excited; yes, there's a feeling of being ... overwhelmed.  That combined with the task of moving in July with a NEWBORN is a daunting feeling, but I know we'll come through it with flying colors :D

There will be no grand facebook announcements, no ultrasound pics posted, no pics/updates from the hospital.  Anything I have to say, I'll say right here on my very own blog that only the people that are interested in what I have to say will check out.  Yes, I'll post links, but again ... only those that actually care about me and my family will share in my happy news.

Horses will once again be taking a backseat in my life and I am ok with that.  No matter where I am, no matter what's happening in my life, horses will always be there for me to get back to when I'm ready.  Happily, I've been feeling great, no morning sickness thus far (knock on wood).  My OB says I SHOULD be past that stage, so we'll see.  It's going to be a challenge being out here with no family, but I'm VERY hopeful my sister is going to come out and be with me for a week or so.  The only bummer is I won't get to enjoy the hot tub this winter!  :(  Oh well, there are worse things in life, lol.

Stay tuned for updates.  I don't have another OB appt until November, which is when we SHOULD find out the sex.  So happy and excited for this turn in our life, and we're just trusting in God to lead us along the way.

Updating

Well, it looks like I'll be going to Crossfit for the first time tomorrow morning.  My riding trainer has been after me now for months to go, but money and "fear" have been holding me back.  She gave me a month for Christmas to go and see what happens, so now I have no excuse!  I had to go back to the beginning of my blog and read some to sort of ... re-find my inspiration, if you will.  I began this blog to be honest about my journey through life.  In all honesty ... I HAVE to get back on track.  I've fallen off, big time, and I've got to find my way back on.

The hubs and I have been really, really talking, and we're planning our future here.  As we make plans, it's important for me to get back to where I was, personally.  I'm working hard at work; things are progressing in such a way as to pave the way for possible promotions in the future, so that's good.  At some point in my life, I want to get back to horse ownership, but that needs to come after home ownership.  It will all happen; we just have to keep our mind on our goals, and our eyes to God.

My grandfather passed away recently; it really rocked my world.  I love him so much, and I appreciate EVERYTHING he's ever done for me, and I'm so grateful to him for being there during my childhood.  I wasn't able to get back to GA to see him "on his deathbed", and while a part of me is deeply saddened by that, a selfish part of me is also glad I couldn't.  Our first trip back to GA is tentatively scheduled for Spring Break, but so many things have to happen for that trip that who knows if it will happen.  We're going to try, though!

Today, I remember that it IS the first day of the rest of my life.  I need to remember to live every day as it comes, and not worry too much about the past and the future.  Concentrate on enjoying the moments and appreciating the journey :)

A Thanksgiving post, but not a Thanksgiving post ;)

Happy Thanksgiving 2014!  This post is not going to be a "thankful" post.  I've made a REAL effort in my life to be thankful for all that I have every single day.  I'm thankful for a LOT of things, and not just during the month of November, or on Thanksgiving.  No, my post today is more of a reflective type post, thinking back on the past 17 months.

This is sad, but I honestly didn't realize just how unhappy I was until I have discovered how happy I am now.  Maybe we all need a change every 10 years or so, I don't know.  For instance, a song from my playlist wold play (ALWAYS one about feeling hopeless, but trusting in God to pull you through) and I would start to cry.  I felt so unbelievably trapped in my old life, but I didn't even know it.  I prayed so hard, every day, for SOMETHING.  I don't even know what.  Just something.  And finally, it happened.  I made it happen, by the grace and the glory of God we are here.

The past 17 months have NOT been a cakewalk.  They've been hard work, stress, worry, but also, that glimmer of what the future is going to hold.  I have been washed away of my old self, and re-born in my Christianity; I've been biblically baptized and truly, fundamentally changed.

I believe that God has made this beautiful, amazing, and perfect world for us to explore and experience.  California is a BEAUTIFUL state, full of raw, breathtaking sights.  It is home to virtually every climate type out there.  We have snow, heat, temperate rain forest, desert, mountains, beach, ocean, lakes, rivers, canyons, valleys, you name it!  We are having so much fun just carving out our new living here on the west coast, and taking every opportunity to travel our amazing home state and see all that it has to offer.  We spend Thanksgiving in Ft. Bragg at a little place called Glass Beach.  The beach is FILLED with sea glass, which at first glance appears to just be gravel, but when you really look at it, you see all the colored bits of glass.  So pretty and unique!

  The Denny's out there was open, so Kody and I had club sandwiches, and David had a Grand Slam breakfast as our Thanksgiving day lunch, and it was just perfect.  We enjoyed the 3 1/2 hour drive immensely, spending time on the good old Highway 1 Pacific Coast Highway, heading up the coast!  We got to drive through Redwoods, which we did NOT expect, and I got my saltwater fix :)

Moving forward and looking at 2015, my plans include moving on up in my dental practice.  I work hard every day at work, learning more and more, and as my training gets more intense, responsibilities and raises come along with that.  I pray that David can figure out a way of dropping one of his 2 jobs, but making enough money and working full time at ONE that he brings home the same salary he has working the 2.  I know he has the skills to do it, he just needs the opportunity, so I continue to pray for him.  Kody will move on up the 8th grade at his amazing PFAA, and I'm so excited to see him perform in the male ensemble for his middle school performance this year of "Thoroughly Modern Millie".  He's worked very hard, and had lots of practices, so I hope his return to the stage after a year long hiatus is fun and rewarding for him!

Sorry about the long times between blog posts; I have to be online a whole bunch dealing with social media stuff for my eventing barn, and that takes up a TON of time.  By the time I'm finished figuring out what to post there, I have nothing left for my blog.  I'll have another one up soon, maybe in about 2 weeks.  Hope my family is doing well, I miss you all!

A serious post ...

I know many people don't want to hear it.  They'd rather stick their heads in the sand and say things like, "Well, I'm not positive whether or not God exists, so I'm just gonna live my life in a GOOD way, be nice to people, and that way all my bases are covered".  I'm here to tell ya, you are NOT covered, and you will NOT be ascending to Heaven when you die if you adopt this attitude.  Stop reading right now if you don't care to be Saved.  If you're unsure about whether you'd go to Heaven when you die and you want to know ... keep reading.  If you're SURE you won't go to Heaven when you die ... keep reading!  You CAN be on your way there today :)

Christians have the Bible to tell us for sure whether or not we're going to Heaven.  It tells us in Romans 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

ALL have sinned.  We ALL come short of God's glory.  Without Him, we ALL go to Hell.  Think your sin is less than someone else's?  Continue reading.

Romans 6:23 says For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

In Revelation 20:14. 15 it defines the word "death":  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death. (15) And whoseover was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

"But, I'm a GOOD person!  I've never murdered anyone, and I don't cheat on my taxes, therefore I'm not going to Hell, right?"

Revelation lists the people that will go to Hell in 21:8  But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:  which is the second death.

Unbelieving?  Gee, if you don't think God exists, you're unbelieving.  Fearful, abominable, murders, whoremongers, sorcerers, idolaters?  Hmmm, you haven't killed anybody!  And you're definitely not a sorcerer or abomidable.  But are you a liar?  White lies count.  Lies of omission count.  If you've lied you're going to Hell.  We don't get to pick and choose which sins are better or worse.  A sin is a sin is a sin, and the punishment is death by being cast into the lake of fire.

Sadly, the Bible tells us in James 2:10:  For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
That means if we've sinned ONCE in our whole lives, we are as guilty as if we'd committed every sin and abominaton in the Bible.

Keep on reading ... here is the GOOD news!  Ephesians 2:8 says this:  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of youselves; it is the gift of God (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

For by GRACE.  What is grace?  Grace is something you don't deserve, something given to you for free.  Faith, faith is BELIEF on the lord Jesus Christ, it's belief that:
1.  Jesus died for our sins
2.  Jesus was born of a virgin
3.  Jesus was God in the flesh
4. Jesus never sinned and was therefore perfect and did NOT deserve to die
5. He died for US, for our sins; he was perfect and had NO sin, therefore he died for all of OUR sins, so that we may be able to live life in eternity.

Romans 5:8 states this:  But God commandeth his love towards us, it that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

So now we've explained faith, what about Ephesians 2:9?  NOT of WORKS, lest any man should boast.  What does that mean?  Let's say I give you a birthday gift.  If I give it to you, is it a gift?  How about if I tell you to pay me $15 and I'll give it to you?  Is it a gift then?  How about if I tell you to wash my car, then we'll call it even and I'll give you the gift?  Is it a gift?  NO!!  If you have to pay for or do work for an item, it is NOT a gift, it's something you worked for.  It's a wage, not a gift.  John 3:16 is one of the most famous passages in the Bible:

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believith in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  That passage is preceeded by this one:  John 3:15  That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Do these passages mention anything about working for eternal life?  And does eternity ever end?  So if we become Saved and then kill someone, does our eternal life all of a sudden become revoked?  If someone is saved, and he decides to live a homosexual lifestyle, does he lose his eternal life?  And if someone kills himself, does he lose his eternal life?  The bible tells us no, we CANNOT lose our salvation.

Titus 1:2 In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began.

Our hope for eternal life is that God cannot lie to us.  Once we're promised eternity, we cannot lose our salvation because of any ACTIONS we do here on earth.  Just like our actions cannot SAVE us (being nice, reading our Bible, giving to charity, recycling, installing solar panels, BEING BAPTIZED, tithing, etc), neither can our actions cause us to lose our salvation and go to Hell.  Pretty awesome, powerful stuff, huh?  Not gonna lie, I didn't know I could go to Heaven and not be baptized, and I thought I could do something horrible enough to warrant losing my salvation.  Turns out, God is much greater than I am, and my piddly little actions here on earth do NOT trump belief and faith.

If you've read this far, and your heart has been changed and you want to make sure you're on your way to Heaven, the Bible tells us in 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.

Simple.  Do you believe you're a sinner?  Do you believe that the punishment for being a sinner is death in Hell?  Do you believe that Jesus Christ was killed, buried, and rose up from the grave for your sins?  Do you believe God has promised us eternal life and He will NOT take it away?  It's time for you to pray, and pray and believe with your WHOLE heart and WHOLE soul:

"Dear Jesus, I know I'm a sinner and deserve to go to Hell, but I believe you died on the cross, was buried, and rose again to pay for my sins.  I ask you to save me, forgive me of my sin, and take me to Heaven when I die.  Thank you for giving me eternal life.  Amen".

Your public life and your private life

After church today

So today's sermon was interesting.  As Pastor said, not terribly deep, but certaintly contemplation-worthy.  I think doing selfless things is hard.  By nature, most of us are pretty selfish; in today's age of living our lives on facebook, we tend to advertise when we do something nice for someone.  A facebook friend recently posted a pic of a good deed they did for someone.  Why?  For a pat on the back?  So everyone can tell you how great and clever you are, and gee you're SUCH a humanitarian?

In the story of Joshua, God tells him to build 2 memorials using 12 rocks.  One, on the other side of the River Jordan to commemorate the momentous crossing of the river.  The other was to be a personal, private memorial in the MIDDLE of the River Jordan, underneath the water that only Joshua and God knew about.  Our public lives are important; how we present ourselves, the example we lead for other people, how we act, etc.  But our private lives are JUST as important.  Do you spend more time getting your hair and makeup right for church than you do preparing your heart and mind to hear God's Word?

What happnes in your private life sets the stage for your public one.

Matthew 6:3 says when you do something nice for someone, you will be openly rewarded by God when you do it in PRIVATE.  So, if you give money, help them out, whatever, you will be rewarded by Him when you DON'T go around bragging about it.

Matthew 6:6 says when you pray "in secret", literally go into a closet to pray, you will be openly rewarded for it.

Mathew 6:18 says if you fast, do it and then don't tell everyone about it expecting pats on the back.  It's between you and God.  When you fast, you don't show it to the world.

I've known quite a few self-righteous women with long hair that wear skirts that think they're superior to us short haired, pants wearing sinners.  They may LOOK right on the outside, but that self-righteous attitude tells the world they're NOT right on the inside.  God know you, ALL of you, 100% of you.  He knows your motivations, your reasons, your everything.  You don't need to go posting pics of you doing nice things in the hopes that maybe it'll go viral in order to feel a sense of accomplishment.

God LOVES you.  Work on your outward appearance, but also work on your private thoughts and motivations.  DO good deeds and nice things, but be secure enough in your self that you do it for NO other reason than to help someone else out.  What you sow here on Earth is what you will reap in Heaven.

Just a June update ...

Well.  The month of June is almost over!  Can't even believe it.  We're coming up on ONE YEAR in CA.  We left GA on June 28th.  7 more days :)  Our plan thus far is to stay in our apartment for one more year, then move into a house.  My job is going GREAT.  I've gotten a very substantial raise since I began in October, and I'm getting a fair amount of daily overtime right now, so I'm just enjoying it and appreciating it.

David always has job drama.  His newer second job is going great.  I wish it paid more, b/c then he might consider making it his primary, but he's making less at that job than I started with at mine.  His Kings job is just such a freaking mess, I can NOT understand why he can't find a position with ONE company that has its head NOT stuck up its rear end.  My husband is AMAZING.  He's authoritative, he's got a great business sense, and he's a wonderful salesman.  It KILLS me that he can't find a freaking GOOD job; one w/ decent hours and one w/ decent pay.  So I pray for him, and I ask for friends and family to pray for him.  Yes, I still want to win the lottery, but I'm praying for his work situation to be GOOD for the first time in his life, with little to no drama.  We're both willing to WORK for a living, I'm just hoping God will bless us with a situation that's quite literally workable and livable.

Anyway, I'm doing my monthly soul-winning today.  I WAS going to go out door to door, but truly ... I feel like at the moment, I will reach more people by this blog than I will knocking on doors of people's homes that honestly don't want to be reached.  That's the beauty of a blog; you read it if you're interested, and it's on YOUR terms.

We've been doing a series on God's blessings on our life.  Many christians interpret God's blessings to be financial ones, when in actuality, that's pretty far from the truth.  There are countless stories in the bible about men that were blessed, yet suffered great trials.  For instance; the story of Joseph.  He was sold into slavery by his own BROTHERS, thrown in a pit, and was in bondage.  But the bible says he was surely blessed.  He had God all throughout his ordeal, and at the end of it all, ended up the right hand of Pharaoh and turned out to be a great leader.  But he lost everything.  Job lost his entire LIFE, his family, his things, everything on earth that defined him; through it all, he never lost his faith in God, and eventurally emerged with a new family, restored wealth, and lots of happiness.  The key of that story is FAITHFULNESS.  I have a few good quotes here that I'm going to throw out.
"God's blessing can NOT be measured by our PLEASURE".
"The Bible strengthens us from within.  When you get connected to God, you are not beaten down by outside forces".
"God has invested in us, and he expects a return on that investment".
"Integrity is doing right by CONVICTION, not CIRCUMSTANCE".
And the final one:
"FAITH has everything to do with what you BELIEVE.  FAITHFULNESS has everything to do with what you DO".

At the end of the day, you KNOW what you're supposed to do.  Read your bible, obey your bible, walk with integrity, work hard in your life, and tithe.  Doing these 5 things will make sure you are blessed by God; maybe that doesn't mean great financial riches, but it DOES mean always having food on your table and a roof over your head.  It means having a job to go to every day. It may mean good health, or a wonderful, loving family.  Blessings are also a MINDSET, we have to be appreciative for what we have.  When we do the above 5 things, God will help us to HAVE that proper mindset so that we can see and enjoy the blessed life we lead.

May Daze ...

A shot of the xc course at my barn!

Gosh, I feel the need to begin every blog post with an apology!  I'm just sort of failing a little bit, here:(  In defense, I HAVE been really busy.  My 2 experienced co-workers quit leaving me with the "seniority" position in the office (SCARY!), and I've been opening and closing every work day.  On my one day off a week, I spend it at the barns.  Yes, barns :)  Then every spare second I'm online, I'm spening it trying to help my trainer promote her business.  Not a whole lot of time left for ME.

Church is going well.  I'm contemplating the idea of wearing skirts more often; I'm playing with the idea of buying some tennnis skirts and leggings for when I want to wear my sneakers "out and about".  I'm growing my hair back out for now; not really all that sure where I will end up with the whole "women wear skirts and have long hair thing", because I will NOT give up riding, and skirts and horses don't go together, but I just have to see where God leads me.  I've gone soul winning twice now and it wasn't too bad; I haven't "talked" yet, I've been a silent partner so far, and no one has been ugly to us yet, so I will keep going out once a month for now.

My weight has stabilized at the moment, but I'm working on kickstarting another loss.  I just completed week 1 of Insanity, ending with a 3 mile walk with the dogs on my "rest" day, and we'll see if I manage to complete all 6 days of week 2!  I haven't been calorie counting at all, and I think know I need to be using my "Spark People" if I REALLY want to lose dramatically again.  I really enjoyed my week of gym classes, but I HAVE to be realistic ... the gym I went to was so I could take my friend's class she teaches; all the way across town about 3 minutes from my office ... at 5:00 in the morning.  I've joined gyms before, and I ALWAYS quit going.  ALWAYS.  There is always a reason I justify for not going; gas is too expensive, I have to get Kody ready for school, I don't want to put the dogs up, etc., etc.  So, despite an excited thought about joining, I decided to hold off on that for now.  David JUST got himself a 2nd job, and the truck will be paid off by Christmas, so maybe as a Christmas present to myself or something I will join a local gym called Kaia fitness.  It's like group taught Insanity classes 4-5 days a week; you pay $119 a month to go, so that hopefully means you actually commit and GO.  We'll see.

I promise I will try to get back to regular blogging!  I also squeeze in 5 chapters a day of reading my Bible (which, if you've never done that, is surprisingly hard!), but that's no excuse :)  I feel the need to motivate people, and I'll never do that if I don't motivate myself, so I'm working on it.  Things really are good right now, I can't complain.  Hope all the mothers out there have had a fantastic mother's day!  I have, I thank God every day, multiple times a day for the life I lead.  It's a beautiful one :D

Just a little bit of catching up

Sorry for the quietness.  All is well out here in Cali!  I like to try and give this blog 100%, so when I'm tired or whatever, I don't necessarily feel like opening up my notes from church and sitting down to write a blog.  So, that means I've neglected it!

I'll be honest ... I feel myself being a little bit self-sabatoging when it comes to eating.  I'm getting back into that mode of "I'll eat a freaking quarter pounder and fries if I want to.  SCREW IT".  Why do people do that?  Why would I sabatoge what I worked so hard for?  9 months of craziness in order to lose 45 lbs ... I've put 25 of it back on.  WHY?  How is it I can go 9 months with no dessert/sweet drinks/etc, and all of a sudden I'm back to screw it mode?  I don't know, I need a shrink I guess.

Work is going well, church is great, we're caught up on all our bills, David has a job interview for a 2nd job AND it looks like maybe his hours will be picking up so things are going well right now.   Who knows?  I just need to kick my own butt again and CARE.  Ugh.

Anyway, Pastor has been getting through to me in church, and I'm planning to go 'soul winning' this Saturday.  What is soul winning?  I'd never heard of it either!  It means to go door to door and preach the gospel.  If you actually know me in real life, you'll know I'm passionate about horses and can blab on all day long about horse theory, etc. You also know I'm completely non-confrontational, and I don't pretty much ever TALK about God in real life.  Here on my blog, sure.  But face to face?  No.  Why?  Because up until recently, I have not felt educated enough to talk about God at all, to anyone.  I haven't even been able to define my beliefs until recently, and I finally feel like I sort of KNOW what I need to do in order live my life like God wants me to.  So, going soul winning is very scary for me, and completely out of my comfort zone, but it is MY job as a christian to DO THIS.  Rev 20:10, John 3:36. and Jude 1:22 all discuss the importance of winning souls to Christ.  These passages impress upon the importance of using this ONE chance here on Earth to go out and reach people and tell them about God.  Luke 15:7 says Heaven rejoices when we preach the gospel.

Many churches rejoice in their NUMBERS each Sunday.  "Hey!  Yay!  We got this new building and 25 more people walked in the door this week than last week!  We're doing so great, God is truly blessing us!".  Um, this is flawed rejoicing.  Numbers are great ... but if those numbers are lazy and apathetic and come through the door in order to "show face", what good are they doing?  The true measure of a church's success is how well it trains the congregation to go out and MAKE a difference in the community by teaching doctrine, NOT by handing out food or blankets to the homeless, or even worse, doing nothing but showing up.

It's hard facts.  Pastor is not all love and light, "Name it and Claim it", etc.  He's a realist, a true "Bible Thumping" preacher.  He's not about "fire and brimstone", either.  He's about making you THINK.  He's about FORCING you to either quit going to church because you're tired of being told what you should be doing, OR to change your life and get right with God.  Getting right with God is HARD, just like losing weight and KEEPING IT OFF, just like getting fit and STAYING that way.  You have to work at it, even when you don't feel like it.  The message from this past Sunday is to remember that even though we are IN this world, we are not to be OF this world, we are to separate ourselves from what the world says is important.  I have been reading my Bible every single day since January.  I've probably only gone ... maybe 5 days total so far where I didn't crack it open, which is AMAZING for me.  I've never read the Bible cover to cover; it's hard, but I'm doing it.

Anyway.  That's all I have to say today :)  I'm working hard to better my spiritual self, now I need to make sure I'm not neglecting my physical self in the process.  I have to remember that every single day, TODAY is the first day of the rest of my life, and I have the opportunity to be an amazing person.  So do you.  Go be amazing!  Love y'all :)

How do you worship?

The gift of the holy ghost is a rare gift.  I believe I received it a time or 2 ... but not in the sense of having an out of body experience and speaking in tongues (because that has NEVER happened to me).  No, I think my gifts have been from music.  I've always been musically inclined; I was a band geek in middle and high school, and I was in formal dance lessons from age 2 and on.  I met my husband in a country line dancing bar on "family night" for crying out loud!  Music is a part of my soul; it can serve to help me along when I'm feeling sorry for myself, or serve as a booster to make me feel good.  When Whitney Houston's "I wanna dance with somebody" comes on, I smile ALWAYS 100% of the time.

Some of my early criteria for attending church has been the music program.  I've always loved theatrical/dramatic music productions.  Sadly, picking a church based upon it's music has ended up back firing every single time.  We get a nice 45-50 minutes of singing and worship, then 20 minutes of a mind numbing message, DONE.  Church over.  Obligation done for the week.  It's left me feeling somewhat hypocritical of myself, and led to our lackadaisical church attendance over the years.  I'm sensitive enough that if I'm in the right frame of mind, and a certain Christian song comes through the speakers, I'm in tears.  DONE!  There's the moving of my spirit, no church needed.

Fast forward to a few years ago, when David and I found Truthway.  David became fast and instant friends with the pastor, and I found a message that I actually enjoyed.  The music was pretty good; most weekends I could really get into the spirit because he would sing modern, relevant music from my faves like Jeremy Camp, Kutless, Casting Crowns, Mercy Me ...  all was well.  Then, the pastor's life changed when he had an opportunity to move to a much bigger church as an associate pastor and we followed him, and our church experience turned into a great big Christian Rock concert.  It was great!  Soul stirring!  Dramatic!  I loved the head pastor (until I saw his true personality on the reality TV series he starred in).  Then, his preaching became hypocritical and melodramatic, and we were done with church again for awhile.

Fast forward to NOW.  No more musical requirements, just quality of preaching and a genuine spirit.  We found it in the first church we attended, Verity Baptist Church.  Small, mixed congregation (around 40 people, average).  Small building, young pastor with a wonderful wife and 3 small kids.  Personal attention ... and a message STRAIGHT from the bible.  No rabbit holes, no screaming of hellfire and brimstone, no "name it and claim it", just the cold, hard truth.  He LIVES the life he preaches about.  He has no TV, he doesn't do facebook, his wife homeschools the kids, they have daily family bible study, they sing together, and he has no idea who Jeremy Camp is.  What?

Pastor says if you want a rock concert, there's churches for that.  We sing hymns, and that isn't going to change, ever.  I don't mind.  I sing them.  Have I ever been moved to tears by a hymn?  Well, this one moved me to tears!   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMUplV73baA#t=323  But I don't think we're going to be having a performance like that at Verity, EVER.  Is wanting/needing that type of performance in my life every now and then wrong?  Pastor's music selection is hymns, that's it.  Mostly piano renditions of them.  I understand that modern Christian music is sometimes put out there by singers that couldn't make it in the Pop industry, so they changed to the Christian genre.  I like to believe I can FEEL when a song/singer is genuine.  When they're just singing the words, or when they FEEL and BELIEVE the words.  I like to think that all my favorites are genuine Christians that love God and live their life right.  The songs I DON'T like are the cutesy, pop sounding ones (Jamie Grace ... Imma 'bout to get my worship on?  UGH!).

Our church is moving to a bigger building ... attendance is up from the 40 or so, to regularly 70+, so we're outgrowing our space.  I guess someone had made a suggestion to "update" the music, because that's when he stood up and assured us that Verity is NOT changing, we will sing hymns, and if you want a rock concert, there's a church for that.  I appreciate the words.  I love having 20 minutes of singing (sitting down!) and an hour of feverish note taking.  But my soul HUNGERS for that amazing music.  I've never particularly loved "How Great Thou Art", because I've always found it to be somewhat repetitive and awkward, but the above listed Youtube video moved me to tears.  MORE tears the 2nd time I watched it!  It was incredible.  I wish there could be a happy medium between amazing, soul stirring worship, AND the truth straight from the bible.  I understand how Pastor can be somewhat "against" modern Christian recording artists; it's all about the all mighty dollar, just like any other recording artist.  BUT!  They're getting music out there that worships God, quotes the bible, and makes OLD hymns relevant to the masses.  Is that a bad thing?  I think there's room to modernize the music selection ... every once in awhile ... selectively ... right?  Or is there NO room for that in strict, traditional religious services?  Regardless, we're not changing.  We may just have to branch out once in awhile to take in some of that musical awesomeness. :)

Your weekly dose of scripture and motivation

Going healthy :)

Hello!  I am VERY pleased to report I did not cheat myself out of any exercise time this week and did my Insanity every single day like a good girl :)  Lunch has been an adventure!  Carrots, a "salad" of black beans/chick peas/mini corn/red onion/cucumber/italian dressing, yogurt, Kashi bar, string cheese, and a piece of fruit.  It's lots of "munchy" food and I get my crunch desire satisfied, but by the time dinner comes around I'm ready to eat, so not stuffing myself with too many calories.  I've traded in my wheat containing Cheerios for gluten free Rice Chex, and dinner is just whatever.  I wish I could cut out the wheat 100%, but I had to "go cheap" at the grocery store :(  I spent $75 at Bel Air last week on all my "healthy food" that didn't make a single 'dinner' meal, but did last me for lunch.  Spent $79 today at Winco foods and got 9 nights worth of dinner plus a few lunch items.  Sad, I know.  Also rode 3 times this week, so definitely got in some good moving around!

This morning was one of those days where I wondered where the message was heading.  We always begin service (after singing) with reading a full chapter of the Bible.  Today it was 2Kings Ch 7.  It's a slightly confusing story of men robbing a tent, people locked inside a city being offered a chance to buy flour, and a lord getting trampled at the end.  I thought it was going to be a sermon on the evils of Black Friday, lol!  No seriously, this just goes to show how good and focused Pastor Jimenez is.  He was able to develop the sermon, referring back often the Ch 7, and I got the point of the whole thing.  I think I told y'all that sometimes at the end of a church service, I would leave feeling somewhat confused.  Or even feeling as though I was just too stupid to get the point of the sermon.  So far, I've never felt that way at Verity, I always leave feeling like I learned something.

Basically, 2Kings7 is a story of a starving Israel locked inside the walls of a city.  In Deut28:52-57, God tells the Israelites they will be punished by a famine so severe, they will begin to eat their own children.  In 2Kings, this prophesy comes to pass.  It was because of their sins that they brought upon them this horrible, horrible famine.  In 2Kings6:26, a woman talks of how she actually killed and ate her son!  The people were desperate, and utterly hopeless.

The story relates to our modern life; how many of us have felt like our situation was completely hopeless?  You were totally desperate, unable to see a way out, maybe even contemplating suicide?  2 things to keep in mind; 1.  We don't know HOW God works.  2.  We don't know WHEN God works.  When life seems worthless and hopeless, God is always working on the other side.  He uses people that are in our lives, SINNERS, to help us through.  He uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary.  He brings us through our hard times in unexpected ways, and always in His own time.  We need to walk by FAITH, and NOT by sight.

Back to 2Kings7 ... 4 lepers decided to enter into the city after coming across a camp of Syrian soldiers and pilfering all their food.  The offer to sell flour and meat for a reasonable rate, just as God had said.  He used LEPERS, who were the blight of civilization back in biblical times to bring hope to the people of Israel.  The lepers took a risk, it worked out.  When YOU take a risk, when YOU take the first step, God will meet you there.  If you go to church and enjoy it, good for you.  Your life will not be fully blessed because you lack the faith to take it a step further.  You MUST grow in your journey as a Christian; share the gospel, invite people to church, give offering, tithe, get baptized, THEN you will begin to see your life be truly blessed.  Walk by Faith.

I've always loved "Walk by Faith" by Jeremy Camp.  That song was running through my head as the pastor went through the sermon today.  I'm so thankful that God is allowing me to open up and FINALLY grow in my own journey ... I'm 34 years old, and I rarely have ever openly talked about God, the Bible, or anything related to religion.  While I'm still not ready yet to go door to door and minister that way to people, I do bring it here to the blog.  I do give offering.  In January, we will begin to tithe even though it's going to hurt!  I have invited several co-workers to church even though they haven't come yet. I'm going to be faithful in my giving, faithful in my volunteering, and faithful in my faith and see where I'm at this time next year.  Looking forward to continuing to grow spiritually and always remembering that when things seem unmanageable, God is always working in unseen, unexpected ways.

The great transformation

The more I think about it, the more I believe we humans never really "Arrive".  The meaning of life is the journey we take, the constant molding and transforming of ourselves in the physical sense and in the spiritual sense.  Think about it!  How many times has your hairstyle changed?  Everything from our piercings/tattoos/hair/weight/plastic surgery ... is to make us FEEL something.  It's to express things we feel on the inside.  I certainly don't claim to know everything, or even CLOSE to everything, but I do feel it in my heart and soul that I am on the right path right now.  My mom can't really understand WHY California over Tennessee or Virginia.  I can't really explain it myself, just that I KNOW on a spiritual level that this is where I'm supposed to be right now in my life.  Maybe it was to bring our family in contact with Pastor Jimenez, I don't know!  All I DO know is we went 3 months with no jobs, all the time telling God that if he would just help us out, we'd find a church.  Well ... through a crazy round about way, we found a church and THEN the jobs came, BAM!  Me, then David in the space of a week.  Boggles my mind, still.

Sadly, David had to work today, but I feel moved to share this week's sermon.  I think it's one EVERYONE will be interested in:  Foolproof ways to have God answer your prayers.  What, did your ears perk up at that?  That's right, the Bible lays it all out in black and white HOW to have your prayers answered 100% of the time.  I have about 5 pages of notes, but I will paraphrase here:

First, you have to PRAY!  And I mean really connect and PRAY.  Second, you have to BELIEVE that your prayer can and will be answered.  If you pray with doubt in your heart, it will NOT happen.  Third, you have to pray in the NAME of Jesus.  By that, I mean you have to really truly connect and allow your heart to feel Him when you pray.  Fourth, you have to be asking for the right things.  Selfish, self serving prayers will go unanswered.  You have to pray within the wants of God.  Fifth, you have to BANISH the sins on your heart.  It's not hard; confess them to God!  Let go of all the "secret" sins that you hold onto, for if you don't you'll never have your prayers answered.  Sixth, you should share your faults with a Godly and righteous person, then ask them to pray with you.  This doesn't necessarily have to be your pastor, it can be an acquaintance that has the gift of the Holy Spirit.  "Faults" doesn't mean confessing your sins as if to a priest.  Simply get off your chest the things that you feel are burdening you!  There is power in group prayer!  Seventh, you need to make sure your life is Christ centered.  You can't be a child of the World, practicing Wiccan magic and going out and getting stoned every night and expect to just pray to God and have your prayers answered.  You have to live your life as an example to others.  Eighth, you must be PERSISTENT in your prayer.  Don't ask just once.  You can't give up, you must ask God for what you want over and over again until he answers you.  And finally, make sure you're right with your spouse.  If you and your spouse are in a hostile/bad relationship God will not hear you.  You have to fix what is wrong between you and your SO so you can be on the right track in your prayer life.

Like I said, serious paraphrase, but y'all get the general idea :)  For every single one of these points, there are 2 or 3 Bible verses backing them up.  It's so amazing the way Pastor Jimenez brings the Bible to light.  I went to Lifeway Christian store yesterday and finally bought a KJV bible.  I've had a NKJV for the past 20 years, and had no idea how it has subtly changed key words and phrases to have a TOTALLY different meaning than the "regular" KJV.  Like I said, I believe God has brought us to where we are right now for many different reasons, but the primary one is the spiritual growth we are experiencing.  Kody and I went alone today; that is the FIRST time I have EVER gone to church sans the hubby.  Makes me feel good!

Catching up!

Mt Lassen!

Well, I've been working on experiencing life the past 2 weeks, sorry I haven't blogged so much :)  Had quite a lot going on, so I've been fairly busy.  My awesome SIL Stef came out last week; it was amazing.  She was SO happy to be out here, I didn't get to pick her up at the airport, but I heard she cried when she saw David and Kody;)  Sadly, the Saturday she was here fell on a Saturday I had to work, so they got up SUPER early and drove south to LA for the day.  That was fine with me because I'm not all that enamored with So Cal.  I mean, I like San Diego, but that's about it.  I'm all about my gorgeous Nor Cal!  So, I worked (and had a HORRIBLE day), but on Sunday we got to go back to Lassen volcano, and we found us a new state park to go in with this AMAZING waterfall.  It was so darn beautiful, AND we got to hike a teeny little mile long trail, yay :)  Steffie  and the boys aren't so keen on hiking, so I was grateful the trail wasn't too intense for them.  From there, we went to Redding and walked through Turtle Bay and the Sundial bridge.

Kody got baptized today!  I'm so proud of him :)  He was ready to do it, and he was super excited about it.  Praise God!  I was actually quite disappointed to miss out on church last Sunday, but when Stef comes back over Christmas, she will be here a little over a week, so we will get to take her to church.  We just had so far to drive on Sunday, we couldn't fit it in.  Today was great, as usual.  We were talking about "once saved, always saved", but you should still live a "good" life because even though you may GO to heaven, if you don't live right you won't have much when you get there.  Interesting as always!

David's birthday was Friday, and we went to dinner last night out in Roseville where he works.  He works in a REALLY nice shopping center, and it was just awesome to spend some time enjoying the gorgeous weather and the great company.  We ate at a restaurant called the Yard House, and we fully enjoyed it.  Definitely on our list to go back to.  From there we went to the mall and wandered around a little bit, and today has just been church/chill day.  I went to the park and ran 6 miles again.  Boy, it was WINDY; gusts up to 30 mph.  My hands were FREEZING by the time I got home.  I ran a little further than last time.  2 weeks ago, I alternated walk/run each mile, so I ran 3/walked 3.  Today, I ran 3 in a row, walked one, then ran one, then walked the last so I actually ran 4/walked 2 yay me!

Ok, here's what I'm going to do.  I intend to post a pic of me in an outfit I want to look GOOD in.  My favorite jeans (when they fit) and a white t shirt.  My jeans are so tight they gave me an ugly muffin top.  So, to keep me accountable, I'm posting my pics of me in that outfit.  HOPEFULLY I will look better in it by next month.  It worked the first time, so hopefully it will work now.

Eww.  Nice muffin top!

Making those seams scream:(

Side never looks quite as bad

Alrighty then!  A month from now, that should look MUCH better.  I know myself.  I HAVE to have accountability.  Posting these pics holds me accountable.  When I don't do that, I don't care.  I do NOT want to be like a wonderful person I know.  She was pretty overweight, no big deal.  Went on a diet, lost SO much weight, she looked absolutely amazing; like a completely different person.  In fact, she was one of my inspirations for losing my weight!  Fast forward a year; I've lost 45 lbs and look so much better.  I see this person, and she's right back to where she was :(  She tells me, Hey!  You look great!  Don't be like me; I lost 60 lbs, then gained 80!  Sad.  I don't want to do that.  I got RID of all my fat clothes, I REFUSE to buy fat clothes again.  I know I may gain some, but I CAN and WILL lose it again.  The key is moderation, and awareness of the problem.  I have to jump on it as soon as I sense the weight creeping on (like now).  Small goals.  Keep active.  Cut the sugar (again).  Smaller portions.  I can do this, and I will do this!  Love y'all, will post again sooner than 2ish weeks, I promise.:)  Have a great week!

New World Order

*Caution:  This one's a novel!*

Well, mind blown.  Again.  Seems like every time I set foot in church, I learn something new.  What I learned today is so amazing, I'm going to actually transcribe some notes Pastor Jimenez gave us today.  The sermon is in regards to how different versions of the Bible are propagating the Anti-Christ's New World Order.  We all know there's about 7 different versions of the Bible other than King James.  They've all been put out there to make it more "simple" to understand the Word of God.  I admit ... I have one of those versions.  I have the New King James Version, which I thought simply removed all the "doth", "thee", and "whilst" and made it a little easier to understand what God is trying to say.  Needless to say, I will be investing in a new bible.

1.  1Timothy 3:16
*KJV:  And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:  God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

*New American Standard Bible (NASB):  By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:  He who was revealed in the flesh, was vindicated in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Proclaimed among the nations, Believed on in the world, Taken up in glory.

*New International Version (NIV):  Beyond all question, the mystery from which true godliness springs is great:  He appeared in the flesh,was vindicated by the Spirit, was seen by angels, was preached among the nations, was believed on in the world, was taken up in glory.

*New Living Translation (NLT):  Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith:  Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit.  He was seen by angels and announced to the nations.  He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.

*English Standard Version (ESV):  Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:  He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated by the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.

!What does all this mean?  The KJV tells us that GOD was manifest in the flesh.  We all know that, right?  Jesus is God's fleshly body.  These other "more modern" versions are setting us up to believe in the anti-christ, because "He" can be any man.  I think I got that right.  Pastor explained it better I think, but y'all get the drift;)

2.  Luke 2:33
*KJV:  And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

*NASB:  And His father and mother were amazed at the things which were being said about Him.

*NIV:  The childs's father and mother marveled at what was said about him.

*NLT:  Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about him.

*ESV:  And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.

!What are these passages referring to?  Well, the birth of Jesus.  We all know that Mary is Jesus' mother, but Joseph is NOT the father of Jesus, GOD is. Mary was a virgin!  And Joseph is NOT God.  KJV is the only bible that correctly references the relationship of Mary and Joseph to Jesus.

3.  John 1:18
*KJV:  No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.

*ESV:  No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known.

!Jesus is God's son, and was seen on earth.  God has never been seen on earth, except as Jesus.

4.  Matthew 7:14
*KJV:  Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.

*NKJV:  Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way, which leads to life, and there are few who find it.

*NLT:  But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.

*ESV:  For the gate is narrow and way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

!This passage is telling you how to get to heaven.  Honestly, it is extremely simple to get to heaven.  You don't have to repent, you don't have to go to confession, you don't have to live like a monk, you don't have to WORK at it.  You simply must BELIEVE that Jesus died on the cross for your sins.  The way is NOT difficult, it is easy.  But yes, it is straight and narrow.  There is only ONE way to get to heaven, and that is through belief in Jesus and God.  Satan will have you believe going to heaven is so hard, you shouldn't even try.

5.  Mark 10:24
*KJV:  And the disciples were astonished at his words.  Jut Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!

*NASB:  The disciples were amazed at His words.  But Jesus *answered again and *said to them, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

*NIV:  The disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God!

*NLT:  This amazed them.  But Jesus said again, "Dear children, it is very hard to enter the kingdom of God.


*ESV:  And the disciples were amazed at his words.  But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how difficult it is to enter the kingdom of God!

!The KJV passage refers to the fact that "rich people" have a harder time making it to heaven.  God said that money is the root of all evil, and that rich people will have a harder time believing in God and going to heaven.  Note how all the alternate bible versions omit the part about "riches".  They say that in GENERAL is hard to get to Heaven.  That just isn't true.  The New World Order will rely on rich and powerful people to help the agenda get going.

1 Corinthians 1:18

*KJV:  For the preaching of the cross is to them, that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

*NKJV:  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

*NASB:  For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

*NIV:  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.


*NLT:  The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction!  But we who are being saved we know it is the very power of God.

*ESV:  For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

!If you believe, you ARE saved.  You are not saved by WORKS.  You are not saved through having to "live right", you are saved by BELIEF in God.  If you believe, you ARE saved, not in the process of BEING saved.

John 3:36

*KJV:  He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life:  and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

*NASB:  He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.

*NLT:  And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life.  Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgement.

*ESV:  Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall  not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

!Clear as Lake Tahoe, right?  KJV states that if you BELIEVE, you are saved.  If you BELIEVE NOT, you shall incur God's wrath.  Nowhere in the KJV bible does it state you must obey.  You SHOULD obey, you SHOULD live your life as God says to do, but it is not a requirement for you to get to heaven.

Still with me?  I've got more!

Colossians 1:14

*KJV:  in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

*NASB:  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins

*NIV:  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins

*NLT:  who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.

*ESV:   in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins

!Um, it is the BLOOD of Jesus Christ that gives us the promise of everlasting life after our earthly death.

Isaiah 14:12

*KJV:  How art thou fallen, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!

*NASB:  How you have fallen from heaven, O star of the morning, son of the dawn!  You have been cut down to the earth, You who have weakened the nations!

*NIV:  How you have fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning!  You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world.

*ESV:  How you are fallen from heaven, O Day Star, son of Dawn!  How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low!

!Wow.  Just wow.  Lucifer, Satan, is cast out of heaven.  The "modified" versions of the bible are blatantly telling you JESUS was cast out of heaven.  Jesus is identified in Revelations as the morning star, NOT Satan.  Satan is the son of the morning, not the STAR of the morning.  Small changes, BIG context change.

Luke 4:8

*KJV:  And Jesus answered and said unto him, "Get thee behind me Satan:  for it is written, Thou shalt worhip the Lord thy god, and him only shalt thou serve".

*NASB:  Jesus answered him, "It is written, You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only".

*NIV:  Jesus answered, "It is written:  'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.'"

*NLT:  Jesus replied, "The Scriptures say, 'You must worship the Lord your God and serve only him.'"

*ESV:  And Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.'"

!Jesus is telling Satan to go away!  Get behind him!  YOU (meaning SATAN) will worship the Lord, and only Him.  The new versions say nothing about Satan, paving the way for the Anti-christ to step in and proclaim that the masses should worship him as the false prophet.

Hebrews 9:10

*KJV:  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

*NIV:  There are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings-external regulations applying until the time of the new order.

!Pretty clear, huh?

Acts 8:36-38

*KJV:  {36} And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water:  and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized?  {37}And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.  And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.  {38} And he commanded the chariot to stand still:  and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him.

*NIV:   {36} As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water.  What can stand in the way of my being baptized? {37} {38} And he gave orders to stop the chariot.  Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

*NLT:  {36} As they rode along, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "Look!  There's some water!  Why can't I be baptized?"  {38} He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water and Philip baptized him.

*ESV:  {36} And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, "See, here is water!  What prevents me from being baptized?  {38} And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.

!Hello!  Notice anything?  A missing verse maybe?  And the versions even let you KNOW they're leaving it out.  This is again telling you  that your belief in Jesus being God's son is how you're saved.  The AC's agenda is to make it seem hard and difficult to get to heaven so that Satan can have more souls at the end of the Tribulation.  Unbelievable.

2 Samuel 21:19

*KJV:  And there was a battle in Gob with the Philistines, where Elhanan the son of Jaareoregim, a Bethlehemite, slew the BROTHER of Goliath the Gittite, the staff of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

*NASB:  There was a war with the Philistines again at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite killed Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's bean.

*ESV:  And there was again war with the Philistines at Gob, and Elhanan the son of Jaare-oregim the Bethlehemite struck down Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver's beam.

!Pastor called these passages "dumb".  It is common knowledge that David killed Goliath.  These "new" translations of the bible are telling you in black and white that this Elhanan, a Bethlehemite, killed Goliath, when in fact the boy killed Goliath's BROTHER.  Dumb indeed.

1 Samuel 13:1

*KJV:  Saul reigned one year; and when he had reigned 2 years over Isreael,

*ESV:  Saul lived for one year and then became king, and when he had reigned for 2 years over Israel,

!Huh?  Saul was king as a one year old?  Lol.

Mark 1:2,3

*KJV:  {2} As it is written in the prophets (quote from Malachi) "Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee". {3} (quote from Isaiah) "The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight."

*NASB:  {2} As it is written in Isaiah the prophet: (quote from Malachi) "Behold, I send My messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;"

*NIV:  {2} as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:  (quote from Malachi) "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"

*NLT:  {2} just as the prophet Isaiah had written:  (quote from Malachi) "Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, and he will prepare your way."

*ESV:  {2} As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, (quote from Malachi) "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way",

!What??  The new translations MISQUOTE THE BIBLE!  They cite the quotations from Isaiah, but they're actually from Malachi.  Kind of a big deal, don't you think?  Obviously, these are only a SMALL sample of the vast differences in translations, but I'm certainly convinced.  Are you?  Things are making SO much sense to me right now, Pastor Jimenez makes it crystal clear what Satan's agenda is, and I for one have no desire to fall prey to Satan and Hell.  I want to live my everlasting life in heaven, with my family, and in paradise.  I have no desire to live in a literal hell for all of eternity, so I'm making sure to listen and pay attention to what I need to do here on earth.  My very first personal purchase I make for myself once our paychecks start coming in will be a KJV bible.  I thought my New KJV was harmless, but even it isn't exempt from Anti-christ agendas.  Satan is looking to systematically eliminate God from our world ... it's a scary thought that Pastors are using and preaching from these alternate translations of the bible when they're SO CLEARLY changing things around to suit the needs of those looking to lead you down the WRONG path.  Food for thought!