Truth

I have failed up until now to mention the biggest, most important thing that is going on in Jesse’s life & mine! And that involves all of the things God is teaching us and the ministry opportunities He has opened up for us.

In July, our pastor presented us with a flyer and a letter describing a seminar that would take place 2 months later. As I read through the letter, I knew immediately that this was something I wanted to be a part of. Even greater than that, though, our pastor gave it to us requesting that Jesse and I go on behalf of our church, and the church would pay our way. Jesse was home nursing his pulled hamstring that day, but as soon as I saw him, I told him all about the seminar and he was in quick agreement that he wanted to go as well.

There was a mini presentation, free of cost, that same week, of what the seminar in the following months would entail. My mom and aunt joined Jesse and I in attending this presentation. By the time it was over, we were so excited about what the seminar contained that we weren’t sure if we could wait the 2 months to attend it!

So, what was this seminar that had us all so excited about anyways? In short, the idea is looking at the world with a Biblical perspective. George Barna leads a group of researchers who conduct studies in various topics of Christianity. He defined a Biblical worldview as: believing that absolute moral truths exist; that such truth is defined by the Bible; and firm belief in six specific religious views. Those views were that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life; God is the all-powerful and all-knowing Creator of the universe and He stills rules it today; salvation is a gift from God and cannot be earned; Satan is real; a Christian has a responsibility to share their faith in Christ with other people; and the Bible is accurate in all of its teachings.

In his inquiries, he discovered that only 4% of the United States held this thinking. And when he surveyed just born again Christians, this number only rose to 9% who held a Biblical worldview. By the way, “born again” is defined by Barna as saying yes to the question, “Have you ever made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in your life today?” and then choosing “When I die, I will go to Heaven because I have confessed my sins and have accepted Jesus Christ as my savior,” out of the 7 given choices.

You may not think that having a Biblical worldview makes much of a difference in our culture, but his research then went on to show that a person’s worldview deeply impacts their views on morally acceptable behavior. When compared to those without a Biblical worldview, those who did have one were 31 times less likely to accept living together without being married (2% versus 62%), 18 times less likely to endorse drunkenness (2% versus 36%), 15 times less likely to condone gay sex (2% versus 31%), 12 times less likely to accept profanity (3% versus 37%), and 11 times less likely to describe adultery as morally acceptable (4% versus 44%). In addition, less than one-half of one percent of those with a biblical worldview said voluntary exposure to pornography was morally acceptable (compared to 39% of other adults) and a similarly miniscule proportion endorsed abortion (compared to 46% of adults who lack a biblical worldview).

Among the more intriguing lifestyle differences were the lesser propensity for those with a biblical worldview to gamble (they were eight times less likely to buy lottery tickets and 17 times less likely to place bets); to get drunk (three times less likely); and to view pornography (two times less common). They were also twice as likely to have discussed spiritual matters with other people in the past month and twice as likely to have fasted for religious reasons during the preceding month. While one out of every eight adults who lack a biblical worldview had sexual relations with someone other than their spouse during the prior month, less than one out of every 100 individuals who have such a worldview had done so. Adults who have a biblical worldview possessed a somewhat different demographic profile than those who did not. For instance, individuals who attended college were much more likely than those who did not to have this perspective (6% versus 2%, respectively). Married adults were more than twice as likely as adults who had never been wed to hold such a worldview (5% versus 2%). Whites (5%) were slightly more likely than either blacks (3%) or Hispanics (3%) to hold this ideology. One of the largest gaps was between Republicans (10% of whom had a biblical worldview), Independents (2%) and Democrats (1%).

No wonder our country is suffering so much! So, the seminar itself was a quick overview of this whole teaching of getting back to the truth of the Bible- everything smashed into a 6 hour lesson. As part of the seminar, each attendee (or couple) received a 13 hour DVD set which contained the lessons in full to take back and lead small groups with. The idea is that those who attend the small groups will become small group leaders of their own and the number of people who go through the teachings will multiply exponentially- allowing the truth to spread, impacting people by the thousands. Really! By the thousands! There were 30,000 people all across the United States who attended the first seminar. Imagine how many people are receiving these lessons if even only half of those people led groups of 10-12 people!!!

Since attending this seminar, Jesse has begun to go through a daily devotional based on the same teachings. He is learning so much from it. And, as a family, we are watching each video lesson, preparing for the groups that we hope to lead by November. There is already talk of Jesse and I teaching a Sunday School class for teenagers at our church in the next few months. Our lessons would be based on these principals, but without using the full videos because it would probably be too much for them to handle. We would invite any of them to dig deeper into it, though, by coming to our small group at our house where we would go extensively through the videos.

Jesse and I have felt for the past year that God is calling us towards a ministry with teenagers, specifically. About 3 years ago, I heard a statistic (also by George Barna’s research) that predicted that only 4% of the teenagers of this generation would be Christians in their adulthood. The numbers have been declining for decades, and it is very clear how much our country has changed morally in these years. These current teenagers are literally the future of our country. They will be our doctors, our lawyers, our police officers, our politicians, and our teachers. If only 4% call God their Lord and Savior, can you imagine the way it would turn our country upside down?! The mass majority of people have made up their mind about God by their 21st birthday. That isn’t to say there is no chance of God intervening in their lives at ANY age, but statistics show that the numbers drop dramatically after that. This means that we have 5 years to reach those who are in the midst of this bracket- the 15 to 16 year olds. 5 years isn’t a lot of time to reach a generation… At the time I heard this, I was working with middle schoolers in an after-school program. I witnessed everyday how few believed in God and how the biggest impression they had of church was that it was boring. Even those who professed God’s name, struggled with peer pressure to cuss, to lie, or to do drugs or sleep around. I realized the intense need to reach these kids. Sadly, the truth is that church usually is boring and that the Christians around them are often failing to show them how awesome a faith in God really is- to show them how to stand firm in their faith despite the pressure all around. So, it is my heart’s desire to design creative ways to engage teenagers in God’s word- through art, through movies, through skits, through music, through testimonies, all together. When they recognize that there is not a direction you can travel in which God has not spoken, the effects will be profound!

In the meanwhile, I believe that God uses the difficult situations you have been through to guide others who are currently going through them. And, because of Jesse’s struggle as a Christian and football player- the jock mentality of partying, profanity, and messing around with girls- I believe he has a GREAT opportunity to coach other young men as they try to live out their faith on the field. He could lead groups of Christian athletes mentoring them through high school and/or college.

As we begin the Truth Project, we are excited because we believe God is paving the way to take us through an amazing ministry. Our home will soon be a gathering place for teenagers to get real with God. We believe that we can be used to impact this generation and we feel blessed beyond measure that God wants to use us.

Wildlife Safari

I realized that I didn't tell anyone about our most recent family adventure. Since we don't do things this cool very often, and have some great pictures to show from it, I wanted to post it.

After going to a place with some great waterfalls with some friends, my brother David wanted the four us (himself, me & Jesse, and our mom) to take a trip to the same place, thinking we'd enjoy it a lot. As the weekend approached, though, the weather wasn't looking favorable. There was going to be much hiking around these falls, and things were shaping up to be cold and rainy. We still really wanted to do something fun, though, and somewhere in the brainstorming, the idea of going to Wildlife Safari was tossed around. Jesse was the only one of us who had ever been there, but he was so young that he didn't remember anything about it. We all love animals and are especially fascinated by reall exotic ones like giraffes and tigers. The idea of being able to drive through the park and have the animals walk up to your car sounded awesome, although we were all a bit leery if it was too good to be true. We made the 2 hour drive to Winston, Oregon and drove down the long driveway to the park. The expense of 4 adults passes can add up to quite a bit, but is worth it because of the cool animals you see, and because you can drive through twice for that one price.

The only rules were that you had to roll up your windows during the bear exhibit, not stopping (since bears are very curious and could easily come up to your car and snatch things out of your window) and you couldn't feed any of the animals. Otherwise, you were able to take your time and see the animals as much as you wanted.

For those who have never been there, the park is a huge area of land, and each section is surrounded mostly by fences. Each section is so large, though, that you don't really feel enclosed in any space. And the fences are left open between most areas allowing you to drive freely from one place to the next. The animals are kept in their areas by cattle guards where the fences are open, but many animals inter-mingle with each other. There are some hut-like things in the fields that allow the animals to graze and get shelter (just like at the zoo) and the roads are gravel giving you a path to follow as you drive through. Some of the more dangerous animals are kept behind fences which don't allow you to drive through. These include the wildcats like tigers, lions, and cheetahs, and the black bears and the elephants, to name a few.

There were some cool experiences we had:

While driving through the first time, the Siberian tigers had just laid there with very little action. However, the 2nd drive through, we watched one dive into the pool of water. And then, just as quickly, something got its attention and it leaped out of the water and sprinted to the edge of the cage, pacing as it eyed whatever it was. It was just cool to see this massive tiger lunge like it did, while remaining only about 10 feet away from us.

Also, while some animals keep their distance a bit, the buffalos were sitting in the middle of the road, with only enough room to barely drive your car through. If you see the picture below with the great big head of the buffalo, that was looking at me through my driver's window. The picture is not zoomed in. It really was that close! I also learned at this moment that buffalos are disgusting creatures. We saw them hacking up hairballs, peeing and pooping all in that bit of the exhibit. They stink and their hair is all matted, and the flies buzz all around them. I suppose that they're just living their buffalo life and I wouldn't want people gawking at me all of the time while I try to live my life. Despite how repulsive I felt that they were, I was still amazed by their grand size and how close they were to me, merely inches away!

The coolest thing of all, though, was seeing the giraffes. Giraffes are my mom's favorite animals. She has a wide assortment of them all around her room, from stuffed animals to wooden carvings to pictures on the wall. She just thinks they are really neat animals. During the drive through them, she sat turned towards the window with both hands over the edge of it, like a little child excited to see her favorite animal up close and personal. We sat and watched them longer than any other animal. During the first drive, we were just intrigued by their behavior, as one ate from a tree and the other licked the top of the hut's tin roof. The licking was really weird to us because we didn't understand what it was trying to taste, and the way its tongue reached out and bent underneath its chin was odd. During our 2nd drive through, though, the giraffes made their ways from the hut further away to walking right alongside our car, no more than 10 feet away. When they were so close, the sheer scale of how big they really are became more obvious. We sat, fascinated by their lanky bodies and the texture of their fur and the ways their necks bent with each step. And, truthfully, each of us was hoping one would put his head right up to our window. But after about 10 mins of lingering near our car, they began to walk back up the hill to graze some more. By far, the coolest part of the day. And, I was so excited for my mom to experience such a neat moment with her favorite animal.

After you finished the drive through the safari, you could park your car and go through their little wildlife village. Here, they had some animals in large glass enclosures like screech owls and snakes. They had cafes where you could eat and look out at the monkeys swinging below. There were gift shops with the cutest stuffed animals that cost nearly as much as going through the park and seeing the real thing! And there was a petting zoo with llamas and tiny baby goats that you could feed for a quarter.

We had such a great time! I used up my entire memory card on my camera, my battery died, and then I bought a disposable camera just to keep taking pictures. We stopped for ice cream in a little town on the way back that was supposed to have really good ice cream. I'm not sure what was supposed to be so great about it except that it had more unusual flavors than most ice cream stands. What we all got, though, tasted very good!

A great way to spend our Saturday. Here are a few of the pics to show you what I mean:

For Shalene

I got tagged. So here's my answers :-)

Eight T.V. shows I love to watch:
1. Heroes
2. Biggest Loser
3, America’s Got Talent
4. The Office5. Survivor
6. John & Kate Plus 8
7. Any home decorating show
8. The Amazing Race

Eight things that happened yesterday:
1. Went to work
2. Decorated the bulletin board at work
3. Came home from work
4. Talked to Jesse about the things God is teaching us
5. Watched TV
6. Ate dinner
7. My brother came over and hung out with us
8. Spent time with my husband

Eight favorite places to eat:
1. Chili’s
2. Red Robin
3. Jung’s Mongolian Grill
4. Olive Garden
5. Little Mexico (in Texas)
6. Wendy’s
7. Jack-in-the-Box
8. Aquilla & Pricilla’s

Eight Things I am looking forward to:
1. Seeing how God develops a ministry for me & Jesse
2. Starting the Truth Project Bible study
3. Celebrating the upcoming holidays
4. Mine & Jesse’s birthdays
5. Pay day
6. Finishing our house to be exactly how we want it
7. Having excess money to spend
8. Seeing where God takes us in our lives

Eight things on my wish list:
1. To get pregnant
2. A diamond anniversary band
3. A backyard with a patio, fence, and BBQ
4. A dining room table
5. New clothes
6. For the effects my recent lean eating & workout regiment to start showing
7. To go on vacation
8. To know what career path God wants for me to take

Eight people that i tag:
Everyone I know that blogs on here has already done this before, except for Becky Gunderson. So you’re up Becky.

Blogs

In addition to this blog, for those who are interested in reading the journey that Jesse and I are going through in trying to have a baby and in infertility, I have created an additional blog:

http://our-hearts-desire.blogspot.com/

Make sure to read the disclaimer at the top and the important information in the side bar to help you determine if this is something you want to read up on and know about and to help you to understand everything.

Life & Death

Today marks the 16 year anniversary of the death of Jesse's mom, Debbie. He was only 5 years old when she passed away. Jesse has very little memory of his mom. He was so young when it happened. But he often thinks of what he missed out by not having a mom in his life. Growing up with a single dad most of his young years and a strict step-mother his later years makes him wonder how his life would've been different with his mom there. And I, too, wonder what she was like. I think how much Jesse takes after her in his mannerisms and appearance, and think about what kind of mother-in-law she would be.

Last Sunday, Jim (Jesse's dad) took me & Jesse, and Michael & Kaela and their family to the grave site. He described to us what it was like to come just days before his wife's death and pick out the grave for her. In shock, in tears, and in the pouring rain, he sat underneath a nearby tree and contemplated why he was there. Since then, Jim shared with us the ways that he has seen God use the tragedy for his good. Before she was going to die, Debbie had no relationship with God, but in those last days, she accepted Christ as her Savior. Jim still could not accept that relationship for years to come, but through the consistent prayers of family members, Jim came to have a relationship with God years later. Now, Jim can say with confidence that God loved him and his kids so much that He was willing to take away his wife in order to bring him to a relationship with God. This declaration of God's love was the very reason Jim wanted to bring his sons there with their families. He wanted to remind them to carry the legacy of God's love to their wives and kids.

Despite the weather previously being nice, I stood there under the same tree Jim did years earlier, in the pouring rain, with tears streaming down my face and with my arms wrapped tightly around my husband. I couldn't imagine losing him the way my father-in-law lost his spouse, and it brings tears to my eyes now just thinking about it. However, it only convicts me stronger to embrace every day I have with him. Life is too short to worry about petty arguments and trivial problems. And while it's so easy to think that we are all invincible and that death is decades away, the truth is that you never know how long you'll be here.

It's sad that it often takes a death to remind us what life is all about, but I am comforted by God's sovereignty- to know that He's got a bigger purpose in mind behind even the most difficult things we go through.


(Jesse in his mom's arms)


(The whole family when Jesse was about 3)


(Her site at the cemetary)