Presidential Voter's Guide

Why we don't celebrate Halloween

This is what I posted last year about halloween but it still pertains this year. I wrote below to do some research yourself on the origins of halloween and here is a link to my friends blog who has done some research already for you.

My aim is never to offend anyone, we all have to do what we feel is right for our own family and what the Lord is leading us to do. I do pray that if the Lord wants to use what I right on this blog to spur another person on, that the person be willing to receive it. You may take what I write and throw it out the window and may even think I am nutty or you may earnestly pray and see what the Lord would have you do. Either way, please know that my heart is pure in my desire to see others brought closer to the Lord and I love sharing what the Lord is doing in our lives. I also want a written account of my life to share with my children when they are older and they are wanting to remember what their mother and family was like.

Blessings to you all!






(Sorry this is sideways. It would take another 15 minutes to try to figure out how to turn it, so this is how it will stay!)

I get asked this often around this time of year, so here are my thoughts.
I believe that we, as Christians, are to be innocent of all evil and are called to be set apart from the world. We have to stand out in some bold way! Yes, it's fun to dress up in costumes and get candy, but if my children look and act exactly like every other child, then we are not shining our light for an ungodly world. If you leave it at costumes and candy, then there's really not an arguement. But, if you research the history behind Halloween (i recommend it) and it's roots in devil worship, how can a Christian even consider giving Satan glory by particapating in this "holiday?"


My children are not deprived by missing out on this event. They dress up in costumes on a regular basis and eat candy way too often. At this young age, their hearts are so tender and moldable that I can not subject them to so many images of death, evil, witchcraft, sorcery and not expect them to remember it and be affected by it. An image can never be erased once it is in your mind. As parents, we are responsible for what they see, learn, and hear. I take my job as a mother very seriously and don't want to look back with regret that I didn't do all i was able to protect them. To keep them innocent of all evil, i have to shield them from evil, including the movies they watch, the people they are around, the toys they play with, and who is allowed to influence their thinking.


This is where the Lord has us right now and it's not the same for every family. If the opportunity arises, when my children are older, to help at a festival to lead others the Christ, then we will participate. This year we celebrated October 31st just as any other beautiful day the Lord had made by roasting hotdogs and smores over a fire pit with our friends.


When ever i start to doubt they way the Lord has us doing things, i remind myself, "Our purpose is to please God, not people." 1 Thessalonians 2:4

Texas Voters-

For those of you who are fellow Texas voters, here is a link to a list of candidates that support homeschooling put out by the Texas Home School Coalition Political Action Committee. If you are unsure of who to vote for in certain races, just print this list and take it with you to vote.

As a homeschooling family, our rights are at stake this election if we don't elect pro-homeschooling candidates. Even if you don't homeschool, please consider voting for these candidates too. We all have the choice at this point to homeschool or not, but if this election does not go in our favor, we may be stripped of the right to choose to homeschool or be extremely limited in how we do it.


http://www.thscpac.org/thscpac/endorsements.html

I just checked the link above and it doesn't work. Just click on www.thscpac.org then click on endorsed and it should be there.

What is your Legacy?

What is the legacy you will leave? What will people remember about you?

I think about this often, especially when i think about my husband and children.

Will my husband remember a wife that loved and cared for him? Will he see a picture of me as the young, beautiful (to him) wife of his youth? Will he remember the way i loved, nurtured, and cared for his children? Will he remember me as a keeper at home and a fruitful vine throughout his house? Will I be remembered as his best friend and help meet?

What will my children remember about their mother? Did I love them, teach them, and comfort them enough? Will they remember all the hugs and kisses and not all the swats? Will they remember me always being there for them and sacrificing myself just as Jesus did? Will the image in their minds be one of a femine woman who loved the Lord, her husband, and her children? Will their overall memory of me be that i was a picture to them of how God loves them and cares for them?



All of these things are good and important and ones that I do hope they remember them about me. But, more than anything else, I pray that they remember that I loved and served the Lord with all of my heart. That I read my Bible daily and was always growing and learning how to be a better wife and mother. That I imparted to them the love of their Heavenly Father that is better than any material thing on this earth. That He will always be there for them, even when I am long gone.

I am not perfect. I make mistakes and sin just like everyone else. I do not claim to have this life all figured out. I just take it one day at a time and constantly ask the Lord to guide me and help my though each day. I pray for peace and wisdom many times a day just so i can get through it. But that's it, I can't get through it by myself, I have to surrender my plans to the Lord. Whenever i try to do anything in my own strength, I fail and mess up. He is the only reason I can be the wife and mother I hope to be. He is the reason why I am here today.

Everyday we have a choice to be one thing or another in the eyes of those watching us. I pray, with God's help, that I will be remembered by all of the right side words below. We all have the same choices to make. Will we show ourselves to be:

Selfish or selfless?

Material or eternal?

Greedy or giving?

Faithless or faithful?

Arrogent or humble?

Fearful or peaceful?

Angry or joyful?

Hateful or loving?

Rushed or patient?

Rough or gentle?

What will your legacy be?????
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This song has captured the essence of what I want my legacy to be. Nothing earthly, that moths and rust destroy, but that I blessed Jesus's name unapologetically!

I hope you can hear the song with the slide show above. Here are the words in case you can't!

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father!
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Legacy by Nichole Nordeman




I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me

And I enjoy an accolade like the rest

And you can take my picture and hang it in a gallery

Of all the Who's Who's and So-and-So's

That used to be the best at such and such

It wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights

We all need an "Atta boy" or "Atta girl"

But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides

The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy

How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love?

Did I point to You enough

To make a mark on things

I want to leave an offering

A child of mercy and grace

Who blessed Your name unapologetically

And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile

To make a lengthy list of all that I enjoy

It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile

Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

I want to leave a legacy

How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love?

Did I point to You enough

To make a mark on things

I want to leave an offering

A child of mercy and grace

Who blessed Your name unapologetically

And leave that kind of legacy

Not well-traveled, not well-read

Not well-to-do, or well-bred

Just want to hear instead

Well done, good and faithful one

I want to leave a legacy

How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love?

Did I point to You enough

To make a mark on things

I want to leave an offering

A child of mercy and grace

Who blessed Your name unapologetically

And leave that kind of legacy

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me

Last Day to Register to Vote!

Today is the last day to register to vote. You can still do it if you print the form online and it is post marked with today's date.

Go to www.votexas.org to print a form.

We all need to exercise our freedom to vote. Even if you don't care about all this stuff, it can and will affect your children one day so just do it for them!

Here's a couple of other websites:

www.sos.state.tx.us

www.brazosvotes.org

Children are a Gift from the Lord!

Wow- I am again so blessed by what Nancy Campbell has to say. Even though we only have 4 children I get the many of the questions she lists below all the time. My favorite response to "You have your hands full" is "I'd rather have them full than empty!" This usually catches most people off guard and they respond "I guess you're right."

It's always my goal to have strangers look at us and ask themselves "what is different about them?" Oh, they may think we look different, dress different, act different....but hopefully what lingers in their mind is that something is different, and that is my point! We are called to be different from our culture. Romans 12:2 says, "Do not copy the behaviors and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think." We are to purposely be different. When we dress like everyone one else, how can they see Christ in our lives. Unfortunately today, the way women dress is very unmodest and masculine. We have to look different from them. For me, that means wearing a longer skirt and not too tight shirt. It may be something else for you, but either way, we must not copy the worldly way of dressing. 1 Timothy 2:9-10 says this about the way women dress, "I want women to be modest in their appearance. They should wear decent and appropriate clothing and not draw attention to themselves by the way they fix their hair or by wearing gold or pearls or expensive clothes. For women who claim to be devoted to God should make themselves attractive by the good things they do."
There are many more areas that we can purposely look different from this world. Ask the Lord to show you the areas you may need to change and he will!

I love this quote from Evangeline Howard, who just happens to be one of Mrs. Campbells daughters.
"Freedom mothering...it's not about getting out of it, it's about getting into it! Taking the world for Christ one birth at a time!"

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DISARMING THE GAINSAYERS

Zechariah 8:12 (NLT), "I believe, therefore have I spoken."


"Who am I? Have you sighed these words on your difficult mothering days?

It's a good question, for if you don't know who you are, you will flounder in life. Fortunately, it's not a hard question to answer. God created you uniquely, like nobody else on earth, with special gifts that no one else has. But, transcendentally, you are a mother. You have an inborn urge to nurture. If you don't want to mother children, you will find yourself mothering something else, maybe your pet dog or cat. It is distinctive to us as females.

God created you with a womb and with breasts to nurture and nourish life. Why not embrace who you are? Be the best at who God created you to be instead of running from it. Start enjoying it. Disarm the feminists! Disown the lies! Destroy the deceptions and delight in motherhood.

How? By exploding with joy. You have the privilege of bringing children into the world for God's purposes, children who will live forever. By telling the world you are proud to be a mother. Away with inferiority that's a lie! Away with feeling insignificant; that's not true! Away with the thoughts that you were called to do something more important; that's a humanistic lie!

Next time someone asks you what you do in life, beam with joy and shout, "I am a mother! I have the most blessed career in the world."

The next time someone sees you with all your children in tow and asks, "Are all these yours?" put on a bigger smile, from ear to ear, and shout, "Yes, I am so blessed." Or, "Yes, we love children so much we are hoping for more." Or, "Yes, we're just getting started!"

Or you could even say, "Yes, they are. But where are your children?"

"Oh, they're' at school. We could only afford to have two."

"How very sad," you reply. "You must often feel bored and lonely. We live such a full and exciting life." Give another beaming smile and leave them speechless, ready to disarm the next person who makes a negative comment.

Going out with all your children will become such fun. It will be even more exciting as you train your children for adverse comments about family. When you have answered your critic, the children can also put on their beaming smiles and all say in unison, "God bless you, Madam."

What if someone says, "DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO STOP HAVING CHILDREN?" Or "Are you planning to have any more?"
\
With a smile and twinkle in your eyes, you could answer, "It's conceivable."

What if some dear soul comments, "You have your hands full."

"We're working on it," you reply. "We are blessed with five; only five more to go!"

Put your shoulders back. Lift up your head. Put a big smile on your face and disarm the anti-child advocates. You'll begin to change the world around you! You'll be speaking on the behalf of God who loves life and loves children. You'll be destroying the deceptions of Satan who hates life and seeks to destroy it.

What a mission. Have fun.

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL

PRAYER:

"I thank you, Lord, that you created me to be a mother. Help me to shine with your glory and lift up your truth wherever I go."