Where are you going?

I was asked this past week to confess with my mouth Jesus as my Lord... as I pondered that question, Brent and I came upon these verses and thought them too important not to share. Because I do not know exactly who continues to read this blog, and because we are living in the age of God's grace (there is still time to decide!), I want to make sure that my bloggy sphere of influence hears truth... truth found only in the Bible. Please read on.

"Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you- unless indeed you fail the test?" 2 Corinthians 13:5


I. EVIDENCES THAT NEITHER PROVE NOT DISPROVE ONE'S FAITH
A. Visible Morality (Matt. 19:16-21; 23:27)
B. Intellectual Knowledge (Romans 1:21, 2:17)
C. Religious Involvement (Matt. 25:1-10)
D. Active Ministry (Matt. 7:21-24)
E. Conviction of Sin (Acts 24:25)
F. Assurance (Matt. 23)
G. Time of Decision (Luke 8:13-14)

II. THE FRUIT/PROOFS OF AUTHENTIC TRUE CHRISTIANITY
A. Love for God (Psalm 42:1, 77:25; Luke 10:27; Romans 8:7)
B. Repentance from Sin (Psalm 32:5; Proverbs 28:13; Romans 7:14; 2 Corinthians 7:10; 1 John 1:8-10)
C. Genuine Humility (Psalm 51:17; Matt. 5:1-2; James 4:6,9
D. Devotion to God's Glory (Psalm 105:3, 115:1; Isiah 43:7, 48:10; Jeremiah 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 10:31
E. Continual Prayer (Luke 18:1; Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6; 1 Timothy 2:1-4; James 5:16-18
F. Selfless Love (1 John 2:9, 3:14, 4:7)
G. Separation from the World (1 Corinthians 2:12; James 4:4; 1 John 2:15-17, 5:5
H. Spiritual Growth (Luke 8:15; John 15:14; Romans 16:26; 1 Peter 1:2,22; 1 John 2:3-5
J. Hunger for God's Word (1 Peter 2:1-3)
K. Transformation of Life (2 Corinthians 5:17)

If List I is true of a person and List II is false, there is cause to question the validity of one's profession of faith. Yet, if List II is true, then the top list will be also.

III. THE CONDUCT OF THE GOSPEL
A. Proclaim it (Matt. 4:23)
B. Defend it (Jude 3)
C. Demonstrate it (Philippians 1:27)
D. Share it (Philippians 1:5)
E. Suffer for it (2 Timothy 1:8)
F. Don't hinder it (1 Corinthians 9:12)
G. Be not ashamed (Romans 1:16)
H. Preach it (1 Corinthians 9:16)
I. Be empowered 1 Thessalonians 1:5)
J. Guard it (Galatians 1:6-8)

If you are still reading, this article goes into great detail and discussion.

It is our prayer that you know and love God and that your lives glorify Him. If you are unsure or want to talk more please, please call or email us. Until we meet again, or (hopefully) see each other in Heaven, we love you.

New Luke Things

The "new" things have slowed down, but there are a few things that have happened recently that are must remembers!

1. Luke now puckers when he kisses... no more limp kisses, really good solid, sweet kisses! I make him "pay the toll" to get out of the car seat, get out of the high chair... anything that gets me a kiss! He laughs and thinks it is so funny!
2. The other night, I was bathing Luke and mid-bath he announced he would like to pee pee in the potty. We had just sat there to no avail before bath time, but he announced, so I celebrated, pulled him out of the tub slopping water all over the place and then he sat there to no avail :) Then, I told him, "You know, you can poo poo in the potty too" and he looked at me like I was out of my mind. I try, I try :)
3. After we do the whole bedtime routine, I tuck Luke in "snug as a bug" and as I am almost to the door, he says, "Purple, Momma" so sweetly and purposefully. I don't know what he is saying (daycare doesn't either), but it is such a meaningful deal to my boy, I just whisper it back as I close the door.

We are blessed beyond measure.

Need Some Cash?

Your name may be on this list! I looked several of you up and you just need to claim it! Texas Unclaimed Property. I charge no finder's fee :)

Valentines 2011

Valentines is not a very big deal at our house, but I realized I missed the opportunity to celebrate when I rounded the corner at church on Sunday and saw a sea of red on every child in the nursery... the most red worn would have to go to the Carpenter Family however! Monday was Luke's Valentine's party at day care, so we had a second shot to get it right :) He wore this cute little shirt from Honey, traded valentines with his buddies, and we went on a "date" to the duck pond when I picked him up.

I think Luke ate more than he threw (this kind of grosses me out because this would be our STALE bread from the last 3 weeks...) but you can't tell boys not to eat when they want to ;) Luke would say "old bred" and take another bite. You pick your battles ;)

Luke got Madagascar and Curious George DVDs and a few items from the dollar spot at Target... I am such a sucker for the dollar spot!

Granna sent her Valentine a pop up play tent and a battery powered lantern... OH MY what fun this will be! We haven't given it to him yet because we don't want him to become rotten from all this LOVE ;) and I may need a new toy in my back pocket for the next ice storm! Ha! Hope not! Stay tuned.

Hope you had a Happy Valentines Day too!

Our Cutest Cousin!

Caleb turned one this weekend and we had a ball celebrating with him! I love this picute of him in the little blazer "owning" the room! Ha! I see so much of Lindsay's face in him there!

His cake was ADORABLE! Lindsay made it!

Luke shut the bounce house down!

Happy birthday Caleb!

Snow won't keep us down!

Would you believe this is the FIRST time we have taken Luke to a playland inside a fast food restaurant?!! Luke went with me to work and we met Daddy for lunch... it was a really fun day!

Stir Crazy

I am sure all two year olds are busy, but this one WORE ME OUT! This kind of boy energy needs to be run out with outdoor time! Well, we couldn't get out in the icy weather for FOUR strait days, so we had to stay busy at home... every time I would see Luke about to loose it, I'd ask if he wanted to do a project. Most always, I got a "yes" response. I know, some of these projects are lame, but I had to think on my toes with items that we had in the house:

Playing in Daddy's shaving cream... we pretended Luke was driving the cars in the snow:

We baked cookies:

Yes, that is red chap stick all over my child's face, I don't know why, but he carried it basically everywhere and slathered up at all times.

We mixed oil with colored water:

We glued pantry items on a rooster- Luke loved this one!

We did obstacle courses

Pick up the bowling pin and run down the hall

Jump from the step stool into pillows

Over the chair

This concentration face cracks me up, ya'll!

Make a basket and run to the wall!

And of course we played in the snow until our fingers froze (about 5 minutes worth!)

Our favorite thing was having Luke's BFF over to play when the snow started to melt... he was MISSING his buddies for sure!

It was a week to remember!

Snowed in!

There is about a 3 inch layer of ice all over our town... after getting out in it yesterday and getting stuck in it, I decided to stay home with the boys! We had breakfast, played memory, played trains, watched Thomas the Train, made Joseph's coat of many colors, read books, then looked at each other like what now? All of this before 10:00! Hopefully the ice will melt soon-- these Brewers are a little stir crazy!

Rodeo Fun

We took Luke to the livestock show and rodeo last weekend... he had a ball with his friend, Savannah!

Cattle drive:

The kids ran around in the grass:

Luke fed this goat who was pregnant... he would say "Here 'go" in such a sweet little humanitarian voice like he was responsible to sustain the goat!

Slobbery!