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God Fights for Prodigals When We Pray His Will!

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“You know how it feels when you see any glimmer of hope in your prodigal.” —A praying mom

If you follow my blogs and newsletters, you know I wait on the Lord to tell me what to write about each week. God is so faithful to not only give me a word, but also back it up with confirmation that I cannot ignore. So I know today there are parents and grandparents in my reading audience experiencing sorrow over prodigals in your family because that’s what God has told me to write about in this blog. It’s not the first time I’ve written on this topic, in fact, I wrote an entire book about praying for our prodigals.

Last week, hubby and I participated in a prayer group where the common request was for prodigal children, most of whom were in the millennial age range in their thirties and early forties. That was the age of my own prodigal years. Even children raised in Christian homes sometimes want to explore their independence, which might mean venturing into the world’s ways. So, we prayed that night for the spiritual awakening, or reawakening, of all the prodigals.

Then the next night, Dave and I watched a recorded Flashpoint program, which aired originally on the same night the group was praying for prodigals. Gene Bailey, the host of Flashpoint, interviewed Pastor Kent Christmas about his new book, Turning Sorrow Into Joy: A Journey of Faith and Perseverance. Here’s the interview: Kent Christmas on FlashPoint with Gene Bailey Interview Segment 4.9.2024 (youtube.com). If you have a loved one engaging in sexual sin, I highly recommend you listen.

In the interview with Pastor Christmas, they referred to the previous night’s program when again the topic was praying for prodigals. Now God really had my attention, so we watched it also. Gene Bailey interviewed Pastor Tim Sheets of Awaken Ministries and his daughter Rachel Shafer who wrote together Come Home: Pray, Prophesy, and Proclaim God’s Promises Over Your Prodigal. Even as parents and grandparents agonize and grieve with tears on their pillow every night, Pastor Sheets and Rachel offered assurance that God will forgive returning prodigals.

They emphasized that while you wait, stay rooted in God. Your feelings and emotions will lie to you, but God’s Word is truth, as I wrote in last week’s blog Knowing and Speaking Only the Truth Will Keep Us Free!

Come Home contains 90 decrees in Scriptures to pray for bringing prodigals home.  In the interview, the authors mentioned several verses with the prophetic message of hope. Belief accelerates the power of God. Believe in a future where your children will come home physically and spiritually.

But now this is what the Lord says: “Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the Lord. “Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy. 17 There is hope for your future,” says the Lord. “Your children will come again to their own land. Jer. 31:16-17 NLT

God promises He will fight for and save your children! You must believe and claim these promises and pray them over your children with unwavering faith.

Who can snatch the plunder of war from the hands of a warrior? Who can demand that a tyrant[a] let his captives go? 25 But the Lord says, “The captives of warriors will be released, and the plunder of tyrants will be retrieved. For I will fight those who fight you, and I will save your children. Isaiah 49:24-25

The Message translation of Isaiah 49:24-25 says: Can plunder be retrieved from a giant, prisoners of war gotten back from a tyrant? But God says, “Even if a giant grips the plunder and a tyrant holds my people prisoner, I’m the one who’s on your side, defending your cause, rescuing your children. And your enemies, crazed and desperate, will turn on themselves, killing each other in a frenzy of self-destruction. Then everyone will know that I, God, have saved you—I, the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Those verses emphasize that God’s on our side. He’s going to save our children. While we want to believe this, it’s tempting to take back our concerns and worries even after we cast them onto God. We should quit putting power into earthly circumstances and instead magnify God and His heavenly perspective as these following Psalms emphasize.

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, 28 for dominion belongs to the Lord and he rules over the nations. Ps. 22:27-28

They [prodigals] will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Ps. 24:5 NLT

My Daughter and My Prodigal Story of Redemption

I wrote Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help & Encouragement for Hurting Parents with input from my daughter of what she was thinking and feeling during her prodigal years. For seventeen years, I was a prodigal raising a prodigal until God reawakened my spirit at a Harvest Crusade where I rededicated my life to Christ. On the stadium floor, I knelt and told the Lord, “Your prodigal has returned. I will go where you send me.”

Kim didn’t receive well the dramatic change in my life. She was happy with the way we were living before. In spite of her resistance, I felt an urgency for Kim to also surrender her life to the Lord. I remembered a time when I stopped eating beef and switched to turkey burger. One day Kim, who was probably in middle school, said, “Mom, don’t you care about my health too?!” I thought she would still want hamburgers, but she wanted to be healthy like me. She hasn’t eaten beef since.

After my rededication, I heard a message on the reality of hell. I couldn’t stand the thought of my daughter going there. I had a dream that I looked down from heaven and heard her saying, “Mom didn’t you care enough about my spiritual health to not give up on me?” That’s when I began praying Scripture for my daughter daily, biblically, expectantly, persistently, sacrificially, unceasingly, and thankfully.

In Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, Kim writes, “Mom, I saw the book Praying God’s Will for my Daughter in your bathroom one time, and I felt resentful that you thought I was ‘lost’ and needed you to pray for me. You turned your life around so completely, and I couldn’t relate to the new, ‘weird’ you. All the praying stuff was outside of my comfort zone. When I learned you were praying for me, it upset me. I felt that I could take care of myself and didn’t need your prayers.”

From the devotional Kim referred to above, I learned how to personalize and pray Scripture for her, which allowed me to pray God’s will while I journaled my will to release my feelings and concerns on paper. I share those journal writings throughout the book and include “40 Days of Praying Scripture for Your Prodigal” on page 313. Kim thanks me today that I never gave up praying for her.

Satan is Targeting Children!

Today, Satan is blatantly attacking the family and children more openly and abrasively than ever before.  Abortion for teenagers or gender changes without parents’ consent. Parents who want to know what their children are being taught in schools labeled domestic terrorists! Drugs are rampant and killing our children. Child suicide has reached record numbers. Schools are teaching young children about perverse sex practices as “sex education,” even as young as kindergarten. As “gay rights” became mainstream and legalized, Satan had to move it up a notch to transgenderism. Children are given drugs and surgically mutilated, irreversibly in many cases, and deceived into thinking they can change their gender from the way God created them. Drag grooming is considered entertainment for children, even though it’s a precursor to pedophilia.

This isn’t normal or biblical. It’s satanical. Satan really is coming after our children, but Christians have the weapons we need to ward off the attacks of the enemy. Prayer. God’s Word. Civic action like voting, running for office, and activism.

I’m not writing this article to promote my book, or any book, but there’s a reason God had these pastors and me write about saving our prodigals. Because we all need to know how to love and pray scripturally for children and grandchildren, while still maintaining a relationship with them without backing down from our biblical beliefs. Their very lives depend on it!

If you have a child or grandchild involved in sinful activities, it doesn’t make it right. Yes, I know it hurts and it’s painful. Parents often think they need to go along with what their child is doing or risk losing the relationship instead of being godly parents and getting them the emotional, spiritual, and mental help they’re so desperately crying out for, while also praying unceasingly for them. If they were a murderer, and some are, you still love your child, but you don’t decide that murder is acceptable because your child committed it. That applies to any and every sin.

I chose to unconditionally love but never condone. In God’s eyes, all sin is wrong, and all have sinned. Only repentance and asking forgiveness from Jesus for our sins places us in a right relationship with God. Salvation.

We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3:22-24 NLT

Never Stop Praying!

Declaring God’s Word over your prodigal activates your own faith!

None of us know when Christ is going to return for believers. We watch the prevalent evil today and wonder how long it will be before the Lord says enough. No parent or grandparent wants to have a child or grandchild left behind. That was the urgency I felt when I was praying for my daughter’s salvation. Then I prayed for each of our eleven grandchildren to be saved with the assurance that I would someday see them all again in heaven. Yes, there’s been a few regressions, and I just pray all the harder because I know what God assured me with my daughter: God wants our prodigals back even more than we do!

Don’t give up and let Satan win the spiritual battle for your prodigal’s heart and soul. Though it may seem contradictory, the more rebellious, defiant, stubborn, and argumentative your prodigal becomes, the more you should cling to this hope and encouragement: God is working in his or her heart, and they’re resisting. But that means they haven’t surrendered completely to Satan and are experiencing tormenting guilt. God hasn’t given up and neither should you. There’s still hope.

I know it’s hard to do when your heart is breaking and you don’t see any change in the situation, but never stop praying for your prodigal. Pastor Christmas prayed and interceded for 14 years. I prayed Scripture for six years for my prodigal. Previous blogs from prodigal Alycia Neighbours whose story is in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, shared how long her parents prayed for her return: Never Stop Praying for Your Prodigal! and After the Party for the Returning Prodigal.

Alice prayed for 27 years. She said, “It’s all you can do when everything else is out of your control.” In the chapter on Praying Biblically in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, Alice told how she prayed Scripturally for her daughter, which is how I prayed for my daughter EVERY DAY! It’s simply personalizing and paraphrasing God’s Word as a prayer back to Him. Here’s an example of how Alice said she prayed Scripture for her prodigal.

“I’ve learned to pray for my daughter by praying back the Scriptures to God. For example, I pray Ezekiel 36:27-29 for Liz’s heart to soften and for her to return home: “God, give my daughter Liz a heart of flesh to replace her heart of stone toward spiritual things. Through Your Spirit, move her to follow Your decrees and carefully keep Your laws. Help Liz to return home Allow her to live in the land You, God, gave to her spiritual forefathers; may she be Your child, may You be her God. Save her from all her uncleanness.”

As another praying mom Suzanne said, “I know God isn’t done with her, and I choose to see her the way He does!”

 “Never stop praying!” 1 Thess. 5:17 NLT

Photo Credits: http://www.sharefaith.com

PS Hear the interview I did on Solomon and Jamila Jefferson’s podcast about praying for your prodigals, It’s Not How You Start But How You Finish. click here.

PSS The principles I share in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter also apply to sons and grandchildren. There are questions at the end of each chapter for use in a Support Group or Bible study group.

PSSS For the week of April 15-21, 2024, signed copies of Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter purchased on our website will be reduced to $10, plus tax and shipping costs. We want to enable you to pray for your prodigals! (If PayPal charges you $18.00, we will credit you back $8.00)

Library Update

  • VICTORY!! Idaho’s Governor Little signed the Children’s School and Library Protection Act, finally addressing the widespread library porn issue in a meaningful way! It goes into effect this summer so I’ll  follow up with our local library to be sure they enforce it.
  • Gov. Little also signed Bill 538 that bars teachers from referring to a student by a name or pronoun that doesn’t align with their birth sex unless parents consent.
  • Last month, the governor signed House Bill 668, which blocks the use of public funds for gender-affirming procedures.
  • Gov. Little also signed House Bill 421. It states, “In human beings, there are two, and only two, sexes: male and female. In no case is an individual’s sex determined by stipulation or self-identification.” Most notably, in addition to ruling that sex and gender were synonymous, this bill “codifies in state law biological definitions for ‘woman,’ ‘man,’ and other sex-based terms, making [Idaho] the fifth to exclude men who identify as women from being legally recognized as female.”

Idaho is on a role! What’s happening in your state?

Please leave a comment here. I always reply!

April 15, 2024
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Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Nurturing Lifelong Faith in a Turbulent World

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As you’ve read in my previous blogs and newsletters, I have a heavy burden for protecting our children and grandchildren from the wiles of the evil one. Satan is no longer sneaky and sly in his tactics. He’s open, blatant, and ruthless in going after our children in the schools, libraries, entertainment, games, sports, sexualization, gender confusion, and child-sex trafficking, while liberal “progressive” politicians on the left and media are complicit with the devil’s evil demonic ways. As a grandparent, I find it horrifying to watch the legal system working as accomplices to the breakdown of the family and taking away the rights of loving parents.

Satan had a minor setback with the overturn of Roe v Wade, so he’s now targeting his evil attacks on the children given precious life.

Children Are A Gift From God

Children shine with exceptional and extraordinary worth that exceeds all other God-given blessings. These priceless souls arrive in our arms as eternal treasures bearing the very image of God. As stewards of these divine gifts, we have a duty to equip ourselves for their proper care. It sounds like such a daunting task, and at times, it can seem overwhelming. We need tools and insights steeped in Scripture and spiritual wisdom that will empower us when we feel inadequate to guide our children towards a lifelong commitment to Christ.

The Bible does tell us that parents bear a sacred responsibility when it comes to nurturing children in the ways of the Lord. Joel 1:3 instructs parents to impart the truths of their faith to their children, who in turn, will pass on this sacred legacy to future generations. The Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry and platform God entrusted me with almost 30 years ago is exemplified in this verse.

Tell your children about it in the years to come,
    and let your children tell their children.
    Pass the story down from generation to generation. Joel 1:3 NLT

This cyclical transmission of faith serves as the bedrock upon which the continuity of Christianity rests, echoing the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19–20. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

Lee Ann Mancini Wants to Help Parents!

A book from an author friend of mine has come along at the perfect time to help parents and grandparents raise and nurture children for Christ and not the culture. Today’s Monday Morning blog is featuring author Lee Ann Mancini’s new release Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God. (No relation to my daughter Kimberly Mancini) Let me share with you some thoughts about Lee Ann’s book because we all have children in our family and community. We all should care about their souls.

Our culture’s current trend toward moral relativism amplifies the urgency of instilling a steadfast faith in our children. Lee Ann Mancini provides the solutions we need in her new parenting guide. Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God offers invaluable insights drawn from both scripture and cutting-edge research in childhood spiritual development. As the CEO of Raising Christian Kids and a distinguished professor, Mancini emphasizes the vital role of parental guidance rooted in love and joy, safeguarding children from the perils of faithlessness.

I often ask audiences when I’m speaking on mentoring, “Are you the men and women you want your children to become?” “Do you have the marriage you want your children to have?” “Do you have the faith you want your children to live out?”

Lee Ann also recognizes parents are the primary educators and spiritual mentors in the lives of their children. She stresses that the way we live proves the most significant character lesson we teach. Lee Ann says that our actions and attitudes serve as the blueprint upon which our children model their own beliefs and behaviors. Her book shares insights on how to exemplify a life centered on the Word of God so we can provide a living testimony of Christ’s transformative power. Faithfully measured, our personal steps will lead our children and grandchildren towards a deep and abiding relationship with their Savior.

Lee Ann emphasizes the cornerstone of parental efforts must rest upon the unwavering truth of God’s Word. Just as Jesus is the living Stone chosen by God, so too must His teachings form the solid foundation upon which our children’s, and grandchildren’s, faith is built. Amidst the storms of life, anchored in Christ, they can stand firm unwavering in their devotion to Jesus and unyielding in their faith convictions.

As many of us know so well, the journey of raising children in the faith comes with a myriad of challenges. In a world hostile to Christian values, we must remain vigilant in equipping our children and grandchildren with the spiritual armor of God (Ephesians 6:10-18) necessary to withstand the onslaught of worldly temptations. Through prayer, guidance, and unwavering commitment, we can nurture within them a love for God and His Word thus empowering them to become beacons of light in a world shrouded in darkness.

Lee Ann esteems the calling to raise godly children as sacred, but she also shares her parenting advice with the hope of grace. It is never too early, nor too late, to inspire our children to love Jesus and develop a passion for His Kingdom. With fresh insights and transformative strategies, she welcomes us to embark on a journey of faith, nurturing the next generation of believers and disciples.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ serves as a wise and powerful companion as we navigate parenthood or as grandparents. The crises and shadows of life in this world will threaten to shake its youngest souls. Our children need the hope only Christ can offer. With a strong foundation, this generation can transform the future.

As we embrace our role as stewards of His precious gifts of our children, may we rise to the challenge with unwavering faith and steadfast resolve. We can depend on experts like Lee Ann Mancini to come alongside us in raising kids to follow Christ. Together, we can fulfill our true purpose and enjoy our greatest reward of raising a generation to love and follow Christ Jesus as their personal Savior.

An Overview of the Treasures Found in Raising Kids to Follow Christ.

In Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God, Lee Ann Mancini inspires parents, grandparents, teachers, and others to teach their children essential Christian principles to enable them to navigate the world with grace, integrity, and an unbreakable bond with their heavenly Father.

This book goes beyond surface-level advice, delving into the intricate matters of children’s hearts and minds and offering a blueprint for nurturing a deep and unwavering faith in Christ.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ offers:
• Decades of personal experience and training based on key essential principles in Scripture
• Practical strategies for addressing doubts, fears, and questions that arise in today’s culture
• Ways to help children control their emotions and actions in various situations
• Suggestions from some of today’s brightest Christian minds in children’s spirituality
• Empowerment for parents to become their child’s spiritual champion
• Easy-to-understand apologetics for children and adults
• Fun ways to connect your child’s heart to Christ

Raising Kids to Follow Christ is a collaborative journey inviting parents to learn, grow, and flourish alongside their children as they become bold in their witness and committed to their faith rather than the secular culture.

About Lee Ann Mancini

Lee Ann Mancini is the award-winning author and executive producer of the Sea Kids series, which can be viewed on Answers.TV, Pure Flix, Right Now Media, and Minno. Lee Ann earned Master’s degrees in Theological Studies, Christian and Classic Studies, and Biblical and Theological Studies. She serves as an adjunct professor at South Florida Bible College and Theological Seminary and hosts the award-winning podcast, Raising Christian Kids.

Raising Kids to Follow Christ: Instilling a Lifelong Trust in God would make a great Easter or Mother’s Day or Father’s Day or any day gift for the parents in your life. The children of today are the future of tomorrow. Let’s be sure they’re spiritually prepared to win the battle for their souls and for our world.

Please leave a comment here. I always reply.

March 4, 2024
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It’s Holy Week and Our God Still Reigns!

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It was difficult deciding what to write as we start Holy Week before Easter with such sadness and turmoil in our world. But as I prayed about whether I should focus on the evil we’re all watching take place or the God whose only Son went to the Cross under evil circumstances to offer us a way out of personal sin and guilt, I quickly knew the answer when God gave me several clues as He always does.

First, as I posted on Facebook the pictures of those six precious innocent Chrisitan children and adults at The Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn. gunned down by a mentally ill suicidal transgender woman who looked into the eyes of those three children, a substitute teacher, the custodian, and the head of the school. . . then pulled the trigger . . . I saw the epitome of evil.

Evil begets evil!

There is an evil belief system infecting our culture that people can play God and become their own gods. Doctors who should be helping troubled gender dysphoria patients receive treatment to learn how to live in the bodies God gave them are instead lying to them that they can become the opposite gender by being pumped with hormones and sterilizing drugs and mutilated with irreplaceable castration, hysterectomies, and mastectomies at ages when children often think they can fly too.

Those doctors, medical professionals, and facilities are as evil as the ones killing unborn babies. Instead of offering redemptive healthcare, which they take an oath to perform, they’re participating in child abuse and infant genocide. And as evidenced by the militant attitude of the trans movement and pro-abortion advocates, no one is happy or successful in trying to play God.

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Psalm 14:1

As I changed my Facebook cover photo to the pictures of those six who were mercilessly gunned down, God prompted me to also change my profile picture to the opening picture of this blog. He was guiding my hurt, heartbreak, pain, anger, and frustration back to focus on Him, the One and Only true God.

Then the title of this morning’s (3/31/23) Our Daily Bread was “Rest Assured in God” with the verse from Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Karen Pimpo wrote in the accompanying article, “When our world is troubled, how can we find rest? The Bible’s clear: there’s peace for those who trust in God, regardless of their circumstances.”

While browsing through Facebook before I sat down to write to you, I came across a post from Fox & Friends on their Faith & Friends concert series of a performance with Phil Wickham of his new song “This is Our God.” I’d seen that post several times, but this morning I opened it up weeping as I listened to the timely words of the song. I hope you’ll go to the link and worship too.

It was clear God was reminding me that our only hope is belief in our Comforter and Savior, Jesus Christ, and nothing should distract us from this truth. With so many being lied to and even murdered because of Satan’s lies, our mission is to tell everyone of God’s overriding truths. The families burying their loved ones this Holy Week will mourn the loss of their loved ones while celebrating that they are in the arms of Jesus. Heavenly joy, but earthly sorrow for now.

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32

“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” 1 Cor. 15:55

Good Begets Good and Our God is a Good God!

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Is. 53:5-6

Isaiah 53:5-6 is the message of Easter we can’t ever overlook in the tragedies and unjustness of our culture. J. J. Packer said, “We are cruel to ourselves if we try to live in this world without knowing about the God whose world it is and who runs it.”

What is happening in our world doesn’t distract Jesus. He cares about what is happening in our heart!

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.—Ezekiel 36:26

What should we do this Holy Week to prepare our hearts for an Easter celebration?

1. Fill your mind with Words from the Lord and not from the media.

Let’s take a break from the biased media and focus our minds on the reason our Lord and Savior went to the cross—to offer us eternal life regardless of what happens in this life. We don’t want to die, but if Jesus is in our heart, we have the assurance that we will be alive with Jesus for eternity. That should calm our hearts and comfort those who have lost loved ones or maybe just received an unwanted diagnosis.

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.—Romans 12:2

I heard Pastor Greg Laurie say once in a Palm Sunday message, “There are five gospels . . . you’re the 5th! You are the temple of God.” Read the four Gospels, Mathew, Mark, Luke, and John. Get to know Jesus up close and personal. Walk with Him in His shoes; listen to His words and stories.

  • What was He trying to get people to understand?
  • What does He want you to understand?
  • Look for His personal message to your generation and how to influence the next generation for Christ.
  • What does He want you to do during the crises in our country? In our world?

If you were giving the sermon this Easter, what would you include?

2. Tell people what Jesus means to you. Why you love Him. That even while you were a sinner, He still loved you enough to die for you!

Our church has a Cowboy Breakfast as an outreach for the community on Easter Sunday, and Facebook just reminded me that I was the speaker 10 years ago. It was my privilege to share the Gospel and I didn’t worry what faith or lack of faith in those attending. Easter is about salvation through belief in Christ Jesus and that was my message.

My then 6-year-old granddaughter, Katelyn, shared the microphone with me to recite John 3:16. I was so proud of her! The next year she told me, “Grammie, I want to share John 3:16 at the Cowboy Breakfast again.” Since I wasn’t the speaker, she didn’t get that opportunity, but I pray she never hesitates to share the Gospel message.

God blessed Katelyn and me with a boldness that Easter morning to share the Gospel unashamed of our Savior with gratitude for His sacrifice and rejoicing at His resurrection. Here’s what one attendee wrote to me later:

I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your message at the Cowboy Breakfast. It was clearly presented and probably the best explanation that I have heard so that people are not confused about making a commitment to Christ. So often people are afraid to say what is needed because they are concerned about offending their audience. It was important that you were clear on what sin is and how to make a personal commitment. I also received feedback from members of our Vineyard Home Study Group that were pleased that the truth could be so clearly spoken.

Thanks again for the time and effort that you put into preparation for those who needed to hear this message.

Other years, members of our church share their testimony with friends and neighbors who attend the breakfast. My husband Dave gave his testimony one year.

When is the last time you told someone your testimony of surrendering your life to Christ? It’s hands down the most important and meaningful day in your life. Yes, it’s greater than the day you married, gave birth, bought your dream house, or signed that important contract. Your rebirth in Christ should top them all!

Yet, we eagerly tell the story of these less significant events in our life, but often are reticent to tell the story of Jesus coming into our life.

We know He is with us every day, but do we give Him the credit and the glory for the things we know He has done and is doing in our life?

This week ask yourself why you don’t talk more about Jesus?!

Then share your salvation story with someone! Reflect back on the day the death and resurrection of Jesus really meant something to you. Tell people why it still does.

There is no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what he has done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you.

Your testimony simply shares your life before Jesus. How he changed your heart and spiritually, maybe literally, saved your life.

God has given you a story to share, so seize every opportunity to tell it.

Sometimes, God redeems your testimony by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future.

Who needs to hear this Easter what Christ has done for you and could do for them?

At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.—Titus 3:3-7

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.—1 John 5:11-12

You might also enjoy an article I wrote for Crosswalk, 5 Refreshing Ways to Welcome Renewal Beyond Easter.

Have a blessed Easter the way the Lord leads you to celebrate this glorious day and honor the sacrifice He made for each of us who believe in Him to have eternal life forever!

No matter what happens in our world, remember that Our God Reigns!

Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Rev. 19:6

If you received this blog in your email, please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments.

Also, if you don’t receive my monthly newsletter you can sign up on my website. Here’s the link to the March Newsletter with the opening article, “Are Your Women’s Ministries and Your Hearts Open to Teens?” I would appreciate receiving your response.

I also want to make you aware of a free e-book to share with parents and grandparents by Brandon Showalter and Jeff Meyers, Exposing the Gender Lie: How to Protect Children and Teens from the Transgender Industry’s False Ideology.

April 3, 2023
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Why Aren’t More People Speaking Out to Defend Women?

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Maybe you cringed with me on International Women’s Day when a man pretending to be a woman was given the International Women’s Day Courage Award by Jill Biden and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Couldn’t they tell the difference between a man and a woman? They both stood smiling with this obvious imposter as if it was normal when he gave them both a peck on the cheek! Blinken flinched, but he took it like a true woke liberal.

It looked like a Saturday Night Live skit, but tragically, it was real life today.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, R-Ark., responded on twitter, “It’s International Women’s Day – a good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

Gov. Sanders said in her rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union speech, “The choice is no longer between right or left. The choice is between normal and crazy.”

Other Twitter comments on the International Women’s Courage award given to a man:

“Nice of FLOTUS to encourage the diminishment of women on ‘international women’s day.’ Erasing women is abusive,” Dana Loesch, host of “The Dana Show,” tweeted.

“International Women’s Day: Not just for women anymore,” conservative Twitter personality Andrea Katherine wrote in reply.

“Why are the Democrats working overtime to push the trans agenda?” news commentator and former congressional nominee Karoline Leavitt asked. 

Legitimate question. Why are Democrats pushing the trans agenda when they pretend to be protecting women’s rights while simultaneously trampling on women’s rights?

When it comes to the left’s attack on women, which Biden essentially declared in his inaugural speech about furthering trans rights, they’ve gone crazy. He appointed an obvious man masquerading as a woman, Richard [aka Rachel] Levine as assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services, which USA Today named as one of their “Women of the Year!” USA Today has gone crazy too!

We have a Supreme Court Judge appointed by Biden who can’t define a woman!

This liberal woke craziness is causing harm to and dismissal of real women. What do I mean by real women? A female human being who God created biologically and anatomically as a woman at birth.

Only a woman menstruates.

Only a woman has ovaries and ovulates.

Only a woman has a uterus and fallopian tubes.

Only a woman can carry a baby in her womb.

Only a woman has a natural female anatomy.

Only a woman has two XX chromosomes.

A woman cannot be a man and a man cannot be a woman. No matter how many surgeries or hormones, you cannot change DNA, create new DNA, or change biological sex. This was never disputed until a few mentally and sexually disturbed people decided to go on a war against women. The Democrat party championed and rewarded this ludicrous propaganda campaign to the detriment and harm of real women and real men.

Sadly, fewer and fewer people are willing to speak the truth for fear of “offending” the few who think they can be whatever gender and pronoun they choose. This socially deceptive, offensive, and harmful political manipulation and mutilation of genders is normalizing insanity. It’s harming mentally disturbed adults who obviously need counseling and subjecting our innocent children to this evil distortion of truth.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Is. 5:20

It’s demonic.

Who is speaking out against this evil?

Not the schools that let boys invade the privacy of girls’ bathrooms and locker rooms.

Not the sports industry allowing biological men to compete in women’s sports!

Not woke businesses encouraging equity instead of equality. Equity instead of quality and competence.

Not the politicians more influenced by a small perverted community than the sane majority they were elected to represent.

Not the media, except for a few brave souls like Tucker Carlson willing to say this is insane. I encourage you to listen to his monologue “Women’s Awards are Now Going to Men.”

Nothing is More Misogynistic than Erasing Women from Womanhood!

Why are the feminists not protesting in the streets? Because they’re steadfast liberals! Even though liberals are trouncing on women, feminists show true loyalty to woke ideology, not to women!

Until recently, everyone would’ve laughed at the idea of men wanting to be women. What man in his right mind would want to dress and pretend to be a woman?

What’s changed?

Who’s behind the infringement on women’s dignity, rights, and safety?

Who’s behind the war on women?

The answers started back in the Garden of Eden when the serpent, the Devil, chose to tempt Eve with the forbidden fruit. Paul worried about this in the Corinthian church, But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 2 Cor. 11:3 NLT

Eve succumbed to Satan by asking the question often used to justify sin today, “Did God really say?” The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Gen. 3:1 NLT

The disgraced Satan has always been at war with God. He wanted equality with God and when that failed, he tries anything and everything to stop God’s people from multiplying and filling the earth.

Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it. Gen. 1:28 NLT

Then the people began to multiply on the earth, and daughters were born to them. Gen. 1:6 NLT

Since God only gave women reproductive anatomy, the Devil is the commander, plotter, and originator of the war on women and misgendering. Organizations like Planned Parenthood, the pharmaceutical industry, and even some in the medical profession are enlisting in Satan’s army.

Just as Eve learned, there are consequences for anyone manipulated by Satan and his emissaries. One of Satan’s most effective tactical weapons is using lies to create confusion. If he can create enough doubt and confusion, his evil battle successfully rages on.

43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! John 8:43-45 NLT

What Are Satan’s Strategies in the War on Women!

  • The Battleground of Abortion

Women believe the lie that they’re not carrying a baby; it’s just tissue and cells. Even with the advent of sonograms, hearing the heartbeat, and knowing that each cell contains the baby’s DNA . . . millions of women still choose to kill their babies. Satan uses semantics to confuse them that it isn’t really murder. Just “ending or terminating a pregnancy.” “A woman’s choice.” “Women’s healthcare.” “My body, my choice.” “Reproductive rights.”

Women are deceived into believing their life will be better without the life of their baby. Millions of women have a hole in their heart grieving the children they didn’t allow to be born. Only Jesus can help mend that hole and He will if asked.

Imagine how fanatically devoted to politics and power to deny and prevent a woman’s most life-affirming experience.

Female babies killed every second. Satan laughs.

  • The Battleground of Genders

God was very specific when He created only two, genders: Male and female.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 NLT

God explained their roles. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Gen. 2:8

God’s Word says that marriage is exclusively between a man and a woman who will populate the earth. But ‘God made them male and female’[a] from the beginning of creation. 7 ‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife,[b] 8 and the two are united into one.’ Mark 10:6-8

Even with animals, God instructed Noah, “Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood.” Gen. 7:3 NLT

Only Satan could try to subvert God’s plan for the continuation of humanity by causing what we now call “gender confusion.” Again, confusion does not come from God.

Some “confused” men are demanding legal rights to pretend they’re women. Logically and anatomically, this is ludicrous and lewd, but instead of rationale people standing up to protect women, the government is bending to social pressure from a fringe element and allowing “transgender” biological men to invade all the private spaces of biological women, even competing in sports against real women!

In 2021, a biological man was named “Miss Nevada!”

A biological 43-year-old male who “identifies as a woman” from New Zealand will compete in women’s weightlifting at the Olympics and this atrocity is now invading all women’s sports, including weightlifting in the United States.

We’re told it’s discrimination to not let confused men “identify” as women with all the privileges, but what about the rights of real women? Why isn’t this male gender invasion considered discrimination against women?

Every human understands there are basic physiological differences between men and women. In the 21st century, liberals have decided ideology trumps biology.

Women Must Speak the Truth Before Our Rights Become Extinct!

A woman must not wear men’s clothing, nor a man wear women’s clothing, for the Lord your God detests anyone who does this. Deut. 22:5

I love Lisa Bevere’s Facebook post, “God would have never granted women a voice if He intended for them to remain silent.”

One woman said on Twitter that women are so polite it hurts to speak up. But speak up we must even when it hurts!

In the movie Jesus Revolution, my favorite line was from Kay Smith, “The lies are always loud; truth is quiet. And simple.”

50 years later, we’re watching lies screaming from the White House into every house and those who know the truth remaining silent. Some erroneously think if we don’t say anything about the insanity and immorality, it will stop. Just the opposite is true.

We don’t need to scream, but we do need to share the truth every time we hear or see a lie. We’ll never solve a spiritual problem with a political answer.

We must stand up for our young girls being infiltrated and indoctrinated with lies normalized by a government and culture with a sinister motive.

We must stay educated on the issues facing women and consider them from God’s perspective. Educate and mentor our children and grandchildren in the home and in our churches.

If you know someone influenced by false teachings or ideologies, take time to talk and pray for and with them. Share God’s purpose and plans for men and women and why He made us different and unique with specific life roles.

Don’t be afraid to stand up against wrong. Like the woman who protested when a male came into the women and children’s area of a spa in California and exposed himself. She was shocked that other women were afraid to come forward and confront the spa owners for allowing such an atrocity. She wasn’t afraid, and good for her!

Silence in the face of wrong is wrong itself!

Our tendency is to avoid adversity, but Jesus never avoided sharing the truth even when it wasn’t welcomed.

The spiritual battle isn’t between Democrats vs Republicans or liberals vs conservatives. It’s between wrong vs right, evil vs good. It’s easy to say we know who wins in the end so let’s not get involved, but other people are hurt when we don’t engage.

The Christian life isn’t standing quietly on the sidelines; it’s standing boldly on the Lord’s side of the spiritual battle.

What Satan means for evil, God will use for good! He’ll use those of us willing to join Him in the fight for truth. I hope you’re in the Lord’s army. I am.

Our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, aka the liberals, progressives, Democrats, atheists, imposters trying to be women. No, the battle is against the spiritual principalities of evil. 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:10-13

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March 13, 2023
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They’re Coming for Our Children!

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We all have children in our life! Whether our own children, grand or great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, friend’s kids or neighborhood children, they all matter to God and they must matter to each of us! I hope you’ll continue to read even if you don’t have children in your life right now, because the fate of our future country will soon be in their hands.

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. 14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” 15 When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there. Matt. 19:13-15

We know that God loves the little children and His design and desire is that they’re raised in a godly home with parents who teach them right from wrong and how to grow up into upright citizens who will be an asset to those around them and our country. Not every child has that blessing and that’s where the church can step in and embrace these children in the community and schools.

Sadly, we’ve let mentioning Jesus or God be completely removed from conversation in schools, and yet, evil practices like Marxist Critical Race Theory, Black Lives Matter, and gender disunity or “fluidity” are embraced and encouraged. Is it any wonder we have generations of children growing up with drug and alcohol addictions, cutting and eating disorders, anxiety, and tragically suicide is at an all-time high among children. Even those raised in good Christian homes can suffer from these afflictions because they spend the majority of their life in school and not in their home.

That’s an alarming thought, but it’s true.

I’ve said many times before that Satan focuses on disrupting the family and capturing the minds of our children. He doesn’t want generations of Christians growing up in the world; he wants generations of confused radicalized children indoctrinated with his evil ways. That’s exactly what we’re watching as Critical Race Theory is infused into not only curriculum, but the minds of teachers and teaching methods.

Even when racism isn’t directly infiltrated into schoolbooks, it’s become a method of teaching where children are separated by race and every subject is taught through the lens of racism, diversity, and equity. You can watch at this link an interview with three mothers and a school administrator explaining how CRT seeps into curriculum.

Wokeness is a disease spreading through every area of life but especially worrisome is how it’s infecting the vulnerable minds and spirits of our children. It’s a worldview founded in the basic principles of Marxism. Many teachers today are indoctrinated into this radicalized ideology and so it comes naturally for them to teach from that perspective.

We read every day about the firing of conservative teachers who rebel against teaching liberal woke principles! Fired for trying to bring patriotism, sanity, honesty, and clarity into the classroom. We need to pray for good teachers refusing to do the wrong thing!

When teachers were silenced from saying the name of Jesus in schools, I often wondered how Christian teachers coped. As Christians, Jesus is the center of our life. Everything we do and say reflects the perspective of Jesus. Our identity is in Jesus. I know many teachers adjusted by letting Jesus shine brightly through their actions, countenance, and the way they dealt with issues. But how difficult it must be to keep Jesus under wraps in your workplace!

I loved when Tucker Carlson asked Glenn Youngkin, the Christian Republican who just won Governor of Virginia, what Youngkin’s advisors thought when he was so open during his campaign about being a Christian. Youngkin responded that he would never ask them. Being a Christian is who he is and not something he’s ashamed of or could ever hide. He didn’t have to attack Critical Race Theory because he based his campaign on the scriptural and constitutional antithesis that all men are created equal!

Parents Have a Sacred Duty and We Need to Support Them!

We often profess that God can, and will, bring good out of troubling times. Nowhere is this more evident than when the pandemic required kids to participate in school from home via zoom. We started hearing of parents’ alarm at what they heard teachers saying and doing. Many teachers were trying to ban parents from listening in on school sessions, but parents were listening and they heard the woke, racist, gender confusion curriculum their children were learning and often the biases of liberal teachers infused into lectures and behavior.

This wasn’t true of all teachers, but even one bad teacher can harm a child for life!

Today, parents are fighting back! You know school boards are trying to hide their guilt when they take steps to silence the truth from being revealed by alert mama bear and papa bear parents confronting them. So alarmed are school boards that they asked the DOJ to label any parent who questioned them as “domestic terrorists!” And the DOJ did!!!

During the 2016 campaign, Franklin Graham did a prayer tour to all 50 Capitols. My daughter, grandkids, Dave, and I all went to see him on the steps of the Boise Capitol. I remember Franklin saying then that Christians needed to run for local office if we wanted fair and just laws governing us, and he specifically mentioned school boards! It almost seems today like he was a prophet as we watch the damage liberal school boards are doing to our children. But praise God, conservatives ran in recent elections in many states, including in my daughter’s school district, and won!

I heard one parent recently warn parents to stay vigilant. If you don’t fight for the children, no one else will. Pay attention and don’t let your guard down even if you have a conservative school board, know what the individual teachers are teaching.

I’m not insinuating that all teachers are liberal and woke but when a five-year old comes home and asks her mother if she’s evil because she was born white, you know there’s a big problem.

Don’t Let Schools and Government Replace Parents

I would advise parents to get to know your kids’ teachers no matter what the age of your children. I remember my mother going to back-to-school night and knowing my high school teachers. I also remember being moved out of a class because my mom didn’t like how a teacher handled her classes or relating to me. I’m glad my mom cared enough to get involved.

I’ve read many disturbing stories of school counselors encouraging gender fluidity in children and discussing gender change options without ever including the parents! That’s wrong!

Then there’s the promiscuous sex education trying to normalize the gay agenda and gender confusion. I hate to even give these terms and concepts validity because they’re manmade excuses for giving credence to Satan’s attempts to distort God’s creation. What God calls sinful, depraved, and wicked sex practices, the LGBQT agenda receives credibility for and it’s allowed to seep into school curriculum as accepted lifestyles. Children are even encouraged to experiment sexually. Again, it’s evil (Romans 1:18-29) and has no role in public education. Parents need to stand up and take back their rightful place in their children’s social and sexual education. The schools have definitely taken too much liberty.

Here are a few warning quotes from Mark Levin’s book American Marxism.
“Especially pernicious is the American Marxist’s control over our public school and college classrooms, with the full support and active role of the two national teachers’ unions—the National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT)—where your children and grandchildren are being taught to hate our country and are brainwashed with racist propaganda… As the Heritage Foundation reports: “The dissemination of curricular content and instruction based on CRT in K-12 schools is second only in scope to the presence of CRT in post-secondary instruction, where CRT originated.”

“Without your knowledge, let alone consent ‘districts around the country have integrated CRT into school curricula. Both of the nation’s largest teacher unions support the Back Lives Matter organization, with the National Education Association specifically calling for the use of Black Lives Matter curricular materials in K-12 schools. The curriculum is ‘committed’ to ideas such as a ‘queer-affirming network,’ which have nothing to do with rigorous instructional content, and promotes racially charged essays such as ‘Open Secrets in First-Grade Math: Teaching about White Supremacy on American Currency.’”

I also want to warn you about children potentially being asked in school if they want the COVID vaccine without obtaining parents’ permission and/or making it mandatory for attending school. I am not an anti-vaxxer, but please please do your research before you let children be subjected to a vaccine where there is no long-term data. We know that even though children seem to be getting the new Delta Variant easier than the original COVID, the majority of them are not seriously ill and recover quickly. It is not a deadly illness for children but the vaccine could have lasting consequences, which even the FDA admits they’ll only know by giving it to kids now. Don’t let your children be part of this experiment unless you have peace with it.

Raise Your Children in a Godly Home!

Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it. Pr. 22:6

As a kid, I remember always being taught to respect authority, especially teachers and police. I think it’s important today that while we teach our children and grandchildren to be respectful, we now need to teach them to recognize red flags of a teacher or someone in authority that is not teaching them what they’ve learned at home to be right, moral, and the way God wants us to live.

Keep communication open so children feel comfortable coming to you when they hear something at school that doesn’t jive with what you’ve taught them as a parent or grandparent. Parents more than ever need to be sure values instilled in your children come from you!

When my daughter was in high school, she came home saying she was going to believe in both Creationism and Darwinism. She had learned at church that God created the earth, but was taught differently in school. I was surprised, but glad she told me so we could have a discussion and I could help lead her in the direction of truth.

More than ever parents need to ask their children what they’re being taught and help them know how to navigate a world that thinks differently than they do. If children have a firm biblical foundation, they won’t tend to be influenced by an alternate worldview.

Help your children feel safe talking to you and look for signs of confusion. Ask specific questions beyond, “How was your day?” Especially from a boy, you’re just going to get “fine.” Know the classes their taking and conversationally engage them in discussing what they like about their classes and a few “what are your learning?” type questions. Not as an interrogation, but sincere interest.

Pray for all schoolchildren, especially those close to you. Dave and I pray every night for our grandchildren and I pray for them in the morning.

I’ll close with another quote from Mark Levin’s last chapter “We Choose Liberty!” in American Marxism.
“I am often asked on radio what are ‘we’ going to do about recovering our country. Too often, what is meant is—what is someone else going to do to save America. That mind-set is simply unacceptable. If we are to rally to the defense of our own liberty and unalienable rights, then each of us, in our own roles and ways, must become personally and directly involved as citizen activists, in our own fate and the fate of our country.”

I would add that each parent and grandparent must have a mind-set to take a role in not only saving our country for the sake of our children, but saving our children for their own sake!

Note: I had no idea what to write about this week. My mind was blank but God woke me up Friday night and this blog topic kept me awake for several hours. I knew what the Lord wanted me to share. I hope to write some thoughts on the climate-control hoax soon, but nothing is more important right now than the fate and future of our children, the next generation.

Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children. Pr. 17:6

One generation commends your works to another;
    they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—
    and I will meditate on your wonderful works.[a]
6 They tell of the power of your awesome works—
    and I will proclaim your great deeds.
7 They celebrate your abundant goodness
    and joyfully sing of your righteousness. Psalm 145:4-7

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November 8, 2021
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Who’s Behind The War on Women?

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Over the years, it’s appeared outwardly that women are advancing in respect and career opportunities. Women are CEO’s, own businesses, hold political positions, host news programs, headline movies and TV programs, author books, own homes, are public speakers and the list goes on.

Until recently, we would’ve said that the culture was on the side of women achieving their goals. Or has it been?

What’s changed?

Who’s behind the devaluing of women and their safety?

Who’s behind the war on women?

I think the answer to those and even more questions originated in the Garden of Eden when the serpent, the Devil, chose to tempt Eve instead of Adam with the forbidden fruit. Sadly, she succumbed to the question so often used to justify sin today, “Did God really say?”

The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” Gen. 3:1 NLT

 The disgraced Satan has always been at war with God. He wants to be God and when that fails, he wants to be sure that God’s people do not multiply and fill the earth as God predestined.

Satan will try anything to stop God’s people from multiplying. Since God gave women reproductive anatomy, the Devil is the commander, plotter, originator, and perpetuator of the war on women.

Remember in Ephesians 6 that we’re told our battle isn’t against flesh and blood, aka the liberals, progressives, Democrats, atheists, imposters trying to be women. No, the battle is against the spiritual principalities of evil. Those flesh and blood people perpetuating the evil often don’t even realize that they’re being played by Satan. Used. Deceived. Weaponized as they do his dirty work.

But like Eve learned, there will be a price to pay for anyone manipulated by Satan and sadly his victims.

10 A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. 12 For we[a] are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Eph. 6:10-12 NLT

One of Satan’s most effective tactical weapons is the use of lies to create confusion. As with Eve, if he can create enough doubt and confusion, his evil battle rages on.

43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! 44 For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me! John 8:43-45 NLT

Let’s look at some of Satan’s strategies in the War on Women!

The Battleground of Abortion

Many women believe the lie that they’re not carrying a baby; it’s just tissue and cells they’re told. Even with the advent of seeing the baby via sonograms, hearing the heartbeat, and knowing that each cell contains the baby’s DNA, Satan uses semantics to confuse them. It’s just “ending or terminating a pregnancy.” “A woman’s choice.” “Women’s healthcare.” “My body, my choice.” “Reproductive rights.”

Women are deceived into believing their life will be better without the life of their baby. Instead, millions of women have a hole in their heart grieving the children they didn’t allow to be born. Only Jesus can help mend that hole and He will if asked and allowed.

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a mother of five and grandmother of nine, is asked about how she reconciles her Catholic faith with her undaunted support of abortion, she responds: “Let me just say that I’m a big supporter of Roe v. Wade . . . . I am a mother of five children in six years. I have some standing on this issue as to respecting a woman’s right to choose.”

I often wonder what her children think when they hear her repeated and relentless defense of abortion?

An author of an article in the Washington Examiner wrote:

“I am a mother” is really not an answer to whether abortion takes a human life. It is, in fact, a false appeal to authority. And it looks especially bad precisely because a mother, of all people, shouldn’t have a hard time answering the question.

Pelosi does have some “standing on the issue” on account of her having a large family. For her, this shouldn’t be a difficult question. But as the standard-bearer for a party with a fanatical devotion to keeping abortion legal and available through all nine months of pregnancy, she cannot even bring herself to say whether a 15-week-old unborn child is a human being.

Imagine how fanatically devoted to politics one must be to deny even one’s most life-affirming experiences.

What a missed opportunity to support life and encourage women! She’s had five children and still rose to the third highest political position in the country. She could wear her motherhood like a proud badge of honor encouraging all women that you can have the blessings of motherhood and still achieve your goals.

The Battleground of Genders

God was very specific when He created only two, genders: Male and female.

So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27 NLT

We also know that the woman Eve was created as a helpmate for the man Adam. Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” Gen. 2:8

We’re told in God’s Word that men and women would marry and come together sexually to continue populating the earth. Any deviation from God’s plan was an abomination and a sin. Period.

When my grandson was nine-years-old, he pointed out that of course men were not supposed to have sex with men or women with women because then the world would end!! There would be no more babies. No more people. That’s a no brainer even for a nine-year-old!

Even the animals get that! Also take seven pairs of every kind of bird. There must be a male and a female in each pair to ensure that all life will survive on the earth after the flood. Gen. 7:3 NLT.

Only Satan could try to subvert God’s plan for humanity by causing what we now call “gender confusion.” Again, confusion does not come from God, it comes from Satan.

Confused men who think life would be better as a woman have demanded legal rights to pretend they’re women. They’re allowed to invade the private and public spaces of women in bathrooms, locker and dressing rooms, spas, beauty contests, and even competing in sports against biological women!

Logically and anatomically this is ludicrous and lewd, but instead of rationale people standing up for protecting women, the government is bending to social pressure from a fringe element.

A man is now “Miss Nevada!” A biological 43-year-old male who “identifies as a woman” from New Zealand will compete in women’s weightlifting at the Olympics.

How many biological women do you see trying to compete in men’s sports? Not many or maybe none.

We’re told it’s discrimination to not let confused men “identify” as women with all the privileges, but what about the rights of real women? Why isn’t this male invasion considered discrimination against women?

In a commentary by Joe Saunders in The Western Journal, Saunders wrote about comments from NFL quarterback Brett Favre.

 He was never more on target than when he nailed the issue of transgender “women” competing against true females on the biggest stages in sports. Liberals are going to hate it, but no sane, honest person — man or woman — could disagree.

“It’s a man competing as a woman,” Favre said with characteristic bluntness. “That’s unfair.”

Every human past puberty understands that there are basic physiological differences between men and women. It’s just that in the 21st century, liberals seem to have decided ideology trumps biology.

The Battleground of Motherhood

Last week, I wrote about this battleground and I’ll refer you to that blog “Never Poke a Mama Bear” where I point out that Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are trying to eliminate Mother and replace with “birthing people.” Do you think Pelosi’s five kids call her their birthing person?

What’s a Woman to Do?

We must stay educated on the issues facing women today and consider them from God’s perspective. Educate our children and grandchildren to not become influenced or persuaded by the ways and sways of the world.

If you know someone influenced negatively by false teachings or ideologies, take the time to talk with them and pray for and with them. Share with them God’s purpose and plans for men and women and why He made us different and unique with specific life roles.

Get involved. Don’t be afraid to stand up against wrong. Like the woman who protested when a male came into the women and children’s area of a spa in California and exposed himself. One of her comments was that other women were afraid to come forward and confront the spa owners who were allowing such an atrocity. But she wasn’t afraid and good for her!

Silence in the face of wrong is wrong itself!

Our tendency often is to avoid adversity but Jesus never avoided sharing the truth even when it wasn’t welcomed or convenient.

The spiritual battle isn’t between Democrats vs Republicans or liberals vs conservatives. It’s between wrong vs right, evil vs good. Satan vs Jesus. The enemy vs the Savior!

It’s easy to say we know who wins in the end so let’s not get involved, but other people are hurt when we don’t engage. The Christian life isn’t about standing quietly on the sidelines; it’s about standing boldly on the Lord’s side of the spiritual battle.

What Satan means for evil, God will use for good! He’ll use those of us who are willing to join Him in the fight for right. I hope you’re in the Lord’s army. I am.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Eph. 6:10-13

The Lord has given me Joshua 1:9 not just once but several times today, so I leave you with a theme verse from my book Everyday Brave: Living Courageously as a Woman of Faith.

If you received this blog by email, please leave a comment here! Thank you. I answer every comment.

July 12, 2021
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Never Poke A Mama Bear

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I’m sure by now you’ve seen the video clips that went viral of moms and dads confronting local school boards protesting the mandatory teaching in schools of Marxist critical race theory where children are taught to judge each other by the color of their skin. If your skin is dark, you’re oppressed and if your skin is white, you’re the oppressor.

You can’t get more racist or Communist than to teach these radical untruths to children in school and foster their mistrust and animosity toward each other at an early age. This is the exact opposite of what our Constitution and God affirms that all men are created equal regardless of race, color, or creed.

So I say bravo to those brave and concerned parents, like my daughter Kim in the opening picture, who are not going to allow their children to be indoctrinated in Marxist/Communist theology and ideology.

The parents speaking up at these school council meetings are black, white, brown and some had escaped Communist and oppressive countries and were not about to let their children be raised in a country where the leadership and school boards are quickly shifting their values to resemble the countries they fled.

When an interviewer asked one of the mothers at a school board meeting, who just happened to be black, why she was speaking up against critical race theory she responded, “Never poke this mama bear.” I think every mother knows exactly what she meant. When you start messing with our kids, moms are always going to rise up to protect them. Or at least they should.

An article titled “Largest teachers union says critical race theory is ‘reasonable and appropriate’ for kids, outlines what these parents are up against. Here’s an excerpt:


The National Education Association has approved a plan to “publicize” critical race theory and dedicate a “team of staffers” to assist union members looking to “fight back against anti-CRT rhetoric.”

New Business Item 39 also declares that the union opposes bans on critical race theory and the New York Times’ controversial 1619 Project – which roughly half the U.S. states have already implemented.

Additionally, the resolution calls for the union to “join with Black Lives Matter at School and the Zinn Education Project to call for a rally this year on Oct. 14 — George Floyd’s birthday — as a national day of action to teach lessons about structural racism and oppression.”

Get Involved!

Do you remember during the 2016 election when Franklin Graham went to the Capitol in every state pleading with people to vote their values? My daughter and I took the three grandkids to hear him as he stood on the Boise Capitol steps and one of the points he made was for Christians to get involved with the governing of their cities and states. Run for office. Make sure Christian and Conservative values are represented and heard in local government and decision making issues. He specifically mentioned running for school boards because there’s nothing more important than guarding the education and minds of our children.

It almost seems like Franklin was prophetic as we watch the lunacy of liberal school boards. Not just in wanting to teach Communist indoctrination, but also in the pornographic immoral way many are presenting “sex education” starting in Kindergarten. Teaching gay and transgender lifestyles as normal options for children. Fostering gender confusion.

I heard former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany say in an interview that she’s only going to send her little girl, who is now a toddler, to parochial schools because she knows she won’t have to worry about what her daughter is being taught. This mama bear is protecting her cub from danger.

The Devil always goes after the children because they’re the next generation who will influence the world for either good or evil. We’re watching the fallout of teachers who have gone through the liberal progressive school system themselves and are onboard with biased teaching. Any teachers who speak up or refuse to teach what they know is wrong are often fired.

No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister. 1 John 3:9-11

But parents and grandparents, you can’t be fired! You can protest and refuse to let your sweet innocent children be taught what you know is wrong.

You have a voice. You have a vote. You have a choice.

Masks and Vaccinations for Children

Another area you’re going to face in the fall as schools open up is school districts who want to enforce mandatory masks and vaccinations for your children to attend school. There are numerous studies showing how unsafe both of these practices can be for children.

Do your own investigation. Be informed. Pray about it. Make an educated decision and then take a firm vocal stand for what you know is right for your child!

In Communist countries, the government has more control over children than the parents do. Don’t let this happen in America. Don’t surrender your rights as a parent.

You might think I’m being a bit dramatic, but the way Satan gets a foothold is to subtly and slyly slither into normal life and before you know it, evil has become the norm.

I’ll be writing next week about the War On Women! One of the liberal’s sly strategies is to devalue and demean the role of mothers by referring to them as merely “birthing people.” Cancel motherhood! We can laugh at how ridiculous this is but the Democrats actually wrote that insidious term into the infrastructure bill so they weren’t laughing. They were serious.

Black Lives Matter’s manifesto is to eliminate the nuclear family and have BLM take over that role. As BLM infiltrates Democrat government and teachers unions, we’re seeing their influence and ideologies seep into language and legislature.

One of the first things the Democrat house majority ruled in January 2021 was to eliminate the use of gender identity including mother, father, husband, and wife. As reported in the Washington Examiner . . .
“The proposed rule package seeks to “honor all gender identities” by striking words including “seaman,” “chairman,” “father,” “mother,” “sister,” “husband,” and “wife” from use and replacing them with gender-neutral terms including “seafarer,” “chair,” “parent,” “child,” and “sibling.”

“Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi praised the “visionary rules package,” saying in a statement the package “reflects the views and values of the full range of our historically diverse House Democratic Majority.”

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy mocked the proposed changes, calling them “stupid,” while Representative-elect Marjorie Taylor Green called the measures a “blatant denial of truth” and an “attack on families.”

Why would Nancy Pelosi, a wife, mother, and grandmother, now praise eliminating those endearing ageless family terms? Since she admits that this “reflects the views and values of the full range of our historically diverse House Democratic Majority,” you know the left’s views and values have become sinister and dangerous.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Is. 5:20

So Mama Bears, you’re being poked from all directions.

Pick your battles.

Pray for guidance.

Protect your children and family.

Publically make a difference.

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

The father of a righteous child has great joy;
    a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him.
25 May your father and mother rejoice;
    may she who gave you birth be joyful. Pr. 23:24-26

If you received this post by email, please leave a comment here.

Political cartoon is by editorial cartoonist A.F.Branco A.F. Branco Cartoon – You Know, the Thing – Comically Incorrect.

Picture of the parents is from the article cited in the blog.
Opening picture is my daughter Kim Mancini taken on Mother’s Day!

July 5, 2021
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Trust In God, Not the Government

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It doesn’t matter which party is in power or who is in government positions, we should always place our trust and hope in God, not the government or politicians. That’s why it still says on our money and in the House Chamber, “In God We Trust,” which became our nation’s official motto on July 30, 1956, when Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill proclaiming it the law of the land!

I think many lawmakers walking the halls of Congress and many voters forget that God is the only One who is trustworthy, regardless of how many politicians try to put themselves in His place.

Last week, as Biden gave his first public address to the nation, he painted a “dark” picture of our country and tried to tell us that our only hope of living free again in the land of the free was in his words as he leaned into the camera, “trust the government and science.” A government that wants to tell us when we can hug grandma and grandpa and maybe have a backyard BBQ on the 4th of July if we obey and follow the government’s ever changing “science-based” rules and guidelines for living everyday life.

What he grossly omitted from his lecture to America was mentioning the Only source of hope out of any darkness or trouble: Celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ together in our churches on Easter Sunday next month!

For a child is born to us,
    a son is given to us.
The government will rest on his shoulders.
    And he will be called:
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 His government and its peace
    will never end.
He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David
    for all eternity.
The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
    will make this happen! Isaiah 9:6-7 NLT

Discernment and Rational Thinking Seem to Be Masked

During the election, a group of prominent Pastors and Christian leaders who called themselves, “Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden,” baffled me. It seemed an oxymoron. They wanted to believe that Biden’s campaign would honor a verbal agreement to check with them before making any abortion legislation, so they supported him and tried to get others onboard.

Yet, with only a little investigation and discernment while listening to his campaign points directed to his core liberal constituency, they would have easily deducted that he actually would . . .

  • Reverse the Hyde Amendment, which he once supported but now Democrats call racist
  • Make himself the champion of a “woman’s right to choose” and call it “healthcare”
  • Force taxpayers to pay for abortion up and through the point of birth
  • Reopen the case against the Little Sisters of the Poor and reinstate the policy that every organization had to pay for abortifacient contraceptives
  • Reverse the Mexico City Policy, which prevents taxpayers from funding abortion overseas
  • If SCOTUS overturned Roe V Wade, he’d go to Congress and make it the law of the land
  • Oh and BTW, his running mate was a liberal advocates for abortion.

They would know that the head of the U.S. Catholic Bishops wrote a public scathing rebuke of Catholic Biden’s radical support of abortion and redefinition of gender.

You had to be completely oblivious or in denial not to know that the Biden/Harris administration was going to not only support and liberally promote abortion, but also radical gender identity issues.

Yet still the Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden are now publically outraged and feel betrayed?!

“We are very disappointed about the COVID-19 relief package’s exclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding bipartisan policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortion. We’re even more upset that the Biden administration is supporting this bill,” the group declared in a recent statement.

“As pro-life leaders in the evangelical community, we publicly supported President Biden’s candidacy with the understanding that there would be engagement [with] us on the issue of abortion and particularly the Hyde Amendment,” the group said. “The Biden team wanted to talk to us during the campaign to gain our support, and we gave it on the condition there would be active dialogue and common ground solutions on the issue of abortion. There has been no dialogue since the campaign.”

How could any Christian be so deceived? How did they think they would find common ground with the Biden liberal agenda even if they had been consulted? They weren’t betrayed; they were used. He’s doing just what he said he would do. Joe Biden is being Joe Biden.

Wouldn’t you think that Pro-life Evangelicals, and even Catholics who voted for him, could’ve seen through his political two-sided facade?

What made Joe renege his Catholic faith beliefs and reverse position on many policies he once championed like the Hyde Ammendment? Power. It seems that the temptation to compromise became too great. Becoming President overshadowed his once core beliefs.

It’s so important as citizens and Christians that we diligently do our homework and persistently pray for wisdom and discernment. Look at facts and details with clear unbiased eyes. We don’t want to become jaded with cynicism, but we do want to be realistic and pursue all avenues before making final decisions or placing our support behind a person or issue.

Often Christians are characterized as naïve and gullible, and honestly, the Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden being so easily manipulated and duped, only reinforces this misconception. But it’s the opposite of who we are! We know the Author of Truth who is just a prayer away.

We are naïve and gullible when we trust those who do not have the same values and beliefs that we do. If we have doubts or concerns, then we do our own research and don’t rely on political rhetoric.

Give discernment to me, your servant; then I will understand your laws. Psalm 119:125 NLT

My child, don’t lose sight of common sense and discernment. Hang on to them. Pr. 3:21 NLT

Rich people may think they are wise, but a poor person with discernment can see right through them. Pr. 28:11 NLT

Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall. Hosea 14:9 NLT

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8

Science Continually Changes, God Never Does

What so many people forget is that science and faith are not mutually exclusive. God created science and gave man the potential to explore and study it. God created the world; only He knows when it will end. God created and controls the weather and the climate. God created gender, male and female.

Covid was man-made by scientists and yet we’re continually told to trust the science as government uses the pandemic to control us.

God knows what we should do in all circumstances. Who we should trust and who has evil motives. We just need to take our concerns and questions to Him. Then listen for His answer!

Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. Pr. 29:25

 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. Ps. 20:7

It is better to take refuge in the LORD than to trust in humans. Ps. 118:8

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea. Ps. 46:1-2

What Does God Want Us to Learn About Placing Our Trust in the Wrong Places?

When we pray about decisions, God gives us a confirming peace or a check in our spirit that something isn’t quite right. If you’re experiencing unrest right now, pray and ask God to fill you with discernment and wisdom then trust that the peace you feel moving forward is coming from the Lord.

Dave and I often pray about big and little decisions on our own and then together. Then we wait until we’re both in agreement that we’re doing the right thing. It might take a while and each of us might need to change some preconceived ideas or do more research, but God will speak to us in unity through our prayers and reading our Bibles. Often one of us will say to the other one, “I was thinking the same thing.” Then we know we’re close to a decision.

If you’re not married find a prayer partner that you feel comfortable and confident sharing with each other.

We’re not going to find the way God wants us to go by relying solely on outside input like the culture, media, or social media. We’re children of God, not children of the world.

“Every Kingdom citizen is called to be a conformist toward God and a nonconformist toward the world’s systems. Let the Spirit change the environment within you; then trust the power within you to change the world around you.” Chris Tiegreen

If you now regret decisions that you’ve made in the past, join the club. We’ve all been there, but we can learn from our mistakes and with God’s help, choose a better way next time. He’ll never make us go it alone.

I hope that as you pray over the Scriptures I’ve included in this article that you’ll feel a peace come over you, like I did. We do our part to further the Kingdom, but we do it out of a sense of peace and not stress or fear. Shalom!

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD himself, is my strength and my defense ; he has become my salvation.” Is. 12:2

You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD himself, is the Rock eternal. Is. 26:3-4

Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life. Ps 143:8

When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? Ps. 56:3-4

Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever. They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the LORD. Ps. 112:6-7

If you received this article by email, please leave a comment here. I read and reply to all of them.

The quotes from the Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden came from an article by Mike Huckabee and also a link he shares, but they were readily published in the media. As I read their comments, I sensed that they still didn’t understand where they went wrong as many said they would still vote Democrat even knowing the liberals support everything they don’t support? Voters’ Remorse – Latest News – Mike Huckabee

March 15, 2021
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Virtual Grandparents’ Day of Prayer!

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Have you heard about the Virtual Grandparents Day of Prayer? 

Since two of my granddaughters and their friends visited us this past week, I thought it was a perfect time to remind you of National Grandparents Day on September 13, 2020.  

The Christian Grandparenting Network (CGN) wants to make it a Day of Prayer for our grandchildren and their parents! This year they’re adding a virtual element to allow grandparents to pray together.

My friend Lillian Penner has provided information below to explain more about this day and how to participate.

What Is the Need?

The enemy prowls like a lion, infiltrating our culture with lies and deception. He attacks our families at all levels.

Even our Christian faith is under attack. As a result, parents and grandparents find themselves in a tug-of-war for the souls of their children and grandchildren.

Paul warns us, “For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. They will reject the truth and chase after myths” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

Barna Research confirms Paul’s warning. Fifty-eight percent of adults living in the United States agree that “identifying moral truth is up to each individual; there are no moral absolutes that apply to everyone, all the time. Surprisingly, forty-eight percent of adults identified as born-again Christians agreed with the statement.”[1]  

God has given grandparents a sacred trust – an opportunity to imprint another generation with His love and faithfulness. We need to intercede for the hearts, minds, and souls of our grandchildren and their parents, praying they don’t fall captive to the enemy’s deception.

With this in mind, the Prayer Ministry is inviting you and your church families to join us on National Grandparents’ Day (September 13th) for a Virtual Grandparents’ Day of Prayer.

WHAT IS A “VIRTUAL GRANDPARENTS’ DAY OF PRAYER”?

Several years ago, the prayer ministry of Christian Grandparenting Network (CGN) saw the urgency to establish a day for grandparents to unite in prayer. Under the leadership of Lillian Penner, the second Sunday of September was named Grandparents’ Day of Prayer. This day coincided with the National Grandparents’ Day in the United States.

Churches enthusiastically responded by hosting events such as grandparent prayer breakfasts, luncheons and afternoon teas.

The present pandemic has forced many churches to close or limit the amount of available seating. Therefore, instead of the traditional Grandparents’ Day of Prayer, we are inviting you, as grandparents, to observe a Virtual Grandparents’ Day of Prayer on September 13th. We are encouraging you to pray with at least one other grandparent over the phone, via a conferencing tool such as Zoom, or in-person with careful observance of social distancing guidelines.

To learn more about participation go to https://christiangrandparenting.com/prayer/grandparents-day-of-prayer/ 

May God bless you richly as you pray for your grandchildren,

Lillian Penner, 

GDOP Coordinator, 

Christian Grandparenting Prayer ministry

[email protected]

 [1] The findings are part of the American Worldview Inventory and were released by George Barna, director of research at the cultural research center at Arizona Christian University.

August 17, 2020
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When God Confirms Your Message!

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I’m going to be short today. You’re probably going “right!” Well, I’m going to try.

Last week, I had some pre-cancers frozen off my hands and a couple of them are very painful so it’s hard to type. But God in His mercy brought to my attention a pastor whose blogs I could have written myself! As I read several, and listened to video clips, I wondered how I had never heard of Pastor Shane Idleman of Westside Fellowship Church in Lancaster, California.

While reading Pastor Idleman’s article “An Open Letter to American Churches—Focus on the Cross,” I found that many comments by this pastor are similar to ones I made in my blog last week, It Always Was About Jesus! He is the Real Target . . .

As I listened to Idleman’s message “Let Me Get This Straight” on You Tube, I was dittoing and saying amen to everything he said because I’ve been saying the same thing!

One more. In “Post-Pandemic Pastors & the Sin of Silence,” Pastor Idleman addresses issues I’ve been writing about.

Here’s just one: Why has it taken so long for pastors to realize they were the first to be silenced/closed during the pandemic while liquor stores and abortion clinics stayed open?! Now, thousands are rioting and protesting in mass and it seems to be no problem to the community spread of Covid; yet most churches are still closed or open under burdensome restrictions, like not singing.

God has used Pastor Idleman to confirm the messages God is giving me to write. I’m not alone. The Holy Spirit is speaking to both of us in a similar way. It’s as if Pastor Idleman and I are reading and writing from the same script. Actually, we are: The Bible!

I love what he says on his website:
“If we encourage truth, yet fail to relate to our culture, the church can seem formal and dead. This fact fuels the postmodern movement. But when truth is sacrificed for the sake of relating to the culture, as we see today, the very foundation is destroyed. Truth, the foundational beliefs clearly outlined in Scripture, must remain unmoved and unchanged. Times change, but truth does not!”

So what am I asking you to do this week? Read his blogs I mention above and maybe you will find more you want to read. I did. Each one I noted has a link embedded in the title. Watch the video clip also and pray about what you read and hear.

Let me know if God speaks to you through this pastor’s words as they speak to me.

President Trump’s Mount Rushmore Speech

If you didn’t hear President Trump’s historic speech at Mount Rushmore on July 3 that traced the history and legacy of the four presidents chiseled into this mountain in South Dakota, please take time to listen now. If you have children or grandchildren, listen with them. They may have never heard the contributions these men made to our freedom and the greatness of America.

Everyone has made mistakes in life but tearing down statues of our founding fathers only accentuates the ignorant mistakes of those participating in the violence.

We are the land of liberty not insanity.

We are the land where freedom reigns but lawlessness is condemned.

We are the land founded on God’s biblical principles that Satan will not destroy!

Here are several quotes that caught my attention from President Trump’s Mount Rushmore speech:

“Don’t rip up your heritage, live up to it!”

“It is time to speak up loudly and proudly to defend our country!”

“We stand strong! We stand proud! We stand tall! And we only kneel to almighty God!”

I hope to be back next week with a blog “America’s Problem Is Systemic Secularism NOT Systemic Racism. “

PS If you get an error message on the link to President Trump’s speech, just wait and it will come up.

July 6, 2020
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