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Did You Even Know March is Women’s History Month?

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I have to admit, until I was asked by Crosswalk to write an article on 4 Ways Christians Can Celebrate Women’s International Day on Saturday March 8, I had never heard of Women’s History Month. The media and liberals make a big deal about Black History Month in February, but why don’t we hear anything about Women’s History Month in March? Maybe that’s because it conflicts with “Bisexual Health Awareness Month” also in March. We do need to stop and pray for women all over the world especially right now in the Democratic Republic of Congo described as “hell on earth” with killing and raping of women and killing of Christians.

Women are vulnerable in all countries. Yes, even in America. While we have more freedom and rights than women in Afghanistan or the Congo do, we’re rapidly losing some of those freedoms. However, thankfully President Trump is aware of this loss and recognized Women’s History Month by signing an Executive Order proclamation declaring March 2025 as Women’s History Month! President Trump has many capable and highly qualified women in his Administration. As he signed the EO he said, “This is an honor.”

Most people have forgotten that Women’s History Month began in 1987, but it hasn’t been recognized or acknowledged during the left’s current war on women until President Trump! Thank you, Mr. President.

Women have a history of fighting for equality and constitutional rights in our country. Suffragists fought for women’s right to vote, and a constant battle continues for women to be treated fairly and equally in jobs and careers. But who would’ve ever imagined that in the 21st Century women would be fighting to defend and protect our very existence and definition of a woman?! Or maintaining Title IX to keep women’s sports exclusive to women? We’re going backward in history instead of forward.

The Biden administration promoted and favored a tiny fraction of men suffering from gender dysphoria, or have a perverted fetish, or are so mentally ill they want to use their body to abuse women in sports. We now live in a world where President Trump had to write another executive order “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government,” to demolish the left’s obsession with perversion of God’s creation.

President Trump legally mandated that the Federal Government only recognizes what God biblically mandated at creation: there are only two sexes–male and female. The executive order also explicitly states, “sex is not a synonym for and does not include the concept of ‘gender ideology.’” 

What we’ve all known and lived by for years that gender is not fluid has been satanically distorted by diabolical political ideology from Democrats and their propaganda arm of the mainstream media. CNN hosts say about the executive orders that, “unnamed scientists, critics oppose ‘new definitions’ of male, female.” They aren’t new definitions; they’re God’s definitions since the beginning of time. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them “human.” Gen. 5:2

Then at President Trump’s Speech to Joint Session of Congress, we saw the Democrats, including the women and crossdresser Tim McBride (D-Del) dressed in pink, set on their hands with stone faces when President Trump honored Payton McNabb. Payton was a member of the Hiwassee Dam High School girls’ volleyball team in Cherokee County, NC, until a male crossdresser playing for Highlands High School cut her dreams down in September 2022. The male Highlands player, who towered over his female opponents at 5’11,” spiked the ball into McNabb’s face, leaving the then 17-year-old unconscious with a brain bleed, concussion, and permanent whiplash. Payton has brain damage, vision issues, and paralysis on her right side—injuries that prevented her from pursuing her dream of securing a volleyball college scholarship.

Payton has turned a terrible tragedy into a purpose by working hard in recent years to ensure that other women and girls don’t have their dreams similarly stolen and smashed by opportunistic men emboldened by Democrat-championed policies.

After explaining Payton’s harrowing life changing experience by a male, President Trump told McNabb, “From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls’ team, or they will lose all federal funding.” He added that the inclusion of men in women’s sports is “demeaning for women, and it’s very bad for our country. We’re not going to put up with it any longer.”

Yet, the very day before President Trump’s speech, EVERY Democrat Senator voted against moving forward a bill that would codify President Trump’s Executive Order “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports.” It had already passed the House with all Republicans voting for it and all but two Democrats voting against it, even though a supermajority of all Americans—Democrat and Republican—want men out of women’s sports. Yet, a number of Democrat governors, even women governors, are defying President Trump’s executive order and continue to let vulnerable girls be abused by men in women’s sports.

Not only is keeping women’s sports exclusively for women common sense, it’s moral, ethical, and biblical to protect women from this invasion of cowardly, sick, and pathetic men into women’s sports, locker rooms, and private spaces.

God made men stronger with prowess to protect women, not abuse them. Everyone knows a man is physically and biologically stronger, faster, and can physically outperform a woman. Every man that cross-dresses knows that too, and so should every Congress man/woman, Senator, Governor, State Legislator, School Superintendent, Coach, parents, and doctors!

The Democrats, including pink ladies, not only didn’t stand for Payton McNabb, but they also didn’t stand for Laken Riley or Jocelyn Nungaray, both tortured, raped, and killed by illegal alien men the Biden administration and Democrats let into our country!

A Note to Parents

Parents I feel for you. Kids going through puberty do and say crazy things. We all went through it. As hard as it is, parents need to be parents. Kids have learned through TikTok and other social media that all they have to say is that they’re going to kill themselves to get their scared parents to comply. Sadly, kids during puberty are confused and try experimental things. They may start drinking, smoking, cutting, or even turn to drugs. Many times, they want to do shocking things to get attention. Gender ideology has become so prevalent in the past few years because it’s promoted in schools, on social media, the culture, in politics, the media, and peer pressure. It’s become a fad.

It used to be that drag shows were not allowed in public and those who participated were considered what they are, perverted. But suddenly a self-described gay activist Marxist is head of the National Library Association and drag story hour is offered to small impressionable children whose parents take them?!

The gay/trans population is small, but they have a large vocal activist lobby in D.C. and they’re going after the children. Successfully, I might add. Romans 1:10-32, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, and 1 Tim. 1:9-11 provide God’s view of this perversion. Parents’ job is to protect their children from it! The only anecdote is Jesus in their lives. Attempting to do the impossible, change your gender, is NOT normal, mentally or physically healthy, or productive. What the children need is a change of heart and mind.

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Pr. 22:6

Sadly, unethical doctors have learned how to do sexual mutilation surgeries and give castrating drugs that make them lots of money. Once you start a precious child down that road, they’ll be a patient for life. Just the words “Puberty Blocker” is a red flag. Our bodies were created to go through puberty. It’s a physical maturing process for both men and women. Trying to stop it plays havoc on a child’s body, emotions, and brain.

They’re not happier after this unethical medical intervention. Look at the numbers of trans who have shot up schools and got themselves killed. The Biden Administration and the media tried to hide this to the detriment of children and parents. Kids aren’t experimentation projects. No one knows the long-term effects of the drugs and doctors downplay the immediate effects. But we do know they have side effects of aggression, anger, depression, violence, and self-destruction.

No mentally healthy male wants to put on girls’ clothes and pretend he’s a girl or vice versa with girls wanting to be boys. These kids need Christian psychological and pastoral help not the indoctrination they’re getting in schools and on social media. Usually, something traumatic has happened in their life and they’re acting out in a way that has now become socially acceptable and even tragically encouraged. We’re seeing a generation of confused children not happy in their own body, and it’s being culturally motivated and promoted by Satan. It’s a demonic lie that you can change gender. You can’t.

If a child says he or she wants to be a horse and run in a horse race, we wouldn’t take them to a veterinarian to start turning them into a horse and enter them into races. That isn’t any more ridiculous than letting boys/men cross-dress and enter into girls’ /women’s sports. In both scenarios, they need to go to a well-researched child psychologist or treatment center, preferably a Christian one. Some of these boys didn’t do well when they participated in men’s sports, so they decide to “identify” as women to play in women’s sports where they take away dreams, trophies, scholarships, and even cause great harm to girls. It’s wrong on every level!

Just like you wouldn’t encourage kids that are on drugs to become addicted for life, trying to change their identity is just another addiction and needs the same kind of therapy and treatment. I don’t know why more people aren’t speaking out about this. Maybe fear. Listen to a detransition interview or whistleblower Dr. Ethan Haim who almost went to prison under the Biden Administration for exposing transgender surgeries at Texas Children’s Hospital after they claimed to have stopped. (Trump’s DOJ dropped all charges against Haim in January 2025).

The detransitioned children say doctors didn’t give their parents any other option but drugs and/or surgeries to try and do the impossible of changing gender when all it does is castrate and sterilize them for life. The doctors didn’t offer counseling or psychological help to work through the issues. They instead scare parents with threats their child will commit suicide, but sadly many who go the attempted “transition” route tragically do just that.

Statistics show higher suicide numbers for kids and adults given puberty blockers or mutilation surgery to try to achieve a biological lie that they can change their gender. Trans surgeries increase risk of mental health conditions, suicidal ideations study | Fox News

What Can We Do to Help Women?

I believe the left’s obsession with favoring crossdressing men invading girls’ sports is because they’ve abandoned a biblical worldview. They’ve abandoned God. They’ve embraced the lie of the enemy and ruler of this worldly culture, Satan. The only hope for them is to repent and run to Jesus for forgiveness and turn away from the lobbyists, doctors, drug companies, organizations, activists, and any wealth they may be receiving from this insanity.

We need to vote the Democrats out of office because their lack of respect for women isn’t their only demon. They want to kill baby boys and girls up through and after birth. They want illegals to roam free in our communities and rob, pillage, rape, and kill girls and women.

It’s the party that’s obsessed with hate for President Donald Trump. Hate causes hearts to turn stone cold. Look at their faces during Donald Trump’s speech and I’m sure you’ll agree they’ve lost their minds and their hearts to the evil one. They’re an embarrassment to everything America stands for and they’ve abandoned women.

Run for office if God leads you. Write articles in your local paper. Speak up for women! Whatever you do, don’t sit quietly by and let them get control again of our beautiful America. Pray for God’s wisdom and guidance of what He wants for you to do in your family and your country.

I hope you’ll also read my article “God Knows What a Woman Is!”

And my blog Who’s Behind the War on Women?

Please leave a comment here.

March 10, 2025
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What Should Christians Do In The ‘Golden Age’?

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At the start of President Trump’s Inaugural address on January 20, 2025, he promised, “The Golden Age of America begins right now!”

The nation would be safe, secure, and prosperous again. Trump also vowed to eliminate DEI and that “Almighty God” would again be honored in America. He has since established a White House Faith Office and created a task force under Attorney General Pam Bondi to investigate “targeting of Christians and eradicate anti-Christian bias. At the National Prayer Breakfast in D.C. President Trump said, “Without God, we are isolated and alone, but with God, the Scriptures tell us, all things are possible.”

Trump’s diplomatic goal for our country is restoring an era of American exceptionalism in which the U.S. is an economic powerhouse, common sense the rule, and traditional values centered on God, family, and freedom are celebrated. The Golden Age.

Origins of Golden Age

Golden Age is a term used to describe a period in history where a culture, society, or nation experiences a period of prosperity, peace, and advancements. This era is characterized by significant achievements, significant contributions, and a collective sense of prosperity and unity. Major advances in science, technology, art, and literature often mark golden ages.

Wikipedia describes ‘Golden Age’ as a metaphor for a time considered as a peak in the history of a country or people when the greatest achievements were made. The term originated from early Greek mythology and Roman poets who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time.

Characteristics of a Golden Age

While there is no strict definition of a Golden Age, it typically exhibits certain characteristics:

• Profound economic prosperity: The era is marked by stable economic growth, trade flourishing, and widespread wealth creation.
• Cultural achievements: Art, literature, music, and science experience significant advancements, contributing to the development of civilization.
• Peaceful relations: There is little conflict or war, with nations and groups coexisting harmoniously.
• Innovative spirit: New ideas, inventions, and discoveries drive progress, pushing the boundaries of what is possible.

Historical Golden Ages

  • Hellenistic Golden Age (323–31 BCE)
  • European Renaissance (14th-17th century)
  • Age of Exploration (15th-17th century)
  • Golden Age of Islam (8th-13th century)

Recent Golden Ages

  • Digital Age (late 20th century-present)
  • Biotechnology and genomics (late 20th century-present)
  • Space Age (20th century)
  • The American Century, the period since the middle of the 20th century has been largely dominated by the United States in political, economic, and cultural terms and may be taken to represent a golden age of global cultural influence and political hegemony.

To many of us, the last four years under the Biden Administration was a demonic dark age.

  • Our national debt close to bankruptcy.
  • DEI and evil woke policies reigned throughout government and businesses.
  • Murdering babies from conception through birth considered a “right.”
  • Perverted decrepit sexual practices normalized and taught to young children in schools.
  • Lines blurred between biological and biblical definitions of men and women.
  • Children sterilized and castrated with drugs and surgical mutilation.
  • A war on women with men invading women’s and girls’ sports and private spaces.
  • A “new green deal” climate hoax forced on Americans.
  • Government censorship.
  • A lack of diplomacy, military readiness, or supremacy on the global stage.
  • People forced to take an experimental vaccination to keep their jobs or children to attend school.
  • Businesses, churches, schools closed by the government.
  • Terrorists funded, including Iran a country that hates America.
  • Our closest ally Israel snubbed and defunded during their horrific crisis.
  • Our border invaded by illegals, terrorists, and criminals.

I could go on, but you and I both lived through the insanity and tyranny. Certainly NOT a Golden Age. It was a dark, demonic, evil age and anyone who spoke or acted against complying with it was threatened, silenced, censored, or even imprisoned. This and so much more is what the American people voted against on November 5, 2024.

So yes, as we watch all of President Trump’s Executive Orders coming out of the Oval Office reversing the evil of the past administration, it does certainly feel like the dawning of a Golden Age. Many of us wake up every morning celebrating the return to sanity and common sense in America as corruption, fraud, and abuse is discovered and eliminated by DOGE.

Last week, we watched the first Cabinet Meeting begin in a beautiful prayer given by HUD Secretary Scott Turner where he prayed, “Father the Bible says, ‘Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord’” and he ended with, “In Jesus Name, Amen.”

What a blessing. What hope. What grace and mercy the Lord is granting America.

In today’s Golden Age, spiritually correct is politically correct. Hallelujah!

But we must remember that as good as this feels, our current Golden Age isn’t God’s future Golden Age. It’s like saying heaven on earth, knowing that as good as it might get here, this isn’t eternal Heaven. 

God’s Golden Age

When I told my husband I was writing on the Golden Age, he said he had just bought a book by Dr. David Jeremiah titled, you guessed it, The Coming Golden Age: 31 Ways To Be Kingdom Ready. Wow, what timing! Notice the word “coming” in the title. While we might be living in America’s earthly Golden Age, and let’s pray it continues, the Lord’s Golden Age is in the future. Dr. Jeremiah’s book is prophetically timed because it was published in October 2024 before Trump’s Golden Age for America inaugural speech.

You won’t find the term “Golden Age” in your Bible, but you will find it inferred prophetically. Let me share a few quotes from the Introduction to Dr. Jeremiah’s book.

“Recently I’ve been digging them up—hundreds of verses about the coming Golden Age, the impending thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ on this planet. Some commentators say it is the single most mentioned subject in all of God’s Word. Ten centuries when the world will be peaceful, prosperous, and under the power and authority of Jesus Christ! This Millennium of time is ahead of us. It’s the epoch between our Lord’s return to this planet and the onset of the new heaven and new earth of the eternal age.”

“If you belong to Jesus Christ, you’re included in the future He’s designed. There is a coming Golden Age, and it gets even better after that!”

Dr. Jeremiah describes the timeline before the Millennium starting with the Rapture of the church in 1 Thess. 4:13-18. This could happen at any minute. Maybe even before I finish writing this blog! “The vanishing of millions or billions of people will traumatize the nations, leading to a global power shift and worldwide war (Rev. 6:1-8). A cunning one-world ruler [Antichrist] will emerge, triggering seven years of Tribulation on our planet (Dan. 9:27; Rev. 6-18).”

Revelations 15:1 and Zech. 14:2 describes what Jesus called “great tribulations, such as not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (Matt. 24:21 NKJV). This will climax in the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:16.) “Just when Israel appears on the verge of annihilations, Jesus Christ will appear in the sky and destroy the hostile forces of the Antichrist (Zech. 14:2; Rev. 19:11-16). Our Lord will literally speak the victory, and He will deliver His people.”

Those already raptured will be with Jesus and see Him descend onto the Mount of Olives (Zech. 14:4; Acts 1:11) as He gloriously enters Jerusalem and assumes the reins of world government for one thousand years (Rev. 20:4-6). The Millennium. God’s coming Golden Age.

As Dr. Jeremiah explains, “It’s the kingdom to come, the fulfillment of all the promises God made to Israel in the Old Testament. It’s also the bridge of time that will take us into the eternal enclaves of the new heaven, the new earth, and the everlasting capital of New Jerusalem.”

The Christian Golden Opportunity

The earthly Golden Age for Christians should mean more to us then an easier life where we feel less threatened and more supported. We should take every opportunity to proclaim the name of Jesus to anyone and everyone who will listen, and even those who won’t!

“The time has come,” he [Jesus] said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Mark 1:15

I recently heard a pastor pray asking God that we wouldn’t just experience the next four years of President Trump’s Golden Age, but we would have a Golden Age for the next four generations. I’m not sure why he limited it to four generations, except maybe it synced with four years. Many of us pray the Rapture comes before that.

I agree with those who believe God has granted a reprieve with President Trump. Christianity will be celebrated and not berated or silenced so that reformation and revival can occur publicly and profusely.

God wants as many people as possible saved before they die or the Rapture, whichever comes first. Today, we clearly see many blatantly endorsing and choosing evil. A denial of God. Yet, God wants them saved too. However, if they continue to rebel against Him, He will leave them to their own demise (Romans 1:18-32).

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done . . . They not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them. Rom. 1:28, 32

The earthly national Golden Age is our Golden Opportunity as Christians to share the Gospel to as many people as possible. Look at unbelievers in your family, friends, neighbors, fellow workers, or acquaintances with a new conviction to spare them from eternity in Hell when they die or experiencing a time when God’s wrath will pour out on the world during the tribulation for anyone left behind after the Rapture.

The thought of this fate is what kept me on my knees praying daily for six years for my daughter, which I describe in Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter. I love her so much. I couldn’t, and wouldn’t, settle for her going through the terrible tribulation, or if she died before the Rapture, going straight to Hell.

There is no second chance to change your mind after death. No in between. No reprieve. People can become believers during the Tribulation, but they’ll be tortured and probably killed by the Antichrist for not accepting the Mark of the Beast. Even today, we hear of Christians in the Congo beheaded for their Christian faith.

You’re probably thinking how did we go from opening this blog with a joyous Golden Age era and ending up talking about Hell?! Because Hell is as real as Heaven. Don’t be fooled thinking everyone who dies goes to Heaven. Only those who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior here on earth will be with Jesus in eternity.

“You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell[a] is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. 14 But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it. Matt. 7:13-14 NLT

Sharing the truth of the Gospel is our job as Christians during this relief from governmental persecution of faith. Now is the time to unashamedly tell your testimony that Jesus saves! So never be ashamed to tell others about our Lord. 2 Tim. 1:8 NLT

It’s no coincidence you and I are living during this earthly Golden Age. God wants us to take advantage of the freedom to spread Christianity. There’s no guarantee it’s going to last four generations as that pastor prayed or even four years. Jesus doesn’t tell us the hour or the day when God says He has had enough. People have had a chance to make their decision and it’s time to take His people home. I’ve given you a lot to consider and pray about. Jesus doesn’t want anyone lost. Let it be said the same of us.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. John 6:39

If you don’t receive my weekly newsletter, you can read the opening article in the February issue, “God Knows What A Woman Is!” here. Also, signup for the newsletter on my website.

Have you read my latest blogs? Make America and You Healthy Again! Or Making America Godly Again!

Please leave a comment here. 

March 3, 2025
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2025 A Year of New Beginnings!

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Why do we get so excited about celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next? Maybe it’s because we have a fresh start to do those things we didn’t accomplish or finish in the past year. Maybe the past year had disappointments and heartaches. Maybe we didn’t finish or even start last year’s goals and we want to try again this year.

Even if the past year was wonderful, we get excited about making new life history. This New Year, we’re excited to have a positive direction change in our nation. We’re glad the blundering administration’s four years are over and we can’t wait for the new competent administration to start. Many people today are counting down to January 20 like they countdown to Christmas. We have high hopes and expectations for President Trump’s promises and plans and his cabinet choices to start cleaning up the carnage left by the failed anti-American, anti-faith, anti-common sense Biden administration.

Whatever our reasons, most of us are ready to “turn the page” of 2024. I’m personally embracing the motto “Revive in 2025.” That was the opening article theme of my December 2024 About His Work Ministries newsletter. If you don’t receive the free newsletter, you can sign up here and read the article here.

Revive Your Bible Reading in 2025

Each of us will determine what we want to revive in our personal life this year. For some, it might be reading the Bible in a year, which is something I’ve enjoyed doing for years. I’m praying for my daughter and granddaughter who are committing to this revival in their life in 2025. Each is using a different reading plan, and I’m cheering and praying for them to accomplish this worthy goal by the end of the year. Their lives are going to be abundantly revived and enriched by what God has to say and show them through His Word. They’re in for a huge blessing!

Some of you might be committing to reading a Scripture a day for 365 days. No matter how you do it, gleaning the wisdom, encouragement, love, and guidance from letting God’s Word, the Holy Bible, speak to you daily will result in a spiritual and personal revival.

I’ve found that changing up the Bible translation I read each year adds freshness. Last year, I listened to the Bible from Genesis to Revelation on my earbuds while working out at the gym. I finished the last chapters at the gym on December 31! Combining physical enhancement with spiritual enhancement put a new kick in my step. I followed the CBN annual Bible reading plan, which I’m doing again in 2025.

There’s still time to start if you would like to read the Bible this year or maybe read the Old Testament or the New Testament.

Revive Your Prayer Life in 2025

At the beginning of 2024, the Lord told me my prayer life was going to deepen. I was curious to know what He had planned for me. Then I became involved with My Faith Votes (MFV) and soon I was enjoying prayer zoom meetings on Monday mornings with MFV action partners from across the nation, and during the week, with our MFV group here in Idaho. What an inspirational way to start the day praying with like-minded fellow conservative men and women as we called on the Lord with our petitions and praises for our country, state, and each other.

Even as I continue praying and serving with My Faith Votes in 2025, God has more for me this year. On December 30, 2024, Hubby and I watched Kirk Cameron’s Takeaways program on TBN. A rerun we hadn’t seen, but God wanted us to see it. Kirk was interviewing Matthew West, a favorite Christian musician of ours who we’ve seen perform in person. Kirk and Matthew’s topic was prayer. Matthew has a new album out “Don’t Stop Praying,” and he and Kirk had an inspirational discussion about prayer.

Matthew West says about his new album: “My new album #DontStopPraying is OUT NOW!! Each song in its own way is inspired by the different types of prayers we find ourselves praying throughout our lives. We pray prayers for strength when we are weak, prayers for a miracle when we need a breakthrough, prayers for purpose when we feel lost. Most of all, I wanted to make a record that echoed the call I have felt in my own heart to hit my knees like never before and never forget that the most important conversation I could have today, and every day of my life, is with the One who made me, knows me, and has the best plan for my life. I hope these songs inspire you to discover for the first time, or maybe rediscover, the power of a prayer.

West is going to share some of his favorite “mission statement” songs on his Facebook page every day in January to kick off the New Year, which I’m going to listen to. He also has a prayer wall on his website.

God was using Kirk Cameron and Matthew West to talk to me about enhancing my prayer life. Isn’t that just like God to show a past episode just two days before the start of 2025! It was obvious that God had new prayer revelations and plans for me in the New Year.

Then January 3, God moved again. He woke me up early, and as I settled into my quiet time chair with a cup of coffee, I turned on my cell phone. Pastor Jack Hibbs was looking back at me on Facebook live. Apparently, Pastor Hibbs had started on January 1, at 5:00 am PT, 6:00 am MT, a 5–10-minute morning prayer group. You can tell he too is just waking up. With tussled hair, wearing a hoodie, and talking softly outside to not wake up the rest of the house, he shares a short devotional and Scripture based prayer. If you’ve ever heard Pastor Hibbs speak, his knowledge of the Bible, no notes, just talking directly to us, is amazing.

Now, maybe you don’t want to wake up that early, and I don’t always either, but he’s recording live on his Facebook post and sharing on Instagram and X, so you can watch it anytime you want. The idea is to start your day praying with him and others. Here’s how he describes it for those who would like to join us.

Beginning January 1, 2025, I invite you to join me for LIFT: Daily Prayer – A Global Prayer Meeting. I will be live on Facebook at about 5 am [PT] for about 5-10 minute daily. These will be rooted in Scripture and prayers for mercy, grace, healing, peace, guidance, and strength.

If you miss the live prayer time on Facebook, it will be there for you to playback at any time. We will also share these on Instagram and X so you can watch and get involved on those platforms. We want you to share these videos and leave a comment with your prayers and prayer requests so that the community can pray with you. Let’s truly make this a Global Prayer Meeting together. See you tomorrow! Here is a link to my page. Please follow: https://www.facebook.com/RealJackHibbs

As I write to you today, we’re only 5 days into 2025, but God’s already showing me two ways to revive my prayer life by listening to Matthew West’s prayer album and starting each morning in prayer with Pastor Jack Hibbs. Won’t you join me.

Revive Your Health in 2025

If nutrition and health is on your 2025 revival list, and you’re excited like I am about “Make America Healthy Again,” you’ll enjoy my latest Nutrition Nook article in Christian Living Magazine, Make Your Body Healthy Again in 2025.

As a former Registered Dietitian, I always say, “Once a dietitian, always a dietitian.” I’m thrilled that the Trump administration will be looking into the thousands of toxins and additives in our foods that aren’t even allowed in other countries!

Also on a side note, did you read the recent report by the US Surgeon General that alcohol has been linked to seven types of cancer? He wants alcohol labeled just like cigarettes, “Alcohol is a cancer risk!” Alcohol consumption is the “third leading preventable cause of cancer” in the country with tobacco and obesity taking the top two spots.

The liquor lobby, manufacturers, and distributors distribute propaganda to the public that small amounts of alcohol are good for your health. A blatant potentially lethal money-making lie. The small amounts of antioxidants found in red wine for example are also found in larger amounts in blueberries and spinach, which are good for you, not harmful.

Alcohol is a toxin and causes inflation. How could it be good for you when besides cancer, it also leads to obesity, lethargy, depression, sleep problems, and addiction?! If you drink alcohol, consider asking yourself, “Why?” With the high cost of healthy food today, maybe your 2025 budget could use the break of eliminating cancer-causing alcohol.

How is God Reviving You in 2025?

What revival plans has God put on your heart for 2025? Please share and let me know.

You can leave a comment here.

January 6, 2025
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What Does It Mean to Vote Biblically?

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The 2024 election is quickly approaching on November 5th. Some of you may have already started early voting and good for you! For those who are still considering who to vote for and how to vote on your state bills, I wrote this blog for you.

I’m in leadership as an Idaho Area Coordinator for My Faith Votes. On our website, we offer a Pledge to Vote Your Biblical Values. I encourage you to take that pledge to vote in every election, be an informed and prayerful voter, and pledge, “As a Christian, I commit to voting for candidates and policies that uphold the sanctity of life, the traditional family, religious liberty, and justice for all. I believe that my biblical values should guide my choices at the ballot box, ensuring that our nation’s laws and leaders reflect God’s truth and righteousness.”

When we encourage everyone to vote their “biblical values,” that can mean different things to different people. It shouldn’t because according to Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ and the Word of God is timeless and universal. Unchanging. The Bible clearly states what we should champion and support or reject with our vote. By definition, our biblical values are based solely on Scripture and should reflect our biblical worldview.

 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 NLT

We typically rely on instruction manuals, Google, or YouTube for how to use appliances, automobiles, take medication, operate machinery or technology, find destinations . . . the list is endless. Guidance is essential to assure we’re functioning correctly for our own good and not harm.

For the Christian, our Life Instruction Manuel is the Bible. Like every owner’s manual, the Bible must be read to be useful. It contains everything believers need to know to follow Christ, glorify God, and live fruitful and righteous lives in a culture that tries to tell you that your faith can be set aside when you do something as important as voting.

What does God say about platform and policy issues that candidates champion to govern our lives, the lives of our friends and families, our communities, our churches, and the future?  Are their platforms biblical or unbiblical? It doesn’t matter what our personal opinion is of them, it matters whether or not they will govern biblically.

Dr. Jeff Myers, president of Summit Ministries, wisely advises, “We can figure out which candidate is most likely to lessen evil when it comes to diminishing life, when it comes to diminishing liberty, when it comes to diminishing the value of property. We’re not seeking a perfect world. We’re not utopians. But we are trying to figure out how to lessen evil so that people can be more free.”

We vote as our civic duty as an American, but also as our biblical responsibility as a Christian. However, research from the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University shows as many as 104 million people of faith, including 32 million self-identified Christians who regularly attend church, are unlikely to vote in the upcoming 2024 presidential election mainly due to lack of interest. How could this be biblical when Christians could be the deciding factor in matters of life and death, good and evil? How can they stay home?

While the survey revealed some Christians don’t vote from complacency, it also showed many want instruction and guidance from their church on how to think about the issues from a biblical perspective. 

“Pastors often seek opportunities to have a positive influence in people’s lives and upon the culture, and to help the community in which their church is located,” the long-time researcher George Barna explained. “This research underscores the fact that simply encouraging people to vote in order to fulfill their biblical responsibility would not only be seen as doing their job while helping the community, but an estimated five million regular churchgoers would be likely to vote as a result of that simple exhortation. That, in itself, could change the outcome of the election by simply doing their job and getting congregants to fulfill one of their chief duties as an American citizen.”

When 45% of Christians and 6 in 10 Catholics say they’re in favor of abortion or are voting for an unbiblical political platform, it’s evident to me that pastors aren’t teaching biblical values and many Christians have not read their Bible. Culture, not the Bible, is shaping Christian opinion rather than God’s truths.

I’m not a pastor, but I am a seminary graduate and have been in ministry for thirty years. In this blog I’m providing Scriptures and resources for voting biblically in this election and every election. My blog would be far too long if I included all the issues, but you can hit on the highlighted links below to see the differences between the Democrat and Republican platforms according to Scripture to determine which federal, state, and local candidates will govern with more good than evil as measured by the Bible.

Did God Really Say?

Satan has used his most effective tool against living righteously since the Garden of Eden when he asked Eve, “Did God really say?” I’m here to tell you that God really did have something to say about many of the spiritual moral issues in our culture which we the church have let become politicized and are on the ballot on November 5th. I’m not talking candidate’s personalities. I’m talking about policies, which will become the law of the land if elected.

Do your own research. Read your Bible. Don’t let the biased media or even the candidates themselves influence your vote. Look at their policies and plans and your local ballot bills, then look at what the Bible has to say about each issue. That’s what should influence your prayerful vote as a Christian. Let’s look at a few of them.

ABORTION vs RIGHT TO LIFE is on the ballot in many states, and it’s also a Presidential issue because Harris has vowed that on day one, she’ll try to codify Roe v Wade into federal law. She and Democrat politicians tout the distorted lie that abortion is “reproductive rights” and “women’s healthcare.” That’s called twisting language that we see described in 2 Peter 3:16b-17.

Trump was the most pro-life President in history. He appointed three constitutional Supreme Court Judges who helped move the abortion laws from the federal government to the states. Sadly, because of the wide use of the abortion pill and “sanctuary abortion states” denying the sanctity of life and sacrificing babies to Molek, abortions have increased.

Harris has used Satan’s “Did God really say?” tactic to argue repeatedly that “you don’t need to abandon the principles of your faith or deeply held beliefs to support ‘abortion rights.'” She’s suggesting you can “choose” to kill babies guilt-free because it’s a woman’s right?! It’s Ok with God. Wrong!! That’s a nonsensical, unbiblical, demonic, and heretical lie. Harris denies that the government should protect a baby’s right to life even though the first “right” listed in our nation’s Declaration of Independence is the right to life, firmly rooted in the Judeo-Christian standards of morality upon which the United States of America was founded. Murder is a crime.

The truth is a Christian absolutely must suspend their faith in God and biblical principles to support legally or illegally killing babies. Kamala Harris has zero authority, faith, or knowledge of the Bible to speak on this matter and no person of faith should be persuaded by her. Yet she’s deviously planting doubt in many people’s minds, including pastors and Christians. It’s called syncretism!

She clearly told pro-life advocates they were “at the wrong rally.” These two young men bravely told her, “Abortion is a sacrament of Satan. Christ is King! Jesus is Lord!” They went there to represent God and counter her abominations with truth, but any Christians cheering and voting for a candidate stumping for the “freedom” and “right” to kill babies, are the ones at the wrong rally.

What Does the Bible Say About Abortion vs Right to Life?

When God creates each child through conception, there’s a flash of light and life begins. God gives him or her a spirit and soul that can’t be destroyed or denied. That’s a spiritual not political fact. Biologically, no person has ever been born without a spirit and soul.

Unborn babies are human. Humans are sacred! God declares in His Word the sanctity of life that He created in His image.

  • “You must not murder.” Ex 20:13
  • For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:13-16
  • [Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.  Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. Ps. 127:3-5
  • I was thrust into your arms at my birth. You have been my God from the moment I was born. Ps. 22:10 NLT
  • “This is what the Lord says—your Redeemer, who formed you in the womb:
  • I am the Lord, the Maker of all things, who stretches out the heavens, who spreads out the earth by myself.” Is. 44:24
  • Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations: Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name. Is. 49:1
  • “Before I formed you in the womb I knew[a] you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” Jer. 1:5
  • As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things. Ecc. 11:5
  • “‘Do not give any of your children to be sacrificed to Molek, for you must not profane the name of your God. I am the Lord. Lev. 18:21
  • Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, ensure justice for those being crushed. Pr. 31:8
  • There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood. Pr. 6:16-17

You absolutely would have to abandon and deny your faith and God’s Word to be a Christian who supports or votes for abortion or any candidate promoting abortion! It’s a sin. Satan wants to kill, steal, and destroy everything God loves. It’s an abomination to God to shed innocent blood. If you’re still not convinced, please watch Baby Olivia.

If you know someone who has had an abortion, or maybe you have, God sees you and you can repent and ask for His forgiveness. He’s waiting with open arms of grace and mercy. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

For each party platform and presidential candidate’s position on abortion, go to ivoterguide Understanding Right to Life. On that link, you can also enter your address and view where the presidential, state, and local candidates in your area stand on this issue.

An article to read: Being Human: Abortion and the Church – Light Magazine

Please listen to this message by Pastor Keith Harrington of Rockharbor Church in Meridian, Idaho in his Truth Wars series titled Imago Dei (the image of God) and the Sanctity of Life and the testimony of a brave couple sharing their abortion story.

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY: This category covers LGBTQ+ and trans issues infringing on the religious freedoms of those who don’t agree. Protecting Title IX to keep men out of women’s sports and private areas. Sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman. Defending family. Preventing schools from teaching sexual deviancy and promoting gender confusion. Protection of children from sex change indoctrination and castrating surgeries and drugs.  Bringing the Bible, 10 Commandments, and prayer back into schools. Allowing religious speech in the public square.

“Watchdog database Stop the Harm reported that just under $120 million in medical expenses were submitted to insurance companies for treatments designed to hide a minor’s gender characteristics in the United States between 2019 and 2023. The database, launched by the medical advocacy group Do No Harm, reported about 14,000 minors receiving such treatments within the four-year period. About 8,500 minors received hormone blockers and more than 5,500 minors underwent actual surgeries to hide their gender characteristics, the database reported.” 

Read more at World. These children have been permanently mutilated and castrated for life. This atrocity is happening at the nation’s largest children’s hospitals designed to treat and save children’s lives, not maim them for life at an age many are too young to fully appreciate or comprehend the damage being done to their bodies. Who could’ve ever imagined this travesty would happen in America, but the Biden /Harris administration has championed this by protecting the doctors and hospitals rather than putting a stop to the madness and Harris would not stop it either.

The Biden/Harris administration tried to change Title IX to include gender and allow boys to play in girls’ sports and be in girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms. Harris will not support girls. President Trump says he will ban ‘trans’ aka men in girls’ sports.

What Does the Bible Say About Religious Liberty?

Gender isn’t fluid, it’s God-given. To affirm radical gender ideology is to implicitly deny the workmanship and sovereignty of God. It’s to deny God and His Word. Government is ordained of God (Romans 13:1-7), but government cannot become God.

  • “render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21
  • So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gen. 1:27
  • That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh. Gen. 2:24
  • God’s Wrath Against Sinful Humanity:  Romans 1:18-32

Read this article discussing Harris and Trump’s positions on men playing in women’s sports. DAVID MARCUS: Kamala Harris can no longer hide from her dangerous stance on men playing in girls’ sports | Fox News

For each party and candidate’s position, go to ivoterguide Understanding Religious Liberty.

My Faith Votes!

I encourage you to go to My Faith Votes My Voter Hub where you can print out a copy of your ballot, Compare the Party Platforms, and download an important Presidential Election Candidate Comparison Guide Fact Sheet covering a number of current political topics. Also, find A Christian’s Guide to Today’s Issues: Abortion, Immigration, Religious Liberty, Gender, Parental Rights, Gun Rights, Government, Justice, which also includes Scriptures as I have done in this blog.

You can also become an Action Partner and pray weekly from zoom or your phone with other believers across the nation who work and pray together to be God’s hands and feet in returning America back to its godly foundation.  

iVoterGuide

iVoterGuide is Grounded in God. Rooted in Research. They’ve done the biblical ground work for you on important topics this election. In addition to Right to Life and Religious Liberty, which I discussed above, here are the additional issues I didn’t have room to include in this blog but are important in this election. They’re discussed in detail with Scripture. At each link, you can also find out the candidates’ positions both federally and locally. I hope you’ll take advantage of their wonderful research.

Understanding National Defense For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Rom. 13:4

Understanding Healthcare Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever. 1 Tim. 5:8

Understanding EconomyAlso, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper. Jer. 29:7

Understanding Border Security No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. Is. 60:18

Let the Bible be Your Voter Guide!

Which candidates will protect the unborn through the elderly? Which candidates will support Israel?

We must as Christians do our part to ensure as much as it is up to us that candidates who protect biblical principles are voted into power. But we must always remember that our highest authority is God. The mandate in Romans 13 is simple: obey God, then man. When man’s orders conflict with God’s, we follow God. So pray, read your Bible, and vote how God instructs you in the Bible.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. Ps. 119:105

Please leave a comment here. I will reply. Thank you.

If you would like to listen to Pastor Keith Harrington’s previous week’s Truth’s War’s Message on things to consider when voting “Governing the Earth” click here.

October 21, 2024
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For the Sake of the Girls, Stop the Craziness!

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We attended our granddaughter’s volleyball tournament this past weekend and as I cheered her on, I was thanking God she wasn’t having to compete against boys in a girls’ volleyball league. She’s a petite high school sophomore and a star player on her team. I tried to envision the nightmare of what it would be like if there was a 6 ft. tall muscular man on the opposing team as one girls’ high school basketball team experienced and refused to play against biological male players saying, “It’s Not Right!”

When a Vermont Christian school withdrew its girls’ basketball team from a playoff game because of a transgender player on the other team, the team was banned from state athletics!

Not fair! Not Right!

A Massachusetts high school girls’ basketball team forfeited a game after a 6 ft. transgender male player on the opposing team injured three of their players. The Coach did the right thing and pulled the team. Here’s a video discussion.

Not fair! Not Right!

Five West Virginia girl middle schoolers protested a “transgender” male participating in their track and field competition by stepping into the shot-put circle for their turn before refusing to throw in the event, which was won by the male taking puberty-blockers and estrogen hormone therapy. The school’s answer was to bar the brave bold girls from future meets, even though West Virginia law bans transgender “girls” from playing on girls’ sports teams, a recent federal appeals court ruled that the law couldn’t lawfully be applied to this particular eighth-grade boy!?

Not fair! Not Right!

Fortunately, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey filed a lawsuit against the Harrison County Board of Education on the dissenting girl students’ behalf. 

Kudos to all these young girl athletes bravely standing up against this evil and saying we’re not going to take this anymore! Sadly, this is what it’s going to take, along with the support and encouragement of parents and grandparents with our voices and our votes!

In what world does a man failing in men’s sports decide he’s going to wake up one morning and “identify” as Jenny instead of Jerry so he can excel against biological women because of his muscle mass, bone density, and testosterone levels, which afford him advantages in physical strength and endurance? And in what world do the governing authorities agree with this insanity?

Well, that would be in Biden’s crazy world! He will do anything no matter how evil or wrong to try to get votes and maintain power to continue this insanity. The Biden Administration has rescinded over 50 years of progress and equality of opportunity for women by radically redefining biological sex as “gender identity” in Title IX.

During the Trump administration, the phrase “gender identity” was banned from insertion into Title IX. Biden’s unconstitutional immoral actions are a step backwards for women’s rights, jeopardizes student safety and privacy, and destroys fairness in women’s sports. It essentially de-titles Title IX in its meaning and purpose, which was to assure women of fair and equal opportunities in sports. Men playing in women’s sports isn’t an equal playing field and robs actual women of their place on teams!

Yes, I’m fired up about this, as every parent, grandparent, and person with a conscience should be! When a confused, mentally unbalanced, or opportunist child decides they don’t like the gender God gave them and wants to reconstruct their body and the adults in schools, medical and government communities, and even some parents condone this absurdity, it takes us back to the Garden of Eden where the serpent asked Eve, “Did God really say that?”

Yes, God really did say in Genesis 1:27 that men are men and women are women. ONLY Satan would try to confuse or question something so biologically and biblically obvious and then ensnare just enough people in authority to go along with it. Nowhere in the laws of nature does this occur.

Animals don’t try to change their sex or have sex with the same gender. Homosexuals do not exist in the natural animal kingdom.

Animals don’t intentionally kill their own offspring in the womb.

Only humans deceived by Satan try to defy God and His laws. God, who reveals Himself in nature and in His laws, the Holy Bible.

We Must Object Loudly to the Title IX Revision that Defies God’s Laws and Erases Women

Moms for Liberty have created a Toolbox for concerned citizens and parents to take action against this atrocity and power grab for votes from a fringe group, while I would hope alienating sane parents, grandparents, churches, legislatures, and school administrators no matter what side you take in the political arena. Boys are boys and girls are girls, and they should ONLY play in sports against their own biological sex.

Here is some information from the Moms for Liberty Title IX Fact Sheet that summarizes what is happening, if you don’t already know. The Biden Administration timeline on upending and comprehensively altering Title IX is as follows:

  • March 8, 2021: Biden issued an Executive Order on Guaranteeing an Educational Environment Free from Discrimination on the Basis of Sex, Including Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity.
  • June 23, 2022: New Title IX regulations were proposed. The Department of Education received a record number of public comments from parents, many who expressed concern about their children’s safety in schools, and what the amendments will mean for women’s sports.
  • April 19, 2024: The Biden Administration released new Unofficial Guidelines for Title IX, effective August 1, 2024.

With over 1,500 pages of regulations, the U.S. Department of Education has redefined the fundamental framework of Title IX without congressional authorization by expanding the definition of “sex” to include not just biological sex, but also “sex stereotypes, sex-related characteristics (including intersex traits), pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

The new Title IX regulations are unconstitutional, erase women and girls, eliminate due process, compel speech, and strip parents of their fundamental right to direct the upbringing of their child including decisions regarding their education, medical care, morality, and religion. Title IX now requires:

  • that schools treat students who suffer, or claim to suffer, from gender dysphoria as though they were the opposite sex.
  • that a male student who identifies as a female must be allowed access to facilities designated for females such as bathrooms or locker rooms and to participate in women’s sports and organizations.
  • teachers and students must refer to a gender dysphoric child by her preferred pronouns and alternative name.
  • that no formal documentation be required to affirm gender identity. Additionally, if the administration has not provided a clear definition of gender identity, a male student could easily switch between identifying as male or female.

Other IX repercussions include:

  • that when a female student opposes having a male on a team or in an organization intended only for women, or who feels uncomfortable sharing a locker room with a male, the female in opposition may now not only incur social stigma, but also the possibility of legal repercussions for her school, team, or organization.
  • that while Title IX does not strictly require transitioning be kept secret from parents, in the event of a conflict between Title IX and the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), key words like “sex-based harassment” and “hostile environment sex-based harassment” overrides FERPA, thus opening the door to conceal the transitioning process.

TAKE ACTION NOW!

Be sure to check out Moms for Liberty Take Action Toolkit for what you can do to pushback against this unconstitutional and immoral attack on our girls and women. A President does NOT have the right to erase womanhood!

Idaho and Other States Are Pushing Back!

During the 2024 State Legislative session, Idaho passed the following bills before they adjourned which could now be in jeopardy if this new Title IX is enforced. Idaho, and other red states with similar laws, cannot let this happen. Without congressional approval, this revised Title IX is set to go into effect August 1, 2024 as the new school year starts. The 10th Amendment should protect state laws like Idaho’s and the Federal Government shouldn’t threaten the states with removing federal funds from schools that don’t comply.

  • Idaho passed Bill 538, which stipulates schools cannot require staff or students to use preferred pronouns or names. Idaho became the seventh state in the country to protect teachers and other state employees who use biological accurate pronouns.
  • House Bill 421, “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.”
  • The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on April 15 that Idaho may again enforce the protection of minors from life-altering transgender procedures written into State law last year. The ruling comes after Idaho’s Attorney General Raul Labrador filed an emergency request in February for the Supreme Court to block a lower court’s order halting the State’s implementation of the law. America First Legal uncovered communication from Richard Levine in the Biden Administration trying to use the Federal Government to evade the state bans that the Supreme Court upheld!
  • House Bill 668, blocks the use of public funds for “gender transition procedures.” 
  •  Senate Bill 1352 protects mental health professionals from being forced to provide unethical care that “affirms” harmful lifestyles. According to statewide public opinion polling commissioned by Idaho Family Policy Center, more than 56% of likely Idaho voters agree that counselors and other mental health providers should not face legal or professional consequences for providing talk therapy intended to help patients overcome unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion.

We must NOT back down from our moral state laws and more importantly God’s Laws!!!

As of this writing, at least twenty Republican-led states have filed lawsuits against the Biden administration for expanding the definition of sex in Title IX civil rights law to include “gender identity,” a move state leaders fear will force schools to deprive women of protections or risk losing their federal funding. Attorneys general in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana and Idaho filed two separate lawsuits against the U.S. Department of Education’s new Title IX regulations. Governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders, has signed an executive order that Arkansas will not comply with Biden’s Title IX changes. Let’s pray more states join these lawsuits.

Every parent allowing their son to not only think he should be a girl, but allowing him to destroy his body chemically and physically forever, while bullying young girl athletes, needs to read this article about what’s really happening to their son’s body: Parents groups react to study showing puberty blockers could cause permanent problems in boys: ‘Unforgiveable’

A Collision of Light and Darkness

The current news is rightly focusing on the horrific pro-Hamas, anti-Israel, anti-Jew protests occurring on college campuses. But as we watch students acting out their Marxist/Jihadist indoctrination, we can’t let the war against women get lost in the chaos.

We’re watching a collision of light and darkness. We cannot let darkness win. Demonic Islamic Jihadist/Pro-terrorist protests against the Jews and Israel are something we never expected to see in America, just like who would’ve ever imagined men would impersonate women to infiltrate women’s sports?!

In 2 Kings 6:17-20, Elisha prays for the Lord to open his servant’s eyes to see the hills full of horses and chariots of fire revealing God’s divine protection surrounding them against the enemy. We might not see God at work right now, but we know when we align with Him, He always wins for us. The problem is too many good Christians stay on the sidelines afraid to get involved and live out our faith for a living loving God.

Many have settled for safe faith, but we’re called to infuse light into our culture that’s shrouded in darkness. I heard the term “righteous rebellion” used to describe saving our families and our country. God is calling us to do the wild thing. Get involved. Take a stand. Whether it’s protecting the truth of biological sex to protect girls and women, protecting the Jews and Israel, saving the babies, getting out the vote . . . ask God where He wants to use you and then get involved.

For the sake of the girls, for the sake of God’s kingdom here on earth, be bold for what you believe. Live for Christ.

“Freedom is not a gift bestowed upon us by other men, but a right that belongs to us by the laws of God and nature.” Benjamin Franklin

I’m dedicating this blog to our beautiful talented granddaughters who play in school sports. . .

Katelyn—Rugby

Sienna—Volleyball

Jordan—Soccer

What names would you add from your family?

Also, if you haven’t seen the movie Unsung Hero, I highly recommend it for the whole family!

Please leave a comment here. I always reply.

May 6, 2024
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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.

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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ONE WOMAN’S JOURNEY TO BECOMING HIS BELOVED!

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This week, I want to introduce to you one of my writing mentees, Cherie Denna, and her journey to writing and publishing her new book Beloved Outcast–A True Story: The Quest for True Belonging.

When I was first asked to mentor a Memoir Writing Clinic at Mt. Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference, I have to admit I was intimidated and hesitant. I loved Mt. Hermon and had attended for 10-years, each year learning more about the art of writing and was honored to have the opportunity to be on the teaching staff. It’s where my first trade book, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey, was discovered and published by Howard Books, now a division of Simon & Schuster, with future published books to follow.

Mentoring is my passion and various aspects of my life story run through all my books, but I had never actually written my own memoir. I knew God was asking me to step out of my comfort zone and take on this new challenge. I researched how to teach and mentor on memoir writing, which is really just telling your God story while applying writing skills and techniques.

Five mentees were assigned to my Memoir Writing Mentoring Clinic and four of those future authors who had never written before are now either published or in the process of being published. I’m so proud of all of them. I knew when I heard Cherie Denna’s traumatic, heart wrenching, and powerful story of God rescuing her by His grace and mercy, her memoir would be compelling and glorifying to God.

I thought the best way to introduce Cherie and her story would be to share with you the Foreward below that I wrote for Beloved Outcast: The Quest for True Belonging, which just released February 14, 2024. Her editor decided not to have a foreward in the book, so it wasn’t included, but parts were used as endorsements.

Foreward by Janet Thompson for Beloved Outcast

I first met Cherie when she enrolled in a Memoir Writing Mentoring Clinic I was facilitating at Mt. Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference in Felton, California. As the five participants took turns sharing their stories, I knew Cherie had a unique story that needed telling, as did the others. It was an exciting time brainstorming and sharing ideas of how to communicate their amazing life experiences for the enjoyment and wonderment of future readers.

Cherie’s vibrant smile, kindness, gentleness, and obvious love for the Lord was a testimony of God’s healing forgiveness and redemption as she often through tears and embarrassment told us some of the devastating and demoralizing times in the life of a child born into the world of outlaw biker gangs. I can only imagine the internal turmoil she encountered reliving those experiences in writing Beloved Outcast: The Quest for True Belonging, but I’m so glad she took the time to carefully, skillfully, and honestly take the reader through the raw and raunchy times that repeatedly drew her back into a life she knew so well, yet earnestly wanted to escape.

Beloved Outcast had me turning the pages to see how Cherie would overcome the challenges and struggles of her inherited and familiar biker blood. Even though I knew her story, I didn’t know the details that she shares on these pages with honesty, humbleness, and ultimately, holiness.

Cherie’s book is more than just a tell-all of a traumatic childhood that influenced bad decisions and addictions throughout her earlier life, it’s the story for anyone who wants to break free of the strongholds of the past and become a new creation in Christ to live with purpose the life He has planned for all of us.

It’s a story of hope, perseverance, love, and determination to create a better life for herself and her child with the realization that all things are possible through Christ who gives you strength to go on when you want to give in and quit. It’s also a story of God’s second chances. How He never gives up on His children who seek to experience the life of serenity and peace they so desperately desire and ultimately find in a relationship with Jesus.

Forgiveness played a big role in Cherie’s life starting with forgiving herself, which only came through realizing and accepting God’s forgiveness of her sins and past. The freedom of her soul that she experienced allowed her to ask forgiveness of those she’d hurt and forgive those who hurt her.

Beloved Outcast skillfully shares the journey and quest for true belonging that Cherie thought she might never find. You’ll probably need some Kleenex as you’re captivated and encouraged by this remarkable tale that reminds us that God never gives up seeking and saving the lost.

I can see the scenes of Beloved Outcast someday in a movie of intrigue, pain, trauma, survival, love, rescue, relapse, and eventually complete surrender to the One who offers a secure and safe home in the family of God to all those who feel outcast and unworthy.

Well done Cherie Denna! I’m privileged and honored to be your cheerleader and mentor in sharing your incredible story of your quest and discovery of true belonging in identity in Christ, not in your past.

BECOMING HIS BELOVED By Cherie Denna

Thank you, Janet, for that wonderful introduction. I want to express my deep gratitude to you for supporting my story from its inception to the moment my book was finally brought into the world five years later. I must say, joining you and your readers here is definitely a standout moment in this publishing journey.

The choice to change the title of the book was another standout moment that caught everyone off guard. When I first began journaling and blogging around fifteen years ago, I chose “Biker Blood” as the book title. My story does “take the reader through the raw and raunchy times”, as Janet pointed out in her endorsement of the book. I prayed for a name for my story that would resonate with a large audience while accurately depicting who I am today, all in honor of God and all He has done. When I landed on “Beloved Outcast,” I felt the weight of the stigmatized theme lift away.

Writing my story was a challenging endeavor, but also a significant achievement for me. This is my intimate tale of fleeing from a life enmeshed in a family of organized crime. We’re talking The Godfather meets Sons of Anarchy meets The Chosen. Why would I delve into decades of trauma? The idea of revealing family secrets goes against everything I’ve been taught as a member of the Sicilian mafia and outlaw biker gangs, where trust is reserved exclusively for those within our inner circle.

My ‘why’ for writing my story shifted when the Lord whispered to me in a dream, “Tell them.” I woke from the dream and read the entire book of Romans. When I read chapter 10, I found the verse the Lord had for me.  But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? Romans 10:14-15 NLT

I could not let go of this directive from the Holy Spirit. Putting my writing on the back burner, I felt convicted in my heart to share the Gospel message, as a witness to the radical and miraculous rebranding of my soul.

The Lord’s pursuit of us knows no bounds, reaching us in countless ways. Jesus reaches into the depth of our hell on earth to make His love known. Even as a prodigal after coming to Christ fifteen years earlier, He never left me. But I had to come to the end of myself before I could see it. Living as a recluse while shacking up with a dangerous man woke me to the reality that Satan indeed came to steal, kill, and destroy everything good in my life, just as it says in John 10:10, The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. (AMP)

The enemy sent imposters to derail and distract me, and even silence me. Imposters manifest in our emotions, our spiritual life, and in our physical inner circle. Their goal is to distort the truth of who we are, to whom we belong, and prevent us from walking out God’s assignment on our life. And I struggled with a severe case of ‘imposter syndrome’!

Full understanding of our true calling and identity as His Beloved comes when we shed the masks of shame, guilt, and unforgiveness, and adopt the life of God’s beloved. This does not happen overnight. Becoming His Beloved is a beautiful lifelong journey. 

In this world of groups, tribes, clubs, affiliations, parties, and denominations, we tend to sacrifice pieces of ourselves at the altar of belonging. If we continue to sacrifice ourselves, we will never know true belonging as God’s Beloved.

“He predestined and lovingly planned for us to be adopted to Himself as [His own] children through Jesus Christ, in accordance with the kind intention and good pleasure of His will— to the praise of His glorious grace and favor, which He so freely bestowed on us in the Beloved [His Son, Jesus Christ].” Ephesians 1:5-6 AMP

Get To Know Cherie Denna

CHERIE DENNA’ mission is to empower individuals to find a deep sense of belonging and belovedness in Jesus Christ in their everyday lives. Drawing from her extensive experience in women’s ministry, relapse prevention, prayer counseling, and recovery, Cherie inspires audiences to rid their lives of emotional, spiritual, and physical imposters. 

Her newly released debut book, Beloved Outcast: The Quest for True Belonging, is a must-read for those trapped in seemingly inescapable circumstances who desire a victorious life of freedom. With raw authenticity, Cherie’s platform reveals the realities of living on the fringes of society, generational dysfunction, enmeshed in organized crime and the outlaw biker culture, all while following God’s call to spread the Gospel. 

One of her greatest joys is to witness the power of God’s truth come alive through freedom, spiritual deliverance, and healing. Cherie’s raw testimonies of living with Complex PTSD offer hope for a future filled with peace, purpose, and belonging.

She continues to impact the world through writing, speaking, women’s ministry, and guiding individuals on the tactical steps of sharing their hard stories through storytelling and testimony. You can find Cherie soaking in “seahabilitation” at the beach with Jesus or on an RV adventure with her purpose-mate husband. She loves frothed coffee dates.

Join the Everyday Belonging Movement at www.cheriedenna.com. Follow Cherie on socials @cheriedenna.

Leave a comment here for me or Cherie about her powerful story.

March 11, 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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Is Giving Thanks a Lost Tradition?

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This week is Thanksgiving when many of us will gather with family and friends to eat a big delicious traditional meal. Maybe watch football, play games, fellowship, and hopefully say a prayer thanking God for the many blessings we enjoy in our life. Often, the only time we really focus on the true meaning of Thanksgiving is during that prayer before the meal we’re all anxiously awaiting with anticipation and appetites! If you’re looking for some ideas of how to offer a Thanksgiving prayer for various circumstances, I wrote a Crosswalk article on that topic—4 Prayers to Say At the Thanksgiving Table.

Last week, I learned a term that was new to me. As Dave and I were shopping at Trader Joe’s a full week prior to Thanksgiving, the aisles at this store and Costco were jam packed with shoppers. I commented to the Trader Joe’s checker that I was surprised people were shopping so early for the big meal a week away. Both she and the bagger simultaneously said, “Friendsgiving.” I didn’t hear what they said, so they repeated it several times. When I had a questioning look on my face, the checker said many people get together for a meal with their friends the weekend prior to having a family Thanksgiving celebration later in the week.

I love that idea. We’ve done that in the past too, as well as invited friends to the family dinner. But I’d never heard it called “Friendsgiving” before. When I posted about Friendsgiving on Facebook, I received many comments from people, including my daughter, who said it wasn’t a new term. Just new to me, I guess.

Thinking about Thanksgiving and Friendsgiving brought to mind a thought I’ve had for quite a while. Are we raising generations that have forgotten the courtesy of expressing gratitude not only to God, but also to others? Let me explain. I’m a boomer. My generation was born between 1946-1964. As soon as I could print, or even scribble, the expectation was that when I received a gift from someone, especially for birthdays or Christmas, I sent a thank you note to the gift giver whether it was family or friends.

When I was married, part of the shower and wedding preparation was ordering thank you notes to send out for the gifts we received. And when I was pregnant and received shower and baby gifts, as crazy as it was being a new working mom, it was a given I would make the time to send thank you notes.

I’m finding this thank-you etiquette courtesy is now a lost tradition. Yes, today it might be an email or text instead of a mailed thank you card, but often those aren’t sent either. Somewhere along the generational sequence, one generation didn’t pass down to the next generation the importance of showing gratitude for the gifts they receive. And we wonder why we’re watching generations of entitled children and adults today who expect someone else to pay for college loans they willingly took out and then complain about having to work 9-5 jobs!

Author Carol Roth says Gen Z’s (1997-2012) woes with fulltime work stem from “their parents failing them.” Here’s a quote from her article. “While it’s easy to dunk on these young people, I really blame the parents. This hurts, because Gen Z is being raised in large part by Gen X [1965-1980], which should make the kids awesome and self-sufficient.” She goes on to say that “young people consuming Marxist propaganda online and even in school it’s not surprising they want to do as little works as possible while still expecting food, clothing, shelter, entertainment and more will just fall from the sky for them.” I was happy to see she suggested mentorship as a solution.

But an even sadder consequence of not feeling compelled to be grateful to those who sacrifice their money and time on a gift or providing a college education or offering them a job, is we now also have a generation that has forgotten to say thank you for the sacrifice Jesus made to give them the gift of salvation.

It only takes one generation failing to pass down their faith, traditions, work ethic, or even the courtesy of showing tangible gratitude for a gift, for these things to be forgotten or eliminated from a culture, as we’re watching today with the void of Christian beliefs in government and in families.

Make This Thanksgiving a Wake-up Call in Our Life and Families

Even more important than thanking each other is to give thanks to God who is the provider of every good thing in our life.  I like how Dr. David Jeremiah presents the importance of experiencing continuous daily thanksgiving in his November 18-19, 2023, Turning Points Magazine weekend devotion titled “Thank Goodness!”

“Thanksgiving is understanding that blessings are hiding all around us, and we must find and focus on them. It’s the attitude of knowing we have a God in charge of all. It’s the habit of pausing to whisper, ‘Thank you Lord,’ throughout the day. It’s finding good times even in bad times and rejoicing even in sorrow. It’s noticing the color of flowers, the shape of clouds, the smell of fresh bread, and the comfort of a soft pillow at night.”

“Gratitude leads to ‘glad-itude.’ Counting our blessings is a positive step toward erasing our heartaches. The psychology of thanksgiving comes from the very mind and heart of the God who told us to be vigilant in thanksgiving (Colossians 4:2) and ‘in everything give thanks; for this the will of God in Christ Jesus for you’ (1 Thessalonians 5:18).”

With the birth of Christ, there were no longer Old Testament feast days of thanksgiving. All the ceremonial celebrations of Israel were fulfilled in the Messiah.  Instead, we’re told to give thanks in and for everything—the good and the bad times. As we gather together to celebrate our American holiday of Thanksgiving rooted in the harvest celebration of the Plymouth Pilgrims in 1621, let’s be reminded to give thanks in everything and to everyone—today and every day.

I personally want to thank each of you who take the time to read my weekly blogs and monthly newsletters. I appreciate your comments on the blogs and also for those who share on social media or forward them on email. We really are blessed to live in a time when we can freely communicate with each other across the miles and expand our friendships even to those we’ve never met personally. It’s a blessing I don’t take for granted and a ministry I take very seriously.

As the apostle Paul would say, “May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Cor. 16:23-24 NLT

Have a blessed and grateful Thanksgiving from Dave and me.

PS There won’t be a Monday Morning Blog on November 27, but I’ll be back December 4. Can you believe it’s almost December?

Please leave a comment here and I will reply.

November 20, 2023
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Once I was Blind, But Now I See!

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This week, I’m doing something I occasionally do and that’s promote a movie with a message that everyone needs to see and hear. I’m talking about the movie The Blind in theaters this week. Dave and I went to see it on 9/29 and even though I knew most of the story of Duck Dynasty’s Phil and Kay Robertson, I really didn’t know how bad it was before Jesus came into their life.

Decades before “Duck Dynasty,” Phil and Kay Robertson suffered a stormy early period of ten years in their marriage marred by Phil’s alcohol abuse and infidelity. “The Blind” captures their story of struggle, redemption, and hope.

When we were finding our seats at the theater, I saw a young teenage couple and asked if they knew what the story was about. They smiled and said they did. I told them how happy I was to see them there and that this film was reaching the next generation. After the movie, Dave and I started talking to a couple sitting next to us and discovered we had the same conservative faith beliefs and burden to protect children in our state’s schools and libraries. We were blessed to make new like-minded friends.

Let me backtrack a bit. Dave and I enjoyed watching the Robertson family with their four married sons’ families and Phil’s brother Uncle Si in their Duck Dynasty reality show adventures. That sparked our interest in learning more about them since the whole family was obviously Christian and they weren’t afraid to talk about their faith, Jesus, and family.

After Duck Dynasty ended, many in the Robertson family branched out with other shows, podcasts, books, and ministries.

Dave and I have a remote connection to the Robertson family. Their third son Willie Robertson’s wife Korie is the daughter of John and Chrys Howard owners of the former Howard Publishing that published my first two books, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey and Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter: Hope, Help, & Encouragement for Hurting Parents. The Howards later sold their publishing company to Simon & Schuster, which still publishes those two books.

I never personally met Miss Kay [as she’s fondly called] or Phil Robertson, but they spoke several years ago in Nampa, Idaho and Dave and I attended. Phil is a bold evangelist and speaks freely about his life before Christ and the change accepting Jesus as his Savior made in his life, his marriage, and his family.

Recently, we heard Phil and Miss Kay interviewed by Kirk Cameron on his TBN program Takeaways. They said that their children felt the couple’s early tumultuous marriage years needed telling to share the miraculous transformation Jesus made in Phil’s life and Kay’s belief in him when he was haunted by the demons of alcohol, infidelity, and childhood memories. I don’t want to give away any spoilers because you need to see the movie, but to quote Phil, “You’ve got to come to the end of yourself to find the beginning of God.”

It’s one thing to read and even hear Phil and Miss Kay’s testimony, but to see it visually in this film is indescribable and inspirational. The portrayal of Kay and Phil is raw, open, and vulnerable. They hold nothing back of how bad things were and how good God is. In the Kirk Cameron interview, Phil revealed something I hadn’t heard before that he had learned of fathering a now 45-year-old daughter during his time of infidelity. She’s welcomed into the Robertson clan.

Their son, Willie Robertson, said in an interview with USA Today Network about The Blind, “It’s the early years of their marriage, so it’s gutting and raw. It’s definitely not ‘Duck Dynasty.'”

 “It tackles big issues – mental illness, depression, alcohol abuse,” Willie said.

Willie and his wife Korie Robertson produced the movie with their Tread Lively production company.

“Mom and dad have been very public about their early struggles, but seeing it up there on the screen really made it real for all of us,” Willie said. “It’s tough for them to open up that part of their life, but they’ve been willing to do it to try to reach others who are struggling. People see the family and ‘Duck Dynasty’ and think, ‘They have everything,’ but this story illustrates we had hard times like everyone else,” said Willie, who was 2 when his parents separated for a time.

“It’s powerful,” Willie said. “It’s a story of hope and redemption that shows you’re never too far gone to be saved.”

“In this movie, ‘The Blind,’ we let go of everything. We’re telling it,” Miss Kay says.

The 10-year span in The Blind depicts what Phil Robertson himself describes as his wild rebellious years of substance abuse and cheating before turning to God and building the clan’s Duck Commander duck-call manufacturing business into an empire in rural West Monroe.

Why would the Robertson’s be so open, vulnerable, and transparent about such a dark time in their life? Because they care more about saving lives than saving their reputation. Their testimony is one of redemption, love, and forgiveness. A wife who didn’t give up hope for her husband and a Jesus who can save even the most despicable wayward person. A testimony shared to bring others to Jesus.

It’s not about how bad you were, it’s about how good God is! He goes after the one that was lost even though 99 are saved. Which gives each of us hope for those we think will never change their life. If God could turn heathen Phil into an evangelist, he can and will save anyone who surrenders his or her life to Jesus Christ and seeks forgiveness for their sins.

“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13 And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. Matt. 18:12-13

Why Share Our Testimony?

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

But as for me, how good it is to be near God!  I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter, And I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do. —Ps. 73:28 NLT

There’s no greater witness to God’s goodness than sharing what He’s done in your life. No one can question your testimony because it’s your personal experience. As we mature spiritually, we move beyond just remembering God’s goodness for our own benefit and start retelling our testimony to help others just like Phil and Kay have done.

We all have varied life testimonies in addition to our salvation testimony. Some of you have heard my “Feed my Sheep” testimony. If not, you can read a little here. I never tire of telling my story as History.

You may not think you have a testimony if you’ve been a Christian most of your life and life has gone smoothly. You can’t relate to Kay and Phil’s story or maybe even mine. God has been walking beside you guiding your life every step of the way. But that’s your testimony to others who worry about losing something by turning their lives over to God. You’re a living example of how good God really is!

Maybe you’re stumbling under the burden of a hidden past you’ve been too embarrassed to talk about and hope will never be revealed. Now may be the time to deal with those buried hurts and hang-ups. Like Phil and me, once they’re out in the open, Satan can’t use them against you anymore.

When I felt God leading me to write Praying for Your Prodigal Daughter, I had to ask my daughter if she was okay with me revealing the prodigal time in her life before she accepted Christ as her Savior. I assured her that I would also be sharing how I was a prodigal raising a prodigal.

I write her response in the Acknowledgments: “My dearest Kim, you will always be my “baby. To share our story, to bare our souls, is no little thing. I admire and celebrate the beautiful, humble, and courageous Christian woman you have become. When I shared my vision for this book, you were on board and willing to let me expose our lives on these pages, all for the glory of God. That’s no small concession, since our life together has had many twists and turns—some we regret and others we celebrate. I thank God for making both our paths straight. We were lost and now we’re found. I love you baby.”

Kim told me, “Mom, if we can help one daughter and her parents, we need to share our story.” Kim also writes in the book what she was feeling and thinking during her prodigal years.

God redeems your story by surrounding you with people who need to hear your past so it doesn’t become their future. Like Phil and Kay’s testimony and Kim’s and mine, it’s the opportunity to give purpose to a crisis.

You might not make a movie, write a book, or tell your testimony from a stage, but God will bring people across your path and the Holy Spirit will prompt you to share. Every day, you encounter opportunities to share your testimony, and every time you tell it, you’ll remember how good God has been to you.

Revealing is the first step to healing!

Just like Phil’s spiraling down and my backsliding years, our testimony isn’t about how bad we were. Our message is the redemption and forgiveness available through our initial salvation or a rededication to Jesus Christ.

When people ask me how I made it through life’s difficulties, the best answer is, “I couldn’t have done it without God.” That’s your best answer too. It opens the door to share your story. By the way, your story doesn’t have to have a “happy ending” like the Robertson’s or mine for you to share it.

Your story becomes your testimony when the focus is on God, not on you. It’s not a time to tell someone else’s story. Stick to details that pertain to you and those willing to let you include them in your story.

When anyone tells me about an encounter with God, or a memorable circumstance in his or her life, I always ask if they’re writing it down because God is going to use it as a life-experience testimony. My ministry tagline is “Sharing Life Experiences and God’s Faithfulness.”

I’m reminded of the Apostle Paul [formerly Saul], a persecutor of Christians before he was struck blind by the Lord on the road to Damascus in Acts 9:1:1-18.

 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road, has sent me so that you might regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Instantly something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized.

Later in Acts 22:1-16, Paul told his testimony of transformation from being an enemy and persecutor of Christians to an evangelist sharing the Gospel.

As I watched in The Blind, Phil Robertson’s retreat into the forest almost living like an animal during his darkest times, I was reminded of the story of King Nebuchadnezzar’s testimony of living like a wild animal until he also surrendered to God (Daniel 4:1-37).

At the closing of The Blind movie, they showed comments on the screen. One was what Miss Kay said to the former pastor of the West Monroe White’s Ferry Church of Christ who visited Phil in Junction City during his darkest hour, planting a seed that eventually sprouted. Kay said to the pastor, “If you can help save Phil, he will go on to help save thousands.” Which Phil certainly has done!

While many may know of Phil’s tenaciously outspoken faith now, they may not know the hard and twisting road he walked before surrendering to Jesus. The title “The Blind is a play on words and refers both to, “I was blind, but now I see” (John 9:25), and to a shelter that conceals duck hunters called “the blind.“

“I think maybe if these people watch the movie and see how I was, and then they look at me now and see how I operate, [it will give them hope],” Mr. Robertson said. “You got to remember all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so I’m not the only person that has sinned. The way out is faith in Jesus Christ.”

“I would have never dreamed I would be out there preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ when I was back there getting drunk as a skunk,” he continued. “But when that happened and I was freed from it, [everything changed]. That’s why I’ve been saying ever since that happened and I came to Jesus [what God can do].”

“Our prayer is that people will see the movie and know there’s hope. It’s never too late to be saved.”

“Jesus—that one sacrifice—has made perfect, forever, those who come to Him. If you just think about it, His blood gives us the opportunity to move beyond our sinful self,” Mr. Robertson said. “What do you get when He shows up, when you come to Him by faith? Love, joy, peace, patience…. It’s well worth the effort to follow Jesus faithfully.”

Amen!

If you didn’t receive my September newsletter, here’s the link. I would encourage you to read it.

Some of the “Why Share Your Testimony” discussion above is from my book Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.

Please leave a comment here. I reply to all comments.

October 2, 2023
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