How To Vote Your Biblical Values in the Most Important Election of Our Lifetime!

If you’re reading this blog on Monday, November 2, election day is tomorrow. I realize many of you have taken advantage of early voting or absentee mail-in voting. Good for you! For those still considering who to vote for and how to vote or even whether to vote, I wrote this blog for you! Or send it to someone on the fence about voting.

Notice I didn’t title this blog “How to Vote Your Faith” because I don’t know the basis for your faith.

I didn’t title it “How to Vote What You Believe” because I don’t know your beliefs.

I purposefully titled it “How To Vote Your Biblical Values. . .” because as Christians the Bible should be our life guide and that includes how to vote. Yes, voting is both political and spiritual. I wrote a similar blog prior to the 2024 Presidential Election. I’ve noticed it getting many hits on my website, so I’m updating for the most important election of our lifetime.

Where you stand politically shows where you stand biblically!

Encouraging everyone to vote their “biblical values,” 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

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.

It’s vital to know and understand what God says about platforms and policy issues that candidates champion to govern our lives, the lives of our friends and families, our communities, our churches, our country, and the future.  Are their platforms biblical or unbiblical?

It doesn’t matter what our personal opinion is of the person, it matters whether or not they’ll 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.”

Pastor Josh Howerton captured well the dilemma some Christians feel when it comes to lessening evil with our vote.

A comment on Pastor Josh’s post correctly advised what we all must do as Christians: “This is why we have to look past the candidates and look at their policies. Do their policies align with His Word and teachings or the progressive route of worldly beliefs? Both sides are not perfect. In making this decision, we as Christian’s should be praying for discernment while keeping our ears open to listen for the Holy Spirit to lead us in the right direction.”

Pastor Ken Peters gave some tangible Bible examples on his Facebook page to help Christians choose between two flawed candidates.

“Consider the Texas Senate race. Both candidates are flawed. Ken Paxton is weak, accused of immorality and infidelity. James Talarico is wicked, accused of pushing for sex change mutilation of children, six genders, and declaring that God is non-binary. I’m not their judge but Jesus said we would know them by their fruits.

Who do we vote for? I looked to the Bible for guidance. King David was weak, guilty of an affair with Bathsheba. King Saul was wicked, full of pride, ignoring God’s law, and attempting to murder David.

WHO DID GOD CHOOSE?

Simon Peter was weak, denying knowing Jesus under pressure. Judas Iscariot was wicked, selling Jesus for money and attempting to destroy God’s plan.

WHO DID GOD CHOOSE?”

Pastor Peters concludes that often we’re discerning between weak and wicked. I would add that all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Why Is This the Most Important Election of Our Lifetime?

As Speaker Johnson often rightfully says, “It’s an election between crazies and common sense. Communism vs common sense.”

In some states like Michigan, it’s Sharia Law vs the Constitution!

In my lifetime, I’ve never seen candidates on the ballot who admit to hating America with platforms that go against everything Americans cherish about our country. This election could put the Congress and/or Senate into the hands of the Democrats who have taken God completely out of their party. Instead, they’ve invited into their “big tent” Socialists, Democrat Socialists, Communists, and Islamists.

Many of those “big tent” candidates are funded by terrorist organizations like CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations), George Soros, China, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood. If the Dems take over the House and Senate, they plan a revolution to completely destroy the Constitution and our Republic. For starters they will . . .

  • Abolish the police, ICE, and the FBI
  • Abolish the Senate
  • Congress will elect the President
  • Pack the Supreme Court
  • Reinstate DEI into the culture, social media, workplace, schools, and the military
  • Make our four territories into blue states to ensure Democrats ALWAYS rule
  • Open the border and take down the border wall letting in an unvetted invasion
  • Grant amnesty to all illegals
  • Tax unrealized gain and income
  • Impeach the President, the Cabinet, and investigate their families
  • Medicare for all eliminating your private insurance and taxing you to pay for it
  • Codify abortion
  • Reinstate gender mutilation of children
  • Allow men in women’s sports

Believe it when they say it!

The new Democrat tent believes they’re morally superior. There’s no limit to what they’ll do to destroy America and our freedoms to get the power they seek. They‘re truly dangerous.

I’m not sure enough people are taking this election seriously!

The radical Communist/Islamist “red/green” candidates are anti-God, anti-family, anti-church, anti-Jew, anti-Israel, anti-Christian and anti-America! The Demoncrat party is following their evil lead.

Notice none of those crazy radical candidates tried to run as Republicans. They intuitively knew the desperate Democrats would welcome them just to get their votes.

Did God Really Say?

Christians could be the deciding factor in matters of life and death, good and evil in this election? We can stop the crazies and repudiate them if we get out and vote against them! We may be the only hope. God could be testing us to see if we care enough to make a difference not just for ourselves, but for future generations.

Traditionally, voter turnout diminishes during midterms and the party in the White House loses their majority. However, it’s predicted that if every Christian who voted in 2024 would get out and vote biblically in the midterms, we could prevent the radicals who want to destroy America from winning!

While surveys reveal some Christians don’t vote from complacency, they also show many want instruction and guidance from their church on how to think about the issues from a biblical perspective. 

We vote as our civic duty as an American, but also as our biblical responsibility as a Christian.

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 the spiritual moral issues in our culture which we the church have let become politicized.

I’m not talking candidate’s personalities. I’m talking about policies, which will become the law of the land if Democrat Socialists, Communists, and Islamists are 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 says 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 including mine in Idaho, as I wrote about a few weeks ago, You Have a Role in Saving Babies This Election. If the Democrats (I now call Demoncrats) take back Congress, the Democrats will codify Roe v Wade into federal law by lying that abortion is “women’s reproductive rights” and “women’s healthcare.” That’s called twisting language that we see described in 2 Peter 3:16b-17. We know Demoncrats don’t really care about women. They can’t even describe what a woman is, and they support men pretending they’re women to compete in women’s sports completely ignoring true rights of women!

Christians should never abandon the principles of our faith by choosing candidates who want to kill God’s babies! 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.

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
  • “‘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

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.

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.

  • 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

iVoterGuide

iVoterGuide is Grounded in God. Rooted in Research.

They’ve done the biblical groundwork for you on important topics in this election. I didn’t have room to include in this blog the other issues covered but that are important this election. They’re discussed in detail at iVoterGuide with Scripture. You can also find out the candidates’ positions both federally and locally when you put in your zip code. I hope you’ll take advantage of their wonderful research.

Let the Bible be Your Voter Guide!

God put us in dominion over the earth to enact His will on earth as it is in heaven. Voting is part of that charge He gave to each of us. We must get involved. We must participate not just spectate!

Which candidates will protect the unborn through the elderly?

Which candidates support religions liberty?

Which candidates will support Israel?

Which candidates love America?

As Christians, we must do our part to ensure 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.

Pray! Read Your Bible! Vote!

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

They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:8-9

When the godly are in authority, the people rejoice. But when the wicked are in power, they groan. Pr. 29:2

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

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Ways to Help a Woman on the Breast Cancer Journey

October ushered in fall with thoughts of pumpkin pie, pumpkin lattes, and harvest colors, but for many women like me, it’s also a reminder that October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I was first diagnosed with breast cancer in October 2002, with recurrences in 2009 and 2011.

With the upcoming election on my mind, I almost missed acknowledging my breast cancer sisters this month and warning every woman over 40 to not let the year end without getting your annual mammogram. Because I’m high risk, I get either a mammogram or MRI every six months without fail. Last night, the Lord reminded me that breast cancer should be the topic of this week’s blog when I saw a Facebook post from a long-time friend who was just diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.

I found purpose in the pain of my first diagnosis by writing the book I wished I had going through my own journey, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey.  The hardest chapter to write was “It Could Come Back.” But come back it did, twice! Any fears I had that my friends and family couldn’t, or wouldn’t, go through this ordeal with me again, were unfounded as they rallied around me each time with love, caring, support, and most importantly, prayer.

I have suggestions below for how you can do the same for the breast cancer friend or family member or neighbor, or fellow employee, or acquaintance you barely know who is being treated for breast cancer. Unbelievably, statistics have not changed from 24 years ago when I was first diagnosed . . . 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime! We all know at least one woman who has cried out in anguish, like my friend and I did, “Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer!”

_____________

“I’m sorry…but you do have breast cancer.”

Those shocking words crackling through my cell phone rocked my world twenty-four years ago. I was running errands…trying to outrun suspected bad news. After the doctor’s parting words, “You’ll be fine,” I fired up the car engine and started driving and dialing. The first person I called, after I told my husband, was my best friend, but she couldn’t comprehend the diagnosis. “A positive biopsy doesn’t mean it’s malignant, does it?” she asked.

It’s hard to know what to say or do when a friend or relative drops the bombshell news that she has breast cancer. Often our natural response is to recoil and retreat. Maybe it’s the fear of facing our own mortality or the time and emotion required if we do get involved. We ease our conscience by thinking: she would rather be alone right now anyway. Or she needs her family at a time like this. Or she has so many friends; I know someone will help her.

We may send a card or make a call offering to help, closing with “I’ll be praying for you,” then on we go about our life while her life crumbles.

Yet the Bible clearly tells us to, “Help each other in troubles and problems. This is the kind of law Christ asks us to obey” (Galatians 6:2).

How can we put that verse into practical terms?

What does it truly mean to help each other in troubles and problems? Perhaps you can glean some ideas from the ways my friends and family came along side me during my initial breast cancer journey and two recurrences, and I might add with my recent complicated hip replacement surgery.

Helping Her with the Bad Days

Don’t Just Offer to Help—Do Something Tangible

Most of us find it difficult to receive help; we are hesitant to impose on others. When asked the generic question, “How can I help you?” our common response is, “I’m fine, but thank you for asking.” Truthfully, we need everything, but we don’t know if the person is offering to mop our floors or pick up our kids from school—both of which we need, but are afraid to ask.

Another well-meaning comment I received was, “Just call me if you need anything.” Now how many women are going to pick up the phone and ask for help, especially if they’re not feeling well? Again, we don’t know what the person is willing to do for us, and we don’t want to be a burden.

So instead of offering to help—just jump in and do something. If you know your friend well, you know where she needs help; and even if you don’t know her well, you know where all women need help. If she’s in the midst of cancer treatment, she is going to need assistance with every area of her life, especially if she is single. Here are some practical ideas:

  1. Schedule her friends, family, and church to bring meals. Use your lunch break to take her lunch and eat with her.
  2. Offer to drive her to doctor’s appointments or treatments and take notes for her.
  3. Shuttle her kids to and from school or find someone who can.
  4. Sit with her during chemo treatments or accompany her to radiation. Talk, read a book to her, or just hold her hand.
  5. Take her children on a play date or to your house.
  6. Do her laundry.
  7. Do her grocery shopping. If she is too sick to dictate a list, take an inventory of her refrigerator and cupboards and make your own list.
  8. Answer her email.
  9. Bring her a gift that makes her feel feminine.
  10. If she feels like talking, sit and chat with her. When she doesn’t feel like talking, just be a presence in her home so she doesn’t feel alone.
  11. Babysit her kids so she and her husband can have some private time.
  12. Clean her house or pay someone to do it.
  13. Go with her to pick out a wig or prosthesis.
  14. Pick up prescriptions.
  15. Run errands.

My first surgery and treatment extended over the Christmas holidays, and we had six grandchildren at that time. I had bought their presents already but couldn’t imagine wrapping them. So my friend took all the presents home and wrapped them, as well as organizing other friends to deliver meals for three months. During my recuperation, she sat on my bed with my laptop, read my emails to me, and then sent my dictated answers. Later, she accompanied me to radiation, fixed my hair when I had a frozen shoulder, and stuck beside me through the entire cancer ordeal, even though she admits that her first reaction to my phone call on that dreaded diagnosis day was, “Lord, I don’t want to do this.” God assured her that she could do it, and she did.

Don’t Say, “I’ll Pray For You,” Unless You Mean It

At church a couple came up to greet my husband and me and asked if they could pray for us. That meant so much to me as we wrapped our arms around each other, and there on the church patio, this precious couple prayed for my recovery and Dave’s strength for the journey. When we finished, the wife asked where we needed help. I hesitated because I knew this woman didn’t like to cook, but Dave quickly interjected, “We could use a meal.” She didn’t flinch. She said they would be over the next night with dinner, and they were…and they prayed for us again.

“I’ll pray for you” is said too often with the casualness of “Have a nice day.” But a promise to pray isn’t just a feel good phrase. We are telling someone that we will petition God on her behalf, and we are living falsely if we don’t. I find it’s best to stop in the moment and pray right then. It keeps me honest and blesses the other person.

Helping Her Enjoy the Good Days

Be Happy with Her When She’s Happy

Cancer is a grim word. Overnight life becomes serious, tense, and laden with fear. There is very little laughter during those first shocking days following the “dreaded diagnosis.” But life continues and there are going to be good days interspersed with the bad. An insightful friend will capitalize on the moments of reprieve when there is an opportunity to laugh or smile. Be ready, because it may only last a moment, but the break from pain and fear is immeasurable.

If your friend is having an especially good day, avoid topics that you know will bring her down. You aren’t minimizing or making light of the seriousness of the situation, but you are giving her a recess from the intensity. Don’t fake happiness, but take advantage of humorous or lighter moments. Smile. Laugh. Be happy.

Don’t let the serious eclipse the humorous.

I remember laughing at myself one day in the shower when I realized that I was so carefully not shaving under my left arm because of the lymph node surgery, that I also wasn’t shaving my left leg. I frequently retold that story so people could laugh with me.

Nurture the Little Girl Inside Her

When I was in the hospital, the nurse in charge of the breast-care unit gave me a white stuffed toy sheep named “Fleece.” Taking Fleece with me everywhere, I held him as a shield in front of my sore breast, tucked him under my arm as an armrest, and snuggled next to him in bed. For six months, I indulged my childish need for security, and no one chastised me for it. In fact, they acted like it was normal. And I discovered when I was writing my book, Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer, that it was normal! One woman who shared her story in the book had a black stuffed sheep named “Lamby” that she cuddled in her hospital bed. Another received a baby-sized pillow, and she recalls, “That pillow became a part of my wardrobe for eighteen months.”

Comfort and Security Gifts

  • A stuffed animal, pillow, or quilt.
  • A favorite food.
  • A game she loves to play and play it with her.
  • A movie she loved as a kid and watch it with her.
  • A surprise reunion with childhood friends.
  • A tea party.
  • A fun hat—even if she hasn’t lost her hair, she might not feel like fixing her hair.
  • A new nightgown that buttons down the front.
  • An ice cream cone.
  • A nightlight.

Shower Her with Love

Kay Warren shared with me about her breast cancer experience, “I don’t know how we would have gotten through this difficult time without the outpouring of love and support from so many. I have not felt alone at all…which is such an amazing gift!” And that it is…love is the best gift you can give to your friend suffering with breast cancer. Don’t desert her when she needs you most. Right now, she requires extravagant love, and God will help you when your heart is breaking or it just seems too sad or too hard. John 13:34 tells us to love one another just as God has loved us. God is the author of love and He knows just what your friend needs, and He will show you how to love her when she is feeling unlovable.

Surprise her.

What woman doesn’t love an unexpected gift or demonstration of how valuable she is to us? We were in the midst of a messy kitchen remodel when breast cancer assaulted me the first time. Everything in my life seemed out of control. But I felt so loved the day I returned home after the painful needle biopsy and spotted amongst the rubble—gift bags full of treats with balloons attached and a card from two girlfriends assuring me they had been praying during the ordeal.

Ideas For Showering Your Breast Cancer Friend With Love

  • A Spa day at a salon, which treats women with breast cancer.
  • If she wears a hat or scarf, wear one too.
  • Tell her how much you love her and what a great friend she is.
  • Stick with her even when the treatment lingers on. Her biggest fear is that others will not endure the journey.
  • Include her in as many activities as she feels up to.
  • Go to a breast-cancer support group with her.
  • Plan a girls’ day or night out, when she feels up to it.
  • Sit and watch old movies with her—even if she falls asleep.
  • Do her makeup.
  • Pray for and with her.

The Bible assures us in Proverbs 17:17 that “A friend loves at all times.”

What a privilege it is to put that verse into practice for your precious friend with breast cancer. You probably won’t be able to do everything I suggest and I hope you have ideas of your own, but as a three-time breast cancer survivor, I assure you there are three things that will endure through the good and the bad times—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

The Top Thirteen Things to Do or Say and NOT to Do or Say to Someone with Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer Support

Article includes excerpts from Dear God, They Say It’s Cancer: A Companion Guide for Women on the Breast Cancer Journey.

Please leave a comment here.

If you haven’t read my last two blogs, please do before you vote.

You Have a Role in Saving Babies This Election

If It Doesn’t Make Sense, It’s Spiritual Warfare!

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You Have a Role In Saving Babies This Election!

I’m going to be blunt and direct in this blog. God’s been prompting me to write about abortion because it’s literally on the ballot in every state.

We live in Idaho a baby sanctuary pro-life red state.

Planned Parenthood, abortion lobbyists, and wealthy East Cost liberal donors like Bloomberg are trying to flip Idaho’s pro-life abortion law just as they did in Ohio. If they can do it here, they can do it anywhere!

Idaho was the first state after the fall of Roe v Wade to pass a strict law banning abortion except for rape or incest during the first trimester, treatment of ectopic or molar pregnancies, removal of a fetus or treatment of miscarriage with no cardiac activity, or threat to mother’s life in which case they try to save the baby’s life also.

After our anti-abortion, do-no-harm, pro-life law was enacted, Planned Parenthood left Idaho because they could no longer slaughter babies in Idaho under the facade of “healthcare.” But they didn’t go resolutely and now we have Prop 1 on the ballot in November that would make abortion easier in Idaho then it was with Roe v Wade!

Many people have opinions on the Pros and Cons of Prop 1. My husband and I are vehemently against it. As I’ve interacted with those who are a “Yes” on Prop 1, it’s clear they don’t understand the current law or don’t believe or accept the following:

  • God created every baby in His image.
  • Science has agreed that life begins at conception.
  • Every baby receives DNA, unique characteristics, and a soul at conception.
  • A developing baby is not a clump of cells or fetus, she or he is a human being.
  • A baby is not a “health condition” or tumor that needs removing.
  • A baby has the same rights as the mother.
  • A baby’s body is separate from the mother’s body.
  • Abortion is a barbaric, torturous death of another human being.
  • God has a plan for every human baby.
  • Abortion is NOT healthcare and it’s NOT an “intentional miscarriage.”
  • Abortion isn’t a “medical decision” between a woman and her doctor. It’s intentional murder and the government is obligated to prevent murder.

Why Do I Say Abortion is On the Ballot in Every State?

Abortion bills, propositions, or amendments are specifically on the November 2026 ballot in Idaho, Nevada, Virginia, and Missouri, but abortion is actually on everyone’s ballot because if the Demoncrat Communist Islamists take over Congress, they will codify abortion!

If you heard the town hall with Democrat Socialist and heretic James Talarico running in Texas for national Senate, he made the erroneous statement to a constituent that “the Bible is silent on abortion.” He has even said that “trans” people need abortion rights. The woman he was talking to corrected him that the Ten Commandments specifically says, “Thou shalt not murder.”

Brian Ottinger of Love Live.org counters some of the typical liberal political talking points:

A BABY DOESN’T HAVE TO BE WANTED TO BE WORTH PROTECTING.

A mother’s circumstances don’t determine her child’s value.

A father’s willingness to take responsibility doesn’t determine his child’s humanity.

Poverty doesn’t erase human dignity. Neither does inconvenience, fear, or an unexpected pregnancy.

The value of a human life isn’t determined by whether someone wants that life.

Every preborn child deserves protection.

Every mother deserves genuine love and support.

“People’s feelings change. Circumstances change. What someone considers unwanted today may become their greatest blessing tomorrow. But the value of a human life does not change with someone else’s feelings. Being wanted has never been a qualification for being human, and it should NEVER be the standard for deciding who gets to live and who dies. Human dignity is not determined by popularity, convenience, or desire. Every human life has value because every human life is made in the image of God.” Brian Ottinger

How many of God’s children who He knit together in their mother’s womb and had great plans for them to rescue our world in medicine, health, science, education, leadership, preachers, fathers and mothers of future generations have been slaughtered before they could take their first breath?! Or horrifically even murdered after birth, which could happen if Prop 1 passes in Idaho!

God creates and has a plan for every child conceived. That’s not just a “religious belief” as I’ve heard argued and one pro-abortion SCOTUS said during the Roe v Wade turnover. It’s a reality. God has a plan for everyone!

For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. Jer. 29:11 NLT

The pro-abortion attorney in the Dobbs case also tried to argue that “the burden of parenthood is an obstacle to women’s success” even as she addressed this absurd argument to Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett a mother of seven, including two adopted children.

A man and a woman should carefully consider parenthood BEFORE having sex, not after a child is conceived. Only secular cultural worldly thinking considers success outside the home more valuable than success in the home as a parent.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. Ps. 139:13-16 NLT

When liberal SCOTUS Sotomayor compared a baby in the womb to a brain-dead person, she actually admitted that a pre-born baby is a person! Satan tries to seduce with deception by calling the baby a “fetus,” which sounds clinical and not like a human being. 

I’ve never heard a woman say she’s pregnant with a fetus, a brain-dead person, or a blob of cells. An expectant mother says she’s going to have a baby: a precious, fragile, defenseless human being that according to current laws in 37 states and Washington, D.C., she can “choose” to murder.

A scientific discovery is now confirming what Christians have always known that life begins at conception when sperm fertilizes an egg. A human being is created. A video reveals what appears to be a fluorescent display of fireworks taking place at the moment of conception. The ‘flash of light’ is created when zinc is released and binds to tiny molecules that “emit a fluorescence,” only viewable by microscopes. This discovery is nothing short of a breathtaking display of our Creator’s hand at work in creating each of us with a soul and a purpose.

Science and technology now confirm that by six weeks, a child has a beating heart, a developing brain and spinal cord. At ten weeks, the child has arms, legs, fingers, toes and can kick. By fifteen weeks, the baby has a nose, lips, eyebrows, eyelids and can feel pain, yawn, and suck a thumb. If you’ve watched the movie Unplanned, you know the baby feels pain in an abortion and struggles to get away from the suction tube. It’s heartbreaking.

Before ultrasounds and heartbeat monitoring, women bought into the lie they were told that it’s just a blob of cells that can’t feel pain. But now, we know that’s not true. We can see the human baby developing and hear the heartbeat at six weeks. We know, without a doubt, that life begins at conception. Yet many still want the “right” to kill that human being, even after the baby takes its first breath! Inhuman barbaric depravity is actually celebrated by liberals, Hollywood, and some state governments.

18 states plus DC have no gestational limit on abortion! Woman were actually photographed clapping and smiling when Massachusetts female governor signed a bill allowing abortion at any stage up until birth and in Minnesota even after birth! Tell me that’s not murder!

Abortion has become the accepted crime of unbridled passion and lust.

There’s no right way to do the wrong thing. There’s no justification for having sex and killing a baby because the sex was convenient, but the baby is inconvenient.

Our culture today is playing God by choosing who can live and who should die. That’s not going to end well.

Abortion is Not a Constitutional Right

The Constitution says everyone has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and that includes unborn human beings.

Let’s review some common deceptive talking points because maybe you’ve been deceived yourself.

  1. “A woman’s right to choose.” In 99.9% of situations, a woman does have a right to choose . . . if she’s going to have sex or not. That’s her choice.
  2. “Reproductive rights” start with the right to say yes or no to sex. Sex leads to reproduction. A scientific and biological fact and a right God gave to every man and woman who chooses to have sex.
  3. “Healthcare.” There’s nothing healthy for a woman to have a baby poisoned, burned, dismembered, or sucked out of her womb. A doctor’s role is to save both patients, the mother and the baby.
  4. “It’s my body.” It’s not her own body. She didn’t create herself. God did by her parents having sex to create her. Then she used her body to have sex and create a body separate from hers with its own soul, heartbeat, eyes, ears, mouth, nose, brain, organs, skin, arms, legs, sensitivity to pain, cry, and tears.
  5. “Bodily autonomy is a human right.” Autonomy does allow a woman to choose to have sex with her body, but when she creates another body, that little body has autonomy and a human right also.
  6. “Abortion is morally good.” When murder becomes morally good and justified, we’ve definitely regressed to barbarism and savagery. Promiscuous sex is morally wrong. Two wrongs do not make a right.
  7. “It’s a decision between a woman and her doctor.” When a girl or woman goes into Planned Parenthood, they don’t see the doctor until they’re in stirrups and he’s killing her baby. And often it’s not even a doctor performing the abortion. No doctor should agree to murder a baby.
  8. “Prochoice.” The argument is between prolife and prodeath advocates!
  9. “A war on women.” How about we stop the war on babies, both male and female.

For Those Woman Who Have Already Had an Abortion

My friend Patti Smith wrote a blog about the devastation of her own abortions: Nobody Told Me the Truth. Maybe that’s you and you were misled or misinformed. Patti learned that God is the God of forgiveness, grace, and mercy as she learned the truth about abortion, repented, and asked Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.

After your own healing, like Patti, God may use your past to help another woman not let abortion become her future.

I’ve also heard good things about Project Rachel: Hope After Abortion.

What’s Our Role As Christians?

Abortion is the brutal and barbaric execution of a baby. Don’t be bullied into accepting this demonic atrocity and don’t be silent in stopping it. Work hard to protect the unborn!

Every Christian, Conservative, Patriot, Parent, Grandparent, Bible-Believing God fearing American should be registered and vote in this November 3, 2026 election!

Remember the Democrat “Big Tent” of Socialists, DSA, Marxists, Communists, and Islamists want to codify abortion and their entire platform is anti-God.

Vote for the innocent.

Vote for those who cherish life.

Vote your values.

Vote biblically not personalities.

Vote!!!

Speak up for the innocent!

Here’s a powerful quote from a Gen Z woman writing to a friend on why she’s voting NO on Idaho’s Prop 1 . . .

“I recently learned that nearly 1/3 of Gen Z in America was aborted. Depending on the age range you use for Gen Z, between 16 million and 20 million lives were lost. That’s 16 to 20 million young Americans who could have been around our age today, that never even got a chance for their stories to unfold. That is a generational genocide, and I don’t want to let that happen to the next generations.”

If you haven’t read my last blog, here it is If It Doesn’t Make Sense, It’s Spiritual Warfare!

I just received an email about a true story Christian film starting in theaters October 16th. Perfect timing for the election. Here’s a link to check out Conceivable!

Please leave a comment here.

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Church Conflict is Inevitable. Our Response Should Be Biblical

My husband Dave and I often watch Kirk Cameron’s TBN show “Takeaways.” July 13, 2026, his episode was titled “Healing From Church Hurt.” Kirk interviewed Dr. Carmen Joy Imes and Pastor Joe Dobbins, author of Hope After Church Hurt: How to Heal, Reengage, and Rediscover God’s Heart for You. You can watch the full episode on YouTube. The summary was a discussion of how to heal biblically from being hurt by the church, or people in the church doing hurtful things, and the importance of staying connected and engaged with a community of believers.

This episode hit home since our own church is going through a difficult transition and chances are you’re either in a church where you’ve experienced conflict or you will be in one someday. Because churches are comprised of imperfect people, including you and me. Like any entity we participate in from family, work, neighborhoods, and yes, even church, conflict is inevitable but as Christians our response should not be worldly, it should always be biblical. Sadly, that’s not always the case.

Healthy conflict can be good! It often clears up misunderstandings and helps everyone deal with negative feelings if handled in a positive biblical way. Unfortunately, many of us go through life trying to avoid conflict, while others might try to create conflict. Neither response is biblical or beneficial in relationships.

In my Bible study, Face to Face with Euodia and Syntyche: From Conflict to Community, I discuss the short passage in Philippians 4:2-3, where we meet two Christian women who experienced conflict while serving in Paul’s ministry in Philippi. They couldn’t work it out on their own and needed a mediator. They hadn’t yet learned the art of agreeing to disagree biblically.

Now I appeal to Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. 3 And I ask you, my true partner, to help these two women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. They worked along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life. Phil. 4:2-3 NLT

Euodia and Syntyche probably were charter members of the church at Philippi. They worked with Paul as church planters and were influential women for Paul to mention them by name. Their argument was a big enough issue that Paul heard about it 1000 miles away in a Roman jail. We cannot minimize the significance of Paul addressing these two women in a letter he knew would have a public reading to the entire church, and quite possibly to surrounding churches. Arguments among Christians in churches are a big deal!

Often we’re unprepared to deal with conflict because we never learned healthy conflict-resolving skills and react in ways the Bible calls sinful. Whatever the root cause of conflict in the church, if it’s not resolved biblically, the result can resemble carnal secular culture, the opposite of how God wants us to respond.

Here are 5 sinful ways congregants might react to church conflict accompanied by scriptural ways Christians are called to react.

Gossip

A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends. [Also separates good churches] Pr. 16:28

Sadly, gossip might not just be a reaction to church conflict it might be the cause of it. We tell everyone else about the problem, except the person with whom we have the issue. Maybe we hope others will tell her or him for us or we want to download our problem onto someone else hoping they’ll side with us. The consequence: we indulge in the sin of gossip and slander. Because each side is so sure they’re right and justified, they may not see the sinful way they’re responding.

Or we hear a rumor of a disagreement at church and magnify it by talking to others about our opinion rather than talking to God in prayer. There should be a gossiping check in our spirit when a conversation starter is, “Did you hear the latest about…?” Or, “Someone just told me…”

Another way the sin of gossip occurs is when we don’t like the way something is happening at church and instead of talking to the pastor or elders, we complain to other church members. Just like the childhood game of “telephone,” the more gossip is repeated the more distorted it becomes. God knew we would have the potential to gossip so He included many Scriptures warning of its danger and the sinful repercussions.

The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts. Pr. 18:8

A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much. Pr. 20:19

Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. Pr. 26:20

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. Eph. 4:29

Disunity

Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand. Matt. 12:25

Unresolved church conflict always results in disunity in the body of Christ as congregants take sides. The enemy seeks to divide before it destroys relationships and the church falls prey to this sin when they reject unifying solutions to issues. Disunity is Satan’s way of hindering the effectiveness of the church’s gospel witness. How can a church that claims to be united as believers in Jesus Christ attract others to Christ when they’re divided and arguing amongst themselves?

The following verses remind us of the dangers of the sin of succumbing to Satan’s schemes to create conflictual disunity in the church and the importance of the church reflecting peace and unity in Christ.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. Rom. 16:17

 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 1 Cor. 1:10

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Eph. 4:3

Pride

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. Pr. 16:18

Disagreements in the church or personal life usually stem from each side’s desire and determination to be right in their own eyes. Conflict festers when people sinfully and pridefully determine their way is the only acceptable way and refuse to accept that only God is sovereign. The Bible warns repeatedly that pride is a sin and that it will lead to a fall in our life and in the life of a church.

Congregants can become entrenched in their own self-centered convictions over maybe something as innocuous as the color of the carpet or the worship music. It can lead to a tug-a-war of ideas and wills resulting in people leaving the church or even a church split. In Acts 15:1-5, Paul and Barnabas had to settle a conflict in the church as to whether believers had to be circumcised. Later in verses 36-41, the two men had such a sharp disagreement themselves over whether or not to take John Mark on a mission trip that they separated and went separate ways, which in the end resulted in multiplying their ministry. In 1 Corinthians 9:6, Paul refers to Barnabas as a “fellow worker” indicating they did reconcile later.

However, in a church split, there are often raw and hurt feelings and one of the churches may close.

In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. Ps. 36:2

Do you see a person wise in their own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for them. Pr. 26:12


When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Pr. 11:2

Unkindness

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Gal. 5:21-22

Anger is not a sin in itself. Even Jesus felt anger, but what we do with anger becomes the sin. In the midst of conflict, tempers may flare and unkind words spew. Perhaps ungodly words slip out. There might even be a desire to hurt the other person emotionally or physically. That’s when righteous anger turns into sinful revengeful behavior.

Maybe anger erupts at a church board or elder meeting or congregants argue with each other. As Christians, there’s never a good excuse to become unkind in words or actions, but it happens. We’ve all experienced church conflict. In our humanness, we may take our anger out on someone instead of taking our feelings to the Lord to help us resolve the conflict in a kind and gracious way.

Just like in the previous sinful ways we react to church conflict, God has many wise words for letting the Holy Spirit and not temperament guide actions.

Whoever is patient has great understanding, but one who is quick-tempered displays folly. Pr. 14:29

Stop being angry! Turn from your rage. Do not lose your temper—it only leads to harm. Ps. 37:8 NLT

A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense. Pr. 19:11

Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Eph. 4:31 NLT

Unforgiveness

For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matt. 6:14-16

Conflict by its nature as we’ve seen in the previous points is more than a difference of opinion. The reaction can even lead to retribution or retaliation if taken to its most negative expression. Feelings are often hurt, harsh words spoken, defiance, disagreement, revenge are the antithesis of how the Bible tells us to relate to each other. Someone needs to be the first to apologize and ask for forgiveness. As Christians, we ask God to forgive us for all our past horrific sins, yet often we’re not willing to forgive others, even in the church. That’s wrong.

I was hurt in church once and couldn’t even return. Then one Sunday morning, I realized how wrong it was for me to let someone else’s actions prevent me from worshipping. When I walked into church that day, one of the people who had hurt me admitted they were wrong and asked for my forgiveness. That was huge when this person accepted responsibility. How could I not then forgive? Even if they hadn’t asked, I needed to forgive in my heart to release myself from the sin of an unforgiving hardened heart.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Eph. 4:32

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Col. 3:13-14

Conflict Resolution Recognizes God’s Grace

None of the 5 sinful ways of reacting to conflict discussed is appropriate for followers of Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are clear that God has provided healthy biblical ways for Christians to resolve conflict and avoid the negative consequences of unresolved conflict.

Acknowledging the potential for conflict allows us to determine that we’re not always going to agree, but God has outlined for us how to respond biblically. Sadly, in today’s culture, we see all ages, from children to aging adults, who don’t know how to engage in debate and disagreements without verbally, and sometimes physically, attacking each other. Many have never learned how to work through conflict in a way that both sides feel heard, even though they may end up agreeing to disagree.

Everyone in church is at different spiritual levels and degrees of maturity. Some may have misguided higher opinions of themselves, thinking they know more than others do. Some are young Christians still learning what the Christian life is and isn’t. Others might not be Christians at all.

Even if the person you’re in conflict with isn’t a Christian, or doesn’t believe in the Bible, if you stay calm and react biblically, as we always should as Christians, you might find the other person responds appropriately. At least, you know that you did.

Learning how to resolve conflict the biblical way allows us to keep our cool and humbly communicate in a peaceful, loving, grace-filled manner—Christ’s way. Unresolved conflict can cause gossip, disunity, pride, unkindness, anger, unforgiveness, and even revenge—Satan’s way. When we resist Satan by adopting Christ-like behavior, the enemy retreats—at least for the moment. He’ll be back with a new strategy, but don’t allow him to get a foothold in your church.

It’s important to remember that “the church” is God’s house or gathering place, and He is the head of the household, the family of God. The only perfect person in His house is Him! The rest of the church, including the pastor, elders, and leadership are imperfect people. They make mistakes. They have a higher calling and so their mistakes can have long lasting repercussions, for which they will suffer the consequences. Sometimes, we set the pastoral staff on a pedestal and expect more from them than we expect from God. That will always lead to disappointment.

“Peace is not the absence of conflict. It’s Jesus in the middle of the conflict.” Pastor Rob McCoy

Fools mock at making amends for sin, but goodwill is found among the upright. Pr. 14:9

*I wrote parts of this article under the title 5 Sinful Ways We React to Church Conflict for Crosswalk in August 2025

Please leave your comments here.

Note: I’ll be taking a break from Monday Morning Blogs for the month of August and possibly September. I’m having a hip replacement on August 12 and appreciate your prayers. Have a blessed remainder of your summer, my favorite season, and Lord willing, I’ll be back in the Fall.

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Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten

The title of this blog is actually the subtitle to my book Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten, without a doubt one of the most important books I’ve written. Unfortunately, the publisher didn’t use my original title, How Good is God? I Can’t Remember, which I think was a more engaging title and would’ve put the book in more people’s hands, hearts, and minds.

In the book, I have a section “Generation to Generation,” which is what I want to focus on in this blog and here’s what got me to thinking about this topic . . .

Last week, our neighborhood well pump was clogged for several days. We were asked to reduce our water usage: no watering yards and gardens even with temperatures in the 90s, no dishwasher, laundry, even showers. It was a hardship, but we were all in it together, including the board members who are our neighbors.

Periodically, we have water issues, or the power goes out, in our rural mountain community. It makes you realize how much we take for granted when normally we can turn on the faucet and run water or flip a switch and have light. Things we don’t typically thank God for on a regular basis until we don’t have these necessities and we pray to God they’ll be back working soon.

This made me think about how blessed we are with all the things we take for granted. Things that are typically readily available to Americans that aren’t available in other countries. I remember when one of our daughters lived in Italy, the heat in their 4th floor apartment during the winter was regulated. They had no control over it. There was no air conditioning in summer heat. No ice.

Air conditioning, ice, and cold drinks were things visitors to the World Cup marveled at here.

Now there’s a Socialist/Communist mayor in New York City telling New Yorkers to set their A/C units to 78 during a heat wave while the temperature in his office is cool and comfortable. He wants to tax the rich to pay for all the free stuff he offers while he budgets for a raise for himself and his staff. That’s the difference between socialism and a free Republic. In our neighborhood water situation, we all suffered together, even those in charge. Under Socialism, those in charge–the government–and elites never suffer, just their constituents.

So like you, I’ve been wondering why the younger generation is so enamored with a government ideology that wants to take away their individual rights and make government their god? I’ve come to believe it’s because one generation isn’t passing down to the next generation why America is such a blessed country and why they’re so blessed to live here!

We’ve let social media and liberal schools take over the role of parenting. Where are the parents of the weird and freaky young people protesting in the streets and making TikTok videos about tearing down the country that allows them to say and do things that would put them behind bars or worse end up like the 50,000 killed in Iran?!

Were those kids ever taught the Bible?

Did their parents take them to church?

Did they pray at home?

I’ve always said it only takes one generation neglecting to pass down a heritage to the next generation for a way of life or belief system to vanish.

Is this what’s happening to freedom in America? That chilling fact underlines the magnitude of our responsibility to share the goodness of God with our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, and for them to do the same: “Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it” (Pr. 22:6).

*The Bible Is the Thread that Ties Generations Together

When we think about what our churches are ‘leaving behind’ for our cities, we shouldn’t be thinking of ministry plans or church buildings, but kids. The children in our church are the first ones that God has given us to win for the Gospel. Because they are the inheritance we are leaving for our city, the single most important task we have as a church is to teach the next generation the Gospel. –Dr. J.D. Greear

The Bible is a resounding call to remember God’s goodness throughout all generations. It’s a recorded history of our Christian faith reminding us why we believe and what we believe.

Thanks to the saints who have gone before us, you and I have the privilege of reading the same Scriptures and biblical accounts our ancestors read. Now it’s our job to ensure that God’s unchanging Word prevails and reigns through future generations. We need to pass on the hope we have in Christ by equipping the next generation to read and understand the Bible and accept Jesus as their personal Savior—not encumber them with rules easily broken, but guide them toward a relationship they wouldn’t forfeit or jeopardize for anything or anyone.

The Bible is a thread that intertwines us with previous generations who didn’t have radios, television, smartphones, computers, Skype, Google Hangout, chatgbt, texting, What’s Up, tablets, FaceTime, or even electricity or running water! They heard Bible stories told to them or read the Bible by the fire or candlelight, the same Bible you and I read today. No other book in history has traversed the centuries, crossed cultures, and enjoyed such worldwide renown—even people who don’t believe in God acknowledge the Bible is a historical book.

Praise God, some states are recognizing this as they bring the Bible back into school curriculum. From the first writings of Moses in Genesis, to the last recordings of John in Revelation—and every prophesy, disciple, and apostle in between—there’s a charge to remember God. Yet, each writer knew we would have a propensity to forget God’s words and forsake His ways unless one generation passed down the biblical truths to the next generation and lived out those truths.

God specifically and repeatedly tells His people to pass down to future generation all the awesome wonders they saw Him do because the younger generations weren’t there. The same goes for the history of our country. This younger generation didn’t live through the horrors of 9/11 perpetrated by the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda against the United States when nineteen terrorists hijacked four airlines. Then flew one into each of the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center, one into the Pentagon, and the one headed for the White House was overtaken by the passengers and crashed into a field. Over 3000 people died in the attacks and rescue efforts.

Yet, because that story isn’t told often enough, New Yorkers have elected an Islamist Democrat Socialists of America (DSA) mayor who is hiring and endorsing members of the DSA that wants to dismantle and destroy America from the inside. This is a dire consequence of one generation not teaching world history to the next generation.

One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. Ps. 145:4

Each generation has become more and more lax in upholding, enforcing, and passing down God’s truths, which have been the foundation of America since its inception. Even though there are those that deny that truth, they’re either uneducated, liars, atheists, Communists, Islamists, or a mixture of all.

When I hear people lament about our corrupt world today, I encourage them to read the Bible. The truth is our world has been steadily deteriorating morally ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Each generation pushes out the boundaries of sin and immorality a little further in the name of a progressive, tolerant culture, which is now progressing to embrace communism with the Trojan Horse of Democrat Socialists of America.

The twentieth century’s sexual revolution has made sex outside of marriage, homosexuality, and abortion “acceptable.”

My state of Idaho was one of the first states to enact the strictest abortion banning law in the country after SCOTUS put the responsibility on the states. Today, we have Prop 1 on the November Idaho ballot that would be one of the most radical pro-abortion baby-murdering laws in the country! Prop 1 is originated and funded by liberals, the abortion lobby, and Planned Parenthood which left Idaho after our abortion law eliminated their baby-killing business.

Satan never stops!!

The Twenty-first century’s norm now becomes casual hookups, unwed pregnancies, transgenderism, gay marriage, attempted gender change, and taking a pill ordered online to flush your baby down the toilet! What one generation does in moderation, the next generation does in excess, and sadly that’s been true since the beginning of time.

There have been periods of revival in our history, usually at times when culture has sunk to an all-time moral low or there’s a national crisis like 9/11. Suddenly, much of the world turns to God and begs His mercy and grace. As people flock to churches, unity and synergy bring communities together seeking God’s peace and comfort. But when the shock deadens over the moral atrocity, or the crisis passes, the church attendance steadily declines and the liberal agenda regains momentum.

As a nation, we said we would never forget 9/11 but as a culture, we did forget. Islamist DSA political candidates can go on media interviews suggesting America deserved that horrific attack, and few people call it what it is: insurrection or even treason!

We’re now in an era of political violence where a young man trying to share the truth through debate with the next generation is assassinated by the very generation he was trying to reach. Instead of universal mourning for the murder of Charlie Kirk, evil liberals and radicals cheered.

But our hope remains that, as bad as it is, God is still on His throne. Even though the world moves farther away from God, there are still people who will seek God, and we need to be ready to share the Gospel with them. The church is NOT dead, but it needs to awaken from its slumber.

As Christians, God calls us to live holy lives separated to God, separated from the world, and separated for God. Our responsibility is to help a generation that thrives on conforming want to conform to God’s standards and not to the secular world!

Don’t think you can’t make a difference. You can. Sure, you can’t transform the whole world, but you can make a difference in your world.

Steve Green wrote a song with the chorus, “Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.” Someday we’ll all just be a memory, but let’s make sure that memory points everyone to Jesus.

In your sphere of influence, starting with your family and church family, tell them everything you’ve seen God do and about His unchanging truths. Influence the next generations to love and obey God with born-again, Holy Spirit-filled hearts, and to remember the goodness of our Great God!

My people, hear my teaching;
    listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth with a parable;
    I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3 things we have heard and known,
    things our ancestors have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their descendants;
    we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
    his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
    and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
    to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
    even the children yet to be born,
    and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
    and would not forget his deeds
    but would keep his commands.
8 They would not be like their ancestors—
    a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.
(Ps. 78:1-8)

*A portion of The Bible Is the Thread that Ties Generations Together came from my book, Forsaken God? Remembering the Goodness of God Our Culture Has Forgotten.  

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Celebrating America’s 250th Birthday and How It’s Being Destroyed from Within

We were at an 80th birthday party chatting with one of the couples we know from church. They said they were leaving Thursday for Washington DC. I asked if they were going for the 250th celebration and they both excitedly responded “Yes!” They were in DC for the 200-year celebration and said it was fabulous! They’re expecting 250 years to be even more spectacular.

These sweet fellow boomers both show their respect for America by dressing in red, white, and blue from shoes to shirts for all the patriotic holidays. They love the Lord and they love America. So refreshing contrasted with the boomers at “No Kings” protests and other anti-American events. The same boomers who were taught in school the true history of America, unlike the current younger generations.

Our senior generation knows that the celebration on July 4th is about freedom from a real tyrannical king and foreign intervention in our young colonial republic. We’ve also lived through the threat and fall of Communism and should therefore be voting against the Democrat liberal party that is opening the door for Socialism, Islam, and Communism to take away the freedoms so many veterans have fought and died for over the years.

I don’t understand such stupidity and ignorance, but I’ll save more about that for the end of this blog. For now, let’s take a closer look at what our dear DC bound friends are going to celebrate this weekend and many of us will celebrate in our own hometowns.

What the 250th Anniversary Represents

The Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, and in 2026, the nation marks 250 years of striving toward the founding ideals of liberty, equality, and self‑government. The anniversary invites reflection on how those ideals have evolved — and how they’ve been challenged — across generations.

How Americans Are Celebrating

Across the country, communities are planning events that blend history, culture, and civic engagement:

  • National exhibitions — museums and institutions showcasing the founding era.
  • Local festivals — parades, concerts, fireworks, community gatherings, picnics, BBQ’s.
  • Educational programs — schools and libraries teaching the story of 1776, hopefully.
  • Historical reenactments — bringing Revolutionary War moments to life.
  • Civic initiatives — encouraging volunteerism and community involvement big in our small community.

I Love This Poetic Reflection

America rises at 250,
a long breath drawn across centuries,
a nation still stitching its story
into the wide cloth of time.
She stands where history meets horizon—
thirteen stars grown into fifty,
a chorus of millions
carrying hopes that once fit
in a single room in Philadelphia.
She is contradiction and courage,
grit and grace,
a restless dream that refuses to sleep.
From the quiet ink of the Declaration
to the thunder of cities that never dim,
from prairies that hum with wind
to coastlines that cradle the dawn,
America moves—
always becoming, never finished.
At 250, she does not ask for applause.
She asks for remembrance.
She asks for honesty.
She asks for imagination.
For the hands that built her,
the voices that challenged her,
the hearts that believed she could be better
than her hardest days.
And so this milestone is not a monument—
it is a lantern.
A light passed forward
to those who will write
the next verse of her story.
America at 250 is a promise whispered:
We are still learning.
We are still striving.
We are still free enough to try again.

But Will We Remain Free?

A Facebook friend, Debra Tucker, wrote about the threats we’re facing even as we celebrate our 250 years of freedom. There are evil forces from within that want to bring governmental and ideological tyranny back into America. Here are Debra’s thoughts, and I couldn’t agree more . . .

“I’ve been thinking a lot about where our country is headed, and I wanted to share something that’s been on my heart.

I keep seeing the same pattern, and honestly, it looks like a playbook for how to destroy a society from the inside out.

  • You make men weak.
  • You push women to be masculine.
  • You confuse the children.
  • You destabilize families.
  • You make dependency normal — like people can’t survive without the government.
  • You make indecency the standard, and call it ‘progress.’
  • You turn education into indoctrination.
  • You make truth offensive, so nobody can speak it.
  • And finally… you push God out of everything.”

My Opinion

President Trump issued a dire warning to the nation at The Faith and Freedom Coalition 6/26/2026:

“This is the most serious threat to our country since its existence, in my opinion, 250 years ago… These ruthless communists will attack all religions, but in particular, Christianity.”

“Isn’t it ironic, we’re celebrating a very important Birthday, and instead of speaking about Christ, Freedom, and Victories of all different kinds, we’re speaking about yet another threat to the Foundation of America. These ruthless Communists will attack all Religions but, in particular, Christianity—They always do. . . They will close your Churches; they will kill your people. This is what they’re about. This is the Greatest Threat to our Country since its founding 250 years ago!”

Jacob M Wright added a thought regarding President Trump’s speech, “One part he [Trump] misses is the Islamic/Communist alliance. These two ideologies are ultimately diametrically opposed, yet form a tactical ‘the enemy of my enemy’ alliance. Their enemy is the West. Once they achieve the goal of its eradication, only one can win against the other. In the case of Iran in 1979, Islam annihilated the Communists and created the Islamic sharia dictatorship.”

Before some of you might turn up your nose at the mention of our President, how you feel about the President should NOT influence how you feel about your country!

I was appalled every single day of Biden’s stolen 4-year administration, as I was watching America being invaded by unvetted illegals many of whom came here to either do us harm or freeload from our generosity. Liberal ungodly policies were destroying our country, which made me pray harder and help get the vote out to change the trajectory we were on.

I didn’t like the President, because I loved America.

We’ve heard the World Cup guests to America saying on camera how deceived they’ve been about America from the lying propaganda mainstream media. They’ve been told what a horrible country we are and instead they find we’re the land of good and plenty. They couldn’t believe places we take for granted like Walmart and “COSTCO museum.” Free cups of ice and Big Gulps with free refills. One man said in exclamation, “You can buy bread, milk, and an air gun all in the same store!”

They talk about how friendly and welcoming Americans are and the beauty of our cities, “each one like its own state.” They’re constantly pointing out to us how fortunate we are to have the freedoms we enjoy. The very freedoms the voters in New York, Maine, Minnesota and other blue states want to forfeit to Communists offering everything for free, while they take ownership of everything and make citizens slaves to poverty and a godless government.

Be proud of this wonderful country God gave you to live in and don’t be intimidated by those whose brain and heart have been infested with godless hate and envy for the joy in the Lord you’re experiencing.

When someone tries to intimidate you by slinging a slur like Zionist for supporting Isreal or Christian Nationalist for your love of God, family, and freedom simply respond, “Thank you. I receive that and I wear it proudly.” Or “Thanks for affirming me.” Or “Thanks for noticing.”

Don’t take the bait and don’t try to debate. Just take their attacks as a compliment. They won’t know what to say. As the Bible instructs, it’s like pouring hot coals on their head.

“On the contrary: “Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Romans 12:19-20

Proverbs 14:34 – Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people.

We’ll be watching as much of the DC celebration as we can DVR and enjoying a play in the evening of the 4th at our local outdoor theater where we’ll watch an amazing fireworks show around 10:15 PM when it finally gets dark in Idaho.

“God bless America, land that I love. Stand beside her and guide her through the night with a light from above! From the mountains to the prairies. To the Oceans white with foam. God bless America, my home sweet home!”—God Bless America

How are you celebrating America’s 250th Birthday? Let me know.

Please leave a comment here and I’ll reply.

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Why God Created Fathers and Two Grieving Fathers!

Next Sunday is Father’s Day when we honor fathers, stepfathers, grandfathers, great grandfathers and maybe men who have been like a father to us. I’ve observed that sometimes we make more of a celebration on Mother’s Day than Father’s Day. Does that happen in your family?

Sadly, many families are fatherless and Father’s Day can be a painful time. More than 20 million children live in a home without the physical presence of a father. Millions more have dads who are physically present, but emotionally absent. It’s been said that if classified as a disease, fatherlessness would be an epidemic worthy of attention as a national emergency.

My father was a California Highway Patrolman killed with his own gun when I was ten. My mother never remarried, so Father’s Day was always tough for me growing up. But I divorced when my own daughter was only two-years-old and I didn’t remarry until she was nineteen and headed for college. So both of us were raised in single parent households without a father. We were one of the statistics.

God’s Plan for Fathers in Families

Spiritual and Emotional Purpose

Fathers are created and commanded to share God’s love with their children, offering care, guidance, and protection from harm while helping children navigate life’s choices and challenges. They serve as a living example of God’s authority, provision, and protection, showing children how to balance strength with gentleness.

Fathers should be the first heroes a child knows, influencing their emotional, moral, and spiritual development.

My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. Pr. 3:11-12

To Reflect God’s Character

God is described as the perfect Father —a loving, merciful, just, and faithful disciplinarian. Fathers on earth are called to imitate this love and discipline, showing patience, kindness, and correction that builds character imitating God’s character.

Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. Heb. 12:7-11

Practical and Relational Roles

God envisioned fathers to be providers and protectors, performing both practical and nurturing tasks. They’re expected to care for the family, make important decisions, and support their children in everyday life—from teaching skills to offering comfort and encouragement. Their presence helps children feel secure and valued, while their guidance and measured discipline shapes character and resilience.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Eph. 6:4

Identity and Development

Fathers play a crucial role in helping children understand their identity, particularly in terms of gender and personal development. Boys often look to their fathers for a model of masculinity, while girls rely on fathers to affirm their femininity and sense of self. This influence helps children grow into confident, well-rounded individuals secure in how God created them.

If we had more fathers taking on this role in their families, there would be far less identity and gender confusion among children.

 The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice; he who fathers a wise son will be glad in him. Pr. 23:24

Biblical and Kingdom Perspective

From a biblical standpoint, God calls men to fatherhood as part of His plan for building and managing a family, reflecting His kingdom principles on Earth. Fatherhood is a responsibility that mirrors God’s governance, teaching men to lead, nurture, and cultivate a loving household while preparing their children for life and spiritual growth. Raising children to be progressively independent of their parents and permanently dependent on God.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. Pr. 22:6

Summary

In essence, God made fathers to protect, provide, guide, discipline, and inspire, combining strength with love, authority and discipline with care, and practical support with emotional presence. Fathers should be a role model in the family, shaping children’s lives and reflecting God’s character in tangible ways that children can follow in their own lives.

Specifically to boys fathers are created to be the role model of masculinity, leadership, and spiritual as well as physical strength. A father of girls is to be the role model of the kind of husband she should one day seek who treats her with kindness, respect, and reflects godly life principles.
 As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. Ps. 103:13

The Father of Lies!

Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. 44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! John 8:43-45

I described earlier the ideal plan God had for fathers and families. But because of the fall when sin and evil entered the world in the Garden of Eden, our culture often follows Satan the father of lies resulting in abusive, abandoning, or absent fathers.

Maybe you had a father like that and it’s hard to think of God as a Heavenly Father. Please know that God is a loving caring Father who wants to help you carry your burdens.

God is Our Heavenly Father

The Bible Wisdom Hub has a great discussion of God, the Father, in the Bible. Here’s an overview and would make a great Bible study.

The term “Father” is mentioned numerous times throughout the Bible, carrying various meanings and connotations depending on the context in which it is used. In the Old Testament, “Father” often refers to God as the creator and sustainer of all things, emphasizing His authority, care, and love for His people. The paternal imagery is particularly prominent in the Psalms and the Prophetic books, where God is portrayed as a caring and protective Father to His chosen people.

In the New Testament, the term “Father” takes on a new dimension with the introduction of Jesus as the Son of God. Jesus frequently addresses God as “Father” in his teachings and prayers, highlighting the intimate relationship between believers and their heavenly Father. This relational aspect of God as Father is central to Christian faith, emphasizing the idea of God’s paternal love, mercy, and provision for His children.

The concept of God as Father is further developed in the writings of the apostles, particularly in the letters of Paul and John. Paul speaks of believers being adopted as sons and daughters of God through faith in Christ, emphasizing the spiritual kinship and inheritance that Christians have as children of God. John, in his Gospel and epistles, emphasizes the Father’s love for His children and the importance of living in harmony with God’s will as obedient children.

In the New Testament alone, Jesus referred to God as “Father” around 165 times. This emphasizes the importance of the father-son relationship between Jesus and God in Christian theology. The term “Father” is mentioned over 1536 times in the Old Testament, reflecting the significance of this relational aspect of God’s identity and His role in the lives of believers.

Whether as the Creator and sustainer of all things in the Old Testament or as the loving and merciful Father in the New Testament, the concept of God as Father serves as a foundational theme throughout the biblical narrative, shaping the understanding of God’s character and the believer’s identity as His children.

Overall, the theme of God as a loving and caring father is prevalent throughout the Bible, emphasizing the intimate relationship between God and His people.

My Earthly and Heavenly Father

In the opening, I mentioned that my beloved father was murdered. The next year, I was invited to a church youth camp where the Pastor’s wife and my camp counselor sat on my cot and said, “We know you’ve lost your earthly father. Would you like a Heavenly Father who will never leave you or forsake you?” They helped me work through my grief and brought something good out of tragedy as I accepted the LORD as my Savior. After all these years, I can still remember that moment of God becoming my Heavenly Father.

I pray that when I go to heaven, I will again be reunited with my earthly father, but I am so grateful that my Heavenly Father watches over me and guides me through my mistakes and victories, heartaches and celebrations, and literally led me to the godly man I married 33 years ago who became a stepfather to my daughter.

One of our grandsons had personalized bookmarks at every place setting at his wedding. On my husband’s bookmark our grandson wrote, “You must’ve been a great father to raise my awesome dad!”

Two Grieving Father’s Stories!

“𝘈𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘢 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺. 𝘐𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦. 𝘋𝘰𝘦𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘮𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘦.”

Jeff Metcalf, father of Austin and his identical twin Hunter, spoke publicly after Karmelo Anthony was convicted of stabbing Austin to death at a Frisco, Texas track meet in April 2025. Austin was 17. What Metcalf said in the interview was not about the sentence or the verdict.

𝐈𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞.

Almost a decade ago, Jeff Metcalf was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors did not expect him to survive. “𝘛𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨. 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘨𝘰. 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘺, 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪g𝘩𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘺𝘴, 𝘐 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘤𝘤𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯.”

 𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐢𝐭. 𝐇𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝. 𝐇𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐝𝐨𝐦, 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰, 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝.

At a press conference after the murder, Austin’s dad tried to extend a Christian olive branch to the Anthony’s to say he forgave Karmelo and offered to pray with the family, but the Anthonys had the police remove him. The person who lost his son was then harassed, swatted 6 times, and the victim of DARVO, Deny Accuse Reverse Victim and Offender.

Watch this Christian father, Jeff Metcalf, speak to Rob Schmitt on Newsmax after the trial and contrast him with how the father of Karmelo Anthony is reacting.

Here is wise advice from a black man to black fathers, but it applies to every father and parent…

“Dear Black Americans wondering what to tell your sons after what happened to Karmelo Anthony:

This is what you tell them:

Do not be like Karmelo Anthony.

Do not bring a knife to school.

Do not bring a knife to a track meet.

Do not fight at school.

Do not bully, threaten, or provoke other students.

Stay out of trouble and walk away when you can.

Teach your sons to respect people of every race. Do not teach them to hate white people because of their skin color or because of things that happened in the past that today’s white children had nothing to do with.

Teach them self-control, accountability, and the value of human life. Being angry does not give anyone the right to pull out a weapon.

A school fight should never end with one child dead and another spending years behind bars.

Stop making excuses after tragedy happens. Start teaching our children how to avoid the tragedy in the first place.”—Terrence K. Williams, black comedian being quite serious.

One father will be visiting his son’s grave on Father’s Day, and one father will be visiting his son in jail. It didn’t have to be this way.

“The world needs more kind people in it. And if you can’t find one, then be one.” Jeff Metcalf

PS: There won’t be a Monday Morning blog next week as I’ll be spending time with our son who is coming to visit us for Father’s Day. Have a blessed Father’s Day. Remember to honor and celebrate your Heavenly Father EVERYDAY!

Please leave a comment here and I’ll reply.

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Women and Pastoral Roles in the SBC Debate

When I told an older pastor at Saddleback, the Southern Baptist church where we were members, that I was starting seminary, he hesitated. Then he said, “Well, I guess you could work in a church office.”

That comment perplexed me because I did not intend to ever work in a church office. That was not why I was going to seminary.

I had recently rededicated my life to the Lord, and like many, I thought if I just learned more about God and the Bible, I would find it easier to stay on track with my faith. Little did I know back then, the plans God had for me in the future.

If you’ve heard my story, you know I became a Christian at the age of eleven and was baptized at 18 before heading to college. I was a devout Christian until after my divorce when I ventured out into the world and backslid for seventeen years before rededicating my life at a Greg Laurie Harvest Crusade in Anaheim, California. Shortly after, I married my godly husband Dave. A story for another time, which you can read about on my website.

Back to my seminary story.

When I registered for seminary, no one had a problem with me being a woman. I wasn’t directed into any particular major, but I did have to pick one. I knew I didn’t want to be a pastor, so I ruled out a Master of Divinity.

As I browsed through the other options, I saw a new major the seminary was offering, a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership. Since I already had an MBA, this seemed perfect for me.

But the MACL major had three tracts and I had to choose one. The choices were:

Youth Ministry—No—Aged out and not my gifting.

Church Office Management—No, but I had a flashback to the pastor that told me this was where I would fit into the church.

Equipping the Laity—that left this one and I’ll admit I had to look up the meaning of “laity”:

  1. Lay people, as distinct from the clergy.
  2. Ordinary people, as distinct from professionals or experts.

I was definitely an ordinary person!

So after three years of taking classes at night while working and a new bride and stepmother, I graduated with a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership, Equipping the Laity emphasis.

Now what?

I had no idea, but God did.

Again, you can read my “Feed My Sheep” story if you haven’t heard it before of how God led me into starting the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry as a layperson leading other lay people in fulfilling the Scriptures that instruct one generation to teach and train the next generation.

Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God. They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers. Instead, they should teach others what is good. 4 These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, 5 to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. Titus 2:3-5 NLT

One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. Ps. 145:4

As the founder and leader of the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry, I never had the title of pastor or minister, but instead I was a ministry leader.

I was not on staff or on the payroll.

I developed and led a ministry that God had plans for far beyond Saddleback Church. As I began to write and speak about how we were having a successful women’s mentoring ministry, churches around the world began starting Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministries from resources that I wrote which are still in churches today 31 years later!

I didn’t need a title or a paycheck to fulfill God’s plan for a ministry that would change the lives and destinies of thousands of everyday women around the world. It was my honor and privilege to fulfill God’s destiny for me by serving Him, my church, and the women He brought into the ministry. The Lord opened doors for me to use gifts I didn’t even know I had to write and speak for Him!

About His Work Ministries was birthed and God provided for our family, even when we were both unemployed! It’s a God miracle story.

Why am I telling you my story here?

Women’s Role in the Church is a Hotly Debated Topic Right Now

The Rev. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, plans for the fourth year in a row to propose a constitutional amendment at the Southern Baptist convention this week. The amendment would clarify that no participating Southern Baptist church can allow women to serve as senior pastors or even have the word “pastor” in their staff title, or the church will be disfellowshipped, as Saddleback was in 2023 for ordaining women and calling women pastors on their website.

Mohler’s proposed resolution re-states the stance against women as pastors, “to reaffirm that the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

The resolution goes on to give thanks “for the indispensable service, discipleship, evangelism, missions work and ministry contributions of women throughout Southern Baptist life and encourage churches to continue affirming and deploying women in biblically faithful ways.”

It also calls for “pastors to teach and uphold the biblical pattern of church leadership, which includes exemplifying the qualifications of godly character and conduct prescribed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9.”

Because of the proposed Mohler amendment at the Southern Baptist Convention this week, my Facebook feed has been inundated with opinions for and against it. Maybe you’ve read some of the various arguments. My purpose in this blog is not to argue or debate the issue but to present some information for you to pray about and decide on your own.

Honestly, I can’t find anything in the Bible that says we should even have denominations! Not to mention denominations with their own rules and guidelines. They all claim the Bible supports their differing viewpoints, which often result in disunity instead of unity.

Since the Bible never changes, how can it be that denominations vary in how they interpret God’s Word?

But the word of the Lord endures forever. 1 Peter 1:25

Since moving to Idaho 15 years ago, we’ve attended a nondenominational Bible Church, but even they have by-laws that members and church leaders dispute. It makes you wonder if God wants us going back to house churches?!

Should Women Be Pastors?

If you enjoy listening to podcasts, I highly recommend this one with Stephanie Shott and Rebecca Fussell, “Should Women Be Pastors,” where they discuss what the Bible actually says in context. In context, is important. Often writers or speakers, even pastors, use a Scripture to support their point, but in context, it takes on a completely different meaning and intent.

Here’s also an in-depth article by Jill Monaco, “Can Women Hold the Title of and Function as a Pastor?”

I’ve always ascribed to the simple explanation that Jesus is the head of the church. Senior pastors are thus male heads of Jesus‘ church, as the husband is the head of the home. I have no problem with that, even though as a single mom for 17 years, I know moms often step into the head of the home role, but that isn’t God’s plan for the family.

I could only find the word “pastor” used in one Scripture, Ephesians 4:11-13.

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Interesting that the proposed Southern Baptist constitutional amendment is labeled “Truth and Unity” but it’s fostered disunity. When asked about women podcasters, Mohler, the author of the amendment replied:

“If she is functioning as a pastor, then she is assuming the role of a pastor, and I think that’s what’s implied here. And yes, I do see that as a problem. I don’t think the church should ever lean into offering confusion on this issue, but should lean into clarity. … If this person is functioning with other pastors as a pastor, the title really doesn’t matter all that much. That’s because the biblical conception of pastor is both the title and the function, the title and the role. And so avoiding the title doesn’t mean you’ve avoided the problem.”

That seems extreme to me. Many people interpret the words “shepherd” and “teacher” in the Bible as pastor and yet women in ministry often shepherd and teach as authors, podcasters, speakers, and leaders in the church.

My Experience

When I was leading a Woman to Woman Mentoring conference in Alaska, a church in the area heard I was coming and asked if I would speak at their Sunday service. I agreed. It was a bit intimidating as the church pastor was sitting in the front row. I can’t even remember my topic, but I’m sure it had something to do with my spiritual calling to encourage everyone to “Share Life’s Experiences and God’s Faithfulness,” which is my tagline and the subtitle of my book Mentoring for All Seasons. That pastor had no problem with a woman guest speaker in his pulpit. I didn’t present myself as a pastor and neither did the church. I would do it again.

I would love to hear your thoughts. When it comes to women pastors are we relying on tradition, denominational constitutions and restrictions, or biblical intent?

PS. I hope you read my blog last week, An Open Letter to James Talarico.

Perhaps you’ll understand where Talarico’s bizarre perverted “Christian” views originate when you read this alarming article. Presbyterian Church Faces Internal Revolt after Proposing Clergy Must be in Monogamous Relationships! This is the Presbyterian Church (USA). The same denomination that Talarico attends, preaches in, and is going to their seminary.

Presbyterian USA not only allows women pastors, they’ve also ordained homosexuals since 2011, allow homosexual marriage since 2014, and allow pastors to be in polyamorous sexual relationships! The progressive Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is facing internal backlash over a proposed rule requiring ordained clergy to be in monogamous relationships, sparking fierce debate and outrage from progressive church committees and polyamorous groups.

Progressive activists within the denomination, including More Light Presbyterians, have aggressively lobbied against the monogamy rule, arguing that it reinforces exclusionary standards and harms the queer community, while pushing for theological studies on gender, sexuality, and relationships instead.

“The Advocacy Committee on LGBTQIA+ Equity also argued that the monogamy rule reinforced White privilege. The group claimed the mandate imposes “a narrow, culturally specific understanding of family” that “privileges a dominant cultural framework over the lived realities of communities of color and global Christians.”

So the Presbyterian Church (USA) is going to vote at their General Assembly this summer in Milwaukee on this “controversial” rule, submitted by the Sierra Blanca Presbytery, stating that PC(USA) pastors must “display moral character” and, “if engaged in any relationship of a sexual nature, living in a monogamous one.” 

Promiscuous sex is fine for their pastors as long as it’s just one person at a time, but that’s even being protested in favor of staying with polyamorous sexual relationships!

Can you even believe this???

Crazy! Unbiblical! Satanic!

Why even call themselves a church? They’re certainly NOT Christians following God’s Word.

This “Progressive Christianity” professes that “The Bible can (and should) be reinterpreted by each individual and generation in accordance with their views of truth and their cultural and personal needs. The intended original meaning of the biblical text, so we’re told, is either unknown, unknowable, and/or irrelevant.”

The liberals love to make up new terms to accommodate their godless carnal secular views. In my opinion, there’s no such thing as progressive Christianity. It’s satanic heresy and blasphemy. That’s why one gay Presbyterian woman pastor was on television saying she would like to remove pages of the Bible. Of course, those would be the ones calling her lifestyle a sin.

For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 2 Tim. 4:3

Now you can see how Talarico comes up with his crazy progressive satanic heretical blasphemy and false teaching. He’s trying to make the Bible justify a godless liberal perverse political agenda just like he was taught at his Presbyterian USA church. Sick and twisted.

So, the Southern Baptists are voting to extend their ban on women pastors to include speaking on faith-based podcasts and the Presbyterians (USA) are voting to require gay pastors to be in monogamous sexual relationships!

Please leave your comments here. I’d love to hear from you.

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An Open Letter to James Talarico

I woke up early Saturday morning with James Talarico on my mind. As I tried to go back to sleep, I literally said, “Lord, I don’t want to be thinking about James Talarico!!”

I couldn’t go back to sleep, so I got up, made a pot of coffee, and started to scroll on my phone through Facebook as the coffee was brewing expecting to sit down and have my quiet time with the Lord.

But what was the first thing I saw?! The following open letter from Pastor Jeff Mullen to Texas State Representative James Talarico. I wasn’t a follower of Pastor Mullen, although I am now, but one of my Facebook friends had shared this letter.

I knew this couldn’t be a “coincidence.”

I too have been posting about the false teachings of Talarico who claims to be a Christian pastor and seminary student while running as a Democrat for a Texas Senate seat. What has frustrated me, and maybe you too, is not only the way Talarico twists Scripture to endorse his party’s radical progressive liberal godless agenda, but that many people are gobbling it up because he’s trying to use Scripture to endorse sin.

They’re calling his false teachings “real Christianity” when it’s actually “real satanic.”

What I appreciated about Pastor Mullen’s letter below is that as one Facebook follower commented: “Such relevant insights, written in love while proclaiming truth.”

The only thing that Pastor Mullen didn’t address is Talarico referring to women as “neighbors with uteruses” and that his favorite people are trans children!

Talarico also recently gave the opening invocation as a current Texas State Rep where he addressed God as a “Holy mystery” with “so many names.”

He stated: “The Torah calls you Creator. The Quran calls you Peace. The Gita calls you Destroyer. The Dharma calls you Truth, and the First Epistle of John calls you perhaps the most beautiful name of all, Love.”

My response to him is the Book of John does NOT call Jesus “Love,” and He didn’t call himself Love. John opens with calling Jesus “the Word.”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

Exodus 20:3 states, “Thou shalt have NO OTHER Gods before me!” Talarico must’ve missed that important commandment.

Whether or not you live in Texas, it should upset you as a Christian that Talarico’s blasphemy is being passed off as “Christianity.”

You may be wondering, like me, why the Democrat party would try and run such a controversial candidate in the state of Texas. As I thought about it several reasons came to mind.

  1. The Democrat party before the 2024 election hired a very expensive “Christian” consulting firm to advise them on how to attract the Christian vote since their entire platform is anti-God and anti-Christian. But this firm was actually liberal woke. I remember laughing when I heard this.
  2. The Democrat party is so clueless about Christianity that they think Christians will vote for anyone who calls themselves a “Christian” even though he espouses and stands for the complete opposite of biblical doctrine.
  3. The Democrat party underestimated real Christians who can’t be intimidated, tricked, or manipulated.

The positive that’s come out of the media coverage of the Democrat darling Talarico is that more and more Christians are speaking out with the truth that counters Talarico’s false teaching. Like Pastor Mullen, many on social media, conservative news programs, and Bible believing Christians are countering Talarico with contextual biblical truths.

I hope you’ll read Pastor Mullen’s letter below and share this blog. It will also give you biblical responses when you encounter people who are believing Talarico’s heretical abuse of Scripture.

Remember even Satan knows Scripture and twists it to tempt and deceive.

Here is Pastor Mullen’s Open Letter to James Talarico . . .

I don’t typically write open letters…

Dear Representative Talarico,

My name is Jeff Mullen. As a pastor who spent thirty years shepherding God’s people, I have learned that what we believe about God shapes everything else. That is why I am writing this letter.

I do not write as a political opponent, but as a fellow citizen concerned about the growing confusion surrounding faith, truth, and Scripture. Because you frequently speak about Christianity, quote the Bible, and present your views as expressions of Christian conviction, I believe those claims deserve to be examined in light of God’s Word.

One of my greatest concerns is that many people know you are currently pursuing a Master of Divinity degree at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary while serving as a Texas State Representative and working toward ordination in the Presbyterian Church. As a result, many people understandably assume that your theological conclusions represent historic biblical Christianity. Your words, therefore, carry weight far beyond politics.

When theological claims are presented in the name of Christ, people naturally assume they are hearing biblical truth. My concern is that some of the positions you advocate may lead sincere people away from the clear teaching of Scripture and toward a version of Christianity that reflects the spirit of the age more than the Word of God.

Over thirty years of ministry, I have sat beside hospital beds, preached funerals, counseled struggling families, and watched countless people wrestle with questions of faith. One lesson stands above the rest: when we drift from Scripture, confusion always follows.

James warns that those who teach will be judged more strictly (James 3:1). That reality has humbled me throughout my ministry, and it should humble anyone who publicly speaks in the name of Christ.

For that reason, I offer these thoughts—not as an attack, but as a pastoral appeal for biblical clarity and faithfulness.

1. Concerning Your Statement That God Is Non-Binary

God is spirit and transcends human limitations. Christians agree on that. The question, however, is not how modern culture categorizes God but how God has chosen to reveal Himself. Throughout Scripture, God consistently reveals Himself as Father. Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Our Father in heaven” (Matthew 6:9). Christ is the Son, and the Church is His Bride. These are not accidental descriptions but part of God’s self-revelation.

Every generation faces the temptation to reshape God according to its own values. Ancient cultures carved idols from stone. Modern cultures often carve them from ideology. Faithful Christianity begins by allowing God to define Himself rather than redefining Him according to cultural preferences. We do not improve upon divine revelation; we submit to it.

2. Concerning Your Statement That Other Religions Are Circling the Same Truth

Respect for people of different faiths is a Christian virtue. Surrendering truth is not. The suggestion that multiple religions ultimately lead to the same God stands in direct conflict with the words of Jesus Himself.

Jesus declared, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). Peter echoed that truth when he proclaimed, “There is salvation in no one else” (Acts 4:12). Christianity does not teach that all roads lead to God. It teaches that God has provided one Savior for the world. We can love our neighbors of every faith while remaining faithful to the exclusive claims of Christ.

3. Concerning Your Statement That the Bible Is Silent on Abortion

While Scripture does not use the modern term abortion, it speaks clearly about life in the womb. David wrote, “You knit me together in my mother’s womb” (Psalm 139:13). God told Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jeremiah 1:5). John the Baptist responded to Christ while still in his mother’s womb (Luke 1:41).

The consistent testimony of Scripture is that unborn children are known by God, created by God, and valued by God. The question is not whether the word abortion appears in the Bible. The question is whether the child in the womb is a human life bearing God’s image. Scripture answers that question repeatedly and clearly. Christians have historically defended the unborn not because of politics, but because every human life belongs to God.

4. Concerning Your Use of Mary’s Consent to Defend Abortion Rights

Mary’s response to Gabriel was not an assertion of autonomy but an expression of surrender. When told of God’s plan, she replied, “I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word” (Luke 1:38).

The entire story of the incarnation celebrates the acceptance and protection of life within the womb. God Himself entered humanity through the womb of a woman. Mary’s example is not about the right to end life but the willingness to trust God with it. To use the incarnation as support for abortion requires reversing the very message the story proclaims.

5. Concerning Your Statement That Jesus Was a Radical Feminist

Jesus elevated the dignity of women in ways that challenged the culture of His day. He taught women, ministered to women, welcomed them among His followers, and entrusted women with proclaiming His resurrection.

Yet calling Jesus a radical feminist places a modern political label on One who transcends every political movement. Jesus did not come to advance an ideology; He came to save sinners and establish the Kingdom of God. Every political movement must ultimately be measured against Christ—not Christ against a political movement.

6. Concerning Your Statements About Biological Sex

Conversations about sex and gender involve real people and often deep personal struggles. Christians should approach them with compassion and humility. Yet compassion cannot require the abandonment of truth.

Scripture teaches that humanity was intentionally created as male and female. Genesis declares, “Male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27), and Jesus reaffirmed that truth (Matthew 19:4). The Christian understanding of sex is rooted not in cultural tradition but in God’s design. Our identity is not ultimately discovered through self-definition but through submission to the One who created us. God’s design is not restrictive; it is wise and good.

7. Concerning Your Support for Same-Sex Marriage and the Reinterpretation of Biblical Sexual Ethics

Few issues create more tension in modern Christianity than sexuality and marriage. The temptation is either to compromise truth in the name of love or abandon love in the name of truth. Scripture calls us to neither.

From Genesis to Revelation, marriage is presented as a covenant between one man and one woman. Jesus affirmed this design when He quoted Genesis and declared that the two become one flesh (Matthew 19:4-6). The New Testament consistently teaches that sexual intimacy belongs within that covenant.

These teachings are not expressions of fear or hostility. They are expressions of God’s design for human flourishing. The call of discipleship is not the affirmation of every desire but the surrender of every area of life to the Lordship of Christ.

8. Concerning the Danger of Reshaping Christianity to Fit Culture

The deeper concern behind these issues is the temptation to reshape Christianity so it aligns more comfortably with the values of the age. The Church has faced this pressure for two thousand years. The source changes; the temptation remains the same.

Paul warned Timothy that a time would come when people would seek teachers who tell them what they want to hear rather than what God has said (2 Timothy 4:3-4). The role of Christian leaders is not to make Scripture acceptable to the culture. It is to faithfully proclaim Scripture, whether the culture applauds or rejects it.

During my years in ministry, I learned that God does not call pastors to make Scripture popular. He calls us to make it plain.

When culture becomes the lens through which we interpret Scripture, truth is eventually replaced by preference. The question for every generation is not whether the Bible aligns with the culture, but whether we are willing to align ourselves with the Bible.

The Biblical Responsibility of Leaders

Representative Talarico,

Politics is temporary. Elections are temporary. Legislative victories are temporary. Souls are not.

Scripture teaches that those who influence others bear a greater responsibility before God. James warns that teachers will be judged more strictly. Jesus warns against leading others astray. These truths should humble every pastor, teacher, author, influencer, and public servant who speaks in God’s name.

They certainly humble me.

For thirty years, I stood behind a pulpit knowing that one day I would answer to God for every sermon I preached and every truth I taught. The same is true for anyone who publicly speaks about faith and Scripture.

The older I get, the less interested I am in winning arguments and the more concerned I am about whether people know the truth.

My concern is not your political party. My concern is whether the Jesus being presented to the public is the Jesus revealed in Scripture or a version reshaped by the spirit of the age.

America does not need progressive Christianity or conservative Christianity. America needs biblical Christianity—faithful to God’s Word, centered on Christ, and unafraid to proclaim truth in love.

My prayer for you is the same prayer I pray for myself: that every belief, every ambition, and every public statement would be brought under the authority of Scripture. Because one day neither of us will stand before voters, political parties, commentators, or public opinion.

We will stand before God and give an account.

Respectfully,

Jeff Mullen

Pastor Emeritus

Follower of Jesus Christ

To follow Pastor Jeff Mullen on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jeffrey.mullen

What are your thoughts on this blog? Please leave a comment here.

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What Will Be Your Legacy?

Yesterday was Mother’s Day. I enjoyed some of our Mother’s Day traditions with my daughter, two granddaughters, and myself getting a pedicure together. Something we started when the girls were just toddlers. Even though this year I was slightly limited with the surgical wounds on my left leg, I still managed to have a wonderful partial pedicure with the girls.

We also had a lovely dinner together. I brought the family’s favorite Chex Mix for snacks, which goes back to my mother-in-law’s recipe that our kids loved. There was always a big bowl of it when we visited her. I was surprised the next generation, my grandkids, also love this timeless treat! When asked what he’ll remember about family gatherings, my grandson held up the bowl of my Chex Mix.

So Chex Mix is definitely a traditional legacy building memory in our family. Even though my mother-in-law cooked it in the oven for an hour stirring every 15 minutes, which I did too for many years, I now have it done in 10 minutes in the microwave!

I’ve been thinking a lot about legacy recently.

My husband’s cousin Pete’s wife passed away several weeks ago. A godly woman that I, and many, agree epitomized a Proverbs 31+ woman. She was 92 years-old when she went to be with her Savior passing away quietly in her sleep. She and her husband had been married 72 years!! They had 5 children, 18 grandchildren, and 22 great-grandchildren. Her name just happened to also be, Janet.

I remember vividly meeting Janet Hermanson over 30 years ago when Dave and I were newly married and attended a family funeral in Iowa where Dave is from and the Hermansons lived. Janet and her husband Pete picked us up from the airport and from the first greeting, I knew I was going to love my new namesake relative.

Janet welcomed me lovingly and graciously into the family and showed me how to make traditional Norwegian cookies, which I never was able to make as good as her. Janet’s warm welcoming kindness and hospitality rooted in her love for the Lord, for her husband, for people, her community, her state, and especially family and extended family made such an impression on me as a new wife.

I remember she had a “wall of brides” with pictures of her five children’s weddings. I was so impressed with this beautiful display of love that when our four children all married, I too created a wall of brides.

Because Janet and her husband Pete lived between Iowa and Arizona, we didn’t see them often, but they would always let us know when they were in our vicinity and we would get together as family loves to do.

Thanks to technology, Dave and I were able to listen to the livestream of Janet’s beautiful memorial service. Tears flowed as her brother-in-law shared fond memories of Janet before he read the verses about “The Wife of Noble Character” from Proverbs 31:10-31 and John 11 where Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus had died closing with …
23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

There were fond memories shared from a son-in-law, and a daughter-in-law who admired all the many gifts of Janet, which she admitted could be a little intimidating. A grandson fought back tears as he shared his memories and those of his sister of their loving grandmother. A son shared how his mom parented with love and clever firm discipline. Many shared “Janetisms.”

One person said it seemed like Janet’s oven never turned off, as she always had her famous lemon bars, lasagna, cookies, cherry pie, and delicious treats coming out of her kitchen. She sewed, sang in the choir, helped others with tax preparation, was a bookkeeper on the farm and often went out in the field to help or drive truck or tractor, volunteered at church, supported 4-H, Sons of Norway, quilted, hosted family and friends, all while raising a family of five and welcoming dozens of nieces, nephews, and guests into her home.

She was witty, funny, spiritual, kind, godly, loved traveling, a loving wife sitting next to her hubby in their chairs even when they were no longer able to be in their home. Her children rose up and called her blessed and her husband praised her.

I could go on and on about sweet Janet Hermanson. Her memorial was a blessing to so many and her legacy filled the church.

Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:

“Many women do noble things,
    but you [Janet Hermanson] surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.
Pr. 31:28-31

When I was sharing this story of Janet Hermanson’s memorial at the Women’s Revelation Bible Study at my church later that afternoon, the leader said she had just gone to the funeral of another Proverbs 31+ woman too!

Famous Legacies

Joni Lamb passed away last week at only 65. She was the President and cofounder with her first husband Marcus of Daystar Television Network back in the 70’s with the dream of using media to spread the gospel, which eventually became Daystar. A ministry that has blessed thousands over the years and many have come to know Jesus as their Savior. Joni helped build a platform that carried the gospel into homes across the world. She hosted conversations, encouraged believers, gave visibility to Christian leaders, and became one of the most recognizable women in Christian media.

With all the good it did, there was also controversy. But I want to focus here on the memory I came across on Facebook from Brooke Landreth who was a social media marketer and stylist at Daystar for 8 years. I’ve read many memories on Facebook from those who knew Joni, but this one especially touched me. Here is part of what Brooke wrote about Joni:

When I think about Joni, my eyes fill with tears because of the impact she made not only around the world, but on everyone she encountered, including me. Joni was someone whose presence made an impact simply through her ability to see people through God’s eyes. In the middle of the day, when I would pass her in the halls of Daystar, she would stop to give me a hug and always ask me how I was doing, despite wherever she was headed to next.

People were never the obstacle of ministry but truly the goal of ministry! And through her life, many encountered Jesus because of it!

She was a woman who was passionate about spreading the Gospel around the world and took a stand for truth no matter the cost. She brought out the gold in people through the words she spoke. She was a woman of generosity who often gave without expecting anything in return, and the unconditional love and heart she had for her family ran so deep.

I honor Joni for giving her life to the Gospel and for the legacy she is leaving behind. She will truly be missed by so many, but my prayer is that her children and our staff would carry the torch forward to bring Him glory!

I love you, Ms. Joni, and I will see you again in glory!

Charlie Kirk left a legacy of Turning Point USA as his wife Erika and the team carry on today. Charlie and Joni Lamb both have numerous videos and presentations that will be watched and shared for years to come to carry on their legacy, as will many others in public and private ministry.

Leaving a Spiritual Legacy

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded.” Luke 12:48

Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10

Whether we’re famous or known only to our family and friends, we’re all known to God. Each of us will leave a legacy of what we did with the gifts, talents, and family the Lord gave us while we were here on earth. I like this definition of a “Spiritual Legacy”:

“A spiritual legacy goes beyond material possessions, encompassing the beliefs, values, teachings, and love you impart to others, shaping their spiritual growth and life choices. It reflects the influence of your faith and character on family, community, and future generations, creating a foundation for others to follow. This legacy is often intentional, involving consistent actions, mentorship, and the sharing of spiritual truths.”

A spiritual legacy is the lasting impact of your faith, values, and character on others, especially across generations.

–Biblical and Faith-Based Perspective

In the Christian context, a spiritual legacy is deeply rooted in Scripture.

For example, Deuteronomy 6:6-7 emphasizes teaching God’s commandments to children, ensuring faith is passed down through generations. The Apostle Paul highlights generational faith in 2 Timothy 1:5, noting how Timothy’s grandmother and mother influenced his spiritual life. Proverbs 13:22 also underscores leaving a godly inheritance for children and grandchildren, emphasizing spiritual blessings over material wealth.

–Key Components of a Spiritual Legacy

  • Faith and Values: Demonstrating the importance of belief and moral principles in daily life.
  •  Acts of Kindness and Compassion: Small, intentional actions that inspire and positively affect others.
  •  Mentorship and Teaching: Guiding others in spiritual growth through example, prayer, and sharing personal experiences.
  •  Family and Community Influence: Passing down traditions, stories, and practices that strengthen spiritual identity and connection.
  •  Global or Cultural Impact: Extending influence beyond immediate circles through service, social justice, or humanitarian efforts. 

–Practical Implications

Creating a spiritual legacy involves mindful living, reflecting on your values, and intentionally shaping your actions to benefit others spiritually.

Spiritual legacy encourages personal growth, strengthens relationships, and ensures that your faith and principles continue to influence future generations.

Whether through prayer, teaching, mentoring, or example, a spiritual legacy is a lasting testament to the life you lead and the values you uphold.

I’ve always said that I pray my legacy to my family is that Mom, Grammie, Great-Grammie loved Jesus as her Lord and Savior and loved her family well.

To my friends, I pray I was as good a friend as you were to me.

To Woman to Woman Ministry and About His Work Ministries, I pray you’re always looking for someone to mentor and someone to mentor you.

For now, I’ll keep on writing this blog and making Grammie’s Chex Mix!

Have you thought about what your spiritual legacy will be?

PS: The above picture was AI generated from the context of my blog. I just shared it here for fun, this isn’t me or my grandkids or anyone I discussed in the blog but look at all the brides on the wall LOL!!

Please leave a comment here.

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