An Afterlife In The "Pitts" If His Thinking Isn't Changed

I realized this morning, thanks to a friend on Facebook, that Brad Pitt had quite a statement about his faith. This is the same Brad Pitt who is with Angelina Jolie (and whom I have issues with for leaving beautiful wife Jennifer Aniston) and who is always called a "humanitarian" for his (and her) good work in foreign countries and adopting foreign children. That sounds all well and good but Mr. Pitt, that isn't going to take you to Heaven. The following is from Fox News:

'“No, no, no! I’m probably 20 per cent atheist and 80 percent agnostic. I don’t think anyone really knows. You’ll either find out or not when you get there, until then there’s no point thinking about it,” Fox News quoted him as saying.'

Well...you are right on that Mr. Pitt. You will find out when you get there, but your "there" is going to be a lot different than my "there."

Oh how I wish so many of our Hollywood talents would open their eyes to see a Savior who loves them unconditionally, yet is pushed away because they would rather live life with their own personal "religion." It isn't about religion, it's about Jesus! Money, fame, fortune, popularity... none of that will matter.

Let us Pray for these individuals that have platforms that could be used for God. Let us Pray that there will be a great revival in the hearts of those who are so far from believing, whether they are rich and famous or poor and never heard of. Pray for our nation!

Ps. Read the whole story here.

Such A Shine 4 Jesus Moment: Baby Eliot Shines 4 Jesus!

I heard of this story on a TV show I rarely watch. I just happened to see it as I flipped through the channels today. It is a beautiful picture of how God can take something that the world would overlook and make such a beautiful miracle out of it... or I should say... out of him. Praise God for your life baby Eliot. You have touched my soul and my husbands soul so deeply! We praise God for your precious life!

PLEASE WATCH AND PASS ON TO SOMEONE. SOME FOLKS MAY NOT WANT TO ATTEND CHURCH OR HEAR ABOUT GOD, BUT THEY JUST MAY WATCH THIS... AND THEY'LL SEE THE FINGERPRINTS OF GOD ALL THE WAY THROUGH!

God's Ocean

I watch the ocean's waves
lick the sandy shore.
I think to myself
what more?
What more could He bless me with?
Just you wait and see.
For His mercy is abounding,
His love is astounding,
His arms far stronger, greater
than the sea.

June 9, 2009 11p.m. @ Myrtle Beach (last night there)

So Encouraging ... Miss California Speaks Biblical Truth!

Psalm 22: A Praising, Christ Centered Easter

Happy Early Easter! I Pray that each of you have a great Easter that is centered around Praise for Jesus and His life, death, and resurrection for US! I am once again sharing Psalm 22 with you this morning. Can you tell that I love this Psalm? As you read it, think about Jesus and what He did for us. I know that I am so undeserving and so, so unworthy of such a gift from my Father, the King! It is by my Savior's wounds that I am healed and I am just so grateful that He loved me enough to offer me such a wonderful, free gift of Salvation!

If you don't know Him as your Lord and Savior, I Pray that you will stop and meditate on this Psalm. Let is speak to your heart and really listen. This isn't just a story, but our Christ who walked this earth just as we are and gave His life just so we could have an eternal one with His Father, Our Father, The King!

Psalm 22

¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

²O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

³But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

⁴Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

⁵They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

⁷All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

⁸He trusted on the LORD that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

⁹But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

¹⁰I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

¹¹Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

¹²Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

¹³They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

¹⁵My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

¹⁹But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

²¹Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

²²I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

²³Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

²⁴For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

²⁵My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

²⁶The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

²⁷All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

²⁸For the kingdom is the LORD's: and he is the governor among the nations.

²⁹All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

³⁰A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

³¹They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Just wanted to share the notes from my New Defender's Study Bible on this Psalm. These are such interesting notes and they really provide insight on these prophetic verses of scripture!

22:1 why hast thou forsaken me. Psalm 22 is an amazing prophetic description of the future crucifixion of God's Son. This psalm was written a thousand years before its fulfillment and described in graphic detail the sufferings of Christ on the cross, long before the method of crucifixion was known and practiced among the Jews and Romans. It opens with the central of the "seven words" from the suffering Savior: "Why?" (Ma 27:46). The other "seven words" are located in order: Luke 23:34; 23:43; John 19:26-27; John 19:28,30: and Luke 23:46.

22:2 night season. This evidently a reference to the supernatural three-hour darkness at the height of His sufferings (Mat 27:45).

22:3 thou art holy. Here is the reason for the darkness and the silence of God. God had made the sacrificial Lamb "to be sin for us" (2 Co 5:21), and a holy God could not "look on iniquity" (Hab 1:13).

22:6 worm. On the cross, the Lord Jesus called Himself a "scarlet worm." This same word refers to the worm from which the Israelites of that day obtained their red dyes and is usually translated "crimson" or "scarlet." The female worm of this species, when laying her eggs, affixes her body to a wood surface on which she will die after the young are born. The wood, her body, and the young are reddened with the death of the life-giving mother. In a similar image the Lord Jesus made "peace through the blood of his cross" (Colossians 1:20).

22:8 let him deliver him. This was exactly the mocking cry of those enemies of Jesus around the cross who instigated His execution (Ma 27:43).

22:10 from the womb. Christ's miraculous conception and birth were unique among men. He did not need to be converted to God sometime after He was born, like other men with inherited sin-natures.

22:13 roaring lion. The picture seems to be one of an assembly of the wicked spirits of darkness gleefully prancing about His cross, waiting to swallow Him up - Satan, the roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), mighty bulls, and dogs and unicorns (22:12, 16, 21). These references could mean demon-controlled men, but are actually invisible powers of darkness. Nevertheless, "having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it there at "his cross" (Col 2:14-15).

22:14 it is melted. The awful sufferings of crucifixion involved the slow separation of the bone joints, the collapse of the heart cavity, and finally a gushing of both blood and water (Jo 19:34) when the soldier's spear pierced His side.

22:15 potsherd. A "potsherd" is a broken piece of pottery.

22:15 my tongue cleaveth. Indescribable thirst was induced in the midday sun (Jo 19:28).

22:16 dogs have compassed me. It is possible that the reference to "dogs" was a euphemism for a crowd of sodomites (De 23:17-18).

22:16 pierced my hands. The piercing of His hands and feet is a clear reference to the nails which affixed Him to the cross (note also Ze 12:10; 13:6; Jo 19:37; 20:25-28; Re 1:7).

22:18 cast lots upon my vesture. The unusual action of gambling for His cloak is prophesied here and is one of the very few events recorded in all four Gospels (Ma 27:35; Mk 15:24; Lk 23:34; Jo 19:24).

22:20 my darling. In the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament, "darling" is monogenes, used in John 3:16 and elsewhere to identify Jesus as God's "only begotten" Son.

22:21 though hast heard me. At the very climax and completion of His sufferings, as He was about to be impaled on the mighty horns of the unicorns and swallowed by the ravening lion, the Father finally heard His cry, and delivered Him.

22:22 midst of the congregation. At this point in the psalm the theme suddenly changes from suffering to praise. The debt for sin has been fully paid, and our sin-bearer becomes our great praise-leader. His congregation at the foot of the cross was very small --His mother, John, and the other women. One day His praise would be in the midst of not just "two or three ... gathered together in my name" (Ma 18:20), but of "the great congregation" (22:25), "the general assembly and Church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven" (He 12:23).

22:22 praise. It is strikingly significant that this first mention of the verb "praise" (Hebrew hallal) in the book of Israel's praises, as the Book of Psalms were called, is at Psalm 22:22. This surely seems more than coincidence, for twenty-two is the number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet. The chapter and verse structure in the Book of Psalms, unlike the rest of the Bible, was there from the beginning. Thus, the very purpose of human language is to praise our Creator and Savior, and the great occasion of praise is His victory over sin and death on the cross.

22:25 great congregation. See also Psalm 35:18; 40:9-10; 149:1.

22:27 All the ends of the world. As a result of His work on the cross, His followers will be His witnesses "unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Ac 1-8).

22:31 shall be born. As the great message is carried to "all the ends of the world" (22:27_, the spiritual "seed" (22:23, 30) that "shall be born" because of His death will testify "that he hath done this" --literally, that as He cried from the cross (Jo 19:30), "It is finished!"

Have a wonderful, Christ Praising Easter!

Ps. Share this Psalm and notes with someone you know!

1 Thessalonians 4 (King James Version)

This has thoroughly touched my soul today. I have been reading in 1 Thessalonians and today I read chapter 4. Truly there are things here that show us how to live and truly there are things here that show us how things will be when we die. How awesome that we can say that both are wonderful and perfectly planned by our Heavenly Father. Notice the bolded statements.

1 Thessalonians 4 (King James Version)

1Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more.

2For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus.

3For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:

4That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

5Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:

6That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.

7For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness.

8He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit.

9But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

10And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

11And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;

12That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.

13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.

14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

18Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

How do you use your vessel? Do you treat it in a manner that is pleasing to God? Am I asking you these questions to judge you? No... I am asking them even of myself daily. I think these are the kinds of questions we all need to ask ourselves daily if we want to grow in our precious Savior. How awesome to know that we soon will see our loved ones again in the air with our Lord! Amazingly, beautifully, sanctified by God!

CONGRATS BELL CO. BOBCATS REGIONAL CHAMPS! GO BILLY #69! ALL THE WAY TO THE STATE PLAYOFFS!

BILLY BRITTAIN SR. 2009
OFFENSIVE GUARD
BELL COUNTY BOBCATS

Just making a little noise for my brother and our county football team who are playing their final game tomorrow in the playoffs to go to the State Championship. Hats off to you fellas! I am so proud of this team and I am especially proud of my little brother. He really has come a long way with this team. Today, the newspaper covered the team and the seniors. Coach Dudley Hilton spoke of my little bro this way:
"Helping pave the way for skill players is an offensive line led by senior tackle Jacob King, a four-year starter, and senior guard Billy Brittain.

“We’ve scored over 600 points this year and that’s a tribute to him and the whole offensive line,” Hilton said of King.

“I never thought Billy would get to play much at all, but he worked hard this off season and turned out to be a heck of an offensive guard for us and I’m very proud of him and what he’s accomplished for us.”'



Go little bro!



And I ask that each of you be much in Prayer for this team of Bobcats who are giving God all the glory for their victories this season and in years past. This is a good group of boys who really deserve to win a State Championship! God instructs us to bring everything to Him no matter how big or small.... so I am doing just that. I Prayed every play last Friday night and will spend tomorrow night doing the same. Please keep us in your Prayers all day tomorrow, at 7:30 tomorrow night, and always!

GO BELL COUNTY BOBCATS!

Bell County’s success built on senior leadership

By JAY COMPTON/Sports Editor

Published:

Thursday, December 4, 2008 2:53 PM EST

LOG MOUNTAIN — Success on the football field is nothing new for Bell County High School, but the Bobcats are working on putting the finishing touches on remarkable two-year run.

They’ve had back-to-back undefeated regular seasons and will be hosting Boyle County Friday night in the Class 4A semifinals.

The Bobcats are 25-1 over the last two years with their only loss coming in the playoffs last year after giving state champion Lexington Catholic their toughest test in the post-season.

One key to that success is the leadership on and off the field provided by 13 seniors.

Running back Spencer Greer, quarterback Shawnta Zachery, linebacker Matt Simpson, defensive tackle Tyler Harbin, receiver Chase Ely, offensive tackle Jacob King, defensive guard Robbie Slusher, fullback Justin Goodin, kicker Monte Merrick, and guard Billy Britton are all key starters. Adam Overbay, Kyle Fuson and Brad Slusher also help the team either in reserve roles or during preparation through the week leading up to gameday.

“It’s unbelievable what they’ve done here since they’ve been at this high school,” said coach Dudley Hilton. “We’ve beat everybody in the area who would play us for the last two years. Look back on it now and maybe that’s why people don’t want to play us.”

With 318 career wins over 33 years coaching high school football, Hilton has seen his share of good teams and good players. He says what sets the current group of seniors apart is their unity and willingness to sacrifice individual accomplishments for the good of the team.

“They’ve always been winners since grade school and they’ve stuck together,” he said. “Most of them are baseball players and you look at what they did last year on the baseball team — winning the first regional in school history. Now they’ve won the football regional championship too.

“I look at them more as a group of winners. Not only in football, but in other sports and they’re all good in academics, too.”

Hilton said many of the players have set aside personal goals and are excelling at positions that may not have been their first choice.

“I don’t know if Shawnta has always wanted to be a quarterback but he wasn’t until his senior year. Tyler Harbin always wanted to be a fullback. We played him there some, but we needed him at defensive tackle. Matt Simpson always wanted to carry the ball and be a big-time running back, but we’ve had to depend on him at linebacker,” he said.

“That’s what kind of kids they are. They fit in to where they had to in order to make us a good, solid football team. It didn’t matter which position they played, they did it for the sake of the team.

“That’s one thing I can say as far as leadership — They’ve been willing to sacrifice some individual things for team accomplishments.”

Hilton will tell you that he doesn’t play for stats or try to showcase individual players and a look a rushing and passing attempts for each play bear that out.

Though stats aren’t always the best way to evaluate players, many of their numbers are impressive.

Greer, who was a second team All-State selection last season, has put together his third straight 1,000 yard season.

Though he missed one entire game and parts of two others because of injuries, he’s still ran for 1,314 yards and 21 touchdowns on 169 carries. He broke through for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown in the fourth quarter in last week’s regional championship win over Knox Central.

“Spencer’s had a great year,” Hilton said. “He got hurt early in the year and that kind of slowed him down a little bit, but he’s coming back into form.”

Zachery has completed 64-of-105 passes (61 percent) for 1,360 yards with 22 touchdowns and only one interception.

He kept his cool under pressure on a 3rd & long late in the fourth quarter Friday night and hooked up with junior Matt Raines for a 71-yard pass play that set up Greer’s late TD.

“Shawnta has been out there as a fixture for four years. He’s played at split end and cornerback, this year he’s taken over at quarterback and safety,” said Hilton. “He’s been true to it and I don’t know if we’ve still found out what all he can do.”

Ely has been Zachery’s favorite target this year as he has 23 catches for 419 yards and six touchdowns.

“He’s been out there as a three-year starter at safety and receiver,” said the coach.

Fullback Justin Goodin is a powerful lead blocker who has found the end zone 11 times. He ran for 329 yards on just 58 carries on the season.

“He’s been a two-year starter at fullback and he’s played a lot of linebacker this year,” Hilton said. “He’s a young man that’s really come along. He’s one of the key players on our football team.”

Helping pave the way for skill players is an offensive line led by senior tackle Jacob King, a four-year starter, and senior guard Billy Brittain.

“We’ve scored over 600 points this year and that’s a tribute to him and the whole offensive line,” Hilton said of King.

“I never thought Billy would get to play much at all, but he worked hard this off season and turned out to be a heck of an offensive guard for us and I’m very proud of him and what he’s accomplished for us.”

On defense the Bobcats allowed just 21 points during the regular season — the fewest in the state. They are ranked number three in rushing defense with just 71 yards per game allowed on the ground and are also in the top ten in passing yards allowed.

Harbin and Slusher up front and Simpson at linebacker are three of the cogs on Bell County’s top-ranked defensive unit.

“What can you say about Tyler, he’s played about everywhere we’ve wanted him to play — defensive tackle, tight end, full back — and he’s done a great job,” Hilton said of his defensive tackle.

“Robbie Slusher started at end last year and we moved him to guard and he’s really adjusted to that and had a great career,” the coach added.

“Matt Simpson started as a freshman at fullback and has played linebacker the last two years,” said Hilton. “He’s led us in tackling this year and has been all over the place. He’s also a good running back.”

Simpson has run for 428 yards on just 36 carries with six touchdowns and is nearing 80 tackles on the season.

Merrick’s field goals from 30 and 47 yards last week were huge in a five-point win. He added another extra point to his state career record in that game as well.

He’s been honorable mention All-State the past two seasons and after a big summer on the camp circuit he’s one of the top college kicking prospects in the country.

“He’s kicked here for four years and broke every record coming and going,” Hilton said.

Overbay sees some time at wide receiver, but has been especially valuable to the Bobcats as the holder for Merrick’s field goal and extra point attempts.

“He’s one that just came out for one year, but Lord are we glad he did come out,” said Hilton.

The coach said Brad Slusher was injured his junior year and got behind, but never gave up and continues to work hard with the team.

“Kyle Fuson has been good scout player for us and played hard,” Hilton said. “He’s just not been able to break into the lineup.”

Now just one game away from reaching the state championship game, the coach said he’s been impressed with how the team has handled high expectations this year.

“Rockcastle County and Knox Central were two hard teams to beat and we had to beat them twice and that’s a heck of an accomplishment,” he said. “That’s a lot of pressure on our kids. Like last week, we had a lot to lose and not a whole lot to win because everybody already had us winning.

“That shows you what kind of character this team has.”

Bell County’s seniors have led the team to 25-1 record over the past two seasons. Pictured above during pre-season picture day are the Bobcat seniors, front row (from left): Robbie Slusher, Justin Goodin, Spencer Greer, Adam Overbay, Kyle Fuson and Matt Simpson. Back row (from left): Billy Brittain, Monte Merrick, Tyler Harbin, Chase Ely, Brad Slusher, Jacob King and Shawnta Zachery.(JAY COMPTON/Daily News) (COURTESY OF THE MIDDLESBORO DAILY NEWS, YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT THIS NEWSPAPER HERE.... http://www.middlesborodailynews.com/articles/2008/12/04/sports/997seniors.txt)

Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength; a very present help in time of trouble.



(Photos courtesy of Elaine Ely... actually I think that's where they are from... I stole them from Billy)

Prayer for My Sister-In-Law

Hi guys....

I would have requested this Prayer yesterday but I could not get to a computer. We attended church yesterday morning and then went to Ryan's with my parents and brother for dinner. We noticed that the wind was pretty strong on the way home but nothing we couldn't handle. My husband was commenting on a few of the trees that were hanging over the roadways. He was saying that if they broke it could be dangerous.

We got home and I was changing into some comfy clothes when I heard his phone vibrating on the counter but by the time I flipped it open, my sister-in-law had already hung up. I assumed that she was just calling about how their church service went so when Mike came back in I told him so that he could call her. I wanted to be lazy and watch TV/take a nap so I swung by the bathroom before heading to my room. My husband swung the bathroom door open and told me he had to go. I was teasing him thinking he meant to the bathroom but when I looked up, his eyes were red and he was crying. He proceeded to tell me that his sister, the middle child in the family, had been hit by a huge tree limb when going outside to move her car. She had head trauma and we were told that they had sent a chaplain to her mom. This scared us all too death.

In Louisville where my in-laws all live, the wind was horrible. It was blowing 75mph and there were accidents everywhere. The power was out in the majority of places along with the phone lines. There were power lines hanging in the road and road signs flying off the expressway. It was not a good situation.

Within about 5 minutes, we were in the car and heading to Louisville which is about a 2.5 hour trip for us. I Prayed the entire way! The wind was awful and blowing us all over the road but we finally made it to the University of Louisville hospital at around 15 minutes til 5. We parked and went to the waiting room which was dark due to the fact that the hospital was running on generators. My mother-in-law was sitting there with my brother-in-law's father. We sat there forever without knowing anything. She had told us that they had sent a chaplain to her and that it scared her too death. We later found out that it was just standard protocol to send a chaplain to any patients in the trauma unit.

So we sat there from around 5 until about 7:30 before we found out anything. Her mom got to go back and the doctor told her that so far they had found a broken collar bone and the bone that connects to the collarbone was broken. They said that it had hit her head but not as much as they had previously thought. The power lines and the trees were down at their house so the ambulance couldn't even get to her they had to walk out to the end of the driveway with her.

So anyway, we stayed at the hospital until about 2am and then came to my mother-in-law's house to rest. We hadn't decided if we were going to go home and go to work or just stay today. We ended up staying and we found out this morning that they had found another area of her lower back that was messed up and hurt. They will be putting her in a body cast tomorrow and she will have to wear it for the next 4 months. If her lower back still hasn't healed, she will have to have surgery to fix it.

We are still not out of the woods, so please keep us in your Prayers. It is a very hard time for the family but we feel so blessed that she didn't have any head trauma. Actually if the branch would have went just barely over it would have probably killed her. What a scary situation but what a Great God who would spare her life!

P.s. Google Louisville's storm yesterday to see all of what happened to this area. It was scary! And the hospital was sooo extremely backed up. It was like a scene from TV!

A Bible Suggestion For You....

I have been eying this Bible for over a year now. Actually, I have been thinking about this purchase since Dr. Jim Gardener came to our church last year. After his "Creation Conference" this year, I decided to go for it. I ordered two, one for my lil bro and one for me. I have been using this during my Bible time for about 3 weeks now. It is wonderful. It has so many footnotes and information from Christian scientists and about the various languages and word meanings. Very interesting to say the least. 'It took me an hour to read Gen. 1 and 2 tonight because I kept pouring over all the notes and references. You can purchase this online in a few various places, but I actually found it at its cheapest at www.AIG.com . I am unsure if the sale has gone away but I purchased ours for $28.00 each. There's also tons of other great stuff on the Answers in Genesis website. So anyway, check this out! You won't be let down, I promise! (Click the Bible image to see it on AIG.)

My Precious Mother

Good Morning To All:

I am writing this morning to catch most of you up to date on what has been going on with my mom. Keep in mind, she is doing much better now but she still needs your Prayers on a daily basis.

On Monday, mom and I went to the doctor after school and found out the results of the various blood tests that had been ran to check us out. We found out first of all that all of mom's test came back good (including her cardiac tests) except for her blood levels. She was told that she was a 7.4 and suppose to go no lower than a 7 before needing a blood transfusion. The doctor put her on Slow Fe and a new vitamin called amni3 (I think) to help her get her iron levels and blood levels up. I found out that I am having issues with my thyroid (which might explain a number of things with me) and was scheduled for an ultrasound of my thyroid and put on meds as well. We left and picked up our prescriptions at the local pharmacy and went on home to rest up for the next day at work.

I fell asleep immediately following my arrival home and slept until mom called at about 11pm. I told her goodnight in our regular way "tell dad and Billy I love them and I love you, too... if you need me, call me. Love you, bye." I slept until 2:23 am when my cell phone rang. If you know me you know that I have serious anxieties with phone calls like this and hearing about sicknesses/problems with my family members. I jumped out of bed and began to try to gather myself. It was my brother who proceeded to say that my mom had been taken to the ER because she was sick to her stomach. He said that mom didn't even want him to call at first because she knew it would worry me but she told him to go ahead and to tell me that she was ok. I threw on my clothes and left, all the while thinking that she had to be very sick because mom hates going to the hospital.

I arrived at PCH shortly (and it was though Jesus had escorted me there because I made it safely and quickly). I walked in and my brother was in the waiting area. They had taken mom back and dad was with her. I sat there for a few minutes and then I went to the doors and pushed the button to get in. Billy followed. Mom was laying in a hospital bed with dad sitting beside her. She looked sooo tired. I asked her what had happened and she told me that she had felt a hold/cold sensation start at her feet and move up to her head. She said that it was so strong that she felt herself leaving her body. She also said that she was so weak that she couldn't even lift her arms. I immediately asked if she had felt pressure or pain in her chest and she said no. She didn't think it was a heart attack because she didn't hurt any or feel any pressure. When she had blockage around her heart before, she had tons of pressure and felt as though she couldn't breathe if she walked too far or did too much. She had felt that way for a long while before ever getting checked out and having her 3 way bypass open heart surgery in October of 2004.

The blood work that they had completed showed that her enzymes did not show that a heart attack had occurred. Her EKG however did show activity. (We later found out that this was because she had open heart surgery and that EKG's never look "normal" again after that. Each patient has their own normal baseline after surgery which may show up on an EKG as abnormal but technically be normal for the patient.) The doctor, who I must say was extremely laid back, told her that her blood levels were low and that they were going to admit her and give her a transfusion after he spoke with her cardiologist in Lexington. However, after he spoke with Dr. Skinner's partner, he said that they wanted mom to come to Central Baptist and have her heart checked out just in case since she had a history of heart problems. They didn't want to just send her there in an ambulance, they wanted to send her in a helicopter. Mom said that she had never been in the air before and asked if any of us could go with her but since they are so small, we obviously couldn't.

I left the hospital at about 4:30 am and by the time I pulled onto the road, the helicopter was landing on the launch pad across the street. I flew home and picked up my bag that Michael had packed for me. I had told him to stay at home and that I would be fine. I had figured that there would be limited room in her room and that they would not let all of the family there. I knew that I wanted to stay right there by her so he would just be sitting there waiting with rest of us. He obviously protested but eventually agreed and said to call him asap and let him know what was going on and that he would be there if I needed him. I told him goodbye in tears and asked him to keep Praying for her to be ok.

I left my apartment at 5am and flew to Lexington. I had my trouble lights on and made pretty good timing until I got close and started to run into the early morning commuters going to work. I was on the phone most of the way there and when I wasn't on the phone, I was talking and crying out to God. I was so scared. My aunt, who lives in Lexington, had already arrived at the hospital and taken care of mom's paperwork. That was truly a blessing. She was sitting outside waiting for the helicopter as I drove and she was right there as soon as mom got to the hospital.

I arrived pretty soon after mom did at around 6:15am. I raced up to her room and she was sitting there laughing with my aunt. She said she didn't feel as badly and was ready to go home. HA! Dad and Billy arrived about 45 minutes after me because they had stopped by the house to get some clothes and things and then left. I know that I drove Billy insane by calling him every 2 minutes the entire way.

The doctor came in for a minute, no joke, and said that they wanted to do a heart cath to make sure that everything was fine in mom's heart. They took her first to have an echo and then we waited for hours to hear again to see when they would be taking her for the cath. A few hours after arriving, mom was sick of sitting in bed and wanted to sit in a chair. We helped her to a chair and she was sitting there talking and laughing. Immediately, her face went pale and she looked blank. I asked if she was ok and she said she was doing it again. I ran to the nurses station and got the nurse and she helped her back to bed and we were all asked to step out while they went in. They put nitroglycerin tablets under her tongue and when we finally got to go back in, she was laying there resting. She said that the sensation had already went away. They started her on a nitroglycerin drip (which, by the way, causes a huge headache in the back of your head) and told us to keep a check on her. They informed us about the EKG (the above information I mentioned) and said that they were pretty sure she had not had a heart attack. We were pretty convinced that it had to be some sort of medication interaction or her body reacting to having such low blood.

We finally called mamaw in the early afternoon hours and she said that she would be there soon. We had not wanted to scare her so early and without having any idea of what was going on. We were told that her heart cath would probably be the next morning which meant we'd be staying the night. A few hours later, mom had the sensation again but a very quick version of it. It came on and was gone in a matter of minutes. The nurses had by then turned off the nitro drip and said that if she had another they were going to turn it back on. I got a little stressed and told them that we were worried that her blood levels may be causing this. I asked if they had checked and they said no. They sent someone to check them and found that they were now at a 6.8. They said that they were going to give her blood and if it didn't help or if it got low again quickly that they would have to do an upper and lower GI scope to see if something was making her bleed. (This scared us tremendously. Internal bleeding may be connected to some serious diseases.) So they ordered 2 units of blood for a transfusion. Michael and his mother wanted to donate the blood for mom but it happened so fast that there wasn't enough time. They tested her blood the next morning after the transfusion and found that it had went up to a 9.7. You could see evidence of it in her face because her color was really well and her cheeks were so rosy. This was really noticeable because she had been hearing for a long time that she looked "jaundice" and pale. (We later found that these were symptoms of severe anemia.) Dad stayed with mom that night in her room since only one person was suppose to, while Billy, mamaw, and I slept in the waiting room 2 doors down. I was up and down all night feeling ill because I was worrying that something was causing her to bleed internally, even though there were no signs of blood coming from her body in any way. Billy, mamaw, and I had special prayer for mom and I continued to pray the entire night when I would wake up. God truly gave me peace throughout that night because I honestly felt like I was going to start panicking. I got up at 4am and checked on mom and dad. They were sleeping. I then asked her nurse about her and he said everything was going fine. I was up and at 'em at 6am.
They had told us that if her blood levels went up they would for sure do the heart cath. So, we waited all Wed. morning for her turn in the cath lab. They came and got us and started on her at 1:10. I asked how long the procedure would take because I had blocked out a lot of that from the last time. They told us that it should be no more than 30 minutes unless they had to fix something.

Sitting in that waiting area was like being dunked in cold water. I could remember the last time we were in there waiting to hear about her heart and finding out that she was going straight into surgery. I remember losing it in the bathroom and Billy coming in to help me deal. I could remember walking to the "garden" area outside and calling ever Christian I knew to ask them to Pray for her to be ok. It was definitely a flood of emotions for me. I sat there so sick to my stomach and ill for almost an hour. I thought maybe that they had gotten started late and that was what was taking so long, but I was wrong. Dr. Skinner came out and asked for the Brittain family. He must have seen the stress on my face because he asked my relation to her and then told me she was fine. He talked directly to me for a few minutes and said that they had found 2 out of the 3 bypasses blocked again. One bypass was blocked 100 % and the other was blocked 90%. He said that the bypass to her left main (the widow maker) which had been so urgent in her surgery, was totally clear and unblocked. That was a blessing. He explained that the 100% blocked bypass didn't really serve a purpose and that he had left it alone but the 90% blocked bypass had been making her experience the sensations. He said that the 90% blocked bypass and the low blood count was a double whammy on her making her feel so bad. He placed a stint in the bypass and said that she was doing fine. He gave us a picture showing the artery before and after the stint. (I'll try to add that to this post at a later time). I asked why they had gotten blocked again so quickly after only 3 years. He told me that it was genetics and that she would have to be extremely strict on her diet, exercise, and cholesterol to ensure that she was keeping them unblocked. It amazes me that genetics can make you so susceptible to heart disease. I mean, I get it, I understand the science of it, but wow.

About 10 minutes later, we were back in her room with her and Dr. Skinner had already informed her of what had occurred. She rested on her back until about 4pm before they took the (I can't remember the name) shaft that had aided in the heart cath, out of her leg. She had to lay flat because the piece could have punctured her artery if she had have moved around. She then had to lay at a 30 degree angle until 8pm to ensure nothing aggravated her artery and that her leg was ok. We were told that they were going to take her blood the next morning (Thursday) and that if it was the same or higher, she would get to go home. Dad and mamaw left and came on home and my aunt stayed with Billy and I until early evening. Billy and I spent the night in mom's room (even though only one of us were suppose to). The waiting room had been empty and he had fallen asleep in two chairs before getting up in his sleep to make a bed in the floor. The nurses were really nice about it ( I was glad because some of the nurses prior to this night wouldn't have been). I was glad that we were there together because I would have been worried about him sleeping alone in a waiting room. I slept in a chair that can be made into a bed though I was afraid to make it into one because I was afraid of the room it might take up. One of the night nurses came to me in the middle of the night and woke me up and laid it out for me and told me to rest. That was a blessing. That chair felt like a king sized bed to me after sleeping sitting up the night before.

We got up Thursday (yesterday) morning and they took mom's blood. The physician's assistant came in and told mom that everything looked good and that if her blood levels came back the same or elevated she would be going home. I got ready and packed up and the nurse came in a couple of hours later and told us that mom's blood level had went up to a 10.7 ( I think that's right)! Praise be to God! We were later released and after eating grilled chicken sandwiches from Arby's we headed home. We stopped at my apartment to get my laptop and some clothes and then at the pharmacy to get mom's new prescription of plavex and arrived home at around 1:30pm.

If you have read this entire post, wow! I didn't mean to stretch the story out so long but I wanted to have these details recorded for my record. I still left plenty of things out but I think this is sufficient. I feel so blessed that my mom is laying in bed a couple of rooms away from me this morning and that she is doing well. God has been so good to us in every situation, especially throughout these past few years with mom. He showed us her blockages and remedied them through open heart surgery 3 years ago and He answered my specific prayers about specific body healing on my mom this week by letting us catch the blockages and low blood. How amazing is our Heavenly Father, that He would be so gracious and kind to watch out for my mom in such a beautiful way. She (and the whole family) credits all of this to Him! Praise You Jesus for being our protector and keeper.

I would like to ask that all of you reading would continue to lift my mom up in prayer each and every day. Pray for her strength as she lives in a healthy manner and pray for her heart and the rest of her body that it is strengthened each day. Thank you all for your love and support and I pray that God's mercies will rain down upon you and that you will be completely drenched in His loving grace!

Saturday Evenings

One of my most favorite times ever is Saturday evening. What makes this time so special you may ask? Well, nothing actually. Just the fact that I get to relax. I love coming home after shopping with my family on Saturday morning and just relaxing. By this time, I usually have my house clean and everything caught up. It's so nice to hear the silence and to be able to relax. Today while relaxing I read some of the book of Romans. Here's some of the key verses that stuck out to me. Some of them I have seen and heard a million times, but they really stuck a chord with my heart.

Romans 2:11 For there is no respect of persons with God.
We are no better than anyone else no matter what we possess in earthly possessions!
Romans 9:
9 What then? are we better than they? No, in no wise: for we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin; 10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Romans 4
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
Romans 5
19 For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
(We shouldn't sin just because we know we are already going to Heaven. Salvation brings about repentance of sins and a "want" to do better.)
Romans 6
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
(We pay for our sin with death but with Jesus we get a free gift to live forever!)

If you want that gift.... Pray and ask Jesus to come into your heart and to forgive you of your sins. Tell Him you want to be his child and that you believe that He died upon a rugged cross for you. Accept Him into your heart. Don't worry about not being perfect, none of us are. God will help you do things the right way. Don't change to accept God, accept God to change!

Urgent Prayer Request

Hey guys.......

Remember my friend at work who just had IVF? Well, she went to the doctor on Monday to have an ultrasound to find out if she is pregnant with twins or just one baby. They had implanted 2 eggs and when they looked on the US, they could only see one yolk sack and no embryo. She is obviously devastated, as most of us would be. Please pray for God's will in this situation. That little baby may still be there and just may be smaller. Please pray that if that scenario is in God's will that it will be. She is such a good girl and wants another child so badly. It breaks my heart for her. Just please keep her in your prayers and pray for God's comforting arms to embrace her each time she begins to feel overwhelmed with this situation. We all know that no matter what, God is in control and knows what is best. Thanks to all and I love each of you!

Ps. Continue to pray for my hubby and I on our baby journey.

Thank You God! Part 2

ALL I CAN SAY IS THANK YOU TO MY PRECIOUS HEAVENLY FATHER FOR ANSWERING PRAYER!

Kirk Cameron and Preacher Comfort Vs. The Atheists

Ok. I don't mean to talk about the same thing Kristi is talking about in her blog, but I, too, have been watching this on the Internet tonight and I am getting ready to watch the Nightline episode. I would strongly encourage ALL of you reading this to hop over to the link above and listen to this debate. There are several clips, all of which, YOU NEED TO SEE. You may ask, "Why would I listen to what an atheist has to say?" Simply because, as a soulwinner, you may be faced with some of the same comments that these atheists are stating. It is always helpful to hear how other Christian's respond to such and then verify those statements by researching for yourself in the Bible. If you are like me, you get upset easily about this topic. I am a self-proclaimed, closed-minded person when it comes to my faith simply because I KNOW that it is true. It can't be disproved to me because that's not even a possibility. I am not a "shove it down your throat" person, because I believe God has called us to love and to show a reflection of Him through love.
If you'll notice, the atheists on this program are in connection with a website called Rational Response Squad. This site contains a challenge to those who don't believe called the Blasphemy Challenge. I was on this site a few weeks ago and just listening to these people deny Jesus made my skin crawl. The idea is that since blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is the unforgivable sin, these folks are proving by recording themselves denying the Holy Spirit, that they are not afraid of what wrath it may bring. Some even say, "See you in hell!" How scary is that?
Anyway, Kristi makes some awesome points about it over on her first and second blog entries relating to the topic. PLEASE CHRISTIANS AND NON CHRISTIANS, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. PLEASE "THINK" AS KIRK SAYS AND REALIZE YOU DO HAVE A DOG IN THIS FIGHT. AND PLEASE CHRISTIANS, PRAY THAT THIS WILL MOTIVATE US TO WORK EVEN HARDER TO SEEK THOSE WHICH ARE LOST AND LEAD THEM TO KNOW JESUS CHRIST! AND GUYS, LET'S PRAY FOR THESE FOLKS. WE LOVE THEM EVEN IF WE DON'T LOVE THEIR WAYS. IF THEY ARE THIS STRONG IN THEIR ANTI-BELIEF, IMAGINE THE IMPACT A CONVERSION WOULD HAVE ON THEM AND WHAT THEY COULD DO FOR CHRIST!

Ps. I urge you to visit Canopy Ministries and Answers In Genesis websites for lots of Biblical evidence about Creation! Also, visit Kirk and Comfort's ministry site, Way of the Master.