Hearthstone Companion

I am so thankful today and still overwhelmed from yesterday, at the sacrifice Jesus made for me, and for you. However, I feel convicted to dwell on the sacrifice everyday, not just at Easter time. Something that was particularly powerful to me, from yesterday was a part of a song that said, "You tore the veil, you made a way, when you said that it was done." God tore the veil. He destroyed the "old" covenant, so that the "new" covenant could be established. Before Jesus died on the cross, people had to go to the temple, and had to talk to God through the High Priest, and God dwelled in the Holy of Holies, inside the temple. But once the veil was torn, it signified that man no longer had to go to the temple, and go through a priest to reach God. He was now accessible to everyone and anyone who wanted Him. The veil in the temple was a constant reminder that sin renders humanity unfit for the presence of God. The fact that the sin offering was offered...

"'Then neither do I condemn you,' Jesus declared. 'Go now and leave your life of sin.'" John 8:11 (NIV) " Hey! I want a do-over!" she screamed. The sun was clearly blinding her as she struck the volleyball with her fist to serve. She didn't see the serve fly straight into the hands of the opposing team. It was interesting to watch the reaction of her teammates. Some agreed to offer her grace, others muttered, "Tough stuff! Too bad!" Middle school volleyball resembles a story that Jesus lived. In the middle of an ordinary teaching day Jesus shared a revealing truth about our Savior. The Pharisees interrupted His lesson by dragging in front of the crowd a woman who had been caught in adultery. This woman had obvious, visible sin in her life. She was caught red-handed. It was easy for the lawgivers to snatch this life and display it before the crowd. They had their motives for bursting onto the scene, but Jesus flipped their inte...

As Easter approaches, I ponder more on the sacrifice Jesus made for me, and for everyone. I was reading a book, and it mentioned Heaven being our default destination. For every 1 American who believes he is going to Hell, there are 120 who believe they are going to Heaven. Matthew 7:13-14 says, "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. " What keeps us out of Heaven is universal. Romans 3:23- "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Because we are sinners, we are not entitled to enter God's presence. In fact, we cannot enter Heaven as we are. Unless our sin problem is resolved, the only place we will go is our true default destination..... Hell. Almost all funerals paint the picture that the person is in Heaven, but we know that is not the case. Not everyone who lives on the earth, has had their sin issue resolved. Some refuse, but some have never been told...

This story is SO powerful...... One night in a church service a young woman felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to God's call and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. The young woman had a very rough past, involving alcohol, drugs, and prostitution. But, the change in her was evident. As time went on she became a faithful member of the church. She eventually became involved in the ministry, teaching young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman had caught the eye and heart of the pastor's son. The relationship grew and they began to make wedding plans. This is when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church did not think that a woman with a past such as hers was suitable for a pastor's son. The church began to argue and fight about the matter. ...

The history of Cathedrals...now if cathedrals do not interest you...please read through anyway, you will see how it affects you as a mom. A craftsman could begin the building of a medieval cathedral and sometimes even that man's grandson wouldn't see it finished. In a period of 3 centuries, from 1050 to 1350, several million tons of stone were quarried into France for the building of the cathedrals and churches. In some cases, there is as much stone below ground as can be seen above. Some of the architects and bishops behind a few of these great buildings are known, and much credit is given to them for their work, BUT the vast majority of the labor, the masonry, the carpentry, the stained glass was all done by people whose names history will never reveal. If you look through books about Cathedrals, under most of the pictures it will read, "Builder Unknown" . Many of the cathedrals took over 100 years to complete, which meant that many builders devoted their enti...

The 2nd workshop I went to was called Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God! The workshop speaker was Mary DeMuth, here is her website. http://www.marydemuth.com/ We actually got to talk to her a little bit at her table- sweet sweet lady!! She talked about 3 things we need to let go of- in the same way you would just "release" the string of a balloon, we need to release these things to God. First being: Let go of busyness....... A lot of times, we are so busy, we don't set apart time to spend with God. Busyness can also lead to stress, and let's be honest, what kind of mom's are we when we're stressed??? But God knows how we feel and Jeremiah 31:25 says: "I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." If we let go of busyness, and really spend time with God, he will refresh us and energize us!!! The second thing we need to let go of is idols...... Now you may be thinking, I don't have any idols. Idols are stone statues. But the definition of...

My first workshop was called Measuring Up As a Mom. We all do it. Peer pressure doesn't end in high school. We compare ourselves to our friends, to other moms, to women at church, to actresses and even to tv moms, and we even compare our husbands with other husbands. It is a vicious cycle. The first measurement mentioned was Counterfeit Measurement- which would be when we listen to the media, or when we compare ourselves to tv moms/wives. We forget those are fake, pretend roles- made to look like a nice picture. At the left I have a picture of a "perfect mom". I don't know about you, but I do not clean house, and care for my children in heels. LOL!! It is not real life. In Deuteronomy it says, "You must have accurate and honest weights and measurements so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you." The land God is giving us is MOTHERHOOD. But, we have to remember that just as God gave some people certain talents, and others,...