Tornados in the South

A contributor to one of the blogs I follow (and apparently a friend to many other blogging moms out there) has lost her home to the tornadoes. She has a big family, and JUST had a baby recently! She has a blog called generation cedar and you can read her sad, scary story here - generation cedar . Other blogs have set up a donation account for people to send money to help out the Crawford Family. We are all family under Christ. Us sisters and brothers in Christ are called to help one another out. I donated, won't you give what you can to help this family pick up the pieces and rebuild their life again? "For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:44. Even if you can't give a lot, give a little!
Thank you to everyone and Peace be with you all!

by the way, the picture above is actually a picture of the Crawford's home, posted from her website!

Questioning the Easter Bunny

Hello! It's been a little bit since my last post (I appologise!). As Easter is approaching this year, I am finding myself questioning out traditions. I guess I really started questioning last year. I feel like I am just going through the motions when it comes to the Easter Bunny. Infact, these past two years I even FORGET to talk to the kids about him! It's like Easter week will come and I am like 'Oh kids, totally forgot, the Easter Bunny comes this weekend".

We started our journey at our church and into Christianity in 2008. Only 3 years into our journey and we are very VERY passionate about our faith! With my kids I have really been focusing, the last 2 years, on Jesus' cruxifiction and ressurection, instead of the Easter Bunny. Infact, I am seeing how the Easter Bunny often overshadows Easter's TRUE meaning. Was he created for this purpose? To get us away from the message of hope that Jesus' death and ressurection brings? I am torn. On one hand I am fine with saying "hey kids, the Easter Bunny isn't real." but with that statement comes other things. Is Santa real? I think we can incorporate Santa into the real meaning of Christmas (I say that Santa brings us gifts just like the Wisemen brought Jesus gifts, to remind us of the miracle on Christmas day and that God loves us all so much".) But how do you incorporate the Easter Bunny with the story of Good Friday and Easter? How can a basket of candy left or an Easter egg hunt have ANYTHING to do with it?  And what about their innocent childhoods? What about the magic of it all to them? The Easter Bunny, Santa, the Tooth Fairy? Should I really start to take that away from them (with taking away the Easter Bunny) at 6 and 3? It's juts not black and white in my opinion. There's so much grey area to this subject. I am open to any thoughts, ideas or suggestions! Peace to you all!

Wedding Rings

I heard recently on a podcast, that Prince Williams has decided to NOT wear a wedding ring. It's everywhere in the news.  ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/01/prince-william-wedding-ring_n_843451.html ) His wife is, but he is not.
This is terrible, if you ask me! It's just a shame. I found these statistics on one website about divorce rates - "According to enrichment journal on the divorce rates in America, the divorce rate in America for first marriage is 41%; the divorce rate in America for second marriage is 60%; the divorce rate in America for third marriage is 73%." On a podcast I heard that - "Nearly four in 10 Americans think marriage is becoming obsolete, according to a new survey that reveals changing attitudes on gay marriage, unwed couples and the definition of what a family is." Time magazine published and article called "who needs marriage?" (you can see it at - http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031962,00.html  ).
What is happening here? We are getting SO FAR away from what God wants from us. We are obliterating the family unit! A man, IMO, MUST wear a wedding ring. Other women need to know that they are taken. I feel like, if you take that ring away, you are taking a level of the commitment away as well. What about men and their roaming eye? What about if they are approached by another woman, who has sexual intentions towards them? There's NO RING to show that he is married. I would feel very hurt if I found out my husband was not going to wear a ring. Or if he even took it off in public! Maybe I am jealous. Maybe I sound insecure. Marriage is a sacred bond between 2 people, witness by GOD! God loves marriage between a man and a woman.

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. - Gen 2:24

Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. - Hebrews 13:4

Haven't you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate." - Matthew 19:4-6

But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. - 1 Corinthians 7: 1

There are many more as well. I know that God doesn't say "you must wear your wedding ring", but I would think that in an immoral world, there MUST be a symbol of marriage that is visible to everyone. I just think it's only a half hearted commitment if you don't wear your ring. What do you guys think? Peace!