Our children are precious gifts from Almighty God. I am going to share how my children have been a blessing to me with some events that could have been fatal. I have had some amazing things happen in my life where I knew the Lord was watching over my family. When my youngest son was 5 years old and my other son was thirteen, a friend had a swimming party. It was the end of the school year and it was a party for young teenagers. My younger son didn’t know how to swim at the time, so he wore a life jacket. He was having a blast jumping into the deep end. Well, after a while he came over to me and wanted me to take off his life jacket because he said he didn’t feel like swimming anymore. All of us moms were just sitting around talking and laughing. What happened next I know an angel had to have been there because all the teenagers were on the shallow end of the pool playing a game. I never noticed that my little five-year-old son had jumped into the deep end. It just so happened that my older son said something tapped his shoulder and made him turn his head and look back, only to see a little top of my five-year-old’s head barely sticking out of the water. He said he had never moved so fast in his life. He jumped over the side of the pool and dived in to save his little brother from drowning. My older son brought him to me and my little one was crying and was very scared. See, he had forgotten that he wasn’t wearing his life jacket but I am so thankful for the little tap on the shoulder that made my son turn his head, whether it was an Angel or not, I know it was from God. But nine years before this happened my older daughter saved my older son, who saved my youngest son. She was only six years old at the time and he was four. He had been given some candy from preschool. Well, after we got home I went upstairs, and shortly afterward I heard my daughter screaming and crying “MOM, Devin has candy stuck in his throat and he can’t breathe.” I hurried and did the Heimlich maneuver on him. Had she not been there, I would not have known to run down and help him. To this day she can’t stand to see someone sucking on hard candy for the fear of them choking. I am so thankful the Lord has been watching over us all these years, we never know when one will be called home to the Lord.
As parents we have hopes and dreams for our children. In 2008 when my 23 year old daughter called me and told me she was pregnant, my first reaction was not one of joy. See I had hoped she would one day find a good man and they would get married, then she would have a child. I never pictured her getting pregnant with no husband, so the shock and my first response was one of disappointment, which made her very upset. The second time she called me she said she was just going to have an abortion, she thought this is what I wanted. It was my first response that made her question rather to keep her baby or not. I told her no and that I was sorry for reacting as I did, the Lord would not want her to take the life of her baby. So even though I was not happy with the way this happened, I knew as a parent I needed to give my daughter support knowing this was no fault of the baby coming. I know my daughter would have suffered great pain in having an abortion. She fell in love with her baby while in the womb and for her adoption was out of the question. It would have been heartbreaking if my daughter had chose to have an abortion and my little precious grand-baby would never have been born.
I want to ask this important question and please pray about this. Is having an abortion robbing one the opportunity and hope of eternal life? We know abortion robs the physical birth (born of water), but does abortion rob the second birth of the Spirit. Jesus said in John 3:5 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. On thing is for sure, giving birth to a child offers Hope of Eternal Life.
So Beloved!
~Pro-Life Prayers~
Prayer to End Abortion Lord God, I thank you today for the gift of my life, And for the lives of all my brothers and sisters.
I know there is nothing that destroys more life than abortion, Yet I rejoice that you have conquered death by the Resurrection of Your Son.
I am ready to do my part in ending abortion. Today I commit myself Never to be silent, Never to be passive, Never to be forgetful of the unborn.
I commit myself to be active in the Pro-Life movement, And never to stop defending life Until all my brothers and sisters are protected, And our nation once again becomes A nation with liberty and justice Not just for some, but for all.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Redeemer in the Womb Lord Jesus Christ, You took our human nature upon Yourself. You shared our life and death, our childhood and adulthood.
You also shared our time in the womb. While still God, while worshiped and adored by the angels, while Almighty and filling every part of the universe, You dwelt for nine months in the womb of Mary. You were our Redeemer in the womb, our God who was a preborn child.
Lord Jesus, we ask You to bless and protect the children who today are in their mothers’ womb. Save them from the danger of abortion. Give their mothers the grace to sacrifice themselves, in body and soul, for their children. Help all people to recognize in the preborn child a brother, a sister, saved by You, our Redeemer in the womb.
Prayer for the Helpless Unborn Heavenly Father, in Your love for us, protect us against the wickedness of the devil, protect those helpless little ones to whom You have given the gift of life.
Touch with pity the hearts of those women pregnant in our world today who are not thinking of motherhood.
Help them to see that the child they carry is made in Your image — as well as theirs — made for eternal life.
Dispel their fear and selfishness and give them true womanly hearts to love their babies and give them birth and all the needed care that a mother alone can give.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Right to Life Prayer In these troubled times when all our Morals and values are under attack, There is one struggle we all must share For those who cannot fight back. I speak of the unborn child – No more oppressed minority can there be. Why is he denied his one basic right In America , “the land of the free’? Some say it’s a matter of free will, Others say it’s an individual’s choice. I say that all who care must speak out For those who have no voice. The taking of a human life Brings shame upon all. The murder of our children Is a crime we must outlaw. So if we raise our voices For the cause in which we strive, We can prevent this slaughter, And protect our right to life. “I have set before you life and death, Blessing and curse; therefore choose life, That you and your descendants may live.”
At the time of conception life is formed, we must all pray for a better way to help those who feel they are not able or willing to raise a child.
~This is a better Choice ~
Abortion Alternative Resource List
If you or someone you know is experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, here are some agencies who can help.
Most of these organizations operate nation wide, and/or can provide you with resources in your area.
If you have had an abortion and are suffering from the grief caused by this decision, you are not alone. There is help out there for you. Here are some groups who may be able to provide you with the support you need.
HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SPECIAL DREAM THAT STOOD OUT AND YOU KNEW THE LORD WAS SPEAKING TO YOU?
The first time this happened to me was when I was 10 years old.
Acts 2:17 ’AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ’THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS.
I have one dream I remember as a child and it was very special to me. When I was 10 years old my grandma died of a heart attack June 4, 1966 and I loved her so much. If you notice the postcard it is dated April 15, 1966. It was less than 2 months later she had a heart attack and died. My grandmother had gone to Mississippi to visit some of her family. Before she left on her trip I had traced her hand on a piece of paper and I have saved it along with her wedding ring all these years. After her death I was so very sad but one night I had a beautiful dream and I remember that dream like it was yesterday. In my dream I received a gift. It was a long box wrapped with a big bow. The anticipation of what was in the box was great. As I opened the box I was so excited when I realized it was my grandmother alive and well. I was so happy to see her again and I remember exactly what I said to her. I asked her, “Grandma, what is it like in heaven?”And this is what she said “Francine, I can’t tell you, you are going to have to find out for yourself.” What a wonderful dream and I was only 10 years old. That dream was a gift from God and HIM calling me to him. What was the chance that I would ask such a question and that dream would never be forgotten? Could it well be that the Lord knew I would use it one day to glorify HIM. My neighbor started inviting me to go to church with their family. A little over a year later I accepted to Lord and was baptized. The Lord is so amazing and I am thankful for those special dreams!
I am sharing my own personal story in HOPE of helping others. Learning forgiveness of others to be forgiven!
I asked the Lord to forgive me, it took a little time but the Lord reassured me of his forgiveness. I realized I wouldn’t be forgiven until I was able to forgive those who hurt me. The forgiveness started with my father for all the years of sexual abuse. I realized there was a connection between the abuse of my father and my first failed marriage. I married young at the age of 19, it was only 3 years after I had been engulfed with a lifetime of sexual abuse which involved my grandmother and my mother. He was able to control all of us, having us do his will. He took away my innocence while warping my mind, resulting in my own insecurity. We lived in a house of darkness literally and spiritually, he was a nudist. I remember the shades always down when he was home. We all had to participate. Many of our family vacations involved going to nudist colonies which included my mother, my grandma (my mother’s mother), and me. This was his choice, we were just all victims. I loved my grandmother very much but she was a victim just like me, so I never blamed her. She died when I was ten. My mother ended up an alcoholic. I remember him beating her, her crying, and her with a black eye. My mother took her pain out on me and would slap me across the face or pinch my mouth. I recall my father becoming enraged over a lost porn magazine, at first he came after me, pulling back his fist as to hit me but stopped. I was so scared that day, then he turned his rage on my mother. I remember my father sexually molesting my friend and I, she was 9 and I was 10 years old. He had a way of making it into a game. I remember when my dad would go to X-rated stores to buy his magazines, he would leave my mother and I in the car for hours at a time. Then when I was 11 years old, my mother and my grandfather (my father’s father) ran off together which lead to my parent’s divorce. That relationship failed between my mother and grandfather, my mother had no money so my dad was able to take even greater advantage of her and his sex acts became even more perverted by including me. At that time I was living with my Maw Maw (my father’s mother) and the neighbors started taking me to church where I accepted the Lord and was baptized. My father then remarried when I was 13 years old and there was more abuse. My stepmother would always say things to put fear in me. She told me how she and her older daughter murdered her first husband and how they got away with it by claiming self-defense, along with other stories to add more fear in me. Every time she would leave the house my father would come for me for his pleasure. Seriously I had come to the point, I wanted to die. For the first time, I finally told my secret to a friend that lived a few houses down the street named Mary. The Lord intervened when Mary told her friend Sharon about me. Sharon didn’t know me but told her parents about a girl who was being abused.
I finally told my father I was going to tell and everything hit the fan. As I spoke of the unspeakable, I just wanted to run away, I remember my whole body trembling and shaking. I asked if I could go live with my mother and they said go ahead, but that didn’t work because she was always drunk and the man she was married to threatened to beat me with a big chain. By this time I had Sharon’s parent’s phone number who offered me help and they took me into their home. They got me legal help and they became my foster parents. I lived with them for about 2 1/2 years and there I learned more about the Lord. I was rescued for a time, but when I finished school I was on my own and the sins of the world engulfed me. I was insecure and I met someone who said they loved me and wanted to get married. But soon after we married I felt I couldn’t trust him. I was so jealous of every girl and child. One day I went to visit a friend out of town and I planned to stay the night but I missed him so much that I came home. He wasn’t there and I waited by the window late into the night. When he finally got home I asked him where he had gone, it turned out he went to an x-rated store to buy a x-rated movie. I was so angry. Well, a few weeks later I noticed the trash had been taken out. I knew that wasn’t like my husband to do that without me saying something, so I went out and dug into the trash. There I found x-rated magazines that he had been looking at after he knew how I was so against it. He knew about all the abuse I had endured as a child and the porn my father was into. What I am getting at is my state of mind was so messed up, I couldn’t handle being with someone that reminded me of my Dad. I wanted to separate but during the separation period, he found someone else and wanted a divorce. Once my marriage was over my life was filled with sin, drinking, sex, and drugs and I was living my darkest hours. I was alone living in this dark cloud, the Lord seemed miles away. I tried to take my own life by taking a bottle of the remaining Valium I had, only I found myself still alive the next day. I knew something needed to change, I felt so tired. I prayed and asked the Lord for a family and soon after that, I met my husband-to-be. The husband I have now is nothing like my father. We have been together 28 years and he is a wonderful husband and father. A few years ago I decided I wanted to go back home and truly get connected to the Lord. I was on fire and so happy. I called my foster father and went to visit him after over 30 years and let him know how much I loved all they had done for me. I saw my foster sister but my foster mother had already passed away. A few months later my foster father passed away from cancer. I knew the Lord let me have that chance to tell him how much I appreciated them and thanked him for all they did for me. But going back to church turned out to be so disappointing for me. I never realized I would not be accepted as a member of the body. I tried to explain the situation but it didn’t matter. It was firm that I could not be a member unless I divorced my husband because they said I was living in adultery. I couldn’t believe the coldness, where was forgiveness. I was so troubled by it. It ate at me and I prayed for answers. Then on May 6, 2006 my daughter’s boyfriend committed suicide and that was the worst pain I ever felt. I cried out to the Lord like never before. It broke my heart and the pain I felt ran through my whole body.
I knew God had put this young man in my life for a reason. I cried and prayed, asking God what can I do? I had never been on MySpace before and yet God lead me to it. I shortly realized he wanted me to make a Tribute to Sammy. In the beginning, I felt God was using the site to aid in comforting Sammy’s loved ones. But soon afterward, I started seeing the site go into a transformation. No longer was it just for the loved ones, but for those hurting for various reasons. It was becoming one of God’s tools to give aid and comfort through the word of God. The church shut the door on me but the Lord opened another door for me to serve him.
Going back to my father. I asked the Lord for forgiveness. I started praying for a heart pleasing to him and his spiritual wisdom. I prayed for mercy, and as time went on I started having a change of heart. I stopped being angry with my father. I found myself praying for him and asking the Lord to have mercy on him. All the terrible feelings I once had vanished. I felt the Lord’s love like never before and I knew I was forgiven for all my past sins. I hold no guilt because I have learned in order to be forgiven by the Lord we must forgive those who hurt us. My father never came to me and asked me to forgive him. I never set eyes on him after 1972, I later heard he died in a car crash at the age of 66. No longer would there be a chance for him to come and ask me for forgiveness, yet I knew the Lord was telling me I needed to forgive. This is a principle taught in the word forgive others to be forgiven.
For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. Matthew 6:14-15
My mother died at the age of 47 of psoriasis of the liver and never got to see any of her grandchildren. I can pray with no animosity and with a sincere love for all those who hurt me. In Dec 2007 the Lord put it in my heart to find my stepmother and forgive her as well. It had been 35 years since I had seen her. I didn’t even know if she was still alive but I figured she must be since the Holy Spirit was putting this in my heart. I knew if she was alive, she would be 76 years old. I did a people search for her and found where she had last lived in 2005 so I decided to take a drive and see if I could find her. I located my stepsister, she had no idea who I was, but I knew it was her. I asked her where my stepmother was and she told me she was in ICU, she told me she had had a heart attack the day before Thanksgiving. I told my stepsister the Lord had put it in my heart to see my stepmother and let her know I had forgiven her and my father for all that happened to me when I was a teen. The Lord knew the perfect timing for me to go so I wouldn’t say too much, I left her an audio bible and player for my stepmother. Then I went to the hospital and was able to visit with my stepmother for a few minutes. I let her know the Lord loves her and that I had forgiven her. My stepmother died 3 years later in 2010 at the age of 79. I still have the scars and the memories, but my wounds have healed. One thing I have learned is not to hide our scars but use them to share with others and show the hope we have when we have the Lord to help us deal with the pain and heal our wounds. Our scars are our testimonies.
The Lord can turn anything into a blessing if we trust him!
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
If we want to be forgiven we must forgive others. A good way to start is by praying and asking the Lord to give you a heart that is pleasing to HIM. As one’s heart changes and starts filling up with Love, there is No room for hate. Forgiveness becomes easier and easier. I pray all those who read this will be blessed.
~May the Grace of God be with Each and Everyone of You~
Lord Jesus Saves†
~♥ My Foster Parents and I ♥~ (1976)
These are my wonderful foster parents who took me in when I was 16 years old. This picture was taken around (1976) when I was 20 years old. The Lord planted me in the Church of Christ as a teen and I believe it was for HIS purpose! Sadly both of my foster parents have passed away! My foster mother had diabetes and it took her life. My foster father died of cancer in 2005 but the Lord blessed me by letting me see him a few months before cancer took him. I was able to tell him and my foster sister how much I love them and all they did for me! What a great blessing it was to see them after all those years!!! One added note!! I was re-baptized at the age of 17 years old, the teaching in the Church said my first Baptism done in the Baptist church was invalid. But on Sept 22, 2007 the Holy Spirit let me know I was the Lord’s Child at 11 years old, he knew I was a child hurting and accepted me. I Love how the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to HIS truth.
My foster sister and her husband (COC preacher), my foster mother, and me (1974/1975).
A brief history!!! There was a girl that lived down the street from me and I confronted her about some of the things going on in my life. She told Sharon who I did not know at the time. Sharon told her parents about me and their hearts went out to me. They wanted to help me get out of all the abuse. They helped me by taking me into their home and getting me legal help. They got child welfare involved and they got custody of me from the ages of 16-18 years of age. They were very loving and I learned more about the Lord living there. Sadly because of legalism many of those in the conservative Church of Christ now consider me a fallen Child of God. Things have changed, the Holy Spirit has helped me see things in a new Light! After Sammy’s suicide (my daughter’s boyfriend) the Holy Spirit started moving in my life and started opening my eyes to things I never knew before the age of 50 years old. I give the Lord all the Glory!
~♥ My Grandma and I ♥~ around 1964!
This is my grandmother (my mother’s mother) and I. She lived with us from my birth till she died on June 4, 1966. I was 10 years old and loved her so much! She was a Christian and I believe she must have taught me about the Lord. She was a member of the Pine Forest Baptist Church in Vidor. After her death, I was so very sad but one night I had a beautiful dream and I remember that dream like it was yesterday. I dreamed I received a present. It was a long box wrapped with a big bow. I opened the box and it was my grandma. I was so happy and I remember exactly what was said. I asked her, “Grandma, what is it like in heaven?” And this is what she said, “Francine, I can’t tell you, you are going to have to find out for yourself.” What a wonderful dream, I was only 10 years old. That dream was a gift from God. What was the chance that I would ask such a question and that dream would never be forgotten? Could it well be that the Lord knew I would use it one day to glorify him? Less than a year later after she passed away I accepted the Lord and was baptized. I know that the Lord does give us those special dreams and they are for today! Acts 2:17-18 ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy.
This is South Park Baptist Church.
I was baptized there when I was 11 years old, on November 19, 1967. It looks the same as how I remember it 44 years ago. What is ironic when I was 6-9 years old I lived two houses away from that church yet I had never been in it. The house we were renting was bought by the Church and destroyed to build a bigger parking area. I remember that house as a house of darkness. Always dark because the shades were down. It was there in that house where the molesting got really bad! My father was molesting both my grandma and me. It is no wonder the Lord used my Grandma in the dream to call me to him. It is amazing that very house was destroyed by the Church where I found the Lord and accepted Jesus into my heart.
As a child hurting, I know the Lord used a dream to help comfort me and bring me to Him!
"Before I Go"
When my life has reached its very end,
And I take that final breath;
I want to know I've left behind,
Some "good" before my death.
I hope that in my final hour,
In all honesty I can say:
That somewhere in my lifetime,
I have brightened someone's day.
That maybe I have brought a smile
To someone else's face,
And made one moment a little sweeter
While they dwelled here in this place.
Lord, please be my reminder
And whisper softly in my ear ...
To be a "giver," not a "taker,"
In the years I have left here.
Give to me the strength I need,
Open up my mind and my soul
That I might show sincere compassion,
And love to others before I go.
For if not a heart be touched by me,
And not a smile was left behind ...
Then the life that I am blessed with,
Will have been a waste of time.
With all my heart, I truly hope
To leave something here on earth ...
That touched another, made them smile
And gave to my life ... worth.
Author Unknown
(These words express My Desires, Hugs)
Lord Jesus Saves︵‿ †
I am sharing my own personal story in HOPE of helping others.
Learning forgiveness of others to be forgiven!
Caution: May not be suitable for All!
More About Me
“Joy is not the absence of afflictions, but having the Lord’s comfort to deal with them.”
“Happiness is not found in our material belongings, but found in our personal relationship with the Lord.”
“Thankfulness is not having what you want, but being content with what you have.”
Should Christians Keep the Sabbath? - Doug Batchelor, Steve Gregg Sabbat... youtu.be/X9C7BDuqOuY This is an interesting discussion!Lord Jesus Saves 2 weeks ago
~Christ In Us~ The Holy Spirit is the spirit of Jesus living in us. His fruit manifest and His light shines forth as the attributes of the spirit flow out “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Colossians 2:1 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your […]
Wisdom~Understanding~Knowledge God’s Spiritual Wisdom And A Heart Pleasing To Him Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 8:11 “For wisdom is better than jewels; And all desirable things cannot compare with her. 12“ I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, […]
~Legalism vs. Grace~ Rick Atchley really puts some light on why there is so much division and a lack of unity in the Church of Christ. Let’s ask ourselves this question. When Scripture is silent, do we have freedom or prohibition? Is this Grace or Legalism? Please watch and see if this is not true. May […]
Lord Jesus Saves︵‿ † 