Snowflakes and Soap Boxes

Ok, folks. I just have to share a beautiful story I heard at the National Day of Prayer Conference. It's the true story of a frozen embryo that proves to me, without a doubt, life begins at conception.

An embryo,
frozen for four years,
was FedExed,
thawed out
and implanted
in a courageous and loving woman's womb.

This embryo grew and is now a beautiful six-year-old girl.

The little darling that flounced into conference clinging to her mommy's hand, was not the biological result of her adoptive mother and father, but was life created in a lab...
life that was given a chance to live...
life that was not fodder for experimentation that would not be allowed on a guinea pig these days.

The story brings to mind the words of the great philospher, Dr. Seuss, who said,

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

And, scientifically speaking, it also proves that life can only be generated by the union of a male and female, the way God established from the beginning of humanity.

A human embryo, from the moment of conception, is viable given the opportunity and environment to live. If you're interested in finding out more, do a search on "embryo adoption" and see what comes up in your area.

Three Surprises!

Yes, life has been full of surprises lately, beginning with an overnight stay at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport when my connecting flight to Colorado Springs was cancelled. It was quite an experience. I had checked in my coat and scarf and had nothing to cover myself with as I lay on the airline-provided floor mat, but the Lord provided a fleece hoodie through the kindness of a fellow stranded passenger, and I felt His presence and protection as the night passed. I also got a lesson on posting photos through my Blackberry onto Facebook and had fun sharing all the craziness with my FB friends.
































I ended up flying from Detroit to Minneapolis to Houston to finally fly to Colorado Springs, and after all that, I have to say it was well worth the effort. The National Day of Prayer Conference was excellent, as expected, and I was blown away by the response I received from the sessions I taught. Thank you to all who prayed for me.

Photos are of Mrs. Shirley Dobson; me and Jean Truty; two of my favorite NDP ladies: Lisa Crump and Sue Stoltz; and the glorious view from the Focus on the Family Headquarters that houses the NDP offices. Tony Perkins and Wil Graham were both great in their own unique ways as they presented in the general sessions and John Egan and company did a phenomenal job with the worship. There was much going on, but with my travel woes and being a presenter, I feel like I missed quite a bit this year--especially disappointed to miss the Focus on the Family chapel service, but all was well and good.

After waiting all day for a flight that was cancelled, I stood in line for an hour to get rebooked. As I waited my hand kept going, of its own volition, to my hip in a very attitudinal way. Each time I noticed it I slapped it down and told myself I wasn't allowed to get an attitude! I was going to speak at a prayer conference for goodness sake! It was funny, and I felt victorious that I didn't cave in to the emotions that attempted to overwhelm and distract me. Praise God for that.

Surprise 2: It's official! Christian 101 is now available to the public. I can hardly believe it.

My family and I have been using this for our devotions, and the kids have been enjoying it. I wrote this to help new believers and youth get grounded in the fundamentals of the Christian faith and develop the habit of pulling out their Bibles, having daily prayer times and journaling.

And, Surprise 3 (drum roll please)...on the very same day, today, The Eight Days of Christmas is now available as well. You haven't heard much about this project, so I'll add the copy from the back of the book that tells more about it.

A new approach to the advent of every child's favorite holiday.

The Eight Days of Christmas is a unique, interactive resource that brings Christianity into your Christmas season.

One-by-one, beginning December 18 and ending on Christmas Day, parents introduce pieces of the nativity and share with their children, preschoolers to teens, different characters and aspects of the events surrounding the birth of Jesus. Lessons taught by wise men, shepherds, angels and more include obedience, trust, loyalty, listening, giving, worship and compassion.

Age-appropriate discussion and prayer points will engage your children's thoughts and spriits and promote holiday conversations that go beyond tinsel, cookies and wish lists. You will be delighted as youre entire family discovers spiritual truths in the ancient Christmas story that are still so applicable to current-day Christian living.

As each new piece is added to the nativity display, anticipation builds for the arrival of Jesus on Christmas Day. Easily transferable from a home setting to Sunday School and Christian education classrooms, The Eight Days of Christmas promises to become a holiday tradition, one that will be a new experience each year you choose to journey through its pages.

Well, my friends, that is certainly enough for now. I do have one more surprise, a sympathy resource that will be available soon. As always, resources are available directly at the Affirming Faith website www.affirmingfaith.com.

Thanks for reading, and may you be blessed with a wonderful harvest season, in the name of our lovely Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Last Couple of Weeks

The last couple of weeks have been ultra busy. Seems like that is a trend this time of year.

I'll upload a few pictures and give a brief synopsis starting with Sunday, September 20. This first picture is me and my baby, Mr. Bill Wagner at Troy Daze. Our church, Faith Apostolic Church of Troy had a booth at this community event and we were there helping out, meeting folks, hosting games and just having a good time with our neighbors in Troy.

I didn't get pictures of this, but as part of the the Pastors & Intercessors Network Ministry (PINM), our church hosted the quarterly prayer breakfast September 26.

September 30 I flew out to General Conference in St. Louis and when I returned found this picture on the conference website. I wasn't able to stay for the entire event, but was so glad to be there for Ladies Day, the drama Wednesday night and also to be included in other meetings and events. And, as always, it was such a pleasure to be with the bookstore people who always make me feel welcome. Thank you, Publishing Hosue, for promoting my books and for those peanut M&Ms and diet Dr. Pepper!

The reason I had to come home early was for Praying for the Heart of Troy on October 3. I've uploaded one picture here, but there is a complete write-up with more pictures on the blog: www.praytroy.blogspot.com. I was excited that even though it rained we still had about 100 people in attendance and at least 8 churches represented as we gathered to pray for the needs of our community: our economy, businesses, families, government, etc.

And last, but certainly not least, the St. John's Armenian Fair was a blast, and I was so glad my family was there with me at a Bachik, the Birthday Kiss book signing on Sunday, October 4.

Everyone was so nice from the kids area to the bookstore. The children enjoyed actively participating in the book reading, and of course, the food was delicious...lahmajun and birds' nests...mmm, yummy!

"Christian 101" is in the printworks

I'm so excited! It seems I say that a lot here, but hey, this is where I share the exciting stuff, right? So...I'm so excited! No official date for release yet for this project that has been burning in my heart for some time now, but within the next month or so. Christian 101 is a 10-week daily devotional/ instructional book for new believers and youth that provides solid answers and a strong foundation for the Christian faith.

Here's the Table of Contents:
Week 1: How Do We Know the Bible is True?
Week 2: What Makes Up a Person?
Week 3: Who is God?
Week 4: God's Character Revealed in Old Testament Names
Week 5: The Name of God Revealed in the New Testament
Week 6: Repentance, Baptism and the Gift of the Holy Ghost
Week 7: Understanding the Role of the Church
Week 8: Growing in God
Week 9: Lighting Your World
Week 10: Where God Stands on Social Issues

Every week has a memory verse to learn. Each day begins by reviewing the memory verse, a short Scripture reading to look up in your own Bible, a brief informational piece and a prayer.

For example, the memory verse for the first week is
All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
2 Timothy 3:16

And the subjects covered are:
Day 1: What Makes Up a Bible?
Day 2: The Bible Proves Itself
Day 3: The Bible Has One Unified Theme
Day 4: Archaeology Confirms the Bible
Day 5: Ancient Written Confirmations
Day 6: Science Confirms the Bible
Day 7: Life Application Proves the Bible

It's a spiral-bound workbook that includes space for journaling and prayers. We need to know what we believe and why we believe it.

Delinquent

Yes...I've been delinquent in keeping the blog updated this summer, but I'm glad to report the kids have started back to school, the Lord blessed my hubby with a job, and I should have a bit more quiet time to get things like this done.

Check back. I'll be posting stuff from this summer. For now [click here] if you would like to read an article I wrote for Reflections, a Christian women's magazine.

For now, I'm preparing for General Conference in St. Louis the end of September, a community prayer gathering in Troy, October 3, "Praying for the Heart of Troy," and then to speak at the National Day of Prayer Conference in Colorado Springs October 15-17.

Speaking at the Annual NDP Summit

The two times I’ve attended the National Day of Prayer Summit have ranked among the spiritual highlights of the last few years. Gathering with Christians of all denominations from across the country is an event in itself, but when those people are committed to prayer and seeing God’s will accomplished in our communities and nation, it ignites a synergistic explosion of hope and enthusiasm that carries beyond the borders of the event and inspires its participants in the months that follow.

Every aspect of the Summit is bathed in prayer. The organizers obviously attend to every detail with meticulous care. Attendees begin the event as honored guests of the monthly Focus on the Family chapel service. From there, we participate in joint sessions with special guest speakers and break-out workshops where we select the topics that particularly appeal to our areas of interest or concern.

The fellowship alone, sharing meals and worship and hearing Mrs. Dobson are reason enough to go, but the icing on the cake, the communion and commissioning service on Sunday morning, creates an indelible spiritual mark on all those who participate.

The summit is absolutely worth every penny and every bit of effort you spend to get there. This year Jon Egan of the Desperation Band will be leading worship and Tony Perkins and Will Graham join Mrs. Dobson as featured speakers.

I'm excited about the workshop I'll be presenting, "You Have a Field to Defend." Those able to join us will leave encouraged and equipped, entertained and educated, ready to face their tomorrows with a fresh anointing and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Register today [click here], while you’re thinking about it, and I’ll see you there!

If you're interested, here's a write-up and pictures from the 2007 conference [click here]. And in case you didn't know, the National Day of Prayer Task Force prays in Jesus' Name!

The Bare Necessities of Life: Friends & Chocolate

I was just surfing the internet and found a link to my article published in the January/February edition of Reflections. [Click here] to read.

And [click here] to read an article about Quilting Patches of Life on page 5.

And [click here] to read A Blessing for Bachik in the Armenian Reporter on page 5.