It’s been awhile… October 27, 2009

It’s been awhile since my last post.  Life as always is crazy.  Crazy beautiful.  God is blessing, teaching and expanding our family.  We have the priviledge of bringing a beautiful teenage girl into our home.  I won’t say much more now, just know that God continues to weave His beautiful tapestry in our family’s life. 

Know too, that I get distracted.  I so have a love a writing, I just don’t always dedicate the time I need.  And, 1 computer 5 users, doesn’t leave much time.  There are only 24 hours in a day and I do need to sleep.  I am working on priorities and making sure my actions match what I want my priorities to be.  So, know I’m slowly coming back and watch for more. 

God is doing some amazing work and I can’t wait to share!!

A post from my Big Boy… June 29, 2009

Today we are sitting on the computer reading what Mom wrote.  And I came across this really funny one about Father’s Day.  And I smiled when the VBS one came up.  That was a really really funny time.  And I have this box turtle named Mr. Claws.  I can’t settle on a name and now I just chose Mr. Claws.  You know where we found him?  On the edge of the trail right in the middle.  He is a good box turtle.  And that’s the end of my story.  I wanna say my dads (I have 2) are good and funny.  Good bye!

Being Intentional June 22, 2009

This is a follow-up to my earlier post “Failure to Thrive.”  My little guy saw the doctor today and I am happy to report that he is doing well.  He has gained 1 1/2 pounds in 2 weeks and is a little longer too!  All the lab work came back normal, so no underlying medical issues in place.  Of course my Internet research had me thinking otherwise, but I just didn’t want to think that I wasn’t feeding him well enough.  So we are on formula full time now and I’m okay with that.  He is thriving again and working on catching up to where he should be on the growth chart.  He’s on a fast growth curve.

What I learned through this process is that I have to be intentional.  My little guy didn’t really act like he was starving.  When he acted hungry I fed him.  What we now have to do is be more intentional about feeding him.  He is so good natured and laid back (he gets that from his daddy) that he just didn’t cry out in hunger.  I have to be intentional about looking for hunger cues (other than crying) and feeding him at regularly “scheduled” times.

I think the same is true in our spiritual journeys as well.  There are times when we “cry out” in spiritual hunger.  We are empty and need replenished.  And then there are times when we are cruising along, laid back and life is good – no apparent needs.  When things are going well, we often fail to feed our spirits by seeking God and searching His Word.  It is during those times when we fail to grow.  It is during those times that we need to be intentional about feeding our spirits with the nourishment of God’s Truth.

What does it mean to be intentional?  Being intentional means doing something on purpose, with a plan, being deliberate.  It’s NOT accidental or haphazard.  Being intentional means have a regular part of the day that is given to God in prayer, devotion or study.  Being intentional means DOING IT!  I have great aspirations of spending daily time with God.  Then I’m tired and need the extra 15 minutes of sleep in the morning.  Then the kids don’t nap at the same time.  Then hubby and I need to talk after the kids are in bed.  Then I’m exhausted and can’t keep my eyes open.  Then the next morning…  I’m the haphazard sort.

So my new plan is to be intentional about my time with God.  I am going to get up with my hubby’s alarm on the days that he is home and read a devotional booklet.  One devotion a day.  When that booklet is done, I will move on to a book on prayer that I have.  So now it’s out there.  My plan of action.  My fellow Christians get to hold me accountable to what I said I would do. 

So now tell me, when is your intentional time with God?

The Fish House and AM Radio June 21, 2009

Since it is Father’s Day, I thought I’d share some of my favorite memories of my dad.  They may seem odd, but they are precious to me…

When I was little, we used to always go to this place in Wisconsin called Al’s Point.  It was a place with cabins to rent and they were all on Lake Alice.  I was not much of a fisherman but one of the places I loved there was the Fish House.  The Fish House was stinky, dirty, gross and filled with men.  This is the place you could go after a day of fishing and clean what you caught.  They had counter tops, a sink and garbage cans.  The place was small, kind of rickety and had screened windows all the way around.  I was filled with flies and fish scales.  I love the Fish House because my dad would take me there and he taught me how to clean fish.  I wasn’t tall enough to really reach the counter, so we would turn over the minnow bucket and I’d stand on it.  I saw fish guts, bellies full of fish eggs, ice picks through catfish heads and prize catches.  Why is this place so special?  Because I spent time there with my dad.  I’ve spent time with my dad in lots of places, but somehow, this rickety, smelly shack holds a special place in my heart.  I learned ugly lessons about life (it isn’t fair).  I learned about babies in their mommy’s bellies.  I learned that some people don’t use nice words.  I learned that girls can get yucky and do “boy things” and still be beautiful little girls.  I learned that I was powerful and strong too.

My other favorite memory of my dad involves AM radio.  Everytime I hear a game being broadcast, I think of him.  When we went on family trips, we would drive.  Dad was always the driver.  The rest of us slept.  In that hazy stage of beginning to wake up from sleeping in the car, my eyes would still be closed and I would hear my dad listening to a ball game on AM radio.  Baseball, basketball, football – it depended on the season.  Mostly I remember baseball because that’s when we traveled most.  “It’s a swing and a miss…” I remember hearing announcers say in that crackley, static way that only AM radio has.  Dad is a Cardinals fan, so the names of the players from the 80’s will always swirl around in my head.  You see, when we were awake, he listened to music – many times whatever my brother, mom or I wanted.  But when we were asleep, that’s when he got to listen to the game.  I find myself like my father in the sense that when I’m driving and the kids are asleep, I turn to AM radio.  I don’t listen to ball games, but each time I hear a radio broadcast of one, I smile fondly and think of my dad.  I always felt safe and secure and loved.

So on this Father’s Day I say thank you to my dad.  I had, and still have, a wonderful father.  I know that I am blessed because of the influence he has had in my life.  So I ask you each this – what is your favorite memory of your father?  Does he know how special that is to you?

Racing Widow and Step 4 June 20, 2009

My name is Kris, I am a believer in Jesus Christ and I am a Racing Widow.  Let me explain.

As a part of my personal spiritual growth, and in order to better understand how to minister to children of people with addictions, I am working through Celebrate Recovery.  It’s a 12-step ministry focused on Jesus Christ as the Higher Power and the Beatitudes.  I’ve been working on the fourth step – creating an inventory of all the significant events in my life and how they’ve affected me.  There is a guidline with questions to help get people started in how to go about thinking about everything and begin to wrap your brain around it and get it on paper. 

The first question is “Who is the object of my resentment or fear?”  As I was going through my life thinking and writing I moved into the more recent past.  I got to not a “who” but a “what” instead.  That “what” is racing.  You see, my husband works in the auto racing industry.  He builds race cars, goes to the races, goes through tech inspection (makes changes and goes through again) and then changes tires during the race.  He gets paid to do something he loves.  Then, when he’s home, he’s watching racing or reading the racing “gossip” sites and other various articles.  He’s living his passion – and I resent it. 

Please don’t misunderstand, I don’t resent that he is living his passions.  I think it’s a beautiful example for our children of how God can give us paid work doing what we love and an opportunity to be a Christian example to others.  What I resent is the racing.  Let me explain by sharing what I wrote…

1.  The Person; Who/What is the object of my resentment or fear?  Racing

2.  The Cause; What specific action did that person take that hurt me?  It takes my husband away when I want and need him with me.

3.  The Effect; What effect did that action have on my life?  I “single parent” it a lot, I have to rely on myself and keep the “superwoman” facade up – it’s exhausting

4.  The Damage; What damage did that action do to my basic social, security, and/or sexual instincts?  I worry about his safety and the “what if” of family security if he got seriously hurt or killed, we don’t get enough date nights, we don’t get many opportunities to go out with other adult friends to build those relationships

5.  My Part; What part of the resentment am I responsible for?  I don’t control his schedule or career choice- I did CHOOSE to marry the man with the career choice; Who are the people I have hurt?  Bill;  How have I hurt them?  I’ve been inconsiderate, mean, hurtful, manipulative, rude and crass.  I have NOT submitted to the authority of my husband.

So that’s a peek into my Celebrate Recovery 4th step.  I say I’m a racing widow (and I know there are lots of us out there) because in many ways, each time my hubby leaves, I mourn the loss of him.  I won’t go into the whole ugly cycle that I’m working on breaking but what is basically boils down to is fear.  I’m afraid that he’ll get hurt or worse.  I’m afraid that in this economy the team will shut down.  I’m afraid that the the multitude of temptations that there are on when he’s on the road will eventually be too strong for him to fight off.  I’m afraid he likes the race track better than me. 

As you can imagine, there is sometimes conflict over racing in our house.  I was asked recently why I appear to be handling this racing season better than the last.  My answer was that I realized that I can’t control it.  Realizing that you have no control is a bit liberating.  Here’s another little secret.  I stopped asking God to change my husband’s career and started asking God to change my attitude.  That is what has made the difference. 

I asked hubby the other day what I could be doing for him to make his job easier.  I didn’t really get an answer, however I think that the simple fact that I asked was powerful.  I can’t control what my husband chooses for a career.  I can’t control how late his boss makes him work.  I can’t control the rain that delays the race by a day (or two) and keeps hubby away even longer.  I can, however, make our home a place that he longs to be.  I can help him pack and unpack and pack and unpack and…  I can ask God to place a bubble of protection around him – physical protection and spiritual protection.  I can honor and love and cherish him as I promised.  I can respect him as the head of our family – the place of honor that God has given him.

My name is Kris, I am a believer in Jesus Christ and I am a Racing Widow.

Ephesians 5:21-24  Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.  Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Failure to Thrive June 11, 2009

Just this week my little guy went to the doctor.  By little, I mean that he is an infant.  He was supposed to get some shots, but in the last 2 months he has not gained any weight.  In fact, he lost 1/4 lb.  Not good for an infant.  I’d been worried about his weight.  Instinctively I knew something was not right.  The doctor officially called it “failure to thrive.”  Of course I started to cry.  When I worked in a women’s shelter, that’s what the babies whose mamas didn’t take care of them were diagnosed with.  I was feeling like a horrible mother.

There are two options as to what can be going on.  I am either not feeding him enough, or there is an underlying medical condition.  Neither is a good option.  If I’m not feeding him enough, then it’s my fault.  If there is an underlying medical condition, then my little guy is sick.  So to find out what is going on the doctor is having me switch to formula (I was breastfeeding with 1 supplemental bottle a day) and write down the what, when and how much of his feeding schedule.  I also had to take him for some lab work (which involved plastic bags and needles – not fun).

I’ve had a couple of days now to process this all.  Of course I’m doing internet research (don’t docs hate that??!!) about what medically could be wrong.  I’m writing everything down and thinking that I’m really not a bad mom – I promise, I DO feed my child.  I even had a friend take a picture as proof!

As my little guy is struggling to gain weight and “thrive” I’ve been wondering if sometimes we have a similar “spiritual failure to thrive?”  With my son, he has not been gaining weight as he should.  He’s not been growing.  Sometimes as Christians, I think we fail to grow too.  We aren’t maturing in our faith and we stay right at the place we are.

If this is the case, if we do have a spiritual failure to thrive, then there are two underlying causes.  Either we are not “feeding” ourselves enough, or there is an underlying spiritual condition.  Maybe we aren’t listening in worship.  Maybe we aren’t involved in a Bible study or Sunday School class.  Maybe we aren’t reading our Bible daily and allowing God to speak to us.  Or maybe, just maybe, we have a struggle with underlying sin that nobody can see.  Maybe we hold hate, anger and unforgiveness in our hearts.  Maybe, late at night when no one is awake, we are on the Internet looking at inappropriate stuff and connecting emotionally with people that aren’t our spouse.  Maybe, we are looking for a bigger house/car/jewelry/boat/bank account to make us happy.

In either case, there is something wrong.  Neither option is a good one.  Either we’re not being fed, or we are allowing underlying sin to keep us from growing.  So what can we do about it?

First, seek God.  Instinctively, you know if something is not right.  Find a quite place (or if your a busy mom like me, lock the bathroom door and take a long shower) and talk to God.  Ask him to reveal any sin in your life.  Listen.  Ask for forgiveness.  Accept that forgiveness that Jesus so freely gives.  Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 2 Cor. 13:5, NIV

Second, be fed.  Join a small group.  Read the Bible, study God’s Word – daily.  Keep a log of what you read and study.  Doing so keeps you accountable and lets you see any patterns in your routine – in your study.  You’ll also see any areas you’ve missed.  Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction;  pay attention and gain understanding.  I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching.  When I was a boy in my father’s house, still tender, and an only child of my mother, he taught me and said,   “Lay hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands and you will live.”  Proverbs 4:1-4, NIV

Third, find a trustworthy person and have them help you seek answers.  They may be able to see things that you aren’t able to see.  They have gifts that you don’t have.  They can help “analyze” your spiritual growth.  They should also pray for you.  As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.  Proverbs 27:17, NIV

Fourth, seek God.  This really is not the start, nor the end of spiritual growth.  Truly seeking God is a constant in our lives.  When we do so, we are pressed to listen and follow.  Then growth will be evident.  …pray continually…  1 Thess. 5:17, NIV

I know that my little guy will grow.  The doctor, with God’s help, will find answers.  I, as mama, will be diligent in helping give him what he needs.  I want him to grow.  As we seek answers, I know that my faith will grow too.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.  Ephesians 4: 14-15, NIV

VBS is over…until next year! June 5, 2009

My feet hurt, my head aches, my ears are ringing and I have a smile on my face.  Vacation Bible School has just finished.  Two of my kids are in bed, the other is in bed reading his Bible (seriously, by no prompting from me).  I feel the need to celebrate and sit quietly and just thank God for His love and grace during this week. 

I also must say that I am proud of Cokesbury.  We did the Camp E.D.G.E. VBS from them and they did a great job!  The kids were engaged, the theme and stories were great (not a total stretch like some VBS curriculum) and the music was a mix of the VBS specific stuff as well as regular praise music.  The kids had so much fun!!!

The best part of it all was Thursday night.  We provided an opportunity for kids to respond to what God was saying to them.  One boy said God was telling him to stop stealing from the store.  One girl said that God was telling her how much He loved her.  Three children made a decision to accept Christ as their Savior.  Praise God!!  All week long, we had children actually worshipping – I could see it in their faces.  They were beautifully reflecting their Creator.

I know that God answered my prayers for VBS.  I was not praying for the campers.  I was praying for the staff.  Between kitchen staff and activity leaders and youth help and cabin counselors, we had about a 1 adult to 1 child ratio.  We didn’t have the number of kids we were hoping for, but that isn’t important.  I saw adults loving Jesus and loving kids.  THAT is what is important.  I prayed that God would reveal himself in a new way to the staff.  I prayed that God would provide them with energy.  I prayed that God would give them patience.  God provided.  The VBS staff was INCREDIBLE!!!  Everyone fulfilled their assignments joyfully.  The most beautiful thing for me to watch was one of the staff members during worship music.  I saw joy, energy and just a whole different, relaxed demeanor that was different than what I usually see on Sunday mornings.  I thank God for His love and grace and mercy poured out on the staff. 

I know to many, VBS seems like such a hassle.  It costs a lot of money and there are a lot of details.  I’ll admit – I wasn’t looking forward to it this year.  I didn’t feel prepared.  I was last minute on many things.  I even secretly hoped that school would still be in session and we’d just cancel it this year.  God had something WAY BETTER in store!  He used my lack of preparation to create a more intimate setting where the adults and kids could just have fun and love each other.  Where husbands and wives could serve together.  Where families could learn together.  Where kids could hear God’s voice. 

So now it’s time to clean up, follow-up and make notes for next year.  I don’t know what God will have in store for next year.  Thankfully, I’m not God and I don’t have to worry about it.  I’ll just clean-up, follow-up and collect notes.  I do know, however, that God has already been working on it.  He knows who will be here.  He knows the crafts we will do.  He knows the hearts that will be reached. 

Are you ready to be a part of what God has in store for VBS 2010???

My prayer for Jon and Kate May 27, 2009

I, along with a friend, have felt called to pray for Jon and Kate Gosselin.  You may know them from the TLC reality show Jon and Kate Plus 8.  There has been a firestorm surrounding them lately.  Their marriage is in trouble.  I have been there.  I understand the feelings.  I understand the hurt and the pain and the disappointment.  Please join me in praying for their hearts, their marriage and the Glory of God. 

If we can overwhelm Jon and Kate with mail using this prayer (or one of your own) that would be fabulous.  At time of post, their website (www.sixgosselins.com) was down.  But feel free to copy and past the f0llowing prayer for them into a message and use the title “Our Prayer for You.”  I imagine they are inundated with ugly words right now.  If they get a lot of emails with the same title, I hope they will take notice, read, and feel loved.  Please pray with me…

God, I lift Jon and Kate Gosselin up to You.  I thank You for designing them, for bringing them together.  I thank You for their infertility that led to twins and sextuplets.  I thank You that You have used the curiosity of the world to provide for their family.  I thank You that You have been able to use the avenue of television to show the world that families can and do love You– together.  Right now, God, Jon and Kate are hurting.  Their marriage is in chaos and they don’t know what will happen and where they will go.  So God, I pray right now for Your power and love and grace and mercy to pour into the hearts of Jon and Kate and to pour into their marriage.  I pray that You reveal yourself to each of them in a mighty way.  Reveal your love, but also show them their sin.  Show them how they have turned from You.  Show them forgiveness.  Through that, God, I know that your desire is to restore their marriage and make it more beautiful than it ever has been.  I pray God, that You are in the midst of their struggle and that You remove Satan from every corner of their hearts and of their home.  I pray that through all of this, YOU are glorified.  I pray that “God moments” are filmed and that those moments make it through to the final production of the show.  I pray that Jon and Kate have the courage to publicly turn to You and then to publicly proclaim how good You are.  I pray that you use their marriage – the ugly and the restoration to beautiful – to heal other’s marriages and to bring Your beauty back into the public institution of marriage.  God I pray that Jon and Kate are overwhelmed by love and that You place a bubble around them and their family.  Let that bubble protect them from the evil words, the ugly photos, the hurtful stories.  I pray that only YOUR TRUTH is able to penetrate into their hearts.  God I pray that many others will lift up prayers for Jon and for Kate.  I thank You.  I love You.  I ask that you grant this prayer so that all glory and praise returns to You.  In the powerful name of Jesus Christ I pray, Amen

Outdone by a Preschooler May 15, 2009

Sometimes, I am embarrassed to be an adult.  When I look around at my fellow “grown-ups” I see that many of us are just a tick off when it comes to what life is really about.  We’re missing something – forgotten a crucial part of living.  Let me explain…

Tonight I was at a graduation for 24 preschoolers.  These are 4 and 5 year olds, boys and girls, from traditional and “non-traditional” families.  (I’m not even sure what those phrases mean anyway…)  Kids who have great families, and kids whose families have “issues.”  (Again, don’t we all?)  What I saw was 24 kids who all loved each other.  They loved learning.  They memorized scripture and they prayed – out loud and in front of about 150 people. 

Last week, I saw kids at a church revival and they were actually EXCITED about memorizing scripture and Bible facts.  They were eager to learn “church stuff” and now know more than me. 

In both situations, I saw kids eager, hungry for and knowing that learning about God’s Word is exciting and important.  I saw kids sharing what they have learned with others.  And I saw kids actually SHOWING GODS LOVE TO  EACH OTHER, regardless of their family background.

When did we grown-ups forget about all that?  Lots of us go to church and go to Sunday School.  We even serve on committees and give our tithes and invite people and wear cross necklaces and …   However, I think so many of us have lost the excitement and the eagerness to learn, absorb and memorize God’s messages for us.  We’ve lost the excitement to share and love.  We’ve lost something.

These kids couldn’t wait to tell people the new scripture they learned.  When is the last time I even memorized something from the Bible?

These kids smiled from the inside out as they stood in front of a room full of people and spoke.  What’s our response when people ask us to even make an announcement at church?

These kids were excited to see their friends, hugged one another and were sad to think that they might not be in the same class anymore.  How does my face look when I see someone I know at the store?

When I looked at those children, I saw excitement.  I saw caring.  I saw concern.  I saw love.  I saw Jesus. 

When people look at me, a grown-up Christian, what do they see?  I’m embarassed to say, I think they often see a tired, frustrated person who sometimes hides in another aisle when I see people I know at the store.  Memorizing scripture is a chore, no longer something I celebrate by running up to someone and sharing it with them.  And sadly yes, sometimes, I get a little excited when I think that I might not have to see certain people anymore.

No wonder people don’t want anything to do with church anymore.  If I looked at me, the grown-up Christian, I don’t know that I would either.

It takes times like this evening, a simple preschool graduation, to remind me that life with God is exciting.  Learning scripture and memorizing God’s Word is something to share with others.  And heck, if a 4 year old can pray out loud in front of a bunch of adults, most of whom they don’t know, why shouldn’t we be able to?  

As adults, we let religion complicate faith.  We need to get back to the simple and enthusiastic faith of a child.  We are to love with abandon and put His Word “down, down, deep.”

 

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”  He called a little child and had him stand among them.  And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.  Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  (Matthew 18:1-4)

Facing the Wolf April 23, 2009

This morning a good friend, at least I call him one of my good friends, read a devotion during our prayer group.  The devotion was called “The Good Shepherd.”   As he was reading, I remembered the parable of the Lost Sheep and I thought about the sheep as it was caught in the brambles, facing the hungry wolf who was ready to devour it.

You see, the sheep didn’t purposefully wander away from the protection of the shepherd.  The sheep was simply doing what sheep do – it was eating grass and trying to find the best grass it could.  In searching for the best grass, the sheep wandered away from the flock.  The flock was too busy eating to notice that the sheep was getting further and further away.  Soon the sheep sort of “wakes up,” looks around and realizes that it doesn’t recognize it’s surroundings.  The sheep get scared a little and panics and tries to run to familiarity – but alas!  The sheep gets tangles in some brambles and can’t get out.  The more it fights, the more stuck it gets.  Then it sees the wolf – the hungry wolf.  The sheep is face to face with it’s enemy and there is no way out…

The wolf’s attack started long before the sheep ever saw it though.  The wolf’s attack started when the sheep was still in the safety of the flock.  The wolf saw the sheep as it looked for the tastiest greenery.  The wolf stalked the sheep as it slowly wandered away.  The wolf stood on the edges, ever lurking, ever waiting for just the right moment.  The wolf crouched down, hidden, as the sheep wandered further and further away. As the sheep got scared and panicked, the wolf came closer.  The wolf was in sight, but the sheep was too scared to notice him.  The wolf chased behind the sheep as it ran and got tangled and stuck.  Then the wolf showed his face.  He was hungry and this one sheep was no longer safe…

In my Christian walk, I am much like this sheep.  So many times I wander away from the Good Shepherd.  I don’t intend to.  I don’t do it on purpose.  I’m trying to do the right thing.  I’m trying to make the right choices.  I’m trying to do what is God’s Will.  I’m trying to take in the Word, have a life filled with service and love.  In doing so, I often get distracted from what is really important.  I do the “stuff,” I follow the “rules,” but I forget the importance of spending intimate time with my Father.  I keep looking for the “greener grass” that life with Jesus has to offer and I forget that the “greener grass” is a life spent in intimate communion with him.  Just as I start to feel the panic, feel scared that I am once again in the grips of the Enemy, when I feel his breath and hear his growl…

…but then the Good Shepherd steps in.  He stands in the way of the wolf.  He steps in front of His lost sheep and takes the hit.  “The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  The wolf thinks he has won.  Wrong.

The Good Shepherd, my Savior Jesus Christ, did take the hit for us.  We have all made choices that have led us to points where we’ve gotten stuck, trapped in hurt, sadness, pain and destruction.  Those are the consequences for our choices.  Jesus stepped in front of us, however, and laid down His life, took the attack of the Enemy, for each of us.  But if the story ended there, there would be no hope.  The hope comes in the form of our Risen Lord.  For after He died, Jesus defeated death.  He rose from the dead to give us the opportunity to defeat the Evil One too. 

We can only escape the snarls of death, however, when we admit that we are the ones who wandered away, who made choices to sin.  When we admit that, we are free to accept the gift of Salvation.  We accept the gift of our Good Shepherd and run back to Him and the safety of the Body of Christ. 

“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they  shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10:27, 28, NIV)