Grace and Good Coffee

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homeschool

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There we were on a random summer day, riding back from getting our favorite lunchtime treat together – egg & cheese biscuits. The radio was tuned to our favorite Christian music station, and we were both singing along. I looked in the rear view mirror and saw my bright-eyed girl, grinning widely at me. She pointed to her smile, and then pointed to me and said, “I’m just SO HAPPY that you’re my mommy! I love you so much!” *cue the mom tears*

I had been so much in my head the last few days, worrying and wondering, “Am I doing the right thing? Have I lost my mind?” But there she was, assuring me with her steadfast love that I’m pretty good at mom-ing. And since I know my prayers don’t fall on deaf ears and my Father won’t lead me down the wrong path, maybe I am actually equipped to handle what’s next, regardless of the knots in my stomach.

To elaborate, my daughter has been attending a private Christian school for the last 3 years, where most of her local friends go to school as well. It’s a good school, with less problems than most. BUT GOD. He just does not quit. He has been diligently working on my head and my heart over the last couple of years, pointing me to the idea of homeschool.

Then, a few challenges came up over the last year that rattled us. They rattled my girl. And I knew that God wanted more for her, and more for us. So to be the obedient daughter that I want to be, in the past few weeks, I officially withdrew her from the school, declined the scholarship that she had been awarded for this school year, and filed a notice of intent with the state to let them know I was opening a homeschool. *This is the part in the movie where the main character screams, cries, and throws up all at once.*

Needless to say, it has been a large mental load to carry. And I still had to find the right homeschool curriculum for us, figure out a way to continue working full-time from home (because we’re also currently in the process of building a house), and have complete and utter faith in that Holy-Spirit voice that has been reassuring me that homeschool is the right choice for us.

Trust me when I say, The Lord has mercy on His children. I questioned, procrastinated, and tied myself up in a thousand knots before I completed all the necessary steps to get this homeschool adventure started. And I tried to tie my husband’s mind up in the same knots, but he very gently and matter-of-factly looked at me and said, “We both know this is the right thing to do.” (Which completely shut down my inner Mrs. Worrywart.) *This is why men and women are wired completely differently. We need each other.*

So here we are, T-minus 2 days from officially starting homeschool. Today, my girl completed a readiness assessment to make sure she’s ready for the curriculum we’re starting on Monday. She scored above and beyond the “ready” line, which was further confirmation that we’re right where we need to be. God is SO good.

Please pray for us as we begin this new journey.
Blessings!
Emily <3

constant

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This short offering stems from a recent social media post in my feed. Rather than engaging in a comment battle with the person who posted it, I decided to share my thoughts here. I hope it helps to shine a light on some of the current ideas in circulation.

As some of you may already know, I was a geology major in college. During my time in the geology program, I learned AMAZING things about the Earth, including the scientific fact that the Earth has always experienced natural periods of heating and cooling. The heating cycle leads to the cooling cycle, and this repeats as a natural recurring phenomenon — by design.

And since the enemy takes Truth and twists it for his own purposes, we now have the lie of “climate change” circulating in our bought-and-paid-for media outlets. The scientists who claim that climate change is to blame for this natural heating cycle have been deceived. Can we do things to make our environment less clean and cause harm? Absolutely. Can we change the design of the Earth and interrupt God’s plans? Certainly not. His sovereign plan cannot be altered by man.

Another noteworthy discovery from my geology studies stems from a conversation I had with one of my most-revered professors. During a discussion about carbon dating, I questioned the reliability of the “constant” we used in our equations to determine the age of organic artifacts. “What if the constant is wrong?” I asked. My professor appeared to be caught off-guard with the question, but after several moments had passed, she responded, “Then every date would be wrong.” Which would include the age of the earth and all of the artifact dates that have been recorded thus far.

You see, the constant we use for our carbon dating equations was determined by a scientist who wanted to make his theories work. And if we know anything about people, it’s that they’re not perfect.

I pray that your constant is immovable, infallible Truth that has no agenda except for your eternal wellbeing. He is the constant we all need.

“I For I, YHWH, do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you….” -Malachi‬ ‭3‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭

Love and blessings,
Emily

should i vote?

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That is the question for so many Christians right now. When faced with choosing between two less-than-Christlike candidates, it can be tempting to take the Pilate route:

“So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” -Matthew 27:24

But I doubt Pilate excused himself from God’s judgement simply by publicly proclaiming his innocence. I believe Pilate will absolutely answer for his part in the crucifixion one day. Just as each of us will stand before God’s throne and give an account for the choices we made in life as well.

Scripture calls for us to be salt and light in the world:

“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” -Matthew 5: 13-16

Salt and light both serve multiple purposes. But I want to focus on one in particular that both can work together to accomplish; salt and light slow decay.

If we take a look around, it doesn’t take long to see that the world is suffering significantly from moral decay. Hard as we might try, we can’t physically touch or speak with every person in need. But a vote in favor of policies that uphold the things of God will cast salt and light far and wide.

Family. Children. Israel. God has told us His intentions for men, women, husbands, wives, children, Israel, etc. Those are the things we vote for. It’s not about voting for a person. Everyone is a sinner. No one is worthy. If not for the grace of God, we would all be headed straight to hell.

Jeremiah 29: 4-7 says:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But SEEK the WELFARE of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”

The best we can do is stay in the Bible, pray often, and seek the welfare of our nation. Look at the policies each candidate stands for, and vote for the policies that best uphold God’s Word and will for this world. We must be salt and light to help slow the moral decay of our society.

No one is neutral in a spiritual war. We’re either fighting for the things of God, or we’re standing against Him.

Dear Father, please, never allow me to stand in opposition to you. There is far too much on the line.

Be salt and light. And Come, Lord Jesus, COME! Amen.

Jeremiah 29: 4-7

Love,
Emily

baby formula shortage

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When my daughter Grace was born, it was a whirlwind of events involving induced labor and eventually an emergency c-section. After 30+ hours of no sleep or food, 6 failed epidurals, and a LOT of pushing, I was in a fog of complete exhaustion. Regardless of the circumstances, I had every intention of breastfeeding my child immediately following her delivery. But somehow the nurses got their wires crossed and they ended up giving my daughter bottled formula as her first meal. To say I was upset is a gross understatement.

Feeding from a bottle is much easier for a baby than the work of breastfeeding, so getting Grace to latch and breastfeed after that first bottle was a battle that I fought and lost every day for 3 solid months during my maternity leave. I chose to pump anyway, and give her whatever breast milk I could, for as long as I could. But without her latching and feeding from the breast, I never had a significant supply of breast milk. So of course, I ended up having to supplement with formula.

It took many tries to find the right formula for her. Nothing that the hospital or mainstream media advised was the right solution for my daughter. She would cry and cry because those options hurt her tummy — even with added probiotic drops.

I recently stumbled across this all-natural baby formula recipe that certainly wish I had known about before my daughter was born. I hope this info will help other mothers who struggle to produce enough breast milk for their babies, or are unable to breastfeed for any reason. The owners of the site below have done a lot of work and research on baby formulas, first and foremost to find a solution for their own daughter. But now, this info is helping SO many others, and is a much better, healthier option than the synthetic baby formulas that are currently in short supply. I pray this information blesses someone today!

Goat Milk Formula

Please share and spread the word so all of the parents needing help will find this info!

Blessings,
Emily

i was the one

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I’ve claimed to know and love God our Father and Jesus His Son my whole life. I was dedicated to The Lord as a baby. I was raised in church and knew right from wrong. I was confirmed at age 12. I prayed the sinner’s prayer. I was active in youth group. I sang in church, I prayed often, and I thought I was covered — even in the midst of my repetitive, high-handed, deliberate sins.

Y’all, take it from me – ignorance is only temporary bliss.

I didn’t truly belong to The Lord as I had proclaimed; I wasn’t really saved. I didn’t obey Yahweh’s laws and listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit; I was willfully disobedient. I was a worker of “lawlessness” according to Yah’s Word, but I didn’t know that because I was not READING His Word.

And for that, I have no excuse.

It wasn’t until I began reading His WHOLE Word for myself, from the beginning, that I truly realized the full weight of my sinful depravity. My eyes have now been flung open by His Words, and I have discovered that there is no such thing as a secondhand relationship with God.

Yes, Grace covers a multitude of sins. But we are not supposed to be willfully disobedient in living our own lives apart from Yahweh, ignoring His laws and taking wrongful advantage of His Grace. That is not true repentance.

Yahweh is compassionate but not condoning of sin. He brings conviction and change to humble hearts. He loves us with an everlasting love; but He hates sin.

Hear these warnings, spoken by our Messiah:

The Parable of the Banquet
(recorded in Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:15–24)

Once again, Jesus spoke to them in parables: “The kingdom of heaven is like a king who prepared a wedding banquet for his son. He sent his servants to call those he had invited to the banquet, but they refused to come. (They all had different excuses as to why they couldn’t come.)

Again, he sent other servants and said, ‘Tell those who have been invited that I have prepared my dinner. My oxen and fattened cattle have been killed, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding banquet.’

But they paid no attention (to the servants’ invitation) and went away, one to his field, another to his business. The rest seized his servants, mistreated them, and killed them.

The king was enraged, and he sent his troops to destroy those murderers and burn their city. Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited were not worthy. Go therefore to the crossroads and invite to the banquet as many as you can find.’

So the servants went out into the streets and gathered everyone they could find, both evil and good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.

But when the king came in to see the guests, he spotted a man who was not dressed in wedding clothes. ‘Friend,’ he asked, ‘how did you get in here without wedding clothes?’

But the man was speechless.

Then the king told the servants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Another stern warning from the Messiah:
(Matthew 7:21-23)

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

These warnings tell us that even some people who KNOW Who Jesus is, and who expect to be welcomed at the wedding feast, will instead be ejected from The Lord’s presence and cast into hell. What a sobering reality for all of us.

But why are believers surprised by this? If we’re reading His Word, throughout scripture we see that even satan and his demons know Who Jesus is and shudder in His presence. They have to flee at His command. But this obedience is forced; they are not willingly following Yahweh’s commands out of love.

Friends, for the majority of my life, I thought I was one of the 99 sheep that was safely grazing on the hill. But I was the one Yahweh had to come after. I was lost. And I only discovered this by reading His Word for myself, rather than relying on others to read it for me and then relay the meaning (which is pretty dangerous, especially considering the number of false prophets running rampant in these last days).

If you don’t currently have a Bible study plan, I highly recommend seekingscripture.com. Christy Jordan does a beautiful job of leading this study on the whole Word of God in such a loving way. Yahweh is calling His Remnant to come home to Him in these last days. Seek Him through His Word, and enter into His everlasting and perfect Peace. Fall at His feet and be FREE!

Matthew 18:12-14

Blessings!
Emily

windex

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The other day, I saw a post on social media with a classic throwback reference that gave me a solid belly laugh. In one of the organic-remedies-type groups I’ve joined, another mom posted about an all-natural salve that she had found numerous uses for. When the salve came up in conversation with her children, one child told the other that this salve was mom’s new “Windex”.

Now if you haven’t seen the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding, I realize that reference will be completely lost on you. But if you have seen it, then you probably chuckled out loud just now.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is a rom-com done right. If you haven’t seen it, go right now and find a way to watch it. Everyone needs a good laugh nowadays.

The head of the Greek family in this movie is proud Papa Gus, and he is adamant that Windex (in addition to being a great cleaner) is a cure-all for anything that ails you. Got a sore elbow? Windex. Wake up with a zit? Windex. Poison ivy? Windex. Burn your hand? “Put some Windex on it!”

This hysterical Windex reference is a running joke throughout the movie. Just when you think something is beyond the power of Windex, this strange phenomenon strikes again. Ignoring the reality that Windex is not meant to treat odd skin conditions or injuries, this ruse gives us a great talking point for today.

I started thinking about how Windex is first and foremost used to clean glass (usually windows and mirrors), to help us see more clearly. Our once-cloudy perspectives become crystal clear when we use Windex appropriately. Just like the Holy Spirit. He is my Windex.

Not only does the Holy Spirit help me to see everything more clearly, but he can also do many other things that Windex cannot do. Windex’s power stops at the glass. It cleans the glass for you, but then it’s up to you to discern what you’re actually seeing.

Without the blessing of the Holy Spirit, I would be at the mercy of my own thoughts and limited human understanding about what I see happening in the world today. I can sit and take in all the information that the media wants to pour into me, but without a truthful guide and accurate compass, I’m going to be tossed around in the wind, not knowing where I will end up.

It is crystal clear to me that the much-needed remedy – for all of us – is the Holy Spirit.

Anyone can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. There are just 3 main steps involved in receiving and keeping this blessing:

  • Step 1. PRAY: Repent and ask the Holy Spirit to come live inside of you, and guide you each day.
  • Step 2. READ: Open your Bible every day and devote time to learning God’s Will for your life.
  • Step 3. OBEY: When you feel the Holy Spirit nudging you, don’t ignore him. Follow God’s Word, and don’t reject the Holy Spirit by continued disobedience.

Step 1 and 2 are pretty obvious, but I’d like to dive a little deeper into step 3 for a minute.

It is undeniably true that without our belief in Jesus as the Son of God, we cannot be saved. Jesus died on a cross to save us. Without his sacrifice, we would be condemned to an eternity apart from God. Therefore, acknowledging this sacrifice made on our behalf, earnestly praying for forgiveness for our sins, and accepting God’s grace (to cover accidental sin we might fall into) is absolutely imperative to our salvation.

“I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
-Galatians 2: 21 (ESV)

However, we are not called to abuse God’s grace by repeatedly choosing our own fleshly desires (sin) over his good and perfect Will for our lives. There are many who live under the assumption that one prayer is all it takes to be saved forever, no matter how you choose to live. Friends, please do not be deceived by a false comfort whispered to you from the enemy.

If, after your repentant prayer, you choose to live a life walking with God each day, earnestly implementing steps 1-3 above, then YES, the Holy Spirit will live inside you and serve as the MARK and SEAL of your salvation.

However, if you repent but then choose to return to unchecked habitual sin patterns (usually an indication that steps 2 and 3 are not being implemented), then you will be rejecting the gift and SEAL of the the Holy Spirit on your life and salvation. If you repeatedly ignore the Holy Spirit, eventually your view of the world will be so clouded by your own sin that you will no longer be able to see and discern the Truth, and you’ll be willfully living in rebellion against God. Anyone who lives in the flesh has not truly been BORN AGAIN.

1 Peter 1: 13-25 says:

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one's deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you who through him are believers in God, who raised him from the dead and gave him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God. Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart, since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for: 

“All flesh is like grass
and all its glory like the flower of grass.
The grass withers,
and the flower falls,
but the word of the Lord remains forever.”

And this word is the good news that was preached to you.

But no matter how far you may have strayed away from Him, if you truly and earnestly repent and turn your life back to God (steps 1, 2 and 3!) — He is MIGHTY to SAVE!

Church, the spiritual warfare happening in these last days is heavy and relentless. Without our Windex, we will not be able to see things for what they truly are. We will be blinded to the Truth, and miss the warning signs that are all around us.

Jesus is coming soon. As His Church, we have work to do. Don’t delay. He desires that not a single one be left behind.

Blessings,
Emily