Musical Blessings

Today, Michael and the girls had the privilege of singing and playing music for the nursing home where Michael works. It was Volunteer Appreciation Day. The residents there were so blessed. I loved watching the joy the music brought to their faces. I thank the Lord many times for the musical gifts He has placed in my husband and children. I joke and tell the residents that the only thing I play is the radio! That always gives them a good chuckle.

A Christian Response to Earth Day

For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20)

A Christian Response to Earth Day

(By Doug Phillips)

All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. All men have faith in something. In the end, men will either worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.

In the 18th century, many began to worship the mind. The religion of that day was rationalism. In the 19th century, this god morphed into scientism. But science failed to provide the answers to ultimate questions. The men of the 20th century looked for a more immediate solution to the problems of humanity — they chose to worship the State. This failed. Statism proved to be a harsh taskmaster. In the absence of any real solutions from rationalism, scientism, and statism, men fixed their attention on a new god — or rather, an ancient God that just needed a new facelift. That god is the earth.

21st-century men are earth worshippers. They are sanitized pantheists. Of course, they don't call themselves pantheists or earth worshippers, but religious devotion to the material world is the essence of this modern faith.

This religious devotion to the material world as god comes in many shapes and sizes, but it has become ubiquitous in our culture. The new pantheism is at the heart of the green movement. It is reflected in the priorities of Hollywood, in the agenda of politicians, and in the curriculums of the government schools. It is found in the marketing campaign of Madison Avenue, in the reality TV shows of cable television, and sadly, even in pulpits across the nation. The worship of the creation has become a defining undercurrent in our culture, even as it is reshaping many of the cultures of the modern world.

And this is one reason why this Friday, April 22, millions of people (perhaps billions) representing the countries of the United Nations will stop to celebrate the high holy day of this religion as they pay homage to the earth God. Of Earth Day, evolutionary anthropologist Margaret Meade once explained that:

EARTH DAY is the first holy day which transcends all national borders, yet preserves all geographical integrities, spans mountains and oceans and time belts, and yet brings people all over the world into one resonating accord, is devoted to the preservation of the harmony in nature and yet draws upon the triumphs of technology, the measurement of time, and instantaneous communication through space. EARTH DAY draws on astronomical phenomena in a new way — which is also the most ancient way — by using the vernal Equinox, the time when the Sun crosses the equator making the length of night and day equal in all parts of the earth. To this point in the annual calendar, EARTH DAY attaches no local or divisive set of symbols, no statement of the truth or superiority of one way of life over another.

Should Christians care about the earth? Not only must we care about it, we have a holy duty to engage the earth. The difference between the objectives of biblical Christianity and radical environmentalism can be found in the religious assumptions of both groups.

Four Lies of the Radical Environmentalist Movement

With Earth Day comes billions of dollars worth of environmentalist propaganda driven by their religious worldview. Some of the themes you can expect to hear repeated this year include the following:

The Earth Is Our Mother: The very expression “Mother Earth” is popular parlance in our culture and reflects the old pagan longing to worship the physical world. Modern environmentalists, with their devotion to the idea that man is just another life-form to spring from the womb of the earth on the evolutionary journey of life, speak openly about earth being the mother of man.

Human Life Has No Greater Intrinsic Value Than Animal Life: The notion that man is an insignificant blip in the universe and that our planet is almost as insignificant as man is an oft-repeated concept of the modern environmentalist movement. Radical environmentalists complain about the carbon footprints of humans, and the sin of “Speciesism” — man discriminating against lower life-forms.

The Greatest Crisis Facing Humans is the Despoiling of the Earth: From the media campaigns of former Vice President Al Gore, to the film agenda of Avatar, radical environmentalists want you to believe that the single greatest problem facing humanity is the environmental destruction of earth.

Absent a Radical Shift in Private Practice and Public Policy, the Environmental Crisis Will Lead to the End of Life on Earth: Modern pantheists care deeply about the future. One thing is clear: Radical envioronmentalists have their own eschatology. They see the end of the world coming because of nuclear waste, global warming, the loss of rainforest in the Amazon, or any of a host of perceived environmental hazards.

Four Christian Assumptions About the Earth

The Earth is Witness to the Power and Authority of God the Creator Who Alone

May Be Worshipped: The Bible teaches that the very existence of the earth is a reminder to all men of the eternal power and Godhood of Christ, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20). It reminds us that as long as the earth continues, the promises of God will remain faithful (Genesis 8:22; Deuteronomy 7:9). Significantly, the Bible warns us that the consequence for man rejecting the witness of creation is that he worships creation itself (Romans 1:22-25).

The Earth Was Made for the Glory of God and the Benefit of Man Who Was Made the Pinnacle of Creation and of Infinitely Greater Value than Animals or the Earth Itself: Man is the pinnacle of creation and has more eternal value than the earth or any of the creatures who live on it (Psalm 8:5). Man is not a carbon footprint; he is the image-bearer of God. This means that the most "insignificant" human life (insignificant only in the eyes of man) is of inestimably greater value than that of a blue whale, a snail darter, a spotted owl, a mountain, or a tree.

The Earth Has Been Placed under Man who Has a Moral Obligation to Subdue it and to Exercise Wise Stewardship over the Earth: Man is God’s appointed steward on earth, and his core mission is to be His agent of dominion over it. Toward this end, God has placed all things under man to be used for his benefit and to be carefully stewarded and cultivated for God’s glory. “Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet” (Psalm 8:6).

The Earth is Not the Problem: The reason why the earth suffers is because of man’s sin that has plunged the earth into judgment. Man brought death and judgment to earth. In fact, the whole creation is groaning and waiting redemption (Romans 8:22-23). Despite the righteous judgment of God on earth, He is merciful and promises the continuation of the seasons and the fundamental stability of the planet until the end of time (Genesis 8:22), at which there will be a new heaven and new earth (2 Peter 3:13).

Conclusion

All men are religious because all men have an object of worship. In the end, they will worship and serve the creature, or they will worship and serve the Creator. But they will worship something.

Earth Day, and the radical environmental movement that spawned this high holy day of pantheism, are at war with the Gospel because they perpetuate false worship. The Christian response to the idolatry of Earth Day might be reduced to this simple thought: Jesus Christ is the Creator, and He alone is to be worshipped. He created man as the pinnacle of creation and determined that humans would be the only part of creation to be made in the very image of God, and that man as the image-bearer of God would rule over the earth.

On a practical level, this means that Christians need to stop allowing the radical environmentalist movement to define the issue. We must cease from being the tail and become the head on the question of our duties, privileges, and responsibilities vis-a-vis creation. The Bible has a great deal to say about our use of the resources of the world and our relationship to the earth. Of all people, Christians who honor the Creator should have a passion for creation. We are losing the debate through subversion, silence, lack of vision, and because of the Christian community’s fear of the God-ordained, perpetually valid, creation precept called “The Dominion Mandate.” This mandate directs man is to rule over the earth, subduing it and taking dominion over it for his benefit and for God’s glory. Implicit to the Dominion Mandate is the duty of man to cultivate, wisely manage, and carefully steward the planet.

Finally, man’s problems will never be solved through the elevation of human reason, the power of science, or the interventions of the state. Nor will rescuing the biosphere of planet earth save man or ensure him a future on this planet. You cannot save the earth. But human beings can be saved. And the only hope of salvation is found in Jesus Christ — the Creator! It is this Creator through whom we live and breathe and who by the very power of His word holds the worlds together. He will someday establish a new heaven and a new earth and will bring all of His people into Glory.

Twenty Years!

Yesterday, Michael and I celebrated 20 years of marriage. That in itself is a miracle! Marriages today, even between Christians, don't last. We are so grateful to the Lord for keeping our marriage strong. I am very thankful for the loving, faithful, godly husband the Lord has blessed me with. I love you Michael!

Guess who was born *48* years ago????

............ME!

I can't not believe I am the age that I am, but it's true, SIGH! I still feel like I'm 18. Thankfully, I am much wiser than I was at 18. (At least I hope I am). I've received lots of phone calls, emails, and cards today wishing me Happy Birthday. How sweet for so many people to remember me. I feel loved! The best gift I ever received was when I was 33. God, chose to open my spiritual eyes and ears to His truths and called me to be His child. I have been following Him for the last 15 years and it just keeps getting better all the time. Thank You, Lord, for loving me and giving me life!

It's been a long time

It has been over two months since I've posted. I really wish I would have journaled all that has gone on over the last four months so I could always remember it. However, I didn't, so now I will have to just go from memory. I will try and be more diligent in my writing.

It was the beginning of October and once again North Carolina was the main topic of our conversations. We have been talking about NC for the last three years. We had been out there a few times and loved the area. We really felt drawn there. We wish now, we would have listened to our hearts and moved there before we bought this house. Moving here, was a mistake. God is in the business of taking our messes and changing them into something good, so we know it's only a matter of time.

Our nightly devotions usually ended in prayer for wisdom and discernment about moving to NC. One of our daughters was totally on board, the other, not at all! We just prayed for God to soften her heart and be open to change. He did, and she is :o)

We decided to step out in faith and make plans toward the goal of relocating to NC. We had a couple of garage sales in October and sold everything we wanted to sell and then some! The girls decided to sell their horses and they sold in one day for double the price they bought them for. We sold our van, and 4 of our dogs. We were trying to downsize to prepare for our move. We even had a woman from our garage sale ask us if we were selling our home. We told her we were. She is very interested, but not ready to buy at this point.

After we came back from our visit to North Carolina in December, we decided it was time to put our house on the market. We did in mid January. We are waiting for the Lod to send the right buyer at the right time.

In the mean time, while we wait, we have been going through things. Downsizing as much as we can. Selling furniture, giving things away, getting the house in order. The wait is hard, but we know in the end, it will all be worth it.

Off we go into the wild blue yonder...........

Tomorrow morning we are headed to North Carolina for 6 days. We will be staying with Michael's cousins. We're really looking forward to leaving the cold, snowy, midwest to visit the warm southeast!! Lots has been going on here. God is moving in our lives in a MAJOR way and it's all good!! We are looking forward to visiting a new church and meeting a wonderful Christian realtor who is helping us find a home out there.

Until next time....be blessed!

Birthday Fun!

Like I said in my last post, we were going to be celebrating Kaitlyn's *18th* birthday. Well, we did and had a wonderful time!! Kaitlyn was so surprised that three of our favorite familes came out to help celebrate. We had a yummy BBQ.  They all played volleyball, sat by the bonfire, and the best part of all, they had a major bluegrass jam session. Kaitlyn got to play her brand new mandolin. Thank you everyone for making this a special day for Kaitlyn. Enjoy the pictures :o)

Blessed!!

Tomorrow we will be celebrating Kaitlyn's *18th* birthday. How on earth has 18 years already went by? Wasn't it just yesterday that we were on the way to the hospital to have our baby?

As I sit here and reflect on the past 18 years I am reminded of how very blessed I am. Blessed to be a Christian. Blessed to be married to a wonderful, loving, godly husband. And, blessed to be the Mother to three beautiful daughters. Thank You, Lord, for these gifts. May I never take them for granted!

Happy Birthday to my precious girl. I love you Kaitlyn!!

Early Morning Visitors

I was awake this morning before anyone else, so I quietly slipped downstairs and started a pot of tea. As I was filling my teapot, I happened to glance out the kitchen window. The sun was not up yet, so it was still a little dark. As I looked out the window, I noticed something moving by our woods. At first I thought one of our dogs got out of their kennels. I continued watching and noticed it was 2 deer! A momma and her fawn. I went upstairs and woke up Kaitlyn to come and see. She grabbed the camera and took some pictures and a couple videos. The two deer were joined by two more. They ran, jumped, and played in the yard as we quietly watched from the window. I love living in the country! It is so amazing to be a part of God's glorious creation. (Sorry that the pictures are a little dark and fuzzy. It was still pretty dark out and we couldn't use the flash against the window.)

Horse Tack & The Hand of God

You know, God never ceases to amaze me. He shows up in the most unexpected places and ways. It is so glorious to be a part of His perfect will. I just had to share our story with ya'll.

So, yesterday, we had a meeting to go look at some horse tack for the girls horses. Kristina found an ad on Craigs List that was pretty close to where we lived, so we thought we'd go check it out.

Not only did the girls get two saddles, and numerous other items for a great deal (and some thrown in for free), but we got to share the love of the Lord with a single Mom and her (almost) 8 year old son, Micah.

Micah was instantly drawn to Michael. He was showing him all over the house, his room, his toys, and his heart. He was telling us all that Sunday, he is going to be 8 years old. He also told us that his Daddy was taken back to Mexico and he doesn't know if he'll ever see him again. It was heartbreaking. We spent 4 hours there just talking and listening.

After we left, the girls decided we needed to do something special for this momma and her little boy. We went to the store and bought him several birthday gifts. We called her this morning to invite them out to Pizza Hut to celebrate Micah's birthday. She was so grateful. Micah was jumping up and down with excitement in the background.

It was so fun watching Micah open his presents. He sure seemed to enjoy them. He ordered what kind of pizza we had. I think he liked being in charge of that department :o) He was very thankful and made sure to tell us several times. What a sweet boy. Those deep brown eyes of his could melt anyones heart!

It truly is amazing how God orchestrates meetings between people. We could have bought the tack and left, but there was a much bigger reason we were sent there. We were sent  to share Jesus, and to love on these two people who need to feel HIS love. Thank You God, for using us in your plan. May YOU be glorified through it all!!

They're MARRIED!!

~Mr. & Mrs. Chet Bishop~

September 17, 2010

Rehersal Night

~Eric & Sophie~

~Travis & Jenna~

~Cody & Kristina~

~Chris & Kaitlyn~

~The *Dads* & Kelli~

~The whole wedding party~

~Bob (the grooms Dad) & Chet (the groom)~

This little girl............

.....is our oldest daughter, Kelli. In this picture she is three years old. Today she is 23 years old and in 3 short days, she will be walking down the isle to say *I DO*!!! Oh how I miss those days when she was a little girl. But, oh how I cherish these days watching her and she prepares to be a wife. She's a beautiful young woman. I am proud of who she's become and I couldn't love her more!!

Girls & Their Horses

This is how our girls are spending their days lately. I think they are enjoying themselves, don't you?

Two more members on the farm!

Saturday evening our cat, Amelia, gave birth to two kittens, both girls. Aren't they precious?? Kaitlyn named her kitty, *Josie*, and Kristina named hers, *Sophie*

Two new family members.........

Yep, that's right! We've got two new friends moving in over here on the farm. This past Labor Day weekend, our girls purchased 2 horses. Needless to say, they are beyond happy!

Kristina got a gorgeous, stocky, Quarter horse gelding. He is 13 years old, very sweet and very well broke. He followed Kristina all around the pen like a puppy. She named him Dakota. He seems like the perfect horse for her.

Kaitlyn has always wanted a Haflinger, but we could never find one we could afford, that is, until now :o) She found a beautiful little 2 1/2 year old mare. She knows all her ground manners very well. Kaitlyn wanted a horse she could break herself. She's the perfect size. Kaitlyn named her *Celtic Promise* and will be calling her *Celtie* (pronounced Keltie)

We'll be picking them up and hauling them home this weekend!

This & That

Yesterday was Aunties funeral. She looked beautiful. I am so thankful to know that she loved the Lord and is at home with Him now. It all went very well and it was nice to see cousins and other relatives that we only get to see at times like this. I'm thankful Michael was able to get the day off from work and go with us.

On a happier note, my two nephews are a part of the Orono Fire Department. My youngest nephew, is the Captain. He took our family on a tour of the fire department, gave us a little class on fire safety, and then we all got to go on a trip around Orono in the HUGE fire truck. It was pretty cool :o)

Today, the girls are babysitting and I am home catching up on laundry and normal Monday things that didn't get done yesterday.

It's only 17 more days until Kelli & Chet get married! I can't believe how fast time goes by and children grow up. Seems like only yesterday she was a little newborn, now she's a grown woman, ready to become a wife. It's a bittersweet time for sure. I'm praying that if the Lord see'd fit, I'll be a grandma this time next year. How fun is that? I can't wait!!

Auntie is gone

My oldest brother called me last night to inform me that our favorite *Auntie* had passed away :o( She just turned 88 a few weeks ago. She was never able to have children of her own, so she loved all her neices and nephews very much and always did special things for each one of us. She will be greatly missed by many. Rest in peace Auntie!

Praise!

Last Saturday morning, we were sitting around the living room reading our Bibles when all of a sudden Michael got up, grabbed his heart, and headed for the bathroom. No one noticed this except Kristina. A few minutes later, Michael called me into the bathroom. There he sat, shaking, sweating profusely, and white as a ghost! He said he was having chest pains and for me to call 911, which I did immediately. Minutes later, the ambulance was here whisking my husband off to the hospital.

The girls and I follwed. I called our pastor, and some close friends and asked them to pray. Once we arrived at the hospital, I was taken back to ICU where they had Michael hooked up to all kinds of machines. They were doing blood work, putting in an IV, and doing an EKG.

Our pastors daughter and son came and stayed with the girls out in the waiting room. They were so sweet. They brought us some food and something to drink. It really helped the girls, having their friends there for comfort, and encouragement. Chet & Kelli came from St. Cloud to be with us. It meant so much to me to have all my girls with me during this time. They all left to go get some lunch and then I sent them home. I stayed with Michael.

One of the elders came and stayed with us for a couple hours. He prayed with and for us, and read scripture. It was very comforting and thoughtful.

They monitored Michael for the next 12 hours, doing blood work and updated EKG's. Everything checked out OK and he was released to go home about 9:00 p.m. I never felt so good driving my husband home. The girls were thrilled to have their daddy home.

I am so thankful to have my husband. He is a wonderful, godly man who loves the Lord and his family. I am just so grateful that God allowed him to remain here was us and not take him home.

Photo Shoot

A couple of weeks ago, Kristina (our family photographer), decided to start taking some pictures of Kaitlyn for her graduation pictures. I think they turned out exceptional! I may be a little biased, but, it's true! The photographer did an excellent job, and the model is simply beautiful :o)