The Horror - Explained

Yesterdays post was pretty raw, and full of emotion. It was one of those, "write it right now before the emotion passes" kind of posts. Those can be intense. I'm not sure how 'intense' my post was but I do know that when you write with such passion, you can tend to leave out some important information. Which, I think I did. Here are a few other points that go with my decision to break-up with Facebook.

1. For a few months I have been hearing a small voice telling me to remove my shop from Facebook. I continually convinced myself that doing so was silly. I get most of my sales through fb. How would my shop survive? 
2. Just last week I was asked to participate in a fundraiser to help raise money for a family who had recently lost their baby after a day of life and a band for March of Dimes in the name of another lost little one. I, of course, said yes because I want to help others. I didn't think twice about it. Well, not thinking twice about it, turned into an issue. March of Dimes is supportive of abortion. Now, they don't come right out and say that but it's true. I can't help raise money for a group that says it is there to help babies, yet is okay with practices that kill them. How hypocritical of me would it be to not do that fundraiser but to go ahead and stay on fb so I can make money???
3. I further continued to convince myself to stay on board because of all of the fundraisers I am able to do to help those who are in need. I truly enjoy being a part of raising money for people who need it, like for adoptions, emergencies, babies, etc. What a blessing it is to help others in this way! I now see, that if the Lord has not called me to do it, but has called me to do something else, I need to obey Him. By doing all of these other good things (and yes, they are good and worthy) I am ignoring what He has asked me to do. That means I am not being faithful to what the Lord wants of me. Which, will end up pushing me away from my Lord and Saviour. 

 "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." -Matthew 7:21

"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" -Luke 6:46

How can I call Him Lord, yet not obey Him in what He has asks of me? If I did this, I would be saying His name in vain, which would be breaking Commandment #3. It's one thing to do something in ignorance, and it's something entirely different to do something with full knowledge and understanding.

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:" -Acts 17:30

When we do something with full knowledge that it is not the right thing to do, then it is sin. If we continue doing this sin, it becomes iniquity because we are making the choice to continue in our sin. Darkness and light can not walk together. This known sin will separate us from our God. That is not somewhere I want to be - separated from God. It is only in His Strength that I can accomplish anything, small or great.

I hope that better explains my personal decision to finally, really, truly remove myself from Facebook. I hope this post will be a blessing to others.

The Horror

At this moment I am in tears, and my stomach feels nauseous. I am actually at a loss for words but felt compelled to say something. I am 100% AGAINST abortion. The Lord tells us children are a blessing, not a curse! Our society is so mixed up and backward. It reminds me of a photo I recently saw...

(This is not my photo. I came across it on Facebook a few weeks ago, I don't recall what page though.)

Something is, indeed, VERY wrong. Which brings me to THIS article I read today, just prior to writing this post. I don't technically have a Facebook page. I say technically because I do have one, but only so I could keep my business page up when I decided to leave Facebook as my person. Which sounds bizarre in itself but not the point here.

Now I am sitting here utterly disgusted with Facebook, more so than before. As a Christian mother of 4 (plus 1 resting in Jesus), I can not, in good moral conscience, continue on Facebook. I do not believe that my integrity should be compromised so that I can hold a business page on Facebook. A social platform that goes against what I believe in. A platform that holds the power to delete anything that they deem to be against the rights of others. Even though there are still people who are able to share pro-life messages, I don't believe this makes it 'okay' to stay on board. I hope, and pray, that anyone who is reading this will seriously think about the mentioned article. Truly think about Facebook's stand on the abortion issue. If you are pro-life, how can you hold hands with something that is so obviously against it?

"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" Amos 3:3

I truly believe that the Lord will continue to bless my shop, even though I am not on any social media to promote it. Even if my shop never sees another dime because of this, I will not go back to Facebook. It's just not worth it. The Lord gives us tests. I believe this is one of them. I want to serve only God in my life. I do not want to be unequally yoked with the world.

"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" 2 Corinthians 6:14

I know most will think this is a bit over the top, but as I just stated, the Lord gives us tests. I want to pass these tests. And it is only by the grace of God that I can.

PLEASE read the article!

http://www.wnd.com/2012/02/facebook-shuts-down-pro-life-message/

And, as always, your thoughts and opinions are welcome, just leave a comment below.

**I didn't mention this above. I will have to wait a week or two before I can be fully off of Facebook. Not that I need to explain myself, I just wanted to. Since I just finished up a fundraiser, I need to wait until I have heard back from all of the auction winners, and they have received their items. I don't want to be unaccountable for responsibilities I have taken on.

Insert :Deep Breath: Here

Yes, it's true. I've been in need of some big deep breaths lately. There is so much going on in my life right now. I don't want to miss any of it. I often need to stop, and take a deep breath so that I can continue in my day without going crazy.

We've been falling short in our homeschooling lately, and our house work. It seems that I had temporarily lost my mind. I am happy to say that I think I have found it. It needs some adjusting, and a little fine tuning, but I think it will be just fine.

Let me explain, I've had to sit down and re-think our situation. What's important right now? What can wait? What does the Lord want me to do, as opposed to what do I want to do? All of these questions, and much more have been swimming around in my head lately. After much prayer, and consideration, I think we have come up something. I have heard the Lord whispering to me  for sometime, and now the answer is here.

We were in major need of a routine, and a chore program. I have 4 children, and often feel like I am being pulled in several directions at once. Several years ago a fellow homeschooling mom told me about Accountable Kids. What a great program! We weren't able to purchase the program at that time so I mimicked it and what we got was quite helpful. Somehow, between then and a move to a new house, we stopped using it. Everything slowly started falling apart then but I didn't really realize it until a few months ago.

Then, my SIL asked me if I had heard of it. And it brought me back to what was working for my kids. This time, I changed things up a bit. I still did not purchase the actual kits, just a bit out of my price range and, if I can make myself for cheaper, then why not? I did, however, purchase the book. It is FULL of great simple information! I highly recommend this program. We made the kits ourselves and the kids are actually enjoying getting their chores done! We've only been using it for 4 days now, but life has been that much simpler. Our days are improving. Praise the Lord!

We also started something a bit different with our home-school. I started taking an e-course called Successful Homeschooling Made Easy. She does a great job at easing you into homeschooling, and helping you make sense of curriculum and what not. Now, I've only done 2 lessons, but I have such a peace about it. Definitely a gift from the Lord! I also recommend this.

Life does not need to be hurried along but enjoyed! Sometimes the simpler life isn't the easy life but it is well worth the effort. For my children, and our family as a whole.

:Deep Breath: Here's to taking one day at a time.