As Numerous As The Stars

When I first started this blog it was for the purpose of posting pictures from a trip to Jordan so friends and family could view them whom didn't have an account on Facebook or Myspace. For some time it was just a personal blog for personal writings of not much of anything important and a way friends and I could be our usual goofy selves. I had no idea it would grow to what it's becoming.

I appreciate those who have taken the time to comment, contact me through email and regularly come to read. Hearing from brothers and sisters in Christ from all over the world has been such a blessing to me and encouraging.

From North and South America to the UK, Europe, Malaysia, and Indonesia. To my sisters from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan Nepal, countries I've never even heard of to all over Africa. You are always in my prayers. I and others are always praying God grant you strength, grace, wisdom, meet every need and cause you to grow in love, faith and in knowledge of Christ.

 "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you" Philippians 1:3

In all of you have I found, though having no biological brothers and sisters, that God instead blessed me with spiritual siblings as numerous as the stars. He has blessed you with the same. Though you may look around and see no others who've come to the faith as you have. Though you may feel alone and frightened, you are not alone. We're never alone. We're all in this together to the end with the Bridegroom and you aren't forgotten by God or others who lift you up in prayer before the throne continually. So the next time you feel alone look at the stars above you and consider.

Keep fighting the good fight. Stand firm in the faith. What God began in you He will bring to completion. He is a shield about you and the lifter of your head (Psalm 3:3). Even in all of our struggles, fears, floods, crucibles and pain...

"For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, 'Do not fear; I will help you.'" Isaiah 41:13

He will never forget you, never forsake you and is your treasure on earth and in heaven. If God is for you there is no one who can stand against you. (Romans 8:31)

"Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you!" Isaiah 49:15

You are loved by our Father and Redeemer and by me as well. May God richly bless you and keep you until He welcomes you home. Merry Christmas beloved of the Lord.

He's At the Door

"Be on guard, so that your hearts will not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day will not come on you suddenly like a trap; For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man." Luke 21:34-36

Prior to making this statement, Jesus spoke vividly about the coming end times and all the signs leading up to it. He spoke about the destruction of Herod's temple, wars and Christian persecutions, the destruction of Jerusalem and the signs we'd see right before His return. He followed it with a warning in the verses above.

 The word "dissipation" in the Greek is κραιπάλη, ης, ἡ. It's a noun and it means to over indulge whether in food, drink and any other excess or self indulgence. Drunkeness is self explanatory, but then He states, "the worries of life". 


Being on guard has the idea of high alert and vigilance. Every sound, every movement is met with readiness. Think of a soldier in a war zone. He's not drinking from his canister, crying to his mom over the phone, playing video games or flipping through a catalog picking all the material things he's going to buy when he gets home while faced with the enemy. He has his weapon in hand, he's aware of the slightest sounds and movement and every muscle in his body is tense and ready to spring into action any second.

 The warning for us in these verses that followed the signs of the end and the lesson of the fig tree, is to look around us. We are surrounded by the enemy in enemy territory who will throw every tactic under the sun at us. We see the signs. We know His return is close, even at the door. He's saying "Watch yourselves! Don't become distracted and weighed down by worldly pleasures, self indulgence, partying, drinking, drugs (whether illegal or to help us cope) or let worries and stresses, struggles, heartaches or troubles take your attention away from what's coming."

In our society and culture the days are becoming increasingly darker and we're surrounded by the blackness of evil. We tend to use forms of escapism to distract ourselves from the stress of it all. The very foundations of our the world are being shaken. Economies are collapsing. Entire societies are imploding. We're worried about our own jobs and financial security. We're worried about the future of our own nation. We're worried about terrorism. The culture has shifted dramatically. Going through a economic collapse would be catastrophic because people are more wicked and iniquity abounds.

We use the internet, TV, movies, music, partying, drinking, drugs, etc., to distract ourselves and get our minds off of what's happening around us. We accept the notion we deserve to indulge ourselves with the world and all it offers because we've worked hard, had a tough week, went through a serious financial, mental, emotional or physical upheaval. The world advocates and presses the idea of over indulgence, treating yourself to all it offers because you deserve it.

It's all a smoke screen. It's a tactic of the enemy who knows our own sinful, selfish nature better than we do. It's a dangling of the carrot. It's an attempt to start a fire in another corner to get your attention off the elephant in the room and Satan is well aware of what the elephant in the room is. Jesus warns us not to fall for it. He's telling us to keep our eyes on Him and not what's around us because He's at the door. What's coming through the door is far greater and more devastating than anything happening around us.

The final sobering warning is if we allow ourselves to be distracted, that day will close on us like a trap. If we see the signs then we should be expecting Him and preparing for Him. The trap will close on those who've become so distracted they no longer think about it therefore expect it. Like a bear or deer wandering its usual territory suddenly finds itself caught in a trap it never expected, so are we wandering with the world. We no longer pay attention or are alert. We follow the same paths day after day and life moves along, but soon enough we will find a trap slamming down on us.

By all worldly accounts we should be worried. We should be entering panic mode with the state of our society, world and mankind in general. The sin nature's course of alleviating that panic is self indulgence and escapism through several means. Yet, Jesus warns us not to do it. Because of the increase of wickedness and the deep furrows we all bear from it, we tend to sink into ourselves by throwing elaborate pity parties and keeping our focus on us and/or the wrongs against us. Yet, Jesus warns us not to fall for it.

We must be vigilant and on high alert. Nothing is out of God's control and every frightening sight or news we hear about has already been known and being brought about according to God's plan and purposes.

"Seek the LORD, all you humble of the land, who do his just commands; seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD." Zephaniah: 2:3

This is what should be weighing on our hearts and we should be concerned with. We should be in prayer, study and preparing for His arrival. If you've found yourself focused on the fire in the corner while ignoring the elephant in the room or following the carrot  then first, praise God for the warning He gives to all of us. Second, be thankful He's pointed it out to you. Next, act on it lest that day close on you like a trap.

The Master of the house is at the door.

"All-American Muslim" Show Losing Sponsors

Boston Globe Story

If you're unfamiliar with this new TLC reality show, camera crews follow five Muslim families around in Dearborn, MI as a means to show the American public Muslims are no different than the average American family. I beg to differ. Moving swiftly on! Sponsors now have pulled their money from the show following protests: Lowe's Home Improvement, Kayak.com, Bank of America Corp. and Sears Holdings Corp.

He Will Finish It

"being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus" Philippians 1:6 

This is probably one of the most powerful Scriptures I've read. In it do we come to understand that our confidence is never in us or should be in us, but in God alone. As imperfect, fallen creatures we are more prone to fall then to rise. There's nothing in us deserving of confidence. Our confidence is in Christ alone. Not only did He seek us out and save us, but He won't give up and will complete the work He began.

If you are a believer then God began a work in you and no matter what, He will finish it. It's all His work and not ours. We did nothing to provoke it and can do nothing to finish it. We were dead in our sins therefore incapable of doing anything. He has done it apart from us for us. His church, His body, all of us, have been built on rock, a solid, sure foundation that cannot be shaken or destroyed. We stand and live on that rock in spite of ourselves because He keeps us standing on that solid foundation.

This good work God began in us is of grace and it will make us good. It is making us like Christ and all things work together for that good whether times are great or you're going through the most painfully difficult time of your life. It's all working under His control that good work He began in us. God is not like us. He finishes what He's begun despite us. If He didn't then He wouldn't be any more worthy of confidence than our own flesh is.

But He has promised to not forsake us, to not give up and everything He plans He carries through. There is our confidence. Though we fail, though we sin and fall flat on our faces, though we can't lift a finger anymore to help ourselves, He will continue on the good work He began and will not only finish it, but crown it in perfection. He will finish it even if He has to beat the daylights out of us to do so. He has promised a spotless bride and He will deliver.


Are things just spiraling out of control and you feel like a failure? Do you wonder how you will ever get out of the mess you've found yourself in? Are you depressed? Do you wonder how you will ever see another good day? Are you afraid you've crossed the line with God? Do you feel as though you are one sin away from God throwing up His hands and saying "That's it! I can't take you and your failure anymore"?

He will finish it.

 Again, He began the good work in all of us while we were still His enemies, depraved and hostile toward Him. We did nothing for Him to begin such a work and we can do nothing for Him to finish it. Thank God for His unconditional love. Thank God His good work is not dependent on us or anything we can or can't do. We may be failures, but He's not. We may not finish things, but He always does. That work He began in you, He will finish it.

23rd Psalm Prosperity Style Yo

From the Watchmen Expositor: How the Health and Wealth Gospel Twists Scripture


"The Lord is may banker;
my credit is good.
He maketh me to lie down in the consciousness of omnipresent abundance;
He giveth me the key to His strong box;
He restoreth my faith in His riches;
He guideth me in the paths of prosperity for his name's sake.
Yea, though I walk in the very shadow of debt, I shall fear no evil, for Thou art with me;
Thou preparest a way for me in the presence of the collector;
Thou fillest my wallet with plenty; my measure runneth over.
Surely goodness and plenty will follow me all the days of my life, And I shall do business in the name of the Lord forever."

Man's Free Will and God's Sovereignity

It's common for people to believe that free will means we have the ability and freedom to choose to seek God or not, the freedom to choose between right and wrong or good and evil. That's not exactly what Scripture teaches. In trying to understand free will, we must first understand and grasp what God's sovereignity means, how it impacts our very existence and the total depravity of all mankind. That understanding puts our relationship with God  in a whole new, life changing and powerful perspective.

Video teachings on the "Chosen By God" Series by R.C. Sproul on what having free will actually means.

Lecture 1: Everyone Believes This Doctrine

Lecture 2: God's Sovereignity

Lecture 3: What Is free Will?

Lecture 4: Man's Radicall Fallenness

Lecture 5: Does God Create Unbelief?

Lecture 6: The Divine Initiative

Shoharam - My Husband

I can't believe how big our little man is getting! Among other things, he takes after his daddy in size. He's gaining weight and growing so fast it blows me away. He's 2 1/2 months and  such a ham! He laughs and smiles all the time and talks to us with all kinds of noises. He also sleeps up to 7 hours which is such a relief. I caught him recently lifting his head from the bed. I gasped and said "what are you doing?" and he just gave me a big gummy smile and put his head back down. He's so adorable!

The first time he ever started laughing he was in his little seat. Our cat chases me around a lot and will run sideways at me on his toes with his back hunched and tail bushed out. Squig did that recently and Darian just started laughing and laughing and wouldn't stop. It was so insanely cute it made me laugh hysterically and cry all at once. Darian's not much of a cryer except if he's hungry or needs a changing. Other than that he's full of big smiles, laughter and baby talk. I can be having a bad day, but the minute he smiles at me it all melts away. Sometimes while he's nursing he'll stop, look up at me and get this big grin on his face. It so funny.

I've noticed something that's totally me...his smile. One side of his mouth turns down slightly just like mine. Up until recently, I couldn't find a single thing. He was all Sharb and everyone calls Darian "Sharb's mini me". He's also lightening in skin tone, but his eyes seem to be darkening. I didn't notice until I looked through all the pictures I have of him from birth to now. I had no idea that would change, but his hair...black as ever and he's still a huge fan of thumb sucking. Everything about him is so surprising and fun. I'm still amazed that we could make something so beautiful and perfect.

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Novemeber 19th Sharb and I will be celebrating our first wedding anniversary. I look back over this year and so much has happened, the biggest being Darian's birth. Getting married is really only the beginning no matter how long a couple's been together. Everything changes and there's always a lot of ups and downs as you get used to each other.

Having a baby has brought us even closer and introduced new bonding experiences and also stress into our relationship. No relationship is ever perfect. When two very flawed, sinful people are joined together you dream and hope for perfection, but learn to compromise and understand we'll always fall short.

This year has been fun, full of blessings and difficult at times, but I don't think I could have ever asked for better.  Sharb's my knight in shining armor and that someone I least expected. He walked into my whirlwind of a life and took a sad, confused, emotional wreck of a cast off, pulled me up and brushed me off. He's never been afraid. He was the stabilizer in the earthquake around me. When I was at my lowest God knew exactly what I needed and sent Sharb in. I still look back to that day we met in a tiny office and I'm blown away. I never would have dreamed the quiet and shy guy that sometimes helped me teach an "English as a 2nd language" class (because I didn't know what I was doing) would be the one. We always think we have it all figured out, but we never factor in what God has planned and who He has waiting for us.

Sharb's been all the things I've needed the most even if I didn't want them at the moment. He's been a father, brother, best friend, partner, protector, defender, biggest supporter, comforter, stabilizer, teacher and, at times, boss lol. He's been a provider and assumed responsibility for me when no one else did. If I had nothing excep him I wouldn't have a reason to worry or lose hope. He's been the only person in my life that no matter what happened I always knew everything was going to be alright simply because he was there.

He's a good father and it gives me so much joy to watch him with his son. I absolutely adore seeing Darian smile and make noises when Sharb plays with him or when Darian looks for him when he hears Sharb's voice. Darian's blessed to have a good example of a man in Sharb and I thank God for the example and relationship Sharb has with his own father that can be past on to our kids.

Sharb and I have had our battles and we're sure to have many more throughout our life as we continue to learn, grow and be changed. There's been times we looked and acted more like enemies than mates, but he's always been a man and it makes me proud to say he's my husband.

Because of everything he's done for me and has been to me it's a gift from God to be the, "wife of his youth" (Proverbs 5:18-19 as he likes to quote). To give him the best of me when he's never given me anything but the best of him. A long time ago I wrote a list of 101 things I loved about him and to have added to it after all this time would have taken far too long.

You've been my hero and will always be. I'm so proud of you.

Dooset daram aziz. Joone mani. Man bedoone to nemitonam zendegi konam.

He Is The King Of Kings

A beautiful yet terrifying message for us in these last days; the return of Christ and what it means for all people. We often equate Christ's first coming and His mission to His second coming. We expect a gentle and meek Christ the second time around. That's not what Scripture teaches and Steve Lawson paints a picture of it. "He is not coming to play games. He is not coming to be docile. He is coming to dominate and He is coming to slaughter...He will be ruthless in the execution of His justice"

Time Away

"Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." Psalm 127:3-5

That scripture has a lot of meaning for me these days!

I won't be writing for a little while. We have a lot going on with little Darian and trying to get some things done to the house before winter sets in.

I went to the doctor Friday for my postpartum check up. Going by questions my doctor asked and the answers I gave, he needed to do a pregnancy test. To our surprise he gave us the news that I was pregnant....again. Already. Ya I know.

Apparently Sharb and I have a lot in common with rabbits. We're estimating I'm about 2-3 weeks along. To be sure, they took blood and I got the call this afternoon. It's official.

I know someones yelling, "Girlfriend use PRO-tection!" I've heard it already from friends. I think I'd actually need something like barbed wire lol. Ah I gotta bust Sharb's chops a little over this...

I wanted to try for another soon, but not quite this soon. Just recently I was telling my husband I wanted to try for another in a few months or so because I'd like my babies to be close in age rather than far apart. Well...Voila!

Once we recovered from the shock (and Sharb stopped sweating) we're good with it. It'll be hard, that's for sure, having 2 babies in diapers, nursing and not even a year apart, but it's God who gives life and takes away. Children are a gift and we're blessed to receive from Him. I know what it's like to grow up alone and definitely don't want that for Darian. If anything were to happen to us they'll have each other. God willing, maybe a few more later.  Maybe I'll have a little girl this time :)

I'll leave you for a little while with a couple of videos. One on educating, training and disciplining children by Paul Washer. The beginning is especially helpful to young, unmarried Christian women as to who is responsible for her when she has no husband?  The second is "A Biblical Husband And Family"



Be back as soon as things slow down. God bless!

The Influence of Unbelievers

I heard another voice from heaven, saying, "Come out of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues;" Revelation 18:4

Recently I ran into a woman from my former church. She's a pleasant lady and I was glad to see her. My husband and I left that church before we were even married. The wolves and goats had taken over and the Leadership was afraid to exercise church discipline as it could bring about law suits thus began a mass exodus. The shepherds responsible for the flock sacrificed the flock out of fear. That's sin and that Leadership will have to answer for that. God noticed hence the mass exodus of genuine Believers.

So I asked her about the church and she suddenly looked sad and said " you know...it's the same." My next question of course was, "why haven't you left?" Her reason for sticking it out was she and her husband had been members for years and, by remaining, she hoped God would use them and the other few Believers to shine light in that darkness and bring about change. That seems pretty noble and I don't doubt she loves the church, but is this the right thing to do?

Maybe you have found yourself in a similar situation and are hoping God will somehow use you as an instrument. Maybe you hang around unbelievers in places you shouldn't be, but rationalize that you can be a witness to them. My husband and I know a guy who frequents casinos and bars to "witness" to all of his worldly friends for hours on end. Maybe your church's doctrine/teaching has changed and they've gone the way of the world to build up their congregation and given up sound teaching which offends the ungodly.

Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). He chooses to allow us participation in His work. He doesn't need us. He's been working just fine without us for eternity. We always make more of a mess than help anyway. It's a privilege from God and not a necessity. We can't save anyone, only God can. We can plant a seed and water it, but only God makes it grow (1 Corinthians 3:6). Even the seed we plant or water doesn't come from us, it's the Holy Spirit. Whether there is not a single Believer around for thousands of miles means absolutely nothing. God can and does save without us. He's been doing it since creation.

"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!" 1 Corinthians 10:12


"Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position." 2 Peter 3:17

We have to constantly be on guard against our own flesh and fight that war from sun up to sun down. We are prone to sin. We still possess the sin nature. We will continue to be locked in hard battle with it until the day we take our last breaths. We will not influence the group, they will influence us. We will give in to sin  before they give in to godliness. The odds are stacked against us in those environments and situations and not the other way around. We will fall before they rise. We're not here to change the world or build empires. The world will be destroyed. We're here to glorify God. To purposely put ourselves in extremely precarious and compromising situations or environments is not only unwise, but downright dangerous to us...not them.

"Depart, depart, go out from there! Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the LORD." Isaiah 52:11

"Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you." 2 Corinthians 6:17

We shouldn't be running toward the world, but continuously running from its influence and beating it off with big sticks while grabbing as many as God wants along the way. Right now we can't escape the world. We're here for as long as God sees fit. Like Lot (2 Peter 2:8), we should be looking around us grieving and tormented in our spirits by the unrighteousness that constantly offends God, surrounds and influences us. We see this scenerio played out several times in Scripture with many great kings. God warned the Jews several times to not mix with the people around them lest they fall.We are warned to keep ourselves separate from the world and all that's in it.

When the goats have taken over churches then we must separate ourselves. Church is the one place we, as Believers, are to come together, edify each other, pray for one another, feed and meet each other needs. We can't do that when the sheep have been run out and all that's left are goats. All we're doing is coddling the goats and hoping that by us being sheep and if we squeeze them hard enough, they will somehow turn into sheep. The church is not made up of unbelievers. It's made up of Believers. Christ is the Head and Husband of a regenerated Bride not a Bride that has some regenerated and a lot of those who could be one day if we're holy and righteous enough around them. Church is for believers not unbelievers. The church is to reach out to unbelievers and do all they can to win them, but without lowering Biblical standards, teachings or accepting and enabling worldliness in its midst to attract the world. God makes Himself attractive.

I know, I know, most churches spend countless amounts of money, resources and time to attract the world, but they're wrong. To read more about it from Spurgeon check out Feeding Sheep Or Amusing Goats?  

If we continue in these types of situations, we're having the exact opposite affect. Instead of standing for righteousness, we're enabling. Taking a stand and separating ourselves is like a blaring train horn. When the saints see and understand the assault on God's holiness and character, the insult against His crown, but do nothing, they're accomplices. The greatest harm to the ungodly by Christians is when we talk the talk, but don't walk the walk. When we call ourselves godly, but tolerate and flirt with the world in an attempt to "win" them.

"We live in a day where we think that in order to be relevant to our culture we must be like our culture....in order for the Gospel to be relevant we must somehow adapt it to our culture. And nothing on the face of the earth or in bowels of hell could be further from the truth. The worst thing that could ever happen to a preacher, the worst thing that could ever happen to a church is to become civilized and respectable." - Paul Washer

All churches have a certain amount of unbelievers and no church is perfect, but if your church is made up of mostly the world, governed and taken down worldly paths to please worldly church members, if those unbelievers are perfectly comfortable there, something is very wrong.

I'm not saying we have no influence at all. That's not true either, but we don't have what we like to think we have. We are in enemy territory of which we ourselves were made from and saved from. Throwing a few sheep into a goat pen is not going to make the goats act like sheep. The sheep will eventually mimic the goats. We will eventually participate in their sins and go back to old man habits (Revelation 18:4). This is why we are to be separate. This is why we are to flee and come out from among them.

"As a private member of a church, I have no right to be a member of a church whose doctrines I do not accept; indeed, I ought not to regard it as a possibility that I could remain to profess what I do not agree with. I am responsible, as a member of a church, for all that is taught and all that is done by that church in its church capacity; and if I am protesting in my heart, and yet in my proper person continue part and parcel of that church, I am not acting truthfully to God." -Charles Spurgeon