Couple random things...

Weird to think that this picture was taken in June, so just about 3 months ago and Emerson looks COMPLETELY different.

Anywho, John and I were talking with some friends the other day and realized a couple of funny things.

1) We have a baby who says "goo-goo gah-gah."

2) We have a pup that says "woof."

A Fork in the Road

When Christ came to earth He would speak to the masses. Crowds would gather to listen to the things this man would say--either that or they would come hungry expecting lunch as He had a tendency to fulfill physical needs as well as spiritual. One thing brought to my attention today though was that after Jesus died and was resurrected, He only appeared to believers. An account of His life here on earth is recorded in the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John). We never physically saw Jesus, but the Bible reveals to us all we need to know. Not only can we know Christ's life, but also his death and resurrection. The resurrection is a historical account of what happened after Christ's execution. It really happened. Not only did it happen, but it proves that Jesus is God.


The Bible says "In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God." Jesus is the Word. The truth God has written within the Bible demands a response. One can either choose to accept and decide to follow Christ or choose to deny him and spend an eternity in hell. It is a fork in the road. You choose to go to the right or to the left. Scripture says that the majority of people will not choose to follow Christ. I'm thankful to be in the minority.

By choosing to align myself with Christ and become one of His disciples, my faith should and will be displayed in how I live my life. There should be a radical difference in my life compared to those trying to find a place in the world. For instance, the world often equates an abundant life with the abundance of STUFF--ex. keeping up with the Joneses. My concious, willful response to God's Word displays itself in my obedience, having a personal relationship with a living God and my creator, and allowing the Holy Spirit to work from within and transform me into Christlikeness.


Some people will just straight up tell you that God is not real or that Christianity is a crutch or a weak self-help strategy. These people have obviously made a conscious decision at that fork and turned away from God. Others, though, will tell you that they believe in God. They will tell you things a believer would say to convince themselves and others of their "faith" in Christ. It is important to remember: believing in God is completely different from a saving faith. One who possesses a saving faith with not only have that factual component of faith covered, but the tangible results of living as a believer will be evident in that person's life.


Here's the fork: you can choose to serve Christ with your life or deny Him as Savior and Creator. God is the one you will need to answer to. You are accountable for you.


How you live, think, and act reveals your true self.

John's Birthday -- September 19

My husband turned 26 yesterday! Getting close to 30 that one ;).

Thankfully, we took advantage of Mom's last trip out here and we celebrated by going out to a Mexican restaurant and then I took him to see Dark Knight at the IMAX theater in Indianapolis. It was a great flick and I only had one nightmare pertaining to the Joker, so that was good, too. I say 'thankfully' because on his actual birthday John worked a double shift. He went in to work at 530 and didn't get home until 1030 that night.

Emerson and I made him birthday cupcakes (strawberry cake mix with rainbow chip frosting) and he got to open up cards and presents when he got home. Due to the tight budget, I had to be practical with a birthday gift (technically, the IMAX movie was his present, but everyone likes to OPEN a real gift on their birthday), so John's gift was a t-shirt and underwear. What a loving wife I am! We did stop at GameStop this morning and he was able to buy 3 wii games with his birthday money.

If John was at work all day, what did I do? Let's see... obviously, I did all the necessary "take care of the baby" things (feed/change/etc), picked up EVERYTHING, caught up on ALL the laundry, mopped floors, went through more of Emerson's clothes, finished all the dishes, made the birthday cupcakes, worked for 3 hours, took emerson on an hour-long walk. All I need to do now is sweep floors upstairs and clean bathrooms. Granted, I'll have to start that process over again next week, but it's a start!

Also today we dropped off some stuff at Mom and Dad Sharbaugh's for the twins to use while they are up from Florida. Emma got to play with the Simpkins' kids and see GG Hubble and Grandma Sharbaugh. John let me stop at a garage sale on the way and Emerson and I got a bunch of cute clothes for 9 bucks--sweet! We also stopped at the new Half Price Books and I got like 6 or 7 books for 4.01--love it!

John worked on the floor some more today, now we just have to get the vinyl flooring or whatever we're going to use right around the door area and it will be all fixed up! Also, I marked off the walls for the chair rail that will go around the living room. I need to paint it though before john can put it up. I think it will be a nice added touch to the space.

I like that our house truly is our home, our sanctuary.

Hawks Win! Hawks Win!

A Hawkeye State of Mind


"Intrastate rivalries seem to bring out the best in teams. There is something to be said about being the pride of your home state. The University of Iowa made one thing clear Saturday in Kinnick Stadium: the Hawkeyes are the champagne of the state of Iowa in 2008. Iowa defeated Iowa State, 17-5, on Sept. 13 to re-capture the Cy-Hawk Trophy."


Okay, So I haven't watched the game yet. BUT, I heard through the grapevine that my Hawkeyes pulled off the victory. My mother-in-law so kindly agreed to tape the game for me so I will at least get to see how it all went down. Thank you, Teri, and thank you, Big Ten Network.


As a way of showing support for our Hawks, Emerson and I wore some Iowa gear. GO HAWKS!

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God (Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald)

...Fresh Vision for the Hopeful Homemaker.

I liked it. Easy read, very practical, great purpose.

Back Cover Description

Have you struggled to reconcile God's vision of virtuous womanhood with worldly myths that marginalize and mock the role of the homemaker? Do you wrestle with cultural messages that demean the homemaker s calling and exalt instead the emotionally androgynous power-woman---the wife whose worth is measured only by the degree of her self-ambition, the shape of her body, or her money-making skills?

Delightfully fresh and honest, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God debunks the modern 'desperate housewife' myth and provides fresh vision for the homemaker. Hear a former Christian feminist share how she went from a die-hard homemaker-in-training to a dedicated career woman, and then back again---after God gripped her heart. See the hollow counterfeit of whitewashed feminism and me-ology destroyed. And consider the beautiful picture painted in Scripture of the truly fulfilled homemaker who glories in the hopeful calling God created for her.

Pull up a chair, dust off the cookie crumbs, and join Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald as they lay aside demeaning stereotypes like the 'Stepford wife,' and reveal the 1950s' 'perfect homemaker' trap. Laughter and tears will flow, and hopefully you will be infused with a renewed vision for victory as a wife and mother. Discover what it means to be a passionate housewife 'desperate' for God alone!

The Marketing of Evil (David Kupelian)

It's interesting to look back over the last 100 years--the last 50 for that matter--and think about things in our society that are deeemed "acceptable" today that would have horrified those in generations before us (including, but not limited to, easy divorce, unrestricted abortion, and teaching homosexuality to grade-schoolers). "The Marketing of Evil reveals how much of what Americans once almost universally abhorred has been packaged, perfumed, gift-wrapped and sold to them as though it had great value."

The chapter that I found most interesting was the one regarding homosexuality. For example, did you know that AIDS was not always called AIDS? When it was discovered it was given the name GRID, which stood for "gay-related immunodeficiency disease," but was later given the more vague name, AIDS, when the medical community was pressured by homosexual activists. Two Harvard graduates, Kirk and Madsen, wrote a book entitled After the Ball: How America Will Conquer Its Fear and Hatred of Gays in the '90s. This book details a complex, straightforward marketing strategy to "sell homosexuality" to middle-class America including desensitization and by convincing the general public that homosexuality is not a personal choice.

A few quotes from the homosexuality chapter:

A generation ago, we understood there is such a thing as sin, and that sin is a serious matter and to be avoided. Now there is no societal consciousness of sin—only limitless "freedom," "choice," and "consensual relationships."

We've forgotten as a society what love is, because supporting and justifying homosexuality is not real love any more than glorifying drinking helps the alcoholic or celebrating smoking helps wipe out lung cancer.

We need to side with the afflicted person's conscience. In America, we've done the opposite.

The other chapters that had intrigued me the most dealt with the topics of abortion, separation of church and state, and the public education system. I would very highly recommend this book to anyone looking for a good nonfiction read.

Amazon Book Description:
Americans have come to tolerate, embrace and even champion many things that would have horrified their parents' generation—from easy divorce and unrestricted abortion-on-demand to extreme body piercing and teaching homosexuality to grade-schoolers. Does that mean today's Americans are inherently more morally confused and depraved than previous generations? Of course not, says veteran journalist David Kupelian. But they have fallen victim to some of the most stunningly brilliant and compelling marketing campaigns in modern history. The Marketing of Evil reveals how much of what Americans once almost universally abhorred has been packaged, perfumed, gift-wrapped and sold to them as though it had great value. Highly skilled marketers, playing on our deeply felt national values of fairness, generosity and tolerance, have persuaded us to embrace as enlightened and noble that which all previous generations since America's founding regarded as grossly self-destructive—in a word, evil. In this groundbreaking and meticulously researched book, Kupelian peels back the veil of marketing-induced deception to reveal exactly when, where, how, and especially why Americans bought into the lies that now threaten the future of the country. For example, few of us realize that the widely revered father of the "sexual revolution" has been irrefutably exposed as a full-fledged sexual psychopath who encouraged pedophilia. Or that giant corporations voraciously competing for America's $150 billion teen market routinely infiltrate young people's social groups to find out how better to lead children into ever more debauched forms of "authentic self-expression." Likewise, most of us mistakenly believe the "abortion rights" and "gay rights" movements were spontaneous, grassroots uprisings of neglected or persecuted minorities wanting to breathe free. Few people realize America was actually "sold" on abortion thanks to an audacious public relations campaign that relied on fantastic lies and fabrications. Or that the "gay rights" movement—which transformed America's former view of homosexuals as self-destructive human beings into their current status as victims and cultural heroes—faithfully followed an in-depth, phased plan laid out by professional Harvard-trained marketers. No quarter is given in this riveting, insightful exploration of how lies, both subtle and outrageous, are packaged as truth. From the federal government to the public school system to the news media to the hidden creators of "youth culture," nothing is exempt from the thousand-watt spotlight of Kupelian's journalistic inquiry. In the end, The Marketing of Evil is an up-close, modern-day look at what is traditionally known as "tempation"—the art and science of making evil look good.

Lessons learned and blessings received...

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."
—2 Corinthians 12:9

My plan was to include this part at the end of what I posted yesterday instead of ending so abruptly. However, I was completely exhausted and decided to postpone until today. I have never personally experienced God's comforting presence as much as I have in the past week. Truly amazing.

The greatest blessing, I believe, that could result from this tragedy is that someone would see God at work in our lives, see the redemptive work of Christ and the peace that comes through His salvation, and in turn put their trust in Him. We are praying for a true heart transformation and a life completely changed and devoted to serving Christ.


"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you."
—Philippians 4:8-9

So I have been challenged, challenged to think upon the good we have experienced throughout this tragedy. Here's what I have come up with thus far:
God is good.
"God is good, and everything He does is good." –Psalm 119:68

God is in control.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." –Romans 8:28

God is faithful and has given us the grace to successfully come through this trial.
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." –2 Corinthians 12:9

Jordan is waiting for us in heaven and has been spared from the wicked world in which we live.
"Jesus answered [the thief on the cross], 'I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.'" –Luke 23:43

We have a healthy 8-month-old little girl that we have been blessed to raise here and now.
"Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from him." –Psalm 127:3

There are still many childbearing years ahead of me as I'm only 22.
"Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, "Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?" –Genesis 17:17

God can more easily mold us and sanctify us through trials and suffering when we lean on Him.
"In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation." –1 Peter 5:10


I am sure that there are many more blessings that we will see throughout the loss of our dear Jordan. I am thankful to have things which are true, right, pure, and lovely to dwell on. God is good and has allowed all these things to happen to our little family. Praise be to God.