Halloween 2012

Here I am again about halloween. I don't know what happened to halloween in 2010 and 2011, but I did not blog about it haha. Actually, last halloween, we were so busy stuffing candies and these awesome home made tracts I must have forgotten to blog on it. I remember taking a couple of pictures of my kids' stuffing action though.

We don't celebrate halloween because I have seen too much of the dark side in the spiritual world. We have passed out tracts and candies though. But just a thought here.... the object of evil isn't intrinsically evil itself until a person who knows evil relates it to evil. Halloween can't be good when witches and wiccans sacrifice babies but halloween can be good when Christians step out in this dark night and teach that there is hope and grace even in a time like this. The days are evil whether if it's halloween or not.

Reminds me of great examples.... Jehovah's witnesses teach that objects r evil. So when they see a cross it reminds them of a pagan god so they r repulsed by the object of salvation. But to us the cross reminds us of love and ultimate sacrifice. With similar principles, they teach their kids how to "evilize" all festivals, objects, and motives.

Another example, easter... easter is a fertility god, it has nothing to do with our Lord's resurrection. But Christians throughout the years have used this pagan holiday to teach the gospel to their own children using eggs, bunnies, chicks, candies and different resurrection recipes. Yet again, Jws teach that this holiday itself is evil and no one should be honoring the fertility god when no one thinks of the fertility god when we color an egg or pass out chocolate bunnies. If a family had no upbringing about the history and evils of halloween but just trunk or treat and dressing up as something fun, is halloween an evil pagan holiday to their kids? Does dressing up and celebrating it "give more power" to the dark evil demons?

Can't Christmas also become pagan when santa becomes the object of affection in any home including a Christian home? Can't easter also become a pagan holiday when the painting of beautiful easter eggs becomes the main event of the day?

A day in itself has no power to be evil or good until a person of evil or of good grants it power to be evil or good. Look at Romans 14:14 I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean.

The book review I did back in September for "Grace based parenting" actually talked about halloween for a little. What he said really made sense. I will look for that book and quote it when I find it, but he basically said, if all we do is instill this fear of halloween into our kids and tell them what evil happens on that day, we are teaching them about the evil not about the good. They will remember what is evil and not what they can do to impact the world on a day like this. They will remember to be scared and not being about to be sent out into the world to be bold on a day or a society that is wrapped in this sort of thing!

The Chinese culture has many different festivals. I grew up celebrating each and every one of them. I remember thinking how silly the stories were but the festivals were a fun time. An excuse to get the entire family together, distant relatives and all! Do I teach my kids that all these festivals are evil just because it doesn't have Christ? Or do I bring Christ into these festivals so that they can bring Christ to their friends when no one else see Christ in them? Do I teach my kids not to participate and scare them out of action or send them into the world for action with the power of Christ?

Romans 14:5-9(ESV) One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike.Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.

I wrestle with this whole chapter of Romans. No one needs to be judged of what they do with anything. That I know. I used to struggle with being legalistic about it and judged others. Not anymore at all. I went through it and grew up out of it in Christ. What I am still trying to grasp is how I can raise my kids in a way of grace not legalism about not celebrating halloween the way others do. Right now, I tell them what I learn about this. Today, I told them, for example, that a holiday is evil when a person or a group of people makes it evil. Some Christians use it to share the gospel, some hide at home. Some unbelievers choose to dress up as scary evil characters, some also choose to hide at home. Like me, before I was a Christian, I never dressed up and "trick or treat".

Here are my evolving thoughts and growing knowledge of grace on this western holiday, "halloween"

2008 - This was my blog on halloween named "and What occasion is this?"

2009 - This one was written about this same day named "Halloween - It's just not our holiday"

2011 - my husband drew and dedicated this episode of jujubee and raisin to pointing families back to Jesus at halloween. We must have printed 100 and on the back was a gospel presentation in words. We folded and stuffed it in a little bag with candy.

LORD, continue to teach me. Continue to stretch my mind because sometimes I am reading and writing but cannot comprehend. Only through Your grace will I grow in love and grace. I love You. But not enough. I want to love you more than more. Convict me and forgive me of my sins. Expand my love for You and for Your Creation. In Jesus Name, Amen.

The Last Convo

Phill, my husband, and I have been praying for weeks about today.

Did I have a clue it was today? No. Not till this morning. 

I woke up with a headache. At around 8am, my ears were choosing to pick up low pitches extraordinarily, attributing to an elevated headache. I started praying, and praying about the meeting, knowing M and S are coming. Then, I got this affirmation. A peace that transcends all understanding, 100% certainty, no doubt. 

I gotta be honest to say, that after 1.5 years, I have wanted this moment, but I was never 100% sure. At some points, I did get a bit exhausted, maybe a little frustrated here and there, wanted my "JW day" to be my day again... But my response wasn't, wow finally, or yay. It was yes Lord, I will obey. 

To give you some background info, we had been going through their little yellow book "What does the Bible really teach?" We were on Ch15 when we could not go on. So they suggested to go back to Ch1 and skimming through the subtitles of the chapters. By that time, I narrowed my questions down to 3 of them. 1.Spirit after death 2.Jesus the angel 3.Trinity/Modalism. For the past 2 weeks, I had been interviewing them about #1, asking them for evidence. 

Here are the highlights of our conversation, remember we talked as friends, our tones are kind and light. Very much like just talking to our next door neighbor:

1. I started by stating that I have been praying about this a lot, that it's not so much about the different issues but that if an organization is truly chosen by God, I am in because God is never wrong even tho people are imperfect and will make mistakes. On the other hand, if an organization shows false teachings, I am out, cuz God would want me out. 

2. They continued to show me magazines and evidences that makes their organization truly awesome. Everyone volunteers, everyone loves each other, their teachings are the same internationally... I said to any of this, "this is commendable. I really appreciate this." They said, how did the Bible say we can tell if an organization is true or false? it's by its fruits. Good fruits only grow on good tree, and bad fruits only grow on bad trees. Our organization never sweeps anything under the rug, our brothers and sisters serve one another etcetcetc... I said, well, I guess I see the good fruits and trees differently. I don't see it just talking about an organization. I see it talking about individuals. People as good trees carrying good fruits can be associated with an organization that is a bad tree carrying bad fruits. And people can have bad fruits and be associated with an organization that carries good fruits. That why God prunes away. 

3. I had a question in Revelation 9:1-11. Who is Abaddon? Who is the angel of the abyss? Who are the locusts? What are their jobs? (side note: previously they had given me a red publication named "Revelation - a great climax") The reason I asked these questions was because if you read the passage, you would know the answer is obvious. Who else would rise up from the bottom of the abyss? Who else would be the King angel? I quoted all the verses about locusts and Abaddon in OT book of Joel . They refused to answer me. They kept saying we need to research. S at one point said, give me that red book. I said, no I don't want to upset you. S laughed, just give it to me! So I did. Page 148, “Their king is the angel of the abyss. His Jewish name is Abaddon… (Revelation 9:11). Jesus as the “angel of the abyss” and the “destroyer” inflicted indeed a deadly plague on the Christian world.” (p. 148).  You would not believe it, but at first they refused to acknowledge the natural explanation from the bible. After several readings, she said, the red book says.... I kindly interrupted no, this bible right here says something different from that book. I cannot accept that Jesus is the angel of the abyss and that he is the king of these locusts. 

4. Deuteronomy 18:20-22  I read through my research, not just 1975 cuz they will say that never happened, that the elders of the congregations misunderstood. And of course, I told them, that doesn't make any sense that some elders from some halls from some cities can then affect all congregations from all the halls from the whole world. My grandma has been JW for more than 40 years, I know this happened. S brought up jw.org on her phone and started reading how she knows her organization is the one true religion. The WT loves using anecdotes to prove their points cuz Jesus used parables. anyway, at one point she read about handing out maps so people can know how to get to their destination. So I asked, how do we know how reliable these maps are? The map giver is always going to say that theirs are the most reliable.... I said, if in 1800 I can do something to go to heaven but in 2015 it's no longer valid, I think that map is not very reliable. I then brought up the bible verse and I said, I don't want to disobey God. I cannot study this organization's material anymore. They started to pack up after these 2.5 hours.

5. Funny thing. S keeps asking me questions. 
a) so, do you have the truth? yes, i do. it is right here in this bible alone. just the bible.
b) where are you going to go when you die? i am going to be with God. I know there are many discussions about heaven and hell, but the bible is clear about one thing, you die either to be with God or to be without God. It says, if you accept Jesus as your Savior, believe He died for your sins, and confess with your mouth, you are going to be with God. I am going to be with God.  
c) how do you know what your church teaches is true? my husband and i are not "baptists" we are God fearing people who follow the bible. we just happen to go to a baptist seminary, it's not a title or label. If a church we walk into does not teach the bible, we walk away. If a church teaches the bible but God has not brought us there, we walk away too. Only if a church teaches the bible and God has called that we stay to serve. We are not bound to one organization.
d) what were you before you became a Christian? i was into new age, a little buddhism here, a little hinduism there, a bit of atheism... i used to have nightmares about dying when i was a kid. 
and then I started reading the bible and found God. 
e) but your bibles took out jehovah's name.... yes and studying with y'all have opened my eyes to that. that's why i have been seeking out bibles like Holmann Christian and New Jerusalem Bible that have YHWH in them. 

No arguments, no debates, seasoned with truth. 

6. Awww we are going to miss you.... Me: me too!!!!! drop by any time. email me, call me, text me!
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M and S will bring this sadly rare Christian kindness with them and to their hall. They are not going to black list me or my house. Their hall will send people back. I have complete peace and trust that God's work has been finished. Please continue to pray for M and S.

Listen, if you have family or friends who are Jehovah's Witnesses, please don't give up talking to them. If you don't know how or you have before with no avail, please contact me. I will show you how to talk to them without getting upset or getting them upset.  I have a great mentor and friend through out this journey and I couldn't have done it without him. For more than 30 years, he used to be a JW and used to write for their publications. He got out and now "an associate member of the Evangelical Theological Society. Member of ISCA, International Society of Christian Apologetics. Member of Mensa." All things are possible for God. He can free their minds!!!

Oh Lord my God, You are so awesome and amazing. What is a year and a half compared to an eternity when one soul repents and returns to You???? Thank You for sending M and S to my door. Thank You for giving me an opportunity to learn, to commit to a call, and to struggle through all this. Thank You for my supportive friends who kept me accountable and also my not so supportive friends who kept me humble. Help me now to rest and be still. Let my spirit rejoice and be glad. You are precious Jesus, whoever finds you is like finding a rare treasure in a vast field. Help me hold onto this..................... In your precious name, AMEN.

A bit of my conversation with the Jehovah's Witnesses on Tuesday

Instead of M and S, S brought her mom, P, this past Tuesday. M is training to be a pioneer, which is a full time missionary for WT. This is part of our conversation after a video about Charles T Russell. They brought it over because i had mentioned something about WT starting with CTR and not the disciples.

 S-what did you think of the video? does WT still seem like it starts from just one man?

Me-i think the dvd was really good. it really shared a lot of Russell's faith journey.

S-like it said, trinity is not in the bible and yet churches teach it like it's truth.

Me-you're right.... hmmm... but the word bible is not in the bible either....how come the dvd teaches that trinitarinism like it's modalism?

Smom-what's modalism?

Me-what the dvd and the WT teaches. that Jesus is God is the Holy Spirit.

Smom-that is the trinity.

Me-no it's not. that's modalism. united pentacostal churches teach that. but that's only one church.

Smom-it doesn't matter, they are all the same. 

Me-no, that's not true. modalism is God, Jesus, Spirit as 1 person 3 roles. the trinity is where 3 completely different persons, 1 divine nature. God the Father is greater than Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit is the helper. They are 3 different persons. 

Smom-i have many Christian people explain to trinity like this: I am Pandora, I am a mother, a daughter and also a grandmother. 

Me-that's modalism. Trinity is, Adam and eve, 2 persons, 1 union. also we are a church, ears, eyes, feet, hands, but 1 church. 

Smom-that's not what our other christian friends explain it to us. we have never heard trinity being explained that way. 

S-do you believe in the trinity? 

Me-my community teaches... 

S-no, you, Joanna. 

Me-I do. because when i read the scriptures, nothing contradicts. God the father sends Jesus the Son. Jesus dies and resurrects, then Jesus the Son sends the Holy Spirit. 

S-so do you believe Jesus has a beginning? 

Me-In the beginning He was with God the Father. 

S-was he made? 

Me-if God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Spirit are 3 persons in 1, how could Jesus have been made if YWHW was not made?

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This is my plea!!! Preachers, Pastors, Teachers, USE God's Word to preach God's Word! This seems elementary, but so many of you have been wussified. You have sold your Bible for numbers. You have sold your calling for popularity. I wanted you to read what my conversation was because it shows how Christians cannot explain what the Trinity is right off without using another horrible modalism illustration. I am not talking about the church goers. I am talking about preachers, pastors, their wives, Sunday school teachers, leaders, and PARENTS. Great if you went or go to seminary and you do. Truth is, the largest percentage of conversions are Baptists turned JWs. I have talked to at least 10 JW's who used to be Baptists, or their parents are Baptists. They all said, I had a question about the trinity, or death, or hell, or being saved... and no one answered me. Or, they drew this diagram on a paper, told me they will get back to me, and never did. Or, it didn't make any sense and they didn't show me where in the bible. Again, it's not whether or not these questions were answered. It's about you selling out on Sundays, holding the Holy Bible of 66 books, and using several verses or even worse I've seen, ONE verse to "preach God's Word"! You only have 1 day, for what, 20 minutes, a week to speak to many of these people. What a GRAVE responsibility, at that pulpit that you hoard, to read Straight from His Word, His Mouth, and His Heart! How many of those words you preach every Sunday is your opinion on a specific topic? Let your people have His Words! They want it! If they don't want it, they don't want Him. If they reject you, they are rejecting Him. If you don't preach straight from the Bible, why should you expect your congregation open theirs any other days of the week? Just think about it. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. Preach, the Word. End of rant. Thanks for reading.

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If you want to read more:
http://www.christianpost.com/news/2011-church-membership-southern-baptists-decline-cults-growing-48984/

This should make you mad at ourselves, specifically at the end when he lists that we believe in the "trinity -3 gods in one." A Jehovah's Witness's writing on wiki answers on the difference between Baptists and WT beliefs.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_a_Baptist_and_Jehovah's_Witnesses

feeling like samson

it's been an eventful few weeks with inlaws visiting and just this past weekend my dad and my brother were here from florida. if i hadn't shared before this, my grandmother, my dad's mom, has been a jehovah's witness for more than 40 years. actually, that was a big reason for me to have invited M and S to come study every Monday for 5 months now. If my grandma knocked on an evangelical Christian's door, i would've wanted him or her to have talked to my grandma or at least not slam the door on her face, affirming the hostility and "persecution" she suffered. jenn abbie and i have gone through ups and downs with M and S, persevering through it, getting frustrated, getting mad, getting headaches, doing tons of research, etc etc. all we knew was that God has opened a door and no one can close it.

skipping 5 months forward to last Monday, since we had found tons of discrepancies in a WT booklet M and S gave us, a thought came to me while i was on the phone with jenn. why don't i ask my dad to see if he could get some WT literature for us from grandma? so, that's exactly what i did.

thursday, dad and brother arrived. they emptied their goody bags for the kiddos and gave me a stack of WT booklets. i said thanks, we could really use these. how did you get them from grandma? dad said, oh well she gave me some but also the man i've been meeting with gave me some.

here i am, trying to stay very calm so i don't explode. long story short, the first night i was very upset and mad at the Devil, then Friday (my 30th bday) night, i cried to God from 3-5am, He gave me Isaiah 61. that's when i confessed that i truly did not feel like samuel but samson instead. He calmed me and told me it's ok, He used Samson anyways.

i was also ashamed how i thought for the whole time that i was being obedient to His open doors for the jehovah witnesses, but He actually was going before me because He loves and is chasing after my dad. Sat and Sun I was an emotional time bomb. I cried waking up, cried in the shower, cried when i prayed, cried when i worshiped, got choked up when i talked to friends or fb or texted...

so sunday evening, i was gearing up for a good talk before he got on the plane the next morning. he stood up from our living room conversation at 9 saying, well it's time for bed. as you can imagine, i was shocked and felt totally helpless. i stared at phill while we walked them to the bathroom area. dad asked phill if he wanted to take a shower first, he was polite and said, no you go right ahead. we walked defeated back to the couch, and i hit phill on his shoulder.

"why didn't you say yes?"
"cuz he wanted to take a shower"
"but if you did, i'll have a chance to talk to him again"
"i've talked to him, pastor frank talked to him, don't overdo it"
"but it's my dad. (tears)"
"i just don't want to make him feel forced"
"5months of equipping us and a few days with him. i'll listen to you. you are the spiritual leader of the household. if you say it's enough i will let it go and cry a lot, if not, we have to talk to him"
"well there's a part of me....."

dad suddenly shows up at the hallway holding a towel asking phill again, hey phill r u sure you don't want to take a shower first?

phill walked up to him and said, as a matter of fact, yes. i will a quick shower.

dad, a little surprised, walked over and sat down. phill looked at me and i stared at him in amazement with God's goodness. as soon as phill walked away, dad said, "hey what's wrong? why do you look so sad?" and you know, when people ask you why you are sad, all you do is bawl. so... that's what i did. i bawled for so long, he kept saying it's ok, you can tell daddy anything.

well short version is, i confessed to him that the waiting on God and praying and pleading for his life is hard. i also told him that him meeting with the JW was very disturbing and he quickly promised he will never meet with that guy ever again. he was surprised to hear that the core theology of WT teaches that Jesus was made and is Michael the Archangel, that only 144000 get to go to heaven, and that you cannot use aluminum for cooking etc etc. he told me not to worry about his salvation because he doesn't want me to cry anymore. but of course, i had to say it's not possible ever since God has given me His love for him. I told him the function of Jesus is such as this: when i die and stand before God. God will declare me guilty. God will declare all of us guilty. but because i received Jesus to be my lawyer and savior and Lord, He stands before God and defends me. it was generally a great conversation that allowed us to show God's love for him and understand why he couldn't decide which religion is true.

This morning, i cried again. i had to share with the kids as they jumped on my bed and kissed me. they had been praying hard for their grandpa too. isaac and esther went on playing while i cried but abigail, she came and hugged me, held onto my neck as i cried, she asked questions, we prayed. i told her, if you want stories like these in your life, all you have to do is obey God. let Him write your stories and you will have amazing stories like these to tell others.

Father God, You are SO good to me, my family, and my daddy. I praise you and I thank You for being sovereign, being strong when i wasn't, faithful when i lost faith, sustaining me while i was broken, leading me when i was lost, and anointing me when it was time. You are an AMAZING God who is living and breathing. Help me never to put you in a box, but to seek your path and follow it even when it doesn't make any sense. You surprise me and overwhelm me. You have reached down to me and now so obviously too reaching down to my father. Help me to remember that You are also reaching down to my kids with the same zeal and fervor. You, are a wonderful God. Give me grace to continually lay down all I have and all I am. AMEN.

JW update

Yesterday was weird. Jennifer and Abbi came over early to help cook lunch and pray. The weather was good so the kids were great. Just as we finished praying, M and S showed up at the door.

Going back to the night before they visited... I prayed and pleaded with the LORD, and after I blogged, I felt led to look for another website that would give more insight to sharing the gospel with JWs. I found this. I was 1. excited 2. found guilty 3. encouraged. I was so excited because I knew there is hope in our God who reaches these people. I was found guilty because there were some things we knew not to do and had fallen into doing... like discussing doctrine. I was SO encouraged because the website says persevere.

See, the JWs might seem intimidating to us because they seem like they know what they are talking about and have answers for every single bible verse or doctrinal issue. What we have forgotten was that these JWs are NOT believers NOR are they doctrinally trained. They just spit out what they were taught!!! They were brainwashed into not thinking for themselves by the watchtower organization!!! So, that's why the most important things to do, are 1. pray for them by name 2. love them 3. plant a seed of doubt for the watch tower.

After I formed these thoughts in my mind, I now had another challenge. We have been meeting for 7 weeks! How do we undo these things we have already done, and ask for a new beginning???? Well, God had a plan as always because He is a good GOD.

We invited them in and as they sat down, the first thing we noticed was that they didn't start right away and didn't offer to pray. Instead, M said, "well this is going to be a short visit because we just don't feel like this study is going anywhere." It was like a punch in the face! We were all weird-ed out and didn't say anything as they explained. S said, "It's too bad because we really like you. But....Well, this is very out of the ordinary. We usually do these studies one on one and we go through our books. And after talking to a sister, we think our study is everywhere and is not fruitful. If any of you would like to continue, we will study with you one on one."..... awkward silence for about 5 seconds..... So, I said, "well we actually talked about this and agreed on sticking to your book. we also think that we are just everywhere and not focused. we all read chapter 1 and have questions for you." (We are planning to take the book apart and plant seeds of doubt in them about the Watchtower as much as God allows)

From there, we started talking about their book. We all felt God saying to wait whenever we wanted to go in deeper. We had little question. At around 11:45, i invited everyone to eat. so we ate, talked and M said, "I'm so glad you have decided to study our book." I am waiting and waiting for that moment still to plant that seed..... S said, " yes me too. We all have to keep learning because there are so many religions out there. My brother is a muslim and we are JW... and if we don't keep studying, we will not be able to discern the Word of God." DING DING DING!!!!! ( I know that muslims can't question their faith or their Imams) So I said, "Me too. I love being a Christian. I have a lot of muslim friends and I know they aren't even allowed to question their faith or their teachers. Our God is so good and we can doubt Him, question Him be mad at Him, and He will always reveal Himself through the Word and the Holy Spirit. Even Job (the book we discussed with them) questioned God and God was gracious towards him.......etc" JWs can't question the organization or their teachers... I have been praying that God will somehow use that to plant that seed.

God you are SO GOOD to us and to M and s. You ARE slow to anger and abounding in love. Continue to use us and help us to plant the seeds of doubt in M and S. Help us to show love toward them and show them that You are a different God than the one they claim to worship. Reveal Yourself through us and our testimonies. AMEN.

sigh

Im taking notes on the JW book and getting distracted and discouraged. Im tired and I feel like I have better things to do. How do you show love and truth to these people who were led astray? The Holy Spirit opens their eyes, but we have no idea how long we have. That's the hard part for me. Oh LORD, My God!! I need You. I have no strength left inside of me. I am downtrodden and have nowhere to turn. Guard this house, my heart, my head, my children, my friends, my marriage. I need Your angels at each door post of this house. Do not let any demonic activity into the house and we claim victory of M and S. LORD, heal them of their misled hearts and minds. Help us love them and not be annoyed and frustrated especially when we revisit each misunderstood passage. Open our eyes and ears to the Holy Spirit. Open our hearts and minds to Your Word. Help us to stay on course. Teach me how to stay connected with you during such event. Please build a wall of fire around this place and rescue us from the Evil one. I thank You for being here for us. I thank You for going before us in battle. Help us to remember that. Help us to be in tune with You. I love you LORD. AMEN.

JW update

This past Monday my internet was down so i couldn't recruit anyone on FB to pray. But I know there are a team of people who were praying. We had our husbands who were praying. We prayed before they got there. We often feel unprepared mostly because 8 kids are running around and we are frazzled. But God always shows up when we call. From the start, we have wanted them to feel like they are still in control of the bible study so we are very prayerful as to what to suggest or say or do. Well, this week, we prayerfully invited them to lunch after our bible study next Monday. We always try to be hospitable and friendly when they get here. We talk about our weekends, kids, haircuts.... etc, to build a genuine relationship, but we all felt that just wasn't enough. We want to show them we truly truly care about them and love them outside of the bible study. This is one small step we have taken to do that. I really feel like because we have a team of 3, they are not as quick to go because they never know who they are really reaching or targeting. Even if they really just want to win me over, they'd have to take on all 3 of us. And I have found, that even though we have very very tough questions, place doubts in them, and are honest with our statement of beliefs, they are willing to research and even spread out the job of researching to us. And at some points of our time on these Mondays, we do get heated conversations, but God always helps us wiggle free and breathe. And somehow, they just keep on coming back. I believe it has been 6 weeks maybe 7, Praise be to God.

I know a lot of the more conservative believers don't agree with me opening my home to these ladies. And I get that blank stare and awkward silence when I have to explain what we are praying for on Mondays especially when I post it discreetly on FB.... I understand where everyone is coming from and their concerns. But God has surely opened a door that we couldn't have opened ourselves! Knowing that my own grandma has fallen into that belief, I could not stand by and watch them continue. Isn't that what Jesus' love is like? Seeing us fall into sin and getting stuck in eternal separation from Him, He just couldn't stand by and watch us continue! Sin and death are ugly and disgusting. They shall not triumph over He who is greater than all things in anyone's life. I don't know what He has planned for us or for M and S but I do know He has allowed us to reach them and love them. He has a grand view of what is going on and I just want to do my part. I don't know how long this is going to last but I do know this might change them eternally.

LORD Almighty, You are the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, blessed be Your name! You are the One true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I declare this truth in M, S, and my grandma's lives. Rescue them from the bondage of this false religion. God, help me to stand firm in Your truth. Continue to give me a contrite and pure heart. I want to love them with Your perfect love and Your broken heart. I want to yearn for them to return just as You yearn for them. Give me strength, patience, perseverance, and faith in this ministry. We cannot do it without You. Penetrate their minds, hearts, souls, and bodies. Let them know who You are! Reveal Yourself to them through Your word and Holy Spirit. You are able to do everything and nothing is impossible for You. Help us remember this and continue on this journey knowing that You have gone before us and are on our side. Continue to give me a heart for my mom, and prepare my dad's heart as he comes this summer. Break through it and prepare it. In Your Son's holy name I present my case, AMEN.

paper due... JWs

Please pray again tomorrow around 11pm. For the same things please. AND one more... for me to be awake or just pray silently. I am attempting to finish writing a paper that is due tomorrow. I think I might go to bed at 3am. :(

please pray - it's time again

Tomorrow M and S will come visit again. We are going to try focusing on salvation and Jesus' Deity. Please pray earnestly:

1. the Holy Spirit will cover and engulf my house
2. all 8 children will be protected from all evil
3. that God will equip us with His armor so we can stand firm
4. Jesus will reveal Himself through the Word, through us, and through miraculous ways
5. to remember this is indeed God's battle
6. that we will be open to the Spirit's prompting
7. that every evil presence and spirit around M and S will not be allowed to follow them in
8. for mercy and grace upon us
9. keep our focus on His prompting, His Words, and the Truth
10. keep our focus on the topics we studied, and that the Spirit will bring those knowledge into our lips
11. keep the Word of God open and flowing and have the courage to say NO to the other sources when brought up

LORD GOD, I confess that we fall short of Your glory and Your majesty. Have mercy on Your servants! I know this is a real spiritual battle and that our Enemy even at this hour is prowling around like a hungry lion, just waiting to injure us. But I know You are stronger and higher than the Enemy. You are bigger and You are more powerful. I declare Your Kingdom in our lives and thank You for going before us in this battle. It is not our battle. It is Yours. You have the Way to M and S hearts and You have plans for their lives. LORD protect our children, be with them as we meet. Cover them with Your Spirit and calm them. Especially our younger ones LORD, help them to be content and satisfied. Build a wall of fire around our house so no evil things can ever come near. Post Your Guards at our door posts and defend this place. Be among us and speak through us. Bring up the knowledge we have learned in Your Spirit and Your Word so we can stand firm against them. Penetrate their hearts and souls with Your Sword. Impress upon hearts so our brothers and sisters in Christ will pray like wild fire for us. God thank You for doing a mighty work. You are the most awesomest EVER. AMEN.

please pray Mondays at 11am -Noon

This started when M and S knocked on the door a couple of weeks ago on Monday around 10:30am. I was with my mentee and I just did not want to turn them away! My grandma is a JW so naturally I told them. With the intentions to overwhelm them with questions, they decided they would do some research and come back to do these "bible studies". I invited another sister in Christ from the seminary to couple with me. For until the day they stand up and leave for good, Lord willing, we will continue to pray, learn, fish, and plant the Truth.

The last part of 2John gave me doubts when I had first invited them in and back the next week. Especially in verse 10 and 11, "If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work."

With godly counsel from countless women, prayers, and discernment for this situation, here are 3 things I have learned:
1. pray and know God's will in the situation
2. the study bible - inviting them with a special blessing, to approve of their ministry, letting them teach without opposition etc is dangerous
3. inviting people of different faiths, with the intentions to fish for their souls, into your home is not a sin

So, since then, I have been reading articles, books, testimonies, listening to sermons so we can better stand for Christ and what He died and rose again for. These ladies are real people with real hurts and souls.

After this past Monday's session, my heart went out to my grandma. In all these years, she has gone knocking on hundreds of doors, I wonder how many followers of Christ slammed the door on her face, or plainly told her, "im saved", or hid from her. Who? Who had the courage and the perseverance to fish for her? I know nothing is coincidental. God, You are stirring yet again, something inside me. I'm Yours and I will do Your bidding. Pour Your knowledge, wisdom, heart, and love in me. Let Your light shine through me. There is nothing too difficult for You. I plead my case before You Lord, look at these people. They are lost and they are led away by false prophets! Have mercy and bring them back! Reveal Yourself to them, speak to them, shake their faiths in these false religions, and change their course. Your will be done. AMEN.

http://4witness.org/jehovahs_witness/jw-witness-door.php
http://4jehovah.org/ex-jehovahs-witness-stories/
http://www.amazon.com/Jehovahs-Witnesses-Answered-Verse/dp/0801077397/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301715668&sr=1-1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xo6FH9tTt4&feature=youtube_gdata_player