Here are the first pictures of the newest member of our family. We are still unsure of the child’s sex, but will find out if we have a little cooperation during our next sonogram. We are excited and extremely surprised that God has decided to bless our family with another child.
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Oh, by the way. Did we tell you that Becky is pregnant? She is just starting her fourth month.
It has been a while since we have placed a new jewel on our blog. We still keep track of our kids funny sayings, I have just not been faithful in posting them to our blog. In this new year I will endeavor to put up a new jewel at least once every two weeks, most likely on Mondays. Here is our first jewel for 2008.
On New Year’s eve our six year old daughter walked up to the table where her two grandmothers and one of her cousins were playing a card game. She said, “How about me hopping into this game?” Becky’s mother told her that it would be too hard for her, in fact it was even a little hard for grandma to which our daughter replied, “Well, maybe you should just hop out.”
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Important note: We will not reveal the names of our children on this blog. Any comment that mentions our children’s names will be deleted. It is nothing personal, we just feel that it is an important safety measure for our family. If you would like to read the other FTJB entries, click on the “From the Jewel Box” link in the side bar on the right or on the Jewel Box icon at the end of this paragraph. Come on parents! Feel free to share special jewels from your precious children. Just know that on this blog, our kids are the cutest! 
Well, it’s finally here! Or it’s finally over, depending on your individual point of view. Are you happy the new year is here or are you glad the old one is over? Personally, I am glad the new year is here. We’ve got lots in store for us this year and we’re excited about what God is going to do.
Speaking of which, the video below is a project we completed a number of weeks ago, but we decided to release it today, New Year’s day 2008. The video is based off of the video Brandon Heath did of his song, “I’m not who I was.” In our video we decided to show pictures of former Jehovah’s Witnesses describing who they were in the Watchtower and now who they are in Christ. Sit back, relax and enjoy the video and marvel with us at the difference that Jesus Christ makes in one’s life.
Song: Brandon Heath, “I’m not who I was.”
Brainchild for our video: Cheryl Irvin
Photography: Keith & Becky Walker
Video editing: David Ramos
We’d like to thank all of our ex-JW friends who participated in this project. We praise God for what He is doing in your lives and for what He will do through this video.
For more information please visit http://www.happyxwitness.com/
On Sunday December 23rd, Joel Osteen was interviewed by host Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday. Politics came up and Wallace asked Osteen what he thought about Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. The subject then turned to Mormonism. Here is the transcript of the conversation.
WALLACE: And what about Mitt Romney? And I’ve got to ask you the question,
because it is a question whether it should be or not in this campaign, is a
Mormon a true Christian?OSTEEN: Well, in my mind they are. Mitt Romney has said that he believes in Christ as his savior, and that’s what I believe, so, you know, I’m not the one to judge the little details of it. So I believe they are. And so, you know, Mitt Romney seems like a man of character and integrity to me, and I don’t think he would — anything would stop me from voting for him if that’s what I felt like.
WALLACE: So, for instance, when people start talking about Joseph Smith, the founder of the church, and the golden tablets in upstate New York, and God assumes the shape of a man, do you not get hung up in those theological issues?
OSTEEN: I probably don’t get hung up in them because I haven’t really studied them or thought about them. And you know, I just try to let God be the judge of that. I mean, I don’t know. I certainly can’t say that I agree with everything that I’ve heard about it, but from what I’ve heard from Mitt, when he says that Christ is his savior, to me that’s a common bond.
Common bond? This is frightening. Joel Osteen is the pastor of the largest church in America, is seen on TV world-wide by millions of people and then goes and speaks on a subject he admits to know nothing about. He is so concerned about not offending or judging anyone that he inadvertently leads people astray with his ignorance.
I have been asked in the past why I am not a fan of Joel Osteen. Here is why; I believe a pastor is more than a positive, motivational speaker. Pastors are suppose to preach the WHOLE gospel, both the good news and the bad. The good news make no sense unless one understands the bad news. Osteen doesn’t like to preach about sin, but has failed to understand that without the knowledge of what sin is and how it offends God, we will still be lost in them. I can think all the positive thoughts in the world and turn my life into a worldly success, but unless I face the bad news, the good news will do me no good.
Pastors are to be teachers. Before one can teach, you need to know the difference between truth and error. To do that, you must first be willing to identify error. This is impossible to do unless you are willing to judge. In our politically correct society, judging is taboo and condemns the “judger” as one who is intolerant of others. Has it ever occurred to Osteen that by refusing to judge, he is also refusing to identify error and hence has no right to preach truth? You cannot declare something to be true without also identifying the opposite as false.
Pastors are supposed to protect their flocks. I don’t know any other way to put it than to say that Mormonism is a wolf. Sure, individual Mormons may be nice, moral, family loving people, but the system of belief is an abomination. Any belief system which teaches that men are Gods in embryo is straight from the pit of hell itself. It is a wolf in sheep’s clothing and must be identified as the danger that it is before more sheep are fooled into the wolf’s den.
Any shepherd who refuses to first identify danger and then protect his sheep from the wolves does not deserve the responsibility of being a pastor. In contrast to what we see happening with Joel Osteen, praise God for the Great Shepherd who was willing to lay down His life for His sheep. There is a passage of scripture which comes to mind and I think it fits this situation perfectly. John 10:11-15 states;
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. “He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. “He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
To see the conversation yourself, go to the Fox News web site. The part of the conversation about Mormonism is from 3:17 to 2:39 . It is possible to fast forward to that spot.
Chuck Norris on Mike Huckabee. If Huckabee gets elected, can we have Chuck Norris as Secretary of Defense?
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