And so a family tradition continues with a new generation. When my sisters and I were little, we were treated to a night at the Embassy Suites with my cousins. We’d get together at the Embassy Suites during the middle of the winter to celebrate the winter birthdays and because it’s too darn cold to do much of anything outdoors in the great state of Nebraska. We’d get adjoining rooms and there was food, swimming, and good ol’ fun family time. So we decided to treat our boys to a hotel night.
Here they are ready to go swimming. You can see how cool they thought it was to be in a hotel.
Before we went swimming, AJ wanted to go “night, night.” Which would’ve been a good idea because it was after 7:30!!! Oh well! It’s a special night. The boys sure enjoyed swimming but man it was cold! Check out the purple lips! So I close my little story with the walk back to the room… We had wrapped them up in their towels like little burritos and were walking back when I hear this “thud!” I look back to find AJ in this position. Poor boy!
The boys had a great time! Although they didn’t get to sleep until about 10:00-which is-oh about 2.5 hours later than usual. 🙂 In the morning Ryan saw the hotel as we were leaving. He said, “Look! That’s the hotel! But I didn’t sleep much there becuase I was talking.” Ha!
So I’m new to this whole blogging thing. I want to get better and learn how to do the cool photo albums and songs and videos. But for now, it’s just me. And today for my first blog entry…I’m having a Jerry McGuire kind of day. You know, the beginning of the movie when he says something about having bad pizza, then can’t sleep. He creates this thing he calls, “A Mission Statement” and then his whole life is rocked. I feel like my world was rocked today.
We had this incredible day (well so far-I’ve learned that classifying good and bad days with toddlers should probably be broken into smaller sections, like hours) yes, it has been an incredible day (so far :). We prayed, cooked breakfast together, had what I call “school”, read books, played outside, I could go on and on. It was a great morning.
I’m folding some laundry and decide to listen to one of my favorite talk shows: FamilyLife Today. I’m scrolling through the many shows I’ve missed over the last few months and one particular show catches my eye…How to Deal With Doubt. Anyone who has talked to me in the past few weeks knows that we could be possibly moving back to Colorado, a path that makes me both excited and fearful. So I chose this show. Much to my surprise it’s different than I had expected…So here it goes…
This show originally aired on 3/9/07 spoke about the salvation of our children. And how we know if our children truly are saved. What a topic! It got me thinking about the salvation of anyone and how do we really know if we are going to heaven? Are you really a Christian?
Often times we hear people call themselves “Christian” but what we see them do looks differently than what a “Christian” is. There is a distinct difference between making a decision to follow Christ and a commitment to follow and obey Christ. If someone only decides to trust God and ask him into their heart, but not be convicted of their sin and need for Christ-they are not truly saved. If someone only decides to trust God, but does not grow in their own understanding of Christ, nor have fruit in their lives to show that they are Christians-they are not truly saved. This is what many churches call a “false convert.” This person in not truly saved and their salvation is still undetermined.
I know all about this because this was me in 1998. I had prayed for Jesus to come into my heart. I had confessed that I was a sinner and that I couldn’t save myself or doing anything for or by myself. But after that night in the basement of my sorority, there was no change-at best minimal change in the way I lived my life. There was no fruit. No growth. I was not saved. I was not going to heaven. Back to FamilyLife Today…this is the part of the program that prompted me to write my own reflections:
False assurance could be one of the devil’s greatest trump cards to play in a person’s life.
Wow! So what do we do? How can I know-for certain-where I’m going after I die? Dr. John McArthur would ask three questions of one who would question the assurance of their salvation:
Do I love God?…Yes
Do I hate sin?…Yes
Are you willing to do whatever God asks?…Ye…wait…whatever He asks?
That’s where I’ll stop. Where are you in your decision-no-your commitment? We’re all committed to something, work, kids, money…
Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. I hope I had you at “Hello”. 🙂
And since I’m in the middle of watching Back to the Future…
“Hello? Hello? Anybody home (in your heart that is)? Think, McFly, think.”
just another day in parent-dise... 
