Free food for your soul...until tomorrow :)

Shawnda posted this awhile back about singer/songwriter JJ Heller. I read the lyrics and couldn't get them out of my mind so I went to her site and saw that she is giving away her newest album until Nov 1st! Glad I decided to check today! You can download it for free today and so far I really, really like her. She makes a few small requests if you decide to download it, but she's worth the shout out regardless.

For the unborn...

A couple of hours ago I was leaning toward voting for Obama. I even debated the issues last night with a good friend who will vote for McCain. Please don't judge me. I had done research on both candidates and was extremely disappointed in McCain's voting record on prolife issues. I also read many quotes from Obama on how he would work to reduce the number of abortions in our country by preventing unwanted pregnancies. After a lot of discussions with many believers that I respect strongly and more research, this sounded to me to be the most "prolife" plan of the two. I've prayed all along that God would give me wisdom and change my heart if I was becoming blind to what's closest to His heart.

Then I read this about the Freedom of Choice act that Obama has publicly announced he will sign as President, and after reading more and more details about this act, I feel queasy. It's disgusting. This act will open the doors for limitless abortions, without restrictions, at any point in the pregnancy, in way that government will not be able to interfere with. It also plans on all of these abortions to be fully funded by our government....many covered by his health insurance plan.

If you're a Christian on the fence or know one, please at least educate yourself on this and lovingly encourage your friend to. I'm truly convinced millions of lives are at stake in this election.

If you don't want to believe the comments of Randy Alcorn and other's, here it is from Obama himself at a Planned Parenthood rally....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pf0XIRZSTt8

I'm honestly still not a huge fan of McCain's, but I am of unborn children and their right to live. To me, and you may disagree, the alternative means countless precious little lives possibly lost.



"Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed." Deuteronomy 19:10



Update: In re-reading this post I want to be extremely clear that I'm not bashing any believer in support of Obama, or saying they don't care for the unborn. I have several close friends who love Jesus, sought His wisdom, did their homework and ended up differently than I did...that's ok. I also know that this election was settled before the world was ever formed and is in the complete control of a mighty and sovereign God. He does what pleases Him and He cannot be thwarted. I'm compelled to write out of my own personal convictions and since this is my blog, I will :) Hope you see my heart.

The Magic of Christmas tickets up for grabs!

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up in case anyone's interested. Stacey has 6 tickets to see the Charlotte Symphony perform their annual Magic of Christmas performance on Saturday, December 6th at 2:30pm.

These are orchestra level tickets and are in pairs. They are selling for $50, but Stacey is asking $25 so it's a great deal.

Josh and I have seen the Symphony perform The Nutcracker and Handel's Messiah and both were WONDERFUL! You can let either one of us know if you want tickets.

Here's the description on the Blumenthal website:

Share the enchantment of a musical wonderland as the Charlotte Symphony, caroling choirs, and special guests make the season bright. “The program offers something for everyone when it comes to musical tastes,” writes The Charlotte Observer. Don’t miss this Charlotte holiday tradition!

New favorite pic

poor, little, cross-eyed thing

Split screen

Josh found the split screen shot I mentioned earlier about the stadium used in the movie "The Leatherheads." It's pretty cool to see our pretty little skyline in the shot...even though it wasn't in the finished product.

Our hair crushes

So after we watched License to Wed, Josh and I had to ask ourselves why in the world we decided to rent it (please don't judge us by our movie choices...we've been holed up in the house for what seems like months).

It actually wasn't all that bad. It was pretty clean, if my memory serves me right (though I watched most of it in the middle of the night so who knows what I remember). It just wasn't super funny. But after talking about it, we figured it out. Actually, Josh figured it out. We both have hair crushes on the main characters. Like, enough of a crush to rent a bad movie just to see their hair fixed in different ways....I know.

In fact, Josh is growing his hair out as we speak. It's something he's wanted to do for a really long time. I actually think it would look good like John Krasinski's.

And just so I don't feel like a complete loser, I'd really like to know if anyone else has a hair crush???

Ah, memories

Last night Josh and I finally watched The Leatherheads. It's the one that came out a while back with George Clooney, Renee Zellweger and John Krasinski (from "The Office"). You may have already seen it or heard about it...it created a lot of buzz around here since much of it was filmed in the Carolinas including Charlotte, Spencer and Salisbury.

We actually really liked it. I thought the plot was a little choppy, but the dialogue was smart, quick-witted and fiesty. Like many Clooney movies (he also directed this one). I have always thought he was funny.

Anyway, cute movie but I think the extras on the dvd were just as good as the movie. Much of it was shot at a stadium in Charlotte that Independence High School uses and the uptown skyline is extremely clear in the background. One of the bonus features shows how they made the stadium shots look like it was back in that time era. They have a split screen with the left side showing what they filmed and the right side showing the finished product after all the special effects stuff. The left side showed our skyline the whole time....pretty cool.

But the coolest thing to us by far were the scenes they shot at the old historic train depot in downtown Salisbury. It was where we had our wedding reception and is just incredibly charming and beautiful to me. It still has all the original floor tiles and I think the fixtures were original as well...we hardly had to decorate. During the commentary Clooney and some other guy were arguing about whether it's still a working station or not....it is. We were told we had to have a security guard to keep passengers from wandering into our reception. What?

Just wanted to share :)

Stadium in Charlotte.

High falootin' folk in the Depot.

Press inside the Depot when the actors stopped by for a few questions after filming.

Here it is....where our life together began. Sigh.
(note: Renee and John by the window having a very important
conversation)

Tomorrow's mercies for tomorrow's troubles

Josh took Isaiah to church this morning and I stayed home with Manny. Sitting through a service would be pretty difficult for both of us at this point, though I really could have benefited from corporate worship and some good teaching. I decided to make the best of it and pulled up a sermon from my favorite speaker/author on the subject that I continue to struggle with daily...anxiety. This would be the first time I've spent any real time with the Lord since Manny was born. No wonder I felt like I was running on empty in every aspect.

I won't summarize the whole sermon, but it was so good. It's good even if you don't struggle with anxiety and fear like I do. Please check out "Today's Mercies for Today's Troubles" if you have a few spare minutes....and listen to Piper preach it....even better than reading it.

A few quotes that knocked me over the head:

The point of the STAR article was that the strength to live tomorrow will be given tomorrow, not today. And it will be given. Our task today is not to have the strength needed for tomorrow's burdens. Our task today is to live by the mercies given for today, and to believe that there will be new mercies for tomorrow.


...It's important because of how natural and strong is the impulse in our hearts to want to feel sufficient today for tomorrow's challenges. We don't like it when the gauge reads "empty" at the end of the day, and we have to go to sleep—if we can—not feeling the power for tomorrow's troubles.


...You can know some of the pressures that are coming tomorrow. And part of your job may be to make some preparations for them. Those preparations are part of today's "sufficient" trouble. But how those preparations will turn out tomorrow, and whether you feel strong enough today to do your part tomorrow—that is not something God wants you to carry today. Those are tomorrow's burdens. God does not give mercies today for bearing tomorrow's burdens.

This made me realize how faithless I can be....I constantly worry about tomorrow. And right now, there's plenty to be worried about (how to parent a newborn and a toddler well when Josh goes back to work, the economy, the elections, our personal finances, should we take our house off the market, etc). And though the media and my own heart can make these issues feel urgent and a burden for today, the reality is that they really are mostly burdens for another day and the mercy that I need for those troubles will come another day. Right now I can rest in that promise and know that I have all the grace and mercy that I need for today's troubles, and when I wake up at 1:00 tomorrow morning to feed Manny there will be enough mercy for that and the rest of the day.


Here's the hymn he quoted in that sermon that brought me to tears as I prayed through it:

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find, to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father’s wise bestowment,
I’ve no cause for worry or for fear.

He Whose heart is kind beyond all measure
Gives unto each day what He deems best—
Lovingly, its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day, the Lord Himself is near me
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear, and cheer me,
He Whose Name is Counselor and Power;

The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
“As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,”
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then in every tribulation
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith’s sweet consolation
Offered me within Thy holy Word.

Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E’er to take, as from a father’s hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till I reach the promised land.