Are We in Danger of a Second Crusades? ~Guest Post

Hello everyone! I'm very excited to share this article with you that a friend of mine wrote. I thought that he made several good points with this and just couldn't resist passing it on. So, without further ado, Mitchell's article!




The Crusades; a subject that most are at lease familiar with.  The term Crusades generally refers to the series of wars that were fought by western European countries against those in Asia Minor between 1095 and 1291.  In these wars, Christian countries in Europe were convinced that through the sword they could bring the truth to Asian countries.  I know for the history buffs among us, this is an overly simplistic view of the Crusades.

However, it is enough for me to continue with the original question.

One of the most popular mission fields in this country right now is the Internet.  It is extremely easy to log onto social media sites and find people who disagree with you.  Combine this with the fact that we have a generation of youth that have been raised to be strong in their faith and confident in their views, and we have a power that the world will soon be forced to reckon with.  However, this is a dangerous place to be, in my opinion.  When one studies the effects of the Crusades, it becomes apparent that it is impossible to convince people they are lacking the truth with violence.   In Asia, the native people would see the invaders come in and kill those who would not convert, and would be further convinced they (the natives) were right in their thinking.

What does this have to do with what we are facing today?  I believe that the Internet is a dangerous evangelism tool.  In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 we find the familiar passage of Paul as he speaks about becoming all things to all men.  Many people have a hard time understanding what this passage means, but after some research I believe that its meaning is very simple. Paul is suggesting that he alters his behavior to match those he is in

contact with.  He specifically references becoming a Jew when he is with Jews.  This means that he would not do things that would offend their sensitivities as Jews.  Does this mean that he abandons his Christian faith?  Absolutely not!  As a matter of fact, this action allows him to

fulfill the ultimate requirement in Christianity: Love.  In order to love people who disagree with you, you must be able to overlook their differences.  You must be able to see them as a child of God, and not as an enemy.  It cannot be said any better than the old saying: “Love the sinner, hate the sin.”  In order to love someone, you must have a personal relationship with that person.  It is impossible to develop a personal relationship with a stranger through the Internet.  Therefore, it is impossible to love a person well enough for them to accept your criticism of their lifestyle.

It is much easier to share your faith with strangers while you sit behind your keyboard.  Likewise, it is  much harder to demonstrate love to people, since words typed out online cannot carry empathy or emotion.  I have come to the conclusion that in order to share the good news, we must go out into the world and make disciples.

I have long suspected that people are turned off by Internet evangelism, but it was confirmed for me when I ran into a person that I would classify as “dying to be Christian.” This person read the Bible and understood what it said, for the most part.  However, she had an errant view on a particular doctrinal issue which, in her zeal to share her faith, she posted on her Facebook page.  She was then attacked viciously and without mercy by other “Christians” trying to root out heresy - to stick with the Crusades analogy.  Several years later, she meets me and I claim to be Christian.  Immediately the conversation becomes very tense and she informs me that Christians are the biggest hypocrites in the world.  Under the

circumstances, I was forced to agree with her. You cannot approach unbelievers without love and call yourself a Christian.  It is impossible to love people wirelessly, and it is impossible to evangelize without love.

In my assessment, our generation is in danger of committing the atrocities of a second Crusade if we continue to take our Faith online.  There is a reason that Jesus said to “go out into the world and make disciples.”  This reason is, face to face communication is the only way one can build the relationship necessary for evangelism.  So I challenge you to “go out” and love.  It is through love, not well reasoned arguments, that we are given the chance to address a hurting world.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I know there are so many arguments out there about who has the best mom or dad on these certain holidays. Well, I'm here to stop all those and let you know that it's no use arguing any more because *I* have the best mom ever!!! =D However, I'm sure that will still be a debatable subject.

The honest truth is that, although my mother may not be the best out there (depending on who's list your comparing her to), she is still one amazing woman. I couldn't ask for anyone better. Honestly, I couldn't.

So, in honor of the year, I decided I would list 13 things that I love best about my Mama (though it will be hard to contain them to just that many!).

1.  She loves God more than anything else in this world and strives daily to show that love to us children to encourage us in our own love for Christ.

2.  She has a great sense of humor. She can honestly keep us laughing all day long (or keep herself laughing, whichever the case may be).

3.    She's not afraid to make fun of herself for goof ups. She has learned to just laugh at little mistakes instead of making them into a big deal. (no use crying over spilled milk, eh?)

4.   She has great people skills. I honestly don't know another person who can draw strangers into a conversation better than my mom. I admire that in her SO much and only wish that someday I'll be able to do the same. Not only that, but she knows exactly what to say at the right moment if she needs to cheer a person up, or offer words of comfort when the rest of us are at a loss for words.

5.   She has compassion towards others, even when its hard.

6.   She makes amazing food. Our family enjoys meals together, and those meals just wouldn't be the same without good food!

7.   She is ready to admit her faults and work on changing. It's so difficult to admit when we are wrong, but seeing my mother ask my youngest brother for forgiveness when she wronged him in some way is one of the best things I've seen. I admire that in her so much, since I'm one to try to make excuses instead of just saying, "You know what, I was wrong and I'm sorry for it,"...

8.  I've had several people ask me, "What is it like, living with your mom?" Well, the answer is that she keeps us entertained. This goes back to that 'great sense of humor'. There is never a boring day in the house (unless mom is gone).

9.  She has a heart for children. I know there are some moms out in the world who maybe don't appreciate their 'mom job' and instead prefer their careers. Well, my mom enjoys both. ;-) As Homemaking is her 'career', in a sense, being a mom just seems to go hand in hand with that. Mama is very content with her life as a mother, help-meet, and example to us.


10.  She's a great listener. I don't know how many times I've poured out my heart to Mama. So many different subjects have been the center of the conversation between us. She always has some sound wisdom or advice to impart to me on these occasions, and I always appreciate them (though sometimes it takes me a while to, depending on what the conversation was about).

11.  She loves us enough to disciple each of us. You've got to have a lot of love to want to really help someone out, and it also takes a lot of courage to go up to someone and tell them when they are in the wrong. I also know (from what mom has told me) that it is tough for parents to see their children suffering. Such a confusing bind, yet Mama always seems to handle it with grace. Although the lessons can sometimes be painful, I always know she is doing it out of love because she wants be to become a better person- even if that means she has to deal with me being grumpy for a while afterwards. ;-)

12.  She takes joy in the simple things of life. Whether it be a flower blooming, or a new chick that has hatched, Mama always has a smile and happy 'squeal' of sorts to show her enthusiasm. She definitely knows how to 'stop and smell the roses'.

13.  Last, but certainly not the least, she is more than a mother to me. She is a friend, confidant, and mentor. She has allowed me to grow up into a young woman beside her and I have the honor and privilege to know that I am one of her closest friends.

Mama, it is truly an honor and blessing for me to be able to call you by that name. I feel so proud to be your daughter and couldn't wish for a different mother. Thank you for setting an example before me and for always being there for me, no matter what. I love you!!


Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there. Although we have this day set aside to remember, may we never forget what our mother's do for us on the other 364 days of the year. :-)

(Sorry for the lack of pictures... mom is also very good at evading the camera. These were taken on our Vacation to California this past Nov.)

Happy Fibonacci Day!!

I think this is a pretty cool day, and it will only happen every so often (maybe only today in the entire history of the world, but I haven't sat down to do the math for it, so yeah.) ;-)

If you don't know anything about the Fibonacci numbers, then you definitely want to watch the video below. It gives me goosebumps just watching it. What an amazing Creator we have!!! =D


Enjoy!!!!

Book Orders- Let me know if your interested!

Hello! I'm going to be placing an order for my book soon, and if you get on the list, I'll order one (or more) for you, too! I'm offering a bit of a discount, so you don't want to miss out. :-)

Check out the details HERE.

Also, even if you might not be interested, I'd still appreciate if you'd pass the word around. :-)

Thanks!!! I plan on posting some 'real posts' soon. Just been a tad busy with cattle work and all that. :-) Some exciting news on the side, though, is that my sister and I will have a very short job working at a flower shop! Some friends we know own a floral shop and were needing extra hands for this week (since it's Mother's Day). So, we'll be working tomorrow and Thursday. I think it will be fun. :-) Course, I could change my mind later, but who knows. I'm looking forward to it all the same. =D

I hope you are having a blessed week!!!

The Long Lost Blogger Has Returned!

Dear me, dear me! It has been a rather long time since I've blogged on here. Lots and lots of things going on lately. :-) 

First, as some of you might have known, I was teaming up with another local author (and friend!), Alicia Willis, to sell books at our Home school convention. Both she and I sold out, which was fantastic! The Lord really blessed us and we continue to pray that others will be blessed with the books. :-)  Alicia's book is "To Birmingham Castle". You can pretty much find it anywhere that books are sold. My book is "On Grandpa's Knee". My pen name is 'Sarah Elizabeth'. ;-) My book is available on a few places, but it is still be expanded. :-)   You can read more about the convention and see pictures HERE.

Before the convention, our family had been working like crazy to build a new set of corrals up on one of our pastures. Because of where we placed it, it opens to 3 different pastures, which will make it so much nicer for working cows this spring/summer. That was quite a project and took up most of our time. When dad was home on the weekend, we were out there shoveling, tamping, measuring, leveling, etc. During the week we tried to get a few things done, but for the most part we still needed dad on the tractor to lift heavy poles and pieces of fence. During all that, though, we were still calving, so the boys were going out every day to feed and tag. 

Right after convention, we had our 5th drama performance. It was wonderful and, since we had a terrible dress rehearsal, the performances went very well. :-) Our audiences were great and laughed at the jokes. That may seem funny that I mention it, but if you've ever acted on stage, you know what I mean. The actors feed off of the energy given by the crowd. If you're doing a comedy and no one is laughing, then it becomes very draining because the actors start wondering why. Should they ham it up more? Did they say that line wrong? And it all goes down hill from there. So, it's great when we get an audience that will laugh. Thankfully, both nights we were given just that. :-) It was also fun to see family and friends- especially ones that come from long distances. Means a lot to us. :-) 

So, now that we've got most of that past us, we can focus on working cows for A-I season. After getting my wrist smashed twice by cows, it's a wonder it isn't broken... but I think that it is just another thing that I can add to my thankful list. God has been very good to us this season and we feel very blessed. :-) 

What have y'all been up to? I'd love to hear how everyone has been doing. :-) 

I hope to have some more posts up again and some rather exciting news to tell as well! (hey, that rhymed!) 

Tell My Disciples.... and Peter

Hello everyone! I hope that y'all had a blessed Easter. Our family went to visit my grandparents at their church this Easter Sunday. My Grandma sings in the choir and they did a lovely cantata. The singing was lovely, but the sermon was beautiful.

I will admit that I sometimes have a hard time coming away from a sermon with 'nuggets' that I can chew on later to think about, or just coming away feeling like I really needed to hear that particular story or what-have-you. This past Sunday, though, I was not disappointed.

Saturday night mom pulled up a bunch of songs on YouTube  Good Easter songs like, 'He's Alive' and 'Watch the Lamb' and the 'Amen song' from Carmen. My favorite is probably 'He's Alive'. It talks about the Jesus' Resurrection  but from Peter's perspective. It talks about how he denied Christ three times and how guilty he felt. Its a very beautiful and touching song. I've always felt for Peter. Can you imagine what it must have been like to DENY Christ? The One that you had known, had eaten with, had given up your livelihood to follow? Only to deny that you knew Him in the end. Out of all the disciples, I think Peter is my favorite. Why? Because I can relate to him. He failed again and again, but Jesus never sent him away. He was the one that cut off the servant's ear when the soldiers arrested Jesus. He was the one that told Christ that He would never deny Him.. yet he did. Each time, Jesus rebuked him harshly, in front of the other disciples. So imagine what they must have been feeling whenever Jesus chastised Peter. I imagine some of them were thinking that Peter was, perhaps, the black sheep of the family. Just couldn't get it right. Always stepping in at the wrong time and always doing the wrong thing. I wonder if they ever wondered whether or not Jesus would finally just send him away. I also wonder if they were surprised when Peter denied Christ. Perhaps slightly, but I also think that perhaps they weren't too shocked. After all, they had seen all the other things that Peter had done.

In the Gospel of Mark, did you know that there is a phrase that is not found in the other gospels? It is found in chapter 16, verse 7; "But go tell His disciples and Peter..."  I've never really noticed that before when reading in Mark, but the sermon that was taught this last Sunday was just about that verse. Its like Jesus was letting Peter know that, even after all he had done, Christ still died for him and forgave him. It was also a message to the other disciples, I think, to let them know also that after all Peter had done, Christ had forgiven him.

Isn't that beautiful? Christ knew exactly how He needed to deal with each person that He met. Peter was the kind of guy that needed reassurance. Christ gave him that when he needed it.

This was such a wonderful Easter Sunday. We make a big deal out of Christmas, and, although it is important that Christ came, its even more important that He died for us and rose again. If He had just been born but hadn't rose from the grave, then we would have no hope in Him. It is because of the empty grave that we have our hope and faith in Christ.

Here are just a few songs that I think you all will enjoy.

Ever Wonder if You're Going to Get Back to 'Normal'?

At this moment, it really feels like my life is never going to see an easy, normal pace again. I've been running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. Literally. Yet, God is good and I know that He has a plan... I just sometimes wish that He didn't know I could handle so much! ;-)

So, what have I been up to? Well, I've posted before that I'm going to be selling my children's book at our annual Home school convention. Thus, book publishing, working with my cover design guy, and getting illustrations put in have pretty much consumed my life.

However, though it has been stressful, it has been such a blessing as well. I'm so very excited to see it all in print. I'm giving a quick sneak peek as to what it is looking like so far. Just a bit of the inside and a few of the amazing illustrations that my mom has done....

The illustrations are COPYRIGHTED! Please don't steal them. :-) My mom worked super hard on them and I think they turned out amazingly!! (Yeah, probably not a real word.. but it describes it well). 

Hopefully very soon I will be posting links to where you can purchase the book! :-) 

Also, for those that might not know, I have started a 'business blog'. I'd really appreciate it if you visited and followed. :-) www.bookwriter451.blogspot.com

I do have a prayer request... the publisher that I am using is a 'print on demand' company. This means that if I'm third 'in line' for orders, I have to wait my turn. As the convention is practically around the corner, I'd really appreciate if you would please pray that God will keep the doors open so that they can quickly publish my book as soon as I get it sent it. Thank you so much!! 

Author Interview on my Writing Blog

I just wanted to pop in and share an interview I did with a local author on my new business blog.

Please check it out and follow my blog!! I'd really appreciate it.

Blog Interview

Daylight Savings Time

Ah! Don't we all just love Daylight Savings time? I wouldn't have minded it so much if I had remembered to get to bed an hour earlier... whoops! I got my dates mixed up and thought it was tonight that we 'sprang forward'. In any case, this little picture was too funny not to share..... (course, you have to be Princess Bride fans, or least have seen the movie, to really get it! =D)