Decently and In Order: Hampton Rental Home Gideon and New Baby Drawers

1 Corinthians 14:40

Let all things be done decently and in order.

I recently had to make room in one the drawers for our new baby coming in 2 months =)!

All of these baby clothes were part of the 5 Wal-mart bags stuffed with clothes for $5 I got off of a facebook yardsale page and a couple newborn things from my pastor's wife whose baby is now 2 months old =). I got the drawer dividers from Bed Bath and Beyond for $15  using a $5 off coupon.  

 

I paired all the outfits together on the left side.

In the middle section are onesies and pants that are not part of an outfit.

The last section has hats up top and bibs on bottom.

 

The second drawer has Gideon's pajamas.

 Lastly Gideon has his onesies shorts and socks stored nicely in these Dollar General Bins. All the bins in this drawer cost only $2!

Happy Organizing =)

What Must I Do to Be Saved?

There is a rumor out that our family is against "biblical repentance" upon leaving a church and joining a new one recently. I have gotten many questions about our families decision. I just wanted to clear up any confusion concerning what our family believes to be God's way of salvation to anyone who was concerned =). Also if anyone reading this is not sure of where they would spend eternity please read =).  There is only ONE THING you MUST DO to be saved =).

                                  Salvation God's Free Gift

1) Every single human being is in desperate need of salvation because the payment for our sins is an eternity of torment and burning, however many will perish because they will not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans, 3:10, Romans 5:12, Romans 6:23, Psalm 53:3

2)  There is not anything we can do to earn this gift of eternal life. God even says that all of our righteousness' are as filthy rags! Isaiah 64:6.

3)  We believe God's salvation is an unmerited gift FREELY available to all who believe! Because it is unmerited in the first place there is nothing that can be done to lose this gift.
Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:24, Romans 4:5, Acts 16:31, John 3:16
John 10:29

4)Concerning Repentance and Salvation
You must repent (change your mind) about what you had previously trusted in. There are many who trust in another God which the bible says are really not gods at all but idols. (Psalm 96:5) You must repent of believing on those idols. (1 Thes. 1:9). There are some who are trusting their bodies and souls will both cease to exist upon the first death. There are many still who are not trusting in any "god/"gods" at all to save them but their own "good" works. There are many who look around at criminals and think well I am not so bad because I don't commit murder, rob banks or rape. You must repent of believing that your sins are not as bad as others and so God must somehow need to excuse you like those men thought in Luke 13. 
     You must repent of your works as a means of salvation or else there is no salvation! 
Hebrews 6:1 says, "Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God," The reason you must repent of these things is because we cannot just add Christ onto our other beliefs. Jesus said, I am the way the truth and the life. He is not only a way or a part of the way but THE way.  Romans 11:6 says, "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work." The repentance we believe for salvation is realizing you are lost, undone, without hope, on your way to hell to pay for your sins no matter if you think you are a big sinner or just done a few bad things. You must repent or turn from all your human reasoning, good works(turning from sin), believing there is no God, idols or whatever else you are trusting in to "help" you into heaven and put all your faith  on the Lord Jesus Christ. He did all the work": He was God manifest in the flesh, born of a virgin lived a perfect sinless life and shed his blood for the payment of our sins; and not for our sins only but for the sins of the whole world!  To have the payment of sins applied to our account all we must do is Believe! Acts 16:31 says, ..."Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and though shalt be saved."! I am confident this is the Bible way to be saved. 

My Testimony of Repentance and Salvation
Before I was saved 10 years ago I had believed I was a heaven bound Christian because I went to an Episcopal church and had some water poured over my head as a child; I was even an altar girl dressed in a white robe. I believed this with all my heart I would even baptize my hamsters to make sure they too would enter into heaven. Many years later a really good looking cadet in my chemistry class at Virginia Tech who always carried a giant Bible in a black case with him everywhere invited me to church. I agreed since I thought I was a christian and he was really good looking.....yes, I am talking about my husband =).

When I heard the true gospel that you can receive Christ and have eternal life by believing on His name (John 1:12) I repented of believing I was on my way to heaven because of a church and "baptism" and trusted Christ to be my only hope for heaven and Savior! Praise the Lord what a Glorious day! I did not call on the name of the Lord to be saved and also make a covenant that I was ready to serve God with my life and be willing to change anything sinful in my life but only believed that I was a sinner in need of a savior! I walked down the aisle dressed in a Hooters shirt and tight ripped up jeans with no intention of changing my clothes in order to be saved. I just knew I had to believe on Christ! Only after hearing the gospel, believing and being sealed with the holy spirit( Eph. 1:13) did I begin to repent of certain sins in my life as they were uncovered by the Holy Spirit. Those changes in my life have nothing to do with getting to heaven though. I am not going to heaven to list off all the good deeds and sins I turned from like those in Matt. 7:22 who said, Lord, Lord have we not done x, y and z in your name. Despite those men calling Jesus Lord and living a godly life they were trusting works in combination with faith and they were sentenced to everlasting fire =(. It is eternally dangerous to teach a combination of works and belief =(. 
    It is impossible to just have a general repentance of sins as a part of salvation for many reasons. Number one we cannot even remember all of our sins that have been committed to turn from them. We don't even know all the commandments of God to keep from breaking them. There are over 600 laws to keep in the Bible. On top of all of that the thought of foolishness is sin (prov. 24:9), whatsoever is not of faith is sin (Rom. 14:23), to know to do good and not do it is sin (James 4:17) . And if that wasn't enough we even have secret sins in our heart we don't even know about and that is why David prayed after he was saved to be cleansed of secret faults(Psalm 19:12)!  I am sure glad that God is not going to let me enter into heaven based on repenting of all my sins as an "element" of salvation! The exact quote from our former church we attended that lead our family to leave was this, "Once an individual turns from his sins to God and places his faith in Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:9), he is eternally secured." This belief was verified with church members accusing anyone who they didn't deem "repentant" as unsaved instead of backslidden or babe in Christ because they reasoned if you didn't turn from all your sins to be saved then you didn't get saved....and also it was uncovered that the pastor endorses a John McArthur book that  teaches hardcore works salvation along with alot of other weird doctrines and he is not even a baptist....so sadly we said goodbye to many of the friends we made there. We have since found a new Church we love, the pastor even preached a great message on salvation by faith alone and exposing John Mcarthur for what he is the night we joined =). I fear many people are not fully trusting in His grace this hour and are in great danger.

 The danger in telling someone they must also repent of their sinful lifestyle  or be "willing to turn from bad things they do" in addition to believing on Christ for salvation is that you are adding your own works into the equation of God's grace.  I love Jonah 3:10 it makes two things very clear 1) that turning from your sins is a work. 
2) Also that the word repent does not mean "feel so bad for your sins that you are going to turn from them" or else God is the biggest sinner mentioned in the Bible because of the amount of times He repented in the Bible.

Jonah 3:10

And God saw their works, that they turned 

from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.

 Furthermore the notion that you must turn from your sins to be saved expects that everyone is living in gross sin. There are many unbelievers I personally know who everyday when they wake up put their best foot forward not wishing any harm on anyone or to commit any sins....yet they are on their way to hell not because they have not turned from a lifestyle of sin but because they have not believed on the name of the only begotten of the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous! Very Similar to Judas who repented of sin but did not believe on the Lord! (Matt. 27:3) 
There are many that teach this doctrine including Benny Hinn, Paul Washer, Ray Comfort and of course John McArthur. I was unaware that any independant baptist taught this until recently though =(. This doctrine is nothing new the apostles faced this as well. (Galations 1:6-7) I can just hear those critics seeking to be justified by their works in combination with faith saying this makes no sense at all!! Why would God just give out this free gift without works of the law because then everyone would just live life according to their sinful desires having secured eternal life......Pauls response, Romans 6:1 
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? 2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" 
There are many reasons to follow Christ and sin not after you have believed on His name for the propitiation of your sins. But we cannot ever be totally sin free until this corruptible puts on incorruption. (1 Cor. 15:53)

1) We serve him because we Love Him!(1 John 4:19)

2) We serve him out of fear and trembling because he is now our heavenly father and the Bible says for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth! (Heb 12:6, 1 Cor 11:30)

Contrary to popular belief you can be saved and not confess Jesus to the public like Joseph of Arimathea/Nicodemus and you will likewise receive wood hay and stubble at the judgement seat in addition to chastisement here on earth if you chose not to walk in the spirit but instead fulfil the lusts of the flesh. How is this possible for people to be saved without committing to living a life of discipleship? We are not saved by our works!!! (John 19:38, 1 Cor. 3:12)

Let us hear the conclusion of the matter; serving Christ with your life, turning from sin, walking in the spirit, turning over a new leaf, becoming Christ' disciple what ever you want to call it does not help you earn or maintain salvation. Salvation is not a deal you make with God that you will go and sin no more in order to receive His grace...remember your righteousness is as filthy rags. Your good works or "willingness" to do good works/turn from bad works is not the other side of a coin if salvation was a two sided coin like some would have you to believe (ie. false prophet John McArthur). If salvation was a two sided coin It would be one with two heads that both said JESUS PAID IT ALL!


 Repent of trusting in repenting of your sins to save you today =)! For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved!

Trip to Northern VA

Since we moved back to VA I had envisioned us visiting our family a whole lot more....but it has been 6 months since we went up the road to see family! Our families are about 3 hours away from us but if you don't drive at the right times it could end up being 4 or 5 hours away =(.  Which is no fun for a one day trip 7 months preggo...We spent about 8 hours in the car this day but was well worth the drive =).

My dad really enjoyed the time at the park with the kids. My dad had 4 girls and always wanted to have a boy so I am glad he has lots of grandsons to play with =). His english is not very understandable to our kids but it doesn't seem to bother them. 

It was super hot that day. My dad had just gotten off his construction job so he didn't move too far away from the shade.

The kids call him Abuelo =)

This is Maria my almost 15 year old sister. My little sisters are so much fun, not like some teenagers who are just too grown up to play with kids and are glued to their phones....lol. 

I had this grand photoshoot idea of my dad with all the grandkids in the tree but it didn't turn out so well...lol =).

Then we all went to Chick Fil A for dinner and my mom met us there =). Gideon was playing peek a boo behind Chris' biceps...lol =).

While we were at Chick -Fil -A someone asked if the kids were all mine including my two teenage sisters!!! That made me feel pretty old.....not as old as the time someone thought me and my mom were sisters...lol =).

Then we drove down to see Chris' parents. My mother in law cooked some good chicken pasta...at least it smelled good. I was too full from Chick-Fil-A so she sent a plate home for me to eat later...and Chris ate it before lunch time the next day...the Lord reward him according to his works...lol j/k.

My Father in law is now on facebook all the time since he retired.....so of course he was taking pictures to upload....lol =). We got home around midnight and everyone was exhausted! We look forward to visiting again with our new little one in a couple months =).

Third Trimester and God's Blessings!

I am so thankful to have made it to the third and final trimester of baby #6! God always provides everything we need in unexpected ways =).  I found a lady who was just tired of storing all her kids clothes and ready to donate to charity! She sold me a ton of clean, smoke free baby boy clothes and and toddler boy clothes for $5!! It was such a blessing I am going to have to do a blog post to show how I organized all these clothes!! I just need a few more things before baby gets here in about 2 and half months! My sister has offered to get the rest of what I needed so I am searching craigslist now for the best deals out there =).

Life after the military has provided the most unstable income and most people would think we are crazy for continuing to let God bless us with children not having a set income or health insurance....yet God provides!

Psalm 37:25I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.

Decently and In Order: Hampton Rental Home: Rachel's Drawers

Rachel our little Rachel, our only girl........she gets to have about 5 times as many clothes as her brothers.....lol.

These drawer dividers were purchased in a two pack at Target for $16....a little pricey for me so this is the only drawer that has these dividers in them.

 Rachel's shirts and sweaters are color coded and folded neatly for easy location.

 The next drawer has two bulky sweaters that wouldn't fit in the previous drawer and all her cute little skirts =).

 And her Pj's =) This drawer has a lot of space in it. I could easily fold the pjs smaller and fit lots of other things in here =)

I love looking at my little ones sleeping =) Despite having 4 brothers she is quite the girly girl =).  Looking at her hair I can see why God only gave us one girl so far....lol =).

Decently and In Order: Hampton Rental Home Garage

1 Corinthians 14:40

Let all things be done decently and in order

Here in Hampton our rental property has a one car garage....which is fine considering we have one car....lol. Yes we do park in our garage. I have noticed a trend in America as we go on walks or drive by homes with their garages open......they don't use them to park their cars in them because they are so full of junk. The garage can be a dangerous place to store clutter because it is out of the house and you don't feel like it is taking up any living space. Also many things stored in garages are duplicates of things found throughout the house because you have purchased them again since you didn't want to dig through your garage to find it =).

Our last garage we used grey totes. This time around we decided to use clear so we can easily see what is stored inside even if we didn't have the label. I couldn't find a big enough clear tote to store our tree though =(. 

 We have a bunch of empty clear containers to prepare for our next move to an undisclosed location =).

 In the corner we have our over the roof van storage thingy, a fold up table and 2 chairs and some house supplies left by the landlord.

 In the swim container we have life vests, water wings, and swim diapers =).  A sweet friend came and brought us two brand new life vests, two more were purchased on Craigslist. We only had to buy one at the store. Praise the Lord because life vests are not cheap. We have been swimming at my sisters pool and having fun. I haven't got any pics of the kids swimming though because I am too busy counting heads above the water....lol.

 My husband bought all these sports toys for the kids to play with. Another bonus to having a clean garage is that the kids can play in the garage on those cold or rainy days =).

This is my husbands portable office he puts in the van for his luncheons and presentations.

All of our Christmas decorations are neatly stored away for December.

 The left side of our garage has nothing except the double stroller. With a one car garage and a Honda Odyssey it would be impossible to get out of the car if we had anything else stored over here.

Last Day of School!

 Eccl 3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
    Our season of second grade for Christian and first grade for Noah came to an end this afternoon! They worked hard until the last bit of seatwork was completed =). They both got A's and B's across the board for their Abeka curriculum. I am so blessed to be able to teach these little ones at home =). Christian ended the year spelling words like examine and acquaintance and mastering multiplication and division tables up to 5. Noah finished the year with a 100% on his last phonics test and is reading quite well =). I am excited to take a break and look forward to next year when I will be teaching  2nd/3rd grade and Kindergarten!

 When I was in school I remember getting "a pleasure to have in class" on my report cards....I would definitely put this on Noah's report card as he has the most pleasant attitude with school work!

I cannot say it enough that my children are a blessing and teaching and training them is not something that should be despised but embraced and cherished =) 

Matthew 18:10

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.