Wondering if I'm the only one...

Who needs this?!?

It reminds me of a previous post.  Now all I have to do is practice what I preach!:-) 

The Refiner's Fire of Motherhood

“All my children have brought more trial and struggle into my life than I would have ever wanted to have.  But, I am who I am today because of that refining fire from the Lord.  The Bible says that children are a blessing from the Lord.  That is so true!  Often they are not a blessing in the way we would expect them to be.  They bless us by challenging us and forcing us to be more than we can possibly be.  They push us into complete dependence upon God.  They strip away our pride and leave us humble and broken before our Lord.  And if we have any pride left, the Lord uses them to make sure it doesn’t stick around for too long.  I am so glad I have gone and am continuing to go through the fire of motherhood.  It is the tool God is using to make me like Him.”

Christal Stroup - "Mad at her & Mad at myself" in Above Rubies Magazine, February 2013

God Created Male & Female...

So Does Gender Matter?

Not Your Ordinary Speech...

...in a Secular University Class. A college-aged friend of mine who used to be in our youth group gave this speech on her last day of class at the University of Texas. It's a long read but worth it. She said her class was full of intellectual cynics who mocked Jesus and Christianity all semester. We praise God for her boldness for the truth.

“Oh, dear Lord baby Jesus! Dear tiny infant, eight-pound, six-ounce newborn Jesus!” These are lines from the movie Talladega Nights starring Will Ferrell. Amid this prayer to “baby” Jesus, the characters speak of their favorite views of Jesus, which include teenage Jesus, adult Jesus, ninja Jesus, bearded Jesus, and so on. While this scene is indeed amusing, I have realized that certain aspects of it are not as far-fetched as I initially concluded. Many people throughout the world do have many distinct views of Jesus Christ and Christianity as a whole. In fact, I’m confident that most people, including you in this room, have formed various opinions about Jesus and Christianity. I doubt, however, that most of these opinions are derived from the life and teachings of Jesus Christ himself. On the contrary, I have discerned that the majority of judgments about Jesus and Christianity are based on the lives of people who profess to be Christians and on the opinions of cynics. Thus, the intent of my speech today is twofold: First, I will expose potential pitfalls of forming judgments in this manner. Then, I will encourage you to investigate Jesus and His faith for yourself.

According to the Washington Post’s report “Holy Week 2011,” there are approximately 2 billion people around the world who identify themselves as Christians. That means there are 2 billion people who lead their lives in compliance with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, right? I suspect making such a claim would incite several questions, such as the following: Why is it, then, that so many Christians live just as non-Christians do? For instance, why do some Christians fornicate and commit adultery? Why do some Christians habitually use profanity and lie? Why do some Christians spew hatred and condemnation? Why do so many Christians seem indistinguishable from everybody else? To these inquiries, I would respond with a couple of questions of my own: First, have you ever considered the possibility that many, if not most, people who profess to be Christians actually aren’t? Second, do you believe it is truly logical to
judge a belief based solely on the lives of people who allegedly adhere to that belief? I do believe that some people who claim to be Christians are, in reality, unequivocally lost and have no clue about Christian living. Moreover, I believe judging the validity of Jesus or the Christian faith based on such people is unfounded.

One day, I contemplated this phenomenon while studying for a Nutrition exam. I reviewed an eating disorder called Bulimia. People who suffer from Bulimia regularly binge on food and then use various methods, such as vomiting and excessive exercise, to prevent weight gain. Let’s imagine that I claim to be Bulimic. Yet, after being secretly recorded day after day for a year, observers determine that I never binge on food, I never vomit or exercise following meals, and, overall, I practice healthy eating habits. In light of this information, would people then say, “That Bulimia disease is such a sham. This woman is Bulimic, and she behaves just like everyone else”? Surely not! Onlookers would certainly say, “Clearly, this woman is not Bulimic, because her life does not exhibit any of the characteristics associated with Bulimia.” I’m sure there’s a plethora of other illustrations I could use, but here’s the point:

There are in fact characteristics that Christians’ lives should exhibit; and the lives of many people who assert to be Christians do not display those characteristics. Christians cannot be perfect, because like all humans, they are inherently fallible. Thus, if Christians are secretly recorded for a day, there’s a chance they will have more ethical failures than successes and ostensibly look just like everyone else. However, if true Christians are secretly recorded everyday for a year, a stark distinctiveness in the way they live should be readily apparent; their lives should obviously exhibit characteristics of Jesus and principles of His teachings. Sure, they will slip-up, and they will indeed be flawed; but there should not be a consistent pattern of immorality in their lives. They should not live just like everyone else. So, when we learn of the violence of the Christian crusaders, when we see some Christian pastors do and say ridiculous
things, when various Christian priests are indicted for pedophilia, when some politically conservative Christians encourage hate, when certain angry Christians on the West Mall here at UT condemn all the passersby to hell, etc., perhaps we should be less hasty to decry and reject the Christian faith itself and more inclined to question the soundness of such people’s claims to be Christians. Because we cannot look into people’s hearts/motives, we cannot conclusively determine what any given person truly believes. However, often times, people’s actions accurately denote what they sincerely believe. The actions of some people identified as Christians do align with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, but the actions of other supposed Christians do not. Judging Jesus or Christianity in light of only the latter group is nonsensical.

Forming judgments of Jesus and Christianity based on those of cynics is misleading as well. In general, you can miss out on great things when you reject them based on others’ viewpoints alone. For instance, my senior year of high school, practically everyone told me not to take AP Economics, because the teacher was a jerk and graded too harshly. One day, I decided to sit in on his class and assess him for myself. I actually liked his teaching style and the class’s content. I enrolled in the class, finished with a final grade of 98%, and the teacher became one of my most ardent advocates; he has written numerous letters of recommendation on my behalf and nominated me for several awards and honors. Sometimes, I wonder how my life would be different if I had rejected him and his class due to the opinions of my peers. I believe it is highly difficult to construct an accurate view of anyone or anything based solely on other people’s opinions and portrayals. Therefore, I believe it is highly unreasonable to reject anyone or anything, including Jesus and Christianity, based only on the perspectives of others.

I should note that I believe it is equally illogical to accept Jesus and the Christian faith based solely on people’s opinions. It is for this reason I researched the life of Jesus and the Christian faith for myself. Some components of Christianity are primarily faith-based, but there are empirical, concrete components as well. I looked into the validity of the Bible; I researched the many prophecies in the Bible to see if they have indeed come to fruition. I looked for information regarding references to Jesus in secular texts from the time in which He lived. I read reviews of how other religions compare to Christianity. I watched investigative documentaries (i.e. Lee Strobel’s The Case for Christ). I assessed Christian, agnostic, and atheistic outlooks on life. After researching and processing all of this information for quite some time, I formed my very own opinion. I do believe in Jesus Christ, and I do believe in His
Word. The consequences of this decision are manifested in my life. I have experienced true love, true peace, and true joy; and I have a secure sense of my worth and my purpose in this life. Perhaps you already have all those things. But if you don’t, then what do you have to lose? I’m not suggesting that you take my word for it. In fact, I’m proposing the exact opposite: Don’t take my word, and don’t take anyone else’s word for it either. Look into the life and teachings of Jesus Christ for yourself and arrive at a conclusion about Him for yourself.

Forgetting the Label!

My church is so blessed to have Brenda Fischer as the Disability Ministry Coordinator. She has not been personally affected by disability but the Lord has given her a great big heart for the Disability Community. Her love for those with special needs & disabilities is evident in the countless ways that she sacrificially serves them.

One verse that comes to mind when I think of Brenda is, Luke 14:12-14 "He said also to the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just."

Thank you Brenda! We cannot repay you but our heavenly Father will bless you in due time!

This is an excerpt from an article that Brenda has recently written.

Forgetting the Label to the Glory of God ~ Brenda Fischer

So many families are facing the hard and perplexing reality of having their child diagnosed with a developmental disorder. Acronyms like PDD-NOS, ADHD, RAD, FASD, OCD and ODD are scribbled onto a child’s records with increasing frequency. Almost one child in 100 has an autism spectrum diagnosis. A diagnosis is helpful in some ways for families. It can open the door to receiving medical, therapeutic and educational support. A diagnosis also sheds some light and gives helpful insight to parents or others who are in a child’s life. On the flip side, a label can lead to heartache and deep hurt. All parents want their child to be loved and accepted as a unique individual, not put in a box.

With all these labels flying around, it is tempting to pick out children and refer to them with a label and then mentally place them in a category. After all, it’s true that with autism there are patterns of behavior that lead to the diagnosis. Also, in the case of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), children have brain damage that affects their ability to respond and cope with life. Yes, each diagnosis has accompanying characteristics; yet as Christians, this world of labels can collide with who we know we are in Christ. Our God has “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) every child with a heart and a soul. The variation in who each child is as a person is as big as the ocean. Any human-contrived label is too small for God.

Since so many children are impacted by labels, it is helpful to learn about specific disabilities while always acknowledging God’s great and unrestricted ability to work in the heart and life of each person that He has designed. Michelle Schreder shares in her book The Unexpected Gift—Raising Children with Disabilities*,

A diagnosis doesn’t really change our child in any way. It doesn’t change their interests, their likes and dislikes, their
sense of humor, their unique personalities. A diagnosis simply provides clues about how to help our kids, but it
doesn’t define them.

Your children, and my children, are bigger than their diagnoses-they are so much more than a list of symptoms and
disorders! They, too, have been made in God’s image, have been gifted by Him, and have eternal souls.

A diagnosis may change the way we express love to our children so that they can receive it… but it never changes our love for them and their need for our love, any more than our human ‘disabilities’ change God’s love for us.

*Schreder, Michelle. The Unexpected Gift: Raising Children With Disabilities. Sisters, OR: VMI Publishers, 2004.

How Does Your Daughter Dress?

Check out this post from Justin Taylor's blog.

What Are You Reminding Yourself?

Check out this post from my pastor.

Taste & See

"…God’s Word to the Christian should be like bread to the hungry man (Matt.4:4) or like water to the thirsty deer (Ps. 42:1). By keeping its commands, we keep ourselves pure (Ps. 119:9). By following its guidance, we have a light for our paths (Ps. 119:105). By meditating on it, we find blessing and joy (Ps. 1:1-2). And by wrestling with it, we find our lives being changed and sanctified (Heb. 4:12). It is our perfect guide and our ultimate authority (Ps. 19:7-11)—because it is the very Word of God. Listen to how one writer describes this magnificent book (John MacArthur, of course!):

This book contains: the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers.

Its doctrine is holy, its precepts are binding, its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable. Read it to be wise, believe it to be saved, and practice it to be holy.

It contains light to direct you, food to support you, and comfort to cheer you. It is the traveler’s map, the pilgrim’s staff, the pilot’s compass, the soldier’s sword, and the Christian’s charter. Here heaven is open, and the gates of hell are disclosed.

Christ is the grand subject, our good its design, and the glory of God its end. It should fill the memory, rule the heart, and guide the feet.

Read it slowly, frequently, and prayerfully. It is a mine of wealth, health to the soul, and a river of pleasure. It is given to you here in this life, will be opened at the judgment, and is established forever.

It involves the highest responsibility, will reward the greatest labor, and condemn all who trifle with its contents."

Taken from Fool’s Gold by John MacArthur, article by Dan Dumas

Grieving June Cleaver?

“Do we as a society believe that family is so important that we uphold caring for home and children as the best and most important job a woman might ever have?”

That question was asked by Mary Kassian in an article she wrote for the True Woman Blog.

All women should read the entire article.

If the Lord Wills, We Will Live

Here is a recent article that my hubby wrote for our church's Family Discipleship Department.


I may never forget what I saw on Thursday morning, September 16, 2010. It appeared to be a “typical” morning in the Turner home, full of new mercies and fresh grace in Christ Jesus! I remember kissing my bride and saying good-bye to my little ones while I walked into the garage, closing the house door behind me.

As I opened my car door to throw my book bag in before heading off to the church office, I was abruptly met in my garage by a police officer. “Are you the pastor who lives here?” he asked quietly.
“Yes, I am” I responded.
“Your next-door neighbor is requesting you...her husband is dead,” he stated.
“DEAD!?” I thought. I had just seen Paul watering his flowers earlier that week.

So, I immediately threw my book bag into the car, slammed the door, and began to follow the police officer about 25 paces to my neighbor’s house, praying step-by-step for the Spirit to prepare me for what I might see and how I might serve in the midst of this early morning tragedy.

As I walked into the house, I was greeted by the uncontrollable sobbing of Patricia, my neighbor’s wife. Patricia was waiting on the coroner to come and take away Paul’s body because emergency officials had just left the house and had pronounced him dead. As she wept on my shoulder, out of the corner of my eye I saw Paul’s dead body covered by a black sheet, still sitting upright in his recliner, facing the TV. After a while, I went over to the recliner, lifted up the sheet and put my right hand on his cold, lifeless forehead. I saw the face of death. It was both shocking and surreal.

Patricia muttered to me through her tears, “We were supposed to go to our cabin in Detroit Lakes this weekend.”

These sobering events, along with Patricia’s statement regarding her and Paul’s presumed weekend plans, pointed my heart towards the Holy Spirit’s rebuke [to me] through the words of James,

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit,’ yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, ‘If the Lord wills we will live and do this or that..’ As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (James 4.13-16, italics mine)

The Lord has used this tragedy and this text to pierce through the “pride of presumption” in my sinful heart.

There are times when I think ahead to the future and make personal, family or ministry plans with no conscious thoughts that worshipfully consider what “the Lord wills” above all. This is a kind of practical atheism, as I seek to determine the plans and even the outcome of my everyday life according to my own will, as though the only True, Sovereign, All-controlling God did not exist. God forbid!

There are 3 sharp truths regarding my not-Godness in this text that humble me and serve to puncture the presumptuous pride in my life:


I am utterly ignorant regarding the matrix of events that will occur on any given day in my life. “You do not know what tomorrow will bring.” (14a)
I am a mist that will not be alive for long on planet earth. “You are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (14b)
I am a sinful man with “arrogant” and “evil” tendencies. “You boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.” (16)


The good news is that King Jesus came into the world to rescue ignorant, sinful mists like me by bearing my “sin in His body on the tree, that I might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds I have been healed.” (I Pet. 2.24)

Through Christ’s glorious substitutionary death on my behalf, my presumptuous pride has been nailed to the tree and I have been healed of my self-boasting! I am forgiven because of Jesus’ blood! Thus, I can receive James’ rebuke with joy! This mighty gospel enables me to humble myself under the sovereign and good hand of my God, who lovingly rules over every detail of my mist-like life.

I thank our faithful Father for using my neighbor’s sobering death and James’ stabbing words to remind me that only if the Lord wills, will I even live.....to play basketball tomorrow morning or take my family to the zoo on Saturday or preach at the Awaken retreat next weekend or go on a missions trip to Haiti next year.

May the Lord continue to overcome all of my (and your) practical-atheistic-prideful-presumption by the power of the cross and grace us to gladly acknowledge His sovereign and good will over every moment of our fleeting lives.

O Lord, teach us and our children to joyfully say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

~Kempton Turner

Moms, Are You Feeling Guilty?

Well, here's a must read article that my friend, Janice, sent me.

The following is today's devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Look up the word complementary in the American Heritage Dictionary.

“Complementary:
1. Forming or serving as a complement; completing
2. Supplying mutual needs or offsetting mutual deficiencies.”

The only way two things can be complementary is if they’re different. Each part of a complementary whole adds unique elements the other lacks.

Marriage is one of the greatest expressions of this. Scripture shows us that while men and women have equal worth, value, and dignity before God, He created them different from one another.

Have you been letting differences between you and your spouse irritate you? Do you sometimes wish there were no differences between men and women? Remember, God created you and your mate different for a specific reason. You are a complement to your husband, and he is a complement to you. How can you show respect for his uniqueness and use your strengths to complement him today?

"Sometimes I Feel Like a Lousy Mom”

This article was written by one of the wise women who I'm honored to have in my life, Sally Michael. It spoke right to my heart. If you are a mom raising little ones, you will DEFINITELY relate.

Are you more like Jonah or Jeremiah?

The following is today's devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

Which prophet are you more like? Jeremiah? Or Jonah? Both of these men spoke to sinful people. But Jonah delivered God's Word from an angry heart. He didn’t want his audience to get the message and repent.

On the other hand, Jeremiah delivered his message in tears. His heart was broken for the people who had strayed from the Lord.

This illustrates what Paul says in 1 Corinthians: “If I had the gift of prophecy, but don’t exercise that gift in love, I am nothing.”

When you find yourself having to confront someone with the truth, what’s the attitude of your heart? Is it one of anger and revenge? Or does your heart break as you deliver your message out of obedience and love?

Ask God to give you a tender, compassionate heart like Jeremiah.

8 Ways to Help the Children Love Different People

The Lord used Pastor Piper to preach a much needed, on time sermon this past Sunday. It was about teaching our children how to love different people. He explained that "different" can mean race or disability. Here is a list of the 8 ways that he mentioned. The whole manuscript is definitely worth reading.

8 Ways to Help the Children Love Different People

1. Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in creating them with the body that they have.

2. Help the children believe in God’s sovereign wisdom and goodness in making other people with the body that they have.

3. Help the children believe that they and all other children and adults are made in God’s image.

4. Teach the children that God tells us to do to others as we would like others to do to us.

5. Teach the children and model for them that their own sin is uglier than anybody they think is physically unattractive.

6. Teach the children that God loves them in spite of the ugliness of their sin and that he proved this by sending his Son to die for our sins and give forgiveness to all who would trust him.

7. Teach the children that because Jesus died for them and rose again, he becomes for them an all-satisfying Friend and Treasure.

8. Teach the children to love others who are different from them, not in order to be accepted by God, but because they already are accepted by God because of Jesus.

Should We Really Call It a 'Quiet' Time?

A good article by David Powlison.

Her Feet at Home

The following is today's devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

One thing the feminist movement has done so successfully is to stir up discontent among women who have responsibilities in the home.

My mom had six children in her first five years of marriage. She had an incredibly hard job, but she was content to serve in the role God gave her. She told me that she didn’t know she was supposed to be unhappy until others told her she shouldn’t have to deal with all the demands on her.

Her life stands in contrast to the women I know who look for satisfaction outside their home. While thinking they’ll find more meaning and fulfillment, they usually only find more stress.
Proverbs 7 describes a foolish woman and says, “Her feet never stay at home.” Has God called you to be a keeper in your home, serving your husband and children for His glory? Let me encourage you to stay with this important work. Keep serving for His glory and your ultimate satisfaction.

Turn Down the Noise!

Read this good article by Albert Mohler titled, "Where Do All the Colors Go at Night?" -- Children and the Need for Silence.

Praying the Bible

The following is today's devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

We know that we’re supposed to pray according to the will of God. And there’s one sure way that we can do that. When we pray the Word of God back to Him, we know that we’re praying according to His will.

Second Samuel 7 gives us one of King David’s prayers. All he does is ask God to keep the word that came to him through the prophet Nathan. David says to God, “keep forever the promise you have made concerning your servant and his house. Do as you promised, so that your name will be great forever.”

God had already promised that one of David’s descendants would continue to sit on the throne. David was just repeating in prayer what had already been promised.

We can do the same thing by praying the Bible back to God. If you ever feel like you don’t know God’s will and don’t know what to pray, try opening the Bible and asking God to do the things He’s already promised.

Schedule and Priorities

The following is today's devotional from Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

“They want me to help decorate the church Saturday night, but I can’t even get my own house straightened up! What should I do?”

Nancy Leigh DeMoss: There are a lot of books and seminars on time management, but the best counsel comes from God Himself. I’m learning to submit my calendar and daily schedule to the Lord to seek His will for my priorities.

When interruptions come, I ask Him for wisdom to know whether they’re from Him or whether I should avoid them as unnecessary distractions. I try to remember Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

There will probably never be enough time in a day for you to finish your whole to-do list. There definitely won’t be time for you to do everything everybody else wants you to do. But there will always be enough time for you to do everything on God’s to-do list for your day. When is the last time you asked for His direction?