Just How Wide is that Gate?

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves." (Matthew 7:13)

I have encountered many people in my lifetime who would do absolutely anything to help someone out. They were some of the nicest people you could ever meet. Their biggest problem ...... they were lost & had no desire to be saved!

Most of these people have had a "bad experience" with church & church members. The logic in their minds, "well if so-&-so is going to Heaven, then so am I". What has led so many of these people to think this way? WE HAVE! Far too many church members try to live like the world during the week & act all holy on Sunday (or whatever day they attend church).

The world likes to pick people apart, especially Christians. If we make a mistake, I can assure you that someone has witnessed it & will not forget it any time soon.

Christians - I urge you to PLEASE think about the way you are acting! PLEASE think about what you are saying! PLEASE think about who you are affecting!

I completely believe that every single decision or action that we make affects not only us, but also other people. I don't want to do or say anything that would hinder someone from coming to know Jesus! I don't want any one's blood dripping from my hands when I stand before my Savior! I want Him to be able to tell me "Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord." (Matthew 25:21)

Turn That Frown Upside Down

 Its been another one of those days (weeks). You know the kind - nothing quite goes right, school has been less than perfect, no one is listening & no one seems to care. We have had way too many of them lately & I must admit, its very hard for me to "be the adult" when I just want to kick, scream, & throw things. While I'm in the middle of my pity party (I was on the up side, I promise! - Nothing like listening to the Moore Family to brighten my spirits - after all she has 7 homeschooled kids & hasn't went insane yet.), Logan woke from his nap & started to cry. He knows that someone will come get him. He doesn't doubt for a minute that he has been abandoned. He knows he is loved!

Thank You Lord, yet again, for the simple reminder that You care for me more than I could ever care for my kids! Why can't I have the unwavering faith to know You will come to my rescue, just as I did for Logan? Why can't I remember that while I'm telling my kids to do something for the 10th time today, You have been asking me to do something over & over again? Why can't I be as tender hearted when they mess up or disobey? You don't get angry everytime I let You down.

This is one of the hardest lessons for me to understand. God has been more than gracious & patient while trying to teach me.

Psalm 61

1. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer.

2. From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee,

when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

3. For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

4. I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.



Where Were You?

If you asked me if I remembered what I did last Tuesday, I couldn't tell you. But if you asked me if I remembered what I did 10 years ago on Tuesday, September 11, 2001................. I could tell you exactly what I was doing.

This is a thought that is circulating the world of Facebook.

My grandparents had D Day.  My parents had the Assassination of JFK. Nine Eleven is the date that will forever be remembered in the hearts of my generation.

I know exactly where I was & what I was doing......
I was driving down 421 on my way to class at Wilkes Community College. I was listening to Ace & TJ on KISS 95.1. I remember Ace & TJ announcing that an airplane had just hit the first tower & they thought it was a joke until another plane hit the second tower. One of the other radio personalities was extremely upset because her brother worked in Chicago & at that time, no one knew if this attack was going to be confined to New York. Its strange that I can remember a radio conversation.

As all the students filed slowly into class, no one could focus on the task at hand. We were supposed to have an English test & it didn't seem to matter anymore.

I left school & went to my mom's house. I just sat in front of the television in shock.

Later that night, I sat in Justin's lap as we continued to watch the horror. I was pregnant with Austin & it scared us to death at the thoughts of bringing a baby into this wicked world. We held each other & cried.

I heard a song the other day that devastated me.

Its been 10 years since that horrible day.

Do we really remember what all happened in those few short minutes that seemed like forever? Do we really remember how many families were ripped apart? Do we really remember how America rallied together? Do we really remember how most of us turned back to God? Has it really only been 10 years? It sure seems like a lot longer.

Where were you when the world stopped turning?

God's Plans

I don't have the answers in this life, I never thought or claimed that I do, but thankfully God does!

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and

not of evil, to give you an expected end." Jeremiah 29:11

No, this wasn't the first thought that came to my mind last night, I won't talk about that - I am human & I did ask forgiveness. But asI lay in bed crying, God brought that comforting thought by my way.

We found out last night that Justin was losing his job. Today is his last day. I'm not a math whiz or anything, but if I counted right, that's......1 days notice! We knew it was probably going to happen, but a little notice would have been nice.

Oh, & last I checked we are a 1 income family, so ... (yet again, no expert) if you only have 1 income & you take away that income, that seems to equal ...... NOTHING, ZIP, ZERO, NADA!!!!!!

So, I'm sure you can understand my uneasiness.

Lord, I really am trying not to be mad, sad, hurt, anxious, doubting, anything but trusting.

Use Me!

***** This really should have been written last week, so let's pretend it was! ;) *****

We have had a couple of rough weeks here on the Bauguess Hill. Just different things have seemed to be going "wrong" left & right. Through it all, I haven't understood much. but my prayer has been "God, just use us for your Glory."

Don't ask God for to use you if you are not ready.....

I was asked to sing at church the Sunday morning that Logan was dedicated. I hadn't sung in a while & I hadn't been practicing, so I was no where near ready. Plus, I was hurt angry that my mom chose not to come to the dedication &, like I said, it hadn't been the greatest around here the past few days, so I said that I couldn't do it.  I immediately felt bad & remembered my request for God to use me, so I knew I had to sing. I cried through most of the song, but that's ok. Thank you God for using me.

Then, we found out Justin was preaching Youth Sunday. Thank you God for using him.

We have had a burden for the youth for some time - I guess that's why we are the Youth Directors, huh. One family in particular I haven't been able to get off my mind, but didn't really understand why. When we decided to take it upon ourselves to start picking up these children for church, it sunk in. Even though this meant that Justin & I needed to drive separately every time to church, & he got to drive my (precious & extremely convenient) Suburban in order to fit 5 extra kids, & who knows how much gas this was using (driving from Elkin to Rock Creek), we believed this to be God's will.

The earthly costs of bringing those children to church will never compare to the Heavenly rewards!

THANK YOU GOD FOR USING US!

What Does Your Ceiling Look Like?

I've been missing the "big picture" here lately. I have been so completely consumed with trying just to make it through each day since Logan has been born, that I literally have missed a lot of the summer. We are just as busy as ever, but I haven't had the time (or the frame of mind) to enjoy it.

It seems that somewhere along the lines, I may have "spoiled" my baby - yeah, as if that's possible!!! LOL Either that, or I have a very dependent child on my hands. I'm not sure which. But unfortunately, my 3rd child has been my neediest - by far. So blame it on the fact that I am home with this one (& haven't been with the others) or blame it on the fact that he has 2 adoring siblings that love to hold him as well. Either way, he doesn't like to be put down.

Now that's all fine & dandy to the outsider, & I do LOVE my snuggle time, but it has huge disadvantages as well.  Like.... my house, my laundry, my garden & my canning (which is non existent this year!).

So, what does this have to do with my ceiling? Nope, I'm not one of those freaks that cleans the ceiling! But it seems that my ceiling has gotten cluttered. How, you ask, well.......

In the midst of this beautiful but slightly stressful time, I find myself revolving around Logan's schedule - of course. The up side, its ok, we are flexible. The down side, I find myself neglecting to eat breakfast because there usually isn't time, a lot of times I eat lunch standing in the kitchen, & I have literally cooked supper less than a handful of times. This has also led to my failing to earnestly pray about anything - if I close my eyes, I fall a sleep. And reading my Bible has become a thing of the past.

Well, I realized something the other day. My prayers weren't getting any farther than my ceiling. I have just been going through the motions & feeling worse about it everyday.

When I made time that day to open my Bible, Jeremiah 29:13 almost jumped off the page for me.


"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

Thank you Lord for once again redirecting me when I get sidetracked.

A Strange Chain of Events

I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. So many times, we cannot see the whole picture so we do not understand God's plan. This can be very discouraging when we think we are facing bigger obstacles than we can handle. But, God has a reason for the trials that we all go through.

Darius Rucker's song This is a perfect example of things that have worked out & things that didn't go the way we think they should.

All the fights and the tears and the heartache
I thought I'd never get through

And the moment I almost gave up

All led me here to you

I didn't understand it way back when

But sittin' here right now

It all makes perfect sense.

A friend made a comment last night that got me to thinking about things & the way they play out.

Yes, there are plenty of things that have happened in my life that I'm not proud of, but those things have made me who I am today. And even though we don't usually think about how our decisions affect other people, so often everything we do is just one small peice of the puzzle. Our actions affect everyone around us, even the people we haven't met yet.

So the next time you find yourself in yet another messed up situation, stop & think of all the people around you that may possibly be influenced by your reaction. After all, we are all put into the pot of boiling water at some point in time. Are we like the carrot where we start out hard, but become soft under pressure? What about the egg who is very fragile until time & circumstance makes it hard? Or will we be like a handful of coffee beans & allow ourselves to be changed each time the need arises?

One of my desires for this crazy ride we call life is for God to use me however He sees fit. If that means using my mistakes to improve someone else's life, then so be it. I give God the glory & I hope that He will lead down a path that doesn't have quite so many valleys!

If I can be of any help to anyone, please let me know!

Where is Your Crown?

I just realized something tonight...all Christians are saved, but everyone that is saved is not a Christian. On top of that, Christians go to church, but some people that are saved do not attend church.

If you are anything like me, you are going to have to stop & ponder on this for a while. As I was thinking about it, the realization really hit home & brought tears to my eyes.

So many people that claim to be saved have a ... lazy, at best, attitude towards their salvation. There is no desire to get involved in church. Some are content with Sunday morning worship, some do not attend at all. They never have anything "spiritual" to talk about - meaning they don't want to talk about their blessings or the Bible or anything remotely dealing with God. They don't live their lives as a witness or care if anyone gets saved.

Thankfully, there are not many "qualifications" to become saved. We just have to believe! So anyone & everyone can become saved. To be a Christian is a little more difficult. We must be Christ like. Even though we will never be like Jesus, we must at least TRY!

One of our goals here on earth is to earn crowns to lay at the feet of Jesus. Its very sad to think that some people will enter Heaven empty handed.

I wonder, from time to time, if I have earned any crowns. I don't think that anything I have done is spectacular or anything, but I hope that some of my labor and struggles will be worth something in the eyes of my saviour. Even if I feel like so often my crowns have been beaten, banged up, or tarnished, I still want something to give to Jesus. I know He can make masterpieces out of the rubble that I stand in the middle of.

I think we all need to spend a little more time polishing our crowns. After all, Jesus deserves our very best!

Yet Another Right Taken Away

My heart is hurting tonight. I was struggling with the a situation where the kids & I are going to have to give up something that we have come to enjoy because it now compromises my family's beliefs. I was upset with the fact that something I thought was a good thing & would glorify God floundered & sold out to the world because that is the accepted way now. Too many people are trying to make church look like the world or are they trying to make the world look like church? Its hard to tell the difference now. Why is the same preaching, teaching, & beliefs that were good enough to save saints from the past no longer good enough for today's generation? I just can't comprehend it.

Then, if that's not enough of a slap in the face, I read an outrageous article about the government pulling a child from homeschool "because the teachings are too religious". Hello! That's why some people choose to homeschool. True, not every homeschool family have strong religious values. Some just don't want to deal with the junk associated with public school.

Too Religious to Home-School?


Don't get me wrong....I'm not bashing public school. It has its pros & it has its cons. After all, I turned out ok, right? (No comments from the peanut gallery, thank you very much!) I got a very good education in the public system, but I also experienced A LOT of things I would really rather my kids not participate in. I know that they have just as much chance of falling to temptation outside of public school as in, but I want them rooted & grounded in our beliefs so hopefully they can make better decisions than I did.

OK, back to the idea of homeschool being too religious.... That's the great thing about homeschool, you can CHOOSE what to teach your children. As long as the basic subjects are covered, it doesn't matter if we teach them religion, photography, farming or bowling. Seriously, they are called ELECTIVES because we elect to include them as well.

Its not the fact that this ex-husband & ex-wife disagreed on whether to homeschool their child or not. Although, they had previously agreed on this decision. Every family has the right to choose how to educate their children. What aggravates me is the fact that the government stepped in & made the child go back to public school against the mother's wishes. When did the government get to make that decision?

It is also the fact that this is infringing on freedom of choice & freedom of religion. It doesn't say what religion this woman is, but I would bet money that she is a Christian simply because if she were Jewish or Muslim, this COULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED! She would have the support of so many groups that the courts would be scared of a lawsuit themselves.

 Why do we as Christians have to take a backseat to every other belief & opinion out there? When are we finally going to take a stand & defend what we believe in?

Who is Your Shepherd?

We've all heard it, but do we really know it? Do we really understand it? I'm talking about the 23rd Psalm.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

THINK ABOUT IT! The Lord is MY shepherd. That's personal. How much simpler can it get? God tells us that He is in control & that we need not to worry.

Cattle must be driven from behind. A horse is led by a bit in its mouth. Sheep on the other hand are led. They cannot be driven as cattle, or ridden like horses but gently led by the shepherd. The shepherd calls the sheep and they go where he leads. 
(I borrowed this from a friend thanks DeAnna!)

I shall not WANT. He didn't tell us that we wouldn't NEED. He provides for all of our needs & He even loves us enough to provide so many of our WANTS! We are a blessed people!

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. That sounds like a place that is peaceful & very beautiful. He wants to LEAD us.

He restoreth my soul. When we are weary, He will give us peace & rest.

He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name sake. FOR HIS NAME SAKE - that didn't say anything about making us famous or making any of us worthy of praise.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me. Did you catch that? THROUGH, not in, not around, not beside, but we must go through the storms to come out victorious on the other side. And besides, its only the "shadow"of death anyway. We don't actually have to deal with the worst of it. Remember, God is leading us so we are not alone!

Thy rod and thy staff comfort me. How many of us parents must spank, or at the very least, punish our children? We all do, but we show them our love after the discipline is over, right? God is the same way. He must correct us from time to time, but it is done in love.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. I have a hard time with this one, but I believe that God wants us to still be gracious even to people who don't always deserve it. After all, how often do we truly deserve His blessings on us?

Thou anointest my head with oil. This was common during Biblical history. I believe it signifies that we are chosen, sanctified, and pinpointed as being special to God.

My cup runneth over. Have you ever filled a glass too full? It spills over the top, doesn't it? That's how God operates. Sometimes He likes to give us more joy than we can contain within ourselves. Sometimes we don't really have a choice but to tell people of His glory or we will just burst. I just said this the other day at church. Our service was so full of the Holy Ghost, He could not be held back. I felt blessed beyond measure.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That sounds like a promise to me. Even though we have our fair share of heartaches, we still have God's blessings. He bestows mercy on us every single day!

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER. There's another promise! We are His children. Most children live in their parent's home, don't they? But when they grow up, they move out. Even though we all love our children, we probably don't want them to live at home forever. God wants us FOREVER. You know, God created the Heavens & the Earth in 6 days, right? But He said that He was leaving here to prepare a place for us. For us! I can't comprehend forever, nor do I understand why He loves us so, but I do know that my mansion in glory is going to be more spectacular than anything anyone could ever imagine!

Take some time to spend with your shepherd today. He wants to lead you on to a better, brighter tomorrow.

Let's Go Fishing

When I was little, I can remember my grandpa taking me fishing. I loved this time with him. Yes, I was a little girly & wouldn't bait the hook or take the fish off, but still, these are some of my fondest memories of him.

I still love to go fishing. Nope, I still don't take the fish off of the hook (I could - I just CHOOSE not to! lol), but I do put my own bait on now .... sometimes. Unfortunately, I don't get to go fishing as much as I would like now that I am all grown up. But it sure does bring back memories when I do take the opportunity to indulge in this pleasure from my childhood. There's something relaxing & free about sitting on the side of a river bank with a fishing rod in your hand. I can just imagine: a couple of friends down by the river well into the night, the air has a slight chill to it like it gets in late summer, a campfire roaring in the background scenting the air with that unmistakable smoky fragrance that sticks with your skin, the crickets chirping peacefully like they have all the time in the world, fireflies blinking their excitement against the black sky. Can you see it? Doesn't it take you back down memory lane? Its hard to dwell on the problems of the world when you are out enjoying nature.

But the world needs more fishermen......... You know, Jesus was also a fisherman. That's right, He did a lot of fishing. But Jesus was a fisher for men. He told His Disciples that He would make them fishers of men as well. He didn't ask them if they wanted to go. He didn't tell them not to worry about it because they didn't know how. He MADE them. Jesus told them what He expected & they did it!

And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren,

Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And he saith unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.

And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-20

Real simple, huh? Then why don't we follow His directions?

He also told us to become fishers of men. That's right, He told us there would be lots of fish & very few fisherman. Now, if any one's ever gone fishing, they know that's a good thing because then the fish are more likely to bite!

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them,

because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few;

Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.

Matthew 9:36-38

For some reason, some people don't like the idea of fishing for men. I understand completely! The thoughts of witnessing to someone else scares the daylights out of me. WHY? What can they do to me? Talk about me, slam a door in my face, laugh at me, cuss me, at the very worst - if I was in a different country - kill me? If I die, is that not a victory for me?! But seriously, what's the likelihood of that extreme happening today? Not very.

So, let's say that I take a stand & go talk to someone about God...... Then what? The person refuses to listen, they tell me they are not interested, the person orders me out of their home, the person tells me they don't believe, or maybe, just maybe my testimony sticks in their mind after I'm gone. A small seed gets planted in their heart from my obedience. What did I lose? Time, energy, a little pride. What does that matter in the long run? How do those things hold up on a set of scales with some one's soul on the other end? THEY DON'T!!!!!

Its time that we as Christians quit sitting down on the job! Jesus didn't save us just so we could hang out until He returned. He left us here for a reason! We have a job to do. I'm talking to myself just as much as I'm talking to anyone else! Let's quit making excuses & let's go fishing!