My thoughts on Akin

Many people know I have been raped & conceived  a child because of it & had that child aborted. Representative Todd Akin recently tried to speak out about his thoughts on abortion & when talking about abortion & rape he used the term "legitimate rape." Everyone is in an uproar over it. Yes his comment was dumb, he has been mislead, all rape is legitimate, that's what separates it from consenting sex. He tried to use a study that says women in rape can keep themselves from getting pregnant, but let's face it, no woman wants to get pregnant from rape.

So what are my thoughts?

He was wrong. He apologized. Let's all learn a big lesson & move on. Forgiveness.

With it being an election year there is so much more we should focus on, like having the most pro-abortion president voted out of office. Let's keep focus on November!

Here are some links to some of my testimonies & why rape should never be an excuse for abortion!!

Much love & many blessings,

Ash

http://www.onenewsnow.com/Culture/Default.aspx?id=1469894

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1zzmfWYHPQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Beth Moore

I just returned from my first LIVE Beth Moore conference & it was amazing! The Lord definitely spoke through her to me & many others. She is a gifted teacher! I just finished researching her using the ever popular Google LoL! Now, I will share that there are some who criticize her for various reasons, some seem credible, but the sources seem to be out looking for something to criticize or be negative about. So be warned when reading such things. And always use the Bible & the Holy Spirit to help you discern & remember no one is perfect.

I will say this weekend was nothing less than fabulous! Her theme was being CREDIBLE & she was! Her focus came from 2 Corinthians 6 & 7. I'm not going to go through everything she talked about, but rather fill you in on what stood out to me.

1) Her life & family. Beth shared that she was molested as a young child & it continued for many years, but the Lord has healed her & has helped her to forgive. She also talked about how her husband isn't a big fan church, but he is a believer. I found this very interesting & refreshing. Here is this lady who has a great gift from the Lord, studies Scripture, hungers for more of God, all the while having a husband who is apparently not the Spiritual leader of their home. Yet you can see she is still submissive to him, honors him, & loves him very much. Too many times I've seen women, even myself, be overly critical of their husbands not being more Spiritual. What I learned from what Beth shared is that no matter the difference in our Spiritual maturity with our husbands, we must still obey the Lord & follow through with what His Word calls us to be as wives. Nagging our husbands will never draw them to God & will only hinder our relationship with them.

2) Fellowship is greater than friendship & kinship. If you've read some of my blogs over the last few years you know I have struggled with friendships. I think the word friend has been turned into something its not, but that's a whole other blog :). In fellowship we are in a deep relationship with others. We hurt together, we laugh together, we love together, we LIVE together. It's an ongoing process to be intertwined in the lives of others & to truly love them. Friends come & go, but when you are in fellowship with others, its life your living together, the ups & downs, the good & bad, the easy & the hard! Fellowship is vital! We must die together (to this world) & live together (in Christ).

3) We have to die to ourselves & love others & many times it hurts. It feels like we are truly being killed. But God called us to love, even the unlovable. One of her points was "Interlocking lives is either double strength, or double trouble." We do have to set boundaries with people at times & even have to flee from some relationships. That doesn't mean though we stop loving them or praying for them. Also, within this point she made the comment that being a carnal Christian really cuts our credibility as a believer. People should be able to tell we are credible by how we live our lives.

4) Another point was "Bondage at its deadly best is trading repentance for regret."  Regretting the things we've done only keeps us in bondage to the past & our sins. Repenting & turning away from them sets us FREE!

5)Having credibility is earned! We can't have it through someone else, can't inherit it or marry it! The Gospel can't be spread if we don't have cred! We can say what we believe, but its believability comes through how we our everyday lives. It comes the hard way through hard work, in good times & in bad. We must have endurance!

6) The Climax: Everything is NOTHING without Jesus! 2 Corinthians 6:8-10 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.


NEXT WEEK: Sarah

Eve

Oh Eve...she gets a bad rap! So many times I have heard women say, "When I get to Heaven I'm going to have to tell Eve off!" Or something to that liking. I have to be honest, I feel sorry for Eve. She was the FIRST woman, EVER! That's a lot of pressure! Eve's story unfolds in Genesis 1:26-31 & Genesis 2-4. She was the 1st wife & mother. No one to turn to for expertise. What Eve did have was an up close & personal relationship with God. Can you imagine walking in Eden with the great I AM!?!

Let's remember, Eve did not sin out of rebellion to God, but through deception because she wanted to be closer to God. The serpent, Satan, deceived her using exactly what he knew would make her fall. He still does the same thing to all of us. Have you ever thought about why Satan chose Eve to deceive over Adam? I heard Donna Gaines point out that God didn't tell Eve not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good & Evil, He told Adam. It was Adam's job as husband & leader to tell Eve & protect her. Eve's knowledge of this rule was 2nd hand, therefore it was easier to doubt.

What lesson can we learn from this? Read God's Word for yourself! Study it, devour it, apply it, always stay hungry for it! There are many great pastors & teachers out there that are very wise & knowledgeable, but they can't replace your one on one time in God's Word letting the Holy Spirit speak His truth into you. As great as pastors & teachers are, they are human & subject to fault & our main source of God's Word can't be second hand knowledge, it has to be first hand straight from the Word.

Through this fall she was cursed with childbirth pains. (And every woman flinches LoL). Not only that, her firstborn son killed her second son. I'm sure Eve felt a ton of mommy guilt! "If I hadn't listened to that serpent, if I had been a better mother..." You know what I'm talking about, we all do it. Blame ourselves for anything & everything, but that in itself is not of God! God did bless Eve with another son, Seth, & someday a Savior would be born to save us all from our sins.

And we can't forget that as the 1st woman, God made her in His own image. He designed our bodies, our minds, & our hearts to reflect His goodness, love, & mercy to others. He gave us His strength & imparts His wisdom to us as we seek Him. No matter how far or how often we fall, He is always there to help us back up & to shower us with His grace.

The next time you start beating yourself up about who you are & what you look like, stop & confess it to God, remember He made you just the way you are & He desires to mold you into who He wants you to be. It's time to surrender yourself to the Lord & let Him make you into the person He designed you to be to fulfill your purpose in His Kingdom plan!!

Many blessings to you all! Next week: Beth Moore!

Wednesday's Woman

I'm beginning a blogging series where I will research various women each week. Most will be women from the Bible, but I will also highlight others that have had an impact on our world, whether good or bad. I've been praying about this for months & have studied many Biblical women, but I want to share the things that God has revealed to me with all of you.

I used to have a GREAT fear of women. I'm not even kidding! Girls were VERY mean to me in school, I was bullied, called names, had false rumors spread about me, & I never took up for myself. I was a big pushover! Hard to believe now :) Nonetheless, over the last 5 years, God has especially been working on this fear & instead of being afraid of women, I long for that companionship with them.

The Lord has blessed me with some amazing women in my life! I couldn't do all I do know without these women behind me cheering me on, praying for me, supporting me, joining me, & just simply being a friend to me. God has also revealed a lot about myself through women in the Bible. I yearn to know these ladies more! Their struggles, fears, strengths, & how God used them for His Kingdom.

I hope you join me each Wednesday as I take this journey. Please feel free to comment with your thoughts, what God has shown you about these women, & link your own blog as well if you like!

Next week we will begin with who else, but the 1st woman to grace the earth: EVE!