Holler!!!

Hehehe. I know my friend Christy is laughing right now... It's funny when you hear a bunch of obviously, well, white girls screaming "Holler!" (emphasis on the "er").... But I digress!!!

The reasoning I'm "Holler" ing today is because I'm SOOO proud of my Texas Tech Red Raiders!!! Holler!!!

Some of you may be scowling right now because we BEAT you this season, but you too should be proud of any team that takes on UT like we did!! AND, you should PRAY that we beat OU in two weeks because who wants to see Texas or OU in the National Championship AGAIN??? Me neither...

Tis the season of the underdogs, my friends, and here's one for all you Red Raiders out there!!

Fight Raiders fight,
Fight Raiders fight,
Fight for the school we love so dearly!
We'll hit 'em high,
We'll hit 'em low,
We'll push that ball across the goal,
TECH, FIGHT, FIGHT!
We'll praise her name,
Boost her to fame,
Fight for the Scarlet and the Black,
We will hit 'em, we will wreck 'em!
Hit 'em, wreck 'em Texas Tech!
And the victory bells will ring out!

Holler!!

Praying for our President

I'm not going to lie, this was a very hard topic to post on. In fact, the words would not really come, so when I found this eloquently written piece on my friend Holly's Facebook page, I snagged it (thanks, Holly!) As I sat with my husband and watched the election results this past Tuesday night, I was completely taken aback. Taken aback at how our country's people could be at a place where they were more focused on the color of a man's skin than on his actual beliefs. That they could be in awe of his speaking ability and not hear the lack of message in his words. Taken aback because I'm scared at what his term in office will mean for this country. However, God has commanded us NOT to fear the unknown, that ultimately, He is in control. Amen to that! So, here is the piece that talks about how we should cover our president-elect in prayer. Please read it- truly, it is so important that we pray for this man... He needs it!! K.

Some Initial Thoughts on Praying for President-Elect Obama
Posted by Ligon Duncan

Well, my country and much of the rest of the world are electric with the election of Barack Obama as the new President of the United States of America. To say that it is historic, is a gross understatement.

Justin Taylor and Al Mohler, have both inspired some reflection on the question of how we as Christians --Bible-believing, Reformed, Christians-- ought to pray for him, and I have freely borrowed many of their words and thoughts on this. But here are some ideas for leading our people to pray for our President-Elect. Barack Obama.

We ought to commit ourselves to pray for our new President, for his wife and family, for his administration, and for the nation. We will do this, not only because of the biblical command to pray for our rulers, but because of the second greatest commandment "Love your neighbor" and what better way to love your neighbor, than to pray for his well-being. Those with the greatest moral and political differences with the President-Elect ought to ask God to engender in them, by His Spirit, genuine neighbor-love for Mr. Obama.

We will also pray for our new President because he (and we) face challenges that are not only daunting but potentially disastrous. We will pray that God will grant him wisdom. He and his family will face new challenges and the pressures of this office. May God protect them, give them joy in their family life, and hold them close together.

We will pray that God will protect this nation even as our new President settles into his role as Commander in Chief, and that God will grant peace as he leads the nation through times of trial and international conflict and tension.

We will pray that God would change President-Elect Obama's mind and heart on issues of crucial moral concern. May God change his heart and open his eyes to see abortion as the murder of the innocent unborn, to see marriage as an institution to be defended, and to see a host of issues in a new light. We must pray this from this day until the day he leaves office. God is sovereign, after all.

For those Christians who are more dismayed than overjoyed about the prospects of an Obama presidency, there should be a remembrance that as our President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14). Thus, again, we are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2). We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7). We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

For those Christians who are more overjoyed than concerned about the prospects of an Obama presidency, there should be a remembrance of our ultimate allegiance: Jesus is Lord (and thus, He, not we, decides what is right and wrong), we serve God not man, and the Lord himself has promised to establish "the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him" (Malachi 3:18). Thus, where our new president opposes or undermines biblical moral standards in our society, fails to uphold justice for
the unborn, undermines religious liberties or condones an ethos that is hostile to the Gospel, we will pray for God's purposes to triumph over our President's plans and policies.

Without doubt and whatever our particular views may be, we face hard days ahead. Realistically, we must all expect to be frustrated and disappointed. Some now may feel defeated and discouraged. While others may all-too-soon find their audacious hopes unfounded and unrealized. We must all keep ever in mind that it is God who raises up leaders and nations, and it is God who pulls them down, and who judges both nations and rulers. We must not act or think like unbelievers, or as those who do not trust God.

A Collective "Amen!"

So I'm a dork. (Before any of you smile and say "Uh, yeah, Kelli, we knew that...", I will just say "Shut your face!") as I have a point to make. :-)

This past summer, I started a blog. I love to write, so it seemed the thing to do. (Actually, my husband seemed really surprised and pleased when he found out that our friend Ashly was blogging, so my decision was made because I wanted to impress him...) Anywho, I found out that my friend Jennifer had a blog, and one day, she added a link to MckMama's blog. Jennifer briefly summarized the story, so I linked over to MckMama's blog to see what all the fuss was about. And from then on, I was hooked. This is a Godly woman who has (as of now!!) four kids ages 3 and under! Holy cow!! I'm sure you mothers out there can appreciate this challenge.

Several months into her fourth pregnancy, MckMama's doctors told her that her unborn child, Stellan, had a terminal condition relating to his heart. He would most certainly be either stillborn or die shortly after being born. While the doctors were certain that this baby would not live, they devised a treatment plan. The medication that MckMama began to take (Flecinade, I believe) caused her heart to race, and soon she was in a battle for her own life. Doctors suggested that she consider terminating the pregnancy as she was now putting herself at risk, and after all, they knew that Stellan would not survive.

And it was here that she made a choice. **Disclaimer- I am pro-life. I am a Christian, and believing in God, my choice is life.** To be perfectly truthful with you, I don't know that I would have been able to easily make the choice she did. MckMama had uncomprehensible faith when she chose to leave Stellan growing in her womb. She would continue to take the medication regardless of how it made her feel. (Doctors stabalized the dosage of medication, but it still had really nasty side effects.) MckMama's heart still raced on a daily basis, making her out of breath and tired almost all the time. Oh yeah, she was still raising THREE kids ages 3, 2 and 1.

I've followed her blog without fail for the last 4 or so months as Stellan continued to grow in her womb. You know how sometimes when you pull back from something, or maybe you're really not that close to a situation, you can see the "big" picture? There is a big- no, HUGE- picture here. God has hand-picked this woman and her family to be front and center for a miracle. I'm not kidding. When you visit her blog, look in the right column at the counter of visitors: 1,437,700 as of this blog post. Look at the world map showing where all the visitors are from. And look at this:



This is from Stellan's name gallery. These women are from the Ivory Coast in West Africa and have been praying for Stellan. Are you kidding me??

Here's where the collective "Amen!" comes in. Stellan was born Wednesday. Healthy. Alive. Well. I get shivers thinking about it. The NICU attended the birth, "knowing" that Stellan would need their care and services. The doctors cannot find a THING wrong with this child.

Here's what I have to say. God is real. God is here. NOTHING is too big for God. God has worked a miracle for this family, and while that's amazing, that's not even really the point. God used this family to bring ALL 1,437,700 people to a place where they could read about how He was working in their lives. Where there was undeniable proof that He exists. And while there's not a "counter" for this statistic, how many people do you think have been brought to know the Lord through this faithful woman and her healthy child Stellan?

Amen!