Making Vows

Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared ~ Psalm 76:11
When we think of vows, most of us automatically think about wedding vows. We think of a man and a woman vowing, or promising, their entire lives to one another. It's a beautiful thing. But as I've been reading the bible, specifically the Psalms, over and over I see the psalmist talking about the vows he's made to the Lord and how he seeks with all that is in him to keep his vows. Seeing a follower of God making promises to Him is a foreign concept to me. I don't see it or hear of it happening much today. I wonder why...

A promise is binding. When I tell my kids that we "might" do something, I feel absolutely no pressure to follow through with it. When I make a promise, it's a different story. I have to make whatever sacrifices I need to make and do whatever I need to do in order to follow through and keep my promise. Making a promise, or a vow, binds us to do what we've said we will do.
As I considered these things, I began to consider the losing battle that many of us have with sin. Many of us have certain areas of our lives where we continue to fall, and we pray and pray yet continue to fail in those areas. Usually we're praying something about hoping we don't do it anymore, yet keeping in mind that we are sinners so understanding in our hearts and minds that we probably will. What we're actually doing at that point is telling God that we "might" not sin in that area, thus feeling no pressure to actually follow through with it.

So here is my question; how much more serious would we be about following through with killing that sin and not continuing in it if we had made a vow to God concerning our purity in that area? I think many of us don't make vows to God because we don't want that type of accountability. We're not serious enough about leaving that sin alone. In some ways, we WANT to keep "struggling" with that sin. Maybe we don't make vows to God because we're worried that God will wipe us out if we break them, but is that the character of the God we serve? Not at all! Jesus Christ was crucified to pay for our sins and remove the wrath of God from those that believe. God is patient and kind; He's loving and merciful! But that doesn't clear us from seeking, by His grace, to keep our promises and pay our vows to God. Psalm 76:11 says make your vows to the Lord your God AND PERFORM THEM. If I love my kids, and will do whatever I need to do to keep my promises to them, how much more do I love God and will seek to keep my promises to Him!

Consider making some very serious and purposeful vows to the Lord. Count the cost. Recognize the work, and sacrifice, and self denial that must go into keeping that vow! Understand that the keeping of that vow is only possible by God's grace! Our dependence upon God and the strength of the Holy Spirit is the only way we can do anything good. And finally, make sure that your motivation is not necessarily that YOU would have victory, but that GOD would be honored and glorified through your loving and willful obedience! God's love for us and our love for Him must always be the motivation for our obedience!
~ Issac

Snow?!?!

It is March 27th and there is enough snow and ice on the ground to
cancel school today. What the?? I have already passed the point of
enjoying winter and I'm ready for the warm sun!! Why does March
always do this? Teasing us with warm weather and then BAM, cold snow.
Oh well. I know God is in control of the weather so I shouldn't
complain. He has blessed us with moister in this dry dessert. Thank
you, God, for Your provision!

:Kristi:

Disneyland!

Our Kids Are Awesome!

The past 3 weeks have been very different for us. Issac was doing
training from 3:00 to midnight, so it was just me and the kids in the
evenings. I definitely got to spend a lot more time with just them and
it was fun! We had some nice weather so I let them ride bikes outside
and I even grilled hamburgers and hot dogs the other night. My kids
are definitely awesome! They are so funny and unique in their own
way. They are growing up so quickly! I hope I get to enjoy more days
of hanging out with them and I hope they always want to hang out with
me!
I'm very thankful for the gift God has given me of being a mommy. It
helps me to understand the love He has for me as His child. I would
never leave or forsake my kids and He, being perfect and better than
me, would never leave me! He has given me the hope of eternal life by
sending Jesus to take the punishment of my sin - death and hell - and
has given me life! He is so awesome and loving!

:Kristi:

Finding hope in the darkness

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,“therefore I will hope in him.” ~ Lamentations 3:22-24

This is a familiar text. Many of us know and have heard this passage quoted before. The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases! His mercies are new every morning! What awesome promises of the Word! But I think we lose the full weight of this truth when we don't consider the context. We picked up in verse 22 of chapter 3, however verses 1-21 look a lot different. Jeremiah, in this passage, is describing his circumstances; he's explaining what his life looks like and it's not pretty. How many of us can relate to circumstances in life that aren't pretty? In verse 2 he speaks of being "in darkness without any light". Jeremiah describes himself as being "enveloped in bitterness and tribulation" in verse 5. In verse 14 Jeremiah tells us that he is mocked; he says that he is "the laughingstock of all peoples". Jeremiah's situation in life seemed so dark and hopeless that he even says, in verse 17, that he's "forgotten what happiness is".

I don't know about you, but I can relate to Jeremiah. I've had times when it seemed as though nothing in my life was good. My circumstances have been so dark, that it seemed like there was no light to be found. There have been times in my life where I have forgotten what it was like to be happy because it had been so long since I had experienced that emotion. You don't have to live in this world very long before you realize that life isn't easy. As a matter of fact, there are going to be times when the circumstances of this life beat you down and leave you feeling like Jeremiah describes in this passage.

We are going to have dark and difficult times in our lives; the question is, how will we deal with them? How will we deal with "the valley"? How will we respond to the "dark night of the soul"? We get the example of how to deal with these times from Jeremiah in this passage. After saying all of this about his very troubling circumstances Jeremiah makes a transitional statement in verse 21; "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope:" and then comes the text we're looking at today, "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 'The Lord is my portion,' says my soul, 'therefore I will hope in him.'” Jeremiah found hope in a hopeless situation by "calling to mind" the truth of God's love for him. Jeremiah couldn't help but recognize what was going on all around him; he didn't ignore it. The thing about Jeremiah was that he made a decision to view his circumstances in light of God's steadfast love and never ending mercy. He reminded himself that, although each day seemed to beat him to the ground, God was going to give him new mercy tomorrow to deal with what tomorrow would bring. He reminded himself that although he was mocked and laughed at by men, God loved him.

I don't normally hear these verses quoted by people whose circumstances look like Jeremiah's. I usually hear them quoted by "happy people" with "happy lives" that are devoid of suffering at the time. And the passage, at that point, doesn't hold the weight that it holds in light of it's context.

So the question still remains; how will we deal with these times in our lives? We can lose hope and lose faith and embrace depression; we can give up and take our own lives; or we can call to mind the steadfast love and unending mercy of God and find hope! Don't lose sight of God's love for you! Don't forget that God grants you new mercy for every day! Don't look for hope in this lost and dying world. The Lord is your portion...therefore hope in Him!

~ Issac

The Home Office

Today we went and bought a new chair, phone, and headset for Issac's
job. We just set up his home office area and it seems, for now, it's
more like the gaming area. I wonder how long that will last?!

:Kristi:

Birthday & Sickness

Yesterday was my birthday and I spent it at home with a sick little
boy. Issac has pink eye and was feverish, so I stayed with him
yesterday and today. My mom drove up from Albuquerque to take us to
see the doctor. He is a pain in the neck when it comes to taking his
eye drops!! I have to pin him down and hold his arms just to get one
drop in! When I was younger, I used to hate getting my hair washed.
My mom used to have to wash it in the sink while I threw a fit. I
guess my son is just like me. Oh well. :0)

:Kristi:

I reccomend Tedashii's new album dropping in May

Click here if the player isn't showing up


Don't Miss the Identity Crisis Release Party in Nashville at the GMA's!
Wed. April 22nd 8-10 pm at B.B. King's. Click here for map
Special Guests: Sho Baraka, Trip Lee, Lecrae, Flame, J.R.

Cool Video

This is fun

Zoo Fun

Today we took a trip to the Albuquerque Zoo to hang out with the
family. We had such a fun time! It seems like we always go to the zoo
whenever the weather starts to warm up. We did the same thing last
year in March! Since Issac has had a crazy work schedule, we thought
walking around looking at crazy animals would be a good idea to spend
time together. I'm always blown away by God's creation! I really like
the polar bear and the lion. We've been blessed each year to hear the
lion roar! It's funny because he doesn't put much effort into his
roar, but it's so loud! I wonder what it would sound like if he was
actually roaring full on?!? We had such a great time. Now it's time
to rest!

:Kristi:

Proverbs 18:22

I don't get on this blog that much. I'm just not that much of a "blogger" I guess. But it seems like every time I get on here I'm reading blogs where Kristi is speaking so highly of me. Honestly, many times I wonder who she's writing about because I figure, she can't be saying all things wonderful things about ME!? So I wanted to get on here and clarify something. I'm not NEARLY as awesome as my wife says I am. She makes me sound amazing! I am not. I fall so short...I only wish I could live up to her perspective of me. The other thing I wanted to do was to acknowledge the REAL awesome one in this relationship; and that is KRISTI! Proverbs 18:22 says He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord. I am living proof of that verse! I have found such a GREAT thing and AMAZING favor with God in my beautiful wife, Kristi. She is so diligent and hardworking at her 40 hr a week job, yet still comes home to care for her family by making meals, doing our laundry, cleaning up, and so much more! She is THE BIGGEST ENCOURAGEMENT in my life! As many of you know, I recently had to step down from my position at Calvary Santa Fe which put me out of work for a little over a month! That time was so challenging, yet she remained consistently positive and encouraging on a daily basis, always bringing my focus to God's promises to provide for us! She never once expressed any disappointment in me for being without work and not providing for the family. She blows me away! Now, although her doctrine is sound, she's not a theologian by any stretch of the imagination, but she has been a clearer representation of the love of Christ for me than any thing or any one else! She has truly been like an angel of God to me. But who am I kidding....you guys already know this. Every time Kristi posts a blog that communicates such nice things about ME, you guys probably say, "wow....for Kristi to see those things in someone like Issac, she must be godly!". I know that's what I say when I read those blogs. And you know what? We're right! She IS! She is more like Jesus than anyone I know. I love Kristi. I don't deserve her. But I will continue to seek to try to love her the way Christ loves the church! Anyway...this may have been kinda mooshy...but thanks for reading...I'll go back to letting Kristi do the blogging!

~Issac

Lonely Evenings

It's been almost a full week of Issac being at training from 3:00 to midnight. The evenings have definitely been lonely without him. The positive side is that I've been able to get lots of laundry and cleaning done! The kids are doing well, but they miss their Daddy. Little Ikey developed a stuffy nose and cough about two days ago, so Issac got a little break this morning from his part time job to stay home with Ikey. Ikey is doing much better thanks to prayer and Vicks Vapor products! Those vapors work miracles for coughs!
I'm happy that one week is almost over and there are only two left to go. It will all be worth it when he's working from home and we're enjoying Direct TV for free! If you're in Albuquerque, you can arrange to have dinner with Issac from 7:00 to 8:00. He usually has dinner at that time by himself. Please continue to pray for safe travels for Issac to and from Albuquerque. Thanks for your prayers!

:Kristi:

My Brother is Leaving

My brother, Mike, is leaving tomorrow for Oaklahoma City. He will be
starting training to be an Air Traffic Controller! We got to spend
some time with him today at my parents' house. The kids and I played
soccer with him and my sister, Lauren, for a while in the backyard.
He will be gone until the middle of July and we will miss him very
much! We will be praying that he will do well during his training and
that God would give him favor. We love you, Mike!

:Kristi: