Stand Firm, Part 2

Suddenly fear gripped Arthur. But he held his course. He glimpsed out of the corner of his eye his father cheering him on. As Henry approached, Arthur thrust his lance forward, carefully guiding it to the most vulnerable part of Henry’s armor. As Arthur’s lance struck, Henry fell to the ground, having received a fatal wound.

Arthur had done it! He had won the joust, and now his father’s kingdom was safe for a little longer. He looked up to see his father coming towards him. Suddenly, though he was so happy, he became terribly ashamed. “Wonderful job, my son!” The king said.

“But father, how can you be proud of me? I was afraid the entire time!” Arthur said, scarcely daring to lift his eyes from the ground.

“My son, you did it. You won. You overcame your fears. You are now victorious. Thought there are many battles left for you to fight, I will always be with you. And you can trust this armor in any battle.” And with that the king and Arthur went off to join the victory party.

The just, loving king represents our Father and our Lord, the one who we have given our lives to serve. Arthur is you and I, the ones who he has called to live for him and fight in his army. Henry represents those things that we fight against every day. The things that try to weaken our faith. But we can know that we will always overcome through the power of our father and the strength of the armor he has given us.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)

Stand Firm, Part 1

It was shaping up to be the joust of the century. There were two knights, one on each side of the tiltyard, each dressed in his own special suit of shining armor.

To the left of the grandstand there was Arthur, seated on his majestic white stallion. He looked around nervously, scanning the crowd. Suddenly he caught sight of his father, the king. His father gave him a nod of approval, calming his frayed nerves.

On the opposing side there was Henry. Seated on his strong black stallion, he surveyed his opponent. Ha! He thought. How does he expect to win dressed in armor like that! Only the most necessary pieces. Ha! And it was true. Henry was arrayed in a fine, full suit of armor. Every inch of his body was covered by either chain mail or the sturdiest of metals.

Arthur had a suit of armor that seemed much less protecting, but it seemed to glow from within. It was composed of a simple belt, breastplate, and shoes, along with his helmet. He carried a very simple but light shield and held his lance in hand.

Arthur looked at his opponent, sizing up the match. He knew that Henry would do anything to win this joust. After all, Henry wasn’t on their side. He was on the side of his father, Brandon, who was trying to rob the king of some of his kingdom. Well, Arthur thought. Today my father’s kingdom will be rid of one more threat. Or at least so he hopped.

The flag was dropped, signaling the beginning of the first match. As Arthur dug his heels into his horse, he almost turned back. But no, he couldn’t do that to his father once again. Besides, his father had given him a promise along with the suit of armor. “My son,” He had said. “Know that I will be with you always, through every battle.” And with those words ringing in his ears, he straightened his course to ride strait towards Henry.

Henry was certain that he could easily un-horse his opponent on the first pass. As he glanced up to survey Arthur’s position, he noticed that Arthur was making a straight course right for him! Henry veered slightly to the right to avoid contact. Both riders swung their horses around for another pass.

Some Fun Valentine's Day Facts

While looking for something to post about on Valentine's Day, I found a good article on the subject at www.history.com. I took the liberty to “pick and choose” paragraphs, to create an abridged version. (I asked my mom, and she said it wasn’t plagiarism). Please enjoy!

One legend contends that Valentine was a priest who served during the third century in Rome. When Emperor Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families, he outlawed marriage for young men — his crop of potential soldiers. Valentine, realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret. When Valentine's actions were discovered, Claudius ordered that he be put to death.

Other stories suggest that Valentine may have been killed for attempting to help Christians escape harsh Roman prisons where they were often beaten and tortured.

According to one legend, Valentine actually sent the first 'valentine' greeting himself. While in prison, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with a young girl — who may have been his jailer's daughter — who visited him during his confinement. Before his death, it is alleged that he wrote her a letter, which he signed 'From your Valentine,' an expression that is still in use today. Although the truth behind the Valentine legends is murky, the stories certainly emphasize his appeal as a sympathetic, heroic, and, most importantly, romantic figure. It's no surprise that by the Middle Ages, Valentine was one of the most popular saints in England and France.
According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Tori

Carpet

If you haven't read Tori's post 'Putting Down Wood Floors,' please read that before continuing. Last night we had what you might call a small flood in our home. A pipe burst, and water was all in the hallway, in the living room where the piano used to be, and into our TV room. It took some time to clean up, but this story isn't the exact point.

Our TV room is carpeted, and the carpet had been down for years (like 20 or 30). Underneath the carpet we have beautiful brick floors. We had been thinking about pulling the carpet up, and when this happened we had to. It was dripping wet. We got it out onto the driveway, then started pulling up some of the foam stuff.

I began thinking about what Tori had said about the different carpet parts and how they parallel to your life. Sometimes when you have an emergency or tragedy, people find out more about who you are, and get to see more parts of your life. When we got down to the brick some of it was beautiful, but some of it was very dirty. When hard things hit your life and people see more of your character, what are they going to see? Are they going to see the life that God has cleaned up and made new, or are they going to see spots where you have delayed giving things to God and cleaning them up?

If you haven't asked God to help you get rid of these things, do it now. Many people say that character is built under pressure, however, in all truth, character is revealed under pressure. What will tragedy reveal about your life when it hits?

Putting Down Wood Floors

My dad likes fixing/renovating our house. As our first of ??? spring projects, we decided we would put a wood floor in the "den." We're replacing old, stained, blue carpet with real oak wood.

We yanked up the carpet, and there was a layer of yellow foam underneath. It had dust all over it. After nine years, the grime had really built up.

Then we pulled up the foam, and underneath was a pretty (at least I thought it so) terrazzo floor. In some places, however, you could hardly see the terrazzo, because if I had thought that the foam was bad, this...

Then the cleaning crew came in to put everything to rights. We probably swept up a good three, maybe five cups of dirt.

Putting down a wood floor takes a lot more work than you would think. There are two layers, first the clear foam stuff, then the wood.

The carpet could be viewed as your life. It looks fine, for the most part. Everyone can see it, so you try to keep it nice.

Your friends and family see the layer underneath that. It's dirty. But it's not that bad.

You and God are the only ones who can see the bottom layer. The dirt and grime, the sin that is lodged there. The stuff that nobody else could even guess at. It could be really pretty, but the dirt is covering the good part up.

But God can clean you out. It's not an easy job, but He can do it. After sweeping everything clean, He'll give you new protection- The Holy Spirit- to keep the bad things from finding their way in again.

And to help you remember you're His and you are forgiven- no hard feelings- he gives you a new polished, un-scuffed look. And unlike the flimsy un-stable carpet, you now have a new, solid foundation. One that will never let you down.

Well, I'm documenting the big project, and it looks like we're entering a new phase (we're not quite done yet). I have to go!

Tori

Sorry

We are sorry for not blogging in a long time. We have both been on vacation- in areas without great Internet access- and busy with Christmas, etc.

We will be posting soon though, and our subject will be: New Year Resolutions.

Tori and Bethany:)

Who We Are

About Bethany Winz:

I am an imaginative teenager who loves Jesus with her whole heart. I like cold, unlike some people I know (read about Tori). I enjoy crafting of many kinds, including knitting, crocheting, jewelry making, and scrap booking. I also enjoy cooking and baking. One of my favorite things to do when I am alone is to listen to worship/Christian music and sing my heart out (and, for obvious reasons, I only do this when I am alone…..). I spend a lot of time helping in our children’s ministry and interning with the generational minister at our church. But, enough about what I have to say about me. This is what Tori has to say about me!

Tori on Bethany:

When I first met Bethany, it took some time for us to get to know each other. When we did, things just clicked. While she can be quite crazy at times, she brings life to potentially boring meetings. She is a very out going person, and is always telling me about her church and all of her passions (there are many) (Bethany: Jesus is always first! Back to you, Tori!). Opposites attract, and while I know that saying is generally used in terms of marriage, I have found it applies to best friends, also!

About Tori Tjernagel:

The cold is distasteful to her, and she considers it cold at 60 degrees and below. Ironically, her favorite part of the year is winter (because of Christmas). She loves anything that helps her catch the holiday spirit. Her hobbies are reading, writing on her blog, and anything crafty- knitting (with a spool or loom, but mostly with needles), crocheting, embroidering, count cross-stitch, scrap booking, jewelry making... The list goes on. She has had a lifelong yearning for a dog, but has only seceded in coaxing her parents into getting a cat (not really, but the story is too long to explain here). She is troubled at the shape of her generation, and has been intimately connected with a couple of split families.

Bethany on Tori:

Tori is probably the most serious friend that I have. She is VERY organized, and when she has decided some way to do something, she will have her way She also has a funny, very humorous side (surprise, surprise!) and we joke around all the time! She has an incredible passion and drive for life, and especally dancing. Whenever there is something to do, Tori will get it done!

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s discuss some other topics of interest.

How we got our idea:

We were in Tori’s dining room discussing how half of a split family was having to move because of more relationship complications. We had also recently read an article in Brio, a magazine made by Focus on the Family for teen girls, called ‘Make it Matter.’ We decided then and there that we would make our lives matter by ministering to children in single parent homes or split families. They need our love!

You know we minister to children in split homes. But here’s the specific type of split home we focus on:

We minister to any child in any kind of single parent home. This means the parents can either be divorced, separated, one may have died, run off, the child may be the result of pre-marital sex, and, as sad as it is, rape- pretty much any case you can think of (if there is a case that we have not thought of that may need our attention, please please please leave a comment or send us an email!).

Other ways we wish to help these children:

Both Bethany and Tori have been blessed with parents who truly love each other, and have a lifelong marriage commitment. While our hearts go out to children less fortunate than us, we don’t have the experience we need to know what these children need most. We are searching for an addition to our team who comes from a single parent home. More on that in the next post.
Things we hope to expand into later:
We both have a huge passion for life, the redemption of our generation, and freedom. We eventually want to have impact on these issues: The end of abortion, euthanasia, and suicide. We also want to stop human trafficking, and especially sex trafficking. We want to influence our generation to make their lives matter, and for the end of things like eating disorders, immodesty, and pre-marital sex.

How you can help:

PRAY FOR US! We are going to get a running list of prayer requests for the families that we are helping, us personally, and our ministry. Also, we can use your help in so many other ways. If you are good at writing fiction or re-telling history, you can help us with our newsletter. If you are financially able to give, we can send out more copies of the newsletter. If you like helping by putting postage on things, making copies, or other kinds of labor like that, we can also use you. Maybe you are good at designing newsletters and such. If these aren’t ‘your thing’ and you still want to help, email us and we will find something for you to do. PLEASE LET US KNOW! You can e-mail us at armsofloveministries@gmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Also, if you come from a single parent home and have any ideas, we WANT to hear from you. We need someone to tell us where to go.

Both Bethany and Tori are rebelutionaries. What is a rebelutionary? Check it out at www.therebelution.com/aboutrebelution.htm. The book Do Hard Things, written by the creators of the Rebelution, has helped us grow closer to Christ, and helped us through some vital steps in creating our ministry.

Thank you for reading our blog, and feel free to comment on anything!

Tori and Bethany:)