Oprah

While I don't watch the Oprah Show, I do know that she has initiated many charitable projects, donated millions of dollars, and even encouraged people to read more. I believe her enormous fan base is due, in part, to the fact that she seems to genuinely care about helping others.

Both in the past and recently with her new "Awakening" series, Oprah has made various comments about religion, spirituality, God and Jesus. People consider her to be intelligent and well-read, so it may be easy for those not familiar with the Bible to accept what Oprah says regarding these topics as truth since she has professed a Christian background. I've listed below two of her comments to show how they contradict with the words of Jesus.

Oprah: "One of the mistakes that human beings make is believing that there is only one way [to God]...there are many paths to what you call 'God'...there couldn't possibly be just one way."

Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. " (John 14:6)

Oprah: "What I believe is that Jesus came to show us Christ-consciousness. Jesus came to show us the way of the heart...to show us the higher conciousness."

Jesus: "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." (Luke 19:10) AND "Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matt 20:28).

Jesus made some pretty radical and absolute claims about His deity, His purpose, and His character. We don't need to wonder or speculate about Jesus because we have access to detailed information about Him in the Scriptures. It is contradictory to say that Jesus was a "good man" or a "great prophet" but then dismiss the numerous statements He made about Himself...especially regarding His atonement for our sins. In essence, that is declaring Him to be a liar. How can he be good and a liar at the same time?

I'm not saying people shouldn't watch the Oprah Show, but I do believe that Christians who watch her shows on spirituality should do so with discernment. As she declares her own beliefs and opinions about your Savior, make sure that you know what your Savior said about Himself.

Perspective

I REALLY encourage you to take the time to watch THIS VIDEO about Nick Vujicic. While his message is important for everyone, I think families of special needs children will be doubly blessed.

Adobe Photoshop Express

Both my boys are asleep, so I decided to check out some photography sites...and I found a link to sign up for Adobe Photoshop Express. It seems to be pretty much like Picasa but with a few more options. I uploaded photos that had already been edited in Picasa, but I still used the Photoshop sketch (makes a photo look like a drawing), the color pop (makes the photo black&white except for a certain color), and the distortion (wait to you see Matthew's face!).

Go here to view: http://1sttimemama.photoshop.com/ Click on the "unnamed album" and there will be a slideshow of 3 photos.

UPDATE: here's the LINK for setting up an account for your own photos. Thanks for the suggestion, Jenna!

Vote for me!

I saw the following card on a photography website (yes, I am currently oBsEsSeD with photography sites...wish I was obsessed with dusting and laundry). Actually, my title should read "Vote for Scott" since he is the one in the family with the sweet grooves (as referenced in this post).

I won't give away what the inside of the card says so I that don't take away from Hallmark's potential earnings.

Sometimes I think I am using more than my fair share of blog space on the internet. Good thing my mom doesn't blog...I'll use her space!

precious is as precious does

Funny but cute after-bath hairdo:


Angelina Jolie called and wants her lips back:

SHARING MAKES YOU HAPPY AND LOVELY:

While Matthew is usually a fast and furious eater, I noticed this morning he would stop shoveling in his waffle every once in a while to offer a bite to the toy farmer who was standing by his plate.

KICKIN' IT:

While he is not interested in walking at all, Matthew loves to kick balls. This is usually a way that we do get him to practice walking. Lately he has begun trying to kick balls even when he is sitting. The other day he used his hand to pull up his foot and kick the ball. It was funny...and also interesting that he worked that out in his mind. Last night he was even trying to kick the balls in his bath...a little difficult since they were floating.

LAW & ORDER:

While at the store the other day, Matthew wanted an apple. I picked one out , handed it to him, and he immediately put it in his mouth. I quickly told him that he couldn't eat the apple until we paid for it, so he would need to wait. He held on to that apple the rest of our shopping trip and, when we got to the register, he held out his arm straight towards the cashier with the apple in his little hand. He then gave it up to her without a peep and waited patiently for her to give it back to him.

P.S...On the Wordless Wednesday photo a couple of comments were made about M's face being "chocolatey"...just wanted to say, I didn't give him chocolate (don't want him to turn out like his chocolate-lovin' mama)...that is black bean sauce on his face!!!

The sweet and sour of being a mama

My BBFF Rebecca has a caption on her blog that reads "the sweet and sour of parenthood." While being a mother is typically 99% of the time sweet, those sour days can make your face puckered as if you just ate a big crate of lemons. Yesterday my time with Matthew began with him screaming (he had thrown his blanket out of his crib and wanted it back) and ended with him screaming (I was feeding him with a spoon and if I happened to put the spoon down to feed myself, he completely lost it...nevermind that his mouth was FULL). I was at the point of envisioning myself poking my eyeballs out with a spoon. A tiny green baby spoon. When Scott walked in the door last night I handed him the baby and literally ran out of the house (I was meeting a friend).

After a rough start at breakfast, today has been sweet. Matthew was wonderful at the doctor's office even giving smiles to the staff. He tried to play peek a boo with another little boy, and he was very happy. It makes a mama's heart feel better to see her baby smile and have fun. It's sweet. He is currently napping and has lasted longer than 20 minutes...so that is very sweet, too!

Wordless Wednesday