Greetings from New Mexico!! Here is one of the few things I really do miss from this area of the nation, the great Organ Mountains. A beautiful backdrop to this otherwise fairly boring town. The trip here was fairly uneventful, just 10 hours in a car with two kids, enough said. We did leave earlier than expected and missed our "talk" with the JW's. I figure they will be back before too long. Well the planning for the reunion is going well. It looks like we might have a decent turn out, we wer not sure that more than 10 would show and now we have over 70. So it should be a realative good time.

The first thing we did when we got into town was head down to the local Burger/Taco joint and have us some good old fashiop Mexican food. We ate Mexican the day after as well, and now we are waiting a few days, as Josh and I forgot it has been a good three years since we had real green chili and our poor tummys are feeling it.

The good thing about coming back is the way it helps you remember why you left in the first place. I forgot how very poor, and expensive it is here in the grest Las Cruces. This is the fifth porest county in the the nation. People are POOR, and yet houses are almost twice what they run in Round Rock. It makes no sense to me, but then again, it doesn't have to. Plus it is HOT!!!! It was 104 on Monday. That is just crazy!!!! I feel ill from all the heat. But I love loooking at the Mountains and eating the hot authentic Mexican food.

Another thing about this town, I have run into someone almost everywhere I have been. Now, I was not that popluar and I did not know that many people when I lived here. It is just that small. I have only run into one person in WalMart in Austin, I have run into 5 people here so far.

Oh well, I am excited for the time I will spend here, but I am excited to come back home as well.

I can not wait until Monday!!! We are traveling to New Mexico to visit my parent and to go to my 10 year high school reunion. I am so excited. I am excited because Josh gets to go, and we get to have a “real” family vacation! We are going to go to White Sands and we are going to take Jacob to the Toy Train Depot and I get to see my mommy. It is going to be a good week and I can not wait to be away from work for a day or two or seven.

"It's just a growth?"

Well, everyone will be happy to know that it is official, I do not have cancer. Or at least skin cancer.

Jehovah’s Witnesses

Over the last couple of months, about once a month a nice lady from the Jehovah’s Witnesses comes to our house. I think they might think they have a chance to “convert” us, because Josh will talk with them for a bit…so they keep coming back. Well, they dropped by on Saturday and left a pamphlet with us and made an appointment to come back next Saturday. Usually we just throw the leaflet they leave us away, as Josh and I have a faith and a religion that we believe in. We usually will chat with them for a minute or two to humor them. Well, Josh took the kids swimming after they left and I stayed home. While I was tooting around the house I opened this pamphlet they had left. Now, I am one who believes that everyone has a right to there own beliefs and their own faith. But man, I had no idea how much the Jehovah’s witnesses do NOT believe this. So in case you all are wondering what I have planned for them after we invite them into our home, these are my thoughts:

• The pamphlet states: Is Jehovah a Trinity-three persons in one God? No! Jehovah, the Father is “the only true God” (John 17:3). Jesus is His firstborn Son and he is subject to God. (1 Corinthians 11:3) The father is greater than the Son. (John 14: 28 The holy spirit is not a person; it is God’s active force-Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:18. Now if you all will remember my light bulb moment a few weeks ago (just scroll down a bit) when I really realized that God is Jesus and Jesus is God. One in the same. Let us look at John 17:3 that they quote: “And this is the way to have eternal life-to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.” It says nothing of the trinity. Now lets look at just a few chapters before at John 14:10 “Don’t you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words I say are not my own, but my Father who lives in me does his work through me. Just believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe because of what you have seen me do.” Plus, later in the leaflet they say that Jesus is the word, well, if I can remember John 1:1 correctly…
• Secondly, as you may already know, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that their religion is the one “True Religion”. They base this on John 4:23-24; Ephesians 4:4-5 and Matthew 7:13-14. Both the scriptures referenced in John and Ephesians do in fact mention that there is only one Lord, one faith, one baptism. However, they do not mention one religion. Does this mean that even though I believe that Jesus is God’s Son, and he came to earth to sacrifice himself for my sins, and I confessed this belief in public and took on baptism BUT I worship in a church of Christ that I am not going to Heaven? I know better, but these poor souls just don’t know.
• Lastly, because my lunch break is almost over: there is not one mention of God’s grace. Not once does it mention forgiveness, or a grace filled God. It just repeats over and over again about how you need to live a clean life, because that is what God would want. Your house must be spotless, your clothes must be clean. The whole idea of “you may never sin again” is daunting and it is no wonder that so many people who do not share the faith that I do think Christians are crazy. But I know and many others have been blessed to understand about God’s grace and that while we may not be perfect and mistakes will happen, He will still love us.
  
  
  I think that this is the first time I truly have ever run into anyone who has taken scriptures so out of context. I have heard it spoken of throughout my life, but have never witnessed it myself. Now that I see how people twist God’s words to help fit their agenda, and to omit scriptures that might speak against what they are trying to teach it is so incredibly frustrating.