Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death!

We are under attack in so many ways. Read this article by Corinne Patterson on the Focus Press website and you will see what I am talking about.

A Life Changing Song

Today I wanted to post a short story written by a talented young lady who I met through Virtuous. Her name is Brooke Reninger and she worships in Cerdar Falls, Iowa. Here is the story. Enjoy!

A Life Changing Song

Violet took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. Calm down, she told herself. Just one song and you’re done.

She was used to giving concerts; she had been doing them since she was seven. So she was also accustomed to the nerves that went along with them. But this was different. She was playing just one song in front of three judges and an average size audience. Just one song to leave her mark on the audience and mystify the judges. It would be quite a challenge, especially with the song she had chosen. But it would be worth it. She could finally be discovered, get a record deal, be a star! But she had to get past this first, she reminded herself.
Someone signaled her. It was her turn. She took another deep breath and walked out on stage. The lights were blinding. The middle judge smiled at her.

“Hello. What is your name, and what will you be doing?”

“I’m Violet Tercott and I’ll be playing the piano.”

“Excellent. You may begin whenever you are ready.”

Violet gave the judges a small smile and proceeded to the piano bench. She perched there gracefully for a moment, her fingers gently resting on the keys.
Then she began to play. As she moved through the song, her nervousness fled. She gave herself over to the melody, feeling it flow through her fingertips into her entire body. She felt every emotion of the harmonies; the anger as the seconds raged, the peacefulness when fifths sounded.

She ended with a flourish of fingers and keys, to the thunderous applause of the audience and a standing ovation from the judges. Almost in a daze, she managed a slight bow.
I did it, she thought. I’m on my way. Soon, the whole world will get to hear me play. In her heart, she knew this was the most important day of her entire life.

Brooke Reninger

What must I do to be saved?

In the salvation of man's soul there are 2 necessary parts: God's part and man's part. God's part is the big part, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift if God; not of works, that no man should glory" (Ephesians 2:8-9). The love which God felt for man led him to send Christ into the world to redeem man. The life and teaching of Jesus, the sacrifice on the cross, and the proclaiming of the gospel to men constitute God's part in salvation.



Though God's part is the big part, man's part is also necessary if man is to reach heaven. Man must comply with the conditions of pardon which the Lord has announced. Man's part can clearly set forth in the following steps:



Hear the Gospel. "How shall they call on him whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?" (Romans 10:14).



Believe. "And without faith it is impossible to be well pleasing unto him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek after him" (Hebrews 11:6).


Repent of past sins. "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent" (Acts 17:30).



Confess Jesus as Lord. "Behold here is water; What doth hinder me to be baptized ? And Philip said, if thou believeth with all thy heart thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God" (Acts 8:36-37).



Be baptized for the remission of sins. "And Peter said unto them, Repent ye, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of your sins and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38).



Live a Christian life. "Ye are an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that ye may show forth the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (1 Peter 2:9).

OPEN INVITATION
Now that you are aware of a church in the 20th century which is built according to the blue prints of Christ's original church, why not become a member of it? In becoming a member of it, you will be called upon to do nothing which you cannot read in the New Testament. You will then live and worship just as the apostle-guided Christians of the first century did.
Not only is this return to New Testament Christianity a wonderful basis upon which all believers in Christ can unite, it is absolutely solid ground. If we do just what our Lord commanded we know that our salvation is certain. Come with us as we go back to the Bible, back to Christ and his church!



If you need help in locating a congregation of the churches of Christ nearest to you, please e-mail us at virtuousmag@yahoo.com, and we will be more than happy to help you find one. No one from the church will call without your consent. Please come by and visit us soon. We care about you and your family.





(Article from church-of-christ.org)

Things that make you go hmmm....

Hey! I hope everyone had a happy turkey day; I know I did. And I know that I have a lot of catching up to do, pictures to load etc... Anyway until I can get to that check out this article on the Christian Courier website and trust me it's eye opening to some of the abominations that are being spouted by so-called Christians.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

A Step Ahead

If nothing else the Virtuous woman is always at least one, if not two, steps ahead of everyone else. Publishing a magazine also keeps you that way. So today how about a FREE printable 2010 calendar designed by Gleaux and available HERE.

Launch Party Photos!!!

Everyone loved walking the red carpet! The tunes were courtesy of DJ Bentley aka Byron Fitch and the scrumptious cake was provided by Neadie Dismuke. Thanks again to everyone who came out and supported Virtuous; we've got big plans ahead so stay posted.

Recovery

The launch party was a success! A big thanks to everyone who came out and supported Virtuous. Pictures are coming soon! Whew I need a little R&R after such an amazing party!

The State of the American Woman

TIME magazine has done a special on American women and what they want, how they feel and the changing climate of households. Women will now take the mens' place as the most employed gender, and about 40% of women are now the breadwinners in their family. Some of the research revealed that women have the most equality, liberation and freedom now than they have ever had; yet they are the unhappiest they have ever been. Some believed it was because of the all of the new repsonsibilities that come along with equality. What do you think? Follow the link above to read all of the articles they're pretty interesting.

Gay-Marriage: Big Defeat in Maine

Michael A. Lindenberger – Wed Nov 4, 10:20 am ET

Mainers' 53-47 vote to reject gay marriage does more than simply slap down a law that just six months ago had made Maine America's second state to permit same-sex couples to wed. With voters thronging to the polls, the closely watched - and ultimately not very close - vote extended the winning streak of gay marriage opponents nationwide, who have now prevailed in more than 30 straight state elections over whether to allow gays to marry. Just like Californians one year ago, Maine voters insisted on having their own say on an issue that simply will not go away.

I think the country has spoken on how they feel about homosexual marriage and many people who are pro-traditional marriage (they always try to make us anti-) are not members of the church of Christ. Even the children of the world can differentiate right from wrong. Read the rest of the article here.

VIRTUOUS HAS ARRIVED!

Today is the day we've all been waiting for... Virtuous launches today! Yay! You can get a free digital copy of the premier issue by joining the Virtuous Magazine group on Facebook. You can also find a hard copy of the magazine here. This is truly an exciting day! I never thought I would actually make one of my oldest dreams come true, but with God, hard work, great help and awesome technology you can do anything. Keep living Virtuously. To subscribe please click on the link above that says Subscribe or just go here! Also, a big thank you to everyone who has been super supportive with this endeavor.

3 days until the launch!

Getting ready for the official launch on Nov. 1 and for the launch party on Nov. 7! Sooooo exciting.

4 days until the launch!

The Countdown Has Begun!

5 days until the launch of Virtuous!

5 is for the number of writers/contributors in the premier issue!

What a friend we have in Jesus!

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble anywhere?We should never be discouraged; take it to the Lord in prayer.Can we find a friend so faithful who will all our sorrows share?Jesus knows our every weakness; take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden, cumbered with a load of care?Precious Savior, still our refuge, take it to the Lord in prayer.Do your friends despise, forsake you? Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In His arms He’ll take and shield you; you will find a solace there.

Blessed Savior, Thou hast promised Thou wilt all our burdens bearMay we ever, Lord, be bringing all to Thee in earnest prayer.Soon in glory bright unclouded there will be no need for
prayerRapture, praise and endless worship will be our sweet portion there.

It really works I have been heavily burdened this week but God really will lift the sorrows from you if you allow Him to. Burdens are lifted at calvary all you have to do is leave them there. Focus on what you have control over and not on what you cannot control. Jesus loves you and will carry through whatever you may be going through. I am getting away this weekend for some much needed relaxation on a ladies retreat, will bring photos when I get back. Hope you have a great weekend!

Gospel Meeting

So last night was the culmination of the Tara COC gospel meeting with Bro. Caleb Campbell. He did a fine job with his last lesson entitled "I want to go to Heaven Because..." His points were as follows I want to go to heaven because:

1. Heaven will be a place of reward; Heb. 12:1-2, Rev. 3:21
2. Heaven is going to be a place of rest; Phil. 2:24-30, 2. Cor. 11:23
3. Heaven will be a place of revival or renewal; 1. Kings 19:1-8, 1. Cor. 15:42-43
4. Heaven is place where righteousness dwells; 2. Pet. 3:10-13 (SIDE NOTE: I laughed a little to myself because I thought about the Aruba commercials saying that Aruba is where happiness lives. I was like well forget that I'm going where righteousness lives!)
5. Heaven is a place of reunion; 2. Sam. 12:15-23, Heb. 9:27

All in all it was a great meeting. I am trying to completely baptize my life in Christian activities. I was speaking with my father who is an elder and a preacher and I said it must be nice to have your entire life wholly devoted to working for the Lord. I mean his job is to study. I am trying to outfit mine in the same light. I said that to say that if you are in the Atlanta area Conyers COC is having a lectureship this Saturday and Virtuous will be there! LOL actually just me... :-) I think it begins at 9 am so let's support our neighboring congregations!

Gospel Meeting

The Tara COC is having their fall gospel meeting this week and I enjoyed a great lesson on the church by Bro. Caleb Campbell last night. It is so important to support your congregation in everything that it does, that you are able to attend. We had a full house and I was very proud to have been amongst the number. It's one hour and really there is nothing on television on Tuesdays anyway. :) When you think of what you could've been doing if you weren't there, it doesn't compare. And your soul was able to get an extra meal or two this week!

Really? What's next?

Apparently to some the Holy inspired word of God is not conservative enough and needs some editing. Who do these people think they are? You can read the full article here, Conservative Bible Project Cuts Out Liberal Passages. What do you think about this... they want to set it up like wikipedia so anyone can edit it. But not just that, what do you think about editing the Bible in general?

So much to do... So little time

There are so many things happening in October I'm super excited. For one the Tara COC is having their ladies day Oct. 31st and I am making scrapbooks for decoration...fun! The Avondale COC is having their ladies retreat in Savannah Oct. 23-25 and boy could I use a retreat. I already know where I will be spending all of my little money, The Paris Market and Brocante! Also, I am preparing for the Virtuous Launch Party (more details to follow), and speaking of Virtuous it launches in 26 days...excitement!!!!

So much to look forward to, but looking back on Sunday and the awesome sermon given by Bro. Eric Owens of Avondale, all I can say is wow. The sermon was called "Watching for the Master" and was about being a servant of Jesus and being watchful for His return. But the part that I believe had everyone in self reflection was when he asked did people want to live their lives always under construction? He said some people are dirt pushers; they never build anything because if they did they would have to move on to something else. He asked what if you did make your marriage great by working hard or rear God fearing children by actually parenting them; then you would have to move on to the next thing. But some people are so afraid of what's next that instead of building anything they just push the same dirt around in different piles for 5, 10 or 15 years! I definitely don't want to be a dirt pusher and I don't want you to be one either. So let's get our hands dirty and accomplish whatever it is we've been pushing around.

My attempt to make a blogger button... we'll see

It took me much longer than it probably should have but look it is FINALLY there. YAY!!!!!

Jimmy Choo for H&M

Oh my stars!!!! I love designer collbos and this might be one of the best. Jimmy Choo the fabulous shoe designer has partnered with H&M, the look for less, to design an entire line of clothing, shoes and accessories! The line doesn't hit stores until November, but I just thought I would give you a heads up. Here is a link to the press release. Can you tell that I am too excited?

Wednesday's Words of Encouragement

Proverbs 31:25 "Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come."

Why I became a member of the Church of Christ

Everyone has a story and some are extremely funny about why they are a member of the Church of Christ. Mine is relatively short since my father is a preacher and at 11 I walked into the dining and announced I need to be baptized, because I could go to hell. Some people are like me and start off with a fear of hell others were baptized because of spouses or friends. Why are you a member of the Church of Christ?

Heaven Express

If only it was this easy! I love the sign that says it departs everyday at noon. I wonder if you can come back. I love the photo. The artist is Erik Johansson he has several amazing photos on his site and you can see them here, but I thought I should share this one in particular with you.

All in a Virtuous weekend

So... I had a great weekend. I celebrated my cousin's sweet sixteenth birthday, went to an young adult Bible study at Avondale Church of Christ, enjoyed a VERY lazy Saturday and went to church on Sunday. The Bible study was especially good because the speaker, Bro. Eric Owens, taught about evangelism and its importance. One of his major points was that evangelism first needs to begin in the home. By rearing God fearing children and saving them you could be responsible for saving countless generations. Because your children will save their children and so on. It was very thought provoking. Also on Sunday, the Tara church of Christ learned of the serious illness of our Bro. William Jones. He is currently suffering from pnuemonia and other health conditions. We (me and the Mr.) went to visit him in the hospital after evening service and he could not even speak. So please keep him and his wife Catherine in your prayers.

On another note GA has been receiving non-stop rain! It's such a blessing... especially after all of the prayers that were being offered for rain. Now we've got more than we know what to do with. But at least hopefully our farmers, lakes and wildlife are benefitting from it. But Mr. sun has come out today so enjoy it while it lasts. Oh and speaking of farmers, well of food, check the ingredients on the foods that you eat. BHT, BHA and TBHQ are common preservatives and have been known to cause cancer. In California you must put a seal on your product that says contains BHT and may cause cancer! Also I checked this morning and it's in women's antiperpirant too! It is banned in almost every country in the world except the USA and Japan! And check out a documentary called Food Inc. coming out in November, which highlights some of the horrible things going into our food and going into making our food. Virtuous will be conducting a free screening of the documentary so be looking for more information on that. I think that's all for today folks. Ciao!

And it don't stop!

YAY!!!!!!!! The premier issue of Virtuous is complete and will be launched November 1st. Phew! It took a lot of work from a lot of people but it is finally complete. And as I started to rejoice over this feat I realized, it's time to get started on the second issue! Starting this new endeavor is one that I have dreamt of for a very long time and I am so happy it is finally coming to fruition. I have so many ideas for the future of Virtuous and once was told to imagine where you want to be and work backward from there. My head is spinning from the possibilities swirling around inside of it. I promise you can always bet I have like three or four things going at once. :) I am chronically overambitious, but I believe in going big or going home. So I am now getting ready for the launch party, where we will put care packages together for local congregations who have college students away; contemplating concepts for the television show (well web-show), and working on Virtuous' sister publications, Virtuous in College and Virtuous Mom. It's a lot but so incredibly exciting! I dwell in possibility. I can't wait for you all to see the premier issue and receive your feedback. I have officially begun the countdown till the launch ( 6 weeks...wow only 6 weeks)! To hold you over until the launch how about putting your own face on the cover of a magazine with magmypic.com! It's free and you can upload any pic to almost any magazine!