Saturday, March 11, 2017

A Mountain out of a Mole Hill

Bear with me... It was a long, sleepless night and sorting out my thoughts is proving to be difficult..

As many of you know the live action Beauty and the Beast is revealing a homosexual character, Lefou. Also, as many of you know people are outraged by this. Disney is known to produce family friendly films and they are now supportive of LGBT. Since this has come to people's attention I've noticed a lot of disgust and denial. People are conflicted about whether or not they should go and see the movie. I've been trying to figure out where I stand on the subject myself... Because how I see it: 

We're a bunch of hypocrites.

We will sit down for two hours and watch a movie that is filled with horrible language, language that includes taking the Lords name in vain and we'll think nothing of it. But because Disney is supporting homosexuality it's completely different when it shouldn't be. We should be just as mortified about obscenity in the movies we watch on a daily basis as we are about homosexuality coming up in a Disney movie.

 Proverbs 6:16-19 says:

 "There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him:
17  haughty eyes, lying tongue,
and hands that shed innocent blood,
18  a heart that devises wicked plans,
feet that make haste to run to evil,
19  a false witness who breathes out lies,
and one who sows discord among brothers."

The Lord views lying, swearing, adultery, stealing, murder, coveting, just as sinful as He does sexual immorality. So who are we to throw a tantrum and refuse to watch something when we'll go watch other movies that in Gods eyes are no better.

Do you see where I'm coming from? We need to wake up... We need to stop brushing off the normal, generic sins we've grown accustomed to and view them on the same level as sexual immorality. Becuase the only sin that takes place above all others is blasphemy of the holy spirit, "And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." Matthew 12:32

Prover 6 tells us a few verses later...

"27  Can a man carry fire next to his chest
and his clothes not be burned?

28  Or can one walk on hot coals
and his feet not be scorched?"


What we watch affects our hearts. We need to be leery of what may cause us to stumble as Christians. So whether you watch Beauty and the Beast this weekend or you sign a petition, make sure that your reasoning behind it is acceptable and pleasing in Gods sight.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

Monday, January 2, 2017

Something New

It's been a while.. A whole year in fact. I survived 2016, just in case you were wondering. Some might say it was the worst year yet. Personally I think they need to take a step back and get their head screwed back on straight! I don't think 2016 was the worst year yet, in fact it was the exact opposite.

This is what's happened in my 2016...

January of 2016 I switched over from elementary teaching to attaining a certificate in Medical Assisting. I started taking classes like: Human Biology, Medical Terminology, Filling and Record Keeping, and seeking out acceptance into the MA program at NCMC. It was kinda like culture shock.. Going from English/History/Math based classes to only going to classes in the Science building.

Also in January, Hannah and Tyler announced that they were pregnant! They made us wait two weeks before we were allowed to tell other people which wasn't easy. We quickly found out that Baby Trout was a Little Miss, and our anticipation to meet her grew!



The summer of 2016 went by just as quickly: I started working at the Rocking Horse Toy Co. in May after college got out.
In June, I was able to watch a dear friend of mine say, "I do" to the love of her life!
Sometime around spring  Hannah was put on bed rest, you can follow her story here.

July, I turned 21! Woot Woot! And a day later I started a relationship with Tom, as Mom like's to refer to him as, "the young man that we all like!" I'm still on cloud 9!


August went by quickly, I continued to work at the Rocking Horse and still manage my business in Bay View landscaping. I was accepted in the Medical Assistant program and was able to apply for select classes .

Classes started in September after we walked the bridge on labor day with our friends, Jay and Cindy.

Elise Ann Armantrout was born September 27th, and she looks just like her Daddy, Tyler.
We are all smitten with her and love watching her grow!

The last few months since Elise was born have gone by just as quickly as the rest! Before I knew it classes were drawing to an end and it was time to decorate for Christmas.

Some may say that the events of 2016 were awful. We have a new president, famous actors and actresses passed away, and our country has gone through turmoil. But to me, the events of 2016 were exciting, new, and wonderful.

The difference is perspective, when you don't have the knowledge and hope of Jesus, 2016 is indeed awful. But when you have that hope and the realization that He is the one that holds it all; 2016 doesn't seem so bad.

Remember that Jesus Christ is the one that you need to put your hope in, the God that knows the future of what is to come. We have no need to fear, because we can put our hope and trust in the God that already knows it all.


"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord." Is 55:8

In Him,
Rachel