Biblical Womanhood Sale!!!

As our way of saying thanks ...
So many of you have been a true blessing to our family during this difficult year and I wanted to do something really special to bless you all. As Jesse and I were talking about it, we came up with the idea of offering a four-day $2 blow-out sale.Through the end of this week, all of my books and CDs and ebooks are on sale for only $2. Yes, you read that right, $2!
In addition, I posted a lot of $2 scratch and dent inventory and used books that we've been wanting to find homes for. I'm guessing these will go extremely fast so be sure and take a peek before they are gone!Also, you can get a free copy of Make Ahead Batters when you order. Just add it to your cart (it's FREE!) with any size order and I'll email it over to you with my compliments!

~Crystal Paine

(Just click on this link to begin shopping...)

To all those who'd like to know...

As promised, I'm posting the results of our midwife appointment yesterday. I tried to get on yesterday to post something, but was having problems.

My appointment went well, and the midwives confirmed that everything is going "as planned". They did a sonogram to determine the position of the baby, and found that it is head down, facing back and "engaged". It was a blessing and relief to hear that. They also discovered that almost positively:) we're having... a girl!!

So... for all those who were wondering, there you have it.

I look forward to seeing many of you on Friday. God bless,
Bethany

A life well lived...

I am enjoying the blessing of accompanying my husband at work today. It's pretty empty in the office compared to normal. Most of the staff is gone attending a funeral for an employee of Vision Forum.

Something was different today from the moment we walked in the door. Usually we would see Michael Billings at his desk with a smile and "Good morning". But... he wasn't there this morning. In fact, he won't be there any more.

Sunday afternoon, Michael was returning from a conference in Dallas and was broadsided and killed instantly. The shock to everyone was incredible. He was only 19 and seemed to hold so much promise. He was known to many as a very humble, God fearing man. In fact, there have been quite a few posts over the last few days in honor of this strong but humble man. They express what so many of us feel. Here are just a few of them:

Doug Phillips

Crystal Paine

Nathaniel Darnell

Caleb Hayden

Michelle Elliot

Please remember this family as well as the Vision Forum staff during this time. Many are missing him quite dearly and only the grace of God will heal the pain.

~Bethany

Speaking Evil of Others

A recent comment on our blog commented negatively about my boss, Mr. Doug Phillips, and has been deleted. It is grievous that some people are so uncritical as to believe everything they read online! The way they act reveals the assumption that everything on the internet is true. This is obviously false! We must carefully examine everything we hear or read so that we are not being swindled by perverse gossip and slander into despising and defaming a true man of God. I have worked for Mr. Phillips at Vision Forum for over 6 months and can honestly say that he is an upright man and worthy of respect and honor. He is a dedicated elder of a family-integrated local church and has a precious family and a ministry here in San Antonio which is reaching out to thousands of families and churches across America and abroad, spreading the message of obedience to Christ in every area He commands us, especially as that relates to family life. I am deeply honored to have been a part of this ministry for this short time, and have learned much from Mr. Phillips and the others who share this work. My plea is that we must not simply swallow whatever juicy bit of gossip poison which we may come across, but rather go to the source, the person being spoken about, even as Christ commanded us - "Go to thy brother." I recall reading of a certain preacher who when being told a juicy bit of gossip about another, would say, "Let us go and tell him so." This is sure to stop the gossip right there! "The tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell" (James 3:6). Let us be careful how we use it!