I wanted to post some info about the Diaper Shower to hopefully make your gift grabbing a little simpler!

For our Diaper Shower, Amanda has registered at:

www.amazon.com

www.walmart.com

www.babiesrus.com

She is interested in doing cloth diapers – I’m sure she’d appreciate both cloth or plastic varieties and all the accessories that go with diapering!

Alphabet Letters!

Also, in your invitation, you got a card indicating a letter of the alphabet that has been assigned to you to get ready for the nursery. Our goal is to get all 26 letters of the alphabet for Jonathan’s wall. This might be confusing if you aren’t sure what I’m talking about so below are some ideas. You can go as simple or elaborate as you’d like – you can purchase your letter pre-made or create your own! Here are the “guidelines”:

- Letters should be somewhere between 8-16 inches in height

- Amanda is going with neutral colors for bedding so be creative in your color choices!

- Letters should optimally have only 1-2 colors each

Here are a few pictures that show examples of what we are trying to achieve:

Places to find pre-made letters:

www.hobbylobby.com and in-store

www.amazon.com

www.babiesrus.com and in-store

Small and large stores – you can find letters or letter “substitutes” (i.e. substituting a cross for a “T”, substituting a round object for an “O”, or substituting a horseshoe for a “U”) at most any store that sells gifts and gift merchandise.

Ideas for making your own letters:

Here are some ideas in picture and the web links for how to make these creations. Be creative – letters can be framed, painted, wood, ceramic, metal… find your letter within something… take a photo to represent your letter. Be creative!

Also, just google “Wall Letters” and your letter and click on images for TONS of cute ideas!

Consider doing something as creative as you want. Purchasing a pre-made letter or creating your own will get our alphabet all finished up. Bring your letter unwrapped and we will put them all on display during the shower. If you are not going to be able to make it to the shower, just give me a call and we’ll find a way to get your letter here for our display. If you feel doing the letter is just too much for you right now, please let me know as soon as possible and I’ll make sure someone else takes care of it.

Most of all, have fun and I look forward to seeing you on December 10th!

click pic for instructions

click pic for instructions

To make these cute letters, grab a block and paint in desired background color. Simply take a "wall letters" sticker with your letter and apply to block!

click pic for instructions

click the pic for numerous cute letter ideas!

On the way home, we stopped at Mammoth Springs, Arkansas State Park. Gorgeous park, picnic areas, clean restrooms, visitor’s center – definitely worth a stop if you are in the area!

We had a blast and truly got to see this whole area of the Ozarks. The rangers at this national park were some of the nicest ones we’ve ever met. They provided lots of great information at every turn and were helpful in getting us where we needed to be at each turn.

Things forgotten this trip:

Not much, actually. I would have brought an extra long sleeve for both of us, and a jacket for Ryan, but really we only needed those the first day anyway because it warmed up a lot after Saturday.

Things learned this trip:

Food: Absolute win with using ziplock bags to mix the salads up and taking all disposable stuff. Our only meal requiring messing up a pot was the very last night – so, we rinsed out, tied up in a bag, and are taking it home to wash! No wash tubs!

Bottled Water: We just bought plenty of bottled water (I couponed!) so that we never had to FIND water and then hope it was clear and tasted good. We ran through 2 full 24-packs in our 3 nights but it was definitely worth it to never feel like we rationed water out.

Things we now want:

-       A GPS Unit! We borrowed my dad’s for this trip – definitely worth taking – allows us to jump off the path or change our stops along the way!

-       Camelback Water Containers – we love hiking and I think it’s time for some camelbacks to carry our water!

After seeing Rocky Falls we decided to hike to the Klepzig Mill. The Klepzig Mill is a 3.1 mile hike from Rocky Falls or you can drive about a mile down the road and only hike 1.6 miles to the mill. Since we had a good bit of stuff to do we decided to take this route and only hike 3.2 miles round trip. The hike was moderate – some muddy spots but no problem with our hiking boots on. Great scenic route with some good pics. The mill and an old building were really cool as was the river there at the mill. We ate cheese, crackers, and summer sausage for lunch by the river and enjoyed walking around. Several people were getting in the water at the river but most of these parked ½ mile from the mill by going a different route – we needed to keep our feet dry for our 1.6 mile hike back to the car!

We hiked back out to the road and crossed a low water road area to get back to our car. We then drove to Blue Springs – but, there is a distinction I will make in the Blue Springs in case you are reading this and want to go! Blue Springs on the Current River is really cool – it is the tallest spring in Missouri and is actually deeper than the Statue of Liberty is tall! We went to this spring and it was super cool! We, however, didn’t notice the difference on the map and went to the Blue Spring on the Jacks Fork River first – this is a cool spring but just not quite so deep and spectacular! You aren’t supposed to wade in any of the springs but especially not one 300-something feet deep! There were people walking across the first Blue Spring we went to and we realized quickly we were not at the right one! But, it was pretty nevertheless!

After leaving the first Blue Spring, we went to Alley Springs. Alley Springs has a beautiful 1.5 mile hike around the spring that leads to an overlook. We got awesome pictures at the overlook and thoroughly enjoyed that short trail. The first quarter mile is definitely the most treacherous – UPHILL! But after that the trail evens out and is beautiful! The overlook is awesome and provided a great video and photos. We toured the mill, visited the small school there, and then visited the store at the Alley Spring. All provided a great trip.

We went to the Blue Spring on the Current River next. This spring was gorgeous – a ½ mile hike was definitely worth seeing the gorgeous deep spring. The spring was very clear and blue but they say it’s even clearer most of the time when there has not been so much rain. We hiked around to the left side up to an overlook to get even more great pics.

After Blue Spring on the Current River we were exhausted and headed back to camp! We got back in time to put our feet in the river – COLD – for just a couple minutes and then we found – THE SHOWERS!!! – and totally enjoyed a nice warm shower at the campground!

For supper tonight, we had a boxed couscous and chicken meal, some sautéed vegetables (from a bag of frozen veggies), and some Artisan bread. We then played the Worst Case Scenario game for some great camping laughs!

Bedtime was again around 9pm – we were sad, thinking of heading home tomorrow!

This was Ryan’s first time ever to canoe. I canoed when I was about 5-6 years old but I don’t remember much so it felt like a first to me! We did really well, actually! And took before and after pics to prove that we stayed dry and did not flip the canoe! The river level was very high because of all the recent rain and flooding so it was a pretty choppy and deep ride. We made the trip in about 2.5 hours, coming in 1.5-2 hours faster than they predicted because of the higher water levels. When they dropped us off, we asked the canoe people for some basics of canoeing – he looked at us and said, “wow – this will be interesting! You’ve never canoed?” We got some quick tips – Ryan was in the back and I was in the front. I paddled on one side the whole time and he “corrected” our direction, whichever way we needed to go.

PERSONAL NOTE: Everyone kinda joked and laughed about communication and canoeing – the ranger said that he felt like he gave marriage counseling about communication every time he taught a couple how to canoe. In a boat when things get a little hairy (like when we were turned around completely backwards!) is a quick and easy way to freak out and say things you regret. Also, without working together and communicating you will totally flip out! This principle reminded me of the picture of Christ and the church. In a marriage, the wife is the picture of the church and the husband is the picture of Christ. I could totally see a correlation… Ryan, in the back, could see the bigger picture. He could also see what I was doing. I, in the front, often wanted to compensate or paddle harder or faster – every time I did this, Ryan was forced to compensate for me, turn us back around, and keep us on path. 10 seconds of me asserting my way and just doing what I wanted would cause us to capsize. In the same way, Christ is the captain of my ship. If I follow His commands and do what He says our boat floats right along through torrential downpours and terrible waves. He is so patient with me when I over-paddle, paddle on the wrong side, or rock the boat. And He is so patient with me when I flip myself around and assert my way, only to capsize the boat – He can walk on the water and lead me to safety.

OK, back to our trip… We got back to the canoe place around 11:20am and they took us right back to our campsite. We grabbed some lunch (yogurt and cinnamon rolls) and then went for a short hike. We hiked about ½ mile around Round Spring. It was a beautiful spring with a gorgeous picnic area. We got some great pictures, too!

About 1pm we got in line to tour the Round Spring Cave. Thankfully, we got in line early because the tour filled up very fast. For $5, we toured a really cool cave. Our tour was lantern led which added a very interesting alternative trip to the cave tours we have done before. Having a lantern led tour meant that there was no natural light in the cave – I remember at one of the caves we toured before there was moss and stuff growing in the cave from the lighting provided by the electricity in the cave and it was very interesting to see a preserved cave instead. The tour lasted about 2 hours and was definitely worth the time and money. Round Spring Cave is actually the only cave in the Ozarks that is open right now. There is something called White Nose Syndrome that is killing a lot of bats in caves around the nation and it has been found in the Ozarks. So, for educational purposes, they keep this cave open but all others are closed for now. We had to wear different clothes and shoes from the ones we wore when we toured a cave last year because the syndrome is spread from explorer’s clothes!

Our cave tour ended around 4pm and we still were up for adventure! We drove up to the Welch Hospital trail. We hiked about a mile total to walk to see an old hospital. This abandoned hospital was once used by a physician who thought that setting up a hospital right by the spring would cure tuberculosis. When his theory didn’t work I guess the hospital was shut down. Still a really cool hike and pictures…. They say not to wade in the stream to get to the hospital, though, because there could be old hospital equipment in the water! Ouch!

After leaving Welch Hospital, we went to Devil’s Well, a sinkhole in a cave. You can drive within 1/10 mile of the sinkhole and it was very interesting to walk and look in. The actual underground lake is huge – but I would recommend taking a flashlight to look inside the Devil’s well because the actual lake is locked off. We saw some of it but it was getting dark so it was hard to see much further in the sinkhole. There is a 4.6 mile trail from the Devil’s Well to Cave Spring and back that many people recommended as a beautiful trail. We didn’t do this one because we didn’t have enough days to do this hike but it was highly recommended for wildflowers and beautiful scenery.

We headed back home and enjoyed a grilled chicken salad (with pre-grilled chicken) for supper as well as some Artisan Bread and s’mores.

After supper, we enjoyed a ranger led “Campfire Program” at the amphitheater. The ranger talked about trails – information we will use tomorrow for our hiking experiences!

We went to bed around 9:30pm and were very tired after a great day!

We stopped in Corinth and then continued north toward the Ozarks. We stopped for Subway in a small Tennessee town and then continued on.

On the way, we decided to make some super silly videos about random things using my new camera. It was a bunch of fun and passed some time by as well!

We stopped at the park headquarters in Van Buren at about 4pm on our way in. The rangers there were super helpful and we picked up some maps and got some information for the trip. We talked to the rangers about hiking options and they gave us some recommendations which I’ll talk about in my subsequent journal entries.

We got back on the road about 4:20pm and headed to our campground. We got to our campground, Round Spring Campground, around 5:15pm. We checked in at the ranger station and then headed to Carr’s Canoe Rental just about ¼ mile down the road to pre-check in for our canoe trip tomorrow. After checking in and paying the fee we headed back to the campground and set up our tent for sleeping and our tent over the table for eating.

For supper, we had taco salad. I would HIGHLY recommend repeating what we did for our meals this trip – I made things SUPER easy for myself! I made the taco salad (the kind with beef, beans, catalina dressing, etc) in a gallon size ziplock bag and then we used disposable plates, napkins, forks, etc. Super simple and everything could just be thrown away with no dishes!

After supper, we walked around the campsite a little and then headed to bed around 9pm.

We began the day with breakfast (and coffee!) and then headed to Cades Cove, about a 30 minute drive from our campground. Cades Cove is a beautiful place with much history. Dozens of people used to live in the Cove and their houses, barns, and history still lives there. We began the tour driving through the beautiful country, seeing and visiting waterfalls, wildlife, homes in the cove, churches, and beautiful woods and mountains.

We stopped at Abrams Falls, a lovely 5 mile walk to a beautiful waterfall. There were a good number of people on the trail and at the falls. Abrams falls is a moderate hike and appears to be very popular. Lunch at the falls provided a wonderful spot for dining!

After hiking the falls we returned to our car and toured the walking tour around the small village there. Again, our auto touring guide was of much assistance!

We finished Cades Cove a little earlier than expected so decided to visit Tuckaleechee Caverns. These caverns were recommended by my Aunt Marianne and they were a highlight of our trip. How amazing for an underground cave to be so large!

We were able to tour about 1/2 mile of the cave but the tour guide said that this cave was around 4 miles in length – much of the cave is just too narrow for groups to go through for touring.

After finishing the caverns we visited the store there where I bought a lovely cookbook before returning to our tent.

For dinner this night I had the bright idea of cooking frozen pizzas over the campstove. This was sorta a take-off of a friend’s suggestion to cook pizza, only her idea was better. This idea did not work well and ended with not much dinner for us. You must follow, as she said, cooking the crust first, then adding toppings – don’t try the frozen pizza on a camp stove idea!

Tips from Tuesday:

- Head to Cades Cove EARLY! Don’t wait around because it gets very busy the later you go.

- Hike Abrams Falls and other very popular trails either early or late – there were alot of people on the trail when we went.

- If you eat lunch at a waterfall, don’t eat right in front of it where people are taking pictures – we had trouble getting photos of the waterfall because a group was eating lunch right in front of it.

- Tuckaleechee Caverns was a great find – we decided to plan it in for a rainy day or for a day when, like with Cades Cove, we finished up a little early and wanted something to do the rest of the day.

- If you want campstove pizza, try taking your crust, tomato sauce, and cheese separately – not in a frozen pizza!

We headed down Newfound Gap Road and stopped first at the Chimney Tops Picnic Area. This is a beautiful place to enjoy a picnic with a lovely river view right next to the picnic tables. We utilized the restroom facilities, got some water, and then headed another couple of miles down Newfound Gap Road to our ultimate adventure – Chimney Tops!

As we traveled down the road we began to see look-out signs for Chimney Tops – can you see the “forked antlers” (as the Indians used to call them)? That would be the tips of those two peaks in the photo to the right. That’s where we hiked! To the top! These lookout places began to psych us out but there was no going back for us!

When we got to the Chimney Tops trailhead we found a good number of cars there but a trip down the trail made us realize that many of those parked were not hiking to the Chimney Tops but rather visiting the river there where otters play with a lovely swimming area. We passed these and enjoyed our first mile into the trip, noticing a definite rise in elevation but not too strenuous a trip. 0.9 miles into the 2 mile journey to the top we saw a sign where you could take a separate trail or take a right to continue to the Chimneys. We took the right and began to wonder if the information that we received of this being a “moderate” trail was in fact correct! On the way back down the mountain our question was confirmed that the Chimney Tops trail is a STRENUOUS 4 mile trail!

About 1/2 of the last mile was crazy as the trail was primarily rocks we were trudging through. We began to wear out but pressed on!

At the top, we forgot our sorrows as the view was definitely worth our hike! Breathtaking views of mountains could be seen as we were literally eye level with the tops of the mountains! The view was absolutely breath-taking! To get to the absolute top you must literally climb a rock face mountain side so, after I got stung by a bee and we climbed around some, we decided we had climbed high enough for the time being. We took tons of photos and then ate lunch at the top before heading back down, an equally challenging hike as we hiked back down the rocky mountain.

After finishing Chimney Tops we continued driving down Newfound Gap Road. We stopped to take pictures at Morton’s Overlook but then it began to rain. When we got to Newfound Gap it was pouring so we continued driving. We stopped again at Mingus Mill, another interesting find. Mingus Mill is an old gristmill that is still in operation. We were able to watch corn being ground.

We continued to the end of the road by stopping at the Oconaluftee Visitors Center. We went through the center and also toured the working farm there at the center.

We drove back across Newfound Gap Road to get home. It was raining once again at Newfound Gap itself so we decided to go back later for pics – but I did get this awesome shot of a bride and groom taking photos! Too cool! Sorry for them it was raining, though!

We headed back to our tent to end our day with a delicious meal of Red Beans and Rice!

Tips from Monday:
- If you’re up to it, definitely hike Chimney Tops for great views!
- For hikes, carry at least 8 ounces of water per person per mile plus some extra as we nearly ran out on the trail.
- For auto touring, it’s worth it to purchase the little guides for interesting facts about your drive

Sunday – our first full day in the mountains! We slept in a little and then got up to a nice breakfast at our campsite. With this being our first meal to cook at the campsite it took a little longer to find things this go-around. Thankfully we had bought a french press coffee pot for our trip so there was no shortage to coffee even though we were out in the woods!

After getting ready we headed to the Sugarlands Visitor Center near Elkmont campground. This is a must-visit visitors center should you travel to the mountains.

All of the rangers we met our entire trip were super nice and helpful and we used this visit to the center to begin planning our week.

We checked out the store, noting several things we wanted to return and buy, and then chatted with a ranger who gave us directions and advice for our trip. This was super helpful as some of the attractions we had planned to see were either closed or very busy on the weekend, etc.

We left the visitor center and decided to visit the Little Greenbrier School just up the road from the visitor center and Metcalf Bottoms picnic area. The school and accompanying graveyard were very interesting places to visit – we drove up to the school but there is actually a 0.8 mile trail from Metcalf Bottoms that takes you right there as well (without going through the skinny gravel road up to the school). A 1.1 mile hike down the Little Greenbrier Trail from the school leads to the Walker Sisters’ Cabin, the oldest and largest cabin in the Smokies, as the ranger had told us. The cabin and school were really interesting visits and definitely something we would recommend. They were also not very busy at all for a weekend afternoon.

We ate lunch at the cabin and then walked back to our car. We drove from there to Cades Cove where we took Rich Mountain Road to Townsend, TN. This is definitely a site to see. From our online research, Rich Mountain Road is one of several minimally traveled “back” roads where many gorgeous photos are taken. The 8 mile one-way gravel road leads from Cades Cove to Townsend, TN. The road provides some beautiful photographic spots and was truly enjoyable. – SEE pics below for Pics of Rich Mountain Road!

We got to Townsend and suddenly had a huge desire for COFFEE!!! Not just coffee but a frappuccino – I know, frappuccinos aren’t really classified under “roughing it” but we just really wanted one so we drove through Townsend to find the 2 little coffee shops we saw there both closed. We then took a loop around to Pigeon Forge where we found a McDonalds to hit up for a frappe!

We drove home through Gatlinburg and ended at our tent where we had Taco Soup for supper.

Tips from Sunday:

- Find less-traveled things to do for the weekends. Just the little bit we did at Cades Cove was very crowded and doing the entire loop was much more enjoyable during the week. Many people do weekend get-aways so to really see stuff go during the week. Rich Mountain Road provided the perfect Sunday activity, as did the school and cabin.

- Visit a center with park rangers to guide your visit. We got tons of helpful information from them and it was definitely worth talking our plans through with them.

- Before going, check out the National Park Services website and sorta plan your week out. There is SO MUCH to do that if you don’t prioritize it won’t get done!

Rich Mountain Road Scenes:

Views from Rich Mountain Road

Mountain Views

Smoky Mountain View - Rich Mtn Road

Rich Mountain Road

Rich Mountain Road

Rich Mountain Road

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words – that’s why we took around 1,400 pictures! I wanted to share about our vacation through not only a dialogue of what happened but also a bunch of pictures to show you how lovely our trip to the mountains was. The sad part, however, is that glorious scenery just cannot be captured with a camera lens so maybe our vacation will motivate you to take a trip of your own to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park!

Also, in this trip journal, I want to share some tips, recommendations, suggestions, and ideas we came up with that I hope you will benefit from should you ever take such an exciting journey yourself. The mountains are a glorious place where God’s handiwork is seen everywhere and certainly a trip everyone could enjoy.

We decided to leave early Saturday morning and drive straight to our campsite in the mountains. There’s just nothing like staying right in the middle of nature in a tent – nowhere else can you truly appreciate God’s glorious creation and then head home to truly appreciate the wisdom God gave man to create such things as beds and showers! Seven days in a tent made for an awesome experience for Ryan and me and allowed us to be away from “life” for longer than we have since we got married, or awhile before that. We truly were blessed with lovely weather and scenery the entire trip as well as a dry and warm tent all week long! Now, onto my journal!

We left around 7:45 Saturday morning. We basically just threw on some clothes, grabbed a quick bite of breakfast, and headed out the door. We had packed most of the car the night before so we simply had to load up the ice chest and a couple of things before jumping in the car to head to Tennessee.

It took us around 8 hours to make the entire trip, stopping only a few times for gas, bathroom breaks, and meals to go on the road. I think one of the coolest things about heading to the mountains is when you begin to enter the foothills and can see the mountains up ahead. As the road becomes hillier and curvier you know you are nearly there.
We stopped in Townsend, TN on the way in to pick up a pizza, our quick-fix dinner for while we set up and then proceeded to drive into the park.

We found our campsite – B21 – in the Elkmont campground then unpacked and set up camp in about an hour! We were very proud to get it all set up so quickly.

We decided to use the last few minutes of our day to stretch our legs by touring the campground and hiking the Elkmont self-guided nature trail (3/4 mile).

We ended the day and spent our first night in our tent, listening to the Little River, the birds, and enjoying the night air.

Tips from day 1:
- Park campgrounds are much busier on the weekends. Thankfully we had our reservation already made so that we ensured having a great campsite.

- Packing the car the night before and leaving first thing made for us arriving at our campsite to set up before dark which I would highly recommend!

Never considering what I had just done, I parked and headed into the store. I passed a woman and her child loading groceries from their buggy into the car. “Well, he sure did manage to put that right on top of my bread, didn’t he!” she proclaimed to her child.

As I walked into the store, I was struck by what she had said and began to compare that to what I had just said. She might have been a great, godly woman – she might have been generous and kind – but the only thing that stuck out to me was her complaint! Whoa, I thought, what have I said to people that could be taken the same way?

Philippians 2:14-15 says, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing; so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.”

So, God’s word says that the way we show ourselves as lights is to not grumble or dispute – other versions use argue, murmur, or complain. Another verse:

John 13:35 says, “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Another way to be a light (i.e. to show people we are God’s disciples) is by our love for each other.

So, how do people see you? If I were to sneak behind you in Walmart and watch you talk to your husband, children, mother, sisters/brothers, friends that you run into, or hear what you say about that friend you just ran into, would I know that you are a Christian? Would your love shine? Would you be grumbling or disputing?

OK, so let’s look at the Greek words translated grumbling and disputing in the NASB version:

- Grumbling/Murmuring – a secret debate, a secret displeasure not openly avowed.

- Disputing – the thinking of a man deliberating with himself (a thought, inward reasoning, purpose, design), a deliberating, questioning about what is true (hesitation, doubting, disputing, arguing)

This really amazed me – while grumbling, murmuring, and disputing all imply outward actions/words to us, the Greek words can also mean internal complaints! A SECRET displeasure! How many times have I secretly grumbled, murmured, disputed, and complained? Too many to count! How many times do I grumble, but do it just to Ryan or to my family members or close friends? How many times do I make “bless her heart” comments (you know what I mean!) after someone leaves the room? How many secret displeasures do I hang onto in my heart?

One of the most central places I’ve noticed this (and fallen guilty myself many times!) has been facebook! Suddenly facebook has become a place where we think we can complain about our family, how we feel, what we think, how we’ve been treated, etc. When I have friends on there suffering from cancer, miscarriages, deaths in their families, etc, why should I dare to complain that it was tough for me to get up this morning for work – hey, Praise the Lord I have a job! Why should I complain that it was tough to workout when I have friends who only wish they could workout for their difficult struggle with chronic health problems? Better yet, why should I complain about my husband/parents/siblings/inlaws, etc when I have friends who have lost those closest to them?

In the end, what do I have to truly complain about? Someone taking up the entire row at the grocery store? Someone squishing my bread at the checkout? Hey, that person that squished my bread is a person just like me and has real problems just like I do and maybe worse?

So, how do secret murmurs hurt our witness? I have always thought this verse was referring to those outward comments and complaints and now I’m thinking about it in a whole new light! Could it be that complaining on the inside shows on our outsides? Could it be that we as humans can just “read” when someone is complaining inside? I’ll admit, sometimes I can! And, out of the heart the mouth speaks – those thoughts may just eventually develop into words. Or, you never know, maybe all that internal complaining is what gives us wrinkles!

So, to avoid complaining myself, I’ll leave it at this – God’s word makes it clear that we will shine HIS light by not complaining, murmuring, arguing, and disputing and by showing love for one another. Why should I dare to murmur (remember, a SECRET displeasure) in myself against my husband (place any family member or friend here as well!)? Instead, I should be glad that I have a husband who is a godly, healthy, and loving Christian man. And, what about that slow driver in front of you or that ridiculous young person that cuts in front of you in line? Not even thinking a frustrating thought sure can help you be a light to that person!

Please share your comments and thoughts on this issue below!

NOTE: Scriptures and definitions taken from www.blueletterbible.com