March 2015

Well, February wasn't that busy. The last weekend, I went to a conference with my friend Tara. It is called The Art of Homemaking and is presented by the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Ft. Worth. We had a great time. Next year, I hope to get a fairly decent size group to go. I have been to several very bad women's retreats, so I wanted to check this one out before inviting a bunch of people. I wouldn't say it was the best conference I've ever been to but it was the best women's conference I've ever been to. I dream of hosting a women's conference one of these days & I would do a lot of things differently but this one is still one I would highly recommend. Next year it will be in the fall, so we have to wait almost 18 months for the next one but it will be worth it. :)

On Valentine Day, Anthony got up early and made me breakfast in bed. It was so wonderful. Red roses, heart shaped biscuits, man, I am one blessed woman!

I said in my last two posts that I was going to talk about my goals for 2015. I am going to be really general because I have a very, very long list that speaks of the specifics of each goal so there is no need to address that here. So, here I go.

I have categorized all of my goals into nine main groups: spiritual, physical, mental/educational, entertainment, emotional, family, social, home, and work. Because I'm a little bit crazy when it comes to making lists and outlines and organizing (despite my home not exactly evidencing that), I have subcategories & subsubcategories. Hehe. So, I'll only share a few of them with you and tell you how I'm doing on them so far, being that we are almost 1/4 of the way into 2015. :)

I. Spiritual

     A. Prayer

          1. Prayer journal - I am no where near consistent in setting aside time to pray. However, when I write my prayers out, I can concentrate better. I have also seen how my prayers often start out me-centered but end more God-centered. My husband and my mother-in-law both got me journals for Christmas that I am using as my prayer journal.

          2. Read a prayer from Valley of Vision each night together before we go to bed - I was doing this for a little while and then I stopped. I need to get back into this again. 

     B. Bible reading

          1. BSF - I am almost through my first BSF session. I'm looking forward to studying Revelation. I have different thoughts on eschatology than I did even four years ago so I'll be interested in seeing how they deal with the different viewpoints and it will be good for me to read through Revelation slowly now that my presuppositions have altered somewhat.

          2. Daily Bible reading with Anthony - We have been doing this since we got married. We miss days/weeks every so often but it is a definitely a habit we want to always be a part of our marriage.

          3. Behold Your God study - I am almost finished going through this with my friends. Wow! What an amazing study! It will reprogram your mind to think of God differently, more Biblically. It is by far the best book study I have ever participated in.

          4. Keep a list of what God says about Himself - This was an idea I got from one of the pastors interviewed in the Behold Your God study. 

          5. After reading a passage, always ask, "What does this passage tell me about God?" - The Bible is not all about me, I need to remember that. Asking this question will help me to remember who the Bible really is about.

          6. Practice homiletics - No, I don't want to preach. However, I did take a one hour BSF seminar on homiletics and I can see how it really helps you in studying a passage. I haven't practiced this much but I really want to work on it this year. Plus, I one day want to write Bible studies for women and this will help me practice in doing that.

     C. Scripture memory - I've posted a verse to memorize by our door but I really don't see it that often so I think I'm going to put the same verse in our bathrooms as well so we see it more often. ;)

     D. Church

          1. Get involved - I have joined the audio visual team and Anthony is the hospitality person for our new church, The Church at Pecan Creek. What is great is that we can actually help each other out. Anthony is so gifted at understanding technology and has been helping me & the whole team get some things set up. The other night he was sick so I and another friend of ours took care of the hospitality stuff. I will say that this audio visual stuff is daunting but I'm learning a lot. We have the ability to control both the projector and the sound system from our iPads, allowing us to sit in the audience rather than in a sound booth. 

               a. Audio Visual team

               b. Hospitality

               c. Women's ministry - I want to get a women's ministry going eventually at our new church. We aren't quite there yet but I definitely want to be involved with it.

II. Physical

     A. Exercise

          1. Wii Fit - I got a Wii Fit for Christmas and I love it. I need to be more consistent about doing 20-30 mins every morning, which means I need to get up earlier (another goal further on).

          2. Work up to 10,000 steps a day - I got a pedometer that connects to the Wii Fit so I'm keeping track of this. I didn't realize how sedentary I really am. Very depressing. The other day I walked almost three miles and still didn't even get close to 10,000 steps. I never realized how much walking that actually means. :)

          3. Thirty min move after every meal - Last week I came up with the idea to try to take a 30 min exercise of some sort (gardening, walking, wii) after every meal. I haven't done this yet but I think it is doable and healthy.

     B. Food

          1. Monthly menues - I've been consistent with this for a year; I just want to keep doing so and hopefully be better at sticking to it this year. :)

          2. Try more healthy recipes - I've researched a few new recipes I want to try including cooking with spring rolls, quinoa, and cauliflower, all things I've never experimented or even tasted. 

          3. Keep a food journal - I'm a member of SparkPeople and keep up with my nutrition through their app. I just started back at this last week and I've been pretty good at keeping up with it, with a few meals missed.

          4. Water - I am an avid water drinker however, over the last couple of years, I've gotten into a bad habit of not drinking as much as I use to. I need to be better at getting my water in each day.

     C. Checkups - working on these

III. Mental/Educational

     A. Reading

          1. Read 10 books this year (not including the Bible) - I am currently reading two books. So, I'm already behind but as long as I'm consistently working toward this goal, I'm happy.

              a. Women's Ministry in the Local Church by Ligon Duncan & Susan Hunt - I'm 65% (according to the Kindle app) of the way done with this and I can say it is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it to all women and all leaders (including the men) in a church to read this book.

              b. Everyone's A Theologian by RC Sproul - I'm only a couple of chapters in but this book is so great. It is an intro to systematic theology and is a book that every Christian should read.

               c. 

     B. Sewing - I haven't done these yet.

          1. Learn to make a skirt

          2. Learn to make PJ pants with pockets for Anthony

          3. Learn to make toys

          4. Learn to make window treatments (cornice, drapes)

IV. Entertainment

     A. TV time

          1. Limit TV time to two hours a day (except when sick and doing laundry) - We are actually pretty good at doing this right now. Many nights we don't even turn on the TV. The problem is that when we do, it is very difficult to turn it off.

     B. iPhone/iPad games 

          1. Delete the time wasting games - Done. I had some games on my iPad that I realized one day I was spending hours on and wasting much of my day. They are now gone. I feel so free now; I didn't realize what a slave I had become to them. I still have a couple of games that only take a min to make a move before waiting for the next person to move so those don't suck my time away. I also still have Sudoku but I usually only play that while watching TV.

V. Emotional

     A. Time management

          1. Get up by 6 am - I am so not good at this. I have got to get better at this. If this is the only thing I get in the habit of doing this year, I will cut it a good year. :)

          2. Create and stick to a daily schedule - I have done this several times but I finally think I have created one that works for me. I have been pretty consistent at sticking to it as well...at least most of it...still need to work on getting that exercise in as one of the first things in the morning...hence needing to get up at 6 am. 

          3. Prep dinner in the morning - When I don't do this, I can sometimes dread having to stop what I'm doing to spend the next two or more hours cooking & then cleaning up from cooking. When I get most of the prep work done in the morning, I know if I need anything in time to go to the store, I can know the meat is thawed/marinated, and I usually end up saving myself a lot of frustration and time. Another reason for needing to be out of bed by 6 am.

VI. Family

     A. Family archival - I'm still working on this. I was really consistent of doing this for a while but there was a few weeks that I couldn't and just never got back in the habit. I cleaned off my desk on Sunday so that I would have room to get back at this again.

VII. Social

     A. Game group - We want to create a gaming group that meets fairly consistently. Right now there are four of us but we would like to invite a few other people to join in with us. We are working on this one. :)

     B. Have people over at least once a month - We do this fairly often already but I want to start inviting people who we don't have over that often.

VIII. Home

     A. Major projects

          1. New garage door opener - done

          2. New roof & gutters - I need to call the insurance company to see if they can come take a look at the roof.

     B. Minor projects

          1. New tires - done

          2. Fix door panels - done

          3. Fix fence - not done yet...the weather & our busy weekends had been impeding this. 

IX. Work

     A. Kapp's Kitchen

          1. Make one batch of cookies a day - I'm not doing this consistently yet.

          2. Work the Denton County Community Market - We are trying to get our application in for this but we have a question that hasn't been answered yet, so we are kind of in limbo at this point.

     B. A Narrow-Minded Woman

          1. Research/write 1-2 hrs a day - I am not consistent in this, yet.

          2. Publicly publish the site - Not quite ready yet. I have all the pages up and ready but I want to get at least 10 articles written before I start posting.

          3. Post 2-3 articles a week

     C. COO of the Kapp Family

          1. Create a home management binder - I have created several printables and I am working on more. I have been enjoying a few of the ones I have created so far. One of these days I may put them online for purchase. 

          2. Organize & clean office - I cleaned part of my desk off on Sunday, does that count? ;) Granted, much of this is directly proportional to how far along in the family archiving I am. 

So that is part of what I'm working on this year. Ha. Like I said, I like making lists. It makes me feel calmer and less overwhelmed. Some of these are already complete, some are just habits I want to maintain, others may take many years or a lifetime to complete, and it is highly likely I'll add more to this list as the year goes along. There are a few other things that I didn't list either because they were a little more private or I just didn't want this list to get crazy. Ha. Fail there. ;)

February 2015

January was relatively quite for us. It was nice. I finally got most of the house cleaned & organized after being sick and the holidays. Anthony installed new lighting under the cabinets in the kitchen and put together a bookshelf for our bedroom. I moved all our books (except the cook books) from the living room & into the bedroom so that we could fill the bookshelves in the living room with our board games. What we learned is that either we need more bookshelves (& a bigger house for them to go in) or we can't buy anymore games for a while. :) On an unrelated note, if you like the looks of our bedroom furniture and you have a way of hauling it, we can make you a very good deal on it. :)

New bookshelf in our bedroom.

Our games are taking over.

But what has really made us feel like our house is now a home is the purchase of a lamp. It is so weird that that one little thing has made our living room so much more cozy and homey. :)

January 18th was our first official service as The Church at Pecan Creek. We held it at our future site, Pecan Creek Elementary, and will be meeting there once every two months until we move there permanently in August. It was a great service. We are really starting to make some close friendships. It is very exciting for us two introverts to make friends. :)

Pastor Trey Talley

We visited Malta for a few days and shelled some pecans. Anthony made pecan chicken & pork chops that was amazing.

Other than that and a couple of game nights, January was pretty quite. Seemed so much busier at the time but when I look back, it seems less impressive. ;)

I did say last time that I would discuss my goals for this year. I still plan on doing that. I've got them written out but I am still thinking about how I want to talk about them here. :)

2015...January

December...well, that was marked by me recovering from a 3-4 week long respiratory infection/cold followed by the flu. 

I have typically been anti-flu vaccine, not because I thought there was something wrong with it but because, when I worked for the hospital system, we were essentially forced to take the flu vaccine. I do not respond well to being forced to do anything. I was born with a rebellious spirit (just ask  my parents) & it is something I have struggled with all my life. Another reason I didn't like the flu shot was that I would always come down with a terrible cold, which I thought was the flu, each year that I had taken the flu shot with the exception of last year. 

This year, since I no longer work for the health system, I was going to take the shot...because I wasn't being forced to. Then I got that awful respiratory thing. Then I just forgot. I will say, that after this bout of flu, I can only think of one other time where I may have had the flu. That was pretty, stinking terrible. Even when I was feeling better, I was so weak I couldn't do anything productive. Christmas day was the first day I actually felt good. Thank God that we didn't have any Christmas orders through Kapp's Kitchen. I would have hated to contact people a week before Christmas to cancel their orders. Talk about a blessing in disguise. :) Needless to say, I'll be taking the shot next year. :)

December wasn't all kleenexes & Tamiflu, however. We did manage to get in our annual Christmas lights drive and we had several Christmases this year & all of them were wonderful and we were very spoiled, as usual. I am also so very thankful for technology. Since I was sick, I stayed home from the first Christmas but was able to FaceTime for it. I also was able to FaceTime into my sister's Christmas with our parents and we were able to have one of my sisters-in-law Skype our Christmas with the Kapp's. It is amazing that despite being thousands of miles away, we can still connect with those we love. Sure beats the days of telegram & Pony Express. :)

We spent New Year's Eve at home. We were supposed to have some friends over for a game night but they were stuck by winter illness as well. It was a nice quite NYE for us. We had Kahlua Carnitas Street Tacos with homemade corn tortillas (made by Anthony) and pineapple pico de gallo. Then we watched Jurassic Park II and III. LOL Anthony got the whole trilogy for Christmas and we had watched the first one earlier that week. Good times. Can't wait for Jurassic World. :D

New Year's morning Anthony made Crème Brûlée Oatmeal and we had sparkling cranberry-apple juice. :) 

Sooooo...New Years Resolutions. I've never been one to make resolutions but I always think about my goals for the next year, which I guess is essentially the same thing. I try to break them into different categories because I am a list maker and that is how I work. :) The categories I like to consider my yearly/monthly/weekly/daily goals for are: Home, Work, Physical, Spiritual, Emotional, Mental/Educational, and Social. And...since I am a big fan of outlines, there are subcategories under each of these categories. LOL Anyway, I won't bore you with all that now. I'll be kind and make a separate post on these goals for 2015.

2015...can you believe it?! This is the year that Marty McFly visited in Back to the Future II. 2015 sounded so futuristic in the 80's and 90's. We do have some pretty fascinating technology now. Maybe no flying cars or self-drying clothes but look at what we do have. Phones that are more powerful than most mainframe computers in the past. The internet is a vital part of our day-to-day lives. Like I mentioned earlier, FaceTime and Skype to see people on the other side of the earth. Netflix, Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, Etsy, Hulu, blogs, Pinterest, iPads, Kindle, podcasts, apps and all the other new words that have entered our common vocabulary that represent how we live our lives today. The future may not have turned out as we imagined in the 80's, 90's, 50's, 40's but it is pretty fantastic, after all. 

Speaking of exciting and fantastic. We are a part of a new church plant. We will officially be meeting as The Church at Pecan Creek near the end of this month. We will be temporarily meeting at Northview Baptist Church at 5pm on Sunday nights until August when we will move to our first official location at Pecan Creek Elementary School in Corinth. We are very excited in this endeavor but we also ask for your prayers at this time. There are many challenges in starting a church, especially when we it is our mission to do so as closely to the Scriptures as we can, with holiness and integrity, not compromising in any way in Biblical doctrine while living with a spirit of mercy, grace, patience, and gentleness. We do not intend to offend or hurt anyone's feelings but we place the Gospel and living an increasingly holy life in higher importance. We hope through this adventure, we will grow in Christian maturity, encourage one another in our Christian walk, sharpen one another, hold each other accountable, show each other and those outside our circle the love, grace, and mercy that we have all had shown to us from our Father, and share the Gospel with those in our community and beyond. If you are in our area, please consider worshiping with us. If you are not, then please keep us in your prayers.

There isn't much more to say about January except keep warm. This is the month when winter really starts to set in here in Texas. Granted, most of the rest of the US laughs at us shivering in 30º and 20º weather. Of corse in the summer we laugh at the rest of you sweating in 80º and 90º weather. ;) I'm freezing right now but I am also soaking it up. I would much rather be cold than hot. I can always throw on another sweater or drink another cup of hot tea or cocoa. In the summer, there is only so much iced tea and lemonade you can drink. I guess I should just "Let it go, let it gooooo-oh..." Mwahahahahaha! ;)

December

BGG Con

November was a blast.

We went to the 2014 Board Game Geek Convention in Dallas. So much fun. I (Kristy) didn't have a break down from social anxiety this year. Yay! I only got really moody once (that I can remember) but it was super late at night. :)

I played 38 games in 5 days. Anthony played 33. Anthony volunteered in the library for an hour and went to a charity auction for a couple of hours, so I was able to play a few more than him. 

If you would like to see all the games I played, click here. Games I would highly recommend include:

Playing Las Vegas

• Black Fleet (pirates...need I say more)
• Colt Express (very cool game with a cool "board")
• 7 Steps (pretty abstract...not in America yet)
• Machi Koro (we already owned this one but it is worth mentioning)
• Robinson Crusoe (extremely difficult co-op game but very cool)
• Hot Tin Roof (very similar to Ticket To Ride but maybe a little simpler...I liked it)
• Paperback (kind of like Scrabble mixed with Dominion...if you know what Dominion is)
• Planes (like Mancala but with a twist)
• Mysterium (similar to Dixit...also not in America yet)
• Alchemists (cool use of new technology...iPhone)
• Eight Minute Empire (quick, light Euro)

Anthony, Alejandro, Jordan, & me

One night we went with a group to Hard Eight BBQ. It was pretty good, not my all time favorite BBQ place but it is seriously hard to compete with Prairie House...mmmmm....

After staying up past 2 am four nights in a row, we were exhausted when we got home. I was super irritable and ready to fight somebody for two days after that. I even risked going to a post office I had an incident at about 3 years ago but this time was much nicer despite my attitude. ;)

I'm starting to recognize a theme. I would like to ask all two of my readers to please remember me in your prayers. I need God to work on my attitude. 



We spent Thanksgiving with Anthony's family in Paris...Paris, TX, that is. We had a great time and so much delicious food. 

The day after Thanksgiving we all went out to the bottoms on the Red River. A lot of them spent several hours riding four wheelers over the dunes. Anthony's aunt made chili and hot cocoa. We roasted hot dogs over a camp fire and made a campfire dump cake. I had never had a dump cake, much less one made over a campfire and, oh man, was is delicious!

Now December is in full swing. We went to the Denton Tree Lighting and had funnel cakes. Anthony and I are really starting to feel at home in Denton. We tend to run into people we know when in stores or out at community events.

We had our own little tree lighting event of ourselves the other night. We watched Mickey's Christmas Carol and A Muppet's Christmas Carol while decorating the tree and mantle. It was a nice cozy evening just the two of us.

Have a merry Christmas everyone!

November...and October. -_-

Well, I completely forgot to post a family update for October. Oops. :) If you are interested in seeing our menu for October, click here. However, we didn't stick to it that well...again. -_-

Good news, we have had quite a few orders through Kapp's Kitchen. Very encouraging. 

Rick Morton with Tanya and Anya

The weekend of Nov 1st, Project 1:27 at Shady Oaks Baptist Church hosted it's first big event in acknowledgment of Orphan Sunday (Nov 2nd). Project 1:27 at Shady Oaks Baptist Church is a ministry my in-laws started at their church for support for adoption, foster care, and orphan care. They are just in the early days of the ministry but it is very encouraging to see interest growing. On Nov 1st, they hosted a mini-conference at the church. Rick Morton was the guest speaker and Kapp's Kitchen provided quick breads as refreshments. There was around 30-40 people who came and it was very encouraging. Mr. Morton also spoke at Shady Oaks on Sunday morning. If you would like to hear his sermon, you can see the video here.

On a related note, Phyllis called us telling us of two little girls who were in need of a "forever family." Anthony put it on our church's Facebook page with little expectation of getting a response. Within 20 mins, a couple from our Sunday school class messaged Anthony. Long story short, they are now in the process of adding these two beautiful girls to their family. It is a beautiful story but it will be a challenge. Every adoption is. However, they have a large, willing support group around them. They also have started a GoFundMe page to help the raise money or the adoption process and expenses to come. If you are interested in giving to this sweet family, check out their page here.

I have volunteered to learn the sound board at our church. Very intimidating but I'm getting it. I have been doing the words for the screen for a couple of weeks during Sunday night church but that is way easier than learning the little intricacies of the sound board, cd player, and lights. 

My back row Baptist view.

Soooo, November....this is a very full month for us. Next week, we are at the Board Game Geek Convention playing board games for five days. We are so excited about it. 

I always get a little nervous because there are a lot of people at this event and I am not the best in a crowd. The other thing is my confidence drops dramatically when I am in a crowd...especially when females are a minority. It is a roller coaster of emotions for me. First, I'm confident because I'm one of the few women at the event. Then, I start wondering, do these people even want to play a board game with a woman, what if I don't catch on right away, what if I do something stupid and ruin the game and once again fulfill these guys preconception that women should not play board games....see how my mind sometimes runs away. However, I am blessed with a wonderful husband that keeps reassuring me and two other great friends. 

Picture of the main hall at BBG Con 2013

Last year when we left the event, we said we would try to step out on our own more and face our introvert fears and try to meet more people. One good thing to keep in mind is that a large majority of these people are just as geeky, introverted, and socially awkward as I am. :) All the same, we are getting so excited. This year we are staying at the hotel instead of driving back and forth, so it is going to feel like a mini-vacation.

The four of us geeks at BGG Con 2013

I have come down with a cold that I'm fighting off. We are praying that Anthony doesn't catch whatever it is that I have so we can have a good time at BGG Con. We would appreciate your prayers as well. :)

The next week is Thanksgiving, which in addition to great food, always means, for us, more board games. ;)

I am never one to get excited about Christmas. I'm usually a bit of a Grinch however, this year, I am so in the holiday spirit. I'm actually having to restrain myself from making cocoa, putting on Christmas music, and decorating the house. I refuse to do it until after Thanksgiving...however, I don't see anything wrong with making some hot cocoa. :D

I have decided to finally learn to sew. I bought a sewing machine before we got married and I haven't even taken it out of the box until this past weekend. Today, I figured out how to change the needles out, attach a walking foot, wind a bobbin, and thread the machine. I also made a hand warmer as a practice project in honor for the cold weather that blew in last night. Yay! Now, on to my first project...I'll post on the results next month. :)

Because of all that has gone on in the last couple of weeks, I was just able to get a menu for November made this past weekend. As such, I couldn't remember what we had for some of the meals earlier in the month. :) I'm actually already deviating on the plan for today because, like I said above, I'm sick and just didn't have the energy to make a quiche. ;)

Reformation Day

Today is a very important day in history. Possibly the most important day in in the last 500 years.  

On this day, 497 years ago, in the town of Wittenberg, Germany, a German monk, Martin Luther, nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church. 

Now, most people picture this angry man stomping up to the church door, pulling out a railroad spike, & nailing his letter to the door using a giant mallet. This couldn’t be further from the truth. At this time, it was customary to post writings on the door of the church almost like we would to a bulletin board these days. Using a nail was the method of doing so. I’m sure the local door maker loved this custom…maybe he even started the tradition. 

Martin Luther was a teacher at the university. He had been teaching through Paul’s letter to the Romans when God saved him. He wrote of his salvation: 

My situation was that, although an impeccable monk, I stood before God as a sinner troubled in conscience, and I had no confidence that my merit would assuage him. Night and day I pondered until I saw the connection between the justice of God and the statement 'the just shall live by faith.' Then I grasped that the justice of God is that righteousness by which through grace and sheer mercy God justifies us through faith. Thereupon I felt myself to be reborn and to have gone through open doors into paradise. The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning...This passage of Paul became to me a gate to heaven.

I love that testimony so much. It is very similar to mine, as well, especially the “The whole of Scripture took on a new meaning.”

As Luther continued teaching through Romans, he began to see the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church. He wrote his Ninety-Five Theses in a response to the errors that he saw in the Catholic church and theology. He nailed one copy to the door of the church, sent another copy to the archbishop Albert of Mainz and Magdeburg, and sent a third copy to the bishop of Brandenburg (his superior). He wasn’t intending to be disrespectful or challenge the church. His intention was to invite the scholars of the day to debate these ninety-five issues. 

None of what Luther believed was new. However, this particular paper really set fire to people. Martin Luther was condemned by the Pope and he and his followers were viewed as criminals deserving death by the Roman Catholic Church. 

In one of the most loved scenes of Luther’s life, he is brought to Worms, Germany to stand before an assembly of the Holy Roman Empire and either renounce or reaffirm his work. This is referred to as The Diet of Worms. I know it sounds hilarious, however it is pronounced “Deet of Vorms.” A diet is a council.

Johann von Eck asked Luther if the 25 writings Eck had presented were his and if he was ready to renounce them as heresies. At this point, movies have shown a confident Luther boom in a loud voice his reaffirmation of all he had written. However, that is Hollywood and no where near the truth. Luther’s response to Eck was to ask to consider the question over night. Luther no long resembles the brave hero but more like me…scared, intimidated, unsure if what I am doing it the right thing. 

That night, Luther prays. He had been promised safety but is not sure if that promise will be honored. He doesn’t know if he will be executed, imprisoned, or allowed to return home safely. His prayer that night is one of the most honest and beautiful prayers I have ever read outside of the Bible.

O God, Almighty God everlasting! how dreadful is the world! behold how its mouth opens to swallow me up, and how small is my faith in Thee! . . . Oh! the weakness of the flesh, and the power of Satan! If I am to depend upon any strength of this world - all is over . . . The knell is struck . . . Sentence is gone forth . . . O God! O God! O thou, my God! help me against the wisdom of this world. Do this, I beseech thee; thou shouldst do this . . . by thy own mighty power . . . The work is not mine, but Thine. I have no business here . . . I have nothing to contend for with these great men of the world! I would gladly pass my days in happiness and peace. But the cause is Thine . . . And it is righteous and everlasting! O Lord! help me! O faithful and unchangeable God! I lean not upon man. It were vain! Whatever is of man is totering, whatever proceeds from him must fail. My God! my God! dost thou not hear? My God! art thou no longer living? Nay, thou canst not die. Thou dost but hide Thyself. Thou hast chosen me for this work. I know it! . . . Therefore, O God, accomplish thine own will! Forsake me not, for the sake of thy well- beloved Son, Jesus Christ, my defence, my buckler, and my stronghold. Lord - where art thou? . . . My God, where art thou? . . . Come! I pray thee, I am ready . . . Behold me prepared to lay down my life for thy truth . . . suffering like a lamb. For the cause is holy. It is thine own! . . . I will not let thee go! no, nor yet for all eternity! And though the world should be thronged with devils - and this body, which is the work of thine hands, should be cast forth, trodden under foot, cut in pieces, . . . consumed to ashes, my soul is thine. Yes, I have thine own word to assure me of it. My soul belongs to thee, and will abide with thee forever! Amen! O God send help! . . . Amen!

The next day, Luther was brought back to the assembly and, once again, asked to renounce his writings. Luther did respond and his speech is still talked about today and used as a battle cry of Christians being demanded to bow before man rather than God.

Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by clear reason (for I do not trust either in the pope or in councils alone, since it is well known that they have often erred and contradicted themselves), I am bound by the Scriptures I have quoted and my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand, I can do no other. May God help me. Amen.

While the council were deliberating what to do with Luther, he fled. The Edict of Worms read:

For this reason we forbid anyone from this time forward to dare, either by words or by deeds, to receive, defend, sustain, or favour the said Martin Luther. On the contrary, we want him to be apprehended and punished as a notorious heretic, as he deserves, to be brought personally before us, or to be securely guarded until those who have captured him inform us, whereupon we will order the appropriate manner of proceeding against the said Luther. Those who will help in his capture will be rewarded generously for their good work.

People were also banned from reading or owning any of his writings. Many people were executed, including being burned at the stake, for supporting Luther.

So what is the big deal with these ninety-five concerns? What are they exactly? 

Luther’s biggest concern with the Catholic Church was the selling of indulgences. An indulgence is where you can pay the Roman Catholic Church an amount of money to have your time in Purgatory lessened. Purgatory is a fictional place the Catholic Church teaches a Christian will go to burn off sins until they are purified enough to enter Heaven. During Luther’s time, the Pope sent Johann Tetzel to sell indulgences in order to raise money to rebuild St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Tetzel is attributed with the creation of the slogan of indulgences, “As soon as the coin in the coffer rings, the soul from purgatory springs.” Thus, the topic of selling indulgences is the main focus of Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses.

Most Protestants have never read Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses. They are essentially the Protestant birth certificate and I encourage you to read them. Some of the topics Luther references have long been rejected by Protestants (the papacy, Purgatory, indulgences, etc.) but are still important to know in the understanding of our history. 

You can read all ninety-five here but here are a few:

#5 The pope has neither the will nor the power to remit any penalties beyond those imposed either at his own discretion or by canon law.

#8 The penitential canons apply only to men who are still alive, and, according to the canons themselves, none applies to the dead.

#10 It is a wrongful act, due to ignorance, when priests retain the canonical penalties on the dead in purgatory.

#13 Death puts an end to all the claims of the Church; even the dying are already dead to the canon laws, and are no longer bound by them.

#21 Hence those who preach indulgences are in error when they say that a man is absolved and saved from every penalty by the pope's indulgences.

#22 Indeed, he cannot remit to souls in purgatory any penalty which canon law declares should be suffered in the present life.

#27 There is no divine authority for preaching that the soul flies out of the purgatory immediately the money clinks in the bottom of the chest.

#32 All those who believe themselves certain of their own salvation by means of letters of indulgence, will be eternally damned, together with their teachers.

#36 Any Christian whatsoever, who is truly repentant, enjoys plenary remission from penalty and guilt, and this is given him without letters of indulgence.

#40 A truly contrite sinner seeks out, and loves to pay, the penalties of his sins; whereas the very multitude of indulgences dulls men's consciences, and tends to make them hate the penalties.

#43 Christians should be taught that one who gives to the poor, or lends to the needy, does a better action than if he purchases indulgences.

#44 Because, by works of love, love grows and a man becomes a better man; whereas, by indulgences, he does not become a better man, but only escapes certain penalties.

#45 Christians should be taught that he who sees a needy person, but passes him by although he gives money for indulgences, gains no benefit from the pope's pardon, but only incurs the wrath of God.

#62 The true treasure of the church is the Holy gospel of the glory and the grace of God.

#68 Nevertheless, they are not to be compared with the grace of God and the compassion shown in the Cross.

#72 On the other hand, let him be blessed who is on his guard against the wantonness and license of the pardon-merchant's words.

#76 We assert the contrary, and say that the pope's pardons are not able to remove the least venial of sins as far as their guilt is concerned.

#79 It is blasphemy to say that the insignia of the cross with the papal arms are of equal value to the cross on which Christ died.

#82 They ask, e.g.: Why does not the pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money, a most perishable thing, with which to build St. Peter's church, a very minor purpose.

#86 Again: since the pope's income to-day is larger than that of the wealthiest of wealthy men, why does he not build this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of indigent believers?

#90 These questions are serious matters of conscience to the laity. To suppress them by force alone, and not to refute them by giving reasons, is to expose the church and the pope to the ridicule of their enemies, and to make Christian people unhappy.

#94 Christians should be exhorted to be zealous to follow Christ, their Head, through penalties, deaths, and hells.

#95 And let them thus be more confident of entering heaven through many tribulations rather than through a false assurance of peace.

In closing, I hope you remember Martin Luther's work and his humility when you sing the song he penned, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.