Life from a Reformed Christian Perspective

I've moved. :)

2010-02-22T23:08:00.003-06:00

I moved my blog over to Wordpress, so come on over and check it out!

http://psalm100v2.wordpress.com

Thankful

2009-11-28T22:43:00.003-06:00

God has been so good to us this year!

I am thankful most of all for God, who sent His Son to die for our sins.

For my parents....who have loved me through all the rough spots and didn't give up on me during the hard times!

For our church....the preaching and teaching, the people, and the opportunity to be in choir!

For my extended family!

For the good times and bad that have forced us to look to the Lord and not ourselves for help and encouragement!

Thank You, Lord.

Off-topic developments

2009-07-29T00:00:00.004-05:00

We have 3 chickens for pets (and now for eggs!) This is my Ameraucana hen just a few minutes after laying her very first egg! We raised our chickens from tiny, fuzzy chicks, and it is so satisfying to begin reaping the fruits of our labor. :)

Update on Christy

2009-07-04T00:50:00.004-05:00

I have a good update on my cousin, Christy!

She had her surgery a little over 2 weeks ago. The mass turned out to be a fluid-filled cyst, with the walls of the cyst containing breast cancer cells. The fluid was removed, and she will receive radiation therapy to get rid of the cancer cells.

Thank you for your prayers! Please continue to pray that she will keep recovering at a steady pace, and that she tolerates the radiation well.

Prayer Request

2009-06-12T18:21:00.003-05:00

I have a prayer request for my cousin, Christy.

To give some background, Christy was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2006. It spread to her liver, but thankfully the chemo and radiation arrested those spots. She has been healthy ever since May of 2007.

In the last 4-5 weeks, she complained of a headache that wouldn't go away. After her doctor telling her that she had sinus problems, she tried some medicine for that. It didn't help. She insisted on an MRI, and had that last Wednesday. Today, she got the results. The MRI showed a mass in her brain. Obviously this is not good news. The doctors are now determining what kind of mass it is, and what kind of treatment to use on it.

Please pray that whatever this is, that it would be able to be cured. Christy is the mom of Macie, who you will remember was severely injured a few months ago, and who pulled through only by the grace of God. (Macie is doing wonderfully now, by the way!) This little girl needs her mommy!

Thank you!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T07:15:00.003-05:00

To all the mothers who read this, whether I know you or not: Happy Mother's Day! The job you have is one of the hardest, messiest,.....and most BLESSED jobs, on this earth! :)

Keep up the excellent work! The Lord is richly blessing your efforts, even though you may not see the results for years.

Baby John Edward

2009-04-26T07:03:00.003-05:00

Little John Edward Peacock passed away last night, at the age of 7 months. Please pray for his mom and dad, as well as his older brother, William, as they walk through this valley of sadness and pain.

He Is Risen!

2009-04-12T00:29:00.003-05:00

Christ is risen from the dead! Hallelujah!

Last update on Macie!

2009-03-06T23:03:00.001-06:00

My aunt called at about 8:30 this evening, and said that Macie is HOME! She's a little whiny and will probably have some pain for a couple weeks, but it's nothing they can't handle at home. Isn't it amazing! God is so good!

They said to thank you all for your prayers. They definitely helped!

Update on Macie - Good news!

2009-03-05T23:23:00.002-06:00

**UPDATE**
As of 5:15pm, March 5th, 2009

Macie is awake! And talking! She recognizes everyone, and is doing well enough that she will be able to go to a regular room as soon as one is available. Isn't it great how little kids are so resilient! She has a titanium plate over a quarter-size opening in her skull. The doctor said her CT scan was clear, and that she is doing very well.

Thank you for all the prayers! They worked!

Urgent prayer request

2009-03-05T09:15:00.002-06:00

My cousin's 5 year old daughter was playing at school yesterday, and somehow hit her head (No one saw exactly what happened). The school did not call her parents immediately after it happened, and her mother (my cousin, Christy) is EXTREMELY upset about that, to say the least.

At home, Macie was acting strange, and ended up going limp and starting seizures. Her parents rushed her to the ER , and that's where they found her skull was fractured. She had to have immediate surgery to have a shunt placed (to relieve pressure) and she is in the ICU.

Please, please pray that God would spare her life! They have no idea what kind of cognitive function she will have if/when she wakes up. :( Macie is my cousin's only child (her dad, Dwayne, has a much older daughter from a previous marriage) and is everyone's little darling!

My webpage

2009-03-02T21:13:00.004-06:00

I did a bit of updating to my blog today, including adding a link (on the right) to my personal website. The site needs to have the links updated and such, but the text on it still applies. :) It's not exciting, but you can learn a little more about my family and I, see some pictures I've taken, and read a few of my trip journals from years gone by.

Update on life

2009-02-23T22:42:00.004-06:00

Well, seeing as it has now been over a month since I last updated the blog, I guess it's time to do it again. :)

In case you're wondering, baby John is doing well. He had another pneumonia scare the last couple days, but as of this evening, it appears that he is recovering nicely. Thank You, Lord!

Life is going on with us as usual. Nothing new has happened at this point. :) We've started gardening, and with that comes the battle of the bugs who want to snack on the tiny new sprouts! So far I have planted peas and spinach. Beets, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, and zucchini will be planted pretty soon. We'll do cabbage also, but we're going to wait until Fall for that, to cut down on bug damage.

I have a couple new picture albums to share:
Inner Space Cavern pictures!
Texas State Capitol pics!

If you would like to have the full-size version of any of these pictures, please let me know. :)

Update on baby John

2009-01-22T22:28:00.004-06:00

Thank you for your prayers.

Baby John was very sick when he was taken to the hospital Tuesday a week ago. He was not expected to survive. But he did! The Lord pulled him through having aspiration pneumonia and being on a respirator, and his parents were able to bring him back home last Friday evening....a mere 3 days after the doctors had told his parents to expect the worst!

God is so good! John continues to suffer from intractable seizures, however. The major prayer request is for John's parents, as they care for him through the day and night. Pray that the Lord would cover them with a peace that passes all understanding, and give them strength and endurance as they minister to John and his big brother, William. There is no way to know what John's life will be like, nor how long it will last. The same could be said about any of us!

Thanks.

Urgent Prayer

2009-01-13T17:03:00.003-06:00

Please be praying for baby John Edward. He had to be taken back to the hospital this afternoon. Please pray for relief from the seizures for him, and for peace and comfort on his parents.

You can read about him here: Caring Bridge site: Peacock's

Joy in the Morning

2009-01-05T21:11:00.004-06:00

Our pastor gave a short message at baby Zac's funeral, last Wednesday. You can read it by clicking here: Joy in the Morning

You might also be interested in Pastor Cassidy's sermon notes from this past Sunday: Living in Hope

A time to mourn...

2008-12-31T21:50:00.003-06:00

Today, our congregation gathered for a memorial service. Baby Isaac Matthew (Zac) Thomas went to sleep for his nap last Sunday afternoon, and never woke up. He was not quite 3 months old. Zac was survived by his twin sister, Jane. There were many tears as we sang hymns, Scripture was read, and Zac's daddy reminisced about his short but sweet life. Our choir sang two pieces by ourselves, but I'm not sure how we got through them. Zac's parents said he was always very attentive to the choir singing during church services!

As we prepare to greet the new year, let us resolve to not forget the frailty of life. God decided how long our lives would be, back when He created the world. He has a good reason for taking Zac so early in his little life, but we don't know what that reason is right now. Someday we will know, and all our tears will be wiped away and broken hearts healed.

Cinnamon Rolls

2008-12-27T18:08:00.005-06:00

I know this isn't the food blog, but I have to let everyone know about these!

I found the recipe here: http://sisterscafe.blogspot.com/2008/06/perfect-cinnamon-rolls.html

I made one change: I replaced 3 cups of the white flour with whole wheat flour. This is enough to give a nice flavor and color to the dough, without making it heavy or too "wheaty".

This recipe makes a LOT of dough. I got 32 cinnamon rolls out of all the dough, but I probably could have gotten a few more if I'd been more careful cutting them. With my oven, I found they needed to be baked about 11-1/2 minutes to get just a touch of light brown.

I also didn't make the frosting. We eat enough sugar in this house as it is, and since I don't really like frosting that much anyway, I skipped it. They are delicious by themselves! If you heat them in the microwave for a few second, they practically melt. It is very easy to eat too many!

These pictures are all of the unbaked rolls, but they really don't look much different baked. Less shine, I guess. :)

Should Christians celebrate Christmas?

2008-12-12T22:09:00.003-06:00

You can always find plenty of sites talking about how Christians shouldn't celebrate Christmas because it has pagan origins. I've been interested in this debate for many years now, and always enjoy reading the different viewpoints.

Here is a blog I skimmed through this evening, and found a lot of good information.

Is Christmas Christian?

I'm not really interested in having a debate about it here on my blog, though I welcome comments. :)

Some kind of update

2008-12-04T23:41:00.003-06:00

Hello everyone,

I apologize for the lack of posting. I've just been too busy/lazy to post! Life is going well and is very full. We began the season of Advent this past Sunday. It is such a joy and blessing to celebrate the birth of Christ with dear friends in the Lord!

The weather has turned much colder lately, which makes it seem more like wintertime! It was hard to think about winter when it was 80 degrees outside! I love many things about each season of the year, but I especially enjoy cold weather because it makes me want to get out my down comforter and settle down with a good book. :) Maybe even have a fire in the fireplace and toast some marshmallows. Yum!

To process a pumpkin....

2008-11-25T22:30:00.014-06:00

Our 17lb Cinderella Pumpkin (This is an heirloom variety, bought at HEB for $0.99!!!)

Pretty neat, huh? We saved the seeds and roasted them to eat, too!

I wondered if I'd have to bring out the ax to chop this pumpkin! Fortunately it wasn't too difficult to cut in pieces.

This is our biggest cooking pot! It makes enough soup for 40 people! Notice how the pumpkin almost overflows. :)

Mmmm.....fresh pumpkin!

After cutting the pumpkin into somewhat smaller chunks, I boiled the chunks in about 4 batches, about 15 minutes apiece. I then scooped the flesh out of the skin with a spoon, and put it into a strainer lined with cheesecloth. Pumpkin has a tremendous amount of water in it! I drained most of the water out of the pumpkin, then ran it through the food processor. Then I drained it a little more!

A can of pumpkin from the store is about 15.5ozs, so I tried to replicate this (using our kitchen scale) so it would be easy to use for recipes. Ziplock freezer bags worked great!

I was really surprised at the amount of pumpkin I had at the end of all this processing! (3.5 hours!)

Can you guess how many pounds of usable pumpkin you get from a 17lb pumpkin?

Are you guessing?

Ok, ok, I'll quit the annoying questions!

Scroll down..........

The finished product. Yes, that's ALL the pumpkin puree. Five ziplock bags worth. Each bag has approximately 1lb of pumpkin puree. That's about 5lbs. That works out to just under 1/3 of the weight of the whole pumpkin. Keep that in mind next time you want to stockpile pumpkin puree, and buy accordingly. ;)

I made this huge mess for 5 bags of pumpkin!

God is so good!

2008-11-12T23:13:00.003-06:00

My church and church family is such a blessing! I love having fellowship with people who are just as likely to have a long discussion on liturgical worship as they are on recipes, or even football! When the Lord is at the center of people's lives, it makes for especially sweet friendships.

I've come to realize this especially in the last week, with the results of the presidential election. We, as Christians, need to take care of each other. We don't know what might happen with the government, with healthcare, or even with churches. I feel like it is an urgent need for Christians to really stick with one another and bear one anothers burdens!

Is there a dear friend who you've lost touch with due to distance or whatever? Get in touch with them! See what they're up to. See if there is anything you can do for them.

You can never have too many friends! :)

Please pray

2008-11-11T16:19:00.003-06:00

Please be in prayer for a family in our church. Baby John was born with some health problems, including seizures. He has been in the hospital since birth. You can see his website here: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/peacock

Please keep their family in your prayers, that the doctors would have wisdom, and that Bill and Kelly would have peace and reassurance from the Lord about whatever is going to happen.

Wow!

2008-11-07T18:59:00.003-06:00

I am in fabric heaven!

This morning, my mom brought a tub of fabric into my bedroom. She said there was another box of fabric in the garage that was so heavy she couldn't move it. This bounty turned out to be from the next-door neighbor's mother's home.

I had so much fun sorting through it all! It's all older prints, of course, but that makes it all the better! Some of the prints are really pretty! It's a lot of browns, and a lot of flowers.

Most of these pieces of fabric were remnants, but generous remnants at that! Some were 2-3 yards of fabric! I wish fabric stores were more generous nowdays! You could barely get a place mat out of a remnant from Wal-Mart. :/

Some of these pieces are just begging to be made into aprons and other "accessories". If I am able to make some myself, I'll let you know where to find them. :)

Election Day

2008-11-04T14:36:00.004-06:00

I thought today was a good day to re-post the words to a piece of music we sang in choir back on September 21st, 2008.

Be Not Afraid - Knut Nystedt - Based on Isaiah 41:10, 43:1

Be not afraid I am with thee,
Tremble not for I am thy God!
I strengthen thee for I am thy help,
I uphold thee with the right hand of my
righteousness.

By redemption thou art saved, you are mine!
Fear not, for you are called and named,
Fear not, you are mine!

----------------------------------------------

Thy will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.

Amen.

EEEEEW!

2008-10-24T18:14:00.005-05:00

If you don't like bugs, you might not want to look at these pictures.

This is a Puss Moth caterpillar. (Also known as an asp) The hairs cause an extremely painful skin reaction, and cause a serious illness in some people. This one was about 3/4" long.

365 Blog address!

2008-10-24T18:12:00.003-05:00

Ok, here it is. It won't be very entertaining since I don't have any babies or small children to provide endless photo opportunities, but I'll do my best to take some interesting pictures. :)

http://weatherandspace365blog.blogspot.com

365 project

2008-10-24T11:58:00.003-05:00

I'm thinking of starting a 365 project! What is this, you might ask? It just means taking a random picture every day for 1 year.

I actually started this on a Live Journal of mine on January 1st this year, but I only lasted about 6 weeks.

This time I thought it would be fun to start at a different time of year and try to make it for a whole year.

My 365 journal will be posted in another blog which I have yet to create. I'd post it in this blog, but I like to have things neat and organized and all in one place. ;) (It'd be great if I could accomplish that with, say, my collection of fabric or yarn. Oops.)

As soon as I make the new blog, I'll post the address here. :)

Babies, babies, and more babies! And other things...

2008-10-19T23:55:00.004-05:00

We had our usual bi-monthly baptisms and reception of new members today at church, and it was such a joy to see all the new babies! It seems like at least one baby is born each month, though they tend to come in batches every few months!

Someday I want to add to that number, but for now I have to be content with just admiring them. ;) One baby was only 10 days old!

I am just so happy to see families growing! Children are seen as a nusiance by so many people nowdays, it's depressing! And all that garbage about overpopulation! Haven't these fear-mongers driven through west Texas lately?? It's awfully empty out there! How about they move out to Big Bend and leave us the cities. ;)

Other Things:
Choir went well today. Did I ever mention how much I love choir?? ;) I still continue to learn new things about music everytime we practice and sing! I am so excited to start learning our pieces for the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols!

I guess that's about it. I've been up since 6:30am, so if something doesn't make sense, that's why. Goodnight!

Vegan-ism vs. Meat-ism

2008-10-09T19:50:00.003-05:00

Last night, I spent the better part of an hour reading through a vegan's blog. It had all manner of interesting tofu and vegetable recipes. The recipes are handy for someone who is allergic to eggs, but that's about it! ;)

By the time I finished reading, I had a serious craving for a thick, juicy steak. Don't get me wrong, I like most vegetables, but that was ridiculous! There is no way I could be a vegan. I would literally blow away with the first major cold front that comes in.

I'm sorry I haven't written more. It seems like nothing noteworthy has happened lately. Life is moving along as usual.

I did begin reading through the Bible last night. I've never read the entire Bible all the way through, and I thought this would be a good time to do it. I'm not reading a set number of verses/chapters per day. I just read at night before I go to bed, until I get sleepy.

I guess that's it for now. :)

Odds & Ends

2008-09-25T21:30:00.009-05:00

Our neighbors have quite the collection of interesting plants, mostly succulents.

On Tuesday, I took several pictures, including this one, of a very large and unusual bloom, produced by one of her succulents.

It's a good thing I went over and took those pictures when I did. Barely 2 hours later, she calls me over to bring my camera again. This is what I found!

The "Chinese Lantern" had "popped" open into this gigantic flower! As you can see, it was about 10 inches from the tip of one petal to the tip of another.

An up-close view of the middle of the flower. Just from looking at this, what do you think it smelled like? Does it look like it smells good? I didn't think so, either.
It had a very pervasive smell.....of something dead! Yuck.

It hung face-down from the plant, and the inside was covered with about 1/2-inch-long whitish hairs! The "dead" smell attracts flies, which carry pollen to other plants just like this one.

A close-up of the "fur"

If you're interested in seeing more pictures, you can see these and a bunch more plant pictures in my photo album. Click Here!

Fall gardening...again

2008-09-21T23:48:00.004-05:00

Well, my first attempts at fall gardening "fell"! Only a few tiny plants came up from seed, and they all died when I forgot to water them often enough. Oops!

However, we did pull out our old tomato plants from the west raised bed and I intend to till it and maybe add in some compost if it needs it. Then I'll plant several goodies and see if I can do better with them being in the nice garden dirt. I planned to plant cucumbers, more tomatoes, spinach, Swiss chard (red, and white-stem varieties for color fun), New Zealand spinach, beets, cabbage, and peas.

The cabbage, spinach, and beets will live through the winter even if we have freezing temperatures (which is a big guessing game in this part of the state!)

So there you have it. I'll see what I can accomplish tomorrow, and then report back about it once I've actually done something useful. ;)

Be Not Afraid

2008-09-21T23:36:00.003-05:00

Today in choir, we sang a piece of music that I really enjoyed.

Be Not Afraid by Knut Nystedt (Based on Isaiah 41:10-43:1)

Be not afraid I am with thee.
Tremble not for I am thy God!
I strengthen thee for I am thy help,
I uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
By redemption thou art saved, you are mine!
Fear not, for you are called and named,
Fear not, you are mine!
----------------------------------------------

I had to get used to the music. The first time we practiced it, I didn't like it! After practicing it for several weeks, it really grew on me, and now I love it.

Our choir is such a blessing! :)

Still alive!

2008-09-08T00:06:00.003-05:00

Yes, I'm still alive! Just been too busy to think about what to post next. I'll probably do another book review in a day or so! :)

Are there any really good books you've read and now recommend? I'm always on the lookout for another really good book! :)

Well....

2008-08-26T01:33:00.003-05:00

I think we have a bug problem.

Last week, I heard a strange scratching noise coming from, of all places, one of the can light fixtures in the kitchen. I went over and was trying to look up in it and see if I could see something. All of a sudden, a cricket falls out of the light onto the kitchen counter!

This explains the other crickets I've found in various places around the house. Just a few minutes ago I again heard this same type of noise in one of the can lights above the washing machine. Sure enough, a cricket fell out onto the floor. YIKES!

So I'm not really sure why they are suddenly coming into the ceiling and into the can lights. If they are in the attic, I'll have to wait until, oh....January sometime, to climb up there and snoop around. I don't have any desire to bake in the 150 degree heat up there right now!

Fall Gardening 2008!

2008-08-15T23:56:00.003-05:00

I decided to be proactive this year and plant a Fall garden!

I made a public photo album so you can follow the progress and the hopeful harvest! Right now there are just planting pictures and a couple pictures of my first sprouts. I'll add an update and link here again once things hopefully start getting established. :)

http://picasaweb.google.com/psalm1002/FallGarden2008

Modest swim suits

2008-08-11T12:15:00.004-05:00

Modesty has always been a big focus in our family, so I had a dilemma trying to find a decent swim "outfit" that didn't break the bank or look like a tent! (And weigh as much as a tent...)

A couple of years ago, I finally found one!

Modest Swimwear Solutions

You can either buy the pattern and sew the suit yourself, or these nice ladies will sew one for you, to your specifications! Since I sew, I ordered a pattern. I was a little worried about sewing with lycra, due to the stretchiness and rather strange texture. It turned out to be one of the easiest patterns I'd ever followed! Sewing the lycra was not a problem, and it was so easy to customize the pattern to fit me just like I wanted!

If you have any questions, I would be glad to try to answer them for you, or you can just email the swim suit ladies and they will be happy to help you, too. I highly recommend this swim suit! :)

Book Review! Passionate Housewives Desperate for God

2008-08-09T22:30:00.003-05:00

Passionate Housewives Desperate for God - Fresh Vision for the Hopeful Homemaker, by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald.

I just got this book, but upon opening it and reading the first chapter, I wanted to shout "hallelujah!" Even though I'm not a mother yet, so much of this book hit home! Homemaker is not a dirty word!

Women and mothers who stay at home to serve their husbands and children are constantly bombarded with lies about how we're so abused because we can't just "go out and have time to ourselves". I have to confess that I had let a few small parts of this ideology color my thinking. When hearing a mother say "I just need a couple hours break from the kids. They make me tired!" I would nod in understanding, because after all, kids are tiring! Even when they're on their best behavior, small children are very labor-intensive. :) After reading this book, my attitude has really changed.

I have no problem with a husband and wife having "date night" where they go out for a few hours, or even with a mother occasionally going to a ladies' party and leaving her children with her husband for the evening. It's the attitude that a woman has toward her family that is so important! This book encourages women to look at their service to their families as a blessing from God, and not simply "something that has to be done, and we just get through one day at a time...."

You can find out more about this book here. You might be able to find it cheaper somewhere else. We bought our copy from Christian Book Distributors, but I don't remember how much it was. I highly encourage all women and mothers to read this book, along with older teenagers and unmarried young women! :)

Prayer for a Christian family

2008-08-02T13:11:00.003-05:00

I just found this website a couple days ago and put it in my blog feed. This sweet Christian family could use prayer, as their mother is suffering from ovarian cancer and is very low now. Please pray for their peace and comfort, as well as relief from pain and peace for their mother.

Prayer Basket: The Journey Continues

New link added

2008-08-01T23:36:00.003-05:00

Be sure to check out the website I just added in the link section, called "Ladies Against Feminism". It's an excellent resource for all ladies. :)

I'll be posting another book review soon!

Please excuse...

2008-08-01T14:16:00.002-05:00

The terrible formatting of the last post! I still don't know how to publish pictures and have the (correct) subject line nicely underneath each picture.

Is there a Blogger For Dummies website? ;)

Looking at life through rose-colored glasses ;)

2008-08-01T13:59:00.004-05:00

One of our lovely roses! This is what happens when you start watering your plants regularly. (What a novel idea! Too bad we didn't think of it 22 years ago. ;))

One of our lovely hibiscus blooms!

Book Review - Before you meet Prince Charming

2008-07-28T22:28:00.003-05:00

I am so sorry for not posting when I promised I would! Things came up and I just got too busy to do it. :(

I wanted to give a review of one of my new favorite books! It is called Before you meet Prince Charming, by Sarah Mally, and it is a book for young ladies who are just starting to consider marriage.

A friend introduced me to this book a couple years ago, and I was immediately impressed. It is a sweet fictional story of a princess who lives in a castle with her father the king, and talks about her growing-up years and the struggles she went through regarding marriage.

It is all written very tastefully, and I would not hesitate to let my young teenage daughter read this book!

Since parents know their daughters best and know what their emotional maturity level is, I would suggest that mother (and father, if he wants!) read this book first, and then they can judge whether their daughter is ready to read it.

I say this only because I worry about causing a longing for marriage in a young girl's heart when she might be too young to be really thinking about it just yet.

(Don't worry, I think the longing for marriage is a wonderful and God-given desire! It just doesn't need to be worried over at a young age. :))

To read more about this book: Click Here.

Have you read this book? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it! Leave me a comment! :)

Book reviews

2008-07-23T17:52:00.004-05:00

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with this blog very well. Sometimes I get impatient when other people don't update their blog with something every day, and here I am guilty of the same thing. :)

Anyway, I was thinking I'd like to start doing some book reviews maybe once a week. Reading is one of my beloved pastimes, and I want to share my finds with others! :) I'll post my first one this evening.

Who needs a choir?

2008-07-16T15:43:00.003-05:00

I wanted to link to our pastor's articles about choir, that I referenced a couple weeks ago.

Who Needs a Choir Anyway?

Who Needs a Choir Anyway? - Part II

Who Needs a Choir Anyway? Choirs in Church History - Part III

Who Needs a Choir Anyway? Conclusion - Part IV

I hope you will enjoy them as much as I did! Choir starts in exactly five weeks; I can't wait!

Ouch!

2008-07-08T16:42:00.004-05:00

I guess we let the grass in the backyard get too high. A yellow jacket crawled into my pants leg, unnoticed by me until it began stinging my leg! OUCH! The stings felt like fire! Then they swelled up. I told my mom I had a hive on my leg and she said those were bee-hives. (see me rolling my eyes? ;))

Fortunately I don't seem to be dangerously allergic to the stings. A paste of baking soda and water helped tremendously! It works really well for fire ant stings, too.

The stinging culprit, who took a trip down the toilet shortly after this picture was taken.

Pride and Prejudice

2008-07-03T20:01:00.004-05:00

Since PBS began regularly showing Jane Austen movies, I decided I should read the books. Yes, you read that right. I have never read a word of Jane Austen until now!

From what I've seen of the P&P movie, it seems very humorous to me! I'm not particularly fond of the "Does he like me? I hate him! Now I love him, but he hates me!" type of storyline that a lot of Jane Austen movies seemed to have. But after going through P&P for the second time, I am starting to enjoy the storyline. I still don't much care for the "mushiness" but there is a lot of humor in it as well.

Figuring the book was probably much better than the Hollywood-ized movie, I found the text online and began reading. It IS much better! Now I've decided I want to read all the Jane Austen books. If anyone fainted when I said I'd never read these classics at my age, here are some smelling salts. ;)

What do you think of the Jane Austen books and movies? :)

Addition to the post mentioning the Pearl's

2008-07-03T15:40:00.003-05:00

I want to make some clarifications regarding my recommendations of Michael and Debi Pearl's book, To Train Up A Child.

A reader commented that their books seemed to focus on external behavior rather than the heart and showing children the gospel of Jesus Christ. That may be so in some of their ideas. That's why I said to use discernment when reading their book(s). Their practical advice for, say, dealing with picky eaters or a child who whines constantly, though, is excellent. I like how they tell it like it is for the parents, because often they can be as big a of a problem as the child's sin nature.

For instance, making excuses for a child's bad attitude or behavior.

Anyway, I didn't start this post in order to give lectures on discipline, since I obviously don't have any experience with children of my own. :)

I just wanted to clarify that, while the Pearl's have a lot of strange or even wrong ideas about various things, a lot of their practical advice is good. Read their book with discernment just like you should any other book. Take what the Lord leads you to use, and leave the rest. :)

Thanks for reading!

The end of the 2008 choir year

2008-06-30T00:33:00.004-05:00

Sunday, June 29th marked the last service for choir until sometime in August. While I am grateful for the short vacation, I am already looking forward to the beginning for the 2009 choir year! I know I keep babbling about choir every other post, but I can't help it! :) It has been such a blessing for us to participate in this ministry of the church.

Technically, it has been very helpful for me to learn more about music. I am the type of person who tends toward not trying very hard at things that aren't instantly easy for me. When we first joined the choir, I got discouraged a lot because everything was so new, and seemed hard to me. Now it's fun to me to have a new song to practice, and I've learned to have a sense of humor about the first couple of times through a new piece! I know that we *will* learn this song and will sing it. It just takes practice.

Our pastor has been writing a short series on the place of the choir in church. You can find those here: In Hoc Signo
I'd never considered that the choir was in church to entertain people (although in some churches, people evidently think it should be entertainment....but that's another post!) And it is nice to see the biblical "evidence" for choirs spelled out in a very understandable way.

I've been up for nearly 18 hours today, so if you see anything that doesn't make sense, that's why!
Have a blessed week! :) I'll try to post more often, but I really don't have much to say!

Moon photos

2008-06-19T23:26:00.003-05:00

Since last night was supposed to be the "biggest" full moon we'll ever see, I decided to take some pictures. I wish I knew how to take better pictures in the dark! The moon looks like the sun in these pictures, but you get the general idea. Wouldn't you know we didn't have hardly any clouds yesterday, and then a lot came up right about the time for the moon rise. I think they made some of the pictures look neat, myself. :)

Click here for pictures!

More fun with close-up photography

2008-06-18T16:24:00.004-05:00

More tomato fun

2008-06-18T16:04:00.004-05:00

A few days ago, I went outside to check the tomatoes, and I found "evidence" of a tomato worm, including this chewed leaf.

I decided that I should come outside shortly after dark and see if the culprit would show itself. I forgot to go out, and ended up checking the plant again the next day. I didn't find any new evidence, so I guess the tomato worm was turned into a bird dinner. Organic gardening at its finest! ;)

It's starting!

2008-06-12T13:27:00.005-05:00

I started collecting slightly ripened tomatoes on Tuesday evening. (We can't let them ripen on the vine because of the birds and raccoons.) I've been checking them about twice a day, and this is how many I've gotten so far! (And I already gave one away!) The one on the far left is one of the Lemon Boys yellow tomatoes. The one next to it is a Big Beef, and the rest are the patio tomatoes. Oh yeah, the tiny one on the far right is a very undersized and unripe Roma. I don't think it's going to make it.

Anyone want some tomatoes? These don't have salmonella. ;) We'll bring the ripe ones to church on Sunday! :)

The sin nature

2008-06-10T22:28:00.003-05:00

After stupidly watching a late-afternoon talk show, I was once again shown how blind people have become towards sin.

The substance of the show was basically parents who were afraid of their children. I mean literally fearing for their lives because of how their children talked and behaved. It was horrifying, and very sad.

Of course I don't think any of these people claimed to be Christians. They were simply spouting a worldly and humanistic view of what they thought "made him act that way." I was reminded that "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9) The talk show host even repeated a couple of times that "children are not evil." They aren't? You're hearing about a young child who can strike fear into his parents' heart, and you basically say you don't believe children have a sin nature? Think what this child will try to do when he is 18 years old and weighs 180lbs!

Now, not being a parent at this point, I know I really don't have any right to give parenting advice, but I'm going to anyway. You can't go wrong with the Bible! ;)

"Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6)

The time to discipline is now. You can't expect things to go too well if you wait until your child is driving you out of your mind. It's pretty embarrassing to see an adult being pushed around by a 2-1/2 foot-tall child! If you can't stand being around your children, then something is wrong. Don't be sucked into the humanistic worldview of, "everyone is inherently good, and the only reason kids act badly is because we show them bad examples." "Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child; The rod of correction will drive it far from him." (Proverbs 22:15)

Yes, I do believe in spanking. I'll leave it at that!

I do have some books to recommend:

--Withhold Not Correction, by Bruce Ray

--Standing on the Promises, by Doug Wilson

--To Train up a Child, by Michael and Debi Pearl
(Their theology is skewed, so don't be misled by it, [Pelagianism], but their practical advice is excellent, in my opinion. I had to read this book a couple of times before it started making sense to me. I like their philosophy of "training as discipline", and of not making a discipline session into a half-hour long ordeal. Their homeschooling advice is some of the best I've ever seen, at least in my experience.)

Earlier I had several more things I thought I could comment on, but I've forgotten them. I guess they weren't that important! You get the general idea from reading my post. ;)

Gardening

2008-06-05T12:29:00.005-05:00

Right now the only thing producing in the garden is the tomatoes. None have ripened yet, but when they do, I think we'll be swamped! If you love fresh, homegrown tomatoes, we'll have some for you and probably everyone in our neighborhood in a few weeks!

Here are our patio tomatoes!
We also have Big Beef, Ace hybrid, I think Early Girl, Lemon Boy (they're yellow!), Roma and two others I can't think of right now. So we can probably open our own little tomato market after awhile! ;)

Fun with close-up photography

2008-05-27T22:58:00.003-05:00

This is my current desktop picture.

Regarding the polygamist situation

2008-05-24T20:16:00.002-05:00

A friend sent me this link, and I wanted to spread it around. It's made by a Christian ministry in Utah. Very eye-opening!

This movie is long and sad, but worth watching.

The rose

2008-05-08T00:44:00.000-05:00

This picture finally worked! Can you find the little hitchiker?

Pictures!

2008-05-08T00:43:00.000-05:00

Our lonely jalapeno pepper. It's supposed to be a giant variety, but so far it isn't looking like much. Considering the parent plant is only about 12 inches tall, it's putting a lot of effort into this pepper. ;)
These are our patio cherry tomatoes! We planted 7 different varieties of tomatoes (including these) so we may be supplying the neighborhood with tomatoes later in the summer if everything goes well!
My mom's favorite plant, wandering Jew. It grows anywhere! Just break a stalk off and stick the end into some dirt (or even just lay it on the dirt) and it'll take off and grow.

I tried posting a picture of the prettiest rose I've had so far this year, but it wouldn't show up. I'll see what I can do here in a minute!

New look

2008-05-08T00:34:00.001-05:00

I decided I needed something for spring and summer time. I'll post some flower and garden pictures soon!

Just testing

2008-04-20T21:50:00.000-05:00

Testing, testing.....
1........2...........3..........

:)

Random Update

2008-01-19T19:52:00.000-06:00

Good evening, all.

It feels like winter is finally here. Unfortunately it hasn't been cold enough to keep down the mountain cedar pollen, or kill the mold when it rains. So I've been sneezing and sniffling the last few weeks. Hopefully it is settling down into a colder, wetter pattern now, so we'll get some much-needed rain on our grass.

Choir is going at full speed. We recovered from the holidays and began practices on January 9th! As always, it is a joy to participate!

My business is very slow right now, but I don't mind that since I have plenty of other things going on to keep me busy. I really enjoy sewing when I have the time.

Handel's Messiah

2007-12-17T00:37:00.000-06:00

2 weeks ago, our choir was privileged to sing Part Three of Handel's Messiah. The choral texts were from I Corinthians and Revelation.

Since by man came death, by man also came the resurrection of the dead.
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. (I Corinthians 15:21-22)

But thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (I Corinthians 15:57)

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain and hath redeemed us to God by His blood to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Blessing and honour,.....glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. (Revelation 5:12-13)

AMEN.

As usual, I cannot say enough about our wonderful choir director, and the orchestra who played along with us! Their exhausting work on and in this concert was all worth it, and very much appreciated by us. Also, many thanks to our friends from our church and other "daughter" churches who joined our choir in singing this wonderful piece!

Since Part Three is not very long, we combined it into an actual church service. There were a number of hymns which everyone sang, and our pastor read several passages of Scripture. As evidenced by the comments of people who attended, they loved it! As for me, I was ready to do it all over again as soon as it was done! It was such a blessing to me to be able to participate!

Now we are preparing for our annual Festival of Lesson and Carols, which is always on Christmas Eve! I really enjoy this time of year, not for the weather and lack of sunshine, but for the celebration of Christ's birth and the sweet fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ that accompanies it.

A Prayer

2007-10-10T22:17:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to post the beautiful text of a piece we'll be singing at some point in the future in choir.

God be in my head and in my understanding.
God be in mine eyes and in my looking.
God be in my mouth and in my speaking.
God be in my heart and in my thinking.
God be at mine end and at my departing.

Old English Prayer from Sarum Primer, arr. John Rutter

Just various ramblings about various things...

2007-08-31T23:48:00.000-05:00

Have I mentioned I'm thrilled about choir starting again on September 5th? :)

Just last Sunday, we found out our beloved pastoral assistant/secretary will be moving back to Arizona. I'm not real sure what we're going to do without her! We're all praying for someone who can work in her place. I'm going to require her to come back for visits every once in awhile!

Lately I've been thinking about homeschooling (hence my previous post) and decided to embark on a couple of projects to enhance both my current learning, and my future children's learning. I'm going to make some notebooks on Biblical and American history! Probably in a timeline format. This way I can combine my enjoyment of scrapbooking with the usefulness of a "textbook"!

The weather continues to be hot and humid; standard fare for the end of August! Though today (I guess you could say yesterday, since it's nearly midnight!) we did get some rain. Rain is forecasted all through next week, so we are looking forward to the cooler temperatures it usually brings.

Homeschooling

2007-08-24T00:28:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about homeschooling lately. It makes me sad that I see so many parents thinking they are incapable of providing a good education to their children.

The most common statement I see is, "Oh, I could never do that because ______(I didn't graduate high school/college, I'm not certified to teach, I/my child would go crazy, etc)"

Well, for #1, it doesn't matter if you didn't finish 6th grade. You can learn along with your child! :) For #2, homeschooling a child is no different from attending to their daily needs. The "certified" idea is just one of the bluffs you might hear from your local school "officials."

#3 is the most saddening to me. If you and your child can't tolerate each other's presence, then there are more important issues to be resolved than where your child should receive their schooling. If your child(ren) drive you crazy so that you can't stand the thought of being around them all day, then you need to look at your discipline methods. Something obviously needs to be changed! It is not "normal" for children to be rude, sassy, annoying, pesky, slow to listen and obey, or any other attributes that cause irritation to the people around them.

I was homeschooled. I guess you could say I am still being homeschooled! My parents did not buy curriculum and textbooks for me to learn from, instead they bought me books on subjects that interested me. They cultivated a great love for reading in me, from an early age. As a result, I read everything I can get my hands on! As time went by, they did get a few textbooks to help me "brush up" on various subjects. Unfortunately I was/am not good in math, and did not study it like I should have. I am still working on it! The "method" that you might call my experience of homeschooling is "unschooling". It was an excellent method for letting me learn at my own pace, and learn the most from subjects that really interested me. The only thing that has to be watched is making sure that all the essential subjects are taught, along with the child teaching themselves their favorite subjects.

I don't believe children (especially boys) were made to sit at desks for hours at a time. It's just not healthy. I would have had serious trouble learning if I had been made to sit at a desk for a long time every day! I have always learned the best by doing many different things during the day, and being able to get up and move and do something else when my mind just couldn't absorb anymore of what I'd been doing! :)

Granted, every child is different. Some children LOVE a type of classroom setting at home. They learn beautifully with the curriculum and textbooks. They WANT to work on school at certain times every day. They enjoy routine, schedules and structure. Others need a combination of structure and "self-propelled" learning. If you have more than one child, you will very likely have the experience of these varied learning styles!

The key is to not worry about whether or not you are "good enough" to teach your child what they need to know. God gave you these children. They are your responsibility! They belong to you, not to the school down the road. :) The most important things you can teach your children have nothing to do with parsing sentences. Teach them about God. Read the Gospel to them. Take them to church where they can hear the word of God being preached week after week. Teach them to sing. Teach them to be friendly. Teach them to bear one another's burdens, and thus fulfill the law of Christ!

I apologize if I left out any letters or words. That tends to happen with me at this time of morning!

Musings

2007-08-19T15:13:00.000-05:00

Well, hello!

I'm not in the habit of writing in my blog regularly (obviously!) but I was still surprised that I hadn't posted here since April 9th!

There isn't much new with me. My business is going quite well, and I often have as many as 2 orders a week to fill. Choir stopped on June the 9th, and while I do enjoy not having to be at church by 8:15am, I seriously miss choir! I am beyond thrilled that we start back up in a little over 3 weeks! :-D Early mornings and all. It's good for me to have to get up early(er), since I have always been in the habit of going to bed late and getting up late.

This June, July and part of August has been the wettest summer we've had in a long time. One small town nearby had 19 inches of rain in 6 hours in early July. Yes, I said 19 inches in 6 hours! The flooding was pretty bad there. I believe mom added up the amount of rain we've had here at our house this year so far, and it was around 25 inches or so? That's almost a year's worth of rain in barely over half a year! We'll see what the rest of the year brings, especially with hurricanes and tropical storms threatening now.

We'll be singing the last 3 choruses of the Messiah this year in December. We have already been listening to the pieces as a family, and can't wait to get started! It will be a real treat to hear the entire Messiah, live, as I have only ever heard it on records and cd's. In fact we have a set of records with an excellent version of the Messiah but since the drive belt for our turntable is not working, I have no way to play them anymore!

I suppose that's it for now!

The CD's came!

2007-04-09T17:42:00.000-05:00

I stuck my foot in my mouth when I complained about international mail not coming when they say. The very next morning, the CD's arrived! :) Only 1 day late, which I don't have any right to complain about. ;)

The music is beautiful!
We got a DVD called "Anthems from King's. English choral favourites; Choir of King's College, Cambridge." and the choral director is Stephen Cleobury. It has several pieces that our choir has sung, such as: Greater Love Hath No Man (John Ireland), I Was Glad (C. Hubert H. Parry), and Let All the World (Ralph Vaughan Williams).

We also got 2 cd's, one is "Faire is the Heaven. Music of the English Church." The choir is The Cambridge Singers, directed by John Rutter. The other cd is "Images of Christ" and it is also sung by the Cambridge Singers, with John Rutter directing.

Faire is the Heaven has many pieces we have had the pleasure of singing; Haec dies (William Byrd), Ave verum corpus (William Byrd), If ye love me (Thomas Tallis), Thou knowest, Lord (Henry Purcell), This Joyful Eastertide (Dutch carol, arranged by John Wood....one of my favorites! :)), and O Taste and see (Ralph Vaughan Williams).

Images of Christ has 1 song that our choir has done; Crucifixus (for 8 voices) by Antonio Lotti. This is a very beautiful piece! We sang it at our Good Friday service, along with Ave verum corpus.

This DVD and both the cd's can be found on amazon.co.uk. If you have the opportunity, I encourage you to get them. It's beautiful music!

Long time no blog!

2007-04-07T00:13:00.000-05:00

I know most of my posts on here have to do with how much I love music, and this one is no exception! I just have to say how blessed I feel to be able to serve in our choir. It has been a wonderful experience overall.....very humbling at times, too! (I'm still learning how to sight-read. Maybe after a few years, I'll get it!) I've also learned that some pieces of music that are very difficult to learn are the most fun to sing! :)

We ordered some recommended choral music from Europe; it has yet to arrive. I'm sorry, but never believe Amazon UK when they say 6-10 days arrival time from when the products are dispatched. (I learned a new term....the UK doesn't ship, they dispatch.) I've been anxiously watching for the UPS man every day. I wonder what he thought today when I opened the door and excitedly greeted him, only to have my face fall when he handed me a box of books. I wonder if he ever has people flagging him down, asking if something of theirs has arrived yet!

Last night was our Good Friday service when we celebrated (yes, celebrated!) the death of Jesus on the cross. What a blessing! I simply cannot imagine not having faith in Jesus Christ, after reading of the incredible love He has for us. It fills me with a sense of awe every single time I read it in the Bible!

On a different note, I took some nice wildflower pictures on Thursday. I will post them online soon, and post a link here for anyone who might be interested. :)
-------------
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son; that whoever belives in Him shall NOT die, but have eternal life. Amen.

Music and your health

2006-11-04T20:00:00.000-06:00

Well, I thought I'd try to say some things on how some music can be hearmful to your health.

Have you ever noticed how certain music makes you feel? I know that when I listen to music where the melody is very prominent, I enjoy it. But if I hear a piece of music where the melody is "drowned" by what should be the accompaniment, I begin to feel stressed! If you ever watched an old "silent" movie, you would notice that the music changes, depending on what scene is being shown. (It's the same way in every single modern movie, as well!) During "un-suspenseful" scenes, the music will almost always be played in a major key. When something scary comes up, the music is usually changed to be played in a minor key.

This is because most music played in a minor key sounds somewhat "off" to our ears. It can be very depressing, and make you feel tense. Why else would it be played during scary scenes?? ;)

That being said, not all music played in a minor key is depressing. Just like not all music played in a major key will sound pretty!

Another depressing part of some music (especially rock) is the lack of order in the song. It does go back to how prominent the melody is. But if certain instruments are screaming out over the others, that is unnerving as well. One thing that drives me absolutely crazy is when I hear someone playing "music" that doesn't even have a tune! They just play random notes and call it music. And that again goes back to the "order" in the music.

I'm not sure how much sense I'm making here. I would welcome comments! (No debates though....I'm too tired for that!)

More on Music

2006-09-16T15:10:00.000-05:00

I started this almost a month ago and didn't post it. Here it is now!

------

I know I said before I would post some things about how some types of music could be harmful to your health, but I decided to delay that for awhile.

Instead, I'd like to talk more about how beneficial music is to us in our Christian life. Having joined the choir at our church, I have found that singing greatly enhances my "worship experience"! I know that sounds a little charismatic-y, but it's true. Even though I can't sing as well as I'd like (who does??), I still think of the verse that says to make a joyful noise unto the Lord.

The church meeting is kind of like a puzzle, with 6 pieces. First, the prelude greets us as we walk in, and induces a worshipful attitude. Second, the choir sings an introduction to the first hymn and everyone stands and SINGS out! Third, we confess our sins to the Lord and ask forgiveness. Fourth, we stand and thank the Lord for His goodness in forgiving us our sins, and SING. Fifth, the pastor preaches from the Word of God. And sixth, we celebrate the Lord's supper together as we sing His praises.

All these aspects of worship fit together beautifully!

Music, cont'd

2006-08-24T16:14:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

We suddenly got very busy and I didn't get an opportunity to write more on music until today! We joined the choir at church, which began practices last night. I only knew one song out of the 5 or 6 we practiced, but I'm hoping I will be able to learn easily! It was fun trying, even though I didn't sing much!

As I was saying before, music should be a very crucial part of our Christian life. And by music, I mean beautiful music with beautiful words. The longer I have worshiped the Lord with our church family, the more I have learned to appreciate "psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs."

Someone once told me that it was important to teach our children to sing, because we are preparing them to sing in heaven! All the hosts of heaven are singing to the Lord all the time, so whenever we sing, we can think about how every Christian who has died is singing along with us. Isn't that an amazing thought!

When I get the chance, I will write some things on how certain types of music can be harmful to your health!

Hope everyone has a very blessed weekend!

Singing

2006-08-21T00:11:00.000-05:00

I love singing!

I have always loved it, from the time I was a very small child. My mom has casette tapes of me singing "Holy, Holy, Holy" at age 3! Very cute, if I may say so myself. ;)

But teaching your children how to enjoy music and singing from the time they are even conceived has so much more meaning than simply something cute! When you sing hymns to your baby, you are "imprinting" these words and sounds into their minds! One of the most wonderful ways that we express our belief in Jesus is by joyful singing! Singing can pick you up out of the doldrums, ease pain, and act as a witness to unbelievers.

There are SO many Bible verses that talk about singing! I especially like the ones that talk about the hosts of heaven praising God day and night! Can you imagine what that must sound like? Revelation 4:8 is the verse I was thinking of!
(The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “ Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” )

I looked up verses in the Bible with the word "sing" in them and found 169 results! I won't post all of them, but I will put my favorites here.

I will praise the LORD according to his righteousness: and will sing praise to the name of the LORD most high. ~ Psalm 7:17

Sing praises to the LORD, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings. ~ Psalm 9:11

Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. ~ Psalm 30:4

Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise. ~ Psalm 33:3

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. ~ Psalm 89:1

Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing. ~ Psalm 100:2

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; ~ Ephesians 5:19

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. ~ Colossians 3:16

I think that the emphasis that the Bible puts on singing means that it's very important to the Lord! Judging from these verses, God wants us to sing a LOT, and LOUDLY! (A very large pipe organ is a wonderful instrument to accompany singing, by the way.)

I know what you're thinking...."I can't sing! I can't carry a tune in a bucket! I can't read music! I can't....." Well, stop thinking those things. How you sound doesn't matter! I think the sounds of a 2 year old doing their best to sing along with everyone else is just as sweet a sound as one of the most accomplished opera singers! It's the condition of your heart that matters, not the sound that comes from your mouth. The Bible says "make a joyful noise", NOT "sing to the Lord with beautiful voice and perfectly carried tune!"

It's awfully late, so I am going to close now. I may be back tomorrow with more thoughts on music! :)

Heat

2006-08-17T14:41:00.000-05:00

Wow, it's hot today!

Very, very, very hot. Last year, September was the hottest month of the year, not August. So I'm wondering what it'll be like next month! I don't know what we'd do without A/C.

Currently the temperature is 95°, with a heat index of 100°.

Thoughts on the "Federal Vision" Theology

2006-08-16T16:40:00.000-05:00

I've been thinking quite a bit about this issue, especially since my dad has been talking about it with friends, and studying it himself.

For the record, I have not studied many books on this myself at this point, but I think I understand what some of the basic ideas are in it, and I know what I think about them.

The main issue that comes up most often is whether or not there is an element of "works" in our salvation. Now if you know anything about reformed theology, you have probably heard of T.U.L.I.P., which is an acronym for the 5 points of Calvinism. As you can see on that webpage, "U" stands for *Unconditional Election*. This is based on the many Scriptures that talk about Christ choosing us. (Romans 9 is a good example.) Now it's true that as Christians, we do good works. But those good works do absolutely nothing for us in regards to salvation! In fact you could say that good works come FROM salvation, not the other way around.

So that issue seems pretty clear to me. What must you do to be saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved. (John 3:16 - John 3:36 for example.) That's it! Nothing else.

Another big part of the debate is about baptism. Does baptizing a child make them a Christian, or is paedo-baptism simply a sign to the visible church that the child is under the covenant with their Christian parents? (Which does not mean that we assume they are one of the elect.)

I was "on the fence" about paedo-baptism for a long time. Only within the last year or so, have I pretty much made up my mind on it. I do agree with it now! I believe that baptizing a child is a sign to their parents and to other believers that the child is a covenant child, born of Christian parents. The parents promise to raise their child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and teach that child about God and salvation. The members of the visible church also promise to aid those parents in teaching their child about God.

I don't believe that baptism confers any type of salvation onto anyone. I do believe that, yes, babies can be believers (John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother's womb, when in the presence of Jesus!) but there is no way for us to know whether our very young children do believe.

There are also questions about whether being a member of a church makes someone a Christian. No, it doesn't! It's that "works" thing again! You can be a member of a good church all your life, be baptized, and be at the chuch building every time the doors are open, and yet not be a Christian.

Those are my thoughts on the F.V. issue for now. In the meantime you might like to read this webpage: Against Auburn Avenue Theology. It is more thorough in coverage. I encourage you to read it through before commenting.

Thanks for reading! :)

Nothing much

2006-08-15T18:29:00.000-05:00

Still just playing around with this!

2006-08-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

Just testing to see how this works. :)

Lis