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A new tag.Greetings dear friends and fellow bloggers,Yet again, here is another tag. I shall post about something else later. 1. What time did you get up this morning? 2. How do you like your steak?
Ireland, Scotland, Wales, so many places!
24. Do you have any pets?
Thank you very much for reading this. Anyone is welcome to complete this tag on their blogs. I would love it if you would post a comment and tell me so I can read it! God Bless You ~Cornflower~ I decided to try this out...Greetings dear friends and fellow bloggers,I found this on a friends blog and decided to write in my own answers. Outside my window: The front yard and street, several trees, and an amazing amount of sunshine. I am thinking: About how much I would like the music to play on LaLa, our online music playing thingummy. I am thankful for: Life, God, the radio, family, our dog, good friends, my new knife, and country music!! I am creating: Skirts, dresses, a cape, playlists, friendships, etc. I am reading: The Redwall Series by Brian Jacques over again in chronological order. I am wearing: A denim skirt, gray striped T-shirt, a green cape a sword and Gerber knife at my belt! One of my favorite things: Knives, sword fighting, country anything, Siberian Huskys! So much more... For education this week Cooking, business, play practice... A keeper-at-home skill I am using/learning Sewing, the art of sword play (You would use that at home to defend yourself wouldn't you?) A spiritual lesson I am learning Faith in what I do not know and cannot see. A godly character trait I plan to work on: Kindness and readiness to assist others. Scripture I am memorizing None currently I am praying for My family and friends who do not know God, all those fighting in foreign countries, and some more personal things. For the rest of the week Play practices, Cooking, Chiropractor appointment, Business, just everything normal
Well, there you have it. See you later! ~Cornflower~
An Interesting TagGreetings dear friends and fellow bloggers,I found this tag on a friends blog and decided to answer it myself as well. Here you are! 1. What time did you get up this morning? 6:00 2. Diamonds or Pearls? Pearls, nothing preferably 3. What was the last movie you saw in the theaters? UP 4. What is your favorite TV show? I do not know. We don't watch TV all that much. 5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Hot cereal, whole wheat bread, eggs, fruit, healthy things :+) 6. What is your middle name? Joy 7. What food do you dislike? Not much, maybe Swiss Cheese? 8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? Greatest Hits by the Rascal Flatts 9. What kind of car do you drive? A Golf Cart, anything I can. 10. Favorite Sandwich? BLT or a Pesto Panini. 11. What characteristic do you despise? Wickedness, Judging, Unfaithfulness, etc. 12. Favorite item of clothing? Loose T-shirts and a long denim skirt. 13. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Heaven 14. Favorite brand of clothing? My own :+) 15. Where would you retire to? A lovely farm house on acreage with chickens, pigs, a cow, and LOTS of dogs, cats, and reptiles. 16. What was your most memorable birthday? Hmmm, I am now at a loss for an answer. 17. Favorite sport to watch? Dog agility and Herding Trials 18. Are you a morning person or a night person? A Morning person 19. Shoe Size? ... 20. Pets? A Dog, a cat, a gecko, and fish 21. Any new exciting news? I feel very happy about life 22. What did you want to be when you were little? Everything 23. How are you today? Determined to get things done 24. What are you listening to right now? My head spin 25. What was the last thing you ate? Whole Wheat Bread French Toast...delicious! 26. Do you wish on stars? No 27. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Green or Blue 28. How is the weather right now? 80-90 degrees F 29. Who was the first person you talked to on the phone today? Nobody 30. What is your favorite soft drink? I do not have one 31. What is your favorite place to eat at? Hmmm, perhaps Brookfields, Fresh Choice, Olive Garden, nothing EXTREMELY expensive 32. Hair color? Light brown with matural streaks of blonde and red 33. What was you favorite toy ,as a child? Our poor cat 34. Summer or Winter? Winter 35. Hugs or kisses? A good handshake 36. Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate 37. Coffee or tea? Both 38. When was the last time you cried? Weeks ago, I cannot even remember! 39. What is under your bed? Scattered odds and ends 40. Salty or Sweet? Sweet 41. What are you afraid of? Hell 42. Do you make friends easily? Sometimes
Thank you for reading! ~Cornflower~ To anyone who still reads this blog...Greetings dear friends and fellow bloggers,I apologize for being negligent with this blog. It shall most likely happen again :+) Anyhow, I am creating a new blog all about some of my favorite animals....Reptiles!! The Reptile House. Please go and check it out, add me to your friends list, tell your friends about me, etc. etc. Even if you do not care for reptiles yourself, this shall be an informative, fun, and happy blog. Soon (Lord willing) we will see breed profiles and care charts, essays, quizzes, poles, and the like. I will also link to fun websites, breeders, shelters, etc. If you know of anything that could be related to any of these topics, please either PM or comment me. I would love any information or stories (about your reptile/s) you would like to share! All of these things will not be posted anywhere else but at this new blog. I look forward to seeing you!! Thanks for reading, ~Cornflower~ HELLO after a long absenceHello blogging friends. It has been such a long time. I keep thinking I should just delete this since I don't do much blogging anymore and we are not homeschooling at this time.I did want to let everyone know we are doing well. My husband is still working at a local government. I am working at a local hospital and have returned to school to get a degree in Nursing. We continue to work on paying off debt. I have it figured in three years we should have all of it paid off minus a student loan. I look forward to that day--can hardly wait. The kids did very well in ps last year. DD is ready to return to school. We have about three weeks until school begins for them. They are involved in sports and such. We are staying busy. I do miss homeschool at times, but accept where we are right now and am glad that they have a small school to attend. I also find myself passionately defending homeschooling when someone attacks. I think it catched them off guard b/c many don't know that we use to do that--but they learn very quickly. LOL ;) I do come by and read your blogs occasionally--one of these days I'll be ready to move on. Is there a way to download my blogs to keep them?--Because I really enjoy reading how far God has brought us. God Bless each of you! Welcome to my new Etsy Blog!Greetings, to one and all!As you see here I am starting a new Blog, mainly for the showing and advertisement of my new shop on "Etsy". Etsy is a website where one may buy and sell all things handmade and vintage. It is extremely secure, so that your personal information is kept private (i.e. email address, phone number, etc.). Also, there are probably over a million different sellers, and even more creative handiwork for the taking! As if that was not enough, a person can request custom made items, find unique and outstandingly innovative gifts, and find almost anything you could want! Vintage, clothing, supplies, housewares, decor, etc. it's all there! Etsy is also a fun way to find and connect with others who are interested in the same things as yourself. Plus, it is absoluetly free to register! You only pay 20 cents per item you list on you shop to sell, and when somebody purchases you product, Etsy shall take 3.5 % of the total sale price. This does not include shipping. Etsy is child friendly and as almost as safe as any website can get. There are much more posatives about Etsy, and I highly encourage you all to go innvestigate! I currently have on my blog what is called a "Etsy Mini". It is just a small version of my shop, that can be advertised almost everywhere. There you can see a bit what I am selling, but to make a purchase you must go to my Shop, Exodus 35:35. Here is a link to my shop and a one of my friend's: Exodus 35:35 (me) Classics Redone Please stop by! Exodus 35:35 "He has filled them with skill to perform every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in blue and in purple and in scarlet material, and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as performers of every work and makers of designs." Free Will vs. Predestination Part Two: "Challenging Verses"Here is the promised sequel-two months later! Well, you can't whip up an entry like this in a day. In the previous post, we addressed the issue of predestination and its biblical, logical and word-for-word support. Last time I wrote in a wholly positive perspective; this time I will evaluate the other side and some potentially challenging verses. I will begin this post by iterating the conclusion in my previous post and continuing from there.
"This verse leaves no doubt in my mind about the truth of predestination."
Still, what of the challenging verses? What is their message? Do they contradict it? Well, we all know that the Bible, the Word of God, does not contradict itself, so what is the explanation? The verses that I am referencing are these: 1 Timothy 2:3b-2:4 (English Standard Version)...God our Savior, who desires(A) all people to be saved and(B) to come to(C) the knowledge of the truth. Cross references:
a. God wants all people to be saved (true), and therefore will eventually save all people. Wait; hold it. Rewind. Let us peer closer....If all of this were true, everyone would rest in the assurance that they would go to Heaven, regardless of what sins were committed on earth. This would lead to endeavoring to have the best time of your life (whatever that means....), with no striving after what is good, right and true. The most evil murderer and blasphemer would be automatically saved along with the sweetest and most gentle child. I believe that God's character in Scripture forbids such a world. It would be abhorrent, and an abomination to God. b. Another way one might interpret this verse is to say that because God desires all to be saved, He does not ordain who will be saved from the beginning. In other words, this idea implies that God basically acts on a whim and saves whomever He feels like saving, whenever He feels like saving. I believed that both of those explanations were wrong, yet I wanted to know how these verses fit with predestination. Still, I couldn't think of a convincing explanation, so I asked my elder and pastor. My pastor used the very applicable example of a parent. As a parent, you desire to give and do good things for your children, but you also have to discipline them, don't you? Do parents enjoy disciplining their children? No, of course not. Yet they must, or the other children will assume that their wrong behavior is acceptable. My point is simply this: with no guide, we shall fall into our own pits, and with no example of the consequences of horrid behavior, we shall continue to do it. I believe that those who have not and are not to be saved are that example. A passage from Romans 9 comes to mind (Please stay with me; I know this is a rather long passage that you can't really skim.): Romans 9:10-24 (English Standard Version)10And not only so, but(A) also when Rebekah had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, 11though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad—in order that God’s purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of(B) Him who calls— 12she was told,(C) "The older will serve the younger." 13As it is written,(D) "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."
I call your attention to the first section of verse eleven: Esau and Jacob had done nothing; had not even entered this world yet, but God ordained them for His 'purpose of election'. Sound familiar? Let's keep reading....
14What shall we say then?(E) Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! 15For He says to Moses,(F) "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." 16So then it depends not on human will or exertion,[a] but on God, who has mercy. 17For the Scripture says to Pharaoh,(G) "For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show My power in you, and that My Name might be proclaimed in all the earth." 18So then He has mercy on whomever He wills, and He hardens whomever He wills.
Throughout this section of the passage, I noticed the recurrence of God ordaining people to certain purposes for His glorification. Not a hint of them making decisions against His will, or doing something righteous out of their own will (verse 16) even the powerful and feared Pharaoh of Egypt . Now to the key questions:
19You will say to me then, "Why does He still find fault? For(H) who can resist His will?" 20But who are you, O man,(I) to answer back to God?(J) Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" 21(K) Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump(L) one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? 22What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience(M) vessels of wrath(N) prepared for destruction, 23in order to make known(O) the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he(P) has prepared beforehand for glory— 24even us whom he(Q) has called,(R) not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles?
Do you see, my friends? Do you see how many answers He has provided for us in this particular section? God has made an example of 'vessels of wrath' who are 'prepared for destruction', in order that we, the blessed 'vessels of mercy', would receive and understand fully the gargantuan sacrifice Jesus made for us, and the eternal, magnificent glory for which we are being prepared.
Footnotes:
Cross references:
Even one of the most frequently quoted verses in scripture, John 3:16, could be misunderstood to mean that we are able to believe of our own accord. John 3:16 (English Standard Version)
For God So Loved the World16"ForA) God so lovedB) the world,a]C) that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in Him should notD) perish but have eternal life.
Footnotes:
Cross references:
This verse is saying that GOD has given us the gift of being able to believe--to have faith. It is not saying that we have the ability to choose to be saved. I have spent multiple paragraphs on how that view is wrong. I think I have fully explained my viewpoint on this, but really, why is it so important? Well, to understand that, we must look at the alternative. Imagine, just for a moment, the scenario of the world if we could choose to be saved; if our free will was what it is commonly misunderstood to be: essentially the control of our own lives. In all honesty, how inclined do you think you would be to Christianity? If you had even a cursory knowledge of what it meant to become a Christian, would you be willing? Every day, we are required to make what to us seems like a lot of effort. We must sacrifice our stubborn will, our self-centered desires, our pride and self-pity. When our feathers are ruffled or we are truly wronged, we must sacrifice the resentment and bitterness which swells up inside of us and forgive. More than that, we must forget and put it behind us, as GOD does our sins.
I don't know where your heart is, but I know that even these few requisites are extremely difficult for me. The truth is, we humans do not want to "make every effort", we do not want to sacrifice our desires; we want our own way! Our innate sin nature is repulsed by such actions as cheerful obedience and unquestioned authority. It is satisfied only when we are truly "our own boss". But, as we know, the Christian life is NOT about getting your own way! So, truthfully, if the decision was left to me, I would not choose to be a Christian. I would be enveloped in the false lie of humanism. If we were given total control over our own lives we would make a pretty dreadful mess of things. We cannot even keep track of mundane things like keys and appointments, let alone our souls! You may think that I am making light of this, but in truth I am not. We are dependent beings, no matter how self-sufficient we think we are.
This is why having the proper view of faith is important-because we are able to boast in ourselves otherwise! If we believe that we, foolish sheep that we are, can choose to be saved, then (at the heart of it) we are putting ourselves above GOD-even in this seemingly small way. My main object in this post is simply this; there are only two ways that I can find of looking at this issue.
1. Either I believe that I am given the gift of faith by GOD alone, 2. Or I believe that I can choose for myself.
If the first, I acknowledge my total depravity and dependence on GOD. If the second, I state that I can refuse GOD, and that He owes me something.
I bring this entry to a close with a request: to please consider what I have written; this is an incredibly important issue. Whether you agree with me or not, please feel free to post your thoughts below; I am quite willing to discuss!
By His Grace and For His Glory,
~Mariel~
P.S. Stay tuned for the third part of this series: Free Will vs. Predestination pt. 3: "Free Will: Control or Choice?" GiveawayGreetings dear friends and fellow bloggers,How are you all? Miss Rachael is hosting a giveaway! With the help of Miss Monica June of The Chic Boutique, you could possibly win one of these these beautiful earrings. Follow the simple entering rules at the bottom to enter! The ones you could win… Kiwi-Lime
Golden Amber
Autumn
To Enter:1st entry Leave a comment on this post 2nd entry Post about the giveaway on your blog, with the link to THIS post. Leave me a comment with the link so I can find it! If you have not already put my icon for the giveaways I do on my blog, you can be entered a FOURTH time by doing so. Just copy the code, and put it in your sidebar. You can subscribe to my feed on my sidebar to get a notification of when I post winners and perhaps more giveaways! I hope you all will enter. The deadline to enter *this* giveaway is the *10th of December*.
God Bless You ~Cornflower~ UpdateI stopped by today to update my page. I was shocked to read a message from August about a blogger friend's family tragedy. It made my blog seem insignificant to the loss of her family ... even though it happened a while back--my prayers are with the Drew family.I will return at a later day to give an update. God's blessing to each of you this Thanksgiving Holiday. Free Will vs. Predestination pt. One "Biblical Evidence"Or rather, Free Will and Predestination. Wait, you say, are they not conflicting issues, contradicting each other? So it would seem, but my answer is no. I will explain my reasons throughout this prospective series, and I hope you will stick with me as I can be, shall we say, very thorough. I am about to write my perspective on an issue that has been debated hotly for years, and I am keenly aware that there are a fairly large amount of people who will disagree with me. I also realize the fact that I am a young girl who, as of yet, has not had a huge amount of life experience, and as such cannot and should not dictate to her elders. I am here merely to write-as I stated above-my perspective and belief with regards to this very important subject. I would love if you would post your opinion below-whether or not you agree. I am stating my conclusion first in this instance, then the premises of my argument supporting it. Now, some food for thought.
I believe that the Almighty God predestined us from the start, as part of His plan for the universe, and therefore, that we do not choose our salvation, but that we respond to His call. So, as with any post endeavoring to prove something, for now, predestination, we start with the basics: what exactly is predestination? Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language defines it as this: a. the action of God in foreordaining from eternity whatever comes to pass. Well, that is essentially what providence is, right? Wait, definition b. reveals the crucial difference. b. the decree of God by which certain souls are foreordained to salvation. What this is saying is that from the very beginning, God chose who would be given salvation, and who would not. That we do not perform a work by choosing our religion, thereby enabling us to say that we are somehow responsible for part of gaining our salvation. Hold on, I will get to the concept of free will later; for now, I am establishing predestination. My point is this: I believe that, first and foremost, 1. Salvation is a gift, not a work, and that 2. God, who paid the immense price for that gift, is completely justified in giving it to whomever He decides. Now, of course, that raises the question: if that is true, why some and not others? Why does God condemn those who do not have faith when He Himself gives faith? It doesn't seem fair does it? You know, this incredibly important question had me flummoxed for quite a long time. I had that unspoken conviction of its truth, but how could I explain it if someone asked me, unbeliever or not? How could I articulate what I knew to be true if I did not understand it myself? I began to earnestly seek for reasons and, most importantly, a conclusion. The first reason that I found was simply this: who was I to dictate to my Creator what was fair-or what I thought was fair-and what was not? I began to realize that I could not organize God into what I wanted Him to be; it did not depend on what I thought was just and fair. I am a created being, and therefore certainly not in a place to judge my Creator. After all, does the Clay tell the Potter whether or not it will accept His direction? Does it decide how it will be shaped? Does it decide whether it will be "picked up" and "sculpted"? By no means! What does the apostle Paul say in: Ephesians 2:8-10 (English Standard Version)8For(A) by grace you have been saved(B) through faith. And this is(C) not your own doing;(D) it is the gift of God, 9(E) not a result of works,(F) so that no one may boast. 10For(G) we are His workmanship,(H) created in Christ Jesus(I) for good works,(J) which God prepared beforehand,(K) that we should walk in them. Cross references:
This was one of the verses that strengthened my belief, and enabled me to form my conclusion. I will now proceed to illustrate the reasons why I have drawn this conclusion. In Ephesians 1:11 we find this: Ephesians 1:11 (King James Version)11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will: (or for those that prefer a modern English version) Ephesians 1:11 (English Standard Version)11In Him we have obtained(A) an inheritance,(B) having been predestined(C)purpose of Him who works all things according to(D) the counsel of His will, according to the Cross references:
In Ephesians 1:5 we find this: Ephesians 1:5 (English Standard Version)5(A) he predestined us[a] for(B) adoption as sons through Jesus Christ,(C) according to the purpose of His will, Footnotes:
Cross references:
In Acts 4:28 we find this: Acts 4:28 (English Standard Version)28(A) to do whatever your hand and(B) your plan had predestined to take place. Cross references: I believe that all three of these verses support the doctrine of predestination. Nevertheless, if I have misunderstood all my biblical support for it, or if the Greek word has a different connotation than the English word does, my argument is shattered. Therefore, in order to be in no doubt of the implication of the word 'predestination', let us examine the meaning of the original Greek translation. This is where I shall proceed to outline the structure of my argument by delineating my premises.
My first and strongest premise is this: that the Greek word (in English "predestinate") is defined in this manner:
The KJV New Testament Greek Lexicon So not only does the English version express the truth that we are chosen, but the original language, Greek, says this as well.
I shall bring this entry to a close with a few last words. This verse leaves no doubt in my mind about the truth of predestination. I know this may not be the case with anyone reading this, but I humbly ask you to consider this, my second premise: If we are truly dead in our sin, as Jesus teaches, then do we have the capacity or the 'willpower' to choose our own fate?
Can a dead being bring itself to life again? I pray that God would bless you and keep you, my friends, and guide you in His paths. I pray that He would grant you wisdom, and strengthen your faith until the day when "every knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD". Until that glorious day when Jesus brings us home, I remain your loving friend and sister-in-Christ, ~Mariel~
P.S. Stay tuned for part two of my series Free Will vs. Predestination, "Challenging Verses". Coming soon!
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