Apr. 18, 2007 - Two songs that capture deep feelings about my mother and my kids

In an unexpected but somehow therapeutic way, I'm letting my guard down to share the two songs that define my relationships with she who raised me and those whom I have the pleasure to raise.

First, my Mother (she is no longer in my life, by her choice):

I will not make the same mistakes that you did
I will not let myself
Cause my heart so much misery
I will not break the way you did,
You fell so hard
I've learned the hard way
To never let it get that far
(chorus)

I lose my way
And it's not too long before you point it out
I cannot cry
Because I know that's weakness in your eyes
I'm forced to fake
A smile, a laugh everyday of my life
My heart can't possibly break
When it wasn't even whole to start with
(chorus)

I watched you die
I heard you cry every night in your sleep
I was so young
You should have known better than to lean on me
You never thought of anyone else
You just saw your pain
And now I cry in the middle of the night
For the same **** thing

Because of you
I never stray too far from the sidewalk
Because of you
I learned to play on the safe side so I don't get hurt
Because of you
I try my hardest just to forget everything
Because of you
I don't know how to let anyone else in
Because of you
I'm ashamed of my life because it's empty
Because of you
I am afraid

(Kelly Clarkson)

Well, that would have been about my childhood to young adulthood. Then , thank God, I was saved! I have a happier song to share about being a Mother!:

In my daughter's eyes I am a hero
I am strong and wise and I know no fear
But the truth is plain to see
She was sent to rescue me
I see who I wanna be
In my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes everyone is equal
Darkness turns to light and the
world is at peace
This miracle God gave to me gives me
strength when I am weak
I find reason to believe
In my daughter's eyes

And when she wraps her hand
around my finger
Oh it puts a smile in my heart
Everything becomes a little clearer
I realize what life is all about

It's hangin' on when your heart
has had enough
It's giving more when you feel like giving up
I've seen the light
It's in my daughter's eyes

In my daughter's eyes I can see the future
A reflection of who I am and what will be
Though she'll grow and someday leave
Maybe raise a family
When I'm gone I hope you see how happy
she made me
For I'll be there
In my daughter's eyes

(Martina McBride)

Feb. 4, 2007 - Can salvation be lost?

Arminianism: Falling from Grace - Those who believe and are truly saved can lose their salvation by failing to keep up their faith, etc. All Arminians have not been agreed on this point; some have held that believers are eternally secure in Christ – that once a sinner is regenerated, he can never be lost.

Reformed (Calvinism) :Perseverance of the Saints - All who are chosen by God, redeemed by Christ, and given faith by the Spirit are eternally saved. They are kept in faith by the power of Almighty God and thus persevere to the end

Feb. 4, 2007 - Viewpoints of the Holy Spirit

Arminianism: The Holy Spirit Can Be Effectually Resisted - The Spirit calls inwardly all those who are called outwardly by the gospel invitation; He does all that He can to bring every sinner to salvation. But inasmuch as man is free, he can successfully resist the Spirit's call. The Spirit cannot regenerate the sinner until he believes; faith (which is man's contribution) proceeds and makes possible the new birth. Thus, man's free will limits the Spirit in the application of Christ's saving work. The Holy Spirit can only draw to Christ those who allow Him to have His way with them. Until the sinner responds, the Spirit cannot give life. God's grace, therefore, is not invincible; it can be, and often is, resisted and thwarted by man.

Reformed (Calvinism) :  - The Efficacious Call of the Spirit or Irresistible Grace -  In addition to the outward general call to salvation which is made to everyone who hears the gospel, the Holy Spirit extends to the elect a special inward call that inevitably brings them to salvation. The internal call (which is made only to the elect) cannot be rejected; it always results in conversion. By means of this special call the Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ. He is not limited in His work of applying salvation by man's will, nor is He dependent upon man's cooperation for success. The Spirit graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ. God's grace, therefore, is invincible; it never fails to result in the salvation of those to whom it is extended.

Feb. 4, 2007 - What do you believe about atonement?

Arminianism:  Universal Redemption or General Atonement - Christ's redeeming work made it possible for everyone to be saved but did not actually secure the salvation of anyone. Although Christ died for all men and for every man, only those who believe on Him are saved. His death enabled God to pardon sinners on the condition that they believe, but it did not actually put away anyone's sins. Christ's redemption becomes effective only if man chooses to accept it.

Reformed (Calvinist) : Particular Redemption or Limited Atonement - Christ's redeeming work was intended to save the elect only and actually secured salvation for them. His death was substitutionary endurance of the penalty of sin in the place of certain specified sinners. In addition to putting away the sins of His people, Christ's redemption secured everything necessary for their salvation, including faith which unites them to Him. The gift of faith is infallibly applied by the Spirit to all for whom Christ died, therefore guaranteeing their salvation.

Jan. 23, 2007 - What do you believe about election?

Arminianism:  Conditional Election - God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world was based upon His foreseeing that they would respond to His call. He selected only those whom He knew would of themselves freely believe the gospel. Election therefore was determined by or conditioned upon what man would do. The faith which God foresaw and upon which He based His choice was not given to the sinner by God (it was not created by the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit) but resulted solely from man's will. It was left entirely up to man as to who would believe and therefore as to who would be elected unto salvation. God chose those whom He knew would, of their own free will, choose Christ. Thus the sinner's choice of Christ, not God's choice of the sinner, is the ultimate cause of salvation.

Reformed (Calvinism) Unconditional Election - God's choice of certain individuals unto salvation before the foundation of the world rested solely in His own sovereign will. His choice of particular sinners was not based on any foreseen response of obedience on their part, such as faith, repentance, etc. On the contrary, God gives faith and repentance to each individual whom He selected. These acts are the result, not the cause of God's choice. Election therefore was not determined by or conditioned upon any virtuous quality or act foreseen in man. Those whom God sovereignly elected He brings through the power of the Spirit to a willing acceptance of Christ. Thus God's choice of the sinner, not the sinner's choice of Christ, is the ultimate cause of salvation.

Jan. 22, 2007 - What do you believe about depravity?

Arminianism:  Free-Will or Human Ability - Although human nature was seriously affected by the fall, man has not been left in a state of total spiritual helplessness. God graciously enables every sinner to repent and believe, but He does not interfere with man's freedom. Each sinner posses a free will, and his eternal destiny depends on how he uses it. Man's freedom consists of his ability to choose good over evil in spiritual matters; his will is not enslaved to his sinful nature. The sinner has the power to either cooperate with God's Spirit and be regenerated or resist God's grace and perish. The lost sinner needs the Spirit's assistance, but he does not have to be regenerated by the Spirit before he can believe, for faith is man's act and precedes the new birth. Faith is the sinner's gift to God; it is man's contribution to salvation.

Jan. 7, 2007 - The Prayer of the Arminian

Excerpt from Spurgeon's Sermon: Free Will- A Slave

But I tell you what will be the best proof of that; it is the great fact that you never did meet a Christian in your life who ever said he came to Christ without Christ coming to him. You have heard a great many Arminian sermons, I dare say; but you never heard an Arminian prayer - for the saints in prayer appear as one in word, and deed and mind. An Arminian on his knees would pray desperately like a Calvinist. He cannot pray about free-will: there is no room for it. Fancy him praying,

"Lord, I thank thee I am not like those poor presumptuous Calvinists Lord, I was born with a glorious free-will; I was born with power by which I can turn to thee of myself; I have improved my grace. If everybody had done the same with their grace that I have, they might all have been saved. Lord, I know thou dost not make us willing if we are not willing ourselves. Thou givest grace to everybody; some do not improve it, but I do. There are many that will go to hell as much bought with the blood of Christ as I was; they had as much of the Holy Ghost given to them; they had as good a chance, and were as much blessed as I am. It was not thy grace that made us to differ; I know it did a great deal, still I turned the point; I made use of what was given me, and others did not-that is the difference between me and them."

Jan. 3, 2007 - Advice for when you feel like public school is the answer...

Excerpt from The Home at Greylock by Elizabeth Prentiss:

“Ms. Heath always does what she wants the children to do; she never tells them to say “I thank you,” but always thanks them, down to the youngest, whenever she has a chance; she never orders them about, either, but always gives directions kindly; and she never speaks unkindly to them at any time.”…snip…

”Now all this may seem small business, but this boy is being education into refinement, and courtesy, and kindliness, or the reverse.”….snip…

”Are children, then, mere monkeys, imitating all they see done?” asked Laura. “They are not,” was Mrs. Grey’s reply. “Some children are so original that they cannot imitate. They think and act for themselves. They are hard to deal with in most cases, each needing a mother all to itself. But they are the exception, not the rule. Most of us owe almost everything to unconscious influence.”

     What influences will your children be exposed to in ps? Is their (the government's) education worth the extra baggage? My children have witnessed a 7 yr old ps boy in the park pretend that an eggplant was his privates and run around after the other children menacing them with it. Shall we sacrifice the purity of our children’s minds and spirits to the system for the sake of their “education“?

     I went to public high school one school away from Columbine. I used to deal drugs at my school, Columbine, and others. The Lord has saved me from such a sewer. I totally know why that shooting happened.

     It would be better for my kids spend their childhood playing in the yard and be as dumb as rocks than to be exposed to the children that are sent to public schools. (No, I’m not an unschooler and they’re not allowed to be in the yard all day, I’m just being extreme.)

     Whatever education you give them, will be better than what they get at ps. And it’s also a matter of what you WON’T teach them.

     I have 7 kids. There are days I want to give up. It’s hard. It’s harder than the Navy , work, or anything I’ve ever done before. They try my patience and sanity in every way. But all my life, all I ever wanted was a family. I practically didn’t have one growing up. Now I do. I always contemplate on how lonely and empty I was before the Lord blessed me with these monkeys.   Do you want your monkeys to copy you, or the children they will be surrounded by at public school?

     If the Lord leads you that you place your kids in ps, I will pray that He will also protect them from the poor influences that are there too. We are all here to support , encourage and pray for you. Just tell us sooner that you need prayer, before you feel so down! (That goes for everyone!)

     I’ve told my most difficult child that I will be proud of him even if he’s a garbage man, as long as he loves Christ. He says he just might be a garbage man for Jesus. That to me = success.

     In Christ’s love - Lisa

Jan. 3, 2007 - The senselessness of the win-lose approach in the classroom

An excerpt from “Chicken Soup for the teenage soul”, page 175-176

What’s Wrong?

A newly trained teacher named Mary went to teach at a Navajo Indian reservation. Every day, she would ask five of the young Navajo students to go to the chalkboard and complete a simple math problem from their homework. They would stand there, silently, unwilling to complete the task. Mary couldn’t figure it out. Nothing she had studied in her educational curriculum helped, and she certainly hadn’t seen anything like it in her student teaching days back in Phoenix.

What am I doing wrong? Could I have chosen five students who can’t do the problem? Mary would wonder. No, it couldn’t be that. Finally she asked the students what was wrong. And in their answer, she learned a surprising lesson from her young Indian pupils about self-image and a sense of self-worth.

It seemed that the students respected each other’s individuality and knew that not all of them were capable of doing the problems. Even at their early age, they understood the senselessness of the win-lose approach in the classroom. They believed no one would win if any students were shown up or embarrassed at the chalkboard. So they refused to compete with each other in public.

Once she understood, Mary changed the system so that she could check each child’s math problem individually, but not at any child’s expense in front of his classmates. They all wanted to learn - but not at someone else’s expense.

The Speaker’s Sourcebook

Jan. 1, 2007 - Who I am...

Hello. I have put my maiden name in the title of my blog because reunion.com says 1 person is looking for me, and I refuse to pay their fee to find out who.   I figure if anyone wants to find me from my childhood or schools/service/work they can google and find me through this site. So here I am! 

If you’re wondering if you have found the right Lisa, I was raised in Littleton, Colorado from ‘70 to 80. Then we moved to Slidell, LA where I went to St. Margaret Mary, then Slidell Jr. High. In ‘84 we moved back to Littleton, and I wend to an alternative high school for a while before dropping out to college.

After 3 semesters there I joined the Navy Reserves and went to basic training in Orlando, FL in ‘89 (company K108) After training for Torpedoman’s mate, I returned to Colorado and college. I earned an A.A.S degree in Electronics Technology. I worked from ‘91 to ‘94 at I.H.S in Colorado.

I met and married my husband in ‘93. He’s an exceptional man - creative, brilliant, and a gentleman too! We have 7 (yes, seven) beautiful kids ranging in age from 12 down to 3 months. We’ve lived in Colo and Mississippi , and now we live in the Georgia mountains. It’s a great area - I don’t want to live anywhere else but the southern mountains.  We homeschool and work from home.  Our home business is www.confederatereprint.com  (southern history)and www.crownrights.com.  (reformed theology)  Visit us sometime!