For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on
Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Apr. 15, 2008
Encouragement from the Grave
My mother was a prayer warrior and a saint. She loved her children - they were her life. She prayed for each one daily. She encouraged us constantly, with "you should listen to this tape" or "this was the scripture that helped me today."
Some of us are going through a particularly difficult time recently, and my mother stepped in briefly. She passed away in '97, and in reality I know that she is before His throne, worshipping. But back when, she had written in the front of her "Streams in the Desert" to read a certain page if discouraged. My sister happened upon it in a very timely manner, and I have no doubt that when my mother jotted that down, it was for "such a time as this."
God is so good, for no comfort would have brought such a strong touch, as that of our mother. What a lift, truly. Here is her message below.
Streams In the Desert for April 2
Discouragement
"They looked....and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud."(Exod. 16:10.)
GET into the habit of looking for the silver lining of the cloud and when you have found
it, continue to look at it, rather than at the leaden gray in the middle.
Do not yield to discouragement no matter how sorely pressed or beset you may be. A
discouraged soul is helpless. He can neither resist the wiles of the enemy himself, while
in this state, nor can he prevail in prayer for others.
Flee from every symptom of this deadly foe as you would flee from a viper. And be not
slow in turning your back on it, unless you want to bite the dust in bitter defeat.
Search out God's promises and say aloud of each one: "This promise is mine." If you still
experience a feeling of doubt and discouragement, pour out your heart to God and ask Him
to rebuke the adversary who is so mercilessly nagging you.
The very instant you whole-heartedly turn away from every symptom of distrust and
discouragement, the blessed Holy Spirit will quicken your faith and inbreathe Divine
strength into your soul.
At first you may not be conscious of this, still as you resolutely and uncompromisingly
"snub" every tendency toward doubt and depression that assails you, you will soon be made
aware that the powers of darkness are falling back.
Oh, if our eyes could only behold the solid phalanx of strength, of power, that is ever
behind every turning away from the hosts of darkness, God-ward, what scant heed would be
given to the effort of the wily foe to distress, depress, discourage us!
All the marvelous attributes of the Godhead are on the side of the weakest believer, who
in the name of Christ, and in simple, childlike trust, yields himself to God and turns to
Him for help and guidance. --- Selectred.
On a day in the autumn, I saw a prairie eagle mortally wounded by a rifle shot. His eye
still gleamed like a circle of light. Then he slowly turned his head, and gave one more
searching and longing look at the sky. He had often swept those starry spaces with his
wonderful wings. The beautiful sky was the home of his heart. it was the eagle's domain.
A thousand times he had exploited there his splendid strength. In those far away heights
he had played with the lightnings, and raced with the winds, and now, so far away from
home, the eagle lay dying, done to the death, because for once he forgot and flew too
low. The soul is that eagle. This is not its home. It must not lose the skyward look. We
must keep faith, we must keep hope, we must keep courage, we must keep Christ. We would
better creep away from the battlefield at once if we are not going to be brave. There is
no time for the soul to stamplede. Keep the skyward look, my soul; keep the skyward look!
"Keep looking up --- The waves that roar around thy feet, Jehovah-Jireh will defeat, When
looking up.
"Keep looking up --- Though darkness seems to wrap thy soul; The Light of Light shall
fill thy soul, When looking up.
"Keep looking up --- When worn, distracted with the fight; Your Captain gives you
conquering might, When you look up."
We can never see the sun rise by looking into the west.
--- Japanese Proverb.
Apr. 11, 2008
Backwards Thinking
I had fun with this. When I read this article, I immediately thought "Wow! This whole thing could be rewritten from my perspective, without too many changes!" The writer of the original article does not understand that he subscribes to a belief, but thinks he's onto "real science" that must be taught to all children everywhere.
So I did rewrite it, from my own perspective. Thing is, I admit that my perspective is coming from my belief. HERE is the original article. Mine is below.
From whence all science flows
Public Schoolers Who Don´t Learn Science Shouldn´t Receive a Diploma
There are many, many things I find dubious about the practice of compulsory education in our public schools. I wonder how a teacher can possibly provide the individualized education in a mass student setting that a parent can give their own child at home. And I can´t help but think that these public schooled students, of whom there are several million in the United States, are being robbed of a crucial formative experience by not being taught home where they belong, by loving parents, with their options wide open for life, learning and academics. They are being robbed of a crucial formative experience by attending school with other people who are ONLY their age and being forced to interact with a diverse group of peers in a very negative social setting where bullying, drugs, violence and sexual harassment is a constant, not to mention the teachers who are lusting after their students.
Most disturbing is the virulent strain of the religion of secular humanism that is found in the lessons being taught public schooled children, especially in the United States. ALL public schools teach under the banner of secular humanism, where God is not allowed. This is no big secret.
The area of study most affected by the secular humanistic bent of compulsory education in the U.S. is science. The religion of the guy who wrote the textbook might not matter a whole lot when you´re studying geometry or reading Romeo and Juliet, but it comes into play in a big way when you hit high school-level biology. The public schools who get their biology curriculum from secular, humanistic sources are not teaching their children science. They are giving them a religious lesson in secular humanism.
Instead of creation, which IS the keystone of the life sciences from the beginning of time, public schooled students are taught evolution — more or less as described in Darwin’s “The Origin of the Species.” That somehow by chance, a big bang set off a reaction that was the beginning of life, with virtually no good explanation as to how this came about. Only wild guesses. From there, life began, and man evolved from pond scum. When he needed fins to swim, they came along eventually. It is not explained how survival was possible when evolving from one to the other. For example, until evolution supposedly fine tuned the disc in the spinal column of a woman, it is unknown how she was able to survive, since she could not keep balance until evolution engineered this change.
Evolution is based upon assumptions, and cannot be tested according to the rules of “good science.” There are big problems with dating methods that are not discussed. Evolution has been thoroughly discredited, and evidence that had been used to “prove” evolution has since been found to be incorrect. It isn´t science and it should never be taught as such.
But it is taught as science to millions of children and teenagers all over the country. Worse yet, all public schools are empowered by their state governments to grant high school diplomas to students who have completed the required courses, with more attention paid to the title of a given course rather than the content. How can the education of a student instructed in evolution possibly be considered equivalent to that of one taught legitimate science? Evolution cannot be legitimate since it cannot be tested, and is only based upon assumptions.
A "Statement of Purpose" of public education so to speak, is given in quotations below:
(all taken from this website)
In 1930, Charles Francis Potter authored HUMANISM, A NEW RELIGION, in which he boasted: “Education is thus a most powerful ally of humanism and every American public school is a school of humanism. What can the theistic Sunday schools meeting for an hour once a week and teaching only a fraction of the children, do to stem the tide of a five-day program of humanistic teaching?”
Paul Blanshard “I think the most important factor leading us to a secular society has been the educational factor. Our schools may not teach Johnny to read properly, but the fact that Johnny is in school until he is 16 tends to lead toward the elimination of religious superstition. The average child now acquires a high school education, and this militates against Adam and Eve and all other myths of alleged history.”
Textbooks followed this same philosophy, as in the early 1970s, PERSPECTIVES IN UNITED STATES HISTORY informed students that “the God of the Judeo-Christian tradition was a god worshipped by desert folk…clearly man-created.”
Morris Storer (director of the American Humanist Association 1975-1980) declared in his book HUMANIST ETHICS (1980) that “a large majority of the educators of American colleges and universities are predominantly humanists, and a majority of the teachers who go out from their studies in colleges to responsibilities in primary and secondary schools are basically humanists, no matter that many maintain a nominal attachment to church or synagogue for good personal, social or practical reasons.”
John Dunphy’s prize-winning essay was published in THE HUMANIST (January-February 1983), and proclaimed that “the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom…between the rotting corpse of Christianity…and the new faith of humanism…(and) humanism will emerge triumphant.”
Secular humanistic “Clergy in the Classroom” would be putting it mildly.
If a government school wants to hand out legitimate accredited diplomas it must teach legitimate science, and explain evolutionary biology to be an unproven theory based upon assumptions, and assert its flaws. In addition, it must teach creation as a viable theory as well, also based upon the assumption of God’s existence and power in creation.
The religious beliefs of public school teachers are irrelevant to the issue. Evolution is not science. While scientists debate this to the death, the fact is that they can never deny that their “beliefs” are based upon assumptions unproven. There has never been a single paper published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal demonstrating that any of the assumptions can truly be relied upon, nor can they be proven. How can one ever prove that all things as they are, are indeed as they have always been? It is the very definition of an exploded hypothesis. Secular Humanists are free to believe that the world came into being exactly as Darwin tells it, but their belief does not refute the impartially observed, irrefutable facts.
To give this a bit more proportion, imagine that you have a student attending public school and you learn that he or she is being taught in history class that American Indians are the descendants of a lost tribe of Israelites migrating to the continent thousands of years ago, or that the Holocaust is a Zionist myth, or in math class that the precise value of π is 3. Would your judgment be that your child was receiving a suitable historical or mathematical education? I think most reasonable parents would say no. The same standards should apply to science as to history and math.
The education of children is essential to the survival and positive progress of human society. Children should be taught (ideally by their parents who love them) to read and write, to understand the basic principles of mathematics, and to understand and appreciate the beauty and complexity of God’s creation through science. If you want your children to go far above academics, and find eternal purpose, you will also want to teach your child about salvation through Jesus Christ, the flood of Noah, and all of the great truths to be captured in God’s written Word. They should know the Word of God, and the God of the Word. You have, and should always have, that freedom. It´s the birthright of every human being.
A high school diploma, on the other hand, isn´t a birthright. It´s something that must be earned. The states have the right and the responsibility to award those diplomas only to students who have adequately completed their education. That group should not include anyone whose science studies omit the truth about evolutionary biology’s flawed theory based upon assumption, creation science as a viable theory, or a literal reading of the Bible. Those students—be they public schoolers, homeschoolers or attendees of religious private schools—have been cheated, and before they get to graduate, their misguided teachers should have to make good.
Good reading:
Monkey Business: The True Story Of The Scopes Trial (Hardcover)
Great blog post:
Secular Humanism has Become the New Religion
Mar. 31, 2008
Babies come at the most inconvenient times ... but what a gift!
*** Happy Birthday to Robinson ***
It's never a good time for a baby to come along. I mean, life is always happening, and babies take a lot of work, right? The year I was pregnant for Robinson was an especially difficult year.
We were on a company move, invited to the Rock Hill, S. Carolina area by the company my husband worked for. My mother was dying of cancer. I was pregnant for Robbie. The birth of Robbie would coincide with the date of the company move. What would we do? Would he be born here, there, or at some truck stop in-between?
And, would my mother meet him? Or would she die long before he was born? If she lived a bit longer, would I be in S. Carolina, having just given birth - and not even be able to make it to her funeral?
It was a terrible time for all of us, but a time of growing in great faith. My mother was not worried about it. She never worried. She just prayed. And prayed. She told me every time I came to her "My nurse and I prayed today that Craig would find another job here. Then you won't have to move.
"Mom, there's nothing. Nothing." I mean, my husband was not even really looking. He'd half heartedly look, but our whole area was going through it's own recession. There were five houses on our street for sale, and a few major companies had already moved out.
Eventually, we planned that he would move down there without me. I hated that plan too, but the time was drawing near for the birth, and we hadn't sold our home. We couldn't buy a home down there without first selling our home here.
Three weeks before the move south, he noticed a job description that he felt he might fit. At that same time, Robinson was born early. Just three weeks early, so he was fine. The day my husband brought us home from the hospital, he shut himself into the office and remade his resume. I hardly saw him that first day home. He ran out and got us Chinese food.
Late at night, he was finished with the resume, and faxed it to the president of the company where he "might fit." First thing in the morning, he got a call at work to come in for an interview. Three days later he was made an offer. We ripped the "For Sale" sign out of the ground - me, with tears in my eyes. It was a surreal moment.
Because my husband had stayed with the company he was leaving up until the end, he got a "stay bonus" that basically took us out of debt. The raise he got with the new company put us in a better situation than we had known since we'd been married. That was 11 years ago.
There have been peaks and valleys since, but life has not been as desperate as at that time - the time God chose to send Robinson into our home. The company that my husband went to work for folded a few years ago, and he went to work an hour away from home.
Robinson, came at a turbulant time - but it was HIS time to be born. It made me think of Mary, riding to Bethlehem on a donkey. Babies just come when they are ready - not when we are ready. But it is all to God's glory.
Regardless of the timing, I was thrilled with my new baby - from the time I found out I was pregnant. I saw all the circumstances around us as an inconvenience - not the baby. The baby was a gift - a joy. If only the circumstances would cooperate.
Today Robinson is a light in our home. He has a kind, loving heart, and cares a great deal about others. He's pretty good with math, and reads a ton. We bought him "The Kingdom Series" for his birthday, and can't wait to do them as a read aloud. We need to finish "Star of Light" first.
I am so glad we homeschool. To have these "gifts" sent our way, and then put them in such a failing system as our nation's government education system makes absolutely no sense. Robbie is a joy to have around every single day. Happy birthday Robbie!
Mar. 25, 2008
Home Where They Belong
Mar. 19, 2008
The Story of Jesus
The story of Jesus, and what He did for desperate mankind - for me - is the most awesome story ever to be told. See, I really like to leave words like "awesome" for things of God only. God strikes me with AWE. The story of Jesus strikes me with AWE. He created - and then He stepped into His creation - His creation nailed Him to the cross. The story of Jesus will stand before us through all eternity, as we dwell with Him - the piercings in His hands, feet and side still evident.
I Love To Tell The Story
I love to tell the story of unseen things above,
Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;
It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.
Refrain
I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,
To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.
I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems
Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.
I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;
And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.
Refrain
I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat
What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.
I love to tell the story, for some have never heard
The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.
Refrain
I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
Refrain
This great hymn, "I Love To Tell the Story" was taken from a very long poem in 2 parts - "The Story Wanted" and "The Story Told." Read the story of the hymn HERE. You can read both parts of the poem HERE.
My favorite verse in the hymn the last:
I love to tell the story, for those who know it best
Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.
And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,
’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.
And I will never, never, never grow weary of hearing the story of Jesus.
For several years now, I have not liked myself. It's true. That sounds harsh, and maybe even a bit new age (gotta find myself - yuck), so let me explain.
Wardrobe. The baby years. Feeling like there's no time to shop. Wearing "whatever." Never having time to even think. I used to have clothes that I felt comfortable in. Clothes that were a style that was feminine, modest, and good. Then I went to sacks. That I could nurse in. Then the Laura Ashley look that had no waist - jumpers. It has been a long, long, long, long time since I've bought clothes that I shopped for, took time to decide, etc. Who has time for that? Not me!
So my daughter gave me a gift card for a clothing store that she felt was "me." She also says that she doesn't think I've been "me" for some time now. The store is Coldwater Creek. OK, I'm back. I got lost looking at the Outlet section.
My daughter insisted she go with me shopping, and so she did, and it was a first in a very, very , very long time. So long, that she didn't even know I wouldn't fade out and not be able to even shop at all. In fact, that was news to me too ... because I don't shop, so I didn't know I had changed either.
It was such a blast. The first challenge was to actually get into the dressing room. I usually look at clothes and just think "yeah ... nah ... dont' know ... let's leave." I actually tried clothes on. And they actually did look good. I have not liked modern styles for such a long, long time.
I have an idea that soon, I may recognize myself in a mirror again. "Hey, I remember her!" I don't think we should get caught up in styles and shopping. But I don't think we should let ourselves go either. I'm kind of excited.
Feb. 8, 2008
Valentine Day Party
I'm having a small party with my boys, my grandchildren, and another homeschooled family in our church on February 14. I'm pretty excited about it, because I don't venture out too far to do creative stuff that will be fun for our children - I'm sad to admit that. So when we step up and do it, it is fun and exciting to plan. I thought I'd share the details here in case anyone would want to use any of the ideas.
I made invitations and sent them out (only 2 - one per family). Off white card stock, cut in half and then folded once. This gave me the card stock for the two invitations. I am so mad at myself for not taking a photo before mailing them. Oh, well, I'll take one one of my grandchildens' - they can bring the invitation along.
I printed on red paper (computer printer) "Come Celebrate God's Love." Then I cut out a heart around the words and glued it on the front of the card. Inside I had the details (where and when). Here is the wording for the rest of it:
Make valentines to give to everyone (list of names below). Each child will be given their own “mailbox” for their valentines to be put into.
God loves us so much, and He wrote us a love letter (the Bible) telling us all about His love, and about who He is. Why not share your favorite bible verse on your valentines to each other?
I'm going to read a story called "Secret Valentine" and then talk about how God's plan was a mystery at one time, but it's not a secret anymore (based upon Eph. scripture verse), and how great His love is for us.
Desserts and games, or other fun I have not yet figured out. I'll let you know how it goes.
Jan. 24, 2008
Thy Word Have I Hid in Mine Heart
I've been having my children memorize more scripture lately, and thought I might invite others to join me, if they would like to.
Kids are quick with memorization, so I'm probably giving this too long, but we are going to memorize Psalm 1 by next Friday. I figure on taking a day or two for each verse.
If you want to join me, leave a comment. If you want to join me but have already had your children memorize that section, choose another section of scripture and let us know what you're going to memorize.
Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the
ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat
of the scornful.
2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth
he meditate day and night.
3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that
bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not
wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind
driveth away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor
sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the LORD knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of
the ungodly shall perish.
Jan. 9, 2008
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Per HOMEFree asking what I'm up to, I thought it's about time for a blog post.
I love January. I LOVE it. Why? Because from Sept. through Dec., I'm at such a pace ... school's kicking off in Sept., and I do love that. But come November it really starts getting crazy, gearing up for Thanksgiving. And Thanksgiving 2007 was difficult, because I was terribly sick just before. I had not been that sick in years. As soon as I was barely well, I had to work hard to cook for approx. 20 people. Then, rush into Christmas preparations. I have to say, my house never really did get decorated as I may have liked - nor even halfway straightened. Sigh. But I knew Christmas would come and go, ready or not, and so it did. Nonetheless, everyone was happy with it, and it had it's special moments.
But JANUARY! January, I love. I love it every single year. The craziness of the holidays is over. Some people call it the winter blues. I call it the winter calm. Calm down and settle in. OK, February is usually a different story - the kids are bouncing off the walls by that time, and I'm done with snow and cold.
I started off the year incredibly, by staying with my grandchildren for a few days while my daughter and son-in-law rushed off to an impromptu wedding in Tennessee. My son-in-law's sister was planning a wedding for early May, but her fiancee (now husband) is being deployed to Iraq in April -- for a whole year. So the wedding was quickly planned for last Friday. All took place in approx. 46 hours for my daughter and son-in-law - leaving home and getting back home, and all that took place in-between.
Me - I was having special time with my grandchildren. It was very special. My daughter is doing an absolutely amazing job raising them. Mikey (4) is a geo-wiz!
I'm about to turn 50, by the end of the month. I can't believe it. And I don't like it. I am ashamed to say that, because I wanted to age gracefully. But I have so much to do, and the time is flying much too fast. I want to set the clock back several years, and we all know that is just not possible. I want to squish my children down a few years, and hang onto them as tight as I can.
So Happy New Year everyone. Looking to God for 2008 - and looking to the clouds for the return of the King.
Dec. 18, 2007
What do evolution and elegant engineering have in common?
Absolutely nothing. To have engineering, one would need an engineer, no? My husband is an engineer, and this article really made him laugh. He showed it to me, and I think it is hysterical. Read this excerpt (emphasis mine).
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Scientists think they have figured out why pregnant women don't lose their balance and topple over despite ever-growing weight up front.
Evolution provided slight differences from men in women's lower backs and hip joints, allowing them to adjust their center of gravity, new research shows.
This elegant engineering is seen only in female humans and our immediate ancestors who walked on two feet, but not in chimps and apes, according to a study published in Thursday's journal Nature.
Now, I had to take a swear word out of the next excerpt - but look at this! Evolution has tinkered with the design, and it is absolutely beautiful.
"When you think about it, women make it look so very **** easy," Whitcome said. "They are experiencing a pretty impressive challenge. Evolution has tinkered ... to the point where they can deal with the challenge.
"It's absolutely beautiful," she said. "A little bit of tinkering can have a profound effect."
I laugh, trying to imagine what women went through during all those millinia before the so called "tinkering" took place. Women falling down all over the place ... trying to get home, but they just keep falling over. And what of the supposed "tinkering" between being an amoeba and an upright walking human? Is it not absolutely that the engineering included man and woman, and the ability to reproduce at all? How about the engineering of the human eye? Or the hand, with all its nerves and muscles, for grasping?
The article has two things right. Engineering did take place, and it is absolutely beautiful. Oh, that they would open their hearts and know this magnificant Engineer!
Emphasis mine:
John 1: 1 - 5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
John 1: 9-14 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
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