Stand up and bless the LORD your God for ever and ever: and blessed be thy glorious name, which is exalted above all blessing and praise. 6 Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.
Neh 9:5-6 (KJV)
That partly explains why the following two articles raised my eyebrows upon reading. In a nutshell, some think we can save the planet from global warming by radical population control.
See the article : http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-balan/2009/12/11/jack-cafferty-all-endorses-global-one-child-policy-fight-climate-chan
and this one:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/carolyn-plocher/2009/12/11/canadian-financial-post-whole-world-needs-adopt-china-s-one-child-p
The authors clearly document how a declining population cannot support an aging elderly one. The solution, to a people already acclimated to the state limiting their family size, would simply be euthanasia. All in the name of saving the planet.
There's the idiocy of idolatry. In order to save the planet, we have to kill ourselves. And I thought Survivor was only a tv series. Fewer people with more stuff is what it boils down to. To which the Savior said:
Luke 12:15 (KJV)
It's a terribly fuzzy pic, but this is one of our Christmas activities--visiting Dollywood. Isn't the chapel lovely?
The Civil War Traveler site is a must-read source for homeschoolers. After noticing local Civil War Trails signs, we've discovered quite a bit about our local history. If you plan trips related to Civil War studies, this site needs to be your first stop!
Some of the neat features are:
- links to free highway maps
- maps of battlefields and sites of Civil War significance, like this one of Chattanooga
- lists of reenactments
- an e-newsletter, free
- hard-to-find books
- details on their Civil War Trails
Fast Growing Christian Churches Crushed in China
"Remember those in bonds"
No, it's not music. It's Diana Waring's history cd about Christmas----and it's on our church library shelves. All you Friendship Baptist Church readers better not check it out before I get to it! I love to listen to this every year. Mrs. Waring is such a grand storyteller, that she inspires me as I teach my own children and Sunday School class.
What amazes me is how she can tie all the Scripture and history in without losing sight of the story. This is no boring lecture--it's a delight.
We have one or two road trips in the next couple of weeks, taking Dad to the hospital in Nashville, and possibly to see an old friend in Georgia. Hmmm......I think I know what will be in the cd player. If you haven't heard it yet, GET IT! It's really, really good.
After reading the news, this Scripture came to my mind:
I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus....
----I Timothy 2:1-5
To which I offer a hearty, "Amen!"
Let the choirs sing, bells ring out, merry shouts fill the air and listen to the all around happy noise-making of kids and mom and dad as we welcome Christmas Vacation! Yippee! Yippee! It's here! It's here! Bring on the party, the hot cocoa, the Chrismas carols, the mistletoe, the cards and even the fruitcakes!
We've got our Christmas movies ready to watch, we're playing our favorite Christmas recording, [Judy Collins at Biltmore], and I'm thinking about pulling out a couple of old recipes---Mamaw's apple stack cake and one for peppermint cheesecake with a chocolate cookie crust.
Hmmm, in that case I'd better add one more "bring on..."-----elastic waist pants!!!!LOL!!!!
Merry CHRISTmas!!!!!!!!!!
The road we live on ends at a lake--we are very close to its end. Across this lake is a cemetery. This particular road is quite long, too, being a main thoroughfare from a small town to a larger one. Not one of the towns along it, though, give the road it's name. Did there used to be a town by the name of our road? We've often idly wondered, but never took time to research it.
The answer came on our trip to follow the Civil War signs. Literally in our backyard, under the lake, there was once a town. It prospered as a river stop before the Civil War, but lost prosperity as the railroad bypassed it in the late 1800s. What was left of it--18 buildings-- was torn down when TVA cleared land in preparation for flooding it behind a new dam. .
What is really interesting is it's most famous visitor in December, 1863.
From the Civil War Trails display across the lake from the house in an old cemetery, we've learned that our sleepy little corner was once visited by two opposing Generals. In the middle of the Civil War, Confederate General Longstreet came north to attack Knoxville. Unable to cross here, he crossed at Loudon. In hot pursuit came General William Tecumseh Sherman and his forces. The river was too deep and cold for his marching men. True to form, he had several buildings torn down to make a bridge for his men and crossed successfully. We've also learned that he and his army made camp nearby at a place now known as National Campgound, and quite possibly came across what is now our property.
At any rate, our American history studies have come alive like never before. We're hoping to visit a couple of small museums soon. We've also cultivated the friendship of a very knowledgeable lady from church who is a lifelong resident of this community. If we learn any more "history in our backyard" lessons, I'll post them here, too.
Ah, I LOVE homeschooling!
After scrounging and being stingy with his vacation and sick days all year in order to make sure he could take off work to be with our children while I help my Dad, we somehow ended the year with a BUNCH of days to take off. They can't be carried over, so we have a Christmas Break with Daddy home!
My husband has already laid the law down--NO SCHOOL while he is off. So, we are trying to wrap up some studies before next week. I'm in the middle of scheduling surgeries, appointments [at least eleven in two different cities] , sick leave, and staring at my Christmas cards for family and friends. Whew, at least the envelopes are labeled--thanks to my early gift of a printer/fax machine/scanner/etc.
And my coat[s]-of -many colors dining room? Well, I've been wavering between tans, sagey greens, and country blues for a long time. So when I went to the paint store with hubby, we made our choice. RED! Boy oh boy, is our dining room red. It will be finished by Saturday. I'm still in shock over such a vivid color. It will take some getting used to.
Hubby is preaching Sunday morning at a friend's church, and then both children's plays will be Sunday night. The deacons will be serving dinner to widows at church Thursday night --all I need is to get a couple of desserts together. We bought ingredients yesterday, and I can bake them Thursday morning.
Sound hectic? Yes. But by next week all our "stuff" should be done. All the parties from church are over [couldn't go, we were sick], the Christmas plays will be done, only one family get-together after that, and just some cookies to bake for Sunday School. Then, we will have two weeks with hubby to play, decorate the tree, visit friends, and celebrate. Oh, and take lots and lots of pictures! We are looking forward to some family time to dwell on the reason for the season--JESUS!
Hmm, I've got to post about finding out about the underwater town just a stone's throw from our backyard. And how General Sherman marched through it. How's that for a cliffhanger?