A Peculiar People

Music Review: The Far Country

2010-07-24T21:38:00.003-04:00

Ok. I'll go ahead and admit that I'm a bit of a "johnny-come-lately" in the music department. I don't usually "discover" an artist until way after everyone else has listened, loved, and moved on. So I know most of you are going to read this post and think "What?! She's just now listening to this?". But it is the truth.

I've known the name of Andrew Peterson for awhile. I knew that he was a singer/songwriter/author who moved in the whole Caedmon's Call/Derek Webb circle and was a part of the Rabbit Room group. But I had never actually listened to any of his music until a little over a week ago. I was browsing the YLCF blog when I read Lanier's post on Peterson's 2005 album The Far Country. I listened to a couple of the songs and was interested enough to purchase the entire album.

I have not stopped listening to it since. Peterson's work falls just where I want my Christian music to be: not so cryptic that I have to use every brain cell to figure out what in the heck the writer is talking about, but not the empty calories of modern CCM fare either. This album focuses on heaven and the role it plays, not just in our future, but in our everyday lives.

It opens with the upbeat title track "The Far Country". Here, Peterson compares our journey on earth to Abraham's journey to the Promised land. We wander in a land that is foreign to us on a journey to the place that, though unseen, is where we belong. This trend continues in "Lay Me Down", which gives a brief outline of Peterson's life yet reminds us that this is simply the beginning of the story and it does not end with our death.

The slow, rhythmic "Queen of Iowa" is a lovely tribute to one of Peterson's fans who was dying of cancer and HIV. This particular song has been stuck in my head and in my heart since the first time I heard it, especially this part:

There was peace like a river in a valley of bones
It fills the valley up and it carries them home
To come alive again
In the river of Grace
Like the Queen of Iowa

My favorite song by far is the joyous "Little Boy Heart Alive". Lewis and Tolkien references abound, describing not just the trust, but the pure joy that is found in a child-like faith in Christ. It is a song that reminds you of your childhood, and yet does not give you a sense of loss, but of hope.

Take a ride on the mighty lion
Take a hold of the golden mane
This is the love of Jesus
So good but it is not tame

The Tolkien references continue in "The Haven's Grey" which speaks of leaving everything behind, both the good and the bad, to obtain everlasting life. Though it is not a "weak" song, it is one of my lesser favorites on the album, along with the reflective "Mountains on the Ocean Floor" and "More" which strikes me as a song for those who are left behind after the passing of a loved one.

"Mystery of Mercy" is such a stirring song, reminding us of our own worthlessness and of God's grace with the line "My God, my God, why hast Thou accepted me?". Plus, the hammered dulcimer alone makes this song worth listening to. And, the slow and graceful "All Shall Be Well" speaks of pressing on towards the goal, even in the darkest of times.

Finally, there is "For the Love of God". Written on the occasion of a friend's marriage, this song beautifully speaks of what true love and marriage are all about. It is absolutely beautiful and has found a place on my "Songs I want to play at my wedding" list.

You can listen to the entire album here and you can purchase it at either iTunes or The Rabbit Room store. It has been a long time since I have found an album that has moved me so much. I am now eagerly awaiting the release of Andrew's new album, Counting Stars. Also, you must see Andrew's first ever music video for a song from this new album, "Dancing in the Minefields". Another great ode to love and marriage.

Marriage: Commitment Optional

2010-06-28T19:22:00.003-04:00

I'm not exactly into all the "celebrity watching" that goes on in our world. I have kind of a vague idea of what is going on in the world of $1000 purses, 10 inch heels, and relationships that melt faster than Italian ice in the Sahara, but I'll take an article about rapidly-changing European immigration laws than one on Paris Hilton's favorite shade of lipstick any day. But today was a somewhat slow day in the office and I did some article surfing. I stumbled upon an interview with the Angelina half of "Brangelina". Most of it centered on those useless bits of info like whether or not she is expecting again or what she really thinks of Brad's beard. But one quote caught my eye and got me thinking. When asked whether or not she planned on ever actually marrying Brad, she replied "[We're not] against getting married [but] it's just like we already are. Children are clearly a commitment, a bigger commitment [than marriage]. It's for life."

In and of itself, Angelina's comment is true. Children are a HUGE commitment and cannot be dumped when we tire of them. But isn't this also true about marriage? Unfortunately, our culture doesn't think so. In today's society, we go into marriage thinking "I sure do love this person, but if it ever gets to where I can't handle it, I can always get out". But marriage is just as big a commitment as anything else in this life. Our very vows proclaim that we will forsake all others until death parts us.

I also have to wonder if as a parent, you can truly commit your very life to your children if you can't even do that to their mother/father. As Christians, we must realize that our commitment to another person in marriage is something that only death can release us from. We should never be like the world and see marriage as an airplane, with emergency exits in the front, side, and rear. Instead, it is another part of Christian walk, a portion of the race that we must run in faithfulness, humbleness, and selflessness.

It is so important that children see true commitment reflected in the lives of their parents, both to each other and to Christ. And, perhaps more importantly, true commitment in marriage is a beautiful symbol of Christ and his church to a lost and dying world.

No Fear in Death

2010-06-08T20:33:00.002-04:00

Tonight, my family is still recovering from the shock of the loss of a brother in Christ. Tears have fallen, prayers have been said, and questions asked. Questions that I know will never be answered here on this earth. Why would God take such a mighty Christian man in the prime of his life? Why would God leave a lovely woman without a husband and two beautiful little boys without a daddy? Why would God see him safely through the horrors of Iraq and Afghanistan only to allow him to die on a road outside of Tuscon? I don't know.

What I do know, is that though his time with us was very brief, he left a mark on our lives that can never be erased. His passion for God and love for His word were evident from the moment we met him. His devotion to his wife and children were inspiring and beautiful. His love of his country was humbling to say the least. Not to mention, he was a heck of an ultimate frisbee player. He was truly someone that every young man in our fellowship could look up to an proudly emulate.

Though his death is a huge loss for us, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that his crown has been attained. As I sat at the kitchen table tonight, the song "In Christ Alone" came to my mind. Especially the last verse.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry, till final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand.
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Yes, the body of Christ has lost a strong and wonderful brother. But there is no fear for us nor for him. The solid Rock is as strong a foundation as it has ever been. May He continue to be a source of comfort and strength to our sister, her children, and to us as well.

"For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time has come for my departure. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:6-8

O, My God, I Am Heartily Sorry...

2010-04-25T18:40:00.003-04:00

When I first heard about the escalating problem of the abuse (and subsequent cover-up) by Catholic Priests, I did what many people did. First, I was somewhat angry and wondered at how the Vatican could knowingly put so many children in danger. I then proceeded to write it off as simply a Catholic problem, not something that I, a Protestant, had to be concerned about. It wasn't long after that I became convicted of how off this kind of thinking was. Though I certainly don't agree with most of the Catholic doctrine, they are, nonetheless, my brothers and sisters in Christ and a member of His body. When one part of the body of Christ is suffering, then the whole body suffers as well.

So, as fellow members of the body of Christ, what should our response to this situation be?

First off, I think that the first thing that we must do is offer our forgiveness both to those who actually committed these crimes and to those who actively worked to cover them up. To be angry and indignant is not the part that a Christian should play, especially with our brothers and sisters. “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses." Mark 11:25

Secondly, we must be ready to offer our love and support to our fellow believers. There is no doubt that this incident has shaken many Catholics. More than ever they need to know that the rest of the global church is behind them and is praying for them continuously. "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak." Acts 20:35

Finally, now is the time to take the log out of our own eyes. Though the attention of the world may not be pointed at us, we are not without sin. There is no doubt that the Church is struggling in many areas. It is so easy to sit back and say "At least we're not doing what the Catholics are doing". But this complacency will only allow our already numerous sins to grow and compound. We MUST face these sins and actively seek to turn away from them. It is only when we repent that we can ever hope to see the world turn to Christ. "Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent..." Acts 17:30

Forgive me my sins, O Lord, forgive me my sins;
the sins of my youth, the sins of my age, the sins of my soul,
the sins of my body; my idle sins, my serious voluntary sins;
the sins I know, the sins I do not know; the sins I have concealed
for so long, and which are now hidden from my memory.

I am truly sorry for every sin, mortal and venial,
for all the sins of my childhood up to the present hour.

I know my sins have wounded Thy Tender Heart,
O My Savior, let me be freed from the bonds of evil through
the most bitter Passion of My Redeemer. Amen.

O My Jesus, forget and forgive what I have been. Amen.

-Act of Contrition

In Memorium

2010-03-18T20:21:00.002-04:00

Fess Parker

1924-2010

His land is biggest and his land is best
From grassy plains to the mountains' crest
He's ahead of us all and meeting the test
Following his legend into the West
Davy, Davy Crockett, king of the wild frontier!

All Times Soon

2010-02-25T21:12:00.004-05:00

One of the most memorable scenes for me in C. S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia is found in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Lucy has just seen Aslan in the attic of the magician's house. As Aslan begins to leave, he tells Lucy that they will meet again soon. Lucy asks "Please, Aslan, what do you call soon?" Aslan replies "I call all times soon." It seems to be one of the most devestating lines in the series.

There is so much that we want from God, and we want it, like, yesterday. There are so many times that I think that I'm ready for the next step in life and...nothing happens. I'm still stuck in the same postion. And God doesn't seem in any too big a hurry to get me out. He also calls all times soon. I used to find this idea very frustrating. Like God wasn't really paying attention to my needs and would get around to me whenever He felt like it.

My perception of this line changed somewhat last Sunday. We were studying 2 Peter Chapter 3 and two verses leaped out at me and reminded me of this scene:

"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance." (2nd Peter 3:8-9 NKJV)

The Lord is not slack concerning His promise. In fact, He is patient with us. He is waiting on us to grow and mature in order that He make take us to the next level. He's the one saying "Will this poor human ever be ready to move on?". If there is anything worse than being stuck in one place, it's being pushed on before we are ready. Just another way that God is so good to us.

So now when I reflect on the term "all times soon", I try not to let impatience rule me, but thankfulness. Thankfulness that an Almighty God is willing to wait for me with patience and love to follow Him to where He wants me to be. No pushing, no rushing, just a gentle leading. For my God, all times are soon, and that is a beautiful thing.

Song of Mary

2009-12-24T14:16:00.003-05:00

“My soul magnifies the Lord,
And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
And holy is His name.
And His mercy is on those who fear Him
From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has put down the mighty from their thrones,
And exalted the lowly.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
And the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
In remembrance of His mercy,
As He spoke to our fathers,
To Abraham and to his seed forever."

-Luke 1:47-55

Wishing You and Yours a Blessed and Merry Christmas

In Honor of Our Veterens...

2009-11-11T19:24:00.003-05:00

Soldier... standing on the battle line
Finding comfort, in the water and the wine,
And your armor, still so shiny and so new
But you're dirty worn and tired
From the battles you've been through

Soldier, keep your eyes straight ahead
Help the wounded, though it hurts you leave the dead
Keep your weapons and your Spirit at the ready all the time
Be of courage and conviction, hit the mark, and toe the line

Tonight when all the lights go out
and you lie down to rest
Know that I'm proud of you,
I know you've done you best
Let Me give you peace,
Let Me hold you for awhile
Yes you are a mighty warrior, but don't forget,
no don't forget, you are still My child

Soldier, standing on the battle line,
Finding comfort in the water and the wine
Though I am with you, when this old world keeps charging in,
I'll stay with you, I'll see you through to the very end.

Soldier, keep My flag flying high,
Don't let it fall in battle, or be stolen in the night.
And above all else, this, soldier: Don't you lose you battle cry,
'Cause My army's fighting with you, and I'm standing by your side.

Tonight when all the lights go out
and you lie down to rest
Know that I'm proud of you
I know you've done your best
Let me give you peace
Let me hold you for awhile
Yes you are a mighty warrior, but don't forget
no don't forget, you are still my child

You're a mighty warrior, but you're still My child
You're a mighty warrior, but you're still My child
You're a mighty warrior, but you're still My child

Yes you are a mighty warrior, but don't forget, don't forget, you are still My child.

-Soldier by Phil Driscoll

D. C. Highlights: Part 2 of 2

2009-10-14T20:42:00.012-04:00

The National Archives

The film National Treasure has made the National Archives a pretty popular place. We were able to get a guided tour of the place and learned and saw some pretty amazing things. In addition to the Declaration of Independence, we saw a census record from the 1850s that had Abraham Lincoln's family in it, a letter from a ten year old Fidel Castro to President Franklin Roosevelt, and the only original copy of the Magna Carta in the US.

The International Spy Museum

This was perhaps the biggest surprise on the whole trip. I went into it thinking that it might be rather kiddie, but we all had a blast. First, we went on the "Operation Spy" mission which was tons of fun. A staff guide takes you through a set and you go through the mission as if you are a real spy. By the end, we had gotten so into it that the tension became very real. The museum itself was also very interesting, with lots of cool and interactive exhibits on the history and techniques of spying. Plus, they had the coolest gift shop in D. C.!

Arlington National Cemetery

This is a place that every American should experience once. I was not prepared for the vast size of the place. The changing of the guards was especially memorable. As the guards laid a wreath and played "Taps", I felt chills run down my spine. It was so solemn, so heartbreaking, yet so inspiring. It turned my mind both to those who once served our country, and those who serve still today.

The National Cathedral

It was a LOOOONG walk from the metro to the National Cathedral, but I think that it was worth it in the end. The Gothic structure is huge, but not quite as beautiful as St. John's Cathedral in Savannah. What was beautiful were the many stained glass windows, especially the large one at the front of the church. We went on a pretty extensive tour, heard a pipe organ demonstration, and even stayed for Holy Eucharist. A nice visit, even if it was a mile uphill.

The National Museum of American History

This branch of the Smithsonian is probably what is best called "America's Attic". There are so many treasures here that it was hard to really wrap your mind around it. My favorite exhibit was the First Ladies exhibit, but we also saw the Ruby Red Slippers, Edison's light bulb, the original Star-Spangled Banner, and Abe Lincoln's top hat.

The US Holocaust Museum and Memorial

Perhaps even more than Arlington, this is a very sobering place. We didn't have time to really explore it like it deserved, but what we did see will stay with me for a long time. The one thing that stuck out to me was a room filled with nothing but shoes. Shoes of the many victims of Hitlers horrific crimes. Shoes that belonged to husbands, wives, grandparents, and children. Each one told of the pain and sorrow that millions of people faced. The mission of this museum is that the world never forget. They certainly accomplished it with me.

Ford's Theater

Another place made famous by a National Treasure movie. It is really neat to sit there and look at the box where Lincoln was shot. One can just imagine sitting there in the balcony, dressed to the hilt, watching a popular comedy, only to have the evening end in the death of your president. The new museum at Ford's is interesting as well with lots of information, pictures, and artifacts. Worth a stop if you have time.

The White House

Our final stop on our D. C. trip was a tour of the White House. Normally, it takes an act of Congress (literally) to get on a tour. But the powers that be decided to try handing out free daily tours on the week that we were up there. So, after getting up at 5:45 am, catching the metro, and practically running to the visitor's center, we were able to get on the noon tour. This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. As we walked through the rooms, it struck me that this was not a palace with gold and purple, but rather a place that is stately, dignified, and real. Very fitting for the President of the US. The biggest highlight for me was seeing THE Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington hanging in the East Room. Thank you Dolly Madison for saving it for me to see hundreds of years later.

We only saw one celebrity figure on our trip to D. C., but he was definitely a cute one. This is Bo (President Obama's dog) being taken for a walk on the white house lawn. My dog crazy sister was rather jealous of our opportunity. The joke was the Bo has a private handler, just like his owner does.

D. C. Highlights: Part 1 of 2

2009-09-29T13:10:00.010-04:00

Last week, my sisters K & T, our friends L & A, and I all had the amazing opportunity of spending a week in our nation's capitol. We had an absolutely wonderful time. The weather was gorgeous, the crowds were thin, and the place just oozed history. Here are some of the highlights of our trip.

Petersburg National Battlefield

Our first stop was at the Petersburg National Battlefield, home of the final battle before the fall of Richmond during the Civil War. It was very interesting, especially the tunnel dug by the Union in order to blow up a Confederate stronghold. This battlefield is also important to my sisters and I personally because one of our Confederate ancestors was killed here.

Do Hard Things 2009 Conference

We were so blessed to able to attend the final "Do Hard Things" conference of the year. Over 3,000 people came from literally around the world to hear Alex and Brett Harris of The Rebelution speak about using your young years to glorify God and as a launchpad for a productive adulthood. If you were unable to attend one of their conferences, I strongly recommend that you either attend one next year, or that you order the DVD. I promise that you will be challenged and edified by the message that these young men bring.

Mount Vernon

It was absolutely beautiful the day of our visit to George Washington's home. Though there was no way for us to really see everything the place has to offer, we still got a taste of what life was like during the 18th century. We toured the mansion, saw the brand new museum, shopped at the annual craft fair, and enjoyed lunch at the Mount Vernon Inn. This is one place that I hope I will get to go back to and explore even further. The views of the Potomac alone are worth the trip.

The Mall

Our trip to the National Mall included just about every monument and memorial there is. We had wonderful views from the top of the Washington Monument as well as from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. My personal favorite was the WWII memorial. It is huge and magnificent and a wonderful place to sit and reflect on our nation's past, present, and future.

The US Capitol

The Capitol is a must visit on any trip to D. C. It is truly amazing how much history haunts those halls, how many laws (good and bad) first came to be in those rooms, how many men have taken on the mantle of President on those steps. Though it doesn't often seem that way, this place really is the sounding board of the people.

The Library of Congress

Being the bookworm that I am, this was a HUGE highlight of my trip. It is the largest library in the world and the building itself is absolutely stunning. From the paintings on the ceiling to the marble steps worn by time, this place simply breathes learning and history. There are some really cool things on display right now as well, like the Gutenberg Bible and Thomas Jefferson's personal library.

The Supreme Court

This building was the least crowded but also one of the most interesting in D. C. As you roam the marble halls, you really begin to understand just how important the judicial branch is to our way of life here in America. Since the court was not in session, we were able to sit in the courtroom and hear a lecture given on the history of the court. It is very fascinating, so be sure to stop by if you get the chance.

The National Air and Space Museum

If anyone ever tells you that it will take you years to see everything in the Smithsonian, they are 100% correct. There are so many national treasures on display throughout the many buildings that it can get overwhelming. The highlights of this museum are the "Spirit of St. Louis", Amelia Earhart's airplane, the Wright Brothers' flyer, and a piece of the moon. There is a lot to entertain both young and old.

Part 2 continues with the National Archives, the National Cathedral, the White House and more!

Headed To The Rebelution Conference!

2009-09-14T20:57:00.001-04:00

I'm heading to the Rebelution Conference in Washington D. C. this weekend. It should be a great time of learning and fellowship. Here is the promo video. I'll upload pictures of the conference after I get back.

Confronting the Culture: The Pixar Films

2009-08-20T09:11:00.003-04:00

For the past decade or so, my summer has been consumed with a question that I take a big delight in answering. What will the next Pixar film be? Like most people, I am more than willing to plop down my hard-earned money to go to the theater and see Pixar's latest creation, even if I have no clue what the film is about. There are so many wonderful qualities that make these films jewels in the rubbish pile that is Hollywood. First of all, the animation is always guaranteed to be state of the art and absolutely beautiful. Secondly they are humorous enough to keep you entertained without resorting to anything crass or stupid. But the most wonderful thing about these films are the stories themselves. They are always heartwarming and original, and very often, they present a lesson that is completely against the cultural norm. But they do so in a way that is neither preachy nor corny. Here is a list of the films and the ways in which they confront today's culture (excluding Cars which I have not seen):

Toy Story (1995): Today's world is very much of a dog-eat-dog one. The goal in life is to be on top, no matter who you have to step on to get there. In the midst of the power struggle going on in Andy's room, Woody and Buzz are forced to confront their own weaknesses and work together in order to get back to the people they both love.

A Bugs Life (1998): Our society does not have a great liking for those who think outside the box, or get out of line. We respect only those who follow one behind the other and conform to the status quo. For Flick, being creative and inventive just doesn't work in his ant society. However, these very qualities along with his determination to change the status quo are the very things that help the ants free themselves from the tyranny of the grasshoppers.

Toy Story 2 (1999): This particular Pixar film challenges our world's quest for the fountain of youth. We spend so much time trying to stay "young" that we often miss the beauties that come along with age. At first, Woody is happy at the idea of staying in mint condition and lasting forever in a toy museum. But he soon realizes that eternal beauty is not worth the glass that would separate him from those he loves.

Monsters, Inc. (2001): How often do we simply believe what we are told about certain people or things, without really investigating it for ourselves? When the monsters of Monsters, Inc. are told that children are dangerous and toxic, they believe it without question. Until, that is, Sulley meets Boo (who, by the way, might just be the cutest animated kid in history). He and Mike soon discover that it is their employer, not the children, who is dangerous, and that the only way to really know if a person is dangerous or not is to get to know them. The story also reminds us to always place the well-being of others above our own.

Finding Nemo (2003): It seems that almost everyone is today's world has a label, defining what you are and are not capable of. Whether it is a mental (Dory), physical (Nemo) or emotional (Marlin) disability, we allow these things hold us back from experiencing life and helping those who need us. All three of these characters break through their disabilities and help each other find their way home.

The Incredibles (2004): Everyone is special. That is what we are told over and over from the time we are old enough to understand it. Our society often doesn't allow those with great capabilities to succeed, simply because it could "emotionally traumatize" those who cannot. The Incredibles refutes that, by showing the Parr family having to conform to a society that is just too small for them and their talents. Only when they are able to use their powers are they able to really contribute to society. The film also shows how much stronger a family can be when they all work together to overcome their obstacles. Who'd have ever thought that a Hollywood film could be so pro-family?

Ratatouille (2007): This is my personal favorite of the films. As in Finding Nemo, we have characters whom society deems unworthy (or incapable) of being something great. Rats and garbage boys just can't be great cooks right? Wrong. The line "Anyone Can Cook" appears many times throughout the film, but it is really a line in Anton Ego's review that nails the true meaning behind this story: "In the past, I have made no secret of my disdain for Chef Gusteau's famous motto: Anyone can cook. But I realize that only now do I truly understand what he meant. Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere." To me, Ego's whole review is one of the most beautiful pieces of writing ever.

WALL-E (2008): While on the surface, WALL-E seems to be purely about caring for the environment, that is actually a mere sub-plot. The real story focuses on the need for human connection. In today's world of email, Youtube, Facebook, and texting, we no longer seem to need to connect to other people on a personal level. But if we could be like John and Mary and turn off the technological distractions, we might just discover how big a world there really is out there, and how important a simple touch can be. Fans of this film should read E. M Forster's The Machine Stops for a grimmer portrait of this same problem.

Up (2009): There are many movies out there that will tell you to never let go of your dreams. We teach our kids from Day 1 to always follow their hearts and pursue their dreams. What we are not always told, however, is that there are times when we must let go our of or dreams as well. The time comes in Up when Carl is forced to either follow his dream or save his new friends. He decides to let his dream go, one balloon at a time. This film also portrays the beauty of a lasting marriage and the devastating affects of divorce, in many ways better than Fireproof did.

Kissing Dating Goodbye

2009-08-12T20:11:00.003-04:00

Believe it or not, it has been 12 years since Joshua Harris published his now famous book I Kissed Dating Goodbye. That means that I was about 10 years old when my parents first heard the word courtship and decided that that was what they wanted for their children's future love lives. Not that I really cared. I was still at that age when boys seemed to fall into God's "oops!" category along with cockroaches, lizards, and the platypus. As I have gotten older, of course, the idea of how to Biblically find a mate has taken on a greater importance. It has also become a very popular topic of conversation in many Christian circles and very often they seem to have completely different views and completely different terms. For instance, some circles use the term "courtship" when describing the "correct" way to find a mate. Others use the term "Christian dating", and still others use the term "betrothal". So which one is the most Biblical way? Actually, they are almost all the same when it comes the basic principles of each one. Though many people will argue that one way is better than another, they all have common elements and don't differ very much at all. Here are some of those elements and why they help create a better way of finding a mate than normal secular dating (I'm going to use the term "courtship", but you can replace it with any other equal term).

1. Marriage is the goal. Unlike today's secular dating, there is a definite goal from the very beginning of a courtship. There is no wondering where the relationship is heading or if either partner is really committed to it. Both people realize from the outset that the purpose of the relationship is to grow closer to one another resulting (most likely) in marriage. Does this mean that all courtships will end in marriage? Of course not, many couples will get into the relationship and realize that that is not God's will for their lives. Marriage is simply the target. However, this does mean that the couple is starting the relationship on the same page and working towards a common goal. This can save a lot of time and result in a lot less heartbreak.

2. Don't shop if you ain't ready to buy. Because the ultimate goal of a courtship is marriage, no one should begin one until they are really ready to commit to marriage. If you are a guy, this means that you have a job that will provide for your family and have matured to the point that you are ready to be a spiritual leader. If you are a gal, this means that you are prepared to care for a home and are emotionally and spiritually ready to follow a husband. This also prevents "trifling" and heartbreak.

3. It takes a village. While modern secular dating involves two people trying to work their relationship out by themselves, a courtship involves many people. Not only do you have the couple, but their parents, as well as trusted (married) friends, should be involved as well. They serve not only as encouragement in the relationship, but also as a check. They can ask pointed questions to help keep the relationship on track, as well as point out any red flags that might pop up. Couples should welcome their mentors' involvement, because they have the couple's best interest at heart.

4. Hands off. The physical side of dating often has no limits. Even many of today's Christians feel that is okay to be very intimate in a relationship as long as it doesn't go "all the way". But rather than asking "Where is the line and how close can I get to it?", couples in a courtship should leave most physical intimacy for the marriage. This can mean many different things to different people, with some choosing barely to hold hands while others "allow" embracing and kissing. This is a decision that each couple will have to make for themselves.

I have many people who ask if I feel that I am missing out by not dating. My reply is "Yes, I am". I'm missing out on quite a bit of frustration, temptations and heartaches. I have seen so many of my friends hurt by broken relationships. In fact, it is almost like watching a lot of mini-divorces, because the couples had grown very close emotionally. Marriage is a very beautiful thing, and surely God never meant us to go through so much pain while searching for a mate. How often we inflict pain on ourselves by not following God's plan. Now, none of this to say that we shouldn't cultivate friendships, good friendships, with members of the opposite sex. Our brothers and sisters in Christ are there to challenge us, to stimulate us, and to encourage us. Kissing dating goodbye doesn't mean that we are kissing romance goodbye, it just means that we are pursuing it in a different and better way.

An Award

2009-07-13T20:58:00.002-04:00

Thank you to Angel for awarding me the Sisterhood blog award. Now it is my turn to pass it along.

The rules:
1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. Be sure to link your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link the person from whom you received your award.

So here are my nominees:

Laurie @ The Daily Life of a Homesteading Family
Smalltownsoutherngal @ Where the Green Grass Grows
Rascal's Trainer @ Training Rascal
Melissa @ Yarn of a Tail
Doddlebug @ Doodlebug's Doodles

Jonathan Edwards: The Preciousness of Time

2009-07-10T09:49:00.004-04:00

Every day that you have enjoyed has been precious; yea, your moments have been precious. But have you not wasted your precious moments, your precious days, yea, your precious years? If you should reckon up how many days you have lived, what a sum would there be! And how precious hath every one of those days been! Consider, therefore, what have you done with them? What is become of them all? What can you show of any improvement made, or good done, or benefit obtained, answerable to all this time which you have lived? When you look back, and search, do you not find this past time of your lives in a great measure empty, having not been filled up with any good improvement? And if God, that hath given you your time, should now call you to an account, what account could you give to him?

How much may be done in a year? How much good is there opportunity to do in such a space of time! How much service may persons do for God, and how much for their own souls, if to their utmost they improve it! How much may be done in a day! But what have you done in so many days and years that you have lived? What have you done with the whole time of your youth, you that are past your youth? What is become of all that precious season of life? Hath it not all been in vain to you? Would it not have been as well or better for you, if all that time you had been asleep, or in a state of nonexistence?

You have had much time of leisure and freedom from worldly business. Consider to what purpose you have spent it. You have not only had ordinary time, but you have had a great deal of holy time. What have you done with all the Sabbath-days which you have enjoyed? Consider those things seriously, and let your own consciences make answer.

-from "The Preciousness of Time" by Jonathan Edwards, December 1734

Read the whole essay here.

Grasping for the Wind

2009-06-26T10:30:00.005-04:00

"One generation passes away, and another generation comes; but the earth abides forever." Ecclesiastes 1:4

Around the world, the news is spreading about the passing of two pop culture icons yesterday. One was a woman who set the standard of beauty for a decade, the other was a man who changed the face of popular music forever. Yes, the names of Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson are on the tips of everyone's tongues. People will be discussing the impact they had on the lives of others, their dreams, their achievements, their demons...all of it will be rehashed until it seems that their images will be forever burned on the public consciousness. And yet...

What is their real impact in the light of eternity? Two people who seemed to have gained all that the world had to offer in the ways of fame and fortune, and yet in the coming generations they will be viewed with the same detached emotions with which we now see other icons like Abraham Lincoln, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon. They might even one day fall into the anonymity of thousands of others who had also gained fame and fortune and now are wiped clean from the earth's memory.

When we heard of Michael Jackson's death yesterday, my sister remarked how weird it was for a man so famous to suddenly be no more. That is one of the mysteries of death, the great equalizer, the one thing that no one can escape no matter how wealthy, talented, or beautiful they are. Ecclesiastes has this to say on the achievements of man: "I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all is vanity and grasping for the wind." (Ecclesiastes 1:14 NKJV). It takes times like these to remind us exactly how much of a vapor we really are, and to shift our focus back on to the things that are eternal.

None of this is to say that we shouldn't appreciate our life on earth. It is a great gift and a great opportunity. But we must never lose sight of the fact that is the life to come that matters most, and that the praise and honor found on earth is as elusive and empty as the wind itself.

"I communed with my heart, saying, 'Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.' And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind." Ecclesiastes 1:16-17

Great Post: Who's Afraid of Flannery O'Connor

2009-06-15T10:12:00.003-04:00

In Volume 18, Issue 2 of the Credenda Agenda, Douglas Jones questions why today's Christians are so afraid of Flannery O'Connor. Though in my opinion she is a writer whose works all Christians should read as much as they read those of Lewis and Chesterton, most Christians have never even heard of her and those who have have a great aversion to her. Why? Jones believes it lies in the darkness of grace:

All her stories focus on grace, grace, grace. That's what they're about. Every one of them. Real people wrestling with bodily grace.

And that's what disturbs many readers. They don't want their grace black. It feels like an alien faith to them, and they resist it. O'Connor herself heard this complaint. In her essay "The Catholic Novelist in the Protestant South," she argued against that pietism typical of Christian readers: "The reader wants his grace warm and binding, not dark and disruptive."

It's a great article. I especially like how Jones contrasts Christians' aversion to O'Connor with their love for "Christian" horror like Frank Peretti. Read the whole issue here.

Life in the Doldrums

2009-06-09T10:32:00.004-04:00

Day after day, day after day,

We stuck, nor breath nor motion;

As idle as a painted ship

Upon a painted ocean.

-from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by S. T. Coleridge

Ask any sailor who relies on wind and they will tell you that there is nothing worse than being caught in the Doldrums, that region along the equator that is notorious for deadly calms that can trap a ship for weeks at a time. The endless monotony, the breathless air, the overwhelming boredom can lead to a madness that no storm could ever create.

For the past few months, that is exactly how my life (both physical and spiritual) has felt. You might have guessed that from my general lack of posting. I have been listless and uninspired and I seem to be getting nowhere fast. Not that my life is bad; in fact, it's actually pretty good compared to most. It's just that I feel like I am stalling in the middle of a vast nothingness, wanting to move forward but unable to. Things that I once had a passion for have become routine and boring. Church, family, and life itself seem to have lost their flavor and I find myself simply going through the motions rather than really growing.

So the questions that I now face are how long until God blows me into the open sea again? And, more importantly, how do I survive until that day comes?

2009-05-26T09:16:00.009-04:00

O Thou Who camest from above,
The pure celestial fire to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
Upon the mean altar of my heart.

There let it for Thy glory burn
With inextinguishable blaze,
And trembling to its source return,
In humble prayer and fervent praise.

Jesus, confirm my heart's desire
To work and speak and think for Thee;
Still let me guard the holy fire,
And still stir up Thy gift in me.

Ready for all Thy perfect will,
My acts of faith and love repeat,
'Til death Thy endless mercies seal,
And make my sacrifice complete.

-O Thou Who Camest From Above by Charles Wesley

Fireproof

2009-05-21T10:54:00.004-04:00

Anyone who knows me knows that I'm usually a little behind the times. Last year, I saw Lord of the Rings for the first time, bought my first iPod, and first tasted strawberries with balsamic vinegar. Yeah, the good things seem to come slow to me. So it shouldn't shock anyone that I have just now viewed last year's highest-grossing independent film: Fireproof.

This is the third film for Sherwood Pictures and it has certainly shown the growth that the members of Sherwood Baptist Church have had since their last picture (Facing the Giants), and not just financially. Here, they tackle the thing that is the foundation of every society throughout history: marriage.

Here is the synopsis from the film's website:

At work, inside burning buildings, Capt. Caleb Holt lives by the old firefighter's adage: Never leave your partner behind. At home, in the cooling embers of his marriage, he lives by his own rules.

Growing up, Catherine Holt always dreamed of marrying a loving, brave firefighter...just like her daddy. Now, after seven years of marriage, Catherine wonders when she stopped being "good enough" for her husband.

Regular arguments over jobs, finances, housework, and outside interests have readied them both to move on to something with more sparks.

As the couple prepares to enter divorce proceedings, Caleb's father challenges his son to commit to a 40-day experiment: "The Love Dare." Wondering if it's even worth the effort, Caleb agrees-for his father's sake more than for his marriage. When Caleb discovers the book's daily challenges are tied into his parents' newfound faith, his already limited interest is further dampened.

While trying to stay true to his promise, Caleb becomes frustrated time and again. He finally asks his father, "How am I supposed to show love to somebody who constantly rejects me?"

When his father explains that this is the love Christ shows to us, Caleb makes a life-changing commitment to love God. And with God's help he begins to understand what it means to truly love his wife.

But is it too late to fireproof his marriage? His job is to rescue others. Now Caleb Holt is ready to face his toughest job ever...rescuing his wife's heart.

This was a very enjoyable and inspiring film that I think most Christians will like. Divorce is rampant in our society and the church is no exception. This film's message of remaining with your partner through every trial is something that everyone could stand to hear. It also paints a lovely view of salvation as Caleb learns to love his wife "as Christ loved the church", unconditionally.

This is not to say that this is first-class moving making. While Kirk Cameron was solid in his role as Caleb and a few other actors were surprisingly good (Ken Bevel as Michael Simmons), it is obvious that most of the actors are amateurs. It also suffers from what I think of as POJS: "Prayer of Jabez" Syndrome. Remember how a few years back everyone was praying the "Prayer of Jabez" because we were told that if you did, God would suddenly give you more in life? Well, both Fireproof and Facing the Giants suffer from a bit of this by seemingly representing that if you do this one thing (The Love Dare or praising God through good and bad), your life will suddenly become sunny. This isn't to say that the thing shouldn't be done, just that we can't do it just to gain something from God. And though the film's message is sincere, it can be heavy-handed and often lacking in the subtle beauties of films like Bella.

But ultimately, this is definitely a film that I think everyone should see. It's portrayal of the beauty and worth of a marriage grounded in Christ is something our broken world needs desperately.

*As a single, I found that I couldn't quite relate to the film like my parents and other married couples. There are, however, many principles that singles can apply not just in the future, but right now.

All relationships, whether with family, friends, or God, require work and commitment. No relationship should be based on feelings, but rather on a conscious decision to show the love of Christ to someone else.
Our relationship with God affects all of our other relationships. If we are lacking in that ultimate relationship, it will show.
The sin in our lives affects those around us. We are never just hurting ourselves when we sin.
Waiting on God doesn't mean that we sit around doing nothing. We must continue serving Him whatever the situation.
Those who boast usually get brought down a notch or two.
Feed the man. You'll notice in the film that Caleb and Catherine's first 2 arguments start because she didn't feed him. I'm telling you from personal experience with my dad, things usually go better in life if you keep the man fed!

Citizens of Heaven

2009-05-06T12:35:00.003-04:00

For the past few months, the home fellowship that my family and I attend has been studying the book of Ephesians. A couple of weeks ago, as we worked our way through Chapter 2, Verse 19 really jumped out at me, and one word in particular:

"Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household..." (Eph. 2:19 NIV emphasis mine).

Throughout the latter part of Chapter 2, Paul talks a lot about aliens, foreigners, and citizens. At first, I wondered why he chose these particular examples, when he could have used many others? There is, in fact, quite a bit of symbolism behind his choice:

To those living in the Roman Empire, citizenship was a big deal. To be a Roman Citizen was to receive all of the benefits of living in the Empire. You were allowed to vote, to stand for office, and to appeal to the courts. You also had the right to appeal to be tried in Rome, and even if you were sentenced to death, you could not be crucified (hence the reason that Paul was beheaded and Peter was crucified). As Christians, we can now receive all of the benefits of being a citizen of heaven. The full blessings of heaven have been opened to us, who were once "foreigners" to God.

Citizenship was passed on from father to children. It's another example of how the blessings in our lives come because we are the children of God.

Roman citizenship could be bought, but at a very high price (see Acts 22:28). Heavenly citizenship comes with a price as well; one that it is impossible for us to pay. We have only received our citizenship because Christ paid the ultimate price for it.

Roman citizens were immediately distinguishable from non-citizens. It only took one look to know whether or not someone was a citizen. For example, only citizens could wear a toga. As Christians, we should also be immediately distinguishable from non-Christians. Our dress, our behaviour, our lives should reflect our status as children of God.

Citizenship gives us benefits, yes, but it also requires something of us. We are expected to follow the law and to work for the benefit of our fellow citizens. There is no difference with our spiritual citizenship. We must follow God's commandments and work to edify fellow believers.

In Philippians 3:20, Paul again tells us that "Our citizenship is in heaven." Our blessings, our future, and our very identities all flow from there. How amazing that so many spiritual truths can be found all because Paul used a certain word.

A Song for Easter

2009-04-12T00:01:00.001-04:00

To me, Easter is perhaps the most peaceful and most reflective of all holidays. It is a time of great joy mingled with overwhelming grief. A time to reflect on the horrible death taken by our Lord and rejoice in His victory over it. It is also a time to reflect on our role in this world as the body of Christ. I think that this Twila Paris song really puts into words the sorrow, the joy, and the beauty of this season.

How Beautiful

How Beautiful the hands that served
The Wine and the Bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How Beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That choose to forgive and never despise
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He lay down His life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as He died
Willing to pay the price
Willing to pay the price

How Beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her Groom with His light in her eyes
How Beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live
How beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How Beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the Earth
How Beautiful, how beautiful, how beautiful is the body of Christ

Daring to Be Peculiar: Deborah Drapper

2009-04-03T09:38:00.004-04:00

It's been awhile since I did a "Daring to Be Peculiar" profile, and all of my previous ones have been on people who have been dead for at least 60 years. I now have the opportunity to profile someone who is not only still alive, but is younger than myself. Deborah Drapper is a 13 year old homeschooled girl from Dorset, England. Last summer, the BBC spent almost 100 hours with her observing her life as one of 11 children as part of a one hour program (programme?) for the BBC3. While many people I know would find her life to be fairly normal (homeschooled, no television, large family, etc.), most people in England and the US find it pretty strange.

The film begins simply observing Deborah's day to day life on her family's farm, allowing her and her parents to explain their reasons for homeschooling and their other beliefs. It then follows her as she spends a few days with her older brother at his University. It is here that she gets her first glimpse of what life in the "real world" is like. What is so wonderful about this is that very little of it phases her. She uses every opportunity she has to talk to others about Christ and their need for salvation. Even when she is at a house party with many semi-drunk college-age kids, she still finds time to discuss heaven and hell and the need for grace.

Though I'm sure there was some spin put on this by the BBC, I applaud them for not letting it spin out of control. They ask a few questions, but mostly they just sit back and watch Deborah and her family in action. Though I wouldn't say that I agree with everything that the Drapper family believes, I certainly applaud Deborah for her fervor and boldness in witnessing to others. As her older brother, Matthew, says, she really inspires the rest of us to "...turn it up."

Here is the program (6 parts) via Youtube. There are scenes of Deborah witnessing in the "not so nice" parts of town and as well as parties and dance clubs, so viewer discretion is encouraged.

To learn more about Deborah and her family, you can visit her blog at http://deborahdrapper.com/.

HT: The Rebelution

Downhere

2009-03-09T09:15:00.004-04:00

Saturday night, I had the opportunity to see the band Downhere at a free concert at a local church. Unlike artists like Chris Tomlin and Casting Crowns, Downhere tends to fly slightly below the "popular" radar and most listeners only know them for their singles "A Better Way" and "Here I Am". This is a real shame, because I find them to be one of the freshest and most satisfying Christian bands out there. From their mature and thought-provoking lyrics to Marc Martel's unique vocal style, their music makes for great listening. They really delve deeply into themes and ideas that most Christian artists barely scratch the surface on and they do so in a very artistic way. If you've never listened to these guys, please give their albums Wide Eyed and Mystified and Ending is Beginning a try. In the meantime, here is the band performing one of their songs live on a radio station. It's called "How Many Kings" and it was one of my favorites from the concert. Enjoy!

Nose to the Sunrise

2009-03-03T09:11:00.008-05:00

Over the weekend, my family sat down to watch the 1989 BBC version of Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (I absolutely despise the newer versions). As we watched, I was reminded of how much I love and respect the character Reepicheep. There was one line in particular that struck me in a new way. In the movie (and in the book), the characters are trying to decide whether to return to Narnia, or to sail on to the eastern edge of the world in search of Aslan's country. Reepicheep has this to say:

"My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I paddle east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not reached Aslan's country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise and Peepiceek will be head of the talking mice in Narnia."

That is the passion and and determination I would like to have in my own Christian walk. To desire God so much, that I will live and die pursuing Him and His glory. Death will come to all of us at one time or another, but there is a great reward awaiting those who, like Reepicheep, are willing to keep their nose to the sunrise and pursue God to the very end.

Cafeteria Christianity

2009-02-23T11:13:00.003-05:00

It should come as no surprise that the Presbyterian Church (USA) is well on its way to allowing gays and lesbians to become ordained. This has been done (or is being done) by churches all over the US. On Saturday, the Presbyterian Church in my home state voted for the amendment 177 to 139. As I said before, this was no surprise. What was rather interesting was one of the provisions found in the amendment.

"Gays and lesbians can be ordained within the 2.2-million-member Presbyterian Church (USA), but they must remain chaste as church standards forbid sex outside of traditional marriage between a man and woman."

I'd laugh if this wasn't so sad. What we have here is a classic example of what my mom likes to call "Cafeteria Christianity". This is basically picking and choosing which parts of the Bible you want to keep. The Presbyterian church has decided that they will keep the "do not commit adultery" part, but they'll skip over "homosexuality is a sin" part.

In my family, my Mom decides what we are having for dinner. She serves what she serves, whether you like it or not. If you don't like what's for dinner, then you don't have to eat it. However, if you are going to eat some of it, then you must eat ALL of it. The same holds true in our spiritual lives. God has decided what to serve us (the Bible) and He will not force us to follow it. But if we decide that we will obey some of it, then we must obey ALL of it. It's time for Christians to stop ditching the parts of the Bible that they feel are no longer "culturally relevant" and instead accept the Scriptures for what they are. The complete and everlasting word of God.

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

A Republic or A Democracy?

2009-02-03T09:44:00.003-05:00

Up till now, if you had asked me what kind of government the US has, I would have said a democracy. I would have also told you that this was a good thing and that democracy equals freedom. But after watching this video, I've begun to see democracy in a different light. I'm not able to embed the video in my post, but you can view it by following this link. It is WELL worth your time.

HT: Truth In Love Blog

Great Post: Airport Eavsdropping

2009-01-28T13:57:00.003-05:00

Yesterday's featured article on Boundless addressed a subject that has been on my mind for the last few months. Basically, author David Barshinger discusses how more and more, even the most traditional of Evangelicals are not looking to the Bible as the ultimate authority in their lives. Instead, they base their decisions on reason, experience and tradition. David points out the fallacies of these things and shows us how important it is to take Scripture seriously.

"And if we Christians want to take the God we worship seriously, then we need to take His Word seriously too.

Taking Scripture seriously means, on one level, reading the whole thing — even the parts that may seem difficult. The gospel message is simple, but the Bible as a whole is not. No one could master it in a lifetime because its subject is the infinite God. Yet pursuing mastery is worth every minute. It will require help from commentators, pastors, small group leaders and other Christians seeking to understand it together, but will yield rewarding results."

It the past few years I have seen many Christians water down the truth of the Bible based on their own feelings, opinions and desires. When will we abandon our selfishness and actually obey what God has written?

"I will meditate on Your precepts and fix my eyes on Your ways. I will delight in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word" Psalm 119:15-16

Hope for a Nation

2009-01-20T12:40:00.005-05:00

On this historic day, the words "hope" and "pride" will be said countless times as, for better or for worse, Barack H. Obama becomes the 44th President of the United States. Though you may not have voted for him (I didn't) and though you may not think that he is the best person for the job (I don't), we Christians still have reasons to have both hope and pride:

We can be proud that we live in a nation where the transfer of power from one political party to the next happened in a few bloodless and peaceful minutes.

We can be proud that only 40 some years since people of other races were denied even the most basic of freedoms, enough Americans have set aside those prejudices to elect a black man. "...since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all." Colossians 3:9b-11

We can be hopeful, because our God has shown time and again that He can use anyone from donkeys to shepherd boys to work good for those who love Him.

We can be hopeful, because the fate of the nation rests not in the hands of a chosen few in Washington, but rather with US, the followers of Christ. "...if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Chronicles 7:14

Finally, we have hope, not in a person or thing of this earth, but in the grace and power of God, who sent His Son to save us from ourselves. No matter what we face as individuals, as Christians or as a country, we have an eternal hope that no circumstance can take away. "Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands." 2 Corinthians 5:1

We have a great opportunity in the coming years to show our country where true hope and peace can be found. Not in a stable economy, not in a "warless" society, but rather in Almighty God. Let us take the time today to pray for our new President and our nation, that both might be used to bring glory to God here on earth.

It Takes A Lifetime...

2009-01-05T12:58:00.007-05:00

Once again, we have arrived at the dawning of a brand new year. Though it is usually an exciting time of looking forward to the numerous possibilities that await us, it can also be a time of disappointment when we look back on last year's goals and resolutions that didn't seem to get anywhere. Though I made some progress in my goals from last year, I certainly didn't finish them. They're still there, begging to be completed. At first, I was rather mad at myself about this. How could I make so little progress in a whole year? I then began to realize that the process is almost as important as the accomplishment itself. From the mundane goals that we set for ourselves every day to our walk with God, nothing that we accomplish in this life comes quickly. Each one requires time, some more than others, to to complete. So if you are like me and you are looking back on 2008 and seeing only the goals that you didn't finish, smile, keep working on them, and remember that it takes a lifetime to become the person the God wants us to be.

The More

I met You like a little child

Wide-eyed and mystified

That You could love even me

So I'm here to testify

That it's been an amazing ride with You

And I have never walked alone

Wanna give You every moment, every minute

It's takes a lifetime to know You, to know You

And the more You show me, the more You grow me

The more Your glory becomes all there is

And the more I know You, the more I need You

The more I love You, the more You become to me

Fast-forward to the golden years

A smaller pride and a bigger fear

But still, no way are we done yet

I pray that You would keep me mystified,

In every way that I will still abide in You

Till You come to take me home

Wanna give You every moment, every minute

And take a lifetime to know You, to know You

And the more You show me, the more You grow me
The more Your glory becomes all there is
And the more I know You, the more I need You
The more I love You, the more You become to me

Wanna give You every moment, every minute

I'll take a lifetime to know You

Hold me Lord, keep me

Draw me closer every moment of my life

And the more You show me, the more You grow me
The more Your glory becomes all there is
And the more I know You, the more I need You
The more I love You, the more You become to me

-"The More" by Downhere from the album Wide-eyed and Mystified

Advent 2008: Christmas Day

2008-12-25T00:01:00.001-05:00

Last year, I mentioned the tradition of the advent wreath that my family does every year. Please join us in our celebration this year as I post the thoughts, scriptures and songs that make up our worship this holiday season.

Christmas Day: The Christ's Candle

The word "love" gets tossed around so often that it has almost lost it's meaning. We use it a lot this time of year, but I don't think that we can ever really grasp the love that God has for us. To take on flesh, to walk among a sinful people, and to give His life for a fallen man. This is love in its purest form. No matter how much I reflect on it, it's still something that I just can't fathom. In the end, it is this love that brings the peace, the joy, the hope and the faith that make our lives worth living. "Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends." John 15:13.

Verses to read: Isaiah 9:2;Luke 2:30-32

We Are the Reason
By David Meece

As little children
We would dream of Christmas morn
Of all the gifts and toys
We knew we'd find
But we never realized
A Baby born one blessed night
Gave us the greatest gift of our lives

We were the reason
That He gave His life
We were the reason
That He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us the reason to live

As the years went by
We learned more about gifts
The giving of ourselves
And what that means
On a dark and cloudy day
A Man hung crying in the rain
All because of love, all because of love

We were the reason
That He gave His life
We were the reason
That He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us a reason to live

I've finally found a reason for living
It's in giving every part of my heart to Him
In all that I do, very word that I say
I'll be giving my all just for Him, for Him

We are the reason
That He gave His life
We are the reason
That He suffered and died
To a world that was lost
He gave all He could give
To show us a reason to live

He is my reason to live

Advent 2008: Week 4

2008-12-23T19:58:00.003-05:00

Last year, I mentioned the tradition of the advent wreath that my family does every year. Please join us in our celebration this year as I post the thoughts, scriptures and songs that make up our worship this holiday season.

Week 4: The Shepherds' Candle

For most of us, it's very easy to have joy this time of year. We get to be with friends and family, enjoy special activities and foods, and of course (I know you're thinking it) we get presents. Even adults seem to find a child-like joy during the Christmas holiday. Then January hits, a new year begins, and "reality" sets in. We get back to the daily grind and the joy seems to evaporate. The situation was almost the exact opposite for the shepherds on that first Christmas. They were living in their own daily grind, no parties, no special foods and no presents; and yet they still found a real and lasting joy in the birth of a Savior. Let's try to be like these shepherds in the coming year, finding joy, not in our circumstances and surroundings, but in the hope we have through our Savior. "Break forth into joy, sing together, you waste places of Jerusalem! For the LORD has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem. The LORD has made bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God." Isaiah 52:7

Verses to read: Ezekiel 34:23; Luke 2:15-20; John 10:11

God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman
Traditional

God rest ye merry, gentlemen
Let nothing you dismay
Remember, Christ, our Savior
Was born on Christmas day
To save us all from Satan's power
When were gone astray
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

From God our heavenly Father
A blessed angel came
And unto certain shepherds
Brought tidings of the same
How that in Bethlehem was born
The Son of God by name
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

The shepherds at these tidings
Rejoiced much in mind
And left their flocks a-feeding
In tempest, storm and wind
And went to Bethlehem straightway
The Son of God to find
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Now to the Lord sing praises
All you within this place
And with true love and brotherhood
Each other now embrace
This holy tide of Christmas
All other doth deface
O tidings of comfort and joy
Comfort and joy
O tidings of comfort and joy

Great Post: Santa and God

2008-12-22T19:01:00.003-05:00

Many Christians wrestle with the decision of whether or not to allow their children believe in Santa Claus. Some allow it as harmless fun while others discourage it because they fear that their kids will not believe in God once they find out the truth about the jolly old elf. In his article in the Wall Street Journal, Tony Woodlief discusses his view on how childhood belief in fairy tales and fantasies might actually aid children in their belief in God later in life:

"I suspect that fairy tales and Santa Claus do prepare us to embrace the ultimate Fairy Tale, the one [C. S.] Lewis believed was ingrained in our being. New research from the Université de Montréal and the University of Ottawa indicates that children aren't overly troubled upon learning that Santa is a myth. But the researchers remained puzzled because while children eventually abandon Santa, they keep believing in God. Lewis would say this is because God is real, but Mr. [Richard] Dawkins fears it is the lasting damage of fairy tales. While Mr. Dawkins stands ironically alongside Puritans in his readiness to ban fairy tales, Christian apologists like Lewis and Chesterton embraced them, precisely because to embrace Christian dogma is to embrace the extrarational."

Read the rest of the article here.

Advent 2008: Week 3

2008-12-19T20:11:00.002-05:00

Last year, I mentioned the tradition of the advent wreath that my family does every year. Please join us in our celebration this year as I post the thoughts, scriptures and songs that make up our worship this holiday season.

Week 3: The Angels' Candle

Peace is something that everyone desires at Christmas. It is written on our Christmas cards, sung of in our carols, and even non-Christians declare this to be a season of peace. But this idea of "peace on earth" could not be any further from reality. From the hustle and bustle of Main St. to the war torn corners of the globe, peace seems to be rather elusive. But the true peace of Christmas is not found in the physical world. It is a spiritual peace. It is peace that comes from knowing that no matter what we face in this world, God's only Son has provided us with everlasting life. My prayer for you this week is that you will realize what a wonderful promise this is, and that the true peace of the season will awaken in your heart. "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'". Isaiah 52:7

Verse to read: Luke 2:8-14; 4:18-19

Hark the Herald Angels Sing
by Charles Wesley

Hark, the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled!"
Joyful all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With angelic host proclaim
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark, the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heaven adored
Christ the everlasting Lord
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with men to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark, the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace
Hail the Son of Righteousness
Light and life to all He brings
Risen with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark, the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Advent 2008: Week 2 (Belated)

2008-12-17T21:03:00.004-05:00

Last year, I mentioned the tradition of the advent wreath that my family does every year. Please join us in our celebration this year as I post the thoughts, scriptures and songs that make up our worship this holiday season.

Week 2: The Bethlehem Candle

In many ways, Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth was a lot like my hometown. It was small, fairly unknown, and only had one hotel (there was no room for them in THE inn!). To me, it is just another example of how God can use even the most unlikely of things to bring glory to Himself. From the shepherd boy who killed a giant with a single stone, to the young and insignificant woman who brought forth the Messiah, God has allowed the weakest of us to accomplish His purposes. Take some time this season to reflect on how utterly incapable we humans are, and on the overwhelming grace of God which allows us to reflect His glory and righteousness. “ But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me the One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.” Micah 5:2

Verses to read: Luke 2:1-7

O Little Town of Bethlehem
By Phillips Brooks

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by
Yet in thy dark streets shineth
The everlasting Light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

For Christ is born of Mary
And gathered all above
While mortal sleep, the angels keep
Their watch of wondering love
O morning stars together
Proclaim the holy birth
And praises sing to God the King
And peace to men on earth

How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven
No ear may hear His coming
But in this world of sin
Where meek souls will receive Him, still
The dear Christ enters in

O holy Child of Bethlehem
Descend to us we pray
Cast out our sin and enter in
Be born in us today
We hear the Christmas angels
The great glad tidings tell
O come to us, abide with us
Our Lord Emmanuel

Advent 2008: Week 1

2008-11-30T16:28:00.004-05:00

Last year, I mentioned the tradition of the advent wreath that my family does every year. Please join us in our celebration this year as I post the thoughts, scriptures and songs that make up our worship this holiday season.

Week 1: The Prophecy Candle

The first candle to be lit each year is the "Prophecy Candle" which represents hope. With all that our world faces in the coming year, hope is definitely something that we could all use. The beauty of Christ's birth is not just that He fulfilled some of the prophecies, but that He will continue to fulfill them. Just as God kept His word concerning the coming of the Messiah, so will He keep His promise to come again. This week, take some time to reflect on the promises of the Lord, and the everlasting hope that we have in Him.
"Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all you who hope in the LORD." Psalm 31:24

Verses to read: Isaiah 7:14, 9:6-7; Luke 1:30-35

O Come, O Come Emmanuel
Latin Hymn

O come, O come Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lowly exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's Tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, Thou Key of David, come
And open wide our heavenly home
Make safe the way that leads on high
And close the path to misery
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

O come, O come Thou Lord of might
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height
In ancient times did'st give the law
In cloud and majesty and awe
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel

Thankful

2008-11-24T12:12:00.005-05:00

Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. It is a time to be together with family and friend without the overwhelming hustle and bustle of Christmas. I also love that, perhaps even more so than Christmas, it is a time of reflecting on the goodness and provision of God. Each year, I like to sort of pick out one thing that I am especially thankful for, beyond the standard family, friends, provisions, etc.

This has been a challenging year for me and my family. God certainly seems to be sending us through a spiritual refining. If there is one word that could sum up what God has been teaching us this year, it would be "obedience". From the seemingly mundane to the really important decisions, God has been showing us how important it is that we follow the commandments found in His word. It has certainly been a step by step process, one that has had many unforeseen implications. One of my biggest concerns was how some had tossed the word "Pharisee" around regarding some of our convictions. The last thing I wanted was to be Pharisaical in my walk with God, yet I knew that obedience to the commandments of the Bible was important. Then God began showing me the importance of another word: "grace".

Too often, people seem to treat God's grace as a "get out of jail free" card. And then there are those who ignore it all together and feel that we can earn our way to heaven. Both views are wrong, of course, but how can grace and obedience effectively co-exist? As I thought about this, I was reminded of a Caedmon's Call song called Thankful. The chorus is just one simple line: "So I am thankful that I'm incapable of doing any good on my own."

I am incapable of obeying God's commands on my own. This does not change the fact that God has called me to walk in obedience to His word (1 Peter 1:13-16), but it does mean that I must rely, not on my own strength, but on His grace to accomplish the plans He has for my life. So, this Thanksgiving, I truly am thankful "...that I'm incapable of doing any good on my own.", and for the grace of God that allows me to walk the path that He has set before me.

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

2008-11-04T09:09:00.005-05:00

"The matter is quite simple. The Bible is very easy to understand. But we Christians are a bunch of scheming swindlers. We pretend to be unable to understand it because we know very well that the minute we understand it, we must act accordingly. Take any words in the New Testament and forget everything except pledging yourself to act accordingly. My God, you will say, if I do that my whole life will be ruined. How would I ever get on in the world? Herein lies the real place of Christian scholarship. Christian scholarship is the Church’s prodigious invention to defend itself against the Bible, to ensure that we can continue to be good Christians without the Bible coming too close. Oh, priceless scholarship, what would we do without you? Dreadful it is to fall into the hands of the living God."

~Soren Kierkegaard from "Kill the Commentators". See in context here.

HT: Rabbit Room

Screwtape on Prayer

2008-10-17T09:36:00.004-04:00

MY DEAR WORMWOOD,

The amateurish suggestions in your last letter warn me that it is high time for me to write to you fully on the painful subject of prayer. You might have spared the comment that my advice about his prayers for his mother it "proved singularly unfortunate". That is not the sort of thing that a nephew should write to his uncle—nor a junior tempter to the under-secretary of a department. It also reveals an unpleasant desire to shift responsibility; you must learn to pay for your own blunders.

The best thing, where it is possible, is to keep the patient from the serious intention of praying altogether. When the patient is an adult recently re-converted to the Enemy's party, like your man, this is best done by encouraging him to remember, or to think he remembers, the parrot-like nature of his prayers in childhood. In reaction against that, he may be persuaded to aim at something entirely spontaneous, inward, informal, and unregularised; and what this will actually mean to a beginner will be an effort to produce in himself a vaguely devotional mood in which real concentration of will and intelligence have no part. One of their poets, Coleridge, has recorded that he did not pray "with moving lips and bended knees" but merely "composed his spirit to love" and indulged "a sense of supplication". That is exactly the sort of prayer we want; and since it bears a superficial resemblance to the prayer of silence as practised by those who are very far advanced in the Enemy's service, clever and lazy patients can be taken in by it for quite a long time. At the very least, they can be persuaded that the bodily position makes no difference to their prayers; for they constantly forget, what you must always remember, that they are animals and that whatever their bodies do affects their souls. It is funny how mortals always picture us as putting things into their minds: in reality our best work is done by keeping things out.

If this fails, you must fall back on a subtler misdirection of his intention. Whenever they are attending to the Enemy Himself we are defeated, but there are ways of preventing them from doing so. The simplest is to turn their gaze away from Him towards themselves. Keep them watching their own minds and trying to produce feelings there by the action of their own wills. When they meant to ask Him for charity, let them, instead, start trying to manufacture charitable feelings for themselves and not notice that this is what they are doing. When they meant to pray for courage, let them really be trying to feel brave. When they say they are praying for forgiveness, let them be trying to feel forgiven. Teach them to estimate the value of each prayer by their success in producing the desired feeling; and never let them suspect how much success or failure of that kind depends on whether they are well or ill, fresh or tired, at the moment.

But of course the Enemy will not meantime be idle. Wherever there is prayer, there is danger of His own immediate action. He is cynically indifferent to the dignity of His position, and ours, as pure spirits, and to human animals on their knees He pours out self-knowledge in a quite shameless fashion. But even if He defeats your first attempt at misdirection, we have a subtler weapon. The humans do not start from that direct perception of Him which we, unhappily, cannot avoid. They have never known that ghastly luminosity, that stabbing and searing glare which makes the background of permanent pain to our lives. If you look into your patient's mind when he is praying, you will not find that. If you examine the object to which he is attending, you will find that it is a composite object containing many quite ridiculous ingredients. There will be images derived from pictures of the Enemy as He appeared during the discreditable episode known as the Incarnation: there will be vaguer—perhaps quite savage and puerile—images associated with the other two Persons. There will even be some of his own reverence (and of bodily sensations accompanying it) objectified and attributed to the object revered. I have known cases where what the patient called his "God" was actually located—up and to the left at the corner of the bedroom ceiling, or inside his own head, or in a crucifix on the wall. But whatever the nature of the composite object, you must keep him praying to it—to the thing that he has made, not to the Person who has made him. You may even encourage him to attach great importance to the correction and improvement of his composite object, and to keeping it steadily before his imagination during the whole prayer. For if he ever comes to make the distinction, if ever he consciously directs his prayers "Not to what I think thou art but to what thou knowest thyself to be", our situation is, for the moment, desperate. Once all his thoughts and images have been flung aside or, if retained, retained with a full recognition of their merely subjective nature, and the man trusts himself to the completely real, external, invisible Presence, there with him in the room and never knowable by him as he is known by it—why, then it is that the incalculable may occur. In avoiding this situation—this real nakedness of the soul in prayer—you will be helped by the fact that the humans themselves do not desire it as much as they suppose. There's such a thing as getting more than they bargained for!

Your affectionate uncle

SCREWTAPE

From The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis

Votes For Women?

2008-09-12T20:21:00.005-04:00

John McCain's announcement of his VP pick sure set the nation buzzing. While the news organizations are arguing over how politically smart his choice was, Christians are dealing with a completely different issue. At first glance, it seems like a wonderful choice. The Republican VP nominee is pro-life, a fiscal conservative, wants to preserve the definition of "marriage" as between one man and one woman, and is big on government reform. But there is one problem. The nominee is a she; Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. So, what was a no-brainer now gives us pause, and we must now ask ourselves a question. Can we, as Christians, give our full support (our vote) to Mrs. Palin (or any woman for that matter) for the office of a civil leader without rejecting the tenets of the Bible?

Biblical Headship

To answer this question, we've got to go back to the beginning, and I mean the very beginning. Genesis 2 gives the account of the creation of man and woman, and it is here that the Biblical headship of man over woman is first displayed. In I Corinthians 11, a broader account of this divine order is given, with the order being God, Christ, Man, Woman. It is this idea of Biblical headship that Paul gives as the reason for male leadership in both the family and the church.

"For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression." 1 Timothy 2:13-14

"But the Civil Realm is Separate from the Family and Church, So Why Can't Women Lead There?"

It is true that the family, the church, and the civil authority are distinct, but a look at Scripture will show that God's order is the same in each one.

First, let's look at the family, which was created by God in Genesis 2. Scripture makes it very clear that it is the husband, not the wife, who is to lead the family. "Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything." Ephesians 5:22-24

Now, let's look at the church. Once again, Scripture makes it very clear that women are not to have authority over men. "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says." 1 Corinthians 14:34

Finally, we have the civil realm, which is also a God-created realm. Examples of the criteria for civil leaders given in Exodus 18 and Deuteronomy 17 indicate that the positions are to be filled by men, and though there are no verses that expressly say "Women may not be civil leaders", we can go back to the divine order begun at Creation, as Paul did, and apply it to the civil realm. If God created the family and the church with one order, why would he create the civil realm with another order? He wouldn't, for He "...is not the author of confusion but of peace..." (1 Corinthians 14:33).

"But What About Women Like Deborah, Esther, Miriam and Phoebe?"

First of all, none of these women overturn the divine order so clearly established throughout Scripture. Each one is in an unique position, and must be looked at individually.

Esther, though used by God in a mighty way, was not a ruler of the land. She was simply the wife of the king whom she could not even go before unless summoned without putting here life on the line. She fulfilled God's destiny for her in her God-given role of wife.

Miriam, as Moses' sister, definitely had quite a bit of influence over her people. However, in Numbers 12, she and Aaron begin to openly question Moses' authority saying "'Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?'” (v. 2) Her desire for Moses' position as both religious leader AND civil leader stirred God's wrath and she was struck with leprosy.

Phoebe is mentioned once in Romans 16. Paul calls her a "...servant of the church in Cenchrea..." and "...a helper of many and of myself also." Phoebe is indeed a servant (deaconess) in the church, but not necessarily a leader or teacher. Wikipedia has the following to say regarding deaconesses in the early church: "The title "deaconess" appears in documents from the early Church period, particularly in the East. Their duties were different from that of male deacons; deaconesses prepared adult women for baptism and they had a general Apostolate to female Christians and catecumens." Once again, she was serving God in her God-given role.

And then we have Deborah, whose name I have heard more in the past few weeks than I had heard in my entire life. To understand the story of Deborah, we must look at the whole picture. At the time Deborah's story begins "...the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD." (Judges 4:1) and God delivered them into the hands of their enemies. The leaders refused to lead, and a time of judgment had come on Israel. Deborah herself is different from the other judges and leaders of Israel. She does not sit in the gates (the seats of the leaders), but rather under a palm tree. In "The Song of Deborah" (Judges 5), she is referred to as "...a mother in Israel" (as opposed to a father), and she even says at one point "My heart is with the rulers of Israel...". Finally, unlike the other judges, it is not she who leads Israel to battle, but Barak (who is punished for his fear by not getting the glory of victory).

On the flip-side of all this, there is one woman in the Bible who is held up as a model for Godly womanhood; the Proverbs 31 woman. Here we see that it is her husband, not her, who "...sits among the elders of the land." She, meanwhile, "...watches over the ways of her household...". It is only because she fulfills her role as a keeper at home that her husband is able to fulfill his role as a leader of the nation.

"We Can't Hold Our Secular Leaders to Biblical Standards."

What other standard is there? Should we instead apply the standard of today's culture? How about the standard of our own interests? Everyone has a standard by which they make their decisions. The question is, are Christians applying the correct one.

Besides, chances are you are already holding them to Biblical standards. Do you want your leader to be pro-life? How about anti-gay marriage? Those are both Biblical standards that you are holding them to. Just as either we accept that either all of the Bible is the inspired word of God or it isn't, we can't only apply part of the Biblical standard for leaders. It is all or none.

Conclusion

First I would say that none of this is an opinion of Gov. Palin personally. I am in no way qualified to judge her in the area of her parenting skills or her Christianity. I also believe that she is a very talented woman with wonderful ideas and convictions. However, because she is a woman, I cannot support her for the office of civil leader without going against the tenets of the Bible as well as God's divine order.

I would also address my fellow sisters-in-Christ. I am in no way suggesting that because God's divine order places us under the authority of men, He will not use us in mighty ways. The Bible clearly gives us examples of women who did amazing things in the roles that God had given them. Now, more than ever, America needs strong Christian women, not in the oval office or in the capitals, but in the homes of this great nation, supporting the leaders of today and raising the leaders of tomorrow. Ladies, we have the tremendous power to shape the leaders that our husbands, sons and brothers-in-Christ become. It is not an easy task, in fact it is probably one of the hardest things that we will ever be called to do, but it is the task set before us by the Almighty. Our decision is, will we reject this task and instead follow the culture's call to fleeting glory and fame, or will we obey our Father's call to eternal glory and an imperishable crown?

Finally, I will leave you with this verse, one that I think serves as a warning to us as we face the decision of who to support for civil office.

"For Jerusalem stumbled, and Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory. The look on their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; they do not hide it. Woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves. “ Say to the righteous that it shall be well with them, for they shall eat the fruit of their doings. Woe to the wicked! It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands shall be given him. As for My people, children are their oppressors, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who lead you cause you to err, and destroy the way of your paths.” Isaiah 3:8-12 NKJV

Seven Years

2008-09-11T09:28:00.005-04:00

Every generation has their"I remember where I was when...". For my dad's father, it was "I remember where I was when I heard about Pearl Harbor." For my mother's parents, it was "I remember where I was when I heard that JFK was shot." For my parents, it was "I remember where I was when the Challenger exploded." And of course for my generation, it is "I remember where I was when the Twin Towers were struck."

I had just turned 14 and was preparing for another day of school when my aunt called my mother and told her that a plane had struck the World Trade Center (ignorant child that I was, I had no idea what or where the WTC was). At first, we thought "What a horrible accident!", but as we watched, the second plane hit and the enormity of what was happening began to sink in. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent watching the horror unfold on television. There were so many thoughts and feelings running through me and even now I can remember some of them.

-I remember what an absolutely GORGEOUS day it was. Such a brilliant blue sky with not a cloud in sight and a cool breeze blowing. It seemed more like a day for late October than early September.

-I remember feeling numb all over. It was as if I was in a dream, hoping that I would soon wake up.

-I remember desperately wanting my dad to finish his route and come home. Even though we were so far away from what was going on, I just wanted my family close to me.

-I remember feeling an overwhelming love for my country that I had never felt before. All of a sudden, the sight of a flag waving in the breeze or the strains of a patriotic song brought tears to my eyes.

In 2005, I had another encounter with this tragedy that touched me deeply. My dad and I were in New York for a business trip, and we were riding through Manhattan on a tour bus with other members of Dad's business from all over the world. As we passed Ground Zero, a reverent hush fell over the entire bus. The huge amount of respect shown for that place, not just by us Americans, but by everyone was an amazing thing to witness.

So where were you? What feelings did you have? How has that experience changed how you see life, America and God?

Citius, Altius, Fortius

2008-08-20T14:36:00.006-04:00

Like a lot of people around the world, I have been all but glued to the TV for the past week and a half. In case you haven't heard, the Olympics are currently going in Beijing, China and there has already been quite a bit of history made. The Olympics are one of the few sporting events that my family actually enjoys watching (the other being the Super Bowl). It is amazing to see the miracle of the human body on display, and the physical and mental endurance shown by the athletes. But while the sports themselves are exciting (especially when my country wins), to me the best thing about the Olympics are the stories that go with each and every athlete.

One of the most inspiring stories is that of Derek Redmond, a runner from Great Britain. Though he was a World Champion and a British Record holder, injuries had kept him from competing at the 1988 games in Seoul. He underwent numerous operations and was finally ready to compete again in the 1992 Barcelona games. He won both the opening round as well as the quarter-final of the men's 400m and it seemed as if it would be smooth sailing through the rest of the rounds. In front of a crowd of 65,000, including his father, Redmond set off to continue his journey to a gold medal. But about 250m from the finish line, he heard a pop, felt a pain run through his leg and fell to the ground. At first he thought that he had been shot, but then realized that he had torn his hamstring. As he lay on the track, medical teams brought out a stretcher, ready to carry him off the field. But Redmond was determined to finish that race. He slowly got to his feet and hobbled towards the finish line, pain and heartache written all over his face. The other runners had already finished, but Redmond just kept hobbling. Then his father, Jim, appeared at his side after having barged past security guards to reach his son. Jim put his arm around his son's waist and together they crossed the finish line to a standing ovation. The Olympics had not ended as Redmond had thought they would. He had not gotten a gold, a silver or a bronze. He had simply finished the race.

As Christians, we too are in a race; a race that will require more endurance, more strength and more sacrifice than any athlete has. Pain and disappointment will come, like it did for Redmond. We will fall, we will cry, we will want to give up. But also like Redmond, we have a Father who is ready to pick us up, to put His arm around our waist and guide us to the finish line and the "imperishable crown" that awaits us there. Through Him we can finish the race, and through Him, we can be "Citius, Altius, Fortius".

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Victory in CA

2008-08-11T12:13:00.004-04:00

In a 3-0 decision, the California Court of Appeals has reversed its previous ruling that would have required all homeschooling parents in California to be certified teachers. Many organizations and political figures argued for the right to homeschool including HSLDA, Focus on the Family, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as California's Attorney General and Superintendent of Public Instruction. This is a great relief to California's estimated 166,000 homeschoolers, the majority of whom would have been prohibited from homeschooling had the previous ruling stood. Gov. Schwarzenegger had the following to say regarding the ruling:

"This is a victory for California's students, parents and education community. This decision confirms the right every California child has to a quality education and the right parents have to decide what is best for their children. I hope the ruling settles this matter for parents and home-schooled children once and for all in California, but assure them that we, as elected officials, will continue to defend parents' rights."

But as we celebrate this overwhelming victory in California, we must remember that there are homeschoolers around the world who are still facing strong persecution including the Gorber family in Germany, who had five of their children taken away by the state because of their choice to homeschool. Please continue to keep them and all homeschoolers who face persecution in your prayers.

Great Post: Music and the Soul

2008-08-07T14:11:00.007-04:00

Martin Cothran of Mermoria Press recently posted a very interesting article entitled "Can Music Save Your Mortal Soul?". In it, he explores the power that music has over us, what classic literature has to say about what we listen to, and the mistakes we often make concerning the importance of music. Here is a bit of what he had to say...

Most people, I suspect, simply conclude...that it's all a matter of taste, that there really is no fixed point from which one generation's music can be said to be better than another's. And when they do this—relegate music to the less important category of things for which no verdict can be returned—they have taken the first step toward the modern tendency to underestimate the importance of music.
Read more of this article here.

Picture by Hope G. Smith

Random Thoughts for Friday Afternoon

2008-08-01T12:11:00.006-04:00

After a long and rather stressful work week, I must confess that I have neither the time nor the inspiration for a regular post. Instead, I'll leave you with a few random thoughts and happenings from the past couple of weeks:

-A Peculiar People is now one year old! My first anniversary was last Sunday, July 27. You can read my very first post here.

-Headed to the tobymac concert at the NC State Fair in October. Fun, fun, fun! Check it out if you are in the area. Skillet and Leeland will be playing the following weekend.

-Made my first batch of homemade soap this past weekend and it was a success. Hooray!

-Saw a license plate recently on a car here in town. It had a picture of the Bible on it and said "When all else fails, follow the instructions." My reaction? "You idiot! Follow the instructions before anything fails!" I really wonder about people sometimes.

-Picked up Roman Holiday, To Catch a Thief and Johnny Tremain at Amazon.com's Classic Movie Sale. There are some really good deals for those of you who enjoy classic films. I'm looking forward to crashing this weekend and enjoying these movies.

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. We will hopefully return to our regularly scheduled posting sometime next week.

Blogs for Lewis Lovers

2008-07-21T08:50:00.004-04:00

For those of you who may not already know this, I love C. S. Lewis. From the Chronicles, to the Screwtape Letters, to Till We Have Faces, each work that I have read has touched me in a special way. Over the weekend, one of my sisters stumbled across a couple of blogs about Lewis and his works (thank you Roo!). I found them both to be very interesting, so I thought that I would share them with you:

C. S. Lewis Blog- Run by publisher Harper Collins as part of their C. S. Lewis website, this blog "...offers original work on and about C. S. Lewis from scholars who have written far and wide about his stories, his theology, and his world." Their are some really interesting posts on here like Mere Friendship: Lewis on a Great Joy, Narnia and the Seven Heavens and New Starts: Looking at the World Rightly.

The Window in the Garden Wall- This blog is a collection of quotes from Lewis and his works. The author appears to have 1-3 posts a month, but there are about 4 years worth of quotes in the archives, so that should keep you entertained for awhile. Read this post to learn more about the author's vision for this blog.

Are there any other Lewis fans out there? If so, please share your favorite works and any other blogs and websites that you have found to be helpful regarding him. Happy reading!

The Fruit of the Vine

2008-07-09T09:07:00.009-04:00

There are many subjects that seem to stir up intense debate among Christians, but alcohol and its consumption has got to be near the top of the list. The majority of Christians tend to fall into one of three categories; those who believe that alcohol is to be enjoyed in moderation, those who believe that the consumption of alcohol is not sinful, but that Christians should abstain from it, and those who believe that the consumption of alcohol is sinful. So who is right? As Christians, what should our attitude towards alcohol be? Like everything else, the Bible is not silent on this matter, and it is there that we must look for our answer. (For the purpose of this post, I will use the word "wine" to represent all forms of alcohol).

Wine is spoken of throughout the Bible, and is portrayed as a gift from God that should be enjoyed with thankfulness. It was often used as a sign of blessing, rejoicing and abundance ( Genesis 27:27-29, Psalm 104:14-16, Jeremiah 48:33, Zechariah 10:7, Amos 9:13-14) and the lack of it as a sign of want and judgement (Isaiah 16:10, Isaiah 24:11). Even today, part of the Jewish Passover prayer includes the line "Blessed are You O Lord, King of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine." Though some Christians today claim that the wine of that time was non-alcoholic, this does not seem likely due to the numerous references to drunkenness as well as the fact that the pasteurization of grape juice did not exist until the late 19th century. It is also unlikely that it was mixed with water, as this was used a metaphor for unfaithfulness and impurity (Isaiah 1:21-23). There are only a few people in the Bible who were expressly forbidden to drink wine. The priests were to abstain before they went into the Temple (Leviticus 10:8-10), the Nazirites were to abstain as part of their vow to set themselves apart for God (Numbers 6:2-4), and John the Baptist was to abstain as the forerunner of the Messiah (Luke 1:13-15). There is no difference between the Old and New Testament's views of wine, other than not causing your brother to stumble (which I will address later in this post). The New Testament particularly addresses the consumption of wine by elders (1 Timothy 3:8) and even the consumption of wine by Jesus Himself (Luke 7:33-34). The overall tone of the Bible towards wine itself is very positive, and does not forbid the drinking of it by Jews or Christians.

But while the consumption of wine is not condemned in the Bible, drunkenness is strongly condemned (Proverbs 20:1, Proverbs 23:20, Romans 13:13, Galatians 5:19-21) and its devastating consequences can be seen in the cases of Noah and Lot. As with many other things (food, sex, money), our sinful nature has taken a gift from God meant for pleasure and joy and twisted it into something horrid. Drunkenness, like all sin, ruins lives, tears families apart and brings death. Though not everyone who consumes alcohol is tempted to drink to excess, there are those who are, and for them it is best that they flee from that temptation and abstain from alcohol.

This is where the issue of not causing our brother to stumble comes in. The consumption of wine can cause our brothers to sin at times and we should never allow our freedom to drink wine come before what is best for others (Romans 14:21). This means that if we have brothers and sisters in Christ that we know are either tempted by alcohol or choose not to consume it, we should never serve it to them or in their presence. This does not mean that we may not consume it in the privacy of our homes or with those for whom alcohol is not a problem, it simply means that we must always show love for our brethren by putting their needs ahead of ours.

So if the Bible is pretty straightforward in its attitude toward wine (good in moderation, sinful when consumed in excess, harmful to others in some circumstances), why don't Christians agree on the subject? Well, the truth is that for many years we did. For centuries, the general consensus among Christians was that wine was a gift from God to be enjoyed, but that drunkenness is a sinful abuse of that gift and those who could not drink in moderation should abstain from it. From its early roots, the church required wine for use not only in the Lord's supper, but for everyday life as well. Thus, as Christianity spread throughout Western Europe, so did viticulture. In fact, until the twelfth century, it was the Catholic monasteries that brewed virtually all of the high quality beer and wine. And it was through the travel of Christian missionaries that viticulture was spread to the new world.

Though the Reformation shed light on huge differences on many theological points, the consumption of alcohol was not one of them. Many Reformers like Luther, Calvin and Knox maintained the traditional belief that wine in moderation was not only permissible, it was a gift. The Reformed Christian confessions of faith, the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, the Methodist Articles of Religion and the Dordrecht Confession of Faith all mention and assume the use of wine, especially as an element in the Lord's Supper. Even the "killjoy" English Puritans were temperate partakers of "God's good gifts".

The 17th century saw the Virginia colonists continue in this belief of alcoholic beverages as natural foods which are good in moderation. Beer arrived with the first colonists, and the Puritan minister Increase Mather preached in favor of wine, but against its abuse: "Drink is in itself a good creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan; the wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the Devil". This was also the attitude adopted by early Methodists like John and Charles Wesley and Baptists like John Gill.

It was not until the early 19th century that attitudes towards alcohol began to change. The urbanization and Industrial Revolution of the UK and the US began to bring about many problems like urban crime and poverty, yet alcohol was given most of the blame. Groups that started out promoting temperance (moderate consumption) soon became abolitionist and pressed for total prohibition. This movement was spearheaded by the Women's Christian Temperance Union, (whose leaders soon became the spearhead of another movement: women's suffrage) which was inspired not by the Bible, but by the writings of the Greek philosopher Xenophon. The idea of prohibition did not take complete hold in the Protestant churches until the 1869 invention by Methodist Thomas Bramwell Welch (as in Welch's Grape Juice) of a pasteurization process that stopped grapes from fermenting. The belief of many prohibitionists was that once alcohol was banned, many of the social problems and sins would cease to exist. But the Prohibition Era shows that this in effect only compounded the problem. It was not the wine that was causing these ills for society, but rather the sinful nature of mankind.

In his Fourth Invocavit Sermon of 1522, Martin Luther says "[W]e must not ... reject [or] condemn anything because it is abused.... [W]ine and women bring many a man to misery and make a fool of him (Ecclus. 19:2; 31:30); so [we would need to] kill all the women and pour out all the wine." And in 1 Corinthians, Paul never requires abstinence from wine, but rather a love for one another that manifests itself in moderate, selfless behavior. We have been given many good gifts by our heavenly Father, gifts that we may use in the context that He has set before us. As Christians, we have the freedom to partake of these gifts in that context, to enjoy a glass of wine over dinner or a beer while we watch the game.

I would like to end this post by saying that I in no way believe that the consumption of wine is required in the Bible. It is simply a freedom the we can choose to use. There are Christians who choose not to drink wine for various reasons, and I respect them for their choice. I only take issue with those who would say that drinking wine is considered sinful by God, or who condemn those Christians who choose to drink in moderation.

For more information on the history of Christianity and alcohol, I found the following articles to be helpful in writing this post:

Christianity and Alcohol- Wikipedia
Christian History-Christianity Today
History of Alcohol and Drinking Around the World-David J. Hanson, Ph.D
Alcohol and the Christian (1 & 2)- Matt & Adina

A Little More

2008-07-01T10:20:00.003-04:00

Turn Your eyes from on this way

I have proved to live a dastardly day

I hid my face from the saints and the angels

Who sing of Your glory

What You had in mind

When we seek we'll find

Shine, show me grace

A little more than I can give

A little more than I deserve

Unearth this holiness I can't earn

It's a little more than I can give

A little more than I deserve

For all the sin that lives in me

It took a nail to set me free still,

What I do I don't want to do

And so goes the story

What you had in mind

When we seek we'll find

Shine, show me grace

A little more than I can give

A little more than I deserve

Unearth this holiness I can't earn

It's a little more than I can give

A little more than I deserve

With all this motivation

I still find a hesitation deep in my soul

Despite all my demanding

I still find You understanding

Show me grace

Show me grace I know is...

A little more than I can give

A little more than I deserve

Unearth this holiness I can't earn

It's a little more than I can give

A little more than I deserve

"A Little More" by Jennifer Knapp
from the album Lay it Down

A Book Review: Daughters of Destiny

2008-06-26T13:42:00.003-04:00

Originally published in the "Daughters of the Reformation" magazine Issue 4 (06/08).

The lack of true Bibically feminine role models is a major problem for the daughters of the 21st century. The vast majority of women who are considered "successful" by today's world are unfeminine, immodest, selfish and very often unhappy. Women who possess the beauty, grace and strength of true womanhood have become few and far between, leaving our daughters without many real life examples of what being a woman is all about. Daughters of Destiny by Noelle Wheeler (now Noelle Goforth) seeks to remedy this by introducing young ladies to the many godly women who have gone before us in the hope that we might find in their stories the beauty of true, Christian womanhood.

Through this book, Noelle gives us glimpses into the lives of 38 different women who served God, their families and their countries in many different ways. Some of them are well known even today like Sacajawea, Queen Victoria, Clara Barton and Dolly Madison. Others like Elizabeth Zane, Mary McCann, Emma Sansom and Grace Darling have been forgotten and their heroic deeds lost in the pages of time. And some women like Susannah Wesley and Mary Washington are remembered for raising up young men who would revolutionize their societies and change history. The book is divided into sections, separating these narratives based on the role that each woman played in the world, like "Daughters of Royalty", "Daughters of Lyrics", "Daughters of Strength" and "Daughters of Service". Also sprinkled throughout the book are quotes, poems, Bible verses and lessons that celebrate beautiful womanhood and motherhood.

I found this book to be very encouraging for many reasons. First, these are real women. They each had struggles, sorrows and failures just like you and me. None of them were perfect, but God was still able to use them to do great things despite their imperfections. Second, Noelle encourages us to look beyond the women themselves, and instead at the characteristics that make them true women. We are called, not necessarily to emulate their exact deeds, but rather to strive for the grace, the strength, the compassion and the determination that they possessed. Finally, this book is encouraging for young women because it reveals how God gives each person the gifts that they will need to accomplish the tasks that He sets before them. Not all of us will be called to serve God in the same ways. As First Lady, Dolly Madison was not in need of the same strength as the pioneer women, who in turn did not require the same amount of Dolly's grace and hospitality. No matter what God has planned for you in your life, be sure that he will supply you with the characteristics that you will need to fulfill his purpose.

Daughters of Destiny is truly an inspiring and encouraging book for both young women and older women, and one that I highly recommend. There is so much that we can learn from the lessons that these Godly women have to teach us. Perhaps one day, we might be able to provide the next generation with many of the true Bibically feminine role models that our society now lacks.

By What Standard?

2008-06-19T14:38:00.004-04:00

The NY Post is reporting that Barack Obama is beginning to court the votes of young evangelicals and Catholics. His campaign is launching the "Joshua Generation Project" to "...solicit, engage, and win the votes of young evangelicals, young Catholics, and 'people of faith.'"

According to a source who spoke with the Brody file,

"The Joshua Generation project will be the Obama campaign's outreach to young people of faith. There's unprecedented energy and excitement for Obama among young evangelicals and Catholics. The Joshua Generation project will tap into that excitement and provide young people of faith opportunities to stand up for their values and move the campaign forward."

Now I know what you are probably thinking. How can a man who is so completely in support of things like abortion expect to win the votes of committed Christians? Well the first thing to realize is that Obama is (or at least claims to be) a committed Christian. The other thing is that the "values" of the majority of young evangelicals are changing.

"...the Obama campaign understands that the issue of abortion is a problem for some voters of faith. They respect that and understand if some just simply can't come on board because of that. However, they look at this project as a way of broadening the values discussion. Poverty, Darfur, Climate Change and yes,
even the war are issues younger Evangelicals may be able to see eye to eye on with the Obama campaign."

The irony of the support that Obama is gaining from young voters has not been lost on some members of the media.

"It's surprising that 18 to 30 year olds, the most pro-life demographic in a generation, is the same voting bloc from which Barack Obama, the most anti-life presidential candidate ever, draws his most ardent supporters."

It should be surprising, and yet in some ways it is not. It seems that today's Christians (regardless of what age group they fall into) are increasingly moving away from the standards for life that God has set forth. We ignore the biblical standards regarding dress, life, and sexuality and instead look to the culture around us for our values. If we ever want to see a difference in our culture, then we must turn back to using God's commands as the standard by which we live our lives. We need to stop asking "How does my culture view this issue" and instead ask "How does God view this issue". It is only then that we will see true "change we can believe in".

"And you will know that I am the LORD, for you have not followed my decrees or kept my laws but have conformed to the standards of the nations around you." Ezekiel 11:12

And Another...

2008-05-30T14:08:00.015-04:00

It's pretty clear that I have been somewhat lacking in inspiration lately, but thankfully others in the blogging world are not. Here is a post from artist Makoto Fujimura on "Empathic Creativity" posted back in March. His thoughts are geared towards artists, but I think that it can apply to any Christian in any field. Here are his main points:

1)We need to be willing to be demoted

2)We need to remember our first love

3)We need to take notes

I especially liked the following:

Are we willing to be demoted to be custodians of culture? Cultural stewardship comes with needed sacrifice. Our "keys" are humility, integrity, determination and hope for things to come. In the art world in which ego, selfishness and self-destructiveness abound, don't you think you will stand out, eventually, is you have an ounce of human decency?

What if we are willing serve even one person, rather than do art for self-expression? What if we collaborated in humility and gave ourselves to serve, not expecting the world, or our audience, to agree with us, or applaud us?

Today's culture is all about self. Self-expression, self-gratification, happiness for one's self. Are we willing to change that and instead of being servants of ourselves, to serve those around us?

This post took my breath away. It's kinda long but well worth your time.

Another Great Post:

2008-05-29T13:11:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, Boundless posted an interview with Dr. Voddie Baucham on the "Family Integrated Church". The article mainly talks about how family-integrated churches can help singles, but it applies to any age and marital status group. Also check out this related post on the Boundless Line. The comments show what a hunger there is among young Christians, not to have their own subculture within a church, but rather to be a part of the whole body.

Great Post

2008-05-23T13:08:00.003-04:00

Check out this article from Boundless entitled "20-Something Reasons to Live at Home". Great reasons for singles to live at home, especially young women.

Bella

2008-05-23T09:31:00.006-04:00

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to watch Bella. I had been reading all of the rave reviews that it was getting and wanted to see if it lived up to its hype. It does. This is probably one of the most thought-provoking, uplifting and beautiful films that I have seen in a while.

Mexican director Alejandro Monteverde brings us a film that shows us the importance of family, the need for passion, and the joy of life itself. Jose (Eduardo Verástegui) is a chef in his brother's New York restaurant, trying to hide from his past. Nina (Tammy Blanchard) is a waitress at the same place, whose future has taken a sudden change in direction. We follow them through one day that would change their lives forever, giving Nina a reason for life and Jose a passion for life.

If you are expecting this film to scream pro-life, you will be disappointed. One of the great beauties of this film is its subtlety. Jose doesn't tell Nina why she should keep her baby, he shows her. He never condemns her for the mistake she has made, but instead listens to her as she shares her pain and frustration. I think that this film does a better job of showing Christian love than any "Christian" film that I have seen recently.

Another great thing about this film is that it breaks the stereotype of the Latino family. Jose's family is not dysfunctional. They love each other, they support each other and they work hard. It gives us a glimpse into the beauty, the passion and the flavor of true Latino culture.

If you have not yet seen this film, I greatly encourage you to. It is rated PG-13 for thematic elements. For more on this see Plugged In's review. With wonderful themes, lovely cinematography, and an obvious passion for its message, Bella is a must see.

Prayer Request

2008-05-21T13:05:00.002-04:00

My young cousin was rushed to the hospital last night after he ran into a BBQ grate sticking out of the bed of a truck. His neck was sliced open and the doctor said that he missed his jugular by fractions of an inch. He went through surgery and is now recovering. They are thinking about releasing him today if he can stand the pain of being moved. On top of this, my aunt (his mother) is fighting a bad case of poison oak. Please pray for Tyler and the rest of his family as he begins his recovery.

"But to you who fear My name, the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings..." Malachi 4:2a

Neither Fear nor Compromise

2008-05-12T15:11:00.005-04:00

My parents and I spent yesterday listening to Doug Phillips' CD set entitled Biblical Principals at the Ballot Box. To say that this message was thought-provoking is an understatement. I found it to be convicting, inspiring and relieving. I haven't had time to sit down and really work out all of the thoughts that this message inspired, but I would like to share with you a few of my notes.

The greatest evil for America would not be for Hillary Clinton to win the White House, but for the Church to lose it conscience.
God does not require us to vote for the perfect candidate, only the for the one that is qualified.
The Bible is not silent on the issue of choosing civil leaders.
As Christians, we are to represent Christ's interests, not our own, in the voting booth.
We must endorse and vote for only those who meet the qualifications for leading set forth in the Bible
It is better to not vote at all than to vote against Biblical standards.
It is more important to honor God than to win elections.

I have a lot more research to do, and I look forward to exploring this issue even more. In the meantime, check out these articles by William Einwechter on the same subject.

2 Timothy 1:7 "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."

A Book Review: Letters and Papers from Prison

2008-04-25T14:02:00.005-04:00

The life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is a remarkable tale of faith, resiliency and surrender, and nowhere is this more evident than in Letters and Papers from Prison. This book is a compilation of many of Bonhoeffer's letters, poems and sermons written from his arrest in 1943 to his execution by the Gestapo in 1945. As we read, we are offered glimpses of Bonhoeffer's relationship with his family and friends, his personal interests, his theological musings and his struggles of faith.

The first letters in this volume are written to Bonhoeffer's family, and give a somewhat softened glimpse of his life in prison. In fact, all of his correspondence with his family generally keeps a light and cheerful tone and the topics usually stick to family, acquaintances, personal interests and the hope of soon being reunited with them. Bonhoeffer also wrote many letters to his fiance, Maria Von Wedemeyer, but these are collected in another book entitled Love Letters from Cell 92.

His letters to his good friend Eberhard Bethge and his poems take on a different tone. It is here that Bonhoeffer reveals his doubts and struggles. It is also here that Bonhoeffer begins to explore many theological themes, especially "religionless Christianity", themes that he, unfortunately, would never be able to fully develop. It is also here that we are offered a more realistic view of his life in prison; air raids, mistreatment and death all make appearances.

Despite its rather unhappy ending, this book offers much encouragement to us today. One of the most encouraging aspects for me was Bonhoeffer's commitment to learning. As tempting as it must have been to simply curl up in his cell and wallow in self pity, he never did this. His letters are full of requests for books, thoughts on literature, music and art, as well as theological musings. How many times do we find ourselves in spiritual "prisons" or "deserts", and all we feel that we can do is sit and stagnate? Bonhoeffer's example shows that even in these dry periods, we can continue to learn and grow so that when these periods come to an end, we will be stronger for them. The other encouraging aspect that this book reveals is that though Bonhoeffer struggles with doubt and fear like all of us (especially evident in his poems), he never allows them to completely overcome his faith. His final letters show his strength in the face of death and his great hope for life everlasting.

This is a thought provoking and inspiring book and I highly recommend it. While some of the theological material is rather deep, it is still pretty easy reading, especially compared to The Cost of Discipleship. I hope that you will also find encouragement from the life and writings of this remarkable man.

For more on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, see my post on him here: http://apeculiarpeople87.blogspot.com/2008/02/daring-to-be-peculiar-dietrich.html

One Year Later

2008-04-16T14:27:00.004-04:00

Today marks the one year anniversary of the massacre at Virginia Tech. As the nation stops to remember those who lost their lives, I would like to post this article written by Doug Phillips immediately following the shooting. What do tragedies like this mean for us as Christians, and how can we keep them in perspective?

On The Horror At Virginia Tech: Finding Eternal Hope in Present Sorrow

By Douglas W. Phillips

April 17, 2007

Today, the nation mourns the senseless murder of thirty-two men and women who were gunned down in cold blood. The slaughter of students at Virginia Tech constitutes the largest campus killing spree in American history. The murderer was a fellow student, twenty-three-year-old Cho Seung-hui of South Korea. Though little is currently known of his motive behind the murders, it is clear that his plan was calculated and carefully executed. The assault was premeditated and thorough. Doctors report that not a single victim had fewer than three bullet wounds.

Thousands will be deeply affected, probably for the rest of their lives. The most serious pains belong to the mothers, fathers, and sisters and brothers of the murdered victims. What shall we say to them? What are we to learn from these events?

First, we must remember the answer to the question “why?”

When people ask: “Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people?” or “How can such a terrible thing happen?”, we must point them to the fundamentals. First, all of us deserve death and all of us will die. The only question is when will we die, and what will be the state of our eternal soul at that time. Every breath is a gift of God. None of us deserve it. We have no rights or demands we can make to our Creator. In fact, apart from Christ, we stand condemned to a fate far worse than physical death — eternal punishment. And there is a reason for all of this. God is God, and we are His creation. Understanding the distinction is everything. He sets the rules. He determines what is just. And His plan is always good, even when we do not understand it. Not only is He a loving and kind God, but He is also infinitely just. This justice has implications for man. It was God who created the world and man “very good.” But man sinned against an infinite and holy God. The penalty for this sin was physical death. Because of man’s sin, all of creation became subject to death. Our bodies and the world around us die and groan as a reminder and a punishment for our rebellion before the Lord. Everything would be supremely hopeless, but for one important truth: Though the wages of our sin is death, the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. It took an infinite, perfect, and holy sacrifice to atone for our sin against an infinite, perfect, and holy God. Christ was that sacrifice. This means that all whom the Father calls, and who repent and believe in Christ, shall not perish but have eternal life.

Thus, the question is not, “why did God allow the tragic death of these students,” but rather, “why does He allow any of us to live.” We deserve death. Every breath of life is a gift. It is only by His grace and mercy that we live and breathe and have our very being. He is our Creator and He is just to determine the beginning and the end of our existence. Beyond this, we must remember that even the tragedy of death is part of the eternal plan of God to bring glory to Himself. The fact that we do not understand the infinite purposes and counsels of the Triune God only means that we are creatures and need to trust Him. That is why He has given us His Holy Word. The Bible is the revealed mind of Christ for man. It reminds us that all things — including the murder of the innocent — work together for good to those that are the called of God. It cautions us to flee to God while we yet have life. It reminds us that the victory of Christ is greater than the grave itself. It warns us that without Christ there is no hope whatsoever. When we see the horror of death, we must be convicted of sin and flee to God. We must be emboldened in our sense of urgency to communicate to others the only source of hope from death. We must treasure the preciousness of life as God’s sacred gift, and we must wisely invest in meaningful Kingdom work this brief whisper of an opportunity called — our life.

Second, we must acknowledge that the rise of community violence is a judgment of the Lord. Our nation has broken covenant with the God of our fathers. We have forsaken the law of God and have worshipped before false idols. We have sacrificed our children, not only spiritually and intellectually to the high priests of a new secular religion in our government schools, but have quite literally sacrificed baby boys and girls to the gods of convenience in the abortuaries of America. One out of four Americans is not here because they were aborted by their mothers.

The modern trend toward school killings must be considered in terms of the hopelessness and evil which is being communicated to the children of this generation through the music culture, the entertainment culture, the sexual culture, and the intellectual culture of evolution and meaninglessness — all of which converge in modern schools. Our children are being taught the Gospel of evolution and man. It is a religious faith that ultimately teaches that transcendent truth does not exist and that life is meaningless, being the product of chance. Why are we surprised when the present generation acts upon the logical implications of this false gospel? If we do not see the connection between this false faith and the culture of death, we are blind bats, or willingly ignorant. The answer for us as a people is repentance and restitution, which begins by turning from our sins and reclaiming the ancient paths of the Lord wherein there is hope.

Third, the worst response to school murders that our politicians could make would be to further disarm the American citizenry. The heavy death toll may in part be attributed to past legislation making it difficult for citizens to carry side arms. If even one of the students in that university had been armed, Cho Seung-hui could have been stopped. A strong case can be made that in a violent society like our own, it is the duty of every Christian man to be armed such that he is ready, willing, and able to come to the immediate aid of his neighbor in the face of the ruthless behavior of lawless men. We have one of two futures — a police state full of regulation and controls, where only the state and criminals have access to guns, thus leaving most women and children defenseless to evildoers, or an informed and well-armed population, which is, to my mind, the surest safeguard against lawless men.

Fourth, every tragedy is an opportunity God gives to reflect glory and honor to Him. We give glory to Him as we reach out to others and lead them to the great Comforter. Now is the time for Christians to reach out in love to those who are in unimaginable pain, as well as those who are just shell-shocked by the horrible news. There is a time to mourn with those who mourn, and this is that time. Let us mourn, love, and encourage — and let us give God the glory in everything — even death.

Great Post

2008-04-15T14:38:00.002-04:00

Since we are on the subject of science, I would like to direct your attention to this blog post by Jacob Douvier on Intelligent Design and Creationism. See it here.

Expelled

2008-04-15T09:16:00.004-04:00

There is an interesting new documentary coming out on Friday, and thankfully it is not by Michael Moore or Al Gore. But you probably won't see this one at next year's Oscars. Expelled is a documentary by Ben Stein, a writer, actor, lawyer and former speechwriter for Presidents Nixon and Ford. In recent years he has become involved in the intelligent design movement, and that is what his documentary is about.

In Expelled, Stein shows how harshly scientists who believe in intellegent design, or even simply question Darwin, are treated by others in the scientific community. He interviews scientists on both sides of the fence, and questions why creationism and intelligent design are so vehemently banned from the science community and the educational system.

Check out the super trailer:

2008-04-09T16:56:00.002-04:00

“When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

February 4, 1906-April 9, 1945

America's Favorite (Unopened) Book

2008-04-08T13:36:00.008-04:00

Harris Interactive recently published a poll on America's favorite book. And the winner is (drum roll please)....the Bible. It was the #1 book in all of the different demographic categories including gender, race, generation, region, political party and education. This strikes me as kind of funny. If you were to look at our society as a whole, it would seem that the Bible would be the last book that most Americans read. And yet, the Bible is the most purchased, the most translated, and even the most shoplifted book in America. So why don't we see a difference? Perhaps it is because the majority of Americans have the same mindset as a couple of my relatives. These 2 relatives own at least 13 Bibles, all different translations, sizes and covers. We used to joke and say that if owning a Bible could get you to heaven, they were covered. Unfortunately, that is exactly what the majority of Americans think. "If I own a Bible carry it to church with me on Sunday, then I'll be okay." Owning this book does not make us Christian. It is only when we take it off the dusty shelf, open it, study it and apply its words to our lives that we see any difference. The Word of God is a sword, but only to those who keep it oiled and shining, and know how to use it.

Who Stands Fast?

2008-04-01T13:58:00.004-04:00

"Who stands fast? Only the man whose final standard is not his reason, his principles, his conscience, his freedom or his virtue, but who is ready to sacrifice all this when he is called to obedient and responsible action in faith and in exclusive allegiance to God-the responsible man, who tries to make his whole life an answer to the question and call of god. Where are these responsible people?"

-from Letters and Papers from Prison

by Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The Evidence of Things Not Seen

2008-03-26T11:41:00.004-04:00

This summer, the largest experiment in particle physics will begin in Switzerland. The scientists are hoping to find signs of the elusive "God-particle" whose presence they think will lead to a new theory that will change our view of the universe and our place in it. Newsweek interviewed theoretical physicist and Nobel Laureate Steven Weinberg to get his opinion on what this experiment means to the world, and especially how its findings might affect religion. Here are few excerpts of what he had to say:

"As science explains more and more, there is less and less need for religious explanations."

"...religion has evolved along with science. It is something created by human beings, and as human beings learn more and more their religion changes. Today, especially in the more established religious sects in the West, they've learned to stop trying to explain nature religiously and leave that to science."

"People who expect to find evidence of divine action in nature, in the origin of the universe or in the laws that govern matter, are probably going to be disappointed. "

"It is always possible that we will discover something in nature that cannot be explained in the naturalistic way that we've gotten used to in science and that will really require divine intervention. That hasn't happened."

Read the full interview here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/128877/page/1

Hebrews 11:1 describes faith as "...the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Faith is not always an easy thing to have. It is always easier to trust in what our own senses perceive than in the things that we cannot see, touch, hear or understand. The majority of scientists desire answers to every question, and often trust in their own findings above all else. They seek to prove either the existence or the non-existence of God by human standards. Like Thomas, they want to "...see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side..." (John 20:25) before they make an effort to believe.

Even we as Christians have moments when we lack in faith, and oddly enough, it is often in the little things. We believe that God spoke the world into existence, but we doubt His providing for our basic needs. We believe that God Himself walked among us as a man, but we doubt His closeness when we are hurt and broken. We believe that the blood of God's own son has cleansed us from our unrighteousness, but we doubt his working everything in life for our good.

Faith is hard, there is no denying that. But the reward for our faith is beyond anything that we can imagine. There will come a day when we will put our fingers on the scars that we already knew were there, and place our hands into the side that we already knew existed. No matter what the outcome of this new experiment might be, we know that the only way to view the universe is as the footstool of God, and that our purpose in it is to glorify Him with everything that we are.

"Jesus said to him, 'Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed'". John 20:29.

How Deep the Father's Love For Us

2008-03-21T09:22:00.010-04:00

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He would give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross
My guilt upon His shoulders
Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no powr's, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

-"How Deep the Father's Love For Us" by Stuart Townend

"Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom..." Matthew 27:51a

The Danger of Liberal Christianity

2008-03-19T11:03:00.009-04:00

I read something yesterday that inspired me so much, that I have to share it with you. On February 13, the World Council of Churches Central Committee opened its meeting in Geneva, and a young Russian Orthodox Bishop named Hilarion Alfeyev delivered a bold statement that I am sure made many in the room squirm. I will give you a few excerpts from this published account:

“I would like to draw your attention to the danger of liberal Christianity. The liberalization of moral standards, initiated by some Protestant and Anglican communities several decades ago and developing with ever-increasing speed, has now brought us to a situation where we can no longer preach one and the same code of moral conduct. We can no longer speak about Christian morality, because moral standards promoted by 'traditional' and 'liberal' Christians are markedly different, and the abyss between these two wings of contemporary Christianity is rapidly growing.”

“We are being told by some allegedly Christian leaders, who still bear the titles of Reverends and Most Reverends, that marriage between a woman and a man is no longer the only option for creating a Christian family, that there are other patterns, and that the church must be 'inclusive' enough to recognize alternative lifestyles and give them official and solemn blessing.”

“We are being told that human life is no longer an unquestionable value, that it can be summarily aborted in the womb … and that Christian 'traditionalists' should reconsider their standpoints in order to be in tune with modern developments. We are being told that abortion is acceptable … and that the church must accommodate all these 'values' in the name of human rights.”

“What, then, is left of Christianity? In the confusing and disoriented world in which we live, where is the prophetic voice of Christians? What can we offer, or can we offer anything at all to the secular world, apart from what the secular world will offer to itself as a value system on which society should be built? Do we have our own value system which we should preach, or should we simply applaud every novelty in public morality which becomes fashionable in the secular society?”

“When are we going to stop making Christianity politically correct and all-inclusive? Why do we insist on accommodating every possible alternative to the centuries-old Christian tradition? Where is the limit, or is there no limit at all?”

“Many Christians worldwide look to Christian leaders in the hope that they will defend Christianity against the challenges that it faces…. Our holy mission is to preach what Christ preached, to teach what the apostles taught, and to propagate what the holy Fathers propagated.”

“I am convinced that liberal Christianity will not survive for a long time. A politically correct Christianity will die."

“[T]raditional Christians, will consolidate their forces in order to protect the faith and moral teaching which the Lord gave, the Apostles preached, and the Fathers preserved.”

All that I can say is Amen!

2008-03-17T09:42:00.001-04:00

"Let anyone laugh and taunt if he so wishes. I am not keeping silent, nor am I hiding the signs and wonders that were shown to me by the Lord many years before they happened, who knew everything, even before the beginning of time." -St. Patrick

A Book Review: The Four Loves

2008-03-14T09:34:00.004-04:00

Love is often considered to be the arch-emotion. Throughout history, so many things, both good and bad, have been done in the name of love. In this book, C. S. Lewis explores the nature of the four different loves, three of them natural, one of them supernatural and each derived from its Greek name.

Affection (storge): Lewis describes this as the most basic and natural of the human loves. It is basically a fondness for the familiar and is especially common between family and those thrown together by chance. It is also the least discriminatory love, in that it does not take into account the person's "worthiness" of being loved. But Lewis points out that since affection seems to come built-in, many people expect or even demand it without making an effort to be "lovable".

Friendship (philia): This was probably my favorite chapter. Friendship is the least natural of the human loves, in that it is not necessary for life. But Lewis considers it the most admirable of the natural loves, in that it looks not at the beloved (face to face) but rather at the thing that the friendship is about (side by side). Because the friends are looking beyond themselves, they are able to welcome those who are looking towards the same thing without jealousy. But friendship, since it is exclusive, can have a tendency to look down on those who are "outside", and the things that strengthen a friendship that looks towards something good, can also strengthen the one whose goal is evil.

Eros: This is not describing sexuality, but rather the state of "being in love'' or having a simple desire for the beloved. This love is good because it desires the beloved regardless of the pleasure that he/she can give. But it can also be bad when it becomes a blind devotion. As Lewis says, "...love begins to be a demon the moment he begins to be a god."

Charity (agape): This is the supernatural love, the love we should have for our neighbor, regardless of whether or not they posses any lovable qualities. Lewis spends this chapter explaining how important it is that the three natural loves be subjected to the love of God, which is the greatest of all the loves.

In The Four Loves, Lewis provides a sometimes funny, always challenging look at the different ways that our human emotions affect our lives, and how we as Christians should seek, not to destroy or master them, but to subject them to the will of God. I highly recommend this book for anyone, but especially for those who already enjoy Lewis' works. I especially recommend reading this if you have or plan to read Till We Have Faces since that story plays out many of the themes from this book.

Alert from Homeschoolers in CA

2008-03-07T15:13:00.003-05:00

Dan @ In the Long Run has just posted on a court ruling that could severely affect the right to homeschool in California. Please take the time to read it and support our fellow homeschoolers.

C. S. Lewis on Friendship

2008-03-06T20:14:00.003-05:00

"But in Friendship...we think we have chosen our peers. In reality, a few years' difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another, posting to different regiments, the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting-any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances. A secret Master of the Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,' can truly say to every group of Christian friends 'You have not chosen one another but I have chosen you for one another.' The Friendship is not a reward for our discrimination and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of all the others. They are no greater than the beauties of a thousand other men; by Friendship God opens our eyes to them. They are, like all beauties, derived from Him, and then, in a good Friendship, increased by Him through the Friendship itself, so that it is His instrument for creating as well as revealing."

-from The Four Loves

The Ultimate in "Seeker-Sensitive"

2008-03-03T16:00:00.004-05:00

This clip was originally meant to mock those who are constantly moving around looking for the perfect church. But I think that it also provides a humorous (and slightly exaggerated) look at the lengths some churches will go to to draw in the largest crowd possible. Check it out!

Daring to be Peculiar: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

2008-02-25T19:34:00.010-05:00

Above the Great West Door of Westminster Abbey, once empty niches are now filled with ten statues; ten Christian martyrs of the 20th century. Fourth from the right stands the image of a man who worked to free others from tyranny and oppression, who challenged his church to wake up to the horrors that were happening all around it, and who begged his fellow Christians to trade in their "cheap grace" for a "costly" one. Today, more than 60 years after his death, his words continue to encourage, challenge and inspire many people around the world.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was born in Breslau, Germany in 1906, the son of prominent psychiatrist Karl Bonhoeffer and his wife Paula. He and his twin sister Sabine were the sixth and seventh children of eight, all of whom were home schooled by their mother. Dietrich decided to become a pastor at an early age, and by the time he was 21, he had earned his doctorate in theology from the University of Berlin. Since he was too young to be ordained at the time, he spent his post graduate year studying at Union Theological Seminary in New York City where he became involved with churches in Harlem and developed a passion for African-American spirituals.

When he returned to Germany in 1931, Dietrich discovered that his homeland had drastically changed in his absence. The Nazi party was now in control, not only of the secular portion of the nation, but also it's main church. As a strong opponent of Nazism, Dietrich worked at first to reform the German church, and then to establish the Confessing Church which opposed the anti-Semitic policies of Adolph Hitler. It was during this period in the mid-thirties the Dietrich's renown as a theologian grew. He wrote many books an also served as a pastor for two German-speaking churches in London.

As time went on, Dietrich's call for wider church resistance to Hitler's treatment of Jews led to him being closely watched by the Gestapo. He was first banned from preaching, then teaching; and finally from any kind of public speaking. Many of his friends urged him to leave Germany and to return either to the US or Britain. He went to New York for a few weeks, but the urge for him to return to the Fatherland and help his people grew and grew until he could stand it no longer. He knew where God wanted him, even if the danger was great.

In 1939, Dietrich joined a secret group of high-ranking military officers who sought to assassinate Hitler. In 1943, he was arrested after money that was used to help Jews escape to Switzerland was traced to him. Then, after the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler in 1944, his connections to the conspiracy were discovered and he was charged with treason. After being moved to a series of prisons and concentration camps, Dietrich, along with his brother Klaus and two of his brothers-in-law, was hanged at dawn on April 9, 1945, only three weeks before he would have been liberated. One of his final letters was to Bishop Bell, whom he had worked with in London. He wrote, "This is the end, but for me the beginning of life."

In Matthew 16:24, Jesus tells his disciples that "'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.'" Dietrich Bonhoeffer firmly believed that in order to be a true disciple of Christ, you must be willing to give yourself up. This means that you must sacrifice your desires, your dreams, your will and sometimes even your very life in order to follow Christ.

As peculiar people, we must realize that our lives are not our own, that every breath we breathe is given to us by God to be used for His purpose and glory. For Bonhoeffer, this meant following God's will for his life even when it lead him to death. It meant not running away and denouncing Nazism from the safety of America, but confronting it face to face. It meant not being afraid or ashamed to challenge his fellow Christians to wake up to what was going on around them.

Though most of us will never be called upon to give up our physical lives for God, we must remember that God demands our day-to-day lives as well. To be a true disciple means to surrender the very essence of our beings to Him, and to daily surrender our lives to God's will.

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20

Great Post!

2008-02-22T10:12:00.004-05:00

Check out this great post from Joshua Keel on the subject of "Songwriting that Makes a Difference". Be sure to read the thought-provoking article that he links to. It is well worth your time!

2008-02-21T09:11:00.003-05:00

The rain it raineth all around

Upon the just and unjust fella

But chiefly on the just because

The unjust stole the just's umbrella

-Unknown

Something Light for Friday Afternoon

2008-02-15T15:50:00.004-05:00

Okay, so I have had my share of bad days, but none of them compare with this.

Seems that back in December, former model and now world-renowned violinist David Garrett tripped on a flight of stairs and crushed his one-of-a-kind 1772 G.B. Guadagnini fiddel which he bought back in 2003 at a price of $1 million. The 26 year old German musician didn't reveal his story until this week at a concert in London. "I hope and pray that it can be fixed, but if it can't, I hope my insurance policy will let me buy another great violin," he said. He is now using a borrowed Stradivarius at his concerts. My question is, who is the big idiot that lent it to him?

Happy Birthday To:

2008-02-12T12:02:00.000-05:00

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States

Born February 12, 1809

"Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity, and a firm reliance on Him, who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust, in the best way, all our present difficulty."

-First Inaugural Address

March 4, 1861

A Quote for Super Tuesday

2008-02-05T09:03:00.000-05:00

"Never in all of man's history has a country gained freedom by voting for it. Freedom is not a product of the ballot box.

Tyranny has a long history, and the cruelties practiced by some tyrants over their subjects present sickening reading. No tyrant ever gave his subjects an opportunity to vote him out.

How then has the change been made? By revolution? The long history of revolutions indicates that almost invariably one tyrant is traded for another, usually a far more fearful one. How then does society change?

Society changes only as the members of society change, only as men and women are regenerated by Jesus Christ. Apart from regeneration, a society can have some material progress, but no real advantage or freedom for most men as a rule. The areas of freedom have been the areas of Christian faith, and, as that faith wanes, freedom wanes.

This leads to some very important conclusions. The ballot box has a very important function in a free society, but it can never be expected to do anything more than to reflect the character, the desires, and the will of the people. If the people who vote are of weak or bad character, if their desires are larcenous and envious, and if their will be perverse and evil, the election results will merely reflect their own nature on a broader scope.

This means too that people who expect to reform the state or country by means of vote, by elections, are headed for failure and disillusionment. Reformation must begin in the lives of the people in order to show up in the ballot box..."

-R. J. Rushdooney September 18, 1971

Read the entire article here: http://www.chalcedon.edu/articles/article.php?ArticleID=297

Never Been Unloved

2008-01-31T10:27:00.000-05:00

I have been unfaithful

I have been unworthy

I have been unrighteous

And I have been unmerciful

I have been unreachable

I have been unteachable

I have been unwilling

And I have been undesireable

Sometimes, I have been unwise

I've been undone by what I'm unsure of

But because of you, and all that you went through

I know that I have never been unloved

I have been unbroken

I have been unmended

I have been uneasy

And I've been unapproachable

I've been unemotional

I've been unexceptional

I've been undecided

And I've been unqualified

Unaware, I have been unfair

I've been unfit for blessings from above

But even I can see the sacrifice you made for me

To show that I have never been unloved

"Never Been Unloved" by Michael W. Smith
from the album Live the Life

Newsweek Interviews Alex Harris

2008-01-24T09:36:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday, Newsweek magazine published an online interview with Alex Harris, co-founder of the Rebelution, who also is one of the organizers for Huck's Army, a grassroots campaign for Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee. It was through an email campaign the he and his brother Brett organized that Chuck Norris was informed about and decided to support Huckabee. Though Alex and Brett are barely old enough to vote, they have been working in politics for many years.

We've been involved in politics for all our teen years, here locally in Oregon. Volunteer stuff, stuffing envelopes, going door to door. Part of our home education involved real-life stuff.

These boys are certainly an encouragement to get beyond the vote and really involve ourselves in the election process.

The Abscence of God

2008-01-22T11:30:00.000-05:00

A science professor begins his school year with a lecture to the students, "Let me explain the problem science has with religion." The atheist professor of philosophy pauses before his class and then asks one of his new students to stand."You're a Christian, aren't you, son?"

"Yes sir," the student says.

"So you believe in God?"

"Absolutely."

"Is God good?"

"Sure! God's good."

"Is God all-powerful? Can God do anything?"

"Yes."

"Are you good or evil?"

"The Bible says I'm evil."

The professor grins knowingly. "Aha! The Bible!" He considers for a moment. "Here's one for you. Let's say there's a sick person over here and you can cure him. You can do it. Would you help him? Would you try?"

"Yes sir, I would."

"So you're good...!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"But why not say that? You'd help a sick and maimed person if you could. Most of us would if we could. But God doesn't."

The student does not answer, so the professor continues. "He doesn't, does he? My brother was a Christian who died of cancer, even though he prayed to Jesus to heal him. How is this Jesus good? Hmmm? Can you answer that one?"

The student remains silent.

"No, you can't, can you?" the professor says. He takes a sip of water from a glass on his desk to give the student time to relax."Let's start again, young fella. Is God good?"

"Er...yes," the student says.

"Is Satan good?"

The student doesn't hesitate on this one. "No."

"Then where does Satan come from?"

The student falters. "From God"

"That's right. God made Satan, didn't he? Tell me, son. Is there evil in this world?"

"Yes, sir."

"Evil's everywhere, isn't it? And God did make everything, correct?"

"Yes."

"So who created evil?" The professor continued, "If God created everything, then God created evil, since evil exists, and according to the principle that our works define who we are, then God is evil."

Again, the student has no answer. "Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things, do they exist in this world?"

The student squirms on his feet. "Yes."

"So who created them?"

The student does not answer again, so the professor repeats his question. "Who created them?"
There is still no answer. Suddenly the lecturer breaks away to pace in front of the classroom. The class is mesmerized.

"Tell me," he continues onto another student. "Do you believe in Jesus Christ, son?"

The student's voice betrays him and cracks. "Yes, professor, I do."

The old man stops pacing. "Science says you have five senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Have you ever seen Jesus?"

"No sir. I've never seen Him."

"Then tell us if you've ever heard your Jesus?"

"No, sir, I have not."

"Have you ever felt your Jesus, tasted your Jesus or smelt your Jesus? Have you ever had any sensory perception of Jesus Christ, or God for that matter?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid I haven't."

"Yet you still believe in him?"

"Yes."

"According to the rules of empirical, testable, demonstrable protocol, science says your God doesn't exist. What do you say to that, son?"

"Nothing," the student replies. "I only have my faith."

"Yes, faith," the professor repeats. "And that is the problem science has with God. There is no evidence, only faith."

The student stands quietly for a moment, before asking a question of His own. "Professor, is there such thing as heat?"

"Yes," the professor replies. "There's heat."

"And is there such a thing as cold?"

"Yes, son, there's cold too."

"No sir, there isn't."

The professor turns to face the student, obviously interested. The room suddenly becomes very quiet. The student begins to explain. "You can have lots of heat, even more heat, super-heat, mega-heat, unlimited heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat, but we don't have anything called 'cold'. We can hit up to 458 degrees below zero, which is no heat, but we can't go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold; otherwise we would be able to go colder than the lowest -458 degrees."

"Every body or object is susceptible to study when it has or transmits energy, and heat is what makes a body or matter have or transmit energy. Absolute zero (-458 F) is the total absence of heat. You see, sir, cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat we can measure in thermal units because heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it."

Silence across the room. A pen drops somewhere in the classroom, sounding like a hammer."What about darkness, professor. Is there such a thing as darkness?"

"Yes," the professor replies without hesitation. "What is night if it isn't darkness?"

"You're wrong again, sir. Darkness is not something; it is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light, but if you have no light constantly you have nothing and it's called darkness, isn't it? That's the meaning we use to define the word.""In reality, darkness isn't. If it were, you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn't you?"

The professor begins to smile at the student in front of him. This will be a good semester.
"So what point are you making, young man?"

"Yes, professor. My point is, your philosophical premise is flawed to start with, and so your conclusion must also be flawed."

The professor's face cannot hide his surprise this time. "Flawed? Can you explain how?"

"You are working on the premise of duality," the student explains. "You argue that there is life
and then there's death; a good God and a bad God. You are viewing the concept of God as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, science can't even explain a thought."

"It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing. Death is not the opposite of life, just the absence of it."

"Now tell me, professor. Do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?"

"If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, young man, yes, of course I do."

"Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?"

The professor begins to shake his head, still smiling, as he realizes where the argument is going. A very good semester, indeed.

"Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor, are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you now not a scientist, but a preacher?"

The class is in uproar. The student remains silent until the commotion has subsided."To continue the point you were making earlier to the other student, let me give you an example of what I mean." The student looks around the room. "Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the professor's brain?" The class breaks out into laughter."Is there anyone here who has ever heard the professor's brain, felt the professor's brain, touched or smelt the professor's brain? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established rules of empirical, stable, demonstrable protocol, science says that you have no brain, with all due respect, sir."

"So if science says you have no brain, how can we trust your lectures, sir?"

Now the room is silent. The professor just stares at the student, his face unreadable. Finally, after what seems an eternity, the old man answers. "I guess you'll have to take them on faith."

"Now, you accept that there is faith, and, in fact, faith exists with life," the student continues.
"Now, sir, is there such a thing as evil?"

Now uncertain, the professor responds, "Of course, there is. We see it everyday. It is in the daily example of man's inhumanity to man. It is in the multitude of crime and violence everywhere in the world. These manifestations are nothing else but evil."

To this the student replied, "Evil does not exist sir, or at least it does not exist unto itself. Evil is simply the absence of God. It is just like darkness and cold, a word that man has created to describe the absence of God. God did not create evil. Evil is the result of what happens when man does not have God's love present in his heart. It's like the cold that comes when there is no heat or the darkness that comes when there is no light."

The professor sat down.

Lackluster Week

2008-01-18T14:20:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of posting this week. I was sick and am just now getting back into the swing of things. Hopefully I will have some new posts ready by next week.

“In time of sickness the soul collects itself anew”

-Latin Proverb

The Wonders of God's Creation

2008-01-11T11:21:00.001-05:00

For alot of Americans, snow has lost its magical appeal. Thousands of people across the country spend November-March digging out and bundling up. Even here in the South, snow, though somewhat of a rarity, is often not fully appreciated for the wonder that it is. But for the people of Baghdad, a snowfall is nothing short of a miracle. Today, for the first time in memory, the citizens of Iraq's capital awoke to falling snow, bringing with it "an emotion rarely expressed in this desert capital snarled by army checkpoints, divided by concrete walls and ravaged by sectarian killings — delight."

19-year-old college student Talib Haider was awakened by a phone call from a friend who told him to look outside, that the sky was raining snow. "'I rushed quickly to the balcony to see a very beautiful scene,' he said. 'I tried to film it with my cell phone camera. This scene has really brought me joy. I called my other friends and the morning turned to be a very happy one in my life.'"

Along with the snow, a sense of peace seemed to fall on this war-torn city. "For a couple of hours anyway, a city where mortar shells routinely zoom across to the Green Zone became united as one big White Zone. As of late afternoon, there were no reports of violence. The snow showed no favoritism as it fell faintly on neighborhoods Shiite and Sunni alike, and (with apologies to James Joyce) upon all the living and the dead."

How many times do we take for granted the wonders of creation from a gentle snowfall to a rainbow across the sky? And how many times do we live through a day without seeing God's love expressed in simple yet miraculous ways? Perhaps if we daily stopped and really sought the miraculous in the seemingly mundane, we too might find delight in "a lesson from God."

Quotes and picture from MSNBC.COM

Change or Right?

2008-01-08T14:55:00.001-05:00

Check out this post from World on the Web:

Just a little food for thought as we head into this election year.

Goals for 2008

2008-01-02T10:53:00.001-05:00

Well, it's here! 2008 has officially arrived and what a year it will be. It's a leap year, a presidential election year and a summer Olympic year. Normally, I don't sit down and write out lengthy resolutions for the upcoming year, mainly because I know that I am just setting myself up for failure. But this year, I do have some specific goals in mind and I think that with some work, patience and alot of help from God, I might be able to attain them. Also, these are ongoing goals, so I don't have to get them all done this year!

Spend more time in God's word. I have struggled with this one for a long time. It seems that I can do it for a few weeks, but then things happen and I lose it. Plus, I have a hard time deciding what to study. Should I study one particular book, should I pick a general topic, or should I begin a Bible study? Any suggestions?

Find a way to continue my education that requires less time and money. I am a young woman who is not attending college (that is a post all by itself), but I do love to learn and want to find a way to further my education. But I do have a full time job that makes time an issue. Ultimately, I think that simply reading will help, plus I am going to try out "The Great Courses" from The Teaching Company. Are any of you working on furthering your education outside of the traditional college. If so, how are you doing it?

Set up an effective budget and stick to it. I used to let my dad handle all of my banking, but I think that the time has come for me to learn how to set up my own budget, and how to live in it. I also want to try and read up on Christian principles on money. Can anyone suggest some good authors?

No matter what your goals are, I pray that God will give each of you the strength and endurance to run the race He has set before you in the upcoming year. Happy 2008! "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

P.S. The Iowa Caucasus are tomorrow. Please be in prayer that God's will be done in them. And if you live in Iowa, remember to pray and vote!

Isn't There Anyone Who Can Tell Me What Christmas Is All About?

2007-12-24T16:11:00.000-05:00

"Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign unto you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.' And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:

'Glory to God in the highest,

And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!'"

Wishing you and yours a safe and Merry Christmas!

Christmas Movie Quotes #4: Miracle on 34th Street

2007-12-21T10:00:00.000-05:00

Fred Gailey: "Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don't you see? It's not just Kris that's on trial, it's everything he stands for. It's kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles."

A Changing World

2007-12-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

Time magazine has announced their Person of the Year 2007. Russian President Vladimir Putin. Time describes the selection of Person of the Year, not as an honor, but rather "a clear-eyed recognition of the world as it is and of the most powerful individuals and forces shaping that world—for better or for worse. It is ultimately about leadership—bold, earth-changing leadership." In describing Putin's reign as president they say "he has performed an extraordinary feat of leadership in imposing stability on a nation that has rarely known it and brought Russia back to the table of world power."

All of this shows that we as a nation are no longer the single world power. Now, more than ever, it is important that we pray that God will raise up a generation for Him, not only in the US, but also in Russia, China and India. A generation that will become leaders-bold, earth-changing leaders- among their people, and will bring their lands to faith in the Lord.

Christmas Movie Quotes #3: The Christmas Box

2007-12-18T09:10:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Parkin: "Richard, do you know what the first gift of Christmas was?"

Richard: "A tie?!"

Great Post

2007-12-17T12:20:00.002-05:00

Check out this post from Dan at In the Long Run...

I think he makes some great points regarding the origins of Christian holidays like Easter and Christmas.

Christmas Movie Quotes #2: The Muppet Christmas Carol

2007-12-12T11:28:00.000-05:00

Rizzo the Rat: How do you know what Scrooge is doin'? We're down here and he's up there.

Gonzo: I told you, storytellers are omniscient; I know everything!

Rizzo the Rat: Well, hoity-toity, Mr. Godlike Smarty-Pants.

The Promise of the Bethlehem Candle

2007-12-11T09:24:00.000-05:00

A few years ago, my family began the tradition of using the Advent Wreath as part of our Christmas celebration. For those of you who don't know, this tradition began in Germany and quickly spread to the rest of Europe and America. A wreath of evergreen garland (symbolizing everlasting life) has five candles placed on it and a different candle is lit on each of the four Sundays before Christmas with the fifth candle being lit on Christmas Day.

So for the past few advent seasons, my family has gathered around the kitchen table as my dad reads a short devotion and a few related bible verses and then lights each candle. It really brings the reason of Christmas to the forefront for our family.

This past Sunday we lit the second advent candle which is the Bethlehem Candle (symbolizing faith). As Dad read the devotion for this particular candle, it seemed to come alive in a new way. He talked about how Mary was given a promise from God, that she would bear the Messiah. She would have known enough about the prophecies surrounding the birth of the Messiah to know that he was supposed to be born in Bethlehem of Judea. But that presented a problem, since she lived in Nazareth which was quite a ways from Bethlehem. Mary could have fretted about how she could work it so that she was in Bethlehem when the Messiah was born, but instead she put her faith in God and trusted in Him to have her where she needed to be when she needed to be there. And God in His sovereignty used the ungodly Caesar Augustus and the lineage of Joseph to place Mary in Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth.

We too have been given promises by God and all too often we feel that we must do something to make that promise become a reality. Instead, we should believe that God will fulfill His promise in His own time and way, and that all we need to do is to stay in His word and His will. That is the promise of the Bethlehem Candle; when we put our faith in God and live our lives according to His purpose, then God will be faithful to the promises he has made to us.

"Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful to all his promises and loving toward all he has made." Psalm 145:13

Christmas Movie Quotes #1: It's a Wonderful Life

2007-12-07T15:56:00.000-05:00

Clarence: "I told you, I'm your guardian angel."

George: "Well you look like the kind of an angel I'd get!"

Trading Children for a Greener World

2007-11-28T10:41:00.001-05:00

Apparently, having children is not eco-friendly and not having them reduces your carbon footprint. Or that is what Toni Vernelli says in this article in Britain's Daily Mail:

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5

Too bad (for them) that these environmentalists are missing out, for children are the biggest culture changing weapon we will ever posses.

Don't Be a Grinch, Be a Who!

2007-11-27T13:31:00.000-05:00

With Thanksgiving over, the holiday season is now in full swing. And with only 28 (yes count them!) days to go until Christmas, the rush is on to create that picture perfect holiday experience. Gifts to buy, cards to write, food to cook, places to go, people to see, the list goes on and on. It's no wonder that many times during this season, it is easy to get that grinchy feeling. You know that feeling. You get it when someone swerves into that parking spot you were about to get. You get it when someone cuts in front of you in the layaway line. You get it when your kids seem to think that Santa is a millionaire who will bring them every toy in Wal-Mart. It's that little voice inside that wants to scream out "I hate Christmas!"

Yes, it is easy to get as exasperated with the holiday season as the Grinch did. You know the story. Green guy hates everything to do with Christmas and the way this town of little people gets all excited about it, so he decides to steal Christmas and make all the little people cry. He disguises himself as Santa and his dog as a reindeer, and sneaks through the town taking everything that could remind anyone of Christmas. Hauls stuff up a mountain to dump it, then hears little people singing, even when all of their stuff is gone. Green guy's heart gets bigger and he returns all of the stuff.

It is so easy to get caught up in the trappings of Christmas, and like the Grinch, we sometimes fail to see beyond the glitz and glamour and feel that it impossible to celebrate without all of the things that go with Christmas.

As Christians, we must remember the real reason to celebrate: "'I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.' Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.'" Luke 2:10-13

To the world, Christmas without all of the trimmings is just another day on the calendar. But for us, the real joy lies in remembering the day that God Himself came to earth to walk among us and to save us from eternal death.

That is why our brothers and sisters who are poor can still sing on Christmas.

That is why our brothers and sisters who live in nations where Christmas is illegal can still sing.

That is why our brothers and sisters who are hungry, thirsty and in prison can still sing.

This Christmas, take the time to look beyond the trimmings, the feasting, the presents and the noise to find the real cause of joy. That way, we can all ,like the Whos down in Who-ville, no matter what our circumstances may be, find the true happiness of the season; and with grateful hearts join hands and sing "Welcome Christmas, Christmas Day!"

Hymn of Grateful Praise

2007-11-21T11:32:00.000-05:00

For the beauty of the earth,

For the glory of the skies,

For the love which from our birth

Over and around us lies;

Lord of all, to thee we raise