My new found love for history

I have found a new love for history as I have been teaching my children. We are actually studying history chronologically, starting with creation. We're talking way back. But as things come up ie., Thanksgiving, St. Patrick's Day, an interesting story, a question, or a curiousity, we just dig right into that portion of history. Well, I will tell you that the freeing of African American slaves in American history has captured my heart like I've never experienced in any other study of history.

I'm writing this blog not to recount the amazing men and women involved in the LONG process of getting slavery abolished, but to implore you to research it yourselves. There are some amazing people involved in this journey. A few of our favorites:


William Wilberforce. (I linked his name to 'desiringgod.org' because they have a ton of sermons and resources to look at on his life.) We have tried and tried to figure out how to get the name 'Wilberforce' into one of our kids names because we so deeply admire and want to emmulate the life of William Wilberforce. But unless our child is destined to become an NFL linebacker, 'Wilberforce' might be a little intense.

Wilberforce was also an amazing man of God. The illnesses that he struggled with and yet the way he continue to push people to realize the injustices of slavery. If you haven't seen the movie "Amazing Grace", you need to see it. It will give you a glimpse at his life and his struggles. Brad and I have seen it more than a few times.






Malachi and I just got finished studying the underground railroad, where people like Harriet Tubman helped free tons of slaves. The 'underground railroad' link above will send you to this amazing sight where you can travel as a slave would have as he/she was escaping to Canada. It's narrated, with picture slideshows, pop up info., historical tidbits and more.



Living not long after the abolition of slavery (he was actually born, right at the tailend of slavery, some speculate), came George Washington Carver. This man will cook your noodle. The gifts that God gave him in the area of ingenuity and imagination are incredible. Over a hundred inventions using the peanut. He taught the poverty striken South how to more effectively grow crops and make use of their 'trash' to pull themselves out of poverty. Many attibute him with 'saving' the Civil War torn South. While his fame grew, he remained receiving the same income. He wanted to live simply and continue to serve the poor, desperate farmers of the South. When we read a short biography on him, we were blown away. So find a library, today, and find a book on George Washington Carver. Sit down with your kids and thank God for men like him.

Reminding myself of my depravity

One of the things that I try and constantly remind myself is that I am a depraved, sinful woman, desperately in need of the Cross. Am I redeemed? Yes, and for that I give much victory to Jesus. Because before Christ, I was "dead in the trespasses of sins." (Eph. 2:1)

Not able to 'pick myself up by my boot straps;' not able to do lots of good things. I was dead.

After you walk with Christ for awhile, you forget that you were once dead. You begin to feel like you have a grasp on this thing called 'Christianity'. Honestly, there are days that I take much credit for good responses to my children, a good time of Bible study in the morning, getting to minister to my neighbors, etc. I think, 'wow, I did a great job today.' It's easy to just say "oh, I have a prideful heart." But as I've been meditating on this, if we don't see ourselves as depraved and desperate, apart from the cross, there are several things that can happen (this list is not exhaustive for sure).

1. You will not want to forgive. "If you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions" Mt. 6:15

"What gives so much force to the impulse of anger in such cases is the overwhelming sense that the offender does not deserve forgiveness." -"Faith in Future Grace"

As if whatever that person has done or said is more heinous that any of the sins I have committed in my head. And besides the fact that a lot of the time that I feel someone is beyond my forgiveness, it is directed towards non-believers who are still "enemies of God."

2. I will gossip and put down those around me. Why? Because I only see the righteous in myself and the unrighteous in others. If I am reminded of the failings in my own heart, I will be slow to judgement and quick to distribute grace to those around me.

3. I will continue in my anger and impatience. When I see Christians floundering in their faith. When I see these students that I worked with in youth ministry now living lives of complete abandonment. When I hear of women getting assaulted and beaten inside theirs homes. And even things as trivial as getting cut in front of in line...again! It is in these times that I grow even more angry and impatient. Is some of this righteous anger? Probably. But some of it is also anger that wants revenge. I feel the need to 'go New England' on people. (that is my affectionate term for wanting to beat the snot out of someone instead of letting the Holy Spirit settle things). I need to remember that there have been times where I have looked away from the Lord. I've allowed doubt to guide my path.

4. I will forget to long for heaven. If I feel like my life is plugging onlong quite nicely here on earth, I will forget that my real home is in heaven. I will invest my time in trivial things. I will be too concerned with my reputation. I will put my time and energies into things that will perish. If I remind myself of my depravity, I remind my self of the cross. And in the cross is hope . Hope that will be fulfilled when I get to see Jesus eye to eye.


I think there are a million others. But I'll leave it at that for now.

Ephesians 2:8-9

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't know it)--Part 9

Miracles

Do you believe in Jesus’ miracles? Jesus’ raising people from the dead? Healing the sick? Giving sight to the blind? Here’s my point? Do you think these physical miracles are greater than the miracles of spiritual conversion? Honestly ask that question. Which are you most amazed at?

Our amazement will be in proportion to the difficulty of the challenge overcome. Obviously raising the dead is a more amazing miracle than passing some math test.

Matthew 19:25-26 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, "Who then can be saved?" But Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible."

Do you think God’s changing your heart is far “more” impossible than healing blind and crippled people? OR, do you think that “free will” makes us ultimately able to control our salvation [i.e. He gives the means, but we have to actually make it happen]. The physical equivalent to “free will” relevant to resurrection and healing would be something like this: Actually, a nerve was out of place in the person’s head and Jesus simply slapped it into place; OR, Lazarus was not actually dead, so he ultimately was able to obey Jesus’ command to come forth. Or, the man crippled his whole life was not actually crippled,…he simply had never tried his whole like to walk. Really? In that case, it was not a miracle at all.

In fact, if we believe in free will, we are logically claiming that those physical miracles are great that God’s changing of our heart. But in fact, freewill says ultimately we change our own hearts. Therefore, the person who believes free-will thinks blind eyes and lame legs are bigger challenges that the sinful heart. After all, according to some, we have free-will. In that logic, Jesus’ simply suggests and urges, not commands in an effectual way.

By “effectual”, I mean commanding so as to MAKE IT HAPPEN, like when he raised Lazarus from the dead or made the demons leave people (apparently denying demons’ freewill). So, God, when he saves us, gives us efficacious grace!! Praise God.

If you believe in miracles, weshould inevitably accept God’s sovereignty in election.

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't kow it)--Part 8

Prophetic Events

All prophetic fulfillment requires God’s have ultimate sovereignty and control over human hearts. If an Arminian says God can promise to do something in the future (and not merely foretell it like a fortune teller), then God has to be able to overcome “free will”.

Why? All human events, whether wars, births, marriages, migrations, etc…. involve humans choices. If God wanted Israel to defeat another nation, or if he assures that he will save all nations, or says he will send the Messiah, all these things require simple human decisions like, a king deciding to fight and use such-and-such a strategy, various men and women having sex so as to make sure a descendant of David is born (Jesus), and that people actually go to all nations to share the good news. These are promises of God.

If God is not ultimately decisive over human decisions, God cannot actually DO these things, thus can’t promise them. He can only predict them. This is not the sort of God we see in Scripture. That kind of thinking inches closer and closer to deism, if it is not indeed deism. All Christians believe God gives promises, not merely predictions

If you believe in prophecy, you must inevitably accept God’s sovereignty over individual wills, which thus leads us to accept the doctrine of individual election.

Reformation Day-Charles Spurgeon

I am going to interject in the "Why all Christian's are Calvinists (and don't know it)" series to talk a little about Charles Spurgeon. We celebrated Reformation Day last week and had a great time celebrating this man's life and contribution to Christian history.

"The greatest enemy to human souls is the self-righteous spirit which makes men look to themselves for salvation. "

-Charles Spurgeon

We've already written a little bit about Spurgeon in the previous posts, but I wanted to give a very brief bio. on him here. My two oldest kids each did a report on Spurgeon on the week preceeding Reformation Day.

He became a believer at the age of 15, when he was walking to a scheduled appointment a huge snow storm hit. He ducked into a Methodist Chapel, where he says "God opened his heart to the salvation message." The text that moved him was Isaiah 45:22 - "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else."

Shortly after marrying his wife, Susannah and he gave birth to their twin sons, Charles and Thomas. Both he and his wife struggled with illness. She often missed hearing him preach because she was sick and in bed. Charles Spurgeon also suffered from depression. One day, while preaching, somebody yelled "FIRE!" and in the stampede, several people were killed. This was a heavy burden for him. But he went on to pastor churches and preach the truth. And until the day of his death, he was faithful to Christ.

After my kids did their research, they gave us a brief presentation on what they learned.

Then we played "pin the glasses on Charles Spurgeon". Ya know, just like the Puritans used to play.





Then we sat down for a traditional British meal with stew, honey butter rolls and an apple pie.



There is so much on Spurgeon that we didn't include here. Our family is spending the next year getting to know Spurgeon's life, ministry and death.

"I take it that the highest proof of Christ’s power is not that he offers salvation, not that he bids you take it if you will, but that when you reject it, when you hate it, when you despise it, he has a power whereby he can change your mind, make you think differently from your former thoughts, and turn you from the error of your ways. "

-C.S.

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't know it)--Part 7

The Law

All Arminians affirm that NO ONE can not sin. No one is able to be perfect. However, Arminians also say that human inability would imply that we are not responsible

[Normally, they apply this to election and total depravity, saying, people can’t be held responsible is they don’t have the “ability” to independently (of God’s irresistible grace) choose him.]

However, God does command us to obey Him. Furthermore, Galatians and Romans makes clear that NO ONE can be justified by the law. No one is perfect. This certainly implies some sort of inability since NO ONE is able. This is a moral INability.

[One major reason why people make up the philosophical notion of Free Will is because they assume, contra Scripture, that inability alleviates responsibility]

Therefore, Arminians affirm the same principle that undergirds Calvinism: INABILITY does NOT take away responsibility. In fact, our moral inability actually makes us blameworthy. With respect to our hearts’ condition, our having moral inability, we cannot obey God [ie. Romans 8:7-8]. Apparently, our will is not all that "free" after all.

If you disavow perfectionism, then inevitable you have to affirm total depravity and the need to irresistible, electing grace.

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't know it) -- Part 6

Personal Awareness of Sin and Salvation

Simply ask yourself, if God gives everyone the same grace to enable all people according to their free-will to receive Christ, then what made YOU different? Why does one brother accept Christ and get saved, while another sibling in the same environment remains heart hearted? Is it because you and I were smarter, more determined, or are more moral? As for me, no way!

The only thing that distinguishes me from others is grace. The only thing I have EVER contributed to my salvation is SIN.



If you humbly believe in grace, you must inevitably accept God’s sovereignty in election.

Confusing yet Convicting Quote

"Even the unchurched know 2 things: Jesus loved the poor & the sick, so they're confused when they don't see us doing either."

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't know it)--Part 5

Bible’s Inspiration

Do you believe the Bible is God’s word, perfect in every way? We all know that God inspired every single word through human authors. Otherwise, if the Bible is not infallible (without mistake), then we don’t know what is or is not trustworthy. Each letter and book expresses the authors’ own personality yet is kept from error.

However, if God will not overcome human free will (the Arminian idea), then how can we be assured that God protected the perfection of His word? An author might want to say one thing, but God wants something else. According to Arminian assumptions, God cannot overcome the author’s free will to write what he wants. At least, there’s no guarantee of perfection.

If you believe in the Bible’s inspiration, you must inevitably accept God’s sovereignty in election.

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't know it)--Part 4

Heaven

First, a quote from one of the world's greatest evangelists, "I believe the man who is not willing to submit to the electing love and sovereign grace of God, has great reason to question whether he is a Christian at all, for the spirit that kicks against that is the spirit of the devil, and the spirit of the unhumbled, unrenewed heart." -- Spurgeon

If you believe in Heaven, you have to accept Calvinistic theology and reject free-will. After all, there will be no sin in heaven. Apparently then, we will not have so-called “free will” in heaven. Otherwise, we would have the self-determining power to reject God in heaven.

People suppose that “free will” is needed to genuinely love God. Well, according to Scripture’s view of heaven, that’s not the case. If He can take away free will in heaven, why do we suppose it exists at all now?

If you believe in heaven, you must inevitably accept God’s sovereignty in election.

Why All Christians Are Calvinists (and don't know it)--Part 3

PRAYER

For many people, they ask, “If God is sovereign like the Calvinists says, then why should I pray?” I think this is the wrong question. First of all, the Bible does not use this doctrine to discuss abstract philosophical issues of time and space—rather, it intends to emphasize His grace and power in salvation.

Second, I would suggest a better question, which is actually the opposite question I had when I first believed the ‘doctrines of grace’ (another historical phrase meaning “Calvinism”). I asked myself, “If God cannot sovereignly change hearts and minds, then why do I pray?” This is the opposite question. For example, why to I pray for friends and family to accept Christ if God can’t answer that prayer?

Yet Paul prayed like this:
"Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved," (Rom 10:1).
"Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you," (2 Thess. 3:1).

Apparently, God can decisively overcome human resistance and save them. He is not like Satan, merely have “persuasive power”. He can answer these prayers. It you don’t believe God can actually cause people to believe and be saved, then why are you praying?

If you believe in prayer, you must inevitably accept God’s sovereignty in election.

The highlight of my day so far....

Malachi just quoted Charles Spurgeon as a way of discerning a right and wrong decision. Our younger son, Kesed, was not making good decisions, wanting either disobey or either wine and cry. Therefore Malachi said "Between two evils, choose neither". That should make any Christian father smile.

Why All Christians are Calvinists (and don’t know it)--Part 2

Theological Necessity

My conclusion will be this: Arminian theology logically and theologically requires Arminians to believe God elects every person whom gets saved (and does not elect those not saved). Or, to put it in other words, if you don’t believe in individual election (Calvinism), then you must compromise orthodox Christianity. (I’ve never had anyone disprove this. In fact, even many well known Arminians have admitted this fact and have openly compromised orthodoxy)



Here's the argument. I will NOT assume any uniquely Calvinistic assumptions. (1) God knows everything, including the future, my desires, our opinions and background. God is omniscient. (2) God is omnipotent. He can arrange circumstances, give me ideas, etc. [Yet, Arminians will say God can do this without infringing on “free will”].

These two orthodox positions then lead to the following: God knows what would “convince” me to believe, whether a book, a conversation, an idea, or a set of circumstances. Furthermore, if he is omnipotent, he can arrange such circumstances such that a person will be convinced. Therefore, God chooses to act, arranging situations or giving ideas, OR he doesn’t. God knows the “persuasive power” of his actions, thus he essentially elects some people or doesn’t elect individuals simply on whether He acts or doesn’t act. [Again, notice I’ve only used Arminian assumptions]

Here’s a key point: God’s choosing not to act IS de facto a decision to act in another way. He knows the results of his activity and inactivity. In his foreknowledge, He knows that His choosing NOT to act will have consequences just as much as his choosing TO act. Both are His decisions. Thus, the results are in his sovereign hands.

If you refuse to accept this conclusion, then in order to be theologically consistent, you have to redefine (and thus compromise) omniscience OR omnipotence. Open Theists explicitly deny God knows the future. They admit that foreknowledge necessarily leads to choosing. On the other hand, if you compromise on the meaning of “sovereignty”, then you become more and more like a deist (believing that God created the world like a watchmaker, not actively involved in the world, just letting it run). This is heresy and obviously anti-Biblical. Fortunately most Arminians I know and love live better than their theological principles.

It does not solve the problem to say God looks into the future and “elects” those He foreknows will believe. This completely ignores the fact that those future actions are inevitable responses to what God chooses to do or NOT to do between creation and the time of their choices.

Consider the following verses: "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable in the judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.” (Luke 10:13-14)

Notice, Jesus knew what would save Tyre and Sidon. However, he didn’t go to them. As a result, they too will be judged. These verses demand our reflection.

If you believe in God’s omniscience and omnipotence, you must inevitably accept God’s sovereignty in individual election.

Why All Christians are Calvinists (and don’t know it)

We’re about to post a 6 or 7 part series entitled, “Why All Christians are Calvinists (and don’t know it)”. For some of you, you don’t even know what “Calvinist” means. Others know and wonder, “Why in the world do you want to be so provocative and shove your ‘system’ on people?”



First of all, “Calvinism” is a poor term that frankly don’t like. For one thing, most Calvinists I know have never read a paragraph of John Calvin. It’s a historical misnomer. People believed in so-called “Calvinism” way before John Calvin. Calvinists believe in the doctrine of election, predestination, and that God is sovereign over hearts; Calvinists do not believe in free will. Arminians do not believe in election and predestination; they do believe in free will. Calvinists believe God elects individuals to be saved. Arminians do not believe God elects individuals (This is a quite over-simplified introduction of terms)

Some people say, “Don’t push Calvinism. Just teach the Bible.” Of course, that is a false separation as far as we are concerned. For example, the other day, I pointed out the importance of logical words in Scripture (like “because”, “so that”, “therefore”, etc.) I pointed out John 10:26, “you do not believe because you are not part of my flock.” Someone accused me of pushing Calvinism! Actually, I simply pointed how we should pay attention to all the words of Scripture b/c it surprises us often. I never once mentioned “Calvinism”. I just teach the Bible. Actually, Free Will is a philosophical concept completely absent from the Bible. People read into the Bible that assumption and concept.

The point of this series is to argue, all Christians, including Arminians, actually do believe in individual election (Calvinism), whether they realize it or not. However, the awareness of this truth can great enhance Christian joy…hence I’m writing this to serve the two other people who read our blog.

In history, the worlds greatest evangelists have been Calvinists, like William Carey, David Livingstone, David Brainard, Jonathan Edwards, John Paton, Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield,…..

Listen how direct, even provocative Spurgeon (whom all Arminians and Calvinists alike love), “The doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works..."





The key issue is whether God has the sovereign power to change the human heart. If you believe God is decisively able to change hearts (i.e. overcome so-called “free will”), then you are a Calvinist.

EACH point will show how orthodox Christian beliefs (which Arminians affirm) necessarily lead us to accept God’s sovereignty in electing individuals to be saved.

today i saw...

today i saw...

this:



and then this:




This is Makaria attempting to drink my coffee creamer.

But then I got these:

"Why do we pray?"

One day last week, I wanted to call Carrie (I had been out of town all week). However, I had no agenda. I just wanted to call her. I simply wanted to call in order to feel like I was in her presence, to remind my heart again of what I love about her.

Then I realized this is at least one reason why we pray. We are not yet in the immediate presence of Christ, but we long for him. We want to be in heaven where our fellowship is uninterrupted. Until that day, we pray so that we may get a small taste of his presence and to be reminded why we love and delight in him.

Prayer is to the Christian what a cell phone is to a husband who is travelling, away from his wife, but wanting to be with her.

Are You Sure You Like Spurgeon?

A lot of people LOVE Charles Spurgeon because he was an amazing evangelist. Some people have never thought about the theology that motivated his evangelism. Here's an interesting article, Are You Sure You Like Spurgeon?

Here's a taste: Spurgeon writes In Defence of Calvinism,
"The doctrine of justification itself, as preached by an Arminian, is nothing but the doctrine of salvation by works...[T]here is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else.

I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation."

"Do It in God’s Strength"

I typically cringe inside when I her people saying “we just need to do it in God’s strength”. That sounds odd, but here’s why. I rarely her anyone explain what they practically mean by that. How do they discern doing something in their own strength versus His strength? I am practical. I want to know what is happening in their heart or actions.

I recently saw a dynamic in my soul. I have long strived after various points in my Christian growth. I have wondered why sometimes the Lord does not bless my efforts, yet other times, He pours out grace. James 1:25 says we will be “blessed in our doing”, yet so often my doing leads to no progress. So what is the deal?

I see that one difference in the ground of my confidence. Much of the time, I am expecting my self-discipline, problem solving, and planning will get the job done. So much in my life has been accomplish by raw effort. I therefore apply that to my sanctification (my maturity in Christ). I also can discern a second motive which is grounded more in Scripture. Sometimes, my striving is motivated by the fact that (a) I am simply overjoyed in who God is, and (b) I am sure that God’s blesses those who seek after Him (Heb. 11:6) and not merely some goal.

Paul is actually pretty explicit on this point. Philippians 2:12-13 says, “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Notice the GROUNDS for Paul’s challenge to obey, “FOR it is God who….” Some people say, “If God is sovereign over my life, heart, and sanctification, why try?” Well, Paul saw it the others way. Because God asserts Himself upon our affections, we have hope we’re progress. Here that last sentence” Because it is God works to will and work in us, we can mature. To think otherwise is nothing less that pride and presumption. What makes you or I think we’ll wake up Christians tomorrow except for the sustaining grace of God upon our hearts.

How does this relate to the “in his strength” line we often hear? Let me link a few verses.

1 Peter 4:10-11 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace….whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies--in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.

Then in 5:2, Paul says to elder-pastors: “shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;

Finally, Neh. 8:10, “the joy of the LORD is your strength.”

The strength God provides enabling us to obey comes from a joy in Christ and a hope for great satisfaction in Him. What really motivates your service and sanctification? A sense of achievement? Fear? A desire for recognition? Or for the pleasure of see grace manifest in your life, in the hope that your affection for Him would increase more and more and more?

Why I'm not at all like Jesus

I am sitting in a quiet house, eating leftover spaghetti with some added spicy pepper sauce and a cold coke zero. My angel and wonderful friend, DY, took the kids for a sleepover. All of them. At the same time.

I'm actually not sure what I'm going to write at the moment. This is Carrie, by the way. My wonderfully disciplined husband would never start a blog with no idea of how it's going to end. But that's just who I am. With most things, I start them enthusiastically and hope that in the process nobody gets maimed or looses a limb.

Here's the deal: I am not at all like Jesus.

Do I want to be...yes, desperately. Am I even close...no. This is not a pity blog, but more of a stream of consciousness. For instance, I just dropped a chopstick on the floor and left it there. I looked for it for a brief second, couldn't find it immediately and then took a small lick of the sauce from off the floor. Jesus would not have done that. He would have persevered and found the chopstick. I'm not sure about licking sauce from off the floor. It's a great sauce so I'm pretty sure he might have licked.

I have realized of late that I can't love people well who are different that me. And honestly, I get annoyed by too many people. Food smackers, line cutters, spitters, abc applique jump suit wearing elementary school teachers, christian singers who don't sing about God...ever, cute camp girls, people who say 'just' 83 times while they are praying, and the list goes on really. That's ridiculous. Jesus wouldn't do that either.

I still want to look cute and sassy. I feel like I shouldn't still breakout on my 33 year old face, but I do. And it bothers me. I want to get cute haircuts that sashay in the breeze, wear cute scarves that match the changing leaves of fall, to wear cute winter boots with those little tassle thingies. I shouldn't care. But I do. Jesus wouldn't do that. Stick with the white robe and the birks. It works for Jesus. He's never consummed with fitting in. Yet, so often my mind calculates what to say, how to dress, when to laugh, what to read...all based on what the world tells me I should do in order to have people flock to my side. It's goofy.

I could blog about these shortcomings forever. My life is covered in failings. But it is also spotted in Grace. Praise the Lord for Jesus and His example. And that God gave us the cross and the Holy Spirit so that we have the ability to change our affections. You can't muster up affections. They are gifted to us. And I pray on a daily basis that my affections would be for Christ and his character.

I'm not even sure how to label this post. To put it under 'theological reflections,' seems to cheapen the other entries in that section. But here goes.

today i saw...

today I saw:

This menu that is unfortunately inverted from Photo Booth:





PIZZA JUAN'S

Chocolate Pizza
mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and chocolate

Banana Pizza
mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, cinnamon and banana

The Truth Behind Arrogance

One reason we are unceasingly trying to prove ourselves right and worthy of others' admiration is that such conclusions are so blatantly false. We are sinners, deserving of the worse unimaginable punishment. Just as we would not persist in fighting the laws of mathematics, so let us admit what is so obvious to everyone else.

The Voice in Your Head (Part 2)

What a frightening responsibility to be a teacher, particularly people's pastor! For better or worse, the voice they hear teaching them the Bible will be to them as the voice of God. Whether good or bad, when they think on God's voice, his tone, and emphasis, they will often hear your voice. How sobering. What trembling this should evoke!

Will they hear compassion and gentleness? Will they hear conviction and firmness? With they hear practical counsel and honest assessments? Will they hear sober words of joy? Or will they hear flippantness, harshness, complaining, impatience, and an irrelevant clanging of words? What effect ought this to have on us as we prepare to speak, ready our hearts, and consider their needs. This is no casual task. Proceed with reverence.

The Voice in Your Head

Martin Lloyd Jones wisely says in his classic, Spiritual Depression, "Most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself.”

As someone who, while working, exercising, and moving from one place to another, listens to 5-7 sermons a week, I can appreciate the power of words.

The voice in your head greatly impacts the way you live your life. We become like those we listen to, whether a critical parent or a tenderhearted pastor. Their habits, tone, and content direct our own hearts and actions. We will hear that voice when we walk, pray, write, and solve problems. The Spirit sometimes takes on those godly voices. Satan speaks through the complaining and argumentative around us. It is thus no surprise to us, having experienced this dynamic in our own hearts, that we then see our children becoming like us, particularly in their temperament and speech. Thanksgiving, patience, shortness, and quickness of speech are all possible fruits of our hours and years of pouring words as seeds into their hearts. The voice in their head shall guide their (and our) lives.

Arbitrary Parent Rule #23

You may not Kung Fu your sister's loose tooth.

Pleasure unto Adoration

In our family we frequently use the ACTS forms of praying [Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication]. Like most adults I know, our kids cannot easily distinguish thanksgiving from adoration. Perhaps the following quote will help us all.

"Pleasures are shafts of glory as it strikes our sensibility … I have tried to make every pleasure into a channel of adoration. I don’t mean simply by giving thanks for it. One must of course give thanks, but I meant something different …

Gratitude exclaims, very properly, “How good of God to give me this.” Adoration says, “What must be the quality of that Being whose far-off and momentary coruscations [you'll have to look this word up!] are like this!” One’s mind runs back up the sunbeam to the sun … If this is Hedonism, it is also a somewhat arduous discipline. But it is worth some labour."

[C.S. Lewis, Letters to Malcolm Chiefly on Prayer (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1963), 89–90.]

All 5 octaves, baby

I have laughed until I cried watching this. I don't know....maybe it's just me.

City ABC's

Every Saturday, we have family night. This week, we took out the camera and found the entire alphabet in the city. Below, we spelled 'today'

Here ya go:







We had a blast. And our 3 year old even participated. In my usually over zealous plans, I'm going to print out each kids name using these letters and put them in their rooms. We'll see. But I'm really excited about how they turned out.

today i saw...

I will tell you, this is a dangerous post. Dangerous, because I could fill up two or three blogs full of things that I see that are "post-worthy" in a given day. I will try and control myself in the posting in the "today i saw..." series. I actually lifted this idea from another blog, but she does it every day and adds a picture. But, I can't remember the blog name. So, sorry, random blog person.




Here we go:


today i saw...


A middle-aged, overweight Chinese man sporting a gray sports coat, white with pink pin strips polo shirt, purple sweat pants, black ballerina slippers and a comb over.

Fall crafts

We just finished our pumpkins for fall. We made some of these at Easter and the kids loved doing them. So we brought out the homemade glue and did them again. We'll probably do them again for Thanksgiving too. We're making leaf cookies today and are going to fill them.





We make shifted some cookie cutters out of foil and tape. Then the kids cut around the shapes to make fun leaf shaped cookies. After a while, we abandoned the shapes and made snails, moon, smiley faces and houses.



We invited friends to put frosting and colored sugar on the cookies and eat. They were wonderful. You can make homemade colored sugar by just adding some food coloring to sugar and tossing it around. So next time, don't buy it.




And finally, our paper mache pumpkins. They turned out really cute. We filled them with cookies and gave them away. A great start to fall. I love fall by the way.

Together For Adoption

James 1:27 "Pure and undeviled religion before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."



Together For Adoption is a group of pastors, speakers, and churches that is encouraging the church to take up the cause of orphans worldwide. This website has so many resources for those interested in adoption. There are books, sermons, agencies, scholarships, articles and so much more. Take time to check them out. Even if you cannot adopt (right now :) ), then educate yourself so that you can encourage others to adopt. This is an issue that Christians MUST open their eyes to.

We have been really encouraged at so many that are now adopting worldwide. Almost once a week, we get an email from a friend or a friend of a friend who is wanting to adopt.

If you are thinking of adopting, PLEASE give us an email and ask any questions you've got. And if money seems to be the issue, there are scholarships and ways to make it work. Trust me. If we did it, anyone can do it. God is faithful.

I cannot watch this video and not weep for the orphan crisis. If it were up to me, we'd have 100 more added to our family.

Pretty day, pretty faces

It was a BEAUTIFUL day today. I don't like being inside, so out we went...and the camera went with us.

Patience

Patience is the capacity to "wait and to endure" without murmuring and disillusionment-to wait in the unplanned place, and endure the unplanned pace.


-Piper "Faith in Future Grace"

33

This will be brief, because I, Carrie, am writing this entry. It would feel weird to do a long drawn out post about my own birthday. But I did want to post a couple of pictures from our birthday dinner. Getting old doesn't really freak me out at all. I don't know, age has never been a big deal to me. I guess being 33 and already having 5 kids makes me feel young. And everyday, the Chinese remind me that I'm too young to have so many kids.





We had barbecue for my birthday dinner. I love barbecue. So we headed to a local place. Anywhere that I can throw the bones and pea pods on the table or floor is a great restaraunt in my book. And if you can leave the table looking like this:



then it's definately a good meal.



I got flowers from my family and friends and B gave me a nap! It was a wonderful birthday. Thank you guys for all your emails and facebook messages!!

We won!

So, on a whim, I entered a contest that a friend was having. I had to write the grossest/funniest story about raising boys. And WE WON! I think we get movie tickets and some food. We're hoping that my sister and her family get to use them on our behalf :). Anyway, I thought I'd post the story. Some of you were there for this story, others were not. It's about our now 5 year old son, Malachi. Those of you who know him, this story will provide no shock and awe.



We were at a conference with several hundred people when my 3 year
old decided that he needed to go to the bathroom. We were eating
lunch at the time and the bathroom was right behind us, so we told
him to go ahead and go there by himself. In my mind "what can happen
between here and there?!" A few minutes later, the president's wife
of the organization that we were with at this conference came to our
friend. She was looking for where the mother of a drenched, naked three year old boy
might be. Our friend kindly thanked her and brought our son to us.
After using the bathroom, He spotted a urinal on the wall. We apparently found getting his pants back on too cumbersome and distracting when spotting a urinal. So, leaving his
pants on the floor, he ducked his head underneath the urinal faucet
and pushed the button....several times. As the water poured onto his
head, he was yelling, "look, I'm taking a shower!!"

The lamb that was slain...next to my kids' kindergarten.

So apparently Thursdays are "get live sheep delivered, break their necks, drain their blood in a roadside drain, skin them, and cook them for customers" Day. For the last 2 Thursdays, as I am picking up three of my children from school, I have passed the hog tied, bleating sheep. And then on the way out of school, we pass by the bloody, decapitated mess that is lying right on the street where we pass by.

I know that this is really common in most parts of the world and has been normal life for thousands of years. But honestly, for this city girl, it grosses me out and I want to cry. Seeing their heads half disconnected from their necks and laying lifeless over a drain just makes me want to become a life long vegetarian.

Of course my oldest son thinks it's the coolest thing since sliced bread (which actually isn't that cool by the way.)