I'm Moving!

Dear Readers,

I am moving to www.athinkingwoman.reformedblogs.com Please visit me over there :)

Our Cat

Some of you know we have a cat named Bunyan (a.k.a Bunny, Bun-Buns, Bunny-Buns). I have a love-hate relationship with this cat. He is really sweet, and actually acts more like a dog than a cat. He always wants affection and love. He wants to be in the middle of everything you are doing. He walks under your feet causing people to trip over him. He's not the Garfield-like picture you think of when you think of a cat.

A little over a week ago, we let him out as we usually did every morning...when he came back, he had a huge (1 1/2 in) gash in his left hind leg. It wasn't actively bleeding, so we thought we'd let it heal on it's own. But as time passed and as Bunny continued to lick his wound to keep it clean we noticed that not only was the hair around it falling out, but with the hair gone the muscle was visible in the wound (sorry for the discriptiveness).

Hubby took him to the animal hospital today and he is staying overnight for surgery (not inexpensive) :( I seem to like him a lot more now. I hope he will not be to scared in a strange place overnight.

Pouting...

...but I'm really trying not to :(

My sweet hubby and a few of his guy friends are currently driving somewhere no woman can ever go. Most women wouldn't want to go there... but I do. Most women would find it boring...I would find it intellectually stimulating. Most women wouldn't like the smell...but I miss the smell. But alas, even though I want to go...I'm not allowed to...no women are...unless you dress up like a man (which one woman did).

Yes...today is the day of Hoagies and Stogies.

Tom McManus and Gene Cook are debating. Today it's postmillenialism vs. ammillenialism. Although Gene is an excellent debater, postmils are gonna win :) But I won't be there to join in the victory dance, or shout in the cheers of triumph. Oh, sigh...whimper...and pout.

Owen Isaac is here!

He's finally here. Born March 21st at 4am. 7lbs.15oz. Cute little head full of black hair. Ouch.

Taking A Break

I am very close to delivering our little Owen Isaac. This being the case, I may be taking a break from blogging again. If I can find time and something to say while mothering a newborn, 1yr old, 2yr old, and 3yr old, I might blog if I can find the energy :)

Rejoicing Over the Gospel

Hubby and I were talking last night and we came to a conclusion.

Only those who realize that they can do nothing to earn their salvation, can truly rejoice over the Gospel.

There are some who believe that you must work to earn salvation. But we are told in the Scriptures that all our works are as filthy rags. If our salvation is such that a couple of filthy rags can earn it, then what a pitiful salvation it is. It is not worth rejoicing over.

But if our salvation is too pure, too perfect to be tainted by our human efforts, then rejoice! Because it is this kind of salvation that truly saves. Only faith in Christ's perfect untainted efforts can obtain this kind of salvation. This is the Gospel.

There are also some on Reformed circles who so stress the idea of staying in the covenant that there is no longer any room for the promises of God. There needs to be a balance. But again, our works are as filthy rags, so, how can they truly keep us in the covenant? I do understand the importance of obedience and striving to produce the good works we were created in Christ Jesus to do. But I think this is more for our temporal benefit. When we are obedient, we can have the assurance that accompanies an obedient life. In the eternal perspective, our obedience is as a filthy rag. It is inevitable, but it is counted as less than nothing.

At the risk of sounding antinomian, at this point in my life, at this point in my sanctification, I get more assurance from God's promise to preserve me, than from my obedience. My obedience, being more miss than hit lately, is inadequate to do anything more than remind me that I need God's grace and mercy. When I focus on my "staying in the covenant", I get utterly depressed. When I focus on my great God's preserving mercy upon me, I can truly rejoice over the Gospel. Because it is God who works in me to believe that I don't have to depend upon my works, only Christ's works are pure enough to accomplish anything.

Green Thumb Anyone?

We had our house-warming party two days ago. It was so much fun! Many people showed up and we had a great time of fellowship. Several guests brought us some gifts. Included among them were some violas (the flower, not the musical instrument :), two rose bushes, three grape plants, and another potted plant (I can't remember the name of it)

I absolutley love the thought of having these plants in our yard. In fact, as soon as we decided on which house to buy, I was already thinking about putting plants of some kind in the yard. The problem is...I tend to kill plants.

Josh bought me two potted plants early in our marriage. I didn't water them enough, they died. Then when we moved to Georgia, he bought me another potted plant. This time I was determined not to kill it. So, I watered it about 2-3 times a week. Guess I wasn't supposed to do that either, it died.

So, while I am so grateful to the guests who brought us these plants, and while I am so happy to have them and try to grow them...I am afraid I will be labeled the "serial plant killer" by the end of a month or two at the most.

Who knows, maybe these ones will survive me. I can just picture a beautiful yard with roses and a flourishing grape vine (maybe I can learn how to make wine?), and a house lined with beautiful little violas. I think the other potted plant would look nice just outside the front doorway.

So, does anyone know how to do this??? I looked online this morning, but if anyone can walk me step-by-step through it, they might just be saving the life of a poor defenseless little grape.

Family Update

Hi all. My sweet hubby asked me yesterday, "When are you going to blog again?" That's when I realized it had really been a while. So, for all of you who have undoubtedly missed my blogs so much, here's an update on what's been going on in our family since I posted last.

We lost internet connection a handful of months ago, and while hubby was able to blog and check e-mail, etc, through his internet access at work, I was home every day. So, I was kinda cut off from the outside world for a while. We do now have internet connection, in our new house.

We are now in our new house. We had been waiting for quite a while, since about June of last year, but we're finally here! God be praised. It is such a blessing to have elbow room. Don't get me wrong, our old house was a huge blessing too, being rent-free. But it's nice to finally be settled in a place of our own. Feels good to be a homeowner. Something I never thought we'd be calling ourselves in southern California. We are having our house-warming party tomorrow from 4pm-9pm for all of you who are interested.

About a month ago, the day we were supposed to move into our new house, Gabriel had a siezure (Josh said he may have also had one the night before, but wasn't sure if that's what he was seeing). It was during his sleep, and since he didn't have a fever at the time of the siezure (which would have made it a febral siezure, easy to diagnose and not a huge thing to worry about), the docs wanted to do some tests. So, March 7th Gabe goes into Children's Hospital to get an EEG. He hasn't had any siezures since then.

About threee weeks ago I heard rattling in Emmie's chest. She was also very cranky and lethargic. I took her to the ER where they said she had "very bad" pneumonia in both of her lungs. The docs were undecided on whether to admit her into the hospital or let me take her home. After a while, they decided to let me take her home provided I took her to the pediatrician for a follow up on the next monday (it was then saturday). Monday came, I took her in, the pediatrician was not worried when she looked at Emmie. We went home, Emmie recovered nicely, but at Emmie's visit, I asked the pediatrician to also look at the boys since they were taking so long to recover from their colds. She said they both had ear infections. I took them back on friday to be looked at again and Gabe's had gone away without meds, meaning that his infection was only viral. But Aaron still had his, so he got put on meds. The pediatrician told me at that time that she had gotten the final report from Emmie's hospital x-rays and that the docs at the ER wanted to do another x-ray because it looked like she had congenital emphazema. So, we were able to get another x-ray about a week or so later, and it came back negative. I cried tears of relief when we found out our little girl was healthy.

I am 3 & 1/2 weeks away from my due date with Owen. Which really means I can have him anytime after Sunday, being full term at 37 weeks.. And every day I feel bigger and bigger. I am very ready to be done being pregnant. While I love how I feel psycologically when I am carrying a little life in me, I do not like all the aches, pains and discomforts it bring to my body. Last night I was sure I would go into labor at any minute. I have no idea how any woman gets through pregnancy without God's grace. You'd think that by the time you are getting ready to deliver your 4th child, you be ready and calm. I'm not. Something about the impending excruciating pain just really unnerves me. I am looking forward to having Owen in my arms, but not the process it takes to ge there. I would appreciate any prayers the church body can offer on my behalf in this area.

That's it for now. I need to go be a mommy now.

Comments now moderated

Hello all,

Sorry for any inconvenience, I will now be moderating all comments.

This is far easier for me than to see a stupid comment or ad on my blog and have to go erase it :)

And for all you who like to disagree with me on my blog in a respectful way, don't worry, I'll still be more than happy to display your comments. I'm not afraid of being disagreed with.

Irreverent Prayer

Ok, this one really convicted me. I think most people if they are honest with themselves would admit to their mind's tendency to wander during prayer. This being the case with me, I was moved to try all the harder in this area after reading this paragraph by John Calvin. It's taken from his Institutes. I apologize for the sometimes difficult to understand phrasing. It took me reading some sentences several times to really get ahold of what Calvin was trying to say, it was worth it though.

"These two matters are well worth attention: first, whoever engages in prayer should apply to it his faculties and efforts, and not, as commonly happens, be distracted by wandering thoughts. For nothing is more contrary to reverence for God than the levity that marks an excess of frivolity utterly devoid of awe. In this matter, the harder we find concentration to be, the more strenuously we ought to labor after it. For no one is so intent on praying that he does not feel many irrelevant thoughts stealing upon him, which either break the course of prayer or delay it by some winding bypath. But here let us recall how unworthy it is, when God admits us to intimate conversation, to abuse his great kindness by mixing sacred and profane; but just as if the discourse were between us and an ordinary man, amidst our prayers we neglect him and flit about hither and thither."

It's a boy!

For all who are interested, we are having another boy!

His name will be Owen Isaac. Owen, after the great puritan John Owen (The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, read it if you can :)), and Isaac, after one of the great patriarch's of the Christian faith.

So, as soon as March comes around (hopefully), the score will be 3 boys to 1 girl. But, Lord willing, this will not be the final score, the girls still may have a chance to catch up!

I must say though, after finding out we are having our third boy, I have become ever so much more grateful that the Lord saw fit to give us Emmie. Our little princesa mejillas is walking now and will turn 1 year old in about 1 and 1/2 months!

I echo the common thought of my hubby, "I feel rich!"

Calvin's Institutes

Hi All,

I have taken upon myself the task of reading Calvin's Institutes...word by word. So I am about through the seventh page :)

I am currently reading the section about prayer. I read how faith and prayer work together, how NOT to pray, and now I am reading Calvin's "rules" of prayer, as outlined in Scripture.

I don't have the book with me, so I can't do it now, but sometime when I have the Institutes and a computor in front of me I will post a really convicting and awesome paragraph Calvin wrote about the irreverence of becoming distracted during prayer.

I hope you all will also be stirred to keep your prayers reverent and worthy of our thrice holy God.

My Baby

Yesterday I was lying still resting, meditating on the fact that the little movements I was feeling in my stomach were so much more than a glob of human cells dividing to form a potential human. My baby has a steady consistent heartbeat-which can rise or fall in speed based upon the stresses it goes through, all his/her organs are present and continuing to develop, the fingerprints that my baby will have for the rest of it's life are formed by now, my baby now has hair on it's body, my baby can suck it's thumb in my womb.

I know that babies are living real people at the point of conception. There are enough biblical, philosophical and medical arguments to more than prove it. But when I feel the movement of life within me, and the bond I already know exists between myself and my child, I know that my baby is fearfully and wonderfully made by God, I know the miracle living inside me has a soul that is infinitley known by God. I am alreay in love with my baby. I do not love a bunch of human cells, I love a soul. Any woman who cannot love the soul of her child until she sees it in her arms, believing that that's the point of life, really misses out. She misses out on 9 months of loving, getting to know, bonding with, mothering, and marveling at the life that is. I greatly pity this woman.

I thank you LORD, for the soul your loving hand causes to grow within me.

Interesting Beliefs of Eastern Orthodoxy

Oh the insanities some people can be so convinced of.

The following is taken from The Orthodox Church: New Edition by Timothy Ware.

Orthodox religious thought lays the uttermost emphasis on the image of God in the human person. Each of us is a 'living theology', and because we are God's icon, we can find God by looking within our own heart, by 'returning within ourselves':'The kingdom of God is within you' (Luke xvii, 21). 'Know yourselves' said Antony of Egypt. '...He who knows himself, knows God.' [1] 'If you are pure,' wrote St Isaac the Syrian (late seventeenth century), 'heaven is within you; within yourself you will see the angels and the Lord of the angels.' [2] And of St Pachomius is it recorded: 'In the purity of his heart he saw the invisible God as in a mirror.' [3]
Because he or she is an icon of God, each member of the human race, even the most sinful, is infinitely precious in God's sight. 'When you see your brother or sister, ' said Clement of Alexandria, 'you see God.' [4] And Evangrius taught: 'After God, we must count everyone as God Himself.' [5] This respect of every human being is visibly expressed in Orthodox worship, when the priest censes not only the icons but the members of the congregation, saluting the image of God in each person. 'The best icon of God is the human person.' [6]

footnotes:
1. Letter 3 (in the Greek and Latin collections, 6).
2. Quoted in P. Evdokimov, L'Orthodoxie, p. 88.
3. First Greek Life, 22.
4. Stromateis, I, xix (94,5).
5. On Prayer, 123 (P.G. 1xxix, 1193c).
6. P. Evdokimov, L'Orthodoxie, p. 218.

Insane, is it not?

Last One...Really

I am not trying to push this subject, but I found this article very interesting when I was coming to my own personal convictions about the use of birth control. Disclaimer...I do take exception to his use of Onan as an example of God's displeasure with birth control. Onan was deceitful, and wanted the pleasure of marriage without the duty of providing an heir for his late brother. I think God's displeasure with Onan may have had more to do with his deceit and selfishness than the manner of birth control he used. Just my thought's regarding Onan. I may or may not be right. Enjoy!


http://home.att.net/~nathan.wilson/brthcntl.htm

My Hubby's Posts on Birth Control

Based upon the direction the comments on my blog have turned, I thought it would be helpful to post links to two of my hubby's posts on his blog on this same subject.

Please keep in mind that we (hubby and I) mean to be cheritable in this area. We have not arrived at perfect knowledge in this area. But these are our convictions.



www.joshbrisby.blogspot.com/2005/06/thoughts-on-birth-control.html

and

www.joshbrisby.blogspot.com/2005/06/responses-to-common-arguments-for.html

Happy Labor Day!

Clarification on My Previous Post

In my previous post I was not saying that everyone who uses birth control is sexually impure, or that they will do sexually impure things.

I do believe, however, that if birth control were not an option, the sexually impure would have second thoughts about throwing around their sexuality. Although there are exceptions, birth control is directly responsible for the epidemic of sexual impurity we see around us.

Of course behind it all, the first source of all sin is our own sinful hearts. And even without birth control, I'm sure some would still find ways to be impure.

The Woes of Sexual Impurity

It seems that sexual impurity is the root cause of many kinds of evils. This information I obtained from one of the elders at my church. It comes from a slide he used in a Sunday school class.

Sexual impurity leads to a disregard for life, self, society, and the narural order. I will do by best to explain the chart without actually posting it, as I don't know how. Much of the commentary will be my own.

First, sexual impurity leads to a disregard for life. Let's see how this works out. Those who are sexually impure are the ones who are murdering their children through abortion. They don't call it murder, of course, but they fail to see the blessing being knit together in their womb or their partner's womb, and they disregard it as trash. This leads to a mentality that sees children as a burden and a hinderance to success, happiness, etc, therefore it becomes much easier to abuse the children who are allowed to live past the first nine months of life, those kids who are already born are looked upon with distain. And as we have seen in the Holocaust and other examples of euthanaisa, when a whole sect of society is looked upon with such distain, ridding the society of them is an acceptable option. And if the unwanted sect of society is expendable, and seen as less than human, why not torture them? And then of course if you see yourself as part of that expendable sect of society, why not end your life as a way of ending the pain that comes along with being unwanted and unloved? Sexual impurity leads to a disregard for life.

Second, sexual impurity leads to a disregard for self. Those who are sexually impure know that they can contract vicious and even deadly diseases from their practices. Yet, is this enough to curb their harmful practices? No. Ironically, it is their love of self exibited in their need for self- gratification that causes them to continue in their dangerous ways. Sexual gratification is as addictive as any drug. And the more you allow yourself to indulge in, the more it takes to gratify you. The ways of a sexually impure person will become more and more perverse, including, but not limited to pornography, rape, incest, harming others, self mutilation. One living in these ways will self destruct if you give them enough time. Thankfully our laws put them behind bars if they get too far in harming others, but no one can keep them from the harm they are doing to themselves, all for the sake of self-gratification. Sexual impurity leads to a disregard of self.

Third, sexual impurity leads to a disregard for society. Divorce is a big one. Many times when a man and a woman divorce, it is because one or both of them has been sexually impure. In the case that both remain sexually pure and divorce for other reasons, the divorce is not acknowlegded by God, therefore if they begin another sexually active relationship whether it's fornication or remarrying, it is adultery, which is sexual impurity. Sexual impurity is obviously the direct cause of prostitution. And in the world of prostitution, there is a whole host of other problems such as drugs, crime, and violence. All these will lead very quickly to the destruction of any society. Sexual impurity leads to a disregard for society.

Sexual impurity leads to a disregard for natural order. It leads to the disintigration if the institution of the family. Not only by tearing apart homes, but by creating abberant and perverted versions of the "home". I will call it now. In fifty to seventy-five years from now, I will be shocked and perplexed if marriage to a dog is not a legally recognized union. The God-given natural order established at the creation of the first marriage (that of Adam and Eve), was that one man should marry one woman. The first step away from that is homosexuality, and there is no end to the perversion if you keep going. Pedophilia, bestiality, necrophilia, and whatever alse the depraved mind can think of. A homosexual friend who I care about very much has justified some of the most crazy "unions" you could imagine. Sexual impurity leads to a disregard for natural order.

This basically was my commentary added to the chart my elder used.

Now I am going to proceed to take it one step back. What is the cause of sexual impurity? You ready? Here's where I get controversial. Here's where I lose half of my blog readers, and get the other half mad at me :) Speak the truth in love right? I'll try my best...

The cause of sexual impurity is the separation of procreation from the sex act.

When we separate the sex act from the possibility of a child coming out of that union, we relinquish ourselves of any of the responsibility that by nature comes with blessing of that union. Since our society is so bent on self-gratification, we want the pleasure now, but we do not the responsibility that comes with the right to enjoy that pleasure.

When a man and a woman have intercourse, they are making a covenant to each other with their bodies, they are becoming "one flesh", they are spiritually marrying themselves to each other. In a covenant, there are privileges and responsibilities. The problem today, is that we want the privileges of being married with out the responsibilities. Whether it is a legally married man and woman, or those who are just "playing married". The principle responsibility that comes with marriage, is raising children. This, I believe, is the main reason God reserved the right for sexual relations for a man and a woman married to each other. This provides the best home for the child. But when we know we will not have the "burden" of children to deal with, thanks to modern technology and "medicine", we can be as irresponsible with our sexuality as we want, without the worry of dealing with whining kids.

So, in summary, birth control leads to sexual impurity. Sexual impurity leads to a disregard of life, self, society, and natural order.

Sorry for the length of this novel. If you stuck with me thus far, thanks. I will now open up for the crossfire ;)

Another Quiz

I also took another more general theology quiz. I will not post the results because the author of the quiz did not have very nice things to say about Calvinists.

But it turns out I am more atheistic than Arminian :)

Calvinist = 65%

Atheist = 35%

Arminian = 20%

hmmm...interesting. I think if the author of this quiz understood Calvinistic theology, not only would he not have said nasty things about Calvinists, but I would have ended up 100% Calvinist.

My Eucharist Theology

You scored as Calvin.

You are John Calvin. You have a Nestorian Christology and separate the Divinity and Humanity of Jesus. You believe only those who have faith are united to Christ, who is present spiritually, yet you call this "Real."

Calvin 100%

Zwingli 50%

Luther 13%

Catholic 6%

Unitarian 0%

I saw this quiz at another blog and decided to take it myself. You can find it at www.Quizfarm.com It is the Eucharist Theology quiz.

I do take exception, however to where it says I separate the Divinity and Humanity of Jesus. Our Lord's two nature's are distinct from each other, but inseperable. There are a whole host of theological problems that arise when you separate Jesus Divine and Human natures.

Interesting Statistic On Homosexual Men

I just heard an interesting statistic concerning homosexual men. Of all the men included in the study* almost without exception, every one of the gay men had a domineering mother. The man I heard this statistic from had a very insightful explaination.

He said that God has given boys a natural desire to be the leader, the more dominant one, the one in control. As a small boy watches his parents as he grows up, he will naturally follow his God-given instinct to emulate which ever parent is the leader, thus learning how to be the leader he is meant to be. If dad is taking the godly role of the leading husband, the boy will grow up to be a strong, secure man. But if the dad is a whimp and leaves the mom to do the leading, the boy is going to emulate the mom, therefore leaving him much more vulnerable to become homosexual.

As one who strongly believes in God's sovereignty, I can say that it makes sense to me that a role reversal in marriage would be a means God may use to bring about an end like this. So, those of us who are married, and especially those of us who have been blessed with children, MUST be so careful to fulfill our God-given roles, and not usurp the role of our spouse. The consequences seem to be much more far reaching that perhaps most of us have realized.



*I heard this on the radio, and I came in during the middle of the discussion. So, I do not know who funded or carried out the study.

I'm Green!

My apologies for the length of this post. My hubby brought home a very interesting personality quiz. I took it, and I am green. Green is the color that coordinates with the curious personality type. Red= adventurous, yellow = responsible, blue = harmonious.

Here are the results for a "green" personality. Basically, this is probably everything nobody wanted to know about me. So, since no wanted to know, no one asked. Since no one asked, I'll take the liberty to tell :)...

*Searching, learning, and understanding are fun.
*I love puzzles, problems, and finding solutions.
*I like to work independently.
*Intelligence, justice, and fairness are important.
*I want to be correct - to do things right.
*It would be great fun to explore the universe.
*Once I've found the solution, others can take over and put it into action.
*My calm exterior may hide some inner turmoil.
*I love to create a brand new idea.
*Being competent is absolutely essential.
*I want my brain to manage my emotions.

Greens want to know all there is to know about everything. They like to analyze, probe, study, invent, investigate, and explore. Nonconforming and independent, they tend to appear calm, cool, and collected most of the time. The worst situation for a Green would be to appear stupid. If there is time to read, outside of important books and journals, Greens love mysteries or science fiction. They love abstractions and puzzles.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH A GREEN

Greens have a seemingly insatiable curiosity. When you encounter someone who is filled with questions, wants to know more about almost everything, chances are you are with a Green.

They may seem cool or aloof, emotionally arms-lengths. But if you will move from heart to the brain, you'll find a stimulating conversationalist. The Green may be skeptical. "Why?" is the most important question. Greens spend lots of time reading, mostly technical information or science fiction. This person will be focused on the future, on the possibilities, on the vision. Quite content to be on their own, Greens do things their own way and proceed independently toward the solving of a problem.

Talk about theories, models, and paradigms and you'll keep the Green's attention. Suggest the possibility of a learning experience, an advance in knowledge or wisdom. Above all, be logical and factual. Be ready to validate and proove your assertions. The "global" implications will be important to Greens. If possible, show how you can help the person develop further knowledge and understanding.

Never mind the small talk - discuss concepts, abstractions, new ideas, and plans that will impact the future. Offer a logical solution to clear problems and puzzles. Challenge the Green to help find the solution. Be creative, innovative, but not outlandish. Things need to make sense.

You may find yourself in a friendly debate but be ready to defend your position. The Green person will question and must respect you before trusting your answers. Convey the driving force or theory that underlies your ideas and proposals. This thinking person will want to consider, interpret and probe. You'll establish rapport by appreciating the Green's competence. Show how your idea meshes with their vision. Show a model or discuss the philosophical appeal. Remember, Greens want to be sure that anything they do makes sense!


So, this is me. Except that I can't stand science fiction. I don't know why they would say my personality type likes science fiction. I can't stand it precisely because it is irrational. It doesn't make sense, so I don't like it.

Reformed Theology Regenerates the Intellect

I used to think that intellectually bright people were generally more attracted to Reformed theology than those who were less likely to try to think deeply. Being in Reformed circles, I look around me and see mostly very intellectual people. After a long look at my own life, however, I think I am pretty much convinced that this is not the case. I thought that since Reformed doctrines and beliefs are so systematic and profound in nature, intellectuals would "catch on" sooner than those who were less intellectual. It seemed that intellectuals would have the cognitive faculties to better understand and embrace these truths.

I failed to realize one thing though...it is the Holy Spirit who reveals truth.

Before I became "Reformed", I was the last type of person you would have categorized as intellectual. After all, I was a musician, with mediocre grades (one has to ask, why do those two things tend to go hand in hand?). The point being, I didn't know how to think critically. I was not taught to nor expected to. I know I was saved. But my thinking abilities had yet to be awakened.

It was when I met my then future husband (although I didn't know it at the time), that my intellectual world began to slowly open up. Josh first told me that there was no such thing as a "rapture". I thought he was crazy. He proceeded to tell me that Jesus didn't die for everyone without exception. I knew he was crazy. But as the weeks and months went by, it all made more and more sense in light of God's holy Word. After reading Thomas and Steele's Doctrines of Grace, I was thoroughly convinced.

You'll never believed what happened next...well, if you're Reformed, you will...I started thinking critically for the first time in my life. And so, based upon my own intellectual "regeneration", and similar stories I have heard from others, my conclusion is that the biblical doctrines of the Reformed faith, regenerate (not literally) the mind. This is not to say that one can't have their soul regenerated unless they are Reformed. The gospel works the same for everyone who comes to Christ. Reformed theology just explains how the gospel works, and who it works for. I'm sure a good Reformed theologian will object now and say something like, "You can't make a dichotomy between the soul and the mind." I agree. Once we are called to grace by the Holy Spirit, we are gradually, progressively, and constantly being sactified by the power of God's Word. All I am saying is that once the Holy Spirit reveals the truths contained in Reformed theology, sanctification of the mind seems to occur much more rapidly.

Ok, so any thoughts on this? Feel free to comment.

The SCCCS Conference

I'm sure I won't be the only person to blog on the SCCCS (Southern California Center for Christian Studies) conference that took place this last weekend in Fullerton, CA. But here are my thoughts on the event.

The topic this year was on Christianity in the movies. The speakers were Brian Godawa, Jack Hafer, Joel Pelsue, and Goran Dragolovic. Before going to the conference the only name I was familiar with was Brian Godawa.

I overall was dissappointed with the conference. The men asked to speak ranged in profession from producer, to screenwriter, to president of Arts & Entertainment Ministries, to an elder of a PCUSA church. Brian Godawa alone seemed to have much experience with public speaking. And a certain other person (who shall remain nameless) who opened/closed the conference, introduced speakers, and moderated the Q&A session, was downright rude despite the excelling example of humility left by his father. The SCCCS as a whole seems to be going in a very concerning direction. Different comments uttered offstage lead me to believe the Auburn Avenue/New Perspective on Paul errors are finding their way into this organization. And then there's the ecumenicalism shown forth with statements such as one of the speakers spoke, calling Mel Gibson (a very devout Tridentine Catholic who believes liturgy should only be in Latin) a Christian.

Basically, at the end of the conference, I am left with one last thought-How I wish Greg Bahnsen were still here.

I've been Tagged

I don't normally do this kinda stuff, but I felt that this one had some redeeming quality.

Q. One book that changed your life: The Doctrines of Grace by Thomas and Steele

Q. One book that you've read more than once: The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan

Q. One book you'd want on a desert island: The Heavenly Footman by John Bunyan

Q. One book that made you laugh: Right Behind: A Parody of Last Days' Goofiness by Nate Wilson and Mr. Sock

Q. One book that made you cry: Life by His Death (an easier to read version of The Death of Death in the Death of Christ by John Owen)

Q. One book that you wish had been written: A book teaching American Christian Women how to really think, as opposed to mindlessly following the ideologies of American feminism. I've been toying with the idea of writing it myself. It'll probably never happen though :)

Q. One book that you wish had never been written: The Left Behind Series. Well, actually it is good comedy relief.

Q. One book you're currently reading: Total Truth by Nancy Piercey

Q. One book you've been meaning to read: Praise Her in the Gates by Nancy Wilson


Now tag five people:

I do not know many people to tag in the blogoshpere. So, I will now extend an open invitation to anyone who reads my humble blog. Feel free to copy, paste, and complete with your own answers. Please do let me know if you do, because I would love to see your answers.

Where Do The Babies Go?

Ok, a new and related thought to my last post.

Babies die. This is a very sad truth. In my last post, I concluded that death is the result, and just punishment for sin. Death passes through ALL men because ALL sin. If babies die as the result of the sin living within them, do they go to heaven or hell?

FIRST, LET ME BE VERY CLEAR, I believe that God is a just God AND a merciful God. I plead God's mercy for the babies who have passed on without having heard the gospel. However I don't think that Scripture gives a clear answer to the question of where they go.

But my question is this...Would not God be just if he fully punished these sinful souls? God would not be holy or just if He let sin go unpunished. So, I guess the real question we are asking when we ask, "Where to babies go when they die?", is did Christ's blood cover their soul. We know that their sin is punished. SO, the question is, "Did they bear their own punishment, or did Christ?"

Let me again be clear once again. If it is up to a person to believe the gospel in order to be saved, then all babies who die prebirth are eternally lost. Because they did not believe the gospel they can rightly be punished for their sin. But if faith is a divine gift from God, which He gives to whomever he will, then we can have hope, because He has the power to give it even to babies who have yet to be born.

Why Do Babies Die?

This is my question to all "christian" denominations that deny original sin. Death is the punishment for sin. Why do babies, who have no sin (in their belief), die? Death of all kinds, abortions, miscarriages, accidents, death by old age are all a part of God's judgment upon sin. We who are pardoned by the blood of Christ, although we have been saved from the "second death" (spiritual death), still must undergo the "first death" (physical death). This is because we are still sinners. Our first death as believers, I believe purges the sin that still dwells within us, to make us fit for Heaven. But if we are not concevied under Adam's federal headship, and if original sin merely means the first sin a person commits, why are babies inutero (in the womb)still subject to death, by abortion or miscarriage? How can a baby sin inutero? Most would say they can't. Why then are they punished by death for something they have not done yet?

The Other Two

Here are our other two munchins, Aaron, and Emmie.

Fun With Hair Clippers

Here's my little Gabe. On our way to shaving his hair off we stopped here...

Somethin's Cookin' !

Yes folks, you heard it here first (probably). Today Josh and I found out that there is a real live, living, heart-beating, human soul growing in my womb. Praise the Lord with us!!! God is the Sovereign giver of life, and throughout Scripture you find texts that show children as being a blessing, a gift, an heritage. Thank you God, for such a precious gift, and the three other precious gifts you gave me before this one.

I almost can't wait to welcome this brand new little soul into our home and hearts.

P.S. Please only comment on this post if you can truly praise the Lord with Josh and me. I know that most will think we're crazy/irresponsible/"gluttons for punishment" for welcoming so many kids into our life, but please don't tell me you think so. I would rather not hear it. :)

Love, Anonymous

I am taking a break from postmillennialism. I know that not many people read my blog, but for whom it may concern...

There is a trend in blogdom. The fact that blogger.com allows people to post comments anonymously, has eliminated accountability. Some people are not mature enough to take responsibility for their words, so they give their "hit and run" comments, insults, criticisms, foolishnesses. This is such a cowardly thing to do. There is no other explanation. Those who want to say nasty things, and not get caught, or called out, or confronted, are cowards. If you are not man/woman enough to own up to your words/nastiness/fallacious reasoning, etc...keep your mouth closed, or in this case, keep your computor off.

It is another thing entirely if you want to respectfully dissagree. This is how learning takes place, by dissagreeing parties cordially discussing issues. But throwing out mean comments under the mask of anonymity does nothing more than fan the flame residing within the sinful flesh of the cowardly antagonist.

And yet, one more thing can be said of the anonymous commentor. A wounded animal will be the most vicious. I would say that the anonymous commentor striking out is solid proof that their conscience has been wounded. So, if you are convicted by the words we (Christians) speak, one sure way to tell us that deep down you know we are right, is to leave a mean-spirited comment on one of our blogs. And if you want us to know that you are going to lie awake in bed tonight struggling to ignore the truth of God's Word, leave your comment under the name, anonymous.

Thy Kingdom Come

To everyone who has been eagerly waiting the arrival of my next post on A Thinking Woman, I apologize that it has taken so long. My husband is a school teacher and he has been home from work this summer. And to be honest, I enjoy hanging out with my hubby more than blogging! :)

This post will be about the example our Lord left us on how we ought to pray.

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven..."

Would our Lord really tell us to ask for something that would never realistically happen? As trusting children, would our loving mother tell us to go ask our generous father to give us some great thing, knowing full well, that our father would never give to us that which she is telling us to ask of him? If that happened in real life, we might say that this mother is not loving after all. It would seen she is playing a cruel joke on us.

James 1:6 tells us that when we pray to God, we are to ask in faith, not doubting, for he that doubteth is like the surge of the sea driven by the wind and tossed about. I realize that in the context of the first chapter of James, the author is referring to asking God for wisdom. But I think it easily applies to any prayer we pray. We should always pray, believing that God is able to grant that which we ask if it is in accordance to his will.

Jesus tells us to pray that God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. How is God's will done in heaven? Perfectly. I am not denying that there will always be sin in this present age. It is my belief, however, that as the gospel goes forth conquering the nations, making the enemies of Christ his footstool, God's kingdom here on earth will look more and more like his kingdom in heaven. If it would never be so, Christ would not have asked us to pray for it.

In the Great Commission, Jesus says "all authority has been given to me"...so go disciple the nations. Notice, he did NOT say go and try to convert the nations. He said disciple the nations. You cannot disciple that which is not already converted. Conversion takes place first, then discipleship follows. Why is Christ so confident as to tell us to disciple the nations (which is in itself making the assuption that they will be converted first)? Because ALL authority had been given to him.

God does not work apart from means. God uses our prayers and evangelism to bring about gospel success. So, first we pray that God's kingdom come and that his will be done perfectly on earth as it is in heaven...then we get out there in everyday life, and fulfill the Great Commission. And in case we doubt that God will use us to disciple the nations as he told us to do, never fear, because he who commanded us to do so has ALL authority to grant that it happen. And so I exclaim with the Apostle Paul..."O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen." And Amen.