More On Church Unity

There can still be unity among all Christians even if there are differences between them. As long as the issues are not doctrinal, there can be absolute unity among all Christians. God would never give a command that we would be unable to follow. Everything else is opinion. Romans 14 refers to inconsequential things, opinions. Opinions will always differ because we are all unique individuals. Opinions do not get us to heaven or keep us out of heaven. But other matters regarding Christian living can be embraced by all Christians, and we can still be unified.

Different religions include different ideas in their group of key issues, hence their creed statements. But if we stick to the Bible, then there is no disagreement until personal preferences start to creep in. As for members of our congregation who disagree, are they matters of opinion or not? If they believe differently on important issues, why are they still there? There are plenty of denominations who have differing viewpoints. Surely one of them would match their beliefs. If they are not going to a different denomination, they either do not think the matter is important enough to change or they are not totally sure and they would rather be safe than sorry.

It is very easy to determine who is saved – anyone who does God’s will, which He gave us in the Bible. He would not provide a Bible for us and then make it too hard or confusing to understand. It is not my job to judge the intent of another’s heart, thankfully! But where we go to worship does say something about what we believe. That is why we have a sign on the door saying church of Christ. There are other acceptable Biblical names as well, but this is just what it is called in these parts. I have visited a congregation in Vienna where the only thing on the sign was The Lord’s Church meets here with the times. After speaking with them, the only difference I could see was a different order in the services and they had wine for communion. My point here, is it is not the name (as long as it is Biblical), it is what we believe and practice.

Members of other denominations are not members of the church of Christ because our differences mean too much to them. To them, our differences are a matter of doctrine, not opinion. It matters to them enough to mark the difference. So if they believe one way strongly enough not to be members of the church of Christ, they have already drawn the line of separation.

As far as denominationalism, the definition is a religious organization uniting in a single legal and administrative body of a number of local congregations, a sect. Sect means to cut or divide. We get the word "section" from this word. How can a church who follows only what the Bible teaches (nothing more or less) be a sect, a division of the whole? Divisions only come when some part is added, changed, or taken away from the original. Some churches who claim to be non-denominational merely refuse to take a stand on any tough religious issues, resulting in what they call "unity". This is unity in error. Christ demands unity in truth. By biblical example, there is no church government above the eldership at the local level. So a church with no higher government cannot be a denomination by definition. The Lord’s church is often imitated but never duplicated.

Scrooge

We took a field trip yesterday and visited a local university's production of Scrooge.  We had a really good time!  They did a child-friendly version that wasn't as long as their regular production, and I'm guessing they left out some of the scarier bits.  One of the children in our homeschool group played Tiny Tim, and he did absolutely wonderful!  The costumes were outstanding too.

DS was able to follow the story very well.  DD kept saying that Scrooge was mean, and a grouch pot, and naughty, and that he needed a spankin'.

More Laundry Experiments - Laundry Detergent Success!

Well, as promised, I experimented with laundry soap.  I think it's a success :)  There was something on the news about how when you wash your clothes, you just basically recycle the germs around your washing machine and redistribute them throughout your whole load.  The example they gave was something like the germs on your underwear being deposited on your handkerchiefs.  Gross.  There is a simple way to get past this - sunlight kills those pesky little germs.  If we all hung our clothes outside on a line, this wouldn't be a problem.  But we haven't had a sunny day here in over a month.  Not to mention, it's not warm outside, and clothes would take forever to dry.

The reason for my experiment with laundry soap is money.  Wow, it's expensive!  We have an HE machine, so we have to use the HE detergent, which can be more expensive too. 

All the ingredients can be found at Kroger on the laundry soap aisle.  The only thing we could find at Wal-Mart was the Borax.  Here is the recipe I went with:

Homemade Laundry Soap:
4 c. hot tap water
1 Fels Naptha soap bar
1 c. Washing soda (not baking soda)
1/2 c. Borax

*Grate the bar of soap.  We decided it would be easier to use a food processor or something.  Add soap to a LARGE pan with the water.  Stir continually over medium-low heat until the soap completely dissolves and is melted.

*Fill a 5-gallon bucket 1/2 full of hot tap water.  Add the melted soap, washing soda, and borax.  If the water is really hot, this step will go really fast.  Stir well until all the powder is dissolved.  Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water (but leave room for stirring tomorrow).  Stir, cover, and let it sit overnight to thicken.  It will thicken and also turn into gel.

*The next day, stir it up.  Spoon it into a used clean container (we used cleaned out gallon milk jugs) with 1/2 jug of soap and then fill with water.  You have to shake it up before each use. 

*The instructions I found said if you want it to smell good, you can add about 20 drops of essential oils to each jug.  To combat those pesky little germs, we added 20 drops of Tea Tree Oil.  Tea tree oil is an anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-microbial.  We also did one jug with Sandalwood essential oil, and it smelled good too.

*Yield - 10 gallons of liquid laundry soap.  Think how much money you just saved!
Top loading machine - 5/8 c. per load - This is really close to 2/3 c. on my measuring cup in case you're wondering how much 5/8 c. is.
Front loading machine - 1/4 c. per load.
You can increase if your clothes are really dirty or smelly.

*Tip - some people said the Borax might leave a residue akin to soap scum inside your machine over time, so they recommend putting 1/2 c. plain vinegar in each load to combat this.  I just pour it right on top of my clothes at the beginning.  Another benefit is that the vinegar helps to soften your clothes.  Some people just use vinegar instead of fabric softener, but my clothes weren't soft enough with just vinegar.  We have really hard water, though.

If you try this, please share your results with me.  I'm interested to see what others find.  Also, if you scent yours, tell me what you used and how it turned out.

Swine Flu and 16-Week OB Appointment

Well, my OB appointment on Monday marks my 16-week milestone.  I can't believe it has gone so quickly!  He checked the heart rate - 156.  Any guesses as to what it will be?  He said baby and mommy are healthy and apparently happy :)

He brought up flu shots.  I told him we don't do flu vaccines.  Then he brought up the H1N1 vaccine.  We don't do that one either.  But I told him I thought I had already had it.  We talked about fever and other symptoms.  He said he would go ahead and mark it down as swine flu and wouldn't bother worrying about the vaccine.  I felt safer getting the swine flu than getting the vaccine.  Not that I wanted the swine flu, but it's a lot safer than that vaccine, in my opinion. 

He asked about the AFP test (I think that's what it's called) for my next visit.  Not quite remembering what that one was, I asked what the results of the test could do for me.  He said I could either continue the pregnancy or choose to terminate it.  Such a nice way to put murdering my baby!  I told him that I wouldn't be doing that test because there was no way I was going to abort, no matter what the test might find.  That just makes me sick to my stomach!  I'm so glad he's not pushing me to do this or some other tests.  He actually seemed very glad that abortion was not an option.  That's a relief to me :)

More Utility Problems Like Water Under The Bridge

We ended up losing water three times.  In my opinion, when they added the new neighborhood close to ours and then put all 130 houses on the same water lines, well, they just couldn't take it anymore.  No kidding, we drove by them fixing it last time (on our way to lunch), and we saw water gushing everywhere from a hole in the ground and a fire hydrant.  On our way back, they had filled the hole and fixed the underground pipe.  But the fire hydrant had DUCT TAPE on it!!!  Then a few days later, there was a brand new hydrant next to the old one, which still had the duct tape...

Then last Thursday, we awoke to a bunch of rain and no electricity.  That's not entirely true.  We had lights in some of the rooms, but nothing would come on that was plugged in.  I flipped all the breakers, and nothing changed.  So long story short, I called the electric company.  The nice woman I talked to told me that it sounded like I had partial power.  I had never even heard of this, but apparently she knew what to do.  She sent out a crew to our house.  They discovered that lightning had probably struck the electric pole by the road.  The one that goes to our house.  No one else was affected - just us.  They said the line was actally partially melted!   Then they said they would have to dig up our yard because the line was buried from the pole to the house.  The problem was that it was really wet and rainy, and they couldn't dig up our yard in the rain.  Especially in our swamp of a yard...  So they ran a temporary line from the pole to our house and strung it through the trees in our yard to keep it off the ground.  That was nice to have power again because I was worried we were going to lose all the perishable food.  So we at least had power all through the weekend for my DS's birthday party.  But they said it would be intermittent power and not to run too many things at once.  That's one reason why I haven't posted anything in a bit.

Then on Monday morning, I awoke to tractor-type noises in our yard.  Yay!  They were out there bright and early digging out by the pole.  They told us that the wire appeared to be fine for most of the way.  Just right by the pole was where they needed to dig :)  They had to turn the power off to finish attaching the new line, but it was only for a few minutes.  It was pretty exciting to watch them work, and they were very nice to my children who wanted to watch every single thing they did (from a distance, of course).  When they brought up our power the last time, everything seemed brighter than it had before.  Don't know if I was imagining it or not, but I was sure happy about having full power.

Is Unity In The Church All-Inclusive?

Some believe unity in the church should extend to all denominations or at least a few. If this is true, where do we draw the line? Where does God draw the line? We are to have one faith as Christians. I Corinthians 1:10 says that it is possible for everyone to be of the same mind and judgement. This is contrary to what most people will say – that there is no way people will interpret the Bible the same way as everyone else. They believe that people aren’t wrong when they believe differently, they just have differences in opinion.

There is only one body who is going to heaven. This body won’t include the majority of people –Matthew 7:13-14. There will be lots of people who thought they were included in this body, but will find out on the day of judgement that they were not –Matthew 7:22-23. Inclusion in this body is gained by the one baptism –Ephesians 4:4-6. We get into this body one way – baptism for the remission of sins –Acts 2:37-38. Those who are not cleansed by Christ’s blood cannot enter heaven because His blood continues to cleanse us of our sins. Sin separates us from God –Romans 6:23.

So this is how we become part of the unified body of Christ. Now how do we stay in it? We can’t continue in sin. To do so would not be repentance –Matthew 3:8. We must continually study God’s word –Acts 17:10-11. II Timothy 3:16-17 says that if I study the Bible, I should be able to glean everything I need to know for life as a Christian. God has given me everything I need. My job is to study what he wants me to do and follow through with obedience.

Everyone who reads the Bible and truly searches for the truth will find it. This is a promise from God –Matthew 7:7. The Bible is absolute truth. If not, then God doesn’t know what He’s talking about, and the Bible is irrelevant. This being the case, you can’t have one set of beliefs that is “true” and a different set of beliefs that is also “true”. God compares His word to a seed. A seed produces the same thing over and over again. It doesn’t change. God’s church today should be following the same model it followed when it was first started.

God wants His Christians to be unified. He hates division. Those who cause division in the church are sinning –Galatians 5:19-21, and they won’t be in heaven. So obviously if they won’t be in heaven, their followers won’t be in heaven either. We are supposed to know who they are and avoid them –Romans 16:17. Additionally, these divisive people are to only have 1 or 2 warnings and then we are to leave them alone and have nothing to do with them –Titus 3:9-10.

We can have unity when we don’t ignore the Bible and the commands of God. Being united in error is not what God intended. We are united in truth through God’s word.

Laundry Experiments - Fabric Softener

Prices keep going up, and I am getting tired of paying so much!  A friend recommended this, and I tried it with a small batch - SUCCESS!  Here's my recipe:

1 container liquid fabric softener of your choice

water

big bucket with a lid

1 regular sponge cut in half

Pour the fabric softener in the big bucket.  Fill the container two times with water and pour into the bucket as well.  Put your cut-up sponge in the bucket (don't worry, they will float).  Put your lid on your bucket and store close to your drier.

When you are ready to dry your clothes, put your clothes in the drier, squeeze out a sponge (this is a perfect job for a child - they love to get their hands messy) till it's not drippy and toss it in the drier.  Have your little helper wash their hands.  Start your drier as usual.  When the load is ended, take the dry sponge out and put it back in your bucket to use again later.  Voila!  Nice, soft clothes that smell good too :)

If you try this, let me know how it works for you!

I'll be trying homemade laundry detergent soon...

On The Mend

I've had the flu, and I think I'm finally feeling better.  Yay!  I felt like getting dressed in regular clothes today, which is more than I can say since Friday.  And Ds suggested stuffed cheeseburgers for supper, and I really wanted one - right now!  So I'm actually feeling like eating again :)  Still have all those nasty little flu symptoms, but they aren't so bad anymore.

On another good note, my family seems to have been strong enough to withstand my barrage of germs.  I think everyone else is still healthy.  I tried hard to sneeze the "right" way into my sleeve, and washed my hands about a gazillion times (thank you for your wonderful soap, Marlene! - I used the Rosemary since it is anti-viral).  It was harder than you think to only kiss my children on the back!  So maybe it will have all paid off.

Break Down The Barriers

I saw this on a friend's Facebook page.  It was too good not to share.

Break Down The Barriers

The Bible speaks extensively of certain people with whom Christians cannot associate themselves or be in fellowship (Ephesians 5:11; Romans 16:17; 2Thessalonians 3:14). The Bible also shows the path of reconciliation or the way that barriers which divide can be broken down. The way in which biblical fellowship can be exercised is in Christ. Paul said, “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:27-28). The key to reconciliation is Christ. This is seen in the first statement — “For as many of you were baptized in Christ have put on Christ.” Then Paul mentions specifically three of the barriers which are broken down in Christ.

First, the national or racial barrier is broken down. In Christ, “There is neither Jew nor Greek.” In Christ, there is no racial division but rather spiritual unity. In Acts 10:9-16, this is illustrated very well when the Lord appears to Peter in a vision and explains that there are no longer limitations on animals which man can eat. He also explains how Gentiles can receive the gospel (Acts 10:17-23). This is also seen in John 4 when Jesus goes through Samaria (something not commonly done then — John 4:4) and conversed with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. There were some who were advocating the idea that Christians of Jewish decent were better than Christians of Gentile decent. Paul was dealing with the foolishness of such a doctrine in the book of Galatians. This, of course, builds up to his statement already considered in Galatians 3:27-28. Christ has torn down any racial barriers by dying on the cross for all.

Next, Galatians 3:27-28 tears down a status barrier. While today, it may be hard for some to imagine the idea of slavery, such was very commonplace in New Testament times. Interestingly, the Bible was not primarily intended to abolish slavery. In fact, the Bible points out good reasons for slavery such as punishment for crimes (Exodus 21). Some have reasonably argued that while the Bible never set out to abolish slavery, the abolition of slavery came as a natural result of Christianity. Paul encourages both slaves and masters who are Christians to treat each other equitably (Ephesians 6:5-9). Paul encouraged Philemon, a runaway slave, to return to his master showing fruits of repentance after he had been converted (Philemon 8-16). While in life, many may have different roles, in Christ all are one. In Christ, the barrier of status is broken down.

Finally, in Christ, gender or sex is broken down — “...there is neither male nor female….” Perhaps of all the barriers mentioned in Galatians 3:27-28, this is currently the most controversial. Many tend to think since God made male and female one in Christ Jesus, there is no difference of roles between them. Passages like 1Corinthians 14:34-35 and 2Timothy 2:8-15 tell of the differences in roles which God intends for men and women. The church has different members each with different roles which together will accomplish the mission of the church (Romans 12:4-5). Accomplishing the purpose of the church, the members are all one in Christ. Men have a role in the church and women have a role in the church. When everyone does their part, the work of the church is being accomplished and the individual members are one in Christ.

The Bible also speaks of different women who were involved in the work of the church in the New Testament. Chloe was mentioned in 1Corinthians 1. In Romans 16:1, Phoebe was commended by Paul. Aquilla’s wife, Pricilla worked with him in teaching Apollos the way of the Lord more accurately (Acts 18:26). There is a work for women and the gender/sex barrier has been broken down in Christ.

Through Christ, so many other barriers can be broken down in addition to the ones mentioned in Galatians 3:27-28. Christ also abolishes cultural, language, geographical, and age barriers. In fact, in Christ there are no barriers or prejudice of any kind. Christ brings unity, not division. The unity is found in obeying His will, not man’s will. The unity is found in being baptized into Him, not someone else. The unity is found in living for God, not anyone else. The unity Christians seek is that all be one with God which will bring about unity with one another. This action will Break Down the Barriers.

-Jeremy Northrop

No Water?!?!

Last week, I realized we had no water.  Worried I hadn't paid the bill, I checked.  Tweren't me.  Twas a broken water main in town.  I could be without water for 2 days and possibly lose electricity too.  My friend swooped in and saved me and took us all to her house for the day.  Long story short, we had water later that night.

Fast-forward to today.  I get up, there's water.  All's well in my small little world.  Ds wakes up and is ready to eat.  Well, call me silly, but I usually wash my hands before preparing food.  So I squirt some soap on my hands, lather, and there's no water.  Not a drop.  And I have soap all over my hands.  Now, this time, I KNOW I'm not late on the bill.  Dh calls, and they weren't even aware there was a problem.  In fact, we were the first call.  Somehow, I don't feel special.  Don't know when we'll get water, but I'll sure be glad when we do!

Appropriate Punishment and Training

How should a parent punish a child for locking a younger sibling in the dark bathroom?  Then, and more importantly, how should the child be better trained?

Amateurs Outperforming Professionals

There is at least one profession where amateurs have consistently been outperforming the professionals.  Can you guess what profession it is before reading this article?

I was going to paste parts of it in, but didn't want to infringe on the copyright.

http://www.creators.com/opinion/thomas-sowell/amateurs-outdoing-professionals.html

We're Going Camping, Yippeee!!!

DH got me a tent for my birthday, and I am so excited!  I can't seem to find a picture online of what it looks like.  So I'll post a picture of our old tent.  This was taken back before we had children, right before DS was born.  It's so much more fun camping with children, though!  Their sheer wonder at all kinds of things makes for so many more smiles :)  Guess I'll just have to take some pictures and share later!  I really enjoy camping.  The last time we went was spring of 08.  I wanted to go last fall, and things never panned out with dh's schedule with work. We made plans to go this past spring, and again, things never panned out, mostly the weather. I told DH how disappointed I was because I didn't think I would feel like sleeping on the ground either being really pg in the spring or with a newborn. So next spring is out, and probably the fall too. We're looking at 2011 before we'll have another chance :(  He planned this trip to Wooly Hollow State Park and called and reserved our campsite.  Did I mention I'm so excited?! He weatherproofed our tent, and I'm busy getting lots of things together and piling them on the couch and in the corner and on the table...

I don't think DH realizes how sweet he's been in setting this up!  If you ever read this, THANK YOU!!!

Playing Church

We talked about the Tabernacle last week in our homeschooling. We didn't go into the little specifics, but we did a pretty good little overview. I found some pictures online of what scholars perceive it to have looked like. Well then, my children took over our living room and turned it into a tabernacle. They let the dog in, but they made him promise that he was a high priest. In our overview, we learned that the Tabernacle was used for Old Testament worship. So of course they started doing their style of worship. They were playing church in there. DS was leading DD in singing, he was preaching, praying, and they even had pretend Lord's Supper. It was all so cute! They did this for several hours (although the dog escaped after a few minutes) until the sheets that made up the tabernacle started to cave in with the help of some cats... Then they played like a tornado had come and destroyed the tabernacle and they should build it up again in 3 days. I had so many laughs watching them and listening to them play! But that's what children do - they play and pretend like they see happening in life. They play church, house, tornado, going to the store, all kinds of things. I believe it's part of how children learn and process things. They just play.

But that's all it is. Play. I was in college and feeling rather worn out with what I perceived as Christianity. I was going to church when I should, doing everything I was supposed to, being a "good little Christian". But in my heart, I knew something was missing. I was really worried about it! Something was wrong! I talked to my professors, called home to my parents, talked to my friends. No one really understood what I was trying to say, and finally one of my suite mates told me it was just one of those times people just have to fake it till you make it. I tried that for a couple of weeks, and called to talk to my mama. I cried for a while and told her as best as I could what was wrong, and she told me something I will never forget. She told me that it sounded like I was doing everything right. But we can't do our way into heaven. She said my heart wasn't in the right place. I was going to church and doing all those things because I thought that's what was expected of me. Doing those things wasn't wrong, but I should have been doing them because I love God and couldn't NOT do them. I was just going to classes every day, and I should have been sharing Jesus with folks. I was at a Christian University, and there weren't very many non-Christians there. While I definitely grew in faith while I was there, I used that isolation as an excuse to keep quiet about Jesus. I'm so glad my mama had the wisdom and insight to tell me what I needed to hear and tell me what I needed to change to get right!

That's one of the things children need. They need their parents to show them what is right and wrong. As a child grows up, they don't need to play church anymore. They should be transitioning into adult life and learning how to be participating Christians. We have to put away childish things, and this is one of them (I Corinthians 13:11). My parents took my questions seriously and answered them and taught me. Just for the record, if I wouldn't have changed my attitude, it probably would not have been long before I stopped going to church at all. What's the point of pretending? You can't just go through the motions and expect things to get better on their own. When people play church, obviously they aren't there because they want to be. They feel obligated to for whatever reason. Maybe family goes and expects to see them every service, or maybe they feel like they should at least be seen so no one thinks they have fallen away.

Where we live, people think if you go to church, you must be a good Christian. That's not all there is to it according to the Bible. That's only a small part of it. Christianity is not only going to church for worship, but it's everything we believe with our heart, it's fellowship with other Christians, and it's helping people out and being there for them. It's how we LIVE. Playing church as an adult causes a person to look for a church situation where they are emotionally satisfied after the service or entertained appropriately while they are there. Maybe they just want to feel encouraged to make the same effort again next week. The emphasis shifts to self instead of where it should be on God.

God never asks for worship to include our silly little games and gimmicks to attract more people. If the Gospel is being preached, no gimmicks will be needed. God's Word brings people in. God's Word will convict people in their heart, and God's Word will show them what they need to do. If you find yourself playing church or going through the motions, find you a church home that focuses on the Word. Then it's a lot easier to get your attitude in the right place.

What To Cook?

I have no idea what to fix for supper tonight. Any ideas? Something with lots of protein would be good.

The Gospel

One of DS's homeschooling questions asked him what the Gospel was. His answer was that it was the good news about Jesus. I was glad that he got the right answer, obviously, but I realized we'd never actually come out and told him this. He's apparently picked it up from us, our friends, or from going to worship with us. It's definitely a reminder that children pick up a LOT more than we as parents can realize!

Later that afternoon, I got online and got an email from someone I hadn't talked with in years. I know this person had heard about the Gospel, but they seemed to have forgotten it's sheer importance. I think too often, we forget the simplicity of the Gospel and the need to share it with others.

The Gospel is the good news about Jesus. But what is this good news? It's not something that is drowning in theology. It's not confusing. It's very simple. Anyone can find it in the Bible if they want to.

Everyone, no matter how important or wealthy or good or whatever, was lost. When Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden, sin and death was brought into the world (Romans 5:12 - Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned). God can't abide sin, and since all people sin, all are lost. God didn't want anyone to be lost. He loves us so much that He planned from the beginning of the world to send his only Son to the earth to be the sacrifice to cleanse us from sin (John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved). With Jesus's perfect life, He defied sin (Hebrews 4:15-16 - For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need). With His resurrection, He defied death (Matthew 28:6-7 - He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead; and, behold, he goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see him: lo, I have told you).

He bridged the gap for us so we don't have to be eternally lost. In fact, He is currently preparing a place for us (John 14:1-3 - Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also). All we have to do is choose to accept this gift of His grace. In Acts 2:37-39 - Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the LORD our God shall call.

Without Jesus to bridge the gap, it doesn't matter how good anyone is. There is still sin to separate us from God. We can't be good enough to earn our salvation (Titus 3:4-6 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour). We are pitifully undeserving! We have NO hope if we are relying on our own strength. But with Christ, we don't have to rely on our own strength. He's already done the hard part.

The only thing we have to do is read the Bible and see the instructions He's given us for living. There are instructions for parenting, marriage relationships, working, worship, and even finances. He even gives us our fellow Christians as a support group. Don't take what anyone says for fact unless it can be verified in the Bible. Nothing else, just the Bible. It is the infallible word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17 - 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 perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works).

Pregnancy Cravings

For my last pregnancy, I had a Bradley birth, and I was very impressed with how well this method worked for eliminating the need for pain medications and other interventions. Part of the Bradley plan is to follow a specific diet while you are pregnant, and I was very strict about the things I would allow myself to eat. Once I found out I was pregnant, there was absolutely NO cheating whatsoever. So this time I have followed the plan. (Except for once, one the first day of school - our homeschooling group met at the donut shop, and I allowed myself one glazed donut.) Since then, no cheating on anything.

I am a firm believer that pregnancy cravings can reflect what a woman is needing in particular at that moment. For example, ice cream and pickles could mean an extra need for dairy and salt. This being the case, I have had 4 cravings in particular from the very beginning, and I can't for the life of me figure out what my body needs more of. Fried bologna, hot dogs, my mother-in-law's homemade apple pie, and the biggie - key lime pie! Every time I get hungry, this is all I can think of, especially the key lime pie. Now the hot dogs and fried bologna - I thought that was telling me I needed more protein or something. But just the thought of say hamburger meat makes me ill. Just in case, I'm making double-venison stew for supper. With the apple pie, I thought it meant I should eat more fruit, say apples. So I ate three apples the other day because I would eat one every time I wanted that forbidden pie. It didn't put a dent in that dumb craving. And I have absolutely no idea why I'm wanting that key lime pie so badly. But it's for sure I can't have it. Diabetes runs in my family, and I certainly don't want to tempt gestational diabetes by eating sugary stuff!

What could this mean!?!?!?

I am desperate for some answers if anyone has any.

Holy Spirit or Feelings

I get so frustrated when people try to say the Holy Spirit is telling them to do something that is so obviously just what they want to do! I'm not saying that the Holy Spirit doesn't work in our lives, but the Holy Spirit is never going to cause someone to do something that is contrary to the Scriptures! He CAN'T. A person can feel somthing is right that isn't. Or feelings can be based on someone's like or dislike of someone else. It's even possible for someone to be past feeling (Ephesians 4:19). Our consciences can be seared so we don't feel guilt (I Timothy 4:2). Feelings can't be equated with the urgings of the Holy Spirit.

Feelings can be wrong. Look at Saul in Acts 26:9-11. He was definitely sincere, but he was also as definitely wrong. What about suicide bombers? Even I can see they are sincere. But they are still wrong.

Sometimes feelings are right. Sometimes people have a valid reason for feeling right about something. Like when we abide in the doctrine of Christ (II John 9), we can know we have the approval of the Father and the Son because God's word is reliable. If we don't abide in Christ's doctrine, we don't have God's approval, no matter how much we "feel" we do.

Feelings are so often emphasized in religious activities, particularly if a preacher is good at getting people emotional and excited. People get on an emotional high, because of their feelings. When one does God's will, that one has a right to feel right, but when one feels right apart from having done God's will, that one is dead wrong, and deceived by his feelings. What people feel in their heart is often more important to them than what God says. Have you ever heard the phrase: "I wouldn't take what I feel in my heart for a stack of Bibles as high as my head." Hmmm...

What about feeling saved? Can you just "feel" you are? Some people feel they are saved whether or not they have obeyed the gospel. I would rather die knowing! Paul says that faith comes by the hearing of God's word (Romans 10:17). If we are ignorant of God's absolute truth, then we can't know what God's will is for man. Some support homosexuality, when it is very specifically and forcefully condemned in the Bible. Some people know the truth and just don't respect it. Have you ever heard: "I know it says that, but I just don't believe it." In general, people don't love the truth (John 3:19). Can our feelings of being saved be based on a personal experience? A dream? A sign? This is not taught in the Bible at all. It doesn't matter what anyone teaches you (even your mother or a preacher) if it is not in accordance with the Bible. Some teach a salvation by faith only. In other words, all that is necessary is to believe. James said that by works a man is justified, not by faith only (James 2:24). Having been taught that faith only is all that is necesary to please God, it is easy to understand how one would feel his is saved. Even the demons believed and trembled (James 2:19). Were they saved? Where is it taught in the Bible that if you just ask Jesus to save you right where you are, you will be saved immediately? It isn't.

The Bible is very clear on salvation.

1. Faith in God (Hebrews 11:6)
2. Repentance of sins (Acts 11:30, Luke 13:3)
3. Confession of faith in Christ (Romans 10:10)
4. Baptism into Christ for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38)
5. Live faithfully until death (Revelation 2:10)

It's very common to hear 1-3 taught, but very rarely 4 and 5. Baptism is found in every conversion recorded in the book of Acts.
It has become very popular to look for entertainment when searching for the "right church." Entertainment is all about appealing to feelings. People like that good feeling they get from being entertained. I've even heard a preacher say people should feel good about themselves. It's not bad to have good feelings, but place your faith in God's word rather than feelings that may or may not have any basis in truth.

First OB Visit

Yesterday morning was my first visit with my baby doctor. Everything is going fine, and since the pregnancy is confirmed by a professional, DH doesn't have weird feelings about me telling folks anymore :) Since all due dates in his office are magically changed to a Monday, so was mine... By my calculations, I would have been due April 14th. By his, it's now April 12th. It's a Monday, of course! Everything seems to be going well. He asked me how I was feeling when he first walked in. Sick, as usual. So then he offered me a prescription for something for nausea. I told him that was o.k., that I didn't think I really needed it. But it did serve to remind me that he's a doctor, and he sees pregnancy as something I need to be delivered from, as medically as possible.

Oh well. At least he still looks enough like Santa Claus I can pretend.

Zoo Field Trip

We have been focusing our science studies on the flying creatures God created on the fifth day. We are using Apologia's Zoology 1 - Exploring Creation with Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day. DS has really been enjoying it, and we were thrilled when one of our homeschooling groups planned a trip to the zoo this past Friday. They have a special even called Winged Wonders going on where lots of different birds fly over the heads of the audience and do neat little things. The person at the front was talking about each of the different birds as they would come out, and DS was just so excited that he knew so much of what she was saying. His favorite bird was the bald eagle. Afterward, he went to the handler for the bald eagle, and she just stood there chatting with him about them.

The zoo also has a lorikeet display. The lorikeets come out in shifts, and zoo patrons can feed them a little medicine cup full of special nectar for $1 a pop. Of course we were suckered into getting each child a little cup... But the fun they had was so special to watch! They were laughing and grinning. Then I the caretaker for the lorikeets over there talking with DS. And he was just carrying on an adult conversation with her about birds. I'm so proud of him! I'm so glad that he's not forgetting what he learns right after he studies it.

We had a great time at the rest of the zoo, and no one dropped sippy cups in with the capybaras this time :) It was warm, but not too bad, and then we had a little shower just when everyone was getting tired. So it cooled everyone down and gave us all a little burst of energy. We got to know another homeschooling family a little better, and my DS says he thinks he's found his best friend. He loves to play with other boys and gets so excited when we do.

I had started out the day with a bad headache, and was not exactly looking forward to the trip. But having so much fun made the headache tolerable. And by the time we got home, I still crashed and went to bed very early. But I sure enjoyed the trip!

First Day of This Homeschool Year

Today was the day. We started back to school today. We didn't start till 10, and we took a 2-hour lunch break with my parents at "Waffle's House", as my DS used to call it. But that's the joy of homeschooling, at least one of them.

We are using Christian Light for Language Arts and Reading. DS likes it so much better already! We had a different curriculum last year, and we all dreaded school. I'm so very glad we switched! We're still using Saxon for math, and I think we'll stick with that. He's always begged to do more, and today was no exception. We're using Handwriting Without Tears. I shared some of the cute little stories and rhymes in there, and I think he's better about remembering the difference between b's and d's. He likes it anyway, and that's a big plus for me! We started Spanish classes. I hope I don't blunder with this one. I think it's important for him to learn another language, and Spanish is very common where we live. We are using Mystery of History again this year, and he started jumping up and down when I got the book out. For art for today, I let them both finger-paint with shaving cream. They had a good time getting messy with that! For science, we are doing Apologia's Zoology - Exploring Creation - Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.

So today was fun, and my tummy is hungry. Now to get ready for supper :)

Our Not-Back-To-School Party

The public schools here began yesterday. The schoolbuses started up, and bleary-eyed children tumbled on them at a quarter to seven and didn't return until 4:30. Our original plan was to begin our school when public school began. But when I got to thinking about it, I wanted to plan something fun and special. So I called my friend here (who will remain anonymous), and we decided the perfect time to get donuts would be when the schoolbuses were finished and the rest of the world was doing their thing. So we called all our homeschooling friends who live close and planned to meet at the donut shop. I woke up my bleary-eyed children, and we all excitedly got ready to meet our friends.

Let me just say that we really like this new tradition, and we all decided that we must do it to begin next year as well and even some in between :) As usual, we all learn from our experiences, even the good ones. So next time, we will change some things. We absolutely packed that donut shop! Next time, we might just get donuts and go to the park to eat them so the children can run around and play it off. I think we will try to find a cheaper donut shop too. Of course, that just may be me. I haven't ever just bought a dozen donuts, and it seemed a trife expensive to me. One of my friends said there is another donut place across town that also has other things on the menu besides donuts and sweet stuff. While I love a good donut, and these were really good, I'm really watching what I eat now that I'm pregnant. I was glad that I ate before we went as they didn't have anything else.

The best part was getting to sit and be with my friends and watching my children laughing and playing and just having fun. We had 5 mothers and 14 children all in one place. The children were all well-behaved and all ages played together happily. One of the workers there commented to me on how good all those children were :) So to all you mothers, and you know who you are - Good job! And let's do it again soon!

Wonderful find!

My mama called me from a yard sale she was perusing. She told me to come quick because they had a bunch of homeschool stuff. Needless to say, I was there within 10 minutes. When I arrived, they did indeed have a bunch of homeschool stuff. I did not really have time to go through it all, but after looking for a bit, I realized it was good stuff. I asked how much for it all, and they told me that for all 5 crates (you know, the huge rubbermaid kind) they would take $20. Of course I snatched it all up. It filled up the whole back of my dad's truck! Then mama called again and said they found another crate. She's a pretty smart woman - she bought it for another $2. After going through it leisurely at home, it has a lot of reading things for elementary school and a bunch of astronomy and science things for high school. There was even a spectrometer! Of course, the thing my DS was most excited about was the lone baseball in the bottom of one crate.

Boys are Fishing

Well tonight the boys in my family went fishing. They got all packed up and loaded up and left. Well, this left DD very sad that she didn't get to go. So we went out and had pizza and then came home and she had some ice cream. That's when my hives started coming up. Now I've eaten at Pizza Hut numerous times. I used to work there! So I have no idea what I ate that is making me do this. I will have to be more careful.

Since they are gone tonight to catch me some yummy bass, DD and I are going to stay up late eating popcorn and watching old videos in bed :) We're in for a nice, cozy evening...

I've had this page for a while and never done anything with it. I kept it so I could view other people's blogs and comment. So now I think it's appropriate that the first post that I write is to announce that I am pregnant, and we are expecting our third blessing sometime around tax day. We are all so very excited about it, and we're getting into all the baby stuff again.

DS is desperately hoping for another boy so he won't be the only one.

DD is excited, but she's still young enough she thinks it's going to be a baby doll. We're working on that...

DH and I are working on names for either way.

DH's sister just had a baby boy recently, and so maybe they will eventually get to play together.

I had a couple of days feeling queasy, but for the most part, I'm feeling really good. I was worried that this pregnancy would bring with it the dreaded SPD like before, but so far not even a twinge. So for that I am very grateful and thank the Lord every day. Unfortuneately, my pants are already getting tight. I think they were starting to get too tight before I was even pregnant, so it's no one's fault but my own. I guess I'll go up in the attic some time this weekend maybe and see what kind of maternity clothes I still have.

My first outing after I found out, I looked at Walmart for maternity patterns in their craft department. Let me just say I was very disappointed to see that they don't have ANY. I went online and found a few, but now I have to find some place to get them. Probably Joann's will have them. I really enjoy sewing; I'm just not very good at it. It takes me a while.

I have high hopes of posting at least semi-freqently. Maybe it won't fall completely by the wayside. We'll have to wait and see.