Letters to my Children

Sanctification - Saint - Set Apart - Holy

2012-01-05T16:02:00.000-06:00

Sanctification is the same as Holy. It means set apart. Someone who is sanctified is called a saint. When God commanded Aaron to make the utensils for the Tabernacle, they had to be made Holy. They had to be set apart and sanctified. They were not allowed to go get a pair of tongs from the kitchen to use for God's alter. They had to be pure and holy for Him.

Sanctification in our lives occurs upon repentance and belief. Once a person repents and believes and is saved, God sets them apart from the unsaved. So sanctification occurs at salvation. However, it is also a life- long ongoing process from where we were not saved to the ultimate glorification. You should be able to look back over your life from when you were saved until now and see a firm pattern of growth in sanctification. You should also look forward and recognize that you are nowhere near where you want to be. There is always growth potential in our Christian lives. You are either growing in Christ, standing still, or backsliding. Or worse yet, never saved to begin with. You must consider this for yourself. Read the letter of 1 John. If you do not see progress in ongoing sanctification in your life, repent and believe. Ask Jesus to work in your life and speak to your heart through His word. Work through the tests in 1 John and see if you are truly saved.

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— ² the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And these things we write to you that your joy may be full.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. 1 Jn 1:1-4

I want your joy to be full!

Imputation - What is it? Why do I like it?

2012-01-04T15:23:00.001-06:00

Imputation is defined as the act of imputing. What a lame definition. Impute means to ascribe a crime or fault to another or to attribute (wickedness or merit) to a person as transmitted by another. That is from the modern collegiate dictionary. I don't have Mr. Webster's good dictionary here. Maybe one of my regular commentators will provide the definition. Websters 1828 dictionary defines imputation as ~ the act of imputing or charging, attribution. Impute ~ to set to the account of, to attribute; to ascribe, to reckon to one what does not belong to him. (by your loving commentator)

The doctrine of imputation is critically important in understanding the work Jesus for us did on the cross. We are sinners. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God has to punish sin. We deserve that punishment. God allowed Jesus to take that punishment for us as a substitute. The doctrine of imputation says that God now looks on us "as if" we had the perfection of Jesus imputed to our account, and God punished Jesus for our sins (all of them) by imputing our sins on Jesus. Jesus became our substitute on the cross. His imputed righteousness becomes our justification.

4²³ Now it was not written for his (Abraham's) sake alone that it was imputed to him, ²⁴ but also for us. It shall be imputed to us who believe in Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵who was delivered up because of our offenses, and was raised because of our justification.

5:1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Romans 4:23 - 5:2

Remember that every sin will be punished. Those that don't repent and believe will be punished for their sins for eternity in Hell. Jesus took the punishment for the sins of God's elect on the cross.

Judge Not . . . . .

2012-01-03T13:15:00.000-06:00

I am convinced this is the most quoted verse in the Bible by our pagan friends. I think it is from a deep seated knowledge that they know they are pagan already and don't want to be reminded of it, especially by you.

When Jesus gave us this teaching in Matthew 7, He was not instructing not to judge others, He was telling us how to judge others.

7 “Judge not, that you be not judged. ² For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. ³ And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? ⁴ Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? ⁵ Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Mt 7:1-5

Jesus is reminding us that to judge someone else is a task full of potential landmines and should only be considered after much self reflection and inspection. The warning is that the measuring cup you use will be used with you. Make sure your cup is full of grace and mercy as much as depends on you. You also need to remember that you are a much worse sinner than your brother and that Jesus saved you from your sins. Preach the gospel to yourself everyday. Especially preach the gospel to yourself before doing speck surgery on your brother. By remembering the measuring cup you are filling, and the great mercy Jesus has bestowed on you, you will be able to recognize that there is indeed a plank in your eye. Work on it first, then you will be able to "help" your brother with his speck. I like the way Jesus put it, "you will be able to see clearly."

Wrapping up a good year

2011-12-29T13:17:00.000-06:00

It has been a good 2011 for the family and we are anticipating a great 2012. The highlight was Katie's wedding. We welcomed Bryant into the family and now they are expecting our first grand baby in early July 2012. I named her Olive, but I don't have any idea or preference on who will arrive, our grandson or granddaughter. We keep teasing Katie and urge her to have both at one time. How thrilling would that be?

Rob and Sarah decided on a December wedding in 2012. Plans are well under way for a fun filled weekend in New Orleans. And now it is less than a year away. I wonder, do you have a -1 year anniversary? I would have if I had ever been patient enough to wait that long to get married. Not this kid.

Our Missions work for 2011 was a hard trip to Haiti. I had an allergic reaction to the pillow and sheets and my head swelled up like a melon. The Lord gave Pastor Jeff and Pastor Jason insight to my plight and my ailment began going away after I removed the pillow. The week was very hard for me because of the walking and the hills. Our gracious Lord provided a truck for me for many of the planned walks. My goal for the trip was to be used by God to do good work for needy people in Haiti. Only through His provision was I able to reach that goal. He meets us at the end of our ability, and then He begins to work and get things accomplished.

Our Mission for 2012 occurs in a few weeks in late January. Donna, Will, and I will be traveling to Honduras. Will is going to serve as a VBS worker. Donna and I will be cooking and shopping for the team. I think the walking will be about the same as Haiti, but there are no hills in El Progresso where we will be staying. I also much prefer to have my partner and my children with me when we go on mission trips.

I enjoy the last day of work for a year. Usually, I plan on being very busy because I have a due date for work that requires a quick turn-around in late December. Unfortunately, I must rely on others to provide the work and for the last several turns, it hasn't been available. So I end the year with a clean desk, a fresh new calendar, plans formulating in my mind for what lies ahead.

God's word advises us to count our days. I know we don't know when we will leave this life, but "on average" you can figure out how many days you have until you turn 72 or 82 or 102. Count those days. Remember that none of them are promised to you.

Our prayers for the new year is that God keeps divorce out of our family for 200 years. Our Olive arrives healthy, safely, and easily. Our family continues to grow with weddings and births. And God will continue to greatly bless our family. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Retirement Promises

2011-12-14T15:46:00.000-06:00

Don't believe the promises of politicians or bosses. Even if they put it in writing, it does not carry any significance in our days. People will lie to you and sell you on future promises. I think most of them believed the promises. I know that when I interviewed prospective state employees, I told them what the retirement system was and what they could expect in 25 years. I meant it, because it was what I was told the contract was. I don't know how people can go in now and change a promise made 22 years ago for what is going to happen in 25 years.

Therefore, my advise to you is to not believe everything you hear. When you want to retire, make sure you have the money in your control. Don't depend on politicians. Don't depend on bankers or stock brokers. They will steal your money just as quickly. Get you income secured by durable assets such as land and royalty rights to ongoing money making ventures. Spread your investments around 7 or 8 times so no one person will steal all your money.

Be smart. Lay up treasures for yourself in Heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt. Trust in the Lord all your days. Seek to walk humbly with Him, love justice and do mercy. Don't believe it when they tell you your pension will be there.

No Virginia, there is not a Santa Claus - Repost

2011-11-28T15:29:00.003-06:00

This is a repeat post from last year.

There is no easy way to start this that will keep you from shaking your head and rolling your eyes, so to be blunt, we have removed Santa Claus from our home.

Ok, now that your eyes have finished the ring around the room and refocused, please give me a few minutes to tell you why we came to this decision for our home. Anything that tries to take the place of Jesus is an idol. Many of the attributes of SC were stolen from Jesus. Satan is the father of all lies. To tell the story of SC, we lie to our children until they are old enough to know the truth. That is way too blunt, and it does not take into account the fantasy life and imagination we want our young ones to grow up with. I do think we can say, “This is a true story of the birth of Jesus”, or “This is a story about Narnia that isn’t true, but it is fun to imagine.” As an aside, I think a story about witches {HP} or vampires {twilight} is both untrue and un-Godly.

My first time to “play” Santa was the Christmas of 1986. My boys were 3 days old and in intensive care. I wasn’t prepared. How I wish I had known then how to celebrate Jesus’ birth in scripture and in truth. As parents, we want to replicate the magic and wonder that we remember from those days when we could hardly sleep all night, wondering what kind of toys and gifts we were going to get. Can we change now and put SC away, put the Glory on Jesus, give Him thanks for all that He has blessed us with, and love our family members; showering them with CDs, gift cards, and crafty creations?

Here are some Biblical attributes of Jesus. He bids children to come to Him.

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for hof such is the kingdom of God. 15 Assuredly, I say to you, iwhoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will jby no means enter it.” 16 And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.

Jesus gives us spiritual gifts.

7 But ito each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says:
j“When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.”
9 k(Now this, “He ascended”—what does it mean but that He also 4first descended into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He who descended is also the One lwho ascended far above all the heavens, mthat He might fill all things.)

Jesus is omniscient, He knows everything. He also calls naughty what it is, sin.

13 lAnd there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are mnaked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Jesus’ garments are red.

Who is this who comes from Edom,
With dyed garments from Bozrah,
This One who is 1glorious in His apparel,
Traveling in the greatness of His strength?—
“I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.”
2 Why ais Your apparel red,
And Your garments like one who treads in the winepress?

Jesus has white hair.

14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow,

Santa wears a red suit, white hair, keeps a list of naughty and nice, brings us gifts, gathers children, and sits on a throne. He is an imposter trying to steal the Glory that belongs to Jesus. He steals the gratitude of children that should be given to Jesus and parents for the gifts on Christmas morning. It hurts to not get the deserved thanks when you give gifts. SC is based on a lie, a myth. He is called the jolly old elf. From the 1828 Webster’s dictionary, an elf is a spirit, the night-mar; a ghost, hag or witch. Santa was not a word in 1828.

Note from Donna: Greg and I both celebrated Santa when we were children and with each of our 7 children. I never felt lied to or betrayed by my parents when I found out “the truth” about Santa, the Easter Bunny, or the Tooth Fairy. I knew what the holiday was celebrated for ~ the fantasy was added on.

After having children, when friends would tell me they “didn’t do Santa” they never could tell me why ~ just they didn’t like it ~ which to me was a cop out explanation. My friend, Kathryn, told me the Lord had blessed them. And they wanted their children to know they were passing on the blessings to them and didn’t want someone imaginary taking the credit for it. Now that is a reasonable explanation. I do remember feeling let-down on Christmas morning after my children got their gifts, and someone else got credit; especially when I was a single mom & worked hard for the gifts.

The clincher for me on this exploration of the history was finding out that in most of the world the name “Old Nick” as he is sometimes called means devil or Satan. And in German the name “Kris Kringle” means Christ Child. There is only 1 Jesus and he doesn’t live in the N. Pole or ride on a sleigh one time a year. Amy packed up all our Santas in boxes and they are in the garage.

h [1 Cor. 14:20; 1 Pet. 2:2]
i Matt. 18:3, 4; 19:14; Luke 18:17
j Luke 13:28
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Mk 10:14-16
i [1 Cor. 12:7, 11]
j Ps. 68:18; [Col. 2:15]
k Luke 23:43; John 3:13; 20:17; [1 Pet. 3:19, 20]
4 NU omits first
l Acts 1:9
m [Acts 2:33; Eph. 1:23]
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Eph 4:7-10
l 2 Chr. 16:9; Ps. 33:13–15; 90:8
m Job 26:6; Prov. 15:11
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Heb 4:12-13
1 Or adorned
a [Rev. 19:13, 15]
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Is 63:1-2
g Dan. 7:9
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Re 1:14

Stickin it to the man

2011-10-27T15:13:00.000-05:00

These are my top ten ways of rebelling in no particular order.

10. I leave the lights on in my office when I go to a meeting.
9. I charge my cell phone with the man's power.
8. After drying my hands, I pull one more paper towel and throw it away unused.
7. 2 squirts of hand sanitizer.
6. If the man is buying lunch, I will have some pecan pie.
5. All my plastic bottles and aluminum cans are in the trash can.
4. No more stairs, it's all a luxurious elevator ride for me.
3. If you are 30 minutes late in the morning, it just balances out to leave 30 early.
2. I repair a chainsaw in my office for 1 hour after lunch.
1. I make silly top 10 lists for your enjoyment.

How do you stick it to the man?

Back from Disney

2011-10-15T19:08:00.000-05:00

Life is coming back to normal. We spent a week at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Disney. It was the wine and food festival at Epcot. One of our favorite family events is to sample foods from around the world. This years favorite was South Korea. Kimchi and beef was awsome. Last time it was beef and sweet potatoes from South Africa. A very close second again this year. They give you small portions for three to five dollars. We split them all and each had a bite. The Brazil and Argentina beef were also superb.

The Magic Kingdom was TOO crowded. I have never been there with that many people. Very uncomfortable for an introvert.

The Disney Hollywood was very fun. I enjoyed it more than the others I think. It was more shows and stunts. They have an Indiana Jones stunt show and a driving stunt show that are both excellent.

Staying on location was a lot of fun. We stayed in our RV at Fort Wilderness. The busses and boats take you anywhere you want to go. After you get used to the routes, then it is smooth sailing. It sure beats paying for parking and trying to remember where you parked.

2011-09-20T09:34:00.000-05:00

Taken from LetGodBeTrue.com

Proverbs 20:13

Love not sleep, lest thou come to poverty; open thine eyes, and thou shalt be satisfied with bread.

One of the simplest rules for success is to hate sleep. Of course, you need sleep; but you must learn to hate wasting time in bed. Life is short – each day is short – and time wasted in bed will come back to haunt you. Solomon analyzed life with the wisest mind in the history of the world. His inspired proverbs convey true wisdom for your success.

Poverty is only a snooze button away. If you love your warm bed in the morning and dread leaving your cocoon for the day’s opportunities, you are headed down. If you daily sneak a few more minutes to cuddle yourself before getting up, eventually you will wind up in poverty. Solomon tells you to open your eyes - and get up and at the day!

As a king and a father, the wise man observed that a character trait of slothful types was to sleep in rather than wake up and attack the day. If you open your eyes, put your foot on the floor, and get moving, you are ahead of your dozing neighbor, and you are on the way to being productive. Remember, it is the early bird that gets the worm!

If you smile to yourself each morning about the joy of doing nothing in the comfort of your bed and how much you hate getting up and going - in other words, loving sleep - you are allowing a dangerous habit to develop. If you are awake enough to think such thoughts, you are awake enough to get up and do something productive! Get up!

Solomon taught a great work ethic, because God expects men to work hard. He charged Adam to dress and keep Eden (Gen 2:15). He judged man for sinning by promising bread only as a result of sweat (Gen 3:19). He went so far as to command starvation for the punishment for any man that does not work hard (20:4; II Thess 3:6-12).

Diligence rewards men, and laziness ruins men (10:4; 12:24; 13:4; 22:29). He mocked slothful men. He told them to watch ants: they know how to work (6:6-8)! He asked if they were ever going to get up (6:9)! He said poverty was coming as surely as a traveler gets to a destination or as irresistibly as an armed man (6:10-11; 24:33-34). He compared extra minutes of cuddling in bed to a door turning back and forth on its hinges (26:14)!

Extra sleep makes you drowsy (19:15; 23:21). The longer you lie still in bed and fast from food, your metabolism slows proportionately. Of course, you need sleep; but you do not need the extra minutes after you wake up in the morning! That extra hour of prolonged inactivity and dozing will often make it harder to get up rather than easier.

Of course, sluggards justify their sleep addiction (26:16)! But the military knows how to train such arrogant and stubborn children – it demands that they get up at 5:00 A.M. rather than the 7:00 A.M. they could have chosen in civilian life! If you are obsessed with a few extra minutes in bed, then go to bed earlier at night! And guess what, as soldiers and successful men have discovered, rising early can become an easy habit!

There is a limit to this rule, and the blessed God of heaven shows His mercy by the limitation. He does not want you getting up too early, staying up too late, or fretting about your efforts – He wants you to go to sleep instead, because He loves you. When you assume it is your efforts that make the difference in life, He considers it offensive and wrong (Ps 127:1-2). He wants you to put your trust in Him to make the difference!

Loving sleep in bed will bring you financial poverty, but being lazy and sleepy about godliness will surely ruin you spiritually. Slothfulness in reading your Bible, praying, and attending to the preaching of God’s word will bring you poverty in your walk with God. This is why there are repeated warnings in the Bible about waking up spiritually (Matt 24:42-44; 25:1-11; 26:36-45; Rom 13:11-14; Eph 5:14-21; I Thess 5:6-10)! Get up!

Forgotten Sins Part 4

2011-06-21T09:42:00.000-05:00

Taken from the sermon notes on LetGodbeTrue.com

SCRIPTURE CLASSIFIES SINS VERY DIFFERENTLY

Consider the lists of sins that include many we do not emphasize or even understand:

Romans 1:29-31; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

II Corinthians 12:20; 20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults:

Galatians 5:19-21; 19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

I Tim 6:3-5; 3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; 4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, 5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

II Tim 3:1-5 1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

Consider Paul’s list of sins where it is easy to see only one of them (Romans 1:18-32).

We focus on the sin of sodomy and its openness, when God judiciously turns men over to reprobate minds. We then also may be able to see murder, fornication, unrighteousness, wickedness, inventors of evil things, covenantbreakers, and haters of God as scandalous sins. But how often do we miss, underestimate, or minimize malignity, whisperers, deceit, backbiters, debate, envy, despiteful, maliciousness, pride, covetousness, boasters, without understanding, without natural affection, implacable, and unmerciful? Why can we so easily ignore these great sins to ridicule sodomy?

Let us teach our hearts the truth – these sins are all worthy of death before God. And the final verse warns against even associating with such sinners (1:32), which is why David was so opposed to such people in his house (Ps 101:2-8). And the final verse warns against even enjoying the lives of such sinners (1:32), which is a New Testament condemnation of movies, Hollywood stars, magazines, websites, etc.

Paul lists sins of carnal Christians in the perilous times of these last days (II Tim 3:1-5). Do we truly hate . . . loving ourselves, being covetous, boasters, proud, unthankful, unholy, traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure, and weak religious formality? For these perils are not easily avoided and defeated. Is this just a warning of weak character to come? Or are they dangerous sins?

Forgotten Sins Part 3

2011-05-24T14:55:00.000-05:00

WE ALL HAVE PHARISEE HEARTS BY NATURE
(taken from www.LetGodBeTrue.com)

A. Jesus warned repeatedly against the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

1. We are easily capable of justifying our sins and strongly condemning others.
2. Jesus repeatedly condemned the hypocrisy of the Pharisees (Matthew 6:2,5,16; 15:7; 16:3; 22:18; 23:13-15,23,25,27,29; Luke 11:44; 12:1,56).

B. Pharisees further define sins by their own depraved hearts rather than God’s Holy Word.

1. What is pride? A man saying, “I know what I am talking about,” when he is teaching God’s word? Absolutely not! Elihu spoke this way emphatically. What about Jesus (Mark 11:33), John (Matt 3:7), Peter (Acts 2:14-40; 4:19), Paul (I Cor 15:10; II Tim 4:7), David (II Sam 6:21), and Joshua (Joshua 24:15)!

2. What is humility? A man walking bowed down, hanging his head, shaking hands effeminately, talking very slowly, and wanting to tell you often that he knows nothing? Neither Jesus nor any Bible preacher ever acted like that at all! Humility is trembling before the word of God, not before men, and obeying it!

C. Hypocritical hearts in the Lord’s people are not new at all (Ezek 33:31; Isaiah 58:1-7).

1. Men may not see it, but it will be seen and judged (I Tim 5:24-25; I Cor 4:5).
2. The Lord is able to see past feigned love and purity to our very heart (Jer 3:10).
3. Ananias and Sapphira conceived wicked hypocrisy in their hearts (Acts 5:3-4). They thought they could lie to God. Their sin was not telling the truth and pride. God did not ask for them to give all of the proceeds of the sale, they pridefully lied about it.

D. A double heart is a horrible evil (Psalm 12:1-2; Jas 1:8; 4:8; I Chr 12:33; Matt 6:19-24).

E. An evil heart is known by much talking and negative spirit (Pro 14:33; 6:12-15; 17:20).

F. A good heart is known by fruit and knowledge it disperses (Luke 8:15; Pro 15:7; 12:23).

Sinners in the hands of an Angry God

2011-05-19T08:27:00.001-05:00

This is the end of the famous sermon by Jonathan Edwards. It is powerful.

O sinner! Consider the fearful danger you are in: it is a great furnace of wrath, a wide and bottomless pit, full of the fire of wrath, that you are held over in the hand of that God, whose wrath is provoked and incensed as much against you, as against many of the damned in hell. You hang by a slender thread, with the flames of divine wrath flashing about it, and ready every moment to singe it, and burn it asunder; and you have no interest in any Mediator, and nothing to lay hold of to save yourself, nothing to keep off the flames of wrath, nothing of your own, nothing that you ever have done, nothing that you can do, to induce God to spare you one moment.

And consider here more particularly,

1. Whose wrath it is: it is the wrath of the infinite God. If it were only the wrath of man, though it were of the most potent prince, it would be comparatively little to be regarded. The wrath of kings is very much dreaded, especially of absolute monarchs, who have the possessions and lives of their subjects wholly in their power, to be disposed of at their mere will. Proverbs 20:2: "The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: Whoso provoketh him to anger, sinneth against his own soul." The subject that very much enrages an arbitrary prince, is liable to suffer the most extreme torments that human art can invent, or human power can inflict. But the greatest earthly potentates in their greatest majesty and strength, and when clothed in their greatest terrors, are but feeble, despicable worms of the dust, in comparison of the great and almighty Creator and King of heaven and earth. It is but little that they can do, when most enraged, and when they have exerted the utmost of their fury. All the kings of the earth, before God, are as grasshoppers; they are nothing, and less than nothing: both their love and their hatred is to be despised. The wrath of the great King of kings, is as much more terrible than theirs, as his majesty is greater. Luke 12:4-5: "And I say unto you, my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that, have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear him, which after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him."

2. It is the fierceness of his wrath that you are exposed to. We often read of the fury of God; as in Isaiah 59:18: "According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay fury to his adversaries." So Isaiah 66:15: "For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire." And in many other places. So, Revelation 19:15, where we read of "the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." The words are exceeding terrible. If it had only been said, "the wrath of God," the words would have implied that which is infinitely dreadful: but it is "the fierceness and wrath of God." The fury of God! the fierceness of Jehovah! Oh, how dreadful must that be! Who can utter or conceive what such expressions carry in them! But it is also "the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." As though there would be a very great manifestation of his almighty power in what the fierceness of his wrath should inflict, as though omnipotence should be as it were enraged, and exerted, as men are wont to exert their strength in the fierceness of their wrath. Oh! then, what will be the consequence! What will become of the poor worms that shall suffer it! Whose hands can be strong? And whose heart can endure? To what a dreadful, inexpressible, inconceivable depth of misery must the poor creature be sunk who shall be the subject of this!

Consider this, you that are here present, that yet remain in an unregenerate state. That God will execute the fierceness of his anger, implies, that he will inflict wrath without any pity. When God beholds the ineffable extremity of your case, and sees your torment to be so vastly disproportioned to your strength, and sees how your poor soul is crushed, and sinks down, as it were, into an infinite gloom; he will have no compassion upon you, he will not forbear the executions of his wrath, or in the least lighten his hand; there shall be no moderation or mercy, nor will God then at all stay his rough wind; he will have no regard to your welfare, nor be at all careful lest you should suffer too much in any other sense, than only that you shall not suffer beyond what strict justice requires. Nothing shall be withheld, because it is so hard for you to bear. Ezekiel 8:18: "Therefore will I also deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them." Now God stands ready to pity you; this is a day of mercy; you may cry now with some encouragement of obtaining mercy. But when once the day of mercy is past, your most lamentable and dolorous cries and shrieks will be in vain; you will be wholly lost and thrown away of God, as to any regard to your welfare. God will have no other use to put you to, but to suffer misery; you shall be continued in being to no other end; for you will be a vessel of wrath fitted to destruction; and there will be no other use of this vessel, but to be filled full of wrath. God will be so far from pitying you when you cry to him, that it is said he will only "laugh and mock" (Proverbs 1:25, 26 & etc.).

How awful are those words in Isaiah 63:3, which are the words of the great God: "I will tread them in mine anger, and will trample them in my fury, and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment." It is perhaps impossible to conceive of words that carry in them greater manifestations of these three things, vis. contempt, and hatred, and fierceness of indignation. If you cry to God to pity you, he will be so far from pitying you in your doleful case, or showing you the least regard or favour, that instead of that, he will only tread you under foot. And though he will know that you cannot bear the weight of omnipotence treading upon you, yet he will not regard that, but he will crush you under his feet without mercy; he will crush out your blood, and make it fly, and it shall be sprinkled on his garments, so as to stain all his raiment. He will not only hate you, but he will have you, in the utmost contempt: no place shall be thought fit for you, but under his feet to be trodden down as the mire of the streets.

3. The misery you are exposed to is that which God will inflict to that end, that he might show what that wrath of Jehovah is. God hath had it on his heart to show to angels and men, both how excellent his love is, and also how terrible his wrath is. Sometimes earthly kings have a mind to show how terrible their wrath is, by the extreme punishments they would execute on those that would provoke them. Nebuchadnezzar, that mighty and haughty monarch of the Chaldean empire, was willing to show his wrath when enraged with Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego; and accordingly gave orders that the burning fiery furnace should be heated seven times hotter than it was before; doubtless, it was raised to the utmost degree of fierceness that human art could raise it. But the great God is also willing to show his wrath, and magnify his awful majesty and mighty power in the extreme sufferings of his enemies. Romans 9:22: "What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endure with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction?" And seeing this is his design, and what he has determined, even to show how terrible the unrestrained wrath, the fury and fierceness of Jehovah is, he will do it to effect. There will be something accomplished and brought to pass that will be dreadful with a witness. When the great and angry God hath risen up and executed his awful vengeance on the poor sinner, and the wretch is actually suffering the infinite weight and power of his indignation, then will God call upon the whole universe to behold that awful majesty and mighty power that is to be seen in it. Isaiah 33:12-14: "And the people shall be as the burnings of lime, as thorns cut up shall they be burnt in the fire. Hear ye that are far off, what I have done; and ye that are near, acknowledge my might. The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites."

Thus it will be with you that are in an unconverted state, if you continue in it; the infinite might, and majesty, and terribleness of the omnipotent God shall be magnified upon you, in the ineffable strength of your torments. You shall be tormented in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and when you shall be in this state of suffering, the glorious inhabitants of heaven shall go forth and look on the awful spectacle, that they may see what the wrath and fierceness of the Almighty is; and when they have seen it, they will fall down and adore that great power and majesty. Isaiah 66:23, 24: "And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me; for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh."

4. It is everlasting wrath. It would be dreadful to suffer this fierceness and wrath of Almighty God one moment; but you must suffer it to all eternity. There will be no end to this exquisite horrible misery. When you look forward, you shall see a long for ever, a boundless duration before you, which will swallow up your thoughts, and amaze your soul; and you will absolutely despair of ever having any deliverance, any end, any mitigation, any rest at all. You will know certainly that you must wear out long ages, millions of millions of ages, in wrestling and conflicting with this almighty merciless vengeance; and then when you have so done, when so many ages have actually been spent by you in this manner, you will know that all is but a point to what remains. So that your punishment will indeed be infinite. Oh, who can express what the state of a soul in such circumstances is! All that we can possibly say about it, gives but a very feeble, faint representation of it; it is inexpressible and inconceivable: For "who knows the power of God's anger?" How dreadful is the state of those that are daily and hourly in the danger of this great wrath and infinite misery! But this is the dismal case of every soul in this congregation that has not been born again, however moral and strict, sober and religious, they may otherwise be. Oh that you would consider it, whether you be young or old! There is reason to think, that there are many in this congregation now hearing this discourse, that will actually be the subjects of this very misery to all eternity. We know not who they are, or in what seats they sit, or what thoughts they now have. It may be they are now at ease, and hear all these things without much disturbance, and are now flattering themselves that they are not the persons, promising themselves that they shall escape. If we knew that there was one person, and but one, in the whole congregation, that was to be the subject of this misery, what an awful thing would it be to think of! If we knew who it was, what an awful sight would it be to see such a person! How might all the rest of the congregation lift up a lamentable and bitter cry over him! But, alas! instead of one, how many is it likely will remember this discourse in hell? And it would be a wonder, if some that are now present should not be in hell in a very short time, even before this year is out. And it would be no wonder if some persons, that now sit here, in some seats of this meeting-house, in health, quiet and secure, should be there before to-morrow morning. Those of you that finally continue in a natural condition, that shall keep out of hell longest will be there in a little time! your damnation does not slumber; it will come swiftly, and, in all probability, very suddenly upon many of you. You have reason to wonder that you are not already in hell. It is doubtless the case of some whom you have seen and known, that never deserved hell more than you, and that heretofore appeared as likely to have been now alive as you. Their case is past all hope; they are crying in extreme misery and perfect despair; but here you are in the land of the living and in the house of God, and have an opportunity to obtain salvation. What would not those poor damned hopeless souls give for one day's opportunity such as you now enjoy! And now you have an extraordinary opportunity, a day wherein Christ has thrown the door of mercy wide open, and stands in calling and crying with a loud voice to poor sinners; a day wherein many are flocking to him, and pressing into the kingdom of God. Many are daily coming from the east, west, north and south; many that were very lately in the same miserable condition that you are in, are now in a happy state, with their hearts filled with love to him who has loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood, and rejoicing in hope of the glory of God. How awful is it to be left behind at such a day! To see so many others feasting, while you are pining and perishing! To see so many rejoicing and singing for joy of heart, while you have cause to mourn for sorrow of heart, and howl for vexation of spirit! How can you rest one moment in such a condition? Are not your souls as precious as the souls of the people at Suffield, where they are flocking from day to day to Christ? Are there not many here who have lived long in the world, and are not to this day born again? and so are aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and have done nothing ever since they have lived, but treasure up wrath against the day of wrath? Oh, sirs, your case, in an especial manner, is extremely dangerous. Your guilt and hardness of heart is extremely great. Do you not see how generally persons of your years are passed over and left, in the present remarkable and wonderful dispensation of God's mercy? You had need to consider yourselves, and awake thoroughly out of sleep. You cannot bear the fierceness and wrath of the infinite God.-And you, young men, and young women, will you neglect this precious season which you now enjoy, when so many others of your age are renouncing all youthful vanities, and flocking to Christ? You especially have now an extraordinary opportunity; but if you neglect it, it will soon be with you as with those persons who spent all the precious days of youth in sin, and are now come to such a dreadful pass in blindness and hardness. And you, children, who are unconverted, do not you know that you are going down to hell, to bear the dreadful wrath of that God, who is now angry with you every day and every night? Will you be content to be the children of the devil, when so many other children in the land are converted, and are become the holy and happy children of the King of kings? And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women, or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now harken to the loud calls of God's word and providence. This acceptable year of the Lord, a day of such great favours to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls; and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the greater part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on the great outpouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles' days; the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you was born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's Spirit, and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the axe is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree which brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down and cast into the fire.

Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation: Let every one fly out of Sodom: "Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed."

Forgotten Sins

2011-05-17T15:23:00.000-05:00

Part 2 - PHARISEES RANK SINS TO JUSTIFY THEMSELVES

A. In one place, they ranked tithes of herbs above judgment, mercy, and faith (Matt 23:23). Their religion of works is wrong. They put man’s made up rules above God’s laws.

B. In another place, they put faith-promise offerings above honoring parents (Matt 15:3-6).

C. In another place, they justified murder by foolish anger and railing (Matthew 5:21-26).

D. In another place, they justified adultery by lust in the heart and divorce (Matt 5:27-32). Divorce is so sad, and God hates it. Our prayer is that God will remove the curse of divorce from our family for the next 200 years.

E. In another place, they ranked the Sabbath over personal mercy and kindness (Mat 12:7). I am changing my mind on work on the Sabbath. Christ said He is the Lord of the Sabbath and the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the Sabbath. The day of rest of the Old Testament was a picture of the rest in Christ that was going to be available in the future. Now Christ has fulfilled the rest. God has finished the work, and we are to rest in Him.

Hebrews 4 1-10: Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, 1not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. 3 For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest,’ ” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place: “They shall not enter My rest.” 6 Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said: “Today, if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S.

F. In another place, they ranked an ox over a woman crippled 18 years (Luke 13:10-17).

G. Which sin is worse – whispering or murder? The purpose of such a provoking question is to stir righteous indignation about a forgotten sin – whispering.

1. For murder evokes outrage in the soul, but whispering is often slighted.

2. Whispering, talebearing, backbiting, slandering, evil surmising, false accusing, and other such sins are mentioned over and over in many contexts.

3. Jesus classified personal harm as breaking the 6th commandment (Matt 5:21-26).

H. It is our duty to have God’s mind when it comes to sin and oppose thinking or teaching that creates artificial classifications or emotional responses for certain sins over others. God hates all sin, and so should we. The repulsiveness we have to reading about a murder should also be brought out when reading about whispering, talebearing, backbiting, etc.

Forgotten Sins

2011-05-16T11:57:00.000-05:00

An Introduction

I would like to spend some time on sin, learning what it is that we do that God hates. I’ve taken the title and outline text for much of this study from the “Let God be true” website. I strongly encourage you to visit this website and explore. Many answers are available to the questions of the Bible when you go look.

As parents, we struggle with charting the path our family will travel. You must remember that while we are parents, we are also children. Our parents are not shy in continuing to raise us up as we are not shy in raising our children. I suppose it is a fact of life we get to experience. A trump card, however, is what does God have to say about a situation in His Word? I am going to have no problem putting aside the advice of parents when I think it goes against what the Word of God says as long as I can back it up with the scriptures and intelligent review and study of God’s Word.

That said, “What about sins or forgotten sins?”

“Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:19.

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” Matthew 23:23

1. If you think these small matters of righteousness, it is greatness to preach and do them (Matt 5:19-20). We are going to get a list of the small forgotten sins in the Bible and define them. It is profitable to teach these to you.

2. The evidence of eternal life is not a decision for Jesus: it is holy character and performance (Psalm 15). Salvation is not you asking Jesus into your heart. Salvation is repentance from your sins and belief in Jesus with faith that He has saved you from hell.

3. These sins are not just another list of burdens. These are sins, because they offend God and destroy lives. It is our life, righteousness, wisdom, and happiness to learn, love, and keep these commandments. This is the profitable part. I think we overlook many of these because our world is saturated with these small sins that now it takes viewing great sins to even entertain us on TV. If you can’t say AMEN, you gotta say OUCH.

4. We can consider the Beatitudes, which are God’s special blessings on the faithful and the marks of the true citizens of Zion; but here we have those offences and sins God hates, which we must avoid. Matthew 5

5. Not only must we know and hate these sins, we need to hate them in our wives, children, and others. This includes the people we select to entertain us both in movies and on TV. OUCH.

6. The God of heaven set up a kingdom under the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are citizens of it (Dan 2:44). When we are saved, God adopts us as His child.

a. Unless our righteousness exceeds that of carnal Christians, we cannot enter it (Matt 5:19-20). We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every day. When we argue with Paul about being the chief sinner we know, we then remember that God has graciously saved us by killing His Son for our sins, imputing Jesus’ righteousness on our miserable selves, and now when God looks at us, He sees Jesus in us, and not the filthy people we truly are. Praise God, He loves us so much. AMEN

b. Kingdom righteousness – these forgotten sins – should be of highest priority (Matthew 6:33). The former Mayor of New York cleaned the city up by using the broken glass strategy. During the worst crime spree, cops ignored vandalism and graffiti. Crimes, but smaller than the murders and rapes they were trying to solve. Mayor Gulianni redirected their attention to the small criminals. They began bringing in the vandals for breaking glass out of buildings. They removed the gang members for sharing his artwork on the city walls. Slowly, the big crimes came down. The criminal lifestyle was snuffed out early with some discipline and elbow grease removing gang tags on walls. The ready supply of new recruits for crime evaporated and the city was restored. The same principle is ready here. It is easy to avoid murdering someone. How easy is it to avoid thinking poorly of someone who cuts you off in traffic? It is easy not to rape another, but what about the thoughts in your heart when you saw that image you just thought of again.

c. For only those who do the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 7:21).

d. Those who commit these sins shall not inherit the kingdom (I Corinthians 6:9-10; Gal 5:19-21). Does this mean sinners won’t go to heaven. No! Every man that has ever been born or created has the sin nature except Jesus. That was the reason He had to have a virgin mother. Heaven will be full of sinners. We must remember that Christians are forgiven of their sins. Knowing that, then can we sin all we want? To quote Paul, “Heaven Forbid!” We need to kill the sins in our life, big and small.

e. God loves righteousness and hates sin, so we should do the same (Proverbs 6:16-19; Heb 1:9). Let’s work on the small stuff in our daily lives, and kill the snakes, big and small.

Lord please let us mortify the small sins in our lives and build this life in a pleasing and honorable way for your service.

Every time you roll your eyes at me, I get to call you buzzard bait

2011-04-08T13:02:00.000-05:00

From Let God be True . com http://letgodbetrue.com/index.htm

Proverbs 30:17 The eye that mocketh at his father, and despiseth to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out, and the young eagles shall eat it.

Even slight disrespect of parents must be punished severely. God hates even irreverent looks, gestures, and attitudes toward parents, which is the first authority He sends in life. So this proverb is added to the condemnation of verbal offences against parents (30:11).

Such a strong stand on parental reverence is lost today, though our grandparents knew it well. And the results of rebellious, dysfunctional, selfish, and lazy young people should not surprise us. A prime theme of entertainment today, and a daily occurrence in most homes, is flagrant disrespect of parents. This proverb sounds Neanderthal in our world.

But it is the infallible word of Jehovah God, and the man who treats it lightly will eat the fruit thereof - trouble and pain from his children and the LORD (13:15; Is 1:19-20).

The use of "eye" is a synecdoche for facial expressions, but especially the looks and attitudes. He means more than just the muscle and mucous membrane that resides in one of your sockets. For no eyeball shows disdain for authority without the heart directing it. If the eye is the window to the soul, there had better never be irreverence seen through it.

Mocking is haughty disrespect by ridicule or scorn. We call it "rolling the eyes" in disgust or resentment. It is now done commonly, and the thought of punishing looks and attitudes was rejected long ago. And everyone suffers accordingly. But God hates it.

Despising to obey a mother is facial expressions of saucy refusal to honor her requests.

God pictures this rebellious brat as buzzard bait, with the hooked beaks and talons of these birds ripping out eyeballs and eating them. Politically incorrect in our effeminate society, it graphically shows God's opinion of disrespectful children. Such fools will live and die under the harsh judgment of a holy God, Who defends all His ordained offices.

Both parents are included. Mothers should be esteemed and reverenced comparable to fathers, and a wise father will demand and enforce such respect for his wife at all times.

Dear reader, the holy God of heaven set capital punishment for speaking lightly about parents. Are you well established and agreed with God about this matter? Or do you think such harsh provisions of Moses' law are long outdated, extreme, and without value?

Cursed be he that setteth light by his father or his mother. And all the people shall say, Amen. Deuteronomy 27:16

Wouldn't this text from Moses make great responsive reading for a youth conference? Amen! Why doesn't James Dobson have it or our proverb quoted at the beginning and end of "Focus on the Family"? It would create real focus on training a godly family!

Godly readers must be one with the LORD on this subject. He prescribed the death penalty for stubborn and rebellion children (Deut 21:18-21). Homes would be happy and parenting easy, if executions were done in public for all to see and fear! But He also prescribed it for cursing parents (Ex 21:17; Lev 20:9) and hitting parents (Ex 21:15).

When Absalom presumed to oppose his father and sovereign, the LORD hung him by his own hair in a tree and gave him the despicable tomb of a pile of stones (II Sam 18:9-18).

When forty-two little children mocked Elisha, he cursed them in the name of the LORD; and God honored him with two she bears to tear them for their jesting (II Kings 2:23-24).

We live in the perilous times of a generation given to self-love and child rebellion (II Tim 3:1-5). And this describes Christians, not the pagan world at large, where it is also very true (Rom 1:29-31). God's few ministers must use the Bible hammer on such thinking.

Dear parent, starting young, you must train children God's way. From the earliest days of conscious understanding, children must be taught to reverence parents. Even slight indications of a rebellious spirit - shown by looks, gestures, or attitudes - must be dealt with immediately and severely. There is no room for compromise on this point.

Disrespectful speech, rolling of the eyes, tossing of the head, looking away with the eyes, slamming of doors, blazing eyes of rebellion, wrinkled noses, sullen eyes of disregard, saucy answers, and foolish eyes of jesting disrespect cannot be tolerated. Correct it early, and your children will give you rest and peace (19:18; 29:15,17).

If we compromise, we offend the Creator of parents and bring upon ourselves the just consequences of neglecting our duty. May the good Lord save us from such folly.

Fulfill our assignment from heaven, and we prepare children to serve nobly under all authority. And they will be much happier themselves, finding that secure, peaceful, and respectful relationships are much superior to anger, bitterness, and rebellion.

Our Lord Jesus taught the honor of parents, and He repeated the death penalty warning (Matt 15:4). Paul repeats the duty two more times (Eph 6:1-3; Col 3:20), and he assumes reverence of fathers (Heb 12:9). While a great promise of a blessed life is for those honoring parents (Eph 6:2-3), our proverb promises great judgment on those who do not.

KILL THE SNAKE

2011-03-30T08:45:00.000-05:00

If only Adam or Eve had screamed these 3 words, how different one could only wonder. Kill the snake! When temptation sneaks up on you, kill the snake!

A snake made the unfortunate mistake of swimming when Donna was cleaning the pool. I was in the middle of painting and I knew Donna, Katie, and Amy could handle the task. I was available if it got out of hand. But it didn't. Katie bravely scooped up the snake out of the pool. Donna was right there with her pointing it out. The three of them had murder on their mind.

I suggested they feed the snake to the chickens. Now that was a sight. Amy pulled back the netting and Katie thru the snake in. Nobody ever taught our chickens how to share. One would get it and run 3 laps around the pen and try to tear it to eat it, and another would pull it out of her beak. This went on for 10 minutes until one decided she could eat it in one gulp. Almost enough to make you say, "poor snake."

Almost.

The moral of the story is kill the snake! Don't let a liar push you to sin. Do not be deceived, the devil is like a roaring lion seeking who he could devour. Resist him and he will flee from you. Jesus is God! of the devil too. Jesus is the winner. Love Him with all your heart.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one!
5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.
9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982, S. Dt 6:4-9

AND KILL THE SNAKE!

The Fifty Fruits of Pride by Brent Detwiler

2011-02-02T14:26:00.000-06:00

THE FIFTY FRUITS OF PRIDE

BY BRENT DETWILER

Five Things to Know About Pride & Humility

1. Pride Is the Root of All Evil (Genesis 3:5; 1 Timothy 3:6; 1 John 2:15-17)

2. God Hates Pride (Proverbs 8:13; 16:5; Isaiah 23:9; Daniel 4:29-37; James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)

3. God Loves Humility (Proverbs 11:2, 15:33, 18:12, 29:23; Isaiah 57:15, 66:2; Micah 6:8; Luke 14:11; 1 Peter 5:6)

4. What Pride Is Not

a. Acknowledging and appreciating the gifts and abilities God has given you.

b. The presence of godly desire, ambition and purposeful direction in your life (1 Timothy 3:1)

c. Acknowledging the work of God within you.

d. The pursuit of excellence.

e. Defending and proclaiming the truth of Scripture.

5. Pride Is Deceptive (John 8:31-36; Jeremiah 49:16; Proverbs 16:2, 21:2)

The Fifty Fruits of Pride

1. Want to be Well Known or Important (Isaiah 14:13-15; James 3:13-16; Romans 12:6)

“I am selfishly ambitious. I really want to get ahead and make a name for myself. I want to be someone important in life. I like having a position or title. I far prefer leading to following.”

2. Sinfully Competitive

“I am overly competitive. I always want to win or come out on top and it bothers me when I don't.”

3. Want to Impress People (Luke 10:38-42)

“I want people to be impressed with me. I like to make my accomplishments known.”

a. Clothes or jewelry you wear.

b. Vehicle you drive.

c. Furniture you own.

d. House you live in.

e. Place you live.

f. Company you work for.

g. Amount of money you earn.

h. Food you eat.

i. How spiritual you are.

j. What you look like (physical appearance).

k. What you have accomplished.

l. What you know.

m. Where you went to school.

n. Who you know.

o. What your background is.

4. Draw Attention to Myself (Proverbs 27:2)

“I like to be the center of attention and will say or do things to draw attention to myself.”

5. Like to Talk About Myself

“I like to talk, especially about myself or persons or things I am involved with. I want people to know what I am doing or thinking. I would rather speak than listen. I have a hard time being succinct.”

6. Deceitful and Pretentious (Psalm 24:3-4, 26:2-4; Jeremiah 48:10; Proverbs 26:20-26)

“I tend to be deceptive about myself. I find myself lying to preserve my reputation. I find myself hiding the truth about myself, especially about sins, weaknesses, etc. I don't want people to know who I really am.”

7. Desire Recognition and Praise (John 5:41-44; Matthew 6:1, 23:5-7)

“I desire to receive recognition and credit for what I do. I like people to see what I do and let me know that they noticed. I feel hurt or offended when they don't. I am overly concerned about my reputation and hate being misunderstood.”

8. Not Fulfilled Serving Others (John 3:30)

“I am not very excited about seeing or making others successful. I tend to feel envious, jealous or critical towards those who are doing well or being honored.”

9. Self Sufficient (Matthew 4:4; John 15:5; Acts 17:25; 2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

“I tend to be self sufficient in the way I live my life. I don't live with a constant awareness that my every breath is dependent upon the will of God. I tend to think I have enough strength, ability and wisdom to live and manage my life. My practice of the spiritual disciplines is inconsistent and superficial. I don't like to ask others for help.”

10. Anxious (Psalm 4:8; Philippians 4:6-7; 1 Peter 5:6-7)

“I am often anxious about my life and the future. I tend not to trust God and rarely experience his abiding and transcendent peace in my soul. I have a hard time sleeping at night because of fearful thoughts and burdens I carry.”

11. Self Focused (Exodus 4:11; Job 10:8-11; Psalm 139:13-16; Isaiah 53:2; Jeremiah 1:5)

“I am overly self-conscious. I tend to replay in my mind how I did, what I said, and how I came across to others. I am very concerned about my appearance and what people think of me. I think about these things constantly.”

12. Fear Man (Proverbs 29:25)

“I fear man more than God. I am afraid of others and make decisions about what I will say or do based upon this fear. I am afraid to take a stand for things that are right. I am concerned with how people will react to me or perceive my actions or words. I don't often think about God's opinion in a matter and rarely think there could be consequences for disobeying him. I primarily seek the approval of man and not of God.”

13. Insecure

“I often feel insecure. I don't want to try new things or step out into uncomfortable situations because I'm afraid I'll fail or look foolish. I am easily embarrassed.”

14. Compare Myself

“I regularly compare myself to others. I am “performance oriented.” I feel that I have greater worth if I do well.”

15. Perfectionist

“I am self-critical. I tend to be a perfectionist. I can't stand for little things to be wrong because they reflect poorly on me. I have a hard time putting my mistakes behind me.”

16. Self Serving (Philippians 2:19-22)

“I am self-serving. When asked to do something, I find myself asking, „How will doing this help me?‟ or „Will I be inconvenienced?‟ I am not focused on the needs and interests of others.”

17. Feel Better or Superior

“I feel special or superior because of what I have or do.”

18. Think Highly of Myself (Romans 12:3, 16; James 2:1-4)

“I think highly of myself. In relation to others I typically see myself as more mature and more gifted. In most situations, I have more to offer than others even though I may not say so. I don't consider myself average or ordinary.”

19. Credit Myself (1 Corinthians 4:6-7; 15:10)

“I tend to give myself credit for who I am and what I accomplish. I only occasionally think about or recognize that all that I am or have comes from God. I don’t consciously transfer all glory to God for any good I have or any good I do.”

20. Self Righteous (Luke 18:9-14)

“I tend to be self-righteous. I can think that I really have something to offer God. I would never say so, but I think God did well to save me. I seldom think about or recognize my total depravity and helplessness apart from God. I regularly focus on the sins of others. I don’t credit God for any degree of holiness in my life.”

21. Feel Deserving

“I feel deserving. I think I deserve what I have. In fact, I think I ought to have more considering how well I have lived or in light of all I have done.”

22. Ungrateful (Luke 17:11-19; Ephesians 5:19-20; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18; Colossians 3:15-17; Philippians 2:14)

“I often feel ungrateful. Instead of thanking other people, I tend to complain about them. I grumble about what I don’t have or my lot in life. I am not amazed by grace on a regular basis and lack joy in my life.”

23. Captive to Self Pity

“I find myself wallowing in self-pity. I am consumed with how I am treated by God and others. I tend to feel mistreated and hate being misunderstood. I seldom recognize or sympathize with what’s going on with others around me because I feel that I have it worse than they do.”

24. Jealous and Envious (James 3:13-16)

“I can be jealous or envious of others abilities, possessions, positions, accomplishments or friends. I want to be what others are or want to have what others have. I think I deserve or should have the good things other people do. I find it hard to rejoice when others are blessed by God.”

25. Unkind and Harsh (Ezekiel 16:49; Psalm 17:10; Proverbs 24:17-18; Luke 10:25-37)

“I am pretty insensitive to others. I feel some people just aren’t worth caring about. I have a hard time showing compassion or extending mercy to others. Some people aren’t worth my time and attention.”

26. Love to Reveal My Mind (Proverbs 18:2)

“I like to reveal my own mind. I have an answer for practically every situation and an opinion on every subject. I feel compelled to balance everyone else out and let them know my thoughts.”

27. Know It All (1 Corinthians 8:1)

“I have a know-it-all attitude. I am impressed by my own knowledge and understanding of things. I feel like there isn’t much I can learn from other people, especially those less mature than me.”

28. Like People to Know I Know

“I feel compelled to stop people when they start to share something with me I already know.”

29. Hard to Admit I Don’t Know

“I find it hard to admit it when I don’t know something. When someone asks me something I don’t know, I will make up an answer rather than admit I don't know.”

30. Don’t Listen to Ordinary People

“I have a hard time listening to ordinary people. I listen better to those I respect or people I am wanting to leave with a good impression. I don’t honestly listen when someone else is speaking because I am usually planning what I am going to say next.”

31. Interruptive

“I interrupt people regularly. I don’t let people finish what they are saying.”

32. Don’t Get Much Out of Teaching

“I don’t get much out of the teaching. I tend to evaluate the speaker rather than my own life. I grumble about hearing something a second time.”

33. Thinking of Others During Teaching

“I listen to teaching with other people in mind. I constantly think of those folks who need to hear and apply this teaching and wish they were here.”

34. Not Teachable (Proverbs 12:1)

“I’m not very open to input. I don’t pursue correction for my life. I tend to be unteachable and slow to repent when corrected. I don’t really see correction as a positive thing. I am offended when people probe the motivations of my heart or seek to adjust me.”

35. Don’t Admit Wrong Doing (Proverbs 28:13; James 5:16)

“I have a hard time admitting that I am wrong. I find myself covering up or excusing my sins. It is hard for me to confess my sins to others or to ask for forgiveness.”

36. Do Not Welcome Correction (Proverbs 15:12)

“I view correction as an intrusion into my privacy rather than an instrument of God for my welfare. I can’t identify anyone who would feel welcome to correct me.”

37. Resent People Who Correct Me (Proverbs 9:7-9)

“I resent people who attempt to correct me. I don’t respond with gratefulness and sincere appreciation for their input. Instead I am tempted to accuse them and dwell on their faults. I get bitter and withdraw.”

38. Contentious and Argumentative (James 1:19-20)

“When corrected, I become contentious and argumentative. I don’t take people’s observations seriously. I minimize and make excuses or give explanations.”

39. Get Angry or Offended With Others (1 Corinthians 6:7)

“I am easily angered and offended. I don’t like being crossed or disagreed with. I find myself thinking, “I can’t believe they did that to me.” I often feel wronged. I hate to be misunderstood by others especially those I respect and desire to think highly of me.”

40. Constantly in Conflicts (Proverbs 13:10)

“I have “personality conflicts” with others. I have a hard time getting along with certain kinds of people. People regularly tell me they struggle with me.”

41. Have Little Esteem or Respect for Others (Numbers 16:1-3)

“I lack respect for other people. I don’t think very highly of most people. I have a hard time encouraging and honoring others unless they really do something great.”

42. Do Violence with My Mouth (Psalm 101:5; Romans 3:13-14; 3 John 1:9-10)

“I am a slanderer. I find myself either giving or receiving evil reports about others. I am not concerned about the effect of slander on me because of my maturity level. I think I can handle it. I only share with others the things I think they really need to know. I don’t tell all. Anyway, the things I say or hear about people are usually true.”

43. Sow Discord (Proverbs 28:25)

“I am divisive. My actions and attitudes separate people rather than unite people. My words frequently undermined the confidence and trust people have in one another. I also tend to resist or resent authority. I don’t like other people to give me orders or directions.”

44. Demean or Belittle Others

“With a motivation to put people in their place or look good myself, I like to demean or put others down. They need my adjustment. This includes leaders. Other people need to be humble and have a “sober” assessment of themselves.”

45. Critical

“I tend to be critical of others. I find myself feeling or talking negatively about people. I subtly feel better about myself when I see how bad someone else is. I find it far easier to evaluate than to encourage someone else.”

46. Self Willed and Stubborn

“I am self-willed and stubborn. I have a hard time cooperating with others. I really prefer my own way and often insist on getting it.”

47. Independent (Proverbs 18:1; Luke 1:51-52)

“I am independent and uncommitted. I don’t really see why I need other people. I can easily separate myself from others. I don’t get much out of the small group meetings.”

48. Unaccountable (Acts 2:42; Hebrews 10:25)

“I am unaccountable. I don’t ask others to hold me responsible to follow through on my commitments. I don’t really need accountability for my words and actions.”

49. Unsubmissive (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:5)

“I am unsubmissive. I don’t like being under the authority of another person. I don’t see submission as a good and necessary provision from God for my life. I have a hard time supporting and serving those over me. I don’t “look up” to people and I like to be in charge. Other people may need leaders but I don’t. It is important that my voice is always heard.”

50. Feel Mature

“I really appreciate somebody taking the time to put this paper together. It will really be a big help to my friends and family. However, I don’t really need this because I think I'm pretty humble already.”

How to Deal with Pride in Your Life

1. Ask God to illuminate your heart so you can begin to see the fruits of pride in your life. Ask friends to point out the fruits of pride in your life realizing your heart is exceedingly deceitful. Be self-suspicious.

2. Ask God to convict you point by point (Psalm 139:23-24) and trust that he will. You don't want or need general condemnation, only specific, godly conviction.

3. Confess your pride to God point by point and ask for his forgiveness. Just as importantly, ask him to cleanse you of all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

4. Don't ask God to humble you – the Scripture says to humble yourself (1 Peter 5:6). Humility isn’t an emotion; it’s a decision of the will to think and act differently.

5. Confess your sins of pride to those you have affected and to your friends. They can help to hold you accountable and bring the on-going encouragement and correction you will need.

6. Ask God to give you a holy hatred for pride and its fruits in your life. Be continually on the alert. Don't allow pride to grow in your heart.

7. Ask God to give you a love for anonymity. Encourage and serve others each and every day. Associate with the lowly.

8. Think much about God and little about yourself. Regularly study the goodness and greatness of God.

9. Live to promote the reputation of God and not your own. Be impressed with God – don’t be impressed with yourself. Find your satisfaction in him and not in your vain accomplishments.

10. Remember your war against pride is life-long. It is not a battle won in a day. But as you faithfully put pride to death and put on humility, you will experience greater freedom and more importantly greater conformity to image and likeness of Christ. In so doing, God will be glorified in your life!

No Virginia, There isn't a Santa Claus

2010-12-15T08:25:00.002-06:00

Do the Work that God has assigned you to do.

2010-12-14T09:39:00.000-06:00

This is a Proverbs devotional study that Bryant sent to Katie and she shares with us. It is really good and makes a point we have been trying to make with our children. So please know that this is not original to me, but it is very good.

Proverbs 14:23

In all labour there is profit: but the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury.

Slinging French fries for minimum wage is better than hearing another business plan for making a million. If you resent the statement, this proverb is for you! Dreamers and promoters fantasize about being successful; but diligent and godly men go to their same old jobs with thankful hearts and find success through hard work! They do not sit around talking with speculators and making spreadsheets of imagined wealth from a new fantasy business. See the comments on 1:32; 12:11; 13:4; 13:11; 13:23; 14:4; 14:15; and 27:23.

Some men always talk of new businesses, new investments. They are full of ideas how to make money, but their own success is always just around the corner. Solomon warned his son against the distractions and delusions of moneymaking schemes. He knew about the exciting “business opportunities” and “investment secrets” of slothful fools and lying promoters. “Son, overtime at the fryer would be better than listening to these leeches.”

In all labor there is profit. Take an average young man, who diligently and faithfully works hard at a minimum wage, fast food job. In one year, he will be shift supervisor. In another year, shift manager. In two more, store manager. After managing faithfully for a year, he will get a piece of the action. In five more years, he will own half the business. In five more, he will buy out the owner. Simple, certain, and successful! No better ideas here – just faithful hard work! Not bad for slinging fries at minimum wage, eh?

In all labor there is profit. Take another young man, who diligently and faithfully works hard at ordinary factory or office jobs. Such efforts will make his raises and promotions above average. Saving and investing part of his weekly pay, he will accumulate much in 40-50 working years. He will retire on schedule with significant company benefits, considerable Social Security, and a sizeable estate. Simple, certain, and successful! No better ideas here – just faithful hard work! Not bad for an office or factory stiff, eh?

But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. Watch the man craving the lifestyle of the rich and famous: he hates his boring job working for others. Work to him is driving a Lexus, checking investments by cell phone, and flashing his Rolex in fine restaurants. He reads and listens to every harebrained scam. He drools at “guaranteed” returns of 50%, and he invests heavily to “take advantage” of his “insider information”! The Ponzi scheme takes him down to penury, and the laboring stiff has to loan him money for food!

But the talk of the lips tendeth only to penury. Watch the man always changing jobs and always in a new “business opportunity.” He attends rah-rah meetings where beautiful people with leased cars, pyramid schemes for businesses, and imitation Rolexes tell him he can be rich … easily! He is fascinated. He made up his mind he would never be a working stiff, and each new “business opportunity” and investment scam are potential saviors from real work. But for some reason he never finds the promised mother lode!

Young man, forget your dreams when you get up in the morning and wash your face! Now it is time to work, not sleep and dream, or dream and sleep! Dreaming is not ambition! Optimism is not ambition! Business plans are not ambition! Working harder and more faithfully than anyone else is ambition! Forget the lottery mentality! You are not going to be the next NBA superstar! Today is a blessed privilege – use it to do more, and do it better, with a more cheerful spirit, in a real job, than anyone else. You will win!

Here is divinely inspired financial wisdom from the richest and most successful man who ever lived. Wishful thinking is for losers; only consistent labor will produce results. Exceptions are lies, and they never last anyway (13:11). Talk is cheap! Talking about making money in any other way than hard labor at a boring job is confusing, deceiving, distracting, foolish, and vain. It will rob your soul of the ambition necessary to succeed!

Many companies squander their profits by spending more time talking about saving money and enhancing revenues than actually producing and selling their product or service! The cost per hour of high-level meetings with numerous participants is enormous! They may soon be filing for Chapter 11 protection. Governments do the same: analyzing, debating, and meeting with little productive effort to truly solve the problem.

Minimum wage is not bad. It is more per hour than most “distributors” in multi-level marketing make for the hours spent hearing and talking about getting rich. It is more than the “investors” make in Ponzi schemes and other investment scams, that relieve fools every year of their money in the foolish and vain hope of getting rich enough to avoid having to work a real job. In all labor there is profit, even at minimum wage!

Not all business talk leads to penury, for there is safety in wise counselors (11:14). But wise counselors are never the ones soliciting you, selling you an investment, offering you a product, or promoting an “opportunity.” Beware! Justified conversation not condemned by this proverb must be objective, based in fact only, and with uninvolved, third-party, critical and successful, wise men. They will tell you the truth, not what you want to hear.

Be thankful for your job. Be thankful for your given abilities. Be thankful for the opportunity to work hard. Be thankful for this proverb. Get to work, now! Be early to work; stay late. Exceed the job expectations. Be cheerful; be respectful. Work zealously as unto the Lord. Work patiently with your eye on heaven’s reward. You will succeed!

Wishful thinking is what foolish children do on Santa’s knee. Anything that sounds too good to be true, is not true! It is a deceitful vanity to steal your focus from real labor. Plow your field, and reject the illusion of greener pastures elsewhere (28:19). Avoid and ignore all sources of “business opportunities” that promise more than your job! Do not listen to them! Do not read their promotional lies! Apply yourself to what is before you!

Catechism 16-20

2010-12-02T12:41:00.000-06:00

Q. 16. Did all mankind fall in Adam’s first transgression?

A. The covenant being made with Adam,40 not only for himself, but for his posterity; all mankind, descending from him by ordinary generation, sinned in him, and fell with him, in his first transgression.41

Q. 17. Into what estate did the fall bring mankind?

A. The fall brought mankind into an estate of sin and misery.42

Q. 18. Wherein consists the sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell?

A. The sinfulness of that estate whereinto man fell, consists in the guilt of Adam’s first sin,43 the want of original righteousness,44 and the corruption of his whole nature,45 which is commonly called original sin; together with all actual transgressions which proceed from it.46

Q. 19. What is the misery of that estate whereinto man fell?

A. All mankind by their fall lost communion with God,47 are under his wrath48 and curse,49 and so made liable to all the miseries of this life,50 to death51 itself, and to the pains of hell forever.52

Q. 20. Did God leave all mankind to perish in the estate of sin and misery?

A. God, having out of his mere good pleasure, from all eternity, elected some to everlasting life,53 did enter into a covenant of grace to deliver them out of the estate of sin and misery, and to bring them into an estate of salvation by a Redeemer.54

40 Genesis 2:16-17. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. James 2:10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

41 Romans 5:12-21. 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: (For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed (8) when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 15:22. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

42 Genesis 3:16-19, 23. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.... Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. Romans 3:16. Destruction and misery are in their ways: 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: Ephesians 2:1. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.

43 Romans 5:12, 19. 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.... For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.

44 Romans 3:10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: Colossians 3:10. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Ephesians 4:24. And thatye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

45 Psalm 51:5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. John 3:6. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Romans 3:18. There is no fear of God before their eyes. Romans 8:7-8. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Ephesians 2:3. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

46 Genesis 6:5. And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Psalm 53:1-3. The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Matthew 15:19. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: Romans 3:10-18, 23. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; (9) with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.... For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Galatians 5:19-21. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. James 1:14-15. But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.

47 Genesis 3:8, 24. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.... So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. John 8:34, 42, 44. Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.... Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.... Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. Ephesians 2:12. That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Ephesians 4:18. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart.

48 John 3:36. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. Romans 1:18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Ephesians 2:3. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. Ephesians 5:6. Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.

49 Galatians 3:10. For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. Revelation 22:3. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him.

50 Genesis 3:16-19. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. Job 5:7. Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Ecclesiastes 2:22-23. For what hath man of all his labour, and of the vexation of his heart, wherein he hath laboured under the sun? For all his days are sorrows, and his travail grief; yea, his heart taketh not rest in the night. This is also vanity. Romans 8:18-23. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Because the (10) creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

51 Ezekiel 18:4. Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die. 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: Romans 6:23. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

52 Matthew 25:41, 46. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.... And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. 2 Thessalonians 1:9. Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; Revelation 14:9-11. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

53 Acts 13:48. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed. Ephesians 1:4-5. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

54 Genesis 3:15. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Genesis 17:7. And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee. Exodus 19:5-6. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel. Jeremiah 31:31-34. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. Matthew 20:28. Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many. 1 Corinthians 11:25. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. Hebrews 9:15. And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Catechism Questions 11-15

2010-12-01T12:45:00.000-06:00

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?

A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy,30 wise,31 and powerful32 preserving33 and governing34 all his creatures, and all their actions.35

Q. 12. What special act of providence did God exercise towards man in the estate
wherein he was created?

A. When God had created man, he entered into a covenant of life with him, upon condition of perfect obedience; forbidding him to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.36

Q. 13. Did our first parents continue in the estate wherein they were created?

A. Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own will, fell from the estate wherein they were created, by sinning against God.37

Q. 14. What is sin?

A. Sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of, the law of God.38

Q. 15. What was the sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created?

A. The sin whereby our first parents fell from the estate wherein they were created, was their eating the forbidden fruit.39

30 Psalm 145:17. The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.

31 Psalm 104:24. O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. (7)

32 Hebrews 1:3. Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high

33 Nehemiah 9:6. Thou, even thou, art LORD alone; thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and thou preservest them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth thee.

34 Ephesians 1:19-22. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church.

35 Psalm 36:6. Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy judgments are a great deep: O LORD, thou preservest man and beast. Proverbs 16:33. The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. Matthew 10:30. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 36 Genesis 2:16-17. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. James 2:10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

37 Genesis 3:6-8, 13. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.... And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 2 Corinthians 11:3. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

38 Leviticus 5:17. And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity. James 4:17. Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. 1 John 3:4. Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

39 Genesis 3:6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

Back to the Catachisms

2010-11-23T13:33:00.000-06:00

Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;20 and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.21
Q. 7. What are the decrees of God?
A. The decrees of God are, his eternal purpose, according to the counsel of his will, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.22
Q. 8. How doth God execute his decrees?
A. God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.232
Q. 9. What is the work of creation?
A. The work of creation is, God’s making all things of nothing, by the word of his power,24 in the space of six days, and all very good.25
Q. 10. How did God create man?
A. God created man male and female, after his own image,26 in knowledge,27 righteousness, and holiness,28 with dominion over the creatures.29

20 Matthew 3:16-17. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 28:19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 2 Corinthians 13:14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 1 Peter 1:2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
21 Psalm 45:6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 17:5. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Acts 5:3-4. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Romans 9:5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Colossians 2:9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Jude 1:24-25. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.
22 Psalm 33:11. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Isaiah 14:24. The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand: Acts 2:23. Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Ephesians 1:11-12. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. (6)
23 Psalm 148:8. Fire, and hail; snow, and vapours; stormy wind fulfilling his word: Isaiah 40:26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth. Daniel 4:35. And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou? Acts 4:24-28. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is: Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done. Revelation 4:11. Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.
24 Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Psalm 33:6, 9. By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.... For he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast. Hebrews 11:3. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
25 Genesis 1:31. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
26 Genesis 1:27. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
27 Colossians 3:10. And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
28 Ephesians 4:24. And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
29 Genesis 1:28. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Psalm 8. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

That Busy Time of Year

2010-11-16T14:54:00.000-06:00

When is it not the busy time of the year? There always seems to be something on the todo list, much more than can get done. I would like to have an application that would begin to grow moss on the todo list items that have been hanging around too long. You know, like the blinds we bought in July to hang in the Cabana that are still in the boxes. Or the project to make the Cabana a cool man cave work shop.

It does feel good to get some of these items off the todo list at the end of a week. Showing some progress on goals and getting the brain endorphins to flow by checking off an item is therapeutic. One thing that is still going is our goal to read the Bible through in a year. I am officially only one day behind my schedule. I’ve made it through the Pentateuch and am off to the Prophets. I’ve heard it said that the Pentateuch has killed more Bible reading goals than anything else. It helps having my partner reading at the same time so we can talk about what we find in the scriptures.

I heard one item today, “if you are too busy to read your Bible, you are too busy to eat.” So read your Bible before you eat. You can find time that way. I’ve had my best success this time by having the Bible on my computer. I can track my progress on my goal and do the reading and studying within the same program. If you are not reading your Bible, and studying what God has to say, then you need to get back in it. Get a partner to keep you accountable and ask God to keep you at it. He really will speak to you through His Word.

Yes, a question from the back!

2010-10-26T12:57:00.002-05:00

Katie asked what is the difference between what you believe and Calvinism

Katie,

that was an excellent question. Calvinism and Armenianism offer competing views and differ from the truth of a Biblical worldview. I would urge you to review this in detail, spending most of your time exploring the scripture proofs for the truths, but understanding the false teaching of the others. In understanding a false teaching, you can teach yourself to be sensitive to it when you hear it, and then speak out against it. Paul spoke on this to Titus. Titus was at the Church in Crete. They had false teachers that were trying to add their Hebrew rituals to the requirements for salvation.

Titus 1:10-14 (NKJV)
10 For there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things which they ought not, for the sake of dishonest gain. 12 One of them, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not giving heed to Jewish fables and commandments of men who turn from the truth.
The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982

Paul told Titus the "deceivers" mouths must be stopped. It is our job to be so firmly grounded in the Bible that we know when we hear something that is not from God's word. The devil likes to take a lot of truth and add just a bit of a lie to it to deceive us. You have to take it all back to scripture and use that as your guide. Calvinism says that God's elect (saved folks) are picked out before hand. The natural pathway then is, "If God has already elected them, then why do I need to witness to anyone. God is going to save them no matter what." And that pathway is the wide easy path that leads to destruction. I don't believe this is what Calvin intended because he spent much of his life witnessing in Paris. Plus Christ also commanded us to go and to witness, creating disciples, and baptizing them.

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
S. Mt 28:18-20

How many Gods do you worship?

2010-10-25T14:52:00.001-05:00

How many Gods do you worship?

That seems like a silly question in our family. We all know that we worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. We worship the one true God.

But is that all we worship? Do you have other idols to worship tucked away where only you know about them? For me in the past, I’ve had my work as my idol. It came first. Other’s have possessions or materialism as their idol. Some even put religion as their idol.

Reserve your worship for God. Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior.

Q. 5. Are there more Gods than one?
A. There is but one only,18 the living and true God.19
Q. 6. How many persons are there in the Godhead?
A. There are three persons in the Godhead: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost;20 and these three are one God, the same in substance, equal in power and glory.21

18 Deuteronomy 6:4. Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: Isaiah 44:6. Thus saith the LORD the King of Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; and beside me there is no God. Isaiah 45:21-22. Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 1 Corinthians 8:4-6. As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.

19 Jeremiah 10:10. But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation. John 17:3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. 1 Thessalonians 1:9. For they themselves show of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; 1 John 5:20. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

20 Matthew 3:16-17. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Matthew 28:19. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 2 Corinthians 13:14. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. 1 Peter 1:2. Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.

21 Psalm 45:6. Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre. John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 17:5. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was. Acts 5:3-4. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Romans 9:5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Colossians 2:9. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. Jude 1:24-25. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and for ever. Amen.

Are you saved? How can you know?

2010-10-22T11:44:00.002-05:00

My greatest struggle being a young Christian was the doubts hurled at me about the genuineness of my salvation. The first time I went down, it wasn’t even my idea, I wanted to get away from the guilt, and I wanted to go out, not down front. I wasn’t saved. I was baptized, but all I got was wet.

I was living a duplicitous life. (That means two faced.) I was the sweet loving Gregie at home, but a foul mouthed hellion away from my parent’s hearing. My salvation did occur and I was later baptized. I was still, however, a babe in Christ. I did not know how to “test” my salvation.

I recently listened to a good sermon from Paul Washer on “Testing your Salvation”. It is based on the teaching of John the Apostle in 1 John. I believe everyone should go through these verses and test yourself. Are you saved? If you were arrested for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

1 John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.

You need to get by yourself, with your Bible, pray for God to open your heart and eyes to what He wants to tell you. This is a test of the person you are when you are alone or around no one who knows you. Are you the sweet child always, or are you a rebellious hellion like I was before I was saved?

So what are the things that John has written? I am glad you asked.

1 John 1:5-7 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Test 1: God is light. This is saying that if we walk in darkness, we are a liar and do not practice the truth. What does it mean to walk in darkness? This refers to your “style of life.” Does your life style indicate that you walk with God? Are you going places God would walk? Are you doing things God would do? Are you looking at things that God would approve? Do your friends know that God is primary in your life? If you are walking in darkness, STOP. If your style of life goes against God, then you are not saved.

1 John 1:8-10 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Test 2: Say NO to sin. Are you sensitive to your own sin? Does God grab your attention when you have sinned and convict you? Does He lead you to confession and repentance? You should be broken over your sin. The devil is a roaring line seeking whom he can devour. Sin is a slippery slope. Just one step; then another; soon you find yourself covered in it. If you can sin and not cast a care at all, God is not in you. Test yourself, confess your sins, and repent. That means you need to turn away from the sin. Turn toward God.

1 John 2:3-5 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. 4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.

Test 3: Do you keep His commandments? Again, this is a style of life issue. Do you allow hate anywhere in you for anyone? Are you angry without cause? As a saved individual you should have a keen interest in keeping God’s commandments.

1 John 2:6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.

Test 4: Do you walk like Jesus? Do you desire to live your life like Christ? Do you routinely ask yourself “What Would Jesus Do” when faced with decisions or temptations?

1 John 2:9-11 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

Test 5: Do you hate your brother? In this, John is referring to your brothers in Christ, or other believers. Do you enjoy the company of other Christians? Do you like to worship together with others in Church? We should desire fellowship with other believers. Would you rather spend time with the Christians in your life or with the sinners in your life? This is an indication of your salvation. You can not be a secret service Christian and worship God alone on the golf course or in the fishing boat, or in bed on Sunday morning. Test yourself in this.

1 John 2:15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

Test 6 : Do you love the things of the world? Have you followed tv shows from talking about lust to doing sinful things. We had to stop watching many of the funny shows we used to watch. Sinful situation comedies are no longer funny. The sin of the flesh and lust of the eyes should not be in you. We can’t be a slave to this sinful evil age and be loyal to Christ. In this test, are you loyal to Christ in all that you do?

1 John 2:19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us.

Test 7 refers to the unsaved among us that leave. They were never a part of the faith to begin with. You can’t come and go to Christ as if He was an insurance policy and you only need Him on certain occasions. Folks that are pulled away to other “religions” were never truly saved. You know there are only 2 religions; Christianity, and everything else. There are only two paths; the hard and narrow path to God through salvation in faith by Christ, and everything else (the wide path).

1 John 2:24-27 Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. 26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

Guys you must embrace the fullness of the Person of Jesus as Savior and Lord, Prophet, Priest, and King. You can not slice Him up and get the parts you like, but leave behind the hard parts. You must strive to be Holy as God is Holy. Test your self in these areas. Take these to Christ in prayer and really know that based on the tests in scripture that John wrote for us, that you truly have salvation. If you fail any of these tests, talk with God about it. Repent of your sins and confess them. Ask Christ to show you the way of salvation and He will do so. For whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Catechism 4

2010-10-21T09:32:00.002-05:00

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,1 and to enjoy him forever.2
Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,3 is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.4
Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God,5 and what duty God requires of man.6

Q. 4. What is God?
A. God is a Spirit,7 infinite,8 eternal,9 and unchangeable,10 in his being,11 wisdom,12 power,13 holiness,14 justice,15 goodness,16 and truth.17

Proofs of Scripture

7 Deuteronomy 4:15-19. Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves; for ye saw no manner of similitude on the day that the LORD spake unto you in Horeb out of the midst of the fire: Lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the likeness of male or female, The likeness of any beast that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged fowl that flieth in the air, The likeness of any thing that creepeth on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the waters beneath the earth: And lest thou lift (3) up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven. Luke 24:39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. John 1:18. No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 4:24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. Acts 17:29. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device.

8 1 Kings 8:27. But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? Psalm 139:7-10. Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. Psalm 145:3. Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable. Psalm 147:5. Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. Jeremiah 23:24. Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. Romans 11:33-36. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding 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 to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

9 Deuteronomy 33:27. The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them. Psalm 90:2. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God. Psalm 102:12, 24-27. But thou, O LORD, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.... I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. Revelation 1:4, 8. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.... I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

10 Psalm 33:11. The counsel of the LORD standeth for ever, the thoughts of his heart to all generations. Malachi 3:6. For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Hebrews 1:12. And as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed: but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail. Hebrews 6:17-18. Wherein God, willing more abundantly to show unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Hebrews 13:8. Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. James 1:17. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

11 Exodus 3:14. And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. Psalm 115:2-3. Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God? But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. 1 Timothy 1:17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Timothy 6:15-16. Which in his times he shall show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the (4) King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

12 Psalm 104:24. O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. Romans 11:33-34. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Hebrews 4:13. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. 1 John 3:20. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

13 Genesis 17:1. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. Psalm 62:11. God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. Jeremiah 32:17. Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee: Matthew 19:26. But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. Revelation 1:8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

14 Hebrews 1:13. But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool? 1 Peter 1:15-16. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy. 1 John 3:3, 5. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.... And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Revelation 15:4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

15 Genesis 18:25. That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? Exodus 34:6-7. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation. Deuteronomy 32:4. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. Psalm 96:13. Before the LORD: for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with his truth. Romans 3:5, 26. But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man).... To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

16 Psalm 103:5. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's. Psalm 107:8. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men! Matthew 19:7. They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? Romans 2:4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

17 Exodus 34:6. And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Deuteronomy 32:4. He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. Psalm 86:15. But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth. Psalm 117:2. For his merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. Praise ye the LORD. Hebrews 6:18. That by two immutable things, in which it was (5) impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.

Catechism 3

2010-10-19T11:34:00.002-05:00

Getting back into the grind after a very long enjoyable weekend. The memory verse for the week is Numbers 6:23 - 26. This was God's instructions on how to bless the children of Israel. It is a good blessing to memorize.

For review, here are 1 and 2.

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,1 and to enjoy him forever.2
Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,3
is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.4

Q. 3. What do the Scriptures principally teach?
A. The Scriptures principally teach, what man is to believe concerning God,5 and what duty
God requires of man.6

5 Genesis 1:1. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. John 5:39. Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. John 20:31. But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. Romans 10:17. So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 2 Timothy 3:15. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

6 Deuteronomy 10:12-13. And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul, To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good? Joshua 1:8. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Psalm 119:105. Thy word is a lamp
unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Micah 6:8. He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy 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.

Delaration of Independence

2010-10-15T10:04:00.001-05:00

We are free people. Government tyranny attempts to take away our rights and freedoms. Don't allow it ever. Demand Freedom.

Declaration of Independence

(Adopted by Congress on July 4, 1776)
The Unanimous Declaration
of the Thirteen United States of America

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security. --Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over these states. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world.

He has refused his assent to laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good.

He has forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his assent should be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.

He has refused to pass other laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation in the legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable to tyrants only.

He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records, for the sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.

He has dissolved representative houses repeatedly, for opposing with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.

He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to cause others to be elected; whereby the legislative powers, incapable of annihilation, have returned to the people at large for their exercise; the state remaining in the meantime exposed to all the dangers of invasion from without, and convulsions within.

He has endeavored to prevent the population of these states; for that purpose obstructing the laws for naturalization of foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migration hither, and raising the conditions of new appropriations of lands.

He has obstructed the administration of justice, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

He has made judges dependent on his will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.

He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance.

He has kept among us, in times of peace, standing armies without the consent of our legislature.

He has affected to render the military independent of and superior to civil power.

He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his assent to their acts of pretended legislation:

For quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:

For protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment for any murders which they should commit on the inhabitants of these states:

For cutting off our trade with all parts of the world:

For imposing taxes on us without our consent:

For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of trial by jury:

For transporting us beyond seas to be tried for pretended offenses:

For abolishing the free system of English laws in a neighboring province, establishing therein an arbitrary government, and enlarging its boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule in these colonies:

For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments:

For suspending our own legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.

He has abdicated government here, by declaring us out of his protection and waging war against us.

He has plundered our seas, ravaged our coasts, burned our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people.

He is at this time transporting large armies of foreign mercenaries to complete the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of cruelty and perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the head of a civilized nation.

He has constrained our fellow citizens taken captive on the high seas to bear arms against their country, to become the executioners of their friends and brethren, or to fall themselves by their hands.

He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian savages, whose known rule of warfare, is undistinguished destruction of all ages, sexes and conditions.

In every stage of these oppressions we have petitioned for redress in the most humble terms: our repeated petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.

Nor have we been wanting in attention to our British brethren. We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, enemies in war, in peace friends.

We, therefore, the representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress, assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the name, and by the authority of the good people of these colonies, solemnly publish and declare, that these united colonies are, and of right ought to be free and independent states; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as free and independent states, they have full power to levy war, conclude peace, contract alliances, establish commerce, and to do all other acts and things which independent states may of right do. And for the support of this declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

New Hampshire: Josiah Bartlett, William Whipple, Matthew Thornton

Massachusetts: John Hancock, Samual Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine, Elbridge Gerry

Rhode Island: Stephen Hopkins, William Ellery

Connecticut: Roger Sherman, Samuel Huntington, William Williams, Oliver Wolcott

New York: William Floyd, Philip Livingston, Francis Lewis, Lewis Morris

New Jersey: Richard Stockton, John Witherspoon, Francis Hopkinson, John Hart, Abraham Clark

Pennsylvania: Robert Morris, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, John Morton, George Clymer, James Smith, George Taylor, James Wilson, George Ross

Delaware: Caesar Rodney, George Read, Thomas McKean

Maryland: Samuel Chase, William Paca, Thomas Stone, Charles Carroll of Carrollton

Virginia: George Wythe, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Harrison, Thomas Nelson, Jr., Francis Lightfoot Lee, Carter Braxton

North Carolina: William Hooper, Joseph Hewes, John Penn

South Carolina: Edward Rutledge, Thomas Heyward, Jr., Thomas Lynch, Jr., Arthur Middleton

Georgia: Button Gwinnett, Lyman Hall, George Walton

Source: The Pennsylvania Packet, July 8, 1776

No Catechism Today

2010-10-14T20:54:00.002-05:00

I know you were waiting for Catechism #3 today, but I've been driving all day. We left home at 8:00 and got to Granny's at 8:00 tonight. I have the information with me and will get back to it tomorrow. Today we are going to a different topic.

I want to discuss a topic I like to call "Butch up Sally!" I want the 5 boys to pay attention. We need to be men in our relationships. We need to live by the Bible with a Biblical Worldview. We need to be the spiritual leaders in our homes. Rob, Andy and Will, I need to ask your forgiveness for not being the leader I should have been while you were growing up through elementary and high school. We've missed a lot of time memorizing scripture and studying God's Word. I am afraid you've lost your zeal for God and His worship. That is why I harp on you all the time to go to Church.

Did you know that 75 to 88% of college age freshmen leave the church? The fault is not theirs alone, but it also lies with the job the fathers have been doing with family worship and study. That is why I am writing you these letters for the future generations of our family. My grandchildren need a better roll model than my children got. It has to be your job to raise them up to be men and women of God. It is my job now to start where we are at. Can't go back, only forward.

We need to be men for our women. But don't be acting like you are married cause last time I checked, you weren't. You do not need to be spending the night with girl friends. There is nothing good happening after midnight. The temptations are great and the flesh is weak. Sexual sin is the only sin that Paul tells us to run away from. Other sins, he advises us to resist temptation and you can overcome it. On sexual sin, Paul says to RUN. Boys, don't put yourselves in that situation. Heartache and pain is the result.

Catechism Question 2

2010-10-13T08:19:00.005-05:00

Today we are looking at question 2 along with the scriptures to support the answer. I trust you are taking the time to read the scripture verses to support the answer. The Word of God is how God has chosen to speak to us. His revealed Word is sufficient for your life. But to know it, you have to read it. And not just on Sunday when you are sitting in Church, but everyday. That is a lesson that has taken me many (too many) years to grasp. Read God's Word every day. Start at the beginning and read it through like any other book. It is fine to study specifics, but as a base study of God's Word, read it like He put it together.

I challenge you to find a friend to read it with you, so you can discuss what you are learning. Just yesterday, I learned the significance of Arron's Rod and why God had Moses place it in the Ark.

I also challenge you to memorize scripture. Our verse for this week is Deut 6:4-5.

4“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

There will be a test!

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

Q. 2. What rule hath God given to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him?
A. The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments,3
is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify and enjoy him.4

3 Matthew 19:4-5. And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? With Genesis 2:24. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Luke 24:27, 44. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.... And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 1 Corinthians 2:13. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 1 Corinthians 14:37.

If any man think himself to be a prophet, or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord. 2 Peter 1:20-21. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy (2)men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 3:2, 15-16. That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour.... And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction.

4 Deuteronomy 4:2. Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish ought from it, that ye may keep the commandments of the LORD your God which I command you. Psalm 19:7-11. The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward. Isaiah 8:20. To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. John 15:11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. John 20:30-31. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. Acts 17:11. These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. 2 Timothy 3:15-17. And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. 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. 1 John 1:4. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Catechism Question 1

2010-10-12T07:58:00.005-05:00

A catechism is a method of imparting knowledge through questions and answers. In the past, this was used as a way to memorize facts from scripture about God, Man, and Salvation. I plan to go through The Westminster Shorter Catechism of 1648 question by question with you along with the scripture to back up the answer. I am going to copy this directly from the 1648 document and will help provide translation where needed into today's English.

There are 107 questions in the shorter catechism. I also plan to go over the London Baptist Confession of Faith with you. I believe that if you don't know what you believe, then you can't defend your beliefs when challenged nor can you share what you don't know. This confession of faith and the catechism both answer the questions of our faith and build the foundation of belief we need for a Biblical Worldview.

Q. 1. What is the chief end of man?

A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God,1 and to enjoy him forever.2

1
Psalm 86:1-17 (NKJV)

Prayer for Mercy, with Meditation on the Excellencies of the Lord

A Prayer of David.

1 Bow down Your ear, O Lord, hear me;

For I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my 1life, for I am holy;

You are my God;

Save Your servant who trusts in You!

3 Be merciful to me, O Lord,

For I cry to You all day long.

4 2Rejoice the soul of Your servant,

a For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

5 For b You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive,

And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

And attend to the voice of my supplications.

7 In the day of my trouble I will call upon You,

For You will answer me.

8 c Among the gods there is none like You, O Lord;

Nor are there any works like Your works.

9 All nations whom You have made

Shall come and worship before You, O Lord,

And shall glorify Your name.

10 For You are great, and d do wondrous things;

e You alone are God.

11 f Teach me Your way, O Lord;

I will walk in Your truth;

3Unite my heart to fear Your name.

12 I will praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,

And I will glorify Your name forevermore.

13 For great is Your mercy toward me,

And You have delivered my soul from the depths of 4 Sheol.

14 O God, the proud have risen against me,

And a mob of violent men have sought my life,

And have not set You before them.

15 But g You, O Lord, are a God full of compassion, and gracious,

Longsuffering and abundant in mercy and truth.

16 Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!

Give Your strength to Your servant,

And save the son of Your maidservant.

17 Show me a sign for good,

That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,

Because You, Lord, have helped me and comforted me. [1]
1 Lit. soul

2 Make glad

a Ps. 25:1; 143:8

b Ps. 130:7; 145:9; [Joel 2:13]

c [Ex. 15:11]; 2 Sam. 7:22; 1 Kin. 8:23; Ps. 89:6; Jer. 10:6

d [Ex. 15:11]

e Deut. 6:4; Is. 37:16; Mark 12:29; 1 Cor. 8:4

f Ps. 27:11; 143:8

3 Give me singleness of heart

4 The abode of the dead

g Ex. 34:6; [Ps. 86:5]

Romans 11:36 (NKJV)

36 For m of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, n to whom be glory forever. Amen. [1]

m [1 Cor. 8:6; 11:12]; Col. 1:16; Heb. 2:10

n Heb. 13:21

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)

19 Or t do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, u and you are not your own? 20 For v you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body 7 and in your spirit, which are God’s. [1]
t John 2:21; 1 Cor. 3:16; 2 Cor. 6:16

u Rom. 14:7

v Acts 20:28; 1 Cor. 7:23; Gal. 3:13; 1 Pet. 1:18; 2 Pet. 2:1; Rev. 5:9

7 NU omits the rest of v. 20.

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NKJV)

31 u Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. [1]

u Col. 3:17; 1 Pet. 4:11

Revelation 4:11 (NKJV)

11 “You u are worthy, 7 O Lord,

To receive glory and honor and power;

v For You created all things,

And by w Your will they 8 exist and were created.” [1]
u Rev. 1:6; 5:12

7 NU, M our Lord and God

v Gen. 1:1; John 1:3

w Col. 1:16

8 NU, M existed

2
Psalm 16:5-11 (NKJV)

5 O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup;

You 2 maintain my lot.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places;

Yes, I have a good inheritance.

7 I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel;

My 3 heart also instructs me in the night seasons.

8 f I have set the Lord always before me;

Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices;

My flesh also will 4 rest in hope.

10 g For You will not leave my soul in 5 Sheol,

Nor will You allow Your Holy One to 6 see corruption.

11 You will show me the h path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. [1]
2 Lit. uphold

3 Mind, lit. kidneys

f [Acts 2:25–28]

4 Or dwell securely

g Ps. 49:15; 86:13; Acts 2:31, 32; Heb. 13:20

5 The abode of the dead

6 undergo

h Ps. 139:24; [Matt. 7:14]

Psalm 144:15 (NKJV)

15 l Happy are the people who are in such a state;

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! [1]
l Deut. 33:29; [Ps. 33:12; Jer. 17:7]

Isaiah 12:2 (NKJV)

2 Behold, God is my salvation,

I will trust and not be afraid;

b‘For c Yah, the Lord, is my strength and song;

He also has become my salvation.’ ” [1]
b Ps. 83:18

c Ex. 15:2; Ps. 118:14

Luke 2:10 (NKJV)

10 Then the angel said to them, g “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy h which will be to all people. [1]

g Luke 1:13, 30

h Gen. 12:3; Is. 49:6; [Matt. 28:19; Mark 1:15; Col. 1:23]

Philippians 4:4 (NKJV)

4 g Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! [1]
g Rom. 12:12

Revelation 21:3-4 (NKJV)

3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Behold, e the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 f And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; g there shall be no more death, h nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” [1]
e Lev. 26:11; Ezek. 43:7; 2 Cor. 6:16

f Is. 25:8; Rev. 7:17

g 1 Cor. 15:26; Rev. 20:14

h Is. 35:10; 51:11; 65:19

[1] The New King James Version. Nashville : Thomas Nelson, 1982

Time for a Change

2010-10-11T08:03:00.005-05:00

It is time for a change of scenery and direction for the blog. Staleness and misdirection sometimes needs to be thrown out. I am a Christian and have professed such for many years. I was not saved the first time I was baptized. I first asked Christ into my life for real a few years later at summer camp. It took many years for me to grow from the milk of being a babe in Christ to start maturing to the meat of the Word. You have to have real repentance from sin and you have to stop doing the sin you are repenting of for God to get you beyond the milk of being a babe in Christ.

I am only now beginning to understand the process of salvation and looking back over the journey I've made to get where I am today. I've been a Sunday School Teacher, a Deacon, a part time Minister of Recreation, a foreign voluntary missionary; but what about at home? Did my work at the Church translate into my primary ministry of being the spiritual leader in my home? Did my children benefit from time spent in Honduras to bring them closer to the Lord? What can I do about my children now to instill in them a Biblical Worldview to spread to their families? I told Donna this week, that we lost a lot of the influence we have on the older four, but the younger three are still with us. My blog is going to be my letters to my children to instill in them the Biblical Worldview that the Lord is leading us toward.

Things I will not miss in Heaven

2010-08-26T15:19:00.003-05:00

Thinking about Heaven and what it will be like is beyond our comprehension. One thing I am certainly not going to miss here on this earth is death. Death does have a sting to those that are left wondering why it happened, or why did it happen today, why did it linger, or why didn't it happen to me? Those are all legitimate questions to ponder about death and sickness. I have a friend who is struggling with cancer, on a constant morphine drip to ease the pain. My wife has a friend who went to sleep last night fine and did not wake up this morning. My Pastor's mom has been in hospice now for 3 weeks going from near death to feeling better and questioning her refusal to take any more chemo. Today is DiDi's birthday. He would have been 77. He was going to bed, made it to the top step and fell over dead.

Death separates us from our friends and loved ones. We know intellectually what has happened, but deep down in our soul it messes with you. Psalm 23 says when you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, God will be there to comfort and guide. It is interesting to me that it is a shadow. A shadow has no substance, only the absence of light. The valley will eventually run out and be back on high ground or make it to the ocean where there are no more shadows. God also wants us to walk through the valley. He does not want us to run, for running will not take care of your grief. Grief is a timed event in the hearts of men. On the other hand, He does not want you to sit down and wallow in it. That is where His rod comes in to comfort us to get us through today and onto tomorrow.

Now, that first day is bad. The day of the funeral is the worst. The first time you see your loved one in the casket is the absolute worst part. The days will still march on at the same pace as ever. Routines previously established must be modified. Occasions take on new meanings. Places and memories start to take over. The good memories always makes a way to come to the surface and outlast and overshadow the bad memories. Eventually a day turns to 2. 2 days turn to 7. A week becomes a month. Time keeps marching at the rate of 1 second per second.

Heaven on the other hand will see an end to this death we know. There won't be any more sickness, cancer, car wrecks, or old age. Time will stop marching as there will be no need to track a calendar or wristwatch within God's presence. God gives us a glimpse of how great Heaven will be by describing the basest of items in Heaven are made from the greatest treasure of earth, streets made of gold. All of us who have Christ Jesus as our Savior have building plans and a mansion under construction. What we don't know is when we will get to see it. Take heart and be brave. Thank God that he has kept the time of our departure a secret, but has given His chosen a certainty of their final destination.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Ribs (closing in on perfection)

2010-08-02T12:53:00.003-05:00

My recipe was different this weekend. I added a wet sauce to the ribs. I started normally with 3 racks of baby back ribs. I coated them with dry rub (Emeril's Rib Rub) and a hearty dose of paprika. Those went on a cherry wood smoke for 2 hours. My heat got a bit too high and I left them on the smoke a bit too long. The smoke ring was tremendous, almost all the way thru the meat between the ribs. The wood chips I used had been soaking for a week in a bucket. When they dried out, they made some tasty white thick smoke.

At the halfway point (2 hours) I basted the ribs with Sonny's Sweet sauce along with another shaking of rib rub. We found it at Sams this week. It doesn't have any junk in it and tastes real good. (Junk is high fructose corn syrup or MSG). Then I wrapped the ribs in foil and left them alone on top of the fire for 4 hours.

They were falling off the bone and very hard to cut, it was so tender. The wet sauce gave them a good caramel sugar coating of BBQ goodness. Temperature control is important. Too hot too long will put a black burn on the meat that is tough to chew. So keep the temperature in the Ideal setting for all six hours.

I'm Still Tired

2010-07-27T10:53:00.003-05:00

You are not going to convince me that I should redefine God's definition of marriage cause two guys or two gals want to get hitched. It ain't nothing but sin. It is rebellion against the institution of Marriage that God designed. Why do we need a law to define marriage as a union between a man and a woman? What happened to the backbones of the minister's that would even consider preforming a homosexual marriage? Isn't God's Word enough? Jesus teaches us to love our neighbor as our self, but He also told the lady caught in adultery to go and sin no more. I am tired of folks like Rosie telling me I'm intolerant. My response is "go and sin no more." Come and go to Bible study with us and get you heart right.

I am tired of being told I have to be diverse and tolerant of other people's religions. There are only 2 religions. One is Christianity by accepting Christ by repenting of your sins and asking for His forgiveness and mercy and grace. The second religion is everything else. There is only one way to righteousness, and it is through Christ Jesus. He said you would have to be more righteous than the scribes and pharisees (the most religious people ever) to get into Heaven. You can't do it on your own. I don't have to be diverse in my opinion, I am just repeating what Jesus already taught. Jesus commanded us to go and tell and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Imperials had a song in the 70's that got it right. "Oh it won't be ol' Budda, that's sittin on the throne. And it won't be ol' Mahammed that's callin us home. And it won't be Harri Krishna that plays that trumpet tune. And we are going to see the Son, not rev. Moon."

I'm Tired of Liberals and their Agenda

2010-07-23T09:14:00.002-05:00

I am tired of people with liberal agenda's calling me a racist, or a bigot, or an intolerant redneck if I believe their agenda is based on a practice of sin, living in sin, is a false religion, or follows Pelosi-Reid-Obama doctrine. I believe God's Word. All of it. We are all descended from Adam, and we are all descended from Noah. One race. The human race. We are all from one family. That's why it is ludicrous to call me a racist because I don't believe in the direction our President says he wants to go. That's right, I oppose the socialist direction and the bankrupting of America that he seems bent on creating. Doesn't have a thing to do with the color of his skin or mine. One race. I am right and he is wrong.

The bumper sticker on my car says "Annoy a Liberal, Work Hard and Be Happy"

I'm Tired Too!

2010-07-22T11:00:00.002-05:00

I am going to confess this is not an original idea. I found it from a 63 year old veteran whose email I lost, so I can not give him his full credit by name. He said he was tired. And I agree. I am tired too.

I am tired of people whining about BP not getting them some money because they don't have the documentation. BP made a mess, and as far as I am concerned they are doing good to clean it up. They offered to replace lost income to the fishermen and other coastal workers. All the workers have to do is prove their 2009 income by showing their tax returns. Should not be a problem. The rub is that many of these folks work on a cash basis and don't report all the cash as income, so it is tax free income. I have absolutely zero compassion for people that cheat the tax system, then whine cause "BP won't gimme no money!" I am tired of the whining. Oh, and just a word of caution, I double dog guarantee you that BP is going to report the check they gave you to the IRS. You may want to go ahead and report that income.

Benjamin Franklin's Rules

2010-07-16T08:08:00.001-05:00

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.

2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.

3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.

4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.

5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.

6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. MODERATION. Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.

11. TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.

13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

July 4th at the lake

2010-07-02T11:07:00.002-05:00

Our happy band of Tiki Travelers is on the road again. We like to spend the 4th of July at Smith Mountain Lake in Southwest Virginia. We have a good spot picked out to view the fireworks. Aunt Bri, Uncle Eddie, Sammie and Charlie will join us with Granddaddy and Grandmother for a week of quilting, swimming, boat riding, and fishing.

Grandmother has asked that we paint her ceilings while we are there, so we will squeeze that in too. I just hope she doesn't want us to start painting before 10 in the morning because it is a vacation.

Have a great holiday. Happy Birthday America!!!

My Next Batch of Ribs

2010-06-29T12:36:00.002-05:00

Before vacation I made a new rub for ribs. I tried it a few weeks ago. Here are the ingredients.

My dry rub consist of turbindeno sugar 1/2 cup(I know I misspelled that), cayenne pepper 1 TBs, chipotole pepper 1 TBs, salt 1/2 cup, black pepper 1/2 cup, dry mustard 3 TBs, and paprika 1/2 cup. I chopped it all in a spice grinder to blend.

The only prep I did to the ribs was to liberally add rub to both sides and rub it in. Then I put another coat on. I smoked them with a bullet type smoker with a propane heat source. I put cherry chips and hickory chunks above the fire. I had a pan of water inside the wood chip bowl and a pan of orange juice and apple juice under the ribs. The liquids help keep the heat down and the moisture up. After two hours in the smoke, I applied more rub and wrapped the ribs in aluminum foil. The trick is to get the foil to hold in the moisture at this point which converts the rub into a sauce. I didn't add any bottled sauce.

As I was cutting the ribs to serve and doing the proper taste testing, I thought there was too much cayenne spice. Later when eating the ribs, the additional meat helped cool down the spice. The next time I make a batch of rub, I am going to cut the 2 hot peppers back by 50% and change the paprika to smoked paprika.

Marinating taken to a new level

2010-06-28T09:58:00.002-05:00

They say you are what you eat. I think what you eat depends on what you feed it first. We've expanded the farm with chickens and now some pigs. I am going to put some smoked paprika on their feed to go ahead and get a start on those ribs. Yum.

Homecollege article by Voddie Baucham

2010-06-10T09:08:00.003-05:00

This is a good article that shares many of the reasons we chose College Plus for Katie's advanced education.

(This article appeared originally as a blog on www.voddiebaucham.org)

Those who have followed my blog (or have heard me speak on the issue of education) know that I am an exponent of Christian education. I believe all education is religious in nature, education is inseparable from discipleship (Luke 6:40), and Christian parents, therefore, are called to give their children a Christian education. I am also convinced that these principles apply to every level of education whenever possible (I recognize that sometimes we need a course that is only offered in less-than-desirable places). Hence, I believe we must evaluate our plans and decisions regarding college education from a biblical perspective. In the past even avid Christian education advocates have often 'dropped the ball' when college rolled around.

I am also a homeschool dad who, like many home educators, had no idea how poorly educated I was until my wife and I began to teach our children at home. There is a saying among home educators: "Homeschooling is really the education of two generations at once." I envy my children their education. I have often said that my daughter, Jasmine, was better educated when she finished High School (at sixteen) than I was when I graduated from college. And yes, I mean that literally. It's not even close. As a result, we began to re-think the whole college idea.

My family and I have chosen College Plus as an affordable alternative to the University. College plus is a two-year program that offers a fully accredited BA for as little as 1/10 the cost of traditional college education. Moreover, it circumvents the college campus experience (though some degrees may require a course or two on a campus nearby, i.e., a science lab) I recommend College Plus highly to anyone fed up with the status quo. Jasmine (now eighteen) is currently enrolled, and we plan to start my son, Trey (now fifteen), next semester.

Here is a synopsis of a five-point "sermon" that my children have grown tired of hearing over the past few years (don't act like you've never preached the same sermon over and over to your kids). These five principles led us to choose College Plus over the traditional route:

1. Most BA Degrees Aren't Worth The Paper They Are Written On

What is a BA worth nowadays? Some estimate the value at nearly $1 million in earnings over a lifetime (compared to High School graduates).

"[O]ver an adult's working life, high school graduates can expect, on average, to earn $1.2 million; those with a bachelor's degree, $2.1 million; and people with a master's degree, $2.5 million." (Source: "The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earnings")

Is this worth the cost? Are there other ways to earn that kind of money? In fact, there are. If you gave your eighteen year-old $10,000.00 (half the first year cost at the University of Texas), and encouraged them to save $500.00 per month, they could have a million dollars in the bank by age fifty-one (8% rate of return). That's not being a Millionaire; that's having a cool million in the bank in addition to your other assets!

Send your kid to Harvard, for example, and you spend $250,000.00 (or accumulate that much in debt) in order for them to gain an estimated $900,000.00 more than the average High School graduate over a lifetime. That's insane! Especially if they come home with a "non-degree" (i.e., Sociology, Education, or practically anything ending in 'Studies').

2. Four Years Is Too Much Time to Waste

The years between eighteen and twenty-two are critical years in the life of a young man or woman. Why should they spend those four years in the company of fools (both students and faculty in most cases)? Remember, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm." (Proverbs 13:20) Therefore, we must "Look carefully then how [we] walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16) College, should you deem it necessary, should be completed as early and as quickly as possible, and with minimal exposure to 'fools'. Get in; get out; get on with real life. Campus life can be quite enjoyable. It is also a breeding ground for some of the most wasteful, unsavory aspects of young adulthood. Don't buy the lie that says four years at university is a necessary season to "sew wild oats."

3. $80,000 (room & board/State School) to &250,000 (room & board/Ivy League) is Too Much Money to Spend

Lets face it, unless a person leaves a university with a degree in Engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and the like, they are probably leaving with a 'non-degree' (a non-degree is something subjective, politically motivated, designed to fill quotas, or keep athletes in school, and requiring little or no academic rigor). The overwhelming majority of kids in college today are wasting time and money on foolishness. And their parents are spending tens, sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege. I talked to a family who sent their daughter to an Ivy League school to get a degree in 'Women's Studies'. What on earth is 'Women's Studies' anyway? A quarter of a million dollars for that? Talk about poor stewardship. Instead of paying for that degree, find the person who figured out how to get people to pay a quarter of a million dollars for it and ask them to teach you marketing, political manipulation, and salesmanship!

Besides all of that, have you talked to a recent college graduate lately? Not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. Don't take my word for it; listen to the Washington Post:

"Literacy experts and educators say they are stunned by the results of a recent adult literacy assessment, which shows that the reading proficiency of college graduates has declined in the past decade, with no obvious explanation."

"It's appalling -- it's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. "Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."

What a monumental waste of time and money! Not only are people coming out of college with degrees they ought to be ashamed of; they can barely read to boot!

4. College is Not For Everyone

Listen to most people talk and you'd think that a college education is the birthright of every American, and that a degree was required for every job. However, that is simply not true. Not everyone is college material, nor should they be. There are very honorable trades that are disappearing before our eyes because no one seems to want to do them anymore. Moreover, instead of viewing college as a placed of advanced learning for people of advanced intellect, we have lowered entrance requirements, offered remedial courses, dumbed down the degrees, and rendered college virtually worthless:

"[O]f the 12 California state university colleges, 60% of students need remediation; a Florida study showed at least 70% of recent high school graduates need remedial courses when they enter community college - - in other words, they need to learn material they should have mastered in public high school - but did not - - costing an extra $59 million per year." (USA Today, November 24, 1997)

Meanwhile, there is a desperate shortage of technicians in many fields. My jeweler told me that Rolex was giving away the tools of the trade (valued at almost the cost of a college degree) to those willing to complete the training to work on their watches! This is just one example. There are dozens more. Lots of people do just fine without a college degree (see: the pool guy, the yard guy, the cabinet guy, the floor guy, etc.).

5. Most Universities Are Philosophically Antagonistic to Christianity

Here's a little scene I like to play out for my kids to illustrate the folly of many educational choice:

Mr. and Mrs. Christian, we here at 'Ivy League' University are philosophically opposed to virtually everything you stand for. We are among the most liberal, Darwinian, Secular Human, neo-Marxist, Feminist bunch on the planet. However, if you give us $250,000.00 we'll take your daughter off your hands for the next four years and make a man our of her. Between the money you've spent on her prep school, private tutors, and college education, she'll be put in a position where devoting herself to being a wife and mother would be a criminal act. Therefore, she'll put off marriage as long as possible, have no more than one.... maybe two kids, pay someone else to raise them -since she'll start off her career up to her eyeballs in debt-but don't you worry... She'll always be the most impressive person in the room when she mentions the fact that she was indoctrinated by us... So how will you be paying?

I believe in education. In fact, I think Christians should be more, not less educated than the general public. If we really believe what we say we do, then we should be stewards of the minds God has given us, and we should be leading the way like Augustine, Edwards, Copernicus, Galileo, Faraday and others who served God and their fellow man by honing, sharpening and engaging their intellects in lofty pursuits. However, It is not necessary to spend a quarter of a million dollars for a BA in order to get it done.

A BA is virtually worthless these days (with some notable exceptions). Many fields, realizing this collapse of value, now prefer (or require) advanced degrees. And once you have an advanced degree who cares where or how you got your BA? We've got to stop making the Pagans rich while they make us dumb. Take a look at College Plus. It may not be right for your family (there is no clean, easy, one-size-fits-all way out of this mess), but I hope it will at least give you another tool in the toolbox as you try to figure out the next step. And if you just happen to have a quarter of a million dollars burning a hole in your pocket, go plant a church. Or better yet, come with me to Zambia next time and we'll plant a hundred churches, or fund the education of a hundred pastors. In fact, we could probably do both.

VB

Where has my vacation gone

2010-05-08T17:52:00.003-05:00

It is wrap it up time on the Jackson Tiki Travelers vacation. Does anyone know what Boudin is? and why they sell it with Cracklins in LA? My thought for the day.

My good friend Sharon asked me what was the best thing you did on your vacation. I've had many miles to ponder this question. We've added 13 bumper stickers to the back of the RV from places like the Alamo, Meteor Crater, Grand Canyon, Arches, Wupatki, Mesa Verde, Tobasco, etc... but none of the places we went were as meaningful to me as the journey to get there with my wife and kids.

We are on day 16 spending our lifes in a 31 x 8 foot box on wheels. We have stayed in 14 KOA camps in 7 states and traveled about 4500 miles. I am going to look on this adventure as one of the highlights of my life because I was able to share all of those miles, even the ones where she was gripping her pillow and not trying to look outside, with Donna at my side and Katie, Amy, and Will behind us all the way. The two bad sections of road were in Mesa Verde National Park and the old route 66 to Outman Az., a supposed ghost town that looked a lot like the Disney back lot.

The togetherness, laughter, game playing, grilling, joke telling, and an occasional visit from Dr. Graham kept us having fun, not growing weary of each other, and solidified our family. We had some disappointments like the restaurant we went to in San Antonio where they assulted us and were obnoxious, rude, and filthy, and the 4 corners was closed for repair. Still don't know how you can close a geographical location??? But all of that will be overshadowed by the fun times painting cadillacs, hiking to pueblos, shopping at vision forum, being touristy, eating ice cream for dinner, watching the fountains at the Billogio dance to the steak song.

I will end this by remembering a good friend. Steve worked with me for several years. He went out to Denver 2 years ago to watch his grandson play football. That night after the game, he had a heart attack in his sleep. We have to live our life as much as we can in the time God gives us. Steve was a great guy. I don't know if he got to do all the things he wanted to get done or not. Donna and I know for sure that you never know when your opportunities will end, so why not go and do them now. We bought our RV after Steve passed with just this kind of trip in mind.

The destinations may have been once in a lifetime, but the journey just keeps on going

I Don't Care for Heights

2010-04-30T10:20:00.003-05:00

Don't take me wrong, I love the views of the majestic Grand Canyon. However, I do have a healthy respect for gravity. It has always worked in my experience. We made it to the rim of the Grand Canyon. The wind was gusting, it was cold, we were underdressed (not prepared for snow.) It was 85 in Mississippi. We didn't know it was still snowing in the dessert!

Standing on the rim, having to lean to walk in the wind, taking pictures, all I could think of is 1) I am a big man, 2) this is a lot of wind, 3) that is a long way down, and 4) the lowest bidder installed this guardrail. Took the fun right out of it for me. I headed for the watch tower and took pictures in there. Out of the wind and back from the rim.

I messed up yesterday and took OLD 66 to a ghost town called Oatman. It was a 2 lane switch back over the mountains that has not been maintained. It was really a 1-1/2 lane road with no guard rails. The scenery was great, but this will be another once in a life time routes. Not going that way again.

We spent the night in California to be able to put another sticker on our map on the side of the RV. Our next destination is Vegas, the real one this time. Amy has already chosen the chocolate tour she wants to go on. We are camping at Circus Circus tonight. Gonna leave here just as soon as Will gets the sewer unhooked.

Painted Desert Day

2010-04-27T21:26:00.002-05:00

God sure does know how to paint. The painted desert and the petrified forest were well worth the day we spent riding and walking around. We hiked around the rim of the first batch of desert with the most color. We also hiked thru the crystal forest and took bunches of pictures of petrified logs.

Our destination tonight is Holman AZ at KOA. We are really liking the KOA kampgrounds. They are clean, well run, and affordable. Tomorrow is the Grand Canyon. We tried to make reservations, but Buddy the RV is too large for their campground so we are going to chance it and find something somewhere tomorrow night.

This is our third night in a row to stay on Route 66 which is kind of neat. It was too windy tonight for the planned hamburger cookout, so my lovely wife came to the rescue and grilled them on the pancake griddle. In the words of the Red Robbin commercial, "Yumm".

The kids are working on their memory travel scrap books putting the brochures and post cards along with highlites of the trip. Buddy is sporting some new bumper stickers as well as two more States filled in on his travel map.

Left Turn at Albuquerque

2010-04-27T09:39:00.002-05:00

Our adventure continues! We spent Sunday night near Santa Fe. We tried to see the Pecos Indian ruins, but got there too late in the day. On Monday we walked around downtown Santa Fe and did not buy a single piece of turquoise or sand art. We weren't sure what all was there, but we spent an hour looking.

I was running out of gas. We drove from Amarillo to Santa Fe. All the back roads, when we did see a functioning gas station, it was at 3.oo per gallon. That logic made me look favorably on the 2.76 I paid in Santa Fe.

We stopped by the Petroglyph National Monument in Albuquerque for an educational experience. We learned about Volcanos in New Mexico. The early natives carved graffitti onto the rocks and the National Park Service put some trails together so you could go look at them. They get right upset if you try to add to them. Which is a bit short sighted if you ask me. If they had let Picaso do one, then they would have something.

We stayed Monday night in Gallup. We are on Highway 66 again. I was really tired tonight and went to sleep before game time. This park is located behind a La Quinta Hotel (which is spanish for "behind Denny's") The park and hotel are owned together, so the kids got to go swimming in the indoor pool. It was still too cold for any average human, but Amy states "The pool was nice feeling". Donna and I planned our next day while they played.

We have a short driving day today. We are riding the painted desert and the petrified forest and staying there tonight. I've got to stop blogging now. Katie and Amy are cooking pancakes for breakfast, and they smell really good.

Bunch of Driving Done

2010-04-25T20:48:00.003-05:00

We made it to Santa Fe at a Koa Kampground. I took a side tour thru Las Vegas. But as you know I can't tell you anything about it except we did shoot the loop at the Plaza. Everything else stays in Vegas.

We started the day in Palo Duro Canyon, the second largest canyon in the world. We spent the night at a campground at the bottom of the canyon. Saw some wildlife, a huge turkey with his spread on for his chick. He chased her a bit, then she started chasing him back.

We made our way from there to Route 66. We ate some ugly crust pie at the Midway Cafe and got some souviners. Antoher bucket list item taken care of. After lunch we took off thru the middle of nowhere. I've been to Carroll County Mississippi. I thought I had seen vast expanse of nothingness. Not so! From Amarillo we took a back road to Las Vegas. We passed a total of 6 other cars in 114 miles. I told Donna I could go outside and take a shower and nobody would care about it but her.

The views were amazing. We could see for miles in any direction and not see another human. We climbed the base of the Rockies. It is call the Canadian Escarpment, 6300 feet above sea level. When we got to the top we could see the snow capped peaks of Taos in the distance. It was really a beautiful trip. Also once in a life time, cause I aint never going that way again.

Amarillo by Morning

2010-04-25T20:21:00.002-05:00

So much to blog about. Where do we start?

Bucket List Items

John F. Kennedy assassination Site – I got my picture taken on the grassy knoll. And as a bonus, Donna took my picture standing on the x in the middle of the street. Upon learning this, Granny told me to quit playing in the street which is a change for her.

Cowboy Stadium – Donna wanted to see the stadium. Unfortunately it was imploded and in a pile of debris, but Hey, she wanted to see it, she got to see it.

Texas Motor Speedway – Got pictures of race cares in a pond out front.

Oil Well – Saw one, not too close though.

Texas Long Horns – Donna rode all most all the way across Texas before she saw some long horns. We saw buffalo, camels, and llamas before we saw a long horn.

Isn’t it interesting that almost every time you talk about driving across Texas, you hear “Dang it is a long way across Texas.” We made it to Dallas last night, went to Daly Plaza and got on the road to Amarillo. We found Palo Duro State Park, the second biggest canyon in the country. We are camping in the bottom of it. I am waiting now on the sun to go down so I can get some sunset pictures on the canyon walls (maybe).

Our gas mileage went way down. There were 40 to 50 mph headwinds most of the way today. The driving was tough. I am worn out. The rain kept us up last night. The wind tossed us about all day. I am going to sleep in a rocking rv tonight.

And finally, in order to beat the others to it. I learned today how close you can pull the rv up to the payment shack. Not That Close! Buddy the RV has a boo boo on his front. I put a big ouch sticker on it along with some 200 mile per hour duct tape. “The boys back at the shop worked real hard this week to give us a good chance with the Numer 17 Dutchman Ford. Daryl got underneath us and took some of the air off the rear. Got us wicked loose. I took the corner a bit too tight and had my mind on getting out my wallet and smashed her up against the wall. Messed up our aerodynamics for a bit till Bubba got some of that 200 mph tape and a sledge hammer and fixed her right up. We’re gonna take her back to the shop this week, tweak the motor and get her ready for Daytona.”

Wow! That was a storm

2010-04-24T06:09:00.003-05:00

We got parked in time for the big one. It hit about 1:00. The RV was rockin and I was up and praying that we would be ok. I was considering the best place to go if the tornado sirens went off. Thank the Lord, we didn't have to find out.

It looks like more bad weather for Memphis and Atlanta today. Maybe Jackson will be spared this second round.

We are up early with the birds and looking for some worms. Our goals today are some sight seeing in Dallas and heading for Amarillo.

Day before the Day we were suppose to leave

2010-04-23T22:07:00.002-05:00

Praise God from whom all blessings flow! He answered our prayers for safety thru the storms and amazing gas mileage.

Reports of bad weather in Jackson got us on the road early. We left before the storms hit and dodged them all the way (almost) to Dallas. We are on the outskirts of Dallas hunkered down for the night. We had a 5 minute hail storm while we were gassing up in Brandon on the way out of town and no more bad weather or wind.

I put a budget together for the trip for fuel and for stuff. I figured 6 miles to the gallon for the gas. Our first leg we got a whopping 9.36 mpg. Sounds bad, but when you budget for 6, it is all good.

I am coming up with algebra problems for the kids as we travel. One to help figure out the mileage and stuff, and the other to keep them sharp on math.

We did not see anything or do anything today, just rode. We are about 20% of the way there. Tomorrow I am going knoll hunting with my camera!

Grand Canyon or Bust!

2010-04-21T12:33:00.003-05:00

Tiki Travelers is gearing up for the "Grisswald Family Vacation." Starting this Saturday we are climbing in Buddy the RV and heading out west. The ultimate destination is the Grand Canyon. But we are going to see as many other parks, sites, tourist traps, great restaurants, etc. that we can before we return.

We scheduled a whopping 2 weeks for this adventure. We are going to be working on some of our "bucket list" items. Donna's never seen the GC. I've never seen Vegas. I have never ordered a 72oz steak and tried to eat it in one hour. We've never ridden in a helicopter or on a mule. Don't know if we will get the last one or not.

For trip preparation we went on AAA website and planned the route, picking out the various places to see on the way out. We worked on Buddy the RV last weekend getting all the little fix-it things taken care of. We caulked the shower, tried out the water heater, added a bunch of hooks and hangers to take advantage of unused space, and made several minor repairs. Amy and Will worked on dirty spots in the carpet and got Buddy all spic and span. (whatever that means)

Our first destination is Dallas and the Texas Book Depository. I am going to get my picture taken on the grassy knoll. (Why is this called a knoll, why not a hill or spot or exit ramp??? we don't call anything else a knoll that I am aware of ~ just something to ponder).

NEW CAR (TRUCK) FEVER!

2010-04-09T12:53:00.003-05:00

I admit it. I have it. I have a case of new truck fever. Ever since Andy drove off in MY truck, I've NEEDED to get a new one. Not just any old new one. I want a Ford F-150 King Ranch Crew Cab. If you are going to pray for a new vehicle, it aught to be a good one. (That could go on a T-shirt.)

So what to do? How am I going to get over this new truck fever? Thankfully I have the self control not to raid the kids college fund or our retirement fund to go get one. I haven't had a car note since I finished paying for the truck Andy stole from (got) me. I don't want to borrow money, and I don't have enough laying around. I did check under the sofa, no luck there.

I came across a cure. At least it seems to be working for me. I found this on livecheap.com. They recommend making a list of everything that is currently wrong with your car. Stuff that you have been living with cause it was worrysome, but not enough of a burden to fix. Make that list, and start spending on ALL of those repairs. Fix every single thing you can think of that is wrong.

I have two cars to deal with. One is my Harley (convertible). The other is my truck (small SUV). On the car my list includes: brake job; trunk lift supports; new radio with jack for ipod; new ipod; fix the window control; fog light busted; heater is not working; dead battery cell; very dirty finish; windshield wipers.

I put a new battery in it last week. Allen washed it this week. I am buying trunk lift supports on the way home from work today.

When you think about it, we really do some goofy stuff in order to get buy instead of going ahead and fixing stuff that is broken. I have been driving around for 2 years with a large paint stick in my trunk to hold open the trunk lid instead of going to autozone and buying the part that I need to fix it.

When I get done with the car, I am going to start on the SUV. It has major repairs like a new A/C and electrical issues with the transmission and seat controls. But that is another list for later.

I can honestly say that this cure is working. I am over my truck fever. I have good goals to study on car repairs. I am still fervently praying for my King Ranch F-150. And tonight I will have a used paint stirring stick to put on ebay.

Dip Makin and Dry Rub Creation

2010-04-05T11:16:00.003-05:00

We found some new spices this week at Rainbow Grocery. Rainbow is where all the hip people in Jackson go to get their groceries, incense, and tofu burgers. They let the rest of us shop there too.

I found some organic adobo spice. I thought it was going to be like the adobo sauce that the chipotole peppers are stored in. Turns out it is pepper, salt, oregano, garlic, onion, and turmeric. I have to be honest, I used it as the only spice this weekend on our steaks. It wasn't right. The steaks were just ok. They needed salt. So, my views on adobo seasoning is, "Ah, it's ok, just remember to use some salt too."

I found roasted garlic granules. These are wonderful. All the flavor of roasted garlic, and none of the work or squishy finger mess. These puppies are very powerful. I mixed them one to one with my other find, chipotole powder to make a spice for chip dip.

The dip was 1 cup of sour cream with 1 tea spoon of garlic granules and 1 tea spoon of chipotole powder. It was way to garlic. I added 1/2 a tea spoon of Cayenne pepper and balanced it out. This dip was good. It grabs the back of your throat on the way down with that good pepper feeling.

My dry rub consist of turbindeno sugar 1/2 cup(I know I misspelled that), cayenne pepper 1 TBs, chipotole pepper 1 TBs, salt 1/2 cup, black pepper 1/2 cup, dry mustard 3 TBs, and paprika 1/2 cup. I chopped it all in a spice grinder to blend. Going to try it on the next batch of ribs.

Snow Update

2010-02-12T17:50:00.002-06:00

Yes, I believe it now. Most snow in Mississippi in February since 1960. We had 5 inches on the patio table.

The funny thing that happened today was when Mack went outside to take care of business, he stole the nose off the kids snowman and ate it.

"Funny, that guys nose tasted like a carrot!"

Grilling in the snow

2010-02-11T22:21:00.003-06:00

Yes, it is one of those wonderful times of the decade when Mississippi gets a real snowfall. It was suppose to be here by 5:00 p.m. and it hasn't started yet 6 hours later. So when we wake up, we should have a white cover of 5 to 8 inches of snow.

I've been in Mississippi 19 years. I'll believe it when I see it.

That sets the stage for my blog. My lovely best friend chimed in when I got home that we needed to grill pork chops tonight. I reminded her that it was cold outside, suppose to snow, etc.. She grinned, and said, we need to grill pork chops tonight. They are already thawed and we need to grill them. Grin Grin.

So it wasn't snowing just yet, I made my way out to the new grill, uncovered it and cranked her up. 15 minutes later we were sitting down to some of the best pork chops ever. Yes, it was that quick. I put some mesquite grill rub on them and put them on a 600 degree grill. Flipped them at 5 minutes and waited for the finish. Then took them off close to 10 minutes.

Here is the trick. Eddie and Sabrina gave us "the coolest gift ever" for Christmas this year. It is a temperature probe with a timer and a remote beeper. When the meat gets to the temperature you want it at in the middle, the unit goes off and makes the remote go off in your pocket if you happen to be inside washing dishes or refilling your favorite adult beverage. So no more burned dried out meat from the grill because you were up to your elbows in Joy suds.

While it is true that I "technically" didn't grill in the snow today, my lovely best friend informed me that we have a shoulder thawing in the fridge, and it has a date with destiny on Saturday ~ in the snow!

BBQ Chicken Speghetti

2010-02-01T12:50:00.002-06:00

On the first night in Honduras we fixed speghetti. And as always, we fixed too much. We had a fridge this year and we were able to save two gallons of the mix. It was routine speghetti using Ragu and browned ground beef along with noodles.

As a side note, we fixed 7.5 lbs of meat with 2 large cans and 3 small cans of sause and 6 pounds of dry noodles to feed 50 people. With that, we had two gallons left over.

Back to the story.

Someone suggested we make BBQ Chicken Speghetti. We said, "great idea". Not knowing how to do it, we just winged it. (pun intended). We purchased two chickens that had been roasted and pulled the meat off of them. And for those that know me, yes I did pull the meat off of the birds, amazing! We cut the big chunks of breast meat into bite sizes and mixed the chicken meat in with the speghetti along with a bottle and a half of BBQ sause. We used a local Honduran BBQ sause that was a vinegar based sause like you would find in North Carolina. We stirred it all up and put it in the oven to warm.

Chipotle Dip

2010-01-31T15:54:00.004-06:00

My favorite appetizer we made this past week in Honduras was the Chipotle Dip. Mix one box of cream cheese and one cup of mayonnaise with 1/2 cup ranch dip. Stir this together until it is smooth. If you want a mild good flavored dip, use one can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. If you want to kick it up 3 notches, use 2 cans. First open the can and dump all of the peppers onto a cutting board. Slice up the peppers in very small pieces and stir into the cheese mayo mixture. Be sure to get all of the sauce out of the can and off the cutting board. There is a lot of good flavor in the sauce. You are using smoked jalapeno peppers, so be careful not to get them in your eyes or other sensitive areas.

We served this dip with crackers, corn chips, or potato chips.

Crowd Pleasing Appetizers

2010-01-16T21:08:00.004-06:00

I am looking for some crowd pleasing appetizers for Honduras next week. I am going to try to have a small special something ready for the hungry crowd when they get in off the bus. Last time I made jalapeno poppers one night roasting whole peppers on the griddle and filling them with cheese. They were a hit with the eaters, but I gagged the cooks when the capsaicum hit the small kitchen. We were coughing and gagging like when we had to take a note into the teacher's lounge back in high school (you could still smoke indoors back then.) I've thought about cheese trays or stuffed eggs. I'd like to do something Asian or Mexican too.

So if you have any ideas, please send me a comment. All I have to cook with is hot water or a griddle. I suppose I could do sushi, but one of my firm rules when traveling is don't eat raw meat.

I have to come up with 5.

Here are some other considerations:
Queso Dia
Egg Rolls (if we can find wonton wrappers)
jalapeno poppers
Chips and salsa
Sesame Chicken Skewers
Potato Skins
Fruit-k-bobs
Candied Ginger
Fresh french fries with cheese and/or gravy
Shrimp and Grits (gonna get fancy one night)

Cool contest I found to win free groceries for a year

2010-01-15T16:31:00.001-06:00

Hey, I just entered this contest on Cozi.com to win free groceries for a year. All you have to do is put in your email address.

Even if you don’t enter, please click the link to help me win. (I get an extra entry for telling you.) Thanks!

View >>

Top Ten things to do at work when you are alone

2010-01-14T11:47:00.003-06:00

For those not in the know, the City of Jackson does not have water to drink or flush in Downtown. Ever since the deep freeze the past 14 days, pipes have been bursting all over, and the city is struggling to repair them and get the pressure back up.

The Gov closed all of the state buildings and sent the workers home. But as portable toilets were set up, we've been slowly coming back to work. Management and supervisors were suppose to be here yesterday and continue working all week. And it makes sense, there are lots of inspections and trips that could be done away from the office.

But it wound up being just me on my floor. OK, there are some other folks here, but I don't hear them or see them. So Donna and I were coming up with the top ten things to do at the office when you are the only one working. Here goes:

10. Spider Man crawling across the tops of the cubicles.
9. Making a luge out of a two wheeler and setting up a course in the stairwell.
8. Riding the floor polisher in the lobby.
7. Fax relay races. Send a fax from the 6th floor to the 1st floor and see if you can run down stairs and beat the fax machine.
6. Get a library cart and a mop and go white water rafting down the cubicle rows.
5. Go reset the height and lumbar support on all of the chairs on the 3rd floor.
4. Hook the Wii up to the big presentation flat screen in the executive suite and play super mario cart while reclining on the oak conference table.
3. Replace all of the dry erase markers with permanent markers in the conference rooms.
2. Write "Jerry eats Worms" on the executive marker board and close the door so the next time someone needs it and opens it, they will get a big laugh.
1. Pants are optional!

Environmental Work Day

2010-01-12T16:03:00.003-06:00

Today was another stay at home day from work because the City of Jackson has really old water pipes and lax leadership with a poor maintenance record. That may be harsh, but so be it. That's the way I see it. Who needs water when you got good scotch?

So to make it a productive day, and because it was in the upper 40's we did some green projects around the house we have been wanting to do. For Christmas we bought a rain barrel. I put it together and rearranged the downspout by the chimney in the backyard. This barrel will hold about 50 gallons of free water that we can use for grill fire suppression and flower watering. I want to get another one put in the front courtyard to help dry up our front yard some. There are some places that stay wet that I want to get rid of. This barrel has an overflow drain that will pull the water away from the foundation and a garden hose connection to fill watering buckets. It also has mosquito mesh to keep little critters from developing in the water. It seems very well made. We got it at Northern Tool and Supply on sale for about $50.

We also installed a huge rain gauge on the fence in the backyard and did some repair work on the fence. It had a couple of warped boards that are now screwed on strait. Will and I also figured out how to change the headlight in the Blazer. It took us longer to go online and get the answer to how to do it easily than it did to actually change it. Ask.com came to the rescue again with the trick on how to get to the backside of the headlight assembly.

1135 work days to go. My master's course this semester is on data analysis. One of the text books is the excel bible. I was flipping through it and found out how to build a retirement clock and take out all of the holidays and weekends between now and my planned retirement day. Having this day off in the middle of the week unplanned gave me a good idea of what retirement will be like. I want you to know that I did get up from my nap to go with Donna to pick up the girls from dance. She said I didn't have to, but I'm glad I did.

Now that is a grill!

2010-01-11T09:46:00.005-06:00

We got it done. The last grill we will ever need. They measure the grill surface in acres. It will smoke, grill, bbq, baste, roast, fry, skewer, shish-k-bob, and cook. This cast iron behemoth took about 5 good hours of work and study to put together. We had to do some hammering and drilling to make it all work, but overall I was very impressed with the craftsmanship of the Chairbroil Professional Grill. Every hole lined up as it was intended. We did have to pop out some of the metal because we added the smoke box to the side, but that wasn't too difficult once you overcome the thought of knocking a huge whole in the side of your new grill.

It has a gas grill section, a charcoal grill section, the aforementioned smoke box, and a side gas fired eye that doubles as an eye for cooking and a starter for a charcoal chimney. I think I could easily smoke 4 slabs of ribs for dinner and cook a case of burgers for lunch all at the same time.

The funniest instruction was "Do not consume alcohol or recreational drugs while putting this grill together." That's funny because they have obviously been sued by some poor rednecks widow whose last words were, "Here, hold my beer while I light this baby up!"

Hijacking someone's Blog is Wrong

2010-01-08T08:52:00.005-06:00

I feel bad about hijacking my sister's blog. I did it to encourage her to get back in the habit of blogging. Then we have the whole kettle black pot thing to go through. It was misguided to allow the public to assume that she is 45 years old.

So, I am sorry Sabrina. It was wrong of me to get into your account and post a blog about how you don't blog when I have also been lax. You see, my sweet wife has taken to blogging like a toddler to cheerios. She can do more stuff than I can, fancy stuff like advertising and backgrounds and whatnot. Her new blog is Mississippi Momma. It is really good. Tiki Travelers has fallen to my responsibility.

So in the spirit of doing a blog that is worthy of your time to read, I will tell you what we did to save money this past week. First off, it is cold cold cold! I like to say it is colder than a witches bosom in a brass brassier. We went shopping for the insulation cones to protect the outdoor faucets. None were to be found, so we improvised. 3 old towels and some duct tape sealed the deal. The boys wrapped up the faucets and secured them for the winter, so we won't have to call the plumber for that fix this spring and no leaking water in between.

The big money saver this week was the rejection of the landline telephone. I called AT&T (dreading it by the way) cause they always want to argue with you about spending your money. We don't ever use our home phone, so we decided to cut it off. AT&T was real nice about it and helpful. She then told me about the new fiber optic cable in our neighborhood and ended up getting me to switch from Directv to AT&T for television. We are going to end up with the same level of TV service, double our internet speed, put DVRs on all of our TVs and save $70 a month. And that $70 is going on the mortgage (baby step 6 as it were).

So, I hope you enjoyed my return to blogging. Next up will be the construction of my new grill I got for Christmas. We are cranking up the fire place on Saturday and building the grill and smoker inside the house. Here's hoping it will fit going back through the door when I am finished!

Christmas Cookie Rules

2009-12-22T14:18:00.001-06:00

CHRISTMAS COOKIE RULES

If you eat a Christmas cookie fresh out of the oven, it has no calories because everyone knows that the first cookies is the test & thus calorie free.

If you eat a Christmas cookie while drinking a diet soda, the cookie has no calories because the diet soda cancel out the cookie calories.
If a friend comes over while you're making your Christmas cookies and needs to sample, you must sample with your friend. Its calorie free...goes back to rule 1. It would be rude to let your friend sample alone and, being the friend that you are, that makes your cookie calorie free also.
Any cookie calories consumed while walking around will fall to your feet and eventually fall off as you move. this is due to gravity and the density of the caloric mass.
Any calories consumed during the frosting of the cookies will be used up because it takes many calories to lick excess frosting from a knife without cutting your tongue.
Cookies colored red or green have very few calories. Red ones have 3 and green ones have 5 ~ one calorie for each letter. Make more red ones!
Cookies eaten while watching "Miracle on 34th Street" have no calories because they are part of the entertainment package and not part of one's personal fuel.
As always, cookie pieces contain no calories because the process of breaking causes calorie leakage.
Any cookies consumed from someone else's plate have no calories since the calories rightfully belong to the other person and will cling to their plate.
AND we all know how calories like to CLING.
Any cookies consumed while feeling stressed have no calories because cookies used for medicinal purposes NEVER have calories. Its a rule.
So, go out and enjoy those Christmas Cookies ~ we only get them this time of year!

I can't claim credit for that brilliant piece of dietary rules...I copied it from an email my sister sent to me this morning.

However, let me reiterate and clarify a few things, just in case it didn't sink in..cookies have no calories if you eat during a movie, right out of the oven, with a friend, steal from anothers plate, are stressed, lick the icing knife, are broken or drink a diet drink.

This sounds like the beginning of a great new Christmas tradition to me...invite all your friends over to bake, decorate and consume. You eat off everyone else plate and no calories! And just to be safe...watch "Miracle on 34th Street"...better safe than sorry.

Changing from red to green was stressful...time to go find some Christmas cookies!

Happy Munching!!!!!

9 more Days

2009-12-15T08:59:00.002-06:00

Its only NINE (9) more days till Christmas.

Are you ready?

Are you wishing everyone you see a "Merry Christmas"? I don't know why happy holidays is getting spoken so much but we are saying Merry CHRISTmas.

I absolutely, positively, undoubtedly love this holiday more than all the others combined. I love the music, decorations, shopping, movies, wrapping, special food, church programs, and all the kids being home. Then there are the secrets, surprises and smiles.

I marvel at the fact that the Lord loved us so much that he sent his son Jesus to this earth. I think about Mary & Joseph and their reactions to the news the angel brought about the birth of the Messiah. I think about King Herod & his jealous, hatefilled heart. I think about the shepherds tending their flocks in the field when the heavenly hosts of angels appeared to them with the news of Jesus birth. And the Magi who traveled over long distances to bring gifts & worship the new King. The kids and I love to watch the "Nativity Story" in December. It is a great depiction of the story of Jesus birth. And even though it is a movie, it seems to closely follow the scriptures telling of the birth of the Messiah.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas & a very Happy New Year.

And as Tiny Tim says in "A Christmas Carol", God bless us everyone!

Traveling back to Mississippi & Black Friday Thoughts

2009-11-27T19:34:00.002-06:00

The children and I have been in Georgia for the past 2 + weeks, helping Mom after her knee replacement surgery. We can all hook her up into the CPM (continously moves her knee to help with flexiblity & keep it limber), help with therapy, & the biggie...keep the floor clear of any junk that could trip her up. Sounds like a nursing course to me! They also brought their school books and finished math & our history course till Jan. Their last co-op till Jan. is next Friday, then school is officially out till after the New Year. Yeah...hooray...balloons & streamers falling!!!!!!!!!!

We have gotten lots of quilt piecing done and watched movies every night. Mom got out a couple of times during the 2 weeks and we got a little Christmas shopping done. Tonight we brought up her Christmas stuff from the basement since she is not stair climbing, and actually if she could, she couldn't tote anything up!

Yesterday we totally and thoroughly enjoyed too much food at my sisters house for Thanksgiving. It sure was good. And I didn't go back for seconds...too stuffed. Last nights dinner was "Fix your own" and I warmed up a piece of dressing, yum!

Greg and I got up really, really early this morning to go shopping. Did you believe that? Actually, we got up at 7:15. First stop was Target...not a creature was stirring, because they were standing in lines that wrapped around the inside of the store to get to the registers in the front. We put down the 2 things we had picked up and departed. That was insane. Next we went into Belks, got something Mom had pre-purchased (to get the door buster price) & left. Then Old Navy, they had a queue line set up, I wasn't standing in that either, did enough of that at Disney last month! We found a couple of things at Staples and then breakfast at Chick Fil A. Yummy chicken biscuit and sweet tea! Then we hit Greg's "toy" store, Northern Tool & Supply. My dearest found some tools, a rain barrel, blue jeans, work gloves, and some goodies for the kids. Then my "toy" store, JoAnn's. Fabric for the back of my quilt, flannel for gowns for the girls, and quilt batting for all our projects. Then I got an early Christmas gift, a sewing machine bag on wheels! It is wonderful, no more toting that bag to a class or to GA. I can wheel it to the car! And just for your info, we spent more at Northern Tool than at JoAnn's...Greg was shocked.

Shopping today made me very, very thankful that I do not work retail. Everyone I encountered today was nice & patient, but I know they were tired. I hope the restaraunts were busy too, cause the waiters need to make some money too! Especially Allen. Ya'll don't forget to tip your waiters in this recession, seems like folks are eating out but not tipping well. (Just my little "sermonette" as the Mom of a waiter!)

Tomorrow we are headed back to Mississippi. Next week starts the busiest week of our year. Its our churchs annual Living Christmas Tree. Greg & I will help with the tree lights, James is running one of the spotlights, Andy, Katie, Will & Amy are singing and Rob is playing the bass, I think Allen is working. We will be at the church Sunday, Wed, Thurs, & Friday nights and Sat & Sun afternoon & night. Busy, busy, busy!

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving........now onto Christmas~! HoHoHo!

48 more days

2009-11-06T11:16:00.004-06:00

Wow! 48 more days till Christmas Day! Actually, though, Christmas starts here the day after Thanksgiving. Since we will be in GA. with Mom that day, it will start at our home Sunday after Thanksgiving! I love to get down my zillions of boxes of Christmas decorations and start decorating. Zillions is probably a slight exaggeration but not much...just ask my box totters. They will tell you I've got alot.

The panicky, I've got to get busy feeling is slowly subsiding. I've gotten busy and made almost everything that needs to get made. We have been on a number of shopping trips and found some goodies. I have hit the big "let's get rid of this halloween candy and put out the christmas candy sales". (Come on, they are just wrapped in different colored foil...my kids won't complain! They will inhale) So the Christmas Stocking Stuffers are pretty much complete. But, now my closet looks like a war zone!

Tonight we are going on a family date night and seeing the new Disney 3D "A Christmas Carol" and out to eat dinner. It will be fun, we really like the 3D movies at the theme parks. And we will probably take some of that candy I just bought! Going to the movies is not a frugal activity and when the popcorn cost more than the movie ticket...there is just something wrong with that!

Tomorrow, we are going to our dr.'s office to help separate and pack pills for our Honduras Mission Trip in Jan. They are going to ship everything down early, since the airlines now charge for each suitcase you take. I think there are 236,000 pills to get done tomorrow! I've never done this, so it should be a challenge. We will also need to discuss all of our cooking utensils. We've always taken them before but with the airline charges, it will probably be cheaper to buy new ones down there and store them at the farm there. Then we can just use the same ones every year. I know that will be easier than toting those large rubbermaid containers into and out of the airport! Gotta work on the menu's too!

The picture at the top is our house during the snow last year (2 weeks before Christmas)! It was pretty while it lasted. We don't get much snow here in Miss.!
And, when you build a snowman (or 2) in your backyard beside the pool, they need the proper clothing...straw hat and sunglasses or life jacket and goggles! I have got some creative children! And a backyard with alot of leaves! They just helped hold the snow together!

60 Days

2009-10-25T21:43:00.002-05:00

Wow! Its just 60 days till Christmas. I am already getting that "panicky, I am not ready" feeling in the pit of my tummy.

These months are so busy for us with homeschool, dance classes, church activities and just life! We also took a week off from reality and went to Disney.

Now, we have found out that my Mom is going to have knee replacement surgery. The kids and I will be packing up the schoolbooks and probably sewing machine (gotta work on gifts) and going to GA to help nurse! She was wanting to wait till the beginning of Feb. for the surgery but its just not going to work, knees have a mind of their own sometimes.

I know that everything will get done in the next 2 months and if it doesn't I am the only one who will ever know.

Its beginning to look alot like Christmas....everywhere you go.....well at least at Hobby Lobby!

Tiki Travelers at Epcot's Food & Wine Festival

2009-10-21T12:42:00.004-05:00

Tuna Roll-- Greg and Will liked

Beef Roll that all the girls loved. This was sweet and yummy!

Creme Brulee from France...Greg didn't know us girls were eating eclairs and mousse when he bought this!

Samuel Adams Beer from the USA. Lets just say, we wanted the cup. They would not have wanted my personal evaluation of this beer.

Funnel Cake from the USA pavilion. Powdered sugary goodness.

Amy's pasta dish from Italy.

This dish was from Marakesh and good but spicy...I don't remember the name of it.

This beef on the stick was served on Mashed Potatoes, really good.

Beef & Sweet Potato dish from Africa...this was my personal favorite!

The snails from France (to each his own)

We ate our way around the world at Epcot's Annual International Food & Wine Festival...not once but twice (different days).

Besides the usual food stands and restaurants that are in the countries all the time, Epcot brought in more countries with lots and lots of good food.

This looks like alot of food, but we usually ordered one plate and split it 6 ways. That way we could taste more and keep the cost more affordable. We did not split the Escargot...Greg & Will ate it. And Will wanted it the 2nd day too (he liked it and he liked the gross factor of eating snails!)

We don't have pictures of the chocolate eclair and the chocolate mousse that Mom, Amy, Katie and I found in France at a Bakery. It was absolutely delicious!

We also ate Fish & Chips in the UK, Nacho's & quesidilla's in Mexico and Potato Pierogi's in Poland (I had never had a pierogi before but I really liked it.)

Epcot is one of my 2 favorite parks at Disney (Magic Kingdom is the other). We spent 3 lovely days at Epcot and honestly, we went the third day just to eat more of our favorites. The last day, Greg gave us the option of picking 2 yummies that we didn't have to share. Oh my, those were hard decisions. The beef dish from Africa was my very favorite, followed by the beef roll from Japan, and the bakery delicacies from France.

And a commercial for the Food & Wine festival...its during the month of October every year. The dishes cost between $4 - $7 each (thats why we shared)!!!

Finally, the 2008 Christmas Gift

2009-10-07T14:20:00.002-05:00

On Christmas morning last year, my children unwrapped a Minnie Mouse ornament. The attached note said..."Minnie says, see you in October!" Katie, Will and Amy were so excited. Amy has been to Disney several times, Katie and Will have never been. The time has come....we drive to Orlando on Friday!

We are staying in a timeshare in Kississimee about 10 minutes away from the front gates of Walt Disney World Resort. The clothes are packed, the food we are taking is prepared and frozen, we've got projects to work on in the car and books to read.

My Mom is going with us!

We are ready to roll.

There are just 2 little hitches in our plans but they aren't stopping us. My Mom has developed arthritis in her knee and has now gotten 2 cortisone shots to help with the pain...so we are taking Katie's wheelchair for Mom to ride in. This will be the first time I have been to Disney in 25 years and not had a stroller, but we have a wheelchair! And Amy got a runny nose yesterday and we went to the dr. this morning, she has an ear infection and upper resperitory infection. She also has an antibiotic shot in her hip and 2 prescriptions.

Walt Disney World here we come!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Its Fair Time

2009-09-29T08:07:00.004-05:00

Friday is the big day we turn in our entries to the Mississippi State Fair. The girls still have to finish the bindings on their small quilts and then they are ready. We've got to frame 3 cross stitch pictures, one that each of us did. And I have to hem a smocked jumper (its a fair entry and a gift).

After we turn in our fair entries on Friday, Tiki Travelers and their RV are hitting the road and driving to Starkville, MS for the MSU vs Ga Tech game. Greggie got us tickets on the 50 yard line. So hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, etc are all on the menu for this weekend!

Then we will be home for 2 1/2 days and then drive to GA to get Mom and drive to Disney! We are ready! This will actually be one of the few family vacations we have taken where Greg is "on vacation". I'll have to hide his blackberry so he can't read work emails! ( Shhhhhh, don't tell him) We are all excited and ready for this trip!

We are all decorated for fall...lots of scarecrows, pumpkins, and pilgrims and Indians. Here is a picture of my new Turkey...Greg got him for my birthday!

He is standing on the buffet in my dining room waiting for the big day!

Busy Fun Week

2009-09-25T10:36:00.006-05:00

I've done several posts over at Mississippi Mama about coupons, and bargain hunting, etc. so come on over for a visit.

The big new this week was that I had a birthday, and as my loving 20 year old son told me...I am halfway to 100 (like I didn't know how old I was). I got lots of neat surprises starting with Katie, Will and Amy fixing me waffles for breakfast. Yummy! Then we took a school holiday and did fun stuff. Greg took us all out to Applebees for dinner. Here are some pictures from the day.

Now we've got the weekend. Homemade Pizza for dinner tonight and our homeschool groups Fall Kick- off party is tomorrow. Then hopefully we can get some tile work done. This is our last weekend at home for the next 3 weeks. We've also got to finish our State Fair entries because we have to turn them in next Friday!

Picture

2009-09-22T15:16:00.002-05:00

Don't ya just love the picture? This was taken at 6 Flags over GA on our 1st date...surrounded by our 6 chaperones. All the boys got to hold their weapons so they stood still long enough for the picture. I would love to get another one of these done...we just have to find a place that does them and have all the children with us at the time. Hummmmm, this is gonna be hard!

Top Ten Rejected Names for Donna's New Blog

2009-09-21T13:07:00.002-05:00

10. Landing a Man with Mac & Cheese
9. Making Chihuahua Cheese
8. 2 Quarters of a Century of Experience
7. 7 Kids and a Husband too!
6. Hangin' Out with the Sheets
5. A Georgia Peach in Mississippi Mud
4. Cucumbers and Other things you can stuff in a jar
3. Southern Nursing Home Living
2. Five Decade Diva
1. My First Days of Being Old

Great Weekend

2009-09-21T08:56:00.002-05:00

We had a great weekend and it ended way too quickly.

Friday night we made Sloppy Joes for dinner and they were yummy! It is so easy to whip up and everybody likes them.

Saturday morning, Greg and I went on a "date" meaning we went out to eat breakfast and ran our errands. Our breakfast place was the new "Chimneyville" on Lakeland beside Lowe's. We both ordered a breakfast and brought at least 1/2 of each one home. My heavens, what plates of food. If the kids had been there with us, we would've had enough for all 5 of us. It sure was good. Then we hit Lowe's, Michaels, Penneys, CVS and Walgreens.

I have wanted my broom closet turned into a pantry for several months now and it was built on Sat. as a birthday gift to me. The kids did a great job of painting the inside white to lighten it up and then they helped Greg with installing the shelving and baskets. After the construction was complete, Amy, Will and I started organizing and filling it. Then we cleaned out some other cabinets and organized them also. I've said it before but it bears repeating many times....I love industrious, helpful children.

Sunday was church, lunch, cross stitch, nap and meeting at church. It was a nice lazy afternoon.

By the way...leftover sloppy joes used as the meat on nachos for Sunday lunch doesn't work real well...the meat is too sweet. Back to taco meat!

I have posted some recipes over at Mississippi Mama, so come on by for a visit.

New Blog Adventure

2009-09-18T20:15:00.002-05:00

I am starting a new blog dedicated to cooking, crafting, and homemaking skills. Its address is www.MississippiMamaof 7.blogspot.com. This will be my girlie, Mom stuff blog!

CVS

2009-09-18T08:06:00.002-05:00

Yesterday was a great "frugal" shopping day at CVS. I walked into to get 3 prescriptions filled and right at the front door was a 90% off table. I purchased 2 plastic outdoor tables, an outdoor table cloth, 2 rolls of rubber non-skid drawer lining, a playground ball, and 12 pairs of sandals/flip flops for $18. Oh yeah, also a long sleeved t-shirt for Will.

Then I went back to get 2 prescriptions that weren't ready earlier and they had added Hawaiian Tropic sunscreen, I got 5 bottles for .99 each.

Finding these bargains is exciting to me...my kids always need flip flops, they wear them everyday in the summer. And the average price of these was .69 a pair. That price is awesome!

And Even More Homeschool Myths......

2009-09-16T16:25:00.002-05:00

Every homeschooler is a Christian. Nope! Folks homeschool for many different reasons and their faith is just one of them. There are many homeschool support groups specifically for non-Christians. And I know of some families that have not joined our group because we are a Christian group.

All homeschools are alike. So wrong!!!! There are traditional homeschoolers, relaxed homeschoolers and even a group called unschoolers. We would fall into the traditional group with a little bit of relaxed mixed in. We use a curriculum for each subject that we cover. But we do fit the lessons to our family. For instance, in Language right now Amy and Will are studying good sentence and paragraph construction. This is something everyone needs to know and is a skill they will use over and over. But, why do all the examples in the book when they also need to complete an assignment in Geography writing a short story. Combine the 2 and get them done at one time. As their teacher, I have that option. Unschooling is a whole new ballgame. From what I understand, they don't use any textbooks and learning is done when a situation arises that they need that knowledge. It just happens. To me, this is scary and I don't think we would get alot of learning done. I haven't figured out how you would present this on a college application or score reasonably well on the ACT.

All curriculum is the same. This is laughably (is that a word) wrong. There are so many curriculum choices available it is mind-boggling. Going to a homeschool convention is pretty confusing if you don't have any idea what you want or need. Everything looks great but not everything works for each child. I like to find out what others use and works for them. My friend Amy recommended Teaching Textbooks for higher math. Her son Josh used it and they really liked it. We bought it last year and Katie really liked it. All 3 are using it this year! For the "math challenged" Mom that I am, this is a blessing. Different Options: You can buy a whole years curriculum from one publisher complete with grade book and teachers manuals. You can do all of your schooling on-line, with textbooks. You can pick and choose language from one company, math from another, history from another and so on. The last is what we do. I personally don't like all the "fluff" that some boxed curriculums insist the kids need.

People begin homeschooling or pull their kids out of school for the same reason. This makes no sense to me. You can't lump a whole group of people into one category, its not that easy. We chose to homeschool in 1996. James had been in public school and then 2 years in a private school. He is my ADHD/dyslexic child. After Amy was born and I quit work, we couldn't afford the private tuition anymore. We chose homeschooling because if he had gone back into the public school system, they wanted to put him in a "self contained" classroom with other children with disabilites and not in a regular class like before. This wasn't an option for us because I wanted him challenged more and more expected of him, this wouldn't happen at school. So we started with James in 6th and Allen in 2nd (Amy was a newborn). And we kept going, and going and going. Then we married Greg and moved to Miss. I cont. to homeschool Allen and Amy and the "Jackson kids" cont. in public school. We chose homeschooling for Will with many of the same reasons as I originally did with James. Will wasn't applying himself, concentrating, completing assignments, etc. because of some learning issues and needed the extra one on one time. And hey, Katie came home because we wanted her too. The 3 younger kids are on the same schedule, we can travel with Greg, we can work at our own pace (with K that is accelerated, thats how she is grad. a year early), we can minister together, etc. So just within my own family are different reasons for homeschooling.

My dear sis-in-law left a comment on one of my posts that I forgot that homeschoolers were weird. But I think its true! Weird in the sense that we have chosen to be in the company of our children 24/7 and weird in that we do stuff together all the time. Weird in that we want to shelter and protect our children from some outside influences (gangs, drugs, school violence, peer pressure) as long as we can. And weird in that, I want to teach my children with a Christian, politically INcorrect curriculum. Our "weirdness" was the family norm 100-200 years ago. Many men and women were homeschooled and went on to accomplish enormous things. Many of the Founding Fathers of our country never sat in a formal classroom. So I don't mind being weird, its really a compliment!

CHRISTMAS is coming!

2009-09-15T14:30:00.004-05:00

Wow, have you checked the sidebar...100 days left till Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you done anything yet for the Holidays...made a list, figured out a budget, stashed stuff away, secret surprises, looked at ornaments at Hobby Lobby, started on crafts, bought stocking stuffers, anything at all?

I have done all of the above but since my family reads this blog I can't give any details!

Its time! I enjoy Christmas too much to wait until Dec. to start planning and buying. I save so much money buying throughout the year.

The day before Thanksgiving or Thanks. morning, we will have the boys putting lights on the house and bushes. The weekend after Thanksgiving its time to deck the halls, mantel, tree, kitchen and even bathrooms! Have I mentioned I love Christmas?

And to further add to the fun and festivities of the season, our 3 oldest sons have Dec. birthdays! James will be 26 on the 18th and Rob & Andy will be 22 on the 22nd. So we will have birthday dinners and special desserts during Christmas week for their birthdays also!

More Homeschool Myths Debunked

2009-09-15T11:36:00.002-05:00

Homeschoolers are smarter...humm, there are a couple of ways to look at this. There are incredibly smart children that homeschool, or attend private or public school. Homeschooling itself does not make kids smarter (God does that). As homeschoolers, our children can concentrate on a subject as long as they need to thoroughly understand it or complete the lesson and move on. I have read some wonderful family testimonies of children graduating highschool at 14 and college at 18 and making straight A's. It does happen. Homeschool children generally do score higher on standardized tests than public school students. I think they can focus better on the task at hand and not have worries about other things. But thats just my thought. But homeschooling doesn't mean you won't have learning challenges and difficulties. I've had 2 children attention problems, 2 that struggle with multiplication facts and 1 that has difficulty with spelling. But before anyone comments and says the public school could help them...know this, they were there for 5-7 years and it didn't help. The stuggles have lessened with homeschooling not gotten worse.

Homeschool families are perfect. NOT! Don't know where this one started but I don't know any family that is perfect. We generally get along better with each other than other folks but its because we are together all the time and we have learned to get along. If you watch the "Kids by the Dozen" or "18 Kids & Counting" shows on TLC, keep in mind its not realtime, the shows are taped and edited.

Homeschool children are all well-behaved and respectful. Generally, I think this is true. We do tell our children before group field trips to act respectful, listen, etc. Unfortunately, if any kids don't behave on a field trip then that tends to label all homeschoolers as rowdy. As a family, a number of times when we are out in public I've had people ask me if we homeschool. This has specifically happened 3 different times at National Parks. When we answer yes, they nod and say we thought so. This is followed by "they are so nice and they listen when others are talking."
However, I have also seen some real stinkers who are homeschooled. Children are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. My adorable 13 year old used to throw some huge temper tantrums. And by huge I mean kicking, screaming and rolling on the floor fits when she was 2 or 3 years old. If she was gonna pitch a fit, she did it right, nothing halfway for this child. Praise the Lord, that didn't last too long but it certainly was challenging at the time!

9-11 We will Never Forget!

2009-09-13T20:12:00.003-05:00

When my family traveled to Virginia during Memorial Day Week, we made a trip into DC to visit the Smithsonian American History Museum. We saw many, many neat things...Archie Bunkers chair, the directional street sign from MASH, displays on canning and preserving food, Inaugural Gowns of Former First Ladies, Lincolns Top Hat, a covered wagon, reproduction of a home, Streetcars and automobiles, part of the Berlin Wall and this.....part of the supports of the South Tower of the World Trade Center. This small wing with the display was dimly lit and eerily quiet. Amy and I entered and wondered why everyone was so quiet. Then we read the description. No words were necessary or appropriate. A group of terrorists tried to destroy our country that day, but they didn't win.

Everyone was patriotic in the months after the attack. Many families were destroyed that day. Many lives were lost. Prayer vigils were held in all towns, in all states, all across the country. The country was united in its grief (I would imagine much like it was after Pearl Harbor).

We should never forget the brave men and women who gave their lives for our country. Who went to work that September morning and never returned home.

GOD BLESS THE USA!

Disspelling Myths about Homeschoolers

2009-09-10T13:23:00.002-05:00

In my 14 years of homeschooling, I have heard alot of assumptions that people have about homeschooling and wanted to de-throne some of them. So in doing this, I am giving my opinion and sharing about my family but every family is different so this isn't a universal opinion.

Myth #1
All homeschool Mom's have to be smarter than their kids in order to homeschool.

Absolutely not, it is a well known fact in my family that I am not the person to ask questions about higher Math. Above Algebra, I am lost. The kids can ask Dad. That is the reason we are doing math on computer this year, Teaching Textbooks is a wonderful tool for just this reason. There is one Abeka Math that I really like and all of the kids will do it before they graduate and this is "Consumer Math". Its insurance (car, life, health, home, etc., I worked for State Farm for 10 years so I know this), banking (checking, savings, loans, credit, etc), budgeting (we've all done Dave Ramsey), how to read a meter ( water or electric), and many other practical, you need to know this life skills. We all learn, everyday. Learning is a lifelong experience and what I don't know to answer a question they come up with, I can find out.

Myth #2
I can never homeschool my children.

My reply would be why not? Who taught them how to sit, walk, stand, talk, put together puzzles, behave in a restaurant or grocery store, be polite, table manners, tie shoes, color in the lines, go potty! This is mostly all learning done at home with Mom and Dad and older siblings. Why miss out of the fun of reading, writing, research, field trips, and being together. And if your kids are coming home and doing 2 + hours of homework everynight, then you are homeschooling. You just get the leftover attention and fidgeting from 8 hours of school.

Myth #3
My kids won't listen to me.

Hummmmmm, that is a family issue and not a homeschool issue. If your kids have been in school away from the home and you bring them home, you may need to "unschool" from the teachers, routines, books, etc. that they have been accustommed too and establish yourself in that role. Sometimes this is tough, but you can do it.

Myth #4
All homeschoolers wear denim jumpers or no makeup or don't practice birth control or whatever else you can come up with.

I don't own a denim jumper, there is not a homeschool uniform. Many families are dresses only for the girls, for their own reasons. There is nothing wrong with this. We spend our summer days in capris or shorts and winter days in jeans or sweats. Go with your convictions, not with what others are doing.
I wear makeup and its here to stay. Its my choice.
On the birth control issue, thats between Mom, Dad and God. I am not stepping into this issue. You do what is right for you. I personally am fascinated by the Duggar Family. They have 18 beautiful children and they are being raised in a Christ centered home. Mom and Dad work together to raise the family. Which is the way it should be, whether you have 1 or 2 blessings or 12+ blessings.

Myth #5
We all grind our wheat, cook from scratch, eat dinner together everynight.....ok, for us this isn't a myth but a fact.

We have been grinding our own wheat for over a year. The health benefits are huge. We cook most of our food from scratch, then again great health benefits. Eat dinner together everynight, 6 out o 7 nights per week, yes. The wheat grinding and cooking from scratch will have their own posts one day.

And now my very favorite.....what about SOCIALIZATION?

Do you send your kids to school to socialize or learn?
My kids are involved in youth Sunday School classes, choir, homeschool co-op classes, dance classes, archery practices, and field trips involving all ages. We don't sit at the kitchen table all day, every day doing lessons. However, given the multitude of opportunities available, we do pick and choose what to be involved in. You can do too many activities and not have time for school. My children are with children and adults of all ages and are learning how to relate to everyone. Not just to 25 or 30 other people their own age. Think about this.....since you graduated from high school, have you ever worked or socialized with a group of people your exact same age? I haven't. Even my college classes had guys and gals of all different ages. My kids are friends with each other. They play games, watch tv and work on projects together and most of the time, get along really well with each other.

I grew up in a unique time and situation...I went to the same high school that my dad and my grandmother attended. Yes, 3 generations attended and graduated from the same school. Many of my friends parents went to school with daddy. I even had a teacher that taught my dad, talk about weird! We grew up going to football games on Friday nights and worshiping in church together on Sunday Mornings. Most of our Moms didn't work outside the home and we ate dinner as a family every night. Usually somebodies Mom or Dad was keeping an eye on us and we knew they would report back to our parents if we stepped out of line. We were definately not perfect but you had to work really hard to do something wrong and get away with it. The world is not like that today. Everyone is going in all different directions and they never connect as a family. To me, that is really sad. Families also move alot, depending on jobs. This really didn't happen when I was younger. Its a sign of the times, but not a good sign sometimes.

Whatever you decide is right for your family...go for it! Your school decisions are your choice. I just wanted to talk about some "myths" I have heard that I knew were not accurate in our family!

Great Week in GA

2009-09-06T15:32:00.002-05:00

Boy, did we have fun last week. The visit with Mom was great! We got in our trips to Trader Joes, Whole Foods, JoAnns, & Mall of Georgia. Oh yeah, we hit Walmart and Target and had lunch at Steak n Shake! Love those tiny fries and chocolate shakes.

At JoAnn's I got enough material for 2 quilt tops...this ought to keep me busy for a while. I also got the backing and binding material for a small quilt for Katie's Hope Chest. Now I just have to finish the last blocks for the small Quilt!

On Thursday we went to visit my friend Amy and her family. My Amy had a blast with Miss Amy's 3 day old kittens (4) and several month old kittens (different mama cats). I am surprised that we haven't found a kitten tucked away somewhere yet, but Hershey would not be a happy puppy with a kitten in the house. We got to sit in her living room, talk about homeschool stuff, watch the kids run in and out playing, and roast marshmallows over her gas range in the kitchen. Different I know, but we had a blast.

Thursday was also our 4th wedding anniversary. Mom and the kids stayed home and Greg and I went out to dinner. We went to Red Robin for burger (we split one), fries and onion rings. We were going to Grayson Park to swing on our swing (where Greg proposed) but it was gone...cut off the chains and stolen! That wasn't fair!

Friday, we drove back home and made our stock up trip to Costco in Birmingham. We also bought a new camera. Its so much fun to play with and we have gotten some awesome pictures.

Sat. we drove up to Starkville for the first MSU football game against Jackson State U. And it rained on us over 1/2 of the game. But we sat there and cheered and got really wet. MSU won 40 something to 7 (lost track of the score). We got some great pictures from our "God's eye" view of the game. Greg has some awesome football shots and we got good shots of Rob in the band. Then dinner out with the guys and a long ride back home.

Must Read

2009-09-02T08:35:00.001-05:00

http://www.voddiebaucham.org/vbm/Blog/Entries/2009/8/26_The_Yellow_Prison_Bus_and_the_Future_of_American_Healthcare.html

I got this link off Our Plain and Simple Life blog.

It is lengthy to read but very good.

Its Fall in Georgia

2009-09-01T17:24:00.003-05:00

We are at my Mom's house in GA this week and fall is in the air. Its been overcast and around 73 degrees all week. Feels great but we didn't bring fall clothes. It will get hot again here before fall really sets in but this is a reminder of the cool days coming.

We've had a great week so far. On Monday we met my sister and 3 of her kiddies at Mall of GA. The kids stuffed animals at "Build A Bear" to use for the Toys For Tots campaign this Christmas. Then we went and bought our Disney tickets. The store was having a 40% off sale on certain items but I couldn't talk the lady into 40% off tickets. She seemed to think that her job was more important than giving me a ticket discount...oh well, ya can't win 'em all. I did buy Greg a Grumpy dwarf t-shirt and it was 40% off! He loves the shirt and is planning on wearing it everyday when we go down there...hope we have easy access to a washer and dryer!

Then we went on our trek to Trader Joes (a cool organic grocery store for my Miss. friends who may have never been to one). We always miss the road to turn on so we end up going many miles out of our way and turning around and finding it. After our Trader Joes trip we went to Whole Foods (a bigger mostly organic grocery store). I had gotten coupons for free rotisserie chicken so Whole Foods cooked our dinner last night. I have stocked up on my organic soy & worchestershire sauce, hamburger & hot dog buns, and whole wheat spaghetti, elbow noodles & curly noodles. They were completely out of the cranberry sauce so I will have to get it next time.

And just because we hadn't packed enough into yesterday, Amy, Katie, and I went to Great Clips and got haircuts.

Today, we got all of our schoolwork done and went to visit my friend Lisa. It was great to visit with her and talk about the goings on in Grayson that I have missed. We got to talk about homeschool curriculum and our children. She and her husband have been good friends of ours for 10 or 11 years. Katie, Will, and Amy played the Wii Fit with her sons Nathan and David. And I got some good baby hugs and kisses from her almost 2 year old Andrew.

Tonight we are packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. The dining room table is covered with goodies. We love to participate in this project every year and try to collect stuff throughout the year for the boxes. If you have never taken part in this ministry you can go to Samaritan's Purse.org to get details. This ministry is run by Franklin Graham who is Billy Graham's son. We have done the shoeboxes for years and James chose this for his Eagle Scout project for Boy Scouts also. His final count on the boxes was over 270 (of these we packed 240 and the others were donated by different Sunday School classes).

Tomorrow its time for my trip to JoAnn's. Fun, fun, fun.

Ahhhhhh, its the weekend!

2009-08-28T10:50:00.003-05:00

I am so glad it is Friday.

Katie, Will and Amy started their co-op classes today with our homeschool group. Katie is doing an in-depth study of American History and Literature with lots of projects and notebooking assignments. She loves the creative part but probably not all the reading that goes with it. Amy & Will are doing Geography and Physical Science. The geography will have lots of art projects and the science will have lots of experiments. They love the classes and so do I!

Greg and I have date night tonight. That hasn't happened in a while so I am excited. Tomorrow morning we have a business meeting for a new venture we are involved in. And then a cook-out for lunch with all the partners. Can't really give you any details on the business cause I don't know alot yet. I hope we will have time to finish the schoolroom side of the kitchen after that, so we can finish setting everything up and move another small bookcase into the kitchen. Greg is cooking us dinner tomorrow night...Shrimp and Grits from Paula Deen's cookbook. We had it at "Uncle Bubba's" a couple of years ago and it was wonderful. He is going to try to recreate that yummy goodness for us!

And Sunday...we are driving to GA! Greg has to work all week and we will get school done but then we get to visit and go on excursions with Granny! I haven't seen my buddies in a year and its time to visit. We will also make a trip to Mall of Georgia. Mom has been buying animals at "Build a Bear" to donate to Toys for Tots and she has some coupons that have to get used. We are also buying our tickets for Disney World at the Disney Store! Whoo Hoo! It'll be lots of fun. We are also working in a trip to "Whole Foods" and "Trader Joes" to stock up our pantry. They do look at me a bit funny when I buy 10 packages of spaghetti noodles or 6-8 cans of organic cranberry sauce but I just keep on going. I gotta go where I can buy products not loaded with MSG or high fructose corn syrup.

Hope ya'll have a good weekend!

Pay It Forward Giveaway

2009-08-25T14:40:00.002-05:00

I got this idea from Deanna over at "A Plain & Simple Life" and thought it sounded like fun. I signed up for her giveaway and now I need 3 people to sign up for mine and keep this train rolling.....
The idea is to spread your talent and generosity/hospitality with one another.

:::For those new to PIF, I gather the names & addresses of 3 people wanting to participate.
I send each participant a handmade item.

In exchange, they gather from their own blogs the names & addresses of 3 people wanting to participate.
They make a handmade item for each and mail it off to them.
Each person participating is expected to continue "Paying It Forward" to 3 people on their blogs:::

So, in that spirit, I'd like to host one as well here. If you would like to participate, then please email your name and address to donnamj1@bellsouth.net.

I don't know what my give away will be yet. I will have to do some thinking on it. But I think this is a fun idea...who wouldn't like getting a surprise in the mail?

Disapppointments

2009-08-24T11:20:00.003-05:00

Do you ever have disappointments in your life? Do you ever think things will be different "this time"? Do you ever think "why did they act like that"? Do you ever look at your children and think "what in the world made you do that"? Do you expect people to treat you a certain way and they always do the opposite? Do you always act or treat other people the way you want to be treated? What is the Golden Rule?.....Do unto to others as you would have them do unto you.

Do you know that there is someone who will never, ever disappoint you?

Are you thinking?

Or did you know instantly who it was?

Our Lord will always be there for us. He will love us and give us the courage we need to face each day. Psalm 36: 5-6 He is our Rock and our Refuge. Psalm 62: 5-8 We can always trust the Lord. Psalm 20: 7-8 The Lord will give us wisdom . Proverbs 2: 4-8, 3: 5-6, 4: 7-8 & 10. Proverbs 17: 27-28.

The Bible is full of verses that we need to encourage us, guide us, shield us from tempation, and help us live our everyday lives. It is the book we should turn to when we need help with the worries and concerns of everyday life. It is also the book we should turn to when we need comfort and wisdom with our life's concerns. The scriptures listed above are some of the verses that have brought comfort and wisdom to my life. There are 1000's more that are applicable to any of your life's needs.

Find yourself a translation of the Bible that is comfortable for you to read. My personal preference is the "New Internation Version" but everyone is different and has different needs. You can find a Bible at the $1 store or spend hundreds on a top of the line Deluxe Bible. But the cost of the book doesn't matter if you don't read it and apply it in your life. A Bible sitting on the shelf or bookcase gathering dust isn't going to do you any good. Dust off the book and start reading. Psalms and Proverbs are excellent resources for comfort and wisdom.

After you begin reading the Bible. Pray and ask the Lord to show you how you can apply what you've read to your life and how can it help you handle relationships, troubles, etc. The Lord wants to help, you just have to ask.

Knives & Jelly

2009-08-20T14:27:00.004-05:00

We have been watching alot of Food Network shows lately. Our favorites are Bobby Flay anything, Unwrapped, Dinner Impossible, Next Food Network Star, Chopped..........My (Donna) favorites also include Barefoot Contessa, Sandra Lee and Paula Deen (got any mayo & butter y'all). They all slice and dice and make it look so easy........its the knives!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They don't have dull, knicked, kitchen knives, but I had a collection of them. Some can be sharpened and we do it frequently, but some need to hit the garbage can. I also am somewhat picky in that it has to feel good in my hands. I have osteo arthritis and if the handle is too big or the knife too heavy, then I can't use it long. So it has to be just right.

Last week, we went to a kitchen outlet when we were on the coast with Greg. Greg and I found a set of 2 Henckels Knives that we both liked. He used his big Daddy bear knife to cut steak the other day and really liked the way the knife cut. Today, I used my smaller Mommy bear knife to cut the cucumbers for relish and like it alot! (It was just right...yeah I know that is Baby bears phrase, but just play along for this post) So, I think the dull, cheap knives are going to disappear and get slowly replaced by really good, not cheap, knives!

Chop, chop, chop!

We have also made lots of jelly this week. On Tues. & Wed., Amy and I made many jars of peach jam. And today Katie & I made a bunch of jars of strawberry jelly. We are each picking the best looking jars of our jam to enter in the state fair in October. Its about 6 weeks away, so we will be busy getting our entries ready! We would all love more blue ribbons this year!