Hey, it's "Reformation Day" here.
i love that my littles are trying to remember the 5 Solas of the Reformation. i had to look them up when Cai reminded me!! The one i never forget is "Soli Deo Gloria", which means 'for the Glory of God alone'.
Here are all 5 ~
1. Sola Scriptura: The scripture alone is the standard.
2. Soli Deo Gloria: For the Glory of God alone.
3. Solo Christo: By Christ's work alone are we saved.
4. Sola Gratia: Salvation by grace alone.
5. Sola Fide: Justification by faith alone.
It's amazing the things that were *not* widely accepted way back when Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the church door. It's almost daunting to me to look at church history & wonder where in the world God would actually have the church be? To quote my sister ~ (i saw it on your facebook page, Steevie) ~"i love Jesus, but church is so hard". i know many Christians feel this way about church... i know i do. i'm not just talking about logistics either, of taking 5 little ones to church & *being there* ~ but it's more finding that sometimes, there's so little 'common ground' among a body of believers...
i'm so grateful for other Christians who push me to a deeper level with God ~ who encourage me to rethink "religion" in favour of "relationship". i'm so grateful that God loves me & wants to have relationship with me & hasn't just left me to figure things out on my own.
My mom always has these great "truth" quotes on her emails... This last one was:
"It is better to be divided by truth than united in error...."
My prayer is that Neil & i can find a little community where we can be united by truth & that God will give us eyes to see & ears to hear...
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Friday, October 26, 2007
The National Post is running a series on "Fixing Canada" & today's writer, Michael Coren, chose abortion & Canada's lack of *any* abortion law as his topic. Bah, i just tried to find a link to his article & i can't. It was so good that i'd love any of you who are interested to read it for yourselves. When i mention to people that there are no abortion laws in Canada, a lot of people are a little surprised. With 3D image ultrasounds & preemies with as little as 21 weeks in the womb surviving, we all know what's growing in there ~ & to have no protection from Canada's laws whatsoever, at *any* point in pregnancy seems, to most Canadians, a little crazy.
In his article, Michael Coren touched on this topic, among many others, such as the "pre-birth genocide" happening in our country, (and countries around the world) with babies diagnosed in utero with Downs Syndrome. He also talked about the distinctiveness of each little life from the moment of conception (babe has it's own distinct DNA ~ babe *is* it's own unique little person) & how level of dependence shouldn't be a factor in whether or not a baby has a right to life (he compared babies in the womb to a newborn baby ~ still dependent ~ or to the seriously ill and the aged ~ who in my opinion are also under attack in this country).
He wrote a beautiful, compelling argument that is worth the read. He had one sentence in there that i think is worth sharing, "We have allowed the cult of the self to blind our vision of what is good and bad, right and wrong." i was reading Lisa's blog the other day & she was talking about making decisions & knowing what God was expecting of us... This sentence exposes exactly what our problem is. We're relying on our own understanding to make laws to govern ourselves, instead of relying on our Heavenly Father for His understanding. There's something to be said for spending time with Him, making His priorities our own & allowing ourselves to be used for His purposes.
Father, make me yours. Keep me in the palm of your hand & help me to choose what is good & right. Break down the parts of me that are blind to truth ~ & give me vision & wisdom.
In his article, Michael Coren touched on this topic, among many others, such as the "pre-birth genocide" happening in our country, (and countries around the world) with babies diagnosed in utero with Downs Syndrome. He also talked about the distinctiveness of each little life from the moment of conception (babe has it's own distinct DNA ~ babe *is* it's own unique little person) & how level of dependence shouldn't be a factor in whether or not a baby has a right to life (he compared babies in the womb to a newborn baby ~ still dependent ~ or to the seriously ill and the aged ~ who in my opinion are also under attack in this country).
He wrote a beautiful, compelling argument that is worth the read. He had one sentence in there that i think is worth sharing, "We have allowed the cult of the self to blind our vision of what is good and bad, right and wrong." i was reading Lisa's blog the other day & she was talking about making decisions & knowing what God was expecting of us... This sentence exposes exactly what our problem is. We're relying on our own understanding to make laws to govern ourselves, instead of relying on our Heavenly Father for His understanding. There's something to be said for spending time with Him, making His priorities our own & allowing ourselves to be used for His purposes.
Father, make me yours. Keep me in the palm of your hand & help me to choose what is good & right. Break down the parts of me that are blind to truth ~ & give me vision & wisdom.
Wednesday, October 24, 2007
i felt discouraged today.
So lame ~ just a series of little teeny snippets in life (i won't bore you with recounting them... )kinda made me lonesome for a kindred spirit. ~ (All these mama's lamenting their task of mothering) ~ made me wish someone would say, "jeepers, aren't we lucky?"
& then Charter came home. hehe.
He had made 3 pictures "of art" in school. i was in all three. He said, "see, mom? That's you 'cause you have a big fat tummy. i told all my friends that my mom's having a new baby & they all said, 'really? That's AWEsome.' " (you have to know Charter to imagine how he says that word. It's priceless).
& i thought it's funny ~ sometimes children see the plainest truths that adults are blind to. It *is* AWEsome. i'm so excited, i'm giddy. i'm blessed immeasurably by this little life ~ (& the other little lives God entrusted to our home). When Charter gets home from his 3 hour stint at kindergarten, i inhale that boy. i can't wait 'till he's enrolled in our little home school in grade 1 (tho, i don't regret giving him the choice to go to K. i love watching my little prince enjoying his year as king of his all boy bus stop.)
What we do as stay at home & home school moms is *hard*. There's no other way around that. We're busy & emotional & often times with our growing broods, we're hormonal & exhausted, but what we're doing has *value* & i'm convinced that my little offering will be taken and multiplied by my Father who sees my efforts to tend to those He's entrusted to my care.
So lame ~ just a series of little teeny snippets in life (i won't bore you with recounting them... )kinda made me lonesome for a kindred spirit. ~ (All these mama's lamenting their task of mothering) ~ made me wish someone would say, "jeepers, aren't we lucky?"
& then Charter came home. hehe.
He had made 3 pictures "of art" in school. i was in all three. He said, "see, mom? That's you 'cause you have a big fat tummy. i told all my friends that my mom's having a new baby & they all said, 'really? That's AWEsome.' " (you have to know Charter to imagine how he says that word. It's priceless).
& i thought it's funny ~ sometimes children see the plainest truths that adults are blind to. It *is* AWEsome. i'm so excited, i'm giddy. i'm blessed immeasurably by this little life ~ (& the other little lives God entrusted to our home). When Charter gets home from his 3 hour stint at kindergarten, i inhale that boy. i can't wait 'till he's enrolled in our little home school in grade 1 (tho, i don't regret giving him the choice to go to K. i love watching my little prince enjoying his year as king of his all boy bus stop.)
What we do as stay at home & home school moms is *hard*. There's no other way around that. We're busy & emotional & often times with our growing broods, we're hormonal & exhausted, but what we're doing has *value* & i'm convinced that my little offering will be taken and multiplied by my Father who sees my efforts to tend to those He's entrusted to my care.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Strange... if you look at my post from Oct. 5th.
i had a really busy day today & just opened up the paper tonight... & there was a big headline on pg A10 of the National Post, "Woman killed for refusing to have abortion".
Yes, it's a different woman than the one i wrote about on Oct 5th... i'll say it again... having abortion as an alternative is not good for women... i have my doubts as to how many women are choosing abortions while chanting, "My body, My choice" & how many are dragged there kicking and screaming by abusive husbands, boyfriends or fathers... hmmmmm...
We need to change our mindset about abortions. It's not an easy solution to a messy problem. It's a horrible, outrageous, hideous solution to what might feel to some as a dead end ~ but it's not.
i know i've not been in the same situation as many of these women, but i have been an unmarried, pregnant teen. My little girl has been the biggest blessing in my life. God used my pregnancy to bring sin to light, to bring *truth* into my life, and to bless me and her papa beyond what we've ever deserved.
God gives life, God takes life. Let's let Him be the only one.
i had a really busy day today & just opened up the paper tonight... & there was a big headline on pg A10 of the National Post, "Woman killed for refusing to have abortion".
Yes, it's a different woman than the one i wrote about on Oct 5th... i'll say it again... having abortion as an alternative is not good for women... i have my doubts as to how many women are choosing abortions while chanting, "My body, My choice" & how many are dragged there kicking and screaming by abusive husbands, boyfriends or fathers... hmmmmm...
We need to change our mindset about abortions. It's not an easy solution to a messy problem. It's a horrible, outrageous, hideous solution to what might feel to some as a dead end ~ but it's not.
i know i've not been in the same situation as many of these women, but i have been an unmarried, pregnant teen. My little girl has been the biggest blessing in my life. God used my pregnancy to bring sin to light, to bring *truth* into my life, and to bless me and her papa beyond what we've ever deserved.
God gives life, God takes life. Let's let Him be the only one.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
i'll be 25 weeks tomorrow.
i really really feel some days like i truly *can't* wait.
i remember my first pregnancy with little Cai & how oblivious i was ~ how i felt sort of invincible & i wish so much that i could go back there. The bonus for being here though is *gratitude* & i am feeling great ~ & i do really love being 'with child' ~ but that feeling of invincibility is gone. i feel powerless ~ & daily i have to put this little one's life in the Father's hands... & sometimes i feel so vulnerable. This baby is so sweet ~ but some days, all the little kicks & jabs that go on for hours on end will cease completely & babe will siesta for 48 hours & drive mama nuts.
i do feel "placed" here. & like i need these days to grow this baby ~ to grow my faith ~ to surrender my desire to be in control of life & death ~ to be broken ~ to anticipate life.
Neil has this funny thing about inductions. He thinks they're horrible & that babies should come when they're ready. i think he's funny to have a preference when he's the daddy & he's not carrying little one ~ but there's a part of me that thinks he's right... That each one of these days spent waiting & being faithful to the task at hand ~ was ordained by the Father's hand & He sees what He's creating & each day has purpose & holds lessons to be learned...
Father, help me be faithful as my body holds this little life. Give me what i need to grow this little one & to become the woman you want me to be.
Blessed be Your name ~ in the land that is plentiful ~
i really really feel some days like i truly *can't* wait.
i remember my first pregnancy with little Cai & how oblivious i was ~ how i felt sort of invincible & i wish so much that i could go back there. The bonus for being here though is *gratitude* & i am feeling great ~ & i do really love being 'with child' ~ but that feeling of invincibility is gone. i feel powerless ~ & daily i have to put this little one's life in the Father's hands... & sometimes i feel so vulnerable. This baby is so sweet ~ but some days, all the little kicks & jabs that go on for hours on end will cease completely & babe will siesta for 48 hours & drive mama nuts.
i do feel "placed" here. & like i need these days to grow this baby ~ to grow my faith ~ to surrender my desire to be in control of life & death ~ to be broken ~ to anticipate life.
Neil has this funny thing about inductions. He thinks they're horrible & that babies should come when they're ready. i think he's funny to have a preference when he's the daddy & he's not carrying little one ~ but there's a part of me that thinks he's right... That each one of these days spent waiting & being faithful to the task at hand ~ was ordained by the Father's hand & He sees what He's creating & each day has purpose & holds lessons to be learned...
Father, help me be faithful as my body holds this little life. Give me what i need to grow this little one & to become the woman you want me to be.
Blessed be Your name ~ in the land that is plentiful ~
Thursday, October 11, 2007
i bought some fabric & me & my sisters made some moby wraps :) A moby wrap is a loooong piece of fabric that you use to carry baby ~ mine is a sweet light blue with a cute little butterfly applique on it to mark the middle of the fabric when you're wrapping it...)
When i got home, i put my little plastic bag with my wrap in it, in my closet...
hiding...
waiting...
i've made a little birth plan & thought out what's important to me...
Most of my preparation thus far has been mental. i don't have a lot for the baby ~ nor do i think i *need* a lot... but,
Every little action preparing me for this baby's birth seems to me a huge act of faith.
Neil & i went & looked at car seats & strollers (our 2 "needs" for this baby) & as i started getting back into the vehicle, i burst out laughing. It seemed so rediculous to be looking at baby things. Like an extravagant luxurious vacation that you don't deserve...
When i got home, i put my little plastic bag with my wrap in it, in my closet...
hiding...
waiting...
i've made a little birth plan & thought out what's important to me...
Most of my preparation thus far has been mental. i don't have a lot for the baby ~ nor do i think i *need* a lot... but,
Every little action preparing me for this baby's birth seems to me a huge act of faith.
Neil & i went & looked at car seats & strollers (our 2 "needs" for this baby) & as i started getting back into the vehicle, i burst out laughing. It seemed so rediculous to be looking at baby things. Like an extravagant luxurious vacation that you don't deserve...
Friday, October 5, 2007
Some crazy guy stabbed his pregnant girlfriend ~ killing her and her little baby ~ because he said the 'fetus told him it didn't want to be born'.
In Canada, now this guy is only charged with the murder of his girlfriend ~ even though by his own admission, his target was someone much smaller & more vulnerable. Canada's laws are this way *solely* because it would mess up a woman's right to an abortion if it were a crime to kill a little one still in it's mother's womb. What a messed up country we live in where we hold more dear to us our right to kill than a little one's right to life.
So, in the paper, were letters arguing back & forth over what's more important, the pro-choice side arguing that it will be sufficient that he's charged with the death of his girlfriend & the pro-life side saying, 'that's not the point'.
i'm left wondering, what would have happened if his girlfriend were left only injured, but the baby dead, would it have been sufficient that he was charged with assault? i guess if he was smart, he could have just forced her to make an appointment at an abortion clinic... then nobody would have to pay... i wonder how many women who are pregnant & in dangerous relationships will start to think this way too? Easier to kill than to be killed?
In Canada, now this guy is only charged with the murder of his girlfriend ~ even though by his own admission, his target was someone much smaller & more vulnerable. Canada's laws are this way *solely* because it would mess up a woman's right to an abortion if it were a crime to kill a little one still in it's mother's womb. What a messed up country we live in where we hold more dear to us our right to kill than a little one's right to life.
So, in the paper, were letters arguing back & forth over what's more important, the pro-choice side arguing that it will be sufficient that he's charged with the death of his girlfriend & the pro-life side saying, 'that's not the point'.
i'm left wondering, what would have happened if his girlfriend were left only injured, but the baby dead, would it have been sufficient that he was charged with assault? i guess if he was smart, he could have just forced her to make an appointment at an abortion clinic... then nobody would have to pay... i wonder how many women who are pregnant & in dangerous relationships will start to think this way too? Easier to kill than to be killed?
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
This weekend is Thanksgiving.
Father, we thank you for each blessing in *every circumstance* of life we have received...
even in the rain...
Neil & i were listening to this song the other night & the lyrics kinda grabbed me.
i sent it to my sisters & said, "sounds almost cocky ~ if God wasn't who He is.... but He is..."
Bring The Rain
Artist(Band):MercyMe
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that
I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to
praise You Jesus, bring the rain
I am yours regardless of the clouds that may
loom above because you are much greater than my pain
you who made a way for me suffering your destiny
so tell me whats a little rain
[1st Chorus]
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
is the lord God almighty
is the lord God almighty
I'm forever singing
[2nd Chorus 2x]
everybody singing
Holy holy holy
you are holy you are holy
[2nd Chorus 2x]
Father, we thank you for each blessing in *every circumstance* of life we have received...
even in the rain...
Neil & i were listening to this song the other night & the lyrics kinda grabbed me.
i sent it to my sisters & said, "sounds almost cocky ~ if God wasn't who He is.... but He is..."
Bring The Rain
Artist(Band):MercyMe
I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that
I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray
Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to
praise You Jesus, bring the rain
I am yours regardless of the clouds that may
loom above because you are much greater than my pain
you who made a way for me suffering your destiny
so tell me whats a little rain
[1st Chorus]
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
is the lord God almighty
is the lord God almighty
I'm forever singing
[2nd Chorus 2x]
everybody singing
Holy holy holy
you are holy you are holy
[2nd Chorus 2x]
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