Question asked tonight.

Justin learned that a couple of children will not be coming over tomorrow like he had hoped.

The little girl got pneumonia.

he asked: mommy... why did God let her get pneumonia?

my response: I don't know buggy, I just don't know.


Anyone else have an answer?

after numerous going up and down stairs worrying and wondering about this....this is justin's answer. Do you think God allowed her to get pneumonia so that she would believe him in? that she would believe in him and not some other guy and then die? He loves her too much to let her die right mommy?

Things I Enjoy

I enjoy teaching my boy some of the fun things I like. For instance.....

Tonight we picked peas fresh out of the garden.

He learned to tell the "just right ones" from the not "just right ones". He learned to spit out the ones that are over ripe, and to completely chow down on the ones that were great. He learned that if you pick them too early that bunnies like them, but people really don't and that even the bunnies don't like them if they over ripe.

He even learned how to crack them himself. :)

We had fun, the peas... well...they were delish! :)

Plans for the day

We are going to head out to the kids expo in London today.
We are very much hoping the rain does not show up!

Should be fun.

This week has been filled with busyness it seems.
Monday. Jim's day off so in London
Tuesday - doctor's appointment
Wednesday - Stayed home, did laundry and a bunch of other things.
Thursday - off to Kitchener for the day
Friday - I worked and then we went to the park
and today... off the London again.

Next week... well that looks to be just as busy. :)

Doctor visit

Had an ENT visit today for our boy.

Good news.

Right ear is completely healed. No more need to use protection on that ear.

Left ear has the tube out and still needs protection when swimming and what not. The tube should come out one of these days.

NO MORE NOSE SPRAY at night. WOOT WOOT!!!!

Christian Carnival is Here Again.

Doctrine for Everybody: Modes and Spheres of Revelation by The Bible Archive.

In this post I want to discuss how God’s revelation operates.

Revelation has two spheres and two modes: a broad sphere and a narrow sphere; a general mode and a special mode.

The Last Sandwich by Jevlir Caravansary.
This was a good post. Can't clip from it. Go read it!

Church Growth 101 by Disciples Journal.
Couldn't really pull a clip from this one either. Go read it!

“Haiti Is Still Happening” by Thinking Christian.
The title is self-explanatory. If you want to help, go there for a link!

Amending for Their Sins by Parableman.

On a paper or exam last semester (I don't remember which), a student described someone who might "prepare for death by amending for their sins". My first guess as to the student's intent was that they meant "atoning for their sins". But why choose this word to confuse with "atoning"? I suspected maybe it had to do with making amends, something that seemed to me to be foreign to the idea of atonement, which (according to biblical teaching as I understand it) isn't accomplished by you. You don't atone for your sins. It's something that has to be done on your behalf, whereas making amends is something you do for someone else.

Mission Jacmel, Haiti ? Day 7, The Last Day? by And She Went Out...

The last day of the trip arrived more quickly than any of us would have liked. But then this always happens. Every time I go on a short term trip, I am left wanting more. I was made for the mission field. I was made for more. I was made to stay longer.

Money Can Be The Root of All Evil by Canadian Personal Finance Blog.

Money is not the root of all evil as most folks erroneously like to quote of this passage, the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, but sometimes it is easier to shorten the passage to fit your argument I assume.

10 Biggest Churches in the U.S. by Christian Colleges and Universities.

This is undoubtedly the era of the megachurch, that assembly of believers that’s grown far beyond what used to be normal levels. Often meeting in stadiums or sprawling campuses, the biggest churches in the U.S. are known for their size, popular profile, and economic impact on the local community. They also reflect a growing diversity of people and worship methods, combining online resources and multiple locations to maximize their size. Here are the ten biggest churches at the end of 2009 (figures courtesy of Outreach magazine):

What's the "glue" that holds a couple together? by IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE AND HAVE OUR BEING

As I ruminate on statistics such as this, I puzzle over a phrase I've heard more and more over the past several years: The marriage is over.

The marriage is over.

I wonder what, precisely, that means to the people using that expression?

Interesting Question About Sin by Crossroads: Where Faith and Inquiry Meet.

Here's an interesting dilemma that I've thought quite alot about in the past few years. Today on the radio, I heard a Christian program on which the host said,

God hates sin. But you aren't sin; you have sin.

Valuables: real and imaginary. by Rely on God in your personal development. This post was difficult to get a clip from. Go read it. :)

So "TEOTWAWKI" wasn't a character from the movie Avatar? by Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength

I recently met the acronym TEOTWAWKI: The End Of The World As We Know It. Kind of sad that it has its own acronym, isn't it?

But I came across it on some websites that were part of my research as I've taken up hobbyist-level gardening, and have been reading up on sustainability, re-using seeds (no hybrids!) and so forth. It's also the beginnings of hurricane season and I live in hurricane country, so I've been making sure my disaster preparedness plans are all set for the upcoming year. But these days, if you google "disaster preparedness plans", you generally find people worrying about something more interesting than hurricane season.

Consumerism and Spirituality by RodneyOlsen.Net

Am I the only one who feels a little uncomfortable when people joke about retail therapy?

Did anyone else feel uneasy about the masses lining up for days to get their hands on an iPad as soon as they went on sale?

Is our happiness really dependant on the power to buy items that will soon be outdated or superseded?

Some Say, “God is in Control”: We Ask, “In Control of What?" by The END TIMES Hoax

Is God really in control, or is this just another mindless cliché that serves as a tool of obfuscation to those disinclined to accept personal responsibility for what happens to them or to those disinclined to look a little deeper into what they see going on in the world around them?

Where Do We Go Now? by Catholic Quarter
I could not literally copy and paste anything from this page, so you'll need to check it out yourself. :)

Reimagining Atheism by who am i?

In the latest newsletter from Stand to Reason,

Greg Koukl points out a fairly recent development in the ongoing debate regarding the existence of God:

Atheists no longer believe there is no God, apparently. Instead, they merely lack belief in the divine. They are not un-believers. They are simply non-believers. And non-belief is not a claim, so it requires no defense.

My daring adventure by Brown-eyed amazon

There’s something paralyzing about having the freedom to do absolutely anything.

Human Machines, Free Will, and Moral Evil by Chaos & Old Night

There’s a popular view on love and free will that I regularly encounter. It goes something like this: In order for love to be genuine, the agent has to have the ability to choose not to love. Unless there is freedom of one’s will to either love someone or hate them, it isn’t really love. I’ll call this the Genuine Love Principle.

Go read that post to see where the author takes it.

Why Should You Be a Christian and an Entrepreneur by christian entrepreneur

You should be a Christian entrepreneur. Did you ever wonder why some Christian is poor and some rich? We also see non-Christian rich and poor. Why is that? I conclude that religion obviously does not determine your wealth status. Then what determines your poor or rich condition?

The Life Of Moses by Christian Personal Finance

Moses’ life is divided into three distinct forty years segments: forty years in Egypt in the household of Pharaoh, forty years in the land of Midian tending sheep and forty years leading the Israelite nation on a journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in Canaan.

Whatever phase of life you are in, you can learn much from Moses.

App Review: iPad Bible HD by iPad Weekly

The folks at LifeChurch.TV and YouVersion have developed a version of the Christian Bible fit for the iPad called “Bible HD”

15 Bookmarkable Infographics About the Bible & Christianity by Masters in Divinity

One of the most interesting and helpful ways to organize information is through the use of infographics. An infographic organizes information in a way that allows you to process it, and learn it. If you are interested in divinity subjects, infographics about Christianity and the Bible can be very helpful. Learn about different Biblical subjects, and visualize various events throughout Christian history. You don’t need to be theology major to be interested, either. Inforgraphics can be a fun and interesting way to be informed and augment your scripture study. Here are 15 infographics about the Bible and Christianity to consider bookmarking:

Perversion of the Faith by Chasing the Wind

We continue with a study of Leviticus this week and we’re going to focus on the things God commanded the Israelites to avoid in order to live holy lives. Last week and this week, the Lord spoke through Moses to give the ancient Israelites the Law, rules and regulations the Hebrews were to live by. Are we bound by these same rules, are we under Old Testament Law? And if not, are we completely free to disregard the laws in Leviticus?

The Seven Pillars of Financial Success, Pillar 3: Beware of Debt by Free Money Finance

The Bible discusses the keys to personal finance success quite plainly. If you read the book of Proverbs in particular, you'll see that the path to financial success isn't that difficult or extensive. In fact, the wisdom to be prosperous can be found in a few simple steps.

Christian Living Now Means A Closer Walk With God? by Christian Living Now

Christian websites traditionally promote Christian values. Today there is a tendency to become more commercial with ads and sales pitch than an emphasis on spirituality. I have been concerned that we should not slowly go down the path of the temple merchants that Jesus drove away. Religious objects and rituals can easily take the place of God himself in our journey. Since Christian websites today have a greater role in representing Christianity we need to be outspoken.

Social Experiment by Fish and Cans.

THE SITUATION
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin
played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went
through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Social Experiment

Snopes says this is true.

Violin PERCEPTION




. . . Something To Think About . . .

THE SITUATION
In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin
played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went
through the station, most of them on their way to work.

After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing.
He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.


About 4 minutes later:


The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.


At 6 minutes:


A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


At 10 minutes:

A 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly.
The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk,
turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without
exception - forced their children to move on quickly.


At 45 minutes:


The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while.
About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

After 1 hour:

He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.
No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world.
He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars.
Three days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.


This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the
Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment, at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?


One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

Book Reviews, June 1

The Too Hot Day by Beverly Komoda



Justin loved this book. We've read it almost every night for three weeks. he noticed things in the book that I didn't, (like why they were too hot). he asked LOTS of questions. He laughed, He thought. A good book.

I found the repetition of ___ said, and ____ said.. rather monotonous and by the end of the third week was substituting ____ exclaimed, and ____ replied etc.

Brown Rabbit's Shape Book by Alan Baker



Justin enjoyed this book. It was easy to occasionally change it up. Such as "white rabbit" got a thus and such. The boy loves it when I change simple stories once in a while.

Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen



What an adorable book. Justin loved it, I loved it, even Daddy liked it. :) "what are stacks mommy?" "mommy, can we see a lion in the library?" "mommy, read it again!". :)

The Upstairs Cat by Karla Kuskin



Justin liked this book because it had the cats in it, and what they did was fight all the time, which led to questions about why they fought, can they be friends, why won't they be friends, and so on so forth. So we'd read the book again. It used some big words which led to questions about what does that word mean mommy? He had to listen to understand and that wasn't a bad thing. Did he fully get it? I don't think so, but he liked listening to it.

American Shorthair Cats by Nancy Furstinger



not a bed time story book, but a book all about cats. "Mommy! Can we buy this cat? I want a cat like this one!" He learned lots about his favourite beastie and got the "I wanna's please mommy". :)

The Raft - by Jim LaMarche



We read this book once. Justin didn't understand it, and it didn't have enough cats in it to encourage his interest. I thought it a decent enough book, but just too over his head at this point.

Wilderness Cat by Natalie Kinsey Warnock



Well....what can I say about this book. LOVED IT! Seemed a bit improbable, but the boy loved it. Introduced him to the idea that rabbits have more than one use in life, that cats can be loyal to their people, and more. A good book, much appreciated by a boy child and his mommy.

Library Mouse by Daniel Kirk



Imagine a book that doesn't have a cat or a bunny in it that a boy actually likes! I had to encourage him to take it out of the library, but once home and read twice, it became by week two a book of choice, "read this one mommy."

Why Do Rabbits Hop? by Joan Holub



Another informative book. Not a bedtime reading book, just a book to learn from. Most of the information was relatively accurate. :) Lots of pictures for a boy child to look at.

A Farm of her Own by Natalie Kinsey Warnock



We read this book twice. It spawned lots of questions. But was not a book for choice for this boy child.

All Around The Farm



Another not for bed time reading book. Just a book to talk about life on the farm. Much was accurate, some was not. Lots of pictures to look at, tractors and their machinery to discuss. Not a bad book at all.

Potato Consumption

What an easy and fun way to encourage eating potatoes.

French them!

Works well in a fry pot casserole and for a boy who doesn't like mixing his food, he'll eat LOTS of potato with his supper because the potatoes are fun! :)

Just thought I'd share that with you. :)