I Corinthians 10 continued

Do you remember a couple of days ago how I wrote that I would feel "odd" to eat food that someone had left out for their "god" to eat?

Well...I just discovered there's a good reason for it!

Did you know that food left out for false gods is food left out for demons? yes! Demons!

Read this:
blockquote>19What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? 20No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be participants with demons. 21You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 22Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?

Do you see it? If you don't give something to God, you know...the one and only True God...then you are giving it to demons... to Satan actually. This is why it is not a good idea to eat food that others leave out for their "gods". If you eat it, you are eating something that has been offered to demons. Demons are NOT on the side of God. They are most definitely on the side of Satan.

As a believer you can't do both. You can't eat demon food and God's food.

Paul goes on to explain this better.

23"All things are lawful," but not all things are helpful. "All things are lawful," but not all things build up. 24Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

Through Christ, we have freedom from the law. But just because we have that freedom, it doesn't mean that we can do whatever we want.

25Eat whatever is sold in the meat market without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 26For "the earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof." 27If one of the unbelievers invites you to dinner and you are disposed to go, eat whatever is set before you without raising any question on the ground of conscience. 28But if someone says to you, "This has been offered in sacrifice," then do not eat it, for the sake of the one who informed you, and for the sake of conscience-- 29I do not mean your conscience, but his. For why should my liberty be determined by someone else's conscience? 30If I partake with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of that for which I give thanks?

When we do stuff, we have to consider the ramifications of what we are doing. If we eat something that has been sacrificed to a demon (even if the other person thinks it has been offered to a "god") we need to consider what they are thinking AND we need what we are really doing. We need to remember that what we do has an impact on those around us. If we cheerfully eat food given to idols...that may give the impression that we agree with the practice. We DON"T want to do that. It's one thing to eat at a non-believers house, to just have tea or dinner with them. It's another thing entirely if we eat food that they have told us has been offered up to their "god". Thanks to Matthew Henry's commentary for helping me get a better handle on this passage.

31So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 32Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, 33just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved

Pual concludes this chapter reminding us that we are to do all things in order to bring glory to God. It's actually the only thing that really counts.

Are we giving glory to God? Are we being non-offensive to non-believers and believers alike so that more people can be brought to faith in Christ? Are we being pleasing to those around us so they can see the glory of God in us?

I Corinthians 10

When you are tempted to sin, what is your response?

Do you fight it? Whine about it? Give into it? What is your response to it?

If you fight it, how do you go about doing so?
Do you use strategies that you've developed to help you not give in to the temptation?
Do you pray about it and let nature take it's course?
Or what?

Me, well, I do the combination of fight, whine and give in. Depends on the day, depends on whether I'm tired, whether I've spent time with God, and so forth.

When I chose to fight, I used to only do things through my own power. It was like... I can beat this! I can make a good choice here. Somedays, man I tell you.... it was SUCH a battle to "do good".

I still have days when I want to do it all my own way. I have learned though, that it's WAY better to say God... I need help with this. God can you provide for me a way out? If I do that, if I seek God first ... then my abilities are enhanced for staying within his will.

How did I learn to do that? Through passages like the one I read today.

Check it out:

1I want you to know, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3and all ate the same spiritual food, 4and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ. 5Nevertheless, with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

6Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 7Do not be idolaters as some of them were; as it is written, "The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play." 8We must not indulge in sexual immorality as some of them did, and twenty-three thousand fell in a single day. 9We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. 12Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. 13No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
(emphasis mine)

I remember when I found this passage. I thought wow! I"m not in this alone. People have struggled against sin all along...and that's why all those passages where written down. So I could learn from them. So I could see how people continually had to turn to God for help.

God won't let you or me be tempted beyond what you or I can endure.
He will help us.
He will not leave us stranded in our sin.
He wrote the bible so that we could learn from the actions of other people how to live our Christians lives. Isn't that too cool? :)

All we need to know, to fight sin in our lives, to fight temptation, is to know God's word and to call upon him in times of struggle. He will help, regardless. :)

I Corinthians 8

I was reading this passage this morning:

1Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that "all of us possess knowledge." This "knowledge" puffs up, but love builds up. 2If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. 3But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.

4Therefore, as to the eating of food offered to idols, we know that "an idol has no real existence," and that "there is no God but one." 5For although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth--as indeed there are many "gods" and many "lords"-- 6yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

7However, not all possess this knowledge. But some, through former association with idols, eat food as really offered to an idol, and their conscience, being weak, is defiled. 8Food will not commend us to God. We are no worse off if we do not eat, and no better off if we do. 9But take care that this right of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak. 10For if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, will he not be encouraged, if his conscience is weak, to eat food offered to idols? 11And so by your knowledge this weak person is destroyed, the brother for whom Christ died. 12Thus, sinning against your brothers and wounding their conscience when it is weak, you sin against Christ. 13Therefore, if food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble.

I have to admit. I don't "get" the idea of leaving food out for your "god" to eat. Doesn't make any sense to me. I seen pictures of people leaving the food out before their household "gods" but it just seems silly to me. Like who eats it? The idol certainly doesn't...it's made out of wood or stone or ????? So, if the food isn't gone, what do people make of it? I know they do it with the idea of appeasing their "god", so if the food isn't eaten, does that mean that their "god" is mad at them still? Just doesn't make a lot of sense to me.

But on the other hand.... If someone where to offer me the food that was placed before the idol I would feel odd eating it. And I'm not sure why. Well, maybe... I think it's that I wouldn't want to offend someone. The people with all sincerity, placed the food there before that idol, and I were just to eat it, I would be making a mockery of what they believe.

I know that what they believe is wrong, but would it be right to make a mockery of it? So then how would I approach that type of situation. I wouldn't want to give the impression that I was honouring their "god" by not eating it, but also don't want to mock their faith BUT at the same time I do want to say...this is wrong, you are believing falsely and excersing all this energy into some "belief" that will not attain you the end that you desire.

So I know that this really isn't what Paul is talking about in this passage.

What Paul is talking about it .... don't do something in your walk with the Lord, even if YOU know it's okay to do, if it causes another true believer in the Lord to stumble in his walk.

For instance, if I think it's okay to scrapbook on Sunday afternoons, but it seriously causes another person to have troubles in their relationship with God, then I MUST stop scrapbooking on Sunday. It's as simple as that. I need to act in a why that helps other people in their relationship with God, not hinders them.

I picked scrapbooking as an example because
1. it doesn't cause other people to work on Sunday
2. it's a quiet at home type of thing that I do while the rest of the house is quiet
3. it focuses me on my family andgives me think about what I want to do as a mom-mom raising my boy and caring for my hubbie and
4. it is my God-given duty at this stage in my life.

I can't keep scrapbooking on Sundays simply because I know it's okay. That makes me a puffed up person who doesn't care about the larger family of God 'because I KNOW BETTER' kind of attitude. That is not what we are called to. We are called to care about our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It doesn't mean that I can't spend time with that person helping them to grow in their relationship to God. In fact, I'm actually encouraged to do so, since it means that (generally speaking) that they are misunderstanding something about God and being in relationship with him. It doesn't mean that at some point that struggling believer will understand things differently, and see that we have freedom in the Lord, and that we don't need to be bound by rules of expectation. We just need to be bound by the laws of God. Sometimes people don't understand the difference between the two.

Here is a news article I found about my second cousin

Boy, 12, dies in go-cart mishap

Youth is hit by tractor on country road

BY: MELINDA DALTON

KURTZVILLE, ONT. (Aug 12, 2006)

A 12-year-old Palmerston boy died yesterday only metres from his grandmother's house after the go-cart he was riding in was hit head-on by a tractor.

The victim, Alex Van Oostveen, was celebrating his 12th birthday and visiting his grandmother in Kurtzville at the time of the crash.

The collision happened at about 4:15 p.m. on Perth Line 88 near the intersection of Line 178.

The boy was riding around the yards of several neighbouring houses in a homebuilt motorized go-kart, said Perth OPP Const. Glen Childerly.

The go-kart pulled out onto the shoulder of the highway and was crushed by a tractor pulling two grain trailers, Childerly said.

"The front end of the tractor collided with the go-kart and it was dragged," he said. "It hit almost straight on . . . The tractor then rolled onto the lawn of a residence."

North Perth firefighters and emergency crews arrived a short time later and an air ambulance from London was summoned.

CPR was performed at the scene, but the air ambulance was called off before it landed. The boy was taken to Listowel Memorial Hospital by land ambulance where he died, police said.

The boy was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident, but his injuries were too severe, police said.

The tractor wasn't travelling fast, but the nearly 3,000-kilogram load of wheat it was pulling made stopping quickly impossible, police said. The driver of the tractor was not injured.

Yesterday evening, the tractor remained on its side on the front lawn of a home, the crushed cherry-red go-cart under its wheels.

Solemn neighbours filed past, some shaking their heads at the scene.

The roadway is generally quiet, they said, but this time of the year traffic picks up as farmers bring in their crops.

"It's wheat harvest season and there's a lot of farmers taking their wheat to the mill up the road," said Murray Williams, who lives around the corner from the scene of the collision. "It gets pretty busy."

Police were continuing their investigation.

mdalton@therecord.com

found online at "the record" at this address.

Please Pray

My mom phoned yesterday, and I learned a bit more today.

I have a second cousin, 12 years old, who has just passed away.

He was at his Oma's (grandmother) house celebrating his 12th birthday. He was riding around on a cart, having blast with a neighbour boy, waiting for his mom to pick him up after work.

And he got in front of a tractor with two grain wagons behind. The tractor couldn't stop. There would be no way he could have stopped with two full grain wagons behind him.

His grandmother rushed out to see what happened and found him dying.

The medical people say that he died on impact.

Visitation is Monday and Tuesday with the funeral on Wednesday. Two of his uncles are ministers and will be doing the service. It will be tough.

Please, if you would, keep his family in your prayers.

Names and more names

As you know, I read through the bible following a chronological path. It is sent to me via email from these folks. This morning I read from Chronicles and Corinthians. I have to admit, I'm not enamored with Chronicles. It to me, is just a long list of names. I have to be determined to read it in order to get through. But as I was reading I came across this line in I Chronicles 2:7 "The son of Carmi: Achan, the troubler of Israel, who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing;" This made me wonder. I generally know the story of Achan, He's the fellow who did something wrong in the aftermath of battle and got himself and his family killed for it, but I hadn't thought of him as "The troubler of Israel" and as the one "who broke faith in the matter of the devoted thing". So I thought I'd look that story up again.

I found this synopsis here.

Achan ...called also Achar / Meaning: one who troubles.

This man was named in in remembrance of his crime (1 Chr. 2:7), which brought upon him an awful destruction (Josh. 7:1). When Jericho fell, he seized, contrary to the divine command, an ingot of gold, a quantity of silver, and a costly Babylonian garment, which he hid in his tent.

Joshua was convinced that the defeat which the Israelites sustained afterwards at Ai was evidence of God's judgment of some crime. He at once cast lots to discover the criminal. It was then found that Achan was guilty, and he was stoned to death in the valley of Achor. He and all that belonged to him were then consumed by fire, and a heap of stones was raised over the ashes.

Here's the story as per scripture.
Joshua fought the battle of Jericho. As normal, looting is part of the conquest. God told the people through Joshua that they could take what they wanted but was we read in Joshua 6:18"

But you, keep yourselves from the things devoted to destruction, lest when you have devoted them you take any of the devoted things and make the camp of Israel a thing for destruction and bring trouble upon it. 19But all silver and gold, and every vessel of bronze and iron, are holy to the LORD; they shall go into the treasury of the LORD."

In Joshua 7:1 we read that "But the people of Israel broke faith in regard to the devoted things, for Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of the devoted things. And the anger of the LORD burned against the people of Israel."

Because of ONE man's sin, God's anger burned against Israel. God said, don't do this thing. You can have anything else that you want, but you take this...you might end up being devoted to them instead of to me. He told them this for their own protection.

So God's response was simple. When Joshua sent men to attack a town that they should have been able to conquer...they were soundly defeated! Joshua 7:2-5 "

2Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven, east of Bethel, and said to them, "Go up and spy out the land." And the men went up and spied out Ai. 3And they returned to Joshua and said to him, "Do not have all the people go up, but let about two or three thousand men go up and attack Ai. Do not make the whole people toil up there, for they are few." 4So about 3,000 men went up there from the people. And they fled before the men of Ai, 5and the men of Ai killed about thirty-six of their men and chased them before the gate as far as Shebarim and struck them at the descent. And the hearts of the people melted and became as water."

Joshua asked God Why? Why did this happen? v.7-9 "Alas, O Lord GOD, why have you brought this people over the Jordan at all, to give us into the hands of the Amorites, to destroy us? Would that we had been content to dwell beyond the Jordan! 8O Lord, what can I say, when Israel has turned their backs before their enemies! 9For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it and will surround us and cut off our name from the earth. And what will you do for your great name?" Do you see Joshua's concern? Israel has been defeated, other nations will hear of it, and God's name iwill be sullied! Joshua does not want God's great name to be called into question. He knows that every victory they have shows God's glory.

Hmm... makes me think of how when as Christians we have victory over sin in our lives, that God's glory is seen. If we truly know God, we know that we can't get past our sins without God's help. So when we do have victory over sin...all the Glory goes to God. It shows his great name. :)

On with the tale ....
The Lord tells Joshua that sin is the problem. That "they have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen and lied and put them among their own belongings." (v.11) and that since they have done this "They turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become devoted for destruction." (v.12)

The Lord tells Joshua...get up, consecrate the people, know that you (the people) will be judged. This judgement will happen tribe by tribe, then clan by clan, then household by household, and then man by man. "And he who is taken with the devoted things shall be burned with fire, he and all that he has, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he has done an outrageous thing in Israel.'" (v.15)

It was done just as the Lord said..."And he brought near his household man by man, and Achan the son of Carmi, son of Zabdi, son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken." Achan was the guilty party!

Joshua asked him what he did (gave him a chance to make confession).

"And Achan answered Joshua, "Truly I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and this is what I did: when I saw among the spoil a beautiful cloak from Shinar, and 200 shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing 50 shekels, then I coveted them and took them. And see, they are hidden in the earth inside my tent, with the silver underneath." (v20-21)

Achan looked at what he shouldn't have. He coveted. He took. He hid it. And for that...God's anger was kindled. Israel lost a battle. And he lost his life. He was stoned and then burned up. The element among them that was devoted to destruction was itself destroyed. And the Lord God turned from "his burning anger". (v.26)

The valley that Achan was stoned in was called "Vally of Achor" which means trouble.

So Achan was linked with trouble because he wanted something he shouldn't have. That God had specifically warned the people against. And punishment followed, not only for himself, but for the people that he belonged to.

Hmmm....as I think about this, I think about the wilful sins that people commit now-a-days...particularly people who belong to God. Do people really think that there won't be repercussions to their actions?

Because of Achan thousands of Israelis died.
What will our sin do?

I look at the sin of the synod meeting to do work on Sunday instead of taking it as a day of rest. What will this mean to our denomination? Will people die? Will people perhaps lose faith? Will the denomination die? This denomination is in a "dialogue" to discuss same-gender relationships and what to do with them. Why? So we can see it as okay? So that we can learn how to minister to these folks? If it's the latter...why do we need three years to figure it out? Just let folks know..it's sin, God can redeem you from it, and we as a group of believers can walk with you through the process. We don't need three years of dialogue to know the answer to that. What will God's response be to this?

Look at what happens to the church when a pastor wilfully sins.... especially if he is caught out with it? The church fragments. People look at christians and think...ah..we don't want to be like them? Just what kind of 'god' do they serve?

We must not as Christians do things that impunge the great name of our Lord. The Lord our God will respond. We must bring him glory...if not...what will our Lord's response be?

More In-Depth

For those of you who are interested in more in-depth study. My hubbie is currently going through the book of First Corinthians. He has the ability to be more in-depth in a really clear way. So if you'd like to know First Corinthians better, feel free to check out his blog here.

A New Pet

Courtesy of a commentor at The Upward Call, I found this cute guy.

adopt your own virtual pet!

First Corinthians

I have just started reading from First Corinthians.

In Chapter one we learn that Paul is writing to the church in Corinth.
He pleads with them not to have divisions among them. I found it interesting in that I was reading these words in Psalms just before I read Corinthians. Psalm 34 says:

1Behold, how good and pleasant it is
when brothers dwell in unity!
2It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down on the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down on the collar of his robes!
3It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion!
For there the LORD has commanded the blessing,
life forevermore.

The Lord God likes it when his people are one. and in Corinthians we find Paul pleading with the church there not to be divided over whose teaching they follow. They are merely to follow after Christ. We are baptized into Christ, not into Paul or Cephas or whoever performed the act of the baptism...we are baptized into Christ alone.

Paul then starts to talk about how "For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. " People who don't know God don't understand the importance of Christ's death. It is meaningless to them, they think of it as foolishness. Like why die for someone...particularly someone you don't know. They think that when they see Christ's death. But those of us who KNOW God, who follow Christ, know that it isn't foolishness. It is God's mercy poured out upon us sinners.

God "chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God." Do you see it? Do you see what God did? He choose us. And then he protects us from our own arrogance by making it obvious that he did it all. God works through our foolishness and weakness to show his wisdom and power.

All our boasting is to be done in the Lord!

Paul continues this theme in Chapter two. He just expands on it a bit.

I have to admit... I like this line (Ch2.9)

"What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him"--

I can't even imagine what God is going to do next. Even my wildest, craziest, best visions aren't anything to compare with what God has ALREADY prepared for me (and for all others who love him). It's a comfort and a hope.

God reveals to me what I need to know. He works through my frailties to show his Glory. I just think it's amazing how God puts it all together.

All the praise be to him.

Our Help is in the Name of the Lord

Have you read this psalm lately? I read it this morning, and from verse 2 on I found myself substituting things in my life. I found myself seeing the goodness of the help of the Lord.

Psalm 124

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

1If it had not been the LORD who was on our side--
let Israel now say--
2if it had not been the LORD who was on our side
when people rose up against us,
3then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5then over us would have gone
the raging waters.

6Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given us
as prey to their teeth!
7We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped!

8Our help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

What I could substitute ..... A song of ascents of Annette....

1If it had not been the LORD who was on our side--
let Annette now say--
2if it had not been the LORD who was on my side
when circumstances of life rose up against me,
3then I would have swallowed up alive,
when things were crazier than I thought I could handle;
4then post-partum depression would have swept me away,
when yet another child was taken home early,
5then I could have been lost in a torrent of grief,
then I would have been no witness at all.

6Blessed be the LORD,
who has not given me
as prey to their teeth!
7I have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and I have escaped!

8My help is in the name of the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

I could write a whole lot more, but my mind is full of all that the Lord has helped me with. It just blows my mind sometimes when I see the Lord's goodness and mercy toward me.

MY help is in the name of the Lord.....what has he helped you with lately?

India bans child workers

So I read this story and my initial thoughts were....cool! Fewer Child workers in India in potentially dangerous situations. At the same time I wondered...so what's wrong with them learning to clean rooms? Then I realized..would I want my child working long days cleaning hotel rooms or waiting on people?

As I thought about it abit more I thought...well....obviously from the lack of change, making new laws isn't going to really help those children at all is it?

As the article says "The ban takes effect Oct. 10, but its effectiveness remains to be seen. India already bars child labour in hazardous industries, but the rules are widely ignored and tens of thousands of children continue making matches, incense sticks and firecrackers and weaving carpets. According to government figures, nearly 13 million children work in India."

If the government isn't going to enforce the laws that it makes, what's the point? Is it merely public relations? Do they really want to make changes and just don't have the support to do so? OR is it that there are just so many poor families in India that they have to make money somehow? And having the children work is one way to survive? I don't know. I have to admit that I don't understand all the issues around this fact of child workers.

I am not opposed to children working. I find that I often meet children who don't work. Who's mothers wait on them hand and foot. I don't intend to be one of those mothers, but I see it all over the place. I also don't like the extremes of children working 8 hours a day either. I don't like children working to support their families...that's the role of the fathers. Children need to learn how to work, but they don't need to spend their time providing for families instead of learning, growing, maturing, and becoming people of good character. They need to learn who God is and how they can worship and serve him. Working for hours each day doesn't provide them good opportunities to do that.

What is the solution to India's issue of child workers? I don't know. Government support of poor families - i.e starting baby bonus in India like they have here in Canada? Teaching people to wait to start their families until they can provide for them? Enforcement of their own laws? Making the use of child labour socially repugnant? I have no answers. :) Just lots of thoughts.

I like this I think

YouTube - New St. Andrews College/Logos School

I"ve been looking at different methods of homeschooling for the past bit.

I've seen this Triverium method before, and I like the concept behind it. I like that it makes sense to me. Each stage of learning builds on the one before it. I like the fact that the emphasis is on teaching people to think, not to know, but to think. I want Justin to know clearly how to think things through. To be able to reason from one point to another.

My hesitation is....
1. could I teach a language that I have no earthly clue about?
2. would I feel bound into something with no way of teaching around it?
3. how much does it cost?

Some of what I have looked it seems a bit cost prohibitive to me, but then again, I'm not entirely sure how cost prohibitive other methods might be.

Part of me likes the idea of building my own system of teaching. But I wonder if that would achieve the ends that I want to see.
What do I want for Justin at the end of homeschooing?
1. Confidence in his abilities to learn anything he wants to - being a thinking, logical person who knows how to ask the questions to get to where he wants to go.
2. Plain ability in math, english, science etc. That he knows the basics, and if he has the inclination or desire or ability that he can pursue further studies in the field of his choice.
3. To grow into a person of character, who knows who God is and that God is indeed God and worthy to be praised in all that he (Justin) does.

There are other things that tie into all of this, but this is, in a nutshell what I want the most for my boyo in his learning processes. I just need to figure out the best method for us as a family to achieve those ends.

Have any of you come up with a homeschooling plan that works for you? and how did you come to that decision?

As promised...

I did promise to post a bit on our camping trip.
Even though it started off rough, by the end of the week, I was able to thoroughly enjoy watching Justin have fun.

Some of the things that he did:

He played with Sassy dog food bowl (yes, it was clean). He put his elephant, and various sticks that he found it in and then he would sit and spin in it! Such fun!














He also enjoyed (thoroughly I might add) playing in his rubber maid container with types of things. He had his plastic tub animals, as well as well...you can tell from the picture can't you! :)









One of the things we did almost every day was visit the house where Jim's mom was house-sitting. They have a pool. The three of them would go swimming. Justin enjoyed himself tremendously. One of the things he liked most was crawling in and out of the pool. He also like splashing the dog. Wiley is a old goofy golden retriever who let Justin do just about anything with him. Justin crawled over him, under him, took his toys, and had a blast. Wiley tolerated it all really, really well. :)


















One of the funniest thing I thought Justin did while we camped was....fool his mom-mom. I thought he was going over to check out our van, instead he decided that he should crawl across the road to another campsite! Fortunately I caught up to him as he was going over the road. When he got there, the garbage they left at the back of the campsite caught his eye and off he crawled as fast as he could. On the way there he came across this patch of long, really cool (as in to the touch) feeling grass. He stopped! He looked surprised. He turned and sat. Wiggled his bum. Turned and sat. He was just captivated by the feel of this grass. It was so nice, cool and soft to the touch. He completely forgot about the garbage (not that I minded) and just took in that grass. When he tired of it, dad-dad had made it back to our campsite and Justin thought we should go get him. Off we went!


Oh...we bought this screen tent for camping. We thought it would be a good way to keep Justin confined in a bug-free zone for playing. I had it all nicely set up. Justin played in it "properly" one time! And then he discovered it had a zipper! oh boy!!!! I can do that too!!!!! Up and down, crawl under, up and down, crawl in, up and down, up and down, up and down, oh...crawl out! Head for fire quickly (while loudly saying "ah") (have to warn mom-mom somehow!)

Silly boy.....
Had a blast. Made the whole camping trip worth while! :)

Unknown God

The reading today is Acts 17:16-34 (English Standard Version)

16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17So
he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and
in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.   

Paul taught the people.  They came and listened to him.  He taught them things they hadn't heard before and their response was to take hold of him and bring him to their place of teaching.   At least that's my guess what the Areopagus was.    Because it is a place where "Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new".   And it is the place where Paul ended up standing and talking in the midst of.

Paul was bothered by all the idols that he saw (see v.16) but did he say that?  No.  I find that fascinating.  That would be my immediate inclination...to attack what I saw that I didin't like.  But Paul didn't do that.

First he taught people in general, and then when he was brought before scholars... he taught them what they didn't know they already knew.

They worshipped an "unknown god".   Paul took the time to introduce them to this "unknown god."    Read his words: 

"Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23For
as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found
also an altar with this inscription, 'To the unknown god.' What
therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25nor
is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he
himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26And
he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of
the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of
their dwelling place, 27that
they should seek God, in the hope that they might feel their way toward
him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28for

   "'In him we live and move and have our being';

      as even some of your own poets have said,

   "'For we are indeed his offspring.'

    29Being
then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is
like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and
imagination of man. 30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31because
he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by
a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all
by raising him from the dead."

Paul didn't mock, attack or deride them.
He merely taught them.

As expected.... some mocked what he said, but others...ah but others said "we will hear you again about this."  Some people listened, they really did.

This gives me courage.   I know that many of the people that I meet in life will not really want to hear what I have to say about the Lord that I love.  But some will, some might really listen.    If my words and actions can get just even one person to consider God more seriously...or even at all...then I think I've done what I should as a Christian.

I have to pray that, like Paul, I will have wisdom in how I met their query.  Will I attack, deride, mock, or run away from that which bothers my spirit OR will I find that teachable moment...and teach?   I will need to pray more fervently that I will do the latter - especially since it is so easy to do the former!  

Chickens Strike!

Yesterday Justin had TWO blistery like spots on his body.  One on his backside, the other "in a hot spot".

Thought nothing of it really.  Just an anomally in the life of raising a boy child.

He had a hard time settling to bed last night as was still awake (but quiet) when I gave his bottle of water for when he wakes up in the morning.

This morning, he woke up, I got him up.  He seemed a wee bit dozey.  We did our morning  inspection of the property.   Then we got dressed properly for the day and he has spots over his back! 

Since we were planning on having a day trip to London (Jim has to visit a parishoner) I thought I'd do a quick stop at the ER.  Found out that he has chicken pox...and they didn't even do the whole check in thing.  The out-going doc just gave his back a quick peek and said "YUP!  That's chicken pox!"

So we came home, had a nice breakfast, Justin got a bit fussy and back to bed (with a bit of tylenol in him).   He's having a nice nap.

Does this bother you????

I get this kind of stuff in the mail and I find it .... I want to say offensive, but that's not the word I really want.  I find it irritating, bothersome, unchristian, unbiblical and just wrong.

What kind of stuff am I talking about?
This kind of stuff
"If I don't get this back, I will know you really didn't read it.  I got this from someone and thought the last part was really a good thought. "

So far...not too bad...just lines to try to keep something circulating.  I generally delete the "if I don't get this back I know you didn't read it part".   IF and  ONLY IF I choose to pass it along to someone.  AND  IF I do...I do not send it back to the original person... seems silly to me to do so.     If a person really wants to know if I care, they can ask, OR write me an email and see if I respond at some point within the next three months.    :) 

The email continued....   "Too bad that the  person who sent it to me did not know 10 people who would admit to knowing the Lord.   If I send this to you, please send it back so that I will know that my friends do know the Lord.         I konw 10 people.  Do you LOVE HIM?     This is a simple test:   If you love Jesus, send this to at least 10 people including the person who sent it to you!"    

So my query is simple....what does sending an email have to do with "proving" if I love Jesus or not?    Doesn't my life and personal witness (my walk and talk) indicate that? 

Maybe I'm missing something here, but this just seems like blackmail in a way.   I know you don't really love Jesus if you don't forward this picture and poem on to at least 10 people.  What?    I don't love Jesus if I simply delete it?  I don't love Jesus if I send it to only one person?   What about 9  people?    

I just find the mindset irritating.   And I probably shouldn't vent when I'm tired and more easily irritated!   :) 

The other emails that bug me are the ones that come through... you get this really nice poem or picture or letter and at the bottom it says something along the lines of...if you don't send this then bad luck will come to you!  As a Christian I can't abide these ones.  And when fellow believers send them out, I tend to ask them, what are they trying to say with this email?  Are we to trust in the power of the internet, or are we to trust in God?   I teach them to do a cut and paste or a Highlight and delete before sending these types of emails on to others.  Why continue the fraud?

AND even worse are the ones that are warnings that if a person just went to snopes or to truth or fiction .   They would find out that it was wrong and save themselves and the world a lot of wasted time.   It's like think about it folks!  

I can honestly understand people who don't know about these sites.   So I always tell folks about them.   Check it out, I did, this is what I found out, could you let all the people you emailed know that it is Or is not true.  And please also let them know about these sites so that they can check things out to.     It does however bother me when the snopes address is right in the body of the letter ... and people still didn't bother to check it out.  Are they not reading what they are sending out?   ARGH!!!!   :) 

It does however serve a purpose.....teaches me patience!   :)   And that in turn does benefit those around me.   Oh...it also teaches me how to tactly tell people to get a brain. to think more carefully before they just willy-nilly send on emails to other folks.  Spam is problem, why should we add to it?

That's my rant for the week.   What do you think?  Am I off base here?  Am I missing something that I shouldn't?   Or am I on target?

God's Glory

I asked my hubbie the other day why people fail to see that God does all things for his own glory. His response was "people are too self-centred and it doesn't make sense to them."

It's one of those things that I keep pondering. And sometimes I wonder if I'll ever figure it out. But seeing his glory, and seeing how he works all things for his glory... it's just one of those things that lights my heart and makes my mind ponder him and his ways just a bit more.

God does all things for his own glory. He allows us to handle pain and suffering and gives us all that we need ... protection from the elements in a variety of ways, sustenance for survival in a variety of ways. He meets all our needs through Christ. AND he does it all for his own glory.

God doesn't have to do a thing for us, but he chooses to do so. That to me is such a marvellous thing, and I kept pondering that as I walked the dogs this morning. Without the boy for the first time in almost three weeks! woohoo!!! me time!!!!

I was reading Psalm 89 with these thoughts still on my brain. And I read these words.

5Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
6For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7a God greatly to be feared in the council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are around him?
8O LORD God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.
12The north and the south, you have created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15Blessed are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of your face,
16who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are exalted.
17For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.
18For our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.

Can you see God's glory? Can you see that God has everything? The seas, the skies, the heavenly beings, and so forth. NOTHING is equal to God. God handles it all!

God helps his people. He scatters his enemies. No one can outwit him and no one can humble him. God is God!!!! Greatly to be praised. He is the one that helps us.

He is the one that punishes people for turning away from him. He is the one who humbles those who side with his enemies.

To Him be ALL the glory forever.

Man one, bear zero

My hubbie pointed me here.

Made me think of how here in Ontario this dog is banned.  This man lives in Waterloo, Ontario, one of the first cities to bann pit bulls and their ilk.   Pit bulls and their progenitors have to be spayed or neutered, wear a muzzle in public, always be on leash and be in a kennel.   They aren't ever allowed be without supervision when out of a person's house.

And this dog did what most all owners would want their dogs to do.   Warn them of danger.  

His American Staffordshire dog growled a warning, then rushed to his
defence as the bear came at them on a trail north of Wawa on Friday.

Current Ontario law says that if these dogs are not sterilized, muzzled and leashed when in public, their owner can face a fine of up to $10,000 or as much as six months in jail, or even both.

This article   tells abit about how the court case against the government and this law are going.  I really hope the law gets overturned as unconstitutional.  I"m not sure what will happen, but I do hope for the sake of a lot of dogs, that is overturned and that the Ontario government is then forced to come up with a well-written dangerous dog legislation that will actually do what they are hoping to have done.  Force people to train their dogs properly, and to have truly dangerous dogs destroyed.

Makes me wonder, what will happen to this man and his dog.  Will he go to jail for having his dog off leash?  In the picture it is shown without a muzzle, will he be charged for this?   If he had been obeying the law, would the outcome have been the same?

This legislation still irritates me and I truly wish that it will be overturned. 

What say you?

Wondering if it was just concidence times two

So, we got rained out at the Folk Festival and arrived home a bit early.

Therefore I thought I'd make good use of my time, and Justin's energy (not sure where he got it from since he'd only had a 45 minute nap all day).  BUT used it I did!   We pulled weeds.

And yes, I know you're all wondering....how can a one year old help his mom-mom pull weeds?  Wouldn't he just make the job tougher?

Well it was funny, and not exactly what I was expecting.  I was weeding the front bed which I call the kidney garden (due to its' shape), pulling out some extra poppies that had gone to seed.  Well, I left a couple, one was just missed, the other was big and still flowering.

Justin was busy crawling around, pulling the weeds out of the bucket that I put them in, and when I moved on, he thought he should crawl into the garden where I was weeding.  I figured he was just playing with his toys there, it was an open spot so I wasn't worried about plant damage.   Anyways, a minute later he comes crawling over to me with a small poppy in his hand!  Dumps it VERY proudly into the bucket and crawls on back.  I figured, strange concidence but okay.  Helpful little boy.  I told him he was a good boy for helping mom-mom.   

A couple of minutes later I hear a very frustrated cry from that little boy.  I look up to see him TUGGING away at the big poppy!  Boy was he mad!  He wanted to pull that poppy up and it just wasn't coming for him!  :)   Made me shake my head at him.    I chuckled at his determination too.    I had to move him to another part of the garden and let him see another old poppy that he could pull up before he would settle down.  Fortunately, he wasn't all that hard to distract!   For the rest of the time I was in that garden, he moved back and forth pulling weeds out of my bucket, showing me old poppies and just being a busy little boy.   

So I ask... did he know, really know what plants to go after OR was it just coincidence?  And would you expect this from a one year old?

A wish list

I found this at: http://www.geocities.com/babiesinheaven/wishlist.htm

It sums up a lot of what I am thinking about now. Granted, I don't think all these things, but I do think some of them. I thought the first couple of things most with our first miscarriage.

A Wish list

1. I wish you would not be afraid to mention my baby. The truth is just because you never saw my baby doesn’t mean he or she doesn’t deserve your recognition.
2. I wish that if we did talk about my baby and I cried you didn’t think it was because you have hurt me by
   mentioning my baby. The truth is I need to cry and talk about my baby with you. Crying and emotional outbursts help me heal.
3. I wish you wouldn’t think that I don’t want to talk about my baby. The truth is I love my baby and need to talk
   about him or her.
   
4. I wish you could tell me you are sorry my baby has died and that you’re thinking of me. The truth is it tells me
   you care.
5. I wish you wouldn’t think what has
   happened is one big bad memory for me. The truth is the memory of my
   baby, the love I feel for my baby, the dreams I had and the memories I
   have created for my baby are all loving memories. Yes there are bad
   memories too but please understand that it’s not all like that.
6. I wish you wouldn’t pretend my baby
   never existed. The truth is we both know I had a baby growing inside me.
7. I wish you wouldn’t judge me because I’m not acting the way you think I should be. The truth is grief is a very
   personal thing and we are all different people who deal with things differently.
8. I wish you wouldn’t think if I have a good day I’m "over it" or if I have a bad day I am being
   unreasonable because you think I should be over it. The truth is there is no "normal" way for me to act.
9. I wish you wouldn’t stay away from me.
   The truth is loosing my baby doesn’t mean I’m contagious. By staying away you make me feel isolated, confused and like it is my fault.
10. I wish you wouldn’t expect my grief to be "over and done with" in a few weeks, months or years for
    that matter. The truth is it may get easier with time but I will never be "over" this.
11. I wish you wouldn’t think that my baby wasn’t really a baby and it was blood and tissue or a "foetus". The truth
    is my baby was a human life. My baby had a soul, heart, body, legs, arms and a face. My baby was a real
    person.
12. My babies due date, Mothers Day, celebration times, the day my baby died and the day I lost my baby are
    all important and sad days for me. The truth is I wish you could tell me by words or by letter you are thinking of me on these days.
13. I wish you understood that losing my baby has changed me. The truth is I am not the same person I was before and will never be that person again.
14. I wish you wouldn’t tell me I could have another baby. The truth is I want the baby I lost and no other baby can
    replace this baby. Babies aren’t interchangeable.
15. I wish you wouldn’t think that you’ll keep away because all my friends and family will be there for me. The
    truth is, everyone thinks the same thing and I am often left with no one.
16. I wish you would understand that being around pregnant women is uncomfortable for me. The truth is I feel
    jealous.
17. I wish you wouldn’t say that it’s natures way of telling me something was wrong with my baby. The truth is
    my baby was perfect to me no matter what you think nature is saying.
18. I wish you would understand what you are really saying when you say "next time things will be okay".
    The truth is how do you know? What will you say if it happens to me again?

oh... and one I might add. I wish you wouldn't tell me that I shouldn't name my baby. The baby was real, and is still part of my thoughts. Having a name is important for a little person (and for their parents too).

For those who might be interested, our lost wee ones are named "dani" and "angelina'.

Personality types and parenting

I was at Mommy Life. She is a new-to-me blogger I met through the Blogger of Beauty awards.

Which led me to this:

You Are An INTJ

The Scientist You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you. You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener, with almost infinite patience. You have complex, deep feelings, and you take great care to express them. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher.

What's Your Personality Type?

Which, when I went back to Mommy life, I was lead here where I learned this:

The individual-integrity mother (INTJ)
This mom is introspective, defining her own success from within, and is generally confident in her decisions. She's unlikely to be persuaded by her kids' saying "But all the other moms are doing it." She's competent in providing for her kids' basic needs, but she's likely more focused on building their confidence. She puts great importance on independent thinking and self-sufficiency. This mom works hard and takes life seriously; she lives for those moments when she can impart knowledge and offer her kids new perspectives on life.
Stay-sane tip: It's essential for you to have a project to call your own. If you don't have a job, try volunteering to meet your need for mental stimulation and adult conversation.

Or this:

The know-thyself mother (INFJ)
Sensitive and family-focused, the INFJ mother encourages the unique potential of each child. Her aim is to help her kids develop a sense of identity, and she seeks a free exchange of feelings and thoughts to that end. In fact, she may value the mothering experience as a catalyst to her own personal growth. She is conscientious and intense, as well. Probably no one takes child-raising more seriously than the INFJ. She approaches it as a profession requiring her best self.
Stay-sane tip: Make time for yourself, try to live in the moment, and take life a little less seriously. Instead of trying to make life what it "should be," enjoy it for what it is.

I have to admit, I see myself more as "The individual-integrity mother". I really don't look at mother-hood for what it will teach me about myself. I"m more into helping Justin learn who he is, and helping him be confident and self-sufficient, and grow into a person of character who dearly loves God. The rest well...it's all part of the package right?

God acts.....a man is saved

I was reading in Acts this morning, about how Paul and Silas were imprisoned.

Acts 16:16-34. 16As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. 17She followed Paul and us, crying out, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation." 18And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her." And it came out that very hour.

19But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. 20And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, "These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. 21They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice." 22The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. 23And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

25About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, 26and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. 27When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. 28But Paul cried with a loud voice, "Do not harm yourself, for we are all here." 29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" 31And they said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." 32And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. 33And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. 34Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them. And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he had believed in God.

Paul and Silas. Two Roman Citizens. They had privileges that most people didn't have in their society. They were part of the conquering people. You needed to have a good reason to treat them like criminals.

They sent a demon out of a slave girl because she was annoying them. Paul did this through the power of Christ.

Her owners were rather annoyed by this. Imagine it....this slave girl probably brought them in a good penny or two because of her possession, and now their penny or two was gone because Paul, through the power of Christ, sent that demon packing.

As a result, they were accused of being jews, the crowd got all excited so the magistrates, instead of asking good questions of Paul and Silas, caused them to be beaten and thrown in jail. My assumption is that they were somewhat frightened of the crowd about them and just wanted the problem to go away. So, beat them, imprison them, and then in the morning when things are quieter, send them away.

BUT GOD had other plans.

First he had the slave girl annoy Paul.
Then Paul, through Christ, sent the demon out of the girl.
The owners complained, got the crowd excited and the magistrates beat and imprisoned Paul and Silas (roman citizens).

Paul and Silas spent the night in jail. They were singing hymns of praise to God and praying. The other prisoners were listening. Can you imagine the witness they had? People just didn't do that! Being beaten and imprisoned doesn't tend to leave one wanting to do anything except cope with one's own pain and misery. And here they were, praying to and praising God!

Read on to see what happened next!

26and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened.

You need to understand something. If prisoners escaped while under the watch of the jailer, the jailer would be punished. It was failure of duty. Doing so was punishable by death!

"He knew the Roman law in that case, and it was executed not long ago upon the
keepers out of whose hands Peter escaped, ch. xii. 19. It was according to that of the prophet, 1 Kings xx. 39, 42, Keep this man; if he be missing, thy life shall go for his life. The Roman lawyers after this, in their readings upon the law, De custodia reorum--The custody of criminals (which appoints that the keeper should undergo the same punishment that should have been inflicted on the prisoner if he let him escape), take care to except an escape by miracle."
see: http://www.ccel.org/h/henry/mhc2/MHC44016.HTM

So the jailer seeing the doors down assumed that the prisoners escaped and thought to kill himself (an easier death than what he could have expected otherwise). Paul and Silas would have heard the sword being drawn and called out to him not to kill himself because everyone was still there.

The Jailer needed to see this for a fact so he called for lights, saw it was true and immediately wanted to know what he needed to do to be saved.

29And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. 30Then he brought them out and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

Paul gave him the answer"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household."

They spoke further with him and his household. They believed. They were baptized. And the Jailer rejoiced that "he had believed in God".

Isn't it marvellous how God orchestrated that whole thing?

I just find it amazing how God acts. Makes me realize all the more that God does know what he is doing in all circumstances.

I would hope and pray that if God would put me into an untenable situation that I too would be able to pray and praise God. That the circumstances wouldn't beat me down. That I could be a true and faithful witness.

Cyborg Name Decoder

You can try it for yourself here.

The Woes of Having an Older Dog

Riley and Sassy (our dogs) went camping with us this past week.

Our camping neighbours LOVED our dogs.  See...our dogs... they don't bark when we camp.  They are very quiet, well-behaved dogs.   Sassy also LOVES people and is a total wiggle butt and people seem to really like that.  :)   They even seem to like that Riley is a big stand-offish until he gets to know you.   They aren't aggressive with passing dogs and they just lay out quietly watching the world.   Sassy impresses people with her frisbee and ball catching skills and.... she even did some freestyle moves for our dog-loving neighbours.

Sassy (who is our barker at home) only barked one time and that is because she was eating her supper and a neighbour (Lee) tried to visit with her.  It was more of a "hi, I'm friendly bark, but I'm eating so leave me alone."     What can I say...she was REALLY hungry (that's what comes from not eating most of her supper the night before).

Anyways, Riley spent the last couple of nights we were camping OUT of the trailer.   Why?  Because he got the runs and didn't know it.   He was still lying in it when I when I asked my hubbie to put that dog out!   ICK!!!!   We were up at 5 a.m. cleaning up the trailer and TRYING to do it quietly AND then our boy woke up and well....what can I say...it was just a mess.    We did succeed though in keeping quiet.  None of our neighbours got upset with us, or even seemed to wake up through the whole mess.

It was kinda funny later on.  Riley was just a stinky mess, it had rained the night before, and I wanted him cleaner.   Riley is normally a dog who will splash through puddles and wade around.  NOT this morning!   Oh no!  When we want him too he won't!    Silly dog.     So here I am, the big meanie that I am, I make him SIT in a puddle and I swish him around in it.   Got most of the poop off, he's complaining to beat the band (whine, whine, whine).  You would have thought I was killing him!    I let him up.  I note that he's still a bit poopy so the next big puddle I have the audacity to do it again!   (repeat performance on Riley's part)

You have to understand something here.   When Riley is displeased by something...the whole world knows the life is not good.  Must be the combination husky-shepherd ...husky's are talkers and Riley talks.  Shepherds are facially expressive and Riley can pull this "Ah, life is not good look".   It was funny. BUT he was cleaner!  Not as smelly!  YEAH!!!!   yes, I know...I'm a big old meanie for washing him in a puddle....TWICE!!!

But on a sadder note, Riley has been doing this pooping thing without knowing it, much more frequently lately. I am getting tired of the cleanup - happening way to frequently lately.    And there are days when he looks like SUCH an old dog.      I don't like those days when he's looking so old and so sad.  Makes me worried for him.   And the days that he just seems to get tired going for a short walk ...   He's getting old...

I called our vet the other day to see how much it would cost to put him to sleep.  Not as bad as we thought...$35 - We'd have to bury him though.   Jim says, the backyard, a big hole and a nice marker.   It will be hard to let him go....but we're starting to think that in October (when the weather starts to turn too cold to let him out all day and early in the morning) that we'll have to say good-bye to this good old dog.

Oh...I was going to add...the last night we were camping two little coons came by our campsite.  We had supper garbage bags hanging out and they were curious.   I woke up to the "grr" noise that coons make.  They had noticed Riley out in the x-pen and where making "we're not scared of you" noises and "see how big we are" noises as they are flattening themselves to the ground.   Riley's response seemed so classic "What? I'm here you're there.  I"m not doing anything.   What?  I don't get why you're making such strange noises...."   Stupid baby coons!   :)  Made me laugh (quietly mind you so I wouldn't wake up the boy)

The Start of our Vacation

Ah...the joys of summer vacations....through the eyes of a one year old boy.    More on that later....once I get pictures that I can access at least....

My hubbie had his birthday (40th) this past Sunday and he didn't want to work on his birthday so he decided that this past week would be a great time to take off.

It worked out, providentially to be good timing.   Most folks didn't know, but at least that I know of, guessed... I was pregnant, and at the beginning of our vacation week, I lost that child.   It's our second miscarriage.  Still not a pleasant or good thing.   I had just gotten to the point of looking forward to this little one, when God in his providence, chose to take that child home.

This wee one, I called Angelina, will be missed even though we scarcely knew her.   (and yes, I know, we can't know if the baby was male or female, but the baby just seems an Angelina to me).

We took off.  Spent the first couple of nights at my mom-in-law's house since she was away pet-sitting.  I didn't feel comfortable going to a camp-ground at that point.   On Wednesday we headed up to Fanshawe Conservation Area in London.   We spent the days just kicking around.   Did some window-shopping, walked the dogs, swam at the place where Jim's mom was staying (nice pool that my boys enjoyed thoroughly), and just relaxed with each other.

My boyo just had a total blast camping this week.   He got so wet and dirty!     But I'll write more on that later.

We're off

Today we are off.   My hubbie is on holidays so we're going camping for a week or so.   Not entirely sure yet what all we will be doing, but my best guess is we'll go to a local park so that we can use my mom-in-law's backyard to store the dogs if we do a day trip.  

She's not home as she's pet-sitting so she won't have to worry about them either.  :)   This will keep the dogs safe and release us from worrying about them at the campground.  :)  I even have their food all packed for the week.  Frozen so we can thaw one meal at a time for them.

Anyways, I'll be back and I'll be sure to update you then.

Prophets

The other day I queried why God didn't use "his true men" today like he did the prophets in the past. Why a prophet in the past could call down curses on people, and have bad things happen to them and yet today's preachers...you know the ones... the ones who are truly men of God, don't seem to be able to do the same thing.

Sometimes I wonder if God just chooses to work in different ways in this time and age, or if it's a lack of faith on the part of these men of God, or what it is.

Sometimes I wonder what we can learn from the prophets of the past ... instead of just being amazed at the things they could do in the power of God.

So today I was reading from James 5 and I read these words

9Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door. 10As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.

and later in the same chapter

13Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise. 14Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working. 17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

We can learn from these men. We can see the example they laid down for us. They persevered through all sorts of stuff. They kept on keeping on for the Lord and they had results in faith. Job had his family and possessions restored to him, Elijah prayed and no rain came, he prayed again and rain came, Jeremiah was a weeping prophet, Hosea married a harlot and showed Israel their relationship with God and so forth.

We can learn from these men. We can see their patience, their suffering, their very lives laid out before God and his people. And God was so gracious to them. Their righteousness made a difference. And ours can too!

Just thought that was neat.

I'm sorta weird

Kim over at the Upward Call gave me this link.

Thanks for taking the Weird Quotient test

Of all the weird test takers:

35% are more weird,
9% are just as weird, and
56% are more normal than you!

For your hard work, here is a prize:

And we laughed

It was funny today.

Justin discovered that disposable diapers from Pampers have pictures on them!   Wow!  What a huge discovery for a one year boy.   He woofed at Grover, I woofed at Justin!   Justin looked at me in amazement.  he woofed, I woofed, he smiled, I smiled.  He woofed, I woofed, he giggled, I laughed.   We woofed at each other for a good minute.  We had so much fun with one diaper.

Who would have thought that a little boy could make a mom-mom smile over a diaper?

God, I am sure, smiled along with us. 

What is it.....

Okay, here's the situation, as we read it in 2 Kings: 1-3, the King has fallen through the roof of the house, he's not feeling good as the result and has gone to bed.   He sends a man to inquire of a false god (Baal-zebub) to see if he will get better or not.   The prophet Elijah (of the real God) meets that man along the way, tells that man that since the King sough after a false god that he will not rise from his bed.

The king was....shall we say unimpressed by that news and wants to talk further with Elijah, so....he sends 50 men (with their captain) out to bring Elijah in.   Elijah's response was simple "If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty."   And lo and behold "Then fire came down from heaven and consumed him and his fifty."

And the king sent another group out.    And it happened again.

And the king sent another group out.   But this time the captain begged "O man of God, please let my life, and the life of these fifty servants of yours, be precious in your sight. 14Behold,
fire came down from heaven and consumed the two former captains of
fifty men with their fifties, but now let my life be precious in your
sight."  (v13-14) An angel of the Lord told Elijah it would be safe for him to go with this man.

And Elijah, in person, told the King the message he told sent earlier "Thus says the LORD, 'Because you have sent messengers to inquire of
Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron--is it because there is no God in Israel
to inquire of his word?--therefore you shall not come down from the bed
to which you have gone up, but you shall surely die.'" (v16)

Later on Elijah and Elisha are on a journey from God, they come to a brook, "Then Elijah took his cloak
and rolled it up and struck the water, and the water was parted to the
one side and to the other, till the two of them could go over on dry
ground."   

Later on we read about how Elijah dies and then Elisha replaces him, and some of the first things that happen with Elisha are surprising (at least to me).   Elisha is harassed by some boys, he curses them, and two she-bears come out and kill most of the the boys.   And at his word Water from a town that was bad, was made good!  (v.19-22)

So what is it?  What's makes the difference between then and now?

These men are proclaimers of the Lord God.  They speak his words to the people.   They get angry, they sin, they do things they aught not, they do speak things that seem terrible, They speak God's word to the people.   Things happen that I just find amazing.   It makes me wonder...was it just an old testament thing?

See, my hubbie is man of God,  He's a preacher, he proclaims God's word, but he doesn't do this type of stuff.   And he truly does the very best he can to proclaim God's word to the people, and he too is imperfect, he gets angry, he sins, he does stuff he aught not, he speaks God's word to the people God has placed in his life.  And yet, I don't find him able to "split water so he can walk on dry ground", or "call down fire upon people".   Not that I mind that...not sure what I'd think if suddenly he could call down fire on truly unrepentant people just for being a solid man of God.  That would shocking and terrifying....

I just wonder sometimes...could God use people in this way again?   Why doesn't he do it now-a-days?   If he did, could you imagine how it would shake up the church?  How it would impact the world around us?  ESPECIALLY if it couldn't be explained in any other way..... Just makes me wonder.

   

He's One Year Old today!

Can you believe it's been a whole year already!?!?!?

My boyo is a whole year old!   No party today, that comes on Saturday, but he's one year old.  He celebrated by walking across the kitchen completely unaided.   Wow...what a boy!

Daddy took a picture of him eating a VERY messy lunch-time meal.  Not sure that he has it downloaded yet for me to post, but it was very messy and very full of smiles.  :)  When it's up, I'll be sure to post it...everyone needs to see a messy, smiley boy once in a while eh?   :)

Oh...he even got a present today!   One of the ladies from church stopped over with a brand new truck for him!   What fun!  :)   Justin even liked the card that came with it.  The truck of course went zooming all over the floor.   Oh boy...trucks are fun!  

Tomorrow if it's nice he'll go swimming in his pool, go shopping for his party on Saturday, and go for a nice walk with the dogs.

Silly Dogs

I have for the most part decided that we have two very silly dogs that share this household.

Two dogs: Riley older husky-shepherd cross male. Sassy younger complete mix.

We've in the past couple of months switched them to a raw food diet (actually known as a B.A.R.F. diet) that stands for biologically appropriate raw food diet. To learn more go here.

They get fed outside because, well, raw food is a tad bit messier than kibble.

We've seen good changes in them, and can do it for about the same cost as mid-range kibble.

Anyways, why are they silly?

1. We tie them up when feeding because Riley is a thief. No other polite way to say it...he is an unrepentant thief.

2. So here is Riley, he is NOT done his own food. He is stretching out as far as he can on his lead-out with his nose in the air sniffing. And then he starts his infamous woofing. I want off! I want off! he woofs! I kept telling him to be quiet.

3. I go out to see what is taking Sassy so long to eat her food. What do I find? She's guarding her food against flies! Silly dog! Just eat! I told her to go ahead, eat! Even scared the flies away. She ate! ARGH!!!!

Silly dogs!!! Both of them!!!!

Neither completely finished their meal. That's not unusual for Sassy, and a good sign with Riley. I"m testing just how much he eats, and will give him filler (rice) to help him feel full so he won't woof and beg to be let off so he can steal from Sassy. (not that it worked tonight...perhaps I'm deluded in thinking I can change him....) Tonight I gave him just a tad bit too much filler. Sassy tends to eat her quota one day, and then the next day, she leaves some behind. She's a bit harder to figure on this new diet.

I used to keep the leftovers for the next day, but have stopped doing that. I either flush the leftovers OR if it's pieces of chicken, I dump it out in the compost for the neighbourhood stray cats (at least that's my assumption as it's always gone the next morning!). Besides, whatever is eating it, the scent gets Sass all excited the following morning! Good to have a rush isn't it? (grin)

My Girlie ROCKS!!!!

The trial: Jumping for Joy Trial in Maryhill, Ontario.

The date: July 1, 2006

The judge: Billie Mclean

The organizing body: Agility Association of Canada (AAC)

The events entered: Advanced Standard, Advanced Gamblers, Advanced Jumpers.

MY GIRLIE ROCKS!!!!!  

Yes indeedy!   A hot day, camping with fireworks.  Nervous girlie.  Had a hard time settling, wouldn't eat her supper or her breakfast (needed to bribed of all things with BACON!!)   She ROCKS!!!

The night before: dropped Riley (actually on thursday night at my hubbie's mom), dropped our son at my parents (on Friday).   Headed up to the trial site.  Camped.   There were fireworks.  Sassy was unimpressed.  One of the participants drove onto a stump, that caused a kerfluffle, Sassy was unimpressed.

First the standard run.    Sassy was one of the last dogs to run.  NO OTHER DOG completed the course clean and under time.  I got a tad bit nervous at that point.  The standard course time was 67 seconds, Sassy squeaked...literally squeaked through at 66.70 seconds!   WOW... call that cutting it close.   Wouldn't have been so close if the weaves hadn't freaked her out a bit.  Took three attempts to get it right, (she kept missing a pole here and there).  BUT she did it.  She got those poles completed, she picked up some speed, and we squeaked it through!!!  YEAH FOR MY GIRLIE!!!!

Then we had the gamble.   For some reason, I like doing the gambles but I find them somewhat nervewracking trying to figure out what I think is best to do for me and Sassy.    BUT Sassy did EXACTLY what I asked her to do, at a rather pokey speed, but everything that I asked, I had planned a bit more in case she wasn't pokey, but that would have just been gravy.... She sended with 64 points!  Yeah for Sassy.
She did the gamble!!!   She was one of I think two dogs that completed the gamble.  Comments overheard afterwards: "Nice gamble by that dog", "Good run!"

She started to relax....good dog!   :)  Ate some food!   Yeah for stressors leaving! 

The Jumpers course.   Looked challenging, proven to be in some ways to almost everyone out there.   I was conflicted about how to do the opening, to I run on one side knowing that would draw her to the wrong side of a tunnel farther down OR do I risk a harder opening and know that, that wrong tunnel will be less attractive?  I chose the latter.   So....Sassy unfortunately got a refusal at a tunnel because I didn't clearly indicate it enough thinking it was just a straight run.  BAD HANDLER!   BUT!!!!!   She still came in first!!!!!!   :)  She had 3.23 time faults and 5 faults for the refusal.   She gave it an honest try...just had a really sucky handler!     Didn't help at all that we had taken the trailer down so we could get going as soon as possible after the trial was done so she was all stressed that we were leaving and she wasn't allowed in the van.  She is such a silly dog sometimes.

Would I trial under Billie again?  Yes, I like her open courses.

Would I trial at Jumping for Joy again?  yes.  I would love to not have quite so many mosquitos, but it was a good trial.  Well run.  Met lots of nice people.   Calm, relaxed atmosphere.  They treat their volunteers decent.  Good place to exercise your dogs close by.   Just very nice place.

Part Two of the Chalcedon report

Steve over at the Hemmeke blog pointed my way to the final part of the Chalcedon's report on the RCA's problems with, and responses to, liberalism.

If you want to know more about the struggles within my larger denomination, this is a good place to start. :)