Z is for Zimmer Motor Vans

My dad had a van like this from when I was a baby up until about 1994.  It was blue, and I still wish we could see conversion vans like this on the road.  Newer models are much safer and easier to drive, but these vehicles were perfect for family trips. And our van was from Zimmer Motor Vans.  I don't know if that was just a dealership or a motor company, but there it was.

Y is for Young People

Here is a young person who looks even younger.  Many women say that is a good thing, but I see my five gray hairs and think they are beautiful.  I like being older.  I like being mature.

The only drawback to looking younger than 19 is that people still don't take you seriously as an adult.  You're still naive with stars in your eyes.  Now that I am 9 years older than that, I realize more that they're exactly right.  I have no clue what is going on or how to solve any problems I read about on facebook.  That does not mean I'll start watching the news.  My only news source is facebook and I need no other.

As I do get older, however, I think the main thing I'm torn in is political views.  I will never be a liberal, thank you very much.  I won't be libertarian because I'm against anarchy.  However, the last political thing I did I agreed more with the libertarians than the Republicans.  I know it's not because they were about my age.  That doesn't influence me.  I'll never support Ron Paul and will oppose their apathetic views on abortion.

But somehow, they grabbed me more than the side that I'm on.  Why?  Did I feel like the older people were not listening to them?  I think that might be it.  I certainly would love to find a middle way where there are more Patrick Henrys who go slightly too far in fighting for freedom versus the GOP who only do things based on America. 

Perhaps the GOP should do a better job of informing my generation about the policies and reasons behind their rules.  They should inform us of the lies perpetuated by the liberals but also explain why they should be on the Republican side, warts and all.  I'm definitely there for the one issue I vote on.  I would like to have more of both GOP and libertarian views so I can define my own political views based on the right decision and not just because my political party endorses it.

X is for Xt-likeness

I think this is another post inspired by Tim, but mostly it's just a post about how I realize more and more that a man and woman's marital relationship is a picture that God provided of what the Church's relationship will be with Christ.

I met Tim at a time when I was very confused about my life.  I was hurt over a friendship loss, lonely, and very depressed.  Then Tim came along and now I had a friend that gave me everything I sought in people before I met him.

The good thing is those previous friendships improved some.  It finally came to a point where I'm marrying Tim in three months and I seriously need to be faithful to him and no one else.  I can still talk to previous people that I loved, but my loyalty is with Tim who I expect to live with for the rest of my life after July 27.

It's that way with Christ.  He saved us when we hated him, worshiped other people and things, and even now we still want to keep in touch with our old idols.  But the thing is, he's our betrothed, and the previous loves don't matter anymore.  The Church needs to be faithful to Christ, the only one who can truly fulfill her.

I think I understand the Trinity slightly better since I've been in premarital counseling.  God is three people, but one God.  The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are one God, but they still have different roles, but those roles can overlap, too.  The Father thought of this whole planet and how to save it, the Son carried that plan out in a body and died for our sins, and the Spirit is God's real presence with me.

Unlike the Trinity, marriage is only two people.  One is a man and one is a woman, but we will still be one marriage.  The man is the spiritual head who provides for the family and leads it in the Lord.  The woman is the support who raises the kids and makes the man's leadership possible.  But as I see soon, I have a job and he is great with children.  Our roles are different but they overlap because we will be one flesh.

And as I slowly forsake all for Tim, there is one that I love more: Jesus.  And as he provided a friend that reminds me of him, and he is the only source of my life, I need to slowly abandon all competitors and be faithful to Christ and how he is truly described in the Bible.

It would be really silly if as I got closer to marrying Tim that all of a sudden, I would prefer to hang out with his mother.  She's a great woman and he looks a lot like her, but she's not the one I'm marrying.  I'm marrying Tim.  What if I decided I couldn't talk to Tim anymore and only sent him messages through his friends that I know through BCM?  Should I want to marry Tim if our relationship is so estranged that I have to talk to him through a third party?  How much more heinous is it when we feel so unworthy of Christ's love that we feel like we can only talk to him through a priest or try to spend more time with his mother.  They may be great people and good friends, but Christ is my betrothed, not them. 

Yes, I am unworthy of his love, but Christ pursued me and lifted me from my despair and meaninglessness.  He is the one I'll spend eternity with.  Not some special person in the Bible, not people who speak for him today, not even Tim.  He is the new Adam, and the Church is his bride, and we all carry him in us thanks to his generous gift of his Holy Spirit.  We all bear Christ, and he still dwells with us despite ourselves.  And I'm finally figuring that out because he sent me Tim makes me understand God so much better.

W is for Wedding Cake

I never thought that when I shopped for a wedding cake that I would need to know what flavor I wanted.  Or that it might need to match the colors in wedding.  I seriously thought about picking a blue cake, but my colors are green and yellow.

I now have to decide if I want to go with the cheaper cake or the thousand dollar cake.  I'd love the cheaper one but I would need to see customer reviews.  Anyway, now I need to decide on a flavor.

V is for Video Guy

I came home from two hours of studying at the Conyers Starbucks.  The thing I love about that particular franchise is the guy who sets up a desktop computer and does video imaging all day long.  He is an inspiration.  I feel inspired as I now work outside of an office and have more mobility.  I'm not confined to a desk for eight hours, and if I have to do things for friends and family, then I'm free.  I hope to even figure out how to freelance as a paralegal.

I do like having a part-time professional job without having to go to an office.  I still have to be disciplined.  I get up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, brew some Earl Gray hot.  I also take a break when my head is about to explode from reading case law.  I have yet to see how this situation goes as I get married and start a family.

U is for Utility

This is my thoughts on the article in this month's Tabletalk "When God Is Not Enough" by Scotty Smith.

"Israel's drift into idolatry didn't happen because the people became bored with the liturgy of their temple, enamored with the music of the worship bands in pagan temples, or impressed with the oratory of the new Canaanite prophet who had just moved into the neighborhood.  No one in Israel went looking for a new worship service, but for new gods to service them.  The center of worship shifted from God to themselves.  They began to worship worship more than they worshiped God -- that is, they relationship with God became utilitarian rather than doxological."

There really is only one religion in this world, and it is everything that is not Christianity as defined in the Bible.  And it is really empty.  It denies the possibility of God's judgment.  All people will graduate into a state of love.  Thing is, if we are all escaping judgment, then there is really no reason to care for the poor and the oppressed.  There is no reason to accept people who disagree with us.  Actually, this universalist mindset causes more judgment on people than if you'd agree that God will eternally punish the wicked some day and save his elect.  For the elect, he's already punished their wickedness on Jesus.  None of those people will end up in hell.

As for the utilitarian worship of God, we forget every single day that God did not create this world for us.  He created us for him - for his eternal glory and our eternal enjoyment of him.  Will God be the Lord of our lives even when it hurts or is he just going to be a magic charm to enhance our lives here?  Will we trust that the only way to salvation is through Jesus's name only - not Buddha, the Dalai Lama, Thor, Zeus, Oprah, myself, and dare I say a deceased saint and even Mary.  The latter two believed in Christ alone for their salvation and would be appalled that people put them on the same level as Jesus.  But it's not just those people.  Everybody has somebody or something that declares to God that Christ is not enough.  I get so impatient with waiting on God and decide that he needs help, and I end up betraying him and cheating myself of the only thing that is good.  I love my computer more than God.  I love my friends more than God, and I will follow them off a cliff.  I love my church so much that I will blindly follow it even when it flagrantly goes against the Bible.

This is the example of us thinking it unfair that God gave us only Jesus as our salvation and no 5-step process we can do ourselves that God can simply enhance.  We reject the freedom that comes from realizing that the world does not depend on us.  The things it offers only enslave us.  Jesus is the true freedom, and still the only way, truth, and life.  Nobody goes to the Father except through him.

T is for T-Rex

This is for the sweet guy I'm marrying 3 months from Saturday.

S is for Search and Seizure

This is the category of criminal law that I study the most.  Amazingly, researching Fourth Amendment rights leads to other rights such as the right to effective counsel, the right to appear in court, etc.  This is one issue that makes me glad to work in criminal defense because police officers really do think they can do anything and access anything.  People's private homes should be safe from unreasonable searches. 

This also makes probable cause hard to define.  Sometimes someone will have marijuana in their garage, but the police can't seize it because they have nothing more than a hunch that there is drug activity.  Police have to notice real fumes, or see it in plain view, or describe exactly what they are looking for.  Though it would be better if people admitted that they have meth and take action to not need it.  Get therapy.  Let the truth set you free.

R is for Robert's Rules

Or is it Roberd's Rules?  I'm not Googling it today.  This is a trend when you are in student government at some college.  It is there when sit in on a session meeting or at presbytery.  I was at the GOP 4th District Convention today, and there they were again.  Those same rules of order.

It does make a meeting orderly, but it's like the meetings are more based on following the rules and old information than it is on new information.  Perhaps it's because I'm in the post-modern generation where nothing is orderly that orderly meetings seem so strange.

But I introduce a motion to make that my R word for today.  Anybody second?  The floor is open for discussion.

Q is for Quiche

I made some today.  Somehow when I put the recipe on a Word Document, I forgot to put the amount of eggs.  I had to look at other recipes: some use 2, some use 5.  That's quite a discrepancy.  What I made looks good, though.  I need to taste it I suppose.  Eggs are the defining ingredient though in the same way life is more gooey when certain people aren't in it in the right amount.

P is for Phil

I've been listening to his music this week and I never get tired of listening to Wild Horse or any of his other music.

Wild Horse

Disappointment

What a Day

There, I hope all the links go to the right videos.

O is for Oh Myyyy!

This is based on a post from former Mr. Sulu, George Takei.  I definitely do not agree with him on homosexuality of gay marriage, but I agree wholeheartedly with him on this:

Somebody hacked WBC's website with the cast of Star Trek: the Next Generation saying "Jesus loves everybody; you should have expected us."

While I don't really get the message, I can't stand Westboro Baptist Church.  These people are the reason liberals attack sincere conservatives who disagree with them.  The latter just disagrees.  The former really is judgmental.

I could easily hear Jesus approaching this "church" and telling them that whoever has not sinned, cast the first stone.  Then they would stone him. 

I believe Jesus really is going to come back, and as that happens, times are going to be more chaotic.  I believe that yes, there will be judgment for the flagrant support of abortion, homosexuality, and libertinism among other things.  In fact those things are the judgment for rejecting God and assuming you know more than him. 

But we also remember that the rain falls on the just and the unjust.  Tragedies happen because this world is cursed.  All people on this earth have sinned and deserve God's eternal justice.  However, God is generous and elects many to be saved from that, placing the judgment on Christ.  WBC and the left-wingers are two extremes that both need to be stopped, and I'm certain you can negotiate with some of the left-wingers.  I doubt that WBC can ever be reached with their level of hatred and inhumanity.

N is for Neurology

David Murray has a wonderful series about mental illness.  This was sparked by the suicide of Rick Warren's son.  How do we deal with mental illness and suicide in the church?

Murray correctly highlights two extremes that have truth but are both not completely correct in describing this.  There is the "mental illness" crowd who find a situation or biological cause to everything a person does.  This group undermines the reality of sin and salvation.

The other group is the "sin" group.  They dismiss all imperfections as a result of sin and do not look at the situation.  They don't look at the person's childhood, family, neighborhood, or even diet and nutrition and tragedies that have shaped their mental function.  They don't know about depression in the family history.

The church should seek a balance between the two extremes.  Yes, death, disease, and suffering are a result of sin and our personal sins cause many problems, but there are also diseases beyond control such as cancer or diabetes, and then there is mental illness which is sometimes a crutch but is often a very real explanation to why people are a certain way.

But my heart goes out to the Warrens, the people who ran in Boston, and I hope that God brings much glory to himself in this.

M is for Martha in a Mary World

Luke 10

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus^[d] entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary.^[e] Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

Mary can sit quietly and pay attention during the sermon.  Martha has to be up doing something.  Which lady do you think you are more like?

In church sermons, we have to be Mary.  We have to sit patiently and listen to God’s Word.  The good thing is Mary was drawn to Jesus.  Jesus is captivating and relevant.  He knew exactly how to reach her.  He knew that Martha does not learn the same way Mary does.  She has to be up cooking something or cleaning something.  In fact, she can concentrate better when she’s doing something.

So, what if you are Martha and you sit in a church service that expects you to be Mary?  You still have to be like Mary, but how can you be like Martha without distracting?  Martha has ADHD.  Who else has it?  Me.  ADHD describes a person, but it does not define her.  Martha and I may have more trouble sitting still and focusing on a man in front of the room speaking, but we can still train ourselves to sit still and concentrate.  How do we do it in school?  How did I do it in church growing up?  Sometimes Mom gave me a Bible coloring book to work on.  Sometimes I would open the hymnbook and read the hymns.  Sometimes I’d open the Bible to the passage, read it, and then keep on reading until the sermon is over.  Stuff like that would keep my hands occupied and let my mind focus on the preacher.  When we get older, we can also have a notepad and take notes.  We have to make sure they have something to do with what we learned in church that day.

Church History: Crusading

The Muslims began to threaten Western Europe in the 7th century.  They started as a movement in Arabia, and now they planned to conquer the whole world starting with Jerusalem.  It was not until 1074 that Gregory VII started mentioning crusading against the Muslims in Jerusalem.  However, he did not start the crusades due to political unrest with some of the HRE kings.

Earle Cairns declares that although there were political and economic interests, the Church really did start crusading for religious reasons, and I believe it.  Islam became more and more aggressive.  Seljuk Turks moved into Israel's land.  Urban II preached and caused the First Crusade in 1095.  This was from a cry for help from the Eastern empire, and more importantly, to rescue the Holy Land.  Mostly French people responded to escape famine and feudal life. 

They achieved their goal.  They recaptured Constantinople, Antioch, and Jerusalem.  This also saw the rise of the Knights Templars and Hospitallers who helped aid the crusaders.

The Second Crusade followed when Islam threatened northeastern Jerusalem and after the Muslims had captured in Edessa.  Bernard of Clairvaux, a man I greatly admire, preached this crusade.  Sadly, this one failed and the Muslims recaptured Jerusalem.

The Third Crusade, the King's Crusade, arose under Philip Augustus, king of France; Richard of England, and Emperor Frederick.  Frederick drowned on the way to Israel, and the kings of France and England quarreled.  Richard continued the crusade.  He did not take back Jerusalem, but Saladin, the leader, did allow pilgrims to come.

Innocent III preached the Fourth Crusade and captured Egypt so that they could bring the Greek Church and Eastern empire under the pope again.  This only succeeded in weakening the East and causing more hatred between the two halves of the empire. 

Crusade Six, Frederick II negotiated with the Muslims who agreed to give Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and part of the sea to the Christians while the Muslims kept the Mosque of Omar.  The lands later fell again to the leadership of the Saracens.

In 1212, the Children's Crusade caused many children, led by boys named Stephen and Nicholas, to march to Italy to amend for their parents' failure.  Many of them died or were sold into Egyptian slavery.  Acre fell to the Muslims in 1291, ending the crusade era.

As a result of this, feudalism weakened.  Knights sold lands to the peasants to raise money for the trip, and cities began to form with a middle class, strong monarchies, and security.

This also enhanced the prestige of the pope, but also created a patriotic high that did not last long.  Raymond Lull learned Arabic and Arab culture so that he could be a missionary to them.  This began a Renaissance of learning Arabic science and literature.  Scholastics tried to synthesize Arabic learning with Christian revelation.  This did enrich the culture but also led to more compromise with non-believers.

L is for Law-induced Coma

The law is actually very intricate and complicated.  But the way it is presented is also very boring.  In my daily job of defending criminals, I go research cases and statutes.  Those cases and statutes are presented as black words on a white background.  It all looks the same.

If I can't sleep at night, then all I have to do is log onto my attorney's GA bar account and read new cases on Fastcase.  I'll be out in an hour.

I guess that is why I'm glad I don't actually work in the office.  I can take a break and get my job-induced coma out of the way.  Then I can continue to work on memos with my cats trying to help.  I hope I find better ways than coffee to stay awake on the job.

K is for Kra

Why Kra?  Because it's the ark backwards.  And I can't think a K word.  This is exciting because Answers in Genesis gets closer and closer to being done with the ark they are building in Louisville.  I hope to visit that, too. 

But the ark is the most intriguing thing in the Bible.  People have looked for it.  People thought they'd found it.  I personally think God hid it so that it would not become a relic to be worshiped. 

But the flood is the biggest testimony to God's justice on sin.   It's also a testimony of his generous mercy as he did not have to save any humans.  And most people do not want to think of God as God, who judges sin the way his holiness demands.  And denying the flood is what led to evolutionary mythology in the 1800s.  If there's no flood, then we can't explain all the fossils and canyons and such.  To explain that without the flood, they had to invent millions of years.  And since Christians decided to compromise their values in the name of science (which is not science), we accepted the millions of years of death and destruction before man existed of sinned, and we destroy the Gospel.

Death is a result of sin.  Therefore, nothing died before man was created.  Therefore, Christ died to defeat death.  If death was part of creation, then there would be nothing for Christ to save us from.
So we have to believe in the Ark and that the story really happened.

J is for Judah

This week, Tim read the account of Genesis 38, the story of Judah and his children.  This account comes between the brothers sending Joseph to Egypt and Joseph resisting temptation with Potiphar's wife. 

Judah and Joseph are compared from this time forward.  Judah forgets to let his daughter-in-law marry his son when he is of age, so she tricks him into thinking that she's a prostitute and he goes into her.  She conceives, and when he hears he says she should be stoned.  Then she lets him know that two play at this game.  He's the father.

Then there's Joseph who resists temptation and lives a godly life.  I think the best hour of your life will be spend listening to Voddie Baucham's sermon on these two guys on Ligonier's website.  Or you can read the transcript, too, but it is reward to listen to him speak.

You notice that though Joseph succeeds and remains faithful to God, he is in the worst possible situation.  He's in a pagan culture, married to a pagan wife, and living in the lap of luxury with the pagans liking him.  This is not a situation we would want for our kids.  Judah, however, remains in God's country, but slowly becomes the leader of his family, a position Reuben would have had had he not slept with Jacob's concubine Bilhah.  Eventually, Judah leads his brothers to Egypt to get food from Joseph, and the family reunites.  Joseph rescued Judah, and now Judah leads his family, willing to risk his life for them.  This only points to his descendant, Jesus Christ who redeemed us all and needed no rescuing.  But don't read this.  Listen to Voddie.

I is for Instead of a Show

There are always the people who follow Christianity and try to turn it into a bunch of rules and regulations.  They judge people for veering one iota from their dogma.  The after all their preaching and judging, they do not care about individual situations or people.  Because of this, you can tell that they don't really know God.

Then there are the people who know God and the glory of how he revealed himself in the Bible and in Jesus.  They don't get everything right, but they are actually able to follow God's law because they follow Christ.  Because Christ made them able to follow him.

So between the people who use religion as a show and people who really do love Jesus, continue to know Jesus and no other leader.  And make your love for him and for people real instead of a show.

H is for Hippogriff

I decided this for my H because I've been reading so much Harry Potter with Tim lately.  We are one chapter away from finishing the 3rd book.

But seriously, we do the most fun things as a couple and they are all quite simple.  We read, we play Ticket to Ride, Phase 10, go walking outside, go to church things together.  It really is wonderful to be in a Christ-centered relationship where we have options on what we can do.  People not centered on Christ can only resort to sensuality.  It's only one dimension.  As we save ourselves for marriage, we really do know each other and have a friendship that will last long after the Cloud 9 feelings have died down.

So if you have a boyfriend, do the cool thing and adopt a hippogriff.  Explore the many things you can do while the world only does one thing.

G is for Growing Old

It took me a while to figure out what I would write for G.  It's a day later, and I received a question last night about how I feel about growing old.

This is from someone who is always tired of people thinking she is 19.  I complain, but people say, "you'll like that someday."  Okay fine.  I still enjoy the idea of growing older.  I enjoy my life now in the present, but I think my gray hairs are beautiful, and I love older people because they've experienced so much.

My Granny passed away last November.  I heard it said that when an old person dies, a whole library burns down.  Granny had first hand knowledge of the Great Depression, WWII, the 50s, 60s, 70s, and she was a wealth of information.  My grandfather Pappy was a Merchant Marine in WWII.  My fiance interviewed him and videotaped it.  I wish I had done that with Granny when she was more lucid.  However, I just have the memories.

Anyway, the TV glorifies beauty and looking younger, but aging is a beautiful thing.  Of course, I don't have the aches that come with it yet, but there is nothing as beautiful as an older person with wisdom and experience.

The Bible: Ezekiel 25-28

This is the first week after the Bible movie on History Channel culminated.  And like I said, I want to continue this new trend of visualizing the Bible.  I happen to be reading Ezekiel this week and read chapters 25-28 today.

In chapter 25, Ezekiel denounces Moab, Philistia, and Ammon.

The next three chapters is a long lament over Tyre and Sidon in the country of Phoenicia. In chapter 28, this is the chapter that people interpret to mean that Satan started out as an angel, became arrogant, and God threw him out of heaven.

Now that I've read verses 11-19, I do now see that interpretation.  I think most of those chapters really are about the Phoenicians and their arrogance.  But verses 11-19 of chapter 28 specifically mention Eden and a person falling from heaven's height. 

I struggle with this because there is no obvious passage that tells us the origin of Satan.  It's alluded to when prophets denounce prosperous nations who have turned their backs on God. 

While those passages are vague, Genesis 1-3 are very specific that God created a beautiful and perfect world with no flaws, death, sickness, thorns, or pain.  All that occurred as a curse to the earth when Adam and Eve ate the fruit of the tree.  To blindly follow the secular scientists who were not there when the earth was created and more than the creationists were, and try to harmonize absolute contradictions of long ages of death and suffering before man even existed is to destroy the Gospel and our faith in a God who is truly good.

But here is what I know: The earth is not old.  Adam and Eve really did eat fruit God told them not to eat.  Eve really was prompted by Satan speaking through a serpent.  Satan is a real being who really is the source of all evil which will all be destroyed when Christ returns to earth.

So, God created a perfect world.  But in his wisdom, he allowed Satan to live there as a chance for his two new humans to truly decide between right and wrong, between following God's Word or following their hearts.  These were the only people ever created who had free will.  No one else has had it since then.

So we can rule out the possibility of tragedy before Adam sinned.  But we can also see that God always planned on man sinning and sending his Son to live and die in their place, and then to rise from the dead showing that evil is only a passing trend.

Why did God plan this?  He never told us.  He never really made a clear story of Satan's fall either, though it is between the lines.  God revealed enough to us that we needed to know, but there is no more we need to know.  We simply must trust that he has the only authority to define a day and that the earth was truly his prize creation and that death and evil are not natural.  They are just here for a time in God's wisdom.  We must only remain at Jesus's feet in awe at his wisdom and generosity.

F is for Fast

Today was the 5K for the crisis pregnancy center where I volunteer.  99 people were faster than me, but I did not get last place sadly.  But it was good.  We trailed all over Olde Town Conyers, this year going by Rockdale County High School.  I was also sad that the trail did not lead us through the cemetery.

Also different this year is a lot of the Refuge regulars were missing.  There were only 5 people I knew who were running and then three staff at the registration tables.  The people who did come seemed very enthusiastic to raise money for the center.

Now I just need to stop noticing my legs every time I stand up.  And also see if I can train for more 5Ks.

E is for Ezekiel Eight

This is one of the saddest chapters in the Bible.  In this chapter, the Lord takes Ezekiel in spirit to the temple and shows all the corruption going on inside it.  He also sees the perpetrators saying, "God doesn't see!"  Verses 7-18 show the image of priests in a dark room burning incense to these idol images on the walls, women on the temple porch weeping over Tammuz, and priests on another porch worshiping the rising sun.

This corruption did not happen overnight.  Probably some revolutionary guy came and told one guy that drawing images on the wall would enhance the worship of YHWH, and so he started doing it, and before you know it, there's a trend of burning incense to images in the temple when God clearly said you shall not bow before graven images.  Maybe they justified it because they weren't bowing.  I don't know. 

I don't have the time to research Tammuz, but if I recall, she was some nature goddess who died every year.  The women mourned over her at God's temple, the temple of the God who said you shall have no gods before me.  I don't know if maybe some woman came along and decided that God could be portrayed as a woman, and when seasons change, it's like she's dying.  But they find some justification for giving some woman equal or higher status to God and probably still insist that they don't worship her.

And then the men on the back porch worshiping the sun.  Religious groups have always loved nature.  I like nature.  It definitely reflects God's majesty.  However, nature is not god.  God is like the sun, but the sun is just a ball of gas he created to give light and seasons to the earth.  I think what started as spiritual nature walks slowly turned into nature worship.

These things still happen in our churches.  People will bring something like yoga, practice it in church and assure the people that they are only stretching and relaxing.  Next thing you know, they are following Hindu prayer rituals that actually invited demons into their lives, and all inside the house that goes under Christ's name, the one God revealed to the world as His salvation and God's body on earth.  The same God who said there shall be no other gods before me.

Then it slowly grows into the church accepting homosexuality, sex outside of marriage, affairs, pedophilia, following your hearts, and anti-Christians such as Oprah, Deepak Chopra, Rob Bell, and even go so far as to endorse Planned Parenthood.

Israel went into exile after this episode.  Our Church is about to undergo a serious cleansing, and it breaks my heart to see the people I love give into these new age practices and teachers without consulting the Bible.  In fact, if they read the Bible, they would be able to identify them in all their subtlety.  But I hope the ones I love still in these kinds of churches find protection in Christ's blood and his mercy to lead them away from the false practices and teachers who deny that Christ is the only way to God the Father.

D: Death is not Natural

If you read the third chapter of Genesis, you will plainly see that there was no death in God's good creation until man sinned.  When Jesus comes and takes us to the New Jerusalem, there will be no death after that.

I cannot understand the people who think that there were millions of years of death and suffering before man was created, much less before he sinned.  You people baffle me.  It was this fact alone that made me a Young-Earth Creationist.  It baffles me still that even those who believe the Bible will still insist that the earth is older than 6000 years despite the wonderful research presented by Answers in Genesis that makes long ages not only impossible but laughable.

But you must remember, if there were death and cancer and thorns before man sinned, then God's good creation would not have been very good.  And when Jesus came to save us, there would really be nothing to save us from since somehow, there was already death and sin didn't bring it.  We could no believe Paul when he says the last enemy to be defeated is death as death was in God's perfect design after all.

But I know God is good.  And I know he sent Jesus to die to save us no only from sin, but from sickness and death.  Therefore death is not natural, and we are free from compromising our faith with mythological science fiction by atheists who are not impressed by us anyway.

People will give one good argument: what about Satan?  God had him roaming the earth before man sinned.  God also is good and plans all things for his glory.  Clearly, he gave Adam and Eve what no one else had: free will.  He preferred his creatures to come to him when they have another choice, and he always planned on Eve and Adam making the wrong choice and always planned on sending Jesus to die for the sins of his elect so that the universe would know God's compassion and forgiveness, giving Him the glory.  But I'll close this with Genesis 3 and God's curses upon the sinners of Eden to show us the unnatural things that occurred to show the opposite of what God sees as perfection.

Genesis 3:14-19,
¹⁴ The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
    cursed are you above all livestock
    and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
    and dust you shall eat
    all the days of your life.
¹⁵ I will put enmity between you and the woman,
    and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
    and you shall bruise his heel.”

¹⁶ To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
    in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
    and he shall rule over you.”

¹⁷ And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
    and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
    ‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
    in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
¹⁸ thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
    and you shall eat the plants of the field.
¹⁹ By the sweat of your face
    you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
    for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
    and to dust you shall return.”

C is for Can't Sleep

So, it's not exactly a bad reason I can't sleep.  It was my birthday today, so for lunch I had a whole lasagna, and for dinner I had a shake from Steak and Shake.  I think this is why I'm not tired plus the hour nap I took at 2:30.

But I did visualize what I want in a wedding reception.  Once I realized that it does not need to be a full sit-down meal, a load went off my shoulders.  Now thinking of a wedding is keeping me up.

I am very blessed this year.  For so long I've wanted a companion to go through my life with me.  I did not find that person until this year.  Before I met many people who were friends but did not keep in touch with me.  I tried to make some people a companion and they thought I wanted more.  Now, Tim is here, his family absolutely loves me, I feel whole again, and I thank God every day for him.

My only thing now is to continue to love God more.  No person is worth the exuberant praise I could give them.  They are simply gifts from God.  But God is worthy, and I praise him for the people he sent into my life in the past year who brought me back to confidence when I was hurting.  The people who didn't abandon me in my most insane times.

B is for Bible movie and Birthday

It's April 2, my birthday!  And that means the Bible movie from History is coming onto DVD!

My birthday wish: for you to read the actual Bible.  Roma Downey and her husband did the best job trying to honor the Word of God despite the countless liberties taken.  They did show that man is truly sinful, that Jesus is truly God (finally, when he told the Pharisees "I am"), and that he's truly alive.  I loved the last hour of the resurrection and Acts.  Now, like most movies, the book is even better.

I think I was more offended by their sponsors.  I think both Roman and Protestant Catholics can both uproar when they showed a frickin' IUD commercial!  AGGHHH!  Why did they show that during the Bible movie?  I bet they even had a Catholic Come Home commercial right after it.  It's like, even History Channel can find better, more respectful ways to support abortifacient techniques.

There's also the honorable mention of Wal-Mart, Captain Morgan, DirecTV, and a millions Christian Mingle commercials.

And finally, they had a PSA for "No Church Left Behind."  Who should be in charge of that but TD Jakes?  The same TD Jakes who does not believe the three members of the Trinity co-existed from eternity as 3 persons but one God.  He preaches prosperity ministries that always leave people dissatisfied with God.  And Roma and Mr. Roma want to continue the Bible TV-series with "experts" like Jakes and Rick Warren.  AAAGGGHHH!  We have so many good theologians out there such as R.C. Sproul and Voddie Baucham.  Why do we need the aforementioned Bozos? 

But yeah, it's my Birthday.  Read the real Bible and see how fulfilling it really is.

A is for Achoo

It looks like I'm going to unofficially do the A to Z challenge for April.  I don't have the logo on my website, but I can still do it.

A is for Achoo. This is a video of my cats.  Most of the time they are eating, but at the end, there's some action, and they show one of the many reasons I love them.

My cats, Leah and Rachel, are the first best thing that happened to me last year.  First as in chronological order.  With pets, you have more to talk about with people.  With pets, you start to realize some of God's love.  One cat, Rachel, is a southern belle and kind of ditzy.  Leah, on the other hand, is always in trouble.  I still let them live with me and still delight in them because they're like sheep without a shepherd, you can't really train them, or at least I don't have the patience to do so in a consistent manner, and you must find many ways to get them to stop some of their bad habits.

But they're my ninny-heads, and they are here to stay.