Invest in Chicken Stock

My husband is on vacation this week. Sometimes it is nice to go on vacation... and stay home. I love having him around. It is a reminder to me of how thankful I am to be married to my best friend.
My husband was looking to do research on chicken stock. NOT the kind you cook with. But the kind you invest in... or not. He did a google search on chicken and here is the first thing that popped up in google:
Subservient Chicken
(not exactly info that would cause one to go out and invest in chicken stock, but certainly a way to completely waste time.)
Needless to say, we both laughed hysterically as we gave the chicken the typed command to do the jig. I don't know. Maybe we have gone nuts... maybe I have rubbed off too much on my husband. ha.

Hand Gestures???

Upon reading this article about Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who was appointed by Reagan, and how a reporter misread Scalia's hand gesture, I was reminded of the time I was driving our family van, a 15 passenger "bus".
Our family is learning sign language and I sometimes have the children practice finger spelling by looking at a road sign or license plate or billboard and trying to finger spell it before we pass it.
Since this takes only one hand, I sometimes attempt it... while keeping my eyes on the road and when the traffic is minimal.
We have stopped doing this since the day a car sped up along side us and started making obscene gestures... I assume they thought we were doing that to them. I kept finger spelling as I kept my eyes on the road. I think, to their embarrassment, it finally dawned on them what I was actually doing... hopefully. I guess I think this because they slowed down and started driving normal. I think if they had not realized what we were doing they would have sped off trying to make more of a scene... or who knows what else.
The Scalia article also reminded me of all the times we have been interviewed by newspapers regarding homeschooling. Before we moved to where we live now, we were interviewed 4 times. We have lived where we are now for 6 months and we were already interviewed a couple of months ago. (We aren't that interesting. ha.) And if they would have shown up unannounced they may have caught us doing our work in our PJ's.
Can you hear the moans of my children after I tell them we are going to be interviewed again?
"Oh great... now we have to get ready like we are going to church and pose for pictures that they say are not posed."
"Yep."
And why did we do this? Initially it was to get the word out about the joy of homeschooling. It really is a joy! However I am S-L-O-W!!! I kept giving in thinking maybe this time the reporter will not slightly twist my words or misquote me. Ha.
Needless to say, unless I get to write the article myself, I will never be interviewed again. This has made me more discerning regarding the written words of men ( just because it is in the newspaper or written in a book, DOES NOT MEAN IT IS TRUE)... except if it be the innerrant written word of God.
As I have said before... There are no inconsistencies in the Bible... merely inconsistencies with man and man's lack of discernment regarding rightly dividing the Word of truth. SOLA SCRIPTURA!!!

Insulting and irresponsible "Bible" teachers

Who really preaches a limited Gospel
Here is an excerpt from the above link:

Apparently those who are opposed to mentioning "L" in one's sermons have been so influenced by modernism that they believe that the Sunday worship service should be targeted to the lost and just ignore the needs of the "sheep." ...But I believe that attitude of dumbing down theology because we think people can't handle it or aren't as smart as we are is not only insulting but is irresponsible as a Bible teacher.

Reading this made me praise God even more for directing our families' footing to the church we are in. Our pastor is an expositional shepherd-teacher-pastor-servant who does not ignore the needs of the sheep, but boldly preaches the Word of God expositionally... not skipping or dancing around the hard stuff. Why? It is not just because he doesn't "dance" in church or dance with anyone but his wife, but because he appropriately fears God and not man. He is not out to win a popularity contest, but to rightly divide the Word of truth. I do not write this to glorify my pastor... but to bring all glory and honor to God for providing our pastor this boldness and heart for truth.

Biblical Womanhood in the Real World

Here is a link to a free book that is EXCELLENT. It is written by C.J. Mahaney's wife and daughter called:
Mother Daughter Conversations on Biblical Womanhood
Hint: Go to page #7 to get to the contents page.

Mike from Possessing the Treasure sent me the above info.
You can also find it in Tim Challies "a la carte" sidebar. And for those new to the blog world, his site is top-notch.
Challies built my website after my 12 year old son e-mailed Challies the design my son worked hard on for me. Challies also gave my son alot of web design pointers. So I, and I have no doubt his wife would agree, that he is also a top-notch guy for the glory of God that is not just blogging to blog, but is blogging to be informative and edifying.

By the way, two of the best of the best blogspots out there right now are
Camp On This
and
Fide-O

Virtual Dissection & a Good Hearty Chuckle

I remember my husband coming home his first year of medical school smelling like formaldehyde. It was intense. I also remember the day I worked hard to prepare his favorite dinner, teriyaki salmon. The problem was that he just got done dissecting an organ that reminded him of... salmon. It took him awhile to ever eat salmon again after that. As a homeschooler we love doing dissections. My boys are interested in science. But there are people out there that gross out, faint, possibly chunder. So here is a fun way to dissect a frog for the fainthearted.
Virtual Frog Dissection

And if you are in need of a good laugh today, read:
Why Lobsters Aren't Food

I just can't write a post without including some Biblical truth:
Theology is not merely doctrine or teaching... it is putting it to practice for the glory of God.
We are not to hang up Biblical doctrine in the closet of our minds, but we are to clothe ourselves with it... we are to live it.

Top 12 Proper Posting Etiquettes to save you from learning the hard way

Tim Challies wrote something way better on blogging advice: The Wisdom of Solomon when Blogging
Mine is more of an exposure of my hard earned mistakes...
I tend to learn things the hard way and thus have had to sing songs like this, so learn from my mistakes:
(some of these mistakes I hope I have never made... some I have and might still if I am not especially fastidious... some I have witnessed on my own blog and other blogs I have read.)

1. Never use expletives nor ESPECIALLY take the Holy Lord's name in vain... If you do, BEWARE! This could be an indicator you are on a path straight to hell.

2. Never break the first rule while claiming to be a Christian... OUCH!!!

3. Never reply to an anonymous comment that is doltish or nefarious... or actually any comments that are, as such, bedraggled.

4. Never be pellucid at the expense of the Gospel.

5. Never miss the bounteous opportunities to be silent... as a woman without excuse, this one is my greatest challenge. (Particulary take this opportunity when you are sleep deprived and haven't had your morning coffee yet)
NOTE TO WOMEN: There are certain times of the month that we can be even far less discerning. Make note of those times and AVOID BLOGGING!

6. BE VERY CLEAR and don't forget to tell people you are being sincere because sometimes it does not come across that way.. Maybe S-P-E-L-L it out... like when you are being sarcastic.... For example, you do not want to have to write "I was trying to be funny" way after you have made a post or comment. If you have to write it later... it was either never funny or it has lost its potential to be funny. So put one of those sideways smily faces like this :-) or :-D. But try to avoid this ;-\ or this :-(

7. Do not compromise truth!!! ... but also learn when to shake the dust off your feet. Carry and USE the Sword... the Word of God, but be careful that you are not yielding a sharp tongue that will eventually cut your own throat.... in this blogoshere as in our daily life, being equipped with the whole armor of God is a REALLY GOOD IDEA!!!

8. Embrace the 5 points of Commentivism: (PRAY before you write and then PUSH "PREVIEW", PRAY again, and then "POST".) If you are only a 4 pointer, which in this case would be failing to pray after pushing preview, you will likely regret what you have posted.

9. Do not BLOG at the expense of your... life. Do not let it take away from your much-needed time in the Word of God!!!

10. Refer to # 8 before doing this, but it is good to post comments... but avoid asking irrelevant to the original post questions that make you look silly and then go on and on about it after you have been told to get a clue. (if you do keep going on and on refer back to #5)... and if you still do not get it, read the sidenote below.

SIDENOTE: I have had people get mad at me for not posting their comment not realizing I am genuinely trying to protect them from displaying their ignorance and rudeness of which, if they are genuine Christians or ever are truly drawn to God, will be one of those things you would regret if I did display it. Some, however, would display rude, lack of discernment comments without hesitation.

11. Try not to write a "book" when commenting on another person's blog especially whe it has alot of spelling errors. If your fingers keep on typing... cut and paste it into your own blog and make it a post. Then maybe put an excerpt in their comments about your post inspired by their post. Some don't like that , but I appreciate their thoughtfulness. (I have failed at this one... and am possibly up for an award for the longest comment on any post ever seen.)... and remember to use spell checker (you do realize I am saying that to myself...)

12. Never post or make comments when you are in the midst of an MS exacerbation. I tend to have problems with my memory during those times especially and find that I repeat myself too much because I forgot that I just wrote that very same thing either yesterday or a few minutes ago or a few months ago... can't remember. ha.

Please feel free to add more proper posting etiquettes for the sake of those new to the blog world. I have only been doing this since January 2006. Perhaps someone more seasoned will have better insight.

What it ain't ...

Go to this link to read What Calvinism is NOT

Do We Need To "Spread Love"?

Here is an excerpt from a MUST-READ POST:

...the Scriptures never call believers to such a nebulous task, a task to “spread love” or “proclaim a message of love.”...The message of God’s people is to proclaim “salvation” – deliverance from something dark and horrible, our own sin... Ephesians 2:1; 4-5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…” Yes, this is a message of “love”, but it is a “love” greatly unknown to the masses of people. We cannot afford to speak in such veiled terms, but must boldly proclaim the true essence of the Gospel, a Gospel motivated by the love of God, but a Gospel that nevertheless strikes a piercing blow to the confidence and arrogance of man; a message that is to cause a person to realize he is a sinner, and, that unless he repents, he will face a Christless eternity in hell.

A Simple Gospel and a Simple Recipe

(Disclaimer: This is a post originally written with much accumulated sleep deprivation. It has been edited now that I have slept well and had coffee. Crazy me... I forgot to include the Gospel message.)

and now the recipe......
Let the little children help you, and hinder them not.
Deuteronomy 6:7 says "You shall teach them diligently [His Commands] to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." ...AND MIGHT I INCLUDE "WHEN THEY HELP YOU COOK!" (Deut 4:9, Deut 11:19, Eph. 6:4, Mark 10:13-14, Proverbs 22:6, Matthew 18:3 )

So here is a recipe my boys and I made up one day. I'm sure somebody has already done something like it. But we especially enjoy doing this with the little ones cause it has as many ingredients as can be counted on one hand. Perhaps you can call this the "keep it simple" jelly roll. in celebration of the above link.
(Don't expect exact measurements here as I am no chef.)
1. Crescent rolls
2. jelly
3. butter
4. graham cracker crumbs (did you know you can buy these as crumbs? Oh yeah... you people probably already know that)
5. sugar

REMEMBER to do this WITH small children. It is MUCH MORE FUN!!!

Unroll the crescent roll dough things. Put a dab or so of jelly at the top of the crescent roll. Roll them up and pinch the edges so the jelly can't spew out and cause you to curse me for having to scrub baked jelly off your pan... better yet it is best to flee from sinful temptations so put foil down on your pan first. Smear butter on them. Dip them in a mixture of sugar and graham cracker crumbs. And bake till done. I like it in a 350 degree oven. I take 'em out when they start causing this delectable aroma and are, you know, brownish... but not too brownish and definitely not blackish (at that point the aroma might be nasty).

Enjoy.

Siblings are living proof that it is possible to love your enemies

Read this: But I say to you, love your enemies
It is from Tessa. The young lady I have linked to before that has 10 siblings. She and 2 boys are biological. The rest are adopted from across the world. 10 of the 11 children are teens. This was a uniquely inspiring post that you should not miss.