PARENTING FREEDOM

Carol | January 15, 2012

Some thoughts… There are a lot of very good points in this video/poem… BUT… He unfortunately sounds like he was raised in an authoritarian home and in a church without grace… Legalism might be a better word choice than religion in some parts of the poem… He starts out with a lot of stereotypes that are not always the case… I do think he is addressing the reality for a lot of young people who are Christian only in heritage… I do wonder about what will happen with the loss of an organized Christian religion. A house divided containing lots of little people thinking we can go it on our own… The fact is, people are like sheep. They will collect and follow a leader… Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater… The Democratic social policies are definitely not Christian… My religion IS Christianity, and the Church is made up of believers everywhere. You shall know them by their fruits…

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus || Spoken Word

What if I told you Jesus came to abolish religion?

What if I told you voting Republican really wasn’t his mission?

What if I told you “Republican” doesn’t automatically mean “Christian”?

And just because you call some people “blind” doesn’t automatically give you vision?

I mean, if religion is so great, why has it started so many wars?

Why does it build huge churches but fails to feed the poor?

Tells single moms God doesn’t love them if they’ve ever had a divorce?

But in the Old Testament God actually calls religious people “whores”

Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice

Tend to ridicule God’s people, they did it to John the Baptist

They can’t fix their problems, and so they just mask it

Not realizing religion’s like spraying perfume on a casket

See, the problem with religion is it never gets to the core

It’s just behavior modification, like a long list of chores

Like, “Let’s dress up the outside, make it look nice and neat”

But it’s funny, that’s what they used to do to mummies while the corpse rots underneath

Now I ain’t judging, I’m just sayin’, “Quit puttin’ on a fake look”

’Cause there’s a problem if people only know that you’re a Christian by your Facebook

I mean, in every other aspect of life, you know that logic’s unworthy

It’s like saying you play for the Lakers just because you bought a jersey

See this was me, too, but no one seemed to be on to me

Actin’ like church kid while addicted to pornography

See, on Sunday I’d go to church, but Saturday gettin’ faded

Actin’ as if I was simply created to just have sex and get wasted

See, I spent my whole life buildin’ this façade of neatness

But now that I know Jesus, I boast in my weakness

Because if grace is water, then the church should be an ocean

It’s not a museum for good people; it’s a hospital for the broken

Which means I don’t have to hide my failure, I don’t have to hide my sin

’Cause it doesn’t depend on me; it depends on him

See, because when I was God’s enemy and certainly not a fan

He looked down and said, “I want that man!”

Which is why Jesus hated religion, and for it he called them fools

Don’t you see it’s so much better than just following some rules?

Now lemme clarify: I love the church, I love the Bible, and yes, I believe in sin

But if Jesus came to your church, would they actually let him in?

See, remember he was called a “glutton” and a “drunkard” by “religious men”

But the Son of God never supports self-righteousness; not now, not then

Now back to the point: One thing is vital to mention

How Jesus and religion are on opposite spectrums

See, one’s the work of God, but one’s a man-made invention

See, one is the cure, but the other’s the infection

See, because religion says “do,” Jesus says “done”

Religion says “slave,” Jesus says “son”

Religion puts you in bondage while Jesus sets you free

Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see

And that’s why religion and Jesus are two different clans

Religion is man searching for God; Christianity is God searching for man

Which is why salvation is freely mine, and forgiveness is my own

Not based on my merits but Jesus’ obedience alone

Because he took the crown of thorns, and the blood dripped down his face

He took what we all deserved; I guess that’s why you call it “grace”

And while being murdered he yelled, “Father forgive them; they know not what they do”

Because when he was dangling on that cross, he was thinking of you

And he absorbed all your sin, and he buried it in the tomb

Which is why I’m kneeling at the cross, saying, “Come on! There’s room!”

So for religion, no, I hate it; in fact, I literally resent it

Because when Jesus said, “It is finished,” I believe he meant it

‘Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus’: Controversial Viral Video Logs 10 Million Hits in Four Days
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/why-i-hate-religion-but-love-jesus-controversial-viral-video-logs-10-million-hits-in-four-days/

UPDATED TO ADD:
Why I Love Religion, And Love Jesus || Spoken Word

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Carol | January 15, 2012

Tim Tebow – Born a Preacher
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/01/tim-tebow-born-a-preacher/

“More than 24 years ago, Pam and her husband Bob were serving as missionaries in the Philippines and praying for a fifth child. Pam contracted amoebic dysentery, an infection of the intestine caused by a parasite found in contaminated food or drink. She went into a coma and was treated with strong antibiotics before they discovered she was pregnant. Doctors suggested that she consider aborting the baby for her own safety and told her that the medicines had caused irreversible damage to her baby. She refused the abortion and cited her Christian faith as the reason for her hope that her son would be born without the devastating disabilities physicians predicted.”

“While pregnant, Pam nearly lost their baby four times but refused to consider abortion. She recalled making a pledge to God with her husband: If you will give us a son, we’ll name him Timothy and we’ll make him a preacher.”

“Pam ultimately spent the last two months of her pregnancy in bed and eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy August 14, 1987. Pam’s youngest son is indeed a preacher. He preaches in prisons, makes hospital visits, and serves with his father’s ministry in the Philippines. He also plays football. Pam’s son is Tim Tebow.”

Focus on the Family made this ad that played during the big game last night:

John 3:16 ["For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."]

Category: Abortion, Christianity | No Comments »
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Carol | January 15, 2012

American Evangelicals beginning to rethink birth control, argues author of new book
http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/american-evangelicals-beginning-to-rethink-birth-control-argues-author-of-n

“Mid-twentieth-century evangelical leaders followed the mainstream and bought into birth control, and, briefly, abortion…”

“‘Raised within a religious movement that has almost uniformly condemned abortion, many young evangelicals have begun to ask whether abortion can be neatly isolated from the issue of contraception,” reads the publisher’s description of the book. “A significant number of evangelical families have, over the last several decades, rejected the use of birth control and returned decisions regarding family size to God…’”

“At a Christian conference last October in Chicago, Carlson spoke about what he called a simple truth, namely that ‘faithful Christian communities produce an abundance of children, and in doing so, they change this world.’ He also pointed out that since the inception of Christianity there has been what he called a consistent ‘reproductive consensus’ that those of Christian belief oppose abortion, infanticide, a contraceptive mentality, and easy divorce.”

Category: Abortion, Christianity, Family Planning | 1 Comment »
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Carol | January 9, 2012

Football. I’ve never watched five minutes of the game. I don’t know the name of any football player (except maybe Kathy Gifford’s husband, but that was due to scandal, not football, and surely he’s retired?) until now. Tim Tebow. I still don’t watch football, but the way the media and his fans are responding to this man’s demonstrative Christianity is jolly good fun.

It wasn’t Tebow’s amazing play yesterday (so I hear) that brought me to blog about it, but rather the “coincidence” of the numbers of the play. 3:16.

Tebow’s Win In Biblical Terms — Stats Match His Favorite Verse, John 3:16
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/tebows-win-in-biblical-terms-john-316/

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

And I thought the people went nuts BEFORE the game! LOL

TEBOWMANIA – Tim Tebow’s grand entrance!

Watch Tebow beat the Steelers in overtime
http://www.therightscoop.com/watch-tebow-beat-the-steelers-in-overtime/

Uh, I don’t have a category for this. Sports?! LOL I’ll put it under Christianity and Inspiration. ‘Cause surely there won’t be more Sports!

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Carol | January 8, 2012

Might As Well Face It, You’re Addicted To Law
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tullian/2012/01/05/might-as-well-face-it-youre-addicted-to-law/

“The law offends us because it tells us what to do–and we hate anyone telling us what to do, most of the time. But, ironically, grace offends us even more because it tells us that there’s nothing we can do, that everything has already been done…”

I love the reminder that we are not in control. And you can’t control other people and make them do what you want them to do or make them believe what you think they should believe.

I love the reminder that “It is finished.”

“It amazes me that you will hear great concern from inside the church about ‘too much grace’ but rarely will you ever hear great concern from inside the church about ‘too many rules.’”

And THAT certainly applies to parenting.

Hat Tip:
http://www.thatmom.com/

This is a link to one of my favorite posts on this topic – not because of what I wrote, but because of the quotes.

“The glorious freedom of the children of God.”
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/03/08/the-glorious-freedom-of-the-children-of-god/

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Carol | January 2, 2012

Teen Died on Christmas, Left Behind Candid Message on YouTube
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20557271,00.html

This is my story (Part 1)

This is my story (Part 2)

Edited to add:
Ben Breedlove funeral — sister Ally’s speech

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Carol | December 25, 2011

I hope to collect some of the following recommended resources for my family. Follow the link for more information.

Samuel Martin: Books that I cannot live without
http://samuelmartin.blogspot.com/2011/12/books-that-i-cannot-live-without.html

• Englishman’s Greek Concordance, Samuel Bagster and Sons
• Englishman’s Hebrew and Chaldee Concordance, Samuel Bagster and Sons
• Greek-English Lexicon Arndt and Gingrich, University of Chicago Press
• Hebrew Lexicon Brown-Driver-Briggs, Oxford University Press
• M’Clintock and Strong Encyclopaedia *
• New Bible Dictionary, Inter-varsity Fellowship, London, England
• Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, two volumes, James Hastings
• Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, two volumes, James Hastings
• The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, Samuel Bagster and Sons
• King James Bible, Newberry Edition

ESV http://www.esvstudybible.org/
http://originalbible.com/
http://www.archive.org/stream/introductiont01horn#page/2/mode/2up

Category: Books, Movies, Television, Christianity, Homeschooling Academics | No Comments »
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Carol | December 25, 2011

Scientists Say Shroud of Turin Created By Ultraviolet Lasers – A Technology Not Available Prior to 20th Century
http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/12/scientists-say-shroud-of-turin-created-by-ultraviolet-lazers-a-technology-not-available-prior-to-20th-century/

Was This Image of Jesus Supernaturally Created During His Resurrection?
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/was-this-image-of-jesus-supernaturally-created-during-his-resurrection/

Turin Shroud ‘was created by flash of supernatural light’: It couldn’t be a medieval forgery, say scientists
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2076443/Turin-Shroud-created-flash-supernatural-light.html#ixzz1hafBnmAy

Category: Christianity, Science Technology | No Comments »
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Carol | December 25, 2011

I’ve read hundreds of articles this year, but this definitely takes the cake. Wow. What a story! Keep in mind that in North America, we live in the “civilized” part of the world when we only pay professionals to dismember our unborn on the altar of convenience. We have easy access to filthy child pornography that is rampant on the internet. In our public schools, we teach our children in graphic detail how they are expected to fornicate.

“And Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized, every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.” Acts 2:38

Face to face with General Butt Naked – ‘the most evil man in the world’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1333465/Liberias-General-Butt-Naked-The-evil-man-world.html#ixzz1haQgkBsA

“He describes how he was told first by his father, then by his tribal elders that he was born to be a warrior.”

“On the orders of the elders, he was conceived and taken from his mother minutes after birth.”

“Aged seven, his father handed him to the elders who tutored him in the rituals of the priesthood…”

“The elders bring a little girl, unclothe her and smear her body with clay. The priest slays the child.”

“In a ritual that spans three days, her heart and other body parts are removed and eaten.”

“In the course of those days the priest has a vision: he meets the devil who tells him he will become a great warrior.”

“The devil says to increase his power he must continue the rituals of child sacrifice and cannibalism.”

“The initiation is complete and the priest is now one of the most powerful leaders in West Africa. The priest is 11 years old.”

“As prophesied, the boy priest grew up to become one of Liberia’s most notorious warlords: General Butt Naked.”

“He and his boy soldiers would charge into battle naked apart from boots and machine guns.”

“The initiation sacrifice that he carried out aged 11 was the first life he took out of the 20,000 deaths for which he now claims responsibility…”

“As a priest, he says, he would have a vision about a chosen child. He would tell the elders the child’s village, the family name, and certain secrets of that child known only to the family.”

“The elders would then lead a procession to the child’s house, known as ‘the House of Honour’.”

“The child would often remain oblivious until the moment came where he was taken away from the village to the altar, where he would be stripped and covered in a type of mud.”

‘As priest, I said the invocation. The child is killed. His body has different, different parts taken off…’

“Yet the turning point came. It was the summer of 1996 and his clansmen were caught up in a ferocious battle.”

“It was decided that a sacrifice was needed. As the rockets rained down, a mother brought her three-year-old daughter to him.”

“Something about the child struck the pitiless General and for the first time in his life he hesitated.”

“As he relives the moment with me, his face becomes contorted.”

“‘The child was very unusually beautiful and kind. Most of the children are brought to me by the elders, they’re crying, they’re fighting. This child was peaceful,’ he recalls. ‘I thought, “This child must not die.” I struggled.”

“‘Of all of the thousands that I killed, I wish I did not kill that little girl . . . ‘ his voice trails off.”

“He is close to tears for the first and only time. ‘Right after killing her, I had my epiphany…’”

“What is indisputable is that during Liberia’s 14 years of civil war, the man became known as one of the most inhumane and ruthless guerrilla leaders in Africa’s history.”

“After the former General Butt Naked confessed his past to Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) in 2008, one internet blogger asked: ‘Is this the most evil man who ever lived?’”

“His crimes included child sacrifice, cannibalism, the exploitation of child soldiers and trading blood diamonds for guns and cocaine, which he fed to boy soldiers as young as nine.”

“Yet today he says he is a reformed man. In July 1996, the warlord had ‘an epiphany’.”

“Having spent 14 years holding nightly conversations with the devil, he had a blinding vision of Christ who told him to end the killings and convert.”

“This was a Damascene conversion like no other: the former tribal priest and warlord is now known as Pastor Joshua Milton Blahyi.”

“Aged 39, he is married, a father of three and lives as a Christian preacher…”

“He claims he saw a white light in the shape of a man. A voice told him, ‘repent and live or refuse and die’. He believes it was Christ.”

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1333465/Liberias-General-Butt-Naked-The-evil-man-world.html#ixzz1haVlZhoj

Hat Tip: Meet ‘General Butt Naked’ — the Cannibalistic African Warlord Turned Christian Evangelist
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/meet-general-butt-naked-the-cannibalistic-african-warlord-turned-christian-evangelist/

Category: Abortion, Christianity | No Comments »
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Carol | December 21, 2011

I just watched this video of pro-lifers crashing an abortion provider 2011 Christmas party. We can learn from their courage and activism.

Hat Tip: http://www.jillstanek.com/2011/12/pro-lifers-crash-abortion-christmas-party/

I have known for some time that being active in cyberspace is NOT social activism even though I’d like to think it is. Blogging, commenting, sharing links and videos, and clicking ‘like’ are not good enough. It does no good to have the information come in one ear and out the other. Sitting alone in our homes or playing church is not Christian activism. “Maybe Christianity… perhaps… means a little bit more!” We need to get off our butts, and CHANGE the world. Go ye into all the world and spread the gospel. Be a father to the fatherless. Rescue those who are perishing.

“You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. Depart, I say, and let us have done with you. In the name of God, go!” Oliver Cromwell

Insurrecta Nex Intro

“Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5: 10-12

ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.
Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe;
Forward into battle see His banners go!

Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war,
With the cross of Jesus going on before.

At the sign of triumph Satan’s host doth flee;
On then, Christian soldiers, on to victory!
Hell’s foundations quiver at the shout of praise;
Brothers lift your voices, loud your anthems raise.

Like a mighty army moves the church of God;
Brothers, we are treading where the saints have trod.
We are not divided, all one body we,
One in hope and doctrine, one in charity.

What the saints established that I hold for true.
What the saints believèd, that I believe too.
Long as earth endureth, men the faith will hold,
Kingdoms, nations, empires, in destruction rolled.

Crowns and thrones may perish, kingdoms rise and wane,
But the church of Jesus constant will remain.
Gates of hell can never gainst that church prevail;
We have Christ’s own promise, and that cannot fail.

Onward then, ye people, join our happy throng,
Blend with ours your voices in the triumph song.
Glory, laud and honor unto Christ the King,
This through countless ages men and angels sing.

Baby Choice

Randall Terry: What Do Abortion, Kagan, McConnell, the G.O.P., and Pro-Lifers Have in Common?

Randall Terry Admonishes Pro-life “Leaders”

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Carol | December 9, 2011

Christian Scholars and Preachers Disagree on Spanking Children
http://ezinearticles.com/?Christian-Scholars-and-Preachers-Disagree-on-Spanking-Children&id=6290943

Category: Christianity, Parenting Discipline | 1 Comment »
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Carol | December 7, 2011

Polygamy’s degrading to women – end of story
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/lysiane-gagnon/polygamys-degrading-to-women-end-of-story/article2258685/

I heard at least one of the women on TLC’s Sisterwives say that if it wasn’t for her religion, then she wouldn’t choose polygamy. Cult religion, even in sects of Christianity, is not healthy.

Category: Christianity, Feminism, Politics Sharia Law, Polygamy | No Comments »
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Carol | December 7, 2011

If you think your child can go through public high school without risk, then I think you are dead wrong.

Indoctrination Story // Christine Rousselle // 11.29.2011
http://thecollegeconservative.com/2011/11/29/indoctrination-story/

Edited to add:
Is it still wrong if another culture says it is right? A teacher’s surprising discovery
http://thebestschools.org/bestschoolsblog/2011/12/03/wrong-culture-right-teacher%E2%80%99s-surprising-discovery/

Note added:
When my parents opted me out of the sex education program in school, I had to take an alternative course about values clarification and cultural/moral relativism. Since my parents had already cleaned up the schools’ sex education course, it turned out that the secular humanist values course was even worse than the sex ed. As you can imagine, the alternative books were promptly given back to the teacher, and I didn’t have to do anything (except some Phys. Ed. type of questions).

I was taught with Christian glasses at home. There is no right or wrong outside Christianity. The public-schooled and Oprah-taught masses have no idea what we will face when Christianity is completely wiped out as the law of the land.

Anthropologists, Cultural Relativism, and Universal Rights
http://home.sandiego.edu/~baber/globalethics/CulturalRelativism.html

And one more note:
Although the topic hasn’t been mentioned by many, my son has yet to come across a student who is not an evolutionist at his CHRISTIAN university.

Category: Christianity, Homosexuality, Politics Sharia Law | No Comments »
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Carol | December 6, 2011

Confessions of a Spanking Abolitionist
http://dulcefamily.blogspot.com/2011/10/confessions-of-spanking-abolitionist.html

“…I imagine that for some of the early abolitionists in the South, the process was similar. They reminded themselves that most Christians around them believed that the Bible supported slavery. They minimized it by saying that the pastor only taught that slavery was Biblical once in awhile. Mostly it was just included in passing references or anecdotes. I think that they knew and understood the culture, because they had grown up in it. They probably had people that they loved and respected who were slaveholders. They didn’t want to act out of pride or arrogance. Perhaps they tried to tell themselves that it wasn’t a foundational point of doctrine–just one of those areas where people had to follow their own conscience…”

“…But eventually, the conviction would grow in their hearts that how we view other human beings, created in God’s image just like us, our brothers and sisters in Christ, really does matter…”

“…I don’t want a civil war with my brothers and sisters. But I am firmly convinced that how we treat our children is a human rights issue. The culture in most of the US sees them as property, as less deserving of protection because of their age, as less than full persons, and then uses Scripture to justify it…”

Category: Christianity, Parenting Discipline | No Comments »
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Carol | December 6, 2011

Column: The anti-Tebow bias isn’t about football
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/forum/story/2011-12-02/tim-tebow-faith-media/51582844/1

“Their dislike for Tim Tebow is not, as they would have us believe, about his throwing motion or his completion percentage; it’s all about his open professions of faith and his goody-two shoes image. When it comes right down to it, we don’t want heroes who are truly good. We want them to fail the occasional drug test or start a bar fight from time to time. It makes us feel better about ourselves. Tebow, however, doesn’t make us feel better about ourselves. People like him make us feel a little convicted about the things we say and do. So we find a reason to dislike them. Or, when Tebow says that glory goes to God and the credit for a victory goes to his teammates, coaches, and family, we are suspicious. An increasingly jaded culture, we don’t believe that anyone can say such things and really mean them.”

“So we wait.”

“We wait for evidence that he really isn’t that good. We hope to see him kick a player on the ground, drop an F-bomb on television, or Tweet pictures of his privates. In the meantime, we always have Penn State’s Jerry Sandusky to make us feel better about ourselves.”

Rush Limbaugh: Tim Tebow’s Love Of Jesus Christ Makes People Uncomfortable

Edited to add:
Tim Tebow and the American War on Religion

Hat Tip: http://www.therightscoop.com/bill-whittle-tim-tebow-is-the-best-man-ive-ever-seen/

Category: Christianity, Media Bias Exposed, Media Rush Limbaugh | No Comments »
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