carol | April 5, 2010
Easter Egg Hunt
(Each child searches for his or her own color of eggs.
Completely fair with four children of greatly varying ages!)
Opening the eggs
Treats inside the eggs
Play-dough
On the way home from Nana’s delicious Easter dinner:
Two eagles were floating on icecakes.
They kept flying up river, so they could float down again.
Eagle
Click here for private pictures:
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/04/05/easter-sunday-2010/
carol | April 3, 2010
Doing the Easter story
Easter craft
Sign of spring: fly swatting sport
Spring flowers (We actually found the first two dandelions yesterday.)
Yum!
L5′s masterpieces
Candy sprinkles
More Easter cookies
Sprinkles on the floor
Twitterpated doves
C8
La di da!
The mess
Falls
Click here for private pictures:
http://parentingfreedom.com/2010/04/03/spring-and-easter-pictures/
carol | December 28, 2009
C8 and L5 decorating the little ceramic tree from Grammy G.
The Fisher-Price Nativity Scene
Our Teddy Bear Christmas Tree
This year, I surprised the children with their own trees for their rooms.
The pink is for C8 of course.
B11 and L5 have the blue one in their room.
The little trees add a new tradition.
carol | December 24, 2009
Are you struggling with trying to do better as a parent, yet still failing on a continual basis? You are not alone. We continue to sin and fail, yet we continue to be forgiven.
Read this passage from Romans with your own self in mind, and then again from the perspective of your child. Paul shared our struggles.
“We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
“So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.”
Romans 7:14-25
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
Ephesians 1:7
Repent and you are forgiven!!!! Do you realize the significance of this good news??!! Since we regularly forget this truth in our own lives, it is understandable when we forget to treat our children with grace. Rest and find joy in the freedom of HIS GRACE!!!!!!! Take some pressure off yourself as a parent as you begin the new year. Take some pressure off your children.
carol | December 23, 2009
GOD REST YE MERRY, GENTLEMEN
http://nethymnal.org/htm/g/o/godrest.htm
God rest ye merry, gentlemen, let nothing you dismay,
Remember Christ our Savior was born on Christmas Day;
To save us all from Satan’s power when we were gone astray.
O tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy;
O tidings of comfort and joy.O HOLY NIGHT
http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/h/oholynit.htm
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY
http://nethymnal.org/htm/a/f/afrglory.htm
Sinners, wrung with true repentance,
Doomed for guilt to endless pains,
Justice now revokes the sentence,
Mercy calls you; break your chains.O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL
http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/c/ocomocom.htm
O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.COME THOU LONG EXPECTED JESUS
Come Thou Long Expected Jesus,
Born to set Thy people free:
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in Thee.SILENT NIGHT
Silent night, Holy night
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace.STAR OF THE EAST
We may read, we may learn, from His birth to His grave,
The teachings of peace and of love;
For this is the King Who is mighty to save;
His grace and His love we may prove.
carol | December 21, 2009
Christmas With the Palin’s (Foxnews Dec 21 2009)
(Sounds like there will be more of the interview on Christmas Eve.)
carol | December 10, 2009
The Twelve Doctrines of Christmas
If you haven’t grown up Presbyterian, you might not recognize or understand the terms mentioned in the above song. I added some definitions from Wikipedia (not the best source, but it gives you the idea.)
Doctrine of Perspicuity ~ The infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the Scripture itself; and therefore, when there is a question about the true and full sense of any scripture (which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched and known by other places that speak more clearly.
Dichotomy ~ The belief that humans consist of a soul and a body.
Hypostatic Union ~ A technical term in Christian theology employed in mainstream Christology to describe the presence of both human and divine natures in Jesus Christ. The Gospel of John 10:37-38 quotes Jesus as follows: “…that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.”
Forensic Justification ~ God’s act of declaring or making a sinner righteous before God.
Five Points of Calvinism ~
1. Total depravity ~ As a consequence of the Fall of Man, every person born into the world is enslaved to the service of sin and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace of God, is utterly unable to choose to follow God or choose to accept salvation as it is freely offered.
2. Unconditional election ~ Before God created the world, he chose to save some people according to his own purposes and apart from any conditions related to those persons.
3. Limited atonement ~ Jesus Christ’s substitutionary atonement on the cross is limited in scope to those who are predestined unto salvation and its primary benefits are not given to all of humanity but rather just believers.
4. Irresistible grace ~ The saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom He has determined to save (the elect) and, in God’s timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to a saving faith in Christ.
5. Perseverance of the saints ~ None who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith.
Amillennialism ~ The thousand years mentioned in Revelation 20 is a symbolic number, not a literal description; that the millennium has already begun and is identical with the current church age, (or more rarely, that it ended with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 — see Preterism). Amillennialism holds that while Christ’s reign during the millennium is spiritual in nature, at the end of the church age, Christ will return in final judgment and establish permanent physical reign.
Anthropomorphism ~ refers to the perception of a divine being or beings in human form, or the recognition of human qualities in these beings
Tetragrammaton ~ The Hebrew term for the name of the god of Israel in the Hebrew Bible.
95 Theses ~ written by Martin Luther in 1517 and are widely regarded as the primary catalyst for the Protestant Reformation
Note: I believe in Paedobaptism as opposed to Credobaptism.
Paedobaptism ~ Christian religious practice of baptising infants or young children. Infants or young children may be baptized upon request of a parent who professes faith.
Credobaptism ~ A person is baptized on the basis of his or her profession of faith in Jesus Christ and as admission into a local community of faith.
Salvific Monergism ~ God through the Holy Spirit works to effectually bring about the salvation of individuals through spiritual regeneration without cooperation from the individual.
Supralapsarianism ~ The view that God’s decrees of election and reprobation logically preceded the decree of the fall while infralapsarianism (also called postlapsarianism and sublapsarianism) asserts that God’s decrees of election and reprobation logically succeeded the decree of the fall.
carol | December 3, 2009
“My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”
1 John 2:1“I think that if God forgives us we must forgive ourselves. Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.”
C.S. LewisConsider this Lewis quote with my little adaptation: “I think that if God forgives us we must forgive..” our children “…Otherwise it is almost like setting up ourselves as a higher tribunal than Him.”
“God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgiveness.”
Henry Ward Beecher“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.”
Honoré de Balzac“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.”
Ephesians 1:7“You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sin.”
Psalm 85:2“For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, And abundant in mercy to all those who call upon You.”
Psalm 86:5“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
Romans 8:1“The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:8-12“I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
Matthew 18:22“Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’”
Luke 23:34“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”
Colossians 3:12-13“We find that the work of forgiveness has to be done over and over again. We, forgive, we mortify our resentment; a week later some chain of thought carries us back to the original offense and we discover the old resentment blazing away if nothing had been done about it at all. We need to forgive our brother seventy times seven not only for 490 offenses but for one offense.”
C.S. Lewis“We must forgive all our enemies or be damned.”
C.S. Lewis“Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
Mark Twain“He who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.“Forgiveness is the remission of sins. For it is by this that what has been lost, and was found, is saved from being lost again.”
Saint Augustine“I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note–torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.”
Henry Ward Beecher“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover the prisoner was you.”
Unknown“The glory of Christianity is to conquer by forgiveness.”
William Blake“You will know that forgiveness has begun when you recall those who hurt you and feel the power to wish them well.”
Lewis B. Smedes
carol | December 3, 2009
Give up on being perfect
http://catholicherald.com/opinions/detail.html?sub_id=11672
carol | November 24, 2009
Christmas Decorating and Family Christmas Traditions
http://parentingfreedom.com/2008/12/04/christmas-decorating-and-family-christmas-traditions/
carol | October 25, 2009
“Fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee.” Genesis 26:24
“For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’” Romans 8:15
Concerning Halloween by James B. Jordan
http://www.biblicalhorizons.com/open-book/no-28-concerning-halloween/
“On All Hallows’ Eve (Hallow-Even – Hallow-E’en – Halloween), the custom arose of mocking the demonic realm by dressing children in costumes. Because the power of Satan has been broken once and for all, our children can mock him by dressing up like ghosts, goblins, and witches. The fact that we can dress our children this way shows our supreme confidence in the utter defeat of Satan by Jesus Christ – we have NO FEAR!…”
“This is a good place to note that many articles in books, magazines, and encyclopedias are written by secular humanists or even the pop-pagans of the so-called ‘New Age’ movement… These people actively suppress the Christian associations of historic customs, and try to magnify the pagan associations. They do this to try and make paganism acceptable and to downplay Christianity. Thus, Halloween, Christmas, Easter, etc., are said to have pagan origins. Not true…”
“These fundamentalists do not accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of Western history, American history, and science, but sometimes they do accept the humanist and pagan rewriting of the origins of Halloween and Christmas, the Christmas tree, etc. We can hope that in time these brethren will reexamine these matters as well. We ought not to let the pagans do our thinking for us…”
“‘He who sits in the heavens laughs; Yahweh ridicules them’ says Psalm 2. Let us join in His holy laughter, and mock the enemies of Christ on October 31.”
What About Halloween?
http://thesmocklady.com/blog/what-about-halloween/
Christian Myths and Urban Legends
http://www.new-life.net/christian-myths-and-urban-legends/
UL: “Halloween was a Satanic holiday.”
Truth: “Halloween does have some roots in a pagan (not Satanic) harvest festival. But the name of the holiday, pumpkins, and Trick-or-Treat come from good origins!”
Halloween Myths, Monsters, and Devils
http://www.featherlessbiped.com/halloween/hallows.htm
The History of Halloween — It’s Probably Not What You Think
http://web.archive.org/web/20080514054111/http://www.new-life.net/halowen1.htm
The History of Halloween Part 2
http://web.archive.org/web/20071222181511/www.new-life.net/halowen2.htm
“Regardless of the position you take regarding your family’s response to Halloween, if you are concerned about the evil associations with Halloween, you can rejoice that you can ‘resist the devil and he will flee from you’ (James 4:7) and that through the cross Christ has ‘disarmed principalities and powers,’ and ‘made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them’ (Colossians 2:15).”
“I would certainly suggest using the holiday to teach our children about the triumph in Christ of God over evil. This should not be a night that we hide from in fear, but a night (like every night) when a Christian can stand confident in victory, because the One who lives in us is greater, than the one who lives in the world (1 John 4:4). ‘You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them!’ (1 John 4:4).”
“Holding oneself apart from the world is perhaps a good thing, but sometimes this is just an excuse for being afraid. We are reminded to be ‘in the world’ and ‘sent to the world’, as well as being ‘not of the world’ (John 17:15-18).”
What about Halloween? By Bob and Gretchen Passantino
http://web.archive.org/web/20050404085816/www.answers.org/Issues/Halloween.html
carol | July 4, 2009
Chicago- Saturday in the Park “Live” (1972)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTFD1C4tVIg
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
Saturday in the park
I think it was the Fourth of July
People dancing, people laughing
A man selling ice cream
Singing Italian songs
Eicay varee’, eisee’ nardee’
Can you dig it
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For SaturdayAnother in the park
I’d think it was the Fourth of July
Another day in the park
I’d think it was the Fourth of July
People talking, really smiling
A man playing his guitar
And singing for us all
Will you help him change the world
Can you dig it
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For todaySlow motion riders fly the colours of the day
A bronze man still can tell stories his own way
Listen children all is not lost
All is not lost oh noFunny days in the park
Every day’s the Fourth of July
Funny days in the park
Every day’s the Fourth of July
People reaching, people touching
A real celebration
Waiting for us all
If we want it, really want it
Can you dig it
And I’ve been waiting such a long time
For the day
carol | April 22, 2009
My youngest nephew was baptised on Easter Sunday in the Presbyterian church.
GRANT TO THIS CHILD THE INWARD GRACE
http://nethymnal.org/htm/g/t/t/g2tchild.htmGrant to this child the inward grace,
While we the outward sign impart;
The cross we on his forehead trace
Do Thou engrave upon his heart.May it his pride and glory be,
Beneath Thy banner fair unfurled,
To march to certain victory
O’er sin, o’er Satan, o’er the world.
GRACIOUS SAVIOR, GENTLE SHEPHERD
http://nethymnal.org/htm/g/s/grasavgs.htm
Gracious Savior, gentle Shepherd,
Our little ones are dear to Thee;
Gathered with Thine arms and carried
In Thy bosom may they be
Sweetly, gently, safely tended,
From all want and danger free.Tender Shepherd, never leave them
From Thy fold to go astray;
By Thy look of love directed,
May they walk the narrow way;
Thus direct them, and protect them,
Lest they fall an easy prey.Let Thy holy Word instruct them:
Fill their minds with heav’nly light;
Let Thy love and grace constrain them,
To approve whate’er is right,
Take Thine easy yoke and wear it,
And to prove Thy burden light.Cleanse their hearts from sinful folly
In the stream Thy love supplied;
Mingled streams of blood and water
Flowing from Thy wounded side;
And to heav’nly pastures lead them,
Where Thine own still waters glide.
OUR CHILDREN, LORD, IN FAITH AND PRAYER
http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/u/ourchild.htmOur children, Lord, in faith and prayer,
We now devote to Thee;
Let them Thy covenant mercies share,
And Thy salvation see.Such helpless babes Thou didst embrace,
While dwelling here below;
To us and ours, O God of grace,
The same compassion show.In early days their hearts secure,
From worldly snares, we pray;
O let them to the end endure
In every righteous way.
carol | April 22, 2009
carol | April 12, 2009
Christ the Lord is Risen Today
http://nethymnal.org/htm/c/t/ctlrisen.htmChrist, the Lord, is risen today, Alleluia!
Sons of men and angels say, Alleluia!
Raise your joys and triumphs high, Alleluia!
Sing, ye heavens, and earth, reply, Alleluia!Love’s redeeming work is done, Alleluia!
Fought the fight, the battle won, Alleluia!
Lo! the Sun’s eclipse is over, Alleluia!
Lo! He sets in blood no more, Alleluia!Vain the stone, the watch, the seal, Alleluia!
Christ hath burst the gates of hell, Alleluia!
Death in vain forbids His rise, Alleluia!
Christ hath opened paradise, Alleluia!Lives again our glorious King, Alleluia!
Where, O death, is now thy sting? Alleluia!
Once He died our souls to save, Alleluia!
Where thy victory, O grave? Alleluia!Soar we now where Christ hath led, Alleluia!
Following our exalted Head, Alleluia!
Made like Him, like Him we rise, Alleluia!
Ours the cross, the grave, the skies, Alleluia!Hail, the Lord of earth and Heaven, Alleluia!
Praise to Thee by both be given, Alleluia!
Thee we greet triumphant now, Alleluia!
Hail, the resurrection, thou, Alleluia!King of glory, Soul of bliss, Alleluia!
Everlasting life is this, Alleluia!
Thee to know, Thy power to prove, Alleluia!
Thus to sing and thus to love, Alleluia!Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia!
Unto Christ, our heavenly King, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia!
Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!But the pains that He endured, Alleluia!
Our salvation have procured, Alleluia!
Now above the sky He’s King, Alleluia!
Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!
Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!
The Day of Resurrection
http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/t/t111.htmlThe day of resurrection!
Earth, tell it out abroad;
the Passover of gladness,
the Passover of God.
From death to life eternal,
from earth unto the sky,
our Christ hath brought us over,
with hymns of victory.Our hearts be pure from evil,
that we may see aright
the Lord in rays eternal
of resurrection light;
and listening to his accents,
may hear so calm and plain
his own “All hail!” and, hearing,
may raise the victor strain.Now let the heavens be joyful!
Let earth her song begin!
The round world keep high triumph,
and all that is therein!
Let all things seen and unseen
their notes in gladness blend,
for Christ the Lord hath risen,
our joy that hath no end.
carol | April 11, 2009
FREE FROM THE LAW
http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/f/r/freefrom.htmFree from the law, O happy condition,
Jesus has bled and there is remission,
Cursed by the law and bruised by the fall,
Grace hath redeemed us once for all.Once for all, O sinner, receive it,
Once for all, O brother, believe it;
Cling to the cross, the burden will fall,
Christ hath redeemed us once for all.Now we are free, there’s no condemnation,
Jesus provides a perfect salvation.
“Come unto Me,” O hear His sweet call,
Come, and He saves us once for all.“Children of God,” O glorious calling,
Surely His grace will keep us from falling;
Passing from death to life at His call;
Blessèd salvation once for all.
carol | April 10, 2009
THE OLD RUGGED CROSS
http://nethymnal.org/htm/o/r/oruggedc.htmOn a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
carol | April 9, 2009
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5
The Scientific Death of Jesus Christ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wuat5MfE5F8
We are all sinners.
“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
We and our children deserve death.
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
That is what Christianity is all about. Jesus Christ died on the cross to save us from our sins. He took the punishment we rightly deserve.
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God — not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9
Through faith, God has given us salvation and forgiveness of sins even though we do not deserve it. That is what grace is all about.
How are Christians treated by God when we stumble and fail and sin? By grace, we can be secure in His forgiveness and acceptance, and we can trust that we will receive loving guidance and direction.
How do parents who spank their children explain the gospel to them? “Isn’t it wonderful how Jesus took the punishment for your sins? I still have to spank you because I love you.”
Author and scholar Samuel Martin reminds us, “When parents sin, they ask God to forgive them, repent and know they are forgiven. When children sin, they are judged, tried, condemned and punished.”(8)
Spanking is a punishment for the violation of a law.
Galatians 5:4 says “you are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by law; you are fallen away from grace.”
Galatians 5:18 says “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.”
“I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:21
