No Wonder unNatural Family Planning Doesn't Work!
No 'safe' time to avoid pregnancy
'Flabbergasted' scientists find they've been all wrong on ovulation
Sharon Kirkey
CanWest News Service
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
In a finding that is expected to rewrite medical textbooks, Canadian researchers have discovered that, for many women hoping to avoid pregnancy, there is no "safe" time for sex.
For 50 years, doctors have believed that about a dozen follicles, or egg sacs, grow at one time during a woman's menstrual cycle. From this group, only one follicle actually bursts and releases an egg, while the others shrivel and die.
But, in a finding that left even researchers "flabbergasted," University of Saskatchewan scientists have found this pattern of follicular development actually occurs two to three separate times during a woman's menstrual cycle. What's more, 40 per cent of women have the biological potential to ovulate more than once during a cycle.
"The old idea of one time per cycle is wrong," says senior author Dr. Roger Pierson, director of the Reproductive Biology Research Unit at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.
The results help explain for the first time why some women get pregnant while on birth control pills, and why the window for safe sex may not exist at all for many women -- because there may always be an egg sac waiting to release an egg.
"We all know people trying to use natural family planning, and we have a word for those people. We call them parents," he said.
The discovery could lead to more effective contraceptives and could boost success rates for women undergoing expensive and invasive high-tech infertility treatments.
The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, is published this week in the journal Fertility and Sterility.
For decades, the medical dogma held that a woman's ovaries behaved "one very certain, very specific, very predictable way," Dr. Pierson says. Normally, women have a 28-day menstrual cycle, and the belief was that most women ovulate once, around day 14. The cycle begins on the first day of bleeding. By about day five, the theory held, about 15 to 20 egg sacs start to mature and then, by day 14, the most mature follicle ruptures, releasing an egg.
But, those assumptions were largely based on blood samples and menstrual diaries. "We actually looked at the ovaries to find out what they were doing during the cycles," Dr. Pierson says.
The team tracked 50 women with normal menstrual cycles who volunteered to undergo high-resolution ultrasound every day for a month so researchers could follow the fate of every individual follicle.
They found follicles grow in waves "like you see in the ocean," Dr. Pierson says.
Forty per cent of women had multiple, major waves, while 60 per cent had minor waves, followed by a major wave.
"We were flabbergasted. We knew this happened in animal models (in horses and cows), but we read the books like everybody else and they said this isn't supposed to happen in humans."
Although the women all released only one egg during the study cycle, "they had the biological machinery to ovulate more than once." Two women with abnormal cycles actually ovulated twice.
"Many women will ovulate two follicles at once, typically on the same day. That's how fraternal twins come about," Dr. Pierson explains. "But these women ovulated at different times."
He says more research is needed to determine what causes some women to experience more follicle waves than others, and how long the follicle actually has a viable egg.
In the meantime, "it tells us why some women don't get along well with oral contraceptives." Most birth control pills are based on a 21-day treatment cycle, where women take active hormones, followed by seven days of placebo or "dummy" pills, which trigger menstruation.
Another study by the same team in the same issue of Fertility and Sterility suggests women can still get pregnant during their hormone-free interval, because there's enough space in the pill-free period that allows the development of a new wave of follicles.
Some fertility experts say the finding makes an argument for a continuous pill regimen. "It questions the need for women to have a pill-free week," says Dr. Arthur Leader, chief of reproductive medicine of the University of Ottawa.
The research may also explain why some women undergoing in vitro fertilization and other fertility treatments don't respond to ovary-stimulating drugs.
"We're probably giving at least some of the women drugs at the wrong time," Dr. Pierson says.
© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Sushi
For the past several weeks my dh has been working in a little town about an hour's drive south of us, called Quesnel. Because he has to be on the job early, and because the company pays out of town expenses, he had taken a motel room there. Last week he brought one of our sons down for a little road trip and son spent an enjoyable two days wandering around the town seeing the sights on his own. I drove down on day two to pick him up and my dh took us both out to eat at a Japanese restaurant that he had discovered.
The restaurant was called the Tokyo restaurant I had this wonderful soup with Udon noodles, veggies, chicken and an egg in it with some slices of yam and potatoe in tempura batter on the side. Marc also suggested that I try some sushi for the first time. Being in an adventurous spirit (but not TOO adventerous -- I couldn't bring myself to try the raw fish sushi) I chose the California rolls with imitation crab meat (pollock), avocado, cucumber, rice and the seaweed stuff they wrap it in. I fell in love! It was absolutely wonderful. I don't know how authentic it was, but it was sure good. I even learned how to manipulate chop sticks without making a mess. BQ and Emeth would be proud of me.
Recently, my second daughter introduced me to a Vietnamese restaurant in Prince George. I have to say that the Oriental people really know how to make good soup! I had the best bowl of soup I have ever had there. It was a hot and sour soup with a clear broth and delicate flavor that I couldn't place, and it had celery, pineapple, bean sprouts, rice noodles, chicken and green onions floating in it.
The soup was too good not to try making it for my family so I went to the library and found several books on Vietnamese cuisine. There was no chicken hot and sour soup, but there were recipes for fish hot and sour soup. I suspect that the addition of chicken was an adaptation for Canadian palates. At any rate, I used the fish soup recipes as the basis for creating my own version of it and I think I came pretty close to what I had at the restaurant. It was a hit with the family. And the secret to the flavorful broth was the addition of tamarind. Mmmmm..... Think I know what to make for supper tonight!
For the past several weeks my dh has been working in a little town about an hour's drive south of us, called Quesnel. Because he has to be on the job early, and because the company pays out of town expenses, he had taken a motel room there. Last week he brought one of our sons down for a little road trip and son spent an enjoyable two days wandering around the town seeing the sights on his own. I drove down on day two to pick him up and my dh took us both out to eat at a Japanese restaurant that he had discovered.
The restaurant was called the Tokyo restaurant I had this wonderful soup with Udon noodles, veggies, chicken and an egg in it with some slices of yam and potatoe in tempura batter on the side. Marc also suggested that I try some sushi for the first time. Being in an adventurous spirit (but not TOO adventerous -- I couldn't bring myself to try the raw fish sushi) I chose the California rolls with imitation crab meat (pollock), avocado, cucumber, rice and the seaweed stuff they wrap it in. I fell in love! It was absolutely wonderful. I don't know how authentic it was, but it was sure good. I even learned how to manipulate chop sticks without making a mess. BQ and Emeth would be proud of me.
Recently, my second daughter introduced me to a Vietnamese restaurant in Prince George. I have to say that the Oriental people really know how to make good soup! I had the best bowl of soup I have ever had there. It was a hot and sour soup with a clear broth and delicate flavor that I couldn't place, and it had celery, pineapple, bean sprouts, rice noodles, chicken and green onions floating in it.
The soup was too good not to try making it for my family so I went to the library and found several books on Vietnamese cuisine. There was no chicken hot and sour soup, but there were recipes for fish hot and sour soup. I suspect that the addition of chicken was an adaptation for Canadian palates. At any rate, I used the fish soup recipes as the basis for creating my own version of it and I think I came pretty close to what I had at the restaurant. It was a hit with the family. And the secret to the flavorful broth was the addition of tamarind. Mmmmm..... Think I know what to make for supper tonight!
Cheap Medicine
When the year 2000 phobia had many of us in its grip, I acquired a book that I have come to really love. It is called, The Herbal Medicine Chest by Debra St. Clair. It is not a book about herbs and their properties. Rather it is a book about how to prepare these herbs into medicines once you have them. So far this week I have made an antiseptic throat gargle, slippery elm lozenges, and black cherry cough syrup. And they work quite nicely, thank you!
Herbal medicine is cheap, but it still costs money or time to acquire the herbs and then concoct with them. So what is the cheapest medicine available? My hands.
Or the hands of others. The other day I crunched my finger hard between two stools. After muttering incoherent sounds of anguish at the top of my voice, I noticed that my finger was beginning to swell and turn blue. I grabbed my son Nathanael and had him hold his hands on each side of the offended digit until we felt the electrical energy stop pulsing (meaning it had balanced out). It stopped hurting immediately and was back down to normal size within the hour. You can't even see any bruising two days later.
[For those wondering if I am into witchcraft, I will state categorically that I am NOT. I am a Calvinistic, Presbyterian Covenanter with no interest in the black arts. All I did in the example above was utilize the electrical energy system produced by our body to heal my finger.]
How about a cheap and fast way to relieve ear ache pain when your child is awake in the middle of the night? I used the tapping procedure called EFT the other night on my daughter Bethany. Earlier in the evening she had awakened me with a raging ear infection. I gave her tylenol and sent her back to bed. An hour later she was back howling outside my door and screaming inconsolably. So, I tried EFT. In three rounds of tapping the pain was gone and she went to bed and slept the rest of the night. In addition, she wasn't troubled with it anymore though she still had a cold.
I also used EFT to help a woman with back pain from an old injury. In several rounds of tapping, her pain, which was constant, was gone.
BTW, if you visit the EFT website, I don't endorse everything on it. There is plenty of false worldview stuff you need to sift through.
When the year 2000 phobia had many of us in its grip, I acquired a book that I have come to really love. It is called, The Herbal Medicine Chest by Debra St. Clair. It is not a book about herbs and their properties. Rather it is a book about how to prepare these herbs into medicines once you have them. So far this week I have made an antiseptic throat gargle, slippery elm lozenges, and black cherry cough syrup. And they work quite nicely, thank you!
Herbal medicine is cheap, but it still costs money or time to acquire the herbs and then concoct with them. So what is the cheapest medicine available? My hands.
Or the hands of others. The other day I crunched my finger hard between two stools. After muttering incoherent sounds of anguish at the top of my voice, I noticed that my finger was beginning to swell and turn blue. I grabbed my son Nathanael and had him hold his hands on each side of the offended digit until we felt the electrical energy stop pulsing (meaning it had balanced out). It stopped hurting immediately and was back down to normal size within the hour. You can't even see any bruising two days later.
[For those wondering if I am into witchcraft, I will state categorically that I am NOT. I am a Calvinistic, Presbyterian Covenanter with no interest in the black arts. All I did in the example above was utilize the electrical energy system produced by our body to heal my finger.]
How about a cheap and fast way to relieve ear ache pain when your child is awake in the middle of the night? I used the tapping procedure called EFT the other night on my daughter Bethany. Earlier in the evening she had awakened me with a raging ear infection. I gave her tylenol and sent her back to bed. An hour later she was back howling outside my door and screaming inconsolably. So, I tried EFT. In three rounds of tapping the pain was gone and she went to bed and slept the rest of the night. In addition, she wasn't troubled with it anymore though she still had a cold.
I also used EFT to help a woman with back pain from an old injury. In several rounds of tapping, her pain, which was constant, was gone.
BTW, if you visit the EFT website, I don't endorse everything on it. There is plenty of false worldview stuff you need to sift through.
Feeling Virtuous Today
It's early and already my laundry is all washed and hanging out. But that isn't what makes me feel virtuous.
I picked wild red raspberry leaves early this morning while the dew was still on them. They are now in my dehydrator in preparation for medicinal teas in winter. Now THAT makes me feel virtuous.
It's early and already my laundry is all washed and hanging out. But that isn't what makes me feel virtuous.
I picked wild red raspberry leaves early this morning while the dew was still on them. They are now in my dehydrator in preparation for medicinal teas in winter. Now THAT makes me feel virtuous.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Boo, Hiss
Vancouver has won the 2010 Winter Olympic bid. Now the taxpayers of this province can prepare to be soaked good and hard for tax money to build the infrastructure and sports facilities required for this event.
Why do I have this sense of deja vu? People preoccupied by sports and living decadent and depraved lifestyles?
Hail Cesear!
Vancouver has won the 2010 Winter Olympic bid. Now the taxpayers of this province can prepare to be soaked good and hard for tax money to build the infrastructure and sports facilities required for this event.
Why do I have this sense of deja vu? People preoccupied by sports and living decadent and depraved lifestyles?
Hail Cesear!
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Canada Day
Today is Canada's national civic "holy day" when all Canadians are supposed to show their national pride in their country.
I find little to celebrate in a nation that is more and more rapidly degenerating before my very eyes. In our misguided zeal for toleration, we have learned to tolerate depravity on a scale unprecedented in this country. Yesterday I read that American sodomites are flocking to Toronto to take advantage of our newly approved marriages of same-sex couples.
Abortion is rampant.
Divorce and common-law marriage rates rise each year.
Perversion is openly taught and promoted to young people in our schools even while grades in basic disciplines like math and english continue to drop.
Evangelical Christians comprise less than 6% of our population according to polls in recent years. Standards are so lax in the Church that Christianity is more of a country club with really nice versions of heathens rather than a Church militant that is shaking hell's gates.
Oh, Canada.
Today is Canada's national civic "holy day" when all Canadians are supposed to show their national pride in their country.
I find little to celebrate in a nation that is more and more rapidly degenerating before my very eyes. In our misguided zeal for toleration, we have learned to tolerate depravity on a scale unprecedented in this country. Yesterday I read that American sodomites are flocking to Toronto to take advantage of our newly approved marriages of same-sex couples.
Abortion is rampant.
Divorce and common-law marriage rates rise each year.
Perversion is openly taught and promoted to young people in our schools even while grades in basic disciplines like math and english continue to drop.
Evangelical Christians comprise less than 6% of our population according to polls in recent years. Standards are so lax in the Church that Christianity is more of a country club with really nice versions of heathens rather than a Church militant that is shaking hell's gates.
Oh, Canada.
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Birth Control and Hard Cases
It is inevitable that whenever the topic of birth control is broached, the issue of the hard case where a mother or baby's life could be in danger by pregnancy is raised. I'm not gonna comment on that directly. Instead I just want to share the story of Ida Mae Fisher.
In 1918, Ida Mae Fisher found herself ill with breast cancer and pregnant at age 43. What to do? She carried the baby but both died when she was eight months pregnant. It was a terrible tragedy and loss, not only for her husband, but for her four motherless children.
Two of her children grew up to have children and currently the number of her descendants stands at 132. Miost of these descendants are professing believers in Christ.
I am one of them. Ida Mae was my great grandmother.
It is inevitable that whenever the topic of birth control is broached, the issue of the hard case where a mother or baby's life could be in danger by pregnancy is raised. I'm not gonna comment on that directly. Instead I just want to share the story of Ida Mae Fisher.
In 1918, Ida Mae Fisher found herself ill with breast cancer and pregnant at age 43. What to do? She carried the baby but both died when she was eight months pregnant. It was a terrible tragedy and loss, not only for her husband, but for her four motherless children.
Two of her children grew up to have children and currently the number of her descendants stands at 132. Miost of these descendants are professing believers in Christ.
I am one of them. Ida Mae was my great grandmother.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Friday, June 13, 2003
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Encouraged to Pray
I find it amazing how God looks after little details for His children, and how His doing so is an encouragement to ask for bigger and better things.
The other day I drove myself and my eldest son, Nathanael, to the gym and skateboard park. Nathanael had his BMX bike with him for doing tricks at the skate park. Instead of working out in the gym, I decided to do a few laps around the outdoor track. When I was finished, I wandered over to watch Nathanael take some jumps. He did a spectacular 360 out of the bowl and then tragedy struck: he landed wrong on his foot and toppled over. I could tell something was up by the way he got up and wouldn't put any weight on his foot. He rode his bike over to me, pushing with the one good foot.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I think I broke something. I heard it snap and it really hurts!" he replied.
I helped him over to the car, and then drove to the health food store and bought some arnica homeopathic pills and then bought some ice at the 7 Eleven. From there we proceeded to the emergency department at the local hospital to be met with a full waiting room. Nathanael hopped to a chair after giving his name and we sat down to read the signs that said that the hospital was full and if people needed admitting, they would likely end up in a different hospital out of town. We also were informed that we had at least a 3 hour wait ahead of us before he could be seen.
"Oh great!" I thought, considering the fact that I had left son Ben (aged 15) in charge of his younger siblings, including 1 year old Princess Punkadunk. I called to apprise them of the current state of things and then sat and wondered what I should do. A few moments reflection led me to call my second daughter and ask that they consider going out to the house to stay with the kids until I could get home.
I guess Nathanael's foot looked bad enough that we got in to see a doctor fairly quickly. She was a tiny little woman who was bird-like in her movements. His ankle looked pretty deformed and she said that it looked pretty much like it was broken on both sides and possibly on the back, but not to worry, we had a really good orthopedic surgeon on call and she didn't think it would take much hardware to repair.
My jaw nearly hit the floor. Nathanael began to think that maybe BMX wasn't such a great sport after all as he prepared to kiss his summer job doing yard maintenance good-bye. I, in the meantime, began to feverishly make plans in my head for getting the various supplements and herbs together that he would need to prevent infection and to speed healing, and also to figure out ways of getting him some decent food.
They got him into a bed, dressed him in a horrid hospital gown, propped his leg up and stuck an IV in his arm with some demerol and gravol to help ease the pain. We sat there for a while, a thin curtain all that stood between us and the injured biker gang members who were cursing and swearing about the fight they had with the cops before being brought in to be patched up.
Before long, a technician from radiography came and we wheeled him down to the X-ray department. While he was in there, I began to lift up petitions to the Heavenly Father that somehow He would give us a miracle and have there only be a sprain and not a break.
We barely made it back to the cubicle and the doctor already had the X rays in her hands. She came into our "bedroom" with an amazed look on her face and told me to follow her. She led me over to where his X rays were and there I saw a picture of bones in perfect condition! You could see a great deal of soft tissue damage as well, but the bones were all sound. [big smile]
I couldn't contain myself. "Praise God! What an answer to prayer!" I exclaimed as I came around the corner with a huge grin on my face. The bikers, who moments before were filling the air with their profanities, stopped and grinned back at me. I helped Nathanael get dressed and we left the hospital less than 2 1/2 hours after we had arrived.
There is some serious stuff going on in my church family right now. When God answered my prayer about Nathanael's foot -- a foot that definitely looked broken -- I immediately thought, "God is encouraging me to pray with faith over this other situation." I am beginning to understand what Christ meant when talked about faith that moves mountains. I am encouraged to pray.
I find it amazing how God looks after little details for His children, and how His doing so is an encouragement to ask for bigger and better things.
The other day I drove myself and my eldest son, Nathanael, to the gym and skateboard park. Nathanael had his BMX bike with him for doing tricks at the skate park. Instead of working out in the gym, I decided to do a few laps around the outdoor track. When I was finished, I wandered over to watch Nathanael take some jumps. He did a spectacular 360 out of the bowl and then tragedy struck: he landed wrong on his foot and toppled over. I could tell something was up by the way he got up and wouldn't put any weight on his foot. He rode his bike over to me, pushing with the one good foot.
"What's up?" I asked.
"I think I broke something. I heard it snap and it really hurts!" he replied.
I helped him over to the car, and then drove to the health food store and bought some arnica homeopathic pills and then bought some ice at the 7 Eleven. From there we proceeded to the emergency department at the local hospital to be met with a full waiting room. Nathanael hopped to a chair after giving his name and we sat down to read the signs that said that the hospital was full and if people needed admitting, they would likely end up in a different hospital out of town. We also were informed that we had at least a 3 hour wait ahead of us before he could be seen.
"Oh great!" I thought, considering the fact that I had left son Ben (aged 15) in charge of his younger siblings, including 1 year old Princess Punkadunk. I called to apprise them of the current state of things and then sat and wondered what I should do. A few moments reflection led me to call my second daughter and ask that they consider going out to the house to stay with the kids until I could get home.
I guess Nathanael's foot looked bad enough that we got in to see a doctor fairly quickly. She was a tiny little woman who was bird-like in her movements. His ankle looked pretty deformed and she said that it looked pretty much like it was broken on both sides and possibly on the back, but not to worry, we had a really good orthopedic surgeon on call and she didn't think it would take much hardware to repair.
My jaw nearly hit the floor. Nathanael began to think that maybe BMX wasn't such a great sport after all as he prepared to kiss his summer job doing yard maintenance good-bye. I, in the meantime, began to feverishly make plans in my head for getting the various supplements and herbs together that he would need to prevent infection and to speed healing, and also to figure out ways of getting him some decent food.
They got him into a bed, dressed him in a horrid hospital gown, propped his leg up and stuck an IV in his arm with some demerol and gravol to help ease the pain. We sat there for a while, a thin curtain all that stood between us and the injured biker gang members who were cursing and swearing about the fight they had with the cops before being brought in to be patched up.
Before long, a technician from radiography came and we wheeled him down to the X-ray department. While he was in there, I began to lift up petitions to the Heavenly Father that somehow He would give us a miracle and have there only be a sprain and not a break.
We barely made it back to the cubicle and the doctor already had the X rays in her hands. She came into our "bedroom" with an amazed look on her face and told me to follow her. She led me over to where his X rays were and there I saw a picture of bones in perfect condition! You could see a great deal of soft tissue damage as well, but the bones were all sound. [big smile]
I couldn't contain myself. "Praise God! What an answer to prayer!" I exclaimed as I came around the corner with a huge grin on my face. The bikers, who moments before were filling the air with their profanities, stopped and grinned back at me. I helped Nathanael get dressed and we left the hospital less than 2 1/2 hours after we had arrived.
There is some serious stuff going on in my church family right now. When God answered my prayer about Nathanael's foot -- a foot that definitely looked broken -- I immediately thought, "God is encouraging me to pray with faith over this other situation." I am beginning to understand what Christ meant when talked about faith that moves mountains. I am encouraged to pray.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
Monday, June 09, 2003
Nothing Much....
...to say these days. Mostly because I can't find the time to sit down and blog great and wondrously deep things. I am finding it a full time job just to keep up with the laundry, especially since my husband bought the children a pool. I do a load of just towels daily now.
Current reading -- "Ditch that Jerk" - I have a friend who is going through divorce from an abusive professing Christian, and the insights this book and another like it (Why Does He DO That: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft) have given me into abusive marriages and partnerships has been very enlightening. As I read Bancroft's book, I realized that I actually knew men in the church who would qualify in being abusive because of their tyrannical methods of ruling their homes.
"Infectious Diabetes" -- this is a very intriguing book about the role of fungus in causing not only diabetes, but also certain forms of cancer and other diseases. What is interesting to me is that my type II diabetic dh was told by a kinesionics practitioner that he had a long standing fungal infection in his body. Hmmm... I think this is very interesting and will be pursuing my own investigations into this. At any rate, t his book explains the *why* of another book I own called "Dangerous Grains." Grains all contain fungi and their mycotoxins which can then take over the body. Basically, people who walk around with systemic candida or other fungi, are the walking dead. I imagine they would tend to decompose very fast compared to people who don't have fungal infections...
Anyhow that is it for tonight.
...to say these days. Mostly because I can't find the time to sit down and blog great and wondrously deep things. I am finding it a full time job just to keep up with the laundry, especially since my husband bought the children a pool. I do a load of just towels daily now.
Current reading -- "Ditch that Jerk" - I have a friend who is going through divorce from an abusive professing Christian, and the insights this book and another like it (Why Does He DO That: Inside the Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by Lundy Bancroft) have given me into abusive marriages and partnerships has been very enlightening. As I read Bancroft's book, I realized that I actually knew men in the church who would qualify in being abusive because of their tyrannical methods of ruling their homes.
"Infectious Diabetes" -- this is a very intriguing book about the role of fungus in causing not only diabetes, but also certain forms of cancer and other diseases. What is interesting to me is that my type II diabetic dh was told by a kinesionics practitioner that he had a long standing fungal infection in his body. Hmmm... I think this is very interesting and will be pursuing my own investigations into this. At any rate, t his book explains the *why* of another book I own called "Dangerous Grains." Grains all contain fungi and their mycotoxins which can then take over the body. Basically, people who walk around with systemic candida or other fungi, are the walking dead. I imagine they would tend to decompose very fast compared to people who don't have fungal infections...
Anyhow that is it for tonight.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Gruesome Twosome
Princess Elodie has morphed into Destructo Chick now that she is ambulatory. It is amazing how quickly she can trash a room. But she really shines when she is joined by her partner in crime and niece, Keiannah, my 21 month old granddaughter.
EEEEK! [what was that crash I just heard in the background?]
Princess Elodie has morphed into Destructo Chick now that she is ambulatory. It is amazing how quickly she can trash a room. But she really shines when she is joined by her partner in crime and niece, Keiannah, my 21 month old granddaughter.
EEEEK! [what was that crash I just heard in the background?]
Good to Go
I received the official word last night from my presbytery -- I can now resume building my practice as a kinesionics practitioner.
My career was halted in its tracks because some in my church were feeling decidedly nervous about my chosen calling. A fifteen minute search on the Internet had turned up several articles from Christian "heresy hunters" who claimed that energy therapy of any kind was a form of the occult arts. Red flags were waved and so things came to a screeching halt while I prepared a paper for my elders on the theory that lies behind most energy therapies and a positive position that demonstrated that this was indeed a lawful form of therapy (though one that hasn't received the "validation" of triple blind, peer-reviewed clinical trials).
Just a few comments on this whole episode. First, many Christians fall into the genetic fallacy trap. I happened to read a few articles on one prominent "psycho heresy" website that in a number of articles condemned various practices because they had their origins in non-Christian cultures. This would be like saying we must not drive cars because someone discovered that Henry Ford was a Satanist. (He wasn't, as far as I know.) This mindset implicitly denies common grace. It seems to believe that the only people who can make discoveries or contribute to progress are Christians. But God has revealed much in general revelation through many non-Christians.
Secondly, I found the whole trial to be rather annoying at times, but ultimately for my good. Because of the research I had to do, I now have a far better understanding of how things work and why. Not only that, I can see the overlap between various schools of healing and can see where they either do the same things in a different way, or complement one another.
It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I am now free of the dreadful burden of being accused of practicing occult arts. But I do know that it is great relief to be able to pursue my studies free from this encumberance.
If there is enough interest in this post, I may publish bits and pieces about energy therapies in general. I'm probably a real anomaly in this field -- a die-hard Calvinistic, Presbyterian Covenanter who does things normally associated with being done only by New Agers.
I received the official word last night from my presbytery -- I can now resume building my practice as a kinesionics practitioner.
My career was halted in its tracks because some in my church were feeling decidedly nervous about my chosen calling. A fifteen minute search on the Internet had turned up several articles from Christian "heresy hunters" who claimed that energy therapy of any kind was a form of the occult arts. Red flags were waved and so things came to a screeching halt while I prepared a paper for my elders on the theory that lies behind most energy therapies and a positive position that demonstrated that this was indeed a lawful form of therapy (though one that hasn't received the "validation" of triple blind, peer-reviewed clinical trials).
Just a few comments on this whole episode. First, many Christians fall into the genetic fallacy trap. I happened to read a few articles on one prominent "psycho heresy" website that in a number of articles condemned various practices because they had their origins in non-Christian cultures. This would be like saying we must not drive cars because someone discovered that Henry Ford was a Satanist. (He wasn't, as far as I know.) This mindset implicitly denies common grace. It seems to believe that the only people who can make discoveries or contribute to progress are Christians. But God has revealed much in general revelation through many non-Christians.
Secondly, I found the whole trial to be rather annoying at times, but ultimately for my good. Because of the research I had to do, I now have a far better understanding of how things work and why. Not only that, I can see the overlap between various schools of healing and can see where they either do the same things in a different way, or complement one another.
It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I am now free of the dreadful burden of being accused of practicing occult arts. But I do know that it is great relief to be able to pursue my studies free from this encumberance.
If there is enough interest in this post, I may publish bits and pieces about energy therapies in general. I'm probably a real anomaly in this field -- a die-hard Calvinistic, Presbyterian Covenanter who does things normally associated with being done only by New Agers.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
SARS Insanity
I read a lot of stuff on things medical in both allopathic medicine and alternative medicine fields. One of the big stories that is currently in the news concerns the outbreak of SARS and all the hoopla over corona viruses that may cause it. After reading the articles on SARS that are in the newspapers, I have the feeling of deja vu all over again. SARS is getting treated in the same manner as AIDS.
AIDS, as you will no doubt remember, is supposedly caused by HIV. This is despite the fact that AIDS as a disease does not follow Koch's Postulates. "What are Koch's Postulates?" Glad you asked.
1. The specific organism should be shown to be present in all cases of animals suffering from a specific disease but should not be found in healthy animals.
2. The specific microorganism should be isolated from the diseased animal and grown in pure culture on artificial laboratory media.
3. This freshly isolated microorganism, when inoculated into a healthy laboratory animal, should cause the same disease seen in the original animal.
4. The microorganism should be reisolated in pure culture from the experimental infection.
Now if AIDS is caused by HIV, we should find HIV in everyone who has AIDS. But this is precisely what is not found. And not only that, not everyone who is diagnosed with HIV goes on to develop full blown AIDS unless they are foolish enough to start standard toxic drug treatments, which incidentally, destroy the immune system.
There is much I could say on AIDS, but to save us all time, I refer you to Dr. Peter Duesberg's website.
Mass hysteria is being propagated around SARS. Influenza kills far more people than SARS does. And strangely enough, SARS seems to be killing the people who are getting treated for it in hospital. SARS appears to be another case of scare mongering on the parts of the drug pushers.
I read a lot of stuff on things medical in both allopathic medicine and alternative medicine fields. One of the big stories that is currently in the news concerns the outbreak of SARS and all the hoopla over corona viruses that may cause it. After reading the articles on SARS that are in the newspapers, I have the feeling of deja vu all over again. SARS is getting treated in the same manner as AIDS.
AIDS, as you will no doubt remember, is supposedly caused by HIV. This is despite the fact that AIDS as a disease does not follow Koch's Postulates. "What are Koch's Postulates?" Glad you asked.
1. The specific organism should be shown to be present in all cases of animals suffering from a specific disease but should not be found in healthy animals.
2. The specific microorganism should be isolated from the diseased animal and grown in pure culture on artificial laboratory media.
3. This freshly isolated microorganism, when inoculated into a healthy laboratory animal, should cause the same disease seen in the original animal.
4. The microorganism should be reisolated in pure culture from the experimental infection.
Now if AIDS is caused by HIV, we should find HIV in everyone who has AIDS. But this is precisely what is not found. And not only that, not everyone who is diagnosed with HIV goes on to develop full blown AIDS unless they are foolish enough to start standard toxic drug treatments, which incidentally, destroy the immune system.
There is much I could say on AIDS, but to save us all time, I refer you to Dr. Peter Duesberg's website.
Mass hysteria is being propagated around SARS. Influenza kills far more people than SARS does. And strangely enough, SARS seems to be killing the people who are getting treated for it in hospital. SARS appears to be another case of scare mongering on the parts of the drug pushers.
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
Queen of the Mudroom
We have a mudroom that, in spring and after a rain storm, is well named. This room, in addition to being the catchment for boots, shoes, coats, etc., is also our laundry room. Until recently, this room, the entry way into our home, was a source of great shame and disgrace because the untidy mess was the first thing that assaulted the eyes of every visitor who came to see us. Well no more! The Queen of the Mudroom has arrived.
I got tired of getting my laundry back inside out, discolored and stained, and grey. That, combined with the fact that one of the older children is now working outside the home means that I have to pick up the slack in yet another area. Generally, the children each have one chore a day that they are responsible for before rotating to a new one on the following day. This gives them training in all areas of caretaking of a home without overtaxing them or loading them down with work. But laundry was something that none of them could/would do to my satisfaction.
Now, to my great joy, my laundry is sorted properly, stains are treated properly, and everything is organized. I gain great satisfaction in seeing things neatly folded and placed in the appropriate laundry basket for dispersal to the proper owners. And my mudroom sparkles at all times. The children are learning that now that the Queen reigns supreme, they durst not leave muddy boots and shoes here and there or neglect to hang up their coats properly.
Long live the Queen!
We have a mudroom that, in spring and after a rain storm, is well named. This room, in addition to being the catchment for boots, shoes, coats, etc., is also our laundry room. Until recently, this room, the entry way into our home, was a source of great shame and disgrace because the untidy mess was the first thing that assaulted the eyes of every visitor who came to see us. Well no more! The Queen of the Mudroom has arrived.
I got tired of getting my laundry back inside out, discolored and stained, and grey. That, combined with the fact that one of the older children is now working outside the home means that I have to pick up the slack in yet another area. Generally, the children each have one chore a day that they are responsible for before rotating to a new one on the following day. This gives them training in all areas of caretaking of a home without overtaxing them or loading them down with work. But laundry was something that none of them could/would do to my satisfaction.
Now, to my great joy, my laundry is sorted properly, stains are treated properly, and everything is organized. I gain great satisfaction in seeing things neatly folded and placed in the appropriate laundry basket for dispersal to the proper owners. And my mudroom sparkles at all times. The children are learning that now that the Queen reigns supreme, they durst not leave muddy boots and shoes here and there or neglect to hang up their coats properly.
Long live the Queen!
Thursday, April 24, 2003
More Evidence...
...of the insanity that an over-sexed culture has been driven to can be found here. This makes me froth at the mouth.
One of the primary purposes of a woman's breasts is for the feeding of her infants. God designed this and it is GOOD. We are not talking about women flashing and exposing themselves deliberately in an attempt to cause lust in the male. We are talking about feeding babies, usually under the cover of a blanket. But the exclusive sexualization of a woman's breasts in our perverted culture have made that natural function an action of indecency. Grrrrrrrrr.
...of the insanity that an over-sexed culture has been driven to can be found here. This makes me froth at the mouth.
One of the primary purposes of a woman's breasts is for the feeding of her infants. God designed this and it is GOOD. We are not talking about women flashing and exposing themselves deliberately in an attempt to cause lust in the male. We are talking about feeding babies, usually under the cover of a blanket. But the exclusive sexualization of a woman's breasts in our perverted culture have made that natural function an action of indecency. Grrrrrrrrr.
Friday, April 18, 2003
Myths of Child-Rearing
A popular myth of child rearing that shows up in many circles is the myth that a mother only need be at home for the initial months, year, pre-school, or pre-teen years. The idea seems to be that if you breastfeed for at least six weeks, or are home in those important first few years, you have done your duty and may now go off and do something else with a clear conscience. Once a child reaches the age of say, 13, and is able to use a door key without losing it, or operate a microwave, mom may depart the home in search of fulfillment through full time employment or higher learning. But it ain't so.
True, children require less maintenance as they get older. Most teens don't need their diapers changed, they can feed themselves, and if you crack the whip hard enough, they will even clean up after themselves and others. But while their physical needs impose less work on mom, their emotional and spiritual needs come more to the fore. They need as much care as a baby or toddler, but they just need it in a different way.
The teen years are years that are fraught with danger, at least in our society. No more a child, but not yet an adult, they are caught in the no-man's-land of puberty where they lack the experience and discipline needed to avoid some serious mistakes. Many of us can attest to the fact that we sowed some pretty awful stuff into our lives during the teen years and we are still reaping their effects years later. It seems to me to be the height of foolishness for parents to abandon their posts at this time just because they can go out and the kids no longer need a baby-sitter.
It takes time to develop a good and lasting relationship that allows the transfer of wisdom and guidance from a parent to a child. It is hard to get this time when both mom and dad work outside the home and are both exhausted by week's end. Saturday may be devoted to catching up on household chores and maintenance and Saturday evening is a time for mom and dad to have a date in order to maintain their relationship. This doesn't leave a lot of time for spontaneous activities and heart-to-heart talks with your teen sons and daughters. And since young people can be notoriously difficult to get to talk, the necessary time it takes to break down this resistance is one thing that is often in short supply.
I am thankful for the Providence that has allowed me to stay home with my children. There will be a lot of things in my life that I will look back on with regret, but staying home for my teens won't be one of them.
A popular myth of child rearing that shows up in many circles is the myth that a mother only need be at home for the initial months, year, pre-school, or pre-teen years. The idea seems to be that if you breastfeed for at least six weeks, or are home in those important first few years, you have done your duty and may now go off and do something else with a clear conscience. Once a child reaches the age of say, 13, and is able to use a door key without losing it, or operate a microwave, mom may depart the home in search of fulfillment through full time employment or higher learning. But it ain't so.
True, children require less maintenance as they get older. Most teens don't need their diapers changed, they can feed themselves, and if you crack the whip hard enough, they will even clean up after themselves and others. But while their physical needs impose less work on mom, their emotional and spiritual needs come more to the fore. They need as much care as a baby or toddler, but they just need it in a different way.
The teen years are years that are fraught with danger, at least in our society. No more a child, but not yet an adult, they are caught in the no-man's-land of puberty where they lack the experience and discipline needed to avoid some serious mistakes. Many of us can attest to the fact that we sowed some pretty awful stuff into our lives during the teen years and we are still reaping their effects years later. It seems to me to be the height of foolishness for parents to abandon their posts at this time just because they can go out and the kids no longer need a baby-sitter.
It takes time to develop a good and lasting relationship that allows the transfer of wisdom and guidance from a parent to a child. It is hard to get this time when both mom and dad work outside the home and are both exhausted by week's end. Saturday may be devoted to catching up on household chores and maintenance and Saturday evening is a time for mom and dad to have a date in order to maintain their relationship. This doesn't leave a lot of time for spontaneous activities and heart-to-heart talks with your teen sons and daughters. And since young people can be notoriously difficult to get to talk, the necessary time it takes to break down this resistance is one thing that is often in short supply.
I am thankful for the Providence that has allowed me to stay home with my children. There will be a lot of things in my life that I will look back on with regret, but staying home for my teens won't be one of them.
Preserving a Dignified Silence
They say that it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to blog and remove all doubt. Maybe this post will confirm your suspicions that I am a fool.
There have been several things that I have been mulling over lately. One is this article that was posted on Rick Cappeza's website. Another article in the same vein that came my way (but for which I don't have a link), is the following which I will paste:
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SEX DRIVE
2003 NEW RELEASE from SILOAM: INTIMATE AND UNASHAMED
by Dr. Scott Farhart
"Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married
Rebekah. So she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted
after his mother's death." (Genesis 24:67, NIV)
In spite of God's good plan for sexual fulfillment in marriage, many men
ask the question: "Why doesn't my wife ever initiate sex?" The flip side of
that question comes from women: "Why is my sexual drive so low compared to
my husband's? These questions expose a complex issue involving many
factors; the answers are vital to any couple struggling in their sexual
relationship.
And it seems to be an issue that has only recently surfaced with the
'sexual' revolution of the 1960s. Generations past did not struggle so
intensely with the idea of unequal sexual drive. It was seen as normal for
the man to possess a greater drive for intercourse than the woman. But with
the emphasis placed on sex in our culture and the infusion of the women's
rights movement, there is a new perception that men and women should have
an equal sexual drive. When that does not manifest itself in "real" life,
both the husband and wife want to know, WHY NOT?
WHAT THE MEDIA PORTRAY IS FICTION
Men are created with a stronger tendency to initiate, while women are often
better to receive. It is within these God-given roles that men would
naturally be the initiators of intercourse and women the receivers of their
love. And there would be less problem with misunderstanding these roles if
the world hadn't interfered by injecting its ungodly "standards."
HOLLYWOOD'S INFLUENCE
On televisions and movie screens, in books and magazines, in music videos
and video games, the role is portrayed of a woman who is sexually desirable
taking charge over the man: ripping off his shirt, unbuttoning his pants
and taking control. This scenario has become every man's fantasy because it
is Hollywood's fantasy. However, this perception of a woman's role is a
complete reversal of the way God made us. This model of sexual activity
should never be perceived as the norm.
Much of the discrepancy expressed by men and women concerning sexual drive
is a matter of perception: It involves what you think you should be doing
or what your spouse wants you to do. And some of the sense of "lower"
sexual drive in women is actually a reflection of how they perceive a good
Christian woman should behave. In their proper rejection of Hollywood's
version of the oversexed, promiscuous harlot, women may unwittingly reject
the natural desires God placed within them. This lack of understanding of
what is normal and acceptable in a godly sexual relationship plagues many
women.
BIBLICAL FREEDOM
While men are routinely taught that their sex drive is a strong aspect of
what it is to be a man, women rarely receive such positive reinforcement,
especially from the Christian community. Women can confuse the godly
understanding of being submitted to their husbands with being "submissive,"
passively waiting for him to initiate sexual activity. They wrongly
interpret a desire to have intercourse with their "flesh" that the Bible
commands us to crucify.
The Bible teaches us the proper perspective to have regarding marital sex
and sets us free from the world's distorted perceptions. For example, the
apostle Paul commands the husband to fulfill his marital duty to his wife
and the wife to her husband:
"The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the
wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also
to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him
alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other..." (1 Corinthians
7:3-5)
This mutual sharing of each other's body as taught by the Scriptures gives
freedom to the Christian couple to understand that both the man and the
woman have a right to have sex without fearing they are somehow displeasing
God. The apostle Paul warns them not to deprive one another, except for a
period of time they would devote to prayer, lest Satan tempt them to be
unfaithful (1 Cor. 7:5).
Just discovering this truth can increase a woman's sexual desire for her
husband because she now realizes she has a right to it. And a husband's
understanding of the God-given differences between the initiator he is and
the receiver she is may give him more reasonable (godly) expectations of his wife.
THE ROLE OF HORMONES
There is another important difference between men and women that affects
the natural sex drive - the hormone testosterone. In men, testosterone is
the primary sex hormone, whereas in women it is a very small part of their
hormonal makeup. Testosterone fuels the sexual drive, so the differences in
levels of testosterone between male and female also contribute to what many
couples see as an imbalance in sexual drive. The bottom line reality is
that men and women are created by God with drastically different sexual
drives; if we accept this fact, we can come to a much healthier idea of
what "normal" really is."
End of quote
I thought it was worth while passing along both of the articles for several reasons. First of all, as the first article stated, pornography has created a distorted view of sexuality for men and women. Women are now expected to be sexual amazons with an appetite that matches the male of the species. The new "ideal" woman is also one who is less curvacious than an older generation, and aside from breasts, looks more like a man, especially if you look at the muscle building and fitness mags. Some of the women in there look like they have taken a woman's head and stuck it on a man's body in a bikini. The proliferation of pornography has made sex miserable for many women. Like it or not, Christians (men and women) have adopted this perverted and fictional picture of female sexuality so that disappointment abounds in the bedroom when reality fails to live up to it.
The other factor is that the proliferation of birth control and the limiting of most families to one or two children means that the better part of North Americans, including doctors, are *unaware* of the changes that the libido can go through in extended childbearing. I am one of those women who is blessed with a lack of cycles while I nurse. That is a great convenience, but it also means that I have a greatly diminished sex drive as well. I remember going to the doctor after baby # 3 and asking him what was wrong with me. He didn't know. It wasn't until later when I was hanging out with midwives and had become more educated that I learned that this was *normal* for many women during times of lactational amenorrhea. But combine a populace of few children and few women who nurse beyond a few weeks or months, and most health care providers don't have a lot of experience in recognizing this for what it is.
Now, in the face of my ignorance, my dh's ignorance, and my doctor's ignorance, what do you think the result was? We all thought something was wrong with ME. In an earlier generation where long periods of nursing and many children being the norm, this would have been taken for granted. But in a sex-saturated and sex-fixated society, what is normal for some is now viewed as being the true perversion. Birth control has come to mean that women are available at all times and the perversions extend to having relations during menses so that even that is no longer off limits. The natural rhythm and flow that goes with ovulation, menstruation, pregnancy, childbearing, and nursing are ignored in the demands of sex for sex's sake.
The other thing that I think that has happened is that we now no longer know how we are supposed to look. It becomes increasingly harder to accept the aging process. Look at the Hollywood starlets who are the epitome of what our culture worships in terms of beauty and desirability --Demi Moore after she had her three kids had liposuction AND new breast implants AND worked out with a trainer like a woman possessed. We thought things were bad in the nineties when you needed surgery to have a baby. Now you need surgery to restore your body to porno proportions after having a baby too.
I was working out in the gym yesterday with one of my older daughters and I was thinking as I watched myself lift weights in a mirror that I am looking rather matronly and middleaged. Well guess what? I am a matron and middle-aged to boot. My face is relatively unlined, but I have more and more grey hairs popping up and now I find the ugly head of vanity raising its head. And I *look* like someone who has had a lot of kids. Ever seen a brood mare with the sway back and belly low to the ground that comes with repeated foaling? I am her human equivalent. Even if you stay away from porn and women's mags, it is hard to escape the influence they can wield since our culture is so influenced by them. What is a healthy 42 year old mother of 11 *supposed* to look like? Should I be a hag and let it go at that? How far am I allowed to go in compensating for gravity? I struggle with the demon of discontent in this area at times. It is *hard* to get the balance between just not caring any more and caring too much. But I think if I were really honest, I had that problem at every age.
It is helpful at these times to go back to Scripture and find our bearings there. It is easy for a woman to use a lack of libido as an excuse to not fulfill her duties to her husband. It is easy to use the kids as an excuse for not taking care of herself. Instead, we have to remind ourselves of what is required of us, even when we don't want to do it, and that this is an act of obedience to God that will reap a blessing.
Anyhow, I thought that these articles might be of help to anyone else who may struggle in this area like I do.
They say that it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to blog and remove all doubt. Maybe this post will confirm your suspicions that I am a fool.
There have been several things that I have been mulling over lately. One is this article that was posted on Rick Cappeza's website. Another article in the same vein that came my way (but for which I don't have a link), is the following which I will paste:
UNDERSTANDING YOUR SEX DRIVE
2003 NEW RELEASE from SILOAM: INTIMATE AND UNASHAMED
by Dr. Scott Farhart
"Isaac brought her into the tent of his mother Sarah, and he married
Rebekah. So she became his wife; and he loved her; and Isaac was comforted
after his mother's death." (Genesis 24:67, NIV)
In spite of God's good plan for sexual fulfillment in marriage, many men
ask the question: "Why doesn't my wife ever initiate sex?" The flip side of
that question comes from women: "Why is my sexual drive so low compared to
my husband's? These questions expose a complex issue involving many
factors; the answers are vital to any couple struggling in their sexual
relationship.
And it seems to be an issue that has only recently surfaced with the
'sexual' revolution of the 1960s. Generations past did not struggle so
intensely with the idea of unequal sexual drive. It was seen as normal for
the man to possess a greater drive for intercourse than the woman. But with
the emphasis placed on sex in our culture and the infusion of the women's
rights movement, there is a new perception that men and women should have
an equal sexual drive. When that does not manifest itself in "real" life,
both the husband and wife want to know, WHY NOT?
WHAT THE MEDIA PORTRAY IS FICTION
Men are created with a stronger tendency to initiate, while women are often
better to receive. It is within these God-given roles that men would
naturally be the initiators of intercourse and women the receivers of their
love. And there would be less problem with misunderstanding these roles if
the world hadn't interfered by injecting its ungodly "standards."
HOLLYWOOD'S INFLUENCE
On televisions and movie screens, in books and magazines, in music videos
and video games, the role is portrayed of a woman who is sexually desirable
taking charge over the man: ripping off his shirt, unbuttoning his pants
and taking control. This scenario has become every man's fantasy because it
is Hollywood's fantasy. However, this perception of a woman's role is a
complete reversal of the way God made us. This model of sexual activity
should never be perceived as the norm.
Much of the discrepancy expressed by men and women concerning sexual drive
is a matter of perception: It involves what you think you should be doing
or what your spouse wants you to do. And some of the sense of "lower"
sexual drive in women is actually a reflection of how they perceive a good
Christian woman should behave. In their proper rejection of Hollywood's
version of the oversexed, promiscuous harlot, women may unwittingly reject
the natural desires God placed within them. This lack of understanding of
what is normal and acceptable in a godly sexual relationship plagues many
women.
BIBLICAL FREEDOM
While men are routinely taught that their sex drive is a strong aspect of
what it is to be a man, women rarely receive such positive reinforcement,
especially from the Christian community. Women can confuse the godly
understanding of being submitted to their husbands with being "submissive,"
passively waiting for him to initiate sexual activity. They wrongly
interpret a desire to have intercourse with their "flesh" that the Bible
commands us to crucify.
The Bible teaches us the proper perspective to have regarding marital sex
and sets us free from the world's distorted perceptions. For example, the
apostle Paul commands the husband to fulfill his marital duty to his wife
and the wife to her husband:
"The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the
wife to her husband. The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also
to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him
alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other..." (1 Corinthians
7:3-5)
This mutual sharing of each other's body as taught by the Scriptures gives
freedom to the Christian couple to understand that both the man and the
woman have a right to have sex without fearing they are somehow displeasing
God. The apostle Paul warns them not to deprive one another, except for a
period of time they would devote to prayer, lest Satan tempt them to be
unfaithful (1 Cor. 7:5).
Just discovering this truth can increase a woman's sexual desire for her
husband because she now realizes she has a right to it. And a husband's
understanding of the God-given differences between the initiator he is and
the receiver she is may give him more reasonable (godly) expectations of his wife.
THE ROLE OF HORMONES
There is another important difference between men and women that affects
the natural sex drive - the hormone testosterone. In men, testosterone is
the primary sex hormone, whereas in women it is a very small part of their
hormonal makeup. Testosterone fuels the sexual drive, so the differences in
levels of testosterone between male and female also contribute to what many
couples see as an imbalance in sexual drive. The bottom line reality is
that men and women are created by God with drastically different sexual
drives; if we accept this fact, we can come to a much healthier idea of
what "normal" really is."
End of quote
I thought it was worth while passing along both of the articles for several reasons. First of all, as the first article stated, pornography has created a distorted view of sexuality for men and women. Women are now expected to be sexual amazons with an appetite that matches the male of the species. The new "ideal" woman is also one who is less curvacious than an older generation, and aside from breasts, looks more like a man, especially if you look at the muscle building and fitness mags. Some of the women in there look like they have taken a woman's head and stuck it on a man's body in a bikini. The proliferation of pornography has made sex miserable for many women. Like it or not, Christians (men and women) have adopted this perverted and fictional picture of female sexuality so that disappointment abounds in the bedroom when reality fails to live up to it.
The other factor is that the proliferation of birth control and the limiting of most families to one or two children means that the better part of North Americans, including doctors, are *unaware* of the changes that the libido can go through in extended childbearing. I am one of those women who is blessed with a lack of cycles while I nurse. That is a great convenience, but it also means that I have a greatly diminished sex drive as well. I remember going to the doctor after baby # 3 and asking him what was wrong with me. He didn't know. It wasn't until later when I was hanging out with midwives and had become more educated that I learned that this was *normal* for many women during times of lactational amenorrhea. But combine a populace of few children and few women who nurse beyond a few weeks or months, and most health care providers don't have a lot of experience in recognizing this for what it is.
Now, in the face of my ignorance, my dh's ignorance, and my doctor's ignorance, what do you think the result was? We all thought something was wrong with ME. In an earlier generation where long periods of nursing and many children being the norm, this would have been taken for granted. But in a sex-saturated and sex-fixated society, what is normal for some is now viewed as being the true perversion. Birth control has come to mean that women are available at all times and the perversions extend to having relations during menses so that even that is no longer off limits. The natural rhythm and flow that goes with ovulation, menstruation, pregnancy, childbearing, and nursing are ignored in the demands of sex for sex's sake.
The other thing that I think that has happened is that we now no longer know how we are supposed to look. It becomes increasingly harder to accept the aging process. Look at the Hollywood starlets who are the epitome of what our culture worships in terms of beauty and desirability --Demi Moore after she had her three kids had liposuction AND new breast implants AND worked out with a trainer like a woman possessed. We thought things were bad in the nineties when you needed surgery to have a baby. Now you need surgery to restore your body to porno proportions after having a baby too.
I was working out in the gym yesterday with one of my older daughters and I was thinking as I watched myself lift weights in a mirror that I am looking rather matronly and middleaged. Well guess what? I am a matron and middle-aged to boot. My face is relatively unlined, but I have more and more grey hairs popping up and now I find the ugly head of vanity raising its head. And I *look* like someone who has had a lot of kids. Ever seen a brood mare with the sway back and belly low to the ground that comes with repeated foaling? I am her human equivalent. Even if you stay away from porn and women's mags, it is hard to escape the influence they can wield since our culture is so influenced by them. What is a healthy 42 year old mother of 11 *supposed* to look like? Should I be a hag and let it go at that? How far am I allowed to go in compensating for gravity? I struggle with the demon of discontent in this area at times. It is *hard* to get the balance between just not caring any more and caring too much. But I think if I were really honest, I had that problem at every age.
It is helpful at these times to go back to Scripture and find our bearings there. It is easy for a woman to use a lack of libido as an excuse to not fulfill her duties to her husband. It is easy to use the kids as an excuse for not taking care of herself. Instead, we have to remind ourselves of what is required of us, even when we don't want to do it, and that this is an act of obedience to God that will reap a blessing.
Anyhow, I thought that these articles might be of help to anyone else who may struggle in this area like I do.
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
Yep, yep, yep...
But I don't think I am tragic.
Numenorean
To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla
But I don't think I am tragic.
Numenorean
To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
brought to you by Quizilla
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
How Rude!
Or is it? Is it rude to declare that you are sick to death of your discussion groups? I have shut off each and every one that I am subscribed to with the exception of those that I own or moderate. And even there I am mostly lurking and not commenting these days. I have also stopped reading all but one or two blogs (won't say which ones) and I am not commenting on them either.
General malaise or general fed-up-ed-ness has set in. I am sick to death of discussing or fighting about the same old, same old.
Or is it? Is it rude to declare that you are sick to death of your discussion groups? I have shut off each and every one that I am subscribed to with the exception of those that I own or moderate. And even there I am mostly lurking and not commenting these days. I have also stopped reading all but one or two blogs (won't say which ones) and I am not commenting on them either.
General malaise or general fed-up-ed-ness has set in. I am sick to death of discussing or fighting about the same old, same old.
Tuesday, March 25, 2003
Signs
Sceptics would call this "coincidence," but I prefer to call it "Signs that I am Loved."
Yesterday I took our fuel efficient Chevy Malibu to town. I had Princess Elodie, Groovy Garnet, Beautiful Bethany, and Terrific Trahern. We got about half way to town when all of a sudden every light on my dashboard came on. Then the speedometer, thermometer and RPM meter went dead. Then the car died -- right in the middle of an intersection near a gas station. I put the car into neutral, and thankfully there was no traffic for once at that busy corner, and we pushed the car into the gas station so that we wouldn't be in imminent danger of being struck.
I was able to phone my daughter Trista who came and picked up the children in two lots with her little car while I stayed with our sick and ailing Malibu to await a tow to the automotive shop. You know your life is too full when you consider a break down a bit of a holiday. I made my way into the convenience store attached to the gas station and bought myself some corn chips and bottled water and settled down in my car for a blissful 20 minutes to eat and read uninterrupted.
The car was duly towed and Trista then graciously came and picked me up from the shop and drove me all the way home so I could get the family van for a return to town for the children and a resumption of the grocery store trip.
So my first sign that I am loved is the fact that God arranged for my car to have a fit in a convenient location.
Well, we got through the grocery shopping in record time. I drove home with a van load of food and the children only to realize once I got home that I had left my keys to the office behind at the grocery store and now could not answer the business phone or get to the computer or any of the 3 million things that I keep in here. So... back into the van with Handsome Hannah and Neat Nate in the hopes that my keys would be found and a brief stop at the Y to work out some of the kinks my back had acquired during the course of the day.
I walked into SuperStore and inquired about the keys. They were not there. I started to walk around the store to see if I could find them, only to be called back by the customer service rep on the PA. Someone had just turned my keys in.
So there you have it -- my car breaks down in a good place for breaking down, and my keys are returned at precisely the same moment I am in the store. Coincidence? Nah. I am Loved.
Sceptics would call this "coincidence," but I prefer to call it "Signs that I am Loved."
Yesterday I took our fuel efficient Chevy Malibu to town. I had Princess Elodie, Groovy Garnet, Beautiful Bethany, and Terrific Trahern. We got about half way to town when all of a sudden every light on my dashboard came on. Then the speedometer, thermometer and RPM meter went dead. Then the car died -- right in the middle of an intersection near a gas station. I put the car into neutral, and thankfully there was no traffic for once at that busy corner, and we pushed the car into the gas station so that we wouldn't be in imminent danger of being struck.
I was able to phone my daughter Trista who came and picked up the children in two lots with her little car while I stayed with our sick and ailing Malibu to await a tow to the automotive shop. You know your life is too full when you consider a break down a bit of a holiday. I made my way into the convenience store attached to the gas station and bought myself some corn chips and bottled water and settled down in my car for a blissful 20 minutes to eat and read uninterrupted.
The car was duly towed and Trista then graciously came and picked me up from the shop and drove me all the way home so I could get the family van for a return to town for the children and a resumption of the grocery store trip.
So my first sign that I am loved is the fact that God arranged for my car to have a fit in a convenient location.
Well, we got through the grocery shopping in record time. I drove home with a van load of food and the children only to realize once I got home that I had left my keys to the office behind at the grocery store and now could not answer the business phone or get to the computer or any of the 3 million things that I keep in here. So... back into the van with Handsome Hannah and Neat Nate in the hopes that my keys would be found and a brief stop at the Y to work out some of the kinks my back had acquired during the course of the day.
I walked into SuperStore and inquired about the keys. They were not there. I started to walk around the store to see if I could find them, only to be called back by the customer service rep on the PA. Someone had just turned my keys in.
So there you have it -- my car breaks down in a good place for breaking down, and my keys are returned at precisely the same moment I am in the store. Coincidence? Nah. I am Loved.
Thursday, March 20, 2003
Spring Fever
The sun has been out, a warm wind from the south has been blowing and the snow is melting rapidly. Everywhere you look are decaying mounds of snow, no longer lovely but dark, dirty and trashy looking. Garbage that was decently interred under drifts is now being resurrected and needing a thorough burial at the dump or immolation on the burning pile.
Because the sun is rising earlier now, it gets me out of bed at an early hour too -- frequently before 6 am. And now that the days are longer and warmer, I am feeling the itch to CLEAN!
So, the next few weeks, before Marc returns home from his work stint in Calgary, will be devoted to deep spring cleaning all the rooms in the house as well as painting and decorating the bathroom, the girls' bedroom and the mudroom. I feel the blood surging through my veins in anticipation of the soul-cleansing feeling of a thoroughly clean house.
The sun has been out, a warm wind from the south has been blowing and the snow is melting rapidly. Everywhere you look are decaying mounds of snow, no longer lovely but dark, dirty and trashy looking. Garbage that was decently interred under drifts is now being resurrected and needing a thorough burial at the dump or immolation on the burning pile.
Because the sun is rising earlier now, it gets me out of bed at an early hour too -- frequently before 6 am. And now that the days are longer and warmer, I am feeling the itch to CLEAN!
So, the next few weeks, before Marc returns home from his work stint in Calgary, will be devoted to deep spring cleaning all the rooms in the house as well as painting and decorating the bathroom, the girls' bedroom and the mudroom. I feel the blood surging through my veins in anticipation of the soul-cleansing feeling of a thoroughly clean house.
Tuesday, March 11, 2003
Garnet
Elodie is not the only cute one in the family. The office of cutest small boy has been reserved for Garnet, who is three and a half.
Garnet was potty trained many months ago but still has the habit of coming and announcing to me that he needs to use the washroom before he will use it. The other day my husband and I were sitting in our office chatting and Garnet came in to tell me that he had to use the washroom. I replied, "Okay, go for it, man!" but Marc, my husband asked him, "Garnet why don't you still wear diapers?" Garnet replied, "Cuz Mom won't buy them for me any more" as he left the office with a downcast expression and sigh for the good old days.
And while I think of it, I will ask Emeth to post a picture of Garnet so that I won't be challenged on his cuteness.
Curing Matt's Agnosticism
Since doubt has been cast on my ability to judge the daintiness and sweetness of Princess Elodie, I have forwarded a picture of her to Emeth who controls how my blog looks (since I don't have a clue how to do this, or I would remove the orange colors off of it) and I hope she will post it for me. Then you can all judge for yourselves.
Since doubt has been cast on my ability to judge the daintiness and sweetness of Princess Elodie, I have forwarded a picture of her to Emeth who controls how my blog looks (since I don't have a clue how to do this, or I would remove the orange colors off of it) and I hope she will post it for me. Then you can all judge for yourselves.
Friday, March 07, 2003
Wednesday, March 05, 2003
Morbid Curiosity
I don't always understand how my brain works or why I feel driven to learn about certain things. Lately, I have felt a compulsion to understand the process of dying. No one that is close to me is terminally ill, and I have no premonitions about my own health or death. In some respects I guess this is the other end of the continuum of my education about health and life. I used to be a doula and have a pretty good knowledge of how people get here. Now, perhaps, it is time for me to round out my education and learn about how they leave here.
This is a rather strange subject to delve into. Death is the one thing that we don't want to deal with, but which is always hanging over us. You can't get out of life alive. Ok, so how do we get out?
Prior to the advent of antibiotics, death was far more common and life was often far shorter than it is today. The smells, sights and feelings of death were things that were commonly experienced by earlier generations on an uncomfortably regular basis. Death wasn't limited to only the elderly -- many babies, many youths, many young men and women were struck down in their prime by a variety of circumstances. Now, fewer babies and young people die and life has been extended into the 80's and 90's for more and more people.
The result? Death has become something that many of us are not familiar with in our youth. The shortness of life is easier to ignore. And when death comes, it is sanitized very often by the intervention of doctors and nurses, morticians and funeral home directors. The reality of death is almost limited to the void that is left by the person being gone. There is little that we personally have to do with our family members who pass on. You can hire someone else to do it.
Of course, not everyone is so arm's length from death. There are those who do hospice care in their homes for their loved ones so that they are in familiar surroundings when the end comes. When I go, I hope that I will be able to do it this way. I don't want to be in a ward in a rented bed. I want to be in my own surroundings with those I love around me to encourage me on. Of course, we don't necessarily get to choose how we will die or where. But if I had my druthers....
I wonder if birth control would be so popular if people didn't think most of their children would make it beyond the first few years of life?
I don't always understand how my brain works or why I feel driven to learn about certain things. Lately, I have felt a compulsion to understand the process of dying. No one that is close to me is terminally ill, and I have no premonitions about my own health or death. In some respects I guess this is the other end of the continuum of my education about health and life. I used to be a doula and have a pretty good knowledge of how people get here. Now, perhaps, it is time for me to round out my education and learn about how they leave here.
This is a rather strange subject to delve into. Death is the one thing that we don't want to deal with, but which is always hanging over us. You can't get out of life alive. Ok, so how do we get out?
Prior to the advent of antibiotics, death was far more common and life was often far shorter than it is today. The smells, sights and feelings of death were things that were commonly experienced by earlier generations on an uncomfortably regular basis. Death wasn't limited to only the elderly -- many babies, many youths, many young men and women were struck down in their prime by a variety of circumstances. Now, fewer babies and young people die and life has been extended into the 80's and 90's for more and more people.
The result? Death has become something that many of us are not familiar with in our youth. The shortness of life is easier to ignore. And when death comes, it is sanitized very often by the intervention of doctors and nurses, morticians and funeral home directors. The reality of death is almost limited to the void that is left by the person being gone. There is little that we personally have to do with our family members who pass on. You can hire someone else to do it.
Of course, not everyone is so arm's length from death. There are those who do hospice care in their homes for their loved ones so that they are in familiar surroundings when the end comes. When I go, I hope that I will be able to do it this way. I don't want to be in a ward in a rented bed. I want to be in my own surroundings with those I love around me to encourage me on. Of course, we don't necessarily get to choose how we will die or where. But if I had my druthers....
I wonder if birth control would be so popular if people didn't think most of their children would make it beyond the first few years of life?
Tuesday, March 04, 2003
Headcoverings and Modesty
Some posts by Matt and Sora reminded me of a recent discussion I was involved in concerning the use of headcoverings as a sign of modesty and submission for women in our culture. Is the headcovering meant to be a sign of these things forever and always? Here is a copy of a post from a friend of mine that deals with the question as laid out by Durham and Gillespie:
Let's start with Durham on Scandal:
"Chap 6: Holding forth the difficulty mainly in pracitce, and shewing how far offence ought to have influence on a Christian in his walk."
Durham proceeds in making careful distinctions/qualifications via 3 assertions (I'll be including 2):
1. Necessary duties.
2. Things of light concernment in themselves (the context will evidence a sense of things not inherently necessary)
"1. For no offence whatsoever should men forbear a necessary duty, or commit any thing which is materially sinful. Christ would needs go up to Jerusalem, altho' his Disciples were displeased, and would continue in preaching the Gospel, and in doing what was intrusted to him, altho' the Pharisees were offended, Matt 15. This is clear: For no Evil should be done that Good may come of it, Rom 3.
2. Assert. Yet in other things there ought to be great respect had to offence, and men ought to be swayed accordingly in their practice, as the former Reasons clear; As, 1. If the matter be of light concernment in itself, as how mens Gestures are in their walking, (Suppse in walking softly, or quickly with Cloke or without) Men ought to do or abstain as may prevent the Contruction of Pride, Lightness, etc. or give occasion to others in any of these: Of such sort are salutations in the very manner of them. Of this sort was women praying with their heads uncovered amongst the Corinthians, it being then taken for an evil sign; yet if it be necessary, there is nothing little, as moses will not leave an hoof, Exodus 10, nor Mordecai bow his knee to Haman, because it that it looked like fauning on an accursed enemy: Of this Sort also are offences in the fasions of Clothes, as some Mens wearing Ribbons, and such like, which being of small Concernment, ought certainly to be regulated by Offence" - Durham's treatise concerning scandal, pg 24; Ch 6 Part 1.
The 1st assertion deals with necessary duties. The 2nd, however, deals with things of another nature (things of light concernement, etc). This fact alone demonstrates how Durham interpreted the nature of the practice, without question. This section should be interpreted as a qualifier in reference to Durham's comments on 1st Corinthians 11 in "The Law Unsealed." Appealing to historical practice in Scotland, or anywhere else is fallacious (in this context); an instance of question begging. The question is not in reference to the practice historically, but in reference to the nature of the historical practice. If this method was not assumed when examining historical accounts, one by consequence would terminate in a thousand superstitious conclusions...perhaps an infinite number of conclusions.
The covering is either necessary inherently, or not. Durham excludes the covering from the category of inherently necessary duties, and squarely places it in a category of a different nature - "Yet in other things......If the matter be of light concernment.....Of such Sort are salutations in the very manner of them. Of this Sort was womens praying with their heads uncovered amongst the Corinthians, it being then taken for an evil sign, etc" Therefore, etc. Durham is clearly dealing with contextually qualified necessities in this section, rather than things inherently necessary.
To avoid the charge of redundancy, there are different applications of necessity. Some duties are necessary inherently, as Durham's 1st assertion clears. Some duties are contextually necessary, as in the instances mentioned in his 2nd assertion...being qualified by the context. Durham judiciously elaborates on this idea a bit further along in the chapter: "If it be indifferent, that is, in the matter thereof, such as may be done, or forborn; as eating or not eating such a meat for such a time, (for altho' no Action is indifferent when it is done, because the Circumstance of the End, Motive and manner, do determine them either to be good or bad, as they are agreeable or disagreeable to the law when they are done; yet some Acitons in themselves are such:)...."
"Nature" is often amplified as universally assuming the idea of unalterability. No doubt, it certainly carries this sense, yet not universally. "Moral" may be amplified as assuming a universal and absolute sense as well. No doubt, it certainly carries this sense, though not in every expression of moral principle (see Durham's latter qualifications; see also Rutherford's dispute concerning Scandal - found at the end of 'The Divine Right of Church Government & Excommunication' ).
Gillespie in English Popish Ceremonies:
"As for the veils wherewith the Apostle would have women covered whilst they were praying (that is, in their hearts following the public common prayer), they are worthy to be covered with shame as with a garment who allege this example for sacred significant ceremonies of human institution. This covering was a moral sign for that comely and orderly distinction of men and women which civil decency required in all their meetings; wherefore that distinction of habits which they used for decency and comliness in their common behavior and conversation, the Apostle will have them for the same decency and comliness, still to retain in their holy assemblies." - pg 254.
Note Gillespie's description of the nature of the practice; it was something used in their "common behavior and conversations." On the very next page, Gillepie identifies the sense in which he is using these terms, in reference to alterable circumstances:
"Alas! what sorry conceit is this? Divines, indeed, do rightly require that those *alterable circumstances* of divine worship which are left to the determination of the church be so *ordered and disposed* as they may be profitable to this edification. ** But this edification they speak of is no other than that which is common to all our actions and speeches** "
"Actions and speeches" are merely synonyms for "behavior and conversation."
A few questions:
Of what nature does Gillespie descibe the woman's veil?
A. He descibes it as something common to the Corinthians' behavior and conversation.
Of what nature does Gillespie define things that are common to our actions and speeches/behavior and conversation"?
A. He defines them as alterable circumstances of divine worship which are left to the determination of the church to be ordered and disposed as it may be profitable to edification.
Hence, there are two things common to our actions and speeches:
1. Things universally received; unalterable and absolutely obligatory in all contexts (see Gillespie's use of the term 'common to societies' in this former sense....in 'Wholesome severity reconciled with Christian liberty')
2. Things contextually qualified, and defined as alterable circumstances common to actions and speeches/behavior and conversation.
The latter is the context in which Gillespie is describing the woman's veil, without question.
Gillespie further defines:
"And further, the Apostle shows that it is also a natural sign, and that nature itself teaches it; therefore he urges it both by the inferiority or subjection of the woman (vs 3, 8, 9; for covering was then a sign of subjection) [here Gillespie assumes morality applied in a 'contextually qualified' sense at point-blank range - NS], and by the long hair which nature gives to a woman (vs. 25); where he would have the artificial covering to be fasioned in imitation of the natural."
In reference to natural e xpressions, we find that Gillespie applies natural significations as well to things such as Kneeling, standing, lifting the eyes and hands, etc.
"Now, besides the sacred signs of God's own institution, we know that natural signs have also a place in divine worship; thus kneeling in time of prayer signifies the submission of our hearts and minds, the lifting up of our eyes and hands signifies the elevation of our affections; the rending of the garments signified the rending of the heart by sorrow; standing with a religious suspect to that which is before us signifies veneration or reverence, sitting at table signifies familiarity and fellowship [elabaration on in what sense this is necessary as it is applied to the Lord's supper, we can perhaps discuss as well...very interesting principles in operation - NS]....All these signs have their signification from nature." - pg 248
Gillespie distinguished 3 sorts of signs before this section:
1. Natural signs
2. Customable signs
3. Voluntary signs
None of these signs assume a necessary element of unalterability and absolute moral obligation, but to the contrary, are applied to things within the section that obviously do not possess such attributes (as Gillespie has clearly shown).
E xpressions of natural principle do not necessarily assume a universal and absolute (unalterable) nature, but as in many instances, are found in habits/customs/manners/gestures that "vary, ebb, flow, and alter according to Civil Government's laws, manners, customs of men"; instances that are in no way inherently moral, nor universally received - but necessary in a contextually qualified sense (See Rutherford's comments - Divine right of church government and excommunication, pg 1-7, 89, 90...more on how some have distorted at least one of these sections of Rutherford later, if time permits).
Rending the garment is a natural sign, though not inherent, nor morally obligatory in the expression of sorrow - yet having its signification from nature, and not an unalterable e xpression, as with standing, lifting the eyes and hands, etc.
Again, "Nature" is often amplified as universally assuming the idea of unalterability. It certainly carries this sense, yet not universally. "Moral" may be amplified as assuming a universal and absolute sense as well. No doubt, it certainly carries this sense, though not in every expression of moral principle.
The woman's veil is called a moral sign. In this context, the use of the term "moral" does not assume an unalterable sense, but was as well applied to the kiss of charity by Gillespie in the very paragraph before the veils were mentioned:
"Concerning the kiss of charity used in those times (2 Cor. 13:12), we say in like manner tht it was but a moral sign of that reconciliation, friendship and amity, which showed itself as well at holy assemblies as other meetings in that kind and courtesy, but with all chaste salutation (see Durham's comments on salutations), which was then in use."
Next paragraph:
"As for the veils wherewith the Apostle would have women covered whilst they were praying (that is, in their hearts following the public common prayer), they are worthy to be covered with shame as with a garment who allege this example for sacred significant ceremonies of human institution. This covering was a moral sign for that comely and orderly distinction of men and women which civil decency required in all their meetings; wherefore that distinction of habits which they used for decency and comliness in their common behavior and coversation, the Apostle will have them for the same decency and comliness, still to retain in their holy assemblies." - pg 254.
Gillespie also applies the term "moral sign" to the love feasts used in the primitive church, which were used for mutual charity, and further evidencing the alterablility of the practice by obviously assuming they were an element of past history, in no way obligatory in the 17th century context.
Gillespie also applies the term to the rite Abraham commanded his servant to use when swearing, when putting his hand under his thigh (Gen 24:2)...calling it a moral sign of civil subjection, reverence and fidelity which inferiors owe to superiors - pg 251 EPC (compare with Rutherford's comments on the nature of the Corinthians' covering - pg 90 Divine Right of Church Government).
So, in these correctly qualified senses, the covering is both a moral sign of subjection, and has its signification from nature:
1. As an e xpression of submission (for covering was then a sign of submission).
2. As an e xpression of the long hair that God gives to women by nature (where Paul will have the artificial covering fasioned in imitation of the natural).
Those who interpret Gillespie as if he were referring to practices of an unalterable nature, have to be consistent, and interpret the other references in the same light. Context is critical, and logical consistency is inescapable. Such interpretations should, in all consistency, be evidenced in their present practice.
Seeing as these men were ministers of the highest reputation in Scotland, I can only conclude they (in their ministrations) applied the assumptions underlying their practice according to these same assumptions. In other words, the application (historical practice) was not inconsistent with their assumed principles, but the very fruition of these principles as applied in civil and ecclesiastical contexts. These books were public as well. If the contrary position was historically accurate, I can't imagine it would have gone unoticed before the General assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Some posts by Matt and Sora reminded me of a recent discussion I was involved in concerning the use of headcoverings as a sign of modesty and submission for women in our culture. Is the headcovering meant to be a sign of these things forever and always? Here is a copy of a post from a friend of mine that deals with the question as laid out by Durham and Gillespie:
Let's start with Durham on Scandal:
"Chap 6: Holding forth the difficulty mainly in pracitce, and shewing how far offence ought to have influence on a Christian in his walk."
Durham proceeds in making careful distinctions/qualifications via 3 assertions (I'll be including 2):
1. Necessary duties.
2. Things of light concernment in themselves (the context will evidence a sense of things not inherently necessary)
"1. For no offence whatsoever should men forbear a necessary duty, or commit any thing which is materially sinful. Christ would needs go up to Jerusalem, altho' his Disciples were displeased, and would continue in preaching the Gospel, and in doing what was intrusted to him, altho' the Pharisees were offended, Matt 15. This is clear: For no Evil should be done that Good may come of it, Rom 3.
2. Assert. Yet in other things there ought to be great respect had to offence, and men ought to be swayed accordingly in their practice, as the former Reasons clear; As, 1. If the matter be of light concernment in itself, as how mens Gestures are in their walking, (Suppse in walking softly, or quickly with Cloke or without) Men ought to do or abstain as may prevent the Contruction of Pride, Lightness, etc. or give occasion to others in any of these: Of such sort are salutations in the very manner of them. Of this sort was women praying with their heads uncovered amongst the Corinthians, it being then taken for an evil sign; yet if it be necessary, there is nothing little, as moses will not leave an hoof, Exodus 10, nor Mordecai bow his knee to Haman, because it that it looked like fauning on an accursed enemy: Of this Sort also are offences in the fasions of Clothes, as some Mens wearing Ribbons, and such like, which being of small Concernment, ought certainly to be regulated by Offence" - Durham's treatise concerning scandal, pg 24; Ch 6 Part 1.
The 1st assertion deals with necessary duties. The 2nd, however, deals with things of another nature (things of light concernement, etc). This fact alone demonstrates how Durham interpreted the nature of the practice, without question. This section should be interpreted as a qualifier in reference to Durham's comments on 1st Corinthians 11 in "The Law Unsealed." Appealing to historical practice in Scotland, or anywhere else is fallacious (in this context); an instance of question begging. The question is not in reference to the practice historically, but in reference to the nature of the historical practice. If this method was not assumed when examining historical accounts, one by consequence would terminate in a thousand superstitious conclusions...perhaps an infinite number of conclusions.
The covering is either necessary inherently, or not. Durham excludes the covering from the category of inherently necessary duties, and squarely places it in a category of a different nature - "Yet in other things......If the matter be of light concernment.....Of such Sort are salutations in the very manner of them. Of this Sort was womens praying with their heads uncovered amongst the Corinthians, it being then taken for an evil sign, etc" Therefore, etc. Durham is clearly dealing with contextually qualified necessities in this section, rather than things inherently necessary.
To avoid the charge of redundancy, there are different applications of necessity. Some duties are necessary inherently, as Durham's 1st assertion clears. Some duties are contextually necessary, as in the instances mentioned in his 2nd assertion...being qualified by the context. Durham judiciously elaborates on this idea a bit further along in the chapter: "If it be indifferent, that is, in the matter thereof, such as may be done, or forborn; as eating or not eating such a meat for such a time, (for altho' no Action is indifferent when it is done, because the Circumstance of the End, Motive and manner, do determine them either to be good or bad, as they are agreeable or disagreeable to the law when they are done; yet some Acitons in themselves are such:)...."
"Nature" is often amplified as universally assuming the idea of unalterability. No doubt, it certainly carries this sense, yet not universally. "Moral" may be amplified as assuming a universal and absolute sense as well. No doubt, it certainly carries this sense, though not in every expression of moral principle (see Durham's latter qualifications; see also Rutherford's dispute concerning Scandal - found at the end of 'The Divine Right of Church Government & Excommunication' ).
Gillespie in English Popish Ceremonies:
"As for the veils wherewith the Apostle would have women covered whilst they were praying (that is, in their hearts following the public common prayer), they are worthy to be covered with shame as with a garment who allege this example for sacred significant ceremonies of human institution. This covering was a moral sign for that comely and orderly distinction of men and women which civil decency required in all their meetings; wherefore that distinction of habits which they used for decency and comliness in their common behavior and conversation, the Apostle will have them for the same decency and comliness, still to retain in their holy assemblies." - pg 254.
Note Gillespie's description of the nature of the practice; it was something used in their "common behavior and conversations." On the very next page, Gillepie identifies the sense in which he is using these terms, in reference to alterable circumstances:
"Alas! what sorry conceit is this? Divines, indeed, do rightly require that those *alterable circumstances* of divine worship which are left to the determination of the church be so *ordered and disposed* as they may be profitable to this edification. ** But this edification they speak of is no other than that which is common to all our actions and speeches** "
"Actions and speeches" are merely synonyms for "behavior and conversation."
A few questions:
Of what nature does Gillespie descibe the woman's veil?
A. He descibes it as something common to the Corinthians' behavior and conversation.
Of what nature does Gillespie define things that are common to our actions and speeches/behavior and conversation"?
A. He defines them as alterable circumstances of divine worship which are left to the determination of the church to be ordered and disposed as it may be profitable to edification.
Hence, there are two things common to our actions and speeches:
1. Things universally received; unalterable and absolutely obligatory in all contexts (see Gillespie's use of the term 'common to societies' in this former sense....in 'Wholesome severity reconciled with Christian liberty')
2. Things contextually qualified, and defined as alterable circumstances common to actions and speeches/behavior and conversation.
The latter is the context in which Gillespie is describing the woman's veil, without question.
Gillespie further defines:
"And further, the Apostle shows that it is also a natural sign, and that nature itself teaches it; therefore he urges it both by the inferiority or subjection of the woman (vs 3, 8, 9; for covering was then a sign of subjection) [here Gillespie assumes morality applied in a 'contextually qualified' sense at point-blank range - NS], and by the long hair which nature gives to a woman (vs. 25); where he would have the artificial covering to be fasioned in imitation of the natural."
In reference to natural e xpressions, we find that Gillespie applies natural significations as well to things such as Kneeling, standing, lifting the eyes and hands, etc.
"Now, besides the sacred signs of God's own institution, we know that natural signs have also a place in divine worship; thus kneeling in time of prayer signifies the submission of our hearts and minds, the lifting up of our eyes and hands signifies the elevation of our affections; the rending of the garments signified the rending of the heart by sorrow; standing with a religious suspect to that which is before us signifies veneration or reverence, sitting at table signifies familiarity and fellowship [elabaration on in what sense this is necessary as it is applied to the Lord's supper, we can perhaps discuss as well...very interesting principles in operation - NS]....All these signs have their signification from nature." - pg 248
Gillespie distinguished 3 sorts of signs before this section:
1. Natural signs
2. Customable signs
3. Voluntary signs
None of these signs assume a necessary element of unalterability and absolute moral obligation, but to the contrary, are applied to things within the section that obviously do not possess such attributes (as Gillespie has clearly shown).
E xpressions of natural principle do not necessarily assume a universal and absolute (unalterable) nature, but as in many instances, are found in habits/customs/manners/gestures that "vary, ebb, flow, and alter according to Civil Government's laws, manners, customs of men"; instances that are in no way inherently moral, nor universally received - but necessary in a contextually qualified sense (See Rutherford's comments - Divine right of church government and excommunication, pg 1-7, 89, 90...more on how some have distorted at least one of these sections of Rutherford later, if time permits).
Rending the garment is a natural sign, though not inherent, nor morally obligatory in the expression of sorrow - yet having its signification from nature, and not an unalterable e xpression, as with standing, lifting the eyes and hands, etc.
Again, "Nature" is often amplified as universally assuming the idea of unalterability. It certainly carries this sense, yet not universally. "Moral" may be amplified as assuming a universal and absolute sense as well. No doubt, it certainly carries this sense, though not in every expression of moral principle.
The woman's veil is called a moral sign. In this context, the use of the term "moral" does not assume an unalterable sense, but was as well applied to the kiss of charity by Gillespie in the very paragraph before the veils were mentioned:
"Concerning the kiss of charity used in those times (2 Cor. 13:12), we say in like manner tht it was but a moral sign of that reconciliation, friendship and amity, which showed itself as well at holy assemblies as other meetings in that kind and courtesy, but with all chaste salutation (see Durham's comments on salutations), which was then in use."
Next paragraph:
"As for the veils wherewith the Apostle would have women covered whilst they were praying (that is, in their hearts following the public common prayer), they are worthy to be covered with shame as with a garment who allege this example for sacred significant ceremonies of human institution. This covering was a moral sign for that comely and orderly distinction of men and women which civil decency required in all their meetings; wherefore that distinction of habits which they used for decency and comliness in their common behavior and coversation, the Apostle will have them for the same decency and comliness, still to retain in their holy assemblies." - pg 254.
Gillespie also applies the term "moral sign" to the love feasts used in the primitive church, which were used for mutual charity, and further evidencing the alterablility of the practice by obviously assuming they were an element of past history, in no way obligatory in the 17th century context.
Gillespie also applies the term to the rite Abraham commanded his servant to use when swearing, when putting his hand under his thigh (Gen 24:2)...calling it a moral sign of civil subjection, reverence and fidelity which inferiors owe to superiors - pg 251 EPC (compare with Rutherford's comments on the nature of the Corinthians' covering - pg 90 Divine Right of Church Government).
So, in these correctly qualified senses, the covering is both a moral sign of subjection, and has its signification from nature:
1. As an e xpression of submission (for covering was then a sign of submission).
2. As an e xpression of the long hair that God gives to women by nature (where Paul will have the artificial covering fasioned in imitation of the natural).
Those who interpret Gillespie as if he were referring to practices of an unalterable nature, have to be consistent, and interpret the other references in the same light. Context is critical, and logical consistency is inescapable. Such interpretations should, in all consistency, be evidenced in their present practice.
Seeing as these men were ministers of the highest reputation in Scotland, I can only conclude they (in their ministrations) applied the assumptions underlying their practice according to these same assumptions. In other words, the application (historical practice) was not inconsistent with their assumed principles, but the very fruition of these principles as applied in civil and ecclesiastical contexts. These books were public as well. If the contrary position was historically accurate, I can't imagine it would have gone unoticed before the General assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Wednesday, February 26, 2003
The Living Years
Sung by Mike and the Mechanics
The Living Years
Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts
So Don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be OK.
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
I wasn't there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
Sung by Mike and the Mechanics
The Living Years
Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door
I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got
You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts
So Don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be OK.
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
I wasn't there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years
Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
Monday, February 24, 2003
Homeland Security
Homeland Security has announced they will soon be implementing new software
which will record every click of your mouse. It is their belief that it
will operate completely transparently and that the average user will not
notice any difference in performance.
Homeland Security has announced they will soon be implementing new software
which will record every click of your mouse. It is their belief that it
will operate completely transparently and that the average user will not
notice any difference in performance.
Rabbit Whisperer?
As I had mentioned in previous posts, my sons Ben and Trahern have decided to go into the rabbit breeding business. So far, their attempts at raising rabbits has been hard on the rabbits. I have never really thought that rabbits were highly intelligent creatures, Bugs Bunny notwithstanding. And so far they have done nothing to change this opinion.
I speak of the suicidal tendency of rabbits to escape their hutches in front of a couple of dogs who, wanting to please their masters, dutifully catch said rabbits and return them to us, albeit in a dead, frozen and poker stiff manner. (The dogs can't seem to understand why we do not leap with delight at seeing the rabbits piled like cordwood at our back doorstep or dismembered on the driveway.)
Last night the boys and I watched a video about Monty something or other, the original Horse Whisperer. It was a very fascinating video about how this man learned the secret body language of horses and then used that to train them to wearing saddles and accepting a rider within hours without traumatizing them. I am wondering if any of you know of a similar video on Rabbit Whispering? We are learning in a trial and error way what rabbits are trying to convey by their body language, but it would be easier on the rabbits and us if we could learn this a bit faster rather than using the trial and error method.
Case in point: The other day Trahern thoughtfully brought his black dwarf mini-lop doe (the most recent replacement for the other bunnies) into the house to hop around and deposit little raisins on my floor for Elodie to find and eat. Elodie was quite enthralled and squawked with delight as she crawled rapidly in the rabbit's wake. After a while she tired of this and found one of her rattles laying on the floor. Picking this up, she began to bang the floor with gusto. The rabbit, demonstrating a distinct lack of intelligence and instinct for survival, was foolish enough to wander into reach of Elodie, who, tiring of banging on the floor, used her rattle to deliver a few hearty whacks on the rabbit's head. The rabbit gave her an indignant and astonished look and then stamped its hind feet in what looked to be a display of extreme chagrin. Next thing we knew, Elodie flew over backwards like a ninepin before a furry black bowling ball. The rabbit took exception to the clubbing and bunted Elodie in the stomach with its head. After we dusted Elodie off and soothed her wails to silence, we found the rabbit sitting in the corner with a smug look on its face.
If I had thought about rabbits before, it was to regard them as soft furry creatures that are kind and gentle. The well-hidden truth is that they resemble the killer rabbit on Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. I had foolishly thought that the bloodthirsty rabbit in that show was merely a playful and silly sketch meant to cause laughter. Little did I know that this was actually a documentary on what rabbits can actually be like. If you want proof that the Fall affected all of creation, and not just the nature of man, then you need look no further than a female rabbit. Female rabbits are famous for their ability to breed rapidly. We have been careful to keep them away from the bucks in order to prevent that ability from being displayed right now. Instead of pregnant rabbits, we now have rabbits with PMS.
A rabbit with PMS is not a pretty sight. The owner may want to demonstrate kindness and consideration to his pet by giving it fresh water and food. But when these does start into "that time of the month" they meet these demonstrations with slavering jaws, terrifying squeals and charges across their pens looking for blood. The bucks don't seem to have this problem which leads me to conclude that the homicidal bunny in the Monty Python movie was a doe who really wanted chocolate and was enraged when she couldn't get any.
Anyhow, if any of you know of any books or videos on rabbit whispering, we would appreciate it if you would direct us to them.
As I had mentioned in previous posts, my sons Ben and Trahern have decided to go into the rabbit breeding business. So far, their attempts at raising rabbits has been hard on the rabbits. I have never really thought that rabbits were highly intelligent creatures, Bugs Bunny notwithstanding. And so far they have done nothing to change this opinion.
I speak of the suicidal tendency of rabbits to escape their hutches in front of a couple of dogs who, wanting to please their masters, dutifully catch said rabbits and return them to us, albeit in a dead, frozen and poker stiff manner. (The dogs can't seem to understand why we do not leap with delight at seeing the rabbits piled like cordwood at our back doorstep or dismembered on the driveway.)
Last night the boys and I watched a video about Monty something or other, the original Horse Whisperer. It was a very fascinating video about how this man learned the secret body language of horses and then used that to train them to wearing saddles and accepting a rider within hours without traumatizing them. I am wondering if any of you know of a similar video on Rabbit Whispering? We are learning in a trial and error way what rabbits are trying to convey by their body language, but it would be easier on the rabbits and us if we could learn this a bit faster rather than using the trial and error method.
Case in point: The other day Trahern thoughtfully brought his black dwarf mini-lop doe (the most recent replacement for the other bunnies) into the house to hop around and deposit little raisins on my floor for Elodie to find and eat. Elodie was quite enthralled and squawked with delight as she crawled rapidly in the rabbit's wake. After a while she tired of this and found one of her rattles laying on the floor. Picking this up, she began to bang the floor with gusto. The rabbit, demonstrating a distinct lack of intelligence and instinct for survival, was foolish enough to wander into reach of Elodie, who, tiring of banging on the floor, used her rattle to deliver a few hearty whacks on the rabbit's head. The rabbit gave her an indignant and astonished look and then stamped its hind feet in what looked to be a display of extreme chagrin. Next thing we knew, Elodie flew over backwards like a ninepin before a furry black bowling ball. The rabbit took exception to the clubbing and bunted Elodie in the stomach with its head. After we dusted Elodie off and soothed her wails to silence, we found the rabbit sitting in the corner with a smug look on its face.
If I had thought about rabbits before, it was to regard them as soft furry creatures that are kind and gentle. The well-hidden truth is that they resemble the killer rabbit on Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail. I had foolishly thought that the bloodthirsty rabbit in that show was merely a playful and silly sketch meant to cause laughter. Little did I know that this was actually a documentary on what rabbits can actually be like. If you want proof that the Fall affected all of creation, and not just the nature of man, then you need look no further than a female rabbit. Female rabbits are famous for their ability to breed rapidly. We have been careful to keep them away from the bucks in order to prevent that ability from being displayed right now. Instead of pregnant rabbits, we now have rabbits with PMS.
A rabbit with PMS is not a pretty sight. The owner may want to demonstrate kindness and consideration to his pet by giving it fresh water and food. But when these does start into "that time of the month" they meet these demonstrations with slavering jaws, terrifying squeals and charges across their pens looking for blood. The bucks don't seem to have this problem which leads me to conclude that the homicidal bunny in the Monty Python movie was a doe who really wanted chocolate and was enraged when she couldn't get any.
Anyhow, if any of you know of any books or videos on rabbit whispering, we would appreciate it if you would direct us to them.
Wednesday, February 19, 2003
Quilting
I am doing my very first full-blown pieced quilt project for myself. It is a wall hanging on twelve house blocks with a strip of one inch squares in various patterned pieces beneath each row of four houses. If it turns out well, I shall probably do one for my mother's birthday and make one for my daughter Trista, to hang in her livingroom. So far it is going pretty well. I am even thinking that this is easy enough that I may introduce my daughter Hannah to the fine womanly art of quilting.
I have often wondered why very few women have produced works of art that last for centuries. I don't think women are less creative than men are. Perhaps it is because most of our artwork is of the edible or wearable variety...
I am doing my very first full-blown pieced quilt project for myself. It is a wall hanging on twelve house blocks with a strip of one inch squares in various patterned pieces beneath each row of four houses. If it turns out well, I shall probably do one for my mother's birthday and make one for my daughter Trista, to hang in her livingroom. So far it is going pretty well. I am even thinking that this is easy enough that I may introduce my daughter Hannah to the fine womanly art of quilting.
I have often wondered why very few women have produced works of art that last for centuries. I don't think women are less creative than men are. Perhaps it is because most of our artwork is of the edible or wearable variety...
Parenting Blues
Does any parent out there go to bed at night feeling like they did a good job that day? Or is it just me that makes a habit of going over the day and seeing all the places I have failed and then lamenting over whether or not these children will turn out okay?
The parents of yesteryear seemed so confident in the advice that they gave and the actions they took. Do thus and so and you should get this result. If you get something different, the fault lies with the child and their corrupt nature. Parents today are very tentative and I am one of the tentative hordes. I don't know if this is because the surrounding culture encourages us to look to experts for answers (and there are no expert parents) or because I am daily faced with the realization of what a corrupt sinner I am and I see it in corruption reflected in my children.
I love my children, but I am often left with the feeling that I haven't loved them enough or wisely.
Does any parent out there go to bed at night feeling like they did a good job that day? Or is it just me that makes a habit of going over the day and seeing all the places I have failed and then lamenting over whether or not these children will turn out okay?
The parents of yesteryear seemed so confident in the advice that they gave and the actions they took. Do thus and so and you should get this result. If you get something different, the fault lies with the child and their corrupt nature. Parents today are very tentative and I am one of the tentative hordes. I don't know if this is because the surrounding culture encourages us to look to experts for answers (and there are no expert parents) or because I am daily faced with the realization of what a corrupt sinner I am and I see it in corruption reflected in my children.
I love my children, but I am often left with the feeling that I haven't loved them enough or wisely.
Tuesday, February 18, 2003
Disarming
I find it very disarming to read the blogs and details of the homelife of people with whom I may have significant differences in theology. The little details of homelife make them more real and three dimensional and therefore someone I am less likely to let have it with both barrels. I sometimes think that one of the reasons that discussions or debates grow so heated is that it is easy to forget there are people behind the words that are written. We say things to one another that we wouldn't dream of saying in person. The subjective feelings of the recipients of our words are lost in the objectivity of our arguments.
Everybody should blog.
I find it very disarming to read the blogs and details of the homelife of people with whom I may have significant differences in theology. The little details of homelife make them more real and three dimensional and therefore someone I am less likely to let have it with both barrels. I sometimes think that one of the reasons that discussions or debates grow so heated is that it is easy to forget there are people behind the words that are written. We say things to one another that we wouldn't dream of saying in person. The subjective feelings of the recipients of our words are lost in the objectivity of our arguments.
Everybody should blog.
Thursday, February 13, 2003
Monday, February 10, 2003
On Covenants and Covenanting
All the intercourse which God holds with men is through the medium of covenant transactions. Soon after the creation of this world, it was put under a federal dispensation, of which man was the head. By this arrangement, nothing was detracted from the glory of the Creator in the exercise of his high prerogative as Legislator; but by it there was an eminent display given of his goodness. The law under which man was created, was a copy of the moral perfections of God. In the superadded form of a covenant which it received, it exhibited a transcript of his gracious character. On that dispensation, under which man was placed in innocency, there are the clearest traces of the goodness of God, as well as of his wisdom, and power, and justice, and holiness. And it was this finishing act of the six days' creation work that made it, in the highest degree, the object of Divine complacential contemplation. "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good."
Much that has been said and written in denial of the covenant of works, proceeds from evident ignorance of the nature of such a transaction. Did God, by fair implication, give to our first parents promises of good, to be fulfilled, when they should perform the condition required of them? Life was as certainly promised, as death was threatened, in the covenant of works. A penalty is necessary to law, and therefore, does not change its nature; but in the exercise of purely legislative authority, there is no place for promises or reward. "When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say we are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do." Luke 17:10. Those who have only what was their duty, have merited nothing. Promises on the part of God, to our first parents, exhibited him in another than a merely legislative character. It displayed his benignity in promising to reward man's obedience, and his faithfulness as pledged for the fulfillment of his engagement. The covenant of works was not a mere act of Divine authoritative will to preserve order and subordination in the world, but it was an emanation from the goodness of the Divine nature, in this way discovering itself, mediately for the good of man, and ultimately for the glory of God.
The design of the foregoing remarks, is to show that God is inclined, by his essential graciousness, to connect with his commands promises of reward, as motives to obey. An argument a priori is thus furnished for the proposition under consideration. Abundant facts confirm the same truth. In the whole history of man till the present time, and in that which remains to be filled up until time shall be no more, a single exception shall never be found to that rule of the divine administrations, by which God is exhibited as a God who makes and who keeps covenant with men. The condemnation and punishment of the wicked furnish nothing incongrous with this most interesting view of the Divine character, for they all die under the covenant of works, and suffer its direful penalty; and their sin has this aggravation, that it is committed under a dispensation of new covenant mercy, and against a Savior by whom it is administered. And, while from that very fact, the righteousness of the Divine government, in their sentence and its execution, will be most clearly displayed, there will be, in the salvation of all the redeemed, a most glorious exhibition of the gracious perfections fo the Triune God. "He hath sent redemption unto his people; he hath commended his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his name."
2. All God's covenant transactions with men since the fall, are based on the covenant of grace. The covenant of works being broken, there was no place left under it for promises. By the violation of his engagement, man lost all claim to the Divine favor. There was before him nothing but a "fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation." It was perfectly clear that if promises be made again to man, it must be under an order of things entirely new, and for which the covenant of works made no provision, Infinite wisdom foresaw and provided for the exigency. Between the eternal FAther and the eternal Son a covenant was made in eternity, which contemplate the wiping away of all the dishonor done to God by the introduction of sin, and the manifestation fo the Divine perfections in restoring to the moral universe the harmony which that foreign and malignant element had disturbed. "I have made a covenant with my chosen." "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." The Son of God undertook, in our nature, to satisfy Divine justice, and to opent up a way through which mercy could be manifested to sinners. By his obedience to the death, he fully performed all the stipulations of the covenant, and provided for the children of men a way of access to God. "In Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ."
[Taken from Vol. 3 no. 21, October 13, 1995 of the Original Covenanter and Contending Witness. Originally published in 1850.]
All the intercourse which God holds with men is through the medium of covenant transactions. Soon after the creation of this world, it was put under a federal dispensation, of which man was the head. By this arrangement, nothing was detracted from the glory of the Creator in the exercise of his high prerogative as Legislator; but by it there was an eminent display given of his goodness. The law under which man was created, was a copy of the moral perfections of God. In the superadded form of a covenant which it received, it exhibited a transcript of his gracious character. On that dispensation, under which man was placed in innocency, there are the clearest traces of the goodness of God, as well as of his wisdom, and power, and justice, and holiness. And it was this finishing act of the six days' creation work that made it, in the highest degree, the object of Divine complacential contemplation. "And God saw everything that he had made, and behold it was very good."
Much that has been said and written in denial of the covenant of works, proceeds from evident ignorance of the nature of such a transaction. Did God, by fair implication, give to our first parents promises of good, to be fulfilled, when they should perform the condition required of them? Life was as certainly promised, as death was threatened, in the covenant of works. A penalty is necessary to law, and therefore, does not change its nature; but in the exercise of purely legislative authority, there is no place for promises or reward. "When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say we are unprofitable servants; we have done that which was our duty to do." Luke 17:10. Those who have only what was their duty, have merited nothing. Promises on the part of God, to our first parents, exhibited him in another than a merely legislative character. It displayed his benignity in promising to reward man's obedience, and his faithfulness as pledged for the fulfillment of his engagement. The covenant of works was not a mere act of Divine authoritative will to preserve order and subordination in the world, but it was an emanation from the goodness of the Divine nature, in this way discovering itself, mediately for the good of man, and ultimately for the glory of God.
The design of the foregoing remarks, is to show that God is inclined, by his essential graciousness, to connect with his commands promises of reward, as motives to obey. An argument a priori is thus furnished for the proposition under consideration. Abundant facts confirm the same truth. In the whole history of man till the present time, and in that which remains to be filled up until time shall be no more, a single exception shall never be found to that rule of the divine administrations, by which God is exhibited as a God who makes and who keeps covenant with men. The condemnation and punishment of the wicked furnish nothing incongrous with this most interesting view of the Divine character, for they all die under the covenant of works, and suffer its direful penalty; and their sin has this aggravation, that it is committed under a dispensation of new covenant mercy, and against a Savior by whom it is administered. And, while from that very fact, the righteousness of the Divine government, in their sentence and its execution, will be most clearly displayed, there will be, in the salvation of all the redeemed, a most glorious exhibition of the gracious perfections fo the Triune God. "He hath sent redemption unto his people; he hath commended his covenant for ever; holy and reverend is his name."
2. All God's covenant transactions with men since the fall, are based on the covenant of grace. The covenant of works being broken, there was no place left under it for promises. By the violation of his engagement, man lost all claim to the Divine favor. There was before him nothing but a "fearful looking for of judgement and fiery indignation." It was perfectly clear that if promises be made again to man, it must be under an order of things entirely new, and for which the covenant of works made no provision, Infinite wisdom foresaw and provided for the exigency. Between the eternal FAther and the eternal Son a covenant was made in eternity, which contemplate the wiping away of all the dishonor done to God by the introduction of sin, and the manifestation fo the Divine perfections in restoring to the moral universe the harmony which that foreign and malignant element had disturbed. "I have made a covenant with my chosen." "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself." The Son of God undertook, in our nature, to satisfy Divine justice, and to opent up a way through which mercy could be manifested to sinners. By his obedience to the death, he fully performed all the stipulations of the covenant, and provided for the children of men a way of access to God. "In Christ Jesus, ye who were sometimes far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ."
[Taken from Vol. 3 no. 21, October 13, 1995 of the Original Covenanter and Contending Witness. Originally published in 1850.]
Sweet Elodie...
Is now trying desperately hard to walk. She is eight months old now and such a tiny, petite little mite, that she looks too little to accomplish such feats of daring do. However, we caught her after she had crawled up four steps on our stairs the other day. She was quite pleased with herself and chuckled until we took her off. Then the chuckles became shrieks to be put back DOWN on the stairs. She can't say a word, but despite that manages to convey her meanings quite clearly.
It is true that crawling does cause a huge spurt in learning in babies. The act of coordinating the movement on both sides of the body forces both hemispheres of the brain to work together. This, in turn, causes a quantum leap in their ability to learn stuff. And Elodie is just a shining example of this in my own biased opinion.
Is now trying desperately hard to walk. She is eight months old now and such a tiny, petite little mite, that she looks too little to accomplish such feats of daring do. However, we caught her after she had crawled up four steps on our stairs the other day. She was quite pleased with herself and chuckled until we took her off. Then the chuckles became shrieks to be put back DOWN on the stairs. She can't say a word, but despite that manages to convey her meanings quite clearly.
It is true that crawling does cause a huge spurt in learning in babies. The act of coordinating the movement on both sides of the body forces both hemispheres of the brain to work together. This, in turn, causes a quantum leap in their ability to learn stuff. And Elodie is just a shining example of this in my own biased opinion.
Biting my Nails...
Well, my paper on Energy Therapy is now in the hands of my elders, awaiting their verdict. I was told to "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." My moods alternate between both extremes of despair and wild hope. Yesterday at church, one of the men there who is studying apologetics and philosophy, and who is able to stymie all his profs with Van Tillian precision, gave me his verdict on my paper -- thumbs up! There was one little point that he had a question by, but as it wasn't something that I hold as my position, it isn't really a problem. He echoed what several others have said -- there needs to be a book written on this topic from a Reformed Christian perspective. Several others, whose opinions I respect, have also said that my thesis looks pretty good.
I spoke with my kinesionics trainer the other day and told him some of what was in my paper. He wants a copy because he has had to deal with much of the same thing. But what was really, really, really exciting and gratifying to me is that he wants me to come and teach this stuff on his next course! He also recommended that I write a book on the topic as well!
So, here I am, seriously considering the possibility of writing a Christian apologetic on the lawful use of energy therapies in healing, once I have the elders' blessing on what I have done thus far. Most of the writings from Christians that deal with the topic fall into the category of "New Age Paranoists" because many of these therapies were developed in non-Christian countries and have pantheistic ideas attached to them. But some of the methods are indeed valid, and indifferent means of healing that I believe can be utilized safely and effectively if done in the context of the correct worldview (Reformed Calvinism).
In the meantime, I am trying to be circumspect in what I actually post here so that I don't get into too much trouble. Sometimes it is hard to restrain myself...
Well, my paper on Energy Therapy is now in the hands of my elders, awaiting their verdict. I was told to "hope for the best, but prepare for the worst." My moods alternate between both extremes of despair and wild hope. Yesterday at church, one of the men there who is studying apologetics and philosophy, and who is able to stymie all his profs with Van Tillian precision, gave me his verdict on my paper -- thumbs up! There was one little point that he had a question by, but as it wasn't something that I hold as my position, it isn't really a problem. He echoed what several others have said -- there needs to be a book written on this topic from a Reformed Christian perspective. Several others, whose opinions I respect, have also said that my thesis looks pretty good.
I spoke with my kinesionics trainer the other day and told him some of what was in my paper. He wants a copy because he has had to deal with much of the same thing. But what was really, really, really exciting and gratifying to me is that he wants me to come and teach this stuff on his next course! He also recommended that I write a book on the topic as well!
So, here I am, seriously considering the possibility of writing a Christian apologetic on the lawful use of energy therapies in healing, once I have the elders' blessing on what I have done thus far. Most of the writings from Christians that deal with the topic fall into the category of "New Age Paranoists" because many of these therapies were developed in non-Christian countries and have pantheistic ideas attached to them. But some of the methods are indeed valid, and indifferent means of healing that I believe can be utilized safely and effectively if done in the context of the correct worldview (Reformed Calvinism).
In the meantime, I am trying to be circumspect in what I actually post here so that I don't get into too much trouble. Sometimes it is hard to restrain myself...
Saturday, February 01, 2003
Snapshot
A small piece of heaven came my way today. I lay on the floor mattress that Garnet uses and nursed baby Elodie while watching the wind chase the clouds across the sky through my bedroom window. It was a rare moment of peace. A rare experience of quiet contentment.
Last night Marc took all but the two youngest to see The Two Towers. I had the house to myself with the exception of 3 year old Garnet and Baby Elodie. I hated it. As much as I think I would enjoy the lack of chaos that not having the children here would bring, as soon as I have it, I hate it. The children are noisy, messy, and too exhuberant for my nerves some of the time. But it is much tougher not having them here. The house feels like an empty and lifeless shell without them.
How will I handle the future when they are grown and gone? Will they live close enough to visit me often? Will grandchildren over run me? I hope so.
I am also thankful that I still have another 18 years or so of child guiding ahead of me with Elodie. When I first fell pregnant with her, I was so bummed. I had already started to plan for a life free of diapers and potty training and no more homeschooling. But now I wonder how I ever lived life without her.
Nathanael is 16 and will be leaving in a few years. I really really like my son. He is growing into a fine young man that I am proud of. One of the most pleasant things in my life is being able to visit with him and share jokes, stories, stuff we are discovering, and just plain old companionship. I hope I won't be one of those jealous interfering mothers-in-law when and if he gets married. And I hope his future bride doesn't take me in dislike.
[Sigh] Why can't time stand still?
A small piece of heaven came my way today. I lay on the floor mattress that Garnet uses and nursed baby Elodie while watching the wind chase the clouds across the sky through my bedroom window. It was a rare moment of peace. A rare experience of quiet contentment.
Last night Marc took all but the two youngest to see The Two Towers. I had the house to myself with the exception of 3 year old Garnet and Baby Elodie. I hated it. As much as I think I would enjoy the lack of chaos that not having the children here would bring, as soon as I have it, I hate it. The children are noisy, messy, and too exhuberant for my nerves some of the time. But it is much tougher not having them here. The house feels like an empty and lifeless shell without them.
How will I handle the future when they are grown and gone? Will they live close enough to visit me often? Will grandchildren over run me? I hope so.
I am also thankful that I still have another 18 years or so of child guiding ahead of me with Elodie. When I first fell pregnant with her, I was so bummed. I had already started to plan for a life free of diapers and potty training and no more homeschooling. But now I wonder how I ever lived life without her.
Nathanael is 16 and will be leaving in a few years. I really really like my son. He is growing into a fine young man that I am proud of. One of the most pleasant things in my life is being able to visit with him and share jokes, stories, stuff we are discovering, and just plain old companionship. I hope I won't be one of those jealous interfering mothers-in-law when and if he gets married. And I hope his future bride doesn't take me in dislike.
[Sigh] Why can't time stand still?
Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Wednesday, January 22, 2003
How my Days Begin...
My rattlesnake awakens me,
I swat its scaly head.
My buzzard pecks my belly
Till I fling it from the bed.
My rats attack me as I rise
But scatter when I roar.
I boot my sweet tarantula
Across the stony floor.
I tickle my piranha,
Who rewards me with a bite,
Then disengage the leeches
That besiege me over night.
I flick aside the lizard
Clinging grimly to my chin,
And now I feel I'm ready
For my morning to begin.
Another day has started,
I stretch and yawn and shout,
Then rap my cudgel on my head
To shake the cobwebs out.
I scratch my chest and belly,
My neck and knobby knees,
Then knock my head against the wall
To agitate my fleas.
I snort and grunt and rearrange
Some bones upong a shelf,
Then gaze into the mirror
And commence to groom myself.
I rinse my mouth with onion juice
And dab some on my chin,
I rub my cheeks with dragon blood
To uglify my skin.
I brush my hair with gargoyle oil
That's specially refined,
Then scrub my face with weasal grease,
The extra smelly kind.
When it's apparent I've achieved
My usual appeal,
I trudge into the kitchen
To prepare my morning meal.
Oh breakfast, lovely breakfast,
You're the meal I savor most.
I sip a bit of gargoyle bile
And chew some ghoul on toast.
I linger over scrambled legs
Complete with pickeled feet,
Then finish with a piping bowl
Of steamy Scream of Wheat.
[poem by Jack Prelutsky from his book Awful Ogre's Awful Day -- some days this matches my day.]
My rattlesnake awakens me,
I swat its scaly head.
My buzzard pecks my belly
Till I fling it from the bed.
My rats attack me as I rise
But scatter when I roar.
I boot my sweet tarantula
Across the stony floor.
I tickle my piranha,
Who rewards me with a bite,
Then disengage the leeches
That besiege me over night.
I flick aside the lizard
Clinging grimly to my chin,
And now I feel I'm ready
For my morning to begin.
Another day has started,
I stretch and yawn and shout,
Then rap my cudgel on my head
To shake the cobwebs out.
I scratch my chest and belly,
My neck and knobby knees,
Then knock my head against the wall
To agitate my fleas.
I snort and grunt and rearrange
Some bones upong a shelf,
Then gaze into the mirror
And commence to groom myself.
I rinse my mouth with onion juice
And dab some on my chin,
I rub my cheeks with dragon blood
To uglify my skin.
I brush my hair with gargoyle oil
That's specially refined,
Then scrub my face with weasal grease,
The extra smelly kind.
When it's apparent I've achieved
My usual appeal,
I trudge into the kitchen
To prepare my morning meal.
Oh breakfast, lovely breakfast,
You're the meal I savor most.
I sip a bit of gargoyle bile
And chew some ghoul on toast.
I linger over scrambled legs
Complete with pickeled feet,
Then finish with a piping bowl
Of steamy Scream of Wheat.
[poem by Jack Prelutsky from his book Awful Ogre's Awful Day -- some days this matches my day.]
Monday, January 20, 2003
Things that Thrill...
I went to the bookstore today to buy a book on Quantum Physics and had a hard time settling on which one to get. I finally ended up with "Quantum Reality" by Nick Herbert. And I just couldn't pass up on two other books: "The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World" by Paul Davies and "Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief" by Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene "Aquilli, M.D., Ph.D., and Vince Rause. These last two complement another book I am reading by Dr. Herbert Benson -- "Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief." (Unbeknowst to me, the store was having a sale of 20% off of everything in the store, with the exception of the bargain bins. Yippee! The thrill of good books on sale!) It is a fascinating study to find more evidence of our Creator at work in the very biology of how our brains work when we believe in Him. It is literally hard-wired into our brains to believe. Kind of gives one a different perspective on Romans 1:18.
And speaking of Dr. Benson, I found another book of his that I wanted on the bargain table for $5 -- "The Relaxation Response." Now here is a thought -- if our thoughts are capable of causing a stress reaction in the body of higher blood pressure, the release of norephinephrine and epinephrine, the speeding up of heart, respiration, and metabolic rates, etc., then why can't we do the opposite with our thoughts -- slow down the heart/respiration/metabolic rate and lower our blood pressure. Well it turns out that we can. But doing this is considered suspect by many Christians.
Here is something else that I ponder (and the reason why I buy books on quantum theory): Why is it that we consider it normal and not occultic when animals display forms of telepathy -- like dogs knowing when a master is returning home, or sensing when an owner wants to commit suicide and then displays signs of comforting -- yet it is occult or pyschic, or paranormal if people display these same capabilities?
Another thing that thrills me -- buying stationery. I love buying empty notebooks and paper, pens, markers, pencils, and erasers. They represent the potential of creativity and the enjoyment of learning and figuring.
I love to write longhand. Calligraphy was one thing I concentrated on when I studied art for three years under a master in high school. There is a positive pleasure in seeing letters well-formed with artistically placed scrolls and flourishes. Unfortunately, most of my work requires the speed and convenience of word processing and I can't afford the luxury of the hand written word too often. But when I do have the time, I love to indulge myself with different colored inks and a variety of styles.
How's that for a disjointed post?
I went to the bookstore today to buy a book on Quantum Physics and had a hard time settling on which one to get. I finally ended up with "Quantum Reality" by Nick Herbert. And I just couldn't pass up on two other books: "The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World" by Paul Davies and "Why God Won't Go Away: Brain Science and the Biology of Belief" by Andrew Newberg, M.D., Eugene "Aquilli, M.D., Ph.D., and Vince Rause. These last two complement another book I am reading by Dr. Herbert Benson -- "Timeless Healing: The Power and Biology of Belief." (Unbeknowst to me, the store was having a sale of 20% off of everything in the store, with the exception of the bargain bins. Yippee! The thrill of good books on sale!) It is a fascinating study to find more evidence of our Creator at work in the very biology of how our brains work when we believe in Him. It is literally hard-wired into our brains to believe. Kind of gives one a different perspective on Romans 1:18.
And speaking of Dr. Benson, I found another book of his that I wanted on the bargain table for $5 -- "The Relaxation Response." Now here is a thought -- if our thoughts are capable of causing a stress reaction in the body of higher blood pressure, the release of norephinephrine and epinephrine, the speeding up of heart, respiration, and metabolic rates, etc., then why can't we do the opposite with our thoughts -- slow down the heart/respiration/metabolic rate and lower our blood pressure. Well it turns out that we can. But doing this is considered suspect by many Christians.
Here is something else that I ponder (and the reason why I buy books on quantum theory): Why is it that we consider it normal and not occultic when animals display forms of telepathy -- like dogs knowing when a master is returning home, or sensing when an owner wants to commit suicide and then displays signs of comforting -- yet it is occult or pyschic, or paranormal if people display these same capabilities?
Another thing that thrills me -- buying stationery. I love buying empty notebooks and paper, pens, markers, pencils, and erasers. They represent the potential of creativity and the enjoyment of learning and figuring.
I love to write longhand. Calligraphy was one thing I concentrated on when I studied art for three years under a master in high school. There is a positive pleasure in seeing letters well-formed with artistically placed scrolls and flourishes. Unfortunately, most of my work requires the speed and convenience of word processing and I can't afford the luxury of the hand written word too often. But when I do have the time, I love to indulge myself with different colored inks and a variety of styles.
How's that for a disjointed post?
Tuesday, January 14, 2003
Boredom?
How in the world do people manage to have nothing to do and be bored? At any given time I have about 20 or more different things I could choose from to be doing. For instance, right now I could be cleaning up my kitchen and putting away my groceries and starting supper. I could also be working on a quilt block for a newly married friend. Then there is the study and research for my paper on Energy Therapy that I am writing. Oh, and the attic library needs sorting out and organizing, my office needs painting, clothes need to be rotated due to changes in the size of children and then there are all the theology books I own and haven't read yet.
What I need is a couple of clones of myself and some parallel universes to run them in a concurrent fashion with the ability to enjoy what each one of me is doing. I am finding that this life is just too short to cram in all the things I would like to do. Like....
I really like doing housework when it is all that I have to concentrate on. Folding laundry and placing things in a neat orderly pile is very satisfying to me. I even organize the clothing in how I hang it out on the line on warm summer days. There is also something very satisfying about restoring order to a messy room and getting things back in place or making my faucets shine like a mirror. [But why is entropy so easy to achieve? Hours of work can be demolished in minutes by a rambunctious toddler!] What drives me really crazy is doing housework AND having to homeschool at the same time in order to fit everything in.
Homeschooling would be very enjoyable if that is all I had to do. Although I would rather stick pins in my eyes than teach small children to read, doing the other stuff, even rote learning of the times tables, can be a gratifying experience if I am able to just concentrate on that. But I can't do just that.
I have some artistic tendencies that don't often get satisfied due to a lack of time. I would like to express those tendencies in sewing and decorating, doing calligraphy, drawing, painting, and practicing the piano. No time!
Studies, research and writing of health, nutrition, and various forms of healing for my clinic work is another passion. It must be tucked in around the cooking/cleaning/laundry/homeschooling/family worship/grocery shopping/appointments/kid activities/and husband tending. Not enough time!
Then there are all my friends I would like to spend time with. I know so many fascinating and interesting people who have various facets to their lives that enriches my own when we connect. Alas, not the amount of time I would like to give to them either. And my family is growing with the promise of more growth in the future when more children marry and more grandchildren are born so there will be even less time for friends, although I think the friendship of my adult children and the companionship and antics of my grandchildren will compensate for this.
There are so many books to read to the children and so many things to teach and discuss with them. Where do I get the time?
I am glad I am "just a housewife" and don't lead a dull life.
How in the world do people manage to have nothing to do and be bored? At any given time I have about 20 or more different things I could choose from to be doing. For instance, right now I could be cleaning up my kitchen and putting away my groceries and starting supper. I could also be working on a quilt block for a newly married friend. Then there is the study and research for my paper on Energy Therapy that I am writing. Oh, and the attic library needs sorting out and organizing, my office needs painting, clothes need to be rotated due to changes in the size of children and then there are all the theology books I own and haven't read yet.
What I need is a couple of clones of myself and some parallel universes to run them in a concurrent fashion with the ability to enjoy what each one of me is doing. I am finding that this life is just too short to cram in all the things I would like to do. Like....
I really like doing housework when it is all that I have to concentrate on. Folding laundry and placing things in a neat orderly pile is very satisfying to me. I even organize the clothing in how I hang it out on the line on warm summer days. There is also something very satisfying about restoring order to a messy room and getting things back in place or making my faucets shine like a mirror. [But why is entropy so easy to achieve? Hours of work can be demolished in minutes by a rambunctious toddler!] What drives me really crazy is doing housework AND having to homeschool at the same time in order to fit everything in.
Homeschooling would be very enjoyable if that is all I had to do. Although I would rather stick pins in my eyes than teach small children to read, doing the other stuff, even rote learning of the times tables, can be a gratifying experience if I am able to just concentrate on that. But I can't do just that.
I have some artistic tendencies that don't often get satisfied due to a lack of time. I would like to express those tendencies in sewing and decorating, doing calligraphy, drawing, painting, and practicing the piano. No time!
Studies, research and writing of health, nutrition, and various forms of healing for my clinic work is another passion. It must be tucked in around the cooking/cleaning/laundry/homeschooling/family worship/grocery shopping/appointments/kid activities/and husband tending. Not enough time!
Then there are all my friends I would like to spend time with. I know so many fascinating and interesting people who have various facets to their lives that enriches my own when we connect. Alas, not the amount of time I would like to give to them either. And my family is growing with the promise of more growth in the future when more children marry and more grandchildren are born so there will be even less time for friends, although I think the friendship of my adult children and the companionship and antics of my grandchildren will compensate for this.
There are so many books to read to the children and so many things to teach and discuss with them. Where do I get the time?
I am glad I am "just a housewife" and don't lead a dull life.
Saturday, January 11, 2003
Tolkein Talk
I never did do a review of The Two Towers movie, but I went and enjoyed it thoroughly. I intend to see it a second time when I take some of my kids to it. I can hardly wait til the summer or fall when the DVD is released. If they put out an extended version, that is the one I'll be buying.
We own the extended DVD version of The Fellowship of the Rings. I think I enjoyed all the behind the scenes stuff as much as I did watching the actual movie. If I were going to work on the LOTR movies, I would have wanted to work in the WETA workshop designing and making various props.
One of the things that I found most fascinating was the design and construction of the costumes. They were works of art. I tend to be very utilitarian in my view of clothing. But clothing can be very beautiful and evocative of certain values of modesty, beauty and function in an artform that we wear. We ought not to wear beautiful clothing as a form of giving ourselves airs, but we should wear it as an expression of being creatures made in the image of God.
I never did do a review of The Two Towers movie, but I went and enjoyed it thoroughly. I intend to see it a second time when I take some of my kids to it. I can hardly wait til the summer or fall when the DVD is released. If they put out an extended version, that is the one I'll be buying.
We own the extended DVD version of The Fellowship of the Rings. I think I enjoyed all the behind the scenes stuff as much as I did watching the actual movie. If I were going to work on the LOTR movies, I would have wanted to work in the WETA workshop designing and making various props.
One of the things that I found most fascinating was the design and construction of the costumes. They were works of art. I tend to be very utilitarian in my view of clothing. But clothing can be very beautiful and evocative of certain values of modesty, beauty and function in an artform that we wear. We ought not to wear beautiful clothing as a form of giving ourselves airs, but we should wear it as an expression of being creatures made in the image of God.
Birthday Girl
Yesterday was my 42nd birthday. Happy Birthday to Me!
My daughter Trista is coming over to make my birthday supper and my son Ben is going to make my birthday cheesecake for me. They are all excited about a gift they all chipped in to buy me.
Yesterday Marc took me out for supper at Kelly O'Brien's since they have a free meal for birthday people on their birthdays. It was a good meal, but I wasn't able to fully enjoy it like I would have liked to. I had a miserable cold and had taken something like 7 grams of Vitamin C earlier in the day in an effort to knock it out. I was feeling a bit better by suppertime, but when we finally sat down to eat, I had some sudden sharp pains. Bowel tolerance of Vitamin C and supper do not mix well together. I will spare you the details.
After the birthday meal, we went to Costco and wandered around for a bit and enjoyed some free samples of food. Marc bought me a massage table for my birthday. I need a table for my clinic work, so this is just perfect!
Yesterday was my 42nd birthday. Happy Birthday to Me!
My daughter Trista is coming over to make my birthday supper and my son Ben is going to make my birthday cheesecake for me. They are all excited about a gift they all chipped in to buy me.
Yesterday Marc took me out for supper at Kelly O'Brien's since they have a free meal for birthday people on their birthdays. It was a good meal, but I wasn't able to fully enjoy it like I would have liked to. I had a miserable cold and had taken something like 7 grams of Vitamin C earlier in the day in an effort to knock it out. I was feeling a bit better by suppertime, but when we finally sat down to eat, I had some sudden sharp pains. Bowel tolerance of Vitamin C and supper do not mix well together. I will spare you the details.
After the birthday meal, we went to Costco and wandered around for a bit and enjoyed some free samples of food. Marc bought me a massage table for my birthday. I need a table for my clinic work, so this is just perfect!
Academia
Yesterday I attended a free public lecture on genome research at UNBC. I strolled through the halls of learning carrying my purse and a diaper bag while my 13 yo son, Trahern, followed in my wake with Elodie. She sat part way through the lecture and then had to be taken out by Trahern so as not to disturb everyone. They spent the rest of the lecture at the Tim Horton's coffee shop making a mess with a bagel.
The lecture was interesting but I am not going to bother to describe it.
If I hadn't become a wife and mother, I could have happily spent my days in academia as either a perpetual student or a professor. There is something in the very atmosphere of schools, colleges and universities that invigorates me. So much to learn!
I took some post secondary courses through Malaspina College when I was first married, but other than that, it has been only the odd course here or there, or correspondance coursework. Most of my free time is spent in reading, researching, and writing, particularly in the field of health. It turns my crank to learn. I feel physically good when I am reading or studying. I think it causes my endorphins to surge or something.
Yesterday I attended a free public lecture on genome research at UNBC. I strolled through the halls of learning carrying my purse and a diaper bag while my 13 yo son, Trahern, followed in my wake with Elodie. She sat part way through the lecture and then had to be taken out by Trahern so as not to disturb everyone. They spent the rest of the lecture at the Tim Horton's coffee shop making a mess with a bagel.
The lecture was interesting but I am not going to bother to describe it.
If I hadn't become a wife and mother, I could have happily spent my days in academia as either a perpetual student or a professor. There is something in the very atmosphere of schools, colleges and universities that invigorates me. So much to learn!
I took some post secondary courses through Malaspina College when I was first married, but other than that, it has been only the odd course here or there, or correspondance coursework. Most of my free time is spent in reading, researching, and writing, particularly in the field of health. It turns my crank to learn. I feel physically good when I am reading or studying. I think it causes my endorphins to surge or something.
Monday, January 06, 2003
Homeschool Mom's New Year's Resolutions
I will not be late for field trips, classes, parties, doctor's
appointments,church or any other important events . even if I have to take
the baby 'as is.'
I will limit my email to two hours a day so I can remember to feed the
children.
I will quit stealing grocery money to buy more books at the local library
sale.
I will never again commit the cardinal sin of buying Megablocks instead of
Legos.
I promise not to get mad or yell at anybody before church, even if the
children have to go with one shoe and unmatched socks.
I will quit hiding in the bathroom when the children overwhelm me.
I will quit wearing denim jumpers as soon as all those I have wear out.
I promise to mail my children's pen pal letters before I lose them.
I will start a home business to finance my book addiction. I think I'll
start with buying and selling books on eBay.
I promise myself I will lose 20 pounds before my high school reunion in
June.
I promise to read all the neat books I bought to the children before I sell
them on eBay.
I promise to put $20 every week into my Education Envelope so I don't cry in
the vendor hall at our local homeschool convention this spring.
I will go to bed on time so I can wake up before the baby, even if I have to
leave the dishes in the sink.again.
I will faithfully do whatever the Flylady(.org) says and keeps my tennis
shoes tied.
I will wash the van every week and clean it out after every trip to town.
I promise to control all conflict, including screaming, kicking, throwing
things, slamming doors, pouting, fighting, leaving, locking people in the
bathroom, and other such childish behavior, when I don't get my way.
I promise to read to the children every night and quit pretending I'm
asleep.
I promise not to usurp the answering machine's authority.
I promise not to hog the computer once my husband has come home from work
even though he only wants to play solitaire.
I promise to try to think of one positive thing to tell my husband when he
comes home from work before I unload on him the 20 things that went wrong.
I will try not to buy one more math program.
I promise to limit returned phone calls to 10 minutes each, even when it's
just the plumber.
I promise to teach my children the correct response to store clerks and bank
tellers so they don't reply, 'I don't go to school.'
I promise to quit bribing my children to be quiet by paying them money or
candy.
I promise to read all the books I own before I buy anymore.
I promise to learn to cook this year and hope the local pizza place doesn't
go out of business because of it.
I will never make New Year's Resolutions ever again.
I will not be late for field trips, classes, parties, doctor's
appointments,church or any other important events . even if I have to take
the baby 'as is.'
I will limit my email to two hours a day so I can remember to feed the
children.
I will quit stealing grocery money to buy more books at the local library
sale.
I will never again commit the cardinal sin of buying Megablocks instead of
Legos.
I promise not to get mad or yell at anybody before church, even if the
children have to go with one shoe and unmatched socks.
I will quit hiding in the bathroom when the children overwhelm me.
I will quit wearing denim jumpers as soon as all those I have wear out.
I promise to mail my children's pen pal letters before I lose them.
I will start a home business to finance my book addiction. I think I'll
start with buying and selling books on eBay.
I promise myself I will lose 20 pounds before my high school reunion in
June.
I promise to read all the neat books I bought to the children before I sell
them on eBay.
I promise to put $20 every week into my Education Envelope so I don't cry in
the vendor hall at our local homeschool convention this spring.
I will go to bed on time so I can wake up before the baby, even if I have to
leave the dishes in the sink.again.
I will faithfully do whatever the Flylady(.org) says and keeps my tennis
shoes tied.
I will wash the van every week and clean it out after every trip to town.
I promise to control all conflict, including screaming, kicking, throwing
things, slamming doors, pouting, fighting, leaving, locking people in the
bathroom, and other such childish behavior, when I don't get my way.
I promise to read to the children every night and quit pretending I'm
asleep.
I promise not to usurp the answering machine's authority.
I promise not to hog the computer once my husband has come home from work
even though he only wants to play solitaire.
I promise to try to think of one positive thing to tell my husband when he
comes home from work before I unload on him the 20 things that went wrong.
I will try not to buy one more math program.
I promise to limit returned phone calls to 10 minutes each, even when it's
just the plumber.
I promise to teach my children the correct response to store clerks and bank
tellers so they don't reply, 'I don't go to school.'
I promise to quit bribing my children to be quiet by paying them money or
candy.
I promise to read all the books I own before I buy anymore.
I promise to learn to cook this year and hope the local pizza place doesn't
go out of business because of it.
I will never make New Year's Resolutions ever again.
Saturday, January 04, 2003
This Week's Raspberry...
...Goes to all the Christian men who pull out the "S" word when they begin to lose a debate to a woman. It never fails to amaze me how fast the term "subjection" gets thrown around, not to mention the reminders about being gentle, humble, etc., or admonitions against being headstrong. If you try to answer them you are automatically guilty of these "sins."
It also amazes me how many men believe that all women are to submit to all men. It is clear to me that they need a good strong dose of the exposition provided in the Larger Catechism about the duties and sins of superiors, inferiors, and equals to straighten them out.
That, and maybe the chance to live under the same sort of rule that they like to impose.
And no, I am NOT talking about my husband!
...Goes to all the Christian men who pull out the "S" word when they begin to lose a debate to a woman. It never fails to amaze me how fast the term "subjection" gets thrown around, not to mention the reminders about being gentle, humble, etc., or admonitions against being headstrong. If you try to answer them you are automatically guilty of these "sins."
It also amazes me how many men believe that all women are to submit to all men. It is clear to me that they need a good strong dose of the exposition provided in the Larger Catechism about the duties and sins of superiors, inferiors, and equals to straighten them out.
That, and maybe the chance to live under the same sort of rule that they like to impose.
And no, I am NOT talking about my husband!
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