Laughter As A Disguise For Emptiness

Ecclesiastes 2:1,2
Covenanted Reformed Presbyterian Church, Albany NY
Rev. Greg L. Price

Laughter is a divine medicine to the soul when used properly. It lifts the spirit and improves the health of the body. Many studies have been done showing the relationship of laughter to good health. For example, Nicole Nisly, M.D. from the University ofIowa Hospital writes in her article entitled "LaughterIs Medicine From Within" (September 2003):"Laughter recently got a boost when researchers announced at an American Heart Association meeting last November that heart-healthy people are more likely to laugh frequently and heartily than those with heart disease," says Nicole Nisly, M.D., UI Hospitals and Clinics Complementary and Alternative Medicine Clinic.

The benefits of laughter go beyond heart disease. Laughter has been found to decrease tension and reduce pain. It also appears to boost the body's production of infection-fighting antibodies. Laughter even has the potential to help in the treatment of depression and other emotional illnesses. God's people should be those who are unafraid to express their joy with laughter. Yes, there is a time to weep, but there is also a time to laugh (according to Solomon in Ecclesiastes 3:4). Solomon raises the matter of laughter for our consideration this Lord's Day.

What role does laughter play in the life of a Christian? Are there any boundaries that we should set around our laughter? Will immersing ourselves in laughter bring contentment and peace of heart?Let us consider this Lord's Day the following mainpoints from our text:

(I) Solomon's Experiment WithLaughter (Ecclesiastes 2:1) and
(II) Solomon's Conclusion Concerning Laughter (Ecclesiastes 2:1,2).

I. Solomon's Experiment With Laughter (Ecclesiastes2:1).

A. By way of review, let us remember that in the last few verses of Chapter One, we saw how Solomon gave himself to a study of all the activities, employments,and pleasures of man from a mere earthly perspective of one who lives "under the sun." And all Solomon could discover by way of his thorough investigation was that all of man's activities were both physically and mentally exhausting with nothing by way of true happiness to show for it. It was all unending activity and meaningless movement as it relates to finding a peace of mind and contentment of the soul that endures. King Solomon even investigated the value of worldly wisdom and perverse folly to see if true joy might come from a pursuit of these. But to no avail. Worldly wisdom had no superiority over perverse folly in bringing true happiness to man. A worldly wisdom only increased his grief and sorrow over not finding the joy that he so much desired.

B. Now Solomon turns in Chapter Two to various pleasures which he personally investigated in order to bring an enduring satisfaction and fulfillment into his life. The first pleasure in which Solomon immersed himself was that of mirth (or gladness) which issues forth in laughter. Perhaps Solomon reasoned from a mere earthly perspective as follows: "If any particular frame of mind might be geared toward enjoyment, it would seem to be that of outward glee and amusement. If tears and sorrow bring pain to the soul, then laughing and feasting must bring joy to the soul."

1. Solomon turns again to reasoning with himself about the place where he might find true joy and contentment: "I said in mine heart" (Ecclesiastes2:1).

a. There is certainly nothing wrong with this type of self-talk wherein you carefully weigh the advantages and the disadvantages of a particular decision. This is precisely what a godly person should do. One who is godly will not run quickly into important decisions, but will rather meditate, reflect upon God's Word and Providence, and will pray. Important decisions are not made rashly, but patiently. When making important decisions, we should debate and argue ourselves into the right decision by carefully weighing all of the advantages and disadvantages of that decision in accordance with God's Word. The problem here occurs because Solomon is not using God's Word to help give him direction,but is rather reflecting on what will bring him joy apart from a consideration of the Lord Jesus Christ and His revealed will. Solomon is thinking and acting as though God has nothing to say about the matter of joy and contentment in his life.

b. Dear ones, this is the starting point of Solomon's defection from the Lord. He has forgottenthe Lord and has left his first love. The Scripture tells us very specifically that when Solomon devoted himself to his idolatrous wives that they turned his heart away from the Lord his God (1 Kings 11:4). You can tell that you are heading for a fall away from the Lord when Jesus Christ and His glory and Jesus Christ and His Word are not in your affections, nor in your thoughts, nor in your decisions. When all that is important is that you get your own way you have forgotten the Lord. You may even argue with yourself that you are not being selfish, but are really thinking of what is best for everyone involved (what is best for the greatest number ofpeople--utilitarianism). But dear ones, whether you are purely self-centered in your decision or whether you sincerely want what is best for the greatest number of people, you have begun to backslide if Christ and His Word are not in your affections,thoughts, and decisions.

c. What is amazing about Solomon's fall away from God is not only the fact that he enjoyed a greater measure of divine wisdom than any other man (except Christ), but that he seems to have enjoyed such a blessed communion with Christ for the greater part ofhis life. For 1 Kings 11:4 states that when Solomon was "old" his idolatrous wives turned his heart away from the Lord. Furthermore, the loving marital relationship between Solomon and his bride in the Song of Songs beautifully signifies that blessed communion he and all believers enjoy with Christ by faith. What a warning to us all that even though we have been faithful Christians for many years, if we allow our desires and the pleasures of this life to overwhelm us, we too will fall away from the Lord and reap the sorrow and grief that Solomon reaped. But the story of Solomon does not end on that note thankfully. For Solomon speaks in Ecclesiastes as the restored and repentant Preacher. Christ had surely gone after Solomon with an everlasting love and by His almighty power rescued him from his rebellion and idolatry. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). 2. What did Solomon say in his heart according to our text?

a. First he said, "Go to now" or literally "Go now"(Ecclesiastes 2:1). Solomon commands himself to go now, get busy, and be resolved in getting on with his investigation. This verbal phrase denotes a settled determination on his part. If true joy was to be found in partying and laughter, Solomon had set out to find it.

b. The second thing Solomon says in his heart is this: "I will prove thee with mirth" (Ecclesiastes2:1). Solomon is saying here, "I will test you, my heart, with gladness, festivities, and laughing to see whether your hunger after true satisfaction can be realized by these means."

c. The third thing Solomon said in his heart is this: "therefore enjoy pleasure" (Ecclesiastes 2:1). Literally, Solomon said, "And see (or enjoy) thou with the good." Let me unpack that for you.

(1) Just as Solomon had said that he had determined to provehis soul WITH MIRTH (which includes gladness,amusement, and laughter) to see whether true joy might be found in them, so now he adds a command to his soul to see or enjoy itself WITH THE GOOD (namely, with mirth, amusement, and laughter). Solomon here calls mirth a "good thing." In what sense did Solomon refer to mirth as a good thing?

(2) Now remember that Solomon is not evaluating that which is good from God's perspective at this point, but from man's perspective (as one from "under the sun"). Solomon calls mirth (or gladness, amusement, and laughter) good because he thinks mirth will bring him lasting joy and happiness. No doubt, there is a sense in which mirth, gladness and laughter is good and beneficial to the health of even those who live their lives apart from God (as noted in the article to whichI referred earlier in the sermon). But, dear ones, the mirth, amusement, and laughter of the world without Christ will not bring a satisfaction that endures forever. It will only bring such a person whistling to the brink of destruction, and then he will realize all too late that he has laughed himself all the way to hell and everlasting torment.

(3) Let us be clear that the Christian, according to Solomon in Proverbs 17:22, should be one who has a MERRY heart ("A merry heart doeth good like amedicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones"). The same Hebrew word used for MERRY in Proverbs 17:22 is here used for MIRTH in Ecclesiastes 2:1 (the only difference being that the word is used as an adjective in Proverbs 17:22 to describe a particular kind ofheart, a MERRY heart, whereas it is used as a noun inEcclesiastes 2:1). Thus, there is a godly mirth that we as Christians should know in our hearts. There is a godly laughter that we as Christians should express in our lives. What is the difference between a godly mirth and an ungodly mirth or between a godly laughter and an ungodly laughter? Let's first consider godly mirth and laughter and that mirth and laughter that is ungodly.

(4) Godly mirth and laughter should be an expression of God's goodness to us as God's people(Psalm 126:2; Deuteronomy 16:11; 1 Timothy 6:17). When we see how good God has been to us, we must share our joy with gladness and laughter. Thus, times of celebration as at birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, weddings, promotions at work, or gatherings for fellowship should be filled with mirth and laughter for by our laughter we should be giving thanks to God for all His undeserved blessings to us. Wine is said by God to make the heart of man glad in a godly sense (in Psalm 104:15) and sweet smelling ointment and perfume so likewise (in Proverbs 27:9)where the same Hebrew word is used as in Proverbs 17:22 for these are all undeserved gifts from our gracious God that we are to use for His glory. That which is moral and upright brings godly mirth to the heart of man (as a wise son in Proverbs 15:20;Proverbs 29:2).

Encouragement brings gladness and mirth to a soul that is stooped over with heavy burdens (Proverbs 12:25). Days of God's people gathering to praise the Lord should be days of mirth and joy in the Lord (Nehemiah 8:9-12--Feast ofTrumpets, see also Deuteronomy 12:7--Bringing in the tithes to the Lord, Deuteronomy 16:11--Feast ofPentecost).

(5) Ungodly mirth and laughter is that which is directed in derision against God, against God's people, against God's blessings, and against God'sWord (Psalm 22:7; Genesis 18:13; Proverbs 15:21). It is an ungodly mirth and laughter that is used inexcess or is used at inappropriate times (James 4:9). If we laugh at sins (whether in the form of coarse jokes, or sinful behavior in person or in movies) we are using an ungodly mirth and laughter. Dear ones, how much of the humor of the world (whether jokes onTV, or in movies, or at the workplace) either has the audience laughing with mockery at that which is righteous or laughing with approval at that which is wicked. Laughter is a gift from God, but it must never be used to imply our approval of that which is immoral. We must not be entertained by that which is morally repugnant to God (profane or blasphemous speech which drags through the gutter that which is holy, or coarse or filthy jokes, or lewd behavior). If we laugh with disrespect when we are justly corrected or disciplined by God or others, we have sinned against the Lord. It is also an ungodly use of mirth and laughter to place in them our hope to bring us true joy and satisfaction.

(6) When we think that we can fill up the emptiness in our lives by merely introducing laughter or partying into our lives, we have deceived ourselvesand have fallen into the same sin as did Solomon. Laughter is not an end in itself. For if we make laughter an end in itself, we will find it to be a dead end. Laughter should lead us to enjoy God, enjoy God's blessings, enjoy God's people, and enjoy God's salvation. Not everything must be spiritual (in a narrow sense) before we can enjoy it. We can enjoywith much laughter playing with our children or grandchildren. We can enjoy with mirth various hobbies or lawful forms of recreation. We can enjoy(with gladness) whatever God has blessed us with(according to 1 Timothy 6:17). However, when mirth and laughter lead our hearts away from God, away fromHis commandments, away from a proper enjoyment and respect for God's blessings freely bestowed upon us, we have fallen into a sinful use of mirth andlaughter.

(7) Doesn't the Lord Himself laugh at the wicked? Yes, it is true that God laughs at the wicked(according to Psalm 2:4). But it is clear that it is not with any approval of their sin, but rather with complete disapproval of their vain attempts to overthrow his Anointed One whom He has seated upon His throne. Certainly, in the same sense we may laugh at the vain attempts of our enemies to overthrow the kingdom of Christ.

(8) How do we reconcile this godly mirth and laughter with what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 7:3? (a) First, the mirth and laughter of the godly isnot opposed to the sorrowful heart of the godly. There is no contradiction here at all. For there can be no true joy in the heart of the godly if they do not first know what it is to mourn over their own sin and the sin of others. Jesus said, "Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted" (Matthew5:4). It is through our sincere grief of sin that we are brought to see with a believing joy and mirth that our only hope in overcoming sin in our lives is Jesus Christ.

(b) The contrast in Ecclesiastes 7:3 is not between a godly sorrow and a godly joy, but between a godly sorrow and an ungodly mirth. For we see the proper contrast in verses 4-6.

(c) Thus, the true Christian religion is not filled with all gloom and doom. It is a religion to be taken seriously because life and death, heaven and hell will stand or fall upon one's faith or unbelief in Jesus Christ. But Jesus came to bring life, peace,and joy to man and to bring it more abundantly. He came to make our joy full. He came that we might enjoy all that He has created to a much more full capacity than any unbeliever is able to do (1 Timothy6:17). God is not a kill-joy. Satan is the ultimate kill-joy who brings on momentary laughter so that people laugh themselves all the way to the lake of fire. Jesus Christ is the ultimate joy of man's desiring. To enjoy Christ is the only way to find true joy now and for all eternity. Let us not follow our sinful hearts to find joy, but let us know our Savior, commune with Him through His Word and prayer, cherish and practice His Word in our lives, and then we will have a merry heart.

II. Solomon's Conclusion Concerning Laughter(Ecclesiastes 2:1.2).

A. The conclusion to Solomon's thorough search into mirth and laughter (apart from communion with Christ) is the same as every other pursuit Solomon made to find joy: "this is also vanity" (Ecclesiastes 2:1). Dear ones, if the joy (or mirth) of the Lord is not your strength, you will not enjoy a godly laughter in anything else that you do. You will find what Solomon found: all such mirth and laughter is vanity, a mere vapor that is so short-lived and passes away so quickly and what is left in the soul is simply that same vacuum or absence of true joy.

B. Solomon goes even further in stating the conclusion to his pursuit of true joy and contentment in verse 2.

1. First, to pursue laughter in order to find true joy is madness or foolishness. It is like starving oneself in order to fill the belly. Or like jumping into an icy river in order to get warm. For in pursuing laughter in order to find true joy only reveals to a man that he has not found true joy. Laughing that is separated from Jesus Christ is in effect laughing at the very chains that shackle you and enslave you to an eternity of hopelessness andhelplessness in everlasting torment. One who can laugh at that which is immoral, profane, and sinful is mad for he is laughing at that for which men will be tormented forever (without relief for even a second) in hell.

2. Second, to pursue mirth in order to find true joy leads nowhere. That is the point of the rhetorical question: "and of mirth, what doeth it?" What does mirth (apart from the joy of the Lord) accomplish in satisfying the soul of man? Nothing. Dear ones, Solomon with his wealth had more opportunity to realize true joy if it could be realized by means of mirth and laughter. For he could afford to hire the best entertainers, the best comedians, the best plays, and he could afford to keep them coming for 24 hours a day if he wanted to do so.

So many people seek to bury their sorrow, their discontentment, their emptiness within by filling their lives with entertainment, amusements, and laughter. All they are doing, however, is coming to realize more and more that true joy and lasting satisfaction is not found in these things. The world learns where true joy is not found and that is why the world continues its search because it never is satisfied. However, the one who drinks of the water of life that is found in Jesus Christ learns that true joy is found only in Christ. The search is over. We have found it. Let us come daily to Christ to drink of the wells of salvation, joy, and peace that are in our Savior. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

Back in the Harness

Things aren't quite how I want them yet, but I am making progress. Progress is slightly impeded by a little girlie who has decided to use destructo-chick methods of getting my attention. Examples include emptying out my travel makeup case on the floor and painting the carpet with a combination of mascara, foundation and toothpaste. She also tried to get my attention when I was speaking to my husband by tossing pencils and crayons over her shoulder while watching me to see if I would notice what she was doing. I did, and in short order she was picking them up in a very disgruntled way.

This is mild to what she did while I was gone, however. One day I am told she removed a loaded diaper in my office, rubbed some of the contents into the carpet, and then cut the rest of it into sushi-sized pieces with a pair of scissors. Life with Elodie can be interesting.

I have had some opportunity over the last few days to ruminate a bit over my recent visit back home. First of all, my trip turned out to be a very enjoyable and relaxing time. My mother reminded me that this is the first time in my 24 years of marriage that I have been back on a visit without a baby and other children in tow. I love my children, but sometimes the duties of caring for them and keeping them entertained small cuts into meaningful interaction when visiting with those you don't see often or for very long, but whom you love just as much.

This trip was a gift from my parents as the financial costs of flying me home is beyond our family at this time. Originally, the idea was to fly me home for what looked like the immanent departure of my paternal grandmother for Eternity with Christ, but Grammy rallied and is beginning to eat and respond again. Instead, it became a delightful birthday present from Mom and Dad, and an opportunity to spend some quality time with them and my sister.

Grammy Hannah is living in a nursing home run by one of the Baptist conventions. The staff there is friendly and kind and it was nice to watch them interact with the patients, even those who seem to be beyond responding. One reads horror stories about some nursing homes where the inmates are abused by the staff, but this is not one of them.

It was instructive to watch my Dad with my Grammy. Both Mom and Dad have taught me many things over the years, not the least of which is how to love my spouse. In the past few years they have been teaching me what it means to love my parents as I have watched them care for their elderly mothers. It is touching to see the tenderness and respect they treat them with. If it hadn't been for my Dad, my Aunt Maudie, and my Aunt Mae, it is likely that I wouldn't have been able to see my grandmother alive. They came in every day to make sure that Grammy ate her meals and got enough to drink to stay hydrated after she had her latest stroke. Dad invariably stroked Grammy’s hair and kissed her and cajoled her into taking a few bites of food or sips of liquid. According to Aunt Maudie, Dad has the best success at being able to get Grammy to respond. I am not surprised after watching Dad interact with some of the other people there. All the elderly ladies love him and he always has a kind word or small joke for everyone. Dad also informed me that he always takes my mother with him to visit those in the hospital because she also has a way with her when talking to the sick and infirm.

Because of the strokes that Grammy has suffered, she really doesn't know me any more. I found that this really doesn't matter. It was still easy to caress her head, rub her neck and do a few small things to convey my love for her. After all, it is the indestructible soul that is being loved and ministered to, not the damaged hardware which inhibits her ability to function. She doesn't remember me, but I remember her and all the good times that I had with her.

They say you can't go home any more. If home is defined by being the physical place where you used to live, then I believe it. Moncton has changed out of recognition in the 24 years that I have been gone. What was once a smallish but comfortable city is now a sprawling commercial hub that has doubled in population. Strip malls, stores and other commercial endeavors, and endless streets of subdivisions have replaced Fields, trees, and country. I didn't feel at home at all there until we headed out into the countryside towards my Aunt Mae's and Uncle Sherman's. There has been some growth and change there as well, but not as much so that it is still recognizable as the place I used to know.

If, however, we define home in terms of relationships, then I did go home. The foundation of parent/child/sibling relationships is laid in the life of a child during the formative years. Maturity and a like-minded faith help to build on that foundation so that love, respect, affection, and bonding increases and deepens. It was joy to share not only a common history and all the memories that go with it, but a common love of the Lord and the lessons He has taught us over the years. I am blessed immeasurably by the fact that the Lord has given me parents and a sister who love and serve Him. This particular circle will be unbroken by and by some day. The contrast between now, with the love and mutual respect that my sister, Darlene, and I have compared with the intense sibling rivalry of yesteryear is stark. I used to hate her when we were growing up. Thankfully I got over that as well as all the jealousy I used to feel over the differences in how we related to our parents. Darlene was my chauffeur a good deal of the time, taking me around to visit people and places between her various duties. It was good to spend so much time with her yakking about old times and discussing life's issues.

I am so glad that I have learned how to do emotional balancing. I was sorely in need of it myself while I was there. Because I am not available to help my sister with this on a regular basis, I taught her how to do a "brush down" for emotional balancing. It is really amazing how well this works, even though it looks strange. By manipulating the electromagnetic energy field of the body through the meridians and spine, it is possible to lessen emotional intensity over stress-causing incidents and occurrences. The last two days before I left to go home was spent partially in the company of my parents and partially hiding in the bathroom and bedroom while I cried because I didn't want to leave them. It is terrible to be torn between dearly loved family on two opposite coasts and know that you won't be seeing some of them for some time. We had to leave early in the morning for the airport so that I could catch my 6:30 flight to Montreal. Mom and Dad went to bed before I did and I stayed up to talk to my sister who had stopped in to say goodbye. I requested a brush down because I know I was stressing out over the combination of leaving Mom and Dad and Dar and her family and the prospect of flying. (I don't travel very well.) Darlene obliged me by doing the brush down while I held the appropriate hand poses, and I was able to say goodbye the next morning without tears. Not only that, I had the best night's sleep that I had had since I had arrived. Since I started having children, there have been very few nights when pregnancy-induced insomnia or small children needing attention haven’t awakened me. On this night however, I went to bed, slept through the usual 2 am awakening and didn't open my eyes until 4:30 am when it was time to get up and get dressed.

It was an entirely positive experience and one I wish I could repeat more often. Now if I could only just get things back on track here at home…

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig...

I'm home, I'm jet-lagged, I'm tired, my luggage has gone missing, and I feel overwhelmed by the thought of getting back into the routine. But tomorrow is another day and hopefully I'll have the energy to dig in and get things whipped back into shape and on track again once I have a good night's sleep.

So who's been messing with my counter?

Leavin' on a Jet Plane...

...but Lord willing, I'll be home on January 18th.

I am leaving this evening on a "red-eye" flight to travel home to the Maritimes. My parents have generously made provision for me to spend some time with them over the next 12 days. I am NOT going to fuss about the condition of my house while I am gone, nor will I fuss about what the kids are or are not doing with regard to their schoolwork. There will be plenty of time to fuss when I get home.

The possibility still exists that I'll be able to blog while I am gone, providing I can get a local dial-up number. I am now the proud owner of a Toshiba laptop, bought for business and school purposes. That means I get to lug it around the airports worrying my head off about losing it, but it also means that I might get the odd chance to connect and keep up with my friends, relations, and cyber pals.

If I don't make it back, due to the Providence of God (and always a constant thought whenever I fly somewhere or go somewhere on my own without the security blanket of a kid or two), please know that I wish my testimony for the love of God and the truth of His Word was as shining as Grant's. We hold these treasures in earthen vessels, and some earthen vessels are more cracked than others.

BTW, for those who are interested, I am now 18 weeks along and baby is fluttering away in my tummy as I type. How's that for being completely disjointed in my thoughts?

A Final Testimony

I am reproducing two pieces of correspondance that Grant wrote shortly before the Lord took him Home. They stand as shining examples of how the grace of God is able to shine through an earthen vessel, revealing His glory.


Grant's email from Saturday Oct.30th

Dear All,How y'all doin'? I hope you're all in good health with a suitable measure of strength to go along with it.

But I can hear you all saying, "We're OK, but we really want to know how you are!"

Well alright, but I must first tell you how I am, and later tell you how I feel. They really are two different things. First unless the pain gets to be real predominant, I have through God's grace been able to keep my mind about as intact as ever (we all know it's somewhat deficient anyways!) I still know who I am and my purposes in this life, both primary and secondary. To know the one true and living God as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and to enjoy Him forever, is the chief purpose all men are responsible for from birth to the day of Divine Judgment, when all men will face that dreadful scene. I accept that duty and enjoy its sublime privilege; I rejoice with you who likewise recognize the duty and correspondingly have ordered your lives in keeping with it. I on the other hand weep for those of you who through fear and ignorance and unbelief cast sins back in God's face as if somehow our faults were really His, or who ignore Him completely saying He doesn't exist and who sin as if He'll never know nor care.

God has not given us exhaustive knowledge about anything, any more than men have been able to attain to infinite knowledge about any of their endeavors; the best men can do is to find out a thing which then brings up a whole new round of questions, almost an infinite number of them. But God has indeed given men enough knowledge to know our duties and the attendant blessings on those who obey what He has revealed, the curses upon the disobedient. He has verified His word by giving it to faithful witnesses, prophets, priests, kings, apostles, elders, teachers, and to the One who fills all these offices perfectly, Who is called the faithful Witness, our Lord Jesus Christ. This knowledge, suppose it had been given to petty criminals who live down your street. Or to some tyrant emperor of Rome or Saddam. If it was the most pure knowledge in the world, would it have ever been transmitted so you could know it? Never! God being faithful by nature, has always made Himself known through faithful witnesses. It is up to men to figure out who tells the truth and to thereafter listen up.

So since the realizing of these things and that "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God," I have endeavored to follow that way as most faithfully as I could. Not at all without the shame of my own sins, I say, but faithfully. So from the matters that pertain to true and false worship in the 2nd Commandment, to the 3rd Command and its relation to personal and social covenanting, to the keeping of the Christian Sabbath of the 4th, the relations of superiors, inferiors, and equals to each other of the 5th, and the ramifications of all the other ones, besides the everlasting Gospel of our Lord which makes all the above even possible, these things all being understood as faithful men and churches of the past and present teach.

Knowing that my religious practices have greatly affected our ordinary everyday life has no doubt made some of you to withdraw to more comfortable territory, but please do not be offended at me; I hold what I believe not from wild-eyed fanaticism, or because some other person or institution holds my conscience bound, but freely, from well reasoned thought and would not be afraid to defend myself or to answer any question.

Now the reason I write this stuff is because it seldom or never otherwise gets told. I'll tell you how I feel. For the last two years as both my broth Danny and I have both noticed, I have been really slowing down (we work together),not because of willfulness or laziness or old age, and now I think I know why. About 25 years ago I had what I would consider a minimal exposure to an occupational hazard of airborne asbestos, as a machine brake material. Recently I wrote telling you of extreme pain coming from the pleura sac of the left lung. The biopsy proves mesothelioma, a class of cancer that spreads by taking over one kind of tissue at a time, so after it destroys the pleura it would move over to the lung or the diaphragm or both; it is caused by asbestos and a couple of other kinds of silica I've never heard of. The sharp rock fibers of the asbestos migrate, through gravity and natural use of the lung as it breathes, from the lung to the pleura.

Patients with this type of condition do not usually last very long. Treatments range from the extreme to almost useless but the results are mostly the same. The most promising results for other cancers at an extended stage has been the use of chemotherapy along with hefty use of the glyconutrient complex Ambrotose.I

n any case the 6th Commandment calls on men to save their life, as opposed to giving up and throwing it away. So during my time in the Royal Alexandra Hospital I learned the tremendous God-given benefits of that derivative of the Oriental Poppy, morphine, and how to use it so that the rest of me will at least function. Pain drives one crazy! Appointments with an Oncologist (cancer Dr) will be made this week. The future is unknown, shaded in darkness.

Oh yes! I learned something from old Samuel Rutherford, a great albeit forgotten minister of the 17th Cent. "Be not ashamed of your guiltiness;necessity must not blush to beg. It standeth you hard to want Christ, and therefore, that which idle on-waiting cannot do, misnurtured crying and knocking will do."

Crying out to Christ, my hope and comfort, for the restoration of soul and body,
Grant Soles

This was penned by Grant while we [note that "we" refers to his dear wife, Cathie--CG] were in Southern California in order to attend a Cancer Clinic. Grant loved studying Church History.

Nov. 14, 2004

I had Cathie read a letter of Samuel Rutherford's to James Hamilton dated July 7, 1637. I was reiterating afterward to her what I had heard, saying that in the affliction of Rutherford having been removed by the Stuart government then 180 miles from his congregation, forbidden to preach,to a place where there were none that Rutherford could in conscience go and hear, and if I recall forbidden from such an act, anyway by authority of the King. Rutherford had finally stopped blaming Providence and began giving thanks in his affliction. He had begun to see Christ's smiling face toward him, behind the darkness of his trouble, the Lord chastens every son that He receives.

I can't help but think of my trouble; pain makes it ever present. It is admittedly very difficult to even blurt out thanksgiving or praise; at times it seems as if all is darkness. Yet at other times focusing on these are easier, more welcome. Things make better sense, the words and actions of brethren are seen as the smiles of Christ.

It's all very humbling. We know from Christ's word that the most insignificant act done for even the most insignificant brother or sister is like having been done unto Christ Himself. We know our own shame and unfaithfulness, our corruption, our own running and hiding from Him, our excusing ourselves. Our brethren don't know but an infidesimile fraction of it. But here they smile on us by their love and encouragement. That's humbling, for so much favour, yet, how much more when Christ, who knows us infinitely better than we do, smiles on us.

What blessing! What glory! For all of heaven smiles with Christ.

A Tribute

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints.

Psalm 116:15

Yesterday, my brother in the Lord, Grant Soles, passed from this life into the presence of the Lord. He will be sorely missed.

As the flame of his life burned lower, his love of Christ and testimony of God's grace shone brighter and brighter. I spoke with him several weeks ago and at the time he was reading a book on the doctrine of assurance of salvation, and his words were both an inspiration and a comfort to me, especially as I could see he was taking them to heart. Those same words come to mind to comfort even as I mourn, though not without hope. You see, Grant is Christ's and so am I, so we will meet again one day.

Grant leaves behind a rich legacy of a faithful wife and five daughters who have all manifested that they too share in the same Fountain of Life from which Grant drank. One of his most outstanding characteristics was his humble approach to people. Life had taught him some hard lessons, but rather than becoming bitter, or being too proud to learn from them, they humbled him and raised him to a closer dependance upon the Lord. These lessons were ones he was quick to share with others that they might learn from his example. It takes a big heart to acknowledge faults and mistakes so that others might profit from what you have learned. It is a rare grace to see someone say, "It was good for me that I was afflicted."

Grant didn't compromise the truth and was most bold in declaring it, yet it was a boldness born of a desire to be pleasing in God's sight and out of love for those with whom he spoke.

The trial through which Grant just passed, was a firery trial, yet it wrought pure gold in him. The increase in his faith in God and the sanctification it worked in his soul was beautiful to behold. Should I ever be called upon to experience something similar, I pray that God grants me the same grace.

To quote my beloved pastor, Greg Price, "Grant's race here upon earth is finished. Ours continues. Let us run the race that is laid up before us with patience and perseverance ever trusting in Christ , the author and finisher of our faith."

Farewell for now, dear brother.

The Lord our God is merciful,

and he is gracious

Long-suffering and slow to wrath,

in mercy plenteous.

He will not strive continually,

Nor keep his anger still.

With us he dealt not as we sinn'd

Nor did requite our ill.

From Psalm 103: 8-10, Psalms of David in Metre

The Lord God also in the heav'ns

did thunder in his ire;

And there the Highest gave his voice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

Yea, he his arrows sent abroad

and them he scattered;

His lightnings also he shot out,

and them discomfited.

The water's channels then were seen,

the world's foundations vast

At thy rebuke discover'd were,

and at thy nostrils' blast.

Psalm 18:13-15, Psalms of David in Metre

I haven't been able to write much of substance of the current catastrophic happenings in south east Asia. The tragedy is too large and too overwhelming for trivial comment, but it is one that has caused me to pause and ponder on the ways of God.

Can any doubt the power of God and the terrors of His judgement? Yesterday in church we sang Psalm 103 and I couldn't finish singing. Half way through it I was overcome by tears. The hand of the Lord has been heavy against those in Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and their neighbors. Why does He stay His hand against our nation? Dare we think ourselves more righteous when daily we mock His laws and make them of no effect? We are a Christian nation in name only and idolatry and perverse living leaves just leaves tidier and less visible carnage in its wake.

Some of the pictures of this tragedy are obscene. It is obscene to see so many of the image bearers of God, tossed like so much garbage amongst the wreckage, and yet so many will perish like cordwood in the flames that know no end some day. That is what our sin and rebellion calls for.

I don't ask why God has done this. I know why. I do ask why He has reserved mercy for me. That is what overcomes me.

Wise Words

I am most blessed to sit under the preaching of Greg Price, one of the best elders I have ever had. Lately, he has started a series on the book of Ecclesiastes, which I am enjoying. Last week's sermon had some things in it that I need to remember on a daily basis, especially when faced with the temptation to sin, grumble, complain, and feel myself hard done by.

"a. Dear ones, isn't it truly amazing that Him forwhom the world seeks without realizing it is the One who has graciously revealed Himself to us by opening our eyes to Christ and all of His benefits. The world has this inner desire for truth, for reality, for hope, for meaning and purpose, for joy, peace, and contentment, but the world will seek and will never find by its sore travail.

Why are you any different than the rest of the world? What was in you that made you any different than those who come up empty-handed? You are no different. You and I would be in exactly the same spot if it were not for the grace of Christ who supernaturally filled that void and that emptiness in our lives. What do you have that you did not receive from Christ? And if you did receive it fromChrist, why do you live as if you found it by your own searching?

b. There is affliction and travail in this life that come to the Christian, it is true. But dear ones, you know where to find the help you need. You know where there is a river of life from which you can daily drink. You are no longer searching for joy. You have found it through faith alone in Christ Jesus. Having found the river of life (wherein is found righteousness, forgiveness, love, joy, purpose,and hope), it is simply a matter of daily enjoying the benefits which Christ has already purchased for you.

c. If as a Christian who is trusting in Christ alone for your eternal salvation, you are not experiencing the blessedness of joy, peace, and contentment in your life, it is not because your search for these blessings continue. It is because you must grow in faith in learning how to enjoy these blessings from this river of life everyday of your life. The joy of the Lord is yours. The peace that passes all understanding is yours. The contentment in prosperity or poverty is yours. You simply need to learn to drink daily by faith of that which is already yours. The enemy may try to convince you that you are still searching and never finding. But dear child of God, nothing could be further from the truth. These blessings in Christ are not out of your reach, they are as near to you as the words that you utter. Reach out and receive by faith that which is your inheritance in Christ. "

Cheryl's HouseKeeping Tips of the Day

Yesterday I had a phone call from a friend with a daughter who has 8 children. I was informed that I was a role model because her goal in life is to have at least 12. Her eldest is 12 years old, and considering that she is younger than I, and only 4 kids behind me, I'd say she is well on her way.

One of the things she asked was if I had any tips to pass along. I mentioned the importance of training children to do housework from an early age so that they learn to keep house for when they are older, and mother doesn't become the household drudge for everyone. (I believe mothers are to train their children, and part of that training is to teach them how to live in the real world, which does not involve having mother there to clean up after you for the rest of your life.) The system we finally worked out was to have the children each do one chore and then rotate to a new job the next day. Older children, who are more competent at their work through practice, are interspersed with younger children who are less competent. This works better than assigning a child one job for the week or month because this way, if a job isn't done well on one day, the next child who comes along can make up for it (theoretically). You only have to suffer with a poorly done job for a day as opposed to a week or a month, and the tendency to nag the less competent lessens.

One thing I am picky about, besides how my laundry is done, is the state of my floors. We have oak hardwood floors in the downstairs which has the fashionable "stressed" and "antiqued" look from all the wear and tear that hordes of children can cause. That doesn't bother me. What does bother me is when it is dirty, as in clutter, dust, and sticky jam marks and hot cocoa spills. This means that the floor is swept several times a day, and usually washed at least every two days. (We have messy eaters in this house.) A few months ago I went out and bought myself one of those Swiffer wet mops that has the bottle of solution in it and a button to press to squirt it out on the floor ahead of where you are going to mop. A pad is attached to the bottom and it catches all the dirt. It's a very nice system which has eliminated the need for a mop and bucket which usually gets knocked over and spilled by the baby.

Unfortunately, these mops are designed for two people households in small apartments where the wear and tear is likely to be a lot less than what is seen in a household of 11. Not only that, if you buy the solution bottles and the special pads that are to be used with them, the cost can add up quickly, which in my mind negates the benefits. The velcro pads on the bottom of the Swiffer also come off easily. It is such a nice system, though, I didn't want to give it up, so here's what I did: With a large vice grip I was able to remove the top of the special solution bottle and now refill it with water and a heavy duty degreaser solution. The bottle is now able to be used multiple times. I also got some better velcro and not only attached it with a glue gun to the bottom, but also placed strips on the top. Instead of buying the expensive cleaning pads for the bottom, I got some terry cloth shop rags that stick quite nicely to the velcro, and now I have washable floor pads that do a better job at cleaning the floor than any mop I ever had. All in all, I am quite pleased with myself and the results, and the kids like mopping the floor this way too.

Just as an aside, this all seems too too trivial and mundane and ridiculous in the face of the tsunami aftermath.

Home UnManagement or Flying by the Seat of My Pants

I gave a short whirl to a new yahoo list run by a mother of many the other day. It is called Large Family Logistics, and it is likely to be of immense help to young mothers who are newly inducted into the logistical nightmare of doing it all (homeschooling, home making, childbearing, cooking, laundry, etc.) with a large and growing tribe. This is not a discussion list; it is similar to Fly Lady in that you get sent regular notices telling you to do such and so and such and such a time. This gal also has a blog with more personal information about what is going on in her life if you need a more personal touch.

These lists are great if you are the sort of person who likes order and likes being regimented. It does all the thinking for you. Just follow directions and you too can have a clean, organized home, complete with canned veggies from your own organic garden.

Alas. I find such programs to be an exercise in frustration and a means of creating guilt and anger at myself and my family who usually doesn't want to get with the program. This doesn't mean that I am totally unorganized, as the title of this post would suggest. But I have always found that no one has a system that fits my life/lifestyle perfectly, and I have usually ended up frustrating myself and my family by my attempts to fit myself into someone else's idea of how life should be lived. In my own personal (and humble) experience, I have found that the best thing to do with all such systems (Gregg Harris, MOTH, Fly Lady, Large Family Logistics, Don Aslett, etc.) is to learn the principles behind them and then adapt them to your own situation. Then the system that develops is more organic to your family and easier for everyone to keep to. If you don't do this, you can end up with yet another way of needlessly flogging yourself for failing at keeping the "law" of good house management that someone else has devised.

My house is not a clutter-free and antiseptic paradise. But I can usually make it presentable within a relatively short period of time if I need to. And even if my day looks a lot less structured than that of others, things are still getting done. House work is completed, school work is done, people are fed, clothes are cleaned. Phooey if it doesn't match the ideals and standards of someone else! It works for us.

If Longevity is Your Goal...

...then do what I do. Keep on having babies as long as possible.

To the great surprise of a group of Finnish scientists, it has been found that, contrary to their expectations, mothers who have children late in life are demonstrating signs of "physical robustness" and aren't aging as fast biologically as their counterparts who quit at an earlier age.

"This result is unexpected because late age at reproduction is not generally believed to be favoured by natural selection, owing to its adverse effects on both the survival of the mother and the offspring, " they said.

"However, the result fits with earlier studies that showed the later a woman goes through the menopause, the longer she is likely to live. "

Of course, the birth control people want to put this down to women being able to control their fertility and delay it to a time when they are psychologically and financially prepared to raise offspring. However, given the large numbers of women who experience problems with fertility when they delay childbearing, how much credence can be given to this idea? Especially as it flies in the face of the actual study, which looked at a group of people who had no access to modern medical care, birth control, or other modern "advances." The study group experienced "natural mortality" and seemed to show a direct link between the physiology that underlies both general physical health and reproductive abilities. In other words, the more your health declines, the faster an end to your reproductive years. Conversely, if you are physically robust and healthy, you'll be able to produce offspring long after your sickly sisters have quit.

I may look like the human equivalent of a brood mare that has seen a lot of years of service, but hey, I must still be pretty healthy, right?

The Family is Growing and I am Rambling

Yesterday we had all the kids together for the first time in a year and a half. Today I learned that my eldest daughter has become engaged. Our tribe is increasing.

Next month, Lord willing, I will be a grandmother again with a grandson due at the end of January. Then in June, another aunt or uncle for the new grandchild will make an appearance. I must say it feels strange to be a new grandmother and mother at the same time. Again!

New Ramble

As I get older I see more and more the importance of not trying to control everything, mainly because it is a fruitless and impossible task. I have come to see that trying to take control of everyone and everything is a manifestation of faithlessness and doubt. Besides, who am I kidding? I'm not infinite in knowledge or power and we all know it. It's much better to just rest in the sovereignty of God because His wisdom, knowledge, and power are infinite. Do I believe that all things work for my good and His greater glory? Then I had better act like it and stop fretting and just ask for what I know to be according to the revealed will of God and leave it with Him to act in the ways he deems best.

It never fails to amaze me how the Lord often increases our faith when we begin to act like He is really telling the truth about life. If all things work together for the good of the elect, then believing this despite the circumstances, transforms everything into something that is redeemed and redeemable. In family worship we are reading through the terrible stories of David's adultery and the subsequent incest and murder that takes place between his children. These stories are heartbreaking, but at the same time of great comfort to me personally. David was and is a great man of God, but even a saint can fall far short of God's revealed will and yet still be saved in the end. David's sin gave birth to some tremendously comforting psalms and they show us that no matter how far the fall, God's grace extends even more.

I identify with some of David's weaknesses as a parent because I see them in myself. At the same time, I know that he probably brought his children to the tabernacle of the Lord and showed them over and over a good example of what to do when you fall. Humbling yourself before the Lord, confessing and repenting of your sin, and taking your licks are all good lessons that we pitiful humans need to learn and often relearn. If we fall into sin ourselves, this is a good thing to model for our children as well. God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. And those who cover their sins in shame in an effort to present a proud and perfect face to the world do not prosper. Those who confess their sin and turn from them, however, find mercy.

Switch Gears

One of the things that the kids and I have been doing lately is watching a series of videos that a friend sent to us. They are called The Way of the Master, and it is a Biblical evangelism series. I have to say that I highly recommend this series because it is the best and quickest presentation of the Gospel that I have ever seen. Gospel presentations should always start with the Law of God because they show a sinner the fact that they are a sinner and that God's wrath is abiding on them. Then and only then should you show them the grace offered in the sacrifice of Christ. Those who are sick know they need a doctor. Likewise, those who see they are sinners need a Savior. One caveat -- for the five point Calvinist, you should be aware that those who produced the series appear to be four pointers. If you can overlook this, you will learn an effective way of sharing the Gospel in an engaging way in just a few minutes.

Well laundry mountain awaits and there are things to prepare for the Lord's Day. I'll leave you with a few photos of my clan, taken yesterday.

Our newest "baby": Cyrus. He's a Rottweiler/Maremma cross, eight weeks old, and built like a tank!  

All the kids (except Elodie) with my granddaughter, son-in-law, and soon to be son-in-law. The tribe is growing! 

My husband with 10 of our offspring. Elodie is missing because she was in bed asleep at the time. 

Easy Decadence

I have spent the day cooking, baking, and concocting in the kitchen for tomorrow's family dinner. All my kids will be in town for the first time in a year and a half and we are having a get- together tomorrow. (Note: This is NOT a Christmass celebration!)

Anyhow, one of the things concocted today was a thoroughly decadent kind of candy called Almond Roca. Here's the recipe:

Graham crackers
1 c or more of flaked almonds
1 c butter
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c chocolate chips

(Double the last 3 if you are using a large cookie sheet.)

Line a cookie sheet with the graham crackers. Sprinkle liberally with the flaked almonds. Melt the butter in a pot and add the brown sugar. Bring to a boil and boil exactly 3 minutes. Drizzle over the almonds and crackers then bake in a 350 degree oven for 8 minutes. When it comes out, sprinkle a liberal amount of chocolate chips over the hot concoction and spread them around when they start to melt. Cut into SMALL pieces (because it is very rich) while it is still warm, and allow to cool in the pan.

This stuff is so good you can easily make yourself sick eating it so be warned.

Women and Modesty

The discussion on my Biblewives List lately has been on the issue of modesty and whether or not this requires women to wear dresses only. A number of links were put forward that make the case that a woman who wears pants is a scandalous and immodest woman.

The automatic assumption of the authors is that pants or trousers are an item of clothing that automatically belong to men as a cultural universal. The Chinese women took to wearing them precisely for reasons of modesty when working in the rice paddies because a dress could float up around them and expose them as they work. Pakistani women wear trousers under their long tunics (which are identical to those the men wear except in detail) as a means of being modest. To demand that they forgo using them would be to offend their conscience and cause a scandal in their culture.

Another thing that stands out to me is that the forbidding of women of wearing that which pertains to a man seens to work only in one direction. When men and women wear clothing that is relatively similar (as the robes and tunics of Biblical times were), then we might as well accuse the men of being feminine in their attire as accuse the women of trying to cross dress if they wear something that is similar to a man's item of clothing. The authors draw their conclusions far beyond what was the actual *uncondemned* practice of men and women wearing similar items of clothing that existed in the times of the OT and the apostles!

Many of these articles use the "argument from abuse" to make their point. IOW, because a thing *may* be used to the point of abuse, if we forbid its use altogether, then we eliminate its abuse as well. I also find them to be somewhat confusing. On the one hand women are not to dress in a way that is explicit in terms of being sexually alluring to men, and with this I agree. But some of them seem to take it to the extreme that women are to totally disguise their feminine form so that we do not appear to be women, but do so in such a way that we are maintaining a feminine form of dress so that people don't think we are men. One is almost tempted to take issue with the Maker for making women's bodies in such a way as makes it difficult to disguise!!!!

We are responsible to dress in a way that is modest and not designed to attract men sexually. However, that doesn' t make us guilty of causing every wayward thought that a man has. To the pure all things are pure. The converse is true as well. In my youth I was a member of a Canadian forces Service Battalion and some of the men there could turn anything and everything into something with a sexual twist, including a modestly dressed neck-to-knees clad woman with a kerchief on her head.

Articles like the ones I read help to drive the feminist engine. Nearly all the responsibility for preventing men from sinning appears to rest on the shoulders of Christian women in how they dress. Very little is said about the responsibility Christian men have for making a covenant with their eyes not to look where they shouldn't be looking. After all, the temptations are all around us in the way that ungodly women dress and the magazine covers that abound. Modestly dressed Christian women won't prevent a man from lusting in his heart if he is freely looking at the cover of Cosmopolitan or ogling the babe in the tight skirt on the corner.

Sharks respond to magnetic lines

Marine biologists have confirmed sharks can detect changes in magnetic fields.
This ability has long been suspected by researchers who have observed the fish migrating huge distances in the ocean along straight lines.

A Hawaii University team has trained captive sharks to swim over targets in their tank whenever an artificial magnetic field is activated.
The new study, by Dr Carl Meyer and colleagues, is reported in Interface, a journal of the UK's Royal Society.

"This significant advance in demonstrating the existence of a 'compass' sense should now make it possible to investigate exactly how this sense works and how sensitive sharks are to the Earth's magnetic field," the team tells Interface.

The Hawaii group used six sandbar sharks and one scalloped hammerhead in their research. They kept the animals in a 7m-diameter tank.

The fish were trained to associate the presence of food in a 1.5m by 1.5m target area on the enclosure floor with the switching on of a magnetic field, derived from a copper coil surrounding the tank

Big swim
In a series of trials, the field was then activated at random times and the fish were seen to move on the feeding zone even when there was no food present, proving the existence of their "compass".

"Activating the artificial field produced an immediate response in the conditioned sharks," the team says.

"They changed from swimming steadily around the perimeter of the tank to swimming faster, turning rapidly and converging on the target in anticipation of a food reward."

Tiger sharks, blue sharks and scalloped hammerhead sharks are all known to swim in straight lines for long periods across hundreds of kilometres of open ocean, and then later orient themselves to underwater mountains, or seamounts, where geomagnetic anomalies exist.

Scientists want to understand how sharks are able to detect magnetic fields. Other animals that do it, such as trout and pigeons, possess the iron mineral magnetite in their bodies.
Sharks, however, do not possess magnetite. It is possible electro-receptors in their heads are employed instead.

Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/science/nature/4096397.stmPublished: 2004/12/15 01:42:01 GMT© BBC MMIV

Weird Dreams

The weird pregnancy dreams have started already. The other night I dreamt that I had delivered the baby by myself before the midwife arrived, and when she did arrive, she kept dropping it on the floor. This newborn was also able to sit up by itself and it helped itself to some lettuce off its father's plate. I'm not sure if it was a boy or girl, but it looked weird, like something you would find on a horror movie. Dropping it probably did nothing to improve its looks.

Last night I dreamt that Marc and I had bought an eccentric little house in a small rural village from Sora and her husband Matt. I have no idea why these people showed up in my dream, but I recognized certain features of the house from supposed blog postings they had made describing it. (These blog postings are entirely a fiction of my dreaming mind, btw.) I was quite taken with the house, but forsaw a lot of renovation work that would be required to bring it up to snuff. When I looked out one window, it was to see a large construction site for a big box retailer. I don't know what they were doing in a small rural village, but there you go. That's dreams for you.

Pregnancy Rash

The dreaded rash has made its return, though so far, it appears to be confined to my right arm from my underarm to the elbow. The severity of itching and irritation depends on whether or not I eat anything to which I have acquired a new sensitivity, or if I forget to take some of my supplements.

At least I know what I am dealing with: Candida Albicans. I have cut out all sugar, starchy foods, all grains, beef, pork, fruit, coffee, tea, processed foods, and dairy in an effort to starve it out. Alas, progesterone, one of the hormones that sustains pregnancy, is one of Candida's favorite foods! When I discovered that, I felt less guilty because my diet has been pretty good and I couldn't figure out why I get such an overload during pregnancy. Apparently I produce progesterone in goodly amounts which makes the yeast happy.

I am using a three-pronged approach to attack this problem and keep it from overwhelming me like it did the last time:

1. Starve it as much as possible by removing as many things as feeds it
2. Anti-fungal herbs which are safe to use in pregnancy
3. Boosting my immune system through a combination of glyconutrients and colostrum supplements.

Some days are good, others are not so good. It isn't merely the rash and itching that gets me. A lot of the mental depression and mental fog are a result of Candida as well, as well as a general feeling of blah, and a lot of that depends on what I eat. Some days I stand and scratch my head and wonder what I can eat since I sometimes never know what will provoke a reaction, despite trying to be careful. Yeast infections tend to cause other food allergies to appear, and they can be quite arbitrary with some things being okay one day and not okay on others.

[Sigh] I won't complain too much though. Last time I did this I got a healthy nine-pound plus baby out of it and only six pounds of weight gain. And I do have more choices of what I can eat than women in other parts of the world where food is in short supply.

You have the Goya girl look. A Goya girl had an air
of extreme elegance and sophistication. They
liked richness of every kind. The artists
excelled in painting brocades and tapestry,
cloth of gold and silver, gauzy fabrics and
black lace. You could have modeled for the
great Spanish painters, such as Valasquez and
Goya. Both were painters to the royal court of
Spain.

'Pretty As A Picture' - Which Artist Would Paint You?
brought to you by Quizilla

My Annual "Bah Humbug" to the Unholy Popish Ho Ho Season

The following article by A. W. Pink comes from Ginny's blog for those who don't read there. We can never be reminded or admonished too much against one of the prevailing sins of our times and nation -- that of worshipping God in ways He has not commanded, or in profaning anything to do with Him.

XMAS (a.k.a Christmass)
by A.W. Pink
"Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen...for the CUSTOMS of the people are vain" (Jer. 10:1-3).

Christmas is coming! Quite so: but what is "Christmas?" Does not the very term itself denote it's source - "Christ-mass." Thus it is of Roman origin, brought over from paganism. But, says someone, Christmas is the time when we commemorate the Savior's birth. It is? And WHO authorized such commemoration? Certainly God did not. The Redeemer bade His disciples "remember" Him in His death, but there is not a word in scripture, from Genesis to Revelation, which tells us to celebrate His birth. Moreover, who knows when, in what month, He was born? The Bible is silent thereon. It is without reason that the only "birthday" commemorations mentioned in God's Word are Pharaoh's (Gen. 40:20) and Herod's (Matt. 14:6)? Is this recorded "for our learning?" If so, have we prayerfully taken it to heart?

And WHO is it that celebrates "Christmas?" The whole "civilized world." Millions who make no profession of faith in the blood of the Lamb, who "despise and reject Him," and millions more who while claiming to be His followers yet in works deny Him, join in merrymaking under the pretense of honoring the birth of the Lord Jesus. Putting it on it's lowest ground, we would ask, is it fitting that His friends should unite with His enemies in a worldly round of fleshly gratification? Does any true born again soul really think that He whom the world cast out is either pleased or glorified by such participation in the world's joys? Verily, the customs of the people are VAIN; and it is written, "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Ex. 23:2).
Some will argue for the "keeping of Christmas" on the ground of "giving the kiddies a good time." But why do this under the cloak of honoring the Savior's birth? Why is it necessary to drag in His holy name in connection with what takes place at that season of carnal jollification? Is this taking the little one with you OUT of Egypt (Ex. 10:9-10) a type of the world, or is it not plainly a mingling with the present day Egyptians in their "pleasures of sin for a season?" (Heb. 11:25) Scripture says, "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it" (Prov. 22:6). Scripture does command God's people to bring up their children "in the nurture and admonition of the Lord" (Eph. 6:4), but where does it stipulate that it is our duty to give the little one a "good time?" Do we ever give the children "a good time" when we engage in anything upon which we cannot fittingly ask THE LORD'S blessing?

There are those who DO abstain from some of the grosser carnalities of the "festive season," yet are they nevertheless in cruel bondage to the prevailing custom of "Christmas" namely that of exchanging "gifts." We say "exchanging" for that is what it really amounts to in many cases. A list is kept, either on paper or in memory, of those from whom gifts were received last year, and that for the purpose of returning the compliment this year. Nor is this all: great care has been taken that the "gift" made to the friend is worth as much in dollars and cents as the one they expect to receive from him or her. Thus, with many who can ill afford it, a considerable sum has to be set aside each year with which to purchase things simply to send them out in RETURN for others which are likely to be received. Thus a burden has been bound on them which not a few find hard to bear.

But what are we to do? If we fail to send out "gifts" our friends will think hard of us, probably deem us stingy and miserly. The honest course is to go to the trouble of notifying them - by letter if at a distance - that from now on you do not propose to send out any more "Christmas gifts" as such. Give your reasons. State plainly that you have been brought to see that "Christmas merrymaking" is entirely a thing OF THE WORLD, devoid of any Scriptural warrant; that it is a Romish institution, and now that you see this, you dare no longer have any fellowship with it (Eph. 5:11); that you are the Lord's "free man" (1 Cor. 7:22), and therefore you refuse to be in bondage to a costly custom imposed by the world.

What about sending out "Christmas cards" with a text of Scripture on them? That also is an abomination in the sight of God. Why? Because His Word expressly forbids all unholy mixtures; Deut. 22:10-11 typified this. What do we mean by an "unholy mixture?" This: the linking together of the pure Word of God with the Romish "Christ-MASS." By all means send cards (preferably at some other time of the year) to your ungodly friends, and Christians too, with a verse of Scripture, but NOT with "Christmas" on it. What would you think of a printed program of a vaudeville having Isa. 53:5 at the foot of it? Why, that it was altogether OUT OF PLACE, highly incongruous. But in the sight of God the circus and the theater are far less obnoxious than the "Christmas celebration" of Romish and Protestant "churches." Why? Because the latter are done under the cover of the holy name of Christ; the former are not.

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto perfect day" (Prov. 4:18). Where there is a heart that really desires to please the Lord, He graciously grants increasing knowledge of His will. If He is pleased to use these lines in opening the eyes of some of His dear people to recognize what is a growing evil, and to show them that they have been dishonoring Christ by linking the name of the Man of Sorrows (and such He WAS, when on earth) with a "MERRY Christmas," then join with the writer in a repentant confessing of this sin to God, seeking His grace for complete deliverance from it, and praise Him for the light which He has granted you concerning it.

Beloved fellow-Christian, "The coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (Jas. 5:8). Do we really believe this? Believe it not because the Papacy is regaining its lost temporal power, but because GOD says so - "for we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Cor. 5:7). If so, what effects does such believing have on our walk? This may be your last Christmas on earth. During it the Lord may descend from heaven with a shout to gather His own to Himself. Would you like to be summoned from a "Christmas party" to meet Him in the air? The call for the moment is "Go ye OUT to meet Him" (Matt. 25:6) out from a Godless Christendom, out from the horrible burlesque of "religion" which now masquerades under His name.

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10).
How solemn and searching! The Lord Jesus declared that "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment" (Matt. 12:36). If every "idle word" is going to be taken note of, then most assuredly will be every wasted energy, every wasted dollar, every wasted hour! Should we still be on earth when the closing days of this year arrive, let writer and reader earnestly seek grace to live and act with the judgment seat of Christ before us. HIS "well done" will be ample compensation for the sneers and taunts which we may now receive from Christless souls.

Does any Christian reader imagine for a moment that when he or she shall stand before their holy Lord, that they will regret having lived "too strictly" on earth? Is there the slightest danger of His reproving any of His own because they were "too extreme" in "abstaining from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul" (1 Peter 2:11)? We may gain the good will and good works of worldly religionists today by our compromising on "little (?) points," but shall we receive His smile and approval on that day? Oh to be more concerned about what HE thinks, and less concerned about what perishing mortals think.

"Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil" (Ex. 23:2). Ah, it is an easy thing to float with the tide of popular opinion; but it takes much grace, diligently sought from God, to swim against it. Yet that is what the heir of heaven is called on to do: to "Be not conformed to this world" (Rom. 12:2), to deny self, take up the cross, and follow a rejected Christ. How sorely does both writer and reader need to heed that word of the savior, "Behold, I come quickly; hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Rev. 3:11). Oh that each of us may be able to truthfully say, "I have refrained my feet from EVERY evil way, that I might keep THY WORD" (Psa. 119:101).

Way Cool

It is nice to receive some validation for something you are doing. The other day I went to see my mentor/trainer, Cal, to get a tune up for health reasons. Some people think that my practice in kinesionics is way "out there" in terms of validity. However, in the course of my exam, Cal mentioned to me that the course I took to certify as a Kinesionics Practitioner will now be a four year university course next year and the only way people will be able to certify is to take the four years at a Seattle university.

I am very grateful that I was able to do the course now since I wouldn't have been able to go for training for four years. I am also pleased to know that I now have something that is equivalent to a university education.

Plain Speech

I have been contemplating the issue of plain speech lately, especially as it relates to the topic of abortion. I was a small participant in one discussion on another blog and had my hand slapped for making what the moderator thought was a personal attack upon one of the posters. In reality, I was just trying to illustrate the fact that he didn't have the philosophical basis, as an atheist, to designate anything as being right or wrong. When God does not exist, there is no objective standard for determining the rightness or wrongness of any given action. All you are left with is the preference of the individual. Wars can't be wrong, they just aren't preferable. Likewise stealing or murder. Ethics are reduced to a pragmatic basis of what works/doesn't work.

Euphemisms abound in the pro-choice camp, and sadly, even in the Pro-life camp but for different reasons. The pro-choice camp uses them to hide their real motives of selfishness and self-centered lawlessness that scoffs at God's Law. For pro-life people the motive is different. Because of the tremendous amount of pain and suffering that women can feel as the result of having had an abortion, people are sometimes afraid to speak plainly about the sinfulness of this sin for fear of heaping more guilt and pain on the woman in question. But plain speaking about the Law of God in relation to murder is the school master that brings these women to Christ.

Abortion is a sin that instinctively calls for the need for atonement. In a perverse way, unsaved women try to atone for the initial shedding of blood by shedding more blood of subsequent children who are conceived, as though this will make it all better. Once the natural order of nurturing offspring is breached in this most unnatural way, it becomes easier to resort to this perverse atonement each time as is seen in those who have multiple abortions. The only remedy and true atonement can come from the blood of Christ. I am both saddened and sickened by those professing believers who ignorantly gloss over the heinousness of this sin and declare that God would never punish for abortion. God has punished and will punish, whether the punishment is meted out to the actual woman and abortion provider or whether it was borne by Christ. Blood will be paid for one way or another.

The glossing of sin denies the only remedy for it. "He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy." (Proverbs 28:13)

C.S. Lewis

Yesterday I found a book at the library that I started to dig into last night. Mere Theology: A Guide to the Thought of C.S. Lewis by Will Vaus is a reminder of why Lewis remains one of my favorite Christian authors. Ok, Lewis may be Arminian in some of his leanings (and even the staunchest Calvinist has Arminian errors in his/her own thinking that will be weeded out at death), but when he says something that is right, he says it like no other can

As one who is somewhat familiar with Van Tillian pre-suppositional apologetics, one of the things that I recognized in Lewis was the fact that he never tried to prove the existence of God. "The reasoning process is based as much upon intuition as it is upon logic, and you can't manufacture rational intuition by argument." There are certain things that must be "seen." Furthermore, if Christianity is true there comes a time when "you are no longer faced with an argument which demands your assent, but with a Person who demands your confidence." Arguments fall away in the reality of Christ.

I think one of the things that I loved about Lewis is his way of putting his finger upon obvious things that we miss because we take them for granted, but when looked at from the right direction, they provide an evidence of the fact that we are made in God's image and they provide evidence of God's existence. One example is the way we respond to the passing of time. We exclaim "How time has flown!" in great surprise. Why are we surprised by the passage of time? Because there is something in us that is not temporal. Time binds and frets us now, but it won't always be that way. Immortality, either as the wonderful creation we were intended to be, or as the eternal horror we will have made of ourselves when left to ourselves, is our eternal destiny, and at some level we know this.

Lewis, more than any other Christian author, has the ability to make me long for the things that he continually points to. Lewis said that the goal of theology was practical. God doesn't want us talking endlessly about Him. He wants us drawn to Him as a result of theology. Lewis invariably does this for me. I admire and love him, but the admiration and love doesn't stop with him, it leads me beyond him to the One he is trying to direct us to.

Ultimately, our lives, like Lewis', should all be signposts pointing others to God.

You are a complete literary geek, from knowing the
classics (even the not-so-well-known classics
and tidbits about them) to knowing devices used
in writing, when someone has a question about
literature, they can bring it to you and rest
assured; you know the answers.

How much of a literary geek are you?
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Homeschooling Grandmothers

I got an email today from Homeschooling Today that contained a testimony by Gail Busby, who is now homeschooling her grandson. As I read it, I got this awful sinking sensation in the pit of my stomach that being a homeschooling grandmother could very well be my fate. Considering the fact that my two youngest children are going to be roughly the same age as my two eldest grandchildren, this is not outside the realm of possibility.

I lost the stars from my eyes a long time ago when it comes to homeschooling. It is just something I do now and get through as thoroughly but as quickly as possible. I have decided to give up apologizing for that fact. I might as well apologize for having brown hair and eyes. I can be competent at teaching children to learn things, just as I am competent at cleaning toilets, but neither of them are jobs that I would describe as finding personally enjoyable and fulfilling. Heresy, I know. But we aren't all cut from the same cloth. I do it solely in obedience to the Lord and try not to be too cranky about it even if I can't find it in me to clap my little hands in glee at the start of every school morning.

Speaking of homeschooling, we had a home visit from the Ebus teacher yesterday. Yes, I actually let her into my house and allowed her to meet my children. That should give all the libertarians reading this fits, but hey, I have come to see that public school teachers usually are people who are gifted in teaching and enjoy their work. I am free to cut and paste what I want from the school curriculum and most of what I use is stuff I have been using for years. The attitude towards grading is a precise match to my own: grades don't matter as long as the children are learning. We got the first report cards, and the kids are all doing well and more than meeting expectations in some areas, which is a relief to me. I think I can start to relax a bit and possibly, just possibly, start to even enjoy some of it.

Weird and Healthy Cravings

I have been blessed, thus far, in that I haven't really had anything in the way of digestive upset with this baby. Elodie's pregancy was similar in this respect, so this is no guarantee that this is a boy. The rash I had with Elodie has made a brief appearance, but I increased the level of glyconutrients and became more consistent in taking them, and it has receded steadily to the point of almost being gone. The only thing I am struggling with is the desire to nod off anytime I sit down anywhere. This presents a problem when I am sitting in the driver's seat, or when I am in a Bible study or church service. It could be from the pregnancy, or it could be a combination of pregnancy and creeping senility. Not sure which.

This time around I found I have lost most of the desire for junk food. Instead I have been feasting on sprouted organic whole wheat wraps with spinach, cucumber, vine-ripened tomatoes, organic chicken, ripe avocado slices, a slap of mayo, and the piece de resistance: sliced raw garlic cloves. The latter puts people off of kissing me, but since I don't like being touched when pregnant, this is actually a bonus.

I am more anti-social than normal this time around as well. I hate it when the phone rings and I have to take the call. I don't want to visit or be visited. Part of this stems from natural hen-like broodiness, and part of it stems from not wanting to deal with the inevitable comments that an almost 44 year old woman, expecting her 12th child invites. Reactions range from pity, to disgust, to amusement, to incredulity over my lack of knowledge of "what causes it." How I wish I lived in the time before birth control became so pervasive and used in the surrounding culture! Of course, this is only a temporary problem as everyone is generally happy that the child exists once he or she is born (unless you happen to belong to my husband's family). I am also thankful for the support of my church which has the happy conviction that all children come from God's Hand and are to be received with thanks and gratitude, no matter how old mom is when having them or what the circumstances are that baby is being born into.

My husband is relieved that there is a baby coming. He told a friend that he didn't know if he could handle the pre-menopausal doldrums and depression, but when he learned that it was actually pregnancy-caused, he laughed. Pregnancy, at least, is familiar territory for him and one he can deal with. At any rate, he is undismayed at the prospect of having another baby around the house. I can't complain about his attitude at any rate.

Dog Gone!

Our elderly Chesapeake Bay Retriever dog, Chilko, has gone missing. He was home early Saturday morning when I took the kids on their paper route, but later in the day he went missing and no one knows what became of him.

We suspect that he has been taken. Which is rather odd because he has a bit of arthritis in one foot, and his snout is visibly white with age. It makes us happier to think that someone made off with him, rather than that he met a tragic and untimely end. The evidence all points to the former anyhow. He was in good health, aside from the limp, he is no where to be found on our property (and he never would leave it without us), and no flocks of crows, ravens, or carrion birds have been seen in the vicinity, feasting on some hapless animal that met its end.

Good-bye, Chilko. You were a great dog, protector, family pet. We will miss you.

I Feel Gross

My head hurts, I have a slight fever, and my stomach is queasy. I have some sort of viral thing going on, I guess. Despite this, I managed to get the kids to their art and music lessons and pick up my groceries. I think I'll spend tomorrow in bed though, if I don't feel better in the morning.

The last few months I have been feeling blah, which is rather discouraging for someone who is supposed to be an alternative health care practitioner. I put it down to some pre-menopausal hiccups, but apparently I was wrong. Not my fault though. I did two pregnancy tests that were negative. I rolled over in bed about a week ago and found a lump where no lump should be. Two beta HCG tests and an ultrasound later and well....

This is the reason I have been feeling so "blah" lately. ETD: June 6, 2005 

Dont Drink the Water (in Canada)

Traces of prescription drugs found in tap water

CTV.ca News Staff
Canadians' tap water may contain tiny traces of prescription drugs, a new federal study has found.

A study of water samples taken from locations near 20 drinking water treatment plants in southern Ontario found evidence of nine different drugs. They ranged from the painkiller ibuprofen, cholesterol-lowering drugs and antidepressants, such as Prozac.
The drugs are making it into the water supply because the human body doesn't always absorb all the medication it ingests. Some is excreted as solid waste, and the particles aren't removed in the treatment process.

"It's an element of modern life that tends to unnerve us," said Duncan Ellison of the Canadian Water and Wastewater Association.

The study, conducted by researchers from the National Water Research Institute for the federal government, has yet to be formally published. But it has been submitted to a British journal entitled Water Research and should be published in the new year.

The quantities of drugs involved would be equivalent to a single drop of water in an entire swimming pool.

Those overseeing water quality say tap water is still safe.

Environmentalists counter by saying any quantity of prescription drugs in water is unacceptable, even if the drugs themselves have already been tested for safety.

"They certainly aren't tested in combination," said Angela Rickman of the Sierra Club. "So we're being exposed at any given time to three or four or five or any number of pharmaceuticals and no one knows the effect of that exposure."

There are also questions of the impact on aquatic life, on fetuses and on those who are ill or infirm.

As an example of what can happen, male smallmouth bass in a nicotine-polluted section of the U.S.'s Potomac River have started producing eggs.

Municipal governments, who bear operational responsibility for treating drinking water, say they are working on what is a complicated problem.

"There are research activities going on now to determine what we can do about it," Ellison said.
Experts say another way to solve this problem is to design better drugs that are fully metabolized by the body.

However, CTV's Paula Newton said designing such drugs is likely years away, as are any studies to determine whether prescription drug traces in treated drinking water are a health hazard.

More on Vitamin E

Why am I bothering to belabor this point? Because of the way this sort of misinformation gets propagated and spread to pass into folklore as Truth and Gospel. Witness what happened to the herb Kava Kava. A few years ago it was splashed all over the news that Kava Kava caused liver damage according to studies done in Europe. What the news reports didn't tell you was that those who were found to have liver damage while using the herb were ALSO on drugs known to have a toxic effect on the liver!!! Now "everyone knows" it is a dangerous herb despite being used safely for millenia.

The following comes from a newsletter that I subscribe to from the Health Science Institute. You can get your own subscription if you like.
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Vitamin E supplements will not kill you.

Write that down. If it's ever proven to be untrue, bring it back to me and I'll eat the paper it's written on. In fact, I'll also eat my house and my car. Because contrary to widespread reports, vitamin E supplements will NOT kill you.

Pity the mainstream media outlets. Every hour they strain to get our attention in an information environment that's become a 24-7-365 buzz of hyped up info-bites. To draw our eye amid all this chaos, they'll promote anything that's sensational, even if it's not actually sensational at all. This is what happened last week when the Annals of Internal Medicine released a Johns Hopkins School of Medicine meta-analysis of vitamin E supplementation. Researchers analyzed the results of 19 studies in which vitamin E supplements played a role. Their conclusion: Doses of vitamin E in excess of 400 IU per day may slightly increase the risk of (drum roll please) death! The media outlets immediately seized on this and sent out the sensational, detail-free message: Vitamin E supplements can kill you. Here are just three of the wildly generalized scare headlines: "Vitamin E's Fatal Flaw" "Vitamin E Can Be Deadly" "Vitamin E Dosages May Be Lethal" Run for your lives! The vitamin E sky is falling!

I knew that HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., would have some choice words for the Johns Hopkins results, and I was right.

Dr. Spreen: "Good Lord... what a joke. I can't believe such a moronic study even got published."

Dr. Spreen cites a major problem with the length of the individual studies. The 19 studies represent a total of 45 years of research. That averages to less than three years per study.

"First of all," writes Dr. Spreen, "three years when you're talking about long-term mortality studies means nothing. Second, the 'conclusions' certainly weren't definitively backed up by the study."This flies in the face of decades of research, using doses up to 2400 IU. The Shute brothers (both M.D.s) used even higher amounts and documented excellent results. (But I guess 'old' research somehow becomes untrue due to age or something.)" Dr. Spreen's take on the Hopkins conclusions run parallel to a response from the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). A CRN representative pointed out to NutraIngredients.com that it was inappropriate for the researchers to draw conclusions for the entire population based on studies of subjects who were "already at grave risk with existing diseases including cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and kidney failure." Funny... I didn't hear that detail pointed out on the evening news.

In short, the Hopkins conclusion is a stretch. And even the editors of the Annals of Internal Medicine seem to agree. In a note that accompanies the study, the editors state that, "these findings may not be generalizable to healthy adults." And they add this interesting detail (also missing from the evening news): "Some trials evaluated multivitamin combinations." In other words, some of these studies weren't even exclusive to vitamin E! And yet network news anchors had no qualms about delivering the sweeping generalization that vitamin E supplement intake may be fatal.

Which all leads to MY sweeping generalization: Vitamin E supplements will not kill you. But that's not to say that ANY vitamin E supplement will do. Dr. Spreen again: "There are a few caveats to vitamin E, of course. No one should be taking the synthetic form of the nutrient (dl-alpha tocopherol) - it should be d-alpha tocopherol at least. Even better is to take 'mixed' tocopherols (alpha, beta, delta, gamma). Also, vitamin E functions better when it's mixed with selenium (neither mentioned, nor, of course, used in the study)." Once again, we see how the major media outlets can be completely trusted to go to any lengths to grab our attention. But when it comes to accuracy and responsibility they get a failing grade.

Wife Swap

No, I am not going to advocate anything immoral. Rather I would like to comment on a reality show that I have enjoyed watching lately: "Wife Swap."

The name is rather sensationalistic and designed to provoke, but really a more accurate title would be "Housewife Swap" or "Mother Swap" because there is no true swapping of wives in the carnal knowledge sense. Rather, they take one woman who lives a particular lifestyle and swap her with another woman who lives a lifestyle the diametric opposite of hers and they live with their new "family" for two weeks. In the first week, they have to live by the rules of the home that they are going to. On the second week, they get to make the new "family" live by their rules. The results are often interesting, sometimes funny, and very revealing.

This past week they took a disciplined vegetarian/health conscious homeschooling mother married to an ex-army husband with well behaved and clean-cut children and switched her with a woman whose family lived on junk food and who had two undisciplined teens who were quite a bit more disrespectful. Other swaps have taken place between a rich woman who spent $3000 a week on clothing, had 3 nannies for her 3 kids, and who spent a good 4 hours a day working out, getting her hair done and going for spa treatments, with a bluecollar wife who drove a school bus, cleaned and cooked for her family, and ran a wood-splitting business. They also like to contrast women who are fanatical about their housecleaning with those who are extremely laid back, those who are strict disciplinarians with those who are easy-going friend-of-the-children types.

I just find the whole thing very fascinating as it provides some insight into how various families live. One of the most interesting aspects is that you get to see that there is no one way of doing it right. Every style of house-keeping/child-raising has both its strengths and weaknesses. After the swap is over, they go back some time later and find out if there were any changes made as a result of the swap. One thing that you usually see is that the children and spouses have a new appreciation for their own wives/mothers. It is really hard on the easy-going spouses to have to deal with the substitute disciplined types and they usually end up with a meltdown. The disciplined households are typically horrified initially about a more relaxed way of doing things, but they tend to loosen up a bit and enjoy themselves more. In almost every case the families do end up making some adjustments whether it is to incorporate a bit more discipline than they had in the past, or to loosen up some standards they were keeping and didn't need to; so everyone benefits in the end.

Some of the more surprising things I have noticed is that the so-called easy going women tend to be the more venomous towards the disciplined types when the couples meet at the end and do an evaluation. The poor disciplinarian wives think they have done a good thing in bringing some structure and discipline and a higher standard of cleanliness to a household only to be screamed at that they are hated by the easy-going one. Interesting dynamics! One has to wonder what is behind that: true indignation? humiliation? embarrassment? I often find myself sympathizing with the anal wives and families, but at the same time really feel for the loosey goosey types who felt smothered by the restrictive lives they were forced to live.

It has been good for me to watch these programs. It helps me to see what works and what doesn't work in other homes. It also helps me to be a lot less judgemental about different styles of doing things that differ from mine (excluding, of course, things of an inherently immoral nature). All the same, I don't think I want to experience these lessons first hand. I'll let others expose themselves on nationwide television and learn my lessons the easy way.

Non Medical Relief for Migraine Sufferers

I always love it when I find information for easy, non-technical, and non-pharmaceutical ways of alleviating suffering. Here's one I found today:

Newswise — The secret to fast-acting headache relief isn’t in a pill, it’s in our eyes, according to a study by Trinity Western University master’s student Kevin Lefebvre. For the estimated 31 million North Americans suffer pain, nausea and other effects due to migraine headaches, the new treatment could be revolutionary. Using the One Eye Integration treatment normally reserved for post-traumatic stress disorder, Lefebvre reveals that by manipulating a patient’s field of vision, headache symptoms can be reduced by up to 70 per cent, or be prevented altogether.

For two weeks, Lefebvre employed a modified form of the One Eye Integration (OEI) therapy on 16 headache sufferers. The treatment controls the amount of light entering parts of the brain through the eyes by alternately covering each eye in a “switching” method. The results saw thirteen participants experience considerably reduced migraine and non-migraine headache pain. Three participants did not experience any headache pain claiming the process created a “heightened awareness to symptoms” which helped prevent the onset of headaches.

“The effects of this treatment are robust,” says Lefebvre, a former migraine sufferer and mental health clinician for the Ministry of Children and Family Development in Prince Rupert. “Often headaches were relieved within one to two minutes.” Response rates of established pharmaceuticals such as Tylenol or Aspirin™ can take between 30 to 60 minutes.

“If we understand migraines as lateralized or one-sided head pain then it’s only logical to shift the sufferer’s attention exclusively to the side that doesn’t hurt,” says Lefebvre who completed the study as part of his thesis for his MA in counselling psychology. “That’s done through the eyes.”

OEI therapy is based on the understanding that each eye stimulates different parts of the brain which elicits different reactions. By focusing on different parts of the brain we can have different responses. With post-traumatic stress disorder, this treatment can be the difference between feeling anxious or calm. For headache sufferers it’s the difference between feeling pain or not feeling pain. “The problem is that we’re having two different experiences simultaneously,” says Lefebvre of the fractured phenomenon. “That’s why turning off the lights when you have a headache generally doesn’t relieve pain—you’re still stimulating both hemispheres equally. This treatment gets the patient to focus on the part of the brain that is not experiencing pain.”
Lefebvre recommends this treatment be conducted under strict supervision. “I’ve seen some strong reactions,” he says. “But it seems the more intense the presentation of symptoms, the more effective this treatment can be.”

Lefebvre’s methodologies are documented in a written manual.

Trinity Western University, located in Langley, B.C., is a not-for-profit Christian liberal arts university enrolling over 3,500 students this year. With a broad based, liberal arts and sciences curriculum, the University offers undergraduate degrees in 38 major areas of study ranging from business, education and computer science to biology and nursing, and 13 other graduate degrees including counseling psychology, theology and administrative leadership

Acupuncture's Power

Acupuncture is becoming more and more accepted in the west as more studies are being done that prove it has a place in our tools of healing. Consider this: vet's now use it to anesthetize animals they operate on. What is significant about this fact is that you can't have a placebo effect with animals. Something either works or it doesn't.

Have a read of this news article for more information about the increasing role acupuncture is playing in healing.

Vitamin E - Safe or Not?

If you read the health file in the newspapers, you have probably seen the articles talking about new studies on the safety of Vitamin E and how taking it can increase your risk of premature death.

Something they fail to mention is that this new information comes as the result of a meta-analysis. A meta-analysis is a statistical technique where they combine the results of numerous studies to reach a conclusion. If done correctly, it can be a useful tool. However, its usefulness in this case is highly doubtful. Why? Because they combined the data of trials with natural forms of Vitamin E with synthetic forms of vitamin E.

Some synthetic forms of vitamins are comparable to their natural counterparts. This is not true of Vitamin E. In nature, Vitamin E occurs as eight compounds known as tocopherals (alpha, beta, delta, gamma) and the tocotrieonols (alpha, beta, delta, and gamma). Synthetic E has only the alpha tocopherol. Many studies show a benefit when giving the natural and complete form of Vitamin E, but studies that utilize the synthetic form show a health detriment, and many large clinical trials use synthetic forms, for reasons that are beyond me.

Now, do you see how combining studies where natural forms of the vitamin are used with studies that use synthetic forms can skew the results? A good scientist tries to remove all biases from the study in order to give an accurate result. One has to ask why there was a failure to separate out studies that used natural as opposed to synthetic forms.

Whenever natural food products and supplements come under fire, I tend to be suspicious and want to start digging. If you want to know why, read here.

I Wish I was Bored

Sometimes life just gets a bit too exciting for me. Consider the following:

1. Garnet came close to burning himself to death a week or so ago. He doesn't like going to sleep at night unless someone else is in the room with him. Well this particular night we sent him to bed alone. He's allowed to keep the light on when this happens, only this time he chose to use the table lamp in addition to the overhead and he brought it right up into the bed with him.I happened to go to bed early that night and missed the action, but whenTrahern went in later to go to sleep, he found flames several inches high shooting from the mattress and bedding which were on fire, and Garnet completely unaware even though his leg was being burned. I think the fumes from the mattress and bedding must have gotten to him or something. Trahern beat the flames out with a pillow, roused Garnet and took him downstairs to administer first aide, ice cream and a bit of tv watching. I knew nothing about it til the next morning when I found the charred blankets and the hole in the mattress.Trahern just shrugged the whole thing off as no big deal and Garnet now has a nice scab about an inch and a half across where he was burned. Thank God for Emprizone. I don't think he will have a lasting scar.

2. Both Ben andTrahern have gotten temporary jobs working at the tree nursery near by and Trista, my seven months pregnant daughter, decided to work there as well. On the third day she was supposed to show up for work, I got a call early in the morning from her. The roadswere icy and she ended up flipped upside down in a ditch. Thankfully, neither she nor Keiannah, my grand-daughter, suffered any hurt, but the car was totalled. The upside is that insurance gave them more for the car than they paid for it and they were able to buy a new car and pay down some debts with what was left over.

This accident has left her extremely stressed about driving though. Y esterday she and Nathanael drove up to Chetwynd, which is about 3 hours north of Prince, to pick up Adam, her husband, from the oil rig he was working on. I had suggested that he should take the bus home instead of making her drive up, but he didn't want to do that. They are paying the price now because Trista ended up in hospital last night with contractions and extreme pain. They are doing an ultrasound on her now and plan to keep her overnight. She has been ordered to stay on bedrest. All likely stressed induced and she and babe will be fine, but still!

3. Elodie dislocated her wrist and the emergency doctor couldn't figure it out, x-rayed only the shoulder and elbow and then said it was likely just a pulled muscle. In the meantime, her hand was useless and twice the size of the other hand. I decided at that point that since he couldn't figure out the bleeding obvious, I wasn't going to let him touch her. I took her out to see Cal Wheaton, my teacher/mentor, the next day, and he fixed it with just a few little adjustments. Her hand went back down to normal and she was able to use it again. Cal also saw me and the stress of the last few months has me heading in the same direction I was going a few years ago with Elodie with that rash. So I am back on a no sugar, no bread, no starch diet (which will likely help me lose weight again) as well as things to get my digestion and thyroid working properly again. I am starting to feel a bit better now and don't have nearly as many "dark days"as I was having before. I've cut back the work load and try not to stress about things as well.

4. On top of all this other stuff, all the kids havecome down with hand/foot/mouth disease. It's a cox-sackie virus that causes a fever and then little bumps on the hands and feet and canker sores in the mouth. Once you have it you are immune for life. I remember having something similar when I was young, so I guess I won't be coming down with it any time soon.

I could stand a bit of boredom right now.

I believe you belong in Pride and Prejudice; a
world of satire and true love. A world where
everything is crystal clear to the reader, and
yet where new things seem to be happening all
the time. You belong in a world where your
free-thought puts you above the silly masses,
and where bright eyes and intelligence are
enough to attract the arrogant
millionaire/prejudiced young woman of your
choice.

Which Classic Novel do You Belong In?