Early Will I Seek Thee

Parenting is not for sissies!  I've been accused of taking it too seriously, but I really don't believe that's possible. To know that I'm responsible for setting 6 souls on their path to know the God Who created them is a bit overwhelming, and it's especially hard because I am a sinner.  I'm saved and have faith, but how can I pass along that faith to them?  I want them to know that I'm a Christian, but how can I point them directly to Christ, rather than just my pitiful example of Christianity?  I train them, make sure they're clean and fed and safe, I teach them, school them, groom them..... but ultimately, I can not choose for them to be followers of Christ.  It's up to them individually.  God doesn't have grandchildren, only children.

Rather than subject them to the schizophrenic, ever-evolving (or perhaps "eroding" would be a better word) pop psychology methods of child evangelism and youth groups and children's church, Jason and I have trusted them to the same Holy Spirit that saved both of us, and all the generations before us.  God hasn't changed, and neither has His method of salvation, so we've tried to give them a life rich in God's Word, Holy Ghost inspired preaching, and prayer.....oh, how we need prayer.  He and I aren't perfect, but God's Word is.

One evidence of salvation is a hunger for God's Word.  I can remember, as a teen, when God truly opened up His Word to me, and I began getting up early (5 am) every morning before school to devour and memorize Scripture.  I wouldn't take anything in exchange for those days.  That experience changed my life and spared me so much of the grief that my teen peers suffered.  I've prayed that He would do the same for my children.

One challenge I've discovered parenting in the technology age, is the constant distraction of media and devices.  It's overwhelming if not tamed.  In fact, I'm prepared to just say that it is numbing hearts and minds out of the ability to search their souls and let the Holy Spirit of God work on the conscience.  I can remember, as a little child, lying in bed and being convicted of things I'd done, or wondering about heaven and hell, and just pondering on the things of God.  Today's child falls asleep with an iPod or laptop in his hand, focused on worldy pursuits and pleasures with no time for God to speak to them. How sad for these kids, and how negligent of parents!

All my kids have iPods or iPhones, but we've had strict rules from the very beginning.  First of all, no iPods in bed except on weekends.  (We also have a "no spending the night away from home on Saturday night" policy.  We want our kids to be refreshed and ready for worship on Sunday, with their minds on worship and not on pleasure.)  Also, in order to try to cultivate a love for God's Word, we require that they do morning devotions before they touch any kind of device each day. The kids have shown remarkable self-discipline with this, and I consider this proof of their salvation.  Caleb and Madelyn have set their clocks every morning in time for showers and devotions before breakfast for years, but now even the boys have taken this up all on their own.  Seth gets up at 6:30 and Bub at 7:30, whether anyone else is up or not.  Here are the books they are currently using for devotions:

KK and Jason:
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgon

Sis and I:

Seasons of the Heart by Donna Kelderman

Seth:

Their Lives and Your Lives: Children's Devotion on Bible Characters

Bub isn't quite ready for his own book, but he listens to the audio Bible (KJV), and we also do the Bible Study Guide for all Ages.  I discovered this jewel of a resource when I first started homeschooling Caleb in preschool, and we've used it with all the kids since.  As of now, Seth, Bub, and Summer are going through it.  It's wonderful!

The Bible Study Guide for All Ages

Before we read our Bible story each day and do the worksheet, we read a chapter of this little devotional:

Leading Little Ones to God by Marion Schooland 

It's an unusual devotional, in that it presents mature ideas like the Trinity and original sin in a way that children can grasp it.  All the references are King James, and the illustrations are lovely and inspiring.  It's opened up many opportunities for deep discussions with my 5, 9, and 10 year olds.

As inadequate as I am, I am thankful to serve a Capable God Who can save my kids just like He saved me.

¹⁴ For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

¹⁵ Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

¹⁶ That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

¹⁷ That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

¹⁸ May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

¹⁹ And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Ephesians 3:14-19

Potty Training 101

In 1999, when I began to think about potty training Caleb, I went to the library to get some information (back in the old days before I carried the internet around in my pocket!). My main concern with potty training was that I did not want to drag it out. I grew up in a daycare center that my mother operated in our home, and I had seen kids wear pull-ups for a year or more while they were "training". This seemed so ridiculous to me, and I knew there had to be a better way. Thankfully, I checked out a wonderful book called Toilet Training in Less Than a Day. Though I haven't followed this book to the letter, it gave me the foundation that I needed to come up with a plan. Now, five toddlers later, I think I can successfully say that I do know how to potty train kids. With every single one of them, I began on Monday and took them to church the next Sunday with underwear/panties on, and there was no looking back. That sure beats hauling spare clothes and pull-ups around for months! If you're interested in following this plan, I encourage you to read the book, but I will briefly outline the method.

First, however, there are some signs of readiness that you need to observe. You should notice your child going for at least 2 hours during the day without wetting his/her diaper. This indicates control over the bladder. The second indicator (and this is as much for the parent as for the child), is that your child will follow simple commands, such as "come", "sit", "clean up", "hush". This indicates that your child is mature enough to understand your instructions (and obviously this is a discipline/training issue as well).

Now, there are a few things to work on for the week prior to training:
1. Every day, find several occasions to teach your child "wet/dry" and "clean/dirty". For example, after a bath, you might pick up her dirty clothes out of the wet floor: "Yuck, feel these. They're wet. Gross! Let's put them here with the dirty clothes."
2. CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULE and eliminate distractions. This is the #1 tip for success. It may be hard, but if you devote a week to successful training, it will definitely be worth it! Somewhere around Day 4 or 5, you may want to schedule a visit to Grandma's or church or somewhere familiar to let the child check out someone else's toilet. Don't be afraid to turn the ringer off, and don't schedule any company.
3. Decide on consistent names for the process and share these with everyone involved. If your child understands "peepee toilet", and Grandma asks if she needs to "potty in the commode", it could cause some confusion.
4. Let the child observe Dad/brothers (for boys) or Mom/sisters (for girls) sitting on the toilet. Sounds funny, but some children are truly terrified of sitting on a water-filled tank with a hole in the bottom that makes a loud noise, so this can help them get used to the idea. Though some children truly are scared, it has been my honest observation that most 2-year-olds are more terrified that their mom might realize they can actually be made to sit for a few minutes at a time! They'll act like they're dying a slow, horrible death just to keep that secret from coming out!
5. Things to gather:
--a stepping stool and toilet insert. You can use a potty chair, as the book suggests, but it isn't necessary unless you just enjoy carrying poop around in a pot. The stool is to climb easily onto the toilet and also to wash hands.
--training pants, in a size larger than normal. This is so the child can easily pull his own pants up and down independently.
--snacks and drinks, salty type stuff that will cause her to drink more and create more training opportunities
--a timer
--pull-ups for nap and bedtime

Major ideas from the book that I did not use: a wetting baby doll. My boys don't do dolls. Period. So I just never went there. Also, the potty chair. It just made more sense to me to train them directly on the toilet with an insert. It's easily portable and makes it possible to potty anywhere you go. Plus I do NOT enjoy carrying poop around in a pot.

Here's the gist of the method: On Day 1, expect a rough day. It's going to be cold turkey! Let the child throw away her diaper and put her own training pants on. Have her feel the panties and confirm that they are "clean!" and "dry!" just like ____________ (Mama, Daddy, siblings, favorite people, etc.). Every 5 minutes, make her stop and feel her panties to inspect if they are clean and dry. Take her to the toilet and let her sit for a while to try to potty. Don't make her sit for more than 10 minutes at a time, as this can be torture for a 2 year old. When she does wet her panties, take her to the toilet immediately and say "potty toilet" or whatever, to establish that this is the goal. Then, have her get up, feel her wet panties ("gross!" "wet!"), put them in the dirty hamper, have her get a towel and clean up her own mess. This may sound extreme, but the whole point is to make the child responsible for keeping herself clean and dry. Obviously, you clean up thoroughly behind her, but she will begin to understand that she has made a mess. This is only TRAINING time, no discipline.

Have your child only wear a t-shirt and panties/underwear, so she can easily feel her panties and pull them up and down by herself. The book actually shows how to teach the child to reach their hand in the back and pull the pants up that way more easily. The independence is a key to this training. After an hour or two of checking every 5 minutes, go to 10 minutes, then 15. After a successful potty in the toilet (which may or may not even occur on Day 1...don't be disheartened if it doesn't!), go to checking every 30 minutes and toilet tries every hour. Watch your child closely for signs (you'll begin to recognize that look on her face), and be absolutely consistent with the timer and with the clean-up process. Guard against constipation, as the child will be tempted to hold back on going. You may want to add lots of juice or slip some probiotics into their milk to give more teachable moments in that area.

By Day 3 or 4, you should be seeing some real progress, but DON'T LET UP on the timer and bathroom trips. Be consistent and stay focused. ONLY use pull-ups for naptime and bedtime. Summer's have Woody on them, and we call them "Woody panties". If they are wet when she awakes, just quickly pull them off and put on real panties. This will come with time. Summer is in her 4th week of being trained, and we already skip the naptime pull-up.

Try to keep the mood in the house cheerful, and provide lots of fun activities to do. Movies probably aren't the best entertainment at this point, because they tend to put the child in passive mode. When you know your child has to poop, you may want to pull up a chair beside the toilet and just keep her entertained for a while. This is the biggest step, but a couple of successes should seal the deal.

When it's all said and done, you will have given your child something more than just the knowledge of peeing in the toilet, but also the gift of personal responsibility. Since training, Summer has become obsessed with "hosh hands" (translated: wash hands) and dressing herself and cleaning up spills. It's such a joy to watch! Mission accomplished!

Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem

I have read a fascinating book by John McTernan called AS AMERICA HAS DONE TO ISRAEL. (Click on the picture for a link to Amazon)

I have listened to radio interviews and followed John McTernan's blog for some time. He is an interesting and brilliant man with a passion for God's Word, for history, for pro-life work, and for Bible prophecy. Not only that, he is a police chaplain and has a prison ministry. He's a big burly guy with a New York accent, and has this contagious enthusiasm that comes through not only in his interviews, but also in his writing. AS AMERICA HAS DONE TO ISRAEL walks through America's history, beginning at the American Revolution up to the economic collapse of 2008, showing a direct link between God's blessing or God's judgment on America as a result of its treatment of the Jewish people. He cites (with over 200 footnotes) dozens of events where America has been guilty of pressuring Israel to surrender land to the "Palestinians", and then how disaster struck America within 24 hours either by fire, flood, tornado, hurricane, or economic tragedy. He even maintains a blog that he updates with events as they occur.

In light of our current Muslim-loving, Jew- and Christian-hating President, his unforgiveable snubbing of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and many other issues including that hag of a reporter Helen Thomas, I think we as Americans have reason to fear. God is not slack concerning his promises, and as the Scripture from which McTernan takes the title of his book states,

"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen: as thou hath done [to Israel], it shall be done unto thee: thy reward shall return upon thine own head." Obadiah 1:15

God's prophetic time table is set in motion, and things are set to happen over which we will have no control. Even so, we can pray as Scripture commands us,

"Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee."

Psalm 122:6

Grave Influence

I love to read, and I read a lot about worldview and politics and how current events relate to the Scripture. There are a lot of great resources that help put issues into a Biblical perspective, but I recently read one book that just seemed to draw everything together into one resource. The book is called "Grave Influence: 21 Radicals and Their Worldviews that Rule America from the Grave" by Brannon Howse. It is not currently available at Amazon, and I believe can only be purchased through Brannon's website. The cost is $14.99, and the link is below. It is definitely worth the price! I highly recommend it to high school students who are seeking to study history and current events with a Biblical worldview. As a side note, I enjoy listening to Brannon's daily radio show via podcast. After following his research for a couple years now, I am amazed at just how "spot on" his predictions are. (Sometimes, I just wish he would be wrong! The truth about our nation and the condition of today's churches is really not pleasant right now, but we must face it head on!) I encourage you all to read this book.

Grave Influence available from Worldview Weekend

A Chilling Article

Investors.com - Service.gov And Its Soviet Similarities

Please take time to read this article above. It was written by a woman who was born and raised in Soviet Russia, and immigrated to America in 1980. This is an editorial she wrote as a warning to all free citizens of the U.S.

I just finished reading "East Wind", the autobiography of Maria Zeitner Linke, about her life growing up under the heavy hand of Russian communism. In addition to having her parents snatched away periodically for state service (once taking her mother for 6 long months to dig ditches, leaving her as a 9-10 year old child to care for her 2 young sisters, one of whom was only 4 months old; the baby died before her mother returned), having her father's factory confiscated for the state, relocated so many times it was hard to keep count, having her beloved brother kidnapped for service in the Red Army (they never saw him again)....as if this wasn't bad enough, she also spent 9 years in Stalin's Gulags. I've studied a lot about Hitler and the Holocaust, but this book truly opened my eyes to the evils of Communism. I believe there are few people who realize how many millions of people have died at its cruel hand. Stalin, alone, is estimated to have murdered more than 20 million of his own people (this is the conservative number! no one truly knows but the Lord).

With this book so fresh in my mind, reading the article linked above just sends chills up my spine. How did America come to this on our watch? With a marvelous, ingenius Constitution that has a remarkable Bill of Rights attached to it....how? Who would want to trade the privileges and freedoms that we enjoy for the death and tears that ALWAYS accompany communism? IF YOU WANT SOCIALIZED HEALTHCARE, MOVE TO CUBA! But don't come in and highjack our country!

Guest Blogger

The older children are required to read at least 2 books each month. (Anything beyond that earns them $5 per book!) To get their allowance, they must write a book report on one of the books that they read. Caleb has been working really hard on improving his book reports, and I thought he did a really good job on this one. I helped him proofread and fix a few spelling errors, and here is the finished project. (Just for the record, he will type the first paragraph, and I'll type the rest)

My Book Report

by Caleb J. Stringer

I have just read a very good book called Adam and His Kin: The Lost History of Their Lives and Times. The author is Ruth Beechick. This book covers the time period from the Creation to Abraham.

I really enjoyed reading about the Garden of Eden. It was perfect there, no sin, no sorrow, no death. When God put Adam and Eve in the Garden, He told them not to eat of the Tree of Good and Evil. One day when Eve was alone, a serpent came to her and tricked her into eating the fruit. Then, she gave it to Adam, and they saw that they were naked. For punishment, God threw them out of His garden, and told them that because they sinned, they would have to die. God cursed the earth.

Adam and Eve had two sons, Cain and Abel. One day when Cain and Abel were alone, Cain was jealous of Abel. He killed him, the world's first murder. God cursed Cain for what he did.

Sin continued to grow in God's young earth, so that there was more murder, and man was always thinking on evil. Sin became so bad, that God was sorry that He even created man; but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. God told Noah to build a very big ark. 120 years later, two of every animal went into the ark, along with Noah and his family, and God shut the door. God sent the Flood, and everything was destroyed. Noah and his family survived.

Evolution teaches us that man evolved from a lower order. It was fascinating to read in Adam and His Kin about Creation, and that God created man as a highly intelligent being, hardly the grunting, ignorant cave man we often see portrayed. Furthermore, dinosaurs and man were both created on Day Six, not millions of years apart.

One of the most interesting parts of this book was about Nimrod and the Tower of Babel. Here, only 100 years after the Flood, idolatry and false religion were begun. To save mankind from his own wickedness, God scattered them and confused their language.

This glimpse into the life of early mankind is definitely worth your time!

Recommended Reading

This is by far one of the most convicting books I've ever read. (I'm on my third read now.) Click on the picture below, and it will take you to the No Greater Joy website where you can purchase this book for only $5.95. It would be a help to any Christian parent.

God Doesn't Have Any Grandchildren

For those of you who don't subscribe to No Greater Joy magazine (it's free), or who haven't taken time to read the articles yet, here's a link to a wonderful article in the most recent issue:

God Doesn't Have Any Grandchildren by Michael Pearl

I suppose every Christian parent's worst fear and greatest joy, is how his/her own children respond to the call of the Savior. At least for me, it is something that is never far from my mind, and I never feel more inadequate than I do when I contemplate how utterly responsible I am during these first formative years, in directing their hearts toward the Lord. This article came at a time when I had already been thinking on this very subject for several weeks now, mainly for two reasons. First of all, my chronological Bible reading has me in the book of Samuel right now; and secondly, because of the delightful changes and maturity that we are seeing in our Seth right now. Let me explain...

When Seth, our 3rd child, was born, I was absolutely shocked at how different he was from the others. Every child is selfish, stubborn, and strong-willed (Prov. 22:15), but Seth was different than my other two. From the start, as a baby, he would make eye contact with me and challenge me. It was on. To make matters worse, we moved to a new town, were miserable, I was pregnant and exhausted, Jason was working and preaching night and day...it was the perfect opportunity for Satan to creep in and allow me to lose the heart of one of my children. All kids go through phases where they need special help and training and discipline, but I knew instinctively that I had a serious problem on my hands, one with eternal consequences. My boy had no fear of punishment, the highest tolerance for pain of any child I've seen, and he delighted in getting other people upset (mainly ME). And to top it all, he is a beautiful, friendly, smart, charming child that other people always pay extra attention to, and laugh at every sinful little antic he performs. It would have been so easy just to brush him off as a "strong-willed" case, and just to laugh along with him, make him the center of our lives , and spoil him rotten....but as a Christian I just couldn't do that. I tried everything I knew to do. I tossed my James Dobson (and other copycats) book in the trash, and fell to my knees weeping to the Lord to give me some direction. What followed in the next few weeks was the most real battle with Satan I've ever had. I found myself shaking my fist at that Devil and just screaming at him, "You can NOT have my child!" The more helpless I got, the more the Lord began to show me.

The first thing that happened, was I opened my Bible to I Samuel, and read where the Lord called young Samuel to His service. I've read this so many times, but certain things jumped out at me so clearly. Eli was an authority figure to Samuel, and Samuel had been trained to immediately come and obey when Eli called for him. As Samuel lay in his bed sleeping, he thought he heard Eli's voice. He didn't hesitate for a moment; instead, he immediately jumped out of bed (3 times) and calmly, without any rebellion or resentment, inquired what Eli wanted. Of course, as the account reads, it wasn't Eli, but the Lord Who was calling the young child. From this, the Lord showed me that even a young child is held responsible for his response to God and his God-given conscience (Prov. 20:11); but more importantly for me as a parent, that the most effective thing I can do to prepare my children to answer the call of salvation is to teach them to come cheerfully when they are called, and to obey immediately. I can't accept salvation on their behalves, but I can prepare their hearts to submit when the call comes.

Well, looking at my little rebel, this frightened me into action. (Some things are much easier said than done!) Every family is different, but there are several deliberate things that we changed, or steps that we took, as a family to help our beautiful little cotton-top boy. I'll list some of the things we discussed and implemented.

1. No more talking about Seth in front of Seth. In other words, we didn't want him to think that we expected him to disobey. He is expected to flow with the family rules like everyone else, or he gets excluded; rather than everyone else having their meal or evening or outing spoiled.

2. No losing temper or showing exasperation from Mom and Dad. It's like adding gas to a fire. Part of the thrill of being a rebellious child is knowing that you can manipulate perfectly normal people into acting like pure idiots....and then they feel guilty and pet you! I could say a lot more here, but I don't want to open myself up on the internet to ridicule by all those "bozos" who oppose the Biblical rod.

3. W - I - N . It's that simple. (I got this from Michael Pearl) As the parent who weighs 100+ pounds more than that hobbit-sized challenger, there really is no excuse for you not to win each and every confrontation. If that means standing outside the bedroom door (holding a mirror so you can see him but he can't see you...I was desperate!) for 3 hours until the child finally realizes that you actually mean to stay in the bed, then it is 3 hours well spent. (If this is a problem for you, ask me about my "Seth tape"...)W - I - N. W - I - N. W - I - N.

4. Limit chaos and distractions. Loud television, loud music, busy places...all these are too much stimulation for children who already struggle with self-control. Help them out by staying home, and providing them with a peaceful environment with a lot of creative outlets. Take time to paint, color, play outside, pick flowers. Oftentimes, children, especially those who mature earlier, are simply bored into misbehavior. Besides, staying home affords you the extra "love and cuddle" time you need with this baby who is struggling through this most difficult time.

5. Insist on adequate rest and naps. All my children take naps until they reach 5 years old. End of discussion. But, of course, Seth was appalled at this idea. He would get up before I would even leave the room, and after several spankings and thinking he was finally going to stay...he would get out of bed and yell, "Mom, he's up," to spare his older siblings from having to tell on him. Talk about bold! It breaks my heart to see Mamas yelling and getting ill with their little bratty kids, when the children are so obviously just exhausted. You fish around and find that the child was up until midnight, up at dawn, and "just won't take a nap". Really?

6. Another thing that I knew I had to do, was to keep Seth by MY side at all times. This went on for a solid year, and I still insist that all my kids stay close to home most of the time. If I went to the store, he went. If I went to a meeting, he went. I never left him. The main reason is that he was so manipulative with everyone else, that I knew if I let him have just one day or even one afternoon of rebellion and disobedience, I would have to start all over from scratch. This can be exhausting for Mom, but I found it very necessary. It's true I made a lot of people mad, and grandparents sure didn't understand, but I wasn't responsible for anyone but my own kids. In time, they have all seen the benefits of my doing this. Seth needed that constant vigil over his soul that only I could provide.

7. Another thing I had to do, was lay aside my pride, and quit worrying about what others thought or said about me or about Seth. As a pastor's wife, this was very hard. But I resolved never to discipline Seth for anything that I had not specifically taken time to teach and train him about how to act in that situation. And also, never to shame him in public, even if he was guilty. Most of the time, this is done for the parent's sake or reputation; not for the child's benefit. This has developed an understanding and a trust between me and Seth that I wouldn't trade for anything. He can trust that I'll take time to look him straight in the eye, help him calm down, and listen to his request (if he approaches me politely), no matter who is standing nearby.

8. Two Biblically sound books that greatly helped me and Jason were "To Train Up a Child" by Michael Pearl, and "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp.

Seth is now almost 5 years old. The battle is by no means won, and I'm not relaxing or letting my guard down. However, as he matures we see so many blessings in his life...and they mean so much to me because they were won by hard fighting! He thinks of the Lord often, and constantly asks questions about Jesus and also about Satan. He understands that Satan hates him, and that Jesus loves him. He listens to every word of his dad's preaching, and sits with his Bible open through almost every church service. He knows the words to so many of the old hymns, and he sings like a song bird. He makes up his own songs when he is alone in his room, and they usually start out "Oh, Jesus is so wonderful" in his little angelic voice. He tells me many mornings, "Mama, Jesus came and talked to me when I was in my bed last night," and I believe him. These things might sound cute to you, but they sound miraculous to me. If you only knew....

Raising children is not for the faint-hearted, and it can't be done in the evenings and on weekends. It is a constant, 24-hour watch, but with the Lord's help, the journey itself can be as fun as the destination. As the Apostle John said, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." Have you prayed for your children today?

Tramp for the Lord

I've been browsing through my quote collection again, and came upon my Corrie ten Boom section. I saw the movie, "The Hiding Place" as a child, then as a teenager I read the book and another of her books, "Tramp for the Lord". They both touched me deeply. Here are some quotes from my collection:

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength."

"Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God."

"Let God's promises shine on your problems."



"The measure of a life, after all, is not its duration, but its donation."

"Any concern too small to be turned into a prayer is too small to be made into a burden."

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest."

It was very timely that Miss ten Boom was brought to my mind, as I've been gradually introducing the study of the Holocaust to my children. We've thoroughly studied the American Revolution and the War Between the States, and that just naturally brings us next to the World Wars. In the same way that I've had great difficulty describing sins like abortion and homosexuality to my sheltered children, I'm finding it very challenging to explain the horrors of the Holocaust to them. I want to be both truthful and sensitive, exposing them to as much reality as they can handle at their tender ages, yet without compromising their purity (as so many modern accounts would certainly do!). How thankful I am to have this account told from the perspective of a born again Christian who miraculously lived to tell about it. (FYI: the movie is now available on DVD, and is also available at Netflix)

Press On!

I just want to offer a little encouragement for everyone who is reading her Bible through this year. If you're following the chronological schedule, you should be in the book of Job right now. As I'm reading, I'm reviewing the study notes in my KJV Defenders Study Bible, with notes compiled by Henry M. Morris. (I own the first edition of the one linked above.)

Henry Morris is the founder of the Institute for Creation Research who passed away in 2006. He was a brilliant scientist and scholar, but more importantly, he was an unapologetic believer and defender of the inerrant Word of God. He has been called "The Father of Creation Science". I cannot say enough about what reading his books has done for my walk of faith, helping to right so many wrongs that I picked up in public school as well as "Christian" college. This Bible has meant so much to me (and I'm very cautious of "study" Bibles!) that it has been my standard gift for all high school graduates who are college bound for the past five years.

Here is an excerpt from his introduction to the Book of Job: "Except for the first eleven chapters of Genesis, ....the book of Job is probably the oldest book in the Bible. It contains more references to creation, the Flood and other primeval events than any book of the Bible except Genesis, and provides more insight into the age-long conflict between God and Satan than almost any other book. Remarkably, it also seems to contain more modern scientific insights than any other book of the Bible." It's been so exciting to learn about the ancient world through the eyes of Job, who lived so soon after that catastrophic global Flood that so changed the created world! Dr. Morris points out so many references to creation, the flood, the Ice Age, constellations and the gospel of the stars, the unseen spirit world, and so much more.

Another great companion while reading Genesis and Job is God and the Nations by Henry Morris.

It is a wonderful explanation as to where all civilizations, past and present, originated, and how the Tower of Babel rebellion forever changed mankind. It truly makes Genesis 10 and 11 come alive for the child of God!

I hope you are enjoying your reading as much as I am.

Just another day

While most of the nation, including Christians, will be in a mad frenzy this Wednesday, October 31, it will just be another Wednesday at our house, and thankfully, we will be in church. I've inlcuded a link below to a great article, worth time to read and even print off, about Halloween from a Christian perspective. I like it especially because the last section, titled "The History of Halloween" actually links the traditions back to Nimrod in the Bible. Most sources don't go back this far.
Origins of Halloween

The reason that the Nimrod connection interests me, is that I read a book some years back called The Flood by Alfred Rehwinkel , a wonderful book by a great Christian man. This book, intended to offer proof of the the great Deluge "in light of the Bible, geology, and archaeology", has a very interesting chapter entitled "Other Historical Evidence for the Flood". In it, Dr. Rehwinkel takes several ancient and modern day cultures, and examines something that they all seem to have in common. All of them have traditions, relating to a new year, at the end of October (corresponding with Flood dating), which seem to point to a major calamity of the human race. What is so interesting, is that all these events are connected with the memory of the dead, or was observed as a feast of the ancestors. For the whole story, you simply must read this book.

Don't you get it? Any source you read about the history and origins of Halloween involves visits of spirits from the past. I have always read this, but it didn't really click and make sense until I realized it went all the way back to that wicked man, Nimrod, who lived just about 100 years after the Flood. With a small population on the earth, Nimrod and the other rebellious descendants of Ham joined together to build a waterproof tower to the heavens in defiance of God. And to mock God even more, they had festivals and feasts honoring and remembering all the wicked people that God had destroyed!

As if a child of God needed another reason not to participate in Halloween, this is certainly another good reason, and perhaps the most convincing of all!