Just before Ezekiel was born, my sister crocheted 2 very cute pairs of baby booties for him.  Up until today, every time I tried them on him they have been too big. This morning it has been rainy and cold, and we’re expecting a bit of snow by tomorrow. I dressed Zeke all warm and snugly with socks and decided to slip on those booties. I would much rather call them baby boots because they look like little crocheted snow boots. I think my sister needs to make some in a darker brown and some to match some of his outfits. They’re adorable.

I am so excited. I can finally say it. Finally.

We are a homeschool family.

At least by my qualifications we are. We are officially learning our letters. The letter people are a surprisingly not-so-distant memory for me. The curiosity and simplicity of life as a preschooler. I remind myself to cherish these years, when things are still very precious and uncomplicated. The age of “I do it myself!” just before the maddening “But why mom”. I’m sure enough that I’ll be missing this time when my oldest son is long past needing even a little bit of help from mom. Past the time of asking mom the important questions in life, and on to finding out those answers for himself. I think ahead. I remind myself that he was once a 2 month old, just like my second son is now. I hold my youngest at this age, looking at the picture on the wall of my oldest at that same age. It seems impossible that time could pass. When they are a babe we think “I can’t wait until you’re older”. When they are older we think “I miss when you were a babe.”  Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?

My sister is Mrs. Helpful when it comes to homeschooling resources. The following resources are especially helpful for learning the alphabet, phonics, and literacy.

Starfall.com – This website is divided into 4 interactive sections full of games, phonics learning, and reading activities. We’re currently working on “learning letters”.

First School – Everything preschool with tons of printable coloring pages and worksheets. Letters and tracing. Crafts, games, handwriting, math/numbers, and shapes.

Success to Read – Learn the basics of how to successfully teach your child to read.

Stairway to Reading – A website developed for Canadian parents to teach their children to read. A result of Canadian schools being unsuccessful in teaching phonics and literacy.

UpToTen - Fun online learning for kids up to Ten!

Are you in Second Life? There is a great need for the true gospel to be preached to the nations… without ever leaving the house. If you are a resident… find me in Second Life. My name is Seqoua Semyorka. If you aren’t yet a resident… let me know when you arrive and I will meet you! If I am not online.. search for “Christian Reformation” in the location search and meet some wonderful Christians with a desire for sharing the gospel.

Comment below if you are a resident or plan to join.

Psalms 127:3-5

Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

The Law of Noncontradiction

Relativism is something that is quite pervasive in our culture, almost to the point where many people assume that there are no absolutes at all. However what is interesting about that position is that it really makes little sense since saying there is no truth is an absolute in itself.

Relativism actually defies logic since it goes against the law of noncontradiction which states that “A cannot be A and non-A at the same time and in he same sense”. Makes perfect sense right? It did to Aristotle who was the author of many logical principles.

In order to deny this law you would have to hold a book in your hand and deny that it was a book. Of course everyone would agree that this is complete nonsense, however, people argue this often without knowing it when they speak about relativism and other concepts when they want to avoid the only logical conclusion.

When this law is broken then debate ends. If the only way that someone can escape God is to deny logic then at this point he or she must be left to go about his or her way. Many times this is a method people often win arguments with because one is left to argue against the absurd, which is never reasonable.

Since relativism has been taught for so long people take it for granted these days. People actually believe that truth is indeed relative and that the Bible can contradict itself and still be inspired. This can then lead to Christians thinking that their faith is not logical and therefore can’t be defended in the arena of ideas.

However there is nothing further from the actual truth.

Do people invent logic like Thomas Edison invented the light bulb? Of course not, they simply discover it. So who put logical thought in our minds? It makes sense that our creator put it there since the creator of such complex things like human beings would certainly not be irrational. Arguing that there is no creator is also very difficult from this standpoint since how could chaos give birth to logic? If a rational, intelligent creator created us then it would be logical to assume that his creation would also be rational. When the Bible says that God created man in his own image this is indeed logical. It would not be logical to think otherwise

The Bible does not contradict and is proven to follow this and other laws of logic. To say that there is no truth goes against rational thought even in the Bible. The example is given of Adam and Eve in the garden. God said if you eat the fruit of this one tree you will die. That was the truth of the matter. Satan then broke with truth and said that you could eat of the tree and not die. This violated logic because it could not be the truth and a non-truth at the same time. It was just as illogical then as arguing against truth is now, but when it is wrapped in a pretty box it can be appealing.

The Trinity must be a contradiction right? The trinitarian view says that God is three in one so you can’t be three and one at the same time. This was the type of thinking that caused many problems in the early church and still causes Christians problems today. Human beings might not be able to grasp all aspects of how the Trinity of God is possible because we are not God, but we can definately defend it logically.

The Trinity is not a violation of the law of noncontradiction, but instead it is what is called a paradox. A Paradox is not a contradiction and therefore would not violate the law of noncontradiction. More simply put, I can’ say that the shirt is green and not green at the same time which would be a contradiction. If I say that everyone is a liar, and I am everyone, then if I am telling the truth i am a liar, and if I am lieing then I am telling the truth. This would be a paradox because two different interpretations are possible and could be true. This is indeed what the Trinity represents. God is one in essense (A) and three in person (B). In order to contradict and violate the law I would need to say that God is one in person and three in person. It is hard to wrap our minds around how God is one in essence and three in person but not contradictory at all.

The Bible also does not contradict when it comes to the incarnation which is also something that is used to attack the validity of the Bible and therefore Christianity. If Jesus and God are one in essence and distinct in person then how could he come to earth in the flesh and become man? Well if you understand this correctly it is not contradictory because it does not say that Jesus is man (A) and not man (B), or that God is God (A) and not God (B). What the Bible and the early Church declared was that Jesus was both completely God and completely man which would be paradoxical because both would be completely true even though it would be difficult for us to understand completely how that could be.

There are many other instances of paradox in the Bible that are often mistaken for contradiction by people who don’t know the difference. Mattew 10:39 says that whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. How could you lose your life and by extension of that not lose your life? This could be easily seen as a contradiction especially if you cherry picked the verse and used it out of context. However, if we understand the verse correctly we will see that the Gospel is telling us that in one sense if we lose our life here on earth then it is indeed lost so this is true, but at the same time you are gaining an eternal life with Jesus Christ which is also true. Since both ends of the statement end up true then it is not contradictory at all.

So God reveals himself to us in a very logical way, since he implanted logical thought in our brains. It is true that many choose not to use logical thought and are lost in confusion but this is not the fault of an almighty creator. This is the fault of sin that corrupted our nature from the very start. It would be incoherent for us to think that one would have to be irrational or illogical to believe in God and the truth of his word, or that God would speak in an irrational or contradictory manner towards us.

Don’t let anyone tell you that truth is relative or that you must be irrational to believe in God. In fact, you must be somewhat irrational to deny the creator of the universe and believe that in some way chaos gave birth to rational and logical thought. One who believes that just might try and convince you that the keyboard in front of you is really a lizard.

Source: http://www.londyscreations.com/narnia/noncontradiction.html

It’s a little amusing to read some of the comments I receive on my blog. My most controversial post is that pertaining to Horus & Jesus. As you may already know, It’s a very controversial topic that Jesus’ life and death is an overwhelmingly accurate historical account found in the Bible and concluded as accurate by many famous scholars, teachers, and historians. It seems to me, that skeptics have done plenty of research on the resemblance of pagan religions and conspiracies to that of the Christian faith; Yet very few have actually investigated which accounts are most historical and accurate, as well as prophetically proven through history.

Firstly, I wll cite THE BIBLE—THE MOST UNIQUE BOOK IN THE WORLD
Part Three
By Dr. John Ankerberg and Dr. John Weldon , Ankerberg Theological Research Institute.

• The Bible is the only ancient book with documented scientific and medical prevision. No
  other ancient book is ever carefully analyzed along scientific lines, but many books have
  been written on the theme of the Bible and modern science.
• The Bible is the only religious Scripture that offers eternal salvation as a free gift entirely
  by God’s grace and mercy.
• The Bible is the only major ancient religious Scripture whose complete textual preservation
  is established as virtually autographic.
• The Bible contains the greatest moral standards of any book.
• Only the Bible begins with the creation of the universe by divine fiat and contains a
  continuous, if often brief and interspersed, historical record of mankind from the first
  man, Adam, to the end of history.
• Only the Bible contains detailed prophecies about the coming Savior of the world and
  whose prophecies have proven true in history.
• Only the Bible has its accuracy confirmed in history by archeology and other sciences.
• The internal and historical characteristics of the Bible are unique in its unity and internal
  consistency despite production over a 1,500-year period by 40-plus authors in three
  languages on three continents discussing scores of controversial subjects yet having
  agreement on all issues.
• The Bible is the most translated, purchased, memorized and persecuted book in history.
• Only the Bible is fully one-quarter prophetic, containing a total of some 400 complete
  pages of predictions.
• Only the Bible has withstood 2,000 years of intense scrutiny by critics, not only surviving
  the attacks but prospering and having its credibility strengthened by such criticism.
  (Voltaire, and not a few cult leaders, predicted that the Bible would be extinct within 100
  years; within 50 years Voltaire was extinct and his house was a warehouse of the
  Geneva Bible Society.)
• The Bible has molded the history of Western civilization more than any other book. The
  Bible has had more influence in the world than any other book.
• Only the Bible has a Person-specific (Christ centered) nature for each of its 66 books,
  detailing the Person’s life in prophecy, type, anti-type and so on 400-1,500 years before
  the Person was born.
• Only the Bible proclaims a resurrection of its central figure that is proven in history.

Looking for more facts in more places about the historical accuracy and uniqueness of the Bible? Visit these links:

How Do You Know The Bible Is True? @ ClarifyingChristianity.com

How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God, and not the Apocrypha, the Qur’an, the Book of Mormon, etc.?

Charles Spurgeon speaks

ON CHRISTIANITY

“If any of you should ask me for an epitome of the Christian religion, I should say that it is in one word- Prayer. Live and die without prayer, and you will pray long enough when you get to hell.”

Charles Spurgeon speaks

IN DEFENSE OF CALVINISM

First, let me ask, must we not all of us admit an over-ruling Providence, and the appointment of Jehovah’s hand, as to the means whereby we came into this world? Those men who think that, afterwards, we are left to our own free-will to choose this one or the other to direct our steps, must admit that our entrance into the world was not of our own will, but that God had then to choose for us.

What circumstances were those in our power which led us to elect certain persons to be our parents? Had we anything to do with it? Did not God Himself appoint our parents, native place, and friends? Could He not have caused me to be born with the skin of the Hottentot, brought forth by a filthy mother who would nurse me in her “kraal,” and teach me to bow down to Pagan gods, quite as easily as to have given me a pious mother, who would each morning and night bend her knee in prayer on my behalf?

Or, might He not, if He had pleased, have given me some profligate to have been my parent, from whose lips I might have early heard fearful, filthy, and obscene language? Might He not have placed me where I should have had a drunken father, who would have immured me in a very dungeon of ignorance, and brought me up in the chains of crime? Was it not God’s Providence that I had so happy a lot, that both my parents were His children, and endeavoured to train me up in the fear of the Lord?

Some persons love the doctrine of universal atonement because they say, “It is so beautiful. It is a lovely idea that Christ should have died for all men; it commends itself,” they say, “to the instincts of humanity; there is something in it full of joy and beauty.”

I admit there is, but beauty may be often associated with falsehood. There is much which I might admire in the theory of universal redemption, but I will just show what the supposition necessarily involves. If Christ on His cross intended to save every man, then He intended to save those who were lost before He died. If the doctrine be true, that He died for all men, then He died for some who were in hell before He came into this world, for doubtless there were even then myriads there who had been cast away because of their sins.

Once again, if it was Christ’s intention to save all men, how deplorably has He been disappointed, for we have His own testimony that there is a lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, and into that pit of woe have been cast some of the very persons who, according to the theory of universal redemption, were bought with His blood.

The system of truth revealed in the Scriptures is not simply one straight line, but two; and no man will ever get a right view of the gospel until he knows how to look at the two lines at once.

For instance, I read in one Book of the Bible, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.” Yet I am taught, in another part of the same inspired Word, that “it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”

I see, in one place, God in providence presiding over all, and yet I see, and I cannot help seeing, that man acts as he pleases, and that God has left his actions, in a great measure, to his own free-will.

Now, if I were to declare that man was so free to act that there was no control of God over his actions, I should be driven very near to atheism; and if, on the other hand, I should declare that God so over-rules all things that man is not free enough to be responsible, I should be driven at once into Antinomianism or fatalism

[T]here is no such thing as preaching Christ and Him crucified, unless we preach what nowadays is called Calvinism. It is a nickname to call it Calvinism; Calvinism is the gospel, and nothing else. I do not believe we can preach the gospel, if we do not preach justification by faith, without works; nor unless we preach the sovereignty of God in His dispensation of grace; nor unless we exalt the electing, unchangeable, eternal, immutable, conquering love of Jehovah; nor do I think we can preach the gospel, unless we base it upon the special and particular redemption of His elect and chosen people which Christ wrought out upon the cross; nor can I comprehend a gospel which lets saints fall away after they are called, and suffers the children of God to be burned in the fires of damnation

Charles Spurgeon speaks

Regarding Total Depravity and Irresistible Grace

When you say, “Can God make me become a Christian?” I tell you yes, for herein rests the power of the gospel. It does not ask your consent; but it gets it. It does not say, “Will you have it?” but it makes you willing in the day of God’s power….The gospel wants not your consent, it gets it. It knocks the enmity out of your heart. You say, I do not want to be saved; Christ says you shall be. He makes our will turn round, and then you cry,”‘Lord save, or I perish!”

Charles Spurgeon speaks

Regarding Limited Atonement

He has punished Christ, why should He punish twice for one offence? Christ has died for all His people’s sins, and if thou art in the covenant, thou art one of Christ’s people. Damned thou canst not be. Suffer for thy sins thou canst not. Until God can be unjust, and demand two payments for one debt, He cannot destroy the soul for whom Jesus died

Charles Spurgeon speaks

Regarding the Perseverance of the Saints:

I do not know how some people, who believe that a Christian can fall from grace, manage to be happy. It must be a very commendable thing in them to be able to get through a day without despair. If I did not believe in the doctrine of the final perseverance of the saints, I think I should be of all men most miserable, because I should lack any ground of comfort.

My journey in budgeting began just 1 year ago while listening to Dave Ramsey (a Christian financial advisor) on the radio. It was his radio shows that opened my eyes to our meek financial situation. Sure, we were able to put food on the table and pay the rent. In fact, we never made late payments at all; But, there was rarely any money left in the bank account at the end of each pay period. If we were to have an emergency, there would be no money left. It was when my husband was faced with possible unemployment that I realized what a disaster that could be, especially with a little one in tow.

I started by analysing our income against all of our regular expenses. I made a list of weekly, monthly, and even yearly expenses and tried to budget a portion of each out of each paycheck. This is when I began to develop our envelop system, and I created an excel document to keep track of our budget and envelopes. The first month of the new budget was the hardest. We were not used to limiting ourselves on certain expenses, such as groceries, eating out, and even personal allowances. I created a personal allowance envelop for both my husband and I, so that if we wanted to buy something for ourselves or that was not in our budget we didn’t have to fight over it. My husband even has an account for buying soda or a sandwich on the way to work. The important thing is that we decided what our family needed to budget for (not what we thought we should budget for) and did what worked for us.

This envelope system has been working wonderfully for us for 1 year. We know hold an average bank account balance of $1,000 more than before the budget. When we need car repairs, taxes & registration, and money for unexpected expenses, the money is usually there.

I am very excited to have found MySpendingPlan.com last week, a free online envelop system that does half of the work for me. I wanted to let everyone know about it because the envelop system has been such a blessing for our family, and I can only hope it will be for others as well. MySpendingPlan.com takes you through the steps to setting up your own envelope system online, and it’s relatively easy to maintain. I would equate it to sitting down and balancing the checkbook every month. It’s nice to have online banking, but not necessary. There are other sites that do more, but you have to pay for them. I just don’t like the idea of paying for one more thing, especially when it comes to keeping a budget.

Wow, did I really just type that? Yes, yes it’s true; I had a wonderfully productive day today. Okay okay, so maybe I wouldn’t have called it that when I was single and life was easy (and boring I must admit); But, I just want to hollar that from the rooftops today. It is possible to get things done with 2 young children and a husband at work. Granted, my 2 year old helps me with everything (or he’ll throw a fit) and the baby was quite content today.

Somedays my oldest son is so big and helpful (and willful) that I wonder how I let all that time slip by. He’s still the same little boy who I nursed to make the ‘boo boo’s’ feel better who rolled across the floor until he could wobble on his little legs (at a mere 9 months). He’s so different now, doing somersaults and jumping off anything he can climb, learning to dress himself…. he hardly needs mom anymore; Or at least it feels that way.

I’ve decided, since I named my second son Ezekiel that I would be a big hipocrit to name my son after a profit of God if I had never read the book of Ezekiel myself. I have read bits and peices; But, I took out my bible yesterday and promised myself that I would work on reading through the book of Ezekiel. The second chapter of Ezekiel spoke strongly to me. It encouraged me to continue learning and doing the work that God would have me to do, to spread the gospel and let others know the Word of God. One thing in particular came to my mind.

My mother is not a Christian, and when I call her during trying things in my life her favorite thing to tell me is, “Everything happens for a reason”. Well, of course everything happens for a reason (whether a good reason or a bad one). A particular peice of scripture that I memorized last year in bible study always comes to mind when she tells me that.

“For we know that all things work together for the good of those who love god and are called according to his purpose for them.” Romans 8:28

As of yet, I havn’t had the guts to recite that peice of scripture to her and I do feel the Holy Spirit’s tug, telling me to do so. Notice that the scripture does not say that everything that happens is good. What it does say is that everything works TOGETHER for the good of those WHO LOVE GOD. Surely we know from the world around us that not everything that happens if pleasant. Of course everything happens for a reason. What we should be asking ourselves is.. who’s reason is it: God, Human, Satan? That’s a tough peice of scripture for a nonbeliever to hear I am sure. I am so thankful for having the Word of God and knowing (at least some) of the Word of God in my mind. It helps tremendously when we are faced with unscriptural sayings and jargon in the world to be able to reference and recite the Word of God.. The Truth. It ultimately give us the answers that are of eternal significance in a world full of questions and lies.

This is a perfect example of why I am believe it is important for us to memorize scripture wherever and whenever we can. We are so lucky as a nation to be able to own a Bible and not suffer persecution. Just as I write this a copy of ‘Voice of Martyrs’ sits on my living room floor, persecuted faces, living for Christ, beaming up at me; And I praise God that I am free to worship him without suffering for it.

Sorry for my rambling. I wrote this waiting for my Tyelnol PM to kick in. Have a blessed evening.