Kindle Books

December 30th, 2011

I never thought I’d use a Kindle much. I prefer books with real paper and real ink. The big fat kinds that you have to sit down and place on your lap in order to read them. Then I had a baby. And after receiving a Kindle as a Christmas present I was pleasantly surprised to find how much I enjoy carrying the baby AND carrying all these books around! Reading while holding Kristina just became infinitely easier when I can carry around a little device that holds dozens upon dozens of books.

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My mom, of course, has been sending me helpful links to lots of free Kindle books, too… If you happen to have a Kindle, check out this website with links to many free Kindle books. The Kindle is not only a great device for book-starved new mothers, but also a useful teaching tool for homeschoolers. Reading more quality books never hurt anyone.

Coram Deo~

Flourless Dark Chocolate Cake

December 16th, 2011

With raspberries. It was the easiest and most rewarding cake I have ever made. You must try this recipe for an easy dessert when people are coming for dinner.

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And don’t forget the raspberries; you won’t be sorry!

Coram Deo!

Perfect Joy

December 12th, 2011

Christmastime — the tree has been lighting up the house for the past two weeks now. Ornaments shimmer in the glow of white lights. Candy canes tempt passersby. Presents are rattled and shaken. Eggnog lattes perfume the air. Snow and ice drive all inside.

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Joy is here. But so is sadness. In the midst of this Advent season, many are weeping with the heavy load of sorrows placed on them. The Sproul family is suffering mightily right now as Denise is fighting, fighting, fighting the cancer that has taken over her body. Pray for them, as you go about your day. Pray for them as you lay down at night. Pray for them when you wake in the morning. The Lord is the mightiest of physicians. But that doesn’t mean He always chooses to heal our physical bodies. Pray for spiritual healing for the Sproul family, too, even as we do continue to pray for physical healing. And remember, as our physical bodies are stripped away Jesus is revealed. Those who are walking in that valley of the shadow of death can see most clearly beyond this vale of tears. It is times like these, when our burdens of sickness and sorrow are pressing us to the ground, that we can truly take heart in God’s word. He is making all things new. The process of restoration is nearing completion. Legs that no longer walk on this shadow earth will climb high places on the real earth that is coming. The New Heavens and New Earth are so close we can almost touch them… because they are here, just beyond this shadow of real things. He is making His blessings flow far as the curse is found. And that includes the depths of the earth and the heavens above us.

Soon, we will follow those who go before us. Loneliness and tears will vaporize in the light of Christ. Our meeting place will be here again, and the Heavens will resound with that joy of worshipping in perfect, whole bodies, on a perfect, whole earth before our Lord Jesus. That will be unblemished joy.

Coram Deo!

Watch Out America

November 30th, 2011

Despite attempts by Rand Paul (R-KY) to uphold the Constitution, the Senate approved Levin and McCain’s bill advancing military powers on U.S. soil and against U.S. citizens. The bill which already passed the House passed the Senate 61-37.

Now, in a twist of frightening irony, the only hope to preserve liberty in this case is Obama’s promise to veto the bill.

The bill, according to Lindsey Graham (RINO-SC), would define America as part of the “battlefield.” It authorizes the military to detain American citizens without warrant, without court order, without due process, without trial, without access to an attorney, indefinitely—based purely on the military’s suspicion.

Read more about this scary bill here, and be seriously, seriously afraid for your and your children’s freedom.

Coram Deo

Homemade Thanksgiving

November 25th, 2011

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Browsing my favorite “relaxing” website, TasteSpotting, I ran across a fun article to read while eating those delicious Thanksgiving leftovers from the meal we all worked so hard to enjoy. I love food, though I wouldn’t go so far as to call myself a connoisseur; however, I have been guilty on occasion of being a bit of a food snob… and then I realize you can go too far with your food “tastes.” There is nothing wrong with having refined food tastes, or taking pleasure in creating fantastic meals, but when it gets to the point that you cannot even enjoy fellowshipping with other people over food that you might consider *below* your tastes, you’ve gone too far.

This article kinda puts it into perspective.

On the one hand I have guilt that the cream is not from my own cow whose teats I would have lovingly massaged with Crème de La Mer at the crack of dawn every morning and who I would have fed acorns and basil at mealtime to make both her milk and her life sweeter. On the other, I recognize the inherent lack of sustainability and sheer ridiculousness in the concept of every one of us urbanites raising the bar from backyard chickens to backyard barns.

You’ve gone too far if you can no longer prepare meals without enjoying the process or the people around you!

Coram Deo!

Taken For Granted

November 22nd, 2011

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It’s water, of course it’s safe, right?

Don’t take that for granted. I had the privilege of growing up on well water. You could turn on a tap and drink the water straight from it. Glorious. AND, compared to chlorinated/fluoridated city water, or even the filtered stuff, it was delicious. Pure, and clean from all chemicals, I never knew what I was taking for granted living at home and enjoying that natural well water…

…Until my husband and I had to make the decision to not go with renting a house because we realized the health implications of not only drinking fluoridated city water, but of showering in chlorinated water, as well… Chlorination became the standard treatment for “cleansing” city water in 1904, and we are still adding it to our water today. It is a cheap, effective way of killing bacteria, and nobody has bothered to do the research on whether or not we should still be doing that today, and what the health implications are for those people who drink and shower in it. We have advanced in technology by leaps and bounds since 1904, yet we are still using the same methods for purifying our water, regardless of the fact that they are not the safest methods. The Romans were commended for their technological advances with their aqueducts, but those same aqueducts used LEAD pipes to carry the water!

Watch out for chlorine in your water — if you are on city water, you *can* get filters for your taps, or a main filter for the whole house. Please do… especially if you have children. Chlorinated water, especially, when it is inhaled in steam form, i.e., when showering or washing dishes, is VERY harmful, since that inhaled chlorine goes directly to your bloodstream and is absorbed by your skin. Chlorine, in fact, was used as a chemical weapon during WWI, and yet, we are perfectly fine with putting it into our tap water and showering in it. Recent studies on chlorine have even linked it to rises in cancer, heart disease, bronchitis, and asthma. It never ceases to amaze me what we as a society put up with in our food and our environments… in cases like being on city water, it is pure poison, and hardly anyone objects.

Coram Deo~

In the Blink of an Eye

November 21st, 2011

Plans change. Hopes never come to fruition. The realization that what we had been working towards for so long now has to be postponed, or never will happen, can hit hard. Just when we thought we were in control, God proves again that we are not — usually, in a way we never would have imagined.

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During those times when you find all your detailed plans suddenly vaporizing, don’t despair. God has you exactly where He always planned to have you. Nothing happens that is outside the realm of His providence. When all your trust in something you thought you could rely on has been shattered, throw your trust upon the rock, Jesus; He will never break under the pressing load of cares that you shoulder. Give those to Him. And, when you think you have learned it all, and suffered through the lesson in this trial of faith, don’t be surprised when He sends you even MORE because He loves you. He is stripping away the old to reveal the new which is Christ.

“For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” — Hebrews 12:6

Coram Deo~

White World

November 18th, 2011

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Snow. What marvelous stuff. It’s beautiful; especially when it sticks to the face of the person you just threw a snowball at. Magical.

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Of course, one can get a little weary of all the snow here in Montana… not the fresh fallen stuff, but the old, dirty, half-melted stuff on the side of the road.

But then, the look on Kristina’s face is priceless when I touch a bit of the cold snow to her face. In another year she’ll be out there playing in it!

Coram Deo~

Why I Love Thanksgiving, and Why I Think the Government Shouldn’t Institute Holidays

November 17th, 2011

Last Thanksgiving was a special Thanksgiving for me and everyone in my family as it was spent decorating and preparing for the marriage of two of my favorite people, Bekah and Dylan. Thanksgiving dinner was the rehearsal dinner, and we feasted on brie and crackers, roasted yams and sautéed green beans, rolls and TURKEY! Dessert included all the normal fare of pumpkin and pecan pie, and our family tradition of gumdrop cake; a tradition I am keeping alive here in Montana, and intend to pass along to my own children!

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Thanksgiving has always had slightly melancholy overtones for me. It is filled with happiness, candlelight, love and food, and every year I anticipate Thanksgiving a month in advance. Not solely for the feast that is prepared by family, or even the time spent feasting with family — though those are key components of a Thanksgiving celebration– But Thanksgiving is to me a door that ushers in a darker season, the season of winter, and all the dark and wild accompanying spirits of winter. Thanksgiving bows to Christmas and Advent. It is the spirit of Christmas that drives the cold winter away, but after Christmas come the long wintery months of January and February; months that require a stockpile of warm memories in order to survive them. That time is Epiphany season, a time of work and teaching, a time of discipleship and sanctification within the church as we continue to reveal the light that came down at Christmas to all the men and nations around us. So, in a way, Thanksgiving is a day that dwells not only on the past, and remembrances of God’s providence throughout the year, but it is a day that looks towards the future, and acknowledges the light of Christmas and Christ in the next year.

For our Federal Government, however, it is a day that has long been used as a tool for manipulation and so-called “unity” in a forced attempt to homogenize people in all states in this country. Thanksgiving was celebrated by individual states before Abraham Lincoln was the first president to declare it a national holiday; then Franklin Roosevelt decided which Thursday it was to be celebrated on. FDR first attempted to move Thanksgiving up by one week in order to drive retail sales up during the depression, but that was met with resistance, so Thanksgiving is now the 4th Thursday of November. Most Christians don’t even give it a thought that Thanksgiving has just become another Federal, and secular holiday, even though it was originally a celebration of our true “Founding Fathers,” the pilgrims. It’s still vaguely connected to them, of course, but now that our Thanksgiving celebration has been severed from being a holy day for Christians, and has become a “holy-day” for the state, it is increasingly secular each year. Instead of giving thanks to God as our true provider, we have come to rely on our government for everything: food, clothing, shelter, education, and healthcare… and we give thanks to them. If our Federal government jumps on every opportunity to paint themselves as our providers to whom we must be grateful. Which is ironic, since the Pilgrims were celebrating the fact that they not only survived the harsh first winter of the New World, but also were thankful for newfound freedom and escape from the tyranny of statist England.

This Thanksgiving, remind yourself and your children of what you are really thankful for. Our church, and our Christian forefathers are two things I am immensely thankful for. And I am also thankful for the never-ceasing progression of God’s church here in America and throughout the entire world –”The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”– King Jesus continues to advance, despite statist nations and their worshippers, tyrannies and oppressions worldwide.

“For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” — 1 Corinthians 4:7

Sweetness and Spice

November 16th, 2011

Mostly… sometimes she can express herself in other ways than just sweetness and spice! Kristina is an observant baby, and she loves to watch and follow faces and movement, and she already can chatter away to any listening ear. She’s progressing alarmingly fast… maybe if I put her in a bottle she would stay a 2-month old baby!

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Coram Deo