The Youngest Sons....truly blessings!

Celebrating St. Andrew

Almighty God, who gave such grace to your apostle Andrew that He readily obeyed the call of your Son Jesus Christ, and brought his brother with him: Give unto us, who are called by your Word, grace to follow him without delay, and to bring those near to us into his gracious presence; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Afghanistan Myths debunked

I just read an interesting article in The Weekly Standard written by Tom Cotton, who was an Army infantry officer from 2005-2009. He returned from Afghanistan in July. He says there are myths believed by Congress and the media regarding Afghanistan which need to be debunked.

1. A counterterrorism campaign is an effective alternative to counterinsurgency. (answer)Without a simultaneous counterinsurgency, we cannot defeat al Qaeda with counterterrorism strikes alone.
2. The Afghan people don't want us there. (answer) The people would accept more troops in exchange for more security. He says we have the worst situation possible in Afghanistan. Enough troops to raise Afghans' expectations, but not enough to protect them.
3. America cannot win a war in Afghanistan, the "graveyard of empires." (answer) America has a counter-insurgency policy whereas the Soviet Union had a genocide policy. The Soviets, in particular, taught us how not to win in Afghanistan. They employed vicious massively destructive tactics that inflamed the Afghan people and still scar the country with depopulated valleys and adult amputees maimed as children by toy-shaped mines. Our present way of war couldn't be more different.
4. America needs a new political partner before committing more troops. (answer)A government battling insurgency is by definition weak, else the insurgency would never have gained strength. We must accept this and focus on helping improve President Karzai's government, not use it as an excuse to abandon his government.
5. We should not put troops in harm's way without thorough debate. (answer)True, but we already have 68,000 troops very much in harm's way and they need reinforcements.
6. The military will break if we send more troops to Afghanistan. (answer) To be sure our military needs to grow in both size and funding to reflect wartime priorities and alleviate the stress of repeated deployments, but the quickest way to break the military is to lose a war.

Here's a link to the Stratfor Global Intelligence video....Afghanistan to become Obama's War.

Happy Advent

The Manhattan Declaration

From Albert Mohler's blog: Why I signed the Manhattan Declaration

Last Friday, The Manhattan Declaration was released to the public at the National Press Club. It is a historic statement of conviction and courage that is both timely and urgent, dealing with issues of the sanctity of human life, the integrity of marriage, and religious liberty. As Dr. Mohler writes in his blog entry today, though Christians struggle to understand the extent to which our convictions should be incorporated in the law, we must now recognize that the very respect for these convictions -- and the freedom to follow these convictions in our own lives, families, and ministries is now at stake.

Read the details in Dr. Mohler’s blog,which is often updated several times a day.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2009—Today a group of prominent Christian clergy, ministry leaders and scholars will release the Manhattan Declaration, which addresses the sanctity of life, traditional marriage and religious liberty. The 4,700-word declaration issues a clarion call to Christians to adhere to their convictions and informs civil authorities that the signers will not - under any circumstance - abandon their Christian consciences. Drafted by Dr. Robert George, Dr. Timothy George and Chuck Colson and signed by more than 125 Orthodox, Catholic and evangelical Christian leaders, the Manhattan Declaration will be made public at a noon ET press conference held in the Lisagor Room at the National Press Club.

Among the signers of the Manhattan Declaration scheduled to appear at the press conference are:

• Robert George, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University
• Donald William Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, Diocese of Washington, D.C.
• Harry Jackson Jr., Bishop, Hope Christian Church
• Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadelphia, Diocese of Philadelphia
• Timothy George, Professor, Beeson Divinity School at Samford University
• Chuck Colson, Founder, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview
• Ron Sider, Professor, Palmer Theological Seminary and Director of the Seminary’s Sider Center on Ministry & Public Policy
• George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center and Founding President of the James Madison Foundation
• Tony Perkins, President, Family Research Council
• Jim Daly, President and CEO, Focus on the Family

Excerpts from the declaration include:

• "We are Christians who have joined together across historic lines of ecclesial differences to affirm our right - and, more importantly, to embrace our obligation - to speak and act in defense of these truths. We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence."
• "We recognize the duty to comply with laws whether we happen to like them or not, unless the laws are gravely unjust or require those subject to them to do something unjust or otherwise immoral."
• ". . . We will not comply with any edict that purports to compel our institutions to participate in abortions, embryo-destructive research, assisted suicide and euthanasia or any other anti-life act; nor will we bend to any rule purporting to force us to bless immoral sexual partnerships, treat them as marriage or the equivalent or refrain from proclaiming the truth, as we know it, about morality and immorality and marriage and the family."

http://manhattandeclaration.org/

James, Jr and Bryson

Bryson Monroe Douglas, August 31, 2009, Blessings on the Covenant Children!

Psalm 89: 1-4 I Will Sing of the Steadfast Love of the Lord

I will sing of the steadfast love of the Lord, forever;

with my mouth I will make known your faithfulness to all generations.

For I said, “Steadfast love will be built up forever;

in the heavens you will establish your faithfulness.”

You have said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;

I have sworn to David my servant:

‘I will establish your offspring forever,

and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

Grandparent's Prayer....from Psalm 71

O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

So even to old age and gray hairs,O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.

Novel H1N1, Swine Flu and Prevention!

Novel H1N1, Swine Flu and Prevention!

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James D.N. Douglas, Jr, born August 6, 2009....His blessings are from generation to generation. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 145 Great Is the Lord . I will extol you, my God and King,

and bless your name forever and ever.

Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

The Lord is gracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your saints shall bless you!

They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and tell of your power,

to make known to the children of man your mighty deeds,

and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.

Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words and kind in all his works.

The Lord upholds all who are falling

and raises up all who are bowed down.

The eyes of all look to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.

The Lord is near to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

He fulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also hears their cry and saves them.

The Lord preserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

A Family Wedding

We enjoyed being with my sister and all the Glover family for their first daughter's wedding this past weekend. We are definitely looking forward to their next 9 weddings....this one set the bar pretty high on the "souther style" hospitality bench-mark. Esther married Greg Norman. The wedding was held in The Stanley House in downtown Marietta, a restored antebellum home, the perfect setting to welcome all Greg's family and friends who came down from Chicago. We really enjoyed being with all the Glover and Nettles family and meeting Greg's family. My sister made the wedding cake! It tasted almost like a pound cake with peach filling...yumm yumm.

Communion on the Moon

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/firstthoughts/2009/07/20/communion-on-the-moon/ Monday, July 20, 2009, 1:08 AM Joe Carter Forty years ago today astronaut Buzz Aldrin made history by being the first man to take communion on the surface of the moon. Eric Metaxas relates the remarkable tale: The background to the story is that Aldrin was an elder at his Presbyterian Church in Texas during this period in his life, and knowing that he would soon be doing something unprecedented in human history, he felt he should mark the occasion somehow, and he asked his pastor to help him. And so the pastor consecrated a communion wafer and a small vial of communion wine. And Buzz Aldrin took them with him out of the Earth’s orbit and on to the surface of the moon. He and Armstrong had only been on the lunar surface for a few minutes when Aldrin made the following public statement: “This is the LM pilot. I’d like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours and to give thanks in his or her own way.” He then ended radio communication and there, on the silent surface of the moon, 250,000 miles from home, he read a verse from the Gospel of John, and he took communion. Read the rest to hear how famed atheist Madelyn Murray O’Hare prevented Aldrin from reading the communion passage back to the people on earth.

Fetuses found to have memories - Washington Times

Fetuses found to have memories - Washington Times Shared via AddThis

Church Unity....

Here's a link to our Sunday sermon on the topic of Church unity. July 12, 2009 Unity (Psalm 133; John 17:20-26; Phil. 2:1-4). For sermon follow-up, click here. Pray without ceasing. God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and whatever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and of one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Stacy'sShower071109

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Social Butterflies Age More Gracefully

Want to live longer and stay healthier as you age? Get out of the house and mingle. Researchers at the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center in Chicago report that seniors who are more socially active are more likely to retain mobility as they age. The study of 906 healthy adults, average age 66.5, awarded points for such social activities as attending church or sporting events, eating out at restaurants, visiting relatives, volunteering, playing bingo and traveling. Every point below the average score at the study's start was associated with a 33% greater decline in overall motor function-the equivalent of five years of additional aging. That translated into a 40% increased risk of death and a 65% greater risk of disability. Even something as simple as walking speed was related to social activity: The most socially active seniors ranked in the top 10% of gait speed, while the least socially active ranked in the slowest 10%.-Archives of Internal Medicine

Gospel...Sermon Notes from June 28.2009

The gospel defines the church. "A Christian without knowledge of the gospel is like a soldier without a gun!"

In Romans 1 Paul introduces himself to Christians he has never met. Before he introduces himself he introduces the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15:1-11, Paul reminds them of the gospel. At one level, all Christians agree on one aspect of the gospel. We all know Jesus is the savior, the church is the saved. Sometimes groups emphasize only one aspect of the gospel. The gospel is very big. We should never "shrink-wrap" its story to fit only one particular view.

Here are 10 aspects of the gospel which, if embraced, will build our identity as a gospel-driven church. The gospel is:

1. Christological: The gospel is about the incarnation of God. God does for us what we cannot do fo rourselves. Christ means annointed one. The gospel in the ancient world was proclaimed whenever a caesar won a victory. The Christian gospel is a royal announcement from the father that he has become flesh to dwell among us. Jesus re-defines Lordship. He is the Lord who comes to serve and save. The gospel can never be reduced to a private way of living or a private experience.

2. Theological: The gospel is of God. Its roots are in God. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. The gospel is deeply trinitarian; it is the work of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is the love of the Father that sent the son Jesus went to the cross because it was the Father's will. Jesus bears the full weight of the wrath of God by taking our sin. Jesus came to rescue us from the wrath of God.

3. Historical: The gospel was planned in eternity; executed in history. It is an historical event. The historicity debate is crucial. These extraordinary claims really happened. The reign of death has been broken. The historicity of the gospel is embedded in our creeds...Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate." The gospel took place in space and time.

4. Biblical: The gospel was promised by the prophets in the scriptures. The bible interprets and explains the gospel. Law, Psalms and Prophets all point to the gospel. The Old Covenant is a shadow of things to come. The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the promise.

5. Apostolic: Paul passed along what he received. The apostles are those who heard and saw. They witnessed the gospel. No one is to be tamper with the gospel witness of the apostles. The church is apostolic.

6. Ecclesial: The gospel creates a new community centered around Jesus. Paul describes Jesus as the head of a new race. The church actually mirrors the Holy Trinity. The church is integral to the gospel. Fellowship, Sacrament, Discipline, preaching... we are to live inter-dependent lives around these activities of the church. God has a wonderful plan for His church and He bids us come, be a part of it!

7. Personal: Realities of Gospel are true whether we believe them or not. But if we want to enjoy the gospel there must be a response of faith. We must "bank" everything on Jesus, stand-fast and continue in faith. The gospel commands faith, we obey by believing. Faith produces obedience--where there is faith there is obedience. There is a love and loyalty to Jesus when there is faith. We can finally be honest about who we are. We don't have to hide our faults, we can see how great the love of Jesus is on our behalf. The gospel gives us motivation to be transformed and conformed to the image of Christ. Jesus' willingness to die produced life; so it is with us. Take up your cross and follow Him.

8. Public/Political: The gospel is for nations. All nations are to be discipled with this gospel. The gospel is about the comprehensive lordship of Jesus. The gospel is inescapably political. Sin and evil have corrupted every part of life; the gospel restores.

9. To be Preached: The gospel is to be uncompromisingly proclaimed as authoritative truth. Everybody lives by a story--this is our identity. The story of Jesus and the church is the gospel.

10. Gracious---it is all about what God has done for us. Grace means that God acepts us as we are. Bring the broken pieces of your life to church...God will put your life back together. The grace of God humbles us--it shatters our pride and makes us right with God. Nothing cuts us down to size like the gospel. Grace transforms us and makes us new. Grace is the action, obedience is the re-action. Thank God for his grace.

Reading the Bible (Again) for the First Time by James. B. Jordan

I highly recommend this! You can buy it here from American Vision. It's a great lecture series on understanding the story of Scripture...titles in the series are:

• Hearing the Voice of God
• From Children to Adults
• The Bible is a Story
• Patient Faith
• From Glory to Glory
• The Three Falls of Mankind

self control...the trick is to lose sight of the marshmallows of life

Philippians 4:8

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things

Psychology: Don't think about it, and you probably won't do it

In a New Yorker article titled admirably simply, "Don’t!" The secret of self-control, Jonah Lehrer reflects on what investigators have learned about how children develop self-control:

At the time, psychologists assumed that children's ability to wait depended on how badly they wanted the marshmallow. But it soon became obvious that every child craved the extra treat. What, then, determined self-control? Mischel's conclusion, based on hundreds of hours of observation, was that the crucial skill was the "strategic allocation of attention."

In other words, focus of attention.

Instead of getting obsessed with the marshmallow - the "hot stimulus" - the patient children distracted themselves by covering their eyes, pretending to play hide-and-seek underneath the desk, or singing songs from "Sesame Street." Their desire wasn't defeated - it was merely forgotten. "If you're thinking about the marshmallow and how delicious it is, then you’re going to eat it," Mischel says. "The key is to avoid thinking about it in the first place."

In adults, this skill is often referred to as metacognition, or thinking about thinking, and it’s what allows people to outsmart their shortcomings. ... Mischel’s large data set from various studies allowed him to see that children with a more accurate understanding of the workings of self-control were better able to delay gratification. "What's interesting about four-year-olds is that they're just figuring out the rules of thinking," Mischel says. "The kids who couldn’t delay would often have the rules backwards. They would think that the best way to resist the marshmallow is to stare right at it, to keep a close eye on the goal. But that's a terrible idea. If you do that, you’re going to ring the bell before I leave the room."

In the adult world, this need for focus of attention is one key reason for the millennia-old practice of religious retreats.

People often say they are going to make more time from their work day to think about the meaning of life. But do they? No, because they can't. They can't stop looking at the In Tray, the way many kids looked at the marshmallow.

Now just put that same person in a room with a chair, a desk, and a work by a serious spiritual writer - and NO phone, e-mail, or visitors - and many people begin to see key patterns in their lives that they had never noticed before. The trick is, as the kids discovered, to lose sight of the marshmallows of life.

DOE THE NEXTE THYNGE

From an old English parsonage down by the sea There came in the twilight a message to me; Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven, Hath, it seems to me, teaching from Heaven. And on through the doors the quiet words ring Like a low inspiration: “DOE THE NEXTE THYNGE.” Many a questioning, many a fear, Many a doubt, hath its quieting here. Moment by moment, let down from Heaven, Time, opportunity, and guidance are given. Fear not tomorrows, child of the King, Thrust them with Jesus, doe the nexte thynge. Do it immediately, do it with prayer; Do it reliantly, casting all care; Do it with reverence, tracing His hand Who placed it before thee with earnest command. Stayed on Omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing, Leave all results, doe the nexte thynge Looking for Jesus, ever serener, Working or suffering, be thy demeanor; In His dear presence, the rest of His calm, The light of His countenance be thy psalm, Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing. Then, as He beckons thee, doe the nexte thynge. --Anonymous

Trinity Presbyterian Church, 3251 Greendale Road, Cahaba Heights

Help us O Lord, to hold your word in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patiece!

The Parable of the Sower And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Purpose of the Parables And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Psalm 24 Domini est terra

1 The earth is the LORD'S and all that is in it, *the world and all who dwell therein. 2 For it is he who founded it upon the seas *and made it firm upon the rivers of the deep. 3 "Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? *and who can stand in his holy place?" 4 "Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, *who have not pledged themselves to falsehood,nor sworn by what is a fraud. 5 They shall receive a blessing from the LORD *and a just reward from the God of their salvation." 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, *of those who seek your face, O God of Jacob. 7 Lift up your heads, O gates;lift them high, O everlasting doors; *and the King of glory shall come in. 8 "Who is this King of glory?" *"The LORD, strong and mighty,the LORD, mighty in battle." 9 Lift up your heads, O gates;lift them high, O everlasting doors; *and the King of glory shall come in. 10 "Who is he, this King of glory?" *"The LORD of hosts,he is the King of glory."

100 Days of Change for the American Family...

President Obama took a few minutes during yesterday's primetime press conference to respond to a question by CNN reporter Ed Henry about his plans for the Freedom of Choice Act. Obama hedged his answer at first with his standard lines on abortion as a "moral issue." He went on to say, "... [T]his is an issue that... individual women have to wrestle with... And I think they are in a better position to make these decisions ultimately than members of Congress or a president of the United States... So that has been my consistent position. The other thing that I said consistently during the campaign is I would like to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies that result in women feeling compelled to get an abortion, or at least considering getting an abortion... Now, the Freedom of Choice Act is not highest legislative priority..." Has the President used his term to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies? For the answer, log on to www.frc.org and watch their brand new video, "100 Days of Change for the American Family." Additional Resources Watch our video "100 Days of Change for the American Family"

Sermon Notes April 26, 2009

3rd Sunday of Easter Jesus became a sinner to pay for sins. At the resurrection he inaugurated a whole new creation. The power of the resurrection is at work in us and through us. Easter is not just a happy ending to a story but it is truly a happy beginning of a story. Jesus was resurrected at sunrise on the first day of the week--this began a new creation. Resurrection means this physical world--the whole created order is being renewed. Man was made out of the dust of the earth. People are living dirt--the destiny of man and creation are forever intertwined. Resurrection is the moment at which the whole creation is set free. Man and earth, the whole world will be re-born. The Bible gives us theology for the care of the creation. Christians have always been on the cutting edge of environmental stewardship. God is going to redeem the environment. The resurrection gives us hope for the cosmos. We expect new creation AND new culture. Isaiah 60:5 "Then you sall see and be radiant; your heart shall thrill and exult, because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you, the wealth of the nations shall come to you." God made man to re-shape culture into a mature fashion. The original creation of a garden is developed into a city. Eden becomes the New Jerusalem. All of history is about maturity. God put his hands in the dirt to make man. Now man must put his hands in the dirt to shape/create culture. Jesus engages in culture in his resurrection body. Jesus is the NEW Adam, the NEW gardener, the NEW caretaker. What are we going to be doing in our resurection bodies for eternity? We will have discontinuity and continuity. We will have jobs to do. There will be work to do in the new creation but there won't be anymore thorns and thistles. Our works follow us in the new creation. The new creation will include all that we accomplish in this life. All our life's work belongs to God. Karl Marx said that religion is the opiate of the people, meaning that religious people are so "other-worldly minded" that they are as if they are drugged and do not care about fixing the problems of this world....if religion is the opiate, resurrection is the smelling salt! Resurrection summons us to bring change to the world--it sets us ree to give up ourselves, our lives for the sake of the world. Death O Death, where is thy sting! We cannot be cynical about the condition of the world. The resurrection calls us to participate in God's triumph over evil. We must be governed by the standards of the Kingdom of God whih has already invaded the world at the resurection. The new creation will be free from sin and exploitation. It will be a place of peace, justice and love. Strive for such things NOW! The kingdom of God is at hand. Stand against tyranny and injustice NOW. Pull the future into the present. We are not polishing brass on a sinking ship. We can stand up for what is right in the face of death. Faith without works is dead! Faith that doesn't renew the culture is dead! Forward faithful ones!

Leithart exoneration upheld in Northwest Presbytery, PCA

http://deregnisduobus.blogspot.com/2009/04/update-on-peter-leithart-and-pacific.htm

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Don't just sit there, DO SOMETHING!

According to the expert panel, regular physical activity reduces the risk in adults of early death, coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, colon and breast cancer, and depression. Getting moving can improve thinking ability in older adults and the ability to engage in activities needed for daily living. http://www.tuftshealthletter.com/ShowArticle.aspx?RowID=621

Easter Sunday Sermon Notes...

I really loved our Easter Sunday worship service. The sermon was great. Here are a few notes. The title was "The Unfinished Gospel?" All four gospels end with the resurrection. Mark presents a unique set of problems..the oldest manuscripts stop at vs 8 of the last chapter. Verses 9-20 appear to be words and phrases pieced together from the rest of the gospels. Early Christians may have found the end at vs 8 unsatisfying--Mark's gospel is really Peter's story. Mark became Peter's scribe--it is the outline Peter would have used when he told the gospel. A double ending to a gospel was nothing new. It happened in John also. Why did Mark end the story abruptly in vs 8--as an incomplete narrative? The lack of resolution turns the story back on the reader--the reader is suspended. The fear and trembling of the women in no way calls into question the vindication of the cross or the triumph of Christ. Their emotions need to catch up.. "it takes your breath away." Mark wants to draw us into the story. He wants us to be engaged insiders in the sotry and make it our own. The question is, "Will you go and tell others the story?" Mark's Gospel has a deeply ironic ending. Mark loves puzzles and surprises. Jesus wanted to keep his messianic nature a secret until the time was right. The Jews needed to understand that death and resurrection IS the messiahship. At the resurrection, it was TIME to tell the story, resolve the tension, and bring closure to the story. Mark calls on us to supply the missing ending. Did the resurection really happen? The romans were professional killers--Mark names the women as the ones there witnessing the death and now the witnessses of the resurrection. A woman's testimony was not valid in court in that day! But God uses the women as the witnesses. We can thank Jesus for raising the status of women . The writing is counter-conventional. The stories teach a transformed body when he rose physically from the grave. This story was the only messianic story that did not end at the grave. The resurrection is an historical fact. N.T. Wrght said "historians have no option but to conclude that the resurrection was fact." The New Testament uses the resurrection to prove other things. What doe it mean to you and me? Jesus has triumphed. The resurrection is God's YES to all of creation. It is Gods hope for this world. Whatever is broken, sick and dying. Jesus can put it right. The whole creation will be re-made by Jesus. Through Jesus, YOU can change, THE WORLD can change, and every tragedy becomes a triumph. DO NOT BE AFRAID. At the resurrection, fear turns to faith and confidence! Death works backwards! Go tell the story! Glory be to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost! Amen.

The Lord is risen indeed...

O Lord, open thou our lips. And our mouth shall show forth thy praise. Alleluia. The Lord is risen indeed: O come, let us adore him. Alleluia.

Notes from today's sermon...

The Parable of the Prodigal Sons...or The Parable of the Running Father Luke 15: 11-32 We all have moments of temporary insantiy where we have fallen into sin. Repentance begins with a deep sense that we can never make ourselves worthy of God's favor--seeing oneself truly as we are is necessary....we must all "come to our senses" as the younger son did. Repentance is our ticket to the joyouse feast with the Father. Repentance is not about gloominess--it is about joy. Humble yourself and God will exalt you. Repent in deeper and deeper ways and you will find amazing grace. There is great joy when something has been lost and is then found! There is a feeling of celebration when it is found. LOVE is the heart of the law of God. Flannery O'Connor in Wise Blood says "the best way to avoid Jesus is to avoid sin." There is an older brother in each of our hearts...elder, presbyterios...the Presbyterian brother! The older brother is just as lost as the younger son was. It is possible to be a prodigal without leaving home. Prodigals may be 1) irreligious by cutting oneself off; just walking out, or 2) religious, by using religion for ones own advantage. There are 2 ways to get it wrong. We often try to justify our hatred of others by poiting out all their inferiorities. The father's actions are counter-intuitive. he shows radical deeply sacrificial love. He tore his life apart to give it to his sons. The father runs out to welcome us back to his house. He is more eager to find us that we are anxious to be found. We must wrestle with our own "older brother" sins. Will we rejoice when those who are different are brought into the house. We must become like Jesus--growing in Father-likeness. Seek out the lost and bring them home. Extend the radical forgiveness of Jesus to the world. Go and help others make a fresh start--a new beginning. We are called to show crazy welcoming LOVE!!!!! Lord, please help me to do this every day in every way that I possibly can!

David Smolin on BBC internet radio show

Here's the link to a BBC radio program where Linh Song (Ethica--a voice for Ethical Adoption), Tom DiFilipo (Joint Council of International Children's Services--the Adoption Agencies' organization), and David Smolin talk about/debate the problem of international adoption corruption.

Do you have children between the ages of 4 and 14?

Here's a challenge from John Armstrong.

Carmichael Crafts

I just discovered this website where Don and Suzanne Carmichael display and sell their silk-art and wood-art. Their crafts are unique and exquisite. You'll enjoy browsing.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Breastplate is contained in the ancient Book of Armagh, from the early ninth century. along with Patrick's authentic "Confession." St. Patrick is said to have written this prayer to strengthen himself with God's protection as he prepared to confront and convert Loegaire, high king of Ireland. There are similarities to Paul's exhortation to "put on the whole armor of God" (Ephesians 6:10-18), except that it is much more detailed. This is a wonderful prayer! I bind unto myself today The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same The Three in One and One in Three. I bind this today to me forever By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation; His baptism in Jordan river, His death on Cross for my salvation; His bursting from the spicèd tomb, His riding up the heavenly way, His coming at the day of doom I bind unto myself today. I bind unto myself the power Of the great love of cherubim; The sweet ‘Well done’ in judgment hour, The service of the seraphim, Confessors’ faith, Apostles’ word, The Patriarchs’ prayers, the prophets’ scrolls, All good deeds done unto the Lord And purity of virgin souls. I bind unto myself today The virtues of the star lit heaven, The glorious sun’s life giving ray, The whiteness of the moon at even, The flashing of the lightning free, The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks, The stable earth, the deep salt sea Around the old eternal rocks. I bind unto myself today The power of God to hold and lead, His eye to watch, His might to stay, His ear to hearken to my need. The wisdom of my God to teach, His hand to guide, His shield to ward; The word of God to give me speech, His heavenly host to be my guard. Against the demon snares of sin, The vice that gives temptation force, The natural lusts that war within, The hostile men that mar my course; Or few or many, far or nigh, In every place and in all hours, Against their fierce hostility I bind to me these holy powers. Against all Satan’s spells and wiles, Against false words of heresy, Against the knowledge that defiles, Against the heart’s idolatry, Against the wizard’s evil craft, Against the death wound and the burning, The choking wave, the poisoned shaft, Protect me, Christ, till Thy returning. Christ be with me, Christ within me, Christ behind me, Christ before me, Christ beside me, Christ to win me, Christ to comfort and restore me. Christ beneath me, Christ above me, Christ in quiet, Christ in danger, Christ in hearts of all that love me, Christ in mouth of friend and stranger. I bind unto myself the Name, The strong Name of the Trinity, By invocation of the same, The Three in One and One in Three. By Whom all nature hath creation, Eternal Father, Spirit, Word: Praise to the Lord of my salvation, Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

Pray for our Nation...

Yesterday at our service, Pastor Lusk encouraged us to focus on repentance….and our prayers this week to focus on our national needs. I was so disheartened this morning to read this news reported on the First Things Blog. Our country is far down the slippery slope, showing NO reverence for the “sanctity of human beings”. This is just one more “in your face” example of our gross national sin. “….if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.” II Chron. 7: 14-15. I think the verses were spoken at the dedication of Solomon’s temple….I hope they apply to our land today AND we will pray!

Bill Clinton: Embryos Might Become Fertilized & Become Human Beings

Do you think Dr. Gupta or Bill Clinton know that an embryo is an embryo because it is a fully fertilized egg, is genetically complete and only needs nourishment to grow and be born... that an embryo IS a young human being??? http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2009/03/11/sot.lkl.clinton.stem.cell.cnn

Muslim Terrorist Training camps in the US?????

What do you think of this Sean Hannity report? I think it is shocking! http://shock.military.com/Shock/videos.do?displayContent=185279#&ESRC=retirees.nl

Red Coats on the Capitol Steps....AFRW Legislative Days 2009

It snowed today!

Sights around Washington, D.C.....

Grandparents' Prayer.....from Psalm 71

O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

We will proclaim his might to the next generation and his power to all who come. Praise the LORD, Gilbert and I are expectant grandparents.

...in my next career

I believe in my next career I am going to be a florist and party consultant. Here is an arrangement I did of "avante garde" roses with babies breath sprinkled in between the blooms. Isn't it pretty? This was actually the centerpiece at Georgianne's bridal tea about two years ago. Let me know if you have any special occasion coming up....I'll be at your service! If you let me know you heard about me right here on blogspot, YOU'LL get a special discount!

DIVORCED FROM REALITY from Touchstone Magazine

There is an excellent article in the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Touchstone Magazine written by Stephen Baskerville, an associate professor of Government at Patrick Henry College. He says: "G.K. Chesterton once observed that the family serves as the principal check on government power, and he suggested that someday the family and the state would confront one another. That day has arrived. Chesterton was writing about divorce, and despite extensive public attention to almost every other threat to the family, divorce remains the most direct and serious. Michael McManus of Marriage Savers writes that 'divorce is a far more grievous blow to marriage than today's challenge by gays.'" Please read the entire article. Here's the link.

Thoughts on the President's inaguration by Christina Jeffrey

This was written on Monday before the inauguration....but I wanted to share these thoughts with you. On Mon, Jan 19, 2009 at 10:23 PM, Christina Jeffrey wrote: The 44th presidential inauguration looms, and the mind turns to memorable inaugurations of the past, as well as the speeches new presidents give on these momentous occasions. Perhaps the most memorable, and the one the new president is likely consulting as he prepares his own speech, is Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address. The most famous portion is the close: I am loath to close. We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battle-field, and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearth-stone, all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature. As the oft-quoted Tocqueville noted upon his visit to this country, Americans come swiftly together after presidential elections; even when they follow the bitterest and most impassioned campaigns. The result is a peaceful transfer of power and support for the new president. Tocqueville marveled at this, but we take it for granted. We should not take it for granted; it is part of the genius of our system and the model for all modern democracies. But what does it mean to be "president of all of us?" Besides respect for the office, it requires respect for the Constitutional prerogatives of that office, and a duty to support the President in the execution of these duties. However, it does not require agreement on all matters of policy, or the surrender of principles. The "loyal" opposition, that is, all those who voted against the President (or for him with high hopes that he would support positions important to them, yet find themselves disappointed), should be being willing to listen to President Obama, but they should not lightly and easily surrender their principles. The "loyal opposition" consists primarily of "we the sovereign people," not, as one might think, the politicians of the opposing party. Ours is not a parliamentary system where most political power resides in the political parties. Ours is a republican form of government and when it does not work in the way the Founders intended, the blame is not "the man" or "the interests". The blame falls on the sovereign people, whose duty it is to remain eternally vigilant to guard the nation's well-being. Another inaugural address Mr. Obama might consult is Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural (1800), in which the founder of the Democrat Party (then called "Republicans," said: … every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists…. Let us, then, with courage and confidence pursue our own Federal and Republican principles, our attachment to union and representative government. Kindly separated by nature and a wide ocean from the exterminating havoc of one quarter of the globe; too high-minded to endure the degradations of the others; possessing a chosen country, with room enough for our descendants to the thousandth and thousandth generation; entertaining a due sense of our equal right to the use of our own faculties, to the acquisitions of our own industry, to honor and confidence from our fellow-citizens, resulting not from birth, but from our actions and their sense of them; enlightened by a benign religion, professed, indeed, and practiced in various forms, yet all of them inculcating honesty, truth, temperance, gratitude, and the love of man; acknowledging and adoring an overruling Providence, which by all its dispensations proves that it delights in the happiness of man here and his greater happiness hereafter -- with all these blessings, what more is necessary to make us a happy and a prosperous people? Still one thing more, fellow-citizens -- a wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. But it is still incumbent on "we the people" to ensure this "wise and frugal government," as most politicians "see the light" when they "feel the heat."[1] We must stay fired up to generate the necessary heat to keep the Constitutional fires burning, even as we support and wish well, the new president. Christina Jeffrey Former Historian, US House of Representatives 801 Palmetto St. Spartanburg, SC, 29302 864-431-6022 christinakfjeffrey@gmail.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] A favorite expression of Mike Rothfeld, Saber Communications, Fredericksburg, VA.

Marriage and Betrayal....from the BH blog

January 14, 2009 by Rich Bledsoe Perhaps the most fearful of all possibilities in the world is the possibility of betrayal on the part of someone who is in a “position of trust.” This, unfortunately, is the first block in what ought to be the foundation of every marriage in the world. Every woman has a far distant memory, and now anxiety, about what Adam did to Eve. And, just as anyone who has ever failed when trusted, every man likewise, has a far distant memory of what it is that Adam did in that first infamous act. Whatever Adam’s motive (curiosity at what would happen if Eve did what was forbidden, or fear at opposing what she wanted) it does not change the fact that Adam betrayed his wife. The consequence is that now, every marriage has built into it, at the deepest level, the great difficulty of the woman trusting the man. And every man lives with the anxiety of knowing that he is, at least often, not trusted. He lives with anxiety about her anxiety. The constant danger in every marriage is of the marriage existing in a state of a vicious circle of anxiety about anxiety about anxiety. Every anxious response to previous anxiety gives rise to more anxiety, which in turn spawns even more anxious response, and so on down and down to final destruction. Everything is the opposite of trust. Cartesianism, and the whole of the Enlightenment Project, could be understood as an attempt to flee the anxiety of a fallen world that has betrayal of trust at its heart. Or conversly, it could be understood as a headlong rush into destruction and death that result from the first, ancient, and basil incapacity for trust. Doubt and impersonal “objectivity” (the very opposite of trust) are at the heart of the Enlighenment Project. Karl Stern, the Roman Catholic psychoanalyst, has demonstrated how so many of the Enlightenment figures, and notably Decartes himself, had dreadful relationships with almost all of the most important women in their lives. Their entire lives appear to have been controlled by anxiety over anxiety, and are either straightfoward or paradoxical reworkings of the Original Betrayal and its consequences. “Decartes’ celebrated friendships with women were lofty, intellectual, and platonic. But he kept a life-long affection, and attachment of the heart, for his wet-nurse, to whom he paid a yearly allowance and for whom he secured in his will continued support after his death. And the only woman with whom we know he had an affair, Helena Jans, seems to have been a domestic servant. From her he had a daughter, Francine, who died at the age of five. Thus we see in his life something which we shall encounter again in Goethe, something not infrequent in the lives of great men– the apparently total cleavage between the carnal and the spiritual image of woman. Psychoanalysts speak of the ‘prostitute-madonna’ conflict when they refer to such inability to combine sexual relation and ‘higher friendship’ in the same person. In Descartes we encounter the seemingly paradoxical: it was not in sexual adventure that danger lurked, but in the platonic woman friend, the cool goddess with whom he discussed matters of metaphysics and geometry. All these women-the Dutchess of Aiguillon, Anne-Marie de Schurmann, Princess Elizabeth, Queen Christina of Sweden-were highly ambivalent in their relationship with him. (This comes out most clearly in Mlle. de Schurmann and in Queen Christina). To this kind of woman he was lured magically, as though to his perdition, and paradoxically enough she, while not the sexual object of his love, was his femme fatale. As a matter of fact, Christina became his fatal woman in the literal sense of the word…Schicksalsneurose, neurosis of destiny [first spoken of by Nietzsche, as das typische Erlebnis, (the typical experience) and later by Freud]. What appears as a clinical label becomes the expression of a haunting reality. That this motherless, roaming spirit would finally succeed in manoeuvring himself inextricably into the hands of the Anti-Mother! Christina literally deprived him of the maternal triad, warmth and sleep and the proper food, and thus, with the uncanny sureness of her own unconscious, caused him to die. What made him seek this end? Why did he not, like Goethe, find a compromise in staying with that maidservant? He might, like Goethe, have settled down and reached a ripe old age. However, it is wrong to approach past lives with ‘ifs’ and ‘mights.’ Finished lives are like the physiognomies of the dead: one feels the end is not an arbitrary break but a fulfillment.” (Flight From Woman, Noonday Press, New York. 1965, pp.92-93, 98-99) The entire Enlightenment period could be termed by Stern’s book title, The Flight From Woman, the era controlled by the anxiety of men of that age fleeing from the accusation of “betrayal” and the destruction of the possibility of trust. The aim was a world that could be built without faith, or hope or trust as a foundation, and a neutral objectivity that could be accessed by of all things, the opposite of trust: doubt. It was an age that either marginalized, or used women, or enthroned the femme fatale, as in the case of Queen Christina. Part of Luther’s great achievement has been lost in the avalanche of the Enlightenment. Perhaps the two most notable things that Luther did were one, to restore trust as the most central fact of all of human intention, and secondly, he married Katie. Luther’s marriage to Katie is one of the most important relationships in the history of the world and is the complete opposite of all that Stern relates above. Luther and Katie, for all of their human weaknesses, recreated the central reality of trust on both a vertical and horizontal level. It was a recreation of the world. Now, after almost 500 years of Descartes’ clash with Luther, other figures, like Van Til, Polanyi, and the Thomist renewal figures, are all reasserting that the most fundamental epistemological act is not doubt, but belief and faith and personal risk. The most foundational acts in the scientific realm are not to be found in some objective and impersonal realm, but in acts of personal trust. Trust and belief are more basic than doubt. One must believe something more basic than anything one can finally doubt. And, the final background to all belief is in God Himself, who offers Himself to us not impersonally, but as our Father in His Son, Jesus Christ. Luther and Calvin both gave a place of honor to Mary, the Mother of Jesus. She is not a goddess to be worshiped, but a central figure in the recovery of trust. She believed God in the message through the angel Gabriel, and trusted God and surrendered to him. Joseph later did not surrender to his anxiety about her “stange condition”, but likewise in trust, believed God both for her, and with her. In a situation where every possible condition for anxiety was present, it all was overcome in recreating acts of faith and trust.