Posts from June, 2009
-
Oren Lavie – Her Morning Elegance
@spicelmf (amazingly, I don’t even know her name!) recently tweeted this stop-motion video (HQ available if you click through) of Oren Lavie’s song, Her Morning Elegance.
As should be obvious from some of my recent posts, I love stop motion video. Apparently, Spicelmf also does.
This gives me warm and fuzzy feelings. :)
I like especially the way this video messes with perspective. I won’t give away what happens (if it’s not obvious to you. It wasn’t to me) but there’s a point in the video where it suddenly becomes quite delightful. Not only is the concept a lot of fun, but the music is quite tasteful as well.
Enjoy.
-
Amanda Beattie on Egalitarianism vs. Complimentarianism
Amanda Beattie is an Intercessory Missionary at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City on the Night Watch who blogs over at Meditations by Night. Her posts are always quite thoughtful and thought provoking. I’ve had the privilege of meeting her a few times at various events up at the Prayer Room and her humility and earnestness for God have always made an impression on me.
Recently, she started studying the debate between Christian Egalitarianism and Complementarianism and is publishing her thoughts along the way on her blog. Her most recent post sparked a discussion on the subject in the comments of her most recent post and it’s been very intriguing. While I believe that we disagree on these points, I think her thoughts are worth reading and her blog is worth looking at regularly if you don’t already.
It never ceases to amaze me how long it takes to prepare these little blurb posts. It’s all the links and such.
-
The Internet and Facebook
I run to the computer. If I’m stressed, angry, depressed, bored it’s to the computer I go. To check my email (again, and again, and again), mindlessly go on Facebook, read look at my feeds, or go on Mothering forums.
Some people run to their TV, others run to people, others text. A few run to Christ when they’re stressed and I long for that to be true for me.
I always thought that the internet was stopping me from running to Christ. Take away the internet and I’d be free. But the more and more cold-turkey trials I do, or the more that I think about it, it really just boils down to a heart issue. If it wasn’t the internet it’d be something else. If I lived in the 18th century it’d be knitting, or cleaning or something else that is less addicting than Facebook. It’s all the same, even with the Israelites. They ran to actual “physical” gods while I run to cyber space (which I suppose is a god too).
So now that I’ve determined my problem (a.k.a. my heart) what do I do about things like the internet and Facebook? Do I tear out my right eye? But if it’s a heart problem I can’t remove everything. Do I keep them because of their usefulness? But, really, how useful is Facebook? What, I can comment on pictures of people that I already know? To keep in contact with people that I really don’t care about anyway? I can spy on people’s more flamboyant sins by looking at their photos? Sigh.
I’ve removed TV from my life and I have to say that I’ve never once, ever, ever regretted it. I don’t need to be able to chat with people about what happened in the latest Lost episode in order to love them. Is Facebook different? Is the internet different?
I guess the real question has to do with time. I spend SO much time on the computer. Is a shallow relationship with God really worth my name on Facebook?
-
The Last 3 Years
Tim and I were talking about how much has happened since we’ve been married.
We got married and moved in with my parent’s.
I shaved my dreads off.
I quit college. My family freaked.
Tim’s mom passed away.
Tim started working for the government.
Alex & Jaclyn, our best friends, got married and moved away.
We became pregnant.
We moved to Norristown.
Katie, Tim’s sister, and her husband got married.
God gave us the most beautiful little girl.I always want my life to be this exciting.
-
Does the Birth Control Pill Cause Abortion?
What you’re really asking is if Christians should take the pill. It was my question a couple of years ago and all I wanted was a web-page or pamphlet that put it in layman’s terms for me: yes or no. I was (and still am) avidly pro-life and I did not want to accidentally participate in something I believed was wrong.
Short answer: the pill can cause abortion.
Long answer: the pill was created with one objective and that was to stop the woman from ovulating. There were two side effects to these hormones:
- The cervical mucus would thicken, making it harder for sperm to get to the egg
- The lining of the uterus would thin, making it difficult for a fertilized egg to attach (which is why people on the pill have lighter periods)
So what’s this mean?
I know it’s not as black and white as we would like but if you are pro-life the phrase “can cause abortion” should be enough. “Well,” you say, “I’ll just believe that God wouldn’t allow that to happen. God could prevent that.” Yes, He could, but why are you so sure to test your faith on death rather than life? If you have enough faith to believe that God would stop the egg from being fertilized when the uterus lining couldn’t support it, then you have enough faith to believe that God wouldn’t allow you to get pregnant if it wasn’t His timing. He’s the author of life! We somehow bought into this idea that God throws life around like it’s nothing. “Oh, she got pregnant AGAIN? Oh, geez. Here, let me give it a spirit and soul real quic- oh, no! Another one?! They’re acting like rabbits!” I’m not against birth control, but I just feel that in an effort to feel more in control we’ve compromised for the sake of convenience. It is easier to take a pill, but that doesn’t mean it’s right.
I leave it up to your conscience- you now know the facts and are therefore without excuse.
“So what kind of birth control can I use?”
Any kind of barrier (male condoms, female condoms, etc.) will not cause an abortion. Anything that works by wiping the uterus (and therefore killing any life that was attached) is an abortifacet. Many people who are against this method are o.k. with the pill but in reality they do the same thing. The difference is that the pill’s main goal is stop you from ovulating while something like the Nuva Ring’s main goal is to wipe the uterus clean. But they both inhibit the uterus from supporting life if they succeed.
My preferred method is the Natural Family Planning method in which a woman learns how to identify when she is ovulating (3-4 days out of the month) and then can either refrain from having intercourse or using a barrier method during those days.
For more information Mark Driscoll did a great sermon on the different types of birth control here.
-
Hodgman Roasts President Obama
This has been linked to elsewhere but I loved it so much that I figured I’d put it here as well.
Hodgman is a master.
And I do love Obama’s poise during the entire speech.
And come on! There’s a Kwisatz Haderach reference!
-
Recent Knitwear
Here are some of recently completed projects:
Natalya’s Sundress
This one took me a very long time (like a month) because I kept continually misreading the pattern and had to either undo or start over.
Gracie’s Sunhat
Arabelle’s Outfit
The original plan was to make Gracie a sunhat and Arabelle a dress, but when I finished Gracie’s sunhat it hardly fit on Fiery’s head. Perfect for a new baby… just like Arabelle! So I instead knitting a much larger hat for Gracie and incorporated the original sunhat into Arabelle’s dress. Her dress was the same pattern as Natalya’s and took me half the time since I already knew what I was doing (well, kinda).
I think I was in a ruffle mood this month :-)
-
Baby Led Weaning
I was planning on doing purees. I even asked for a tiny food processor for Christmas to make my own (cheaper, more nutrients). It’s still in the box. A friend of mine told me about something called Baby Led Weaning so I thought I’d do some research. My gut reaction was “won’t the babe choke?” I mean, really. How could a 6 month old know not to shove a carrot down her throat? Or know how to deal with apple skin? A spinach leaf?I think the common belief is that babies need to be taught how to chew, and that they’re not capable of knowing what will hurt them and what won’t. But this couldn’t be farther from the truth. What’s amazing is that God designed infants to be totally self-teachable when it comes to food. An infant’s (say 6-9 months) gag reflex is actually bigger than an adults. Which means that while sticking a piece of food near the back of the tongue may not trigger an adult’s gag reflex (for we know better than not to do that), if an infant sticks a piece of food back too far she will gag and therefore will learn “doing this causes this unpleasant sensation. I will not do that anymore.”
The theory is that babies, especially breast-fed babies, are expected to know how much to nurse. We trust that a child who needs more will nurse more, and a child who needs less will nurse less. We also expect our toddlers to feed themselves. So why is there this middle age where we feed them? I am a firm believer that babies know how much to feed themselves. It’s no coincidence that many toddlers will go on a food binge with lots of carbs just before a growth spurt, or why a baby might refuse a certain food and then later on the parent finds out they were allergic.
It was amazing watching Fiery learn how to eat a banana. I split the banana into thirds (long ways) and gave her a piece about 2 inches long. She put too much in the first time and almost immediately spit it out. This happened several times. Over a day or two she gradually took smaller and smaller bites and chewed until she swallowed. The other misconception is that babies have to “learn” to chew. When in fact it’s a lot like clapping: one day they can’t do it, and another day they can.
She’s never choked but she’s gagged and to be honest it’s a little nerve-racking but once you understand that it’s necessary for her to learn and babies fed purees also gag, I’m doing better with it and it’s happening less and less.
It also gives the babe an opportunity to develop her independence in choice. I’ll give her three different kinds of food (like a strawberry, a piece of apricot, and a carrot) and let her choose what she wants to try first. Most of the time she enjoys a little bit of everything, and when she’s done cleans her place by dumping everything on the floor. I believe this will make her more confident about her food choices in the future, and will also give her a wider palate for food.
It is messier. One thing I didn’t think about it. But the mess is totally worth it. Fiery loves, loves, loves, loves, eating with us. She loves to feed herself yogurt with a loaded spoon and as of today, at 8 months, can use a cup all by herself when she wants water. Feeding your infant can be so stressful and a fight of wills but baby led weaning makes feeding your babe enjoyable. I highly recommend it.
-
Reflection on Hebrews 10:11-18
Mine:
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sin, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
This is the covenant I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,
then he adds,
I will remember their lawless deeds and their sins no longer.
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sins.
Real:
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying,
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,
then he adds,
I will remember theirs sins and their lawless deeds no more.
Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
Diff:
I can’t seem to get my unified diff output to work correctly. I have no idea why. It makes me sad.
However, you can see from the above that basically I screwed up the sins vs. sin in what Christ did. During the whole process of memorizing this I struggled with whether or not sin was plural, and I kept thinking it changed between lines. Also, I messed up the order of lawless deeds and sins in what the Spirit adds.
Observations:
I love how God not only makes the law more unavoidable in the present age by putting it on our hearts and writing it on our minds, but then he also takes away the law’s guilt-inducing power by forgetting our sins and our lawless deeds. It’s like he is at once making us more worthy of guilt and more able to approach him without shame. In fact, it’s not like that, it is that.
I struggle with the idea of Messianic Jewish communities even now. I heard a ‘good’ argument for them at Onething this past year in that there is going to be a Jewish presence at the end of the age when Jesus returns that welcomes their promised Messiah with ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’ as he rescues them from the hands of the Antichrist’s army at the sound of the trumpet (Romans 11, Isaiah 63, Revelation 19, Matthew 23.37-39) and so even if you believe that Jesus is the Messiah and has indeed already come, there’s clearly evidence that perhaps you should remain Jewish and continue to practice Judaism until the second coming so you can be there for him. However, a strong part of me rejects this because of testimonies such as Hebrews 10:18 where it clearly states that if you believe that Jesus is the Messiah, there’s a new order to things. There is no longer any offering for sin, a clear tenet of the Jewish faith, because the sacrifice has been made. What does it mean to be Jewish and Christian? It means as much as to be Christian and Buddhist or Christian and Muslim. In other words, it’s a contradiction in and of itself. It’s as meaningless as saying I’m a Christian and an American. We are aliens here on this planet, pilgrims on our way towards our home. We are called to be a culture of our own within the culture that is hosting us. So why would you be both Jewish and Christian? It doesn’t make sense to me.
Christ’s kingship has been inaugurated and yet not realized. However, his silence at the present time, his allowance of evil to continue, should not be taken as a sign of weakness or death. There will come a day when Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead. All of his enemies shall be made into a footstool for his feet. This speaks, I believe, of his active role in their punishment throughout eternity. It is one of the hardest things for me to realize that we will rejoice in heaven at the judgement of God. The saints sing songs in worship to God that he destroys Babylon the great and causes her smoke to ‘rise up forever’ (Revelation 19. The concept that we will not know that God has judged our friends and family members and the fallen world around us who rejected him and his love is one that cannot be found in scripture. His very judgements will be the subject of our rejoicing. We will then see them perfectly and realize their righteousness. It’s a terrifying thought to me. I know too many who I couldn’t say with any confidence will be with me there. May this drive me to seek their good and God’s glory.
Thank God that the work is completed in Jesus!
I understand that this has been incredibly irregular anyway, but just to be clear, I feel like God is calling me to memorize all of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). This is going to take me a considerable amount of time. I’m not sure whether or not I’ll do it chunks that I can post here as I go along or whether I’m going to wait till the end. It probably makes sense to do the former, but we’ll see. Wish me luck and keep me accountable if you’re so inclined.
-
Fiery is 8 months old!
My beauty turned 8 months old last week. Last month was our first food, our first sign, our first crawl, and our first cruise. She is now ALL over the place. We have stuff animals in strategic places until we find a more permanent place for things like the guitar, the stereo, and the bottom shelf of our book cases.I continue to enjoy breast feeding, teaching her about her eliminations, and giving her massages 2 times a week and Tim and I both enjoy wearing her, cosleeping with her and watching her teach herself about solids.
