The Greatest Wealth is Health

I have no idea who originally said, "The greatest wealth is health," but they are so right.  You don't realize it until you are not feeling up to par.  We had the influenza go through our house the week after Christmas.  I was down for 3 days with a fever of 102-103 degrees.  Not fun, but I was blessed that my hubby was home that week and could manage the household.  I thought I was completely back on my feet, but I have never gotten rid of all my sinus congestion.  Sunday I woke up with the beginnings of a fever blister which is a sure sign that my body is fighting something and each day since I have felt more worn down.  This morning I am finding that my brain just will not kick into gear and I am so tired.  Sadly, though, it is not possible to rest.  There is a home to manage, schoolwork to do, we have our gym class co-op this afternoon and really need to go to the grocery store.  We even have outside commitments this evening.

I am not really sure why I am sharing all of this.  I guess I am using this blog space as a sort of brain dump.  I am thinking about how do we function as Christ followers when we are struggling to just do the basics?  Having made the choice for Christ, I know that I have crossed over from death to life, I am clothed in His righteousness, I am on the eternal path.  BUT I am still living here in this earthly realm full of sin and trials and sometimes I feel like I am just sitting here wallowing in the mud not accomplishing anything of significance. 

Some days it is really hard to see the eternal in the midst of the laundry, messes, errands, and children's squabbles. I wonder what it even looks like in the midst of the chaos of life.  Then my little girl comes up and snuggles onto my lap and looks at me with those adoring eyes.  There it is!  I just saw a glimpse of it.  Or I look at just the right time to see someones kind action toward a stranger at the grocery store.  Again, I realize I have gotten another small taste of something heavenly.  If you look, these touches of heaven are all around us, but they are so easily hidden in the midst of the ordinary, the chaos and the busyness.  These small acts of love and kindness towards others, THESE are the eternal things.  These are the things that matter.  So, even though I am tired, and would much rather crawl back in bed than be the mom today, I choose to go forward.  I will go about my day with intention.  I will remember that my actions today do have eternal significance because when I show love and kindness in the middle of the mess, someone else may see it and recognize Christ in me.  THEY will get that taste of the eternal.  And isn't that really what it is all about?

I apologize...

Sorry for the downer of a post that I put up last week. I was having a REALLY rough day, battling some demons. It took all the strength that I could muster to cling to what I KNOW to be true and not what I was FEELING. I think that is just sometimes how it is. A day can be very dark and we can't feel the presence of God. But just because we can't feel Him, doesn't mean that He has left us. It is in those times that we must remind ourselves of what we know about God. Come on, if He is willing to DIE for us, you know He is more than willing to walk by our side through whatever is going on.

After much prayer and reminding myself of what I know to be true, I awoke the next morning feeling better both physically and spiritually. God is good! Things are still not all peaches and roses, but I KNOW that God is walking right by my side through it all.

I also need to share how God used others last week to be His hand of comfort. I discussed my struggles with my hubby. Much of my stress is induced by our current financial situation and, of course, affects him, too. But he was such an encourager to me. Thankfully when all I could see was doom and gloom, my hubby could see the light at the end of the tunnel and was able to share that with me. Also, last week, a good, long-time friend got a spiritual nudge to call, give me a phone-hug, and invite me out for some girl time. What a blessing! I hope she knows how much that meant. I am so thankful that they allowed God to use them. I pray that I can hear God's nudge to be used in such a way, too.

"Just be good for goodness' sake!"

"Why believe in a god?

Just be good for goodness' sake."


That's what the new ad campaign set to run in our nation's capitol is proclaiming. It is sponsored by the American Humanist Association. So who are these people? Here is what it says on the why believe in a god website,

"Many people imagine that the only way to be good in this world is through
belief in a god. But is that really necessary? Must we be bound by moral
dictates set down in “sacred” texts written hundreds, if not thousands of years
ago? Must we accept the authority and judgments of “spiritual” leaders and
religious hierarchy? Does religious faith offer the only lens through which to
judge life’s events?
The answer to these questions is no! There is another
way for us to approach life. We can have ethics and values that aren't set in
stone. Our ideals and principles can evolve over time to reflect our
ever-changing and increasingly complex world. Yet, we can be confident of the
decisions that we make, not because someone told us what to do but because we
relied on our own careful reasoning and emotional reflection. We can live a life
that accepts and appreciates the world as it is, without needing to see
supernatural explanations behind every event. This is a positive and uplifting
way to live.
This way of life is called humanism. Humanists use reason and
the tools of science to better understand our world and the best way to live in
it. Humanists understand that compassion for fellow human beings, as well as an
acknowledgement of their inherent dignity and worth, must form the basis of our
interactions with each other. Humanists are free of belief in any god or
afterlife. We must make the best of this one life that we have. "

There is so much in this that does not make very good sense to me.

"We can have ethics and values that aren't set in stone. Our ideals and
principles can evolve over time to reflect our ever-changing and increasingly
complex world."

So, this must mean that there is nothing that is constant. We can change our minds as to what is right or wrong depending on whatever is happening in the world and what our moods are. Are there are no absolutes? Is there nothing that is black and white? Is right and wrong based on the current scientific theories which change almost daily? I don't agree. There have to be absolutes. Our morals should not change with the breeze. I believe that there is a constant. That constant is God and His creation.

I guess I am NOT a humanist because as I read this, these verses came to mind:

The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, their
deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. Psalm
14:1

How great are your works, O LORD, how profound your
thoughts!
The senseless man does not know, fools do not
understand, Psalm
92:6

As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher
than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah
55:9

Of course, these verses are from the bible; therefore, any good humanist would discount them. As for me, I do not understand how you can look at the natural world that surrounds us and not believe that there is a God. The intricacies of nature could not have just happened, they had to be designed by a Creator. We, as humans, cannot even begin to understand all of the details and workings of nature. The more science discovers, the more we realize how little we know. It seems that only a fool would rely on his "own careful reasoning and emotional reflection" when "judging life's events."

"Humanists are free of belief in any god or afterlife. We must make the
best of this one life that we have. "

This makes me just sad. This life - the one lived in these mortal bodies - is lacking and leaves A LOT to be desired. I have this hope that there is something more, MUCH more. That hope relies in my faith that after my time in this world is complete, I will move to my REAL home with God where pain, suffering, and sadness are replaced with love, peace, and joy permanently. I can't imagine that THIS here and now is all there is. How depressing!


If you want to know more about this hope that I have, feel free to ask. I'll tell you all about it. Just leave me a comment here or e-mail me at scrappintrishATgmailDOTcom (replace the AT and DOT). I can tell you, it's not about being "good." It is about whose team you are on.

HOPE

i have it.
Originally uploaded by Pocket Farmer

As the presidential election is past and I troll around the blogosphere, I am amazed by the amount of people out there putting so much HOPE in one man. Obama has been built up to be this messiah and deliverer of the citizens of America. I keep hearing how he will change the world and there will be no more violence and war, no more struggling for money. It is as if many believe we will now enter Utopia – heaven on earth.

If Barack Obama is truly all that, he should have no trouble with a Democratic congress on his side. There is no reason why he cannot make America over into his vision of a perfect nation. I hate to burst bubbles here, but I don’t believe it will happen. He will make changes, but it will not be heaven on earth. He is no messiah. There is only one true Savior and that is Christ Jesus. He came and saved us from sin and evil by giving his life for each of us. He alone is the true change-maker. It will not be until Jesus Himself returns that there will be heaven on earth when He reigns as leader over all.

In the wake of what many are calling an historic election, there is one thing we all need to be doing whether we are happy or sad with the outcome. This is PRAY!

The first thing I want you to do is pray. Pray every way you know how, for
everyone you know. Pray especially for rulers and their governments to rule well so we can be quietly about our business of living simply, in humble contemplation. This is the way our Savior God wants us to live.

He wants not only us but everyone saved, you know, everyone to get to know the truth we've learned: that there's one God and only one, and one Priest-Mediator between God and us—Jesus, who offered himself in exchange for everyone held captive by sin, to set them all free. Eventually the news is going to get out. This and this only has been my appointed work: getting this news to those who have never heard of God, and explaining how it works by simple faith and plain truth.

Since prayer is at the bottom of all this, what I want mostly is for men to pray—not shaking angry fists at enemies but raising holy hands to God.
(1 Timothy 2, The Message)

God Himself has overseen every aspect of this election. He is sovereign. He is in control. He can and will use those in power for His good purpose. Let us daily lift holy hands to God in prayer and reach to HIM for our hope.

I know, I know....

I think I really DID fall off the face of the earth. I have hardly been on the computer the past couple of weeks. There is a lot on my plate and there is of lot of what's on my plate that is stressing me out a bit. Because of this I have been seeking more quiet time to pray, to study and to think. This has sort of taken the place of my computer time. I don't really have time to elaborate because it is time to wake the troops up for church. I do however want to share this video. I am fairly certain I shared this some time ago when I first saw it. It never fails to move me when I watch it and I wanted to share it again.



Enjoy!
Happy Sunday!

Makes you think...

I saw this video on Christine Smith's blog this morning and it is one that really makes you think. How then should we be educating our children to prepare them for the world of the future?



This one was interesting too, even though some of the info is duplicated.



I can't help but wonder how God will use this age of information. Think about the opportunities for sharing the LOVE of Christ to the world.

The Golden Compass (revisited)

Back in August, I did a little research about this book after my 13 year old daughter saw it in the Scholastic book flyer. She was intrigued and we got it from the library. I won't go into the details of our experience at this time because I wrote about it here. I am just thankful that my daughter had enough good sense and intuition to put the book down.

Now, with the opening of the movie drawing near, The Golden Compass is getting quite a bit of publicity. I am glad to see that not all of it is good. I just received an e-mail forward that warned against letting your children see the movie. Here is what it said:

Subject: Fw: Warning of upcoming movie
As if we needed more Satanic
influences for our kids... click on the link below for more info- this
author is pretty shocking. If his admission that his series of "children's
books" are about killing God isn't bad enough, they apparently even include
references to castration and female circumcision. The movie is the hook to get
kids into the books.………………………………………………………………………………………….
This was sent to me -
important to know this!!! (I wasn't familiar with this author OR these
books...)

I just wanted to warn all Christian parents to avoid the
upcoming movie "The Golden Compass" put out by New Line Cinema and Scholastic
entertainment. It is due out in December. It looks like a fun movie, but this is
the first movie based on the trilogy of books titled "His Dark Materials."
The author of the books, Philip Pullman is a militant at heist whose professed
purpose with these books is to turn kids away from Christianity. He has said
this outright. The first movie has been cleaned up to avoid a lot of objections
- it is apparently not going to be too bad BUT ..the movie is bait for the books
which are horrible. The books get progressively worse with the heroes (children)
in the 3rd book actually killing God, who is depicted as a little shrunken man.
I am not kidding. This sounds too terrible to believe, but unfortunately it is
not. It stars Nicole Kidman.
See the website below for more info. &
verification:
http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
The
Golden Compass (new movie out in December).

Part of me hates to even discuss this because from what I have read about the man, Phillip Pullman wants this kind of publicity - he loves it. He had been jealous that Harry Potter had been getting all the attention instead of his books.

I will say it again. Whether we believe it or not, there is a battle being waged all around us - a spiritual battle and often it is our children who are on the front lines. The enemy plays dirty. We need to face these facts and both protect and equip our children as best we can.

When I addressed this before, I felt frustrated because I was unable to find a good children's book review site. There are not enough hours in the day for me to preread everything my children read. I am so thankful that someone passed along this website: Facts on Fiction. It is a fantastic resource with very detailed reviews of quite a few books. Be sure and check it out.

Must-See Video

This video is well worth watching!

The Golden Compass

Or perhaps the title of this entry should be "The Spiritual Battle for our Children." Let me tell you why.

My oldest daughter is thirteen. Although she has always loved books and being read to, she was a reluctant reader. Within the last 6 months to a year this has all changed and she now devours books. We are always on the hunt for good books for her to read. After perusing the latest Scholastic Book Club flyer, she pointed out this book, "The Golden Compass." The cover photo looked cute with a friendlier looking armor-clad polar bear. The description had a vague mention of witches which is a turn off for me, but she was intrigued with the fantasy aspect of it. We decided to check it out at our local library. I did not look too closely at the book and Elizabeth began reading it. Yesterday she asked me about the word "daemon" which is a term used commonly throughout the book. Unfamiliar with the word, I asked her if it meant something like a demon. She said no and described it as an entity that was like a close sister to the main character. Later that day, she said it was just too dark of a book and said she wasn't going to read the rest. I was glad that she is discerning. Today I was doing some record keeping and recording all the books we have read in our house during the past few days including "The Golden Compass." The copy we have from the library is a bit darker looking and has the subtitle "His Dark Materials * Book 1." This gave me pause and I decided to do a little internet research on the book. Come to find out that the author, Philip Pullman, is a pronounced atheist who has even devised a religion course called "Why Atheism" which is a DVD for 11 years and older. He believes God is dead according to this article and to prove it even kills him off in the second book in the "His Dark Materials" trilogy. In his writings Evil is portrayed as God and the Catholic church. Nice. This is what is being promoted as good literature to our school children. "The Golden Compass" as well as the other books in the trilogy have given numerous awards including Parent's Choice Gold Book Award, Publisher's weekly Best Book of the Year, Book-of-the-Month Club Main Selection, ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Booklist Editor's Choice, Horn Book Fanfare Honor Book, along with many others. It was even a New York Times Bestseller.

I am writing this for other parents out there who might have been unaware like me that this award-winning children's book is atheist propaganda clothed as good literature. This reminds me that there is an unseen spiritual war upon us. Our children are on the frontlines and most of us do not even realize it. I pray daily for wisdom as a parent along with divine protection for my children. There have been times that I have been concerned that by homeschooling, we are sheltering our children too much. God has been showing me lately that a certain amount of sheltering is good. Our children are innocent and impressionable. I believe it is my duty to prepare them to face the world on their own, but not at the expense of their innocence and the hardening of their hearts. God tells us in His Word that we are to be mature and wise about God and His ways, but naive as babies to wickedness.

I believe that it is our duty to do our best to monitor what our children are exposed to. That being said, I am certainly not as strict as some and more strict than others. Before we watch a movie or video, we usually look it up to see what it is all about. A great site we use is Plugged In. It does a great job or reviewing movies, video, music, and TV from a Christian perspective. Now if only I could find a site like this for books, the "The Golden Compass" incident would not have happened. If you know of a good Christian book review site, please share.

One review I did find on the book is here.

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