The Sabbath

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Janice

WE have now before us the holy Bible, or book, for so bible signifies. We call it the book, by way of eminency; for it is incomparably the best book that ever was written, the book of books, shining like the sun in the firmament of learning, other valuable and useful books, like the moon and stars, borrowing their light from it. We call it the holy book, because it was written by holy men, and indited by the Holy Ghost; it is perfectly pure from all falsehood and corrupt intention; and the manifest tendency of it is to promote holiness among men. The great things of God’s law and gospel are here written to us, that they might be reduced to a greater certainty, might spread further, remain longer, and be transmitted to distant places and ages more pure and entire than possibly they could be by report and tradition: and we shall have a great deal to answer for if these things which belong to our peace, being thus committed to us in black and white, be neglected by us as a strange and foreign thing, Hosea 8:12. The scriptures, or writings of the several inspired penmen, from Moses down to St. John, in which divine light, like that of the morning, shone gradually (the sacred canon being now completed), are all put together in this blessed Bible, which, thanks be to God, we have in our hands, and they make as perfect a day as we are to expect on this side of heaven. Every part was good, but all together very good. This is the light that shines in a dark place (2 Peter 1: 19), and a dark place indeed the world would be without the Bible.

Matthew Henry’s Preface to Genesis, Commentary on the Whole Bible

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DIY

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Janice

This is for you creative people. Each of these activities comes from a blog in my feed. Check them out.

Creative Self-Portraits Using Vehicle Side Mirror After the Weiner scandal I was commenting about so many people today taking pictures of themselves in mirrors. Facebook has lots of them. Many of my students use their cellphones to make self-portraits. In looking through my photo albums when I was younger I didn’t see any such pictures. I had a great Canon camera and loved to take pictures. Is this age more self-centered or did I just never think of it? Photographer Kimberly Gauthier has a new twist on using mirrors. Taking pictures using your rearview mirror. Just don’t do it while you are driving!

Easy Friendship Bracelet Tutorial This is from a guest contributor on Pioneer Woman. If you have never visited this site you are in for a treat as it has so much to offer: beautiful photography, delicious recipes, homeschooling forum, fashion tips, life on a ranch, great giveaways and more. This link shows a photo tutorial on making friendship bracelets. I remember making similar bracelets when I was younger. This is a fun activity for teens and younger ones with assistance. Great for those rainy or too hot to be outside days.

Make Your Own Seasoned Salt I have made some rubs in the past and kept them for future use but this gave me some ideas for seasoned salts and sugars. I am going to experiment, as I used to get a garlic and pepper spice that is no longer made. Why pay $4 or more for something I could make like I want it and for a lot less money. This would make a great gift idea and you could include a recipe also. Comment with your ideas.

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Commercial: Humor, Social Media and Baby Boomers

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Janice

I teach rhetoric and near the end of the year we analyze commercials. This is a clever one. If needed a car I would seriously consider this type but then again I am in the target audience (Baby Boomer and Generation X). I do though have more than 19 Facebook friends. I wonder what Millennial or Internet Generations think.

 

What generation are you and what is your response to this commercial?

 

 

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Horton: The Christian Faith – Chapter 1: Covenant and Epistemology

Posted on July 14, 2011 by Janice

In our last discussion of Chapter 1, of Horton’s The Christian Faith we looked at Horton’s use of Tillich’s paradigm. He continues with the model in Parts II: A Covenant Account of “Meeting a Stranger” and III. Epistemology.

An important point he makes is that this model assumes that God and the world are distinct. Given what pantheism and panentheism believe that is an important distinction and one that is important to note with your discussions with people in our age who believe one of those worldviews.

I also have appreciated and been thinking through the idea of God as a stranger. “God is a stranger in a positive sense, in that He is qualitatively distinct from creation” but thinking negatively, “God is not only qualitatively different from us but morally opposed to us. (p. 42) I became a Christian through Young Life and I am remembering how both of these principles were presented to be on a Young Life weekend. Though the words may have been different, this was the principle. I think this is wonderful tool when we are sharing the gospel to someone.

I teach the Ancient Greeks philosophy and Horton explains how their idea of a single unifying principle (logos) goes against the idea of God, who though one in essence is also three persons. In my omnibus class, we look at the unifying principles the Greek philosophers presented and how they didn’t answer their questions: Thales, water; Anaximenes, air, and the list goes on. “The Logos is a person rather than a principle” (p. 43)

This leads to the covenantal relationship that in Section C, Horton says is the heart of the model. He discusses the three covenants: covenant of redemption, covenant of grace and covenant of grace. In this section, he also explains how “the Bible gives rise to a sense of history, with its pattern of promise and fulfillment.” As one who teaches history and has read many of views of history this is an important distinction. “Meaning is found within history, not beyond it.” (p. 46) This is why it is important for us to teach our children history: Biblical history, world history, American history, family history. The most important part of that history is that God the stranger, came to this world, “He has condescended to relate us to Himself.” (p. 47)

This background sets up for a discussion of epistemology and how we can know God. “Our theory of how we know anything depends on what we think there is to be known.” (p. 47) This is so helpful to remember when we talk with people who are not Christians. What do they think there is to be known? The starting point is often different in this generation. They did not grow up in a home that told the Bible stories, as most did not go to church and many do not believe that there even is such a thing as truth. We have a myriad of apologetic approaches and I think we do need to be aware of them so we can dialogue with those who don’t know God. Most importantly, we need to remember it is the Holy Spirit who is working in people’s hearts and though we may point the way, it is His work that brings people to the Stranger.

It should be noted that most of the reviews on Drawing the Line Somewhere are from books purchased by the owner, or obtained from the library, publisher or author.  No monetary compensation was involved nor a good review guaranteed. Links to book companies posted with reviews are as a convenience for readers to buy the book. If a reader buys the book by clicking through this website, Drawing the Line Somewhere receives a referral fee which is used to help support the cost of the website.
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Baseball Tragedy

Posted on July 13, 2011 by Janice

I remember going to the Orioles ballgames with my family. The Junior Orioles provided families with special deals and we belonged. It was a special time for our family. My dad played ball with me and I remember him explaining to me during a ball game we were listening to what a grand slam was. Jim Gentile had just hit one. But I lost my dad when I was 16 and as mom and I watch the ballgames I often think of those times and how my dad loved baseball.

I appreciate fathers that take their children to the games. It encourages a special bond, time for conversation and those shared moments last a lifetime. I, like the rest of America watched in horror as we saw Shannon Stone, a 39-year-old firefighter fall over the railing trying to catch a ball for his 6-year-old son, Cooper. He fell to his death. It was hard to believe and made your heart ache for them. Josh Hamilton, the Texas Ranger outfielder who threw the ball as a gesture of goodwill was obviously shaken. You may not realize this but Brownwood, where the Stones  live,  is about 150 miles from Ranger Park in Arlington so this father had planned ahead for this special time with his son.

Major League Baseball is reviewing their safety issues in regards to this and I encourage them to do so. Catching a ball at a game is a once in a lifetime experience and should not be the end of life experience.

Several local organizations are collecting money for the family and Texas Dairy Queen is giving $1 for each of the over 33,000 fans that were in attendance. If you would like to help, here is a link to the Texas Rangers where you can donate to the Shannon Stone Memorial Fund. Make sure you check the box for your money to go directly to the family.

In a statement(read the powerful statement in its entirety at the Brownwood Bulletin), Jenny Stone, his wife thanked family, friends, strangers and Texas Rangers players. She ended by saying, “Again, we are so very thankful, appreciative, and overwhelmed by all of the support we have received. Shannon loved going to watch the Rangers and he loved Cooper. And, at the very end, he lived life to its fullest, doing something he loved.”

Having lost my father as a child my heart goes out to them. Pray for them and that God would work mightily in their lives.

 

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The Last Jump by John E. Nevola

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Janice

The Last Jump: A Novel of World War II is the story of middle-aged journalist, J. P. Kilroy, who is invited in 1997 to go to a ceremony at the White House to accept the Medal of Honor for his dead father. When his mother was dying, she had told him he needed to find his father who had left years ago but J. P. never had. He felt his father could not get over J. P.’s going to Canada to avoid Vietnam War. While at the ceremony J. P. meets a number of his father’s old war buddies and wanting to know more about his father he goes out to dinner with them. As he is a journalist, he tapes the conversation and when he uses the rest room the men acknowledge they are keeping a secret from him. This piques his interest but also some of the things they had said about his father intrigued him so he is determined to figure it out what the men are keeping from him.

The book then follows J. P. as he has conversations with his father’s old buddies and the story flashes back so we get to know J. P.’s father and his best friend, both with the last name of Kilroy. You see how Jake and Johnny meet, become friends and go through their training and then on to Europe as paratroopers. They were excellent soldiers and found themselves behind enemy lines. Nevola gives you historical and military information about the battles they are involved in and you get a real feel for the horror of the war. You are on Omaha Beach with them as the bullets buzz by.

In addition to seeing the front lines, both of the men have girls back in the states so you get to see what it was like in America during the war. There is a glimpse of the women who were working in the shipyards, and those who were WACS and flying airplanes to transporting goods but not allowed in combat situations. You saw how the role of women was changing and how the people back home were sacrificing for the war.

The story progresses and J. P. is older, now 60 and wiser. His father’s old friends are dying off. He had told he has everything he needs to figure out the secret but he still can’t solve it until he meets someone else connected to his father and it all comes together.

This book has romance, mystery, and action. As it the story moves between time periods and places, Nevola has the geographical place and date as the chapter titles so there is no confusion. I also appreciated the quotations that begin each chapter. Nevola has done his homework and gives the historical background and though a few times I felt like I was reading a history book, most of the time the fictional story and historical information flowed smoothly. Since the story is dealing with soldiers there is some salty language and there are several graphic descriptions of the horrors of the war.

This is a sweeping novel that gives a picture of a different time in America and Nevola has given the reader a sense of why Tom Brokaw called that generation the Greatest Generation.

It should be noted that most of the reviews on Drawing the Line Somewhere are from books purchased by the owner, or obtained from the library, publisher or author.  No monetary compensation was involved nor a good review guaranteed. Links to book companies posted with reviews are as a convenience for readers to buy the book. If a reader buys the book by clicking through this website, Drawing the Line Somewhere receives a referral fee which is used to help support the cost of the website.
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It is Cancer

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Janice

The words no one wants to hear. I had heard them before.

My dad died at 47 from brain cancer when I was only 16. My grandmother lived with us when she had stomach cancer and my uncle would come once a day to change her bandage. I couldn’t believe how you could see inside her open stomach when he changed the dressing. My aunt, who lived right next door to us got breast cancer and within a year, had died.

Nine years ago I had some breast pain and thought I felt a lump so I visited the doctor who wasn’t sure he could feel anything but sent me to get an ultrasound. Several lumps showed and they wanted to do a biopsy. The doctor had a hard time getting the needle in the proper place and after sticking me with several needles we tried a new position. I laid on my stomach and he was able after several tries to get some fluid from the lumps. Before I left the hospital he told me to expect the worst. I had told my sisters and just one other friend what was going on.

The call came the next day from the nurse who had assisted the day before. She said, “It is cancer.” She had told me the day before that she was a breast cancer survivor and so she encouraged me to remember it was not the end of the world.

I had decided, that whatever the outcome was, I was going to thank God. So sitting on my couch in my living room, I thanked the Lord and asked Him for strength and guidance for what was ahead. I then got on the phone and set up a conference call with my two sisters. I wanted to tell them both at the same time. I told them it was cancer and I was having a doctor’s visit to see where we went from there. I told them I was at peace. Of course, given what my family had gone through with cancer in the past it was tough for them but they were very encouraging. I later learned, as soon as they got off the phone with me they called each other and talked and cried together. Then they went into action.

I was living in South Carolina at the time and my one sister had recently moved from there to Ohio due to her job. My youngest sister was in Maryland with the rest of the family. My Ohio sister showed up at my house the next day and stayed for two weeks to help me go to all the doctor’s appointments before surgery and get everything ready. As school was to start in less than a month and I was going to miss it so she helped me set up my classroom.

Once I got the date of surgery which was three weeks away my other sister arranged for all of us to go to the beach and stay in her condo while we waited. My brother, came for several days and we had a wonderful week at the beach – eating crabs, swimming, boating in my brother-in-law’s boat and reading. We read all about the proper foods to eat and at the time there was a big thing about links between beef and breast cancer. One of my sisters has not eaten beef since. Views on this, due to new studies have changed somewhat but I still limit myself to beef once a month. We also were introduced to flax. It was a great time and every night everyone prayed for me. Two of my cousins and their wives also were down the ocean so they joined us several times to play 500, a family favorite card game and then pray with us. It was fun, restful and I felt loved.

People’s reactions to my getting cancer were different.  When I went to school during that summer one day right after the diagnosis, people had just learned about it and most did not know how to react. We had just lost our secretary the previous year to a long bout with ovarian cancer and I think they were thinking, oh no, here we go again. Some were holding back and trying not to cry. I kept telling them I was OK. I got a good laugh when we went down the hall and one teacher said, “I don’t know what the big deal is, everyone dies from something!” Others were horrified but I know this person’s sense of humor and thought that is true though it was hard for my sister to hear.

I bring this all up because a friend has found out she has breast cancer and it has metastasized to other organs. She is presently having chemo treatments. She is in a good place and knows that God is still on the throne. As it was tougher for my family in many ways than it was for me, I think that is even truer for her as she is married and has children, the youngest starting college in the fall. Many times it is harder emotionally for the family as they don’t want to lose their loved one. No one wants to see people they love suffering. My heart goes out to them and I ask that you pray for them.  Read about their journey here.

Life can be difficult I know, but I am thankful that we have a God who is bigger than all of our problems and in the midst of the pain and the uncertainty we can lean on Him, cry to Him, rest in Him. He is faithful.

 

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The Sabbath

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Janice

The way to preserve the peace of the church is to preserve its purity.

Matthew Henry

 

1Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 3But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints.

Ephesian 5: 1-3

 


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When Leaders Falter

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Janice

I live in Maryland and am familiar with C. J. Mahaney and Covenant Life Church. I went with some friends to hear him speak one evening in the 70s.  I heard bits and pieces about the ministry thriving but I didn’t have any more contact until Mahaney embraced Reformed theology. I listened to some of his messages after he became involved in Together for the Gospel and laughed as he and Ligon Duncan wrote back on forth about the NCAA tournament. I also downloaded materials from Sovereign Grace Ministries (SGM). I recently visited Covenant Life Church to see one of my students in a play their youth group produced.  I do know people who attend Covenant and love it. I reviewed Mahaney’s booklet Don’t Waste Your Sports on this website and stated that I saw Mahaney when I attended a Maryland Basketball game that my brother invited me to attend. I know about him but I do not know the man personally.

It was still with concern however that I read Why I’m Taking a Leave of Absence on his blog, C. J. ‘s View from the Cheap Seats. He is stepping down to deal with sin in his life. “Over the last few years some former pastors and leaders in Sovereign Grace Ministries have made charges against me and informed me about offenses they have with me as well as other leaders in Sovereign Grace. These charges are serious and they have been very grieving to read. These charges are not related to any immorality or financial impropriety, but this doesn’t minimize their serious nature, which include various expressions of pride, unentreatability, deceit, sinful judgment, and hypocrisy.”

He asked for pray as he with others’ input, including an independent panel, help him work through these issues. On his site he also had a link to a letter from the SGM board affirming the same thing.

At first, when I saw ‘leave of absence’ I thought C. J. Mahaney was doing what John Piper did but as a read I saw there was more. I ask that we pray for this man, his family, his church and those who are counseling him.

Thankfully, this is not immorality or financial issues. I have seen first hand, with friends in the ministry and with churches I have been involved with, how that can destroy people and hinder the gospel. Even as I say that, though, I have certainly seen other sin also destroy churches.

As I write this entry more things are now available online with what has been going on at SGM: issues of hyper-authoritarianism, of being heavy-handed with people and not dealing with this when confronted. Some feel that part of it has been how the SGM is organized, with one man at the top. There is a reason Christians need accountability and those in leadership need that, not just personally but also in their churches and organizations. We need to be above reproach, to make sure we have boards, elders, etc. who will ask the tough questions and hold us accountable. Online there are pages of documentation from one individual and upon investigation there are some anti SGM groups who have been saying same things. It saddens me as I read these. In this age of technology anyone can present their point of view but if there are problems they need to be addressed. People need to be fair to Mahaney and let the process work.

Some will say it is none of our business, however, I disagree. He is a Christian who is not just involved in Covenant Life or SGM. He has written books, spoken at numerous conferences, and blogged. Other Christian leaders have supported him. He has become one of those Celebrity Pastors that a fellow Reformed blogger recently wrote about. He has opened himself up to scrutiny. I do not know C. J. Mahaney personally but I have read his materials and listened to his tapes and paid money for some of these things. I have appreciated his insights. I pray that those Christian leaders who know the man will be honest with him and that he will make any wrongs right. Let’s not let the outside world take the initiative, but let us in the body speak the hard truth in love to each other and hold each other accountable. I pray this will be used by God to bring about growth and healing in him and in the body of Christ.

Who holds you accountable?

 

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Potpourri

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Janice

Yo Farmer Dude: I grew up on my grandparent’s farm and know the sacrifices farmers make. I am an avid gardener but I do not consider myself a farmer. Katherine Dalton brings up some interesting points about gardening and how some are calling themselves farmers particularly in the urban gardening movement. I advocate gardening but let’s not confuse the two. We need our farmers and need to support them by buying our produce directly from them when possible.

How Many Households Are Like Yours?: In my case, a single female living with a parent, .28% of households in the United States are made up this way, the most being in 1970 though since the mid 90’s it has been increasing. This type of household occurs most in Asian families and these households tend to make under #30,000. This fascinating NYTimes interactive site allows you click and find out how many households in the United States are like yours. So when I lived by myself, it told me that so did 15% of households.  Check this out to see where your family fits. Thankfully, in my investigation married couples were the highest group with 22%. But also in looking at the graphs, it is disheartening to see how nontraditional households are growing in the US.

The Cult of the Orgasm: Beware. Sexual issues are frankly discussed in this article. It looks at an issue that used to be only addressed in men, however, with the change in sexual mores, is becoming more of an issue for women. Anna Broadway speaks clearly but not salacious about this issue and I wholeheartedly concur with her conclusion. Some of the comments made me think that too often women, even Christian women have bought into the lie of our culture about sexual fulfillment.

You’re Wrong Beyoncé: Girls Don’t Rule the World: This is another excellent Her.meneutics.com article. As  teacher of teenage girls I am often sadden by the messages they are given through TV shows like Glee, books like Twilight or singers like Lady Gaga, Ke$ha and yes, even Beyoncé. Natasha Robinson addresses the message that Beyoncé is giving to girls and says it is not helpful to them or the African-American community. I am impressed with Robinson’s writing, appreciate her keen insights and Christian thinking. She is a young African-American woman who graduated from the Naval Academy. Check out her blog,  A Sista’s Journey and Twitter, @ASISTASJOURNEY.

 

 

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