Apologetics

Those who like apologetics tend to think of faith as having an intellectual foundation.  They use reason to "prove" why the Bible is true.  But because of this intellectual foundation, they have little regard for the sacraments, which are supernatural, and which cannot be explained by way of reason and evidence.

Today's Laugh

We all could use a little more calmness in our lives, right?
On that note, here's a message from a friend:

"Here's some simple advice from the Dr Phil show.  He said that the way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you've started and never finished.

"So I looked around the house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished.  Soon, I finished off a bottle of Merlot, a bottle of Zinfandel, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, a bag of Doritos, and a box of chocolates.

"You have no idea how freaking good I feel."

Just to clarify, for people who have no

sense of humor (and I know you're

 out there!) this is a JOKE.  Okay?
Everybody knows that you can't be
drinking liquor and popping Prozacs.

Going to Church "All the Time"

During certain bits of the church year, we have daily services.  Even though I cook supper and vacuum and go to work on those days, even though we're in the Divine Service for only an hour or two each day, during the rest of the year it seems like those are seasons when we have church "all the time." 

And when people become ill or elderly, and when they can make it to church only once every month or so, they look back on those years when they attended church weekly as "when I could be at church all the time." 

Sometimes I think the book of Revelation paints heaven as one long never-ending church service.  But maybe "all the time" doesn't mean that we never do anything else.

A Divorce for Mary and Joseph

Should he divorce her?
Or should he go through with the marriage?

I heard it again!  Many people think that Joseph was trying to decide whether to divorce Mary or stick with her.

No.  From his point of view, she had been unfaithful to him.  She was carrying another man's baby.  She obviously wanted to be with that other guy.  He could let her marry the baby's father, let her go, divorce her. 

His choice wasn't so much between marriage and divorce.  His choice was more between a quiet, legal divorce or calling her out for her adultery, having her stoned.  Being a just man, a man who believed in mercy, a man who offered forgiveness, he did not want her killed for her adulterous affair.  He would spare her life, even if it meant that his own character would be besmirched as one who didn't wait long enough after the wedding ceremony for the coming-together night. 

The angel came to Joseph in a dream. 

Two thousand years earlier, another Joseph dreamed.  That Joseph had an experience where an accusation of adultery was made against an innocent person.  Both the angel and the Bible story corroborated Mary's story.  That's when StayingMarried became an option for Joseph.

But Didn't They Ask the Same Question?

Zachariah to Gabriel: "How shall I know this?  For I am an old man, and my wife is well advanced in years."

Mary to Gabriel:  "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"

Every year, the same question comes up.  How come Zechariah gets in trouble for saying the same thing Mary said?  It's often been said that Zechariah's question came from unbelief and doubt, whereas Mary responded in faith.  But where did we get that idea, anyway?

Well, the story does tell us, point-blank --
The faith of the heart.  Luke 1:20 tells us that Zechariah "did not believe."  Verse 38 says that Mary responded in faith: "according to your word."

More about the difference --
Zachariah was in the temple, confessing sins and praying for the Messiah.  An angel comes from the Lord and announces that the Lord has heard Zechariah's prayer.  Even though he was right smackdab in the middle of praying for the things the angel announced, still Zachariah said "no" when he heard the message.
According to church tradition, Mary was going about her daily chores when the angel came to her. 




Also, notice there is a difference in the questions --
Zachariah asks, "How shall I know?" while Mary asks, "How can this be?"  Those may sound like the same question to us.  But the answer to Zechariah's question is, "Uh, excuse me.  I'm an angel.  I've been sent by the Lord.  And I just TOLD you, for pity's sake.  And what I told you was from the prophet Malachi.  That's how you shall know.  And besides, good golly, don't you remember the stories in the Scriptures where an old man and a barren woman had a baby?  This has happened before, you know."

Mary on the other hand doesn't ask how to know.  She asks how this can be.  She needs to "test the spirits" (1 John 4:1).  "You're going to have a baby."  "But I haven't known a man."  The angel proceeds to explain that the child will be conceived by the Holy Spirit.  And Mary concludes that this angel speaks in harmony with Isaiah's prophecy. 
Furthermore, Mary leaves Nazareth and heads to Elizabeth's place.  And what does she find?  Elizabeth is pregnant.  Just as the angel said.  Hmmm -- this sounds like a pretty reliable messenger.  She hangs around three more months.  Baby arrives.  Hmmm -- it's a boy.  Just as Gabriel had told her.  This angel agrees with scripture, and what he says comes to pass. 

So let's have no more of this, "But they said the same thing.  Why is one punished for it and the other is not?"

How's My Faith-Walk Coming Along?

In the story of the Emmaus disciples (Luke 24), the disciples are listening to Jesus preach to them all that the Old Testament taught about the Messiah.  When He blessed and broke and gave them the bread, they realized this fellow was Jesus.  And He disappeared from sight.  Then they said, "Whoa.  Hey!  Yeah.  Our heart burned within us as He taught us!"  And they skeedaddled back to Jerusalem to tell the others.  

Did you notice?  When they were listening to Jesus, their eyes and ears and minds and hearts were captivated by HIM.  They weren't evaluating their feelings.  They weren't thinking about their faith.  They paid no attention whatsoever to their response to His preaching ...

because all they cared about was Him.

Report on Hair Length

7 months ... and it is no longer "boy hair"

Today's Laugh

It's so dry in Texas that
the Baptists are starting to baptize by sprinkling,
the Methodists are using wet-wipes,
the Presbyterians are giving out rain-checks,
and the Episcopalians, Catholics, and Lutherans are praying for the wine to turn back into water.

Miss Timnite

Samson was off to visit his heartthrob.  He killed a lion on the way.  When he returned for his wedding, he found the beehive in the lion's carcass.  And that's where he came up with the riddle.  When the Philistines couldn't solve the riddle, they threatened Samson's wife.  "Hey, you better find out the answer, Miss Timnite.  If you don't, we'll kill you and your family."

You know the story.  She whined.  She pouted.  She begged.  She wore down her husband, and he told the answer to the riddle.  She ratted him out.  And havoc ensued.

But catch what happens in the next chapter (Judges 15:6).  The Philistines turn on her anyway, and burn her and her father's house with fire, precisely what they'd threatened at the wedding.

That girl was doomed.  If she didn't tell, the Philistines would've killed her.  When she did tell, they ended up taking out their anger at her and executed her even though earlier she had complied with their demands.

That's how it is with the devil.  "Do this and I'll leave you be."  "Do this and I'll give you something good."  You do.  And he turns on you.  What a liar and enticer!

Champagne Vinaigrette

We fell in love with a salad dressing from the California Pizza Kitchen.  After hunting up a variety of recipe-fakes, the following concoction has been whipped up many times over the last couple of months:

¼ cup white wine vinegar *

¼ cup raw olive oil

1 Tbsp Dijon mustard**

1 lime or ½ lemon, juiced (1 to 1½ Tbsp)

1½ Tbsp honey

1 clove garlic or ½ a shallot, lightly minced

½ tsp salt

½ tsp fresh ground pepper

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth and somewhat emulsified.  Stores nicely in the refrigerator, unlike my other oil-and-vinegar dressings which separate and where the oil solidifies.  This isn't as healthy as my usual homemade dressings, but it's so yummy it makes me want to melt into the floor with joy.

* The recipe is supposed to use champagne vinegar.  Several recipes suggested letting leftover champagne sit out for several days to become vinegary.  Ummm ... we seldom have champagne, so it's a little hard to make champagne vinegar from the leftovers.  Conveniently, Aldi offered white wine vinegar as a special purchase not long ago, and I nabbed several bottles.

** I usually use plain old hotdog mustard any time a recipe calls for whatever-type mustard.  Aldi also ran a mustard extravaganza recently, so I bought my first jar of Dijon.  The Dijon definitely makes a difference in this recipe.

Nicene or Apostles'?

It's probably bad to have a favorite when both are holy words from God.

But I sure do like the Nicene Creed better.

1)  Longer section on the atonement.  Why is it that my mind tends to wander so easily at "was crucified, died, and was buried"?  But "was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried" is simply enough extra length that a brief moment of distraction doesn't mean I miss the whole section. 

2)  The necessity of God's word:  "according to the Scriptures" and "who spoke by the prophets."

3)  Not just that the resurrection and the life-everlasting will come, but that we long for it.

4)  "Light of light."  Beautiful words during these short days of winter, and also as we approach Easter and the Vigil.

5)  "For us."  Twice.
God became man "for us men."
Jesus was crucified "for us."
Even though the events of Jesus' life (as listed in the Apostles' Creed) are indeed for us, it's the Nicene Creed which states "for us"  right out there, blunt and obvious and clear and unavoidable.

Miscarriage

"Jesus wept."

Lora remembers her children in heaven and talks about the comfort of Jesus' tears and the comfort of the resurrection of the body. 

Lord, have mercy upon us.

Fix-It Time

The washer was having its fits.  The water would drain out, but the tub wouldn't spin.  Clothes were too wet.  I researched likely causes for the problem, took the washer apart, and found lots of rust inside the outer-shell.  After plenty of sanding and spray-painting, no more bits of loose metal could get jammed in the lid-latch-detector.  And the washer works!  Yee haw!

This week I finally tired of crackly phone lines and purchased a new phone.  Now I can hear conservations through the phone.  Nice!

Problems with a flickering light.  Turned out not to be the light fixture or the wiring, as I'd thought.  It was merely a faulty bulb.  Replaced that, and we now have our under-cupboard, above-counter light again, after two years without.  And it's over the cutting board -- important place, so you know whether you're chopping veggies or fingers.

Ugly equipment on the bathtub-plug lever, ever since we moved in.  Also, the plug had a slow leak.  Thursday night the metal busted altogether.  I took it apart, went to the hardware store, and installed the new pieces.  Woo hoo!  Fixed that too.

I've been unable to play CD's or DVD's on my computer.  That also meant I had no way to transfer the scanned old-timey photos onto my computer.  I bought a new CD-drive and tried to install it.  I couldn't; I bought one with the wrong plugs.  But Nathan came over, found that we could switch around the old-fashioned plugs and the newer ones.  He installed the new CD-player.  Everything is hooked up and works!  How's that for new-and-different?!

I'm feeling mighty self-satisfied
and pretty durn powerful because
of the repairs I accomplished!

And pretty thankful for the places
where Gary and Nathan took over
and finished what I attempted!

The Popularity of Sims

In Bible class recently, we were discussing how God's word determines the value of things.  God made the light, and He declared it to be good.  He said the earth and seas are good.  He said the man and woman He created (and the marriage by which He joined them) was very good.

God is the one who gets to say what's good and what's not.  Hey, He was the one who made it.

Now, if you create a universe, then you get to decide how things go and what value things have.  If you create the universe, you get to decide, for example, whether "being happy" is more important than being moral.



And that's when I realized: maybe that's why Sims and Minecraft and other video games are so popular.  It's where we get to be god.

Definition of Faith

We are SO good at turning even faith into a work.

I've heard definitions.  Good definitions.
~ Faith is the passive receptivity of God's mercy.
~ Faith is the trust of the heart.
~ Faith is defined rightly only if you can replace the word "faith" with the word "Jesus," and still have the sentence mean the same thing.

Recently, Pastor said
Faith is a desire to be loved 
and forgiven by your Lord.

A desire.
Huh.
Nobody confuses "desire" with my own work, my own activity, my own merits.

I like that.

The Upcoming Shopping-Weekend

"Black Friday"?

It's a new-fangled term.  I'd never heard the phrase until my daughter worked at Borders. 

I wasn't crazy about it at first.  Then I began to use it; everybody else does! 

This year, I'm refusing.

I hate the word.  I'm not sure why.  I suspect it's because of the consumeristic hype.  It's also because my distaste for the name has increased as the Friday sales have spilled over onto Thursday.  It's also influenced by the harm done to people (stampeding as shop-doors are unlocked, or crazy rudeness in parking lots). 

A week or so ago I made a decision to refrain from using the phrase "Black Friday."  I've slipped up a couple of times.  But I'm still trying to stick with the much longer description: "the shopping day after Thanksgiving" or "the crazy shopping-weekend at the end of the month." 

Learning to Trust

When Pastor recently said something about "learning to trust Jesus," I realized that there are two different ways people could take that.

1)  Matthias is learning to walk.  He wants to.  He keeps doing it.  It's not "work."  It's just what he does.  And he falls a lot.  No biggie.  You just keep growing up and bumbling along, and the walking gets easier.
2)  Pick a typical third-grader.  Choose one of the math-haters; not a weirdo like me who thought math drill was play-time.  That kid may be learning his math facts.  But he's doing it because the teacher is arm-twisting him into it.  He hates it.  It's boring.  It's hard.  He doesn't understand what good this will do.  Why does he have to do this anyway?  "Because it's good for you."  "Well, I'd rather climb a tree or ride my bike."  There's no joy in the learning.  And he hates being berated when he makes a mistake.

Both are learning.

But "learning to trust Jesus" is much more like the first than the second.

Reading Challenge

Update on this year's reading list:

finish proofreading New Testament Catechist  [done Feb 11]

Light from Heaven (the last Mitford book) [done March 6]
Home to Holly Springs [done Sept 7]
In the Company of Others [done Nov 23]
Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good


the Kristin Lavransdatter series, by Sigrid Undset
Bridal Wreath [done March 27]
Mistress of Husaby [done April 30]
The Cross [done June 15]

Anne of the Island [done July 31]
Anne of Windy Poplars [done Sept 8]
Anne's House of Dreams [done Oct 12]
Anne of Ingleside
Rainbow Valley
Rilla of Ingleside
(with Maggie)


Hammer of God (again)

The Complete Guide to Creating a Special Needs Life Plan, by Hal Wright [done Sept 19]
likely some proofreading on Bible Stories for Daily Prayer



possibly
a Luther biography with Maggie
Narnia (again)
Horses of Heaven, by Gillian Bradshaw [done Sept 1]
maybe try out an Elizabeth Gaskill book
something by Beverly Engel or Robin Stern
Quiet by Susan Cain [done July 20]


additions beyond original list
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Menopause [done July 29]
Struck by Genius [done Oct 20]


The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You
by Elaine N Aron
Let's Roll, by Beamer
Beyond the Mists, by Benchley
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
Cutting for Stone, by Verghese
Light in the Dark Belt: The Story of Rosa Young

Zoe Said Her Catechism Verse

At church, there's a star-chart in the hallway.  Kids' names, listed by grade, with slots for having learned the main Bible stories and the Six Chief Parts.  When you say the Bible verse from one of the chief parts, you get a colored star.  When you speak the entire section, the date is listed. 

Today 3-yr-old Zoe recited fully and correctly to Pastor for the first time.  (Earlier this year, she told him the Lord's Prayer almost by herself without prompts.)  This morning she whispered told him the verse from John 20.  He gave her a high-five, then she walked away, dragging me with her.  Down the hall.  Directly to the star chart.  It was all of about 15-20 seconds after finishing her recitation. 

Disappointed little girl.  Her star had not appeared on the chart yet!

(I told Pastor about her expectation.  I suspect the star will appear soon.)

Learning the Letter Sounds

Three-year-old says:
"Q" is for "'kwuh."  Kwuh, kwuh, KWOSED!


 (You know.  "Kwosed" -- the opposite of open.)

Stealing Katie's stories because 

they make me smile.