On October 31, 1917, Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk, nailed 95 Theses for academic debate on the door of the Wittenberg cathedral and lit a fire of Reformation that swept across Europe. The Five Solas of the Reformation restored the glory of the gospel to the church:
Sola Scriptura - The Scripture Alone is the Standard
Solo Christo - By Christ's Work Alone are We Saved
Sola Gratia - Salvation By Grace Alone
Sola Fide - Justification By Faith Alone
Sola Deo Gloria - For the Glory of God Alone
Amen!
May I invite you to join our family in celebrating Reformation Day? Tonight we will be sharing a meal of German and Swiss food, watching the most excellent Martin Luther movie, playing some Reformation games, and singing songs of the Reformation. John Calvin (Young) himself will be host tonight. :-) Email me if you would like to join us.
If you can't come to us, won't you celebrate with your family anyway? Our children need to know the stories of the great men and women of God who came before us. They need to have real heroes to look up to.
Sola Deo Gloria!
For more information on Reformation Day, see last year's post.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Seeker-Friendly or God-Friendly?
Willow Creek just released a study that reveals what many have been saying all along: that if these churches were truly Seeker-Friendly, they would be pointing them toward what they are seeking - Jesus Christ. Bill Hybels has got it right when he says:
Unfortunately, Greg Hawkins, a Willow Creek leader, says:
Thereby missing the whole point. The WORD says in Jeremiah 6:16:
We do NOT need to "replace it with new insights", we need to go back to the
old paths, where the good way is. Dear brothers, teach your disciples to
be Christ's disciples. Teach them to read their Bibles, to pray, to seek
expository preaching, to worship with other believers, to live according to the
Word; then you will see the only kind of church growth that matters - real
disciples.
We don't need more programs, we to get back to the basics: Five Solas.
H/T Paul Chesser
We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of
faith and become Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching
people that they have to take responsibility to become ‘self feeders.’ We should
have gotten people, taught people, how to read their bible between services, how
to do the spiritual practices much more aggressively on their own.
Unfortunately, Greg Hawkins, a Willow Creek leader, says:
Our dream is that we fundamentally change the way we do church. That we
take out a clean sheet of paper and we rethink all of our old assumptions.
Replace it with new insights. Insights that are informed by research and rooted
in Scripture. Our dream is really to discover what God is doing and how he’s
asking us to transform this planet.
Thereby missing the whole point. The WORD says in Jeremiah 6:16:
Thus says the LORD: “ Stand in the ways and see, And ask for the
old paths, where the good way is, And walk in it; Then you will find
rest for your souls." But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’
We do NOT need to "replace it with new insights", we need to go back to the
old paths, where the good way is. Dear brothers, teach your disciples to
be Christ's disciples. Teach them to read their Bibles, to pray, to seek
expository preaching, to worship with other believers, to live according to the
Word; then you will see the only kind of church growth that matters - real
disciples.
We don't need more programs, we to get back to the basics: Five Solas.
H/T Paul Chesser
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
The Next Battle (Parental Guidance Suggested)
It has been deeply disturbing to me to see the radical change in our culture in the past ten years with regard to the acceptance of homosexuality. I live in the Bible Belt South and an agreement that homosexuality was perversion was nearly universal ten years ago and is a vanishing part of our culture today. What happened? The enemy reframed the debate. No longer was the issue is this right or wrong, but it became, "These poor persecuted people. They aren't hurting anyone. Let them be as happy as they can." The new argument immediately casts anyone who opposes homosexual marriage as mean, interfering, persecuting. And it's working. The cultural acceptance of what God calls an abomination grows every year. Who would have thought ten years ago that an open homosexual would seriously run for the Senate in North Carolina?
All that to bring to your attention what I believe is the next battle we face in the culture wars. May we not lose this one as we did the last. I think the next phase in the decline and fall of American culture will be the acceptance of pedophilia and child sexuality. Twenty years ago allegations of abuse at a couple of day care centers made news around the world, with everyone reading each new snippet of news with horror. Now there's a teacher accused of sexual abuse of students nearly every week and the attitude seems to be, "Ho, hum, well we got rid of the one that's a problem." No one seems to notice that there was a different one last week and will be another next week. Just like homosexuality, the incidence is growing and with it, people's consciences are seared - it seems so common.
But how in the world will the promoters of these heinous perversions convince everyone that it is just another variation of normal? I suggest that they will accomplish this by convincing us that it is the children driving it and we can not and should not restrain them from expressing themselves. We see it in the increasingly sexual clothing for children and preteens. What in the world is wrong with a father who allows his little girl to wear short shorts with juicy or sexy written across her behind? Even the world is noticing the incredibly inappropriate Halloween costumes available this year: French Maid, Bar Wench, Playboy Racy Referee -- for 8 to 11 year olds - have we collectively lost our minds? Who do these people think these girls are appealing to? It's certainly not the 8 to 11 year old boys.
Don't think all of this really means anything in the culture wars? Not sure it's really going to change anything? After all, they're just being cute, right? Well, will you believe the advocates of perversion if they tell you openly what the plan is? In Aftenposten, they do:
Well, that's a relief, at least they won't be eating and masturbating at the same time. This is crazy. And it is going to get crazier (read the whole thing) unless those of us with Biblical values (sex is for marriage, for those of you that grew up in Norway) stand athwart history and yell, "Stop!"
Make that Parental Guidance Desperately Needed.
All that to bring to your attention what I believe is the next battle we face in the culture wars. May we not lose this one as we did the last. I think the next phase in the decline and fall of American culture will be the acceptance of pedophilia and child sexuality. Twenty years ago allegations of abuse at a couple of day care centers made news around the world, with everyone reading each new snippet of news with horror. Now there's a teacher accused of sexual abuse of students nearly every week and the attitude seems to be, "Ho, hum, well we got rid of the one that's a problem." No one seems to notice that there was a different one last week and will be another next week. Just like homosexuality, the incidence is growing and with it, people's consciences are seared - it seems so common.
But how in the world will the promoters of these heinous perversions convince everyone that it is just another variation of normal? I suggest that they will accomplish this by convincing us that it is the children driving it and we can not and should not restrain them from expressing themselves. We see it in the increasingly sexual clothing for children and preteens. What in the world is wrong with a father who allows his little girl to wear short shorts with juicy or sexy written across her behind? Even the world is noticing the incredibly inappropriate Halloween costumes available this year: French Maid, Bar Wench, Playboy Racy Referee -- for 8 to 11 year olds - have we collectively lost our minds? Who do these people think these girls are appealing to? It's certainly not the 8 to 11 year old boys.
Don't think all of this really means anything in the culture wars? Not sure it's really going to change anything? After all, they're just being cute, right? Well, will you believe the advocates of perversion if they tell you openly what the plan is? In Aftenposten, they do:
Pia Friis, leader of the popular Bjerkealleen Barnehage in Oslo and a well-known
pre-school educator, told newspaper Dagbladet on Tuesday that children should be
allowed to express their own sexuality at day care centers. She doesn't want to
stifle what comes naturally. Children, she said, should be able "to look at
each other and examine each other's bodies. They can play doctor, play mother
and father, dance naked and masturbate. "But their sexuality must also be
socialized, so they are not, for example, allowed to masturbate while sitting
and eating. Nor can they be allowed to pressure other children into doing things
they don't want to."
Well, that's a relief, at least they won't be eating and masturbating at the same time. This is crazy. And it is going to get crazier (read the whole thing) unless those of us with Biblical values (sex is for marriage, for those of you that grew up in Norway) stand athwart history and yell, "Stop!"
Make that Parental Guidance Desperately Needed.
Monday, October 29, 2007
IBCLC Again
Just wanted to let you guys that prayed for me back in July that I have received word that I passed the International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiner's exam and I am a International Board Certified Lactation Consultant for another five years!
I was pretty pleased to see I made a 90 on the exam (passing was 67) and I think it shows, once again, that there is no need to change the requirements so that only those with a background as a healthcare provider can sit the exam. My background is as a mother of seven and long time La Leche League leader and the first time I took the exam I made one of the higher scores in the world. I just don't think we benefit from requiring a certain educational path in professions which have a certifying exam such as this one, or others like law. It is a labor-rationing scheme, a gatekeeper if you will, to limit the supply of professionals and I think the market would do a much fairer job.
I was pretty pleased to see I made a 90 on the exam (passing was 67) and I think it shows, once again, that there is no need to change the requirements so that only those with a background as a healthcare provider can sit the exam. My background is as a mother of seven and long time La Leche League leader and the first time I took the exam I made one of the higher scores in the world. I just don't think we benefit from requiring a certain educational path in professions which have a certifying exam such as this one, or others like law. It is a labor-rationing scheme, a gatekeeper if you will, to limit the supply of professionals and I think the market would do a much fairer job.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
A Bachelor's Degree in Burger-Flipping
What John Edwards doesn't know about economics could fill a library. Read what he plans to do if elected president:
I am reminded of a Gilbert and Sullivan libretto. Now, this is a little long, but I urge you to read the whole thing, because there's more good economics in this silly song than I've heard from any democratic candidate:
There lived a King, as I've been told,
In the wonder-working days of old,
When hearts were twice as good as gold,
And twenty times as mellow.
Good-temper triumphed in his face,
And in his heart he found a place
For all the erring human race
And every wretched fellow.
When he had Rhenish wine to drink
It made him very sad to think
That some, at junket or at jink,
Must be content with toddy.
With toddy, must be content with toddy.
He wished all men as rich as he
(And he was rich as rich could be),
So to the top of every tree
Promoted everybody.
Now, that's the kind of King for me.
He wished all men as rich as he,
So to the top of every tree
Promoted everybody!
Lord Chancellors were cheap as sprats,
And Bishops in their shovel hats
Were plentiful as tabby cats—
In point of fact, too many.
Ambassadors cropped up like hay,
Prime Ministers and such as they
Grew like asparagus in May,
And Dukes were three a penny.
On every side Field-Marshals gleamed,
Small beer were Lords-Lieutenant deemed,
With Admirals the ocean teemed
All round his wide dominions.
With Admirals all round his wide dominions.
And Party Leaders you might meet
In twos and threes in every street
Maintaining, with no little heat,
Their various opinions.
Now that's a sight you couldn't beat—
Two Party Leaders in each street
Maintaining, with no little heat,
Their various opinions.
That King, although no one denies
His heart was of abnormal size,
Yet he'd have acted otherwise
If he had been acuter.
The end is easily foretold,
When every blessed thing you hold
Is made of silver, or of gold,
You long for simple pewter.
When you have nothing else to wear
But cloth of gold and satins rare,
For cloth of gold you cease to care—
Up goes the price of shoddy.
Of shoddy, up goes the price of shoddy.
In short, whoever you may be,
To this conclusion you'll agree,
When every one is somebodee,
Then no one's anybody!
Now that's as plain as plain can be,
To this conclusion we agree—
When every one is somebodee,
Then no one's anybody!
And so, if Edwards is elected president, you'll need a college degree to flip burgers. It's called education inflation. Somebody clue this guy in.
H/T Matt Drudge
Edwards, a former Democratic senator from North Carolina, says the federal
government should underwrite universal pre-kindergarten, create matching savings
accounts for low-income people, mandate a minimum wage of $9.50 and provide a
million new Section 8 housing vouchers for the poor. He also pledged to start a
government-funded public higher education program called "College for Everyone."
I am reminded of a Gilbert and Sullivan libretto. Now, this is a little long, but I urge you to read the whole thing, because there's more good economics in this silly song than I've heard from any democratic candidate:
There lived a King, as I've been told,
In the wonder-working days of old,
When hearts were twice as good as gold,
And twenty times as mellow.
Good-temper triumphed in his face,
And in his heart he found a place
For all the erring human race
And every wretched fellow.
When he had Rhenish wine to drink
It made him very sad to think
That some, at junket or at jink,
Must be content with toddy.
With toddy, must be content with toddy.
He wished all men as rich as he
(And he was rich as rich could be),
So to the top of every tree
Promoted everybody.
Now, that's the kind of King for me.
He wished all men as rich as he,
So to the top of every tree
Promoted everybody!
Lord Chancellors were cheap as sprats,
And Bishops in their shovel hats
Were plentiful as tabby cats—
In point of fact, too many.
Ambassadors cropped up like hay,
Prime Ministers and such as they
Grew like asparagus in May,
And Dukes were three a penny.
On every side Field-Marshals gleamed,
Small beer were Lords-Lieutenant deemed,
With Admirals the ocean teemed
All round his wide dominions.
With Admirals all round his wide dominions.
And Party Leaders you might meet
In twos and threes in every street
Maintaining, with no little heat,
Their various opinions.
Now that's a sight you couldn't beat—
Two Party Leaders in each street
Maintaining, with no little heat,
Their various opinions.
That King, although no one denies
His heart was of abnormal size,
Yet he'd have acted otherwise
If he had been acuter.
The end is easily foretold,
When every blessed thing you hold
Is made of silver, or of gold,
You long for simple pewter.
When you have nothing else to wear
But cloth of gold and satins rare,
For cloth of gold you cease to care—
Up goes the price of shoddy.
Of shoddy, up goes the price of shoddy.
In short, whoever you may be,
To this conclusion you'll agree,
When every one is somebodee,
Then no one's anybody!
Now that's as plain as plain can be,
To this conclusion we agree—
When every one is somebodee,
Then no one's anybody!
And so, if Edwards is elected president, you'll need a college degree to flip burgers. It's called education inflation. Somebody clue this guy in.
H/T Matt Drudge
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Where am I?
I am sitting in front of the computer desperately trolling Google in the hopes that someone in San Antonio will live blog the results of the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival's Awards Ceremony. Why? My son John Calvin is down there and his film treatment, The Patriot Pastor, is a semi-finalist in the Treatment Contest. If I get down there next year, I'm going to live blog the whole thing! Why isn't someone doing that already? For that matter, why aren't you, John???
Friday, October 19, 2007
Homeschooling and Divorce
Here's a letter I posted in response to a homeschooling mother who told an email list that she was thinking of divorcing her husband because she didn't love him anymore and they were not getting along at all. I hope if you are thinking of divorcing your mate, that you will read this very carefully and think it through.
Dear Friend,
I wish I could give you a hug! I'm so glad you asked for help instead of going to a lawyer!!!!! I believe God will intervene in this situation!
Now for the tough love part: a real, practical, earthly reality check. We are state homeschool leaders and sooner or later, many problems in the homeschool community in our state cross our desk. We see a lot of divorce situations! How in the world, you're probably thinking, would a divorce affect homeschool leaders? Here's the reality check: when you divorce, you are telling the state that you can no longer run your own family, that the adults in the marriage are no longer in agreement, so can not be allowed to make decisions about the children. When you do this, the family judge has, hear me, **complete authority** over your family. Most family judges are older people who are ignorant about homeschooling and they will jump on the slightest excuse to *order* you to place your children in public school. Now, I know that there are exceptions to this, but you can't decide what judge your case comes before. Our state homeschool board members and those in other states will testify if asked, but generally to no avail. And HSLDA will not help you in custody situations, even if homeschooling is the issue.
Now, you may think that you and your husband are in agreement about homeschooling, but when it comes to a divorce, *anything* can be used as a weapon. When someone is cut to the quick - and tearing apart a one-flesh relationship definitely does this - they can react like a wounded animal. We see parents reporting each other to social services, calling the state oversight agency and making complaints, asking the judge to give them total custody, asking the judge to stop the homeschooling. We see this a *lot*because the hurt or angry mate knows how important this is to his wife. Often these are Christian, homeschooling families that no one ever thought would be in this situation.
Even if you can possibly get through the judicial situation, you are not done with your husband. When a couple with children divorces, I think they seldom realize that they will be tied to each other forever through the children and courts. One of my dear, homeschool-mom friends is allowed to homeschool, but her husband has custody every weekend (and if it is a situation where no one has done anything wrong, 50/50 custody is the norm), so she almost never gets to go to church with her son, never gets to relax on a Saturday with him. Every other holiday is alone. He is gone a lot of the summer to make up for the 5 days she has him to every 2 his father does during the week. This, if you can believe it, is one of the best situations I know - not much of a best is it?
I can not urge you strongly enough, that nothing short of a real, physical, abusive situation or unrepentent adultery is even close to worth submitting your family for the rest of your children's childhood to the authority of a probably unsaved, probably hostile judge! Trust me, we see a lot of tough situations, and divorce will not take away your problems, they will just become problems you are not allowed to change - court orders.
The next thing we see, is moms who have gotten through all that and now they have to support themselves. Generally, judges will *not* order the husband to completely support the family as before since he sees no reason the wife should not work. And if you go to work, you can bet the judge will want to know who is supervising the children and not believe you can homeschool, too. It's a vicious cycle.
Now, there are people who get through divorce more easily than this, but can you take that chance?????? If Satan cares enough about wrecking your familyto spend two years tempting you away from loving and respecting your husband, do you think he will stop when victory is in his grasp???
I'm not going to go into the spiritual and emotional rebuilding advice, because I think you are getting a lot of great help, except to say, God would not command us to love one another if it wasn't something we can choose to do and not something that comes and goes without our decision.
Dear friend, I really don't want to see you go through this! You may even be in our state. I don't want to have to see a judge take over your family. Please count the cost and ask God to restore your marriage.
With much love,
Melanie Young
Dear Friend,
I wish I could give you a hug! I'm so glad you asked for help instead of going to a lawyer!!!!! I believe God will intervene in this situation!
Now for the tough love part: a real, practical, earthly reality check. We are state homeschool leaders and sooner or later, many problems in the homeschool community in our state cross our desk. We see a lot of divorce situations! How in the world, you're probably thinking, would a divorce affect homeschool leaders? Here's the reality check: when you divorce, you are telling the state that you can no longer run your own family, that the adults in the marriage are no longer in agreement, so can not be allowed to make decisions about the children. When you do this, the family judge has, hear me, **complete authority** over your family. Most family judges are older people who are ignorant about homeschooling and they will jump on the slightest excuse to *order* you to place your children in public school. Now, I know that there are exceptions to this, but you can't decide what judge your case comes before. Our state homeschool board members and those in other states will testify if asked, but generally to no avail. And HSLDA will not help you in custody situations, even if homeschooling is the issue.
Now, you may think that you and your husband are in agreement about homeschooling, but when it comes to a divorce, *anything* can be used as a weapon. When someone is cut to the quick - and tearing apart a one-flesh relationship definitely does this - they can react like a wounded animal. We see parents reporting each other to social services, calling the state oversight agency and making complaints, asking the judge to give them total custody, asking the judge to stop the homeschooling. We see this a *lot*because the hurt or angry mate knows how important this is to his wife. Often these are Christian, homeschooling families that no one ever thought would be in this situation.
Even if you can possibly get through the judicial situation, you are not done with your husband. When a couple with children divorces, I think they seldom realize that they will be tied to each other forever through the children and courts. One of my dear, homeschool-mom friends is allowed to homeschool, but her husband has custody every weekend (and if it is a situation where no one has done anything wrong, 50/50 custody is the norm), so she almost never gets to go to church with her son, never gets to relax on a Saturday with him. Every other holiday is alone. He is gone a lot of the summer to make up for the 5 days she has him to every 2 his father does during the week. This, if you can believe it, is one of the best situations I know - not much of a best is it?
I can not urge you strongly enough, that nothing short of a real, physical, abusive situation or unrepentent adultery is even close to worth submitting your family for the rest of your children's childhood to the authority of a probably unsaved, probably hostile judge! Trust me, we see a lot of tough situations, and divorce will not take away your problems, they will just become problems you are not allowed to change - court orders.
The next thing we see, is moms who have gotten through all that and now they have to support themselves. Generally, judges will *not* order the husband to completely support the family as before since he sees no reason the wife should not work. And if you go to work, you can bet the judge will want to know who is supervising the children and not believe you can homeschool, too. It's a vicious cycle.
Now, there are people who get through divorce more easily than this, but can you take that chance?????? If Satan cares enough about wrecking your familyto spend two years tempting you away from loving and respecting your husband, do you think he will stop when victory is in his grasp???
I'm not going to go into the spiritual and emotional rebuilding advice, because I think you are getting a lot of great help, except to say, God would not command us to love one another if it wasn't something we can choose to do and not something that comes and goes without our decision.
Dear friend, I really don't want to see you go through this! You may even be in our state. I don't want to have to see a judge take over your family. Please count the cost and ask God to restore your marriage.
With much love,
Melanie Young
Sunday, October 07, 2007
The Library: Learning at Home and Time Management
A few resources to go along with my workshop on teaching your little ones at Kennebec MOPS:
Getting Ready for School:
The Three R's by Ruth Beechick
Devotions:
A Catechism for Boys and Girls
Divine and Moral Songs for Children by Isaac Watts
Your Bible - read early and often to them!B
uy several copies of the hymnbook your church uses for use at home!
Character Training:
For Instruction in Righteousness
The Brother Offended Checklist
Science Resources:
Spring and Summer in North Carolina Forests - These are older than this age range, but nice to begin reading aloud.
Fall and Winter in North Carolina Forests
The Nature Readers
Pets in a Jar
Usborne First Book of Nature
Lyrical Life Science
History Resources:
Greenleaf Guides
Tapestry of Grace
Veritas Press Their catalog alone is a great resource. You don't need scripted lessons at this age!
Your local library :-)
Getting Ready for School:
The Three R's by Ruth Beechick
Devotions:
A Catechism for Boys and Girls
Divine and Moral Songs for Children by Isaac Watts
Your Bible - read early and often to them!B
uy several copies of the hymnbook your church uses for use at home!
Character Training:
For Instruction in Righteousness
The Brother Offended Checklist
Science Resources:
Spring and Summer in North Carolina Forests - These are older than this age range, but nice to begin reading aloud.
Fall and Winter in North Carolina Forests
The Nature Readers
Pets in a Jar
Usborne First Book of Nature
Lyrical Life Science
History Resources:
Greenleaf Guides
Tapestry of Grace
Veritas Press Their catalog alone is a great resource. You don't need scripted lessons at this age!
Your local library :-)
No, I'm Not Dead
Just busy. Really, really busy. We've done nine major college visits in the past 5 weeks, I've written 9 or 10 AP syllabuses and we've started school. I'm hoping to post a lot more in the next few weeks. I've got some great stuff queued up. This is where I'm supposed to say, "Thank you for your patience." Right? Okay! Thank you for your patience. Seriously. I appreciate you guys!
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