On Tuesday Mum decided to take the challenge to read 100+ books in 2009. I have also decided to take this challenge!
Here is where you can look into it also if you wish (a note: there may be some objectionable pictures on the sidebar).
I have started a new blog to record all the books I read in 2009...
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
5 Things the Marshmallow Test can Teach You about Money Management
This is a post done by Millionaire Mommy Next Door , which I found rather challenging....I am afraid I am the take-the-marshmallow-immediately type. I thought maybe you would find this post interesting anyway.
5 Things The Marshmallow Test Can Teach You About Money Management
Tina is an intellectually-gifted bartender who struggles to pay her bills. Tina serves martinis to Susan. Susan is no more intelligent than Tina, but Susan is a millionaire. If not intelligence, then what explains the difference between wealth and financial lack? And what do sticky, gooey marshmallows have to do with it?
In the 1960s, Stanford University psychology researcher Walter Mischel conducted a longitudinal study. Mischel placed marshmallows in front of hungry four-year-old children. He told them they could have one marshmallow now, or if they could wait several minutes, they could have two. Some children quickly grabbed the marshmallow and ate it. Others waited.
Mischel followed the group and found that 14 years later, the children who eagerly devoured the first marshmallow weren’t faring as well as the children who had waited for two marshmallows. Years later, the “grabbers” suffered low self-esteem. Teachers and parents viewed these kids as stubborn, prone to envy and easily frustrated. The “wait-for-two-fers” possessed better coping skills; were more socially competent, optimistic, self-assertive, dependable and trustworthy; and scored about 210 points higher on their SATs.
Perhaps the key difference between between financial lack and wealth is not merely hard work or superior intelligence, but the ability to delay gratification.
What can the Marshmallow Test teach you about personal finance?
1. Avoid looking at marshmallows when you’re hungry
During the Marshmallow Test, some successful kids reportedly covered their eyes so they couldn’t see the tempting treat. My take away tip: Avoid temptation– stay away from the mall when you’re bored.
2. Save a marshmallow today and you’ll eat well tomorrow
The children who waited for the second marshmallow were rewarded with a 100% return on their first marshmallow. My take away tip: Unleash the power of compounding and you’ll be wealthy when you retire.
3. Drooling over s’mores? Wipe your chin and wait for the hot goo to cool– because you don’t want to burn your mouth!
One child reportedly licked the table around the marshmallow while waiting for the experimenter to return. My take away tip: Imagine having what you want, but wait until the time is right to consume. If you shop, wait until you have cash in hand to buy– don’t get burned by finance charges and credit card debt!
4. Stick your marshmallow into the fire, keep your eye on it and remove when perfectly browned– before it bursts into flames.
Some successful children watched their marshmallow to prevent others from snatching it, waited patiently until the researcher returned with the expected second marshmallow, then enjoyed their reward– without begging greedily for more. My take away tip: Invest in the market, monitor your investment and sell your shares when they reach your target price– before the bubble pops.
5. Give your children mini-marshmallows and teach them how to make rice crispy bars.
Some kids handled the wait by turning their back to the marshmallow, singing songs or talking to themselves. My take away tip: With practice, kids can learn how to delay gratification. Provide opportunities for your child to develop strategies. Give your children an allowance and teach them money management skills.
5 Things The Marshmallow Test Can Teach You About Money Management
Tina is an intellectually-gifted bartender who struggles to pay her bills. Tina serves martinis to Susan. Susan is no more intelligent than Tina, but Susan is a millionaire. If not intelligence, then what explains the difference between wealth and financial lack? And what do sticky, gooey marshmallows have to do with it?
In the 1960s, Stanford University psychology researcher Walter Mischel conducted a longitudinal study. Mischel placed marshmallows in front of hungry four-year-old children. He told them they could have one marshmallow now, or if they could wait several minutes, they could have two. Some children quickly grabbed the marshmallow and ate it. Others waited.
Mischel followed the group and found that 14 years later, the children who eagerly devoured the first marshmallow weren’t faring as well as the children who had waited for two marshmallows. Years later, the “grabbers” suffered low self-esteem. Teachers and parents viewed these kids as stubborn, prone to envy and easily frustrated. The “wait-for-two-fers” possessed better coping skills; were more socially competent, optimistic, self-assertive, dependable and trustworthy; and scored about 210 points higher on their SATs.
Perhaps the key difference between between financial lack and wealth is not merely hard work or superior intelligence, but the ability to delay gratification.
What can the Marshmallow Test teach you about personal finance?
1. Avoid looking at marshmallows when you’re hungry
During the Marshmallow Test, some successful kids reportedly covered their eyes so they couldn’t see the tempting treat. My take away tip: Avoid temptation– stay away from the mall when you’re bored.
2. Save a marshmallow today and you’ll eat well tomorrow
The children who waited for the second marshmallow were rewarded with a 100% return on their first marshmallow. My take away tip: Unleash the power of compounding and you’ll be wealthy when you retire.
3. Drooling over s’mores? Wipe your chin and wait for the hot goo to cool– because you don’t want to burn your mouth!
One child reportedly licked the table around the marshmallow while waiting for the experimenter to return. My take away tip: Imagine having what you want, but wait until the time is right to consume. If you shop, wait until you have cash in hand to buy– don’t get burned by finance charges and credit card debt!
4. Stick your marshmallow into the fire, keep your eye on it and remove when perfectly browned– before it bursts into flames.
Some successful children watched their marshmallow to prevent others from snatching it, waited patiently until the researcher returned with the expected second marshmallow, then enjoyed their reward– without begging greedily for more. My take away tip: Invest in the market, monitor your investment and sell your shares when they reach your target price– before the bubble pops.
5. Give your children mini-marshmallows and teach them how to make rice crispy bars.
Some kids handled the wait by turning their back to the marshmallow, singing songs or talking to themselves. My take away tip: With practice, kids can learn how to delay gratification. Provide opportunities for your child to develop strategies. Give your children an allowance and teach them money management skills.
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Mansfield Park
Rebekah and Rachael received for Christmas the 1983 version of "Mansfield Park". We spent Saturday and Sunday watching it, and it proved to be a lovely 5 1/2 hours worth of movie. I highly recommend it to you. We watched it as a family, there was nothing objectionable or boring about it. We even had the youngest children begging to have it put on everytime we paused it!
This is a quote taken from this website, which gives an overview of the plot:
Fanny comes to live with relatives because her mother is overburdened with children and poverty. A selfish Aunt Norris who tries to keep Fanny humble and beholding to rich relatives although Aunt Norris can only criticize. Lord and Lady Bertram come to realize the superiority of Fanny and value her a a family member. Edmund has yet to realize that he loves Fanny. Edmund is blinded by false perceptions and allusion's of love with Miss Crawford. Fanny is pursued by Henry Crawford a man who has no scruples about pursuing her married cousin or any woman he thinks he can make fall in love with him as a lark. Henry meets his match in Fanny because she does not find Henry to be irresistible or sincere. Fanny persevere and wins the love of Edmund and the respect of Mansfield Park's residence.
Monday, December 15, 2008
My husbandry and I: Queen counsels thrift
For me spending money equals happiness. However, I always appreciate the principles behind thriftiness: especially being a good steward of the material things God has endowed me with.
Also I am an avid admirer of the Queen...so when I found this news story I jumped at the chance to post it here on this blog.
The Queen has invited Britain's royal family to follow her example and tighten the purse strings during the financial downturn.
The 82-year-old monarch has warned her grandsons Princes William, 26, and Harry, 24 third and fourth in line to the throne that all ostentatious signs of living it up would be inappropriate, according to newspapers.
British subjects are apparently in no mood to see the young royals partying in exclusive London nightclubs while the kingdom sinks into recession, the cost of living rockets and jobs are lost.An author of several books on the monarchy, Nicholas Davies, says, ''Whatever is the mood of the nation, she [Queen Elizabeth] tries to go along with that mood.''
According to the 2008 Rich List published by The Sunday Times, the sovereign has a personal fortune of 320 million ($A725 million) but she is not a spendthrift. ''She's not a flamboyant character and never has been,'' Davies says. ''She is not someone who has gone and spoiled her children, because she doesn't believe in spoiling them. She would expect them all [the other royals] to follow her example this Christmas.
''Children or grandchildren, they will all behave in the same way. It is unlikely that this coming season we will see William and Harry going out to nightclubs, getting blind drunk and fooling around with attractive girls.''
Adapting to the credit crunch should not be difficult for the Queen, who has long since garnered a reputation for looking after the pennies.
She insists that the Buckingham Palace lights are turned off when rooms are vacated and that banquet leftovers be reused.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Ye Olde Booke #2
It has just occurred to me that I recommended books that parents will likely want to censor for their children, and perhaps even for themselves.
"The Great Escape" has a lot of blasphemy in it, and some disturbing material at the end (details of some German's techniques in doing away with people...not nice).
Most of those WWII books will have blasphemy, so maybe just a black permanent marker will be suffiecient.
So far "The Wooden Horse" is the cleanest, along side of "The Dam Busters". But for the others, they are SO worth it, once the necessary steps have been taken to rid them of filth.
"The Great Escape" has a lot of blasphemy in it, and some disturbing material at the end (details of some German's techniques in doing away with people...not nice).
Most of those WWII books will have blasphemy, so maybe just a black permanent marker will be suffiecient.
So far "The Wooden Horse" is the cleanest, along side of "The Dam Busters". But for the others, they are SO worth it, once the necessary steps have been taken to rid them of filth.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Do Hard Things
The next generation stands on the brink of a "rebelution."
With over 16 million hits to their website TheRebelution.com, Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge in a growing movement of Christian young people who are rebelling against the low expectations of their culture by choosing to "do hard things" for the glory of God.
Written when they were 18 years old, Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.
Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life and map a clear trajectory for long-term fulfillment and eternal impact.
Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of revolution already in progress challenges the next generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.
The Rebelution
The official definition of the 'rebelution' is "a teenage rebellion against low expectations." When you look around today, our culture does not expect much of us young people. We are not only expected to do very little that is wise or good, but we're expected to do the opposite. Our media-saturated youth culture is constantly reinforcing lower and lower standards and expectations.
The word 'rebelution' is a combination of the words "rebellion" and "revolution." So it carries a sense of an uprising against social norms. But in this case, it's not a rebellion against God-established authority, but against the low expectations of our society. It's a refusal to be defined by our ungodly, rebellious, and apathetic culture. Actually, we like to think of it as rebelling against rebellion.
And it's exciting, because the Rebelution has become a type of counter-cultural youth movement among young people from around the world, who are not only rejecting the lies of popular youth culture, but they're returning to biblical and historical levels of character and competence.
In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." In other words, as young people we are called to be exemplary in all areas of life. Our generation is falling incredibly short of that calling. Instead of serving as the launching pad of life, the teen years are seen as a vacation from responsibility. We call it the "myth of adolescence." And the Rebelution is all about busting that myth.
Our battle cry is just three words, but it's an explosive concept: Do Hard Things. That's it. And "do hard things" is a mentality. It's a mentality that flies right in the face of low expectations. The world says, "You're young, have fun!" It tells us to "obey your thirst" and "just do it." Or it tells us, "You're great! You don't need to exert yourself." But those kinds of mindsets sabotage character and competence.
Do Hard Things is just the opposite. It's how we build character and competence. It won't drop to meet the low expectations, it won't just do what comes easily, and it won't become complacent. It applies no matter who you are or what level you're on, because there's always something harder to do, something that will take you outside your comfort zone and cause you to grow.
The Rebelution is made up of three fundamental parts. We've talked about character and competence. The third is collaboration. It's not enough for us to be individual exceptions. We have to create a counterculture. We do that is by networking and encouraging one another in our common cause. That's what the Rebelution has become. When you have a community of young people committed to doing hard things for the glory of God and the good of others, that's an incredibly powerful thing.
The word 'rebelution' is a combination of the words "rebellion" and "revolution." So it carries a sense of an uprising against social norms. But in this case, it's not a rebellion against God-established authority, but against the low expectations of our society. It's a refusal to be defined by our ungodly, rebellious, and apathetic culture. Actually, we like to think of it as rebelling against rebellion.
And it's exciting, because the Rebelution has become a type of counter-cultural youth movement among young people from around the world, who are not only rejecting the lies of popular youth culture, but they're returning to biblical and historical levels of character and competence.
In 1 Timothy 4:12, the Apostle Paul tells Timothy, "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity." In other words, as young people we are called to be exemplary in all areas of life. Our generation is falling incredibly short of that calling. Instead of serving as the launching pad of life, the teen years are seen as a vacation from responsibility. We call it the "myth of adolescence." And the Rebelution is all about busting that myth.
Our battle cry is just three words, but it's an explosive concept: Do Hard Things. That's it. And "do hard things" is a mentality. It's a mentality that flies right in the face of low expectations. The world says, "You're young, have fun!" It tells us to "obey your thirst" and "just do it." Or it tells us, "You're great! You don't need to exert yourself." But those kinds of mindsets sabotage character and competence.
Do Hard Things is just the opposite. It's how we build character and competence. It won't drop to meet the low expectations, it won't just do what comes easily, and it won't become complacent. It applies no matter who you are or what level you're on, because there's always something harder to do, something that will take you outside your comfort zone and cause you to grow.
The Rebelution is made up of three fundamental parts. We've talked about character and competence. The third is collaboration. It's not enough for us to be individual exceptions. We have to create a counterculture. We do that is by networking and encouraging one another in our common cause. That's what the Rebelution has become. When you have a community of young people committed to doing hard things for the glory of God and the good of others, that's an incredibly powerful thing.
Taken from: The Rebelution website, www.therebelution.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Ye Olde Booke
Today I traveled all the way down to Bungendore to pick up a parcel and do a few odd errands. One of the errands was to hire out the new movie "Journey to the Centre of the Earth", but as our video store doesn't open until 3:00pm (and closes at 7:00 pm), Jamie, who had come down with me, and I decided to walk into the second-hand bookstore.
It has an amazing pile of books, barely any order at all. Any other time I have walked into there I have come out empty handed, as they either do not have anything I might want, or if they do, it is an old, broken down edition with a very pricey tag.
This time, however, I found a whole section of truly glorious books! I squeezed past "bookshelves" and tiny openings, into a back section dedicated to real literature. I found Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope and other great authors...and then I came across the WWII section...
I found heaps of books by my favourite WWII author, Paul Brickhill. I have read "The Great Escape", "The Dam Busters" and "Reach for the Sky" already. But Jamie found for me "Escape -or Die"......then I found something that I have been wanting for a while, "The Wooden Horse" by Eric Williams M.C. So Naturally I bought them both, but as hard as I and the bookstore owner looked we couldn't find my favourite war novel of all time, "HMS Ulysses" by Alistair MacLean. I just have to keep an eye out for that one.
"Escape or Die" is a collection of "eight stories: stories of escape in the desert, escape through Poland and Russia...escape by canal boat, and perhaps the most horrifying and amazing escape of a war that was richer in escape stories than any war ever fought--the escape of Squadron Leader McCormac from Malaya to Australia by way of Java."
("Escape or Die" introduction)
"It is well known that when a member of the armed forces is captured by an enemy in time of war, it is his duty, by all possible and reasonable means, to escape."
("Escape or Die" introduction)
"The Wooden Horse" takes its genius from the Trojan Horse myth. The POWs involved in this operation thought through their plan carefully. They built (out of wooden planks shoring the underside of the camp huts) a wooden 'horse'. It was hollow, with enough room for one man. The man whose lot it fell to would climb into the 'horse' and the others would push it over to a certain spot by the barbed-wire fence. Then he would dig through the opening underneath the 'horse'. There were two shifts per day, a morning and an evening. Over time, they dug a tunnel all the way into the woods on the other side of the fence, covering up the hole after every shift. The Germans never suspected what they were doing, not until the escape was made. The escapees traveled through Germany, Switzerland, eventually up through France and eventually back home to England. 
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
I have found the sixth person to tag!
The sixth person I am tagging for the "6x3 meme" is Sarah at Middlepaw.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Six by Three Meme
Six things I value
Six (umm...five) people I tag
Mum
Rachael
Bethany
My Family
Spending time watching quality movies with my Family
Reading quality books (Like "Dombey and Son" by Charles Dickens!!)
Learning about everything this earth can teach us (except economics, physics, and complete evil spouted forth by completely evil people--like Richard Dawkins for example!)
Freedom of religion
Smiles and playtime with Michael and Lily
Abortion
Infanticide
Rubbish taught as if it were truth
People believing the rubbish taught them without question
The legalising of wrong in order to gain 'control' over it (i.e. legalising abortion so that 'safe' practice may be ensured)
Climate change being taken up religiously by anti-Christians and socialists
Six (umm...five) people I tag
Mum
Rachael
Bethany
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Memes
I am going to post about a few memes soon, but beforehand want to clear my name of corruption: I totally do not have anything to do with Richard Dawkins! But I will use the term anyway, for the want of a better one.....
A meme (pronounced /miːm/)[1] consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, gestures, practices, fashions, habits, songs, and dances. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus.
Richard Dawkins coined the word "meme" as a neologism in his book The Selfish Gene (1976) to describe how one might extend evolutionary principles to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. He gave as examples melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious belief, clothing/fashion, and the technology of building arches).[2]
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (similar to Darwinian biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success. Thus one can expect that some memes will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will survive, spread, and (for better or for worse) mutate. "Memeticists argue that the memes most beneficial to their hosts will not necessarily survive; rather, those memes that replicate the most effectively spread best, which allows for the possibility that successful memes may prove detrimental to their hosts."[3]
Origins and concepts
The word meme first came into popular use with the publication of Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene in 1976. Dawkins based the word on a shortening of the Greek "mimeme" (something imitated), making it sound similar to "gene." Dawkins used the term to refer to any cultural entity that an observer might consider a replicator. He hypothesised that people could view many cultural entities as replicators, generally replicating through exposure to humans, who have evolved as efficient (though not perfect) copiers of information and behaviour. Memes do not always get copied perfectly, and might indeed become refined, combined or otherwise modified with other ideas, resulting in new memes. These memes may themselves prove more (or less) efficient replicators than their predecessors, thus providing a framework for a hypothesis of cultural evolution, analogous to the theory of biological evolution based on genes.
Dawkins defined the meme as "a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation", but memeticists in general promote varying definitions of the concept of the meme. The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.
Etymology
According to Dawkins, meme represents a shortened form of mimeme (from Greek mimos, "mimic"). Dawkins said he wanted "a monosyllable word that sounds a bit like gene".[4]
The concept of a unit of social evolution called a mneme (from Greek mneme, meaning "memory") appeared in 1904 in a work by the German evolutionary biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translated as "Memory-feelings in relation to original feelings"). According to the OED, the word mneme appears in English in 1921 in L. Simon's translation of Semon's book: The Mneme. Dawkins had no awareness of Semon's mnemes.[citation needed]
A meme (pronounced /miːm/)[1] consists of any idea or behavior that can pass from one person to another by learning or imitation. Examples include thoughts, ideas, theories, gestures, practices, fashions, habits, songs, and dances. Memes propagate themselves and can move through the cultural sociosphere in a manner similar to the contagious behavior of a virus.
Richard Dawkins coined the word "meme" as a neologism in his book The Selfish Gene (1976) to describe how one might extend evolutionary principles to explain the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. He gave as examples melodies, catch-phrases, beliefs (notably religious belief, clothing/fashion, and the technology of building arches).[2]
Meme-theorists contend that memes evolve by natural selection (similar to Darwinian biological evolution) through the processes of variation, mutation, competition, and inheritance influencing an individual entity's reproductive success. Thus one can expect that some memes will propagate less successfully and become extinct, while others will survive, spread, and (for better or for worse) mutate. "Memeticists argue that the memes most beneficial to their hosts will not necessarily survive; rather, those memes that replicate the most effectively spread best, which allows for the possibility that successful memes may prove detrimental to their hosts."[3]
Origins and concepts
The word meme first came into popular use with the publication of Dawkins' book The Selfish Gene in 1976. Dawkins based the word on a shortening of the Greek "mimeme" (something imitated), making it sound similar to "gene." Dawkins used the term to refer to any cultural entity that an observer might consider a replicator. He hypothesised that people could view many cultural entities as replicators, generally replicating through exposure to humans, who have evolved as efficient (though not perfect) copiers of information and behaviour. Memes do not always get copied perfectly, and might indeed become refined, combined or otherwise modified with other ideas, resulting in new memes. These memes may themselves prove more (or less) efficient replicators than their predecessors, thus providing a framework for a hypothesis of cultural evolution, analogous to the theory of biological evolution based on genes.
Dawkins defined the meme as "a unit of cultural transmission, or a unit of imitation", but memeticists in general promote varying definitions of the concept of the meme. The lack of a consistent, rigorous, and precise understanding of what typically makes up one unit of cultural transmission remains a problem in debates about memetics.
Etymology
According to Dawkins, meme represents a shortened form of mimeme (from Greek mimos, "mimic"). Dawkins said he wanted "a monosyllable word that sounds a bit like gene".[4]
The concept of a unit of social evolution called a mneme (from Greek mneme, meaning "memory") appeared in 1904 in a work by the German evolutionary biologist Richard Semon titled Die Mnemischen Empfindungen in ihren Beziehungen zu den Originalempfindungen (loosely translated as "Memory-feelings in relation to original feelings"). According to the OED, the word mneme appears in English in 1921 in L. Simon's translation of Semon's book: The Mneme. Dawkins had no awareness of Semon's mnemes.[citation needed]
Dawkins' genetic analogy
Richard Dawkins introduced the term meme after writing that evolution depended not on the particular chemical basis of genetics, but only on the existence of a self-replicating unit of transmission — in the case of biological evolution, the gene. For Dawkins, the meme exemplifies another self-replicating unit, and most importantly, one which he thought might prove useful in explaining human behavior and cultural evolution.
Dawkins himself, in a speech on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the publication of The Selfish Gene, described his motivation for postulating memes: he portrayed the idea not so much as an attempt at creating an account for cultural complexity, but rather as seeking something with which the selfish-genetic mechanism would still work with unreliable replicators:
Next question might be, does the information have to be molecular at all? Memes. This is not something that I’ve ever wanted to push as a theory of human culture, but I originally proposed it as a kind of... almost an anti-gene, to make the point that Darwinism requires accurate replicators with phenotypic power, but they don’t necessarily have to be genes. What if they were computer viruses? They hadn’t been invented when I wrote The Selfish Gene so I went straight for memes, units of cultural inheritance.
– Richard Dawkins[5]
Taken from Wikipedia
life in the 1500's
I had these interesting facts from the 1500's sent to me via email, so I thought I would share them with you:
Here are some facts about the 1500s:
Most people got married in June because they took their yearly bath in May, and still smelled pretty good by June. However, they were starting to smell, so brides carried a bouquet of flowers to hide the body odor. Hence the custom today of carrying a bouquet when getting married...
Baths consisted of a big tub filled with hot water. The man of the house had the privilege of the nice clean water, then all the other sons and men, then the women and finally the children. Last of all the babies. By then the water was so dirty you could actually lose someone in it. Hence the saying, Don't throw the baby out with the Bath water...
Houses had thatched roofs-thick straw-piled high, with no wood underneath. It was the only place for animals to get warm, so all the cats and other small animals (mice, bugs) lived in the roof. When it rained it became slippery and sometimes the animals would slip and fall off the roof. Hence the saying ... It's raining cats and dogs.
There was nothing to stop things from falling into the house... This posed a real problem in the bedroom where bugs and other droppings could mess up your nice clean bed. Hence, a bed with big posts and a sheet hung over the top afforded some protection. That's how canopy beds came into existence...
The floor was dirt. Only the wealthy had something other than dirt. Hence the saying, Dirt poor. The wealthy had slate floors that would get slippery in the winter when wet, so they spread thresh (straw) on floor to help keep their footing. As the winter wore on, they added more thresh until, when you opened the door, it would all start slipping outside. A piece of wood was placed in the entrance way. Hence the saying a thresh hold...
In those old days, they cooked in the kitchen with a big kettle that always hung over the fire. Every day they lit the fire and added things to the pot.They ate mostly vegetables and did not get much meat. They would eat the stew for dinner, leaving leftovers in the pot to get cold overnight and then start over the next day. Sometimes stew had food in it that had been there for quite a while. Hence the rhyme, Peas porridge hot, peas porridge cold, peas porridge in the pot nine days old...
Sometimes they could obtain pork, which made them feel quite special.When visitors came over, they would hang up their bacon to show off. It was a sign of wealth that a man could bring home the bacon. They would cut off a little to share with guests and would all sit around and chew the fat...
Those with money had plates made of pewter. Food with high acid content caused some of the lead to leach onto the food, causing lead poisoning death. This happened most often with tomatoes, so for the next 400 years or so, tomatoes were considered poisonous. Bread was divided according to status. Workers got the burnt bottom of the loaf, the family got the middle, and guests got the top, or the upper crust...
Lead cups were used to drink ale or whiskey. The combination would sometimes knock the imbibers out for a couple of days. Someone walking along the road would take them for dead and prepare them for burial.They were laid out on the kitchen table for a couple of days and the family would gather around and eat and drink and wait and see if they would wake up. Hence the custom of holding a wake...
England is old and small and the local folks started running out of places to bury people. So they would dig up coffins and would take the bones to a bone-house, and reuse the grave. When reopening these coffins, 1 out of 25 coffins were found to have scratch marks on the inside and they realized they had been burying people alive. So they would tie a string on the wrist of the corpse, thread it through the coffin and up through the ground and tie it to a bell. Someone would have to sit out in the graveyard all night (the graveyard shift.) to listen for the bell; thus, someone could be saved by the bell or was considered a dead ringer...
And that's the truth...
Now, whoever said History was boring ! ! !
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Song of the Federation
This is my favourite poem of all time, so I thought I would share it with you : )
Song of the Federation
As the nations sat together, grimly waiting--
The fierce and ancient nations battle-scarred--
Grown grey in their lusting and their hating,
Ever armed and ever ready keeping guard,
Through the tumult of their warlike preparation
And the half-stilled clamour of the drums
Came a voice crying, "Lo! a new made nation,
To her place in the sisterhood she comes!"
And she came--she was beautiful as morning,
With the bloom of the roses on her mouth,
Like a young queen lavishly adorning
Her charms with the Splendours of the South.
And the fierce old nations, looking on her,
Said, "Nay, surely she were quickly overthrown,
Hath she strength for the burden laid upon her,
Hath she power to protect and guard her own?"
Then she spoke, and her voice was clear and ringing
In the ears of the nations old and grey,
Saying, "Hark, and ye shall hear my children singing
Their war song in countries far away.
They are strangers to the tumult of the battle,
They are few but their hearts are very strong,
'Twas but yesterday they called unto the cattle,
But they now sing Australia's marching song."
Song of the Australian's in Action
For the honour of Australia, our mother,
Side by side with our kin from over sea,
We have fought and we have tested one another,
And enrolled among the brotherhood are we.
There was never post of danger but we sought it
In the fighting, through the fire, and through the flood.
There was never prize so costly but we bought it,
Though we paid for its purchase with our blood.
Was there any road too rough for us to travel?
Was there any path too far for us to tread
You can track us by the blood drops on the gravel
On the roads that we mile stoned with our dead!
And for you, of our young and anxious mother,
O'er your great gains keeping watch and ward,
Neither fearing nor despising any other,
We will hold your possessions with the sword.
Then they passed to the place of world-long sleeping,
The Grey-clad figures with their dead,
To the sound of their women softly weeping
And the Dead March moaning at their head:
And the Nations, as the grim procession ended,
Whispered, "Child! But ye have seen the price we pay,
From War may we ever be defended,
Kneel ye down, new-made Sister--Let us Pray!"
I have (unofficially) finished my first year of university!
I finished my last exam yesterday...such a relief!!
I went into it sure that I didn't have enough study up my sleeve to pass, but when I saw the questions I was pleasantly relieved. So now all I have to do is wait for three results to come in, and kick up my heels and SLEEP!!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Anthony's
It has taken me ages to come up with this post....but finally here it is.
I decided a month ago that I would do a post in honour of the Anthony family who have recently moved to Kazakhstan. I taught the three boys Noah (8), Caleb (6), and Jared (4) piano for 7 months, but even though some photos were taken of me and the boys together, they are rather unflattering photos of myself, so I refuse to put them up (sorry). I have put up some photos of all the kids together though, and of Mrs. Anthony having a cuddle with Michael.
We have had some very fun times with the Anthonys and were great friends, so have been very sorry to say goodbye. May God bless them in their new home and new life.
Jared, Mrs. Anthony (holding Michael)
All the boys and Lily
Robert (holding a teddy bear he has named Libby Tricket), Jared (holding a pine cone), Caleb, Noah.
Monday, September 29, 2008
The Cat Came Back
We used to have a cassette that had lots of really funny, weird songs and stories on it. When searching through youtube yesterday Mum found this clip of one of the songs. It is really funny....I recommend it to you.
The Cat Came Back
The Cat Came Back
Sunday, September 21, 2008
C. H. Spurgeon Evening Devotion
Sunday, September 21, 2008
This Evening's Meditation
C. H. Spurgeon
"Gather not my soul with sinners."—Psalm 26:9.
FEAR made David pray thus, for something whispered, "Perhaps, after all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked." That fear, although marred by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, "What if at the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the catalogue of the saved?" He recollects his present unfruitfulness—so little grace, so little love, so little holiness, and looking forward to the future, he considers his weakness and the many temptations which beset him, and he fears that he may fall, and become a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil, and his prevailing corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear and trembling, "Gather not my soul with sinners." Reader, if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character be rightly described in the Psalm from which it is taken, you need not be afraid that you shall be gathered with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David had—the outward walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are you resting upon Christ's sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God with humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall be gathered, for that calamity is impossible. The gathering at the judgment is like to like. "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." If, then, thou art like God's people, thou shalt be with God's people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are too dearly bought. Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are His for ever, and where He is, there must His people be. You are loved too much to be cast away with reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish? Impossible! Hell cannot hold thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy Surety and fear not!
This Evening's Meditation
C. H. Spurgeon
"Gather not my soul with sinners."—Psalm 26:9.
FEAR made David pray thus, for something whispered, "Perhaps, after all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked." That fear, although marred by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, "What if at the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the catalogue of the saved?" He recollects his present unfruitfulness—so little grace, so little love, so little holiness, and looking forward to the future, he considers his weakness and the many temptations which beset him, and he fears that he may fall, and become a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil, and his prevailing corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear and trembling, "Gather not my soul with sinners." Reader, if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character be rightly described in the Psalm from which it is taken, you need not be afraid that you shall be gathered with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David had—the outward walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are you resting upon Christ's sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God with humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall be gathered, for that calamity is impossible. The gathering at the judgment is like to like. "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." If, then, thou art like God's people, thou shalt be with God's people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are too dearly bought. Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are His for ever, and where He is, there must His people be. You are loved too much to be cast away with reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish? Impossible! Hell cannot hold thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy Surety and fear not!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Friedrich Nietzsche
I stumbled across a page full of Nietzsche (pronounced Nee-cheV) quotes this evening...... I have placed below some of them, and alongside a few have given my answers/comments (which are somewhat flavoured with sarcasm. God forgive me).
- What is more harmful than any vice? Active pity for all the failures and all the weak: Christianity.
- Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies....that depends if the convictions are based on truth or lies, and also whether the one holding the conviction understands the truth or lie behind their belief.
- What is happiness? The feeling that power is growing, that resistance is overcome....he seems to lay a lot of stress on power here, like that is all there is to this life. Strife, resistance, a hold on the power for a time, defeat at last.
- There are no facts, only interpretations.......is that a fact? How does he intend for me to interpret that statement?
- In Heaven all the interesting people are missing..... Nietzsche is missing certainly.
- In Christianity neither morality nor religion come into contact with reality at any point....I would disagree with this certainly.
- I cannot believe in a God who wants to be praised all the time.
- God is dead.....correction, Nietzsche is dead.
Enjoy....
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Romans 5
I was reading this passage in the Bible last night:
It has really struck me. It appears to me on reading this passage that the life of Christ (life eternal, since His Resurrection from the dead) is the means by which we are saved from damnation. Not His death, as I had previously supposed. Christ's death is the means of reconciliation. As the verse says: we are reconciled to God by His Son's death.....but are saved by His Son's life. So without the Resurrection, there would be no salvation. Both the reconcilitaion and the salvation are integral to our relationship with God, so both must be given equal consideration when praying, when fellowshipping, when witnessing.
This morning I read Cath's post on The Resurrection and Worship which was timely. I recommend that you click on the link to have a look. It goes further to look at how Christ's Resurrection ought to affect Christian's worship.
In the words of the early Believers (thanks to Cath):
"Christos anesti!"
"For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life." (verse 10)
It has really struck me. It appears to me on reading this passage that the life of Christ (life eternal, since His Resurrection from the dead) is the means by which we are saved from damnation. Not His death, as I had previously supposed. Christ's death is the means of reconciliation. As the verse says: we are reconciled to God by His Son's death.....but are saved by His Son's life. So without the Resurrection, there would be no salvation. Both the reconcilitaion and the salvation are integral to our relationship with God, so both must be given equal consideration when praying, when fellowshipping, when witnessing.
This morning I read Cath's post on The Resurrection and Worship which was timely. I recommend that you click on the link to have a look. It goes further to look at how Christ's Resurrection ought to affect Christian's worship.
In the words of the early Believers (thanks to Cath):
"Christos anesti!"Saturday, September 6, 2008
C. S. Lewis
I have decided to post a biographical note on some famous persons sporadically--or in other words, whenever I have the time, as I am also supposed to be posting some reviews and quotes from good literature when I can fit it in. I am ashamed to say that all I did was cut and paste from the C. S. Lewis website, but hey, if I had to do it off my own back it would never have come!
So I have decided to start with my favourite author: C. S. Lewis.
1898 Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to Albert J. Lewis (1863-1929) and Florence Augusta Hamilton Lewis (1862-1908). His brother Warren Hamilton Lewis had been born on June 16, 1895
1908 Flora Hamilton Lewis died of cancer on August 23, Albert Lewis' (her husband's) birthday. In September Lewis was enrolled at Wynyard School, Watford, Hertfordshire referred to by C.S. Lewis as "Oldie's School" or "Belsen".
1910 Lewis left "Belsen" in June and, in September, was enrolled as a boarding student at Campbell College, Belfast, one mile from "Little Lea," where he remained until November, when he was withdrawn upon developing serious respiratory difficulties.
1911 Lewis was sent to Malvern, England, which was famous as a health resort, especially for those with lung problems. Lewis was enrolled as a student at Cherbourg House (which he referred to as "Chartres"), a prep school close by Malvern College where Warnie was enrolled as a student. Jack remained there until June 1913. It was during this time that he abandoned his childhood Christian faith. He entered Malvern College itself (which he dubbed "Wyvern") in September 1913 and stayed until the following June.
1914 In April, Lewis met Arthur Greeves (1895-1966), of whom he said, in 1933, "After my brother, my oldest and most intimate friend."
1916 In February, Lewis first read George MacDonald's, Phantastes, which powerfully "baptized his imagination" and impressed him with a deep sense of the holy.
1917 From April 26 until September, Lewis was a student at University College, Oxford. Upon the outbreak of WWI, he enlisted in the British army and was billeted in Keble College, Oxford, for officer's training.
1918 On April 15 Lewis was wounded on Mount Berenchon during the Battle of Arras. He was discharged in December 1919.
1919 The February issue of Reveille contained "Death in Battle," Lewis' first publication in other than school magazines.
1925 On May 20, Lewis was elected a Fellow of Magdalen College, Oxford, where he served as tutor in English Language and Literature for 29 years.
1929 Lewis became a theist: "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed...." Albert Lewis died on September 24.
1931 Lewis became a Christian: One evening in September, Lewis had a long talk on Christianity with J.R.R. Tolkien (a devout Roman Catholic) and Hugo Dyson. That evening's discussion was important in bringing about the following day's event that Lewis recorded in Surprised by Joy: "When we [Warnie and Jack] set out [by motorcycle to the Whipsnade Zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did."
1933 The fall term marked the beginning of Lewis' convening of a circle of friends dubbed "The Inklings." For the next 16 years, on through 1949, they continued to meet in Jack's rooms at Magdalen College on Thursday evenings
1935 Wrote the volume on 16th Century English Literature for the Oxford History of English Literature series. Published in 1954, it became a classic.
1937 Lewis received the Gollancz Memorial Prize for Literature in recognition of The Allegory of Love (a study in medieval tradition).
1941 From May 2 until November 28, The Guardian published 31 "Screwtape Letters" in weekly installments. Lewis was paid 2 pounds sterling for each letter and gave the money to charity.
1942 The first meeting of the "Socratic Club" was held in Oxford. Lewis gave five live radio talks on Sunday evenings on the subject "What Christians Believe." On eight consecutive Sundays Lewis gave a series of live radio talks known as "Christian Behavior."
1943 In February, at the University of Durham, Lewis delivered the Riddell Memorial Lectures, a series of three lectures subsequently published as The Abolition of Man.
1944 On seven consecutive Tuesdays, Lewis gave the pre-recorded talks known as "Beyond Personality." Taken together, all of Lewis' BBC radio broadcast talks were eventually published under the title Mere Christianity. The Great Divorce was published in weekly installments in The Guardian.
1946 Lewis awarded honorary Doctor of Divinity by the University of St. Andrews.
1952 In September, Lewis met Joy Davidman Gresham, fifteen years his junior for the first time.
1954 In June, Lewis accepted the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge. His review of Tolkien' Fellowship of the Ring appeared in Time and Tide in August.
1955 Lewis assumed his duties at Cambridge.
1956 In December, a bedside marriage was performed in accordance with the rites of the Church of England in Wingfield Hospital. Joy's death was thought to be imminent. On August 19 and 20, he made tapes of ten talks on The Four Loves in London.
1960 Joy died on July 13 at the age of 45.
1963 Lewis died at 5:30 p.m. at The Kilns, one week before his 65th birthday on Friday, November 22; the same day on which President Kennedy was assassinated and Aldous Huxley died.
His grave is in the yard of Holy Trinity Church in Headington Quarry, Oxford. Warren Lewis died on Monday, April 9, 1973. Their names are on a single stone bearing the inscription "Men must endure their going hence." Warnie had written, "...there was a Shakespearean calendar hanging on the wall of the room where she [our mother] died, and my father preserved for the rest of his life the leaf for that day, with its quotation: 'Men must endure their going hence'." --W.H. Lewis, "Memoir," in Letters of C.S. Lewis.
P.S. I am sorry that it is so long, I couldn't edit it any more!
Fungi Madness
These pictures were sent to me by a friend who lives just up the road from our place when the McLennans were staying at our house for a few days. Mrs. McLennan agreed with me that it was totally weird and freaky! I'll let my friend tell the story though.
"Something really strange happened the other day. Mum was in the garden weeding and pruning when this thing started to appear out of the ground in the outline shape of a soccer ball. It was unfolding out of a ball. She got Daddy and me. It was most bizarre. We found out that it was a fungi. We found another one. A small ball made out of the same stuff as mushrooms. Daddy split it open. And there was one of these folded balls but this one didn't unfold. It was really strange. Like something, not from this world."
Amy researched, and found that it was called Ileodictyon gracile. I did a google search on that term and came up with some pretty amazing facts:
- Fruit body--a lattice-shaped receptacle, initially within an egg.
- Egg--Subglobose to ovoid, smooth, whitish, with white mycelial strands extending into substrate. In the juvenile stage the receptacle is tightly packed within the egg in a jelly-like layer.
- Receptacle--Emerges from the egg (sometimes explosively) to form a hollow, spherical, lattice-like network, with 10-30 meshes. Arms white or cream. The receptacle eventually becomes free, and then has no obvious top or bottom, and can roll free along the ground.
- Smell--Foetid, like sour milk or Camembert cheese.
- Spores--Forming an olive brown, slimy mass on the inside of the arms of the cage.
- Habitat--On the ground, or amongst mulch or wood chips. Common in gardens, and on the edge of tracks, also in native forest.
Have a look at the website. It has a map of where the fungi is most often to be found in Australia (South-East, so basically right in our vicinity!), and some other facts that I haven't put up here.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Happiness is Having Grandchildren to Love
Five years ago I ambitiously started the largest cross-stitch I have ever done, intending to give it to my paternal grandparents. Mum had made a similar one for her parents a few years before, we thought it might be nice for both sets of grandparents to have one.
The cross-stitch design has an apple tree with the names and year-of-birth of all the grandchildren hanging off it. My grandparents have one grandchild who is not a part of my immediate family, so all the names only just fit into the 15 spaces provided.
I started with a zest, then quickly experienced burn-out (which is quite typical for me where cross-stitch is concerned), and condemned it to the bottom of a craft bag for a few years, occasionally bringing it out to do a few stitches before putting it away again.
But then early last year Grandad was diagnosed with prostate cancer and given a maximum of five years to live. I decided that the cross-stitch should be brought out again and given (in particular) to him before too much time went by. It still took me a while to finish it as I started uni and found that I had increasingly less and less time on my hands. But when my Aunt started making plans for her wedding, and my grandfather was becoming increasingly sick, I made a specific date to have it finished by the wedding.
Last night (two days before we travel up to the Gold Coast for the nuptial celebrations) I finished the last stitches. I hope my grandfather is touched by it and can find some comfort in the knowledge that he has always been loving .....and to be that is a life well lived.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Our 19th Century Ball
Here are some photos taken at the 19th century ball that our family hosted a week ago.
We had a live band playing from authentic instruments, and a caller who has been teaching, calling and writing about this period of dance for over 20 years.
We organised it as a joint birthday gift for my two sisters Jessica (18) and Rebekah (16).
Jessica, Rebekah & Rachael.
We had a live band playing from authentic instruments, and a caller who has been teaching, calling and writing about this period of dance for over 20 years.All the guests (over 100 people came) had a wonderful time, and everyone has voted that we do it again sometime! It was SO fun dancing for hours all the dances that one could imagine were danced in Austen and Dicken's time!
We gave out prizes to a boy, girl, man, and woman for the best dressed. Cath MacLennan has posted on her blog some pictures also of the ball, amongst them was a picture of David MacLennan who one the prize for the best dressed man. Cath looked wonderful also (which you can see on her blog), as did everyone who came. It was so wonderful that people put the effort into making their own clothes and accessories. Most of the Gentlemen made their own top hats; and most of the Ladies made their own dresses. 
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Thoughts on Why Everything Exists
Thoughts On Why Everything Exists
August 8, 2008
By John Piper
One of the main points of the forthcoming book Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ is that sin and God’s wrath against it were part of God’s plan when he created the world. This is different from saying that God sins or that he approves of sinning.
The main reason for making this point is to exalt the revelation of God’s grace in the crucifixion of Jesus to the highest place. This is the point of the universe—the glorification of the grace of God in the apex of its expression in the death of Jesus.
Jesus died for sin (1 Corinthians 15:3). The death of Jesus for sin was planned before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8; Ephesians 1:4-6). Therefore, sin was part of the plan. God carries this plan through in a way that maintains full human accountability, full hatred for sin, full divine justice, and full saving love for all who trust Christ. And we don’t need to know how he does it to believe it and rest in it and worship him for it.
This morning I was meditating for my devotions on Ezra 8 and 9. I saw there another pointer to the truth of God’s planning for human sin and divine wrath.
In Ezra 8:22, Ezra says, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him.” This text leads me to ask: Did God know before creation that his creatures would “forsake him.” Yes, he did. The plan for their redemption was in place before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6).
Was Ezra 8:22 true before the foundation of the world? Yes, it was. God did not become holy and just after creation. He has always been holy and just. “His power and his wrath are against all who forsake him” because this is, and always has been, the holy and just thing for God to do.
Therefore, since God knew that his creatures would forsake him, he also knew that his power and wrath would be against them. Therefore, this was part of his plan. He created the world knowing that sin would happen and that he would respond as Ezra 8:22 says he does.
This planning is what Paul means in Romans 9:22 when he says that God was “desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power. . .” And if you ask Paul why God would go forward with this plan, his most ultimate answer is in the next verse: “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy” (Romans 9:23).
God knew that the revelation of his wrath and power against sin would make the riches of his glory shine all the brighter and taste all the sweeter for the vessels of mercy.
“The riches of his glory” are the riches we inherit when we see his glory in all the fullness that we can bear (Ephesians 1:18) and are transformed by it (Romans 8:30; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). These riches of glory reach their supreme height of wonder and beauty in the death of Jesus as he bore the condemnation of God’s wrath and power in our place (Romans 8:3; Galatians 3:13).
In other words, God’s plan that there be sin and wrath in the universe was ultimately to bring about “the praise of the glory of his grace” in the death of Christ (Ephesians 1:6). What is at stake in the sovereignty of God over sin is the ultimate aim of the universe, namely, the exaltation of the Son of God in the greatest act of wrath-removing, sin-forgiving, justice-vindicating grace that ever was or ever could be. The praise of the glory of God’s grace in the death of Christ for sinners is the ultimate end of all things.
Christ is the aim of all things. When Paul says, “All things were created . . . for him” (Colossians 1:16), he means that the entire universe and all the events in it serve to glorify Jesus Christ. May the meditations of our hearts take us ever deeper into this mystery. And may the words of our mouths and the actions of our hands serve to magnify the infinite worth of Jesus and his death. This is why we exist.
August 8, 2008
By John Piper
One of the main points of the forthcoming book Spectacular Sins and Their Global Purpose in the Glory of Christ is that sin and God’s wrath against it were part of God’s plan when he created the world. This is different from saying that God sins or that he approves of sinning.
The main reason for making this point is to exalt the revelation of God’s grace in the crucifixion of Jesus to the highest place. This is the point of the universe—the glorification of the grace of God in the apex of its expression in the death of Jesus.
Jesus died for sin (1 Corinthians 15:3). The death of Jesus for sin was planned before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8; Ephesians 1:4-6). Therefore, sin was part of the plan. God carries this plan through in a way that maintains full human accountability, full hatred for sin, full divine justice, and full saving love for all who trust Christ. And we don’t need to know how he does it to believe it and rest in it and worship him for it.
This morning I was meditating for my devotions on Ezra 8 and 9. I saw there another pointer to the truth of God’s planning for human sin and divine wrath.
In Ezra 8:22, Ezra says, “The hand of our God is for good on all who seek him, and his power and his wrath are against all who forsake him.” This text leads me to ask: Did God know before creation that his creatures would “forsake him.” Yes, he did. The plan for their redemption was in place before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:3-6).
Was Ezra 8:22 true before the foundation of the world? Yes, it was. God did not become holy and just after creation. He has always been holy and just. “His power and his wrath are against all who forsake him” because this is, and always has been, the holy and just thing for God to do.
Therefore, since God knew that his creatures would forsake him, he also knew that his power and wrath would be against them. Therefore, this was part of his plan. He created the world knowing that sin would happen and that he would respond as Ezra 8:22 says he does.
This planning is what Paul means in Romans 9:22 when he says that God was “desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power. . .” And if you ask Paul why God would go forward with this plan, his most ultimate answer is in the next verse: “in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy” (Romans 9:23).
God knew that the revelation of his wrath and power against sin would make the riches of his glory shine all the brighter and taste all the sweeter for the vessels of mercy.
“The riches of his glory” are the riches we inherit when we see his glory in all the fullness that we can bear (Ephesians 1:18) and are transformed by it (Romans 8:30; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 John 3:2). These riches of glory reach their supreme height of wonder and beauty in the death of Jesus as he bore the condemnation of God’s wrath and power in our place (Romans 8:3; Galatians 3:13).
In other words, God’s plan that there be sin and wrath in the universe was ultimately to bring about “the praise of the glory of his grace” in the death of Christ (Ephesians 1:6). What is at stake in the sovereignty of God over sin is the ultimate aim of the universe, namely, the exaltation of the Son of God in the greatest act of wrath-removing, sin-forgiving, justice-vindicating grace that ever was or ever could be. The praise of the glory of God’s grace in the death of Christ for sinners is the ultimate end of all things.
Christ is the aim of all things. When Paul says, “All things were created . . . for him” (Colossians 1:16), he means that the entire universe and all the events in it serve to glorify Jesus Christ. May the meditations of our hearts take us ever deeper into this mystery. And may the words of our mouths and the actions of our hands serve to magnify the infinite worth of Jesus and his death. This is why we exist.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Romans 3
I have been reading Romans as part of my daily devotional for some time now.
I do a sort of take off of an idea I read in a book by John MacArthur. He recommends reading the same book of the Bible in it entirety (except where it is HUGE, as in Luke: where you read 1/3 of the book at a time) for a month. The idea is that you sort of memorise the book and are able to identify and know roughly where to find a quote taken from the book when you read it in books, hear it in sermons or songs.
But, as I said, I am only doing a take off. Instead of the entire book, I read one chapter. In my hectic life I find that one chapter is a realistic goal. And, on the bright side, I may finish the ENTIRE book before I am 30! Something to look forward to : )
At the moment, I am reading chapter 3, and I thought I might share with you some thoughts that I had while reading it tonight.
God's faithfulness is confirmed with zeal early on:
"For what if some of them [those who had the 'oracles' of God committed to them] did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? God forbid! Let God be true but everyman a liar. As it is written: That you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
It has just struck me that I often take this portion of scripture for granted. I have read it many times and it is one of those foundation stones of theology, but I tend tread disregard it. But is IS foundational to theology. Even to putting one's faith in God. How could we have faith if we were not first assured of the faithfulness of the One we must trust?
The thing that most often strikes me though, in reading this chapter, is that we must not be comfortable in our position of being God's children. I do not mean to say that we might lose our faith, but that others may never gain theirs. The lost are condemned as sinners, but we are no better......" For all have sinned an fall short of the glory of God." We have been "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus." Many have not. Many never will be.
One part of the passage jumps out at me. The words are: "God presented him [Christ Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished...." Now I am not implying God's injustice through his never calling the sins of the wicked to account. What I want to get at is this......God was forbearing toward those who sinned for a time. Earlier in the book of Romans (2:4) Paul says that God's kindness lead us to repentance. How would it be if we were kind and forbearing? What miracles could be wrought in the human race?
A Casting Crowns song: Does anybody hear her? demonstrates this point well I think. It speaks about someone "searching for the hope that is tucked away in you and me." And I have to ask why is that we do tuck our faith away?
I must confirm here though that I am a firm believer in witnessing through a life lived for God; as opposed to Bible bashing every person you meet on the side of the road or in shopping malls. But that brings me to another point. Do we live like Christians or like those of the world? Can we be confident that we are witnesses for Christ?
We ought to be kind and forbearing, as he is kind and forbearing. Give the unrighteous an example, time to change, love and compassion. Sometimes that is all it takes. Sometimes when we do not do those things we are driving away the lost.
Great is God's faithfulness
I do a sort of take off of an idea I read in a book by John MacArthur. He recommends reading the same book of the Bible in it entirety (except where it is HUGE, as in Luke: where you read 1/3 of the book at a time) for a month. The idea is that you sort of memorise the book and are able to identify and know roughly where to find a quote taken from the book when you read it in books, hear it in sermons or songs.
But, as I said, I am only doing a take off. Instead of the entire book, I read one chapter. In my hectic life I find that one chapter is a realistic goal. And, on the bright side, I may finish the ENTIRE book before I am 30! Something to look forward to : )
At the moment, I am reading chapter 3, and I thought I might share with you some thoughts that I had while reading it tonight.
God's faithfulness is confirmed with zeal early on:
"For what if some of them [those who had the 'oracles' of God committed to them] did not have faith? Will their lack of faith nullify God's faithfulness? God forbid! Let God be true but everyman a liar. As it is written: That you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge."
It has just struck me that I often take this portion of scripture for granted. I have read it many times and it is one of those foundation stones of theology, but I tend tread disregard it. But is IS foundational to theology. Even to putting one's faith in God. How could we have faith if we were not first assured of the faithfulness of the One we must trust?
The thing that most often strikes me though, in reading this chapter, is that we must not be comfortable in our position of being God's children. I do not mean to say that we might lose our faith, but that others may never gain theirs. The lost are condemned as sinners, but we are no better......" For all have sinned an fall short of the glory of God." We have been "justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came through Christ Jesus." Many have not. Many never will be.
One part of the passage jumps out at me. The words are: "God presented him [Christ Jesus] as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished...." Now I am not implying God's injustice through his never calling the sins of the wicked to account. What I want to get at is this......God was forbearing toward those who sinned for a time. Earlier in the book of Romans (2:4) Paul says that God's kindness lead us to repentance. How would it be if we were kind and forbearing? What miracles could be wrought in the human race?
A Casting Crowns song: Does anybody hear her? demonstrates this point well I think. It speaks about someone "searching for the hope that is tucked away in you and me." And I have to ask why is that we do tuck our faith away?
I must confirm here though that I am a firm believer in witnessing through a life lived for God; as opposed to Bible bashing every person you meet on the side of the road or in shopping malls. But that brings me to another point. Do we live like Christians or like those of the world? Can we be confident that we are witnesses for Christ?
We ought to be kind and forbearing, as he is kind and forbearing. Give the unrighteous an example, time to change, love and compassion. Sometimes that is all it takes. Sometimes when we do not do those things we are driving away the lost.
Great is God's faithfulness
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Chivalry Is Dead (but only in the mornings)
I was flicking through some "blogs of note" today when I came across this post:
Working Girl: Chivalry Is Dead (But Only in the Mornings)
It seems me to be slightly contradictory in that this woman embraces feminism but demands the "respect" due to women, and other "traditional" things like that. There is no logic in having your cake and eating it too. I believe that in many ways women have brought about this lack of respect themselves through their demands for "equal" treatment and status.....but that is no excuse for cowardly men who are afraid to cop the title "chauvinist" simply because they open a door for a woman. I suppose the issue should be considered from both perspectives.
An interesting topic for discussion anyway!
Working Girl: Chivalry Is Dead (But Only in the Mornings)
It seems me to be slightly contradictory in that this woman embraces feminism but demands the "respect" due to women, and other "traditional" things like that. There is no logic in having your cake and eating it too. I believe that in many ways women have brought about this lack of respect themselves through their demands for "equal" treatment and status.....but that is no excuse for cowardly men who are afraid to cop the title "chauvinist" simply because they open a door for a woman. I suppose the issue should be considered from both perspectives.
An interesting topic for discussion anyway!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Hope of Holiness
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 13:6 Psalm 51:10
The "openness" that is often praised among Christians as a sign of true humility may sometimes be an oblique effort to prove that there is no such thing as a saint after all, and that those who believe that it is possible in the twentieth century to live a holy life are only deceiving themselves. When we enjoy listening to some Christian confess his weaknesses and failures, we may be eager only to convince ourselves that we are not so bad after all. We sit on the edge of our chairs waiting to grasp at an excuse for continuing to do what we have made up our minds long ago to do anyway. The Lord is ready to forgive sin at any moment and to make strong servants out of the worst of us. But we must believe it; we must come to Him in faith for forgiveness and deliverance and then go out to do the work He has given us to do.
"Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1 Cor 13:6 AV). Let us be willing to call iniquity what is really iniquity, rather than to call it weakness, temperament, failure, hangups, or to fall back on the tired excuse, "It's just the way I am."
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. (Ps 51:10 AV)
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: 1 Corinthians 13:6 Psalm 51:10
The "openness" that is often praised among Christians as a sign of true humility may sometimes be an oblique effort to prove that there is no such thing as a saint after all, and that those who believe that it is possible in the twentieth century to live a holy life are only deceiving themselves. When we enjoy listening to some Christian confess his weaknesses and failures, we may be eager only to convince ourselves that we are not so bad after all. We sit on the edge of our chairs waiting to grasp at an excuse for continuing to do what we have made up our minds long ago to do anyway. The Lord is ready to forgive sin at any moment and to make strong servants out of the worst of us. But we must believe it; we must come to Him in faith for forgiveness and deliverance and then go out to do the work He has given us to do.
"Charity rejoiceth not in iniquity" (1 Cor 13:6 AV). Let us be willing to call iniquity what is really iniquity, rather than to call it weakness, temperament, failure, hangups, or to fall back on the tired excuse, "It's just the way I am."
Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right spirit within me. (Ps 51:10 AV)
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thoughts on Literature
Literature enlarges our being by admitting us to experiences not our own. They may be beautiful, terrible, awe-inspiring, exhilarating, pathetic, comic or merely piquant. Literature gives the entree to them all. Those of us who have been true readers all our life seldom realise the enormous extension of our being that we owe to authors. We realise it best when we
talk to an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. My own eyes are not enough for me. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or bee.
In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.
Quote taken from: "An Experiment in Criticism"
Author C. S. Lewis
Pages 140-141
Cambridge University Press, 1961
talk to an unliterary friend. He may be full of goodness and good sense but he inhabits a tiny world. In it, we should be suffocated. My own eyes are not enough for me. Even the eyes of all humanity are not enough. Very gladly would I learn what face things present to a mouse or bee.
In reading great literature I become a thousand men and yet remain myself. Like the night sky in a Greek poem, I see with a thousand eyes, but it is still I who see. Here, as in worship, in love, in moral action, and in knowing, I transcend myself; and am never more myself than when I do.
Quote taken from: "An Experiment in Criticism"
Author C. S. Lewis
Pages 140-141
Cambridge University Press, 1961
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Submission and Independence
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: James 1:4
Paul tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, and James tells us we ought to have "the right sort of independence" (Jas 1:4 JBP). Can the same person obey both commands? The answer is yes, for in both he is being obedient to Christ. Submission is the recognition of and obligation to authority. An independence that refuses all accountability to those assigned by God to exercise authority--parents, husbands, employers, teachers, government--is the wrong sort. The right sort, according to James, begins with the acceptance of adversity. That in itself indicates a measure of maturity. One who has not attained that maturity but tries to achieve independence will certainly have the wrong sort.
To accept adversity, obviously, goes against the grain of all of us. We don't like adversity. Acceptance takes fortitude and faith--faith that Somebody knows what this trouble is all about and has the situation well in hand. In other words, acceptance is submission to God Himself. Often the real proof of our obedience is the willingness to submit, not only to adversity, but also to the specific individuals whom God has put over us (and sometimes this comes to the same thing--those individuals spell "adversity!"). Take a close look at what James says: whatever tests our faith leads in the end to the right sort of independence.
Source: A Lamp For My Feet
Scripture Reference: James 1:4
Paul tells us to submit to one another out of reverence for Christ, and James tells us we ought to have "the right sort of independence" (Jas 1:4 JBP). Can the same person obey both commands? The answer is yes, for in both he is being obedient to Christ. Submission is the recognition of and obligation to authority. An independence that refuses all accountability to those assigned by God to exercise authority--parents, husbands, employers, teachers, government--is the wrong sort. The right sort, according to James, begins with the acceptance of adversity. That in itself indicates a measure of maturity. One who has not attained that maturity but tries to achieve independence will certainly have the wrong sort.
To accept adversity, obviously, goes against the grain of all of us. We don't like adversity. Acceptance takes fortitude and faith--faith that Somebody knows what this trouble is all about and has the situation well in hand. In other words, acceptance is submission to God Himself. Often the real proof of our obedience is the willingness to submit, not only to adversity, but also to the specific individuals whom God has put over us (and sometimes this comes to the same thing--those individuals spell "adversity!"). Take a close look at what James says: whatever tests our faith leads in the end to the right sort of independence.
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