In Praise of God's Providence

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, "God's works of providence are His most holy, wise, powerful preserving and governing all His creatures and all their actions."

And we know, as Rom. 8:28 reminds us, that "all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose."

Now, the question to ask yourself is this: who decides what's good.

Too often we pridefully put ourselves in the place of God, thinking that from our human perspective we could possibly differentiate the good from bad. All of God's providence is good. Even that which brings us sorrow. Even that which brings us pain.

So we say providence is a two-edged sword. It cuts both ways bringing both the good and the evil (differently, to be sure, but bringing them nonetheless). If we deny either, we deny providence. If we deny providence, we deny God. John H. Gerstner

Now that I've got that off my chest, I can tell you some good news: the baby is not affected by the platelet disorder. I'm thrilled to not have to worry about months of long treatments and to be able to plan for another natural delivery. I'm sure my insurance company is thrilled (the treatments for NAIT are massively expensive)! It's nice when God's providence coincides with our desires. The trick is learning to praise Him in all things.

Soli Deo Gloria.

Who said this?

The world is filled with false and superficial religion. We who love Christ and believe His word is true dare not accommodate our worship to the styles and preferences of an unbelieving world. Instead, we must make it our business to be worshipers in spirit and in truth. We must be people who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh. And to do that, we must allow Scripture alone—sola scriptura—to regulate our worship.

Any guesses?

Warning: serious political rant ahead

Disclaimer: no cute pictures of the kids today. hormonal, emotional, talk-radio-listening momma has something to get off her chest...



I read this interview today with CA gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. I appreciate her honesty and Fleischman's skill at clarifying the issue. I am greatly troubled by this statement from Whitman:

My view is that if we are going to be pro-choice, that people do have the ability to have an abortion if they think it is the right thing for them...that it needs to be available to all women, and whether you are rich or poor, you need to be able to access that right. And it's unfair to women who can not afford an abortion, and that's why I support public funding.

Unfair? It's unfair that someone can't afford their own abortion? Unfair to who? A woman who, in the vast majority of cases, voluntarily had sex with a man she wasn't married to?

This may be unfair, but I'm o.k. with that. If you're poor there are certain things you can't have: a Lexus, venti frappuccinos, and abortions. Sorry, life's not fair.

It's unfair that a defenseless baby will never be allowed a first breath so that this woman won't be inconvenienced.

It's unfair that thousands of adoptive parents wait with open arms to welcome babies into their homes and hearts while our tax dollars pay to kill children.

That's unfair.

But let us not forget we serve a holy, just and sovereign God. I'm so thankful He was "unfair" to His Son on my behalf.

The LORD is a jealous and avenging God; the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries and keeps wrath for his enemies. The LORD is slow to anger and great in power, and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.

Nahum 1:2-3

Waiting for the day all things will be made "fair."

I'm not complaining, I'm just saying

When the husband's at work all weekend, what's a bored, pregnant wife stuck at home with four kids supposed to do?

Bake, of course!















Peach Cobbler.

Take that Russell.

:-)

I'm sure it will reheat well.

We'll leave some for you.

Maybe.

Afternoon at the Zoo

The weather is gorgeous. We had a free afternoon. I didn't want to fold laundry...

"Let's go to the zoo!"

Why Do We Do That?

Good question, Dan Phillips:

Isn't it kind of funny that, in the announcements, we give a special greeting to visitors? We say, "And especially if you're here for the first time, we want to give you a special greeting"?

Why do we do that?

Shouldn't we at least occasionally say

“If you're here for the first time, we want to give you a warm and friendly greeting, and we hope you'll stay, let us serve you with love in Christ's name; and we hope you'll come to serve with us.

“If you come here regularly, week after week, have committed yourself to this ministry in membership and service, have put your hand to the plow with us, and support this local work of God with your prayers, your time, your labor, and your gifts, we want to give you a special greeting. We'll never take you for granted!”

Wouldn't that make sense?

Around the house

Just some silliness caught on camera... The kids love to "race" from the front door to the back door. Ruth hopes to some day be faster than her sister. Not likely to happen anytime soon:





We love to eat popcorn. Russell mixes up a mean batch of the real stuff (corn, oil, butter, salt). You're all invited to stop by on Sunday nights (when we don't have church) to sample some.





Is this a sweet big brother or what?