Christianese cont......

HELP! I feel like it's my husband and I against the world, including against the whole church of America, which views wealth transfer as the be all and end all of answers. Lord, why? I don't understand.

In any case, here's another example of Christianese.
"God showed me I need to trust him for my husband's heart, whether he is a Christian or not." This was uttered by a 25 yo Christian woman who has traveled overseas numerous times on short term mission vacations (oops, trips) and spent tens of thousands of dollars going to Oral Roberts University (gotta love the stewardship of Richard Roberts, his spendthrift ways are an inspiration to all....NOT) so as to sit under the tutelage of professors with a Christian worldview, in order to justify her emotional involvement with a non-Christian (in fact, not only non-Christian, but one who was raised Hindu---speaking of which, how do you know what caste you're born into?) Sigh. I guess the Bible's admonition about being unequally yoked really doesn't apply in this situation because......oh, yeah, it doesn't apply because well...the Bible doesn't apply in these situations.

"If you're interested in a man who is a Christian and he falls away, that allows you to pursue non-Christian men as long as they are *good* men". Okay, Biblically again, this is so off. Using this logic, if you're interested in a Christian man and he falls away (before marriage) and you then think this is a license to pursue unbelievers, then is it not also a license to pursue women? Okay...that is sick...but it is logical, using this poor logic as your reason for justifying a relationship between a Christian woman and a man who has actively rejected Christ. (Remember, Jesus said, "He who is not with me is against me.")

Again, if you claim Christ, and have gone on several missions trips to help spread the gospel because you honestly believe that those who die without Christ are condemned to hell and separation from God for eternity, why would you then even entertain the idea of entering into a covenantal marriage relationship with said person so that your offspring (remember in Malachi the Lord says that he desires Godly offspring) can be raised by a parent with a non-Christian (i.e. Hindu) worldview? If you do entertain such a notion, it is obvious to me that you really don't care about your future children, nor do you really care what God has to say on the matter.

Thus endeth my rant for the day. More to follow!

Christianese

I am a Christian. I profess and confess Jesus as Lord. I believe the Apostles' Creed and the Nicene Creed.

Here is the Apostles' Creed:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,
whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting.

Amen

The Nicene Creed:

We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, Very God of Very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made man, and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate. He suffered and was buried, and the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures, and ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of the Father. And he shall come again with glory to judge both the quick and the dead, whose kingdom shall have no end.

And we believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, who proceedeth from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And we believe one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen

Note: catholic refers to the universal Christian church, not the Roman Catholic church.

Now that that has been established, let it be said I don't speak Christianese. You know, the language evangelicals use when they want to thought of as extremely holy and self-righteous, and don't you dare ask me any questions about what I said, because if you do, it's clear that you're almost being blasphemous. It's language that, as a Christian, I cringe when I hear it. I understand it, but I do not speak it.

Here are some examples of Christianese:
"The Lord let me know that I was done having children because I knew it was too painful to be pregnant again." (Oh, really....I have yet to have a pain free pregnancy. Does that mean that when the Bible refers to children as blessings its only in the context of pain free pregnancies?)

"My children go to public school because the Lord showed me....."(fill in the blank, because in the end it really doesn't matter). (Really? The Lord told you that it is His highest example of His kingdom here on earth when you send your children to sit under a humanist curriculum that is explicitly anti-Christian, where odds are they will either be the bully or be bullied, at a cost to the taxpayers far in excess of what you pay in taxes, upon threat of loss of your home at gunpoint, so as a good Christian Mom, after sending them off on the school bus you sit sipping your coffee (either alone or with other *good Christian Moms*, aka Moms in Touch) praying that the Lord would protect them from the hostilities that you just sent them into? Is that what he told you? Really and truly? I'm shocked...and guess what...I don't believe it )

"It's okay that my husband doesn't provide for us and we rely on the gov't for food and medical care because the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the righteous." I disagree. It says in 1 Tim 5:8 that if a man does not provide for his immediate family he is worse than an infidel. But, hey...I'm not going to argue with you if you will insist that 2 plus 2 =5. Help!! Sigh.....

It is so hard to argue (literally the defense of a thesis...remember arguing is not bad; fighting is) with people when they pull the Christianese card. So, more and more, I just have to walk away....

My very first slide show...isn't it beautiful?

Oops...

Ignore this please. :-) I'm still not a total computer nerd .

Blackberries...

Today I took my 3 middle girls to pick blackberries. Talk about getting stuff done when one is motivated. 3 girls, ages 10, 8 and 6 were up at 6:03 am. They got dressed, ate breakfast and walked the dog and were ready for the 1 mile steep trip up the hill to pick blackberries by 6:35 am. We walked up the hill, picked 4 pounds 4 ounces of delicious blackberries and were back home by 8:00 am. What a wonderful morning. We subsequently made 2 different types of blackberry pies...with homemade crusts, of course (but that's only because the 8 frozen crusts I have are being used for 8 quiches tomorrow). 1 traditional pie, and 1 pie with a baked crust but uncooked filling of blackberries in a cooked blackberry sauce. Simply delicious and worth the pound I will gain. :-) (Although, I would think the fact that we walked over 2 miles for the berries round trip should count for something!). Anyway, thanks to the book Miss Rumphius, a FIAR book, by Barbara Cooney, I do try to make the world a more beautiful place. I'm actually learning how to upload pictures, so although you won't have lovely pictures of my oh, so beautiful children to look at, hopefully these pictures of my garden will inspire you, as they do me. I would write more grumpy things, but to be honest, I'm sick of becoming the kill joy prophet (but don't worry, I won't say, "Peace, peace" when there is none to be found.) God did give us a beautiful world and I figure enjoying it is one way of showing gratefulness, which, as most of us realize, is in abundantly short supply these days.

Friday afternoon....

Okay, folks...I'm going to be REAL honest here. Sometimes the days with 9 children are long. The years are short...after all there are less than 1000 Sundays from birth to age 18. But, sometimes the days are long. Especially here in the summer. Sigh.....

Today has been a long day to end a long week. Life is good, and I swing from being overwhelmed to bored with an overall sense of contentment permeating it all. Weird combination isn't it? We don't have a pool; I am paranoid about toddlers drowning. I've read too many anecdotal stories to make my dh and I swear to never own a pool. Yes, we drive...but nope, can't do it. The potential for a forever life-changing event is too high. We are also super-paranoid about making sure noone gets run over in the driveway. Once again, the potential for a forever life-changing event is too high. I'd love a pool; but am unwilling to pay the price (although I've seen Medicaid recipients own pools....amazing stuff isn't it?) .

We've taken the month of June off from school. I will have 2 high-schoolers next year. They will get very full and complete educations; my problem is making sure I'm not disappointed that they don't have the equivalent of a college education instead of just a full high school education. My standards are high.

Here's my kvetch for the day. I'm sick of being told, "You're special". Let's get one thing straight. Dan and I are not *special*. We are *willing*. The lie most people desperately cling to is that raising families is *so hard*...*so hard* in fact that the only way to accomplish it well is to cut yourself off (literally and figuratively) so that the job won't become too hard.

I am so imperfect, that even after 9 children I have not yet achieved perfection. Ugly bouts of selfishness keep rising up and must be excised and dealt with. Had I not had 9 children, I would've been able to keep some of the ugliness deep inside where it would never have risen to the surface and circumstances dictate that it must be taken care of. People with 1, 2 and 3 children who willfully stop are able to keep that ugliness under cover. They come across nicer than me; but I know it's there. They're just able to keep it hidden. It's plain and simple. As long as everyone agrees that that is the way the game is played (even within Christian circles), all is well. But, when Dan and I (who, again, are not special...merely willing) come along and have 9 children and do it well (imperfectly, but well...notice low self-esteem is not one of the issues I deal with), well...that bugs people. It is prima facie evidence that it is indeed possible to have 9 children and deal with the roots of selfishness, but it ain't easy, nor is it pretty. So...to console themselves, they tell themselves and us that "you're special" and implicit in that is that they aren't. It's supposed to make me feel good, and well, special. Nope. Instead, it just increases my annoyance and contempt for these people and reinforces my thesis that people who willfully stop having children do so for selfish reasons and no other.

Oh, yeh...here's another gripe. On a homeschool message board that I frequent from time to time there's a lot of *yuppie homeschool Moms*. Once there was a post on using *good* conditioners for your hair. I was completely and utterly shocked at the number of Moms who use $22 and up per bottle conditioner. Excuse me? How many of these people own their home outright? How many of these people willfully stopped having children so they could *afford* these products (the answer is simple: all of them. Here's the question? Which do you want? A soul for eternity or several bottles of Biolage? Ding, ding, ding...the vast majority of those who declare Christ as Lord, and probably even sing songs about surrendering all to Him in their church's multi-million $ mortgaged building, pick, surprise, surprise....the bottle of Biolage conditioner. )

That said, I decided my daughters with their beautiful, thick hair deserve Biolage. Esp. when I'm shopping with a 10% off certificate at Target. I tried....I looked at it....and I couldn't do it....not when there's children starving in this world...so back to Pantene and Tresemme.

People are amazing. Why God puts up with us is beyond my comprehension. Looking at people (esp. the most disgusting, vile criminals out there) makes me realize His ways are definitely not mine. Sigh....

Have a great weekend, folks.

Well....

after 9 years I am on an indefinite sabbatical from my long-time message board. I joined in June, 1999 and have had 5 *board* babies. It is a group of qf ladies; it used to be all homeschoolers, but over time, ladies gave into other pressures and handed their children over to the state to be educated. I was able to live with that, but a year ago a very precious sister (Hi, Christena!) was banned. I knew then that my days were numbered. I had a long history with a number of the ladies (who, not, coincidentally are the ones nearest and dearest to my heart), and I figured I would be there through thick and thin until we all departed this earthly life one by one to meet our Savior.

BUT, the intellectual dishonesty became too much and the bonds of being quiverfull were no longer sufficient to warrant my time, and the Lord distinctly told me to walk away. I tell you, he did that twice before. Once was back in 2001. I was pregnant with my 6th child and used to get together with ladies once a month. Summer 2001 the Lord told me in no uncertain terms to stop it. I did and have never looked back.

During my pregnancy with Esther the Lord told me in no uncertain terms that if I ever wanted to conceive again I needed to stop caffeine (coffee and Bojangles' iced tea) and Nutrasweet (caffeinated diet Pepsi). I did. No problem, once again. Our longest spacing ever, but RD was born safe and sound March, 2008.

Thus, when the Lord told me in no uncertain terms my time on the board was over, it was then easy to walk away. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), He has not told me to stop eating refined sugar or alcohol, so I still enjoy beer, red wine, chocolate and ice cream. LOL. I'd probably have an easier time losing weight, though...

In any case, the intellectual honesty was just over the top. There is one woman who in just over 500 days has over 28,000 posts. That is just insane, imnsho. (The one problem with this blog is not being able to use emoticons...perhaps I can...I'm just not sure how). In any case, she supports Ron Paul (great!! :-))...but in the meantime, she and her husband have availed themselves over $20,000 in EBT (that's the PC term for food stamps...you know the program where the government provides you with food while you still own your home outright and have internet and are overweight because obviously you are not running a calorie deficit) and then she *praises the Lord* because they have been able to pay off $20,000 in insane credit card debt. (And, to boot, they are *selective* Medicaid users....to the tune of say, only $5,000....at least she has the decency to pay a midwife and home birth instead of sticking it to the tax payers of the great state of Texas). I couldn't take it. She lectures ladies on how their husbands should be self-employed. I'm sorry...excuse me? Self-employment is great, no problem. BUT, if it ain't paying the bills, do whatever it takes to pay the bills....what kind of example does it send to your sons? Sigh...anyway....she managed to finally drive me as well as another very dear woman away....Sad thing is, story next year will be just the same.

After 9 years, all the ladies who support government as their Savior instead of Jesus, continue to struggle. I realize we all are in different places, but forward progression is always nice.

So..instead I've decided to get up at 5:30 in the morning (have done so for the last 7 weekdays) so I can complete the 10 Creative Memory Albums I am working on contemporaneously. It is exciting.

I would like to state something: My life is not perfect. It is far from it, since, sadly I am not perfect (oh, really you say...I thought you were...;-)), and sadly, neither are my dear children. We all struggle with the imperfect life and our sin natures. YET, our life is fairly functional. I have not been late on 1 payment in our married life ever. We have lost tens of thousands dollars to unscrupulous so-called Christian businessmen (I will write an open letter one of these days to Amerivisions founder and president and spender of several tens of thousands of dollars of my family's Tracy Freeny) as well as thousands of dollars to bad investment decisions. However, we have made more than that by wise decisions as well as brute force and no cable for 11 years, and no sodas in restaurants and eating the crusts of bread and giving up soda entirely (just me and daughter #1, not everyone...LOL). We make ~$5,000 increases in our networth every month. That's another reason I took a sabbatical...to better manage our estate...;-)). It was just too much to watch these ladies and their less than brilliant husbands reap some of the natural consequences of their poor decisions (thanks to gov't subsidies the natural consequences were not as bad as they should've been...and in the end perhaps they would become miserable enough to change)...

In any case, I feel free indeed, and I believe I will have more time to blog, although there is not a lot of time because it is difficult to type when holding a baby, and since I may not have anymore, I am holding my dearest, most precious 9th child as much as I can.

Till later,
Lisa