Monthly Archives: December 2006

(ht: Challies)

So...I finally got around to it (Christmas break and all that) and I'm discovering a few books that I have not read...

Covenant Theology, Peter Golding

Darwin's God, Cornelius G. Hunter

The Case for Covenantal Infant Baptism, Gregg Strawbridge

(more to come, I'm sure)

Books I want to read again:

I ran across this book...it's my all-time, hands-down favorite book to give away to either adopted kids or adoptive parents or teachers of adopted kids.

These are my resolutions for 2006

  • 1. What am I going to do more of? Read the Bible.

I actually did pretty well on this one.  No, I'm not all the way through my plan, but I'm digging into other places

  • 2. What am I going to do less of? Leave unfinished projects.

We're going to keep working on this one...

  • 3. What am I going to do more of? Healthy activity.

My new job took care of that.  Between that and my commitment to weight watchers is helping further.

  • 4. What am I going to do less of? Over indulge.

The first half of the year, not so well.  The second half, good.  Even on holidays...but I'm indulging in targetted areas that allow me to not be deprived, while still getting on the track to real health.

  • 5. What am I going to do more of? Take care of my family.

As my kids grow older, this means different things.  Being less of a safety net, letting them/pushing them. I think I did ok.

2 Comments

"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God...[and] love thy neighbour as thyself." Matthew 22:37-39

John Worcester (1834-1900) Words: John Westall (1816-1890), in The Magnificat (New York: The New-Church Press, 1910).Music: John Worcester (1834-1900)


Play MIDI
Link to obtain
mu

"O how shall I keep my Christmas?"
My heart whispered softly to me,
For I had been reading the story
Of the Lord's nativity;
And slowly and clearly before me
The words like pictures rise,
And the scenes appear in the beauty
Of the starry Syrian skies.

O cradled He was in a manger!
For lowly and poor was He,
Whose throne is the splendors of heaven
Whose pow'r is infinity;
And He bore His cross to save us,
To save us from death and sin,
And He trod all alone the winepress
To make us pure and clean.

In glory the hosts of the angels
Came singing His song of praise,
And filling the heav'ns with their music
In those wonderful old days;
Singing "Glory to God in the highest!"
And "peace upon earth,"
And the mighty chorus of voices
Pealed forth "Good will to all."

"O how shall I keep my Christmas?"
As they keep it in heaven above;
O keep it with peace and thanksgiving,
And kindliest deed of love;
And share with the poor and needy
The joys which the Lord gives thee;
And thy heart shall keep with the angels
The Lord's nativity.

I showed a little gain this week (that seems to be my pattern - a really good weight loss, followed by a little gain, then another loss, so I'm not unhappy at all). I've got my recipes lined up for Christmas dinner, so tomorrow will be a good diet day.

I have "Walking Away the Pounds" dvd's - my goal is to "walk" 35 miles while I'm off on break. One of the things that I do is log all this stuff on the little (very little) "MzEllen's Weight Loss Journey" blog - it won't work for everybody but I have MasterCook and I put everything I eat (most days, some days it just doesn't work) in a "recipe" and put it on that little blog. I also keep websites that I really like on that site. I put recipes there also.

So...my goals for on break (starting today)

  • drink all my water
  • log all my food (good days or bad days)
  • walk 35 miles

I wasn't quite sure what to make of this section, it is not a theology that I'm familiar with. The author doesn't go into the name of the belief or where it came from, he merely presents it.

The belief that is discussed in this chapter is the concept of "salvation after death".

The teaching is convoluted and depends solely on 2 Peter, where it says that the gospel was preached to those who are dead. That can mean either spiritually dead, or those who were alive when they heard the gospel, but who had died by the time of the writing of the letter.

Applied to infants, this teaching says that when a baby dies, they are brought to a point of maturity where they can hear the gospel and choose to accept it or not.

The problem with this theology is that it is not found in Scripture. It also is akin to throwing your theological hands into the air and stating that the question of where babies go when they die has no answer in this life.

Another problem is that there is no comfort for hurting parents.  Is there child in heaven or not?  There is no answer here, because with this theology the answer does not depend on God's goodness, it depends on the (post-death) choice of the child.

When the Bible speaks of judgement day, and the final judgement, a person is judged on acts committed during their life - not on a choice made after death.

Teaching that a baby goes to heaven or hell, based on their own choice made after they die is not the anser.