AmazinglyBlessed

Hebrews 10:26...

Posted by HandsNHearts
05:21, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in From the Desk .. 1 comments .. Link

In reading the Bible this morning, I read this verse, and now
have a question...to me this is saying that if we deliberately sin
after knowing Yahweh, that there is no more sacrifices to take away
our sin...does this mean that if we sin deliberately on something
after knowing Yahweh, that we will lose our redemption??
For example,
Susie is a Christian who kept Sunday as Sabbath, she learned that Sat
is the true Sabbath as spoken of in the Bible, but she continues to
look at Sabbath as Sunday because she doesn't want people to look at
her strange, or change her life or what have you...since she is
sinning because she knows that Saturday is the Sabbath spoken of in
the Bible, but she is refusing to keep it will she no longer have
redeption/eternal life because she essentially turned her back on the
last/only sacrifice necessary for eternal life?

That question was asked on a group I'm on. It's mainly regarding trying to understand Hebrews 10:26
For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

Here is Gill's Commentary --
Heb 10:26 For if we sin wilfully,.... Which is not to be understood of a single act of sin, but rather of a course of sinning; nor of sins of infirmity through temptation, or even of grosser acts of sin, but of voluntary ones; and not of all voluntary ones, or in which the will is engaged and concerned, but of such which are done on set purpose, resolutely and obstinately; and not of immoral practices, but of corrupt principles, and acting according to them; it intends a total apostasy from the truth, against light and evidence, joined with obstinacy.

After that we have received the knowledge of the truth; either of Jesus Christ, or of the Scriptures, or of the Gospel, or of some particular doctrine, especially the principal one, salvation by Christ; of which there may be a notional knowledge, when there is no experimental knowledge; and which is received not into the heart, but into the head: and whereas the apostle speaks in the first person plural, we, this is used not so much with regard to himself, but others; that so what he delivered might come with greater weight upon them, and be more readily received by them; when they observed he entertained no hard thoughts or jealousies of them, which would greatly distress the minds of those that were truly gracious. Moreover, the apostles use this way of speaking, when they do not design themselves at all, but others, under the same visible profession of religion, and who belonged to the same community of believers; see 1Pe_4:3 compared with Act_22:3. Besides, these words are only hypothetical, and do not prove that true believers could, or should, or do sin in this manner: to which may be added, that true believers are manifestly distinguished from these persons, Heb_10:38,

there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins; meaning, not typical sacrifice; for though the daily sacrifice ought to have ceased at the death of Christ, yet it did not in fact until the destruction of Jerusalem; but the sacrifice of Christ, which will never be repeated; Christ will die no more; his blood will not be shed again, nor his sacrifice reiterated; nor will any other sacrifice be offered; there will be no other Saviour; there is no salvation in any other, nor any other name whereby we must be saved. These words have been wrongly made use of to prove that persons sinning after baptism are not to be restored to communion again upon repentance; and being understood of immoral actions wilfully committed, have given great distress to consciences burdened with the guilt of sin, committed after a profession of religion; but the true sense of the whole is this, that after men have embraced and professed the truths of the Gospel, and particularly this great truth of it, that Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of men by his blood and sacrifice; and yet after this, against all evidence, all the light and convictions of their own consciences, they wilfully deny this truth, and obstinately persist in the denial of it; seeing there is no more, no other sacrifice for sin, no other Saviour, nor any salvation in any other way, the case of these men must be desperate; there is no help for them, nor hope of them; for by this their sin they shut up against themselves, in principle and practice, the way of salvation, as follows.

Thoughts?

"Natural" GMO meds?

Posted by HandsNHearts
05:06, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in From the Desk .. 2 comments .. Link

WASHINGTON – You've heard of making cheese from goats' milk, but prescription drugs? In what would be a scientific first, an anti-clotting drug made from the milk of genetically engineered goats moved closer to government approval Wednesday after experts at the Food and Drug Administration reported that the medication works and its safety is acceptable.

Called ATryn, the drug is intended to help people with a rare hereditary disorder that makes them vulnerable to life-threatening blood clots.

Its approval would be a major step toward new kinds of medications made not from chemicals, but from living organisms genetically manipulated by scientists. Similar drugs could be available in the next few years for a range of human ailments, including hemophilia.

Ok, I'm always on the rather outside of popular thought here I know, but am I seriously one of only a few who think this is just a bit beyond normal? I understand the medical ramifications here, and of course I'm not saying allow folks to suffer when a potential 'help' is out there. But this GMO craze the government is on is so obviously NWO.

I'm not even going to debate anything, I'm just making an observation.

We are being given Hell in a handbasket and accepting it with not only willing, but grabbing hands.

Prayers for Israel

Posted by blessed mom
04:27, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in Prayer Request .. 6 comments .. Link

" Pray for peace in Jerusalem: May those who love her be safe. May there be peace within her walls and safety within her strong towers."

~ Psalm 122: 6 & 7 NCV ~

Like many of you my heart goes out to Israel at this time. The media has launched an anti-Israel campaign. They are not telling the truth about what is really going on there. My prayers are that peace will be in Jerusalem. The bible tells us to pray for Israel and for her peace. I pray the United States may always be counted as one of her allies. Israel still has a destiny to fulfill and God has His eyes on His people. His promises will be fulfilled in due time.

Praying,

~ gloria ~

Wiped OUT!!

Posted by glenda
04:16, 2009-Jan-7 .. 2 comments .. Link

I have to admit i have not been this wiped out in a long time. This cold has knocked me on my butt..... I went to bed yesturday afternoon around 1 and only got up enough to go to the bathroom and get a drink of water. I have done this all day yesturday, last night and today.. I am still wiped... I cant talk, my throat is hurting, my chest hurts, my head hurts.. YOu name it i just feel alround bad.... I know that it was a blessing that this showed it head before surgery.. I sure did not need this to happen after surgery or while i was in the hospital. i am sure that it would have only hurt my recovery time. So if i can say anything I can thank God that he allowed the cold to come out before i went to the hospital.

Today has been a day. You know what no matter how much you think you are ready for your divorce papers to come into the mail and no matter how much you know that what has taken place is the only thing that could have taken place.. Still when you get those papers you hold them in your hands and feel like a failure.... I mean there is no other words that can fill how i have felt today.... A failure.... I mean I knew the papers were in, I knew that i was divorced, I knew that the judge had signed them and to be honest i also know that me and the children are better off now.. But to hold that stack of papers that round out the last 20 years of your life in your hand and it is so cold and so uncaring... That stinks....

have a blessed day all

glenda

Homeschooling thru the years...

Posted by blessed mom
02:13, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in Homeschooling .. 3 comments .. Link

I realized today I have not blogged much about homeschooling. Our family began homeschooling years and years ago, when my oldest child ( 15 yrs old now) at the time was getting ready for kindergarten. I remember reading everything I could about home education and then taking the "plunge"! Of course back then I had just a few little ones to school, and now there are 8 children being homeschooled at home!

Homeschooling does pose it's challenges -- but overall I have been really pleased with the results. I can't even imagine putting my kids in the public school system. I know there are many wonderful & gifted teachers teaching in the schoools, and I am sure many kids are receiving a good education. The decision to homeschool is much more than "academics" to me. It's more about "relationship" with my kids then academics. Oh sure, we do have our texts and our projects we are working on, but the focus has never been on the "books" but on character development and relationships. My greatest desire is to keep my kid's hearts and to really lead them to a personal walk with the Lord. I want our schooling time and our books we use to glorify God and to teach truth not relativism or humanism.

So we continue to homeschool. Some days I am tired. Like many of you I deal with the yearly "burn out" syndrome, and the days do come where I ask myself "why am I doing this to myself"! But when I stop to really think about things and look into my kid's faces and eyes..... there is NO way I could put them in the local school. I just can't.

Does that mean homeschooling is a "perfect" fit? No! I am sure that there are many things I could be doing better as their teacher and there are hard days when I am struggling along with a child and something they are trying to understand or learn. But overall, homeschooling is so much more than academics. ... it's a way of life...... our life does not revolve around "school" ........ we do have a time set aside each day for doing the math, the grammar, the spelling, etc. But we have learned to be flexible and to keep the "big picture" in mind.

Recently I found out a good friend of mine has quit homeschooling her kids after years of doing so. It just broke my heart. She has beautiful children and for the life of me I don't understand why she would make that choice. But regardless of how I feel about homeschooling, I know it's not for everyone.

One of the things I really love about homeschooling is the ability it gives me to really *know* my kids.... there is no "guessing" what is going on in their minds...... everything is revealed and there is nothing hidden....if there is a problem, it's evident..... if there is an attitude that needs to be adjusted that is known too...... it's all up front and open....... no hiding anything... that can be tough, especially when mom's flaws are "open" too! So I openly admit, homeschooling is a "stretch" for mom, and it certainly does keep me on my toes! ( no hiding my sins behind closed doors around here!!)

I wanted to share one aspect of homeschooling that I really, really love and that is the opporotunity that homeschooling can give to really develop a love of learning in our children . By that I do not mean learning their math facts or spelling words -- what I mean is loving to learn about something for the sake of loving to learn! Each month my kids choose a topic that they wish to study and dwelve into.... it can be anything........ and believe me we have had some interesting topics thru the years. :) After their assigned subjects are completed they can spend as long as they wish studying their "topic of choice". At the end of the month we have a "report night" where each child writes up a report on their topic, presents an oral report ( they hand in a typed report for me to file) and can also share a display board with drawings or print outs. The kids really look forward to this night! They enjoy sharing their knowledge with the rest of the family. It gives them a sense of accomplishment. My husband & I also enjoy hearing about what they are learning and what they have gleaned from their in depth study.

Here are some snapshots of our report night we held a few nights back. As always the reports were interesting and varied. :)

This past month we had:

Sarah studied about the Pilgrims. Big sister Hannah, helped her put a display board together. :) She loves to give these reports, even though she is just 6 yrs old and needs help reading her report a loud. :)

Paul learned about Abraham Lincoln . The twins are getting much better with their reading and didn't need much help giving their reports!

Peter gave a wonderful report on Martin Luther King Jr.

Rebekah studied about Anne Frank.....

Samuel gave a wonderful report on William Penn -- the founder of Pennsylvania ....I learned a ton just by listening to his report!

Rachel enjoyed learning about the "maide of Louraine"....Joan of Arc.......

Hannah studied up on Mary Queen of Scotts......... what a sad and interesting life she led.....Hannah loves to study about famous women in history....... she's a lot like her mom. :) I too love studying the lives of famous women -- right now I am reading about the life of Susanna Wesley the mother of Charles & John Wesley.

Last but not least, Jacob gave us a very detailed report on the Vietnam War.......he loves to study wars, and he really learned a lot. This month he has chosen to study the Korean War, so he really is into this "war" studies lately! He loves history and mostly chooses historical topics of interest.

This coming month the kids have chosen the following topics to study:

Jacob: Korean War, Hannah : Christopher Columbus, Rachel: Eleanor Roosevelt, Samuel: Lightening, Rebekah: Horses, Peter: George Washington ( again!), Paul: Trains, Sarah : Dogs

I hope my kids can look back upon their years homeschooling with fondness. :) I know I will have many many memories to look back upon. No regrets here, even though there are the the "days" I wonder what on earth I have done to myself!

~ gloria ~

Moi

Posted by Miki
11:34, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in Just Sharing .. 0 comments .. Link

Look!

A decent picture with me in it!

Ashley took this with the new camera.

It wasn't on a setting with flash that's why it's kind of dark.

The darkness makes me look better! LOL

Wednesday Doings

Posted by HandsNHearts
09:22, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in Around the Homestead .. 1 comments .. Link

I have a large canner full of ground meat sitting on the stove, simmering away with some onions and a touch of beef base.

It's my 18 or 20 qt water bath canner..darn thing takes up a burner and part of another. I thought about taking it out to the front porch grill, but then I'd be battling cats and dogs all day. Didn't seem like a perfect plan.

So it sits on my stove.

There is just shy of 30# of ground meat in that beauty. Actually, ground meat covered with water looks rather ickish...but it sure beats trying to fry patties and keep them warm for canning. And they really look icky in the jars. I know -- who's gonna see my pantry, and even so, when (not if) push comes to shove and we are living out of what's in that pantry, who is gonna care what it looks like as long as it tastes good? It's just me. I would like the fruits, or in this case meats, of my labor to be asthetically pleasing lining those pantry shelves. Just call me vain. It's ok.

Next on the agenda today is some laundry -- finally a sunny yet cool day to get those clotheslines filled. We are still using the washing machine, such as it is. It barely spins out at this point, so we run things through another set of rinse cycles, spinning them by hand. Sort of jump starting the spin cycle. Dewey wants to get another machine. I'm still not inclined. Yes, it's a pain to stand over that machine and babysit it just to make it spin, but I choose to do it. It's not so bad really. Doesn't take any time extra anyway. I know it's taking some extra water and electricity, but until we start doing it by hand, I'll muddle along this way. Besides, I have some upwardly mobile friends who totally get irked when I press on to the frugal and backwoods lifestyle :o) I like to provide them plenty of cause for talk when I can (truth be told, I probably provide them far more talk than I actually know about...they think I'm just this side of insane most the time).

Bread baking today. I'm using the 20 qt mixer and we're doing up at least 1 6 loaf batch. It's been so rainy, the last attempt with bread baking went a bit wrong on us. It was edible, but oh goodness did it fall out terribly and barely rise. Made a decent toast, though. Even if we couldn't have eaten it, there are chickens out there still so it wouldn't have been a total waste at any rate.

That's about it. We are having Beef Nachos for dinner. Church tonight -- I'm teaching the teen class. Note the excitement in my tone there...not. There are only 7 teens -- 3 being my own, 2 sisters, 1 other girl and the boy we bring from down the road. No one has the slightest interest in doing anything besides toying with cell phones...one girl in particular. And that disrupts the entire group. I have a feeling it will be an issue to end once and for all tonight. Keep me in prayers. I'm sure most of you know by now that sometimes (ok pretty fairly often) I am a tad bit less than tactful. I'm going to try me best, but...

Links about the new law going into effect-2-10-09

Posted by Sara
08:58, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. 0 comments .. Link

I forgot to add links about the new law that I mentioned in my last post. I'm amazed at how many people who have not heard about this. It passed, I believe sometime in August of '08, but most everybody is just now really hearing about it, including me. It's like they kept it hush-hush until they had to tell everyone.

I'm sharing various links from information to different peoples perspective on the subject.

www.thesmartmama.com/bg/

weblog.xanga.com/gloryquilts

www.etsy.com/storque/craftivism/cpsia-updates-and-calls-to-action-3157/

www.thesimpledollar.com/2009/01/03/hand-me-down-clothes-in-the-post-hand-me-down-era-consumer-protectionism-gone-too-far/

heartyworks.blogspot.com/2009/01/no-more-thrift-store-items-for-12-years.html

www.homesteadblogger.com/ThunderwolfRanch/123267

Please read up and contact your congressman! MJ at Thunderwolf ranch shared a link to a form letter to fill out that will go to your local members of congress here.

blessings, sara

I love my scale....today!

Posted by Miki
08:34, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in Weight Management .. 3 comments .. Link

I have finally broke 150lbs!!!!!!

I'm not "suppose" to weight myself but once a week & that usually occurs on Saturday morning but I have an overwhelming urge to hop on it before then. As is the case this morning. I didn't want to get on b/c I was afraid it would say the same ol' same ol' but it finally told me what I have been working my butt off (literally!) to read.....149.6 lbs!!!

I'm on my way!

My plan?

Eat half as much as I usually eat & exercise more.

Pretty simple? Yes & no.

It's kind of hard to know when to quit eating. I've been so used to stuffing myself until I KNOW that I'm full but now I have to learn how to eat until I'm satisfied. That's hard! But I'm in it for the long haul. I've come too far to quit now.

So as of today I have lost 11 inches & 3 lbs.

135 lbs here I come! That would be a dream come true!

Deer in the headlights and other rambling

Posted by Sara
07:35, Wednesday, January 7, 2009 .. Posted in Daily Thoughts .. 4 comments .. Link

My husband caught this picture of Jacob last night, I call it his deer in the headlights look. lol. And ya gotta love his little curly top. He's the first of my children to have curly hair, at least for now. Baby's hair often changes. Mine as a baby went from black at birth to white blonde by 1 year old.

It's hard to believe Jacob is already 4 1/2 weeks old. How time flys! He's still a fussy baby and wants to be held when he's awake, but that is not very often as he sleeps so much. I've got a front pack carrier, and a sling to carry him around in when I have to get things done. As much as I don't want to have to carry him around very much, I know this time is fleeting, and I realize I really don't mind.

We're settling back into routine here, starting back on schoolwork with the kids. I'm working on my home management binder this week trying to tweak it to make it fit us a bit better. I would also like to add a few sections to it for different things such as a garden section, animals section, and a goals section.

I've been in a bit of panic mode this week because of the new law going into effect on February 10. I buy 95% of my children's clothes at thrift stores. And there's certainly no room in my budget to buy new clothes, even when on sale. I'm praying heavily that there is some change to the law, but that may not happen. So I'm working on what we'll do when this happens. A few things that I've realized is that we, especially my children have entirely too many clothes as it is. Thinking back to books, such as little house on the prairie, children generally had maybe 3-4 outfits altogether. Three to wear during the week, and one for their "Sunday go to meeting" outfit.

I think it would be a good idea to have some kind of program like freecycle only a clothing exchange for children's clothing where you can post if you have say, boys clothes, size 4 that you want to get rid of, and you're in need of boy's , size 5. Hopefully we will be able to do something to that effect.

Otherwise, I will likely be switching to making most of my children's clothes, and paring down the number of outfits they each have. I'm so thankful I have at least a general knowledge of sewing. The clothes I see in stores, even if I had the money to buy new, are so immodest and distasteful, I wouldn't want to anyways.

Today I will be doing school with the kids, working on my HMB, and doing some general cleaning and laundry. For dinner we're having a pot roast with some carrots and potatos, and some drop biscuits.

I pray your day is blessed!

sara

{ Last Page } { Page 3 of 5 } { Next Page }