Are Vaccines Safe?

A couple of days ago, my friend Ruth @ But First We have Coffee posted a video of Mary Tocco, an influential woman in their decision to not vaccinate their children.

Last year, before our second son was born, I had done a small bit of research about vaccines. Mainly I had found that some vaccines were manufactured by using aborted baby tissue, and was disgusted. We were in such a busy time in our lives and I didn’t feel I had the capacity to fight with my doctor to obtain vaccines that did not contain aborted baby tissue. We have vaccinated our second son thus far.

But Ruth was right; Mary Tocco’s videos are very eye opening and informing. She is a wealth of information that the average parent is not aware of concerning vaccines. The scariest part of her videos to me is when she talks about Thimerisol. Thimerisol is a form of Mercury that is used as a perservative and sanitizer in vaccines. She talks about the fact that Pregnant and nursing mothers are warned not to ingest too much mercery from fish, etc; But then we are injecting large amounts of mercury into pregnant mothers and newborn babies. Mercury is a highly toxic metal that causes liver failure, poisoning, and brain death in significant amounts.

You can visit Mary Tocco’s website Childhoodshots.com . Another great website is Thinktwice.com . Mary Tocco is an independent researcher (which means nobody pays her to do this) and has dedicated her life’s work to traveling and doing speaking engagements about vaccines. You can click on the video above and it will take you to youtube.com. The rest of her videos are in the sidebar there.

Can Babies Understand the Word “No?”

Oh, my poor son! My poor first born. They really are the test babies, aren’t they? For a couple who knew nothing about disciplining children according to the biblical model, our first son was (and still is) the lesson. We could blame it on the fact that he was 6 months old before we both knew Christ as our Lord; But, either way our son is doing well not because of our first attempts at discipline, but inspite of them.

It all started out very “innocently” (or shall I say ignorantly?) When he was a baby I had read a lot about attachment parenting and natural parenting, and gotten quite a few ideas in my head that a baby was just an innocent human being, who with the right positive reinforcement would wind up as a gentle, loving, person. HA! What little did I know. In such denial I was. If only I could have had a glimpse into the life of my future “strong willed” child.

Though honestly, I don’t know very many children who are not strong willed. Do you? So, around the time my son began to walk (at 10 months), his will began to multiply and manipulate. My husband and I already had our work cut out for us in reversing the bad habits we had taught our little monster. We had to begin teaching him discipline at 1-1.5 year old that we should have been reinforcing from the beginning.

The Lord and his Word (and the help of several other mature Christians) has helped us along the way. In that short span of time we have learned as much about parenting as we have about our own attitudes. With the birth of our second son, we were determined to do things differently. I taught baby how to go to sleep on his own. I used the wake, nurse, play, sleep cycle (as opposed to wake, play, and nurse to sleep cycle I had gotten in with our first.) We just finished night weaning at 9 months, which I think could have been acheived sooner and was done easily when baby was moved in his big brother’s room. And finally to the title of this post, we began teaching him the word “No” at about 8-9 months of age.

I had heard many times with our first, that he was too young to know what “no” meant. But, I have in fact learned from my own experience that babies can learn the word at a young age if you teach them. They know far more than they can tell you! We began with telling him no when he squirmed and wiggled during diaper changes. At first, it seems like a game to them. In a few short times during the day we would practice obedience around 8 months of age. He would squirm, and I would tell him no and set him firmly and still where I wanted him. If he would squirm, I would tell him no again and set him back. If he still didn’t get it, a light tap (and I do mean light, it doesn’t take pain to train a baby) on the booty would get his attention. I would do this until he layed still. Some babies have quite the will and will still think this is a game. The goal is the obedience during each “session”, however much patience and time it takes. Never get angry or upset. This is a learning experience for them. Praise them when they obey. Sometimes they will obey and sometimes they will test you. YES, an 8-9 month old WILL test you! In our experience, our 10 month old knows clearly what “No” means and obeys. He gets praise for listening. It is such a joy to see obedience at this young age. It is so much easier and gentler when you start early. It takes much more time and effort (and frustration) to undo the will a child acquires when they are not trained young. It must be very confusing for them, also! They are able to do anything they want with no consequence for months or even years, and all of a sudden mom and dad (and everyone else) is telling them “NO!” and expecting them to obey. Why should they believe you?

I know this was a bit of a ramble. I had many thoughts pouring out of my head that I wanted to get down!

Childbirth on my Mind

Ya, I know it’s kind of a strange time for me to be so interested in researching childbirth options; But, it has been weighing heavily on my mind for about a week now. I have a hard time occupying my mind with anything else at the moment.  TMI to follow….

Last week I awoke from an all-night dream that I had started my period. I immediately remembered something I had heard ladies talk about before, that they often dream of their period before it starts or pregnancy before they find out they’re pregnant. I pushed it aside a bit and said, “we’ll just see, i guess.”  As it turns out, I started my period two days later.  I guess it’s not a surprise to me as I just finished night weaning my youngest. Since then, my mind has been focused on childbirth, knowing that another baby could be in the future for us at anytime now, and knowing that I had begun chaniging my mind about childbirth in our last pregnancy. I felt an overwhelming sense that we (as a patient/doctor relationship and as a society) are treating pregnancy as a medical illness rather than a natural occurance created and controlled by our sovereign God. I spent much of that pregnancy visiting the doctor for needless “routine visits” and submitting to our family doctor’s “expertise” over our personal wishes. Overall it left me frustrated, anxious, and impatient. All-in-all I felt as if God was leading me to trust in him more through the entire process, and rely on myself and the medical establishment less.

A frustrating reality is found in looking at the options a woman in the United States has for an intimate birth. In Nebraska, Certified Nurse Midwives (CNMs) are prohibited from attending home births. There is absolutely no regulation for Entry Level Midwives (ELMs), and at this point it is not clear what would happen if the state decided to try and prosecute them for attending a home birth. Although it seems reasonable that this would not hold up if they are not presenting themselves as a CNM, it is not fullproof, and many ELMs are unwilling to attend, or are working “underground”. A families choice for home birth in Nebraska is limited to the difficult task of trying to find an ELM that will attend or having an unassisted childbirth. There is a group currently working to change the laws in Nebraska for Midwifery, Nebraska Friends of Midwives. By the way, it is a misdemeanor in Nebraska for a father to catch his own baby, even though my husband caught our first son in the hospital. That one just cracks me up.

Online I have found quite a bit to ponder. My husband, the skeptic that he is, will not discuss it until he can make an informed decision about the safety of each choice, namely homebirth. His reasonable fear is the death of either I or the baby.

Here are a few links to information and support for Natural and Unassisted Childbirth that I found helpful: (note many of these are not Christian and in fact “spiritualistic”, but still very helpful if this is not a stumbling block for you)

Birth Junkie

Is Homebirth Safe? storknet

Independent Childbirth

Birthing Naturally

Joyous Birth (Australia)

The Skinny on January (Unassisted Pregnancy UP & UC personal blog)

Unassisted Pregnancy & Childbirth Australia

Birth & Motherhood

I am also interested in hypnobirthing, but will be doing more research. I would really like to find a Christian hypnobirthing resource or have even had the thought of making my own. Especially the hypnobirthing affirmations, I would include more affirmations about trusting in the Lord through birth.

Hypnobirthing Birth video ~

Hypnobirthing, Getting Started

Hypnobirthing Affirmations

Palm Sunday: Personal Hymn of Praise

Matthew 21:1-17

¹As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, ²saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. ³If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away.”

⁴This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
⁵“Say to the Daughter of Zion,
‘See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ “^[a]

⁶The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. ⁷They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. ⁸A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. ⁹The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
“Hosanna^[b] to the Son of David!”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”^[c]
“Hosanna^[d] in the highest!”

¹⁰When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, “Who is this?”

¹¹The crowds answered, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”

Every once in awhile, I’ll be by myself, doing housework, or rocking a baby to sleep and a song will come to me. A song that I have never heard before. Sometimes the words do not flow perfectly, but somehow there is a new tune inside that I have just got to get out. The difficult thing for me is, that by the time I reach a pad and pen, I can’t seem to remember what the words to my melody had been.

Last night, as I just so happened to be rocking a baby to sleep, swaying back and forth in our bedroom; The sun was just setting and I can remember the dim light that filled the room as I hushed a heavy, sweet smelling bundle in my arms. I began to sing out a praise to the Lord. This time, some of the words stuck very vividly in my mind as well as the tune. I closed my eyes and let the words flow as I sang my little one to sleep last night. I rocked him even after he had fallen asleep, finishing ‘my’ hymn and praising the Lord for his glorious grace and the gifts that he had given me, especially the blessing in my arms.

Something has urged me to write down what I remember and record the tune so that I can recall it. I couldn’t help but wonder today what It would be like to have my personal praise sung by a congregation of believers. I wondered for a second if God would give me the words to a glorious hymn that truly honored him, was scriptural, and truly gave praise to God. It’s possible. All I know is that lately I have just had the words to sing a few beautiful tunes, at least in my eyes. And it’s much more satisfying than empty meaning. The words really mean something to me and to my relationship with God.

I hope you find YOUR time with God today. Praise him, in whatever way.

(Ephesians 5:18-20) 18 …, but keep getting filled with spirit, 19 speaking to yourselves with psalms and praises to God and spiritual songs, singing and accompanying yourselves with music in YOUR hearts to Jehovah, 20 in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ giving thanks . . .

20 & Counting: The Duggars “Review”

Since I first heard that the Duggars had come out with a new book, I had determined that I would really like to get a copy and read it. Within a couple of weeks, I had heard excellent reviews on the book, and was becoming even more eager to buy it. Last week I finally picked up a copy at the book store. Less than a week later I had devoured it, thoroughly enjoying it, and coming away from the book with a deeper respect for the values, character, and general love for our Lord that this family has.

Filled with examples of God’s provision and faithfulness, Jim Bob and Michelle recount the events of their lives from childhood, to marriage, to the present. They take you step by step through each phase of their story: Salvation, Business, Children, Struggles. This book is a testimony to God’s work in their lives.

On top of a wonderful emphasis on God and his plan for them, Jim Bob and Michelle also share some practical tips they have learned along the way.

Jim Bob tells of the important lessons he has learned on his business journey, placing emphasis on biblical ethics and scriptural character qualities that truly count. He also shares with us his struggles in fatherhood, and the versus and lessons that have helped him overcome them.

Michelle also offers some tips and tricks that she has learned as the mother of 18 children. She discusses discipline, potty training, and lots of information about home schooling.

I feel as if I have just spent a day in the Duggars livingroom listening to memories being shared. I can honestly walk away from this book saying that it offers up something valuable to almost any reader, regardless of age, status, or gender. I want to thank the Duggars for their heartfelt “story” and insight, and may God continue to guide and direct your (and your children’s) paths.

Lordship Salvation in a Nutshell

Lordship Salvation is misrepresented or misunderstood by many. It is often seen as a way to determine the salvation of others. This article from Grace to You should clear a few things up. You can read the rest of the article HERE.

The gospel that Jesus proclaimed was a call
to discipleship, a call to follow him in submissive
obedience, not just a plea to make a
decision or pray a prayer. Jesus’ message liberated
people from the bondage of their sin while it
confronted and condemned hypocrisy. It was an
offer of eternal life and forgiveness for repentant
sinners, but at the same time it was a
rebuke to outwardly religious people whose
lives were devoid of true righteousness. It put
sinners on notice that they must turn from sin
and embrace God’s righteousness.
Our Lord’s words about eternal life were invariably
accompanied by warnings to those who
might be tempted to take salvation lightly. He
taught that the cost of following him is high,
that the way is narrow and few find it. He said
many who call him Lord will be forbidden from
entering the kingdom of heaven (cf. Matt.
7:13-23).
Present-day evangelicalism, by and large,
ignores these warnings. The prevailing view of
what constitutes saving faith continues to grow
broader and more shallow, while the portrayal
of Christ in preaching and witnessing becomes
fuzzy. Anyone who claims to be a Christian can
find evangelicals willing to accept a profession
of faith, whether or not the person’s behavior
shows any evidence of commitment to Christ.
In this way, faith has become merely an
intellectual exercise. Instead of calling men
and women to surrender to Christ, modern
Lordship Salvation

The Distinctives series articulates key bibilical and
theological convictions of Grace Community Church.
evangelism asks them only to accept some basic
facts about Him.
This shallow understanding of salvation and the
gospel, known as “easy-believism,” stands in
stark contrast to what the Bible teaches. To put
it simply, the gospel call to faith presupposes
that sinners must repent of their sin and yield to
Christ’s authority. This, in a nutshell, is what is
commonly referred to as lordship salvation.

Reformation Promo

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v16043719KttexTbJ

What does it mean for God to Foreknow?

a quote from QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON ELECTION

In Romans 8:29, the text reads “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son…” Does this not therefore suggest that because foreknowledge comes before predestination in the text, then predestination is simply based on God’s foreknowledge: because God foreknows or sees in advance (with full and complete knowledge) what a person will do, and who it is that will respond in faith to the Gospel, He simply predestinates those whom He knows will believe?

Thanks for your question. Certainly this is how I understood this passage for many years and it is the way that many deal with the issue of predestination in our day. Previously, I also pointed to 1 Peter 1:1-2  which talks of those who are “chosen, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father…” and assumed that this verse would add weight to my argument that election and predestination is based on God knowing ahead of time what we will do.

At first glance, it certainly seems to be a legitimate interpretation, because as you pointed out, the word foreknew comes before predestination in the text of Romans 8:29. However, the fact that foreknowledge comes before predestination should in no way surprize us. That’s because God would need to foreknow a person He is going to predestinate to something. God does not predestinate unknown persons, but specific individuals whom He knows. So this not really an argument for either side in this debate. In both systems, foreknowing would need to come before predestination.

The real question then is “what exactly does it mean for God to foreknow somebody?”

Actually there are a number of problems with the interpretation you outline in your question, not the least of which is that scripture reveals very clearly, that left to himself, man will always choose against Christ, because of his hostile disposition to God. Man is dead spiritually, and needs his heart of stone to be removed and a heart of flesh put in before he has any interest in seeking the God of the Bible (Rom. 3:11; Rom. 8:7, 8; 1 Cor. 2:14). Outside of Christ, man is the enemy of God.

The interpretation also falls down because the word “foreknew” does not merely mean to know future actions beforehand. It has a much more precise meaning. The word “foreknew” (Greek: proginosko) in Romans 8:29 is a verb rather than a noun. It is an action word, and as the text informs us, it is something done by God.

What exactly does God do then? The text says that “those whom God foreknew…”

To gain a correct biblical definition of this word foreknew, rather than assume its meaning, (which is what many do) we need to do some homework and study. In this case it means we need to go to passages of scripture that have God as the subject of the verbal form (as here in this passage). This is because passages that have humans as the subject would differ substantially in their meaning from the ones where God is the subject, because, I am sure we will all agree, we as creatures “know” things on a very different basis to the way God does.

When we do this we find the verb proginosko is used three times in the New Testament with God as the subject – here in Romans 8:29, then also in Romans 11:2, and lastly in 1 Peter 1:20. This proves to be significant when we ask the question “what, or who is foreknown by God?”

In Romans 8:29, the direct object of the verb is a pronoun that refers back to the called of the previous verse (v. 28). In Romans 11:2 the object the verb is refering to is “His people,” and in 1 Peter 1:20, the object is Jesus Christ Himself.

Each reference then portrays God as foreknowing persons rather than actions. 1 Peter 1:20  says, “For He was foreknown before the foundation of the world, but has appeared in these last times for the sake of you.” When God foreknew Christ, did that mean that God simply knew that Jesus would make correct decisions or have faith in His Father? Hardly! It speaks of the Father’s personal intimacy and affection for His beloved Son.

To quote Dr. James White in this regard, “to say that God foreknows acts, faith, behavior, choices, etc, is to assume something about the term that is not witnessed in the biblical text. God foreknows persons not things.”

How does this relate to what we find in the Old Testament? Well there, we have a similar meaning to the word meaning of “forknew” in the New Testament. This is the Hebrew word “yada.” It refers in a number of instances to God’s “knowing” of individuals. For instance in Jeremiah 1:5, God said to Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Dr. White comments, “Here God’s knowledge of Jeremiah is clearly personal. It is paralleled with the term “consecrated” and “appointed,” pointing us toward the element of “choice.” This knowledge of Jeremiah is not limited to time. In some manner, God “knew” Jeremiah before Jeremiah came into existence.”

We see this same concept in God’s “knowing” of Moses. Exodus 33:17 – “The LORD said to Moses, “I will also do this thing of which you have spoken; for you have found favor in My sight and I have known you by name.” Again we see the personal nature of God’s knowing of an individual. This refers to a personal intimacy and affection God had for Moses in that he had found favor in the eyes of the Lord. God had chosen Moses to be a recipient of His tender mercy.

I’ll quote just one more passage where we see this word yada used to refer to God possessing a personal intimacy and affection. Amos 3:2 in speaking of Israel says, “You only have I chosen among all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

The NASB actually translates yada as “chosen,” here, and there is a very strong basis by way of context for this word to be translated in this way. Literally it says, “You (speaking of Israel) only have I known…” It should be obvious to us that God didn’t merely know about Israel, and possessed no such knowledge of other nations, nor that merely God knew the future actions of Israel, and didn’t know the future actions of the other nations. This “knowing” of Israel is deeply personal and intimate and speaks of God’s grace in choosing them to be His people for His Sovereign purposes alone. The word yada is used also in Genesis 4:1 when it says that Adam “knew” his wife Eve. The result of this “knowing” was a child, lets remember – revealing a deep personal relationship.

All this is important because it presents a consistent pattern: understanding how the verb is used in the New testament, along with these insights from the Old, provides a very strong basis for understanding what foreknew actually means.

Dr. White states, “When Paul says, “those whom He foreknew”  Paul is speaking about an action on God’s part that is just as solitary, just as God-centered, and just as personal as every other action in the string: God foreknows (chooses to enter into relationship with); God predestines; God calls; God justifies; God glorifies. From first to last it is God who is active, God who accomplishes all these things.”

Foreknew therefore does not merely suggest “a passive gathering of infallible knowledge of the future actions of free creatures” but rather reveals that from start to finish, salvation is a Divine accomplishment, for it is God and God alone who saves, to the praise of His glory alone.

To quote Dr. James Montgomery Boice in his comments on Romans 8:29, “those whom God foreknew…”, “the verse does not say that God foreknew what certain of his creatures would do. It is not talking about human actions at all. On the contrary, it is speaking entirely of God and of what God does. Each of these five terms is like that: God foreknew, God predestined, God called, God justified, God glorified. Besides, the object of the divine foreknowledge is not the actions of certain people but the people themselves. In this sense it can only mean that God has fixed a special attention upon them or loved them savingly.”

I believe this then is the scriptural answer to your question, but before we move on, lets also look at this from a logical perspective. Many believe in foreknowledge as you described in your question, but this position does not answer the challenge of what God knew from eternity.

What do I mean? Well, as John Hendryx has stated, “if God knew someone would choose hell even before He created them, then this was a fixed certainty (even before their creation), so why did God go ahead and create them?  It was obviously, in their view, still within His Providence that these people be lost… or if God already foreknew who would be saved then how can they continue to argue that He is trying to save every man?  Certainly God already knows who the persons will be, so why should He send the Holy Spirit to those He knows will reject him.”  Ultimately, when this view is subjected to scrutiny, it logically undermines the very position it is seeking to assert.

I’m not JUST a homemaker.

My official job title is the keeper at home. I feel it is my duty to care for my family and be at home with my children, seeking to raise them in the wisdom, instruction, and admonition of the Lord. But as much as my life as my job title fulfills; I am much more than a housewife.

I enjoy being a student of the scriptures. My husband and I have a passion for the Word of God and it’s contextual contents. We seek to know the truth as revealed to believers in the Bible.

Acts 17:11
Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.

I seek to be informed of the issues at hand in our country and world today; And when I approached the polls, I voted through my knowledge of the scriptures. I trust in God, that he knew the outcome of the 2008 elections before the foundations of the earth were laid, and that he has willed the present condition of our country to bring glory and honor to himself and bring about the revelations of the bible upon the earth.

On this earth and at this time I am many things. But in the end, I am one of God’s children. Let us seek the things of eternal value for ourselves and for our children, bringing Glory to God.

Reformation in Second Life

Are you in Second Life? There is a great need for the true gospel to be preached to the nations… without ever leaving the house. If you are a resident… find me in Second Life. My name is Seqoua Semyorka. If you aren’t yet a resident… let me know when you arrive and I will meet you! If I am not online.. search for “Christian Reformation” in the location search and meet some wonderful Christians with a desire for sharing the gospel.

Comment below if you are a resident or plan to join.