Thirty Days hath September. . .

April, June and November!

That means we have two more days. . . Until July.

Summer is passing. . .

But we are enjoying it!

Hope you are all having a great summery day.

By Raggio

Although the LORD sentenced His people to seventy years in Babylon, He promised they would
return home. God would send Medo-Persians to overthrow Babylon, and Israel would again seek the LORD.

Jeremiah 50:4 - "In those days, and in that time, saith the LORD, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the LORD their God. They shall ask the way to Zion with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten."

~Sunny Home~

Long Live My Father

If you had not mentioned fathers day, I would not have given a thought to it or whether or not anyone contacted me.

Such conjured-up days give opportunities for trouble, hard feelings, depression, raking up of old oversites, and self degeneration.

Holiday is the old word for holy day.

Holy days are for remembering God not men.

That is why they are (were) called holy.

Further, when holy days were first called holy days the word holy carried the idea of making somebody whole, that is, giving back to (in this case) to God that which was taken from him.

Further, as to men, "wholesome" means health. To be made whole is to be restored to health. The latin is salutory, meaning wholesome or health. Thus when the Paul says "salute the brethern," he means to wish them health.

But here is father's day nonetheless; we should wish our father's good health. Long live my father.

-Brent Allan Winters

A Statement of Faith

Charles Carleton Coffin, Author
Journalist, (Civil War Correspondent), Popular Lecturer, (1823-1896)

I accept the Bible because it contains, immeasurably beyond all other books, moral precepts which are the rules of all right conduct; because it is the foundation of all just government; because it tells the truth about men; because its spiritual teachings satisfy the longings of my heart, giving me joy, peace, comfort, rest, and hope of a better and larger life beyond the present.
I regard Jesus Christ as God in human form; as revealing the character of God to the human race. All my conceptions of justice, righteousness, goodness, truth, love, compassion, tenderness, forgiveness, all moral qualities and holy affections are found in Him. Through Him my fellow men become my brothers, and we all may come into sweet and holy relations with the Father, and enjoy ineffable spiritual blessedness.
I believe in Jesus Christ as my Saviour, Redeemer, Brother, and best Friend. All history centers around Him. He is the life and light of the world-the One absolutely perfect human being of all time-stainless and immaculate in everything. His teachings, if followed, will settle all disputes between man and man- between indvidual and nations alike; will banish misery and woe, and make the world a paradise of happiness. I accept Him for what He claimed to be -- the Son of God and the Son of Man.

(This statement of faith is printed in "The Boys of '76 A History of the Battles of the Revolution. It is on the page facing "A Note From the Publisher."

Random Quotes

When I am tired and need a break from studying I have found Great Quotations That Shaped the Western World a relaxing read. Below are some random quotes that I came across last night.

Ardant Du Picq

(French Colonel who wrote Battle Studies (1880))
"Discipline cannot be secured or created in a day. It is an institution, a tradition."

Blaise Pascal

(French, philosopher and mathematician, who discovered probability theory)
"Cleopatra's nose, had it been shorter, the whole face of the world would have been changed."

"The heart has reason's which reason knows nothing of."

"The best function of reason is to recognize that there is an infinity of things which surpass it."

Sir Winston Churchill

(English, prime minister)
"I think "No comment" is a splendid expression. I am using it again and again. I got it from Summer Wells."

"The Germans combine in the most deadly manner the qualities of the warrior and slave."

I asked my Grandma what was so interesting about Churchill. Her response, "Now that would be an interesting study. He was what the Bible would call a double -minded man, you know, who is unstable in all his ways. Sometimes he made the most brilliant of decisions, others, the most stupid. He seemed to be proud of his own mind." I found her take amusing and interesting as she was a contemporary of Churchill and watched the same world events occur (albeit from a distance).

My take on Churchill is this, He was a man out to make a name for himself (In Genesis we are told that the people who were building the tower of Babel were out to make a name for themselves) perhaps because he feared oblivion. He had a passion to advance the British Empire and he saw that the underlying foundation of Christian beliefs were the bedrock that made England great. In any case I do believe he is an interesting study.

Richard Rumbold

(Scottish, Puritan Solder. These were his last words on the scaffold)
"I never would believe that Providence had sent a few men into the world, ready booted and spurred to ride, and millions ready saddled and bridled to be ridden"

Christy's Birthday

Christy had a birthday May 16th. She is twenty-years-old! Happy birthday Christy:)

Christy is a nursing student, and a CNA.

She can play the upright base and is an accomplished pianist.

She loves to clean and make jewelry. And she (along with Joy) can tell the funniest stories.

We love you Christy!

Time for study (but I am blogging instead)

"I have made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it it short"

- Blaise Pascal

I have a huge amount of studying to accomplish and am going to run six miles tonight, but I can't relax so I decided to post here first. I was re-reading some of Lewis Carroll's, "Through the Looking Glass." When I was little we had an illustrated copy of "Through the Looking Glass." The pictures in it were so graphic that as a child I used to pour over them again and again. The personalities were so perplexing to me. (the Walrus and the Carpenter). There was one particular section that always horrified my sister and I-- it was the part where the Walrus and the Carpenter were crying for the oysters they were going to eat. Here is the part:

" I weep for you, "the Walrus said:

"I deeply sympathise."

With sobs and tears he sorted out Those of the largest size,

Holding his pocket-handkerchief

Before his streaming eyes.

Then here is Alice's response.

"I like the Walrus best, "said Alice:

"because he was a little worried for the poor oysters."

"He ate more than the Carpenter,

though," said Tweedledee. . .

"That was mean!" Alice said indignantly.

"Then I like the Carpenter best -- if he didn't eat as many as the Walrus."

But he ate as many as he could get,"

said Tweedledum.

There was also a picture toward the end of the book of a winged dragonish monster that was perpetually weeping and sad. I hated it. He was always crying. It is fun to go back over them. I am a sucker for children's books especially classics. :)

PS: I am currently studying the Law Code of Hammurabi and of ancient near eastern civilizations. Interesting fact. We have never found a law code for Egypt.

Random: Spring 2011

Written Record

Last night I was laying in bed thinking about this passage.

On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king. And it was found written, that Mordecai had told of Bigthana and Teresh, two of the king's chamberlains, the keepers of the door, who sought to lay hand on the king Ahasuerus. And the king said, What honour and dignity hath been done to Mordecai for this? Then said the king's servants that ministered unto him, There is nothing done for him.

-Esther 6:1-3-

“It is not deeds or acts that last: it is the written record of those deeds and acts”

-Elbert Hubbard (1856-1915)-

Verse one, when I was little, always surprised me. It still does somewhat. I was like, "the king had to keep a special book of good things, that happened to him, because he could not remember?" And the words! "Book of Records" "Chronicles." It sounded special. It had a place. But it is true. Especially if you are in a position of prominence, authority, however small, you have too much on your mind. Things to accomplish and complete. Deadlines and appointments. Commitments. Goals. You cannot possibly remember everything. You are expected too and you should.

"But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

-Luke 12:48-

Sometimes writing things and thoughts down creates the permanent mental note but not always. Some people are really good at just mental notes. But, no one is really perfect at this. Only God can keep perfect complete order and mental memory of everything.

Everyone writes different things down. We write personal dictations to ourselves to not forget certain things. We write lists and memos. Ideas and thoughts. Assessments and conclusions. Memories and expressions. Observations and deductions. Our wants. Desires. Needs. Longings. All these things are about us. Self. It is not bad but it is one-tracked and than we can become blinded to important happenings about and around us that involve us.

Have you ever recorded your blessings? Things that others have done for you? Written down the answers to prayers you have prayed?

I have to write things down, I do not want to forget certain things, and I want to ask Him about different thoughts I have. If I do not I can become bogged down with things that are important but I do not need to be dwelling on them that much.

Many, O LORD my God, are Thy wonderful works which Thou hast done, and Thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto Thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

-Psalm 40:5-

He knows your thoughts and needs before you even think them and ask Him. (Psalm 139:1-18, Matthew 6:32).

How precious also are Thy thoughts unto me, O God! How great is the sum of them.

-Psalm 139:17-

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

-Jeremiah 29:11-

God has thoughts of us all the time. We are unaware of it. We do not think about it because we are not thinking about Him.

Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.

-Proverbs 16:3-

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither.

-Psalm 1:1-3-

How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

-Psalm 119:9-

God's revealing of His thoughts and testament toward us is His recorded Scripture.

"The grass withers, the flower fades, but the Word of our God stands forever."

-Isaiah 40:8-

Every Word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

-Proverbs 30:5-

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.

-I Corinthians 2:9-

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall."

-Matthew 7:24-27-

(This was written by one of the sisters who loves to write her thoughts in organized collections of musings).