The Girl I Used To Be

She came tonight as I sat alone,
The girl I used to be.
She gazed at me with her earnest eye
And questioned me reproachfully.

"Have you forgotten the many plans,
The hopes that were held for you;
The great career, the splendid fame,
And the wonderful things to do?"
"Where is your mansion of stately height,
With its gardens surpassing fair?"
The silken robe that was planned for you
And the jewels for your hair."
And as she talked I was very said,
For I wanted her pleased with me,
This slender girl from the shadowy past,
The girl I used to be.
Then gently arising I took her hand
And guided her up the stair
Where peacefully my babies lay
Innocent, sweet and fair.

I told her that they were my only gems,
And precious they are to me;
That my silken robe is motherhood
Of happy simplicity;
That my mansion of stately height is love,
And the only career I know
Is serving each day within sheltering walls
The dear ones who need me so.
And as I spoke to my shadowy guest,
She smiled through her tears that me--
For I saw that the woman I am now
Pleased the girl I used to be.
~Author unknown 

Christmas Day

"His name shall be called Emmanuel...God with us." (Matt. 1:23)
"The Prince of Peace." (Isa. 9:6).

"There's a song in the air!

There's a star in the sky!

There's a mother's deep prayer,

And a baby's low cry!

And the star rains its fire

While the beautiful sing,

For the manger of Bethlehem cradles a King."

A few years ago a striking Christmas card was published, with the title, "If Christ had not come." It was founded upon our Savior's words, "If I had not come." The card represented a clergyman falling into a short sleep in his study on Christmas morning  and dreaming of a world into which Jesus had never come.

In dream he found himself looking through his home, but there were no little stockings in the chimney corner, no Christmas bells of wreaths of holly, and no Christ to comfort, gladden and save. He walked out on the public street, but there was no church with its spire pointing to Heaven. He came back and sat down in his library, but every book about the Savior had disappeared.

A ring at the door-bell, and a messenger asked him to visit a poor dying mother. He hasted with the weeping child and as he reached the home he sat down and said, "I have something here that will comfort you." He opened his Bible to look for the familiar promise, but it ended at Malachi, and there was no gospel and no promise of hope and salvation, and he could only bow his head and weep with her in bitter despair.

Two days afterward he stood beside her coffin and conducted the funeral service, but there was no message of consolation, no word of a glorious resurrection, no open Heaven, but only "dust to dust, ashes to ashes," and one long eternal farewell. He realized at length that "He had not come," and burst into tears and bitter weeping in his sorrowful dream. 

Suddenly he woke with a start, and a great shout of joy and praise burst from his lips as he heard his choir singing in his church close by:

"O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant,

O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem;

Come and behold Him. born the King of Angels,

O come let us adore Him, Christ, the Lord."

Let us be glad and rejoice today, because "He has come." And let us remember the annunciation of the angel, Behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people, for unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10,11.)

"He comes to make His blessings flow,

Far as the curse is found." 

May our hearts go out to the people in heathen lands who have no blessed Christmas day. "Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and SEND PORTIONS TO THEM FOR WHOM NOTHING IS PREPARED." (Neh. 8:10.)

"How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"

"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man have been born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)
This verse is in answer to a question. The first word of Jesus to Nicodemus in a word that brings a question. The true teacher seeks to provoke activity of mind and curiosity in the learner. The question is certainly a most absurd one, but Nicodemus had no time to prepare a sensible answer. It is easy for us to be wise over the introductory declaration of Jesus, because we look at it with plenty of illustrations and explanations shining upon it. But Nicodemus, in all his previous thinking, had nothing to make him expect Jesus would speak; and so it is little wonder to find him staggered, confused, utterly bewildered, to hear Jesus speaking thus calmly of such a wondrous  experience. The question, however absurd, leads on to a piece of most practical information.
We are not to suppose that being born over again means to live natural life over again. Few would care for that, traveling over the old road, meeting the old difficulties, fighting the old battles. Jesus explains that to be born again is to be born of water and of Spirit. Being born of water means  passing through the experience  of repentance. The true disciple of John the Baptist was born of water. He repented changed from his old view of life, manifested that changed view by changed habits and practices, and, for sign of all this, he was baptized with water.
Being born of water takes us only a small way into the regeneration. Must follow the discipleship of John with Jesus. You may cease to care for the old, and yet have not found your way to possession of the new. The only creature worth calling  such is the new creature in Christ Jesus. You must feel in your heart the warmth of Him who has eternal life. By repentance, old things pass away; by spiritual birth, all things become new. The spiritual man looks on a virtually new world. The precious becomes worthless, and the worthless precious--the once neglected  is sought for, and the once sought for is neglected.

An Argument Against Genetic Manipulation

Today we have a society influenced more by humanism, materialism and moral relativism than by religious or ethical convictions, but we must realize that the possibilities of genetic manipulation are profound. With such awesome technological discovery (consider the clone “Dolly” the sheep), there comes dramatic potential for significant abuse. As such, we need to keep a careful eye on “science” and continually remind ourselves that technology is not the supreme authority, or the cure for advancing or improving upon all of human life.


First of all, the risks involved in genetic manipulation concerns not only the individual undergoing gene therapy, but also the offspring. The price to be paid for any mishaps would be too high, since these would be hereditary and transmitted from one generation to the next.

The threat of power over others creates another argument against genetic manipulation. Most parents consciously choose to have children, and some try to influence the development of their child in utero. All parents exercise authority over their children after birth and use the authority to educate and develop their children. This use of parental authority is natural. But genetic manipulation gives a person absolute dominion over the existence of another. The genetic material will be what the person’s intelligence and appearance and special skills will be—all this would be determined by another person. Again, if people can have this kind of power over others, then the quality clause is just empty words from a quaint past. Those who genetically manipulate would be seen as “God-like.” The calling into existence of a precisely specified new person is an exercise in apparent human omnipotence.

According to Jeremy Rifkin, who is president of the Foundation on Economic Trends, genetic engineering weakens the authenticity of the genetically modified person’s accomplishments. It holds that the engineered person’s abilities and talents are no longer his or her own, that these accomplishments are because of the alteration.

In Leonard Pitt’s article, “A Risk Free Life,” he argues that the dangers that come with this kind of control over life are denying one of life’s most basic truths. He acknowledges that he does not know what he would have done if placed in a situation where he could use genetic manipulation to clear away a danger. Pitt argues, however, that people who seek this sort of power will abuse it to alter, arrange, pick and choose their children like a “meal in a take-out restaurant.”

Genetic alteration treats humans as products that must be designed, perfected, and controlled; they are viewed as commodities, no longer gifts. Genetic engineering is a problem because it tries to remake nature, besides human nature, to serve purposes and satisfy desires.

The problem with biotechnology is that there is a distinct beginning but has no clear end. Cell by cell, tissue by tissue, organ by organ, we might willingly surrender our personhood in the market place. In the process, each loss will be compensated for with a perceived gain until there is little left to exchange. It is at this point the case of our agreement become apparent. But is also at that point that we may no longer possess the very thing we were so anxious to enrich: our humanity. In the decades to come, we humans might well barter ourselves away, one gene at a time, in exchange for some measure of temporary well-being. In the end, the personal and collective security we fought so long and hard to preserve may well be irreversibly compromised in pursuit of our engineered perfection.

A Secular Argument Against Homexual Marriage

Homosexual Marriage

            Nature and Creation have defined marriage as the union of man and woman for the purpose of conceiving children. With rare exception, life is perpetuated by man and woman. In the natural world there are a male and a female: while the female guard the clutch of eggs, the male is searching for food. This distinction between man’s masculinity and woman’s femininity extends beyond autonomy—they are equal as human beings but different as man and woman, each fulfilling their natural difference. This natural distinction makes man and woman complementary partners for the commitment involved in the structure of marriage. Traditional marriage presents the foundation to establishing the perfect family unit in the home.

The natural design has been questioned far too much in society today, the consequence of which has been a low estimate of marriage. For several reasons homosexual marriage contradicts the nature of marriage: it is not based on the complementary union of man and woman, and the purpose in a natural marriage cannot be achieved in a homosexual union.

             Our Founding Founders would never have supported same-sex marriage, Thomas Jefferson said that homosexuality “should be punished, if a man, by castration, if a woman, by cutting through the cartilage of her nose a hole of one-half inch in diameter at least.” As a secular argument, homosexual marriage has been a debate on equal rights rather than legal rights. Such a treatment is erroneous because state recognition of marriage is not a universal right. Homosexuals are not the only people denied the right to marry the person of their choosing. Roughly half the states prohibit first cousins from marrying, and in all states it is illegal to marry more than one person (Kolasinski, 2004). Homosexual relationships do nothing to serve the peoples interest of a stable and self-perpetuating propagating society. Homosexual couples cannot biologically conceive children, such a fact justifying the laws which forbid their marriages (Vermont House and Senate Judiciary, 2000.) Homosexual marriages would have to prove what state interest these marriages might serve if it were to be legalized (Kolasinski, 2004). So far, no proof has been met.

Many argue that homosexuals are capable of creating “artificial insemination,” so the state has declared interest in legalizing lesbian marriage. Even so, a homosexual union cannot supply both the male and female roles of mother and father which have been proven to be critical to the healthy development of a child (Adam, 2004). It is so essential for a child to be nurtured by both sexes if they are to learn to function in a society made of both sexes.

 The most harmful damage homosexual marriage presents is the legalization of sexual love. If the state must recognize the marriage between two men because they “love” each other, then the state could not logically deny the recognition of any other marital union. If, to the state, the primary purpose of marriage is reproduction, the question of legalizing homosexual marriage is answered. If sexual love is become the primary purpose, the restriction of marriage looses its logical base, leading to marital chaos.

Why is the Homeschool Movement Rising?

            Homeschooling is not a new idea—it is the restoration of an old and successful idea. It is not only a return to effective, parent-directed education—but for some it is part of a moral and spiritual reformation.

From the founding of this country by the Pilgrims in 1620 to the mid-1800’s, most of the early education provided took place at the home with the parents, pastor, or a tutor providing the instruction. In colonial America, home education provided a complete education of children, making them both literate and self-sufficient, and also prepared those who wanted to proceed to grammar schools or college (Klicka, 2002). As a result of home education and private grammar schools, the overall literacy in the first hundred years of our country was much higher than it is today. John Adams said “a native of America, especially of New England, who cannot read and write is as rare a Phenomenon [sic] as a comet” (Butterfield, 1961).

It wasn’t until the early 1900s when the public schools were formed and attendance laws were passed that homeschooling nearly died out (Klicka, 2002). Some believe this change to state education began a decline in American education.

However, homeschooling has grown significantly since the 1970’s in the USA. The modern homeschool movement is making an exodus from “conventional” or “standardized” schooling to return to the traditional, individualized home instruction. In the spring of 2007 1.5 million students were being homeschooled (National Home Education Research Institute, 2010). Since 2007 there has been a steady eight percent increase in the homeschool movement every year until there are now over two million homeschool students. Some possible reasons for the homeschool trend include religious/moral convictions of the parents, dissatisfaction with academic standards, and the school environment (U.S. Department of Education, 2008).

Many believe homeschooling is particularly attractive as an adjunct of spiritual and moral education where children are carefully trained in God’s Word to not only think but live as Christians. According to the U.S. Department of Education, a significant amount in the movement (eighty-three percent) educates at home for religious and moral reasons. The public schools have practically removed all references to religion and prayer, in effect removing traditional teaching and standards, substituting a “sanitized” secular education. When prayer was removed from the schools in 1962, the public schools experienced a terrible decline. Statistics from 1962 show SAT scores suddenly plummeting—teen pregnancies, teen suicides, teen alcohol and drug abuse, teen sexual diseases, use of pornography among students, and illiteracy rates suddenly increased between 200 and 300 percent (Barton, 1988).  This situation would certainly be a reason for parents with religious convictions not to use the public schools.

The academic failure in the public schools is also one of the reasons parents are not choosing the public school system. Most of the areas of academic decline have been in math, reading skills, logic, and the ability to draw inferences. The textbooks, used by the public schools, contain numerous errors and lack content. For example, Texas Board of Education was ready to receive new history textbooks when two individuals announced they had found two-hundred and thirty one obvious historical errors (Graves, 1991). While there are many fine public school teachers, many are incompetent and lack training. Teachers’ colleges and universities do not teach knowledge but rather four years of methods. Poor training is apparent in the low standards set by many states to be certified to teach. For instance, the educational exams used by some states require a score of only thirty-five percent for math certification (Klicka, 2002)—this type of score would cause a student to fail an exam who was studying this subject. According to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, public schools teachers are more likely to send their children to a private school than any other group (Doyle, 2004). On the other hand, modern American culture must take its share of the blame for the academic failure in the public schools.  Teachers cannot be expected to succeed where they are undermined by the system in which they work or the home environment of the student. The public school product is not prepared for college or the business world. Colleges have had to simplify their courses and standards in order to admit public school graduates.

Many choose homeschooling (eighty-eight percent) out of concern over the public school environment (U.S. Department of Education, 2010). In 1940 the top discipline offenses, according to educators, were: talking, chewing gum, making noise, running in the halls, getting out of turn in line, wearing improper clothing, and not putting paper in wastebaskets. By 1982 the top disciplinary offenses had become rape, assault, robbery, burglary, arson, bombings, murder, suicide, absenteeism, vandalism, extortion, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, gang warfare, pregnancies, abortions, and venereal diseases (USA Today, 1985). Parents wishing to provide a safe environment for children and youth may elect to homeschool rather than expose their children to the violence in the public schools.

As the schools continue to fail, parents are beginning to realize the dangers of sending their kids to public school. Homeschool parents are realizing that they can do a better job in educating their kids—and they are doing just that. Homeschooling is an option that is available to parents if they are seriously committed to educating and teaching their children in traditional, biblical values America was founded on. If kids are not taken out of the failing public school system, America is likely to loose a generation of children.

She Looketh Well to the Ways of Her Household

I know some believe happy children are netter than clean homes. Very true!!! But at the same time we must realize an unclean home makes for an unhappy family.
So how can we battle a messy home? It is always so pleasant to walk into a home where it shows someone cares to clean up.
If we clean a table--we will find it to look so much more peaceful, for cleaned homes DO look peaceful. Disorder and clutter make one feel tired and exhausted--it may be strange, but filth does not weary one as much as clutter!
So one does not start cleaning up by using a broom and mop--but from de-cluttering. Only leave what would be on the counters and clear everything else...it will leave a much more peaceful looking area. The floors, walls, closets, cupboards--DE-JUNK! Determine to get rid of 3/4 of your cluttered contents.
The order given to others in your home gives a peace in others. You can admire and respect the other women who keep things neat, clean, and happy.
So children do not tire of messes--they get used to it. Simply developing a habit of reducing clutter is the training we need that will help us and our children to become dissatisfied living in clutter.
Most of all, however, we must remember our home is for the family, not to show. We cannot keep counters perfect all the time--we can only do our best with the strength God has given us, which is all that is required.
A cluttered home is no disgrace--it only becomes that when you are willing to let it remain that way for days at a time.
"Until the pain to remain the same exceeds the pain to change, we'll remain the same."