Taking the day off...Mostly

I have some more thoughts to share from the Old Testament books and period of time. I realized that I never closed the loop on idolatry, and I want to make this both concise and a complete overview of our process.  Lots of pieces in my head just now.  I will bring the cohesive version to you tomorrow.

Today I am battling a headache, reading with kiddos, paying bills, making turkey soup, and buying our tree (spoiler on where we landed on that point!
Genesis 3:14-19 The Lord God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat

all the days of your life. I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you.” And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you,‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;

thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
Through their disobedience Adam and Eve were cursed, banished from the perfect beautiful garden God had originally placed them in. Life cursed so much as to make even the ground difficult, childbirth painful ...But in the midst of God pronouncing the curses, He promises there will be a seed (offspring in this translation) which will crush the serpent's head even as the serpent bites at His heel. The serpent, the deceiver will be destroyed.  By the offspring of the woman, the curses will one day be reversed. Peace will once again reign.
Many long generations, building expectation, desperation as sin abounded and all suffered. The Israelites looked forward in expectation to a Savior. Then Christ was born into time, fully God yet fully man. With His death He paid the necessary price for all of mankind's sin. With His resurrection He gave us His righteousness that we can live as new creatures in Him.
Now, WE await His triumphant return. Many generations watching and waiting, desperate hearts as sin abounds and our very world suffers from it. And so with the followers of Christ for 2 millennia we join in saying,  'Come thou long expected Jesus!'

Here are some resources we are enjoying.
(Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with these companies or people. You may assume I enjoy their work, but they have no idea who I am. Further, I have no motivation in recommending them, other than for you to possibly enjoy and be edified by their work too.)

A daily Advent devotional. It can be sent to your inbox so you don't forget.http://ccca.biola.edu/advent/

A new album. Some familiar favorites (with slightly changed up, doctrinally enriched lyrics) and some new ones which are quickly becoming favorites here.
http://sovereigngracemusic.org/Albums/Prepare_Him_Room_Celebrating_the_Birth_of_Jesus_in_Song

A 20 minute walk thru the story of Christ's incarnation from the Book of Luke. Teacher R.C. Sproulhttp://www.ligonier.org/learn/series/christmas_story/

Old Testement Thoughts on Special Holidays (holy-days)

Where to begin? Arguments are made for the eschewing of all things "Christmas" based on the observation that there are many coincidences to ancient pagan ritual observances, and a passage in Jeremiah 10 (which is stretched a bit thin to argue against what we know as a Christmas tree). There are also appeals to the absence of such an observance by the primitive Christians. For a primer in these arguments try a Google search of, "should Christians celebrate Christmas". For my purposes, I chose to first determine if there was a Biblical case against the observance of Christmas, and if not, determine if there is value in this observance for Christians. The following passage is the one which has been rolling in my head as I have looked at this, "...making the BEST use of the time..."

Ephesians 5:15 -- Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Today's question is this- Can a Biblical case be made against the special observance of Christ's incarnation/birth? We'll stick to the Old Testament today and look at the New Testament tomorrow.

From the account of creation in Genesis, we see God setting aside a day:
Genesis 2:1-3  Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.
In Exodus He commands it's observance:
Exodus 20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.Leviticus 23, 24, and 25 are entire chapters of dates, times, and seasons. Special time set aside to God for various observances about Him & His character and our relationship to Him. We also see this in Numbers, chapters 28 and 29.

Clearly we can see the Bible supporting the idea of special days and observances. All of these Old Testament special days were instituted and commanded by God. There were to be observed in obedience to Him. We are reminded of this in 1Chronicles 23:30-31, and 2Chronicles 31:3  The observances are part of what is know as the Law. The law served to teach Israel the character of God, to point forward to Christ and the Cross, and to highlight for them (and us) our utter inability to keep the Law perfectly and thereby see our great need for a Savior. To sum up, the old testament shows God commanding special observances with purpose...to point us to Himself.

As a parenthetical comment...(As for that pesky passage in Jeremiah 10 I mentioned earlier...
Hear the word that the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:  “Learn not the way of the nations, nor be dismayed at the signs of the heavens  because the nations are dismayed at them,  for the customs of the peoples are vanity. A tree from the forest is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman.   They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails  so that it cannot move.    Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field,  and they cannot speak; they have to be carried, for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil,  neither is it in them to do good. (See also Isaiah 44:9-18) A plain reading would indicate it is referring to the crafting of an idol, and not the procurement of a tree to decorate the home. So don't carve up your Christmas tree into an idol or worship your tree, but every commentary I could locate made no connection of these passages to holiday decorations.   :)

Thoughts on Christmas Time...err Remembering Christ's Advent, (Lest We Forget)

I am praying and reading thru scripture in an attempt to have a thought out reason as to WHY (and also the HOW) we (our family) celebrates Christmas.  We have many friends who through prayerful consideration have dropped it all together...But, I feel, despite the obvious pagan roots in some (many) of the standard Christmas time observances, it is an important time of remembrance to keep. I believe there are essential doctrines of Christian faith and life which we stand to weaken or forget altogether if not to keep them before our minds, and teach them to our children with regularity. This season of Advent provides just such an impetus.

In the sense of engaging our culture I will keep referring to it as "Christmas", though at home we are transitioning to referring to it as remembering Christ's advent. I like to be very intentional in how I approach life, what I teach and model for my children and the underlying assumptions guiding my thoughts. I have many very fond memories of past Christmases, in all honesty it is one of my favorite times of year. Yes, I am the person with Christmas music playing long before Thanksgiving, and well into January. I desperately do not want to give Christmas up altogether... But It has been laid on my conscience to study, pray and be intentional in it. I have been thinking on this for a few months, jumbled bits and thoughts. There is finally enough cohesion to attempt to write a bit. :)

By means of a disclaimer, I am approaching this process from the perspective of a Christian, protestant, reformed. (that is awkwardly phrased, but keeps things in order :) ) Beyond that, I am mostly Augustinian, but I am still working thru some of my semi-Pelagian thought process hold overs. (Yes, this makes me Calvinist. No, the names truly don't matter they just provide a shorthand to tell you where I'm coming from.)

--Glory to God Alone-- 

I will be trying to post on this idea daily as I hash it out. I would love to hear your thoughts in this area too.

The root and descendant, & the founder and perfecter of our faith.
Isaiah 11:1 - There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.
Revelation 22:16 - “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
Hebrews 12:2 - looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Whole Broccoli Cheese Casserole

This new year finds us making some diet modifications.  These are primarily for our 2 year old Zachariah, though they extend to the rest of us at times too.  It is my goal that he not feel deprived by his restrictions or overly set apart by them.  For the most part removing gluten and all refined sugars from his diet is not particularly difficult.  The benefits have been nothing short of amazing, and by far outweigh the effort of rethinking and reworking our menus.
I am on the learning curve for creating with gluten free flours and starches. This is sometimes frustrating as I am quite proficient with wheat and whole wheat flours in making just about anything I can think of, and am pretty much at the point where I can make things without a recipe...just by feel and intuition.  Anyhow, I do feel a bit of grief at basically starting over entirely!

Tonight's dinner is broccoli cheese casserole. 
I long ago gave up the can of cream of mushroom soup in favor of making my own 'cream of xyz' soup base. I also am finding I can make a decent white sauce with my coconut flour AP mix.
'Cheese product' is not in my vocabulary nor shopping cart! 
We have not had white rice in the house for at least 3 years...hubby says he misses it occasionally.
So this is pretty close to as whole food as you can get.  I would love to have access to raw cheese and the financial means to purchase it, but for now the giant block of cheese from Costco will have to do.  With the 7 of us (5 hungry boys) we easily put away 6-8 lbs of cheese a month!

Here is my recipe
First the rice. I like Alton Brown's recipe for brown rice, it never has failed me. I always double it.

Preheat oven to 375. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 tablespoons of butter. Place 3 cups of short or medium grain brown rice in a 13X9 baking dish (an enameled dutch oven works great for this too) and carefully pour in the very hot water/salt/butter mixture. Cover tightly with foil or another lid. Bake at 375 for about 1hr, then remove and let stand for 10 minutes before fluffing.

Next, the broccoli.
In the same pot you boiled your water in for the rice, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  Blanch 4 cups cut up broccoli, drain and put on top of the finished rice.


Now the sauce.
This is a mix I make ahead of time and keep in the freezer with my other GF mixes.
Here is the recipe for the mix 
2 c. instant non-fat dry milk
2 tbsp. onion flakes

1 tsp. basil and thyme

1/4 c. chicken bouillon  (I leave this one out as very nearly all bouillons have gluten and or MSG)

3/4 c. cornstarch

1/2 tsp. pepper

This makes 3 cups dry equal to 9 cans of soup. Mix thoroughly and store in cool dry place.

To replace one can soup add 1/3 cup mix with 1 1/4 cup water  (I use homemade stock or broth here because of having left out the bouillon). You can add celery or broccoli for cream of celery soup same for mushroom soup. Heat until thick as soup. 

For tonight's recipe I use 2/3 cup of mix and 3 cups of stock, and salt to taste. I make this up in the same pot I used for the water and broccoli.
Pour over the broccoli and rice in the 13X9 pan

 

Cheese, glorious cheese!
Shred approx. 1/2 lb of sharp cheddar, and top the casserole.

Bake at 325-350 for 25-30 minutes until all hot and bubbly. Let it sit 10 minutes while you set the table and then call  your family to dinner. :)

 

 

 

 

About my blog...

I must author the most neglected blog in the history of blogging.  It is helpful for me to write...so why don't I do it more?  Probably the same reasons I don't get to shower more! Ha, ha, ha!!
The baby I last posted about being pregnant with, he just turned one! We've moved from the desert of Southern California to the Gorge area of Southern Washington.  And there have been dozens of smaller changes along the way too.  I hope to be better about this blog in the future...but I've said that before, so we'll see. With 5 boys, and one of them as busy a 5 boys all by himself, life dosen't allow much time for reflection and typing! :)

I pray anyone reading this had a lovely Christmas and will enjoy a blessed new year.

The pink line.

I had weird indigestion last night..kind of like when I am pregnant.  I've been on the mini-pill since 6 weeks post-partum, so I tried to shrug it off.  I couldn't shake the feeling though, so I dug a DollarTree pregnancy test out of the cabinet and took the test this morning... I'm PREGNANT!?!?!!!!   Barely 8 months postpartum and pregnant!  ...babies 16.5 months apart!  I am shocked and in awe, and VERY happy. 
Definitely much sooner than I would have planned, but it's Gods deal not mine.  The giving (and taking, as I also have experienced) are His job alone and not mine to fret over.  Pregnant for the 12th time, but with only 4 earth babies.  I have lost 7, burying 2 of them.  Pregnancy holds no illusion of certainty for me.  I know pregnancy can end early leaving no lasting mark except on my heart, I know it can end later and nearly take my life in the process, and I know that sometimes, sometimes...I get to have a baby to hold at the end of it all.  The odds are obviously against me, but again, it is God's thing and not about odds.

A miracle has taken place in me, there is a life in there, and while I pray that God will continue to preform miracles and bring this pregnancy to fruition with a healthy baby, my bigger prayer is that HE will be glorified no matter what the outcome.  I am amazed at His handiwork, and I dearly want to hold this baby, but I will praise and thank the God who started this life even if it is lost. 

No matter what, STILL I will praise you Lord.  Please help my faith in you be greater than my fear of loss.  Please keep my heart quiet and filled with joy.

Soooo, it's been a REALLY long time!!! Here is a quick catch up.

Yes, we killed the rooster and had a lovely coc a vin. The buff chicks are all laying beautiful eggs now.
Son two turned 6! I turned... well never mind.
I landed in L&D with preterm labor at 26 weeks, things settled down and I went home. Diagnosed mild gestational diabetes at 28 weeks. Landed back in L&D at 31.5 weeks and stayed there for a while as they worked to stop labor again. Those steroid shots REALLY mess with your blood sugar! Diagnosis of pre eclampsia and failing placenta at 36.5 weeks.

And one last trip to labor and delivery at 37 weeks and 6 days, an induction for pre-eclampsia. After a labor as long as all of my other labors combined, and shoulders that got stuck, in the wee hours of morning, July 13th, Zachariah (my fourth son ) joined us earthside!  God is so gracious!

 And then we actually got to take him home!!!!

Son three turned 3!

We started our school year. I now teach third grade, first grade, and pre-K.
Our garden was a moderate success until some beetles decided it looked like a smorgasbord!!!
We celebrated our anniversary in Big Bear.
We finally were able to bury Providence, a daughter I/we lost in 2009.
I bought new hiking boots!!!! and started hiking again.
We had a happy Halloween.

AND,
We went camping at the coast.

I promise to try to be better with this blogging thing in the future! :)