Wednesday, September 29, 2004
Tuesday, September 28, 2004
"If You Love Me, You Will Love the Church"
Since I bit the whole "objectivity of the covenant" bullet, I've had a quite different view of the church. (I guess reading Against Christianity also helped.) A couple things recently reminded me of some of the things I was thinking about back then, and some new thoughts spurned as well.
John Kerry, George Bush and Michael Peroutka are all Christians. To my knowledge, they all attend worship services with some regularity (unlike, say, Reagan.) I honestly believe that there is no "Christian candidate." I am a political Augustinian, at least pragmatically in this age. As long as Christians are not getting persecuted, I'm going to be okay with the result of this election. I thrived in the Clinton years. My citizenship is ultimately in heaven, and that's what's most important. I do vote -- even in primaries and odd year elections. I think it's wise to not let others control the government without your voice. But, even as a postmillenialist, I think this nation will not be truly Christian in a theonomic sense for quite some time. And that's okay. Thanks be to God, we have freedom to worship, to educate our children the ways we think best, we have freedom of speech. I'm longing for the heavenly city, but I'm glad to sojourn in such a place as this.
John Kerry, George Bush and Michael Peroutka are all Christians. To my knowledge, they all attend worship services with some regularity (unlike, say, Reagan.) I honestly believe that there is no "Christian candidate." I am a political Augustinian, at least pragmatically in this age. As long as Christians are not getting persecuted, I'm going to be okay with the result of this election. I thrived in the Clinton years. My citizenship is ultimately in heaven, and that's what's most important. I do vote -- even in primaries and odd year elections. I think it's wise to not let others control the government without your voice. But, even as a postmillenialist, I think this nation will not be truly Christian in a theonomic sense for quite some time. And that's okay. Thanks be to God, we have freedom to worship, to educate our children the ways we think best, we have freedom of speech. I'm longing for the heavenly city, but I'm glad to sojourn in such a place as this.
Monday, September 27, 2004
Very Blessed
Sometimes, I get a little down about things like not having living room furniture. I convince myself that my life would be exponentially better if I had comfy seating for six or so. I think, "Woe is me! I cannot show proper hospitality! I do not have the furniture!" And then I get mopey about the state of my life.
Then I hear about a dear friend's brother and sister-in-law, who lost their first baby at four months last year to a rare genetic disorder. They thought their baby born this summer had been spared, but have just discovered that she is dying also. Suddenly, that living room furniture doesn't seem so important anymore. It's pathetic that I need babies dying to convince me that I am very blessed.
And, please pray for this little family, that God would comfort them in the midst of these overwhelming losses.
Then I hear about a dear friend's brother and sister-in-law, who lost their first baby at four months last year to a rare genetic disorder. They thought their baby born this summer had been spared, but have just discovered that she is dying also. Suddenly, that living room furniture doesn't seem so important anymore. It's pathetic that I need babies dying to convince me that I am very blessed.
And, please pray for this little family, that God would comfort them in the midst of these overwhelming losses.
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Thanks
Thanks everyone for your advice on the previous post! I promise to try to make subsequent posts less exclusive in nature.
Ummm... I mean this in the humblest way possible, but can someone explain to me the rationale behind voting for a third party candidate in a two-party system?
Ummm... I mean this in the humblest way possible, but can someone explain to me the rationale behind voting for a third party candidate in a two-party system?
Saturday, September 18, 2004
*help!* (breastfeeding stuff)
So, I am really getting a bit frustrated with breastfeeding. During the month of August I got mastitis not once, but twice. (The antibiotics, of course, led to thrush, etc.) The culprit was the same plugged duct, which has been plugged again for the last 10 days. I have tried EVERYTHING (nursing every possible way, pin, lecithin etc.) and it won't come unplugged. Argh. Also, Kate often gets frantic in the middle of feedings, while she is latched on. It's not every feeding, but particularly in the evening. I've found that when I pump at that time, I get really watery milk. Do I have oversupply and foremilk/hindmilk issues? (Stool is very green, often watery). Thanks!
Thursday, September 16, 2004
*sigh*
So, yeah, after the DSL fiasco, now the dial-up we signed up for ceased working. The last several posts have been from my parents house or the library. I haven't been able to send email from Outlook sinced we moved, so I haven't even sent out a "here's our new address and phone number" email. It's more than a little frustrating. I wish we could afford the >$60/month for cable internet. I'm really enjoying Richmond, but it's hard to be in a new place and to feel so disconnected from friends. I'm literally tearing up in the library now, so I better stop writing such a "woe is Kristen" post.
On to the happy things -- Kate is more fun all the time. She really enjoys reading. Her favorite book by far is _Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?_. It's really cute! She gets her first shots tomorrow. I'm glad she can see the doctor again, since it's been almost 8 weeks. We'll try to check in as the opportunity presents itself. I know our blog has totally digressed to only family updates, but that's what you get when we don't have internet access at home :o/
On to the happy things -- Kate is more fun all the time. She really enjoys reading. Her favorite book by far is _Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?_. It's really cute! She gets her first shots tomorrow. I'm glad she can see the doctor again, since it's been almost 8 weeks. We'll try to check in as the opportunity presents itself. I know our blog has totally digressed to only family updates, but that's what you get when we don't have internet access at home :o/
Saturday, September 11, 2004
Lord Peter
It all started when Mike picked up the Lord Peter complete short stories volume we have after we unpacked our books. Obviously, we are now racing through the Dorothy Sayers LPW mysteries. They are so fun! I've never read them before, and am reading them all (including the short stories) in chronological order. We have seen some of the movies, and I recommend the Edward Petherbridge BBC versions. They are top-notch. Also, we are taking applications for Bunters. We don't want just a butler, we want a Bunter.
Friday, September 10, 2004
IDMA THG
I have consulted with several other people about this, so I know it's not just my own conclusion:
Virginia has more personalized license plates than any other state.
About 15-20% of the cars on the road have personalized license plates. Some are more clever than others. Some are so cryptic, I worry about rear ending them while pondering the great meaning of their plate.
Virginia has more personalized license plates than any other state.
About 15-20% of the cars on the road have personalized license plates. Some are more clever than others. Some are so cryptic, I worry about rear ending them while pondering the great meaning of their plate.
Monday, September 06, 2004
Sewing
My parents and siblings came up today to surprise me for my birthday (a day late) which was really nice. My parents bought me this sewing machine for my birthday! I need to make sure that it can handle bottomweights and other heavy fabrics well (as they comprise most of what I envision sewing in the near future) so I decided to carefully open it and try it out. Easier said than done! I have no clue how to use a sewing machine. After following the instructions as carefully as I could, I still didn't get it. As soon as I tried to sew, the thread broke. I need a sewing mentor!