Two Proud Marines!

This picture was taken at the U. S. Marine Corps "Birthday Ball" in 1999, in Okinawa, Japan. (She is my daughter) More pictures of this wonderful family here.

Ready, Set, ... Chew!

From Tricia Deaton (my daughter):

"SO much has happened this year. On this side of the fire, I am so thankful to have gone through it. (emphasis on "this" side) But through it I have learned to praise in it, and NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING is as precious to me now as my time with Jesus. I still have to kick this body out of bed in the mornings sometimes to get up for prayer and the Word. But NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING is as fulfilling, healing, purpose giving, doubt destroying, encouraging, joy filling, boldness- and strength-giving as the WORD. PUT IT IN YOUR HEART. MEMORIZE IT, QUOTE IT, SAY IT, SPREAD IT...memorize it, quote it, say it, spread it...TO WHOEVER WILL LISTEN, even if that is just you and Jesus.

"Speaking of Jesus, SEE HOW MANY TIMES IN A DAY YOU CAN MENTION HIS NAME TO SOMEONE. Jesus is the WORD, and He said we have to eat the WORD as bread. READY, SET AND ... CHEW!!!
He who hears My word
and believes Him who sent Me
has eternal life,
and does not come into judgment,
but has passed out of death into life. (John 5:24)
"So -- get into the WORD." [ Tricia Deaton, in her blog. ]

Doing Things Right

James S-C, 11/13/2006:
"Well, recently I have been doing some things right, and I think I feel happier, perhaps to those little things. I guess I haven't paid attention to it, but I just realized I am happy. A few simple things can add up." More...

Death in the Womb

James S-C, 11/12/2006: "Why is the abortion topic labeled as pro-choice and pro-life, when those who want to be pro-choice do not give the person who matters a choice? Let's face it, the two sides are really pro-death and pro-life. For such an advanced race that we are, we still allow murder even if we have laws against it. We try to hide it under various names, but it is still murder.

"Yes, a human being can be aborted and people will think nothing of it because, after all, it is only a thing. But, now if we took the same action against an animal, we would have broken all kinds of laws and we would receive massive punishment for that action. Now, I am not saying we should be cruel to animals; I just don't see where in the Bible God tells us that animals are valued more than people." More...

Remember your Creator, Now!

Solomon said, "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth..." (Ecclesiastes 12:1). He knew the importance of bringing up children with a constant awareness of their Creator. To realize they were made by a personal God, not a mere accident in an impersonal universe. To recognize their responsibility to their Maker, and the certainty of judgment.

What we see in America today in the delinquency of adults is certainly the fruit of more than a century of Darwinism.

Darwinism directly contradicts the wise injunction of Solomon. Darwinism preaches that we should forget our Creator! The next step is to deny responsibility and judgment. If Chance is ruling the universe and determining the course of our lives, then we had best grab everything we can while we can.

Many of the inner conflicts we and our children have are rooted in our tendency to forget our Creator. His sovereignty and His love, His law and His grace, His justice and His mercy, His power and His glory, His wisdom and His purposes: remembering these will answer to our conflicts.

Remember NOW thy Creator!

More good sense from James Sander-Cederlof

Public education will allow kids to worship Satan, treat Santa like God, and let kids think multi-colored eggs are laid by rabbits, but won't allow them to believe Jesus was born in a manger and is the Son of God. Santa can be God; a rabbit can be God; Satan can be God. But to let someone believe God is God and Jesus is the Son of God is strictly forbidden; after all, you may offend someone. The schoolmate can talk about the rape or murder they committed, which may offend and disgust me, and nothing will happen to them, but unless I blaspheme God, I can't even mention God without threat of discipline.

In case your parents never told you, Santa Claus is not real. However, Jesus Christ and His Father are quite real. As we move through the year, let us remember that simple fact.
More...

Some Excellent Essays!

I just discovered a great treasure: an on-going series of little essays by my nephew James Sander-Cederlof. He calls it Tilted Talk.

• The Walk — When a child asks about the strange way he walks...
  
• Commercials — Thoughts about mis-directed and thoughtless TV commercials.
  
• Hot Coffee — "There is nothing wrong with knowing your child; that is called being a parent. Since when did it become un-cool to have a game that you do not mind your child seeing you play?"
  
• The Price of Education — "It is astonishing how much better home-schooled children behave, act, and think compared to those in the public education system."
  
• 9/11 Revisited — His flight was cancelled, just in time.
  
• Education, Again — "You became involved with your child nine months or so the child was born. Remain involved throughout their life; the education of the child should not stop at some magical age. Only the subject matter should change. Just keep God at the center, and the other things will fall into place."
  
• Spiritual Leaders — "Our leaders should be men of faith."
  
• Lawyers in Love — Afterthoughts from a lawyer's TV commercial.
  

James also writes poems, and you can read some of them here.

Tampering with Physicians?

   “To be always tampering with physicians upon every occasion is the way to lose all natural soundness of health, and to be continually talking and enquiring about the nature of ailments and powers of medicines for the head, the heart, the spirits and nerves is the way to lose all true judgement concerning our own sickness or health.

   “It is much the same with respect to our spiritual health and constitution. We do much hurt to it by running after spiritual advice on every occasion, and wanting the help of some human prescription for every fear, scruple or notion that starts up in our minds. This actually weakens the true strength of our spiritual constitution which, if left to itself, would do all that we need to have done.

   “If it be asked what this soundness of our spiritual constitution is, it may be answered that it is a state or habit of such humble, total resignation of ourselves to God as by faith and hope expects all from Him alone. This is the health and strength of our spiritual constitution, and nothing is health in the soul but this state.”

[ William Law, in a letter to Lady Huntingdon, January 10, 1754 ]

Need to Uncover Need

“So many preach the human aspect of Christ, His sympathy for the bereaved and the suffering and sin-stained, and men listen whilst Christ is brought down to their conditions; but a preacher has to bring the Gospel of God to men’s needs, and to do this he has to uncover their need and men resent this -- ‘I don’t want to accept the verdict on myself that Jesus Christ brings; I don’t believe I am so sinful as He reveals.’ A man never believes what Jesus Christ says about the human heart until the Holy Ghost gives him the startling revelation of the truth of His diagnosis. (See Mark 7:20-23: And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man.)”
[Oswald Chambers, in Approved Unto God, “The Origin of Our Salvation”.]

Were you ever in all your life sorry for your sins?

"Give me leave to ask you, in the presence of God, whether you know the time, and if you do not know exactly the time, do you know there was a time, when God wrote bitter things against you, when the arrows of the Almighty were within you? Was ever the remembrance of your sins grievous to you? Was the burden of your sins intolerable to your thoughts? Did you ever see that God's wrath might justly fall upon you, on account of your actual transgressions against God? Were you ever in alI your life sorry for your sins? Could you ever say, My sins are gone over my head as a burden too heavy for me to bear? Did you ever experience any such thing as this? Did ever any such thing as this pass between God and your soul? If not, for Jesus Christ's sake, do not call yourselves Christians. You may speak peace to your hearts, but there is no peace. May the Lord awaken you, may the Lord convert you, may the Lord give you peace." 
[George Whitefield, from a sermon titled, "The Method of Grace". Quoted in Whitefield Gold, compiled by Ray Comfort.]