Pro-Life and Anti Abortion

I've been thinking recently about the positions on abortion. And I realised that the reason why there is so much confusion is because everyone thinks there are two positions - pro-life and pro-choice, and there are four.

There are those who are rabidly anti-child, who think that population control is the way to go, who sterilise themselves and others and who think that putting hormones in the water is a great idea. Seriously, there are people who think all of these things. Some of them are individual cranks who have no more impact on others than anyone else. But some are 'intellectuals' with the ears of politicians and other decision makers. I think of this position as the 'pro-death' position.

Then there are the pro-choice people. These are the mostly reasonable people who think that abortion is a terrible thing but that being 'forced' to have an unwanted baby is worse. Being a comparatively recent convert (I became a Christian 3 years ago) means that I know several people in this category. Most of them would never have an abotion themselves, but they believe that women get to choose. This group I call the pro-choice group. They are more open to discussion and influence than the pro-death group. They are also the largest group out of the four, at least from my impressions.

The third group I call the anti-abortion movement. They believe that life starts at conception (except for a few, who beleive that life starts at implantation) and that abortion is murder, or at the very least manslaughter. Sounds good so far. But they tend to be all for contraception, including the pill, which causes chemical abortions in a small but significant amount of cases - often without the mother's knowledge. This group does not always value children; it just doesn't want to kill them.

The final group I call the pro-life group. They don't just think that abortion is wrong, they think the whole attitude of not having/wanting children is wrong. That contraception is an attempt to control our own lives rather than submitting to God's will.

No wonder there is so much confusion! There are fours positions, not just two. The sooner we realise this the sooner the abortion debate can be clarified and we can show the world the sanctity of human life.

In the mean time, be fruitful yourself. Nothing shows abortion to be a lie as much as the blessing of children being openly enbraced!

Family Dynasties

I've been thinking a bit about family dynasties (and similar 'grouping' dynasties) recently. Yeah, I know, not exactly what most 24 year old singles think about.

But seriously, there are a whole LOT of family dynasties in the Bible. There are the obvious ones and the less obvious ones.

King David is a big one. Not just because he's the king and the ancestor of Jesus. Not even because his descendants are kings after him. Think purely about king David's own time. Many of the people who were close to him were related to him. I mean, his head-of-military is Joab - his nephew. His sons are mentioned as serving as officials. Now, King David didn't promote just anyone (even if they were related - he makes other people head of the army at various points, and then Joab has them killed). His family by and large share his vision. They don't always go about it in the best way (his sons for example) but they want a unified Israel. That's their vision.

The Rechabites (Jeremiah 35) are another such family. They are following the commands not merely from a few generations before, but from 200 years back! And the family are greatly blessed for their continued obedience to their forebears.

In the New Testament there are a great many family dynasties too. Timothy's mother and grandmother school him in the faith, even though his father is an unbeliever.

But I think the obviosu spiritual powerhouse family is that of Jesus. Seriously, what kind of family has Jesus, the virgin Mary, Zachariah and his wife Elizabeth, John the Baptist, James and Jude (apostles but not disciples, and half brothers to Jesus). And there are people who think that James and John are also related to Jesus (cousins - see John 19:25-27 - the mother of the beloved disciple, John, is the sister to Jesus' mother - though they have the same first name, which is seriously unoriginal of Jesus's grandparents if so). Seriously, spiritual POWERHOUSE.

History shows family dynasties too. Not just royal ones, but spiritual ones, sientific ones, and artistic ones. The Wesley brothers come to mind for a spiritual family. RC Sproul snr + jnr also spring to mind. Most people know about them (both sets), so I won't talk about them. But they are far from the only ones - especially now that many churches are seeing a revival in this area as fathers turn their hearts to their children and children to their fathers (Malachai 4).

In the non-spiritual realm there are familiy dynasties too. Charles Dickens' great granddaughter is an author, as is the great granddaughter of Anthony Trollope. The only Curie that most people know about nowdays is Marie Curie, but her husband Pierre was a scientist too (and they won Marie's first Noble prize together), as was one of their daughters, that daughter's husband, and both of their children.

Family dynasties happen ALL the time. The question is - what KIND of spiritual dynasty are we building and preparing to build...?

Bus Drivers, Boyfriends, and Giving Glory to God

I catch the bus to and from work everyday. Now, most of the drivers regularly do my route, and so they know me and know where I get on and get off (which is very useful if I'm running a few minutes late - they stop even not at a bus stop!)

Anyway, because I moved on Tuesday, I didn't get off at my normal stop. I then didn't get off at my second common stop (the one near my parents and care groups). So the driver questioned me. So I told him I moved.

"With a boyfriend?"

I told him no, I was Christian, and consequently was not going to be living with a boy.

"But you have a boyfriend?"

I told him no.

"You need to be less into this Christian thing. A pretty girl like you should have a boyfriend, and out having fun."

I said I didn't think that that was a good thing for me to be doing as I was a Christian. And that I wasn't going to stop being a Christian just so I could get a boyfriend.

He then proceeded to say all the usual anti-Christian things - and ended with the question, "I mean, what are we here for?"

I said that the answer was to glorify God and enjoy him forever. I briefly (VERY briefly) explained, then it was my stop.

On the walk home I began thinking about giving glory to God. And I realised that my waiting (albeit very impatiently) for a boyfriend brings glory to God. Everyone who meets me knows within a few minutes that I love kids, that I can't wait to be married and taking care of my home. But by waiting I show to this bus driver and the world that God is better. That I value God more highly than a boyfriend, or fun times, or anything that the world has to offer.

Making Your Home A Haven: Evening Routine

Mostly I've been successful with going to bed on time - though not at church camp the past few days.

It does make a big difference in how I function the next day if I go to bed on time. And I much prefer functioning well ;)

This week's challenge is to create an evening routine.

1. Tidy living room
2. Make lunch for tomorrow
3. Tidy kitchen
4. Clean face, brush teeth etc
5. Bible reading
6. Lights out

What Are Our Goals

I've been thinking a lot about goals recently. What ARE our goals? What are MY goals?

I've kind of come to a stand still here - my main goal was always to have children, but I can't exactly do that on my own here. And as there appear to be no prospects on THAT horizon, I often allow everything else to slip, especially when things get difficult.

The goals I have to marry and have children, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the LORD, to vbe a helpmeet to my husband - they are noble goals. But if I only focus on them I'm not doing what I can now.

So what are my goals?
- To spend time in the Word every day, with the aim of reading about 10 chapters a day. This would mean that I'd read the Bible at least twice a year.
- To save a significant part of my income in order to prepare for the fees associated with an international adoption. (I have a dollar goal per pay packet, but for obvious reasons, I'm not posting that.)
- To reform my speech and thought patterns so that I more accurately reflect Christ. This isn't easy in the workplace I'm in - there is a lot of swearing when the kids are not around (and sometimes when they are - sometimes from the kids!) but I am making progress.
- To be bold in speaking about Christ. This is something I always need to work on.

WFMW: Easter Egg Hunts

Easter Egg hunts are fun, but can easily lead to... well... chaos. Especially with multiple children, who differ in egg hunting qualities.

My family have 4 kids, with 5 for a number of years when my cousin lived with us. There was over a ten year age range. And we FOUGHT over Easter Eggs. So and so STOLE my eggs! I can't FIND any! Whah whah whah!

Do you know what we did? Easter eggs in different colours.

Mum bought 5 sets of eggs, green, yellow, blue, red, and purple. Now you couldn't steal anyone else's without getting caught, which meant that there were no more accusations. The older kids got the harder colours to see (I was always green, and had to start a full minute after all the others - I was good) and the younger kids got colours that easily stood out.

It also meant that you didn't miss any eggs, only to find them in the garden three weeks later. (Although little brothers still are willing to eat them!)

Colour coded Easter Eggs. It Works for Me.

Frugal Friday: Clean Skin

I've never had 'perfect' skin. Now that I'm approaching a quarter of a century I'm not getting many pimples (thank goodness for THAT) but I still get a large number of blackheads. Yay.

Recently I learnt how to get rid of them. And it is CHEAP.

When I have a shower I cleanse my face, then take about a teaspoon of bicarb soda and mix it with a little warm water. I then scrub my face with it for about a minute. I rinse my face. I do this about every two days, and my skin is so much clearer now that I do.

Warnings:
- Bicarb tastes bad. Keep your mouth closed.
- Bicarb stings your eyes. Keep your eyes closed.
- Bicarb is very drying. Make sure you apply mosturiser afterwards.

Seriously, what kind of face mask can you buy for the price of bicarb? Now that's frugal.