Clothed in Garments of Skin

Many times it is pointed out in church that after the fall of man in the Garden of Eden we see a foreshadowing of Christ in the lamb that was killed initially.

Something that had never struck me before was that mankind is literally now clothed in death. Death entered into the world when Adam ate of the forbidden fruit. But they were provided clothing of death ... literally ... from the skin of the lamb.

We were clothed by a lamb then, in death, because Adam could not do what he was supposed to: follow God's commands and submit himself and will to God.

So now Jesus, the second Adam, did was Adam did not do: followed God's commands and submitted himself and his will to God. He was the lamb who was sacrificed for us ... so that now instead of being clothed in death we can be clothed in life.

the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes

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Building Castles in the Air

For a person who love the Ideas as much as I do, I sure do like things concrete. I've realized this recently, especially due to various conversations with a few of my friends. I love the ideas and concepts and talking about them, but there comes a point in time when they need to come from the sky and firmly plant themselves on the ground.

This is why I don't build castles in the air. I try to be realistic, and not set arbitrary standards for people in different situations. I love fairy tales, but they are so overrated. I could singlehandedly come up with probably a thousand+ ways to be pursued and wooed, fairy tales give additional fuel in this arena. However, one area they strongly lack in is the ending.

And they lived happily ever after.

How does that help a young girl (or woman of any age, or even man of any age) form a proper idea about matrimony? Yes, the courting (etc) stage(s) are very important, but they aren't the end, just the means. Unless there is something besides "happily ever after" to live for together you will live and search for "happily ever after" apart, elsewhere. This is part of our societal problem today. We are a fairy tale society. We live off of Hollywood. Their movies, their stars, their magazines, their models, their lies. And we swallow them hook, line, and sinker, by the time we realize what we've done we've already taken in so much junk it's hard to distinguish it from the truth.

I could come up with over a thousand ways of pursuit, but I realize that while I have goals and objectives for life together with my future husband, I cannot actually trace a path. If I were to wander in the fields of woo-ment I could come up with different ideas without anyone in particular in mind. However, once I start thinking big picture I cannot go that far because it is a journey and a new life.

I do not approve of my visits to the land of air-borne castles for I realize now more than ever that the stage of friendship prior to marriage is the foundation upon which the marriage is built. The foundation, the framework, the threshold, and everything else must be sacred. Must be firmly grounded on the Bible and in Christ and cannot be floating in air.

Again, this is part of our problem as a society. Foundations are not considered essential in marriages or in prior stages. Instead you look across the room and fall in love with someone, as in the soap operas. Then we are surprised when, like the soap operas, there is jealousy, bitterness, distrust, brokenness, rage, etc in our own lives.

May we all strive to build our castles, whether they take the form of a poor, humble shack, a true castle, or something in between, on the solid foundation of Christ, and not being tossed about in the air.

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Dear Diary

Dear Diary,

Shouldn't we be past having to iron our blouses/shirts, pants, and skirts to look sharp and professional? You'd think in this technological age we would have found a way around that by now.

Wishfully,
Sophie

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Obama's Government Mandated Healthcare

Yesterday I sat in the House Gallery listening to representatives give one minute speeches concerning the Health Care bill President Obama is trying to push through.

The numbers were staggering.

5:1 was the ratio - 5 against the legislation, 1 for

The number of constituents that had contacted their Representative was evident. Every speaker against the bill talked in concrete terms and was talking as representatives of their people. Every speaker for the bill talked abstractly and generally, never once talking about how this would affect their people.

There were several Representatives who also had a chart illustrating what kind of bureaucratic mess their people would have to muddle through for this new government mandated healthcare.
They are not allowed, via Speaker Pelosi's orders, to pass this chart out to their constituency, so they showed in the gallery, hoping for media coverage to show their people what this would look like in action.

I have found a copy of this chart and posted it below.



The people are not for government mandated, nationalized, socialized healthcare. It takes away ours rights. This would drastically change our government model from We the people, for the people, by the people, to We the government, for the government, by the government (while trying to convince you we aren't controlling anything).

Contact your Representative today. Kill the bill - before it kills you.

Remember Me

Why do we care about being remembered? Are we scared to believe that we live and grow and die? Why do we complain that there is pain in this life, and yet don't want to leave it? Why do we want to be immortal and immortalized?

Even those who are remembered are forgotten. Do we really remember Aristotle? Or do we remember his ideas? Do we really remember Queen Elizabeth II or do we remember stories passed down about her?

Even in memory who we are is forgotten. So why do we concern ourselves with being remembered? Could it be we do not want to be forgotten because we were made not to die? Do we want to be immortal because that is how we were made?

To live forever?

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Old Glory

Arrogant Americans, Mr. President?

Peter Heck - Guest Columnist - 4/14/2009 7:50:00 AM
As I was sitting in church waiting for the start of the service, my grandpa came walking towards me pointing his finger. No matter how old I get, and no matter how long he's been out of the U.S. Navy, that's still an intimidating sight. As he approached me, his voice quivered as he said, "We saved that continent twice...how dare my president apologize for this country's arrogance." My grandpa is right. Americans need not apologize to the world for their arrogance; rather, Americans should apologize to their forefathers for the arrogance of their president.

Barack Obama's first foreign trip as President of the United States has confirmed the naiveté so many of us feared during the election cycle. But worse than that, it has also demonstrated that our president suffers from either a complete misunderstanding of our heritage and history, or an utter contempt for it. Neither is excusable.


Garnering cheers from the French of all people, President Obama declared, "In America, there is a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive." Consider that Obama spoke these words just 500 miles from the beaches of Normandy, where the sand is still stained with 65-year-old blood of "arrogant Americans."

Indeed, columnist Mark Whittington observes, "One should remind Mr. Obama and the Europeans how America has 'shown arrogance' by saving Europe from itself innumerable times in the 20th Century. World War I, World War II, the Cold War, and the wars in the Balkans were largely resolved by American blood, treasure, and leadership." But all that appears lost on the president's seemingly insatiable quest to mend fences he imagines have been tarnished by the bullish George W. Bush.

If Obama wishes to continue trampling the presidential tradition of showing class to former office holders and publicly trash Bush for his own personal gain, so be it. But all Americans should make clear that no man – even if he is the president – will tarnish the legacy of those Americans who have gone before us. Ours is not a history of arrogance. It is a history of courage, self-sacrifice, and honor.

When abusive monarchs repressed the masses, Americans resisted and overthrew them. When misguided policies led to the unjust oppression of fellow citizens, Americans rebelled and overturned them. When millions of impoverished and destitute wretches sought a new beginning, Americans threw open the door and welcomed them. When imperial dictators were on the march, Americans surrendered their lives to stop them. When communist thugs threatened world peace, Americans bled to defeat them. When an entire continent was overwhelmed with famine and hunger, Americans gave of themselves to sustain it. When terrorist madmen killed the innocent and subjugated millions, Americans led the fight to topple them.

This is the legacy that generations of Americans have left. If President Obama seeks stronger relations with the world community, perhaps he should begin by reminding them of these very truths, rather than condemning his own countrymen on foreign shores.

This "obsessive need to put down his own country," has caused blogger James Lewis to call President Obama a "stunningly ignorant man" who has evidently never spoken to a concentration camp survivor, a Cuban refugee, a boat person from Vietnam, a Soviet dissident, or a survivor of Mao's purges.

Unfortunately, I can no longer bring myself to give Mr. Obama that benefit of the doubt. Not after looking at the pain in my grandpa's eyes...a man who still carries shrapnel in his body from his service to this country.

As a student and teacher of history, I recognize that America has made mistakes...plenty of them, in fact. But one of the great things about our people has been their courage and humility in admitting and correcting those mistakes. God willing, they will prove that willingness again in four years and correct the mistake that is the presidency of Barack Obama.


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