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Remembering Sean Paddock

Two years ago today Sean Paddock died.

A 4-year-old adopted child, Sean Paddock, was the victim of what we so often see within the Christian subculture--parents who want to do everything right, who seek to control their children, who listen to questionable advice. The result was a child who suffocated from being wrapped tightly in blankets to keep him in bed, so tightly that he couldn't fill his lungs to breathe. His body was covered with "layers of thin, long bruises -- old and new -- stretch[ing] from Sean's bottom to his shoulder blade."

Sean's adopted mother relied upon two-foot lengths of plumbing supply line and parenting books by Michael and Debi Pearl to keep her children in line.

God have mercy.

February 26, 2008 | Comments (16) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Sealing My Heart

Come, thou Fount of ev'ry blessing,
Tune my heart to sing thy grace;
Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
Call for songs of loudest praise,
Teach me some melodious sonnet,
Sung by flaming tongues above;
Praise the mount! I'm fixed upon it,
Mount of God's unchanging love.

Here I raise my Ebenezer;
Hither by thy help I'm come;
And I hope, by thy good pleasure,
Safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger,
Wand'ring from the fold of God:
He, to rescue me from danger,
Interposed his precious blood.

O to grace how great a debtor
Daily I'm constrained to be;
Let that grace now, like a fetter,
Bind my wand'ring heart to thee.
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
Prone to leave the God I love;
Here's my heart, O take and seal it,
Seal it for thy courts above.

This hymn has been a reverberating theme this week in my heart, my life, my online interactions. So it seemed very fitting that it was part of the worship singing at church this morning. Tune my heart to sing thy grace. . .

February 24, 2008 | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Sola Scriptura and the Value of Books

"[Christians] often hear and repeat, “My Bible is all I need.” And while I understand and affirm the sentiment that God’s Word is well. . . . GOD’s WORD, the expression is full of hubris. It’s not that God’s Word is incomplete or inaccurate or insufficient. We are. It’s the old four blind men and the elephant problem. If that Eastern example doesn’t do it for you, there’s always good ol’ Francis Bacon. In sum, idols distract us. We’re blinded by our infirmed humanity (idols of the tribe), our idiosyncratic personhood (idols of the cave), our reified culture (idols of the marketplace), and our inadequate education (idols of the theatre). One way of seeing around those idols that stand in our way of understanding God’s Wor(l)d is through a iron-sharpening looking outside of ourselves. Otherwise, we just see ourselves in Scripture instead of seeing God. That’s why God gave us the Church — to edify each other and point out our blindspots. We’re not islands unto ourselves. Or we shouldn’t be!"

--Camille Lewis

February 22, 2008 | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

For Kosovo

And our men and women in uniform around the world. . .

February 17, 2008 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Girls

"The Girls" were my boys' best friends in Ukraine. They are visiting the States for a little while and were recently at Heather's church. I hope they come to Florida! One of the hardest things about the choices we've made in our lives is how far away so many people are, people who are very dear to us. Email and internet help, but aren't the same.

February 16, 2008 | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Here I Raise My Ebenezer

I encourage everyone--mothers, fathers, Believers, everyone--to take the time to thoughtfully read through Camille Lewis's second part of a journey in grace and faithfulness.

February 15, 2008 | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

For Mothers and Others

A must read for mothers and others:
Here I Raise My Ebenezer

February 13, 2008 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

4 of 5

Four out of five of my boys are down for the count, including Hubby. Only the youngest has escaped. I'm hoping their ills are more minor than mine. . . though by the way they are sleeping and looking, I'm not hopeful.

I'm not feeling well, but I'm feeling better. I was able to start a load of sheets and blankets in the wash and load the dishwasher. I'm ignoring the other messes for now.

February 09, 2008 | Comments (8) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

The Gipper Would Have Been 97 Today

Happy birthday, Ronald Reagan.

February 06, 2008 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Wahhh. . .

This is my third day of being sick. Sweats and chills. Blech. At least I'm finally feeling well enough to go online and be distracted.

Update: I'm coughing and sipping dayquil and feeling a smidge better. This has been the most bizarre illness I've had in a long time. Started with a fever and chills. Then cold symptoms. Then fever again. Then cough and runny nose. Then nausea. When does it end? Seriously, though, I can type this out now and so I must be getting better. . .

February 06, 2008 | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Caught My Eye. . .

I've been collecting an assortment of links on facebook, web sites and news stories that have caught my eye or I want to return to. . . And now, to share with you:

* Гагарин, я Вас любила, on YouTube

* Nicene and Apostle's Creeds, side by side.

* A Russian love story. *mush, mush*

* Leben, A Journal of Reformed Life

* More than a Parenting Ministry, a sad reminder of evangelical vulnerabilities

* Bible Chapter Checklist, like the one I had when I was a kid

* Caleb Project

* Wise Bread

February 03, 2008 | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Blog Tags!

Carole at Thoughts of Home tagged me this week. . . and I've been slow to getting around to posting. Weird week, you know?

7 Random Facts About Me

1. I am the oldest daughter of an oldest daughter.

2. I love veggies, but don't eat enough of them.

3. Shopping malls stress me out.

4. I like white walls in houses and have never painted walls before.

5. Our townhouse in Midland had a retro-avocado kitchen, and I thought it was great.

6. We've lived in this house longest of anywhere since we've been married. I need to declutter. I don't know how to do that without moving.

7. When I was preggers with my oldest, I had two short-term "dress up" jobs at once--a food selling wench at the Medieval Fair and the Easter Bunny at the mall.

_________________

Game of Blog Tag Rules:
*Link to the person that tagged you.
*Post the rules on your blog.
*Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
*Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
*Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

_______________

Tagging: Amie, ~~Skerrib~~ (already played!), Rebecca, Gem, Gwibbles, Nancy, and Allison.

February 02, 2008 | Comments (4) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

Reviewed: January Books

Wild Geese by Ogai Mori
Wild Geese is considered a classic in Japanese literature. I started reading Japanese fiction (modern) when we lived in Ukraine and happened upon several books. Since finding books in English was a boon, I read a lot when we were there that I may never have picked off of a library shelf in the U.S. I discovered I really enjoy Japanese lit. Wild Geese is a story of both making opportunities and just-missed opportunities. The story revolves around a student and a concubine and the people in their lives, and is not one to read when you are in a happily-ever-after mood. Then again, Japanese lit rarely is. 8/10

(Thanks for the encouragement to post, Kristen and MbG Reading Circle!)

February 01, 2008 | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0) | Permalink

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