Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Book Banning or Education?

There's some parents in Leesburg that are all upset about some books in the public library that involve teen drug-use and sex that were put into the young-adult (teenager) section of the library.

Funny, cuz the books are the literary version of the popular CW show Gossip Girl.

There's other merchandise out there with the Gossip Girl name on it to - its like a more racy version of Hannah Montana in the marketing they have going on.

TV shows spawn books due to frenzied popularity - and who do you think is watching the 8:00 show on weeknights and buying the Gossip Girl logo on their clothes?

Oh...the teenagers that these parents are attempting to protect by banning the exact same content from the library.

On a post about Credit Cards at Boundless, Heather had this to say and it echoes my sentiments nearly perfectly:
I'm a little ambivalent. One side of me says that we should educate college students (and high school and middle school students, too) and then let them make choices and deal with the consequences. But the other side says that yes, someone should have to prove that they have a self-produced income stream before being allowed to enter into the adult financial world.


I can't help but feel that these parents are being lazy in pursuing book banning rather than teaching their children how to make good and wise decisions in the media they choose to entertain themselves with and the choices they make in how they live their life.

After all, the tv show was inspired by the incredible plethora of sex and drugs in the school system now - pursuits that surround the children of these over-the-top parents.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Income Adventure!

So, FINALLY, I have things put in place to start an At-Home-Business to help pay off those horrid student loans!

Stina's Web Design

I'm excited. In web portfolios, I have one more site that will be added very very soon - but the client is trying to find his hosting information =p

Saturday, September 26, 2009

Strange Dreams

You know, I hate it when my husband is on travel. Going to sleep is the worst, though.

Lately, I've been having the strangest dreams that make me incredibly uneasy. And I dont' feel rested at all in the morning after them.

Pretty much, in my dreams my husband doesn't exist. And I live my life as if he doesn't - but the entire time I have this nagging feeling that something isn't right...that something important is missing. Its like a craving for something that I don't know yet.

So, I'll end up dating someone and not feeling right about it because its as if they aren't the person I'm supposed to be with...I feel uneasy and push them away, not certain what it is I'm looking for.

Occassionally, I'll find him and I'll sleep peacefully the rest of the night...but most of the time, he's not there...

/sigh - I wonder how military wives handle this...

Friday, September 25, 2009

Christian Debate and Accountability?

Ever since I wrote my post to "my feminist friend", I've been seriously struggling with some issues.

I caught some flack for it, which is why its down now. I have my reasons for capitulating -
1) It wasn't right for me to attack this person's beliefs in such a public forum. I'm not quite certain what provoked me to do it, but I don't think it had much to do with her...other than her stance on the issue is constantly in my mind - CONSTANTLY.

2) Her faith in Christ is real and holding to something in a dogmatic way and allowing that to destroy a friendship isn't worth it. In essence, I was attacking a belief she has that has no bearing on her eternal soul - just a disagreement on an issue that I believe my way will lead to an easier life and she believes her way is the easier life.

How, as christians, do we proceed? I find myself with butterflies in my stomach wondering if i should go to a function tomorrow where she might be (and the other person who attacked me for that post) and i don't know how to proceed.

A part of me wants to debate this issue...the other part wants to forget about it.

For some reason, I'm more able to let go of political differences than this one (and abortion). I don't really know what to do...

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Grumpy 5 Month Olds

I hate teething.

He's such a sweetheart, but now he's grumpy all the time! It sucks cuz there's nothing I can do about it and his mouth is too small for all his teething toys.

Poor lil guy.

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Paranoia

So...today I woke up with a sore throat.

My eyes are heavy and my forehead is warm (not hot...I doubt I have a fever).

Ethan has been cranky for the last 2 days which is totally unlike him.

Are we getting sick?

What if its the swine flu?

Saturday, September 05, 2009

Old Treasure Recovered

Fairies
Come hither, my child
And listen to my tale.
A story so fleeting it flies on the wings of Wind,
So beautiful that it only is percieved at that infinitesimal moment of twilight,
So innocent, it has yet to be concieved by the minds of men.

I will take you first to the light of day
Where paths of sunlight guide you to fields of rubies
Sapphire greets you from heaven above and cloud's soft shapes take form
The sunlight dances as you prance barefoot through emerald grasses
Then notice the fire glinting off wings of sprites with long golden hair and mischeivous eyes.

Next you will see the soft glows of sunset
When day kisses the earth goodbye
Colors of roses sing sweet songs of love as sun gives way to moon
Though dazzling sun gives eyes delight, be weary of the artists
Who, with small brushes in hand, paint hues of time upon their tapestry - the sky.

Swiftly, be quick, as setting sun turns dark!
And catch the first sign of twilight - a star shining in deep blue abyss
Avert your eyes not or you might miss the last sign of twilight - the first star of night
And once your eyes catch sight of the first light of dark, look quick for the culprit who sees fit not to let night be black.
There he will be, skipping specks of light across the deepening sea of ebony.

Last of all comes the glory of night.
The moon sketches paths of beauty and light.
Her coolness brings peace and sparkles like diamonds upon dew covered grass
Though Jasmine may cause you to drift on sweet dreams, take heed first to small feet
Who kiss sleeping earth with droplets of love and gaurd her til her lover returns.

At last my tale is told and done
My child, I hope you believed the fairies all told
And your innocent eyes alone will catch glimpse
For as years pass by the fairies will hide
And all you will see is the beauty left behind.

Thursday, September 03, 2009

A Defense of Infant Baptism

I've been challenged to provide a biblical defense of the Catholic Tradition of baptism (as opposed to the Baptist Tradition). Pretty much, Catholic Tradition is Infant Baptism and Baptist Tradition is Believer's Baptism.

Many people have attempted this before and failed, so I don't expect that I will succeed in changing his mind that Infant Baptism is just plain wrong. I do want to make it clear that my purpose is not to claim one wrong and the other right; or to claim one is better than the other. After long thought and prayer, I have determined that the theologies behind the two traditions of baptism are very different.

Baptists and those who believe in Believer's Baptism believe it is just that - baptism once you believe. Some of them will even claim that you aren't really saved unless you've been baptized after confession. I don't agree with that group of people - I strongly believe that salvation does not require baptism to be true. I believe that baptism is simply an expression of faith, like fasting and long hours of meditation.

To those that simply believe baptism shouldn't occur until after belief is established, I don't disagree with you and your theology. I find it a good thing. However, I also find that Infant baptism serves its purpose, as well - and is, in fact, biblical. It simply derives its theology from something much older.

This is in two parts. The first addresses the theology behind infant baptism. The second tackles some conceptions that I think are false when it comes to belief in Christ.

First, when Christ came, he made it clear that he was not coming to abolish the law, but to fulfill it (Matthew 5:17). There were commandments that were given in the Old Testament by God to prepare the people for the coming of Christ. Examples are the command to never forget the passover - for the signs given at the passover were repeated when Christ died...and anyone who religiously practiced the passover meal would have recognized those signs (Exodus 12:14). There are others, but hashing this point isn't relevant to this argument.

Another command that was given was that when a gentile chose to become a follower of Jehovah, he had to be circumcised (Genesis 17:10-11) - and so did his whole household (Genesis 17:12-14). In essence, when one chose to become a part of the covenant, his entire family was commanded to become a part of the covenant - regardless of their own feelings on the issue. Examples of this being carried out in scripture include Dinah's lover and his kingdom (Genesis 34) and the risk of Moses' son's life due to his lack of circumcision (Exodus 4:24-27).

Because the Catholic Tradition of baptism is one of a convenantal nature, its theology derives from the Old Testament's method of entering the covenant.

Where Believer's Baptism is an expression of faith of the person being baptized, Infant baptism is an expression of faith of the parents of the child being baptized. To them, this is their declaration of their covenantal bond with Christ a promise to do as God commanded in Deuteronomy - not once, but twice.
5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
~Deuteronomy 6:5-9

18Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 20 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, 21 so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.
~Deuteronomy 11:18-21

In the Catholic Tradition, parents take full responsibility for their child's faith until they are adults and can claim responsibility for their own faith - just as the jews did and still do when their children come of age. In the Catholic Tradition, it is Confirmation. For the Jews, it is a Bar or Bat Mitzvah - a ceremony where the now young adults take everything they have learned from their parents and accept it as their own faith.

And this brings me to the second part - the matter of belief. Many who believe in the Believer's Baptism believe that only when a person reaches an appropriate age of responsibility can he make a concious claim of faith. The Catholic Tradition doesn't place that stipulation on belief. An 18 month old singing songs in her crib as the sun pours through, conciously aware of the one who created the sun, is capable of true belief. The 4 year old who cries when Jesus dies in his children's bible and shouts with joy that "Jesus is alive!" when he comes back to life is just as capable of true belief. The 6 year old who gives her favorite bible away to a girl whose parents are atheists because she was asking questions about God and Jesus is just as capable of true belief. Even Jesus claimed that more people should have faith like children. If we all had such blind faith like children, wouldn't that mean that none of us should be capable of a concious, reasonable decision of faith? (Matthew 10:15)

For those raised in Christian homes that are taught daily the Christian faith, a child can come to an adult understanding of Christ without ever having that "pivotal moment" of confession and faith. For them, every day is a living confession of faith and there is no remembrance of a life without Christ because he has always been a part of their lives.

And to these children and their parents, Infant baptism is a valid and even right and true expression of faith.

I don't intend for the one who challenged me to change his views on baptism in so much that Believer's Baptism is what he chooses to follow. I do, however, wish to bring about an understanding and graceful acceptance that those who practice infant baptism do so believing it is right and true and that it is just as valid as believer's baptism. And that those baptized as infants do not need to be baptized a second time.