New blog address

My blog has now moved to web.mac.com/kerith8.  This is also now a way for me to share photos and video. Come check it out!

Freedom in Modern America

I've been doing a lot of thinking about our nation's policies...today's thought were spurred by a dialogue I've been participating in on a friend's blog about universal healthcare. Before I go too much further, I'll own up to the fact that, while I'm registered Republican, I'm probably really a libertarian. I voted for and still support Ron Paul, though he's clearly out of the running for president. So you know where I come from... the discussion about universal healthcare centered on the question of whether it would yield favorable results. Could our country still excel in medical progress? Could most people get healthcare that is equal to or better than what they receive now, under such a system? Would we really pay less for healthcare, or would we actually be paying far more, when the greater tax burden is figured in?

But the question that came to me later was can we really be a free people if we are forced to pay for someone else's healthcare? or education? or food and diapers and baby formula? Obviously we already are paying for many of these services for other people. Should we be? Many people accuse us Republicans of being greedy when we raise this objection; I can honestly say that is not the issue for me. I have no problem with charitable giving, and if anyone were to look at our tax records, they would see that our giving this year was quite generous. The concern for me is ideological--how can we be a free people when we are compelled to subsidize the expenses of others (with no say over the way our money is being used)? And if we compromise in this area, can we possibly preserve our freedoms in other areas?

Further, if the government is the entity deciding who gets the money, it will also weigh in on how it is being used. We already see this in the area of public education--we as parents have abdicated the responsibility to educate our children, and now it is the state that decides what they learn; not only that, the state wants to decide who among us can educate our own children! (See a decision made today in a CA court that stated that only parents who are certified teachers are qualified to teach their own children. Never mind a host of research evidence that shows homeschool children score better in testing than their public educated peers, regardless of the qualifications of their parents!) If the state doles out the money for healthcare, it will hold the authority over what medical procedures we undergo. Forget holistic and alternative forms of medicine--if it's not approved by the government, it will not be a permissible use of our money, (paid in taxes). On the reverse side, how comfortable do my Christian readers feel about the idea that our tax dollars will likely be used to fund abortions, sometimes for underage girls, and possibly even used to fund sex change operations? The more power we give to the government, in the hope of getting greater benefits for ourselves, the more power we give government over us. Our forefathers fought with their lives to be free of government coercion, and we have gradually handed over those hard-won freedoms to gain greater comforts. I think we will quickly find it was not a worthwhile trade.

Gabrielle Tells a Joke

"Knock-knock."

"Who's there?"

"Orange."

"Orange who?"

"Apple."

Okay, so she's no Jay Leno.

Good Report

Andrew had his follow-up with the surgeon today, and everything looks fine with his tongue. (Not that I was worried--judging by his behavior, you would never guess he had surgery nine days ago.)

My Little Helper (and One Who's Not So Helpful)

Gabrielle wanted to help me fold laundry today--with very little guidance, she learned to fold washcloths (pretty easy) and onesies (not so easy). Yea, I'm on my way to getting a little help around the house!

And Andrew, for the second time now, tore down some bananas that I had let ripen on the banana tree. He gets a craving for bananas and waits until I'm occupied somewhere, then yanks them down (they're so ripe, they're easy to pull down), tears off the peel, and takes bites out of each one. At this rate, I am never going to get bananas to ripen long enough to make my banana cake!

Fantastic Weekend

We had a great weekend with our friend Angie, who came out from 

Spokane, WA, to escape the snow. 

We had the most perfect weather here, 84 degrees both days. We went to the spa and got massages and had our nails done, we went out to eat, played games, and spent all Sunday morning sitting outside in the sunshine. Gabrielle loved Angie as soon as she saw her; Andrew needed a day to warm up to her, but he was in love by the time she left for the airport. (He even brought out his Bear, Dora, and Diego and introduced them to Angie one by one.)

Angie braided Gabrielle's hair one day, and Gabrielle loved it and left it in for a couple of hours. Some of you may remember that this is not common for Gabrielle--she usually hates having her hair pulled back and yanks out her hair tie at the first opportunity. Unfortunately, I CAN'T BRAID HAIR! So even though we've found the one style she likes, I can't do it for her!

Church update 3

We visited the Lutheran church yesterday as a family. I actually enjoyed the experience more than my first visit--the usual worship pastor was back, and we had a fantastic time of worship. The sermon was good, and once again, the ministry of the Holy Spirit was strong and dynamic. But Scott didn't like it. His problem with the service was not what he expected--he thought we would be theologically divergent. In fact, we were very much in line, theologically. Scott's problem was primarily with the way the "Word of wisdom" was brought forward (that was an area of disagreement he had at New Life too) and with the fact that the pastor used the NLT as his main text, which is a translation that is not even close to word-for-word. Scott's ok with a pastor using different versions of the Bible here and there in the sermon, but the NLT was his main translation, and that was Scott's issue. Anyway, these were big issues for him, so we have decided not to go back there, and that kind of left us at square one, since we didn't have another church in mind to try.


So yesterday, Scott comes to me and says "How do you feel about trying the hyper-Calvinistic East Valley Bible Church?" I must admit I was stunned. Scott and I aren't Calvinists, and it has always been commonly understood between us that we would never consider East Valley even though it is a pretty great church, from what we have heard. But Scott went on to explain his reasoning, which was that we have already realized that we're not going to find the perfect church--in some way, we're going to have to compromise on what we're hoping to have in a church--and maybe our compromise will be in attending a church with a Calvinistic viewpoint. At least as far as theological differences go, this is one we respect, even if we don't entirely agree with it; after all, the things that are discussed in the Calvinist-Arminian debate are beyond human understanding, so no one's conception of how all that "predestination/election" stuff works is complete. One drawback is that Scott would most likely not be permitted to teach there, since he couldn't affirm "TULIP", but we would be able to participate, if we decide this is where God is leading us to make our home.

This new search is taking us into all kinds of churches I never thought I'd try!

Andrew Sings!

This morning, during breakfast, Andrew tried to sing for the first time! Gabrielle and I were singing songs, and we had just finished "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," when he said "ba-ba-ba-ba-hi" and looked at me like he was really proud of himself. I realized he was trying to sing the "up above the world so high" line. It was so cute!

Keep in mind that Gabrielle really only started singing songs about a month ago; she used to know all the words but would really just say them in a sing-song voice. I guess Andrew's a little more musically-inclined.

Great Book

I must recommend a book I am reading right now--it is called Child Training Tips, by Reb Bradley, who is a pastor. His website, http://www.familyministries.com/, has many useful materials on raising strong families, and I especially think his audio series on Family-Strengthening Churches is very compelling, and good listening for anyone serving in church leadership. But most of all, every parent should read Child Training Tips! Shepherding a Child's Heart, by Ted Tripp, is good, but I think its value lies mostly in his discussion of the parent's responsibility to disciple his/her child. I also enjoyed The Strong-Willed Child, by James Dobson, but Bradley's book is even better, because of the approach he takes to explain the reason for this parenting method, as well as his use of numerous examples so that you can fully understand how your child's behavior require correction (things that many of us let our kids get away with). The book can be purchased through Bradley's website, although I don't think it is set up for online ordering--you have to fill out the form and send it by mail. I bought my copy through a website called http://www.homeschooloasis.com/ --they do sell books online, and are very efficient and quick about shipping. (If you're at all interested in homeschooling, I'd encourage you to peruse this website thoroughly.)