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For years, Arizonans have been denied the ability to purchase a "Choose Life" license plate for their automobiles.
Yesterday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously overturned a 2005 verdict, by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt.
Here is the story from LifeNews.com.
Thoughts or Comments?
I am planning to start a podcast on my business blog. Does anyone have any great articles, or advice for such a venture?
I am specifically looking for recommendations for a podcast host.
It is my intention to use Apple's GarageBand to produce the podcasts?
Comments please!
This is a photograph of a butterfly, that I took at the Phoenix Botanical Gardens. There are many reasons that this photograph brings me joy. The first thing that grabs my attention, however, is its symmetry and balance.
Note: this photograph is two megs, and large enough to make a nice screen saver. My little gift to you!
This is the 16th post in my study of Jonathan Edwards famous text, Religious Affections
Once again, Edwards draws his brilliant mind to attend to the "gracious affections" of the true believer in Christ.
Here is his 10th such affection:
"Another thing wherein those affections that are truly gracious and holy, differ from those that are false, is beautiful symmetry and proportion."
When the true Christian contemplates God's holiness, and the Holy Spirit greatly affects him with joy, so too, the true Christian, in contemplation of God's holiness, will be greatly melted because of his sin. This is an example of the symmetry and balance, of which Edwards speaks.
This was a chapter of contrasts (symmetry & proportion):
"But this is all that I aim at by what has been said, to shew that it is the nature of true grace, that however it loves Christian society in its place, yet it in a peculiar manner delights in retirement, and secret converse with God. So that if persons appear greatly engaged in social religion, and but little in the religion of the closet, and are often highly affected when with others, and but little moved when they have none but God and Christ to converse with, it looks very darkly upon their religion."
"If therefore persons are religious only by fits and starts; if they now and then seem to be raised up to the clouds in their affections, and then suddenly fall down again, lose all, and become quite careless and carnal, and this is their manner of carrying on religion; if they appear greatly moved, and mightily engaged in religion, only in extraordinary seasons, in the time of a remarkable outpouring of the Spirit, or other uncommon dispensation of providence, or upon the real or supposed receipt of some great mercy, when they have received some extraordinary temporal mercy, or suppose that they are newly converted, or have lately had what they call a great discovery; but quickly return to such a frame, that their hearts are chiefly upon other things, and the prevailing bent of their hearts and stream of their affections is ordinarily towards the things of this world; when they are like the children of Israel in the wilderness, who had their affections highly raised by what God had done for 'em at the Red Sea, and sang his praise, and soon fell a lusting after the fleshpots of Egypt, but then again when they came to Mount Sinai, and saw the great manifestations God made of himself there, seemed to be greatly engaged again, and mighty forward to enter into covenant with God, saying, "All that the Lord hath spoken will we do, and be obedient," but then quickly made 'em a golden calf; I say, when it is thus with persons, 'tis a sign of the unsoundness of affections."
Bottom line: If your Christian life doesn't contain this symmetry and balance, you should immediately seek God to increase your faith. Without this, it is possible that you are not on the narrow path.
Boomer in the Pew will be light in the posting category this week.
My wife and I are attending the National Association of Mortgage Brokers (NAMB) Western Regional Conference in Las Vegas this week.
We just launched our new consulting company, and are here mingling with industry leaders.
President-Elect Obama made a promise to Planned Parenthood, to sign the Freedom of Choice Act, if he was elected.
This is an extremely radical bill that completely exempts the wishes of millions of people, living in various states, all over our country.
It is critical that you understand the ramifications of this Act, and sign the petition against it.
If you believe that life begins at conception, then you simply must let your voice be heard.
Please do this, right now.
Oh...so that's how you do a meme!
I tried a blog meme yesterday, three wonderful people (so far) responded, and then it seemed to die.
Why? Well...I didn't think to tag anyone. DUH!
Today, I noticed that I was tagged, in a book meme, from my good blog friend, Barry Wallace.
Here's how it works: I am supposed to pick up the nearest book with at least 123 pages, turn to the 123rd page, find the 5th sentence, and then post the three sentences immediately after that.
The nearest book is George M. Marsden's, "Jonathan Edwards - A Life". And here are the three sentences, after the fifth sentence, from page 123:
"Allowing himself to be under his grandfather's sway on such a life-or-death issue was a momentous decision for Jonathan. Years later, when it led to the greatest calamity of his career, he confessed that he had never been at ease with Stoddard's approach. In these early days Jonathan's internal anxieties must have been great because, among other things, Timothy Edwards was not so far away - especially not from his son's psyche."
There, now I need to tag five blog friends. I tag:
Laurie @ Beauty for Ashes
Nahomi @ Courage to Tremble
Tim Challies @ Challies.com
Wes Thorp @ Daily Grit
La Shawn Barber @ La Shawn Barber's Corner
Ok, people. Tag....your it!
This is a blog meme! That means that you can answer the question in one of three ways:
1.) Write a post on your own blog and send back a track-back.
2.) Simply leave a comment on this post.
3.) Leave a comment on this blog w/ a link back to your post.
Here is the question: What faith orientated materials are you studying right now during the week?
I ask this for three selfish reasons:
Here is my answer to this meme:
Well, that about does it for my weekly studies. Now..it's your turn.
Share what you are doing/reading with us so that we can all learn from one another.
Your it!
Don't forget to link, comment, and/or send a track-back.
Let's see if we can get this Christian blog meme to go viral!
"Praying Soldier", by Dean H.
This is the 15th post in my study of Jonathan Edwards famous text, Religious Affections
Today is Veteran's Day in the United States.
This is certainly a day to honor those who have served in our country's armed forces, and significantly more certainly, a day to remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice of their lives.
As I was reading Jonathan Edwards this morning, it struck me that a soldier facing potential death is likely the most fitting understanding of what Jonathan Edwards is getting at in his ninth gracious affection:
"Gracious affections soften the heart, and are attended and followed with a Christian tenderness of spirit."
When a soldier faces a force that could end his/her life, I am most certain that it has a very profound affect on their lives, and worldview. In spite of all the John Wayne movies, when we as human beings, face death's door, it will break tender the hardest of hearts.
So too, when we understand a right relationship with God, and understand how great is the distance between his holiness and ours, then the true disciple of Christ, will also be melted with a tender heart.
This tender heart, writes Edwards, in the ninth evidence of a true disciple of Christ.
Let's explore more...
Continue reading "Veteran's Day & The Tender Hearted Soldier of Christ" »
"John the Baptist in the Wilderness", c 1490-95, by Geertgen tot Sint Jans.
This is the 14th post in my study of Jonathan Edwards famous text, Religious Affections
We move now, to the eighth of Jonathan Edwards "gracious affections". In contemporary vernacular, the eighth distinguishing characteristic of a true disciple of Christ.
From Edwards:
"Truly gracious affections differ from those affections that are
false and delusive, in that they tend to, and are attended with the
lamb-like, dove-like spirit and temper of Jesus Christ; or in other words, they naturally beget and promote such a spirit of love,
meekness, quietness, forgiveness and mercy, as appeared in Christ."
If we look back to Edwards' very first gracious affection, the true disciple of Christ first begins with regeneration (being born again). Regeneration comes through the miraculous hand of God, and brings alive a new nature. It is then our duty to cultivate this new nature to become more, and more like Christ until our natural body dies, and we meet Christ face to face, with our regenerated nature made complete.
Here, Jonathan Edwards is instructing that the true disciple of Christ, will bear his spirit, and temperament.
I suspect I will have some life appraisal work to do, from this lesson...
Continue reading "Learning to Possess the Dove-Like Spirit of Jesus Christ" »
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