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Culinary Adventures with Racheal--Episode One

1/31/2018

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"Episode One"...ha. Anyway, these headlines may or may not be semi-frequent in future. Just sayin'.

I think, one upon a time, maybe people didn't feel like they had to do "quick meals" and thus recipes took longer to make and more dishes. I'm trying to think that way in my cooking rather than, "How fast can I slap something edible on the table?" Undoubtly, we all have those days when slapping something to eat on the table is necessary, or all we have to give, but in general--at least these days, I am trying to go at my culinary adventures with a mind for flavor and learning to not rush through things (as well as thinking ahead). 

Of late, with the cold weather, I've kind of gotten fond of different varieties of meat-pies. Last night's was some version of Shepherd's Pie.
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So much for artistic photos. Probably needed to have the flash on...
My ingredients were:
  • Lamb--chunked up leftovers from Sunday's leg o'lamb
  • Peas--frozen kind
  • Onion--if you know me very well at all, you know I can't cook without onion!
  • Carrots--peeled and chopped 
  • Potatoes--I used canned since we didn't have any other kind 
​Spice-wise, I used salt, pepper, garlic (I think I ended up using both powdered and fresh), rosemary, oragano, and probably paprika (I think I forgot to write down everything)​. I ended up putting a splash of milk over the whole shibang.

This concoction then went into my pie shell.
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Pre-Bake
"Hold it there a sec", you may say..."PIE SHELL?"

Heehehh. Oh yeah. PIE SHELL. I have created a non-wheat pie shell that actually WORKS like a pie shell (when cooked). It doesn't roll out at all really, so it's a nice pressy, messy job, but as this kid never minded getting her hands into her food...who cares?

The recipe (to be cut in half, doubled, tripled, etc. to your heart's content) is as follows.
  • 1/2 c. Banana Flour
  • 1/4 c. chopped Rolled Oats
  • 1/4 c. Coconut Flour
  • 1 stick butter
  • a pinch of salt
  • splash of water
As I typed that up, I realized I forgot the water last night. Oh well. I guess it didn't need it. (I also forgot the salt, but I realized that about the time I popped the pan in the oven.) Because our food processor (in which I usually make the dough) is broken, I finger mixed it, then did my usual press into the pan routine. The glass pan needs zero greasing (just like a regular pie). No pre-baking necessary.
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Right, so I didn't chop the oats either--food processor, you know.
I guess it took around thirty to forty minutes to bake. I wasn't watching the clock that close (sorry! I bake by smell and color to a degree). The shell turns a nice shade darker or so when it is cooked. As the filling was more or less ready to eat before it went in the oven, that wasn't a consideration at all.
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Decided against covering with tinfoil...
It was probably that splash of milk--and no binding material (like flour) in the filling--that made it rather "fall apart-ish", but with a side of sour kraut, my Lamb and Veggie Pie was, to all perception, enjoyed by all....
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I doubt this will ever come out tasting the same twice, but the general principle is fun to make and good to the taste. I've made several different versions of this...and one day, I will REALLY make mincemeat (how I originally got started on "meat pies"--a off the cuff mimic off mincemeat). 

And that, my dear reader, is the end of Episode One. It's about time for me to go work on supper...

      Racheal

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Time to Clean this Instrument....

1/31/2018

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Yesterday afternoon, I picked up my trumpet (y'all didn't know I had one did you? ;] ), inserted the mouthpiece, lifted it to my lips, and decided I'd had enough. The moldly flavor had gotten worse and I needed to do something about it STAT, so I put the instrument down, plopped down in front of my computer and I looked up "how to clean a trumpet". 

I've had this thing for over six years at this point (if I remember correctly which birthday I got it) and between year one and now, I never really learned how to play it (it sat abandoned in a closet for probably four years without being touched), much less take care of it (we'll make health excuses part of things). Anyway, I guess in my idiotic, not-knowing anything about brass instruments state (I grew up surrounded by strings, remember?), the idea that it might need to be cleaned never entered my head. (Seriously  though, all that spit that gets flung down-tube? Of course it's going to need to be cleaned!)

Now that I'm actually *trying* again to learn how to play it, I just couldn't get past that moldly taste yesterday...so this happened:
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This was *after* the soap bubbles dissipated and I'd already cleaned the slides. (I also ended up getting some tea-tree oil in there to help kill the mold that I am positive was growing in the tubes.)
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Air-drying time...
I didn't get around to putting it back together until this morning, when Katherine kindly took the re-assembly pictures (good thing too, because I ended up with slide and valve oil all over my hands).
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It's amazing how *smooth* the valves are after oiling. I had oiled them not very long ago, upon the suggestion of a young friend of mine who plays...I'd never thought of it and it really, really helped. Of course, after washing, they needed re-oiling.
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I can't imagine a brass-playing profile without a double chin...so here goes. It may just be me, but tone might have sounded better? Flavor is, irregardless. :D

      Racheal

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Chapter 25: The Second Commandment, Part 6 (+ Appendices)

1/21/2018

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I have the joy of saying: I completed this 230+ page chapter today! Without further ado then...returning to the remaining sin forbidden by the second commandment--Simony:
Simony is the sin that takes its name from Simon the Sorcerer...who tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit from Peter with the laying on of hands. It refers to the sin of buying spiritual power and ecclesiastical office and functions, or to the charging of fees for the benefits of receiving the Word and Sacraments. (181)
Sacrilege: 
The Greek word is hierosuleo meaning to rob a temple, i.e., to rob God. So then, sacrilege is theft directed against God. Malachi 3:7–12 gives us an example of sacrilege—the robbing of God by not paying Him the “tithes and offerings” due Him. (182)

"For the church to be derelict in its duties is thus sacrilege. This need not be obvious theft and adultery as in the case of these two priests. God is robbed and sacrilege is committed where antinomianism [a distaste and disregard for Biblical Law] is taught and tithing denied, where modernism [with its critical approach to the Bible and situational ethics] prevails and a so-called new theology and new morality are preached, where to any degree the churches arrogate to themselves the authority due unto God alone, and wherever authority is used for anything other than lawful, godly ends. 261. Rushdoony, Law and Society, 39–40. (184)
All neglect of the worship and ordinances of God:
All neglect [of]… the worship and ordinances which God has appointed is also a transgression of the Second Commandment. When a person neglects to worship God regularly according to His Word privately, with his family and especially with the congregation of the Lord publicly, it is disobedience to God, who commands us repeatedly in the Bible to worship with His people, “not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near” (Heb. 10:25). (185)

What would cause “the habit of some” to become the “forsaking of ourselves together?” Apostasy from the faith, which Hebrews was written to warn against, and negligence and the lack of diligence and conscientious care to regularly attend to the worship and ordinances of God, are the two leading causes. Other causes include: Fear of persecution, ridicule and slander in those who prefer their reputation, prestige, ease and comfort before Christ and the duties we owe Him in the gospel; Unbelief deceitfully and secretly working within gradually moving the negligent person to full apostasy, which is the way “an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” shows itself—in the neglect of worship, first of private worship, then family worship and congregational worship; and Spiritual laziness which is excused with a variety of phony reasons. (186)
All contempt for the worship and ordinances of God: 
If merely neglecting the worship and ordinances of God is sinful, how much more heinous is all… contempt [for] the worship and ordinances which God has appointed. There are two ways of treating the worship and ordinances of God with contempt. First, by not attending worship and using the ordinances regularly and often in faith with a holy, humble and proper frame of spirit,
"which the solemnity of the duties themselves, or the authority of God enjoining them, or the advantages which we may expect to receive by them, call for. When we do not seriously think what we are going about before we engage in holy duties,
or watch over our hearts and affections, or when we worship God in a careless and indifferent manner; we may be said to draw nigh to him with our lips, while our hearts are far from him. 274. Ridgeley, Commentary on the Larger Catechism, 2:331. (190)
All hindering the worship and ordinances of God:
Any attempt to hinder or to put a stumbling block in the path of anyone from worshipping God, especially from congregational worship, or from worshipping God publicly in the way He commands in the Bible, is guilty of breaking the Second Commandment and, unless he repents, will be judged by God. This applies to parents hindering their children from worship, friends hindering friends, the civil government hindering Christians, the church hierarchy hindering true worship by the imposition of ordinances not commanded by God or by outlawing the use of ordinances commanded by God... (194)
All opposing the worship and ordinances of God:
If hindering people from coming to the worship and ordinances of God is sinful, how much more wicked is it to be involved in overtly opposing the worship and ordinances which God hath appointed. (199)
That concludes the portion of the chapter dealing with Q. 109. We next move into question 110 of the Westminster Larger Catechism: What are the reasons annexed to the
second commandment, the more to enforce it?

The reasons annexed to the second commandment, the more to enforce it, contained in these words, For I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments; are, besides God’s sovereignty over us, and propriety in us, his fervent zeal for his own worship, and his revengeful indignation against all false worship, as being a spiritual
whoredom; accounting the breakers of this commandment such as hate him, and threatening to punish them unto divers generations; and esteeming the observers of it such as love him and keep his commandments, and promising mercy to them unto many generations.

This addresses the "appendix" to the Second Commandment, which is a both a sanction and a blessing:
A person who breaks the Second Commandment will see the consequences of his idolatry among his descendants: the father’s sins will be imitated in his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and so God’s judgment will fall upon his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren: “visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me.” 
....
On the other hand, a faithful believer who obeys the Second Commandment will see the gracious blessings of his obedience among his descendants: “showing lovingkindness to thousands [of generations], to those who love Me and keep My commandments.” “All the way to the most extended generation imaginable, God will show favor to those who are faithful to Him and keep His commandments.”295 Because David was faithful to God’s commands, his dynasty continued for generations. 295. Douma, The Ten Commandments, 57 (205-206)

Although we can speak of a collective working out of these curses and blessings, they do not work automatically. If a father sins, that does not mean necessarily that his descendants are doomed. And if a father is faithful to the Lord, that does not automatically guarantee that all his children will be faithful. (206)
The motives for our obedience to the Second Commandment are as follows. Firstly, God's sovereignty over us:
The appended sanction and blessing, however, is not the first reason given for obeying the Second Commandment. The first reason is God’s sovereignty over us—for I, the Lord your God (Ex. 20:5). (207)

God is our Creator and we are His creatures. God is the Lord of creation and we are His subjects whose reason for existence is to glorify and enjoy Him in whole hearted obedience to His commands for Jesus’ sake. (208)
God's propriety in us:
Because He is Elohim, our Almighty Creator, He owns us—the human race in general and each individual particularly—“The earth is the Lord’s and all it contains, the world and those who dwell in it” (Ps. 24:1). The Creator is our Proprietor. Because He is Jehovah, which is His covenant name—He is the God who is for His covenant people, who controls all things for their sake, who reveals Himself to them and whose presence is in their midst—His people are doubly His. (208)

By virtue of creation, we are His; and by virtue of His covenant of redemption, we are His: “for you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20). We are His redeemed servants to live for His pleasure and to do His revealed will. (209)
God's fervent zeal for His own worship: 
We are to obey the Second Commandment for the God who gave it is “a jealous God” (Ex. 20:5), who has fervent zeal for His own worship: “you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex. 34:14). (209)

[T]he Hebrew word for “jealousy” or “zeal” means “ardor,” which signifies God’s love for His people and His jealousy in their behalf, as well as for His jealousy for His own honor, which is inseparable from the welfare of His faithful people. He has a profound desire to protect them, and a jealous determination to protect and vindicate His own honor and purposes. (210)
The revengeful indignation of the Lord for all false worship:
Idolatry and rebellion against God provoke Him to anger: “Remember, do not forget how you provoked the Lord your God to wrath in the wilderness” (Deut. 9:7a). In Jeremiah 7:19, the Lord declares, “Do they provoke Me to anger?… Do they not provoke themselves to the confusion of their own faces?” (211)
The Divine assessment of the breakers of the Second Commandment as those who hate Him:
God identifies those who defy the Second Commandment as “those who hate Me” (Ex. 20:5). All who live in disobedience to God hate Him! This may not always appear to be the case either by the observer or by the disobedient person himself, but regardless of how it appears, it is true. (213)

Spiritual adultery leads to social adultery. If the covenant parents play the whore and give their love and worship to idols instead of to the living God, then they will also allow their covenant children to intermarry with idolators and pagans, which is not only condemned by God, but which leads to the destruction of the church by the world. (214-215)
The Divine threat to punish the breakers of the Second Commandment down through several generations: 
What does it mean to say that God visits iniquity? The word “visits” is used in the Bible in a good and bad sense. God visits His people to bless them (Gen. 21:1; 50:24; Ex. 13:19; Ps. 80:14); but He also visits people to judge and punish them: “And Thou, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, awake to punish [literally to visit] all the nations; do not be gracious to any who are treacherous in iniquity” (Ps. 59:5)....God will terribly punish transgressions of His Law, most particularly, in this case, the making of molten images by which to worship Him. (216-217)

First, we must recognize that God owes us and our children nothing. (217)

Second, the mercy God bestows upon the children of the faithful is this: He does not allow them to remain dead in their trespasses and sins....On the other hand, when He punishes the iniquities of the father upon their children, He merely leaves the individuals as they are—dead in sin and under condemnation. (218)

Third, we must understand why God revealed that He would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon their children.
"Men are so stubborn and sluggish that if Moses had simply said that [God would punish only the breakers of the Second Commandment and not their children], then they might not have been sufficiently aroused by fear. But Moses presses on. God, he says, will not only punish you personally, but he will extend his vengeance to your offspring, and not simply to your children, but He will pursue to the very end; for you will constantly feel his anger like a burning fire; even after your death people will see the marks of your iniquity.… " 315. Calvin, John Calvin’s Sermons on the Ten Commandments, 74. (219)
God's esteeming the observers of the Second Commandment such as love Him and keep His commandments:
God esteems the observers of [the Second Commandment] such as love Him and keep His commandments: “showing lovingkindness…to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:6). Those who love the Lord obey His commandments, for love… is the fulfillment of the Law (Rom. 13:10...)....It is impossible to desire to honor God and to be subject to His commands, unless our heart is filled with love for Him that moves us to cling to Him and to live for His pleasure. (221-222)
God's promising mercy to them that love Him to many generations:
God promises mercy to them [those who love Him and keep His commandments] unto many generations: “showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments” (Ex. 20:6). (223)

"The implication should be obvious: the capital base of righteousness will grow to fill the earth over time. Even a little growth, if compounded over a long enough period of time, produces astronomically large results—so large, in fact, that exponential growth points to an eventual final judgment and an end of time.… The righteous widow’s two mites (Luke 21:2–4) if invested at 1% per annum over a
thousand generations, would be worth more than all the wealth on earth. In other words, the concept of “a thousand generations” is symbolic; it means everything there is, a total victory for righteousness. Furthermore, this victory is no overnight affair; it comes as all growth processes come for a society: step by step.…" ​323. North, The Sinai Strategy, 43–45 (224)

God promises faithful observers of the Second Commandment that He will “show lovingkindness” to them and to thousands of their faithful descendants. He uses the word “lovingkindness” (NASB) or “mercy” (KJV) for two good reasons.
First, this word cannot possibly mean a just reward due to services paid, as if God had said, “I recognize the obedient service paid to Me from those who worship Me, and I will honor them according to what their service deserves.” However, because all our righteousness is as filthy rags, if that is what God said, we would receive nothing from Him but His condemnation. God could have said that, but, praise His name, He said I will show them lovingkindness.
...
Second, the word “lovingkindness” deflates human pride, “so much so that men cannot glorify in their words as if they merited a reward. Rather let us perceive that [what] God intended to mean by it is that when we serve him we still have need of his support as well as need of his forgiveness of our vices and weaknesses.” 325.Calvin, John Calvin’s Sermons on the Ten Commandments, 79–80. (225)
That concludes the chapter proper, but I will briefly cover the two appendices. The first is "Church Power in Things About Worship but not in Worship".
The Westminster Confession of Faith adds this explanation to its statement of the regulative principle of worship: there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed” (I, vi). (226)

Although the church’s authority regarding ceremonies and institutions of worship is limited to the administration and application of them as the Bible commands, the church does have a limited and well-defined power with reference to the circumstances connected with public worship, in common with any civil and well-ordered assembly of people to order and regulate them by the light of nature and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word....In other words, the church has the power and the duty to maintain order and proper decorum in
her assemblies and to restrain and correct any improprieties, indecencies or disorder. (227)

Therefore, how is the line to be drawn between matters of propriety and order which must be regulated by the church and matters of divine command in worship which the church may not regulate but administer? ...
(1) It must be only a circumstance of divine worship; no substantial part of it; no sacred significant and efficacious ceremony.332
(2) That which the church may lawfully prescribe by her laws and ordinances, as a thing left to her determination, must be one of such things as were not determinable by Scripture…333
(3) If the church prescribe anything lawfully, so that she prescribe no more than she has power given her to prescribe, her ordinance must be accompanied with some good reason and warrant given for the satisfaction of tender consciences.334
332. Gillespie, A Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies Obtruded on the Church of Scotland, 281–82
333. Gillespie, A Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies Obtruded on the Church of Scotland, 283–84.
334. Gillespie, A Dispute Against the English Popish Ceremonies Obtruded on the Church of Scotland, 284

(228-229)

Frank Smith, in his book, Worship in the Presence of God, has given us a concise summary of Gillespie’s three criteria for distinguishing circumstances ABOUT worship from ceremonies IN worship: “(1). It must be something which is truly circumstantial—that is, it must not have any liturgical significance; (2). it must be something which could not have been prescribed by the Bible (such as the language of worship, or the time or place of the service); (3). it must be something which, when imposed, will not wound tender consciences.” 337. Frank Smith, “What Is Worship,” Worship in the Presence of God, 18. (229-230)
The second appendix : "The Second Commandment, TV Images and Reading"
The centrality of the Bible as the Word of God to Christianity means that reading will never become obsolete and that the very act of reading can have spiritual significance.  (230)

"Whereas other religions may stress visions, experiences, or even the silence of meditation as the way to achieve contact with the divine, Christianity insists on the role of language, [because], [l]anguage is the basis for all communication and so lies at the heart of any personal relationship." 338. Veith, Reading Between the Lines, 17–18. (230)

The point Postman is making, (although we would describe the God of the Bible in other terms), is that “‘word-centered’ people think in a completely different mode from ‘image-centered’ people.” 341. Veith, Reading Between the Lines, 21. (232)

Since, as the Bible warns us, graven images lead to paganism of the worst sort, it is not surprising to see how this “new mentality” has impacted religion with postmodernism’s repudiation of all absolutes, worldviews and the very concept of truth itself, and with the New Age Movement with its comical irrationalism. Categories such as true and false, right and wrong, revelation and superstition have become irrelevant to the “image” generation. Even among Christians today, the concern is (234)

Veith warns Evangelicals, who supposedly love the Bible, not to allow themselves to be seduced into being conformed to this evil world rather than to the written Word of God, similar to the way the children of Israel were seduced by the graven images of the Canaanites and the thought-forms they embodied. We show ourselves to be seduced when we stress feeling rather than truth, when we seek emotional experiences rather than conformity to the life and death of Jesus Christ. We want instant religious gratification—“name it and claim it”—rather that complete submission of ourselves to the revealed will of God written in the Bible. (234-235)
Thus concludes Chapter 25 of Authentic Christianity​...

     Racheal

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The Second Commandment, Part Five

1/14/2018

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Still didn't get completely through question 109 today. 

Picking back up with the sins forbidden by the Second Commandment, then...

Making any representation of God, worshiping such graven images, and worshiping God by such images.
God forbids trying to capture the Lord God in any mental or visual images, for such efforts are a contradiction of His uncreated, immaterial and infinite spirituality, a rejection of God’s sovereignty, a denial of His incomparable majesty, and represent attempts to control God by magic. (129)

Mental pictures of images of God are idolatrous. God is to be perceived in His perfections and works, not in terms of a specific form or shape, even mentally. (130)

It should be obvious that giving such mental images or visual images the worship, adoration, veneration or honor that belongs alone to God is idolatry, and idolatry that is an abomination to the living God, who is jealous for His own glory. (132)

Although it is obvious that graven images should not be worshipped, it is not as obvious that all worshipping of God by means of, or represented, in or symbolized by such graven images is also idolatry... Aaron had no intention of leading Israel to worship another god than Jehovah, or of worshipping the golden calf, but of worshipping Jehovah by means of and as symbolized in the golden calf. (133)

Why is this desire [to worship God with images] evil? (1) It is rooted in unbelief. Faith rests in the sheer Word of God without any other props. If God says He is
near His people, faith believes God. (2) It is an attempt to control God and to guarantee His presence with His people. (3) Worshipping God by means of a graven image promptly turns into the worshipping of the graven image as God. (134)
Making and worshiping representations of feigned deities:
The Second Commandment forbids using images as pretended helps to worship, because no feigned images of God, Father, Son or Spirit, are at all helpful in the worship of God, rather they are hindrances to true worship. (140)

Representation of feigned deities give a false appearance, are a pretense and a sham.
All superstitious devices:
Superstitious devices are those ceremonies and rites invented by the brain of man, not commanded by God, used to manipulate the supposed “dark supernatural forces, ” e.g., lucky charms, or used in the worship of the true God, e.g., kneeling to receive communion, clerical vestments and prayers for, or to, the dead. In whatever sense we use the phrase, superstitious devices, all of them are forbidden by God. (142)

We should notice five emphases in this text [Is. 1:10-15]: (1) The Divine disgust for religious rites without repentance; (2) The “heartless” but sincere worship of Judah; (3) The hatred of God’s “soul” for worship without heart; (4) The burden of superstitious worship to God; and (5) The refusal of God to hear and answer prayer in superstitious worship. (143)

[1] In her apostate condition Israel’s worship, prayers, religious rites and holy days meant nothing to Jehovah. In fact, He was repulsed by their observance, frequency and sincerity. Although He had commanded that these things be done in His worship, He never commanded these religious rites apart from repentance and integrity of heart before Him (1 Sam. 15:22; Jer. 6:20; Hos. 6:6; Amos 5:21–23).
....
The sacrifices, prayers and holy days had been prescribed by Jehovah, but not without faith in the heart. (143)

[2] The worshippers in Judah and Jerusalem were generally correct in their worship practices and they may have been enthusiastic and sincere in the performing of them, but sincerity, enthusiasm, and external correctness are no substitutes for obedience to God’s commands from the heart and in the life. (144)

[3] He hates apostate, superstitious worship. “My soul” is an anthropomorphic
expression which means much more than merely a substitute for the personal pronoun “I.” “My soul” is “the center of His being, regarded as encircled and pervaded by self-consciousness." 200. Delitzsch, quoted in Young, The Book of Isaiah, 1:67. (145)

[4] Superstitious worship, then, according to this text is comprised of two things: (1) Worshipping God in a manner not commanded by God; and (2) Worshipping God when in the worshipper’s heart there is no living faith in God. This merely formal, although sincere, worship is seen as a burden resting heavily on the Lord. (145)

[5] Isaiah 1 teaches us that the prayers and worship of apostates, however externally correct and sincere, are rejected by Jehovah, because fervor and zeal in prayer and worship are no substitutes for faith and obedience. (147)
Corrupting the worship of God; adding to or taking from it, whether invented and taken up of ourselves, or received by tradition from other; good intent or any pretense whatsoever:
The people and priests of Israel were corrupting the worship of God during Malachi’s day by “presenting defiled food on My [God’s] altar,” i.e., by presenting blind and lame and sick animals to be sacrificed rather than perfect and unblemished animals and by offering unsuitable and coarse bread, probably dry and moldy, to be placed on the “table of showbread” in the Temple. (155)

The people were defiling God’s altar and despising His name by being convinced that they needed to offer sacrifices to God to secure His blessing, and yet by being careless and negligent and disobedient in offering sacrifices that were not exactly what God commanded....They were trying to secure God’s favor by a general correctness in the externals of worship, but for them it was not worth the effort to be carefully and painstakingly obedient to God’s ordinances from the heart. (156)

The priests were particularly defiling God’s altar and despising His name by being wicked and sacrilegious in their corrupting of God’s worship, while suppressing any consciousness of doing anything wrong (1:6). In fact, God’s reproofs through Malachi are primarily directed to the priests, because they allowed and encouraged
the people to corrupt their worship of God by offering the corrupted animals and bread the people brought. (157)

So then, by corrupting the worship of God, the Larger Catechism is describing such sins as half-heartedness and hypocrisy in the worship of God, failure to see the value of strictness of observance of God’s revealed ordinances of worship, giving to God less than our best and highest devotion, holding anything or anybody as more precious to us than the worship of the triune God. (161)

The text of covenant Law God has given His people is not to be tampered with, for it is the revelation of the will of Jehovah, their Lord and Savior. It is to be accepted as given by Him without amendment or abridgement by human legislation. Without lessening God’s demands, by obeying only part of them, or increasing God’s demands by the addition of human laws, God’s people are to submit themselves entirely to the inviolable Word of God, lest they detract from the majesty of God’s Law, which is a “testimony” of the glorious character of God. (163)

Any addition to the Law of God is forbidden by Deuteronomy ed and taken up of ourselves, and therefore such “practices” makes those who use them “unclean” in God’s sight. Some people invent ways of worshipping God for themselves personally without any desire to impose them on others or to make them public. Even these practices in personal and private worship are forbidden.
Such “practices” make us “unclean,” for placing our own personal practices alongside the Law is not only the height of arrogance, it has the effect of invalidating the Law of God (Mark 7) and is in God’s sight spiritual prostitution, i.e., unfaithfulness to our covenantal Husband and Bridegroom to whom we have pledged our total, life-long, unqualified, and undivided submission to love and
obey: “they played the harlot in their deeds.” (164-165)

Even if these worship rituals invented by man without Divine sanction are received by tradition from others, with a long and distinguished history in the church, they are dishonoring to God and hence forbidden....(1) They make true worship empty and vain: “in vain do they worship Me.” (2) They are the “precepts of men, the tradition of men, your tradition which you handed down,” rather than the commandment of God. (3) The keeping of such traditions causes the “neglecting of the commandment of God,” “nicely set[ting] aside the commandment of God,” and “invalidating the Word of God.” (166)

1] Nor does it matter that man-made worship rituals have the title of antiquity, i.e., they have a long and celebrated history, “inherited from your forefathers;” the passage of time does not make good evil or evil good. It is evil to supplement, amend or abridge the Law of God and it is never right to do so, nor will it ever be right, and although such things have been approved by many for centuries, it has never been right. (166-167)

Even if these human inventions are venerated as the established customs of a religious society, which most of the people followed, along with the rich, powerful, prestigious and famous, they are still forbidden by the Word of God. (167)

Neither religious zeal, sacrificing devotion, utter sincerity nor enthusiastic passion for the worship of God can justify any innovations in worship not sanctioned by God’s command in the Bible. (174)

God accepts no honoring or worshipping of Him, however “good” our intentions, “without it having the express commandment of his own word to be done in all points.” 253. Knox, Selected Writings of John Knox, 24 (179) 
Next time, we should pick up with Simony...

     Racheal

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What is Love?

1/2/2018

2 Comments

 
This post stems from a conversation Katherine and I were having on our way home this past weekend. I forget how exactly we got on "girly-blogs" and my general distaste for such herd-mentality inducing blogs, relying on other women to tell us what we are supposed to think, how to feel, dress, eat, etc... Most importantly to this particular post is the state of the heart and relationships. Bottom line, everyone is different and will have to deal with relationships in a variety of fashion--how I (attempt) to keep my head and heart in line may not be an effective measure for you. That is not to say that life and love and relationships are arbitrary or subjective. There is one set of principles that goes for ALL of life. The Bible. The Ten Commandments.

That brings us then to the question: what is love? 

Maybe I ought to define love. I mean both non-romantic love and romantic love. The how we are to relate to one another, irregardless of our attraction or lack of attraction for different people.

So, love. What is it? At it's core, all types of love are the same. Very simply put, love is keeping the Law of God towards each other. Your sister isn't feeling well...you love her by unselfishly (uncomplainingly) picking up her tasks. You think you are "in love" with a particular guy...so, you love him by not tempting him...by seeking his best interest. 

Those are very generic examples, but how do those two examples keep the Law toward one another?

The first one could fall under the category of the 5th Commandment: "Honor thy father and mother..." The Westminster Larger Catechism points out that, "The duties of equals are, to regard the dignity and worth of each other, in giving honour to go one before another; and to rejoice in each others’ gifts and advancement, as their own."

So by picking up someone's slack, we are giving honour one before another...

The second one can also fall under the 5th Commandment, but also the 7th: "Thou shalt not commit adultery." WLC #138: "T
he duties required in the seventh commandment are, chastity in body, mind, affections, words, and behavior; and the preservation of it in ourselves and others; watchfulness over the eyes and all the senses; temperance, keeping of chaste company, modesty in apparel; marriage by those that have not the gift of continency, conjugal love, and cohabitation; diligent labor in our callings; shunning all occasions of uncleanness, and resisting temptations thereunto."

So love...it's not a squishy feeling. It's our job or duty--our daily calling one to another, to serve one another even when we do not feel like it. Does it come with the glowing feelings? Sure...but love isn't based on the warm feelings. Those are transient.  Do I always feel fuzzy about my family members? In all out, flat honesty--no. Am I to always love them? Yes. 

So love, no matter what type of love it is--familial, friendly, that to the stranger you run into in the grocery, or toward "that guy" you like--true and faithful love is based ONLY in the love and law of God Himself. We cannot rightly love unless we realize that love is obedience to the law of our Sovereign God. It's that simple. 

Are you struggling with loving people--whether not as well as you should or by an attraction to someone? The answer, simple, though at times hard to implement, is asking oneself, "How am I keeping the commandments to/for/about this person/situation?"


We fail. I fail DAILY. But God grants forgiveness and a desire to live more and more after His image. 

That's the funny thing about true Christianity. It's not complicated. It's really quite simple and straight-forward. Easy it is not. No one ever said, "Simple is easy", or if they did, they were thinking only of things like jig-saw puzzles. Straight lines are simple, but very difficult for me to draw--even with a ruler. God's Law is rather like our ruler...my sins and failings (anti-love of God and my fellow man) are like the wiggles in my line--the bumps where my clumsy fingers protrude over the ruler and interrupt the line.

What is love? Keeping the Ten Commandments. May I remember this and implement this in my own life in this upcoming year....

      Racheal

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The Year 2017 In Review

1/1/2018

1 Comment

 
Is it January 2018 already? Good gracious! Did 2017 ever fly by in a blur or what? I'll be hitting the highlights here...and maybe with the pictures available, I'll be able to pull some extra memories for you. ;)

January 

Well, I don't remember too much from this month. We had our usual "Little" Christmas (Epiphany) on the 6th. The 17th or so, Katherine and I had an appointment with our Lyme doctor in Ohio. Sometime in the following two weeks, my parents loaded up with Grandma had headed to the deep South for a few months...which turned into a full five month stay in the Sunshine State.
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Due to our clothing, I'd guess this was a Sunday...probably end of the day by the exhaustion on my face.
February

There is really only one thing that stands out for me from February...a trip a little further north to attend/participate in a "Homeschool Show and Tell Day" put on by some friends. Now, neither Katherine or I are (or were) still in school, but we were still welcomed with open arms and presented. I gave a spiel on WWII B-17 bomber crews, with a special emphasis on 'Yahoodi'. Katherine spoke on the British Land Girls. The other "children" spoke on things from emergency shelters, rope ladders, family history,  gun safety, and clouds. (There was more, those are just the ones I'm remembering off hand.)
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I made this blue 1940's suit for the occasion.
Glancing through my photos, I see this is also the month that I rag-curled (or sausage curled) Katherine's hair...and she finished her first 1860's dress.
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It took probably an hour and half to go up...and after sleeping on a head full of rags--around 45 minutes to take them out. But boy! Did it ever work!! :)
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 March

I had to look at the pictures for this one...Apparently, the only thing of note was continued work on reenactor prep for later in the year. I took in one of my first ever 1860's outfits (the one which Katherine had worn for reenacting 2016) and was delighted with the outcome. (I sure look like it, right? :D)
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In other news, Katherine is just so photogenic...
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April

This month saw more 1860's clothing construction, the arrival of my new bees, and a road trip to Illinois to visit some friends and celebrate Katherine's birthday! All in all, I guess we were rather buzzy...
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Two nutty girls going cross-country again. ;)
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For detailed info on this dress's construction, click the picture. ;)
May

This whole month was leading up to the "Grand Finale" the Civil War Days reenactment in Coldwater! We did actually go to the Hartford City Civil War days as well--but just for one day--we cut it short because Katherine got to feeling lousy before the day was over. But taking care of one's health is far more important than gallivanting. The following shots are from Hartford City.
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Collected this one off Facebook. I cannot remember the name of the photographer.
I'll leave you to read the Coldwater blog post if you want more details...but a picture or two are in order here.
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Cooking for thirteen. A new one for me, but accomplished without any undue trouble.
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Food for the lads--as Mr. Arthur would say, "An army moves on it's stomach."
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June

There were two main events in June...Turkeyville and another doctor's appointment in Ohio. Honestly, I cannot remember which was first. We'll list Turkeyville as first though...
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Don't mind the modern vehicles in the background--those belonged to the Boy Scout troop that attended and camped at the reenactment.
On our way home from our Dr.'s appointment, we stopped at some church friend's house to pick cherries! Another new experience.
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Oh yes...the folks got back from Florida on the 28th, I believe...just in time for the scramble for our Independence Day party!

July

No doubt about it. July the 4th is probably my favorite holiday--I may love it more than Christmas. :D So, our now annual shindig with friends is a wonderful highlight of the year.
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I recited/read the Declaration of Independence. (I'd better get back to work on it if I want to have it completely memorized this year!)
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One friend has wings...and he took Daddy and Katherine up. I think she had a blast, don't you?
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Also of note in July, I had my first ever honey harvest.
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I'd say roughly 25-30 pounds of honey.
August

Hmm...August. We were supposed to start sewing for RWWII in August, but with the discovery of MOLD in the parent's closet, that was put on hold and the contents of said closet moved out while the remediation and renovation took place. Meanwhile, Katherine and I took a two day jaunt to go help some friends with their chicken butchering. They do things differently than we do, but new experiences aren't a bad thing. 
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Just a random cat picture...
September 

As has become the norm over the past several years, September was RWWII from start to finish. Sewing. Sewing. Sewing. And more sewing. (No kidding, I finished four aprons the very morning we left for the event.) If you want to read all about it, go here. My parents and Grandma were going to come this year, but Hurricane Irma threw a monkey wrench into that, so we girls went off by ourselves again, collecting a few friends along the way.

Photos are either from our friends cameras or the RWWII FB page.
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So thankful we got to stay in the Courter's cabin this year...it was so hot that the coolness of the interior was a huge blessing!
There really wasn't much else to September...we got home and crashed. Then picked up a new weekly routine as October arrived.

October

That new routine? Every Tuesday until the first week of December (minus one), found Katherine and I off on an evening excursion to practice Handel's "Messiah"! A new experience that I hope to repeat next year--only singing tenor rather than alto. ;)

Also in October, I hit 26. 
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I've "missed" years before, but up until this year, I'd never had a "hard" birthday (I thought the idea simply silly). Turning twenty-six was hard for me, but I think I've moved past the emotional upheaval I went through at the realization I was closer to thirty than twenty and still single...and still fighting illness. Just ask the family. It was a rather rough couple of weeks for me. Sometimes, you really have to force yourself to stare into the fact that God is sovereign and works all things for your own good. Even if you are to stinkin' stubborn to acknowledge it. 

The end of October saw my older sister (pregnant with her first baby) going into early labor...so off the parents went to help out. They stayed til the baby was born...but that happened in November.

November 

Savannah just kept holding on...and ended up having the baby on her due date! Almost an entire month after she got put on bed rest.

I did the first stages of winterizing by myself:
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This was my first Thanksgiving ever without my parents, but Katherine and I pulled together to make a traditional spread, hauled it out to Grandma's apartment and had a jolly enough time eating and gabbing. 
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First time I ever baked a turkey!
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It is almost impossible to take good pictures of Grandma because she refuses to cooperate...so we do the best we can!
Of course, I know you want to know about the baby...
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Meet my nephew, Malcolm!
Mom and Dad got home with just a couple of days to spare before the end of November. 

December 

The month started out with a bang--the "Messiah" performance! (Photos courtesy of friends.) 
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It was majestic...even if I did get hoarse and "cap out" by a little over half-way through.
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The K's are to be "blamed" for us singing...here are the singers. All the girls were altos, the men all basses--except for Mr. K. I hope to join him in the tenor section next fall.
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Closing the place down as usual.
It was a two-day performance--Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. We left on Sunday (after showing baby pictures to the K's) and headed straight to Ohio for our Lyme doctor appointment. Dr. Ritchey thinks we are far enough along, and know enough how to keep fighting, that she told us she didn't think we really *needed* to come back, so we do not have a scheduled "next appointment". It's a little odd after three years. 

Between that weekend and Christmas, it was life...prepping for Christmas. I have been dealing with a skin infection on my feet for over a month, and as December ended it was finally beginning to really look like it was actually going away. Thankfully, it quit being horribly red, swollen, and itchy!! early in December.

Then of course...Christmas!
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"Nate"
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I think the new belt fit the bill perfectly! :)
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You can't see "it" very well, but Katherine and I are pretty thrilled with our new camera!!
We ended the year out with a weekend trip (which ended up with us staying an extra half day due to exhaustion) to ring in the New Year! The weekend was a blast--cold(!!), ice-skating, talking, music, Chinese Lanterns, ringing in the New Year (a day early, but who cares), a slight snow fight (started by your's truly), food and more fellowship. 

Katherine and I went by ourselves because Grandma couldn't go and Daddy didn't really want to leave Mom behind and Mom didn't want to go without him (and vice versa), so anyway, that's why the two gal's hit the road for an overnighter (which turned into a two-night stay) by themselves.
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A small smattering of photos...I think we need to learn how to use our new camera a little better, but photos are still photos when they are grainy!
The long and short of the year 2017 is this: it went by fast and in a blur, but God's hand of grace and provision and healing can be seen at every turn looking back. In some ways it was a really hard year to me, but God used (and is still using) the bumps to turn my weak and sinful heart more to Him and to seek after Him more faithfully. I look forward to where my path is going to lead in this next year!
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Happy New Year 2018!!

     Racheal

1 Comment
    New post on The Bee Project! 04/26/18
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    The Middle Kid

    I chose to title this blog "The Adventures of a Middle Kid" because that is exactly what I'll be detailing (mostly). I chose 'kid' over any other word, like 'girl' (I am the middle girl so it also would have worked) or 'child'
    (since I am no longer exactly a child).

    I am a middle kid and I will always be a middle kid--even when I'm 80!

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