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Strange Providences

4/27/2014

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Well, at any rate, it may seem strange to me. You see, I stayed home from church today because when I woke up this morning I wasn't feeling overly well and I felt like I might get worse, so I just decided to stay home.

By mid-morning, I was feeling fine! I could have gone to church after all, but this is where the "strange providences" came in.

Granddaddy took a backwards head-first fall, or slide, out of bed. If I hadn't been home, Mama would have had to deal with it all by herself. As it was, it took both of us and a lift to get him off the floor. I wasn't strong enough to get his torso (with a gait belt) more than a few inches off the floor without help...Mama was at his feet, so she couldn't help me.

Mama called Daddy, who was in church by that point, figuring he had his ringer turned off, but with vibrate on. Of all days, today was the day that he forgot to turn his ringer off. He said later when he came home that it was turned all the way up...

About the same time she called him, I started dabbling with the lift. Daddy told Mama to use the lift and by the time she handed me the phone to get instructions, I had already figured out how to operate the thing. (It's easy.) 

We ended up having to rearrange Granddaddy on the floor so I could get the lift over him (and I still bumped his head with the frame! Poor man...two falls and an inconsiderate granddaughter banging his poor head all within a 12-hour period!) I do not think he likes the lift very well at all--but we did get him back in bed, his bloody arm bandaged (he had managed to flay some of the skin on his left arm back again), and nicely covered up. The only thing we forgot was the absorbent pad that we place between his legs (he refuses to wear a brief, so we improvise).

Before I went back to my reading, I crawled under Daddy's desk and retrieved his bundle of bungee cords (perhaps it's a strange place to keep them) and put two of them between the head and leg railings in hopes that it would at least slow Granddaddy down if he decided to try another Houdini trick on us today. We had already picked him up off the floor at five this morning (Mama came and woke us up to help). It amazes me that he got practically all the way across the room before falling down...his legs are basically strapped together with a couple of braces to protect that left hip--which I do not think came out of the socket either time he fell (thankfully!)

After lunch this afternoon, Daddy and Mama went to town where Daddy purchased the needed supplies to make better bed-railings (one could easily call this a work of both necessity and mercy). Hopefully, with the new railings, Granddaddy will not fall/slide/Houdini his way out of the bed again tonight.

On a more positive note, I hear he ate a whole two eggs with sour cream and cheese in them this evening and had some apple juice!

           Racheal

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The Reality of Creation

4/27/2014

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Chapter seven of "Authentic Christianity" covers WLC questions 15-17. Before delving into the meat of the subject, Dr. Morecraft first reminds us of man's complete incompetence to discover for himself the origin of the universe and God's full competence to reveal that origin.
Although man was not present at the beginning of the universe,GOD WAS! Therefore, only God can reveal why and how He created the universe; and He has done so in His special revelation, the Bible. (526)

It [creation by fiat] is a matter of fact revealed in the Biblical revelation of the Creator Himself. (526)
This therefore points us to the only place we may go to base our understanding of creation: the Word of God.
Our belief in the historicity and accuracy of the record of creation in Genesis 1–2 grows out of our faith in God, our Creator and Redeemer, and in His written Word. (527)

We are to exercise a personal reliance on Him, as thus present and thus speaking to us—a reliance on His faithfulness, in what He says to us concerning His character and doings in creation. 4. Candlish, An Exposition of Genesis, 14. (528)
In opposition to this is the basis for the humanistic theories of origins, a blind irrational faith.
In their unguarded moments humanists admit that their theories of evolution are based on blind faith, not on facts. (529)

D. M. S. Watson, Professor of Zoology in London University, said: “Evolution is a theory universally accepted, not because it can be proved to be true, but because the only alternative, ‘special creation,’ is clearly impossible.” (529-530)

As could be inferred from the quotes, there is rebellion against that universal knowledge of God as the creator.
God says it is a fact of life that all people know they are created by God, but they desperately suppress that knowledge (Rom. 1:18–19), because of their rebellion against God. (530)

“God remains the inescapable premise of human thought. Because God is the Creator, every aspect of the universe and of man is structured by God’s creative act and eternal decree, and therefore reflects His law and order. Men cannot escape Him nor can they shut Him out. If they attempt to think without Him as their premise, they simply reintroduce His attributes in the form of miraculous potentialities and processes which reduce science to irrationalism and self-contradiction.” 9. Rousas J. Rushdoony, The Mythology of Science (Nutley, NJ: The Craig Press, 1968), 44. (530)
In fact, science is an impossibility without God:
Suppose we think of a man made of water in an infinitely extended and bottomless ocean of water. Desiring to get out of the water, he makes a ladder of water. He sets this ladder upon the water and against the water and then attempts to climb out of the water. So hopeless and senseless a picture must be drawn of the natural man’s methodology based as it is upon the assumption that time or chance is ultimate. On
his assumption his own rationality is a product of chance. On his assumption even the laws of logic which he employs are products of chance. The rationality and purpose that he may be searching for are still bound to be products of chance... It will then appear that Christian theism, [i.e., faith in the God of the Bible], which was first rejected because of its supposed authoritarian character, is the only position which gives human reason a field for successful operation and a method of true progress in knowledge. 10. Cornelius Van Til, The Defense of the Faith (Philadelphia, PA: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1955), 102–3. (531)

Dr. Morecraft points us to the two pillars upon which our faith in the Bible rest:
The two pillars upon which our faith in the Bible as the infallible Word of the Creator rests are: (1) The objective witness of the Bible to its own authority; and (2) The internal witness of the Holy Spirit in the Christian to the Bible’s authority. (531)


Scripture is authoritative because God is its author, and he is its author because…it was given by inspiration from God.…It is, however, by “the inward work of the Holy Spirit bearing witness by and with the Word in our hearts,” that we become convinced of that authority. 12. Murray, “The Attestation of Scripture,” 44. (532)

We will never understand ourselves without understanding our origins; therefore, we cannot understand ourselves without faith in Christ and His Word. (532)
Turning more directly towards the subject of questions 15-17 then, let us first examine the creation of the universe.
Genesis 1–2 is a special revelation from God explaining how and why He created the universe....(1) Genesis 1–2 stands in close relation to the rest of the book of Genesis....(2) The characteristics of Hebrew poetry are lacking; and the marks of historical narrative
characterize it. (3) The New Testament and the Old Testament regard specific events mentioned in Genesis 1–3 as actually having taken place: the creation of light by God’s Word (2 Cor. 4:6); the presence of thorns as a sign of the curse in Genesis 3 (Heb. 6:7, 8); the creation of the world by a Divinely-spoken Word (Ps. 33:9); the separation of land and firmament by God’s Word (2 Pet. 3:5); the creation of the universe out of nothing (Heb. 11:3); the creation of the world in six days and a Sabbath (Ex. 20:11); the creation of Eve out of Adam (1 Cor. 11:8). (533)


Understanding the Biblical truth of creation is essential to understanding everything else in the Bible. (533)

What the Bible teaches about creation is this: God created the universe out of nothing by His powerful Word, in six days, for Himself, and pronounced it very good. (533)
Each of those need to be fleshed out more fully:
First, God created the universe (Gen. 1:1)....He is not an impersonal force that pervades everything. He is the living and personal God, who speaks, plans, “rests,” and asks questions. He is the sovereign God, who created the universe as He pleased for His own purposes. (534)

Second, God created the universe out of nothing (Gen. 1:1)....God made this entire universe, not out of any preexistent materials, not out of a part of Himself, but out of absolutely nothing....Only God can d0 such a thing. (536)

Because the earth, including everything in it, was created out of nothing, ex nihilo, it is totally dependent upon its Maker....We will never understand life and will not be able to live life to the fullest, unless we first admit to our total dependence upon God in Christ for everything. (538)

Third, the universe was created by God’s powerful Word. ...God spoke and it was done! God spoke and gave everything in the universe its existence, meaning, place, value and relationships. (538)

Whatever God’s creative Word commands happens! That Word “is such an unfathomable demonstration of God’s almighty power that it is far beyond our ability to comprehend its full reality.”15. Aalders, Genesis, 1:56. (539)

Fourth, God created the universe in six days....When Exodus 20 says “six days” it means six days! Nothing else fits the context of Genesis 1–. Forcing the whole geological age theory into the six day structure of Genesis 1 is not only poor exegesis, it is like trying to squeeze a size twelve foot into a size four shoe. It just will not fit! (539)
Under this section, Dr. Morecraft further expands on the order of creation (found in Genesis 1-2); first, the creation of the universe out of nothing (Gen. 1:1-3):
To say that the earth was created out of nothing is to say that the earth was created with the appearance of age. God created the universe suddenly and instantaneously out of nothing; and when He created it, it had the appearance of maturity, of having existed for a long period of time....When God created Adam, He created him with maturity. He appeared fully mature immediately upon his creation. (540)

During the six days of the creation week, God displayed His goodness toward His creation by providing it with those things essential to its life, but which it could not produce itself. He shined LIGHT into the world’s darkness. He put ORDER into its void. And He put LIFE into its emptiness. The earth is in the grip of God’s generosity and control (Ps. 135:5–4). Therefore, the Christian can feel secure in this universe cared for by God (Ps. 104:14). (541)
Second, the First Day: Light in Darkness (Gen. 1:3-5):
Light penetrated the darkness and existed alongside darkness. They were distinguished from each other as two separated created factors. (542)
Third, the Second Day: Sea and Sky (Gen. 1:6-8):
God brought order into His creation by differentiating between oceans and the atmosphere. (542)
Fourth, the Third Day: Fertile Earth (Gen. 1:9-13):
God transformed the fluid mass of earth into its present form, differentiating between land and oceans, which did not develop by themselves, but which were formed by the sovereign power of God. (542)
Fifth, the Fourth Day: Lights of Day and Night (Gen. 1: 14-19):
On this day God created the sun, moon, stars and planets to separate the day from the night, to serve as signs to mark seasons, days and years, to give light to the earth, and to govern the day and night. In other words, God created the sun, moon and stars to enable man to live an orderly life by schedule, plan and calendar.(543)
Sixth, the Fifth Day: Creatures of Water and Air (Gen. 1: 20-23):
On this day God created birds and marine life, including great sea creatures, such as whales. He ordered them to be fruitful, increase in number and fill the oceans and the earth. (543)
Seventh, the Sixth Day: Creatures of Land, Man and Woman (Gen. 1: 24-31):
The animals came forth by God’s direct creative power. In creating them, He differentiated between “cattle,” i.e., livestock and domesticated animals, “creeping things,” i.e., animals that move along the ground, and “wild animals,” i.e., animals that roam the forests and fields. (544)

Also on the sixth day, God created man and woman as the crown of His creation. (545)
Eighth, the Seventh Day: the Sabbath Day of Rest (Gen. 2: 1-3):
With Genesis 2:1 our attention is focused on the results of God’s entire work of creation, which is now complete. The result of God’s creation of the universe out of nothing was a transformation of the emptiness, formlessness and darkness of things into the entire organized universe as we know it. (545)

God’s creative work was completed on the sixth day. He no longer works at creating out of nothing, but at governing and sustaining His creation (Heb. 4:10)....Having created everything out of nothing, and having taken six days to organize what He had created, God now relates to His creation in providence and redemption, sovereignly ruling, generously providing for and graciously redeeming His creation (John 5:17). (546)


Having finished His creation, God “rested” on the seventh day of the creation week....He glories in His perfect work....Because God rested from His work of creation on His seventh day of creation week, He ordained that mankind should rest from its weekly employments and recreations on the seventh day as a blessed and holy day, in which God’s people enjoy spiritual and covenantal “rest” with God Himself, in communion with Him (Heb. 4:1–0), and in the worshipful adoration of their Creator, Redeemer and Covenant Lord. (546)

The New Testament preserved the weekly Sabbath for God’s people by changing the day from the seventh to the first day of the week to commemorate the resurrection of Christ. (547)
We return to our original expounding on "creation in six days, by the word of His power, for His own glory, and it was all very good", picking up at the fifth point:
Fifth, God created the universe and everything in it for Himself....He does all things for His own glory. (547)

Sixth, God pronounced His entire, finished creation very good (Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). His creation is good because it is beautiful, orderly, organized and full of life. (549)

Since God created the earth and universe “very good,” there can be no dualism, no neo-platonism, in our thinking. Neo-Platonism is an old pagan Greek philosophy that taught that material-physical things are base and to be despised, while the truly important things are the subjective, the “spiritual,” the contemplative, and the “heavenly.” (549)

This view is totally repugnant to the Biblical view of creation. We must never forget that it was the material universe which God pronounced good. It was life, physical and spiritual, in all its wholeness, as God made it....It includes the created desires and needs we as human beings have. Jesus took upon Himself human flesh. He will return physically to raise our physical bodies from the grave. (550)
Let us briefly look at creation vs. evolution:
Biblical creationism and evolutionism are two antithetical views of understanding the universe. Evolution is based on the philosophy that teaches that the universe is governed by chance. It believes that life has the inherent power to improve itself; that matter is eternal and uncreated; that all geological and biological processes have moved along uninterruptedly at a constant and uniform rate of speed; and that man is the ultimate value in the universe, who remains, nevertheless, an animal “beyond freedom and dignity,” to use B. F. Skinner’s words. (551)

Chance does not govern the world, God governs it (Dan.4:35). Life does not have the inherent power to improve itself, Christ must hold it all together (Col. 1:17). The entire creation is utterly dependent upon God’s hand each moment of its existence (Ps. 31:15). Matter is not eternal and uncreated (Gen. 1:1). It had a definite starting point when God created the universe out of nothing (Heb. 11:3). All geological and biological processes have not moved along at a uniform rate of speed (Gen. 7:19; 2 Pet. 3). (551)
The relationship between creation and redemption:
The relationship between creation and redemption must be clearly understood. The Creator has become our Redeemer. Only the Creator can be the Redeemer, because the earth is His alone....The reconciliation accomplished by the death of Christ is not limited to human beings; it applies to the whole order of creation....The point is this: “Not only is sinful man reconciled, but the created order which has been made subject to vanity because of sin (see Rom. viii:20f) will share also in the fruit of the mighty act of atonement on the cross.” 35. Herbert M. Carson, The Epistles of Paul to the Colossians (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1972), 47. (552)
Dr. Morecraft next focuses on the creation of man and woman, as separate from the rest of creation.
It is essential to Christianity to believe that Adam and Eve were the first human pair, from whom the entire human race has descended. If this were not so, the integrity of the Bible would be at stake, for the Bible assumes and teaches time and again that Adam and Eve actually lived (Matt. 19:4; Rom. 5:12–21; 1 Tim. 2:13). (553)

Furthermore, it is also essential to believe that Adam and Eve were created in sinless maturity—morally, mentally, physically,emotionally and spiritually. If, in actual human history, there was no transition in history from innocency to guilt, there can be no transition in history from guilt and wrath to grace and forgiveness, and Romans 5:12–21 falls to the ground as pure fantasy. (553)

The time of the creation of man and woman:
According to Biblical chronology, the time of Adam’s creation was approximately six thousand years ago. (554)
The place of man and woman's creation:
Genesis 1:26–28 and 2:4–25 explain the creation of man and woman which took place on the early earth in Eden. The early earth, according to Genesis 2:4–6, was like a cosmic green house—warm and humid. Moisture came up from the earth rather than
falling from the sky. There was probably no rainfall until Noah’s Flood....In the midst of this early earth God created the Garden of Eden, where He created man and woman (Gen. 2:8–15). (555-556)

The most important thing about Eden was that it was “Eden, the Garden of God,” (Ezekiel 28:13)...Eden was God’s home on
earth. Jehovah-Elohim lived in this garden on earth. (556)

Eden may have been located somewhere in the general area of Turkey, Armenia, and Persia (Genesis 2:10–14). It is difficult to know for sure. (557)
The nature of the creation of man and woman:
The creation of the first man and woman was a special, direct and personal act of the triune God. (557)

The creation of man and woman was special in that it was preceded by solemn divine counsel. Before man’s creation, God said,“Let US make man in OUR image.” The three Persons of the Trinity counseled together regarding the creation of man and woman. It was direct in that instead of simply commanding the earth to bring forth man, God immediately brought him forth...It was warmly personal: “God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life.” (557-558)

We must conclude, then, that the human body and the human soul-spirit are intimately related to one another; that both are indestructible (inasmuch as the body too, after its
resurrection, will exist indestructibly for ever and ever); and that it is only in death that the two are (temporarily!) separated—until Christ’s second coming. In earthly life, and in everlasting life on this renewed earth-to-come, there
is an essential unity between body and soul, so that the word “body” often indicates the whole living personality in Scripture, and the word “soul” is often used to refer to the whole man. 42. Francis Nigel Lee, The Origin and Destiny of Man (Philipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1974), 34. (559)

God created Adam a mature, intelligent and good man, whom he immediately placed in an exalted position of great responsibility and privilege and work. He was created mature physically, intellectually, morally, emotionally, and spiritually. (561)

Being the image of God, they were created with minds that could think rationally.... Because sin had not yet distorted their thinking, they used their minds to make correct
judgments and to draw true inferences, because their thinking was based on God’s Word, which they applied to their lives in judgments and inferences. (561)


The point is this: we must learn that we are to involve ourselves in all branches of science, knowledge and in every field of endeavor, if we are to obey God’s dominion mandate in all the earth. (562)

This statement teaches us that it was possible for flawless Adam and Eve to sin against their Creator, for two reasons: (1) They had liberty of will to choose whatever they desired; and (2) They were capable of changing from a state of flawlessness to sinfulness. (565)

To say that the first man sinned because he was “left to the liberty of his own will,” is to say that he was not forced in any sense or by anyone to sin against God. (565)

God has given human beings the freedom to choose whatever they want to choose (Matt. 17:12).
...The central issue with reference to man’s will is whether or not human beings have the freedom and ability to choose good or evil, God or Satan, whenever they take the notion to do so. (566)

Before the fall into sin in the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve had both the FREEDOM and the ABILITY to choose to do good and to serve God, yet they were capable of choosing evil and of sinning. (566)

However, after the fall, and because of the effects of the fall, man’s will changed.... Therefore, fallen man still has the FREEDOM to choose good or evil, Christ or Satan, but he has lost the ABILITY to do good and the DESIRE to choose good, because of the effects of the fall on the descendants of Adam (Rom. 5:12–21). (566)

Therefore, since the heart of unconverted man is totally depraved, unlike Adam’s pre-fall, pure heart, and since the will chooses what the heart dictates, all the choices of the unconverted man will be sinful. Left to himself in his own depravity, he will never choose to do good in the sight of God. (567)

However, the regenerated person, transformed by God’s grace, has the FREEDOM, ABILITY and DESIRE to choose and to do good, and to follow Christ because the Holy Spirit in regeneration has given him a new heart on which is written God’s Law and which is filled with God’s Spirit (Jer. 31:31–4; Ezek. 36:25–8). Although the regenerate person now has the new ability to desire, choose and do good, he does not do so perfectly because he remains a sinner until death, when he is perfected in holiness (Rom. 6–; 2 Cor. 5:17; Phil. 2:13; John 8:34, 36; Rom. 6:18, 22; Eph. 2:10; Rom. 7:21). (568)

Dr. Morecraft then points us to a little more detailed look at Eve, the embodiment of woman.

Firstly, Eve was made with Adam. This directs our attention to [1] the purpose of womanhood, [2] the place women have in the thoughts of God, as well as [3] the sexual identity of woman...
[1] Eve and Adam are both the IMAGE OF GOD, and together were given the DOMINION MANDATE. (568)

[2] God so loved the very thought of woman that he created her and made her exquisitely lovely in every way. (569)

[3]Eve’s sexual identity is presented in close conjunction with her being in the image of God. Her femaleness is included in that image. In fact, normally, it is when the male and the female come together in one fleshness that the picture illustrated in that divine image is complete. (569)

Second, Eve made from Adam. [1] The similarity of men and women, [2] the dignity of woman's creation, [3] the uniqueness of Eve's creation, [4] the root and name of woman.

[1] Being made from Adam, Eve is like Adam: a physical-spiritual being. (569)

[2] In the instant of her creation she stood before Adam in Paradise, resplendent in her full bloom of mature womanhood....Woman, like man, is the result of special divine activity. God’s thought is expressed in her female being. God loved the thought of women, so he created women. (570)


[3] Although she was made from Adam, Eve’s creation was unique, as was Adam’s creation. This teaches us that one sex is not more ultimate than the other... (570)

[4] Because Eve was created from Adam, Eve could not exist without the prior existence of Adam....Moreover, Adam named Eve (Gen. 2:23; 3:20). To give someone or something a name in the Old Testament is to have authority over that who/which is named. (570)

Adam named Eve, “Woman” (Gen. 2:23). The Hebrew word for woman is formed by adding a feminine ending to the word for man. To name Eve, “Woman,” is to call her the counterpart of man, without whom, man is not ordinarily complete. Nor is she ordinarily complete when she stands alone as a self-sufficient female. She must
always seek to find herself and the meaning for her life in terms of her man. (571)

Adam also named woman, “Eve” (Gen. 3:20). The name, Eve, means “the mother of all living.” (571)
Third, Eve was made for Adam. [1] The meaning of "help-meet", [2] the meaning of "bone of my bone".
[1] Woman was created by God to be man’s “help-meet,” i.e., a help as before him,” or “a MIRROR.” (571)

“[S]he mirrors him so that a man finds himself not only in relationship to God but in terms of a woman. The woman is called his ‘help meet,’ his mirror; and even as he mirrors God, she mirrors him. He understands his responsibility by looking to God, and he can see how he is fulfilling his responsibilities and proving his obedience in relationship to his wife as she mirrors his nature and responsibility.” 54. Rousas J. Rushdoony, Toward A Christian Marriage, ed. Elizabeth Fellersen (Nutley, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1975), 14. (571)

[2] Francis Nigel Lee puts it this way: “[T]here is the aching pain of unfulfilled love in the side of every man until he finds relief in the returned love of a woman, and until he in blissful marriage cleaves to his wife and becomes one flesh with her—hus recovering
his lost rib."
56. Lee, The Origin and Destiny of Man, 18. (572)
Four, Eve sinned against her creator. This entailed [1] the satanic seduction of Adam through Eve, [2] the effects of Eve's sin, [3] the ravaging Eve's femininity, [4] the unique effects of sin on women.
[1] Satan saw that the best way to seduce Adam was through Eve. (573)

[2] Eve’s sin was essentially less profound than Adam’s and consequently, it was not her sin, but his which thrust the world into perdition (Rom. 5:12). Apparently, she was constitutionally less well adapted to offer resistance to this temptation than Adam. She is stronger facing temptation with Adam, than standing alone. The same is true of man. (573)

[3] Eve probably lived for hundreds of years and had many children. Her days must have been tedious and exacting and her suffering terribly painful. To be thrust thereupon into a world in which nothing had yet been provided for woman must have been an awful contrast to the beauty of Paradise. Eve was removed from her estate, her home. Her feminine fullness was completely ravaged. (573-574)


[4] First, woman will experience sorrow and anguish in conception and childbirth. E. J. Young notes: "For woman the bearing of children is to be a difficulty. Her conception is not what she might have desired it to be, and not what God had originally designed for her. It was the divine plan that man should be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Eve, however, had disobeyed God and sought for enjoyment contrary to God’s law. She therefore will be punished in her sexual life, for not only will her pregnancy be
unpleasant, but her entire life. The pains which will come to her will threaten her own life, she will go down to the very gate of death before her children come into the world; and throughout the remainder of her life she will be reminded by sorrow that her life is not filled with the enjoyment which
she had once erroneously believed would be hers. 58. Young, Genesis Three, 124. (574)

Second, woman’s desire will be “for her husband.” If we compare the word, “desire,” in Genesis 3:16 with its use in Genesis 4:7, we can interpret this curse in this manner: because of sin, the woman will struggle with the inner desire to domineer man, to make him what she wishes. (574)

To summarize: fallen woman will struggle with a desire to dominate man; and fallen man will struggle with the desire to abdicate his loving headship over woman. The fallen woman’s life will be filled with heartbreak because of her own anguish and guilt and from man’s insensitivity to her needs. (575)
Five, Eve believed the gospel of her Creator:
Into the profound soul of this woman God sowed the seeds of a glorious faith, and by means of it again permitted a heaven to arise before her. (575)
The next point is the image of God in both man and woman.
The meaning of our human personhood and our divinely-assigned mission in life are inseparable. Adam and Eve were created “in the image of God” (Gen. 1:27), and were given the divine mandate to “fill the earth and subdue it” (Gen. 1:28)....he point is that the fall of man into sin did not obliterate God’s own image from the essence of human beings. Man’s identity as “made in the image of God” is neither abrogated nor taken away....Sin has distorted that image and it must be renewed by Christ (Eph. 4:24;Col. 3:10); nevertheless, it remains stamped, indelibly, in every fragment of our fiber as human beings. (577-578)

As the “reflection” of God, man was created to reflect God’s life and character in his own life and character. He was to live as God lives, although on a creaturely level. (580)
The final point Dr. Morecraft points our attention to is the purpose of the creation of man and woman.
The purpose of the creation of man and woman is clearly defined immediately upon their creation, so that their existence and their “chief end” would be inseparable from each other. “And God created man in His own image… male and female he created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth’” (Gen. 1:27–8). Human beings were created in the image of God to exercise godly dominion over all the earth....His life is unfulfilled unless it is lived out in terms of this Dominion Mandate: to be fruitful, to multiply, to fill the earth, and to have dominion over it, under God. He is called to build a God-honoring culture out of the resources sprung from Eden and to fill it with generations of godly descendants. (581-582)

This Dominion Mandate is being accomplished as Christian men and women, who love God and each other, see themselves as and carry out the duties of prophets, priests and kings. As prophets we are to interpret life in terms of God’s written Word (2 Cor. 10:3–). As priests we are to dedicate ourselves, our families, our societies and the product of our hands to the service and glory of God (1 Cor. 6:20). As kings, we are to rule ourselves and our cultures under the Law of God in the power of the Holy Spirit (Ex. 20:1–17). (582)
In conclusion then,
This Biblical truth concerning the creation of human beings lays a firm foundation for the sanctity of human life from conception to death (and beyond). (582)

On the basis of this clear Biblical truth we are bound to confess that all human life, including prenatal human life, which begins at conception, has sanctity, being directly, specially and personally created by God in His image (Ps. 139:13–16; Luke 1:15, 36, 42, 44; Ps. 51:5; Jer. 1:5). (583)

           Racheal

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Radio Silence Over

4/24/2014

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Hi, Y'all! I'm back from the land of no-internet! (Or, to be precise, [dear, dear...see what listening to the Tintin score does to me?], the land of limited-internet. I've been on for vital e-mails.)

The last couple of weeks have been rather hectic. Granddaddy is still with us, sleeping most of the time (at least that I'm aware of). Daddy has a bad cold and still is the main person who sits with Granddaddy. Savannah has done some sitting with him...she is just so good with him.

It seems rather weird to wash dishes in the bathroom sink--but that is what we've been doing so as not to disturb Granddaddy. I just did it myself for the first time this evening. I think this is the first time I have washed dishes in days.

Monday and Tuesday I did some tilling in the morning before going over in the afternoon to help our new friends work on their dresses (as we have every day this week). Yesterday morning Mama and I went to the chiropractor, then spent the remainder of the morning in Rual King doing a little shopping.

This morning, right after I started eating my breakfast, Mama's cellphone rang. I ran and answered it and it was Grandma needing someone to go with her to the doctor, since she had a blood draw and also had low blood sugar. Grandpa just wanted to make sure someone was with her if she needed it. I said that sure I'd go with her--and then scarfed down the rest of my breakfast. In between breakfast and Grandma pulling up in the driveway waiting for me, I unpacked my new laptop (it came yesterday and I didn't know it until this morning! :D [Ahem...we got home rather late last night from the W's] and put the battery in and plugged it in to charge while I was gone.

When I got home, I got the computer up and registered before lunch. Right after lunch, Mama and I went and picked up our raw milk (two days late!) and also bought a stack of meat/bones. We came home, I drank my coffee, and then Katherine and I were off again to the W's. We got the dresses completed today!! They are loverly indeed...but I'm not supposed to post any pictures (which I would love to do) until after the conference. Let's just say that I had a helmet fire on Lauren's dress that totally worked out... ;)

We haven't gotten any pictures of our clothes yet either...so, whenever we do I will put them up, whether or not we go to the conference. I still need to finish my hat...and I need a hatpin...

In other news, the farmers are in our fields this evening! :)

I also have a top priority video project going on which a very kind friend is helping me with on the audio front. Thank-you, Andrew!! I really appreciate your help!

Mama is collecting stills for me to add into it over in the other room, so I think I will get back into that into the morning....

Racheal

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Radio Silence

4/18/2014

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I suppose you thought I'd dried up and died or something, didn't you? Well, I didn't. I've just been "dark" because my computer was down, then in the shop. I just got it back last night.

I'll try to give you a quick run down on life in the past two weeks (seeing as last time I posted was two Sundays ago). Last week we spent Wednesday through Friday (afternoons) over at some new friends house helping them to make dresses for that conference that is coming up. They aren't finished yet and we haven't done anything on them this week because of illness going through their house.

I also, during the past two weeks have been busy sewing. I finally finished my "button-dress" and my sailor suit! I have yet to be fitted/cut out my ball dress (this is assuming we are still going, see the next paragraph and draw your own conclusions).

Granddaddy has been in the hospital until Wednesday afternoon when he was brought home in an ambulance. He is basically tied down with what is called an abductor brace between his legs (both legs strapped to it). This is to keep the left hip from coming of of joint. He is not doing so well, practically completely off his food and drink. He sleeps and hallucinates most of the time. The majority of his hallucinations seem to be from his childhood/young adult life with him working cattle or hollering for his sister. He is even thinner than ever. It requires a certain amount of purposeful practically to do what needs to be done around him. There is nothing pleasant in looking at a naked, emaciated, (and likely) dying old man. (He refuses clothing...and at this point it is easier to care for him without having the hassel of clothes.) He doesn't know any of us most of the time, except for Daddy. The call was made yesterday to put him under (in home) hospice care. He was supposed to go from the hospital into rehab, but none of the rehabs would take him because he probably has Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) (there has been no offical diagonsis, but he has 32 out of 40 some symptoms.) Apparently a large percentage of LBD patients are violent (which Granddaddy is not).

I got my first sunburn of the season yesterday! It was very, very mild--but it still counts.
I got it sitting on the front stoop working on my 1940's hat. I'll do a whole blog post on that when it's done--replete with pictures and just enough words. ;)

I have a huge number of pictures to show you, so I did it slideshow style. Don't ask me how long it took to upload them all...but they are primarily from last Sunday when we took a glorious walk to the property line. We got kind of silly as you will see, but it was a really good time. (Note they aren't in order exactly because both sisters were taking pictures and I wasn't about to go through and rearrange them all in the slideshow...) You will please forgive me if I put up too many...it was too hard to pick (The final group of Katherine makes me think of the squeaky girl [Mary-Elaine?] who was sweet on Newly on Gunsmoke...Sorry Bug!)
My bull (you remember Abe, don't you?) had to be sold because the neighbors bought the rest of what had been my uncle's land and they were going to put cows on it themselves, so my cows were relocated to Granddaddy's place and Abe had to be sold because there are already two bulls over there. I was kind of upset about this, but I knew from the get go that my Abe would probably have to be sold at some point. (That's the nature of the ranching business.) Anyway, to soften the deal, Daddy gave me the profit from him (I did bottle raise the critter, you know). I turned around and put some of it to work in purchasing myself a new laptop (as of today). I am going to take my "monster" offline and just use it for my writing and filmmaking stuff and do all internet stuff on my new laptop when I get it. I was going to get this really cute red Chromebook, but when I found out "No Skype" I changed my mind in a hurry. I don't do much Skype with other people, but my family is constantly sending each other links and communicating up-stairs and down (and room to room sometimes! :D)...I would definitely have missed it.
So...you may have to wait until next week for another blog post if I decide to go ahead and take this thing offline before the Gateway arrives.

See ya around!

        Racheal

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This is going to sound silly...

4/8/2014

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It's a bit of an oxymoron I guess, but while I don't exactly feel "bad", I feel pretty lousy.

About mid-morning, as I was attempting to place a pocket correctly, I had to put it down. I just felt that bad. I couldn't think well enough and I felt so very weak. I guess this must be something like what Savannah has been going through for quite a while.

On top of that, if you were talking to the base of my skull and my neck down into my shoulders, they would be warning you that Racheal is seemingly in the grips of another Mollart's attack.

"Already?" you might ask.

Well, yes. It's been almost two weeks. Savannah and I noticed last year when I'd get it that it seemed to have these cycles. I'd go along without any attacks then bam! out of the blue I'd get it again...followed shortly (in two weeks or so) another attack (generally a little milder). In other words, the Mollart's seems to come at me with double-taps.

So, while Mama and Savannah go into town to help some new friends with some fabric shopping, I'm going to stay here, glued to my computer, attempting to build a website. I did rather want to go this afternoon, but I think I'd better not. Right now, I'm trying to figure out what to call this proposed site... I'll be sure to link to it once it's done/published. So...with that tantalizing piece of info, I'll return to trying to use my brain. :P

        Racheal

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Hospitals and Stitches

4/7/2014

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I didn't follow my usual Lord's Day course of reading yesterday. I just didn't think I was going to be able to concentrate on it. So, instead, I spent the afternoon doing some handwork while listening to some nice edifying music. If you've never heard of Kemper Crabb, I'd suggest you pop over here and give him a listen!

All the ladies went to church yesterday for the first time in weeks. Daddy took Granddaddy into the hospital to get his hip replacement put back into proper joint. When Daddy put him to bed last night, he noticed that it was out again, so this morning they headed towards the hospital once more. The doctor got it put back into place and said that he thought there was a 75% chance that it was going to pop back out. Granddaddy is going to stay in the hospital for a couple of days and then he'll be sent to rehab for a while. He may have to have surgery again.

This morning I managed to cut my thumb while peeling one of those big squashes we use in breads and fried up with onions and eggs for breakfast...thankfully, I had already washed the dishes. :) I then whipped up a bread...mmmm. Something to snack on! :D

On the sewing front today, I got most of my sailor suit finished. What remains is a zipper in the skirt, as well as the waistband and of course, the hemming; and pockets, buttons, and hemming on the top. So far, I'm quite pleased with how it looks. :) I wouldn't have gotten that far today if I hadn't stitched all the ribbon on the collar and sleeves yesterday.

The livingroom is a lovely wreck. It just can't help it when people are sewing....

        Racheal

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Saturday Stitches

4/5/2014

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That title is actually kind of fancy sounding... :)

I got started on my stitching around 9:30, 10:00 this morning after the usual morning routine and cleaning the bathroom (part of usual Saturday life). I started on lunch around 11:15 and continued my sewing--therefore, I stuck the cabbage, but since we all like it kind of carmalized, it wasn't a big deal.

I got my "button dress" all put together, minus the hand sewing, button holes, and buttons. I realized, right before lunch was ready, that when I had stitched the front panels and back panel together at the shoulders, I had put the front one's on backwards! In other words, the side seams (still unsewn, of course) were front and center! Once I realized that, it also made sense while the neck lining was refusing to lay like it was supposed to.

I 'freelanced' a bit and made pockets for it. They are pretty shallow and I'm not even sure I will be able to carry my pocket knife without fear of it falling out. Oh well...I learned a little bit more about sewing today.

Another 'detail' that wasn't called for is the pleat thingy in the back. It was kind of big and baggy looking in the back, so Savannah suggested a little pleat/tuck/whatever you call it. It looks pretty decent actually; kinda dresses the back up a little. I fully intend on wearing a belt on this dress (I'm a belt kind a girl anyway).

Savannah needed a little help being fitted (she has three dresses other than her ball dress she's making), so I did that. I'm getting semi-competent at that, I think. Once we finished fitting her, we fitted me for my sailor suit. The skirt was perfect, but the jacket/top had to be let out in the hips...other than that it was fine (that is, as far as one can tell when wearing paper!)
 
I decided that I wouldn't actually start sewing this particular garment until Monday. I did go ahead and pin the trim (ribbon) on the collar and the sleeves (I'm going to handstitch). The decoration is not called for in the pattern for the sleeves (which I'm making short rather than long), but I thought it looked pretty nifty. I'm really, really hoping this comes out fitting just right instead of being a hair baggy like everything else so far! :D

For most of the afternoon Granddaddy was convinced that the house was fixing to explode. Literally. He thought there was a bomb in the house. He had me check the yellow chair at least twice for a bomb...and apparently he thought a particular ball was a bomb. He wasn't very happy to say the least.

Because I spent the majority of the day on my feet, barefoot, my heels are killing me. Sometimes I wonder if I have heel spurs or if I'm just so flat footed that when I'm on my feet all the time, my bodyweight just concentrated on my heels and makes them hurt.

I sure am ready for supper...so I'm going to scram now! :)

        Racheal

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Sewing Update

4/4/2014

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I started and completed the mock-up of my ball dress. The mock-up is a perfectly wearable garment in and of itself (a bright, cheery floral). It's also shorter than the ball dress with be, but that's fine. The main point was to test bodice size and the like. The mock-up came out a hair big (kind of like it just needs 1/4 inch taken out), but not really baggy. I think I may need to put a little tuck someplace around the neckline, but other than that, it's fine. We will have to make a little adjustment on the pattern to correct that, but we'll do that when we get there.

I also got my sailor suit pattern in the mail this morning! I'm really quite excited about that...I'm kind of saving that for last. :)

The "button-dress" got cut out this evening. I probably could have had it around half done or more by this point, but I was so hungry that I decided it would be much wiser to wait until tomorrow.

Sorry there are no pictures. I didn't bother either taking any myself or having someone else do it. Never fear though...the pictures will show up at some point. (I wasn't about to take a picture of the mock-up on the hanger--like that it looks huge! :D)

In other news...Granddaddy had his third trip into physical therapy today. I don't expect that he likes it much, but it will be good for him.

My teeth have been bugging me for about a week. I think my jaw must be growing a little bit again. It's kind of like "old times" to have the teeth hurting like this on and off. Oh well...pain is gain in this case. My teeth get a little straighter every time. :)

It's been rainy around here...and the grass is green now. We're going to need to mow fairly soon and our lawn mower (see way back in October) is still broken. Daddy plans on trying to fix it. If he can, and it's the differentals, I'm going hear one way or the other from Grandpa about "I told you you should have taken the differental apart". :D There was no way I was going to drop that tranny case on my head, thank-you very much...

(Though actually a spot of mechanicing sounds like it might be kinda fun...)

        Racheal

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Curlers et Material

4/3/2014

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More fashionable idiocy for you today. I have some lovely, funny pictures for you to look at and criticize.

I got Mama to put curlers in my hair this morning. They are so-called "hot-rollers" (you heat them) and supposedly not really supposed to go in wet hair, but, even though I washed my hair this morning, we went ahead and stuck them in. I left them in all morning before taking them out shortly before lunch. (They were slipping out and I was getting a tiny bit of a headache.)

I don't have any pictures of the actual process of getting them in. I serious doubt that I could ever put the things in myself. I have too much hair!

However...here's the aftermath. ;P
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Mama says she hasn't curled hair for 30 years...so maybe the roll job wasn't the best. (Way better than I could have done!!)
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(*Selfie*) We tied the curls up with one of my scarves. (Thanks, Katie!) I suppose most people would leave their ears tucked under the scarf, but I hate stuff on my ears, so I pulled them out--then I went out into the chilly rain to check the mail and discovered that in that configuration, my ears act as wind scoops. Seriously. I just hastened the wind blowing into my eustachian tubes (I have very cold-sensitive inner ears).
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Right before we took it down. I looked soooo like my cousin Joel with that mess on top of my head!
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Before brushing it out.
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The very back was still kind of damp so the curls didn't set quite as well.
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Sorry this one is kind of blurry...but other than that, it's okay.
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All brushed out! See how "bouncy" it looks around the edges?
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It's my Mommy!! :)
Somebody else got their hair curled today too...only Fidelia got real pin curls. :D
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She's loverly, isn't she?
Anyway...that's the hair part of the post.

Today I once again turned my attention to yet another attempt at cutting out my "dress with the buttons all the way up". I'm essentially doing some version of this dress:
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(By the by, we do not own this pattern...and neither is that my size. Then or now. :D And...I'm shooting more for the look of the red one.)
Savannah and I had found another piece of material in the basement (a green and white striped sear sucker). The reason we didn't think of this particular piece yesterday was because we had it pulled out for Savannah! Then, when she changed her mind, we returned it to the basement--only to re-discover it today. I had the pieces mostly laid out on it (not pinned yet) and was just coming to the conclusion that this piece wasn't going to work either!! when Mama basically told me she didn't think that was really going to look all that great. Oh well, it wasn't going to work anyhow, so forget about it.

Thus it was then, that I found myself going to town with Mama. I got my fabric (and four yards of 45" material had better work!!) and the buttons and I look forward to actually getting started on it tomorrow! (The best part--all that stuff was on sale.) We also got fabric for Mama's dress.

In the interim period between discovering that the sear sucker wouldn't work and lunch, I cut out the pattern that my ball dress is supposed to be based off. Mama has suggested that I make a mock-up first to make sure the pattern actually fits like it's supposed to. I think that's a great idea...

Oh, and just in case you're curious, by now, most of the curls have quite relaxed--probably partly due to being out in the misty, rainy weather. ;)

        Racheal

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Sewing "Stuff"

4/2/2014

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Ever since it was confirmed (well actually, even before it was confirmed) that we will be attending (Lord willing and the creek don't rise) the FCM conference in Missouri, I've been quite excited and planning my outfits. I fully intend on stitching four separate outfits. Yes, you heard right. The girl that used to HATE sewing is excitedly ready to execute four different outfits. That entails more than four articles of clothing too--more like [counts], one, two, three, four, five. Yes, five. Two blouses, one skirt, one 'day' dress, and one 'evening' dress.

I started out my sewing endeavors today by hauling Savannah down to the basement with me and helping me pick fabric. Then I cut out the pattern for what I intended to be my first project.

Once Savannah fitted me, I laid out this "perfect" yellow...and wanted to cry. There wasn't enough!! (Savannah had thought there was; she has the skill of reading yardage unlike me.) I remembered a blue that was about right (looks wise) and brought that upstairs. Same deal. Not enough fabric! Bummer.

I got over that and instead whipped up my peasant top blouse which I plan on wearing with the skirt that goes with my "sailor suit" (we ordered an actual vintage pattern off line! *chokes* [it's my money...I thought it worth it! ;)].) Two hours (minus the eyelets) maximum and no "recipe" sheet either! You reckon I can start calling myself a seamstress at this rate? (Ahem, just don't inspect my eyelets...they still look like crud; but at least the holes aren't going to unravel!)

I kept insisting that I wanted a yellow (or orange) ball dress, but we didn't have any fabric that color or amount.

Mama did not like the idea, so she was pleased when Savannah remarked on some pink stuff (what'd they call it? It's fake silk.) Well, me, I didn't like the idea and went so far as to call the shade "ugly". I got talked into going downstair and bringing it up so I could "see it in the sunlight". I was still turning my nose up (you do know I'm kinda opinionated, don't you?), but Mama told me to, "Go put some make-up on and then look at it."

I did and I did. They were right. The color is the shade that makes me look good. So, I grinned, giggled guiltily, and acquiesced. I thought I knew how I wanted to make it up...but at this point, I'm kind of confused...what with different pattern suggestions. I think I'll wait until later to put my foot down on style.  

So, I'm hoping I have enough fabric to make my sailor suit (funny being so excited over a sailor suit and me an Army-brat! [however, I have relatives who served in the Navy, so maybe it isn't so odd]), and to find a nice piece for my "french line dress with the buttons all the way up" and of course, the proper look for my pink dress.

Katherine pretty much has everything already in her wardrobe. She's set and doesn't need to do any sewing. (Oh yeah, and she has some real great shoes to boot! I'm not even thinking shoes yet--seriously, that is.)

Savannah actually got excited today and has planned two or three outfits herself. (While, of course, putting up with her goofy sister's constant blather...) She's going to be just bee-u-tiful!

So, that's been my day...busy.

Oh yes, let's not forget the huge pile of dishes I washed either... ;)

        Racheal

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    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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