A digression from the usual spiritual fare to report on my recent Sunday morning experience.

In Australia most homes have separate laundries to hold the washing machine. Next to my washing machine is a small cupboard with some spare boxes and, on top of these, is a child's car booster seat. The top of this pile is roughly at my eye level next to the washing machine.

Sunday morning I went out to the laundry and started putting clothes into my top load machine and something caught my eye. I glanced across and froze when I saw a snake curled up on top of the booster seat!

I am English. Many Australians aren't too well versed on varieties of snakes and I haven't got a clue. We were never prepared for snakes when I was at school in Birmingham!

To cut a long story short I rang an excellent organization called WIRES who are a Wildlife Rescue group and they gave me details of a local snake expert. He came and informed me that we didn't have a snake problem; it was, in fact, a Central Australian Carpet Python so it would be an escaped pet.

Once the snake was crawling around on an expert I felt much more at ease but it's certainly not an experience that I want to repeat. On Monday I was speaking to supervisor at University who is Northern Irish and we were lamenting the many ways that you can be hurt, bit or scared witless by wildlife in Australia. Lucky country indeed!

I. The highest values in the Kingdom start with every believer being equipped to have a life of Passionate Participation in God. To live in a passionate pursuit of knowing, experiencing and enjoying God and in bringing others along on the adventure.

A. This can be accomplished when our goal is to have the heart of the Father, the mind of Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

The heart of the Father: Learning to know Him relationally and then being a source of building up and encouraging others to have the same type of relationship. In equipping, mending, nurturing, challenging, releasing, mentoring, inspiring, motivating and encouraging the people around me.

The mind of Christ: Knowing the Word both written and living so that we can lay down our lives and do the will of the Father. In servant leaders who will be responsible and accountable to the team they are a part of. In dreaming and praying big while being faithful with those who are around you. In allowing, encouraging and supporting others to follow the calling and dreams in their life. In working hard to do my part and allowing God to do His.

The empowerment of the Holy Spirit: Learning to live and breathe and flow in the Spirit. Allowing Him to manifest God s character, gifts and power through the creative unfolding of God s direction on a continual basis. In the unfolding, creative, and fresh work of God for every group of people. In the wonder of God's endless, creative and unique style of accomplishing His will among people.

B. The second value is to encourage, seek, teach and be available to the fresh move of God in our day. To allow and encourage freedom of expression and interaction with God. To provide guidance and instruction where valuable to the individual and the group in which God is working to encourage an atmosphere of community in which a believer may grow and experience God interacting with them without fear.

C. The third value is to provide a culture in which each person may come into the fullness of Christ through mending, equipping and being released into the work of the kingdom and the building up of each other in every dimension and aspect of our society.

Most of all: That we might all one day hear Him say, well done, you who have been a good and a faithful servant.

As Christians we have the responsibility of obeying Jesus. So often we talk about Jesus being our friend and our Savior that we miss the fact that He is also our Lord. In our freedom loving country with our "freely" elected government we do have a cultural problem when it comes to understanding what it means for someone to be a Lord. Basically the idea of a lord is that of a master, ruler, or king. A lord has authority over a person s life. The lord can decide whether or not a person lives or dies. He decides what task a servant should do. The Lord is the one who makes the decisions and thus He is the one in control.

Jesus is our Lord. He has the authority over our lives. I know that we don t like the thought of someone having authority over us; after all we are Americans and we value our liberty. Yet, Christ claims that He has authority over our lives. He expects us to obey Him, not because He is mean and wants to make our lives miserable, but because He loves us and wants to lead us into true and everlasting life.

Why does Jesus have authority over our lives? Jesus has authority over our lives because He created us. We are His creation and as our Creator He can tell us what to do. Being our Creator He also knows what is best for us. Jesus also has authority over us because He died for us. Jesus gave up Heaven and came to earth to die a cruel cross because He wants what is best for us. He has authority over our lives because of His creative work and because of His sacrifice.

Consider for a moment what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans:

For we don t live for ourselves or die for ourselves. If we live, it s to honor the Lord. And if we die, it s to honor the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose to be Lord both of the living and of the dead. (Romans 14:7-9; NLT)

We need to stop living to please ourselves. The way we live should not be determined by what we want or what will make us feel good. Our lives should be lived for the purpose of pleasing Jesus. We please Jesus through love: we love God and we love people. We love God through our obedience and through our worship. We love people by praying for them, by serving them, by being a compassionate shoulder to cry on, by being generous with the blessings God has given us, and by telling people the truth.

Here is the point for today's pondering: Our lives belong to Jesus! Not only is this true because He created us, but it is true because His death rescued us from Satan, sin, and death. Therefore we will only discover true life when we surrender our lives to Him. It is time that we give Christ Jesus our hearts, our minds, our souls, and our strength, after all they belong to Him in the first place.

Chip Bennett Chip Almost time for kickoff. Go #Colts!. Chip Bennett And it’s 3-0 #Colts! [chip_bennett]. Chip Bennett Chip #Colts start with a three-and-out on defense. Nice pressure on Brees, and nice run defense. Let’s go offense!. [...]

Another classic Jay Tea post – Pretty Ugly, Jumbo Shrimp, And Obama Justice: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is not an enemy of the nation, he is a man accused of several thousand counts of felony murder. He is accused of heading up a conspiracy that cost thousands of lives and billions and billions of economic harm. Related Posts:My [...]

Instead of doing a series of posts on the many things wrong with the IPCC report, it would probably be easier, faster, and with less risk of carpal tunnel syndrome to document what in the report is actually true. Related Posts:New Sidebar ItemsThe Next Time You Think One Person Can't Make A DifferenceGo Amtrak, [...]

I am so completely blown away by last night’s game, I’m having a hard time getting it together this morning to work or even to post. And nope, no hangover – just a good time and a late night. We had a few friends – diehard Saints fans – over to watch [...]

I just wanted to continue my thoughts from the last post, so I m considering this just a sub-part of it. Mainly because it s not only from the same chapter as the last post, but it s just a few paragraphs after the last ridiculous thing that I read in The God Delusion. Rather than go into a [...]

Further Reading
I have gained so much wisdom and insight through reading blogs and books from my brothers and sisters. All of them are at different stages in their journey and have different writing styles. Some write to teach or discuss important questions and ideas; some write to share their journey as they walk with God and learn to be more like Him. All are special to me in some way and have become friends on some level, even though we haven't met and may never meet... that is, until we all get to Heaven! That's just one more of many reasons to keep fighting and serving God on this straight and narrow path to Him, where we will be finally, wonderfully united with our Father, our Brother, and each other!!

Here's a list of some of the blogs I read:

Stirring the Deep

Desire Spiritual Growth

My Road, As I Travel It

Coffee with Marty

Pen of the Wayfarer

Winging It

Real Talk

By These Fruits

Works of His Hands
Living out in the country and driving along winding back roads into town each day to work provides me ample opportunity to witness and glory in the miracles God creates every day. Though I know these wonders are only shadows of the true Beauty and Light of our most amazing and awesome Lord, they bring me great joy and often serve as reminders of His promises.


His artistry is everywhere... in the niew light of sunrise, in the intense glow of sunset, in those transforming moments at dusk, in the rolling hills, and in every little critter He creates and cares for, especially the magnificent cardinals that swoop from tree to tree, signing a lovely melody and displaying that intense, gorgeous red... red as a thorny rose, red as the cleansing blogod of Christ.


Here are a few posts that attempt to describe the beauty of the works of God's hands:


The Wonder of Faith


A Singing Spirit


Morning Has Broken


Perfect Pictures


Power and Grace


Soaring to Uncreated Light


As Numerous As the Stars


Gentle, Cleansing Light


Bright and Beautiful


A New Thing


The Earth Was Glad


The Green Cathedral


Sweetness


Drawn by Thee


Storms


Beauty through a Glass


Our Beautiful Challenge


It's Life


In the Moonlight

Joy in the Lord
Rejoice in the Lord always!

Though trials, tribulations, and temptations encumber us in this world, Jesus said to Be of good cheer because He has already overcome the world (John 16:13)! This truth is a beautiful one, though it is often hard to hold on to. The Lord has continually reminded me of all the many things He has done for me, all of which are reasons for GREAT joy.

Here are a few posts from my archive that reflect on joyous moments of my journey and praise Him for them!

JOY

Enjoying Each Other's Company

Thinking About Beauty, this gorgeous fall day

Excitement

True Bliss

A Glorious Day!

Rejoice and Be Glad

To anyone suffering...

The Sky Shall Unfold

Perfect Submission, Perfect Delight

Gathering at the Table

He's Alive and I'm Forgiven

Spiritual Warfare
God has blessed me greatly! And one of His greatest blessing is fighting for me, even when I was giving in or giving up, and pulling me out of the fire like Jude says we might have to do for our brothers and sisters (vs. 22-23).

It helps me to think of my soul as a piece of territory that is being fought over. God has claimed this territory for His own, but the devil likes to pester and would love to steal it away. My life as a follower of Christ is to fight with my King against His enemies. Satan's attacks on me have sometimes been subtle, other times very obvious. They come when I am vulnerable, when I am not watching, when I am feeling excited about victories won or being given new challenges. Though these are indeed powerful attacks on his part, God is more powerful still. 1 John 4:4

Sometimes, I admit, I am a horrible soldier... at times too lazy or weak to fight, at times not even recognizing that sometimes is worth fighting over, at times not keeping my guard up at the most crucial times. Other times, I am excited and bubbling over with excitement that I have the opportunity to fight with my King, knowing that He as already won the victory over sin and death and has already won so many victories to reclaim the territory of my soul!

Here are a few posts from my archive that share my thoughts and stories on spiritual warfare:

In Our Secret Place: Making a "Heart-Friend"

Losing My Life: Taking Stock

Sprinkled and Washed: Following in Faith

Why?

A New Day

Quietly Resting

The Music of a People*

Staying Awake to the Truth

A Special and Perilous Time

Redeeming Love
...walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. Ephesians 5:3

This is God's love - a love that has redeemed us from receiving the just punishment we deserve for our sins and from being the people we once were. Because of God's redeeming love, I am washed clean and being transformed by the precious power of the Holy Spirit!. It is this redeeming love I hope and pray to carry with me always...a love that humbly thanks God, a love that knows the truth, a love that pours out on others, a love that moves me to walk after the Light and live a wise, Godly life.

I was just listening to an old favorite hymn and noticed and revelled in the words, "Redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die!"

Here are some posts from my archive that reflect on the beautiful, wondrous love I have experienced form God!

In Our Secret Place: Making a "Heart-Friend"

Sprinkled and Washed: Following in Faith

Knowing What It Feels Like

Even Me

What Love Is This?

This Thing Called Love

The Bloom of Promise

He Fills Up My Senses

True Bliss

Because He So Chose

Grace and Love

"To Love Another Person Is to See the Face of God"

Every Story Is a Love Story

Love Divine So Great and Wondrous

All the prophets prophesied
only of the days of the Messiah
Talmud-Sanhedrin 99a

We now continue this parsed essay in which we seek to elucidate some of the biblical symbolism which points to the Messiah.

Part 1: The Seed and the Coming Messiah and Isaac and the Future Sacrifice
Part 2: Isaac and the Future Sacrifice (continued) and The Serpent in the Wilderness and the Lifting Up of the Messiah
Part 3: Melchizedek s Priesthood and the Messiah
Part 4: Melchizedek s Priesthood and the Messiah (continued) and The Passover Seder and the Messianic Sacrifice and The Temple and the Messiah s Forgiveness and The Lamb of God


Isaac and the Future Sacrifice (continued):
The event involving Abraham and Issac is called the aqedah. Jewish author Philip Segal writes,

Two concepts of Judaic theology emerge from the story of the aqedah: vicarious atonement and the suffering of the righteous. Both are impenetrable mysteries, and both are illustrated by the prophetic portion of the Bible that speaks of a suffering servant of Yhwh (Isa. 53). [1]

Note that he ties the aqedah with the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.

Pesikta Rabbati 40:6,

What is meant by Moriah? R. Simeon ben Yohai said: It is the Land which, if it were an arrow, would shoot up through the heavens directly to the heavenly altar. Here the world is derived from the stem shot through (yrh) (Exod. 19:13).

Midrash Rabbah-Genesis LVI: 3 commenting of Genesis 22:6,

AND ABRAHAM TOOK THE WOOD OF THE BURNT-OFFERING (XXII, 6) like one who carries his stake on his shoulder.

Footnote: The stake on which he is to be executed.

Concerning the suffering servant of Isaiah 42, 49, 50, 52, 53, Raphael Patai; Noted anthropologist and Biblical scholar who taught Hebrew at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem writes:

The Aggada, the Talmudic legend, unhesitatingly identifies him with the Messiah, and understands especially the descriptions of his sufferings as referring to Messiah ben Joseph. [2]

The Torah: A Modern Commentary states,

There was a remarkable tradition that insisted that Abraham completed the sacrifice and that afterward Isaac was miraculously revived According to this haggadah, Abraham slew his son, burnt his victim, and the ashes remain as a stored-up merit and atonement for Israel in all generations. [3]

Encyclopedia Judaica 2:482,

Ibn Ezra (commentary on Gen. 22:19) also quotes an opinion that Abraham actually did kill Isaac and he was later resurrected from the dead. Ibn Ezra rejects this as completely contrary to the biblical text. Shalom Spiegel has demonstrated, however, that such views enjoyed a wide circulation and occasionally found expression in medieval writings.

Henry H. Halley wrote,

A Father Offering His Son: the Son, for Three Days, in the Father s Mind, as good as Dead (22:4): a Substituary Sacrifice (22:13): and it was on Mount Moriah (22:2), same mount on which Jesus was Crucified, same place where Abraham had paid tithes to Melchizedek (14:18), Salem being on Mount Moriah. As Melchizedek seems to have been a primeval Shadow, in Abraham s Life, of the PERSON Abraham s Nation would bring into the world, so here seems to be a Shadow of the EVENT in the Coming Person s Life by which He would do His work. What an apt Picture of the Death and Resurrection of Christ! [4]

The Serpent in the Wilderness and the Lifting Up of the Messiah:
Jesus said,

And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have eternal life (John 3:14).

After the Exodus from Egypt the people of Israel, yet again, complained against Moses and against God so God sent poisonous serpents among them and many of them died (see Numbers 21). When the people repented God told Moses to make a serpent out of brass and raise it up on a pole and that whoever looked to it would be healed.

Of course, looking at a twisted piece of metal had nothing to do with it; the point was to turn the people s attention back to God, so that He would forgive them and heal them. In the scripture brass is symbolic of judgment and the serpent is symbolic of sin. God told Moses to make a serpent out of brass and lift it up to demonstrate that the people were being judged for their sin and that God forgives.

This is why Jesus said that in the same way Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness He too would be lifted up and Jesus certainly was lifted up on the cross in the same way and for the same reason as the serpent; in order to demonstrate the judgment for sin and the forgiveness and salvation. This is one of many ways that the Old Testament points us to the Messiah through symbolism.

Can you imagine dying a terribly painful death by snake venom just because you were not willing to follow the simple instruction of looking up? Jesus once cried out,

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her how often I ve wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing (Matthew 23:37).

Unwilling to simply look up.

Abraham Cohen; Editor of the Soncino Books of the Bible and participated in the Soncino translation of the Talmud and Midrash,

Could the image of the serpent kill or save life? But the Israelites kept looking at it and believing in Him Who commanded Moses to act thus, and the Holy One, blessed be He, performed a cure for them. [5]

[1] Phillip Sigal, Judaism the Evolution of a Faith (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1998), p. 9
[2] Raphael Patai, The Messiah Texts (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1979), p. xxiii
[3] The Torah: A Modern Commentary (UAHC, 1981), p.151, n.5
[4] Henry H. Halley, Halley s Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965), pp. 388-389
[5] Abraham Cohen, (1887-1957) Editor of the Soncino Books of the Bible and participated in the Soncino translation of the Talmud and Midrash, Every Man s Talmud, The Major Teachings of the Rabbinic Sages (New York: Schocken Books, 1949) p. 80 citing Mech. to xvii. II; 54a

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It may be republished in part or in its entirety on websites, blogs, or any print media for whatever purpose in agreement or in order to criticize it only as long as the following conditions are met:
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"When we come face to face with the cross, we have a choice to make: We either recognize its implications and bring ourselves, our passions, and all that we are, to be crucified with Christ so that we might live with the sound of His voice and the feel of His heart, or we walk away from the cross and live feeling alienated from God." ~ Ravi Zacharias, Cries of the Heart, p. 60

Neither give place to the devil...

... every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honor.


Ephesians 4:29 and 1 Thesselonions 4:4


I've started wondering what it would be like for all of me to be saturated with Christ, for my mind and heart to be completely captivated by Him so that every dream or thought in my head is wrapped up in Him, every conversation is infused with His wisdom, every reaction pours out of a heart full of His merciful love, and every action is led by His Spirit.


I believe this is what He wants for me and all His children. Scriptures like the one in 2 Corinthians (10:3-5) where Paul says God's weapons are able to pull down strongholds and bring every thought into captivity of Christ and the one in Philippians (3:21) where Paul says Christ will change us and subdue all things to Himself confirm to me that Christ is Lord of all and wants to reign completely in the souls of His people and will someday rule completely over all His enemies.


This has been my challenge and God's work in me over the past year - to reclaim every part of me for Himself... and it has certainly been a challenge! One that leads to excitement over the fight and the victories one minute but weariness over the fight and defeats the next. It is a constant battle, and sadly, my energies and will are not always so constant. Still, every day, every moment, God helps me pick myself back up and take my fighting stance again! Thank goodness!


Chapter 9 in Eric Ludy's Wrestling Prayer could've been written just for me; it confirms every direction I believe God has been giving me, and it describes very well some of my lingering issues. Eric focuses on what Paul warns us to avoid: feeling faint and being weary of the fight. Eric testifies that he hated this "crutch" in his ministry, described as being "foggy and tired-minded" instead of "sharp of mind and sharp of heart," leaning on worldly or fleshly means of rest or refreshment rather than on God's everlasting arms. In the midst of this discussion, Eric points out that hating it doesn't get rid of it (how well I know that!). Eric writes that it "leaves because it is systematically targeted, proactively attacked, and aggressively worked off the spiritual man."


His discussion makes me think of how often I sleep longer instead of getting up to pray more or how I reach for my phone literally every few minutes at work to check my email or Facebook (by the way, my phone has not been letting me log on to Facebook the last few days of last week...coincidence?). I also thought of the sins and wordly enticements I turned to for comfort or pleasure in the past instead of relying on God to give me all I need, choosing a conterfeit pleasure instead of true pleasure in the Lord. The amazing thing is, I can see all the victories God has won for me in so many of those more "blatant" areas of compromise, and for a moment, I glimpse the very real fact that God can purge me of the pesky distractions and the weak indulgences I fall into now and captivate all of my time and focus and love just as He has purged those past problems from my life!


And so I did what Eric Ludy suggested: "Just imagine such a life! Imagine never tiring in your passion, pursuit, or practical availability to your King. Imagine never exiting a state of prayer, maintaining a constancy of connectedness to the issues pertaining to your beloved Commander."


What a life that would be! Wouldn't it be wonderful if we had it? I believe 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is telling us that we can because we have God's weapon. Eric and Leslie have been following the challenge to fight against "even a moment of defeat, even a short period of haziness, even a brief escape into a spiritual vegetable state."


I realize that my life lately has been a fluctuation between moments of fighting passisonately for the sactitiy of my soul, ready to attack with my sword (the Word) and defend with my shield (faith), and moments of settling in for a nice afternoon doze right there on the battle field. Those dozes get me into all sorts of trouble. I can see it and feel a strong desire to wake up and watch (see Mark 13), thus adding to my own joy and peace in the Lord as well as preparing myself to live for His glory and work for the edification of my brothers and sisters.


The latter part of Eric's chapter made tears spring to my eyes. He writes, "Jesus Christ is jealous for every square inch of your inner life. ... Your King is saying, 'Do you see this spot of darkness right here in your soul? Stand with Me today and let's take it back for My glory!' ... Maybe there is no one willing to fight for us. However, it is right smack in the center of our seemingly insignificant souls that our King stands and proclaims, 'I shed blood for this piece of territory - here I stand!'"


"Stand with Me... Let's take it back... let us... here I stand!


How thrilling! I don't have to stand on my own; I don't have to take it back myself. I just have to stand with Him; we are going to do it!

Each side in the parental notification issue has their "poster children" for why parental notification laws should, or should not, be passed. On the "should" side are the instances where boyfriends and statuatory rapists talk and/or coerce their pregnant underage girlfriends into abortions without their parent's knowledge - in one prominantly quoted case leading to the death of the girl from complications of the abortion because the parents did not know that a surgery had been performed.

On the "should not" side you are advised to go read "Abortion and parental notification laws" and the two posts (here and here) the author links written by someone who works within the justice system processing judicial exception requests to parental notification laws.

However, I really am not interested - at least in this post - about the "poster children" . . .

[As a disclaimer, I (as the parent of a 17 year old girl) believe that there is no reason why my daughter should be able to get surgery without adult supervision (her parents or a judge) just because it happens to be an abortion rather than having a mole removed. Indeed, as someone who believes that an unborn child is the type of being whose life it is seriously wrong to end, I am much more comfortable with her getting the mole cells killed without my permission than I am with having an unborn child killed.]

What I am interested in is the concepts of moral agency and moral reasoning - not only as regards parental notification in specific but also more generally about human moral decisions in general. This post is triggered by this comment in the linked post above:

Don't you think that if your child isn't coming to you, you've already failed and lost the "rights" to make their decisions?

And the expression rational "moral" agent; what does that mean? It sounds like a nebulous expression for "I'll decide when you're ready to start agreeing with me on all topics"!

Is disagreeing with your personal, religious and political ideas the type of thing that makes someone incapable of their own "moral" agency?

Not trying to be a pain, just throwing it out there. I'm not sure how we can legislate that every parent gets exactly the type of relationship with their child that they desire.

While the "poster children" examples on both sides are indeed rare exceptions designed to evoke an emotional response, the questions in this comment - despite their inherant hostility and condescenion - are more fundamental to the real questions:

1. the expression rational "moral" agent; what does that mean? It sounds like a nebulous expression for "I'll decide when you're ready to start agreeing with me on all topics"! One of the common defenses of the unfettered right of a woman to choose to have an abortion is that to inhibit that by law, or even by moral pronouncements, is to demean a woman as a moral agent - that somehow it is believed that she is impaired from making these decisions on her own. This is presented as a misogynist impulse designed to control woman and the decisions about their own body:
   

   This is a very unforgiving perspective, not to mention a punitive one. As Digby has said over and over again, the laws intended to strike down Roe aren't about ending abortion. They're about regulating women's sexuality, so that Papa always guides the family. After all, he's the only one who can think clearly enough to lay down the law.

   I think all humans are impaired moral agents - again, all humans are impaired moral agents [different link]. I believe we are moral agents - I think the hyper-determinists on both ends of the spectrum are wrong: we do have real moral choices that we can make that are neither determined by our "synapses firing just so" (the brain vs mind discussion), our culture, and/or our experiences; or by an omnipotent God. We are not robots programmed by nature/nurture or God.
   
   That we are all (mostly all at least) moral agents capable of making, and being responsible for, our own decisions does not mean we make the right decisions. This is my favorite list (compare Aquinas's Summa Theologica, Prima Secund Partis, Question 94, Articles 4 and 6) of the some the reasons we reason poorly:
   
   1. insufficient experience: we do not know enough to reach sound conclusions;
   2. insufficient skill: we haven't learned the art of reasoning well;
   3. sloth: we are too lazy to reason;
   4. corrupt custom: it hasn't occurred to us to reason;
   5. passion: we are distracted by strong feeling from reasoning carefully;
   6. fear: we are afraid to reason because we might find out we are wrong;
   7. wishful thinking: we include in our reasoning what we are willing to notice;
   8. depraved ideology: we interpret known principles crookedly; and
   9. malice: we refuse to reason because we are determined to do what we want.
   
   Actually, only (maybe) #8 and (certainly) #9 make us "bad people" or "a criminal". In the other seven, the community and the culture bears an equal, and sometimes greater, responsibility for training and equipping us to reason well; and establishing "known principles" clearly. That is where parental notification laws come in. We (rightly IMO) assume that:
   
   • as we mature we get better at moral reasoning;
   • children, until they grow gain maturity and learn to become effective moral agents, are more greatly affected by all of the reasons above; and
   • in the meantime parents have the responsibility to protect children from the mistakes this natural weakness in moral reasoning brings about
   
   Certainly, in a culture where our ability to make moral decisions about wearing seat belts, motorcycle helmets, using cell phones while driving, etc. is constantly being impinged upon - it is difficult to complain about impinging on a 17 year old girl's decision to go ahead with a medical procedure that both ends a developing human life and that can have unknowable impacts on the future mental and physical health of the girl. Why, in this most critical of decisions imbued with some of the most intense emotional pressures (both internal and external) is the need to have the wisdom provided by many counselors lessened or absent? It is, in my opinion, because those in the pro-choice movement who oppose parental notification laws are probably suffering from some combination of numbers 5, 7, and 8 (and perhaps in some cases number 9) above. 
2. I'm not sure how we can legislate that every parent gets exactly the type of relationship with their child that they desire . . . Don't you think that if your child isn't coming to you, you've already failed and lost the "rights" to make their decisions? No. There are a few false dichotomies here:
   
   • that the desire to be notified and involved in the decision implies the desire to make the decision.
   • that the child will only not inform the parent because the parent is a bad parent. What of the child who has such a good relationship with a parent that they do not wish it damaged because they have so clearly botched their duties as a moral agent by getting pregnant (assuming the consensual sex that is the cause in the vast majority of cases)? I can guarantee that my own daughter would both say that I am a very good parent (because I am willing to let her be an uncoerced moral agent); and that I would be the last person she would want to come to and say "I am pregnant" to - if for no other reason than because she has so "patiently" explained to me as she became sexually active that she is not "stupid" and will not have unprotected sex and/or get pregnant.
   • that parenthood is a "right" that we can lose. Certainly, parental rights can be taken away and given to the state (hence judicial bypass BTW); but parenthood is a responsibility both legally and morally and not a right. The state exists, IMO, not to usurp that responsibility but to give aide and support to more organic relationship between parent and child.
   
   
3. Is disagreeing with your personal, religious and political ideas the type of thing that makes someone incapable of their own "moral" agency? Yes really. This reminds me of the "not while you live under my roof" answer in parenting. If we have a responsibility to raise our children to be competent moral agents - and morality is not individually determined but is tied to family, community, and culture - then, yes, while my child lives under my roof and within my responsibility disagreeing with my moral reasoning is indeed grounds for me believing they are not yet capable moral agents. If they do not like it, they can move out and establish their own moral context outside my responsibility - but not my concern.

One of the (bad IMO) results of the Enlightment is addressed by A.J. Conyers:

"What is Enlightenment?" asked Immanuel Kant. It is the capacity "to use one's intelligence without being guided by another." "Have courage to use your own intelligence! is therefore the motto of the enlightenment". Thus stand side by side, in unmistakable opposition, two ideas of the way one lives in the world. One is that of attentive listening to the guidance of another, whether of a wise guide, or tradition, or of God. The other is the notion of the self-determined "free" man, who without listening to another, becomes the master of his own soul.

However you feel about how that quote applies to mature moral agents, I do not "get" how a 16 year old girl is the "master of [her] own soul" or body.

That would be Justin and I on a walk

Danglers - like to strangle you so they can eat you, but they really like snow so they are easy to bribe
Grimoles - live in holes so you can fall into them, but you can dig out with a handy shovel
Knockers - like to throw stones at you, all you have to do is say SORRY, and they stop.
Dwellers - sleep ALL The time but are pretty slow so you can usually out run them, and if they do catch you they'll make you a dweller too UNLESS you drink motion berry juice which causes you to start dancing on the spot and sends the dwellers away from you fast!
Mineikins - like to eat your toes so you HAVE to wear boots and stomp a lot
Farthers - little monkey creatures that sit on your head and make you giggle and dance
Nimbles - tiny mice like creatures that you have to tiptoe around
Conies - big and small. The big ones are mean, the small ones are friendly but they slobber you and that makes tabby cats(Aka TAGU) not like you until you roll around in the snow and get it off you again.

We don't have ordinary walks.
We do LOTS of exercise type things on our walks.
It's simply amazing!

And oodles of fun for a creative four year old. :) The things we see! :)

When George Bush ran against John Kerry, Kerry’s pictures always showed him looking thoughtful, pondering. Bush’s pictures made him look deranged. It’s beginning again. Sarah Palin spoke yesterday to Tea Party protestors, declaring, “America is ready for another revolution.” And this is the picture the Associated Press chose? I’ve seen many pictures and videos [...]

I wanted to share with you one of the daily readings that Ransomed Heart sent out this past week. I hope you enjoy it.

February 3, 2010

Restoration

Look at the life of Jesus. Notice what he did. When Jesus touched the blind, they could see; all the beauty of the world opened before them. When he touched the deaf, they were able to hear; for the first time in their lives they heard laughter and music and their children s voices. He touched the lame, and they jumped to their feet and began to dance. And he called the dead back to life and gave them to their families.

Do you see? Wherever humanity was broken, Jesus restored it. He is giving us an illustration here, and there, and there again. The coming of the kingdom of God restores the world he made.

God has been whispering this secret to us through creation itself, every year, at springtime, ever since we left the Garden. Sure, winter has its certain set of joys. The wonder of snowfall at midnight, the rush of a sled down a hill, the magic of the holidays. But if winter ever came for good and never left, we would be desolate. Every tree leafless, every flower gone, the grasses on the hillsides dry and brittle. The world forever cold, silent, bleak.

After months and months of winter, I long for the return of summer. Sunshine, warmth, color, and the long days of adventure together. The garden blossoms in all its beauty. The meadows soft and green. Vacation. Holiday. Isn t this what we most deeply long for? To leave the winter of the world behind, what Shakespeare called the winter of our discontent, and find ourselves suddenly in the open meadows of summer?

If we listen, we will discover something of tremendous joy and wonder. The restoration of the world played out before us each spring and summer is precisely what God is promising us about our lives. Every miracle Jesus ever did was pointing to this Restoration, the day he makes all things new.

(Epic, 82-83)

I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will guide him and restore comfort to him. (Isaiah 57:18)

A promise perhaps to a person, more likely to the nation Israel which was sick spiritually. Spiritual sickness is worse than the physical, because the physical is temporary while the spiritual has permanent implications. Covetousness and idolatory had made the nation sick and God was promising to heal when he saw their repentance.

There are 3 promises in this single verse. God was going to heal, guide and restore comfort. All these are what we all desire in our lives and if we live a life of continual repentance, God is always ready to give these.

Here again the "fear of the Lord" is so very important. The Psalmist David exhorts us
in this manner:
Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way chosen for him. The Lord confides in those who fear him; he makes his covenant known to them. (Psalm 25:12, 14)

Some believers trivialize sin and live in it justifying themselves saying that "after all we are human." But neither God nor the Bible supports that point of view. If we desire healing, guidance and comfort in our lives, we must make it a point to check our spiritual life everyday. God loves us, but neither he nor his Word has changed. God called Abraham to serve him at age 75, but even at age 99, God had this to say to Abraham.
"I am God Almighty ; walk before me and be blameless. (Genesis 17:1)
That's what God wants from us too.
May the Holy Spirit strengthen each of us to live a blameless life. Healing, guidance and comfort from the Most High will then be ours. Praise the Lord.