A Girl and Her Horse

Yesterday was Meghann's first trail ride on her horse named Joy. She has had her for over a year now and her dream was to get to a point where she could ride her alone on the trail. She has been riding her in the corral alone and being led around with someone holding the lead rope on the trail. So this was a "big" day for her and a fulfillment of a dream - the first of many milestones of this "girl and her horse!"

Meghann riding out in the field in front of our home.

Meghann with her riding partner Karen Ramanauskas.

The Future Causes the Past

History is not simply a matter of the past causing the future; it is also true that the future causes the past, as R. J. Rushdoony explains: "The movement of time according to the Bible, is from eternity, since it is created by God and move out of and in terms of His eternal decree...Because time is predestined, and because its beginning and end are already established, time does not develop in evolutionary fashion from past to present to future. Instead, it unfolds from future to present to past."

David Chilton explains, "A simple illustration might help us understand this. Let us say someone finds you packing a sack lunch on a warm Saturday morning, and asks the reason for it. You answer, 'Because I'm going to have a picnic at the park today.' What has happened? In a sense, the future - the planned picnic - has determined the past. Because you wanted a picnic at the park, you then planned a lunch. Logically, the picnic proceeded , and caused, the making of the lunch, even though it followed chronologically. In the same way, God desired to glorify Himself in Jesus Christ; therefore He created Jesse and David, and all the other ancestors of Christ's human nature, in order to bring His Son into the world. The Root of David's very existence was the Son of David, Jesus Christ. The 'effect' determined the 'cause.'"

Now this is Funny!

Your worldview determines how you live...what's your worldview regarding life and death?

The following is a quote from "The Evidence Bible" on Hinduism:

MAN:
An individual’s present life is deter-mined by the law of karma (actions, words, and thoughts in previous lifetimes). The physical body is ultimately an illusion (maya) with little inherent or permanent worth. Bodies generally are cremated, and the eternal soul goes to an intermediate state of punishment or reward be-fore rebirth in another body. Rebirths are experienced until karma has been removed to allow the soul’s re-absorption into Brahman.

Christian Response: People are created in God’s image (Gen. 12:7). The body’s physical resurrection and eternal worth are emphasized in John 2:18–22 and 1 Corinthians 15. The Bible declares, “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:27–28, KJV). Since we die only once, reincarnation cannot be true. Instead of reincarnation, the Bible teaches resurrection (John 5:25). At death, Christians enjoy a state of conscious fellowship with Christ (Matt. 22:32; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23) to await the resurrection and heavenly reward. A person’s eternal destiny is determined by his or her acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (John 3:36; Rom. 10:9–10).

My Wife

Heather and I have been married for 16 years and I am more in love with her now than the day we said our vows. I always felt unworthy of the gift the Lord gave me in my wife, but I praise Him for His providence and grace. God is good!

"He who finds a wife finds a good thing and obtains favor from the Lord."

- Proverbs 18:22

I sang the this song to Heather on our wedding day, and the words are as true today as they were 16 years ago. Thank the Lord for the covenant of marriage.

I Will Be Here
By Steven Curtis Chapman

Tomorrow morning if you wake up

and the sun does not appear

I will be here

If in the dark, we lose sight of love

Hold my hand, and have no fear

'Cause I will be here



I will be here

When you feel like being quiet

When you need to speak your mind

I will listen

And I will be here

When the laughter turns to cryin'

Through the winning, losing and trying

We'll be together

I will be here



Tomorrow morning, if you wake up

And the future is unclear

I will be here

Just as sure as seasons were made for change

Our lifetimes were made for these years

So I will be here



I will be here

And you can cry on my shoulder

When the mirror tells us we're older

I will hold you

And I will be here

To watch you grow in beauty

And tell you all the things you are to me

I will be here



I will be true to the promise I have made

To you and to the One who gave you to me



Tomorrow morning, if you wake up

And the sun does not appear

I will be here

Oh, I will be here.

Suffering and the Sovereignty of God

So often we find ourselves complaining and whining over what we "think" we lack. The following story will move you to keep a proper perspective of our "apparent" trials. God is good and He is Sovereign!

John Farese was born on August 27, 1956 and is one of the oldest persons living after having been diagnosed from birth with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. He is bedridden and uses speech recognition software to operate his computer system, which enables him to do everything from reading the Bible to creating Web pages for his customers on the Internet.

John lives with his brother Paul and sister-in-law, Janis along with their four children. John's family has provided him with the love and support he needs to be able to live a productive life.

He enjoys watching sporting events, reading, using his computer, and being with family and close friends. John writes, "By the grace of God, I have an intimate relationship with my Heavenly Father, and Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

To read more go to: www.farese.com

What is the Gospel?

Jerry Bridges in his book, "The Discipline of Grace" points out that many Christians don't have a good grasp of what the gospel message really is. In fact, he wrote that sometime during 1993, a survey was taken on the floor of a large Christian convention attended by several thousand people. One of the survey questions was, "What is the gospel?" Of the scores of people interviewed, only one gave what could be considered an adequate answer. Until recently, I don't believe I could have gave a solid answer either. I just found the following summary by Dr. R.C. Sproul and it is one of the clearest summaries of the gospel I have read. I pray this will cause you to glorify God through his Son Jesus Christ.

The Gospel

"There is no greater message to be heard than that which we call the Gospel. But as important as that is, it is often given to massive distortions or over simplifications. People think they’re preaching the Gospel to you when they tell you, 'you can have a purpose to your life', or that 'you can have meaning to your life', or that 'you can have a personal relationship with Jesus.' All of those things are true, and they’re all important, but they don’t get to the heart of the Gospel.

The Gospel is called the 'good news' because it addresses the most serious problem that you and I have as human beings, and that problem is simply this: God is holy and He is just, and I’m not. And at the end of my life, I’m going to stand before a just and holy God, and I’ll be judged. And I’ll be judged either on the basis of my own righteousness – or lack of it – or the righteousness of another. The good news of the Gospel is that Jesus lived a life of perfect righteousness, of perfect obedience to God, not for His own well being but for His people. He has done for me what I couldn’t possibly do for myself. But not only has He lived that life of perfect obedience, He offered Himself as a perfect sacrifice to satisfy the justice and the righteousness of God.

The great misconception in our day is this: that God isn’t concerned to protect His own integrity. He’s a kind of wishy-washy deity, who just waves a wand of forgiveness over everybody. No. For God to forgive you is a very costly matter. It cost the sacrifice of His own Son. So valuable was that sacrifice that God pronounced it valuable by raising Him from the dead – so that Christ died for us, He was raised for our justification. So the Gospel is something objective. It is the message of who Jesus is and what He did. And it also has a subjective dimension. How are the benefits of Jesus subjectively appropriated to us? How do I get it? The Bible makes it clear that we are justified not by our works, not by our efforts, not by our deeds, but by faith – and by faith alone. The only way you can receive the benefit of Christ’s life and death is by putting your trust in Him – and in Him alone. You do that, you’re declared just by God, you’re adopted into His family, you’re forgiven of all of your sins, and you have begun your pilgrimage for eternity."

— R.C. Sproul

Our Community

Here is the community in which we live - a place called Marble. I took the following description off a website advertising Northern Lights Lodge which is located within walking distance of our home. Click here to see their website. My mom and dad stayed at this Lodge/Bed and Breakfast after Kaylee was born this past winter.

The Setting

Nestled in the pristine Selkirk range of the Rocky Mountains in northeastern Washington, Marble is a uniquely enticing destination for all types of visitors. Beautiful mountain scenery, peace and tranquility are all a part of our little community. The setting on the banks of the majestic Columbia River boasts an abundance of wildlife and extraordinary fishing, certain to delight the avid outdoors man. From our back door, we have access to over 160 navigable miles of one of the most scenic rivers in the United States for the boater, kayaker, or canoer. Known as Lake Roosevelt, this stretch of the Columbia River from just north Marble to the Grand Coulee Dam is the largest lake in Washington State, and is becoming renowned for its outstanding Rainbow Trout and Walleye fishing. Though quite cold, the Columbia also provides some of the best water-skiing available anywhere, and will certainly refresh those hardy enough to swim. In addition, hundreds of miles of trails within a short distance of Marble make this area a hiking, mountain biking, and horseback riding paradise. We are also located within 30 minutes of some of the finest golf courses and downhill skiing in Canada, the border is just a few miles up the road.

The History

Marble became a boomtown in 1910, evidently with the idea of using the surrounding acreage for seed and fruit production. At one time, Marble was reputed to be the world's largest apple orchard. Residences were built on three sides of an extensive square, in which there was a schoolhouse, a post office, and a residence hotel. Marble also had a sawmill, a general store and a blacksmith shop.

My Family

Here is the most recent picture of my family. My mom came up for a visit last month from Oregon, and we all went down to Coeur d'Alene Lake in Idaho. It is about a 3 hour drive from our home in Northeast Washington state. We hadn't been there for several years and had forgotten how beautiful it was. They have really developed the area for tourism. Mom took our family out for a 2 hour cruise around the lake and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! We even saw the "Home of the Floating Green" at The Coeur d'Alene Resort Golf Course. I called my brother Kenny and told him we had to play golf there someday.

Point of trivia...

Thomas Kinkade, the painter of light, is developing a new community, called "The Gates of Coeur d'Alene." This will transform Thomas Kinkade paintings into a master-planned neighborhood that evokes the nostalgic images of Thomas Kinkade artwork in a setting of privacy and tranquility overlooking the world famous Lake Coeur d'Alene, located in northern Idaho. To see his website go to: http://www.gatescda.com.

The Importance of the Scriptures

I have always held a high view of Scripture. It is the absolute truth by which I govern my life, my family and every other area of life of which I have influence. I believe the following quote is important to keep in mind as we go to the Bible. Several years ago I wrote this down on the inside cover of my Bible, to keep my reading in proper perspective.

"Too often the modern theologian and churchmen goes to the Bible seeking insight and not orders. Indeed, I may go to Calvin, Luther, Augustine and others, to scholars Christian and non-Christian, for insights, for data, and for learned studies, but when I go to the Bible, I must go to hear God’s marching orders for my life. I cannot treat the Bible as a devotional manual designed to give me peace of mind or a ‘higher plane’ of living; it is a command book which can disturb my peace with its orders, and it tells me that I can only find peace in OBEYING the Almighty. The Bible is not an inspirational book for my personal edification, nor a book of beautiful thoughts and insights for my pleasure. It is the Word of the Sovereign and Almighty God: I must Hear and Obey, I must believe and be faithful because God requires it. I am His property and His absolute possession. We must be under God’s law, not man’s, because God is God; He is Lord!"

- R.J. Rushdoony

What is my theological persuasion?

You scored as Reformed Evangelical, You are a Reformed Evangelical. You take the Bible very seriously because it is God's Word. You most likely hold to TULIP and are sceptical about the possibilities of universal atonement or resistible grace. The most important thing the Church can do is make sure people hear how they can go to heaven when they die.

Fundamentalist 93% Reformed Evangelical 93% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 71% Neo orthodox 68% Charismatic/Pentecostal 54% Emergent/Postmodern 36% Classical Liberal 29% Roman Catholic 18% Modern Liberal 7% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com