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6/12/08 (If you
want to share a comment with others, just send a reply to jim@saltmagazine.com.
We will send the comments with our next post. If
you want to send us a comment or message just for us, just put personal
somewhere in the subject line.) News from home: - Today is Meghan's 18th birthday. In case you don't know, Meghan is our 4th child and our second daughter. (I think we're getting old!). That makes two girls now who are ready and patiently waiting for qualified husbands. Meghan is our athletic girl and she's fun. She's also interested in making movies. She thought it would be great to do a movie about Christian singer Keith Green (which someone else got around to first), and she would also like the opportunity to do C.S. Lewis's "A Horse and His Boy." It looks like John finally got his first paying job - as a tutor employed by the university. The hours, however, will be few. Stephanie's (daughter-in-law) pregnancy seems to be going well and we're down to about 5 months until the due date. Our 16-year-old son has had a chance to stay for a couple of weeks with a wonderful Christian family who live about 70 miles from our house. He's had the opportunity to do construction/handy stuff that he couldn't do around here - and it's always great to see how other families live out their faith. Shannon has just written a new short story - a space adventure which reflects her Christian world-view. Shannon really does write beautifully, in my opinion. We'll have to see about trying to publish some of what she's written. Other than that, we're enjoying the warmer weather. From June through August we let the kids be outside weekday days. During the school year we keep them inside during school hours so we don't draw unwanted attention to ourselves. It is perfectly legal for the children to be outside during school hours, but that last thing we want is an investigation from Social Services to see if the kids are being neglected. We had one run-in with them about ten years ago when we lived in another state. Although we were cleared in the end, it was a nightmare I wouldn't want to go through again. In Christ, JM SALT Magazine: God willing, our next issue of SALT will be out around July 1. We are planning to write an e-book on our homeschooling methodology, which we hope will be available by the end of August. If you want to ask questions, to subscribe or to order with a credit/debit card, email us and if we will be happy to help you. If you want a free issue, just email us a name and mailing address. We are also hoping for a redesign of our website to be up in August. ISSUE #1: Would you counsel your child to remain single? Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7 that the man who remains single does better than the man who marries. The single man can serve the Lord without worrying about the affairs of this world. He is devoted to the Lord and his interests are undivided. He is unhindered and flexible in his service to the Lord. Paul's ministry would have been difficult with a wife and children tagging along. If I had a child who would use his singleness to serve the Lord more effectively and who had a very firm control over his desire, I would advise him to remain single. However, Paul himself recognizes that the self-control he had in this area was a special gift from God. That is why Paul writes, "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband." It is my opinion that very few people have sufficient self control to remain single. And wherever singleness has been enforced - the priesthood in the Catholic church for example - immorality of the worst kind has always been a problem. I wouldn't want to discourage a happily single person from remaining single, but I do believe it is common for people to overestimate their self control in this area and the results of that can be tragic. Furthermore, most people who I have met who remain single do not use their singleness effectively. Marriage and children forces a man to work hard and and it imposes a ministry upon him. And God uses the hardship to mold his character. The single, on the other hand, must often push himself and most people don't push themselves very hard if they don't have to. Singleness allows people to be relatively lazy and self indulgent. Therefore, I would not recommend that my children continue single unless I believed they had unusual self control or lack of desire and they were using their singleness effectively and not wasting their time. I believe my oldest single children would be more productive in the Lord through marriage and raising children than they would through singleness, but that is an issue they must ultimately decide for themselves. (Comments?) ISSUE #2: Should families throw out the TV? (Comments for next time?) The following is an article from our Fall 2007 issue of SALT. Care to comment? Swimming With Jesus, By Cindy McDermott One of my patients right now is particularly special to me. I know, I know. You’re taught through nursing school not to become emotionally attached to your patients. But, it just kind of happens sometimes. And this time it happened with a very exceptional woman. I was the first nurse to meet her and her husband on our unit. By the end of that shift I knew they were a special couple. They just treated each other so well. They cared more about their spouse than they did themselves. There was no bickering, no power struggle, no selfishness; rather, there was selflessness. They were different than so many of the couples I see. Understand, nurses are often thrust into the center of family dynamics. And I had a really good feeling about this couple. It was only a foretaste of the things I would come to know about them. I quickly learned why I had such a good feeling about them: they loved God and they knew Him personally. There can be no stronger bond between spouses and between friends than that of being brothers and sisters in Christ. Most of my patients I will only care for a few days to a few weeks. But this woman’s sickness has been so long and so serious, she’s been in the hospital many months now. Quite a bit of that time she has spent on my floor of the hospital. So over this time I’ve come to know even more about her. She’s intelligent, talented, strong, and wise. And she cares so much about others. Even on days when she is uncomfortable she will ask when I enter her room, “How are the babies?”, and look at me and say, “You are ok, aren’t you?” You can see why I respect and care for her so. But now the time has almost come when the struggle will be ended. She will soon die. It’s hard to understand why this has to happen, and happen in this way, but God knows. One night I was in her room when we started talking about heaven. She told me she hoped there would be lots of books to read. She also said she wanted to go swimming with Jesus. That really touched me. I didn’t know she loved to swim. I did know that even if she could get better and return home, she would never be able to swim again. Her comments about heaven stayed with me, and I began to consider some more what heaven will be like. We know that it is prepared for us by Christ. “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” (John 14:1-3) Can you imagine? Jesus coming back for us, that we can spend forever with Him! And of that we can be sure. No wonder we yearn for it so. “Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling...so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-2, 4b) We will have what is truly life. And it’s going to be gorgeous. Jesus called it ‘Paradise’ when speaking with the thief on the cross. Revelation describes it like this: “The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.” (21:21) I don’t know if that’s literal or not, but I get the gist of it: it’s going to be beautiful! My favorite verse about heaven is also in Revelation 21: “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ ” (3-5) Again, we will be there with God forever, and everything that has given us pain or worry here will be gone. There will be nothing to break our hearts, or make us sad, hurt, or cry. How good God is to us! I know that people have different ideas of what exactly heaven will be like. Some people think heaven will be whatever makes us happy – so it will be different things for different people. It reminds me of the song “Big House” by Audio Adrenaline. The chorus goes like this: “It’s a big, big house, with lots and lots of room. A big, big table, with lots and lots of food. A big, big yard where we can play football. A big, big house – it’s my Father’s house.” I love that because it’s so personal. This guy is describing God’s house – heaven – as big, with lots of fun and food. I bet this guy likes to eat and play football! But our minds are so small; perhaps that is the only way we can begin to grasp heaven – by putting it in terms that we can relate to on this earth. I don’t know what heaven will be like, but I trust that it will be more wonderful than I can now comprehend. As 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.’ ” What an awesome place it will be, because we serve an awesome God. We know it will be wonderful, because God loves us so, and it pleases Him to give us the kingdom. The day will soon come when my dear patient will leave this earth. I know a few tears of mine will fall. (They already have.) I hope she enters heaven next to a beautiful ocean, the warm, soft sand beneath her feet. I can just see it now: Jesus standing at the water’s edge with two towels in His arm, His hand reaching out towards hers. “Come on, Nancy,” I hear Him say. “Let’s go swimming.” ©2007 SALT Magazine, 2131 W. Republic Rd. #177, Springfield, MO 65807, www. saltmagazine.com OLD POLLS: (Feel free to comment on polls.) (Right and wrong is
not
a popularity contest. Polls do not prove right or wrong - only God's
word does that. Polls are interesting and informative because they
let us know what people are thinking.) Would you spank your child in public if he through a temper tantrum in a grocery store? Yes (67%) No? (33%) Comment on Poll: Would you spank your child in public if he through a temper tantrum in a grocery store? Yes? No? Never!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i have five children ages 10 to 20,
they
all behaved extremely well in public and at home. you have to learn to
keep a good schedule so the young ones can be home for naps and also
avoid overstimulating them by so many exciting things out in the world.
Also, don't take them out when they are hungry or tired. Don't buy them
things - meaning don't spoil them. And remember to teach them that
wonderful way of living that Susanna Wesley used all the time with her
19 children - "never give a child something he cries for" . . He has to
be taught manners through example. And if they do get upset in public,
just finish your purchases as quickly as you can and say soothing
things to the child until you can get him home and calm again. This
has happened to US ALL at least once or twice with small children!!
However, it is the exception - the rare occurance. SW
NEW POLLS: vote starting 6/16/08 at www.saltmagazine.com Would you rather your children live at home and attend a state university? Or, live in the dorm and attend a Christian university? Comments: Last
time's comment "With doctors
and hospitals banning
VBACs, it is possible that one's insurance won't pay for a VBAC? Is a
believing woman required to get a VBAC if she can't afford to go out of
network or out of state?" A GOOD RESOURCE TO find info on this is a book by william
and
martha sears called, the birth book. [SORRY THIS IS SO BRIEF AND
messy, i am holding a two month old baby in my arms and trying to type
with one hand real quick before he wakes up.] SW SALT
Magazine Deals: 12 semi-monthly issues for $24. Sign
up a friend for free. Or, 6 issues for
$15. Donate: (Only if God moves your heart to cheerfully support this ministry) mail a check to SALT Magazine, 2131 W. Republic Rd. #177, Springfield, MO 65807. Or, our paypal address is subscribe@saltmagazine.com SALT now has a TOLL FREE NUMBER 1-888-883-8593 if you want to ask questions, to subscribe or to order with a credit/debit card. |
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