“This is the main difference between the Gospel and philosophy. Although the philosophers speak on the subject of morals splendidly and with praiseworthy ability, yet all the embellishment which shines forth in their precepts is nothing more than a beautiful superstructure without a foundation, for by omitting principles, they propound a mutilated doctrine, like a body without a head.” Paul [in Romans 12:1-2] lays down the principle from which all the parts of holiness flow.” John Calvin
Friday, September 11, 2009
Our friends Ajit and Jenny Ninan invited us to their daughter’s birthday party at a local Tennis and Racket club. It was a fun time; our kids love the water, and the fellowship was as sweet as the cake.
I climbed into the water with my camera for this photo. The camera is a Canon pro-body with weather seals; it isn’t water-proof, but I’ve heard stories of Canon reps washing their camera’s with water. I figured I might as well give it a try and get some unique angles. Jenn was a bit nervous to seeing me roaming around the pool with the camera only inches above the water; but I love the way the water seems to be jumping up into the picture from this angle.
I’m not sure if Jenn’s cold here, or if she’s just having a hard time smiling. Perhaps her weird husband in the pool with a huge camera with the massive bazooka size 70-200 lens made her feel uncomfortable. You think! Click here to see all the photos.
Family,Friday, September 11, 2009
Nana Lynn visited for a short time and it was a good visit. There was plenty of relaxing and just enjoying the days and then there was the days of going places and seeing things.
We literally stopped and smelled the Roses, I highly recommend doing this every once in a while. 
I am so rarely in the photos, so in case you forgot what I look like, there I am with my children.
We strolled along the beach in Carmel where the kids chased the waves and were chased by the waves. And like each day, they eventually wanted to be carried. I sure would like someone would carry me! Click here to see the entire gallery
There are some more photos from our visit to San Francisco that for some reason I have overlooked. I’ll try to post them later. There is also video that I will need to transfer to the computer and post later.
Christianity,Friday, September 04, 2009
Jenn and I are currently heading down a home-schooling route with Matthew and Claire. The main motivation is to provide them a learning environment that is spiritually nurturing as well as intellectually. We want to provide Matthew and Claire opportunities to gain wisdom and have communion with God throughout the day, rather than simply gaining facts about different subjects. There are so many reasons and so much more I can say on this subject, and there are good reasons to have our children in the public school; but for now, we have decided that home-schooling is the direction we think would be best for our children.
Now, do you think the government should have the right to tell us we are wrong? What if one of the government’s objections was that they thought our children should have the opportunity to consider other sources of wisdom from other gods. What if a court judge required that you send your children somewhere else for the purpose of opening their mind to other ideas. And what if you believed, as a parent, believed that those other ideas were in conflict with what you believe and would confuse and damage your child’s spiritual development? I grant, that it is a reasonable view to consider it beneficial that your child is aware of these other views and tolerant to living in harmony with other views in a peaceful co-existence; but what if the judge objected to your uncompromising views and beliefs on the source and the substance of truth? And shouldn’t a parent have the right to make these decisions, even if perhaps it would be better for the child to go to public school? Is it proper for a judge to require a parent to send their child to public school based on a judge’s objection to someone’s religious views?
I posed all the above in hypothetical questions, but the news is reporting that a court judge has perhaps acted in such a manner. Granted, it’s media reporting and it seems that the parents in this case are in a less than ideal situation; they are divorced and fighting over custody. Click here to see the article, Home-schooler ordered to attend public school, at Washington Times
Christianity,Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Here’s a handy tool for printing out verses to memorize in a business card format. It’s called the Verse Card Maker by Michael Scott. I have yet to try it, so I’ll update this post after I tried it. Verse Card Maker
Christianity,Wednesday, August 19, 2009
The trutone material is a new thing for Bibles. I don’t know exactly when they started making them, but it seems like it hasn’t been more than a couple years. When they are new, the look and feel is very impressive, however, it seems that they are not doing well with age. J. Mark Bertrand has been reviewing Bibles for years and keeps an eye out for quality Bibles. This time he’s discovered the Trutone covers are not surviving with age. Read his article and the comments on his blog, you’ll see that many people are experiencing the same thing with these Trutone bibles. Looks like they are a waste of money and resources. Click Here for J. Mark Bertrand on Trutone Bibles
