Black Christians Waver Over Vote

THIS is a very interesting article.  It explains that black Christians are having a difficult time reconciling the upcoming vote because of Obama's new position on homosexuality and Romney's Mormonism.  They cannot in good faith vote for Obama while he supports homosexuality nor can they vote for Romney in good confidence because Mormonism has always been a racist cult.  So many black preachers are telling their congregants to stay home on election day.

As a Reformed black conservative Christian woman, I considered sharing my reactions to this article.  First I was amazed that black churches are so concerned about the problem of Obama's position on gay marriage conflicting with his claim of being a Christian, and yet are completely unconcerned about his position on abortion. His positions on financial stewardship (fiscal responsibility) or just war (righteous war) or any number of values are not consistent with an orthodox Biblical worldview. He is a communist who hates America's history, economic success, and worldwide influence.

Secondly I was amazed that black pastors are openly advocating certain political candidates without threats to remove their tax-exempt, non-profit status.  Pastors in Canada, and soon in the US, are threatened to remove this status by preaching that homosexuality is a sin, as the Bible teaches.  Many pastors are already feeling this heat.  Most of these black pastors advocate liberal Democratic politicians, so preaching politics from the pulpit (where most of their congregants vote according to their pastors) is okay.  You have got to love the hypocrisy from the liberal left.

Thirdly I considered the work of the Empowerment Network, "a national coalition of about 30 denominations working to register congregants and provide them with background on health care, the economy, education and other policy issues."  These policy issues are not the most important crises facing our nation now.  These polices are social issues, government programs.  They have nothing to do with the national debt or foreign relations.  These policies cater to the individual and do not reflect on the principal reasons why we have a federal government, namely national protection and economy.

Truthfully I don't fully agree with either candidate.  I would never vote for Obama because his claims of being a Christian and his policies are completely juxtaposed and he is a communist who hates economic freedom.  I hesitantly give my vote to Romney because I have issues with his Mormonism, but he is more conservative fiscally, he's a capitalist and he's a family man.  To vote for a third party will not put any man in office, so a vote for Romney is a vote against Obama.

A Legacy

While nursing yesterday I spoke with Jeramy on the phone while he was at work.  Moriah and Lily were sitting on the floor opposite me waiting patiently for me to finish.  When I hung up the phone Moriah asked me where Daddy was and I told her that he was at work.  Then she said, "When I grow up I'm not going to work."  I was a little curious at first and didn't respond immediately.  Then she quickly said, "I'm going to stay home and breastfeed babies."  Then Lily looked at me and said the same thing.  The conversation then turned to how many babies they were each going to have - how many boys and how many girls.  

This unprompted conversation really gave me a lot of encouragement.  As you can imagine, it is very difficult to stay home and raise four children four years old and younger.  I find it especially difficult because I was raised for a career, not motherhood.  Christ has redeemed me from that misplaced priority and brought me home with my children.  Feminism is antithetical to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  In the Gospel we find eternality and we raise the next generation with generations ahead in mind.  Feminism and the post-modern worldview of our day tells us to look out only for ourselves in our own lifetime.  The goals of personal peace and affluence die with you.  But God calls us to raise the next generation to love and fear Him so that for generations, people might love and fear Him.  Those expressed goals of my daughters let's me know that, although I fail often to exercise the fruits of the Spirit, there is something honorable and God-glorifying that I'm imparting to my children.

May Christ be praised!

Look Who's Two!

Happy Birthday Shiphrah!

She turned two years on August 17th.  She has blessed us with many smiles and laughs.  I'm so glad God gave her to us.

DIY Laundry Detergent

You can save a ton of money on laundry soap.  At Sam's Club we could pay $25 for 180 loads worth of Tide but making this recipe only costs about $3 for 5 gallons!  Making it takes about 10 - 15 minutes and it's not complicated.  HERE is a video of the Duggars making their laundry soap and saving lots of money in other ways.  HERE is a thorough video of the process.

You will need these three ingredients and a 5 gallon bucket, a long stirring stick or spoon, a pot, a whisk and a measuring cup.  At Walmart each bar of Fels is $1 and the Soda and Borax might be $3 - $4 each, but you only use a little for every 5 gallon bucket.  Because the Fels is only $1, I buy a few bars so that I never run out of detergent at the last minute.

 Grate the bar of soap.  From what I understand, you can use any bar of soap.

 

 Melt down the soap in hot water on the stove over medium heat stirring constantly until no chunks remain.  If the temp is too high or you neglect to stir, then the soap will boil over.

Add diluted soap, 1/2 cup of borax & 1 cup of washing soda to a 5 gallon bucket.  Some recipes use different amounts of borax & washing soda but all are fine and good.  Fill the remainder of the bucket with hot water. If you like to add scented oils, now is probably the time to do it.

 Stir.  Place the lid on top and allow to rest overnight.

 In the morning, stir again to break up the gel-like consistency.  You're done.  I use a cup for every wash load.  I've found that it works best in hot water washes.  It works just fine with our cloth diapers and doesn't seem to irritate Shiphrah's sensitive skin.

Joseph Update: 6 Weeks

Joseph is such a cute little baby.  I've noticed he's darkened up a little bit since birth so that now he's beginning to look a little more like Moriah.  He's been smiling a lot more and now he's started cooing at me!  :-D  It's so precious; I love it!

At his one month checkup he was 9 lbs. 10 oz., a gain of 2 lbs. 10 oz., and 22 inches in length, a gain of 1.5 inches.  He's already outgrown his newborn clothes, but he doesn't quite fit into 3 months just yet.

It's a whole new adventure having a son.  The diaper changes are the most significant difference.  Instead of changing the diaper fast because I have other tasks to do, the change is now a race to see if I can finish before he pees everywhere.  :-)  He also belches identically to an adult man, deeply from the belly.  I'm excited about the other boy-ventures that may come along through the years: trucks & trains, tree-climbing, frogs & lizards, and building things with Daddy.