Earlier studies I've done on the pineal gland and how light affects the hypothalamus made me start to wonder about how beneficial Daylight Saving Time really is to our bodies, especially since this was the weekend that we moved our clocks forward... and I'm feeling it!
First, I decided to see what I could learn from other homeschoolers:
- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/seekingtheoldpaths/224833/ -- why DST is hard on us
- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/boysrus/ -- information about DST
- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/betcsu/229065/ -- the proper spelling & pronunciation of DST (I didn't know this one!)
- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/hippiechyck/38856/ -- Did you know this was all Benjamin Franklin's idea?
- http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/ClassicalAstronomy/Signs%2Band%2BSeasons/ -- A look at astronomy to see how DST is related to the sun
- http://www.jcircadianrhythms.com/content/4/1/1 -- DST has a negative effect on the circadian rhythms of those who sleep less than 8 hours per night or who stay up late in the evening.
- http://www.slate.com/id/2177142/ -- our morning wake times are tied to sunrise only in the winter. When DST arrives in the spring, our circadian rhythms are disrupted until fall's time change, when they are magically back on track again.
- http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6793/8/3 -- if you like the scientific explanation, this article is great. Its basic premise is that DST really does affect our moods and it has a greater affect on those of us who already have difficulty with our circadian rhythms.
Is there anything we can do to help our bodies cope?
- Go to bed earlier! Try to go to bed when the sun goes down. (I have no idea how to do this in real life, especially when we have children and enjoy our hour or two of "adult time" in the evening -- but it's a goal. Maybe I should try for adult time first thing in the morning?)
- Get at least 8 hours of sleep at night. If I went to bed when the sun went down -- say, at 9:30 at the peak of summer -- I could get up at 5:30 and still get 8 hours of sleep. I could even "sleep in"! So God provides for us to get 8 hours of sleep on the shortest days of the year. I wonder what He intends for us to get in the middle of winter??? Maybe that cold air is hard on our bodies and we need more sleep? Interesting.
- Dr. Mercola has an interesting article: http://www.mercola.com/2001/oct/27/sleep_cancer.htm
~Anne
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Well, I was just reading a post in one of the blogs I regularly read, and I saw that she had written on the topic of head coverings. I started wearing a head covering during worship last fall, so I thought I'd reply to her post, even though -- poor thing! -- she didn't ask me to! So in a spirit of humility, and not trying to say that I've got anything figured out, I would like to explain why I wear one.
I agree with her -- a head covering is not "commanded" in the Bible, per se. However, if I am to take Scripture literally, then I must admit that 1 Corinthians 11 says I should wear a head covering IF I want to pray or prophesy in the context of the local church, otherwise I am dishonouring my "head" and that it is a shame.
But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. (1 Cor. 11:5-6)
Yes, head coverings were a custom in Old Testament times. We can see examples of this in Genesis 24:64-65, Numbers 5:18, and several places in the prophets. Were they necessarily a custom in Corinth? Not all scholars agree. An interesting view on this is written about here.
She writes that veils are something that hide, that separate, that cover. I agree! Yes, the vail (KJV spelling) in the temple was to separate us from a holy God, because of our sinfulness. This veil was torn when Christ, our passover Lamb, spilled His blood (Matt. 27:51). Today, we don't need that veil because we have direct access to God through Christ.
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:19-22)
But the reason given for covering our heads in 1 Corinthians 11 is not the same context as free access to God through Christ. Paul gives several reasons for head covering:
1. To show proper honor to our God-given authority.
But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. (1 Cor. 11:3)
Christ showed authority to His head, His Father. (See John 14:10-13 as just one example.) When we pray or prophesy without showing the chain of authority to which we willingly submit, we are giving dishonor to our head -- our husbands. I believe God enjoys object lessons; we are children, and we need visible, tangible reminders of His ways. (Examples: Deuteronomy 11:16-21, Exodus 12 with Passover, 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 with the Lord's supper, among many others) Some women may be able to show proper honor and respect without heeding the object lesson, but I've found it's much easier with it on my head.
2. To show that I am made in the image of man.
For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. (1 Cor. 11:7-9)
This isn't something I'd want to get too dogmatic about, but I do find it interesting that this is what Paul says. (Different opinion? Send me a comment.) Notice also what Genesis says.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. (Genesis 1:27)
3. Because of the angels
Paul also writes that someday we will judge angels. I believe angels are watching us. If we are not willing to submit to God and to our husbands, why should we be deemed competent to judge angels someday?
4. To show marital interdependence
Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering. (1 Cor. 11:13-15)
I find it very interesting that head coverings are still normal for most women in cultures around the world today. I find it interesting that even here in the United States, head coverings were normal, especially in church worship, until only a few decades ago. I don't believe we should lightly cast away 5 millennia of traditions, simply because it isn't the custom now. Rather, we should ask why it was the tradition. Could it be that, as you research this issue, you'll find that the tradition was based on a careful understanding of Scripture? I'll let you do your own searching on this, as I have.
In the blog I was reading, the author mentioned that Paul did not wish to be contentious about this issue:
But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God. (1 Cor. 11:16)
I don't believe that the King James Version is inspired of God (although I do believe God's Word is inspired in its original texts), so I'd like to note on how others have translated this verse:
- But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God. (NASB)
- If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice—nor do the churches of God. (NIV)
To me, though, none of these arguments are the reason I started to cover my head. To me, this is not a social or cultural issue; nor is this solely an issue of submission (since I know a few Godly women who are submissive to their husbands yet do not cover their heads). To me this is an issue of the authority of Scripture. Covering my head is not politically correct. It is not "church" correct, either. I'll look a little odd, won't I? (Not necessarily; I agree with the conclusion this author comes to.)
When the Bible says to do something, will I obey? This is a question I have been asking myself repeatedly in many areas over the last year. Sadly, I've often had to answer, "No, Lord, I'm not obeying." To obey makes me "peculiar" (1 Peter 2:9), and it requires laying down my own will.
Do our churches obey the last half of 1 Corinthians 11? Then why is the first half a "cultural issue"? If the first half is "not for today," then what about every other verse in the Bible? Can I explain away all of those, too? Get out your scissors! Let's cut out everything that we don't like! Snip, snip...
So, while I may not understand and I often don't like it, I will choose to obey. I am praying that my obedience in this outward, obvious thing will prompt others to ask me why I'm doing it!
~Anne
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Here are some of my favorite quotes. In fact, they're hanging right here on my wall next to my desk, framed in pretty little frames.
"Whatever doesn't make me happy has the potential to make me holy." -- by my friend Jenny
"Faith in a prayer-hearing God will make a prayer-loving Christian." -- Andrew Murray
"Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time." -- Oswald Chambers
"There is a general kind of praying which fails for lack of precision. It is as if a regiment of soldiers should all fire off their guns anywhere. Possibly somebody would be killed, but the majority of the enemy would be missed." -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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I've gotten in trouble with this question before, so I don't know why I'm going to risk opening up a can of worms again, but somehow I stumbled on a point-less, never-ending debate on a religious forum (I wouldn't recommend visiting, LOL), and I was frustrated at how afraid we all are to address this simple question:
»»Poster #1: Thus you didn't mean that everything could be found in the Bible. I have no problem with this variance. |
Well, coffee makers might not fall into my thoughts here, but maybe they do. What does the Bible say?
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that that called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. (2 Peter 1:2-4)
Not so long ago, I would have said that yes, the Bible gives us every thing we need for life and godliness, because in the pages of God's Word we can find the knowledge of God. However, the Pharisees were well trained in the knowledge of God, yet we can tell from their actions that they did not exhibit much of "the divine nature." (See verses 5-8 for further description of what that nature looks like.) In addition, the Pharisees knew all the right behavior that was required in the law, but how well did they really know God? Personally? Intimately?
So if knowledge of the Bible is all that it takes to be given "all things that pertain unto life and godliness," then why did so many Pharisees -- and so many modern Christians -- lack glory and virtue in their lives? Why have we failed to escape "the corruption that is in the world through lust"?
It seems to me that the answer lies in the gift of his divine power. The knowledge of God is just the tool God uses. So now the question of the day remains: How do we receive this divine power? And how do we find the knowledge of God? Finally, what is included in "all things that pertain unto life and godliness"? Does that include how to fix coffeemakers, or must we confine our pursuit to just spiritual matters?
To be continued...
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Well, phooey. I wanted to blog every day this week, but hey, what I've done so far is an improvement. I almost posted on Friday. It still feels like Friday, only it's after midnight so it's officially Saturday. My hubbie and I had a great time sitting at the table this evening, drinking smoothies (him) and eating yogurt (me), and discussing "stuff." Now we should be in bed, but it feels good to just have some fun online for a few minutes.
I'm still new enough to blogging that I'm not sure what proper netiquette is, but I saw a wonderful poem on another blog last night (okay, make that Thursday night). I wanted to share it with you, but so that I didn't steal it from her, I wrote her first for permission. She responded:
She sounds like a gem! So without any further ado, here is her poem:
The beauty of life is….That it isn’t mine.
It’s Yours. I have been bought with a price and am no longer my own.
The beauty of life is…
That I have already died.
For I have been crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live, but Jesus Christ now lives in me.
The beauty of life is…
That it is without end.
Now, because of You, I shall be forever and ever and ever. Impotent, Death has no sting.
!
The beauty of life is…
You are weaving something beautiful out of my days.
Even if it may look—or feel--- overwhelmingly otherwise.
For we know all things together work for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
The beauty of life…
Is unmerited, undeserved, unwarranted. It is solely gift.
Any beauty in my life is not mine. It is simply a reflection of the essence of beauty: You.
The beauty of life is…
Everyday.
How can I possibly forget that? Alas, interminable spiritual Alzheimers.
Above all else, I must remember---no, relish----the beauty You infus! e into my every breath.
I rise to my feet to! offer a standing, emotional ovation to the Playwright and Director of this daily drama: It’s a Wonderful Life.
Whatever is….beautiful....keep the mind fixed on these things.
Lord, You are the beauty radiating from these moments.
(written by Ann at Holy Experience blog)
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I was listening to a CD tonight by Gary Ezzo, entitled "Speaking Life." He gave two fictitious scenarios, each dealing with the same man who had fallen into sin during a tough time in his life. In the first scenario, Word of Truth Community Church passed judgment on him and disciplined him, permanently crushing him. As Gary Ezzo said, this church spoke words of death to this man.
In the second scenario, Words of Life Community Church spoke words of life as they reached out to him, attempting to find out why he was struggling, praying for him, and loving him back to Jesus. His vertical relationship to God was restored through confession and forgiveness, and his horizontal relationships were strengthened and confirmed. This church chose to speak words of life.
Which church would I rather attend? Yes, we must have "standards" of righteousness. But I'm reminded of Jesus' words about forgiveness in Matthew 18, especially in verses 15-17. If someone sins, we are to go to him. (Galatians 6:1-3 reminds us of the correct attitude to have!) We might have to return with a friend or two, with the purpose of restoration (see 2 Corinthians 2). In the worst-case scenario, we will have to treat this brother as a heathen man and a publican.
But how did Jesus treat the heathen and the publicans?! He ministered to them. He ate with them. He showed them love! See a beautiful example of this in Luke 7:36-50. He spoke words of life.
I'll close with the stern warning to speak only words of life that is given in James 4:11-12: "Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou are not a doer of the law, but a judge. There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destory: who art thou that judgest another?"
Lord, may I speak only words of life today! Amen.
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There's something funny about doctrinal statements. We write them, quote them, and believe them because they're supposed to be based on the unchanging Word of God. Why, then, if they are so rock-solid, are there so many different ones? Why do genuine believers have so many differences (albeit in small ways)? Why didn't God just spell it out for us in His unchanging Word? "Turn to Hezekiah 16:4 for a concise doctrinal statement..."
Or do we really have as good of a grasp on dogmatic doctrine as we claim to have? Am I the only one who sometimes wrestles with issues late at night? Free will versus predestination... whether Christ was fully man and fully God or if and how much He emptied Himself of His deity when He became a man... what the filling of the Spirit means... law versus grace....
Oh, don't worry. I'll solve some problem today, enough to give me peace, but a new problem will crop up tomorrow. I'll be back in the shower, hogging all the hot water, while my brain tries to figure out the complexities of God.
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Is. 55:8-9).
It's good to wrestle with God in our minds. By doing it, we acknowledge that He is God and we are not, but that we're striving to know Him. But the danger comes in thinking that our thoughts should reign supreme. God's ways don't need our thoughts. He is quite capable of doing His work in His way, sometimes with methods that seem to contradict our tidy systems.
"For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Is. 55:10-11).
Lord, I need wisdom. I need wisdom to know You personally, not just in my head. I need wisdom to know how to show Your love to others, even when I don't agree. I need wisdom to know what things I need to fight for, and which things I need to forgive. Lord, thank You for filling my mind with Your mind, and by doing, superseding all my thoughts and using me in spite of them.
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| O sacred Head, now wounded, |
| With grief and shame weighed down, |
| Now scornfully surrounded |
| With thorns Thine only crown: |
| How pale Thou art with anguish, |
| With sore abuse and scorn, |
| How does that visage languish, |
| Which once was bright as morn! |
| What Thou, my Lord, hast suffered |
| Was all for sinners' gain; |
| Mine, mine was the transgression, |
| But thine the deadly pain. |
| Lo, here I fall, my Savior; |
| 'Tis I deserve Thy place; |
| Look on my with Thy favor, |
| Assist me with Thy grace. |
| What language shall I borrow |
| To thank Thee, dearest Friend, |
| For this, Thy dying sorrow, |
| Thy pity without end? |
| O make me Thine forever, |
| And should I fainting be, |
| Lord, let me never, never |
| Outlive my love to Thee. Amen. |
by Paul Gerhardt (listen online at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/s/osacredh.htm)
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I've noticed something about myself. Let's say I have a problem, an impossible problem, something I can't fix by myself no matter how hard I try. I have two options. My tendency is to stay up half the night worrying and trying to fix it anyway. This just makes me feel yucky the next day, and it doesn't help anything at all. My other option is to let God fix it.
How does that work? Well, when my "problem" wakes me up in the middle of the night, I first talk to my Lord. I pour out my heart to Him. But then, when I've prayed, I begin to think of all the verses that tell me how He will answer. Has He promised to forgive? I claim those verses. Has He promised to see me through? Has He promised to lead me? Has He promised to provide? To heal? To comfort? To encourage? To work it out? To provide grace? Whatever promise He brings to mind, I quote back to Him.
As I say amen in my heart (which means so be it), I know that I have the requests I have asked and I know which verses give those promises. The amazing thing is that as soon as I say amen, He immediately begins to fill my heart with songs. The moon is shining bright, the stars are twinkling, and my husband is snoring... but in my heart, I'm singing praise songs to my King. I wonder where the worry went! It's gone! In its place is the Bible's promised indication of being filled with His spirit, in that my heart is filled with songs of praise to Him (Ephesians 5:18-20). The songs continue until morning and through the day; in fact, they continue until I wonder astray. Then He's faithful to prompt me to start the process of prayer and supplication (and thanksgiving) all over again. Isn't He good?
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Psalm 23 says that the Lord is my shepherd. He is a good shepherd, John 10:11 and 14 say. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what my Good Shepherd is really like.
When He leads me, I do not want. I lack no good thing (Ps. 84:11). Think of what that means! See also Matthew 6:25-33 and Phil. 4:6-7, 19.
When He leads me, "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul." As I meditate on each of these truths, I see that "every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning" (James 1:17). Praise God, Jesus Christ is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8).
All of these benefits are provided for me because of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to HIS mercy he saved us..." Sometime, take a peek at the meanings of the word "saved" in that verse! "...by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed abundantly [overflowing!] through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life" (Titus 3:5-7). Wow! As Psalm 23:3 says, "he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness FOR HIS NAME'S SAKE."
But when I take the lead, things aren't so pretty. "Yea, though *I* walk through the valley of the shadow of death..." Sometimes I choose to walk in disobedience. My paths always lead to death. Even then, however, "I will fear no evil." Why? "For thou art WITH me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." Again, Hebrews says, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee" (13:5).
"Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ..." (Phil. 1:6). What a comfort!
"Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust" (2 Peter 1:4).
"For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us" (2 Cor. 1:20).
Praise God from whom all blessings flow....
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