Prayer for a reconciling heart.

"My God, heal the breaches of cordiality and mutual regard which now bear heavy upon my heart; and may I know what it is to be on terms of reconciliation and amity with all, even to the worst of my enemies."

-- Thomas Chalmers, Sabbath Scripture Readings (on Acts 7).

Hurts so good

Yeah, I'm sore all over. But I'm happy about it. You see, it was about two months ago that my left hamstring went *pop* during deadlifts. Since then I backed off the weights considerably, got plenty of rest, and slowly worked my way back up. Yesterday, I got back to the weight at which I injured myself, and did it 5x5 (when I was injured, it was only on the first rep of the second set). So, while I'm nowhere near my personal best, I am quite pleased to have come back from what at the time seemed like a scary injury that could have been really really bad).

It could be worse, but...

I feel sad today. I guess I'm mourning some loses -- past, and pending.

That's all I have to say right now.

Meet the New Boss...

It's a magical day. All of our hopes and dreams will come true, because the American people have chosen the man who promises to fix it all, to change everything, and to give us all hope.

Blah!

"Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help" (Psalm 146:3).

Now, don't go supposing I'm bitter because my man was not elected yesterday. The fact is, I didn't have a man yesterday. My issues go deeper than the issue of which man we should vote for.

There are moral evils essential to the constitution of the United States, which render it necessary to refuse allegiance to the whole system. In this remarkable instrument [the U.S. Constitution], there is contained no acknowledgment of the being or authority of God -- there is no acknowledgment of the Christian religion, or professed submission to the kingdom of Messiah. It gives support to the enemies of the Redeemer, and admits to its honours and emoluments Jews, Mahometans, deists, and atheists -- It establishes that system of robbery, by which men are held in slavery, despoiled of liberty, and property, and protection. It violates the principles of representation, by bestowing upon the domestic tyrant who holds hundreds of his fellow creatures in bondage, an influence in making laws for freemen proportioned to the number of his own slaves. This constitution is, notwithstanding its numerous excellencies, in many instances inconsistent, oppressive, and impious.

Since the adoption of the constitution in the year 1789, the members of the Reformed Presbyterian Church have maintained a constant Testimony against these evils. They have refused to serve in any office which implies an approbation of the constitution, or which is placed under the direction of an immoral law. They have abstained from giving their votes at elections for legislators or officers who must be qualified to act by an oath of allegiance to this immoral system. They could not themselves consistently swear allegiance to that government, in the constitution of which there is contained so much immorality. In all these instances their practice has been uniform.

--Reformation Principles Exhibited (What the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America used to believe and practice).

Yet there is something to be said for the truly awful choice that was made yesterday. Comrades, did the People's Republic of the United States of America just place over them a man who's policies are virtually indistinguishable from Socialism, who had the support of such defenders of freedom as Fidel Castro and Communist Party USA? Did this nation just pick a leader that had the backing of the Nation of Islam's voice, Louis Farrakhan? Did Americans elect for themselves a man who, if he did convert from Islam, converted to a poisonous mixture of black radicalist marxism called Black Liberation Theology, which teaches "God damn America!"? Yes, I do believe this is what happened. The good news (or is it the bad news, I forget?) is that all the promised change will not take place, at least not as promised. Because liars promise us the moon, and deliver nothing but a puff of smoke.

Well, meet the new boss: Barrack Hussein Obama. Same as the old boss?

There's nothing in the street
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
And the parting on the left
Is now the parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

Big date

Last night I had a big date with two beautiful girls. I met someone yesterday who reminded me of how important it is for little girls to have an affectionate dad. So, I came home an told my two daughters that daddy wanted to take them out and spend some time together. We went out to eat at Friendly's (btw, there is NOTHING cheap on their menu!). We had a good time together.

In other news: It's election day, and I have no dog in this fight. I am particularly disgusted with the thoroughly secularist idea of the government delivering us from all of our troubles. It's like America is electing their messiah today -- "Vote for me, and I'll set you free." What an empty and hopeless promise!

Someone had to do it.

Repeat Rapist Shot by Intended Victim Brave Defender of Her Life and Chastity.

Something New

Here's something new...

I got to take my wife out, just the two of us, to a restaurant, for dinner last night! It was really nice.

We dropped the kids off at Gampy's for a birthday bash for Cole. As we pulled our van to the curb, and opened the side doors, two spanish girls started climbing into the van, even pushing through my kids to get in. I noticed a van pull in behind me, and said to the girls, "Whoa whoa whoa! I think you have the wrong van, honey." And they quickly left our van and got into the other. So that's something funny right there.

Then out to eat we went. I had a succulent prime rib sandwich and a Guinness. Rachel got a crab melt sandwich (yum). Then we came home and just hung out and chilled in a quiet house.

Who knows when this will happen again?

What's new?

"What's new?" This is a question that friends and family seem to ask me a lot. I never really have a good answer for it. "Not much," is all I usually can think of saying most of the time. And I guess that's fine by me. I'm not really about "what's new." I'm more about "what's the same." I work, I come home and do the family thing. When I have time, I do some other things like read, or practice karate, or something else I enjoy. That's pretty much what I do, and it's not really new. I suppose this is one of the reasons I'm so poor on the phone, or with coming up with things to blog about. I'm content with that though. I like when things are the steady, consistent, normal. New? Well, that could be good, but that could be bad too.

Now, having said that, here's something new: My baby niece is back home from the hospital after having heart surgery, and then a staph infection, and then a minor surgery in install some kind of a port thingy. But she's home now, and that's new, and we're all happy about that.

Prayer Against Vile Affections

"Thou knowest, O God, the sin which doth most easily beset me; enable me to cast it aside, that I may ever breathe in the clear element of purity and a safe conscience. O bless me by turning me from mine iniquities; and save me from that most damning and idolatrous of all iniquities -- the iniquity of a heart charged with vile affections, and setting them on the things which are beneath; and having no affections to set on the things which are above, as to supplant or subordinate all the evil desires of an evil and accursed nature. In me, that is in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing."

-- Thomas Chalmers, Sabbath Scripture Readings (on Acts 3).

Budweiser American Ale

I broke down and bought a case of Budweiser American Ale, on a co-worker's recommendation. As you can see from the picture, it pours a nice amber color, with a nice, thick, white head, and decent lacing. It smells of... of... well, no, I can't really pick anything up to distinguish it. It just smells like beer. First taste, hmm... not too bad. I can taste some hops, though it's more of a second billing hops rather than a star of the show hops. Something of a slight frutiness, I do believe. Sometimes I like to swallow some beer, keep my mouth closed for a bit, and just breathe through my nose and see if I pick up some subtlety in the finish -- yes, there's something there. Something a little bit nutty, maybe? I had to have a second one just to make sure. Yes, I do believe I like it. One negative is that this beer made me remember some past heartache, or was that the music I was listening to? Well, I'm going to blame it on the beer. Overall, I give it a Not Too Shabby. Budweiser American Ale reminds me of Killian's Irish Red (by Coors), and I'd be interested in a side by side taste test at some point.

By no means does Samuel Adams have anything to worry about, as this will not dethrone the real king of American beers. But this is a welcomed attempt at crafting something better than the average American beer, and I'm glad to say that I will actually drink it and not just use it to rinse my beer glass.

(this is cross-posted @ the Puritan Pub)

Atheism Remix

I recently ordered Atheism Remix by Al Mohler. and I finished reading it in a couple days. It's a surprisingly short book given the subject matter -- it's less than 100 pages of text. If you're looking for a detailed refutation of the New Atheists, this isn't the book. But, if you are looking for an excellent introduction into the subject of the New Atheism, the characters involved, the cultural and philosophical shifts that got us from there to here, as well as a review (and critique) of some of the responses from the Christian community to the New Atheism, then you should really consider purchasing this book. I learned a lot myself, and I recommend this book to anyone who wants to be educated about this theater of battle in Satan's war against all things good.

As for a detailed refutation of the New Atheism, last night I started reading The Irrational Atheist, by Vox Day. It's available for free, or for whatever donation you feel is appropriate, here: http://irrationalatheist.com/freedl.html

From what I've read so far, the Irrational Atheist seems to be a defensive sort of apologetic, as the author is making no positive argument for the Christian God, but the defense can be likened to the 1985 Chicago Bears defense... hard hitting and attacking defense. I can't say I agree with all the author's sentiments, but I'm kind of getting a feeling of "I probably wouldn't say that, but I'm glad someone else did." I need to spend some more time in this book, and I would like to write a review of it if God permits me the time to do so.

Back to Al Mohler... Atheism Remix is a good little book. I ordered mine from Solid Ground Books, and Mr. Gaydosh got the book to me straight away without delay (and for a couple bucks less than other folks are selling it for). Give it a read if you are so inclined.

What I did on Summer Vacation

Welp, Summer's gone. Here's a post about stuff we did this Summer (the pictures aren't great, and I don't have time to write a compelling story, but you should get the drift) --

We went camping:


We caught crayfish in the creek:


And then we ate them!
(Jesse ate them whole... head first... CRUNCH!)


We decided to "go green" by figuring out a way to save energy:


We got a bunny:
And we buried her two days later :(


We shoved kids into a dog house:


And, umm...

There's some other stuff too. For example we have a new family member (my sister-in-law, my wife's sister had a baby girl. She's still in the hospital recovering from open heart surgery. We're praying for her). But I can't sit at the computer and put pictures up all day!

No sir, I don't like it.

You know what I don't like? I don't like this "New Atheism." This is not to say that I approve of the old atheism either, it's just that this latest mutation of the old godlessness is particularly ugly. The New Atheism is lead by the likes of Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens, and of course by the peanut gallery that buys their books, cheers them on, and assumes that the intellectual abilities of these men also belong to themselves by proxy. Christianity has always seemed irrational to the atheist, but now there is more of an edge it seems. Christianity is not only painted as stupid, but also as dangerous, threatening, detrimental, standing in the way of knowledge and progress.

Yesterday as I was driving in the car here and there, I caught bits and pieces of a local talk radio show that gave a platform to a couple of atheists who were arguing that Christians, indeed all religious people, were ultimately kooks, and basically should not be allowed to have a public face at all -- and religion should DEFINITELY have nothing to do with education and civil government.

Listeners were calling in and opposing the atheist guests. Sadly, the callers that were allowed to speak lacked the capacity and the preparation it takes to answer them. The basic "This country was founded on the Bible" arguments were trotted out and quickly stomped into a mud hole. The few times that I heard a promising argument from callers, they were quickly interrupted by the host and were not allowed to continue to build any substantial argument, the partial argument was then handed over to the atheists to dispatch in short order, much like my dog does when I drop him some of the fat from the meat being prepared for supper. For example, one caller began by pointing out the atheists that all law is an imposition of morality of some sort, and then the host cut him off and shouted, "What the hell are you talking about?" as if to pretend "I didn't understand a word you just said," and the man was not allowed to continue. The atheists then just laughed at the idea that Christians think morality should be legislated.

By the end of the show, the atheists were defending such basic human rights as sexual perversion, killing the unborn who are unwanted, and suicide. "If an adult who is suffering in pain wants to end it, who are we to say he shouldn't be able to do that?"

Hey, wait a minute... I have some questions. First, forget about suffering in pain. What if the guy's having a bad day? And why limit this to adults? Why shouldn't a 14 year old be able to off himself if he wants to? Who do you think you are to put your own limits on suicide, while denying others the option of limiting it? Second, where do you get the idea that humans have rights in the first place? Even our Christ-less Declaration of Independence founded human rights upon the Creator. Remove the Creator, and what right do you have to have the rights He has bestowed? Who granted you rights if not the Creator? Natural Selection? Marx? The government? Third, given your worldview, why should I care about a word you are saying? You yourself believe you are an accidental, purposeless, complex bio-chemical reaction whose "mind" is not a mind at all, but a secretion of what is essentially an ape-brain. I, in your worldview, am likewise. So, why call a radio show at all? Why try to share your ideas (read brain secretions) at all?

Of course, I don't believe that's what you are, and I don't believe that's what I am. So, in my worldview, your ideas are important. They are important because they are dangerous, and threatening to human life, and human dignity, and human freedom, and are criminally blasphemous against the very God that gave you the ability to think and communicate at all.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. Readers, please be aware of this New Atheism, and have a ready answer (to sure up your own faith, to help others who may be shaken, to tear down every imagination that dares to stand against the knowledge of Christ). In the past, such a nasty atheism would have been socially unacceptable and would not have gained popularity. But things have changed, and the New Atheism books are best-sellers, and their ideas are being taught in universities, and the groundwork is being laid in the minds of children in the government schools. One does not have to spend too much time finding the effects of atheistic social Darwinism in the 20th century, and I wonder if this is not the direction we are heading towards. After all, you Christians are stupid, dangerous, and you're getting in the way.

A very cool video

The life and times of the 17 year Cicada.

Whew!

I'm very thankful to God that my hamstring is very sore... but that's all. Sore like an intense workout sore, not sore like "tore the thing in two" sore. I realize that I'm going to have to drop the weight more, and warm up more. It occurred to me that it's been only a short time I've been doing 5 reps times 5 sets, and I should have dropped the weight back more before starting such a scheme. We live and we learn, now don't we?

Oh THAT can't be good!

So much like my blogging, I've been really slacking with my weight training. I took most of August off from the weights, and purposed to hit them again (at a twice a week pace) come September. Well, it's September. Monday I did squats and chin ups (5x5). I was severely sore for four days. Today I attempted deadlifts. As I did with squats, I dropped back the weight, realizing that I would not likely be able to pick up exactly where I left off. I failed at four reps my first working set. I want to do five sets of five, so I dropped 20 lbs off the bar and tried to reach five in my next set. One rep... and *~POP~*. My left hamstring. I said something I shouldn't think, repented and asked God's forgiveness, and then prayed that this wasn't as bad as it sounded. I'm sitting on an ice pack while I type this, hoping that I get another chance to deadlift again. I promise I will warm up better next time.

I'll keep you posted.

Tonfa/Tuifa

An introduction to the Tonfa, and how to choose your Tonfa:



Where to order your Tonfa (it's where I ordered mine -- I went with the tapered square style):

Martial Arts Supplies

I've ordered bag gloves from Karate Depot in the past, and their product and service is top drawer.

So, what are you reading?

I tend to read in spurts, and when I'm in a spurt, I tend to read a whole bunch of stuff at once. Below is what I've been reading (or recently finished reading):

Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices by Thomas Brooks.

Sabbath Scripture Readings by Thomas Chalmers (reading it on Lord's Days)

Faith and Reason by Ronald Nash.

Turretin's Institutes (the section against the so-called "Middle Knowledge").

A Humble Attempt in Defense of Reformation Principals by John Fairly.

Lion of the Covenant: The Story of Richard Cameron, by Maurice Grant.

What are you reading?

1 John 2:29

If you know that the Lord is righteous, you know that every one that does righteousness is born of Him.

Rx: Cameron

The wait was longer than I expected, but I did bring a book that made the wait more tolerable. I spent over an hour reading The Lion of the Covenant: The Story of Richard Cameron, in the waiting room at the doctor's office.

When I was finally called back to see the doctor, I tucked the book under my arm, and walked back to the room, sat down, and put the book next to me. I went there to talk about my blood work and what it tells us about my cholesterol, and we did indeed discuss that. But after the doctor noticed my book and said it looked interesting, we spent far more time talking about Cameron, the Solemn League and Covenant, the Scottish Reformation, the Killing Times, the Westminster Assembly and the documents they produced, early American history!

My cholesterol is not all that awful, but I could stand to take some Red Yeast Rice as a supplement. The doctor expressed much interest in supplementing her reading with The Lion of the Covenant, and wrote down the title and author.

It was a good visit.