Mmmmm.....

I didn't take this picture. So, apparently either Porter or Riley put Lizzie in the reindeer ears and sunglasses and snapped this shot while I was unawares. Sometimes breaking the rules can lead to some pretty funny stuff!

Hey, kids, I found the camera... act excited and I'll take your picture....

I can always count on Riley for expression.

The Lost Beach Photos

Here, a sampling of some of our lost beach photos from when we went to Dauphin Island with our cousins this summer. To make a long story short, we found our camera, and got to relive all the "end of summer" moments.... Look closely and you'll see Riley is flying a kite. Seriously.

Little Husky

Not the greatest picture, but I couldn't resist this one of Liz in her UCONN shirt. A nod to how much we miss Uncle Joey, Aunt Katie, and the girls.

I'm into it, but .....

Ryken - Page 65 & Psalm 143

There is no way to be made right with God except through faith in Christ. In Luther's Words. "Now the true meaning of Christianity is this: that a man first acknowledge, through the Law, that he s a sinner, for whom it is impossible to perform any good work.... If you want to be saved, your salvation does not come by works; but God has sent His only Son into the world that we might live through Him. He was Crucified and died for you and bore your sins in His own Body." - Luther's commentary on Galatians page 126

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David.

Hear my prayer, O Lord;give ear to my pleas for mercy!In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness! Enter not into judgment with your servant,for no one living is righteous before you.

For the enemy has pursued my soul;he has crushed my life to the ground;he has made me sit in darkness like those long dead. Therefore my spirit faints within me;my heart within me is appalled.

I remember the days of old;I meditate on all that you have done;I ponder the work of your hands. I stretch out my hands to you;my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

Answer me quickly, O Lord!My spirit fails!Hide not your face from me,lest I be like those who go down to the pit.Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,for in you I trust.Make me know the way I should go,for to you I lift up my soul.

Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord!I have fled to you for refuge! Teach me to do your will,for you are my God!Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life!In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,for I am your servant.

John Brown - Page 73

That the apostles were not dissatisfied with that part of Paul's doctrine which was peculiarly obnoxious to the Judaising teachers, ' that gentile converts were not bound to be circumcised or submit to the Mosaic law,' was made very evident by their conduct in reference to Titus. "But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: and that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty with we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: to whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you." The construction of this paragraph is a little involved. Some, following a different reading from our translation, have in rendering it ;left out "no, not" in the 5th verse. They suppose that Titus was circumcised, and that the apostle is explaining the circumstance. Titus was not compelled to be circumcised, but he (Paul) acted on principles similar to those on which he took and circumcised Timothy. It is a very important remark of Dr Paley, that "whenever Paul's compliance with the Jewish law is mentioned in the history of the Acts of the Apostles, it is mentioned in connection with circumstances which point out the motives from which it proceeded, and this motive seems always exoteric, namely, a love of order and tranquillity, or an unwillingness to give unnecessary offence."

Derek Thomas - Page 38

A New Perspective?

Recent Studies in Paul ( and therefore of the letter to the Galatians ) have gone through what we might call a volte-face. This 'new perspective' insists that we have seriously misunderstood the nature of Paul's confrontation with Jewish factions in the New Testament, because we have misrepresented the nature of Pharisaism and the gospel opposition. This has, of course, serious implications for the way we understand Galatians. ....

According to this 'new perspective' the issue becomes one of Jewish intolerance of Gentiles rather than of the answer to the question of how we may become right with God. The issue becomes one of church membership ( who may be considered as belonging? ) rather than one of salvation itself ( how may we be saved? ).

Norm Better Watch Out!

I took the older 2 to Lowes this past Saturday morning and let them build a pirate ship at thier kid's workshop. The loved it. After building the rough mmodel at Lowes, we came home and they sandedand painted thier ships all by themselves!

Cuties

I had taken these pics on my phone and have not had a chance to download them until now. The one of Riley is old. The Lizzie was taken this morning.

Lazer Tag Buddy!



Piggie Tails!

Galatians

Well,


It's that time of year again. I am beginning to prep for Sunday school. Last major series I helped out with was the book of Numbers. This time I will be working through Galatians, which is really great considering all the NPP stuff going around over the past few years.









I'm going to try something new this time around and see how it works. During my preparation, I will be posting "NUGGETS" from the commentaries that I am reading. So far I have made it mostly thought the first 2 chapters of Galatians in the commentaries. So, I have some backlog to do.

For reference I am using the following Commentaries:

1. Calvin's Commentaries - John Calvin


2. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon - William Hendriksen


3. Galatians - Reformed Expository Commentary - Phillip Ryken


4. Galatians (Paul's Charter of Christian Freedom) - Leon Morris


5. The Message of Galatians - John R.W. Stott


6. Let's Study Galatians - Derek Thomas


7. Geneva Series of Commentaries (Galatians) - John Brown

Of these I highly recommend 7 & 2 if you want to get into the meat of the book. For devotional purposes, 5 & 3 would be better suited.
Please feel free and comment on the nuggets as your input will help me in planning my lessons.

Brice

Cousin Reunion

We recently went to Memphis for my grandfather's funeral and got to do some serious catching up with our cousins! We've missed cousins Nadine and Lucie, and we took the opportunity to pose in (matching, natch) our new shirts from Aunt Katie.