Losing your faith

Hello, this is for anyone who is curious about whether or not Christians can lose their faith (regardless of whether or not you are a Christian).

Luke 8:13 (New American Standard Bible)
13 "Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away.

The argument that many make is that, from the passage above, you can lose your faith. Meaning that you can truly believe in Jesus Christ and then no longer believe in Jesus Christ.
 
However, the interpretation of that passage belongs in the words you are paying attention to. Which word are you focusing on, "believe" or "root?" That's the key to interpreting this passage.
 
I wrote the long answer in my theology blog, Christian Ed:

• Losing your faith

Thanks!

Ed

New song - Ballad of Moses (and Ed dancing)

I wrote the lyrics for this song and produced this vid...



Performed and music composition by OTizzle. Directed and animated by MattyO. Thanks go out to those guys!

So I really like how this turned out. I think it's educational, clever, and funny/entertaining. So some of my non-Christian friends also enjoy it. So checka it out! Thanks!

Also, here's a bonus vid of me dancing while O-Tizzle shows off some fast strumming:



Thanks for watching!

Ed

Prenatal Vitamins

This is a shout-out to other mommies. I will run out of prenatal vitamins this week. I can probably get a short supply from the OB at my next appointment, but if anyone has a partial jar tucked away somewhere (that you aren't planning to use for another pregnancy or that will expire before your next pregnancy) gathering dust I could sure use them. I would rather use up your leftovers than buy another jar of my own that will likely gather dust or expire before my next pregnancy. =^)

Note to Mom: please do NOT buy me vitamins!

Thank you! We love you all!

Katie

Praise God that we fixed the new leak

So we received news that our Issaquah house has sprung a leak in the water pipe somewhere. But this time it was water going into the house (our Redmond issue was a smashed drainage pipe).

Katie's dad graciously offered to come check it out. If he could find the leak, then that would save us $750 to hire a company to find the exact location of the leak.

By turning off the house water and checking the meter, he was able to determine that the leak was before the pipe got to the house. So last Sunday we dug from the water meter down the hill to the road... no leak. Then I started on the ground near the porch/sidewalk, and we dug there. I found the pipe and... no leak. We followed the pipe out to the street from the house, and Mike found a connection in the pipe. That was the end of Sunday for us.

Mike went back on Monday and blocked the pipe to test and see if the leak was under the road or under the house-side sidewalk... the road side. So he kept digging out to the road and was prepared to have to cut into the street. And here's the blessing...

He found the leak right before the road! So he didn't have to cut the road! He also verified that it was the only leak. Praise God and thank you Mike for your help! We really appreciate it!

I just wanted to thank God again for this, because it's amazing how God provides for us in so many different ways. It was also a blessing that although it rained a bit and even hailed, it never lasted long (just long enough for us to take a break and wait out the hail).

In job news, I'm starting to make contact with recruiters and get a few interviews. Please pray for us that God opens up an opportunity soon. Thanks!
Ed

Picture of the girls with the groceries

Katie's got a pic of the girls with the groceries over on A Resourceful home:

http://www.aresourcefulhome.com/2010/03/albersons-trip.html

Also, check out Katie's blog on gardening thoughts here (she planted some seeds in egg cartons in preparation for our coming garden):

http://www.aresourcefulhome.com/2010/03/starting-garden.html

Thanks!

Ed

Thanks for the groceries

Hey, I just want to say thank you to those who have helped us with groceries this month and previous months. We just really appreciate it and are humbled by your generosity.

Thanks!

Ed

Finished first Noah page

We do a Bible study with the girls where I read a verse of the Bible and then draw some of it. I keep doing that, drawing and coloring it until that page is done. Then Katie writes the verse on the drawing and we add it to our family Bible notebook (put the page in a plastic sheet in the notebook).

So, we finished our first drawing for Noah. It shows Noah surrounded by wickedness. Next up is drawing Noah and his sons working on the ark!

Ed

Looking for another part-time job

The saga continues. It started with last year when I got laid off, we needed to try to sell our Issaquah house, and our basement flooded. That was all pretty difficult.

But God was faithful as we plugged forward. I got a contract job on the Microsoft Hardware team two weeks after I was laid off. We weren't able to sell our Issaquah house, but we were able to rent it and got some great tenants. And I was truly amazed with God, because I would arrive at the house to work in the yard or on the roof, and it would stop raining for me. Then, as soon as I was done, the rain turned back on. I could only praise God then and there and remind myself of that since then. The amazing thing is that it happened three times on three different days.

I couldn't help but ask, "Why does God choose to perform miracles in such small, loving ways instead of huge ways like I/we want? Maybe His huge solutions are coming later?" It's tought to tell, but I'll take the small miracles as God reminds me that He's still there, leading me forward, one step at a time.

The flooding was difficult, but Katie's mom, aunt, and uncle came up and helped move furniture, pull up carpet, pump out some water, and fix some of the pipes. Our friend, Shawn, came by (God canceled his plans for him) to help me start digging in the right place. Then Katie's dad and brother came by to replace the pipe and fix the final problems. And, if that wasn't enough, our church (and Donny) had some hay they let us have, in order to cover up the dirt there (city's orders).

Then in December, God provided a great part-time job back, which is directly for Microsoft. It's a wonderful job with a wonderful team, and it got us back to the benefits of working directly for Microsoft.

We were able to spend some time in California, and then our digital camera decided to die after the trip (and not before), right before my birthday. And for my birthday, I was blessed with another digital camera. It's amazing that God is in the little things.

But it's not over yet, because I still need to find another part-time job to support our family, and we'll still want to sell the Issaquah house. So it seems that God has been faithfully leading us forward and requiring our faith as well. Instead of finding a one-stop solution to the mess that we and our economy have gotten us into, God has been feeding us smaller solutions as we plod forward.

Even Saturday, as I mowed the lawn (it needed it badly), I was running out of gas after I was finished, and as soon as I finished, the rain started. Like God again was waiting for me to finish. Maybe He'll stop doing that now that I'm blogging about it (because it certainly sounds like He's making the weather revolve around me; sorry about that if my weather plans don't match yours), but I just wanted to proclaim His majesty in one small way.

Please pray for us as I look for another part-time job.

Thank you.

Ed

Mowed the lawn

Mowed the lawn today for the first time this year. Grass grows fast around here. Lawn mower got stuck with grass or ran out of gas about 8 times.

It's funny to watch Eve and Naomi interact sometimes. They both wanted to help me wheel the mower out, open the gas can, pour the gas in, close the gas can, put the gas lid back on the mower, push the button a few times, and tried to help me pull the cord. But as soon as it started, they ran like crazy with their hands over their ears. Hahahahaha. Am I an evil father? =^)

Ed

Ed's Birthday celebration

Head on over to our Resourceful Home post to read about it.

http://www.aresourcefulhome.com/2010/03/birthday-celebration.html

Thanks!

Naomi met Lightening McQueen

On Saturday of our January Disneyland trip, I was taking the girls back and Eve wanted to go with Mommy. Naomi wanted to stay and get a picture taken with the Cars star.

Lightening McQueen or "Cars" as she calls him, is her favorite character to have on a pull-up. =^)


Ed

Eve and Naomi meet some fairies (Tinker Bell)

We went to Pixie Hollow on Friday of our trip with the PAs. First the girls met Silvermist (above).

Then they met Tinker Bell...

Tinker Bell was nice, but not as stellar as the one Katie and I met two years ago (yes, Katie and I waited in line to meet Tinker Bell, and we had no kids with us). That Tinker Bell was shorter, looked more like her, and spoke in this perfect squeaky voice. This one was still good though. =^)

Also, when Katie and I went, the second fairy was Iradessa. I assume they rotate out the non-Tinker Bell. I wonder if they swap out Tink for a new actress. I bet they do. Otherwise, she'd be doing that all day and that would wear her out too much.

Ed

Eve and Naomi visit Belle

Part 3 of 3 of the princess garden. The final princess (and the nicest) was Belle.

The girls' friends Lauren and Sydney also visit Belle.

This Belle was the nicest of the princesses here. I think perhaps its because her character is the kindest and so the actresses who want the character probably want to do the character justice. Just a theory. We also ran into a super nice Snow White, Belle, and Pocahontas. Katie and I also met a perfect Tinker Bell two years ago (much better than the one this year). It's like maybe 20% of the face actors are amazing, 40% are good, 30% seem miscast, and the remaining 10% seem bored or impatient. =^)

Ed