Death is Not Dying

Rachel Barkey (nee Sawer) went home to her Lord on July 2, 2009 at 37 years of age. Rachel is survived by her husband Neil and her children Quinn and Kate, parents Ben and Cathy Sawer, brother David (Johanna) Sawer and sister Andrea Sawer.

Death is Not Dying

Rachel's story is not unlike what thousands of women around the world have experienced. A diagnosis that changes a woman's life and inevitably takes from her what we consider to be most precious.

After four and a half years of vigilantly fighting breast cancer, the 37 year old wife and mother of two was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

But for Rachel the essence of life is found in her relationship with God through Jesus. And that's why Rachel is convinced that death is not dying.

Country Song Spoof by Andy Gullahorn

Life Happens

This past week has brought many doctor's visits, prescriptions, coughing, vomitting, ice cream, popsicles and cuddling together on the couch.

Our household was attacked by Strep throat, and thankfully, we are all on the mend.

The only member of our family not attacked was John, and since the rest of us are no longer contagious, it's looking like he was able to sneak past the Strep bug.

Needless to say, it is nice to finally be feeling better. I feel like I'm to the point where I would actually welcome the option of leaving the house! It's the simple things like swallowing that are taken for granted....especially when your throat and tonsils are covered with blisters!

We have taken advantage of eating popsicles and ice cream...it's all about getting better, right?

Are you confident you will go to heaven?

Street Survey 1 from David Fairchild on Vimeo.

Street survey video at various locations around San Diego, asking the questions, "Are you confident you will go to heaven?", and "Why should God let you into heaven?"

What is the Gospel?

Street Survey 2 from David Fairchild on Vimeo.

The Kaleo Street Survey videos. This one asks the question: what is the gospel?, as well as what word people associate when they hear the word 'gospel'.

Paysie and Jamison

Happy Birthday Mark!!

It got a little loud at the end...but it's hard to control the noise level, lol.

A Batik Dress and A Bandana Dress

My new bag

Last week, I decided to treat myself to some great fabrics for a bag. I wasn't sure what it was going to look like.

Here are the three fabrics I chose:




After some contemplation and a few drawings, I came up with something and immediately began making a pattern and cutting my fabric.

Because I started so late, it was nearing midnight, but at least I had everything cut!

This morning, it did not take me long to get started. I began the assembly of my bag...complete with interfacing and lots of pockets! If this is going to be used as my newest diaper bag, and with as many kids as I have...you know it's going to need to hold a lot of stuff!

I didn't want to make it too big, and I am very pleased with how it came out.

It ended up being 11" tall, 15" wide, and 4" deep. There is one wide strap that has a double thickness of interfacing for stability. The flap has two magnetic clasps on each side for closure.


Here is a view of the back. There is one pocket in the back, that spans the entire width of the bag, that is also lined with interfacing for stability.

Inside, there are five pockets. There is one on each side panel...one is large enough for pens and papers, the other is just right for a cellphone.


There is another wide pocket the length of the bag, that has been sewn in the middle. There is a smaller, higher pocket on the opposite side for keys, etc.

The sewing went well...there were a lot of interruptions...(do I really need to mention names?) Because of my little interruptions, it took me the better part of the day. But the breaks were nice and much needed!

I can't tell you how much I love this bag :)

God of This City...Kris Allen

Modesty

Here are some references on the lost art of Modesty:

Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters wrote some articles for Crosswalk, titled: Fashion and Following the Savior: part one, part two, part three.

A sermon by CJ Mahaney titles The Soul of Modesty. This was the basis for the articles above.

Brett and Alex Harris, of The Rebelution conducted a survey called the Modesty Survey.

I highly recommend that all women do a Modesty Heart Check:
Modesty Heart Check

Modesty on Your Wedding Day

And though it be their sin and vanity that is the cause [of lust], it is nevertheless your sin to be the unnecessary occasion…You must not lay a stumbling-block in their way, nor blow up the fire of their lust…You must walk among sinful persons as you would do with a candle among straw or gunpowder; or else you may see the flame which you did not foresee, when it is too late to quench it.
--Richard Baxter

Prejean's Story Points to Deeper Issues in Evangelical World

By Nancy Leigh DeMoss

I’ve been asked numerous times for my take on the firestorm surrounding Carrie Prejean—the reigning Miss California who lost her bid for Miss USA after publicly affirming her belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman.

Those who hold to the biblical concept of marriage couldn’t help but be glad that this young woman courageously stood for the Truth, knowing that to do so could be costly.

Yet, for those who affirm and cherish the biblical perspective of femininity and sexuality, this story has an important subtext and raises a number of issues that should be of great concern to us as followers of Christ.

Carrie has made a strong public profession of her faith in Christ. As Christians, we are called to live as redeemed men and women and to reflect to the world the beauty and holiness of God. I’m not in a position to judge Carrie’s motives or her heart. But while I applaud her courage, I also believe some of her choices and public actions, past and present, are representative of many women who consider themselves Christians, but who lack clear biblical thinking and conviction on such matters as virtue, womanhood, beauty, modesty, and discretion.

In my mind, Carrie Prejean’s story is symptomatic of deeper root issues in the evangelical world—issues that in my opinion outweigh most of what is being debated in the secular press.

Sadly, Carrie is the product of a Christian sub-culture that has lost a sense of what it means to be citizens of the kingdom of God and has embraced the values and thinking of this world.

By and large, young adults who have grown up in our evangelical homes, churches, and schools, are buying into a message that they have seen modeled by those around them who call themselves Christians—namely, that Christianity can be divorced from Christ-likeness, and that practical holiness in everyday life is out-dated, irrelevant, or optional.

Carrie Prejean’s situation highlights the desperate need for Titus 2 “older women”—mothers, youth workers, mentors—to take an active role in the training and discipleship of younger women—teaching them to live out the implications of the gospel in every area of their lives.

So many young women in the Christian world have little understanding or discernment when it comes to modesty and personal purity. And can you blame them when they are following in the footsteps of a generation of so-called believers who tolerate, justify, and flaunt immodesty, sensuality, and immorality of every form, along with serial divorce and remarriage?

That’s why as women we need to be asking ourselves questions like:

• How does my life measure up to the Word of God?
• Am I modeling Christ-like, Gospel-drenched virtue, modesty, femininity, beauty, and discretion to the next generation?
• What kind of impact am I having on the younger women in my sphere of influence?
• What I am doing to invest in their lives, to point them to Christ, and to mentor them in godliness?

Carrie Pejean’s story should cause us to be on our faces crying out to God over the extent to which the church today has accommodated to the world. It should cause us to plead with God on behalf of our children and grandchildren, and then to get up off our knees and go out and engage this younger generation with love and grace and truth and to become agents of redemption in their lives.

A few new dresses

Here's some fabric I purchased yesterday to make the kids all matching bermuda shorts, and Paysie a matching dress for the fourth of July!

The Shack: Author Denies Penal Substitution

Should the church really be embracing a book whose author doesn't believe that God punishes sin?

My Blessings

Happy Mother's Day....a day late

I found this video today and just had to share it....

This one just made me laugh!

We need Him just as much as we ever have...

By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!
It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State

Big Truths for Young Hearts

Bruce Ware has a great book out that was just recently released. Big Truths for Young Hearts began as bedside devotions that would happen on a nightly basis when his daughters were young.

Here's a brief summary:

Equips parents to guide their young children through all major doctrines in an understandable, chapter-a-day format.

Sure, it’s easy to teach your children the essentials of Christian theology when you’re a theology professor. But what about the rest of us?

With Big Truths for Little Hearts, Bruce Ware, (you guessed it!) a theology professor, encourages and enables parents of children 6–14 years of age to teach through the whole of systematic theology at a level their children can understand. Parents can teach their children the great truths of the faith and shape their worldviews early, based on these truths.

The book covers ten topics of systematic theology, devoting several brief chapters to each subject, making it possible for parents to read one chapter per day with their children. With this non-intimidating format, parents will be emboldened to be their children’s primary faith trainers—and perhaps learn a few things themselves along the way.

Justin Taylor has more info on his blog about this new book!

We received our book last week....and I can't wait to use it with my children!

Calvinistic Cartoons

If you want a good laugh, head over to Calvinistic Cartoons. Here are a few of my favorites!

Wrapping up the 2008-09 School Year

Has it really been a week and a half since my last post? I apologize profusely for that!

We are wrapping up school for another year. I came to the realization in January that I wasn't making school the priority that it needed to be. It was always thrown in our busy day as the last thing we did, rather than it trumping the unimportant.

There was a day that I sat down with Nolan and Gideon and apologized for this. It wasn't that we didn't get our work done, but my daily focus was not where it needed to be.

Being a mommy to five and homeschooling the oldest two, can sometimes be overwhelming. I realized that I needed to tackle the task of homeschooling one day at a time. There were times that I really lacked the energy to do it all, and with prayer and the Lord's help, these past few months have been better than I ever thought possible.

Nolan is my first grader. He catches on extremely well to new ideas and concepts...which is no surprise to anyone that knows my Nolan! We have a few subjects yet to finish, which he will breeze through, of course. It's just a matter of getting them finished up. He is a lot like I was when I was in elementary school. He knows what he is asked to do...and he wants to get it done asap. I have really had to work on getting him to slow down and take the time to read carefully and check over for mistakes. If he gets things wrong, it's mainly due to his impatience of completely his work as fast as he can. We are working on this, and I can see a lot of improvement over the past year. There is a maturity in him this year that wasn't there last year. He is amazing little boy, and I can't wait to see what the future holds for him.

Gideon is my Kindergartener. When we first began the schoolyear, I had my doubts. He had just turned five, so he was on the young side for being in Kindergarten. We spent the first couple of months just practicing writing our letters and how to hold the pencil properly. There were days that I felt like I was talking to a wall...like nothing was getting in! Now, he can read and has learned a lot of the basic concepts needed to phonetically sound out words that he is not familiar with. He has learned many sight words, and I am just so proud of him. His face beams when he knows he has done a good job and immediately puts his hand up for a high five!

It has definitely been an interesting year, juggling the younger kids while I teach the older. Paysie had just been born when the year started and now she is starting to move herself around the house. Jamison is finally starting to talk after months of frustration on his part. Haddon is now looking forward to next year, when I will start him on a more structured preschool curriculum.

Needless to say, there have been days that it has felt like my plate was more than full....but those have been few and far between in the more recent months. I am so grateful that I am able to teach my children at home and couldn't imagine not being the sole teacher (along with John!) in their lives.

We have been truly blessed, and as this year wraps up, I am in awe of my God. That He would send me these little people to teach and to nurture...knowing that I would make mistakes and be so very imperfect with them on a daily basis. I am humbled by this great responsibility, but am so very thankful that the Holy Spirit has used me to teach and live out the Gospel to my children.