Always Reforming

I should never have been born. As I drive by a country knick-knack store named Gloria Jean's, I dwell upon this solemn fact: I should never have been born, at least not accordingly to the wisdom of this world.  You see, my mother had seven children, which is by itself to some a remarkable fact.  After six children the doctor told her not to get pregnant again.  She ignored him.  The doctor told her to abort this seventh child.  She promptly found a new doctor.  Having had six C-sections already, on December 13th, 1989, she had her seventh and final. Any sane women would've stopped at six or fewer, and, frankly, I don't know if I could blame them.  99 out of 100, no, 999,999 out of 1,000,000, women would have stopped.  My mother eschewed worldly wisdom and had one more.  My mother may not have been sane, but she was Godly, and I thank God for that. Not only was I born, as this post should sufficiently prove, but I was blessed to be born ...

    I am often asked how many children I plan on having.  Upon hearing my response (typically a "as many as the good Lord gives me") most people ask me why.  Up until this point I have never seen the need to articulate my reasoning clearly, but yesterday one of my good friends asked me.  The answer, I felt, would be best answered with a blog, which will hopefully contain a balanced ratio of both sobriety and levity.  So, here goes my five reasons for having multiple children, in order of least to most important: 1.   Spencers make cute babies .  Okay...maybe this is one is a wee bit subjective and maybe just a little biased, but, hey, I think my kids are darn cute.  My nieces and nephews are pretty cute, too.  It almost feels like we have a duty to fill the world with beautiful people. 2.   It's a family thing .  Having children is one of the ways I embrace the Christian heritage my parents gave me.  My father is, and ...

"And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,  To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command you this day for your good?  Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is the LORD's your God, the earth also, with all that therein is.  Only the LORD had a delight in your fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.  Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff necked.  For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord of lords, a great God, a mighty, and a terrible, which regards not persons, nor takes reward:  He does execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loves the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.  Love you therefore the stranger: for you were strangers in the la...

"For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins."     The debate over the continuity/discontinuity of the Old and New Covenants rages on.  There are those who see absolutely no continuity between the covenants with regard to redemption and the moral code.  They would see little need to read the Old Testament.  On the other side you'll find those who incorrectly see no distinction between the covenants.  They say the only difference is that the New Testament now includes the previously-ostrac...