Always Reforming

My father was never a wealthy man, monetarily speaking, but among the few valuable physical possessions he left were his books.  Back in the Spring I decided to read Van Til's Apologetic by Greg Bahnsen after discussing it with a friend.  I went on Amazon to buy a copy, but, after seeing the price, I remembered that my father had a copy, so I claimed it and dug in.  I'm glad I did. Reading this book, this copy of this book, was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, primarily for two reasons.  Firstly, my father conveniently marked in this book (see pics below) with various colors of highlighters, which allowed me to underline in black pen without disrupting his markings.  I typically prefer to buy fresh, unmarked copies of books so that I can mark them up myself, but there was definitely something cool about reading and marking up a copy of a book that my father had so heavily marked himself.  It was as if I were following a path trodden by my fa...

It's that time of year again!  The days are getting noticeably shorter,  first day pictures are cluttering up our social media timelines, and those ugly yellow buses are making us late for work again.  A new school year has begun!  It's an exciting time--it's a scary time--as students, parents, and teachers embark on new adventures and experience new first s. It's also the time of year when people begin to notice that some kids don't get on those yellow buses every morning.  Strangers wonder why your kids are at the park during normal school hours or why they look confused when asked, "What grade are you in?"  It's the time of year that homeschoolers start to stick out (well, even more than they usually do). My goal here today is not to tell other parents how to raise their children.  That's not my job, nor, I suspect, would anyone listen anyway.  My goal is to offer a reasoned explanation of why our family chooses to educate our children priv...

Back home For A moment Breathing in The sunset Bathing in This Marlboro sky Some things never change They say Speechless And Nostalgic Lost in clouds that Formed The landscape of  My life Some things never change I hope.

We are at a crossroads.  Our nation is at a particularly poignant point in her history, intellectually, legislatively, and morally speaking.  I believe that the next few years will have an effect (positively or negatively) on generations to come that few time periods have had. I happen to be reading a book right now that analyses the Presuppositional Apologetic of Cornelius Van Til, and I have found it to be incredibly helpful in understanding how to interact with unbelievers in the midst of our tumultuous political climate.  One of Van Til's emphases (developed by Bahnsen ) is the stark antithesis between the worldview of the believer and that of the unbeliever.  Regardless of the apparent points of contact we may seem to have in common, we truly see (or ought to see) everything differently.  Every single aspect of life, every fact , is colored by our greater worldview. Most people agree that 2+2=4, but we have different reasons for that conviction.  For...

I work for a water treatment company, and one of the most common questions we receive is, "Do you perform free testing?" to which I invariably reply, "What kind of testing?"  We perform multiple kinds of testing, some of which are free and some of which are not.  The term  testing  is itself too ambiguous to be helpful.  So it is with the term choice . Liberals love to identify themselves as champions of choice , but they don't really believe in unfettered choice for individuals.  Nobody does, really.  In fact, Liberals, advocates as they normally are for big government, generally believe in limiting the choices of individual citizens far more often than Conservatives do.   Undefined  choice is a meaningless concept.  One is always choosing between one or more options, and some choices are immoral and/or illegal.  We all, even the most Libertarian amongst us, accept this fact.  If my choice impinges on the rights of my n...

11 years since you became my wife, 11 years with the love of my life. 11 years since we said I do , 11 years of lying next to you. 11 years since oaths made before God, 11 years of defying the odds. 11 years since you gave me your hand, 11 years as the luckiest man. 11 years--what babies we were! 11 years and 4 babies later. 11 years shared learning to live, 11 years learning to forgive. 11 years of heartaches and crises, 11 years sharing our worries. 11 years of discovery, 11 years of putting up with me. 11 years with my lover, my friend, 11 years with my rock, my Godsend. 11 years of heart and home joy-brimming, 11 years is just the beginning.

Let's get some things out of the way.  Firstly, I was never a Trump guy.  I didn't vote for him either time, primarily due to ethical concerns.  Secondly, gas was artificially low towards the end of Trump's tenure because of the shutdown.  Too few conservatives remember or acknowledge that.  Thirdly, Trump sent out the first stimulus, much to his chagrin (I think).  Politically speaking, he had absolutely no choice. Nevertheless, we must give credit where it is due.  One thing Donald Trump had going for him was that he honestly cared about America's working man.  I know, I know...that's political sloganeering from time immemorial, but Trump's background, demeanor, and actions certainly appeared to demonstrate a genuine pride in America and concern for her citizens. That is more than can be said of Biden. One more thing to get out of the way.  When I say Biden , I'm really referring to his handlers--those people (whoever they may be) who are a...