Preparing for Marriage Set

I wanted to share this excellent deal from Vision Forum with you all! This set contains some of my favorite resoures, such as messages from Doug Phillips, Voddie Baucham, and Anna and Elizabeth Botkin. So go check out the Preparing our Son and Daughters for Marriage Set!

Segregation

Peter Bradrick and the LeClerc Brothers are working on a film for the NCFIC, called Segregation. I would highly recommend you watching this clip!


Segregation from Leclerc Brothers Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

Statistics on the Baby Conference Attendees!

The votes are in!

We had a wonderful time last night doing a bit of polling at the Baby Conference here in San Antonio. And the questions all had to do with babies and the Baby Conference! :)

43% of the people at the Baby Conference traveled up to 1,499 miles to get here

28% of the people at the BC are first generation Christians

56% of the people at the BC married between the ages of 18-23

34% of the people at the BC have had at least one home birth

50% of the people at the BC have between 3-6 children

44% of the people at the BC have had 1 or 2 miscarriages

90%  of the people at the BC believe that abortion is wrong in all circumstances

91% of the people at the BC are currently home educating their children

94% of the people at the BC desire as many children as the Lord will give them

66% of the people at the BC have used birth control at some point in their marriage, but no longer use it

83% of people at the BC have not adopted

37% of people at the BC have a desire to adopt, plus 15% are seriously considering adoption

Notes from a Symposium on Biomedical Ethics for Birth

This afternoon there was a symposium held on Biomedical Ethics for Birth, with a panel of Doug Phillips, Geoff Botkin, Dr. Ed Payne, and Dan Becker. The Symposium was subtitled, The Brave New World Your Children are Inheriting.

This symposium posed some very though-provoking questions- Is In Vitro Fertilization right or wrong? Is IVF consistent with the right use of medicine? Does man have the right to determine 'quality of life'? What are some of the critical issues that Christians are facing?

I really appreciated Mr. Doug's sentiment, "Science is not the author of life. Doctors are not the authors of life. God is the Author of life!"

Dan Becker, of the Georgia Right to Life, asked, "By what standard?" Think about it. Where do we get our ideas and worldview when it comes to birth, life, and babies? Do we get our viewpoint straight from the Word of God? Or have we been so influenced by our surrounding culture that we view these things the same way it does?

Mr. Becker gave a startling statistic during the panel discussion: "90% of Down's Syndrome children are being aborted today." Shocking, isn't it?

Interestingly, the panel fell on two sides of the debate over IVF. Dan Becker represented the view that IVF is not inherently wrong, and, in fact, looks upon surrogacy and embryonic adoption as "a form of rescue" for these children.

Mr. Phillips, however, articulated the position that,

1.- There is such a thing as medical adultery, and we need to begin using this terminology.

2.- Any attempt to introduce elements from other people outside of the marriage is wrong, perhaps even sinful.

He went on, "I think we should take a stand against surrogacy. Period... I am an emphatic no-surrogacy man. It's clearly unnatural."

Mr. Phillips clearly propounded the position that while we should be concerned about the murder of children, embryonic adoption is not a way to rectify the situation. Thus, "it is better to be obedient than to disobey and 'save life'."

And as he said in closing, "It's either right or wrong."

We must defend life, especially that of the unborn.

We must draw a line in the sand, and stand firm in the face of opposition.

God Bless!

Naming Babies

This morning, Doug Phillips gave a wonderful message on how to give your children (or future children) epistemologically self-conscious names!

He gave advice to pick names that reflect-

1.- A Vision for the Kingdom of God

2.- A Vision to inspire the recipient of the name

3.- A Vision to disciple the recipient through his name

4.- The meaning and context the parents ascribe to the name

5.- The fact that great generations give great names to their children


He went on to give five common approaches to naming babies-

1.- Virtue Names (such as Faith, Remember, Ebeneezer)

2.- Biblical Honor (such as Joshua, Mary, Adam)

3.- Historical Names (such as George Washington, Patrick Henry)

4.- Generational Honor (names that honor family members)

Mr. Doug pointed out that five of the Alamo defenders were named George Washington, and six of the Alamo defenders were named George, most likely after George Washington. Isn't that amazing?!

As Mr. Doug said, "Names are a huge deal!"

Doug Phillips on The Triumph of Life over the Culture of Death

1.- Faith trumps fear

2.- Hope trumps heat

3.- Legacy trumps lies

4.- Life trumps death

Doug Phillips on How to Change the World

"You can change the world by loving life. You are the future. You are the blessing. You are the culture of life... We must be a generation of life-givers."

Choose Life!

Doug Phillips gave a charge to all of us at the end of his lecture:

"Choose Blessings. Choose Life. Choose Life and Multiply!"

The Presuppositions and Ethical Guidelines for the Baby Conference

1.- Sufficiency of Scripture

2.- Humility before God

3.- The Fear of the Lord

4.- The Creation Order and Design

5.- The Dominion Mandae

6.- Sovereignty and Sanctity

7.- The Unity of Marriage

8.- The Right use of Medicine

9.- Children are a Blessing
"We apply for curses and reject blessings"

10.- Obedience is the Highest Priority
"It is not life at all costs, it is life according to God's Program."

The Baby Conference has begun!

The Baby Conference has begun! The purpose of the Baby Conference is to rally people to the cry- "We recognize that babies are not a burden, babies are a blessing!" as Adam McManus puts it.

Mr. Doug Phillips began the evening with his lecture, The Long War Against Babies.

"All across America, by the millions, Christians abort children throught abortifacients such as the Pill," Doug Phillips said. "One in five women never have any children, up from one in ten in the nineties."

He went on to say that it has been guessed that somewhere in the neighborhood of 70,000,000 infants have died because of abortifacients.

Mr. Doug raised questions such as,

How badly should married couples desire children?

Who is responsible for the opening and closing of the womb?

How many million children have died in the wombs of unwitting Christian parents?

A Sweet Ending to the Texas Faith and Freedom Tour

We had a wonderful ending to the Texas Faith and Freedom Tour- we stopped at a Blue Bell Ice Cream Shop in Fredricksburg, Texas!! Even better, Doug Phillips and filmmaker and actor, John Moore, got in on the action-- serving people in the ice cream shop!

"May I take your order?"

Dishing it up

Huzzah for ice cream!

This is good!

Mission Accomplished, my friend!

The Final Day of the Texas Faith and Freedom Tour

Well, the Texas Faith and Freedom Tour 2010 has come to a conclusion. Too soon! It has been an amazing few days, and my love for Texas has become even stronger! :) (If you haven't told already- I love Texas!)

We loaded back onto the buses a little after 8:00 am this morning, and headed out for the hour and a half drive to Fredricksburg, Texas. Our first stop there was to the Pioneer Museum.

A Sunday House

We then went to the Admiral Nimitz Museum, which we toured with WWII veteran, Bill Brown.

Bill Brown

Scott and Bill Brown

Doug Phillips and Bill Potter

A few of the Tour Participants

The tours were wonderful, and I was so blessed by the inspiring tales I heard from Bill Potter, Doug Phillips, Bill Brown, and the main tour guide, Wesley Strackbein!

Pictures from the Texas Faith and Freedom Tour

Remember the Alamo!

The first day of the Texas Faith and Freedom Tour is over! It's so hard to believe- the day went by so fast.

It all started in the Menger Hotel's Lobby

Bill Potter and Myself

Then we went to the Moses Austin Memorial

Where Wesley Strackbein and Doug Phillips spoke on the lives of Moses and Stephen Austin, and gave some details on the original layout of San Antonio.

Then we walked to the Benjamin Rush Milam Monument, where Wesley Strackbein and Bill Potter spoke.

Mamma and Daddy

We then ate lunch- with Bill Potter! Following Lunch we went to the Alamo, where Doug Phillips, Bill Potter, and Wesley Strackbein shared the history of this amazing "holy ground" of Texas.

Good night, and God bless!

Liberty At Risk

See what Doug Phillips has to say about our liberties here!

The Blessing of Children

Truitt Hendeerson, Sarah Henderson, Sophie Henderson, Ethan Davis, Hannah Davis, Austin Davis, James Turner

“Behold, children are a gift of the Lord,

The fruit of the womb is a reward.

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

So are the children of one's youth.

How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them...”

 

Psalm 127:3-5

 

 

Isn't that wonderful? God calls children gifts, rewards, blessings, and arrows all in one passage! Yet in our culture, children are looked upon as none of these.

In fact, our culture has a totally different vernacular than the Word of God when it comes to children- they're often referred to as burdens, inconveniences, and pains.

This stems from a worldview that is diametrically opposed to Biblical Christianity and its command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28) Yet this mentality pervades even most evangelical churches!
 
Speaking of the way the world views debt and children, Doug Phillips says, “We apply for curses, and abort our blessings.”
 
 

Sarah and Blake Henderson

 

 

Millions of children all over the world are aborted every year. Just since Roe v. Wade in 1973, more than 50 million babies have been aborted in America alone. That averages at nearly one and a half million babies a year, and around four thousand babies killed every day.


Sickening isn't it?
 
 

Austin Davis, James Turner, Truitt Henderson, and Ethan Davis

 

 

And that number doesn't even take into account the countless “unknown” abortions caused by contraceptives, such as the Pill, which are abortifacient. Or the many children that are refused by parents who choose to “play god” and cut off their seed through tubals.


It seems that many have forgotten that babies are not fetuses- they're human beings! Precious children that the Lord Jesus created in His Own Image. Babies are not blobs. Babies are not kittens. Babies are humans, and sinful though they may be, they have eternal souls!
 
 

Rayah Pogue

 

 

So what can we do?

First, we can ask God to change our hearts. We must ask Him to help us stop looking at babies and children the world's way, and start looking at them the way He intended us to.
 
 

Sarah Elizabeth Herring

 

 

Second, we must begin to accept with open arms the wonderful blessings that the Lord sends to us, whether they come in the form of a pregnancy, reversal babies, or adopted children.
 
 

Rayah Pogue, Kourtney and Kaitlynn Thompson, and Jerah Pogue

 

 

And last of all, we should shout from the roof tops (or blog posts :p ) that children are a blessing, and praise God for the ones we have!
 

Why not come celebrate life at the

Baby Conference?

 

 

Baby Conference Topics Announced

The lecture topics for the Baby Conference have been announced! With speakers ranging from Doug Phillips, Kevin Swanson, and Geoff Botkin to Jennie Chancey, Kim Coghlan, and more, the Baby Conference promises to be one of Vision Forum's best conferences! Some of the topics covered will be:

The Message & Mission of Christian Adoption

Naming Babies

The Glory of the Fruitful Womb

The Wonders of Embryology

Why We Must Be Ladies Against Feminism

The Hopeful Theology of Miscarriage 

Hope to see ya'll there!

April's Best Books

First of all, I have to admit that I didn't read a single fiction book last month! Out of all the books I read last month, though, I think the best was a book I recieved for my birthday from some friends, Politics of Guilt and Pity by R.J. Rushdoony. While it took me a while to read this book, it was definitely worth it! While I do not agree with everything he writes (he was a fallen, sinful man just like you and me), I believe he had one of the best perspectives on Christianity in culture and dominion. I would highly recommend this book! One of my favorite quotes from the book is one I've heard Mr. Doug Phillips say for years: "Culture is religion externalized."

However, another book you all might enjoy was Preparing for Marriage: The Premarital advice of John Calvin, which was edited by Mr. Scott Brown.

Poem from Rudyard Kipling...

I've really enjoyed several of Rudyard Kipling's poems, and I wanted to share this one with you, that I just heard recently on the Great Authors Webinar. It's called The Gods of the Copybook Headings.

As I pass through my incarnations in every age and race,
I make my proper prostrations to the Gods of the Market-Place.
Peering through reverent fingers I watch them flourish and fall,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings, I notice, outlast them all.

We were living in trees when they met us. They showed us each in turn
That Water would certainly wet us, as Fire would certainly burn:
But we found them lacking in Uplift, Vision, and Breadth of Mind,
So we left them to teach the Gorillas while we followed the March of Mankind.

We moved as the Spirit listed. They never altered their pace,
Being neither cloud nor wind-borne like the Gods of the Market-Place;
But they always caught up with our progress, and presently word would come
That a tribe had been wiped off its icefield, or the lights had gone out in Rome.

With the Hopes that our World is built on they were utterly out of touch.
They denied that the Moon was Stilton; they denied she was even Dutch.
They denied that Wishes were horses; they denied that a Pig had Wings.
So we worshipped the Gods of the Market Who promised these beautiful things.

When the Cambrian measures were forming, They promised perpetual peace.
They swore if we gave them our weapons, that the wars of the tribes would cease.
But when we disarmed they sold us and delivered us bound to our foe,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "Stick to the Devil you know."

On the first Feminian Sandstones we were promised the Fuller Life
(Which started by loving our neighbor and ended by loving his wife)
Till our women had no more children and the men lost reason and faith,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said:"The Wages of Sin is Death".

In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all,
By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul;
But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy,
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die."

Then the Gods of the Market tumbled, and their smooth-tongued wizards withdrew,
And the hearts of the meanest were humbled and began to believe it was true
That All is not Gold that Glitters, and Two and Two make Four-
And the Gods of the Copybook Headings limped up to explain it once more.

As it will be in the future, it was at the birth of Man-
There are only four things certain since Social Progress began:-
That the Dog returns to his Vomit and Sow returns to her Mire,
And the burnt Fool's bandaged finger goes wobbling back to the Fire;

And that after this is accomplished, and the brave new world begins
When all men are paid for existing, and no man must pay for his sins,
As surely as Water will wet us, as surely as Fire will bun,
The Gods of the Copybook Headings with terror and slaughter return!



Isn't that good?! Have a blessed day!

Courage

"Courage inspires courage. Lack of courage inspires timidity."

-Doug Phillips

Definitions are Important

"He who defines, wins. He who defines the language, defines the culture."

Doug Phillips