Is The Word "Begotten" Important?

John 3:16
KJV
 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

NIV
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

ESV
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

NRSV
For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.

Is Jesus merely the son of God or is he the begotten son of God?

In the first place, if Jesus is the only son of God, then the Bible has many contradictions. If Jesus is the only son of God, then John 1:12 cannot be true. If Jesus is the only son of God, then Luke 3:38 cannot be true. If Jesus is the only son of God, then Romans 8:14 cannot be true. If Jesus is the only son of God, then no one else can be a son of God. There are passages of Scripture that clearly say God has other sons or teach how one may become a son of God. So, can Jesus be the only son of God? Or, is he the only begotten son of God? There is a difference and it is a significant difference.

I didn't realize the significance of the word, begotten, until I watched a Muslim teacher explain his belief about who Jesus is (link below). He was asked to explain how followers of allah can be called sons of god in his religion but Jesus cannot be called the Son of God. He made several good points while explaining his beliefs and he even used the Bible to make his points.
He pointed out that followers of God are referred to as sons of God in the Bible, and in that sense, he believes it can be said of Jesus that he is the son of God. But, to say that Jesus is the only begotten son of God is heresy, in his belief system. Of course, the opposite is true, it is heresy to say that Jesus is not the begotten son of God.

Now do you see why the word, begotten, is so important?

Islam has no problem with the new translations of John 3:16.

The muslim teacher points out that Adam is called the son of God in the Bible, but that does not make Adam God.

Luke 3:38 KJV 
Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.

The teacher also brings up the passage in Romans 8 which states that those who are led by the Spirit are sons of God.

Romans 8:14 KJV
For as many as are led of the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 

The muslim teacher then points out that the newer translations of the Bible do not call Jesus the begotten son of God and that most "Christian" scholars agree that the word "begotten" is a fabrication.

You see, by eliminating the word "begotten" from John 3:16 these translators have made Jesus a pious person. He is no longer God in human flesh.
There are many passages of scripture that speak of people being sons of God.

John 1:12
But as many as receive him, gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

If you are interested in listening to the video clip I referenced you can do so by clicking HERE. I thought it was very interesting. Good Muslims live very "holy" lives. They live separate from the world. They abstain from alcohol, they dress modestly, they pray five times a day, they observe times of fasting, they try to keep the law as given by Moses. In other words, they go about establishing their own righteousness and refusing the righteousness of God found in Christ Jesus.

Romans 10:3 For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

God only has one BEGOTTEN Son and his name is Jesus. He is fully God and fully man. He is the only saviour for mankind.

  Acts 4:10-12

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Snow And Muffins

We have finally had an accumulating snow!
I sound excited, but I am actually not a big fan of winter.
I do think snow is pretty and can be quite fun to play in.
My motto is, "If it is going to be cold, it might as well snow!" :)
As the snow was falling it did look quite picturesque. Unfortunately, I did not get bundled up to go outside and take any pictures for you. Sorry. :(
I did take some pictures of the muffins I made on that snowy day, though.

I used a recipe for pumpkin chip muffins. I   really like this recipe. It is a recipe my mother used to make when I was a child.
I did make a couple changes to the original recipe. I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin, and melted butter instead of canola oil. They were delicious!

Ingredients

• 4 large eggs
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
• 1-1/2 cups canola oil
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips

Directions

1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil until smooth. Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.
2. Bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack. Yield: about 2 dozen.

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 022

Mark 1:2

KJV 

 As it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

NIV 

 as it is written in Isaiah the prophet: "I will send my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way"

ESV 

As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, " Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,

NRSV 

As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, "See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way;

Oh no! There is a contradiction in the Bible!!

Actually, no, there is only a contradiction in the new perversions.

It is not written in Isaiah, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
 Search for it. You won't find it. It is a lie to say that it is written in Isaiah when no such thing is written in Isaiah.
That quote is found in Malachi not Isaiah.(Mal.3:1)

Cranberry-Apple, Soaked, Steelcut Oatmeal

This is my favorite breakfast, at the moment.

I prepare all the ingredients the night before, and soak the oatmeal overnight.

In the morning it cooks quickly and I serve it with cream. Delicious!

I bet you could make this recipe with regular old fashioned oats. You would have to adjust the oat to water ratio. Steel cut oats require more water than old fashioned oats.

I usually don't measure all of my add-in ingredients, but this will give you an idea of what amounts I use.

Cranberry Apple Oatmeal

2 large, servings or 4 small servings:

2/3 cup quick cooking steel cut oats

2 TBS. butter

2-3 TBS. honey

2-3 tsp. molasses

1 Apple, diced

3/4 cup (a couple handfuls) fresh cranberries

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

a few dashes of ground nutmeg

a couple dashes of ground allspice

a couple dashes of ground cloves

2 cups of water

Cream (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients (except for the cream) together in a sauce pan.

Cover, and leave to soak, unrefrigerated, overnight.

In the morning, bring to a simmer, cook for 5 minutes. 

Remove from heat, cover and rest 5 minutes.

Serve with cream.

Enjoy!

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 021

Matthew 27:35

KJV

35 And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots.

NIV
35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

ESV
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots.

NRSV
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among themselves by casting lots;


They have lost the fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy.

Re-Usable Menstrual Pads - My Journey

{Buy my Cloth Pad Pattern HERE.}

I am going to talk about re-usable menstrual pads, also know as: R.U.M.P.S., Mama Cloth, and Cloth Pads.

*You have now been fairly warned.*

My journey to cloth reusable menstrual pads began with my journey from Kleenexes to cloth tissues. My nose and upper lip always get so raw when I use paper tissues. I just avoid tissues as much as possible.
When I was a child my mother gave us burp rags to use, when we had colds, to blow our noses on. I never remember getting a raw nose from using those old burp rags, which were actually cloth diapers, I just didn't know that at the time because we called them burp rags. Remembering this about my childhood, I cut up a bunch of old t-shirts to use as tissues.
 I loved them! I didn't get any raw skin that winter. I could blow my nose all I wanted and not have any soreness. I also didn't have to run to the store to buy more Kleenexes when I "ran out". I just had to wash my cloth tissues and they were ready to use again. I didn't mind washing them out. Most of the time they come clean in a regular load of clothes, but during a really bad sinus infection I have had to soak them and scrub them first.
I rarely use paper tissues any more. I always have a cloth rag close by. I don't leave home with out one. :)
Cloth Kleenexes progressed into cloth napkins, and cloth un-paper towels. Let me be clear, we still buy paper towels, I just don't use them often. Anything I would have formally grabbed a paper towel for, I just started grabbing a rag for instead. It made so much sense and it felt good. Why throw something away when you can reuse it? Save money, save time shopping, save stress over worrying about "running out", save resources (if you are concerned about that kind of thing), save chlorine, and, who knows what other chemicals, from being rubbed against, and absorbed by your skin.

The next leg in my reusable journey was becoming a cloth diapering mama.
When I found out that I was pregnant with our baby I seriously wanted to use cloth diapers. I was interested in cloth diapering for all the reasons that are most commonly listed, but the main reason I wanted to cloth diaper my baby was because cloth diapering is old fashioned. I wanted my mothering experience to mimic that of my foremothers.  I wanted to know that I was just as capable and strong as the women that had gone before me. I spent hours upon hours watching modern cloth diapering mamas on YouTube explain their systems and go through their 'stashes'. I listened to reviews of different cloth diapering products, reviews of different cloth diapering methods, discussions about the best detergents. I learned all the terms. I worked on putting together my 'stash'.
When my baby came I was excited about cloth diapering and, also, nervous. I felt intimidated and wondered if I would be able to last. I didn't want to quit after the first month because it was too hard for me.
I passed the test that I had made for myself. I really enjoyed my cloth diapering experience! Everything I thought I would enjoy about cloth diapering I did enjoy about cloth diapering. I had not been too romantic for reality. I learned that I didn't have to be Super Woman to be a cloth diapering mama. I was just a normal person who chose to use cloth diapers for my baby.

Then, I became a normal person who chose to use cloth wipes for my baby, along with cloth diapers. Using cloth wipes was actually a decision made purely out of convenience. One of the worst parts about rinsing out my baby's cloth diapers was picking all the soggy, nasty, disposable wipes out of the water and wringing them out and having to take the dripping mess to a trash can. Eww. And, so inconvenient.
My cloth Kleenexes worked well for cloth diaper wipes. And, little Terry cloth, baby wash rags, worked really well for cloth diaper wipes. The nice part was that I could just roll them up in a soiled diaper, like normal, and wash them along with the diaper without any special treatment.

Now, we are getting to the main subject of this post.
Getting into cloth menstrual pads is a natural progression from using cloth diapers, which is where the term, Mama Cloth, comes from: the cloth diapering community. Whether you cloth diapered your baby for financial reasons, or environmental reasons, or health reasons, you start to look at other disposable products in your life and wonder how much they cost, or where they go after you throw them away, and what toxins they contain.
I sewed my first set of cloth pads last December (2015).

I have used them through 10 cycles. And, I love them.
The things I love most about my cloth pads are:

1. They are so comfortable! They don't feel like a diaper. They feel like an article of clothing. They are soft, plus, they are thin.

2. They don't have any plastic in or on them. Plastic is not something I want against my skin. I don't think it can be healthy, but regardless of the health concerns, plastic is not comfortable. It feels nasty, in my opinion.

3. They don't make any crunchy, raspy, noises when I "unwrap" them. Talk about embarrassing! I did not like having to use a public restroom and know that everyone else in there can hear me tearing off or opening up my feminine products.

4. They don't smell like garbage. I don't know what they put in disposable pads to make them smell so dreadfully gross, but my cloth pads do not smell like garbage.

5. They are pretty!

Don't you agree? If you don't, then you can use different material and make them pretty by your own standards. That is the beauty of cloth pads; you can customize and personalize them in innumerable ways.

6. They have made me much more in touch with my femininity. That may sound weird, but it's not that weird, it has actually been very good for me. By using cloth pads, I have eliminated so many unpleasant things about that time of the month. I love getting to use my cloth pads. I have learned more about how my body is designed. I can appreciate how well it works instead of complain about how it works, because going through a period is not dreadful anymore.

7. They work really well! I have never had an issue with how my cloth pads function. The capacity can be customized, based on what materials you construct your pads from and how many layers of absorbent material you use. I plan on writing a DIY post about how to make your own cloth pads from up-cycled fabrics.

8. They come clean! They can be washed in such a way that you will have almost no staining. When done properly, you should have absolutely no staining, whatsoever. And, it is not hard. Just two ingredients; a powdered hydrogen peroxide cleaner (oxyclean for example) and a bar of felsnaptha soap. I can give more details in a future post.

 That is how I came to use cloth pads and why I love them so much!

If you have any questions please don't be afraid to ask! Of course you can ask anonymously if that makes you more comfortable. :)

If you do YouTube, and, are interested in this kind of thing, I highly *recommend Amy Nix's channel. She has a lot of great information on cloth pads and cloth pad sewing tutorials. I feel like she addresses this topic in a respectful and intelligent way.


*This should go without saying, I don't agree with everything Amy says or believes. She has a lot of great information about cloth pads. You'll have to take that for what it's worth.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I have a lot to be thankful for! I am most thankful for the salvation I have in Jesus Christ. I am grateful that eternal life is a free gift and I do not have to work to receive it or work to keep it. I am thankful that the life I have in Christ will last forever and I can't do anything to "mess" that up.

John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. 

I hope that you all are blessed by being able to be surrounded by loved ones and share a special time together around a bountifully spread table this Thanksgiving holiday!

1 Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:3 Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;
5 Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.Psalm 103:1-5

Flower Press: Attempt No. 1

I received a really nice flower pressing kit for my birthday, a couple months ago, from my older sister.

I was really excited to put flowers in the press and see how they turned out.
I selected a few zinnias, because they were plentiful, and got started.

I layered brown paper and paper towels around my flowers and leaves, following the instructions in the book.
I waited for six weeks while the flowers dried and flattened.
When I opened the press, this is what I found....

Apparently, something went wrong. It looks like the thickest parts in the center molded.

Thankfully, there are still some flowers blooming, so, I set up another batch. We will see how they turn out in about six weeks. :)

Authentic Homemade Pork Tamales

Here are the ingredients for making tamales.

> A large pork butt roast, seasoned and cooked
> Broth (about 4 cups) and Fat (about a cup) reserved from cooking the pork roast
> Shortening, lard, or oil (I used coconut oil) to combine with the fat from the roast to equal 1 cup
> Masa, 4 cups
> Baking powder
> Spices; ground cumin, garlic powder, chili powder, and salt
> Several cloves of garlic
> 1package dried chilies
> Dried corn husks for wrapping tamales

Tamales are cooked by steam. There is a special kind of pot that is made especially for cooking tamales. Most people in the US do not own one of these special pots. And I don't know where you can buy one.

I had to improvise. I took my large water bath canner and put some small jelly jars in the bottom along with a few inches of water.

Then I placed the grate, that usually sits on the bottom of the pot when you are water bath canning to keep the canning jars from bouncing too hard on the bottom of the pot and possibly breaking, on top of the jelly jars.

The grate was above the water. It has holes in it that allowed steam to come up through and cook the tamales. My lid would not fit on top snugly so I used aluminum foil to seal the top.

Step 1.

Soak the corn husks in warm water.

Step 2.

Boil some water and soak the dried chili peppers with said water.


Step 3.
Make Masa dough:
4 cups Masa flour
4 cups broth (from pork roast)
1 cup oil/fat (heated to liquify)
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon baking powder

Mix the broth and Masa flour together.
Melt your fats and add spices to the fat.
Mix the fat/spices into the hydrated Masa flour.
Sprinkle the baking powder over the dough and mix in thoroughly.

Step 4.
Shred pork roast in food processor.

Step 5.

Cut the stems off of the hydrated chilies with scissors. Put the peppers into a blender along with 2 teaspoons ground cumin, 5 or so garlic cloves, salt to taste, and liquor from soaking the peppers. Blend until smooth.

Step 6.

Combine the pepper mixture with the shredded pork.

Step 7.

Preheat your steamer pot. Fill with 3-4 inches of water. Turn on the burner. Bring the water to a boil and turn down the heat to keep the water simmering.

Step 8.

Spread Masa dough in a thin layer onto a prepared corn husk. Fill with a tablespoon or so of meat filling.

 Fold the tamale and secure with a piece of cooking twine or thin ribbon of corn husk.
(See video from last week on how to fold tamales.)

Step 9.
Layer tamales into the preheated steamer.
Put the lid on the steamer. Turn heat to medium low. Steam tamales for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Or until Masa is done. Make sure the water in the pot does not run dry.
You can check for doneness by unwrapping a tamale. If the Masa sticks to the corn husk the tamales need to cook longer. If the corn husk comes away clean then the tamales are done.

Step 10.
Remove from heat and let rest 5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy!

These were a special treat! They turned out really good!

Tamales Coming Up

I made traditional tamales recently. I will be sharing my recipe in the next post.

In the meantime I wanted to share the videos I watched to come up with an authentic recipe.

I have some Mexican heritage on my mother's side of the family. At large family events sometimes tamales are catered. I always enjoy them. My mom makes them occasionally and I know the basic method of preparing traditional tamales.

I don't have a family recipe that has been passed down, or anything like that, though, so I did a little searching on the internet to find a good recipe.

This lady in the video assembles and folds her tamales so fast! Her Masa spreader tool looks like it is worth buying if you plan on making tamales often.

She explains each step in English and in Spanish.



To see the full instructional video series follow the links below.

Mixing the Masa:
https://youtu.be/0fW7vV7BpTc

Making the meat filling:
https://youtu.be/iD5suWZdiaw

Speading Masa:
https://youtu.be/SmQU4N7zMFA

Filling and rolling up tamales:
https://youtu.be/63MsW8Nbplk

Cooking tamales:
https://youtu.be/FHvFPpTvN_0

How To Open A Can With A Cement Block

I recently found myself in a situation, in which I had no can-opener, but I wanted to open a can. (This can happen when you go camping and don't pack a can-opener.)  :)

I had learned, a while ago, by watching this boy's YouTube channel, that one is able to open a can on a cement surface.

Step 1.

Place the can on the cement surface, with the end of the can that has the lid crimped facing down.

Step 2.
Rub the can on the cement block (or other cement surface) in a circular motion for 10 minutes.

Step 3.
At which point the metal crease will be worn through in a few places and, liquid will start to leak from the can, provided, that you are opening a can that has liquid in it. (I did this twice and each time it took exactly 10 minutes)

Step 4.
Use a knife to pry the can open the rest of the way.

Voilà!

You can open a can with a cement block!

What Is Different Is Not The Same: 020

Matthew 24:36

KJV 

36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

NIV 

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

ESV 

36 “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.

NRSV 

36 “But about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

the Father? What happened to "my Father" ?

How To Whip Butter

I just learned how to make whipped butter within the last month. I really like having whipped butter at restaurants. It makes pancakes and baked potatoes and dinner rolls so much more fancy.

It also stretches your butter by increasing the volume by 1/3. So, you could make whipped butter just to save some money on your grocery bill.

I think it would be easy to put whipped butter in a piping bag with a decorative tip and make pretty dollops of butter. They could be made in bulk and frozen ahead of time for a party or dinner event.

Dollops of whipped cream are probably what is pictured above. Wouldn't it be fun to serve cold, pretty, whipped, dollops of butter that looked like this?

Here are the ingredients:

1/2 pound soft Butter (salted or unsalted)
1/4 cup milk

With a mixer beat until fluffy. Butter will be almost white when whipped.

Easy peasy. :)

By the way, I found that the whisk attachment to my blender did a better job than the paddle attachment.

Garden Work

This week I have been busy in my flower beds and garden plot.

I have done a lot of digging...

...which Boy In The Mid-west loved. :) He has had several baths. :)

A neighbor gave me some asparagus starts from her patch.

I am very grateful for her sharing her asparagus. We really like the vegetable and hope it grows well in our garden plot.

I rearranged a bunch of bulbs, herbs, and flowers in my flower bed.

I transplanted and devided all of my purple irises.

I moved my daisies. They were becoming over crowded by my giant oregano bush.

I did a lot of weeding and pruning. When I was hauling a load of garden waste to our compost pile I found this big, (beautiful?), garden spider. I am not sure if they have a more official name, but my Dad always calls them Garden Spiders.

I have always been fascinated by the way they will shake their web back and forth when they sense a predator close by. 

I think the zigzag pattern they weave into the center of their web is interesting, too.