Saturday, January 21, 2006

OUR BELOVED DOG


Our beloved dog, Beatrix Jamima Puddleduck Potter G! Yes, we adopted her from the dog pound in Hardin, MT many years ago when the children were in their Beatrix Potter phase. I don’t really mind the strange name…it serves as a daily reminder as to how fast children grow and change. {grin} Bea is Josiah’s dog. He fell in love with her on first sight when he was 4 years old. We’ve had her for 12 years now. When we got her we were told she wouldn’t fit with our family because she was timid and we had 5 young children at the time. She’d been in an abusive home. We gave it a shot and she adapted marvelously. She used to follow the kids around and if they went near the gate in our back yard she’d bark to alert me. The kids hated that. She’s older now. She really doesn’t follow the new batch of little ones around much. She does insist on being outside with them. She also insists on sleeping under Stacia’s crib. We don’t think she hears real well any longer…she used to LOVE to chase birds and cats and now doesn’t even seem to notice them unless they happen to pass 2 feet in front of her. We all age. Above she’d somehow gotten Nolan’s bike glove attached to her paw. Not a great picture – but a great companion and member of the family who hasn’t had her share of photos on the blog. {grin}

Power-Walk Progress

So, how am I progressing on my goal to power-walk through the Word this year? Frankly, not as well as I'd hoped...but still I am progressing. I had hoped to be able to "triple pace" through the plan in my Bible but I've found three weeks into this that I'm double pacing. I don't think I'll cross the finish line in a year - probably more like 2 years - but that is FINE. If I weren't doing 2 local studies I think I could do this in a year. The local studies are awesome and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

I love my time in the Word. I'm fighting the propensity I have to crawl through the Word. I'm reminding myself that THIS year God led me not to race through or to try to crawl through the entire Word.

In three weeks I've made it through Galatians. What a great book of the Bible. See my summary below - if you are interested. Hmmm…that will be below if I did this right or above if I got mixed up.

If you are totally confused as to my analogies read "Racing, Crawling and Power-Walking" a post from 31 December . . . it's in the archived posts to the right of the screen. Simply click Dec 2005 and it will pop up on your screen. {grin}

Power-Walk - Galatians

Theme: It was for freedom that Christ Set us free (5:1) or Gospel brings freedom

Author: Paul (1:1, 6:11)

Date: After the first or second missionary journey

Purpose: Correct errors in the church; (1:6-9;3:3;4:9;5:1,4) – “Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Segments of the church had believed the teaching that one must add the law to grace in order to be saved. Paul spends this letter showing that WE died to the law (2:19), that we are now to “live the life we live in the flesh by FAITH in the Son of God” (2:20), in short that we are not to try to be “perfected” by our works.

Chapter Themes:
Chapter 1 - One Gospel (Paul’s 1:6-9)
Chapter 2 – Defense of Paul’s Gospel
Chapter 3 – Gospel Explained (by faith alone) (3:8,11; 2:16)
Chapter 4 – Gospel makes heris/sons (4:1-7; 4:21-31)
Chapter 5 – Gospel is to be walked out in liberty (5:1), love (5:6, 13-15, 26) and the Spirit (5:16-25)
Chapter 6:- Gospel to be walked out in service and separation from the world

Key Words:
Grace
Gospel
Spirit
Law
Justified
Faith (believe)
Promise
Covenant
Heir
Flesh
Circumcision
Cross
Boast

Verses that leapt out to me:
1:10; 2:19 – 21; 3:3; 4:9; 5:1, 13, 16, 18, 25-26; 6:2, 9-10

2:11 – Paul opposed Peter and yet Paul states in 5:6 that neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything – but faith working through love. Conclusion – sometimes confrontation is the most loving thing we can do (compare with notes from Grace and Truth paradox)

Salvation by grace alone and saving faith is expressed as living faith!