Weekend wrap up

We have had a great weekend here.

Joseph got his first pair of shoes today. He has been walking in them a bit but is still getting use to them so was crawling around in them too.

Amelia had a netball game yesterday. Their team won 7 to 5 so she was pretty happy about that.

Today I cut up a huge big pumpkin that my friend Ellie gave me. We have a lot of boiled pumpkin. I am going to make some pumpkin soup and pumpkin bread with it.

Steve and I walked to town yesterday for our food shopping, Since we were only buying for breakfast, lunch and snacks, we were able to put the shopping in the basket under Joseph's pusher and push Joseph and the shopping home. I would love to buy a shopping trolley on wheels that we could take for it though.

We have been having a lot of trouble with our TV reception. Whenever the weather gets stormy or overcast, we have interference with it. Today Steve moved our antenna and it has been fixed. We have perfect reception now.

Steve took some photos of our backyard so that you can all see how the plants have grown,. It is really nice sitting out there in the middle of the day. I will often go out and sit in the sun with my coffee and phone at recess time. I read all the blogs in my reader while I am there. This is just one of the things I love about my new phone. Here are all the pictures:

Lastly, this weekend, Steve posted our 1470 post and this post is post 1471.. Only 29 posts now till we have 1500. I am thinking about having a give away for it so stay tuned.

How can atheists adequately account for the law of morality when according to their worldview, nothing exists except material things?

For the most part, atheists believe in a law of morality just like those who believe in a God. But according to the atheist world view where nothing exists but material things, what is the basis for believing in the existence of right and wrong? What are right and wrong? Are right and wrong material things? Are they natural objects in the natural world like flowers and rocks? Can you touch ‘rightness’ and how much does it weigh or how long is it?

If right and wrong are not natural objects in the natural world then what are they? Are they natural properties like the colour blue or the property of smoothness?

Right and wrong exist as standards above the mere preferences and tastes of cultures, societies and individuals. Atheists can not deny that they are universally perceived. But how can they adequately account for them according to their world view which insists that nothing exists except material things?

Christians believe that the laws of morality are non material moral properties that exist in the real world alongside natural objects, but that attach to actions rather than objects. The Christian worldview can account for the laws of morality because this view of the world includes the existence of non material spiritual entities like God, human souls and angels. But how could an atheist say this when he has already committed himself to a world view which essentially says that the natural universe is all there is?

There is absolutely no basis for anything like a moral law in a universe in which nothing exists but material substances. The preconditions for moral law simply do not exist in the naturalist worldview. There is no way to account for them.

For the atheist to be consistent, he must say that right and wrong do not really exist and that they are merely words individuals and societies have adapted to express their preferences. Ethics must therefore be personal and relative, that men and women, families and nations must simply choose for themselves what they will consider ‘right for them’ and ‘wrong for them’.

From “The Godless Delusion” by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

Chocolate boy.

This is Joseph on our way back from Adelaide last time we went. He got more chocolate over him than in his stomach. Still, it kept him quiet for a while.

God’s character provides the source for morality as well as the standard for moral law in the universe

Moral laws reflect the nature of who God is. God’s character provides the source for morality as well as the standard for moral law in the universe. Every human being is made in God’s image, like God, we are moral beings. It is no surprise that we know intuitively that right and wrong exist and are real. Right and wrong are not just words used to express our personal preferences but real fundamental moral laws that God has written on our very souls.

God is the perfection of goodness and it is in comparison with that perfect standard that we can measure all relative goodness. Without presupposing an absolute standard of ‘good’ there would be no way to discuss how near or far something is in relation to that standard.

When Christians speak about God being all good, it is not as though “right” and “wrong” are arbitrary concepts base on some arbitrary decision that God has made. Right and wrong reflect the nature, the moral character of God. God could not declare that murder, rape and lying are good because those things do not reflect his nature. On the other hand, honesty, peace and virtue are good things because they reflect the nature of God.

The instinct each person feels to love what is good and be repelled by what is bad is natural. It’s God given because God is good and he wants you to know the truth by which you can live and experience happiness and peace.

When Jesus Christ commanded us to be good, kind, loving, just, merciful, patient and forgiving, he was saying: Live as God created you to live. Reflect his character of goodness and truth in you own actions. Be imitators of your Father in heaven.

The Christian theistic world view can account for the real existence of a moral law, as well as humanity’s universal recognition of that law.

From “The Godless Delusion” by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

Wordless Wednesday

Joseph walking.

Australian Catholic Families Blog.

I am posting today over at Catholic Family Blog about online friends. You can go and read it here.

Happy Birthday Brigette.

Today Brigette turns 14. She is home from school though. Brigette has a grass allergy. When she touches grass, she gets some pretty awful rashes. She woke up this morning with two rashes on her leg. We have some cream to put on but she doesn't like putting it on because it burns. She put some on so hopefully they will disappear soon.

Happy Birthday Brigette. We hope it is a great day for you even though you are not feeling well.

Sausage Casserole.

Here is the recipe I use for Sausage Casserole.

Ingredients:

1 tbspn olive oil
2 onions
1kg of sausages.
500 grms mixed frozen vegetables.
1 425 tin diced tomatoes.
2 cups gravy.
dash of wistershire sauce.

fry onions in oil. When they are going opaque, add sausages. Cook until sausages are done then transfer to crock pot. Add tomatoes, gravy and Worcestershire sauce. Cook on high for 3 hours. Add in vegetables and cook for another hour.

If I am organised enough when I do the shopping for the oamc, I cook the sausages and onions ahead and freeze them. Then when we have the meal, everything is ready to go in the slow cooker.

I also have done this recipe with baked beans but now I get too many complaints when they see them. I think it really adds to the flavour but my children think baked beans are the most gross thing on this earth.

In the book "The Godless Delusion" one of the authors tells the story about an experience he had with an atheist professor of psychology.

The professor began by saying that right and wrong do not exist, they are merely cultural conventions, words societies use to describe what they approve and disapprove of. Take for example the Eskimo tribes in which the elderly are set on a block of ice and sent out into the ocean to starve to death or the primitive practice of cannibalism or the Indian practice of Sati in which many widows were burned alive on the funeral pyres of their deceased husbands. These are examples of how different cultures view right and wrong. For these people, these practices are good and right. It is their way, and who are we to speak against them?

If right and wrong really are merely subjective cultural conventions and really are relative from society to society as the naturalist (atheist) wordview tells us, then how could we ever say that one society was morally superior to another? We can not say that Hitler was wrong when he murdered six million Jews. All we can say is that we disagree with Hitler's views and that we don't like what he did.

Regardless of what some people say, we all believe in an objective law of morality. Even those who say that moral laws don't exist or morality is just relative from culture to culture actually show, by the way they think, speak and live that they really do believe in an objective moral law.

Even the atheist ethics professor believes in an objective law of morality. He immediately becomes a strict proponent of moral absolutes the moment soneone cuts in line in front of him at the checkout counter. "This isn't right! I was before you!" It will do no good to say to him at that moment, "Hey, morals differ from culture to culture, and who's to judge?"

The atheistic naturalist world view is not able to account for objective morality and our moral experiences as human beings. By contrast, the Christian theistic world view does provide a basis for objective morality.

The atheist knows that right and wrong are objectively real and he can't help his natural response to even a minor violation of the moral law. In his heart of hearts he knows it exists. God has inscribed an innate sense of justice on his very soul. The atheist can't erase is simply be telling himself over and over again that right and wrong are merely subjective social conventions. What ever he says be believes as an atheist, deep down, he cannot help but know the truth, even if he refusess to admit it to himself or anyone else.

7 quick takes.

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Netball.

Tomorrow morning, Amelia has a bye for netball. We don't know yet what time Brigette's game is. Steve and I will go to mass and adoration. If Brigette needs to be at netball before this finishes, I might see if she can get a lift with someone.

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Parties.
We are having a combined birthday party for Brigette and Amelia this weekend. Back in 2007, They had a double party for their 10th and 6th birthday. This time is is for their 14th and 10th. We have invited lots of families and will have a bbq lunch for them both.

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Joseph is Walking.
This week, Joseph has started walking suddenly. He has seemed to be on the brink for months walkign along furniture and then getting down to crawl whenever he came to the end of it. Now this week, he has suddenly started taking lots of steps across the room. He finally has the confidence to stay standing. I think he could have walked weeks ago but was lacking in confidence. Now I guess there will be no stopping him.


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Date night.

Tonight Steve and I went to our local Indian restuarant for tea. We had lamb korma, chicken something (I cannot remember what they called it). garlic and cheese naan bread and some lemon rice. I really love Indian food.

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Mini Trampoline.

We bought a new mini trampoline. Steve and I just don't seem to be able to get out walking as much as we want to so we decided this would be a good thing that we could both do at night. Hopefully we will loose a few kilo's running on it.

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Three site changes.

Today Christopher's pump site has come out twice. He woke up with numbers in range but was high by morning tea time. I investigated and found the whole site had come out. We put a new one in only to have it come out a few hours later. He didn't know how it happened but I had to put in another site. Tonight when Steve and I got home, it had come out again. Now we have some sites from a new box in his leg. I suspect the other box had a few which were not as sticky. Fingers crossed that we don't have to do another site change for another three days.

-7-

Plurk

Have you heard of plurk? Plurk is another social network that is similar to twitter. I find it much more fun though.

There is a great Catholic community on there. I have meet many priests and stay at home home schooling mothers.

If you want to join plurk, just click on my link above and it will take you to my page. You will have a page ask you if you want to join. I usually read my friends plurks while I have my morning tea.

Jen from Conversion Diary is the hostess for the Quick 7. Go and see what others are saying in their quick 7 posts.

Butter Chicken.

Ingredients:

1 medium size onion
700 grms chicken fillets
1 425 can coconut cream.
1 cup natural yoghurt.
1 - 1.5 tblspns thai curry paste.
1 - 1.5 tblspons tomato paste.
1 tspn garam masala.


Directions:

dice onions and chicken fillets.

place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 5-6 hours.

You can fry the chicken first but I just throw it all in the crock pot. The chicken is a bit drier this way but everyone here still enjoys eating it.

Regardless of time and culture, people believe in an objective moral law.

Each of us demonstrate that we believe in a higher law of morality - something higher than our own opinions and preferences - something objective, beyond ourselves.

Atheists will typically respond that what we call 'right' and 'wrong' are merely cultural norms or societal conventions that have evolved over time. Subjective ideas of right and wrong that have come from the individual and which the group has agreed upon. They assert that the differences in morality from culture to culture and time to time proves the point.

But whenever you find a man who says he does not believe in a real 'right' or 'wrong' you will find that same man going back on this a moment later. He may break his promise to you, but if you try breaking one to him, he will be complaining 'It's not fair, you promised.' Does this not demonstrate that all people regardless of time and culture believe in an objective moral law? Has there ever been a culture where breaking a promise was a virtue?

You might think you are justified in breaking a promise or that you haven't really broken a promise at all, but when the tables are turned you realise that your reasons don't hold water. Both parties know that it is objectively wrong to break a promise. The quarrel is not about the rightness or wrongness of breaking promises but about whether this law has been broken and whether the offender was justified in doing so.

From 'The Godless Delusion' by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley

Tasty Tuesday. Our menu plan for the next four weeks.

Last weekend, I did our big shop for the months main meals. Now that the weather is cooling down here, we are having more meals from the slow cooker and soups.

Here is what is on the menu this month at our house:

Butter Chicken.
Pasties.
minestrone.
fish and salad.
sausage casserole.
spaghetti.
Shepherds pie.
vegetable noodles.
spaghetti and meatballs.
tuna mornay.

The only meals that I don't do in the slow cooker are the pasties. spaghetti. shepherds pie and fish and salad. If you want any of my recipes, feel free to ask and I will post them.

Praying together.

I have been thinking about writing about praying as a couple for a while now.

Last night I read a post by Sue from Sue Elvis Writes, about spending time together and praying together.

It was the motivation I needed to get me writing about it too.

After 20 years of marriage, I would have to say that praying with Steve is the thing that really cements our marriage together. There have been many times that the need for prayer has been stronger than other times and that we have looked to God to get us through.

In our house, we pray with the children every night. On average, we would probably pray together twice a week. It really should be more but I think we don't see it as a real need for our marriage. A part of the reason we neglect it is we just feel so comfortable with each other and prayer tends to be a thing I put as a high priority when I face problems. I am trying to change this and see prayer as a thing to do in the good times and bad times. It is something that is so esential for all aspects of our lives but especially our marriage.

When Steve and I pray, we will usually pray something like the rosary, read from the bible or just have some quiet music in the background, a candle lit and sit together in the quiet. I think the quiet music and candle light is my favourite way to pray.



Taize music is one of our favourite musics to put on. It makes the atmosphere and helps me to focus on God. We also have some Gregorian chant and some music by The Priests.

Weekend Wrap up.

This is a post that my blogging friend Chez does when she misses the 7 quick takes. I missed them this weekend so decided to do a weekend wrap up for you all.

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Blogger was down all day Friday. That is why I didn't get a 7 quick takes up.

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This weekend Amelia and Brigette had their first netball game. Netball started last weekend but we were away.

Amelia's team won.

Brigette's team lost.

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Saturdays are going to be pretty busy for us. Steve and I go to mass and adoration every Saturday morning and now we also have two netball games to get the girls too. I hope that their netball games don't interfer with mass and adoration too much.

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Today was a beautiful day. Steve and I went for a walk this morning. It was great to get out alone with him. Sometimes life seems so crazy in our house and even though we spend lots of time together, we can sometimes go days without talking about things that are on our mind or talking about things that we don't want to discuss in front of the children. We walked for one hour. I hope we can do this regularly every weekend at least. It would be good to do it during the week but I don't think that is going to happen with all that is going on in our house.

In the afternoon, we spent a lot of time out in the garden with the children. Our garden area that Steve put in has grown a lot since I posted pictures of it. I will try and get some photos up this week to show you how much it has changed.

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Joseph is starting to walk finally. He still crawls most of the time but can take many steps in a row as long as he is heading for something. I think in the next couple of weeks, he will probably start walking everywhere.

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On Friday Tom and Christopher had a check up with their endocrinologist. I was really happy that both boys have a much better hba1c. Last time they were tested, it was in the 8's and they are both in the 7's now. I really hope we can get them into the 6's by their next check up.

So that is my weekend wrap up. I hope you all had a great one too.

Each of us continually demonstrate that we believe in a higher law of morality - something higher than our own opinions and preferences.

Everyone believes in right and wrong not merely as words we us to describe the things of which we approve or disapprove, or what we like or dislike, but as real standards that somehow exist in the real world. We demonstrate this belief continually in the way we speak.

Everyone has heard people quarrelling, they say things like...'That's my seat, I was there first'...'Leave him alone, he isn't doing you any harm'...'Give me a bit of your apple, I gave you some of mine'...'Come on, you promised.'... The person who makes these remarks is not merely saying that the other person's behaviour does not happen to please him. He is appealing to some kind of standard of behaviour which he expects the other person to know about. Your companion seldom replies, 'To hell with your standard.' He nearly always tries to make out that what he has been doing does not really go against the standards, or that if it does, there is some special reason for it. It looks as if both parties had in mind some kind of Law or Rule of fair play or good behaviour about which they agree. If they had no agreement about the 'rule of fair play' they might fight like animals but they would not be quarrelling in the human sense of the word.

Quarrelling means trying to show that the other person is in the wrong. There would be no sense in trying to do that unless you both had some sort of agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a soccer player had committed a foul unless there was some agreement about the rules of soccer.

Christians believe that a personal God exists and has a particular nature and moral character. Moral laws reflect that nature of who God is. His character provides the source of morality as well as the standard for moral laws in the universe. Since every person is made in God's image, like God, we are moral beings. It's no wonder we know intuitively that right and wrong exist. It's no wonder we sense to the very core of our being that right and wrong are somehow "real things," not simply words we use to express our personal preferences. God has written these fundamental moral laws on our very souls.

From "The Godless Delusion" by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley

The Aussie Version of Creation

The Aussie Version of Creation




In the beginning God created day and night. He created day for footy matches, going to the beach.....

And BBQ's......


He created night for going prawning,
sleeping and BBQ's, and God saw that it was good.


On the Second Day, God created water....for surfing, swimming, and BBQ's on the beach,
and God saw that it was good.


On the Third Day God created the Earth to bring forth plants to provide malt and yeast for beer

and wood for BBQs, and God saw that it was good..


On the Fourth Day God created animals
and crustaceans,chops, sausages,
steak and prawns for BBQ's, and God saw that it was good.

On the Fifth day God created a Bloke to make use of all these wondrous creations - go to the footy, enjoy the beach, drink the beer and eat the meat and prawns at BBQ's, and God saw that it was good.


On the Sixth Day God saw that the Bloke was lonely and needed someone to go to the footy, surf, drink beer, eat and stand around the barbie with.

So God created Mates, and God saw that they were good Blokes, and God saw that it was good.

On the Seventh Day God looked around at the twinkling barbie fires, heard the hiss of opening beer cans and the raucous laughter of all the Blokes. He smelled the aroma of grilled chops and sizzling prawns and God Saw that it was good .. ...

Well.... Almost good.....

He saw that the Blokes were too tired to clean up and needed a rest.
So God created Sheilas to clean the house, to bear children, to wash, to cook and to clean the Barbie, and then God saw that it was not just good.....

It was better than that, it was Awesome!

IT WAS AUSTRALIA!!!!!





This was sent to me from Smiley. Check out his blog here. It is one I read regularly.

God's existence is clearly perceived in the things that have been made

For the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousoness, because that which may be known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18)

Notice that St Paul does not grant to the atheist that the evidence of God's existence is either ambiguous or equivocal. Rather, he insists that God's existence is clearly perceived in the things that have been made.

Whether or not someone is willing to admit it he 'gets it.' When he encounters nature's voice proclaiming the existence of the God who created it. It's not that God's existence is merely suggested through what has been made, or faintly hinted at. St Paul says it is clearly seen. In fact, he says God's existence and nature are so clearly recognisable that men and women who refuse to acknowledge him are without excuse.

All of creation cries out the existence and glory of God, so much so that in order to escape God, the unbeliever must engage in a massive and continual suppression of the evidences seen in his creation.

Whatever an atheist may say about the world, he is still a manifestation of the image and likeness of God. He bears in his own being the most powerful proofs of God's existence and information about his nature. If he closes his eyes to escape into the solitude of his own mind and heart, he is immediately confronted with the clearest of all evidences - his own being.

The atheist claims there is no God, but he has no choice but to live in the world God created, the real world, a world that calls out to him from every direction the truth of God's existence.

Taken from the book "The Godless Delusion," by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley.

Scents.

I have been thinking a bit lately about how powerful scents are. I have a couple of scents that bring back memories from our wedding day. One is the perfume Lou Lou and the other is frangapani flowers.

We had frangipani flowers in our wedding bouquets and I wore lou lou perfume. If I ever smell either scent, I remember our wedding day.

There are other scents that bring back memories. I remember hating the smell of pinetarsol. Daniel, Sam, Madeline and Brigette all had chicken pox one after the other when Brigette was about 10 months old. I remember Daniel had them mildly, Sam and Madeline a bit worse and Brigette terribly. She had them everywhere. I gave her a lot of pinetarsol baths and now relate the smell of it to Brigette being sick.


I love the smell of baking. I love smelling bread or fruit cake baking in an oven and soups or casseroles baking in the slow cooker. One of my favourite things about winter, is walking into a warm house with the aromas of baking.

I also love the smell of a nice clean bathroom. I hate cleaning bathrooms but when they are done and smell all fresh and clean, I love it.

I cannot think of many other smells that make me feel sick or bring back bad memories. I am glad there aren't that many.

What are some of your favourite scents?

Do you have any scents that remind you of any special days?

Oh and this post was inspired because I bought myself some lou lou perfume. I cannot wait for it to get here. I wonder if Steve will be reminded of our wedding day by it?

Missing.

First, one set of keys. My keys to our little car. I rarely loose these now so suspect Joseph got a hold of them from my handbag. They could be anywhere.

Second, Christopher's blood glucose meter. We have a spare that I checked his pre dinner bsl with but I want to find the one we usually use.

Third, my mobile phone. I remember walking into the house with it after getting Tom and Amelia from musical theatre. I have put it down somewhere.

Please say a little prayer to St. Anthony. I want to find them all tonight please.

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Found:

1 mobile phone.

1 blood glucose meter. Only my keys to go. I have told the children that we cannot go out till they have been found so I am sure they will put in extra effort to find these.

Happy Mothers Day.

This video is so funny, I Had to post it.

Big weekend.

We spent the weekend in Pikina for a Catholic home school camp. It was lots of fun. On Friday, I left here just before lunch time with the children. Steve had somethings to do at home so he didn't come till Saturday at lunch time.

It was a great weekend. We all had a ball. We went to Magnetic hill and Appila Springs. Saturday we spent time just hanging around together in the morning. In the afternoon, Steve and I took 7 children off to Peterborough for a drive and then to the park in Orroroo. Today we had mass, clean up and then drove home.


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10 years today.

Today is Amelia's 10th birthday. We bought her a basket ball ring and pink netball. Amelia is doing netball this year for the first time. She is playing for Magpies. She really loves going to practice so I am sure she will love playing the games too.

Happy Birthday Amelia. I hope you had a great day. We love you very much.

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Happy Mothers Day.

To all the mothers out there that follow my blog. I hope you all have a blessed mothers day. I had a great day and got lots of great presents. I really love being a mother and feel very blessed to have all the children I have.

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Oh and in other news, Steve also fixed my computer before he joined us at the camp. Now both our computers are running smoothly.

Therese.

Creation reveals the creator

Scripture teaches us that God exists and that God created everything in the cosmos.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth..."Let us make man in our image, after our likeness... (Gen. 1:1, 26)

According to scripture, the atheist is also in the image and likeness of God. Whatever he may say about the world, he is still a human being created specifically to mirror the God who created him. He is an image, a likeness of God.

Scripture also teaches us that all creation gives evidence for God's existence.

The heavens are telling the glory of God: and the firmament proclaims his handiwork. (Psalm. 19:1)

Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. (Romans 1:20)

It makes basic intuitive sense to think that a building will evidence the existence of its builder, so it makes basic intuitive sense to think that if God created the heavens and the earth, then all creation would evidence God's existence.

That which is created speaks of its creator.

Take, for example, the book "God Is Not Great," written by the famous atheist Christopher Hitchens. We should be able to agree that Hitchens' book makes the case for the existence of Hitchens. The book speaks of the existence of its author in every way as well as revealing something of his nature, character and personality.

Imagine for a moment that someone denied that Hitchens wrote the book. Imagine this person claimed that the book called "God Is Not Great" was just the result of an explosion in a print factory or the book was simply the accidental result of random processes acting upon random collections of elements. Can you imagine anyone wasting any time pondering the possibility that Christopher Hitchins did not write the book, which just happens to bear his name on its cover and in its copyright statement and happens to have his picture on the dust cover?

As a book tells you much about its author, so it is with the stars and planets, oceans and forests, animals and plants, and especially human beings, speak about its creator. Each of them individually and all of them corporately speak to us of God's existence. And, through their beauty and order, they tell us a great deal about what kind of person he is.

For the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousoness, because that which may be known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal pwerer and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what hs been made, so that they are without excuse. (Romans 1:18)

Joseph in the cupboard

two broken computers.

I wasn't going to post anything tonight because Steve's computer was doing some very puzzling things and mine would not start up. Then all of a sudden, it started.

He decided to re install windows on his computer. Maybe he will do mine this weekend. (hint hint honey).

If I am not here or at facebook, you will know why though. I should be able to keep up with all my facebook and bloggy friends with my phone though.

First day back.

Today was our first day of term two. We got of to a bit of a rough start but I was happy that the children got everything done that I planned for the day.

We are revamping Tom and Amelia's spelling program. They did a progress test and I was a bit disappointed with their results. I have always wondered how to teach spelling and struggled with the program I have written for them both. It is one of the hardest areas of their curriculum for me. I am getting a new program from IEW called The phonetic zoo. From the reading I have done about it, this program has much more success in teaching children spelling and retaining the information. What I find with the spelling we do at the moment is both Tom and Amelia do well in the test I give at the end of the week, but they are not retaining the information long term. That is the main goal so I need to do a revamp. I am glad I have found a program that I can try for this.

We are going to be doing a unit of work this term on the Saints. The children have all chosen a saint that they will study.

Tom is studying St. Matthew. Amelia is studying St. Helen and Christopher will study St. Christopher.

We will also be learning about Divine Mercy Devotion and St. Faustina.

Our time table is still the same as I posted last year except for kindergarten pickups.

The denial of God's existence leads to the complete disintegration of morality, meaning, human value and the possibility of knowledge.

Continuing on with the book "The Godless Delusion," the authors Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensley outline the approach they will take in the following chapters to solve the problem of the godless delusion.

While the Christian worldview can account for and make sense of the most basic and important aspects of his/her experience as a human being the atheist worldview simply cannot. Naturalists who say that nothing exists but matter cannot make sense of realities such as the existence of right and wrong the possibility of knowledge, or the belief in human dignity freedom and personality. The authors hope to lead the atheist to see that he/she must in fact presuppose God's existence in order to make heads or tails of his/her experience as a human being.

God's existence alone provides the very preconditions of intelligible human experience while the denial of God's existence leads to the complete disintegration of not only morality, meaning and human value and dignity, but the possibility of knowledge itself. The atheist world view leads to foolishness. It leads to conclusions the atheist is not going to be willing or able to live with. The atheist must presuppose God's existence even to argue against it.

7 Quick Takes.

-1-

This last week of holidays has been more hectic than Holy Week. We had a couple of days at home that were quiet. On Wednesday morning we went to Adelaide to see family.

There were many people I wanted to catch up with but time just didn't permit it so I hope if we didn't see you this trip that we will get back again this year and be able to catch up.

-2-

This time while we were in Adelaide, we stayed with Steve's sister. She has three boys all around the same age and Tom, Amelia and Christopher. They all enjoyed playing with them and spending time together. I don't think they got much sleep though.

-3-

I have a new favourite latte. Nescafe vanilla latte. I bought a packet today and they are delicious.

-4-

Next week we will be starting term 2 for a our school year. I did a lot of my planning in the car on the trip down to Adelaide.

This term I will be teaching the children a lot about devotions to the Saints. I am going to get them to pick a saint each that they want to learn more about.

We will do a novena to one of the saints and I want them to know all about why whoever they choose. I want them to be aware of why the church named them saints and any miracles attributed to their intercession.

-5-

I left my camera here when we we went to Adelaide. I took a few photos and video's with my phone though. Hopefully I will be able to work out how to put them from my phone onto the internet and share them with you all.

-6-

Steve and I have continued walking each day except for the days we were in Adelaide. Steve had a long walk on Thursday when he walked from town to my mothers house. I didn't do any though.

Today we walked to Big W in town. I think it would be close to 3.5km (2 miles) there. I am feeling a bit tired now from it but I am glad we did it.

-7-

Tomorrow is Divine Mercy Sunday. At our parish we are having an afternoon of prayer and adoration. Steve and I will stay for most of it and our children will come for some quiet time as well.

Don't forget to drop over to Jen's for other people's quick takes.

Therese.

Wordless Wednesday. Christopher in bed.

Christopher looked so peaceful last Monday night when I checked his bsl. I also loved the way he grabbed his Lenny. His pump goes in Lenny and I had just done an adjustment. He grabbed a hold of it when I put it back.

Science is a method for investigating the natural world while naturalism is a philosophy that says the natural world is all there is.

Naturalism is a philosophy which says that nothings exists outside of the natural universe. As I pointed out in the last post, naturalism has its own creation story. Over a period of time, the naturalist creation story has come to dominate in the academic realms, especially in the sciences. This has come about due to the erroneous idea that...


1. Since science has proven to be correct and successful in revealing the secrets of the universe.

2. And that science and naturalism are essentially the same thing.

3. Therefore, because science is true, naturalism must also be true.

4. Since naturalism is true then God is not true.


It is absolutely true that the scientific method has been demonstrated to be a trustworthy method of gaining information about the natural world. This is evident by the successes in the fields of medicine, engineering and technology.

The problem arises with the second assertion that science and naturalism are in some way to be equated, that the two are somehow the same thing. This is the point at which the argument fails. Science and naturalism are not the same thing.

Science is a method for investigating the natural world while naturalism is a philosophy that says the natural world is all there is.

The question could be asked: how does your investigation of the natural universe lead you to the conclusion that the natural universe is all there is?

Since science only studies the natural universe, how could science tell us anything about God or beings which live outside the natural universe? How could science deteremine that God does not exist if its domain is limited to the physical universe?

The question of whether God exists is strictly a philisophical question. It's answer cannot be determined by the use of the scientific method or scientific instruments. The fact that science has not stumbled over God in the forest means nothing at all with regard to the question of whether God exists. If God was a material substance it might, but he is not.


Notes taken from the book 'The Godless Delusion' by Patrick Madrid and Keneth Hensley.

10 things in 101 days.

Back in January, I posted a list of 10 things I wanted to do in 101 days.

These are the 10 things I had on my list:

1) finish sewing our curtains for the lounge room.

2) finish sewing Brigette's curtains.

3) Pray the rosary every morning for a week.

4) Go to bed every night by 10.00 for a week and get up at 6.00 am.

5) Reorganise our kitchen.

6) sew some new tops for me.

7) Take the children out for a family day.

8) Sort out our home school books.

9) write up menu plans for 3 different oamc.

10) write another 10 things to do in 101 days.

These are the things I got done:

1) Finished Brigette's curtains.

2) Pray the rosary every morning for a week.

3) Sew some new tops.

4) Take the children for a family day out.

5) Sort out the home school books.

6) write up a menu plan for 3 different oamc.

These are the things I didn't get done.

1) Sew our lounge room curtains. (they are cut out though).

2) Re organise the kitchen.

3) Go to bed every night by 10 and get up by 6.

4) Write another 10 things in 101 days.

The kitchen re organisation was just too big a job. I have to break it down to different areas of the kitchen. I found that I would get a draw organised and come back to it later that week and find a lot of junk in it again. I think if I break it up into areas, I will have more success is making sure the children are not messing them up again.

Going to bed every night by 10 and getting up by 6 also seemed to be hard to organise. There are nights that the boys need to have late night bsl checks, nights that Sam or Madeline need to be picked up from work after 10 and nights that I need to be getting up through the night to check the boys bsl. On the nights I am getting up through the night, I just cannot get out of bed by 6.00.

I will write another 10 things to do sometime this week.

Happy Easter.

Jesus is risen. He has conquered death and saved us all.

I have had a great holy week. Steve and I did a lot of exercising and praying together. On Thursday night we were both able to stay for adoration after the Holy Thursday mass since we now have older children to look after the little ones.

We stayed for 2 hours. It was a great way to spend the evening.

I will be doing a lot of other posts this week about what we have all been up to and how we are spending our holidays.

Happy Easter to everyone.

The Battle of Two Creation Stories: The Christian Story and Atheistic Naturalism.

I've been reading a book called the 'The Godless Delusion' by Patrick Madrid and Kenneth Hensly. I wanted to share with you some of the insights and arguments presented in the book.


The Christian Story

As you probably know, the Christian story starts with 'In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth' etc etc.

This world view teaches that an infinite personal God exists and created all things. We are not merely bodies but embodied souls, spirits made in God's very image and likeness, to be his sons and daughters, intended to share eternally in all that he possesses. As God's children, we have meaning and purpose that extend far beyond the few years we may have in this world. While here, we must live in our Father's love and in accordance with the moral laws he has written on our very hearts and revealed to us through his Son, Jesus Christ.

For the past seventeen centuries this has been the story which has helped Western society answer the most basic questions about where we came from, why we are here, how are we to view ourselves and how we are to live our lives.


Naturalism's Story

Recently in the West, another story has come to challenge the place of the Christian theistic story. It goes something like this. 'In the beginning was the natural universe matter and energy and nothing more.'

According to this story, we and all living things have been created by the earth. We are the result of an entirely natural evolutionary process operating within an entirely natural universe. God does not exist, and we were not created in his image and likeness. There are no spirits or souls.

The atheist asserts that nothing exists outside the natural universe but how is it that he/she knows this?

New Contributor at Aussie Coffee Shop.

Welcome my husband Steve. He is now going to post on my (or should that be our) blog regularly.

Holy week

I have decided to get off the internet for Holy Week. I will keep all my followers in my prayers. I hope you all have a holy and blessed Holy Week.

Therese.

Olives.

Today Steve, Tom and Christopher went olive picking. They got three buckets full of olives. Steve, Christopher and I all really love olives so I hope they all taste great when they are cured.

To cure them, they are soaked in water. We will change the water twice a day for a couple of weeks. After that we will put them in jars with salt water.

Will let you all know how they turn out.

7 Quick Takes

-1-

Holidays.

We are on holidays for two weeks. I have been looking forward to this break for two weeks now. I am looking forward to Holy Week and spending lots of time together as a family.

-2-

10 things in 101 days.

Next Friday is the day that my 10 things in 101 days needs to be finished. I am confident that I will do it.

-3-

Stations of the Cross.

Over the last six weeks, we have had the Stations of the Cross every Friday night at our church. Steve and I have gone each week. I find reflecting on each station and just what Jesus went through very sobering.

-4-

Brigette's room renovation.

Bedroom all finished.

-5-

My new phone.

This is my new htc.


In the cover.
Open.
I am really happy with this phone. My children know just about everything about it so if there is something I don't know how to do, I just ask one of them.

-6-

Diabetes Bags.

I have bought the boys some new cases to keep all their pump consumerbles and blood testing gear in.

Tom's is the black one and Christopher has the red one.

We have a glucometer, test strips, lancets and finger pricker on the top.

Underneath is another section. We keep pump consumerbles (reservoirs and mio's), a glucagon injections, alcohol swabs, spare finger pricker, ketone meter, extra insulin, insulin pen, needles and spare battery in.



I have also bought the boys a bag that they keep this case in so that they can keep some hypo treatment with everything else. The case goes in this bag with a drink of cordial and some jelly beans.

-7-

Weight loss.

Steve has lost 12 Kilos since the beginning of the year. He is nearly at his goal weight so we are both doing a lot of extra exercising this next week. Tonight we walked to the Stations of the cross and mass. There and back is a 6km walk. We are also thinking of hiring a treadmill for a month to use.

Don't forget to pop over to Jennifer's and see other people's quick 7.

Last week of term.

This week is the last week of term one. We are winding up tomorrow because it will be Brigettes last day at school too.

Today we went to Port Pirie for the Chrism Mass.

Tomorrow I have a few plans for lessons with the children that will be to wind up our term. I think we should be finished by lunch time so I will start preparing for next term on Thursday and Friday.

I am looking forward to the two week break. It is going to be good to be on holidays for holy week.

Little Athletics presentation.

Today was Little Athletics presentation. Tom, Amelia and Christopher all won a bronze medal award for their age group.

They also got a certificate for a free chicken wrap and chocolate milk from McDonalds so we called in on the way home for their treats.

7 Quick Takes.

-1-

Visitors.

This weekend, we have my mother and Steve's mother here. It is great to have them here and catch up with them.

-2-

Term one.

Next week is the last week of term one. We will be on holidays for Holy Week and I am really looking forward to having a break and spending holy week as a family together.

-3-

Coffee time.

Just about every afternoon, when everyone gets home from school, Steve and I have a coffee together. Often we sit out in our new garden area.

I was reading on Leanne's blog, about how she and her husband Dermont, share morning coffees together. Recently they decided to add readings from the bible each morning to their coffee time.

This sounds like a great idea so I think Steve and I might do it once a week or so. I don't think we will be able to do it every day because we have so many after school activities to drive children to. We should be able to do it once a week though I think.

-4-

Chrism Mass.

This Tuesday is our Diocesan Chrism mass. It is in Port Pirie so I will be taking Tom, Amelia, Christopher and Joseph over to it.

We will probably have lunch after at the Port Pirie foreshore playground.

-5-

Basal Testing.

Over the last two weeks, Tom has been having extremely high blood sugar levels. He needed a big increase in insulin so we had to do a lot of over night testing.

I have been getting up at least twice each night for a while now but I am pretty confident we have the basal rate right now.

We also had a few site issues. One of the complications from a pump is getting an insulin build up under the skin. You can feel the lumps and it just makes it harder for the insulin to be absorbed.

Over 24 hours I had to change Tom's site, 3 times so I decided it was time to move it from his upper leg to his butt. So far so good. Today he has been in range all day except for one low which was from running around without extra sugar.

-5-

Brigette's curtains.

I am pretty confident I will finish these tomorrow. I am very happy with the way they are looking. Once we get them up in her room, I will take some photos to share with you all. She designed just about everything for her bedroom and it looks great. She has a really good eye and has coordinated all the colours in really well.

-6-

Little Athletics.

This Sunday is little athletics presentation. Tom, Amelia and Christopher are all looking forward to it.

-7-

Joseph.

Joseph has been very teary all week. I think he is getting some new teeth. Today I gave him paracetamol every 6 hours and he has been his usual happy self. I really hope tomorrow he is back to his old happy self.

Don't forget to drop in on Jen from Conversion Diary for other people's quick takes.

Joseph on his new car.

This is Joseph on his car that he got for Christmas. He is quite confident with it now.

Nearly Wordless Wednesday: Joseph takes a bath

Joseph has been getting some new back teeth. He has been grumbling a lot and doesn't want to be out of my arms. Today when I was trying to cook lunch, he was crawling around my feet and crying. When I picked him up, he pointed at the sink. I decided to strip him off and fill it with water. I was able to cook the spaghetti then and take this video of him.

Get to know me.

1. What time did you get up this morning? 7.15

2. How do you like your steak? not burnt.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? cannot remember but I think it was Toy Story 3. Well we went to it, and I ended up in the foyer walking with Joseph because he didn't want to sit down.

4.What is your favorite TV show? NCIS or Castle.

5.If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? Not sure on this. I think Hawaii would be nice though.

6. What did you have for breakfast? eggs on toast

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Italian.

8.What foods do you dislike? asparagus and brussel sprouts.

9. Favorite Place to Eat? Hannaville hotel.

10. Favorite dressing? vinaigrette.

11.What kind of vehicle do you drive? we have two. A Volkswagon Kombi and a Toyota Carolla.

12. What are your favorite clothes? my blue and white blouse and white leggins.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? New Zealand and The USA.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? 1/2 full definitely.

15. Where would you want to retire? somewhere quiet.

16. Favorite time of day? evening when the children go to bed.

17. Where were you born? North Adelaide

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Australian Rules.

22. Bird watcher? No.

23. Are you a morning person or a night person? definitely night.

24. Pets? Our lovely dog pepper and our cat CC. A lizard, several chickens and a turtle that is still missing.

25. Any new and exciting news that you'd like to share? Only two weeks of term left. Then we have two weeks of holidays.

26. What did you want to be when you were little? A police women.

27. What is your best childhood memory? hmm. I think it would be our trip to Sydney for my uncles wedding.

28. Are you a cat or dog person ? dog

29. Are you married? Yes. Very happily.

30. Always wear your seat belt? yes!

31. Been in a car accident? yes.

32. Any pet peeves? people parking in no standing zones.

33. Favorite pizza toppings? chicken and pineapple or salami and cream cheese.

34. Favorite Flower? frangipani.

35. Favorite ice cream? honeycomb.

36. Favorite fast food restaurant? Subway.

37. How many times did you fail your driver's test? none.

38. From whom did you get your last email? Facebook.

39. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? probably some sewing shop.

40. Do anything spontaneous lately? no

41. Like your job? love it.

42. Broccoli? with cheese yes!

43. What was your favorite vacation? Sydney for my uncles wedding.

44. Last person you went out to dinner with? whole family for Madeline's birthday.

45. What are you listening to right now? Tom and Christopher talking in their beds.

46. What is your favorite color? Red or Yellow.

47. How many tattoos do you have? none

48. Coffee drinker? absolutely.

49. How many children do you have? 8

50. Favorite beverages: coke zero.

If you want to do this. let me know in the comment box and I will put a link to you.

Tagged:

Melanie from Homestead and Bread.

Katheryn from Heart for God.

Euthanasia in SA parliament again.

Recently, I have become aware of a bill before SA parliament for the leagalisation of euthanasia.

The bill can be found here.

There are a couple of things I find a bit frightening about this bill.

Firstly, it isn't just for people that are terminally ill. It is also for those that suffer from chronic illness. Type one diabetes is a chronic illness. There is no mild diabetes or getting over diabetes. It is chronic always.

There is also a few words used in the bill that are vague.
The first amendment will be part 13 B.

This is what 13 B states:

13B—Criminal liability in relation to end of life arrangements:

(1) It is a defence to a charge of an offence against this Division arising
out of the death or intended death of a person if the death resulted, or
was intended to result, from the administration of drugs to the person by the defendant and the defendant proves, on the balance of
probabilities, that—

• (a) the defendant was, at the time of the conduct to which the charge relates, a treating practitioner of the person; and

• (b) the defendant believed on reasonable grounds that the person was an adult person of sound mind who was suffering from an illness, injury or other medical condition that irreversibly impaired the person's quality of life so that life had become intolerable to that person (the qualifying illness); and

• (c) the conduct to which the charge relates occurred at the express request of the person; and

• (d) the conduct to which the charge relates was, in all the circumstances, a reasonable response to the suffering of the person.

I don't like the language this bill uses. What exactly is good quality of life? Does a person that needs an insulin pump have a good quality of life? Does a person that has blood sugar levels going up and down have good quality of life?

I also wonder how one defines what reasonable is?

I recently heard of a child that was told she couldn't go to her school camp because the school thought her blood sugar levels were not well enough controlled. The mother offered to come to the camp and the school said no to this too because they wanted the children to get away without their parents. The school thought it was perfectly reasonable to not allow this child with type one diabetes to go but the mother didn't.

A school camp is one thing but it could be the next problem a family with a child with type one diabetes has is that a doctor thinks it is reasonable to decide that this child has no quality of life since they don't have good control over their diabetes so give them a lethal injection. That is what this bill allows. It is just frightening to me that my child could have to defend their right to life and defend that their lives are worth living. Every life is worth living. We really cannot decide if anyone has a good quality of life.

So please pray for all those that will be voting for or against this bill. Please write to them also and tell them that we do not want such laws in our state. I will be writing to all our MP's about this law and asking them to vote against it.

Joseph's new overalls.

I actually started sewing these while we were in Adelaide for Christopher's pump start. They have been sitting in my sewing basket since then with just the button holes needing to be done. I finally did them today.

I also started Brigette's curtains.

7 Quick Takes.

-1-

Birthday Party.

Tonight Madeline had her 16th birthday party. It has been a great night. She had a close group of friends over and we put on a bbq.

I really wanted to eat all the yummy meat but being a Friday, we all abstained. There is lots left over so maybe I will have some for breakfast tomorrow morning.

-2-

New mobile.

We are in the process of changing our mobile phones, home phone and internet. Last week, our internet changed over and this week, I have signed up for a new phone contract.

This is my new phone that I got. It is a htc legend. This is what my children have told me is very cool. I just hope it is an easy phone to use. That is what makes something cool to me.

-3-

Growth spurt.

Tom has gone through a growth spurt. He has been having some very high blood sugar levels so this weekend I have the joy of basal testing. This means checking at least at midnight and again at 3 am. If sugars are in range at either of these times, I will need to get up and check him two hours later and make sure he is not hypo. Hopefully we will work out the right basal rate for him quickly.

-4-

Joseph.

Joseph has started riding his bike this week. He can move backwards and forwards. Hopefully soon, I will be able to get a video of him doing it and share it with you all.

-5-

Weekend plans.

It s a while since I had a sewing weekend. I really want to get started on some winter sewing especially for Tom, Christopher and Joseph. There are a few things that I have kept from Tom that Christopher can wear but he still needs some good clothes especially.

I am also going to start on Brigette's curtains.

-6-

Day Light Savings.

This weekend is the end of day light savings. I love the end of day light savings. It is so much easier to get up early and get organised.

-7-

Learners.

Next week, Madeline is doing a course that teaches the rules of the road and at the end of it, she will be able to do the learners test for free.

She has to be on her L's for a year and once she has driven 120 hours and completed her log book, she will be able to drive on her probationary license.

Don't forget to pop over to Jen from Conversion Diary for other peoples 7 quick takes.