Check this out!

This is a funny retro site-hey, and the guys from AR too! You need to go and look at his "Twelve years of Christmas" posts. Scroll down and start from year one though. Hilarious if you're a child of the 70's and 80's. Makes me want to dig out my old photos...hmm, I might just do that! Stay tuned...

So, I'm trying to get ready to go somewhere the other day and noticed that the house was uncomfortably quiet. I asked Aaron Job to go check on Anna and see what she was doing. The next thing I heard was "MOM, ANNA'S ALL BROWN!" Honestly, the first thing that went through my mind was something brown that comes out of a diaper, so I was a bit relieved to see this instead:





Whew! It's was only lipstick. A LOT of lipstick- like, almost a WHOLE, BRAND NEW tube of it on- not her lips, but her cheeks!




Once I cleaned up the thick layers, her face was STAINED with lipstick. Then we left to go meet Aaron, and the first thing he said when he saw her was "Why's her face so pink?"

This world is not my home

Lately I've been reading A Passion for God by Ray Ortlund, Jr., during my quiet time. It's a book of prayers and meditations on the book of Romans; and since our pastor is preaching through Romans right now, I thought it'd be a good companion to that. At the rate I'm going, with my quiet time being very limited these days, we're on the same track, as it will probably take us both a few years to finish the book! He's been preaching on Romans 12:1,2 for a few months now, but it's been great!

I've been wanting to blog for a while on this last passage I read because it was so good. It's from Romans 8:18-21.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

I love the poem that Ortlund put with this passage. It's written by Henry Francis Lyte, 1793-1847, (don't know him, but I like what he wrote). It's from a book called Hymns as Poetry by Tom Ingram and Douglas Newton.

My rest is in heaven; my rest is not here.

Then why should I murmur when trials are near?

Be hushed, my dark spirit! The worst that can come

But shortens thy journey and hastens thee home.

It is not for me to be seeking my bliss

And building my hopes in a region like this.

I look for a city which hands have not piled,

I pant for a country by sin undefiled.

Let doubt then and danger my progress oppose;

They only make heaven more sweet at the close.

Come joy or come sorrow, what'er may befall,

An hour with my God will make up for it all.

I struggle with rejoicing in trials, but for me, this poem has really put a tangible meaning on it. The writer is saying that suffering only makes heaven seem sweeter and nearer, so let it come! I confess, I am too weak in my faith to ask for trials, but reading this passage has given me a peace, and yes, even a joy in suffering.

Happy girl at six months!

This is one of those smiles that makes me love being a mom!

Why I love Halloween Reformation Day!

Costumes at 75% off!

Here's Anna doing her impression of Ralphie.

What we're not reading.

A recent trip to the library yielded an interesting treasure. Usually I look at all of the books that my kids pick before we check them out. All kids books are not created equally!! I want my kids to read what is interesting to them, but I don't like for them to get books that have characters who are disrespectful to parents, siblings, and friends; or a storyline that encourages or promotes sinful behavior. But I digress.

Like I said, I usually I o.k. everything before we check out, but this time I didn't, and we made it home with this book:

YES! THIS IS A KIDS' BOOK!! Here's a description of it from Amazon:

It's a fabulous floating palace, and everybody on it is having the time of their life until a mysterious and terrible odor begins to permeate the splendid ship. What can this awful odor be? All signs point to Walter, and so he is banished down below, with the stinky cheeses. Walter doesn't mind at least he has something to snack on. But not even the cheese room can contain Walter's powerful farts. So they lower him onto a lifeboat, and he is forced to travel alone behind the ocean liner. Then catastrophe strikes! The liner loses its power. How long will the great cruise ship and its frightened passengers be marooned on the high seas? About as long as it takes Walter to digest that cheese...

Okay, I have to be honest...from the little bit of Jr. High mentality that's still left in me-it's really kinda funny. I can't help but giggle everytime I read the title. I giggle out of humor, and out of disbelief at the same time. I can't believe there is a children's book in the library with the word fart in it... I can't believe I just typed the word 'fart' in my blog!!

So the day after going to the library, I discovered the book. I secretly read it to see what it was about, giggled to myself, and then hid it on a bookshelf until we could return it. But what really cracked me up (pardon the pun) was my son's reaction. He noticed the change.

He got up early the next morning and I told him that he could lay on the couch and read his library books. He looked at the stack of books and said

"Hey! I had four books here yesterday, and now there are only three! And by the way...what's a fart?"

I gave him a brief definition (which he giggled at too-but he's six, not 31) and told him that it really wasn't a nice word to say, and then I quickly changed the subject so that I wouldn't have to explain the missing book!

I would really like some input here. Am I being too uptight? I don't want to be a prude, but it seemed kinda crude for a kids' book. I dunno....what do you all think?

Oh, by the way, there are more Walter books if that one wasn't enough! There's the original "Walter the Farting Dog" and "Walter the Farting Dog: Trouble at the Yard Sale."

Well, I'll wrap this up with some reviews here. Here's a quote from ALA Booklist

"All in all, it's a gas." (hehehe)

And, one that's more for my liking, from Publishers Weekly,

"Yes, this lowbrow endeavor could be a crowd-pleaser but, like its topic, its disruptive effects will tend to linger."

Excuse me now :)

By request

Someone, who's name shall go unmentioned, has requested more pictures of the two year old's B-Day bash; and it started making me feel a little guilty for favoring one child over another. So, in the spirit of fairness to all, (I'm such a middle child!) here's more pics:

Here's a cute one with Grandma (my mom)

Programing her favorites in the new cell phone. Complete with duckie slippers.

Still in the baby swing.

She did the best, by far, at blowing out candles at the age of two. We practice the day before, and when I told her to blow, she blew her nose (sans tissue) so we had to be more specific on WHAT to blow when it came birthday time.

Just because

Okay, it's time to post something, if for nothing else than to get rid of the chocolate chip pancake sausage picture!

Nothing new going on here. The weather's beautiful, so we've been going outside as much as possible. We're doing a little bit of school here and there. We'll do more when it gets too cold to go outside (for me that's about 65 degrees!) With Reformation Day coming up, we're talking about Martin Luther and others for the next few weeks. That's pretty much the excitement around here!

We had a family birthday party for DD #3 who turned 2 on Saturday. She's now in two year old mode- full force! It's so hard being two and having to share all of your birthday loot with an older brother and sister! But isn't she sweet!!

A little bit of business now. I'm going to try to at least keep my sidebar updated more often since I can't post much. In case you haven't noticed it yet, under the "good reads," I try to put up some articles or websites of interest. So, anything funny, encouraging, and/or theologically astute will be linked on my sidebar. We'll see if this goes better than my posting!

What's grosser than gross?

This is breakfast gone bad!

Sorry, but just looking at this made my stomach turn a little! Hey, you might as well take two Chips Ahoy cookies and put a piece of sausage between them, and call it breakfast!

Oh, then dip it in syrup!

Family Pictures

Here's some pictures as promised:

This was the best one of the kids.

Really...it was.

One of the out takes.

And, after almost 80 pictures, (seriously) there were a few that turned out.

Back by popular demand!!

Okay, maybe not so popular demand, but people have been asking when I'm going to blog again! I know it's been a month since I've blogged anything, but things have been CRAZY around here lately. I'll just give you a run down of what we've been up to lately.

Aaron spoke at a parenting conference two weeks ago. He had four messages to preach there, so he'd been working like a wild man trying to get those done. That led to my involuntary sabbatical from blogging. Any time I had a minute to type up a post, he would be using the computer, and I couldn't very well say "stop preparing your sermons so I can blog something!" I was also speaking to the ladies in two breakout sessions, so I felt a little guilty spending time on the computer when I had two talks to prepare. I still crammed it all in at the last minute anyway! The conference went very well, there was great feedback from those who attended, and Aaron did a great job.

It was very obvious to Aaron and myself that while we were preparing for this parenting conference, Satan was tempting us in that very area of our lives. Our kids were going crazy, and giving us ample opportunity to "practice what we preach." :) So, now it's time to slow down a little bit and get back into normal life again.

In the midst of all this, I have had several doctor appointments to go to, which is no small feat, when you have four small kids to arrange for. Thankfully, Aaron's job is flexible enough that he was able to be here for most of them. I have just not been feeling well, and I've been having a lot of dizziness and light headedness for about four months, so I finally conceded to going to the doctor. Four doctor visits, an MRI, and a lot of $ later, we still don't know what's going on. But a huge praise is that the MRI was normal. I was starting to think that something was seriously wrong after seeing my Dr. and talking with nurses, and I'm normally not one to go to the extreme on stuff like that. Now we're thinking it could be something like blood volume and/or pressure problems or maybe just hormones or fatigue. I would really appreciate you're prayers through all this. It has been very discouraging to me at times. To not feel well, when you have so much to do can seem a bit overwhelming.

Through all of that, and starting school and awana, we still had time to squeeze in a family picture. I'll leave you with a couple. Thanks for not giving up on my blog!!

(four hours later)
Okay...maybe I won't put up some pictures! Blogger isn't letting me upload any right now. I'll try again tomorrow.

Blogger Tip #1: Don't let your husband know your blogger password.

Hello! This is Anita's husband (otherwise known as "DH"). Anita has invited me as "Guest Blogger" today.

Ok. Not really. She's in bed right now. I should be, it's late.

But instead, I've found myself looking for pictures of an old high school teacher in her old yearbooks. That's when I came across this lovely picture of you know who!

Seems this photo was on a page, underneath the caption/question "What do you hate the most about your daily responsibilities?" Anita's response was one of several from various high school students.

I post Anita's response and photo here - of course - to embarass her. But more importantly, to give praise to God for His sanctifying work in her life over the years as a mother and wife. Remember, the girl below, is the same girl who wrote these words.

So here you go:

11th grade - 1992

(she's still looks just as young & beautiful today, I might add!)

PS: If you leave her lots of nice comments, I might find some other incriminating photos of her to post! :o)

A girl and a marker...

How could this sweet and innocent :) little girl, who sits quietly reading a science book to her teddy bear, ever do anything mischievous...?

The demon in her comes out... (enter Psycho music)












...I was only out of the room for a second.

That was all she needed.

Notice she now has a crayon in the last picture.

It's the little things...

While I'm tempted to be overwhelmed at times with the many little voices calling me, (and calling me, and calling me, etc.) there's something strangely special about them needing me, and only me.

Take for instance, lunchtime. Not to brag, but no one can make their lunches the way they really want them but me, the first time. While I'm no short order cook, there are certain things that just make a meal go better. Like having all your little quirks worked out. The six year old likes a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cut into two big triangles, apple slices with the peel on and juice in the tiger cup. On the other hand, the three year old likes a peanut butter only sandwich, with the crusts cut off and it "left big," apple slices with the peel off, and water in the fish cup. The one year old doesn't like peanut butter sandwiches at all, (she may starve one day) she likes grapes cut in half, and little blocks of cheese and ham, and lots of milk. And then there's the three month old. She doesn't ask for much. Just my total, undivided attention every three hours.

You're probably wondering why in the world I'm blogging about my children's eating habits, but the point I'm trying to make is that while I'm making their lunches especially for them, it is also a joy for me to be there, to do this job. When I'm tempted to run away and not come back for a long, long time (at least until the baby needs feeding again) I think about these little things, and it causes me to treasure, almost savor these moments.

There is no one else who can make a lunch with as much love as a mother can; and I wouldn't want any less for my children. I wouldn't want my children calling, (and calling, and calling) to any one else but me throughout their day. For now, they have entrusted their little hearts to me, and they depend on me for comfort when they're hurt, and food when they're hungry. These are the children that God has chosen for me, and they are wonderful blessing from the Lord. He has given me this job to do, and I must do it to the best of my abilities (which He supplies) and for His glory.

No, this is not an attempt to boost my ego in any way. I know how to make their lunches, but there are some things I'm still trying to figure out, like how to contain the legos into one room of the house. This is just a meager attempt to encourage moms. It's a big job. It's a hard job. But it's not mundane. You hold much responsibility in your hand, when you seek to shepherd your children's hearts.

Sometimes it's just good to know that you're doing the right thing. Like cutting off the crusts.

On turning six, and feeling great...

Just a quick post to let you all know that I'm still alive. Here's a little quote from the birthday boy.

DH: So son, how does it feel to be six??!!
DS: Um..... Kind of sixy.

That's all I'm going to say about that! :)

And a quote from the three year old...

On Sunday we had the privilege of having John MacArthur preach at our church. As we were getting ready that morning, Aaron told the kids "Hurry and eat your breakfast, we're going to hear John MacArthur preach!" The three year old, doing her own version of misheard lyrics, asked "Dad, what's a karma parcher?"

I wonder if John MacArthur and karma have ever been used in the same conversation before.

I wonder what kind of Goggle search will bring up this post.

Disclaimer

UUGGHH!! Blogger is really provoking me to anger! It's not letting me put any spaces between my pictures and captions. (I know- a poor workman blames his tools.) Anyway, as you read the post below, the caption is underneath the picture that it is supposed to go with. Sorry it looks all jammed together.

My baby is six!

My sweet boy turned six on Monday! I can't believe how fast the time has gone by. It seems like we were just at the hospital having him.

Here's a few pics of the birthday bashes. We had a family get together on Saturday, and then went to Purple Cow on Monday. He was a bit confused as to when he could officially declare that he was "six," since we had two celebrations.

It was a Batman/Superman/Rescue Hero kind of birthday. We are now supremely protected from the forces of evil around here.

Getting ready for the Batman cake. This was the first year he successfully blew out the candles without spitting all over the cake. The guests were all relieved as well.

All's well that ends well.

Purple Cow Pics

Aahhh. Milkshakes from Purple Cow. Notice the purple drool coming out of their mouths. DH wiped his off before I took the picture :) The one year old was hanging on to that straw for dear life. It never left her mouth the whole time we were there!

The new six year old showing us his chest of steel.

Photography by the six year old.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.

Numbers 6:24-26

Vamanos!!

I hatelove how people look at you when you enter a store with many small children! I never can tell if they are looking at me with sympathy or adoration. Do they think I'm insane for having so many children, or do they think that I'm God's gift to children?!

I'm sure it's the latter:)

My DH took DS on a "guy" trip last night to a drum and bugle corps competition. So, since I was with one less child, I thought we would venture out. DS's birthday is coming up, so I told the three year old that we would go to the dollar store, and she could pick something out for him. I had the three month old in my Snugli carrier, the 21 month old in the basket, and the three year old walking happily by my side the whole time:)

All was well.

Really, it was. I don't know why all the stares. Could it be the 3yo singing "Dora the Explorer" at the top of her lungs? Seriously, every time we would stop to look at something, she would burst into song. "VAMANOS, LET'S GO!!! D-D-D-D-D-DORA...." It really was kinda cute, and she was HAPPY, so I let her go.

So, she's trying to pick out something for her brother's birthday. After this trip, she must think I have terrible taste in gifts, because EVERYTHING she picked up I had to say "No, I don't think so," or "No, he wouldn't like that."

What six year old boy wouldn't want pretty pink dress-up high heels for his birthday?

We finally settled on some plastic dinosaurs and turtles. The real challenge here was trying to find something that wouldn't fall apart in one day. You know how those dollar store toys are equivalent (if not worse) to happy meal toys! And the three year old got some new headbands. She loves headbands now, but the mortality rate of those in our house is high. The life cycle of headbands here, would rival that of a housefly. So for one dollar, she got a "happy" too!

We left the store without an incident and made it home. The three year old played with the dinosaurs for about 30 minutes. She was content, so I let her (I won't tell her brother that he's getting a used toy.) Not a single one broke, so we wrapped them up and hid them. The birthday isn't for five more days, so we'll see how long she can keep a secret. The guys got back at about 3 a.m. this morning, it's 8 a.m. right now and she hasn't squealed yet. So far, so good!

Getting to know me

A dear friend sent me this little quiz and so I thought I would post it here to give you a chance to get to know me a bit more. I know that you all were dying to know more about me! This sounds like a very self-centered post, and basically, yes, it is.

A) Four jobs I have had in my life
1. Checker at Wal-mart
2. Lifeguard
3. Hostess at El Chico
4. Surgical Tech. at an outpatient surgery center

B) Four movies I would watch over & over...and have (This was a hard one to answer since I usually fall asleep in movies. A better question would have been: "Name four movies that you have seen in it's entirety." The ones that I listed, I only put because I have seen them more than once. I'm also, adding as honorable mention The Sound of Music, and The Music Man.)
1. 8 Seconds
2. St. Elmo's Fire
3. Grease
4. A Christmas Story

C) Four places I have lived
1. White Hall, AR
2. Sheridan, AR
3. Guy, AR
4. Little Rock, AR

D) Four TV shows I love to watch (This was also difficult. I wouldn't necessarily say that I love to watch these shows with the exception of American Idol. The others, I like and try to catch them on occasion.)
1. Jeopardy
2. Without a Trace
3. American Idol
4. Martha

E) Four places I have been on vacation
1. Gulf Shores/Destin
2. Disney (as a child)
3. Skiing in Colorado & New Mexico
4. Wyoming (Old Faithful and the Grand Titans)

F) Websites I visit daily/bi-weekly (I could have put a lot more on this one. There are a lot of people's blogs that I visit regularly. These are just the ones that are usually updated when I check them. I also have to add mine to the list. I like to check the counter:) you'd think I'd update it more as often as I check it!)
1. Amy's Humble Musings
2. i am chief
3. life in' saw
4. Girl Talk

G) Four of my favorite foods
1. Cheese dip from Senor Tequila
2. Papa John's Pizza
3. Anything from P.F. Chang's
4. Hershey's kisses with almonds

H) Four places I would rather be right now
1. On a beach
2. In my bed sleeping
3. In a quiet cabin in the woods
4. Heaven

I) Four people I think will respond (A lot of people responded! Thanks to Rachel J., Summer, Phoebe, Amanda, Hannah J., Candy, Wendy, and Krista so far!)
1. Amanda (my sister)
2. Hannah J.
3. Kelsey (my niece)
4. Courtney

Okay, for the sake of newness, I am adding one more question to the list and you all can leave your answers in the comments. I am baring my soul to you on this one, so you all better be honest with me too!

J)What was your nickname as a child?
Skeeter-yes, skeeter. I played softball growing up, and my coach, who was also my pastor and my best friend's dad, gave me that name and it stuck until I was a teenager!

Although, after this post, my new nickname could be
The link miester!

My answer

I'm just posting my answer to DH's question here. Only because it became long enough to be a post :) and I had been thinking about blogging on Crunchy Cons anyway:

"it's funny that you should ask this question (What book would you recommend to the President?), because the book that i am reading right now is Crunchy Cons, and as i've been reading, i've thought many times "i wonder if the president has read this?" it's a very thought-provoking book. it's not bashing government, but makes some good points about the republican party and politics in general.

one thing that has stuck out to me is that we, who say we are conservative, will scream and cry when it's comes to pro-life, gay marriages, pornography, etc. but sit quietly when we see perfectly good houses and land bulldozed for big businesses and bigger houses. all this is done in the name of making and saving more money. aren't greed, envy, and covetousness sinful too?

this book needs to be read with some discernment, but it does have some good ideas. i'm coming away from it with the fact that we, as conservatives, need to really be conservative in all areas(put our religion and our life/business together), and be good stewards of what we have been blessed with- our families, homes, food, money, land, and community.

no, i'm not turning into a tree-hugger, but it does make me want to grow a garden. :)"

A good question

My DH has put up a good question on his blog. Go check it out- I'm interested in reading your comments!

Things that make you go mmmm....

....Or things that make you go eeeewww. This is an eye opening look at "10 foods you should never eat!"

http://www.cspinet.org/nah/10foods_bad.html

While I'm certainly no health food guru (nor do I aspire to be!) this list has pushed me a little bit closer to the more nutritious side of living. I do try to be semi-conscience of the things that I put into my body, but one some of my weaknesses are definitely of the fast food nature. Add to that, the fact that one of my favorites (Burger King french fries) made the list! I am guilty.

One thing that should motivate me to stay on track with my eating habits is to remember that my body is a temple. Am I taking care of it in a way that brings glory to God (ouch!)? Am I being a good steward of my body and of the food that has been provided for me, or am I wasting these resources that I have been given. And on a deeper level, what is the testimony that I give to others if I seem to lack self-control in one area? Does it spill over to the other areas of my life as well (my words, thoughts, Bible study, diligence, etc, etc.- I could go on and on with this!)?

I like food. I like it a lot. So much so, that I'm tempted to make it an idol (I'm willing to sin if I don't get it.) I get grumpy when I'm hungry, I complain (in my heart) if it's not quite what I wanted that day, I spend money that I shouldn't on food that I don't need. These are just a few examples of my sinfulness concerning food. How silly is that in light of serving a Holy God?!! But Christ knows our hearts so well that He addresses even this issue in scripture. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul says "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." Of course he wasn't speaking of gluttony in this passage, but the fact that he acknowledges simple food and drink as a possible stumbling block for our Christian walk speaks volumes. Do even the things that we put into our mouth bring glory to God? Just some food for thought:)

Taking a stand

My poor son, with three sisters, he had to draw the line somewhere:

Interpretation of this sign: No Strawberry Shortcake!!
(I must concur with him on that! I might improve on it a bit by adding Barbie to the picture!)

A few pics

Okay, maybe a lot of pics.

Here's the kids playing in the mud. The cleanup was abominable, but the fun had was worth it.









I could qualify for a Tide commercial after this.

This is the amount of damage one 19 month old can do in the time that it takes to nurse a baby. Coffee anyone??







The poor girl had pneumonia last week!! So, to take her mind off things (i.e. herself) I took her outside to swing. She really was sick, she fell asleep in the swing! And me, being the caring and compassionate mother that I am, was kind enough to take pictures and video. I know she'll thank me later.






A girl needs her beauty sleep.









Like I said, a girl needs her beauty sleep.

In due season

This blog will attempt to record stories and lessons learned in the season of life that I am in, which right now, is being a wife to one great husband and a mother to four small children. And this verse sums that up well for me:

And let us not grow weary from doing good for in due season we will reap if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

I guess you could say that this is my "life verse." I did not set out on a quest to find my favorite verse in the Bible, but I constantly find that this verse is going through my head. It is espesially resonating when there is a tune to go with it! My kids have Steve Green's Hide'em in your heart Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 CDs (which I highly recommend) and Galatians 6:9 is one of the songs. These CDs are especially helpful when you want to correct your children with a Bible verse. I can now sing it to them instead of the lecture voice that I usually have to take on :) "Do-oo everything without complaining, do-oo everthing without arguing..." Sing with me kids!! For some reason they don't join in too eagerly on that one. But I digress.

"In due season" seems to accurately describe the last eight years for me. They have been pretty much consumed with child-rearing. But more than that, this verse is such an encouragement for me. With four children eight and under- I AM WEARY!! BUT... I have been greatly blessed with a godly husband and four wonderful kids. The Lord has chosen me for this man and for these children and for Himself to do His work here in my home. My mission field is wide open with these four little souls, but some days it seems as though my words and actions are falling on deaf ears- that's when I am tempted to grow weary. So, this verse serves as a gentle reminder to me-do not loose heart, if you are doing good, in due season you will reap. There are days when I see tiny glimpses of the harvest. Whether it's in a baby's first smile or hearing your child say a prayer. Then I remember why I do what I do. Yes, there are dirty dishes in the sink, three baskets of unfolded laundry, and it took me ALL day just to write this post, (which I'm now typing with one hand while feeding a baby in the other), but that's ok- in due season we shall reap. Sing with me now!!

Out of the mouths of babes...

Children have a funny way of dashing your last bit of self-etsteem don't they. That is, what little is left after pregnancy and nursing.

But they do it so sweetly.

DS said to me the other day, as I was about to walk out the door "are you going to fix your hair?" My hair was fixed, really fixed, but he likes the "mommy pony-tail look" that I usually sport.

He also told me "Mom, you're a great mommy"

I pressed on: "why do you think I'm a great mommy?"

His reply: "well, because you're nice, but sometimes you're not."

Me: fake smiling. I should have stopped while I was ahead.

And...

I was prayed for the other day by the three year old. It was bitter-sweet in that she used what I guess is her new term of endearment for me. "And dear Lord," she said as she was finishing up her prayer, "thank you for my great big mommy."

Aren't they sweet?

Children and the things they say are sometimes like a great paradox. And my mind play tricks on me with it. You could easily say "oh they're children, they don't mean what they say" or you could also say "oh they're children, they say what they mean." Maybe you could sum it all up by saying this: children mean what they say, but do not know what they said really meant.

I feel better already.

JC Ryle on Sin

He that wishes to attain right views about Christian holiness, must begin by examining the vast and solemn subject of sin. He must dig down very low if he would build high. A mistake here is most mischievous. Wrong views about holiness are generally traceable to wrong views about human corruption. I make no apology for beginning this volume of papers about holiness by making some plain statements about sin.
The plain truth is that a right knowledge of sin lies at the root of all saving Christianity. Without it such doctrines as justification, conversion, sanctification, are "words and names" which convey no meaning to the mind. The first thing, therefore, that God does when He makes anyone a new creature in Christ, is to send light into his heart, and show him that he is a guilty sinner. The material creation in Genesis began with "light," and so also does the spiritual creation. God "shines into our hearts" by the work of the Holy Ghost, and then spiritual life begins. (2 Cor. iv. 6.)-Dim or indistinct views of sin are the origin of most of the errors, heresies, and false doctrines of the present day. If a man does not realize the dangerous nature of his soul's disease, you cannot wonder if he is content with false or imperfect remedies. I believe that one of the chief wants of the Church in the nineteenth century has been, and is, clearer, fuller teaching about sin.
~J.C. Ryle, Holiness