Aliisa's Letter

A Note to My Readers
Posted by Carol on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at 5:38am
It has been two and one-half years since I began this blog. I had no idea how much I would learn. My world has expanded through the exchange of thoughts here and on the blogs I visit. I am most thankful for you, my reader. When you leave a comment I am delighted! The next two weeks are going to busy and I will often be away from the computer. I am taking a respite from blogging. I plan to be back in June. Enjoy this time of year and have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend!
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The Garden and God's Word
Posted by Carol on Saturday, May 19, 2012 at 7:00am
Rutabaga Plant Flowering
Last year I left a rutabaga in the ground. The root was too small for cooking. This spring green leaves appeared and then suddenly a tall shoot with yellow flowers. I am quite certain that seed pods will come next-- seeds that I can collect for future use. My sage plant has returned each spring over the past couple years. But this year it had large buds with a tinge of magenta. I waited expectantly. It has flowered for the first time. My garden is a source of pleasure and encouragement . . . and so are the verses in Isaiah. As the rain and snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: it will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11 Linked with Charlotte for Spiritual Sundays and with Katie for Scripture & a Snapshot.
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Families
Posted by Carol on Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 11:00am

My family is a source of blessing and also a place of refinement. As a wife and mother I have been challenged, and I have made mistakes. Many times I have turned to the Lord in prayer. God has been refining me through relationships in the family. When my husband and I took a walk through a neighborhood park I was delighted to happen on a family of geese. This one stepped up to hiss at me! (Well, actually I moved kind of close as I was entralled with taking picures.) I am thankful for families! This post is linked with Thankful Thursday. Marriage and Family
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The Gift of . . .
Posted by Carol on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 at 11:14am

. . . family and fertility comes from God. During my childhood years my family participated in a Finnish Lutheran Church. The Church maintained the position that contraception was not acceptable for Christians. My mother did not use any form of contraception. She breastfed her babies, and I was one of five siblings. Exclusive breastfeeding diminishes fertility naturally and helps to space children. As a nurse, mother and grandmother I am revisiting the issue of contraception. I know the difficult choices women must sometimes make. Still I believe that the Lord God designed women, family and fertility for our good. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him: male and female he created them. God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth and subdue it. Genesis 1:27-28 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. Genesis 2: 24 God gave these instructions to the people that he chose to be an example to the world. If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as He swore to your forefathers. He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers. He will bless the fruit of your womb, the crops of your land . . . You will be blessed more than any other people; none of your men or women will be childless, nor any of your livestock without young. Deuteronomy 7:12-14 The following verses in Exodus have captured my imagination. Why were the women of Israel so healthy in childbearing? The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive. So God was kind to the midwives and the people increased and became even more numerous. Exodus 1;19-20 It is interesting that suppositories to induce abortion date back to the early Egyptian culture. Allen Carlson has written a historical account of contraception in *Godly Seed. In the introduction he quotes St Augustine. What food is to the health of man, intercourse is to the health of the human race, and each is not without its carnal delight which cannot be lust if, modified and restrained by temperance, it is brought to a natural use [i.e. procreation]. How do we as Christians approach this subject? Our sexuality provides a sacred bond for marriage-- not to be taken lightly. I suggest that it is important to know what the Bible says, to be prayerful and educated. It is not wise to simply follow the cultural/medical practicies that are common without understanding the consequences. The fact that medical science can miss on what is best for women is exemplified by the consumer report regarding childbirth choices. Click here. Another example is the findings of the Women's Health Iniative. Hormone replacement therapy has been found to increase heart disease, stroke and cancer. The birth control pill contains the same hormones. My son [or daughter] if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. Proverbs 2:1-5 * St. Augustine, On Genesis According to the Letter 9.7, CSEL 28:276 in Noonan, Contraception. This post is linked with Darlene. To visit the Titus 2sday link-up click the button. Marriage and Family
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Pink for Mother's Day
Posted by Carol on Saturday, May 12, 2012 at 9:45am

The rhododendron is blooming in my backyard. When I look out my kitchen window I can see the vivid pink bloom, a gift from our Creator. Yesterday was the last regular MOPS meeting before the summer break. We had pink at our MOPS brunch too. Someone brought a pink cake to share. It was delicious! Happy Mother's Day to all moms, sisters, and daughters. Visit Beverly at How Sweet the Sound for more pink Mother's Day posts. Holiday
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