Pictures

So...it was a wet and rainy day.......

OK.....here are all the 'expectant fathers'

"I told you.....I told you....."

Making sure everyone knows.....

Spreading the news via internet...

Here are the little girls having thier first glance



Caleb got the first 'holding time'


Then Andrea


And Saralyn-

The Man of the Hour!!!!

He's Here!!!!!!

About 3:48 PM......July 5, 2007

Perfect Pasta Salad

I fell that I must go about copying Anna, and post a recipe on my blog.

Living in the rice-alone country that I did, a 'cold salad' was unheard of. It was only when I came to the U.S. that I experienced the interesting tastes of Potato and Pasta salads. I decided that I liked 'cold salads' immensely, and due to a sudden influx of boxes of pasta noodles (there was a sale) I have my chance. I have now made three pasta salads all by myself. *Claps* The first was understandably BAD, and the second was too spiced. I have finally hit upon a very good recipe. I have halved it for all of those out there with less people to feed, but I usually make 2lb. at a time.

1lb. cooked pasta noodles (cooked to desired consistency)
1 1/2 C. minced vegetables. (peppers, carrots, celery, onions, kernel corn...you can pick and choose)
1 1/2 C. MiracleWhip (or Mayo)
1/8 C. herbs (I used basil, Italian seasoning. I still want to use parsely)
1 TB. Pepper
1 1/2 TB. Salt

Mix all but the pasta together completely. Mix in the noodles and chill (overnight is the perferred length).

From the Heart of the Sea

So...we finally got to unpacking our boxes from the Philippines, and one of the recovered treasures was about 10lb. of shells.

I have been washing them and laying them out according to thier size and kind.

Can you guess the size of these beauties?

WRONG!!!! The winner (the red one all the way on the right) was 5/16th's of an inch wide, and 3/16th's long.

Here are all the contestants in decreasing size.

And here are some wet coral peices too...

We've Moved!!

To another house......and I am NOt looking forward to it EVER again if it is anything like this move.

I have wanted to get a pic, but that hasn't happened yet!

So...I'll update when I can!!


TTFN!!

Stem Cells and Life

As I logged out of my Yahoo mail account, I was redirected to the Yahoo home page. All fine so far, no?



Well, the head article was about how embryonic stem cells might just be able to provide a cure for blindness in 5-10 years.



Considering the senate debate that is going on, and the looming threat of taxpayer money going to murdering human beings...this is a shameless gag to turn public opinion.



I decided to go on a rampage, and began searching for articles on the subject. After about 20 minutes, I came across this interesting article, written from the (wrong) side. I shall quote it in part-

President Bush has claimed that adult stem cells are a more promising avenue of research, because they are already being used in the clinical setting. This argument is absurd in light of the fact that the majority of available treatments involving adult stem cells, such as bone marrow transplants, do not involve complicated attempts to differentiate the cells into specific types of body cells. On the other hand, transforming an embryonic stem cell into a heart or nerve cell is an extremely complicated process that will take substantial time and research—and money. For 2007 the National Institutes of Health (NIH) earmarked only $39 million for human embryonic stem cell (ES) research, while adult stem cell research received $200 million. Adult stem cells have more developed medical applications because they are easier to work with and have received more funding, not because they have more potential. More importantly, an extended time frame is no reason to bar a path of medical research. If we invest in ES research now, it may offer useful treatment by the time members of our generation begins to develop Alzheimer’s.

There you have it....to REALLY work with stem cells you need to go through complex procedures, and have LOT'S of potential. But I put that logic to you. You have a good steady, working horse on one side, and a young, untrained, newly-purchased horse on the other. The second horse has LOT'S of potential to be a good riding horse, and you have to do some complex things to get it trained....which would you chose?

Also, these studies will only benefit in 10-20 years, and possibly not at all. Why get cures for people now? Why not spend hundred millions to benefit yourself later?!


It concludes by saying:

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said before President Bush’s veto that “regardless of the president’s actions, whether he vetoes this bill or not, we intend to keep pushing this research forward.” Pushing this research forward to override a presidential veto will require 50 more House votes and four more Senate votes. As constituents it is our responsibility to apply the necessary pressure on our representatives to encourage them to vote for embryonic stem cell research. We cannot continue to allow Bush to impose a position that flies in the face of science and common sense. To do so would be to deny hope to the millions of patients who are anxiously waiting for the potential of embryonic stem cells to be realized.

There are other sites which tell you about all the benefits that adult stem-cells are giving to people NOW.

It is necessary to note that the power of adult stem cells is not nebulously
potential, but tangible and real, as it has produced wonderful results in
multiple cases. These have been documented in clinical trials, that is,
treatments with human patients. With adult stem cells, physicians have
successfully treated autoimmune diseases such as lupus, multiple sclerosis,
Crohn's disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Furthermore, adult stem cells
have helped to avert corneal degeneration and to restore vision in cases of
blindness. They have also restored proper cardiac function to heart attack
sufferers and improved movement in spinal cord injury patients.


Why mess around with the unknown? I'll tell you why....because Satan hates life. From the fall of man he has been against families, against children and against the God who loves them.

This is one more dastardly way to exterminate the race of mankind, created in the image of their all-powerful Creator. Will you let this happen? Or does the 'buck stop with you'?

Children are the only lasting heritage for the future. Teach them, and they will follow what is right. Kill them, and you will die knowing there is no hope in the future. Your beliefs and your ideas will die with you.

How far will our country fall? Numerous sites I browsed over boast on how taking stem cells doesn't harm anything. One lady commented on an article saying "I have this awful disease that stem cells might be able to cure, and my son has just been diagnosed with it. I want a cure, and I don't care what it takes."

I'll tell you what it takes.....it takes LIFE

How sick can we get?

"Selective Reduction"

I got a really bad taste in my mouth....

How sick can we get? This man is a murderer. He knows this, everyone knows this...yet they do NOTHING......and they even pay him for 'helping' them.

Memorial Day Anthem

It seemed to be an every one's lips...and I found an interesting irony in the line

"The flag still stands for Freedom and they can't take that away"

I couldn't resist a re-wording of the famous song: "God bless the U.S.A"


If tomorrow the things were gone
I'd payed tax for all my life,
And I had to start again
With just my children and my wife-
I thank _____* above
To be living here today
'Cause the Federal Government
Will care for me anyway.


And I'm proud to be a citizen
Where the socialists govern me
And I won't forget, to whom I owe
This protection, security
And I'll gladly stand up, next to you
And work for her today.
Cause there ain't no doubt,
I love this life!
_____* bless ______**


From the lakes of fish preservation
To the hills being mined for gold
Across the plains filled with oil,
From polluted sea to the communist fold-
From Detroit down to Houston
From New York to LA
Where there's pride in any citizen's heart
It's time they pay to say....

That I'm proud to be a citizen
Where the socialists govern me
And I won't forget, to whom I owe
This protection, security
And I'll gladly stand up, next to you
And work for her today.
Cause there ain't no doubt, I love this life!
_____* bless ______**


_____* = the politically correct way to express the nothing that orders the universe at whatever time (to say Allah would be more than acceptable as well!)
_____** = the politically correct term for the ruling minority at whatever time

Question:

Does the creation glorify God?

The idea has certainly been exploited by poets, but is it scriptural? I was talking with a man who said that to glorify God, one must have a will, and be able to NOT glorify God. In other words....only man can glorify and praise God completely.

I want to know....do not the lesser things He created, inanimate and dumb as they may be, know that He created them and give Him praise and glory for that?

No More Night

Words & music by Walt Harrah

The timeless theme,
Earth and Heaven will pass away.
It’s not a dream,
God will make all things new that day.
Gone is the curse from which I stumbled and fell.
Evil is banished to eternal hell.


No more night.
No more pain.
No more tears.
Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.


See all around, now the nations bow down to sing.
The only sound is the praises to Christ, our King.
Slowly the names from the book are read.
I know the King, so there’s no need to dread.


No more night.
No more pain.
No more tears.
Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.


See over there, there’s a mansion
That’s prepared for me,
Where I will live with my savior eternally.


No more night.
No more pain.
No more tears.
Never crying again.
And praises to the great "I AM."
We will live in the light of the risen Lamb.

Another step by the 'Big Brother'

Abstinance Education...

Or rather....federal spending!

Third Piercing

About noon today, my subconscious decided that I needed a third piercing. The force applied by my right hand doubled, and the knife which it held proceed to attack my left.

After a second of shock...I found that the 1/2 inch gash wouldn't bleed (even after I squeezed it)...so I band-aided it up, and hope it will heal. My mom says that a stitch or two would help it not become a very bad scar....but only time will tell.

Too bad the knife was too dull to cut through...imagine how well it would look decorated with a belly ring, or something!!

We sharpen eachother...

I like the concept...and the song is SO funny!

'Steel on Steel'

They are simply THE BEST

Not Even Solomon....

In all his glory....

China...here we come!

http://www.citizenlink.org/CLtopstories/A000004562.cfm

Now, More Than Ever

When I started my journey in fresh childlike trust
I believed that the Lord’s way was best.
would read in His Word how He mothered the bird
And grieved when it fell from its nest.
How I felt His delight when I chose to do right,
And I prayed I would not make Him sad.
We would meet on the way in the cool of the day,
What a pure sweet communion we had.

CHORUS:
Oh, but now more than ever I cherish the cross.
More than ever I sit at His feet.
All the miles of my journey have proved my Lord true,
And He is so precious to me.

The road I have traveled has sometimes been steep,
Through wild jagged places of life.
Sometimes I’ve stumbled and fallen so hard
That the stones cut my soul like a knife.
But the staff of my Shepherd would reach out for me
And lift me to cool pastures green.
With oil of the spirit anointing my wounds,
There I’d rest by the clear healing stream.

CHORUS

Is Love’s Old Sweet Story too good to be true?
Do you find all this hard to believe?
Has the cruel world we live in so battered your heart
That the hurt child inside you can’t grieve?
I can’t say I blame you.I’ve been where you are.
But all I can say is
It’s true!

You’re wanted,
You’re precious,
You’re the love of His heart,
And the old rugged cross was for you.

CHORUS

I love singing the chorus on this song. It is so powerful! I like how it reflects the correct relationship with Jesus Christ. How ever step is better, how every day is new and good.

This is the song on YouTube

Photogrophy Class

I wanted to answer Sally's comment on my last post for a few days, but I wasn't quite sure how to get an answer small enough to be a comment. I decided that I couldn't and took pictures to elaborate.

Consider this a free course in professional photography ;)

The thing that makes good photographs is often not what fills the frame.....but what you leave out!!

Sally, we live in a 'normal' area...and I got rid of a lot of defects when I positioned my camera

For instance:

This is the church across the street. It's parking lot is prime space to ride motorcycles in.

Pretty picture? Not exactly!!

How about this?

And this?

What makes a good picture? What you leave out!

Another example?

See our lovely Daffodils?

Lol...me neither!!

How about the zoom button!!

I consider it the best invention since the art of Photography!!!!!

God:

Master painter of the sky-
The beauty that astounds my eye,
Amazing! Glory!

Architect of the water-weeds
The wonder brings me to my knees
Hallelujah! Amen!

Musician of the flowing Brook
Too know- I only need look
Astounding! Wondrous!

Sculptor of the hills and plains
Matchless is Your broad domain-
Almighty! Awesome!

Orchestrator of the galaxies
Owner of rain’s treasuries-
Magnificent! Great!




I was out on a bike-ride, and I looked up and saw these amazing cloud formations.

I snatched three pictures and noticed that they looked like brushstrokes. The words came to me suddenly 'Master painter of the sky..." the rest of the way home I got the second verse, and finished the third that night. Amazingly.....about 1 hour after I got back home...it showered enough for me to get that rain picture....just what I had wanted when I thought out those lines! I did the last verse Tuesday....and then edited.

What do y'all think?

Flashbacks:

I’ve been having a lot of ‘flashbacks’ lately. The term is strange, but it really describes what they are. Some are just pictures, some full ‘movies’ if you can call them that. The strange thing is that, although they are memories, I see myself doing things. Also, they come during the weirdest times.

While I was paging through the City of God I suddenly remembered how my oldest brother would creep up to the second floor back door that leads to the water-pump. He used to try so hard to drop all his clothes on the labandera (the laundry lady who we paid to wash and hang our clothes every Mon, Wed, and Fri.) without her noticing. She really disliked him for it, but he didn’t seem to care.

Then, I was….I think I was washing dishes when I remembered how the wind felt when I rode Sugar down the main dyke.

The last one was when I was writing to an All-American girl I lately began to have letter-bible studies with, and I remembered how it felt to be splashing around off the drop-off with Herlyn. Maybe it was more a made-up memory based on real ones than an actual occurrence. We both had tubes, and there were a couple other people around. We were splashing the water at each other and the water stung my eye, which made jump, and I began to cry. I was back in my room and it had all been in my head.

Sometimes I dream flashbacks too! I could actually feel the water, and hear everyone singing, and strumming the guitar. Once I dreamed that I fell off of Mam’ Becca’s sea wall, and I woke up suddenly which made Bethany look at me weird. One night I sent the entire dream at my spot behind the house. I sang to my tree, and watched the cicads go by. I haven’t stopped singing in my head, hoping the dream will come back:

"Christohanong pagpagabana, hatagi ug bili ang imong na-dungog, ug na-kita…..Dili ba, nang-kinahanglan man sila kang Jesus nga manluluwas ta….Sulti na!"

Sometimes I hear things…most often it the Tamsee-bird. I’ll jump up wondering
how they got caught in the house. Once, I heard someone call me, and once
Charry singing really pretty.


Usually they make me cry. If I am in a less emotional mood they just ‘sit on my heart’ and ache. I now understand the verse in Proverbs that I once circled and put a question mark beside…."Hope deffered maketh the heart sick, but when desire comes it is a tree of life"
And it’s companion- "Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a
good word makes it glad." (they are right across the page from eachother-
13:12; 12:25 respectively)

So far I have not been able to really feel things. Before I left I tried holding leaves, and touching everything so that I could remember them better. Besides the one dream of swimming I haven’t been able to ‘hold on’ to anything. Sometimes I don’t want to wake up in hopes that the dream will stay and I’ll be able to really grab a passing tree, or roll around on the bermuda once more.

I doubt I am alone in this…but is it just a different phase of homesickness? Also, will it pass? Will it pop up every now and then?

The Dream

Every woman dreams
Of a future life
Of being loved, and cherished,
A happy mother, and wife.

With little mouths to feed,
Innocent minds to teach,
Their hearts so full of love
Imagine what heights they’ll reach.

A little one to gurgle with
Baby arms to hug,
Chubby cheeks to pinch,
Tuck them in safe and snug.

A man who cares for her
Through thick and through thin
Strong arms to protect her,
Her battles to fight and win

A haven to fly to
When troubles abound,
A smile to warm her
'Prince Charming' she's found!

A voice deep and mellow
Sharing laughter and tears-
What girl has not desired
This dream, it’s hopes and fears.

What are we doing?

Gay Indoctrination is nothing I think we should be surprised about. Isn't it our socialist government's job to make sure everyone has the same lifestyle and dies quickly enough to not make wills and thus leave all their money to the feds?

Being 'Politically Correct' is the subject of the year. 'Me must not make people uncomfortable, or judge them in any way'......goodness! Why not just let them tell us what to do, how to live and what to believe as well!!

The awful part is that people are surprised...these parents should have done their research and taken responsibility for what their children are being taught. It is NOT the government's job!!

The next part, is that only some people will raise their eyes. "Church attendees" (See Rev. 4; The Lukewarm Ekklasia) will think 'Oh, how terrible!' and go on with'normal' life. Satan has won already!! 'Normal people' have gooten SO desesitized that they know none of this will ever touch thier strong christian children, and that faith is in someway a shot, like the ones you get at birth. You get injected with faith and you won't catch anything detrimental to your spiritual well-being.

There is a war going on out there. So many of us are content to cower in the basement and pray for all the people dying- acting totally oblivious to the fact that our house is on fire above us and our foundations are made out of staw! The next generation is not attuned even to the minute vestiges of organised religion that so many profess and claim and as a result we will perhaps not even HAVE the minute vestiges in the future!

How long will we let this go on? What are we doing to CHANGE the world? How are 'teaching (people) all things that pertain to life and godliness' (since they claim to already be saved)?

Do people know what you are? Are people daily impacted by your chirstian bearing, reactions, testimony, and attitude? What about me? Where is my focus? What am I putting my affections on? Have I done anything, gotten out there, given my testimony...have I made people question thier lifestyles according to God's word?

WHAT ARE WE DOING!!!

Existentialism 3

I was listening the the radio station my sister likes and I heard this song

Blessed Be - Jason Grey

I listened wondering why he couldn't read/sing about the beatitudes properly....(see unscriptural interpretation of the beatitudes) and the meek inherit the earth, not see the kingdom, and there is not even a 'broken ones' in the entire chapter.

Then he got to the third verse and I realised that it was a neo-Marxist existentialist interpretation!! If you are pretty, or strong, or brave you cannot go to heaven. If you are doing well (in business, perhaps) (thier words- 'got it made') you are outlawed immediately.

I got challenged to explain how this is wrong because Jesus himself said: "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to enter heaven"

I responded:
Jesus is saying (I believe) that the rich have so much to overcome because money can buy them everything material, and almost anything else that they have trouble not 'working for' heaven. They have to get over this huge hurdle and recognise that they and the most dirty beggar are equally sinful, guilty, and worthy of eternal punishment.

There will be rich people in heaven.....like Solomon, Job, Abraham, and Joseph (who was prime minister of the largest dynasty of his age)...in fact, God even blesses obedient christians who keep his commands!!

However, saying that capitalistic rich people...or "the strong, beautiful the brave" will not (to use the scriptural terms "inherit the Kingdom of heaven" is wrong, and borders on 'changing the gospel'.

So above all....DON'T take the Rich Young Ruler story out of context, and beware of this existentialism! It seems to be rampant!

Quote:

“If there is one thing upon this earth that mankind love and admire better than another, it is a brave man -- it is the man who dares to look the devil in the face and tell him he is a devil.” -- James A. Garfield

My blog is messed up; check back later!!!!

O.K.....details!

I tried to post a link to my new-found friend the BIG RED BUTTON...and it messed up my blog in some way so that any text I entered would disappear when I pushed 'publish'........that sneaky button!!

SO...I finally got things fixed, and for all of you who wondered why my blog looked all crazy, that was the details!

Clouds

Silvery-white, of raindrops made
No one really knows your name
They just call you ‘cloud’.
You shillouettte all so prize
Yet you float unfazed through the skies
All alone or in a billiowing crowd.


Colored deepest blue, or tender pink,
When threat’ning grey of rain you think-
The weather-vanes of the sky.
O, Lord who made every cloud
All sing your praises, the thundrous sound
Deafens and astounds my eye.



Thier praises resound in color
Magnificence unlike any other,
I pull out my camera and stare.
It copies the shades and hues
But reflects only minutely on You,
And the praises that echo there.


J.L.P.

Interesting:

I got this from a Focus On The Family email-thingy. I thought it was a good representation.....and an interesting picture!

I'm falling in LOVE!!

So...this is a strange post...especially for me.


Please read on! ;)


See, I'm 'falling in love'.....(to use the scripturally incorrect and oft' used worldy way of terming a strong attraction)....with my dishwasher. But do not fear! It is only the last 30 minutes of the cycle!! To be specific, the drying cycle.

The dishes dry by themselves anyway...so I'll catch the dishwasher, turn it off, open it up, (jump back really quick and wait 5 seconds), then stand in front of it just soaking up the warmth and wetness. I realized a couple weeks ago that it was getting addicting....

It is so wonderful to be 'in love'!!!

The Cross In The Middle

There are no signs of the crosses
But history records there were three.
Two stood because
Of man's broken laws
But I know the other
Stood there for me!
I don't know Peter, or Judas
But I've known the shame of thier crime
I'm so glad Jesus did, die in my stead
The cross in the middle should have been mine!

I never deserved the mercy
Or merited so much grace
Ths unworthy man can't understand
Why that man of no wrong took my rightful place!
If you've ever stopped by calavry
The blood isn't all you would find
For you'd feel it to why I feel like I do
The cross in the middle...should have been mine!

I never heard the hammer
I never felt the nals
I never saw when the angry mob burst as the prisoners fell
They never knew this sinner
I was some other place and time
The chioce was all his but the truth was and is
The cross in the middle, should have been mine!

The chioce was all his but the truth was and is
The cross in the middle, should have been mine!!

Lessons of the Ice Storm

PA has had a bad week. We got about three inches of powder on Tuesday.....sheets of ice Wednesday, and we have been trying to shovel ourselves out since then.

On Tuesday I went to the horse-farm with my eldest sister and took pictures.

By the time I got to some places, it was too dark, so I decided to go out the next day. I woke up really early to get out before my responsibilities at home began, and I was greeted by a sleet of stinging ice. I covered the camera with my scarf and bravely set off.

I was not entirely successful at keeping it dry, and many of my pictures have big blotches of condensation from the lens. I got a couple good ones, and in all the intermediate time walking I was able to meditate, contemplate and shiver.

BTW, in case you don't know, ice hurts! It stung my face, and hurt when it hit my coat. After about twenty minutes I began to gather that ice, and as a sheet formed aroung my jacket, it began to hurt less and less. By the time I got home, I had a layer of ice about a centimeter thick.

But strangely enough, I was toasty warm. The stinging ice protected me from the wind, and I even began to sweat. I compared that to problems. Problems fly at you, and you get hurt, you fall, you whish them away. Yet, after a while the problems turn to blessings, and begin to cover you. You get so blessed that you feel overwhelmed. In fact, you don't what to get rid of the old problems because of all the good they brought.

I would not want another ice storm, in fact...I am already praying for spring.....but this one brought some interesting thoughts, and some BAD pictures!

Update

Ninth-Patterson-to-be is officially half-way through *it's* growth process. Checkups are conducted trutinely by Doctor Caleb, and nurse Sara



Tabi, dear, plese refrain your rapture somewhat.......but he is truly taking after you. See here how he cares for his medical equipment.


Why pay doctor's bills when you don't have to?

Question:

What was Augustine's first name?

Quote of the house-

"All have sinned and fallen short of the pleasure of B-----y"

Temperments:

This is the wide range of temperments I live with every day-


Mommy: "Andrea, can you tear these pieces of bread in cubes?"

Andrea: "How big?"

Mommy: "Ummm.....about 1 inch by 1 inch."


5 Minutes later

Mommy: "Andrea, where-.....what are you doing?"

Andrea has about 5 pieces of bread nicely stacked, and she is calmly measuring the half piece of bread with a ruler.


2 minutes later

Saralyn:"Mommy, can I help!?"

Mommy: "Sure, tear the bread into cubes".

Saralyn:"O.k"

Andrea: "Make them one inch by one inch"

Saralyn: "Whatever...."

Thoughts from Shakespeare

This Post from the "Great Blog" that I have a link to is rather interesting; and as a girl, it makes me think seriously about my future roles in life.


I was still contemplating the article when I picked up a copy of the "Complete Works of Shakespeare" that I borrowed from a family we know. The play that I read for that day was The Taming of the Shrew" which was Charry's and my favorite play to read and act out together.

As I finished it...I came upon a speech that the now-tamed Katharine gives to her sister, and a widow. Both ladies were newly married, and both refused to come upon their husband's request, not knowing that there was a wager of a small fortune upon their obedience.

She says:

"Fie, fie! Unknit that threat'ning unkind brow;
Dart not scornful glances from those eyes
To wound thy lord, thy king, thy governor:
It blots thy beauty, as frosts do bite the meads;
Confounds thy fame, as the whirlwinds shake fair buds;
And in no sense is meet or amiable......
Thy husband is thy lord, thy life thy keeper,
Thy head, thy sovereign; one that cares for thee
And for thy maintenance; commits his body
To painful labor both by sea and land,
To watch the night in storms, the day in cold,
Whilst thou liest warm at home, secure and safe;
And craves no other tribute at thy hands
But love, fair looks, and true obedience,-
Too little payment for so great a debt!

Such a duty as the subject owes the prince,
Even such a women oweth to her husband;
And when she is forward, peevish, sullen, sour
And not obedient to his honest will,
What is she but a foul contending rebel,
And graceless traitor to her loving lord?-
I am asham'd that women are so simple
To offer war where they should sue for peace,
Or seek for rule, supremacy, and sway,
When they are bound to serve, love and obey.

Why are our bodies soft and weak, and smooth,
Unapt to toil and trouble in the world,
But that our soft conditions and our hearts
Should well agree with our external parts?
Come, come you forward and unable worms!
My mind hath been as big as one of yours,
My heart as great, my reason; haply, more,
To bandy word for word and frown for frown:
But now I see our lances are but straws;
Our strenght as weak, our weakness past compare,-
That seeming to be most, which we indeed least are,
Then vail your stomachs, for it is no boot
And place your hands below your husband’s foot;
In token of which duty, if he please,
My hand is ready, may it do him ease.

Needless to say, Katarina won Petruchio a small fortune by coming when he called, and they leave thier friends and relatives to be in awe as to how she was so wondrously tamed as to make even her 'perfect' sister seem like a shrew.

I found it interesting and revealing as to the great distance we women have strayed in our train of thought, and what men back then expected of thier wives.

My song-

Gi higugma
Ko Ikaw, O Dios,
Ug simbahon
Ko Ikaw, O Dios.

Pagkalipay
Sa Imong dungog,
Nagadayeg ko
Kanimo, O Dios.

I have been singing this over and over lately.
It has become my song.....

Cancelled/Worthy

Prison had long been my home,
And the chains that I wore had grown so normal.
I was resigned to my lot
And I almost forgot,
There was freedom somewhere.

Or that someone could care
If I lived or I died,
Or could hear how I cried!


All my debts- Cancelled
Satan’s threats- Cancelled
Sin’s effects- Cancelled
For the ransome was paid.
Now I stand- Worthy
Through the lamb- Worthy
As I am- Worthy
I am free praise His name.


Prison was nothing to Him,
And the bars could not keep Him from loving.
Right through the darkness and pain
He had broken the chains,
That had held me so long

And He traded a song
For the tears and the sighs,
Broken dreams and goodbyes!!


All my debts- Cancelled
Satan’s threats- Cancelled
Sin’s effects- Cancelled
For the ransome was paid.
Now I stand- Worthy
Through the lamb- Worthy
As I am- Worthy
I am free praise His holy name.
Praise His name!
Praise His name!

Bill Gaither- A Praise Gathering

2007

I didn't stay up all night.

I didn't have sugba.....or go out to the beach to see the sun rise.

No actions, and no singing all night with best of friends.


BUT


I did stay up most of the night.

I watched two movies, and cried my heart out to a 14 year old

I was with some friends.


SO


May 2007 be full of opportunities to glorify God

And may He come quickly!!!

Interesting Thought

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."-- President John Adams, Oct. 11, 1798

Stuff

Its funny how attached to stuff you are. Stuff makes memories, and stuff keeps them. Stuff brings flashbacks of good old times, and stuff makes them seem farther away. Stuff is dear, and stuff is hateful.....I can't imagine parting with it, yet I've lived for so long wothout it!

Today.....actually tonight we got all our stuff completely released from the hassle of customs and regulations.

These are interesting photos from tonight's unpacking-

I got my little Sparky Puppy from when I was 6. It used to cry when you patted it's head, but the batteries messed up, and the connection is all broken.















I also got all my seminar and Bible Study papers, and all the books I borrowed from Daddy's office. This one I kept, and read over and over again. This is also one of the verses that haunts me when I find myself getting happy being stagnant.




Then there are the silly stuff like an ornamental plate from India, and















curtains from my older sister's room-


And this is what happens when you run down the steps, and fall against a shoe-rack!

We also have guests.....

Existentialism 2

One result I noted in my last article mentioned "Neo-Marxism", or "the new gospel".

I recently found a good example. I was reading a children's story book to my little sister called "Jesus is born" by my Bible stories. It gives a rather comprehensive, 3rd grade explanation of the birth of our savior, and of the events during and following (Herod's decree, the wise men, the flight to Egypt).

It also includes other segments of Jesus' life such as the trip to Jerusalem when He was 12, His baptism by John, the calling of the disciples, the wedding at Cana, and the "Sermon on the Mount". At the Cana wedding there is no mention of Jesus' rebuke to Mary for "ordering Him around" In the picture she stands in the background looking on proudly as the servant pours water into a jug with surprise.

In the "sermon on the Mount" portion, Jesus is told to have been "heal(ing) the sick and look(ing) after people who were poor and needy". For the actual sermon part the book tells children "(Jesus) wanted to tell (the people) about God's kingdom. 'The sick, the poor and the hungry will be happy in heaven,' He told them. 'But those who only care about getting rich on earth will never go to heaven.'
Jesus told the people not to be selfish and to care for eachother. To look after the sick and the poor. To share what they had with others. The people listened to Jesus. They went away nd tole even more people about the things that Jesus taught them."

I think this is a prime example of how deception sneaks into one's home. I have seen that book around, and maybe I even heard my little sister read it to herself without conciously seeing how it twisted the salvation gospel into a condemnation of "the rich" or prosperous.

It is sad...

Missed stanza

At the topmost branch
Sit the best apple stock
The brilliance of A. A. Milne
A blood encrusted sock

MK Get-together

*Yawn* Oh my goodness-
Is it 4:00 already?
Everything is fuzzy,
My head just feels so heavy…

Laughing till you drop
Oh! Will the jokes never stop!
Blondes, men and mermaids…
How do you kill a mop?

Popcorn-in-the-cup duels
Ice down your back-
Deep turqoise seas-
What more do we lack?

Getting lost in the city
Singing your heart out
Dancing to numa in the backseat
The spare and the stout.

A foot laceration
Pictured Daza or Housa?
A moment of silence
An ode for dear Anna

A wallet a charger,
What have I lost now?
Pictures galore-
Phil Keggy takes a bow.

Adorable little admirers
Brownies, motors, and more!
Splitting wood, raking leaves-
Ah, what fun galore!!!

Do you like my music?
Can you play hearts?
Requirements for marriage?
Can you sing in parts?

Shall we pray for meals?
A ferocious pillow fight-
Firstborn or later kid?
Talking, debating away the night

The Westminster Confession-
Christmas or no?
Skipping away to see The Wizard-
Is it cold enough to snow?

Pitpit or amaccan?
Pronunciation is the key!!
Peanut butter specials
Are great, if you ask me.

Mucking out horse stalls
Opening doors for girls-
Casting Crowns, or Jars of Clay?
Liquid ‘brown’ eyes and smooth curls.

Walking, walking around the block
Seeing Christmas lights and more-
Falling, tripping, pinchy skates,
Ice skating has made me so sore!!!!

Seeing people for the first time
Me didn’t play Mafia, but even so
I loved my MK gathering-
I just wanted you to know.

Notes:
(a)I tried to get all my favorite mamories in, and get everyone laughing and have a special line or two for each person. If you have something else I forgot comment and I'll work in more stanzas.
(b) I finally got in Penut Butter...I was having such trouble, until I fell asleep. I woke up at 7 AM and a vwhole verse came to me. I memorised it, and fell back to sleep.
(c) this is not entirely my own poem....my *ehem* older sister had very much to do with the current layout, at least 4 extra stanzas, and some revision of words.
(d) anything else I forgot to mention----
(e) comment, comment, comment!! (I want to know what you guys think!)

Goodbye

I’ve been dreaming dreams of a heavenly place
‘Cause this world is not my home.
So I’m travlin’ light on my journey here
Makin’ plans for the day I go.

So if this is the last time,
We have down here together
I promise you,
I’ll see you in forever!!


Chorus:
Godspeed, bon voiyage,
Until we meet again.
Farewell, go with God,
I’ll see you soon, my friend
If I go before you do, or
You’re the first to fly…
Farewell, adios, for now-
Goodbye!


There may be some tears when we’ve said "so long"
But our parting will be sweet!
‘Cause my heart is sure that the time will come
I will meet you on Golden Street.

So let’s make some memories
To tresure for a lifetime
And love eachother like
It’s the last time!

The words of this song came to me last night. I think it is really a good song because it captures so well the MK thing with saying goodbye. It is also really sad, and in the end they add more languages.

A night with EMTs

My eldest sister is studying to be an EMT, and she took me with her tonight to be the practice patient, and to show me off to her classmates.(I am entirely kidding about that last point)

We came in and sat down, and everyone made jokes, cursed, and talked about a hundred different things.

When class officially started, I was taken into the testing room, and brifed about what I would endure, and what I would be/say.

Every person did things differently, and every person forgot different things. Some grabbed your hand, some sqeezed your pulse, a couple failed and they almost all caught the oxygen mask on my glasses.. >(
I saw everyone else doing 'EMT stuff' and have now become a qualified EMT examiner (not). I was everywhere from 37 to 20 with names like Melissa and Jane (which I often forgot). I had a bee-sting, and they were sopposed to ask me about what was my problem, if I hurt, where, what I last ate (anything from ice cream & soda to roast beef), if the oxygen helped, what meds I was taking, past med. history, and etc.

Being shot with an epi-pen hurts, and so does double blood-pressure taking when it is to low on your arm. Multiple surveys of my chracter were undertaken.(I 'clam up' when other people come around....I'm more talkative that my sis....I'm a good actress, and a very novice (read: unhelpful) emergency patient) And some other things like taking blurry group shots, and making everyone sit as far away from me as possible...(was that really me, or was it my Guinea Pig status?).

In all...it was interesting....and tireing.....and memorable.....and I think I'd be interesting to be an EMT.......

Homeless Outreach:

Saturday, December 2, 2006 I went along with a friend, her brother, and a handful of others from her church to distribute donated food, clothes, and blankets and compaasion to the homeless of inner Philly. My dad took me to the church around 2:40 P.M. and he then talked with the leader until 3:10….making us late.

We piled into two cars and got to our destination around 6:30 in time for some rush-hour jams. We ate at the New Delhi restaurant which is an Indian Buffet. I found that I don’t like buttered rice at all, though I suffered through it for some deliciously spicy, watery red stuff that REALLY needed some rice.(the only food I forgot the name of) I liked the Lamb and spinach that they had, and the lentils. I avoided the American’s defaults of a salad bar, small battered & fried chicken legs, and round, flat bread. Dessert was encluded in the meal, so I tried Indian Rice Pudding instead of trying cheesecake, vanilla ice cream, or coffe. (yuck!)

Joetta (the lady we were going to work with who had run a shelter for some years) shared her testimony, and talked about the people we were going to see/minister to. We walked out into the 40 degree city, and had a time of group prayer before getting into the vans and splitting into teams. I was on the socialization/prayer team. We wandered around looking for someone Joetta knew, and saw people making a movie under one of Philly’s neumerous bridges. We finally found the people against the back of a huge building behind a ‘park’ of sorts that bordered a street with four rows of flags.(from all nations...I blew kisses to the RP) We gave out blankets and coats to people who were huddled under layers and layers of comforters shivering. It was a hard contrast. One man was amazed as we gave him a coat with a silk lining, and a ‘brand new’ bright blue parka. He was so shocked, that he kept on saying "Oh, that’s-that’s so nice…that is just beautiful."

He had dislocated his shoulder recently, and couldn’t do as much as he used to do. It was also very painful since this was the third time he had hurt it. It never really healed because he took of the sling sooner than should be because he needed his other hand. We also gave him water, socks, jeans, some warm gloves, and hats. He reminiced growing up in TX with Mr. James.

We moved on, after searching for another aquaintence of Ms. Joetta’s and came to a lovely, pillared stone building with scrolls, and porches, and big columns. In the park across the street, the benches were filled with shivering people. Mr. James (my group leader), his wife, son, and I got to know Jerry who didn’t want to come out of her pile of blankets because of the cold. She was a ‘mother-hen’ type of person who introduced us to all the others around (her adopted family). We gave her a bright pair of red gloves (her favorite color), and she popped out from her blankets, and put them on just to feel them. They had Black stripes, and she exclaimed over & over about how well they would match her black parka. She showed me how she arranged her blankets to get warm on the bench, and where the toe-warmers went. We gave her two other pairs of knit gloves, a black hat, and two things of lotion.(one for them, one for them to give away and bless someone else) Mr. James and his wife had been talking to her adopted brother in the meantime, who knew a lot about things. He talked about a volcano in Yellowstone Park called Caldera that would soon errupt due to global warming, and the pollution of car-emmisions. "Then," he said, "we are going to have a new world order" b/c this one volcano would wipe out all of America, most of Canada, Mexico and Central America with pyroclastic flow and ash fallout.(I studied volcanos in a unit study with my two older siblings, and mom when I was younger. The conclusion of our learning was a vacation and climb of the volcano Hibok-hibok which had errupted earlier in the 1930’s.) He said that it was the world’s largest volcano. I said it was interesting that I had NEVER heard about it…even with my unit study experience.

Mr. James’ daughter wanted a picture, so Jerry and her gang primped, and styled (seriously!! It was funny to see them arranging their hats and smoothing their coats) and smiled pretty. It was them around 9:30, and getting even colder. I had on a turtleneck sweater, and a jacket (I’ve lost two pairs of gloves so far this winter, so I didn’t have any), and I was COLD. Our team leader had to drag us away (really, he told us 3 times, and we dwadled until he made us go), and we were back on the good old turn-pike by 10.


My friend rode in the other car, so her brother and I talked half-way back.(Or rather, I thought of things to ask him, and he murmered two-sentence answers. *sigh*-melencholies) We stopped for gas and coffe at Starbucks half-way there, and I stayed in the warm car. The rest of the way, the teens in the back seat calmed down, and a general sleepiness fell on everyone. We got to ‘Micsbug’ around midnight, and got out of the car only to rush back in. The car had to go home, so we got out and within a minute we were physically shivering, and our teeth were chattering so badly that we couldn’t hardly talk. I don’t know how cold it was but it was aweful!! We took refuge in my friend’s car until my dad came to pick me up. I sat by the wood-stove until I had thawed out only to return to my 45 degree bedroom to huddle under blankets with a thankful prayer the the wind coming under my closed and locked window was NOT as cold as outside and a gratefulness that I wasn’t outside exposed to it.

I liked my time out, and the gratefulness that lined Jerry’s face as she hugged ‘everyone’ goodbye was bright. As our team leader put it….we groups of people are known ‘the ones who come to listen’ to them. It was understandable, since I as an MK understand no one caring enough to listen. How much more so when you are veiwed as less than human because you don’t have a roof and four walls with a door to call your own…..

All the labors of my hands

All the labors of my hands
Could not meet thy laws demands!
Could my tears forever flow,
Could my zeal my respite know...

All for sin could not atone.
Thou must save, and thou alone.

While I draw this fleeting breath
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I soar to worlds unkown
See thee on thy judgement throne-

Rock of ages cleft for me-
Let me hide myself,
Let me hide myself-
Let me hide myself in thee.

(as sung by GLAD)

So Send I You

So send I you to labor unrewarded,
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown,
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing,
So send I you to toil for me alone.

So send I you - to loneliness and longing,
With heart a-hungering for the loved and known;
Forsaking home and kindred, friend and dear one,
So send I you - to know my love alone.

So send I you - to leave your life’s ambitions,
To die to dear desire, self-will resign,
To labor long and love where men revile you,
So send I you - to lose your life in mine.

And in a revision later on in her life:

So send I you-by grace made strong to triumph
O'er hosts of hell, o'er darkness, death, and sin,
My name to bear, and in that name to conquer-
So send I you, my victory to win.

So send I you-to take to souls in bondage
The word or truth that sets the captive free,
To break the bonds of sin, to lost death's fetters-
So send I you, to bring the lost to me.

So send I you-my strength to know in weakness,
My joy in grief, my perfect peace in pain,
To prove My power, My grace, My promised presence-
So send I you, eternal fruit to gain.

So send I you-to bear My cross with patience,
And then one day with joy to lay it down,
To hear My voice, "well done, My faithful servant-
Come, share My throne, My kingdom, and My crown!"
"As the Father hath sent Me, so send I you."

So Send I You(Ye)- Margaret Clarkson

There are some other verses that I am memorizing as well, but I don't have time. >(

My dog

Or..shall we say what I want for a future dog. It is a Spitz breed animal that the Japanese have cultivated, and expanded. My puppy.... the Akita-Inu

"Apres nous...."

We had un deluge the 16th. It was raining rather hard all morning, and despite being on the highest point in all this precinct (across from us is the water tower), we got a good-sized wet.

We elder ones were recruited to soak towels, wring them out in the sink, bathtub, and soak them again. The hallway to our room reeks of mold. I left a candle on in my room all night, and the hallway still makes it stink (the girls room escaped the water). I was on a stool almost the whole morning yesterday with a wet-vac sucking water from the carpet, and the living room. I also tiptoe and hop in the hallway holding my breath, trying to get out quickly and do it dry.

All things considered...it has been a great week. (changed quotation from Roughing It)

Nov. 14-Old song on the radio

"We have our hopes, and we have our dreams,
But we cannot go where you will not lead. "

Don Moen- May Your Precense Go With Us, from the CD Let Your Glory Fall

November 10 & 11- Ladies Conference

Or, Deep thoughts during the expensive sleepover

That is about all it was. An expensive sleepover with 2,500 giddy, shallow, peer-defined girls.

I actually learned a couple things!! :0

Femmininity-
Having seen mostly 'ladys' for most of my sojourn here (well, the people my family is friends with, socialises with) (in quotation depending on how one defines the word) I was rather surprised by what I discovered was mainstream, and suddenly I realised that all these modesty/femmininity books were not "all these". In 2,500 people I counted about two score that wore skirts (though there were more on the second day), and about 30 who had hair even longer than shoulder length. I many times (in the building less that outside of it) had to look more than twice to determine the exact gender (there were a passel of guys doing the techi stuff and in the group singing).
I realised how MUCH I stuck out, and how little they probbably had of femminine influence growing up, and what 'normal' women's presuppasitions were.
It was saddening, and it made me feel better the responsibility of women to act like women and get the message out that femmininity is not next to becoming a third-world country again.

On a radio program the other day, I heard a guy say about feminists-" To try to be something, to hold something above another thing is to say that one is better than the other. For women to try to be like man, get treated like men, get the jobs of men...they are saying that being a man is better." It was just too true....to them there is no glory in long hair. No pride in being what God created them to be- Women.

Also, since they had no pride in being what they were, they had no pride in what men were. A pair of ladies who do shows, acting, and think up 'creative' ideas were talking about the types of women. The first type left casseroles with dates of when to eat them, and what temp. to heat the oven. The second type left the pizza cupons out. The third said 'They can fend for themselves!!' Then, they talked about packages to leave for thier husbands and my stomach curdled....I whispered to my mom "Did they put a bottle in too?" Listening to them one would believe that men were spinless little imps that crawled on the floor wimpering praying that their wonderful marvelous angelic wives would come home and take care of them.

Strangely, I believe thier husbands just might be. Though, except for the groveling on the floor part...they would sit in front of the latest football game. Thier children are probbably already fending for themselves in the eat-or-everyone-else-will-eat-you school/world/peer scene.

Pity and frustration welled up in me....along with a good bit of disgust. I felt like taking the whole kit and caboodle of them to a REAL ghetto in India where people are refused education, food, and water merely for thier social class, merely because they were living. They sit on the streets and pick trash for pennies (literally) (see late GFA updates). Let these women off to face REAL life, bring thier children to gang-infested cities where it is not merely the way one looks or dresses, but how one handles one's gun, and future survival is not in jepordy of one's parents taking away $10 from thier $100 allowance, but weather the opposite gang should catch you off guard and......and make your tomorrow the paralitic ward.

I guess this is a campain against selfishness.....pure selfishness about how one looks, weather one's tan is expensively done or cheap, weather one's kitchen counter is granite and weather one's children have ipods.

*sigh*....come quickly, Lord Jesus, come quickly!!

November 4- Book Review

This could also be called a book rave, because that is what I'm doing. C.S. Lewis was an amazing person. Today, at the craft fair that I was a vendor at I found a book of his short stories and fragments of stories he never finished.
The book was a posthumous compilation on convicting, scary, and deep ideas. It is called The Dark Tower & Other Stories.

The Dark Tower- a ghastly story!! (my word was 'freaky' but dearest older sister said I needed a new adjective) The idea of time travel and "other worlds" continued from the Space series, with Ransome as one of the 5 main characters. The idea of other life and "seeing" the future, or past makes it intriguing.
What struck me was how he was able to incorporate humor with horror and break into mental prejudices. One line went somewhat like this: "No matter what you say man is rushing into the future at the rate of 60 minutes an hour", and Macphee's sarcasm with "I shall drop by ----(some college) and tell them that Cambridge has made the amazing discovery that a man in 1938 cannot get to 1939 in less that a year..." Then, of course, there was the dry comment about the particles in Lewis' nose that made me giggle

The Man Born Blind-this one is sad. It has a confusing ending, and describing it doesn't work. It is about a search for light, a hunger for one's eyes to behold what no one can explain. A man born blind who regains his sight....and how he thinks.

The Shoddy Lands- Grabe!! This one is an enquirey into the mind, and how one thinks, (or how a girl thinks), about the world, and oneself. How perception, and one's imagination look to another.

"....or if I were the one investigated!!"

The other stories were confusing, and (should I warn tender readers) rather not what is pure, lovely and of good repute- not to say that the above were very much that.

C. S. Lewis was an amazing person...I whish I had had the honor of knowing him.

November 3- The TCK film that wasn't

Tonight we watched a TCK film that wasn't. It was called Mighty Joe Young. It was about how a 15ft. gorilla is misunderstood, and provoked into seeming like a second Godzilla. His only friend was the girl he grew up with in the jungles. Poachers killed both their mothers when they were young.
I watched the last 30 min. in tears. The sweet African song that Jill's mother sang to her surfaced haunting memories.

The movie wasn't about her being a TCK. It was a documentary about a TCK, but it wasn't.

October 29- Nicole Isabelle?

Tonight I found out that our family was once again in the 'irresponsible' stage of family life.

I am proud to say that the third ninth-Patterson-to-be is growing well. I don't really wanted another sib....I really would like to be out and about and changing the world like some other people I know. I know very well that this little growing one is a blessing from God....but sometimes it fells so much like drudgery.

I have spent 6 years watching 5 children, (two especially, I haven't been apart from for more than about a week, or one for about a month) and frankly I'm not very exited about what first appears to be another hampering to "my priorities".

What are my priorities? What is GOD'S plan for my life, on the other hand!

Nicole Isabelle might be my third blessing in total disguise!!!

Then again.... I want a Walter!! ;)

(after my mom's uncle....he is my favorite of all my mom's....colorful....extended family. We do not know the gender of the baby, and have always waited until thier birth to be surprised.)

October 17- A Day with Descartes

A day with Descartes:
A day well spent.

I am sure that all of you have heard of the famous words of his. But do you know how they were meant? I have heard his ‘catchphrase’ many a time used in defense of some humanist raving or another, but I never checked their source.

“I think, therefore I am”

Do you know how he went on from there? He began to wonder

‘about the many other things outside of him’, and came to the conclusion that “To derive (perfection) from nothingness was manifestly impossible, and it is no less repugnant to good sense to assume that what is more perfect comes from and depends upon the less perfect than it is to assume that something comes from nothing.”

He continues,

“…it followed of necessity that there was someone else more perfect upon whom I depended and from whom I had acquired all that I possessed. For had I been all alone and independent of anything else, so that I had bestowed upon myself all that limited quantity of value which I shared with the perfect Being, I would have been able to get from myself, in the same way all the surplus which I recognizes lacking in me, and so would have been myself infinite, eternal, immutable, omniscient, omnipotent, and, in sum I would possess all the perfections that I could discover in God.” He also notes “…I saw that doubt, inconsistency, sorrow and similar things could not be part of God’s nature since I was happy to be without them myself.” “….I considered that composition is an evidence of dependency and that dependency is manifestly a defect. From this I judged that it could not be a perfection in God to be composed of these two natures, and that consequently He was not so composed. But if there were in the world bodies, or even intelligences or other natures that were not wholly perfect, their being must depend on God’s power in such a way that they could not subsist without Him for a single moment.”

He decided to consider mathematics through his new method of thinking and decided

“…there was nothing in that to assure me that there was a single triangle in the world. But when I turned back to my idea of a perfect Being, on the other hand, I discovered that existence was included in the idea in the same way that the idea of a triangle contains the equality of it’s angles to two right angles, or that the idea of a sphere includes the equidistance of all it’s parts from it’s center. Perhaps, in fact, the idea of a perfect Being is even more evident. Consequently, it is at least certain that God, who is this perfect Being, exists, as any theorem of geometry could possibly be.”

He then turns to those who rely only on the material things, and dis-soppose anything spiritual, and asks them about dreams.
In dreams you can hear, see, feel, and even smell, yet they aren’t real. He concludes saying

“…I do not believe they can find any reason good enough to remove this doubt (of weather real life is just a dream too) unless they presuppose the existence of God. The very principle I took as a rule to start with….is know to be true only because God exists and because He is a perfect Being, and because everything in us comes from Him.”

I was rather surprised by this ‘progenitor of humanism’ with his philosophy “I think, therefore I am” proclaiming man as the supreme over everything because he has reason.
Or was he saying that?

No...he wasn't.
He was saying that it was not enough to reason. He was trying to tell us of the One who gave us reason. Of a Creator....of a God...in fact.....of THE God.

I spent a day with him, and I consider it a day well spent.