Call no man father

Interesting article disputing Protestant misgivings over the title Father.

not a victim

I have a lot running through my head after our catechism this morning.

We looked at our icon of the Nativity of Christ closely.

Notice the wrappings of the Christ child. These are grave wrappings. Notice where He is laid, not in a light-illumined, hay filled manger, but upon the tomb. Christ was born to die. He was not born to live, as we are, but to die.

Our priest spoke about how Western Christianity views Christ as a victim, but He was not a victim. He was in control of his crucifixion and of His sacrifice. As we say in the Liturgy, He is both the High Priest and the sacrifice. But what does this mean? We discussed this today, and particularly what is on my mind is a relatively new concept. It's not exactly entirely new to me, but I guess I should say unexplored. Everything I have received in Protestant churches has been scratching the surface. What I receive in Orthodox teaching is full of depth and light. Father asked us what redemption is to us. We gave such answers as we knew, or explained what we had previously been taught.

Here is the jist of it, as eloquently as I can manage:

Christ died to trample death by death, as we sing. This is the thing we should focus on. It is not that Christ came to wash us clean from our sins, or to defeat evil, or to make God like us again. What was redeemed was death itself. Christ came into the world to die and in the death of His Divine Humanity, humanity was sanctified and will be resurrected. Christ did not die to pay a debt we sinners owed to God, or a debt owed to the evil one. He died so that death would not be our end, and that eternity would be possible for the souls which He created. We had brought death upon ourselves, and death became nothing through His death and resurrection.

Christ didn't die for me. He didn't die for you. He died to trample down death. His Passion was voluntary, He was in control of the Resurrection, and as a result, upon those in the tombs He bestowed, and is bestowing, life.

Help rebuild St. Nicholas Church!

The above photo is St. Nicholas Church moments before it was destroyed.

Read about St. Nicholas church here. This church must be rebuilt! Support it in whatever way you can, even if it's just spreading the word.

This isn't about the building of a mosque, which has been huge in media. This is about a church which should have already been rebuilt, before any new worship building is constructed. St. Nicholas's history of 91 years at the site deserves precedence.

Chickens

I am going to get chickens, I think. Under 4. Just enough to provide us with eggs, but not too stinky or noisy because of our neighborhood. Surely, if our neighbors put up with goats they will put up with chickens.

First, I have to build a chicken tractor. I won't be buying one, since they are absurdly expensive for such a simple structure. I am a wee bit handy. My dad is a woodworker, and I helped him out all the time in his shop as a kid. If I run into a really confusing problem I can call him and I know he'll have a simple answer.

I have looked extensively at plans for a coop. The tractor, which is moveable seems extremely advantageous for the small scale chicken owner. I don't want to do wheels, as the plans I have seen with wheels are more complicated than I have the tools/time for. Instead, I want to build a tractor with lifting handles. If I get lightweight wood the weight should be manageable, and if it's a little heavy (which as small as I'm thinking it should not be) my son or husband can help me move it. I read the tractor should be moved every two or three days, and can be left up to a week if you're ok with the chickens scratching to bare ground, like in a garden. They're like natural tillers! Not to mention fertilizers. They also eat unwanted pests like grubs and snails and the like.

Anyway, I am inclined to try to build a triangular tractor, with a run in the middle and a nesting box and roost on one side, with hinged access for collecting eggs. The other side

(think ---nesting box>/\--run--/\<---feeder cover)

will have the water and feeder inside in order to keep them dry. The feeder side will need hinged access as well, and I have seen a hinged door on the run for access to the chickens as well which I think is a good idea. I had hens growing up and they are stubborn, so if we need to catch one the access door would be helpful.

If all goes as planned, we should have chickens within a few months. This plan might be aborted till spring if something else comes up or I need to focus on school...we'll see. I have a friend who has chickens and is helping me figure out what type of chicken does best here in the south.

My husband is a police officer. I saw this short video recently. I've seen it before. What I didn't know is that it's narrated by Paul Harvey, talk radio legend, whose father was a police officer that was killed when he was only a small boy after four men tried to rob him off duty.

Policemen