Vaughnshire Farm

Kevin Swanson has a great post from July 22nd about the abolition of the family, the effectiveness of the Church, and the tyranny of the state.  Here is the intro and a link to the Blog, you’ll have to scroll to the date as there is not a direct link.  [Begin Quote]

There are three spheres of government created by God, each endowed with delegated powers - the family, the church, and the state.  Maximum liberty is enjoyed by the people when God’s jurisdictional limits of power are maintained by all three spheres, and one does not tyrannize the others.  Upon the marginalization of the church, the family has become the greatest threat to the total empowerment of the state in the modern age.

That is, of course, why Rousseau found it important to deposit his five children on the steps of an orphanage upon their respective dates of birth in the mid-1700s, and espouse state-funded, state-directed education for children in his book “Emile.”  He committed himself to the task of destroying the parent-child relationship, and replacing it with a state-based education program.  His goal for the paideia of a child: “To remove the child as soon as possible from parents and adult relatives.”

Karl Marx in his famous Communist Manifesto, writes:  “But, you say, we destroy the most hallowed of relations, when we replace home education by social. And your education! Is not that also social, and determined by the social conditions under which you educate, by the intervention direct or indirect, of society, by means of schools, etc.?”
http://www.kevinswanson.com/Blog/Index.html

Dino Land Raided by IRS Gestapo 

So can the IRS seize your dinosaur bones if you don’t pay other people’s taxes?  OK so maybe the IRS wasn’t really on an excavation for dino bones, but apparently they were digging for dirt on Dr. Dino.  According to this article IRS agents raided Kent Hovind’s home in 2002 searching for documents.  Now after three previous grand juries failed to indict him, the IRS has their stolen information and is at it again.

In fact now he has been indicted on 58 counts.  Why the change, what happened?  For starters they broke into his home and stole his personal records.  There are many things wrong with this scenario and this case as a whole.  But, what happened to not being forced to testify against yourself.  Isn’t stealing your personal records and using them against you the same thing?

What about a persons right to own his property and use it to bring glory to God?  If I want to setup a post abortion monument on my property as a testimony to Gods grace and forgiveness for those that participate in this heinous crime, shouldn’t I be able to? 

What if there is another Christian with the same beliefs that designs and creates monuments and he wants to be part of what I’m doing on my property?  Now suppose I have more money than he does, because I’m a nationally known speaker and I want to bless this man for his work in creating the monument.  Do I have the responsibility to withhold; federal income, Social Security and Medicare taxes?  That’s ridiculous!  He is a co-laborer for the cause of Christ, not an employee.

That is essentially what has happened in this case in Pensacola Florida.  Kent Hovind is an outspoken opponent of evolution who has dedicated his life to defending the Biblical account of creation.  He has other people who share the same conviction because of a religious belief and who help him in this mission they share.  Why should Kent be forced to withhold taxes from fellow missionaries? 

Here are the two key points in this story.  Kent is a minister of God who along with his family shown below have given everything they have to the cause they believe passionately about.  Secondly, the out of control communistic IRS (see Freedom to Fascism), received information illegally and are using it to persecute the man who has operated this ministry for 17 years.

“I’ve taken a vow of poverty, which any minister can do,” Hovind says. “And everything I have here, everything I’ve ever earned in my life, has gone straight into God’s work. So we’re not breaking any laws. We haven’t done anything wrong.”

Two years ago IRS agents raided Hovind’s home and Dinosaur Adventure Land to confiscate records. In the current situation, Hovind accuses federal agents of “grand jury shopping,” noting three previous grand juries failed to indict him. The case goes to trial September 5.

Read more here: http://headlines.agapepress.org/archive/7/212006b.asp and pray for an end to the injustice in this land and that Kent and his family will give a powerful witness for Christ to those who would persecute them.

I am hooked!

I have been trying out the grocery game trial period and I am loving it. I saved over $80 last week by using coupons and store sales. My savings equaled more than I spent and I was able to stockpile a few bottles of laundry soap and some boxes of toothpaste as well.

If you have several children, I have a few coupon tips that I have found to be helpful.

1. If you have a large family or you are wanting to build a major stockpile, you need multiple coupon sources. I know of one mom who bought 30 jars of applesauce last week for .50 cents each. Now while the majority of the population would not know what to do with 30 jars of applesauce, I know of 7 children that know exactly what to do with applesauce.

2. Ask neighbors and friends for coupons out of the Sunday paper. I am getting coupon inserts in my mailbox from neighbors.

3. Check out your local newspaper recycling bin for coupons. You can call the paper and ask them where the closest newspaper recycling center is. We hit a jackpot and found lots of coupon inserts. My daughter responded shocked, “MOM, Who would throw away all these tickets!” (She meant coupons!) Today, she asked me when we were going back to the newspaper recycling bin to get more “Cheap-pons”! (No, not cheap-pons…it’s coupons!)

Having multiple coupons allows you to build your stockpile. With one paper, I would not have been able to get 6 boxes of toothpaste or the deals on cereal and laundry soap that I was able to get this last week.

A couple other examples of my savings have been:

I was able to save a great deal on Cheerios. I bought $11.96 worth of cereal for $3.96. Also, today I bought $10.98 worth of laundry soap for $4.98.

The downside:

I have been consumed with grocery budget management this week. If you aren’t into researching and reading about the grocery game system, you would still be able to make an impact with coupons. However, the major impact comes when you can strategically plan purchases around store sales and coupons to synergistically work together to give you a major grocery spending overhaul. While it is true that I would have not bought 6 boxes of toothpaste, extra laundry soap or extra cereal this week normally, the system of strategic grocery shopping by taking advantage of store sales and multiple coupons pays off in the long run.

I have found a boat load of information off the grocery coupon message boards.

Strategic money saving methods of grocery shopping do take some time and planning, but oh, how rewarding it is!

“She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar.” “She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet.” “She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness.”

Proverbs 31:14,21,27

Shouts of joy and jubilation could be heard ’round the county. Yes, we are proud to announce we have pumpkin sprouts and some very happy children.

What a joy to awake this morning and find a link in my inbox to this article entitled “Will America choose to acknowledge God?” by Roy Moore.  One of the most exciting things about this article is it is the first in what will be weekly installments on Worldnetdaily.com. 

Roy Moore has proved time and again that he understands the basics of the governments of God and the jurisdictions and limitations of each.  He has demonstrated that he is willing to lay everything on the line to maintain the distinction between those governments.  As such Josiah Project enthusiastically recommends Roy Moore’s new weekly column entitled Our Moral Foundation.

“We are deeply honored to welcome Judge Moore to WorldNetDaily,” said WND Editor Joseph Farah. “He has shown the nation he is a rarity in public service – a man of principle who’s not afraid to acknowledge God and defend the Constitution while refusing to buckle under the pressure of politically correct elitists.”

In today’s column Moore, lays a great foundation for what is sure to be a powerful weekly contribution to regaining the freedoms we have lost in America.

“If we understand that He[God] is the sovereign source of our law, then we will recognize that there are fixed standards of right and wrong for which people must be held to account. If we understand that He is the sovereign source of our liberty, then we will hold tightly to that gift and fight for it regardless of who tries to take it away – whether it be a foreign enemy or our own government. If we understand that He is the sovereign source of our government, then we will demand that our government perform only its constitutionally sanctioned responsibilities; anything less is dereliction of duty and anything more is tyranny.”

Read the complete article here.

Finally a little touch of sanity in Abraham’s outrageous saga.  World Net Daily reported today that Accomack County Circuit Court Judge Glen A. Taylor set aside the earlier ruling of the County Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court that required Abraham to report to the hospital and “consent to whatever treatment the hospital recommends”.  It also removed the joint custody setup in that court between Abraham’s parents and the department of social services.

This is not the end of the case.  There is still a court date set for August 16th to continue the legal battle, which after today seems headed in a better direction.  And of course, when he is finished fighting with the “human services” folks he still has to fight with the cancer.  But from the quote below it appears that God made Abraham a fighter.

“I’m not going to receive chemotherapy no matter what, this is my body, the body that God gave to me, and in the Bible it says for me to take care of this body. It’s my temple. … If you are not able to do with your body what you want to, then you have no rights whatsoever.”  - Abraham Cherrix (Hannity & Colmes show July 24th)

Let’s continue to pray for the Cherrix family.  While they have won a good moral victory today, there is still a long road ahead of them.

So, here’s the question.  Who gets to make medical decisions for your children: you, your doctor, or the state?  This would seem like a simply one, right?  After all who gave birth to the child?  Or even before that, who was involved in the conception of the child?  The Bible says, God formed us in the womb.  That is, he takes the blessed covenant between two people, and uses that relationship to create children who bare his image.  I’m not seeing any jurisdiction for the state here.

So why is the Accomack County Department of Social Services in Virgina threatening to remove Abraham Cherrix from his family?  Why has a judge stepped in and ordered Abraham to under go more damaging medical tests and awarded joint custody of the 16 year old to the department of social services?  I will not rehash all the details of the story here, but will include some links below where the rest of the story has been well covered. 

Before I looker deeper at the ramifications of this action by Virginia and the medical establishment, let me say this.  Abraham is a brother in Christ who has cancer and needs our prayers.  We should be praying for Abraham’s healing and full recovery.  That is what Christians do.    Next let me encourage donations to his medical fund as well.  I’ll refrain from commenting on the tragedy of needing a medical fund and a legal fund at the same time, other than to mention that he does.

This is a tragedy of the highest order and an egregious affront to the God who created both the family and the state and defined the jurisdiction of each.  Josiah Project exists for this very reason.  We as a nation do not think Biblically.  We have rejected the law of God and by proxy the jurisdictions that go with that law.  Therefore, we are loosing the liberty the law protects. 

Where in the Bible is there any room, barring a crime, for the state to come into the family and make decisions about their future?  The only place a decision for a child is to be made is within the family.  The puritans and the reformers understood the value of the law of God.  They understood, that it applied to every area of life and that God gave it to us for our protection.  Within each law, is an established jurisdiction for that law.  That is to say, who can enforce the law.  One of the first requirements for the state to even consider getting involved in a family matter is that a law must have been broken.  If no law has been broken then the state has no jurisdiction. 

So what law has been broken here?  What crime has the Cherrix family committed?  Is it a crime to decide for yourself what medical treatment you will receive?  I think this will be difficult to support from scripture.  What the medical establishment would like us to think is that they know better than we do, and in some cases they might.  They might be infinitely smarter that the rest of the family combined, although I don’t think so in this case.  However, even if that was true, that still does not give them the right to appeal to the state to force the family to submit to the prescribed treatment.

The Bible does not say children obey your parents, unless someone smarter comes along, or unless the civil government threatens you.  It vest full authority for decision making to the parents, regardless of their level of intelligence, race, income, or any other demographic you want to throw in here.

I’ll point out two other quick inconsistencies within our culture and our government.  In many states a 13 year old girl can get an abortion and kill the innocent child in her womb under the deception of “right to privacy”, without her parents permission.  However, when a Christian makes an informed decision with his parents approval, the court steps in to order the treatment regardless of his right to privacy or self determination.  Where is the justice in this?

Lastly, I’ll just point out the conflict of interest that exists for the doctor in this case.  Would a conflict exist, if as a business man, I could get a judge to order people to buy my products?  That is what this doctor has done in this case.

I’ll leave you with two blogs that have covered this story for a while and have done a great job of keeping up with the events as they happen.  Both the Rebelution and Spunky have put a great amount of effort in getting the word out and supporting Abraham.  Keep up the good work guys!

Remember to pray for Abraham, and remember the protection and blessings God’s law provides.

Here is something that I stocked up on this week: toothpaste
And the break down is this:

Toothpaste cost was $1.89 each X 6 = $11.34

Toothpaste was on sale at grocery store this week for .99 cents and I had 4 coupons each for .75 cents off and 2 coupons for $1 off.
So on two boxes, I recieved a penny back for each box because my coupons exceeded the amount. The rest of the boxes I paid .24 cents per box bringing the total spent on 6 boxes of toothpaste down to a grand total of .94 cents !

Yes, I like coupons now.

No, it’s not Tom’s of Maine but I didn’t really care at that price.

Blueberry picking proved to be fun experience! We visited a good sized berry patch located on the grounds of a country church nestled in the rolling hills of Tennessee. Although a sultry summer day, we enjoyed picking the abundant fruit with our friends. We enjoyed a picnic lunch under the shade of some large trees and enjoyed a nice chat while the children played. We returned home, worn and tired….and hot…but with fresh blueberries from the country side.

Here are the large blueberry bushes.

Annabelle in the shade of the blueberry bushes.

Baby O enjoying a blueberry. We put the babies’ quilts next to each other in the shade while we picked close by.

Counting or comparing how many blueberries?

Baskets with blueberries.

I was amazed at how big blueberry bushes are. I expected them to be much smaller. A cold wet bandana on Annabelle’s head kept her more comfortable in the heat.

Some children ate more blueberries than they picked Aren’t the twins cute!?!

More blueberry pickers…

I love this picture not only of the countryside but of a momma and daughter gathering berries together.

Lunch break for the weary workers under big shade trees.

Mid-day nap under the shade tree for the little one.

14 berry pickers with only 13 shown because one certain 3 year old hid behind the tree for the group picture.

Blueberry picking tips: Blueberries are a summer berry so avoiding the heat by going early morning would be better and don’t forget the bug spray.

I recently (last month now) came across Kevin Swanson’s BLOG thanks to my wife and The Servens.  It is called Generations with Kevin Swanson and is a great resource of information. Specifically, his absolute candid discussion about the future in our nation and what it holds. If your considering what areas you need to address in your children so they can be all that God created them to be, I highly recommend Generations. It’s a little late now, but if you go back in the archives to the June 6th, 2006 post. It’s a good assessment of what the American Church is doing right and how we can continue the trend.

I also have thoroughly enjoyed his discussion on the decentralization taking place in America.  If there is any hope that Christ has not completely forsaken our nation, it is in the fact that power and control is being decentralized.  For example, this BLOG is a decentralization of the news media and the commentary of current events.  More and more the media is becoming less and less of an influence.  Considering their Godless slant, this is a good thing.  This at least addresses the print media.  Now we need a full service video news source, kind of like the one over at ENN.