I saw an article a few days ago about a girl who died of diabetes after her parents relied only on prayer to treat her. Apparently, simple treatment would have easily saved her. I had contemplated a blog entry on the issue. I believe in prayer, but I also believe in medicine. It is always an interesting debate between faith, prayer, and action. When I am hungry, I eat. I don't pray for God to fix my hunger for me. The Bible links work with eating. So human effort is not anti-faith. So where is the line? I personally feel that you always pray first, but you also use your God-given mind to make wise choices, like going to the doctor. God may heal you. God may use the doctor to heal you. God may not heal you no matter what modern medicine does. So now I read this article and it is concerning. While I think the parents who prayed and watched their child die did the wrong thing, I think they have probably suffered the worst punishment for their choice. I am sure they loved the child very much and are devastated. So this article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23885944/ is very interesting. There are some strong statements about parental rights. I am interested in what others think about this issue. Do you agree with this article? Where is the line between society's need to protect children and parents right to teach children their faith? A difficult slope indeed.

The Stump service seemed to go well this morning. I felt bad that we went a little over, although we were still done at noon. I also wished I could have gotten through the questions so that there would have been time for people to ask questions, but the number we had were more than enough. I really enjoyed this because it gave me the chance to learn some things. I have always enjoyed research and learning. I am so thankful for all the people who helped make tonight's Koinonia Night a success. The ladies who helped me get the food ready and the guys who helped with tables and chairs. It seemed like everyone had a really good time. I enjoyed getting to visit with people and just relax together. I came home feeling really good about the time we had together. It seemed like everyone enjoyed the game of "Name that Tune." We are all worn out tonight. Sarah is going to head to bed early and we are going to read together for awhile. Time to just stop and relax together. Hopefully Sarah will feel better tomorrow. She's going to wait until tomorrow morning to decide whether she can make it to work or not. Thank you Lord for a good day!

Solomon was of course the wisest man to ever live. He asked for wisdom, not simply because he wanted to be smart but because he needed it to effectively lead God's people. We see that wisdom on display later when the two women are fighting over the baby. Each side is claiming the right, but Solomon figures out a way to cut through everything and determine the truth. He threatens to cut the baby in half and give each woman half. The real mom tried to give up the baby to save it. Solomon has found the truth. It would be great to have that level of wisdom. So often when you deal with conflicts with people, you get at least two very different perspectives from people and you want to believe everyone, but usually, the truth lies somewhere between the competing stories. Oh for the wisdom of Solomon to sort out truth. I believe Solomon teaches that the most effective counseling technique is to look at action and response more than listening to stories and perspective. It is in people's actions and reactions that you see what is really going on as opposed to what they want you to believe. I'm betting that's why God says faith without works is dead. He doesn't just take our word for it, no matter how much we claim we are sincere. He looks at our actions and reactions to prove that we are telling the truth about our devotion to him.

We took the kids and went down to Camp GoodNews for Beth Wilson's party today. It was a great time. It was good especially to see Brad and Trent. Trent and I got to really visit and connect as friends and pastors. That is always very encouraging and I am thankful for Trent's friendship. It gives a real boost. The kids did great and had a great time. They ended up skipping naps because of the timing of the party, so they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Micah, who did nap, was wired. He was so funny tonight as he worked on standing. He did manage to pull himself up on the couch and then pass himself over to the little car while still standing. He is progressing much too fast on this stuff!

Pastor Cliff had a great Bible Study at prayer meeting. It was Jesus' priestly prayer as He talks to God about us. I liked how Jesus talks about the fact that we are in the world but not of the world and that we are separate from the World. Jesus points to the difference coming from being in the Word. As I noted in my last post, being in the Word is what does set us apart from conforming to this world. Scripture gives us a different way to life and act. A set of principles and truths that we must accept as part of our acceptance of Jesus. To say no to His Word is to say no to Him. To say yes to His Word is to say no to this world. Awesome study. I am putting this study down for more personal study and probably a sermon series later. Thanks Pastor Cliff!!