day no. 16,871: the annual Van Voorst family poem(s) for 2024

New Years Eve Poem, 2024

by Penelope Page Van Voorst

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This year was exciting, surprises galore;

We had eight nice children, and then we got more.

Some politics happened, and that all was great,

But all that is not what I am here to relate. 

The Twinkies were born and the other kids grew

So let’s take a look through the year at what’s new.

The first one we’ll mention is my father’s beard; 

My father’s behind it. Or so I have heard…

It’s luscious and full, with a glorious sheen,

And it awes our whole family like you’ve never seen.

With that one accomplished my father is next.

He sits at a desk where he emails and texts.

He sits and he read, oh so very intently,

And then he gets off and does post militantly. 

He sallies out spanks to the kids who need whackin’,

Reads four million books and then tames Ye Olde Kraken.

Mother, of course, works the hardest of all

She vacuums the tile and wipes off the walls. 

She reads aloud Besty, and Mole, Rat, Toad. 

I simply don’t know how she carries the load. 

She carried two babies and cooked lots of meals. 

My mother, I’ll say, is the Real Deal.

The next one in line is the Mustache-ed Man. 

Beg pardon. It’s Atticus. (No explanation.)

He works at a farm and he drives a big van;

His feet are enormous, and so are his hands

He’s tall and he’s tired and he wants to eat food.

He will not watch Aang; he’s just not in the mood.

I carry a sweater which loudly says “NO.”

I am able to walk, but I like to go Slooooooow…

I got a new room and I did lots of baths,

Read lots of books and then finished up math. 

The New Year, I hope, will bring slightly more speed.

And maybe a bookshelf. I’m in dire need. 

And Finneas comes, all crack-full of rude jokes. 

He’s really approaching. I’m warning you, folks.

He will not sit still; he’ll frolic and fidget,

He’ll sing out of key and he eats for a midget.

He’s finally arrived, and he’s starting to dance.

Someone wake up poor Rocco; Finn needs assistance.

Lolo is coming, she just needs a minute; 

The bathroom is filled up with Laurelai in it. 

One minute more, please: she’s just now remembered.

It’s 12:34, and that’s one lucky number!

She’s coming out now; she’s a girl on a mission.

Wait! Don’t move that junk! That would break her tradition!

Rocco is someone that’s hard to pin down. 

Beyond Finn’s assistant, he’s also a clown. 

He likes to shout words that make no sense at all,

To shriek like a banshee and bawl like a cow. 

He’s sweeter than sugar (when he wants to be).

Yet his whole existence is being a cronie.

Callista, we’ll note, is a world of her own. 

She likes to write music, and play on her own. 

She loves to play mother and calls Oey “deary”.

Her songs are exciting, her smile is cheery. 

Her face flushes red when the spicy starts flowing. 

And, oh, when she runs! Well, she really gets going!

Hide all your coffee, ‘cause Juni’s  in sight. 

Her favorite things are  her patch off at night,

Screaming at Oey and making up after, 

Zucchini and dresses and devilish laughter.

She knows Santa comes every year, Christmas Eve. 

Don’t try to divert her; she truly believes.

Ophelia’s listed far down in the line,

But don’t think that means she’s a smooth, easy ride. 

She is now three years old, and need I say more?

Her rubbery boots stomp along the wood floor. 

The world is her kingdom, the country her own; 

She rules over all from her rocking chair throne. 

Knox is a do-nothing sort of a fellow.

He’ll sit and he’ll drool; he’s really quite mellow. 

His eyes are the bluest you ever will see.

He moves, in a way, like a fat roly-poly.

He likes to chew things with his two pearly whites,

His behemoth hands really hold those things tight. 

Eulalie is smiley to levels unknown

She likes to call Knox on their baby chew phone. 

She likes to stand up and she just will not sit.

She says “abboo-abboo” and she likes to spit. 

Her smile is sunny and fills up her face.

As tenth child in line, she is up to the race.

And so raise your glasses, chalk full of good cheer,

‘Cause 2024 was an excellent year!

---

New Year’s Eve Poem

Van Voorst Family Year in Review

December 31, 2024

…

Tonight is for toasting the year as it ends

For looking ahead with our family and friends

Tonight is for taking the time to rewind

To say, “thank You” to Christ who is King and is kind

So, with no more delay and no more ado

I humbly present, using the alphabet,

some random comments: our year in review

A is for Atticus who worked on a farm

B is for Birds that all came to harm

C is for Callista who likes to vacuum

D is for Dad who drywalled a room

E is for Eulalie, the tiniest “Beans’

F is for Finneas whose approaching his teens

G is for God, our Savior and King

H is for Home where we love, laugh, and feast

I is for Inches and growing and growing

J is for Juni whose hair can now pony

K is for Knox who contentedly stares

L is for Lolo who runs up the stairs

M is for Mom who works out like a boss

N is for Noodles, the ones with white sauce

O is for Oey and eyes like two worlds

P is for Penelope whose hair grows in curls

Q is for Quiet, a sound we can’t hear

R is for Rocco who likes sips of beer

S is for Sabbath and Saturday nights

T is for Time and the fun as it flies

U is for Us and for voting as one

V is for Van and teens driving it some

W is for Water in places unwanted

X is for Xtra and pantries undaunted

Y is for YouTube and couch time with dad

Z is for Zoo and the wild times we had

Now, that’s quite a year, but let’s try it again

This time a bit silly and sometimes pretend

A is for Atticus, the communion serving giant

B is for Biscuits, the world’s cutest tyrant

C is for Callista, a mini mom in the making

D is for Dad, whose beard is breathtaking

E is for Eulalie, whose smile swallows her face

F is for Finneas and the breakfasts he makes

G is for Guns and a house full of bangers

H is for Home with all clothes on their hangers

I is for Ice and the fridge that won’t make it

J is for Juniper’s chewy and penguin

K is for Knox whose just a chill dude

L is for Lolo and her gratitude

M is for Mom and her popcorn at night

N is for Nen and the eggs she imbibes

O is for Order whose aim is wild fun

P is for Postmill and work to be done

Q is for Quick and a year that flew by

R is for Rocco and wearing his tie

S is for School and the wisdom it gives

T is for Trump and for owning the libs

U is for Uh oh and spilling your cups

V is for Voorst and for knowing what’s up

W is for Work and getting things done

X is for eXcellence, second to none

Y is for Yay and this New Year’s Eve poem

Z is for Zoom and for working from hoem

To be a Van Voorst is, of course, a delight

And to be full of joy is to join in the fight

For this feasting's a foretaste of where we are going

A land rich with milk and with honey o’erflowing

So tonight we say, “thank You” and look forward to more

And tonight we say, “cheers!” like we’ve been here before.

So here’s to the year and to many more like it

So raise up your cups and your spirits just like it

By this time next year, in a brand new December

We’ll have more things to praise and new things to remember 

We’ll have more things to list and more grace to applaud

More memories, more bliss, and more blessings from God

So, here’s to our God and the fun and the fight

And here’s to our Lord for there’s no King but Christ!

day no. 16,870: the darkness will die

John 1:5

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

The darkness bleeds daylight when cut.

It is only kept alive by Christ and when it dies it testifies to His sovereignty.

It is being overcome.

It does not possess light, but it's blood reflects the sun.

It will either die to itself and become light or it will be snuffed out by the brightness of the stars.

day no. 16,869: cocksuredness

Psalm 146:2-3

While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.

The proud are like the rooster on the weather vane who imagines it is his strength that tells the wind where to blow. Cocksuredness assumes it is catching wind while it is chasing it. The proud crow in the direction they are pushed. They are tossed by the invisible hand of God, yet they boast like one who is determining the tides.

The wicked crow in vain, whether they realize it or not.

day no. 16,868: eyes on the times, boots on the ground

1 Chronicles 12:32

And of the children of Issachar, which were men that had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do; the heads of them were two hundred; and all their brethren were at their commandment.

The man of God must have his eyes on the times and his boots on the ground.

He must understand his context and his points of contact.

He must know how to the read the story he is in and how to be the kind of character his story requires.

day no. 16,867: sent to seek and destroy

John 20:21-23

Then said Jesus to them again, "Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained."

Jesus sent out His disciples as He was sent by God the Father Almighty.

So, how was He sent?

1 John 3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

He came to destroy the works of the devil. Christ became incarnate in order to conquer the darkness.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.

And so, we in like manner go forth in conquest: conquering and to conquer, just like Christ.

Revelation 6:2

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

Jesus came to conquer the world and left His church to the clean up in aisle seven.

So, let's get to work and start stamping out what snakes remain.

Romans 16:20

And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.

day no. 16,866: the world will be baptized

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.

Matthew 28:19-20

Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The world will be baptized.

day no. 16,865: Christians are required to be sexually explicit

Genesis 1:26-27

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

Sex is explicit. 

God made the two sexes and their corresponding responsibilities.

These are clear and explicitly commanded in God's Word.

Genesis 2:18

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him."

Man was made to tend to the garden, woman was made to tend to the man. He was made for a mission, her mission was her man.

Doug Wilson defines Biblical masculinity as, "the glad assumption of sacrificial responsibility," and Biblical femininity as, "a glad responsiveness to masculine initiative and authority."

A good man gladly gives his strength to save his people from hunger, loneliness, danger, and sin. A good woman gladly gives her strength to supporting the mission of her man. 

1 Timothy 5:8

If any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

No good man growls about the good work God calls him to.

1 Timothy 2:13-15

For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

 No good woman gripes about the good works assigned to her.

Acts 17:26

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

God made us all for such a time as this. We are male or female and called to be who we are by doing what He has called us to do where He has called us to do it.

1 Corinthians 11:7-12

Man is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God.

Jesus was a man born of a woman, true man.

Galatians 4:4-5

But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Jesus was God incarnate, true God.

Merry Christmas!

day no. 16,864: to and fro go men and God's eyes

Daniel 12:4

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.

Men may go about to and fro, but he cannot escape the glance of God.

2 Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him.

Man can run, but he cannot hide; and a good one doesn't try to. A good man wants to be found by God and would rather fall into His hands than rise on the favors of fiends.

Psalms 139:7-8

Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?

If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

No one gets away with anything. There is no path outside Providence. There is nowhere to go where God is not.

Proverbs 5:21

For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,

And He ponders all his paths.

The ways of men are weighed by God.

While there are many paths that lead away from Him, there are none that can escape Him.

Psalm 139:9-12

If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.

Everything will eventually come to light. Nothing is ever done in secret. Someone always sees. This is good news for quiet kindnesses and bad news for surreptitious sins.

Colossians 3:23-24

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ

All labor for the Lord will be rewarded. The wages of Christ are life.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Just as the darkness cannot hide from God's light, so the fires of faith, even when barely burning, cannot escape His notice. No one does good for nothing.

Luke 12:2-3

For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.

Men may go to and fro, but so does God's gaze.

All things will either be weighed, measured, and found wanting... or rewarded.

day no. 16,863: parasitism on parade

“Taxes reduce the production of what is taxed: industry, profitability, thrift, and investment. Subsidies increase the production of what is subsidized, and in the redistributive society that means idleness and parasitism.” — Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction

If the lazy man already has enough trouble getting his own hand back to his mouth, how much more difficulty will he have when you pay him to stop reaching into the jar?

Proverbs 26:15

The sluggard buries his hand in the dish;

He is weary of bringing it to his mouth again.

If men are already tempted to fall short or fizzle out, how much more so when they are punished for finishing?

The taxman produces parasitism on parade where he provides both the fake flowers on the floats and the captive audience.

day no. 16,862: state-crafted crises

“Once you get an energy department you are in for it, because you have a policymaking body with no interest whatsoever in abundant, reasonably priced energy. A problem solved gives an agency new difficulties justifying its existence. In the economy of the omnipotent state, nothing succeeds like failure.” — Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction

When your livelihood depends upon crises, you are not motivated to cut off the branch you are sitting on by solving anything, and there is always good reason to create at least one more problem when you're solving the last one. The larger the crisis, the larger the scope of authority. So it is little wonder that our current concocted crises are all gigantic and global in nature.

Future crises are all built into the present solution thus simultaneously justifying the overreaching State's existence for now and guaranteeing it's continued presence forever. Manufacturing mayhem under the guise of producing solutions is the epitome of creating your own market like owning the patent on cheese graters and adhesive bandages.

day no. 16,861: political parenting

“The paternal state not only feeds its children, but nurtures, educates, comforts, and disciplines them, providing all they need for their security. This appears to be a mildly insulting way to treat adults, but it is really a great crime because it transforms the state from being a gift of God, given to protect us against violence, into an idol. It supplies us with all blessings, and we look to it for all our needs. Once we sink to that level, as Lewis says, there is no point in telling state officials to mind their own business. Our whole lives are their business. The paternalism of the state is that of the bad parent who wants his children dependent on him forever. That is an evil impulse. The good parent prepares his children for independence, trains them to make responsible decisions, knows that he harms them by not helping them to break loose. The paternal state thrives on dependency. When the dependents free themselves, it loses power. It is, therefore, parasitic on the very persons whom it turns into parasites. Thus, the state and its dependents march symbiotically to destruction. When the provision of paternal security replaces the provision of justice as the function of the state, the state stops providing justice. Those who are concerned about the chaos into which the criminal justice system has fallen should consider what the state’s function has become. Because the state can only be a bad imitation of a father, as a dancing bear act is of a ballerina, the protection of this Leviathan of a father turns out to be a bear hug.” — Herbert Schlossberg, Idols for Destruction

Godly patriarchy produces future kings by training today's sons. Toxic patriarchy protects its own interests by refusing to raise tomorrow's warriors for fear they may rise up to usurp them. 

Godly matriarchy (oikodespotein) nurtures and raises boys in the home before turning them loose to be men on their own. Toxic matriarchy never cuts the cord and keeps the boy dependent even after he can shave. It smothers a son into incompetence by refusing to let him suffer the consequences of independent action or responsibility.

When the State wants to play the parent, it ends up taking on the worst characteristics of fathers and mothers. The State was not charged by God to parent which explains why it is so bad at it… and why it is so bad at the justice it is supposed it be doing.

day no. 16,860: the water in which we all swim

“People in the West, even those who may imagine that they have emancipated themselves from Christian belief, in fact, are shot through with Christian assumptions about almost everything. . . All of us in the West are a goldfish, and the water that we swim in is Christianity, by which I don’t necessarily mean the confessional form of the faith, but, rather, considered as an entire civilisation.” — Tom Holland

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Numbers 14:21

But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD.

Psalm 22:27

All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

Isaiah 11:9

They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

Isaiah 40:5

And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.

day no. 16,859: somewhere north of racism

Acts 17:26

And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation.

All men descend from one blood line.

"Scientific racists, who asserted the biological inferiority of blacks, scoffed at the suggestion that they could progress to freedom, but the Southern divines despised the scientific racists." — Douglas Wilson, Black and Tan

The North assumed black men were descended from a different evolutionary stream than white men. The South rightly despised this notion as un-Biblical. The South sinned in calling their cousins second-class citizens. The North sinned in calling their brothers brutes. The South treated their brothers as beasts, but the North said the brothers were beasts, albeit beasts deserving better treatment. The North was like those of our day who treat their pets better than others treat their children. They demand ethical treatment of animals while mistreating their fellow man. The South was like those of our day who treat their children like pets. They take advantage of what they have instead of taking it with gratitude.

"The religiously orthodox Old South, in contradistinction to the religiously liberal Northeast, stood on its prejudice in favor of a literal reading of the Bible's account of the monogenesis of the human race and rejected scientific racism." — Douglas Wilson, Black and Tan

The South sinned in saying that black people should be treated different than other people. The North sinned in saying that black people were not people. The South said some men were more men than others while the North said some men could judge other men to be merely man-like. The North appealed to science. The South appealed to Scripture. The North did not read science any more rightly than the South did their Bibles, but the South could be rebuked by better exposition, whereas the North no longer heeded the Word.

"The North needed to repent of one kind of racism and the South needed to repent of another kind." — Douglas Wilson, Black and Tan

Strictly speaking, the North were the only racists. They were the ones insisting that black men were not of the same race as white men. They scientifically asserted that black men were not, strictly speaking, men in the same way that white men were. The South was guilty of ethnic animosity in assigning an inferior nature to black men, but the North was guilty of racial vanity in assigning an inferior evolution to blacks. In short, the North said whites were better than blacks and the South said white men were better than black men. The one was racist, stating that whites were a better class of creature than blacks. The other was ethnist, stating that one species of men were better men than others.

The South essentially touted the pedigree of the poodle over the pit bull while the North considered whites to be men and blacks to be dogs. That is racism in high form. That is the kind of racism that would find no hypocrisy in assuming the high road.

day no. 16,858: starving to death and sewing machines

As soon as Mr Beaver said, “There’s no time to lose,” everyone began bundling themselves into coats, except Mrs Beaver, who started picking up sacks and laying them on the table and said: “Now, Mr Beaver, just reach down that ham. And here’s a packet of tea, and there’s sugar, and some matches. And if someone will get two or three loaves out of the crock over there in the corner.”

“What are you doing, Mrs Beaver?” exclaimed Susan.

“Packing a load for each of us, dearie,” said Mrs Beaver very coolly. “You didn’t think we’d set out on a journey with nothing to eat, did you?”

“But we haven’t time!” said Susan, buttoning the collar of her coat. “She may be here any minute...”

“Now don’t you get fussing, there’s a dear,” said Mrs Beaver, “but just get half a dozen clean handkerchiefs out of the drawer. ‘Course we’ve got a hope. We can’t get there before her but we can keep under cover and go by ways she won’t expect and perhaps we’ll get through.”

“That’s true enough, Mrs Beaver,” said her husband. “But it’s time we were out of this.”

“And don’t you start fussing either, Mr Beaver,” said his wife. “There. That’s better. There’s five loads and the smallest for the smallest of us: that’s you, my dear,” she added, looking at Lucy.

“Oh, do please come on,” said Lucy.

“Well, I’m nearly ready now,” answered Mrs Beaver at last, allowing her husband to help her into her snow-boots. “I suppose the sewing machine’s took heavy to bring?”

— C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe

Without women, we'd go without food.

Without men, we'd never get going.

Without women, we'd starve.

Without men, we'd still be packing.

We need women to not starve to death.

We need men to avoid bringing the sewing machine.

Without women, we run out of lembas and can’t get back home.
Without men, we run out of time and get caught before we get going.

We need women to keep us going.

We need men to get us going.

Genesis 2:18

And the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him,"

We need men and women in order to make it.

We need each other.

We cannot be fruitful or multiply without each other.

day no. 16,857: footstools for dancing feet

Malachi begins at the end and ends where he began.

Malachi 1:11
For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.

Wherever the sun rises, the Son will reign. No nation will be left behind. Christ will be acknowledged as Lord in every land.

Malachi 4:2-3
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. And you shall tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet, on the day when I act, says the LORD of hosts.

The sun of righteousness will rise and the wicked will be a footstool for dancing feet.

Romans 16:20
The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

The body of Christ will follow in the footsteps of her Lord by treading down the wicked wherever they go as they leap for joy and dance with delight.

day no. 16,856: dissipation and despotism

“Those who throw themselves into dissipation will not inherit the kingdom of God. And they will inherit political despotism.” — Douglas Wilson, So Come and Welcome to Jesus Christ

You cannot give yourself over to lawlessness without also giving up your right to having a say in your governance. Those who kowtow to the tyrant within will be made to bow to the tyrant without.

2 Peter 2:18-19

For, speaking loud boasts of folly, they entice by sensual passions of the flesh those who are barely escaping from those who live in error. They promise them freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption. For whatever overcomes a person, to that he is enslaved.

Tyrants cannot make good on their promises of freedom They don't have any to offer. They themselves are slaves to their own desire for unqualified power.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality,  nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

Chaos cannot inherit calm. You cannot build anything worth keeping by breaking up all foundations. Sin is not solid ground. It cannot hold itself together and it will not submit to standing on the Rock.

1 Peter 4:3-4

For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.

The self-indulgent are always suspicious of the repentant. The dead fish floating downstream always make it more difficult for the living fish to swim against the current. The dead sea is a dumpster fire of self-seeking, lifeless deposits. The promised land is a place inhabited by living faith that is fit from resistance training. Its muscle is built up by getting reps striving against the grain of the zeitgeist.

day no. 16,855: Ophelia is THREE!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Ophelia!!!

You are three years old today. You are growing up so quickly. In some ways, it seems like it was just yesterday that you were born into COVID times. In other ways, it seems like a lifetime ago since so much has changed since then, much of it, very recently, changed for the better.

And just like the times, they be a changing, so are you.

You are learning to talk and put sentences together. You are getting taller and you are getting a bit sassafrassier as well. Nothing unusual for a three-nager, but you're really leaning into it. You may have tiny pants, but they are also a bit bossy. 

I am excited to watch your level of commitment grow up and be directed at more noble causes than getting your milk from the fridge. If you are half as committed to Christ as you are to sitting on my lap during watch time downstairs, you will be a handful for the bad guys.

Here are a list of things I like and love about you:

You like your ice. I don't know how or why exactly you got hooked on putting your chew toys in the freezer, but you did and now you always do. It's very Oey and I love it.

You like asking about and being reassured that we're having pizza and ice cream on Friday nights. It is the last thing you ask about before each nap and nighttime.

You love playing after church and are really independent in sitting where you want and playing with whomever. You aren't scared. You, as you remind us often, are Oey.

You love our little black boots and have taken to wearing them everywhere and all the time lately. Although you often have them on the wrong feet. Maybe it feels better on our pigeon toes. I don't know.

You like Elmo. He taught you to pee in the potty after all. Speaking of which, you are pretty good about going to the bathroom in your teeny-weeny pee pot most days. You stay dry over nap more often than not, but you don't stay dry overnight yet.  

You like sausage. So much so, that most meat is sausage to you. You like bacon as well. You major in breakfast meats. 

You love the twins and often ask to hold them. You are a good big sister. 

You hold your own with the bigger girls. You are no shrinking violet. You know what you want and expect to get it. That often requires discipline, but assertiveness is not something you need to learn.

You are a sweet little lady and I like being your dad.

I love you Oey-biscuits.

Love, Dad

day no. 16,854: popularity contest

"I believe in democracy." — Owen Strachan at G3 2023

I don't.

What if 51% of the people vote that democracy should be withheld from 49% of the people?

What if 51% of the people vote to put 49% of the people to death?

50.1% of the people should not be allowed to make decisions for 100% of the people.

Demos is a false god.

Swearing allegiance to whatever the cool kids want to do is akin to making vows to marry the Spirit of the Age, which is the same as saying that you will judge someone next week for something you demanded of them last month.

Our God is a Rock of justice, a standard that never moves and always applies which is why I believe in Theocracy. He is our Maker and Sustainer and His Law-Word stands forever.

day no. 16,853: pantsed

1 Corinthians 11:3

But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

The husband is the head of the home. His dominance is inescapable. If a child grows up in a home without his father, his father's empty chair dominates the dinner table. If a child grows up in a home where his dad is home, but his mother wears the pants in the family, his life is dominated by the presence of his pantsless dad.

day no. 16,852: to elder or not to elder? the 5 C's

Philippians 1:1

To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

1: Character

A man must possess the character of the man described above in order to qualify to be an elder. He must be the kind of man elders are required to be.

1 Timothy 3

This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach; Not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous; One that ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; (For if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?) Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil. Moreover he must have a good report of them which are without; lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.

2: Competence

A man must be capable of executing the duties of the office and assuming its responsibilities. He must be able to do things elders are required to do.

Titus 1:5-9

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed thee: If any be blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of riot or unruly. For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre; But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate; Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

3: Calling

A man must be called to the office by the Holy Spirit, not by the constraint of the felt needs of family, friend, or a local congregation. He must desire to be an elder as much as he is desired by others to be one.

1 Peter 5:1-4

The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed: Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

4: Chemistry

A man must mesh with a local congregation in order to be one of its elders. He can meet all of the C's above and not be a good elder at any good church. A man can have the character, the competence, and the call, but lack chemistry with a local church's distinctives or emphasis on thereof. He could be a good and godly man without being a good fit for a particular congregation just like he could be a good husband to a particular woman and not necessarily be a good match for every other Christian woman.

1 Thessalonians 5:12-13

And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you; And to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. And be at peace among yourselves.

5: Calendar

A man must have the time to be an elder. He can meet all the 4 C's above and not be in a position to be an elder due to his season of life. He may not have the time in his current schedule to execute the office or fulfill the responsibilities thereof. He can be of good character, competent, and in concert with his church and community, yet not have room in his calendar to fulfill the responsibilities.

James 5:14

Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the

Summary:

A man may not be qualified to be an elder because he isn't who it takes, doesn't have what it takes or how to take it, isn't ready to take it on or agree with why he's being asked, can't take it where it's needed, or doesn't have the time to take it on when it is needed.

Hebrews 13:7, 17

Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith... Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

day no. 16,851: your freedom matters

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

Politicians love freedom. That is why they work so hard to pass legislation to secure more of it for themselves. To be fair, politicians love your freedom too. That is why they want it for themselves and work so hard to preserve it for you in a museum.

Christ is a King who advocates for the freedom of His people. He secured liberty for others by being bound to a cross. He secured life, liberty, and property for others by being killed, accused, and robbed. A verdict of guilty hung Him on a gibbet and as He died His clothes were stolen in plain sight by gambling executioners. He did this all in order to set His people free. If your liberty cost that much, it clearly matters. It is not yours to give and your neighbor's is not yours to take. You ought not vote to give yours away or to take your neighbor's from him. Just because it is politics as usual doesn't keep it from being an unusually bad business.

day no. 16,850: immeasurable

Proverbs 25:3

The heaven for height, and the earth for depth,

And the heart of kings is unsearchable.

There is no standard by which one can measure the heavens. Heaven is the standard by which creation is measured. There is not metric you can apply to Christ. Christ is the cornerstone. He is immeasurable.

Proverbs 25:3 (NLT)

No one can comprehend the height of heaven.

No one can wrap their head around heaven. There is no calculus that can contain or corral Christ.

“The difference between the poet and the mathematician is that the poet tries to get his head into the heavens while the mathematician tries to get the heavens into his head.” ― G.K. Chesterton

If you try to cram Christ into your head, it will break your brain. If you try to peek your head into Heaven, you will expand your spirit.

Matthew 21:44

And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.

Whoever falls upon Heaven will be raised up from the dust, but those upon whom Heaven falls will be ground to powder.

day no. 16,849: spiritual wickedness and physical confrontation

"Our Father in Heaven, before we go into battle every soldier among us will approach You, each in his own way. Our enemies too, according to their own understanding, will ask for protection and for victory. And so we bow before Your infinite wisdom. We offer our prayers as best we can. I pray that You watch over the young men that I lead into battle; You use me as Your instrument in this awful hell of war, to watch over them. Especially if they are men like this one beside me deserving of a future in Your blessing and good will… and one more thing, dear Lord — about our enemies: Ignore their heathen prayers and help us blow those little bastards straight to hell. Amen." — We Were Soldiers

Heathen prayers are not humble. Crying out to a false god may be a sign of weakness, but it is not a sign of meekness. It only increases the crier's wickedness.

Psalm 109:7

When he shall be judged, let him be condemned: and let his prayer become sin.

Those who call out to Christ to bless their sins are committing an additional sin, but not covering any of them. 

Proverbs 15:29

The Lord is far from the wicked:but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

God hears the prayers of His people when they pray in Christ's Name. This does not mean that adding a, "in Jesus' Name," post script to any prayer promotes it to God's presence and good will. It means that prayers offered in Christ's Name according to His Spirit are near to the Father's heart, but those offered outside of Christ or outside of His clear will are far from Him.

Ephesians 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Spiritual wickedness in high places must be fought in physical places down here. We do not fight as the world fights, but we do fight the world. Our weapons are not carnal, but they are weapons. They are not according to the flesh, but they are against the flesh. They are not from the world, but they are opposed to it.

Spiritual darkness requires physical confrontation. Heresy and apostasy must be met in the material world. False doctrines do not show up at your front door disembodied. We do not wage war against ghosts. We pray for the Father's kingdom to come and we do not expect its tangibility to go. Christ did not become flesh in order to do away with the material. He redeemed every last atom and each one will be brought under His headship. Every last atom out there... and in you. Amen.

day no. 16,848: men wanted

One of my elders, Daniel Spratt, reached out to me the other day (October 27, 2023) and mentioned wanting to create a "men wanted" style post in similar vein as a Shackleton's famous ad. I simply proposed editing the original to our purpose rather than re-inventing the wheel. Here is what I came up with.

Men Wanted: Hazardous project. No wages, bitter opposition, long months of battling darkness, constant danger, safety uncertain. Honor and recognition payable on death.

Our labors in the Lord are not in vain. The future is Christian. The present hard work is our blessed participation in its building.

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

day no. 16,847: too great a disctinction

“The Nation that makes a great distinction between its scholars and its warriors will have its thinking done by cowards and its fighting done by fools.” — Thucydides

The church that makes too great a distinction between its politics and its doctrines will have its policies determined by pagans and its creeds defined by communists.

The church that is all politics has a national flag behind the pulpit and the news cycle for its sermons. 

The church that is all beliefs has a Bible on Sundays, but not one on Super Tuesday.

Thinking and fighting go together like religion and politics. They are to be differentiated, but never separated. They can be discussed in isolation, but they cannot be done that way.

“I never discuss anything else except politics and religion. There is nothing else to discuss.” — G.K. Chesterton

Religion is political because Christ is King. Politics is religious because Christ is the King of all kings. Thinking is warfare because Christ imposed enmity between the seed of Eve and the seed of the serpent. Warfare is thoughtful because Christ died on purpose.

day no. 16,846: whoever trains the children, controls the future

“Whoever trains the children controls the future.” — Steve Wilkins, The Public School Movement

This principle is in place whether or not it is pursued faithfully in covenant with God or wickedly in covenant with sin. The way they are raised is the way the children will go. This, of course, is not entirely without exception, but it is to say that exceptional circumstances are required in order to change this trajectory. This principle is a gift of God to godly parents who stand on His promises, but it can serve as a curse to those who take for granted the grace of God. The wicked watching from outside the covenant have not been blind to the potential that parenting provides for the future; and not wanting children of their own, they have set their sights on the spiritually orphaned children of the covenant with an eye to convert them to apostasy.

“Without undervaluing any other human agency, it may be safely affirmed that the Common School, improved and energized, as it can easily be, may become the most effective and benignant of all the forces of civilization.” — Horace Mann

Sin has not missed the memo.

Schools do more to shape the future than Sunday mornings; not because Sunday mornings lack power or effectiveness, but because the Lord's Day was never meant to replace the six days of schooling that takes place when sitting in one's house, walking by the way, lying down in the evening, or rising up in the morning.

School is wherever you are being taught.

"You may not be paedobaptist or postmill, but the left is and that's why they're winning." — Ben Merkle

You may not lay claim to your children or to the future, but that isn't stopping sin from doing so. It has no reason to assume its success, but nevertheless, it arrogantly plows ahead. You, however, have promises from God in His Word about your children. It is not arrogant to believe them. It is not priggish or presumptive to have faith in God. Our children belong to Him and so does the future. In Christ, our children will be kept in covenant and the future conquered by Him through them.

The future belongs to those who want it bad enough to fight for it now. The meek, who will inherit the future, do so not because they hung back, but because they girded themselves up under the mighty hand of God, and got to work.

day no. 16,845: Atticus is SIXTEEN

Happy 16th Birthday, Atticus!

It is hard to believe that we are celebrating one of the last several birthdays you will have in our home. Before you know it, you will wake up to your first birthday at a different address. You will thank God for your life, your breath, and everything else, check your phone and see a birthday wish from me and your mother with a video of your siblings singing to you likely to follow later that morning. You will, in all likelihood, be local enough to stop by and say Hi and we will sing and celebrate the man you have become and growing into.

But today and for now, you are still here, but you are now 16.

I am excited to meet the man you will be on that day when you have to "come home" for Christmas. I don't know all of the details of what he will be like or how he will have grown, but I do know that I will love him, like him, respect him, and welcome him home with a handshake and a hug.

Here is a list of things I enjoy about you now and am excited to see grow up:

You are a great artist. I love your graphic novels and am looking forward to diving into The Hands of Fate over my Christmas break.

You are a gun enthusiast. It will be fun to watch your interests grow with your opportunities to acquire more gear and practice your plinking.

You are tall. Are you done growing yet? Time will tell. God is giving you your own personal ladder. They're called legs and the top shelf is no obstacle for you. Hanging your Christmas lights on your home someday will be a breeze.

You are smart. You like to know what's going on and to think about what you think about what's going on. This will bode well for the world to have more men with eyes in their heads and thoughts behind their eyeballs.

You are a good friend. You enjoy having fun with your friends at church and like spending time with people. You make friends easily, like at the Christy airsoft battles. You are easy to like.

You are a hard worker. You do a great job of getting up on time and getting after your work when out on Mr. David's farm. You have earned his respect through your hard work. Respect is earned. It is the best paycheck. And you have been building up a good bank account.

You have initiative. You are not scared to chase down what you like. You know what you want and want to be turned loose to go get it. This will be a blessing to your family .

You are handy. While I was away for work a few weeks ago, you fixed the dryer. You understand basic mechanics and know how things fit together. You aren't afraid to take things apart because you are sure you will be able to put it back together.

You are funny. You don't always crack wise, but when you do, you crack well.

You are a good son. I like being your dad. You love the people I love. You love your mom and your siblings and your church and your God.

I am proud of you.

Happy 16th Birthday, Atticus.

Here's to many, many more.

Love, Dad

day no. 16,844: history is the outworking of religious commitments

“Inescapably, history is the outworking of religious commitments.” — R.J. Rushdoony, Non-Interventionism as a Constitutional Principle

Whatever we see happening on the surface is a result of religious undercurrents. Worship is never without works. Faith is never void of follow through. The fingertips reveal the heart. What men push for is what pushes them.

"Culture is religion externalized. It is the form that religion takes in the lives of men." — Henry Van Til, The Calvinistic Concept of Culture

Pop culture is the product of pop religion. Popular religion has a "I'm proud of my culture" sticker on the back of its electric vehicle. The prevailing religion in the West is on display on our billboards. Our television screens are merely private billboards where we choose the advertisements we like best and play them on repeat.

Without revival there will be no reformation. We cannot rebuild Christendom with lukewarm bricks. The first place the kingdom needs to be made manifest is in the hearts of men. Where God is moving men, He will move them to build. Men made in the image of God and remade in the image of His Son are not consumers of someone else's culture, but creators of Christian culture beginning in their habits lived out in their homes and then extended out to their respective heritages.

day no. 16,843: God alone constitutes a majority

"There is no longer any room for hope. If we wish to be free-- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending--if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained--we must fight! I repeat it, sir, we must fight! An appeal to arms and to the God of hosts is all that is left us! 

They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance by lying supinely on our backs and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. The millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations, and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable--and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come. 

It is in vain, sir, to extenuate the matter. Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!” — Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

God alone constitutes a majority. The man who acts in accord with His commands does not act alone. He is never rogue.

2 Kings 6:15-17

And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, "Alas, my master! how shall we do?" And he answered, "Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them." And Elisha prayed, and said, "Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see." And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

He is no renegade who relies entirely upon the written, immutable Word of God Almighty. He is no slave to self or State. He is free in Christ before God and man: clean in conscience and clear in conflict.

"One man with God is always in the majority.” — John Knox

God alone is the only majority. Anyone joining Him merely joins the majority. He is never the minority. He cannot be outvoted. Anyone to whom He gives grace is a minority. He cannot be strong-armed into action. Anytime He shows mercy, He shows it to an inferior. He is a majority who looks out for the needs of minorities. He is a majority who is not exclusively self-interested. He is the kind of majority who leverages His position to set the minorities free.

Galatians 5:1

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The one who walks with God never walks alone or in shackles.

day no. 16,842: men cannot honor a past that indicts their present failures

"Men cannot give a meaning to history that they themselves lack, nor can they honor a past which indicts them for their present failures." — Rousas John Rushdoony, The Biblical Philosophy of History

Man cannot create meaning. He cannot extend to history what he doesn't have. Man cannot manufacture and export existential value. He doesn't have the ability to produce it or the authority to confer it. He also cannot import the meaning of history into the present without being tongue-lashed by the past. He cannot be a prodigal who runs home unrepentant. He cannot return to the past without reforming his present behaviors. And since man has no intention of being humbled, he doubles down on his pride and invents religions as though they were meaning machines and ignores the past as though it were not meaningful.

Psalm 78:1-11

Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old: Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us. We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children: That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments: And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God. The children of Ephraim, being armed, and carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law; And forgat his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.

History tells us of some fathers who forgot God and fell and others who lived to report it. Our faithful fathers differentiate themselves from our false fathers by living to tell the stories of God's faithfulness of our false father's unfaithfulness. Our covenant keeping kin have survived to relay the tales of our covenant breaking brothers.

“People who take no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendants.” — Thomas Babington Macaulay

We must honor our covenant keeping kindred while heeding their warning regarding our covenant breaking forebearers.

"Men who raise families that remain in fidelity to tradition will end up with descendants ruling the world.” – E.H. Looney (cf. Psalm 112:1-2)

We must not keep the traditions of our false fathers, but we must keep the traditions of the patriarchs who endured the disdain of our covenant breaking brothers in order to preserve for us the faith once for all delivered unto the saints.

day no. 16,841: John Smith was better attuned to nature than Pocahontas

"The revival of natural law thinking among Protestants today has led many to see in nature more than the Hobbesian red and tooth and claw. This is a positive development, but let us not fall into the opposite error, into the Disney-fied view of nature in which benevolence alone domesticates nature, somehow making the crops grow and wild animals prance and dance around us. John Smith was better attuned to nature than Pocahontas." — Stephen Wolfe, The Case for Christian Nationalism

You cannot properly understand the world without knowing the Word. A Christian is better equipped to take dominion than a noble savage. That isn't to say that noble savages cannot rise to the level of their understanding, but it is to say that a Christian worldview rises above noble savagery. It is uniquely capable of viewing the world correctly and of shaping it according to the commands, purposes, and pleasure of its Creator and Sustainer.