Welcome Home Baby Girl!

It is with great honor and thankfulness that I present the newest member of our family:

Zipporah Rayne Silvas

She was born Monday July 13th 2009 at 7:29 AM
(Our camera was a little confused about the year!)

Other important stats:
9lbs 7 oz
21 inches

As for the name, Zipporah was Moses' wife's name but we just liked the sound of it. After deciding on it though I realized a similarity we shared with that story from Exodus. Moses left his home and became a stranger in a strange land and gained his Zipporah, we also left our home to come to Indiana and gained our Zippy! Rayne was just what we decided sounded good with it.

Zipporah is already being showered with love from all seven of her siblings, even our resident kitten hurler, 1 1/2 yo Elisha. We'll keep an eye on him just the same!
Here Montana, Elianna, and Elisha lavish Zippy with attention.
Here's mom and baby shortly after her entrance to this world.











Lastly here is Zipporah in her going home dress, practicing for her solo performance this Sunday at church. She can really belt out that last verse of Amazing Grace!

Seriously, we are truly thankful for all the blessings God has bestowed upon us. What so many people today view as a hardship, or a 'punishment' we rightly see as the greatest gift and honor God can give. The opportunity to raise and train and love another divinely made soul is breathtaking to say the least. Believe it or not I am going to quote a Veggietale now:
"With great gifts come great responsibilities" The only way we as parents can truly fulfill our job of raising godly children is to model godliness ourselves. This can be a painful endeavor as we overcome our own 'issues'. We have a responsibility to grow in the Lord when we have children. If we don't love Christ enough to make him Lord and grow in that direction, our children never will either and we will have failed our responsibility.
Back to the happy post this is supposed to be, Welcome Home Little Bird! at least for now. Someday we will all fly away to our real home with the Lord!

Be ye separate..

The following link gives a quick excerpt from Spurgeon that explains the why of being separate from the world in clear terms.
http://teampyro.blogspot.com/2009/03/better-to-be-cold-than-to-warm.html

Bring us to the throne......

The memory plays like an old movie in my mind. Picture a small congregation in a classic whitewashed, steepled church in the country. The sounds of the last hymn are lingering in the humid air as the Preacher turns to the song leader and tells him to 'lead us to the throne!' Softly, the gentle notes of the pre-sermon hymn float across those gathered as they sing the peaceful words. Truly, the Spirit has entered the building!!! Um... No, probably not.

There is an old trend in religion that I would label 'synthesized spirituality', and Pop-Christianity is not alone in its use of it. I am talking about the use of man-made things to elicit a reaction in the congregation that they then regard as the Spirit moving them. I have seen it time and again in many different churches. The music builds with each new song, generating a sense of excitement in the congregation then slows with the last song to create a hush. This is when you are supposed to feel like the Spirit is washing over you, preparing you to receive His Word. Unfortunately you are just feeling the influence of the music.

That music is powerful is a known fact. A simple song can take you back decades in your memory and reinstall the emotions you have associated with it for a time. It is easy to imagine many mistaking this as something supernatural, to feel like you are connected to a higher power. Recently I took my family to a very large church in Northern Kentucky that utilized a band for its worship. Drums, electric guitars, keyboard, the whole nine. As soon as the music, which was very contemporary, driving music, began to play; people started holding up 'Holy hands'. So, I assume that these people were feeling the presence of God through the music and held their hands up in response to His majesty and power? Okay, fine; I do find it odd that the music brings them this tangible sense of his presence but when the service featured Scripture, the Word of our living God, nary a hand could be seen! Surely if the masses could feel the presence of God from the music, they would be exultant at his Word! Sadly, no. The spirituality was only a product of the musical manipulation. I have been moved by music, but much more so by the Holy Scriptures.

Danger Ahead!

Ah! The Christian life. It sure seems to have become a cakewalk lately. Between the in-Church coffee shops, computerized nursery check ins, programs for every taste, etc; the narrow way has opened up to a six lane expressway! So as you are cruising along the purpose-driven-non-judgmental-emergent highway, sipping your Latte, listening to contemporary Christian music on your I-pod, and thanking the good Lord that you are not under the law; are you taking the time to read the road signs? What can warn you of danger ahead?
In the railroad world, before the age of instant communication, there was a technique developed to protect a train from being hit if it stopped unexpectedly on the main line. A man would walk back behind the train up to a mile depending on the speed of the track and place two small packets, called torpedos, a set distance apart on the track. The man would then drop a 10 minute fusee, or signal flare, and head back to his train. If a following train arrived they would run over the torpedos which would explode with a loud report, alerting the crew of trouble ahead. If the fusee was still lit they would know that the man had left less than 10 minutes ago. There is more to it than that but you get the gist of it. It is an effective way to alert of danger ahead. Thus the name of this blog; but I am not dealing with stalled trains or even stalled Churches. This is more like a collapsed bridge ahead.
There are some dangerous trends in the Christian community that need to be brought to everyone’s attention. Sometimes danger can come upon you when you least expect it and from the last place you might think. Fortunately we have a rulebook to follow. 2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
17. That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. The torpedo’s are in place, the fusee is lit, it's time to be on the lookout.