Top Posts of 2013

In case you missed them, here are our top posts of 2013:

1) Health and Holiness

2) Sin or Biochemistry

3) Obamacare: Problems and Hope (Guest Post)

4) A Seared Conscience

5) Narrow-Minded Empiricism

Celebrating His Descent

Therefore it says, "When he ascended on high he led a host of captives and he gave gifts to men." (In saying, "He ascended," what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) -- Ephesians 4:8-10

What is the descent? The incarnation. …We do not serve a god who worked his way up to godhood, as some other religions teach. He began on high. To ascend, He first had to descend. C.S. Lewis regarded the incarnation as perhaps more amazing even than the resurrection. We sing of this descent at Christmas.


Excerpt from "Notes on Ephesians"

Average Human Life Expectancy

Average human life expectancy is calculated by dividing the number of people in a given generation into all the years lived by that generation. Textbooks and journal articles today take as axiomatic that the unborn do not count when determining the divisor. They count all people born alive instead of all people conceived. When the fate of the unborn was unalterable, it was a reasonable and convenient shortcut to omit the unborn. Today it is a profound deceit. The tacit presupposition that the unborn are not persons has a marked effect upon what is “truth.” …The commonly held belief that life expectancy is increasing in the U.S. is rendered utterly false when the personhood of the unborn is considered.


Excerpt from "Average Life Expectancy, 'What Is Truth?'"

Orange Ideas

Got some of Dr. Terrell's oranges? Want to do something other than juicing them? Try several of these ideas:

Orange Extract: After juicing, don't throw those peels away! Slice them up and make homemade orange extract to use when oranges aren't in season.

Orange Soap: Grating some of the rind into the soap gives it a mild abrasive nature which makes it good for a kitchen hand soap. Smells great and makes a nice gift!

Orange Syrup: Martha Stewart has an easy recipe for orange syrup. Drizzle over french toast or a hot stack of pancakes!

Orange Walnut Bread: The orange flavor in this bread is subtle, and it's oh, so good!

Or just pile them in a pewter bowl and use them as a table centerpiece!

Let us know if you've found other ways you like to use the oranges!

Dr. Terrell's Citrus

If you remember Dr. Terrell, you remember his love for tropical plants. A tour through his yard would introduce you to the tung nut, avocado, olive tree, tea bush, a wide variety of palm trees, and a selection of citrus trees including, grapefruit, limequat and satsuma oranges. He challenged himself to grow plants outside of their natural zone, and while he didn't succeed with bananas and sugar cane, he saw great success with his citrus. About this time every year, his citrus trees are loaded with fruit. If you know whom to ask, they are available now!