# New Beginnings for My Household



## ChristopherPaul (Sep 12, 2005)

Good day! This is post number two for me; I introduced myself last week here. Thank you for the kind welcome.

Perhaps some of the body of Christ here can help me with some guidance and/or prayer.

For the sake of time (lack thereof) this post is a bit long. I apologize, please be patient, most of it is background.

My household is in the midst of some life changing transitions, one being a new church.

My wife and I have been faithfully attending and heavily involved in a "œSeeker Sensitive" / Emergent church for the past four years. We have developed some cherished relationships through our time there and I thank God always for His glorious providence.



For the last several months, perhaps almost a year now, I have been growing more and more frustrated with my church. Without getting into all the specifics, my understanding of the scriptures changed and thus was not in agreement with the church´s practice and overall missional approach (the gist: catering more to the wolves and goats, which could be unconverted sheep, but nevertheless the preference is not given to the sheep). Lord´s day after Lord´s day I would leave church discouraged and frustrated, feeling alone in my convictions and criticized for my studies. Some of the emergent-minded pastors cannot stand my "œstrict" and "œuptight" views on things. One of them told me something to the effect of, "œIt is all good man, all of life is theology, Jesus reprimanded the Pharisees for paying too much attention to the scriptures when in fact they missed God Himself. Do not tread the same road." So who do I go to for instruction? All the pastors had different views on things!

So my desires changed, I became covenantal and family oriented. My view of God changed with Him becoming much bigger and me becoming much smaller, but again I was alone. Each Lord´s day I struggled with pride and arrogance, judging the sermons and the performances, etc. 

So my family finally made the change. We left our cherished home of four years and began attending a PCA church in our area.

The transition was not so easy. For those who are interested in more details, you could check out this thread where I posted updates regarding my frustration (it needs updated). Looking back I am ashamed, for I do believe I whined a bit.

With the start of the new after summer season and with us getting to know the pastors and the elders at the new church, I have become more and more excited about the transition.

However, my wife has not. She is very busy raising four children all under the age of five). She has no desire to study theological issues. She does not prefer to read, including the scriptures. I do not believe those desires are prerequisites for being a disciple. She does have ears and she can listen. She has a difficult time paying attention during the sermons at our new church. She detests the traditional style with organ-driven hymns. We attended a more intimate service held on Wednesday nights, which included a weekly dinner. During the fellowship dinner, I talked with one of the pastors (not the senior pastor). I had a great conversation with him, one I could never have at our old church "“ I was greatly encouraged. My wife did not meet anyone who seemed interested that she was there. During the service/bible study led by the senior pastor, we discussed God´s omniscience touching the topics of His providence and compatible determinism. I was floored by such a meaty study and was engaged the entire time being even more encouraged that finally we are amidst qualified teachers who are not afraid to honestly read and explain the scriptures.

In talking with my wife, she only felt stupid for not understanding what was being talked about. She gets very turned off by big terminology that makes her feel inferior. She is happy I found a church I like, but so far she is not happy (she understood the frustrations at the seeker church and wanted to make the transition with me). This past Lord´s day, the Senior pastor began guiding us through the book of Joshua. As an orator, the pastor is no John MacArthur, Michael Horton, or RC Sproul. He can be quite unemotional and monotone at times; however, as a shepherd goading a flock, he is an able teacher and knowledgeable. During the message I was engaged from start to finish. I left the service with a deeper knowledge of scriptures and with the desire to excel still more. I was greatly encouraged. I shook the pastor´s hand afterwards (we do not know each other very well, being that I am new) and simply said, thank you for teaching me God´s word.

Later in talking with my wife, she expressed that she had a hard time paying attention and was lost. She said that the main thing she got out of the sermon was that she now understands why the Seeker churches exist. She said if she was just checking out Christianity, she would never go back after attending such a service. 

My gleam, my excitement, my renewed zeal for church, is immediately extinguished when talking with my frustrated spouse. We have different and perhaps opposing paradigms right now. 

After almost two months of attending this church I am excited to declare this our home unless something comes up that negates all positive signs up to now. There are very few PCA and OPC churches to choose from in our area (many PCUSA, but I do not want to "œsettle" for a church that from the outset I will be frustrated with). There are no Reformed Baptist churches in the area. As far as Reformed churches go, they are few and far between. The good thing is, for me, yes I am frustrated with things such as worship style, infrequency of the Lord´s Supper, and a, from time to time, boring sermon, but overall I am very encouraged by this lonesome PCA church in the area that is only 10 minutes away from my house. I am encouraged mainly for her accountable teachings whether they be during Sunday school classes, weekday services, various Bible studies, and Sermons. The organization is a breath of fresh air for me.

However, this whole frustration from my wife is so disheartening. She is so turned off right now. She reminds me that I may take weeks or months to study certain issues in order to grasp them, but I then expect her to understand them after an evening conversation here and there.

Along with all this, now all of our friends from our old church are just hammering us with questions pertaining to why we are leaving. It is not a simple answer like, well the church moved the cross or painted the walls or whatever. It is deeper. We (or perhaps I) changed, not the church. So know I am faced with explaining what exactly changed that would make us leave our church. My wife´s friends ask her and she can only say, "œask my husband." People are saying stay and help us became a better church, but they do not understand what they are asking. I am at odds with the McLaren followers who happen to be the pastors. I am at odds with the entire movement and in the meantime me, my wife and children are being guided by teachers who believe and teach based on their own interpretations of scripture which is God knows what? There is no consistency or like mindedness in the church and if there was, that would be great, but I would still be in disagreement! So I am indeed overwhelmed right now. I am guilty of leaving my wife in the dust while doing my personal studies and now I am paying for it. I want my wife and I to be of like mind, and for once I trust those who may teach her and our children. But she seems to think in order to be where I am at and going, she must learn all these new "big words" and become a scholarly student, which she does not want to do, nor must, but this is her impression from this church. Ultimately she feels stupid and insecure when attending this new church. 

Please pray for and guide this struggling disciple.


Grace,


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## ReformedWretch (Sep 12, 2005)

Wow, I will pray! My wife has a very similar feeling but not as strongly as yours. At this point I have no advice as I am still working it out as well. Our PCA church is SMALL though so our pastor helps me with my wife from time to time.


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## crhoades (Sep 12, 2005)

Do you guys have family worship together? The reason I ask that is that I've been through and am still kinda going through your scenario but on a lesser level. One of the things that helps the wife understand Sunday morning is Monday-Saturday time together praying, going through the catechism, etc. It'll bring up things to discuss in a systematic way. Something my wife and I just started 2 days ago is this cycle:

Starting on the 1st of the month:
Read Chapter 1 of Proverbs
Read/Sing - Psalms 1-5 (check out www.psalms4u.com for psalms to sing with)
Westminster Confession of Faith - Chapter 1
Corresponding WSC (check out Reformed Confessions Harmonized)
Valley of Vision for devotionals
Prayer

This will allow you to:
Read the whole book of Proverbs every month
Read/Sing through the whole book of Psalms every month
Read through the Westminster Confession of Faith every month
Read through the Westminster Shorter Catechism every month.

Helps that I've found are:
www.psalms4u.com
Westminster Standards Collection MP3 (Yes Matt, we hear your voice every day now during family worship!)
http://www.apuritansmind.com/CD/PuritanItems.htm
ESV Bible MP3 - http://www.wtsbooks.com/1931047456.html
Valley of Vision Audio CD - http://store.yahoo.com/wtsbooks/1931047502.html
Westminster Shorter Catechism Songs - http://www.reformedmusic.com

I know this may sound cheesy but our daily devotions are digital. I've got all of the above material on my Dell DJ MP3 player. I've created 31 playlists corresponding to the day of the month. So for tonight, i'll dial up Playlist 12 and listen to Proverbs 12, WCF 12, Psalms 61-65, Valley of Vision for Monday etc. We have a Trinity Hymnal and Psalter handy to sing along with.

I've struggled for a while on trying to figure out how to be a better spiritual lead. I always tried to make it too complicated. Believe it or not, the above is nice and simple. The effort is in the front end. If not the digital route, the whole can be done via paper. My wife is liking it.

I read all the time and like you forget that my wife hasn't poured over hundreds of pages of stuff or interacted here on the PB on thorny theological questions. And yet I expect her to "get it". I guess to sum up, focus less on your personal growth and spend time catching her up to where your yoked. 

For inspiring reading (and convicting) - read the Westminster Divines' Directory for Private/Family Worship - http://www.apuritansmind.com/PuritanWorship/DirectoryOfFamilyWorship.htm
I actually listened to this on the way in to work this morning (Thanks Matt!)

And know that I'll be praying for you. Lift me and mine up too if you will. I actually U2U'd a brother on the board to pray for me in this regard and literally things changed that night. Praise God for brothers and sisters on this board that pray for one another.


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## DTK (Sep 12, 2005)

Dear Chris,

If none of what I'm about to say applies to you, then just humor me and file it out of sight/mind. But what I'm going to address can and often is a pastoral problem that I've confronted often in the ministry. 

Here's this man/husband who begins to grow by leaps and bounds in the understanding of his faith. He begins to see things in Holy Scripture that he's never seriously considered before. He is sunk into a world of study that excites him and brings joy to his soul. He comes to what is (at least) an elementary understanding of the great doctrines of grace. But with that also comes (not always, but often) an incipient critical spirit, partly because such a man begins to realize just how unscriptural many of the practices, programs, and perspectives are in the church he's attending; and partly because he has not equally cultivated a spirit of humility along with the growth he's experienced in other areas of his spiritual life. I don't know what this state of growth is called elsewhere, but here in the south we call it "the cage stage," for reasons I hope will become a little clearer in a moment.

This same man begins to rise above the mundane experiences of everyday affairs and interaction. He begins to neglect, not purposefully always but nonetheless realistically, his other responsibilities as a man/husband in Christ. He doesn't nurture his wife the same way he has sought to nurture his own soul. His growth in understanding has been more personal than familial in its perspective; and then he begans to discover that his beloved has been left behind in spiritual matters, most often because he's failed to cultivate in her the same understanding of spiritual realities with which he himself has been nurtured. What is the effect of that? Well, it often shows itself when his wife's insecurities begin to surface in some of the areas you've mentioned above. She doesn't share her husband's convictions because he's neglected her soul. She doesn't share his new friendships because her husband hasn't sought to make them her friendships as well. 

Another way it surfaces is that such a man/husband isn't sharing responsibilities in the home in tangible ways, such as any number of the following: holding family worship regularly in the home, praying with and for your wife, praying with and for your children, helping with the children, sharing domestic responsibilities such as doing the dishes, taking out the garbage, cleaning the house, etc. His wife begins to feel isolated and over-burdened with these mundane but necessary duties while the husband is experiencing the ecstacy of his newly discovered spiritual realities. He can't be bothered with those things, as much as he was before, because he's "growing in grace and showing great devotion to God," and his wife simply needs to understand and be happy for him! After all, look at the godly man he's become! 

But his wife has been in a church where none of those things were really important, but now she's suddenly thrust into a new atmosphere where virtually everyone there sees the importance of those things, and so her insecurity of isolation becomes all the more pronounced. What does she do? She begins to long for her old, undisturbed world when things were better, because she felt more secure therein and her husband was more attentive! Little disagreements in a marriage that were once never more than a tempest in a teapot erupt into raging storms and the foundations of life begin to shake!

Now then, perhaps some or a combination of these observations apply to you, and perhaps none of them do. But one thing will help. If you really want to show your devotion to God and your commitment to follow him - Make sure that you nurture the soul of your wife. Love her in tangible ways by making the effort to spend more time with her. Take her out regularly, schedule "dates" with her. Read the scriptures with her. Take the time to show her what you're learning, and be patient with her if the thunderbolt of God's grace doesn't hit her as directly or as quickly as it hit you. Ask her how you can pray for her. Help her more than ever with domestic chores and responsibilities. Include her in your friendships. In short, my brother, address her insecurities and destroy them by showing her that you are hers lock, stock and barrel, that the two of you sink or swim together, and that you love her with all of your heart, not just in word but in truth and in deed for Christ's sake. And for heaven's sake, don't grow weary in well-doing if she doesn't change overnight. Things don't usually go bad overnight, and they don't usually correct themselves overnight after having gone bad.

Could it be, could it be that some of what I've said applies to you? Think about what you observed concerning your beloved...


> However, my wife has not. She is very busy raising four children all under the age of five). She has no desire to study theological issues.


Are you as busy as she is "raising four children, all under the age of five?" If she feels, or is indeed, alone in this familial endeavor, then you need not wonder why she feels the way she does. But the good news is - that by God's grace you can change all of that, IF any of this applies to you.

My prayers are with you my dear brother,
DTK


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## crhoades (Sep 12, 2005)

DTK,

don't know if it applies to the other Chris, but the counsel is very wise and sound. I wish I would've read your post 3 years ago when I first got married. Providentially I've came around to your same conclusions by trial and error (and still coming around in practice). It is hard enough without kids...couldn't imagine 5!

[Edited on 9-12-2005 by crhoades]


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## rgrove (Sep 12, 2005)

Having had a similar situation occur in my life I'll relate my expereinces now a year and a half after making the switch. Some things might encourage you and some things might not, but here goes...

I am guilty of many of the things that Pastor King mentioned as you might be. We attended an SBC church for about seven years. I married my wife and became "Baptist" in the sense that I went to her church and I didn't care. I was raised RC, but didn't understand the differences at all because I hadn't studied them. I knew I had only become a Christian in college because I read the Bible for the first time as I was under the constant onslaught of Mormons (I was going to Boise State...). I was never catechized so I only knew what I read and accepted in the Bible. Well, I felt very similar to your wife in those days. We chose an SBC church locally after getting out of the Army because we liked the pastor and there were people our age and there was a nice Bible study class we could join. I was under water, though. All these people grew up in the church and were light years more knowledgable than I was. So I began to study. I wanted to know the differences between Catholicism, which I was raised in, and Protestantism (as well as Baptists in particular). I continued to read and grow and grow until I began to get beyond my wife in study (without knowing it really). I also began to have problems with the SBC church we were in. I had became a Protestant committed to the principles of the Reformation like almost nobody in the church. I also finally became convinced of Baptist ecclessiology during that time. But my wife and I only talked a little. I hadn't grown up in a family that had family worship. We didn't pray together. None of that, so I wasn't fulfilling any role as a spiritual leader in the household at all. Honestly, I didn't even know people did that sort of thing and had looked at our marraige as one of equals to that point... We didn't have children and we shared household duties, but I didn't know how to share spiritual things properly with her or how to provide leadership and bring her along. I also didn't know it was going to be a problem in the future. Actually, I can say I didn't really know she didn't already know most of what I was learning. I thought it was all basics that she was familar with. I was wrong... 

I became the Bible study leader after ours said he couldn't do it any longer. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. In a medium to large SBC church you practically become a little pastor and I was ill prepared. I agreed with the pastor that I wouldn't use it as an opportunity to try and "convert" people to reformed theology (I was already committed to the 1689 LBC by this time). Over the next two years, as I developed classes and studied intensely for them myself, the hole got deeper. My wife was in the class, but there's a huge gap between what proper study for the teacher is and what the students get out of the class. I wasn't filling that gap with her as I should have been. 

I tried to be an agent for reformation in the church, but it was clear the pastor had no desire to reform anything and there was nobody else to turn to. One pastor for a church of over a few hundred. He had eliminated the position of Deacon so he wouldn't have to upset anyone about whether there should be female deacons or not (women were being nominated, but thrown out, and it was about to cause a major split in the church so he eliminated the position). Things piled upon themselves. The new "personal evangelism" course was so full of methods I didn't approve of that I had to stop going. Very depressing because I had pushed for some way to help lay people learn how to share their faith more effectively. My eschatology was dramatically different than those in the church. My soteriology might as well have been from Mars. My ecclesiology was different (there was more screwed up than the deacon thing). And then he came open in his support for an earth that's billions of years old and God "used" evolution... I'm an ardent Biblical creationist and my wife and I both had that in common at least. So she was offended at the churches position as well. My wife knew about my growing problems, but church was her social group. She doesn't make friends easily (very shy) so when the time came to move on it was ugly. It was ugly for several months. Because of the love shown her by the new church things have gotten a lot better, but the pull of her friends at the old church remains. Only one other couple left when we left from our Bible study. The others just wanted everyone to "love Jesus" and were fine with believing whatever you wanted. A very serious problem with postmodernism existed for some time and I had fought it before and was fighting it again. 

She understood the reasons I had for leaving, but because of the gap there are still unresolved issues. She hasn't come to accept the doctrines of Grace and rarely shows a desire to look at it closely even though I've been working on this for well over a year now. I pray someday the Lord opens her eyes, but it hasn't happened yet. She still doesn't believe that matters of church polity are important enough to leave a church over. She doesn't accept the Regulative principle of worship at all and much prefers contemporary worship. Again, I can only continue to pray on this as it comes up frequently that services are "boring". Her previous pastors focused heavily on presentation as our last one did. He could certainly hold your attention, but the focus is different now. The focus is on sermon content in a Reformed church, not necessarily on delivery. Delivery still has importance, but there's definitely a difference in focus in Reformed churches and this remains an issue. The preaching on practical holiness and the seriousness of sin is something she still isn't used to. Sermons are too heavy she believes. 

But on the positive side, she respects how seriously the church takes the Bible and it's teachings. The love that everyone has shown her in the last year has softened her greatly. She doesn't go to the other church anywhere near as often now. I chose not to attempt to forbid occassional visits. This seemed to help the transition for her, but it has it's downsides as well. I also now pray with her at night and we just had our first child and when he's old enough we'll begin to do more formal family worship as well. I've also read scripture to her off and on when we go to bed. Puts her to sleep.  But in that process I sincerely believe she's begun to see that the Church's preaching is far more in line with the themes of the Bible than she was used to. She criticised me originally for picking "Calvinist" books of the Bible, or books that focused heavily on sin, etc. But I can see that these complaints have gone away because when I read from all scripture it's all the same themes that are preached on in Church now. It's not the same themes she's heard preached on in the past. So after a year and a half, progress has been made, but there is still a ways to go. A major key has been the love people have shown her. If this hadn't have happened, then I would have been forced to find a compromise church and that would have been a tragedy. I thank God that He spared us that end. Don't know if this helps, but I hope it might.


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## govols (Sep 13, 2005)

David,

Thanks for your post. That is something that, we as husbands, should read over all of the time.


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## ChristopherPaul (Sep 13, 2005)

Thank you for the responses.

Chris, it is funny that you brought up family worship. In some discussions with my wife last week over the problem, family worship came up. Your curriculum is very encouraging. At times I think I must be off in some way with my desires for certain things such as you described. But I believe discipline involves some pretty severe practices and sacrifices. May I ask, what specific psalm singing resources do you use? Any suggested CD´s? Thanks! My prayers are with you and your household.

Pastor King:

Your words are a well-needed exhortation. Your post has been stirring in my mind since last night.

For over two years I have been growing by leaps in bounds in the understanding of scripture. One truth at a time, one leading to another, then to another, and to another. This understanding is a breath of fresh air to me. 

With this revolution, the bible becomes a new book and I am absolutely humbled and thankful for unity and understanding; however, I also become combative and angry at all that mislead me for those ten years prior. So I begin to eagerly soak in all that I can and "œfight" all that once mislead. Meanwhile I am not including my wife in my discoveries and become quite meek in leading my household. 

Pretty soon she accidentally discovers various convictions by chance. "œWhat? You do not believe the church will be raptured away for seven years?" "œSo you believe in infant baptism now?" "œYou mean to tell me that God may have already decided to not save my children?" Needless to say she feels left out and confused.

Despite all these obstacles due to my failures, she has been very supportive of me. She does not have the desire to research this stuff and simply says that she trusts me. But this is not without frustrations. I need to be more supportive of her and as you so eloquently said it, nurture her soul, love her as Christ loves the Church.

Thank you for your words and for your prayers. They certainly applied to me and are still resonating within me.

Grace,


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## ReformedWretch (Sep 13, 2005)

> Pretty soon she accidentally discovers various convictions by chance. "œWhat? You do not believe the church will be raptured away for seven years?" "œSo you believe in infant baptism now?" "œYou mean to tell me that God may have already decided to not save my children?"



The exact same questions I find myself facing frequently.


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## crhoades (Sep 13, 2005)

> _Originally posted by ChristopherPaul_
> Thank you for the responses.
> 
> Chris, it is funny that you brought up family worship. In some discussions with my wife last week over the problem, family worship came up. Your curriculum is very encouraging. At times I think I must be off in some way with my desires for certain things such as you described. But I believe discipline involves some pretty severe practices and sacrifices. May I ask, what specific psalm singing resources do you use? Any suggested CD´s? Thanks! My prayers are with you and your household.



I'm definitely not the Psalm expert around here - Andrew, Gabe wanna chime in? - but I just picked up His Mercy Fills the Earth from Psalms4u.com It is on sale for $11. I already had the Psalms from the Trinity Psalter with the Scottish Festival Singers. Between the two I like the His Mercy one better. It is accapella and easier to understand the words. There are beautiful pipe organs in the background for the Scottish one...

Check out the listening post here:
http://www.psalms4u.com/listen.html
It'll give you a chance to listen to different cd's. If you don't mind cassette tapes, they are on sale now for $3/piece. 

There are online resources with Midi files and the text if you have a computer handy when doing worship:

http://www.rpca.org.au/Resources/PsalmMIDI/

http://www.rpc.org/psalms/tunes.php

http://www.cgmusic.com/workshop/smp_frame.htm


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## DTK (Sep 13, 2005)

Dear Chris,

Please be assured; these words come from one experienced sinner to another. For all of our domestic faults and failures and sins, He who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ever think or ask - is able to restore the years that the locust has eaten (Joel 2:25). 

If we but stop and think about how precious our wives and our children really are to us, and begin to weigh the responsibility we bear in the nurture and cultivation of their souls, and how often we've neglected the same"”we weep with the sentiment of the Shulamite who said, _"They made me the keeper of the vineyards, But my own vineyard I have not kept."_ 

It gives me cause to pause and think of those words of John Owen with which Fred Greco's signature reminds us by every post he makes. And if they find application in many sphere's of life, they most surely find application first and foremost in the sphere of our domestic duties: _"God hath work to do in this world; and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority. It is not enough that we be just, that we be righteous, and walk with God in holiness; but we must also serve our generation, as David did before he fell asleep. God hath a work to do; and not to help Him is to oppose Him." (John Owen, IX.171) _

Let us pray for one another to fulfill God's work in our homes; for there his work for us begins,
DTK


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## ChristopherPaul (Sep 16, 2005)

The other night, my wife and I were talking further about this topic. It was uncanny how much your responses were of help to me days before my wife and I happened to talk specifically about my failure to nourish my wife´s soul.

Some things became clear after our conversations:

Â·	Many of those who convert to a Reformed understanding of scriptures first go through a denial stage. Their instinct, as was mine, is to fight such "œabsurdity."
Â·	Those who continue to search the scriptures to see if these things are true finally leave the stage of rebellion and come to a stage of embracement.

My wife is in the first stage. Although, she supports my guidance for our family, she is frustrated and full of questions and concerns.

We have begun attending a PCA church. My wife cannot agree to let our children be baptized when the time comes for us to become members. We have not studied the scriptures together over the matter (yet). I have told her some "œgists" to show her why I now consider myself a Paedobaptist. But she cannot get past how she was raised and her mindset. According to her baptism is a public display of a person´s new birth.

She cannot get over the contradictions that she sees with those who agree with the reformed doctrines of Predestination. She knows that I believe, in her words, that God chooses us, we do not choose Him. Then when any reformed teacher or I say something to the affect of "œchoose on this day whom you will serve," she cries contradiction.

Again, I understand her frustration, but it will take time together in the word.

I also remembered something. When I was doing all my research on Reformed doctrines, I remember that I intentionally did not bring up what I was discovering because I wanted to first make sure I was convinced in my own mind first before I explained it. In hindsight I should have included her even if I had not come to any conclusions yet.

I guess this is just some random thoughts now"¦

I appreciate the replies. I can see that this can be a common issue among spouses.


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## ChristopherPaul (Sep 16, 2005)

> _Originally posted by crhoades_
> I'm definitely not the Psalm expert around here - Andrew, Gabe wanna chime in? - but I just picked up His Mercy Fills the Earth from Psalms4u.com It is on sale for $11. I already had the Psalms from the Trinity Psalter with the Scottish Festival Singers. Between the two I like the His Mercy one better. It is accapella and easier to understand the words. There are beautiful pipe organs in the background for the Scottish one...
> 
> Check out the listening post here:
> ...



Thank you for the very helpful links Chris! I ordered the His Mercy Fills the Earth CD.

Cheers!


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## ChristopherPaul (Sep 16, 2005)

> _Originally posted by houseparent_
> 
> 
> > Pretty soon she accidentally discovers various convictions by chance. "œWhat? You do not believe the church will be raptured away for seven years?" "œSo you believe in infant baptism now?" "œYou mean to tell me that God may have already decided to not save my children?"
> ...



Hi Adam!

This is sort of off topic, but my wife and I were raised in Chambersburg/Shippensburg area not too far south of you. Hershey was right up I-81 from us.

Also, I was a close friend with a guy in college who lived in Palmyra.

I have been to Hershey Park far too many times.


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## ReformedWretch (Sep 16, 2005)

> _Originally posted by ChristopherPaul_
> 
> 
> > _Originally posted by houseparent_
> ...



That's pretty cool!


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## ChristopherPaul (Sep 29, 2005)

Thank you to all who have prayed for me and my household.

My wife has met some terrific women at our new church and she has become excited about our recent move. She had a blessed experience last week at Wednesday night service. Due to work constraints I was unable to go, so it was just her and our four kids. She was able to meet many of the woman in the church and she also was encouraged by the worship and message. She also went to the women's Bible Study and is eager to learn. They are studying Judges with an introductory focus on God's overall plan of redemption revealed to us through the covenants. The teacher is currently attending Westminster Seminary in Philadelphia, not to become a Pastor or Elder (of course), but to simply be better able to teach women and children. My wife was very encouraged by her new friends and teachers who are better able to relate to her situation and concerns than I.

In the meantime, my wife and I are preparing to start family worship and Bible study within our home. 

Also our oldest child's (4 years old) Sunday School class is teaching her using the children's catechism which is very exciting.

Finally we are being taught by able and qualified teachers. God's ways are so perfect, the timing of things right now is very humbling because it is all working out so well.


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## bond-servant (Sep 29, 2005)

Hurray!!!!


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