Through Christian Eyes

My family and I had the opportunity to spend a nice long weekend in upstate NY. We were visiting our good friends who we met through church in Virginia. We truly missed them and decided we should pay a visit before Baby Bayer is brought into the world this July. Before traveling up there, we made a list of places we wanted to see while in the Rochester area. We chose Palmyra since I wanted to share my past belief to my friends.

I decided to share my thoughts after visiting Palmyra this past weekend. I hope this doesn't offend my LDS friends, but rather shares my side of the story as an "apostate" as I have been called from their Bishops before.

The first stop on our visit to Palmyra, NY was Hill Cumorah. I thought it was a great stop since this Hill has encountered so much LDS history. We stopped inside the Visitor Center where we were greeted from one of the lady Elders (missionaries). She brought us inside the room where a large statue of Jesus Christ is and shared her testimony in a soft spoken voice and then played a recording of Jesus Christ's voice. Sitting there was pretty uncomfortable for me since I didn’t want to tell them I am an ex-Mormon. It brought so many memories back to me as a Mormon and how my family would visit the temple often and sit through the same repeated "events."

The Elder then took us to the room where they would play a 20 minute video of Joseph Smith's history. It was the same video I once saw back in 2003-2004 and at that time it would make me ball. This time around, I did find myself crying but for a different reason. There wasn't an ounce of Christ in those videos but about a sinful man who many idol over. Joseph Smith was portrayed in the movie as a perfect guy who wanted nothing more than to find the "true church". It was pretty upsetting to see how the LDS faith views the Christian faith as a whole. In the film, you see Joseph walking around town with his family where those crazy Christian preachers were yelling at each corner "you must be saved" or "you’re going to burn in hell" etc. It's not a shocker they would illustrate the Christian faith this way. After all they are sectarian and view themselves as the only "true church". I actually ended up walking out of the film. Not because it was too much, but Isaiah was screaming and I wanted my friends to watch it in peace.

I waited in the Visitor/museum section of the place while Isaiah was running around screaming trying to grab everything in sight. As I was looking at everything, I found it shocking there are no artifacts from a suppose war on this Hill that resulted in tens of thousands of men from around 421 A.D. Not to mention, it was nothing but Joseph Smith history. You think they would explain their history from the battle from the Book of Mormon between the Lamanites and Nephites and share some type of visual proof. After my husband and friends exited the film, they were a little weirded out that the woman ended with saying "I can feel your soft spirits in this room" and later closed with her testimony. To me, it was normal of the LDS members to do this. I think it was just strange this time around that I was actually viewed as a "lost soul." Pretty funny really.

Before leaving the visitor center to make our hike up the Hill, I chuckled as I saw tissue boxes at each corner. I remember how sappy and sentimental my faith was. How I actually thought I could perfect myself and just have "faith" without the historical facts to back me up. It truly shows how the church operates through the deceitful heart of sinners. I remember this being my greatest weapon to further my distance from my relationship with God. I had a gushy spiritual feeling that was nothing but a load of crap. My faith was nothing different from Satan himself who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden to eat the fruit.

As we walked up the very top of Hill Cumorah, I remember questioning how a dude could walk alone down this tall hill with 50lbs of the suppose golden plates and make it home without someone seeing him for 3-4 miles? To me this makes no sense! Apart from no artifacts found on the Hill from the time of 421 A.D., this to me left many holes in their story, but I suppose the whole "faith" tactic could be used.

My friends were obviously clueless while on top of Hill when reading the statue of Angel Moroni, who was the Angel that placed the plates for Joseph Smith to later retrieve. The first 3 witnesses of the faith are no longer LDS…why was this? Was there something about their “true church” that didn’t necessarily appear true? And why is this never mentioned as much while at the Hill Cumorah? As we looked puzzled, there were young Elders at the top of the Hill who didn’t even approach us. Yet, they were flirting with the 3 young ladies up there and impressed them with running down the Hill. These are called missionaries? Anywho…we were thankful for the older Elders to hand out some flyers with dates, but it still left us scratching our heads.

Our next venture was to Joseph Smith’s log home, frame home, and the famous sacred grove. As we settled at the home, an older Elder saw us from the window and ran to the exit door in order to catch our attention by saying “would you like a tour?” We couldn’t resist, since he seemed willing and sweet. Again, Isaiah was cranky from no nap and ran around for the older ladies to feed him pretzels. They were very kind to him, which made him want to ditch us and hang out with them. Our tour guide (Elder Shumway…will never forget his name) first asked our small group of 5 adults “Are you guys part of the LDS church?” I was amazed they asked this, but obviously we did stick out a little. I didn’t bother saying I use to be, since I was afraid they would treat me differently. We all answered "no" and he then went into the history of the sacred grove, Hill Cumorah and Joseph Smith. He was such a patient sweet old man, but this made me sad for him. As he came close to the end of the tour, I asked how heavy the plates were and my husband asked where the plates were today. They were very simple, yet important questions. Elder Shumway seemed nervous, but did answer it the way any typical LDS would really. We already knew this, but just thought we ask to confirm. We didn’t bother debating nor fighting back with tough questions. Instead, we remained respectful since we were on their grounds, and let’s face it, 5 adults against one elderly guy? Wouldn’t seem fair!

After he ended the tour, he bore his testimony the way any typical LDS would, “I believe this is the true church of Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon is another testament of Jesus Christ, etc.” He then offered us a copy of the Book of Mormon along with other pamphlets. He noticed I had a son and my friend was pregnant and even made a point how the church is all about family. I knew they would, since it is an easy way to attract people. The pamphlets they handed out on family were nothing that would offend someone outside their faith. As a Christian, I think it’s great they try to practice strong healthy families, but this isn't religion really. It is similar how Christless groups and the LDS use the benefits as a way to lure people into their religion. It's quite sad really, because the gospel itself is what gives growth alone.

The adventure was a bit strange to me since I haven't stepped foot inside an LDS sacrament meeting for over 6 years. I did take myself off their roles prior to my baptism in May 2005 and received a letter from them discontinuing "blessings and prayers" for me. Is it even stranger that I have a file at home labeled "Mormon"?

Over all, the trip to Palmyra was a huge flashback on sad memory lane. Let me make it known that I love Mormons! It makes it even harder that my family that I love and respect dearly is caught up in this. They use the same theological vocabulary a Christian would, yet redefines the meaning.
The Bible ALONE is the written revelation of God, complete and sufficient in all respects. The Scriptures are "God-breathed" and therefore fully authoritative in and of themselves; they rely for their authority upon no church, council, or creed, but are authoritative simply because they are the Word of God. There is NO need of a "second Bible" that the LDS claim.
If you are an LDS friend reading this, I hope you actually study the Bible apart from the BoM. If you have questions and/or concerns with me, then please send me an email or even drop by my house. I would actually love to invite a Mormon family willing to discuss the scriptures into my home. Not to simply debate like dogs, but share both sides of the fence. I have heard the warm fuzzy testimony's they have given. I want some meat in your spiritual conviction, meaning deep theology and/or historical facts. Not a simple testimony recording you give the first Sunday of each month, but something with actual substance.

In closing, before Christ’s crucifixion, Jesus promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against His church (Matthew 16:18). However, an LDS would argue that the gates of hell did prevail against Christ’s church since their Prophet Joseph Smith states all churches are wrong. Who should we believe?

Eternity is a long time to be wrong.

Did I marry Rudy?

Did I marry Rudy? If you have never seen this film, then you will be completely lost. Rudy was a true story about a young guy who lived in a blue collar town that dreamed about being part of the Notre Dame Football team. After the tragic death of his friend, he felt more motivated to go out to Notre Dame. He later reaches out to a Priest who signs him up for a community College and makes a promise if he gets good grades to enroll him at Notre Dame. You then see a hardworking man who does anything to reach his goal. Well, obviously his dream does come true, but it wasn’t easy. Now, how do I parallel this to my husband? Well, hopefully you can see the connection in this post.

Many people who know my husband know he doesn't like to reveal too much except for the following subjects: politics, theology, books, seminary, history, music, martial arts, cigars, beer & liquor, video games, metal shows, guns, and how awesome his wife and son are. If you fail to engage in any of these subject discussions, then you will only get a quiet boring man. I remember meeting my husband for the very first time and instantly thought he was a hottie. He wore nasty old Chuck Taylor’s, rugged independent hat that hid his much needed hair cut, blue button up shirt that wasn't ironed, and nasty ripped jeans. I didn’t know at our first “meet” (still don’t consider that our first date) that I would marry such a passionate man.

As many of my close friends know, John was my witness. Our dates involved the Bible and catechism. We know how to have a good time…sorry you envy us for such awesome dates! [insert sarcasm] He didn’t know right away that he wanted to get into the ministry, but once he did after we married in 2006 he started to look for schools that were affordable and somewhat decent to finish up his B.A. He has been attending Washington Bible College and has less than 9 months away from graduating in Biblical Studies. The next step in this process is finding the right seminary to attend that will teach sound reformed doctrine and hopefully at the right price. We are drawn to Westminster Theological Seminary in CA, but the cost of living in the San Diego area is crazy expensive. My husband reminds me that he has choices, but he constantly falls back to Westminster CA. Either way, we are looking into ditching the DC area and possibly the East Coast entirely. We have never moved far from our family and friends, so the pressure is on! Many of our family and friends do not understand why we have to move, but then again they view any school is good. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case when it comes to the ministry. You don’t want to attend a school where you feel like the minority with your theological views. It’s best to attend a school where you love the staff and professors and their teaching. The goal is to move the entire family out there in hopes we don’t survive off of ramon noodles alone. We do hope to have tons of support from churches and family. Something we have been praying about.

 I can’t help but feel more gratitude each and everyday, as God works in my husband’s life and the rest of our family. I can only praise God for His divine grace and mercy in saving me, a wretched sinner. God works in amazing ways in His children and throughout their lives. I see the gratitude that Paul had now more than ever going from Church persecutor to Gospel preacher to the Gentiles. As many are aware, my husband wasn’t always Christian. He was once a Church persecutor, and now maybe through the grace of God my husband will be half the preacher Paul was. Seminary is the next stepping stone, but that doesn’t end his goal in the ministry. I hope my husband can feel ½ the excitement Rudy did when dressed in his first game at Notre Dame, although not in a papist setting and rather through a Reformed Christian point-of-view. ;)

Fireproof--cheesy or realistic?

My husband and I rented "Fireproof" from Netflix a couple of week's ago. We were probably the last Christian couple to watch it. I was very hesitant to watch this movie. I thought it would be your typical cheesy Christian movie with experimental theology. I didn't want my conscience to be violated!




After hearing from many friends, I decided to bite the bullet and actually watch the movie. I remember on Friday night, my husband was thrilled to open the Netflix envelope to only discover “Fireproof.” I remember hearing him say, “What!? I don’t want to watch this crap.” I was laughing hard, but said, “Seriously, I want to watch this.” I even remember jokingly say, “Maybe we can save our marriage!” [insert southern accent] Trust me, we are fine, but like any couple you need to refresh your marriage responsibilities once in a while. Now, are you ready to hear my earthy thoughts on the movie?


I thought it started off very cheesy and I was very worried that my husband would never let me choose a movie on Friday nights ever again…thanks Kirk Cameron! It started off with the disrespectful angry couple. I felt bad for the wife, Catherin, yet blamed her on being a sucky wife that was bad at acting. Then again, her husband Caleb (Kirk Cameron) was a jerk who expected the woman to bow down to her and play as his puppet. They both sucked on the whole “teamwork” thing that a marriage requires and showed very little respect towards each other. The fighting scenes were hilarious. I didn’t feel that well connected to the couple, but I did notice right off the bat they hated each other. I think I was the only one who thought their fighting scenes weren’t realistic at all. I am not saying curse words are always necessary, but their situation almost was screaming for a few curse words here and there. When someone pushes my buttons and I loose my temper, you bet I will speak out of anger and a few curse words would fly out of my mouth. It’s only human.


As the movie reached to Caleb wanting some manly advice from his Dad, I then started to see a man who wanted his marriage to work, but not really. When his father gave him a 40 day “trial” I started to mock it this "trial". I remember saying, “Why is there always a stupid 20, 30, or 40 day trial for a Christian film…this is stupid.” I was quick to judge, but it slowly vanished as the content of the 40 day “trial” was revealed. I found the process slow and easy. I enjoyed how the “trial” was revealing Christ through-out the entire process. Of course, Caleb didn’t notice it and treated it like a chore. “Cool, I got 1 day out of the way….let me go grab a beer now!” While he still didn’t receive respect from his wife, he felt very useless and just wanted to give up. His Dad came to the rescue to listen to his son’s frustrations to hopefully relate to him through example. As Caleb was explaining how his wife still continues to disrespect him, mock him, and spit in his face, he then questions, “How am I supposed to show love to somebody over and over and over who constantly rejects me?” You then see where his Dad ties the "trial" to Jesus Christ. His Dad then says, “that’s a good question.”

Son, you just asked me: how can someone show love over and over again when they're constantly rejected? Caleb, the answer is: you can't love her, because you can't give her what you don't have. I couldn't truly love your mother until I understood what love truly was. It's not because I get some reward out of it. I've now made a decision to love your mother whether she deserves it or not. Son, God loves you, even though you don't deserve it. Even though you've rejected Him. Spat in His face. God sent Jesus to die on t he cross for your sin, because He loves you. The cross was offensive to me, until I came to it. But when I did, Jesus Christ changed my life. That's when I truly began to love your mom. Son, I can't settle this for you. This is between you and the Lord. But I love you too much not to tell you the truth. Can't you see that you need Him? Can't you see that you need His forgiveness.

After this scene, I was full of tears. Yes, I hear this message over and over again each Sunday, but it sunk in as I was witnessing a couple on the edge of divorce who didn't have Christ in their lives. Their marriage almost did seem pointless. I noticed Caleb’s character go from arrogant to humble. I loved Caleb's speech to his wife who was laying in bed sick:

I am sorry. I have been so selfish. For the past seven years, I have trampled on you with my words and with my actions. I have loved other things, when I should have loved you. In the last few weeks, God has given me a love for you that I have never had before. And I have asked Him to forgive me. And I am hoping, I am praying, that somehow you would be able to forgive me too. Catherine, I do not want to live the rest of my life without you.

Obviously the wife later forgives him as he showed more commitment to the marriage then before and she wanted to commit as well. I am not big on couples who renew their vows, but due to this couple treating their marriage like a contract as un-believing Christians, I think renewing their vows as a covenant was very necessary and a sweet ending.


I do own it on DVD now, and plan on watching it from time to time. I will even suggest to couples who are seeking marriage or couples who are struggling in their marriage. My husband was even impressed with the theology...that's a HUGE compliment! It only proves you can never judge a book by its cover.

Out with the bloody and in with the bloodless

Isaiah David Ketterman

Baptized, March 8, 2009

It has been a year since my son, Isaiah David was baptized and I thought it was a perfect time to explain my position on infant baptism and why I find it Biblical. Please keep in mind, this is only a summary. I tried my hardest to touch on every point and shorten it, but when it comes to something like this, you know how long it can end up.

Past understanding as a LDS (Mormon)


When becoming Christian, I cannot count the many debates between my husband (good friend at the time) and me on infant baptism. Coming from an LDS (aka Mormon) background, we obviously didn't believe in baptizing infants until they reached the age of accountability, which was 8 years old. Instead of baptizing infants, they would give the child a blessing in front of the church during sacrament meeting on Sunday while the cute infant was clothed in white. Then the proud parents would show-off their bundle of joy as the church went "awwww". I never questioned why we never baptized infants when I was LDS. Instead, I held the view that maybe their sinless until 8 years old. Now thinking back on that, I was one clueless child! How is it a child is perfect up to 8? I remember being a little devil prior to 8 years old while hitting my siblings, back talking my parents, being bored in church and would try to play sick in hope my family would skip that Sunday.


Scripture to Scripture


As I began to study infant baptism, I obviously didn't find an "age of accountability" in scripture, especially with the determined age of 8. That obviously was not Biblical, so I threw out that theology I once believed. Instead of comparing Scripture to the LDS Prophets or any other secondary book, I would compare Scripture to Scripture. After doing this, I realized how simple it is to study Scripture without the words of a Prophet, Pope, Bishop, nice little nun, etc. The Bible is very clear for the simple-minded person, but that doesn't necessarily mean all Protestant Christians are identical on teaching. With that said, I do believe infant baptism is Protestant going back to the Reformers such as, Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli and John Calvin. Yes, these great guys didn't always see eye-to-eye, but they all agreed on the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Infant baptism has historically been practiced dating back to the Apostolic period.


Covenant of Grace


In the gospels, Jesus left us 2 signs to be observed until He returns; Lord's Supper and Baptism. These signs can easily correspond to circumcision and the Passover and are called covenant signs, because 1) God calls them this and 2) they are signs of His covenant relationship to those He loves. The covenant of grace is God relating to His people. Covenant is a binding oath between the Lord and His people, in which He promises to His people to be their God and His people. To explain the title of this blog "bloody" I was referring that to the covenant of grace, which was signed and sealed in blood.


I discovered covenant theology when becoming Reformed. It is very hard to ignore the word "covenant" in the Bible and I believe it is impossible to understand the Bible without understanding God's covenant to His people.


Back to the "bloody" part of my blog title, the Lord gave a bloody mark as a sign to Abraham that he and his children belonged to the Lord (Exodus 12:1-13, 21-29, 43-51).


God instituted the annual celebration of the Passover. This is to remind God's people that He has mercifully and graciously redeemed them from bondage in Egypt. The Passover has many similarities to circumcision, which is 1) both are bloody and 2) associated with God's promises. Circumcision was applied to both infants and adults (no age restrictions). This was a mark of entrance into God's covenant people.

In with the New and out with the Old

Do you remember the Covenant God made with Abraham? Similar to this covenant, God made a covenant to come later. This new covenant was made with the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is a servant of the New covenant. The Old covenant was becoming more and more obsolete as the glory of the New covenant was becoming permanent. Is there a connection between baptism and circumcision? I believe so. It is pretty clear in Colossians 2. The point of contact between them is Christ and baptism is the sign and seal of that circumcision. Colossians 2:11, Paul says "in him you were also circumcised with the circumcision done by Christ" and in verses 12, he says exactly how it is that we were circumcised in and by Christ, "having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith...." In baptism, we are identified with Christ's baptism/circumcision, as it were, on the cross. Baptism and circumcision does not effect this union. Rather, God the Spirit unites us to Christ, makes us alive and gives us faith.


Scott Clark, Professor at Westminster Theological Seminary CA explains what baptism does:

Baptism and the Lord's supper proclaim the same message as the written Word of God: salvation is God's free gift. We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Just as God the Holy Spirit inspired the Scriptures, so also God ordained, in his Word, baptism and the Lord's supper. Because sacraments are signs and seals, they do not, in themselves, save. They testify to God's grace, they point us to Christ, and seal to us his salvation. Just as circumcision did not save, neither does baptism.

Why infant baptism though?

So why should we baptize infants when they clearly don't understand what is happening and they cannot repent? We must remember that God is God not only to adult believers, but children as well. Our children shouldn't be treated outside the visible of God's people! Jesus made the same argument in Mark 10:14. He says that the Kingdom of God belongs to children of believers. In Acts 2:39, Peter specifically includes children in the fulfillment of the promise. In Ephesians 6:1 Paul addresses children as if they were in the covenant people of God. Many who oppose infant baptism try to point out that it is not directly commanded to "baptize infants". That might be the case, but is there really a need of command for this? I could easily argue the same for the Trinity.


Ending

Since the New covenant Scriptures never tell us not to apply the covenant sign to our children, we have every reason to believe that the children of believers must receive the sign of entrance into the covenant people. God was gracious to Abraham, God is gracious to us. He has given us visible reminders and marks of that grace and one of those is baptism. What wonderful news!

The end to the shaggy haired baby

After dinner last night, I kept saying, "this kid needs a haircut!" Twice in the past 3 months, I trimmed Isaiah's hair myself. It was simple, but it wasn't great. The first time I trimmed his bangs too short it revealed his big forehead...gee where does it come from? *sigh*

John and I took Isaiah to Hair Cuttery since it was close by and we know some of the stylist. I was a bit nervous. Not for the stylist, but for my wiggly baby boy. It was close to 7 p.m. when he is getting ready for bed and turns into a nightmare.

I sat with Isaiah in the chair and had his favorite teddy bear ready to pull-out anytime the waterworks decided to show up. The guy was super fast, that Isaiah didn’t have a second to think about what was happening! He actually enjoyed it. He loved seeing his hair flying around and would constantly stare himself in the mirror laughing. He would even tilt his head for the stylist when needed. When the stylist pulled out the buzzer, I then started to sweat. I then heard giggles from Isaiah and started to think my son was crazy. I wouldn't want a buzzer near my ears! Where the heck does he get this from?

 

After finishing, the stylist rewarded Isaiah with a certificate for his 1st official haircut and even saved a few pieces of hair in an envelope for us to place in his scrapbook. I was pleased with the service and especially for Isaiah's behavior. Who would have thought a 12 month old baby enjoys haircuts? Let's hope this continues!

Party like a Rock-Star!

I can't believe the day I have been planning for 12 months has passed! That's right; I was planning Isaiah's 1st Birthday Party since the day he was born. It gave me something to look forward to while being smothered in baby spit-up, soothing a selfish soothing baby and having to constantly feed the lil dude until I felt the need to declare my "kitchen" bankrupt.

I wanted to make my son's Birthday a big deal not only for him, but for us parents. It is a day to celebrate his 1st year of life, while it's also a time for parents to celebrate surviving and not killing each other (no not the baby you sickos). I do hope that doesn't come across harsh, but let's face it, the 1st few months with an infant start to make you a bit crazy. If you seem to disagree, then I admire your patience. My patience comes from a couple shots of Captain, but that seems to rob my wallet.

I decided not to cook myself since I wanted to give my guests my full attention. Besides, cooking for 20+ people would have killed me. Pay someone else to do it! We catered the party with Willard's BBQ. My brother and I seemed to disagree with what BBQ joint to go with, but I was the one paying so he can swallow his pride and remain silent. Christian, Dixie Bones is cool, but geographically, why would I travel 20 miles to a BBQ joint when there is one next-door and even cooler? Think about it smart guy!

We ended up with 23 guests in our house, which seemed like a full house! I was very happy to catch-up with family and old friends. Not to mention, having tons of cutie babies in my house to occupy Isaiah. It felt good walking away from him and entertaining people while he was cool stealing the other kids toys and balloons. I was thankful the kids weren’t brats and at least shared their toys. Thanks lil Annabelle for sharing your maraca!

I could go on and on about the party since it was a huge success, but I wanted to close with one memorable thought. Our good friend, Eric Williams put together a video for Isaiah's party. He used the clips John and I recorded through-out the year along with photos. I do hope to put it up on the web for others to watch soon. I can't stop looking at it and tend to get teary eye each time. I must be annoying John while constantly playing it over and over.

I remember relaxing that night with John and mentioning how we put a lot of effort into our first child that he already seems like our last sometimes. I don't want him to be my final child, but that's for God to decide. I want to treasure my future blessings with the same amount of attention and effort, which is why I wish to hold off. If it were up to me, I would wait a few more years. I love just us 3 musketeers at the moment! I don't want to change that anytime soon. We'll see what the future holds for us.


Thanks to everyone who made Isaiah's party a success! He enjoyed your company and fun gifts.

Winter Hater

It has been a crazy winter so far. I am beginning to believe that whole global warming shenanigans is make-believe. (I seriously hope you follow my sarcasm) I was telling my husband that I wish global warming was real during these crazy winter storms. So far, we have experienced 1 big snow storm and 2-4 minor ones that are enough to close schools. This Friday-Saturday, we are expecting another big one enough to trap my family inside and miss church on Sunday. Has anyone in the DC area noticed these storms occur only on the weekends?


The biggest issue I have with winter is being trapped inside where I feel the need to start a new project or clean, sit in front of a TV all day getting addicted to another show similar to Heroes or Lost, creating a new mess in the kitchen, shoveling out my cars, and last but not least the cold! Yes, it's beautiful when the snow first falls, but I can't help but think of the aftermath instantly and begin to shake my head in sadness. My complaining won't change a thing, but I am ready for a place warmer and NO, this doesn't mean FL. Sorry to my FL buddies, but I only view your state as a vacation getaway. You guys are a little too slow pace in my taste. I love the DC culture, but I wish to take it somewhere warmer.

 As many of you know, my husband and I might move in the next year or so due to school. My husband graduates next January from Capital Bible College. He is very excited to start looking into seminaries this summer and fall. I just told him to stop looking and stick with Westminster Theological Seminary CA. Don't get me wrong, my husband adores the school and staff, but the price to live in Southern California is crazy! Especially for someone who plans on attending school full-time with his awesome wife at home cooking and cleaning and making sure the kid isn’t raised like a mischievous sprite. We are in the process of fixing up our townhome, getting out of debt, and saving money towards school. So far we are on the right track, but prayers are needed. The school will fulfill my husband’s dreams and his wives dreams of warm weather. *tear*