Update on Eloise

Eloise is now almost 17 months old and doing great. We say ‘great’ because in the big picture she really is. She continues to keep us very busy as she walks everywhere and wants to climb up on everything. Anything and everything that her brothers are doing she wants to do also. Although she is a bit delayed with her speech she makes it VERY clear through grunts and pointing her finger as to what she wants. Eloise, as we have discovered, is a TOTAL drama queen, but also the most adventurous/daredevil of all our kids. We joke the she has a contract with God in the fact that since He decided to spare her life so far, nothing can harm her now.

The few setbacks that we currently face primarily deal with her gaining weight and tolerating her ‘feeds’. Her dietician is working faithfully with us to establish a high calorie/high protein/low sodium diet that will give her all the nutriencs that she needs to not only maintain but also gain weight. Eloise’s metabolism is so high she burns every ounce of food that goes into her body and has a hard time gaining weight. Eloise is also struggling with a reoccurring reflux issue that is making it hard to keep any food ‘down’.

This winter will be a true test to how strong her immune system really is. Babies with severe heart defects have low immune system and have a hard time fighting even the common cold/virus. She will receive a special immunity shot that will help her fight against RSV. We will spend more time indoors and away from other children with illness than we usually do during this season. Please pray that she remains healthy during this season.

She really is true miracle and joy to our hearts.

Sarah Owen

What is a Christian? Does anyone know?

Christianity Today is the most respected and widely-read magazine about faith in the United States. One of the sister magazines is Leadership Journal, a quarterly resource for ministry leaders. The most recent issue relates the five kinds of Christians in the United States today. It is a fascinating study. Here are the first few paragraphs, the link to the entire article, and five different types of self-confessed Christians.

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Jennifer Hua identifies herself as a Christian. A 35-year-old former attorney studying Christian counseling at the Wheaton College Graduate School (Illinois), she has gone to church all her life and is a lay leader in her suburban Chicago congregation. She furthers her spiritual development by daily Bible reading, prayer, listening to and singing worship songs, and interacting with other Christians. And every few months, she carves out time for a silent retreat. “I do all of these things because I know from past experience I need to recalibrate my mind and my heart to be in tune with God,” she says.

James Smith also identifies himself as a Christian. He attended church as a child, but his attendance was minimal as a young adult. He believes in God, occasionally attends Redeemer Presbyterian in Manhattan when his time-consuming job in the finance district allows, but he does not often participate in other activities to further his spiritual life. He has a Bible but rarely opens it; what leisure time he has he spends with friends, most of whom are of different faiths, and he does not necessarily believe that his God is any different from the one his Muslim friend worships.

“I don’t think that God would be a God who would shut others out of heaven because they don’t use the word ‘Christian’ to describe themselves,” he says.

The United States is described in mainstream media as largely Christian (between 70 and 80 percent, depending on the study, identify themselves as “Christian”), and compared to the rest of the world, this is certainly the case. However, not all within this vast group of Christians are alike.

Read the entire article

The five types:

ACTIVE CHRISTIANS 19%

Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ
Committed churchgoers
Bible readers
Accept leadership positions
Invest in personal faith development through the church
Feel obligated to share faith; 79% do so.

PROFESSING CHRISTIANS 20%

Believe salvation comes through Jesus Christ
Focus on personal relationship with God and Jesus
Similar beliefs to Active Christians, different actions
Less involved in church, both attending and serving
Less commitment to Bible reading or sharing faith

LITURGICAL CHRISTIANS 16%

Regular churchgoers
High level of spiritual activity, mostly expressed by serving in church and/or community
Recognize authority of the church

PRIVATE CHRISTIANS 24%

Largest and youngest segment
Believe in God and doing good things
Own a Bible, but don’t read it
Spiritual interest, but not within church context
Only about a third attend church at all
Almost none are church leaders

CULTURAL CHRISTIANS 21%

Little outward religious behavior or attitudes
God aware, but little personal involvement with God
Do not view Jesus as essential to salvation
Affirm many ways to God
Favor universality theology

WHAT DOES ALL OF THIS SAY TO A LOCAL CHURCH?

I think the implications are huge!