My New Journey: Genesis 2...my answers

After doing a tremendous amount of snooping around and research I have discovered that all the Bibles that I was able to see (and those of people who emailed me back) all stated that God told Adam not to eat of the fruit and then created Eve.

This actually began to bug me as to why Eve was punished as well. I am not so sure that I found the exact answer that I was looking for to this but I did get into some great conversations and I did come across this answer as well as yet another question that had not occurred to me but was answered too. I hope that this helps you in your journey because I know that it helped me. Here is best answer that I could come up with:

Question: Did God tell Eve about the forbidden fruit directly and personally?
Genesis 2.16 clearly states that God commanded the MAN (Adam) not to eat the fruit, and warned him that eating the fruit would cause death.

The Bible is silent as to who told Eve but, from her conversation with the serpent (Gen 3.1-5), it is clear that Eve was quite aware of God's command.
God has made husbands responsible to be the spiritual leaders of their families, and to protect them, even if the husband must die in so doing (Eph 5.22-24).
Accordingly, it was Adam's responsibility to both warn and defend his wife from eating of the forbidden fruit. He may have done the former, but he very definitely did not do the latter.

Here is the question that had not even occurred to me but I am glad that I found it:
Question: What would have happened if only Eve had eaten the forbidden fruit, but not Adam? Would Eve have died while Adam would have lived forever?
The Bible does not answer this perplexing question.

Notice that God pronounced SEPARATE judgments on the serpent (Gen 3.14-15), Eve (Gen 3.16), and Adam (Gen 3.17).

God's judgments on Adam spoke of death whereas God's judgments on Eve did not. Moreover, Romans 5.12 would seem to indicate that it was Adam's sin that brought death into the human race.

Per Gen 2.16-17, it was Adam to whom God gave the command NOT to eat of the forbidden fruit. It was also Adam to whom God gave the warning that eating of the fruit would result in death.

I actually now feel as though I can finally move on in my reading of the Bible because I am content with I know and what I got out of it. The journey continues.

By the way, if you have any info that you would like to add to this, I would love to hear it. Just because I move on doesn't mean that I don't want to learn even more.

Larissa & Nathan updates with a little CJ mixed in.

Larissa got a call back ! For those of you that don't know, she auditioned for theatre and only eight people of all the people that auditioned got call backs. She got one of the eight. That means that there are eight basic characters in the play and she got one of them. They are still waiting to hear what play they will be doing but it is for the fall play so she is super excited and I am super excited for her. I can't wait to see my baby girl in her play.

I met with Nathan's teachers yesterday and it was great. They were wonderful and concerned teachers, the way that teachers should be. We worked together to try to come up with a way to keep Nathan on the right path. I am so in love with his school and his teachers are just amazing. I helped Nathan study for his Science test that he was having today and it blew me away how much he knew. I think that he might need to keep being nudged to stay on track but this is going to be an amazing year.

Larissa was doing her eye make-up yesterday and came to me (while CJ and I were playing) to ask if I liked her eyes. I said they are pretty and I asked CJ if he agreed. He said "yes but mama your eyes are very pretty too" and I said "aww CJ...thank you" then he said "mama your lips are beautiful too" and I said "wow CJ thank you" and he had to ruin it by saying "your lips don't have arms". Yes you read correctly he said that my lips are beautiful because they don't have arms. That is my CJ. I didn't even try to understand what he was talking about. I just took the wonderful compliments that I knew he meant...lol !

My New Journey: Week 4...Review (looking for your thoughts)

As I am sure that some of you noticed, I did not post anything on Sunday regarding My Journey. There is a reason for this.
I am a big believer in not moving on until you understand what you moved from. Well I am happy to say that I have gotten a good amount of responses for the past four weeks not necessarily on the comment section here but to my email as well. I guess that people feel more comfortable telling me how they feel individually verses putting it out there for the world to judge and I totally respect that. I am just happy to be getting the feedback that has been coming. Of course with feedback comes opinions and ideas, which I welcome open armed, but it brings up a lot of questions in me...which is great because that is why I am taking this journey to begin with. So I refuse to move on to the next verse until I am satisfied with what I have read...and that is sooo not the case right now.
So far, this is what I have gotten out of the readings and what I serioulsy need your help in better understanding. I am keeping it quite simple to avoid from turning this post into a book.

God created the world and everything in it, then created Adam. He told Adam not eat the fruit of the forbidden tree. God did not want Adam to be alone so he created Eve from Adam's rib. The serpent tricked Adam and Eve to eat of the forbidden fruit. God went on to punish the serpent, the woman and the man. That is the basic idea that I took from these readings.

Now...
Someone please tell me if their Bible reads something different because it appears as though God told Adam not eat of the fruit of the tree before Eve was even created and yet she was punished too. I did not read that she was warned. Maybe I am looking at this all wrong or maybe it's just he version that I am reading so please someone help me out. At first I thought it was because she did not not listen to him after God told her "Your desire will be for your husband, and he shall rule over you." but that was said after the fact as part of the punishment to her. So how would she have known?
The punishments are also boggling to me. I mean it seems as though God's "punishment" was what created life as we know it...obviously. Actually more like it was way back when. The woman is the homemaker who has children and takes care of the home and obeys her husband. The husband is the breadwinner for the family. But times have changed and that is not the case anymore. Both husbands and wives go out into the world and work to provide for the family. So how does that effect the punishment. I mean woman are still the child bearers and I don't see that changing anytime soon...lol. But even "he shall rule over you" does not really exist anymore. Marriage is build on respect, partnership and compromise. It is a two way street of two people working together for the good of the family but that is not how God intended it for us according to the Bible. What does that say for us as humans? Do we dismiss this as a changing of the times? Is the Bible's interpretation to be adapted to today or are we all headed in a direction that was not intended for us?

I know that I am way out here but my mind sometimes wanders, even when I don't mean it too and I need to try to understand all this before I can move onto the next verse.
Please send me all your opinions and thoughts on this either through the comment section or just email me...thanks !


P.S. Bethany...I could really use your input here girl !
Tracy...I can't wait for the Bible Study at your church. If anyone needs it, it's me !

An Overdue Dedication

It is time once again for one of my dedications. This one is long overdue though. So if you all remember after we decided to make the move to North Carolina that it was a dear friend who helped us settle things, get info and just give us the real lowdown that only the locals would know about. That dear friend was Paula.
I am not really sure what made us click so well together. She would probably tell you that it is because we are both crazy Portuguese woman with too many kids but the truth is that it's so much more than that. Yes, we are crazy...beyond words. Yes, we are Portuguese...actually both 100%. Yes, we would probably both tell you that we have too many kids but neither one of us would trade them for the world....which only emphasizes the crazy part...lol. There is something about Paula that I felt connected to from day 1 and honestly I feel as though she feels the same way.
Her real name is Teresa-Paula. Right from the beginning she told me what her name was and told me that her family called her Paula. How could I start calling her something other than what her family called her. Ironic that now down South, most people call her Teresa and I just can't bring myself to do it. She is Paula to me..now and forever.
Oh and did I mention that she is from RI too...Pawtucket to be exact. So as you can tell, we had so much in common right from the start but that certainly doesn't justify a friendship and certainly not the kind that we have. She went above and beyond what any normal person would do for another...a stranger none the less. That is right Paula, I am saying you are not normal...and neither am I for that matter. There was something different about her though. It was her genuineness and her kindness that was just beyond words. She even opened her home to us when we came to visit. Now before I tell you the famous story that she loves to tell everyone, let me say that although we had never met, we had spent countless hours on the internet together, on the phone together, our kids were friends already as well and although it was quite a gamble, on both our parts...it couldn't have been anything but her mother that brought us together with the help of God of course. Even before meeting each other, I had gone to Lasallette the day after Thanksgiving to visit her mother's plaque for her. It just felt like the right thing to do.
So the famous story goes like this:
We went to NC to visit and we stayed with Paula and her family. When it was time to go look at houses, she offered to stay with the kids. Knowing damn well that I wouldn't be able to get much done with three kids in tow and seeing how well all the kids got along, we agreed to let them stay. After we left, Paula decided to traumatize my children...lol. She asked Larissa if I had ever taught her not to talk to strangers on the internet and she said yes and then she proceeded to tell her that she should teach me...lol. She said that I left them with her and she could have been a murder. She definitely scared Larissa for a minute but she soon realized that she was just kidding.
With that being said, she invited strangers into her home too and we could have been murderers as well so there you go sweetie...we are both insane and out of our minds...and to think that Jose and Rick went along with it all too...lmao. We are definitely a crazy bunch.
It's two years later now and I can't imagine my life here without her. We have both had our ups and downs and will continue to have them but it makes it so much easier knowing that we are not alone. Saturday I was at Paula's with the kids (Jose stayed home thanks to his unhealthy addiction to the computer). And it was really nice to catch up. It had been a while since we spent time together. Internet, text messages and phones are great but there is nothing like just relaxing with a dear friend. It was nice complaining about our kids, our jobs and even our other halves but most of all, it was nice just knowing that we can do this anytime. It doesn't matter how much time has passed but our doors are always open (not litterally)..btw, you still need to come see the new house !
I just want to say thank you. Thank you for being crazy. Thank you for always being there. And thank you for being such a great friend !

Larissa never stops amazing me !

I am not really sure how many of you have Larissa as a friend on FB and then how many of you actually keep up with my teens status updates but.... I have to share this with y'all.
I was floored when I read this yesterday. I kind of teared...seriously ! Here is what she posted yesterday:
"Okay so basically since the new school year has started I've gone through so much change and it's a good thing. Major changes are still being made, and honestly I think going to Concord High School was the best change that could have happened to me !"

Sooooo...to those of you that don't know, Larissa was totally against going to Concord High School. I mean she drove me crazy. She was so stuck on her great JM Robinson that she wasn't even going to give this school a chance. She said this is school sucked and she knew this for a fact because she was told by her friends and even teachers at Robinson that Concord sucks. You can read more about that whole conversation in a previous post from this past summer.
Anyhoo, when the school year started she had a big chip on her shoulder and I knew that all it was going to take was her making friends and beginning to enjoy the school. I had said that I was giving her two weeks to come to this realization. Yesterday was two weeks and she has come so much further than I ever expected or ever dreamed. She actually not only really likes Concord High but she told Jose & I that she has learned more at Concord High than she did at Robinson. I almost choked on my drink when she said that. Jose just told me to be quiet and enjoy the moment. Then last night was that post. I was beyond floored. She actually realizes that the change the is good and she considers it to be the best change that could have happened to her...holy guacamole...my baby girl really makes me proud.

By the way, she auditioned for the school plays and made it. Now she is waiting for call backs to be posted to find out what play and what part they are offering her.

My New Journey: Week 3 Genesis 3

I posted this on Sunday but somehow it ended up in my SAVED posts and never got posted. I apologize for the delay in this. Sunday was a great day for me because I ended up having friends over and a very Spiritual conversation to my surprise. Thanks Lucy for spending time with us and opening up your heart to my religious inquiries. Can't wait to see you guys again.

The Fall
3:1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.

He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 7 Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loincloths.

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 And he said, “I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself.” 11 He said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” 13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this that you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

14 The Lord God said to the serpent,

“Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all livestock
and above all beasts of the field;
on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.
15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel.”

16 To the woman he said,

“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing;
in pain you shall bring forth children.
Your desire shall be for your husband,
and he shall rule over you.”

17 And to Adam he said,

“Because you have listened to the voice of your wife
and have eaten of the tree
of which I commanded you,
‘You shall not eat of it,’
cursed is the ground because of you;
in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life;
18 thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you;
and you shall eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.”

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. 21 And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.

22 Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” 23 therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.

This is a hard verse for me to read because I just think that it's too harsh. I can't understand punishing all of mankind for the wrong of one man and one woman. I am not questioning what God has done, I simply do not understand. I am sure that there will be a lot of opinions out there regarding this verse and I can't wait to read them all. What do you take from this reading?

My New Journey: Week 2 Genesis 2

Sorry that I did not post on Sunday but I was out of town. I am going to post the scripture now so that if anyone wants to add anything they can and I will come back later and actually post my thoughts.

The Seventh Day, God Rests
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.

The Creation of Man and Woman
4 These are the generations
of the heavens and the earth when they were created,
in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens.

5 When no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, 6 and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— 7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. 8 And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

10 A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there. 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon. It is the one that flowed around the whole land of Cush. 14 And the name of the third river is the Tigris, which flows east of Assyria. And the fourth river is the Euphrates.

15 The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” 19 Now out of the ground the Lord God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. 21 So the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. 22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said,

“This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man.”

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.