Uncle Tom's Cabin/ Thanksgiving

I have just finished reading Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. On the eve of Thanksgiving, I haven't much time to write, but must put this down while it is all fresh.

The subject of slavery and the mark still carried by black people of African decent has always been a concern to me. Harriet Beecher Stowe did an amazing job of showing the evils and humanness of everyone involved, from the traders, to the owners and their children, to the abolitionists and the northerners who in their silence did nothing to the Christian slaves and the ones in more bondage than their physical bodies.

One of the many things that will stay with me about this book, is what an amazing job Stowe does of describing the sins done under the "protection" of "Christian" churches in total contrast to that of what she correctly understood a relationship with God Almighty to be.

I have marked many passages in this book and will carry them near to me. Not in anyway to diminish the message of the slavery of African's in our country and the subsequent treatment afterward to this day, but how many times over we see these scenes in the way we all think and treat others as less than what God created them to be.

This scene is from chapter eleven in a tavern where a notice has just been read of the running away of George.

"These yer knowin' boys is allers aggravatin' and sarcy," said a coarse-looking fellow, from the other side of the room; "that's why they gets cut up and marked so. If they behaved themselves, they wouldn't."

"That is to say, the Lord made 'em men, and it's a hard squeeze getting 'em down into beasts," said the drover, dryly.

(the previous man goes on the say that talents are wasted on them)

"Better send orders up to the Lord, to make you a set, and leave out their souls entirely," said the drover.

Said of Evangeline's mother who is always self-absorbed...

"Marie was one of those unfortunately constituted mortals, in whose eyes whatever is lost and gone assumes a value which it never had in possession. Whatever she had, she seemed to survey only to pick flaws in it; but, once fairly away, there was no end to her valuation of it."

Father, keep us all from this terrible sin. Help us love all you put around us while there is still life in them.

This one cuts to the heart of all our sin...

"...It is no more true of this race than of every oppressed race, the world over. The slave is always a tyrant, if he can get a chance to be one."

And to be sure we have a correct picture of how the Lord sees our suffering, Tom instructs us...

"Missis," said Tom, after a while, "I can see that, some how, you're quite 'bove me in everything; but there's one thing Missis might learn even from poor Tom. Ye said the Lord took sides against us, because he lets us be 'bused and knocked round; but ye see what come on his own Son,--the blessed Lord of Glory, --wan't he allays poor? and have we, any on us, yet come so low as he come? The Lord han't forgot us, --I'm sartin' o' that ar'. If we suffer with him, we shall also reign, Scripture says; but, if we deny Him, he also will deny us. Didn't they all suffer? --the Lord and all his? It tells how they was stoned and sawn asunder, and wandered about in sheep-skins and goat-skins, and was destitute, afflicted, tormented. Sufferin' an't no reason to make us think the Lord's turned agin us; but jest the contrary, if only we hold on to him, and doesn't give up to sin."

I would love to listen to the sermons men like Uncle Tom could have preached. I leave now to spend time with my family, thankful, that despite suffering and loss, Jesus has endured all suffering such as is common to man and is well acquainted with all our sorrows and even endured the cross. We are free in Christ! Therefore do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery, but in love serve one another!

American Indians

We have been studying American Indians this week. I however have been sick and without a voice, so I asked around about movies to watch. I had read else where about the image that Holly Wood gave American of Indians...how most of them where ALL Good or All Bad....and how most of the roles in the movies were played by people from brown skinned countries (other than American Indians) or even white people with makeup.

Someone suggested I Will Fight No More Forever.
I think it is very well done. I also noticed in the credits that people of several different tribes were used for the key roles of the Nez Perce people. It is a very moving account of the removal of part of this tribe from their land. Below is a picture of Chief Joseph as well as the speech he gave when he finally surrendered.

Surrender Speech of Chief Joseph WebText by Mary Lou McCloskey, Ph.D. Chief Joseph's Land, by David Manuel I Will Fight No More Forever Surrender Speech by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.

Already Gone

I've been reading a very thought provoking book called "Already Gone" by Ken Ham.

Several things I've gleaned so far...by college age when we "think" we are loosing church kids, most of them were "already gone".

They say they are turning away because of "hypocrisy" in the church, pastors who preach one thing but live another and a myriad of other reasons.

Ken (Answers in Genesis) and Britt (America's Research Group) wanted deeper answers. From their survey they began to uncover patterns in the stats that showed a large number of these 20's returned for Holiday Services and/or planned to return when they married or had kids.

So, why did they leave? The survey also showed that these kids did not have solid beliefs about the Biblical account of Creation and it went down hill from there. Many of them attended Sunday School and/or Youth Group, but didn't gain a firm grasp of the historical accuracy and the real relationship they could have with a personal God. I would add that maybe parents still struggled with this and neglected, or just didn't know how to teach these things at home. (Not judging...something of which we've been personally convicted and are working to correct).

"They see a great discrepancy between what the people are saying and the way that they are living; they may have been torn by what they heard a preacher preaching and what they saw him doing. I believe it very likely they have heard the pastor compromise in some way on Genesis - and they see this as hypocrisy when the Church claims to believe the Bible as the Word of God. These people want authenticity. They want grace, truth and RELEVANCY in the Body of Christ. They're not going to come back unless something changes on this level."

Post Darwin, "The Church began to make a disconnection at this point. It was the beginning of the road to irrelevancy: the Church gave up the earthly things (e.g., the biological, anthropological, astronomical, geological history as recorded in Genesis 1-11) and focused on heavenly things (spiritual matters, relationships, the gospel). When it came to science, the Church gave in to human notions. It was now acceptable to use the Bible to judge man's ideas to re-interpret the Bible, rather than to use the Bible to judge man's ideas."

"Churches today in America are not a place where one talks about geology, dinosaurs, fossils, or the age of the earth - that is left up to the schools and colleges. Effectively, the Church basically hands over the history of the universe to the secular educational institutions, and concentrates on the spiritual and moral aspects of Christianity. The Church actually disconnects the Bible from the real world. The children (and everyone else, through Sunday School lessons, youth studies, ect.) in the churches are really taught that in church, one doesn't deal with geology, biology, and so on - that is for school. In church, we talk about Jesus - we deal with doctrines and we study moral and spiritual matters - but anything pertaining to understanding geology, biology, astronomy, anthropology, and so forth is left for school."



The point I glean so far in my reading is what a pastor recently said to us. He said he believes the problem is we have compartmentalized our "spiritual lives", or work lives, our home lives, our fun lives...ect, ect...But God, the Creator of the Universe and every intricate thing in it, has placed answers for all of these things in His Word. He is real! He longs to have a real and personal relationship with us! They must be told this...we must stand on the truth...on His Word! If they are not, the church buildings are irrelevant.

9.10.10 Becoming a Man of the Spirit

I am still working my way through Bob Beltz "Becoming a man of..." series. Half way through Becoming a Man of the Spirit today, I want to share a point he brings to light.

"Understanding the flesh leads us naturally to learning how to identify when we are operating out of it...The processing unit God has built into each of our lives to help us understand, identify and then decide which state we will respond to, is the mind....God has created us with the capacity to be self-conscious."

Romans 8:5 "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires."

Colossians 3:2 "Set your minds on things above."

"Here is a simple reminder of the three steps we take to walk in the Spirit:

Step 1: Understand. Understand the feelings, desires, and behaviors that originate out of the Spirit and those that are products of the flesh. (Galatians 5)
Step 2: Identify: At any given moment, be able to identify which nature your promptings are coming from and which nature you are responding to.
Step 3: Decide. Choose to say no to the flesh and yes to the Spirit. Set your mind."



"Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God." John 3:5

KONOS

It is WAY past time for me to talk about KONOS Character Based Unit Study Curriculum by Carole Thaxton and Jessica Hulcy. I guess I've been so busy preparing myself for this adventure that I have not blogged as much, must less shared about KONOS.

As you might be able to tell from this blog, I have been homeschooling my children the last few years using the principles of Charlotte Mason and following Ambleside Online. I still believe the principles are great. Last spring, I began to see that I needed help in taking my teaching to a new level.

I began to research KONOS and the unit study approach, especially for my younger two sons. The older of the two had thrived on the great literature we were reading to a point, but I felt he and his younger brother needed me to add more active and hands-on learning. I will admit, there are spurts of this in me, but I am not an original thinker but spurred on by other ideas to make my own.

I had known about and even looked at KONOS before, but was overwhelmed at the time. I decided it was time to give it a closer look. I could immediately see that the boys would get into it and the growth it would cause in them. I got volume 2, but soon decided that I might as well start with Vol. 1 (It doesn't matter which you use first, but they created Vol. 1 when they had younger children).

During the summer months, I collected books, watched Jessica's videos, tried her sample online co-op lessons and read everything I could!

Basically, the volumes are broken down into character traits. Under each character trait, we learn things from every field of study that might connect with that trait. For example: Attentiveness is 4 weeks. First, we talk about what it means to pay attention and concentrate (love the concentrated orange juice example!). We talk about examples in the Bible, like when God Called Samuel, Mary and Martha and how Jesus watched to follow the lead of the Father in his ministry. Then we study the ear, the eye, Helen Keller, Alexander Graham Bell, the orchestra and its parts and much, much more. We watch videos, read books, do copy work, do experiments, act out scenes and keep a notebook of our work.

That is just a brief account, there are WAY more things we have done and way more things available in the lists! But, I'm sure you get the picture.

The next post I will tell about our first two weeks doing Vol. Attentiveness and our co-op that we will have this afternoon!

Arise my soul Arise!

Under His Wings

I found a new (old) hymn to love today. I really needed to hear it today too! God is always right on time to remind us we can trust Him!

Under His Wings by William O. Cushing 1896

Reminds me of my favorite Psalm...91

¹ He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.^a]">

² I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

³ Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

⁴ He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

⁵ You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

⁸ You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ If you make the Most High your dwelling—
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

¹⁰ then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

¹² they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

¹³ You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

¹⁴ "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

¹⁵ He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

¹⁶ With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

Blue Glass and Flowers...ah!

The Prodigal God Part 3 - The elder brother...

"He's adding things up, "I've worked myself to death and earned what I've got, but my brother has done nothing to earn anything, indeed he's merited only expulsion, and yet you lavish him with wealth! Where's the just in that?" (from Prodigal God by Timothy Keller).
The father makes known to the elder son his desire for him to join in the celebration of the lost son. We do not know what he chose. Jesus left the story open for the Pharisees to respond.

Will we accept God's ways over our own? Will we be happy for His will?
In a recent sermon at the Ligonier Conference, Burt Parsons said, ": "If you don't believe that Osama Bin Laden could be the elect of God, then you don't believe the gospel."

The Prodigal God Part 2 The younger brother...

Luke 15:11-32

Jesus tells a parable that begins with the younger of two sons asking for his father to give him his portion of the family estate. "...this division of the estate only occurred when the father died. Here the younger son asks for his inheritance now, which was a sign of deep disrespect. To ask this while the father still lived was the same as to wish him dead. The younger son was saying, essentially, that he wants his father's things, but not his father."

This statement really strikes me, because I think believers in Christ and unbelievers a like do this. We want God to be what we want him to be, when we want him to be, but want to stop short of giving him the honor He is due as creator and sustainer of all.

The younger son was asking his father to tear apart his life, his land and his identity and the father seems to do it without question.

The son leaves home and squanders everything until he finds himself feeling a bit jealous of the pigs lunch. He decides on a plan to beg to serve as a hired hand in the father's house.

The response he finds as he comes in sight of his father's estate is astounding. His father sees him coming and RUNS to meet him. Just as amazing he sends for the robe! "The father is saying, 'I'm not going to wait until you've paid off your debt; I'm not going to wait until you've duly groveled. You are not going to earn your way back into the family, I am going to simply take you back. I will cover your nakedness, poverty, and rags with the robes of my office and honor."

This shows how lavish and prodigal (prod-i-gal: 1. recklessly extravagant. 2. having spent everything.) God's grace is. "Jesus shows the father pouncing on his son in love not only before he has a chance to clean up his life and evidence a change of heart, but even before he can recite his repentance speech. Nothing, not even abject contrition, merits the favor of God. The Father's love and acceptance are absolutely free."

This story in no way is over at this point. Remember, Jesus is telling this parable in response to the snide comments of the Pharisees. Part 3 next time...

The Prodigal God Part 1

Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

"Most readings of this parable have concentrated on the flight and return of the younger brother- the "Prodigal Son". That misses the real message of the story, however, because there are two brothers, each of whom represents a different way to be alienated from God, and a different way to seek acceptance into the kingdom of heaven."

Two groups of people are present at this teaching..."Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law..."

The younger brother is the sinner or tax collector. They have left "home" or "respectable society" to live however they want...wild living. The older brother is the religious leaders. "They held to the traditional morality of their upbringing. They studied and obeyed the Scripture. They worshiped faithfully and prayed constantly."

The sinners "were gathering" to listen to Jesus. The religious were scrutinizing every move Jesus made, in this case, why he was eating with sinners and tax collectors. It is in answer to this question that Jesus tells this story.

"Through this parable Jesus challenges what nearly everyone has ever thought about God, sin and salvation. His story reveals the destructive self-centeredness of the younger brother's moralistic life in the strongest terms. Jesus is saying that both the irreligious and the religious are spiritually lost, both life-paths are dead ends, and that every thought the human race has had about how to connect to God has been wrong."

I love this quote!! "So whose side is Jesus on? In Lord of the Rings, when the hobbits ask the ancient Treebeard whose side he is on, he answers: 'I am not altogether on anybody's side, because nobody is altogether on my side...[But] there are some things, of course, whose side I'm altogether NOT on'."

"...religiously observant people were offended by Jesus, but those estranged from religious and moral observance were intrigued and attracted to him." (Luke 7, John 3-4, Luke 19 and Matthew 21:31) "If the preaching of our ministers and the practice of our parishioners do not have the same effect on people that Jesus had, then we must not be declaring the same message that Jesus did. If our churches aren't appealing to younger brothers, they must be more full of elder brothers than we'd like to think."

The Prodigal God

I have just finished my first reading of The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller. I usually soak a book up slowly, but I felt compelled to keep reading to the end of the "story". As a result, I plan to go back through and process in order each point to ponder and hopefully blog as I go. If you have read this book before, PLEASE comment. If you haven't read this book, get the book and PLEASE comment. :-)

All I can say at this point is that according to Timothy Keller's explanation of the story of the Prodigal Son from the Scripture (he says more appropriately called The Story of the Two Sons), I find myself to have acted out the part of both the elder brother and the younger brother.

Until my next blog, I'll leave with this quote from Jonathan Edwards' sermon "A Divine and Supernatural Light".

"There is a difference between believing that God is holy and gracious, and having a new sense on the heart of the loveliness and beauty of that holiness and grace. The difference between believing that God is gracious and tasting that God is gracious is as different as having a rational belief that honey is sweet and ...having the actual sense of its sweetness."

3.8.10 The Hiding Place

Just this morning, I finished my first ever reading of The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom. This amazing book has left me with much to process, so I will likely just do more than one post.

The Hiding Place tells the story of the German invasion of Holland during WW II and the eventual arrests of the ten Boom family for hiding Jews in their home in order to feed them and keep them safe from being sent to a concentration camp or killed. Along the way Corrie ten Boom relays stories of how she learned to rely fully on God and spread the gospel even through imprisonment first in Holland, then in Germany.

My first thought this morning is of the person I am angry with for a wrong done last night. Simultanious with that anger though is Corrie being released from prison alone without her sister after all that was done to them. Sometime later, she met one of the guards (who had been at one of the prisons she was in) after one of her talks and he came up to her and thanked her for her message of God's forgiveness.

His hand was trust out to shake mine. And I, who had preached so often to the people of Bloemendaal the need to forgive, kept my hand at my side.
Even as the angry, vengeful thoughts boiled through me, I saw the sin of them. Jesus Christ had died for this man; was I going to ask for more? Lord Jesus, I prayed, forgive me and help me to forgive him.
I tried to smile, I struggled to raise my hand. I could not. I felt nothing, not the slightest spark of warmth or charity. And so again, I breathed a silent prayer. Jesus, I cannot forgive him. Give me Your forgiveness.
Corrie took his hand and was amazed at what she found...
And so I discovered that it is not on our forgiveness any more than on our goodness that the world's healing hinges, but on His. When He tells us to love our enemies, He gives, along with the command, the love itself.

I am not comparing myself against this precious lady, but am reminded how trivial what angered me was, and that God is willing and able to give me His love and forgiveness for others.

4.3.10 George Mueller

I have just finished YWAM's Biography of George Mueller.


I am still reading Becoming a Man of Prayer . The life of George Mueller is a great example of a life of prayer and trust and dependence on the Lord. I have been humbled and convicted. I think the following excerpt from Mueller's book Answers to Prayer (this is also a link to a copy of it from Gutenberg) speaks for itself...

"Sometimes I found children of God tried in mind by the prospect of old age, when they might be unable to work any longer, and therefore were harassed by the fear of having to go into the poor-*house. If in such a case I pointed out to them, how their Heavenly Father has always helped those who put their trust in Him, they might not, perhaps, always say, that times have changed; but yet it was evident enough, that God was not looked upon by them as the Living God. My spirit was ofttimes bowed down by this, and I longed to set something before the children of God, whereby they might see, that He does not forsake, even in our day, those who rely upon Him.

"Another class of persons were brethren in business, who suffered in their souls, and brought guilt on their consciences, by carrying on their business, almost in the same way as unconverted persons do. The competition in trade, the bad times, the over-peopled country, were given as reasons why, if the business were carried on simply according to the word of God, it could not be expected to do well. Such a brother, perhaps, would express the wish, that he might be differently situated; but very rarely did I see that there was a stand made for God, that there was the holy determination to trust in the living God, and to depend on Him, in order that a good conscience might be maintained. To this class likewise I desired to show, by a visible proof, that God is unchangeably the same.

"Then there was another class of persons, individuals who were in professions in which they could not continue with a good conscience, or persons who were in an unscriptural position with reference to spiritual things; but both classes feared, on account of the consequences, to give up the profession in which they could not abide with God, or to leave their position, lest they should be thrown out of employment. My spirit longed to be instrumental in strengthening their faith, by giving them not only instances from the word of God, of His willingness and ability to help all those who rely upon Him, but to show them by proofs, that He is the same in our day. I well knew that the Word of God ought to be enough, and it was, by grace, enough, to me; but still, I considered that I ought to lend a helping hand to my brethren, if by any means, by this visible proof to the unchangeable faithfulness of the Lord, I might strengthen their hands in God; for I remembered what a great blessing my own soul had received through the Lord's dealings with His servant A. H. Franke, who in dependence upon the living God alone, established an immense Orphan-House, which I had seen many times with my own eyes. I, therefore, judged myself bound to be the servant of the Church of God, in the particular point on which I had obtained mercy: namely, in being able to take God by His word and to rely upon it. All these exercises of my soul, which resulted from the fact that so many believers, with whom I became acquainted, were harassed and distressed in mind, or brought guilt on their consciences, on account of not trusting in the Lord; were used by God to awaken in my heart the desire of setting before the church at large, and before the world, a proof that He has not in the least changed; and this seemed to me best done, by the establishing of an Orphan-House. It needed to be something which could be seen, even by the natural eye. Now, if I, a poor man, simply by prayer and faith, obtained without asking any individual, the means for establishing and carrying on an Orphan-House, there would be something which, with the Lord's blessing, might be instrumental in strengthening the faith of the children of God, besides being a testimony to the consciences of the unconverted, of the reality of the things of God. This, then, was the primary reason for establishing the Orphan-House. I certainly did from my heart desire to be used by God to benefit the bodies of poor children, bereaved of both parents, and seek in other respects, with the help of God, to do them good for this life;—I also particularly longed to be used by God in getting the dear orphans trained up in the fear of God;—but still, the first and primary object of the work was (and still is:) that God might be magnified by the fact, that the orphans under my care are provided with all they need, only by prayer and faith without anyone being asked by me or my fellow-laborers whereby it may be seen, that God is FAITHFUL STILL, and HEARS PRAYER STILL. That I was not mistaken, has been abundantly proved since November, 1835, both by the conversion of many sinners who have read the accounts, which have been published in connection with this work, and also by the abundance of fruit that has followed in the hearts of the saints, for which from my inmost soul, I desire to be grateful to God, and the honor and glory of which not only is due to Him alone, but, which I, by His help, am enabled to ascribe to Him."

Ask yourself, as I am, are you in one of these "classes"?

03.22.10 If my people...

I am still reading "Becoming a Man of Prayer". I was really struck hard today reading the section on praying for our country. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says:

If my people,
who are called by my name,
will humble THEMSELVES
and PRAY and SEEK MY FACE,
and turn from THEIR wicked ways,
then will I hear from heaven
and will forgive their sin
and will heal their land.

It struck me, we want God to "fix" our leaders, turn their decisions into what we believe is right for our nation, but maybe we are missing the most important thing that GOD says we should be praying. I am first to humble myself, pray, seek the Lord...confess MY sin....THEN will he hear from heaven and forgive and heal!!!! God's people!!!! We must humble ourselves before the Lord!!! If WE do this, he will forgive our sins and heal our land. I think we are looking at things upside down! We want God to fix THEM! He wants to fix HIS people!

The Signs are everywhere

We went to a local transportation museum today and I was struck by the signs that were everywhere. I enjoyed photographing them, but also saw something of what we sometimes wish the Christian life could be like...as in these...

Or one of these might be nice...

But ultimately once again, I'd focus on something other that a relationship with my loving heavenly father...

So, I thank Him for His Word, for loving me and taking care of me...even if I don't always know exactly what His plans are.

3.3.10 Snow vs. Spring

Hang in there babies, spring will be here soon!

Amazing what a little "shelter" can do!









I wish I was this "hearty under pressure"!







Better to be where the sun shines!

3.1.10 Am a child or a grownup in Christ?

I read chapter 3 of Becoming a Man of Prayer today. In reading Galatians 4:1-7, I was at first not sure what the reference to a child heir verses an heir meant. I came to understand that in the first verse, a child heir is (according to the verse) similar to a slave in that they must be protected and managed until they are of age. Verse 7 says that I am, "no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God." 1 Corinthians 13:11 says, "When I was a child, I spoke like child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways."

I realized I have in many ways been living as if I were still an underage child in God's presence. Yes, we know we must come to him initially with the faith of a little child, but when we are saved, we must put away childish things and grow up! I stand today before the Father a grownup daughter. I am called to a life of holiness, suffering, discipline and commitment. These are not for babies...these are for grownups.

Then, I pulled out Love to Eat, Hate to Eat. A CS Lewis quote fit in perfectly with what I feel the Lord was trying to show me.

(from Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by: Elise Fitzpatrick)
C.S. Lewis...believed that we were too easily satisfied with the "lesser joys" of life instead of pressing on to pure, full joy in Christ. He wrote, "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition [and food] when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Lonia: A Conversion Story

I found a great little resource for helping kids and teens understand the process of conversion of a believer. It is called Lonia: A Conversion Story. It was written by James Greendyk and put out by Reformation Heritage Books.

Lonia is a young girl orphaned. This is the story of how she comes to understand her sin and her need for a Savior and learns how to give herself over to the work of Christ in her life.

2.24.10 Becoming a Man of Prayer

Ok, here's the laugh for you that I gave my children last night. "I'm on my way to becoming a Man of Prayer!" That was priceless. No really, I was looking for something on our shelves on prayer for me, when I found a Promise Keepers book called Becoming a Man of Prayer. I figured, well, prayer is prayer right? So, I have read the first two chapters and am very excited about it.



I guess part of prayer is developing a habit of taking "it to the Lord in prayer". So, Bob Beltz uses the Model Prayer (often called the Lord's Prayer) as a guide to developing a meaningful prayer life. I like what I've seen so far. He recommends to start by committing to pray for five minutes a day for five days, starting off by reading Luke 11:1-13 and one of Psalms 1-5 and then praying. This is just the start.

This is something I've struggled with for a long time. I know the lack of prayer has great consequences in my life. I am praying that the Lord will use this to open me up to all the many things that He would love for me to lay at His feet!

2.8.10 Working Wonders

Taken from: A Gentle Spirit Devotional Journal, written by: Mrs. Charles E. Cowman (from Streams in the Desert 2)

"God with power and might at His disposal yet works in this wise.
His quiet performances are indirect, deep, serene, and seemingly slow
and have to be explored to be understood and appreciated.
He quietly and confidently moves, working wonders day after day.
In every experience, at work, in church, and in society,
it sometimes appears as though God were being defeated,
and the movements of His grace and providence were failures,
and that all his plans were reversed,
flowing upstream in the opposite direction from the ocean of blessings.One has but to look up
and cast his gaze out from the shore of frustrating encirclements of the present
and consider the ENTIRE STREAM of God's purpose among His people
in order to see that He is continually winning the battle in quiet, circuitous ways.

God works through individuals, conquering some heart,
and through that heart He pours His purpose like a mighty river.
The Lord makes His conquests
by keeping His saints in utter dependence upon Him,
making them live by faith.
There is to be none of self in His program,
but all of Christ instead.

01.29.10 A little of the Beauty of God's Creation and a song

Always Enough by: Casting Crowns!


And...finally some snow!!!!!

01.28.10

My heart is very full right now. I am reading many things, just not much time to write them here. I'll start with the passage that has stayed with me all week from a sermon Sunday night. From James 1 starting with verse 2:

Consider it all you, my brethren,
when you encounter various trial,
knowing that the testing of your faith
produces endurance.
And let endurance have its perfect result,
so that you may be perfect and complete,
lacking nothing.

I have to comment here about endurance. This word did not mean much to me until last September, as I am not an enduring person of late. But, I trained for eleven weeks for a sprint triathlon last year. How much better I understand this athletic language now! I trained six days a week almost without fail. I added a little more distance or laps each time until by the day of the triathlon I knew I could swim, bike and run the distances of the race. God really taught me a lot about preparation and sticking to something til the finish.

But if any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God,
who gives to all generously
and without reproach,
and it will be given to him.

But he must ask in faith
without any doubting,
for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea,
driven and tossed the wind.

So, I have lacked much wisdom in understanding the workings of this world and the people around me. I had not been asking for wisdom! How often do we think we do not know what to pray...but here, James tells us unequivocally, "PRAY FOR WISDOM". But, then comes the hard part..."ask...without any doubting". This is where I have to pray, "Lord, I believe, but help my unbelief!" Jesus promised that in this world we would have troubles, but to take heart, because HE has overcome the world!!!

01.19.10 What to sing when nothing else helps!

It Is Well With My Soul

When peace like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain:
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life,
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But Lord, 'tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul.

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Horatio Spafford

01.18.10 A tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.

We spent our morning reflecting on the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. My favorite book to read to my kids about him was written by Christine King Farris, his sister. She writes from her childhood mind of growing up with her brother Martin, or M. L. as they called him. It is a beautiful account of their childhood and the things she feels impacted his "dream" the most. Such a wonderful tribute to the man, who in Christine's words, "turned the world upside down". We collected some quotes for copywork today and listened to his speech on Youtube. The following are a few of the quotes that struck me most:

A lie cannot live.

The time is always right to do what is right.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their CHARACTER.

A man who won't die for something is not fit to live.

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hatred; only love can do that.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

A man can't ride your back unless it's bent.

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

I am not interested in power for power's sake, but I'm interested in power that is moral, that is right and that is good.

01.15.10 My Hiding Place

One of the first truely Living Books I read aloud to my older children was The Secret Garden By: Frances Hodgson Burnett. I recently came across a version with beautiful illustrations by Inga Moore. I guess, truth be told, I came alive along with Mary. So, anyway, in keeping with the idea of The Secret Garden, my verse for the day is as follows:

Psalm 32:7 (Amplified)
You are a hiding place for me; You, Lord, preserve me from trouble, You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

01.14.10 Comfort in our Testings!

Romans 16:10: Salute Apelles approved in Christ.

Apelles, that tested man in Christ; "the Lord knows, not we,
the tests he stood." (Moule)

(my bible references Romans 8:11 for "approved": But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.)

From Edges of His Ways for today's date:

Let us stop for a moment, and think what it would be if at the end of the day our name might be written thus: that tested man--that tested woman--that tested girl--that tested boy, in Christ. Would it not be joy past telling if only that might be? But to the tested man, woman, girl, boy, there is sure to come temptation to depression; and so in this same letter and in others, St. Paul uses a beautiful, strong, heartening word...comfort*, and which means not so much the consolation of grief, as "the encouragement which banishes weakness and depression." (Dr. Griffith Thomas)

Let us be "comforted together" afresh today. We may all be His Apelles.


*Romans 1:11-12
For I long to see you so that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, that you may be established; that is, that I may be encouraged together with you while among you, each of us by the other's faith, both yours and mine.

01.10.10 Don't Worry!

Matthew 6:25-26 (New American Standard Bible)

The Cure for Anxiety

²⁵"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

²⁶"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?

Philippians 4:6-7 (Amplified Bible)

⁶Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

⁷And God's peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Colossians 3:15 (New American Standard Bible)

¹⁵Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.

John 14:27 (Amplified Bible)

²⁷Peace I leave with you; My [own] peace I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. [Stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; and do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled.]

01.09.10

You, O Lord, are our Father;
Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name.

Isaiah 63:16

01.07.10 How much we need Christ

Puritan John Owens wrote these words:

Believers obey Christ as the one by whom our obedience is accepted by God. Believers know all their duties are weak, imperfect and unable to abide in God's presence. Therefore they look to Christ as the one who bears the iniquity of their holy things, who adds incense to their prayers, gathers out all the weeds from their duties and makes them acceptable to God.

01.06.10

(from William Carey on his 70th birthday, to one of his sons)

I am this day seventy years old, a monument of Divine mercy and goodness, though on a review of my life I find much, very much, for which I ought to be humbled in the dust; my direct and positive sins are innumerable, my negligence in the Lord's work has been great. I have not promoted his cause, nor sought his glory and honour as I ought, notwithstanding all this, I am spared till now, and am still retained in his Work, and I trust I am received into the divine favour through him.

2 Corinthians 5:15
"and He died for all,
so that they who live
might no longer live for themselves,
but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf."

2 Corinthians 5:14
"For the love of Christ compels us..."

"Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to the cross I cling."

01.05.10 Grace that is Greater than all our Sin

Today I was overwhelmed with amazement at how God takes everything we read and uses it to aid in explaining whatever He is teaching me!!

I have missed a couple of weeks of The Disciplines of Grace study in our small group due to work. I decided not to skip to the chapter they are on, but pick back up where I left off reading and catch up. I skimmed the first chapter until I came to parts I didn't remember well. And here is the point where I realized that I know I read this, but it didn't mean as much too me then as it does now because of all the things the Lord has been teaching me!!! Only God, only His Word!!!

Bridges says, "It is only the joy of hearing the gospel and being reminded that our sins are forgiven in Christ that will keep the demands of discipleship from becoming drudgery.

It is only gratitude and love to God that comes from knowing the He no longer counts our sins against us (Romans 4:8) that provides the proper motive for responding to the claims of discipleship."

But, we tend to swing from one extreme (being proud of our accomplishments like the Pharisees) to the other (constant feelings of guilt).

"When we pray to God for His blessing, He does not examine our performance to see if we are worthy. Rather, He looks to see if we are trusting in the merit of His Son as our only hope for securing His blessing."

All of this points to my need to be in His word and in prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit. This is why I'm blogging scripture and prayers and plan to do this all year. I need time with him. I need accountability!

Philippians 3:9, I want to be “found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

"We look to God, not as our enemy or as a frustrated father who can never be pleased, but as our Father who is 100% for us because of Christ alone. Therefore, we trust him, that because of Christ (his death and righteousness), he will give us the Spirit—and everything else we need. " John Piper

01.04.10

I've had this verse rolling around in my head all day....

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

Then, these came....

"Why then is there no healing for the wound of my people?" (Jer. 8:22 NIV)

and...

"They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me." (Jer. 9:3 NIV)

this prayer is from Stormie Omartian's Praying God's Will For Your Life

Lord, I know You are God of the universe, and I recognize that You are present in my life. Please help me sense Your hand on me as I go about my daily tasks. I love You, Lord, and I thank You for Your love and care for me.

In Jesus Name,
Amen.

01.03.10

Joshua 24:14

Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the river and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Well, if that isn't the way to start the new year off right!!!! 'nough said!!!

01.02.10

Charm is deceitful,
beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord,
she shall be praised.

Proverbs 31:30

01.01.10 "Restoring the Years of Loss"

(from Love to Eat, Hate to Eat by Elyse Fitzpatrick)

"I hope that these thoughts don't discourage you
or bring you any sense of condemnation.
Perhaps you've never thought about your body in this way before,
and now it seems as though it's almost too late.
Perhaps you are already suffering the effects of neglecting or abusing your body (or life).
Don't give up.
It's never too late to begin serving God.
He can restore and help you.
Listen to these words from the prophet Joel (from the Lord):

"I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
the creeping locust,
the stripping locust,
and the gnawing locust,
My great army
which I sent among you."
Joel 2:25

God's people had sinned and they were reaping the consequences of their behavior.
Just think-- God could have said,
"Well, tough luck, guys. I told you not to sin and you went ahead,
so now you'll just have to reap the consequences of your actions."
But that's not what He does.
No, He calls them to repentance,
and THEN He tells them that He will make up for all the losses they have suffered".
(Italics mine)


"These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name."
John 20:31