Live well, die better

John Calvin said once that we should live our lives 'with one foot raised.'

He meant that Christians should be looking forward to departing this world to be with the Lord...'for that is much better.'

It's rather easy to long for eternal life with the Lord when we undergo hardship, trial, disappointment, etc. These things, as Calvin said, do serve us in weaning us off of this life. The ultimate test, however, is how much we long to gaze upon the Lord of Glory when everything in our lives here seems to be going well.

Seasons of blessing and peace are from the Lord. Even in joyous seasons, remembering that there is a war going on--and we are soldiers in that war--is vital to emerging victorious.

The temptation is there, when life is peaceful and full of joy, to relax and 'settle in.' We cannot forget that this is not home.

Home. 

When I was a little girl and I had an upcoming event--usually a birthday party--that I was excited about, I would often predict Jesus' return to be on date of the party. In my foolishness, I thought that Christ was then unable to come back on that day because 'no one knows the day or the hour.' Very foolish.

What is worse, though, is the fact that I wanted to go to a silly party more than I wanted to see the Lord. Absurd!

It is strange that we live in a world that is visual and physical, yet not reflective of reality. And the reality of the supernatural realm is there, but we have not been given eyes to see it...yet.

So we live, and enjoy, life...with one foot raised...every day thinking, 'This could be the day that my faith becomes sight.'

When I go don't cry for me

In my Father's arms I'll be

The wounds this world left on my soul

Will all be healed and I'll be whole

Sun and moon will be replaced

With the light of Jesus' face

And I will not be ashamed

For my Savior knows my name

All My Tears, Lyrics by Emmylou Harris

if you've done everything you should...

Just about every family has its own opinion and conviction about Santa Claus. I don't remember being told anything about Santa, but I did know that on Christmas Eve I got presents from "Santa." However, I realized very early on that Santa and Ma (my grandma) had the same handwriting--loopy and graceful, very delicate and feminine. I don't think I ever thought that Santa was real.

At least, not the jolly, fat, red-robed, cookie-eating bearded fellow from the North Pole. But a mystic, wish-granting, good-behavior rewarding, bad-behavior excusing deity? "You'll get yours if you've done everything thing you should, extra-special good." And if you weren't good... well, no one I know has ever actually gotten coal, and let me tell you, I know a few people who deserve coal every year. If that were just about Santa, I could stomach it. But don't we often think that way about God?

Take, for example, my least favorite Christmas song - "Santa Baby." It's a series of wishes in a prayer-like format. And our singer prays for all sorts of goodies, reminding Santa all the time of her own good behavior and of her future good behavior. She cajoles, "I really do believe in you. Let's see if you believe in me."

Maybe it's a single girl thing. But not only can I naturally think just like the girl in the song, but modern Christianity wants to feed me a steady diet of, "God just wants you to learn what He has for you. Then He will lead you to what's next." So what you're telling me is that once I've been really good, God will deliver? C'mon, God--think of all the fun I've missed! Think of all the fellows that I haven't kissed! Pay up!

Whatever happened to obedience to God's word because He is worthy of radical obedience, whether it makes me happy or not, whether it satisfies my earthly desires or not? Have we lost a sense of God's wrath and judgment upon sin? Do we forget that God is not Santa, that while bad kids still get presents, God is required by His own justice to punish sin? I forget it sometimes.

What freaks me out is that a lot of times our prayers sound like Christmas songs--big wish lists, with a few little compliments thrown in to appease the big guy in the red pajamas. There's an old hymn that takes the form of a prayer. Every time I hear "Santa Baby," I think of this hymn and get convicted all over again. I know which one I more often pray like.

We have not known Thee as we ought,
Nor learned Thy wisdom, grace and power;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light Thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing Thee.
We Have Not Known Thee as We Ought by Thomas B. Pollock

hoping in God

The day before this past Thanksgiving she baked off a pumpkin pie with pecan streusel on top. She and her husband took the two kiddos and baby for holiday haircuts. Her thoughts were of the imminent joys of family and traditions.

The next morning her 35 year-old husband had a seizure, collapsed, and was rushed to the hospital, where doctors found a hefty-sized tumor on his frontal lobe.

How does a person, a wife, a mother, a Christian respond to this?

Lauren Chandler said, "Whom have I in heaven but you + earth has nothing I desire besides you--though my heart + flesh may fail--You are the strength of my heart and my portion forever."

That's, to me, mind boggling. That doesn't come in a moment. It is based on something big, something strong, something deep--a foundation of rock that can and will withstand howling winds and crashing waves. When you come to hard times, going to Scripture is the best idea. But the very, very bestest idea is to go to Scripture before the hard time and during the hard time.

Four days after her husband Matt's seizure and diagnosis, Lauren blogged,

"The Sunday before the "event," I opened my Bible intending to study a specific text in John. When the pages fell open, the title page of the book of Job stared me squarely in the face. I'm not normally one to play the magic eight ball game with the Bible but I'm also not one to believe in mere coincidence. The Lord--in His sure presence--was readying my heart. He was reminding me that nothing, absolutely nothing, can happen to Matt, the kids, other loved ones, or me without first passing through His hands. Satan had to ask permission to sift Job. The prince of this world is but a pawn in the Lord's plan.

This mass, tumor, whatever it is, is but an agent to bring Him greater glory and us greater joy. "

Wimpy theology makes wimpy women, John Piper says. Lauren Chandler is not a wimpy woman. The day before Matt's brain surgery, when he could have lived or died on the table, she tweeted, "Hoping in God. He is good and does good."

An amazing example of godliness in action. It is, I almost hate to phrase it this way, a privilege to watch Christians suffer, to see them declare as the world watches, "Jesus you are my great reward...your Kingdom come your will be done."

May God grant us the grace to endure joyfully, willingly, and patiently when our turn comes.

Abiding in the Vine Produces Fruit

My sophomore year of college, I took American Lit. One piece of literature I was required to read was written by Benjamin Franklin. It was his account of his personal pursuit of morality and virtue.

Franklin made himself a thorough grid of all of the virtues he decided were good to acquire and set about following a complex routine every day in an attempt to master these qualities. Among them were patience, charity, truthfulness, etc.

He later admitted utter failure.

It took him such extreme effort to work on one area of his character that he found it impossible to maintain any one virtue when he moved on to the next virtue on his grid.

I admired Franklin's honesty. I remember sympathizing with him--it was exactly how I felt. I had given up 'trying to be good.' It was too hard and exhausting trying to live up to God's standards so I had just stopped trying and I lived under a shadow of condemnation.

We were two dead people, Franklin and I, trying to run a marathon. Impossible.

We knew morals were good to have--and we both knew moral people we admired--but we didn't know Jesus. Ah, to want to 'be moral for morality's sake' was not enough. Jesus provides, not only the motivation, but the ability to bear good fruit.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Jesus truly does set the captive free. Free from self-reliance, condemnation, guilt...oh, does He ever cease from giving?! What is impossible with me is DONE by Christ.

C.S. Lewis expressed this wonderfully well:

I want to add now that the next step is to make some serious attempt to practise the Christian virtues. A week is not enough. Things often go swimmingly for the first week. Try six weeks. By that time, having, as far as one can see, fallen back completely or even fallen lower than the point one began from, one will have discovered some truths about oneself.

No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is...we never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means--the only complete realist

--C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p.141-142

spiritual allergies

It's the holiday season!

Which means, for me, lots and lots of Benadryl on hand. I have an allergy, a bad one, and it most often comes out to play during the holidays. I'm allergic to tree nuts. Just contemplate for a moment how many holiday goodies contain tree nuts. Don't limit your imagination to just desserts--entrees and side dishes have been known to sneak them in, too. I am forced to have a selective palate and to be very annoying by asking, "Are there nuts in this?" about every single dish. This past Thanksgiving there were so many collective nuts in the kitchen (relatives included?), that I couldn't go in. Last week Robin baked with pecans. I neither touched nor ate them, yet I enjoyed an allergic reaction.

Tree nuts are perfectly good foods to most people. To me they are poison. On the other hand, peanuts are poison to many people, while being quite tasty to me.

I don't want to be a legalist or the kind of person who says, "Don't touch, don't taste," to everything around me. But there are times when we have to realize our spiritual allergies and say to ourselves, "don't touch, don't taste." There was a time a few months ago when I was watching a perfectly harmless show, until I realized that I was actually starting to behave like the main character: NOT a good thing! To other people, the show was harmless; to me, it was poison.

What are spiritual allergies? Maybe a television show, chocolate, a novel, a friend, a sports team, a coveted job, a car, a significant other, or anything that is poison to your walk with God. We're all wired differently and have unique temptations. Legalism says, "If it's bad for me, it's bad for everyone." I'm not going there. There are things I can do that you can't, and things you can do that I can't. It's not something to be collectively banned, and it's not something for us to judge each other over. But wisdom would recommend that we avoid "foods" that poison us.

Sometimes it stinks when everyone is enjoying a pecan pie that looks so good, and I'm banned to the living room. But on a scale of one to ten, I give breathing the important rank of ten, and pecan pie a pretty worthless rank of one. Shouldn't an unhindered relationship with God be so much more important than anything else?

Shopping for Thought

Last week my husband kindly offered to allow me some time to clothes shop kid-free. Those of you with kids know that this truly was a blessing. Those of you without children should imagine yourselves trying on clothes with the use of only one arm.

While in one of the fitting rooms, I heard a man's voice asking one of the store associates for help.

"I don't know what size she is," he said.

"Hold your arms out like this," said the associate. After a pause, she repeated the measurements.

"Um, clearly this isn't really my cup of tea. Could you help me out a little bit? Where would I find that?" he said.

"Well, the sizes for younger girls are over there. She'll probably be able to find a style that she likes in that section."

I found it odd that a man would be shopping for clothing with a young girl without knowing what he was looking for, but I didn't think much more about it.

When I got into line, a few places in front of me was a man and a young girl with Down Syndrome. The girl was holding a couple of colorful training bras. It clicked--this was them. My heart flooded with sympathy.

As I thought about my experience over the next few days, a few things came to mind:

1. Did you know that the abortion rate upon prenatal discovery of possible Down Syndrome in the baby is around 90%?

I am completely staggered by that number. Our culture of convenience and ease has put forth the lie that it's okay to end a life because it might be difficult to care for. It displays a complete lack of trust in the sovereignty of God. Don't get me wrong, I'm not suggesting that it would be easy to have a child with Down Syndrome, or that it would be simple to swallow that pill by declaring God's sovereignty.

What I am saying is that it's sad.


2. As I thought of that father, he was clearly in an awkward situation: bra-shopping with his daughter. And yet, she needed it, and so there he was.

Obviously I don't know his heart, but I do know God's heart. If this fallen, earthly father was willing to extend such kindness and love to his helpless, needy child, in her moment of need, how much more is our perfect heavenly Father willing to extend his kindness to us, his needy and helpless children, all the time!

While we are welcome to come to him and say "Daddy, I need you," more often than not, he comes alongside us and provides for our needs even before we know of them. Sometimes it might be something "hard" for him, like leading us through pain, a loss, a trial, but he does it anyway because he knows it's for our good and his glory.

To Wear or Not to Wear...

All Christian women can sympathize with the struggle to be modest in 21st century America.

Try going to a clothing store for a shirt--you're probably going to be there for a while. It might even require going into three or four stores before finding something that meets all the criteria that modesty demands.

It's not easy and we have probably all compromised our modesty, at some point or other, simply because it's easier to buy what's popular or because we wanted to look fashionable.

I was much encouraged to receive the handout on modesty this past Sunday. It said several things to me:

1) Gayline (and the other pastor's wives) consider modesty an important enough issue to address and to provide help on how to attain a modest spirit (this help is VERY rarely given, even among churches)

2) It made me feel 'spiritually looked after'--modesty is a very difficult subject to approach and is often ignored because it can be awkward; the handout shows just another way in which sanctification is taken extremely seriously at TFC (we should be exhorting each other to grow in holiness!)

3) It was not a legalist list of 'don'ts' to make you 'look like a Christian,' but instead it dealt with the heart, reasoning with the reader to check her motivation in everything she does

4) Other 'modesty issues' were addressed--character traits; what is regularly written off to 'personality' or 'background' was shown for the sin that it is

Just a few of the many things to be thankful for that we are cared for in this way.

I really hope that we, TFC women, do a serious read-through of the handout and ask the Lord to reveal any 'immodesties of spirit' in us. I'm very thankful to be in a church where women pursue godliness. This makes correction graciously administered and humbly received.

BTW, one of the best messages on modesty I have ever heard (and one I find the need to periodically re-listen to when I need help in this area) is by C.J. Mahaney. Here's the link to the free download: The Soul of Modesty. Eye-opening and practical!

"Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart." (Psalm 26:2)

a chance to die!

I like writing, and I inevitably find that the hardest part about writing is coming up with a suitable title for the piece. Similarly, I like reading, and when I find a book with a suitable title, it makes my bird sing (more on that phrase some other time).

I've got a prime specimen of a title on my desk: A Chance to Die. As you can imagine, this book is deeper than its cover page. This book is particularly exciting to me. First, it's about Amy Carmichael. I love Amy Carmichael. Second, it's written by Elisabeth Elliot. I really love Elisabeth Elliot.

Here's a little sip, a mere soupçon of what's in this wonderful biography. Tell me this isn't more compelling than whatever is on TV tonight!

Amy rang the bell one morning to gather the servants for prayers. The cook's small boy, pointing to the bell, said, "It's a god."

I looked at the thing, it had a scratched face on the handle, and the face, he declared, was Ram's. I think the young scamp meant nothing more serious than a bit of mischief, but I knocked the bell handle off and pushed it into a fire which was burning near. He could never say that again! They all looked on, servants and coolies, and nobody said a word. Would a god let me do that? I asked them, and walked off, carrying the battered bell.

A Chance to Die. Do we see life as a chance to die, or as an opportunity to enjoy a comfortable road on our way to Heaven? There is exciting, God-glorifying stuff in the lives of those who came before us. Let's not waste our lives watching the exploits of God-hating reality stars.

Becoming a 'Seeker'

If you stopped right now and examined your life, thoughts, dreams, goals, desires...what would come to mind as the driving force of why you 'do what you do' day in and day out?

A 350+ yr. old sermon on Matthew 6:33 by the Rev. Hugh Binning reeeeaaaallllyyy ministered to my soul...wish I could post the whole thing! Savor and enjoy:

Are ye then seekers of the kingdom? If ye did but examine one day how it is spent, ye might pass a judgment upon your whole life. Do ye seek that first which is fewest times in your thoughts, and least in your affections, and hath least of your time bestowed on it? Alas, do not flatter yourselves... If Christianity take not up a man, he hath not the thing, but the name.

This is that which I would have engraven on all our hearts, that there is a necessity of making Christianity our calling and trade, our business and employment, else we must renounce it. It will take our whole man, our whole time, not spare hours, and by thoughts... This imports that those who make not religion their great comprehensive study, do neither know eternity, nor see into it. Oh, how may this word strike into the hearts of many Christians, and pierce as a sword!

All ye toil about, what is it? Children's fancies. Such houses and kingdoms as they build in the sand. Why spend ye your time and labour upon earthly things that are at an end? Here is a kingdom worthy of all men's thoughts, and affections, and time. The diligent shall have it. Gird up the loins of your mind, and seek it as the one thing needful. Many of you desire this kingdom, but alas! these are sluggard's wishes, ye have fainting desires after it. Your desires consume and waste you. But ye put not forth your hand, and so ye have nothing.

Do ye see any growing Christian, but he that is much in the exercise of godliness, and very honest in it? See ye any fat souls, but diligent souls? Our barrenness and leanness hath negligence written upon it. Do ye not wonder that we are not fat and flourishing, as palms and cedars in the courts of our God?... Therefore Christians, let this be your name, Seekers, but seekers of what? Not of any new religion, but of the good old kingdom of God, proponed to us in the gospel. Your seeking will proclaim your estimation of what ye seek. (emphasis added) It will be written on it, what your desires are... Diligence speaks affection, and affection principles (excites--Ed.) diligence... When ye have found all, ye must seek. Ye do but find in part, because the kingdom of God is but coming in the glory and perfection of it. Nay, I believe the more ye find, the more ye will seek, because tasting what this kingdom is, can best engage the affection and resolution after it.

Christians, remember your name. When you have attained all, still seek more. For there is more to be found here than ye have yet found...Desires and diligence are the vital sap of a Christian. Enlarge once your desires as the grave, that never says I have enough. And ye have good warrant so to do, because that which ye are allowed to desire is without bounds and measure... Let your diligence come up to desires, and at length ye shall be what ye would be, ye shall find what ye sought (The works of the Rev. Hugh Binning, Volume 2, pp. 587-90, BiblioBazaar, 2008).

As the psalmist says, it is in God's presence that there is fullness of joy. Why then do we so often stray or lose our passion for God? The flesh is ever warring against our souls; let us be on the offensive as befitting a good soldier in wartime.

May the Lord be gracious to us and grant us a desire for Him that eclipses our taste for anything else.

an adoption story

A husband and wife in full-time Christian ministry. Southern transplants living in the northern midwest. Four sons, if not grown then quickly growing. Mom and Dad are in their fifties, not interested in easy retirement, but inevitably a little slower. Passions and hobbies include missions and evangelism, pro-life issues, racial restoration.

The goal: "taking risks and trusting God and doing unexpected and radical things."

What would your next step be? What would you do to take risks? When everyone around you is watching soaps and pining for grandchildren and lamenting over lost youth, what could you do that would be so unexpected and radical that everyone who heard would have to stop and glorify God?

For Noël, the answer was clear. For her husband John, it took a few more days to decide. This past week and a half or so on her blog, Noël Piper has been telling the story of how she and her husband adopted an African-American baby girl. It's delight, and the story isn't over yet. Read it!

And here's one girl who is inspired to follow the example of an older godly woman to also take risks and trust God and do unexpected and radical things both now and who knows, maybe thirty years from now!

Seeing God in...Risotto?

My musings on risotto and God's lovingkindness in suffering and hardship.

I made risotto for dinner tonight. 

I love making risotto--it is warm, creamy, and I find it very calming to make. It is not calming to the poor rice kernels however.

In it's transformation from plain old rice to creamy deliciousness, it must first be toasted, stirred, and beaten...quite the process, but a necessary one.

First, the rice, accompanied by an onion and a garlic clove, must be toasted in hot oil. This process 'plumps' the rice which results in the toothy texture of a proper risotto.

Secondly, hot stock is added to the toasted kernels. This step is key--the stock must be added one ladle at a time, and only once the previous ladle has been absorbed by the rice. This step requires patience and constant stirring and cannot be rushed!

Thirdly, once the rice is cooked (when you can drag a spoon through the middle of the pot and the rice does not run back), a pat of cold butter is beaten in. It is important that you beat vigorously--this creates the glossy sheen and velvety consistency of risotto. This step is also where you can add anything you want to (tonight I added snow peas and parmesan cheese).

Risotto takes a few steps to make and a lot of time and attention, but the results are stellar. Taking a humble grain of rice and transforming it into a beautiful, creamy risotto can only be accomplished by putting it through this strenuous, time-consuming process--there is no other way.

Oftentimes, I feel like a grain of rice being toasted, stirred up, or beaten down by sin, circumstances, or unrealized expectations.

God is in the risotto-making business. He takes humble little grains of rice and makes them into beautiful, God-glorifying, winsome, Christ-like 'risottos.'

Sin, death, pain, suffering, disappointments, abandonment, despair--my loving Father has used many difficult circumstances to transform me into the image of His Son. This process will not end while I am still 'in the pot' (on this earth).

Seeing God working all things in my life for my eternal joy is overwhelming. Who am I? I am just a grain of rice. God is the Master-Chef Who prepares, seasons, and finishes PERFECTLY every risotto He sets out to make.

softly and tenderly

A much-abused old hymn has been worming its way into my affections lately. It is almost a hundred and thirty years old, and it has almost become cliche as an invitation hymn. I know that I have sung it very mechanically in the past, due to a combination of laziness and overexposure. But lately I've been enjoying it set to a different tune, which has caused me to consider the words as they come. The lyrics in turn remind me of words I have heard or read recently.

Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling,
Calling for you and for me;
See, on the portals He’s waiting and watching,
Watching for you and for me.
John Piper: "God is speaking repentance every day, all day long, and it just gets louder at times and sweeter at times. Today He was sweet. His voice was tender today, very tender."

Time is now fleeting, the moments are passing,
Passing from you and from me;
Shadows are gathering, deathbeds are coming,
Coming for you and for me.
Jim Elliot: "I know that my hopes and plans for myself could not be any better than He has arranged and fulfilled them. Thus may we all find it, and know the truth of the Word which says, 'He will be our Guide even until death.'"

Oh, for the wonderful love He has promised,
Promised for you and for me!
Though we have sinned, He has mercy and pardon,
Pardon for you and for me.
Mark Driscoll: "Through his sinless life, substitutionary death, and bodily resurrection in victory over Satan, sin, death, wrath, and hell, Jesus has redeemed evil men like you and me from allegiance to darkness by paying our ransom to God. . . .This is all accomplished solely by grace, which is a kind gift that God gives undeserving people like us.

Come home, come home,
You who are weary, come home;
Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling,
Calling, O sinner, come home!

Weary Warriors

Since Sunday's post I'm wondering how you are doing with "right thinking?" Have there been offenses committed against you which have made you feel like quitting? Have you been tempted towards bitterness, division, strife? Rather than advancing in Kingdom work are you spending your energy constructing walls of protection? When we do these things we are playing right into Satan's hands; for his strategy against Christians is to divide and conquer.

Jeremiah 12:5 "If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses? And if in a safe land you are so trusting, what will you do in the thicket of the Jordan?"

A heart unloving among kindred has no love towards God's saints and angels. If we have a cold heart towards a servant or a friend, why should we wonder if we have no fervour towards God? If we are cold in our private prayers, we should be earthly and dull in the most devout religious order, if we cannot bear the vexations of a companion, how should we bear the contradiction of sinners? If a little pain overcomes us, how could we endure a cross? If we have no tender, cheerful, affectionate love to those with whom our daily hours are spent, how should we feel the pulse and ardour of love to the unknown and the evil, the ungrateful and repulsive? (H.E. Manning)

You may be thinking, "That sounds good, but how do I get there? I've been offended, hurt, betrayed too many times."

Here is a word that has encouraged my heart and helped me to put offenses in the right perspective:

When my mind is fixed on the gospel, I have ample stimulation to show God's love to other people. For I am always willing to show love to others when I am freshly mindful of the love that God has shown me. Also, the gospel gives me the wherewithal to give forgiving grace to those who have wronged me, for it reminds me daily of the forgiving grace that God is showing me.

Doing good and showing love to those who have wronged me is always the opposite of what my sinful flesh wants me to do. Nonetheless, when I remind myself of my sins against God and of His forgiving and generous grace toward me, I give the gospel an opportunity to reshape my perspective and to put me in a frame of mind wherein I actually desire to give this same grace to those who have wronged me. (Milton Vincent)

I have learned that rather than let my thoughts run away with my emotions I must"renew my mind" (Romans 12:2), with biblical truth and lead my emotions rather than follow them. I often need to remind myself that my sins against God are far greater than any sin anyone has done or ever will do against me. Yet in spite of my GREAT sin God extends mercy to me through the atoning work of Christ. How can I not extend mercy to others?

Matthew 18:21-35

Let us think on these things.

Euodia and Syntyche

What was it that Euodia and Syntyche could not agree on? It's actually not too hard to imagine. What trips up woman to woman relationships in the year 2009? The beginning of what could possibly be a very long list might include:

approaches to parenting which could including the question of birth control, home births or hospital births, homeschooling or Christian schooling or public schooling,

working in the home, or out of the home

race

worship preferences

being overlooked for a ministry opportunity

not being remembered on a special occasion

comparing looks, gifts, personalities,

politics

Christian liberties

etc.

This morning we learned that unity comes when believers "knit their hearts together by thinking as one about all the things that matter most." And we learned "the greatest threat to peace is ME." (meaning each of us)

Is there a woman in your life with whom you have no peace? Is there someone you are avoiding? Is there someone with whom you need to be reconciled? Is it possible you don't even remember why you have an uneasy feeling when a certain someone walks in the room? What part of this kind of breakdown in relationships is a result of faulty thinking?

What does God's Word tell us we must do? We must "agree in the Lord." We can get beyond differences (which will inevitably come) by focusing on the things that "matter most." When we think about who we are in the Lord; when we think about Christ has done for us through His death on the cross; when we think that we've been adopted into the family of God, it will not matter so much that we've been offended, forgotten, overlooked, or sinfully judged.

Finally sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

How strong is your commitment to right thinking for the purpose of pursuing this bond of peace with the women in your life?

Happy Reformation Day

How can I redeem Halloween and glorify God in the midst of a pagan culture?

I don't want to miss this golden opportunity to engage people in thoughtful conversation about the holiday and its roots, as well as the historical significance this date has for Christians (three 'amens' for Wittenberg!!!!!!!!!).

Let's pray that the Lord bring opportunities to our doorstep (maybe literally)--opportunities to share the gospel of His Son to a gospel-ignorant society...our society.

So I'm posting the link to a short article that will equip us with enough facts to jump-start us...the strategic conversations will have to come from careful readiness (and the prompting of the Holy Spirit).

Read it--it's really, really interesting and helpful...and you never know when the information will come in handy! 

http://theresurgence.com/luther-nails-bad-religion

"Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day.

Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples.

For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all gods."

Psalm 96:2-4

the easiest, most difficult cheesecake ever

You will need:

2 8oz cream cheese at room temp
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
box of Nilla Wafers
canned pie filling

This is the main reason why the difficulty level is so high--the cream cheese must be room temperature, or it will not come out correctly. In order to get room-temp cream cheese, you have to remember to leave it on the counter all day. (Or, you can cheat and put the cream cheese in the microwave--take the foil off first!!--or the toaster oven until it is soft.)

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line cupcake cups, and then put one Nilla Wafer, flat side down, in the bottom of each liner. This is the truly difficult part of the recipe--the cookies go in the liners, not in your mouth. Control yourself. Now put the box away.

Beat together the first four ingredients until it is smooth and creamy. If you have lumps in your batter, that is either because you used cream cheese that is too cold, or you used Wawa brand cream cheese. Avoid both problems if you can. Don't throw it away, though. It will still be yummy.

Using teaspoons, drop the batter into the cupcake pans, about one overloaded teaspoon's worth per cake. It should give you exactly two dozen little cheesecakes. If your proportions come out wrong, try redistributing it.

Bake for twelve minutes. They are done when you jostle the pan and they don't shiver. You do not want these to crack, so don't worry about getting a golden hue. They should be very pale, but solid. Let them cool in the pans. Refrigerate until consumption.

Enjoy them au naturale, or top with your favorite pie filling. Cherry and blueberry are always favorites, but you may certainly feel free to pick your own flavors. Or, you can be a complete overachiever and make your own topping from scratch.

Moms, these are great for little cooks to help out with! You will also notice that the proportions are easy to manipulate. You can halve it, double it, quadruple it, whatever you like, with very minimal brain activity. Your crowd is going to love them, so make more than you think you will need.

A birthday to remember

My nephew, Jesse, just turned 7. He is a very typical seven year old in many ways. He loves to laugh and play with his brothers and friends. He loves to learn (he knows all the names of all the presidents and where they fit in chronological order) and sing and draw. But he also loves to read. He devours books.

Anyway, Jesse's birthday was celebrated last Saturday. He received many fun gifts, but the last gift he opened was a Bible.This was his favorite gift of all. He told his parents later that day out of all the good gifts he had received, the Bible was the very best. He had to know where he could begin reading, and so he began to read God's word on his own from his very own Bible.

How did Jesse come to desire God's word? Out of all the things that would thrill a little guy, how is it a Bible would thrill him so? We trust it is because of the gracious activity of God in his heart. We do not seek after God unless God seeks after us first. God seeks us through the work of the Holy Spirit and through other means. God uses nature to declare the His glories, and God uses parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, pastors, children's ministry teachers, (and aunts and uncles, cousins and the 60,70 80+ year old man, woman or couple who faithfully sits under the word of God in the public worship - don't think these little ones don't notice you!) and more to declare the excellencies of Christ. Prayer, teaching, preaching, daily instruction and an example to follow are all used by God to work in a child's heart to bring them to faith.

Is God's word valued in your home? Do your children see you treasuring the Bible? Do they see you reading it? Do they hear you talk about it? Do they see you live it? Do they see you get excited about going to worship so that you can sing the truths of God's word and hear it preached by those appointed to study and proclaim it? Do they hear you apply God's word to your instruction, your counsel, your discipline and your care?

Moms cannot simply leave this responsibility to the father. Your children's father may not believe God's word is truth. Your children's father may not cherish God's word. Your children's father may be neglecting His responsibility to lead his family to God's word. But that does not remove you from responsibility.

The Apostle Paul tell us Timothy was taught by his mother Lois and grandmother Eunice. God used these women to plant the seeds of truth in a young man. The Holy Spirit tenderly watered those seeds of truth and brought about Timothy's salvation and call to ministry. Besides this example, we also learn from Proverbs that a mother is to have an active role in giving godly instruction to her child(ren) (Proverbs 1:8, 6:20, 31:26)

I pray that the children we encounter will be able to tell that we love God and His word, and this will stir them to love Him as well.

That Time of Year

Late October used to be the start of Christmas shopping for Tim and me when our children were very young. Because Halloween is a major 2-day event in this town and because we chose not to observe this holiday, we discovered those two days were perfect for crowd free shopping. We used to take the kids to the mall or K-Mart, divvy them up and shop for each other. It was a fun time that usually ended with a special treat at home.

It's that time of year again. I discovered a great shopping destination recently. I'd been there many times before but just last weekend I saw the potential for one-stop Christmas shopping as their inventory has significantly expanded. I cannot guarantee there won't be crowds (even in October) as I did have to wait in line a few minutes. But I actually enjoyed the wait because as I waited I was able to observe shoppers milling about, and engaging in meaningful conversations.

When was the last time you were in Trinity's bookstore? Have you ever been in? If it has been a while, or you've never gone in, you are definitely missing out. There is a wide selection of excellent books, CDs, children's books, study helps, Bibles and biographies. Another advantage to shopping there is the personal service (they actually do care about how you are doing when they ask). And, if they do not have a title you are looking for, they will order it for you. Also the prices are as good or better than you can get ordering on your own.

This "Gramommy and Grandaddy" will be doing some shopping for the little ones in their life this Christmas in this conveniently located bookstore, Now if they could put up a few Christmas lights and play some Christmas music, the experience will be complete!

Teach me to pray

As many of you know, the Lord made a way for our church to hand out tracts at the Ocean County Mall every other Friday. This has become a wonderful ministry opportunity for Tim and me. I am personally blessed by this, as it is stretching me to step out of my comfort zone (which is always a good thing). By God's grace I am catching on to the excitement of sharing Christ with total strangers. Though Tim does most of the talking, the Lord has allowed me share in this wonderful opportunity.

We never know from week to week where our table will be set up. It's always in the center court but depending on what's going on it can be moved around. Lately it's been situated in front of a pole, attached to which is a monitor advertising "Model Search." Many people approach our table thinking we are representatives for a modeling company (I'm doubtful it's because of our looks!! However, sometime I will have to tell you about Tim's brief modeling career!!!). When we explain who we are, why we are there and that the place to sign up for modeling is under the monitor, they quickly thank us and move on.

This morning we were taught from Philippians 3:18,19 about "the enemies of the cross," those whose "god is their belly" and who "glory in their shame," whose "end is destruction." I was convicted. You see, though at the mall to share the glory of the Gospel, I have often stood in self-righteous judgment of those whose only interest is their own glory.

How easily I (we?) click my tongue at the evils of the world, the sins of this generation, the offensiveness of the lives of neighbors, family, co-workers and the godlessness of most who stop at our table in the mall; but how little I pray for them. I never cry for them. I never really stop to think about their eternal destiny and of how their fate (unless they repent and turn in faith toward Christ for their salvation) is completely opposite to mine. Mine is heaven. Theirs is hell. Mine is eternal joy in the presence of God. Theirs is everlasting suffering in the absence of God's love. Mine is freedom from pain, sorrow and sin. Theirs is bondage to eternal suffering and regret.

With the help of God, the next time I am tempted to judge unbelievers I am going to first remember that if it were not for God's electing, saving grace I would be totally consumed with myself and completely godless. And then I want to turn my thoughts to prayer. Real prayer. Prayer that will grab hold of their knees and hold them back from destruction. "Lord, teach me to pray like this."

He's not finished with me yet

When I woke up this morning, I decided that our little guy was good enough and that it was time to stop teaching him. No more disciplining, no more feeding him, no more training, no more of anything really.

This is SO not true. Can you imagine if it were???

You can bet your life that as long as the little guy is under our roof (and maybe even beyond that?), I'll be doing whatever I can to make sure that his little life will be the best it can be.

I am by no means a perfect mom, and never will be. If I, in my imperfection, love my son, desire the best for him, and work to make his life everything it should be, how much more will our perfect Father love me, desire the best for me, and work to make my life everything it should be?

I'm so glad He's not finished with me yet.

My two cents for the day.

There is hope, for me yet,
because God won't forget,
all the plans He's made for me
I have to wait and see,
He's not finished with me yet,
He's not finished with me yet

His grace has been, is, and will be sufficient!

This past summer I had an earache that lasted from June to September. It left me mostly deaf in my right ear. It was--exaggeration--terrible. It was--no exaggeration--one of the best things to happen to me.

When the earache began, I comforted myself with the happy knowledge that it would soon be over and my sensitive Vulcan ears would be back to normal. By the end of the first month, I was in misery. The earache remained. The hearing loss remained. I felt like a fool at work, unable to hear the conversations going on around me. I stored up a lot of self-pity and when rebuked for my crabbiness by my loving sister, I would generally rush to my defense by crying, "But you have no idea how frustrating this is!"

Somewhere around August, my thinking started to change. I learned by steps that hearing is not all that important. I'll let you eavesdrop on some conversations I had with myself over a month or two.

God has given you every single thing you have. Be thankful for it.

Jesus is infinitely enough. If what you have gets taken away, are you saying that you can't be satisfied with Jesus?

God does not test us beyond what we are able to bear. If you can only be begrudgingly thankful because "it could be worse," be humbled because it isn't worse.

God's grace is sufficient. What if you never recover? What if you go completely deaf from this? Can you accept only good and not evil from the Lord?

God's grace is totally, aboundingly, abundantly, super-satisfyingly sufficient. Is there really someone always worse off? To follow that logic, there must be one lonely, miserable person on this globe who has it the absolute worst. Who is to say that will not be me some day? Will God's grace not suffice, even then? Will it not overwhelmingly suffice, becoming greater as I become needier?

I don't know why, but the Father chose to restore complete hearing to me. I don't mean to say that with a false I-am-but-a-humble-servant-humility, but I really don't know why. Why should my ear recover, but her cancer spread, and her baby die? I haven't a single answer. But I know a God who is all sufficient, all knowing, all wise, and all good, and His grace is made perfect in our weakness. When I a weakest, He proves Himself strongest--maybe I should be weak more often!

Zacchaeus type hospitality

Today's RMMR passage reminded me of our host family this past weekend. Tim had been asked to speak at the SG church in Reading, PA and we needed a place to stay Saturday night. As is the case at times, the timing was not good for those that would normally open their homes for guest speakers. So it fell to Jerry and Debbie.

Jerry and Debbie had never had anyone stay in their home before. They were nervous but willing. When we arrived they warmly greeted us, showed us our room and proceeded to serve us with eagerness. They had asked ahead of time what were some things we like for snacks and sure enough it was all there.

It wasn't until later that evening Jerry told us he had never had anyone in his home before. He said, "I sort of feel like Zacchaeus." That made me smile. This man was neither small, nor a cheat, and we were not Jesus. But I knew what he meant.

When Jesus saw Zacchaeus up in the tree, Jesus told him "I must stay at your house today." When Zacchaeus heard that, "he hurried and came down and received him joyfully" (Luke 19:1-10, emphasis added). Zacchaeus probably thought Jesus didn't know he existed, so when Jesus stopped by that tree, looked up and spoke to Zacchaeus, it must have come as a complete surprise. Zacchaeus didn't argue. He responded with quick and joyfilled obedience.

This is how Jerry and Debbie were like Zacchaeus. Though inexperienced at hospitality, and though they hadn't actually volunteered to do it, when asked, they consented. Though nervous, they stepped out in faith toward God, and provided us with rest and refreshment, and I think (at least from everything they said and did) they were genuinely blessed themselves.

"Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality" (Romans 12:13).

"...and the one who receives a righteous person because he is a righteous person will receive a righteous person's reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward" (Matthew 10:41,42).

How are you doing in the area of hospitality? Zacchaeus, the verses above, and the message of the Gospel is motivation enough for us all to scramble to open our doors and our refrigerators.

What is Knowing God?

According to Scripture, it's easy to be fooled and think you know God when you do not (Matt. 7:21-23, Luke 13:25-28). So it would seem that it's important to understand what exactly knowing God is.

Knowing is a complex business. It's even more complex between humans because we keep secrets. Thus our knowledge of someone else is dependent upon them. We can only know as much as he/she tells us; we can only go so far.

In a similar way, knowing God is a matter of His grace toward us:

It is a relationship in which the initiative throughout is with God--as it must be, since God is so completely above us and we have so completely forfeited all claim on his favor by our sins.

We do not make friends with God; God makes friends with us, bringing us to know him by making his love known to us. Paul expresses this thought of the priority of grace in our knowledge of God when he writes to the Galatians, "Now that you know God--or rather are known by God" (Gal 4:9). What comes to the surface in this qualifying clause is the apostle's sense that grace came first, and remains fundamental, in his readers' salvation. Their knowing God was the consequence of God's taking knowledge of them. They know him by faith because he first singled them out by grace.

What matters supremely, therefore, is not, in the last analysis, the fact that I know God, but the larger fact which underlies it--the fact that he knows me. I am graven on the palms of his hands. I am never out of his mind. All my knowledge of him depends on his sustained initiative in knowing me. I know him because he first knew me, and continues to know me. Ke knows me as a friend, one who loves me; and there is no moment when his eye is off me, or his attention distracted from me, and no moment, therefore, when his care falters.

This is momentous knowledge. There is unspeakable comfort--the sort of comfort that energizes, be it said, not enervates--in knowing that God is constantly taking knowledge of me in love and watching over me for my good. There is tremendous relief in knowing that his love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me, so that no discovery now can disillusion him about me, in the way I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his determination to bless me.

There is, certainly, great cause for humility in the thought that he sees all the twisted things about me that my fellow humans do not see (and am I glad!), an that he sees more corruption in me than that which I see in myself (which, in all conscience, is enough). There is, however, equally great incentive to worship and love God in the thought that, for some unfathomable reason, he wants me as his friend, and desires to be my friend, and has given his Son to die for me in order to realize this purpose. (Knowing God, J.I. Packer, pp. 40-41, and 41-42, bold emphasis added)

It would seem, then, that to be caught up solely in our activities of knowing God--reading, studying, listening--is to miss the point. He must know me. Only first by Him knowing me can I know Him.

Grace upon grace.

"I Am Not Defeated"

This is a special guest post from the Mars Hill Blog (Seattle) by church member Sarah McConnell who lost her husband, Andrew, in Afghanistan last month. Sarah is expecting her and Andrew's first child. The first time I read it, I cried. Now when I read it, I am filled with amazement.


During the minutes where I can’t seem to grasp what has happened or where to go from here, I am constantly hearing the phrases, “You are crushed, but not destroyed”…. ”You are NOT defeated”. It’s at these moments that I really think about living as if I’m defeated versus living as if I’m NOT defeated.

Andrew was such a strong believer of spiritual warfare. He has experienced real, spiritual situations (battles) and even felt called by God to write a book on it. While in Afghanistan he had even started an outline of his book.

I think about whom I would be defeated by if I gave up or let myself turn to worldly temptations or negative ways to handle the hurt of a killed spouse. Satan…the devil himself is waiting on the other side of those decisions. He wants to destroy me. He wants to defeat me. He wants to win this battle. This battle isn’t between just him and I though; it’s between good and evil. He is attacking all of us. Sometimes he uses special ops techniques and sometimes he decides to use a bomb…like killing an amazing father and husband that fears the Lord…who would spit in Satan’s face if he had the chance!

You see, I believe Satan thinks that now he’s taken away my partner, my one who kept us cleaving to each other as we cleaved to God, that he’s got me and that he’ll get our family and I bet that he’s thinking he’s got it in the bag that he’ll get this unborn baby. He won’t! He never will! He can’t destroy us. He can’t destroy those who love God and confess Jesus Christ as our Savior. He can even lead us to evil forces that may kill us, like they did Andrew, but Andrew is alive in Christ. He’s defeated Satan and I’m proud of him. Andrew is my hero.

Andrew isn’t my hero because the Taliban killed him while he was coming back from a mission on a Stryker. Andrew is my hero because he never let Satan have the last word. Andrew is my hero because He fought for good, for Christ to prevail. He set a marvelous example for our child to follow, for me to follow, and for friends and family to follow. Andrew is my hero because he wasn’t perfect, because he had sin, and in spite of it he still persevered and called on the name of the Lord.

I find comfort in all of this when I too call on God. Many times reading the book God has prepared for us, the Bible, is where I find solid advice and encouragement. My creator has provided me with so many stories to turn to and letters to live by, and proverbs to unfold. Here are a few that have come up recently that pertain to not being defeated:

“for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity.” –Proverbs 24:16

“Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be light to me.” –Micah 7:8

I also find comfort in 2 Corinthians 4, where the reference of being ‘struck down, but not destroyed’ comes from. This is also the part of the Bible where Paul says:

“Therefore do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. “ -2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Paul, on behalf of God, is begging for the Corinthians (and us) to not lose heart. I believe the Taliban have lost heart and have turned to cowardly warfare during their light and momentary affliction. We shall overcome Satan, as Jesus did, by turning to what is eternal. All that I know to be eternal is Jesus, who lived after he died. Andrew will also live to be eternal and one day I will join him. I pray that one day our child join us as well.

May Satan never defeat you and may you overcome through Jesus Christ!

With Love,
Sarah Marie McConnell
(On behalf of Andrew)
October 3, 2009

Finding time

So how are you doing with the RMMR program? Are you letting the main points of the meditation passage roll through your mind and heart as you go about your day? Or do you find that the passages are difficult to understand? (I would encourage you to ask a pastor or your care group leader for help on that.) Are you keeping up? Or are you struggling with finding the time to sit down and read?

To all the busy moms out there (and I know there are several of you): this is for you.

Dear Mom,
Let me give you a little peek into my life. I have eight children and two in heaven I never got to meet. My kids are currently 32, 30, 27, 23, 21, 18, 15 and 13. I also take care of my mom who has Alzheimers and have four grandchildren age 2 and under! Although I'm not exactly in your shoes right at this moment, I do know what it feels like and I so understand what "tired" means.

When my first four or five kids were all young, I had to focus so much on survival (for me and everyone else), that there were very few holes in my day to focus on time with the Lord. I wish I could tell you that I handled that like a spiritual giant and breezed through without struggle, but then I would just have to confess it the next time Nancy teaches on honesty!
I wish we could sit down together someplace peaceful and visit for a while. Since that's probably not going to happen, I would love to share a few insights that come as a result of years of living where you live and from the perspective of being a little further down the road.

God declares in His Word that your kids are a blessing and a gift. They are not an interruption, a mistake, or a hindrance to God's will in your life; they are God's will for your life.

Since these kids, at the ages they are at this moment, are God's will for your life, does He intend to speak to you in the next decade or so when you don't have free time? Of course He does. So how is that going to happen when you have so little time you can control?

Here are some practical tips on creating space to hear from the Lord:
1. First, think through the last 48 hrs. Any time-stealers come to mind? Facebook, Twitter, TV, email, Internet, phone calls, or texts? Make sure the enemy isn't robbing you of God-moments by offering a "harmless" substitute.

2. Time with the Lord takes intentional planning when you have a full, noisy, busy house. Some days, gather your kids around and read a passage to them. If you can make it interesting to listen to, you might get through several verses. Write a few verses out and leave them in the kitchen, laundry room, or car so you can contemplate as you cook, fold, or wait for your kids.

3. Place Bibles in several spots around your house so anytime you do get to sit down you can snatch a verse or two to ponder.

4. Use the first few minutes of nap time to get rest for your spirit. You probably won't be reading chapters or books at one sitting, but the Lord can use even snippets to instruct and encourage your heart. If you have kids who no longer nap, make a quiet zone where they can read or color while the little ones sleep and you get refreshed. Occasionally, this will actually work!!

5. Escape for a few minutes if you can after your husband gets home or right after dinner. I have had quiet times on picnic tables at the park, in my car at Sonic, on my driveway sitting in my car, and in my laundry room or closet.

6. Practice God's presence "in the midst" of your crazy days. He doesn't leave because your life is hectic. He can minister grace to your heart as you comfort that child or chop veggies for dinner or sort dirty socks. Christ knew what it was like to wash dirty feet. He is not absent when we are surrounded by lots of them! Remember that the Lord had many moments when He sought to draw apart to seek the Father. Sometimes that happened, sometimes He was moved with compassion and returned to the multitudes. His heart was to do the will of His Father every moment of every day, but He didn't live apart, He lived in the midst.

7. Ask the Lord to give you wisdom and discernment as you discover what will work for your family. Since it is God's will for you to know Him, ask Him to enable you to creatively pursue that in this season of your life. God's Word is eternal. The lives of those who come to know Him are eternal. Houses, stuff, and even time will all pass away. We won't regret time invested in His Word and in raising our kids to love Christ.

Proverbs 2:1–10 says:
My (daughter), if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity.

I hope this helps,
Holly

From truewoman.com

Gleaning

This week I am playing the part of Naomi and Brooke is Ruth. Both our husbands are out of town for 5 days. They are not with each other, it is just coincidental that their work should take them away from their families at the same time.

The Naomi - Ruth connection began on Monday when our husbands left town. It continued on Tue. when Brooke came over for dinner. She called early in the day and asked if she could bring dinner!! "How fitting" I thought. Ruth was bringing food to Naomi.

Then today was the gleaning (only I, the Naomi, was the one doing the work). This was fine with me. It was reminiscent of years gone by. Gleaning was something I did many times when the kids were little but hadn't done in several years. Alina recently reminded me of the cranberry harvesting and how after the harvesters left the bogs we returned to glean. Those were good times as we gathered up the remaining cranberries and froze them for holiday baking.

So today I decided to venture off to glean the fields again. Only this time I was alone. No little ones. It takes a lot longer getting a bucket full without my little helpers, but it was a good time for me to be alone with the Lord, in the fresh air gleaning. I may be a Naomi, without a husband this week, but I am far from bitter.

As I was picking the berries, I was thanking God for His many kindnesses to me. Not only do I have a Ruth (Brooke) who served me dinner last evening, but I have three other daughters who excel in many ways, especially in their love for God, their families and their church. I am rich indeed. I had no reason to feel poor (as were the gleaners in Bible times). I am feeling absolutely stunned by the lavish blessings from God.

Now I have something to share with my Ruth (and her sisters). I think I'll go bake something.

Lost Coin

Have you ever lost something valuable? I mean really, really valuable? I remember a sister-in-law of mine once lost the diamond from her engagement ring. Her family searched the house, the drains, the vacuum cleaner bag. Nothing. It was a huge disappointment to her to lose this stone that symbolized her husband's proposal (and her acceptance) of marriage. For weeks, wherever she went in the house she kept her eyes searching for that stone. Then came moving day. Everything was packed and loaded onto a truck. She cleaned and swept the house one last time. And guess what? After everything else had been taken from the house, as she swept she noticed a shiny stone lodged in a crack in the floor board.

Did she yawn and pick it up obligingly? Most assuredly, NO!! She quickly bent over, picked up her diamond and announced to the family the discovery of her lost treasure. Her excitement didn't end there. She quickly told any who had heard about her loss and whenever she had opportunity, with great joy she recounted her story to others. It was impossible to hear her story and not share her excitement even years later.

This is the joy (only more so) God has when a sinner repents. This is what we read in today's RMMR passage:

Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.' Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (Luke 15:8-10)

God rejoiced over you when you turned from your sin and turned in faith to Christ for forgiveness. God rejoiced over you and still rejoices.

The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)

Now that should impact my day.

Continuing Education

Tonight Tim left for a week of classes at the Pastor's College in Gaithersburg, Maryland. While there Tim will be learning from very wise and godly men. He will be sitting in a classroom filled with men preparing for ministry and men presently in ministry. All men will be there to learn more about what it means to be a pastor-shepherd for the people of God. Our pastors' responsibility to continue their education in the things of God never ends.

Ours doesn't either. I was thinking about that today as I observed one young mom hand another young mom a book entitled, Shopping for Time by Carolyn Mahaney. I thought to myself, "Now there's a woman who wants to keep learning." Then, I learned about another young mother spending the evening with another woman and again I thought, "I know their time will be spent in some form of teaching-learning exchange." I know of another young woman continuing her education in biblical womanhood through the relationship with an older woman. Yesterday after worship I observed a young woman (a Christian for less than a year), speaking with a godly woman about learning how to live the Christian life.

Is your education continuing? Sometimes we tend to have grand ideas for what to learn, and where to go to learn it. But the most important learning and the best teachers are available to us within our church. Besides our four pastors, there are many in our church from whom we can learn much. Not the least of which is other women. Every time a recipe is shared, someone is learning something. Every homemaking tip shared is domestic education. Every theologically sound book shared or recommended and read is continuing education. Every sharing of cares, prayers and biblical counsel is an opportunity for growth in our understanding of God and His Word. And every trial is the school of suffering which God uses to grow us in many, many ways.

What are you learning these days? Who is the Lord using to teach you? Let's keep our education continuing, for the Glory of God, for our own growth and for the good of others as we share with others what we ourselves have learned.

"Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be"

It's been a while since I posted a Jonathan Edwards 'Resolution.' Tonight, it is 'Resolution 25' that deeply touches me.

"Resolved, to examine carefully and constantly what that one thing in me is that causes me in the least to doubt the love of God; and so direct all my forces against it."

Learning from Edwards, let us take serious thought and mental effort to grow in our understanding of God's love toward us. Understanding the love of God is an infinite pursuit--we will never fully get there. But, surely, we can (by God's grace) grow in our knowledge of it.

God tells us what His love is like. It is free, vast, unconditional, unmeasurable, sacrificial, consistent, boundless, eternal...we could go on forever (and we will...). 

Doubting God's love is doubting the very character of God. What we see from Scripture is that God loves to love. God is love!

When I doubt God's love, I doubt God's word. I'll say to myself, 'I just don't feel like God loves me because...fill-in-the-blank.' The truth would be to say, 'I don't like the way God is loving me right now!' And that is my problem, not God's.

So why do I so often question whether God really loves me? Unbelief.

God is not a man that He should act, think, or love like one. Human love fails; God's love for me is eternal and unchanging...because He says it is.

We never did anything to 'catch God's eye,' to warrant His love, to woo His affections, so why do we think that God stops loving us when we mess up or are just plain unlovable? It's actually pretty arrogant and prideful to think that God's love for us changes based on how we 'perform'--that would imply that we were ever deserving of God's love (and we're not!).

Behold the amazing love of God--He loved us when we were unlovable and He will continue to love His children for all eternity. Bask in the love of God and drink freely at the never-depleting pool of His grace!

"My Song is Love Unknown" by Samuel Crossman

My song is love unknown, my Savior's love to me 
Love to the loveless shown, that they might lovely be 
Oh, who am I that for my sake, 
Oh, who am I that for my sake, 
My Lord should take frail flesh and die? 

He came from heaven's throne salvation to bestow 
But they refused and none the longed-for Christ would know 
This is my friend, my friend indeed, 
This is my friend, my friend indeed, 
Who at my need, His life did spend. 

Sometimes they crowd His way and His sweet praises sing 
Resounding all the day, hosannas to their King 
Then, "Crucify!" is all their breath, 
Then, "Crucify!" is all their breath, 
And for His death they thirst and cry. 

Why, what has my Lord done to cause this rage and spite 
He made the lame to run, and gave the blind their sight 
What injuries, yet these are why, 
What injuries, yet these are why, 
The Lord Most High so cruelly dies. 

With angry shouts they have my dear Lord done away 
A murderer they save, the Prince of Life they slay 
Yet willingly, He bears the shame, 
Yet willingly, He bears the shame, 
That through His name all might be free. 

Here might I stay and sing of Him my soul adores 
Never was love, dear King, never was grief like Yours 
This is my friend in whose sweet praise, 
This is my friend in whose sweet praise, 
I, all my days would gladly spend.

What a Day Brings

"Do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27:1)"

You've heard about the broken water pipes. Now let me tell you about losing electricity yesterday for the whole afternoon. There really isn't much to tell, except that all the plans for those five hours flew out the window. Which meant those plans (like blogging) were going to have to get squeezed into this morning before 9:30. This was cause for a bit of anxiety.

But, as the Lord would have it (and the dog), Tim and I were awakened at 2:30 a.m. to tend to Heidi. As I laid back down I had a pretty good feeling I wasn't going to be getting any more sleep. So, I reasoned, "why not begin the day and knock off yesterday's to-do list?" It all turned out really well, and at least for now I am feeling a little more relaxed about everything (though a tad sleepy).

It's times like this, though, that force me to question how much I count on getting everything done, in my way, and in my time. I think I do pretty well in the area of time management but the question is: am I ok with God's management of my time? When I grumble and complain about the unexpected, I am pretty sure I have not been living in reliance upon God's sovereign will for my life. Instead I have set myself and my agenda to be all important. In other words, I've made my agenda an idol that I worship.

I am thankful to say that God gave me much grace over the last 24 hours to submit to His will. There were the occasional temptations to complain, but by the kindness and grace of God, He kept me from sinning greatly. I am so thankful. It isn't always this way, but even then there is forgiveness for me in the cross.

I was reminded of a quote by the Puritan pastor Richard Sibbes, "There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us." Now, isn't that an amazing and thought?

Knowing God

In light of our recent focus on Philippians 3, I found the following passage from J.I. Packer's Knowing God to be quite pertinent:

I walked in the sunshine with a scholar who had effectively forfeited his prospects of academic advancement by clashing with church dignitaries over the gospel of grace. "But it doesn't matter," he said at length, "for I've known God and they haven't...."

Not many of us, I think would ever naturally say that we have known God. The words imply a definiteness and matter-of-factness of experience to which most of us, if we are honest, have to admit that we are still strangers. We claim, perhaps, to have a testimony, and can rattle off our conversion story with the best of them; we say that we know God--this, after all, is what evangelicals are expected to say; but would it occur to us to say, without hesitation, and with reference to particular events in our personal history, that we have known God? I doubt it, for I suspect that with most of us experience of God has never become so vivid as that.

Nor, I think, would many of us ever naturally say that in light of the knowledge of God which we have come to enjoy, past disappointments and present heartbreaks, as the world counts heartbreaks, don't matter. For the plain fact is that to most of us they do matter. We live with them as our "crosses" (so we call them). Constantly we find ourselves slipping into bitterness and apathy and gloom as we reflect on them, which we frequently do. The attitude we show to the world is a sort of dried-up stoicism, miles removed from the "joy unspeakable and full of glory" which Peter took for granted that his readers were displaying (1 Pet 1:8 KJV). "Poor souls," our friends say of us, "how they've suffered." And that is just what we feel about ourselves!

But these private mock heroics have no place at all in the minds of those who really know God. They never brood on might-have-beens; they never think of the things they have missed, only of what they have gained.

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ," wrote Paul. "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus My Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him.... I want to know Christ" (Phil 3:7-10). When Paul says he counts the things he lost rubbish, or dung (KJV), he means not merely that he does not think of them as having any value, but also that he does not live with them constantly in his mind: what normal person spends his time nostalgically dreaming of manure? Yet this, in effect, is what many of us do. It shows how little we have in the way of true knowledge of God.

The third paragraph is certainly me. Is it you?

sternly gentle reminders

I'm having another night with the nephew. We have a deal worked out: he doesn't cry and I get my knuckles chewed and slobbered on. He is four months and a day old today. He has patiently endured kisses and baby talk and camera flashes and being passed around the table from adoring family member to family member.

Every time I'm around the kid, I'm reminded of how the apostle says that we should desire the Word the way that babes desire milk. As much as I love Jaden and as much as he smiles for me (which is a lot, if I do say so), he desperately wants and needs something that I can't give him. Correlate that however you want--I take it as a sternly gentle rebuke.

Another stern, gentle reminder: "I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my necessary food."

As much as I might flatter myself, I am just a distraction--hopefully a good one--in Jaden's little world. He knows what's really important. And I know better than to not follow his example.

love is blind

Love is blind. We've all heard that, right?

After a couple days in a car driving across half the country with my sister, I'm more convinced than ever that love is, indeed, blind.

And I don't mean my love for her. Does anyone want to know her faults? I've got a list. Did I mention that we drove from New Jersey to Minnesota in two days? Make that a very long list. Ask me about my faults. Well, this is embarrassing, really, but you see, I haven't got any. I haven't gotten on my nerves once. I've been perfectly reasonable, rational, and sensible.

The blind love I'm talking about is my love for myself. My self-love effectively blinds me to all my faults and sins. She is upset? It couldn't have had anything to do with my selfishness, snippiness, smart comments, impatience, etc. I get upset--it can't have anything to do with my super-sensitivity, self-defensiveness, and pride--it must be her.

Blind love is probably never very healthy, no matter who the subject of love is. Blind self-love is just plain disgusting.

Real love is others-focused--not blind, but rather patient, kind, enduring. It is based on the Gospel. The one who is forgiven much loves much. Lord, help me to love!

Augustine's Relevance--4th vs. 21st Century...People Are The Same

Sunday's message brought many powerful exhortations. Particularly convicting were Pastor Steve's comments concerning our Christian responsibility toward unbelievers.

It is often difficult, isn't it, to know when to speak and confront unbelievers in their sin and when to hold our tongues. As Pastor Steve made clear, we can only truly love people by revealing to them their desperate condition and pointing them to Jesus. (Only a few weeks ago, we heard from another pastor that any relationship we have with an unbeliever that is not redemptive in purpose is treason!)

It could be that group of moms at the park who berate their husbands or speak unbecomingly. Maybe the environment you work in constantly surrounds you with immoral banter or vulgar speech. Oftentimes it is the 'sweet little elderly neighbor' (that everyone seems to have) that gossips about the goings-on of the block. There are countless settings that provide us with opportunities to speak truth to our friends and neighbors (and sometimes even strangers). So how do we 'make the most of our opportunity' while speaking graciously and kindly?

In his classic work City of God Augustine offers some insight into the whens, whys, and hows of responding to the sinful habits of unbelievers. 

For often we wickedly blind ourselves to the occasions of teaching and admonishing [unbelievers], either because we shrink from the labour or are ashamed to offend them, or because we fear to lose good friendships, lest this should stand in the way of our advancement, or injure us in some worldly matter, which either our covetous disposition desires to obtain, or our weakness shrinks from losing.

[Christians] abstain from interference, because they fear that, if it fail of good effect, their own safety or reputation may be damaged or destroyed; not because they see that their preservation and good name are needful, that they may be able to influence those who need their instruction, but rather because they weakly relish the flattery and respect of men, and fear the judgments of the people, and the pain or death of the body; that is to say, their non-intervention is the result of selfishness, and not of love...the good as well as the wicked, though not equally with them, love this present life; while they ought to hold it cheap, that the wicked, being admonished and reformed by their example, might lay hold of life eternal. And if they will not be the companions of the good in seeking life everlasting, they should be loved as enemies, and be dealt with patiently. For so long as they live, it remains uncertain whether they may not come to a better mind.

God give us grace to take bold stands for holiness, for His name's sake. May it become the instinctive impulse of our tongues to defend righteousness and truth and to dismantle evil that we may be pleasing to the Lord. 

'Speak the truth in love.' Now that's hard!

Intentional Women

I don't know about you (especially those of you with kids), but I have often felt that my day just completely gets away from me. I'm not talking about those rare days when TR is sick or especially fussy, or I have something out of the ordinary going on. I'm talking about the normal days--when you get to 9PM and realize that you meant to do the dishes, put in some laundry, and at least wipe out the bathroom sink, but nothing got done.

Just in the past two weeks, with the help of my husband and Mark Driscoll, I've learned that it's extremely important to be intentional.

"What does that mean?" you might ask.

Well, it means that I need to be deliberate about my life. I need a schedule, and I need it for everything from cleaning, to meals, to date nights, to reading, to playing with my son, to time spent working on the church website, to getting together with other women.

I will admit a certain degree of stubbornness (which is really pride/self-righteousness: my way is better than yours), when my husband suggested that I do this. I didn't want to get tied down to something, I didn't want to go through the process, and I think there was even some good old Genesis 3:16 desire for (against) my husband. Obviously there was a lot of grace applied in the situation, mostly from my husband towards me.

We sat down together (that's key) and he patiently (also key) worked with me to get a list together of all the things I need and want to accomplish in a given month, how much time they take, and how often they should be done. Then I set about figuring out how I'd like those things to fit into my days. Know this well: I was completely overwhelmed. Written out there on the paper it looked like a lot and there was no way I was ever going to get it all done! But once it all got put in the calendar, I realized I had a decent amount of free time and quite a bit of flexibility.

So now my days are pretty ordered, and I have a set plan. That doesn't mean things don't change--for instance, TR's nap isn't always going to be an hour and a half--but it does mean that I can see better how I can move things around when life doesn't go according to plan. And at the end of the day, I can avoid that "day-got-away-from-me" feeling because I know where all the time went.

If you're feeling overwhelmed and stressed out (one end of the spectrum), or random and unproductive (the other), or really anywhere in between, I think you could benefit greatly from becoming an intentional woman. I know I have.

cool September nights

My mom was an amazing quilter/knitter/crocheter and always had some project going. When we were kids, almost every night during the warm months, my dad would take the four of us outside for a game of Everywhere Tag, a game of our own invention, while Mom would sit inside with her quilting and an opera (usually Gilbert & Sullivan's The Gondoliers) spinning on the record player. Mom had to cover all the windows of the house with quilts, all of which she had made, so that no light leaked outside to ruin our game. In the winter months, Mom moved her quilt from the living room to her bedroom, while we took over the house for a game of Whiffle-Ball Tag. I don't know how many gifts Mom was able to make during these evenings, but they were numerous.

I look back at those times and think that my parents were really wise. They were wise to see that Mom needed some time of peace and quiet. They were wise to see that Dad needed some time by himself with his kids. They were wise to see that we needed to shout and play with each other peaceably. They were wise to find appropriate outlets for all of these needs.

On this cool September night, I can picture myself running around outside with a flashlight in chase of my dad and my brothers and sister, while echoes of "Buon Giorno, Signorine" float out the window. I'm thankful to God for wise parents who deliberately worked together for these memories.

It's not ten minutes later since I first finished this, but from the house behind ours I hear screaming, violent, shrieking--a father, a mother, a child. Sin has made captives of us all. But for God's grace, I am that child. But for God's grace, I will be that mother. I cannot imagine the pain. They are suffering. Yet, we, in our way, suffered, too. John Piper says, "Therefore, God ordains suffering to help us release our hold on worldly hopes and put our 'hope in God' (1 Pet. 1:21). The fiery trials are appointed to consume the earthly dependencies and leave only the refined gold of 'genuine faith' (1 Pet. 1:7)." It was true for us. I pray it will be true for the family in the house behind ours. And I pray it will be true for yours.

Kitchen Fellowship

It is 10:05 pm and I am very much awake. Ordinarily I would have been in bed five minutes ago but tonight I am a little too wound up for that. I'm wound up from having a fun evening in the kitchen with three very good friends who I consider to be God's very gracious gift to me in ministry. I love spending time with these women.

In celebration of Debbie's birthday we got together and made dinner using recipes from the church cookbook. While we were doing that, we also made sticky buns to serve our families in the morning. The sticky bun recipe is one where you prepare the dough in stages, shaping the buns at the end of the evening and letting them rise overnight. So, in between making appetizers, salad and the main course we made sticky buns. Are you hungry yet?

For appetizers we made Tia's "Simple Ratatouille" and served it with crusty bread. We also made Christina's "Stuffed Mushrooms". Both were very, very good. Then we put together Becky's "Strawberry Spinach Salad". That recipe is definitely a keeper. Lisa taught us how to make pesto using fresh basil, which of course we stirred into pasta and had pork roast on the side. For dessert we sang Happy Birthday to Debbie with Sheila's recipe for "Carrot Cake".

I wished we'd been able to take pictures of our time cutting, measuring, mixing, and cleaning, with us chattering all the while about this and that. We were making more than a meal, we were making connections, and we were making a memory.

I learned things tonight. I learned from each one of these gals something that will help me in my cooking, in my thinking, and in my life in general. To me this is mysterious. Something routine (cooking a meal when done on my own), became an "event" that was fun and fruitful just by sharing the experience with three others.

So I'm thinking maybe we miss out on the best part of fellowship when we do all the work before the company comes. I'm going to think about that some more. I'd be interested to know what you think. Have you experienced anything like this? Do you cook with friends, family, your husband, daughters, or your mother? What have you gleaned from "Kitchen Fellowship"?

Wash Me

"Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin! Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow" (Psalm 51:2, 7).

The Shorey home was without water for three days. Our water pipe leading from the house to the road had become brittle and broken. Because this happened on a weekend, what might have been possible to repair in two days stretched into a three day project. But just as the plumber promised, on Monday the backhoe arrived and the digging began. By Monday evening the dishwasher, washing machine and showers were all running in full force.

We didn't suffer. Inconvenienced, yes. But suffer? Hardly. We weren't without a store where we could buy bottled water, and we had access to a nearby shower, and we spent one night with friends. All in all we cannot complain. We know God was in it. Hopefully today when the bill arrives we won't complain either.

As we were doing life here the past three days it became obvious to me how dependent I am on water. Not just for drinking or cooking but for cleaning. Not just for the big cleaning jobs, or mountains of laundry or a pile of dishes. We are dependent on water for rinsing and washing our hands.

It was interesting to me how many times my hands were in need of washing. I hadn't realized how often I go to rinse my hands. Was it just because I didn't have running water that I was especially in "need" of it? Or had I been functioning unaware of how often my hands are dirty and thereby taken for granted the blessing to walk a few steps, turn on the faucet and experience the loveliness of washed hands. Throughout a day our hands become soiled, sticky, and stained and we hardly even notice because we can easily receive cleansing from fresh water and soap. What a blessing. Even now as I sit here typing I am aware of the fresh feeling of clean hands. Again, what a blessing.

God uses the analogy of washing to describe our need of His removal of our sins. How wonderful to have His cleansing always available to us. We do not need to wait for the day of atonement, or a confessional booth. We have God's cleansing, the blood of Christ, for every sin throughout every day. So whether we have fallen deeply into sin, or need once again to be cleansed from a prideful thought, or an angry word to our children, and impatient spirit toward a husband, or a demanding spirit toward God we can and we must, go quickly to find the needed cleansing for our souls.

There is a fountain filled with blood, drawn from Immanuel's veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day. And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away. (William Cowper)

Just as we often experience a need to wash our physical hands, may we become more and more aware of the stains on our spiritual hands and enjoy the blessing of cleansing from the fountain of forgiveness and grace.

Life

I haven't been very good at posting comments and keeping up with entries lately. Life happens. Nothing bad really. Just stuff that distracts from the routine. So, please be patient with me. Maybe tomorrow I'll post on the blessing of running water.
Until then, I hope you are all experiencing God's kindness and favor.
"Blessed Be The Name of the Lord"