Read this article today.
See, now, here's where the rubber meets the road in worldview. I think the real reason scientists may be "puzzled" is that their basic assumptions are starting off on the wrong foot.
Genesis 1:1
"In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."
God has spoken to us. He has given us His word so that we may know what He wanted us to know. That is where my worldview starts. How you look at data will ALWAYS be influenced by and filtered through the worldview you hold to be true. Whether you realize it or not.
So, to paraphrase one of my favorite movie characters, "Evolution...you keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The Power of the Cross
We sang this song in church this morning. This is one of the new hymns I really love. (This isn't my church in the video, I just wanted to find a version I could share here.)
Baked With Love
I have issues with my kitchen. The floor is slanted. Remember the TV show, “Mad About You”? Drew and I consider that our show. We used to watch it together when we were dating and newlyweds. It was just so funny. Anyway, Jamie, the wife on the show, was always trying to convince the husband, Paul, that there was a slant to the kitchen floor. When we moved in here, Drew was actually the first to notice our slant since he lived here without us and without furniture for a couple of weeks before I and the kids were able to come out.
When he showed me the slant we both started laughing because he slid on it the same way Jamie does in the show and we both said, “This is what I’m saying.” You had to be there. You had to be a fan of the show to get it, I guess.
So, why am I blabbering about this now? I just made a cake for tomorrow night. We are having friends over, and I thought a lemon cake might be nice for dessert after an authentic South Carolina shrimp boil. (I’m actually having a hamburger. This Florida girl hates seafood. But that’s beside the point.) Anyway, I lovingly mixed the cake (from a mix – I’m not Martha Stewart), let Boo and J lick the beaters (of course J had to ask about raw eggs and salmonella – we don’t call him Monk for nothing….I told him I licked a ton of beaters as a kid and never got sick….but that’s beside the point, too), put the cake in the oven, and assessed the results once I took it out. The two layers are slanted. Just like my floor. I’m not making this up. My slanty kitchen seriously slants my food. It’s even hard to measure liquids because when I put the measuring cup on the counter, the right side of the liquid is higher than the left. It’s a leftward down slant in my kitchen. Go figure.
Anyway, my cake may not be the prettiest I’ve ever baked, but it was baked with love. I lovingly thought of my family and the friends who will share it with us tomorrow night as I baked it. I’m pretty sure that will be good enough.
When he showed me the slant we both started laughing because he slid on it the same way Jamie does in the show and we both said, “This is what I’m saying.” You had to be there. You had to be a fan of the show to get it, I guess.
So, why am I blabbering about this now? I just made a cake for tomorrow night. We are having friends over, and I thought a lemon cake might be nice for dessert after an authentic South Carolina shrimp boil. (I’m actually having a hamburger. This Florida girl hates seafood. But that’s beside the point.) Anyway, I lovingly mixed the cake (from a mix – I’m not Martha Stewart), let Boo and J lick the beaters (of course J had to ask about raw eggs and salmonella – we don’t call him Monk for nothing….I told him I licked a ton of beaters as a kid and never got sick….but that’s beside the point, too), put the cake in the oven, and assessed the results once I took it out. The two layers are slanted. Just like my floor. I’m not making this up. My slanty kitchen seriously slants my food. It’s even hard to measure liquids because when I put the measuring cup on the counter, the right side of the liquid is higher than the left. It’s a leftward down slant in my kitchen. Go figure.
Anyway, my cake may not be the prettiest I’ve ever baked, but it was baked with love. I lovingly thought of my family and the friends who will share it with us tomorrow night as I baked it. I’m pretty sure that will be good enough.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Apartment Living
Living in an apartment isn't really all that bad. We knew when we moved here that, Drew being Army and all, we're only here temporarily, so rather than buy a house while our SC house is STILL on the market (come October it will be a year), we decided to just rent an apartment. And as apartments go, ours is spacious and pretty nice.
But. One thing I don't so much like is that when my neighbors cook a certain something, my house smells like tator tots for days. I'm not sure what it is they are cooking over there, but, somehow what starts coming through our air vents is distinctly "tator tot." And, whatever it is that they are cooking, they must like it a lot because my house fairly regularly smells of tator tots. Especially the guest bathroom. It seems to have the strongest blast of tator totliness smell.
Drew thinks I'm weird. Well, a lot of people think I'm weird, but that's another post for another day. He thinks I'm weird on this issue, because he doesn't smell the tator tots. I am constantly asking if he smells it, and he thinks I am losing my mind. Then again, he doesn't smell poop (dog or Boo variety) nearly as soon as I do, either. I am blessed, nay cursed, with a very sensitive sense of smell.
Speaking of poop, you would think that with two children successfully potty trained by the age of three that I would be something of a potty training expert. You would think wrongly. While Boo is beginning to get it and we are seeing some hope, we are slow going in that department. I do lots of laundry.
Maybe she just doesn't like the tator tot smell in the bathroom.
But. One thing I don't so much like is that when my neighbors cook a certain something, my house smells like tator tots for days. I'm not sure what it is they are cooking over there, but, somehow what starts coming through our air vents is distinctly "tator tot." And, whatever it is that they are cooking, they must like it a lot because my house fairly regularly smells of tator tots. Especially the guest bathroom. It seems to have the strongest blast of tator totliness smell.
Drew thinks I'm weird. Well, a lot of people think I'm weird, but that's another post for another day. He thinks I'm weird on this issue, because he doesn't smell the tator tots. I am constantly asking if he smells it, and he thinks I am losing my mind. Then again, he doesn't smell poop (dog or Boo variety) nearly as soon as I do, either. I am blessed, nay cursed, with a very sensitive sense of smell.
Speaking of poop, you would think that with two children successfully potty trained by the age of three that I would be something of a potty training expert. You would think wrongly. While Boo is beginning to get it and we are seeing some hope, we are slow going in that department. I do lots of laundry.
Maybe she just doesn't like the tator tot smell in the bathroom.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Status Update July 2009
Quite late on the July status update due to that nasty virus and other stuff, but here goes with my copying of Lisa's format:
Sitting: At my computer desk. Where else? I use a lap top, but it's hooked up more like a desk top at the moment. I'm so technologically inept I wouldn't know how to go about moving it at this point.
Waiting: For J to get home. They'll be back in less than an hour, so I suppose I should keep this short and keep one eye on the clock! Can't wait to hear about his first camp experience!
Glad: To be feeling much better.
Needing: An intervention, I fear. Facebook is becoming an addiction. Got to set a limit. Right. Now. Of course, I was the same way with blogging when I began. And you can see by my very light posting of late how that has worn off.
Reading: Hoping for Something Better by Nancy Guthrie. I'm taking my time because I want to absorb this study through the book of Hebrews. I'll be blogging about things that strike me, I'm sure.
Also reading: The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry. Always have some fiction book going. I'm not too far into this one yet, so I don't know if it's good or not. So far it's interesting.
Reading on hold: God is the Gospel by John Piper. This was another one I was taking slowly, but then the Nancy Guthrie book came, and since Elle is reading and blogging her way through it, I want to be reading it. I hope to get back to this one soon.
Received in the mail from Amazon: Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this last of the Inkheart trilogy. I've really enjoyed the other two books in the series. Gotta finish what I'm already in the middle of first, though.
Finishing: If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy by Lindsey O'Connor. Next Wednesday is our last meeting, so we'll be finishing our discussion. I've enjoyed it! Look at all these books I've got going. No wonder I'm.....
Avoiding: Housework. You should see my floors. Wait, maybe you shouldn't. I've GOT to vacuum, and soon. Get off the computer, put the book down.....
Enjoyed: Some one-on-one time with Boo this week while her brothers were away. She is such a funny, sweet little girl. She gives the best hugs, too.
Preparing: To help with a new women's Bible study at church this fall. I'm a little nervous but excited to step out on faith. Pray for me and the other ladies?
Drinking: Iced tea with Sweet-N-Low. Got to drop some of this extra weight that has crept back since my little dehydration episode.
Snacking: On nothing right now. See above.
Trying: To bond with our new dog. He's cute, he's sweet, he's cuddly, he's......a puppy. He chews EVERYTHING. He POOPS in the house...occassionally. He's not Oliver. But he is Roscoe, and I'm glad we got him, all things considered. It's just taking a while to feel like he's "family." Boo has totally bonded. She hugs him all the time. He's very patient with her. Good thing.
Ending: This post. It's almost time to go meet the Centri-Kid campers as they return home. Need to get myself and Boo ready to walk out the door now.
Happy Friday!
Sitting: At my computer desk. Where else? I use a lap top, but it's hooked up more like a desk top at the moment. I'm so technologically inept I wouldn't know how to go about moving it at this point.
Waiting: For J to get home. They'll be back in less than an hour, so I suppose I should keep this short and keep one eye on the clock! Can't wait to hear about his first camp experience!
Glad: To be feeling much better.
Needing: An intervention, I fear. Facebook is becoming an addiction. Got to set a limit. Right. Now. Of course, I was the same way with blogging when I began. And you can see by my very light posting of late how that has worn off.
Reading: Hoping for Something Better by Nancy Guthrie. I'm taking my time because I want to absorb this study through the book of Hebrews. I'll be blogging about things that strike me, I'm sure.
Also reading: The Charlemagne Pursuit by Steve Berry. Always have some fiction book going. I'm not too far into this one yet, so I don't know if it's good or not. So far it's interesting.
Reading on hold: God is the Gospel by John Piper. This was another one I was taking slowly, but then the Nancy Guthrie book came, and since Elle is reading and blogging her way through it, I want to be reading it. I hope to get back to this one soon.
Received in the mail from Amazon: Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke. Can't wait to sink my teeth into this last of the Inkheart trilogy. I've really enjoyed the other two books in the series. Gotta finish what I'm already in the middle of first, though.
Finishing: If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy by Lindsey O'Connor. Next Wednesday is our last meeting, so we'll be finishing our discussion. I've enjoyed it! Look at all these books I've got going. No wonder I'm.....
Avoiding: Housework. You should see my floors. Wait, maybe you shouldn't. I've GOT to vacuum, and soon. Get off the computer, put the book down.....
Enjoyed: Some one-on-one time with Boo this week while her brothers were away. She is such a funny, sweet little girl. She gives the best hugs, too.
Preparing: To help with a new women's Bible study at church this fall. I'm a little nervous but excited to step out on faith. Pray for me and the other ladies?
Drinking: Iced tea with Sweet-N-Low. Got to drop some of this extra weight that has crept back since my little dehydration episode.
Snacking: On nothing right now. See above.
Trying: To bond with our new dog. He's cute, he's sweet, he's cuddly, he's......a puppy. He chews EVERYTHING. He POOPS in the house...occassionally. He's not Oliver. But he is Roscoe, and I'm glad we got him, all things considered. It's just taking a while to feel like he's "family." Boo has totally bonded. She hugs him all the time. He's very patient with her. Good thing.
Ending: This post. It's almost time to go meet the Centri-Kid campers as they return home. Need to get myself and Boo ready to walk out the door now.
Happy Friday!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Deceptive Food
I don't usually get very political on this blog, but I read this today:
Proverbs 23:1-3
"1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food."
For some reason, big government-run healthcare came to mind.....
Proverbs 23:1-3
"1 When you sit down to eat with a ruler,
Consider carefully what is before you;
2 And put a knife to your throat
If you are a man given to appetite.
3 Do not desire his delicacies,
For they are deceptive food."
For some reason, big government-run healthcare came to mind.....
Monday, July 20, 2009
Wings and Letting Go
Took my oldest boy to the church this morning and saw him off to his first spend-the-night camp. He’s going to have a great time. I’m praying he makes great memories and even more that he’s encouraged in his walk with and love for Jesus. He was so nervous, but I know it will be a good week for him. We both were a little teary as that van pulled away – he to go on to camp, me to go back home. But I know he’ll be so busy this week he won’t have time for homesickness. And that’s how it should be.
Every time he stretches his wings a little I have such a bittersweet pang in my heart. I want him to go to camp and have all those great experiences, just like the ones that helped shape me as a kid. But part of me sees the little boy in the big kid he’s becoming. And that part of me feels bittersweet. Time just keeps marching on. He’s growing and experiencing life and more and more what he’s experiencing will be on his own. Less and less am I going to be as active a part in everything he does. And that’s as it should be. But he takes a part of my heart and some of my fears with him with each step toward maturity all the same.
I really pray that I’ll parent in such a way that he’ll still want to share his life with me and his dad once he’s grown. Are we doing all we can to foster that kind of closeness? More importantly, are we doing all we can to help him to see Jesus? Are we living in such a way that Jesus is exalted in our home? My heart's desire is to see my children's faith move beyond just what mom and dad believe to being their own. For this I pray most.
Just a few thoughts as my oldest boy goes off to Centri-Kid today. I’m sure more will follow.
Every time he stretches his wings a little I have such a bittersweet pang in my heart. I want him to go to camp and have all those great experiences, just like the ones that helped shape me as a kid. But part of me sees the little boy in the big kid he’s becoming. And that part of me feels bittersweet. Time just keeps marching on. He’s growing and experiencing life and more and more what he’s experiencing will be on his own. Less and less am I going to be as active a part in everything he does. And that’s as it should be. But he takes a part of my heart and some of my fears with him with each step toward maturity all the same.
I really pray that I’ll parent in such a way that he’ll still want to share his life with me and his dad once he’s grown. Are we doing all we can to foster that kind of closeness? More importantly, are we doing all we can to help him to see Jesus? Are we living in such a way that Jesus is exalted in our home? My heart's desire is to see my children's faith move beyond just what mom and dad believe to being their own. For this I pray most.
Just a few thoughts as my oldest boy goes off to Centri-Kid today. I’m sure more will follow.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Like a Drink of Cool Water
Psalm 17:15
“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”
I read this today and started thinking. Does this really reflect my attitude? I know it is true that I will be satisfied when I awake in His likeness. After all, the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is what it is all about. I know this. I want this. Truly I do.
But. Do I live like I want this, like I believe this, like I love Him more than life itself everyday in every way. Sadly, I find that I am far too easily distracted and I settle for so much less.
I saw something in me over the past week when I was feeling so crummy that I really did not like. When feeling crummy, I was very self absorbed. Prayer was not number one on my list of joys. In fact, I found that missing church two weeks in a row really did a number on me. There is a reason we are commanded to not forsake the gathering with other believers. We need that community of faith to encourage us to worship and to spur us on to good works. I went back to choir on Wednesday night and as our music pastor led us in prayer I was overwhelmed by this joy to be back. I really enjoyed that rehearsal Wednesday. It was worship, and I had missed it so much.
And my little excursion into Facebook land has got me thinking, too. It’s just too blasted easy to get distracted by things that don’t matter. I’m not saying I’m not enjoying reconnecting with my past. I am enjoying it. But it also brings back memories of a me that I am glad I am not anymore. I’ve come a long way from the me I was to the me I am now, and I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t go back. Things have been pruned that needed pruning.
What I am finding now that I’m feeling better again is that I really want to lay aside the weights that so easily entangle and press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I want to be holy for He is holy. I want to see Him, savor Him, enjoy Him and worship Him in a way I have never done before.
I’m giving a little shout out to my blog friend, Elle. She introduced me to a book on her blog that she is reading this summer, and I just received my copy and started reading it. It is Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual by Nancy Guthrie. It’s a study through the book of Hebrews. As I read the introduction today, it was like a drink of cool water to a parched tongue, and tears flowed as she described how I've been feeling lately to a T and I prayed, "This is what I've been looking for." And having recently experienced extreme dehydration during my virus, I am newly sensitive to the benefits of cool water on a parched tongue. I am so looking forward to digging into the book of Hebrews, one of my favorite books of the Bible already, and learning to see Jesus in all His significance and beauty, to remind myself again what an awesome Savior and Lord He is. My appetite is whetted, and I’m ready for some meat. Thank you, Elle, for sharing what you’re studying on your blog. I am benefitting from it, and it comes at just the moment I needed a fresh reawakening of my passion for Jesus.
“As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.”
I read this today and started thinking. Does this really reflect my attitude? I know it is true that I will be satisfied when I awake in His likeness. After all, the goal of the Christian life is to be conformed to the image of Christ. This is what it is all about. I know this. I want this. Truly I do.
But. Do I live like I want this, like I believe this, like I love Him more than life itself everyday in every way. Sadly, I find that I am far too easily distracted and I settle for so much less.
I saw something in me over the past week when I was feeling so crummy that I really did not like. When feeling crummy, I was very self absorbed. Prayer was not number one on my list of joys. In fact, I found that missing church two weeks in a row really did a number on me. There is a reason we are commanded to not forsake the gathering with other believers. We need that community of faith to encourage us to worship and to spur us on to good works. I went back to choir on Wednesday night and as our music pastor led us in prayer I was overwhelmed by this joy to be back. I really enjoyed that rehearsal Wednesday. It was worship, and I had missed it so much.
And my little excursion into Facebook land has got me thinking, too. It’s just too blasted easy to get distracted by things that don’t matter. I’m not saying I’m not enjoying reconnecting with my past. I am enjoying it. But it also brings back memories of a me that I am glad I am not anymore. I’ve come a long way from the me I was to the me I am now, and I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t go back. Things have been pruned that needed pruning.
What I am finding now that I’m feeling better again is that I really want to lay aside the weights that so easily entangle and press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. I want to be holy for He is holy. I want to see Him, savor Him, enjoy Him and worship Him in a way I have never done before.
I’m giving a little shout out to my blog friend, Elle. She introduced me to a book on her blog that she is reading this summer, and I just received my copy and started reading it. It is Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual by Nancy Guthrie. It’s a study through the book of Hebrews. As I read the introduction today, it was like a drink of cool water to a parched tongue, and tears flowed as she described how I've been feeling lately to a T and I prayed, "This is what I've been looking for." And having recently experienced extreme dehydration during my virus, I am newly sensitive to the benefits of cool water on a parched tongue. I am so looking forward to digging into the book of Hebrews, one of my favorite books of the Bible already, and learning to see Jesus in all His significance and beauty, to remind myself again what an awesome Savior and Lord He is. My appetite is whetted, and I’m ready for some meat. Thank you, Elle, for sharing what you’re studying on your blog. I am benefitting from it, and it comes at just the moment I needed a fresh reawakening of my passion for Jesus.
Trying to Reason With a Three-Year-Old
Or Conversations in futility
Me: Boo, why are you crying?
Boo: Cause I'm sad.
Me: But why are you sad?
Boo: Cause I'm crying.
Me: But why are you crying?
Boo: Cause I'm sad.
Alrighty then. Glad we cleared that up.
Me: Boo, why are you crying?
Boo: Cause I'm sad.
Me: But why are you sad?
Boo: Cause I'm crying.
Me: But why are you crying?
Boo: Cause I'm sad.
Alrighty then. Glad we cleared that up.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Because I Didn't Have Enough to Do...
I finally overcame my reluctance and joined Facebook. I'm not sure why I've dragged my feet except that once you're on then people can find you. That's the good and the bad of it, I guess. I don't know why I worry too much about people finding me, but privacy is a good thing. Anyway, I joined this week, and it's fun finding people I hadn't even thought about in years.
I think it's the fact that my 20th high school reunion is this weekend (we're not going) that got me thinking about all the bridges to the past I've left untravelled for so long that I'm having to rack my brain when I hear certain names come up. The people I really want to reconnect with, though, besides a few high school friends, are people who I went to church with while growing up and people from churches we've been members of over the years but have lost contact with over time. And I've already found a few of them. So far the Facebook experience is turning out to be positive.
Here's one of the things I'm not going to like: friend requests from people I don't remember except in a really tangential sort of way - friend of a friend of a friend. I got one today and I recognized the name but had to get out my yearbook to see who it was. Then I realized it wasn't someone I'd actually been friends with, but we do have mutual friends. What is the Facebook etiquette here? You don't have to confirm all friend requests, I'm sure. You know me and my hermit tendencies.....
Anyway, I really didn't need another thing to distract me and waste time, but here it is. I can see I will have to put some serious limits on the time I'll allow myself to play around with this.
I think it's the fact that my 20th high school reunion is this weekend (we're not going) that got me thinking about all the bridges to the past I've left untravelled for so long that I'm having to rack my brain when I hear certain names come up. The people I really want to reconnect with, though, besides a few high school friends, are people who I went to church with while growing up and people from churches we've been members of over the years but have lost contact with over time. And I've already found a few of them. So far the Facebook experience is turning out to be positive.
Here's one of the things I'm not going to like: friend requests from people I don't remember except in a really tangential sort of way - friend of a friend of a friend. I got one today and I recognized the name but had to get out my yearbook to see who it was. Then I realized it wasn't someone I'd actually been friends with, but we do have mutual friends. What is the Facebook etiquette here? You don't have to confirm all friend requests, I'm sure. You know me and my hermit tendencies.....
Anyway, I really didn't need another thing to distract me and waste time, but here it is. I can see I will have to put some serious limits on the time I'll allow myself to play around with this.
Heard at My House Last Night:
J: "If you see a body lying around anywhere, let me know."
Context is everything.......
Bet you're just dying to know what kind of context could have elicited that comment, huh?
Context is everything.......
Bet you're just dying to know what kind of context could have elicited that comment, huh?
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Note to Self.....
When they advise plenty of fluids when you're sick, they mean it.
Well, I think I'm going to live a little longer. This virus knocked me out for over a week. I have felt BAD, but I think I'm finally on the mend. My house is destroyed - when mom's sick that happens. I can't complain, though. My husband really has been so great this week when I was just unable to do anything except lie on the couch and moan while the world spun dizzily around me. I cannot say enough about his sweet attention to all the things that he did this week.
I went back to the doctor yesterday because I was just not getting better. Turns out I managed to become extremely dehydrated in the midst of all the crumminess, so now that I'm drinking and forcing myself to eat again I am finally starting to feel better. Not yet 100 per cent, but on the mend.
I just looked at my Google reader and there are 175 unread posts in there. I have really dropped off the blog world map lately. Maybe I'll get back soon. I miss it. Until then, I'm off to drink some more Gatorade.
Happy Tuesday.
Well, I think I'm going to live a little longer. This virus knocked me out for over a week. I have felt BAD, but I think I'm finally on the mend. My house is destroyed - when mom's sick that happens. I can't complain, though. My husband really has been so great this week when I was just unable to do anything except lie on the couch and moan while the world spun dizzily around me. I cannot say enough about his sweet attention to all the things that he did this week.
I went back to the doctor yesterday because I was just not getting better. Turns out I managed to become extremely dehydrated in the midst of all the crumminess, so now that I'm drinking and forcing myself to eat again I am finally starting to feel better. Not yet 100 per cent, but on the mend.
I just looked at my Google reader and there are 175 unread posts in there. I have really dropped off the blog world map lately. Maybe I'll get back soon. I miss it. Until then, I'm off to drink some more Gatorade.
Happy Tuesday.
Monday, July 06, 2009
Feeling Crummy
I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, though I might feel better if I were to. Summer cold/flu is the worst. It started Saturday night with headache and general unspecified achiness and ickiness, and by Sunday morning I had to stay home from church with fever and headache and chesty cough. Not feeling any better today and fever's higher. I would try to be poetic or prosaic, but I just don't feel like it. I don't know if I'm ever going to get back to blogging. Guess I'm calling the doctor tomorrow if I don't feel better. Bummer.
On a lighter note, here are some pictures from our early July 4th celebration. They had fireworks at the Arch Friday and Saturday night, and we decided at the last minute to go on Friday because the weather was looking bad for the rest of the weekend. In fact, we almost didn't go at all because we weren't sure how Boo would do with the late night. We had a great time, but she's been cranky the past couple of nights as pay back.
There were tons of people there and we went first to the Arch and let Boo and the boys 'touch the rainbow arch' - which Boo is always wanting to do and explored the museum for a while then went down closer to the river for the fireworks show. The boys can now say they have actually touched the Mississippi River. Woo-hoo! Simple things amuse me.....
Here are some pictures and then I'm going back to my post on the couch with my ice water, cough drops and Tylenol.
Touching the Arch - Boo's dream come true
Cool statue of Lewis and Clark in the Missippi River
Boom!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
What's On My Nightstand June 2009
Again this month I am a day late joining the What’s On Your Nightstand carnival at 5 Minutes for Books, but here’s my list for June:
Nonficition:
Just started reading God is the Gospel by John Piper. It will not be a fast read but I can already tell it will be a good read – things I need to be thinking about.
When Mama Ain’t Happy, Ain’t Nobody Happy! by Lindsey O’Connor. This one is our book study with our MOPS group this summer. I have to say I’m having a hard time getting into it. I don’t know if I’m resistant to the subject matter, tired, or what, but I haven’t gotten really excited about it yet. I keep saying, “I know this, what I want help with is remembering it in the grumpy times!” I'll let you know more as I read more.....
Fiction:
Just finished Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. Loved it! Can’t wait to read the last book in the trilogy, Inkdeath – which I’ve ordered from Amazon but am waiting for paperback so it will be little longer until it arrives to my nightstand.
Also just finished Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Really liked it. I seem to be continuing in my juvenile fiction reading. Drew and I were joking the other day that I haven’t had to go to the public library in a long time. I just go to the library in Joshua's room and pull books from my son’s shelf to read. It’s fun having a kid old enough to be reading books I am enjoying, too!
Just finished reading Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor with the boys. Last month I told Michael he’d answer to me if it ended sad since so many dog books do. He is off the hook – it wasn’t sad. Whew.
Now we’re reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo together, though we haven’t read it in over a week because we had VBS every night last week and the boys have spent the last few evenings watching taped episodes of Mythbusters with their dad. Priorities, you know….
Just started The Book of Time by Guillaume Prevost- another from Joshua’s library. I think once I finish this one I’ll be ready to read some ‘grown up’ books again. I’m liking this one so far. Though, in the interest of being an involved mom, I foresee more juvenile fiction in my near future. Good thing he's picking things I like to read!
Soon to be on the nightstand:
Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke.
I’ve also ordered The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, and I’ve heard interesting things about it, so I’m looking forward to this one, also.
Elle is reading Hoping for Something Better: Refusing to Settle for Life as Usual by Nancy Guthrie, and I’ve got a copy ordered. It’s a study of the book of Hebrews, and I’m very much looking forward to reading along.
Please visit 5 Minutes for Books to see what other people are reading and to share your list!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Worship
Please read the linked scripture passages to understand this post, or, even better read all of 2 Chronicles 31-32:
Background:
2 Chronicles 31:20-21
2 Chronicles 32:1
2 Chronicles 32:7-8
Focus:
2 Chronicles 32:10-15
This may seem like a strange passage from which to glean a devotional thought, but please hang with me for a few minutes.
I love to read Old Testament history, and it never ceases to amaze me the new things I learn or am encouraged to ponder every time I read through it. While reading about the kings of Israel in 2 Chronicles recently, I came once again to the story of Hezekiah king of Judah. Hezekiah’s father Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD and during his reign Judah again slid into greater and greater apostasy. The history of Judah was a sad one with some kings who followed the LORD and others who, sadly did not, and it seems that as the leader went, so went the nation. When the king repented and was faithful, the people would follow, at least somewhat. However, when the king was not faithful, the people would also sink into idolatry and sin. Hezekiah was a light among the dark examples in that when he began to reign he cleansed the temple and restored true worship of Yahweh, kept the Passover, and even went so far in his reforms that he oversaw the breaking down of the sacred pillars and cutting down of the wooden images and throwing down the high places and altars, utterly destroying them, where the people of Israel had compromised and ultimately apostatized from the worship of the LORD God. In so doing, he restored proper worship and sought God in the way God had said He was to be sought.
So, how is it that when Sennacherib king of Assyria came against them, he would be of the mistaken notion that by tearing down the high places that Hezekiah had somehow done something to offend the God of Israel? Those high places and those altars were not where the people should have been worshiping, so to tear them down was an act of faithfulness to God, not unfaithfulness. It is because for so very many years, so very long, Israel had not been distinct from the pagan nations around them. Their worship had looked just like the pagan worship of the neighboring societies. Their compromise and refusal to worship God in a wholly different way to be completely free of compromise with the worldly systems of worship had served to undermine their witness to the watching world. Because for so long their worship had looked and been pagan, he did not recognize that the God of Israel was completely different from the pagan idols he knew. Their compromise and apostasy had prevented them from proclaiming the glory of their God in such a way that this pagan king would know that there was something very different about God and His people.
Israel was a covenant nation, they were to be different from the pagan nations around them. Their worship was to look different, they were to live differently, they were, in fact, to be a light to the world. When they neglected to take down the altars on the high places, they compromised that differentness. And all too often, their compromise led to outright spiritual rebellion in the form of forsaking their God, the one true God, for pagan idols and the rituals associated with them. Rather than being a visibly distinct people, they looked just like the nations around them. In so doing, they weakened their witness to the pagan world.
So, what is the application for today that I gleaned from this? When we use worldly wisdom to try to reach worldly people, aren’t we making the same kind of flawed error that Israel made in utilizing the high places - compromising on spiritual things? When our worship services are more focused on what we feel and want and like than they are focused on God and His glory, aren’t we guilty of the same thing? When people come in to our church services, are they encouraged to focus on themselves or on Christ? Are we making much of us, or are we making much of Jesus? Are man’s felt needs more important than God’s holy attributes? What is our reason for doing what we do? When we choose our music, is it all about the style and what we like, or do the words and doctrine taught in the songs matter? Do we sprinkle some Christian language and some mention of Jesus over worldly behavior and wisdom, or do we truly seek to be true to His word and be different from the world? Is it all about how much I enjoy the service, or is it about turning our attention to our Lord and Savior? Is it all about having ‘fun’ or is it about worshiping the God of all, the Creator, the One who has redeemed us from our sin?
I am becoming more and more convicted and convinced that the more we focus on us, the more we look and sound like the world, the more we lose our distinctiveness and our witness for Christ. The times I am encouraged most to worship are not the times my emotion and fleshly desires are fed. The times I am most undone in worship and most encouraged to truly worship are the times when it isn’t me I’m encouraged to think about at all, but Him. When Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. The more He is glorified, the more we ought to be seeing where we have things that need to be pruned as we are conformed to His image. Yes, He loves us. But He loves us, not because we are so wonderful. He loves us because He is so wonderful. We love Him because He first loved us, yes. But when He has called us, we are never the same. We are from that moment on being conformed to His image.
I recently started reading God is the Gospel by John Piper. In the introduction he makes the argument that when we shift our focus from God Himself being proclaimed as the greatest gift of the gospel, then “….we have turned the love of God and the gospel of Christ into a divine endorsement of our delight in many lesser things, especially the delight in our being made much of.” (Page 11, God is the Gospel, by John Piper) What he says here really got me thinking about how I think about God: “The acid test of biblical God-centeredness – and faithfulness to the gospel – is this: Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because, at the cost of His Son, he enables you to enjoy making much of him forever? Does your happiness hang on seeing the cross of Christ as a witness to your worth, or as a way to enjoy God’s worth forever? Is God’s glory in Christ the foundation of your gladness?” (Page 11-12, God is the Gospel, by John Piper.
There is a lot to think about there as I think about how I worship. When we sing, when we listen to God’s word, is my focus more on my emotional response or on how much I’m enjoying the atmosphere or on other people, or is it on turning my attention to enjoying God Himself? I’m looking forward to reading more.
I wonder when the world sees us and how we worship God, what do they see us saying about God? Do they see us worshiping at the high places where we exalt the idols of our felt needs and our enjoyment of lesser things and bloating ourselves on entertaining our fleshly desires, or do they see us proclaiming that God is great, that Christ is worthy of all praise and that He is being high and lifted up. As long as we are focusing on being entertained and not on truly, biblically worshiping and enjoying Jesus and lifting Him up that all men may be drawn to Him, then I fear we are giving a wrong message to the world.
May I be truly satisfied in God, and not settling for much lesser things. May my heart sing to Him, not seek my own fleshly entertainment. When we sing, when we hear the word, may our hearts be drawn to Jesus, for He alone is worthy of our praise. How I long for this be true of me:
“One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.” - Psalm 27:4
Background:
2 Chronicles 31:20-21
2 Chronicles 32:1
2 Chronicles 32:7-8
Focus:
2 Chronicles 32:10-15
This may seem like a strange passage from which to glean a devotional thought, but please hang with me for a few minutes.
I love to read Old Testament history, and it never ceases to amaze me the new things I learn or am encouraged to ponder every time I read through it. While reading about the kings of Israel in 2 Chronicles recently, I came once again to the story of Hezekiah king of Judah. Hezekiah’s father Ahaz did not do what was right in the sight of the LORD and during his reign Judah again slid into greater and greater apostasy. The history of Judah was a sad one with some kings who followed the LORD and others who, sadly did not, and it seems that as the leader went, so went the nation. When the king repented and was faithful, the people would follow, at least somewhat. However, when the king was not faithful, the people would also sink into idolatry and sin. Hezekiah was a light among the dark examples in that when he began to reign he cleansed the temple and restored true worship of Yahweh, kept the Passover, and even went so far in his reforms that he oversaw the breaking down of the sacred pillars and cutting down of the wooden images and throwing down the high places and altars, utterly destroying them, where the people of Israel had compromised and ultimately apostatized from the worship of the LORD God. In so doing, he restored proper worship and sought God in the way God had said He was to be sought.
So, how is it that when Sennacherib king of Assyria came against them, he would be of the mistaken notion that by tearing down the high places that Hezekiah had somehow done something to offend the God of Israel? Those high places and those altars were not where the people should have been worshiping, so to tear them down was an act of faithfulness to God, not unfaithfulness. It is because for so very many years, so very long, Israel had not been distinct from the pagan nations around them. Their worship had looked just like the pagan worship of the neighboring societies. Their compromise and refusal to worship God in a wholly different way to be completely free of compromise with the worldly systems of worship had served to undermine their witness to the watching world. Because for so long their worship had looked and been pagan, he did not recognize that the God of Israel was completely different from the pagan idols he knew. Their compromise and apostasy had prevented them from proclaiming the glory of their God in such a way that this pagan king would know that there was something very different about God and His people.
Israel was a covenant nation, they were to be different from the pagan nations around them. Their worship was to look different, they were to live differently, they were, in fact, to be a light to the world. When they neglected to take down the altars on the high places, they compromised that differentness. And all too often, their compromise led to outright spiritual rebellion in the form of forsaking their God, the one true God, for pagan idols and the rituals associated with them. Rather than being a visibly distinct people, they looked just like the nations around them. In so doing, they weakened their witness to the pagan world.
So, what is the application for today that I gleaned from this? When we use worldly wisdom to try to reach worldly people, aren’t we making the same kind of flawed error that Israel made in utilizing the high places - compromising on spiritual things? When our worship services are more focused on what we feel and want and like than they are focused on God and His glory, aren’t we guilty of the same thing? When people come in to our church services, are they encouraged to focus on themselves or on Christ? Are we making much of us, or are we making much of Jesus? Are man’s felt needs more important than God’s holy attributes? What is our reason for doing what we do? When we choose our music, is it all about the style and what we like, or do the words and doctrine taught in the songs matter? Do we sprinkle some Christian language and some mention of Jesus over worldly behavior and wisdom, or do we truly seek to be true to His word and be different from the world? Is it all about how much I enjoy the service, or is it about turning our attention to our Lord and Savior? Is it all about having ‘fun’ or is it about worshiping the God of all, the Creator, the One who has redeemed us from our sin?
I am becoming more and more convicted and convinced that the more we focus on us, the more we look and sound like the world, the more we lose our distinctiveness and our witness for Christ. The times I am encouraged most to worship are not the times my emotion and fleshly desires are fed. The times I am most undone in worship and most encouraged to truly worship are the times when it isn’t me I’m encouraged to think about at all, but Him. When Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. The more He is glorified, the more we ought to be seeing where we have things that need to be pruned as we are conformed to His image. Yes, He loves us. But He loves us, not because we are so wonderful. He loves us because He is so wonderful. We love Him because He first loved us, yes. But when He has called us, we are never the same. We are from that moment on being conformed to His image.
I recently started reading God is the Gospel by John Piper. In the introduction he makes the argument that when we shift our focus from God Himself being proclaimed as the greatest gift of the gospel, then “….we have turned the love of God and the gospel of Christ into a divine endorsement of our delight in many lesser things, especially the delight in our being made much of.” (Page 11, God is the Gospel, by John Piper) What he says here really got me thinking about how I think about God: “The acid test of biblical God-centeredness – and faithfulness to the gospel – is this: Do you feel more loved because God makes much of you, or because, at the cost of His Son, he enables you to enjoy making much of him forever? Does your happiness hang on seeing the cross of Christ as a witness to your worth, or as a way to enjoy God’s worth forever? Is God’s glory in Christ the foundation of your gladness?” (Page 11-12, God is the Gospel, by John Piper.
There is a lot to think about there as I think about how I worship. When we sing, when we listen to God’s word, is my focus more on my emotional response or on how much I’m enjoying the atmosphere or on other people, or is it on turning my attention to enjoying God Himself? I’m looking forward to reading more.
I wonder when the world sees us and how we worship God, what do they see us saying about God? Do they see us worshiping at the high places where we exalt the idols of our felt needs and our enjoyment of lesser things and bloating ourselves on entertaining our fleshly desires, or do they see us proclaiming that God is great, that Christ is worthy of all praise and that He is being high and lifted up. As long as we are focusing on being entertained and not on truly, biblically worshiping and enjoying Jesus and lifting Him up that all men may be drawn to Him, then I fear we are giving a wrong message to the world.
May I be truly satisfied in God, and not settling for much lesser things. May my heart sing to Him, not seek my own fleshly entertainment. When we sing, when we hear the word, may our hearts be drawn to Jesus, for He alone is worthy of our praise. How I long for this be true of me:
“One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.” - Psalm 27:4
Sunday, June 14, 2009
G'Day, Mate!
Our VBS starts tonight and will run through Thursday night, so I may not get back to the blog before then. We are doing Lifeway's Boomerang Express this year. Please pray that children and their families will be reached with the gospel through this experience, and please pray for the workers to have wisdom, stamina, excitement, enthusiasm and health to show the love of Jesus to the children this week. Evening VBS can be especially tiring - please also pray for Boo. Drew and I are both working in VBS this year, so it will be late nights for her this week.
I have some blog post ideas rattling around in my head that I hope to get to soon. Maybe this week, but I'm not making any commitments to blog with everything else we have going this week.
Have a great week if I don't get back to the blog for the next few days!
I have some blog post ideas rattling around in my head that I hope to get to soon. Maybe this week, but I'm not making any commitments to blog with everything else we have going this week.
Have a great week if I don't get back to the blog for the next few days!
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
The Last Day of School
I just returned from our walk to meet the boys after their last day of the 2008-2009 school year. It was a half day. Smart thinking. The last day is pretty much a fun day, and now it’s over for my boys for this school year. M is now a rising third grader and J is now a rising fifth grader.
How did the end of May get here so fast? Aside from a week of day camp at the YMCA (both boys – one The Lord of the Rings theme and one golf theme), VBS coming up in a couple of weeks (evening, however) and one week of spend the night camp for J, I sort of forgot to plan for summer break. And here we are. I hope we don’t drive each other crazy for the next couple of months.
I’m going to really miss going to the beach with my friends like we did last summer. That was fun. No beach here. But we do have a nice swimming pool at our apartment complex, so I’m sure we’ll be visiting it often. And the boys will be riding their bikes – a lot! Oh yes, indeed.
Best laid plans: TV will be kept to a minimum and we’ll be practicing serving each other by keeping the house neater than we usually do in the summer time. Just working to keep Mommy sane.
Time is just flying by.
How did the end of May get here so fast? Aside from a week of day camp at the YMCA (both boys – one The Lord of the Rings theme and one golf theme), VBS coming up in a couple of weeks (evening, however) and one week of spend the night camp for J, I sort of forgot to plan for summer break. And here we are. I hope we don’t drive each other crazy for the next couple of months.
I’m going to really miss going to the beach with my friends like we did last summer. That was fun. No beach here. But we do have a nice swimming pool at our apartment complex, so I’m sure we’ll be visiting it often. And the boys will be riding their bikes – a lot! Oh yes, indeed.
Best laid plans: TV will be kept to a minimum and we’ll be practicing serving each other by keeping the house neater than we usually do in the summer time. Just working to keep Mommy sane.
Time is just flying by.
What's On My Nightstand - May 2009, Updated at Bottom
Well, I’m a day late to the carnival, but I just couldn’t get to the blog yesterday. So, I’m writing my post today. You can see other nightstand posts at the host blog, 5 Minutes for Books.
Just fininshed:
Nonfiction:
Unmasking the New Age by Douglas R. Groothuis. Drew was in the church library a few weeks ago and there was a box marked as free books. I guess they were cleaning out the shelves to make room for new things, and Drew found some interesting titles in the mix. This was one of them. I found it intriguing and just a bit disturbing. And I also found it still very, very current considering it was published in 1986. In fact, the trends he discusses have only become more mainstream in the intervening years, not less. What is very disturbing to me is how much of the kind of thinking that characterizes the very eclectic and broad New Age movement is become mainstreamed right into the evangelical movement with some thin veneer of Christian language. This was an eye-opening book if you are able to read it and think about a lot of catch phrases and mindsets we’re seeing among many Christian groups today. I found it disturbing.
Fiction:
But We Are Not of Earth by Jean E. Karl. I know, this one seems a little surprising, probably, but I really like science fiction, but I have to be careful with it because much of it is written from a basically atheistic or even New Age type of worldview. I use ‘New Age’ loosely, because I’m finding that there are a huge number of eclectic things that can be classified as such, but they all have certain hallmarks in common. I can’t get into all that in this short post, but, well, you’ll see from my currently reading why I added that little note. Anyway, I still like science fiction, and this book was a fun read about a futuristic group of children who are the children of planetary explorers who have disappeared and who are not allowed to go back to Earth because of some mysterious happening there in the future past. This was a book I read as a kid – in fact, it’s one that I repeatedly checked out from the local library because I liked it so much. Over the past several years and moves, I’ve been looking for it in the library because I wanted to read it again since I remembered liking it so much. I have not been able to find it anywhere. It turns out that it is no longer in print, but I found it on Amazon and purchased a copy. I liked it again, and my 10-year-old son kept pestering me to read it after he read the back cover. I told him he could after me. So it’s in his room now on his nightstand.
Currently reading:
Nonfiction:
Understanding the New Age by Russell Chandler. Another of Drew’s free books from the library give-away box. This one was written by a religion journalist from the Los Angeles Times and published in 1991. In the Preface to the book, Mr. Chandler shares that he took an eight-month leave of absence from his beat at the Los Angeles Times to research and write this book. And I am glad he did. Again, though the book is now over 15 years old, I am finding that the trends he discusses are even more mainstream, not less. And, again, it is frightening how much of the New Age worldview seems to be influencing parts of the evangelical movement – experience trumping the written word, relative truth verses absolute truth, contemplative spirituality and searching for experiences rather than running all experiences through the grid of scripture, searching within for the divine, feminism and goddess worship, yoga, doing what seems right to you, reinventing spirituality in whatever image you feel comfortable with, it’s all very disturbing. Maybe I’ll attempt a blog post sometime if I can get my mind wrapped around it all. Then again, that may be a daunting task.
Fiction:
Inkspell by Cornelia Funke. I seem to be stuck for the moment reading kid fiction, but I am liking this second book in the Inkheart trilogy. So far it seems a bit darker than the first, but still an interesting read. Well, I guess the first had some dark moments, too, come to think of it. It was a little different from the movie – especially at the end. But that’s all I’m saying. Don’t want to spoil it if you haven’t read it yet and want to.
Soon to read:
Nonfiction:
If Mama Ain't Happy, Ain't Nobody Happy! Making the Choice to Rejoice by Lindsey O'Connor. This is a book study we'll be doing this summer with our MOPS group. I'm looking forward to it.
Fiction:
Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix (who also wrote the Shadow Children series that I mentioned here.) J got this one from a book order and I want to read it, too. It looks interesting. In fact, I read somewhere that when the movie The Village came out that there was some concern about how similar it was to this book. Don’t quote me on that, I just remember reading something along those lines somewhere, but I don’t remember where. I’ll have to see when I read it, I guess. Anyway, looks like I’m not getting away from juvenile fiction yet.
I’d still like to read the King Raven Trilogy by Stephen Lawhead, too. That’s still on my mental list of ‘to be read.’
Don’t forget to look at other nightstand reads at 5 Minutes for Books!
Updated: I forgot to add what I'm reading with the kids. We've been reading The Fellowship of the Ring for forever it seems. As of a few nights ago we're taking a break from it because it's just hard to read it out loud and I needed a break for something easier for my guys to listen to. Now we're reading Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. This is at the request of my 8-year-old son who had started reading it himself and wanted me to read it out loud when I said we needed something else to read. I told him I would, reluctantly, but if this thing ends sad, well, he answers to me. Kidding! Sort of kidding. It's a story about a boy and a dog. Any takers on whether it ends happy? Anyone? Most dog books end with the death of the beloved dog. We've had several that we've read together that I had to read through tears at the end (Old Yeller, A Dog Named Kitty). True confession, I skipped to the end and skimmed the last page. I think the dog is still alive there. We'll see......
We are also reading through the book of Exodus after having finished Genesis a couple of weeks ago. I love it that they still ask every morning if we'll be reading the Bible together that day. I love it that they are wanting to know what happens next as we continue reading through Exodus. Love it!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Memorial Day
Our pastor asked Drew, as a uniformed member of the military, to give a testimony in church yesterday. He said some really good things about how thankful he is for a church where God's word is honored and, while we appreciate our nation, we do not worship it, but we keep our eyes on the main thing, honoring God and His word. He also talked a little about how God has used things in our history and through things the military has been involved in to open doors for the gospel to be shared around the world. He talked about a chaplain he worked with in Iraq who is praying that the small acts of kindness he is able to do now will one day make a way for people to more fully share God's love through Jesus Christ to the people he meets.
He's so handsome in his uniform. I don't get to see him wear it very often. We have a ball coming up in June and I have to buy a dress, but that's a really different post....
Anyway, here's a picture of Drew speaking at church yesterday. It came out kind of dark. After church we met a man who had been there on the beach at D-Day. It was amazing to hear his story as he shared a little with Drew.
Afterward, we tried to get a picture of Boo in her little red,white, and blue dress with her daddy, but she wasn't in a picture taking mood, so she wasn't very cooperative.
Today we remember those who have sacrificed so much through so many years so that our country can be free. Remember the veterans when you are free to go to work and school and play without fearing a suicide bomber around every corner, remember the veterans when you realize we are still free to gather to worship and our pastors are free to open God's word publicly. Pray for those who serve in our military - but even more importantly, pray for true revival, that we will repent and turn to God through Christ Jesus, who is the only name given among men by which we may be saved. He alone is the way, the truth and the life. Only in Jesus is there reconciliation and peace with God, and only in Christ can we hope to live in holiness.
He's so handsome in his uniform. I don't get to see him wear it very often. We have a ball coming up in June and I have to buy a dress, but that's a really different post....
Anyway, here's a picture of Drew speaking at church yesterday. It came out kind of dark. After church we met a man who had been there on the beach at D-Day. It was amazing to hear his story as he shared a little with Drew.
Afterward, we tried to get a picture of Boo in her little red,white, and blue dress with her daddy, but she wasn't in a picture taking mood, so she wasn't very cooperative.
Today we remember those who have sacrificed so much through so many years so that our country can be free. Remember the veterans when you are free to go to work and school and play without fearing a suicide bomber around every corner, remember the veterans when you realize we are still free to gather to worship and our pastors are free to open God's word publicly. Pray for those who serve in our military - but even more importantly, pray for true revival, that we will repent and turn to God through Christ Jesus, who is the only name given among men by which we may be saved. He alone is the way, the truth and the life. Only in Jesus is there reconciliation and peace with God, and only in Christ can we hope to live in holiness.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Seems Right Doesn't Always Mean Right
Proverbs 14:12
“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”
God’s word is the final authority for what is right, not what I think, what I feel, what seems good or pleasing. If what I think, what I feel, what seems good or pleasing is in violation of God’s word, it is not right. We do not worship at the altar of our feelings, but we worship in spirit and in truth. God’s word is truth. Therefore, I must spend time in His word and in prayer, asking Him to grant me the wisdom to understand His word and rightly apply it. And also therefore, I must judge everything anyone attributes to God by what His word says. Personally, I'm glad I don't have to trust my feelings. I'd be in big trouble if that was my guide.
I have avoided mentioning this for a long time, but I just have to mention this in context with the chapter in Proverbs I read yesterday because it keeps on coming up in my circle of friends and acquaintances, so I know it must be coming up in a lot of groups, and I just need to get it out of my system and then I’ll move on. There is a book going around Christian circles that a lot of people are saying I just have to read and that it will give me such a better understanding of God and grace. That book is called The Shack. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard it mentioned favorably and quoted from and etc. I cannot tell you how many people, surprising people, have told me I just have to read this book.
Friends, be wary. I don’t care how much ‘good’ stuff might be in that book, there is also a lot that some very biblically wise men and women are saying is not biblical and is actually heretical. If what is being presented fictionally as something God would say doesn’t line up with what He has actually said in His word, run away. Personally, I’ve decided not to waste my time reading it. I’ve heard enough about it from sources I trust that I just don’t want to fill my mind with something I have to wade through to find some snippet among many other thoughts that aren’t right. Here are a couple of reviews I read or listened to that are worth pondering if you have read or are being encouraged to read that book: From Al Mohler and from Tim Challies.
Something I am becoming increasingly aware of in my journey through life is that just because something is in the Christian bookstore or has a Christian label or is on Christian TV or is presented as being Christian, doesn’t mean that it is necessarily theologically sound. Be careful, is all I’m saying.
And one more little pet peeve I just have to get off my chest. I am getting so tired of people saying I need to read a fiction book to gain a better understanding of who God is. Is what He has said in His word and shown us in Christ not enough? Rather I fill my mind with His word than someone’s speculations.
Because there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. How I feel about something cannot and must not be the ground of my determining its soundness. God’s word must be the final authority.
“There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.”
God’s word is the final authority for what is right, not what I think, what I feel, what seems good or pleasing. If what I think, what I feel, what seems good or pleasing is in violation of God’s word, it is not right. We do not worship at the altar of our feelings, but we worship in spirit and in truth. God’s word is truth. Therefore, I must spend time in His word and in prayer, asking Him to grant me the wisdom to understand His word and rightly apply it. And also therefore, I must judge everything anyone attributes to God by what His word says. Personally, I'm glad I don't have to trust my feelings. I'd be in big trouble if that was my guide.
I have avoided mentioning this for a long time, but I just have to mention this in context with the chapter in Proverbs I read yesterday because it keeps on coming up in my circle of friends and acquaintances, so I know it must be coming up in a lot of groups, and I just need to get it out of my system and then I’ll move on. There is a book going around Christian circles that a lot of people are saying I just have to read and that it will give me such a better understanding of God and grace. That book is called The Shack. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard it mentioned favorably and quoted from and etc. I cannot tell you how many people, surprising people, have told me I just have to read this book.
Friends, be wary. I don’t care how much ‘good’ stuff might be in that book, there is also a lot that some very biblically wise men and women are saying is not biblical and is actually heretical. If what is being presented fictionally as something God would say doesn’t line up with what He has actually said in His word, run away. Personally, I’ve decided not to waste my time reading it. I’ve heard enough about it from sources I trust that I just don’t want to fill my mind with something I have to wade through to find some snippet among many other thoughts that aren’t right. Here are a couple of reviews I read or listened to that are worth pondering if you have read or are being encouraged to read that book: From Al Mohler and from Tim Challies.
Something I am becoming increasingly aware of in my journey through life is that just because something is in the Christian bookstore or has a Christian label or is on Christian TV or is presented as being Christian, doesn’t mean that it is necessarily theologically sound. Be careful, is all I’m saying.
And one more little pet peeve I just have to get off my chest. I am getting so tired of people saying I need to read a fiction book to gain a better understanding of who God is. Is what He has said in His word and shown us in Christ not enough? Rather I fill my mind with His word than someone’s speculations.
Because there is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. How I feel about something cannot and must not be the ground of my determining its soundness. God’s word must be the final authority.
Friday Photos
Because I haven't blogged anything in, like, forever, and because it's the easiest way to share pictures with my family, here's some recent pictures. These are three good-looking kids, if I do say so myself. No bias here, though....
This was Boo's Easter dress, but she wants to wear her "princess dress" to church every week now. She's so funny waiting on the stairs for the rest of to be ready.
All dressed up and ready for church.
First student in Sunday School that day. By the way, I love it that the teacher for her 2&3-year-old Sunday School class has her BIBLE open in preparation for the day.
Boo is one child who will never have to be reminded to take time to stop and smell the roses, I think. Taking a walk with her is painfully slow, because we have to pick many, many flowers along the way and smell every one we pass. She loves flowers.
Drew took the boys to their first Cardinals game last month. They LOVED it. They're going again tomorrow afternoon.
And of course no baseball game is complete without a hot dog, you know.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
And Now I Present.....The Broccoli Dance
The other night after church, Boo was finishing her dinner when she spontaneously introduced us to just another of her crazy and funny "Boo-isms." She got a little gleam in her eye, picked up a piece of broccoli and said, "I do the broccoli dance!" And then she started dancing around with her broccoli. It was sooooo funny. You probably had to be here to fully appreciate her spontaneity (and our falling on the floor laughing with her), but Drew grabbed the camera, and this is what he was able to capture.
She really likes broccoli, can you tell?
It's hard to believe someone so cute and funny could be as stubborn and prone to meltdowns in the most public of places, making things like grocery shopping a truly interesting, frightening, unpredictable experience, isn't it? But when she's cute, she's so very, very cute.
There is never a dull moment around here.
She really likes broccoli, can you tell?
It's hard to believe someone so cute and funny could be as stubborn and prone to meltdowns in the most public of places, making things like grocery shopping a truly interesting, frightening, unpredictable experience, isn't it? But when she's cute, she's so very, very cute.
There is never a dull moment around here.
Monday, May 04, 2009
'In Over His Pay Grade,' Indeed.
My dad sent me a link to this article in Christianity Today.
See if the second paragraph doesn't leave you a little bit breathless - like when you get punched in the stomach and can't breathe for a second. And people wonder why so many of us have so little regard for the 'reporting' of the main stream media if this is really their idea of expertise on the subject. "Startling ignorance" just about says it right. No wonder we have so many people who are confused about when life begins and about the sanctity of human life if this is the best that the 'best and brightest' politicians can do. I wasn't a Rhodes Scholar, but I did take a biology class or two along the way through school. DUH.
And then see if the last paragraph on the first page doesn't make you scratch your head and say, "Huh?????" Ummmmmm, I just really am speechless here....
And then see if you aren't nodding along with the last two paragraphs of the article and thinking, "You said it."
Well, that was sort of my response, anyway.
Thanks, Dad, for the link. You're right. It was interesting.
See if the second paragraph doesn't leave you a little bit breathless - like when you get punched in the stomach and can't breathe for a second. And people wonder why so many of us have so little regard for the 'reporting' of the main stream media if this is really their idea of expertise on the subject. "Startling ignorance" just about says it right. No wonder we have so many people who are confused about when life begins and about the sanctity of human life if this is the best that the 'best and brightest' politicians can do. I wasn't a Rhodes Scholar, but I did take a biology class or two along the way through school. DUH.
And then see if the last paragraph on the first page doesn't make you scratch your head and say, "Huh?????" Ummmmmm, I just really am speechless here....
And then see if you aren't nodding along with the last two paragraphs of the article and thinking, "You said it."
Well, that was sort of my response, anyway.
Thanks, Dad, for the link. You're right. It was interesting.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
In Which a Rabbit Trail Leads Me to a New Post
Yesterday I went on a little rabbit trail about a favorite preacher while mentioning a book of his that I had recently read. I wanted to say a little more here. There are a few preachers whose ministries through radio and writing have blessed me a lot over the years. Alistair Begg and John MacArthur are two men whose radio ministries have been a real treat to hear for the past seven years or so. I began listening to both these men when I lived in Florida after the birth of our first son when I began to stay home full time. I was very thankful to have solid Bible teaching to listen to as I cleaned the house and changed diapers. I have learned much from both of these pastors over the years, and there have even been times of drought spiritually when I really was glad to have that extra teaching.
But I would be remiss if I did not say that radio and book ministry in no way can ever take the place of the local church. When we lived in Florida, we were so blessed to be members at a church where we were learning and growing. It was the first church we visited when we moved to the Tampa Bay area, and we never discerned the need to go anywhere else. It was hard to leave there, but I can see, in looking back, that we needed to be pushed out of that nest and to have the next seven years’ growing experiences.
When we moved to Indiana, we really struggled to find a church. We visited quite a few, and when Drew got the call to go to Bosnia with the Army National Guard, we still had not joined a church. After he left, I and the boys, who were just little then, visited yet another church and found it to be the place where I was to spend the next year while he was away. The people were so warm and the preaching good, and I knew I needed that support network as I was dealing with all the struggles of being new to the community and missing my husband. I joined the church without Drew, and by the time he came home he had already accepted a new job in South Carolina and we were in the midst of planning to move there, so that local church was a haven for me and just loved on me and my boys during a true wilderness year, and I treasure the brothers and sisters who became friends that year. But Drew was never a part of that since we moved away a month after he came home from Bosnia. This was strange for us.
Once we moved to South Carolina, we really thought finding a church wouldn’t be all that hard. It’s in the deep south, Bible belt to the max, or so we thought. We were sadly mistaken. We visited tons of churches and finally joined a small church that we thought would be a place where we could plug in and serve. If you’ve been reading here for a long time, you know about our struggle there when we finally came to the realization that we could no longer stay at that church after four years because we just didn’t feel it was a safe place spiritually for our children, especially since we believed at the time that we were probably going to be living there for a long time. I’ve deleted most of the posts I wrote about our church struggle during that time, by the way. I just didn’t feel they should have been on the blog. The last year that we lived there we did find and join a good church where the preaching was good and the children were growing. That year was a time of healing for Drew and me and a time of much growth for our kids. We are thankful for the ministry of that local church and the year we got to join with them, and how it prepared us for where we are now.
One thing I’ve been meaning to share here is how I really believe the move here to St. Louis has been a very good thing, for us as a family and in the area of finding a local church. Drew and I were talking the other day, and we were agreeing that the reason I was miserable in our last place wasn’t that it was a small town. It was that we had such a hard time fitting into a good, solid church family. To me, what makes any place ‘home’ is finding that group of believers with whom we can fellowship and serve together, and we had four years of wilderness in that respect there. I’m not saying I didn’t grow and learn from the experience, however. God graciously uses all things for good to those who are called according to His purpose. I’m not saying otherwise. We did learn and grow and we needed the wilderness time, I believe.
But I can also say that God has richly blessed us here. The first church we visited was so obviously ‘home’ that we never went anywhere else. This place has been a true balm to our souls. And while I’m talking about great pastors, I have to say that we really, truly love our pastor here. He is a godly man who preaches the Word, and we are truly blessed to hear the teaching God leads him to bring each week. He and his wife are a true team, and the way his wife leads the women of the church is precious, and we love them and our church family here so much. Not since our Brandon days have we felt so truly at home with our church family, and we are grateful.
So, though I’m thankful for the great teaching of men like John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Al Mohler and others, they are not my pastor. I’m grateful for their willingness to share their teaching, and I truly appreciate hearing it as a supplement to what I get to hear each week, but I’m also very grateful for the pastor in my local church who knows my name and my husband’s name and my children’s names, and who opens God’s word faithfully to our local body of believers each week. I’m thankful for the people who make up this local body of believers, and I’m very thankful that God led us to Parkway Baptist Church that Sunday in December when we first began looking to move here. I’m only trying not to think too much about the fact that we know that our stay here in St. Louis is temporary – we know the Army will move us on before too long. But until then, we will be faithful here. May we be faithful to serve wherever He plants us and bloom with His grace as lights pointing others to Jesus.
But I would be remiss if I did not say that radio and book ministry in no way can ever take the place of the local church. When we lived in Florida, we were so blessed to be members at a church where we were learning and growing. It was the first church we visited when we moved to the Tampa Bay area, and we never discerned the need to go anywhere else. It was hard to leave there, but I can see, in looking back, that we needed to be pushed out of that nest and to have the next seven years’ growing experiences.
When we moved to Indiana, we really struggled to find a church. We visited quite a few, and when Drew got the call to go to Bosnia with the Army National Guard, we still had not joined a church. After he left, I and the boys, who were just little then, visited yet another church and found it to be the place where I was to spend the next year while he was away. The people were so warm and the preaching good, and I knew I needed that support network as I was dealing with all the struggles of being new to the community and missing my husband. I joined the church without Drew, and by the time he came home he had already accepted a new job in South Carolina and we were in the midst of planning to move there, so that local church was a haven for me and just loved on me and my boys during a true wilderness year, and I treasure the brothers and sisters who became friends that year. But Drew was never a part of that since we moved away a month after he came home from Bosnia. This was strange for us.
Once we moved to South Carolina, we really thought finding a church wouldn’t be all that hard. It’s in the deep south, Bible belt to the max, or so we thought. We were sadly mistaken. We visited tons of churches and finally joined a small church that we thought would be a place where we could plug in and serve. If you’ve been reading here for a long time, you know about our struggle there when we finally came to the realization that we could no longer stay at that church after four years because we just didn’t feel it was a safe place spiritually for our children, especially since we believed at the time that we were probably going to be living there for a long time. I’ve deleted most of the posts I wrote about our church struggle during that time, by the way. I just didn’t feel they should have been on the blog. The last year that we lived there we did find and join a good church where the preaching was good and the children were growing. That year was a time of healing for Drew and me and a time of much growth for our kids. We are thankful for the ministry of that local church and the year we got to join with them, and how it prepared us for where we are now.
One thing I’ve been meaning to share here is how I really believe the move here to St. Louis has been a very good thing, for us as a family and in the area of finding a local church. Drew and I were talking the other day, and we were agreeing that the reason I was miserable in our last place wasn’t that it was a small town. It was that we had such a hard time fitting into a good, solid church family. To me, what makes any place ‘home’ is finding that group of believers with whom we can fellowship and serve together, and we had four years of wilderness in that respect there. I’m not saying I didn’t grow and learn from the experience, however. God graciously uses all things for good to those who are called according to His purpose. I’m not saying otherwise. We did learn and grow and we needed the wilderness time, I believe.
But I can also say that God has richly blessed us here. The first church we visited was so obviously ‘home’ that we never went anywhere else. This place has been a true balm to our souls. And while I’m talking about great pastors, I have to say that we really, truly love our pastor here. He is a godly man who preaches the Word, and we are truly blessed to hear the teaching God leads him to bring each week. He and his wife are a true team, and the way his wife leads the women of the church is precious, and we love them and our church family here so much. Not since our Brandon days have we felt so truly at home with our church family, and we are grateful.
So, though I’m thankful for the great teaching of men like John MacArthur, Alistair Begg, Al Mohler and others, they are not my pastor. I’m grateful for their willingness to share their teaching, and I truly appreciate hearing it as a supplement to what I get to hear each week, but I’m also very grateful for the pastor in my local church who knows my name and my husband’s name and my children’s names, and who opens God’s word faithfully to our local body of believers each week. I’m thankful for the people who make up this local body of believers, and I’m very thankful that God led us to Parkway Baptist Church that Sunday in December when we first began looking to move here. I’m only trying not to think too much about the fact that we know that our stay here in St. Louis is temporary – we know the Army will move us on before too long. But until then, we will be faithful here. May we be faithful to serve wherever He plants us and bloom with His grace as lights pointing others to Jesus.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
What's On My Nightstand - April
The last time I participated in this carnival was in January, and I said then that I wanted to do it again, but in the midst of my on-going blog slump, I just haven’t done it. Then I saw that Leslie has a post up today, and I thought, “Hey, maybe this will help me get out of the never-ending blog slump!” Click on the picture for the original carnival post at 5 Minutes for Books. So, here’s my list for April, though it's so short this month, I apologize in advance to anyone who may have clicked over here to see it:
Just finished:
Saved Without a Doubt by John MacArthur. You know, for all the people who go around saying that John MacArthur is cold on mercy and grace and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah…..read this book. His pastor’s heart and concern for believers to have a deep and abiding peace and assurance is so evident. The biblical teaching in this book has really helped me with a struggle I had been having. A big reason for my times when I struggle with assurance has to do with not knowing the actual date of my salvation. I was saved as a young child and I can point to several specific times when I committed myself to Jesus and when I experienced conviction over sin, but I struggled for a while as an adult with when was I actually saved. I have finally come to realize that the specific date is not as important as knowing that I am trusting in Christ alone, His finished work on the cross and His resurrection. The direction of my life must be toward His holiness and my desire is to be what He would have me be and to be obedient to His calling. So, I’m thankful to have read this book.
If you can stand a minor rabbit trail here before I go on with my list, I have been itching to say on this blog that I get so tired of hearing people knock Dr. MacArthur because he preaches the Word and doesn’t back down from the hard truth. I have been immensely blessed by his ministry, and I, for one, am glad God called him to pastor and has gifted him to do it so well, and I’m thankful for the way Grace to You makes so much available to those of us who are hungry for good teaching but do not live in Los Angeles.
Drew and I were having a discussion with a pastor friend once about the seeker-type approach to ministry and meeting people’s felt needs. Right there we were noticing a difference in how we thought and he thought. Anyway, in the course of that conversation, somehow we got to talking about John MacArthur, and he said something about how, sure MacArthur is a solid Bible teacher, but you just feel so beat up when you listen to him or read his books. Drew and I kind of looked at each other like, huh? Because we have been extremely edified by John MacArthur’s preaching and teaching, and that kind of took us off guard from this particular person who Drew has known for a very long time and would not have expected him to think that way.
Anyway, in the course of blogging, I’ve heard similar comments about Pastor MacArthur and about Dr. Albert Mohler and other men who are very serious about God’s word. I’ve seen some very derogatory comments about both those men at several blogs where the writers and commenters seem to pride themselves on their tolerance, kindness and niceness and spend lots of pixels taking other bloggers to task about their ‘tone’ and perceived lack of love and mercy and grace. What they said about these serious-minded men was childish and unkind, unloving and harsh. I guess tolerance and kindness and careful ‘tone’ are only to be applied to those who are squishy in their theology and who shy away from hard truths. If we don’t like what someone has to say or disagree with their certainty in biblical truths, then we can be ugly and harsh and derogatory, eh?
I happened across one of those ‘tolerance’ blogs, one which considers itself an anti-watchblog kind of site, and there I saw a comment, written in an offhand kind of way about Dr. Mohler. They said something about, “like anyone outside the SBC even cares what he says anyway.” How is that charitable? I’m really glad people like Mohler and MacArthur have enough gravitas to steer clear of the name-calling and stupidity that makes up much of “Christian” blogging today.
So, a few weeks ago, Drew and I spent most of the drive to Georgia for our vacation listening to some episodes of Grace to You on my iPod. Dr. MacArthur was preaching about the doctrine of the Perseverance of the saints. After one very encouraging session, Drew looked over at me and said, “You feel beat up yet?” And I just started laughing. “Not hardly.” As we discussed that, I told Drew that the only time I feel bad when listening to his preaching is when there is some sin in my life that I need to confess and repent and his opening of God’s word and explaining it helps me to recognize it. That is not Pastor John ‘beating me up’, though. That, my friends, is the gracious conviction of the Holy Spirit as He uses His word to pierce my heart, and I am grateful for it.
Anyway, leaving the rabbit trail and moving on back to the post. You didn’t come over here for that, I’m sure. But that is a good book, and I recommend it highly.
Currently reading:
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. This is another of my oldest son’s books that I decided I wanted to read. You may remember me blogging about reading his Shadow Children books. Well, we took the boys to see the movie Inkheart, not realizing that it was a book first. After seeing the movie, which we loved, we all wanted to read the book. My mom and dad gave J this book for Christmas, and I’m just now getting around to reading it. I like it. It’s even better than the movie. As it would be. You know me, usually I want to read the book before seeing the movie. Anyway, so far, I’m liking it. And, for once, I only have one book going, if you don't count Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George, which we will be finishing next week in our women's group at church, and which I've mentioned on here several times.
Soon to be reading:
I don’t have anything yet. I need to go to the library once I finish Inkheart. I’m thinking I want to read the other two books in the Inkheart trilogy and then I want to read Stephen Lawhead’s King Raven trilogy. I read Hood a while back and want to read the rest. It’s been so long, I’ll probably have to read Hood again first and then the others. Those are what will probably be next, but we’ll see!
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Want to Meet the Newest Member of Our Family?
This is Roscoe. We adopted him from a local pet shelter, and he is the sweetest little puppy. He came home with us Saturday afternoon, and he's about six months old, almost housebroken, and, thanks to some helpful advice and tips from our new vet, quickly learning "sit," and we'll be working on "stay" once we get "sit" firmly established. He is a playful little guy who came to us with some health concerns with pneumonia, but we are pretty sure he's on the mend and seems to be happy here with our family. Well, if you don't count last night when he barked and barked in his crate. We're working on that.....
Please excuse M's "Calvin face" expression. He loves Calvin and Hobbes.....
We tried to get more pictures with the kids this morning, but everyone was a little wiggly.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Reading With My Children
I love to read with my kids. They love it, too. We are a regular bunch of bookworms around here. We usually try to read in the evening before bedtime and we are currently reading The Fellowship of the Ring together, when we get an early enough start in the evening, that is. Boo likes to read in her rocking chair before bed, also. She’s quite demanding. She usually knows what book must be read, and then when I finish, she says, “Sing.” So we sing a song or two or three. Then I put her in bed and many times she’ll hand me a book and say, “Daddy read.” So I’ll go find Drew and he’ll read to her a little more.
A while back the boys and I started reading through the book of Genesis in the morning before school. We had been studying Exodus on Sunday nights at church, and it became clear to me through some questions they were asking that they weren’t clear on what led up to Exodus. I am a firm believer that the stories from the Bible should be understood in their greater context, not as stand-alone stories unconnected to the greater whole. I’ve blogged about this before. To properly understand the stories, you really need to know how it all fits together, and to truly understand Christianity, you need to understand the Old Testament and how all of it goes together as well.
So, we began reading through Genesis. Can I just tell you that we have had a really good time doing this. I don’t always get to it each morning if we are having a late day, but the boys ALWAYS ask if we get to read Genesis today. That thrills this mommy’s heart, let me just say. It has been a good exercise for me, too, as I attempt to explain as we read because I want them to understand and know it as well as I can teach it to them.
I was so excited the other day when the boys really seemed to be getting into the story as we read. We had started in on Genesis 30 and had gotten to verse 3 when Rachel decides that since she has not been able to conceive that she would give her maid to Jacob. J spoke up about then and said, “Oh, no! Don’t do it! Not again. She’s not going to, is she mom?” I told him, “Oh, yes! Just wait, it gets even worse.” J couldn’t believe it, after the whole Sarah, Hagar, Abram, Ishmael thing earlier that here we were again.
I love, love, love it that the boys are paying such close attention and getting this. I cannot wait until we get to read about Joseph. They are going to love it!
Who says reading the Bible is boring? Moms, make the Bible interesting for your kids! If you love it and read it like you love it, they will see it in you as you share it with them. Read with excitement and inflection and explain as you go along, and it will be precious time spent in the Word with your kids. This has been so good, and we have so much more still to go!
A while back the boys and I started reading through the book of Genesis in the morning before school. We had been studying Exodus on Sunday nights at church, and it became clear to me through some questions they were asking that they weren’t clear on what led up to Exodus. I am a firm believer that the stories from the Bible should be understood in their greater context, not as stand-alone stories unconnected to the greater whole. I’ve blogged about this before. To properly understand the stories, you really need to know how it all fits together, and to truly understand Christianity, you need to understand the Old Testament and how all of it goes together as well.
So, we began reading through Genesis. Can I just tell you that we have had a really good time doing this. I don’t always get to it each morning if we are having a late day, but the boys ALWAYS ask if we get to read Genesis today. That thrills this mommy’s heart, let me just say. It has been a good exercise for me, too, as I attempt to explain as we read because I want them to understand and know it as well as I can teach it to them.
I was so excited the other day when the boys really seemed to be getting into the story as we read. We had started in on Genesis 30 and had gotten to verse 3 when Rachel decides that since she has not been able to conceive that she would give her maid to Jacob. J spoke up about then and said, “Oh, no! Don’t do it! Not again. She’s not going to, is she mom?” I told him, “Oh, yes! Just wait, it gets even worse.” J couldn’t believe it, after the whole Sarah, Hagar, Abram, Ishmael thing earlier that here we were again.
I love, love, love it that the boys are paying such close attention and getting this. I cannot wait until we get to read about Joseph. They are going to love it!
Who says reading the Bible is boring? Moms, make the Bible interesting for your kids! If you love it and read it like you love it, they will see it in you as you share it with them. Read with excitement and inflection and explain as you go along, and it will be precious time spent in the Word with your kids. This has been so good, and we have so much more still to go!
Sunday, April 12, 2009
He is Risen!
He is risen indeed!
May you rejoice today as you celebrate our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 6:19-20
"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
May you rejoice today as you celebrate our risen Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Hebrews 6:19-20
"This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek."
Hebrews 12:1-2
"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
Saturday, April 11, 2009
What I'm Reading These Days
Not much blogging going on around here. I’m trying not to feel guilty about that. This is supposed to be a fun hobby, not another source of guilt, right? It’s not that I haven’t written anything this week. I just haven’t written anything well, so it’s all still in draft form, hoping to be edited and usable. I have lots of thoughts, but I’m in something of a blog slump when it comes to organizing them.
So, though I’m not blogging much, I have been reading. One serendipitous perk that I had not expected that goes with parenting a 10-year-old who reads at an advanced level is being introduced to books I might never have encountered otherwise. It’s very nice to see J really enjoy reading. Even more fun is being in a race with him to finish a series we are both reading at the same time. Last night I finished Book 4, and J is on Chapter 9 of Book 5. He really wanted me to wait for him to finish first, but I convinced him to leave the book here while he and his dad and brother went to a Cardinals game last night, because I would be really bored with nothing to read and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. He said okay reluctantly, realizing that I just read too fast for him to finish first. Then he pleaded with me to try to finish the book while he was gone so he could have it back when he got home. He was so sweet, “I don’t know, Mom, this is the longest one yet. It’s over 200 pages!” I finished it in a few hours and it was on his pillow when they got home last night. And now he is pumping me for information, and I’m not telling. That’s another reason I wanted to jump ahead. He just cannot keep himself from revealing interesting plot elements in the books I haven’t yet read. I would beg and plead with him to not tell me anything, and he’d say, “But Mom, just this one thing….” And I’d put my hands over my ears and loudly say, “I want to read it myself! Don’t tell me, don’t tell me!” And then he’d say, “But it’s not that important….” And proceed to drop some very significant plot twist. I'm also one of those people who likes to read the book before seeing the movie. So, I didn’t feel that I was being mean at all to speed on past him. We are a weird family. Go ahead and say it.
A few weeks ago, J came home telling us about a book he had read at school that he really enjoyed. Then he told us it is a whole series and he wanted to read the rest of the books. At first when he was describing them, I thought that the topic seemed awfully heavy for fourth graders, maybe I should look at the book, too. Then a book order form came home from school and, what do you know, all seven of the books were for sale in it at an affordable price (we got them for considerably less than the set I linked in the next paragraph, but it was the only full set I could find to show you in case you're interested in what the books are). We ordered them.
They are the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Set in a fictional totalitarian society where having more than two children is outlawed with strict penalties (death!) for violators, the series follows several ‘illegals’ or third children who have spent most of their short lives in hiding and the adults who try to help them. This series is loaded with intrigue and plot twists and food for interesting conversations with my son. Think 1984 for kids. I am enjoying interacting with J about this immensely.
Some themes that this series is helping me explore with him are sanctity of life issues – from a perspective he can really get since all these ‘illegal’ kids are his age or a tad older. And many of the characters are behaving very nobly – when given a chance to just look out for themselves or put themselves at risk to save someone else, they are making very heroic choices and overcoming a lifetime of extreme fear to do very hard things. We’re also able to discuss some about why we tend to vote the way we do and why we don’t think government should be in the business of running people’s lives. This is a pretty timely series in that respect – we’ve even talked a little about why we don’t agree with our current president on A LOT of issues and why, and this series is helping him to understand it better. One interesting idea we’ve been talking about is how in the books there was a true crisis, and motives were to save lives, but the way the government chose to address the crisis was immoral, evil, and wrong. J has been asking how a government gets that way. Well, if enough people are in power who have a slippery slope idea of right and wrong and the value of each individual life and of personal freedom, it wouldn’t be hard to see how easily it could happen, especially if some dire crisis came along and people were willing to sacrifice some freedoms in the ‘short term’ with the promise that it was only short term. The difficulty there is once you’ve sacrificed freedoms, the more power over your personal life you put in the hands of government, how do you get them back once the crisis is over? Sound familiar? Problem is, in a fallen world, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It doesn’t matter if the reason for making a wrong choice was ‘good’ when that wrong choice is immoral and evil. In a fallen world, it is all too easy to see how this could happen. So these books are chilling. But encouraging, too, because they are written from the standpoint that the law was evil and that these children have a right to be ‘legal’ and heard and saved. Life is treated as precious in these books.
And the most chilling thing of all, I’ve been thinking as I read these books that it is only a short step from legalized abortion being euphemistically called choice, presented as a desirable option, and pregnancy being seen as a ‘punishment’ to one day being told you have to limit the number of children you have. That’s already how it is in China. You hear rumblings along those lines already over here from the people who are worried about ‘population overcrowding.’ We’re already considered unusual for having three kids, and my friends who have larger families are seen as weird, too, by some segments of society. On that note, Al Mohler had a good discussion a while ago about the real population threat, and I just read this today if you don't believe me about that short step slippery slope our culture is on.
We live in an increasingly child un-tolerant society. Read this article I noticed the other day that I started to write a blog post about but never finished because it just made me so sad and I just couldn’t address all the reasons why. We are becoming so self-centered in our culture that we just don’t want to be bothered with children or we are surprised when raising them inconveniences us and our ‘happiness’ in some way, and I find that sad, disturbing, and dangerous for the long term. I could have said soooo much more about my impressions after reading that article, but I won’t in this post. I don't know if I'll pull that other post out of the draft folder or not.
Anyway, I’m enjoying these books. Lots to think about and discuss with my son, and they are written on a level he can understand. I have about two and a half more to read before I’m finished. Hopefully I’ll like the ending, too.
So, though I’m not blogging much, I have been reading. One serendipitous perk that I had not expected that goes with parenting a 10-year-old who reads at an advanced level is being introduced to books I might never have encountered otherwise. It’s very nice to see J really enjoy reading. Even more fun is being in a race with him to finish a series we are both reading at the same time. Last night I finished Book 4, and J is on Chapter 9 of Book 5. He really wanted me to wait for him to finish first, but I convinced him to leave the book here while he and his dad and brother went to a Cardinals game last night, because I would be really bored with nothing to read and I really wanted to know what was going to happen next. He said okay reluctantly, realizing that I just read too fast for him to finish first. Then he pleaded with me to try to finish the book while he was gone so he could have it back when he got home. He was so sweet, “I don’t know, Mom, this is the longest one yet. It’s over 200 pages!” I finished it in a few hours and it was on his pillow when they got home last night. And now he is pumping me for information, and I’m not telling. That’s another reason I wanted to jump ahead. He just cannot keep himself from revealing interesting plot elements in the books I haven’t yet read. I would beg and plead with him to not tell me anything, and he’d say, “But Mom, just this one thing….” And I’d put my hands over my ears and loudly say, “I want to read it myself! Don’t tell me, don’t tell me!” And then he’d say, “But it’s not that important….” And proceed to drop some very significant plot twist. I'm also one of those people who likes to read the book before seeing the movie. So, I didn’t feel that I was being mean at all to speed on past him. We are a weird family. Go ahead and say it.
A few weeks ago, J came home telling us about a book he had read at school that he really enjoyed. Then he told us it is a whole series and he wanted to read the rest of the books. At first when he was describing them, I thought that the topic seemed awfully heavy for fourth graders, maybe I should look at the book, too. Then a book order form came home from school and, what do you know, all seven of the books were for sale in it at an affordable price (we got them for considerably less than the set I linked in the next paragraph, but it was the only full set I could find to show you in case you're interested in what the books are). We ordered them.
They are the Shadow Children series by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Set in a fictional totalitarian society where having more than two children is outlawed with strict penalties (death!) for violators, the series follows several ‘illegals’ or third children who have spent most of their short lives in hiding and the adults who try to help them. This series is loaded with intrigue and plot twists and food for interesting conversations with my son. Think 1984 for kids. I am enjoying interacting with J about this immensely.
Some themes that this series is helping me explore with him are sanctity of life issues – from a perspective he can really get since all these ‘illegal’ kids are his age or a tad older. And many of the characters are behaving very nobly – when given a chance to just look out for themselves or put themselves at risk to save someone else, they are making very heroic choices and overcoming a lifetime of extreme fear to do very hard things. We’re also able to discuss some about why we tend to vote the way we do and why we don’t think government should be in the business of running people’s lives. This is a pretty timely series in that respect – we’ve even talked a little about why we don’t agree with our current president on A LOT of issues and why, and this series is helping him to understand it better. One interesting idea we’ve been talking about is how in the books there was a true crisis, and motives were to save lives, but the way the government chose to address the crisis was immoral, evil, and wrong. J has been asking how a government gets that way. Well, if enough people are in power who have a slippery slope idea of right and wrong and the value of each individual life and of personal freedom, it wouldn’t be hard to see how easily it could happen, especially if some dire crisis came along and people were willing to sacrifice some freedoms in the ‘short term’ with the promise that it was only short term. The difficulty there is once you’ve sacrificed freedoms, the more power over your personal life you put in the hands of government, how do you get them back once the crisis is over? Sound familiar? Problem is, in a fallen world, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. It doesn’t matter if the reason for making a wrong choice was ‘good’ when that wrong choice is immoral and evil. In a fallen world, it is all too easy to see how this could happen. So these books are chilling. But encouraging, too, because they are written from the standpoint that the law was evil and that these children have a right to be ‘legal’ and heard and saved. Life is treated as precious in these books.
And the most chilling thing of all, I’ve been thinking as I read these books that it is only a short step from legalized abortion being euphemistically called choice, presented as a desirable option, and pregnancy being seen as a ‘punishment’ to one day being told you have to limit the number of children you have. That’s already how it is in China. You hear rumblings along those lines already over here from the people who are worried about ‘population overcrowding.’ We’re already considered unusual for having three kids, and my friends who have larger families are seen as weird, too, by some segments of society. On that note, Al Mohler had a good discussion a while ago about the real population threat, and I just read this today if you don't believe me about that short step slippery slope our culture is on.
We live in an increasingly child un-tolerant society. Read this article I noticed the other day that I started to write a blog post about but never finished because it just made me so sad and I just couldn’t address all the reasons why. We are becoming so self-centered in our culture that we just don’t want to be bothered with children or we are surprised when raising them inconveniences us and our ‘happiness’ in some way, and I find that sad, disturbing, and dangerous for the long term. I could have said soooo much more about my impressions after reading that article, but I won’t in this post. I don't know if I'll pull that other post out of the draft folder or not.
Anyway, I’m enjoying these books. Lots to think about and discuss with my son, and they are written on a level he can understand. I have about two and a half more to read before I’m finished. Hopefully I’ll like the ending, too.
Friday, April 10, 2009
I've Heard That Bettas are Fairly Indestructible
It's a good thing, too. I was noticing that I have posted nothing since last Thursday, I'll just check in with this little tid bit and hopefully write something else soon.
So, M got a betta fish for his birthday. That was last Thursday. Friday night we had a babysitter come and Drew and I went to the mall and to a movie. When we got home, J told us the fish was acting funny. The babysitter explained that Boo had found the fish food jar and proceeded to empty half of it into the bowl. He's only supposed to have two pellets twice a day, and this was hundreds of pellets at once. "Feed Sid! Feed Sid!" She gleefully cried. She really likes animals. I was much impressed with our babysitter's quick thinking. She transferred Sid to a cup and rinsed out his bowl and washed the rocks and everything. We looked at Sid, and he seemed happy enough - I mean, he's a fish, for goodness sake. All he does is swim around in a bowl, it's kind of hard to tell what he's thinking. So we thanked her for her quick thinking and commisserated with her about the stress our two-year-old caused. Welcome to my world.
On Saturday we had choir practice because Sunday we presented our musical in both services (it was very nice, very worshipful, by the way). After practice, the babysitter's mother waved to me in the church lobby and told the person she was talking to, "You won't believe what her daughter did last night!" I really hope that won't become something I hear often, by the way. I told her how impressed I was that her daughter was able to handle the situation. I'm pretty sure at her age I would have been stumped about what to do. "I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So, the children are fine but your fish is dead."
So, on Sunday I told the babysitter's mom to please tell her that Sid is doing just fine, and I am much impressed with her quick thinking. Her mom and I had a good laugh about the stress level of the babysitter that night.
I wonder if this means a pay raise next time.....
So, M got a betta fish for his birthday. That was last Thursday. Friday night we had a babysitter come and Drew and I went to the mall and to a movie. When we got home, J told us the fish was acting funny. The babysitter explained that Boo had found the fish food jar and proceeded to empty half of it into the bowl. He's only supposed to have two pellets twice a day, and this was hundreds of pellets at once. "Feed Sid! Feed Sid!" She gleefully cried. She really likes animals. I was much impressed with our babysitter's quick thinking. She transferred Sid to a cup and rinsed out his bowl and washed the rocks and everything. We looked at Sid, and he seemed happy enough - I mean, he's a fish, for goodness sake. All he does is swim around in a bowl, it's kind of hard to tell what he's thinking. So we thanked her for her quick thinking and commisserated with her about the stress our two-year-old caused. Welcome to my world.
On Saturday we had choir practice because Sunday we presented our musical in both services (it was very nice, very worshipful, by the way). After practice, the babysitter's mother waved to me in the church lobby and told the person she was talking to, "You won't believe what her daughter did last night!" I really hope that won't become something I hear often, by the way. I told her how impressed I was that her daughter was able to handle the situation. I'm pretty sure at her age I would have been stumped about what to do. "I'm so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. So-and-So, the children are fine but your fish is dead."
So, on Sunday I told the babysitter's mom to please tell her that Sid is doing just fine, and I am much impressed with her quick thinking. Her mom and I had a good laugh about the stress level of the babysitter that night.
I wonder if this means a pay raise next time.....
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Status Report - Early April
Sitting…at my computer desk, shamelessly stealing Lisa’s blog post idea and writing a status report for April. I, too, treat my laptop like a desktop. It’s just easier that way for this girl who barely even knows how to switch all the techie equipment on. If you knew how long it is taking me to figure out how to use our swanky new digital camera and the software affiliated with it, you’d laugh at me.
Drinking….coffee, decaf with hazelnut creamer and Sweet N’ Low. Drew and I have decided Sweet N’ Low is probably the least toxic of the diet sweeteners. Who would’ve thought?
Noting….that I am not ready for my middle son to be eight-years-old. But, ready or not, as of today he is. Today is his birthday. At 12:01 PM today he was officially eight-years-old. Where is the time going? Want to see one of his birthday presents? This was the big surprise I had waiting for him when he came home in from school! He named it Sid.
Drinking….coffee, decaf with hazelnut creamer and Sweet N’ Low. Drew and I have decided Sweet N’ Low is probably the least toxic of the diet sweeteners. Who would’ve thought?
Noting….that I am not ready for my middle son to be eight-years-old. But, ready or not, as of today he is. Today is his birthday. At 12:01 PM today he was officially eight-years-old. Where is the time going? Want to see one of his birthday presents? This was the big surprise I had waiting for him when he came home in from school! He named it Sid.
Weighing….too much. Okay, I know Lisa doesn't mean literally when she says this, but weighing options. Still. The scale is not my friend. Actually, maybe it’s just a really good friend – the most honest one I know…..
Tired….of potty training. She’ll get it, I know she’ll get it. But it’s just tiring these days. I bought one of these:
(Bissel Little Green ProHeat)It was necessary. I like it. And then once she’s potty trained, I’ll be whining about how she’s growing up so fast I can’t stand it. I’m already whining about it. But I really cannot see myself weeping over being finished with diapers. Unless they are tears of joy.
Wondering….if we will be dog owners again soon. We found an adorable little guy while web surfing local animal shelters. When we contacted them about him, they told us he currently has pneumonia, but we can meet him once the vet says okay. I think he’s seeing the vet today. I hope we get to meet him soon. I’ll let you know.
Reading….The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg. I like it so far. Also reading Saved Without a Doubt by John MacArthur. I really like it. I think I need to write a whole blog post about it soon.
Recently finished…Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin. Okay, that’s me being funny. Boo got this at the library, and has insisted on having it read to her more times than I can count already. She loves the ‘fox book’ (Ruthie is a little fox). It is due back at the library on the 7th. I have a sinking feeling there will be much wailing and gnashing of toddler teeth on that day. We may be making and outing to the bookstore soon. As for me, recently finished is Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer. I liked it.
Also wondering….why the manufacturers of my new blender felt the need for this:
Wondering….if we will be dog owners again soon. We found an adorable little guy while web surfing local animal shelters. When we contacted them about him, they told us he currently has pneumonia, but we can meet him once the vet says okay. I think he’s seeing the vet today. I hope we get to meet him soon. I’ll let you know.
Reading….The Last Jihad by Joel C. Rosenberg. I like it so far. Also reading Saved Without a Doubt by John MacArthur. I really like it. I think I need to write a whole blog post about it soon.
Recently finished…Ruthie and the (Not So) Teeny Tiny Lie by Laura Rankin. Okay, that’s me being funny. Boo got this at the library, and has insisted on having it read to her more times than I can count already. She loves the ‘fox book’ (Ruthie is a little fox). It is due back at the library on the 7th. I have a sinking feeling there will be much wailing and gnashing of toddler teeth on that day. We may be making and outing to the bookstore soon. As for me, recently finished is Sons of Fortune by Jeffrey Archer. I liked it.
Also wondering….why the manufacturers of my new blender felt the need for this:
I had to use scissors to cut it off. Really, was that necessary?
Needing….some new clothes. I hate shopping. This, too, could be an entire blog post, and since I’ve been so lax about blogging, maybe it will be soon.
Not liking….how seldom I seem to be able to focus for long enough to write a decent blog post these days.
Really liking….this season of LOST. Some things are beginning to come together, and the story is moving along. Confusing, yes. But very interesting. I’m driving my husband crazy with my speculating and wondering. I still think if it were a book I’d have to stay up all night to finish it. I really want answers.
Thanks for allowing me to copy your status idea, Lisa!
Thinking Biblically - Be Anxious For Nothing
I woke up the other day feeling anxious and out of sorts. The things I was stressing about were really stupid things to obsess about at 4:30 in the morning. In fact, as I lay there trying to go back to sleep, I noticed a trend in that none of them were major, life-shattering things. They were all either things that are fairly easy to take care of in the day light hours or things that don’t warrant anxious feelings anyway, but there I was feeling anxious. In fact, almost every one of them was something that I had procrastinated about doing for one reason or another, but none of them were major life issues. So, you see what a stupid stress session I was having at 4:30 in the morning the other day. And that’s only the beginning. From there I started stressing about other things that also are not huge, big things and are fairly easily remedied. Finally I just decided to get up and pray and read my Bible since by then it wasn’t all that long until the alarm was going to be sounding anyway as I get up early most days to try to pray and read my Bible before the kids get up.
This day I decided that before I tried to continue with my daily read through the Bible plan I would turn to Philippians 4:6-7 first and focus my thoughts on how God tells us in His word to be anxious for nothing. So, I opened my Bible, propped it up on the chair and knelt to read and pray. But I didn’t just read verses 6 and 7. As I read, I realized what the verses before and after 6 and 7 say. And I got to thinking, and it was like a light came on. Here’s what I read:
Philippians 4:4-9
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
I don’t know about you, but I tend to whip out the “Be anxious for nothing….” part of that passage, it’s one a lot of people memorize, when I’m feeling anxious and try to browbeat myself into not feeling anxious - focusing on the feelings while not addressing the thoughts and where they are to be focused. However, not only is the command to not be anxious given, but the antidote to being anxious is also given. How cool is that? This is why I love God’s word. This is why we say it is the Living Word. I’ve read through Philippians I don’t know how many times, but it only just the other day really clicked for me how three very popular and familiar passages to memorize actually work together. Novel thought, that, reading Bible verses in context, eh?
How many of us go around trying to gear ourselves up to rejoice in the Lord and be anxious for nothing in our own strength, and with no “finally brethren, whatever things….” to think upon we find ourselves spiraling right back into anxiety? Raising my hand. How many of us know those three sections separately and pull them out often, but very seldom put them together and see how it all fits?
We’ve been reading Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George in our women’s group on Sunday nights at church, as I’ve mentioned before, and in the first part of that book several chapters are spent discussing just what it means to think on what is true. For example, when I’m lying there at 4 dark thirty in the morning feeling anxious and out of sorts, I can ask myself, wait a minute – what is true here? Are the things I’m worrying about true or just potentialities? Am I anxious because I need to be doing something I haven’t done yet or have put off doing? Then what is true is that I can get my act together and do what needs to be done. Am I anxious about something out of my control? Focus on what is true and not what I fear might happen. Usually there is enough to focus on that is immediate and true that I only get into trouble by focusing on the 'what ifs.' My husband and I have a phrase we repeat often to each other: "There are no 'what ifs,' there's only 'what is.' Not that you don't ever prepare, but you get my meaning. You could write a whole book on this topic (in fact, it's covered nicely in Loving God With All Your Mind), this is just a blog post. Is my understanding of God lining up with His word in all that I’m thinking? If not, focus on what is true about Him. Am I purposefully remembering that God causes all things, even this whatever it is, to work together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose to conform us into the image of His Son? Even if the whatever doesn’t seem so good at the moment, am I trusting His purpose?
So that morning while I was reading and praying the scripture, I began thinking about the command to rejoice in the Lord. It doesn’t say, ‘Feel good about everything right now.’ It says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’ So I started thinking about why I can rejoice in the Lord always. Awesome. And I took my requests to God, and remembered that His word says that when I do so the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart in Christ Jesus. And part of that peace stems from thinking on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Purposefully retraining my thinking from me, me, me, woe is me, to those things that lead to trusting in the God of peace who is with me.
It was a good morning.
This day I decided that before I tried to continue with my daily read through the Bible plan I would turn to Philippians 4:6-7 first and focus my thoughts on how God tells us in His word to be anxious for nothing. So, I opened my Bible, propped it up on the chair and knelt to read and pray. But I didn’t just read verses 6 and 7. As I read, I realized what the verses before and after 6 and 7 say. And I got to thinking, and it was like a light came on. Here’s what I read:
Philippians 4:4-9
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy – meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
I don’t know about you, but I tend to whip out the “Be anxious for nothing….” part of that passage, it’s one a lot of people memorize, when I’m feeling anxious and try to browbeat myself into not feeling anxious - focusing on the feelings while not addressing the thoughts and where they are to be focused. However, not only is the command to not be anxious given, but the antidote to being anxious is also given. How cool is that? This is why I love God’s word. This is why we say it is the Living Word. I’ve read through Philippians I don’t know how many times, but it only just the other day really clicked for me how three very popular and familiar passages to memorize actually work together. Novel thought, that, reading Bible verses in context, eh?
How many of us go around trying to gear ourselves up to rejoice in the Lord and be anxious for nothing in our own strength, and with no “finally brethren, whatever things….” to think upon we find ourselves spiraling right back into anxiety? Raising my hand. How many of us know those three sections separately and pull them out often, but very seldom put them together and see how it all fits?
We’ve been reading Loving God With All Your Mind by Elizabeth George in our women’s group on Sunday nights at church, as I’ve mentioned before, and in the first part of that book several chapters are spent discussing just what it means to think on what is true. For example, when I’m lying there at 4 dark thirty in the morning feeling anxious and out of sorts, I can ask myself, wait a minute – what is true here? Are the things I’m worrying about true or just potentialities? Am I anxious because I need to be doing something I haven’t done yet or have put off doing? Then what is true is that I can get my act together and do what needs to be done. Am I anxious about something out of my control? Focus on what is true and not what I fear might happen. Usually there is enough to focus on that is immediate and true that I only get into trouble by focusing on the 'what ifs.' My husband and I have a phrase we repeat often to each other: "There are no 'what ifs,' there's only 'what is.' Not that you don't ever prepare, but you get my meaning. You could write a whole book on this topic (in fact, it's covered nicely in Loving God With All Your Mind), this is just a blog post. Is my understanding of God lining up with His word in all that I’m thinking? If not, focus on what is true about Him. Am I purposefully remembering that God causes all things, even this whatever it is, to work together for good for those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose to conform us into the image of His Son? Even if the whatever doesn’t seem so good at the moment, am I trusting His purpose?
So that morning while I was reading and praying the scripture, I began thinking about the command to rejoice in the Lord. It doesn’t say, ‘Feel good about everything right now.’ It says, ‘Rejoice in the Lord always.’ So I started thinking about why I can rejoice in the Lord always. Awesome. And I took my requests to God, and remembered that His word says that when I do so the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard my heart in Christ Jesus. And part of that peace stems from thinking on those things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous and praiseworthy. Purposefully retraining my thinking from me, me, me, woe is me, to those things that lead to trusting in the God of peace who is with me.
It was a good morning.
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