Light of Dawn

Won't It Be Worth Everything?

2011-02-20T23:16:00.002-07:00

"My own plans are made. While I can, I sail east in the Dawn Treader. When she fails me, I row east in my coracle. When she sinks, I shall swim east with my four paws. And when I can swim no longer, if I have not yet reached Aslan's Country, or shot over the edge of the world in some vast cataract, I shall sink with my nose to the sunrise...”
~ Reepicheep (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)

Is there a more poignant picture of, "I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ"? (Philippians 3:8)

Thanking God tonight for His all-surpassing worth and glory; for the genius he gave to C.S. Lewis; and for Reepicheep, most valiant of the talking beasts in Narnia.

Fab Deal!

2010-11-06T20:18:00.004-06:00

On some top-notch books! J.C. Ryle's commentaries have helped me to see Jesus and the Cross ever more vividly throughout the Gospels. I love these books.

If you're an iPad (etc.) user, check this out: Monergism Books ... $9.95 special on Expository Thoughts on the Gospels.

Fellow Prisoners

2010-10-30T21:09:00.003-06:00

Check out Voice of the Martyrs' website for a two-week prayer guide leading up to the IDOP for the Persecuted Churchon November 14.

Forgiveness

2010-09-10T01:01:00.002-06:00

"Let us determine by God's grace to forgive, even as we hope to be forgiven. This is the nearest approach we can make to the mind of Christ Jesus. This is the character which is most suitable to a poor sinful child of Adam. God's free forgiveness of sins is our highest privilege in this world. God's free forgiveness will be our only title to eternal life in the world to come. Then let us be forgiving during the few years that we are here upon earth."

~J.C. Ryle

For Germophiles

2010-09-05T19:56:00.006-06:00

Wonderful little site here:

Adopt a Microbe

Well, I suppose it's only wonderful if you've been trying to figure out ways to teach microbiology. Still, it's a fun way to memorize diseases, should you ever be inclined.

Another

2010-08-13T19:24:00.001-06:00

"Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another's life, another's death, I stake my whole eternity."

~Horatius Bonar

Of Cancer and Nations

2010-06-13T18:15:00.002-06:00

Here's a good bit by Doug Wilson on the oft-used concept of "taking America back." May we focus on sharing the glorious truth of "so great a salvation"--a truth which will produce repentance, holiness, changed lives, AND a changed country.

A (Bright) Lighthouse

2010-06-12T11:06:00.003-06:00

"Settle it down in your mind that you will aim at the highest degree of holiness, and spiritual-mindedness, and consecration to God—that you will not be content with any low degree of sanctification. Resolve that, by the grace of God, you will make Christianity beautiful in the eyes of the world. Remember that the children of the world have but few patterns of true religion before them. Oh, that every true Christian would recollect that he is set as a lighthouse in the midst of a dark world, and would labor so to live that every part of him may reflect light, and no side be dim!"

--J.C. Ryle

Rejoicing Again Tonight

2010-06-10T23:12:00.005-06:00

"Not because of who I am,
But because of what You've done.

Not because of what I've done,
But because of who You are!"

--"Who Am I?" Casting Crowns

They Really Do Write the Best Books...

2010-06-10T20:55:00.005-06:00

Well, or at least they write a lot of them...

"Melanin-challenged men who are no longer with us."

--Tongue-in-Cheek "Label" from The Politically Incorrect Guide to English and American Literature

The First Year!

2010-06-08T23:14:00.004-06:00

I've been meaning to post this for months now. Here's the slideshow I put together for The Center for Pregnancy Choices' annual "birthday party." It's all about the adventure of starting a pregnancy center. Enjoy!

Grace Changes Everything

2010-06-05T18:24:00.004-06:00

Beautiful grace! It frees us to share the Gospel like this:

We are compelled to share the gospel out of love.

We are freed from the fear of being ridiculed or hurt by others, since we already have the favor of God's grace.

There is humility in our dealings with others, because we know we are saved only by grace, not by our superior insight or character.

We are hopeful about anyone, even the "hard cases," because we are saved only by grace ourselves.

We are courteous and careful with people. We don't have to push or coerce them, for it is God's grace that opens hearts, not our eloquence or persistance or even their openeness.

(HT: Justin Taylor, Between Two Worlds)

Bones and Happiness

2010-06-03T23:12:00.010-06:00

So this is me right now (contemplating my calcaneus apparently).

Yes, I took the "summer school" plunge and am now spending my days with microbes and bones. Well, at least some of them are fairly solid friends. Actually, classes are going well and I feel very blessed.

It's been a true privilege in this last year to be able to go back to school and be immersed in the intricacies of the human body. Truly, we are "fearfully and wonderfully made," and the more I learn, the more I praise God for His care and genius in creating us. From the molecular level on up, the design of this organism called "us" has astonished me again and again. I've sat there in complete awe while studying nerve action potentials, for example. Okay, so maybe I'm getting scarily geeky, but it thrilled me! All these molecules going here and going there, and depolarizing this and opening that ion channel and releasing this neurotransmitter....and it's all going on every second, all over the body! Wow.

Many of you know how I was dragging my feet about this summer semester. Let's just say that I was not "rejoicing always." But God's been so faithful!

I was concerned about being able to handle both microbiology and anatomy in a short semester, and then both classes turned out to have great professors. Anatomy especially is a riot! I didn't think that it was possible to lecture "interestingly" in a subject that you largely just have to memorize, but it's been fun. And microbiology has been easy ('nough said!). Oh, and cadavers are still to come! Yippee! Truly, I've been looking forward to cadaver lab since I started. :) (Just call me a weird nursing student.)

I was dreading all the time spent driving to Brigham City, but it's been a fabulous time of listening to books on CD, singing my heart out, soaking in the beauty of the daily-changing canyon, and....um, yeah, memorizing those bones.

I was also worried about becoming an absentee from the family and useless at the pregnancy center because of all the studying. Well, I know I'm less "there," but it's been better than I expected (probably people are just giving me lots of grace!). But still I'm thankful. I'd appreciate prayer for this area though---balance, always a bit of a tight-rope for me. :)

So bones and happiness? Well, I AM finding lots of happiness this summer! There really is a particular "species" of true delight in bones and microbes and action potentials. Also I have been finding, yet again, that the love and mercy of the Lord doesn't fail. Ever. At the height of my summer-school, pity-thyself grumpiness I read in Deuteronomy:

"The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you..." (7:6-7)

The Lord loves me because His nature and being is love, not because I'm at all lovable in and of myself. I had been very unthankful and unlovable about school and other things. But, man, really how can my soul be downcast? I have a Savior who is mighty and gracious and worthy of praise! And I get to spend some weeks immersed in fascinating subjects. So this summer... praising God for His character and for the bones He has made!

Verk, verk, verk!

2010-06-03T22:56:00.005-06:00

So the pregnancy center needed a bit of spring sprucing up outside. And a bunch of hard-working teens came to the rescue! From raking the yard to shoveling muck (always a favorite, that one), from thoroughly stuffing the dumpster to some lovely new landscaping by our north entrance--a lot got accomplished in 3 hours! Thanks everyone. It looks wonderful! Here's the link to my facebook album documenting all that toil (with a bit of pizza thrown in for good measure):

"Verk, verk, verk!"

He's a Wonderful Savior!

2010-05-30T22:44:00.002-06:00

Most Noise

2010-04-23T10:30:00.004-06:00

And they began laughing at Jesus, knowing that she had died. He, however, took her by the hand and called, saying, "Child arise!" And her spirit returned, and she got up immediately; and He gave orders for something to be given her to eat. Her parents were amazed; but He instructed them to tell no one what had happened.

(Luke 8:53-56)

"Let us note here, as in many places, how little our Lord desired publicity. To do great works and say nothing about them -- to do work powerfully, and yet noiselessly and quietly walk -- is to walk in Christ's steps. The shallowest streams and emptiest vessels make the most noise."

--J.C. Ryle

Lord, please make me a noiseless vessel.

April Showers

2010-04-05T22:07:00.002-06:00

Operation Feminist Movement

2010-04-03T16:08:00.004-06:00

This afternoon--while, I do admit, avoiding studying for my exams next week--I came across this excellent piece. It was written last year, but is still tragically relevant. What heartache women have brought on themselves, all in the name of being "empowered." Here's the article:

Men, The Gender Wars are Over -- We Won!

The God-given roles and differences between men and women are beautiful. My fellow sisters, in the book of Proverbs we see a woman who is strong, creative, thoughtful, industrious, and successful. This woman, however, has not forfeited her purity, her protection, her home and children and husband, or her happiness. In fact, "she smiles at the future" and is praised as "excelling them all" (Proverbs 31:25, 29).

Women -- Yes, may we be strong, may we be thoughtful and industrious, may we work hard to help the broken and down-trodden! But may we be true and pure. May we love our families. May we walk with our God in holiness. And, yes, may we be feminine!

"A woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates." (Proverbs 31:30-31)

Shall We Eat It?

2010-03-29T23:53:00.001-06:00

What should we do?

Should we dig in?

Truth Unchanging

2010-03-27T23:13:00.002-06:00

"Truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it"

--Flannery O'Connor

Making Men Holy

2010-03-19T22:32:00.003-06:00

"The only way to make men holy, is to teach and preach free and full forgiveness through Jesus Christ. The secret of being holy ourselves, is to know and feel that Christ has pardoned our sins. Peace with God is the only root that will bear the fruit of holiness. Forgiveness must go before sanctification. We shall do nothing till we are reconciled to God. This is the first step in religion. We must work from life, and not for life. Our best works before we are justified are little better than splendid sins. We must live by faith in the Son of God, and then, and not till then, we shall walk in His ways. The heart which has experienced the pardoning love of Christ, is the heart which loves Christ, and strives to glorify Him."

--J.C. Ryle

Hello Again!

2009-09-02T14:14:00.004-06:00

Well, I believe this blog could be officially labeled as dead. No posts since June, and they had been pretty scanty prior to that. I wholeheartedly agree with readers commenting that a certain post about the oddness of women--left up for multiple months--is depressing. On to a remedy!

For any blog readership I still have left, let me hasten to offer my absence justifications... (1) Facebook wastes all my extra online time, and (2)---and much better reason---I've been working on another website. Yes! The Center for Pregnancy Choices website is finally done! I've pretty much completed all the writing, and there only remains one very long evening of doing the final edit. So with "Excuse No. (2)" almost out of the way, all that remains is for me to exercise self-control in regard to "Excuse No. (1)."

Some long overdue posts are coming, and I thank everyone for your patience. I love you all and look forward to writing again soon. For the present, you can head over to the new pregnancy center website. :)

www.centerforpregnancychoices.com

"Very seldom, m'lord"

2009-06-04T21:13:00.003-06:00

"Women are odd, Jeeves," he said.
"Yes, m'lord."
"Not to say peculiar. You can't tell what they mean when they say things, can you?"
"Very seldom, m'lord."

--P.G. Wodehouse (The Return of Jeeves)

Supping with the Savior

2009-05-25T22:44:00.006-06:00

John Bradford (1510-1555) suffered martyrdom under "Bloody Mary" of England. When he was to be burned at the stake, he encouraged a young man, who was to be his fellow martyr, with these words--

"Be of good comfort, brother; for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night!"

These two were burned at the stake together, and went to their Lord's presence, to be supping and rejoicing with Him in glory.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." (Revelation 3:20)

"Then he said to me, "Write, 'Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb,'" and he said to me, "These are true words of God." (Revelation 19:9)

Image Credit: allposters.com

Interesting Thought

2009-05-22T23:46:00.005-06:00

"If you don't get rubbed the wrong way by God,

then you're not converted,

and God will begin to look like you."

--Quote taken from Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists

Blessed Water

2009-05-22T23:01:00.003-06:00

“Thus says the Lord who made you
and formed you from the womb,
who will help you.
‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant;
And you Jeshurun who I have chosen.
For I will pour out water on the thirsty land
and streams on the dry ground;
I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring
and my blessing on your descendants…’”

(Isaiah 44:2-3)

“Jesus said, ‘Whoever drinks
of the water that I will give
him shall never thirst;
but the water that I will give him
will become in him a well of water
Springing up to eternal life....’
This He spoke of the Spirit
whom those who believed in Him
were to receive.”

(John 4:14; 7:38)

“Then He said to me, ‘It is done.
I am the Alpha and the Omega,
The beginning and the end.
I will give to the one who thirsts
From the spring of the water of life
Without cost.’”

(Revelation 21:6)

Solid Rock or Shifting Sand?

2009-04-09T18:51:00.005-06:00

Here's a thought from Tim Challies on loving, knowing and focusing on what is true (emphasis mine):

“Our efforts in discernment should revolve around knowing the truth so that we might see the evil in contrast to what is true. The reason it is better to focus on what is true is simple: error is constantly changing, shifting and morphing into new forms, always seeking to imitate what is true in new and creative ways. Truth, however, is constant. When we know what is true we will more easily be able to identify what is error.”

Picture Credit: AllPosters.com

50 Million Children

2009-03-22T18:47:00.004-06:00

Please consider joining the Red Envelope Project. On March 31st, pro-lifers across the country will be sending empty red envelopes to President Obama. On the outside will be this message: "This envelope represents one child who died in an abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world." Check out here for more information.

A Long and Beautiful Drive...

2009-03-17T22:57:00.004-06:00

...and a very wonderful week with dear friends.

Dan and I spent spring break up at our friends the W's house in North Idaho. It was a delightful break for both of us as we've both been running, running, running lately. We even cherished our 23 hours in the car, as we got a chance to just enjoy talking together. And up in Idaho we packed in the skiing, eating (Mmmm...always wonderful at the W's!), laughing and talking, and even some dancing. Thank you, Lord, for sweet fellowship!

Here are links to two photo albums of the dance: Album 1 and Album 2.

Means of Grace vs. Legalism

2009-02-21T14:23:00.005-07:00

John Piper on discipline and good habits, prayer and legalism (HT: Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds):

But the hard truth is that most Christians don’t pray very much. They pray at meals—unless they’re still stuck in the adolescent stage of calling good habits legalism. They whisper prayers before tough meetings. They say something brief as they crawl into bed. But very few set aside set times to pray alone—and fewer still think it is worth it to meet with others to pray. And we wonder why our faith is weak. And our hope is feeble. And our passion for Christ is small.

And meanwhile the devil is whispering all over this room: “The pastor is getting legalistic now. He’s starting to use guilt now. He’s getting out the law now.” To which I say, “To hell with the devil and all of his destructive lies. Be free!” Is it true that intentional, regular, disciplined, earnest, Christ-dependent, God-glorifying, joyful prayer is a duty? . . . Is it a discipline?
You can call it that.

It’s a duty the way it’s the duty of a scuba diver to put on his air tank before he goes underwater.
It’s a duty the way pilots listen to air traffic controllers.
It’s a duty the way soldiers in combat clean their rifles and load their guns.
It’s a duty the way hungry people eat food.
It’s a duty the way thirsty people drink water.
It’s a duty the way a deaf man puts in his hearing aid.
It’s a duty the way a diabetic takes his insulin.
It’s a duty the way Pooh Bear looks for honey.
It’s a duty the way pirates look for gold.

I hate the devil, and the way he is killing some of you by persuading you it is legalistic to be as regular in your prayers as you are in your eating and sleeping and Internet use. Do you not see what a sucker he his making out of you? He is laughing up his sleeve at how easy it is to deceive Christians about the importance of prayer.

God has given us means of grace. If we do not use them to their fullest advantage, our complaints against him will not stick. If we don’t eat, we starve. If we don’t drink, we get dehydrated. If we don’t exercise a muscle, it atrophies. If we don’t breathe, we suffocate. And just as there are physical means of life, there are spiritual means of grace. Resist the lies of the devil in 2009, and get a bigger breakthrough in prayer than you’ve ever had.

The Center is Open!

2009-02-02T21:46:00.005-07:00

The Center for Pregnancy Choices opened for clients today. The first hour or so was absolutely crazy. We were already nervous, as there is so much we don't know and there is also so much to do...and we had seven people in that early period of time! Tina and I both got to do our first counseling session. Praise the Lord for a wonderful first day.

*UPDATE* More pictures HERE!

So RUN!

2009-01-28T10:32:00.004-07:00

"Shall it be said at the last day, that wicked men made more haste to hell than you did make to heaven? That they spent more hours, days, and that early and late, for hell, than you spent for that which is ten thousand thousand of thousands times better? O let it not be so, but run with all might and main."

--John Bunyan (The Heavenly Footman)

Picture credit: Paragon Crossfit

Thank you, Lord, for Your Law!

2009-01-24T22:23:00.004-07:00

"We cannot be made to flee to the cities of refuge, if we are not chased by the avenger of blood."

--C. O. Rosenius (1816-1868)

Picture credit: Bible Explained

Jewels on a Rainy Day

2009-01-24T22:07:00.005-07:00

"He gives rain on the earth,

and sends water on the fields."

~ Job 5:10 ~

Thoughts

2009-01-24T21:46:00.005-07:00

Thoughts from Andrew Murray on Hebrews 3:14.

"For we are become partakers of Christ."

"Believers [here] are reminded of what their portion and possession is; they are become partakers of Christ. There is often danger, as we listen to the teaching of Scripture about Jesus as our High Priest, of regarding Him as an outward person, and His work as something that is done outwardly for us in heaven. This precious word reminds us that our salvation consists in the possession of Himself, in the being one life with Him, in having Himself as our own."

"When Christ became partaker of human nature, how entirely He identified Himself with it, that all could see and know it. I am become partaker of Christ: let me be so identified with His that my whole life may be marked by it. So may all see and know that I am partaker of Jesus Christ."

"How did Christ become partaker of our nature? He left His own state of life, forsook all, and entered into our state of life. How do I become partaker of Christ? By coming out of my state of life, forsaking all, giving myself wholly to be possessed of Him and to live His life."

"Christ maintained His surrender to be Man firm to the end, even unto death. Let me maintain my surrender to Christ, live one life with Christ, at any cost."

--Selections from The Holiest of All

Batteries, Preachers, and the Wonderful City of Edinburgh

2009-01-08T18:25:00.019-07:00

At 5:30 a.m., the two travelers were on their way to King's Cross station to catch the train to Scotland. Debra and I settled into our seats and braced ourselves for a five-hour journey. However, I was delighted to find that train travel is fun! Once the sun rose, we had a perfect view of the English countryside right outside our windows. I finished reading up on Edinburgh, enjoyed the frequent stops of the refreshment cart, and basked in the joy of seeing bountiful sheep, old rock walls, little English towns, the York cathedral, and eventually....the coast of the North Sea!

My happiness was shattered as I got my camera out to snap a few through-the-window pictures. My camera battery wasn't there! The night before, I had been up 'till 2:00 a.m., planning today's travel, packing up my bags (as we wouldn't have any time when we arrived back in London), and...charging my camera battery. I remembered packing up my plug and voltage converter, and with a sinking heart, I realized that the battery must have been still in the charger. For this avid photographer who had been eagerly anticipating capturing the famed "poetic" city of Edinburgh this was rather a blow. Now, this battery is not a generic double A, but a rather odd lithium-ion, but we decided we would still attempt a camera store somewhere in the shopping district of Edinburgh once we got there.

After arriving safely and asking around for some directions, we headed up to Princes Street. I hadn't figured the shopping district into our tour (we were planning to stick mostly with Edinburgh Castle and the sights along the Royal Mile), but here the Lord gave me one of the greatest blessings of my trip. He truly does work all for good, even camera addict's forgotten batteries. As we worked our way up the busy street and admired the beautiful views even from here, my attention was caught by the words of Scripture. There in front of us, backed up against a big department store, was an open-air preacher! I listened, and he was spot-on, giving a very excellent Gospel message. I really wanted to talk with him, but I know better than to interrupt someone's train of thought during a great message. :) Debra wanted to check out the store that he was preaching in front of, and I needed to check for my battery, so we split up with plans to meet back at Debra's store.

A bit later (and still battery-less, they have nothing like in the UK), I was heading back to the store when I saw the preacher tracting. I ran up, and he said, "Ah, I saw you listening back there." We had a great time talking (though fairly briefly) about open air-preaching both here and in the United States, and about Church history in Edinburgh. I left from that conversation feeling supremely blessed, and thanking God that I forgot my battery. So also, please keep this brother and his work in prayer. His name is Thomas Laverty, and he was on holiday from his home in Ireland. He'd been spending it preaching in Glasgow, Edinburgh, etc., heading home that night. He wrote his church's website address on the back of a tract, and when I got home we looked it up, and found one of his sermons there! It was so nice for my family to get to 'see' and 'hear' the Irish preacher I had met. Oh, God is good!!!

After Princes Street, we headed up to Edinburgh Castle (where I found a Kodak disposable!). After a couple hours there, we worked our way down the Royal Mile. The highlights for me were all the John Knox stops. There is one rather sad thing about Knox on the Royal Mile--his grave has been paved over and is just marked with a little square. I still planned to get my picture with the number "23" parking spot, but upon walking around to the back of St. Giles.... In a nearly empty parking lot, a big delivery van had decided to park on that spot! But I squeezed under the van as best I could and got a semblance of a picture of the spot (check out the album for that one). :)

Once it got dark, and touring was tricky, we headed over to some of the used book shops. Debra was ready for a Starbucks, so I checked the books. *grin* My number one treasure is a lovely old copy of Bunyan's The Holy War. But I found a couple dozen, good old books. Of course, that meant lugging an extra carry-on bag (which was very, very heavy) on the plane the next day. But anything for books! Note: My brothers just think I'm a little bit stupid.

After munching on good 'ole Burger King fries at the train station (we were sick of fish and chips), we were on board and headed back to London, leaving a city that I loved even after just a few hours.

At Edinburgh Castle. (The Firth of Forth is in the haze behind me.)

View from the castle walls.

Beautiful city!

Guard lady.

Cobblestones!

With John Knox at High Kirk of St. Giles.

John Knox's house.

Some the Royal Mile sights...

View of the Royal Mile from John Knox's window.

Freezing at the train station...

Edinburgh album here.

Last of London

2009-01-08T15:55:00.013-07:00

St. Martin's in-the-Field was our next destination. They hold free afternoon concerts there several times a week, and we were able to catch about half of one. It was truly lovely to sit back and enjoy the beautiful voice of a soprano with her Baroque ensemble, all the while soaking in the beautiful interior of St. Martin's. This type of music is my love, and listening to it in an old church in Trafalgar Square maketh my cup to runneth over! :)

After the concert, we headed down to the crypt of St. Martin's for lunch. Yes, this church actually has a restaurant in the crypt, and it turned out to be one of our best "eats" in London. Along with some nice soup, I satisfied my penchant for English scones and clotted cream, and Debra and I shared some delectable creme brulee. It was quite a memorable lunch, sitting in a crypt, eating delicious food, and also visiting with a lady from Toronto.

We took a few photos at Trafalgar, and then taxied to Westminster Abbey. This was the one unfortunate thing. We had originally planned to do the Westminster walk, taking in #10 Downing St., the Churchill Museum, and the Horse Guard, while arriving at the Abbey with an hour or two to explore before our scheduled slot at the London Eye. But this rookie tour planner didn't leave enough realistic time for all this. So we did a very quick run through Westminster. (Although, I "just happened" to see almost every grave I was looking for. Thank you, Lord!)

Arriving at the London Eye, we were astonished to see that our pre-ordered tickets were still going to need a very, very, very long wait. Debra asked me to go into the office and fast-track them. "Sure thing!" :) We were on the Eye by 4:00, our scheduled time. I wasn't real sure what to think of the whole London Eye thing, to my romantic views it seemed a real blot on the River Thames. But I still could really enjoy the splendid views from our little capsule. We got to see the city just before the sun faded away, and the lights were all out by the end of it--the perfect ride!

St. Paul's Cathedral was our last stop of the day before heading back to the hotel to pack up our bags and also prepare for our early trip to Scotland the next morning. St. Paul's is magnificent. 'Nough said there. We had been planning on attending the evensong at the cathedral, and we did get the chance, technically. All the musicians were on holiday break, though, so the program consisted of readings and 'prayers.'

While I enjoyed the opportunity to sit quietly for a time under the beautiful dome of this beautiful church, I found it the most spiritually heavy event I've been to for a long time. First shock: lady bishop (or whatever). I didn't think it possible to read the "Magnificat" in such a way as to make it awkward, dead, and meaningless, but I discovered it was possible. During my brief stay in London, I had observed the humanistic, almost pagan culture of London. Christianity seems to have very little cultural relevance there. Sadly, I wasn't surprised, as I had already read that this was the case. But it still seemed so terrible in this land of wonderful old churches, rich spiritual history, and (formerly) great preachers. Sitting in that St. Paul's evensong and listening to two clergy reading and praying as if to no one other than the great, empty dome, gave me my first glimpse of how someone could view church and religion as irrelevant, or even more fatally, as sentimental and wishful thinking.

Ever since I really grasped the meaning of the Cross 7 years ago, Christianity and Jesus have been alive, exciting, and full of exuberant life! I've not understood how people could consider the living Jesus and His Church as irrelevant. Until that night. Sitting through that, yes, irrelevant church service at St. Paul's pierced my heart. If this is what the people of England think church is....oh, how they have been ripped off and deceived by a counterfeit. May the Lord raise up a mighty army of "on fire" believers and preachers in this land. Beautiful churches cannot make up for the void left by the absence of a power-filled Gospel!

St. Martin's in-the-Field

Nelson's Column at Trafalgar Square.

Outside Westminster Abbey.

The ridiculous line for the London Eye (fast track tickets are really, really nice!)

Views from the London Eye.

Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, Westminster Bridge, and Westminster Abbey (behind Parliament!).

St. Paul's Cathedral.

On the steps of St. Paul's.

Last London album here.

"The World Is My Parish!"

2009-01-07T17:24:00.013-07:00

The John Wesley House is right across the street from Bunhill Fields Cemetery, so Debra and I headed over there after our time at Bunyan's grave. The sign outside said that the museum and house were closed for holiday, but there were folks at the window of the adjacent church who waved us in. We talked with them for a bit, and when they discovered that we were from Utah, they all laughed in amazement. While escorting us downstairs to the closed museum, one fellow explained that they had a young Cambridge theological student working at the museum, and this student had a good friend studying at the University of Utah! Anyway, our Utah roots got us a private tour with this young theology student (who was in the basement museum studying) as our guide. :) I thank God for all the little blessings like this that He planted for me on this trip, again and again. He is so good to me!

To tell the truth, I'm more of a fan of John's brother, Charles, as well as George Whitefield. However the tour of this museum, Wesley's house, and our brief time in Wesley's chapel were a great part of my favorite morning in London. Bunhill Fields, The John Wesley House, and then (coming next post!) our lunchtime concert at St. Martin's in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square comprised the most delightful part of London for me.

There he is!

Wonderful!

This teapot of John Wesley's is the nicest I've ever seen--what a very appropriate sentiment for a time when people are sitting and talking!

Here's Wesley's pulpit!

And here's his prayer closet.

View of Bunhill Fields from the window of John Wesley's house. (Half way up the picture and to the right of the foremost tree is Susannah Wesley's grave. It's slightly whiter than the others)

Wesley's chapel.

More pictures here.

Bunyan at Bunhill

2009-01-06T19:30:00.012-07:00

At last, I've reached day three in my blog posts--my favorite part of London! On Monday, Debra and I embarked on a London tour that I had devised. We began with a stop at King's Cross station to get our train tickets for tomorrow's trip to Scotland, and then headed for Bunhill Fields cemetery. Bunhill is the burial place of many famous people from church history, including Susannah Wesley, Isaac Watts, and John Bunyan. Wesley and Watts were both closed off due to holiday, but the man of the hour--Bunyan--was there!

I had a splendid time just sitting by the grave of this dear brother and also taking pictures of his Pilgrim's Progress-inspired monument. I'll end with an excerpt from The Pilgrim's Progress. And also a New Year's reading suggestion: if you haven't already, pick up a copy of Bunyan's The Heavenly Footman. I read it for the first time last year, and thought it the perfect book to re-read every January. It is an excellent antidote to a "lumpish heart." Here's the excerpt from Christian's battle with Apollyon:

Apollyon: "Thou hast already been unfaithful in thy service to
Him; and how dost thou think to receive wages from Him?"
Christian: "Wherein, O Apollyon, have I been unfaithful to Him?"
Apollyon: "Thou didst faint at first setting out, when thou wast almost choked in the Gulf of Despond. Thou didst attempt wrong ways to be rid of thy burden, whereas thou shouldst have stayed till thy Prince had taken it off. Thou didst sinfully sleep, and lose thy choice things. Thou wast almost persuaded to go back at the sight of the lions. And when thou talkest of thy journey, and of what thou hast seen and heard, thou art inwardly desirous of vainglory in all that thou sayest or doest."
Christian: "All this is true, and much more which thou hast left out; but the Prince whom I serve and honor is merciful and ready to forgive. But besides, these infirmities possessed me in thy own country; for there I sucked them in, and I have groaned under them, been sorry for them, and obtained pardon of my Prince."
Apollyon: Then Apollyon broke out into a grievous rage, saying, "I am an enemy to this Prince; I hate His person, His laws, and His people. I am come out on purpose to withstand thee."
Christian: "Apollyon, beware what you do, for I am in the King's highway, the way of holiness!"

AMEN!

A very fat pigeon.

Monument to Daniel Defoe (of Robinson Crusoe fame).

John Bunyan's grave.

Look to the cross!

More pictures here.

"There is Money..."

2009-01-06T18:14:00.013-07:00

"...spend it! spend it!"

--Shakespeare (The Merry Wives of Windsor)

We left Warwick and headed for nearby Stratford-upon-Avon, the birthplace of Shakespeare. I make no pretensions to being a Shakespeare aficionado. I have read and enjoyed several of his plays and have seen several on the stage, as well as some films, but devotee I am not. That said, it was very special to walk around in 'his' town, and to see the home where he was born. It also inspired me to spend some more time in his works (along with reviewing and deepening my general English history knowledge, reading on the Covenantors, actually perusing my copy of The Kings and Queens of England, picking up a good Scottish history book, doing some architectural history reading, etc., etc., etc!!!).

Enroute to Oxford, we drove through the Cotswolds. This is one area I long to spend more time in. I think I could walk in those hills for weeks. Simply lovely. By the time we got to Oxford it was getting pretty cold and dark, but it was still fantastic to see inside Christ Church college and to walk around the outside of many more of the colleges. Walking up the steps to the big dining hall of Christ Church was surreal as I thought of the different students--John Wesley and others--who used to walk up them every day. I was jerked back to reality by the tour guide informing us, "This is where the Harry Potter movies were filmed!!" (greeted with 'oohs' and 'aahs') Indeed! It struck me with a sense of deep sadness. There is a rich and good history here! And all that is mentioned is Harry Potter?!? Tragic.

As we headed back to the tour bus (perhaps influenced by Shakespeare), I sprung for the quote above. "Spend it, spend it!" When the tour group stopped at an Oxford collegiate wear store I couldn't resist a sweatshirt for Dad, t-shirts for the boys, and a cute pink, shirt for me: "Oxford, Est. 1231." (Is that cool, or what?) I decided this would be my one biggish money splurge while in the UK. And here is the sad part: somewhere between the shop and my hotel room they disappeared! I'm not sure if they got lost in the chaotic shuffle when we got dropped off the tour bus in Notting Hill, or even if they were stolen off me on the dark way back to the bus from the shop. Very sad. But apart from losing my one big souvenier bag, it was a great day!

There's Shakespeare's birthplace.

My one picture of the Cotswolds (through the dirty, tour bus window). Beautiful!!

Christ Church, Oxford.

Dining Hall.

See more pics here.

Home of the Kingmaker!

2009-01-06T16:12:00.018-07:00

For our second full day in England, Debra and I signed up for a tour of Warwick Castle, Stratford-upon-Avon, and Oxford. Warwick was my favorite of these three stops; how could it not be? My first castle! This castle was built by William the Conqueror in 1068. Yes, rather a long time ago! Warwick was also the home of Richard Neville--the famed Wars of the Roses "Kingmaker." It was so fun to walk the halls of this castle that figured into the stories I read about back in high school. If I could only once and for all solve the mystery of who killed the two little princes at the end of the Wars, I would be satisfied. :)

Our tour bus stopped here long enough for us to explore the inside, walk around a bit of the grounds outside, and even climb one of the towers and look at the splendid view from the battlements. It was delightful, and (as I've forgotten to mention) the weather continued perfect. We didn't see rain once while we were in England.

Interesting final note: the current Earl was embittered by hefty inheritance taxes and sold the castle and lands--lock, stock, and barrel--to Madame Tussaud's in London. He headed off to Australia, and the castle is now quite the tourist stop.

Here are more pictures.

A Park, A Pricey Place, and A Phantom

2009-01-06T15:24:00.011-07:00

After The British Museum, we taxied back to our hotel to dress for high tea at Harrods. Debra had been looking forward to treating me to a special tea here, and we decided to start our treat with a walk through Hyde Park. Hyde Park is lovely, even in the winter, and my only regret was that we didn't have time to visit Speaker's Corner.

We enjoyed our afternoon at the very, very busy Harrods and had some splendid tea (although we both decided that Debra's tea sandwiches are better!). The day after Boxing Day (Dec. 26) is some crazy British shopping day (it reminded me of an all-day Black Friday), so Harrods was at its busiest. I enjoyed riding the Egyptian escalator up and down all the levels and laughing at the prices--"Oh, splendid! This purse is 50% off and only £1000 now! My heart is set at rest!" Ha!

We then taxied off to the theatre district to catch a show, and ended our day with Phantom of the Opera. My verdict on seeing Phantom live after hearing the music for years: overrated! It was certainly splashy and loud, and there was some very clever staging, but I'll take a Puccini or Verdi over it any day. :) However we had a very enjoyable evening and practically the best seats in the house!

Also, one of my most memorable moments from my trip occurred on the way home...the old cabbie who picked us up outside the theatre said (in a perfect Cockney, though I can't type it correctly), "So, yah gone to see Phantom of the Opera?" We replied in the affirmative, and he began telling us how much he disliked the musical: "Andrew Lloyd Webber is just lucky, that's whaht!" He then began talking with me about the musicals he liked (Berlin, Rogers and Hammerstein, etc.). He continued with telling me which songs were hardest in each musical. We got to Sound of Music and he gave the verdict of "Climb Every Mountain." I agreed with that, and suddenly, in his old, cracked, Cockney voice he began to sing it! I joined right in, and we sang about 'following every rainbow' all the way back to our hotel! He was ecstatic, and I was left with the joyful memory of driving and warbling in London one night with an old, musical loving cabbie!

Hyde Park from my hotel window.

Lovely Hyde Park.

Lots of birds.

The funniest thing at Harrods--this must be British for 'Pardon our Mess.'

This Harrods Food Court picture is especially for my friend Sheree. This many olives was gross!!

Outside Her Majesty's Theatre (home of this musical for 22 years straight).

Assyrians and Telephone Booths

2009-01-06T14:18:00.015-07:00

The first morning Debra and I spent in London was wiled away at The British Museum. The sheer breadth and volume of treasures here is awe inspiring. During the Empire days the British brought back "trinkets" ranging from mummies to pieces of the Parthenon. And here they all are for us to enjoy in London!

Some morning reading--in preparation for the Greeks and Romans, etc.

Outside the entrance.

Debra in the Great Court.

Starting with Assyria...

Sargon II's Winged Bulls (These were breathtaking! Sargon was the Assyrian king who conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C. Wow!)

And a bit of Egypt!

On to Greece.

Marvelous mosaics.

Greek vase.

And now we're in Rome.

Beautiful fingers on a beautiful statue.

The obligatory telephone booth picture (right outside the museum). :)

You can see more pictures in this album.

Yes!

2009-01-05T23:00:00.010-07:00

Yes! All appearances to the contrary, the author of this blog is still alive (and well!). And yes, she also has dozens of pictures to upload and stories to tell from a recent trip to England and Scotland! The Lord blessed me with an utterly unexpected, utterly delightful week of touring in this land rich in wonderful history, fantastic scones, horrid fish and chips (in my humble opinion...), lovely accents, beautiful churches and monuments, and even cemeteries filled with many of my favorite people of yesteryear.

My adult piano student, Debra, ended up (last minute) needing a travelling companion for her UK trip. And I was that lucky companion! The last few weeks have been a great gift from the Lord. Even all the little details before leaving worked out wonderfully. My passport got finished and mailed back to me in less than a week, and I found the coat I needed for London's cold weather for $20.00 at a local thrift store. And as a totally superfluous nice thing I also found a splendid formal outfit at the same thrift store (high tea at Harrods here I come!). Thank you Lord!

I'll be doing some separate posts with all the pictures and stories from the week, but I wanted to include this closing shot---I found this note from Daddy when I got up very late (with an even more confused inner clock) on New Years Day after about 18 hours of travelling. It was a very true picture of that sleepy day! (You may have to zoom in on this picture to read it.)

Some Books

2008-12-11T23:40:00.008-07:00

It's the (pseudo) quarterly update time for my sidebar reading list. I've been reading some really encouraging and excellent books lately, so check them out!

Probably my number one recommendation right now is Andrew Murray's The Holiest of All. Who wouldn't want to work through the book of Hebrews with Andrew Murray as your guide? :) I'm only in Hebrews 3 now, but this book has already had some deep, thought-provoking chapters! (For me anyway). Every quiet time, I am eager to get into this book, wondering what treasures are in store for that day.

Happy reading, all!

Big American Chickens

2008-12-07T23:16:00.005-07:00

We had a different Thanksgiving this year. Valley Church shared a big dinner with a couple dozen Karen refugees from Burma (Myanmar). It was a wonderfully different time of trying curried goat (not too bad, actually!), visiting with lots of new friends, listening to some Karen hymns, and figuring out how to serve a massive amount of food. The Karen were very impressed by our "Big American Chickens." :) God is good and blessed us abundantly!

Click Here for the Facebook album.

Life in America...

2008-12-07T22:30:00.010-07:00

The other day I was searching through the cupboard for Christmas recipes. While sorting through our print-off-the-internet recipe folder, I found--sandwiched between two chocolate chip cookie recipes--an article on persecution of Christians and preparation for it. This struck me with a sort of sick irony--what a very true picture of so much of my Christian life in America! While my precious brothers and sisters around the world are suffering all sorts of deprivations, persecutions, and even grisly deaths, my life is so easy, sheltered, and relatively pain-free.

Finding this article was rather timely as I have recently been pondering persecution and have also just finished a book of persecution stories: Called to Suffer, Called to Triumph. In this book, was the wonderful exhibition of how God strengthened and purified different believers as they suffered in varying ways--ranging from the uncomfortable to the unspeakable. And the most beautiful part of it all, was that the glory of the Lord and His Gospel always shone forth brightly and unhindered! I long and ache for my dear Lord to be glorified and magnified in my life. And He may very well use persecution to accomplish that end. In fact, I've been promised it!

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:18-20)

However, praise God, we're also promised the glorious end:

"For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal." (2 Cor. 4:17-18)

"Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you,which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ,keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation." (1 Peter 4:12-13)

May the Lord prepare me and the rest of His North American Church for persecution when it comes. And, saints, let's pick up a Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Let's remember those who are in chains now (Heb 13:3). Let's encourage each other to bear up cheerfully under the various small afflictions we have presently. And let's pray for those coming evil days--that we "having done everything, [will] stand firm"! (Eph. 6:13)

May the Lord work His strength and might in us, for His glory. For truly our life here is so often just a jar of cookies....

Caved In...

2008-11-14T23:54:00.003-07:00

A word to the wise: never do a blog post on how frivolous and unnecessary Facebook is. You just might end up getting an account. The jury is still out on whether Facebook was really worth caving for, but for now I am enjoying the chance to catch up with people that I haven't seen in awhile, and more easily peruse friends' photos and little updates. So, if any of you have an account, you can go over and "friend" the Facebook post hypocrite! :)

Manna or Worms?

2008-11-10T17:09:00.005-07:00

"If you have anything apart from Christ, if you can live five minutes on past experience, if you think you can live on yesterday's grace, you make a mistake. You so cleverly set aside the manna; you stored it up in the cupboard with such self-content. Go to it tomorrow morning instead of joining the rest of your fellow Christians in gathering the fresh manna that will fall all around the camp. Go to the cupboard where you stored up yesterday's manna! Ah, as soon as you open the door, you close it again. why do you shut that door so speedily? Well, we do not need to look inside the cupboard; the smell is enough. It has happened as Moses foretold it; it has bred worms, and it stinks as he said it would. Cover it up as quickly as you can. Dig a deep hole, throw it all in, and bury it; that is the only thing to do with such rottenness.

Go to Christ day by day, and you will get your manna sweet, but begin to live on past or present attainments, and they will breed worms and stink as surely as you are human. Remember, 'none can keep alive his own soul.' [Ps. 22:29]"

--Charles Spurgeon (quoted in God Loves You, pg. 35-36)

Picture credit: La Vista Church of Christ

"If It Was Not For Grace..."

2008-11-05T21:16:00.001-07:00

"My best day would put me in hell, the best moment of my best day..." --Paul Washer (The Revival Conference, Atlanta)

From Everlasting to Everlasting!

2008-10-25T21:29:00.004-06:00

The joys of photography (and just a wee bit of Photoshop).

Covered by Jehovah

2008-10-25T20:51:00.006-06:00

This week in my Sunday school's Exodus lessons we have finally reached the Passover. I've been looking forward to teaching this for weeks, and had a great time putting together the lesson for tomorrow. In my other reading, I've been finishing up J.C. Ryle's Expository Thoughts on Mark and "just happened" (God is good!) to read the section on the Last Supper this afternoon. In it, Ryle cited another commentator's writings about the "passing over" of the Israelites. What a blessing this was to me and what a beautiful picture of the covering and salvation of our Savior!

“The common notion of God’s passing over the houses of the Israelites is, that in going through the land of Egypt to smite the firstborn, seeing the blood on the door of the houses of the Israelites, He passed over, or skipped those houses, and forbore to smite them. But that this is not the true notion of the thing, will be plain from considering the words of the sacred historian, where he describes very explicitly the action: ‘For Jehovah will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood on the lintels and on the two side posts, Jehovah will spring forward over or before the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your houses to smite you.’ Exodus 12:23. Here are manifestly two distinct agents, with which the notion of passing over is not consistent; for that supposes but one agent. The two agents are, the destroying angel passing through to smite every house, and Jehovah the protector, keeping pace with him, who, seeing the door of the Israelites marked with blood, leaps forward, throws Himself with a sudden motion in the way, opposes the destroying angel, and protects and saves that house against him, nor suffers him to smite it.”

One Word...

2008-10-23T16:52:00.004-06:00

Listen.

10 Indictments (Paul Washer, The Revival Conference Atlanta).

A Challenge

2008-10-21T22:40:00.006-06:00

Recently, I've been finishing up a book on sibling and family relationships. Even before reading this book, the Lord had been giving me little snippets of a higher vision on all sorts of different relationships. I've been realizing more and more that there is a heavenly aspect to everything going on here on the earth. Is a relationship hard and a lot of work? Do I have absolutely no desire to love a particular person? And it kept coming back to me: "Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Eph. 6:11-12) This is not about that person that annoys me, or that sibling's habit that I find hard to be patient with. This is about Satan trying to destroy relationships, kill love between the brethren, and weaken the Church's message of Christ's love to an already hate-filled world. You know what? I don't want the devil to win! God can work wonders in relationships--wonders that can only be attributed to the work and power of Almighty God. Let's keep our eyes on Christ, and love people for the GLORY of GOD!

Here's the quote that summed up what has been coming to me over the last weeks:

"The more difficult the situation is, the more glory there will be for God when your relationship is healed. If this is totally impossible for you, you will be forced to depend on the Lord. Then you will have a testimony to share with others about God's power, and how God's ways work in even the hardest situations."

--Making Brothers and Sisters Best Friends (pg. 184)

Clearly Seen...

2008-10-09T22:09:00.006-06:00

"For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that [men] are without excuse." (Romans 1:21)

Hannah and I took a hike together in the beautiful mountains. Everytime I get a chance to just soak in the wonder of God's creation my heart is overwhelmed. Sweet fellowship, gorgeous leaves, majestic mountains, the interesting little bugs, all of it just cries out---"GREAT is our God!"

Hannah in a bower of fall aspens.

Yeah...attempting that elusive perfect camera angle.

Here's the pic.

This is the inside of a tree struck by lightning. Amazing!

This was just as comfortable as it looks. :)

Maybe one-third of the way up our 2000 ft. elevation gain. :-P

Cool dead wood, I can never resist it...

Beautiful berries.

Mt. Magog (yep, that's its name, Gog is right around the corner).

It's worth all that toil and sweat!

Cache Valley's over there.

View from almost 10,000 ft.

Hannah's conquered the mountain!

Um, yeah. Mountain ranges vs. more dead wood.

I am really in this picture.

Curls and Cranford

2008-10-08T15:39:00.003-06:00

During one afternoon of my dear friend Hannah's visit, we three girls spent the day talking, watching Cranford, and attempting fancy, curly hairdos. The mandatory finished-product-pictures morphed into a goofy photo shoot. The Boo, particularly, had a blast, and it was fun to have head of curls for a few hours . I've posted a few pictures from our numerous snapshots...

Conclusion: Curls are deceitful and beauty is vain! ;)
(Yes, that was the thought behind this picture.)

$10.00

2008-09-13T19:53:00.008-06:00

Books sales--you gotta love 'em! There are few things I find more enjoyable than scouring stacks, boxes, and tables of used books looking for diamonds (i.e. theology! :-P) somewhere in all the rough (cheap romances). And just sometimes.....you hit the jackpot.

Abby and I did the somewhat dreaded Wal-Mart/Sam's Club shopping today, and I succumbed to the temptation to stop at the North Logan library sale in the Wal-Mart parking lot enroute to Sam's. At first this looked like the typical used book sale full of old bestsellers, dieting tomes, and 50-year-old copies of "The Geography of Europe." But as I kept discovering various good Christian books I thought, "Wow, this isn't bad at all." Then...off in the back of the tent I found the official religious section........... Whhoooaaahhh!! A lovely hardback NT Greek Interlinear, Bible dictionary, concordance (Cruden's), and handbook (Halley's). Then there was Piper and Grudem's Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a couple of Edith and Francis Schaeffer's, Rosen's Christ in the Passover (which I had been planning to buy already), and on and on.*

The glorious thing about this sale was a $5.00-a-bag pricing system. You have no idea how many books I can get in a bag. :) Before leaving, Abby and I checked their videos and found three of a set of basic children's teaching tapes that Abby loves, as well as a set of eight Brother Cadfael mysteries for my friend Susan. This was probably the most delightful $10.00 I ever spent. So...until the fall Salt Lake library book sale...

*For any who zoom in on my picture and see The Book of Mormon Key to Conversion, be not alarmed! This was one terrific find. Who wouldn't want to sit in on an inside scoop tactical discussion for LDS missionaries on how to demolish the arguments we Christians use? :)

{Short note to my dear fellow bibliophiles} Some of these books I picked up are doubles of what I already have. Email me if you see a desirable one in the picture, and I'll see if I can get it to you. :)

Pray...

2008-09-10T22:52:00.006-06:00

For Utah State University campus! Our campus outreach--with open-air preaching, a book table, and two on-campus Bible studies--started up last week. There have been many good conversations, some crowds, some quiet days, dozens of books and tracts handed out, and persistently lots of students who love their own good works and don't understand the power of the Cross. Please pray for the Spirit to move. Also, I've got a belated Cache County Fair update over at the Oasis blog, with campus updates to come soon. Thank you saints!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly."

"But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

What God Hath Joined Together!

2008-09-09T22:58:00.008-06:00

The morning dawns bright.

Donzel: "This is like 'contemplative picture,' not 'dress picture!"

The groom with his soon-to-be-sister.

Here she comes!

The bridesmaids.

Mother and daughter...

Daddy, speaking on love and marriage.

Rings...and a brother who is seeing his first sister go.

The kiss!

Joy!

My very favorite picture....LOOK at dear Donzel's face!

And here we all are.

A Post!

2008-09-09T22:25:00.009-06:00

Hello to all of you, my dear blog readers! Thank you for your patience with my long absence, and now due to many pleas for *ahem* PICTURES, I'm finally getting the Idaho trip up. My time up in the north woods was lovely. I am grateful that the Lord so perfectly worked out timing, travel plans, visas, and general logistics.

It was a delightful privilege to get to be a real "part of the family" as the W's planned Markus and Donzel's wedding. I never thought it possible to basically plan a wedding in two weeks, but I saw it happen (with a real minimum of fuss and hustle). I will treasure the memories of wedding showers; late night, side-busting laughter in the girls' room; fellowship while on kitchen duty (note: this is one of the best times to visit!); trips to pick out flowers; nights of Blokus; those suddenly serious discussions of "this is the last time we'll get to do this with Donzel before she's married"; the clandestine trips to Sandpoint to get the honeymoon destination all ready; and not least, each of those afternoons we somehow found time to hike, swim in the Yaak River, and read on the lawn while snuggling the new kittens.

The wedding was precious. As our family drove home we talked about how it was a "Christian wedding"--the Gospel was preached clearly, the dear family ties were there so beautifully for all to see, there was a truly unique picture of Christian community as it should look: a loving and giving family of believers coming alongside this new couple, and then there was the tangible, true joy of seeing two patient and pure followers of Jesus being united for a life of service to God. As our entire group of 150+ people left the ceremony linked hand-in-hand in the "Grand March" dance, my heart was dancing right along too. Thank you, Lord, for orchestrating such a beautiful afternoon of love, fellowship, and rejoicing!

So...this post has the pictures from the above-mentioned hike, where I got to play around with my camera and the future bride as my model. Wedding pictures follow!

Cook Lake

Nice Moss.

Chaco ad?

Me and my model. :)

Lake watchers.

Putting my feet up.

The girls!!!

Quick...

2008-08-15T21:42:00.004-06:00

There are so many things I want to blog about---some of my recent excellent reads; family updates and photos; and last, and most wonderful of all: the great works of the Lord at the Cache County Fair last week. However, I am leaving tomorrow morning for the wedding of my dear friends Donzel and Markus. Praise God for getting their Swiss/American visa through earlier than expected!

Before heading off on my next globe-trotting adventure (to Northern Idaho! Ha!) I did want to put up the pictures of our Miss Boo's 10th birthday party. I'll be back in September. :)

Her very own CANDYLAND cake!

Daddy helping with cards. (Abby can do the gifts just fine by herself!)

Jon attempting to figure out what to do with one of Boo's presents.

Tallis discovers its potential!

Visiting in the backyard.

The best moment of the day...

...Gone in a puff of smoke!

Two Boys...

2008-07-24T11:51:00.004-06:00

One morning... One mountain to conquer...

Jon.

Joel.

Ranges.

Cache Valley!

Fields of Flowers

2008-07-24T11:38:00.004-06:00

My friend Toni and I spent Sunday afternoon hiking up to White Pine Lake. The wildflowers were out in all their splendor, and the weather was perfect. What a lovely Sunday afternoon of fellowship, (enjoyable) exercise, and drinking in the beauty of God's creation!

Don't Poke Me!

2008-07-24T11:00:00.004-06:00

I recently came across this year-old post on Josh Harris's blog: "My One and Only Week on Facebook" Now I have very purposefully avoided Facebook, but I really appreciated Josh's words about general internet habits. The internet is bursting with wonderful potential for good, but is also fraught with all sorts of pitfalls. My biggest temptation is just to fritter away my time, looking at the news, checking some of the dozens of blogs in my favorites, perusing various message boards, checking my email too many times a day, etc. So, as Josh says in his post, self-control is a must. His other point--which I think can apply to blogging almost equally--about self-absorption is excellent too. Do any of us really need more excuses to think about and be obsessed with ourselves? I know I need absolutely no encouragement in that direction!

Life...Long-winded

2008-07-21T20:34:00.008-06:00

The blog has been bogging down of late, and as life is promising to only get busier in the upcoming weeks, I decided to do one of those much-maligned "what mundane things are going on in my life this second" type of posts. I do assure you, however, that I will not regale you with all the details of what I had for dinner tonight, how my breathing is progressing, etc. :)

Our little broken Boo was this very day fitted out with a wee multi-color cast. Much to our chagrin, the hospital was all out of pink!! The nurse came to the rescue with spray-on sparkly stuff, though, so we are sufficently girly and Boo now has a cast to match her summer, sparkly toenails. We thank the Lord that our Boo was not more injured than she was. She fell/flew out out of the swing at least fifteen feet, missed the bigish rock in the front of the flower bed and the tree in the middle of the flower bed, landing right on a soft green plant. She told me that she fell in the "sticks," so the bark certainly made an impression, but certainly not as distinct an impression as a rock would have made. While swimming is now out for six weeks, so also are her laundry folding chores. We'll see how that balances out!

Our family is now going to Valley Church in Smithfield. And I have been immensely blessed with a new Sunday School class to teach. Right now I have three high schoolers, and there could be a couple more kids coming soon. I know that maybe Sunday School is "old-hat" for many, but for me teaching has been, from the very beginning, a blessed gift from the Lord. My heart was really in teaching older kids and not the much-younger grades, and God beautifully worked that out for me. And even when I found to my horror that Judges was the book I was supposed to teach, God was faithful! Judges is becoming a book that I actually like, and every week I've been given something to teach and to share. As many of you know, evangelism is a passion the Lord has burned into my heart, and I was eager for an opportunity to encourage my class in this direction. I believe it was only the second Sunday after I started when the topic came up on its own. The kids expressed a great desire to learn how to do evangelism, and my heart was singing! Praise the Lord!!!

In the evangelism vein, we've had some good outreaches here in the last weeks: Summerfest, Independence Day, and the Cruise-In. To be honest, sometimes outreaches are heartbreaking for me too. When no one seems to grasp what you're saying, or when they don't even care to listen, or when you are feeling completely inadequate and bumbling, it's just hard. But recently at a baptism open-house God opened the door for a truly wonderful conversation with a middle-aged couple. Right at the very end, the lady got it! It was like the "Oh, I see I'm not good at all" lightbulb went on for her. This practically never happens (for me anyway), and I was crying tears of joy during the drive back home. I've prayed some recently for the Lord to bring encounters with "good soil" people, as hard soil doesn't yield much increase, and I was so thankful for His answer. Oh, may it be the first of many!

Our Cache County Fair outreach will be in August on the 7-9. As the rest of the Oasis crew is pretty much all out of town right now, I'll have all of next week to hang out at the store, covering for the absentees and getting some planning and organizing done. Oooooh....lovely lists! I love it! What fun it is to try to think of all possibilities and organize for it. :-P I know you, my dear fellow list-makers, understand the deep satisfaction in all in that! Please pray for the spiritual preparation for all who will be involved, and that the Lord would bring those with ready hearts. May His name be proclaimed and His greatness and goodness be magnified during these three days!

Here at home we are making some headway on our remodeling. Our remodel projects tend to be rather extended (understatement of the year), but the current bedroom/bathroom project is nearing completion. We have a bit of plaster touch-up to do that we discovered after priming. ...yeah, a certain unnamed enthusiast (who is not a perfectionist) did not really sand quite as much as she ought. But Daddy is teaching this unnamed enthusiast all sorts of things she had no clue about, and the fun part--light dusty blue paint--is coming soon!

Logan is finally getting a Crisis Pregnancy Center! I completed the counselor training in June, and now have lots of "shadowing" to do at the Brigham City center before I'll be even close to ready. When talking with a friend recently, we came up with the idea of starting a thrift store as a way of getting funding. I know almost nothing about how to run one (though I do support local ones rather generously, especially ones with books *grin*), and I don't know yet if that's what I'm supposed to do, but it's an interesting possibility. Starting a job as a "mini-manager" of something like this is scary, but also pretty exciting!

So there are a few "what's-ups." Life is full here with my precious family and friends. Coming up on the horizon is the wedding of one dear friend and the nice, long visit of another. Fall campus ministry will be up and running in September, and hopefully my dusty and dormant piano will spring to life again. I've been very sorry to neglect my music so much in the last year, and plan to find some way to buckle down and make time for some real practicing. I am also hoping to get in some more intensive studying of theology as well as some history and language work (Hebrew!), and maybe even some business and math-y stuff (*ugh* on that last one...).

I've been convicted lately about how much of life I absolutely squander away. How I need to "number my days"--not wiling away the time the Lord has given me. When I read of some of the brothers of yesteryear, and how they were able to be so used by the Lord, I am ashamed. My Savior has redeemed me and given me glorious new life, how can I possibly waste it on so many frivolous things? May I really learn to serve and study, to work and preach, to worship and pray. And pray and pray and pray. How the Lord has put this in my heart--and I how I haven't heeded it. How much here on earth needs prayer, how much mighty work the Lord does through prayer, and how much I need to just know my Lord more deeply in prayer. Conviction is one thing, work change in me, O Lord.

Please pray for me, dear friends. I love all of you.

Ouch!

2008-07-17T09:32:00.002-06:00

Uh-oh...

Poor arm...

No more dangerous swinging this summer. (Though we will get a pretty pink cast on Monday!)

Fudge Pops!

2008-07-02T17:34:00.004-06:00

Here's is an excellent way to beat the summer heat: homemade fudge pops! Abby and I had a great time mixing them up this afternoon.

Here's what you'll need to make your own fudge pops:

12 Dixie cups (3 oz.)

12 popsicle sticks

12 small squares aluminum foil

Homemade Fudge Pops

1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk chocolate chips

In a heavy saucepan, combine the cornstarch and salt. Gradually stir in milk until smooth. Stir in corn syrup and vanilla. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in chocolate chips until melted. Pour into cups. Cover each cup with heavy-duty foil; insert sticks through foil. Place in a 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. pan. Freeze until firm. Remove foil and cups before serving.

Not As the World Thinks

2008-07-01T22:41:00.010-06:00

Here's a thought-provoking list of "Things That Don't Make Sense to Me" from Days to Come. Sadly, I too know these things are true, and often behave as though they're not (though two are applied to siblings and parents in my case!).

1. How having four children quadrupled the love I have for my kids instead of dividing it into four.

2. How focusing on meeting my husband's needs results in my needs getting met.

3. Why having a lot of "me" time tends to make me more self-centered, not less.

4. Why serving other people makes me more content, not less.

5. How spending time with God usually results in me accomplishing more that day, not less.

6. Why exercising gives me more energy, and not exercising makes me more tired.

7. How submitting to God's will brings freedom rather than confinement.

8. Why things that taste good often are not good for me.

9. Why having fewer things makes me enjoy them more--and vice versa.

10. How I can know all of these things are true and too often behave as though they are not.

Picture Credit: All Posters

A Wee Pitcher

2008-07-01T22:24:00.002-06:00

(An obliging big brother attempts to hit one of those...curve balls)

A Reminder

2008-06-15T15:43:00.003-06:00

"Observe how the lilies of the field grow;
they do not toil nor do they spin,
yet I say to you that not even Solomon
in all his glory clothed himself
like one of these."

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field,
which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown
into the furnace,
will He not much more clothe you?
You of little faith!"

“Do not worry then, saying,
'What will we eat?' or
'What will we drink?' or
'What will we wear for clothing?'"

“For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things;
for your heavenly Father knows
that you need all these things."

“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness,
and all these things will be added to you.
So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own."

~ Matthew 6:28-34 ~

Precious Blood--My Boast, My Song!

2008-06-15T15:32:00.004-06:00

"She bound the scarlet line in the window." --Joshua 2:21

"This act of Rahab sets forth a yet more solemn lesson. Have I implicitly trusted in the precious blood of Jesus? Have I tied the scarlet cord, as with a Gordian knot in my window, so that my trust can never be removed? Or can I look out towards the Dead Sea of my sins, or the Jerusalem of my hopes, without seeing the blood, and seeing all things in connection with its blessed power? The passerby can see a cord of so conspicuous a colour, if it hangs from the window: it will be well for me if my life makes the efficacy of the atonement conspicuous to all onlookers. What is there to be ashamed of? Let men or devils gaze if they will, the blood is my boast and my song. My soul, there is One who will see that scarlet line, even when from weakness of faith thou canst not see it thyself; Jehovah, the Avenger, will see it and pass over thee. Jericho's walls fell flat: Rahab's house was on the wall, and yet it stood unmoved; my nature is built into the wall of humanity, and yet when destruction smites the race, I shall be secure. My soul, tie the scarlet thread in the window afresh, and rest in peace."

--Charles Spurgeon

Swingin' on Sunday

2008-06-15T13:53:00.002-06:00

A little girl that needs a push.

A happy little girl and an unidentified hairy monster!

End of the Piano Year

2008-05-31T20:40:00.003-06:00

This Tuesday was my year-end music party and piano recital. This brought to a close my sixth year of teaching. I can hardly believe I've been teaching that long! Wow--time flies when you're having fun. I'm looking forward to the fall and more music studies together!

Nervous students before the recital.

Students and teachers and friends...

Rhubarb Antics

2008-05-31T20:33:00.003-06:00

Fun with rhubarb, before it was turned into scrumptious pie.

(I don't know where this face came from!)

Attention Please!

2008-05-22T19:54:00.008-06:00

From Albert Mohler's blog today is this excellent article on attention: The Challenge of Attention in the Digital Age. In an age of constant distraction and frantic multi-tasking, it will take diligence to remember to "be still and know that I am God." May we take heed to Dr. Mohler's closing admonition!

"Join the revolution and refuse the seductions of the mind-numbing allure of all things digital -- at least long enough to think a great thought, hear a great lecture, enjoy a quality conversation (with a real, live face-to-face human being), listen to a great sermon, visit a museum, read a good book, or take in a beautiful sunset.

People who cannot maintain mental attention cannot know the intimacy of prayer, and God does not maintain a Facebook page. Our ability to focus attention is not just about the mind, for it is also a reflection of the soul. Our Christian discipleship demands that we give attention to our attention."

Pray

2008-05-22T07:50:00.007-06:00

Please pray for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family. His youngest daughter, Maria, was hit by a car and killed on Wednesday.

Update: You can leave prayers or notes for the Chapman family here.

Suffering

2008-05-20T21:52:00.004-06:00

This article caused a real break-through for me last week. I did not agree with everything in it, but I have been fleeing from suffering and from my trials and (very mini) tribulations. In theory, I was saying a hearty "Amen!" to "in the world you will have tribulation," but in practice I was chaffing under and complaining about the very things that were causing me pain and suffering in my life. I am so grateful that God used this article to shake me up. Praise the Lord that nothing--not even tribulation--will separate us from the love of God! May He help me to remember, and may He enable me to exalt in my tribulations knowing that they bring about perserverance, proven character, and hope (Romans 5:3-5)!

~ ~ ~

"Avoiding the Cross: Unwillingness to Suffer"

by Basilea Schlink

How can these things be compatible: we want to be Christians, disciples of Jesus Christ, who bore the cross for the whole world and chose to do so voluntarily, and yet we reject our own cross? Jesus says, "He who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me" (Matt. 10: 38), and "Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me, cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14: 27). One day Jesus will say to those who avoided their crosses, "I do not consider you to be My disciples!" Then the door to His kingdom will be closed.

What severe judgment will come upon us, if we refuse to carry the cross that has been laid upon us and complain about it to God and man! Our complaints are usually accusations. If we bear our suffering by saying "Yes, Father" we will come to great glory one day above, and here on earth we will be led into an intimate fellowship of love with Jesus. But if we avoid the cross, we will experience just the opposite. Here on earth we will become unhappy, because we are separated from Jesus. Only those who are His true followers, who go the way of the cross with Him, will be near Him here, and then above for all eternity.

If we want to be with Jesus and want our lives to end in the City of God, there is only one way-the way of the cross. Jesus is asking each of us personally "Will you choose My way of the cross?" He is beckoning to us in love, "Come, follow Me; take up your cross!" If we do not follow the call of Him who loves us more than anyone else, if we refuse to take up our cross and even rebel against it, we will have to hear the Lord say to us as He did to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!" (Matt. 16: 23). For then the tempter has us in his grip. He will bring all those who do not want their crosses into the kingdom of hell. Then they will have to suffer much worse. Satan wants to use every means to deter us from going the way of the cross, because he does not want us to reach the kingdom of eternal joy. There our cross will change to joy, if we carry it for Jesus here. This is a decision which will have far-reaching consequences for all eternity.

If we want to enter Jesus' kingdom one day and inherit the crown of life, we have to follow the Apostle Paul's advice, "Take your share of suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 2: 3). We should surrender ourselves to suffering, for instance, if God lays a cross upon us, if we have to suffer unjustly, if people hurt us without reason, scold us and treat us badly, it is then that we must follow in His footsteps. "When He was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he trusted to him who judged justly" (I Pet. 2: 23). If we want to choose the "ways in Christ" (I Cor. 4: 17), we will suffer everything; persecuted and reviled, we will bless; suffering unjustly, we will be "refuse", a doormat for all. Then we are on Jesus' side. Then He will recognize us as His disciples and want to share His glory with us above, giving us thrones and crowns. Those who have suffered with Christ and have patiently borne various types of suffering and afflictions, such as bodily hardships, disappointments, loneliness, the death of dear ones and family troubles, will inherit eternal glory with Jesus (Romans 8: 17). But if we belong to those who complain about every cross and are discouraged and even accuse God with the question, "Why me? Why do I have to suffer?" we could be destroyed by God's verdict. "But as for the cowardly . . . their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone.. ." (Rev. 21: 8).

So everything depends upon whether we really bear our crosses. But how can we get free when we are bound by fear of the cross? The first "must" is to recognize the reason for trying to avoid the cross! We need the insight of truth for our unredeemed, sinful nature. We need to repent of this sinful trait, which makes us guilty again and again. Whoever has recognized how contaminated he is with sin, and is really sorry about it and wants to be freed no matter what it costs, will willingly accept discipline and suffering of all sorts from God. For he tells himself soberly, "I need the crosses to purify and transfigure me into the image of Jesus and so reach the goal of heavenly glory." But whoever does not take his sins and the eternal goal seriously will find that every type of suffering is too much for him. He will complain about it and accuse God and man instead of honestly admitting that he needs suffering and chastening, and lamenting about his own weaknesses and sins. So we need to ask for contrition over this blindness. Then our attitude towards the cross will change and we will see His blessing in it.

Simply by suffering in the flesh we stop sinning (I Pet. 4: 1). God allows a cross to enter a sinful area of our lives-so that the sin may be put to death, in this way we become transformed more and more into Jesus'image and one day will be able to see Him face to face. Through discipline we share His holiness (Heb. 12: 10) and without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12: 14). For instance, the cross of losing earthly goods, if willingly accepted, has often freed people from their bondage to things of this world, making them free to live for Jesus and His kingdom. Or the cross of losing a beloved person, to whom we were bound, freed our soul to give Jesus undivided love and brought the greatest happiness into our hearts. The cross brings glory and deep joy even here on earth, because God the Father in His love cannot wait until eternity; He yearns to reward us here also.

The second "must" for becoming free from trying to avoid the cross is to look at the Father, whose heart is full of love for His child and who carefully considers how much we can bear and what will be best for us. He gives us the very cross that can bring us to glory. He hides a wonderful treasure in our cross. We are to discover it: wonderful fruit, transfiguration, victory, eternal joy, oneness with Jesus. And we must tell ourselves again and again, "Because God is love, suffering is never the end of the story. God always has a way out of suffering; He always has comfort and aid, for He is my Father." Faith in the Father's love, which has given us this cross, will make difficult things easy and bitter things sweet.

At the same time look at Jesus. He was the Crossbearer. Humbly bending beneath the heavy burden, He carried His cross lovingly to Calvary for us. He has gone on before us and levelled the ground for us so that we will not stumble. Now He is bearing our cross with us. He knows what it means to carry the cross, since He bore the sins and suffering of all mankind. He knows how to help and strengthen us. Should we not trust Jesus that we can bear it? Yes, if we bear our cross with Jesus, we will come closer to Him than ever before and experience His joy.

So let us renounce our mistrust and stop thinking that God is not love and that He brings us suffering without comfort and aid. For such thoughts nourish our desire to avoid the cross and turn our cross into an unbearable burden. Then we will really become unhappy. The worst suffering is our own desire to avoid the cross. That is why we want to renounce this sin. In faith we want to praise the power of Jesus' redemption and experience this power in our lives.

My Lord Jesus,
You are called the Crucified Lord and the Crossbearer.
I have chosen You as my Lord, given You my
will and my love, desiring to follow You.

Hear my plea:
May You never have to say to me: "You are not
worthy of Me; you cannot be My disciple", because I
did not want to carry my cross.

Grant me the grace to say "Yes Father" to every
cross, trusting that it has been prepared for me personally
and comes from the loving hands of the
Father. It will bring me an abundance of divine
blessing.

Grant me grace to rejoice in my sufferings (Rom. 5: 3),
because they transform me and prepare me for
Your kingdom of joy and glory-and also give me
intimate fellowship with You, my Lord Jesus, here
on earth, and let me taste eternal joy.

I thank you, my Lord Jesus, for showing us:
In the cross is great fruitin the cross is glory
in the cross is victory, power and resurrection.
The cross frees my soul from this earth and draws me to heaven.
The cross brings me gain here and above.

Teach me to love my cross as a precious gift from
Your hand, which I will thank You for in eternity.
Out of love for You, my Lord Jesus, I wish to follow
You. Make me a true cross-bearer. Amen.

(HT: OlivetDiscourse.com )

When Strawberries are on Sale...

2008-05-15T19:15:00.007-06:00

It's time to make...shortcake!

~ ~ ~

Biscuit Dough Strawberry Shortcake

1 quart ripe strawberries

1 c. sugar

1/2 pint heavy cream

1/2 t. vanilla

2 c. sifted flour

3 t. baking powder

1 t. salt

1 T. sugar

4 T. butter

3/4 milk

Before baking your biscuit dough, clean and hull the strawberries. Crush the berries with the sugar and place in the refrigerator. Whip the heavy cream, flavor with the vanilla and place in the refrigerator.

Biscuit Dough

Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the milk and mix to a soft dough. Turn onto a lightly floured board, pat out gently to 3/4 inch think and cut out pieces with a round biscuit cutter or cut in 2-in. squares. Place on a well-buttered cookie sheet and bake in a very hot oven (450 degrees) for about 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Split the biscuits with a fork, butter well and spread with the cold crushed berries. Place the top half of the biscuit on the berries and spoon more berries on top. Garnish each shortcake with plenty of whipped cream. Serve while the biscuits are still hot and crisp.

taken from The Margaret Rudkin Pepperidge Farm Cookbook

Dead Fish!

2008-05-15T15:14:00.002-06:00

I've been finishing up J.C. Ryle's commentary on the book of Matthew. In my reading yesterday, Mr. Ryle wrote of Pilate's weakness of character--knowing Jesus was innocent, but having Him crucified anyway. Here is what Mr. Ryle had to say about "going with the flow":

"How many there are, who know well that their public acts are wrong, and yet have not the courage to act up to their knowledge! They fear the people! They dread being laughed at! The cannot bear being unpopular! Like dead fish, they float with the tide...

Whatever our position in life may be, let us seek to be guided by principle, and not by expediency. The praise of man is a poor, feeble, uncertain thing. It is here today, and gone tomorrow. Let us strive to please God, and then we may care little who else is pleased. Let us fear God, and then there is none else of whom we need be afraid." (Expository Thoughts on Matthew, pg. 386)

Ewww.... If I can keep that picture in mind when I'm tempted to act for expediency's sake it should be helpful!

Spring Flowers

2008-05-15T15:11:00.003-06:00

Here are some pictures from a walk Abby and I took this morning.

Good Books

2008-05-08T12:18:00.002-06:00

The excellent Canon Press is offering homeschoolers 20% off all their books this summer!

Check It Out!

2008-05-07T21:57:00.004-06:00

This is a great new website on things eschatological and prophetic.

www.olivetdiscourse.com

The Wisdom of God and the Power of God

2008-05-07T10:04:00.006-06:00

Martyn Lloyd-Jones on the "foolishness" of the Cross and the Gospel and on preaching so as to "not be ashamed":

"The fact is that the world attaches great significance to mind, and to intellect, and to learning and to understanding. And not only that, but to moral effort and moral striving too. It glories in these things. But the gospel does not. That does not mean that the gospel tells you to commit intellectual suicide, or that an able man cannot be a Christian. But it does mean that the gospel tells all men at the very beginning that it does not matter how able a man may be, that alone will never make him a Christian. It puts the able man on exactly the same level as those who are most lacking in intellect. It reduces all, as we have already seen, to a common level. It deliberately says that intellectual pride is probably the last citadel to give way when the Holy Spirit is dealing with a man's soul. The gospel does not glory in intellect. It does not glory in moral effort and striving. It tells you at the very beginning that you can do all you like and it will avail you nothing; that all your righteousnesses will be as 'filthy rags,' that all your wonderful works will be 'dung' and 'refuse'--of no use at all to you! Now the world hates that...."

"...the gospel of Jesus Christ reverses the world's ideas in all respects and always, without exception. It is not in line with any other teaching. It is not in line with any other philosophy. It is absolutely on its own, and it is entirely different. The world is not intrigued and interested; it delights in great intellectual exercise. And here we stand and say that the most untutored, the most illiterate person in the world tonight, can listen to the same gospel as the greatest philosopher, and by grace receive salvation. The world sits back and roars with laughter. Ah yes! but because a man is not yet perfect he does not like being laughed at, especially when he can talk philosophy to the man who is laughing at him. He knows that he could meet him on his own ground if he wanted to, but he knows he must not do so, for thereby he would be denying his own gospel. He has to keep all that back and indeed to leave it out. He has to be a fool for Christ's sake."

"The gospel of Jesus Christ is not popular with the natural man. He is against it....Now we have all seen that there are many ways in which the gospel is presented which are not offensive. Have we not read or heard sermons from those who depict Christ as a great hero and example? Nobody has ever been offended by that; in fact the world likes it, and for this reason. You present Christ as a great exemplar, a great hero, and people will say, 'That is fine, that is marvellous.' What they are really saying is this: 'Now I am going to follow Him; I am going to be like that. I can of course! I have simply got to make the effort, I can do it.' So they like it, they take it for a compliment. There He is, rise up and go after Him. And the people are ready to do it because they think they are capable of doing it. When you tell them that He is One whom they cannot imitate, that He condemns all, then they will begin to show their teeth and hate you for it; but present Him as a hero, as an example, it will not annoy them."

"Or again, take Christ's teaching. The teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ is presented by some people as the most beautiful teaching in the world. The Sermon on the Mount, they say, is marvellous; it is beautiful and exalted. That is how they present it. The world likes it again for the same reason; it believes that it can take it up and put it into practice. But when the Sermon on the Mount is truly preached, when a man begins to know what it is to be 'poor in spirit' and to 'mourn,' and to have a 'hunger and thirst after righteousness,' when he faces the real spiritual exposition of the law, he hates it because it condemns him; he does not want to feel 'poor in spirit.'"

"The offence of the cross is this--that I am so condemned and so lost and so hopeless that if He, Jesus Christ, had not died for me, I would never know God, and I could never be forgiven. And that hurts; that annoys; that tells me I am hopeless, that I am vile, that I am useless; and as a natural man I do not like it. So you see the importance of all this. The gospel itself is something that produces the reaction of offence in people. They hate it. They ridicule it. They pour their sarcasm and scorn upon it. And the Apostle knew that. He had known what is was to be ridiculed in various places. 'What will this babbler say? Who is this fellow?'....He knew that the true gospel produces this ridicule and opposition. And yet, you notice, he tells them that in spite of all these difficulties, he is ready to preach it."

(excerpts from Romans, The Gospel of God: Exposition of Chapter 1, 262-266)

~ ~ ~

"For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."

(1 Corinthians 1:18)

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, 'But the righteous man shall live by faith.'"

(Romans 1:16-17)

Revival?

2008-05-05T21:27:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend, I read a really excellent article called Why Is There No Revival? It was full of so many "quotable sentences" that I knew I had to share some of them, but do go over to Sermonindex.net and read the whole thing too!

"Revival will come only to a desperate church, not a contented one. He is ever the Rewarder of those who 'diligently seek Him.' not the mere casual inquirer."

"Most Americans worship their work, work at their play, and play at their worship."

"No one wants revival in the church more than He Who died to purchase her and make her His very own precious, holy Bride!"

"We end up blaming God's sovereignty for the sad state of the church. If there is no revival in the church, we can be very sure that the lack is on our part and not God's!"

"...we want Him as long as He doesn't change what we like. But any person not open to change is NOT open to revival."

"It is far better to drive men away by faithful preaching than to drive the Holy Spirit away by unfaithful preaching!"

"Given the state of the church today, there is no comfortable way to get into the place of genuine revival blessing! It may be very painful for us."

"We have a great fear of 'losing our dignity' (we mistakenly think that we have some dignity), or having others thingk that we 'don't have it all together.' This is the essense of the heart of a hypocrite."

"We must come to the place where we can honestly say, 'I'm not afraid of holiness. I'm not going to be afraid of going all the way with God, cost whatever it may."

"All throughout the Bible and history, revival has come only as God's people begin to take His word and His promises seriously. Search the scriptures, and let them search you!"

"'Discord' is the very opposite of the 'one accord' that we read of in the book of Acts that made her such a mighty vessel of God. Unforgiveness hidden in the church is like a bullet left in the body! Are we more concerned about our opinions and interest than we are the honor of God?"

"The devil wants to lure us into a thousand things that will dull us to the Truth and cause us to become passive and bored with, or distracted from, the deep things of God."

"God will not do, apart from prayer, what He has promised to do in answer to prayer."

"Without the heartbeat of prayer, the body of Christ will resemble a corpse. The church is dying on her feet because she is not living on her knees."

Just a Head's Up

2008-05-01T21:11:00.004-06:00

Every month, Christianaudio.com gives away a free audiobook! This month is Martin Luther: In His Own Words. This is an excellent opportunity to listen to some first rate books, without the usually prohibitive price of audios. Enjoy! :)

Picture credit: The Puritan Board

Books Galore!!!!

2008-04-21T12:42:00.005-06:00

My dear friends and fellow book-lovers, Donzel and Liesl, are visiting for two weeks. As true book die-hards, we got up at 4:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to make it to the Salt Lake City library book sale right at opening. Our efforts were rewarded, as you can see below...

Those are really all of our boxes (pre-sort!)

Cartfulls.

Sorting...

Our carefully selected TEN boxes.

We got them in the car!

And some time at Sam Weller's (since we didn't find enough at the book sale, of course!).

Traced by the Sun of Love

2008-04-10T11:33:00.006-06:00

Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace,
Over all victorious, in its bright increase,
Perfect, yet if floweth fuller every day,
Perfect, yet it groweth deeper all the way.

Hidden in the hollow of His blessed hand,
Never foe can follow, never traitor stand,
Not a surge of worry, not a shade of care,
Not a blast of hurry touch the spirit there.

Every joy or trial falleth from above,
Traced upon our dial by the Sun of Love;
We may trust Him fully all for us to do;
They who trust Him wholly find Him wholly true.

Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest,
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.

~Lyrics by Frances R. Havergal~

Some Thoughts

2008-04-03T22:44:00.008-06:00

I know, I know, yet more book quotes.... Truly, I will do a family update--with pictures--soon (what my Mom terms "light" and actually fun posts!), but I did have to share these little treasures tonight from my reading in the first chapter of Andrew Bonar's The Life of Robert Murray M'Cheyne:

"Oh for true, unfeigned humility! I know I have cause to be humble; and yet I do not know one half that cause. I know I am proud; and yet do not know the half of that pride."

"Rose early to seek God, and found him whom my soul loves. Who would not rise early to meet such company?"

"It is far more humbling for us to take what grace offers, than to bewail our wants and worthlessness."

A Woman Who Fears the Lord

2008-03-27T12:46:00.007-06:00

Here's a link to some excellent words on chastity from Nancy Wilson's blog, Femina.

May we young ladies remember and take heed to her closing admonition--"Consider all your behavior, and ask God to give you wisdom so you will look, act, think, and dress like a chaste woman. Remember the woman in Proverbs 31. Charm is fleeting and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord is a sight to behold and a power to reckon with."

Naked and on the Defensive

2008-03-17T08:50:00.003-06:00

Some excellent thoughts from Jim Wilson's Principles of War:

"We Christians have been issued protective clothing, but we do not put it on. We are hurt and harmed by weapons that should bounce off or be quenched by our defensive clothing. Not only are we walking wounded, but we think that this is normal and wonder about Christians who are under attack and not wounded. But it is not normal to go into battle half naked. It is not normal to be wounded all the time....

If there is no turning point, the defender will be defeated. There will be no turning unless a stand is made in a defensive-offensive battle. Yet, seemingly, in the minds of many Christians, a defensive position in the spiritual life is considered a virtue and an offensive position a sin. Defense is associated with the innocent party, as though we expect only the wicked to take up the offense. For this reason the virtuous pride themselves on being defenders, instead of taking up the offensive for truth, justice, holiness, and a powerful personal witness. This sometimes results in the pathetic situation of the virtuous enjoying defeat. Let us never forget that without an eventual offensive, defense only anticipates ultimate defeat."

Picture credit: Christian's Battle with Apollyon

Heroism of Love

2008-03-17T08:40:00.003-06:00

"Perhaps you say, 'I cannot love my neighbours, because for all I do they return ingratitude and contempt.' So much the more room for the heroism of love. Wouldst thou be a feather-bed warrior, instead of bearing the rough fight of love? He who dares the most, shall win the most; and if rough be thy path of love, tread it boldly, still loving thy neighbors through thick and thin. Heap coals of fire on their heads, and if they be hard to please, seek not to please them, but seek to please thy Master; and remember if they spurn thy love, thy Master hath not spurned it, and thy deed is acceptable to Him as if it had been acceptable to them. Love thy neighbor, for in so doing thou art following in the footsteps of Christ."

--Charles Spurgeon, in Morning and Evening

Trip Pictures That Weren't

2008-03-16T17:27:00.004-06:00

Last week Dan and I went on a short spring-break excursion to visit our dear friends, the W's, in far Northern Idaho. Dan and the guys skiied hard for two days at Schweitzer resort, while we girls cooked, went shopping in Sandpoint, spent an evening playing handbells with a group of friends (delightful fun, by the way), and did lots and lots of talking and catching up. The crazy thing is, that we were so busy just enjoying our time together that I took NO pictures during our visit, even with a new camera and everything.... *sigh* However, Dan and I did take some pictures during the over 20 hours we spent in the car together. These will give you a glimpse of the beautiful land of North Idaho!

Sunrise in Idaho Falls--Wow! I never see these! ;)

Beautiful day!

Dan with the Cabinet Mountains in the background.

And here's me. :)

The way to get home quickly (there's a catch here...).

The Walls Speak

2008-03-10T10:19:00.005-06:00

Excerpted from Voice of the Martyrs' Extreme Devotion:

"Robert J. Thomas and his wife left to be the first missionaries to Korea in July 1863. His wife died soon after their arrival. In 1866, having evangelized for a few months in Korea and having learned the language, Thomas rode the American ship, the General Sherman, along the Taedong River to the location of the present-day capital of North Korea. The Sherman became grounded on a sandbar. Korean soldiers on shore were suspicious and scared, and they boarded the ship, waving long flashing knives.

When Thomas saw that he was going to be killed, he held out the Korean Bible to them saying, 'Jesus, Jesus.' His head was cut off.

Twenty-five years after Thomas's death, someone discovered a little guest house in this area with some strange wallpaper. The paper had Korean characters printed on it. The owner of the house explained that he had pasted the pages of this book on the wall to preserve the writing. The owner and many of the guests would come in and stay to 'read the walls.' This was the Bible that Thomas had given to his murderers.

Even though Communists rule that area today, the church still lives. The work of Robert J. Thomas--called the 'temporary missionary'--continues in North Korea, where now God's Word is not only pasted on their walls, but also hidden in their hearts."

Lovely Ladies

2008-03-09T18:46:00.003-06:00

Going to the Ballet.

Deal with It

2008-03-09T18:13:00.004-06:00

Yesterday I reread A. W. Tozer's Five Vows for Spiritual Power. This little booklet has been convicting and helpful every single time over the years. Here is what Tozer had to say on dealing with sin:

"Deal thoroughly with sin. Sin has been driven underground these days and has come up with a new name and face. You may be subjected to this phenomenon in the schools. Sin is being called by various fancy names--anything but what it really is. For example, men don't get under conviction any more; they get a guilt complex. Instead of confessing their guilt to God and getting rid of it, they lie on a couch and try to tell a man who ought to know better all about themselves. It comes out after a while that they were deeply disappointed when they were two years old or some such thing. That's supposed to make them better.

The whole thing is ridiculous, because sin is still the ancient enemy of the soul. It has never changed. We've got to deal firmly with sin in our lives. Let's remember that. 'The kingdom of God is not meat and drink,' said Paul, 'but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.' Righteousness lies at the door of the kingdom of God. 'The soul that sinneth, it shall die.'

This is not to preach sinless perfection. This is to say that every known sin is to be named, identified, and repudiated, and that we must trust God for deliverance from it, so that there is no conscious, deliberate sin anywhere in our lives. It is absolutely necessary that we deal thus, because God is a holy God and sin is on the throne of the world.

So don't call your sins by some other name. If you're jealous, call it jealousy. If you tend to pity yourself and feel that you are not appreciated, but are like a flower born to blush unseen and waste your sweetness on the desert air, call it what it is--self-pity.

There is resentfulness. If you're resentful, admit it. I have met people who live in a state of spluttering indignation most of the time. I know a preacher who acts like a hen thrown out of the nest. He keeps running in all directions clucking and complaining--someone is always doing him wrong. Well, if you have got that spirit, you must deal with it now. You must get that out of you. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin. Instead of covering it up and trying to find a Greek marginal rendering somewhere to hide under, call it by its right name and get rid of it by the grace of God.

And then there is your temper. Don't call it indignation. Don't try to christen it by some other name. Call it what it is. Because if you have a bad temper you will either get rid of it or it will get rid of much of your spirituality and most of your joy.

So let's deal with sin thoroughly. Let's be perfectly candid. God loves candid people."

Picture credit: creationism.org

Boo's Fun Evening

2008-02-28T15:14:00.004-07:00

Or, "I think it was Michelle's birthday."

The girls.

Help with presents.

(0.0068 seconds since the last gift)

"Look, Sis, there's another one to open!"

Drive with Dad

2008-02-28T15:04:00.002-07:00

This year Daddy and I continued our tradition of taking a long, scenic drive to Jackson, Wyoming for my birthday. Our hopes of catching a glimpse of the Tetons were buried...in lots of snow! However, we had a truly splendid 8 hours or so to talk in the car during our trek up and back.

There really are Tetons behind Daddy...somewhere.

Lots of snow!

The exciting drive home over Teton Pass. :)

Labeled at Last

2008-02-18T14:29:00.003-07:00

I've put it off for months. But now--one Debussy CD, one cup of tea, a few bits of Valentine's candy, and a couple of hours later--all of my 272 old blog posts are officially in some sort of label or category. So you can now easily access my online wit and wisdom from the last couple years. :)

Of Treasures and Tongues

2008-02-17T22:30:00.010-07:00

or "Lots of Proverbs Strung Together"

"For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart.

The good man brings out of his good treasure that which is good;

and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil."

~Matthew 12: 34-35~

In this passage, the Lord Jesus says that the things which come out of our mouths are an indicator of our heart's contents. The seriousness of our words is shown in verse 37 of this same chapter: "For by your words you will be justified and by your words you will be condemned." This may seem harsh at first perusal, but remember that our words only show the condition of our heart. There is either evil treasure or good treasure stored there.

What is the good treasure that will bring good things from our lips? In Galatians 5:22-23, Paul writes, "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." These are all certainly good and beautiful treasures wrought in our hearts by the Holy Spirit! Well then, how are some ways these good treasures manifest themselves in our words or speech? Let us examine several of them.

Love

One facet of love is not taking wrongs into account (1 Cor. 13:5). Proverbs 10:12 puts it this way: "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all transgressions." If we are covering a transgression in love, what happens to our speech? Silence! "He who covers a transgression seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends." (Prov. 17:9) Gossip is a great snare and yet an often tantalizing temptation: "The words of a whisperer are like dainty morsels, and they go down into the innermost parts of the body." (Prov. 18:8) Let's face it, dainty morsels taste good! Using our lips to gossip may seem sweet at times, but the strife and contention it causes are rooted in hatred ("hatred stirs up strife"). Seek for the love that covers transgressions.

Joy

"Let them also offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of His works with joyful singing." (Psalm 107:22) What a beautiful thing this is that we are privileged to do with our lips! Every day, from now through eternity, we can offer a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to our great God!

"My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You, and my soul, which You have redeemed. My tongue also will utter Your righteousness all day long." (Psa. 71:22-23)

"It is good to give thanks to the Lord and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness by night...for you, O Lord, have made me glad by what You have done, I will sing for joy at the works of Your hands." (Psa. 92:1-2, 4)

"Sing for joy and be glad, O daughter of Zion; for behold, I am coming and I will dwell in your midst," declares the Lord. (Zech. 2:10)

Peace

"There is one who speaks rashly like the thrusts of a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." (Prov. 12:18) Words have the power to hurt excruciatingly--likened to being stabbed with a sword. In contrast our lips should speak peace and healing rather than bringing pain and strife (Prov. 18:6). When we speak to others are we seeking to bring them words that heal and bless? Or do we bring combative words that inflict pain and confusion? "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones" (Prov. 16:24).

Goodness

"Anxiety in the heart of a man weighs it down, but a good word makes it glad." (Prov. 11:25) Every day, hearts around us are weighed down with worry and care; often the hearts of our brothers are heavy. However, is this not a beautiful statement in Proverbs? "A good word makes [hearts] glad!" Our Lord Jesus did this very thing, using His words to lift up the weary: "The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary." (Isa. 50:4, KJV) We are instructed to follow in our Savior's footsteps: "strengthen the hands that are feeble" and "encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called 'Today.'" (Heb. 12:12 and Heb. 3:13) Every day may we seek to make hearts glad. Every day may we look to encourage and strengthen the saints with our words. Every day may we speak a good word in season.

Faithfulness

Proverbs has some surprising things to say about faithfulness in our words. Faithfulness is described as being in opposition to flattery and lies. "Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who deal faithfully are His delight." (Prov. 12:22) How does this play out in our speech? It means that we must learn to reprove and rebuke our brothers in love. "Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy." (Prov. 29:6) These wounds are not the rash, hate-filled thrusts of a sword discussed earlier, but are the careful cuts of a surgeon wishing to cut cancer from the soul. "He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor, than he who flatters with the tongue." (Prov. 28:23) Let us be faithful to our brothers, faithful to speak truth out of the utmost love and care for them. Let us pray that we may speak faithfully in a way that does not destroy. This leads directly to the next point--

Gentleness

"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." (Prov. 15:1) Remember, "Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness." (Galatians 6:1)

Self-Control

The best way to use your tongue, biblically, is not to use it (much)! Excessive speaking leads to sin: "Where there are many words, transgression is unavoidable, but he who restrains his tongue is wise." (Prov. 10:21) Control of the tongue is a hard thing, for James writes that "if anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to bridle the whole body as well." (3:2) It is a sobering thing to realize that a fool is better off than someone lacking control of his tongue: "Do you see a man hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him." (Prov. 29:20)

Here is one way pointed out in the Proverbs to combat excessive words--listening. "The wise of heart will receive commands, but a babbling fool will be thrown down." (Prov. 10:8) "Wise men store up knowledge, but with the mouth of the foolish, ruin is at hand." (Prov. 10:14) We see that listening, and the humility to learn from others rather than listening to ourselves talk, produces wisdom instead of babbling foolishness. May the Holy Spirit work self-control in our hearts!

Beautiful Words

So what does the mouth look like that speaks from a heart filled up with good treasures?

"The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life." (Prov. 10:11)

"There is gold, and an abundance of jewels; but the lips of knowledge are a more precious thing." (Prov. 20:15)

"Like apples of gold in settings of silver is a word spoken in right circumstances." (Prov. 25:11)

~ ~ ~

The good man brings out of his good treasure that which is good.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God!" (Psa. 51:10)

Picture credit: The Gossips by Norman Rockwell

Sweet Afternoon

2008-02-14T20:54:00.009-07:00

I never got gingerbread houses baked for Christmas last year. So, today, at the dawning of another holiday plentiful in candy, Jon, Abby, and I headed over to our friends the S.'s house to decorate some houses. Despite a frosting fiasco (let's just say we used a lot of eggs by the end of the afternoon!) and my sitting suddenly in a pan of gingerbread crumbs while attempting to get the perfect camera angle (ha!) we had a truly splendid time together. Here are some pictures, "desticky-ed" for your perusal. Happy Valentine's Day!

Getting set for sweet success.

"Are we really making houses out of candy?"

(Okay, actually, this was just such a cute picture that I had to post it!)

Hard at work.

Miriam's fence takes shape.

E. and N. house, getting a painstaking landscaping job!

Peter's house (note the lawn mower in the backyard!)

Jonathan's house, a.k.a. CANDY house!!!

The whole neighborhood.