Heritage Lost

A terrible truth came to light last Sunday night. The great hymns of the Christian faith are being lost. Maybe I have known this for some time, but been in denial. Sitting in front of the youth group during a hymn sing last week brought this reality home.
Now, I do have to say that I was impressed with some of our young people. On the songs that they did know, they sang. But how sad to hear one of them admit that they had never even heard "Wonderful Grace of Jesus"!

I blame this on the church at large. So many worship services are completely neglecting the rich songs of our heritage in favor of the quick choruses. It's just too much work to read and understand the old hymns, and there's way too many verses, and, well, they're just Old. That mentality makes me want to cry. The hymns have been a great source of encouragement as well as conviction in my life. I can't imagine worshipping without them. The old hymns hold a great deal of doctrine and deeper meaning than many of the more shallow choruses. Many of the choruses are also centered around man and not God.

I am not opposed to new songs. There are quite a few of the newer songs that are rich in doctrine and a joy to sing. The Bible itself tells us to "sing a new song". I believe that is not only speaking of singing a song that is different than the world, but also singing new, fresh music. But not at the expense of losing a part of the tradition of the church that has been with us for a very long time.

So I have a two-fold challenge to the youth groups in our churches today:

1. Learn the old hymns. Not all of them, but some of them. If you determined to learn one song each week, it would only be a couple of years before you knew 100 hymns!
2. Write new songs. Do it alone, or together. We don't have to depend solely on the music companies for the music that we sing in church and in our private worship. You don't even have to have a degree in music to write music.

We have already started to do this in our family. I am going to compile a list of "The Top 100 Hymns of the Christian Faith" and we will teach them to our girls. I will also post them here. What hymn do you think should be on the list?

God is Good All the Time

Remember the post about obeying God even when we don't understand why? Well, I got to see my Bro, SiL and nephew this week! Of course they were here because our Grandmother was having open heart surgery, but it was still great to spend time with them!

G'ma is doing well. There are some minor bumps, but for the most part she is making a speedy recovery.
The morning of the surgery was a truly incredible time. I have experienced it before, but those times of praise and worship in the face of difficulty are always particularly precious. We had family in from all over the country, and even the ones who live close don't always get to see each other as often as we'd like. But gathering around G'ma Monday morning and singing and praying with them blessed me in a way I can't describe. To hear the faith of a loved one expressed to God in song or word, without pretense, is a more binding experience than hundreds of birthday parties and holiday celebrations.

As wonderful as that was, I can't begin to imagine what it will be like to glorify our Father before his throne in heaven--without the pain and trials that distract us here. And I can't wait!

The Prodigal Returns

Oh, I have so much catching up to do! So much has happened in the last month that I don't know where to begin. DH and I have been to Minnesota twice and are planning a third trip. I have opened shop on Etsy to sell my rubber stamps and Hardanger. Yes, I still remember how to do it even though it's been ages. And I bought a treadmill today!! So no more excuses for not exercising. Monday morning will be start of something new for me. I am really excited about this, if you can't tell. After blowing out my knee a couple of months ago, I got really discouraged because I had just begun my getting fit endevours. Now that it gets so hot so early and with needing to walk when someone can be home to watch the girls...I just felt like it was an uphill battle to even begin. But God always provides when we ask, doesn't he? The opportunity came up to purchase a really snazzy treadmill for next to nothing and I snatched it up right quick.

So you know those little tickers at the bottom of my blog? You can expect both of them to finally start moving in the right direction!!

I promise to try to get a few other things caught up here over the next week. I have so much to tell you about!!!

Desert Island Library

"If you were stuck on a desert island, what book would you want to have with you?"
Now before you spend much thought on this hypothetical question, know that I ask it tongue in cheek.

Not that the question bothers me. I know that these theoretically impossible questions are good conversation starters. The usual answer is what gives me pause. It often goes, "Well, other than the Bible, I would want such and such a book with me." Granted, the books that people suggest are often great, but this answer implies two things.
First it implies that the person answering knows that the respectable and expected answer, especially among professing Christians, is that they would want the Bible with them. So with very little thought other than saving face, they throw the Holy Scriptures into their book bag.
Yet how many of us, myself included, act on a day to day basis like we cannot live without God's Word? Is that what it would take for us to fall in love with the Bible? Being stuck on a desert island with absolutely nothing else to do?

The second implication is that the Bible wouldn't be enough. One would have to have something else to keep occupied. As if in some way the Bible isn't sufficient for us!!

Most of the time people's answers reflect (or attempt to reflect) a love of literature, philosophy or the intellectual. But given the circumstances, I would trade all the Tolstoy, Neitzsche, and Lewis for a good Boy Scout survival manual. Other than the Bible, of course.

Because I Said So!

They make T-shirts now that say "Because I Said So!" in big, bold letters across the front. And for some parents that might seem like the easy way to get out of explaining themselves every time they speak. Whether by habit, innocent curiousity, or intentional peevish annoyance children have a knack for making us crazy with their persistent question "Why?".

Long before they could even speak I purposed in my heart to attempt to answer all of the girls questions with a reasonable answer. How could I have possibly foreseen what that would mean or known that my head would not always be up to the task? That is when I find myself replying "Because I said so", or "Because if you don't you will be disobeying and you will be in trouble!" There are some times when unquestioned obedience is not only desirable, but urgently necessary.

This weekend my parents, both of my brothers, and their families~including two new nephews~ will be gathering in Ohio. And I'm not going. The reservations have been cancelled and the suitcase remains empty.
I'm not going because I'm not supposed to go. Because God said so. I don't have any reason beyond that. But I am going to obey. Even though it's hard and I'd like to sulk off to my room and pout. I love my family dearly, make no mistake, but in the light of an eternity in the presence of my Savior my relationship to them is a fleeting thing, like the steam rising from a tea kettle. We imagine a day in Heaven when we will be reunited with loved ones that we have lost and no longer be separated from the people we care about. But I wonder if we will even give them a second thought once we see Christ in his full glory and join in perfect fellowship with him. (Dear family, if any of you happen to see this, I hope that you will read nothing more into it than a deep longing to be truly home.) So if He asks this of me, I willingly obey if only for the sake of being made more into the image of His Son. (If only!)

One of the prayers in The Valley of Vision asks:
"Let us be at thy disposal for the duties and events of life,
submit our preferences to they wisdom and will,
resign our enjoyments if thou shouldest require it as our absolute Proprietor and best Friend."

The task at hand is to submit, resign, and place myself at my dearest and chiefest Friend's disposal. He is always generous, forgiving, and completely sufficient. He will never ask anything of me that is not in my best interest. He is never sadistic, spiteful, or cruel. He does sometimes ask us to do difficult things as his followers. But the beauty of following is that you are never alone. Christ is always with you. In fact, He is right in front. He will never leave us or forsake us. Because He said so!

Someone's at the Door!

Once again Grace comes knocking. We have been given the opportunity to rely on that deeper measure of Christ's all-sufficient, sustaining Grace in our lives.

I don't remember if I have ever written about DH's Pudendal Neuralgia before, so I'll sum it up quick. During the move into our new house four years ago, a latent condition that my husband had was stirred into conscious awareness. Since then it has become a living, breathing member of our family with a life of it's own~or it seems that way, at least. Pudendal Neuralgia, or Pudendal Nerve Entrapment (henceforth referred to as PN, or PNE) is a malady in which the Pudendal Nerve that runs through both sides of the pelvis is restricted or trapped, causing pain and a whole host of other problems. Think of it as Carpal Tunnel in your butt (Did I just say that out loud?). Any task like sitting, walking, bending, lifting or anything that requires you to use that muscle group causes damage to the nerve and subsequent pain. About 2 years ago, after an extremely frustrating time of wrong diagnosis and medical insanity, we found a doctor who not only knew what he was talking about, but is one of the world's foremost authorities on PN. DH went through a series of steroid injections, to no avail, and finally surgery for the PNE, also with negligible results.
Flash forward to this last weekend, which found us making the 400 mile trek up to the Twin Cities for the first in another series of the injections. The hope is that since the doctor is the one who arranged the nerve and surrounding anatomy in it's present position, the steroid and Heparin shots will be more effective this time.

I am reminded often of Paul's "thorn in the flesh", and this certainly qualifies. The physical pain is not my own, true. But how many times can a loving wife say "I'm sorry. I wish I could help you. You just have to trust that God knows what he is doing and will give you the grace to get through this." before it starts to sound like a trite cliche? Before "Just trust God" becomes reminiscent of "Just suck it up, man!"?

And yet, truth is never trite or a cliche. If Christ could suffer the unspeakable agony of the cross for "the joy that was set before him", surely He is able to carry us through the worst that this fallen world has to offer. We are promised as much in 2 Corinthians 4:14-18 "knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.
For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

What lies beyond it, rather than the pain, is the source of joy. Because the pain is temporary, even when it seems interminable, we can focus our attention on the face of the one we will be with for eternity. Again, in Isaiah 65:17 we are promised that in heaven the cares of this world will be obliterated from our minds. Those are the promises that we cling to because without them, we would have no hope. And Hope is a pretty powerful pain killer.

Reformation

As a self proclaimed slacker extraordinaire, I find myself in the unusual position of feeling the need to own up to my responsibilities. It's not a good feeling either.

I got a good look at the wreck that is our house this morning. Sure, I keep the areas where we live and breathe at a tolerable level. Dishes get washed. Garbage gets taken out. Laundry gets washed, if not folded. Bedsheets get changed and the bathrooms are wiped down regularly. If I find out that company is coming, in a matter of about an hour, I can have the visible part of the house looking pretty good.
But a sequence got started this morning and I have no idea where it will end. It began when I needed to go in the bonus room (an unfinished room above the garage) for some fabric to use in a flowerbed. That led to the discovery that something has taken up residence there. *cue ominous music and a feeling of sinking dread* Which means I'll need to move the things that are stored there to the basement. But first, a space in the basement has to be cleared out. Which also caused the discovery that the girls have not been cleaning the playroom like I was being led to believe. Some of the stuff in the basement needs to go out to the garage, which barely has room for the cars in it.
While I was in the basement, I saw the enourmous pile of games and projects that I should be spending time doing with the girls too. So not only do I have the guilt of not managing my household as well as I had deceived myself into believing that I was doing, but I also have the guilt of not spending as much time with my kids as I need to be.

Obviously some changes need to be made and I don't even have a solid game plan at this point. I have already packed away all of the stamp carving and artist trading card supplies. I have also set up Atlas Quest to send mail to my email account. Until some of these other things are under control, I am going to have to swear off letterboxing. And that is going to be one of the hardest things of all.
And I probably won't be blogging too much in the next couple of weeks. But hopefully when I return, I'll have pictures of a sparkly new house, happy children, beautiful flowerbeds, and maybe a dead varmint or two. OK, so maybe no pictures of the varmints.

Wish me luck.

Every Walking Thought

It is exactly a 3.13 mile round trip from my backdoor, east at the end of the driveway to the corner, and then back west all the way to the cemetery, around the corner headed north to Hughes road and then all the way back home. My max speed today was 4.3 mph, with a moving average of 3.0 and and overall average of 2.9. The 2.9 probably comes from when I stopped at the end of our driveway before heading west to make sure the girls went and told Papa they were home. They walked the first half mile with me, but they way they walk~back and forth, weaving all over~it was probably closer to a mile for them!

It takes less willpower to walk outside than it does to walk on a treadmill, for several reasons. Walking outside is prettier and more entertaining by far. But you also only have to have the willpower to go halfway. Once you get a mile and a half from home, you have no choice but to complete the trip and come back, especially if you leave the cel phone home on purpose. On a treadmill, you can bail out at anytime.

It is astounding what you can hear when you also leave the ipod or headphones at home. Did you know that a beetle actually makes a noise when it walks on pavement? The sound of the breeze in the grass, far away traffic, jets ever farther away, the metronome beat of my shoes on the road, the thrum of a ladybug's wings, and the waterfall of burbling, twittering, chirping bird song were only a few of the sounds I noticed today.

I probably should have worn sunscreen, but I've waited so long for the sunshine that it will be worth it if I'm a bit toasted later. And why do my fingers feel puffy when I walk? It goes away almost as soon as I get home. Hmmm.

The picture above is a trading card made with two stamps that I carved. It is one of my favorite quotes.

Power Trip

Frequently my mind makes comparisons with the society and lifestyle that we live with today and what it must have been like at different times in history. What impact would something that we take for granted have on someone from a distant time period? For instance, how would Mary Todd Lincoln, an adventurous sort, react if she were sitting next to me in the car on the interstate headed into Chicago? Or what would Laura Ingalls Wilder have to say about the clothing choices offered to young girls at the typical shop in the mall?

Sometimes I imagine the situation reversed. How would my life have been different if I had been born in another time period? Could I have kept my mouth shut in a time before women could vote or have any political influence? Could I have worn a corset or a bustle? Could I have dealt with housework before the convenience of electricity? I complain enough as it is.

For no apparent reason, the power went off at about 2:30 this morning and we were transported into the past several hundred years. Again. In fact, this happens so often out where we live that even in our sleep, we automatically switch into survival mode and hurry to complete the few tasks that must be done before it is too late. We run clean water into several pitchers and then put as much water into the bathtub as we can before the tank off the well loses pressure. We light candles in strategic places (all ready and waiting) to keep us from tripping in the dark. And I take a meal out of the freezer that can be heated on the gas stovetop. Eventually when it starts to get stuffy, or the sound of the dog's panting is keeping us awake, Hubby will stumble down to the basement, throw a couple of switches and then fire up the generator in the garage. We have to avoid using electronic equipment and its not enough to run the central air though. We have it so rough.

I wonder what the Proverbs 31 woman would think.

*originally posted 8/12/07

Lessons at Shedd Aquarium

Yesterday we (a friend with three girls and me with my two) took a much needed break and went to the Aquarium in Chicago for the day. Now I need a break from the break, but we did learn some valuable things:

• Do not attempt a field trip into Chicago during The Taste.
• The Taste of Chicago continues even when the fourth of July is over.
• It is not in any way easier, cheaper or more fun to take the train into Chicago.
• A single adult's definition of "not far" is not the same as that of an adult with small children in tow.
• By all means, pay the extra money for the ticket that gets you in to see everything, but be prepared for the child with Asperger's to be more enthralled with the fake trees and rocks than what you actually paid to see.
• Why do they always have to play the "Jaws" music in the shark exhibit and creep the little kids out?
• It is not wise to put an unsecured fruit cup in the backpack to save for later.
• Make sure you prepare the four-year-old for the fact that the dolphin show in Chicago is not in any way similar to the Shamu show in Orlando.

On a more positive note:

• We saw "Granddad", a lung fish that has been at the Shedd since it opened in 1933.

• The seahorses and frogs were really neat.
• We found almost all of the characters from "Nemo".
• The lizard and Kimodo Dragon exhibit was cool and M made a new friend. This little bearded lizard followed her back and forth around the cage and had her laughing quite hard.
  

"Sting"rays look like pancakes when they are sleeping.

The morray eel was bigger than me!

There are 36 species of dolphin and J wants to learn about them all.

We got to touch live sea stars and anemones!

Two four-year-olds and a plastic shark with a squeaker in it can entertain a whole train car of people with no effort whatsoever.

Planning next trip for after school starts!

Note: I refrained from posting alot of pictures here. I'm fairly certain that just about everyone has an album somewhere filled with the same blurry images from trying to take photos of cool things in fish tanks.

*originally posted July 7, 2006

The Non-confrontational Approach

I had the privilege of attending the ICHE homeschool convention this year, and now that my brain has had a week and a half to process the flood of information, I think I’m ready to share some of what I learned.

Some of the best sessions were with Dr. Jeff Myers from the Myers Institute for Communication & Leadership (http://www.myersinstitute.com/). He is a very engaging speaker and I think it would be well worth purchasing the recordings of his workshops. I believe that they can still be ordered from HERE. I particularly enjoyed his lecture on Discernment: Raising a “Thought-full” Child. Dr. Myers spoke about training your children to think with a Biblical worldview and gave several good tools to help develop and defend that perspective. The easiest tool with the most immediate results is a series of questions that you can use when discussing an idea in our culture that clashes with Scripture. Dr. Myers laughingly pointed out that we seldom need to arm our children with more questions.

• “What do you mean by that?” Just because a person uses the same terminology that Christians use does not mean that their definitions are the same. Be sure to clarify. This also gives you a chance to voice your Biblical understanding of a word for their clarification.
• “How do you know that is true?” This is the point that worldly ideas begin to fall apart at the seams.
• “Where do you get your information?”
• “What happens if you are wrong?” Dr. Myers stated that this is the question that keeps on asking even when the conversation is over.

These questions can be asked more than once and not necessarily in this order, but the key is to ask them in a non-confrontational manner. II Timothy 2:25, 26 tells us “And the Lord’s servant must not quarrel. Rather, he should be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”

Obviously, this is a two minute summary of an almost hour-long talk. There is really no way that I can effectively duplicate everything that Dr. Myers had to say. Nor should I. I would really encourage you to consider purchasing the session for yourself. No matter your style of homeschooling or the state you live in, you could benefit from it. And no, I’m not getting paid to say that!

*originally posted 5/30/06

Protecting what he provides

A while ago, I heard a speaker at a woman's conference (but I can't remember who!) say that my husband's job is to provide for the family and my job is to protect what he provides! That has been my mission ever since.
That is the main reason why I started using Mvelopes Personal (see the link on the left) and making my own laundry soap and the like. With all of the medical bills that we are acquiring this year (!), I didn't start any too early!
But I am so excited about today! Last week when we had a couple of early warm days, I realized that J had no hot weather clothes. Not one stitch. So today we went shopping at a local thrift store! We prayed before we left and came home with 32 items of clothing (13 shorts, 13 shirts, 2 skorts, 1 jumper and 3 dresses for my niece who now lives next door and I couldn't resist!) and only paid $37.89! Hooray and Thank You, Lord!

Another part of this protecting what he provides will arrive in August-we have ordered a corn furnace! It should more than pay for itself in less than five years. As the price of propane continues to climb, it will be so nice to cut that bill down to size!

Update--I originally posted the above on April 17, 2006. Now, almost exactly two years later, we are still going to the thrift stores and I am always amazed at the wonderful things we come home with. Just last week we went for the girls' summer wardrobes and found more than enough and paid next to nothing. The corn furnace was installed last December and we fired it up the week before Christmas. I am happy to report that our house has stayed toasty warm all winter and the Service Gas man has not gotten to fill our tank even once! We just stand at the window and wave as he checks the gauge and drives away. We have used only about 15% of the tank in the last four months. Normally it would have been filled at least three times by now! Since we farm, the corn we are burning is free! I think I actually giggled out loud when Chad told me to "Turn the heat up, it's just corn!"
Praise the Lord for His provision!

High Tech Yard Walking

Thanks to my trusty Garmin e-trex GPS, I have determined that walking around the perimeter of our yard 7 times is 2.06 miles. My max speed today was 4 mph, and average speed was 3 mph.

This might not sound like a big deal, but it is a breakthrough discovery for me. I have been desparate for a way to get regular exercise into my schedule. Because of a knee injury, most of the aerobic things that you can do in your living room are out of the question. My doctor wants me to walk. I like to walk, but I have two younger children who can't seem to take more than a dozen steps before reaching complete exhaustion--at least when it isn't their idea. We live on a wonderfully quiet country road where I know everyone. Just walking down to the corner and back is a convenient 2 miles. But Hubby is in the middle of the spring field work and I can't expect him to hang around the house with the girls while I walk. The nearest gym or Y is almost 15 miles away. Plus it's expensive!

But now I have figured out how I can do all the walking that I want without ever leaving home! The girls can play in the yard or inside and still have full access to me if they need something. I can do the walking in several sections if I have to, or even do it several times a day. I can do it whenever I please, instead of having to wait for someone to watch the girls. And it's free!

Walking in our yard is a little harder than on a treadmill (which I don't have anyway) or the road. Our lawn is lumpy and rough and you have to watch out for all the ground squirrel holes. I have been wearing my hiking boots, which are heavier, but give better support. All in all, it's probably a better workout and may even help strengthen my knee over time.

Skinny jeans, here I come!

I wonder if I can figure out how many miles of grass I mow every week with my GPS? Hee Hee.

Flipping the Easter Bunny

Here is a fun and simple thing to do to help teach the true meaning of Easter. First, you talk about the Easter Bunny and the colored eggs and all of the things that the world associates with Easter while you draw this on a piece of paper or posterboard:





















Then you flip the bunny on his side and add the crosses and the open door (these can be made ahead and attached with tape) and talk about what Jesus did for us on the cross and why!










I remember when my Dad taught this in the 3&4 year old SS class over 20 years ago (I was probably about 12)! It is amazing how a simple visual can stick with you for such a long time. It is for certain that I have never looked at the Easter Bunny the same way!

I pray for all of you and your families during this Resurrection celebration: that your holiday and traditions will be truly God-honoring and blameless before Him. May ours be the same.

*originally posted 4/9/06

An offering for Good Friday

This coming Friday is the day that many Christians worldwide will ponder the death of our Savior and look to Easter when we will celebrate His resurrection. I have no great words to commemorate this occasion. But I can point to the words of others that have both inspired me and left me dumbstruck.

• The Passion of Jesus Christ, by John Piper-50 reasons why Christ died. I will never look at Calvary the same.
• On the Physical Death of Jesus Christ-this is an article published in the March 21, 1986 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA-vol. 255, no.11) that gives a very descriptive account of the physical aspect of crucifixion. Not for the faint of heart. (I had to go to the university and get a copy from the microfiche, but it was worth it. It is long or I would post it here. If you want a copy, email me your address and I will send you a .pdf file.)
• Lots of hymns-"'Man of Sorrows,' What a Name!", "What Wondrous Love Is This?" (all the verses), "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded", "Why?" and others.
• The Dream of the Rood-medieval English poem
• Our daughter J, who periodically asks, "Why does God love us?". It is such a simple question, and there are answers that can be given, but the truth is that there is no reason why He should and yet He does.
• Finally, here is an entry from the Valley of Vision, a collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions:

The Grace Of The Cross
O My Saviour,
I thank thee from the depths of my being
for thy wondrous grace and love
in bearing my sin in thine own body on the tree.
May they cross be to me
as the tree that sweetens my bitter Marahs,
as the rod that blossoms with life and beauty,
as the brazen serpent that calls forth
the look of faith.
By thy cross crucify my every sin;
Use it to increase my intimacy with thyself;
Make it the ground of all my comfort,
the liveliness of all my duties,
the sum of all thy gospel promises,
the comfort of all my afflictions,
the vigour of my love, thankfulness, graces,
the very essence of my religion;
And by it give me that rest without rest,
the rest of ceaseless praise.

O My Lord and Saviour,
Thou hast also appointed a cross for me
to take up and carry,
a cross before thou givest me a crown.
Thou hast appointed it to be my portion,
but self-love hates it,
carnal reason is unreconciled to it;
without the grace of patience I cannot bear it,
walk with it, profit by it.
O blessed cross, what mercies dost thou bring
with thee!
Thou art only esteemed hateful by my rebel will,
heavy because I shirk thy load.
Teach me, gracious Lord and Saviour,
that with my cross thou sendest promised grace
so that I may bear it patiently,
that my cross is thy yoke which is easy,
and thy burden which is light.

*originally posted 4/14/06

My Contribution for St. Pat's Day

My children are still at the Shamrock and Leprechan stage for St. Patrick's Day, but I do plan on sharing some of the history (I have a unit from SchoolExpress.com) and the following poetry, which I love, next week. We'll probably watch Darby O'Gill and the Little People too :).

A Gaelic Blessing
(Adapted from an old Gaelic rune)

Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the gentle night to you,
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you,
Deep peace of Christ the light of the world to you.

A Prayer of Saint Patrick
(From Saint Patrick's Breastplate, 5th cent., tr. Mrs. C.F. Alexander)

Christ be with me, Christ within me,
Christ behind me, Christ before me,
Christ beside me, Christ to win me,
Christ to comfort and restore me,
Christ above me, Christ beneath me,
Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,
Christ in hearts of all that love me,
Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I have both of these in music form composed by John Rutter (on his album Gloria, available from Collegium Records), and sung by the Cambridge Singers. This was my first and still is my favorite CD! I copied the text from inside the CD insert.

*originally posted 3/7/06

A Tribute to the Demise of Winter

All that is left of our beautiful snowman is a very soggy purple scarf, orange hat, and red mittens,a muddy clump of buttons and stump of carrot. J sighed wistfully looking at it and stated that she wished we could have our snowman forever. Since I almost pulled my arms out hefting his sizeable midsection, I sort of wished he had lasted longer too.
Then Roger McGough's poem came to mind and I had to smile.

The Snowman
Mother, while you were at the shops
And I was snoozing in my chair,
I heard a tap at the window
It was a snowman standing there.

He looked so cold and miserable
I almost could have cried.
So I put the kettle on
And invited him inside.

I made him a cup of cocoa
To warm the cockles of his nose.
Then he snuggled in front of the fire
For a cozy little doze.

He lay there warm and smiling,
Softly counting sheep.
I eavesdropped for a little while
Then I too fell asleep.

It seems he awoke and tiptoed out
Exactly when I'm not too sure.
It's a wonder you didn't see him
As you came in through the door.

Oh, by the way,
The kittens made a puddle on the floor.

We have the poem on the King's Singers album, Kid's Stuff, and it is narrated by Judi Dench. The whole album is thoroughly wonderful for young and old alike.

I'm sure that I don't have the lines and punctuation correct on the poem. I'll correct it when I can find it in print (possibly in the book The Kingfisher Book of Funny Poems?)

*originally posted 3 13/06

Bad Kitty!

It was as beautiful as the day I brought it home five months ago and I was going to plant it out in my yard in a couple of weeks. Not anymore!

*originally posted 4/25/06

Close Call?

I stepped out on the porch on Tuesday evening intending to snap a photo of a baby robin that was sitting on my strawberry pot. This is the picture I took instead:
It's enough to make your heart skip, especially when you're not looking for it! I called my weather buff hubby outside and we watched the funnel form for a few minutes while we tried to decide if we should call someone and if so, who. There was visible rotation, but no sound and it had not touched down yet, so the panic quickly subsided. We had the girls come out and see and then they promptly went down to the basement, without being told. They know the drill. Before we actually made up our minds, it fizzled and was gone. It was a better show than anything on TV though!

*originally posted on 7/13/06

A Wind Experiment

The last three days have been a bit blustery around here. Somewhere between a 2 and 3 on the WINDCON. I gave up on transplanting the tiger lillies because the wind kept throwing the dirt back in my face. I checked each day with a hand held anemometer and Tuesday the average was 28 mph (34 at night) and Wednesday it was 22 mph.
Then yesterday I decided to try something. After I took my afternoon shower (so I'd be clean and pretty when my hubby got home!), I dressed and immediately went out on the porch. With a comb. It took me exactly six minutes to blow dry my hair without the blow dryer!!. That's about what it takes me normally, I think (I've never actually timed it)!!
Thank goodness it's a bit calmer today. Back to the lillies! Only about 500 more to go!

*originally posted 4/13/06

WindCon

NORAD has its Defence Condition Categories, or DEFCON. Here on our farm in North Central Illinois we have WINDCON, or wind condition categories. Just like the military, we have five.

• WINDCON 1 is the normal state of affairs. Except for about a half dozen days of the year there is always some kind of breeze out here.
• WINDCON 2 is a very common occurance also. This is the category of wind that makes the water in the toiletbowls suck in and out and whistles at the corners of the house. They are great days for hanging clothes outside.
• WINDCON 3 is fairly common in the Spring and Fall. These are days when you think twice about the morning walk. Going would be really easy, but you're not sure you could make it back! You have to hold on to your car door or lose it and use plenty of extra clothes pins. And something in the chimney chase (that runs through the wall right at the head of our bed) squeaks and creaks.
• WINDCON 4 happens several times every Spring and Fall. In this category, the wind gets a little scary. You avoid driving if you can, can't stand up to hang the clothes on the line and have to take all the porch plants inside if you want to keep them. The fiberglass bath tub creaks, and the whole house shudders along with everything in it (computer monitor, beds, pictures on walls...). We can count on first losing our satellite signal and then our electricity.
• WINDCON 5-I don't even want to know!

We have an anemometer to mount on the house so that we can see just how windy it does get, but we have to wait now until it isn't so windy that Chad will blow off the roof! According to the local airport (if you can call it that) gusts over 75mph aren't that uncommon.
I don't dust much in the Spring and Fall because it just doesn't pay. Even with the windows closed, the dust off the fields gets in. In town you see lots of trampolines in people's yards. Not out here. I don't think there would be a way to anchor them well enough! On the positive side, we don't have to rake leaves in the Fall. They just blow into the next county.
I tell you all of this because we have been at condition 3 and occasionally 4 since Sunday night. And I'm exhausted. And our Missions Conference starts tonight. And there is a dinner at church beforehand. And we have AWANA tonight. And our ensemble sings tonight. And we have two days of school to do today. And the house is getting away from me. And the only way I am going to make it to tomorrow is by God's Grace and possibly a considerable amount of caffine (could it be that God provided caffine as part of his grace to us? HMMM....).
More on wind tomorrow. See? I'm already assuming that the grace will come. What an awesome thing to be able to count on!

*originally posted on 3/15/06

The Secret Lie

One of two things usually happens on the nights I don’t even try to pretend that I’m going to be able to sleep. I either stay up and accomplish something or, more likely, I end up getting sucked into some ridiculously inane television show. Last night it was a new show premiering on one of the “discovery” stations, called The Secret Life of a Soccer Mom (SLSM). The premise of the show is to secretly whisk a stay at home Mom away from her family for a week and allow her to experience the dream career that she gave up in order to stay at home. In the pilot episode, the mom had gone to school to be a fashion designer, but decided not to pursue it in order to be home for their three daughters. At the end of the show she was offered a full time job with a design studio, and accepted.

Now, I can’t begin to tell you the many reasons why I disliked this show, but I am going to try really hard not to rant here. Instead, I’m just going to share a few observations that I made and have been pondering upon.

• Her husband’s point of view—at one point, her husband, who is a physician, was in tears because he regretted that for the past 10 years he had been unable to give her what she needed to feel fulfilled. He let her take the job because he just wanted her to be happy. But he also praised the job that she had done at raising their children and voiced concerns about what would happen when they were sick or needed her.
  
• When struggling with the big decision about accepting the job, she stated that she didn’t regret being home with their three girls, and wished that she didn’t have to choose.
  
• She did design a dress that someone famous wore at the Oscars or Emmys or something like that. I know I have a completely different set of values, but I also know that would be a big deal to some people.
  
• Two of their children were too young to understand why everyone was so excited.
  
• The creators of SLSM gave her only a matter of hours to decide about the job offer.

Perpetuating the lie that women cannot be satisfied or lead a fulfilling life while being a stay at home mom is nothing new in visual or printed media. But more than that, what struck me was the obvious solution for this family that the show failed to offer.

The mom wanted to create and design clothing. She also was torn about leaving her family for a full time job. The dad was concerned about the impact on their home and children. Why not design fabulous clothes for children? She had three beautiful girls who would probably delight in modeling for her, and would certainly appreciate the clothing far more than an actress who would wear a dress once and toss it aside. She could design her own line and work from home and have the best of both worlds. No decision to leave her family would be necessary. Of course that option was never even brought up.

And that is because true fulfillment cannot be found in a workplace, a career, a marriage, or a home. Ultimate Satisfaction can only be found in Jesus Christ and in surrender to God’s Sovereign plan. Then it doesn’t matter if we are changing diapers, or flipping burgers or juggling spreadsheets. It also doesn’t matter if our spouse and children can’t give us everything we dreamed of or expected. And it doesn’t matter what we drive, or live in, or wear. When we are satisfied with God, regardless of our circumstances, we are:

Complete in Thee! No work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee—each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.*

But you’ll never hear that from The Learning Channel.

*taken from the hymn, Complete in Thee, by Aaron R Wolfe.

We interrupt this broadcast...

I want to take a moment to make a few notes here. The last 40-some posts have been moved from a previously existing blog. I have moved everything from two categories--J's story (Preemie) and Ponderings. Not that there will not be any more thoughtful posts or more stories of the girls, but that is everything from the other blog.
I have about 20 more post to move. But from here on it's more of the fun stuff. Homeschooling, pictures and BUGS!
Eventually, when I get to start posting new stuff, I am going to include recipes, Hubby's story of his struggle with Pudendal Nerve Entrapment, and my mission trip to Venezuela (eons ago).

I am taking a trip to see my brother and will be gone until next week. But I think there is enough here to keep you occupied for a day or so. All two of you that actually read this blog, that is.

Best Laid Plans

"Free Will" is highly overrated, if you ask me. I find a great deal of comfort in verses like:

• Proverbs 16:9 The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.
• Jeremiah 10:23 I know, O Lord, that the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps.
• Psalm 119:133 Keep steady my steps according to your promise, and let no iniquity get dominion over me.
• Psalm 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the Lord, when he delights in his way;

I know that my own heart is "deceitful above all things" (Jer. 17:9) and "only evil continually" (Gen. 6:5). It is an encouragement to me to know that if I seek to obey God and walk in his known will, that I can make my human plans with some measure of confidence (not that I don't often make mistakes!). His Sovereign control over my life will direct me in the way He chooses for me. Which is far better for me anyway. It is not my intention to stir up a debate here. But there is a great deal of Freedom in surrendering to the Sovereignty of God and allowing him to order your steps. It is a much more enjoyable ride when you don't have the responsibility of driving the vehicle.
I have probably posted this before, but its worth repeating. From the Preces Privatae of Lancelot Andrewes, 1555-1626:
Open thou mine eyes and I shall see:

Incline my heart and I shall desire:

Order my steps and I shall walk

In the ways of thy commandments.

O Lord God, be thou to me a God

And beside thee let there be none else,

No other, nought else with thee.

Vouchsafe to me to worship thee and serve thee

According to thy commandments

In truth of spirit,

In revereance of body,

In blessing of lips,

In private and in public.

*originally posted 9/10/07

In Human Terms

The book of John is so rich and deep that you could probably study it for a lifetime without exhausting its truths. One of these truths recently reached out and poked at my brain and I have been pondering it ever since. Specifically, what does it mean to be God’s friend? In chapter 15, Jesus Christ is spending some quiet time with his chosen few in concentrated teaching. He tells of Judas’ betrayal and of Peter’s denial. Then he follows up with some words about bearing fruit, obeying him and being his friend. As I read “You are my friends if you do what I command you”, my mind replays scenes from the years that I taught preschool:
“If you don’t do what I want, I’ll cross you off my list of friends!!” Such juvenile phrases were a common occurrence in that setting. But as with so many other examples, we cannot try to define God in our human terms and understanding. His love is not like our love and his hate is not like our hate because they are not tainted by sin and selfishness. His motive is our ultimate good. Our ultimate good is a deeper fellowship with him, or Abiding as it is stated here in John, and glorifying him. (For a discussion on why that is not the ultimate in arrogance, click here.)
Apply that to this verse in John 15 and you have a completely different picture. Rather than a view of a spoiled, self-centered child we have a view of someone who wants us to be close to him; not because it will benefit him in any way, but because of the joy that fellowship with the highest standard of everything good in the universe will bring to us. Jesus also gives us the quickest route to that fellowship-through obedience to his commandments. Unlike the child who seeks to make others do everything his way out of stubborn selfishness, Christ actually has the authority to ask us to obey him by right of creation and redemption. By his perfection, his way really is also the best way whether we understand it at the time or not.
It stands to reason that we should also not define being friends with God in the same way as being friends with buddy Frank or best friend Amy. Even the best of human friendships are full of emotions, actions and motivations that should not exist in a relationship with God, and indeed cannot exist on his part.

To be continued…

*originally written 2/9/07

I am, therefore I Create

The hobby of letterboxing, which I have mentioned before, combines spending time in God’s creation as well as doing a little creating of your own. As you hunt for the letterboxes, you get to see some very interesting things and places in nature and that always puts me in awe. The complexity and beauty of the plant and animal life is simply astounding. The natural world exists to bring glory to God and it does such a spectacular job of it that when I immerse myself in it, whether by watching a fantastic sunset or by listening to the hush of the forest around me, I completely lose myself in the face of something infinitely greater.
When I make letterboxes for others to find, I bring all of my own creative powers to bear, pathetic as they may be. The thought, time and effort that goes into carving a stamp, creating a handmade logbook, writing the clues and pulling the whole thing together on a theme exhausts the limits of my ability. Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy every minute of it! And I am constantly on the lookout for new techniques, different materials and fresh ideas to improve the final product.
All of this made me think: why do we do things like this? Why do we feel the compulsion to create priceless watercolor paintings, or fabulous scrapbook pages, or colorful quilts, or hand carved walnut rocking horses, or delicious new recipes? Across history, nations and people of different walks of life and interests there runs the common thread of the need to create. I can see but one explanation: we were all created in the image of the Ultimate Creator. An image reflects the original. We reflect God, not as a mirror duplicates a reflection in every detail, but rather as a shadow reflects a shape as a dark and vague blur.
We imitate Him because we desire to be like Him. Just as a small child goes through the motions of mixing a cake or swinging a hammer in an effort to be like Mom or Dad, we create things in an effort to be like our Heavenly Father. For a child, imitating is an expression of love. For someone who holds Christ dear, creating something can mean the same expression of love. We love Him, therefore we want to be like Him.
This begs another question. Why do unbelievers create? Someone who does not love God, who is in fact his enemy, would certainly not choose to imitate him. They are still created in His image. I suspect the answer is hidden in that, somehow. But I confess, more thought is necessary before I can proceed.

*originally written 2/5/07

If I could Paint

If I could paint, I would paint a picture of Grace. The difficulty with that would be that my understanding of Grace develops over time, so my painting would be covered with smudges from my revisions. And let’s face it, I can’t paint. But I can write. Scratch that too. I can talk. So I will tell you what my painting would look like, if I could paint.

Start with an image of the most gorgeous sunset that you can imagine. Make it one on a pristine beach somewhere. The colors are soft and warm. There are just enough clouds to give the sky texture and break up the light into an interesting pattern. My first concrete image of Grace was just like that. John 1:16 says “and of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace.” A commentary that I looked it up in described it as waves lapping on the shore, and just like that, my picture of God’s Grace toward us came into being. The water of the ocean, in all its vast immeasurability, quietly and unendingly lapping on the sandy beach, bringing a fresh supply of life-giving nutrients and water to the inhabitants on the shore is a perfect likeness of the all sufficient Grace of our Heavenly Father. His fullness comes to us not just in our times of dire need, but is constantly refilling our reservoir whether we are conscious of it or not. A dimension that a painting cannot give you is sound. Do you hear the waves? When you live near the ocean, the perpetual susurration of the water drops from your normal conscious hearing after awhile. It doesn’t stop. It just ceases to be heard. It only takes something small to bring it back into the realm of your awareness though. How very like our human “selective hearing” is our capacity to let our attention to God slip from our conscious thoughts!
There is something terrifying about the ocean too, but standing here in peace on the beach that terror seems distant and almost impossible. It is the same with the Almighty who created the oceans. When we submit to his Providential Authority, even the most difficult of circumstances came be viewed in the light and peace of His Grace rather than the terror of the unknown.
Now we’ll take a stroll down this beautiful beach. We hear the rush of the water and feel the warmth of the setting sun. A gentle breeze tousles our hair slightly. Holding our sandals in our hand, we pad in the wet sand at the waters edge. When the water is deep enough to swirl around our ankles, take a look behind you. There is nothing there. Every mark, every footstep has been swallowed by the ocean. With each lift of the heel, there is a small slurping sound and the sand and water quickly swirl in, filling each depression and covering all evidence of our passing. Romans 2:1 speaks of “the grace in which we stand”. Taking the picture of the ocean of God’s Grace one step further, we move from seeing the waves endlessly running upon the shore to a broader view; that of being completely immersed and swallowed up by that same Grace. We are surrounded by it, supported by it, and in some ways suppressed by it.
When we imagine standing on the sand watching the lapping of the water, the picture is mostly of God’s Grace coming to us and supplying us with every good thing that our Creator has at his disposal. And that is accurate to a point. But when we imagine being covered by the water and carried away, the picture of the ocean is what fills our minds. Our footprints that vanished behind us no longer enter our thoughts. The most noble and holy efforts of ours here on this earth are not worthy of the slightest glance from the great I AM.(Isa. 64:6) We could spell out the entirety of Scripture in Hebrew and Greek with coconuts on the beach and it would still be diminished by the grandeur of the ocean. While we might not think about our best deeds being erased as an act of Grace, it is. And it goes hand in hand with the Grace of the substitution of the work of Christ for us on the cross.

The next time you need to “find a happy place” in your mind, go to the beach at sunset; but not the beaches in Florida, Hawaii, or the Caribbean. Paint yourself a picture and see the water lapping at your toes, rushing past your knees and carrying you away. Get lost in the ocean of God’s Grace.

*originally written 1/10/07

Making Peace with Christmas

For years I have had "issues" with celebrating Christmas. Not because I dislike it, but rather because I love it and it is such a struggle to make it the God-honoring, Christ-centered Holy Day that I want it to be. I'm sure I've even ranted about it here before.
The breakthrough came this year with a little research. No, I didn't find a way to keep that greedy gleam out of my children's eyes. And No, I didn't learn a convicting comeback to teach the girls to say to all of those people that ask them about Santa. What I found was that Christmas was never meant to be a Christian holiday. And while I have known this for a long time, this year I actually surrendered to it. Other than the rejoicing and worship that took place right at Christ's birth, the Bible never mentions any annual celebrating. His birth and life and death were hardly noticed by most. And that isn't any different today.
The annual celebration of Christmas began as and for a very long time was an excuse for people to get together and enjoy themselves during the long, boring winter. There was nothing religious about it. Then it became a way to honor the pagan gods. And then the puritans outlawed any Christian participation. Then somewhere along the way, someone decided that "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!" and the Christian Christmas was born. (okay, so that is the very abbreviated version.) So, I guess it could be argued that any worship or Christ-honoring celebrating that takes place during the winter holidays is a bonus. This is what I surrendered to this year. It was not a giving in to the secular domination of Christmas, but more a realization that as Christians in this age, we have the great benefit of hindsight. We know the supreme significance of Christ's birth and can choose to celebrate it in ways that the early Christians could not.
And I actually enjoyed Christmastime this year (in spite of having that stomach flu). And now it's over and we have spent most of the day dismantling all of the decorations. The house looks like the Grinch has been here and taken it all. After lugging the last of 13 boxes plus odds and ends to the basement, I looked at J and said, "Phew! Christmas is officially packed away!" And my almost 8 year old replied (in that wise and slightly exasperated tone that an almost 8 year old can get), "But, Mom! You can't ever really pack Christmas away!" And I had to go to my room so that she wouldn't see my tears. Because she gets it.
And that is worth celebrating!

*orignally written 1/7/07

Slipping into something more comfortable

I love Autumn. The smells, the sounds, the colors, the clothes...I love it all. I love the tasks of getting my flower beds tucked in for winter and of feeding "the guys" in the field during harvest. I love the crisp air, crisp apples and crisp leaves. The smells of cinnamon and leaf smoke. The fuzzy clothes and the feel of grain running through my fingers. The crackle of the fireplace that I have missed so much and the honking of the geese. Fall is such a rich sensory feast and I relish it all.
The humming of the combine in the fields around the house in the night reminds me that my best beloved is somewhere near even when I can't see him. The silver shimmer of the dew covered spider web carpet on the lawn in the morning reminds me that there is a bigger world designed by my creator that is not often thought of when we are busy, but it goes on just the same by his design. And the falling leaves and vibrant colors remind me that even death can be spectacular when it is for God's glory.
Every year I long for the change of seasons and the comforts that it brings. But more than that I long to slip into something more comfortable than the sweaters and hot chocolate of Autumn. To be in the presence of my Savior...

*originally written 9/26/06....still waiting...

The Convenience Diet

In my reading a while ago, I discovered a verse (okay, it was there all the time, but I just noticed it): Proverbs 30:8b, 9. It says, "Give me neither poverty or riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say 'Who is the Lord?' or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain."

There is a lot packed in that passage, but what stuck out at me was the "food convenient for me". I knew it wasn't talking about White Hen Pantry or Wendy's. So, I've been pondering that for a few weeks. And finally, while I was stuffing my face with the sweet corn fresh out of the field tonight, it came to me.

Back when Agur (the writer of this particular Proverb) put pen to paper, they ate a little differently. Without refrigeration or freezing capacity, they ate what was in season or freshly provided. Our modern day supermarkets, international shipping, and food storage ability make every form of produce, grain, and meat a convenience any time we choose. But it has not always been so.

Another thought that relates is: Why is it that certain foods appeal to us in different seasons, but not others? Canned pumpkin is available all the time, yet not only do I not make pumpkin pie in the summertime, but it doesn't even sound good then. Why? Similarly, we eat hearty soups and stews in the fall and winter, but the thought of them on a day like today (when the heat index is at 110) almost makes me ill (or is that all that sweet corn talking?). In January I don't daydream of watermelons, and in July I don't dream of butternut squash. Why?

Could it possible have something to do with our Supreme Creator being wise enough to tailor our desires to what would naturally be available at the time?

An even bigger question is, What would happen to our lifestyle, our health, and our physique if we went back to eating what was "convenient" for us? The concordance defines the word as "an enactment: hence an appointment of (time, space, quantity, labor or usage). Other versions translate the word as needful, or my portion.

This is definately going to take some more pondering.

*originally written 8/21/06

Not Too Bright

*this was originally posted after we had built and moved into our house and were still having issues finding and sealing all of the unwanted entrance points. We live in a corn field. What did we expect?

In the continuing saga of our house “guest” removal, we have been placing traps on the counter at night. The first night, the lights had only been off in the kitchen for about five minutes when the first trap snapped. Another five minutes passed and the second trap went. When I went down to empty and reload, the first trap had been slicked clean by the second mouse before he moved to the second trap. How smart is that? To eat from the trap right next to your recently departed companion and then move on to your own demise is not too bright.
But it sounds all too human. The Bible tells us “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Rom. 15:4) How many times have we looked at the examples of the nation of Israel in the Old Testament and thought “How dumb could they be? Didn’t they remember what happened the last time they stopped following God’s commands?” How many times have we looked at the Pharisees or even the disciples in the New Testament and thought that we would have done things differently and “How could they have been so blind?”
Whether you look at the history of the world, the history of one nation in particular, or our own personal history, it doesn’t take long to realize that what teachers are so fond of saying is true. “History repeats itself because we don’t learn from the past.” Why is that? Perhaps it is because with our so-called “superior technology” and immediate access to a vast wealth of information we feel that we are in some way above our ancestors, smarter than them or impervious to the mistakes that they made. Perhaps we underestimate the power that Satan holds in this world (albeit, a power granted to him by the Almighty) or the strength with which he tries to woo us. Or perhaps it is that we overestimate our own strength and cannot accurately understand the position that our ancestors found themselves in when they made the mistakes that are so obvious to us.
Whatever the reason, we find ourselves both globally and personally making the same blunders as those who came before us. We step in the same traps they did. We’re still Not Too Bright.

Are you Plugged in?

Have you ever seen the science fiction movie series “The Matrix”? If not, please don’t waste over six hours of your life! Let me give you a summary instead (since I have already wasted the time!).
Several hundred years in the future the A.I. that man created has rebelled and conquered the human race which it now uses for its sole energy source. Almost every person on the planet is unaware that they are slaves to the machines because their minds are engaged in living out normal lives in a virtual reality world that the machines created to keep the humans convinced that they are still free, and therefore passive. Of course there are rebels who are free and are trying to free the rest of humanity by “jacking in” to the matrix (virtual reality world) and convincing others to join the revolution. You get the picture.
Without trying to glorify the movie, there are several obvious parallels that could be drawn.
Our Christian lives are supposed to be radically different than that of the world. But how often do we get drawn in to the reality that Satan has designed for us instead of living victoriously and separating ourselves for the purpose of glorifying God? And I’m not just talking about all of the television and electronic distractions available. So many times I find myself doing things just because that is what everyone does or because that is what is expected of me or the way we have always done it.
We buy our children piles of presents at Christmas. Why? And don’t give me the excuse that we do it because the wise men gave gifts to Jesus. Why do we decorate our houses with lights? Why do we have a Christmas tree? Once again, the excuse that it represents the cross doesn’t hold since it was the Druids that started the tradition. Easter egg hunts and chocolate bunnies, costumes on Halloween, staying up until midnight on New Year’s Eve and many more holiday traditions have become suspect to me (and why do so many of them involve candy?!).
And holidays don’t hold the only culprits. Why do pastors feel the need to cut sermons short on Super Bowl Sunday? What is the purpose of the AWANA Grand Prix? How many of our daily and weekly habits are done just by Rote? How many of even our religious practices make Satan pleased because they are so much less than they should be?
Maybe I’m just in a mood or going through a phase, but I doubt it. I foresee some radical change in our future. I want to unplug from the Matrix!!

*originally written 4/18/06

Another Weighty Matter

After the heavy discussion on the weight of the world, I’ve been doing some thinking on another weighty matter. That would be me. Now, after you gasp at what I’m about to say, please, at least finish reading. I don’t think dieting is Biblical. I think our society has a very warped view of beauty and self worth, and the resulting diet and fitness craze is a huge extension of that. It is probably unnecessary to go any further on that topic to this audience.
The Christian mindset is almost as bad, however. A large majority of people who believe in the things of God adhere to the same popular diets and exercise regimens that have reached cult like proportions in the rest of the nation.

I would challenge you to study these things from a Biblical perspective. How do you picture Ruth, Esther, Deborah and the Virtuous Woman? As a size six, with long flowing dark hair, big eyes with long lashes and slender hands with perfectly manicured nails? That would be Hollywood’s influence. Think about the culture, way of life and climate that they lived in. Few modern conveniences, as we know them, existed to make their work load easier. Large extended families, a harsh climate and food types available were all contributing factors. As far I can tell, they did not have such an obsession with their weight, fat content and “Body Mass Index” either! Perhaps, as in other cultures, a “well rounded” woman was considered beautiful and a compliment to her husband’s ability to provide for his family. Don’t misunderstand. I am not saying that they were ugly, grotesque woman. I believe they were strong, fit ladies (Prov. 31 says she girded her loins with strength) who were meet representatives of their husbands as well as their God. I just don’t see them wasting a whole lot of time doing Pilates and counting calories, carbs, fat grams, or whatever else we’re supposed to count now days.

Balance seems to be the key in this as it is in everything else. Eating sensibly, working hard and looking to our health seem to be better goals than wearing a certain size or weighing only so much. There is much more in the Bible about control than there are size specifications. What sense does it make to prepare separate meals for myself apart from the rest of the family, or spend exorbitant amounts of my husband’s money on specialty foods? I should use the mind that God has given me to prepare healthy, satisfying meals for everyone and only eat what I need. I also have a suspicion that if I did half of the work here at home that needs doing, then not only would I not have time for exercising, but I would have no cause!

I Peter 3:4 says it very well: “but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.” No mention of dress size.

*originally written 3/21/06

The Weight of the World

Here is a theoretical question with which to short circuit your children’s brains (or your own).
If half of the Earth’s population (Say 3 billion people) each lost 10 pounds, would our planet weigh 60 billion pounds less? In other words, is the weight of the world constant, or can it be changed?

“A fundamental principle of classical physics is the law of conservation of mass, which states that matter cannot be created or destroyed. This law holds true in chemical reactions but is modified in cases where atoms disintegrate and matter is converted to energy or energy is converted to matter.”
Microsoft® Encarta® Encyclopedia 2003. © 1993-2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

When we build skyscrapers or pave half of our cities with asphalt, all of the materials that we use come from the earth at some point. We are essentially creating no new matter. The entire water supply on the planet is constantly being recycled, but not added to or subtracted from.
Similarly, when we plant grain for the purpose of producing more grain or a baby grows from an embryo to a 40 year old adult, new matter is not being created, although at first glance, you’d think so. Living things reproduce tissue or reproduce themselves by converting one form of matter, water and nutrients already in existence, into another form of matter, new cells. So, in all these things, we are affecting the globe, but not its weight.

One exception to the law of the conservation of mass stated above (or should I say modification?), is when energy is converted to matter. Then your talking about the theory of relativity, E=mc2, and reactions taking place on the particulate level and very quickly you get way beyond me. However, I think I understand it enough to say that it probably isn’t going to affect the weight of the world.

When we exercise, however, we convert matter (our fat) into energy (or modification #2). Energy weighs nothing. At least I assume it weighs nothing. If enough weight was “lost” would you be able to measure the change if you had a scale big enough?

By the “weigh”, the Earth weighs 6 x 1024 kilograms. Roughly.

Now for the answer, and, Yes, I had to look it up. The weight of the earth and its gravitational pull, my weight and my gravity and that of everyone else all interact and affect each other. Weight really is more about gravity and mass, than, well…weight. If everyone on the planet got in spaceships and left, the affect would be almost unnoticeable. The total mass and gravity of humans, all six-point-something-billion of us, is insignificant compared to the Earth. And the Earth is rather insignificant in the grand scheme of this galaxy. And the Milky Way Galaxy is insignificant in the grand scheme of the Universe. Feel small yet?
God chose to love you and me and sent his only Son for us in spite of our insignificance. What’s more, he created us in His image. How’s that for a quick pick-me-up?

*originally written 3/18/06

Lying on the Wind

Wind on the Hill
A.A.Milne

No one can tell me.
Nobody knows.
Where the wind comes from,
Where the wind goes.

It’s flying from somewhere
As fast as it can.
I couldn’t keep up with it.
Not if I ran.

But if I stopped holding
The string of my kite,
It would blow with the wind
For a day and a night.

And then when I found it
Wherever it blew,
I should know that the wind
Had been going there too.

So then I could tell them
Where the wind goes
But where the wind comes from
Nobody knows.


Tom he was a piper’s son
He learned to play when he was young.
And all the tune that he could play-
was “Over the hills and far away.”

Over the hill and a great way off
The wind shall blow my top knot off!

This time of year, here in the country, it is likely that you will lose at least your hat to our wind, if not your hair too! But you learn to make adjustments and enjoy the benefits-like not having to rake leaves or push your children on the swings. J
Nature has long given us pictures of the power of God. The wind is no exception. Tornadoes and Hurricanes are obvious examples, but even the slightest breeze has a refreshing effect. Are you at a point in your life where you need to be refreshed? Or perhaps you need a storm to shake things loose?
The Bible gives us many examples of how the Almighty used the wind to accomplish his purpose: drying the earth after the Flood, parting rivers and the Red Sea, driving the locust from Egypt, bringing quail to the Israelite’s camp, flattening Job’s house, chastening Jonah (twice!), and many, many more. “He rides on the wings of the wind;” Ps. 104:3, “Who has gathered the wind in his fists?” Pro. 30:4, “who makes lightnings for the rain and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.” Ps. 135:7 A.A.Milne might not know where the wind comes from, but we sure do. Sometimes the wind is our enemy, sometimes it is our friend, but it is always at God’s beck and call.

In my elementary years, I remember discovering that on very windy days, I could lay the entire weight of my body on the wind and not fall down. Just like a kite I could be supported by the air, but I had very little control over it. The same is true today. I cannot control the great I AM, and wouldn’t presume to try! But I can trust Him to hold me up in any circumstance, good or bad. There is one condition though. I have to lie down in order to feel the thrill of being supported by my Maker alone.

*originally written 3/16/06

Right Under Your Nose

Have you ever had a conversation like this?
M (age 3 1/2) comes into the kitchen and asks:
"Where is my other pink slipper?"
"Well, where did you find the first one?"
"Behind the couch in the living room."
"Then the other slipper is probably somewhere near where you found the first one." (I know this because I picked it up the night before.)
(after walking into the living room) "I can't find it."
"Did you look in the boxes of toys and doll things?"
(after looking at, but not touching the boxes) "I don't think it's there. Maybe it is upstairs."
"It is not upstairs. You need to take the toys out of the boxes and actually look for the slipper."
(several seconds later, no rummaging in boxes heard) "I can't see it. I'll just wear one."
"No, M. The other pink slipper is in the box with the doll toys and dress up stuff. Trust me. I know it is there. Just go look!"
(maybe a minute later) "It's not there. I'll just go up and get the purple one."
"I don't care if you do get the purple ones, but not until you go in the living room and find that other pink slipper!! (I'm now leading, ok, dragging her by the hand and pointing) "It is in THIS box, right where I told you it would be! I can even see it sticking out!!"
(Granted, her easy going nature and flexibility are an asset most of the time, but not when any measure of determination is called for!)

Now I'm wondering if God has ever felt the same way towards me (but without the frustration and yelling)?
"You asked me for guidance and I told you where to look."
"But I can't see it."
"It's there, but you have to actually look."
"I still can't find it."
"Trust me. It's there. Try the book of James."
And so on...

He has given us all the direction that we need, but it is up to us to search and seek and find. Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened unto you."
It's right under our noses, but we have to actively look!

*originally written 3/10/06

Defragmenting Life

Every so often my computer gets the hiccups, and then I know it is time to go through the files, dump all of the junk and run the defragment program on the hard drive. Most of you probably know about defrag, but for those of you who don't (and should)... As you work on your computer, adding, deleting and moving things, your hard drive gets disorganized. Bits and pieces and fragments get scattered around and then it takes longer for your computer to find what it needs. Defragmenting puts everything back where it belongs. Ta-da!
I find that my life needs a little defragmenting now and then. Some of the problem is in the physical realm where I just need to sort through, throw away the junk and put everything else back in its rightful place. But other areas sometimes need work too, like my schedule or priorities.
The biggest indicator in my life that tells me I need to defrag is our diet. When the convenience foods start appearing on the shelves, it's time to look at my schedule. Yes, "fast food" is, well, faster and therefore easier. But it's not better and it means that I am having to take shortcuts because some other area of my time management has gone haywire.
People often have a misunderstanding of what it means to have a simpler life. It is not doing everything in the easiest way possible. It is doing the best job at the things that you do, but doing fewer things. How many of us stay-at-home moms have been told by those who aren't that they just don't think they could feel "fulfilled" doing what we are doing! I would suggest then that they aren't doing it right. There is a great deal of satisfaction in becoming proficient at the diminishing home arts. Having the mailman want to stay for dinner because he can smell the wonderful aroma from my kitchen or having a friend ask me to teach her daughter how to Hardanger (Norwegian needlepoint) are among the highest compliments that I could receive. Better yet is when my husband or children would rather that I do something for them than others because I do it better.
And since I have never been complimented on a box of macaroni and cheese, it may be time to do a little defragmenting in my life! Dump the junk, put everything back in place and Ta-Da!

*originally written 3/9/06

It's not Arrogance if it's True

As sinful human beings, we often fall into the trap of thinking that the world revolves around us. It could show itself when someone is relating an experience and we must put in our two bits because we view our similar experience of more value because it was harder, more painful, more exciting, etc. (i.e., "My pregnancy was harder than yours because I was in labor for fifteen minutes longer and I did it without an epidural.").
Or maybe others feel bullied into following our suggestions because we have left little doubt that our opinion must carry more significant weight than theirs (i.e., "I have attended this church much longer than you and I took a decorating course at the local community college and so therefore my choice of color for the church bathrooms must be better.").
There are many other examples. "My hat is prettier than yours because I wove it myself from reeds in my exotic flower garden." "My child is smarter than yours because he can name all 206 bones in the human body." "My chili recipe is better than yours..."
There is way too much pride running loose on our planet.

Now here is a thought that comes close to short circuitting my brain every time: God seeks those who will worship him and give him glory. Yet, far from being sin, as it would be if I were to do the same, it is for our own good! Rather than being the epitome of arrogance, it is a selfless act.

This is how that works:
1. God wants us to have the absolute best that he can give us.
2. He is the undisputed best thing in the universe. This is not pride, because it is fact. I cannot claim to have the best chili in the world because I cannot feasibly compare mine to all the other chili recipes in the world. On the other hand, every person can and has been measured against God's standard and been found wanting (Rom. 3:23).
3. Therefore, for us to have the best, He must give us Himself. He began that when he sent Christ to the cross for our sins. But there is more than that. The cross only made a way for us to be able to experience Him. Please do not read that I am diminishing the importance of Calvary! Without Christ's sacrifice, our sin makes it impossible for us to have any part of Him!
4. In order to give us himself, often our Heavenly Father must take something else away first. You and I might take a Twinkie away from our child in order to give her a piece of fresh fruit. The child is going to complain even if we have her best interest in mind. When our Sovereign Lord takes something away from us, we often feel sorry for ourselves because we do not realize that clinging to Him in its absence is better for us than the thing we lost.
5. Worshipping and glorifying God is the way we "get" the most of Him (the best thing in the universe). John Piper says "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." Our satisfaction is most evident when things do not appear to be going our way. It's easy to be satisfied when you're lying on the beach, but the world takes notice when you sing in the dungeon. Whether it be in sickness, poverty, or persecution (times when something has been taken away from us), it really is in our best interest to glorify him most at those times. This goes far beyond merely trusting him to get you through. It's about sheer delight that God has taken something from you in order to give you more of himself. It isn't really loss at all. It's Grace.
Don't miss the opportunities when they come. Don't miss the Grace. It truly is greater than anything this life has to offer.

Presumption

“I want to know Christ.
I keep Him before me.
I lift up my eyes,
I drink in His glory.”
This song has been running in my head for weeks now. It truly is one of my greatest desires to be able to know my God. I long for the eternal life promised to His children if only so that I may spend that eternity beginning to understand what He is really like.

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things were created through him and for him.
And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Col. 1:16, 17

How presumptuous to think that we can know what God is like, what he thinks, or feels, or will or will not do! How arrogant to think that we can know with any certainty anything about him, his plans or his character.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! “
"For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?"
"Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?"
“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:33-36

He needs our permission for nothing, has no cause to explain himself to us, and does not require or desire our advice. He is complete and perfect in and of Himself.

Yet we are encouraged to seek him in the Scriptures that he has left for us and we can learn of him. We can learn that He loves. The Bible, in fact, tells us that he is love. But it would be a mistake to think that his love in any way resembles human love. His love is perfect, unselfish, unconditional, and without fail. Our human love is not.
We can learn that he hates. Yet in the same way that his love is not like ours, neither is his hate. He hates without sin. His hatred is Just. What of ours?
We can learn that He is pure. Yet our understanding of purity is tainted because we live in a tainted world. We have no examples around us of true purity and therefore our very idea of the purity of God is at best flawed.
We can learn that He is light, but what do we truly know of light? Our Sun, from the very moment that Adam and Eve sinned, has been dying. Our imperfect eyes, coupled with all of the things in our atmosphere obscure its light from us. We know that the Almighty God is light and in him is no darkness at all (I John 1:5). He is pure light. Imagine being at the flashpoint of an atomic explosion. Even that is not pure light. Now imagine looking at pure light. What would happen? That light, rather than being dimmed by imperfection, would obscure all else. And that is what it would be like to see God. Only when we come to realize this can we begin to know God. When we can say that in looking at Him we are blinded, and in knowing Him we understand that He cannot be known by us, then we are free to worship Him in spirit and in truth (John 4:23,24).

Marriage is a picture of the relationship of Christ and the Church. I don’t think that any married couple would argue that no matter how long you are with someone, you find that you are just beginning to get to know them. How much more is that true of our relationship with our Heavenly Father?

Think on this, would you really love and want to serve a God who could be completely understood? How then would He be any different from us? I, for one, want to give my devotion, feeble though it may be, only to One who is bigger than myself. Unfathomable. Inexhaustible. Unsearchable. Incomprehensible.

*originally posted on 3/2/06

Sequences

Patrick McManus writes a very funny story about Sequences. Basically, he wants to do something fun, like fishing, but there is a small obstacle in the way, like needing a higher test fishing line. However, in order to clear the obstacle he gets sucked into a sequence of events and never actually gets to go fishing at all. His wife wants him to pick something up in town when he goes to get the line, but in order to do that he has to return a post hole digger that he borrowed, but he hasn’t finished using it because he needs to borrow a tool from his neighbor to help with the project, but in order to do that he has to… you get the idea. In the end, he avoids the Sequence altogether and just goes fishing with the line he already has. It really is worth reading the whole story. If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and the other books by Laura Numeroff are great children’s examples of Sequences.

Now, Sequences happen here all the time. This is especially true for us, since we farm. 90% of farming is working on the equipment, or tinkering. As any farm wife knows, 90% of tinkering is just staring at the thing. And it is always going to take four times longer for the men to complete the project than their initial estimated time frame. If they say it will take about an hour and then they can be back to help you hang that shelf before lunch, save yourself the nagging and just hang it yourself. And don’t start lunch until you see the whites of their eyes because they aren’t going to be back (it invariably involves a trip to Farm & Fleet) until after two o’clock and by then they will have already stopped somewhere for a “quick bite”, all without bothering to give you a heads-up. (But I digress…)
Granted, they can’t help it. It’s the Sequence’s fault. Even if you don’t farm, I’m sure you can relate. Your child needs to read a book about Abraham Lincoln, so you’re going to take him to the library to get one. But he has a science book due tomorrow and since you’d rather not make two trips, you’ll have him finish that book first. But he also needs that book to make a poster for an assignment and you don’t have any poster board…

These are innocent examples, but many times, Sin is the same way. One small thing that you did leads you to lie about it, which in turn leads to something else and before you know it a swirling vortex has opened at your feet and you feel helplessly sucked in. “But each person is tempted when he is lured by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” (James 1:14, 15)
In my Bible, I have written by this passage:

• Sin will always take you farther than you wanted to go.
• It will keep you longer than you planned to stay.
• It will demand more than you wanted to give.
• It’s “rewards” will last shorter than you thought.
  
  Beware of Sequences!