Soup Cans

I grew up in a poor family and we start our marriage on about $5.00 an hour salary as factory workers. The checks I wrote out back then were for small amounts, $5 or $10. We thought about every dime we spent. But gradually our income increased and we could do a lot of things our parents were never able to do. Our closets got full and we ate good food.

However, recently my husband is unemployed and I'm reading the price tags on the soup cans and everything else. I've always wanted certain foods and labels because all foods are not equal. So I've tried the generic and the sale items. They are just not the same. With food, usually you get what you pay for.

While I still buy food for the taste- I know it's a luxury, I learning that I can do without a lot of other things that I used to buy without thought of the cost. You really can learn to live on less. And usually you spend what you earn.

The Joke's on Me

For the last ten years we’ve lived in an old farmhouse in need of remodeling. Since we had two kids in college we decided to wait. So this is the year we update most of the house. We’ve gutted several rooms and made a master bath with a big shower stall which had to be brought in through the window. I’ve fought the mildew that grew on the old tile and I wanted the shower to be one piece so that I wouldn’t have to worry about grout and mildew. The old shower’s water pressure trickled down and this has nice pressure.

When I cleaned the shower I noticed a knick in the top layer. Not only that but the new fixtures are quickly getting waterspots. To keep the new things clean takes more time now. The old stuff didn’t look much different clean. I’ve decided that new stuff isn’t all it’s cracked up to be and it’s a distraction from what’s important in life.

God must wonder why we spend so much time and money and effort on the things that deteriorate so quickly. I'm wondering myself. These new things could easily distract me for the rest of my life. I don't care to go back to that old way so the scratch on the shower will be a reminder that I'm not made for this world and the temporary things are not worth fusing over.

"So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him." Romans 8:12-18 ESV

Losses

I grieved this week for two sets of parents whose opportunities for grandchildren look slim. One whose daughter may not conceive and another whose daughter may lose her premature baby and her own life as well. The toughest night of my life was seeing my daughter struggle to bring life into the world as her blood pressure soared to stroke level. But the outcome was worth the struggle and more. And the struggle made the blessing of that first grandchild so much more sweet.

So what do you say to these whose losses are so much greater? I think the best response is to cry along with them and keep your mouth shut. And hang in there with them in their grieving. Whatever you say will sound hollow in the light of their loss. There are no words that can make them feel better.

After the silence I can go to the Father and pray that his loving care will make it all right some day.

Wiseguy

This little guy isn't talking much but all the time he's listening and taking in the world around him. On Thanksgiving day I was standing at the kitchen island fixing the corn casserole and I cleared my throat. A second later I heard Elijah clears his. He was sitting on the other side of the island down on the floor where I couldn't see him. So I did it again and he did too. Then his mommy noticed and did the same thing with the same echo. So we made a little game of it. Now we're noticing that he imitates us in many other ways.

Never take for granted that these little ones are watching and learning from how we live. They learn from us way too early and we can't see the behaviors until later on.

Confessions of an Extremist

Today, listening to the Turks on Air America I found out that I am an extremist. Not only that, the campaign ads that ran in my area called my views extremist. That offends me and puts me in the same category as those who blow up innocent children with their suicide bombs and even Hitler himself.

I wish that those who say such things could meet me and most everyone else who thinks like I do because I’m a pretty mild-mannered person who never breaks the law except for a little speeding. I pay more than my fair share of taxes and I don’t cheat on my taxes. I give a lot of my income to others. My job is helping people and I try to do it well and kindly regardless of how they look or what they say or think.

I feel strongly that certain things such as abortion, gay marriage and embryo stem cell research are morally wrong. I’ve been friends with gay people and I know some who have sold their discarded embryos. I know a few people who have had abortions. I don’t look down on them or avoid them. I try to see the other side of these things and I listen to/read other opinions and review my own to see if I’m wrong. No one has been able to convince me otherwise.

I’m not going to blow up abortion clinics or picket anywhere or call people names. I make my voice known by voting every chance I get and every once in awhile I write a letter to my congressman or senator or a tv station.

I don’t see much reason for government to interfere in moral issues. The government should be limited and should provide the kind of environment where freedom, not license, can thrive.
Not too long ago my views were very mainstream and normal. While I don’t want to go back to those days I do wish we could stick to the old labels of conservative and liberal. They’ve been around for a long time and they’ve worked quite well. We used to respect each other's views.

Some day there will be no values to appreciate and whatever anyone wants to do will be acceptable. Differences will no longer be appreciated and dialogue will not be possible. I pray that I am wrong.

Only by Grace

Nowadays Christians are under a lot of scrutiny and when we fall the world points a finger accusing us of hypocrisy. But Christians will always be tempted to do those things which we know are horribly wrong. It's only by the grace of God that we do not fall flat on our faces every day of our lives. So when another high profile Christian falls it is our duty to pray, first for ourselves that we will not fall and then for our brother. Pray for Ted Haggard, his family and his church. They have a tough battle ahead.

"Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near." Hebrews 10:19-24 ESV

A Dream Come True

Recently you celebrated your birthday and we went to the zoo. It was your idea for your grandparents to go with your family to the zoo. While everyone was taking the boat ride you said "this was your dream come true". You had most of your favorite people with you in your favorite place with the animals that fascinate you.

But now that you are five you'll be going off to see the world just like the little ones in the picture below. I'm scared for you that the world will start to crowd out the innocence that is in your heart. So once again I give a little one to God asking him to go before you and make a way for you to walk through in his protective care. May you keep your childlike faith forever.

"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:9-14

To have a grandson like you growing in the knowledge of the Lord is my dream come true.

Beautiful Boy on your Birthday

Last night I couldn't go to sleep while this song was running through my mind. A few years back I was on the verge of giving birth to you and I was thinking about all that you have brought to my life. I learned from you that personalities begin before birth. You wriggled twice as much as your sister and you were/are that much more boisterous and active.

Now you're halfway around the world on a big adventure. I pray for you every day that God will be your greatest treasure no matter where you are or what you do. And that all of your days you will wake up only to bring glory to him.

Pray to know the Truth

"While the gospel reveals God's gift of justification, it does not begin there. It begins by revealing to us the wrath of God. The good news begins with this bad news: The wrath of God is pouring out of heaven upon all human sin. People defy God by ignoring him. Their sinful way of life is suppressing the truth." From A Passion for God by Raymond C Ortlund, Jr., a paraphrase and devotional on the book of Romans.

We are so mired in untruth that we have convinced ourselves we are in the right and have spurred on others to believe the same untruth. We are damning us all to hell. "Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they no only do them but give approval to those who practice them." Romans 1:32

Each day I realize how much less the truth is regarded because everything is relative nowadays. It used to be that Christianity was believed to be true, but now our world is veering away from Christian truth and in fact it is often ridiculed and mocked.

The President and Mrs. Bush

I still respect the president. I pray for him because he is the president and because he believes in Christ. Because of his position and because he's a fellow believer he is due our respect and our prayers. Pray for him to have wisdom to carry out his role in way that would bring glory to God.

From a PBS Frontline interview of a fellow Christian who attended a Bible study with Bush:

"And I was really taken aback by the fervor. The way he said it was not just saying, "Oh, I really enjoyed it. It was a nice Bible study." It was something deep. And he talked about the fact that when we had studied about Nicodemus … and he had asked Jesus about life. And Jesus told him, "Nicodemus, you've got to be born again." And that little story really impacted him because he told me at that point, he said, "You know, I realized through studying that I had to be born again." And it was pretty obvious what he was saying to me, at that point, was that he'd had a real encounter with Jesus, in a very real way.

I've heard many stories about how he actually came to faith. But I know that CBS was a part of that. And really, with CBS, what really changed him, and what changed me, too, is the Scriptures. They're alive, and they're powerful. And reading them makes a difference in your life. Really impacts you."

You can read the whole article here.

The Fragility of the Good Life- Victor Hanson

"The good life sometimes can be lost quite unexpectedly and abruptly when people demand rights more than they accept responsibilities, or live for present consumption rather than sacrifice for future investment, or feel their own culture is not particularly exceptional and therefore in no need of constant support and defense." Read the rest of the article here and today's article here.

From www.realclearpolitics.com the best daily summary of the political pundits.

Artifacts

There have been so many interesting, old things in my mom's house that we've been cleaning for several months now as she gets ready to sell it and move in with us. We found a German Bible based on Luther's version and a second or third edition of Webster's dictionary.

I remember when my grandma died and the family was so disappointed because the state required her things be sold at auction to pay for my grandpa's nursing home care. I bought my grandma's bed, dresser and vanity. When we moved the vanity drawers fell on the highway. Somehow the bed disappeared. I keep accusing my husband on that one. All I have left is the dresser which is now scarred and smelly.

My son wanted this chair in the picture and it turns out that it belonged to my grandma and was sold at that same auction. I wish I knew the rest of the story.

The passing on of history is becoming more important to me as I live with my mom and hear her stories. I pray that we can be together long enough to get them written down.

By the way, his room never looked that good when he lived at our house. In fact, you wouldn't have been able to see the floor.

"May they fear the Lord while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations." Ps 72:5 ESV

Happy Birthday, John Piper

My favorite pastor, John Piper ages gracefully.

grandparents day

Gwammaw, I love you to the moon and back, three times. And tell gwampa, too. The best words I heard this summer along with, ”I’m sorry I can’t play because my grandma’s here and she’s too important right now."

1974

You never really change. You’ll always be struggling with the same habits and weaknesses, even the same sins. Most of them we get from our families. And we pass them on to our kids. Living with my mom is like seeing a reflection of myself. It’s not just that, but I see some of the same traits in my grandson. As much as we try to be different, our families are a part of who we are. We might as well make the best of it.

Free Speech

My favorite woman in the political world, Condi Rice, is portrayed negatively in an upcoming ABC docudrama, The Path to 9/11; however, I haven't heard much about that. Instead, we get this letter by democrats' finest which seems to threaten the Disney company over a few minutes in a 5 or 6 hour show. I'm proud of my favorite bloggers, Powerlineblog (Click the link with John Podhoretz, too) and Hugh Hewitt, for being fair to Democrats. This Powerline article explains why Clinton looks good in the movie.

I hope Condi stays out of this discussion. She has other more important things to worry about.

Following Jesus

"The Hiding Place," is a movie about Corrie Ten Boom and her Christian family imprisoned in Ravensbruck for hiding Jews in their home during WWII. As Corrie's sister, Betsy, is dying she says that "there is no pit so deep, that God is not deeper still." The true story of these Dutch sisters is inspiring to those of us who wrestle with the concept of suffering and God's place in all of it.

As the prisoners around them are questioning how God could allow the torture they're experiencing Betsy says that there is much about God we will never understand. But she says that God is good and he uses suffering to bring about obedience. Now that's a word we never hear anymore: obedience.

We would rather hear the words, comfort or happiness or goodness. We want all the warm fuzzies that God is supposed to provide without any of the work that goes along with it. Religion like that is not lived with heart or deeply held conviction. For it's a self-centered, what can I get out of it type of worship. Jesus says, "Come, follow me."

Can you imagine Jesus looking at you and saying, "Come, follow me?" What did he mean? As a boy Jesus grew up near the temple, learning the word by heart. He learned his father's trade. He walked in the desert for 40 days struggling with the devil, going without food. He traveled the country with 12 unruly, self-centered sinners talking about His father to everyone he met. One of them betrayed him and he died a gruesome death alone, outcast by even his Father God.


If we are to be followers of Jesus we must be prepared to suffer. We have no right to be angry when things we don't understand happen to us. We have no right to question God. We shouldn't be surprised when we are treated poorly at work or when the biopsy comes back negative. Or when our best friend dies before her daughter gets married. God is not in our lives to make our lives easy. Our sinful perspective is all about right here and right now.

What if that cancer is creating for us a treasure in heaven or making us more like Jesus? What if that accident that paralyzes us is making us ready for our home? Our home with Jesus in his world, not the world that we see now. How does 70-90 years compare with an infinite number of years with Jesus? As my grandson says, that's more than I can count.

I have been abandoned, lonely, persecuted, abused, poor and rich. I have been through times of intense temptation and isolation. Important relationships have been disappointments that have left me stunned and empty. During those times I was focused on myself and my misery. I would spend whole days, several days stewing about these circumstances expecting blessings instead of suffering. I did not follow Jesus. I complained and whined. And I was miserable.

When Jesus suffered he put obedience to his Father first. He suffered because he chose to obey his Father and he suffered for us. He suffered for the joy that was in the future, for the glory that it would bring to his Father and to you and I. He lives in us to bring us back to him so that we might enjoy him forever for his glory. Whatever is for His glory is for our glory, too. What if the only way to enjoy him forever is to suffer as he did?

I'm not living this every minute of every day. I still get too caught up in this world. But when I'm going through trials or when I'm old and frail or blind, I want this truth to be so much a part of who I am that my friends and family will see the joy in my heart because I will know that "this slight and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

Brother Love

If I could capture one moment this year forever it would be the time when my 9 month old grandson reached out his hand for his 4 year brother. I was squished in the back seat with them when Elijah deliberately reached out to his brother, Noah. I expected Noah to ignore it, but Noah gently reached back and for half a minute they looked at each other and held hands. I had no idea that children this young connected.

Elijah follows his big brother with his eyes as if to say, "wow, that's my hero and I want to be just like him some day." He has a look for Noah that's different than for any other person. And Noah returns the look and the adoration. Noah lays there while Elijah pulls his hair because he doesn't know not to yet. Noah runs up and gives him kisses.

It's a tribute to mom and dad that the brothers already love each other and there's no jealousy.

Flight 93

Flight 93, the movie about the plane that was hijacked on 9/11 and went down over Pennsylvania, accurately portrays real people. It's not a movie made to sell at the box office, but instead it uses ordinary dialogue and the actions of everyday people trapped on a airplane doomed to crash somewhere. Fifteen years ago we wouldn't have known that a daughter called her mother to say goodbye or that a husband called his wife to tell her he loved her. But cell phones gave us an inside look at what happened. Even the outcome might have been different as the callers onboard found out the fate of the other airplanes and realized they too had a suicidal pilot.

I came away with respect for everyone involved because of the courage they showed. The producers chose unknown actors because they didn't want the movie to stand out for it's personality, but they wanted the heroes to be the main theme. And they were: from the Verizon operator to the guys who stormed the cockpit.

The movie was intense because the whole time you know how it ends. You know that no matter how hard the mom tries to convince her daughter that she'll see her again that she won't. I imagine some of the dialogue was spiced up a little, but it doesn't seem overdramatic. The producers talked to all the families and worked at getting accurate dialogue.

Lastly, the movie is not political. I didn't feel manipulated or like the producer was trying to make a point. Instead, I was grateful to the real-life heros who worked to save the lives of those on the ground in a place unknown to them.

Sandwiched

My husband and I recently repaid our parent loans for our children's college. That ended twelve years of monthly payments to various financial institutions- a huge relief. The respite didn't last long as we realized that my mom needed a home. So now she is moving in with us before winter comes.

For some reason it seems like a good idea, not something that we have to do out of honor or duty. We're making plans for fixing up our old house and adding bird feeders along the porch. Mom and I are signed up to go to a writer's conference and we're going to cook and workout together. I'm looking forward to the time together. My mom is somewhat like my chocolate lab: I can say anything to her or ignore her for days. But when I call her she's still my mom, faithful and responsive.

I think I like being in the middle because I have a little wisdom and experience, but yet I still have time to learn and change the pattern of my life. I know that it won't be long before my children will be sandwiched in between me and their children. But for now I like being in the middle.

Multi-tasking

Perhaps you wonder why I don't blog every day. While I uploaded the latest picture I swept my living room and ate my bedtime snack. The speed of my dial up allows me plenty of time to do other things. At 9.6k to 20k my connection speed is prehistoric. If you have broadband your connection is 17 times faster than my average connection speed of 14.8 kbits. The only alternative I have seems to be broadband satellite at a $100 a month. I think I'll go watch the trees grow while this current post publishes.

Broadband speeds

I hope you dance

I loved watching you dance with your little boy a couple of years ago when I took this picture. The joy in you is living in him now. You've given up a career, a masters and time alone to be a stay at home mom. While your little baby thinks that you are the only person in the world it's hard for you to get away from his constant demands. The pictures on my desk show two smiling faces of the little boys that take up the time in your days and leave you tired at night. Their personalities are nurtured and secure in your love. But you will be blessed when you look back and remember the time that you gave for the love of your children. The memories will be sweet and the boredom will be forgotten as you watch them grow up and they become attached to someone else. And then you will dance and dance and dance again for the joy of it all.

Big Sister

When I was growing up I wanted to be just like my big sister(she's the one with the fancy glasses and fancy hairdo; I'm the nerdy one with the scarf). She was smart, pretty and social. She had a lot of friends and did real well in math. She's the reason I like math, too. I was always shy and stayed in the background observing how my sister ventured out into the world as a teenager. She dated some good looking guys and hung out with all of the popular kids. The four of us would watch behind the curtains as she kissed her date goodnight.

In many ways she was mom to me as well because she's six years older. She always made sure the four of us younger ones stayed out of trouble. She made a huge sacrifice for a little kid herself, but she always had a good heart about it. I don't remember her ever lording it over us that she was older. She was a good big sister to four rowdy kids. If she ever resented the fact that we stole her childhood from her I've never known about it.

She always gives me a sense of balance because she remembers the good days. The days when there were seven of us piling into the car to go for a ride in the mountains. She remembers when dad painted our bedrooms crazy shades of red just for the fun of it. She remembers my dad bouncing me on his knee and playing checkers on the floor. She can tell me all about the rabbits, dogs and even an aligator in the bathtub. She understands why it was so hard for me to let go of dad and how angry I was at God for taking him away.

There are wasted years in between then and now and times we didn't agree. But God has been good to us and put us on the same path. We share a deep desire to know the God that we used to blame for all the pain. There are things we say to each other and the other answers, "I know" in a way no one else but a sister could know. God is good to us to give us a faith to share and good memories along with the sorrow.

For all of the stories of times I will never be able to remember my big sister reminds me that the first few years of my life were good and happy and fun and normal. And all I've ever wished for was a time in my childhood where I could say we were a normal family with two parents, a dog and some kids. She reminds me that we had all of that and more: a God who was there keeping his hand on us and guiding us in this strange world where joy can turn to sorrow and sorrow can turn to joy.

For Katie

"In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory...I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your heart enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead..." Ephesians 1:14-20 ESV

"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of JAcob is our fortress. "Psalm 46:10,11 ESV

God's Kindness

I got lost in the desert for about 40 years. I went to church; I prayed; sometimes, I read the Word. I rarely thought about sin and I was miserable. I thought I was a Christian. But now I don’t know.

When my life seemed to be the best ever, I was still miserable. I had just graduated from college. I had good, smart kids (and cute, too, as you can see on this site) and a good husband. We were doing well in life. But I was still miserable. In that misery, God reminded me that I had wandered away from him and had let others and things take his place. He taught me to repent and helped me to see the anger towards him, a hatred in my soul towards some in my past, and an idolatrous attachment to people. That was 15 years ago next month.

God is replacing my anger with joy and a passion for him. But along with that he is always leading me back to repentance over and over for the same attitudes, the same ways of looking at the world. I can fake a pretty good Christian. He helps me to repent of that, too. He helps me to confess to my Christian friend the awful sin still in my life: how I put people down and work towards my own gain, especially at work. And my laziness and lack of desire for God.

In his book, “When I Don’t Desire God, How to Fight for Joy,” John Piper says that part of the mystery of joy is that “we are commanded to do what we cannot do. And we must do it or perish. Our inability does not remove our guilt-- it deepens it. We are so bad that we cannot love God. We cannot delight in God above all things. We cannot treasure Christ above money. Our entrenched badness does not make it wrong for God to command us to be good. We ought to delight in God above all things. Therefore it is right for God to command us to delight in God above all things. And if we ever do delight in God, it will be because we have obeyed this command.

That is the mystery: we must obey the command to rejoice in the Lord, and we cannot, because of our willful and culpable corruption. Therefore, obedience, when it happens, is a gift…St Augustine prayed, ‘Give me the grace to do as you command, and command me to do what you will…O holy God… when your commands are obeyed, it is from you that we receive the power to obey them….We must delight in God. And only God can change our hearts so that we delight in God. We are thrown back on God utterly. The Christian life is all of grace.” copyright 2004 Desiring God Foundation

see Rom 11:36, Ps 51:12, 90:14 and Rom 15:13

If you are not passionate about Christ perhaps you have not repented or are not living a repentant life. Repentance is seeing your sin the way that God sees it for all of it’s ugliness and the reason Christ suffered and died. Repentance is committing to changing your heart and mind and actions. Repentance is remembering the One who took my sin on his back and treasuring him in my heart. Repentance is knowing that I can do nothing of any worth on my own.

As John Piper says above, "life is all of grace." It’s God’s kindness that leads us to repentance. Pray for his kindness to lead you to repentance.

The Israelites wandered in the wilderness because they did worshipped other things. They did not repent and their hearts became hard. Today we have so many distractions that make us wander around lost: families, work, TV, sports and keeping up with all the new inventions. It doesn’t take long for God’s calling on our life to be drowned out by all of these other interests. Gradually our hearts harden towards God. We barely notice the difference and it's why we don't stand out in the world. We become too comfortable with our lives. God calls us to stop wandering in this useless way. It's robbing us of our delight and passion for God.

“Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up by their arms, but they did not know that I healed them. I led them with cords of kindness, with the bands of love, and I became to them as one who eases the yoke on their jaws, and I bent down to them and fed them.” Hosea 11:3,4 ESV

God, draw us to you and into repentance for every sin that causes us to turn away from you. Keep us from wandering in the desert and lead us to your streams of living water.

Saintly Work

I've been researching some of the topics in the lastest controversy, The Da Vince Code by Dan Brown. I found about this group the Catholics have which is actually a good idea at least how this article describes Opus Dei. While I don't agree with everything in the description, the idea of "be a saint through your work" appeals to me right now, because I'd rather be doing other things ( playing with grandsons or writing. And work is one of the hardest places to be a saint.)

"all Christians are called to a life of holiness consistent with their new nature as children of God. "The majority of Christians," Escrivá writes, "should sanctify themselves in the world, through ordinary work." Thus they follow Jesus who worked as a carpenter and lived as a son in a Jewish family in a small village for 30 years. "

Sanctifying work

Whatever work Christians do is to be done with a spirit of excellence as an effective service for the needs of society, working out of love for God and all men and women. Their work then becomes a fitting offering to God. In his work of service, Jesus Christ "did all things well" (Mk 7:37).

While I'm not sure if we can sanctify ourselves(I'll let that research up to theologians), I like the idea of "ordinary work" having meaning as done out of love for God and others.

The last point is that it's too bad that Dan Brown took a good thing and made it evil. He also used an evil thing to make Silas even more grotesque. I've tried reading this book so that I can interact with my work friends about the movie, but I can't get myself to read a book that distorts Christianity and Christ in such an abhorrent way.

This was the first Easter I really celebrated all that Christ accomplished and I'm not ready to come back to this world where truth is giving way to the imagined.

Mark D Roberts on the book, The DaVinci Code

I Come Quietly to Meet You by Amy Carmichael

I'm reading this short little book about Amy Carmichael edited by David Hazard. An excerpt follows:

"The Lord spoke to me, like a firm grasp of the hand." Isaiah 8:11, Rotherham

"Blessed be the Lord our God, who does--if we speak the honest truth-- cause his word to come to us in just this way: like a strong hand reaching out for us to take hold of firmly, and to take hold of us.

Sometimes this firm grasp comes as He opens our understanding to a single word. His hand has grasped me, in recent days, as my understanding opens up to the word trust.

Trust, I have learned, means: to lean on, to place the weight of my confidence upon...And after this discovery, I've found many verses in the Psalms that provide great comfort when translated in this way. For instance, "I've trusted in [leaned on, placed confidence in] your lovingkindness" (Psalm 13:5).

So I may say: That lovingkindness has loved me with an everlasting love, which forgives and cleanses and will never tire of me-that lovingkindness, Lord, I lean on.

We know that this is not objectionable to the Lord, that He in fact welcomes it. As David sang:"The Lord's unfailing love surrounds the man who leans on him." (Psalm 32:10)

Doesn't this tell us something about the love of God--and isn't it just like Him to let us know that He wants us to lean on, not only his lovingkindness, but on his very self? Consider these words, which will further open your understanding:

Whoever leans on the Lord, happy is he. Proverbs 16:20

I will lean, and not be afraid. (Isaiah 12:2)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace...because he leans on thee...Lean on the Lord forever: for the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength. (Isaiah 26:3,4 KJV)

It is never anything in us that accounts for the Lord's goodness to us. Everything we are given is all from Him."

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart leans on him and I am helped. Therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song I praise him. Psalm 28:7

copyright 1991,2005 by David Hazard, Bethany House Publishers, p.15-16

Uncle, two

Uncles

In response to this uncle picture, here's my favorite.

Idols

I read this article by Ben Stein this week and he talks about the idols of our culture. Politics aside, what he says about our star worship is true. The people we idolize today are not true heroes. Even as Christians we tend to idolize the people of the world and rarely mention any true heroes or God.

I was talking to a respected me leader in my church and he was telling me that their grandson was going to visit every baseball field in the country before he grew up. Now I'm not against going to baseball games, but I'm a little concerned about setting a goal like this before a child even begins to talk.

I know that when our kids were little things like that were more important than loving God and living out our faith. We made sure that they played little league and got their music lessons and gymnastics. But we rarely prayed together, much less taught them about the heroes of our so-called faith. Not even the basics of the gospel. It's one of my biggest regrets.

The holiness of God and how easy it is to worship other things didn't have an impact on me until the last few years. Now my children are grown up and I can't go back to teach them the great truths that little kids should learn. I wasted so much time.

I was reading in Ezekial 36 where Ezekial makes the point that everything happens so "that they will know that I am the LORD." When He is Lord he promises to "remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh." He also says, " And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules...you shall be my people and I shall be your God. And I will deliver you from all your uncleanness." ESV

I feel unclean today and in great need of a new spirit. I put so many people and things ahead of God. God says that we are to "loathe this about ourselves." Loathing isn't a word that's used much because it's too hard on our self-esteem. But God says when we see ourselves as worshippers of other things we do well to loathe that inclination. We are to worship and adore and enjoy Him above anyone or anything in our lives. Because whether we recognize Him as God, He will be God in all of our world, over all of our actions and for all of eternity.

I'm grateful for God's pursuing love and steadfastness in my life. I'm thankful that Jesus remembers that we are dust and that he is always praying for me in groanings that words cannot express. I am inexpressably joyful that He died for my sins and uttered the prayer, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." Luke 23:34 ESV

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom." Luke 23:42 ESV

Long Distance Mother

I have never adjusted to the distance of miles between me and my kids. The older I get the more I want to live where my children live. It's just as much fun and there is just as much joy in being a mom to adults as there is to little children. It's almost like being friends. No matter how old your children get there will never be anyone who loves them like mom.

When I call my mom she says hi, sweetie, and I used to think it was corny. But now I'm starting to understand that to a mom, a child will always be like the little kid she comforted. The desire to take away the hurts never goes away. And it doesn't get any easier because older hurts are usually more serious. But there's always this tug of war on knowing how much to be involved in an adult child's life.

When my grandson was tested for a blood disease I wanted to be right there with them so I had to talk myself out of butting into the situation. After all it was only a test and it probably would be negative. It was hard to go to work and wonder all day long what was going on.

When my daughter gets sick and has two little ones I want to drop everything and help her out. But I have a job and responsibilities here. My heart will always be drawn to taking care of her. I don't always know what to do.

When my son talks about his neighborhood and his dreams for it I want to be there in person to cheer him on and to invest in it myself. It's just not the same over the phone.

And then when they come home to visit you have to cook and get reaquainted and it seems when you just settle down to talk it's time for them to leave.

I know that you are supposed to let go of your children and give them the distance to grown up. Although in the Old Testament grandmas and grandpas and moms and dads and children all lived together. Imagine the lack of separateness when you're living in tents. I suppose you could put some distance between the tents.

Mary, the mother of Jesus, has always been my favorite mother. After the angel of the Lord explained how she would give birth to the Son of God, she said, "Behold, I am a servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." Luke 1:38 ESV. The Magnifat is a beautiful hymn praising God: "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant."

Mary knew what it was like to let go of her Son and the frustration of seeing him go on to other things that didn't include her. When he wandered off and came back she said, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." But she struggled with it and learned to treasure what he was doing in her heart according to Luke 2:51, "And Mary treasured up all these things in her heart." Surely, she realized that some day she would have to let go of her son.

The movie, "The Passion of the Christ," showed Mary's suffering and how she followed her son every step of the way to the cross. In Luke 2:35, Simeon describes this day for Mary: "a sword will pierce through your own soul, also." I can't imagine what that kind of suffering would be like. I am blessed to have two children passionate on serving Christ where they are, but for the most part they live in relative safety and will never have to die for their faith.

Nevertheless, it is challenging to have your children in ministry and not knowing where they might go next or how far away they might live. Before they were born I gave them to God becasue Hannah is my other favorite mother who said "For this child I prayed, and the Lord has granted me my petition that I made to him. Therefore I have lent him to the Lord. As long as he lives, he is lent to the Lord." 1 Samuel 1:27 ESV.

That is my comfort, that my children, wherever they go, whatever they do, they will always be in the Lord's care. He is more than enough for them.

You would think that when the Son of God was dying on the cross for the sins of the world that He would be thinking of big things, but Jesus shows how fully he entered into our world when he recognized his mother on the cross. When God turned his back on Jesus, when he was dying for me, he remembered his mother and made sure that someone took care of her.

In John 19:25-27 ESV, Jesus says, "Woman, behold your son." Then, he said to John, "Behold, your mother." He was entrusting his mother to his dearest friend so that she would have someone to take care of her for the rest of her life.

Mary also shows courage and stamina in this story as she "stands by the cross." Matthew Henry says, "We may justly admire the power of divine grace in supporting these women. See here the tender affection of these pious women. When all his disciples, except John, had forsaken him, they continued their attendance on him. They were not deterred by the fury of the enemy nor the horror of the sight; they could not rescue him nor relieve him, yet they attend him. We may easily suppose what an affliction it was to these poor women to see him thus abused, especially to the blessed mother...his torments were her tortures, and her heart bled with his wounds. We may justly admire the power of divine grace in supporting these women. We do not find his mother wringing her hands or making an outcry, but standing near the cross, her friends with her. "

With Mary and Hannah as godly examples, I know that whatever distance God puts between me and my children, "his grace is sufficient" and his plan is sovereign and good. Not only that, he knows that it is not easy for mothers to be away from their children. In today's criticism of Christ and the false doctrines rising up to challenge his perfect life, these stories help me to love him and admire him as fully human and fully divine, One who enters into our lives in understanding and compassion.

"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our trangressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, with his stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53 ESV

Surely, this prophecy was one of the treasures in Mary's heart that comforted her while she stood by the cross. As our children bear their crosses, as insignificant as they may be, may God's grace give us as mothers the wisdom and strength we need to stand by as Mary did.

Jesus is Mocked

"And they clothed him in a purple cloak and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him...And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him." Mark 15:17-20

I've been listening to a simple song this week called the Gospel Song from Drew Jones and Bob Kauflin/ Sovereign Grace. Scroll down to the bottom and listen to the reprise(it's longer). The song talks about our holy God who died so that we could live.

Indiana Sunrise

Change

I like what this post says about how long it takes to change. He also says, "For Paul, one's conversion is like an engagement – we are promised to Christ, and the wedding comes at the end of time when he returns. And his desire for us is that we live our present lives with this final destiny in view – that we live in such a way now so as to be pure and holy then."

If only it were as easy as putting words on paper.

Holy Week

"Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and struck him with their hands." John 19:1-3, ESV

The notes in the Reformation Study Bible states, "the roman scourge was cruel and sometimes fatal. The whip had metal or bone fragments in it to tear the flesh."

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible says that "Christ's wounds take the sting out of ours" and also "see here the wickedness and injustice of the soldiers. Thus Christ's holy religion had been wickedly represented , dressed up by bad men at their pleasure and so exposed to contempt and ridicule...but see here and admire the invincible patience of a sufferer, the invincible love and kindness of a saviour."

Last night men attempted to ridicule Christ again with the program on the "Gospel of Judas." Don't be fooled. The real Jesus is not found there, but in Matthew, MArk, Luke and John. Worship him.

More on the Gospel of Judas by MArk Roberts and Al Mohler

Truth for Life

Listen to Alistair Begg’s daily broadcasts. His opening prayers alone are worth your time.

Please Stay Awhile

In Luke 24:13-49, Luke tells the story about the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. After they had talked about the prophecies fulfilled by his death, "they urged him strongly, saying, 'Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent.' So he went in to stay with them. And their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And he vanished from their sight."

For all my family and friends today I pray that our first and strongest desire would be to urge Jesus to stay with us for awhile, to sit down and talk to us, to open our eyes and help us to recognize the treasure we have in him. We have to desire his presence more than mother, father, spouse, child, grandchild or friend.

Stay with us awhile, today, Lord and open our eyes.

What kind of Christian are You

This post asks the question, “What kind of a Christian are you?” It’s a very broad question, but the context is political. I’d consider it a privilege if someone called me bible-thumping in any sense, but very few people in my life know how often I read the Bible because I’m usually alone when I read it. However, bible-thumping has a negative connotation. I want any confrontation I have to be marked by love and kindness. I want to be the kind of Christian who according to John Newton, “believes and feels his own weakness and unworthiness, and lives upon the grace and pardoning love of his Lord. This gives him an habitual tenderness and gentleness of spirit.”

In his book entitled “The Roots of Endurance,” John Piper states that Christians should be “strong and durable as redwood trees, and tender and fragrant as a field of clover- unshakably rugged in the ‘defense and confirmation’ of the truth (Philippians 1:7) and relentlessly humble and patient and merciful in dealing with people.”

I want to be the kind of Christian who brings honest dialogue into my public life about the political issues in our world. I try to listen to those who disagree with me to see if there is any common ground from which we can attempt to make a consensus. I like to ask questions so that I can understand their point of view. I don’t intend to browbeat someone with the truth, but rather point them to the way of learning it for themselves so that it becomes a part of their thinking and habits.

My nonreligious friends have some idea that I’m a Christian although I rarely talk about it. They ask me to pray for them and they seek me out for advice. When I give my word to be confidential they trust me in that. I’m not very bold about coming out and talking about God, but I think I should be more free to talk about the most important relationship. It is easier to talk about politics and leave God ought of the conversation, but that’s not how I want it to be.

With my Christian friends I easily talk about my sins and faith. In fact, I choose friends who are serious about God and want to know Him. We don’t talk about the latest fashions or TV or movies. Rarely do we talk about politics.

I feel strongly about education, welfare, abortion, marriage and the role of government in my life. I am a Republican, but I don’t agree with all that they do. I pray more than I talk about these things. But I want to speak up more than I do. My concerns for our country are that we have actually taken diversity away by making our speech sanitized and inoffensive to all. Inclusive language has dulled our writing and made it awkward. It was so much easier to consider us all men.

But I am not defined by a political party and I do not want to be remembered as a good republican. I want to be known as someone who loves people no matter what they think or believe. I want to be able to speak the truth to those I meet and have them know at the same time the love I have for them in my heart. Because I know that the son of God died on the cross for me as well as them. I’m one sinner helping another sinner find the way home.

“A nominal Christian is content with proving the way of salvation by a crucified Redeemer. But the true Christian loves it, delights in it, glories in it and shudders at the very thought of glorying in anything else…Let all your joys flow from the contemplation of his cross. “ Charles Simeon

In John 17, Jesus' last time with the disciples he talked about love. I want to be known for the way I love so that his name is known:

"I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them."

Think about it: this love caused a sinless Jesus to go to the cross for sinless me and you. We have easy lives with very little sacrifice. The least we can do in Jesus name is love our political opposites.

Simeon, Newton and John Piper quotes from John Piper's The Roots of Endurance @ 2002 by Desiring God Foundation.

Embrace the Mystery

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable are his judgements 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 the glory forever. Amen. " ESV Romans 11:33-36

It's not about why God is doing something, but what he is teaching us through the circumstances of our lives. "We will never understand God's ways... We can wander and wonder or we can worship...Embrace the mystery of who God is" James MacDonald

"Be still and know that I am God." Ps 46:10

Listen to James MacDonald on God's mysterious ways.

My Dad

I remember the first time we met: you were painting the house we rented from your dad. At lunch time you sat down beside me on the porch and started telling me stories. You were tall and strong with those muscles that looked like baseballs in your arms, a bachelor looking for trouble. You were the one who brought songs to my life with your Harlem Goat and the silly way that you would drawl the words out at the end. But I didn’t like it when you dated my mom: I still prayed for my “real” dad to be with us.

I had lots of fun when you came over as long as you didn’t marry my mother. But I guess you proposed and I started to hate you because you wanted to take the place of my “real” father. The five kids you chose to love were undisciplined and used to being independent, but you took us on the tractor and to feed the cows. You were a good babysitter, but not our dad. You took us to your mom’s for candy and Superman on the TV, because we didn’t have one.

I yelled at you a lot and told you I hated you. I couldn’t let go of the prayers for my dad to come back. But you taught me how to drive your truck with patience and laughter. You let me drive your brand new John Deere tractor on the highway and to the elevator. You taught me how to plow the old-fashioned way on a tractor without a cab. You planted the flowers and trees and taught me to love the farm and open air. You gave us a pony, rabbits and dogs. You took us to Florida for a family honeymoon. We fought about politics: you liked Carter; I liked Reagan. We both loved Kennedy (but maybe not now).

We burned down your shed and then your barn and lived to tell about it. The drought came and you sent us to college. Four out of five of us graduated. Your pockets emptied out. You walked me down the aisle in my fifty dollar dress, but you looked handsome and happy in the ruffled shirt (no complaints).

Mom wanted dad back, too and you waited for her. You said, “She’s really a good woman.” And you loved her when she wandered. I moved away and had kids and didn’t come home much. It was too painful to see the distance between you and my mom. I wrote dear dad in the fathers day cards I started sending to you. I’m glad I apologized for my childish hate, but you acted like you didn’t know what I was talking about.

You withered away and lost your ability to see or walk. Your baseball muscles were gone. But you sent me hand-made cards and a penny every birthday. You and Mom made up and got along the last year of 37. I wanted to take care of you, the dad of my heart, but you wanted to stay in your home where you were born 94 years before. I tried to get you the biggest bouquet to put on your casket. The ribbon on the flowers said “DAD.”

I got a lot of interests from you: love for flowers, writing, politics and rural living. But most of all you taught me to be faithful. I miss you, dad. Thanks for loving me.


The Harlem Goat
Oh there was an old man And he lived in a shack
And he had an old goat Tied in the back
One day that goat Wasn’t feeling fine
Ate three red shirts Right off the line
Old Dick got mad Gave him a whack
And he tied him to The railroad track
The whistle blew The train grew nigh
And that old Harlem Goat Was due to die
He gave three groans Three groans of pain
Coughed up those shirts And flagged the train
But a button got stuck In the middle of his throat
And that was the end Of the Harlem Goat!

Prayer

3 John 1:2 - 4 (ESV) Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul. For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

Start Suffering the Cross

“With pleasing grief and mournful joy, my spirit now is filled,
That I should such a life destroy, yet live by Him I killed.” John Newton

A recent post on this website (my son’s) talks about a sign on a church that says, “Stop suffering.” (you have to scroll down to the one on transformation). Who do we think that we are? If Christ, as the sinless sacrifice, suffered, why shouldn’t we? It’s only through suffering that we can become like Christ. It’s only after we suffer that we really know joy. Evangelicals today like to downplay the fact that suffering is the means by which we identify with Christ and become like him. This trivilization makes me angry because we are offering a cheap salvation to many. They won't learn that suffering is a means for joy. Christ calls us to suffer. Our suffering will never be close to what Christ suffered.

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:5-9, ESV

Suffer over the fact that you caused Christ’s death. Suffer over the sinful condition of your heart. Start wrestling with the sin that will always be in your heart. Suffer over the seriousness of your sin and the fact that God hates sin. The only reason we are able to approach God is because our sinless savior suffered on the cross. God turned his back on him so that we could face God and live to tell about it.

The pictures we have of Jesus show him as handsome and good-looking, but that‘s not how the Bible portrays him:

Isaiah 53:2 - 5 (ESV) For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

In Evil Long I Took Delight
By John Newton

"In evil long I took delight,
Unawed by shame or fear,
Till a new object struck my sight,
And stopped my wild career.

I saw One hanging on a tree,
In agony and blood,
Who fixed His languid eyes on me,
As near His cross I stood.

Sure, never to my latest breath,
Can I forget that look;
It seemed to charge me with His death,
Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,
And plunged me in despair,
I saw my sins His blood had spilt,
And helped to nail Him there.

A second look He gave,
which said,“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom paid;
I die that thou mayst live.”

Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue,
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief and mournful joy,
My spirit now is filled,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live by Him I killed. "

Suffer and then rejoice that someone else took your punishment:

1 Corinthians 15:3 - 4 (ESV) For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures.

Rejoice that after you suffer and overcome this life by the strength of God, you will have a name that only you and God will know:

Revelation 2:17 (ESV) "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. "

Rejoice for no other reason than that you will live with God for eternity:

Luke 10:20 (ESV) "Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Quotes on the cross

John Newton’s life and hymns

Be Gone Unbelief (the midi music is a little tacky, but the words are all there)

Sovereign Grace Ministries: A good resource for living a cross-centered life.

Cross-centered Music downloadable by song and free sheet music. The Look is Newton's song redone a little.

Detailed expositions on suffering with John Piper

Leaping Locusts and Shouts of Joy

Job 39:20 (ESV) “Do you make him leap like the locust? His majestic snorting is terrifying.”

Last weekend I read someone’s copy of the February 16th issue of the Economist. The article entitled “How Life Got Going. Maybe” talks about the components of the first cell. According to this article, which I can’t view online without a subscription, one of the highly probable components being considered is clay. Of course, God says that he created us from the dust of the earth in Genesis 2:7

Genesis 2:7 (ESV) “then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. “

I’m disappointed lately in movement to push the theory of evolution as proven fact. When I was in school we learned that it was a theory not a proven fact. At that time we all laughed at the idea that all living organisms originated from a single cell. Logically it seemed impossible.
We also learned that theories are derived from various lines of research that appear to go together. The PBS website on evolution states that “a scientific theory stands until proven wrong- it is never proven correct.” It seems like it ought to be the other way around.

In the animal books that I’m reading to my grandson I’m finding that the opposite is taught. Evolution is taught as fact not as theory. I have no qualms against teaching the theory of evolution; what I really resent is that it permeates the field of biology as fact.

If science is fact why does the purported age of the universe vary from 7-20 billion years. That’s a huge difference and hardly one that could be considered fact. The time that it took for us to evolve is supposed to be 5-8 million years. Again, if this is scientific fact why can’t the time be more exact?

For more information see the following:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/faq/
http://newton.nap.edu/books/0309064066/html/6.html

I’m not qualified to give a scientific opinion, but I know by looking at my dog, my cat and myself that we could not possibly come from the same cell. It’s just not logical.

The sites on creation have wonderful facts about the intricate designs of each kind of species and all of their explanations for how we and our world came to be. Check out www.creationresearch.org and www.icr.org
A good article on geckos and ocean sponges: http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=2594
And one on bees: http://www.icr.org/index.php?module=articles&action=view&ID=2608

This National Acamadies site states that science has not disproved creation.

My faith in science has been diminished by so called discoveries in health science. If we can’t pin down health issues for human, how in the world could we discover how it all began? I remember when butter was considered an evil according to science and we all started using margarine. Now we have been told that margarine is dangerous to our health and butter is good again. Estrogen therapy used to be scientifically proven to prevent osteoporosis. Now we’ve found out that it has no effect. The latest research on weight is saying that it’s ok to be a little overweight. In fact, a little fat may be healthy.

Science is too much like the world: changing with the times and culture. While God and His Word stands the test of time and always provides wisdom appropriate for living:

2 Peter 1:5 - 8 (ESV) “For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

The fact is, in regard to evolution vs. creation, I don’t want everything to be reduced to facts. I like the awe that creation inspires towards a God who is so big that we can’t understand Him no matter how many tests we run or how many facts we learn. He is big enough and awe-inspiring enough to keep us busy for eternity trying to figure him out. Whenever I study creation I come away in worship of the God who took the effort to make everything so different and intricate that I will never be able to learn about it all.

If we reduce everything to a big bang and a single cell we have no one to worship.

Isaiah 55:8 - 9 (ESV) “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Job 37:22 - 24 (ESV) “Out of the north comes golden splendor; God is clothed with awesome majesty. The Almighty—we cannot find him; he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate. Therefore men fear him; he does not regard any who are wise in their own conceit.”

Job 38:1 - 7 (ESV) “Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: “Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements—surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? On what were its bases sunk, or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

Light and What if’s

A few weeks ago I was watching my grandsons and had planned on bringing the 4 year-old back home with me. The drive is an hour long, my husband was far away in Paraguay and it was supposed to be the coldest night of the winter. I really didn’t feel like driving, but I didn’t want to disappoint my grandson. So I asked him if we should stay at his house and leave in the morning. He looked at me and said, “Grandma, Jesus is a light for our path and a lamp to our feet.” There was nothing I could do but drive my innocent, trusting little grandson to my house in the cold, dark night.

This little guy reminds me how important it is to be brave for him and teach him to trust. Especially because my family has four generations that has battled fear of the world. I remember getting home with my mom at night and we had to sit in the car and look over that house to make sure there were no burglars around before we went inside. Even last week my mom said she doesn’t take walks because she’s afraid that someone will come into her house while she’s outside. I struggle with these same thoughts.

Before I left town last weekend I cut up all my passwords and hid my credit cards. I have a dog for the most part because I’m afraid to be by myself when my husband is out of town.
I was a little scared to drive my mom and a dog I didn’t know all the way across two states (a twelve hour drive). In fact I almost panicked the morning we were going to leave. The what if’s starting ruining the trip: what if my mom stops breathing on the trip. She’s 82 and I don’t know a thing about CPR. What if the dog jumps out of the car and won’t come back. What if we have an accident and the dog and my mom die or ME?

But the truth returned to my thoughts. Scary things can happen, but God is always with me lighting the way and guiding my path. If I gave in to the panic I would have missed out on a beautiful, grace-filled trip: one I will remember all of my life because I saw my son love my mom in a gentle, kind way. I learned a lot about patience watching him with her as she does everything so slowly now. God was speaking to be everywhere that weekend about so many things: slow down, enjoy my aging quirky mom, keep working with my own church to bring Christ-centered worship there. I saw the fire in my son’s heart to do something good and rewarding. I saw again how God answered my prayers long ago to put my son in a truthful place. But above all I know that I am blessed beyond expression in this life that God has given to me.

"But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because he has dealt bountifully with me." Psalm 13:3 ESV