My Journal of a Journey

The Arsenal of Grace

2011-09-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Another reading from Philip Yancey's book Grace Notes is the reading for today, titled The Arsenal of Grace. It's taken from his book, What's So Amazing About Grace, (135-136). Food for thought . . .

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"Like a gale of pure air driving out stagnant clouds of pollution, peaceful revolution spread across the globe. In 1989 alone ten nations comprising half a billion people experienced nonviolent revolutions. In many of these, the Christian minority played a crucial role. Stalin's mocking question, "How many divisions has the Pope?" got its answer.

"Then in 1994 came the most surprising revolution of all, surprising because nearly everyone expected bloodshed. South Africa, though, was also the mother lode of peaceful protest, for it was there that Mohandas Gandhi, studying Tolstoy and the Sermon on the Mount, developed his strategy of nonviolence (which Martin Luther King Jr. later adopted). With much opportunity to practice, South Africans had perfected the use of the weapons of grace. Walter Wink tells of a black woman who was walking on the street with her children when a white man spat in her face. She stopped, and said, "Thank you, and now for the children." Nonplussed, the man was unable to respond.

"In one squatter's village, black South African women suddenly found themselves surrounded by soldiers with bulldozers. The soldiers announced through a bullhorn that the women had two minutes to clear out before their village would be razed. The women had no weapons, and the men of the village were away at work. Knowing the puritanical tendencies of rural Dutch Reformed Afrikaners, the black women stood in front of the bulldozers and stripped off all their clothes. The police fled, and the village remains standing to this day.

"News reports barely mentioned the key role that Christian faith played in South Africa's peaceful revolution. After a mediation team led by Henry Kissinger had abandoned all hope of convincing the Inkatha Freedom Party to participate in elections, a Christian diplomat from Kenya met privately with all the principals, prayed with them, and helped change their minds. (A mysteriously malfunctioning compass on an airplane delayed one flight, making this crucial meeting possible.)
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Taken from Grace Notes by Philip Yancey. Reading for September 24, originally in Philip Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace?

Grace in Action

2011-09-03T08:23:00.002-07:00

Again, from Philip Yancey . . . this post from his book Rumors of Another World (222-24), Zondervan 2003.

" . . . We live in a world that judges people by their behavior and requires criminals, debtors, and moral failures to live with their consequences. Even the church finds it difficult to forgive those who fall short."

"Grace is irrational, unfair, unjust, and only makes sense if I believe in another world governed by a merciful God . . . "Amazing Grace," a rare hymn that in recent times climbed the charts of popular music, . . . John Newton, a gruff and bawdy slave trader, "a wretch like me," wrote that hymn after being transformed by amazing grace."

"When the world sees grace in action, it falls silent. Nelson Mandela taught the world a lesson in grace when, after emerging from prison after twenty-seven years and being elected president of South Africa, he asked his jailer to join him on the inauguration platform. He then appointed Archbishop Desmond Tutu to head an official government panel with a daunting name, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission [TRC]. Mandela sought to defuse the natural pattern of revenge that he had seen in so many countries where one oppressed race or tribe took control from another.

"For the next two-and-a-half years South Africans listened to reports of atrocities coming out of the TRC hearings. The rules were simple: if a white policeman or army officer voluntarily faced his accusers, confessed his crime, and fully acknowledged his guilt, he could not be tried and punished for that crime. Hard-liners grumbled about the obvious injustice of letting criminals go free, but Mandela insisted that the country needed healing even more than it needed justice.

"At one TRC hearing, a policeman named van de Broek recounted an incident when he and other officers shot an eighteen-year-old boy and burned the body. Eight years later van de Broek returned to the same house and seized the boy's father. The wife was forced to watch as policemen bound her husband on a woodpile, poured gasoline over his body, and ignited it.

"The courtroom grew hushed as the elderly woman who had lost first her son and then her husband was given a chance to respond. "What do you want from Mr. van de Broek?" the judge asked. She said she wanted van de Broek to go to the place where they burned her husband's body and gather up the dust so she could give him a decent burial. His head down, the policeman nodded agreement.

"Then she added a further request, "Mr. van de Broek took all my family away from me, and I still have a lot of love to give. Twice a month, I would like for him to come to the ghetto and spend a day with me so I can be a mother to him. And I would like Mr. van de Broek to know . . . that I forgive him . . . I would like to embrace him so he can know my forgiveness is real."

"Spontaneously, some in the courtroom began singing "Amazing Grace" as the elderly woman made her way to the witness stand, but van de Broek did not hear the hymn. He had fainted, overwhelmed.

"Justice was not done in South Africa that day, nor in the entire country during months of agonizing procedures by the TRC. Something beyond justice took place. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good," said Paul. Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu understood that when evil is done, one response alone can overcome the evil. Revenge perpetuates the evil. Justice punishes it. Evil is overcome by good only if the injured party absorbs it, refusing to allow it to go any further. And that is the pattern of otherworldly grace that Jesus showed in his life and death."

(From Rumors of Another World by Philip Yancey, published in 2003 by Zondervan. From pages 222-24)

Grace in Action

2011-09-03T08:23:00.001-07:00

Prevailing Grace

2011-07-26T20:26:00.000-07:00

From a recent entry (July 22) in Philip Yancey's book, Grace Notes:

"Recent times have seen public dramas of forgiveness play out in nations formerly controlled by Communists.

In 1983, before the Iron Curtain lifted and during the period of martial law, Pope John II visited Poland, where he conducted a huge open-air mass. Throngs of people, organized in orderly groups by their parishes, marched over the Poniatowski Bridge and streamed toward the stadium. Just before the bridge, the route crossed directly in front of the Communist Party's Central Committee Building, and hour after hour the platoons of marchers chanted in unison, "We forgive you, we forgive you!" as they passed the building. Some said the slogan with heartfelt sincerity. Others shouted it almost with contempt, as if to say, "You're nothing--we don't even hate you."

A few years later Jerry Popieluszko, a thirty-five-year-old priest whose sermons had electrified Poland, was found floating in the Vistula River with his eyes gouged out and his fingernails torn off. Once again the Catholics took to the streets,s marching with banners that read "We forgive. We forgive." Popieluszko had preached the same message Sunday after Sunday to the multitude who filled the square in front of his church: "Defend the truth. Overcome evil with good." After his death they continued to obey him, and in the end it was exactly this spirit of prevailing grace that caused the regime to collapse.

All over Eastern Europe the struggle of forgiveness is still being waged. Should a pastor in Russia forgive the KGB officers who imprisoned him and razed his church? Should Romanians forgive the doctors and nurses who chained sick orphans to their beds? Should citizens of Eastern Germany forgive the stool pigeons--including seminary professors, pastors, and treacherous spouses--who spied on them? When human rights activist Vera Wollenberger learned that it was her husband who had betrayed her to the secret police, resulting in her arrest and exile, she ran to the bathroom and vomited.

Paul Tillich once defined forgiveness as remembering the past in order that it might be forgotten--a principle that applies to nations as well as individuals. Though forgiveness is never easy, and may take generations, what else can break the chains that enslave people to their historical past?"

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[Taken from Philip Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace? pp. 125-26]

The Power of Grace

2011-07-25T02:52:00.000-07:00

The reading in Philip Yancey's Grace Notes (Zondervan, 2009) for July 21 reads as follows:

"In 1990 the world watched a drama of forgiveness enacted on the stage of world politics. After East Germany chose a parliament in its first free elections, the representatives convened to take up the reins of government. The Communist bloc was changing daily, West Germany was proposing the radical step of reunification, and the new parliament had many weighty matters of state to consider. For their first official act, however, they decided to vote on this extraordinary statement, drafted in the language of theology, not politics:

"We, the first freely elected parliamentarians of the GDR . . . on behalf of the citizens of this land, admit responsibility for the humiliation, expulsion and murder of Jewish men, women and children. We feel sorrow and shame, and acknowledge this burden of German history. . . . Immeasurable suffering was inflicted on the peoples of the world during the era of national socialism. . . . We ask all the Jews of the world to forgive us. We ask the people of Israel to forgive us for the hypocrisy and hostility of official East German policies toward Israel and for the persecution and humiliation of Jewish citizens in our country after 1945 as well."

East Germany's parliament passed the statement unanimously. Members rose to their feet for a long ovation and then paused for a moment of silence in memory of the Jews who had died in the Holocaust.

What did such an act of parliament accomplish? Certainly it did not bring the murdered Jews back to life or undo the monstrous deeds of Nazism. No, but it helped loosen the stranglehold of guilt that had been choking East Germans for nearly half a century--five decades in which their government had steadfastly denied any need for forgiveness.

For its part, West Germany had already repented officially for the abominations. In addition, West Germany has paid out sixty billion dollars in reparations to Jews. The fact that a relationship exists at all between Germany and Israel is a stunning demonstration of transnational forgiveness. Grace has its own power, even in international politics."

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Perspective

2011-07-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

Just back from an Annual Meeting at Grace Chapel Primitive Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. We weren't able to stay for the whole thing, and my recalcitrant sciatic nerve made me miss one morning's session, but I very much enjoyed the gatherings I was able to be part of. Elder Lasserre Bradley preached wonderful--very helpful and encouraging--messages. Adding to that were other ministers that brought us good, solid messages from God's Word.

While away from home, I continued my reading in Philip Yancey's book, Grace Notes, and yesterday's reading is one that is connected to my GRACE posts, so I'm including it below. Later, I hope to send to other posts taken from Yancey's writings. I labeled the one below "Perspective", because it sheds a lot of light on believers' relationships to each other in Christ. For all true believers, these thoughts are enlightening.
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"God miraculously provided food for the Israelites wandering through the Sinai Desert, and even made sure their shoes would not wear out. Jesus too fed hungry people and ministered directly to their needs. Many Christians who read those thrilling stories look back with a sense of nostalgia or even disappointment. "Why doesn't God act like that now?" they wonder. "Why doesn't God miraculously provide for my needs?"
"But the New Testament letters seem to show a different pattern at work. Locked in a cold dungeon, Paul turned to his longtime friend Timothy to meet his physical needs. "Bring my cloak and my scrolls," he wrote, "and also bring Mark, who has always been so helpful." In other straits, Paul received "God's comfort" in the form of a visit from Titus. And when a famine broke out in Jerusalem, Paul himself led a fund-raising effort among all the churches he had founded. God was meeting the needs of the young church as surely as he had met the needs of the Israelites, but indirectly, through fellow members of Christ's body. Paul made no such distinction as "the church did this, but God did that." Such a division would miss the point he had made so often. The church is Christ's body; therefore if the church did it, God did it.
Paul's insistence on this truth may trace back to his first, dramatic personal encounter with God. At the time, he was a fierce persecutor of Christians, a notorious bounty hunter. But on the road to Damascus he saw a light bright enough to blind him for three days, and heard a voice from heaven: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
Persecute you? Persecute who? I'm only after those heretics the Christians.
"Who are you, Lord?" asked Saul at last, knocked flat on the ground.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," came the reply.
That sentence summarizes as well as anything the change brought about by the Holy Spirit. Jesus had been executed months before. It was the Christians Saul was after, not Jesus. But Jesus, alive again, informed Saul that those people were in fact his own body. What hurt them, hurt him. It was a lesson the apostle Paul would never forget.

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Back Home Again!

2011-06-22T11:49:00.000-07:00

In late May, we left home to 1) visit family in Mississippi 2) depart from Mississippi with our oldest granddaughter (who graduated high school recently) and her choice of friend (she chose her sister, our second oldest granddaughter) to take her on a promised trip as her graduation gift (we gave her the choice of any location in the U.S. -- she chose the Smokies) 3) for my husband to attend his 50th high school graduation reunion 4) to attend the Annual Meeting of our "Home Church" in Mississippi. The whole journey had us gone from home for almost three weeks. We enjoyed the trip very much . . . the time with our families, traveling with our granddaughters, renewing old friendships, and the wonderful sermon we heard. Even so, we were very glad to get back home!

I hope to post again soon, but didn't want the whole month of June to go by without a post. Our garden will continue to take some of our time (grew profusely while we were gone), but hopefully once we "recuperate" from being away from home, I'll start posting again -- until the next trip!

Grace

2011-05-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

Included in the reading for today (5/20/11) in Philip Yancey's Grace Notes is the following. It is from Yancey's book What's So Amazing About Grace? (1997), pp. 12-13. Today's reading is entitled The Last Best Word.

"As a writer, I play with words all day long. I toy with them, listen for their overtones. crack them open, and try to stuff my thoughts inside. I've found that words tend to spoil over the years, like old meat. Their meaning rots away. Consider the word charity, for instance. When King James translators contemplated the highest form of love they settled on the word charity to convey it. Nowadays we hear the scornful protest, "I don't want your charity!"
Perhaps I keep circling back to grace because it is one grand theological word that has not spoiled. I call it "the last best word" because every English usage I can find retains some of the glory of the original. Like a vast aquifer, the word underlies our proud civilization, reminding us that good things come not from our own efforts, rather by the grace of God.
Grace is indeed amazing--truly our last best word. It contains the essence of the gospel as a drop of water can contain the image of the sun. The world thirsts for grace in ways it does not even recognize; little wonder the hymn "Amazing Grace" edged its way onto the Top Ten charts two hundred years after composition. For a society that seems adrift, without moorings, I know of no better place to drop an anchor of faith."

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Truth Minus Grace

2011-04-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

Again, I'm posting more thoughts on Grace . . .

These thoughts (below) are from my reading in Grace Notes, by Philip Yancey (taken from his writings in several books). Today's (April 26,2011) was about Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, and was titled "Truth Minus Grace". Today's thoughts were excerpted from Yancey's book Soul Survivor (pp 131-134). It's continued from the last few pages in the book of other excerpts in Soul Survivor but it stands alone concerning the thoughts about Grace that I want to convey. With appreciation to Philip Yancey:

"I feel sad as I read Tolstoy's religious writings. The X-ray vision into the human heart that made him a great novelist also made him a tortured Christian. Like a spawning salmon, he fought upstream all his life, in the end collapsing from moral exhaustion.
"Yet I also feel grateful to Tolstoy, for his relentless pursuit of authentic faith has made an indelible impression upon me. I first came across his novels during a period when I was suffering the delayed effects of "church abuse." The churches I grew up in contained too many frauds, or at least that is how I saw it in the arrogance of youth. When I noted the rift between the ideals of the gospel and the flaws of its followers, I was sorely tempted to abandon those ideals as hopelessly unattainable.
"Then I discovered Tolstoy. He was the first author who, for me, accomplished that most difficult of tasks: to make good as believable and appealing as evil. I found in his novels, fables, and short stories a source of moral power.
"A.N. Wilson, a biographer of Tolstoy, remarks that "his religion was ultimately a thing of Law rather than of Grace, a scheme for human betterment rather than a vision of God penetrating a fallen world." With crystalline clarity Tolstoy could see his own inadequacy in the light of God's ideal. But he could not take the further step of trusting God's grace to overcome that inadequacy.
"Shortly after reading Tolstoy I discovered his countryman Fyodor Dostoevsky. These two, the most famous and accomplished of all Russian writers, lived and worked during the same period of history. Though they read each other's work with admiration, they never met, and perhaps it was just as well--they were opposites in every way. Where Tolstoy wrote bright, sunny novels, Dostoevsky wrote brooding, interior ones. Where Tolstoy worked out ascetic schemes for self-improvement, Dostoevsky periodically squandered his health and fortune on alcohol and gambling.
" Dostoevsky made many mistakes in life, but achieved an amazing feat in art. His novels communicate grace and forgiveness, the heart of the Christian gospel, with a Tolstoyan force.

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2011-04-11T12:58:00.000-07:00

Dear Readers
A couple of weeks ago, I posted the first of my intended postings on Grace, then once more got sidetracked. In that post on April 2, I excerpted from Philip Yancey's book Grace Notes (first published in the mid-90s, I think), and in yesterday's "reading" from this book, he had more to say about grace, and I've decided to repost that selection here for my second post on grace. (By the way, the conference he mentions attending was held in New Harmony, Indiana, and I also attended with 100 or so other writers, would-be writers, publishers, and others who wanted to use any gift that they had been given for writings to be used for other Christians. It was a "Writer's Conference" thought up by well-known author Walt Wangerin, who hosted the conference and who at that time lived in nearby Evansville, Indiana. Good conference!)

From the April 10 reading in Grace Notes (today's reading from the book Finding God in Unexpected Places (254-57).

"Not long ago I attended a conference held on the restored grounds of a century-old utopian community in Indiana. As I ran my fingers over the fine workmanship of the buildings and read the plaques describing the daily lives of the true believers, I marveled at the energy that drove this movement, one of dozens spawned by American idealism and religious fervor.
"It occurred to me, though, that in recent times the perfectionist urge has virtually disappeared. Nowadays we tilt in the opposite direction, toward a kind of anti-utopianism. Many churches have formed twelve-step groups that by definition center on members' inability to be perfect.
"I confess my preference for this modern trend. I observe far more human fallibility than perfectibility, and I have cast my lot with a gospel based on grace. Most utopian communities--like the one I was standing in--survive only as museums. Perfectionism keeps running aground on the barrier reef of original sin.
"How can we in the church uphold the ideal of holiness, the proper striving for Life on the Highest Plane, while avoiding the consequences of disillusionment, pettiness, abuse of authority, spiritual pride, and exclusivism?
"Or, to ask the opposite question, how can we moderns who emphasize community (never judgment), vulnerability, and introspection keep from aiming too low? An individualistic society, America is in constant danger of freedom abuse; its churches are in danger of grace abuse.
"With these questions in mind, I read the New Testament epistles. I took some comfort in the fact that the church in the first century was already on a seesaw, tilting now toward perfectionistic legalism and now toward raucous antinomianism. James wrote to one extreme; Paul often addressed the other. Each letter had a strong correcting emphasis, but all stressed the dual message of the gospel. The church, in other words, should be both: a people who strive toward holiness and yet relax in grace, a people who condemn themselves but not others, a people who depend on God and not themselves.
"The seesaw is still lurching back and forth. Some churches tilt one way, some another. My reading of the epistles left me yearning for a both/and church. I have seen too many either/or congregations."

Grace-Starved

2011-04-02T11:47:00.000-07:00

A while back I become very aware of the Grace that had been given to me, and became very interested in the subject of GRACE. I wrote a few posts on grace on a couple of lists that I was subscribed to, with some very positive private comments. My aim has been to write other posts on the subject of grace to my blog, but many interruptions and time constraints (and forgetting how to post to my blog) hasn't seen that happening yet.

Every day, as part of my daily devotional, I read the day's entry from a book titled "Grace Notes" (Daily Readings from a Fellow Pilgrim) by Philip Yancey. The reading selections are taken from his writings over several years. One of those writings was the book "What's So Amazing About Grace?", and yesterday's reading was titled "Grace-Starved". I decided to try to get back to my postings on grace, with an introduction to PY's excerpt that was yesterday's reading. On another note, it is connected to Easter and, since Easter occurs on the 24th of this month, it is very fitting.

"I saw in Russia in 1991 a people starved for grace. The economy, indeed the entire society, was in a state of free fall, and everyone had someone to blame. I noted that ordinary Russian citizens had the demeanor of battered children: lowered heads, halting speech, eyes darting this way and that. Whom could they trust?"
"I will never forget a meeting in which Moscow journalists wept -- I had never before seen journalists weep -- as Ron Nikkel of Prison Fellowship International told of the underground churches that were now thriving in Russia's penal colonies. For seventy years prisons had been the repository of truth, the one place where you could safely speak the name of God. It was in prison, not church, that people such as Solzhenitsyn found God."
"Ron Nikkel also told me of his conversation with a general who headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The general had heard of the Bible from the old believers and had admired it, but as a museum piece, not something to be believed. Recent events, though, had made him reconsider. In late 1991 when Boris Yeltsin ordered the closing of all nation, regional, and local Communist Party offices, his ministry policed the dismantling. "Not one party official" said the general, "not one person directly affected by the closings protested." He contrasted that to the seventy-year campaign to destroy the church and stamp out belief in God. "The Christians' faith outlasted any ideology. The church is now resurging in a way unlike anything I have witnessed."
"In 1983 a group of Youth With A Mission daredevils unfolded a banner on Easter Sunday morning in Red Square: "Christ is Risen!" it read in Russian. Some older Russians fell to their knees and wept. Soldiers soon surrounded the hymn-singing troublemakers, tore up their banner, and hustled them off to jail. Less then a decade later, all over Red Square on Easter Sunday people were greeting each other in the traditional way, "Christ is risen!" . . . "He is risen indeed!"

(from the book "What's So Amazing About Grace?" (256-257) by Philip Yancey).

I highly recommend Yancey's book "Grace Notes" -- it's a one-page-a-day selection from Yancey's writing, and I agree with Billy Graham's comment on the back cover of the book that "There is no writer in the evangelical world that I admire and appreciate more.

Grace and Peace,
Elaine

2011-03-02T17:05:00.000-08:00

Yay!! I just figured out how to post to my blog, and hope to do so soon (probably Friday will be my first opportunity). I have had some thoughts I've wanted to share for a long time, and was encouraged by several folks (including the moderator of a list I'm on -- he highly recommended to the list some prior writings that I did a while back), as well as friends, and my dear husband. So now that I actually KNOW how to get to my blog (I knew a while back, but I forgot) :-)

Hope to be posting soon . . . !
Elaine

A little "catching up" . . .

2010-12-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's been more than six months since I've posted, and several things of note have occurred, so I'm doing a little "catch-up" post in preparation for the next big event--our trip to the Philippines in mid-January. I hope to be able to post from Davao City on the island of Mindanao while we're there. But a brief look back to the last six months (although I know I'll probably forget more than one thing . . .) but here goes:

In September, I attended a True Woman conference in Indianapolis, and was greatly blessed to be present at that. I very much enjoyed it, and one of the highlights of the Conference was obtaining a book by Devi Titus titled "The Table Experience", which encourages eating family dinner nightly. I'm still digesting this book with further study, and have obtained more books on the subject. It's very encouraging . . .

In October, we went on a cruise through the western Caribbean, stopping at ports in Roatan, Honduras, and in Cozumel, Mexico. We had a stateroom with a balcony, and spent most of our time on the balcony, reading. We took advantage of room service most days for breakfast and enjoyed our meal on the balcony, while traveling on the water. We didn't take in any of the shows, we didn't go to the casino onboard -- actually we would appear to some to be fuddy-duddies, but we had a relaxing time and enjoyed the cruise very much.

When the ship docked in Miami, and after we debarked, the next day we headed up the east coast of Florida, stopping in St. Augustine for a couple of nights. We enjoyed touring the oldest city in the United States, and learned much history. I had read the book "Maria" by Eugenia Price (which is set in St. Augustine, and based on a true story), and we enjoyed visiting the house where Maria lived in St. Augustine. It was a pleasant time, but we were glad to get home after being gone so long. We are truly homebodies at heart.

We were alone Thanksgiving as our son and his family traveled south to Mississippi to visit with his sister and her family for Thanksgiving. We had a quiet Thanksgiving, but are so thankful for so many blessings, that it was a pleasant time. Now Christmas is over (our son and family were over for the day) and we look forward to the New Year.

We plan to go to the Philippines next month and I will try to send at least one blog post from there while we are there . . .

Until then . . .
Elaine

"My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord . . . "

2010-06-05T12:22:00.001-07:00

Once again, I’m sending my thankfulness list, and I hope some of you will send yours also. The above quote (in the subject line) is a verse from Psalm 145:21, and it goes on to say, “ . . . and let all flesh bless His holy name forever and ever.” The list isn’t consistently weekly, but I’ve gotten into such a habit of doing it that often through the week I become aware of things that I want to put on it. The Lord is good! “Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits”. (Ps. 103:1, 2)

Last week we were in the Smoky Mountains, where we had signed up for a Gaither Family Fest. We enjoyed parts of it very much, but often the volume was just amped up too high for old folks like us. Many of the older singers are no longer with us, and some of the younger groups and singers have been using what I call “boogie” arrangements, which I don’t care for. There was a lot of audience participation, and having all of our voices from all across our nation, and some even from Canada, join together in the old hymns, was encouraging. Even with the arms lifted and waving overhead, which I’m not used to, it was still a good experience. Most notably, Bill Gaither “dedicated” the weekend to our Veterans and Servicemen who have and are fighting for freedom. We all sang “God Bless America” together lustily. I’m thankful for the experience, and the safety coming and going on the trip. We stayed in downtown Gatlinburg, so were able to walk to and from the Concert venue, and I got some walking in although we didn’t hit a single trail while we were there, and I regret that but there just wasn’t time.

One night we met some old friends, who live in Sevierville, for dinner. Joe and Nan Kitchens are former members at Grace PBC in Pearl, Mississippi (formerly Jackson Primitive Baptist Church, which is our “home” church), and we usually try to get together when we’re in the area. We enjoy very much their company and their friendship. I’m thankful that this trip we were able to be together, since we had not been able to our last trip there.

Several years ago, I came across some lyrics that Gloria Gaither had written, and which was set to the music from Jean Sibelius’s composition “Finlandia” (which is the tune we use for “Be Still, My Soul”). Gaither Resources had affixed the lyrics to a magnet, and I have had it on my refrigerator for some time. I was able to order enough of the lyric magnets to send one with each Bible reading schedule that will go out for the july readings. They arrived before we even got home, and I was thankful to have that taken care of. The lyrics are as follows:

I then shall live as one who’s been forgiven;

I’ll walk with joy to know my debts are paid.

I know my name is clear before my Father;

I am His child and I am not afraid.

So greatly pardoned, I’ll forgive my brother.

The law of love I gladly will obey.

I then shall live as one who’s learned compassion

I’ve been so loved that I’ll risk loving, too.

I know how fear builds walls instead of bridges;

I’ll dare to see another’s point of view.

And when relationships demand commitment,

Then I’ll be there to care and follow through.

Your kingdom come around and through and in me;

Your power and glory let them shine through me.

Your Hallowed name, O may I bear with honor,

And may Your living Kingdom come in me.

The bread of life, O may I share with honor,

And may You feed a hungry world through me.

Amen

On Saturday, at the Gaither Family Fest, Dr. Ravi Zacharias spoke to a very attentive group of hundreds, and as usual we learned from the Godly man. One thing that he said that just struck me forcefully . . . I already knew it, but with his usual eloquence Dr. Zacharias brought it home to the mind and heart. I can’t remember the words he used, but basically what he said was that the word that applies to each of the Ten Commandments is the word “Sacred”. God is sacred, His creation is sacred, we as his creatures are sacred . . . we have purpose, significance, security, identity. And others are included, so we don’t lie, steal, murder, and so on because it would be violating the sacredness of God’s commandments, creation, purposes for us. Although I know all this, I appreciated his bringing it before us in such a dynamic analysis. This was also a much more worshipful time, with mostly hymns and audience participation on the hymns. And a “quieter” time . . .

One other thing I’m very thankful for, although I’m running out of space and time for this list, but I wanted to mention it because I have touched on this before. My son has been continuing his search of the things of God, and because of a very gentle older Christian man that he knows he now is convinced that the KJV is the preferred translation. Actually, there’s more to be said about his search and some of his conclusions, but the most notable thing to me was the gentle kindness with which his friend convinced him of the KJV’s superiority to other translations. The friend was never didactic, rude, or petty in his analysis, and was quite knowledgeable about the facts, and therefore my son could actually see the issues involved. I may write more on this later, but must start to end this soon. Company’s comin’ . . .

I have received information from a PBC Sister in Huntsville, Alabama about some reservations for the True Woman Conference to be held in Indianapolis, Indiana in September. This conference is under the auspices of Nancy Leigh DeMoss’s Revive Our Hearts ministry. This Sister from Huntsville has reserved a block of rooms at reduced rates, and it seems that there is a group of PB Sisters who will be attending this conference. I’m looking forward to meeting some new sisters, and reuniting with some old friends during the days we will be there. Nancy Leigh DeMoss writes, and distributes, a monthly pamphlet titled “Daily Reflections”, and today’s entry contained this:

”Does it really matter if we actually verbalize our thanks, as long as we’re thankful in our heart? / I believe it does matter and that thankful thoughts need to be translated into thankful words. My mind goes to many psalms that exhort us to speak words of praise to God in the presence of others. Take a look at the highlighted words in these selected verses from Psalm 145:

“One generation shall commend your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts. . . . They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. . . . ”

“Convinced? Spoken words of praise and thanks have power to dissipate that spirit of heaviness that sometimes weighs us down and clings to us like a wet blanket. And they have power to do the same for others. Further, I believe that spoken (and sung) worship and thanks-giving can be instrumental in overcoming the lies and schemes of the Enemy. In my own life, doubt, fear, confusion, and anxiety have often been displaced and my spirit supernaturally lifted and strengthened as I have spoken words of gratitude and praise.”

Copyrighted material by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

The above is what prompted me to get this list off today. Although it isn’t verbally spoken, it is my communication of thanks to the Lord for these and so many more blessings this week.

First Thankful List in May

2010-05-03T14:34:00.000-07:00

First on my list is that the Bible Reading Schedules for May were sent out last week to our church members in time for everybody to receive them before May 1. Along with the schedules went the following poem, which I found in a hymnbook and thought everyone would like this reminder for their reading schedule. We are in Exodus during the month of May, and should finish with Exodus with the June schedules. The poem is as follows”

Holy Bible, book divine,
Precious treasure, thou art mine;
Mine to tell me whence I came;
Mine to teach me what I am;

Mine to chide me when I rove;
Mine to show a Saviour’s love;
Mine thou art to guide and guard;
Mine to punish or reward;

Mine to comfort in distress,
Suff’ring in this wilderness;
Mine to show by living faith,
Man can triumph over death;

Mine to tell of joys to come,
And the rebel sinner’s doom’
O thou holy book divine,
Precious treasure thou art mine.

John Burton, 1803

2. Along with the schedule and the poem went also the updated address lists for friends and members of Barker Avenue Primitive Baptist Church. There were several changes from the first time I sent these out this year, only a few months ago, but I had a lot of editing help from folks who saw changes that needed to be made, and we had lost one dear member who was removed from the list. I’m so glad to have this done . . . at least until further corrections need to be made.
3. I was able to remove the wilted yellow tulips that I had taken for the concrete urns in front of the church at Easter, and replace them with white Dahlias, which look a lot better. I was glad to have this taken care of before Sunday. I had noticed them needing changing earlier, but was unable to get to this little task before. I’m glad I got to it last week.
4. Our Spinach is growing profusely, and twice my husband has harvested a mess of them, stemmed them, and washed them and spin-dried them, then put them in a zip-loc bag in the refrigerator, ready for cooking or a salad. I think I’ve had two salads and I’ve cooked some, adding garlic to the bacon I fried first, then put in the spinach and some chicken broth. My husband, who wasn’t sure about the spinach being planted (but did so at my request) has now become a fan of it! More will be ready soon in the garden. I needed a quick sandwich for supper last night, and all I had in the fridge for sandwiches was bologna, so I fixed myself a bologna sandwich and added a few leaves of spinach for a green aspect to the meal, as well as some crunch to the otherwise bland meal, and it was surprisingly good!

5. Since we plan to be away the last of May, I’ve been working on the June Bible Reading schedules, and have them printed off and the envelopes addressed. They may have to be sent from Gatlinburg in Tennessee where we’ve planned a little getaway. The Gaither Family Fest is to be held then, and we have reservations next door to the concert venue. Dr. Ravi Zacharias is also scheduled to be there and talk on Saturday, and we have learned much from this very able Bible man, so we’re also looking forward to that.

Must close here, and get ready for a cooking class tonight. One of my favorite Chef Instructors will be teaching about “Sauces” tonight. The last class I took from her she had on the menu “Blackeyed Pea Salad”, and it was very good. I’ve been a little under the weather recently, so I’m not sure how long I’ll last in class, but hopefully at least until I get to eat some of the goodies.

Love to all,
Elaine

Truly Thankful

2010-04-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

April 27, 2010

1. Although today is rainy and cool, we've had some wonderfully sunny and warm days recently and many things are popping out in blooms. The Knockout roses by our mailbox increase daily in buds and blooms and my husband has once again started bringing me rosebuds for my garden window in the kitchen. These are small, but just right for my kitchen,window, and they're a lovely shade of red. I'm thankful for the buds, for my husband's thoughtfulness, and for the sun and rain.

2. I plan to harvest some of the spinach today if it stops dripping rain long enough for me to get out and get some. It looks wonderful. Onions and peas are also up and growing, and my husband said he saw where the carrots had sprouted!
Good eats! Sometimes, when folks learn that I go to gourmet cooking classes, they want to hear what my favorite food is. Although I think maybe they want to hear "gourmet" menu items, I always tell them the truth: "Peas and cornbread". It just doesn't get any better than that for me. A slice of tomato along with that, and I'm ready to eat! We don't have room here for field peas, but I heard that at Birmingham, Alabama's Farmer's Market, there is a area called "Pea Heaven". I need to go to Alabama anyway to see a cousin, and I may just factor in a day to get to Birmingham and visit this place!

3. We attended Salem PBC's (in Madisonville, KY -- the first church in Kentucky we belonged to)) Spring meeting last Saturday, and heard Elder Shannon Whipp preach in the afternoon. This sermon was so encouraging to me. Br. Shannon spoke of all that is ours "in Christ", and that phrase has been echoing in my brain ever since. As soon as our Quickverse is operational again (hopefully this afternoon) I plan to look up that phrase, and read every Scripture that refers to it. I am truly thankful for all that is ours in Christ. I hear the word "awesome" overused often about a lot of things that are not awesome, but all that is ours in Christ IS truly awesome! It truly fills me with awe.

4. Saturday morning we weren't able to attend services in Madisonville for several reasons, one of which was a previous commitment on my part. Before I even knew about the services at Salem PBC I had already purchased a ticket to the Ohio Valley Art League's Kitchen Tour. Of special interest to me was the historic Keach Farm, and the special guest chef there was to be Sister Schubert (of Sister Schubert roll fame). She was a gracious and lovely lady, and provided samples of her delicious Cinnamon Bread Pudding, made using Sister Schubert's Cinnamon rolls. (I really, really, really like bread pudding, and this was the best). On sale at Keach Farm kitchen that day was her latest cookbook, Cast Your Bread Upon the Waters, which she signed for anyone purchasing a copy. This is a very good cookbook, with wonderful color photographs and tantalizing recipes. Although it's a bit pricey (at least for me, at $40), I can strongly recommend it. I enjoyed the kitchen tour, but hated missing services at Salem PBC. However, the tour wasn't the only reason we couldn't make it Saturday morning, so I took some comfort in the fact that we wouldn't have been able to go anyway.

5. My husband talked to our Indiana grandsons yesterday, and when they realized that they would be coming to Kentucky to visit us Thursday night, they were almost breathless with excitement. It tickled my husband to hear their delight and excitement at the thought of coming to see us, and I'm thankful for my son and daughter-in-law scheduling these visiting times with us.

I have to stop here, but I am truly thankful for the things I've mentioned, as well as many other daily things that have been ours to enjoy . . . air, water, food, sleep . . . .

Blessings to all for a wonderful thanks-filled week!

Now Thank We All Our God

2010-03-30T12:51:00.000-07:00

For my final March entry of things I’m very thankful for, it is at follows:

On Day 86 in a book I’ve been reading (mostly daily), titled A Year With God: Living Out the Spiritual Disciplines, Edited by Richard J. Foster and Julia L. Roller, there is an entry titled “Everyday Worship”. In this entry, the reader is encouraged to “spend each day in praise and adoration”, adding that “When we pour worship out over our daily lives, we grow ever more sensitive to God’s voice and presence” and the reader is also encouraged to try to “live in constant awareness of and openness to Jesus as teacher”. The reader is also counseled to “try to integrate worship more fully into your everyday life. This practice could take many forms: singing a praise song, remembering to thank God . . .to sit in silent adoration . . .” and others. Writing down a list of things I’m thankful for during the previous days has helped me to try to do this, and I keep a hymn CD (or Southern Gospel CD), in my CD player when I’m doing errands (and usually sing along with it). On Day 87 of this same book, a quote from William Temple gives further understanding of worship. “To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.” I am thankful for these remarks that have helped me on my journey of faith, and for the reminders therein also

The title of today’s post comes from a hymn of the same name by Martin Rinckart . Some of the words to the hymn are as follows: Now thank we all our God / with heart and hands and voices/ Who wondrous things has done / in Whom His world rejoices; / Who, from our mothers’ arms, / has blessed us on our way / With countless gifts of love, / and still is ours today. Aren’t those beautiful words? I’m thankful for hymns that put words to my feelings, and encourage me.

I’m thankful for a safe trip to and from Mississippi last week, where we spent some time with our daughter and her family, and with T.’s brother and his wife. More about that later . . . our trip by car to and from Mississippi was uneventful, and I am truly thankful for that. I’m also thankful that my husband is such a good driver, and I can have naps (which he encourages) so that the 500-mile trip passes quickly.

While in Mississippi (where my daughter and her family lives), my oldest granddaughter and I sang some hymns in harmony. She’s an excellent pianist with a beautiful voice, and I know enough “alto” to get by. We enjoyed our little music endeavor.

We took some of the Franklin Springs media/Homestead Blessings DVDs as a gift to my daughter & family, and we enjoyed watching some of those together, especially “The Art of Gardening”. This DVD tells about making a “lasagna garden” (or layered garden) which doesn’t need a tiller or anything. A partial demonstration of this is found on the Franklin Springs Media website under Homestead Blessings DVDs. We (mostly T.) then proceeded to provide materials and some labor to help them put in a garden, and get it mostly planted. I am so glad this has been provided for them. My daughter is a very good cook and we planted things she often uses in her cooking. She has been studying a lot about nutrition, and the value of eating mostly plants, so the garden should serve them well, and help with grocery bills at the same time.

Thursday of last week was T.’s birthday, and my oldest granddaughter baked him a cake and decorated it. That night, my son-in-law grilled steaks, and all-in-all we had a very nice celebration (67 years now!)

On Friday of last week, we met T.’s brother and his wife for lunch, and later went to see the work that has been done on The Old Homeplace. My brother-in-law purchased full rights to the house and he and his sons-in-law have been busily doing a lot of home improvement to it (new roof, siding, floors, windows, central air&heat, etc.). T.’s brother’s two daughters live in Mississippi (one in NE Miss. and the other on the coast), and when they all pile in, there’s just not enough room for them all in T.’s brother’s house (which is next door to the old homeplace), so they’ve been staying at the “old house”. . . . works out better for them all. It was interesting sitting in the den of the old house, where we spent so much time before my inlaws passed away. We enjoyed very much our visit with T’s brother and his wife..

We had lots of sun while we were there, and Mississippi is about two weeks ahead of us in Spring’s arrival, so it was wonderful to see so many blooming things. Today, I rode through Atkinson Park down along the river here in Henderson, and although most of the jonquils are fading on the left side of the road, the Spring Beauties have beautifully carpeted the right side of the road. Spring’s on its way, and some of the things we planted in our little garden are up and looking healthy.

Yesterday morning we got a call from Elder Jeff Winfrey, who had nominated my husband for the Governor’s Kentucky Volunteer awards for 2009, and we learned that T. had won in the “Kentucky Ambassador” category for his work in the Philippines. Previously, Jeff had sent us copies of the paperwork that he and his wife Christy had filled out in the nominating process, and they had spent so much time on it and it was so good that my feeling was that T. definitely had a chance with all of the work they did. But we had forgotten about it while we were gone, and it was a nice surprise to get the news yesterday morning. The Awards Ceremony is in May, and I think it’s in Frankfort (our state capitol). I will probably report on this further later on.

There are so many things I’ve failed to mention that I’m so thankful for, but my time for this today has to end here. God bless you all in the weeks ahead. Praying a blessed Easter for each of you and your families, and praying the deep meaning of Easter will be with you as you go through each day, remembering “Because He lives we can face tomorrow!”

Rejoice with those who rejoice . . .

2010-03-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

I’m rejoicing with thankfulness for many things, but I only have time to mention a few, . . . I wanted to get these few down before we leave town for the week!

We’re planning to head south in the morning, and plan to spend a few days with family in Mississippi. Frankly, we’re mostly going to see our daughter and her family which includes five of our grandchildren. The grandchildren have plans for us to help them with a garden next week, so it won’t be all fun and games, but we’re both looking forward to time with them. And that is of course one of the things we’re most thankful for – all of our grandchildren, which I feel blessed to be able to say are being taught and trained well and, most especially, they are being instructed in the Truth that the Bible contains. Several have become of an age to be baptized, and I feel like they all eventually will. This is a source of great joy to me!

I’m also thankful that Spring has arrived. There are jonquils blooming along side the road in lots of places. Henderson, our city of residence, has many parks and one of the parks is located along the Ohio River, and it has a “drive through” road which I like to take a shortcut through on my way home. Every Spring the hillsides on one side of the road – not the side with all the picnic tables, playground equipment, and ball fields – are covered with jonquils and daffodils and Spring beauties. It is heartening to drive through there after the winter we’ve had. I enjoyed my ride through the park yesterday, not as a shortcut but just to see the yellow flowers everywhere!

I read somewhere that last week was “Daughter Week” . . . is this a Hallmark Holiday? I had never heard this before, but since I always take something for my daughter anyway when we go to visit her and her family, I didn’t “observe” it outwardly. But I have to say I was blessed with a wonderfully sweet daughter? And I’m so proud of her, and the choices she has made, and the way she runs her household and is bringing up her children! She has always been a joy!

I mailed the April Bible Reading Schedules yesterday, and was so glad to check that off before we left. We plan to return on March 28, and that would still have given me time to get them out, but I was just thrilled to be able to have it done and over with until late April when it’ll be time to send out the May schedules (which I have already prepared – just not the letter I send with the schedules that I hope will encourage the Bible readers.) But that’s for later . . .

I’ll close with some comments about the March 13 reading in Philip Yancey’s book titled Grace Notes. He starts out with the following statement: “The Cross is the central image of Christianity.” And then he goes on to tell of an incident in theologian Karl Barth’s experience. The reason this reading meant so much to me is that when I was growing up in the south among a group of energetic Southern Baptist folks (who were and are good friends), they’d often ask me if I was saved, and if so WHEN was I saved? They’d be able to tell of dramatic experiences and I don’t doubt their experiences, I just didn’t have a dramatic experience. I was brought up to love Jesus, and I never doubted His love for me. Philip Yancey tells of a similar experience of Karl Barth in the following paragraph:

“When a questioner tried to pin down the theologian Karl Barth on when he had been “saved,” Barth replied, “It happened one afternoon in A.D. 34 when Jesus died on the cross.””

If I’m ever again asked about the time of my salvation, this is going to be my answer also. Now I have knowledgeable and learned friends who take issue with some of Karl Barth’s theology, but I believe he’s right on with his response here.

Blessings to all,
Elaine

"Thankful, Thankful, We adore Thee

2010-03-11T07:37:00.000-08:00

Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee, God of glory, Lord of love:
Hearts unfold like flow’rs before Thee, Hail Thee as the sun above.
Melt the clouds of sin and sadness; Drive the dark of doubt away;
Giver of immortal gladness, Fill us with the light of Day!

All Thy works with joy surround Thee, Earth and Heav’n reflect Thy rays,
Stars and angels sing around Thee, Center of unbroken praise;
Field and forest, vale and mountain, Blossoming meadow, flashing sea,
Changing bird and flowing fountain, Call us to rejoice in Thee.

These words of Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), written in 1908 and set to the music of Beethoven, have been echoing around in my brain and I decided to introduce this week’s list of blessings (also including last week’s blessings) with these lines.

No. 1 on my list of blessings is a “mixed bag”. Our friend John was “promoted to Glory” last week, and Travis preached his funeral; on Thursday. When I first heard the news I was “joyful” for John, but felt deep compassion for his wife Jane. John and Jane had been married for fifty years and, being natured very much alike, were very close. We had been growing closer and closer to John and Jane, when he was diagnosed with cancer. They had already been dealing with Jane’s cancer, and she had received recent good news after several trips to Nashville for treatment. We, and they, had been meeting for meals at local eateries from time to time, and we enjoyed their company very much. I was pleased to see in the March issue of The Baptist Witness that arrived today, an article by our very own Rebecca Huffman, titled “Abounding Consolation”. Rebecca’s husband was “promoted to glory” over two years ago, and in this article Rebecca tells of “. . . many evidences of the Lord’s tender care, and His guiding hand even in the seemingly small details”. After nearly forty years of married life, she tells of the experience including the momentary sense of shock that ”numbs the senses”, but also the of the “initial calmness” that Rebecca attributes to “God’s merciful presence”. David and Rebecca had been enjoying their morning coffee, and listening to a Bible CD, when “suddenly he was gone. He simply lay down on the floor and quietly breathed his last breath. As someone later said, ‘One minute he was listening to the Word of God, and the next minute he was seeing the Word of God”. I am thankful for this article, and since Jane also receives The Baptist Witness, I plan to mention specifically Rebecca’s article to her.

2. Also in the March issue, in the “Segment for the Young”, my friend Kara Sacran writes of her mother’s death in an article titled “Trust Him for His Grace”. To my knowledge I never met Kara’s mother, Rhonda Jones, but I heard many good things about her faithful witness throughout her life. I believe someone on this list sent a prayer request for Rhonda throughout her health problems, and we all prayed for her. I was glad to read of Kara’s firm faith, and of her mother’s influence on this young woman. Kara ends her article with words from William Cowper, “a man who knew much suffering”: Ye fearful saints fresh courage take, The clouds you so much dread; Are big with mercy, and will break In blessings on your head.

3. I’m also thankful today for the warmer temperatures that we have enjoyed, and for the “promised” coming Spring. I hung my front door Spring wreath yesterday (the one with the bird’s nest that was built in it last Spring). My husband is out in the backyard right now, planting some onions, and some green peas (love those!).

4. Thankful “all over again” (most daily item of Thanksgiving) for our house. There’s a story that goes with our acquisition of this house, which encourages me all over again each time I think about it. I’m a little pinched for time right at the moment, but maybe I’ll share it sometime.

5. Although we aren’t using it much these days, I’m thankful for our fireplace. The fireplace didn’t come with the house; and was, in fact, ordered (and later arrived) about a year ago, and it doesn’t burn wood. Rather, it burns something called gel fuel. It looks the same, though, and actually puts out heat. The mantle matches some previously bought bookshelves on either side of the “hearth” (which DID come with the house – long story.) There are times when the fire in the fireplace seems to chase away sad feelings that often come with a gloomy, cold day. I can’t explain it, but I am thankful for it.

6. I am thankful for a book titled “Gateway to Joy” by Elisabeth Elliot. This book is subtitled “Reflections that Draw Us Nearer to God”, and the book contains poems, hymn lyrics, quotes, and various writings that point to the “Gateway to Joy”. In the preface, E. E. quotes C. S. Lewis who said that “Joy . . . is the serious business of heaven.” E. E. goes on to say that “ . . .every experience, even the most unwelcome, if offered to Jesus. can become a gateway to joy.” In the section titled “Intercede” she includes the following prayer, which was first published in The Elisabeth Elliot Newsletter, and is entitled For Our Husbands. I include it for any of you that may want to include this prayer in your daily devotions: “Lord, grant me the vision of a true lover as I look at _____________. Help me to see him through Your eyes, to read the thoughts he does not put into words, to bear with his human imperfections, remembering that he bears with mine and that You are at work in both of us. Thank You, Lord, for this man, Your carefully chosen gift to me, and for the high privilege of being heirs together of the grace of life. Help me to make it as easy and pleasant as I possibly can for him to do Your will.”

God bless you all,
Elaine

Week in Review

2010-02-11T21:56:00.000-08:00

Once again giving thanks to God for some of the blessings of this week . . .

1. Thankful for a note from a dear friend and Deacon's wife who I had loaned some books to. I knew she wasn't particularly a "reader", but I thought she would enjoy the books I had loaned. Her note said, in part: "You'll never know how much I appreciate you for opening my door to reading. I always thought it was a waste of time. Now it is amazing how books can enlighten and entertain. Thanks and God bless." This individual may be realizing also that books can fill long, lonely hours. Her husband had to be permanently moved to a nursing home, and she's living alone. I'm so glad that she has discovered reading!

2. I finished updating and typing the church address list and birthday list, and getting them copied and ready to mail out! Stationery and envelopes have been purchased, and I just need to make copies of the letter that goes with them, and I can check off this item on my "to do" list!

3. I got my annual eye checkup this week. I can put off cataract surgery for another year, and although it's not an emergency situation I will have to plan it within this year for sure. Another item checked off!

4. We (my husband and I) had a very nice day Tuesday going to the eye doctor's appointment, then to Olive Garden for a late lunch. It was nice to get out of the house for a change. The sun was shining and it was nice just to breathe outside air again.

5. My copy of The Baptist Witness for February came, and my article was printed therein. I liked the layout very much. The subscription offer for anyone wanting to receive The Baptist Witness continues through March. Just send me a personal email at elainehousley@insightbb.com.

6. In the mid 1990s while my husband was pastor of Dawson Springs PBC, for a few years I sent out daily Bible reading lists monthly. I got the idea to do it for the church he's now serving in Evansville, Indiana, and he heartily approved and authorized it. I've been working on those the last couple of days, and am ready to start mailing them out beginning in April probably. For each day of the month, there is a designated reading and a phrase from that day's reading alongside. The folks at Dawson Springs really liked getting these when I was sending them out there. I remember one man, a Deacon, and his daughter who lived next door to him, telling me that they read the daily reading together every day, and had thoroughly enjoyed having this "guide". I also send these to anyone who's interested if I receive a note with their address saying they would like to receive them, so anyone reading this can email me at the address above and I'll be glad to get you on the list. Per these schedules it takes 3+ years to read through the Bible because I didn't want to make the reading so long that it would be too much to meditate on at one time. Usually the reading is a chapter a day, unless the chapter is particularly lengthy. Then I break it up into readings for two days. My husband pitched in and helped me get together the hard copies from the schedules before that I sent to DSPBC . . . all I have to do now is designate the readings for the new "format", probably beginning in April. I'm so glad that my health has improved remarkably and I feel like doing this.

Must end here, and get some sleep so I'll be alert for tomorrow's activities!

Hope you all have a God-blessed week with much to be thankful for!

"Praise God, from whom all Blessings Flow . . . "

2010-02-05T13:47:00.000-08:00

Giving thanks to my Father God for some of the blessings I have noticed this week.

1. My husband had a safe trip home from the Philippines, and landed on American soil Sunday in Detroit. After a slight delay, he arrived home later that day. While I'm glad to support him in this work that helps so many, I'm always glad when he arrives back home, and I give thanks to God for that blessing once again.

2. Since I've had some health issues in recent years, my husband has insisted on house help for some of the more difficult chores associated with housekeeping. I was able to hire a very nice woman, a Christian, with whom I've become friends and who has helped me immensely with floors, bathrooms, and other things around here that would have overwhelmed me. I was especially thankful to have her come this week and last week while I've been sick, and she has helped me so much throughout this period of sickness. I still have a lot of clutter to clear away, but everything's clean! And I'm thankful and appreciate her so much.

3. Last week I got notes from two friends in different states, and these notes were BIG lifter-uppers to me. I was thankful for the notes, and am even more thankful for these two friends!

4. More insights from Philip Yancey in his book Grace Notes. I have, and continue to, really enjoy this book.

5. A towboat hit a pillar helping to hold up the northbound lanes of one of the twin bridges last week, shortly before I was planning to cross over the Ohio River into Indiana. I heard the warning of "severe damage" before I left, and changed my plans. Later, the warning was changed to reflect "cosmetic" damage only, and I was able to attend to my Indiana chores later in the week. I'm thankful no permanent damage was done to that heavily traveled bridge.

6. I'm thankful for antibiotics, particularly the antibiotic that the doctor put me on last week. It's starting to make a difference, and I'm feeling some better (although a bit subdued from the antibiotics themselves, as I always do). When I finish this round, I'm hoping and praying to feel better.

7. I had ordered some Honeybell oranges through an offer on QVC, and they arrived this week. They were delicious, and I ate enough of them to know!

For all of these things, and many more, I am truly thankful. I am thankful, too, for my daughter's example, which I started following in listing some of the things I'm thankful for from the previous weeks. Philip Yancy, in his book Grace Notes, had this paragraph: "In the Beatitudes, Jesus honored people who may not enjoy many privileges in this life. To the poor, the mourners, the meek, the hungry, the persecuted, the poor in heart, he offered assurance that their service would not go unrecognized. They would receive ample reward. Wrote C. S. Lewis, "We are half-hearted creature, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea."

Writing down a few of my blessings helps me to focus on the "better things" which God has given.
Grace and Peace,
Elaine

Showers of Blessings

2010-01-19T00:50:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm sending a weekly list of blessings (even though late this time by my own announced schedule). But here goes at least some of the many blessings I've received this week through the grace of God.

1. Some of my grandchildren live close enough to us that my son brings his family over to visit about once a week. That includes two of my grandsons (and another grandchild "on the way" --Ultrasound is scheduled for this afternoon, so we may have word on that soon). Last Monday night (Jan. 11th) they came over
(as well as last night (Jan. 18th)), but I've had this note about their 1/11 visit to tell about all week.

The most notable event of that visit was that our grandson Jake (aged 4) "preached" to us at one point when we were all sitting in the den. His topic was the power of God, and I'm telling you he is mightily convinced of the power of God, and so were we! During his "sermon" he paused to lead us all in singing the Doxology ("Praise God from whom all blessings flow . . . "), during which time our 2-year-old grandson, Isaac, joined in lustily. (I didn't realize that Isaac had already learned the Doxology). Later, Isaac uttered aloud The Apostles' Creed ("I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth . . .") flawlessly. When, open-mouthed, I looked at my son, he said that Isaac had learned it by hearing them say it at their nightly Family Worship, and that he (my son) was as surprised as I was the first time Isaac said it from memory. It was a special time for us.

2. I learned a week or so ago how to order the DVD about the Peasall Sisters (the voices of the singers who sang the voices of the little girls in the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" -- they were turned down for the movie parts because they were told they weren't "pitiful-looking enough", but their voices are the voices you hear when the little girls in the movie are singing*). These angelic-sounding little girls (although rapidly growing up) are from a Christian homeschooling family, and when the DVD arrived this past week, I was anxious to hear it. I wasn't disappointed at the wonderful family harmony on the DVD, and it made me think of my own granddaughters who, when we were visiting with them at Thanksgiving sang in harmony with their dad. They sang "I Sing the Mighty Power of God" beautifully --thrilled my soul! I especially like family harmony, and especially when the family is mine . . .

3. A package arrived from my daughter this week which helped us to continue to "recuperate" from whatever this is that we've had. It was sublingual B12, and it worked wonders! We continue to improve, though slowly. My dh, who had been questioning whether he was going to be able to make his planned trip to the Philippines next week, now says he's ready to go. Thanks so much to my sweet daughter for so thoughtfully sending this!

4. The snow has melted, and warmer temperatures have arrived. Though not the mid-80s that my husband will probably be enjoying this time next week, I was glad to see the snow leave. Snow is definitely more fun when kids are around, but I'm now old enough that the countless mugs of hot cocoa and the constant in-and-out -- along with wet mittens, scarves, and such -- would be a little bit of a strain at this point in my routine. :-) I remember those days fondly, but not sure I'm up to that level of chaos now, at least on the heels of illness.

5. This next item is a mostly material thing, but it helps me feel like I'm working on my little garden (sort of). I ordered a pad for my garden swing (which I look out on as I stand at my kitchen sink.) It's a little thing, but I'm glad it's done. It's supposed to be here long before the first plant will go in, but I'm glad the ordering at least is done. I got so far behind on EVERYTHING while I was sick, that I'm feeling a little more in control by taking care of this little item on my "to do" list.

*The best way to hear The Peasall Sisters (if you don't have a recording handy) is if you just type in The Peasall Sisters in your web browser . . . there are several entries that will come up. One of my favorites is "Where No One Stands Alone".) I couldn't get a "link" to work, due to my lack of computer skills I'm sure, but the best I can tell you is about the web browser -- it worked for me.

That's my partial list for this week, and since it's the wee hours of the morning here, I'll end at this point although I'm fully aware of many more blessings. God bless you all this week!

2010-01-10T18:05:00.000-08:00

Some of This Week's Blessings

Although this week started out with my continued ailment (some “bug” of some kind that has lasted for weeks now, as well as a bad head cold), I have been hoping to get back to my once-a-week (or so) list of things to be thankful for. And in spite of continuing health maladies, it has turned out to be a week of continued blessings.

Added to my hope of listing these blessings, I have been having a song in my mind, and have been encouraged by this song to make more of an effort. The song is by Gloria and Bill Gaither, and it’s titled “I Could Never, Never Outlove the Lord.

There’ve been times when living and loving brought pain,
And I promised I would never let it happen again,
But I found out that loving was well worth the risk,
And that even in losing you win.

(Chorus)
I’m gonna live the way He wants me to live,
I’m gonna give until there’s just no more to give;
I’m gonna love, love till there’s just no more love –
I could never, never outlove the Lord.

So here’s my list for this week:

1. Master Gardener’s Certification – For the last several months I’ve been attending once-a-week three-hour classes in a neighboring city as a master-gardener-in-training. In Mid-December the three-hour final exam was given. On New Year’s Eve, I got the word that I had passed the exam, and I’m very thankful for that. I learned a lot and hope to put some of what I learned into practice, starting this Spring. I love flowers, and fresh vegetables . . .

2. On Sunday night, I received an e-mail asking if I would write an article for a nationally known periodical, and it needed to be in their hands by today. Now, I’m not a fast writer usually (which was a mere six days), but because the editor of this periodical has been doing a stellar job, and I wanted to help if I could, I agreed to give it a try. He assigned a particular subject, and I set out on this task on Monday. Since my plans to go on a private spiritual retreat starting Monday had to be cancelled (mostly because of weather), I was able to concentrate and pray (which was what I had hoped to do on the retreat anyway—just on other subjects), and (this still amazes me to think of), I had it to him before Tuesday. That gave us plenty of time for editing and polishing, and he is a particularly gifted editor and enhanced the article considerably. I’m very thankful that I was able to do this, and was encouraged myself in the writing of this article while I was meditating on this subject.

3. While I was planning for my retreat, I had gathered some reading material to contemplate on my retreat. One of the things I had planned to take with me was a copy of Philip Yancey’s book Grace Notes. This is a book of selections for each day of the week, taken from Philip’s many previously written books, and articles. Philip Yancey is a favorite writer of mine and I went ahead and started the daily readings. This has been a special blessing to me this week and I’m very thankful for these readings. It has helped me stay focused.

4. We received in the mail today a booklet from an Elder and friend, who had written about his experiences in the Philippines. Included in the booklet were some very nice things that he wrote about my dh Travis. I’m especially glad to have this booklet to send to my children as a reminder of their dad’s character and work.

5. Also in today’s mail was the Burpee Catalog for the next growing season. I’ve been enjoying going through this catalog and marking things I’m interested in planting. Although we’re “snowed in” here today, the beautiful pictures and interesting descriptions of plants are making me long for the renewal of Spring. And turning my mind also to the renewal that we can always look forward to in this journey of faith we’re on. And on that note, I’m also thankful that today, for the first time in a l-o-n-g time, I’m actually feeling like doing something. (And my poor neglected house—due to my illness incapacitation for quite awhile—will benefit greatly if I continue to feel this well). So I’m thankful for actually feeling like getting to some of the chores staring me in the face.

Prayers to all for a blessed and profitable New Year in 2010!

2010

2010-01-02T11:20:00.001-08:00

After so long an absence, I'm not sure this blog is being read by anyone but me, but I do hope nevertheless to be more consistent with posting in this new year.

One reason that I didn't post for the last three months was because I was being a Master-Gardener-in-Training in a neighboring county, at a three-hour session once a week, starting in September and finishing up in mid-December. I got a call on New Year's Eve that I passed the three-hour final exam (did better than I had thought I did), and am now a certified Kentucky State Master Gardener. I enjoyed these sessions very much, made a lot of new friends and learned a lot, and will need to volunteer some hours with the County Extension office to complete the requirements, but I'm not worried about that at this point. Travis has also gotten interested in gardening, and that makes it more likely that I will be able to carry out some "yard plans" this next Spring and Summer.

Another reason for my lack of posts is that I have had some "bug" for weeks, and am just now beginning to pull out of it, very slowly. Along with this "bug", I had a cold and it all hasn't been very pleasant. It has slowed me up considerably with things around the house, so I will be playing "catch-up" in the weeks ahead. Travis plans to leave for the Philippines later this month (his 20th trip), and I plan to use the time in further decluttering and down-sizing here at the house. He had offered to take me to Mississippi again (like he did in August), and fly out of Jackson, then fly back in to Jackson and drive us home, but that really makes it harder on him. To have to drive 10 hours after a 17-hour flight just seemed like asking too much. He seemed relieved after I opted to just stay home, and work on things here.

He apparently caught the "bug" that I have had for so long, but I think he's beginning to feel some better, and he's not running temperature today. He's just coughing a lot. Please keep him (and me!) in your prayers that we'll be free of illness soon.

I knew this post was going to have to be curtailed before I really finished, and I'm closing this here (for now) so I can get my "next thing" done. I hope to continue this soon.

Zephaniah 3:

2009-09-26T12:16:00.000-07:00

Sing, O daughter of Zion...
be glad and rejoice with all the heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!

(from Zephaniah 3:14)

Let All Things Now Living

2009-09-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

I just learned about the song below, and really like the words . . . .

Let All Things Now Living
(Tune: Ash Grove--Traditional Welsh Melody)

Let all things now living
A song of thanksgiving
To God the Creator triumphantly raise;
Who fashioned and made us,
Protected and stayed us,
Who still guides us on to the end of our days.

God's banners are o'er us;
His light goes before us --
A pillar of fire shining forth in the night --
Till shadows have vanished
and darkness is banished,
As forward we travel from light into light.

2. His law He enforces;
The stars in their courses
And sun in its orbit obediently shine.
The hills and the mountains
The rivers and fountains,
The deeps of the ocean proclaim Him divine.

We, too should be voicing
Our love and rejoicing
With glad adoration a song let us raise
Till all things now living
Unite in thanksgiving:
"To God in the highest,
Hosanna and praise!"______________________________________

Alleluia! Alleluia, a song let us raise
Till all things now living Unite in thanksgiving:
"To God in the highest, hosanna and praise!"

Morning by morning, New mercies I see

2009-09-12T06:25:00.000-07:00

This morning I enjoyed my daughter's blog post so much, that I decided to post it here. However, I'm not sure I'm computer savvy enough to know how to do this, so I'm going to (1) try to copy and paste it here and (2) if that doesn't work, I'll post the blog URL and you'll have to do that part yourselves, but I assure you it's worth the effort (even if my daughter IS the one who wrote it -- not bragging, just enjoying).

Later . . .
(Okay, it posted--below--but not with the listening links to Michael Card's songs on the CD Poeima . . . if you want to hear those, you'll have to go to her blog yourself, which is http://barchesterexcerpts.blogspot.com/ ). I don't know why the hypertext didn't show up, but you can copy and paste into your browser thingamajig, and it'll come up.

Friday, September 11, 2009
Morning By Morning, New Mercies I See
The Correspondent

At the end of every week, I try to post some of my favorite happenings from the previous seven days. For a while, I joined in the fun at Susanne's Friday’s Fave Five meme/carnival, but time no longer allows me to participate in the way I'd like.

I've hung on to the habit, however, of listing some of my cherished highlights.

1. Revisiting Old Tunes – I’ve always enjoyed the CD Poiema by Michael Card, but for a while, it was forgotten in our rows and rows of music. Recently, I dug it out, ripped it to my laptop, and synced it to my iPod, and I’ve been listening again to some old favorite songs, such as "The Poem of Your Life" –

The pain and the longing
The joy and the moments of light
Are the rhythm and rhyme
The free verse of the poem of life

"The Basin and the Towel" is based on Christ’s washing of His disciples’ feet –

And the call is to community,
The impoverished power that sets the soul free.
In humility, to take the vow,
That day after day we must take up the basin and the towel.

I particularly love this part:

In any ordinary place,
On any ordinary day,
The parable can live again
When one will kneel and one will yield.

And the bridge:

And the space between ourselves sometimes
Is more than the distance between the stars.
By the fragile bridge of the Servant’s bow
We take up the basin and the towel.

Oh, how I wish I could write like that!

"Sunrise of Your Smile" is about relishing those light bulb moments in home education when your child(ren) catch on to something and really “get it.” –

I would wander weary miles,
Would welcome ridicule, my child,
To simply see the sunrise of your smile,
To see the light behind your eyes,
The happy thought that makes you fly,
Yes, I would wander weary miles,
To simply see the sunrise of your smile.

There are other fine songs, such as "Bearers of the Light," "Earthly Perfect Harmony," "For F.F.B.," "Home," and "Hope." Good stuff, that.

2. Speaking of Good Writing – My friend Lynn (aka Queen Shenaynay) is blogging again over at The Beehive. Lynn, a two-year cancer survivor, offers some enlightening insights on bonus time, which is well worth reading.

3. Victor Hugo said– “Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age.” That makes me feel better, especially since a few telltale signs of old age are beginning to creep in, such as:

Perpetual Blinker – driving with one’s blinker on for longer than the time it takes to change lanes,

Granny Fanny – bending at the waist instead of the knees, causing one’s rear end to point heavenward,

Bibliophile’s Bane – realizing that all printed material I want to read looks like this
(See her blog to view illustration)

4. Touché, Kindred Spirit – The other day, I was caught behind a slow driver (in the fast lane, no less!), and when I passed her, I noticed she was holding a book up on the steering wheel, reading while driving. I couldn’t believe it! How dangerous! And then I glanced down at the scripture memory cards in my lap. :::gulp:::

The incident reminded me of this Tim Hawkins line: "I was driving the other day, and this lady was swerving in and out of traffic, talking on her cell phone, AND doing her makeup at the same time. Driving with her knees. I was so upset, man, I almost spilled my bowl of cereal."

5. Real Manhood – I watched with a grateful heart, full of love, as Mr. Knightley ran through the house, playing good-guys/bad-guys with the boys. As they brandished swords and wielded Uzis, the three men in my life were in fantasy land, chasing, shooting, fencing, and ridding the world of evil.

I’m thankful Mr. Knightley isn’t preoccupied with looking cool or macho. Some of the coolest and manliest things a guy can do are to relate to his children and be a great daddy.

Posted by The Correspondent at 9/11/2009 0 comments
Labels: Fave Five

Blessings to all this week,
Elaine

Still here and planning to blog soon

2009-08-08T11:01:00.000-07:00

I'm dreadfully late at posting a new blog post, but I do have a reason (or rather reasons). One is that it was my turn to do the Family Reunion Letters telling of our reunion coming up in October, and I really needed to get those out last week, along with the updated Family Address Lists. My family are mostly located in Alabama and Mississippi, with some of us as far away as Texas, Kentucky and Indiana, so there were a lot of phone calls to make. Since the last address lists went out, there have been moves, marriages, and births. Everything got done, and the letters have been mailed and received, according to the feedback I've gotten, so that task is now out of the way. Unfortunately, because of so much typing the arthritis is my hand is acting up, and since my doctors have been trying to get my medicine dosages regulated for top efficiency (and safety!), I haven't been getting as large a dosage of my arthritis medicine. Therefore, this morning--when I had planned to 1. answer Connie's question relating to my last blog post, and 2. write my list of things I'm thankful for this week and 3. write a blog about our Creation Museum visit -- I am instead nursing a hurting right hand. In fact, I probably need to end this here and hope my medicine starts to work soon. Just wanted to let it be known that I am still here . . . and hope to be back soon. I just have to "pace" myself for now.

Worldview Weekend, Part 2

2009-07-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

It's been a whole week since we returned from the Worldview Weekend in Cincinnati, and I've had interruptions and distractions galore, but--as promised--I'm going to try to get a few notes down about the Worldview Weekend, sponsored by Baptist Bible Hour. It really was a very helpful time with other believers.

One side note: The folks at Cincinnati Primitive Baptist Church, where the event was held, were so gracious and warn that it added quite a bit to our experience. Special kudos go to Sister Chau Huffman, who I was told was responsible for a lot of the food (she baked 10 cakes the week before!) and some of the ambience. Snacks were timely and wise (fruit, juices, coffee, and cookies were some of the offerings); the meals were delicious and beautifully (and thoughtfully) presented, and the sisters at the church were intent on serving in a gracious way. Their smiling faces added to the ambience!

Jeff Baldwin, Research Director for Worldview Academy and Creative Editor for the book Understanding the Times (by David A. Noebel), was the invited speaker. Jeff lives in Colorado with his wife Linda and their three children, but he had traveled to Cincinnati directly from a Worldview Academy Camp in Pennsylvania. He has been a busy man this summer, leading several of these camps in different parts of the country, and we were blessed to have him with us.

I'm not clear if Jeff gave these next two quotes, or if I heard it elsewhere during the weekend, but I liked them and wrote them down in my notes: " . . . viewing the world through the Bible, instead of viewing the Bible through the world." As someone wrote to me last week, we need to "recognize the value of such a study to any of us who daily confront a culture increasingly based on some other world view than the one on which our nation was built. I too am thankful for the leadership of Elder Bradley and Elder Huffman as they follow the leadership of the Spirit in trying to meet the needs of the flock over which the Lord has made them overseers."

The other quote that I especially liked was that we need to have and to be able to articulate " . . . a purposeful worldview shaped by the Bible...". And that's what the weekend was offered to help us to do.

Jeff Baldwin spoke of (and some of the following may also have come from his website):

Two distinctions and two dichotomies should be considered. In the Christian worldview, the two distinctions are:
1. Creator / Creature
2. In the world / not "of the world"

Those seem to be somewhat self-explanatory to me, and since I'm a little short on time at the moment, I won't addresss them here further at this time. Please e-mail me if you want me to address these further.

The two dichotomies which seemed to have come about in recent years are:
1. Faith / Reason
2. Sacred / Secular

I don't have a lot of notes on these, because I had been already studying worldviews for several years. But they are false dichotomies -- there is no dichotomy between faith and reason, and there's no division between sacred and secular. "All knowledge is God's knowledge".

On Jeff's website, there is a listing of Christian views of God, man, Scripture, and knowledge. Under the "knowledge" heading is the last quote in the last paragraph. Under the Christian view of God, we believe the following distinctive things about God: 1.Trinity 2.Incarnation 3.God's Holiness and grace and 4. God as Creator.
Under the Christian view of man, we believe: 1.Man is created in God's image; 2.Original Sin; Under the Christian view of Scripture, we believe: 1.Trustworthy revelation 2.People of the Book 3.Needs good, careful readers.

Our "presuppositions" are assumptions that determine how we view the world. And "only Scripture allows humans to know anything for certain". So many statements from science are theories and presuppositions.

A Chrisian Worldview -- Understanding the key distinctions of our faith.

One of the most interesting times during the lecture was when Jeff addressed the question, "What is the nature of man?". He pointed out that the Christian worldview says that man is inherently sinful. And pointed out that this doctrinal truth provides a "framework for understanding reality". He compared other beliefs (Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Muslim. and others, and showed what they believed about the nature of man, and how we could answer their challenges with light instead of heat.

Jeff reminded us that we are called to love God with our hearts, souls, strength, and minds, and are to "take every thought captive", and we are to be "transformed by the renewing of our minds". We are to be aware, with our minds and hearts, of four things about our individual worldviews: Heritage, Identity, Purpose, and Destiny. He pointed out that everyone has a worldview (which includes presuppositions about the world), and everyone has faith. Another statement he said that "rang true" was that a false worldview is "not a lack of intellect, but because of blindness". You probably are all aware of the Scriptures that support this, so--because of lack of time--I won't add them here.

One portion of Saturday's presentation was telling of several instances where one man influenced culture's beliefs about issues. These were mostly good examples (Wm. Wilburforce's being responsible for getting slaves freed in England, David Brainerd and his work with American Indians, Dietrich Bonhoeffer in World War II (which cost him his life) standing against Nazism and its evil results, and others. He also mentioned Adolf Hitler in Germany, and Margaret Sanger (who was the founder of Planned Parenthood) as negative influences on society. Thankfully, he didn't spend much time on these, just enough to show how one person can make a difference.

Jeff Baldwin reminded us that "God still works in history" and that "Grace breaks through", and that "Ideas have consequences". "Only Christianity fits reality" said Jeff.

I will leave you here, because of time and space, but feel free to e-mail me, or comment below.

My "Indiana" grandsons

2009-07-21T10:19:00.000-07:00

When my son and daughter-in-law first entered the "blogging world", they asked that their blog addess not be given out. But more recently they said I could give it to a few close friends, so here it is: http://houslinghurstherald.blogspot.com/ (I'm not sure why the hypertext link didn't appear, but it can be copied and pasted into your browser. Let me know if you have any problems, and I'll do (what little) I can to help.

The reason I'm sending this is mainly in case you want to view my youngest grandson, Isaac (who is a fearless adventurer), in his most recent exploration -- turning a plastic table upside down and planting one of each of his appendages on each leg facing up. It's the "Picture of the week" on the upper right hand side of the opening page. And, you may not be able to tell it, but he's smiling in the picture (while his mom's heart temporarily stops). We're glad his dad had a camera in his hand and could capture this feat.

These boys, as well as my five Mississippi grandchildren, are a true joy to me. And, like ya'll's grandchildren, are "far above average" (as Garrison Keillor refers to the children of Lake Woebegone,on his radio show). I'm so thankful that my children and their spouses are committed to "raising them right". :-)

This is on my "thankfulness" list every week (actually every day).

My Help Comes from God

2009-07-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

When I checked the flip calendar for today's date this morning, this is what I read:

"Have not I commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 NASB

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Then, when I checked Amy Carmichael's Edges of His Ways, the reading was as follows:

"More than half the troubles that come to us com because of words. There is a question that has often helped me: "Wherefore hearest thou men's words?" (1 Sam. 24:9).

"I suggest that next time you are afflicted by words you should let that quiet question do its work in your heart. No one yet did anything worth doing without finding, sooner or later, that words buzzed about him (or her) in a most distressing way. May the Lord help us to go on lovingly, peacefully, steadfastly. "My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise." (Psa. 37:7) One look up into the face of our Lord and the thought of any hurting word melts like a little cloud in the blue of the sky above us. And if it be so now, what will it be when we see Him, whom we have not yet seen, face to face?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These words, including the Scriptures, were very helpful to me today. Thank you, Father.

He is Risen Indeed!

2009-04-11T11:44:00.000-07:00

I've been having a lot of "Easter-related" thoughts running through my mind lately, as well as the following little couplet (which probably comes from a longer poem, but I've forgotten it apparently). The little part of the poem I'm remembering often these days is this:

Jesus Christ, on a cross of wood
Made the hill on which it stood.

Blessings to all this Easter. Deeply felt appreciation and thanksgiving to our Father, God, and his Son the Lord Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace,
Elaine

Keeping in Touch

2009-03-31T12:45:00.001-07:00

I have been woefully unsuccessful in "keeping up" with this blog, so when I noticed it today I decided to post on this last day of March. Maybe I can keep up with at least one post a month.

I've had a little four-line poem running through my mind the last few days, and I decided to share it on this blog. I heard it from Elisabeth Elliot, but can't remember the author of this poem at the time. Maybe I can add that later . . .

The poem is:

All as God wills
Who wisely heeds
To give or to withhold
And knoweth more
Of all my needs
Than all my prayers have told.

That's it for the moment. I need to see if I can still remember how to post to this blog before I go any further.
Grace and Peace,
Elaine

Into the New Year 2009

2009-02-01T15:21:00.000-08:00

Well, as noted in my previous post at the end of December 2008, we did travel to Memphis for New Year's and enjoyed very much seeing the New Year in with the folks at Grace Chapel PBC. In addition, we had dinner out one night with dear and old friends, as well as "saying goodbye" to another elderly friend who has been "promoted to glory". We visited with her in Missouri in August last year, and she allowed me to take her photo several times. One of the photos turned out especially well, and I have a copy of it in my kitchen where I can see it often. She was "counting her blessings" the day we were there, and when I look at her smiling face, I'm reminded to "count my blessings", which are many.

Last week, we've endured an ice storm and some snow, and played host/hostess to our son and his family (he, his wife, and two boys)since they were without power. It's been a joy to have them here, and since they still haven't had power restored they may be here a little longer, but ice and snow is fast melting -- temps were in the 40s yesterday and today.

Our future plans include a trip to Minnesota in mid-February (weather permitting) for a Conference, which I'm very much looking forward to. The theme is "Proclaiming All God's Wonderous Works: Creation, Redemption, and Future Glory", and several of the workshops look particularly interesting, including "The Garden as Sacred Art" by a well-known (in Memphis) landscape designer.

Approaching the New Year

2008-12-27T01:50:00.000-08:00

Now that the Christmas holiday is past, the next thing on the horizon is the new year of 2009. We plan/hope to visit with friends in a city south of here. A couple that we have known for decades have agreed to meet us for dinner Tuesday night, and then Wednesday night we'll go to the church they serve (he's the senior pastor) and see in the changing of the years with friends there.

A sad/happy note intercedes: an elderly friend passed away this last week and will be buried on Tuesday, so we hope to be able to attend her funeral. The funeral home is on the same road that our lodgings are on, so it shouldn't be hard to find in that large city. This elderly friend was a joy and an inspiration during her life here on earth, so we're actually looking forward to "saying goodbye". She was a faithful witness to our Lord while she lived here on earth, so I'm sure she's happy now, and though it's hard to think of her not being on earth, we can picture her in heaven, knowing she's happy there.

A Thanksgiving Hymn

2008-11-22T12:04:00.000-08:00

Mostly just to have a post in the month of November, but also because we are fast approaching Thanksgiving day, I thought I'd give the words to a well-known hymn that we often sing on Thanksgiving. The truth is that I've only recently remembered how to post to my blog, and want to keep it somewhat current for when I have something to say that I think you may enjoy, and possibly benefit from. Here are the words to the hymn:

Come, Ye Thankful People Come (Words by Henry Alford, 1810-1871)

Come, ye thankful people, come,
Raise the song of harvest home!
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our wants to be supplied:
Come to God's own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvest home.

All the world is God's own field,
Fruit unto His praise to yield;
Wheat and tares together sown,
Unto joy or sorrow grown;
First the blade, and then the ear,
Then the full corn shall appear;
Lord of harvest, grant that we
Wholesome grain and pure may be.

For the Lord your God shall come,
And shall take His harvest home;
From His field shall in that day
All offenses purge away;
Give His angels charge at last
In the fire the tares to cast;
But the fruitful ears to store
In His garner evermore.

Even so, Lord, quickly come,
To Thy final harvest home;
Gather Thou Thy people in,
Free from sorrow, free from sin;
There, forever purified,
In Thy presence to abide;
Come, with all Thine angels, come,
Raise the glor'ous harvest home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Poem of Thanksgiving

2008-10-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

I know it's a few weeks until Thanksgiving, but I refer to this poem often throughout the year. It's by Elisabeth Payson Prentiss (author of "Stepping Heavenward") and ever since I "discovered" it a couple or so years ago (or more), it's been a favorite prayer-poem of mine. I had it memorized once, and I'm on my way to getting it memorized again . . .

I thank Thee, O my God, that through Thy grace
I know Thee, who Thou art;
That I have seen the beauty of Thy face
And felt Thee in my heart.

I thank Thee, O my Saviour who hast deigned
To stoop to even me;
Within my inmost soul hast ruled and reigned,
And will my ranson be.

I thank Thee, Holy Spirit, that Thy wings
Brood o'er my wandering mind;
Bringing to my remembrance sacred things
To which my eyes were blind

I thank Thee, Triune God! But oh, how cold
The warmest words I speak;
For love and goodness strange and manifold
All human words are weak.

O teach me, then, to praise Thee with my life,
With stern obedience;
To make the atmosphere about me rife
With silent eloquence!

More from Ruth Bell Graham ("Letters from Ruth's Attic")

2008-09-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

See post below ("Rich Thoughts To Ponder") for intro regarding this source. The following "devotion" is from "Day 5", titled "God's Greatest Pleasure". It begins with the passage from John 15:10 (NIV): "If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love."

Then she writes:
"Tonight, as I sit on the porch, our old German shepherd is lying at my feet. As a low mutter of thunder rumbles in the distance, he lifts his great head and gives a deep warning bark. Then, as the storm nears, he rises with a lurch and tears into the front yard to meet it.

"The storm is on us, the great dog furiously doing battle with it. As it passes, he returns to the porch, settling contentedly at my feet convinced he has driven it away.

"Protecting and pleasing us is his very life."

"He is a German guard dog, given to us years ago by concerned friends. He had been carefully trained in search and rescue, attack, and obedience.

"I cannot imagine an occasion when we would give the order to attack. It's the obedience training that gives us real joy. To stop, to sit, to lie down, to go away, to search, to stay, to heel. A disobedient dog is only a headache; he can be a liability. Obedience makes a dog a joy.

"Is it less so with God and His children?"

"I think obedience, more than anything else, must give the Lord pleasure. Simple obedience. Joyful, eager, unquestioning obedience; to be able to say with the psalmist, "I delight to do Thy will, O my God" (Psalm 40:8, KJV), would be the height of training for the Christian.

"For it is this that gives God the greatest pleasure.

~*~

"Prayer for the Day: Father, thank You for loving me enough to send Jesus to die for my sins. May I respond to Your great gift by obeying Your Word and abiding in Your love."

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Rich Thoughts to Ponder

2008-09-16T11:54:00.000-07:00

I'm reading more than one book from the writings of Ruth Bell Graham. One of these books is "Letters from Ruth's Attic" (subtitled 31 Daily Insights for Knowing God's Love), and I have found several of the devotional-type pages to be very helpful. This is published by the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2007, and is a compilation of of some of her writings for Decision magazine. I highly recommend this book to anyone who takes living the Christian life seriously, and appreciates the encouragement found in the writings of committed Christians.

One of my favorite "devotions" is the one for Day 20. It starts off with the passage from Romans 8:1-2 (NIV here) which reads, "There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." The "writing" is entitled "Remember Your Position".

Excerpted: "The local sheriff had tightened the requirements for his deputies. They had to qualify on the firing range, where the distance had been extended by 10 yards. Each deputy had 18 seconds to get off 12 shots.

The deputy with the best shot was a personal friend of ours named George. But the day before the trials, he had been fitted with trifocals. When his turn came, he drew a bead on the target.
"Suddenly," he told me later, "I began to perspire. And when I perspire, my glasses fog up. There I was with a bead drawn on the target, and all I could see was fog."
But then he remembered what he'd been taught in the Navy: "If you ever lose sight of the target, just remember your position."
So with time running out, George just held his position and pulled the trigger as fast as he could. When he took off his glasses and wiped them, he saw that every shot had hit the bull's-eye.
There are times as Christians when we, for some reason, lose sight of our target, which is to glorify the Lord. Tears blur our vision. Unexplained tragedy raises questions that cannot be answered and shakes our faith to its foundations.
Then we must remember that our position is "in Christ." As if we are tired or hurt children, He will gather both us and our loads.
Though we may not see the target, if we just "remember our position," we won't miss.

Ruth Graham, in this writing, also includes a "Prayer for the Day: "I know that I am your child, Father, and You will allow nothing to separate me from your love, which is in Christ. Remind me of my position when life threatens my trust in You."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A couple of quotations I've come across recently . . .

2008-09-08T09:29:00.000-07:00

"Faith can read love in God's heart
when His face frowns." James Renwick, Scottish Covenanter

"A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers." Dr. Robert Quillen

Collectibles

2008-09-08T09:09:00.000-07:00

I've been reading about Ruth Bell Graham a lot lately -- her writings, her poetry, her biography, etc. and have been uplifted and inspired by this gracious lady's life. When I read her notes and comments about "Collectibles" it hit a nerve. As I'm now in my sixth decade of life, I've recently had to weed out some of the things I've collected in years past because there just isn't space for it all. I've tried to give away some of it, pass some things on to ones that would inherit it when I die, or make other purposeful decisions to dispose of some of it. I inherited my father's coin collection, and I started many years ago collecting tea pots and tea accessories, but had to put a stop to that due to my very generous friends and family. You can only use one tea pot at a time!

I heartily confirm Ruth's suggestion below. Some things are greatly worth collecting!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

From the writings of Ruth Bell Graham:

People are writing and talking about "collectibles." They can be a hedge against inflation, sort of a cusion in case of depression. They are small items that initially may have cost little or nothing but that increase startlingly in value in a relatively short period of time. Included are old stamps, rare coins, old photographs, paintings, even certain cans and bottles.

I got to thinking. What would be the best collectible for me? Something that would increase in value; something that would make me really wealthy; something I could share that would be a cushion in case of depression, and could provide comfort in case of the death of a loved one or of old age.

I had it! Bible verses. I had started long ago.

In China [where RBG was born and raised] Miss Lucy Fletcher offered us, her students, $5.00 (a lot of money for a missionary's kid) if we would memorize the Sermon on the Mount. Hours and hours of going over and over Matthew 5, 6, 7. When the time came to recite it, I made one mistake so got only $4.50. But I wouldn't take one thousand times that amount in place of having memorized it. RBG.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Scripture passage that's been on my mind

2008-09-08T06:21:00.001-07:00

Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Gal 5:23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Many reasons for Praise

2008-09-07T04:42:00.000-07:00

Travis is back home from his seventeenth trip to the Philippines!! I'm glad to have him back on American soil, but am glad he could be of help to the Filipino people.

On this trip one of his projects involved setting up a "rabbit production project" so that 42 malnourished children aged six and under could receive a hearty protein/rice meal once a day that, though set up by the government with chickens as the protein, was going to be difficult to continue indefinitely. Hence, the rabbits . . . It looks as if this may get those kids fed well at least once a day. Much appreciation to all who pray for Travis on these trips . . . we especially appreciate your prayers when we can see something this positive as a result of your prayers and his efforts.

He saw the hand of the Lord more than once on this trip (as on the other trips), especially this time when a meeting was cancelled, and the area experienced gunfire at the time the meeting would have been held. Thanks also for your prayers for his protection.

Praise, praise Jehovah, God of our salvation;
Praise, praise to Thee, on whom we cast our care.
We offer Thee our loving adoration;
Praise, praise to Thee, the God who answers prayer.

We came to Thee for clear and heavenly vision,
That with Thy will our will be in accord.
We came in need of Thy divine provision,
And Thou didst hear and answer, blessed Lord.

(A. Carmichael)

O What A Love! (Psalm 97:11)

2008-09-07T04:14:00.000-07:00

Fire cannot burn, nor can the waters drown us;
They can but call Thy gracious help again.
And lovingkindness, tender mercies crown us,
Though we be least of all the sons of men.

O what a Love that patiently empowereth;
O what a Love that blesseth common days,
In earthly garden soweth seed that flowereth
In light and gladness; Lord, Thy love we praise!

~ A. Carmichael
(from p. 57 of her book of poetry, Mountain Breezes
(Christian Literature Crusade, 1999)

A Prayer/Poem, corrected

2008-09-05T12:58:00.000-07:00

Test me, Lord, and give me strength
to meet each test
unflinching, unafraid;
not striving nervously to do my best
not self-assured, or careless as in jest
but with Your aid.
Purge me, Lord, and give me grace
to bear the heat
of cleansing flame;
not bitter at my lowly lot, but meet
to bear my share of suffering and keep sweet
in Jesus' Name.

by Ruth Bell Graham

A Prayer/Poem

2008-09-05T12:55:00.001-07:00

When Ruth Bell Graham left China to go to college in America (Wheaton in Illinois), she penned the following prayer/poem -- good for all trials:

Test me, Lord, and give me strength
to meet each test
unflinching, unafraid;
not striving nervously to do my best
not self-assured, or careless as in just
but with Your aid.
Purge me, Lord, and give me grace
to bear the heat
of cleansing flame;
not bitter at my lowly lot, but meet
to bear my share of suffering and keep sweet
in Jesus' Name.

by Ruth Bell Graham

"Our eyes upon Thy face"

2008-09-05T07:24:00.000-07:00

We Peters
walking on life's sea,
implore ignoring grace
of heaving waves;
oh, let us be,
however weak,
intent on Thee;
our eyes upon Thy face.

Ruth Bell Graham
(from "Sitting by my laughing fire . . . "
Word Books, 1977)

Recipe

2008-09-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

Back in the first week or so of August, fellow blogger and dear sister-in-Christ Catherine Case Blevins, posted a recipe for "Easy Shepherd's Pie" to her blog (http://oldspillhouse.blogspot.com). I tried it yesterday (adding only a couple of pinches of Herbs du Provence on top of the Dinty's Beef Stew before I put on the mashed potatoes, and this one's a winner! I decided to include it here because, as Catherine said, it's hot and super-easy and it's good!

Recipe (and post) below:

Friday, August 8, 2008
Easy Shephard's Pie Recipe

It's always nice to have some quick, easy recipes up your sleeve that will produce a hot meal on short notice. This is a new one for us and almost everyone around here will eat it :) Imagine!

If you have some similarly simple and fast recipes, please share! We'll be getting busier around here pretty soon with school starting and a few extracurricular activities this year and the easier dinner can be, the better!

Enjoy!

Easy Shephard's Pie

1 (40 oz.) can DINTY MOORE Beef Stew
1 (24 oz.) package refrigerated mashed potatoes (any flavor) or you can make instant mashed potatoes for 6 people
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place beef stew in an 11x7-inch baking dish. [I added the herb blend of Herbes du Provence at this point. EGH] Spoon mashed potatoes over stew. Place baking dish on a cookie sheet. Bake, uncovered, for 30-35 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Top pie with cheese during the last 5 minutes of baking. Serves 8.

Posted by CAB at 11:05 AM 0 witty remarks
Thursday, August 7, 2008

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" . . . that I might go free."

2008-09-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

There are no depths
to which I have gone
or to which I could go,
but Thou, in Thy fathomless
mercy and love
didst still sink below,
plumbing the depths
for a sin-ruined heart
indifferent to Thee;
draining the dregs
of God's holy wrath
that I might go free.

~~ Ruth Bell Graham
(from her book of poetry, "Sitting by my laughing fire . . . ")
(Word Books, 1977)

Broken Bread and Poured-out Wine (a poem)

2008-09-04T09:39:00.000-07:00

"We took . . .
and blessed
and broke . . . "
the Scriptures say,
the bread
with which those hungry folk
were fed
that day.

* * *

And by this simple act
--so oddly His --
two, bewildered
by their loss
(whose Life had died
upon a cross,
pierced by nail and sword);
those two, eyes opened,
saw in this
their Risen Lord.

* * *

Lord,
when I dread
to be broken bread
and poured out wine
for You,
to satisfy man's hunger,
quench man's thirst,
remind me
how You blessed it
first.

~~ Ruth Bell Graham
(from her book of poetry, "Sitting by my laughing fire . . . ")
(Word Books, 1977)

(Scriptures referred to:
Matthew 14:19
Luke 24:30)

2008-09-04T09:23:00.000-07:00

Lord, when my soul is weary
and my heart is tired and sore,
and I have that failing feeling
that I can't take any more;
then let me know the freshening
found in simple, childlike prayer,
when the kneeling soul knows surely
that a listening Lord is there.

~~ Ruth Bell Graham
(from her book of poetry, "Sitting by my laughing fire . . . ")
(Word Books, 1977)

Thoughts

2008-09-04T09:19:00.000-07:00

Abiding in Christ

It is not in doing but in being
It is not in trying but in trusting
It is not in rushing but in resting
That we find the strength of the Lord
-- Unknown

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Psalm 34:3

2008-09-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

"Oh! Magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together!"

My first 2008 post -- by way of explanation

2008-09-04T07:17:00.000-07:00

Finally! I'm thrilled to have finally figured out again how to post to my blog -- and if anyone is still checking this "lost in space" blog, I plan to post more often now. I went through an interrupted period (illness, circumstances, etc.) when I wasn't able to post, and then when I COULD post, I had forgotten how to access the blog. (And, frankly, I don't think it was ALL my fault). Then another period of circumstances, etc. halted my involvement again, but finally I've got it figured out (I think). For all you computer techs out there, you're probably saying, "It isn't that hard . . . ", and I'm sure that's true, but if you don't know how, it's very hard. I am in my sixties, and although I heard recently that the sixties are the "youth of old age", still there's a lot of facts and thoughts stored in this new/old brain, and some of them take longer to retrieve than others. Added to this, I'm really into Scripture memorization. My long-held belief of "First Things First" often takes over. So please -- bear with me!

I hope to post from my reading soon, but I just wanted to "get things rolling" with this post. Now we'll see if I can get back in the post mode, technically, after I send this explanatory note.

If you're still reading, thanks . . . I hope to post some worthwhile reading material soon.

Grace and Peace,
Elaine

Random Quotes, Helpful Thoughts

2007-12-11T22:13:00.000-08:00

The Christian on his knees sees more than the philosopher on tiptoe.
~ Dwight L. Moody

Fragile trust is stronger than swaggering self-reliance.
~ Calvin Miller

Waiting in prayer is a disciplined refusal to act before God acts.
~ Eugene Peterson

Fretting springs from our determination to get our own way.
~ Oswald Chambers

Tell God you trust Him to make the best choice, even if to you it seems like the hard choice.
~ Leith Anderson

The great tragedy of life is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.
~ F. B. Meyer

Holiness is a way of life that emanates quietness and rest and the hope of a Savior.
~ Joni Eareckson Tada

There are no disappointments to those whose wills are buried in the will of God.
~ Frederick William Faber

Let us take all our wishes, all our longings . . . to the feet of our Father.
~ Frederick Temple

God will not compete for our attention. We must arrange time for our communion with Him.
~ Dallas Willard

Anxiety is a burden we are not called to bear.
~ David McCasland

Breathe a prayer of thanks for the breath of life.
~ Henry Bosch

Don't bow to your feelings. Make them bow to your God.
~ Jennifer Rothschild

Prayer trains the soul to singleness of focus: for God alone.
~ Eugene Peterson

There is nothing that Christians must do more frequently than praying.
~ Martin Luther

Desire . . . Fixed Where Joy Is Found

2007-12-01T09:20:00.000-08:00

Almighty God, You alone can bring into order the unruly wills and affections of sinners: Grant your people grace to love what you command and desire what you promise; that, among the swift and varied changes of the world, our hearts may surely there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen

A Promise

2007-12-01T09:14:00.000-08:00

O joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

George Matheson

"Come, Ye Thankful People, come"

2007-11-22T12:33:00.000-08:00

Come, ye thankful people, come
Raise the song of harvest home:
All is safely gathered in,
Ere the winter storms begin;
God, our Maker, doth provide
For our [needs] to be supplied:
Come to God's own temple, come,
Raise the song of harvesthome.

An Unoriginal Post (from a friend's blog)

2007-11-12T07:41:00.000-08:00

To Our Veterans Everywhere

Thank you for your service and your loyalty. For your bravery and your sacrifice.

We always want them home, but we always need them there. THANK YOU!

The Pilgrim Fathers

2007-11-12T00:05:00.000-08:00

A poem by English poet Felicia Hemans (1793-1835)

The breaking waves dashed high
On a stern and rock-bound coast,
And the woods against a stormy sky
Their giant branches tossed;

And the heavy night hung dark
The hills and waters o'er,
When a band of exiles moored their bark
On the wild New England shore.

Not as the conquerer comes,
They, the true-hearted came;
Not with the roll of stirring drums,
And the trumpet that sings of fame;

Not as the flying come,
In silence and in fear;
They shook the depths of the desert gloom
With their hymns of lofty cheer.

Amidst the storm they sang,
And the stars heard and the sea;
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang
To the anthem of the free!

The ocean eagle soared
From his nest by the white wave's foam;
And the rocking pines of the forest roared--
This was their welcome home!

There were men with hoary hair
Amidst that pilgrim band;
Why had they come to wither there
Away from their childhood's land?

There was woman's fearless eye,
Lit by her deep love's truth;
There was manhood's brow serenely high,
And the fiery heart of youth.

What sought they thus afar?
Bright jewels of the mine?
The wealth of seas, the spoils of war?
They sought a faith's pure shrine!

Aye, call it holy ground,
The soil where they first trod,
They have left unstained what there they found--
Freedom to worship God.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`

The Convert

2007-11-11T23:54:00.000-08:00

The Convert

After one moment I bowed my head
And the whole world turned over and came upright,
And I came out where the old road shone white,
I walked the ways and herd what all men said,
Forests of tongues, like autumn leaves unshed,
Being not unlovable but strange and light;
Old riddles and new creeds, not in despite
But softly, as men smile about the dead.

The sages have a hundred maps to give
That their crawling cosmos like a tree,
They rattle reason out through many a sieve
That stores the sand and lets the gold go free:
And all these things are less than dust to me
Because my name is Lazarus and I live.

-- G.K.Chesterton (1874-1936)
English journalist, novelist, and poet

Wise Words from an American President (1732-1799)

2007-11-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

"It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits and humbly implore His protection and favor.

George Washington (1732-1799)
First President of the United States

Faith

2007-11-11T23:41:00.001-08:00

"The steps of faith fall on the seeming void, but find the rock beneath."

John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892)
American Quaker poet

Author's Quote

2007-11-11T23:27:00.001-08:00

"I like insects for their stupidity. A paper wasp -- Polistes -- is fumbling at the stained-glass window on my right. I saw the same sight in the same spot last Sunday: Pssst! Idiot! Sweetheart! Go around by the door! I hope we seem as endearingly stupid to God -- bumbling down into lamps, running half-wit across the floor, banging for days at the hinge of an opened door."

Annie Dillard (1945--)
Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer
From Teaching a Stone to Talk

Lines from a friend's blog

2007-11-07T09:11:00.000-08:00

Our little systems
have their day;

They have their day
and cease to be:

They are but
broken lights of thee,

And thou, O Lord,
art more than they.

--Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Welcome, Jesus

2007-10-20T06:45:00.000-07:00

The following quote, from Samuel Rutherford, is from a friend's blog (she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, and has had surgery recently):

Welcome, welcome, Jesus, what way soever Thou come, if we can get a sight of Thee! And sure I am, it is better to be sick, providing Christ come to the bedside and draw by the curtains, and say, "Courage, I am Thy salvation," than to enjoy health, being lusty and strong, and never to be visited of God."

~ Samuel Rutherford, 1600-1661, an excerpt from a letter

Re: News Regarding Planned Trip / (Moving)

2007-10-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

Please see post dated September 25 (about 4 or 5 posts down) about "News Regarding Planned Trip" (which, as written about here, has been cancelled). Travis explains in this post.

"Learning the Father's Love" by Elisabeth Elliot

2007-10-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

"Learning the Father's Love"
by Elisabeth Elliot

and

"The Time to Trust"
(A Poem )

"When my brother Dave was very small, we spent a week at the seaside in Belmar, New Jersey. In vain my father tried to persuade the little boy to come into the waves with him and jump, promising to hold him safely and not allow the waves to sweep over his head. He took me (only a year older) into the ocean and showed Dave how much fun it would be. Nothing doing. The ocean was terrifying. Dave was sure it would mean certain disaster, and he could not trust his father. On the last day of our vacation he gave in. He was not swept away, his father held him as promised, and he had far more fun than he could have imagined, whereupon he burst into tears and wailed, "Why didn't you make me go in?"

"An early lesson in prayer often comes through an ordeal of fear. We face impending adversity and we doubt the love, wisdom and power of our Father in heaven. We've tried everything else and in our desperation we turn to prayer--of the primitive sort: here's Somebody who's reputed to be able to do anything. The great question is, can I get Him to do what I want? How do I twist His arm, how persuade a remote and reluctant deity to change His mind? "

"When the people of Israel were encamped in Pi-hahiroth and saw the Egyptians coming after them, they felt they were looking death in the face and it was all Moses' fault--"as if there weren't enough graves in Egypt that you brought us out here to die!"

"Don't be afraid," said Moses. "Stand by. The Lord will fight for you if you'll just be quiet."

"You know the story of deliverance--the sea was rolled back, Israel marched through it dry shod, and when the Egyptians pursued them the sea swamped their horses, their chariots, and the whole army. "Not even one of them remained." The song of victory Moses and Israel sang reveals their recognition not only of the strength, majesty and wonder-working of the Lord, but of His loving-kindness, immeasurably beyond anything they had dared to hope."

"Poor Dave! His father could have forced him to come into the water, but he could not have forced him to relax and enjoy it. As long as the child insisted on protecting himself, saving the life he was sure he would lose, he could not trust the strong love of his father. He refused to surrender. In this simple story we hear echoes of the most ancient story, of the two who, distrusting the word of their Father, fearing that obedience to Him would ultimately bar them from happiness, chose to repudiate their dependence on Him. Sin, death, destruction for the whole race were the result. "

"Learning to pray is learning to trust the wisdom, the power, and the love of our Heavenly Father, always so far beyond our dreams. He knows our need and knows ways to meet it that have never entered our heads. Things we feel sure we need for happiness may often lead to our ruin. Things we think will ruin us (the chariots of Egypt, the waters of the sea, or the little waves in Belmar!), if we believe what the Father tells us and surrender ourselves into His strong arms, bring us deliverance and joy. "

"The only escape from self-love is self-surrender. "Whoever loses his life for Me will find it" (Matthew 16:25, NIV). "Dwell in my love. If you heed my commands, you will dwell in my love, as I have heeded my Father's commands and dwell in His love. I have spoken thus to you, so that my joy may be in you, and your joy complete" (John 15:9-11, NEB). My father knew far better than his small, fearful, stubborn son what would give him joy. So does our Heavenly Father. Whenever I have resisted Him, I have cheated myself, as my little brother did. Whenever I have yielded, I have found joy. "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The Time to Trust

"When is the time to trust?
Is it when all is calm,
When waves the victor's palm,
And life is one glad psalm
Of joy and praise?"
"Nay, but the time to trust
is when the waves beat high,
When storm clouds fill the sky,
and prayer is one long cry,
"O help and save!"

"When is the time to trust?
Is it when friends are true?
Is it when comforts woo,
And in all we say and do,
We meet but praise?"
"Nay, but the time to trust
is when we stand alone,
And summer birds have flown,
and every prop is gone,
All else but God!"

"When is the time to trust?
Is it some future day
When you've tried your own way,
And learned to trust and pray
by bitter woe?"
"Nay, but the time to trust
is in this moment's need.
Poor broken, bruised reed.
Poor troubled soul, make speed
To trust thy God!"

"When is the time to trust?
Is it when hopes beat high,
The sunshine gilds the sky,
And joy and ecstasy
fill all the heart?
"Nay, but the time to trust
is when joy is fled,
When sorrow bows the head,
and all is cold and dead,
All else but God."

Author Unknown

The Heritage of Faithfulness

2007-10-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

I'm considering keeping this blog, and using it as I continue the faith journey . . . still A Journal of my Journey. Hence, the following post:

Both of my parents have passed away, and, at my age, I have thoughts of my years also "being numbered". What am I leaving for my grandchildren and children to hold on to after I'm gone? It won't be great wealth, but I hope my life attests to the grace and faithfulness of Jesus, my heavenly Father, and the Holy Spirit's direction and help, as I live my life.

I came across a hymn recently titled "Find us Faithful", and am sending below verses 2 and 4. This expresses my prayer that I may be found faithful!

2. Surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us,
let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness
passed on through godly lives.

4. Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.
May the fire of our devotion light their way --
May the footprints that we leave
lead them to believe,
And the lives we live inspire them to obey.
Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.

Jon Mohr

Thanksgiving

2007-10-03T20:35:00.001-07:00

I'm posting this poem a little bit early for the Thanksgiving holiday, but I r-e-a-l-l-y like it. I hope you do, too.

Elaine

p.s. I "think" the poet of this poem is Elisabeth Prentiss (she also wrote the words to the hymn, "More Love To Thee" ....)

(I'll try to find out in the next couple of days if she was, in truth, the poet of the following poem.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I thank Thee, O my God, that through Thy grace
I know Thee, who Thou art;
That I have seen the beauty of Thy face
And felt Thee in my heart.

I thank Thee, O my Savior, who hast deigned
To stoop to even me;
Within my inmost soul hast ruled and reigned,
And will my ransom be.

I thank Thee, Holy Spirit, that Thy wings
Brood o'er my wandering mind;
Bringing to my remembrance sacred things
To which my eyes were blind.

I thank Thee, Triune God! But oh, how cold
The warmest words I speak;
For love and goodness strange and manifold,
All human words are weak.

O teach me, then, to praise Thee with my life,
With stern obedience;
To make the atmosphere about me rife
With silent eloquence!

NEWS regarding planned trip

2007-09-25T20:06:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

The first purpose for this blog was to write about our proposed trip to the Philippines. Travis had planned for us to live there for about three months beginning the first of 2008. Those plans have now changed, and I am sending below a post that Travis wrote regarding that change.

Let me say that although I had nothing to do with the plans, other than to agree to go with him, I really had never felt inclined to go on any of his visits to the Philippines before. Since I am not crazy about flying, I didn't push myself to accompany him on any of his previous trips because I felt that he could accomplish more of what he was planning to do without me along.

When our previous plans were announced to my family (my brother and sister-in-law, and my sister and brother-in-law), my brother wasn't happy about my going, but was supportive of our desires to follow Christ wherever we were lead. My sister simply asked me to pray a specific prayer: "That God would close any door that HE hadn't opened." Apparently, the Lord answered that prayer, and sent the answer to Travis, as per his following post.

Travis:

"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Proverbs 14:21

The Philippine Project: A village development effort of electrification, livelihood projects, and education inputs to aid remote poor villages in the Philippines. The Philippine Project was God's answer to my prayer for personal meaning to Matthew 25:31-40

Mat 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Mat 25:32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
Mat 25:33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Mat 25:35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
Mat 25:36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
Mat 25:37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
Mat 25:38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
Mat 25:39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
Mat 25:40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

God's Word had convinced me that all gifts, talents, and abilities are given by God, and those given to me were to be used to bring honor and glory to the Giver. That understanding, coupled with my question of Matthew 25, led me to a series of heart-felt prayers for understanding, and for a life direction decision. I prayed, "Lord, show me, and I will obey." I later added, "Lord, open the doors of opportunity for service and I will walk in if you will walk with me." I feel God had a method of worship that is through service; I just needed direction.

While on a preaching trip to the Philippines with a group of Primitive Baptist preachers, a Filipino PB pastor (who, upon learning that I am an electrical engineer and had, at that time, over 22 years of experience with electric power companies) asked to tell me his dream for his people. "His people" were members of a very poor chuch in the mountains of Southern Mindanoa, where he pastored. Due to El Nino, they had not had rain for eight months. Being farmers who had to have three crops a year just to subsist, their crops had failed, resulting in the starvation of six children in that little village.

He explained that his dream was to get electricity to the village so he could teach the men to weld, and to use power tools, in order to make them employable so that they could find work during periods of failed crops. He said that until now he had not had an electrical engineer like me to help him. It took me about a week of reflection to realize that God had just answered my prayer. In the mind of the Filipino pastor, I had the gifts and ability to help. In the people of these remote villages, in the spirit of Matthew 25:31-40, I had seen "Jesus hungry".

Without a lot of details, I will just say that the Lord brought success to the effort to electrify the pastor's village. This resulted in a continuing effort in the Philippines, and today I am the team leader of the Philippine Project, and we have been further blessed to get electricity to 30 remote villages, with others being planned to be electrified. We have started over 50 livelihood projects, including two ladies' sewing co-ops, a furniture factory, and several agricultural projects. We have distributed several ocean containers of medical equipment to rural hospitals, donated over 400 used computers to needy schools, and placed over 4,000 pounds of used text books and other school supplies in Filipino schools.

From the beginning, this was a work of faith. By that, I mean that I believed (by faith) what God said, and I believe He answers prayer, so I continued to pray, "Lord, You open the door of service and I will walk through it if you will walk with me." He continued to lead.

The trouble for me with works of faith is that I often enjoy the Lord's success, then I'm tempted into thinking I can take the lead for awhile. This attitude has been a problem more than once over the seven years of this project. The results have always been the same; some humbling and repentance has to take place on my part before God will resume the leadership and restart the flow of blessings.

From my own storehouse of knowledge and wisdom, I decided in early 2007 that my wife Elaine and I should move to the Philippines for about a three-month period. I planned to retire from my power company job in early 2008, and spend time in furthering the efforts of the Philippine Project. After explaining that to Elaine, she said she was feeling no leadership of the Spirit in that direction, but she would be obedient to the instruction of Ephesians 5:22. She said that if that is what I thought the Lord wanted, she would go. I guess she had said that enough that I began to pray, "Lord, if this is not what you want, please let me know." That was actually one of my prayers as I was traveling on my most recent trip to the Philippines in September.

The Lord answered that prayer in an overwhelming way. First of all, the Philippine Electric Co-op that I work with requested that instead of a three-month visit each year, they would prefer that I make more frequent but shorter trips. They thought that would be more productive. During that last trip I was also looking for a good place for Elaine to stay while I would be traveling in the hinterlands of the Philippines. The loction that I had settled on experienced three power outages during my five-night stay there. One of the outages lasted 23 hours, another one lasted twelve hours, and the third lasted six hours. It was not just one town that suffered these outages, but the entire province. The significance of that was that with Elaine's respiratory problems, she must have air conditioning in order to breathe. The climate there adds to the problem in that there are high temperatures and high humidity. She would have had a problem with nowhere within a four-hour drive in order to find relief, and if I were out of touch she would have no transportation.

During my last trip, I traveled through a small village to get to one of my meetings. A group of Communist Rebels overpowered the town police force and took all theier guns and ammunition. The Philippine Army was on full alert with road blocks in several locations, and the U.S. Embassy had issued a strong advisory to all American personnel in the area to use extreme caution. Also while in the Philippines, I checked in on two conference calls with folks back at work in order to keep current with a project I had been working on. I ws advised to expect to receive a request to delay my retirement a little longer than I had intended. I had previously given notice planned to retire January 2, 2008, but a project I was working on looked like it would drag on into the second quarter of 2008. On top of all that, we were having unexpected difficulty finding someone to assume my pastorate in the U. S.

The sum of what I am saying is that I received the Lord's answer to my prayer regarding a move to the Philippines. I am saying that I got ahead of the Lord on this one, and have cancelled our plans for a three-month stay in the Philippines. Until I receive further guidance I will do no more than make shorter trips as I am led.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jesus Christ be praised!

2007-09-23T10:22:00.000-07:00

When morning gilds the skies,
My heart awakening cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Alike at work or prayer
To Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised.

Does sadness fill my mind?
A solace here I find:
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Or fades my earthly bliss?
My comfort still is this:
May Jesus Christ be praised.

Be this, while life is mine,
My canticle divine,
May Jesus Christ be praised;
Be this th'eternal song,
Through all the ages long:
May Jesus Christ be praised.

From German, trans. by Edward Caswall

"If thou but suffer God to guide thee,. . ."

2007-09-23T10:04:00.000-07:00

If thou but suffer God to guide thee,
And hope in Him through all thy ways,
He'll give thee strength, whate'er betide thee,
And bear thee through the evil days;
Who trusts in God's unchanging love
Builds on the rock that naught can move.

Obey, thou restless heart, be still
And wait in cheerful hope, content
To take whate'er His gracious will,
His all discerning love, hath sent;
Nor doubt our inmost wants are known
To Him who chose us for His own

Sing, pray, and swerve not from His ways;
But do thine own part faithfully.
Trust His rich promises of grace,
So shall they be fulfilled in thee.
God never yet forsook in need
The soul that trusted Him indeed.

Georg Neumark, trans. by Catherine Winkworth
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

With Grateful Memory

2007-09-23T09:55:00.000-07:00

(From the book Gateway to Joy: Reflections that Draw Us Nearer to God, by Elisabeth Elliot, Vine Books, Servant Publications, Michigan, 1998):

We thank Thee, Lord, for the glory of the late days and the excellent face of Thy sun. We thank Thee for good news received. We thank Thee for the pleasures we have enjoyed and for those we have been able to confer. And now, when the clouds gather and rain impends over the forest and our house, permit us not to be cast down; let us not lose the savor of past mercies and past pleasures; but, like the voice of a bird singing in the rain, let grateful memory survive in the hour of darkness.

Robert Louis Stevenson

Our God is a God at Hand

2007-09-15T22:23:00.000-07:00

Quotation
(From Amy Carmichael in her book Rose From Brier (Christian Literature Crusade, 1933):

"My first memory as a tiny child is this: after the nursery light had been turned low and I was quite alone, I used to smooth a little place on the sheet, and say aloud, but softly, to our Father, "Please come and sit with me." And that baby custom left something which recurs and is with me still. Our God is a God at hand, and "To Him who is everywhere, men come not by traveling but by loving."

Lead, kindly Light . . . .

2007-09-15T08:26:00.000-07:00

Lead, kindly Light,
Amid the encircling gloom,
Lead Thou me on!
The night is dark and I am far from home;
Lead Thou me on!
Keep Thou my feet;
I do not ask to see
The distant scene;
One step enough for me.

~~ John Henry Newman, 1801-1890

More "Speaking of Journeys" Notes

2007-09-14T05:21:00.000-07:00

One glaring oversight (on my part) from my last post: We are also very thankful for our children-through-marriage--the man that our daughter married, and the woman that our son married. They are a vital part of our extended family, and our family is blessed because our children chose very well. God does provide (and "better than we could ask or think")!

Speaking of Journeys . . .

2007-09-13T21:12:00.000-07:00

Forty-three years ago, a former schoolmate of mine (Travis) asked me for a date. Although we knew each other in school, we didn't really know each other, but when we ran into each other at a Little League baseball game (another story in itself -- Travis's brother was playing and T. was keeping score, and I went (reluctantly) with a friend.) Anyway, I accepted his invitation, as well as the weekly invitations that followed, and seven weeks later we were engaged. Because Travis still had two years of college left to complete, we couldn't get married immediately, so the wedding was eventually planned for September in 1965. And last week, we celebrated 42 years of marriage--he in the Philippines, and me here in the States, here in Kentucky. We have two children, a son and a daughter, both of whom we are very proud of; and seven beautiful grandchildren (the oldest soon to turn fifteen, and the youngest two months old), of whom we are also very thankful and proud.
God is good. I had prayed for His will in the matter of marriage, and after waiting for quite a while that prayer was being answered. I had accepted that I may not be supposed to be married, and shortly after I had yielded to Christ in that decision, here came Travis!
When we went out on that first date, we rode around Jackson, (MS) and we talked alot. I had been going through a spiritual crisis, "thinking too much" as I was often told, about theological issues. So, when I asked him if he knew anything about "Original Sin" (a term I had recently learned), it was like putting a lit match to tinder! That first date was basically a "learning session"; we had to go on another date for more of my questions to be answered. Later, I was able to share some of what I had learned about Christian discipleship, obedience, commitment to Christ, etc. that he was not as familiar with.
It's been a very interesting journey, and one I am very thankful for.

Constrained by Love

2007-09-08T23:01:00.000-07:00

O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine's blaze its day
May brighter, fairer, be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life's glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

~~ George Matheson

Lord, Open our Eyes, . . . our ears, . . . our hearts . . .

2007-09-07T10:17:00.000-07:00

A Prayer of Mother Teresa
"Lord Open our Eyes, That we may see you in our brothers and sisters.
Lord, open our ears, That we may hear the cries of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed. Lord, open our hearts, That we may love each other as you love us.
Renew in us your spirit, Lord, free us and make us one."

Revisiting Previous Post, "An Appointed Way"

2007-09-05T07:59:00.000-07:00

Due to various mistakes overlooked because of a too-hurried proofing (more like a too-quick scan before publishing), I am making corrections here. The correct "sub-title" for The Red Sea Rules should read: The Same God Who Led You in Will Lead You Out. Next: the word for the back-of-the-book comments should be blurb, not blurt. Next, the first sentence under the "pp 12 & 13" note should read: "There are no mistakes in God's plan; Jesus does all things well." And the other one I found was following the (See Psalm 37:23-24) note, which should read:
"He has promised never to leave you or forsake you, never to forget, never to abandon. He love never ceases, and His care never dims."

An Appointed Way

2007-09-03T19:20:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a little book by Robert J. Morgan that was published in 2001. Even though it has been in publication for several years, lately I've been seeing it more and more, so when I saw it the last time, I bought a copy. The title of this little book is The Red Sea Rules, and it's subtitled The Same God Who You In Will Lead You Out, and the back-of-the-book blurt states this: "Using the Israelites' story as an example, Robert Morgan offers ten sound strategies for moving from fear to faith. Among them: Realize that God means for you to be where you are. Acknowledge your enemy, but keep your eyes on the Lord. Pray."

As The Red Sea Rules makes comfortingly clear, He is in control."

The following excerpt was particularly interesting to me:

pp. 12 &13
"There ae no mistakes in God's plan; Jesus does all things well. A. W. Tozer said, "To the child of God, there is no such thing as an accident. He travels an appointed way . . . .
"This idea is summed up in an incident in the life of South African pastor Andrew Murray, who once faced a terrible crisis. Gathering himself into his study, he sat a long while quietly, prayerfully, thoughtfully. Presently his mind flew to his Lord Jesus. Picking up his pen, he wrote this in his journal:

First, He brought me here, it is by His will that I am in this strait place: in that fact I will rest.
Next, He will keep me here in His love, and give me grace to behave as His child.
Then, He will make the trial a blessing, teaching me the lessons He intends me to learn, and working in me the grace He means to bestow.
Last, in His good time He can bring me out again--how and when He knows.

Let me say I am here,
(1) By God's appointment,
(2) In His keeping
(3) Under His training,
(4) For His time

"Have you witnessed God's power in the past? Experienced His pardon? Enjoyed His presence? He who has carried you this far isn't going to drop you now."

(See Psalm 37:23-24)

"He has promised never to leave you or forsake you, never to forget, never to abandon. He love never ceases, and His car never dims."

* * * * *

Re-Quote: The Development of the Soul

2007-09-02T10:42:00.000-07:00

Because I want to keep this in the front of my mind, I am re-posting a quote that I posted on August 8. I believe this is truly true, and worthy of my attention. I am re-learning and learning to be more consistent once again with the spiritual disciplines learned in my Methodist days (one of the good things I brought from those days) -- daily prayer times, daily Bible reading schedules, etc. -- practiced on a more consistent and time-scheduled basis, with the prayer that it will develop my soul to be ready for the Lord's use at any time. I'm still a little unclear about this, but I'm still learning to be a "Lady-in-waiting" "as unto the Lord." Prayers are appreciated. (This quote is on the page just before Chapter One of a book I'm currently reading, _The Lost Virtue of Happiness_ by J. P. Moreland and Klauss Issler). This "development of the soul" is a subject for one/some of our preachers to comment on; I feel sure they know a lot more about it than I do, and I--for one--would find it most helpful.

"The meaning of earthly existence lies not, as we have grown used to thinking, in prospering . . . but in the development of the soul."

Some Sunday Morning Thoughts

2007-09-02T06:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday Morning Thoughts . . .

Exo 8:10 ". . . Moses replied, "It will be as you say, so that you may know there is no one like the LORD our God.“

Exo 10:1-3 Then the LORD said to Moses, ". . . so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them

that you may tell your children and grandchildren . . . and that you may know that I am the LORD."

So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him, "This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: 'How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

Isa 43:10-13 "You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor will there be one after me.

I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.

I have revealed and saved and proclaimed-- I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses," declares the LORD, "that I am God.

Yes, and from ancient days I am he. No one can deliver out of my hand. When I act, who can reverse it?"

Isa 45:3 I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.

Micah 6:1-9 Listen to what the LORD says: "Stand up, plead your case before the mountains; let the hills hear what you have to say.

Hear, O mountains, the Lord's accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.

"My people, what have I done to you? How have I burdened you? Answer me.

I brought you up out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.

My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled and what Balaam son of Beor answered. Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD."

With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Listen! The LORD is calling to the city-- and to fear your name is wisdom-- "Heed the rod and the One who appointed it.. . “

Luke 1:3, 4 Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

Luke 5:22-27 Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, "Why are you thinking these things in your hearts?

Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'?

But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." He said to the paralyzed man, "I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home."

Immediately he stood up in front of them, took what he had been lying on and went home praising God.

Everyone was amazed and gave praise to God. They were filled with awe and said, "We have seen remarkable things today."

After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. "Follow me," Jesus said to him,. . .”

Eph 1:15-21 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.

I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.

I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,

and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,

which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,

far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

Col 4:5, 6 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.

Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.

1 John 5:11-13 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Give Us A Quiet Mind

2007-08-29T18:19:00.000-07:00

When winds are blowing, waves are rising, falling,
And all the air is full of dust and spray;
When voices, like to sea birds' plaintive calling,
Confuse my day;

Then, then I know Thee, Lord of highest heaven,
In newborn need discover Thee, and find
Nought can discomfort him to whom is given
A quiet mind.

When hopes have failed, and heavy sadness crusheth,
And doubt and fear would weave their deadly spell,
Then thought of Thee my troubled spirit husheth;
And all is well.

In midnight hours when weariness ignoreth
Heaven's starry host, and battle wounds are mine,
Then Thy right hand uplifteth and outpoureth
Love's oil and wine.

O blessed' Lord, beyond the moment's sorrow
I see above, beneath, before, behind --
Eternal Love. Give me today, tomorrow,
A quiet mind.

~~ Amy Carmichael ~~

A "Travelling" Song

2007-08-26T10:32:00.000-07:00

(See 2 Samuel 22:33, 33)

As for God, His way is perfect;
This is my song.
When I called on Him He heard me,
For the battle did He gird me,
In my weakness made me strong.
This is my joyful song.

And my way He maketh perfect;
This is my song.
Uphill, downhill, though it windeth
Often through a mist that blindeth--
All day long and all night long,
This is my joyful song.

Perfect Leader of Thy people,
Thou art our song.
Thine the love that never faileth,
Thine the power that all prevaileth;
Lord, in Thee our hearts are strong.
Thou art our joyful song.

~~ Amy Carmichael

Perfect Leader

2007-08-26T10:29:00.000-07:00

2 Sam 22:31-33
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him.
For who is God, save the LORD? and who is a rock, save our God?
God is my strength and power: And he maketh my way perfect.

A Favorite Poem for the Journey

2007-08-26T09:42:00.000-07:00

Security

When stormy winds against us break,
Stablish and reinforce our will;
O hear us for Thine own Name's sake;
Hold us in strength, and hold us still.

Still as the faithful mountains stand
Through the long, silent years of stress,
So would we wait at Thy right hand,
In quietness and steadfastness.

But not of us this strength, O Lord,
And not of us this constancy;
Our trust is Thine eternal word,
Thy presence our security.

~~ Amy Carmichael

Quote

2007-08-25T23:43:00.000-07:00

"What is wrong with the church today? I (J. P. Moreland) don't believe we lift our eyes high enough. I don't believe we see the magnificence of the Lord of Scripture, the glory of His work on the Cross, or the beauty of human relationships He has founded on the relational wealth of His kingdom."

J. P. Moreland in The Lost Virtue of Happiness, p. 39, Navpress, 2006. Colorado Springs, CO

Quote

2007-08-23T14:42:00.000-07:00

I decided to add the following quote that I just read on a friend's blog. It's from a speech that C. S. Lewis gave:

A more Christian attitude, which can be attained at any age, is that of leaving futurity in God's hands. We may as well, for God will certainly retain it whether we leave it to Him or not. Never, in peace or war, commit your virtue or happiness to the future. Happy work is best done by the man who takes his long-term plans somewhat lightly and works from moment to moment, "as to the Lord." It is only our daily bread that we are encouraged to ask for. The present is the only time in which any duty can be done or any grace received.
--from "Learning in Wartime"

"Praise God from Whom all Blessings Flow"

2007-08-22T11:45:00.000-07:00

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow,
Praise Him, all creatures here below,
Praise Him, above, ye heavenly host
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost

Thomas Ken wrote this hymn (1674) at a time when the established church believed only Scripture should be sung as hymns—with an emphasis on the Psalms. Some considered it sinful and blasphemous to write new lyrics for church music, akin to adding to the Scriptures. In that atmosphere, Ken wrote this and several other hymns for the boys at Winchester College, with strict instructions that they use them only in their rooms, for private devotions. Ironically, the last stanza has come into widespread use as the Doxology, perhaps the most frequently used piece of music in public worship. At Ken’s request, the hymn was sung at his funeral, fittingly held at sunrise.

Awake, my soul, and with the sun
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and joyful rise,
To pay thy morning sacrifice.

Thy precious time misspent, redeem,
Each present day thy last esteem,
Improve thy talent with due care;
For the great day thyself prepare.

By influence of the Light divine
Let thy own light to others shine.
Reflect all Heaven’s propitious ways
In ardent love, and cheerful praise.

In conversation be sincere;
Keep conscience as the noontide clear;
Think how all seeing God thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part,
Who all night long unwearied sing
High praise to the eternal King.

All praise to Thee, who safe has kept
And hast refreshed me while I slept
Grant, Lord, when I from death shall wake
I may of endless light partake.

Heav’n is, dear Lord, where’er Thou art,
O never then from me depart;
For to my soul ’tis hell to be
But for one moment void of Thee.

Lord, I my vows to Thee renew;
Disperse my sins as morning dew.
Guard my first springs of thought and will,
And with Thyself my spirit fill.

Direct, control, suggest, this day,
All I design, or do, or say,
That all my powers, with all their might,
In Thy sole glory may unite.

I would not wake nor rise again
And Heaven itself I would disdain,
Wert Thou not there to be enjoyed,
And I in hymns to be employed.

Praise God, from Whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heavenly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Foundations

2007-08-20T13:31:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite hymns is "How Firm A Foundation", and when I saw the following remarks concerning "foundations" in the Introduction of Norm Wakefield's book Anchored in Christ: The Solid Rock in the Storms of Life, I "underlined" quite a few sentences -- these are good thoughts! I'm not sure how long I will have to post right now, but I will at least get it started . . . (maybe add to this later). However, to see where Wakefield's remarks in this Introduction are leading, I will tell you here that this book is divided into three parts -- Part I Abused Scriptures, Part 2 God Revealed in the Scriptures, and Part 3 Applying Doctrine to Life.
*~*~*

"Foundations are important! We know how vital foundations are in childhood, in business, in a culture, or in a building, but do we understand the importance of a true and strong spiritual foundation? Everyone recognizes the importance of the formative years in childrearing. If the child is trained well in the early years of life, he will enjoy the blessings of such training through his entire life. On the other hand, if bad habits were established while he was young, decades may pass before he overcomes those character flaws. In the meantime, his life will be filled with frustration and trials. The early training of children, or the lack thereof, will ripple in a significant manner throughout their lives. "

" . . . If the foundational unit of society--marriage and family--is not secure, righteous, and protected, then forthcoming generations will suffer tremendous grief and pain."
"But the best picture of the importance of foundations is illustrated by the field of building construction. The foundation is the most important aspect of a structure. If you've done remodeling work on a house that was not square or level, you know the builder must work with the state of the foundation, from the floor to the roof. If it is skewed, the things built on top if it will not fit quite right. . . . "
*~*~*
(After speaking about the concern for foundations in earthquakes . . . )
"For many, the violent jolts of an earthquake are analogous to what they experience spiritually on a daily basis. And the aftershocks continue to rock their structures. Some have found their faith able to withstand the shaking, but others are buried beneath the rubble of a defective faith, crying for help."
*~*~*
"There may be others who don't feel at all shaken or in danger of a spiritual, structural collapse of faith; yet their foundations are weak and vulnerable, much like a building that survives the small tremblors, but hasn't been tested by the "big one." If inspected carefully, these structures find that their foundations do not satisfy God's building codes."
*~*~*
"The old hymn, The Church's One Foundation, states a great truth. We must be anchored in Jesus and His Word. . . . "
"Can you imagine the owners of buildings that have toppled in an earthquake reconstructing new structures on the same foundations? Wisdom requires a complete destruction of the old foundation and the establishment of a new, firmer foundation. Those new buildings need to be anchored more deeply and securely."
*~*~*
"We must put our foundation to the test: what is the basis for our faith? . . . We are supposed to live in the love, peace, joy and power of Jesus Christ. When we don't, it is right to ask, "Why?" . . . "
*~*~*
"Through this book we will reexamine and reconsider foundational scriptures--scriptures introduced during childhood or one's first exposure to the gospel presentation. Sadly, many of the verses used in modern evangelism have been extracted from their context and used to accomplish an end for which the verses were not written. They have been abused and misused."
*~*~*
" . . . Wrong use and interpretation of scripture cannot anchor your soul in Jesus. . . . "
" . . . If our ideas about God are askew, we'll find ourselves in error regarding man and sin. . . "

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"Those Christians"

2007-08-17T20:03:00.000-07:00

The following post, "Those Christians" was sent to the FGFF Yahoo Groups listserver a while back, by Elder Joe Holder -- it is "convicting" and "enlightening". It is from a letter believed to have been "written by an anonymous Christian apologist to Diognetus, a Roman government official, probably in the second century."

"For Christians are not differentiated from other people by country, language or customs; you see, they do not live in cities of their own, or speak some strange dialect, or have some peculiar lifestyle.

"This teaching of theirs has not been contrived by the invention and speculation of inquisitive men; nor are they propagating mere human teaching as some people do. They live in both Greek and foreign cities, wherever chance has put them. They follow local customs in clothing, food and other aspects of life. But at the same time, they demonstrate to us the wonderful and certainly unusual form of their own citizenship.

They live in their own native lands, but as aliens; as citizens, they share all things with others; but like aliens, suffer all things. Every foreign country is to them as their native country, and every native land as a foreign country.

They marry and have children just like every one else; but they do not kill unwanted babies. They offer a shared table, but not a shared bed. They are at present 'in the flesh' but they do not live 'according to the flesh'. They are passing their days on earth, but are citizens of heaven. They obey the appointed laws, and go beyond the laws in their lives.

They love every one, but are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death and gain life. They are poor and yet make many rich. They are short of everything and yet have plenty of all things. They are dishonoured and yet gain glory through dishonour.

Their names are blackened and yet they are cleared. They are mocked and bless in return. They are treated outrageously and behave respectfully to others. When they do good, they are punished as evildoers; when punished , they rejoice as if being given new life. They are attacked by Jews as aliens, and are persecuted by Greeks; yet those who hate them cannot given any reason for their hostility.

To put it simply -- the soul is to the body as Christians are to the world. The soul is spread through all parts of the body and Christians through all the cities of the world. The soul is in the body but is not of the body; Christians are the world but not of the world.

GRACE

2007-08-12T17:53:00.000-07:00

What is Grace?

God's
Riches
At
Christ's
Expense

"Necessities"

2007-08-12T07:19:00.000-07:00

Necessary Things on a Christian Journey:

"A heart fixed" -- Psalm 112:7
57:7

"A mind stayed" -- Isaiah 26:3

A life hidden" -- Col.3:2, 3

Signposts

2007-08-12T07:06:00.000-07:00

On any journey, signposts are needed. I'm a pretty good "navigator" when Travis and I take trips. He's an excellent driver, so our trips are made easier by our cooperative efforts. Below are some of the "signposts" that have been given to me on my spiritual journey, and I share them here with you with the prayer that one/some of them may be helpful to you also. Elaine

"Am I hard-pressed in any direction, inward or outward? The only word I speak must be a word of acceptance, "Even so, Father." Underfoot is the rock of Romans 8:28. Overhead is the banner of Eternal Love. (Song of Solomon 2:4)"

"Life is mostly froth and bubble . . . "

2007-08-12T07:02:00.000-07:00

"An Australian poet wrote:

Life is mostly froth and bubble.
Two things stand like stone:
Kindness in another's trouble,
Courage in your own."
(A. L. Gordon)

"Life is not mostly froth and bubble if you are living for the things that are eternal. But it is perfectly true of the life that has not for its center, Christ." (A. Carmichael)

Comparison

2007-08-12T06:54:00.000-07:00

" . . . the prince of this world stands condemned . . . " (John 16:11)

" . . . the Prince of life . . . Crowned . . . " (Hebrews 2:9)

"We serve an undefeated Lord -- Love won at Calvary" (AC)

Things are well in hand . . .

2007-08-12T06:49:00.001-07:00

"My times are in Thy hands." (Psalm 31:15)

" . . . no man is able to pluck them out of Thy Father's hand." (John 10:29)

"Behold, I have graven thee on the palms of my hands, . . . " (Isaiah 49:16)

Rock and Fortress Tower

2007-08-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

Rock of my heart and my Fortress Tower,
Dear are Thy thoughts to me;
Like the unfolding of some fair flower,
Opening silently.
And on the edge of these Thy ways,
Standing in awe as heretofore,
Thee do I worship, Thee do I praise
And adore.

Rock of my heart and my Fortress Tower,
Dear is Thy love to me;
Search I the world for a word of power,
Find it at Calvary.
O deeps of love that rise and flow
Round about me and all things mine,
Love of all loves, in Thee I know
Love Divine.

~~ Amy Carmichael