Shook Foil

Failed Fruit

2009-01-04T14:26:00.000-08:00

Late last spring, my husband and I created a raised bed garden. We filled a wood frame with fresh dark soil, stirred in bags of rich manure and mulch such as coffee grounds, grass clippings, and egg shells. We planted tomatoes, onions, herbs, squash, and flowers. We watered faithfully every day and kept the ground free of weeds.

In early June, the wildfire season started with a bang. Lightening started wildfires spread all over northern California and the smoke ominously snaked over the Sierra mountain range and settled in our valley. Smoke permeated everything. It seeped through the cracked open windows and into our homes. It was hard to breath. We felt suffocated by the heavy air and depressed by the prolonged exposure to haze and ashes. That annoying group of people who are optimistic in the most challenging of situations stated that sunrises and sunsets were more spectacular during those weeks of dark and greasy smoke. Pessimists such as I were not as perky. "This cannot be good for our health", I mumbled in despair. The fires started in June and lasted well into the last weeks of July.

Meanwhile, back in the garden, my tomatoes just didn't seem to take off. They stayed green and hard. The basil remained a stunted plant, and the squash plants bloomed half-heartedly but didn't produce fruit. I scratched my head, knowing that I nourished the soil and watered often. During harvest season, we picked a few tomatoes here and there, managed a good pesto sauce now and then, and didn't expect a thing from the squash plants. I had never had such a dismal garden in my life.

In early September, our school traveled to a large farm for a field trip. The students studied plant cycles, fed chickens, and were allowed to pick produce, including fresh red raspberries. The tour guide said something that stuck in my mind. She stated that the raspberried had ripened a good couple of weeks later than anticipated. When I asked about her theory for the delay, she answered that the farm crew determined it was due to the smoke that hung around for half of the summer. All of a sudden everything about my garden made sense! I provided everything that my garden needed for growth. I provided good soil, lots of water, mulch, loving care, but I could not provide what the garden needed most of all to thrive. I could not provide the sun. My plants were duped by a smokescreen. The smoke slid in and stole life from plants which would never grow to full maturity as a result. I might as well have purchased Emerill's tomatoes instead. So, will I attempt a garden next year? Of course! In some things in life, it pays to be an optimist.

Why I Appreciate My Pastor

2008-11-25T19:57:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in months. It took a challenge to post about our pastors that encouraged me to post something that means a lot to me.

I appreciate my pastor because he is passionate about the truth of scripture to transform our lives. He has enabled our church to be an orderly, reverent, and committed group of Christians. He has the help of godly men who make up elders and deacons and who stay close to the vision of the Church. When we sing hymns and spiritual songs, the magnitude of worship resides in voices and not so much in instrumentation. It is a rousing lifting up of voices in praise.

Our children stay with the parents, and I have never experienced a quieter group of children as our pastor preaches and they take notes or rest in their parent's arms.

I guess the most touching testimony of the committment of our pastor is the fact that he blew out his back and was in intense pain the summer before this past summer. He painstakenly hobbled up to preach with a wide back brace, still passionate about preaching the Word of God. Sometimes our other pastor and the elders stepped in to preach, but we knew that it was hard for our pastor to give up his pulpit.

Our church is set in a valley surrounded by ranch land and a strand of the Sierra Mountain Range to the west. We drive an hour to go to our church, and others drive up to an hour and a half each Sunday. The church is the hub and gathers folks from all four directions. We have tried to visit churches closer to our home, but none can compare in our mind to ours, mainly because of the sure foundation set forth by good preaching, and a pastor who loves the Lord so much.

Since he appreciates John Piper and quotes from him occasionally, I sure would love to surprise him with tickets to the Desiring God Conference.

Ok. I will go back to my occasional pasttime of posting comments on OTHER blogs.

Perhaps an Enema Will Help

2008-03-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

I read a great quote today in the www.desiringgod.org/Blog/

The great challenge of the preacher is to follow Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:5, "What we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."

But there are more ways to preach ourselves than one might think. This word from James Denney has exerted a sobering effect on me since I first read it in 1982. He had these words framed and posted in the vestry of his Scottish church.

No man can bear witness to Christ and to himself at the same time. No man can give the impression that he himself is clever and that Christ is mighty to save.

There is a great discussion over at Pyromaniacs about Legalism and one of the quotes I enjoyed was this:

But it is obvious to everyone around him that he is not really holy, he just needs to take an enema.

2008-03-17T20:23:00.000-07:00

The Shift of Spring

Peter's boat curves to a point
The inside is hollow.
Tiny shells roll to and fro
on the silt bottom of the lake.
Peter imagines skimming the floor
sifting, trying to find Jesus,
clutch his hand to pull him back.
Sand, the boundary for blue-grey, dark waters,
shifts endlessly, reminding Peter
that just two days ago he said three times,
"I never knew Him!"
He used to notice tumbled rocks on shore
harboring windblown seeds,
cumulous clouds promising rain.
Now he doesn't see a thing,
rubs his sour knotted fishing net
between calloused fingers,
wishes he had been stronger.
How can he know in this dark time
that a few days from now,
a familiar figure will rise
from the sun-bleached shore,
hold out his hand,
and call to him across salty waves,
algae turning,
schools of fish flashing,
nets suddenly full.
Peter will say three times,
"Yes Lord, you know I love you!"
Lift his head at the slow exhale of spring,
new life from clefts and cracks of hard places.
"Yes Lord, I love you!"
Sand gently shifts,
waves are silent.
Morning moves slowly.
A fisherman weeps.

Christian Reality in Sudan and Kenya

2008-01-26T18:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday in our school, we had a missionary couple tell us about their ministry in Kenya and Sudan. They work at an orphanage of over 300 children who have lost their parents because of war or other circumstances. The husband is actually Sudanese. I asked them to speak specifically to my class of fourth and fifth graders after our assembly. I have been honest with my students about the suffering of Christians in other parts of the world and I wanted the husband to share with us what his life was like in Sudan. He told us stories about how his village was bombed up to three times a day. Planes would roll out large barrels filled with nails and shrapnel and children would hit the ground in a flat position to avoid the flying nails and then run for shelter. He saw his best friend die beside him. He finally fled his village at the age of 19 because Muslims would take teen boys, train them to be soldiers and then send them back to fight their own people. They also kidnapped children and women to be sold as slaves in other countries. In order to prevent people from escaping, they would cut their achilles tendon. Ramsey did say that Christianity is growing stronger in Sudan, but now he and his wife (who is American and here on furlough), are worried because they have a home in Kenya. They are not sure how dangerous it will be to return home after their furlough, since Kenya has killed thousands of people since their elections earlier this month. The new president is apparently closely tied to Islam. It was a sobering time of questions and answers in my classroom, and my children then prayed for the missionary couple for safety, and that their needs would be met.

My church also has a lady who is a missionary in Sudan. She was on vacation in Kenya for Christmas, because Kenya was the safe country for Christian organizations. She was still in Kenya during the elections and our church received word of her experience in the midst of chaos and people being hacked and killed in the streets.

She wrote:

Today I worshiped in a church with a thousand plus Kenyans from all different tribes and tongues united in one voice crying out to God. Do you know what their cry was? It was not "God bring peace" or "God, change the hearts of our leaders" or even "Why?" Instead the cry was "God, forgive us for we have forgotten to love our neighbor as our self. We have allowed this hatred to grow and create a divide that none can bridge, but Christ." One man prayed the whole of Psalm 51. Young and old shared in these prayers of repentance and the call for strength to return evil with good and hatred with love.

It is a different world in Kenya and Sudan and it seems we are so insulated from such difficult circumstances, and yet I believe storm clouds are on the horizon for us in North America as well. I am blessed by the humility of the man from Sudan who softly told us about his life and sufferings, and sang praise songs for us in his native tongue. I am blessed that he is an example of patient endurance in the midst of difficult circumstances in his life.

Everybody Smile Now!

2007-09-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

I find this photo rather funny.

The New Job

2007-05-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

I havent been able to post much lately because I have been working at a new and demanding job. I work in the billing office of a doctor office, and it has been many years since I have worked in such an office. It is very high paced and I have to do billing and insurance verification and other sundry things. I am interviewing for another teaching job, so perhaps this is just a season at the office. It has been very stressful and I wanted to share some of that stress with you, the "monsters" of the billing world so to speak.

Seven Random Things About Me

2007-05-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

Miss M asked me to do a seven random things about me meme so here goes:

1. My mother swears that Marilyn Monroe picked me up and held me while she was filming in Reno. She was filming her last film The Misfits. My mother said she had gone to watch the filming with my older brother and me.

2. I hitchhiked to Berkeley when I was 16. More than once.

3. About 10 years ago I sat and had a beer and great conversation with a few folks I knew and Daniel Boorstin, A Pulitzer Prize winning author and more.

4. I worked for a summer near Yosemite National Park and had to drive through Yosemite Valley one night. I walked up to Yosemite Falls at midnight and reclined on a concrete bench and watched stars for about two hours with the mist falling all over me.

5. The last time I ever saw my father was when I was one year old. Not because he died but because he truly did not desire to know me.

6. In high school I used to drive to hot springs in a remote area with friends, spend all night soaking under the stars and drive the next day straight to school, smelling like sulphur.

7. Even though I have summited 10,000-12,000 ft. peaks and rapelled down a 230 ft. cliff, I cannot walk across a log over a stream. I have to crawl across. I am terribly afraid of heights.

Extra random thing about me:

I had my first child when I was 18. Here she is at 33. Isn't she beautiful and didn't she take a very artistic photo of herself?

As We Blithely Go Our Way

2007-04-30T17:11:00.001-07:00

American prosperity teachers tell us we can have health, wealth, and wonderful self esteem. They are a travesty to the Body of Christ. Meanwhile this is what happened in Turkey recently to Christians. Maybe you have already read the news reports. It was hard to take it in at the time because the situation at Virginia Tech had just happened. Plus, news reports left out quite a bit. Please pray for the families involved in this tragedy, and ask that God be glorified in the midst of it all. Letter from the Church at Smyrna

Randomness

2007-04-29T21:45:00.000-07:00

Iris blessed me with a Thinking Blog Award even though I think I am lazy, lazy, lazy in posting. I love reading other blogs and think they state things much lovelier than I do, so I tend to post about my wanderings. I am catching up today by posting on a number of things I have been thinking about.

Howdy! I have been so busy. I just got a new job doing billing at a chiropractor's office and am not used to the hours yet. The chiropractor is a Christian, and it was not quite the job I expected but I am very thankful for a friendly atmosphere in which to work. Hey! my husband and I get free chiropractic care! My husband and I want to pay all our bills and then see what God has for us. We are expecting some changes in where we might live...but that is way down the road. We really want to be a part of a Sovereign Grace Church and even though I keep emailing people who could make it happen, we have not been able to have one start up in my town.

My son lent me a DVD about an indie Christian group called Danielson Famile. It consists of a family of siblings who play music and sing together. I have to admit that the lead singer has the weirdest voice. He also dresses up as a tree with hanging fruit to symbolize the Fruits of the Spirit. They hang out with Sufjan Stevens who I really like. I was so surprised that my son totally loved this DVD because he really doesn't want anything to do with God. I am just curious. If you knew you had a 25 year old child who was really cynical about God and yet he liked a DVD of Emergent Christian singers, would you be happy that he responded to something at least or would you be dismayed that he was being drawn to Christians who are part of the Emergent Church? I am as concerned as the next Christian about the trend in Emergent Christianity, but what if my son was drawn to that lifestyle, and God eventually brought him around to a more Biblical way of thinking? I myself was into what I now see were some unhealthy viewpoints of Christianity for a long time, and God still drew me into a deeper understanding of theology and a Reformed stance in my Christianity. I have to confess that I get hopeful over even a glimmer of appreciation for something Christian from my son. I liked parts of the DVD. Actually I liked watching Sufjan Stevens sing most of all. I am thankful my son dropped the DVD off so that I could watch it. I am glad he thought I might enjoy it. My son is getting more artsy all the time, just like me. :)

If you haven't watched the video of Together for the Gospel, Reflections 2006 ,you should check it out. I hope my husband can go next year. T4G video

If you go to the Sovereign Grace Ministries music page, you can click on the right side where it says Sovereign Grace Radio, and listen to the Valley of Vision CD while you browse on your computer.

UPDATE ON THE BABY OWLS

The baby owls are growing by leaps and bounds. Their grayish/white fluffy faces are turning into brownish outlines around their bright yellow eyes and it is fun to watch them perched on the edge of their large twiggy nest staring at us staring at them. They whistle and mom is perched nearby keeping watch over them and who-hooing ever so often. There is also a nest not that far away with a couple of Red Tail Hawks. I love Spring and the twittering, busy birds feathering their nests and flying all over the place.

BOOK MEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

). What characters do you wish were real so you could meet them.

Atticus from To Kill a Mockingbird and can't think of anyone else.

2). You would like to be.

Mowgli of the Jungle

Huck Finn

the girl from Island of the Dolphins

3). Who scares you.

I am with Rebecca. The witch from the Wizard of Oz, movie version

New Residents in the Canyon: They are a Hoot!

2007-04-24T09:26:00.000-07:00

My husband and I like to take walks at a nearby park. In the park is a grove of cottonwood trees in a small canyon where the trail loops around and goes through a tunnel below a busy road. I love the canyon because it is a spot of wilderness on the edge of houses. There are some good hills to climb that overlook the city, and some nice wetlands in the canyon. By far, the highlight of our walk is to check up on the Great Horned Owls. Last summer I lead nature hikes with schoolchildren and families and we always spotted the owls. Last year, there were two parents and two babies. They stuck together as a family while the parents taught the youngsters how to hunt. Around December the parents made the youngsters leave to discover their own territory. Recently new baby owls have been spotted. In fact, three baby owls observed my husband and me closely yesterday afternoon from their nest high in the tree. Nearby, Mom owl stood watch. The baby owls emitted sharp whistles, and Mom hooted now and then. I wish my camera had a good zoom lens, but I borrowed a photo from the internet instead to show you how cute the babies are. Right now the babies have grayish, whitish fluff and bright yellow eyes. They are starting to get their brown and white feathers. It will be fun to see the different stages the owls will go through in order to reach adulthood.

Spring Bird Migration

2007-04-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Check out this map of migrating birds. I guess radar reflects birds and clouds within a 30 mile radius, so the dots represent birds within a locality of a radar station. This is large scale Spring migration.
Bird Migration Map

Prayers and Thoughts about Virginia Tech Tragedy

2007-04-17T07:52:00.000-07:00

I, like many, are saddened and burdened from the events at Virginia Tech. The overwhelming losses of loved ones and the senselessness of the shootings is mind staggering. I trust in a Sovereign God who will use his people to minister in this situation and for God to be glorified in the midst of this tragedy. Sometimes it seems like God is lifting His hand of restraint upon the world and as the world gets darker, His people shine brighter. We are to remind ourselves that God is sovereign and will bring good out of this awful situation. Here are some thoughts from John Piper as well.

Following are excerpts of a (paraphrased) prayer from the book Valley of Vision that I hope will comfort others:

Peril

Soveriegn Commander of the Universe,
We are sadly harassed by doubts, fears, unbelief,
in a felt spiritual darkness...

Help us, O Lord,
to throw ourselves absolutely and wholly on thee,
for better, for worse, without comfort , and all but hopeless.
Give us peace of soul, confidence, enlargement of mind,
morning joy that comes after night heaviness...

In our distress let us not forget this.
All-wise God,
Thy never-failing providence orders every event.
sweetens every fear,
reveals evil's presence lurking in seeming good,
brings real good out of seeming evil,
makes unsatisfactory what we set our hearts upon,
to show us what short-sighted creatures we are,
and to teach us to live by faith upon thy blessed self...

Serving the Homeless in Santa Cruz

2007-04-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

Elm Street Mission

When I traveled to Santa Cruz to visit a friend last week, I was able to participate in her Wednesday night ritual of serving food to the homeless and cutting their hair at the Elm Street Mission. Many churches in the area get involved in serving food at the mission, and the night we participated, we served about 500 people. First we spent time preparing a plentiful table of sandwiches, spaghetti, salad, chips, mashed potatoes, ham, gravy, and cupcakes. The homeless also received "Bible bags" consisting of Bibles, sleeping bags if needed, and hygiene products. My friend Star and another lady provided haircuts for anyone who wanted one. What a special ministry!

Server at Elm Street Mission

One of the things that struck me the most while serving food, was the number of homeless kids. Many 13 and 14 year old, mostly goth girls, went through the line. There were some Jerry Garcia clones, old Vietnam Vets, young and old hippies, and lots of kids. There were babies in strollers, and even a woman who seriously looked like the neighborhood librarian. I have worked with homeless people before and understand that some homeless people are homeless by choice and others the result of bad decisions. A few are in their homeless situation due to bad circumstances, perhaps the loss of jobs and homes. Some are mentally ill, and some are homeless due to alcoholism or drug abuse. I hated seeing the young girls the most. Santa Cruz is not a place to wander around at night as a young girl. My friend Star assured me that there are many shelters to house the kids and I felt comforted by that. It was an interesting experience because I love to people watch and Santa Cruz is certainly a place to observe people.

I was told by one of the servers that various churches serve during the week, and the pastor of Elm Street Mission states that the homeless who eat at the mission must attend a service as well. Wednesday nights draw the largest crowd because a service is not required. Figures. The man next to me told me he attends a couple of churches in the area, one of them being Dan Kimball's church, The Vintage ( I think it is called). Interesting in light of my return home, only to read posts centered on the Emergent Church and Dan Kimball himself on Pyromaniacs. I wanted to ask the guy what drew him to that particular church as he was a much older man. I was just curious I guess.

Serving homeless people was a highlight of my trip and I found that I miss being involved in that kind of a ministry. I am seeking God for something I can be involved with, as I am seeking a new job and wondering how much time I will have to get involved with something. Of course I must not forget my foremost ministry is to my husband, which in my case involves lots of foot rubs.

Thinkin' About Blogs That Make Me Think

2007-04-07T20:20:00.000-07:00

Miss M over at Regaining Paradise
has bestowed upon me a Thinking Blog honor and you really should go over to her blog for a thoughtful essay on her reaction to receiving the same honor. She articulates how I feel. I, in turn, am to bestow this honor upon blogs I feel worthy to receive such an honor. All the blogs I would have picked (and read daily) have already been well chosen by others so I will include three that I peruse daily and get blessed by.

Purple Cellar is a very thoughtful and theologically sound blog that speaks to my deepest struggles and questions. She posts on contemporary issues, trials, temptations, and offers practical biblical advice. She even posted on insommnia, a particular thorn in my side. I truly get edified.

Between Two Worlds. Justin Taylor posts links most of the time, and his links provide information to current events and theological issues around the blog world for my growth.

Al Mohler's Blog Ah, what can I say about this blog except that Al Mohler tackles issues that pertain to culture and Biblical responses to contemporary issues. Plus, I like the fact that he reads so much.

It's All About Me Meme

2007-04-07T09:32:00.000-07:00

Miss M over at Regaining Paradise has asked some questions which I will answer to the best of my ability.

1) I know you like art so, if you had the ability to paint as any artist in history who would it be and what would you paint?

One of my favorite artists is Albrecht Durer. He was also a naturalist. He is probably most famous for his praying hands picture. I would paint meticulously rendered plants, flowers, trees, mountains, rivers, oceans, clouds, which is what I usually paint anyways.

2) What is your fondest memory of your childhood?

I playacted most of the books I read and loved. I was Mowgli of the jungle, Huck Finn, or Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird most of the time. I was mostly a solitary kid with my nose in a book or exploring the outdoors. One aspect of books I loved is the fact that these characters were always on adventures. I have always loved a good adventure. I wonder what is around the bend or over the next hill. I was perfectly content during these times of my childhood.

3) If you were down to your last $10.50 what would you spend it on?

Probably food staples. Probably a bag of beans or something that would last to my next windfall.

4) Can you share a moment in which you felt so happy and content that you would not have changed a thing?

Not a specific moment but similar moments of being on a mountain summit with the Word of God, a good picnic, and a beautiful day. Or, perhaps, an ocean beach with the Word of God, a good picnic, and a beautiful day. Hmmmm....how about out at Pyramid Lake (a local turquoise lake in the middle of high desert) with the Word of God, a good picnic, and a beautiful SUNSET! During these times, cares and worries seem to melt away.

5) Could you please tell us which plant you think best represents your life and why?

I tried to think of beautiful flowers or gorgeous trees, but I have to face reality and be honest. I thought of Lavender, common looking but with such a beautiful aroma, and I actually thought of something more accurate. I am a Nevadan and even though I love green, lots of green, we live in a sea of sagebrush, canyons of aspens, and willows, and it is a tough land. I am like a sagebrush I think. Sagebrush is common, but rub the leaves and a fresh, pungent odor emits. The wood is rough and gnarly, multi-colored, and quite resiliant to all but fire . There is an oil in the plant that is bitter and flammable, but can be medicinal and healing. It can survive in little water, and stands strong and endures against wind, bugs, and disease. It has lovely dusky gray/green leaves that are soft in color and intensity, not as noticable as more flamboyant bright green plants. We as Nevadans might crave more green but when we move elsewhere where no sagebrush exists, it is the one plant we miss the most. To come back home and experience a desert day after a rainfall is to experience the most heavenly of scents.

I Am A Great Sinner, but He is a Great Savior

2007-04-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Tim Challies has posted a request for testimonies from bloggers. Go check it out and get to know some folks a bit more in depth.

When I was a young girl, I liked to sleep under the stars in the backyard. My two brothers, sister and I would pile a bunch of blankets between a large canvas tarp and they would be asleep long before I was even tired. I spent a good part of the night gazing at the stars watching for satellites, and wondering about God and the Universe.

It seemed I always wondered about God. I was raised in a home that had no recognition of God and in fact, my mother despised any ideas about God. My step-father was a traditional French-Basque Catholic from France, who carved a cross in our french bread before slicing it and attended Mass on Christmas or Easter in odd years, more like rarely. The neighborhood kids were asked by their parents to invite us to church since we were a wild and wooly bunch and in need of "religious instruction". We were invited to the Catholic church by a large Irish Catholic family down the street, to the Mormon church by a large Mormon family up the street, and even to Jehovah Witness meetings by a family many blocks away. I even participated in Catechism classes and got the highest grades. I learned about the miracle of the locusts and seagulls from the Mormons, and was mystified by Communion with thin white wafers from the Catholics. To be honest, I can't remember a single thing from my visits to the Jehovah Witness Hall.

As I got older, I became the epitome of the Hippie culture. I hitchhiked down to Berkeley California, took hallucinogenic drugs (and pondered the reality of God during each trip), and smoked lots of hash and marijuana. I participated in anti-war rallies, and read the counter culture best seller by Richard Alpert called Be Here Now. I also read many other books that emphasized spirituality and New Age. I participated in a group called Ananda Marga Yoga and learned to meditate. I had some friends from the Bay Area (near Berkeley) who were prominent musicians and New Agers, and once found me passed out in an alley when I was 15 and took me under their wing. They were in their early 20's and I really credit them for saving my life. I had been suicidal, stemming from a bad homelife, and when they found me I had consumed a jug of wine, stumbled downtown, and passed out near one of their friend's homes. I traveled with an older guy when I was 17, got pregnant and had my daughter a few months after I graduated from high school. We got married but that relationship dissolved soon after and I was on my own with a toddler daughter during a bad recession. I worked as a motel maid for a year and eventually found another job at a hospital doing dishes. I met a guy with whom I was attracted, and when I asked if he wanted to smoke a joint with me, he told me he had something better. Something warned me not to ask, but I did, and he shared about his relationship with Jesus Christ. My heart sank within me. I really did not like those "Jesus Freaks"! They were just plain weird and so not cool. Despite my chagrin, this guy and I became friends. He continued to share the Lord with me, and I continued to attempt to share New Age ideas with him. After about a year, I agreed to go to a homegroup meeting with him, and during the course of the evening, I accepted the Lord. I really did have a sense that I was starting on a path and would never turn back. Despite the uncoolness factor of my decision, I had been prompted in this direction for quite some time. I could now look back and see many instances of God calling me to Himself. I even thought back to those nights of gazing at the stars and pondering the reality of a God. I remembered my grandmother telling me about prayer when I was a little girl, and me praying earnestly for a certain pair of shoes I wanted. Hey, what did I know? So I was a little Name It Claim It kid! I remembered the time in Seattle when I came across a tract and while reading it in the car, a lady poked her head in and asked me if I knew Jesus. Since it seemed so timely I responded with a Yes! She then proceeded to berate me for wearing pants. I remember not feeling comfortable in my Yoga group, and not knowing who to choose as a "guru" in my life. Despite misguided information and experiences, God mercifully drew me to Himself.

I married the man who had shared the Lord with me. What followed were almost 20 years of difficulties. We struggled continually with finances, my husband's very legalistic leanings, my rebellion towards him and God, his inability and refusal to accept my daughter, my deep depressions and suicidal thoughts, our frequent moves, difficult jobs, extended dysfunctional families, and frequent disappointments. It wasn't all bad. Bright spots included our two children born during this time, great fellowship with other believers, and our determination to make life work. We had wonderful friends who encouraged us and were devastated when after 18 years, our marriage finally crumbled. My husband married an unbeliever and I was single for 10 years after my divorce.

After dealing miserably with the reality that I was a Christian whose marriage ended in divorce, I decided I needed some changes in my life. I have always loved the outdoors and wilderness so I worked at an outdoor wilderness Christian ministry for a summer and spent an invigorating season debating Arminianism vs. Calvinism with the other summer staff, which got me thinking about what I really believed. I had blindly followed the whole Arminian bent of American Christianity for years without even knowing much about what I exactly embraced. I sorta went with the flow and resented God because I couldn't measure up according to my works, in my thinking. After that summer, I became a single foster parent for a season, floundered and went in debt because of that decision, moved to Texas to work in a ministry with teens, and continued my study of Reformed Christianity. I became convinced of the truth of Calvinism and experienced a renewal in my walk with Christ, which was almost like really being born again. All the resentment towards God because I thought He was a cruel taskmaster fell away and I could truly see his mercy and grace in my life and my wretchedness. My frequent depressions also fell away and I discovered a new passion for God.

In God's good time, He brought a man into my life who believed in Reformed Christianity as well. We got married almost three years ago and have continued our growth in grace and mercy together. Between us we have 7 kids and 6 grandchildren. We pray for their salvation and pray we can be a testimony to our families of God's restoration and healing.

Just Thinkin'

2007-04-01T10:26:00.000-07:00

This is how it looks as various theological issues in various blogs play out in the comments. :)

birthday picnic

2007-03-24T21:36:00.000-07:00

It has been eight months since we had a picnic at Lake Tahoe. We decided to have a sunset picnic today to celebrate my birthday yesterday. I am fifty-twoooooo.

Some Things I Wish I Had Said

2007-03-24T11:22:00.000-07:00

My mother, and probably yours too said to us: "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." Sometimes when I read my favorite blogs, I enjoy the witty comments and posts. Other times I am distressed by sarcasm and arrogance. As Christians we try to discern when it is ok to use sarcasm and when it is probably not the best idea. Some words should be taken back, and some words cause great laughter (best not to be drinking coffee in front of the computer at these times). I decided to post some classic insults, some very funny, most somewhat mean, and all very witty.

"I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure."
-- Clarence Darrow

"He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary."
-- William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)

"I didn't attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it."
-- Mark Twain

"I am enclosing two tickets to the first night of my new play, bring a friend ... if you have one."
-- George Bernard Shaw to Winston Churchill

"Cannot possibly attend first night, will attend second ... if there is one."
-- Winston Churchill to Shaw, in response

"He is a self-made man and worships his creator."
-- John Bright

He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up."
-- Paul Keating

"He had delusions of adequacy."
-- Walter Kerr

"Some cause happiness wherever they go; others, whenever they go."
-- Oscar Wilde

A modest little person, with much to be modest about.
- - - Winston Churchill

Differently clued.
- - - Dave Clark

Doesn't know much, but leads the league in nostril hair.
- - - Josh Billing

End of season sale at the cerebral department.
- - - Gareth Blackstock

Has the mathematical abilities of a Clydesdale.
- - - David Letterman

He can compress the most words into the smallest idea of any man I know.
- - - Abraham Lincoln

He has the attention span of a lightning bolt.
- - - Robert Redford

He is brilliant - to the top of his boots.
- - - David Lloyd George

He knew everything about literature except how to enjoy it.
- - - Joseph Heller

He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career.
- - - George Bernard Shaw

He knows so little and knows it so fluently.
- - - Ellen Glasgow

He loves nature in spite of what it did to him.
- - - Forrest Tucker

He never chooses an opinion; he just wears whatever happens to be in style.
- - - Leo Tolstoy

He never said a foolish thing nor never did a wise one.
- - - Earl of Rochester

He not only overflowed with learning, but stood in the slop.
- - - Sydney Smith

He thinks by infection, catching an opinion like a cold.
- - - John Ruskin

He was distinguished for ignorance; for he had only one idea and that was wrong.
- - - Benjamin Disraeli

His ignorance covers the world like a blanket, and there's scarcely a hole in it anywhere.
- - - Mark Twain

His ignorance is encyclopedic.
- - - Abba Eban

I want to reach your mind - where is it currently located?
- - - Ashleigh Brilliant

I wish I'd known you when you were alive.
- - - Leonard Louis Levinson

If he ever had a bright idea it would be beginner's luck.
- - - William Lashner "Veritas"

Sharp as a sack full of wet mice.
- - - Foghorn Leghorn

She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a serviceable substitute for wit.
- - - W. Somerset Maugham

That young girl is one of the least benightedly unintelligent organic life forms it has been my profound lack of pleasure not to be able to avoid meeting.
- - - Douglas Adams

They never open their mouths without subtracting from the sum of human knowledge.
- - - Thomas Brackett Reed

What's on your mind? If you'll forgive the overstatement.
- - - Fred Allen

While he was not dumber than an ox he was not any smarter either.
- - - James Thurber

A gentleman is one who never hurts anyone's feelings unintentionally.
- - - Oscar Wilde

A great many people now reading and writing would be better employed keeping rabbits.
- - - Edith Sitwell

A sophisticated rhetorician, inebriated with the exuberance of his own verbosity.
- - - Benjamin Disraeli

Abstract art? A product of the untalented, sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered.
- - - Al Capp

God made the Idiot for practice, and then He made the School Board.
- - - Mark Twain

Hanging is too good for a man who makes puns; he should be drawn and quoted.
- - - Fred Allen

I didn't like the play, but then I saw it under adverse conditions - the curtain was up.
- - - Groucho Marx

In the United States today, we have more than our share of the nattering nabobs of negativism. They have formed their own 4-H Club - the 'hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.
- - - Spiro T. Agnew (about the press, 1970)

Nature not content with denying him the ability to think, has endowed him with the ability to write.
- - - A. E. Housman

Reader, suppose you were an idiot; and suppose you were a member of Congress; but I repeat myself.
- - - Mark Twain

Thank you for sending me a copy of your book - I'll waste no time reading it.
- - - -Moses Hadas

The fact that a man is a newspaper reporter is evidence of some flaw of character.
- - - Lyndon Johnson

This is not a book that should be tossed lightly aside. It should be hurled with great force.
- - - Dorothy Parker

This is one of those big, fat paperbacks, intended to while away a monsoon or two, which, if thrown with a good overarm action, will bring a water buffalo to its knees.
- - - Nancy Banks-Smith (review of M.M. Kaye's "The Far Pavillions")

You have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
- - - Aristophanes

Being attacked by him is like being savaged by a dead sheep.
- - - Dennis Healy

Debating against him is no fun, say something insulting and he looks at you like a whipped dog.
- - - Harold Wilson

Failure has gone to his head.
- - - Wilson Mizner

He has sat on the fence so long that the iron has entered his soul.
- - - David Lloyd George

He is an old bore. Even the grave yawns for him.
- - - Herbert Beerbohm Tree

He is as good as his word - and his word is no good.
- - - Seamus MacManus

He is one of those people who would be enormously improved by death.
- - - H. H. Munro

He is so mean, he won't let his little baby have more than one measle at a time.
- - - Eugene Field

He is the same old sausage, fizzing and sputtering in his own grease.
- - - Henry James

He made enemies as naturally as soap makes suds.
- - - Percival Wilde

He makes a July's day short as December.
- - - William Shakespeare

He never bore a grudge against anyone he wronged.
- - - Simone Signoret

He was a bit like a corkscrew. Twisted, cold and sharp.
- - - Kate Cruise O'Brien

He was a solemn, unsmiling, sanctimonious old iceberg who looked like he was waiting for a vacancy in the Trinity.
- - - Mark Twain

He was about as useful in a crisis as a sheep.
- - - Dorothy Eden

He was as great as a man can be without morality.
- - - Alexis de Tocqueville

He was one of those men who possess almost every gift, except the gift of the power to use them.
- - - Charles Kingsley

He was so crooked, you could have used his spine for a safety-pin.
- - - Dorothy L. Sayers

He was so narrow minded he could see through a keyhole with both eyes.
- - - Molly Ivins

He was so narrow minded that if he fell on a pin it would blind him in both eyes.
- - - Fred Allen

He was trying to save both his faces.
- - - John Gunther

He would stab his best friend for the sake of writing an epigram on his tombstone.
- - - Oscar Wilde

He's so snobbish he has an unlisted zip-code.
- - - Earl Wilson

He's very clever, but sometimes his brains go to his head.
- - - Margot Asquith

I will always love the false image I had of you.
- - - Ashleigh Brilliant

Ordinarily he is insane. But he has lucid moments when he is only stupid.
- - - Heinrich Heine

She could carry off anything; and some people said that she did.
- - - Ada Leverson

She is such a good friend that she would throw all her acquaintances into the water for the pleasure of fishing them out again.
- - - Charles Talleyrand

She tells enough white lies to ice a wedding cake.
- - - Margot Asquith

She never lets ideas interrupt the easy flow of her conversation.
- - - Jean Webster

She never was really charming till she died.
- - - Terence

She not only expects the worst, but makes the worst of it when it happens.
- - - Michael Arlen

She plunged into a sea of platitudes, and with the powerful breast stroke of a channel swimmer, made her confident way towards the white cliffs of the obvious.
- - - W. Somerset Maugham

She was kind of girl who'd eat all your cashews and leave you with nothing but peanuts and filberts.
- - - Raymond Chandler

She was like a sinking ship firing on the rescuers.
- - - Alexander Woollcott

She's got such a narrow mind, when she walks fast her earrings bang together.
- - - John Cantu

She's the sort of woman who lives for others -- you can tell the others by their hunted expression.
- - - C. S. Lewis

So boring you fall asleep halfway through her name.
- - - Alan Bennett

Some folks are wise and some are otherwise.
- - - Tobias George Smolett

The greatest thing since they reinvented unsliced bread.
- - - William Keegan

The triumph of sugar over diabetes.
- - - George Jean Nathan

The trouble with her is that she lacks the power of conversation but not the power of speech.
- - - George Bernard Shaw

You take the lies out of him, and he'll shrink to the size of your hat; you take the malice out of him, and he'll disappear.
- - - Mark Twain

You're a mouse studying to be a rat.
- - - Wilson Mizner

A graceful taunt is worth a thousand insults.
- - - Louis Nizer

As entertaining as watching a potato bake.
- - - Marc Savlov (about the movie, Taxi)

Don't look now, but there's one too many in this room and I think it's you.
- - - Groucho Marx

Every time I look at you I get a fierce desire to be lonesome.
- - - Oscar Levant

Everyone has his day and some days last longer than others.
- - - Winston Churchill

Fine words! I wonder where you stole them.
- - - Jonathan Swift

From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.
- - - Groucho Marx

He looked as inconspicuous as a tarantula on a slice of angel food.
- - - Raymond Chandler

He's liked, but he's not well liked.
- - - Arthur Miller

Here's where we we get out the thesaurus and look up synonyms for "garbage."
- - - Mike LaSalle (about the movie, Shanghai Knights)

I can't believe that out of 100,000 sperm, you were the quickest.
- - - Steven Pearl

I could never learn to like her, except on a raft at sea with no other provisions in sight.
- - - Mark Twain

I like long walks, especially when they are taken by people who annoy me.
- - - Fred Allen

I regard you with an indifference bordering on aversion.
- - - Robert Louis Stevenson

She's good, being gone.
- - - William Shakespeare

Some people stay longer in an hour than others can in a week.
- - - William Dean Howells

You have delighted us long enough.
- - - Jane Austen

You're a good example of why some animals eat their young.
- - - Jim Samuels

You're a parasite for sore eyes.
- - - Gregory Ratoff

Thoughts on Prayer

2007-03-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

I have to confess that I have had some real struggles with prayer. It was hard to see my mother enter eternity recently and not know whether she was with God. I have had someone very close to me just go through a horrible and ugly divorce and my prayers in the matter seemed to prevail nothing. My husband and I have had some struggles with his job. He has been demeaned and treated badly and every time we think the situation might change or he has an opportunity for another job, things fall through. Years ago, I prayed for my previous marriage, that God would restore and reconcile and it didn't happen. I have prayed for my grown children's salvation and one walked away recently and I am still waiting for the other two.

I don't mean to say that God has not answered any of my prayers. He brought me my husband who is such a blessing. He has blessed me with certain jobs, and took care of me when I was single. I can go on and on about his many answers to prayer.

I wish I had the confidence in prayer that George Muller had. He just seemed to have a gift of confidence and trust in God. Sometimes I don't trust God. Isn't that terrible to confess? I know He is sovereign and providential, but when I pray sometimes it is with an air of resignation, almost expecting a no answer despite my pleas. I have noticed that my prayers have become fewer in number and I add a prayer of grace that I might desire to pray and seek God. I feel dry instead. So, as I shared this with my husband recently, it is interesting that today I read from Spurgeon these words. I hope they sink in and I can be renewed in my desire to glorify God in my life and prayers.

AND GOING A LITTLE FARTHER HE FELL ON HIS FACE AND PRAYED.”
Matthew 26:39

There are several instructive features in our Savior's prayer in His hour of trial. It was lonely prayer. He withdrew even from His three favored disciples. Believer, be diligent in solitary prayer, especially in times of trial. Family prayer, social prayer, prayer in the church will not be sufficient; these are very precious, but the fragrance of heaven will be sweetest in your private devotions, where no ear hears but God's. It was humble prayer. Luke says He knelt, but another evangelist says He "fell on His face." Where, then, must be your place, you humble servant of the great Master? What dust and ashes should cover your head! Humility gives us a good foothold in prayer. There is no hope of prevailing with God unless we abase ourselves, that He may exalt us in due time.
It was filial prayer. "Abba, Father." You will find it a stronghold in the day of trial to plead your adoption. You have no rights as a subject--you have forfeited them by your treason; but nothing can forfeit a child's right to a father's protection. Do not be afraid to say, "My Father, hear my cry."
Observe that it was persevering prayer. He prayed three times. Do not stop until you prevail. Be like the importunate widow, whose continual coming earned what her first supplication could not win. Continue in prayer with a thankful heart. Lastly, it was the prayer of resignation. "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will." Let it be as God wills, and God will determine for the best. Be content to leave your prayer in His hands, who knows when to give, and how to give, and what to give, and what to withhold. So pleading, earnestly, importunately, yet with humility and resignation, you will surely prevail.

Self Righteousness

2007-03-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

This is really good!

Whatever it be that makes us trust in ourselves that we are comparatively wise or good, so as to treat those with contempt who do not subscribe to our doctrines, or follow our party, is a proof and fruit of a self-righteous spirit. Self-righteousness can feed upon doctrines, as well as upon works; and a man may have the heart of a Pharisee, while his head is stored with orthodox notions of the unworthiness of the creature and the riches of free grace. John Newton HT:Between Two Worlds

Expert Marksmen In The Eyes of Men

2007-03-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

I am reading To Kill A Mockingbird for the the 10th time (I think). I participate in a neighborhood book club and this book is our selection for the month, to my delight. I have always gleaned so much from this book. I have picked up a few thoughts during my reading lately and may post a couple over the next few days.

The title of the book is derived from a conversation Jem and Scout (two kids) have with a neighbor. Their father had given them air rifles for Christmas and stated that they could shoot tin cans, and he supposed they would want to shoot birds. Since Blue Jays and other birds ate crops and wreaked havoc in particular ways, Atticus, their father, said they were fair game. He told his children never to shoot a Mockingbird. Miss Maudie, the neighbor lady, explained to the kids that it was a sin to kill a Mockingbird because all they did was sing their hearts out for us to enjoy. As the story progresses, that whole idea gets fleshed out in other ways, but I was struck by her comment and put it together with another quote in the book by Miss Maudie concerning Jem and Scout's revelation that their stodgy old father is quite the marksman with a rifle. He had to shoot a rabid dog, and he had a second to do it as the dog would have attacked. He had to get it right.

If your father's anything, he's civilized in his heart. Marksmanship's a gift of God, a talent - oh, you have to practice to make it perfect, but shootin's different from playing the piano or the like. I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn't shoot till he had to, and he had to today.
" Looks like he'd be proud of it, " I said.
"People in their right minds never take pride in their talents," said Miss Maudie.

I have always had a bit of a crush on Atticus. He is portrayed as a very dignified, respectful man with a dry sense of humor and a sense of responsibility towards his children, his neighbors, and the downtrodden. As a lawyer, he defends a man that nobody else would ever defend, and he warned his children that they would bear the brunt of that decision, but that they would have to make the best of the situation.

I was struck recently by ongoing abrasiveness in Christian blogs. Recently, rather acerbic comments have been made by Christians who may be expert marksmen but seem to take pride in their talents and flaunt their ability to shoot. I wish that men would study the character of Atticus and practice what C.J. Mahaney calls "humble orthodoxy". The emphasis on shooting often and hitting the mark overrides the idea of shooting only when absolutely necessary.

Some shots heard recently that have caused me to ponder the lesson in To Kill A Mockingbird are:

Personal attacks on Al Mohler regarding comments he made and tried to clarify. Whatever comments are questionable and possibly regrettable, does not negate his ministry and contributions to the cause of Christ.
Slams on Mark Driscoll regarding his confession of exhaustion and discouragement.

Slams on John MacArthur's personal position in Christ. Statements that he is not REALLY reformed.

I read recently that C.J. Mahaney traveled up to visit Mark Driscoll, play basketball with his sons, and encourage Mark in the faith. I respect Mahaney so much for taking time to mentor and encourage another pastor. His approach is far superior than public slams against Driscoll on the internet. Mahaney gets my silent award for being most Atticuslike this week. May more men learn by his example.

Feelin' a Bit Irish Are Ya?

2007-03-17T15:37:00.000-07:00

Ow About a bit o' bagpipes?

... and a glimpse of some of
Dublin's lovely gardens?

Words to Admonish Myself

2007-03-15T23:31:00.000-07:00

Words that have ministered to me lately.

From The Purple Cellar:

We all struggle with anxiety to varying degrees, from the nail-biting stress of a normal busy day to the stomach-gnawing fear that can overtake us in the bigger crises of life. Anxiety is so much a part of American life today that we are prone to forget that worry is sin. Jesus himself commanded us not to worry. The reason worry is so bad is that what underlies it is a lack of trust in the goodness and power of God. There is just no need to worry when we have a loving, heavenly Father in control of everything. Someone wisely said, God has the love to choose what’s best for us, the knowledge of how to make it happen, and the power to bring it about. So why worry? There’s just no need. Nevertheless, we are prone to it, which is why Paul provides a remedy here.

When we are tempted to worry about something, Paul tells us not to surrender to our fear, but to pray instead, telling God what’s bothering us, asking him to meet our need, and thanking him for the answer that he will provide, even when we cannot yet see it. This is a true faith-based prayer. Paul also attaches a promise to this remedy for worry—peace. If God doesn’t give what we think is best, we can be sure that he will give what he thinks is best. What we are actually promised is supernatural peace, the kind that governs our thoughts and feelings along God’s path for us. Not only does God want to give us what’s best, but he also wants us to want the very things he longs to give.

If we are chronic worriers, chances are it’s because we are set on structuring our lives our own way. In many cases, it’s not that we doubt that God can do something; it’s that we fear he may not do exactly what we want. However, if we really trust that God’s ways are best, then we will come to want the same things he wants for us. What an amazing God we have!

Some quotes from John Newton found at Between Two Worlds:

A Christian knows that communion with God in prayer, faith, and the Word should be our sweetest delight, our exceeding desire. But in reality, these are often difficult for us. Newton writes:

Though he knows that communion with God is his highest privilege, he too seldom finds it so; on the contrary, if duty, conscience, and necessity did not compel, he would leave the throne of grace unvisited from day to day. He takes up the Bible, conscious that it is the fountain of life and true comfort; yet perhaps, while he is making the reflection, he feels a secret distaste, which prompts him to lay it down, and give him preference to a newspaper." [You could substitute the word "website"!]

But then Newton turns to a perplexing question indeed:

How can these things be, or why are they permitted? Since the Lord hates sin, teaches his people to hate it and cry against it, and has promised to hear their prayers, how is it that they go thus burdened? Surely, if he could not, or would not, over-rule evil for good, he would permit it to continue.

Here is how he answers:

By these exercises he teaches us more truly to know and feel the utter depravity and corruption of our whole nature, that we are indeed defiled in every part.

His method of salvation is likewise hereby exceedingly endeared to us: we see that it is and must be of grace, wholly of grace; and that the Lord Jesus Christ, and his perfect righteousness, is and must be our all in all.

His power likewise, in maintaining his own work notwithstanding our infirmities, temptations, and enemies, is hereby displayed in the clearest light; his strength is manifested in our weakness.

The Great Global Warming Swindle

2007-03-15T11:47:00.000-07:00

This is the most compelling ESSENTIAL documentary I have seen on the Global Warming issue. I wish I could send this to trendy evangelicals on the Global Warming Initiative. Especially interesting to me were the comments by Patrick Moore who was the co-founder of Greenpeace, one of the more radical branches of the environmental movement. This is a long documentary. In fact, I was ready to take a good hike and I just couldn't stop watching, so get a cup of coffee and settle in for the long run.

Sneezes Do That To Me Too!

2007-03-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

Book Arts

2007-03-12T09:28:00.000-07:00

Kim over at Hiraeth creates hand lettered bookmarks. I was reminded of a wonderful class I took three times.It was called History of Practical Printmaking. It delved into the history of printmaking, and of course we learned about Gutenberg's press along with other historical facts. We had to complete a broadside and an edition of 20 copies of a book. The books are called Chapbooks, and they usually incorporate handmade papers, are hand bound, and are usually illustrated with steel engravings or wood engravings . They are small books, containing a poem or brief words.

The process of making a handmade book is meticulous and time consuming. In the three classes I took, with a total of six students per class, only a couple of students completed the assignments. I was one of them, because I totally loved the class.

We hand set the type for the book which meant that we selected pieces of metal type from a wooden box, placed them upside down, right to left in a galley, tied the type securely with string, placed the type on a press, surrounded the type with "furniture" which consisted of strips of metal and wood measured precisely against the edge of the press bed in order to center the type, and then ran our pages through the printing press. The wooden boxes of type held various styles of fonts, and each box within the box carried a particular letter or punctuation mark. We learned to read the box much the same as we learn to read letters on our keyboards.

I have created two books with my own illustrations and poems I have written.

I made 20 copies of each book I created. I used handmade paper and illustrated one book with a steel engraving (a pen and ink was sent to a company which transformed it to an engraving) and another book with a wood engraving that I created.

Title of Book: Trails

Wood engraving created from silky end piece of wood

Illustration for book

End piece indicating what font, where printed, and how many copies

Trails

On solitary wanderings,
I watch clouds push edges of blue
and starlings weave patterns
in elusive windstreams.

I walk through shadowed canyons
listening in the stillness
for poetry in quiet voices

I am a printer in a back room
planting letters one by one,
pouring ink like rivers,
irrigating orchards of words.

When storms rage through
leaving trails of broken words and ink,
I hope the strongest will survive.

Book Arts have become quite the art form. Papermaking, marbling, handbinding, various ways to put together pages, from accordian pages to pages made from unusual materials have really blossomed in the art world. I would love to continue to explore this particular art form, combining my love for books, and my love of art. Here is one last picture of an example of various handmade books.

Celtic Christianity

2007-03-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

In honor of Rebecca, here is an excerpt from a Celtic Historical site Celtic Life that highlights bits of Celtic Christian history and practices.

Features of Celtic Christianity:

-love of nature and a passion for the wild and elemental as a reminder of God's gift.
-love and respect for art and poetry.
-love and respect for the great stories and "higher learning".
-sense of God and the saints as a continuing, personal, helpful presence.
-theologically orthodox, yet with heavy emphasis on the Trinity, and a love and respect for Mary, the Incarnation of Christ, and Liturgy.
-religious practice characterized by a love for tough penitential acts, vigils, self-exile, pilgrimages, and resorting to holy wells, mountains, caves, ancient monastic sites, and other sacred locations.
-no boundaries between the sacred and the secular
-unique Church structure:
-there were originally no towns, just nomadic settlements, hence the church was more monastic rather than diocesan, resulting in quite independent rules and liturgies.
-also, Ireland was very isolated and it was hard to impose outside central Roman authority.
-influenced much by middle-eastern and coptic monasticism.
-they celebrated Easter and Lent according to the ancient calendar system.
-Irish tonsure shaved the front of the head (like the druids).
-abbots had more power than the bishops.
-monasteries often huge theocratic villages often associated with a clan with the same kinship ties, along with their slaves, freemen, with celibate monks, married clergy, professed lay people, men and women living side by side. (Sometimes monasteries "raided" other monasteries, esp. during the period of the Anglo-Norman invasion.)
-while some monasteries were in isolated places, many more were were at the crossroads of provincial territories.
-women had more equal footing in ancient Irish law, thus had more equal say in church government. (Did St. Bridget receive Holy Orders and act as an Abbot?)
-developed the idea of having a "soul friend" (anmchara) to help in spiritual direction.
-invented personal confession.
-monks traveled as "Peregrinari Pro Christ" (White Martyrdom).
-many pagan practices were "Baptized" such as St.Stephen's Day, and the resorting to holy wells, and many monasteries were built on pagan sacred site (as evident in the names Derry, and Durrow).

Book Meme and A Call to Check Out Some Great Bookmarks

2007-03-10T20:31:00.000-08:00

Kim at Hiraeth has this fun book meme and she also makes these wonderful hand lettered bookmarks that you simply MUST check out.

Bookworm Meme

Hardback or trade paperback or mass market paperback?

Whatever comes my way. Mostly paperbacks due to costs.

Online purchase or brick and mortar?

These days, it is all about online. So easy. I do love old dusty bookstores though. Hey...the best in the world is Powell's in Portland Ore. More than a million new and used books.

Barnes & Noble or Borders?

Neither. A good ole mom and pop bookstore for me.

Bookmark or dog-ear?

Bookmark.

Mark or not mark?

I don't like to mark books. It is distracting if I read it again. I like clean fresh pages.

Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random?

I am not anal. I place books according to size. Large books on bottom shelf, medium books, etc. I am lucky if I can get the titles going the same way.

Keep, throw away, or sell?

I keep the good ones. I throw away bad theological books I once read because I don't want anyone else to read them. I am ashamed to say that I once got rid of some beautifully illustrated books when I became a Christian because I thought I shouldn't read secular books. I got rid of very early editions of Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, stories by Louisa May Alcott, and Smoky the Horse that my mother had owned as a child. I so, so, so regret that early decision over 30 years ago.

Keep dustjacket or toss it?

I keep them but they are not on the books when I read them.

Short story or novel?

Mostly novels.

Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)?

Both, but I do prefer anthologies.

Lord of the Rings or Narnia

Both.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks?

I am like most people. I read just one more chapter. Just one more. Ok...one more.

“It was a dark and stormy night” or “Once upon a time”?

Dark and stormy night is too contrived and dramatic. I like clean literature, not cluttered words.

Buy or Borrow?

Both.

New or used?

I am poor these days. I mostly buy used.

Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse?

Mostly recommendations.

Tidy ending or cliffhanger?

Tidy ending. If I am staying up all night just to read one more chapter and another and another, I better not end on a cliffhanger!

Morning reading, afternoon reading or night time reading?

Whenever I have time. I do love to read before I go to sleep.

Standalone or series?

Both.

Favorite series?

I liked the series about Merlin and Arthur( Crystal Cave and a couple of others) years ago. I forget the author at the moment but I was on an English History bent at the time.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?

Angle of Repose. Pulitzer prize winner by a favorite author, Wallace Stegner. It takes place in the west during the days of settlement and mining in the 1800's. I like literature that deals with the west.

Favorite books read last year?

The little lady up the street asked me to be a part of her book club and I didn't want to read one of the books, but then found myself totally into it. In fact, I was sick one night and read in the bathtub. The pages got all wavy like, and since it was a library book, I had to replace it. Anyways, it was Gone With The Wind. I also have some theological books but can't remember at the moment what my favorites were. I will probably add those later.

Favorite book of all time?

To Kill A Mockingbird and the Bible. Not necessarily in that order.

A Glimpse into Me.

2007-03-09T08:29:00.000-08:00

I saw this over at Miss Mel's old blog and thought I might try it myself. A bit of fun. All pictures are ones you choose to portray who you are. I thought at first the pics were Miss Mel's. I'm a little slow that way.

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

All Things Irish

2007-03-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

Rebecca has a great new series this month on All Things Irish. I am including some images and a video of my favorite Irish worship leader, Robin Marks.

Book of Kells

Irish Art "Galway Street"

Irish Memorial in Boston depicting the potato famine

Green hills of Ireland

Robin Marks

Two Movies

2007-02-24T21:06:00.000-08:00

Well, well, well. I haven't checked in for awhile. Thanks for asking. I have not really had much to say. Lots of intense family stuff.

My oldest daughter asked me to watch a documentary called Jesus Camp. I had to admit that I was grieved right away when I started the movie. I come from a charismatic background. I still believe that gifts are for today, but I am so much more conservative than I used to be and cringe at the abuse perpetrated in charismatic circles. I think becoming a reformed Christian has contributed to my desire that all things be in order and pleasing to God. I was grieved to see kids in a Jesus Camp being revved up emotionally and in a manipulative manner to respond to "preaching" by a woman who didn't even bother to open her Bible to expound on scriptures. I can't fault the desire of the kids to be pleasing to God, but I felt sad about their rote answers and performance expectations. I also gagged knowing that they were passing out Chick Tracks! Ugh. My oldest daughter once attended a teen camp where she became ill after accidentally eating mayonnaise. She has always been allergic to mayonnaise. She was told by a counselor (after throwing up a few times) that she had a "Spirit of Anorexia" and they needed to cast it out. What nonsense! She has never forgotten that particular episode, and in fact has been hindered by what she perceived as a twisted version of Christianity. Dang. I wish I could have come around to a Reformed view so much earlier in life so that she could have experienced a healthier viewpoint in my opinion. But...hey. God is sovereign and knows exactly what she needs.

I just got back from watching Amazing Grace. I had a much different reaction to this movie! I was blessed by some comments in the movie and very moved by the ending where a Color Guard played Amazing Grace with bagpipes and other instruments. I guess what impressed me was the dignity portrayed in the movie as well as the dignified beautiful rendition of the song at the end. I love to see the glory of God manifested in such a way. I, like so many of us, am tired of being innundated by "celebrity trainwreck lifestyles" . We have so little dignity left in our society.

I think there was an unintentional, or perhaps intentional, nod to Jonathan Edwards in the movie. Edwards had written a brilliant essay on spiders and spiderwebs as a young boy, and to see Wilberforce marveling at the intricacy of a spider web made me think of Edwards.

There were flaws in the movie and I could have done without the girlfriend's lowcut dresses, but the audience applauded at the end and sat through the credits. It is rare to see a movie where the characters actually have the kind of character to emulate. I came away with a couple of thoughts.

First of all, I came away with an enhanced desire to know what God wants to do in my life at this point. The movie was inspiring in that Wilberforce had such a passsion for a cause. Every few years I take stock of what I am doing, and right now my husband and I are in a holding pattern. We drive an hour to church so have a hard time feeling like we are really part of the church and have something to offer. I have always had my hand in something. I have worked in homeless shelters, and with at-risk teens. I have taught in a Christian school. I have a hard time just doing nothing. But, that is where I am right now. :) My husband is also feeling aimless. He is a good teacher of the Word, and has a servant's heart, willing to help anybody. We don't really know what God is doing, but we both feel like couch potatoes waiting and praying to God for the next move.

Second thought. I stated already that I love a movie that portrays dignity. I am so tired of trendy, push the envelope movies. I hate the language that is spewing out of movies, and the focus on sex and particular popular agendas. I like a movie that inspires me to be better and desire better things in my life. I would have liked the Resolved Conference (focused on Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions) that took place recently. Tim Challies liveblogged it. Yay.

It is interesting that one of the reviews I liked for Amazing Grace comes from a (I think) chick site here. I found it by reading Richard Pearcey's blog which happens to have a variety of reviews of Amazing Grace.

Well that's all the news that is fit to print from my corner of the world. Adios y'all for now.

Phil Keaggy. My favorite Christian Musician

2007-02-10T17:45:00.000-08:00

Comet McNaught

2007-01-18T09:19:00.002-08:00

Has anybody had a chance to see Comet McNaught? It is now visible in the Southern Hemisphere. I found the photos on thiscool site.

My Town

2007-01-13T09:27:00.000-08:00

Hey! My town is presented in one of my favorite magazines!

National Geographic Adventure Magazine

In Which She Edits the Title to a Less Offensive...What She Thinks of Evangelistic Video

2007-01-10T13:19:00.000-08:00

SEE UPDATES BELOW!

There is an interesting brouhaha taking place over at Pyromaniacs, Frank Turk's blog, and Steve Camp's blog about an evangelistic video by Francis Chan. The fuss is whether Francis Chan makes a clear presentation of the gospel in his video. Well, the comments are flying and the guys are coming out with their dukes up, itching for a fight (or actually, continuing the battle of words in true testosterone fashion).

Ahem...I will insert my own thoughts on the matter.

The problem I had with the video was a sort of John Eldredge flashback. Chan states that "God is crazy about you", "God is begging you to accept Him", and "God is screaming for your attention". I think those particular viewpoints of God are popular Arminian hooks and His grandeur and holiness gets diminished into a caracature of a hapless pursuer.

I had no other issues with the video because I believe God can use anything He wants to draw us to Himself. He can use the EBay cheese sandwich with the image of Jesus on it as a tool to change a person's heart and mind. I sobbed when the clown was hanged (or whatever) in Godspell. God is not limited to our understanding of his drawing power.

I do have an issue with what happens from the point of conversion though. If a person does not have an understanding of their state before salvation, then a romance with God can be reduced to a relationship where God is crazy about me and since I chose to be with Him, He should be happy I chose Him over the world. I am reminded of Gomer in the book of Hosea. Hosea continued to be faithful to her, even though she had other lovers, idols, and turned away in faithlessness. Sometimes it is human nature to feel secure enough in a relationship to not put much work in it. I once was told during my divorce years ago, that the person who cares the least in a relationship, wins, because they have the control and the power. The other person in the relationship feels helpless and unable to force love from their uncaring partner. God is sometimes portrayed in contemporary American Christianity in the position of the one who doesn't have the power and the control. We are the primadonnas (at times callous) wife and He is the giver of all good gifts (hoping we keep loving Him), and his love is always positive, no negativity allowed. Chan made a statement that God does not want to take from us, but rather give to us. God DOES want to take from us. He wants to take our selfishness. He wants to take our continual evil thoughts. He wants to take our self-sufficiency from us. How does He accomplish these things? One way He does in my life is by love. Not a hand wringing love. A tough love. A love that doesn't always look like love to me. It looks like hardship. It looks like abandonment. It looks like pain and suffering.

Jonathan Edwards came up in the conversation. Frank Turk made the comment that Edwards preached to a particular culture, so he was able to preach about the wrath of God and people responded with contrite hearts. I shared in a comment that I believe Edwards was able to share about the judgement of God partly due to previous circumstances. A great earthquake shook New England in 1927. A number of after-shocks occurred. Some witnesses even mentioned blue lightning racing along cracks in the earth. Many Christians, including very prominent preachers, believed the earthquakes were from the hand of God, and in fact, judgement on New England. It made for a climate of vulnerability among the populace, ready and eager to hear the gospel and escape the wrath of God.

I once heard a quote, from Bill Cosby I think: "When the earth shakes, everyone looks up."

Edwards believed that one needed to know their own wretchedness before salvation, so that true repentence followed. In contemporary Christianity, there is no emphasis on how wretched we really are, totally undeserving of God's mercy and favor. Instead, we are told how God bends his knee and proposes to us, hoping, just hoping, we will accept Him. I would rather really hear and take to heart the words of Newton:

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

If we know how wretched we are, we tend to be grateful that God chose us, and where can there any room for pride in that kind of truth? Since God gives good gifts, it is the gift of his grace in our lives that makes the difference.

Well, I hope the flailing of fists will come to an end with a group hug at the least or a good outing to the coast where the waves are big and we are small.

UPDATE: I wanted to add another point out of Hosea. One of the main points in the whole discussion over at Pyro and And His Ministers is about the love of God. In the book of Hosea, Gomer is taken out in the wilderness and wooed by God. But... she is wooed after she is stripped of all her lovers and idols. She is stripped of everything she depended on for personal affirmation and taken out into the wilderness. Wilderness...place of wild animals, thorns, heat, thirst. That is the place God chose to woo her to Himself.

UPDATE! UPDATE!! Here are some words of wisdom from Spurgeon that complement the post above. Especially note the ending where he mentions plowing the ground.

“THESE HAVE NO ROOT. ”
Luke 8:13

My soul, examine yourself this morning by the light of this text. You have received the Word with joy; your feelings have been stirred, and a lively impression has been made. But, remember, to receive the Word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into your very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the Word is not always a lasting one. In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone, and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could. But having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upward and downward at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart. Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as lacking in endurance as Jonah's vine; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus. Above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as stubborn as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible. Therefore, O heavenly Sower, plow me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield a bounteous harvest.

Here is an added bonus of a post from The Irish Calvinist on evangelism.

Making a List, Checking It Twice

2007-01-01T10:43:00.000-08:00

I think it is a good idea to start a new year with new resolutions. Yeah, we know that as the days go by, it is easy to let resolutions slip by the wayside. If you are looking for a few good questions, or a great list of resolutions, check out Pyromaniacs for a start. I especially appreciate Dan Phillips posting Jonathan Edwards 70 resolutions. Now there is a daunting list! My husband and I had decided a few days ago that we would check out this list from Don Whitney that Dan has also included. Here are the ten questions that I am initially answering but may change as I go over the list with my husband.

Once, when the people of God had become careless in their relationship with Him, the Lord rebuked them through the prophet Haggai. "Consider your ways!" (Haggai 1:5) he declared, urging them to reflect on some of the things happening to them, and to evaluate their slipshod spirituality in light of what God had told them.

Even those most faithful to God occasionally need to pause and think about the direction of their lives. It's so easy to bump along from one busy week to another without ever stopping to ponder where we're going and where we should be going.

The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up, and get our bearings. To that end, here are some questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God. Don Whitney

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?

Prayerfully reading his Word and making time with Him a priority.

2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?

Bring my children to salvation, and restore a marriage as well.

3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?

Be faithful in our devotional time and encouraging one another in the Lord.

4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?

I have two. Faithfully reading the Word and be more focused in prayer.

5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?

The Internet! Cut down on my time on the internet.

6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?

We are fairly new at our church, and we drive an hour to get there, so it will be helpful if we can be more committed to serve.

7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?

My children, and my husband's children.

8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?

I won't waste so much time on trivial things.

9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?

Believe that God really cares about my prayers.

10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in ten years? In eternity?

Be a testimony of the grace, mercy, sovereignty of God in my life and conversation. Be bold in my witness to the glory of God.

A Long Journey and a Waiting Wife

2006-12-30T17:27:00.000-08:00

I have to confess that I have been on the internet a LOT during this Christmas season. My step-son Joshua decided he wants to live out here for awhile and so my hubby flew back to see his family for Christmas and drive back across the country with his son. I didn't go with my husband because A. Couldn't afford it. B. The car would have been too crowded. So, I have excessively been on the internet (except with family at Christmas). When I am not reading certain blogs a couple of times a day, I am checking on the weather across the country. Yesterday (Friday), the boys drove from New Hampshire to Indiana. Today they hope to make Des Moines Iowa. Hopefully they will just miss the snowstorm that is passing through the plains, and tomorrow they will drive through half of Iowa, Nebraska, and southern Wyoming. The next day, if they push it they can make it to Nevada to spend a total of about 13 hours driving through Wyoming, Utah and Nevada. We have a big state. I sure am hoping they push it. I really miss hubby. I know what it is like to do that drive. I did it four years ago. Anyways, hopefully they can get here the first day of the new year. I would like to pray in the new year with my best friend and husband and our new roommate, Joshua. You all have a blessed New Year.

Update: The boys made it to Cheyenne Wyoming after seeing a Nebraska worth of overturned and stranded vehicles in ditches. Meanwhile I am viewing second season 24 episodes on New Years Eve.

A Moth to the Flame

2006-12-29T08:55:00.000-08:00

My mother possessed a book called archy and mehitabel, written by Don Marquis about a cockroach who jumped on the keys of a typewriter in order to write stories and poems. He can't reach the Caps button of course, so he only writes in lower case letters. He has a friendship with Mehitabel, his cat friend. You can see him typing in the cartoon to the left. The book was illustrated by George Herriman, who also illustrated a cartoon called Krazy Kat. I gave the book to my daughter after my mother passed away recently, but just looking through it brought back memories of looking at the pictures when I was a young child. I was reading a few of the poems from the book and came across this poem about a moth. I got to thinking about how this poem illustrates our own propensity to be drawn to the flame. It is a good illustration of the sin nature within us. This poem also is an ode to much of the bent of American society. Call it the anthem for People Magazine or something. I was struck by the ending... I wish there was something I wanted as badly as he wanted to fry himself. I know what I want. I want my desire to be towards God rather than be drawn like a moth to the flame of temptations, wrong desires, and wrong pursuits. Do I want it badly enough? Therein is the rub.

i was talking to a moth
the other evening
he was trying to break into
an electric light bulb
and fry himself on the wires

why do you fellows
pull this stunt i asked him
because it is the conventional
thing for moths or why
if that had been an uncovered
candle instead of an electric
light bulb you would
now be a small unsightly cinder
have you no sense

plenty of it he answered
but at times we get tired
of using it
we get bored with the routine
and crave beauty
and excitement
fire is beautiful
and we know that if we get
too close it will kill us
but what does that matter
it is better to be happy
for a moment
and be burned up with beauty
than to live a long time
and be bored all the while
so we wad all our life up
into one little roll
and then we shoot the roll
that is what life is for
it is better to be a part of beauty
for one instant and then cease to
exist than to exist forever
and never be a part of beauty
our attitude toward life
is come easy go easy
we are like human beings
used to be before they became
too civilized to enjoy themselves

and before i could argue him
out of his philosophy
he went and immolated himself
on a patent cigar lighter
i do not agree with him
myself i would rather have
half the happiness and twice
the longevity

but at the same time i wish
there was something i wanted
as badly as he wanted to fry himself

archy

After the Festivities: Word from Spurgeon

2006-12-25T10:47:00.000-08:00

“AND WHEN THE DAYS OF THE FEAST HAD RUN THEIR COURSE, JOB WOULD SEND AND CONSECRATE THEM, AND HE WOULD RISE EARLY IN THE MORNING AND OFFER BURNT OFFERINGS ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF THEM ALL. FOR JOB SAID, "IT MAY BE THAT MY CHILDREN HAVE SINNED, AND CURSE”
Job 1:5

What Job did early in the morning, after the family festivities, it will be good for the believer to do for himself before he rests tonight. Amid the cheerfulness of household gatherings it is easy to slide into sinful frivolity and to forget our declared character as Christians. It ought not to be so, but sadly it is, that our days of feasting are very seldom days of sanctified enjoyment but too frequently degenerate into unholy amusement. It is possible to experience joy as pure and sanctifying as a dip in the rivers of Eden: Holy gratitude should be just as purifying an element as grief. Sadly for our poor hearts, facts prove that the house of mourning is better than the house of feasting. Come, believer, how have you sinned today? Have you been forgetful of your high calling? Have you been like others in using empty words and unguarded speech? Then confess the sin, and flee to the sacrifice. The sacrifice sanctifies. The precious blood of the Lamb removes the guilt and purges the defilement of our sins of ignorance and carelessness. This is the best ending of a Christmas day-to wash anew in the cleansing fountain. Believer, come to this sacrifice continually; if it is good tonight, it is good every night. To live at the altar is the privilege of the royal priesthood; to them sin, bad as it is, is nevertheless no cause for despair, since they draw near once more to the sin-atoning victim, and their conscience is purged from dead works.
Gladly I close this festive day,
Grasping the altar's hallow'd horn;
My slips and faults are washed away,
The Lamb has all my trespass borne.

Christmas Ramblings

2006-12-23T18:03:00.000-08:00

Christmas decorations on my mother's old desk

Our Christmas Tree

I know most of you are scrambling to do those last minute touches that make your Christmas special. We have already celebrated our Christmas because my husband is flying home to meet our new grandson and see his family. We couldn't afford for both of us to go, so he is making the trek. He is driving back here with his oldest son, so that is his very best Christmas present. His son wants to live out here for awhile. I pray they have a safe drive back after the holidays.

We opened our presents last night. I got Bruce nice warm stuff to take with him to New Hampshire. Gloves, thick socks, etc. He got me a pair of binoculars. I am so excited about bird watching and checking out nature without squinting since I have poor vision (even with glasses). The other present I am excited about is the Christmas CD by Sufjan Stevens that my daughter is sending me. The next two weeks will be hard because I will miss Bruce while he is gone. I plan to hunker down Christmas day and read a good book and then go to my sister's for Christmas dinner.

Best ever Christmas gift from my husband: Three years ago on Christmas, my husband proposed to me on the banks of Lake Massabesic in New Hampshire. He got on one knee and asked for my hand in marriage. We prayed together while the mist rose from the lake on a beautiful Christmas morning. It was one of the best days ever.

This Christmas is the first without my mother. She used to cut chokecherry bushes or sagebrush when we were too poor to afford a Christmas tree. We decorated the bush with ornaments handed down from her mother, and ones she made herself, along with the usual school made ornaments. I hated the fact when I was young that we had sagebrush instead of a REAL Christmas tree, but my sister and I have created a tradition this year. We drove out to the Veteran's Cemetery and decorated a cut sagebrush with my mother's old ornaments. We left some flowers also and a homemade card. My sister played a song for me on the drive out. It was a country song that won best song I guess, and it was about an old man who shared with a boy how the Bible had become important to him, and how he was looking forward to seeing his wife in heaven. My sister is not a Christian, but she said she cries every time she hears that song. I know God is working in her heart.

May you all have a blessed Christmas and a very blessed New Year too.

Strike a Chord

2006-12-23T08:09:00.000-08:00

This is a very interesting visual. Whitney's Music Box

A 24 Christmas

2006-12-19T08:13:00.000-08:00

For all you 24 fans

The Gift of Gifts

2006-12-17T09:51:00.000-08:00

O Source of all good,
What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,
thine own dear Son, begotten, not created,
my redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,
his self-empyting incomprehensible,
his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.
Herein is wonder of wonders:
he came below to raise me above,
was born like me that I might become like him.
Herein is love;
when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,
to raise me to himself.
Herein is power;
when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
he united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreate and the created.
Herein is wisdom;
when I was undone, with no will to return to him,
and no intellect to devise recovery,
he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
as man to die my death,
to shed satifying blood on my behalf,
to work out a perfect righteousness for me.
O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds, and
enlarge my mind;
let me hear good tidings of great joy,
and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;
place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,
to look with them upon my redeemer's face,
and in him account myself delivered from sin;
let me with Simeon clasp the new-born child to my heart,
embrace him with undying faith,
exulting that he is mine and I am his.
In him thou hast given me so much that heaven can give no more.

from the Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions

Christmas Wreaths

2006-12-16T09:02:00.000-08:00

This will be my first Christmas without my mother, who was a veteran. I saw a piece on the news the other night about a wreath company in Maine that places wreaths on all headstones at Arlington Cemetery each Christmas. Such a daunting task to place wreaths on the thousands and thousands of headstones, but what a wonderful gesture of rememberance for those who sacrificed their lives. So, this Christmas, remember your loved ones and be thankful for family and friends. Find a live veteran who feels alone this Christmas and bless him or her.

Christmas Message

2006-12-12T15:43:00.000-08:00

Nativity by John Donne

2006-12-12T12:46:00.000-08:00

Artist: He Qi

Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,
Now leaves His well-belov'd imprisonment,
There He hath made Himself to His intent
Weak enough, now into the world to come;
But O, for thee, for Him, hath the inn no room?
Yet lay Him in this stall, and from the Orient,
Stars and wise men will travel to prevent
The effect of Herod's jealous general doom.
Seest thou, my soul, with thy faith's eyes, how He
Which fills all place, yet none holds Him, doth lie?
Was not His pity towards thee wondrous high,
That would have need to be pitied by thee?
Kiss Him, and with Him into Egypt go,

Christmas Crafts

2006-12-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

We had the grandkids over for printmaking, Christmas tree decorating, and looking at Christmas lights around town.

Taven's print

Jake's print

Jeslyn's print

Jeslyn's Printmaking

Printmaking

NOT Tiny Tim. This is Xander who missed Printmaking because he was asleep. Yay. He is really an...umm...active three year old.

Holy, Holy, Holy by Sufjan Stevens

2006-12-06T08:43:00.000-08:00

A song to bless your day. I keep playing it over and over.

Holy, Holy, Holy

The Inevitable Christmas Snack

2006-12-06T06:58:00.001-08:00

Everybody has a standard snack or treat that they present for Christmas. I usually make a salsa cheese spread among other treats. Join Rebecca as she posts favorite Christmas treats for our enjoyment.

Salsa Cheese Spread

One softened package of cream cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
one half cup or more of salsa
two teaspoons or so of lemon juice to taste
a few shakes of garlic powder, cayenne pepper, and salt
chopped green onions
chopped walnuts (optional)

Mash it all together until well blended. Serve with crackers.

Embrace at Christmas

2006-12-04T11:27:00.000-08:00

Children's Christmas Pageants

Christmas Services and Christian fellowship

The smell of evergreens

Snow

Celebration and Feasts with family and friends

Christmas Trees, candles, and twinkling lights

What To Avoid at Christmas

2006-12-04T09:10:00.000-08:00

Kitschy Nativity Scene

Bad Opening Paragraph of a Christmas Novel

"Christmas Eve fell upon the piazza, and the pealing, the tintinnabulous pealing, (perhaps not a pealing but an incessant tinkling, albeit an appealing incessant tinkling) of the street performers reached my ears, masking the shot, which would have rung out had not the tintinnabulations raised such an incessant tinkling that the sound died as dead as the musician who fell like Christmas Eve at my feet - his bell having been rung." Ben Ross Lexington, NC
Bulwar-Lytton Contest

Avoid at ALL times, not just Christmas, but certainly avoid just for the title and cover alone.

I don't know about you, but Jello slathered with mayonnaise is just wrong!

Jello Salad with Mayo

* 2 cups boiling water
* 2 6 ounce packages lime Jello
* 2 cups sugar
* 5 or 6 celery sticks
* Can of mandarin oranges
* 5 bananas, the browner the better
* 1/2 bag of mini-marshmallows
* Mayonnaise

Pour boiling water over the lime Jello and stir until dissolved. Add sugar and fruits. Pour into greased Jello mold and chill until set.
When ready to serve, invert and slather with mayo. Serves 30

We love to sing Christmas songs, but try your best not to sing this song...or any of the "Redneck Christmas Songs"

I know this is potentially blasphemous, but try, really try to have a Christmas without Thomas Kincaid. At this point, some of you are thinking...Now she has stepped over the line!

A Christmas Carol by G.K. Chesterton

2006-12-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

Makoto Fujimura

A Christmas Carol
by G.K. Chesterton

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)

The Christ-child stood on Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

Getting in the Spirit of Christmas

2006-12-02T12:08:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas. I love the pungent smell of evergreens. I love candles lit softly throughout the house. I love collecting wonderful ornaments. I love the fact that even though there are pagan roots to Christmas, we still can take a stand and declare that, YES!, Christ came to earth, born in a humble manger, grew up to declare the unwavering truth of God's grace, went on to die upon a cross, but still, yep! We actually have a wonderful celebration to declare to the world that Christ is real. So...while you are cleaning the house, or checking out blogs, or shopping via online, here is some Christmas music to cheer you.

Check out the streaming audio of Christmas music
Sufjan Stevens:Christmas

They Went Out From Us

2006-11-28T08:16:00.000-08:00

True Christians have a built in lie detector and persevere in the truth. Those who remain in heresy and apostasy manifest the fact that they were never genuinely born again. John MacArthur

I have been concerned for a long time about Rick Warren's agendas. Many Christians have made excuses for him and yet he continues on a downward spiral into more and more blatant deceptions. He has surrounded himself with flatterers. I am hoping his latest shenanigans will shed light on his dubious connections and antics. I truly hope that Rick Warren is a believer, but the evidence will be that he will turn back from the direction he is presently headed.

History has clearly shown examples of Christians wedding themselves to the world in hopes of bringing in God's kingdom. Most of the time, these plans backfire, enabling a flood of apostasy, persecution of the true Church, and state/governmental backed churches only (true churches must go into hiding). We can expect this to happen, but it is discouraging to see so many Christians accepting deceptive words and practices from prominent Christian leaders like lemmings heading off to the cliff.

The following articles state more clearly the concerns I have.

One method that Rick Warren uses is called the "Three Legged Stool" approach. As Christians, we know we cannot expect a marriage to the world will bring about Biblical understanding. It can only bring about compromise. There has always been moves to dilute the Church by joining it to the world.

I am hopeful that there will be more of the light of God's truth breaking through during these deceptive times, because the split in Christianity is becoming so obvious and alarming.

Herescope
has an article on the "three legged stool" approach that Rick Warren espouses, which includes melding together, Government, Business, and the Church. here.

Berit Kjos has an article that fully explains Rick Warren's agenda and surrounding issues, including his boasts about associations with prominent people and questionable organizations.

This YouTube video shows an example of Rick Warren's approach through his Peace Plan

HT: Slice of Laodicea

Accepting a Correction

2006-11-25T07:29:00.000-08:00

I was corrected by someone by email for writing personally about some family issues on another blog. I agree with them and accept the correction and have deleted the post I wrote here. Thanks for prayers though.

God's Laws for Children at Table: A Thanksgiving Admonition

2006-11-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Laws When at Table

If you are seated in your high chair, or in a chair such as a greater person might use, keep your legs and feet below you as they were. Neither raise up your knees, nor place your feet upon the table, for that is an abomination to me. Yes, even when you have an interesting bandage to show, your feet upon the table are an abomination, and worthy of rebuke.

Drink your milk as it is given you, neither use on it any utensils, nor fork, nor knife, nor spoon, for that is not what they are for; if you will dip your toys in the milk, and lick it off, you will be sent away.

When you have drunk, let the emply cup then remain upon the table, and do not bite it upon its edge and by your teeth hold it to your face in order to make noises in it sounding like a duck: for you will be sent away.

When you chew your food, keep your mouth closed until you have swallowed, and do not open it to show your brother or your sister what is within; I say to you, do not so, even if your brother or your sister has done the same to you.

Eat your food only; do not eat that which is not food; neither seize the table between your jaws, nor use the raiment of the table to wipe your lips. I say again to you, do not touch it, but leave it as it is.

And though your stick of carrot does indeed resemble a marker, draw not with it upon the table, even in pretend, for we do not do that, that is why. And though the pieces of broccoli are very like small trees, do not stand them upright to make a forest, because we do not do that, that is why.

Sit just as I have told you, and do not lean to one side or the other, nor slide down until you are nearly slid away. Heed me; for if you sit like that, your hair will go into the syrup. And now behold, even as I have said, it has come to pass.

Laws Pertaining to Dessert

For we judge betwen the plate that is unclean and the plate that is clean, saying first, if the plate is clean, then you shall have dessert.

But of the unclean plate, the laws are these: If you have eaten most of your meat, and two bites of your peas with each bite consisting of not less than three peas each, or in total six peas, eaten where I can see, and you have also eaten enough of your potatoes to fill two forks, both forkfuls eaten where I can see, then you shall have dessert.

And if you try to deceive by moving the potatoes or peas around with a fork, that it may appear you have eaten what you have not, you will fall into iniquity. And I will know, and you shall have no dessert.

Laws on Screaming

Do not scream; for it is as if you scream all the time. If you are given a plate on which two foods you do not wish to touch each other are touching each other, your voice rises up even to the ceiling while you point to the offense with the finger of your right hand; but I say to you, scream not, only remonstrate gently with the server, that the server may correct the fault.

Likewise if you recive a portion of turkey from which every piece of seasoning has not been scraped off, the the seasoning is loathsome to you and steeped in vileness, again I say, refrain from screaming. Though the vileness overwhelm you, and cause you to faint unto death, make not that sound from within your throat, neither cover your face, nor press your fingers to your nose. For even I have made the turkey as it should be; behold, I eat it myself, yet do not die.

Concerning Face and Hands

Cast your countenance upward to the light, and lift your eyes to the hills, that I may more easily wash you off. For the stains are upon you; even to the very back of your head, there are potatoes thereon.

Various Other Laws, Statutes and Ordinances

Leave the cat alone, for what has the cat done, that you should so afflict it with tape? And hum not the humming in your nose as I read, nor stand between the light and the book. Drink not of your own bath water, nor of the bath water of any kind.

Attributed and paraphrased from Ian Frazier copyright 1997

Do Not Doubt God

2006-11-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

There has been a lot of things happening in my life. Severe family trials, and personal financial issues. This is a very good Spurgeon devotional for the day. I am sure it will bless you like it has blessed me.

“HIS PLACE OF DEFENSE WILL BE THE FORTRESS OF ROCKS; HIS BREAD WILL BE GIVEN HIM; HIS WATER WILL BE SURE.”
Isaiah 33:16

Christian, do you doubt whether God will fulfill His promise? Will the fortresses of rock be swept away by a storm? Will the storehouses of heaven fail? Do you think that your heavenly Father, even though He knows that you need food and clothes, will forget you? When not a sparrow falls to the ground without your Father's knowledge, and the very hairs of your head are all numbered, will you mistrust and doubt Him? Perhaps your affliction will continue upon you until you dare to trust God, and then it will end. There have been many who have been tried and troubled until at last they have been driven in sheer desperation to exercise faith in God, and the moment of their faith has been the instant of their deliverance; they have seen whether God would keep His promise or not. So I urge you, doubt Him no longer! Do not please Satan, and do not trouble yourself by indulging any more those hard thoughts of God. Do not imagine that it is a small matter to doubt Jehovah. Remember, it is a sin; and not a little sin either, but in the highest degree criminal. The angels never doubted Him, nor the devils either: We alone, out of all the beings whom God has fashioned, dishonor Him by unbelief and tarnish His honor by mistrust. Shame on us for this! Our God does not deserve to be so poorly treated; in our past life we have proved Him to be true and faithful to His word, and with so many instances of His love and of His kindness as we have received and are daily receiving at His hands, it is base and inexcusable that we allow a doubt to lodge within our heart. From now on let us resolve to wage constant war against doubts of our God-enemies to our peace and to His honor-and with an unstaggering faith believe that what He has promised He will also perform. "I believe; help my unbelief!"1
1 Mark 9:24

Two Fishermen and a Story About Forgiveness

2006-11-07T09:15:00.000-08:00

My dad and Bruce

Pyramid Lake

My step-father is from France. He is French-Basque. He was raised by an aunt, and had an interesting but difficult life in France. He and many other Basques smuggled Jewish people over the Pyrenee mountains from France into Spain during WWII. He ended up for a short time in a Spanish prison. He has really bad feet because he had to wear two left shoes during that time because those shoes were all he had. Many Basques booked passages to America because the war had left the Basques with a poor economic situation.

He moved to Colorado in 1948 to be a sheepherder, and eventually moved to
Winnemucca Nevada to be a miner. He met my mother, who had taken her two children, and her ex-husband's children on a train all the way from New Jersey to Winnemucca to escape an abusive marriage. I last saw my real father when I was about one year old. For awhile, we lived in small mining towns up and down Northern Nevada until we moved to Reno Nevada when I was five years old.

Growing up with my step-father was difficult. He was an alcoholic and had a hard time accepting me as his daughter and my older brother as his son. He and my mother went on to have two more children, and it was obvious that all of my step-father's affections went toward my younger brother and sister.

My step-father was angry with me a lot and I was at the receiving end of yelling, spanking, and slaps much of the time. When I became a teen, he tried (when he was drunk) to make sexual advances. That was terrifying, but thankfully, I was able to fend him off. I decided to leave home after an all too familiar incidence of him yelling and threatening to hit me. I picked up a chair and threatened that if he tried to hit me one more time, I would throw the chair at him. It was the first time he backed off. I think he was surprised I responded in such a manner. I usually cowered. I also was frightened to be home alone with him. I was 16 years old when I left home and struck out on my own.

I had contact with him at family gatherings but there continued to be little affection. I became a Christian when I was 21 years old, and knew that I needed to forgive him.

I heard a story once that forgiveness is like striking a bell. The bell is struck and rings out, and continues to echo until the sound fades away. Speaking forgiveness in faith is like striking a bell. I may not have FELT like I forgave him, but I did so in faith. The feelings were like the echoes, the anger seeping away over time until I FELT no anger and FELT like forgiveness was truly given.

Over the years, I have not seen my step-father much, but he has changed. The past few years when he sees me, he sometimes cries. He tells me he loves me and always has. He has a lot of regret. I can tell him I love him and mean it.

He called a week ago and asked if Bruce and I wanted to go fishing with him. Yesterday, we stopped and bought some salami, cheese, and french bread and drove out to Pyramid Lake. Bruce and my dad fished and I walked, took pictures, and read a book. It was a completely peaceful, relaxing day. I found much joy in watching my dad and my husband fishing together, and thankful that God is a God of healing and restoration. I think my husband will be instrumental in a growing relationship with my step-dad and I hope that our faith and testimony of Christ will resonate with him.

Dealing With Temptation as a Christian Leader

2006-11-03T20:16:00.000-08:00

Mark Driscoll has a great post on dealing with temptation as a Christian leader.

The "Mechanical Engine" of the Reformation

2006-10-30T08:49:00.000-08:00

The Renaissance was building momentum in the south of Europe. Incredible images were created by artists commissioned by wealthy patrons and the Roman Catholic Church. Not only religious images, created in the noble classical mode of Greece and Rome, but sensual paintings and sculptures were relished by the people (and the decadent Catholic nobles and Popes). The Renaissance represented image, and the general populace, illiterate and steeped in superstition and paganism, found meaning in the ornate paintings, statues, and architecture of Southern Europe. The Pope and the Roman Church counted on indulgences as one method to finance their artistic enterprises. Thus, when Pope Leo decided to rebuild St. Peter's basilica, he sent a convincing salesman by the name of Tetzel to collect indulgences from Germany.

Cut to Northern Europe, some years prior to Tetzel's trek to Germany. In a small shop in Germany stood a man named Gutenberg. As a goldsmith and gemstone cutter, he was familiar with metalworking. He stood at a table creating individual steel engraved letters. Once placed in a frame, inked and printed, they would create words.
He designed and built a printing press that would ink words over and over, and make bookmaking more efficient and affordable. The first monumental work that Gutenberg completed using his contraption was a Latin version of the Bible. Printmaking began to flourish in Northern Europe, providing common people with written material, previously only available to wealthy Europeans. Interestingly enough, when printed material reached Southern Europe, much of it was banned and burned by the Roman Catholic Church, fearful of heretical works getting into the hands of the populace. So...Southern Europe became known as the image dependent Renaissance and Northern Europe became known more for writers and scholars, and a thirst for the written word.

Fast forward to Tetzel's trek to Germany. One person greatly disturbed by the debauchery and ignorance of Rome was Martin Luther. He had traveled to Rome as a monk and was astounded by such things as being served by naked women in the papal court. Further angered by Tetzel who had been collecting money from Germans who brought their receipts to show Luther, he decided to act upon his convictions. He nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church at Wittenberg, denouncing practices of the Roman Catholic Church. Once that was accomplished, he gave his theses to a printer to make copies. Other printers eagerly started printing the theses as well as Luther's sermons. Within a month, Luther's writings had circulated all over Europe. People throughout Europe began to learn how to read. Now they could read truth for themselves, instead of entrusting their spiritual understanding to other men.

Within seven years, pro-reformation literature dominated most of the books published in Germany. By 1534, Luther had translated the Bible from the original Greek and Hebrew into German. He went on to campaign for public schools in Germany for children and stated, "Who rules the land and its people in peacetime? Why, I say it is the quill."

Present day. We are rapidly descending into a new abyss of image based experiences in the Church at the expense of the written word. Video images, song and dance, feel-good messages and little study of the Word of God has taken over the Church. We desperately need a new Reformation.

Lest we forget our good man Gutenberg who was so instrumental in the beginning of the Reformation, let us end with his prophetic words: "Yes, it is a press...from which shall soon flow, in inexhaustible streams...pure truth...; like a new star it shall scatter the darkness of ignorance, and cause a light heretofore unkown to shine amongst men."

Much of this material is derived from

The Vanishing Word by Arthur W. Hunt III, published by Crossway Books

Al Mohler is a Really Smart Guy.

2006-10-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

One Potato, Two Potato, Three Potato, Faux Potato

2006-10-24T14:07:00.000-07:00

For those folks who are following Rebecca's Potato Fest, but lamenting that they don't get to eat mashed potatoes....don't despair, help is here!

Faux Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Steam or boil a cauliflower head
(preferably in broth)
When tender place in blender with...
butter or butter spray
a bit of milk
mashed garlic
some salt
puree a bit

Serve to beloved spouse without saying a word.

Do You Think These Books Make the List?

2006-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Marc at Purgatorio has a very witty list of 50 Potential Christian Bestsellers. Great post!

Autumn

2006-10-18T20:55:00.000-07:00

Autumn at the arboretum where I work

Autumn in my frontyard

Autumn in my backyard

A Clarifying Prayer Concerning The Lordship of Jesus

2006-10-16T11:08:00.000-07:00

It has been interesting to read the posts over at Pyromaniacs concerning the Lordship Salvation issue. It's funny when I start pondering an issue (in this case sorta amazed that it is even an issue), that I start noticing various writings pertaining to our understanding of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I came across this prayer from Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions that I think neatly sums up our response and prayers to Christ for our daily walk.

Belonging to Jesus

O Heavenly Father,

Teach me to see that if Christ has pacified thee and satisfied divine justice
he can also deliver me from my sins;
that Christ does not desire me, now justified,
to live in self-confidence in my own strength,
but gives me the law of the Spirit of life
to enable me to obey thee;
that the Spirit and his power are mine by resting on Christ's death;
that the Spirit of Life within answers to the law without;
that if I sin not I should thank thee for it;
that if I sin I should be humbled daily under it;
that I should mourn for sin more than other men do,
for when I see I shall die because of sin,
that makes me mourn;
when I see how sin strikes at thee, that makes me mourn;
when I see that sin caused Christ's death, that makes me mourn;
that sancificiation is the evidence of reconciliation,
proving that faith has truly apprehended Christ;
Thou hast taught me
that faith is nothing else than receiving thy kindness;
that it is an adherence to Christ, a resting on him,
love clinging to him as a branch to the tree,
to seek life and vigour from him.
I thank thee for showing me the vast difference between knowing things by reason,
and knowing them by the spirit of faith.
By reason I see a thing is so; by faith I know it as it is.
I have seen thee by reason and have not been amazed,
I have seen thee as thou art in thy Son
and have been ravished to behold thee.
I bless thee that I am thine in my Saviour , Jesus.

Potato Memories

2006-10-14T19:31:00.000-07:00

My brothers, sister and I were the neighborhood hellions. We were surrounded by the good Mormon family, the two Irish Catholic families, and the Jehovah Witnesses down the street. Each family vied to do their duty and get those "hellion" children to church...by golly! They were aided and abetted in their conquest by my mother, who scoffed at their conquests, and dug in her garden to compensate for lack of formal spiritual training of her children. Her spiritual revelations? The tip of a green onion breaking the earth, spinach spreading green down an orderly row, or knowing that a motley clump of potatoes lurked beneath the earth awaiting a good yanking.

My mother made sure we had a vegetable garden. We grew green onions, lettuce, spinach, green beans, beefstake tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, pear tomatoes, more tomatoes, and potatoes. She canned much of what she grew and placed the potatoes in a dark place to await potato winters. Life took on greater meaning when my mother added live chickens to the mix of our household. Now we could dodge pecking territorial chickens while we gathered eggs to add tp our staple dishes.

My mother, not very skilled in domestic duties, (our house, the equivalent of Hurricane Katrina, lanquished under lack of care), or proficent in social skills, (her derisive laugh could drown out political opposition like a chain saw could mow down a redwood, with Butterfly Moonbeam perched in its branches), nevertheless tried her best to nourish her family under the severe restraints of no money whatsoever.

One meal my mother prepared with sublime care, was eggs and potatoes. We had eggs and potatoes quite often, especially towards the end of the month. We ate potatoes garnished with tomatoes in season, or chopped onions and garlic. We ate eggs and potatoes for breakfast when oatmeal ran out, eggs and potatoes for dinner when all else ran out. We fried potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We practiced making homemade potato chips, mashed potatoes, and boiled potatoes with butter and parsley. We even earned extra credit in elementary school by creating potato prints aided by my mother, the artist.

One would think that we would detest eggs and potatoes after a lifetime of such a mundane dish, but I think of my mother often while stirring potatoes. I think of a hardscrabble life and the resources she drew from to sustain a family of four children. I think of such a humble vegetable, the potato, boring brown and dusty, and how it filled the bellies of a family through hard times and cold winters.

One of the last memories I have of my mother is coming home after a night of work, to find that in her frailness, she had prepared a dish of fried potatoes for my husband. It wasn't a fancy dish, but it was a sustaining dish; potatoes sliced in slick white discs by arthritic fingers, chopped savory onions and garlic sprinkled throughout, stirred to just the right crispness; her way of wanting to contribute to our household and somehow bless my husband with her offering. He stated that they were the best potatoes he had ever eaten.

Potatoes. What a humble vegetable. Brown. Mealy. Disdained by thin people. A vegetable that fits neatly in the palm, paring knife slicing through. Thin slices, enough to feed a family. Enough to make a memory.

Go check out Rebecca's Potato Fest

Hearty Potato Soup

2006-10-12T21:48:00.000-07:00

Rebecca has a potato fest going on at her blog. A good winter soup is my "throw it all together" potato soup. Here goes. I don't measure much.

Hearty Potato Soup

Mash a bunch of potatoes that have been boiled in chicken or vegetable stock.
Add milk to mashed potatoes at whatever consistency you like.

Saute lots of onions, sliced carrots, green beans, garlic, broccoli in a separate pan and add to soup.

Add some butter and a good dollop of sour cream or plain yogurt to soup. I also like to add raw sunflower seeds and let them soften a bit. Add lots of spices like paprika, salt, cayenne pepper and whatever strikes your fancy. Sometimes I add grated cheese.

Add one cold day and enjoy.

Spurgeon on Lordship Salvation

2006-10-11T08:04:00.000-07:00

PHil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs has a post on "Lordship Salvation", which I have to admit I had not really heard about much until I started reading his posts. I just assumed that a Christian would consider Jesus as Lord of all, and that our journey would be a process of learning how to surrender by God's grace, line upon line, precept upon precept. After his latest post I began to ponder the fact that I had been a Christian for many years before I truly began to "get it" so to speak. Prior to "getting it" I was often rebellious. Actually, it wasn't until I became a Reformed Christian, that I had a much deeper desire to serve the Lord and be pleasing to Him. I even told my husband one time that I sometimes wondered if I wasn't really a Christian all those years, because there didn't seem to be much fruit in my life.

I was reading my Spurgeon devotion and this article by Spurgeon fits in nicely with the whole issue and clarifies some of the points.

AND THOSE WHOM HE PREDESTINED HE ALSO CALLED. ”
Romans 8:30

In the second letter to Timothy, first chapter and ninth verse, we read these words: "who saved us and called us to a holy calling." Now here is a touchstone by which we may test our calling. It is "a holy calling, not because of our works, but because of his own purpose and grace." This calling forbids all trust in our own doings and turns us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As He who called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called; but if you are truly Christ's, you can say, "Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it. Lord, help me to be holy." Is this the longing of your heart? Is this the substance of your life toward God and His divine will? Again, in Philippians 3:13-14 we are told of "the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Is your calling an upward call? Has it refined your heart and focused it upon heavenly things? Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it raised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? We find another test in Hebrews 3:1-"you who share in a heavenly calling." "Heavenly calling" means a call from heaven. If your call comes from man alone, you are uncalled. Is your calling from God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless you are a stranger here, and heaven is your home, you have not been called with a heavenly calling, for those who have been called from heaven declare that they look for a city that has foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they find themselves strangers and pilgrims on the earth. Is your calling holy, high, heavenly? Then, beloved, you have been called of God, for such is the calling by which God calls His people.

A Sorta Political Video, YouTube

2006-10-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

Well. This is rather funny.

HT: Michelle Malkin

Spurgeon on Trust

2006-10-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

Daily devotion from Spurgeon:

IN WHOM DO YOU TRUST?

Isaiah 36:5

Reader, this is an important question. Listen to the Christian's answer, and see if it is yours. "In whom do you now trust?" "I trust," says the Christian, "in a triune God. I trust the Father, believing that He has chosen me from before the foundations of the world; I trust Him to provide for me in providence, to teach me, to guide me, to correct me if need be, and to bring me home to His own house where there are many rooms. I trust the Son. He is very God of very God-the man Christ Jesus. I trust in Him to take away all my sins by His own sacrifice and to clothe me with His perfect righteousness. I trust Him to be my Intercessor, to present my prayers and desires before His Father's throne, and I trust Him to be my Advocate at the last great day, to plead my cause, and to justify me. I trust Him for what He is, for what He has done, and for what He has promised still to do. And I trust the Holy Spirit-He has begun to save me from my inbred sins; I trust Him to drive them all out; I trust Him to curb my temper, to subdue my will, to enlighten my understanding, to check my passions, to comfort my despondency, to help my weakness, to illuminate my darkness. I trust Him to dwell in me as my life, to reign in me as my King, to sanctify me completely, spirit, soul, and body, and then to take me up to dwell with the saints in light forever."
What blessed trust-to trust Him whose power will never be exhausted, whose love will never weaken, whose kindness will never change, whose faithfulness will never fail, whose wisdom will never be overruled, and whose perfect goodness can never be impaired! You are happy, reader, if this trust is yours! So trusting, you will enjoy sweet peace now and glory later, and the foundation of your trust will never be removed.
1 Job 13:15 2 Romans 5:3-4

Back to Quiet Revival, Despite Some People Sounding Alarms

2006-10-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted lately. It has seemed an effort during a stressful time in my life. The last few days I have read a couple of posts, and in them a particular person keeps beating up on a certain pastor/speaker who seems to bring out controversy in various blogs and articles. The controversial pastor/speaker spoke at a very recent conference, and rather than read and absorb the message this guy gave, this "certain prominent poster" continued to flog the pastor/speaker in question. My speculation is that either "prominent poster" is jealous of the pastor's exposure to the Christian body or "prominant poster" is the reformed version of Charles Finney. He believes in the sovereignty of God, but writes as though God has no hand in the teaching and admonition of said pastor/speaker in growing him up in grace and truth. Anyways, I posted an article almost a year ago and was encouraged that God is doing a good thing in bringing people into the truth of grace, and reformed teaching in general. So.....regurgitated words.

It seems like so many Christians are up in arms over alarming trends in Evangelical Christianity. Signs and Wonders, Emergent Churches, Seeker friendly Churches, the list goes on. I am as concerned as the next person and have spent many hours doing research on current trends.

Not many people are talking about the quiet revival that is taking place today in Christian circles. In the midst of crisis and turbulence over truth, Christians are rediscovering the Doctrines of Grace. Contemporary Christianity puts much emphasis on the legacy of the "great awakenings" in United States history. The Second Great Awakening was greatly influenced by Charles Finney who did great disservice to the Church. Finney along with John Wesley much earlier, believed that Christians could achieve personal holiness. Their influence on the Church brought about much that makes up contemporary Christianity in America today. I have noticed a pattern over the past few years. After trying to measure up for years, many Christians have come to the end of the rope of self-sufficiency. The light goes on quickly or over a period of time...a revelation of grace! I hear many testimonies of people who had belonged to churches that placed burdens on the backs of their people and eventually the realization came that they had sat under doctrinal error. It is no less a revelation than Luther's revelation of grace in the tower. It is transforming to the person who is given the gift of understanding their complete depravity, complete dependence on God, and complete gratitude over being chosen by God. I am amazed that people speak of Calvinism as being fatalistic. How can we be anything but overwhelmingly thankful of the gift of salvation? Man in his natural depravity would never accept God. God's gift of salvation is efficient for the elect, and sufficient for the world. Romans 1:20 states that man is without excuse, because all of creation speaks of the glory of God.

I heard a story recently about a guy who kept getting prompted to share the gospel with a co-worker. He kept putting it off, until one day he noticed that she was hauling boxes out of the building. He asked someone else about the co-worker and was told the person had quit her job. He realized that it was his last chance to share, so he took the opportunity. After sharing the good news, the co-worker broke down in tears. She confessed that she had determined to take her own life. After hearing the gospel, she was saved. The way this guy tells the story, he states that she could have possibly taken her own life, if he had not been obedient to the Lord to share the gospel with her. I offer a different perspective. I believe that this co-worker had come to the end of her rope. At the exact perfect moment, God used this man as a tool to evangelize. She, at the perfectly appointed time accepted God's gift of salvation. I hear many stories like this one. If...I....am....obedient...God....will...work. We make it about us instead of about God.

So anyways, the Revival. Even in the midst of a great falling away, there is a revival of people hungry for truth, absolute truth. There is a hunger for the Word of God, and for an understanding of grace, sufficiency of scripture, faith, all for the glory of God alone. David Wells, in a teaching I heard recently states that there has always been an ebb and flow in Christianity and so these current trends are nothing new really...but look around. Don't you see it too? The quiet revival?

Reno Balloon Races

2006-09-17T12:13:00.000-07:00

The Reno Balloon Race takes place just a few blocks from my home. Great video from You Tube. By the way, I spotted the Jesus Balloon made famous on Purgatorio. Is it a coincidence that after the Jesus Balloon rises, a cow balloon soon follows? Anybody but me wondering where Marc really is?

The Wonder of Language: Shakespeare

2006-09-14T10:01:00.001-07:00

Shakespeare was the first to use these words in writing: aerial, amazement, assassination, courtship, frugal, gloomy, gnarled, laughable, lonely, multitudinous, obscene, perusal, pious, sanctimonious. . . and many more.

Shakespeare also came up with some very familiar compounds: proud-pied April, heaven-kissing hill, and world-without-end hour.

He came up with some great double plays: barefaced, civil tongue, cold comfort, eyesore, faint-hearted, fancy free, foregone conclusion, foul play, fair play, green-eyed, half-cocked, heartsick, high time, hotblooded, itching palm, lackluster, laughing-stock, leapfrog, lie low, long-haired, love affair, minstering angel, piched battle, primrose path, sea change, short shrift, snow-white, stony-hearted, tongue-tied, towering passions.

Do any of these cliches sound familiar: brevity is the soul of wit, there's the rub, to thine own self be true, it smells to heaven , the very witching time of night, the primrose path, though this be madness, yet there is method in it, dog will have his day, neither a borrower nor a lender be, frailty, thy name is woman, something is rotten in the state of Denmark, hoist with his own petard, the lady doth protest too much, to be or not to be, sweets for the sweet, to the manner born, more in sorrow than in anger.

Lastly, a fun thing to do regarding Shakespeare: In 1610, the most intensive year in translating the King James Bible, Shakespeare was 46 years old. Turn to the 46th psalm as it appears in the King James Bible. Count down to the 46th word from the beginning and then count up to the 46th word from the end, excluding the Selah. Do you see Shakespeare embedded in the text?

Thanks to Richard Lederer, author of Miracle of Language

Time for a meme

2006-09-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

Four Things you may not have known about me...

1) four jobs (not the one you currently have):

A. Group Houseparent to teen girls
B. Cook for a wilderness ministry
C. Front desk receptionist for a Psychiatric Hospital.
D. Counselor at a homeless shelter

2) Four movies you would watch over and over:

A. To Kill a Mockingbird
B. A River Runs Through It
C. In Search of the Holy Grail
D. Braveheart

3) Four places you have lived:

A. Winnemucca Nevada
B. Fort Worth, Texas
C. Manchester, New Hampshire
D. Bass Lake, Ca

D) Four TV shows you love to watch:

A. Lost
Can't think of anything else I watch consistently

Four Vacations you have gone on:

A. Pacific Coast
B. Yosemite
C. Crater Lake and the Giant Redwoods
D. Backpacking in the Rockies with teen girls

F) Websites you visit daily:
daily? well, how about more than once a week?
.
A. Pyromaniacs
B. Rebecca Writes
C. Challie's
D. Purgatorio......and I visit many more worthy blogs

four favorite foods:

A. Mexican
B. Thai
C. Salads
D. Double Cream Lemon pie

H). Four places I'd rather be now:

A. Heaven
B. Pacific Coast
C. Alaska
D. Sierra Mountains

Bear on the Beach

2006-09-05T22:19:00.000-07:00

These pictures are very difficult to see, but we went to Lake Tahoe today and there happened to be a bear in our midst. He swam out into the water trying to catch some ducks, came back on the beach, sniffed somebody's clothes, and took off in the woods. I wish, wish, wish I had a zoom lens.

Bear on beach

Bear near rock in water checking out bird in sky

Bear coming ashore in front of rocks

Eulogy

2006-09-05T12:39:00.001-07:00

I wanted to share what I said at my mother's memorial. Sorry for the many posts on this subject, but due to some comments on another blog, thought maybe I should share. I knew that the minister that presided over the memorial was vague in his theology, my family adamant in their disdain of Christianity, and knew I had an opportunity for my family to hear a bit of the gospel. Here goes.

Mother was a woman of a thousand cliches and gestures. A few that come to mind are........

You're just picking on me because I'm
smaller than you!

Curses, curses, curses! I may just go outside
and curse awhile!

Horsefeathers!

I should just start a revolution!

My momories have run to the quirky aspects of our upbringing,. I remember being taught to walk with a book on my head for good posture, feeling embarassed that we took sandwiches made of thick homemade bread to school instead of the uniform thin squares of Wonder Bread that the other kids ate....but there was no embarassment in coming home to a warm kitchen full of the smell of fresh baked homemade bread.

Mother was the only person I knew who named her cats after Himalayan mountain ranges, called her car "Sheherazade" and used unmentionable basque names for politicians she didn't like.

Mother was the only person I knew who made us pick up not just our own litter after a day at Pyramid Lake, but the whole beach full of litter. She always left an offering of a bit of soda or beer as a gesture to the lake. Her idea of environmentalism extended to all of beautiful Nevada and stopped at the front door of our house: our own Yucca Mountain of deposited junk - beloved only by pack rats.

The first day of school started with a bowl of oatmeal, a ritual repeated throughout our school years.

Mother loved her gardens. She lvoed them so much she dressed up like a rodeo clown and followed the annual rodeo parade with a shovel in order to pick up the manure left from the horses. Free fertilizer!

Mother loved her books. She not only got the library bookmobile to come out to Panther Valley, she convinced them to drive up right to our front door every two weeks.

Mother loved a good debate. When we were young, the Kennedy's were the bane of all existance, and later her politics swung wildly to the left, where the mention of President Bush could incite a long string of colorful language and wild gestures. Bruce and I realized just how tough it was for Mother the last few days when he brought up President Bush just to get her stirred up and he was not met with a disgusted look or appropriate cuss word.

Most of you know where I stand on spiritual matters. I have prayed for Mother for 30 years. Contrary to popular thought, I don't believe everyone automatically gets a free ticket to Heaven, but I do believe in God's great mercy and grace, His perfect justice, and His power to overcome a hard heart.

I was in anguish hoping Mother truly was home. I believe God has shown me two things that have comforted me and brought me hope.

The evening before Mother died, Bruce and I had left the hospital. I was compelled to pray for her, and in the midst of my prayer, I totally broke down sobbing. I was reminded later of this scripture:

Likewise the Holy Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. For we
do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Holy Spirit Himself
makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered.

The other incident was on Mother's birthday (Aug. 24). A scripture came to my mind to share in a birthday card with her, along with mentioning that she was near the end of her journey. I gave the card to her and asked that she read it later on her own. That was the last time we talked. That night when she was in Intensive Care, Bruce and I went searching in her room for the card. I just wanted to know that she had read it. We found it later in her belongings and it had indeed been opened. This is part of the scripture I shared from Ephesians

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together
with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together and made us
sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He
might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ
Jesus.

Underneath the bluster and the loud laughter was sadness and loneliness. I believe when Mother faced the door and it opened, Mother realized she had truly come home and she discovered the love she had been searching for her whole life, the unconditional, immeasurable depths of God's love.

That leaves us - bearing a loss and maybe these verses will help someone:

Come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my
burden light.
There are two prominant mountains that tower over our town. Mt. Rose is an alpine mountain, deep green with remnants of snow, and Peavine Mountain is sagebrush covered, with patches of Aspen groves. Mother wanted her ashes scattered over Peavine. Yesterday evening my brothers, sister, some grandkids, Bruce and I drove up the deeply rutted, rock strewn, dusty dirt road to the top of Peavine. We found a grove of Aspens in a crook of the ridge. It is the last place on the moutain the sunset rays linger. It overlooks a wilderness area called Dog Valley to the west. One can see ridge after ridge of purple mountains fading off in the distance. In the Aspen grove were brambly chokecherry bushes. That was very symbolic for us because Mother made chokecherry jam, and used chokecherry bushes at Christmas when we couldn't afford Christmas trees. We scattered her ashes as a family and then simply clapped. Nobody made any speeches. The sun had just set, and the partial full moon had risen. The sky was alpinglow. It was a perfect symbolic time. We carved Mother's initials into an aspen tree alongside carvings from long forgotten Basque sheepherders. She would have loved it.

Hopefully the Best Birthday Ever!

2006-08-29T07:35:00.000-07:00

I tried to post this picture the other day but it wouldn't post. This is the last picture taken of my mother. She has her trusty ratty ole backpack with her and is out in the sagebrush by a lake.

The day she passed away was her 81st birthday. I sat down that morning and wrote her this card.

Happy Birthday! We love you - get well - we miss your pacing, political rants, telling Bruce how to cook bacon, telling me you already watered the plants, and your cat wants you home. Love Candy and Bruce

My prayer for you on your birthday.

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places far above all principality and power and might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

And He put all things under His feet.....

But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus Eph. 1:16-22 2:4-7

I am compelled to share this with you. You are coming toward the end of your journey. I have prayed for 30 years that you enter salvation and the revelation of God's great kindness and love.

Her memorial service is Thursday so please continue to pray. I've got a hardhearted family when it comes to God. Thanks for all your prayers and kind words the last few days.

Really, Really Mortality

2006-08-25T00:44:00.000-07:00

My mother passed away at 11:55pm on today, her birthday. I got to pray over her and my husband and daughter did also. I pray it was a testimony to my brothers, sisters, and grandchildren. I trust in the sovereignty of God and hope she entered into the joy of the Lord. It all happened so fast. Pray that you take time with your loved ones and don't be petty.

Marriage and Mortality

2006-08-24T08:06:00.000-07:00

My mother moved in with us recently. It has been somewhat difficult as I predicted. She is a heavy smoker and has forgotten a couple of times to take it outside. She is very opinionated politically and really feisty. She is in the early stages of dementia. It has been difficult for all of us to adjust. She is used to drinking every day and pacing around the house with a cigarette. She can't drink like that in our home and must smoke outside. Both my husband and I have complained to each other about her habits, and then repented. Complained. Repented.....more than a few times. She also is very anti-God. She told my sister she wanted to move out because we talk about God and read our Bibles and are just too "religious".

My mother fell down the other day and broke her hip. She was outside before dawn to retrieve her beloved paper (new fodder to debate me politically). she managed to crawl into the house and call out to my husband who carried her to bed. We took her to the Veteran's Hospital and she had surgery to put some screws and a plate in her hip.

When I saw my mother last night, I saw mortality. Gone is the feistiness. Bruce even brought up President Bush....no takes. She was whispering with nary a cuss word. She had been throwing up since the surgery and they fear it is old blood which indicates some other problems. She could only smile at us through her pain. I have never seen her so helpless.

I have prayed for my mother since I was 21 when I became a Christian. I have always seen her life as such a sad life with little love. She buried herself in books and went through a couple of painful divorces to men who treated her very poorly. She has such animosity and bitterness towards God. Other people see her as quite eccentric and can take her in small doses only. I was one of those people and it took my marriage to Bruce and much prayer to give me the strength to let her move in with us.

Last night on the way home from a visit to the hospital, we prayed for her again. I broke down. I just want to see her saved. I want her to experience the love of God. I want her to experience hope.

My husband amazes me. My last husband, being a very legalistic Christian, did not have much room in his heart or in his life for my alcoholic, smoking, cussing family. My present husband has so much kindness and compassion it amazes me. He told me the other day how much he misses Mother's presence in our home. No matter how annoying she can be, he really misses her and wants her home. My husband tells her he loves her. My husband made her breakfast every morning even though she hovered over him and told him how to make it correctly. Bruce felt so bad the morning she fell down because he usually goes out and gets the paper and that morning he was busy doing something else. He has taken on the duty in her absence of feeding the scrub jays who come every morning to snatch the peanuts my mother tosses out, and he feeds her neurotic cat who only lets Mother touch him and is in mortal fear of anyone else.

I transition into my marriage from the thought of mortality because the bottom line of my thoughts is about the sovereignty of God. God knows my heart towards my mother. I have to trust in Him concerning her salvation. I transition to my marriage because I think of the sovereignty of God to give me such a wonderful husband who so patiently bears with my mother in her last years. My husband and I struggled with the very thought of whether we should even get married. We both read a lot of material pro and con for remarriage. One article we struggled greatly with was an article by John Piper. We both admire John Piper very much, and his article was a convincing article against remarriage. We finally came to a place after counsel with our pastor that it was ok to get married. Both of our past spouses had long since remarried so there was no chance of reconciliation. I can so see the sovereignty of God in our marriage now. I have received much healing in my life and so has my husband in our love and care for one another and in our relationship with God.
I thank God so much for the husband I have now in my life, so full of love towards my family, and so desirious to please God in his life.

Please lift my mother up in your prayers. She is lost and hard hearted. Please pray for us to be obedient to God in how to take care of her. Thanks.

A Witch! A Witch!

2006-08-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

Phil Johnson over at Pyromaniacs has a great post on Guilt by Association. It describes a tendency on the Blogosphere to uproot and point out people who may...or...may...not...be guilty of aligning themselves with questionable persons of "ill-repute" in the Body of Christ. The problem is a penchant for Blog posters to pounce on every word or action of almost anybody in the Body in order to warn others about a perceived departure from truth. They may or may not be correct in their discernment, but Phil makes a compelling argument for the fact that many are being maligned for the smallest "infractions" such as quoting someone who may not be in the right camp. It all reminds me of a great scene in a movie which follows. See if it applies in any way.

A group of villagers are dragging a beautiful YOUNG WOMAN dressed as a witch through the streets. They drag her to a strange house/ruin standing on a hill outside the village. A strange-looking knight stands outside, SIR BEDEVERE.

FIRST VILLAGER
We have found a witch. May we burn her?

ALL
A Witch! Burn her!

BEDEVERE
How do you know she is a witch?

ALL
She looks like one. Yes, she does.

BEDEVERE
Bring her forward.

They bring her forward - a beautiful young girl dressed up
as a witch.

WITCH
I am not a witch. I am not a witch.

BEDEVERE
But you are dressed as one.

WITCH
They dressed me up like this.

ALL
We didn't, we didn't!

WITCH
This is not my nose, It is a false one.

BEDEVERE takes her nose off.

BEDEVERE
Well?

FIRST VILLAGER
... Well, we did do the nose.

BEDEVERE
The nose?

FIRST VILLAGER
And the hat. But she is a witch.

ALL
A witch, a witch, burn her!

BEDEVERE
Did you dress her up like this?

FIRST VILLAGER
... Um ... Yes ... no ... a bit ... yes... she has got a wart.

BEDEVERE
Why do you think she is a witch?

SECOND VILLAGER
She turned me into a newt.

BEDEVERE
A newt?

SECOND VILLAGER
(After looking at himself for some time)
I got better.

ALL
Burn her anyway.

BEDEVERE
Quiet! Quiet! There are ways of telling whether she is a witch.

ALL
There are? Tell up. What are they, wise Sir Bedevere?

BEDEVERE
Tell me ... what do you do with witches?

ALL
Burn them.

BEDEVERE
And what do you burn, apart from witches?

FOURTH VILLAGER
... Wood?

BEDEVERE
So why do witches burn?

SECOND VILLAGER
... Because they're made of wood...?

BEDEVERE
Good.

PEASANTS stir uneasily then come round to this conclusion.

ALL
I see. Yes, of course.

BEDEVERE
So how can we tell if she is made of wood?

FIRST VILLAGER
Make a bridge out of her.

BEDEVERE
Ah ... but can you not also make bridges out of stone?

ALL
Ah. Yes, of course ... um ... err ...

BEDEVERE
Does wood sink in water?

ALL
No, no, It floats. Throw her in the pond! Tie weights on her. To
the pond!!!!

BEDEVERE
Wait. Wait ... tell me, what also floats on water?

ALL
Bread? No, no, no. Apples .... gravy ... very small rocks ...

ARTHUR
A duck.

They all turn and look at ARTHUR. BEDEVERE looks up very impressed.

BEDEVERE
Exactly. So... logically ...

FIRST VILLAGER
(beginning to pick up the thread)
If she ... weighs the same as a duck ... she's made of wood.

BEDEVERE
And therefore?

ALL
A witch! ... A duck! A duck! Fetch a duck.

FOURTH VILLAGER
Here is a duck, Sir Bedevere.

BEDEVERE
We shall use my largest scales.

He leads them a few yards to a very strange contraption indeed, made of
wood and rope and leather. They put the GIRL in one pan and the duck
in another. Each pan is supported by a wooden stave. BEDEVERE checks
each pan then ... ARTHUR looks on with interest.

BEDEVERE
Remove the supports.

Two PEASANTS knock them away with sledge hammers. The GIRL and the duck
swing slightly but balance perfectly.

ALL
A witch! A witch!

WITCH
It's a fair cop.

All
Burn her! Burn her! Let's make her into a ladder.

The VILLAGERS drag the girl away, leaving ARTHUR and BEDEVERE regarding
each other admiringly.

Pianists of the World Unite!

2006-08-12T20:44:00.000-07:00

We MUST not let people get away with Posts like this!. Forget the last post...this is just going too far!

What Up My Brother?

2006-08-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

I was sorta surfing around and came across this article about how we treat others in the Body Of Christ.Here is a thoughtful post on those with whom we do not agree on every crossed T and dotted i.

A Good Sermon from John Piper

2006-08-11T10:43:00.000-07:00

Read this great sermon entitled: This Man Went Down to his House, Justified Desiring God Ministries

Husband Seeks Summit, Wife is Wimpy

2006-08-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

Bruce and I hiked to the top of the Sierra Buttes. It is only 3 mi. to the top, but what a steep three miles! I have always suffered from a fear of heights. It seemed to be extra pronounced on this trip. The trail somewhat drops away on both sides near the very top. It is safe, but for some reason, I was affected by the feeling of falling. I could only sit at the foot of the stairs while brave husband climbed the stairs and walked around the mesh floor of the fire tower and took pictures. He told me later that it was really scary because it is windy and because underneath the mesh floor is a sheer drop of a cliff, but there was no way he was not going to do it since I was such a scaredy cat. I will post a couple more pictures tomorrow since Blogger is being stingy with how many I can post at a time.

Sierra Buttes from Lower Sardine Lake

Believe it or not, there is a fire tower on the peak to the right.

Looking down from the edge to what really are pretty large lakes way down below.

Peeking out at a large jagged finger of rock.

One of the views from the fire tower

This is as far as I could go. I am holding on to the sign with a smile...er...grimace?

Another view from the top.

Global Warming. Pheh! My Rare Political Rant

2006-08-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

I attend a once-a-month book club with the little lady up the street and some other little ladies. It is a nice way for me to get to know them better and have a good time discussing books. Last week a new lady attended. Two conversations surfaced which were interesting opportunities. The first one was her contention that all religions are the same, so why don't we all just get along. It was a great opportunity for another lady who is a Christian, and me to share the gospel. So that was wonderful.

The next conversation this lady initiated was how everyone, but EVERYONE needs to see Al Gore's movie An Inconvenient Truth. She continued in the vein of wicked ole America and how it is all our fault that global warming is occuring.

I was disgusted recently to read about some Evangelicals jumpinig on the Global Warming bandwagon. My SON even got in the act and mentioned how Neanderthol I am for not agreeing with the movie. Well, I didn't mention a point that someone told me recently, how Al Gore uses more fuel in a day than most of us use in a year, traveling around in his private jet to promote his environmentalism, and how Clinton signed the Kyoto pact but didn't send it to the senate for ratification, so Bush is now the bad guy.

Now, I have to confess that I could have soooo gone off on this subject, but I kept my mouth shut. I felt like the Lord had given us an opportunity for the gospel, and I just did not want to get in a big political discussion. So, I saved my ire for here, my blog domain.

Here is an interesting article that refutes some of the arguments presented in the whole Global Warming crisis. My suggestion? Quit looking up to see if the sky is falling.

Mokelumne Wilderness

2006-08-03T22:07:00.000-07:00

After church on Sunday, Bruce and I took a hike in my favorite wilderness area called Mokelumne Wilderness. Our goal was Winnemucca Lake, through the most wonderful wildflowers. This area is known for its profusion of flowers and we were not disappointed.

This is Round Top Mountain and is about 10,400ft. high.

Our first stop was Frog Lake. Lake of perpetual wind.

Sitting in the garden.

We get closer to Round Top Mountain

Surrounded by flowers

Lupine, Indian Paintbrush, Asters, Mountain Phlox, Heather, wild Irises.

Winnemucca Lake, surrounded by granite and patches of snow.

Bruce's favorite part of a hike

When Stones Crack

2006-08-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

I was reading Frank Turk's article on marriage the other day and it brought up memories of my divorce a few years ago. It was a dark dark time in my life, and I was amazed at the time that two Christians like us got divorced. It wasn't supposed to happen, but it did. One of the things I have noticed in the years since the divorce is the affect it has had on my children. My children to this day struggle in their significant relationships. My married daughter and her husband often threaten each other with divorce, my oldest daughter and my college age son both cannot seem to have relationships last. They both admit to a fear of a deep relationship.

One of the statistics I read about during the time of my divorce was that divorce seemed to affect boys at about the age of 12-13 the hardest. That was the age of my son during my divorce. I have only seen my son publicly cry a couple of times from the time he was about 8. He was a very private child. One of the times was when I told him that his dad and I were separating. It broke my heart to see the tears course down his face. My oldest daughter was in Seattle going to college and my two youngest children stayed with their dad most of the time because of where they went to school. I placed my children daily on the altar and my heart was broken for them and for all of us. God brings healing in time, and I am now married to a man who is kind, God honoring, and humble. My kids love him. My ex-husband and I can attend family gatherings and he and my present husband talk sports and scriptures. I had prayed for reconciliation during my separation and divorce, and my prayer was not answered the way I wanted, but healing comes in the manner we conduct ourselves around each other and our kids. I wrote a poem at the time that signified the darkness and fog I saw myself and my children immersed in, and we all are finding our way out. I hope the healing in my children will include good healthy relationships with others and with God. I plead with anyone considering divorce, that the repercussions are severe and far-reaching. Please take the time to read Frank Turk's essays on this very important issue.

When Stones Crack

In a place of fog where stone pillars rise,

split, and become men with watchful eyes,

my son has hooded eyes.

He knows if he opens them wide,

tears will fall.

In church one day, I saw my son

lift his arm, gently flick his wrist,

and an invisible basketball sailed through the rim.

he did this twice.

Headlights thread through winding roads

and come to rest on the crest of a cliff.

headlights search the darkness below.

There is a rushing wind that wells up from the sea

and forces through the city.

it pushes up over the mountains

and meets me on the edge where I wait.

Son, listen close

The telephone is the cord that binds us now.

When you were born, your father, sisters, and I rejoiced.

This was back when we believed

in the strength of love.

My prayers are heavy to the touch.

They are gray.

my son is a rock, thrown into a pool

with no ripples to proclaim his pain

I am also imbedded in stone,

hand raised, imploring that these stones crack

like sidewalks do in summer,

letting through the most incredible life.

Thank God I am not like him!

2006-07-31T08:49:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking of a song I heard recently. The music is beautiful, the lyrics somewhat horrific. What struck me the most were the last four lines. As I cringe at the first part of the song, knowing the story behind the lyrics is about a serial killer, it is the last four lines that slay me. In my best behavior, I am just like him. I think one of the reasons I react to finger pointing in the Body of Christ is not that I don't want truth proclaimed and protected, but because deep down inside I am capable of sins just as dark as John Wayne Gacy Jr. My thoughts and heart can be just as wicked. The lyrics that follow are explicit in some ways so read with caution.

John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
Sufjan Stevens lyrics

His father was a drinker
And his mother cried in bed
Folding John Wayne's T-shirts
When the swingset hit his head
The neighbors they adored him
For his humor and his conversation
Look underneath the house there
Find the few living things
Rotting fast in their sleep of the dead
Twenty-seven people, even more
They were boys with their cars, summer jobs
Oh my God Are you one of them?
He dressed up like a clown for them
With his face paint white and red
And on his best behavior
In a dark room on the bed he kissed them all
He'd kill ten thousand people
With a sleight of his hand
Running far, running fast to the dead
He took off all their clothes for them
He put a cloth on their lips
Quiet hands, quiet kiss
On the mouth

And in my best behavior
I am really just like him
Look beneath the floorboards
For the secrets I have hid

I heard another song recently that is in stark contrast to Sufjan's song. Some of the lyrics are as follows.

Grace Unmeasured by Bob Kauflin

Grace unmeasured, vast and free
That knew me from eternity
That called me out before my birth
To bring You glory on this earth
Grace amazing, pure and deep
That saw me in my misery
That took my curse and owned my blame
So I could bear your righteous name.

Grace, grace, grace
Paid for my isns and brought me to life
Grace, grace, grace
Clothes me with power to do what is right
Grace, grace, grace
Will lead me to heaven where I'll see your face
And never cease to thank you for Your grace

So, we all know the sovereignty and providence of God in our lives. Why am I Candy instead of John Wayne Gacy, Jr.? Wow....it continues to amaze me that He chose me to be his child!!! We can only thank Him for his grace in our lives and point others to the cross. Lest you think that I don't avail myself of finger pointing, here is an illustration of my own self righteousness. My husband asked me recently if I would ever see a Woody Allen movie again. I blustered my way through all of Woody Allen's sins and why I think he is a disgusting person. My husband then pointed me to this article I Thank God I am Not Like Woody Allen

Another interesting article that somewhat goes along with this idea is over at Challies, where he writes about little sins. Even though we may not commit glaring overt sins, we commit heinous sins in our hearts. I also think that while we spend time discussing issues like drinking alcohol or the more obvious works of the flesh, we don't as easily address some of the works of the flesh such as lewdness, idolatry, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, envy,..... and the like (Galations 5:19-21). So, when I say "thank God I am not like him" my heart should be broken. My heart should be broken for the sin in the world that enabled John Wayne Gacy Jr. to commit horrible acts, my heart should be broken for men like Woody Allen who so blatantly step over the line in their lives, and my heart should be broken for my own sins, for underneath the floorboards are the secrets I have hid.

Sea Treasures: Final Ocean Pictures

2006-07-26T12:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some sea treasures I found in Whaler's Cove. I think I appreciate beautiful seaglass and wonderful rocks more than I appreciate jewelry. See three previous posts for more ocean pictures.

Interesting bird

2006-07-26T11:36:00.000-07:00

Please see two previous posts for pictures of our ocean adventure. While in Point Reyes we happened upon this interesting bird. After checking my bird identification book I have concluded that it is of the family Scolopacidae, Genus, Driftwoodius, more common name, Driftwood Sandpiper.

More Ocean Pictures

2006-07-26T11:23:00.000-07:00

I don't know why Blogger only lets me post a couple of pictures at a time. Anyways, Bruce and I traveled down the coast after Point Reyes, to Pidgeon Point Lighthouse, where we rented a cottage for the night. This is the front yard with a wee view of the ocean.

I am on the hunt for seaglass. I had my hoodie tied around my waist in case it got cold, which is usually the case at the ocean, but California is experiencing a heat wave, so it was very warm.

Pidgeon Point Lighthouse has a hostel on site so we were able to stay in a beautiful place that we will surely visit again.

Ocean Solitude.

2006-07-25T23:42:00.000-07:00

My husband and I spent a couple of days at the Pacific Coast. One of my favorite areas is the Point Reyes National Seashore. We went to the light house which is on a rock 10 miles out in the ocean. It was a treacherous place for ships and Point Reyes was a crucial place to have a lighthouse. It is a long lonely road to get to the lighthouse, and a long time ago, it took a lighthouse keeper 7 hours to drive the road to the lighthouse. Parts for the lighthouse came via Drake's Harbor not far away, where pieces were lifted from the boat, and taken the rest of the way by oxen. There are 300 steps down to the lighthouse. Yep, we walked the 300 steps. Look closely and you can see the lighthouse at the bottom of the rocks and the stairs leading to the lighthouse.

This is what the inside of Point Reyes lighthouse looks like. There are over 200 panes of glass, and the wick originally was lit by lard, then kerosene, and finally a light bulb. There is a certain pattern to the flashing light which enables sailers to know exactly where they are. There were more than 150 shipwrecks before the lighthouse was erected.

This is the beautiful Point Reyes coastline.

Bruce and I cast long shadows in the late afternoon.

Don't Defraud my Brother

2006-07-22T14:37:00.000-07:00

My husband and I were reading Found: God's Will by John MacArthur and some words really stood out because of issues I see raised on blogs. I notice an ebb and flow in blogs pertaining to hot issues. Duh. One of the sub-headings in the book is titled: Treat Others Fairly. MacArthur states:

No man is to "go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter" (I Thes. 4:6.) In other words, don't take advantage of people.

Some people step on others' necks to get what they want. Some people use others in a sexual way to gratify their own desires. Others use people in a business way. There are many ways to use others. Don't do it for "the Lord is the avenger of all such."
"He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God who hath also given unto us His Holy Spirit." If you mistreat people, you really mistreat and despise God.

It is interesting how we might mistreat people...in the name of God!
Did you know for example that Jonathan Edwards came under fire for some of the oddest ideas that his "faithful flock" held? It was a commonly held belief I read, that a woman gave birth to her children on the same day of the week that she conceived. Apparantly more than one of Edward's children were born on the sabbath. It was considered a terrible thing to have sex on the sabbath, and yet that is the horrible deed that Edward's was accused of doing. Poor guy. He sure endured some persecution from his congregation.

MacArthur goes on to state in his book that the critics of Christ look for faults in Christians. MacArthur suggests we eliminate the faults in order to "put to silence the ignorance of foolish men. How do we silence our critics? By living an exemplary life within society." He goes further on to state that "we do not use our freedom as a cloak for being malicious and evil (IPeter 2:16).

So....we are not to defraud our brother in any matter, because if we mistreat others, we really mistreat and despise God and sometimes that looks like maliciousness. Sometimes in our staunch stand for truth, do we go beyond in defending the faith, and really mistreat someone that belongs to God? We sure do need to learn how to have some patience. All of us.

I believe there is a quiet revival going on. A revival and hunger for the Word of God, and for the Doctrines of Grace. I say a quiet revival because it sure is not real visible or sensational. It is just one person at a time and the revelation from God comes and they think...Oh! So this is what the scriptures teach! I think it is our responsibility to extend grace and encourage others in their search for truth. Stand against those who tear down the Doctrines of Grace, don't stand against those who are trying to understand, just because they don't measure up to our understanding, or because they don't grow at the rate we think they should.

All of these thoughts are crammed in because I am going on vacation tomorrow to the coast!

Jesus Facing Temptation

2006-07-18T18:36:00.000-07:00

Rebecca states the issue of Jesus being tempted, in a clear concise manner. She has worded it in such a practical way that makes so much sense. Check it out.

It's 100 Degrees Out, Come Hang Out in my Backyard

2006-07-16T13:21:00.000-07:00

Nature Walks and Museum Animals

2006-07-15T13:25:00.000-07:00

I am sort of busy so thought I would paste a series of pictures from the last couple of days.

I take families and groups on nature hikes from the museum where I work. We were in a small grove of trees and one of the girls noticed some wildlife. In the crook of the tree, you can barely see an owl checking us out. A few minutes later, another owl flew in to its nest.

Boys checking out gopher snakes on our hike.

Back at the museum, checking out Mace's Caracao cat, Chip. Notice the ears?

Shy Yeti won't even look at me taking his picture.

We Were Dreaming, Fridge Poetry, Fewer Adjectives

2006-07-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Hey...I did another fridge poetry but it didn't paste right so I am just typing it out.

We Were Dreaming

Waitresses in secret rows
familiar hometown moviehouses
lonely alleys in morning
gaunt caves and mountaintips
through roadside
Colorado memory
Stolen sunsets but
naked diner nights.

Pondering Poetry

2006-07-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

I came across a poet. We used to work for a Christian outdoor ministry and just reconnected. Barb and her husband were involved in Summit Adventure from the start, I think...but anyways, check out Barb at Wordsworth