A White Blanket

I woke up some time in the early dark hours this morning to hear that scraping along the road that we haven't heard for many months. A snowplow? No, impossible. It was snowing last night when we came home, but it was surely just wet snow. I fall back asleep. When I wake up again, I turn over to look at my alarm clock, wondering why it hadn't gone off yet, only to find it dark. I check my lamp. No electricity. I drag myself out of the comfort of my bed and it was cold. Time to turn on the heat. Oh, yeah, I can't. It was still dark outside but not too dark to see the snow out of the hallway window and I could vaguely make out a fallen tree branch. I found a flashlight downstairs and pointed it at the dining room clock. 7:15. Time to climb back under the warm blankets. I couldn't read my Bible in the dark anyway. Half an hour later, the power went back on.

After having my devotions, I look out the window to some strange scenery. One large maple is almost completely bare, but the smaller one next to it is still almost all green, it's branches hanging heavy on the ground under the weight of the snow. I turn away to get up and going for the day and Christmas tunes start popping into my head. I turn back to the green maple. This is not right! It's only the last week of October.

But isn't it great that we serve a God who is in charge and when I remember that I can say "Amen! It's beautiful!" For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength. (Job 37:6)

When I came downstairs and looked out of the kitchen, I saw another almost frightening sight to what the snow had done to another half red, half green maple. This definitely was worthy of a few pictures.

God bless and have a great week.

Fulfillment in Christ

I generally don't have a whole lot of time to read books, especially novels. Never mind, that good Christian novels are hard to find. When I do read novels, I like ones that give me something to chew on, something of practical value I can relate to my own life. I found this almost immediately reading Sir Kendrick and the Castle of Bel Lione by Chuck Black:

"Duncan, I know your heart belongs to the King and the Prince. You are also a knight who yearns for adventure. But you'll soon learn there is no need. Adventure will surely find you as you follow the course set for you by the Prince....Don't be tempted to ride for glory as other knights do. Such a quest is an empty one...."

Duncan did have potential, though....He was a sturdy, broad-shouldered fellow, and he would grow stronger and mightier in the years ahead if he kept his focus on the Prince and not upon himself. And if he could learn to control himself better--for Duncan's chief weakness was his lack of self-discipline.

I can definitely identify with this in my own life. I need to shift my focus back to Jesus because it has turned to myself. What do I want (or not want)? What seems reasonable or makes sense to me? And, I tend to seek the praise and approval of others than just to simply please God. And, yes, adventure will come! I often say that the Christian life is the greatest adventure you could live because you never know what's waiting around the next corner. Another challenge is obedience. We must remember Who we are living for and His calling for our lives instead of wanting to go our own way. It is in His will that we will find fulfillment.

We have potential, but we must exercise discipline, for that is what it means to be a disciple.

Feet Upon a Rock

Okay, this is humbling to say after my cheery post on Tuesday, but I had a really hard day yesterday. And it didn't help that there are so many things I can't understand, including myself. The Lord's chastisement really hurts, but it's all the proof I need that He loves me. In the evening, during my prayer time, I felt a calm come over me, much different than some of the frustrations of my day. I almost couldn't understand it. Then I remembered a few lines from a hymn:

In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief,
And oft escape the tempter's snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.
--Sweet Hour of Prayer, William W. Walford, 1842

How often do we really flee to that safe retreat before our Father's throne? I, sooner seem to struggle along out of my own strength, wondering why I can't get anything right. That's because, in my own strength, I can't get anything right. In me dwells no good thing, but in Christ, I can be made perfect. I must empty myself and call on the Lord to be filled.

I am also thankful for God's mercy and forgiveness. As Jeremiah 31:34 says "...I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." "He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings." (Psalm 40:2)

"By trying to grab fulfillment everywhere, we find it nowhere."
--Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity

New Seasons

I absolutely love watching the colours change as autumn comes around. I feel fresh and new today, but I can't say it's always been like that the last few weeks. I've been trying to deal with a lot of things as God is purifying me...it's been really hard. But I also feel a spiritual rain coming. I was blessed to take a walk this morning, with my skirt blowing in the wind and the leaves dancing around me. Then after I came back, spending some time with my nephew, playing in the leaves, as the rain came. I managed to convince him to come inside before we got too wet and get some of the morning's pictures and videos on the computer.

I was reading in James this morning and came across these words:

James 1:2-4
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

Joy? Perfect and entire, wanting nothing? That's not exactly now I would describe how I've been feeling the last couple of weeks. But it can be! Why should I count it all joy? Because I am growing stronger! No, it isn't easy, but it's definitely worth it in the end. The victory is mine. I just have to take hold of it.

You may know what it's like to seriously exercise after you haven't done it for awhile! You may feel pretty sore for a few days. Normally, I would complain and moan over the pain, but not this week. I actually find that it feels good to be sore. I know I'm getting stronger and it feels good. I thank God that He has given me the ability to exercise and use my body.

I was almost in wonder this morning. While some trees are already bare, some are still green. ...and that's wonderful! It's easy to be discontent and want someone else's life but maybe it's a lot like the trees. When they change at different times, we can enjoy the colours longer. It's more exciting when things are different.

Here are a few pictures I got this morning:
God bless you as you continue to serve Him!

Sigh...

Okay, I've given up with trying to post regularly. I'm really excited though that I made my G2 today. And I was tagged, by Meshaay, so I might as well post that. The rules are as follows:

1. Link to the person(s) who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write six random things about yourself
4. Tag sixish people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up

So you want to know random things about me:

1. I don't like soft drinks.
2. I like my feet.
3. I'm very indecisive.
4. I actually really enjoyed writing my last English essay.
5. I have a bad tendency to worry a lot.
6. I don't make any sense.

So now, I'd like to tag:
Melodie
Christina
Maria Pauline
Tori
Jennifer
Nancy

A Different Kind of Woman

We are creatures of a great master Designer, and His ordering of our lives is sure and certain, yet many people live without any visible order or peace or serenity. The way we live ought to manifest the truth of what we believe. A messy life speaks of a messy--an incoherent--faith...
The way you keep your house, the way you organize your time, the care you take in your personal appearance, things you spend your money on all speak loudly about what you believe. "The beauty of Thy peace" shines forth in an ordered life. A disordered life speaks loudly of disorder in the soul.
-Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be a Woman

Let's face it. People watch us. They watch us, they look at our lives, and they make note of the various things we do or don't do. When I read these notes on orderliness and self-discipline, I really have to think, What does my life look like? Often, it probably looks like a complete mess. But as Christians, we are called to adorn the Gospel, and make it look attractive. If we go aimlessly through life with no real purpose, we do the exact opposite. But if you look simply how people go about their day, how they handle various situations, it speaks volumes about their character. If I'm having a crazy hectic day, it's usually because there's unrest inside of me, because what's inside comes out.

Later on in Let Me Be a Woman, Elisabeth Elliot says something else that I feel goes hand in hand with this matter:

We are called to be woman. The fact that I am a woman does not make me a different kind of Christian, but the fact that I'm a Christian does make me a different kind of woman. For I have accepted God's idea of me, and my whole life is an offering back to Him of all that He wants me to be.

I think I won't go any further into this, but I would encourage you young ladies, if you can get a hold of this book, don't miss the opportunity to read it.

Not Feeling

Very often (nearly always, I'm afraid) when I come to church my feelings are uppermost in my mind. This is natural. We are human, we are "selves," and it takes no effort at all to feel. But worship is not feeling. Worship is not an experience. Worship is an act, and it takes discipline. We are to worship in spirit and in truth." Never mind about the feelings. We are to worship in spite of them.
Elisabeth Elliot, Let Me Be a Woman

I can definitely identify with this. Worship really takes discipline because it is so easy to go on feelings. Some mornings I wake up and I don't feel like getting up for my devotions and sleep on. Then right before it's time to go down for breakfast, I rush through a couple of chapters of my Bible and hurry on with my day. Then things start going wrong and I usually know exactly why. I didn't spend the time with God I should have that morning or I did something right off that I don't want to admit was wrong and it goes down from there.

If you're at the top of a hill, a muddy one, perhaps, if you slip, if you catch yourself right away and regain your step, you'll likely be okay. Yes, the way may still be difficult, but you're still on you're two feet. But if you don't catch yourself right away, you might not be able to until you're at the very bottom and a serious mess at that.

I find I do that all the time. I slip and fail to catch myself right away, and my day goes downhill from there. Once I've made a few mistakes I don't want to admit, my conscience is guilty, worship is hard. It's hard to turn to Him, to worship, pray, and meditate on His Word. You see, the decisions we make first thing in the morning affect our whole day. We reap the fruit throughout the day of the first choices we make when we start our day.

Life for me is changing. I'm excited, but I know it won't always be easy. I marvel at God's faithfulness. He has been good to me.

But It's So Tiny!

Yesterday when I was babysitting my nephew, he did something that showed me how we, as Christians, often treat sin. I was busy doing something when I noticed he was squatted down on the floor, as he usually does when he's looking at something he's fascinated by. So I went over to see what he was looking at and was almost a little alarmed when I saw he was trying to pick up an earwig. The little critter was violently wiggling around in his fingers, trying desperately to sting the curious little boy. Of course, I told him immediately to leave the bug alone, that it was going to hurt him, but he didn't seem to react much. I got him out of the way and swept up the bug, much to his disappointment.

Coming back, I had to wonder why my nephew would attempt to play with an ucky bug. I told him to leave it alone because it was going to hurt him but that didn't cause him to draw back. In his two year old mind, he's probably thinking, "That thing is so small, what's it gonna do to me?" He doesn't know nor does he understand how that's even possible, so he just ignores my caution.

As I was thinking about this throughout my day, I discovered that this is often how I treat sin. I see it, and thinking it's small and harmless, my curiosity gets the better of me and I try to play with it. God warns me and tells me to leave it alone, but I can't see any reason why. Like my nephew, I ignore the caution from Someone who knows how it will work to my hurt, then, I get hurt, of course.

The thing is, we don't always need to understand, we just need to trust God that He knows and always wants what's best for us. He sees the bid picture while we're only aware of what's directly in front of us. We only need to believe Him and be obedient when He says, "No!"

Where's Our Place?

I'm currently reading Let Me Be a Woman by Elisabeth Elliot and I'm looking forward to share some excerpts that really stick out to me. This is one of the first parts that really caught my attention:

Women during the past decade have contrived to place themselves very much in the center of attention. They are talked about, puzzled about, argued about, and legislated about, and it is women who have done most of the talking, arguing, and perhaps the legislating, while it is men, I suppose, who have done more of the puzzling. A torrent of books about women has been pouring from the presses urging women to cast off traditional roles, to refuse the socialization that has for many centuries, they say, controlled and confined them, and to move into what some of them called "human" (as distinct from biological or reproductive) pursuits, which, whether they are interesting and uninteresting are said to be male territory.

My question is why is it that women cannot seem to accept, no, rather appreciate and love, who God has created them to be? We live in an age of feminism, where unless you, women, go to college or university and pursue a respectable career, are considered unsuccessful. It seems that being a housewife and raising children is of little value anymore. Many women get negative reactions when they speak of staying at home and homeschooling their children. They get remarks like "You're never going to make ends meet on a single income," or "How will your children ever learn to socialize?"

In this, I'm not discouraging obtaining a post-secondary education and pursuing a career, if that's what God calls you to do. But I feel we have lost sight of who God has created women to be. He has created us for a very special purpose that many seem to look down on. Women don't like the idea of being a weaker vessel, created under men, but God made us because it was not good for man to be alone. He saw that man needed someone and that someone was a woman. He indeed has a special place and purpose for us.

We don't need to step and try to prove ourselves. God has created me a woman, so that's exactly what I want to be. I don't want to try and make myself somebody I'm not, wearing a mask, living a life that's not my own. Let us not strive after this world's idea of success but rather who God has created us to be.

Please feel free to share any thoughts on this or throw in your two cents. God bless you!

The Day Our Lives Changed...

September 11, 2001 Bombing of the World Trade Center

The day began as many days,
With skies so clear and blue…
People carried out their tasks
Without a thought of you.

But suddenly, the earth stood still,
As terror filled the skies…
Life, as we had come to know
was changed before our eyes.

Oh God, you heard the many cries
That rang across our land…
Even those who seldom pray
Came forth with praying hands.

Others who have followed you
Were lost for ample words…
And no one was prepared for it;
This horror we observed.

And as the days and weeks go by
We search to find our way…
To help our children understand
What happened on that day.

Their future lies uncertain now,
As reality sets in…
Their innocence and carefree ways
Now drifting far from them.

The young adults, who, yesterday,
Had lofty plans ahead…
now suddenly may find themselves
involved in war instead.

Lord, help us rise above our grief
And lead us close to You…
As parents, we all need to know
What You would have us do.

Help prepare our "children" now,
As soldiers, brave and tall...
Rise them up, beneath Your wings,
That none may slip and fall.

Written by Jill Lemming

I found this poem awhile ago and I found it fitting to post today, now seven years after the incident. To me, it's a very sobering reminder how uncertain this life is. But even though the world around us is crumbling, Jesus is a sure rock and we can cling to His promises. This is also a reminder that Jesus is coming back soon.

Please take some time today to pray that God would comfort the families and friends who lost loved ones that day. Pray also for the rescue workers who sacrificed so much that day and the weeks to follow, that God would be with them and draw nearer to them in their grief.