Reformation Day Reflection

David Wayne, the jollyblogger writes a truly heartfelt piece on what the Reformation means to him in A Reformation Day Meditation.

I wish to be very careful how I say what's on my mind, for 2 reasons.

1. I do not wish to be contentious for the sake of being contentious - and/or offend someone.
2. I do not anyone to misunderstand what I am saying - but rather understand that there is something about Reformation Day that seems to be far too often overlooked.

I agree with a lot of what David has to say but I must disagree that the gospel of grace had been “all but lost” before the Reformation as he says here:

"But more importantly, the Reformation has a spiritual significance which transcends these lesser matters of life, like the affairs of nations. This is because the Reformation marked the recovery of the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, because of Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. It marked the recovery of the gospel. While it is true that these things are taught in the Scriptures and that no reformer or other human being should be given credit for the doctrines themselves, it is also true that these precious truths had been all but lost before the time of the Reformation."

Before I continue, I wish to offer this disclaimer – I am not, by any stretch of anyone's imagination, a church historian. However, with that said, I have many friends and aquaintances that eat, sleep and breathe church history.

Of my friends who are Baptist, that hold to God’s sovereignty, such a statement is often regarded as inflammatory, if not inaccurate. Why? Well, simply because they know that these precious truths trumpeted by the reformers were the very truths that their own churches held to all along - these were the truths that caused many to lose their very lives, at the hand of Rome. Now I'm not referring to any old fringe group, or sect that was in existance at the time, or before the reformation. I'm referring to those small churches scattered across the countryside at this time, that refused to bow the knee to Rome's authority & teachings. These are the churches that have existed since the time Christ set up His church, churches founded on the very teachings of Scripture that the reformers later came along and espoused themselves.

Now with that said, I want to make it perfectly clear that I am just as grateful for those men, as anyone else that marks this day as a special day in Christian history. I believe in every generation, God raises up for Himself key men (and women, you just read about us much less) to do great things, make changes, and inspire and challenge believers in a remarkable way. Some of those events down through church history are rather small scale, others are HUGE scale, like the reformation.

These men (and women) that stood on the authority of Scripture and no other authority, who paid for that stand in many cases with their very lives (and those of their children), have my utmost respect and admiration. What they did in their day was no small thing - and I've often wondered if they really knew what they were in for, before they began taking the firm stand they did.

The main reason I wanted to address this today, is due to something I've recently begun to understand myself, in a personal way. It's through this odd circumstance that I think I've begun to understand a little better why some Baptists take issue with the pomp and circumstance surrounding Reformation Day.

I think in a way, they may be feeling like the reformers are getting credit for something that was being declared, long before they came along.

Over the last year, more than a few times I have seen my writing plagiarized. I cannot prove it, legally, but it's as obvious as three heads on a cat. When I first began to see this, I was angry. Very angry, especially because it's professing believers that have done it. I've never confronted the (very few) people who've done this, because quite frankly, I'm not even sure what to say. "Excuse me, you rotten theif without an orginal thought, you plagiarized my article, pull it, or green warts the size of jumbo pumpkins will grow out of your ears!".?? Likely not the best approach, but I don't really know how to address this.
(Legal advice welcome, this is so wrong on so many aspects).

Add to that, countless hours of research and writing, only to see my work end up somewhere else, with someone else taking credit, and also getting the pats on the back for it. Now understand this, I never did the work or the research for the pats on the back in the first place, but the whole thing seems so deceptive, and wrong, that it's hard to watch it happen.

I've finally come to a place in my own thoughts (maybe just to preserve my own sanity?) that instead of being angry and upset about it, I'm far more grateful that the material itself is so well received (maybe it wouldn't be, if the audience knew it originally came from me, a relative "nobody"??), and 'getting out there'. If I were to be 100% honest though, I'd have to say that yes, it still bothers me that those professing believers would take something I've said or written, and make it "their own". They know it's not their own, and so do I.

Oddly enough, this gives me a better perspective on the possible reason so many 5 point Baptists might take issue with the reformation. In their eyes, in their thoughts, they're thinking (and often saying) "this is what we have ALWAYS believed, we didn't get a voice as a result of the reformation!".

It is true, that some Baptist churches have always believed the sovereignty of God in all things. It is also true that that gospel of grace did not have the "voice" prior to this, that was given to it, as a result of the reformation. I do believe God orchestrated the entire event, for that very purpose, that the gospel of grace would in fact become known far and wide, not only geographically but down through the last several hundred years of church history.

Even though it was already being taught and preached in smaller churches, all along.

In a way, I think of this as a double-edged deal. On the one hand, it's somewhat insulting to "historic Baptists" to see the reformers get all the credit for something that was being declared all along, and on the other hand it's the very message that should be boldly and loudly proclaimed!

I don't think these fine Baptist brothers and sisters want the credit themselves, since this was the gospel that Jesus Himself taught, and the gospel that Paul taught. I think maybe it's more a matter of being ignored, disregarded, and watching someone else, or something else, be lifted up as the pivotal event in church history that was the vehicle to deliver this Biblical truth, to the world.

I realize, in a way, I'm speaking for Baptists that never gave me permission to speak for them. Some will likely say "you're a moron, you have no idea what you're talking about". I already know this - and I also know and have heard countless times, some Baptists say these very things, about the reformation, and the gospel of grace.

I simply wanted to point out the fact that long before the reformation, and during, and after until this very day, there have been believers gathering in churches around the world, that held to the absolute, final, majestic sovereignty of God, in all things. Yes, the reformation did give this gospel a loud, far-reaching voice, but let's not forget the other side, and the precious, faithful brothers and sisters that have always proclaimed this gospel, in the face of certain death.

We have MUCH to be grateful for.

SDG,
Carla

Of Mice and Whiners

Last night after work, Kev went up to our room to change. When he came out, he said in an "oh by the way" offhanded way "oh, I did the tango with a mouse in our room". I replied with a "WHAT!?"

Apparently, when he opened the dresser drawer, a mouse ran out from under the dresser, across his bare feet, and into the closet. For whatever testosterone induced reason, he handled it like it was no big deal.

I, on the other hand, would not have handled it nearly as well. I'm not sure what it is about rodents' little clickety-click claws on your bare skin that makes my skin crawl, but it does. Now, had I been the one in the room dancing with a mouse, I would have exited the room looking like Don Knotts in The Ghost and Mr. Chicken. Twitching, spazzing, and with my voice at least eleventeen octaves higher than normal, muttering some unintelligable impending doom.

Not Kev.
He just laughed.
He should be locked up.
With mice.

So then when I decide to turn in for the night, completely forgetting about his little macarena lesson with Mickey, I go to the room, and crawl into bed. Suddenly, I hear it. Skitter, skitter, scratch, clickety-click. UP I sit. I'm supposed to sleep in this room knowing their are likely millions of mice hiding in the closet, just waiting to kill me as soon as I fall asleep!?

I lay back down and tell myself to stop being such a whiner-cry-baby-girl, and get comfy. Then I hear it again, and the only thought going through my head, is George McFly orchestrating an invasion of sharp toothed varmints, from inside my closet, to come and eat my face as soon as I drift off.

No, I did not get up and check the closet. I did however, pull the covers over my head, and I WILL be picking up a mouse trap at the dollar store today.

Let's see them dance their way out of THAT.

____________________

UPDATE: Somehow, after posting this story, this blog evolved from a marauding marsupial to a large mammal, in the ecosystem.

Should I be concerned?

Guarding the Trust - Share the Word

This is part 30 of an ongoing series. You can read part 29 here.

Guarding the Trust - Share the Word – 1 Thessalonians 1:8, 2 Thessalonians 3:1

For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any thing.

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you

Let's consider the first verse today in light of the Internet.

There are many (who use the Internet) that grumble and shake their proverbial fist at the idea that the 'net is fertile ground for sharing the word. They say that because there isn't any opportunity for face to face conversation, and human, physical contact, that sharing the gospel loses something. In part, I agree with this. In part I can't agree, since it's the power of the word itself, that changes people, not the delivery method.

I've been using the internet since 1993. I've been using the internet for the glory of God, since April 1994. The Christian community on the internet has literally exploded, in those last 11.5 years. For example, a simple google search on "what is the gospel?" will yield 38,000,000 hits. Yes, you read that correctly, 38 MILLION. A slightly different search string, "who is Jesus?" offers up 66,300,000.

Now granted, there are web pages that will be included in those lists that may or may not present the gospel, or the truth of who Christ is, the way the Bible tells it, but overall, those are pretty impressive stats. They tell me, there are a lot of Christians online, sharing the gospel, sharing their passion for the lost, on their blogs, sites, forums, discussion lists, etc.

For the record, the unsaved DO read these sites, and by His grace, there are salvations that take place as a direct result of a lost person reading a Christian site - I know of many - over the last 11.5 years.

However, there are so many ways to share the word. Not only in word, but in deed as well. From gospel tracts, to community involvement (volunteer organizations, sports, etc.), open Bible studies in places like retirement homes & parks.

In August of this year in the 3 part series called Our Mission (see the sidebar), I considered many ways we Christians live, and share the word. I'll repost that list here, for your edification (this is from part 3 "Our Mission - Tell It"):

Speaking - this covers alot of ground. There are many who are called to this type of ministry for seminar speaking engagements, workshops, conferences, etc. If this is where your talents lie, this is where you need to be.

Pastoring - men of all ages are called into the ministry in this capacity, and they are a great blessing to their local congregations. I believe with all my heart that the office of pastor IS a calling, and those not called, ought not be there. I think it might be safe to say we've all heard a pastor preach that clearly was not called of God, to be in the pulpit. Obviously, much more could be said about this, but for the sake of space, I'll simply leave it with this. When I asked my friend (who is a pastor, and a most convicting speaker) whether or not he agreed with this statement he responded with "agreed - too many looking for a vocation, and they're not called of God".

Missions - I was in a conversation the other day about the various different types of missions work. One friend was talking about the experience and the exposure to poverty and real physical need in poor countries - and another friend was talking about the devastating spiritual poverty right here in north America. Both had great points to bring up, and both fields are also something that is a calling, and those called, equipped by God. Is your heart in missions?
Local Community Programs - this is also a very broad category. This would include the local food bank, homeless shelter, crisis shelters, abortion alternatives clinics, AIDS volunteer workers, or any number of other community programs available in your area. Those who devote their lives to serving the hungry, the homeless, and the sick, are gifted in this area and make an incredible impact in the lives of many people throughout the community.

Medical/Law Enforcement field - doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, ambulance drivers, dispatch operators, patrol officers, detectives, PD chaplains, counsellors... the list is huge. This is one on one, day in and day out opportunity to minister Christ, in word and in deed, to people who are in great need. I know quite a few Christian cops, and the stories they can tell you about doing just that, will melt your heart with joy.

Financial/Law field - this is without a doubt, a calling, and a field where one must be gifted. There are quite a few Christian attorneys and financial adivisors - and the work they do, like the medical & law enforcement field brings them into personal, one on one contact with people already in great need in this area. Managing money and dealing with legal affairs for the glory of God, is something we could all greatly benefit from.

Children's Services - Sunday school teachers, day care workers, afterschool clinics, Child Protective Services workers, etc. Anyone who's been around kids for longer than 5 minutes knows some people are gifted to interact with kids, and some are just not. We have a friend Tom, who is a fairly big guy, with a bald head and long grey beard. The very image of Tom has sent more than a few kids screaming for their mommy or daddy. Funny thing is, Tom's about as scary as a bunny rabbit. Kids who get to know him realize this, but at first glance, some kids just freak out. (and if Tom's reading I hope he'll forgive me for the bunny comment). Kids react differently to different people - and when they meet someone who is well-gifted with the ability to interact with them, they just sense it, right away. What an amazing evangelistic opportunity there is within a group of children.

Writers - yet another very broad area. Just 10 years ago this would be confined (for the most part) to bookstores. With the increase in technology, this now includes the internet and all it has to offer in the way of web pages, discussion forums, email lists, and of course, the blogdom of God. There are so many unbelievably great evangelical blogs out there, it's nearly impossible to list them all. These days, it seems almost everyone thinks of themself as a writer. Some just write because it's what they do - others write because everyone else is. We all have our favorite authors, whether in book form or web-form, and it's a fantastic way to express your love for Christ, and reach out to whoever is reading. Anyone who's been writing on the internet for more than a few months, might understand the impact of this when that email comes in that says "I didn't know the Bible said this, can you help me understand...". Huge, huge ministry field online.

Singers - this is an area people will just disagree on, it's a given. When I thought of singers I thought of groups, and individuals that put out the most stirring, convicting songs that the heart can stand to hear. I wasn't thinking about the different styles (bluegrass, contemporary, praise, hymns, etc.) within the field, but moreso the gifted singers themselves. I know of a little girl in Tyler Texas, who has melted the hearts of everyone who hears her, by the angelic voice God has blessed her with. Her name is Whitney - and I hope one day you all will know who she is too. She is blessed with a beautiful voice and she's using it for the glory of God (with the wise direction of her mom & dad - Rudy and Glenda).

Artists - another are people might disagree, but that's okay too. Photographers, sketch artists, watercolors, oils, pastels, computer graphics, sculptors, etc. There are quite a good number of Christians gifted in this area, and they use their talents for the Lord. Their works are incredible conversation pieces and almost always, a door to open for questions.Various Skilled Trades - carpenters, telephone, cable, satellite installers, plumbers, electricians, pc repair folk, hair stylists, bank tellers - this list is a mile long. Not everyone can do these things - and if they could - we wouldn't need these people. These folks, men AND women, are just flat out good at what they do. Those working in these areas have an abundant opportunity to share the gospel in word, and also in deed, with those around them, every day.

Educational - teachers, principles, administrators, etc. This area seems rather obvious, but I think sometimes we might overlook the impact these people have not only on children, but the impact they have on those children as they grow into adults, and begin to raise their own children. Almost everyone I know, including myself, remembers the great teachers, the so-so teachers, and the horrible teachers they've had in life, that impacted the way they think. Teaching is indeed a gift - one to be used for the Lord.

Homemakers/parents - I saved this one for last. Not because it's least, but because it's the hardest job in the whole world. While you certainly don't have to have any special talent to have children, and stay at home to raise them, you better believe you sure do need the grace and wisdom of God to do so in an effective way. For those parents who also choose to educate their children at home, it's a double load of responsibility - one that requires even more time in prayer for guidance. Every homeschooling parent knows exactly what I mean by that. While I do believe teaching is a gift, and to be an effective teacher you must have this gift, I also believe that if the Lord burdens your heart to educate your kids at home in a Christ centered atmosphere, He will also equip you to do the job He's called you to do. Even if you're not homeschooling, but a stay at home parent with your kids that first 5 years before they go off to kindergarten - you better know you have the most important evangelistic mission field, right in your own house. What you sow into their hearts and minds that first 5 years, will make all the difference in their lives, for the rest OF their lives. It is by no means an easy task (although somedays it can be), and it is by all means a full time endeavor.

It doesn't matter where you are, or what you're doing in life right now. Wherever you are, wherever He has placed you, you and I both have a duty, and an obligation to share the word with whoever we can - and He gives us those opportunities all the time.

I hope this has blessed you in some way today - and encouraged you to share the word!

SDG ~ Carla

Pastor electrocuted while peforming baptism

In other surreal news...

WACO — A pastor performing a baptism was electrocuted inside his church Sunday morning after grabbing a microphone while partially submerged, a worker at the church said. University Baptist Church Rev. Kyle Lake, 33, was standing in water up to his shoulder in a baptismal when electrocuted, said Jamie Dudley, wife of UBC community pastor Ben Dudley and a business adminstrator at the church. (continue reading...)

Lady Theologians?

For some reason today that escapes me, the phrase "female theologian" popped into my head.

I mulled it over for a minute, and thought 'why am I considering female theologians?'

I don't know why I was, but it struck me as odd that I couldn't think of any - any that you all might recognize, anyway. I know many women whom I would consider theologians, but none that have made a name for themselves for that reason.

Just to be clear, when I say theologian I'm referring to a person who digs deep into Scripture on a regular basis to study the things of God. His attributes, salvation, wrath, mercy, etc. Not a professional theologian, who makes a living (teaching or writing) in that field - but just a regular Joe or Joanne, that spends their life saturated in the Scripture.

I know so many women like that. Nina, Denise, Kim, Rebecca, Stephanie, Marla, La Shawn, ... if I sat here and tried to think of them all, the list would be HUGE. But oddly enough, none of them are known as theologians. I wonder why that is?

I presented this question to the good folks in #pros today. There were only a few people there, but one chatter suggested that he doesn't think of women as theologians, or associate the two, probably due to the controversy around it all. (All anyone has to do is turn on a "Christian" television program to understand what I mean.) At the same time that comment was made, I was thinking the very same thing. Odd how that works out.

So then I thought, how I would feel if someone classified me as a theologian? That's awkward - because on the one hand, I am one, in the most base sense of the word. On the other hand, I would rather eat a live, hairy, greasy bug, than be associated in the same company as the more "well-known" Christian women with a big mouth loud voice.

One of the ladies present during this conversation in #pros today was Marie. She shared a url in the channel to an article by John H. Gerstner called 'Every Man Must be a Theologian'.

In this article, Gerstner says:

"Why do we say that a layman must be a theologian? Well, let us first of all realize what a theologian is — that is, an amateur theologian. A theologian is a person who knows about God. A lay theologian is a person who has a true knowledge of God which he understands in nontechnical, nonprofessional, nonacademic terms. However, such a person is truly a theologian.
Is it not clear why a layman must necessarily be a theologian? Is there anyone, layman or otherwise, who does not need to know God? Does the Scripture not say, “This is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou has sent” (John 17:3)? It is, then, no mere option with a layman whether he will be a theologian or not, whether he will have eternal life or not; it is no option with him whether he will know God or not. The knowledge of God is necessary to eternal life. And if eternal life is necessary for every man, then theology is also necessary for every man.

If a theologian is a person who knows God, then by reverse reasoning a person who is not a theologian does not know God. There is no shame in a layman‘s being told that he does not know carpentry, or plumbing, or medicine, or law, or teaching, or the ways of a housewife; but there surely is the greatest of shame in a layman‘s being told that he does not know God. Furthermore, there is more than shame; there is very great danger. The Scripture says that to live apart from God is death. And just as the text quoted says it is life eternal to know God and Christ, another passage in the same book says that they who do not believe in Jesus shall not see life and, furthermore, the wrath of God abides upon them: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him” (John 3:36)."

I like the way that's worded. There is great shame in being told you do not know God - even more than shame - there is great danger in not knowing Him. While there are many (many!) female theologians, I find it curious that it was a stretch to think of names offhand.

Two of the names suggested today were:

Nancy DeMoss
Joni Erickson Tada
Corrie Ten Boom

Nancy DeMoss I am not familiar with, although I have heard her name.
Joni Erickson Tada is rather well known by many, but I confess other than watching the movie made of her life-testimony, I am not very familiar with her.
Corrie Ten Boom falls into the same category as Joni for me - I've watched the movie based on her life, but other than that, I've never spent much time getting to know her works.

I just wonder - what names come to mind for you? What resources are we (as women) missing out on, by sisters in the faith? Who should be more well-read, and who should be avoided?

I really look forward to your thoughts on this - and men - you're encouraged to respond as well! Just don't be a wiseguy and suggest Mrs. Benny Hinn, like one of the chatters in #pros today.
:-)

SDG ~ Carla

Bloggerview: The Upward Call

Bloggerview:n
blŏg'-ger-vyoo'

I like to shine a spotlight on those bloggers, and blogs, that bless me – in the hopes that they might bless you, as well. Doing these bloggerviews gives us all a little more insight into the people that we read each day.

One such blogger is Kim, from The Upward Call.

I honestly can’t recall when I started reading Kim’s blog. I had to dig into her archives to find out! I think it was right around the beginning of the year. Her writing style, and her lifestyle (Christian mother who homeschools, and lives in Ontario) matched mine, so clearly there was a “fellowship” of sorts there. Her passion for solid doctrine, and her sense of humor, kept me coming back each day.

I had the opportunity to meet Kim in person over the summer, and we had such a great visit. Over coffee and donuts, for about 3 hours we sat and talked about everything from blogs, sound doctrine, bad doctrine, kids, Christian living, and pretty much everything else in between.

Without further delay, here is my bloggerview with Kim, the blogger behind The Upward Call:

Carla: If someone were to ask you “what is a “blogosphere?” how would you define it?

Kim: A double-edged sword. The blogosphere can be a source of blessing, and it can also be a source of dissatisfaction. I've experienced both. Sometimes, I can be both discouraged and encouraged on the same day; discouraged because I compare myself and feel inadequate, and encouraged because someone has shared something that caused me to think, or to praise God. I guess I would also define it as a place where other strange theology-loving women can find those of like mind.

Carla: You recently wrote on “Riding on the Chain”, after reading BB Warfield on predestination. Tell us why you believe this doctrine to be one that should be better understood?

Kim: I find that we Christians are tempted to make God in our own image. We are so self-centred that we can’t even see God for who He is; we can only see him as a reflection of ourselves, which is totally skewed. This has created, in my humble opinion, the error of reducing God to some kind of cosmic, ethical guru rather than a holy, righteous God. I don’t think God’s character is exposed nearly enough; we just want quick, easy answers. I don’t think we can ever understand who we are until we see how big our God is. Understanding predestination is essential to seeing our relationship to God. Knowing that we had absolutely nothing to do with our calling, and knowing that it was foreknown before we were even born should set us straight with regard to our place before God.

Carla: You’ve been blogging just over a year (happy bloggiversary!). Last year at this time, in one of your very first entries you wrote on discipline, specifically how God disciplines His own. If you were to go back and read that entry again, would there be anything you’d add to it, that you’ve learned about discipline, over the last year?

Kim: I think I would likely add that it gets easier as time goes on. In that entry (I went back and looked at it) I was talking about some difficulties with my mother-in-law, something that has been going on for years. Over the last year, God’s discipline has produced a much better relationship with her. Discipline requires a lot of patience. He’s been patient with me.

Carla: Your blogger bio starts out with “I am a Christian home school mother…”. As a homeschooling mother, what’s the one “myth” or misunderstanding about home schooling, that you find addressing the most?

Kim: That we don’t all wear denim jumpers! Only kidding. I have to say that the myth I dislike the most is that my children “need” other children in order to be properly socialized. What a leap of logic! A seven year old teaching another 7 year old social behavior; more like the “law of the jungle.” If my 11 year old gets any more socialized, he’ll spontaneously combust! My children are friendly, articulate and polite. They mix well with other kids. That they aren’t wise to the ways of the world does not make them “unsocialized.” When people say that home schooled children need to be socialized what they mean is that they need to be like other children. I don’t believe that. Can you tell I have strong opinions on that one?

Carla: If you could only name 3 people (living or dead) who have inspired you the most, in your Christian walk, who would they be, and why?

Kim:
First would be my former pastor, Roy Emmons. He came into my husband’s and my life at a time when we could have become really bitter about Christianity. He demonstrated for us with his godly character what true grace and servanthood was. He is the most sincere man I have ever known. He was also the first pastor to ever teach us about predestination.
Second, I would have to say a woman named Ruth Warkentin. She was the leader of a bible study I attended a number of years ago. Her passion for the Scriptures really encouraged me. She really knew how to take apart the Scriptures and probe their depths. She made a life long work of teaching Scriptures to others, and that really inspired me to study, too. She encouraged me to pursue teaching and that gave me a boost of confidence.
And as corny as this may sound, the apostle Peter is the third one. I can really relate to Peter because I tend to open my mouth before I think, and I tend to jump in with both feet without regard to the consequences. To think that God used Peter so mightily encourages me that He can use even me.

Carla: Regular readers of The Upward Call, know that you play the piano in your church, sing and work with the youth. Out of these three areas, is one more rewarding, or one more challenging, than the other?

Kim: Singing is the greatest challenge and the greatest reward. I am generally scared witless the day before I have to do it. It’s a daunting privilege to get up there and sing something that should cause people to think about God. I always want to do the best I can for the Lord. That said, there is such a joy in doing it. When I finally take the plunge, get up on that platform, and those first few bars are over, I am totally in the moment, and it’s like time stops and all I hear is the music and the words I am singing. Singing in front of others is one of the most incredibly vulnerable things we can do. Because I am so nervous, it really forces me to remember for whom I’m doing it, and to rely on God for my strength. I have been told by people that when I sing, it is obvious that I sing from my heart. That is true. I never sing anything that doesn’t mean a great deal to me. The last time I sang, I had to practice and practice and practice, because I had to sing the line: “When life had begun, I was woven and spun/You let the angels dance around the throne,” and the enormity of that statement, that I had been “woven and spun” before time, made me cry every time I practiced. When I actually sang it, I came close to crying. I didn’t want to cry in front of everyone, because that tends to make the congregation feel uncomfortable. Many people came to me afterward and said that the song encouraged them. To know that I’ve helped encourage other people is a great reward. And to get off the platform without missing a cue, tripping, or throwing up has its advantages.

(I have to agree with Kim on this one, throwing up at church could be considered a disadvantage, on several levels)

Carla: When people read your blog, what’s the one thing you hope they come away with knowing, or understanding?

Kim: I hope they know that I love the Lord, and I hope that they know that who I seem to be in my blog is actually who I am in real life, warts and all.

(in real life, she's a hoot - amazing sense of humor, and no visible warts!)

Carla: I’ve read others say that you are a gifted writer. I would agree with them, as I find it very impressive how you can paint a visual scene with your words. I wonder if you have hopes of furthering your writing in book form someday?

Kim: Definitely! I have thought about writing fiction, but I don’t know if my life has been sad or horrible enough to engage the modern reader, though. I have always had “stories” running around in my head, characters that are very real to me. I may try something like that some day. Right now, all the stories that live in my head lack proper endings, and if I wait long enough, maybe one will come to me. I like doing theological writing the most, but I feel like I need a much stronger grasp on so many things before I can even attempt to write an entire book. I’d love to sit and work with another writer sometime, because I think I’d learn a lot. If God really wants me to do something like this, I’m trusting that He’ll enable me.

I’d like to thank Kim for taking the time to let us peek into her world a little closer. Be sure to stop by The Upward Call, and add her to your regular reads. You’re sure to be blessed.

SDG ~ Carla

Guarding the Trust - Read the Word

This is part 29 of an ongoing series. You can read part 28 here.

Guarding the Trust - Read the Word – 1 Timothy 4:13; Colossians 4:16

Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.

And when this epistle is read among you, cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans; and that ye likewise read the epistle from Laodicea.

How can one possibly impart, the value of reading the Bible, enough? Without sounding like a broken record, that is?

There is so much wisdom, so much to learn, and so much to understand, within the 66 books of our Bibles, that I don't believe it possible to gather it all in, in one lifetime. Not that this should be a hindrance to reading, but an encouragment and a challenge, to search the Scriptures daily.

Before our family started homeschooling in 1999, I had tried many different reading plans, daily devotionals, and studies. None of them seemed to work out for me. It was very hard to stick to any kind of a program, or guide, for reading the Bible.

In many ways, that all changed when we began to homeschool. Because we wanted our children to know what the Scriptures say, we put a heavy emphasis on the Bible course we teach them. From memory verses, to Bible lessons, songs, and more, we each read more Bible each day, than we even thought we might, during the course of a day. It's been a blessing to me, as much as it is to them.

My 8 year old came to me today and told me the plagues in Egypt must have been just awful. (She was skimming through a children's Bible for early readers when she came across a picture of what the plague of frogs might have looked like). Now my 8 year old isn't like most 8 year old girls, she has some pretty extreme learning difficulties, so for her to say this, was a real treat for me to hear. To challenge her, I answered "wait... Egypt? Are you sure the plagues weren't in Ecuador?" She looked at me like she were speaking to a tree stump, and she replied "mom, it was Egypt, trust me".

I'm not so sure I would have been so sure of myself, at 8 years old. She is, because Bible reading is critical in this house.

One of our family traditions each Christmas Eve, after all the dishes are washed and the dessert is served, is to settle in front of the television. Now before you write me off as a lunatic, just keep reading.

With everyone in their jammies, and with blankets, pillows, and hot wassail, we all gather 'round and watch A Christmas Carol (the black and white version with Alistair Sim - no other version will do!).

One of my favorite scenes in the movie, is the scene where Peter, the oldest son of Bob Cratchett, is reading from the Bible by candlelight while his mother and sisters sit by the fire. The house is small and cramped, but obviously filled with love for one another. They are poor, just barely getting by. While the mother and the sisters sit quietly, Peter Cratchett reads the Scriptures, as the choice for the evening reading.

I just love that scene! Is your house like that? Does your family gather round each evening and listen to the Scriptures being read aloud, while the little ones sit silently, paying close attention?

My house is almost like that. The family does gather round each night. The Scriptures are read aloud. Sometimes we have a nice scented candle burning too. The little ones are being consistantly scolded to sit still, quit poking the cat in the eye, stop jumping off the arm of the couch, don't eat that, put your shirt back on, and so forth. Evening devotional time in our house is really almost nothing like the scene where Peter reads the Bible in his house. It's more like a lesson in early childhood education mixed with God's grace to give us hope that inbetween the fussing and wiggling, something they're hearing is penetrating their little hearts and minds.

I often remind Kevin "it's okay, they may not seem to be listening, but they're hearing it all the same". A few days later when I'm looking like the tasmanian devil about to spin out through the dining room and into the kitchen, he reminds me of the same thing.

Like the verse says at the beginning of this installment, we give attendance to reading the Scriptures. We do this in many ways throughout the day (from school, to memory verses to devotional time) and by the end of each day, we can all say that yes, we had our Bibles opened today, and learned something.

Are you reading your Bible every day? Are you growing in the word? Are you giving attendance to reading?

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

How many do you need?

For as long as I can remember, the sunrise, or the sunset, has always made me stop and take notice. I suppose there were a few years there in my rebellious times that it didn't seem to have the same lasting impression on me as other times, but it's a scene that has always been special to me, for many reasons.

Primarily, it's just beautiful. It's natural, straightforard. It just is.
It just is, because God made it that way.

Several years ago when I received my first real camera, I started taking pictures of the sunset, and the sunrise, as often as possible. Before long someone said to me "how many pictures of the sunset do you need?". I thought about it, and said "three hundred and sixty-five, until next year at this time". It's the same every day, and yet it's different every day. Some days it's just the most breathtaking thing you've ever seen, as if it might be the first sunset you've ever really noticed. Other days, it's uneventful, and rather insignificant.

I've never counted how many of these shots I have. I have about 2 years worth of prints that have never made it into photo albums, and literally thousands of digital pictures on file. Many of them, are sunsets, or sunrises.

As the Scripture says, creation testifies of Him. You don't even really have to look very closely, to see it all around you.

One of the things I began "doing" with my sunset/sunrise pics, several years ago, was putting them onto a calendar. At first it was just for family, until someone said "wow, you should make these avalable for sale!", so... I did.

Not only the skyscapes, but various other scenes as well. Snow covered pines, a freshly budding tulip, berries on the vine, apple blossoms, and more. All, amazing testimonies of God's providential hand of creation, all around us, through every season.

Without further delay, my 2006 Scripscenes Wall Calendar $19.99

This year's calendar is a full 12 months of the rich blessings and encouragement of the Psalms.
Product info: Keeping track of important dates is easy when you have 12 months of your favorite interest to look at. Our high-quality calendar has oversized date boxes providing plenty of room to write in important events.
• Full bleed dynamic color
• 100 lb text weight high gloss paper

Click here to see each page, or to order.
(Special note: order between November 1 and November 14, and get $2.00 off the already low price!)

_______________

I've also created a brand new graphic for the Cold Weather Gear line!

click here to check out the Cold Weather Gear

Guarding the Trust - Retain the standard of the Word

This is part 28 of an ongoing series. You can read part 27 here.

Guarding the Trust - Retain the standard of the Word – 2 Timothy 2:13-14

If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers.

When I read "retain the standard of the word" I cannot help but think about the Christian movmements we all hear about, that have dropped the standard.

What I mean by dropping the standard in that context, is when a movement or a sect begins to question or deny such foundational doctrines such as the nature of the atonement, the wrath of God against all unrighteousness or the omnipotance & omniscience of God, or the deity of Christ. There are many more examples I could give, but these are the ones I think of first.

There is something about the human mind, and heart, that simply rebels against the sovereign dynamic of God, in all things. That something is pride, and the result of the rebellion is casting doubt on what God's word actually says. Not only casting doubt, but spending a great amount of time and effort, discussing these things, writing on them, accepting speaking engagements on them, etc. Contending over empty words, or empty teachings... casting doubt, and being not only deceived themselves, but deceiving others.

I find it striking that this verse uses the Greek word katastrophe for the English word "subverting". I do not wish to take this verse out of context, but it certainly seems to me it is saying that if we contend over emtpy words, or wrangle over useless matters, things that have no value whatsoever, we do so to the destruction of those who are listening.

The next two verses not listed here for today's reading, but that follow in Scripture, give us clear direction on how not to be subverted by such useless conversations & considerations:

Study the word, and learn how to rightly divide it (15)
Shun (avoid) ungodly and empty discussions (16)

Verse 16 also comes with a warning about these ungodly contentions over words... it says that they will only increase, in ungodliness.

Isn't that exactly what we see today?

More and more 'movements' and sub-sects within "Christianity" that in so many ways drop the standard of the word, inviting in doubt, and in some cases denial of the very authority of the word, resulting in more and more ungodliness... lifestyles, language, conduct, and a faith that resembles less and less Christianity, and more and more of the world.

This standard we're to uphold doesn't only apply to groups or churches - it applies to individual believers as well. I recall hearing years ago, that the real test of your Christianity is not how you conduct yourself when people are watching, but how you conduct yourself when no one's around.

I really had to think about that for a few minutes, because I'd never heard it put that way before. I did a bit of self-examination on that one, and it was something I really needed to hear, and to be mindful of. Our calling is to reflect Christ and the holy standard He set, 24 hours a day - no matter if we're in a crowd, or alone in our home.

I was involved in a conversation recently with a friend, and I made an effort to gently remind her of these things. When the conversation was over I felt discouraged, because in her anger, I don't think she wanted to hear this, at the time. How many times have I been in that same situation, when I wanted to do things my way, instead of His way, according to the word? It's a battle we all face, on some level, every day.

Let us strive to maintain His holy standard, according to the word, at all times.

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

A Time Warp Ate My Brain

This IS Friday, I do realize that.

I also realize this is the day for the Friday Funny Bone.

I also realize today's installment of the Guarding the Trust series should have been posted roughly 6 hours ago.

Something else I realize, is that something is bizarre about my sleep patterns lately. It doesn't seem to matter how early, or how late, I turn in. I still wake up late, almost every day. I guess I need the sleep.

Problem is, it's thrown my schedule way off kilter, and I'm having a hard time getting used to it.

In other news...

Are you even reading the GTT series? I know from time to time one or two of you comment, but it doesn't seem like there's much of an interest in it. I'll continue the series until it's finished, because it blesses me a great deal to do it, but I just wonder if anyone out there is taking the time to read them, each day?

I'll try to get both the FFB and the GTT up sometime today.

And another thing...

Here's the thing. It's almost Christmas! Less than 2 months away, and you need to go shopping, right? Of course you do... so do I. So here's the deal, you do your shopping at my store, so I can do my shopping. See how easy that all is? I knew you'd find it handy, afterall, I can be very useful.

There's so much stuff there, if you can't find something for everyone on your list, you just need to take them off your list. :-) From clothing, to mugs, clocks, journals, posters, mousepads, throw pillows - the list is almost endless! (okay, I don't have an endless list of stuff, but it's pretty long and there are TONS of different styles, sizes, and graphics to choose from - all created by me).

And here's another thing...

I'm green with envy that Frank (centuri0n) Turk (of all people!) gets free advertising from the coffee drinkin' Pyro. Why, there oughta be a law! Here I have been slaving away into the wee hours of the morning on custom graphics and such, for the last year, and I can't even get anyone to say "yeah, nice junk, have a nice day". I'm... well I'm just beside myself. Gobsmacked, even. (I don't know what gobsmacked means, but it sure sounds good, doesn't it?)

Here's the deal - if YOU buy something from my store, get a picture of you with it, in it, on it, next to it, whatever. I'll use YOU and your really cool product from ScripScenes, to advertise my "nice junk" right at the store! Imagine that, your mug, with my mug?

C'mon, I'm desperate here! I have 7 kids to go shopping for, and besides, it's not fair that Frank gets all the fun & free advertising, now is it? (I thought you'd see it my way, lol)

Ontario Winter

subtitle:

How To Build a Backyard Rink Because They're Cool, and Because It's Canada, and You Should, eh.

So, I hauled all the rink boards out of the garage this morning, because Kev promised he'd do it last week.

Ahem ::cough::Kev's got a huge procrastination issue::cough::

I got this brillian idea a few years ago when I read an article about it in a magazine. The thing is, I'm not Canadian, I'm a Washintonian, or a Bremervillian, or a Yankee, take your pick. Winters in Washington were like... um... fall, in Ontario. We didn't build backyard rinks in WA, we just sloshed around in the rain.

So being from someplace that it just doesn't snow in the winter (don't even think of arguing with me on that, if you're from western WA, you just AINT seen real snow until you've wintered once in Ontario), I had no idea how to "build a rink". I have a hammer - I have several, in fact. I have nails, and I have at least one good arm. How hard could it be?
ROFLOL. Oh me of little wisdom.

After several complete, miserable, hilarious failures, we figured it out. Now you'd think, because Kevin is a real live Canadian, he'd have vast amounts of wisdom in this area of a real live, backyard Canadian rink.
ROFLOL... oh ye of little knowledge of Kev.

Kev is infamous 'round these parts as "the guy who shouldn't do things". When the storm doors all got new hinges last summer, Kev's dad asked him when he put them on. He just chuckled and looked at his shoes, and his dad looked at me and said "it's a good thing I gave you that cordless drill isn't it?". I'll never get it - Kev runs a multi-million dollar press at work, and maintains it himself, but when it comes to power tools around the house... well... it's a good thing I grew up around my grandpa who was a carpenter and a machinist.

Anyway, here's what finally worked.

Depending on how big you want your rink, you need to find a level spot in your yard. Good luck, and take a level. Eyeing will not work.

Once you figure out how much room you have to work with, write down how many boards you'll need from the lumber yard. Our rink is 20'x40' so we needed 10, 1"x8"x10' boards. We also needed 2 woodstakes for each board for support - so that was 20 stakes. We also needed a roll of what they call "rink poly" (which is a fancy way of saying "really thick plastic that people use for lining their real live backyard Canadian ice rinks). Oddly, the roll we bought 3 years ago is also 20'x40'.

So technically, our rink (finished) is roughly 19'x39, which is plenty big enough for all the little feet in our house (the rink form has to be smaller than the plastic, or you end up sort of short sheeted, and that simply will not do).

It's pretty simple, to set it up. lay your 1x8x10 boards out where you want them. Stand them up horizontally, and pop the stakes in (on the outside) about a foot from each end. Do this with all your boards, making sure they're all lined up. Pick a mild day in October to do it, so when the really nasty weather hits in about a week, this part is already done.

Next comes the plastic. Starting with the short end of the rink, make sure you have enough plastic at one end to run it up the side of the board, and over the top a few inches. With a staple gun fully loaded and extra ammo in your pocket, pop that edge into place. Rolling your plastic out no more than a few feet at a time, do the same with the sides of your plastic, to the sides of the rink form. Unrolling the whole sheet then trying to keep it in place, is like flying a WalMart kite, in a hurricane, and expecting not to lose it. It is not advisable. Smart people line the form with the plastic on the same day that they put the form up.

Now more or less, you're done. You can either fill the plastic with water, and wait for about 6 weeks for it to freeze solid - or you can just let the rain do it. If there isn't a lot of rain between now and the time it starts to really (read: really) freeze, you can easily add more water from the handy dandy garden hose (assuming it hasn't already frozen, and all you get out of the hose is lovely tube shaped ice cubes).

Your plastic, if you take decent care of it, will last you for years. Small holes & tears can be easily patched up with a decent roll of waterproof tape from your local hardware store.

Our form is up (yes, I did the majority of the work while Kev gave a spelling test), but we didn't put the plastic in yet, it got windy and chilly, so that will have to wait until next week.

So there ya have it, a real live, backyard Canadian ice rink. I'll take some pics this weekend (weather permitting) so you can see how it looks.

If you put one up, or have a better way, feel free to respond! I'm always prepared to learn a better way!

SDG ~ Carla

Guarding the Trust - Rightly divide the Word

This is part 27 of an ongoing series. You can read part 26 here.

Guarding the Trust - Rightly divide the Word – 2 Timothy 2:15, Nehemiah 8:8


Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth

So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading.

There are many verses in Scripture that are misunderstood, and often misused. 2Tim. 2:15 is certainly one of them.

To rightly divide the word, means, in it's simplest form, to properly understand it, and apply it. My Bible dictionary says that it means to "to make straight and smooth, to handle aright, to teach the truth directly and correctly".

Over the last 11 years that I have been a Christian, I have misunderstood my own share of verses and passages. More than anything else, I misunderstood them because either I didn't not read or study them for myself, or because I didn't read them in context.

When I was a new believer I didn't understand the importance of studying for myself, so this led to a considerable ignorance on my part. Once deeply convicted of this, and I did begin to study for myself, and pray diligently over what I'd read, I began to see how, on so many occaisions, I had misused and misquoted many verses and passages. It was a most humbling experience, to say the least.

I know of a pastor who often says that God honours those, that honour His word. What he means by that, is that God blesses those who are serious about studying His word, with insights and understanding, and the capability to rightly divide His word. I agree with this pastor - I also believe that by His Holy Spirit, as we approach the Scriptures prepared to be taught, to understand, and to apply these timeless truths to our lives, we are indeed taught, and made to understand.

I would like to point out however, that 2Timothy 2:15 doesn't say to study to impress men, or study to be approved by others. It says study to show yourself approved (pleasing, acceptable), unto God, a workman (a laborer), without any cause for shame.

It's interesting that doing the very opposite, not studying, and not laboring in the word, will in fact cause much shame to you personally, as well as being a poor testimony to Christ.

Recently a friend of mine noted how odd it seemed that so many apparent well-educated men and women can quote this Bible scholar or that theologian, nearly word for word - long portions of essays or articles, not just a small snippet here and there - but that these same people cannot even recite the 66 books of the Bible, in order.

Her point was, that they have labored so diligently to study other works about the Bible, and about Christian doctrine, but had in some ways neglected to study the Scriptures themselves. They were more familiar it seemed, with what others had to say, than what the Scriptures had to say, themselves.

I believe she made a valid point.

I believe we as the children of God truly do need to study much more, understanding what we're studying and applying these truths to our every thought, attitude, and deed. Such work will only show us pleasing unto God, and enrich our own lives, for His glory.

Have you studied the word today? Are you in a regular study habit?

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG ~ Carla

Names on the map

Just wanted to say thank to all of you who have added your shout-out on the map. It's pretty neat, to put your names & faces with a location like that.

If you haven't put your pin in the map yet, what are you waiting for? Stop over and say hello!

Guarding the Trust - Take heed to the Word

This is part 26 of an ongoing series. You can read part 25 here.

Guarding the Trust - Take heed to the Word – 1 Timothy 4:16

If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.

It's funny how some verses of Scripture just grab your attention, and incline you to read them over, and over, and over again. This is one of those verses.

Let's really look into this close, and see why Paul was writing to Timothy about taking heed to the word. In the prior 3 chapters of 1Timothy Paul addressed so many things, so many issues that we face right now this very moment, and things Timothy needed to be mindful of then, as well. False doctrine, false teachers, those weak in faith, turning away from the faith, poor church structure, and so, so much more.

Paul says to Timothy here in this verse that if Timothy will put these solid teachings in the remembrance of the believers, teach and proclaim the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the good doctrine he has learned, being nourished in the word, that he will be a good minister of the Lord Jesus.

What incredible encouragement!

What Paul wrote about then, we as believers still face today. Some may argue that it's worse now than it was then, but I don't know if it is. I do know that these words still hold just as true today as they did when Paul sat to write this encouragement to Timothy.

A friend of mine has an upcoming speaking engagment, that she has been struggling with. The part she struggled with (until recently) was the topic she ought to speak on, to the ladies who would be present. This woman is a solid, sovereign grace believer, that has an opportunity to speak to quite a few women, some likely still on milk.

In the course of our conversations recently, she commented to me that she didn't want to go too deep with these ladies, or pick a topic that might be boring, or hard for them to understand, because some of them are still on milk, after many years of being in the church.

I understand her dilema, we certainly don't expect to feed a steak to a toddler, and have them take it well. At the same time, part of why it's so easy to fall into deception and false teaching, is because too many new believers STAY new believers, for many years. They are never nourished up in the word!

I recall once, watching an interview with a very old pastor. He and his wife, and their children, and grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren, had been singing in southern gospel groups, for upwards of 60 years. While they'd never really made a "name" for themselves as a family singing group (and I don't know why, they were extremely talented), the one thing that did cause me to remember this man, was what he said about the Bible. He relayed that he had been saved as a young man of about 18, and from that time until that very day, he was still learning, still studying his Bible, and still growing in Christ. He said "I've still got so much more to learn!".

This should be the attitude of every believer. Here was man who had been walking with Christ, a diligent student of the word for over 60 years, and he was acknowledging that there is still so much more.

He was such an inspiration, and a conviction to me, at the same time. Inspired to study my Bible more, and convicted of any arrogant thought I had about how much doctrine I thought I already knew.

Let us all be like that old pastor, today, at whatever age we're at. Humbled hearts to search and heed the word daily, prepared to be taught, prepared to find out how much we didn't know!

SDG ~ Carla

Wednesday Misc.

I woke up to a late, to cold house, and a blustery wind outside. The weather folk say minus 1 tonight. Brrr...

My apologies for those looking for the GTT series, I'll post that later on today, Lord willing.

In other news...

It's refreshing to see solid men of God standing up and speaking out against some of the most outrageous and blasphemous claims made against Christian doctrine, by alleged professing Christians. To see what I mean, look no further than Phil's blog, and Dr. Michael Haykin's blog, on the whole Steve Chalke nonsense.

Chalke first came to my attention only in April of this year, during some research in the whole "emergent movement" business. I shared my early impression of him, and his endorsers, here. Denise, co-contributor to ENo, shared her thoughts on the similiarties of McLaren's upcoming book about the "secret of Jesus" with Chalke's "lost message of Jesus" earlier this month, here.

Elsewhere in the neighborhood...

Rebecca is collecting favorite Spurgeon quotes. Mine has to be this one, right here:

"IT IS A GREAT THING to begin the Christian life by believing good solid doctrine. Some people have received twenty different "gospels" in as many years; how many more they will accept before they get to their journey's end, it would be difficult to predict. I thank God that He early taught me the gospel, and I have been so perfectly satisfied with it, that I do not want to know any other.
Constant change of creed is sure loss. If a tree has to be taken up two or three times a year, you will not need to build a very large loft in which to store the apples. When people are always shifting their doctrinal principles, they are not likely to bring forth much fruit to the glory of God. It is good for young believers to begin with a firm hold upon those great fundamental doctrines which the Lord has taught in His Word. Why, if I believed what some preach about the temporary, trumpery salvation which only lasts for a time, I would scarcely be at all grateful for it; but when I know that those whom God saves He saves with an everlasting salvation, when I know that He gives to them an everlasting righteousness, when I know that He settles them on an everlasting foundation of everlasting love, and that He will bring them to His everlasting kingdom, oh, then I do wonder, and I am astonished that such a blessing as this should ever have been given to me! " - CH Spurgeon "A Defense of Calvinism"

I don't know if anyone else shared that one already, but that one is only one of my favorites. Hard to pick a "favorite" quote from Spurgeon, he was the kind of believer that said the things you wish you could say, the way he said them!

And with that - I'm off to begin my day.

SDG!
Carla

Let's play a game...

Let's pretend I'm Loki and it's Monday:

Monday is a good day for complaining. People are in a foul mood anyway, so I might as well get things off my chest right away and get on with my week. A cleansing rant, if you will.

What I Think of My Bank (or, in Greek, !@#$%^&*)



I am so sick and tired of my bank I could just scream. Forget about the fact that I am meticulous about our budget and finances. Forget about the fact that I'm a world class financial contortionist who could stretch & twist a budget to last 3 weeks, that most people would be hard pressed to make last 3 days. Forget also that I'm so particular about our finances that it's almost creepy. Okay, fine, it's creepy. When you've got 7 kids - 5 of them still at home - sometimes being creepy is required.

10 days ago my bank made a mistake. A LARGE MISTAKE, that they would not cop to. Of course not, they're "the bank" who cares? My word against theirs - and the paper trail left them enough wiggle room to blame someone else. I could easily prove it wasn't my mistake (and did prove it), but I couldn't prove it was theirs - all I have is a boatload of circumstantial evidence, that neither Grissolm or Horatio OR Mac would even bother to consider, were it a crime scene. I tried to resolve it, I tried everything I could think of to straighten it out. No go. Do not PASS go. Bank collects funds, I lose out - they blame me - I know it was them. Tough cookies for me.

I was almost over it. A few more days I would have gone apathetic about it and chalked it up to "well, it's just one of those things you can't do anything about". Yes, I was almost over it... until today.

Seems they made another boo-boo, this time to the tune of $73 bucks. Yes, they have it on record that this payment went to that place. Does that place have it on record that payment came in? NO THEY DO NOT. They never received a payment from my bank, on that date, for that amount. What??!! Now... could it be 'the place' making the mistake? Yep, could be, but recent history tells me to blame the bank, somehow.

But... but... but I have proof! I have the confirmation number of the transaction, I have the date, the amount, the payable to, payable from, all the good stuff! So? So what, I can't get the bank to straighten it out. Once they say "there is nothing else we can do", then where do you go from there? I have no idea. Except maybe back to the budget to figure out where you're going to pare down the grocery list for next week to make up for the money you ALREADY paid out, that mysteriously went missing... even though you have proof, you paid it. And now have to pay it AGAIN, because everyone throws their hands up in the air and says "I dunno" like my kids, when cookies go missing.

I'm so fed up with companies NOT taking responsibility. I'm fed up with the same people within the same company that have NO CLUE what is going on, with the same account.

Today, everything that goes wrong, is my bank's fault. The fact that Jordan is 8 years old and cannot remember her math facts, I blame the bank. Ruth getting into Jessica's lipstick and drawing on the carpet? You guessed it, it's the bank's fault. Running out of peanut butter... definitly the bank's fault.

Now, I may not really be Loki (for that matter, Loki isn't even Loki, which more than likely also has something to do with my bank), and it may not be Monday, but I'm borrowing his malcontentedness for today, and I don't even care if that's a real word.

If it's not, it's the bank's fault.
------------------------------

Update: well, the bank isn't at fault this time, it was the "other place" that was. They did find the transaction, but it was sent to a different part of the company. Go figure.

Cleansing rant is over

Whatever you do...

do NOT click this link

Guarding the Trust - Live the Word

This is part 25 of an ongoing series. You can read part 24 here.

Guarding the Trust - Live the Word – Ezra 7:10, Philippians 1:27, James 1:22-25

For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the LORD, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.

Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

It's odd, how simple this sounds, and how difficult, it really is, sometimes.

As a mother of 7, I have ample opportunity, each and every day, to be corrected by the Holy Spirit that I did not react, speak, or think, in alignment with the word of God.

I'd like to draw your attention to something that has helped me in this area, and that is seeking out others to help me stay accountable. It's not an easy thing to say to someone "will you help me be mindful of the word?" but for me, it was something I needed to do, because I knew that it would help me.

I have a few very close friends, that were not only more than glad to help me out, they also asked in return, that I might do the same for them.

Now I'm not talking about someone watching my every move, like a hawk, and come immediately running to me to point out every flaw - that would get old, real quick. What I am talking about however, are friends who are willing to pay attention to what you say, how you respond, what you write, the struggles you're dealing with, and be ready with a word of correction, or encouragement, or prayer. Whatever is needed at the time.

These are friends who come to you in love, concerned for your spiritual health, and gently remind you of the word. These are also friends who are willing to be honest with you and ask of you, the same thing in return.

This is something that has helped me in some pretty significant ways, over the last few months, and I'm quite grateful for it, and for them.

Something else that should never be overlooked or de-emphasized in this area, is prayer.

I have a medical condition that at times, can cause great amounts of pain, that often lasts up to two hours. When this condition first flared up in February of 2004, I didn't respond well at all, to the pain. Pain is something I don't "do" well, anyway.

In talking with a friend about this condition about a year ago, she asked "do you pray your way through it?". The honest answer to that was "sort of". Off and on I would say a little prayer, then go back to reacting to pain in a fleshly way, namely crying, and groaning, waiting for the medication to kick in.

After that conversation with my friend, I was convicted to rise above the flesh, and simply suffer through the pain, with prayer. I cannot tell you the stark contrast in the change in my countenance after I begun to do that. When I keep my mind and my heart solidly fixed on God's glory, His strength, His grace, and His mercy, the episodes of pain I have, aren't so bad anymore. The condition is still very painful, but the way I approach it, brings me far more peace and assurance, than the way I used to approach it.

For me this is an extreme case of "living the word" in that my thoughts turn to Paul's words when he was suffering with pain and he asked the Lord to take it away. Three times he entreated the Lord to remove his pain and the Lord answered him, and he responded this way:


2Cor.12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

Paul said he takes pleasure in, and glories in his infirmities, because when he is weak and in pain, he is resting in God's strength.

I can honestly say, it's a stretch for me to take pleasure in, or glory in my pain - however - I certainly do understand better now why Paul said those words. Paul said he would gladly rejoice through pain and suffering because this is when the power of Christ, rests upon him. This is so incredibly true, and has taken me a long time to come to understand. It's also an incredible blessing to be able to pray this way, through this kind of suffering.

Living the word, encompasses every possible area of your life. The things you say, the places you go, the people you fellowship with, your thoughts, habits, etc. There is not one aspect of our lives that is exempt from being doers of the word. We're to be mindful of this all the day long, at every turn.

In the workplace, with our children, spouse, friends, at the grocery store, in traffic, on blogs, in our attitudes, our prayer life, our church. Every thought captive (2Cor.10:5), and every word (Col.4:6).

It's been said many times that sometimes the only Jesus people see, is the Jesus in you. It's true - the unsaved world is watching, and even they know when a Christian says or does something that seems contrary to a holy life.

It isn't as though we're going to be in perfect obedience to the word 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, but it is something we're to strive for, and seek His wisdom and guidance for. As James 1:25 above says, there is much wisdom in not being a "forgetful hearer".

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

Memory Lane

Have you clicked the map yet, and added your location? It's kind of neat, you can add your picture and a little message too. C'mon, what are you waiting for?

My friend Kathy, from my hometown in WA added her name to the map, and left a message for me to not forget the hometown. It's odd, but when I read that, I thought of something I hadn't thought of in years.

When I was a kid, my hometown was still "small town" and kids tended to travel in packs, goofing off, playing, often staying out after dark. Even as young as 10 years old, I recall getting up early on Saturday morning, grabbing my fishing pole and with my brother, walking the 6-8 blocks to the docks, to go fishing. We never ate the fish we caught, we just liked catching them.

One of the places us kids used to go (contrary to the knowledge of parents I'm sure) was an old building that had been abandoned, about half-way between our house, and the docks. At some point, we knew this had been some kind of medical facility, because on some floors, it still had wheelchairs, bed pans, and various medical supplies.

I don't recall there being a "no trespassing" sign, but if there ever was, I'm sure it was taken down by someone that had issues with signs.

On the main floor of this building, some of the rooms, which appeared to be hospital rooms, were occupied by party-people. When I say party-people, I mean those folks with peasant blouses, bell-bottom jeans, long greasy hair, and peace signs everywhere. They had couches, chairs, tv's, record players, and whatever else you needed I suppose, for a hip crash pad. It never occured to me until later, these people were squatters - just taking advantage of an abandoned building.

As kids, we didn't have much use for the hippies, they were more like furniture. Passive, expected figures in the halls, that always had a great word of encouragement, such as "right on man, groovy" to no one in particular. I suspect they were as high as a kite, and didn't realize there were little kids goofing off right in their midst.

Our interest was the second floor, and the treasures to be found there. Wheelchairs! Perfectly functional and in abundance - just waiting for a small group of 10 to 12 year old kids and the wheelchair races of the century, down the long halls with waxed floors. MAN, those were the days. Do you have ANY idea how fast a wheelchair can go, on a waxed hallway floor, that seems to go on, forever? Do you have any idea how much it hurts to sustain the speed-wobble, and wipe out into a wall? Oh yes, those were the days.

Every few weeks, or so, when we'd all get bored, someone would always suggest the "old hospital" (which is what we called it) to have some fun. None of us actually knew it was an old hospital, we just called it that.

One day in the late summer, our wheelchair championship races came to an end. When we entered the building, we noticed all the hippies gone. All their junk was gone, minus piles of trash here and there. We didn't think much of it, we just headed to our usual game field, on the second floor. All was well, until someone spotted a policeman outside, headed into the building. We must have known we shouldn't have been in there, because a few of the kids ran before he ever said a word.

As soon as he did speak, it was something along the lines of "hey you kids, you are TRESPASSING, you get out of here right now or I will call your parents!".

Keep in mind, 2 critical things about that statement, in the mid 70's.

1. All policemen knew you, and your parents, if you lived in a small town (even if they didn't know you - in your mind, they did!)

2. Being told by a policeman that you were trespassing was as frightening as hearing you were going to jail for murder.

So... we did the only logical thing kids would do in that situation: we ran like the wind! Out the back way, past the burger place, around the peewee sports field, and back to our own neighborhood. We lost him! (it didn't matter that he wasn't chasing us).

The next time we went back to "the old hospital", there was a huge NO TRESPASSING" on the front entrance, and the door was locked up tight. It was the end of an era.

A few years later, I entered junior high, and the school was on the east side of town - and I was on the west side (Wildcats rule! Knights go home!!). Yay, school spirit. The ironic thing was, my bus stop was directly in front of the old hospital, which was now converted into an apartment building. It looked a lot different than it did when I was 10.

I have such fond memories of the fun we had as kids, in that town. That building was just one place we had fun - but that building turns out to be far more significant in my life, than just a place to play in wheelchairs.

Years later, as an adult, someone mentioned that that building used to be the hospital for our town. Someone else mentioned it was shut down as a hospital in 1965, the year after I was born. Today I went to the hospital's site, and found this:
____________________

History


In the hardscrabble beginnings of Kitsap County, medical care wasn't easily come by. A handful of physicians served a formidably wide area, braving rough roads and treacherous waters to reach a far-flung population. Despite these doctors' valiant efforts, medical care rarely reached the pioneer, the millworker, and the logger. Neighbors frequently filled the breach.
This spirit of shared burdens and mutual benefit was especially apparent in 1918 when the area was hit by a virulent flu. The influenza outbreak—which would claim
millions of victims around the world—quickly subdued the county. Among those responding to the suffering were Benjamin and Angie Harrison, a hardware merchant and his teacher wife.
The contributions of the Harrisons didn't end with the epidemic. Their experience in the influenza wards resulted in a firm conviction that medical care was everyone's right. For years following, the Harrisons devoted most of their energies to the concept of community healthcare, devotedly nurturing the hospital through a variety of locations and identities. That legacy flourishes today at Harrison Hospital.


Once situated on Chester Avenue and known simply as City General, Harrison was rechristened Olympic Hospital in 1931. The hospital became Harrison in 1942, when its founders formed a not-for-profit corporation. Swelled by the rise of the military population during World War II Bremerton and surroundings experienced dramatic growth. In fact, the area absorbed so many new arrivals that two hospitals emerged to handle the influx. But when the population fell again at war's end, two facilities were too many. Harrison would continue, but migrate to the site of what had been Franklin Delano Roosevelt Hospital, at Sixth and Marion.
The next decades saw yet another surge in the number of new residents. Once again it was necessary to expand and modernize local medical services. In 1965, the result of an enormous outpouring of public support, a new Harrison was unveiled on Cherry Avenue in East Bremerton.
_________________


Now here's the weird thing. See that little momument in the picture up there? I recognize that. I don't recall where it is, in my old hometown, but it's been repainted many times, and it's a bright silver color. For some reason, I think it's downtown, in front of city hall... but I could be wrong. The other weird thing, is the mention of Chester Avenue, and the pictures of those beds. That was where the wheelchair races were! THOSE beds were still there, in 1974, when us kids used to play in there!

The other weird thing is, I was born in 1964. If my logic is accurate (and I don't pretend it always is) then I was born in the very same hospital, that I played in, in 1974. The idea of that, almost feels disrespectful somehow! Almost like stealing from your mother. (re-reading this snippet from the hospital's site, now I wonder where in the world 6th & Marion is? Apparently the Chester Ave. facility shut down long before '64, so now I'm even more perplexed! If it was shut down as a hospital after WW2, why in 1974 were there still beds & wheelchairs there???)

Speaking of her, I need to check with her and ask her which Harrison I was born in - since the one I always thought I was born in, wasn't even open until a year after I was born, according to this article.

So there's my little trip down hometown memory lane. :-) I hope you enjoyed it, I sure did.

I wonder if I can still beat my brother in a wheelchair race?

Things that make you go hmmm...

SDG ~ Carla

p.s. - if anyone reading has vast amounts of knowledge of the history of Bremerton (yes, I realize it's a stretch), please let me know!

Guarding the Trust - Hope in the Word

This is part 24 of an ongoing series. You can read part 23 here.

Guarding the Trust - Hope in the Word – Romans 15:4

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

This is such an incredible verse of Scripture.

So often in times of grief, intense pain or suffering, or any number of other extreme, traumatic circumstances, believers like to share the Scriptures to give comfort and and hope. Oddly enough, so many people who hear these very Scriptures, write them off as platitudes, and find no comfort of hope there at all.

I recently found myself in a situation that was multi-faceted, and it seemed at every angle, there was simply more and more disappointment, doubt, and hurt. I turned to a friend who knows his Bible well, for guidance.

He was gracious enough to share several key verses of Scripture with me, for my edification and that through patience, I might find hope, in the Scripture! I knew that's what I could expect of him, and that's why I went to him.

So often when the comfort we need the most seems to elude us, the one place we neglect to turn to, is the Bible. I don't think we do that with some sort of arrogant attitude, I think we simply do this because we think we can reason things out, and comfort ourselves with our own reason. I cannot recall how many conversations I've had with other believers who do this very thing. In conversation someone might share with me what they're dealing with, and I might share a verse or a passage to give them comfort. They hear it, and agree with it, then begin their very next statement with "yes, but...". That 'yes, but' is the first sign that we're not really finding the comfort in the Scripture that we ought to be - that our hope is filled with doubt. It's not only others who do this, I certainly find myself doing it as well.

Some years ago I watched a southern gospel/blugrass band, singing about having "a faith like that" referring to the saints of Scripture. The faith they sang about was the kind of faith that is unwavering, sure and solid! How often have you met someone that seems to have an unshakable faith, no matter what comes? Someone who puts stock in the Scripture as THE final authority, and simply trusts God's word, without doubt, without reservation?

In my life, there are a few people who come close to that, but I don't know that anyone is completely immune to doubt or wavering faith - especially in extreme times of trauma or stress. But it CAN be like that, according to Scripture.

Today's verse says these things were written for our learning, that through patience (and this is key!) and the comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope.

We must have patience, we must be willing to endure, and stand strong on the word. In the Greek dictionary I use, the definition for this word patience (hupomone) is this:

"in the NT the characteristic of a man who is not swerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings "

The word used for comfort in this verse, paraklesis comes from the very same word as exhortation - parakaleo:

exhortation, admonition, encouragement consolation, comfort, solace; that which affords comfort or refreshment

I really like that last definition "that which affords comfort or refreshment". How much do we all need refreshment in this world? When there is so much bad news every day when we wake up, how much refreshment can we stand to take, each day as we start the day, and each night as we turn in?

The end of this verse says that we will find this refreshment in the Scriptures, that we might have hope - the expectation of good!

What a wonderful promise this truly is. We should be learning, exercising patience, being comforted by the Scriptures, and if we do these things, our hope is simply strengthened!

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG ~ Carla

Look, a map

See that little button over yonder in the sidebar that says Frapper? Well, it's an interactive map. I thought it might be fun to put that up here so all my 5 visitors a day could put their location up there.
:-)

I like maps, they're cool.
Won't you put your info up there?

Odds & ends

Cloudy, 70% chance of rain and wet snow. High of 6 (or 43, in real degrees)

• Turn your clocks back? Um... no, that's next week. For some reason, Kev was sure it was last night, and so we turned the clocks back. I never bothered to check, to see if it was indeed this week. Seemed right, the weekend before Halloween... but no, it's next week! Now I'm all messed up, is it an hour later than I thought, or did I slip into a time warp?

• After 4 years and 6 months, the end of an era happened today. It might not be any big thing to anyone here, but I finally closed my discussion forum. We were on msn communities for most of that time, and when I moved the forum back in June of this year, there were over 700 members. The moved proved fatal, and the most people that ever re-joined us there, was 35. Posting was down (wayyyyyy down) and it just seemed like a waste of precious time to maintain the forum anymore. It hurt to delete it, after all the work I put into it, but times, they are a changin', and it was time to say goodbye to this forum.

• I see by the referrals, that a few stragglers are still entering this site via the unnamed controversy page... Why? Because people like controversy - some thrive on creating it, others thrive on maintaining it, and still others get great enjoyment out of watching it. Lest you think I'm immune to this, think again. It's very tempting to jump in the fray, but it's also UNBIBLICAL, and not 1 believer ever has an excuse to partake.

• Please check back tomorrow for the next installment of Guarding the Trust... I woke up late (later than I thought) and I don't have time to post on that, this morning.

• Making a mental note of not a single comment to the Sentimental Hypocrisy entry I put up last night. Either you're all convicted, or you've all dropped me from your readers. Either way...

Have a great Sunday!
SDG ~ Carla

Sentimental Hypocrisy?

I have a friend Michael, who uses this term to define those who will compromise the truth of Scripture, for the sake of getting along or being accepted, by other Christians. The first time I heard him use this term, I was immediately defensive. Why? Because I didn't want to listen to what he was saying. I didn't want it to be true, so I (I am ashamed to admit this) ignored the significance of it. Many times over the last year or so, when this topic did come up again, I'd listen. The more I'd listen to him discuss this, the more I realized just how accurate his observation is. I'm quite grateful to him for bringing this up, even though I didn't listen at first.

I know the term 'sentimental hypocrisy' sounds harsh, and I really don't mean it to sound unecessarily harsh - but I do mean it to get your attention. It's important enough that it should have the attention of us all. Today I read on Kim's blog, something that she explored a bit, regarding successful Christian bloggers, and/or being a successful Christian blogger.

When I thought of what many might consider to be successful blogs, or websites for that matter, I immediately thought of mainstream Christianity. Why? Simple, many of the big name Christian websites and blogs, look a lot like mainstream Christianity, in one very specific way:
----- > Who They Link To <-----

Now, I'm not going to name any names, or provide any urls - that's not what this is about, finger pointing at certain people or places. Some may consider that a cop-out, but my desire here is to address this in a general way, not to point fingers.

It seems a fairly common practice to link to pretty much any other "big name" Christian site or blog, just because it's got Christian in the label. I have to wonder why? Why are so many seemingly solid web-owners linking to (in some cases) theologically bankrupt sites and blogs? The first thing it does for me, when I see that, is it clouds their witness for solid doctrine, and causes me to doubt their own testimony of Christ. I struggle with this big time, because I hate it. I don't want to doubt people all the time, and I don't want anyone doubting me. Granted, we can't ever know 100% about anyone's doctrine, but we can be fairly accurate on it, if THEY are accurate on their witness of it. Questions that come up for me are things like "do they KNOW what they're linking to?" and "if they do know, why are they linking here, and if they don't know, this is hugely irresponsible to link up with a site without knowing the content".

Several years ago, someone asked me how you can tell what a site owner (and in our more modern day, blog owners) really believes. They asked if reading their "about us" or "statement of faith" page was worthwhile. I said NO, forget the statement of faith page - read who they link to. You'll learn a lot more about who influences a site/blog owner, who they support and endorse, and where they are theologically, by reading who they read, listen to, and admire - much more than you will ever learn, from reading their statement of faith.

A SoF is truly worthless, if the Statement is solid, but the links are filled with PDL/CGM/ECM and/or any other combination of Christian trends of the day. Unless of course, that's what you're looking for...

Those are the obvious, and most extreme cases. What concerns me more than those sites/blogs, are the not-so-obvious cases. There are quite a few sites out there that have solid material, and for the most part, solid links. But then there's that one link, or those few links - that leave you wondering "why include those?". Is it a matter of "well, they've got SOME good material on their site, even though I don't exactly agree with this, that or the other"?? If that's the case, is there no one else with a site that has that same material, but is also solid in those other areas, that you can link to? Or is this a matter of sentimental hypocrisy, being played out before our very eyes? "Well, I don't agree with this, this, this, this and this, but for the sake of unity in the body of Christ, I'm going to endorse this person anyway, and lend credibility to their doctrinal position, by linking to them".

Most of my readers here know that I also have Emergent No. A blog that is dedicated to examining those things coming out of the ECM. Time and time again, I have commenters there saying the very same thing: "well, can't you focus on what's GOOD about the emerging conversation? surely there is something nice you could say about them?". Do you know why they say that? I do. They say it because they are so accustomed to so many Christians willingly setting aside differences, to focus on those areas where we disagree. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing, IF the areas disagreed on are not foundational truths. But in this case, the case of the ECM, foundations are being shaken, and in some cases truly denied or abandoned... and many of them still expect other believers to simply assume the position of unity for the sake of unity. They've come to expect this, partly because this is what's commonly practiced among Christians - when it should not be so.

Let me go ahead and name a few names, for illustrational purposes. James White, Phil Johnson and Tim Challies. Regular readers of all three, know exactly where they stand on key issues. Let's say for example, Monday morning you sat down to surf the 'sphere, and find James linking up with several pro RC sites & Dave Hunt, Phil linked up to 3 or 4 hyper-pelagian, church growth/marketing gurus, and Tim offering church discounts to the 40 days of community, and 20% off a new blog design for anyone who signs up for the PDL 40 day deal. For my readers, you would think you slipped into a parallel universe, and hope to wake up quickly from such a nightmare. Why??? Because you know these guys, know where they stand, and it wouldn't make any sense, intellectually or theologically, for them to do this.

However - stop and think for a moment how this would be cheered by the vast majority of professing Christians, i.e., mainstream Christianity. They would be THRILLED to bits, to see these three finally come to the light, and embrace them, validate them, and give their endorsement to these teachers & teachings. Why? Because this is what's common, in mainstream Christianity.

This leads my right back to what prompted me to write this today. What it means to be a "successful Christian blogger". Many of the blogs in the "God blogosphere" are doing this very thing - and they are considered successful. They are influential, provocative, controversial... and many of them link to sites or ministries that obliterate some of the most foundational teachings of Scripture. If this is what it takes to be successful in the world of Christian blogging, I will never succeed. And I'm totally allright with that.

Now with all of that said - shouldn't there be a balance? Shouldn't it be permissible to say "well, I don't agree with so and so on the issue of election, or baptism, but in the area of practical Christian living, this guy ROCKS!" ?? Yes, I think there should be a balance in all this, somewhere. I think it should be expected that we're not all going to agree with everyone, on everything - but at the same time, it makes more sense to offer a sort of disclaimer if we're going to recommend a site, or link up to another blog that fits this description. Because if we don't, what message are we sending? Are we just propogating the trend?

One example I came across recently was a fairly well-read blog, that had a links list like the veritable who's who of extreme positions within Christendom - but even goes beyond this. This blog listed whom I consider to be solid, doctrinally... as well as those who I (and most of you would too) consider to be heretical, and blasphemous. All on the same list - all under the banner of "recommended sites". I sat here and read through this list of links and thought "okay, how can I know where this person really stands, on ANYTHING?"

I didn't, so I left the site. I don't like being on blogs or sites where the doctrinal position of the author is in question - sites that are vague on what they believe, or have a statement of faith but their very own writings contradict it, over and over. Or they have a links list that completely contradict some of the most treasured truths of the Scripture. One word comes to mind for such sites like this "doubleminded".

I know all this sounds real harsh and judgemental, but it's what I've observed going on, on Christian sites/blogs for the last several years. Others notice it too, so I know I'm not completely out there. Lest any of you think I'm being sentimentally hypocritical myself, I'm speaking to myself as much as I am to anyone else. I do not knowingly link to a site that has questionable material on it - unless I have done so with a disclaimer (i.e., I don't agree with everything on this site, but in the area of blah blah, they seem to have a solid grasp of the Scriptural teaching). I have removed links that fall into this category, not only from here, but from my home page as well. I probably have links on here right now, that might even fall into this category (but I sure hope not!).

So why am I addressing this? Because I think it's important. While the catch phrase of 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater' is used all the time toward those who refuse to jump on the ecumenical bandwagon, the fact is, in many cases, the baby isn't even IN the bathwater to begin with, and the water is poison. It should be tossed out. At the same time, I think we need to all be much more discerning about who we link to, and why. If we do link to sites with questionable content, at the very least, say why we're linking there (and a lot of bloggers do this, and I really appreciate those disclaimers and warnings!), so it doesn't appear that we're patently endorsing their doctrinal position.

The one passage that comes to mind right now is this one:

Ephesians 5:15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, 16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

SDG ~ Carla

And this is why I will never be on the news...

Shark attack victim Megan Halavais was recently interviewed about her shark attack ordeal. You can read the full story here.

Let's pretend the interview was with me, and let's see the difference in the newsworthiness, of this story:

Shark Attack Victim Describes Ordeal
Friday, October 21, 2005

Woodstock, ON. — The water was eerily glassy and calm. Then a 16-foot shark attacked from behind, leaving an old surfer desperately trying to defend herself, as she pondered why she was attempting to surf, in the first place.

"It was weird. I was sitting out there thinking, 'Wow, since when do 16 foot sharks eat people in Canada?,"' Carla, 40, said Thursday. "It was straight out of 'LOST."'

Carla was paddling into the water off Lake Ontario Beach in Southern Ontario on Wednesday when the shark attacked. Carla, an overweight Calvinistic Baptist, said she got away after she hit the shark on its tail, with a hardback copy of The Institutes of the Christian Religion.

"A 16-foot shark is a big shark. It's not just 16 feet in length. It's big. It's not small, sharky got a big big bite, too!" Carla recounted for reporters at Toronto Mental Hospital as she sat in a wheelchair, her bandaged leg extended in front of her, left eye twitching, periodically screaming "sh-sh-sh-sh-sharrrrrrrrk!"

"I was just paddling. It came from behind. Canadian sharks, if they want to eat you, they don't want you to see them before they eat you, they want to sneak up on you and go "BOO, eh", then eat you, while you're screaming your fool head off" she said.

Carla, from Woodstock, was helped from the water by other overweight Calvinistic Baptists, all quite thankful they were not in the water when she was. She was taken to a hospital, singing "Deep and Wide" with a bite that stretched from her thigh to her calf. She was listed in good condition.

The beach has been the site of several Canadian shark attacks in recent years. RCMP believe the shark likely was a great white arminian. They have closed the beach and warned surfers in nearby locations, of pesky fish with large teeth, and bad theology.

And this... is why I will never be on the news. If this offends anyone, please know it was done in jest, and I don't really believe Canadian Arminians swim around in Lake Ontario waiting to eat Calvinistic Baptists.

I heard they all moved to Lake Huron.

Guarding the Trust - Be empowered with the Word

This is part 23 of an ongoing series. You can read part 22 here.

Guarding the Trust - Be empowered with the Word – 1 Thessalonians 1:5
(October 22, 2005)

For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake.

We have such an amazingly, wonderful, faithful Heavenly Father. Not only does He reveal to us, our need for Him, when we were once blind to this need, but He also provides for our every need, in this world and in the world to come.

The power of God mentioned in this verse, is the same power that opened Lydia's heart
(Ac 16:14), the very same power that quickened us together with Christ (Eph 2:5).

We are regenerated according to His power (Romans 1:16)
We walk by faith, according to His power (1Co 2:5)
More than anything we could ask, or even think of, is done by His power (Eph 3:20)
The work being done in us day after day, year after year, is by His power (Php 2:13)

God is supernaturally working every moment, of every day, in the lives, homes, churches, workplaces, schools... of every single believer. Isn't that an amazing thing to get ahold of?

Recently in a conversation with a friend about an upcoming speaking engagement, this friend shared that she was somewhat undecided about her topic. She wanted to choose a topic that would strengthen, and edify her audience. Challenge them, but at the same time not be so theologically deep, that it would go over their heads. Because this lady is a Godly woman, I have no doubt whatsoever that God will give her the very words she looks for, to share with her audience.

Right before Paul described the full armor of God, in Ephesians 6, he encouraged the Ephesians to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might" (Eph 6:10). Immediately after he described the armor of God, he went on to ask for prayer:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
19 And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

This is the power of God, giving words of truth, that they may be spoken clearly, plainly and openly, in confidence and assurance that they do come by way of the power of God. I believe God answered Paul's prayer in a way Paul could have never begun to imagine.

I believe He also answers our prayers, when we seek His power, for His glory, in any situation.

Many hymns have been written and sung throughout the ages, about God's power.

In 1715, in his "Divine and Moral Songs for Children" this song by Isaac Watts turns the attention of children to the astounding power of God:

I sing the mighty power of God, that made the mountains rise, That spread the flowing seas abroad, and built the lofty skies. I sing the wisdom that ordained the sun to rule the day; The moon shines full at God’s command, and all the stars obey.

I sing the goodness of the Lord, who filled the earth with food, Who formed the creatures through the Word, and then pronounced them good. Lord, how Thy wonders are displayed, where’er I turn my eye, If I survey the ground I tread, or gaze upon the sky.

There’s not a plant or flower below, but makes Thy glories known, And clouds arise, and tempests blow, by order from Thy throne; While all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care; And everywhere that we can be, Thou, God art present there.

In Matthew 22:23-28 we find the account of the Sadduccees, who denied the resurrection, trying to get Jesus to answer a question about marriage, in the life to come.

Jesus answered and said to them:

"Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God."

Let the same never be said of you, or I.

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

Just in time for Christmas!

Okay, I want to know where to cash in!

My blog is worth $49,679.52.
How much is your blog worth?

(HT: The Crusty Curmudgeon)

Is it just me?

Or have you all noticed more and more people using the word 'resonate' lately?

What word did they use before, to say the same thing, that is no longer effective?
Do you use this word?
Why did you stop using the old word, or phrase, and start using this word?

This is a word, that at one time (not that long ago, like hmmm... last week?) was used solely, by the vast majority of the population that ever DID use the word, to strictly refer to an audio dynamic, such as a song, tone, or pitch.

All of a sudden, resonate means something else... why?

These are things we must clear up!
:-)

Seeing Things

It's odd that I never noticed this before today. If you zoom in on that button, at the challies community blog, you will notice a familiar face.

Hmm...

Now the only question is, who is that white haired lady in the background?

Friday Funny Bone

Top Old Folks' Party Games

1. Sag - You're It!

2. Pin the Toupee on the Bald Guy

3. 20 Questions Shouted into your Good Ear

4. Kick the Bucket

5. Doc, Doc, Goose

6. Simon Says Something Incoherent

7. Hide and Go Sleep

8. Spin the Bottle of Mylanta

9. Musical Recliners

Guarding the Trust - Do not neglect the Word

This is part 22 of an ongoing series. You can read part 21 here.

Guarding the Trust - Do not neglect the Word – 1 Corinthians 9:16
(October 21, 2005)

For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!

Neglecting the word can come in many forms.

It could result from despair, or doubt, .i.e., "what difference does it make, my circumstances won't ever change anyway!"

It could come from blind arrogance "I already know what the Bible says, why do I need to read it again!"

It could come also as a result of poor time management "I'm so busy all the time, I don't have time to sit down and read my Bible".

It can also come from laziness, "My pastor preaches out of the Bible all the time, I don't need to read my Bible, I hear it taught every week". Or the more common defense "I listen to so-and-so on the radio/internet every week, I know what the Bible says".

While it is one thing to form your opinions on social or political matters, based on what a trusted source has to say (even though it's not a very good idea), it is quite another to form your theology from someone else's opinion. In John chapter 10 and verse 27 we find this:

"My sheep hear my sheep's voice, and I know them that say they know me, and they follow others who say they follow me"

If you didn't notice anything wrong with that quote, I would suggest you open your Bible, immediately. Jesus said:

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me"

Jesus said we are to follow Him.

The written word of God, is living, life changing, spiritual food for our soul. If we (for any reason) neglect our spiritual health, by withholding such nourishment, we will begin to get sick, and weak, and prone to all sorts of deception and error.

From 1998 until this year, I have moderated online Christian chat rooms. In those 8 years, I have witnessed time and time again, professing believers from all sorts of backgrounds, either spiritually healthy and vibrant, or spiritually sick, and weak, and fragile.

In almost every case, where there is a spiritually weak believer, they are in that condition for one of three reasons, or, most often, a combination of all 3.

1. lack of being in the word
2. lack of daily prayer
3. lack of having a local fellowship

Even if a believer is strong in 2 of the areas, and weak in one, there will still be spiritual struggles. The consequences of being without any of those three, only lead to error, deception, going on feeling rather than fact, and a spiritual decline, rather than growth. The longer a believer is neglecting one or more areas, the more they begin to convince themselves that they are "just fine" the way things are, and the more they rely on their own wisdom or reasoning.

Today's verse says 'woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel'.

Jeremiah said the word of God was "a burning fire shut up in my bones" (Jer. 20:9)
James said the wisdom from above is "pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy." (James 3:17)

Paul says in his letter to the church at Corinth, "deep greiving will be my state of mind, if I neglect to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ".

The same is true for us, if we neglect knowing, the good news of Jesus Christ, from His word. Why He had to come, how He had to suffer, why His torture and crucifixion had to happen the way it did, how He rose again, and what that truly means, for all God's people. We can learn these things by listening to opinions and insights of others, but it's not learning at the feet of the Master, it's learning from others, and their insights and views may not be 100% Biblical.

If you are neglecting the word, in any way, I would hope that this article would move you to remedy that, immediately.

Consider Jeremiah again:

Jer 23:29 Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

Consider Paul's exhortation to be fully armored to be able to withstand evil:

Eph. 617 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God

Let it never be woe unto you, for neglecting His word.

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

Blogspotting the Blogspotter

FYI...

Phil, aka Pyromaniac, aka The Missing Blogger, aka That Guy Who Keeps Changing The Pic, was blogspotted last night in #pros. He mentioned he'd be blogging again soon.

So, all you diehards commenting on this thread, can relax now.

Fall Sunrise

If there is one thing in this world I can say I look forward to, over and over again, no matter how many times I've seen it, it would be, hands down, the breathtaking sunrises, right here off my deck.

It just doesn't get any better than this.

Guarding the Trust - Suffer for the Word

This is part 21 of an ongoing series. You can read part 20 here.

Guarding the Trust - Suffer for the Word – 2 Timothy 1:8
(October 20, 2005)

Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God

Last night I had an opportunity to speak with a friend, on the topic of Christians being slandered and maligned. What he had to say on this subject was simply that if you live your life for the glory of God, constantly circumspect of your own actions, that sometimes these trials are good, bringing with them much motivation for self-exam, and the end result being a deeper faith.

He shared this passage with me:

1Peter 3:14 But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16 Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.17 For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.

This is a difficult subject for a lot of believers. It's not always so easy to tell when you're truly suffering because of your Christianity, or if you're suffering because you've said or done something to bring upon yourself criticism and reproach. Sometimes, you might not even realize that you've said or done anything to offend anyone, but your words or your actions may have had that affect in the eyes of someone else.

However, when you are convinced of a truth, and you stand your ground, according to the word, there will be those times when you are indeed spoken evil of, for that very reason.

The verse in 2Timothy above says that we ought to be willing to partake of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God. This is important.

Far too often when we suffer for the gospel's sake, we have a tendency to overlook relying on the power of God. His guidance (in the Scriptures), His wisdom (in the Scriptures) and His strength (through submission in prayer). We have a proclivity to rely on our own wisdom, logic, and reason, to stumble our way through such trials. This is always a mistake. Always.

For this reason, instead of relying on my own advice, or insight, I am simply going to share with you a list of verses for your (and my) own edification. Emphasis in these verses, on what stands out most to me, as I consider this topic:

• 2Ti 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

• 2Ti 2:11 It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: 12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:

• 2Ti 4:5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.

• Ro 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. 18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

• Ro 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

• 1Co 4:9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men. 10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but we are despised. 11 Even unto this present hour we both hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwellingplace; 12 And labour, working with our own hands: being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it: 13 Being defamed, we intreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day.

• 2Co 11:23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.

• Php 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

• Col 1:24 Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church:

• 1Th 3:4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came to pass, and ye know.

• 1Pe 4:13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. 14 If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s matters.

• Re 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

• Re 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

Scripture is abundantly clear, that if you serve the Lord Jesus Christ, there will be trials, afflictions, suffering, and tribulation. There is no escaping it. There is however, wisdom and peace, through it! This wisdom and peace will be found nowhere else, but the Scriptures.

If you are currently suffering for the cause of Christ, let these eternal words bring you comfort, and refresh you.

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG, Carla

A funny meme

Google your first name, and the word needs, and list the top 10 results. Highlight the ones that are actually referring to you:

1. But Carla needs 1300 milligrams every day. (how do they know this stuff?!)
2. Carla needs to accept responsibility for the results (I didn’t do it, I wasn’t even there!)
3. Carla needs to pee and encouraged by Kim slips into a small park (ahem… Carla who? Kim who??)
4. Carla needs to know how precious and lovable she is (awww, isn’t that sweet?)
5. Carla needs him to use his old skills and he, unwillingly, obliges her. (well, good help is hard to find these days, what can I say?)
6. Carla needs Paul (well, sure, don’t we all need Paul?)
7. Carla needs to feel a job is really hers (yes, this is true)
8. Carla needs your support! (lol, YES I do)
9. Carla needs some pretty serious psychologcal help (see #1)
10. Carla needs a new digi camera (naw, I have one already, but thanks for thinking of me!)
    
    (there wasn’t an actual reference to me, in any of the top 10, and I think I’m glad!)
    
    Now you’re supposed to tag someone, but I don’t feel like it. If you want to do the meme, leave me a link to your blog or share your answers in the comments.

All eyes are on Florida... again

Here we go again, with Wilma. Kev's dad & his wife Grace live just a few miles north of where forecasters are predicting Wilma will make landfall.

Fox news already reporting mandatory evac of non-residents and visitors to the Keys, by noon today.

Kev just got off the phone with his dad, and they are in "watch & wait" mode, until tomorrow sometime. He said he'd call us and let us know where they're going, when (not if) they do evacuate. Their house is prepared to withstand a cat 3, but beyond that, likely not.

Guarding the Trust - Defend the Word

This is part 20 of an ongoing series. You can read part 19 here.

Guarding the Trust - Defend the Word - Philippians 1:7
(October 19, 2005)

Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

Defending the word... apologia...

Probably a more well known passage that speaks of defending the word would be

1Pe 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer (apologia) to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear

I like courtroom dramas. The way lawyers argue their cases in front of judges and juries is fascinating to me. Even better when the drama centers around an innocent person being accused, and his attorney, in his defense, lays out the case and proves beyond a shadow of a doubt, is client's innocence.

That lawyer is well versed in the law, and also well studied in how to present his case, for his clients, to uncover every doubt, every question, everyinconsistencyy, to paint a verbal picture that is clear, and wipes away all question.

I recently had an opportunity to have a chat with Pastor Eddie Exposito of Sovereign Grace Fellowship Church, in Slidell LA. Due to the timing of the conversation (immediately after Hurricane Katrina), I have no doubt pastor Eddie has long forgotten our conversation but it was one that blessed me greatly.

The topic was this topic, giving a defense. More than just giving a defense, but being prepared to field questions from those who might also be well studied, inoppositionn to the Scriptures. What I mean by that, is being ready to give an answer to those who will use certain verses, certain passages, to object to a Biblical teaching. Being prepared in advance, anticipating which verses they might use, to argue their case - and being well studied on that doctrine, or that passage, whichever it happens to be, to give a solid defense.

"to defend, to give a full account of, to speak out for, to speak up for"

The above, is the definition of the Greek word apologia.

I must confess, there is much in the field of apologetics that I either do not understand, or don't agree with. There are different styles of apologetics, and different applications, and the calling to be an apologist is greatly disputed. Some say we're all called to give a defense, others say it must be a gifted calling. Some say using apologetics in evangelism is wrong, presupposing a good, intelligent argument will do the work of the Holy Spirit inregenerationn. Others say that it's because of the well studied position of the apologist, using the word, that the Holy Spirit uses that word and does the regenerating work. Still others argue for apologetics to be used only in such settings as a discipleship class, or a group Bible studies, challenging the new believer, and equipping them with a solid, Biblical foundation.

All arguments aside, I do believe we're all called to be prepared, at any and all times, to give an answer to anyone who asks, the explanation for the hope we have in Christ.

Why do you believe?
Why do you trust Him?
Why do others not believe?
Why did He save you?
Why do men suffer?
Where does faith come from?
What is God's will for my life?

The list of questions is almost literally, endless. We might not always have a well thought out, well studied answer for some of the most difficult questions people ask. In those cases, I think the best advice I've ever heard was this response:

"well, to be honest with you, I'm not sure, but I will look in my Bible for an answer to that, and get back to you". And then do it; study the Scriptures, pray about it, and then get back to the person and give them the answer according to the Scripture. The more we stay in the word, the less these kinds of situations will come up. But when they do, the best approach is the honest approach, and letting the questioner know that you will be prepared from the word, to answer their question.

People in every state of mind, have questions. New believers, unbelievers, those who are struggling with death, loss, betrayal,separationn, pain, injustice and more. The recent string of hurricanes in the south, are a perfect example of so many people, with so many questions.

If you have read today's verse, I would encourage you to read the whole chapter. Further in chapter 1 and verse 17, Paul uses this word apologia again. He says "I am set for the defence of the gospel"

That phrase "I am set" is important to note. This word is keimai, and in the literal interpretation it means to lie in one place, like a baby that cannot get up or move around on his own yet. Or, like a corpse, lying in the ground.

The way keimai is used here, it means to be, by God's intent, destined for something, or appointed to something.

I do believe that all believers are destined, and appointed by God, to not only proclaim the gospel, but to be prepared (know the word) always (at any time) to give an answer (apologia) for our hope.

To that end, I would encourage you to be in the word, daily. You cannot give a defense, if you do not know what you're defending.

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

Prayer for my Pastor

As regular readers here may recall, over the summer I wrote here about my pastor's decision to leave our church. He believes it's the Lord's calling for him to go and minister in other ways, and he was planning to step down and leave our fellowship by the end of the year.

Yesterday afternoon he called us to let us know he has stepped down, effective immediately.

Last Friday as he and his wife were preparing to leave for an out of town preaching opportunity, he discovered a large, and painful lump, in his neck. He went to the doctor yesterday, and the doctor has referred him to a specialist, which he will see on 11/08.

They do not know what this lump is, at this point. My pastor said it's been very hard to concentrate on being a pastor, leading his flock, and prepare sermons, with this on his mind, so he believed it was best to step down now.

He also stated "no matter what this is, if it's time for me to go home, I'm ready, if it's time for me to just have some treatment and serve the Lord for a few more years, I'm ready for that too - all of this is in God's hands, and I trust Him". What a great attitude to have.

While we knew this was coming (his leaving), we didn't expect it to be so sudden, nor did we expect it to be under these circumstances.

I'm asking you, the global family of God, for your prayers.

1. For my pastor and his wife. Their names are Michael and Jean.
2. For my church. We do not know yet who the new pastor will be. This is an uncertain time of transition for the church, and we're hoping that the Lord sends a man who humbly declares the sovereignty of God. It may not turn out that way - the fellowship our church belongs to, seems in many ways to lean toward tolerance of the post-modernism and pragmatism so rampant among Christian churches today.
3. For our family. We cannot know yet, how any of this will work out, and where we'll be. If the new pastor is solidly grounded in the Word, and we'll stay, or if he will preach a doctrine that we oppose, and we will be led to stay and deal with it, or leave and return to our old church, an hour away. I don't want to leave this church if we're not supposed to, and I know the kids don't want to leave, but with Jean gone, the children's ministries might also suffer - she's fantastic with kids.

It helps in so many ways to know that other believers are lifting you up before the Lord. If you don't mind sharing a word of encouragement for Pastor Michael and Jean, I'd be more than happy to make sure they get those comments. They don't use the internet (don't even have a computer), and they lean toward the belief that internet relationships and/or fellowship is somewhat strange. If you'd care to dispell that notion for them, and bless them, that would be wonderful.

SDG ~ Carla

Guarding the Trust - Contend for the Word

This is part 19 of an ongoing series. You can read part 18 here.

Guarding the Trust - Contend for the Word – Jude 3, Titus 1:9
(October 18, 2005)

• Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.

• Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.

This is a topic that seems to me mis-handled from many different perspectives.

One group says that the phrases in these 2 verses should be changed to "obnoxiously be contentious for the faith" and "by browbeating both to humialite and to insult the lost and confused". There are many who have experienced the above tactics, from those who do use these 2 verses in an attempt to justify what they're doing.

There are others who would say, that this topic, and that these 2 verses specifically, are referring to only certain people, within the local church context, and do not apply to anyone else at all. Men who say these verses apply only to other men. Women who say these verses apply to only men, and never women.

Then there are still others who say this topic is mis-treated completely, and claim no one has any business ever, of contending for the faith.

I'm not really sure how such a teaching can be so misinterpeted by so many dedicated believers, but this one sure has.

I recall once being in a conversation with someone who said certain verses and/or passages of Scripture didn't apply to him. That in their context, or application, it had nothing to do with his life, personally or specifically. Someone else in the conversation chimed in and commented that every verse, in every chapter, in every book in the Bible, applies to every believer - and to assume it doesn't, is an arrogant position.

I wondered where I stood on that - since both seemed to be an extreme that didn't sit well. Another person commented and said what I was thinking, but said it better than I could have, at the time. He said "while some such verses have specific interpretations, numerous verses have broad application, so yes, the whole counsel of God applies to every believer, but in various ways."

I do believe that earnestly contending, and holding fast to the word, is the duty of every believer, but in the proper context.

I'll address the contexts I'm referring to by breaking it down into 3 categories.

Personal Attitude

The Bible is very clear on what kind of attitude the Christian is supposed to have. Looking only at the fruit of the Spirit, we can see what this attitude is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance (Gal.5:22-23). Further, in Ephesians 5:9-10 we read that the fruit of the Spirit is "goodness and righteousness and truth, proving what is acceptable unto the Lord."

So the personal attitude of a man or woman contending for the faith should be that of those things which are acceptable unto the Lord! Never with anger, malice, insult or condescension.

Often in these cases of defending the truth of God's word, people have been misunderstood. Their abhorrance for unBiblical, ungodly teachings is mistaken for anger or malice toward the very people they're addressing. I believe in some cases, the misunderstanding is merely an excuse, or a manifestation of rebellion toward the truth being delivered.

Other times, those defending the truth, do cross that line, and they do express anger or belittling tone. It's easy to get caught up in this, and this is something we need to guard against, at all times. We need to make sure our zeal for the truth doesn't override our good sense, and cause us to shame the Name, we're defending.

Personal Position

Back in August of this year I was fortunate enough to listen to a Bible study given by Pastor John Lane of Cheney Baptist Church, in Cheney WA. (John also blogs here, as time permits).

Pastor John's topic was "our mission" and how to achieve it. I was so blessed by his study, I wrote a 3 part series on the different sections he addressed: Our Mission: Prayer, Living It, Telling It. (You can read this series by clicking on the links in the sidebar).

In part 3 of Pastor John's study, he touched on various different callings in a believers life, and how no matter where you are, or where you're called, there is always opportunity to 1. pray, 2. live it, and 3. tell it.

Our personal postion, or vocational position is something we need to take seriously, and something we shouldn't over-step. While I believe the Bible is clear on women in the pastoral role being completely out of line, this is only one, obvious example of being where you have no authority, to be.

There are many examples of this, such as the 20 year old man who is suddenly thrust into the role of youth group leader. This young man is not gifted to teach, nor does is solidly grounded in the word. He's put into this position anyway, and the kids under his care, suffer for it.

Yet another example of being where you are not called, or gifted, might be in the case of the man or woman who suddenly fancies themselves an apologist, or scholar, or theologian. Their personal attitude is not in check, they have not been called of God, or gifted by Him for this role, but they assume the role anyway, for various reasons (many of which might truly be honorable, but all the same, if they are not where they have been called, they are out of line).

In part 3 of Our Mission, I addressed the various different vocations or situations believers might find themselves in, and find themselves gifted in, where they have ample opportunity to "Tell It".

Biblical Goal

This is such an important context, that I don't want to mislead anyone with any ideas, because I listed it last. This context is critical, and one I believe far too often overlooked.

What is the Biblical goal, for defending the faith, contending for the faith, holding fast to the faith? Is it to make yourself look smart? Is it to humiliate your opponent? To insult people? To seperate your camp, or your set of beliefs from everyone else? Is it to sit in judgement of everyone that doesn't agree with you?

I believe the Biblical goal for earnestly contending for the truth of God's word is very clearly layed out in Scripture:

To declare the truth, remember the truth, encourage, exhort, correct, rebuke, strengthen and restore others with the truth, and by His grace, be a vessel that brings life-giving truth, to the spiritually dead. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! (Romans 10:15)

Our goal in contending for the word must be a Biblical one. A goal of declaring truth, in love, with grace, with the hope and desire of reconciliation to sound, sure, Biblical truth.

Sometimes, oftentimes, the truth of God's word isn't easy to hear. It isn't ear-candy, to those who are either spiritually dead, or out of line, Biblically. It doesn't "make us feel better" and it isn't "nice", but it's life giving words, that should be delivered with a pure motive - to glorify God, and not the flesh.

To summarize, I believe that contending for the word is something every believer is called to do. When doing it, we need to make sure our attitude is proper, our position is proper, and our goal is proper. If we are mindful of these things, we prove what is acceptable unto the Lord, acting and speaking from goodness, and righteousness and truth, as Ephesians 5:9-10 clearly lays out.

I hope this has blessed you today.

SDG ~ Carla

Guarding the Trust - Not to be ashamed of the Word

This is part 18 of an ongoing series. You can read part 17 here.

Guarding the Trust - Not to be ashamed of the Word – Romans 1:16, 2 Timothy 1:8
(October 17, 2005)

• For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
• Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God

When I first read these verses, I admit that this particular entry was uncomfortable for me. Not because I am ashamed of the gospel of Christ, but because I am certain that I am rather underqualified to really expound on what this means. There are numerous avenues we could look at, when it comes to this topic, and while I do not wish to overlook anything important, I would just like to focus on one area, specificially.

Yesterday I listened to a sermon by Adrian Warnock that touched on what it means to be a man-pleaser, over and above being a God pleaser. This was interesting to me, the timing, since just yesterday afternoon I had a disturbing thought about this very thing.

I've always said "I don't care what other people think of me". In some ways, this is true. The way I dress, the way I speak, my hair style, things of that nature. In saying that, what I'm really saying is that I don't follow trends or fashion, it's not something that's ever been important to me (and my teenage daughters would lament, and agree). Fashion, to me, is a great pair of sweats, a comfy T, and thick socks. The only person I can think of that would be impressed with that, would be Oscar Madison. Oddly enough, I even wear my hat, the way he did in this picture.

However, the thought I had yesterday was "I do indeed care what people think of me" as it pertains to my witness of Christ. If I say or do something that causes people to doubt my own testimony, this grieves me to know that the power of God is doubted, in my life. This is sullying His name by my actions. I very much care about that.

It occured to me as I was reading these verses this morning, and as I read the Greek word for 'ashamed', that I have at some point, also been concerned with what people think of me for other reasons.

The Greek word used for ashamed, is epaischunomai. This is 2 words combined:

epi (to, at, by, on) + aischuno (to disfigure, dishonour, to suffuse with shame, make ashamed, be ashamed) = epaischunomai (to disfigure, or dishonor the gospel of Christ, His word and His ways).

I hate to admit it, but when I was a new believer, I was ashamed of the gospel of Christ, and I didn't even realize it. When asked to join a group from church that went door to door on Saturday inviting people to church on Sunday, my response was more or less "no way, people will think I'm a weirdo!".

I was more concerned with what people thought of me, for the cause of Christ, than I was concerned with what God thought of me, and being in obedience to His word, by sharing the gospel. I was in effect, a man pleaser.

In part, I knew that this attitude was wrong, but I didn't really understand why I thought this way. I thought that it must be just my personality type, not being comfortable with face to face confrontation. In part, this was true, but the part I overlooked was that part that said "you are ashamed of the gospel, you are dishonoring Him, for the cause of saving face".

I suppose there are a lot of reasons people feel this way. The sin of pride ("me first!) being the number one reason, but once it's broken down there are some other, significant issues there.

You might be worried that you won't say the right words, or that people will ask you questions you cannot answer. You might be worried also, that people will laugh at you, mock you, or worse, treat you with contempt, or even violence. Confrontation for the cause of Christ is something you're not spiritually prepared to deal with.

Well, here's some good news. You will be laughed at, mocked, questioned, treated with contempt, and maybe even treated with violence. Christian persecution is a given:

2Ti 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Why is that good news? Because it means you're living godly in Christ Jesus! Now this does not mean when you're cut off in traffic, or when your dog runs away, you're suffering persecution for the cause of Christ. Believe it or not I've heard some people use even lesser "trials" to claim persecution.

What this does mean is that if you live your life unashamed of the gospel, there will be people who just will not like you. They wont like you, your spouse, your kids, your neighborhood, or anything else connected to you. They will say mean and untrue things about you, to you, and because of you - but it's NOT because of you - it's because of Him.

John 15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.

Being ashamed, is something not lightly addressed in Scripture. Clearly it was as timely a topic then, as it is now. The human condition was the same then, as it is now. Let this passage bring you comfort, strength, and confidence:


2Timothy 1: 8 Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God; 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 10 But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel: 11 Whereunto I am appointed a preacher, and an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles. 12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 13 Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 14 That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

I hope this has blessed you today. Please feel welcome to share your thoughts on this series by leaving a comment, or sending me an email.

SDG ~ Carla

Such a beautiful day

I woke up today disheartened, knowing we weren't going to church.
Not a good way to wake up.

I got my coffee, came to the desk to sit down, and noticed something didn't seem right. I looked around my desk, and everything seemed in place, but something was out of the ordinary, somehow. I turned to the right, and looked across the room, and didn't notice anything unusual.

I turned to my left, and this was the site out my window.
I just sat and stared at it, taking in how pretty it was. It's hard to make out from the picture, but it was actually a double rainbow, and it was in a place in the sky, to the northwest of the house, that I've never seen a rainbow here before. Such a striking site, such a bold reminder of God's promises!


I took several pictures of this, then went to make breakfast for the kids. I noticed a flurry of activity on the kitchen porch, so I stepped over to the window, to see this little guy standing on the rail.
He brought about 20-30 friends with him, and they had almost devoured the seed in the basket feeder, and farm-style feeder. There were chickadees, house sparrows, house finches, bluejays, juncos, and I think (!) I even saw a fox sparrow - but he flew away too quickly for me make a positive ID. It's the right time for them to pass through here, and others have seen them in the TO area, so I'll be watching for them again tomorrow.

After breakfast, Dougal wanted out, so I opened the door for her. Once I did, I heard this awful, grinding sound, outside. I knew immediately it was the pump in the pond, so I huffed it out there, in the blustery, drizzly weather, with no coat, to check the pump. Sure enough, it was clogged. I unclogged it, stood up and turned around to walk back in the house, and saw this. These are the woods directly behind the house. Funny thing is, I look back there every day, and they didn't look like this yesterday! So instead of walking back to the house, I ran & got my camera. I took several shots of this lovely scene.

It's funny, from waking up bummed out because I wouldn't be able to be at church today, to being so blessed with God's creation in so many different ways, just an hour later.

The theme continued throughout the day. I cleaned all day long, and later this afternoon I was blessed to hear Adrian preach on the good, in feeling rejected. How timely was this teaching. It addressed so many of the things I've been dealing with, in one way or another lately.

I didn't write for the Guarding the Trust series today, only because I wanted to take a break from that today, and resume it Monday. Part of the reason I wanted to take a break from it, was because I was still contemplating the installment from yesterday. Sometimes I like to mentally chew on a teaching, or a verse, for a certain period of time, before I move on to something else. Sometimes I need to. Yesterday's installment on being conformed by the word, is such vital teaching for any believer. It's something that we can each look forward to, as the days and years pass, in our walk with Jesus. More and more we are less like the old man, and more and more we are transformed into the person we long to be, to please our Lord.

It's funny though. I know some folks that think I have a bazilion miles to go, before I'm at the place where I can write something like that. It doesn't matter that these are caustic, suspicious, bitter people who make these comments, because they're RIGHT, in a way.

I have so far to go and so much to learn. When I look back over my life I see such dramatic changes, but I'm really the only one who sees them. When I envision me, at 30, I see someone who messed up, made mistakes, had awful judgement and discernment, almost ALL of the time, all the day long. When I look at me at 40, I see someone who still does those things, but far less often, than at 30 (thankfully). I hope, if the Lord wills, I will be able to look back again at 50, 60, and beyond, and see God's wonderful transforming hand all over my life, in even more drastic ways. And it might be still, that I'll be the only one who notices the stark difference. And that's okay, because He knows, and that's what matters most.

On a completely different note...

Are you reading this current series? How has it blessed you? I'd like to hear from you on this, if you've been able to read it each day (or even if you've only read one, or two). I know it's certainly been a huge blessing for me, and I just hope it's affecting someone else in the same way.

I hope you had a great Sunday.

SDG ~ Carla

When feeling rejected

Today I wasn't able to go to church, so this afternoon I sat down and listened to Adrian Warnock preach on the good news when feeling rejected. I've never listened to one of his sermons before, but let me just tell you, this one is very good. Very edifying, convicting, thought provoking.

I've enjoyed his blog, now I get to enjoy his preaching as well. One problem though, because I know he has a sense of humor, and hearing that British accent, I kept half-expecting him to break into that dry, British, humorous monologue. Isn't that horrible?

Truth is, he does inject some humor in his preaching - and the good thing is, he's actually funny. (contrary to preachers who inject humor into a sermon and the humor is either inappropriate, or so lame, you cringe for them, like a tone deaf karaoke singer, belting out a tune at a decibel level to wake the dead).

Anyway - back to how we deal with rejection - the good news in how we deal with it! The Biblical way to handle it, and the way to glorify God in it.

I won't give it away, go listen to this sermon yourself.

Thank you Adrian. I I forgive you however for quoting out of the NLT. (eek)

SDG ~ Carla

Trick or Treat! (not)

Well here we are again, the season of witches, ghouls, and monsters. And that's just a brief description of what you will find in "Christian" chats, forums, and yes kids... blogs too, when this subject comes up.

Well now... now that I've grabbed your attention and either thoroughly ticked you off, or made you nod your head thinking "exactly!" let me share a few tidbits with you. Pull up a web, grab a cup of apple cider (make sure you don't choke on the fake eyeballs floating in it) and let's look at this for a minute.

It seems like this is a topic that almost every Christian has an extreme view on. I'm probably no exception, although I don't really consider myself extreme (anymore).

Once upon a time, when I was a heathen, this time of year was highly celebrated by our family. This of course, is a major understatement. We had the house that the newspaper reporters & photographers showed up at, every year. We had the whole works, all the gaudy, tacky, fake junk all over the yard & porch, complete with outdoor sound system and "Bob" hanging from a noose off the porch. Yes, we were heathens, and yes, parents had their kids pose for pictures with Bob. Honestly, it was demented, but at the time, it was "fun".

And then we got saved.

And then we battled the extreme opinions from both sides.

And then we battled inwardly over whether we were being convicted by the Holy Spirit, or convinced by extremism & legalism.

As it turned out, it was both of the latter.

Now this was back between 1994 and 1996. A lot has changed since then.

Back then, we slipped headlong into legalism and extremism, and tried very hard to do the work of the Holy Spirit in other people's lives. Here's a tip: don't do it, it doesn't work, it just makes people exasperated with you.

It took several years for us to really come to a more balanced (I believe) position about all this goblin-induced extremism.

We were indeed convicted about partaking in something that glorifies evil, pain, gore, fear, etc. No doubt about that. Those things don't bring glory to God, at all.

That aside, I want to make it clear that I do not sit in judgement of those fellow believers that still participate in this stuff. I honestly don't know why they do it, but that's between them, and the Lord.

I do want to say, however, that the one thing I've noticed more and more in the last few years, is the disrespectful, insulting tone, taken towards those of us who choose not to participate. I suppose there are some paranoid, conspiracy theory-type believers who are pulling the shades and hiding away in the dark corners of thier homes until all the little monsters go away - but that sure doesn't describe all of us, not participating. Even if it did, wouldn't it make more sense to be compassionate for them, rather than make fun of them?

I was in a situation a couple of weeks ago where such a comment was made. Now I know the man who said it, and he's very sensitive, and wouldn't go out of his way to offend someone just for the fun of it. But what he said was a flippant, insulting remark about those fear stricken believers that think the world is going to blow up if their kids put on a costume. Now, at first I thought "oh get over yourself Carla, you're just being over-sensitive about this". But then I thought "but why is it that respect for those that DO partake, is expected, even practically demanded, but respect for those that do NOT partake isn't freely offered the same way?".

I do not know the answer to that question. It would only be speculation to attempt it.

I also do not believe that EVERY Christian that partakes, is snotty and rude to those who do not - but - I've met lots and lots, who are, and that's the gist of it. They shouldn't be.

I used to have a web page on this - it was huge. Gi-normous, as my 22 year old would say. I actually still have the page, I've just unpublished it, for the simple reason that this time of year I get some of the most vile, frightening, shocking email that you could imagine, as a result of that page. Nope, it doesn't come from satanists threating to eat my pancreas... it comes from Christians, enraged at me over my position.

I also used to have a discussion forum (not the same one I have now) where this topic was discussed every year. One year, 1998 I believe it was, some guy showed up on the forum that had read my page, and was prepared to blast me into next week about it. He used all the classic arguments that you've all heard, meat to idols, liberty in Christ, just for fun, etc., and after about 2 weeks of discussing this with him, he disappeared. Poof! Just like that. It was a HUGE debate back and forth, several posts a day, from both of us, and others joining the conversation and taking sides.

Several weeks later, he emailed me. He said as a result of prayer, looking at Scripture, and our conversations, he was convinced his position was wrong, and he apologized. He also said, after long discussions with his wife about what we'd discussed, they agreed they would no longer be celebrating Halloween. He disappeared from the forum because he knew he'd get slammed, the same way I had been, if he publicly admitted all this.

Now I don't know about you, but I find it a shame that a Christian, cannot confess on a Christian forum, what the Lord had done in his heart, for fear that other Christians would tear him to shreds. Yep, something really wrong with that. I closed that forum not long after he emailed me. I've never heard from him again.

It's just as wrong, coming the other direction. Judging a person's salvation or spiritual desires, based on trick or treating. Calling that person's character into question because they haven't been led the same way on it, that you have.

This topic WILL come up, on blogs, forums, email, etc., over the next two weeks. I hope when it does, the Lord is leading your speech & your attitude on it. Myself, I don't get into those conversations much anymore, but if someone asks, I do share my testimony on it, and how I struggled for years to come to terms with this "holiday".

Just remember, all the good candy goes on clearance November 1st. Get there early, it goes fast.

SOLI DEO GLORIA,
Carla

Second book is done!

My second book, in a joint effort with my husband Kevin, is now available.

A Word Fitly Spoken
is a collection of writings poured from our hearts over the last couple of years. We hope you enjoy it, and we hope it would please the Lord to use it to draw you closer to Him, and to His word.


SOLI DEO GLORIA,
Carla

Guarding the Trust - Be Conformed by the Word

This is part 17 of an ongoing series. You can read part 16a here and 16b here.

Guarding the Trust - Be Conformed by the Word – Psalm 119: 133, 1 Timothy 6:3, Titus 1:1
(October 15, 2005)

• Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.
• If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness
• Paul, a servant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God’s elect, and the acknowledging of the truth which is after godliness

When I first read these verses, the only thought that came to mind was "oh what a joy it is, to be conformed by the word, and to continue to be conformed by the word".

Do you remember who you were, before Christ? I mean who you really were... how you acted, the thoughts you had, the conversations you had, places you went, things you supported?

I sure do. The longer I love the Lord, the more it feels like peering into someone else's life, looking back at that old 'me'. Oddly enough, every once in a while, the old me comes back and sticks around for a moment - or sometimes a week, or a month. Those are the worst battles of all, when the old Carla shows up. I do not like her, do not want her in my life, and have no connection with her at all.

It may sound like somewhat of a stretch to speak about myself like that, but it's true that she is not me, and I am not her. Not anymore.

In looking at these three verses this morning, I notice 3 words that stand out:

1. order (koon)
to be set up, established, fixed, firmly directed, prepared, settled, furnished, fastened

The psalmist writes "order my steps in thy word" that sin might not have power over him. He literally desires that his every move, would be firmly established on the word of God, his actions fixed, his life directed, and fastened on God.

I heard a sermon the other day on this very topic - it was excellent. This is also my own desire, that every word, every action, would be fastened on the word of God. It grieves me to no end, when I fall short of this.

2. consent (proserchomai): to approach, draw near to

The warning is given in 1Tim. 6:3-4 as to what happens when a man refuses to draw near or stay close to wholesome words, the words of our Lord, those teachings that are in accordance with Godliness. Verse 4 describes such a man as proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, and a source himself of envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings.

Those are pretty harsh words - but oh so true. What happens when we distance ourselves from the word, or forget what the word says, and take matters into our own hands? What have we displayed toward God, in such an action? We've displayed pride, big time! Without saying it, our actions speak loud and clear "God, I can handle this all on my own, I need not consent to your word, I have it all under control".

Interestingly, this verse says that the man who does this, the proud, knowing nothing, actually has a morbid fondness for controversies over empty, and trivial matters. From this poisioned well comes envy, contention, slander and evil thoughts.

Let this not be true of me - let this not be true of you.


3. acknowledge (epignosis): to become thoroughly acquainted with, to know thoroughly

Paul describes himself as servant of God, someone who is well aquainted with the truth of God.

To serve Him, we must know Him, and know what He expects. The only place to learn that, is through His very word. We must be well aquainted with the word, daily drawing close to the word, that our steps are firmly settled in the word, guided by the word.

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG ~ Carla

Friday Funny Bone

(a day late)

THINGS TO PONDER... How is it possible to have a civil war?

If one synchronized swimmer drowns, do the rest drown too?

If you ate pasta and antipasta, would you still be hungry?

If you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?

Why is it called tourist season if we can't shoot at them?

Why is the alphabet in that order? Is it because of that song?

Where are we going? And what's with this handbasket?

If the "black box" flight recorder is never damaged during a plane crash, why isn't the whole airplane made out of that stuff?

Why is there an expiration date on sour cream?

If man evolved from monkeys and apes, why do we still have monkeys and apes?

I went to a bookstore and asked the saleswoman, "Where's the self-help section?" She said if she told me, it would defeat the purpose.

If all those psychics know the winning lottery numbers, why are they all still working?

If a mute swears, does his mother wash his hands with soap?

Whose cruel idea was it for the word "Lisp" to have a"S" in it?

Why doesn't glue stick to the inside of the bottle?

Can fat people go skinny-dipping?

Can you be a closet claustrophobic?

Why is the word abbreviation so long?

Is it possible to be totally partial?

What's another word for thesaurus?

If a book about failures doesn't sell, is it a success?

When companies ship styrofoam, what do they pack it in?

If the cops arrest a mime, do they tell him he has the right to remain silent?

If a parsley farmer is sued, can they garnish his wages?

When it rains, why don't sheep shrink?

Should vegetarians eat animal crackers?

What do you do when you see an endangered animal that eats only endangered plants?

If someone with multiple personalities threatens to kill himself, is it considered a hostage situation?

Is there another word for synonym?

Isn't it a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do "practice"?

When sign makers go on strike, is anything written on their signs?

When you open a bag of cotton balls, is the top one meant to be thrown away?

Where do forest rangers go to "get away from it all"?

Why do they report power outages on TV?

One of life's mysteries is how a two pound box of candy can make a person gain five pounds.

I finally got my head together, and my body fell apart.

The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight, because by then your body & your fat are really good friends.

Age doesn't always bring wisdom. Sometimes age comes alone.

Inside some of us is a thin person struggling to get out, but they can usually be sedated with a few pieces of chocolate cake.

Guarding the Trust - Obey the Word pt.2

This is part 16b of an ongoing series. You can read part 16a here

Guarding the Trust - Obey the Word pt.2 – John 14:15, 17:6, 1 John 2:3-5, 5:2-3
(October 14, 2005)

• If ye love me, keep my commandments.
• I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
• And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
• By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

In these verses, there is a single word that is used again and again. The word is tereo and it simply means to: attend to carefully, take care of, guard, observe, maintain the present state.

This is how we are instructed to approach the word of God. Interestingly enough we're instructed that those who love Him, and have been the recipients of His love, will do this, because of that love.

Over the years I've had countless conversation with those who reject what I believe. Some call it Calvinism (or hyper-Calvinism), or the 5 points, reformed theology, or sovereign grace. I prefer to call it "the Bible" but that's far too simplistic for most.

One of the most frequent conversations is about how God manifests His love toward His people, and how man responds. The most common allegation is that God forces His will on us, forcing us to love Him. In a sense, part of that statement is correct.

God does indeed shed His love in our hearts, without ever asking our permission first. He does not stop and say "pardon me, might I ask you to change your will so that you might love me?". No, it does not happen that way at all. Man's will is fallen, corrupt, depraved, and in bondage to sin.

God must remove our heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh. There's a word used, in a verse, that just blows me away. It's the word sunistao, and it's used in this verse here:

But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8).

That word sunistao literally means to band together, to put together by way of composition or combination, to put together, unite parts into one whole.

The part that blows me away, is the knowledge that while we were still living in hatred and opposition to all things holy and righteous, God bound us together with Christ, at the cross. United parts, into one whole - and He never asked our permission, nor did He sit back and wait to see if we'd receive it, it was a done deal, united in Christ because of the Father's love. This, my friends, is amazing grace.

Going back to the conversations I've had with many non-Calvinistic believers, the latter part of their assumption is the one I've tried many times to help them understand, is false. The idea that we love Him because He forced us to love Him. On the surface, it really does sound silly, but there are many who really do believe this.

Of course it isn't forced love at all, yet love given freely from a changed heart! New eyes to see with, new understanding, unsearchable gratitude for His grace and mercy. Were it not for His love being commended to us first, we'd still be living in the world, hating Him, and despising the cross - headed straight to just condemnation, in blind unbelief.

So this is the "why" we love Him. Because He first loved us. (1John 4:19).

It is because of this love, that we are to be cautious to carefully remain in the word, and in obedience. To be mindful of our words, our attitude, our very witness, at all times. There is no other place in all the world, in the most vast collection of literature, that we will ever find wisdom, and knowledge, guidance and instruction on all the aspects of being obedient to our Lord, except the Bible.

In pain, suffering, trauma, sadness, confusion, doubt, joy, gratitude, thankfulness, and every other human condition, there is no other source to comfort, to lead, clear up, correct, convict, or confirm.

Let this passage really sink deep into your heart today:

Psalm 19:
7 The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

I hope this has blessed you in some way.

SDG ~ Carla

A Wealth of Canadian Wisdom

Recently, on an email discussion list I’m on, someone asked the question “when you think of influential Canadian Christians, who comes to mind?”. Not many folks had much to say, although some of these names were mentioned.

Oddly enough, and though I wasn’t even looking, when I sat down here tonight to read my regular feeds, someone had a link, I followed the link, and so on and so forth (you know how it works, it’s the link-trail, the one that draws you in and doesn’t let you go!).

Sometimes, you just hit the jackpot. While I don’t know any of these people face to face, I’ve heard very good things about many of them, and have browsed each blog myself. If I knew how to do it, I’d create a Canadian blogroll somehow, like Marla did with her Godblog Roll. Maybe someone reading should do that?? Hint… Hint!

Enjoy:

• Redeeming The Time (Kirk Wellum)

• Historia ecclesiastica (Michael A G Haykin)

• kerux noemata (Paul Martin)

• Lost in wonder, love and grace (Tom Gee)

• Ruminations by the Lake (Ian Clary)

• Christian Thought (Julian Freeman)

• Cowboyology (Clint Humfrey)

Just a thought or two

Last week I read something about blog readers not caring "where you are right now". I'm not sure (or don't recall the details) if that means emotionally, spiritually, or what. Maybe it's just a guy blog thing, and not a girl blog thing? I know when I read a girl blog and she's written about a spiritual struggle - I read it. I care where she is. Same for guys who write about the same thing - I care about where he is right now.

This came to mind today because this is sorta where I am, wondering where I am. I'm struggling with a few things right now, and I don't know (and maybe I'm not supposed to know?) if they're consequences of stupid decisions, or just the way it's supposed to be right now.

Things (people, things, relationships, etc.) are being removed from my world, at a rapid pace. The more I try to stop it, the more I attempt to resolve it, and see peace, the more is removed. It dawned on me today, to stop trying to stop it - I can't stop it - and I can't fix it.

I'm not dealing well with having things removed.

The Scriptures are filled with exhortation for us to trust in the Lord, and when someone else is dealing with a faith-trying time, I always know exactly which verses to give them for encouragment. It's not that I suddenly went stupid and don't know where these verses are, it's just that something is standing in the way of allowing them to comfort me, today.

That something is pride. I recognized it instantly this morning, and battled with it all day (through a headache and tears and prayers, etc.). I'd be misleading anyone to say I'm still not battling it right this minute, even as I type these words.

This is the pride that says "no no Lord, I can fix this, you just leave it with me". How insane is that? Why do we do this? Why do I do it? I can't fix anything (household items excluded), and yet I still battle with circumstances assuming I can.

I suppose it's partly the fear of the unknown. Since I can't fix anything, and I don't know how it's all going to work out, I'm a bit flustered. I'm a list person, an organizer, everything in it's place, and a place for everything - that sort of person. Today, nothing is in it's place, and the harder I tried to fit it in, the more it didn't fit. I don't do well with things that don't fit.

I said to some friends earlier that as I write the commentaries on the Guarding the Trust series, I almost feel like a hypocrite - since I fail daily, at keeping my own advice, or exhortation. It's not that I don't believe the words I write, I certainly do, it's just that when it comes crunch time, it's much harder to embrace those truths, and walk in peace. Much much harder.

I made a decision earlier this year to turn away from so much negativity and controversy in my world, and focus more on the great things. Ever since I made that decision, it's been one heated battle after another. It's been one of the hardest things I've ever done - and getting dragged back into the controversial junk, has been just as much of a battle I fight with myself.

Add to that other family struggles going on (and getting worse by the day), and it's been a time of serious doubts, weak faith, and tears.

I hate knowing how weak I am, but at the same time I already knew how weak I was. I know this is where I am, and I know I don't like it. No sirree Bob, I do not like it.

If you've read all the way to this point, to see 'where I am', you don't have to comment and admit to anyone that you did that - no one will ever know. But would you just remember me in prayer today? Tonight? Tomorrow? It makes all the difference in the world knowing that the household of faith is lifting you up to the Lord, and I really do need a lift right now.

SDG ~ me

Prayer

My apologies for those of you who were looking for part 2 of installment 16 in Guarding the Trust.

It's been a difficult day, and I would simply ask for prayer for myself and my family.

I hope to have this installment posted before the day's end.

SOLI DEO GLORIA ~ Carla

Cookies Anyone?

I made these after dinner tonight. They’re super easy, super yummy, and a great alternative to banana bread, when your bananas start to turn (or go on sale).






Banana Spice Cookies

2 ¼ c. flour
1 t. baking powder
½ t. cinnamon
¼ t. baking soda
¼ t. ground cloves

½ c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
1 c. mashed bananas

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. Cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and bananas until well blended. Mix with dry ingredients. Drop by rounded tablespoons onto greased cookie sheets & bake for 10 minutes at 375.

Enjoy :-)

Nothing to see here, please move along...

I sat down here this afternoon, to read. I read one of the forums I have in my favorites, and one thread in particular that I read, managed to convict me, hurt me, upset me, and confuse me.

There is going to be someone that takes issue with how many times I just said "me" or referenced myself. Seems like there is nothing I can say without someone turning it into something it wasn't meant to mean.

One of the things I read that was very good, was how we're not to be returning hurt for hurt - and I agree, this is Biblical. I also agree that it's not only hard to do, but it's also misconstrued as having been done, even when it wasn't.

I realize this wont make sense to many, but that's okay. For the cause listed in the first paragraph, I have deleted 3 posts.

I'm weary of being picked apart, and honestly right this minute, firing back is something that isn't very easy to NOT do.

Maybe those who read here today, would just pray for me.
_________

Update:

First, for those of you who responded, thank you so much. You are so appreciated.

Kev and I talked about this tonight. He had some words of encouragement, and some words of admonishment, done in love, of course (which I deserved, and needed to hear).

This is one of those strange situations where, the harder you try to clear it up, the more misunderstood you are. It's an impossible situation, and at this point useless to address further, except before the throne. One person gave his advice on it, based on his misunderstanding of what actually happened - and now it looks worse than it was. UGH.

I'm done with this - I can't fix it.

On the atonement

It’s astounding sometimes to watch God’s hand moving on something, or on someone. To explain what I mean by that…

In the last 24 hours, it’s been interesting to watch several people led to either write, or comment, on the same topic – and a topic that isn’t (unfortunately) routinely discussed.

Let me show you:

Yesterday, David G. shared with me this article:
Punished in our Place: A Reply to Steve Chalke on Penal Substitution
by Dr Garry J. Williams.

Adrian asks: Does penal substitution contribute to oppression? (See also Adrian's article here on Steve Chalke, re: the "lost" message of Jesus)

Today Chris P. shared this link The Book of Hebrews, the Cross, and Discipleship with me, on the nature of the atonement. Be warned, these people are serious.

The nature, extent, purpose and accomplishment of the atonement of Christ, is under attack.

The question is, why? Just as important as the question of why, are these questions:

• Do you know what you believe about it?
• Do you know what the Bible says about it?

I find it very interesting that Brian McLaren of the Emergent Church notoriety, and Steve Chalke in the UK, are both coming up time and time again, when this subject comes up. (See here, and here).



What does McLaren say of Chalke's "cosmic child abuse" claim of the atonement?

"The Jesus introduced by Steve in these pages sounds like someone who can truly save us from our trouble"- Brian McLaren

Now I just wonder outloud again...

Do you know what the Bible says about the atonement?

No need to answer that here - it's just food for thought.

SDG ~ Carla

Guarding the Trust - Obey the Word pt.1

This is part 16 of an ongoing series. You can read part 15 here

Part 16 will be divided into two sections. Section one today, section two tomorrow.

Guarding the Trust - Obey the Word pt.1 – Deuteronomy 17:19-20, Joshua 22:5, Psalm 119:67, Luke 8:21
(October 13, 2005)

• And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life: that he may learn to fear the LORD his God, to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them: That his heart be not lifted up above his brethren, and that he turn not aside from the commandment, to the right hand, or to the left: to the end that he may prolong his days in his kingdom, he, and his children, in the midst of Israel.

• But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

• Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.

• And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.

When I looked at these verses yesterday, something stood out to me, as a parent. From the time your child is born, you begin teaching them. Even the most angelic toddler, soon learns "no" - by hearing it, and repeating it. Rules, guidelines, structure, things permissable, things not permissable - every parent knows exactly what I'm talking about.

As your child grows, you begin to expect more and more, adherence to the rules in your home. While you would expect a 10 year to take out the trash when told, you wouldn't have the same expectations of a 3 year old, since the 10 year old has 7 years advantage, in learning the rules.

Children must learn how to obey. As children of the most High God, we also, must learn to obey.

In looking at Deut. 17:19 it struck me that it says "and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the LORD his God". It's not that it will take all the days of our lives to fear the Lord, but it's that, the more we stay in His word, that we learn to fear Him more, and more, as the days of our life pass by.

The rest of this passage is such an encouragment as well. In learning to fear the Lord we will learn to keep the teaching of Scripture close to our heart, to live it! That we don't become arrogant or boastful, and that our feet will remain firmly on the narrow path. How incredible is that?

The next verse in Joshua is amazingly clear. We are to be mightily on guard at all times! On guard to be sure that we are living, loving, serving, and glorifying God at every turn, in every area of our lives. This is by far, NOT a passive existance as a Christian. This is taking a pro-active stance to examine ourselves daily, hourly if it's required, to be certain that we are in obedience to Him. This is something I wonder if we all overlook? I know I certainly do at times, and it's not something I'm too excited about admitting.

Being in obedience to the Lord is keeping His word, doing His word, and you can't do either, unless you know His word. There is no other way for a believer to be sure that he or she is living in obedience to the Lord, than to remain in in His word. Obedience is not optional for a child of God, it is required, and it is filled with joy and blessings!!

I will post part 2 of installment #16, tomorrow, Lord willing.

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG ~ Carla

Because I'm Late

I woke up late, I'm running late, I am late, I will be late and I am somewhat... late.

I normally post my next installment of the Guarding the Trust series first thing in the morning, but morning's first thing passed me by while I was sleeping. So check back later for today's installment:

This will be part 16 of an ongoing series. You can read part 15 here.

Part 16 will be divided into two sections. Section one today, section two tomorrow.

Guarding the Trust - Obey the Word pt.1
_________

On another note(s):

• Samuel's nurse comes for the last time today - they will be discharging from service - his foot is all healed up now, and it looks great.

• For those who have been an encouragment to me in the last couple of days, thank you, it means a lot.

• Thank you Rebecca for helping me get the backlinks working - anyway I think they're working?

Guarding the Trust - Abide in the Word

This is part 15 of an ongoing series. You can read part 14 here

Guarding the Trust - Abide in the Word – John 15:7, 1 John 2:23-25
(October 12, 2005)

• If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

• Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also. Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

I've known several people over the years, who do not abide in the word. It's not as if they've set out to be rebellious and disobedient to the Lord, they've just allowed a pattern to set in, and over time, let their Bibles become more of a paperweight, than anything else.

One man did this after 2 weeks of vacation, and after those 2 weeks, found it very hard to get back into the word each day. As time went on, his Bible sat for longer, and longer periods of time, between readings. The longer it sat, the worse he felt. He began to doubt his own faith. His response to trials and temptations was more and more worldly, and less and less Christlike. This went on for almost two years, and there was not one area of his life that was not affected by this - his marriage, his relationship with his children, his attitude toward the church, his prayer life - all suffered greatly - as a direct result of him not abiding in the word.

The context of the verse in John 15:7 shows something very interesting.

"the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine"(v.4)

"for without me ye can do nothing"(v.5)

"These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full" (v.11)

When the man described above, did not abide in the word, but allowed the word to sit, allowed his prayer life to slip away, he bore no fruit, just like this verse says. When that set in, and his attitude became more and more bitter it became clear to those around him, that his joy in the Lord was not there.

In this man's life, this period of rebellion, disobedience, and misery was a gradual thing. The longer it went on, the worse it was, and the worse he felt. One day after nearly 2 years of this, he was overcome by a powerful conviction of the Holy Spirit to repent, seek the Lord on his face, and persue once again a life abiding in the word, abiding in prayer, and abiding in Christ. That change, was not gradual. That change was evident to all around him, as if the Lord flipped a switch in his life, and turned him right around, and placed his feet back on solid ground.

While this is an extreme example, there are little examples of this all the time. Did you read your Bible today? If not, why not? What was happening in your life today that was more important than feeding your soul with the words of life? Did your conduct today, reflect your lack of spiritual nourishment?

I don't ask those questions to point fingers - because I ask those questions of myself as well. I know for me, when I have allowed circumstances and situations to pre-occupy my time in the course of a day, and I do not read my Bible, I feel incomplete. My attitude is not in check, my responses are not as they should be, and my heart is convicted. It's a very rare thing anymore that a day goes by that I have not been in the word in some form or another. Reading a chapter, or more, reading a devotion, listening to a sermon or teaching, doing a Bible lesson with the kids, turning to the Bible to answer a question for one of the kids, or cross referencing a verse for a word study. I've made it a point, a central point, for my daily routine to be consistantly one that includes having my Bible open.

Several years ago I wrote a small article called Distance from God. You can read that here. I didn't write that article because I'm any kind of an expert on spiritual disciplines, I wrote that article after observing a pattern in people's lives, where they were suffering in their walk with the Lord. After many years of hearing the same concerns and complaints about a person's spiritual health, I noticed the pattern reflect 3 things that were missing in their lives. Those three things were lack of daily prayer, not having a local church to serve in, and be served, and lack of daily Bible reading.

Add those three up together, and you have a perfect recipe for misery, doubt, and lack of direction.

Daily Bible reading is a spiritual discipline that we have to be diligent to maintain. It's easy to get caught up in this care, or that concern, or something else, anything else, that takes away from reading the Bible. From the article mentioned above:

"Read your Bible, every day. Everyone has a different reading plan, and different advice on this, some say read a Proverb a day, some will say start in Genesis and read 1 chapter every day, still others say go back to the gospel of John, then go to Romans, then back to Genesis. ALL of these are good. All sorts of other reading plans are good too, the point is, to GET into Scripture each and every single day. Some commit to 5 minutes a day, some prefer 1 hour. It doesnt matter really, as long as you pick a plan, and stick with it.
What this will do, is feed your soul. You'll come across something that you may have read 15 times before, and suddenly you'll see it saying something that you never noticed before. I believe when that happens, its because you have grown in Christ. The more we grow, the more we understand. This applies in everyday life, and in our walk with Jesus as well."

I hope this has blessed you today, and has been an encouragement to abide in the word.

SDG,
Carla

Extra Helps for Memorizing the Word

Today, after posting part 14 of the Guarding the Trust series, on memorizing the word, the topic stayed with me for several hours. I know what 'works' for some people, may not work for others, so I wanted some ideas to share here, for different methods that work for others.

I talked to some friends in a chat room this afternoon and this is what they had to share on different ways of memorizing the word, and staying in the word:

Debi (fellow homeschool mom): read it, say it, write it, say it, read it - in that order - sometimes we write it two or three days as part of our penmanship - the method we use seems to hit on all facets of the learners method, whether they are tactile learners, audio learners, or visual learners

John (pastor McCarty, http://www.livingbiblically.org ): Children who are taught catechismsm have an easier time of memorizing scriptures - Use phonics - sing thscriptureses - (John's recommendation for a Baptist catechism for helping children learn the word: http://www.founders.org/library/pcat.html )

Other recommendations:

Audio Bible as you go to sleep, disciplining yourself to read a set, minimum amount of chapters each morning or evening, and repetition, repetition, and oh yes, there's also repetition. :-)

Thank you to all of you who offered your insights on this topic. I'm of the firm belief that having the word in your heart, goes a very long way in living it out, in your life.

SDG,
me

Who's Talking? Backlinks v. G-Trackbacks

Well, I just spent the last hour fussing with my template, and it's all Rebecca's fault. Well, scratch that, it's partially Adrian's fault as well, since they both had blog entries on it this afternoon when I sat down to read.

Backlinks & G-trackbacks... who needs 'em! (okay fine, I do, they look interesting).

Couple of things though... if you have a modified template here on blogger, it's not as simple as flipping switch - you have to add the 2 pieces of code in 2 differerent places.

The other thing is, if you enable blogger's Backlinks (which are pretty much the same as trackbacks) it's only going to list backlinks from other blogspot bloggers - I think?

Anyway - they're there, I think. See that line down yonder that says Who's Talking? Click on it, and it re-loads the page (according to the rumors) that lists who else links to this post... allegedly. If no one does, it gives blogspot bloggers the option to click a link to blog on THIS post, then the next time you come back, assuming you had any intention of coming back after this round of nonsense, YOUR blog will be listed down yonder under Who's Talking.

I think.

Someone try it, so we can all see if it actually worked, eh?

(Update: Rebecca linked to this, so I'm linking to hers, to see if it shows on her blog - hers doesn't show on my end, grr, lol)

(Update again: tweaked a few things as per Rebecca's advice, as per Adrian's advice - so the links will now magically appear like... like, well, magic!)

Guarding the Trust - Memorize the Word

This is part 14 of an ongoing series. You can read part 13 here

Memorize the Word – Psalm 119:11, 16, 61, 128-129, 176
(October 11, 2005)

• Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
• I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
• The bands of the wicked have robbed me: but I have not forgotten thy law. Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way. Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
• I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

For many Christians, memorizing Scripture seems to be an elusive task. It certainly was for me, for many years. Not only was it elusive, it used to upset me so much that I couldn't ever remember the verses I wanted to remember, I cried about it, more than a few times.

I have a very good memory - it's just the way God made me. I can recall specific details about specific events dating all the way back to roughly 10 months old. I used to wonder why I had such a sharp memory dating back so far, until it dawned on me one day, the reason why. I am convinced I have this memory so that I can testify of God's grace, His hand on my life, from even before my life on this earth, began.

However, when it came to memorizing Scripture, there always seemed to be this enormous black wall. No getting past it, around it, over it, or through it. No matter which "method" I tried, nothing worked. It upset me so much because I wanted more than anything to have His word hidden in my heart, just like Ps.119:11 says.

It wasn't until we started homeschooling in December of 1999, that we (I) discovered a very effective way to memorize His word. Repetition. That's it.

Repetition, combined with a genuine desire to truly hide His word in your heart, actually works.

Each morning before we start school, we recite our memory verse as a family. Now that the younger ones are reading, I print the verse out in large block print, for them to read it, as they say it. Then again in the evening before family devotion time, we recite the verse again. Sometimes we have them say it individually, as well.

Depending on the length of the verse, determines how long we spend on it. The short ones, that the kids pick up on right away, we usually say from Monday through the following Sunday. Longer ones might be 2 weeks, or even 3.

In addition to memorizing individual verses and passages, we've also learned from memory, the books of the Bible. This has been helpful in so many ways, it's incredible. To read more about how we did that, go here.

Last month, Doug McHone of Coffeeswirls.com shared his passion with teaching his AWANA kids, their Scripture memory verses. Here's what Doug had to say:

"Life moves at too fast a pace, people are busy and some of the parents of these kids do not profess any faith and will not read with them. Ultimately, this is not a valid excuse, especially for those kids with parents who would be overjoyed to sit down and work with them, but it is the ongoing trend. Since a helper is needed throughout the week, I had the kids read John 14:26. I’ll share it with you here.
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."
I told them to pray before they read their verses, that God would help them remember what they were reading. I told them to pray as they read these verses, telling God what the verse meant when they considered it. I then told them to pray as they were finished with their reading that God would again help them remember what they read and would help them apply it. I asked them to do this a few times in the week. I don’t know if this has happened, but it is my own prayer that they do this and that the spirit of God moves within them through what they are reading.
We want them to memorize verses that remove the thought that perhaps they are good enough for God and then reveal to them the salvation that is made available only through the blood of Christ. This is our focus, but it is not where we are succeeding. Some kids have been led to the cross in a powerful way through our program and are now a powerful witness to their parents, but I wonder if we wouldn’t be even more effective if the Bible were to take the primacy of importance in the club and in the hearts of the children.
I make no claims that my discussion with the kids will be our magic bullet, but I will use repetition and prayer as the focal points of the talk, and will be asking questions of the kids as I go along. I plan to “memorize” Titus 3:5, or another verse suggested by the pastor or Awana Commander by writing it up on a white board. That and John 14:26 will be the two sword drills. Then, I will model a prayer asking God to help me.
I will read it and model a prayer that tells God what I am reading, and then give thanks to God for what He reveals and to ask Him to put this word in my heart and not just in my head. Then I will begin erasing a couple words at a time and say the verse again, always with the kids saying it with me. Eventually, we will be reciting this verse without any helps. After we discuss how the Holy Spirit is our helper I want to show that God saves us by His mercy and not by our works."

When it comes to memorizing Scripture, the goal is to be ever so mindful of God's word, from the heart, that it's also fresh on your mind, throughout the day. For the believer, there is no greater joy than to be in a moment of great sadness, or frustration, joy or confusion, and have a comforting word from the Lord suddenly appear in your thoughts. Knowing that His word is in your heart, to direct your steps, clear your mind, and bring you peace.

This school year we're working through John and Romans. Until the end of January we'll be in John, then from February through the end of the school year, Romans. We start a new verse today and here it is:

John 6:35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

Our Bible lesson this morning will be the context of this verse. Why did Jesus say that? Who was He talking to? Will we really never be hungry or thirsty? Did the people that heard Him say these thing, believe Him? Do we believe Him? It's amazing how asking the kids these questions, generates even more questions - and makes the verse even easier to remember.

Another very helpful way to memorize His word, is to have it all over your house. Several years ago I began creating posters and t-shirts with lovely graphics and Bible verses on them. In front me, on the wall behind my computer are 5 posters with such scenes. Since then, I began offering these and other products to help other people "shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates" (Deut.11:20) at my Scripscenes store.

I look up at these poster prints every day - almost every time I sit here at the computer.

I hope that this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG,
Carla

Nut Eatin' Nuthatch

This morning after breakfast I hung around the kitchen window watching the birds.

Then I caught this little guy at the basket feeder:

Now I ask, is he cool, or what?

Review: Humility, True Greatness by CJ Mahaney

Let me just preface this book review with a disclaimer: I'm not a book reviewer. If this review violates some unwritten code of book review protocol, please forgive me in advance.

I wrote a book review once. It was requested of me for consideration in 2 Canadian Christian publications. I have no idea if it was ever published, but I suspect not. It wasn't nice and fluffy, but hard hitting and highly critical. I do recall struggling to stay within the guidelines for each publication - I had a lot to say - and not a lot of space to say it.

I'm glad this review isn't like that one - because I'm going to be all over the place with this, and can take as much space as I need. Whether you read it or not, is up to you. :-)

I'd like to say, to start with, that I'm glad I didn't really know who CJ Mahaney is, before I agreed to read & review this book. Of course I'd heard of him, but I didn't really know who he is. This is a good thing. I have a tendency to be persuaded one way or the other about a person's work, if I know of their prior work, ahead of time. With Mahaney, it was a clean slate, no-preconceived ideas on what I was about to read, or where it comes from.

It's difficult to read a book online - I've tried before and always given up. If I can't kick back on the couch for an entire rainy day, I'm not interested. I don't read books, I devour them. Kev often laughs at how, once I get a book I want, I do basically nothing else, but set up camp in the living room until the book is done. It's very hard to do that, homeschooling with 6 kids in the house. It's impossible to do this, with a pdf book.

This one was worth it - and even worth it to read it again, online.

The timing of my receiving this book, was impeccable. I've written here for the last 6-8 months that I'm at a crossroads in my faith (in a good way!) and that I believe the Lord to be leading me into better things, more edifying things.

What better way to equip myself with things to consider, than a Biblically solid book all about cultivating humility, and battling pride? None that I know of.

I know a lot of Christians that read books like this on a regular basis, and really enjoy them, and get a lot out of them, but I confess that I never do. I never seem to have the time, even though I do have the interest. For this book I made the time - even though it took me longer than others who have already reviewed it.

This book is divided into 3 sections, each section focusing on a specific area, or attitude we must be willing to adopt, or dig deeper into understanding, about the seriousness of pride, and the necessity of humility. As I read the book, it was so incredibly easy to see personality traits of other people, whenever Mahaney wrote about pride. That nailed me right there. I kept asking myself "why is it so easy to see this in others, when I know it's in me too?". Each time I'd come back to reading I'd remember to apply the insights to myself, my attitude, my weaknesses, etc.

Mahaney lists numerous, and very practical suggestions to help the reader battle pride, and cultivate humility. Biblical, God glorifying, literal applications to change your perspective on sin, pride, humility, and your working definition of true greatness.

Humility in trials, suffering, prosperity, compliments, criticism (giving and receiving), parenting, etc. I kept hoping Mahaney would touch on a subject that didn't apply to me, but he didn't - they all applied.

Mahaney's writing style is right up my alley. Convicting, motivating, encouraging, humorous, and compassionate. He's easy to read, as he doesn't use a lot of the more technical, theological terms and phrases that other writers use. In truth, reading this book felt more like having a good conversation with an old friend - and I've never even met the man.

I highly recommend this book - but more importantly, I highly recommend once reading it, more believers would do a thorough self-exam and adopt some of the suggestions Mahaney lists as ways to cultivate humility and battle pride in our own hearts.

Here is what others are saying:

ochuk's blog
Drinking Deeply
Adrian Warnock (interview with CJ about this book, and topic)
3:17

I would like to thank Tim, for initially bringing this to my attention, Carolyn at Sovereign Grace Ministries, who sent the book, and CJ, for sharing his convictions. This is one of those books that will, and already has, changed my perspective on numerous things.

Soli Deo Gloria,
Carla

Mishmashiness

A few highlights today from the 'sphere:


• Dr. Albert Mohler takes on strange things in Christian Apologetics for a Postmodern Age – part one of three, begins today.

•Doug and Tim wrap up their live blogging event of the 2005 Desiring God conference.

And now for something completely different...

Loki , the Monday Malcontent, shares his love for the internet. "Monday is a good day for complaining. People are in a foul mood anyway, so I might as well get things off my chest right away and get on with my week. A cleansing rant, if you will." (keep reading, you know you want to)

Like Loki, I'm going to engage in a little cleansing rant as well (you've been warned):

And after reading some of the funniest & smartest lady bloggers in the 'sphere this morning, I'm somewhat convinced that the Insignificant Microbes category at TTLB was selected after reading this blog. Why I'm listed there as a maruading marsupial is only because of how many people have the LORB listed on their own blogs. If it weren't for that, I'd rate somewhere down below Carpet Mites, if that were an option.

And why do I care? I'm not sure... I suppose I shouldn't care, and I suppose I should wish I didn't care, and I suppose I don't really understand what all this ranking and categorizing means, in the long run.

I suppose... if my walk with Christ is enriched in any way by unloading my thoughts, doubts, convictions, passions, and frustrations, in my writing, then He is glorified, and I am pleased.

I suppose... that if even one person reading anything I write, is likewise blessed in some way, then I am even more pleased.

There are some ladies out there in the 'sphere who are much smarter (I can't even comment on their blogs, I don't know what in the world they're talking about! - and half the time I don't know if they're being serious, or being humorous, or if there's an inside joke I'm not getting), much funnier, much more insightful, and much easier to read. I don't even need to name them or link to them, you all know who they are, you probably read them every day.

I'm glad they're out there, they bless me and they encourage me (except for those highly intellectual posts that leave me shaking my head thinking "in laymen's terms please, I'm not that deep, nor do I have a degree"), and I learn from them.

On another note, completely unrelated to how dense I am:

Christians, or professing Christians who cuss and swear on PURPOSE, should be ashamed of themselves. Checking the comments of Emergent No last night, to see if there was anything I needed to delete for foul content, I came across this (warning - profanity):

"I cannot express to you all how weak and desperate this bitching and moaning blog tends to be. If there is nothing new under the sun then stop your yapping, if you believe that women have a role that is not to teach or repremand men, then stop your arrogant rantings. Give up the rhetoric you are not fighting the good fight, you are not a martyr, you come across as mean hearted and very very abusive to all those who are different than you. I say all of that out of frusteration, I know it does not come across very kindly, I just become so angry when your arrogance overshadows a love for Jesus I am sure you have. I hope you can weed through the anger for the heart of what I am saying." (posted by Stephen)

This was in response to this post about McLaren's upcoming book on the secret of Jesus.

I rarely comment on the emerging church movement here - that's what Emergent No is for - to keep that whole issue seperate from this blog. But this... this... kind of response is so classically kept (usually) for email. I'm glad this person actually posted this publically, so others can see what happens when a woman (gasp!) dares question some of the men in the EC, about what they're into. For all I know, some of the men critics get the same kind of catty responses in email too? Not sure. I bet they haven't had their morality or sexual purity maligned, though (oh yeah, I've had more than a few of those kinds of emails).

This particular rant isn't really about the EC though. It's more along the lines of:

"how dare you claim the name of Christ then sully that precious name with your conduct? - oh wait - you're being authentic, you're on a journey, you're emerging, it's OKAY to say whatever you want, silly me, I forgot!"

Funny how it's okay for some folks to say whatever they want, because they're being authentic on their journey, but it's not okay for those who disagree with them to say whatever they want, in response.

I loathe double standards. It's a form of deceit, which is nothing more than a label for a lie.

Anyway... I'm done ranting. I have oatmeal to make.

SDG,
Carla

Guarding the Trust - Meditate on the Word

This is part 13 of an ongoing series. You can read part 12 here

Guarding the Trust - Meditate on the Word – Psalm 1:2; Joshua 1:8
(October 10, 2005)

• But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
• This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

In our day, especially in Christendom, the word meditate has taken on a rather dubious meaning. When the word is mentioned, it's not clear what is meant, and this is a shame. There was a time, not that long ago, when meditation on the word was something that was clearly understood by a Christian.

In both of the verses here, the word meditate is the Hebrew verb "hagah" meaning to think, speak, imagine, study, consider.

Look at Psalm 1:2. What do you delight, or take pleasure in? I know for myself, I take delight in teaching my children. It's a great reward when one of them overcomes a hurdle and finally grabs hold of a concept that eluded them, just moments prior. For them it's like an intellectual lottery that they just won the jackpot for! For me to be able to have a part in that, is a great delight of mine. For this to happen, I have to prepare. I have to make sure they have they right materials, that I present the concept in ways they will understand it, that my patience and attitude is in check, that the environment is conducive to this end, meaning that I have their full attention, no distractions. For this to happen, I have to think, speak, imagine, study and consider those things which will bring this about.

Yesterday was a perfect example of this as well. We had our Thanksgiving meal yesterday, which I certainly delight in preparing. Contrary to the thoughts of many, the meal does not magically appear on the table out of nowhere. For this to happen, mothers, grandmothers, sisters, aunts and daughters throughout the generations, have had to think, consider and imagine all the things that go into preparing such an elaborate meal.

Looking again at Psalm 1:2 we read the psalmist say that his delight is in the law of the LORD, and in that law, he meditates day and night. His delight, and our delight, should certainly be in the words of the Lord, and if it is, this should also be our position, to be thinking, speaking, considering, and studying His word, day in and day out.

Consider Joshua 1:8. Consider the message being put for there that IF we are to meditate on the word of God, that it only stands to reason that we will be constantly mindful to do (live, act, react, think, speak) all that is written there! Consider further the words in this verse that IF we are to do this, we will prosper and have success.

How many times have you reacted wrongly to a statement, or a situation, then later had a verse of Scripture come to mind to remind you, of how you should have responded? I know with me it's happened more times than I can count. I know also, that when I have been meditating on the word, and a situation comes up that I could respond wrongly to, I DON'T, because I've just been considering a verse, or a passage that speaks to that very situation. I've been reading a book recently on the topic of humility and considering the verses of Scripture that address pride and humility. Numerous times in the last couple of weeks I've been in situations where those verses of Scripture come to mind, and it dictates my response - because it's fresh in my mind. I can honestly say I wish it were this way for me 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It's certainly a goal of mine to strive for - to be constantly mindful of the word, so that my every thought, word, action and reaction, will be those that bring glory to God.

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG,
Carla

Sausage Cornbread Stuffing

As promised:

Carla's Sausage Stuffing

1 lb. sausage
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped onion
1 recipe biscuits (10-12 biscuits = 5 cups), crumbled
1 recipe cornbread (5-6 cups) crumbled
1 t. poultry season
1 t. black pepper
4 cups chicken broth

Saute' sausage, celery & onion until sausage is done. Combine sausage mixture & remaining ingredients, blend well. Stuff bird and roast according to weight. Stuffing may also be baked in a greased dish, for 1 hour at 350. (I often divide the stuffing and bake half, and use the other half to stuff the turkey).

Enjoy!

(Pics of our Thanksgiving here - and if you'll notice the bowl just behind the mashed potatos, that was what was left, of the stuffing!)

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving!

It occured to me this morning, that I need a backup generator. Not for the house, but for my brain. This would certainly come in handy.

In cleaning off my desktop last night, I noticed a pdf file that said "Humility" and I went "gulp!". This is the pre-preview of CJ Mahaney's book Humility: True Greatness. I began reading it as soon as it was sent, and in the last 2 weeks have been SO busy with so many things, it's been put on the back burner. I feel bad about that since I did promise to read it and review it. I feel bad about it also because it's SUCH a great book, so far. I need to commit myself to finishing this book, this week, and doing my review on it.

So, we're all staying home from church today. Preparing and planning a meal for 13 people isn't something I do every day, nor is it easy to pull off. It is something I do 3 times a year however, and it's also something I truly enjoy. I enjoy the 2 Thanksgiving meals more than Christmas, since there is less to do, and less to focus on, for those.

Yes, I said 2 Thanksgiving meals. Here's how this breaks down:

I'm an American, living in Canada. Thanksgiving in Canada is the second Monday of October (although we always have our meal, like millions of others, on the Sunday). For an American, it's too strange to have Thanksgiving in October, but this is Canada so when in Canada, do as the Canadians, eh?

Because I am a slave to my traditions :-) I refuse to give up American Thanksgiving in November, as well. It's also handy that Kev's birthday is November 24 - so we combine a Thanksgiving meal and his birthday celebration. Problem is, turkey isn't on sale in November here, like it is in the states. So for American thanksgiving we have a ham (and lots and lots of lovely ham-leftovers for a week following).

Here is today's menu, for any of you that are interested. If you'd like the recipes for any of this, just give me a holler in the comments and I'll get on that. (Yes Steph, I will be posting the stuffing recipe, stop yelling at me! lol, j/k)

Turkey with gravy
Garlic and herb mashed potatos (made by Caryn - my oldest)
Fresh Candied Yams
Whole wheat croissants (Caryn)
Sweet corn
Southern Sausage Stuffing
Cranberry Sauce
Asian salad (Caryn)
Broccoli salad (Kim - Kev's sister)
Veggie Tray:
pickles, olives, carrots, celery
French onion dip

Dessert:
pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream
Lemon poppyseed cake (Caryn)
and some secret dessert Kim brought that she hasn't revealed yet

I make almost everything from scratch (it really does save a lot of money), so it takes twice as long to make it. It is however, worth it. Homemade just tastes better, no matter how you slice it.

So, that will be my day today. Look for pics later at Photo Reflect. Speaking of pics, here's some I took from the deck yesterday afternoon:

Yep, fall has officially arrived. I love fall!

Have a great Sunday...

SDG - me

Just some Saturday afternoon stuff...

I wonder, just how much "stuff" you can fit into 1 day before it officially becomes 2 days? Surely there must be a limit?

With Thanksgiving being tomorrow - today is crunch day. Meaning, "do everything in the whole house TODAY because you haven't had time or the energy to do it earlier".

Baking, cooking, cleaning, etc., so on and so forth. Pumpkin pie, sweet potatos, sausage stuffing, the turkey is thawing, and the basement even got cleaned.

Now I have the dilema of either going to church tomorrow and not getting dinner ready on time, or staying home and preparing dinner for the family, plus 5 other people. This year, everyone is bringing a few things to add to the meal, so I don't have to do as much cooking or baking. That seems weird to me, since I'm the one who always makes everything. I must admit though, it's nice not having to do as much, today.

I still have to bake a batch of cornbread for my stuffing, but other than that, I'm done.

Guarding the Trust –Sing the Word

This is part 12 of an ongoing series. You can read part 11 here

Guarding the Trust –Sing the Word– Psalm 119:54,172, Colossians 3:16
(October 8, 2005)

• Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
• My tongue shall speak of thy word: for all thy commandments are righteousness.
• Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

Not long ago, I came across the writings of a man who professed faith in Christ and when writing about music, he expressed his dislike for the old hymns. While rich in doctrine, he suggested they are outdated, irrelevent, and boring.

I confess, when I was a new believer, I felt the same way. I enjoyed the more modern, upbeat, catchy "praise" songs. A lot has changed in the last 11 years. While I still enjoy the occaisional 'contemporary' Christian song, my favorite to sing and hear, have been for some time now, the old hymns.

Musical styles aside, for me it's all about the words being sung. While I certainly haven't been exposed to every contemporary artist, the ones I have heard, tend to sing more about feeling, than anything else.

It's been about 6 years now, since we started teaching the kids the old hymns. Each night after our family devotional time, we sing our song - whichever song it happens to be that we're teaching them, at the time. The most recent song was The Church's One Foundation. For me, you would be hard pressed to impress me with anything other than little children, singing the Scriptural teachings that we're hoping to impress on their hearts.

It's funny, but also rather telling in a way, that often when our 8 year old finds out she's gotten herself into trouble, she begins softly singing Amazing Grace, to herself. She can't carry a tune to save her life, and she forgets a lot of the words, but in times of stress, she resorts to singing about God's grace.

Recently, Samuel (5) and I stayed home from church on a Sunday, due to his foot injury. We puttered around the house all morning long, and while I was making lunch, Samuel sat down in the swivel rocker and began to sing "I've got joy like a river, in my soul". He told me he learned that song in Sunday school, and really liked it. Samuel, like Jordan, also cannot carry a tune, but to see that little boy rocking back and forth, with his foot all bandaged up, singing about the joy of the Lord, just blessed my heart.

I don't know what it is about the dynamics of a song, but somehow, a teaching in a song seems to remain with us, because of the song. Does anyone remember Schoolhouse Rock? Whenever I hear that name, I think immediately of "conjuction junction" and "I'm just a Bill". How about those catchy commercial jingles you used to hear as a kid?

There is an allure with music, and singing, that draws almost everyone in, somehow.

Many years ago during a most difficult time in my life, someone suggested to me that when I was feeling stressed out, to sing the psalms. The only time I'd ever heard the psalms being sung, was in a documentary I watched once, where the people were actually singing them, in Hebrew. It was the most beautiful thing I have ever heard, bar none, in my life.

The one thing that I do catch myself singing often, around the house, in the van, or in the yard, is this one:

"Wait on the Lord, and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart... wait, I say wait, wait upon the Lord". This is Psalm 27:14

The person that inspired this series, is a well known Christian recording artist. I almost hesitate to admit here, that I am not familiar with most of his music. I have heard a few of his songs, and I do like them, I'm just not very up to date on most Christian music.

Recently he expounded on Psalm 119:54 and this is what he had to say:

"The Song of the Word...melodies of heaven in a pilgrim land

October 4th 2005 - “Thy statutes are my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.” –Psalm 119:54

The true sojourner for Christ is never without a song to sing every step of his earthly journey. Though some days our way may be fraught in the valley of trials and affliction, while other days lived on the mountain top of blessing, whatever our earthly state we have a heavenly song to sing to encourage our souls to glory in the Lord. Paul and Silas understood this well as they found themselves in prison, beaten, flogged and put in stocks for spoiling a fortune tellers profit by setting free a young demon-possessed woman. As faithful ambassadors of the gospel of Jesus Christ their incarceration did not dampen their spirits or rob them of their joy. Instead, they sang hymns of praise to the Lord in the night that shook that inner dungeon and led to the salvation of their prison guard (Acts 16:25).
Where does this heavenly song come from that brings comfort in our darkest hour; that strengthens in our every need of each day; that brings grace when sin has raised its ugly head; that stirs our dry hardened hearts where the fallow ground has appeared; that confronts us when compromise sneaks in, or when self-reliance confounds, or where self-esteem deceives; and consoles us when fear overcomes? David tells us, “Thy statutes…” – the Word of God. Think of it beloved, His statutes - our songs, His Word - our music, His theology - our doxology, His Lawbook - our songbook. “Let the Word of Christ dwell richly within you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs; singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Colossians 3:16). “With the statutes of God in your hand and in your heart, you are furnished with a song for every step of your way” says Charles Bridges.
And where is this song to be sung? “… in the house of my pilgrimage.” This world is not our home; we’re just a passing through. We are looking for a better country (Hebrews 11:10, 14-16); a city on a hill (Matthew 5:14), and longing for Christ’s return (Philippians 3:14). Though we are citizens of earth, may we never forget that we are first and foremost citizens of heaven. Pilgrims, sojourners, aliens, foreigners; we are strangers in a strange land, homesick for heaven longing to be with the Lord.

“My heart is steadfast O God; I will sing, I will sing praise with my soul. I will bless the Lord at all times—his praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psalm 108:1; 34:1). He has given us a “new song” (Psalm 40:3) to sing while making our way through this world; and may we, the redeemed people of God, “say so” (Psalm 107:2). As we are on this journey to the Son, may our daily prayer to the Lord be, “let my tongue sing of Thy word, for all Thy commandments are righteousness’” (Psalm 119:172). "

(source: http://a1m.org)

I hope this has blessed you in some way today. This series will resume Monday, October 10th.

SDG,
Carla

(and a very special thanks to brother Steve for his passion and dedication)

Downsizing Life

Dateline: October 1997…

A tripod.com banner showed up on a web page I was surfing, and I thought: “why not?”

A few days later, “Carla’s Place” was born.

Fast forward 8 years, 1 husband, 4 kids, and 1 country later and Carla’s Place is now
Here We Stand. (I even had a nifty domain name for a while, but it didn't seem to be worth the money so now it's the old, boring url).

That site has changed a lot over the years, and has grown extensively. There are more subpages to that main page than I can shake a stick at. In a word: it’s a MESS, and it’s too much to continue maintaining.

For this reason, I’ve begun the pruning. Some pages, no one ever even reads, so they’re already gone. Others, I’ll be combining in other sections, to streamline the site even more.

Over the years I’ve had several different ventures into other areas online, and that old site has always sort of been my central hub, to direct folks to the different things I’m up to – like the chat room (first on irc, then msn, now paltalk), the forums, my online photos, etc. Some of these pages are going too.

I’m also deliberating on whether or not to keep my discussion forum. On msn, there were over 700 members – even though only a fraction of them ever participated. We moved the forum a few months ago, and there are less than 40 members that made the move with us (and some of them are new since we moved).

I guess I’m just saying I need to uncomplicated things, as much as possible. I no longer moderate at 5solas.org (that was mutual, so don’t believe the rumors when Brandan tells you I’ve become a hyper-preterist arminian and got my eyebrows and elbows pierced, and he booted me off the mod team), and I’ll also be stepping down from another forum that I moderate (no, it’s not at challieworld, Tim can’t get rid of me that easy!) I’m ALSO considering closing down the Homeschooler’s Postcard Exchange. It went well at first, but then fizzled out to nothing. Major bummer about that, the kids were really excited about it, but for some reason, the families that signed up just quit responding.

I’m too lazy to go into detail about all those things, and/or link to them, this is more of a thought-dump for today.

It's been an insanely busy day - but I did manage to bake a pumpkin pie for Sunday's dinner. AND, I made it from scratch, crust and all. If anyone wants the recipe, just say the word and I'll put it up here.

Tomorrow I make my Southern Style Sausage Stuffing, aka "oh mom's stuffing! YUM!". If anyone wants the recipe for that - ditto - and ditto to above.

SDG,
me

Friday Funny Bone

Things To Ponder

1. Do cemetery workers prefer the graveyard shift?
2. Do Lipton employees take coffee breaks?
3. Can I yell "movie" in a crowded firehouse?
4. Can you be a closet claustrophobic?
5. How do a fool and his money GET together?
6. How do you know when its time to tune your bagpipes?
7. How is it that a building burns up as it burns down?
8. If a train station is where the train stops, what is a work station?
9. If nothing ever sticks to Teflon, how do they make Teflon stick to the pan?
10. If the pen is mightier than the sword, and a picture is worth a thousand words, how dangerous is a fax?

Guarding the Trust – Trust in the Word

This is part 11 of an ongoing series. You can read part 10 here

Guarding the Trust – Trust in the Word – Psalm 119:42
(October 7, 2005)

Thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness, and thy law is the truth.

Trust...
Trusting...
Trustworthy...

This is a concept that has proven so difficult for so many people throughout the history of humanity. Lives can be destroyed, jobs lost, children hurt, horrible decisions made - all as a result of trusting in the wrong thing, or wrong person - or not trusting in the right thing.

I don't think there is anyone I know, that hasn't been betrayed by someone they trusted. I'm not even sure there is a person out there, that hasn't been in the position of violating someone else's trust, even accidentally, or unwittingly.

In a world filled with fallen people, even among the most pious believers, the Scriptures tell us clearly that we can count on 1 thing to place our trust in: Him.

While children will trust their parents, and spouses will trust each other, and best friends do the same, we all, at one time or another, are going to let someone down, and let that trust down. We can't help it, it's a symptom of who we are.

Not long ago, having a conversation with my then 5 year old, about sin, I mentioned to her that even though we get upset with her when she sins and does something bad, that she's not alone in that. I told her even grown ups struggle with doing or saying things they should not do, and sometimes give in to that temptation to sin. I wanted her to understand that sin is a human problem, not just a kid problem.

She looked at me like I had just said I was going to turn myself inside out and walk on the ceiling. Then she said "mom, I thought grown ups NEVER sinned." Oh how I wish her thoughts could be true. I had to make sure she understood that we've all sinned, and fallen short - from the tiniest baby to the oldest person to have ever lived.

There is a degree, to which we can trust those around us. Those that we know love the Lord and strive to live to please Him daily. Even those that don't know Him, and have always lived by a moral code to be a trustworthy person. But placing our trust fully, 100% in man, or the things of this world, is the worst mistake anyone could ever make. It's an absolute guarantee, that the trust will be broken and we will be let down.

The verse above says of the Lord "thy law is the truth". In looking at the Hebrew word emeth, used there for "is the truth" these words are used to define what that means: sureness, reliability, stability, continuance, faithfulness. This is such a comforting anchor to have in our lives!

We live in a time, where even among professing Christians, "truth" is relevant, conditional, situational, up for grabs, up for debate, and up for re-defining. Where trusting in the word of God is openly denied, by some Christians, because they don't even know what the truth IS!

In John 17, Jesus is praying for those that have come to Him, receiving the truth and believing the truth, that He was indeed the Son of God. He asked of the Father that He not take the believers out of the world, but to preserve them IN the world, keeping them from evil. In verse 17 Jesus asks of the Father:

"Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."

He goes on later to say "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word".

Child of God, that's you. That's me, that's every believer that would come to the knowledge and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, after that time. Believing on Him, through the word of truth that has been handed down from one faithful evangelist to another, in every generation, since that day Christ "lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee".

I don't know about you, but for me that's an incredibly humbling thought, that Christ lifted His eyes to heaven, and asked of the Father that even all those that would come after the believers at that time, would be sanctified through His truth.

If there is 1 thing in this world we can place our entire trust in, it is indeed the word of God.

Here are some more verses for you to take a look at:

• Ps 18:30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
• Ps 20:7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God.
• Ps 25:2 O my God, I trust in thee: let me not be ashamed, let not mine enemies triumph over me.
• Ps 25:20 O keep my soul, and deliver me: let me not be ashamed; for I put my trust in thee.
• Ps 31:19 Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
• Ps 34:22 The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.
• Ps 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
• Ps 37:40 And the LORD shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him.
• Ps 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.

Today's entry in this series has a very significant, personal application to me. It is a reminder for me that no matter what comes, my trust is in Him, and my hope is sure.

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!
Carla

It's the Doug & Tim Show!

For those of you that are not aware of it yet (all 3 of you), Doug and Tim will be live blogging a conference in Minnesota starting tomorrow.

The conference is Desiring God’s 2005 National Conference - “Suffering and the Sovereignty of God”.

This is the way this is worded at Piper’s site:

Tim Challies and Doug McHone, two leading evangelical bloggers, will be live-blogging the conference. If you cannot attend (or if you are attending, but want to add a whole new dimension to your conference experience), visit their websites to read their live-blogs:

Tim Challies (challies.com)
Doug McHone (coffeeswirls.com)

Yes, of course they’ve both received plenty of ribbing about tht “leading evangelical bloggers” part, but in reality, it’s true of both of them. If you are not a regular reader of their blogs, you should be.

You can read more about the conference here

(as a side note, as Doug was preparing for the conference, he wondered how he'd recognize Tim at the airport - the comments left here - will make you laugh)

Guarding the Trust - Honor the Word

This is part 10 of an ongoing series. You can read part 9 here.

Guarding the Trust - Honor the Word – 2Thes. 3:1
(October 6, 2005)

Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you

What does it mean to give honor to something, or someone? If someone were to ask me that question, my first thought would be "to celebrate it", simliar to the way you celebrate someone's birthday - how they are the "person of the day" and the whole day revolves around them; their gifts, their cake, party, decorations, the meal, etc.

The dictionary says of honor: To hold in respect; esteem, to bow to, to confer distinction on.

As much as both of the above definitions single out a person or object to honor, both seem to fall so very short of the way the Bible defines honor, as it pertains to honoring the word. The verse in 2Thes. used here, uses the word doxazo ("be glorified) in reference to the word of the Lord.

Looking closer at the word doxazo, shows that it's an action (or an attitude) that goes far beyond a simple celebratory tone:

"to praise, extol, magnify, celebrate, to honour, do honour to, hold in honour, to make glorious, adorn with lustre, clothe with splendour, to impart glory to something, render it excellent, to make renowned, render illustrious, to cause the dignity and worth of some person or thing to become manifest and acknowledged"

The word doxazo comes from the root word doxa:

in the NT always a good opinion concerning one, resulting in praise, honour, and glory:
splendour, brightness, magnificence, excellence, preeminence, dignity, grace, majesty

Digging a little deeper into the Greek word used in 2Thes 3:1 it's pretty clear to see that our attitude toward the word of God "being glorified" should be one that goes much much deeper than just something "to be celebrated".

Steve Camp, who originally inspired me to approach this series as a daily devotional/study, included this list of 34 positions a faithful steward of God's word should be taking - about the word, in an article he titled "Guard The Trust". That article was subtitled "every Christian's duty: defend the sufficiency & authority of God's Word".

The thought occured to me this morning as I was looking over the Biblical definition of glorify, that sometimes we might forget that one of the enemies we have to guard against, and be on the defensive against, is our own flesh. Our own lack of reverence for the very word of God. If we don't understand how deep doxazo is, we're letting a guard down, and not truly guarding this trust.

The very first time I ever heard anyone really expound on this 1 verse, was just recently.

A pastor friend in Germany was speaking about his burden for evangelism in his country, and this was the verse that he mentioned. It was (and is) his heart's desire that doors may be opened, hearts might be prepared to receive the life changing word of God and that God may be glorified in this work in Germany. This is a pastor that routinely speaks of the sufficiency and the authority of God's Word. He is a faithful guard, of this trust. (To listen to one of brother Audey's most recent sermons in English, click here for his August 21st sermon on the afflictions of Christians, Luke 22:31-34.)

I would encourage you to listen to that sermon. I hope that this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG,
Carla

Observations about...

Married people:

In editing a manuscript today (which took every spare moment I had, and then some, and I'm still not done) that Kev and I have been working on, it occured to me for the first time, just how differently we approach Biblical subjects.

While he is more "whole counsel of God", I am far more "dig deeper into 1 verse". Where his writing covers a broad spectrum of topics in 1 article, my writing zeros in on minute details of 1 topic. It was neat to see that, and the way the manuscript is coming along, I think our different styles compliment each other very well.

Coincidences:

Today my friend Michael asked me if I received a book in the mail (that he sent) yet. I said no, but that's only because I was too lazy to walk the quarter mile to the mailbox to find out. To the best of my knowledge, I hadn't received it yet, but when Kev came home from work he checked the box and there it was.

The book is David Wells' "Losing our Virtue" and it's one that I really wanted to read - so I'm borring Michael's copy.

When I opened the book, Kev said "hey! I heard about this book and I wanted to read this too!". He'll have to wait, I asked first!

I sat down here later to read my blog subscriptions, and one jumped off the page:

Above All Earthly Pow'rs: Christ in a Postmodern WorldThe fourth book in David F. Wells's four-volume masterpiece (the other three being No Place for Truth, God in the Wasteland and Losing Our Virtue) on modern evangelicalism. No astute observer of the culture can afford to ignore Wells' diagnosis and prescription. (This was posted at Reformation21)

Me:

Since I'm doing observations - I figured I'd make a confession too. Here it is, ready?

I'm a lousy letter writer/email-responder/comment-leaver.

After school today, I sat down to write a hand written letter. It occured to me after only the first few lines, just how often I NEVER do that anymore, and how awkward it felt to write longhand like that. That was strange, especially since I write all the time for school. But letter writing is quite different. I'm not entirely pleased with the fact that my one time enjoyment of writing letters longhand, now seems so foreign.

It's foreign because I'm so used to this keyboard, that it's more comfortable in my fingers, than a pen. Oddly enough, as comfy as I am at the keyboard, I'm still a rotten responder to emails, or leaving or responding to comments, the way I think I ought to.

Maybe I'm just lazy?

Medicines:

Aleve doesn't get rid of headaches the way Advil does.

I have had a whopper since about 8pm, and had too much to do in the last 4 hours to just go to bed early, like I wanted to. Don't have anything in the house except Aleve, and it didn't work. Ugh.

Oh well, maybe it'll be gone tomorrow.

Scripture Indexes:

By far, the most frustrating formatting job I've done in a long time. Time consuming, tedius, but oh so important in a book. If I had the money, I'd hire someone in a heartbeat to do this for me, so I wouldn't have to.

And with that, the Observation Deck is now closed. Please join us again tomorrow for more quirky observations - and thank you for shopping Reflections of the Times.

Signed,
One Very Tired Mom

Guarding the Trust - Reverence the Word

This is part 9 of an ongoing series. You can read part 8 here.

Guarding the Trust - Reverence the Word - Psalm 119:161
(October 5, 2005)

Princes have persecuted me without a cause: but my heart standeth in awe of thy word.

I have to admit, today's verse left me speechless. Literally.

In our modern world, when someone says they are in awe of someone, or something, what they really mean is that they have great admiration, or fascination with or for the object of their awe.

If for example, you might be inclined to be "in awe" of the Grand Canyon, and had the opportunity to go there, you would welcome the opportunity, to go and see it for yourself - you would welcome it with great excitement.

Interestingly enough, that's not really what this word means in Scripture, and it's certainly not the way it's used in this verse.

This is the Hebrew word pachad and it's literal meaning is to be afraid, to dread, to cause to tremble or to fear.

The Psalmist writes that he has been persued by those in authority over him (with the implication they have the power and authority to cause him great harm) that do no not even have a legitimate cause to persue him - but his heart - the center of emotions in man - stands in fear, or dread, not of men who have power to cause him great harm or worse, but in fear of the word of God.

Like the Psalmist, we have a legitimate and just cause to fear God's word. He is, afterall, the Most High God, pure and holy, righteous and just in all He does. He knows every thought we have, and He knows the depth of our depravity, something that even the most contrite believer doesn't completely understand.

Psalm 139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

We live in a time where it seems that many Christians have lost this genuine awe of God's word - or never even had it to begin with. Where God has become our buddy, and His word is something to be flippantly tossed around for pithy, one-liner platitudes. Even worse is the position so many take to approach the very word of God looking for it, to substantiate their own personal viewpoint on any given issue - as if the Bible was their own personal Yes Man.

In addressing this, this morning, I feel and know that I am highly under-qualified to address it. I am afraid that my own heart doesn't not stand in awe of God's word to the degree that it should. This is an area that I'm afraid too many believers are too shallow in, but not because we genuinely do not reverence God, only because we do not understand the depth of why we should fear Him. An area I believe is highly under-preached, under-taught, and overlooked, in our modern world of Christendom.

I admit this is certainly an area that convicts me, and one I desire to understand better.

I hope this has blessed you in some way today.

SDG,
Carla

On Homeschooling

I receive questions and comments quite a bit, re: our homeschooling curriculum. To start with we form our core curriculum around Christian Liberty Press, and we always order through CBD. Best rates, and the shipping is fast, and low cost.

For that reason, I've added a sidebar search, for those interested in CLP's selections.
I hope this is a help to you.

SDG,
Carla

Just some Tuesday stuff...

It was 82 degrees here today... and will be 81 tomorrow. Funny, 2 years ago this week we already had snow on the ground. I'm taking full advantage of the Indian Summer!!
___________________

What a highly productive, and yet challenging, and yet exhausting day, all rolled into one. Sorta like a psychological E-ticket ride at Brainland.

I began my day by meditating on, studying, and writing for today's entry in Guarding The Trust. There is simply no better way to start your day, than by being in the word.

Even before breakfast, I began re-working the cover of my Garden Faerie book. (see the sidebar). I really like the new cover, and I've also added a more detailed description at the bookstore, PLUS, a sample (partial!) chapter, from chapter 1.
Just a teaser :-)

You have to go here to read it, then click on "preview this book".

School began well, but before it was over, Jordan hit a roadblock and did her impression of One Flew Over the Homeschooler's Nest. That's always a challenge to work with her, through that.

Dan had a few things to say on Christian blogging being a waste of time. He actually posted this yesterday, but I didn't get a chance to read it until today. I notice there are quite a few more comments now, than there were when I read it & commented - go take a look.

Kim also had a great question yesterday (okay, I 'm a day behind, sooner or later I'll catch up)... she wants to know what is the greatest lesson you've learned about studying the Bible. Go read her post here and be sure to leave a comment.

On a nervous note, I wrote my own (from a suggestion letter) news release for my book, and it's to be released to the news wires day after tomorrow. It seemed very corny to write my own release (writing about myself in the third person was weird), but when I read the sample release, it looked fine. I hope mine looks fine too - and hope it generates some interest. Proceeds from all my creative bursts go toward snow boots, winter wood, dental visits, etc. Yep, this is our second income, and with prices going up, and me not "working", it's getting real tough, to make ends meet, let alone buy those extras we need.

The kids are in bed, the bats are flying around like mad, and I'm pooped. Speaking of bats, we counted 5 coming out of our attic tonight at dusk, and flying off into the yard. I'm thinking this is not the best thing in the world, to have bats in your belfry. I'd better call someone, eh?

SDG
me

Guarding the Trust – Esteem the Word

This is part 8 of an ongoing series. You can read part 7 here.

Guarding the Trust – Esteem the Word – Psalm 138:2, 1 Thessalonians 2:13(October 4, 2005)

• I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
• For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

While I have approached this series as a daily devotional/study guide for myself, when I read this yesterday (after posting part 7) I was strongly enclined to dig into this one as well. This point is one that is very familiar to me.

Several months ago, Kev and I shared some of our articles in a booklet form, with our local church. The booklet is titled A Word Fitly Spoken, and the subtitle reads: "In a time when conflicting teaching is in abundance, it’s more vital than ever, that we stay grounded in the timeless teachings of Holy Scripture."

Two of the articles we included in that booklet were Sola Scriptura in Evangelism, by myself, and Sola Scriptura, by Kev. These articles were first published in The Rock Solid Truth, a publication of American Sovereign Grace Baptist Alliance.

The reason I mention those two articles, is because we live in a time where increasingly, the finality and the authority of the written word of God is being whittled away by doubters, philosophers, unpackers, and re-packagers. Those that approach the Scriptures with the intention of seeing it in a new perspective (their own, or someone else's) , rather than approaching it prepared to have their minds transformed BY it.

To understand just how God thinks of His very own word, we need look no further than Psalm 138:2 "thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name."

I cannot count how many times people have asked of me, or that I have read "where does the Bible say that the Bible is the final authority?". I believe some really do want the answer to that question - but I believe more than anything else, that question is asked in hopes of an ensuing argument, i.e., "that verse doesn't really say what you think it says/means".

Psalm 138:2 is as clear as it gets, God magnifies (promotes) His word, above His very name. How anyone can argue that, is beyond me. The Father of Lights, Almighty God, esteems His own word, higher than His own name!

1Thes. 2:13 has a very powerful statement in it, regarding the life changing, supernatural power of God's word. Notice it says "but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe."

The word of God was not received as merely the words of carnal man, but it was received as truth (surely, certainty), as the word of God, that effectually worketh (operate, powerfully work) in those that believe!

I could easily sit here and quote verse after verse on just how powerful the word of God is - but I will reserve that for the remainder of this series. I will however share these, on the power of God's word, and the grave error of not esteeming God's word, in the very manner He Himself does:

1Cor.1:
17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness;
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:
31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

I hope that this has blessed you in some way today. Please do feel welcome to share your thoughts on this, or any of the articles in this series.

SDG,
Carla

Random Thoughts On Hold

Three years ago, I wrote an article called Random Thoughts of a Calvinist. (you can read that here). In February of this year, I revisited that article, and new it was time to upgrade, reformat, re-install, as it were. You can read Random Thoughts part 2, here.

At the end of that second article, I said I might take another look at this again, in 10 years or so. Well, it’s been less than 8 months, but it’s been on my mind to address this topic again. There are several things I would like to address – but honestly, I don’t feel prepared to address them, right now.

So… until I am, you’ll have to be bored with the other things I put up here every day.

SDG,
me

Guarding the Trust – Treasure the Word

This is part 7 of an ongoing series. You can read part 6 here.

Guarding the Trust – Treasure the Word – Job 23:12, Psalm 19:10-11
(October 3, 2005)

• Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
• More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Several years ago, long before blog memes, email memes were sent around. I rarely participated in them, but one did catch my eye. It was a question about being stranded on a desert island, with only 3 items. You could pick your items but had to explain why you picked those 3. I don't recall the other 2 items I picked, but my Bible was one of the 3.

I recall a time, quite a few years back, when I participated in an online discussion forum, of what were mostly liberal, or "nominal" Christians. Of course I didn't realize it at the time that they were liberal, or nominal, but it didn't take long to figure it out.

This was a group of people that liked to quote the Bible, when it suited them, but also believed such things like "cleanliness is next to godliness" and "God helps those that help themselves" were actually Bible truths. In a discussion one day about peace, I naively said "Jesus said He didn't come to bring peace". All present, immediately began to chastise me for saying such a horrible thing. At first I thought I had mispoke, so I had to re-read what I had typed. Sure enough, I typed it exactly as I meant it. I told the group to look at Matthew 10:34-35. Many were indignant, and wouldn't look at it. Others accused me of twisting the Scripture. Still others said "I didn't know the Bible said that", and said they needed to study more. Several accused me of worshipping my Bible.

It was a very odd experience, to say the least.

I didn't point that out to berate those people, but to make the point that while they called themselves Christians, they clearly did not esteem the word the way Job did. Job considered the word of God more valuable to him than even the food that sustained his life. In the verse in Job 23:12 it says that Job esteemed, or treasured, or hid in his heart, the word of God, considering it over and above his food. That's a pretty strong position to take. I wonder if Job would have been accused in today's world, of worshipping his Bible?

The Psalmist in chapter 19 and v.10 declares the word of God to be something that should be desired far and above even an abundant supply of pure, refined gold.

I don't know much about gold, except that it's ridiculously expensive, and the world values it so much there are countless "gold" cliches. Heart of gold, good as gold, pot of gold, and the ever popular, albeit obnoxious, he who has the gold, rules. I know I've heard (and probably used) many others over my own 40 year lifespan, but the bottom line is, the world is fascinated with the value of gold.

Even an abundant supply of gold, much more pure gold than any 1 person would ever need, is the word of God to be treasured in a believer's heart, mind, and life.

When I come across other believers that don't see the word that way, it bothers me. Why do they devalue it so much? How can they not see it's worth? I don't know the answers to those questions, that's between them and God - those are just the questions that pop into my head.

Look closely at this passage in Proverbs 3, and let it richly bless you today:

13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.

SDG,
Carla

Bird Lovers

Do you like birds?
Do you know someone who does?
Are you already planning your Christmas List?

Kev and I love songbirds, and birdwatching. What was once considered an old-folks-past-time is no longer – people young and old enjoy birds!

I’ve been busy creating some new graphics for my Bird Lovers line of products at my store.

There’s the Garden Party, which includes Cardinals, Blue Jays, and the regular cast of characters in our garden. Shown here is the mousepad - this graphic is also on 9 other great products from office to home decor. Mugs, clocks, light switch covers, throw pillows - and more. This was one of my favorite graphic to make. These are all birds I've photographed, and in this graphic they're digitally enhanced with a dry-brush and colored pencil wash.


Here are the Black Capped Chickadees, gracing the cover of these great journals. Great for recipes, notes, devotions, whatever! Scribble important stuff! Wire-O bound, 160 page journal is unlined and measures 5" x 8", a handy on-the-go size to fit in your backpack. Go creative and let the muse flow. Back cover made of thin black flexible textured plastic. Front cover made of 12pt glossy paper, coated for scratch resistance. Filled with bookweight (24 lb bond) blank paper - NO LINES.


I love these little guys! These are the Chipping Sparrows. By far the most people-friendly bird in the garden. This tile box is perfect for stylishly storing knick-knacks, jewelry, or any precious keepsake. Made of solid lacquered Alderwood. Measures 5 1/4" sq. x 2 1/8" with a 4 1/4" tile and hinged lid. Like all of our other graphics, the Chipping Sparrows come on several different products, so come by and take a peek!


American Goldfinch Throw Pillow. These are such pretty birds to have in the garden. They make great models too, I have so many pictures of these, it was hard to pick the best ones to use! Add stylish fun to any room with our roomy Throw Pillow. It measures a sprawling 18" X 18" with an 11” X 11” image area so you can lounge in comfort. It’s made of ultra-soft brushed twill with a sturdy canvas image area. Ships with pillow insert. Removable zippered cover for easy laundering.


My Lovely Waxwing. Such a regal looking bird, and not the easiest to get a close-up of, but patience pays off! Featured here on the switch plate cover: Turn it on! Add a fun, stylish accent to any room with our high-quality metal light switches. The roomy 3.5" x 5" size is a roomy creative surface to display unique decorative accents for the kitchen, office, or kid's room. Fits flush to the wall when installed. Measures 3.5" x 5", center hole measures 15/16" x 7/16". UL approved. Glossy finish, fits flush with wall when installed.

I have such a blast creating these products! There's plenty more in the Bird Lovers line, so come on buy and start your Christmas shopping early!! There are over 70 new products in Bird Lovers, surely a gift there to please the bird lover on your list! All products are in stock, and ship in 2 business days. Shipping is worldwide - and you can even order by phone.

All proceeds from the sales at Scripscenes go toward supporting Christian home schooling.
(In other words, I'm a stay at home mom with lots of kids, therefore, this is my job, and this is what buys the firewood for winter! C'mon, go shopping!)

6 Degress of Sovereign Grace Stats?

Stats are interesting – often humorous – often bizarre.

I check my referral stats from time to time to see where folks are coming from, and usually end up finding a gem of a blog, or a site I didn’t even know existed. I like it when that happens.
This morning however, I found something ironically, coincidentally, helpful.

Someone did a search at google of the text string “calvinist are arrogant elitist”, that oddly enough, brought them to my site. It took them to an entry here called “Random thoughts of a Calvinist, Part 2” Oddly enough, that article doesn’t even use that phrase, but I guess I used enough of the phrase, to be listed. The irony of that search, and result, was that I’ve been thinking recently that it’s probably time to do a part 3.

Even more ironic, is the top 10 listings at google, when you search for that phrase.

In order:

1. Phil Johnson’s Primer on Hyper-Calvinism.

2. Tim Challies’ blog entry from September 2004 called Pondering Calvinism.

3. A reply to Tim’s entry.

Number 4 on the list is a page a baptistfire.com that warns us

“Calvinists want to take over your Southern Baptist church!”

It’s astounding, after reading this page, you’d have the idea that Calvinists were child-eating monsters.

From this page:
“The Calvinists have a clear goal -- the conversion of the SBC to Calvinism!”
“The Calvinists have a clear tactic -- deceitfulness in your pulpit!”

Good grief, Charlie Brown.

Listed there as Resources to Help Your Church and Pastor are articles & audio resources by: Adrian Rogers, Jack Graham, Samuel Fisk, Dave Hunt, Chuck Smith and George Bryson.

Listed as #5 is this site’s audio files. Yay, more paranoia.

Seeing this site listed is actually helpful though (yes, there is hope!). The last Dividing Line this week, was quite likely the best one I’ve heard in a very long time. For those of you that don’t know what that is, it’s a radio program hosted by Dr. James White – or for those “in channel” at #pros “DrO”.

Here’s what Dr. White’s site says about the last DL:

Radio Free Geneva: Second Program on Jack Graham Anti-Calvinism Sermon

Today's DL continued the Radio Free Geneva series in identifying the recent anti-Calvinism sermon of Jack Graham of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Texas as "one of the worst," and today we hear why with the repeated mis-citation of Titus 2:11 and the mis-citation of Matthew 23:37 as well. Words just disappear right off the page of Scripture when your tradition glasses are that thick! Listen in here.

You really really really need to listen to this program.

Ranked at #6 is me. (I really need to do a part 3, I’ll chant this to myself for the next week until I do it).

7. TheologyOnline Forums - TOL's Fulfilled Prophecies (not really sure what that’s all about)

8. Elitism -- Facts, Info, and Encyclopedia article (something about astronomy?)

9. Founders Ministries Blog - Tom Ascol takes on Jack Graham’s sermon:

“I tried to resist commenting on this sermon by Jack Graham but it is further evidence of how desperately we need biblical reformation in our churches throughout the SBC and beyond that I feel compelled to at least give some quotes from it so that others can see my point. Very often--more times than I can ever hope to remember--I have simply let such uncharitable misrepresentations pass without comment and even without calling attention to them. Several reasons have motivated me to pursue this course of action.” (keep reading)

And rounding off the top 10 is John Piper with an article on “I Have Other Sheep That Are Not of This Fold”Listed for his use of this phrase here:

“And now, just when the danger starts to arise that we may take this pride-shattering doctrine of sovereign grace and twist it into an arrogant, in-house, elitist charter for the private comfort of the chosen few, Jesus says in verse 16, "I HAVE OTHER SHEEP, THAT ARE NOT OF THIS FOLD."

All in all, not such bad company to be in, when someone does a search for arrogant, elitist Calvinists.

It’s helped me to remember to update my Random Thoughts article – and it reminded me I wanted to blog on James Whites’ recent Dividing Line.

:-)

SDG,
me

Guarding the Trust – Rejoice in the Word

This is part 6 of an ongoing series. You can read part 5 here.

Guarding the Trust – Rejoice in the Word – Jeremiah 15:16, Psalm 119:111,162 (October 2, 2005)

• Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.
• Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever: for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
• I rejoice at thy word, as one that findeth great spoil.

Do you remember what it was like as a child, Christmas morning? Do you remember that great anticipation, waiting to open your gifts, to see what was inside?

When I approach the Scripture, I try do it with that same mindset. I know that even if it's a verse I've read before, or a passage I've studied before, there will be something wonderful there for me. (Even if it's something convicting!).

Jeremiah speaks of eating His word - consuming it, devouring it. I love this analogy!

Here in Canada, we have Thanksgiving coming up next week. Everyone knows what Thanksgiving means: turkey, sweet potatos, rich gravies and delicious desserts. I personally take great measures to assure that we have a lovely table setting, the food is just right, and even the lighting is supplied by lovely, aromatic candles, to make it even more special. For me, Thanksgiving is a very special meal - it's a day we set aside to not only make the meal special, but for family to gather and declare our gratitude to God for His provision. We do this at every meal anyway, but the Thanksgiving meal is much more elaborate - much more of a celebration.

I usually have the turkey ready for carving by around 3pm, and by 3:30, grown ups and kids alike, are milling around the kitchen, waiting to be seated, to dig in. Comments are passed around about how good everything smells, and almost always someone makes the announcement that they are quite likely starving, to death.

They are prepared to devour the meal.

This is the way Jeremiah describes how his appetite was for the word. That it was his joy (the cause of his joy) and the rejoicing (the affect of his joy) of his heart.

The Psalmist wrote (119:111) of God's testimonies being like a permanent, aquired possession, or like the abundant prize, or winnings, (119:162) causing the rejoicing of his heart.

I don't know anyone that's ever won a large jackpot, or lottery, but I do know that when someone does, it's made out to be a big deal - much rejoicing. They make plans, quit jobs, buy things, take vacations. That all sounds real nice for the here and now, but sooner or later that jackpot is gone - and sooner or later that person's life is over.

While being relieved of financial stress may be a sigh of relief for a time, it's only a temporal thing. A momentary diversion.

I received an email last night from a lady in southern Louisiana, one of the areas hardest hit by hurricane Katrina. She's been writing ever since the hurricane tore through her community, on the blessings of God, and the wisdom, comfort, assurance, and hope, found in His word. Her family didn't lose everything in the storm, but they came close. Others in her own community did in fact, lose everything they had.

Her words, and so many other believers down there, are a great blessing to me. They are inclining their hearts and minds to the greatest possession ever, and they are rejoicing in that heritage. Even in the middle of great devastation and loss.

I often wonder after times like Katrina, or other tragedies I read about, like a house fire, or a robbery, the illness or death of a loved one, why we have to lose something, so much of the time, to realize what great treasure we have right in front of us, all along.

Why not approach the word daily, with a ravenous appetite as Jeremiah had, and let it be the cause and the effect, of our joy?

I hope this blesses you today, and gives you much to think about.

SDG,
Carla

Guarding the Trust – Delight in the Word

This is part 5 of an ongoing series. You can read part 4 here.

Guarding the Trust – Delight in the Word – Psalm 1:2; 119:35, 143
(October 1, 2005)

But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
Make me to go in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me: yet thy commandments are my delights.

Several years ago, we were a bit overzealous with our Scripture memory program, and we chose Psalm 1, for the kids to memorize. It took several weeks, but strangely enough, they all did it, even Samuel who was only 2 at the time. I’m sure if quizzed now, none of them would be able to do it, so we’ll be putting Psalm 1 back on the curriculum again this year.

One of the blessings about that however, is that I memorized it as well. I probably couldn’t recite it all from memory either, but it was one of the most edifying memory verses I ever worked on.

In the beginning of that Psalm we see a picture of what happy is.

1. It says blessed is the man (happy is the man)
that walketh not (does not live)
in the counsel (relying on the adivice)
of the ungodly,
nor standeth (maintain a firm position)
in the way (in the moral character) of sinners,
nor sitteth (to remain)
in the seat (in the same company)
of the scornful (mockers, arrogance, those causing derision)

2. but his delight (good pleasure)
is in the law (direction, or instruction)
of the LORD, and in his law
doth he meditate (think, speak, imagine, consider)
day and night.

I love Psalm 1. It goes on to describe a man’s sure footing in peace and prosperity, and what happens to those who revile this position.

Have you ever approached the Scriptures seeking an answer for a specific situation, and come across a verse that you’ve read countless times before, and suddenly there it is for the very first time all over again? Suddenly that verse that you’ve read so many times before, takes on a whole new application – but it’s been there all along – and it always meant what it means now – you just didn’t notice it before. I love it when this happens.

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but years ago my Bible study teacher told me that this was so common among the Hebrew people that they had a name for it, and it meant “fresh word”. He told me what the word was too, but I have long since forgotten what it was.

Do you, or do you know anyone who regularly reads Proverbs, or the book of James, over and over again? I do, and I know people who do this as well. There is just so much wisdom, comfort, assurance and solidity there, no matter how many times you read it.

When you delight yourself in the word, your entire countenance changes.

It’s been a very long time since I read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, but I recall reading about men who were sentenced to the stake, and while being burned alive, they would recite verses of Scripture from memory – as body parts were engulfed in flames. I recall as well another book called Their Blood Cries Out, in which story after story was another account of unthinkable human violence toward believers, where many of these believers sang the Psalms or recited Scripture, as they were tortured beyond imagination, until their last breath.

Their delight, their good pleasure was in the word. I cannot begin to imagine the fear, or pain that martyrs for Christ have suffered, but it inspires me to no end, to hear about their very last testimony on this earth, quoting Scripture, and smiling.

It strikes me as petty, insignificant, and extremely frivolous, whenever I myself begin to feel down, and don’t even bother to seek solace in the word. Instead, I have a momentary pity-party for myself, and ignore the one source of delight and reassurance that I need the most:
The Word!

I do this less and less as I grow in Christ, but I still do it, and I’d be fooling myself if I said otherwise. For this reason, it’s good to have fellow believers in my life that step up to the plate and say “hey, I know you’re bummed out about this, or that, but look at this verse” then go on to remind me where my true delight, really is. I already knew it was there, but sometimes we need that reminder, from others who also delight in the word.

Psalm 119:35-36 says

Make me to go (darak) in the path of thy commandments; for therein do I delight.
Incline (natah) my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.

These 2 Hebrew words are incredible.
They mean to cause, lead, guide, stretch, bend, turn, influence.

We have to be led, and we have to be bent and influenced by Him, because without Him we’re a people prone to going the other way. Relying on our self-wisdom or relying on carnal thoughts. Romans 7:14-25 speaks to this very thing. Verses 22-23 specifically:

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: 23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

There is only one thing I know of that will chase that battle away, that will obliterate that pity-party that we sometimes have for ourselves. This one thing is found in Psalm 1. Meditating (thinking, speaking, discussing, imagining, considering, inwardly applying) on His word, day and night.

I hope this has blessed you today. Please do feel welcome to leave a comment, and let me know your thoughts on this series.

SDG,
Carla