Nine Years / Nueve Años / Neun Jahre

Nine years ago at 10:30am, a ceremony began that changed our lives forever.

We were a little younger,

a little thinner,

a little naive-er,

(which was just right, then.)

Now, nine years in,

we love each other a little more,

understand each other a little better,

and have a family that's a little bigger.

We've endured some trials,

but shared many more laughs.

We've changed for the better,

because we have each other,

and a God who will not let us stay the same.

Yes, world, this is my man!

He can eat big sandwiches.

I'll claim him in sickness and health,

joy and sorrow,

plenty and want,

till death does us part.

And I'm sure thankful he feels the same about me!

He is a patient man, folks, a patient man.

Happy Anniversary, dude.

Summer Days

Since we've returned from Ireland and recovered from jet lag, we've been enjoying our first real days of summer.

It's wonderful!

WATER PLAY!

SOFTBALL!

HOT DAYS AT HOME WITH COUSINS!

Isn't Iris growing just perfectly?

MORE WATER PLAY! 

 

ZOO!

This species will soon be extinct,

what will we do to help?

 These critters should surely be in cages.

More baby Iris, yeah!

 I've only ever seen the nose or tail of the fellow on the right,

but that day he had himself out on full display.

Happy last month of summer!

God's Sovereignty

I'm having one of those "theme weeks," you know, where something keeps coming up over and over, so you figure that maybe you should pay attention to it?  This week it's been God's sovereignty.

Last Wednesday evening at Community Group we discussed the book of Jonah and saw the overarching work of God through the whole story: making storms, providing a big fish, saving Ninevah, etc.  Then on Sunday morning our pastor began a short series about God's Judgment and Redemption, looking at Isaiah 13-25.   He's asking us to consider the judgments pronounced not just on Babylon, Assyria, and the likes, but also on His own people.  And only then to consider the immensity of God's redemption in light of the judgment from which the cross saves us.  God has a big-picture view of human history and He has a plan.  Somehow, in the midst of it all (there is really nasty stuff in chapters 13-24, and not-so-easy stuff in our own lives) what He's doing is right and good.

This morning my Bible reading included these verses:

The Lord Almighty has sworn,"Surely as I have planned, so it will be,and as I have purposed, so it will stand."  Isaiah 14:24

But the plans of the Lord stand firm foreverthe purposes of His heart through all generations.  Psalm 33:8-11

Comfort and Wonder

The knowledge of this Great God, who has plans and purposes and sees them through, should be of great comfort and wonder to the Christian.  God's sovereignty comforts, because it removes reason to fear.  Our view may be that this world is helter skelter, but the Creator who got it all going is still involved.  Especially as we read the Old Testament and catch glimpses of the coming Messiah, and then we meet Him in the pages of the New Testament - the One who came to save His people from their sins - we are comforted to know that God is doing something about the biggest, deepest problem we've got.

That's where the wonder comes in.  We were dead in our transgressions and sins, servants of darkness, object of wrath (and if you want to see what the wrath might look like, start reading in Isaiah 13); there was no way out.   Then God entered in, God Himself.  And He rescues those who believe in Him, taking Him at His word that His son's death was enough to save us from punishment.

Does life seem a little crazy today?  Is there pain so deep, you're sure it'll never dull, let alone heal?  Are you looking death and all of it's ugliness in the face as a friend or family member nears the end?  Do sin patterns control you and sap you of hope that you'll ever change?  God is there, in all of those things.  He knows, has a plan and is trustworthy.  Let this be of comfort and wonder to you today.  Turn to Him and trust.  It's hardest in those difficult moments, but also sweetest.  For he takes our weary, burdened, heavy hearts into His gentle, loving hands, and gives us soul rest.

Little Boy, Big Blessing

Last night, I sat on the side of my son's bed (to keep him IN bed) asking God to show Colin and me how to best instruct and discipline the little boy behind me who won't stay in bed, who doesn't obey as quickly as I'd like, who takes me to the end of my (really short) rope most days, but who I also love so very much and brings me so much delight.  I wanted to unleash my anger on him, let him have it for his disobedience, make sure he knew and felt bad about how bad he was being.  But God wouldn't allow for it last night.  (This was a "good" night, by the way, and I'm so thankful for it.  Usually the anger mounts and eventually explodes all over the place.)

Right now, this little boy is what's driving me back to the cross more often than anything else.  There I remember that from which I have been rescued and also find the God of all wisdom, who gave us this little fellow and will help us through raising Him up.

As you walk through today's challenges, remember that the sovereign God knows you are in them and He's accessible right there to see you through.

Cast all your cares on Him because He cares for you.

I Peter 5:7

"That is Christianity."

We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself.  That is the formula.  That is Christianity.  That is what has to be believed.

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh^[a] and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. ⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.

Ephesians 2:1-5

I pray that God will meet you this morning as you worship, that you would have a fresh taste of His love and mercy.  Theology and doctrine are beautiful, necessary, and enhance our worship and understanding of our Lord; but the simplicity of the gospel - God saving wretches like you and me - can and must be embraced first.  And it's available to anyone.

Hallelujah! He has found me,

the one my heart so long has craved.

Jesus satisfies all my longings,

through His blood I now am saved.

(from the hymn, Satisfied)

My 2 Faves

So far, I have not gotten in the habit of reading any of the (what I call) "superstar" Christian mom or women's blogs, think A Holy Experience, Pioneer Woman, etc.  My favorites have a personal connection with the authors. Honestly, I can't come up with three.  Most of the blogs in my blogroll are friends; I sure do love their reflections on life, lists of thanksgiving, photos of their kids, craft and celebration ideas, etc.  But as for the blogs outside the friend category, the two on which I'm always anxious to see a new post are:

1. My Heart At Home is the blog of a friend I made at the conference Sally Clarkson hosted in her home last year.  Kristen is a Christian and a homeschooling mother of 5 who lives in Canada.  Her posts get to the heart of many issues that mothers face from a Biblical perspective.  And they are the perfect length for moms who don't have a lot of time, but need a lot of encouragement!

2. Steadfast Joy is the blog of the Johnson family, who we met while in Cambridge, MA and who now serve as missionaries with World Harvest Mission in Bundibugyo, Uganda.  Naturally, I love reading this blog to see pictures of the Johnsons and their children, but more so, I love how God uses this blog to remind me to pray, to remind me that the world needs Jesus, to remind me that my little comfortable world is an exception, not the rule.

Thanks to those (two of you, thanks Jodi and Heather!) who shared their favorites yesterday.  Feel free to share your favorites in the previous post or in the comments here.  I'd love to know what you read ... it may just lead me and others to a whole new world of blogging delights!

What If ...

... for some bizarre reason, you no longer could read whatever blogs you want and were told you could only read three.  What three would you read?

This is challenging, because I read a lot of family blogs, to keep up with my friends' lives and their growing children.  I don't want to have to choose between friends.  So to reduce the agony of having to choose from among those favorites, leave friend blogs out and pick your top three non-friend blogs that you read for encouragement, information, personal development, recipes, etc.  A blog you read for one of the later reasons may also be your friend, so it is okay to choose a friend's blog ... I just didn't want you to feel like you were in elementary school again having to rank your friends!

I'm curious what you read.  I find there are many blogs I might like to read, but I don't have the time.  And if articles on a blog are too long (speaking of text, not photos) I won't read them; I don't like reading on the computer screen very much.

I have to give this some thought too, so I'll post my top three tomorrow.  Post yours in the comments, and feel free to include reasons why you love them.  Maybe we can introduce each other to some cool blogs we didn't know about before!

Mere Christianity

Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on.  There is no other.  That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion.  God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there.  There is no such thing.

I'm finally reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  For some reason, I always imagined it would be a complicated book, far above my understanding. A book for smart people.

I was wrong.

The book came out of a series of radio talks that Lewis gave to the British people during the Second World War.  Asked by the BBC to explain to his fellow Britons what Christians believe, C.S. Lewis proceeded with the task as if it were the simplest thing in the world, and the most important, says Kathleen Norris in the Forward.

As usual, I'm not finished with a book and I'm recommending it.  I'm only about 50 pages in, so if you join me now, we can read it together!  I'm reading a chapter a day.  The chapters are short, each a quick read, though the reader is left with plenty to ponder.