“Religion is, ‘I obey, therefore I’m accepted’. The Gospel is, ‘I’m accepted through what Jesus Christ has done for me, therefore I obey’. Religion gives you control, that’s why its so popular…
~Tim Keller
We Follow God's Own Fool
"God's Own Fool", by Michael Card
Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's holy wisdom is foolish to man
He must have seemed out of His mind
Even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame
But, God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane
Chorus
We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well
So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam
Surrender the hunger to say you must know
Find the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see
Chorus
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well
Seems I've imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God's holy wisdom is foolish to man
He must have seemed out of His mind
Even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon's to blame
But, God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane
Chorus
We in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
We in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well
So come lose your life for a carpenter's son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you'll have the faith His first followers had
And you'll feel the weight of the beam
Surrender the hunger to say you must know
Find the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see
Chorus
So we follow God's own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable, come be a fool as well
Work
For nearly two years, I've been gathering Scripture, quotes, and ideas on the subject of work.
Work. We all have to do it. Ministry is called "the work of the ministry". Each of us is intimately acquainted with whatever our work is, whether preacher or plumber or home maker. A Christian can exhibit a genuine love for his or her work, because Christianity is incredibly down-to-earth...incarnational...and has involved a healthy day's work since the garden of Eden.
Here is just one of the many things I have gleaned and gathered so far. It is a quote by one of my very favorite poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Enjoy!
"It is not only prayer that gives God glory, but work. Smiting an anvil, sawing a beam, white washing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring, everything gives God some glory if, being in His grace you do it. God is so great that all things give Him glory if you mean that they should."
Work. We all have to do it. Ministry is called "the work of the ministry". Each of us is intimately acquainted with whatever our work is, whether preacher or plumber or home maker. A Christian can exhibit a genuine love for his or her work, because Christianity is incredibly down-to-earth...incarnational...and has involved a healthy day's work since the garden of Eden.
Here is just one of the many things I have gleaned and gathered so far. It is a quote by one of my very favorite poets, Gerard Manley Hopkins. Enjoy!
"It is not only prayer that gives God glory, but work. Smiting an anvil, sawing a beam, white washing a wall, driving horses, sweeping, scouring, everything gives God some glory if, being in His grace you do it. God is so great that all things give Him glory if you mean that they should."
Summer Afternoon...
A love gift, this past Sunday, from nieceKatie
Sunshine on a stem
The other sunflower patch
You take some whole grain pasta...
Some Roma tomatoes and some basil...
Some olive oil and some parmesan...And you can have dinner in no time flat.
What was it the poet said? Something like, "Summer afternoon...there are no two words more beautiful in the English language." In the waning moments before school begins (I have not looked forward to it!), I've spent my day napping on my porch, with the sound of the pond waterfall relaxing my thoughts into a warm, happy silence. I've picked sunflowers, and enjoyed the advice of an out of state friend, who spoke words encouraging moxie into my spirit.
(Moxie: The ability to face difficulty with spirit and courage. Aggressive energy; initiative. Skill; know-how.)
I've watched goldfinch feeding on my coneflowers, and cooked a delicious, simple dinner, straight out of my garden.
Just when I should, perhaps, be having a string of bad days (neither motherhood nor home schooling nor ministry is never an easy thing) I find myself having strings of good days, like pearls. My soul so boasts in God over it! He does what only He can do.
"I Own That..."
I own it all. I really do. (Please bear with me, it isn't as arrogant as it sounds. I say it that way to get your attention, that's all - this is very Biblical, you'll see if you stick with me...)
If you espouse sovereignty and election...I own that. If you espouse "whosoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved"....um, that's mine too. I own that. Are you currently enjoying a book by Finney? I won't call it heresy, because though I don't agree with him down the line, still...I own the concept that faith without works is dead. Are you into Edwards or Spurgeon and their fantastic views on New Covenant? I own that. William Law and the importance of certain disciplines? I own that. Grace alone? I own that. It is all mine. Don't let that make you crazy. I didn't come up with any of it, and neither did you. Nor did Paul or Apollos or Peter. Truth belongs God.
Fact is, I own it all, yet am not owned BY any of it. I can shift emphasis or focus at will, or at the clear leading of the Lord to my spirit. I know many other men and women who own it all, I've eaten dinner with some of them recently. Yet these saints are owned BY no one thing, and it is a clear sign of maturity.
I am not even allowed say, "I am of Christ" because of the ring of exclusivity that idea has to it. Christ has chosen to deposit truth into a beautiful diversity of vessels, and I am to receive from them, giving thanks to God for the gift He has placed within them.
I hate moral and ethical sin, because of the deep, generational affect it can have on a human being. I own the fact that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. But when a man or woman is sorry for their sin, and willingly embracing a process of restoration, heeding a consensus of Godly input, I am to walk with them in their process. I am to cover them. I also own the truth of love covering a multitude of sin. I own it all.
Free will? I own that. Election? I own that. Can I lose my salvation? No. Can you? Maybe - I have no choice but to let you answer that. Discipline and training? Own it. Dancing in the freedom that is mine? Own it.
Can I tell you the Biblical definition of carnal? It might surprise you. The definition of carnal is to be owned BY a particular emphasis, to the point that you part company with another believer.
We are making the choice to know nothing in this season but Christ and Him crucified. The gospel will be what we are about till the day we die. Everything we teach, everything we live out in secret in the walls of the Atchley home, will be with an eye towards never....ever....being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We own every aspect of it, bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. Foundational grace is something we will return to, from time to time, as needed.
So I won't take the writings of men and pit them against each other, as though they were plastic army guys in an imaginary war. I won't live as though James and Paul had it out for each other. I won't act as though there were no power in the gospel to completely transform the vilest sinner, nor will I toss out an emphasis on the renewal of the mind, as illustrated in the classic phrase, "a long obedience in one direction."
I own it all. The people of God own it all. Finding common ground is not so difficult for a mature human being, much less a saint.
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
If you espouse sovereignty and election...I own that. If you espouse "whosoever will call on the name of the Lord shall be saved"....um, that's mine too. I own that. Are you currently enjoying a book by Finney? I won't call it heresy, because though I don't agree with him down the line, still...I own the concept that faith without works is dead. Are you into Edwards or Spurgeon and their fantastic views on New Covenant? I own that. William Law and the importance of certain disciplines? I own that. Grace alone? I own that. It is all mine. Don't let that make you crazy. I didn't come up with any of it, and neither did you. Nor did Paul or Apollos or Peter. Truth belongs God.
Fact is, I own it all, yet am not owned BY any of it. I can shift emphasis or focus at will, or at the clear leading of the Lord to my spirit. I know many other men and women who own it all, I've eaten dinner with some of them recently. Yet these saints are owned BY no one thing, and it is a clear sign of maturity.
I am not even allowed say, "I am of Christ" because of the ring of exclusivity that idea has to it. Christ has chosen to deposit truth into a beautiful diversity of vessels, and I am to receive from them, giving thanks to God for the gift He has placed within them.
I hate moral and ethical sin, because of the deep, generational affect it can have on a human being. I own the fact that the fear of the Lord is to hate evil. But when a man or woman is sorry for their sin, and willingly embracing a process of restoration, heeding a consensus of Godly input, I am to walk with them in their process. I am to cover them. I also own the truth of love covering a multitude of sin. I own it all.
Free will? I own that. Election? I own that. Can I lose my salvation? No. Can you? Maybe - I have no choice but to let you answer that. Discipline and training? Own it. Dancing in the freedom that is mine? Own it.
Can I tell you the Biblical definition of carnal? It might surprise you. The definition of carnal is to be owned BY a particular emphasis, to the point that you part company with another believer.
We are making the choice to know nothing in this season but Christ and Him crucified. The gospel will be what we are about till the day we die. Everything we teach, everything we live out in secret in the walls of the Atchley home, will be with an eye towards never....ever....being ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We own every aspect of it, bought and paid for by the blood of Christ. Foundational grace is something we will return to, from time to time, as needed.
So I won't take the writings of men and pit them against each other, as though they were plastic army guys in an imaginary war. I won't live as though James and Paul had it out for each other. I won't act as though there were no power in the gospel to completely transform the vilest sinner, nor will I toss out an emphasis on the renewal of the mind, as illustrated in the classic phrase, "a long obedience in one direction."
I own it all. The people of God own it all. Finding common ground is not so difficult for a mature human being, much less a saint.
And again, The Lord knoweth the thoughts of the wise, that they are vain. Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours; Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours; And ye are Christ’s; and Christ is God’s.
Snippets of My Life Lived In Community
Pasta, hot dogs, lots of singing, and Mike looking at Scripture on his i-pod Touch, coming up with a message on the fly, I do believe.
Scott's the big guy with no hair and shades. He's a consummate guitar player. You will never meet a man with a more gentle spirit!
Somewhere around 15 college-age kids on my back porch, worshipping the Lord. We had exactly 1 guitar for every 3.75 people.It is ten o'clock at night now. The cicadas are outside my bedroom window, their rhythmic song preparing my mind and body for rest. It has been a non stop weekend, yet my strength feels renewed.
I am one who has lived pretty much my entire life in relationship with people in the body of Christ, but never have I been more thankful than this night. I am grateful for men who take time to encourage and pray for my sons, and the sons of others. Men who are willing to spend and be spent for my daughters and the daughters of others. Men whose paths cross only briefly with Harvest Church, yet we...and they...are marked by the touch of Jesus through one another's earthen vessels.
And some of this sweetness....a portion of this miracle....took place in my own back yard today. The walls and floors of this home still ring with songs, laughter, prayers, and a very, very loud game of Catch Phrase. This home has seen a lotttttttt of the ministry of hospitality over the years, and it feels more of a sacrifice now, sometimes, than ever before. There truly are never enough hours in a day, not even when your kids grow up. But I would not trade this kind of sowing for another.
In the past three days alone, within these very walls, not the walls of any church building, I have overheard my husband, spending nearly an hour sharing the gospel with a neighbor. I have had a college kid from another church show up, literally, on my doorstep asking for pastoral counsel, and I served my husband and he ice water as they sat on my front porch and navigated this kid's difficult questions. I have shared a meal with guests, had two spend the night with us, watched an unsaved young man tremble in the presence of God, and sung songs of worship together with others on two separate occasions!
To be honest, this past weekend has not been too out of the ordinary. Around here, that is pretty much how life goes. Living in community is hard work. The rewards, however, are well worth it.
Keep Up To Date on the Latest!
Over and over, every year for the last 18 years, I am asked the same question when it comes time to register one or more of my children with our home schooling umbrella organization:
Are you up to date with the latest Tennessee laws and regulations regarding home education? Have you read the latest?
The law that was in place ten years ago, is not the same today. Ten years ago, I could not have claimed as a defense some statute that would not be made law yet. I'd have lost my case. We home educators have gained some freedoms, and lost some freedoms. An educator has to stay up to speed on the latest.
King David said this: "Great peace have they which love Thy law, and nothing shall offend them."
Every good theologian will define "law" as the most recent edict issued from the mouth of God. David loved the law of the Lord - law being defined as whatever God has said. In David's day, the word of God in enforcement was Mosaic law. Of course David loved it! It was the word of the Lord...there was no further word!
That law is still perfect, converting the soul. We love it. It stands for all time as an illustration of a perfect God, pointing us dramatically to our need for a Savior. We passionately love how this Old Testament law is and was full of types and shadows of Jesus Christ. All of it written to give us insight into the plan and ways of God, "...written for our admonishment, upon whom the end of the worlds have come."
But "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets,has in these last days spoken to us by His Son..."
The manner in which we relate to God has changed radically. The old has been done away with, the new has come. You cannot make your case according to the old way. There is no more "if, then". There is no more "if you obey the law, then you are blessed". Jesus came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. Synonyms for "fulfill" ~ accomplish, achieve, answer, be just the ticket, carry out, comply with, conclude, conform, discharge, do, effect, effectuate, execute, fill, fill the bill, finish, hit the bull's-eye, implement, keep, make it, make the grade, meet, obey, observe, perfect, perform, please, realize, render, satisfy, suffice, suit
It is finished. It has been concluded, down to the last beautiful detail. Over. Done. Complied with and executed, and Christ performed it all. His obedience is the only obedience.
He ushered in what we call the New Testament Age of Grace.
If the man who danced before the Lord in his ephod were alive today, he'd be shouting, "Great peace have they which love Thy New Covenant, and nothing shall offend them!"
Stay educated and up to date on the latest law: the law of love. We will be held entirely accountable to the most recent edict from the throne, found in Scripture.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse.
The Greatest Is
And now abides faith, hope and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love.
There are really only three change-agents in the lives of people. Only three abiding motivators, only three forces at work of any effectiveness.
Faith can move mountains. It shall be (or not be) to you according to your faith.
Hope is what enables us to persevere. Michael Card sang it thusly, "Hope is the helmet of each noble soldier, for only a warrior who hopes can be brave. Hope you in the Lord and renew your strength! Soar you up on eagle's wings! Tirelessly run the long race that's set before you - your life's a song the Father sings!"
Oh, but the Lord would say: the greatest of these is loving relationships. "Love" is a moot point, without relationships. Without a person to be kind to, without a person to believe the best in, love is just a word.
Love never fails.
Keeping relationships right is always right.
Love never fails.
Love. Gifts of the Spirit will be done away with, and the law already has been. Love never fails.
There are really only three change-agents in the lives of people. Only three abiding motivators, only three forces at work of any effectiveness.
Faith can move mountains. It shall be (or not be) to you according to your faith.
Hope is what enables us to persevere. Michael Card sang it thusly, "Hope is the helmet of each noble soldier, for only a warrior who hopes can be brave. Hope you in the Lord and renew your strength! Soar you up on eagle's wings! Tirelessly run the long race that's set before you - your life's a song the Father sings!"
Oh, but the Lord would say: the greatest of these is loving relationships. "Love" is a moot point, without relationships. Without a person to be kind to, without a person to believe the best in, love is just a word.
Love never fails.
Keeping relationships right is always right.
Love never fails.
Love. Gifts of the Spirit will be done away with, and the law already has been. Love never fails.
Be Strong
Finally, my sisters and brothers, be being strong in the Lord (be in an ever present state of depending on His strength) and always be operating entirely in the exceeding might of His ability. (Eph. 6:10)
I was talking to a dear one today about the liberating truth of "Christ in me."
Forget about "my personal best". That is limited thinking, fraught with attaining one good thing, at the terrible expense of two better things. When the exceeding might of His ability moves me, a certain level of personal "performance" (for lack of a better word) is attained in perfect peace,and without my hurting the people I live with. Jesus Christ is made unto me a never ending source of wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
And I don't have to wait to feel emotionally whole to depend on His strength, because His strength shows up in my weakness. And I don't have to wait until I feel able, to love others and be about the business of the kingdom of God, because I am complete in Him already.
He'll do His job through me, "as me". Christ loves to express His strength and lovely nature through my rather unique vessel.
I was talking to a dear one today about the liberating truth of "Christ in me."
Forget about "my personal best". That is limited thinking, fraught with attaining one good thing, at the terrible expense of two better things. When the exceeding might of His ability moves me, a certain level of personal "performance" (for lack of a better word) is attained in perfect peace,and without my hurting the people I live with. Jesus Christ is made unto me a never ending source of wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
And I don't have to wait to feel emotionally whole to depend on His strength, because His strength shows up in my weakness. And I don't have to wait until I feel able, to love others and be about the business of the kingdom of God, because I am complete in Him already.
He'll do His job through me, "as me". Christ loves to express His strength and lovely nature through my rather unique vessel.
A Cup of Coffee and a Friend
A cup of toffee coffee, and a friend. A soulful, comforting, blessed combination! Kim-from-Texas and I finally met face to face today, after knowing one another for a decade. She is camping with her family, coming through Knoxville to Boston.
We've home schooled children "together", she's got graduates and I've got graduates, and we've both used the same philosophy and methodology to get the job done. That's how we met - on an online home education forum.
But the common ground goes deeper than that. So much deeper.
She's beautiful, intelligent, funny. The best conversationalist you'll ever meet. We rambled over verbal fields of flowers, ranging on every topic from adolescence to Zen. And something about motorcycles. And grace. And church. And Boticelli and the Burning of the Vanities. Um, coffee and coffee gadgetry, too, of course. (After all, her blog IS "Books and Coffee"!) We spoke of BBQ and salsa, antiphonal singing and Ikea furniture. We shared about things light and easy, and things heart-rending.
Typical home schooling mother-conversation.
We plan on lunch, two years from now.
FAITH!
I was talking to my oldest boy yesterday, after church. He was telling me about how he went fishing one night this past week. He went night fishing, so it was dark, and he didn't have a lantern. He cast his hook, and sat down to fish and pray.
Soon, the Lord spoke to him and said, "Reel in. I've given you a fish." He replied, "I can't see the float." The Lord said to him, "Don't be moved by what you see." He then said, "I don't feel a thing on the line...I have not felt a nibble or a tug...nothing!" God said, "Don't be moved by what you feel."
He reeled in his hook, feeling foolish.
On the end of that line, was a small mouth bass.
When a boy's relationship with God is the emphasis, God is so much more able to train a boy than even his parents are. May he respond to the voice of God, more and more! There is always that choice....to turn aside and "see this thing", as did Moses, or to blindly continue walking in your own way.
"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen."
Two Brags Today
Two blogs yesterday, two brags today. Here is the first brag -a picture I took, just now:
Yesterday, the sliding door on this van fell off. I mean, it just dropped off! I was in a panic.
So...am I bragging because we drive an older model car, with about 250,000 miles on it? That it was side doorless yesterday? No, of course not. Unless the discipline of frugality is something to cheer for.
The "brag" here is that my man (already stressed, with his patience severely tested and tried in many other areas) got out there, scratched his head, and patiently began the long process of taking the whole back quarter panel off the van, and with a hammer and some sockets and other tools I don't know the names of, he pounded this and that back into shape, fabricated a necessary small part, then manhandled the door back into place, put it all back together, and it works better than it ever did.
Not only that! This make and model of van was notorious for losing every stitch of paint on the front hood. Ours somehow survived a long time, but this past year....it did. Oh. It did. The paint suddenly bubbled, blistered, and every square inch of paint flaked off the hood, down to the gray, flat, discolored underside.
Then, last March, the whole van broke down. Price to have the mechanic repair it? Over $300. So we let it sit, while I drove our equally old Previa.
Because we also had a wedding to pay for. Once the wedding was behind us, we also priced "cheap" paint jobs. Price to paint? Cheaply? $400. (That's a good deal, I know.)
My man...my hero...finally had a little time, post-wedding, to crawl under the van. He said the magic words, "Maybe I can fix it." He has managed to keep every other older car we've driven on the road, almost singlehandedly, with only a few trips to the mechanic.
He. Did. It. Price to fix it? $70
Then, he pulled the codes for the color of paint, and he painted it. He. Did. It. Price to paint it? $40 for the paint, another $20 for a few supplies he can use again. It is not a perfect paint job, but for a van as old as this one, it was the frugal, creative, and utterly talented manly thing to do to "do it himself." I am so stinkin' proud of the guy. He can also play the guitar, the drums, he sings like a dream, preaches, pastors, and he builds me whole additions to my house. I'm unsufferably and startlingly in love with him. I love a man who can do way more than one or two things.
Here's the other brag:
See the brunette beauty on the right? That's one of my twin daughters, Sarah. She's the one I spoke of in yesterday's blog. The man on the left? That's her birthday present for 2009. That's Jonathan. Precious man of God, summa cum laude graduate, artist, and her new best friend, other than her twin sister and me.
Goodness and mercy follow me. My life is a trophy of grace, a testimony to what only God can do. These two small "brags" are actually just the harvest....the result...of my Great Foundational Boast: Christ alone. Neither Tim nor Sarah nor I possess a single gift we have not been first given.
Two Blogs Today
Hmmm. Something I nearly never do: type two blogs in a day. But this is irresistable, and I have to share it.
I've been sitting here in my robe, lolling around my own blog this night. My blog is a digital journal of sorts, full of my heart in words and pictures. I marvel at the prophetic nature of a bunch of my posts, and I do not consider myself a "prophetess"!
Get this entry, around New Year's Eve:
"...first of all, a happy and prosperous New Year to my church family - of whom my own dear parents are now, as of one month ago, new members. My life can't get much more blessed and full and complete. I can die a happy woman.Well, I can die happy after we find my other twin daughter a fi - i - ne (hear the southern drawl) man of God.
Of course, her heavenly Father will do the finding. I'm just kidding when I say "we'll have to find him".
I do know this: nothing short of an on-fire, brutally handsome, leader-of-a-man, who is already about the business of the Kingdom of God, who knows exactly what he wants and pursues it, will make that daughter of mine happy. She deserves nothing short of the best...he's out there somewhere! How exciting! Will 2009 be the year? (She's so gonna kill me.)
She's in no hurry; she's fiesty and happy and picky and can afford to be picky. I'm the one who needs to know that I can die happy...just in case. Nobody is guaranteed to be on planet earth, this time next year.
And no one should get married until they find the one whom they can fulfill their divine destiny better WITH that person, than without them. No one should get married until the time is right - when what needs to be done in God's kingdom requires the talents and gifts of BOTH to accomplish. Marriage is so much more than sanctified sex, or a comfortable, expected, and socially acceptable arrangement.
No one should get married until they find the one who can make them laugh; until they find the one who is so very easy to be with. The one who leaves happiness in his or her wake. Few things are more important.
But that's another blog for another day. I'll let this one be about soup and the New Year."
Gentle Reader, I sit here in a heavy, fluffy robe with chill bumps on my arms. I am venturing to say that 2009 is INDEED the year. Aw man, has this been the acceptable year of the Lord, so far, or what?? One daughter married a fiiiiiiiine man of God in May: unbearably handsome, loves my daughter unselfishly and unconditionally, a man soon to have his Master's degree, but more importantly, a man with a pastor's heart and an apostle's call on his life.
And ya'll....my other girl most likely has her man as well, and honey...he too is "all that." Sarah is dating an accomplished artist. Recognized leader in the church he comes from. College graduate. But more importantly, a man with a missions call, and a pastor's heart and a burden for....guess where? Cambodia and China. A man who walks around this house unconsciously singing God's praises, when he visits my daughter. A man who unabashedly pursues and loves my daughter. A man who makes her laugh. No....howl. Well. Laugh really loud and long.
goodgrief, I hope this does not mean I'm gonna die soon!
I've been sitting here in my robe, lolling around my own blog this night. My blog is a digital journal of sorts, full of my heart in words and pictures. I marvel at the prophetic nature of a bunch of my posts, and I do not consider myself a "prophetess"!
Get this entry, around New Year's Eve:
"...first of all, a happy and prosperous New Year to my church family - of whom my own dear parents are now, as of one month ago, new members. My life can't get much more blessed and full and complete. I can die a happy woman.Well, I can die happy after we find my other twin daughter a fi - i - ne (hear the southern drawl) man of God.
Of course, her heavenly Father will do the finding. I'm just kidding when I say "we'll have to find him".
I do know this: nothing short of an on-fire, brutally handsome, leader-of-a-man, who is already about the business of the Kingdom of God, who knows exactly what he wants and pursues it, will make that daughter of mine happy. She deserves nothing short of the best...he's out there somewhere! How exciting! Will 2009 be the year? (She's so gonna kill me.)
She's in no hurry; she's fiesty and happy and picky and can afford to be picky. I'm the one who needs to know that I can die happy...just in case. Nobody is guaranteed to be on planet earth, this time next year.
And no one should get married until they find the one whom they can fulfill their divine destiny better WITH that person, than without them. No one should get married until the time is right - when what needs to be done in God's kingdom requires the talents and gifts of BOTH to accomplish. Marriage is so much more than sanctified sex, or a comfortable, expected, and socially acceptable arrangement.
No one should get married until they find the one who can make them laugh; until they find the one who is so very easy to be with. The one who leaves happiness in his or her wake. Few things are more important.
But that's another blog for another day. I'll let this one be about soup and the New Year."
Gentle Reader, I sit here in a heavy, fluffy robe with chill bumps on my arms. I am venturing to say that 2009 is INDEED the year. Aw man, has this been the acceptable year of the Lord, so far, or what?? One daughter married a fiiiiiiiine man of God in May: unbearably handsome, loves my daughter unselfishly and unconditionally, a man soon to have his Master's degree, but more importantly, a man with a pastor's heart and an apostle's call on his life.
And ya'll....my other girl most likely has her man as well, and honey...he too is "all that." Sarah is dating an accomplished artist. Recognized leader in the church he comes from. College graduate. But more importantly, a man with a missions call, and a pastor's heart and a burden for....guess where? Cambodia and China. A man who walks around this house unconsciously singing God's praises, when he visits my daughter. A man who unabashedly pursues and loves my daughter. A man who makes her laugh. No....howl. Well. Laugh really loud and long.
goodgrief, I hope this does not mean I'm gonna die soon!
New Bowl...
The bowl is a gift from one of my daughters, last week, and then she created the cute arrangement of flowers and vegetables and herbs from our garden.
To me, sunflowers will always speak to me of my girls. In the language of flowers, the sunflower means "I am so proud of you..." . The sunflowers we plant each year always bloom right around their birthday, which is the end of July.
(Sunflowers remind me of my boys, too, but don't tell them that. They would not appreciate it just yet. Too feminine.)
When I get still enough to listen, I hear the Lord singing over my children. My boys, particularly, are a spectacular spectacle of a "work in progress". A work in progress will deeply challenge your patience and optimism, every time. So? So, how in the world can I be patient and optimistic....and even proud of this startlingly, decidedly unfinished construction site? I don't depend on my own resources of patience and faith, wisdom or strength, that's how. When I run out of every bit of all of it, Someone else takes over, who has unlimited supply. Suddenly, when I am weak, He gets to reveal how strong He is.
God will complete the good work He began, even if that means He uses time consuming methods, even if that means He must first wound, and then heal.
A happy father whistles while he works. A supremely mighty, completely confident, and utterly joyful father sings while he works. Since God sings over my children, so do I. All I am doing is joining with Him in what He is already singing...I didn't start the song, He did. Joining Him in what He is doing is the right thing to do. Sing and work. Work and sing. Keep working. Keep singing.
Whether girls, boys, oldest to youngest, in the good times and the bad, promising seasons, and dark days, I hope you find me tightly grasping my sunflowers, seeing the obvious reasons to be proud, and finding a few reasons to be proud when reasons are hard to find...
...and singing. Because we all need to be delighted in.
I'm a Lucky Girl!
See that pretty face? That is my antique book restorer friend (and fellow believer in "amazing grace") from Texas. She also sings and teaches Spanish. See her blog, "Books and Coffee". Look around, when you get there. She is talented, and you will find pictures of her meticulous book restoring work.
We've never met. Ahem. But we've known each other for years.
I get to meet her next week! She is coming through Knoxville, and she and I are going to have....what else....a cup of java together.
Can't wait.
"Here I Stand. I Can Do No Other. God Help Me."
Martin Luther, on trial for grace-through- faith, said this: "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me."
And in this fishbowl-of-a-life, a life of full time ministry, I declare the same. In Christ alone my hope is found. I cannot look to the works of my hands and say, "You are my gods." (Is. 2: 7,8) Either the gospel is true, Christ is sufficient, and my righteousness is imputed, or nothing is true and we really ARE a gob of random molecules, the product of random chance, with no purpose or rhyme or reason to this string of days we call "life".
My world is small, but it is a watching world. I don't have a national platform, but my home, my life, my church, my street where I live, my blog, and my Facebook are my "housetop", and here I declare, at the top of my lungs, what God has shown me in secret: "His Word cannot return to Him void. That Word became flesh. The law was given, but grace came. The gospel of New Covenant, and only the gospel of New Covenant, is transformative. Grace will accomplish what law never could."
I shout it from my little "housetop", declaring before-the-fact, before the outcome can be seen, that what God has promised, He (not me, not anyone else) is also able to perform...
...and my small world watches.
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!
And in this fishbowl-of-a-life, a life of full time ministry, I declare the same. In Christ alone my hope is found. I cannot look to the works of my hands and say, "You are my gods." (Is. 2: 7,8) Either the gospel is true, Christ is sufficient, and my righteousness is imputed, or nothing is true and we really ARE a gob of random molecules, the product of random chance, with no purpose or rhyme or reason to this string of days we call "life".
My world is small, but it is a watching world. I don't have a national platform, but my home, my life, my church, my street where I live, my blog, and my Facebook are my "housetop", and here I declare, at the top of my lungs, what God has shown me in secret: "His Word cannot return to Him void. That Word became flesh. The law was given, but grace came. The gospel of New Covenant, and only the gospel of New Covenant, is transformative. Grace will accomplish what law never could."
I shout it from my little "housetop", declaring before-the-fact, before the outcome can be seen, that what God has promised, He (not me, not anyone else) is also able to perform...
...and my small world watches.
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!
So What's the Big Deal?
I swear, it is when you think you know that you really don't know. I do not think it is true, that the older you get, the less you think you have a handle on. I think the real truth is that the wiser you get, the less you think you know.
I was practically bottle-fed and burped on the Roman's Road, John 3:16, the Wordless Book, Jacob's Ladder, Onward Christian Soldiers, and the books of the Bible. I had the books of the Bible memorized, Old and New Testaments, well before the third grade. I was born again at six years old, and baptized in the Spirit (a very real "second experience") at eleven years old.
So you can imagine how that, in my adult life, I thought I had knowlege of the gospel of God and manifold grace. Meanwhile, my consistent default mode was lawlawlawlawlaw. What's the big deal about grace? It's a doctrine.
I. Did. Not. Know. Jack.
::she says, laughing::
And I still don't know...not as I will come to know as I grow ever older and hopefully ever wiser. All I know now, is that this gospel of Jesus is all there is to know, and I will be a lifetime understanding it, applying it to my life, and ministering it into the lives of others. Oh, happy calling!
The great hymn writer Isaac Watts said this: "Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance. Impress your mind with a deep and painful sense of the low and imperfect degrees of your present knowledge."
Deep. Painful. A deep and painful sense. Oh, Mr. Watts! Been there, done that recently. I've decided I prefer to stay "down here", though. I want to live my days out in the low posture of a student...only then can I truly teach with bold confidence. And teach I will. I will not be silent. I read today that there are two things the devil will always, always capitalize on: unhealthy solitude and self conscious silence. I do not learn wisdom in a vacuum, I do not gain wisdom by myself, in solitude. I learn it from God, and very often through others.
What He shows me in secret, in that deep and painful place, that I will shout from the housetops, all silence and self absorbed propriety, be gone!
I was practically bottle-fed and burped on the Roman's Road, John 3:16, the Wordless Book, Jacob's Ladder, Onward Christian Soldiers, and the books of the Bible. I had the books of the Bible memorized, Old and New Testaments, well before the third grade. I was born again at six years old, and baptized in the Spirit (a very real "second experience") at eleven years old.
So you can imagine how that, in my adult life, I thought I had knowlege of the gospel of God and manifold grace. Meanwhile, my consistent default mode was lawlawlawlawlaw. What's the big deal about grace? It's a doctrine.
I. Did. Not. Know. Jack.
::she says, laughing::
And I still don't know...not as I will come to know as I grow ever older and hopefully ever wiser. All I know now, is that this gospel of Jesus is all there is to know, and I will be a lifetime understanding it, applying it to my life, and ministering it into the lives of others. Oh, happy calling!
The great hymn writer Isaac Watts said this: "Acquaint yourself with your own ignorance. Impress your mind with a deep and painful sense of the low and imperfect degrees of your present knowledge."
Deep. Painful. A deep and painful sense. Oh, Mr. Watts! Been there, done that recently. I've decided I prefer to stay "down here", though. I want to live my days out in the low posture of a student...only then can I truly teach with bold confidence. And teach I will. I will not be silent. I read today that there are two things the devil will always, always capitalize on: unhealthy solitude and self conscious silence. I do not learn wisdom in a vacuum, I do not gain wisdom by myself, in solitude. I learn it from God, and very often through others.
What He shows me in secret, in that deep and painful place, that I will shout from the housetops, all silence and self absorbed propriety, be gone!
The Beauty of the Gospel
For it is God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (II Cor. 4:6)
Sin is ugly. The gospel is beautiful. The reality of sin does not alter the beauty of the finished work of Christ.
Hear me when I say - I know what I am talking about. For almost sixteen years of pastoral ministry, my husband and I have been exposed to the worst in human nature - you name it, we've had to deal with it directly, everything from adultery to pornography to pedophilia to lying, self righteous pride, and gossip.
And it used to rock my world. I would mourn, for those trapped in sin, as though there were no light in the darkness.
Then, along came deeper revelation into the grace of God. Now, I mourn for those trapped in sin, while believing God that "joy cometh in the morning." Today, I am intimately acquainted with the reality of these words, "Where sin abounds, the grace of God much more abounds."
So do we wink at sin, that grace might abound? God forbid.
Do we wink at the grace of God, so that sin might abate? God forbid, because that won't work anyway. If, in a reaction to some awful sin, I attempt to de-emphasize the unbelievable, unfathomable grace of God, well, that would be utter unbelief and foolishness on my part.
It would be akin to allowing soot, dirt, and ashes to pile up in my fireplace, and then turning out the family room light. Suppose, hours later, I return to the fireplace and turn on the light of revelation, and exclaim, "Look what turning on the light did! It encouraged my fireplace to be more dirty! If I dim these lights, the fireplace will be cleaner."
Nah, the light exposed what was already there...it exposed the reality I was hoping to ignore. The grace of God is no different. It never encourages sin - it rather exposes it as being exceedingly hideous in the light of divine and sacrificial love.
Christ gave his life to justify the sinner....never the sin. "Sin" is not justified, in any way, shape, form, or fashion. But I have been justified, because I have put my trust in the finished work of Christ, because I have cast all my hope onto the grace of God.
The real result of true grace-illumination, is the power of God to clean the fireplace. A well-laid, crackling, happy fire feels far more natural than letting ashes pile up. The light of grace is not a pretext for pretending the toxic mess doesn't really exist, and no spiritually sane person blames the light for all the mess, soot, and ashes. Rather, the light helps you see what damage the dirt has done, and then it helps you take joy in participating with God, as He creates beauty for ashes. You can finally have a good fire.
Grace gives beauty for ashes. It justifies the sinner. It is a fire - the very power of God unto salvation. It is still the gospel of God that by grace I am saved through faith, and nothing else. And, as I have received Christ Jesus, I will continually walk in Him. Sin, in my life or the life of someone exceedingly dear to me, will never....never....diminish the light of God's glory and grace.
Again. I know whereof I speak. I am walking this out in the most painful of ways, in this season of my life. Everything I know about the grace of God is being put to the test, is being walked out, as Jacob limping. I've wrestled this one out, in the dark night of my soul, and God has come away glorified, and His great grace magnified, and I am beautified in vials and vials of the oil of joy, the oil of joy He gives to replace my mourning.
It is well with my soul. The gospel is most beautiful. I can never allow what may be going on in the life of a dear son or a near friend's daughter, or a precious woman's husband, or a precious man's wife....I can never allow any of it to diminish the beauty of grace, or make me run back to law. Rather,this battle, difficult and heartbreaking, will one day bring about sweet victory, as the grace of God teaches everyone who is His, to deny ungodliness.
Lord, let your light shine!
Sin is ugly. The gospel is beautiful. The reality of sin does not alter the beauty of the finished work of Christ.
Hear me when I say - I know what I am talking about. For almost sixteen years of pastoral ministry, my husband and I have been exposed to the worst in human nature - you name it, we've had to deal with it directly, everything from adultery to pornography to pedophilia to lying, self righteous pride, and gossip.
And it used to rock my world. I would mourn, for those trapped in sin, as though there were no light in the darkness.
Then, along came deeper revelation into the grace of God. Now, I mourn for those trapped in sin, while believing God that "joy cometh in the morning." Today, I am intimately acquainted with the reality of these words, "Where sin abounds, the grace of God much more abounds."
So do we wink at sin, that grace might abound? God forbid.
Do we wink at the grace of God, so that sin might abate? God forbid, because that won't work anyway. If, in a reaction to some awful sin, I attempt to de-emphasize the unbelievable, unfathomable grace of God, well, that would be utter unbelief and foolishness on my part.
It would be akin to allowing soot, dirt, and ashes to pile up in my fireplace, and then turning out the family room light. Suppose, hours later, I return to the fireplace and turn on the light of revelation, and exclaim, "Look what turning on the light did! It encouraged my fireplace to be more dirty! If I dim these lights, the fireplace will be cleaner."
Nah, the light exposed what was already there...it exposed the reality I was hoping to ignore. The grace of God is no different. It never encourages sin - it rather exposes it as being exceedingly hideous in the light of divine and sacrificial love.
Christ gave his life to justify the sinner....never the sin. "Sin" is not justified, in any way, shape, form, or fashion. But I have been justified, because I have put my trust in the finished work of Christ, because I have cast all my hope onto the grace of God.
The real result of true grace-illumination, is the power of God to clean the fireplace. A well-laid, crackling, happy fire feels far more natural than letting ashes pile up. The light of grace is not a pretext for pretending the toxic mess doesn't really exist, and no spiritually sane person blames the light for all the mess, soot, and ashes. Rather, the light helps you see what damage the dirt has done, and then it helps you take joy in participating with God, as He creates beauty for ashes. You can finally have a good fire.
Grace gives beauty for ashes. It justifies the sinner. It is a fire - the very power of God unto salvation. It is still the gospel of God that by grace I am saved through faith, and nothing else. And, as I have received Christ Jesus, I will continually walk in Him. Sin, in my life or the life of someone exceedingly dear to me, will never....never....diminish the light of God's glory and grace.
Again. I know whereof I speak. I am walking this out in the most painful of ways, in this season of my life. Everything I know about the grace of God is being put to the test, is being walked out, as Jacob limping. I've wrestled this one out, in the dark night of my soul, and God has come away glorified, and His great grace magnified, and I am beautified in vials and vials of the oil of joy, the oil of joy He gives to replace my mourning.
It is well with my soul. The gospel is most beautiful. I can never allow what may be going on in the life of a dear son or a near friend's daughter, or a precious woman's husband, or a precious man's wife....I can never allow any of it to diminish the beauty of grace, or make me run back to law. Rather,this battle, difficult and heartbreaking, will one day bring about sweet victory, as the grace of God teaches everyone who is His, to deny ungodliness.
Lord, let your light shine!
This N' That, July in My World
Our "baby" practicing his drums. (Note the cleaner in the windowsill. We do make him do his chores.)
part of tonight's dinner ~ tomato and cucumber salad from the garden, in a creamy blend of mayonaisse and sour cream (2 to 1 ratio of mayo to sour cream), with lots of chopped dill.
Told you I'd take you with me, on our trip to the mountains, day before yesterday. This was our brief brush with danger. This bear was as big as the Barbie Jeep! He stood his ground for awhile!
Oh...what a view.
Up through the top-down "Barbie Jeep" (red Geo Tracker)
One of many tiny waterfalls - this one went all the way up the steep ridge.
"Run river, run." (Anyone else, like me, love old Bread songs?)
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