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.

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.

Twenty-two years ago today...

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.

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.