Capturing Those Moments...

"Tim Atchley's Restaurant" (our back porch and fire pit)

Ribeye and swordfish - prepared last night by chef husband...

Flowers...table by the outdoor fire...yep. He did it all. For me.

On another note, this is my front porch, on any given day. Please note the three balls...

Flowers for me, from Jonathan and Sarah - perfect in that pitcher!

The table set last weekend, awaiting the arrival of our dear, esteemed Pete Beck.

Our guest room...we found a beautiful antique bed last week, and bought a new mattress for it. I had fun decorating the room for Pete's arrival...Pete, who is an Alabama fan. Ahem.

Lastly, my husband's filing cabinet. That's a card he received from the owner of an area business, thanking him for his steady, friendly ways, and his unrelenting Christian witness. The owner said in this card that several of her employees are considering coming to Harvest as a direct result of Tim's unassuming manner, together with his constant sharing of the gospel. Trust me, you can go many, many years and never get a card quite like this. How very encouraging! I'm proud of him - there is no one I respect more. He is consistent, no matter who he is with, his word is his bond, and he will always be honest with people. He refuses all church politics, and expects those who lead with him to be down to earth and honest as well.

Acts 13

"Be it known to you, men and brethren, that through Jesus Christ is preached to you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware, therefore, lest that come on you which is spoken of in the prophets; 'Behold, you despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which you will in no wise believe, though a man declare it to you!"

Truly, Lord, "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." (Luke 1)

Fulfilling God's Law?

Are you fulfilling God's Law?

- by David Ord

A great many Christians believe that the law has been "done away." All that God requires today, they tell us, is that we show love. But what is love?Would it be love, for instance, for a counselor to leap into bed with his client in order to demonstrate genuine acceptance of a woman who feels rejected?Love can be very subjective. What one person considers an expression of love may seem like gross immorality to another.

Because of the risk of whitewashing sin by labeling it "love," one branch of the church insists on varying degrees of obedience to moral law. Not only the ten commandments, but other moral "ought-to's" concerning Christian dress, smoking, worldliness, and so on. Another sector of the church reminds us, as one put it, that "love is to fulfill the law."One thing is sure: Paul was no advocate of sin. Whatever he taught with regard to the law, it was not to encourage license.

What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?

We are all agreed that sin is a "no-no," but are we agreed on what is sin?I noticed years ago that Christians rarely come out with a clear biblical definition of sin. To one it is card-playing, drinking, dancing; to another these things are fine, but wearing a bikini swimming suit, or dress that is more than an inch above the knees, or smoking a cigarette would constitute sin. It seems that sin is usually defined according to the particular church tradition you have been exposed to.

Since sin is a biblical term, we might expect to find it defined in the pages of the Bible. And though it isn't often quoted, the apostle John does clearly state that "sin is lawlessness." Not, as the King James version inaccurately renders it, "sin is the trans gression of the law"; but as more modern translations rightly put it, "sin is lawlessness."What law are we talking about here? Few of us would argue that John had in mind the law of Moses. We recognize that we are dead to that law.

If a person wishes to take up with the law of Moses, he ought to make sure that he performs it in its entirety, because the rule-of-thumb for law-keepers is, "Cursed is every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law, to perform them."

And yet - many of us still want to retain something of law in our Christian lives. We are not prepared to capitulate to the total subjectivity of "love." We have heard of the terrible abuses of the "love" way, and it seems to be a very dangerous doctrine. So we find ourselves hovering between the moral "ought to" of the law, and the complete freedom of the "love" concept. What is the answer?

When a young ruler asked Jesus how he might inherit the kingdom he was proclaiming, Jesus pointed to the command ments. Of course, the young man felt he had kept these from his earliest days. He was technically righteous by the law's standard. However, Jesus went on to illustrate the much more stringent standard that was required for entrance into the heavenly king dom and eternal life. By this standard, it would have been easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the young man to enter the kingdom.So difficult did Jesus make the "ought to" seem that He provoked consternation in His disciples:And when the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, "Then who can be saved?" And looking upon them Jesus said to them, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible"

Jesus had explained that the gate into life was extremely narrow and difficult to find; few had so far entered. Out of the millions who had lived from Adam until His coming, just a handful of Old Testament characters had really come to know God and enjoy an intimate relationship with Him. Men such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David and the prophets were few and far between.The "ought to" route is a hard way indeed!

No wonder it seemed to the disciples that no one would ever make it into the kingdom! But the impossible for man becomes the possible for God, and so for those who were tired of striving to please God and constantly failing, Jesus' announcement of "good news" was like a breath of fresh air. The narrow, difficult way was about to be opened into a broad highway:Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and 1 will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and My load is light.

What did Jesus mean by "learn from Me"? Why did He point to the fact that He was "gentle" and "humble in heart"? Though Jesus was the Son of God, He freely confessed: "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Him self... I can do nothing on My own initiative." He was humble in heart because He recognized that no human being can accomplish the will of God. God Himself must indwell a person and perform His will through the person as a vessel.

It was the Father in Him who did the mighty works, and that is how it must be with us if we are ever to please Him. We must "learn of Him" -be indwelt as He was indwelt.Jesus was also "gentle." He refused to strive in His own strength.

He was one with the Father, so that the Father's life and power coursed through Him. "The Father is in me, and I in the Father," He told His critics. "If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father." "My Father and I are one." He did not try to do the will of His Father, He simply allowed Himself to be in-dwelt as a vessel so that the Father could manifest His life through Him. Though great work was accomplished, it was all from a state of spiritual rest.This was the "rest" hinted at in creation week, in Israel's weekly keeping of a Sabbath day, and in the rest of the earthly Promised Land.

All of these Old Testament shadows pictured the time when Christ Jesus would come to this earth to demonstrate how God can live in human beings and fulfill His will in them without their own effort or striving.Once we recognize that we can do nothing righteous of our selves - that all our righteousnesses, before and after con version, are like filthy rags - we are ready to allow Christ to live through us. "There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God." Not a day, not a physical place on this earth, but a rest which comes from being yoked in union with Christ. The fulfillment of the Sabbath type:For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His (Heb. 4:10).

The external "ought to," whether it be of the ten command ment law or of our own making according to our church tradition, shows us our inability to please God. It convicts us of fail­ure and weakness. When we are about to drown, after we have wallowed in our own self-effort and failed miserably, we can finally cease from our own works and enter into rest in Christ.

This "rest" is not a rest of laziness. We have been set free from the law of "ought to," but it is not a freedom to live as we please in the flesh.

Rather, we have been joined - yoked - to Christ and "the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him." Not two, but one; just as Jesus and his Father were one, so that for Him to live was really the Father. And for us to live is Christ! When He indwells us, He lives His life of tremendous works through us. The proof of His oneness with the Father, He said, was the works that were being accomplished.

If we are one with Him, He will live that same fruitful life through us today! Collectively, we will do even "greater" works than He did while on earth, because then He was limited to one human body, whereas now He lives in many.In John 17 Jesus prayed that we might enjoy that same one ness He enjoyed with His Father. He manifested the Father, and we manifest Him. No one ever saw the Father, but in seeing Him they saw the Father; so also the world does not see Christ, but it does see Him through us.

Now, see how this fulfills the law, even though we do not try to keep it! The evangelical friend I quoted earlier said that love "is to fulfill the law." But that is not what Paul actually wrote. He wrote that "love therefore is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:10). He did not say that if we do certain things, that is love; he said that if we have love, we have fulfilled the law.What is love? A Person. "God is love." Love is not doing something, it is a Person expressing Himself.

When God gave the law to Israel, He gave them a set of rules, for children as it were, that embodied some of the essential traits of His nature. But you could perform all of these things and still not love. Striving to do these things, trying to live up to the standard, is a long way short of the One who is love indwelling you and ful filling all that the external code pointed toward in outline, shadow form.God does not function by a set of rules. He simply is. And He is love.

Any code of rules can only be a shadow of the reality. Not to murder, steal, commit adultery, nor covet is wonderful. But it is a long way short of being one who by nature is the very opposite of all of these evils!

When you were a child, your parents and schoolteachers placed you under rules. You lived an externally regulated life. You were told when to go to bed, when to get up, how to dress, what to eat, what to study, and plenty of other instructions. That is how the law functioned:Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world (Gal. 4:1-3).A child learns the elementary principles of life. Getting sufficient sleep; eating a balanced diet, instead of only sweet things; washing behind his ears, and cleaning his teeth regularly; the discipline of study and work, instead of all play.

These qualities are instilled into him from outside, enforced through a system of reward and punishment.When we are young, we are restricted to the playpen. We learn the ABC's, just the elementaries of living. But when we mature and come of age, we begin to function as adult sons. Though we were under orders and no better than a slave, now we become lords of all - masters of our own lives - no longer requiring the restrictions of the playpen.And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.

The external has become internalized. Only instead of a set of rules, it is the spontaneous outflow of a mature life. So the adult doesn't have to have a set bedtime; he is free to go to bed early when tired, or to stay up into the early hours of the morning, perhaps even working a night-shift and sleeping through the day. Yet he fulfills the external law that he was under as a child. Though free to live spontaneously, he gets enough sleep to stay healthy: and that is what the aim of the external law was.

A child can never become an adult by doing the things he is told to do. Going to bed at a fixed time, making sure he washes behind his ears, or studying when assignments are given, do not make him into an adult. But when the child matures into an adult, he will naturally fulfill all that the external regulations of childhood pointed toward, without actually performing those regulations.

In like manner, trying to be loving will never produce a loving person. Trying to please God will never fulfill His will. But when God lives through us, because He is love He will fulfill in us all that the "ought to" attempted to inculcate. Thus, "what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did" - and this was "in order that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit" (Rom. 8:3-4).

We do not try to live by "ought to's" - that is walking according to the flesh. But when we recognize that we are indwelt by Love, the inner voice of the Spirit prompts us in a thousand ways daily and we find ourselves living out the life of God, spontaneously fulfilling all that the "ought to" sought to bring about.

God is a specialist in simply being. He does not live by a set of rules. He just lives, spontaneously. He is the "I Am." He is - functions as - what He is. If we live as one with Him, we will be Him in this world. We will live the resurrected life of Jesus - not a life of do's and don'ts, but a life that is righteous because He is righteousness. "As He is, so are we in this world."We will do righteousness because we are righteous - yet "not I, but Christ."

John shows in his letters that it cannot be other wise. If He indwells us, living through us, the outward manifestation in the flesh must come forth. We are known by our fruits. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, even as a bad tree cannot produce good fruit. Though the manifestation may be a little while in coming, it must come.

This life of love is not lawless. It is not a self-pleasing life. It is not anarchistic. It is the most lawful life conceivable. It is the One who is the law - who is love - expressing Himself through the human vessel. We do not walk in the outer desires of the flesh, nor follow the whims and fancies of the material world. We walk the ascended life of the Christ, receiving His commandments in our innermost hearts and minds from mo ment to moment. Thus we are the will of God in every situation that faces us from day to day. And so the law is fulfilled in us.

Therefore cast out the "ought to," for it cannot inherit with the freedom of this spontaneous life of Christ (Gal. 4:21-31). It was just to lead you into the box-canyon of "I can of my own self do nothing," that you might come to Christ. The external "ought to" can never impart life; life is a Person. And when that Person indwells us and lives as us, in our human form, we do not "void" the law but establish it and fill it up full, living at a level far and above what the commandment could ever verbalize.

Instead of a written code we have the inner voice of the One who is our life - the constant flow of commandments that are He thinking His thoughts through us in every situation, for "we have the mind of Christ."

And whereas we did by nature the things of the evil one, according to the course of this world, now we do by nature the fruit of the Spirit.So it is not the "ought to" of the external law, and neither is it the wishy-washy external concept of trying to "love" everybody. Instead, it is the living Person expressing Himself through us, living as us. And that is safe! We can count on Him.

There is just one barrier to this flow of heavenly life: unbelief, That is all that can stop the reality becoming manifest.

We must come into "the obedience of faith." If God says it, though I can not see it, I believe it against all odds. I "fight the good fight of faith." I affirm that I am the righteousness of Christ, and that He is my life. I refuse to take condemnation while I await the manifestation in action. I say that what God says is true even when my soulish feelings tell me something different. And the life comes forth!

What is sin? Lawlessness. To fail to live as God Himself lives, for He is the law personified (Rom. 3:23). But thank God, we do not have to try to keep the law, He fulfills it in us. So we are freed from the "ought to," and freed from the license of just trying to "love," in order that we might be what we are - the righteousness of God in Christ.

A Few Personal Rules

Tim has been preaching foundational grace-gospel for ten months straight now. It has brought, and is bringing, a revolution into the lives of those who have ears to hear.

He has, in the last ten months, touched on terms such as "rules" and "lists", and there were some few who took him literally, taking offense as if Tim was aiming his entire emphasis on the fact that they personally loved to make lists for themselves.

Little did they know that what was being preached was not all about "their" lists or "their" rules, actually. What was being taught wasn't about making lists in some literal, letter-of-the-law, Pharisaical sense.

(The Pharisees complained, "This man Jesus said 'Tear down the temple, and I will raise it up in three days!' " Those religious ones were forever misunderstanding Jesus' words, because they were open to being offended.)

Little did these few know (nor did they truly seek to understand) that the idea of "your list" or "my list"....whomever's "list"...actually dates back to Harvest Church messages from ten or more years ago. In a defining set of messages, the concept of "the list" was forever fixed in the minds of Harvest Church saints:

"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements (i.e. "THE LIST") that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross."

We learned, a decade ago, that we are to be imitators of God, and take our personal "lists" that we secretly hold over our relationships, and (in order to have sweet, continuous, right relationships) do the same thing to our personal lists that Christ did to "the" list: move it out of the way, and nail it to the cross.

The text was out of Colossians 2, and those messages became part of the DNA of a whole church. It saddens me, all the quiet, zealous but misguided lists we have, full of good-seeming personal preference ordinances, that get in the way of love and friendship.

This is where the term "the list" came from - any old-timer at Harvest will be able to explain that to you, if you care enough to ask them.

Having said that, I love to make lists. I live by them. I solidly believe that without a list, no one can be productive. I believe that an empty schedule equals an empty life, and a full schedule demands that we make lots of lists, because no one can keep all those details in his or her head. I have a list of potential Christmas gift ideas, lists of household chores, a grocery list, a phone list, lists of my lists, and a list called my "front-end list".

A "front end list" is a list of a zillion appealing things that I'd like to get done. Right now, this includes things like planting some pansies, painting a shelf, a few sewing projects, some new recipes I have not yet tried, and finishing my first watercolor painting. I keep a front-end list so as not to let myself get stuck and unhappy. When I begin to feel dull or peckish, I can pull out this list, and jump into a brand new happy project, big or small, and get the creative juices flowing instantly. Sometimes we don't need a nap, so much as we just need a new something to do.

I also have a few rules...personal rules. I don't hold you to them, I hold myself to them, as much as any flawed human being can hold herself accountable to her own unique, personalized standard. In this sense, "rules" and "lists" are not at all opposed to grace!

My rules?

1) Honor my father and my mother. Old fashioned stuff, timeless, Biblical, and necessary. We all have baggage where it concerns our parents, some more than others. But I have never...never...seen a man or woman lightly esteem their mother or father and wholly prosper. They may make money, but they don't prosper. A lack of honor towards parents, to hold parents up to criticism, is to ultimately hold all legitimate authority in light esteem, and you will become seriously self deceived in all things spiritual.

The eye that mocks his father, And scorns obedience to his mother, The ravens of the valley will pick it out, And the young eagles will eat it.

The light of the soul is the eyes...no honoring of parents equals no light, no understanding, no sure direction. I don't care how old you are, or (short of extreme abuse) what your parents have done, please consider finding ways to honor them. Love them. Include them in all the details of your life. You don't have to - you get to. One of my rules is that I honor my parents. (I happen to have incredible parents, but we had our share of dysfunctional moments early on. I was not an easy child to raise.) This rule has served me well, prospering me at every turn.

2) Value continuity. There is something to be said for the continuity of staying with the same traditions at Christmas, staying with the same spouse, staying with a best friend through thick and thin, staying with a morning or evening routine, staying with the same great perfume, staying with the same church....just staying in general. Sticking and staying. It alarms me deeply, how willing some people are to utterly destroy continuity in their lives.

Continuity is costly, but its rewards are comforting and profound. God created our souls to depend on continuity in some areas, not resorting to change for the sake of change. It is generally unhealthy to jump marriages, jobs, relationships, churches, or ships. Ride it out. Things always get better, and where else can you look back over years and years of memories, memories both good and bad, but from that place of faithful continuity?

Proverbs 24:21 "My son, respect the LORD and the leader; Do not associate with those given to change."

Putting confidence in a man or woman who does not value continuity ("an unfaithful man") is like having a bad tooth, or a foot out of joint, Proverbs says. When you most need that foot to work, or when you most need to chew that bite down, you will suddenly be in intense pain. It is most important for parents and leaders to value continuity. Sheep and children need to know that some things will never change - things like the love of a parent or shepherd.

3) Never own more than you can use, and can consistently care for. This is one I need to revisit, but it is a maxim I have lived by. I have gotten rid of as much "stuff" as I have bought or received. We have given away a car (it was old, but still a favorite of my husband's), truckloads of clothing and shoes, dishes, pots, pans, a puppy, school supplies, books, and to a lesser extent, money itself. (I could still use more money, but that is to be the lot in life of the wife of a pastor who isn't on television.) We typically don't re-sell it - we just give it.

I try not to own anything I don't know to be useful or believe to be beautiful. Ahem. Time to clean house again.

I live by a few more "yea, verilies", but this post is way too long now. Silly rules, some of them, but they define me, and they have been most healthy for my life, and have actually energized and enabled my growth in grace.

Never, ever keep some kinds of lists and rules. But always, always keep the right kinds of lists and rules. And know which kind your pastor is referring to, and if you don't know, ask him. That way you don't spend your time being unnecessarily offended.

Make sense?

Good Words From Other Places

WHEN I AM VILIFIED

Even though princes sit plotting against me, your servant will meditate on your statutes. Psalm 119:23

David had been slandered by Saul. He had been slandered even by his own sons. The true disciple who lives like Jesus will be vilified at some point during his life. Those who are most offended by the Gospel will be the ones who rise up to wage war against him with words. Fear fuels their energy; fear of the truth.

What can make this experience so painful and debilitating is who it is that vilifies. When the unfair criticism comes from someone I don't know, it's easier to shrug it off. When it comes from a well respected member of the community, it can feel debilitating. Jesus drew harsh words from religious leaders and heads of state. Their influence on the people was pervasive yet because He was grounded in His mission and lived in uninterrupted communication with His Father, He never lost His way because of it. Nor, it appears, did His disciples.

Even John the Baptist invited the hatred of Herod and his wife but that didn't dilute his message. He knew his own heart and he understood kingdom clashes.

To be the subject of scorn and not lose my way, I must have my head and heart in the scriptures. To be a successful Christian does not mean that I will always be popular and well thought of. In fact, just the opposite. I will be vilified.

Jesus prepared his disciples to be street smart. "The world hates me and they will hate you too," He said. I am a foreigner here and the alien's culture is at the very least, peculiar. For Jesus, living by the laws of the kingdom paved the road to Calvary.

~Christine Wyrtzen www.daughtersofpromise.org

You Can Fail a Test

The Scripture, both old covenant and new, is full of references to waging war and being tested, both of which imply you can lose, and you can fail. It is not at all antithetical to grace to come to a realization that you have either fought and lost, or been tested and failed. In fact, it is in the light of loss or failure that the grace of God will begin, maybe for the first time, to make sense to you!

Where can you wage war and lose? In the battle for the mind. When you choose to believe the lie of the enemy; when you choose to believe your own understanding - you lose. Please allow me to emphasize that, because the gravity of it needs to be grasped: You. Lose.

If the truth, and only the truth sets you free, then non-truth is precisely what puts you in bondage. There is no middle ground. I know believers who to this moment are in bondage to their own understanding. Renewing the mind is a life long process, but having the humility to own up to that is half the battle. (There's that word again....battle.) My old Sunday school teacher, Len Sisson, was dead-on when he taught all us teenagers about "the battleground of the mind."

Where can you be tested and fail? You can fail in holding unswervingly to the prophetic word of the Lord, through confirmed prophetically gifted brothers and sisters in the church, words publicly ministered, not "a voice in your head."

(I emphasize the prophetic word because, for the purposes of this blog entry, to hold unswervingly to Scripture is, to use an old geometry proof term, a "given".  It is the prophetic word we often struggle with.)

There are times and seasons when God speaks a "now word" into our lives...a word of destiny, a word of hope, in short - a word of prophecy. Yes, we take these words and we hold them up to the bright light of Scripture, and make sure they do not violate God's character and nature. In that way, we do test prophetic words.

But ultimately, the prophetic word tests us. And tests imply that it is possible to fail.

Ps 105:19 Until the time that his word came to pass, The word of the LORD tested him.

There are things Tim and I have heard the Lord on - planting Harvest Church was one of them. We've also received direction from the Lord, clear prophetic direction, in other areas.

One thing you do not do is shrink back, once the word of the Lord comes. Never, never, never question "hath God said?" once you have committed yourself to what you knew to be the word of the Lord - to do that will set for you the mother of all traps. If you are in any level of spiritual leadership (a new covenant form of a "vow" - you bear a certain level of responsibility to and for others), that is a holy, precious calling, not to be entered into lightly, and you dare not lose faith in what God has said. You persevere.

I'm not being flippant with my term for Deity when I say, "By God, you stick and stay with it."

Pr 20:25 It is a snare for a man to devote rashly something as holy, And afterward to reconsider his vows.
Oh sure, circumstances will scream at you that you "missed it". People will act in ways that seem to contradict what God said. Your mind will attempt to assert its own understanding, and you will be sorely, sorely tempted to lean on it, because the word of the Lord (now a memory) does not feel as solid as it once felt to you.

Can I implore you? I will gladly be reduced to shameless begging if I must: don't shrink back from the prophetic word of the Lord. Paul told Timothy that it is by those very words he was to wage war. Once God speaks in this special way, that very word exists as your test.

I call to your memory Abraham, Joseph, David, Peter, Paul, John....all these and more who received a word that tested them, not them testing the word.

Even under grace, not everyone passes their test. Some do fail. Even then, if they but acknowledge that they didn't pass the test, they can be sooner rather than later healed and restored - in order to be tested once more. God will bring His word to them again - often the same word that tested them before - God will require that they return to it, as though it were the lost axe head, and recover it and labor with it.

To deny that we can be tested is to deny both the Scripture, and the prophetic word of the Lord.

Have you received a clear word, a few months or a few years ago, as to God's will and destiny for your life? That is the very word that has tested you.

Pass or fail?

In the battleground of the mind, your enemy's agenda is to convince you of his lies, and to get you leaning to your own understanding. Only the truth sets free, and only by truth can you wage war - not your opinion of the truth, but rather truth itself.

Win or lose?

A Typical Day - In Pictures

Actually, this is a typical half-day, in pictures.

Life is sweet these days, albeit busy and noisy. Temperatures here are dipping down into the 40's for the first time since early April...which means we Atchleys make some smokin' chili. We stop eating chili when springs starts, and we don't have it again until the the first evening that forecasted lows are predicted to be in the 40's. Our particular version of chili simmers on the stove even now. What is your family's favorite version of chili? I'm truly interested in hearing it!

Ordinary days are but encores of the miraculous. I can find a thousand things to be thankful for, in one typical, ordinary day. Knowing the grace of God, functioning in the revelation of the gift of righteousness, I cannot help but walk in newness of life!

Bocelli wakes me up, singing...

Coffee, tea, scones, and sausage for breakfast (my favorite meal of the day!)


Classes at home...

A nook, in my kitchen, where I read my cookbooks...



Set out the ingredients to make a home made apple pie...

The "baking drawer"...(that is whole nutmeg, in the little steel "pinch" cup)

Isaac, who is actually a good cook, made the apple pie all by himself!







The pie, assembled and almost ready to bake - waiting for the crumble topping.

Sarah, in her brother's room, getting a drum lesson. Cute!

My Current Motto ~

Live in Such a Way as to Intrigue....

(to intrigue: to be challenging; disturbingly provocative.)

Yyyyyyyep. ::Big Barney Fife Sniff::

...I am living up to my current motto quite nicely these days.

"Practitioner of Contentment" ~ OR, "How Sheila Got Her Groove Back"

I guess if there were to be any initials after my name, it would be "PC" ~ Practitioner of Contentment.

There really is no other phrase that has so consistently, over decades, defined my essence. I am typically happy, and cannot abide the cynical person. When life hands me dirt, I'll make a mud mask and come out with a better complexion than ever. When life hands me lemons, I'll stick 'em in my bra. Ahem. (Nah...)

So you can imagine when, quite suddenly, in the past three years or so, I discovered in my own thinking all the dreaded cynicism I have always disliked in others. Upon a brief but very prayerful investigation, I had a massive revelation: I was a compensatory optimist.

Was.

Good for me, for all the mud masks and lemon enhancement. It was far better for me than giving into the pessimism that was forever sitting there, lurking and sulking in the corner of my soul, bound and gagged while I worked so very hard to compensate for its existence. But no one...no one...can compensate forever. At some point, things have to get painfully honest.

I first thought it was hormones. No...hormones only have the power to unmask a woman's inner demons. They bring just enough physical vulnerability to render you unable to hide what's really there. When, oh when, will we understand as His beautiful women, that this isn't a bad thing? We finally get to deal with our stuff - if we are wise.

I thought it was transition...an emptying nest, and all that. No. Transition happens.

I thought it was the stress of raising teenage boys. That was a red herring, for sure.

I had been working all these years to be optimistic, to compensate for that innate pessimist, sitting all tied up and fuming in her chair in the corner of my consciousness. Simple as that. And a pessimist's image of herself and her world is completely connected to her image of her God. My concept of God, with all my book learning, was off. All it took was an overwhelming dose of real life, and the influence of a few cynics, to reveal the weakness in my own understanding.  That sulky pessimist wriggled out of her ropes, tore off the gag I'd so carefully kept on her mouth, and she got up out of her chair and wreaked havoc in my head.

I tried to ignore her. She wouldn't go away. I wrestled her to the floor, and put her in a headlock, but she never tapped out. I sent her back to her chair, and quoted Scripture at her, but still she was there...larger than life.

She represented a belief structure. She is what I thought about God. "See, God has this low-level frustration towards you", she would say. And I'd send her back to her chair, and put the gag back on her. She'd always get loose, now and then. When others would testify in church of the work of God in their life, she'd sniff, "Wonder how long that'll last??" I'd stuff a lemon down her throat to shut her up. When I'd get caught up in wonder at anything, when my faith would begin to take flight, she was quick to pull the wings off the butterfly, and remind me of all things Real.

Worms. Never. Change.

She assured me that when I sinned, I was opening up myself to all sorts of Bad Things - nevermind the finished work of Christ. She swore that when I behaved, and only when I behaved, I was in His favor. She implied that it all depended on me, and how well I could compensate for my flaws. She withdrew from anyone and anything that challenged her control.

She smiled primly, all tied up in her chair, when I chose all the Right Things. She flexed her firm muscles in high self esteem when I jogged, did all my crunches, and ate organic food. She whispered to me that my body is a temple, after all. She particularly enjoyed it when I studied the doctrines of grace from her perspective. Man, did she know her Bible. Problem was, every time she showed me a passage, every time she quoted a verse, she was wearing this silly veil on her head. Consequently, in seeing I didn't perceive, and for all my hearing I didn't understand.

This arrangement worked for a very long time. Until I became too weary to compensate for her existence, and too tired to always be fighting with her, repeatedly returning her to the chair in the corner of my mind. It was either kill her or let her reign, with all her cynicism and unbelief.

I am happy to say that the word of God is alive and powerful, and sharper than any sword. It is able to divide and discern, and it discerned me. It discerned me openly. All things were suddenly naked and open in the eyes of Him with Whom I had to do.

And it was....allright. God....loves me. He turned His back on Christ at the cross so that I could look straight into His glory all the days of my life. Jesus bore my sins, He carried my sickness, and the punishment to obtain my peace was all...all...upon Jesus.

That chair, in the corner of my consciousness? Empty. That innate pessimist? Gone.

I'm yet a Practitioner of Contentment. I'm still making mud masks and playing with lemons. The only difference is that I'm not compensating for anything anymore. I am what and who I am, and "by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me is not in vain."

Stella got her groove back one way, Sheila got her groove back by grace through faith.

I Sing, Because I'm Happy!

There is no denying...we serve a "happy God". I want you to take a deep breath, right now. Let your neck and shoulders relax. Your God is in a good mood.

Most of us know what it feels like to be in a somewhat manipulative relationship. There are people who try to use their emotions to control the emotional atmosphere of others. Have you ever known someone who, if they feel unhappy, they seem to radiate a soul-curdling negativity into the very air around them? I'm able to overlook this in anyone once in awhile...we all become hurt or angry now and then, and sometimes we simply can't hide our heartbreak, or un-invite a guest who happens to be arriving at a bad time. But when I encounter someone who, time and again, shrouds the people around her with her own gray, depressive cloak...well, I know I have encountered someone who does not understand the grace of God.

I'm one who is very sensitive to the spiritual condition of others. I can detect the emotional "temperature" of a room and of a person, usually within moments. In the past I have unwisely accepted the responsibility for it. If there was tension in a room full of people, I felt responsible to say something funny to deflect it. If someone felt angry or depressed, I took up the job of improving their mood. This is fine, as I said, once in awhile. It is part of our ministry, one to another, in the body of Christ.

But now if, more than a few times, I walk in a door, or get around someone, and sense manipulative despair....I have no option but to speak of the gospel of the grace of God with that person. I can be patient for as long as necessary, if the gospel is willingly heard, received, and the dear one takes it and applies it not just to her destiny, but to her day. I will walk with her, because I understand that some things are a long process...renewing the mind with the good news of the grace of God in Christ Jesus is absolutely a process, and no one can skip it or short circuit it.

But if the good news of grace is not received, if it is in fact rejected (some reject it, if you can believe it!) I am bound to ignore the manipulation from that point on. I will not wear any one's shroud. I will not have my soul infected by any one's need, consciously or unconsciously, to have emotional power over others. I have spent far too long dealing with symptoms that were in fact not my own, but that of the sickness of another. No more. It is great to be discerning and sensitive and walk with others in their pain, if one is also wise and walking with prepared feet, ready to share good news. I hope to become wiser as I get older.

This is why it is so comforting and empowering and utterly blessed to be a friend of God. I am telling you, He is always in a good mood - always confident that what He has promised or begun, He is able to perform and complete. I come into His presence, and unlike a friendship with an emotionally controlling person, I leave with a full heart-tank. His good mood rubs off on me every time. There are such pleasures and rivers of joy that come with just being with the Lord. I long, with every part of me, to be a carrier of Him. I want Christ in me to minister to you, so that when you are around me, if you can at all receive grace, you feel hopeful and happy, filled and whole.

How do I know that an emotionally unstable and manipulative person needs grace? Because grace says I have been given the gift of righteousness, and the Scripture is clear:

The work of righteousness will be peace, And the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. (Is. 32)

The gospel of grace gives me a hope that is an anchor to my soul, keeping me from being blown about by every wind of doctrine. Emotions that run all over the map are a sure indication that somewhere I am not submitting my reality to the reality of the finished work of Christ. (We all experience being a bit blown about...we just don't all impart our unbelief and negativity to those around us, hindering their appropriation of the power of God unto salvation that is available only to those who believe.)

Relax, dear one. God has been in a good mood for a long time, and His equilibrium is unaffected by your issues. What a friend...consistent and faithful and full of grace!

The Refreshing Signs of a Gracious Woman

Pr 11:16 "A gracious woman gets honor, as violent men get riches."

This sentence draws an analogy that should stop you in your tracks.

Grace-ious: full of grace. A woman of grace gets a well-deserved respect, as violent men get riches!
Not too many generations ago, "gracious" was literally defined as "godly". The word has since been watered down to mean something more akin to "mousy", in my opinion. Today, most define the concept of "gracious" as being sort of Southern Genteel, and even secretly condescending. In our time, a person who considers herself to be above others, a person who thinks she is better (better looking, better educated, better manners, better breeding, better income, better everything) is thought to be gracious if she is nevertheless nice to all the peasants of the planet.

Such a diluted definition, and nothing that could ever be analogous to violent men getting riches. Violent men are a force to be reckoned with. So is the woman of true grace.

A gracious woman obtains respect because her very grace-filled nature is such a transforming force, everyone in her wake cannot help but hold her in high esteem. She not only obtains their respect...she keeps it. This is beyond difficult, this preserving of respect. Most beauty decreases upon further examination. Only true beauty increases, the more you get to know it. I have met lots of women who seemed Godly, but the more I got to know them, the greater their net negative affect on my life.

With long exposure to one particular woman years ago, for example, I found myself treating my husband with the same coolness and critical spirit with which she treated her husband. I had to pull back from the relationship for a season, to re-orient my heart to grace. Some women have influenced me to be more and more focused on petty physical ailments, because that is what they were focused on - petty things like normal fatigue, dizziness, or aches and pains. I had to consciously deal with this, and choose for myself a more dismissive attitude towards the small stuff. Some women exude unhappiness, and the depression that haunts the un-gracious woman begins to rub off on me.

I have known some women, however, who the more I got to know them, the more I myself began to become (or at least wanted to become!) almost as gracious as they. These are the women who are stunning. They are refreshing to know. They are forces to be reckoned with. They "gain my respect, as violent men gain riches".

Here are a few of the symptoms of a grace-filled person:

Intelligent: as opposed to merely educated or just clever. The legalist is clever, in a cold sort of way. The sparkling intelligence of a woman of grace is entirely different. The gracious woman has studied hard, studied long, and she does the necessary work to be able to communicate what she has learned. She sets her table, figuratively speaking. She has "killed her beasts, mingled her wine", and she invites you and I to "come to the feast". She then treats us as honored guests, as friends having much to contribute, not putting emphasis on her own considerable intellectual work.

Warm: a woman of grace has undeniable warmth. Her emotions are governed by a passionate God, as opposed to the legalist who is "cool, calm, and collected" only because she is too proud to let her hair down. The gracious woman runs warm, and even white hot, but not out of control, and she is never cold. The opposite of love is not hate...it is cool indifference. A gracious woman stands out like an inviting hearth-fire amongst her self-aware, emotionally cold peers.

Generous: such generosity of spirit! A grace-girl has open hands and open heart. She gives the gift of her smile, the gift of her approval, the gift of her friendship, the gift of her money, the gift of sharing her possessions with you with not one string attached. You do not feel as if you are weighed in her balances and found wanting. You don't have to agree with her. You don't have to admire her for it. You don't have to walk on eggshells in exchange for her favor. You won't be expected to meet an unspoken obligation to her in the future. You see, the grace-girl is filthy rich in spirit. She can afford to lavish you with gifts and gifts and gifts that flow from her wealthy heart, and she is not the least bit poorer for the giving. Because her identity is that of undiminished resource in the gospel. The grace of Christ Jesus causes her to abound in every good word and work.

Wit: this is an unexpected symptom of a gracious person. It is the unintended consequence of the joy of the Lord that permeates the day of a grace-girl. A gracious woman can be hilarious. I've known a few who crack me up so bad, I feel good, and all healed-up on the inside.

Others: a gracious woman thinks of others. When you are with her, she doesn't talk only about herself. The topic of conversation is usually either about you, or ideas that have the potential to be incredibly interesting. The conversation is not stilted or strained, rather it flows from a sincere interest in others, and an unquenchable enthusiasm for God Himself. Some gracious women are natural introverts. Yet they have managed, somehow, to not make an idol of their personality. They can and do get outside themselves, and they will often make you feel as though you are the most important person in the room, when you talk to them.

Imperfect: this is perhaps the biggest trait of a gracious woman. She has flaws...physical flaws, personality quirks, and even big, honking spiritual imperfection. She takes it all in stride, and her world is not rocked when she discovers she has been wrong. After all, she was born wrong, born in sin, and it comes as no surprise to her that she will be wrong a time or two again at some point in her life. Or at some point in the next five minutes. Big deal. She'll fix it, and move on.

Consistent: a gracious woman stays in relationship. She can be depended on to be there, at least in spirit, and to love you to the end. You have to be the one to leave a gracious woman's friendship behind - a gracious woman will not leave you. She won't run after you if you leave, and thereby force herself on you, she won't compromise her deepest convictions, but she is committed to unity in the midst of diversity and she will stick with you often to her own hurt. She will receive you back in an instant, should you wish to resume a right relationship, and you won't have to meet a long checklist of qualifications to be reinstated. In fact, she will treat you as though you never left her to start with. Its rather humbling to be thus loved, though she isn't trying to humble you.

Christian: a gracious woman is one who has trusted entirely in the grace of God, and not in her own performance. Strangely, she usually out-performs everyone else. Her hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and gift of righteousness. The message of the gospel motivates her and perfumes her thoughts, and infuses her relationships.

There is no other way to be grace-ious.

A toast..."To all the gracious women in my life!"

We Are Family...

"I got all my sisters with me!

We are family!

Get up everybody - SING"

A snapshot from our women's meeting this morning....I am telling you, no lie, there is not a better group of women you could ever get to know and love than this bunch right here. I am crazy about every single one of them, each one for a different reason.

There's a bunch more, not in this photo...I wish all our Harvest women could have been there today - if you couldn't be there, know that you were missed greatly.

Oh, how we laughed. (Could it have been the CAKE??)

The Sad Signs of Legalism

Legalism masquerades as zeal for God. It substitutes the application of Biblical principle, as being righteousness itself. Every Christian is susceptible to the seductive sickness of self righteousness - since I have battled this sickness in my own life, and encountered it in the lives of others, I've learned to discern a few of its symptoms:


Clever: a legalist is often quite bright. And she always, always sounds right, but there is always, always something wrong with her arguments - they lack depth and they lack a genuine care and concern for people as they are. A legalist loves people insofar as she thinks they "should be". She loves her idea of Christian maturity, without loving her flawed brother, sister, friend, mother, or husband.



Comparison - a legalist will compare herself to others, and compare people with people. She is habitually measuring herself and her spouse, and everyone else.



Coldness - a legalist is incapable of sustained personal warmth in relationships. To be warm is to be pliable. To be cold is to be rigid. A legalist is rigid, and therefore ultimately an emotionally cold person. It may take six months, or it may take years and years, but if you "cross" a legalist in any significant way, you'll discover that her warmth quickly fades, and a cool demeanor replaces it.



Conversation - a legalist's primary topic of conversation is herself (or himself...but since I myself was once a legalist, and still struggle with the tendency, I use the female pronoun). So long as you remain in her fan club, and make it "all about her", you will have her as your friend. A legalist's second favorite topic of conversation is "this person or that person"(see the first symptom of legalism: comparison). Remember - great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people. Since the legalist is ego-centric, her world is a small one. She will primarily discuss herself, her problems, her life, her job or her children....and she will then discuss certain people. If you attempt to steer the relationship to a broader horizon, and engage her in an honest discussion of great ideas, she will withdraw (see the second symptom of legalism: coldness).



Cutting Ties: a legalist will cut ties with you, eventually. Wherever legalism exists, you will find a string of broken relationships. You will encounter the slow, progressive separation from even a significant relationship, if she perceives that the relationship is not in her control....which brings me to the next symptom:



Control: A legalist cannot help but manipulate. She doesn't mean to, and may not even consciously try to. But she does it. She will attempt to control you by giving or withholding her approval. Giving or withholding her attention or affection. Giving or withholding gifts - because if you cut the "string attached" to the gift, the giving will cease. Giving or withholding love itself. A legalist will begin to act irrationally whenever someone close to her actually lives in a revelation of their gift of righteousness. Why? Because when you begin to believe the gospel, a legalist loses her leverage in the relationship.



Cloying: a legalist is a cloying person. She's happy only when she feels you are admiring her, or her possessions, her ability, or her status. She will assist you time and time again, she will help you more than you need to be helped, so long as you admire her for it. She will take what otherwise would be healthy and pleasant, and she will cling and cloy the joy right out of the experience or the relationship. Every relationship starts well, but almost none stay well. Since most legalists are insecure, they end up maxing everyone else out - no one can prop up their damaged ego consistently enough.

Conditional Contentment: most legalists are ever-so-slightly depressed people. (Ask me how I know!) Their contentment depends on being better than most everyone else ("I thank thee Oh Lord, that I am not like this tax collector..."), and since there is always someone who has a better home life, or house, a better marriage, car, or has more talent than they do, a legalist consequently suffers from constant, low-level unhappiness. Her contentment is conditional, and relative to her ability to control circumstances, or to feel superior. Thus, you don't find a legalistic woman laughing freely and often.
Christian - most legalists are Christians. The very recipients of such amazing grace, often do not know just how amazing it really is. You have to know that you need grace, to understand grace. You run to a throne of grace in time of need. Most Christians are chronically un-needy. These un-needy believers are also unaware that they are miserable, poor, blind and naked, and ever in great need of great grace. Subconsciously, a legalist relegates grace to be the solution for non-Christians, the unfortunate, uneducated or immoral. Meanwhile, the proud need grace the most, and yet perceive their need the least.

Jesus is Coming...

As I was out and about today, I ran across something that stopped me in my tracks and made me laugh out loud. That would be nothing new, except I was quite struck with the thought that what I saw sums up many-a-Christian's life:

I laughed, and in so doing made the usual spectacle of myself. ::perky sniff:: Ask me if I care. Then, I sighed, as instantly, my eyes fell on one more phrase, and the truth I saw in it nearly took my breath away, and overwhelmed me with gratitude to Jesus Christ:

(Hebrews 10)..."we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all....this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down at the right hand of God; From henceforth waiting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified."

Ah, yes. He did it right the first time.

Dare Devil Me!

I'll try anything once. Then I'll do it again, if I like it. Here's proof, from my day at my sister's lake house, this past Saturday ~

Me, just before take-off, happily trusting evil brother in law to drive gently...

Me, upon my dramatic return to dock. Please take note of the evil smile on his face, as compared to the terror on my own. But the fun was worth the brief anxiety that I could die.

Poetry by Ruth Bell Graham

One of my heroines in the faith is Ruth Bell Graham, "Billy's wife". She represents to me so much of what I aspire to be - she and I, when she was alive, shared the some of the same theological leanings, and love of all things Scottish.

She, too, experienced a season when her family loved a prodigal - Franklin Graham, who as you know, has long since returned to his senses and serves his God legendarily well....almost as well as his father.

Our family went through a season when the path of one of our members seemed to be bent away from God. We each one grieved in our own way, as months and months went by. As of today, in this season, those days seem to be behind us, and our hearts greatly magnify the Lord. Every member of the family is walking with God - at differing levels of maturity, to be sure, but with steady intent. May it ever be so! Again I declare, before the outcome can be confirmed: grace will accomplish what the law could never do. My faith, also a gift from God, declares it to be so.

And so it is.

Ruth Bell Graham wrote volumes of poetry. She wrote verse after verse, as a way of processing her joys and her sorrows. I find that much of what she wrote moves me to tears...this wise woman walked the same road I am now walking. She knew the strain of ministry. She struggled with anger and depression and an almost empty nest and a prodigal son. She also knew the singing joys of hearth and home and mountain. She knew the serene satisfaction of a good, sturdy supper prepared with her own two hands, and a table lavished with pinecones for decoration, and roast chicken, and candlelight - even though only she and two of her children would be home to partake, that night.

Here are just two of her poems, from a little gem of mine entitled "Ruth Bell Graham's Collected Poems":

"It is a fearful thing to fall
into Your hands, O living God!"
Yet I must trust him to You,
praying your staff and rod
will comfort him in need
as well as break
in love the wayward leg. And yet I plead
"Deal gently with the young man
...for my sake."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Moses' wanderings weren't
all for naught:
wandering, he learned the
wilderness firsthand:
and later through this
Devastation brought
his brethren from bondage to
the Promised Land.

If ever you run across a copy of "Sitting By My Laughing Fire", be sure to snatch it up, if not for yourself, for someone else, as a gift. It, too, is full of Ruth's vivid poetry. Do you know the mother of a wayward son or daughter? Get her a little volume of Ruth's poems. She will bless you again and again for the gift.

Oh, The Eyes of "Grace"

Her name is "Hannah Grace". Hannah means "grace"....thus her name literally means, "Grace, grace!"

You have to love that.

And look at those eyes. We were all doing nothing but hanging out for awhile at my house today, for no reason other than the kids needed to burn off some energy in the yard...and we enjoy one another's company, Kelly and I and kids. We chatted about things joyful and things painful, we talked of life in community, and how we both define the concept of "love" in the body of Christ. We wondered, 'How do others define it? When they say, "Love you"...exactly what is their definition?'

The Biblical standard is indeed high. How do you manifest the faithful love of God in your relationships?

::grunt, wheeze:: Holding her like this is harder than it used to be.

Pastor Tim and Hannah Grace

Big brother David (who rode around the yard this evening, with pastor Tim, on Tim's huge orange riding mower - oh, happy day! David asked him for the keys to it, so he could "turn on the headlights, pweeeeeze!"...pastor Tim had to say no. )

Big sister Lydia (Kelly in the background)

Absolutely, achingly adorable, no??

The So-Called Problem Passages

Concerning the doctrines of grace, there isn't time tonight, as I blog, to list all the so-called "problem passages" - passages that would seem to imply that we are not saved by grace alone, after all.

I should sit up as late as necessary and share my thoughts on some of these passages, after all, I brought the subject up, didn't I? But I'm suddenly sleepy, and as I scrunched under the covers with my laptop just now, my comfy pajamas came alive with an incredible amount of static cling, and that puts me in a peckish mood. I sit here, looking shrink-wrapped in a pair of old lady pajamas. That is not the way one wishes to look when expounding on the profound. I absolutely don't have a solution to the problem, so I'll make this post short, lest my laptop and I somehow arc electrically. I'm afraid if that happens, it could stop my heart - the static in my jammies is that bad.

Suffice it to say, every passage of Scripture must pass through the cross. All of human history passes through the cross, and so do the problem passages. Jesus said it this way, to the teachers of the law:

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Jesus, full of grace and truth, is the One about whom all Scripture testifies. To interpret any passage from any other foundation, is bad exegesis at best, dangerous at worst. Hebrews says it this way:

God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son...

Friends, unless you are a stark raving antinomian, determined to hate the law of God, there never has been and never will be a single passage that contradicts the blessed works of righteousness that flow from our identity with Christ. Unless you are a grumpy exacting legalist, determined to hate the idea of your eternal security, there will never be a passage that contradicts the beautiful grace of God.

All Scripture is given by God, and God has summed all things up in Christ. There are no problems with passages, only problems with thinking. Search the Scriptures...in them you think you have life, and they testify - Old Testament and New Testament - of Jesus Himself!

The Best Song

...this is, in my opinion, the best song Keith Green ever wrote. (Thanks, Maria, for posting this on your Facebook!)

Please scroll down and hit the "pause" button on the blog music player - the music you are hearing is not one-sixteenth as good as the music you are about to hear!

September

My favorite month of the year is here! It is the one, possibly the only, month of the year where there are no major holidays, no birthdays in the immediate family, no iron-clad obligations. I so savor September.

Football season starts. That, all by itself, is reason to celebrate, if you live in my house. Break out the orange sweatshirts and buy a honking big bag of chips and a gallon of the hottest salsa you can find, baby! Hope springs eternal in the heart of a Volunteer.

Autumn, my favorite season, begins in three weeks. Autumn is my spring...new life seems to burgeon inside my heart, blossoming forth into fresh creativity and passion as the leaves turn "lipstick-kissed red". (I will never say that without thinking of my dear New Jersey friend and pastor's wife, Donna-Jean. I stole the phrase from her - she is a fellow writer - and she generously let me have it. I've also borrowed a few great concepts from her amazing character sketches of women in the Scriptures...)

I fell in love with my Tim in the autumn of '85, and married the following autumn. Our Hannah got engaged last autumn. Incredible things always seem to happen to me when days get shorter and trees blaze. It so rocks to be me, in September. And October. And November.

I wondered how I'd feel, this year, as September drew near. Would I feel that old familiar sense of tranquil nostalgia? Would I feel the freshness? After all, the transitions in my life the last four months have been 9.6 on the Richter scale. How quickly can a woman recover her equilibrium?

Pret-ty fast, apparently. The ol' joy tank is full. As August passed languidly along, the living was easy, and I sensed that, not only would I be my usual Serene September Self, I am feeling better than I have in a few years. This soul of mine so boasts in God!

My September began today in a most fitting way...cool temps, an adorable and affectionate husband who has lately lost at least fifteen pounds. He caught my eye as he prepared for his work, and I had to put my arms around him, sneaking up from behind, and plant a kiss on his cheek. I love me some Tim. He has the most cheerful compassionate eyes.

I then luxuriated in the gift of several hours alone to myself, since our youngest son spent the day with the youngest son of our dear friends the Medleys - friends who are also in full time ministry.

The dinner table was full this evening, all four children plus a boyfriend gathered around the table! (The only one missing was son-in-love Justin...we won't see as much of him until he obtains his Master's degree. He's always either at work or in class. ) See what I mean? The whole family, having dinner together, is beyond rare, now that two of my four children are on their own. There is only one explanation: September Sweetness.

God made September just for me, maybe. Let's dance!

The Art of Jonathan Howe

My daughter Sarah is dating Knoxville-area artist Jonathan Howe. It is no prejudice on my part to urge you, if you want a fine-art portrait of someone you love, done with skill and insight, contact Jonathan Howe. He's just that good, to be honest. If Sarah weren't dating him, I'd be sharing his beautiful art with you.

If you want to commission a work of fine art for your home, or as a gift to someone important to you - contact Jonathan. His art is award winning, and can even be seen in one of our area's government buildings.

Meet Sarah's Jonathan ~

(lovingly known in our home as "Kashi Boy",

because of his fondness for all food natural and organic)

And see just one example of his brilliant work ~

To see more, please visit his website at http://www.jnhowe.com

When God Speaks

2009, so far, has been one of the most blessed years I have ever experienced. I have seen God move in powerful ways!

This year will also be characterized in my memory as a year of keen testing. At least a half dozen times, since January, I have basically said (in the words of Jeremiah) "I will speak no more in His name!" And I am not the sort to say things like that lightly. In fact, I never in my life even considered keeping spiritual things to myself until this year! Falling silent had never crossed my mind...

My husband said something the other day that gave me considerable pause. He remarked that the Pharisees took even the words of Jesus, and scrutinized them in the most literal sense possible, torturing and misinterpreting both the intent and the meaning of them. That same spirit still has the same agenda, and will attempt to intimidate a son or daughter of God, using that person's own words against them! This was eye opening revelation to me!

If you have ever had your own words interpreted with an unrelenting, literal exactitude (and thereby had your own words MISinterpreted), if you have experienced being analyzed to the hilt, word-by-word, without an ounce of compassion, and then your own words thrown back at you....you have encountered an age-old tactic. It can be intimidating. The religious leaders did exactly this to Jesus. He disregarded their intimidation.

After Tim said those things, I confessed to him how very close I had come in recent months to making what would have been a fatal choice to stop writing about the gospel...to cease effusing to everyone who listens, about the work of grace that has mightily changed my life, and has restored me, even in this season, from a very dark place.

To write, for me, is not some way to react to opposition. Rather, to write is to communicate where I stand regardless of who agrees or disagrees. Writing is how I process, nothing more, nothing less. I write whether anyone reads or they don't read. Those who write for a hobby or a living will know exactly what I mean. I don't truly know what I think about "it" until I write about "it", whatever "it" may be.

But to have fallen silent would have been a reaction. Had I shut up, then I would have been reacting! I would have also ceased being the woman I have always been. Which choice would have been a "fleshly" reaction to the pressure? To continue writing? Or to stop? To continue to write would have been to remain consistent with my own gifting and with who I have been, almost since birth. This line of sanctified logic is how I ultimately discerned that the enemy had been trying to intimidate me into silence...a silence that almost seemed wise. It certainly would have been easy.

But, by the grace of God, sometime this past early-summer, I chose to not react to the pressure. I chose to remain consistent, and to continue being bold and courageous - consciously choosing to pay whatever price must be paid to remain faithful to my own passionate convictions, which are the result of hours and years of careful study. I chose to support my husband's word ministry with my own brand and style of word ministry, and continue to echo the truths of the gospel he is so passionate about.

It occured to me that to boldly and vocally support the church leadership I serve under has always been a chief characteristic of mine. I have been a part of two churches in my life - the church that sent us out, and the church my husband and I currently serve. I don't just say that I don't hop churches....I have actually never hopped a single church. Not one. I supported the pastor of the church that sent us out to plant, and I was unrelenting about it. I supported him publicly, and made my disagreements with him fully and faithfully private. Back in those days, when there was any friction, no one had a clue but Tim and I. And we never left over a single disagreement, and some of them were momentous. I understood my pastor's responsibilities and burdens. I was always vocal in "backing his plays". I felt it was important. If you think it was easy....well, you just don't know a thing! To leave would have been the easiest thing in the world. But we stayed. I stayed.

Why change now? Just because my husband happens to be the pastor this time, does not make things any different. I support leadership. That is how I roll. To suddenly become just another jaded church member, full of (educated and respectable) complaint and criticism, because my husband is now the pastor, and I don't want to look like I'm being self serving....well, that would have been nothing short of the fear of man.

Once I put it in the light - once I told my Tim how very close I had come to quitting altogether, how close I had come to not speaking anymore about the gospel or the grace of God or the profound things God has been doing in me....as soon as I relayed these things to Tim, I heard the still small voice of God, clear as clear can be, say to me, "Pick up your Francis Roberts book. I have something to say to you."

(Francis Roberts book "Come Away My Beloved" - such a dear old classic!)

I opened it up directly...directly and instantly...to this, entitled "Speak The Truth" ~

"I say to you, don't be intimidated by anyone, but speak forth my Word, even as I give it to you. You have written freely and fearlessly. Now speak in the same way. Your spoken word must be brought into conformity with the work I have done within you. This, you need for your own personal sense of unity. This you need for your own strength.

You are not trying to please me, but trying to please men. They will detect the inconsistency, for in one way or another, the truth will break through. If you cannot bring yourself to speak the truth without apology, then speak nothing.

Let the life and witness of Jesus be your guide. If you are willing to emulate His honesty, I will come to your aid and give you wisdom, so that your answers may be not only true, but forceful. For you wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against an unseen opposition of satanic forces. These may at times be arrayed against you even through your dearest friends, and you may have to reply even as Jesus did to Peter on one occasion.

Set not out on a mission to convert the world to your convictions, but rather hold your convictions inviolable against the forces of opposition. I will be with you, and will keep your mouth. Trust Me."

Could it be more clear? God still speaks, in the moment, to His children! May we each one be faithful to take what we "hear in secret" and proclaim it from our own "housetop"!