Monday, September 24, 2007
Miss My Hubby!
Paul left this morning for a business trip, and I miss him already! (Is it any wonder why?) Also, yesterday my hero hung up our pictures and artwork all over the house. We've been in this house 10 months, and it finally feels like we've moved in! :-D
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
More Thoughts
For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. (Isa. 57:15)
My translation: “For this is what I say, I who am exalted on high, lofty and residing perpetually in eternity, I who am holy in reputation, authority, and character: I dwell in the sacred sanctuary on high, near (among) the crushed and contrite, the humble and lowly spirit (life, breath), to restore to life (nourish, recover) the humble (depressed) mind, and to repair (save, preserve) the heart (will, feelings, intellect) of the broken (bruised, contrite, humble, oppressed).”
It seems to me that the sense here is not that God dwells on high and also with the lowly, but that He dwells on high with the lowly. As if “on high” is where the humble also dwell. Those who exalt themselves are actually positioning themselves in the lowest places, while those who are broken and contrite dwell on high with the humble God. Humility is not contrary to exaltation, but is necessary and complementary to it. Pride is what brings one low. Our thinking is all backwards. It is like swinging at the park. If you move your body in the direction you want to go, you will not get anywhere. But if you move your body in the opposite direction, pushing against the swing, you will soar.
Who is like the Lord our God, Who has His seat on high, Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth! The Lord raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill, that He may seat them with princes, even with the princes of His people. (Ps. 113:5-8)
He humbles Himself to enjoy, experience, and gaze joyfully upon the high and lofty sky and space, and also upon the common earth, the nations and the world. He raises up weak, poor man from the ashes (earth, clay, mud), and lifts the beggar (destitute) out of the rubbish pile. He causes him to dwell among princes as an equal with His free people (flock).
When Jesus humbled Himself to come among us as Man (Phil. 2:5-7), He was not going against His nature. It was the inevitable result of a humble God gazing upon His people with delight. Of course He would come as one of us, for the holy dwells with the humble. They are two sides of the same coin. God-Man is not a contradiction, but a completion of the desire of a God who is meek and lowly of heart (Mt. 11:29) to be one with the bride He has created to be one with Himself.
My translation: “For this is what I say, I who am exalted on high, lofty and residing perpetually in eternity, I who am holy in reputation, authority, and character: I dwell in the sacred sanctuary on high, near (among) the crushed and contrite, the humble and lowly spirit (life, breath), to restore to life (nourish, recover) the humble (depressed) mind, and to repair (save, preserve) the heart (will, feelings, intellect) of the broken (bruised, contrite, humble, oppressed).”
It seems to me that the sense here is not that God dwells on high and also with the lowly, but that He dwells on high with the lowly. As if “on high” is where the humble also dwell. Those who exalt themselves are actually positioning themselves in the lowest places, while those who are broken and contrite dwell on high with the humble God. Humility is not contrary to exaltation, but is necessary and complementary to it. Pride is what brings one low. Our thinking is all backwards. It is like swinging at the park. If you move your body in the direction you want to go, you will not get anywhere. But if you move your body in the opposite direction, pushing against the swing, you will soar.
Who is like the Lord our God, Who has His seat on high, Who humbles Himself to regard the heavens and the earth! The Lord raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap and the dung hill, that He may seat them with princes, even with the princes of His people. (Ps. 113:5-8)
He humbles Himself to enjoy, experience, and gaze joyfully upon the high and lofty sky and space, and also upon the common earth, the nations and the world. He raises up weak, poor man from the ashes (earth, clay, mud), and lifts the beggar (destitute) out of the rubbish pile. He causes him to dwell among princes as an equal with His free people (flock).
When Jesus humbled Himself to come among us as Man (Phil. 2:5-7), He was not going against His nature. It was the inevitable result of a humble God gazing upon His people with delight. Of course He would come as one of us, for the holy dwells with the humble. They are two sides of the same coin. God-Man is not a contradiction, but a completion of the desire of a God who is meek and lowly of heart (Mt. 11:29) to be one with the bride He has created to be one with Himself.
Monday, September 17, 2007
Thinking Out Loud
“One you see [God’s] greatness, there comes great joy in humbling yourself before the Lord. . . . He is everything, and as we are joined to Him the poverty of our personal identity is lost in the fullness of His eternal greatness” (Sorge, p. 47).
This made me think: If God so desired, could He create a being intrinsically equal to Himself to be His friend, His lover? Is that even possible? It seems not, for in order to be of equal greatness, that being would also have to be uncreated, omnipotent, omniscient, etc. And if there was another such being, then He himself could not fully embody those qualities. It would contradict His very being. Then how, if God desired a counterpart, could it be accomplished? For in order to be a true counterpart, she would need to be His equal. And she would need to be other than Himself. But being God, there is no other beside Him. So He must create her. Then how could He endow her with His qualities?
What if, instead of creating a being equal to Himself (or nearly so), He created one completely unequal? One who is poor in every way, in contrast to the unlimited richness of His being. One who had no greatness of her own, an empty vessel. The one quality that He would give her, the one thing that could make her truly other than Himself, would be her choice to love Him or not. If she chose to love Him, coming to Him in her poverty, then He would fill her with Himself. She would become his counterpart, not because of her own worthiness, but because of His worthiness bestowed upon her. She would become His equal (in a sense that I do not understand), not because she would be God, but because she would receive into herself His Spirit. And in so doing, she would become one with Him. She would always be the weaker vessel, but she would glory in her weakness because it enabled her to be filled with His strength. If she had any strength (or goodness or greatness) of her own, she would always remain lesser, for she could not fully receive Him into herself. And so He would give her none of her own, and all of His.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27, ESV)
And we are living the rest of the story.
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (Psalm 39:5, ESV)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, ESV)
This made me think: If God so desired, could He create a being intrinsically equal to Himself to be His friend, His lover? Is that even possible? It seems not, for in order to be of equal greatness, that being would also have to be uncreated, omnipotent, omniscient, etc. And if there was another such being, then He himself could not fully embody those qualities. It would contradict His very being. Then how, if God desired a counterpart, could it be accomplished? For in order to be a true counterpart, she would need to be His equal. And she would need to be other than Himself. But being God, there is no other beside Him. So He must create her. Then how could He endow her with His qualities?
What if, instead of creating a being equal to Himself (or nearly so), He created one completely unequal? One who is poor in every way, in contrast to the unlimited richness of His being. One who had no greatness of her own, an empty vessel. The one quality that He would give her, the one thing that could make her truly other than Himself, would be her choice to love Him or not. If she chose to love Him, coming to Him in her poverty, then He would fill her with Himself. She would become his counterpart, not because of her own worthiness, but because of His worthiness bestowed upon her. She would become His equal (in a sense that I do not understand), not because she would be God, but because she would receive into herself His Spirit. And in so doing, she would become one with Him. She would always be the weaker vessel, but she would glory in her weakness because it enabled her to be filled with His strength. If she had any strength (or goodness or greatness) of her own, she would always remain lesser, for she could not fully receive Him into herself. And so He would give her none of her own, and all of His.
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27, ESV)
And we are living the rest of the story.
Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah (Psalm 39:5, ESV)
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, ESV)
Friday, August 24, 2007
I have been struggling with consistency the past few days. Worse, I am struggling with a lack of desire to be consistent. Lying around all the time should make it easier to spend more time in the Word, but I find there is a whole different set of distractions available to me. There are projects that I want to work on while I have the time, like organizing family pictures and researching home school options (my favorite website right now is www.homeschoolreviews.com). There are books I want to read (lately I have been devouring Joel Rosenberg’s books, The Last Jihad, The Last Days, and currently, The Ezekiel Option). And, while none of these are bad things, it’s amazing how much time they can eat up so that, at the end of the day, I have spent little or no time in the Word.
Another thing making it difficult is my irregular sleep schedule. I have gotten out of the habit of getting up at my regular time to be alone with God. Some nights I can’t get to sleep until 1 a.m., and on nights when I do fall asleep earlier, I often wake up in the wee hours of the morning, again unable to sleep. Pain and contractions certainly make sleep difficult sometimes! Of course, I can (and sometimes do) use that time to be in the Word. But usually my brain is so foggy from sleep deprivation that I can hardly concentrate on a verse, much less process what God is trying to say to me.
Maybe I’m being a bit hard on myself. I haven’t given up, and I do crack open my Bible at least a little each day. But why is it so much easier to distract myself from the pain with a novel or a movie (I’ve watched the whole Lord of the Rings series in the past couple of weeks) than it is to enter into the Word of God? I want my spirit to be renewed, and no other content, however worthy, can replace God’s living Word for doing that.
I know that my weak prayers and efforts are sweet incense to the Lord. I know that He sees the “yes” in my heart and understands my struggle. What concerns me, as I mentioned at the beginning, is how much my desire for time in the Word and prayer has decreased over the past few days.
Last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I listened to a OneThing podcast of a sermon by Misty Edwards. She was talking about the parable of the virgins with their lamps and oil in Matthew 25. She put it very simply: the lamps are our outward life and ministry. The oil is our inward life with God—intimacy with Him in the secret place (primarily spending time in the Word). The foolish virgins are the ones who spend all their time and energy on their lamps. They have a little oil, but they are not investing the time to deepen their relationship with God. In the end, they lose everything. The wise virgins, on the other hand, also have lamps, but they are not consumed by their outward lives. They are investing the best part of their time in getting oil, and when the light is darkest, their lamps do not go out.
Oh, how I want to be a wise virgin! Lord, help me not give in to lethargy or laziness concerning Your Word. Renew the urgency in my spirit to go deep in You.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Keep me burning till the break of day
Another thing making it difficult is my irregular sleep schedule. I have gotten out of the habit of getting up at my regular time to be alone with God. Some nights I can’t get to sleep until 1 a.m., and on nights when I do fall asleep earlier, I often wake up in the wee hours of the morning, again unable to sleep. Pain and contractions certainly make sleep difficult sometimes! Of course, I can (and sometimes do) use that time to be in the Word. But usually my brain is so foggy from sleep deprivation that I can hardly concentrate on a verse, much less process what God is trying to say to me.
Maybe I’m being a bit hard on myself. I haven’t given up, and I do crack open my Bible at least a little each day. But why is it so much easier to distract myself from the pain with a novel or a movie (I’ve watched the whole Lord of the Rings series in the past couple of weeks) than it is to enter into the Word of God? I want my spirit to be renewed, and no other content, however worthy, can replace God’s living Word for doing that.
I know that my weak prayers and efforts are sweet incense to the Lord. I know that He sees the “yes” in my heart and understands my struggle. What concerns me, as I mentioned at the beginning, is how much my desire for time in the Word and prayer has decreased over the past few days.
Last night, when I couldn’t sleep, I listened to a OneThing podcast of a sermon by Misty Edwards. She was talking about the parable of the virgins with their lamps and oil in Matthew 25. She put it very simply: the lamps are our outward life and ministry. The oil is our inward life with God—intimacy with Him in the secret place (primarily spending time in the Word). The foolish virgins are the ones who spend all their time and energy on their lamps. They have a little oil, but they are not investing the time to deepen their relationship with God. In the end, they lose everything. The wise virgins, on the other hand, also have lamps, but they are not consumed by their outward lives. They are investing the best part of their time in getting oil, and when the light is darkest, their lamps do not go out.
Oh, how I want to be a wise virgin! Lord, help me not give in to lethargy or laziness concerning Your Word. Renew the urgency in my spirit to go deep in You.
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Give me oil in my lamp, I pray
Give me oil in my lamp, keep me burning
Keep me burning till the break of day
Thursday, July 26, 2007
This is fun!
 | My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Entirely Miss Reverend Lady Michelle the Antediluvian of Longer Interval Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title |
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Why dost thou wound and break my heart
As if we would forever part?
Hast thou not heard an oath from me—
After a day or two or three?
I would come back and live with thee.
Take, if thou dost distrust that vow
This second protestation now:
If on thy cheek, that spangled tear
That sits as dew of roses there,
That tear shall scarce be dried before
I’ll kiss the threshold of thy door.
Then, weep not, sweet, but this much know—
I’m half-returned before I go.
-Robert Herrick, quoted in A Perfect Love by Lori Copeland and Angela Hunt
This is a beautiful poem that speaks to my heart now, as my husband is away on a business trip this week. And isn't it also incredible as a love-note from Jesus to us?
As if we would forever part?
Hast thou not heard an oath from me—
After a day or two or three?
I would come back and live with thee.
Take, if thou dost distrust that vow
This second protestation now:
If on thy cheek, that spangled tear
That sits as dew of roses there,
That tear shall scarce be dried before
I’ll kiss the threshold of thy door.
Then, weep not, sweet, but this much know—
I’m half-returned before I go.
-Robert Herrick, quoted in A Perfect Love by Lori Copeland and Angela Hunt
This is a beautiful poem that speaks to my heart now, as my husband is away on a business trip this week. And isn't it also incredible as a love-note from Jesus to us?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Entertaining Ourselves
This is the day I discovered that a digital camera is a good way to keep a four-year-old, an almost-three-year-old, and an 18-month old entertained. That and a doctor's stool for races. It worked! . . . for a little while.
John's Incredible Pizza is a bit more fun than the doctor's office. :) Clockwise: 1) Robyn and Michelle enjoying the ride. 2) Oma and Gopa squirting frogs with Rayne and Reesa. 3) Daddy helping Cedar shoot 'em up. 4) Reesa, Rayne, and Cedar skyrocketing to the moon.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Camping Fun!
We went camping with GoPa and Oma for 4th of July weekend.
The girls loved swimming, feeding the ducks, and splashing!
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
Hidden in God
"For as far as this world is concerned you have died, and your new, real life is hidden with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).
What does it mean to be "hidden with Christ in God"? How do I live that out in real, practical ways? I mean, it sounds rather escapist, and I have a real, sometimes hard, life to face. I can't run into my room, shut the door, and read the Bible and pray 24 hours a day (though sometimes I'd like to)!
Colossians 3 and 4 actually contains quite practical direction. Here is what I'm gleaning as to how to live a "hidden" life on the rocky slopes of life (see Song of Songs 2:14).
What does it mean to be "hidden with Christ in God"? How do I live that out in real, practical ways? I mean, it sounds rather escapist, and I have a real, sometimes hard, life to face. I can't run into my room, shut the door, and read the Bible and pray 24 hours a day (though sometimes I'd like to)!
Colossians 3 and 4 actually contains quite practical direction. Here is what I'm gleaning as to how to live a "hidden" life on the rocky slopes of life (see Song of Songs 2:14).
- Seek the rich, eternal treasures that are above.
- Set your mind and keep it set on what is above.
- Kill evil desire, especially idolatry (deifying self and created things instead of God).
- Rid yourself of anger and rage, bad feeling toward others, curses and slander, foulmouthed abuse, shameful utterances, and lying.
- Put on behavior marked by tenderhearted pity and mercy, kind feeling, a lowly opinion of yourself, gentle ways, and patience (the power to endure whatever comes with good temper).
- Readily forgive.
- Above all, put on love.
- Let Christ's peace act as umpire in your heart.
- Be thankful in every situation.
- Let the Word have its home in your heart and mind.
- Do everything in dependence on Jesus.
- Work heartily from the soul, as for God and not for men.
- Be earnest, unwearied and steadfast in your prayer life.
- Behave wisely with non-Christians.
- Let your speech be pleasant and winsome.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
God's Way, Not Mine
Interesting that my last posts were about The Land. Since then, we have felt that it is time to take our first real step toward that dream. We are preparing our house to sell so that we can pay off our debts, purchase our land, and reduce our monthly bills. We have been praying that God would show us His way for us recover from the financial emergency that we have been in for the past year, so this is an answer to prayer.
"Behold, I send an angel before you to keep and guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared" (Ex. 23:20).
We desire to move when God moves and to stop when He stops, as the Israelites did when God guided them with a pillar of fire and cloud. So we are listening daily for His direction.
"I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open you mouth wide and I will fill it" (Ps. 81:10).
God is "the One with the plan" (Beth Moore, Breaking Free, p. 156). He knows the way much better than we do. He gives us light for our path as we daily seek Him. And He provides for all our needs!
"Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Is. 43: 18,19).
This verse applies to God's larger scheme, but also to the intimate details of our lives. He will direct and provide for us as we "seek first His kingdom" (Mt. 6:33). Not just in an overall sense, but in a daily sense as well. I am beginning to understand this in a new way: it's like a daily briefing. My mission remains the same, but I need to check daily for any updates, corrections and clarifications to my orders. It's simple but powerful. Otherwise, I "may choose a path based on human knowledge and be totally misled. God wants to guide us daily in His own wisdom and knowledge" (Breaking Free, p.156).
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 115:105).
"Behold, I send an angel before you to keep and guard you on the way and to bring you to the place I have prepared" (Ex. 23:20).
We desire to move when God moves and to stop when He stops, as the Israelites did when God guided them with a pillar of fire and cloud. So we are listening daily for His direction.
"I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open you mouth wide and I will fill it" (Ps. 81:10).
God is "the One with the plan" (Beth Moore, Breaking Free, p. 156). He knows the way much better than we do. He gives us light for our path as we daily seek Him. And He provides for all our needs!
"Behold, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs forth; do you not perceive it? I will even make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert" (Is. 43: 18,19).
This verse applies to God's larger scheme, but also to the intimate details of our lives. He will direct and provide for us as we "seek first His kingdom" (Mt. 6:33). Not just in an overall sense, but in a daily sense as well. I am beginning to understand this in a new way: it's like a daily briefing. My mission remains the same, but I need to check daily for any updates, corrections and clarifications to my orders. It's simple but powerful. Otherwise, I "may choose a path based on human knowledge and be totally misled. God wants to guide us daily in His own wisdom and knowledge" (Breaking Free, p.156).
"Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path" (Ps. 115:105).
Monday, March 27, 2006
Donkeys
Our neighbor provides the petting zoo.
Donkeys, peacocks, guinea hens, dogs,
cats, cows . . . and they enjoy visitors!
Beautiful Land
I can hardly believe that someday I will wake upevery morning to beautiful views like this!
Our Land
Paul and I spent the weekend camping on Our Land! We had a great time exploring. There were so many places to enjoy: grassy hills, mossy trees, creek, wildflowers . . . we didn't even have time to do everything we wanted to do. We are looking forward to raising our children in such an amazing, fun environment.
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