Joseph's window this morning . . .

This was too funny.  I have no idea who did it, but really, too funny . . . unless it really is a girl, then it's too weird!  She'd do so much better just coming to me than leaving stocker notes on windows . . . oh dear!

Happy Valentines Day!!

Growing up, I always looked forward to Valentines Day.  It was a day when we gave each other chocolate, hung hearts up all over, the day when Mom would make the table beautiful with surprises before we woke up, and the day when we got a great steak dinner.  What is there not to like about it?  Besides, it was the day that we talked about love and my name means love.  It's like a holiday that I'm named for.

When I came to college though, I started to hear what others thought about the day.  It was not so good as what I thought.  Valentines, many of the people around me would say, is the day when you realize that you have no man (or woman for the men) in your life.  It is "single awareness" day.  Really, that's just stupid.

In Life Together by Deitrich Bonhoeffer, he writes about true love.  In this book he makes a clear argument how we, as people of God can love in one of two ways.  We can love with a love that is human love or we can love with a love that is spiritual love.  This human love has its roots in what I can gain from loving another person.  When that other person does not do what is expected, I become offended and my "love" turns to hatred.  Loving in a proper spiritual way has its roots in Christ.  I will love others for who they are in Christ.  There is no expectations that hang on to this kind of love, but simply a giving motivated by Christ.  Spiritual love is not downtrodden with expectations, but joyful in sacrifice.

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, 

I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, 

and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, 

but have not love, I am nothing . 

And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, 

and though I give my body to be burned, 

but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 

does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 

does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 

My Groom

Sitting on our beds in my little room, a new friend and I had a great discussion on our groom.  You didn't know I had one?  Oh! but I do!  He is wonderful, beautiful, magnificent, strong, kind, loving, submissive, faithful beyond imagination, a servant and yet a king.  My friend lit up as she described this wonderful groom in her life.  "Why, I wouldn't mind being single my whole life just knowing that He is mine!"  We will not always be single even if we don't get married till the day we die. Because, on that day, we will see Him!  Her groom and my groom is one and the same.  He is our redeemer Jesus Christ.  This wonderful groom did not only find me and love me but He redeemed me from a wretched and fallen state from which I had no hope of salvation.  He then protects, guides, and watches over me.  He calls me to walk worthy of my position as bride (of which I fail miserably) and He is the head of my life.  In a strange and yet wonderful way, He not only has done this and is this for me, but He is this for all other believers.  Marian and I continued to talk about this wonderful groom and how, really, we are most happy when we give ourselves completely to Him.  She said it really is not that hard, just tell Him I am Yours and let Him do as He wills.  Well, I must admit I find it hard, but I don't want to and I was so encouraged by our little talk.

And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, 

as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, 

"Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 

Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 

and His wife has made herself ready."  

And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, 

for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Asking God For Blessings

Each day I come to our Father in heaven asking for His guidance, His wisdom, His mercy as I live out my moments.  Then again with my family, we ask for His help to live our day according to His will.  In the evenings we are again asking God to watch over us, keep us, bless us.  Occasionally, in all this asking I can feel a slight ping of guilt that I ask far too much.  Perhaps I should ask nothing of God, only sit and humbly take whatever He desires to give or do for me and my loved ones.  There has always been a bit of a quandary in what to ask of God.

This morning while reading Psalm 144, I was delighted to find David "asking" God to bless him with many of the same things I ask daily.  No, I don't have sheep (at least not now) or cattle.  Charity would probably not desire to look like a pillar in a palace.  But, my heart desires the same things.   I ask our Father to make my sons strong, to make my daughters secure, to give us plenty of good food, that we would be prosperous in the things that bring comfort to ourselves and others, that we would be safe where we live, where we work.  Blessed are we when blessings fall upon us!  It comforted my heart.  I hope it does yours.

May our sons in their youth

                        be like plants full grown,

            our daughters like corner pillars

                        cut for the structure of a palace;

            may our granaries be full,

                        providing all kinds of produce;

            may our sheep bring forth thousands

                        and ten thousands in our fields;

            may our cattle be heavy with young,

                        suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;

            may there be no cry of distress in our streets!

            Blessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

                        Blessed are the people whose God is the LORD!

(Psalm 144:12-15 ESV)

Today: a chance for me to see His grace first hand

"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness . . ."

Lord, thank you for the wonderful misery of rain!

"It's the other way round," said Denniston. "Everyone begins as a child by liking Weather. You learn the art of disliking it as you grow up. Noticed it on a snowy day? The grown-ups are all going about with long faces, but look at the children - and the dogs? They know what snow's made for."
"I'm sure I hated wet days as a child," said Jane.
"That's because the grown-ups kept you in," said Camilla. "Any child loves rain if it's allowed to go out and paddle about in it.”  ~C.S. Lewis That Hideous Strength

Maybe that means I'm still a child . . . or just mad :)

Male and Female He created them

Quite honestly, I'm a strange girl.  I’m not one who really enjoys listening to a whole “message” by a woman.  Usually, I’m pretty turned off by it.  But I had to listen to this message for an assignment due Monday morning.  Begrudgingly, I turned it on this afternoon as I cleaned up my room.  As it went on, I quit cleaning and sat down to really listen.  This one was good.  Mary Kassian did a wonderful job calling women to stand up to the call of feminism and to practice biblical womanhood.  She clearly shows the deceitfulness and the hatefulness behind feminism and how it has progressed.  It is a sad state, burdening women with a lifestyle contrary to godliness.  We, as women, are to stand fast in our biblical femininity, to be rebels against the world’s expectations, and to embrace godliness.  It is not easy.  It is right, and it is good.

The message comes from True Women '08, Revive our Hearts.  It is called "You've come a long way, Baby!" and you can find it here.  Girls, I love you dearly, but I'm not sure you should be listening to it, so please ask your mom or dad before you do.  It's not bad or anything, just a bit mature and I'm sure your mom or dad would know right off if it's too much for you :)    

As a bonus, here's one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite books by one of my favorite men: 

"Madness does not come by breaking out, but by giving in; by settling down in some dirty, little, self-repeating circle of ideas; by being tamed." ~G.K. Chesterton Manalive

Let us, as women, not settle down, be content, and be tamed by our culture. No, we need to rise up, to be "mad" in the already mad world's eyes.  For to be seen as mad by the madman is no offense.

Mr. McGregor's Garden

I'm planning my garden this week.  Texas offers two growing seasons: the Spring and the Fall.  Our biggest problem in the Hill Country is rock which makes above ground gardening the only way to go.  Our other biggest problems are too much heat and too little water which makes drip irrigation also the only way to go.  After three years of asking questions and going to gardening classes, I am ready to try my hand at Texas gardening.  Over Spring break Joseph (19) built three gardens for me.  The area is complete with fence around and a pristine little gate which  makes entering my garden an "affair".  I never open that little gate without thinking of Mr. McGregor's cottage garden in Peter Rabbit.  Here's hoping my little garden will actually grow and be fruitful so that little Peter Rabbits will envy it.

"God Almighty first planted a garden. And indeed, it is the purest of human pleasures."

Francis Bacon

But the great people do it . . .

Pretty much all the great pastors and authors that I have been largely influenced by use pen and ink primarily for their deep studying.  That is, a pen which must be dipped into the ink (as the older authors had to do) or a fountain pen which must be regularly refilled with ink (as the modern ones do).  I thought it was just a weird notion of theirs that these actually make a difference when writing and studying.  I was wrong.  Something got into me one day and I tried one.  This is no weird notion.  It changes the whole way of writing, it affects the brain, it allows a person to have a deeper relationship with what they are authoring.  I know, it sounds crazy.  But don't be too quick to call me crazy until you try one!  As I was pursuing the art of using fountain pens, I ran out of ink and had to buy myself a real genuine ink bottle.  In old books you read about the ink on a writer's finger.  You also read about the mess this ink can make.  Well, just so you know, it's true.

Without reading the directions of how to do it properly, I excitedly dove into the activity of filling my cartridge and dripped all over.  The ink stains dark and will not come off!  However, the 60 second experiment was hilarious and I am optimistic about the future challenge of filling up the pen without a mess.

"Have you a pen and ink, Master Doctor?"
"'A scholar is never without them, your majesty,' answered Doctor Cornelius"
~C.S. Lewis
Prince Caspian

Why do I lack no good thing?

Today was just "one of those days."  I woke up, made coffee, had devotions, thought about all I had to do, started to get texts from well meaning friends and then promptly got overwhelmed.  First day of the semester where I was genuinely overwhelmed.  Sadly, my response was rather horrid.  It's a blessing for everyone in my dorm that none of them have to room with me this semester.  I knew I was a grump and I knew that it was not right.  After going to class and trying to get back on top of myself without any success, I was walking across campus with a couple of friends - Brittney and Lydia.  Brittney asked how I was and Lydia could just tell.  I was genuinely trying not to complain, so I just said that it was a bit of a tough day.  Brittney was so gracious as she tried to comfort me in my silly little afflictions and left me with a "hope your day gets better!"  

Soon after this, I was able to think through my reaction to the day.  I was spazy and ridiculous.  Not at all how a child of the Most High should behave herself.  Praying for strength from the Holy Spirit to live as one ought to live if one is a child of the Most High, I continued on my day.  It is amazing what God will do with the feeblest of confessions and how He will answer those cries for help.  

Coming out of the library, I saw a man cutting a large flowering yellow plant.  He was chopping it back and stuffing the blooming shoots into a big trash barrel.  I wouldn't usually take much notice, but the blooming shoots being wasted in such a way was too much for my faerie-tale-prone self to take, so I went over and asked him if I could take some.  He gladly agreed.  Lydia, who was with me, couldn't understand what my problem was and laughed as I gathered up a large bundle.  I told her that they must be a gift from God, and I just couldn't pass up a gift.  Bringing them back to my room, I divided them up and I was able to get not one, but three large bouquets out of them.  What a wonderful little blessing to brighten up my day.

At history class later in the afternoon, my friend Brittney walks in the door with a coffee in her hands.  "For you" she says.  A simple and yet super sweet and meaningful gift.  Nothing cheers up a dull heart like coffee.  God made it that way I guess.  I thanked God for friends like Brittney who would go out of her way to bless a Puddle Glum like me.

Prof Jensen is my history teacher.  He is a loud talking, energetic professor who cruises through his lectures 100 miles per minute and hardly stops for a break.  However, today was different as the subject of the three musketeers came up and he surprised everyone by popping out bags of these chocolates and passing them around the room telling everyone to please enjoy a few of them.  

                                                                

Flowers, coffee, and chocolate.  A boyfriend couldn't have done better.  My groom, whom I so pitifully seek to serve does not leave me hanging in my weakness.  He does not seek for my harm or watch as I struggle to live well.  No, He is not just my groom, He is my Master who takes care of me.  Why does He do this?  Why did he do more than this as He encouraged me?  Really, for no other reason than that I might praise His name: to thank Him for my nose as I smell my flowers, to be amazed at His creativity as I sip on my coffee, and to wonder at His goodness as I eat my chocolate.  

"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  As a father pities his children, so the LORD pities those who fear Him.  For He knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust." ~Psalm 103: 11-14

Good Times

Earlier this week, a few of us Home Ec. girls had a night out to say goodbye to one of our dear fellow "Home Ecers" who is leaving us . . . So sad, but we had a great time going to one of California's favorite frozen yogurt restaurants - Menchies - and then sitting around this fire to warm up and talk about everyone's dreams.     

I Will Lack No Good Thing?

We pray, and pray, and seek the Lord, and pray some more.  Still, sometimes it seems that what we think seems to be the best for us doesn't come our way.  There's always more room for learning to trust God, to put our faith in His Sovereign control, to yield our desires to Him in childlike peace that He will bring all we need in this life.

I say it again...still, sometimes it seems that it never will come.  Perhaps it won't.  But, if  "it" doesn't come, then "it" is not the GOOD thing. We will not be "lacking" in our lives in anything.  I know it is so because His Word tells us.


Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
for those who fear him have no lack!
The young lions suffer want and hunger;
but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
(Psalm 34:9-10 ESV)

Those who seek the LORD lack no good thing!  Talk about a delightful way to pray!  First things first.  Seek the LORD.  As a result: nothing good will ever be lacking.

Productive Saturday

Yep, back to school . . . and other things :)

Psalm 90: Reflecting On My Children

This picture was taken in 2004 in Billings, MT.  Since then, only one remains a child.  Nate is now 10, and looks much like Joseph did in this picture.  Somehow it seems like yesterday and it seems like eons ago all at the same time.  Joseph's mind swirls with math calculations and Computer Science. How fast it is all lived out.  Ana is a young woman soon to be married.  How speedily the days roll over and over. Charity is a vibrant student asking hard questions of others and herself.  How quickly they become parents.  The beautiful teenager Mary Beth is now a mother of 4.  Kip and I change too.  At this time, we couldn't have imagined there was anything more to learn about parenting.  Now, there are days we feel we know nothing of raising children. God ordains these changes, uses them for His glory and our good, and yet...He doesn't change.  My heart cries out..."So teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom"..."Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days"....Let Your work be shown to Your servants, and Your glorious power to their children.  Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!"  Psalm 90:14, 16,17

Lovely Baby Nora

Just because this is too good to miss...take a quick look at our youngest grandbaby eating her first Texas grapefruit.  You will need to scroll down a ways to find it...titled baby gets grapefruit.

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