The Simple Woman's Daybook

Today I reflect on simple thoughts and simple pleasures. My leads are somewhat similar to others in The Simple Woman's Daybook group, yet a bit different as well.  

A picture to share...  

 

 

Outside my window...

Snow white azaleas in full bloom in the front garden. Especially gorgeous at night!

Thinking...     

About the good fellowship that I had while walking this week.

 

Thankful...   

That my parents and sister's families were safe during the tornadoes this week in Huntsville. They only lost electricity that will be off for several more days. Inconvenient, but many others lost much more.

 

Learning... 

That quilt blocks don't necessarily come out square with precise 1/4 inch seams, but rather that the seams need to be adjusted to make a block square.
  

Around the house.... 

Finished a new 4-week menu rotation for May-August. This sure is a big help when it comes to supper time and grocery shopping. Not that I'm stuck to the menu when I want to do something different, but when it's on paper it's off my mind (not a lot seems to stick there anyway), and I can just give it a quick glance to see what's upcoming for supper.

Noticing the sound of...

Quiet. A peaceful night.

Reflecting creativity, in His image...
Gave The Book Nook a Mother's Day touch
 

From the kitchen....

Sharing one of the new recipes to our menu rotation. This one is Debbie's from our local homeschool support group cook book. Thanks, Debbie!

Meal-in-One Casserole

(Crock Pot)

1# ground beef

1 medium onion, chopped 

1 medium green pepper, chopped

1 cup whole corn, drained (I used frozen)

1 cup mushroom tops and pieces, drained (I used fresh)

1 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1- 11 oz. jar salsa (I think mine was about 14 oz.)

5 cups uncooked medium egg noodles (I just cooked enough for the two of us)

1- 28oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup water

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (I used mozzarella)

In a skillet cook beef and onion over medium heat until beef is done. Transfer to slow cooker. Top with green pepper, corn and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour salsa over mushrooms. Pour tomatoes and water over all. Sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours, then add noodles and continue cooking 1-2 hours or until noodles are tender. 

 

I just cooked the noodles separately so I could save mixture leftovers. The next time I won't add as much liquid. I think the mixture would good over nacho chips, too, especially with less liquid.

A thought from my Quiet Time....

From Knowing God Through the Year by J.I. Packer

Just as you do not know the path of the wind, ... so you do not know the activity of God who makes all things. ~ Ecclesiastes 11:5

"Among the seven deadly sins of medieval lore was sloth (acedia)--a hard-bitten, joyless apathy of spirit. There is a lot of it around today in Christian circles. The symptoms are personal spiritual inertia combined with critical cynicism about the churches and supercilious resentment of other Christians' initiative and enterprise. Behind this morbid and deadening condition often lies the wounded pride of one who thought he knew all about the ways of God in providence and then was made to learn by bitter and bewildering experience that he didn't.

This is what happens when we do not heed the message of Ecclesiastes. For the truth is that God, in his wisdom, to make and keep us humble and to teach us to walk by faith, has hidden from us almost everything that we would like to know about the providential purposes that he is working out in the churches in our own lives."

Currently reading...

The Mission of Motherhood by Sally Clarkson. I began previewing this book as a possible Book Nook addition, and I quickly found that it certainly is one I'd encourage all mothers to read! In fact, I'm thinking about hosting a 6-week discussion group for moms around this book. It's that good!

This coming week I'm looking forward to...
Our upcoming visit with Elizabeth and Craig and our little Elijah. Looking forward to holding and hugging! 

You may also enjoy reading what other simple women are saying and doing these days. Just click here to go to The Simple Woman's Daybook site. I'll be posting my journal on Saturdays. Do stop by again.

From The Book Nook

I'm heading over to the church this afternoon to give The Book Nook a Mother's Day touch.  Thought I'd pass along just a few brief reviews of titles I'm highlighting there for moms and children. 

The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity

This book by Sally Clarkson helps us rediscover the joy and fulfillment found in the role God has wisely given women. Although our current culture minimizes this role, God’s purposes are higher and nobler. Sally shows us how to nurture our children and help them open their hearts to God by bringing God’s purposes into our homes.

 

Feminine Appeal: Seven Virtues of a Godly Wife and Mother

This is a book that I wish had been around when I was a young wife and mother. It’s probably the best book that I’ve read on the seven feminine virtues given in Titus 2. Carolyn Mahaney gave me a much broader understanding of God’s design for women—older and younger alike. She meets the challenges of living today with the truths of scripture. 

 Grandpa’s Box: Retelling the Biblical Story of Redemption

While many children’s books about the Bible focus on biblical heroes and what we learn about them, this book by Starr Meade helps children see beyond the characters to the God whose story it really is. Grandpa uses his box of collections to tell the story of redemption through events involving biblical characters, but shows that it’s really just one story—the story of redemption down through the ages. A great read-aloud book for family devotions, or it can be read alone by children ages 9-12.

 

I’ll Love You Anyway and Always

This book by Bryan Chapell is a lovely hardback book that helps children understand God’s abundant love, forgiveness, mercy and grace. Young Katy’s disobedience provides an opportunity for her daddy to tell her about God’s love for His children, and, in turn, Katy learns to love others when they have wronged her. Beautifully illustrated. Ages 3-8

Ten Boys/Girls Who….

This is a series of five books written by Irene Howat giving brief biographies of men and women of faith who were once children themselves and grew up to influence the world around them. Five books are about boys; five books are about girls. Ages 8-12

Included in the series:

10 Boys/Girls Who Made a Difference 

10 Boys/ Girls Who Used Their Talents

10 Boys/ Girls Who Didn’t Give In 

10 Boys/ Girls Who Changed The World

10 Boys/ Girls Who Made History

 

All of these books can be found at christianbook.com.

Sing On

If you know me or have followed my blog for awhile, you know that my daughters live far away and I miss being a part of their lives. I especially miss them on days like yesterday when I get a phone call from a dear friend who is eager to share with me that her daughter and son-in-law and soon-to-be-grandbaby are moving to their town, and I preview a book for our church Book Nook about a grandfather who has fun times with his two grandchildren who stop by his house practically every day, and I'm still sifting through family pictures for a project I'm working on and remembering the years when we were together.  

I truly am very, very happy for my friend and was so glad that she wanted me to share in her joy, and I very much do. But on days like yesterday, "each grace in the garden of [my] heart languishes and droops." As I've been asking God to refresh me, I came across one of Charles Spurgeon's evening devotions. God used it as a refreshing shower. I want to share it with you in the hope that if you're feeling a little droopy and barren today, it may refresh you as well.

From Spurgeon's Daily Devotions
"Sing, O barren." ~ Isaiah 54:1

Though we have brought forth some fruit unto Christ, and have a joyful hope that we are "plants of his own right hand planting," yet there are times when we feel very barren. Prayer is lifeless, love is cold, faith is weak, each grace in the garden of our heart languishes and droops. We are like flowers in the hot sun, requiring the refreshing shower.

In such condition what are we to do? The text is addressed to us in just such a state. "Sing, O barren, break forth and cry aloud." But what can I sing about? I cannot talk about the present, and even the past looks full of barrenness. Ah! I can sing of Jesus Christ. I can talk of visits which the Redeemer has aforetimes paid to me; or if not of these I can magnify the great love wherewith he loved his people when he came from the heights of heaven for their redemption.

I will go to the cross again. Come my soul, heavy laden thou wast once, and thou didst lose thy burden there. Go to Calvary again. Perhaps that very cross which gave thee life may give thee fruitfulness. What is my barrenness? It is the platform for his fruit-creating power. What is my desolation? It is the black setting for the sapphire of his everlasting love. I will go in poverty. I will go in helplessness. I will go in all my shame and backsliding. I will tell him that I am still his child, and in confidence in his faithful heart, even I, the barren one, will sing and cry aloud.

Sing, believer, for it will cheer thine own heart, and the hearts of other desolate ones. Sing on, for now that thou art really ashamed of being barren, thou wilt be fruitful soon; now that God makes thee loath to be without fruit, he will soon cover thee with clusters. The experience of our barrenness is painful, but the Lord's visitations are delightful. A sense of our own poverty drives us to Christ, and that is where we need to be, for in him is our fruit found.

Painting~Music by Richard Quiller Orchardson

That It May Go Well With You

In my quiet time of the morning, I've been reading about God's establishing His covenant with the Israelites as He frees them from Egyptian bondage and brings them into the promised land of Canaan. There were many laws to be kept with this covenant, with blessings for the keeping of them and cursings for the failure to do so.

Jesus' redemptive sacrifice gave us freedom from the law as our means of salvation and brought us into a new and living relationship with Jehovah God. Nevertheless, all of scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness ( 2 Tim. 3:16), so there's always something to profit me as I read.

I was thinking as I read through Deut. 5, the reiterating of the Ten Commandments to the nation of Israel, that America has certainly fallen far short of God's holiness. With the coming of Mother's Day and Father's Day soon after, verse 16 particularly stood out to me.

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.

We have this command again in the age of grace, as we see in Eph. 6:2--Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise).

It didn't go well with the Israelites for very long. It hasn't gone well for America for very long either. I ran into a friend in the grocery store yesterday who had recently quit her job in a day care after decades of tenderly caring for little children. She says she can't bear any longer to see how children are talking to their parents and disrespecting them, even kicking them and calling them names.

We see all around us the dishonor for parents.  The sad thing is that parents allow it when children are young and it takes hold in their very being. Parents often times unknowingly allow their children to be counseled toward that end.

Counseled toward it? Yes. Children are being counseled all the time as to how to think about life, situations, relationships, themselves. Who they listen to--whether face to face teaching or interactive discussion, via the television or movies as voices of untruth subtly influence them, lyrics of music that play on the emotions at the same time, or the reading of the printed page--either explicit philosophies of life or fiction that sets those philosophies in motion--with authors spinning their own systems of belief into the lives of fictional characters who we are led to believe find answers or themselves have the answers to questions and problems of life that our children face --all become their counselors.

I believe that God gave us America and established it as a Christian nation. We are far from that today, with even our current president declaring it not such a nation. His declaration does not make us less of a Christian nation. The people who voted him into office make it less of a Christian nation. A nation is its people.

I commented to my friend in the grocery store that a generation of disrespectful children have grown up to lead our land, and so we find ourselves in a very sorry state of affairs. She commented that she will soon be too senile to care. But I know she does care, for the sake of her own grandchildren she must care. We all must care deeply.

Could America ever return to the faith of our forefathers? Perhaps when America's children are taught to honor their parents, and when those who were not taught are counseled to do so--then it just might go well for us in the land, for there's so very much wrapped up in the heart and mind of those who honor.

The Logical Outcome

Some final thoughts today on the final act of Jesus' time here on earth —His ascension. It was, indeed, as J. Oswald Sanders says, the logical outcome. It left His disciples with certainty of where He was going and where He now is. During the 40 days after His resurrection, He would appear out of nowhere and disappear as well, so it was imperative that the disciples see Him ascend into heaven, to verify His claim to deity. "No one has ascended into heaven except he who ascended from heaven, the Son of Man" (John 3:13). This act has forever strengthened the faith of believers down through the ages.

Let me share with you a few observations of significance on Jesus' Ascension made by Sanders in his book, The Incomparable Christ:

• It was of tremendous importance that our Lord's final departure from earth should not be a mere vanishing out of their sight, as He did at Emmaus. This would result in uncertainty as to whether or not He might again appear. 
• Accordingly, the ascension took place, not at night, but in broad daylight. "While they beheld." He rose from their midst, not because He must do so to go to His Father, but in order to make the act symbolic and intelligible to them.
• Significantly, it was not at Bethlehem, or the Transfiguration mount, or even Calvary that the event took place, but at Bethany, the place of His sweetest earthly fellowship.
• This appearance and disappearance of the risen Christ is represented as an episode as real and objective as His other appearances during the forty days. Those appearances were calculated to assure His disciples that He had conquered death and hell and was recognized as God's Messiah. The ascension was intended to convince them that they need not expect Him to appear again. 
• No other mode of departure would have left the impression this did. The period of transition had ended, and they need no longer remain in suspense.
• He left His own in the very act of blessing. For He had come, and blessing He departed, not as condemning judge but as compassionate friend and High Priest, with hands outstretched.

An ascension such as the gospels record was essential for a number of reasons:

• The nature of our Lord's resurrection body necessitated it. Such a body would not be permanently at home on earth. He must depart, but by glorification rather than by moral dissolution.
• The unique personality and holy life of our Lord demanded an exit from this world as remarkable and fitting as His entrance into it. 
• His redemptive work required such a consummation. Without it, it would have remained incomplete for it rests on four pillars —incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. The ascension was a complete and final demonstration that His atonement had forever solved the problem created by man's sin and rebellion. Only thus could He be constituted Head of the church (Eph 1:19-23).
• The gift of the Holy Spirit was dependent on His glorification. "The Holy Spirit was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified," was John's comment on the Lord's promise of the Spirit (John 7:39).
• It enabled the disciples to give to the world a satisfactory account of the disappearance of Christ's body from the tomb. 
• To Him the ascension came as the culminating divine assurance that the work He had come to do had been completed to the entire satisfaction of the Father, to whose right hand He had now been exalted. 
• It was a divine vindication of His claims to deity that had been disallowed by the Jews. He had claimed the right to ascend into heaven as His own prerogative. "No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven" (John 3:13).
• It was His divine inauguration into His heavenly priesthood.
• For the believer, our Lord's ascension has blessed implications for us. Though physically remote, He is always spiritually near. Now free from earthly limitations, His life above is both the promise and the guarantee of ours. "Because I live, ye shall live also," He assured His disciples (John 14:19).
• His ascension anticipates our glorification and leaves us the assurance that He has gone to prepare a place for us (John 14:2). 
• His resurrection and ascension to heaven involved nothing less than the making of His humanity eternal in transfigured and glorified form, even if in a manner wholly incomprehensible us. It brings Him very near to us as we remember that He carried His humanity back with Him to heaven (Hebrews 2:14-18; 4:14-16). 
• "He led captivity captive (Eph. 4:18). His ascension was His triumphant return to heaven and indicated that the tyrannical reign of sin is ended. 

"The ascension helped to clarify the nature of the Messiahship to the apostles," writes R.H. Laver. "They expected a Davidic king, whereas the crucifixion presented them with a suffering Servant. Then the resurrection proclaimed a king after all. The ascension further clarified the nature of His Kingship. The Kingdom of Christ is indeed not of this world. He will reign, but it shall not be simply from an earthly throne." 

I do hope you'll read The Incomparable Christ, perhaps as we near Christmas or next year when remembrance of His Resurrection is approaching. Nancy Leigh DeMoss will soon be finishing her series on the subject, but you can dive into the archives and listen at Revive Our Hearts online from the beginning as I've done. The book and Nancy Leigh have greatly impacted my thoughts toward my Savior.

I do hope the thoughts I've shared over the past week or so have been an encouragement to your own heart. 

Photo ~ Inspirational Clouds, Bruce Clarke

Pondering Those Next 40 Days

"Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away" (John 20:15). 

As we were walking in the cemetery today, an elderly gentleman stopped to chat with my friend and me and made a comment about how people tend to think about Christianity when it's Easter. (And what is Easter about anyway?!) My friend and I had indeed been talking about the resurrection, and it apparently had been on this man's mind as well, or perhaps he had just heard a bit of our conversation.

There's a tendency to move far too quickly away from Resurrection thoughts, though, once the day comes and goes.  We don't hear much about the 40 days Jesus remained on the earth after His resurrection and before His ascension back to the Father. Knowing that God always has a purpose or significance for all He does, I'm pondering those 40 days. The exuberant joy Jesus' followers must have felt when they realized Jesus had risen just as He said must have been joy unspeakable.

"... Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time" (1 Corinthians 15:4-6). 

For certain, one of the purposes for remaining those days was to present Himself as irrefutable proof of His resurrection, that death was not the victor. Jesus' resurrection from the dead is what makes Christianity different from all other faiths. His followers saw and touched His body.

"To these He also presented Himself alive after His suffering, by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3).

Being with Jesus these 40 days thrust the disciples into evangelical mode, spreading the gospel throughout the world.

Painting ~ Tuscan Walkway, Haibin

Restorer of Men's Faith and Hope

How silently the Easter dawn unfurls

Upon the earth—soundless

As His hand, omnipotent, rolling

Away the stone before the tomb.

See Christ step forth, embodiment

Of all that cannot be destroyed,

The Lord of Life, Light, Truth and Love

Restorer of men's faith and hope.

Now is Christ risen from the dead!

Rejoice! Let those who worship at an empty tomb

Bestir themselves;

Today He lives—He lives!

~ Mildred N. Hoyer

...

The Watershed of the Eternities

It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun's light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" And having said this he breathed his last.  ~Luke 23:46

From The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders— 

With awe and reverence we now approach the watershed of the eternities. “When Jesus had cried a with a loud voice, He said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost” (Luke 23:46). The body that had housed the Christ was about to be laid in Joseph’s tomb, but before He took leave of the earth, Jesus uttered His last word from the throne of His cross, and not in subdued tones, but with a loud, triumphant voice.

The bitterest ingredient in the cup of His suffering had been the midnight gloom that enveloped o only His body but also His soul, when His Father made the iniquity of us all to meet on Him (Isaiah 53:6). Three hours of torture at the hands of His creatures were succeeded by the infinitely darker three hours into which an eternity of suffering was compressed.

He does not now cry, "My God, my God!" but, Father." The communion He had enjoyed from eternity is restored, never again to be interrupted. Small wonder that He cried with a loud and triumphant voice. 

Transcendent joy must have flooded Him as His spirit rose from the miasmas of earth's sin to the warmth and crystal purity of the celestial air. His was no reluctant farewell to the scene of His suffering and humiliation.

Photo Richard Thripp

Good Friday.......or Good Earth Day?

Redeemed Through His Infinite Mercy!

I find it noteworthy that Earth Day falls on Good Friday this year. While some of us are worshiping the God of creation, some are worshiping the earth that He created. It's all part of Lucifer's seductive scheme in the cosmic spiritual battle. 

All of us worship something or someone. The Enemy knows that we do. Down through the ages he has enticed us with substitutes for worship of the true and living God. This appeals to mankind, for to worship Jehovah God is to recognize our responsibility to Him, and, indeed, our need for Him. To accept a worship substitute is to acquiesce to the strategy of the Serpent. 

Satan does not care who or what we worship, as long as it isn't Jehovah God. The Good Earth will do just fine. So he takes what is good--God-given stewardship of His own created earth--so that somehow, the earth becomes mother to many who are convinced they evolved from her, have a responsibility to her, and need her for survival. This is substitution worship at its apex. 

Yet Jehovah God continues to call us to Himself. Today is Good Friday, the day of reflecting on our Savior's Redemptive work.

"And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die......"  ~John 12:32-22

He draws, yet so many are blind and deaf or willfully refuse.

But for those who desire reconciliation with Jehovah God.......

God of earth, God of sky: Lord, on Thee all things rely.
God of time, God of space: Father Thou of Adam's race;
Torn from Thee by Adam's fall, Lord, to Thee we raise the call:
God of time, God of space, Meet with us, in this place.

Spotless Lamb come for me, Reconcile my debt to Thee.
Sinful men, helpless, lost, With Thy life's blood paid the cost;
Take away our bent to sin: Wash our hearts and cleanse within.
Lamb of God slain for me, Lamb of Life, hear my plea.

Bread of Life, Daily Bread, By Thy grace our souls are fed.
Broken once all to feed, Give us strength for every need.
Blest communion through the Son, All our hearts are knit as one;
Bread of Life, Daily Bread, To Thy feast we are led.

King of kings, Lord of lords--Heaven's anthems shout the chords.
Holy God, Angel Bright; Conqueror of the Hosts of Night.
Allelulia! Praise the Lamb! God of Ages, Great "I AM!"
Master, Lord, claim Thine own; Take my heart as Thy throne.

God of Earth, God of Sky ~ Philip A. Gingery

Ah, yes. The throne. In that is the crux of the matter.


You might also be interested in reading Doug Phillips' Blog on "A Christian Response to Earth Day." To many, it's about much more than good stewardship. Just click on the image below.

Give Me Jesus

The Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world...........

The Way to God Was Opened ~ Tetelestai!

From The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders--

The three English words, it is finished, are the equivalent of a single Greek word, tetelestai. With ample justification this has been called the greatest single word ever uttered.

It was a farmer's word. When there was born into his herd an animal so shapely that it seemed destitute of defects, the farmer, gazing on the creature with delighted eyes exclaimed, Tetelestai!"

It was an artist's word. When the painter had put the finishing touches to the vivid landscape, he would stand back and admire his masterpiece. Seeing that nothing called for correction or improvement he would murmur, "Tetelestai."

It was a priestly word. When some devout worshiper overflowing with gratitude for mercies received brought to the Temple a lamb without blemish, the pride of the flock, the priest, more accustomed to seeing blind and defective animals led to the altar, would look admiringly at the pretty creature and say, "Tetelestai!"

And when in the fullness of time the Lamb of God offered Himself on the altar of the cross, a perfect, flawless sacrifice, He cried with a loud voice, "Teletesai!" and yielded up His spirit.

God had entrusted to His Son the most stupendous task of the ages--the redemption of a world of lost and enslaved men. What irrepressible joy must have surged through Him as He cried in triumph, "It is finished!" Every obstacle standing between man's fellowship with God was removed, every demand of His law satisfied. There was nothing to add--the redemption He had secured was perfect and complete. Henceforth the way to God was open to all men. Henceforth they would know Him as a God of love.

The joy set before Him (Heb. 12:2) was already in sight, and now He could gladly summon His servant, death, and dismiss His spirit.

Tetelestai!

Rendezvous ~ You, too?

Three men shared death upon a hill

But only one man died;

A thief and God Himself--

Made rendezvous.

~ Miriam Lefevre Crouse

in The Incomparabe Christ by J. Oswald Sanders

One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying,

"Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!"

But the other answered, and rebuking him said,

"Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

And we indeed are suffering justly, 

for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds;

but this man has done nothing wrong."

And he was saying, "Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!"

And He said to him,

"Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise."

Luke 23:39-43

Why? The Agony of Silence

Ever felt forsaken? No doubt we all have at some time. Maybe many times. Maybe? Probably. Forsaken by friends, maybe by family. Maybe by God.

"My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me?" Jesus' words. On our lips? In our heart?

Jesus had been forsaken by humanity. But never by God. Nor have we. He is always there as our refuge, our help in time of need.

Jesus had never asked why before. He never did again. Yet this one time....

Why? "There is no experience of life through which men pass," wrote G. Campbell Morgan, "so terrible as that of silence and mystery, the hours of isolation and sorrow when there is no voice, no vision, no sympathy, no promise, no hope, no explanation; the hours in which the soul asks, why? There is no agony for the human soul like that of silence... "

But we can find in part the answer to His question in the very psalm from which He quoted (22:1, 3). The question of verse 1 is answered in verse 3: "But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." He was forsaken that we might learn from the anguish of His experience the greatness of our sin that made it necessary, and that we might know how entirely He took it and bore it away. During the hours of darkness He "who knew no sin" was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). That was the cause of His Father's averted face. It was not that God was ever hostile to His well-beloved Son--it was holiness turning away from sin.    

~ J. Oswald Sanders, The Incomparable Christ

Sunday Ponderings ~ Ever Interceding

This week my thoughts and meditations are on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God's Son and the Savior of all who believe in Him for salvation, redeeming us back to the Living God. 

Today is referred to as Palm Sunday, a remembrance of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The same crowd that welcomed Him would be those that cry for His crucifixion in just one week's span. He knew that, yet He rode silently on. Just as silently as He would carry His cross to Golgotha's hill. 

Silence until...."Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." It's significant to note that while He was on the cross, He continued to pray for those who crucified Him, those who had deep, spiritual, eternal needs. It was such communion with the Father that had made lasting impression on His disciples earlier as they had been in fellowship with Him. Remember that they had asked Him, "Lord, teach us to pray."

Christ is ever interceding for those who know not what they do. That's most of us. Eternally grateful for His intercession on our behalf. 

Suspended on the cross! On His pale brow

Hang the cold drops of death; through every limb

The piercing torture rages; every nerve,

Stretched with excess of pain, trembles convulsed.

Now look beneath and view the senseless crowd;

How they deride His sufferings, how they shake

Their heads contemptuous, while the bitter taunt,

More bitter than the gall they gave, insults

The agony of Him on whom they gaze.

But hark! He speaks, and the still hovering breath

Wafts His last breath to all approving heaven:

"Forgive them, for they know not what they do!"

~ C.P Layard

The Simple Woman's Daybook

Today I reflect on simple thoughts and simple pleasures. My leads are somewhat similar to others in The Simple Woman's Daybook group, yet a bit different as well.  

A picture to share...  

Outside my window...

A new little birdhouse in the Japanese maple out my kitchen window. The birds haven't found it yet. How delightful to watch then when they do!

Thinking...

About our phone conversation with our younger daughter yesterday afternoon, hearing Elijah in the background and being reminded how fast he's growing and how much we're missing.

Learning...
To trust the heart of God, even when I don't see His hand. But it isn't easy.

Thankful...  
That my daughters seek after God.

This coming week I hope to...
Have my spirit settled.
  

Around the house....

My Beloved started tearing out the flooring that is warping from moisture in an upstairs bathroom . A bigger job than he anticipated. The 3-5 Rule at work again--Everything takes 3-5 times longer or costs 3-5 times more than you expect.

Noticing the sound of...

Singing birds after the rain.

Reflecting creativity, in His image...
Bought a spring flower pot for my cooking utensils. 
 
 

 








From the kitchen....

Making a coffee cake to take to Sunday School class in the morning. Sharing the recipe:

Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake 

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 beatern egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup butter or margarine

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup choped pecans

Streusel:

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup cold margarine

In a mixing bowl combine flour sugar, baking powder, and salt. 

Add egg, milk, and butter; beat well. 

Fold in blueberries and pecans.

Spread into a greased 9-inch square baking pan.

In another bowl, combine sugar and flour; cut in the butter until crumbly.

Sprinkle over the batter.

Bake at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. 

A thought from my Quiet Time....

Reading through Genesis and came to 50:20, reminded again that God causes all things to work together for good for those who love Him, according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). It's the familiar account of Joseph and his brothers, who are fearful for their lives because of the harm they had done to Joseph.

"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive."

The purposes God has in the trials of life are known only by Him, but we can rest assured that they are for our good. When we see that good may be later down the road, and therein lies the challenge of our faith.

Currently reading...

The Incomparable Christ by J. Oswald Sanders

Sharing a brief paragraph:

From the records it would appear that of all His characteristics, the prayerfulness of Christ impressed His disciples most deeply. They did not ask Him to teach them how to preach or heal or teach, but they did make a request that each of us could take on our lips at this moment, "Lord, teach us to pray."

You may also enjoy reading what other simple women are saying and doing these days. Just click here to go to The Simple Woman's Daybook site. I'll be posting my journal on Saturdays. Do stop by again.

Domesticity ~ N Is for Nurturing the Nest

Domesticity - devoted to home duties and pleasures

The nest may be constructed, so far as the sticks go, by the male bird; 

but only the hen can line it with moss and down! 

  - Frances P. Cobbe

Today is cleaning day at our house, so I thought I’d share just a few things that help to nurture our nest. Actively managing our homes nurtures the beauty and peace that can be found there. It brings contentment and gratitude for the place we call home.

1. I don't know about you, but I tend toward idleness or piddling. It helps to keep my focus toward Proverbs 31-- "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness....Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates (Proverbs 31:27, 31). I do want a fruitful harvest, and I know idleness and piddling will not produce it.

2. I view my homekeeping as stewardship of my giftedness. What better place to receive the benefits and blessings of what we do well?

3. Weekly Routines—No matter what the routines are, they help us follow through. God created day by day. It helps me to have a day for each major task, and it changes with seasons (weather-wise, family-wise, and me-wise).

4. Daily Routines—I divide the day into segments that I fill with daily routines. These have varied over the years, depending on family situations, etc., and yours would be different. I have five segments with wiggle room that helps me plan and move through the day. I try not to carry tasks from one segment over to the next unless it’s absolutely necessary. Instead, I carry it over to the next day.

5. I try to do a little each day as time permits. For some ideas, here’s a link for 40 Household Jobs in 5 Minutes or Less.

6. I generally pick up as I go. I try to be consistent in not putting it down, but putting it away. All those little things add up to lots of time when it has to be done all at once.

7. Delegate responsibilities to the children. My daughters were doing their own laundry (not the ironing) when they were nine years old. Children can do a lot more than our culture expects of them. A homeschooling lifestyle allows time for learning life skills.

8. To help with clutter, I kept a basket for odds and ends left out at the end of the day. Anything I had to pick up after the children were off to bed went into the basket, with a small fee the next day for retrieval of each neglected item by those old enough for allowance.

9. I find it helps to preview the evening before as to what I'll be doing the next day. That way, if I need to make any preparations, I'm ready to get going with it. It also helps me begin the day focused and not piddling away the time. 

10.  These are just some of my frameworks for living a disciplined life. I use a pencil when I make my plans because I know God has a big eraser. First and foremost is to glorify Him.

Live and love the season that you're in. Rainbows and childhood too soon disappear.

N is for Nest, 
art.com

God is Good

A friend was telling me about a discussion she had been a part of that questioned the goodness of God because of assumed unfairness in who got beauty, brains, breaks in life, etc. Most of us probably wrestle at one time or another with reconciling the goodness of God and the presence of unfairness, or even evil. The problem of pain and suffering is real and touches us all. Some would deny the existence of God because of the presence of evil, pain, and suffering. "Evil exists; therefore, the Creator does not."

We cannot deny the existence of God but accept the existence of evil. To call something evil means there must be something good to measure it by. God is good, whether or not we believe it or understand it. Ravi Zacharias says, in his book Jesus Among Other Gods:

"If evil exists, then one must assume that good exists in order to know the difference. If good exists, one must assume that a moral law exists by which to measure good and evil. But if a moral law exists, must not one posit an ultimate source of moral law, or at least an objective basis for a moral law? By an objective basis, I mean something that is transcendingly true at all times, regardless of whether I believe it or not."

We live surrounded with God's goodness. He is good to send the rain that nourishes the earth to bring forth the flowers of spring. He is good to give the birds a song and people ears to hear their singing. He is good to bring the new life of a baby and to use a mother to continue His creative work. He is good to show us mercy and grace and His abundant faithfulness in our times of doubt. God is good, whether or not we believe it or understand it. 

Photograph: Golden Marguerite, Mark Bolton

allposters.com

A Valuable Tool for Marriages

The book Love and Respect by Emerson Eggerichs came up in conversation yesterday, and I recalled this review that my daughter Elizabeth, who is a certified NANC biblical counselor, had written on the book. I'd like to share it with you today.

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"The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Perfect Marriage" -- "Making Marriage Work" -- "How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking About It." A walk through the bookstore attests to the fact that couples are searching for answers. Everyone wants to know how to "find fantastic intimacy," how to have lasting happiness, how to experience fulfillment in their relationship. Wending one's way through the mess of relationship books can be confusing and frustrating. 

That’s why I want to point you towards one resource that is actually worth your time and money. It’s Emerson Eggerichs' Love & Respect. While you may at first raise your eyebrows at his claim to have “the simple secret to a better marriage,” his message is valuable and thoroughly biblical. The entire book is structured around a single biblical principle found in Ephesians 5:33, a principle which he calls “the Love and Respect Connection: Without love, she reacts without respect. Without respect, he reacts without love — ad nauseam.” While the book does have its weaknesses (we’ll talk about those a little later), I am convinced that if couples read and diligently apply the principles Eggerichs promotes, they will have a better marriage. This is because when we commit to doing things God’s way — regardless of how we feel, regardless of what pop psychology may promote — life works. When I commit to respecting my husband as God commands, I make it easier for him to love me. When my husband commits to loving me as God commands, he makes it easier for me to respect him. It’s that simple.

I do caution you on one particular weakness that I find in the book. Throughout his teaching, he uses the language of “need” — “A wife has one driving need — to feel loved. … A husband has one driving need—to feel respected.” While it is true that each of us strongly desire these things, and while it is true that God desires us to give each other these things, they are not “needs.” Needs are something we cannot live without. Needs lead to demands, to “rights.” None of us, biblically, can demand love or respect from another. Christ Himself did not demand respect, but suffered through much rejection. Therefore, I always encourage readers of this book to substitute the words “strong desire” in their minds whenever Eggerichs uses the word “need.”

In spite of this weakness, there are many valuable truths and application points in this book. Get it, study it, and apply it. Go to the website and download the video conference (love and respect downloads) My church went through the conference together on Sunday evenings, and it was a wonderful time of challenge and enrichment. Pay special attention to perhaps the most important chapter in all of Eggerichs’ teaching: chapter 23, “The real reason to love and respect.” As Eggerichs states, “unconditional love and unconditional respect will be rewarded.” This is a biblical promise.

I do want to say that if your marriage is in serious trouble — you consistently have arguments you cannot reconcile between the two of you, you are living distant and separate lives, you contemplate the possibility of divorce — reading this book will help you. But it is not a lucky rabbit’s foot, and it is not an end-all, be-all. You need someone to walk through your struggles with you, to keep you accountable to implement life changes, and to help you see deep inside your heart to root out key problems. For this, you need a biblical counselor. There is no substitute for accountability and third-party perspective, so I encourage you — yes, get this book and read it. But don’t stop there. Seek out a godly biblical counselor in your area who can walk alongside you.

Intentionally Growing

I've been listening to more of "The Incomparable Christ" on Revive Our Hearts  as I've been on the treadmill. I've backed up and started at the beginning of the series, and yesterday came to the childhood of Jesus. I'd like to share just a portion of it for those of you who have children or grandchildren, whose lives you are steering and shaping. I think it will be an encouragement to you as your own children are growing. We jump into the middle of the discussion, where Nancy Leigh DeMoss is talking about Jesus' childhood years.

"For those of you who are Christian parents seeking to raise children for the glory of God, don’t underestimate the importance, the necessity, and the value of those childhood years. Don’t be trying to get your child to be twelve when he’s three. There’s a process. There’s growth. It takes time and patience. Enjoy the season. Enjoy the moment. Ask God to give you a vision, a sense of purpose for their childhood. That will help you to be intentional as you're parenting, as you realize that the patterns that are established in their childhood, seeds sown in their childhood, will bear fruit in their adulthood.

What your children are doing at the age of two or three and six and eight and ten matters. It matters that they are growing, that you are being intentional in helping to steer and shape their growth in the dependence on the grace of God. Because they are being shaped into the person and the man or the woman they are going to be in adulthood.

As you pray for your children, don’t just pray for their safety and protection. You want that, but also pray and believe God for growth in every area of their lives—from infancy to childhood and into manhood for the glory of God."

The next segment of the series is on the youth of Christ, the transition from childhood to adulthood. Our culture prolongs this period, but it should be filled with intentional maturity. You might want to listen in to both days' discussion.

Painting ~ Ring-A-Ring-A-Roses-Oh!, Fredrick Morgan (1885)