The Simple Woman's Daybook

On Saturdays 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.

Outside my window...
Humming birds at the feeder.

Noticing the sound of... 
The air conditioner that stays on a lot these days.

Thinking...
About my older daughter who has been married ten years this week (is that 10 years already?!!) and who lives much too far away. I miss being a part of her life. 

Thankful...
For My Beloved who always speaks kindly to me. I'm reminded of that every now and then when I hear a woman's husband speak disrespectfully to her.

A Picture to Share

From the sewing room...
I've been working on pillowcase dresses for little girls in a couple of orphanages in Africa. Our pastor and his wife visited there a few weeks ago, and we thought it would be nice to send them some dresses. This dress is simply a pillowcase with the side opposite the opening cut away and armholes cut out. Add bias tape around the armholes, casings across the front and back, insert bias tape or ribbon, and there you have it!  I'll post pictures soon of the dresses I've made and tell you more about our project.





A thought from my Quiet Time...
Reading in Matthew 25:31ff where Jesus is separating the metamorphical goats and sheep for inheriting His kingdom on the basis of whether or not they ministered "to the least of these my brethren." Believers, His brethren, who are in need. The Apostle Paul reiterates this in Galatians 6, "And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." This has reminded me that I minister to Jesus as I minister to others. It's not a matter of good-works-salvation, but of good works as evidence of salvation. We listen and watch for needs with our heart.

This coming week I'm looking forward to...
Listening and watching more intently. 

Learning...
Still learning that we don't really know how other people are viewing things, even if we think we might. It can be a bit unsettling at times.

From the garden...  
The tomatoes are not doing well in the heat. I rescued a few and put them in the kitchen window. We have only one plant, so it's not a big loss. Just a disappointment. Nothing like homegrown tomatoes!

Around the house...
My Beloved finished taking down wallpaper in one of the bathrooms yesterday.  Whenever we've taken down wallpaper over the years, it's been a mess. We've fixed and painted the walls each time and vowed never again to wallpaper!  It's easier to change decor when it's just paint anyway.

From the kitchen...
Last Sunday was my turn to bake bread for our visitors at church, so I made Lemon Loaf. It's a recipe from the Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog. You can click here if you'd like to get the recipe. I made a few extra for later and put them in the fridge. A nice little gift for a friend.

Currently reading...
The revised, updated version of Where is God When It Hurts by Philip Yancey. Sharing a bit as I read.

As I have said, the Bible consistently changes the questions we bring to the problem of pain. It rarely, or ambiguously, answers the backward-looking question "Why?" Instead, it raises the very different, forward-looking question, "To what end?" We are not put on earth merely to satisfy our desires, to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. We are here to be changed, to be made more like God in order to prepare us for a lifetime with him. And that process may be served by the mysterious pattern of all creation: pleasure sometimes emerges against a background of pain, evil may be transformed into good, and suffering may produce something of value.

Guilt

I just began reading Where Is God When It Hurts? by Philip Yancey. Sharing a brief paragraph with you today.

 The perceived function of guilt, like pain, is an impulse to get rid of the unpleasant sensation. Underlying that, however, is the more significant purpose of dealing with the root cause. In the long run it won't help you to try to purge authentic guilt feelings unless you let them guide you toward forgiveness and reconciliation. Guilt by itself doesn't lead you anywhere, just as pain does not; both are directional, symptoms of a condition that requires your urgent attention.

Painting ~ Amarilla 1879, Frederick Leighton 1830-1896

Wikimedia Commons public domain

A Great and Noble Task

The Hardworking Mother, Chardin

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble.

~ Helen Keller 

 

... applying all diligence, in your faith supply  

moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, 

knowledge, and in your knowledge,  

self-control, and in your self-control, 

perseverance, and in your perseverance,  

godliness, and in your godliness, 

brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness,  

love.  

For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, 

they render you neither useless nor unfruitful 

in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

~ 2 Peter 1:5-8

Painting ~ The Hard Working Mother 1740, Jean Baptiste Simeon Chardin 1699-1779
Wikimedia Commons public domain

As Good As Dead, Yet Growing Strong

My thoughts today are from my quiet time reading in Romans 4, where God through the Apostle Paul reminds us of Abraham's faith. I was stopped short in vs. 19-25. 

"Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah's womb; yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform."

Isn't it amazing how God uses a verse or a passage we've read a thousand times to reach into the recesses of our heart and touch a fresh chord? He did that with this passage for me. He encourages me not to become weak in faith and to think that what He has promised is 'as good as dead' because weeks, months, years pass without the promise coming to pass. Just because we don't see God at work doesn't mean that He isn't working. We just aren't seeing it. He always has our good and His glory in mind. Always.

The Apostle Paul goes on to say that not only did Abraham not waver in unbelief, but that his faith grew strong. If you're like me, we do tend to waver. We want to believe, yet there's the absence of the promise, the teetering of hope. We need to strengthen our faith. But how? How do we become stronger when we feel so helpless and weak? We go to God's Word and continue on. The tendency is to wander from His Word, but we must not waver here. We can only grow stronger as we grow closer to Him, drawing on His strength where we are weak. We gain strength as well when we listen to God's people as they recount His faithfulness, and we're caused to see once again that God is at work in the lives of His children. We let His Word and His people and His Holy Spirit encourage and strengthen us.

I believe there's a key here as to why Abraham's faith grew strong. He gave glory to God--in the midst of waiting and wondering. Giving God glory strengthens our faith because we focus on Him. That's why we're told that whatever we do, we're to do all to the glory of God (I Cor. 10:31). It's for our good and for His glory. Everything is.

What God has promised, He is able to perform. But we must be sure that it is, indeed, His promise to us. Several years ago I was thrown into a tailspin because something that I believed was God's promise was not coming to fruition. In fact, what was happening was totally opposite. It was not an Abraham kind of situation. It was my notion of a promise to be fulfilled, as wonderful a notion as it was, that God would bless a particular endeavor. It was a God-glorifying endeavor to be sure, but as I searched the Scriptures in my disappointment, I found that He had not promised to reward that endeavor in the way I believed He would. Unlike Abraham, my faith wavered. Sad to say, I did not draw near to God or to His Word for strengthening of my faith. But God, in His great faithfulness, drew me back to Himself. He taught me about His ways as He walked with me through those troubled waters. Oh, the kindness and goodness of God that brings us to repentance! (Rom. 2:4)

What God has promised, He is also able to perform. While we wait, we ascribe to Him all majesty, glory, and honor. We exalt His goodness, His faithfulness, His holiness, His power, His grace. His abundant grace while we wait. Even when we feel like something within us is 'as good as dead'.

Painting ~ A Quiet Read, Ludovico Marchetti 1853-1909
Wikigallery public domain

Inscrutable

Sharing with you today a brief portion from my devotional reading in Knowing God Through the Year with J.I. Packer.

Ecclesiastes is intended as a warning against a misconceived quest for understanding.

Look (says the preacher) at the sort of world we live in. What do you see? You see life's background set by aimlessly recurring cycles in nature (1:4-7). You see its shape fixed by times and circumstances over which we have no control (3:1-8). You see death coming to everyone sooner or later, but its coming bears no relation to whether it is deserved (7:15). The wicked prosper; the good don't (8:14).

Seeing all this, you realize that God's ordering of events is inscrutable. Much as you want to make it out, you cannot do so (8:17). The harder you try to understand the divine purpose in the ordinary providential course of events, the more obsessed you grow with the apparent aimlessness of everything and the more you are tempted to conclude that life really is as pointless as it looks.

... then I saw all the work of God, 

that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. 

However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. 

Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out.

Ecclesiastes 8:17

Picture ~ Zinnias in my garden by the driveway

Happy Day Road Trip

We took a road trip recently for My Beloved's birthday. There was no rain expected, so off we went to the West Virginia mountains!

A quick breakfast at Tudor's (if you haven't had their biscuits, you must), then a drive to French Creek Wildlife Center, a zoological facility with WV wildlife. Sort of a natural habitat zoo. Since it was quite hot yesterday (90s), we did a quick half-hour walk-through. We've been there before and spent about an hour along the paved trail. This is a great place for a family outing. You can picnic, and there's a little gift shop.

Our next stop was Helvetia, a Swiss historic village of about 200 folks, where we had lunch at The Hutte Restaurant, which features Swiss specialties. It's filled with American and Swiss antiques. The house has several rooms, with dining tables in each room. One of the dining rooms has an old switchboard and telephone from days gone by, and another has a parlor organ. They encourage you to wonder around while you wait if it isn't crowded. We took pictures of the dining room we were in. A picture is worth a thousand words, so here are a few pictures that show The Hutte's quaintness.

A quick walk around the historic district after lunch didn't take long because they're restoring a couple of buildings and were closed, so we decided to take a little jaunt about five miles up the road to the smallest public school in WV--about 35 students K-12 in Pickens. But mind you, it's a WV School of Excellence. Big is not always better. Actually, I believe it seldom is.

We headed out of Helvetia, driving through timberland and past lumber mills, up over the mountain with beautiful vistas, where the temperature was 15 degrees cooler than we left at home. Our next stop was supper at Stonewall Resort. A nice finale to the birthday boy's road trip.

 My Beloved

You are the love of my life, 

my companion in pleasure,

my very best friend through this earthly journey.

You are my shelter when storms are surging, 

my rock when all seems like shifting sand, 

my sharer of dreams and dreamer of plans. 

You are my encourager when I want to give up or give in, 

my reminder that there's always hope, 

my explainer of truth and thoughtful contemplation. 

You are the one I want to grow gracefully old with, 

and yours is the hand I want to hold at the end of the day and into the night... 

for the rest of my life.

Bible Believing or Biblically Functioning?

I've been reading more of Joyfully at Home by Jasmine Baucham and noticing a phrase she uses throughout the book--"a biblically functioning church." It has arrested my attention. I think this is an important distinction that she's making. Many of us would be familiar with the distinction made of a Bible believing church and the reasons for that distinction. We hear the phrase over and over again. I think Jasmine has touched on a major weakness in many Bible believing churches, though, and that is that many are not biblically functioning churches.

In the chapter I'm reading today, Jasmine is answering some questions that she's been asked about her desire to be a stay-at-home daughter and a stay-at-home wife, should she later marry. Questions such as:

"What if your father or husband dies, or they are unable to provide for you because of an injury or illness?"

Her answer: What if the local church took its duty towards widows and orphans seriously? 

While wills, life insurance policies, and detailed plans are all important measures that a father can use to ensure that their families are well cared for (and I have nothing against these methods, and know personally the security that they provide) (1 Timothy 5:8), so many of us miss out on the security that the Body of Christ should afford us.

The Church has a real responsibility towards widows and orphans, so much so that this responsibility is outlined by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 5. Have you ever taken a good, long look at that passage? Have you ever been in a church that has encouraged you to do so?

One of the biggest provisions that a father can make for his family is to get them to a doctrinally sound, biblically functioning church with a strong sense of community.

A biblically functioning church.

I think part of the problem is that we look at New Testament passages about the church and say, "How do we apply this to our church? Oh, we can't do this or that. It won't work in the here and now." Instead, we should be asking, "How can we change our church to follow the patterns laid out for us in the New Testament church?" Huge difference.

A biblically functioning church. Are you in one? Are you sure? Don't be too quick with your answer just yet. I'm not talking about finding Bible verses to pin on our practice. It's the other way round, as C.S. Lewis might put it. This week as you read and study your Bible (you won't know if you are if you don't), particularly about the New Testament church, ask yourself--"Is our church functioning like this? Am I, as a follower of Jesus Christ (if you are), actually living my life like this?" I'm seriously thinking about these questions myself.

A biblically functioning church. An important distinction from the pen of 20-year-old Jasmine.

Jasmine's dad, Voddie Baucham, has written Family-Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes To Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk With God.  Voddie is a pastor of preaching at their church in Houston, Texas. Jasmine invites us to visit their biblically functioning church sometime. I have some friends who drove hundreds of miles to do so, and it began to change their lives. One of the changes was their church shortly after they returned. It's like Jasmine says, "One of the biggest provisions that a father can make for his family........"

God Is Personal

The Earthly Paradise, Jan Bureghel

Sharing some devotional reading with you today from Knowing God Through the Year.

Right from the start, the Bible's story is told in such a way as to impress on us the twin truths that the God to whom we are being introduced is both personal and majestic. Genesis reveals the personal nature of God expressed in vivid terms. He deliberates with himself, saying, "Let us..." (Genesis 1:26). He brings the animals to Adam to see what Adam will call them (2:19). He walks in the garden calling to Adam (3:8-9). He asks people questions (4:9). He comes down from heaven in order to find out what his creatures are doing (11:5). He is so grieved by human wickedness that he repents of making them (6:6-7). Representations of God like these show us that God is not a mere cosmic principle, impersonal and indifferent. Rather, he is a living Person, thinking, feeling, active, approving of good, disapproving of evil, interested in his creatures all the time.

~ J.I. Packer

And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, 

and there he put the man whom he had formed.  

And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree  

that is pleasant to the sight and good for food.  

The tree of life was in the midst of the garden,

and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

The LORD God took the man  

and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. 

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, 

"You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, 

but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat,

for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die."

Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; 

I will make him a helper fit for him."

Genesis 2:8-9, 15-18

Painting ~ The Earthly Paradise, 1607-1608, Jan Brueghel 1568-1625

Wikimedia Commons public domain

Sacred Marriage

As I'm reading through the gospels chronologically, I come today to the parallel passages in Matthew 19 and Mark 10 where the Pharisees ask Jesus about divorce, not really because they want to know. Being religious leaders, they would have known Malachi 2:16-- "For I hate divorce," says the LORD, the God of Israel, "and him who covers his garment with wrong," says the LORD of hosts. "So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously." Jesus explains to the Pharisees why divorce is wrong.

I know there are some difficult situations, but I also believe that most people take God's viewpoint on divorce far too casually. He has reasons for disallowing it. I was in the presence of a woman recently who was explaining to someone how many children she had--as far as I could tell, it was a half dozen or so. She didn't give a specific number, and it was difficult to keep track as she commented on them. She ended the discourse by saying, "It's confusing; we're remarried."

Many people are more than a little confused about the matter. Children are probably the most confused. God is not, and we need not be.

If divorce and/or remarriage is something you're wondering about, here's a biblical explanation written by John Piper that may help you or someone you love--"Divorce and Remarriage: A Position Paper."

We're heading to a wedding later in the week, and one of our gifts will be a book by Gary Thomas--Sacred Marriage: What if God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? God has reasons for marriage, and reasons for staying married as well. Another worthwhile book is Meant to Last by Paul Steele and Charles Ryrie. It's out of print, but you can get it from Amazon. We've given several of both of these books away. They're life-changing hope for many people.

Painting ~ The Lovers 1909, William Powell Frith 1819-1909

Wikimedia Commons public domain

Domesticity ~ Muddled Ideas

By Helen Louise Johnson 1906 

[Feminism] is mixed up with a muddled idea that women are free when they serve their employers but slaves when they help their husbands.

~ G.K. Chesterton

An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels. 

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 

She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.  

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 

"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."  

Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, 

but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  

Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.

Proverbs 31:11-12, 28-31

Image ~ The Enterprising Housekeeper via Recipe Curio.com

200 Tested Recipes By Helen Louise Johnson 1906  

  Illustrated With Kitchen Helps
Price 25¢ 1906 

The Simple Woman's Daybook

On Saturdays 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.


Outside my window...
All is dark. It's time for bed. Thought I'd blog a bit first.

Noticing the sound of... 
My Beloved highlighting his notes for Sunday School class in the morning.

This coming week I'm (not) looking forward to...
Having My Beloved called for jury duty.

Thinking...
That it's the nature of mankind to do wrong. We are not basically good. That's why we need a Savior to rescue us. I do hope you know that. If not, you can learn more here.

Thankful...
For a nice cozy bed to crawl into in a few minutes.

A thought from my Quiet Time...

From Luke 18, the parable of the widow who persisted in her request to the judge.

Verse 1--Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart.

There's an inverse correlation between frequent praying and losing heart. I must remember that.

Learning...
That correlation, albeit ever-so-slowly.


Pictures to Share

From the sewing room...
Finished the baby quilt for a new little baby girl in our church named Adelynn. I've called it Adelynn's Garden. Here's a picture of the quilt spread on a table. (The white area is morning sunlight streaming into the back porch.) Do you see the flower beds and the boxwoods on the quilt, and the pink pathway through the garden?

From the garden...  
The hydrangeas are beautiful this year! I cut some for a friend this week.

Around the house...
My Beloved put lattice work around the back porch this week, just finished it today, and made it look ever-so-nice. It's plastic, so it won't require much maintenance at all. Now to put in a just few more flowers!

From the kitchen...
Sharing the recipe for Skillet Supper that we had yesterday. Leftovers are good for breakfast! This recipe serves 4.

Prepare the following:
3 peeled and thinly sliced potatoes
1/2 cup green onions
1/2 cup green peppers
2 cups diced, cooked ham

Melt 1.5 tbsp butter or margarine in skillet on medium heat. Layer half of the above ingredients. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Layer with remaining ingredients. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Slightly beat 3 eggs and pour over cooked mixture. Cover and cook another 15-17 minutes or until eggs are set.

Sprinkle with 1/2 cup cheddar cheese (I substitute with mozzarella), cover and cook until melted.

Currently reading...

Still reading Joyfully at Home: A Book for Young Ladies of Vision and Hope by Jasmine Baucham. Considering it for our church Book Nook. It's a book I wish I could give to all single, young women. 20-year-old Jasmine writes,

Be joyful. Not because I said so, but because you know [God]. Not because you want to look good to the outside world, but because you're living for him. Not because it's "what you're supposed to do," but because he gives you all the reason you need to live life abundantly. Not for any reason other than because it's what He's called you to do. 

And remember, as you strive to live joyfully at home, the key to serving in that sphere: Philippians 2:1-11. Live it. 

1 Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. 3 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves ; 4 do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. 5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

The Garden at Sunrise

The world has different owners at sunrise ... Even your own garden does not belong to you. Rabbits and blackbirds have the lawns; a tortoise-shell cat who never appears in daytime patrols the brick walls, and a golden-tailed pheasant glints his way through the iris spears.

~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Photo ~ Squirrel, Oldiefan via pixabay
CC0 Creative Commons  

Wisdom in Decision-Making

I've known many people over the years (myself included) who have waited and waited and waited on God to give them a particular direction in a decision--to open a door, to close a door, to hear from a burning bush, to see the dew on or off the fleece, to see the writing on the wall (my rendition is a postcard from heaven), to have someone or something at a certain place at a certain time. Actually, most anything that will take the decision away from our having to make it ourselves will do. Often the wait overshadows the need, decisions are not made, opportunities are missed, and life takes on a motionless hue.

Decisions that involve direct commands from Scripture are not the difficulty. Decisions that involve our coming to some conclusion are where many of us leave it in abeyance. God gives us more freedom in decision-making than we might think. But this freedom is based on wisdom thinking, developed through an understanding of the whole counsel of God.

I've mentioned a book that I've just recently read--Decision Making and the Will of God by Garry Friesen. I'd like to share a brief excerpt with you today.

We are seeking a biblical answer to the question: In the area of freedom, on what basis should a believer make a decision? The examples of Old Testament leaders, the theme of biblical Wisdom Literature, the instruction of Jesus, and the practice of the apostles all point to wisdom as the single controlling factor. As we saw in the previous chapter, the pattern the apostles followed is particularly striking. Not once is it recorded that they attempted to discover God's individual will for such decisions. Their explanations for their plans are couched in phrases such as " "We thought it best," "I thought it necessary," "If it is fitting," "It is not desirable," "It seemed good," and simply, "I have decided." (Luke explained a decision Paul made about an itinerary with the words, "for he was hurrying" [Acts 20:16]!). Clearly these men were exercising their freedom of choice (as well as their responsibility to decide) within God's moral will. And wisdom best encapsulates the criteria for these decisions.

Here is the concept stated as a principle: In the area of freedom, the believer's goal is to make wise decisions on the basis of spiritual usefulness. Or, when there is no command, God gives freedom and wisdom to make spiritually advantageous decisions.

Photo ~ Fork, by kirkandmimi
via pixabay CC0 Creative Commons

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.

Pictures to Share
Our little Elijah's visit over Independence Day. Sure do miss you, little fella.

Outside my window...
Birds out for an evening snack as I sit on the back porch.

Noticing the sound of... 
Chirping birds greeting one another. 

From the garden... 
Got our first ripe tomatoes from the vine this week. We bought just one plant and put it in a pot by the back porch. Nothing like fresh home grown tomatoes!
 
Around the house...
Getting accustomed to the quiet again after having loved ones around for a couple of days.

From the kitchen...
Made a pasta salad for a church dinner tomorrow. Sharing the recipe.

Creamy Ranch Pasta Salad
1 box Betty Crocker Suddenly Salad ranch  bacon pasta salad mix
1/2 cup mayonnaise or salad dressing
1 tbsp Dion mustard
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 hard-boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
Paprika for garnishing, if desired

Cook pasta-vegetable pouch as directed on package.
Drain. Rinse with cold water. Drain well.
In large bowl stir together: seasoning mix, mayo, mustard, onion, and celery.
Stir in pasta and chopped eggs until evenly coated.
Garnish with paprika, if desired.
Serves 8-10 people.


From the sewing room...
Finished piecing and quilting the baby quilt for a new little baby girl in our church. Just need to add the binding. Will share a picture when it's finished.

Learning...
To machine quilt; did a different design (for me) on the baby quilt.

This coming week I'm looking forward to...
Nothing in particular

Thinking...
Trying not to think about how much we miss being involved in little Elijah's life.

Thankful...
For the non-malignant result on a long-time friend's biopsy. We were out to lunch yesterday and stopped at the hospital to pick up the report. Praise God from whom all blessing flow!

A thought from my Quiet Time...

Been reading through the gospels, in Luke 13 today where Jesus encounters the Pharisees' opposition to His healing on the Sabbath. Got me to thinking about a day of rest and did some further study about that. As Jesus said, man wasn't made for the Sabbath, but rather the Sabbath was made for man (Mark 2:27). John MacArthur has some interesting comments about the seventh day of creation when "God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it because in it He rested from all His work which God created and made." MacArthur says that the significance of the 7th day as being set apart is for us to remember that God created everything in the first six days. It's a memorial of sorts. I found MacArthur's discussion of the passage very interesting. If you'd like to read "The Rest of Creation," you'll find it here.

Currently reading...

Just beginning to read Joyfully at Home: A Book for Young Ladies of Vision and Hope by Jasmine Baucham, Voddie Baucham's daughter. Considering it for our church Book Nook. Jasmine challenges young single women to continue living at home and to be developed by the active ministry they have there. Jasmine writes,

I want to encourage young women to shift their focus, to turn their hearts towards the home, to be enthusiastic and vibrant, purposeful and driven, meticulous and passionately focused in pursuit of the Lord's will for their time at home. I want them to grasp the bigger picture: A vision for the home as a hub of ministry and discipleship, as a training ground for life ahead, as a place where they can bless those nearest and dearest to them, and, as a result, turn that blessing outward towards others in their church and community.

Hope

Be of good courage, and [God] shall strengthen your heart.

 Psalm 31:24

We human beings are so made that we live in our own fancied future. This is not a policy decision but simply the way we are. To look forward, to dream of happy things to come, to want what is good to continue and what is bad to end, and to long for a future that is better than the past is as natural as breathing.

~ J.I. Packer, in Knowing God


Painting ~ The Garden of Felicien Rops at Essone 1910
Theo van Rysselberghe 1862-1926
WikiArt public domain

The Modesty and Domestic Virtues of Women

Abigail Adams, Gilbert Sullivan

I thought about taking up the American flag out by the mailbox yesterday evening as I came in from church that I'd stuck in the ground especially for Independence Day. Decided to leave it just a few more days and began to reflect again on that hot, muggy day (as these past few days have been) in July, 235 years ago, when fifty-six men pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor as they signed and supported the Declaration of Independence from foreign rule. In doing so, they appealed “to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.” Those who signed their names were to be persecuted as outlaws by their military enemies. If the struggle for independence was unsuccessful, they knew there would be certain death as traitors to the Crown of England.

Many of these men lost everything—their homes, their property, their families, their health. A bounty price was set for the capture of John Hancock and Samuel Adams. Some of the signers had their homes burned and property destroyed; one man’s wife was imprisoned and eventually died from the hardships; others were harassed and left impoverished; another had to be constantly on the run, and his wife died of exposure and the unceasing strain.

It cost these men a great deal to be a signer of that great document. But let us not forget that it cost their wives a great deal as well, as we read in Wives of the Signers, published by Wallbuilders Press:

"... yet rarely a complaint do we find in their correspondence. On the other hand, the letters and other recorded utterances of the wives of the signers breathe the utmost devotion not only to their husbands but to the great cause for which their husbands had thrown life and fortune in the balance."

On June 20, 1776, Abigail Adams wrote to reassure her husband, John, in Philadelphia:

I feel no anxiety at the large armament designed against us. The remarkable interpositions of heaven in our favor cannot be too gratefully acknowledged. He who fed the Israelites in the wilderness, who clothes the lilies of the field and who feeds the young ravens when they cry, will not forsake a people engaged in so right a cause, if we remember His loving kindness.  

~ America's God and Country by William J.Federer

June 2, 1778—From the Autobiography of John Adams.

From all that I had read of History and Government, of human Life and manners, I had drawn this Conclusion, that the manners of Women were the most infallible Barometer, to ascertain the degree of Morality and Virtue in a Nation. All that I have since read and all the observations I have made in different Nations, have confirmed me in this opinion. The Manners of Women, are the surest Criterion by which to determine whether a Republican Government is practicable, in a Nation or not. The Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, the Swiss, the Dutch, all lost their public Spirit, their Republican Principles and habits, and their Republican Forms of Government, when they lost the Modesty and Domestic Virtues of their Women.

If the manners of women is, in reality, the ‘infallible barometer’ of the practicality of a republican form of government, what could be said of the modesty and domestic virtues of the women of our era for the cause of America’s form of government?

The manners of the women of 1776 helped change the course of history, and to those women and to their husbands America is indebted...and to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of their intentions.

An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. 

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 

She does him good and not evil all the days of her life.   

Proverbs 31: 10-12

Painting ~ Abigail Adams 1810, Gilbert Sullivan 1755-1828

Wikimedia Commons public domain

Growing in Grace

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I've been reading in the gospels for the past several weeks, slowly, trying to get a grasp on the grace and knowledge of Christ, to learn to really know what His grace is all about. I know my days are filled with His grace, else nothing would be right about anything because we live in a fallen, broken-down world.

God's grace. His grace is the sun climbing over the hill of the morning, bringing the light that He created so I could have day and night. His grace is the beauty in the flowers that bloom in our little gardens, and the sight I have to see them (although I know His grace would still abound if I could not). His grace is my church and their desire to follow after Him and the fellowship we have in Him. His grace is in my sufferings and the fellowship I have with Him in the midst of them. His grace is giving me a husband that loves me extravagantly (although I know His grace would be abundant if my husband were a jerk). His grace is my daughters and sons-in-law who are devoted to Him and seek Him passionately. And it is only by His grace that any of us are even drawn to know Him. For all this I am thankful.

In her devotional book 31 Days Toward Passionate Faith, Joni Earekson Tada asks these questions about how to tell if we're growing.

Is my sense of sin becoming deeper?
Is my hope brighter?
Is my love more extensive?
Is my spiritual discernment more clear?
Is my faith stronger?
Do I love the Lord Jesus more?

All because of His grace.

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