Weekend Daybook

Outside My Window...

Very, very cold in the South for this time of year, but I can imagine that it's warmer with the beautiful sunshine today.

Thankful...

That our daughter and her family were able to come for a visit the week after Christmas. It was to have been an extended family get-together, but our other daughter was sick. Thankful, though, that she is better now. 

Noticing the sound of...

The hum of the vaporizer. The air is so dry with the furnace running so much these days.

Looking forward to...

Meeting up with our daughter and her husband halfway in Knoxville later in the month for lunch.

Learning...

Not to dwell unduly on cares and concerns.

Pondering..

"The  Good News is packaged and marketed (using, uncritically, all the techniques of modern advertising) as a religious product offering 'peace of mind', 'how to get to heaven', 'health and prosperity', 'inner healing', 'the answer to all your problems', etc. What is promoted as 'faith in God' often turns out, on closer inspection, to be a means of obtaining emotional security or material blessing in this life and an insurance policy the next. This kind of preaching leaves the status quo untouched." 

~ Vinoth Ramachandra, in Gods that Fail.

In the Kitchen...

My favorite cookies were requested while the grandchildren were visiting. Sharing the recipe with you.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup butter

2 eggs, beaten

1 ¼ cup mashed bananas (2-3)

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup wheat germ

1.5 cup quick oatmeal, uncooked

1/3 cup raisins (I sometimes use Craisins)

1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional) 

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cream sugar with softened butter and add eggs, bananas, vanilla. Sift flour with baking soda, cinnamon; then fold into mixture. Combine remaining ingredients. Add to mixture. Lightly grease cookie sheet. Drop by heaping teaspoons. Bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Makes about 30 cookies.

Around the house...

Almost finished with packing away Christmas.

Thinking...

I was reminded in my devotional reading this morning of why I don't vote for those who live in perversion, why they are not a positive influence in government. Reading through Romans 1 this morning and seeing in verses 18-32 that it is not only their sexual life that characterizes them. Through the writings of the Apostle Paul, God exposes the depths of their heart and their mind. There's quite a list of character qualities that they bring to the office to which they are elected. God says that He gives them over to their degrading passions. I don't know if that is a permanent state they find themselves in or not. Perhaps it's to bring them to the reality of where their rejection of God has lead them. I do know, though, that He is not willing that any perish.

Brought a smile...

My precious grandchildren whenever they visit, as most grandchildren are apt to do. :-)

Reading...
The NIV Application Commentary on Esther by Karen Jobes in preparation for a class I'll be teaching in the fall. The book of Esther doesn't tell us very much about the thoughts of Esther herself, so I'm finding Jobe's insights particularly helpful. Not only does she give the original cultural context of the book of Esther, she also builds the bridge to contemporary application. The book of Esther has been rather romanticized over the years, and Esther herself has sometimes been held up as a feminist role model. Jobes does none of that.

Image ~ Charles Dana Gibson

1867-1944, public domain

Weekend Daybook

Outside My Window

A cloudy, cool day, but one just right for My Beloved to wash the car. 

Noticing the sound of...
Distant traffic out on the main road. People going somewhere. Someplace they need to go, or want to go. The faint sound of distant traffic has always called to something within me. It stirs a longing deep inside, and calls me to go someplace I need to go. Someplace I want to go. It calls me Heavenward. Homeward. And someday I shall go. Thank you, Jesus, for calling me to Yourself. 

I do hope that you are headed Heavenward and Homeward, too. I do hope to see you on the other side.

A Peek Into My Week...
Red roses from My Beloved on Valentine's Day. 

Thankful For...

Women that I have met at our new church. I listen, blessed by their depth.

Learning... (still) 
That it's about God and not me. My life needs to more and more point others toward Him.

Pondering...
Taking my mother to the hematologist in a few days, and concerned about hearing words we'd rather not hear. Reminding myself to cast my cares upon Jesus. 

In the kitchen...
I tried making a new-to-me bread this week. I rushed the process, so it didn't come out so well. Tried it again today and it's a keeper. :-)

The fruit of my hands...
Meals this week prepared for others, as we share in fellowship (k-group), and as I show God's care for my parents. Drove my mother to the doctor and spent time with my sister shopping and lunch to give her and my parents some time apart. So glad we were able to move here last year and help in this way.

Around the house...
Found this lovely, small box yesterday to corral my ipod and cords on my dresser.

I hope to...
Get an area planted soon near my kitchen window so we can watch the birds. They are such a pleasant reminder of God's care.

Thinking...

About small things. We had chili at Wendy's today, and as My Beloved handed the money to the cashier, she thanked him for putting the money in her hand. She said that it's a small thing, but often people will throw the money at her, and sometimes she has to just hold her tongue when people do and say some of the things they do. She says she is thankful, though, for people who are respectful. Who would have thought such a small act would be a blessing to her day.

Currently Reading...

I've just begun reading this book, and the first several pages have pulled me into it. I looked online for more information about the author, and found that the book was originally printed in 1997 and updated in 2016. If you click on the image, it will take you to the updated edition.

A synopsis from the publisher:

"The globalizing world of late modernity is heavily awash with pseudo-gods. Gods That Fail provocatively deploys the theological concept of idolatry to explore the ways in which these gods blind their devotees and wreak suffering and dehumanization. Many of these pseudo-gods have infiltrated the life of the Church and compromised its witness. Combining lively social critique with fresh expositions of familiar biblical stories, this book engages with a variety of secular discourses as well as the sub-Christian practices that accompany and undermine Christian involvement in the public square."

I think I'll get the updated edition to finish the book. I'm interested in reading what he thinks about our post-modern global world after 19 more years of idolatry.

First Image ~ Charles Dana Gibson c1900, Library of Congress