Outside My Window...A mother out for an early morning walk with her little baby and big black labrador retriever. In the summer her other two children walk with her. She walks each morning. I offer a prayer for her little family and their unfolding day.
Noticing the sound of...
David Tolk's CD, In Reverence, playing on Spotify as I write. Peaceful instrumental music with piano, acoustic guitar, string quartet, oboe. Collection of inspirational hymns and original compositions.
Looking forward to...
My nephew's wedding next weekend in a little country church. It's been awhile since we've attended a wedding after our move here. I miss going to the weddings of children of longtime friends after being a part of their growing up years. Weddings are becoming more special to me because fewer couples are committing to marriage in these darkening days.
Thankful...
That Joseph and Stephanie have chosen to begin their marriage with their wedding ceremony in the church. Such a fitting beginning to a lifetime together.
Thinking...
That I don't understand how New York can celebrate killing a baby growing in the mother. It's, indeed, A Dark Day in New York State. How did New York and much of America get to this diabolical point? As Richard Phillips writes, it's the consequence of ideas.
"One essential answer is that attitudes and behaviors are formed from ideas. And behind the gleeful celebration of the slaughter of pre-born babies is the idea that there is no God. The chief doctrine of secular humanism - embedded in the very expression - is that life does not originate as the creation of a personal and moral deity. The consequence of this denial of God is not only the rebellious egocentricity by which men and women would terminate their own children for the sake of convenience but also the loss of the very idea of humanity.... As we witness the brutalization of our culture and tearfully wonder how our fellow citizens can celebrate such slaughter, the Christian response must include a commitment to speak truth fearlessly from God's Word."Brought a smile...
Two little twins about 18 months old in the booth next to us as we were at our favorite pizza place last evening. Brother and sister, with a new bundle of joy waiting in their mommy's belly soon to join them. Brother and I exchanged greetings over My Beloved's shoulder. They seemed to me like a precious little family with much joy ahead of them.
In the Sewing Room...
Finished Anna's dress from the fabric she chose and added tulle as a border. Six-year-old Anna loves fancies. She likes to use my scarves as dress-ups when she comes to visit. :-)
Around the house...
He will cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you will find refuge.
Psalm 91:1
Learning...
Biblical hermeneutics as I read in preparation for the upcomimg class. Most of it is new to me, so I have to stay focused.
(on my bookshelf) ...
Reading...
Biblical Hermeneutics by Corley, Lemke and Lovejoy
Required reading for the class.
Interesting so far, and I'm learning much in its 400+ pages. In our SS class last week, the question was posed as to why most of us don't study the Old Testament as much as we do the NT. My thought was that we are no longer under law but under grace. However, the following clarification is percolating now in my thoughts.
Some have suggested that we should view the Old Testament as a book of law and the New Testament as a book of grace. However, such a characterization is a gross misrepresentation of the nature of the testaments. In reality, the Old Testament has a great deal to say about God's grace, and the New Testament is very concerned that the followers of Christ keep his law. Part of the misunderstanding comes from the fact that Judaism in the days of the New Testament had perverted the law. The Jewish legalism which Paul speaks against in Romans and Galatians is a corruption of the notion of law presented in the Old Testament.
The Old Testament never construes the law as a means of establishing a relationship with the Lord or of achieving "salvation." The passages in Exodus which introduce the Sinaitic covenant make it clear that the law was based on the grace which God had already expressed to Israel.
.... The law communicated God's will for his people, and as such was a great act of divine grace.... As we attempt to interpret specific Old Testament laws, it is essential that we not lose the "big picture" provided by this canonical perspective. The basis of every law was divine grace, and the goal of every law was relational.
-from Biblical Hermeneutics in chapter 17 on "Interpreting the Law" by Robert R. Ellis
