Listening to my "Little Women" soundtrack last week reminded me of some of my favorite lines from that movie:
"I'm afraid I'm hopelessly flawed" Jo to Professor Baer.
"It only takes one, if it's the right one" Amy's comment to Jo and Meg.
"My teacher said: It's as useless to educate a girl as it is to educate a cat" (something like that, it was Amy quoting what her teacher at school said...)
haha - I do love that last one. So girls...stop learning! It's useless! Isn't it crazy how some people's views cause so much distortion?
I love this movie and think about that statement from Jo: "I'm afraid I'm hopelessly flawed."
I suppose that is why Scripture is so life giving to those of us that have given our lives to Jesus Christ. We ARE hopelessly flawed, but praise be to Him, we are also granted grace, forgiveness, hope and the eager expectation of our eternal life with Him!
Hmmm...life is moving on at a steady pace these days, and we seem to experience joy and sorrow all the while. Please keep praying for Ginger and Sophia. If you have a facebook, Ginger (Thomas) is now on and she is posting notes about Sophia's updates. That sister has taught me more about perseverence in the past few months than I think I've learned in my whole life. The family is being sustained DAILY on God's grace and it is an amazing thing to witness. Today, Malia Faith (now in heaven) would be 2 years old. I bet she is having the best celebration ever! (here is a good example of joy/sorrow on a daily basis...my dear sister in law, Amanda, is also celebrating her birthday today! Happy Birthday!!!You know I love you!) I am so attached to the Thomas family and hope and believe with all that is within me that Sophia HOPE will be home soon, healthy and whole. Only God knows - it is comforting to rest in Him when we have questions that remain unanswered.
"I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall,
I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have HOPE:
Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!"
Lam. 3:19-23
I'm praying for our new president and his family too, as well as a blessing on former President and Mrs. Bush. Who on earth would want the responsibilities associated with being the president of our nation? NOT ME. Wow - lots of mixed emotions going on for me at this time. Instead of leaving a very lengthy opinion poll of my own, I'm going to just post a favorite Scripture passage of mine and ask God to enable us to seek Him each and every day for the future of our families, churches and our nation:
"Show me your ways, O Lord,
teach me your paths;
guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long....."
"Who, then, is the man that fears the Lord?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.
He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land."
Psalm 25:4-5, 12-13.
On a very trivial note, I am committing (once again!) to become healthier this year. I am trying for the next 30 days to make a habit of these things:
Exercise (3-5 times per week), Drinking enough water daily, Getting enough sleep and choosing healthier foods for my family and I. Anyone else out there working on these things? I'll pray for you if you are. I know I've been "hopelessly flawed" in these areas in the past, but it's never too late to try again. With God's help, we keep pressing on.
I'm so excited to begin our new Bible study this week! We're starting on the "Esther" study by Beth Moore. This will be our fourth study together now. Two very special women came into my life as a result of this gathering organized by Linda Goodwin a couple years ago: Ginger and Christine (Linda's Mom). Please pray for Christine too. She is battling cancer again, and isn't feeling well at all.
Oh sigh...life is challenging, isn't it?
Someday all the pains of this life will be over, and to that I say AMEN!!!
I'm going to end on a very happy note. IKIRU (the band consisting of Adam Langdon, Isaac and Ethan Barton) is finished with their "Job" CD's and they are available for sale! This is one of the most amazing CD's in our home. It chronicles the book of Job is such a passionate and profound way. It is WELL worth your $15! Over 2 hrs. of original music and lyric's. Great job guys...and kudo's to all the family members for giving up your husbands/sons while they were busy creating it. It is going to encourage many believers. If you want one, check out their website:
myspace.com/ikirutheband. They also have a page on facebook: Ikiru.
Love to you all -
Friday, January 23, 2009
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
"A Long Obedience in the Same Direction"
It seems that "blogging" has fallen by the wayside lately. I just noticed that I forgot to post my Happy New Year wishes to you! So, I just copied the letter I sent to family and friends. I'm not sure who, if anyone, still reads this. But it by some chance you are my friend/family, and I didn't mail you a letter, this was our greeting to you as we closed out 2008 and started looking forward to 2009.
To catch up:
I spoke with Ginger this morning and Sophia is now in round 2 of her second chemo. routine. (this one is a double dose.) I am greatly looking forward to finally seeing them tomorrow. Please, keep praying for this dear family. Only God knows the future outcome of all this and as we wait for it to unfold, it has been a daily reminder for me to remember that this world is not our home - we are only passing through. Life is a day by day walk of faith, with hope in God alone for our future.
Today is a new day! We are trying to get back in the routine of school, I am on a deadline to get bills in the mail today, finish taxes and be ready for church tonight, then pick up Dan at the airport at 11:30 tonight as he returns from Texas. But I want to take a minute and tell you about a new book I'm reading.
I was just given a book that I think I need to read. Christen gave me "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" (subtitled - "Discipleship in an Instant Society") by Eugene Peterson. I am only one chapter into it, and know that this is what I need to focus on at this point in my life. I've been kind of in a rut lately, for lack of a better word. My back has been hurting, I'm behind on many things, there are some spiritual issues in my life that I've been trying to tackle head one. (I know...whine, whine, whine....even as I write these sentences I'm tempted to say to myself..."would you like a little cheese with that wine?" cheesy, I know. : )
Just having the reminder from this author that life is a long journey - filled with ups and downs - obedience as well as disobedience, etc. has given me new hope this week. Mr. Peterson wrote this book 20 some years ago and it was just reprinted. It is based on the Psalms of Ascent - Ps. 120 - 134 (Also the passages that we just finished studying in Beth Moore's Bible Study on the Psalms) Now I always hesitate to share a book before I've read it all - but I've also come to learn that life is fragile and unpredictable. Who knows if I'll even finish this book? I'll share a few quotes that have stirred my thinking today:
"Religion in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Religion is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church; for others, occasional visits to special services....The Christian life cannot mature under such conditions and in such ways."
"Frederick Nietzsche, who saw this area of spiritual truth at least with great clarity, wrote, 'The essential thing 'in heaven and earth' is....that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living." It is this "long obedience in the same direction" which the mood of the world does so much to discourage." p. 17
"Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision. It is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you were wrong in thinking that you had, or could get, the strength, education and training to make it on your own; it is deciding that you have been told a pack of lies about yourself and your neighbors and your world. And it is deciding that God in Jesus Christ is telling you the truth. Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace." p. 29-30
Two passages from Hebrews will be in my thoughts today:
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." Heb. 6:19a
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Heb. 12:1-3
I'm praying for you on your journey!
To catch up:
I spoke with Ginger this morning and Sophia is now in round 2 of her second chemo. routine. (this one is a double dose.) I am greatly looking forward to finally seeing them tomorrow. Please, keep praying for this dear family. Only God knows the future outcome of all this and as we wait for it to unfold, it has been a daily reminder for me to remember that this world is not our home - we are only passing through. Life is a day by day walk of faith, with hope in God alone for our future.
Today is a new day! We are trying to get back in the routine of school, I am on a deadline to get bills in the mail today, finish taxes and be ready for church tonight, then pick up Dan at the airport at 11:30 tonight as he returns from Texas. But I want to take a minute and tell you about a new book I'm reading.
I was just given a book that I think I need to read. Christen gave me "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" (subtitled - "Discipleship in an Instant Society") by Eugene Peterson. I am only one chapter into it, and know that this is what I need to focus on at this point in my life. I've been kind of in a rut lately, for lack of a better word. My back has been hurting, I'm behind on many things, there are some spiritual issues in my life that I've been trying to tackle head one. (I know...whine, whine, whine....even as I write these sentences I'm tempted to say to myself..."would you like a little cheese with that wine?" cheesy, I know. : )
Just having the reminder from this author that life is a long journey - filled with ups and downs - obedience as well as disobedience, etc. has given me new hope this week. Mr. Peterson wrote this book 20 some years ago and it was just reprinted. It is based on the Psalms of Ascent - Ps. 120 - 134 (Also the passages that we just finished studying in Beth Moore's Bible Study on the Psalms) Now I always hesitate to share a book before I've read it all - but I've also come to learn that life is fragile and unpredictable. Who knows if I'll even finish this book? I'll share a few quotes that have stirred my thinking today:
"Religion in our time has been captured by the tourist mindset. Religion is understood as a visit to an attractive site to be made when we have adequate leisure. For some it is a weekly jaunt to church; for others, occasional visits to special services....The Christian life cannot mature under such conditions and in such ways."
"Frederick Nietzsche, who saw this area of spiritual truth at least with great clarity, wrote, 'The essential thing 'in heaven and earth' is....that there should be long obedience in the same direction; there thereby results, and has always resulted in the long run, something which has made life worth living." It is this "long obedience in the same direction" which the mood of the world does so much to discourage." p. 17
"Repentance is not an emotion. It is not feeling sorry for your sins. It is a decision. It is deciding that you have been wrong in supposing that you could manage your own life and be your own god; it is deciding that you were wrong in thinking that you had, or could get, the strength, education and training to make it on your own; it is deciding that you have been told a pack of lies about yourself and your neighbors and your world. And it is deciding that God in Jesus Christ is telling you the truth. Repentance is a realization that what God wants from you and what you want from God are not going to be achieved by doing the same old things, thinking the same old thoughts. Repentance is a decision to follow Jesus Christ and become his pilgrim in the path of peace." p. 29-30
Two passages from Hebrews will be in my thoughts today:
"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure..." Heb. 6:19a
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Heb. 12:1-3
I'm praying for you on your journey!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
