Not As Silver

What We Eat: Bow Tie Chicken

2010-08-25T09:12:00.004-05:00

This recipe comes from the TBC cookbook and is by a dear friend and great cook, Sarah Sewell. But of course, I can never leave a good thing alone so some changes happened along the way. Most importantly, the veggies stay in huge chunks so that everyone can pick out what they don't like. One of these days, right? They'll all eat whatever's on the plate? Sigh...
Here's what we ate last night...and anytime I've got some extra grilled chicken! LOVE it.

Bow Tie Chicken

2 Tbsp butter
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 to 1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded mozarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup tomatoes, peeled (You're welcome, Cass.) and chopped
4 cups bow tie pasta, cooked and drained
3 chicken breasts, grilled and chopped

Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. Saute onion, mushrooms and peppers until softened. Add alfredo sauce and stir. Pour 1 cup milk into sauce jar, replace lid, shake and then pour into pan. Add cheeses, seasonings (taste to see about salt), tomatoes and chicken. Lower heat. Stir until cheese melts and blends and everything is hot. Mix cooked pasta in. Add a little more milk if you'd like it saucier or if you want to put it in a dish and heat for 20 min. or so. Once again, I just mix it all and serve from the pot most times. Have I mentioned, I hate dishes? I have? Okay. Just wanted to check.

PS...just so you know: peeling tomatoes is really easy. Simply boil water in a small pan. Add a tomato and let it simmer for about 30 seconds. Plunge it into ice water after and when it cools, the skin comes off very easily. I just like to make Cassie feel like I'm going to a lot of effort. I rarely do so there's not much opportunity for that mother guilt we're supposed to pass on. Enjoy!

What We Eat: Oatmeal Everything Bars

2010-08-21T14:46:00.003-05:00

Would be better titled: What We Try Hard Not to Eat. Or Oatmeal Every Calorie Bars. Something that gives you more warning. We seriously don't make these unless we are assured that they will be feeding a crowd because they are ridiculously good. Laura B. made them for a cookie exchange, I think, and I've yet to forgive her completely. I don't even like chocolate (Yes, you read that right. Oh, stop. There's nothing wrong with me. Well, there's lots, but that has nothing to do with food.) and I LOVE this cookie. Probably the two sticks of butter...or the bag of caramels...or the high fiber oats. Sure.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Everything Bars

1 (14 oz) bag caramels
5-6 Tbsp milk, divided
2 cups flour
2 cups oats
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 cups chocolate chips (I usually use milk chocolate.)

Put the unwrapped caramels into a microwave safe bowl. (Surely no one would put the plastic wrapped ones in the microwave, right? But okay...) Add 3 Tbsp milk and heat on low power in the microwave until all are melted and it's really liquidy. (Says it's not a word. Whatever.)

In another bowl, combine the dry ingredients except for chocolate together by hand, pressing all of the brown sugar into the other ingredients. Melt the butter and combine with the dry ingredients. Add 1 Tbsp of milk at a time until it forms together like cookie dough. (On humid days, it doesn't take much. In west Texas at about 10% humidity, probably the rest of your gallon.) Now for the fun part.

Take 1/2 of the mix and press it into a 9X13. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and then drizzle the caramel all over. (I always laugh in disbelief that I'm making something that has all of this in it...YUM!) Sprinkle the rest of the dough on top until it's covered and press lightly together.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan before you start cutting it into really, really small pieces (so you feel better when you eat 5 at a time). If you don't wait, it all slides around.

Oh. my. I love this stuff. I do want credit for making this light. No. You read that right. The recipe I got called for 3 sticks of butter! I couldn't bring myself to do it...thus the milk in the batter! Bring one by when you make it. Just one. Large one. Or 5 small ones. Whatever.

What We Eat: Parmesan Chicken

2010-08-20T09:00:00.001-05:00

Not to be confused with Chicken Parmesan. I'm sure that's good, too. But this is yumminess on a plate. Kids love it. My girls love it more than the local restaurant version which is good 'cause I'm not ever taking them there...even if a cookie in a pan, topped with ice cream comes after it. Excuse me while I raid the fridge.

This one's for Holly F. Glad Parker enjoyed it!

Parmesan Chicken

1 can chicken broth
5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3 eggs, beaten
1 Tbsp water
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Cover chicken breasts with plastic wrap and pound each one to about 1/2 inch thick with a kitchen mallet (or the side of whatever you can pound with...sometimes I've used the chicken broth can unopened...whatever works) If chicken breasts are large, you can cut them in half. Add chicken to broth (save 1/4 cup if you are making the oh-so-good sauce below), cover and chill for 3 hours.

2. When chicken has marinated, remove it from the broth and dab with paper towels to remove excess liquid. Beat eggs in a medium bowl. Combine flour, salt and pepper on a plate or shallow bowl. Combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan in another bowl. To bread the chicken, first coat each breast with flour...then egg...then breadcrumb/cheese mix. If you need to, let them rest for a bit in the fridge while you get everything else finished...like the sauce...have I mentioned the sauce?

3. Melt 2 Tbsp butter and then add a couple of Tbsp of oil to barely cover the bottom of a large saute pan, and heat on medium until hot. Saute each one for 4 to 5 minutes per side or until browned. Try not to move them while this is happening. They...like me...tend to fall apart when you disturb them too much. Remove to paper towels to drain and keep warm until ready to serve. Add more butter and oil each time you put on more chicken. (No. This did not come from the Weight Watchers' website. What made you ask that?) Serve each one with a couple of spoonfuls of...mmmm...sauce drizzled oh, so lovingly over the top.

Lemon Butter Sauce:
1/4 cup salted butter (if not just add a dash more salt to the pot)
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/3 cups heavy cream

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add broth and simmer 1 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, sugar and salt. Add cream. Simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes until thickened.

My apologies to Holly F. for not giving you the sauce when I brought it over. I confess I drank it all before I could make it the 2 blocks to your house. That fruit of the Spirit called self-control? Not so much. Lemon anything makes me a little nuts. Next time! (I know you're ready for another baby, right? Wait. Please. Stop crying. I was just joking.)

What We Eat: Chicken Spaghetti

2010-08-19T11:22:00.005-05:00

I've been promising Cassie for a while...like a year...or two...that I'd give her a copy of our family recipes. This seems like the easiest way...and maybe I'll actually follow through. Here's the first only because she just texted me to ask me for it.

Chicken Spaghetti

3 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms
3 chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 can reduced fat cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups colby jack cheese
16 oz spaghetti, broken into smaller pieces and cooked
paprika

Cook the veggies in the butter...mmmm...over medium heat until onion is soft and translucent. Add chicken, soups (reduced fat! healthy!), cheese (never mind) and stir until cheese melts. Add as much of the spaghetti as you'd like to make it as saucy as you'd like. I never add all of it...and should probably figure out exactly how much this is, but who cares, really? Just put it in the fridge for when you need a quick lunch by adding butter and melting the rest of that cheese on top. You and the girls used to make that all the time when I was reading/studying/praying/talking on the phone/napping after falling asleep trying to pray (note to self: praying while lying on bed is a bad idea). Where were we? Oh, yeah. If you want to dirty another dish, pour it all into a greased (Yay! More fat!) 9X13 and heat at 350 degrees until it's hot...maybe 20 min. But why not just put it into individual bowls and sprinkle them all with paprika and serve? You hate dirty dishes anyway. Like mother, like daughter.

Religion v. the Gospel

2009-05-16T07:38:00.001-05:00

from Tim Keller adapted by The Journey

RELIGION: “I obey-therefore I’m accepted.”

THE GOSPEL: “I’m accepted-therefore I obey.”

RELIGION: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.

THE GOSPEL: Motivation is based on grateful joy.

RELIGION: I obey God in order to get things from God.

THE GOSPEL: I obey God to get to God-to delight and resemble Him.

RELIGION: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or my self, since I believe, like Job’s friends that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.

THE GOSPEL: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while he may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.

RELIGION: When I am criticized I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a ‘good person’. Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs.

THE GOSPEL: When I am criticized I struggle, but it is not critical for me to think of myself as a ‘good person.’ My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ. I can take criticism.

RELIGION: My prayer life consists largely of petition and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.

THE GOSPEL: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with Him.

RELIGION: My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel insecure and inadequate. I'm not confident. I feel like a failure.

THE GOSPEL: My self-view is not based on a view of my self as a moral achiever. In Christ I am "simul iustus et peccator"—simultaneously sinful and lost yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time. Neither swaggering nor sniveling.

RELIGION: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work. Or how moral I am, and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to ‘the other.’

THE GOSPEL: My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for His enemies, who was excluded from the city for me. I am saved by sheer grace. So I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. Only by grace I am what I am. I’ve no inner need to win arguments.

RELIGION: Since I look to my own pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols. It may be my talents, my moral record, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them so they serve as my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I may say I believe about God.

THE GOSPEL: I have many good things in my life—family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc. But none of these good things are ultimate things to me. None of them are things I absolutely have to have, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despondency they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.

HT: Vitamin Z

Clayton's story

2009-05-15T07:24:00.000-05:00

HT: Vitamin Z

Facebook jealousy

2009-05-14T08:55:00.007-05:00

It probably all started when we were tiny and one of our parents told us not to tell our siblings about something that only we got to do like stay up a little later or lick the beaters when she was making cookies. Or perhaps when we were told by our teachers that if you want to share candy with a friend, you have to bring enough for the whole class. Or maybe it was when our moms handed us the birthday party invites and then told us that we had to make sure that we gave them out only at the end of the day...and then to be very secretive when we talked about it so no one's feelings got hurt.

Good intentions behind it, I'm sure, but it's left us with a lasting problem because we're not children. And the allowances that were made for us then should not be made for us now while we're in our 20s, 30s or (Lord, please, please, no) our 40s. I thought of this just this morning as I looked on Facebook and saw that some younger friends of mine are getting together for Bunco tonight. (P J Bunco...whatever that is...do you win them? Wear them? Would I feel the pressure to go buy something new so that everyone thought that's what I actually wear to bed??)

I think I've played the game before. I can remember something years ago...maybe at a women's night out sometime. I get the point...roll a certain number in a set time. Yea. Okay. I can do that...but not for long. And knowing me as these ladies do, I thought it would be fun to write a little comment under the post that said something about my not being invited, don't they think I'd enjoy it, promising not to lecture on Romans 9, etc. But besides not being able to lie about the lecturing part, I hesitated in the middle of typing. Why did I stop? Why wouldn't that be funny?

Because we are grown women who don't obey the commands of God. Read these:

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.
Romans 12:15

Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
Romans 15:2

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit,
but in humility count others
more significant than yourselves.
Let each of you look not only to his own interests,
but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:3-4

There are so many others...becoming a slave to all...serving one another...showing honor to others for their good...bearing with one another...the list goes on and on. We know it. We know that's what Christ did for us. Paul starts that Philippians 2 passage that way: have the mind of Christ who gave up everything for us. He wasn't concerned about His own pleasure but ours. He wasn't worried about being left out; He was worried about the fact that we were on the outside. He humbled Himself...no one did it to Him. And He did it for us...and to leave us an example that we might follow after Him.

But our problem is that we read those Scriptures and wonder why no one's doing it for us. Who's looking out for my interests? Why aren't they humbling themselves to serve me? When am I going to get mine? Why don't they want me around? When is someone going to think about me?

He did, ladies. He did think about you. From eternity past, you've been right before Him. He knit you together...wonderfully, beautifully made my the hands of the Creator of stars and atoms. He took the time to not only plan your form but also your times and places. And then He carefully selected the opportunities you'd have in life, in His church...things that He knew you could do so well. And then...to seal the idea to us...to show us the depth of what He's willing to give us...He did not spare His own, only Son for us, but freely gave Him to die for us. Will He not together with Him freely give us all things?

Yeah. We get it. God loves us. But...sometimes it's just not enough for us, is it? We still feel so empty that we seek others to fill us up. And it makes us selfish, selfish creatures who can not rejoice when others rejoice. Instead we notice their rejoicing and turn it into a mirror, a reflection of our worth or of our lack. A house purchase makes us discontent with where we live. A child's grade on a test makes us feel like failure parents. A talent, a party, a dinner...good grief...even mentioning running errands with a friend or a date with a spouse brings envy. Not because we don't want good for them...but because we are so far from humble that others needs can not surpass our own. Consider them MORE important than ME?? Are you kidding?

But Christ didn't leave us here to memorize His commands, but to obey them and to teach others to do so. So, how do we start on this one? Paul already told us. Consider Christ. Think of the gospel. Know who we are...worms, broken pots, wretched women. Know what He did. Know what He left...honor, glory, riches, might, worship, comfort, peace, affection. Jesus gave up the party, gave up having others think well of Him, gave up being included, gave up the mansion...for us. And then know well who we are in Him...and pray to have it matter. Pray that God would make us servants as Christ was that we might truly want more for others than we do for ourselves.

Rejoice with them as they play Bunco tonight. Hope that they have a great time. Pray that it encourages them, refreshes them as young moms. Ask Him to bless them, build them up, and to make their words and actions so reflect the truths of the gospel that they leave knowing Him better than they did when they arrived.

And rest deep within you, knowing that Christ's death gained you more than the forgiveness of your sins. It gained you freedom from yourself, from your selfish agenda, from being a slave to sin...and made you...you already are...alive together with Him. Are you so filled with the wonder of that truth that you are not in need today of Bunco? No? You know what to do. Click some links above and listen, yield and repent with me.

Then maybe we can log on to facebook and find a friend to encourage. Maybe, just maybe, one day a comment about not being included can just be funny because we'll all know the love of God for us in Christ Jesus. And that will finally be enough to make us full...and fully servants of others.

Twlight: The End

2009-04-27T15:00:00.003-05:00

Update: I've heard there's some confusion. Let me be very clear: This is NOT a part of the real book. This is what another lady who doesn't like the books wrote as her own ending.

Twilight Part 7
(Previous Posts: Really? You did see that this is number seven? You want to read six more? I didn't think so. If you change your mind just click the "Not As Silver" words at the top of the blog and scroll way, way, way down.)

More fun from my new friend (And I'm done. Promise. At least until the next time I hear what your book club is reading!) and after you read it, click here to view the cake I made to celebrate the end of this series. I'm available for your next book club gathering. (No. I won't stick around, Candace...geez...) Bon Appetit, Edward!

Duskiness

Edward leaned toward me, his perfect face inches from mine. His sweet, delicious breath ghosted over my face. His golden eyes glowed with love.

“How do you like it?” he whispered, his velvet voice purring in my ear.

I couldn’t respond, so dazzled was I by his sparkling skin. He shone like a diamond in the sun, a godlike creature before me.

He smirked at my befuddlement, but then his face darkened and he thundered, “Don’t be difficult, Bella!”

I cringed, but he instantly softened, chuckled his bell-like laugh, and leaned toward me again. His cold, pale fingers brushed my cheek. I stopped breathing.

“Come here,” he said, bounding up in one of those blindingly-fast movements I’d grown accustomed to. “I want to show you something.”

He led me to a small creek and sank gracefully into the grass at its edge. I tripped over a pebble and landed on my face in the mud. Edward laughed. How could he love me? He was so beautiful, gorgeous, and perfect. Like the statue of David come alive. Like Adonis, a god, an angel.

Edward removed his shoes and rolled up the cuffs of his jeans, and I gasped at the sight of his white, smooth ankles. Sunlight reflected off his toenails, each an ivory glint of perfection. I’d never seen Edward’s feet before. I hadn’t realized he could be more beautiful than he was, but there seemed no end to his beauty.

My heart beat madly in my chest, bounced up into my throat, ricocheted off half a dozen ribs, and finally settled somewhere in the vicinity of my kneecap. I collapsed.

Faster than a speeding bullet, Edward had lifted me in his marble arms and cradled me to his granite chest. “Bella? Bella!” he screamed. “No!”

The sight of his perfect, glorious face so twisted in anguish sent waves of torture through my body. “Edward!” I gasped.

His cold, unyielding lips pressed to mine, but I dared not move for fear of breaking his control, so irresistible did he find the scent of my blood. I could not bear knowing I had caused Edward pain by forcing him to eat me. My heart fluttered around my kneecap.

The kiss done, Edward set me on my feet. Without moving, I tripped over a stick and would have fallen in the stream had Edward not caught me in his iron embrace.

“Will you answer a question?” I asked.

“Of course, my love, my life, my forever,” Edward said, casually tearing boulders apart with his toes. I watched, spellbound for a moment, before remembering myself.

“I once asked if you could turn into a bat, and you just laughed.”

Edward smirked. “Because it was a stupid question. We don’t turn into bats. Why would we want to turn into bats?”

“But can you turn into something?”

“Of course.” He stood, stretched, and his shirt rose enough for me to catch a glimpse of his sculpted abs above his waistband. I hyperventilated and passed out.

When I awoke, Edward was speaking.

“—for disguise.”

“What?” I asked breathlessly.

“I said, we turn into fruit. It’s great for disguising yourself.” He watched me carefully, to see if this revelation would finally be the one that convinced me he was a monster, that sent me screaming from him.

“Oh.” I said. “What kind of fruit?”

He looked frustrated, annoyed, euphoric, scared, nervous, grumpy, amused, sleepy, and sad. Like an archangel come down from heaven to bless me with his presence. “An apple.”

“Oh. Can I see?”

Rage colored his features. “No! Why can’t you understand? I’m a danger to you! I could kill you! I should leave you forever!” He threw himself forward and wrapped his arms around me. “I should go – right now! It’s the only way to keep you safe!”

Despair settled over me, so thick and heavy I could hardly see. “No, Edward! Don’t leave me! I know we’ve only been together for three hours, but I want to spend forever with you! Please!”

He pulled back and looked at me, thousands of emotions roiling in his liquid topaz eyes. “Do you mean that, Bella?”

“Yes.”

“Very well.”

His perfect, glorious, heavenly face dipped toward me, and he touched his cold lips to my neck. He growled deep in his throat, a sound that traveled up and down my spine like lightning.

Then came a sharp pain. His grip tightened. I gasped his name. My sight dimmed until all I could see was the sparkle of his skin, calling me to paradise.

Then nothing.

****

Edward looked down at the body of Bella Swan, pale and lifeless in his pale and lifeless arms.

“Oops.”

His sobs shook the forest for six long seconds, and then he stood, wiping a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth.

“Yum.”

He sprinted for the edge of the forest, moving faster than any living creature, and wondered if that Angela girl would be his new lab partner.

The End!

+++++++

And now you don't have to read the book. Your brain will thank you.

Can I have a little fun?

2009-04-27T05:53:00.004-05:00

Twilight Part 6
(Previous Posts: Go to this one and start reading!)

Come on. Just a little fun? It'll only take two posts. I mean, we’ve got 11 year olds and 30 year olds tacking up the same posters. (And I’m not kidding. I can show you it in the classroom where she teaches.) I’ve got to have some fun with it. And a great gal out there provide that much needed levity. I don’t have a clue if she loves Jesus, but she might. I haven’t checked her out much. But I do know that we could enjoy many cups of coffee together ripping apart Bella and Edward.

Here’s a couple of great parts to her post on Twilight…

The Catalog

Number of Pages in the Book: 498
The First Hint of a Plot that Is Not Bella and Edward's Romance: page 328
When the Plot Actually Arrives: page 372

Boys that Totally Love Bella (including Edward Cullen): 5

Approximate Amount of Time Bella and Edward are Romantically Involved Before Bella Is Begging Edward to Turn Her into a Vampire so They Can Be Together Forever: Like, two weeks. Maybe three. The timeline's a bit fuzzy.

References to Edward's Beauty: 165…Broken Down into the following categories -

Face: 24 (Favorite adjectives: glorious, heavenly, seraphic)
Voice: 20 (The voice of an archangel, donchaknow.)
Eyes: 17
Movement: 11
Smile: 10
Teeth: 8
Muscles: 7
Skin: 7 (Note: This only contains accounts of Edward's skin being beautiful. I didn't count references to it as "pale," "cold," or "white." If I had, this number would be about ten times larger.)
Iron Strength or Limbs: 5
Breath: 4 (EVEN HIS BREATH IS AMAZING.)
Scent: 4
Laughter: 3
Handwriting: 2
Chest: 2
Driving Skills: 1

The Number of Times...

Bella Is Clumsy or Makes a Reference to Her Clumsiness: 26
Bella Sneers at Forks or Its Inhabitants: 22
Bella is "Dazzled" or Rendered Speechless by Edward's Beauty or Touch: 17
Edward Tells Bella to Stay Away from Him While Completely Contradicting Himself with His Behavior: 16
Bella is Utterly Desolate at Edward's Absence: 12
Edward and Bella Kiss: 8
Bella's Hormones Get the Better of Her and She Attacks Edward, Almost Causing Him to Eat Her: 2
Edward's Kiss Makes Bella Faint: 1
Edward's Kiss Makes Bella's Heart Literally Stop: 1
Bella Thinks She Isn't Good Enough for Edward: 6
Edward Is Referred to As Godlike: 5 (Note: This number might be off, as I didn't start counting until three or four mentions in.)
Edward Tells Bella She's Unnatural: 5
Edward Sparkles: 3
Bella is in Mortal Danger: 3
Edward Saves Bella from Mortal Danger: 3
Edward Stalks Bella, For Real: 2 (Note: One of these instances involves watching her sleep every night for, like, months.)
Bella and Edward Argue About Who Loves the Other Most: 1
Edward's Inability to Read Bella's Mind is Explained: 0

I would have kept track of how many times Edward's mood shifts unexpectedly and for no reason, but I didn't have that much paper. I am sad, though, that I didn't keep track of how many times words like "granite," "stone," and "marble" are used in reference to Edward. His arms, his lips. Explain to me how kissing cold, marble lips is at all appealing. And yet it makes Bella faint. I give up.

But Kim...

2009-04-26T05:12:00.001-05:00

Twilight Part 5
(Previous Posts: Wall-E, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

I'm going to use this post to answer some questions and some concerns that y'all've been so gracious to send to me (if you're not from the south that would read...that you have all been so gracious...). I'll give a sample comment or question and then provide a brief response (Hey. I heard that.).

So, if I read the book and liked it, I'm in sin.
I have no idea. I'm very, very clear that all I could look at is the outside. It's God that would have to see into your heart to know it. You probably do, too. Let's say you were reading along and thought...Seriously, around here we call sneaking into someone's house to watch her sleep, stalking. Or you thought...Okay. Come on, Bella. Enough about his breath. Or perhaps it passed through your mind...if my daughter thinks this is what it's going to be like when she's 17, she's in for a huge disappointment. But the story's fun. Or even...She's in love with another. Good grief, that's bad. Then you may not have swallowed it whole and put up posters inside your closet door so your friends don't see it. If you keep justifying everything they do in the books as right? You find yourself wanting to be in their world rather than yours? It's a problem you should consider.

And if in reading them, you keep thinking that I'm going a little far and you really don't think this is such a big deal? Well, if we live near each other then I hope to see you soon, give you a big hug, and ask how everything's going. I hope to love you well, and that you'll do the same while we both keep in mind that God is faithful to us both to bring us to completion. He'll get it right in us both eventually. I can be patient...how 'bout you?

What about the good stuff that's in it...the way Edward keeps her from giving in...the fact that he loves her for who she is not what she does...that he delights in her...etc.?
I'm right there with you. Good stuff. Call good, good. Call evil, evil. (Isaiah 5:20)

Shouldn't we let our girls read it so they see those good things?
How discerning is your daughter? How settled in Christ? How content with the way God made her? Struggling to awaken love before it's time? (Song of Solomon 2:7) Content with the way God made her and firm on how God instituted marriage and why it exists?

Do you talk with as much passion about the Word to her? Have you read the Bible with her...talked about it the way you talked about the book?

That's more what's on my mind than whether or not she's read this specific book. But shouldn't we show her good models of values we're looking for? Sure. But can't you pick a better book that doesn't need as much explaining and filtering and searching the Word??

On a side note, one mom commented that Bella does nothing to attract Edward and wanted her girls to see that. I looked again at Twilight and read a ton of quotes from the other books (haven't read them), and I've got to say I strongly disagree. If I'm watching Cassie and guy and she says and does what Bella does, I'd...well, she knows what I'd do...and it won't be pretty. I find out she's got journal entries like this? We've got so much work to do in understanding what responding looks like. One wise woman said it like this...Guard your heart. Some courtships advance all the way to the altar. Some don’t. Keep your heart at the same level as the commitment. Don’t let your heart race ahead. Sound like Bella??

Okay, Kim, but what about Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, etc.? Or Christian books like Redeeming Love? If we take this tack, should we ban all romance movies, TV and books?
Maybe. I have no idea how they're affecting you or how poorly they reflect Christ. When it comes to a movie like Pride and Prejudice (and I'm thinking of the book and BBC series...so good, by the way) which all my girls have seen several times, there were several places we've talked...Lydia and Mr. Wickham's relationship and the pushy aggressiveness she and her sister display...Elizabeth's tendency to jump to conclusions without getting to know what motivates people...her and Mr. Darcy's pride which stand in the way of communicating...willingness to wait and grieve deeply but reflectively like Jane...Mr. Darcy doing good quietly behind the scenes, not wanting applause from men...Elizabeth's admission that she was a fool and her willingness to say so to everyone.

Love that book. And there's some problems with it, when it calls good what is not reflective of Christ's marriage plan for us (e.g. whiny manipulation isn't seen as good, but not ever seen as anything but expected). We talk about those as well. But for me, the time spent talking and pondering those issues are worth the effort. Maybe you wouldn't think so or it would feed some desire within you that would make you weaker to temptation. You decide.

At least we could say that Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love was written with the Word in mind. You can read the book of Hosea to see what it portrays. I wouldn't let your jr. high daughter read that one either. Cassie has, but I'll wait a few years to even offer it to Aisley even though it's great. But the same holds true. Michael, the main character, is a strong leader, full of faith. And I remember when I was reading it that it moved me in good ways, but I know that I am also sometimes tempted to dream about what it might be like to married to a guy like him instead of Wayne, especially during football season! It is not good for me to read most fiction at night during the fall. I'm just more tempted toward discontentment. I have to know it and fight it by fleeing from these sorts of things. You decide how you might do right now.

I'm with you...but she's already read them. Now what?
Read them. Talk about them. If in reading them you feel the conviction that you shouldn't have allowed that to happen, at least without reading them together, please just tell her. Tell her that you're sorry. She'll probably brush it off a little...saying she really liked them. Just say it again and mean it. Tell her you'll try to do better next time. Then tell her you'd like to spend some conversations with her talking about some of the ideas, propositions and scenes and how they match up to or oppose Scripture. Then you gotta get busy in the Word, don't you??

Will I ever get to read a book or watch a TV show or movie if this challenge is true?
Sure. Do so without thought, discernment and a renewed mind? Hopefully not. Rejoice in what is darkness and bitterness in God's view? If He is so gracious, we'll all grow to approve only of what is excellent...and so be pure and blameless in the Day of Christ Jesus. I'm right there with you. Let's keep running together.

See it for yourself

2009-04-25T05:43:00.019-05:00

Twilight Part 4
(Previous Posts: Wall-E, Part 1, Part 2, Part 3)

So, if it's not really about this book or any other, why am I picking on this one? It's a good question, but probably a more personal answer as a woman, a wife of 20 years and as the mother of three girls, ages 11, 13 and 18.

There's a reason I posted first about the analogy between our physical obesity as a nation and our spiritual obesity as a church. But what I didn't point out that we're all seeing is that it's not just the adults in our nation that are growing heavier (over one third of the women in our nation are statistically obese). The real tragedy in the last 20 years is that childhood obesity has tripled. So, it's not simply what we as adults are choosing for ourselves that's the problem, is it?

Can you make the jump with me to our young girls and their entertainment? Back in the old days when I was a young'un, homosexuality was opening criticized and mocked on TV. When Mike and Carol Brady showed up in the SAME BED together...well, I can't tell you the furor it raised. The only movies I ever saw were Disney and that was few and far between...no VCRs, remember? (Yes. I'm that old.) The only time we got to see any late night TV was occasionally at Grannie's, which is probably why I can still remember some images of violence and sex. Problem is...those images are much less violent and the sex much less tame than in the Twilight series and certainly less than normal nightly programming. (And since Bill Clinton isn't here, let's not get into definitions of sex.)

Then there's the other reason that flows from this one. My girls aren't going to stay girls forever. Cassie's already voted. They are becoming women...who will give themselves to their husbands, raise children and serve the body of Christ. And they will struggle, won't they, in all these areas...none more so than in their marriages.

I know this because I'm in it. And I know it because of the woman after woman after woman with whom I talk about their struggles. I know it because of dear friends I walk beside and pray with and who listen to me and encourage my faith. And I know that our hearts are a problem when it comes to romance and fantasy. I know how discontented we can be with our spouses. I know that feasting on the world and snacking on the gospel makes us fat, lazy and ineffective for the Kingdom...especially for transforming our homes for the Kingdom.

Books like Twilight tell about our inner world. They describe feelings, sights, sounds in rapturous, dramatic ways. They take us to a place usually far, far, far away from the daily sights and sounds of toddlers crying and poopy diapers. They take us to a place where men see us...love us...fight for us...declare that no one has ever caused him to move outside of himself like we can. TV shows like the Bachelor pull us not just to watch, but to delight in what we watch. They're not asking us to observe them, but to like them. And if we go there? We enter back into our reality with a skewed perspective. We can't see as clearly as we should why we're there, what our marriage is for, what Christ would call us to as disciples. Are you tracking with me?

Back to the girls. They are young disciples, not fully formed...much more easily deceived...much less sure of the Word. They're still on a mostly milk diet...sometimes not yet able to handle steak. Cassie's chewing on a lot. Aisley's coming along so well. Brennan's still the same...calling black, black and white, white. Things aren't real complicated for her.

Want me to change that? Want me to introduce a book to her that has some good things happen like a guy who is drawn to a girl just for who she is and not for what she looks like or does for him...but a girl who also gives herself in such a way that she'd renounce her parents...even her very soul for him?

Want me to give Aisley...who is so empathetic to people that she can side easily with them in their sin if they're hurting bad enough...want me to give her a character who will easily feed that part of her that chooses people over the Words of Christ?

Want Cassie who's entering that great time when she'll be ready for love (Song of Solomon 8:4, Ezek. 16:8, Gen. 2:24) but is holding on to the hope that she'll find a guy who's actually a man...want me to feed her this as she goes from our home next fall? Really? That's the image? That setting? Those are the words you think should ring in her head as she readies herself for Christ's call upon her life?

Not sure what to think? I’m just going to start with some quotes and am assuming that you’ve read all the previous posts. Once again, they are 17 in this book. Not married. In high school. Okay, okay. I'll quit. With that set up…can you see what effect these might have?

Referring to Edward…

He lay perfectly still in the grass, his shirt open over his sculpted, incandescent chest, his scintillating arms bare.

The meadow, so spectacular to me at first, paled next to his magnificence.

As I had just that once before, I smelled his cool breath in my face. Sweet, delicious, the scent made my mouth water.
I could smell the unbearably sweet fragrance coming off his chest.

He pressed his cool lips to my forehead, and the room spun. The smell of his breath made it impossible to think.

If I stopped looking for him, it was over. Love, life, meaning… over.

Because there was just one thing that I had to believe to be able to live—I had to know that he existed. That was all. Everything else I could endure. So long as he existed.

Because, through the heavy water, I heard the sound of an angel calling my name, calling me to the only heaven I wanted.

Bella’s words to Edward:

Don’t I taste as good as I smell?

You are my life. You’re the only thing it would hurt me to lose.

If he’d asked me whether I would risk my soul for Edward, the reply would be obvious.

I don’t care! You can have my soul. I don’t want it without you—

(Can I get some props for not making sarcastic comments all the way through?? Come on. His chest glows??)

But does it get better in the next books? Well, how about one preview quote from Bella in Eclipse, speaking about Jacob Black...

He was more than just my friend. That’s why it was so impossible to tell him goodbye — because I was in love with him. Too. I loved him, much more than I should, and yet, still nowhere near enough. I was in love with him, but it was not enough to change anything; it was only enough to hurt us both more.

Yep. After all that, she's torn between two and that tension even lasts after they're married in the book Breaking Dawn (Yep. There are sex scenes in that one where they go all the way albeit after marriage. Though you get references to the taste and feel of bodies, they do refrain from actual descriptions at a certain point.) Okay? I've got problems and so should you.

Or how about Bella's high view of marriage...biblical?

But more than that, I just couldn’t reconcile a staid, respectable, dull concept like husband with my concept of Edward. It was like casting an archangel as an accountant; I couldn’t visualize him in any commonplace role.

And then there's the descriptive quotes I left out. Picture the scenes between them that these all went in. Picture her offering her virginity to him...trying hard to get him to give in. I feel like surely you see it now. Surely you know that this kind of obsessive…I’ll give up my own soul for him…I’ll defy my parents…I’ll give my own life to have him…that kind of love is reserved for One, right? You have been crucified already. Your life is already demanded. You have been claimed. You must forsake all others for Him. All others. No one else in your eternal existence gets what Bella offered to Edward. (And then for Jacob...sigh...)

But that’s the temptation. To give up what is inside of us that belongs only to Christ and offer it to another who will really satisfy us. To believe that human love…the love of man with a woman…can be what only Christ can be for us.

Wayne will die. Today. Tomorrow. In 59 years if God is so gracious. And if I am alive, my life is not over. My hope is not gone. I remain standing on solid ground. Wayne is a gift…more gracious than any other earthly gift I’ve received. But he is not my passion. I am joined with Him to represent my passion. He is not my highest treasure without which I am lost. He and I are together…I am so in love with Wayne 20 years into our marriage. I can’t imagine even knowing where to begin if you ask me about how I feel about him or how he’s been used in my life. I am unendingly grateful.

But he only gets what’s his. My devotion is God’s. My life is God’s. To paraphrase Mark Driscoll from a sermon a couple of weeks ago…If Wayne follows Jesus, I follow Wayne. If Wayne stops following Jesus, I’m still following Jesus. He gets his. Christ gets all. (For more on this idea, please see this little 3 minute clip...or better yet, buy this book or read it free online here.)

That’s the gift of God in marriage…in that deep, deep relationship between man and woman. Everything else we keep creating in our fantasies only fuels our desire to have more than what God’s given us in this creation. He has told us to keep pure what is His. And to keep pure from any other until that day when He seals the relationship. Our hearts are supposed to be given at the same level as the commitment. Bella gives what is not hers to give…herself. We’re God’s. He owns us. He gives us.

And any book that goes into rapture about any other way…that calls good what God calls evil…is not to be rejoiced in. But it’s just a book, right? Yep. And donuts are good for you. So, I wonder why these pants don't fit? It's a mystery.

Q&A coming next...

The Bella in all of us

2009-04-24T05:23:00.011-05:00

Twilight Part 3
(Previous Posts: Wall-E, Part 1, Part 2)

Stephanie Meyer did good, didn't she? Millions love it. Bella, her lead character, is funny, capable, quirky and hopelessly klutzy. She's trapped in a dismal existence...a flower waiting to bloom, unappreciated by all those idiots in that dull town who can't see her true beauty. In other words, she's what we all think we are.

No matter how pretty...how popular...how talented...how lovely...how compassionate...how together and fashionable a girl seems, there is a deep, dark secret we all carried as we grew up. Funny isn't it that we are all quite sure we're the only one who did. But here it is in a nutshell...What if no one ever picks me. What if no one sees me...desires me...thinks I'm smart enough, pretty enough, cool enough...what if I'm the one…the wrong one.

Aisley and I have been talking a lot about it because she’s beginning to see it. If you’ll remember, this is her first year in public school after 7 grades at home with me. Lots of revelation going on for her…and some of it’s even good! One is that even girls who seemingly have it all are riddled with insecurity. Girls who we all look at and just know get a pass on that deep heart longing? Come to find out, they don’t. We all are together, ladies. We all are standing together, young and old, vulnerable to becoming Bella…even if only in our minds.

I say this as a final thought before the actual concerns of the book (don't sigh at me!) because if we women don’t see this, we’ll never awaken from the deception in our flesh. We’ll never know why this stuff resonates so strongly, so clearly within us…beyond how it should…beyond the truth…beyond godliness. We’ll never begin to filter our emotions through the grid of the gospel. When the Bible goes on about how we women are prone to being deceived, it’s not an insult…it’s a revelation for the good of our souls. We will fight when we believe there's a problem. Deny it and we perish without raising a sword.

But we do know how it can go inside of us. We see something…we feel something about it…we move based on how we feel…and we might think about it later if the consequences are bad enough. This attuning to emotion is wired into us and is meant for the good of the body...to see hurt where others might just pass by...to stay and remain because of depth of affection. But we were never meant to be ruled by it. That’s not how the gospel is to work in us.

Do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed
by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern
what is the will of God,
what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2

Instead of being ruled by our feelings, we are instead supposed to be transformed first by the renewing of our minds. Then and only then can we test and feel…the Word says discern or approve…get our heart behind…feel our souls rejoice and be able to know deeply that this is worthy of being rejoiced in…for it would match our Father in its goodness and perfection and be pleasing to Him. Paul said it again to the Ephesians that we are supposed to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.

I’ll show you evidence of what I’m talking about in the next post. I know that’s number five. Try to go with me. But for now listen and see if this doesn’t resonate. When we read books like Twilight, we’re not caught up in the uniqueness and structure of its high prose. Even those who praise it don’t try to make it more than it is. What catches us is that it allows us to feel what we all long to feel…caught up…taken away…given to something more than we have…more than we could ever be alone. We are given not to visuals but we are given to fantasies…thoughts…dreaming about what could be. Books like this feed that. They give word and picture to what lies within us.

And again, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing…as long as what is resonating with us is resonating with the good that God is in us…when it stays in its place…when it doesn’t seek what is not ours…when it keeps us eating from the trees God has given and doesn’t tempt us to take what is not ours to have. When our souls rejoice where goodness, rightness, justice, truth are found? Good stuff.

So let me ask you to discern...Do the characters who are given for us to cheer for, are they worthy of cheering? Is evil really evil? Does good shine as good? Are they expressing longings unchecked by a renewed mind or are they actually fighting to overcome that which they know is sinful? Do the characters you love stay within the bounds God’s given? Or do they reach beyond what should be and make you feel like that’s not only okay…it’s what you deserve, too?

And no. I'm not asking if the characters are Christians. I'm asking if they reflect God's truth rightly. Is justice upheld? Or are you asked to sympathize with rebellion against God's ways? Some places in the book, you could say a resounding YES! That's good stuff. Others? Maybe even lots of others? Not so much. The relationship between these two as a whole? Not what we're aiming for with the Ransleben girls. The point is as Paul says...test it...Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.

It's not about what we read really, but checking our hearts as we read so that what is there is filtered through what should be. It's not about the TV show really. Or the movie. Or that conversation. Or anything other thing in the world. The things in the world are neutral...how we use them, delight in them, approve of them. That's a problem.

God told Isaiah to tell His people this...

Woe to those who call evil good
and good evil,
who put darkness for light
and light for darkness,
who put bitter for sweet
and sweet for bitter!
Isaiah 5:20

Good called good. Evil called evil. Or are we asked to softened where we should stand? Are we asked to feel sympathy or at least stay silent like Adam did in that Garden so that what the characters feel could be delighted in? So that what we feel can be rationalized, too? We have to discern.

But is that really in Twilight? We'll see what you think next time.

P.S. So many of you have been gracious to write me your questions and concerns. I'm hoping this as well as upcoming posts hit some of those issues, but am also preparing a Q&A post for the end. Please keep them coming and we'll see what you think!

You'd think the cover would have given us a clue

2009-04-23T06:21:00.006-05:00

Twilight Part 2
(Previous Posts: Wall-E, Part 1)

So, we've got little girls tucking their hair and watching every move he makes. Good stuff, isn't it? I mean it. The writer of Proverbs 29 says that there are four things that are too wonderful for him...the last is the way of a man with a maiden. Makes us smile to think of it. (Or scares us to death when the little girl is your teen daughter.) What am I saying could be so wrong with that desire?

Nothing...when it's accepted as a gift from God...to be used and exalted under the guidelines He gives. When it's embraced so that the two don't become more than they are for themselves, but so the watching world sees...Paul says they literally can see...the joining of Christ and His Church. When God is exalted, Christ is honored and the Spirit reigns in the joining? That's good stuff. And if that's our highest goal...our only desire which keeps all those other desires in their place...it's very good. God said so Himself in Genesis 1:28-31, didn't He? He's the one who brought Adam and Eve together. He sanctioned that joining Himself. He made us this way as women. And He did good.

But then came Genesis 3 and that which was only good became tainted...poisoned...not by the fruit that was eaten but by the desire in her that caused her give birth to sin and to reach out for it. When she was created, Eve had in her a desire but it was a desire that was overruled by her allegiance to her God. She knew what she could do with it and what she couldn't. She knew that if it was used within the bounds given, good followed. And she knew that if she went outside of it, she'd die. And that mattered to her...for a while. We don't know how long. I'm guessing it didn't take too long. It would have been a matter of minutes if it had been me. I'm really excellent at thinking I know better than God.

But then the Bible says that a serpent came and spoke to her...challenged her view of God and the goodness of His commands...and she saw things differently than before. That's the important part...how we see. Not how we see physically, but how we see God. There's a reason that Paul prayed that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened. He knew that our hearts are more than blind...they're stone...dead rock...unable to love and obey God. And so we can't see like we need to see when it comes to love...to romance...to this thing that rises between men and women.

If we could just get that then the battle is mostly won for we won't assume that if we love it then it must be great...if we are moved then it must be good for us...if we feel ourselves softening at words spoken by a man in a book we will remember that it may be good...but maybe not. Maybe it's just hitting us like that fruit hit Eve. Remember what she said deep in that heart of hers? She saw that it was good and would help her and besides, look how pretty it is. How...tell me...how could anything like that be bad for her??

So, here we are with Twilight. And there's all the excuses you've heard or given. Some of them are good questions and some of them sound a lot like Eve's rationale in the garden...how could something so good be so bad? Just a little taste won't do any harm.

It's just a book.
I know there's some things in it that they do that aren't okay, but it's full of great stuff that is okay.
They don't have sex. He really loves her and is committed to waiting until marriage to have her.
Besides, it's really well written. It just grips you from the start and you can't put it down.
He's so great...protects her...cares for her...sacrifices himself for her.
And she loves him so much she'll do anything for him.
They are devoted to each other.
It hasn't done anything bad in me that I can see. It's just for fun.
Or as a couple of girls have put it...Come on, Mom. It's not like I'm going to read it and go out and have sex. I just want to read it.

But look at the title of this post again. I mean it. Have you seen the cover? They’re not trying to hide it. Hands offering fruit...get it? This isn't about romance. It's about temptation...the temptation that lures every woman ever born. It's about desire...the desire for the forbidden. It's about forsaking what we know for what we feel. Can you feel the pull in you every day like I can? Can you see yourself as a woman fighting to have your feelings under God's control? Can you feel the discontent that we battle for contentment where we really are and what we really have? Can you feel yourself as Eve's daughter struggling to rejoice only where God rejoices?

We'll get to that...and to the specifics about the book…promise.

Twilight

2009-04-22T17:48:00.006-05:00

Part 1

(Previous Posts: Wall-E)

Here's the bottom line. Don't read the Twilight books. Please don't let your young women read it. Don't pour over it in your book clubs. There. I said it. Now, I'm sure you'll walk away from them and go on with your life.

Well, those of you who have no idea what I'm talking about might go on your way. Or if your male, you probably will. But if you're a female between the ages of 10 and say, 40ish, you might need a little more to convince you. I'm warning you now, I'm going to try...hard.

Let's get this part out of the way. It has nothing to do with vampires. They worry me about as much as aliens and swamp monsters. Why you would set a romance book around a group that sucks the life blood from people...that's a whole 'nother post. But I couldn't care less. They're made up. I don't care where it's set...what kind of creatures it involves...or what action it involves. It's fiction. Got it. No problem.

But what happens between Bella and Edward isn't so fictional, is it, ladies? And what happens inside of us when we read it isn't fictional either. And there's the problem with the books. You can see the symptoms of it everywhere. Grown women sighing over the same thing jr. high girls are. Faces softening when you say...Edward. Everyone asking have you read it yet?? They love the character of Edward. In a sense, then, I guess I could say that he's the problem. But really, that's way too shallow of an answer.

Besides, the Bible declares some really great truths like Paul told the Romans...

I know and am persuaded
in the Lord Jesus
that nothing is unclean in itself...
Romans 14:14

Or to Timothy...

Everything created by God is good,
and nothing is to be rejected
if it's received with thanksgiving,
for it's made holy
by the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4:4

Oh, good...I hear you say. I promise I'll keep reading the Bible and praying, so I'll just go grab book 3 real quick. I wish it were that easy. But the Bible proclaims a few more truths to keep the balance. And here's the root problem...

But each person is tempted
when he is lured and enticed
by his own desire.
Then desire when it has conceived
gives birth to sin,
and sin when it is fully grown
brings forth death.
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers.
James 1:14-16

The problem isn't with the books...in and of themselves. The problem really lies within each of us as women. We have our own desires...and not good ones. The same desires we can see birthed when little girls who are content to play with dolls start to play with their hair when boys walk by.

I saw this happen so clearly just last week as I was dropping off a friend's son back to school after a orthodontic appointment. She and I watched him get out as we made plans for after school. I noticed peripherally that two girls were walking on the sidewalk near the school door. I saw them glance at the van and look away...not even noticing or caring who we were...until little Jimmy stepped out. Then they glanced again when they heard the car door opening...and stopped dead in their tracks as each of them started tucking back her hair. I'm not kidding.

Oh, yeah. Have I mentioned that little Jimmy is about 6 feet tall and is almost 16...plays in the secondary on the football team...great student...is so compassionate, quiet, and kind...unassumingly handsome with a great smile...humble and gracious. (Yeah. You're tucking your hair, aren't you? Quit it.)

But wait. Am I saying that what a female feels for a male is wrong?? No. Promise. Just stick with me. We have that pull toward men...that softening toward them that is almost indefinable, but unmistakable when you see it happen. We have a longing...a deep longing to be the one. To be chosen. To be seen, loved, lifted beyond where we are to a whole other level of being. We are somehow more when we are loved. And we know that somehow when two become one...they are more than just the two. They create a whole new level of existence.

Again...it's God placed. It's normal. It's built into the system. I got it... really. Everything's good...so far.

A Wall-E world

2009-04-22T13:00:00.003-05:00

I had a talk with a good friend right in the middle of writing and gave into more of a rant than you’ll even hear in my tone here. She and I wondered together how we can all be so deceived into believing that we can just live like we want, take in what we want, entertain ourselves how we want and think there’s no consequence for us. No. We weren’t talking about you. We were talking about ourselves.

The Israelites apparently weren’t enough of a clue for us as they sold themselves slowly and incessantly to the culture that surrounded them.

So, let me be very blunt. Our nation is becoming more obese every year while we spend more and more…now in the trillions of dollars…on dieting and exercise. And I actually heard a TV promo for a show on it…one of those 20/20 sort of things…the commercial actually asked, “How is this happening?”

Seriously? Seriously?!

WE EAT TOO MUCH!!

I put too many calories and the wrong calories in my body. I don’t work hard enough to burn what I take in. Let’s not be deceived. I know I’m 41. I know that I used to be able to burn it off faster and with less effort than now. But don’t let me fool you. I weigh what I weigh because I eat what I eat.

Ready?

If I could snapshot your spiritual body? What would I see? What are you eating? What do you snack on all day? What’s the balance between the healthy food you intake and the desserts in your life?

I told a lady yesterday about two passages of Scripture. And I told her to memorize them. Ten verses in one book…seven in another. When I mentioned the second set, she immediately interrupted and said, “Don’t you know I have a life?” Can you relate?

Now, she was just joking…sort of. Don’t you dare cast a stone. I bet she’s doing it. I mean it. She loves her Savior and she knows she’s in need of His Word. But that default reaction is just the same as when someone calls us to discipline our bodies for health.

What you see…what you entertain yourself with…what you listen to…what thrills you and moves you and interests you and pleases you…it all matters. And sure, one time is probably not that big of a deal. I say that every time I eat a donut. But there’s a difference between eating a donut and loving donuts…and telling others how to find the donut shop…and asking if they want to get together to eat them and talk about them…and see if we can search the internet to find more of them. That’s got to stop.

I’m not concerned about our once-in-a-whiles…I’m concerned about our passions and joys. They reveal a more insidious obesity in our lives than a scale ever could.

Why am I bringing this up? Well, there’s a series of postings coming about a wave that’s swept up our girls and grown women, and I’m jumping into the fray.

DWYL

2009-04-18T18:27:00.004-05:00

Sorry for the delay! Prom week along with Easter...add in the district track meet (Cassie's last...sigh...)...toss in some friends struggling and here we are one week later.

But I had to share the new release of the Don't Waste Your Life music video that Lacrae put together with Desiring God. They are on tour now together, getting music and Piper's book in the hands of whoever will listen. They just finished up at Angola Prison and are headed around the country. Check out this link to see when they head your way. We managed to see them in concert in Waco and were so grateful for the clarity of the gospel not only in their lyrics, but in the words they speak boldly to the crowd.

2009-04-12T08:53:00.001-05:00

See, what a morning, gloriously bright,
With the dawning of hope in Jerusalem;
Folded the grave-clothes, tomb filled with light,
As the angels announce, “Christ is risen!”
See God’s salvation plan,
Wrought in love, borne in pain, paid in sacrifice,
Fulfilled in Christ, the Man,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

See Mary weeping, “Where is He laid?”
As in sorrow she turns from the empty tomb;
Hears a voice speaking, calling her name;
It’s the Master, the Lord raised to life again!
The voice that spans the years,
Speaking life, stirring hope, bringing peace to us,
Will sound till He appears,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

One with the Father, Ancient of Days,
Through the Spirit who clothes faith with certainty.
Honor and blessing, glory and praise
To the King crowned with pow’r and authority!
And we are raised with Him,
Death is dead, love has won, Christ has conquered;
And we shall reign with Him,
For He lives: Christ is risen from the dead!

by Stuart Townend and Keith Getty

Saturday Reflection

2009-04-11T18:17:00.002-05:00

How deep the Father's love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that held Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom

by Stuart Townend

Jesus' last days...Saturday morning

2009-04-11T07:00:00.003-05:00

The next day, that is, after the day of Preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered before Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember how that impostor said, while he was still alive, ‘After three days I will rise.’ Therefore order the tomb to be made secure until the third day, lest his disciples go and steal him away and tell the people, ‘He has risen from the dead,’ and the last fraud will be worse than the first.”

Pilate said to them, “You have a guard of soldiers. Go, make it as secure as you can.” So they went and made the tomb secure by sealing the stone and setting a guard.

On the Sabbath the women and disciples rested according to the commandment.

Jesus' last days...Friday mid-day

2009-04-10T12:00:00.002-05:00

From about noon until sundown...

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour while the sun's light failed. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.”

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”

When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished." Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” He bowed his head and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.

When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake, what took place and saw that in this way he breathed his last, they were filled with awe and said, “Certainly this man was innocent! Truly this was the Son of God!” And all the crowds that had assembled for this spectacle, when they saw what had taken place, returned home beating their breasts.

There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him, among whom were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph and Salome, the mother of the sons of Zebedee. When he was in Galilee, they followed him and ministered to him, and there were also many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem.

Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.

When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph who was a disciple of Jesus but secretly for fear of the Jews. He was a member of the council, a good and righteous man, who had not consented to their decision and action; and he was looking for the kingdom of God. He took courage and went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that he should have already died. And summoning the centurion, he asked him whether he was already dead. And when he learned from the centurion that he was dead, he granted the corpse to Joseph.

Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. They bound Jesus' body in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden Joseph had a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there.

They rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the tomb and saw how his body was laid. Then they returned and prepared spices and ointments.

Jesus' last days...later Friday morning

2009-04-10T09:00:00.006-05:00

From about 9 a.m to noon...

And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Two others, who were criminals, were led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place that is called The Skull which in Aramaic is called Golgotha, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left. And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his garments and divided them into four parts, one part for each soldier; also his tunic. But the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from top to bottom, so they said to one another, “Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it shall be.” This was to fulfill the Scripture which says,

“They divided my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.” Psalm 22:18

So the soldiers did these things. Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” Pilate answered, “What I have written I have written.”

Those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “Aha! You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself, and come down from the cross!”

Others stood by, watching, but the rulers scoffed at him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; if he is the Christ of God, his Chosen One, let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”

The soldiers also mocked him, coming up and offering him sour wine and saying, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!”

One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Jesus' last days...early Friday morning

2009-04-10T06:00:00.003-05:00

From early morning until 9 a.m...

When early morning came, all the chief priests and the elders of the people led him away to their council, and they said, "If you are the Christ, tell us." But he said to them, "If I tell you, you will not believe, and if I ask you, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man shall be seated at the right hand of the power of God." So they all said, "Are you the Son of God, then?" And he said to them, "You say that I am." Then they said, "What further testimony do we need? We have heard it ourselves from his own lips." And they took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.

Then when Judas, his betrayer, saw that Jesus was condemned, he changed his mind and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders, saying, "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood." They said, "What is that to us? See to it yourself." And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.

But the chief priests, taking the pieces of silver, said, "It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, since it is blood money." So they took counsel and bought with them the potter’s field as a burial place for strangers. Therefore that field has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, "And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me."

And they bound him and led him away from the house of Caiaphas and delivered him over to Pilate the governor. It was early morning. They themselves did not enter the governor’s headquarters, so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover. So Pilate went outside to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" And they began to accuse him, saying, "We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king. If this man were not doing evil, we would not have delivered him over to you."

Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law." The Jews said to him, "It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death." This was to fulfill the word that Jesus had spoken to show by what kind of death he was going to die. When he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?" Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?"

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world." Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world— to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." Pilate said to him, "What is truth?"

After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, "I find no guilt in him." But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.” When Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. And when he learned that he belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time.

When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad, for he had long desired to see him, because he had heard about him, and he was hoping to see some sign done by him. So he questioned him at some length, but he made no answer. The chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing him. And Herod with his soldiers treated him with contempt and mocked him. Then, arraying him in splendid clothing, he sent him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day, for before this they had been at enmity with each other.

Pilate then called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people, and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was misleading the people. And after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us."

Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. And among the rebels in prison, who had committed murder in the insurrection, there was a man called Barabbas. So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered him up.

Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much because of him today in a dream.” Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate said, "Look, nothing deserving death has been done by him. I will therefore punish and release him." So the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they began to salute and mock him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.

Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, “Behold the man!” When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no guilt in him.” The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has made himself the Son of God.”

When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.”

From then on Pilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves.” And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” The soldiers stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

What could move Christ?

2009-04-09T13:12:00.008-05:00

Storms didn't do it.
People with the worst diseases didn't cause Him to shrink back.
Demon possession? That would do for me. But Christ? Nope.
Tiredness...no food and drink for 40 days? No.
Family thinking He's crazy and needing to be put away? Christ stands strong.
Conflict? Ha.
Hatred? Get in line.
People trying to kill Him everywhere He went? Christ just moves along.

So, what could move our Lord? What would make Him want to turn away? A cup.

And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:41-44

He'd just offered a cup to His disciples hours before. A new cup, a new covenant. Couldn't be that one. There's the cup of blessing Psalm 16 and the cup of salvation in Psalm 116. Christ would not be asking God to remove from Him the cup of blessing. So then, why would a cup be such a bad thing?

Read about the cup God gave His Son to drink...

Thus the LORD, the God of Israel, said to me: "Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it. They shall drink and stagger and be crazed because of the sword that I am sending among them." So I took the cup from the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to whom the LORD sent me drink it: Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, its kings and officials, to make them a desolation and a waste, a hissing and a curse, as at this day;

And if they refuse to accept the cup from your hand to drink, then you shall say to them, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts: You must drink!
For behold, I begin to work disaster at the city that is called by my name, and shall you go unpunished? You shall not go unpunished, for I am summoning a sword against all the inhabitants of the earth, declares the LORD of hosts.'
"'The LORD will roar from on high,
and from his holy habitation utter his voice;
he will roar mightily against his fold,
and shout, like those who tread grapes,
against all the inhabitants of the earth.
The clamor will resound to the ends of the earth,
for the LORD has an indictment against the nations;
he is entering into judgment with all flesh,
and the wicked he will put to the sword,
declares the LORD.'
Jeremiah 25:15-18, 28-31

The only one who never, never knew the displeasure of God...the one who for more than 30 years devoted Himself to purity of mind, of heart, of purpose...the one who loved...finally one was born who loved the Father with all His heart, soul, mind and strength...that One...the only One who never deserved God's wrath, came to drink and drink deeply from the cup that was mine.

And the prayer worked. Christ rose, steady and steadfast...purposed to drink...sure and ready to receive from the Lord all that wasn't His.

So Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?" John 18:11

And He did. He did all that needed to be done so that He could drink all the wrath that was ours...until the cup was empty.

After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), "I thirst." A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, "It is finished," and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
John 19:28-30

He drank the sour wine. My sour wine. And He's the only One who could do so, for He's the only One who earned the right to die. The precious Lamb of God was dead so that I might live.

Christ chose His cup so that we might choose ours. There are two cups and only two. We must drink from one or we will drink from the other. Take the cup of the new covenant sealed with the blood shed because Christ drank the cup of wrath. Or you will drink the cup of wrath yourself.

There are those who believe that Christ drank all the wrath of God for all people. If that were so, God would have told us about the cup of His wrath only in the Scriptures prior to Christ's death. But that's not true at all. There is more to come. Choose your cup.

If you refuse to say that Christ drank yours...if you refuse the offer of His blood for you...this is what you'll hear...

For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
Psalm 75:8

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name."
Revelation 14:9-11

But if you drink from the cup of the new covenant sealed with the blood of Christ, this is what you'll hear...

Thus says your Lord, the LORD,
your God who pleads the cause of his people:
Behold, I have taken from your hand
the cup of staggering;
the bowl of my wrath you shall drink no more;
Isaiah 51:22

And then because of it, you'll sing a new song...

And they sang a new song, saying,

"Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood
you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth."
Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!"
Revelation 5:9-13

Jesus' last days...Thursday

2009-04-09T07:45:00.000-05:00

According to all four gospels:

Then Jesus went out as usual with his disciples across the Kidron Valley to a place called Gethsemane, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. He said to his disciples, "Sit here, while I go over there and pray."

And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, he began to be greatly distressed, sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, "My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me." And going a little farther, about a stone's throw, he fell on his face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will."

And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, "So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, "My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done."

(Now Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples. So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests, scribes, Sanhedrin and the Pharisees went there with lanterns and torches, swords and clubs.)

And again Jesus came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. They did not know what to answer him. So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again. And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

Then when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow, he came to the disciples and said to them, "Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? It is enough; sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand."

While he was still speaking, there came a crowd, and the man called Judas, one of the twelve, was leading them. Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, "The one I will kiss is the man. Seize him and lead him away under guard." And when he came, he went up to him at once and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" And he kissed him, but Jesus said to him, "Judas, would you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Friend, do what you came to do."

Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, "Whom do you seek?" They answered him, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus said to them, "I am he." Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. When Jesus said to them, "I am he," they drew back and fell to the ground. So he asked them again, "Whom do you seek?" And they said, "Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus answered, "I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go." This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: "Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one."

And when those who were around him saw what would follow, they said, "Lord, shall we strike with the sword?" Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) But Jesus said, "No more of this!" And he touched his ear and healed him. Jesus said to Peter, "Put your sword into its sheath. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than 72,000 angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so? Shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?"

Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders, who had come out against him, "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs? When I was with you day after day teaching in the temple, you did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness. Let the Scriptures of the prophets be fulfilled." And all the disciples left him and fled.

So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.

The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. Jesus answered him, "I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said." When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, "Is that how you answer the high priest?" Jesus answered him, "If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?" Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

And they led Jesus to the high priest. And all the chief priests and the elders and the scribes came together. And Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. And he was sitting to see the end with the guards and warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking testimony against Jesus to put him to death, but they found none. For many bore false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. And some stood up and bore false witness against him, saying, "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with hands.'" Yet even about this their testimony did not agree.

And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer to make? What is it that these men testify against you?" But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, "I adjure you by the living God, are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?" And Jesus said, "You have said so. But I tell you, I am and you will see the Son of Man, seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."

And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?" And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and they blindfolded him and struck him, saying to him, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?", mocking him as they beat him. And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard. And a servant girl saw him seated there in the firelight. She came up to him, looked closely at him, and said, "You also were with Jesus the Galilean. You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" But he denied it before them all, saying, "I do not know what you mean."

And when he went out to the entrance, another servant girl saw him, and she said to the bystanders, "This man was with Jesus of Nazareth. You also are not one of his disciples, are you?" And again he denied it with an oath: "I do not know the man."

After about an hour, the bystanders came up and said to Peter, "Certainly you too are one of them, for your accent betrays you." Then one of the servants of the high priest, relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, came up and said to Peter, "Did I not see you in the garden with him?" Then he began to invoke a curse on himself and to swear, "I do not know the man." Immediately the rooster crowed.

And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of Jesus, "Before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times." And he went out and wept bitterly.

Do you know Him?

2009-04-08T11:33:00.004-05:00

HT: Ray Ortlund, Jr.

Man of few words

2009-04-07T16:56:00.012-05:00

Posting something's been on my mind, but not in my schedule lately. Doesn't mean I've been off the computer though. Much more a consumer than producer...sounds like the country as a whole, huh?

But this is worth the time to me. I am amazed by those who can say a lot in a few words. Those that know me well know why. It would only take a scanning of this blog to catch the drift. (And yes. I do know what Proverbs 10:19 says. Thanks.) That's why I admire blogs like 22 Words and also why I'll never, never be a Twitter-er or whatever you call yourselves.

That's also why I've been amazed and blessed by the work of Dr. David Murray over at the PRTS blog. Yeah. I had no idea what that was either. I found out that it's a seminary in Grand Rapids, MI...which was a surprise because I assumed from listening to the posts that I was watching some guy from his house in Scotland. Nope. Just another part of a great Scottish invasion for which I thank God. If you don't know what I mean get started with two guys who've been such a help to me this past year, Sinclair Ferguson and Alistair Begg.

Okay. See what I mean about the words? All that was just to set up this...Dr. Murray posts videos that are just a few minutes in length, usually about two, which point us in the right direction and provide so much to think on. This post from March 30 was called Children's Guide to the Tabernacle. Apparently, he was teaching on it and was challenged to put the truths that we learn about God from the building of the tabernacle into language that a child could understand.

You must watch the video. I wish I could embed it, but it's not coded and Ray's not here. (See below!) Here's my transcript of it with references...but put a little...okay, a lot...of Scottish brogue into the words as you read. And then click over and spend only 1:46 of your day being amazed at what the Lord was telling us in all those details of Exodus 25-30. Join me sometime in reading again through those passages we skim over. Take your kids through it and stand amazed with me that God would do so much to initiate a relationship with us.

Recently I was asked by a Sunday school teacher to provide a kid's guide to the tabernacle. Quite a challenging project, but in summary, here is my suggestion for summarizing the teaching of the tabernacle to young children.
First of all, the Tabernacle as a whole says God lives with sinners.
The Brass Altar says God saves sinners.
The Laver, the washing bath, says God cleans sinners.
The Show Bread says God feeds sinners. (Or actually, more deeply, God communes with sinners because the table and food were really a symbol for fellowship and communion. So the show bread says God communes with sinners.)
The Lamp, God enlightens sinners.
The Incense Altar, God hears sinners (as a type, of course, of prayer ascending).
The Ark of the Covenant, God covenants with sinners or God promises sinners.
And then we think of the Veil which covered the Most Holy Place which was eventually ripped in two in the temple at Christ's death...which says God is open to sinners now.

UPDATE: Thanks, Ray!!

Rubbin' it in

2009-03-31T10:07:00.002-05:00

A reminder of why he's considered the best of the best...maybe in heaven God will let me flick my wrist and have this happen...

HT: Between Two Worlds

A word for us all

2009-03-30T18:44:00.004-05:00

J. I. Packer is one of the men that has been instrumental in my understanding and love of our Savior. His books Knowing God and Praying fall into my top ten books to recommend while a couple of lesser known titles like A Grief Sanctified and Praying the Lord's Prayer are so short and so great on specific topics. If you get a chance to read him or hear him, you'll be blessed and served on how to consider Christ and Him crucified.

He's 83 now and still the Board of Governors' Professor of Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia. He served as Executive Editor of Christianity Today as well as serving as the General Editor of the ESV Study Bible which you already know I love so much from previous posts like this one.

I say all that to set up this little gem of a video...just three and half minutes of Packer looking into the lens and talking to someone who's a new believer in Jesus Christ. Join me under the conviction of running hard to return to that first blush of love so that we don't stand with those at Ephesus. These things he speaks of should be firmly rooted in most of us who are reading this...and therefore bearing fruit for those new believers God is giving birth to all around us. Where we're lacking, let's take off running with perseverance this race He's marked out for us. And if you've got some people around you who are new to this, here's some basics they'll need to run well alongside you. Get this to them and tell them it's their welcome from one of the giants of the faith.

5 months from now

2009-03-24T06:04:00.000-05:00

That's when Cassie will wake up and head to her first college class at Baylor.

That's when it will hit us both that she's not coming back from vacation in just a couple of days...or home from the mission trip that she spent a month on. That first day...when she wakes up with almost no help from an alarm...when her heart will be jumping and her face beaming with smiles for everyone she sees. She'll be so excited. I know not only because she loves new things...new places...new people. She'll finally be starting what she's been waiting on for so long.

But 5 months? How quick is that?? 7 months ago school started on her senior year. That was yesterday to me. 18 years ago, she just learned to sit up on her own. Happened just last week. 23 years ago, I started my first college class...with a smile on my face and a bounce in my step. Cassie wasn't even a glimmer on the distant horizon of my plans for me. How long ago was that? About a month.

I've had a lot of people ask about Cassie leaving. Are we ready? How hard is it going to be? What do the girls think? Is she excited? Answers: Probably not. More than we know right now, but better than we might expect. Sad and excited for her. Oh, my, yes.

When they hear about how sad we all are, they usually try to offer sweet comfort. But I've noticed that everyone's answers come from the same place my thoughts try to go to...who Cassie is...what God's done in the past in her...how she's responded to teaching, training, experiences in her life. Everything you can see. You can hear them, can't you? She'll be fine. She'll love it there. She does so well with people. She's already shown so often that she'll make good decisions. She loves the Lord. She serves so many. She goes the extra mile. She'll only be 35 miles away. She'll be great.

Isn't that how we are? Look around us...try to find that hopeful place. See what we can see...and lean on it. I mean well when I do it to others. Show them in their lives where God's already worked. Show them how He's prepared them for the task ahead. I've got precedent in Scripture for it. But just one chapter later in Psalms God gives us the same word He showed me in Colossians last week. Here's both of them:

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD his God,
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
who keeps faith forever;
who executes justice for the oppressed,
who gives food to the hungry.
Psalm 146:5-7

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus
and of the love that you have for all the saints,
because of the hope laid up for you in heaven.
Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel...
Colossians 1:3-5

How far short my hope is usually placed! To hope in Cassie...to hope in past works of God...to hope in anything I can see is far below the truest hope I have for her. My Hope must be the Lord Himself. He is the creator of faith and faithfulness. It is He that will faithfully keep her until the end. He is the executor of justice. It is He that will guard her and protect her until the Day. How secure is my hope that is in heaven. How fleeting is any hope that is set here below.

He has given us good fruit to taste in Cassie's life that tell she is His and is on her way. But that fruit was not meant to be stored up for tomorrow. Like the manna that appeared to the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, what we have is today's...for today...and to give us remembrance of God who supplies every day. To store it up...to gather more than you needed for that day was a sin...and would turn to rot in your tent. Why would it be a sin? Because to gather more meant that you didn't trust the Lord...you doubted that God who was faithful today would be faithful tomorrow. So, you stored some up...just in case.

The idea that I would look to what God has done in the past for encouragement of hope isn't sin. That I would look for good fruit in Cassie's life to lead me to rejoicing in the life of Christ within her? That's certainly not sin. Paul spoke of it all the time like here and here. But Paul's trust...his faith...his hope in them wasn't built on what he could see in them and for them and from them. For me store up these things so I could feed on them in the fall when she's not here every day? That's not a position or a feeling that I should feel sympathy for and in fact is one to guard against...for at it's core what I'm doubting is not Cassie, but God. God's faithfulness is on trial. God's promises are at stake. God's ability to finish what He begins is what I have on trial day by day.

Charles Spurgeon put it like this:

Too many in the church of God regard unbelief as if it were a calamity commanding sympathy, rather than a fault demanding censure as well. . . . Doubts are among the worst enemies of your souls. Do not entertain them. Do not treat them as though they were poor forlorn travelers to be hospitably entertained, but as rogues and vagabonds to be chased from thy door. Fight them, slay them, and pray God to help thee to kill them, and bury them, and not even to leave a bone or a piece of a bone of a doubt above ground. Doubting and unbelief are to be abhorred, and to be confessed with tears as sins before God. We need pardon for doubting as much as for blasphemy. We ought no more to excuse doubting than lying, for doubting slanders God and makes him a liar. (HT: Pyromaniacs)

So, the question is will I be ready in 5 months to have my hope "built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness"? Will I say at that day that I "dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus name"? Will all other ground truly be sinking sand? Or will I be casting about for jars to store my wormy, smelly manna from yesterday?

5 months. 5 short months to set my gaze on Christ more firmly than it is. Help me, will you? When I falter...when I fall...remind me not of what He's done, but that He's done according to His steadfast love which will never fail. Remind me that He who began that good work in her is faithful. Remind me that Christ always...always...finishes what He starts. Set my gaze back up...higher than my flesh wants to look...to the One who never fails. Set my anchor more firmly in the bedrock of 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 by telling me that it is God who is faithful and it is God who established Cassie in Christ, and has anointed her and who has also put His seal on her and I both and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

I love to hear encouragement about how Cassie has blessed lives...to hear testimony of what Christ has done it her...I, like every other mom I know, love to hear praise of my girls. But it won't ground me...won't hold my weight when the days are dark. God in Christ will uphold me. And will never fail either of us...not now...and certainly not in 5 short months.

Affliction may be too strong of a word

2009-03-20T08:16:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite parts of Scripture is when Paul shares his heart about the churches in Macedonia in 2 Corinthians 8:1-3...

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord...

That's what came to mind when the girls gave us their gift. They were so giggly...so thrilled to do it...truly bouncing with happiness. And it wasn't just at that moment. They asked us at the beginning of January to see if there was a weekend we could block out this semester and not have any plans those days. Why? we asked. We're not telling, just block it out, okay? Well, we agreed, but have wondered for weeks what the deal was.

Then came the secret meetings in Cassie's room...followed by huge grins as they came out. The almost daily giggles as they'd whisper to each other. But what really touched my heart about all this happened over the weeks of preparation. To give us this gift took hundreds of dollars...from three girls with no real money. Cassie has a job at the church which pays her for about 3 hours a week at minimum wage and babysits when she can. Aisley and Brennan both babysit sporadically. But it's not like they just gave a little off the top. Every time they got money...any money...they'd rush to Cassie's room...laughing, grinning, happy as could be they they could contribute to whatever it was they were planning.

I can't tell you how that blessed me week after week. And to say that it was a "severe test of affliction" is probably overstating it just a bit. But I promise you that it wasn't easy. They don't get allowances...never have. They have lots of wants, mostly aimed at tech stuff which is very expensive. And because we live off of a single paycheck from a public school, there's lots of daily stuff that they live without that a lot of their friends have or places they can't go because there's just no money for it. Which means that every dollar they make is usually pre-spent in their minds. But they gave it all up for us...to bless us. And they didn't do it begrudgingly. They did it with joy...with generosity...with blessing.

What a lesson for me tonight. What am I hoarding for myself because I have no greater vision than how I can throw it away on myself? Isn't there anyone out there that I love more than myself...for whom I would count it a joy...a privilege...to give to them instead of keeping it for me? Isn't there any gratitude in me that would serve to fuel giving? Can't I be like my girls? It's a good, challenging word for me.

Because that overflow didn't come out of their good, little hearts...as if they've got that little something extra. Notice how Paul put it when he wanted to spread the news of what happened in Macedonia. When giving like this occurs, it's because God got involved and poured out grace to them. And He did much more besides give to us...they told me that one of the amazing things about doing this was that they still have money left over. Somehow...some way...and they're not really sure how...God gave them abundantly more than they could have asked for...or even imagined. What a God we serve! I love that in giving this to us, He also gave them a really good lesson in how generous He can be when we pour out our lives for others. They all spoke in wonder that it happened the way it did.

How I praise Him tonight for His care of us all as Wayne and I make plans. I love that He put this in their hearts. I love that I'll be getting away with Wayne for the first time since our honeymoon almost 20 years ago! (The girls thought that was pretty pathetic...funny moment...I think they're resolved to do a couple of things differently in their own marriages!) I love that through it all, He reminded me that He owns everything and can move everything...we need only obey with joy. I love that He loves my girls enough to give them this message this early. I pray for this good seed to bear much fruit for them in their lives. What a difference three women who love to give away their lives can make on this world for the Kingdom. And if they'd like to do it by sending their Mom and Dad on vacation every now and then? Icing. Really, really sweet icing.

A grateful mama

2009-03-18T20:55:00.003-05:00

Brennan, Cassie and Aisley with little Emma Kate

I love my girls. They make me laugh. They tell great stories. When they all start laughing together at the dinner table? There's nowhere in the world I'd rather be. They also love others well. I hear so often from others how helpful one of them has been. How joyous they were in serving. How quick they were to jump in. It is music to my ears to hear that they are showing off Christ so well in their world.

But if you're a mom, you know how it can be. You get more of the laughter than anyone else hears. But you also tend to see more of them when they are really tired...or really ticked off...or really...well...sinful. We're not different as parents (which explains why we can be snapping their heads off one minute and then answer the phone with a cheerful hello the next, right?). They may get our best, but too often what we say to our kids, we'd never say to someone else...at least not in that tone! There's something about being at home that tends to make us feel like we can just let loose. We're so careful with others...but not those who live closest to us.

No wonder that sometimes the home can be the place where service in the name of Christ is found least. Wayne and I have wanted that to be different and have had lots of conversations about it over the years. But we're no better at it than anyone else, but we long to try...to have hearts to serve our girls with the same intentionality that we serve those boys in Wayne's life or the women in mine.

But today I learned this lesson in a way we don't usually think of...from my girls. Today they gave us the gift of a weekend away...on them. Hotel room...envelopes with money for meals and gas and an extra envelope we've never had in our house..."Fun!" It came with instructions that said if we bring home any money, they'll lock us out of the house. Hilarious.

They wrote a note to explain. It's not for Christmas or anniversary or either of our birthdays they said...

...we're thankful for the representation of Christ in the home we have grown up in...You've both blessed us in countless ways and we'd like to try and show you a little blessing of our own! You work so hard to make sure that we are raised in the best and most God-like way and for that we know we are blessed! We love you so much!

Yes. I cried and cried. But I say this to you not only just to publicly thank them for thinking of us and showering us with love...but also to encourage you that God gives two unbelievable graces in our kids...really short memories and the ability to forgive their parents' sins. There have been countless times where we have needed both. But aren't little ones a model to us of this? We turn on them in frustration and five minutes later have them run to us with joy to show us something they've just discovered. Or you're whole attitude just screams when is bedtime! But instead of walking away harmed, they just lean in a little closer to snuggle...or even sweeter, wrap their arms around you and say Sorry, Mama. And I'm cut to the bone from the conviction of the Lord.

God gives us an amazing gift when He gives us kids...time for us to grow up as they grow. Your toddlers will remember almost nothing of our day to day activities...only big moments. It's not until they're much older that they will be able to remember whole conversations. So, those moments when you felt such guilt for your words, attitude, actions which fell so far short of what you know you could have given the Savior? There's such grace waiting for you. Turn around. Just say you're sorry and stand once more for Him. He will do such a good work in both you and your kids.

I've got a little more gratitude within me, but I'll start another post for that one.

I love free stuff

2009-03-14T08:04:00.001-05:00

Here are a few of the really amazing offers going on around the web:

Justin Taylor over at Between Two Worlds wrote about a project called Page CXVI. They have taken hymns and remixed them with an Indie Rock sound that is wonderful. I greatly enjoyed listening to them last night. The best news is that right now you can download seven of their hymns for free. At the top of the website page you can preview the music.

This month amazingly the people over at the ESV Study Bible site are making all of the content available for free for everyone. If you own a print version of this Bible you can access this content with the code that came with the Bible. But for all of March everyone can see all of the amazing note, articles, maps, and other features that make this Bible so amazing. You can also listen to any of it while you study.

But here's the best part of what the ESV offers online. There is another site to access the Bible online by going through the publisher. And here is my favorite part...from this site you can download audio files of an text of Scripture free...whether you want a passage, single verse, or an entire book. This has been unbelievably helpful to me when I've been reading lately. I find I can really focus hard on the text when I'm reading along with someone else. And I'm seeing more in it than ever! I love it. And yes. They know you can do this!

To do it...just go to this site...click the "options" button...under audio options click whichever MP3 option you'd like. I am really enjoying David Cochran Heath which is the second option. Click save and type in the search bar whatever Scripture you'd like. I'm headed there to do 1 Peter 1. Right click on the word (Listen) and a small window should pop with the option to "Save link as..." Click that and save it wherever you have your music files under the Scripture reference. Repeat for however many you want! I've always wanted to be able to listen to Scripture on my iPod but could never afford to...now I can have whatever I want when I want it. Fantastic.

For an even more comprehensive list of what else ESV offers for free just click here. And don't worry...Justin Taylor is an editor for Crossway and the managing editor of the ESV Study Bible.

Last but not least, Christian Audio's free download of the month is Don Whitney's Spriritual Disciplines. He covers everything from reading and prayer to worship and fasting to silence and stewardship...with more between. It's a fantastic book that is full of practical wisdom for incorporating Christ in more areas of our lives. I've greatly enjoyed it.

Not quite how Piper puts it

2009-03-13T07:37:00.002-05:00

Lacrae's version of gutsy guilt:

Gutsy guilt

2009-03-12T05:36:00.003-05:00

I want to linger a little more on the glorious truth of Romans 8:1 that I mentioned in the last post. How is it when we sin that no matter how deep, persistent or heinous those sins may be, God could still look with favor on us? How do we use that knowledge to rise up from our sins ready to fight the good fight of faith? How can we use it when people look down on us for our sins? How do we proclaim Christ instead of ourselves when we fight off sin in our lives?

"Gutsy guilt" is a Piper term I learned in his book, When I Don't Desire God. He puts it like this in a sermon on Romans 8:1 (emphasis mine)...

Now that is a picture of how to think and act when you sin against your Father whose whole disposition toward you is almighty mercy and omnipotent love. He will not always handle you gently. But he will always love you. And always be for you and not against you.

So we take our sins seriously. We hate them. We see them as a contradiction of who we are in Christ and a contradiction of our Father's love. We confess our sins (1 John 1:9). We look to the cross where all our pardon and righteousness was fully secured. We accept the Father's displeasure and discipline, and may dwell in darkness for a season. But if our enemy rejoices and says to us in our night of sorrow, "See, God is against you. He is angry. You are guilty and under his condemnation," then we will say, with the authority of Romans 8:1 and on the basis of Jesus Christ's death and righteousness, and in the words of Micah 7:
"Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise;
Though I dwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.
I will bear the indignation of the Lord
Because I have sinned against Him,
Until He pleads my case and executes justice for me.
He will bring me out to the light, And I will see His righteousness."

That is what I mean by gutsy guilt. I know of no other way to persevere in the Christian life in view of our constant failings - no other way to stay married for Christ's sake, to rear children, and be single and chaste, and maintain hope and fruitfulness in ministry, than this gutsy guilt: When I fall I will rise . . . though I have sinned, the very one against whom I have sinned will plead my case and execute justice for me - not against me, but FOR me! Oh, love this gospel, [Church]! Love and live this gospel!

The question is whether we will live the gospel. We must believe...finally and fully...that Christ really did all that was necessary to appease the wrath, displeasure, disappointment, despising of God. On our bad days when sin seems to reign over us we must hold firmly that God is not against us. When we have those rare good days when we seek Him, we must believe in our hearts that we've not added to the righteousness of Christ.

Christ is our righteousness! Not our good works. We can never replace what Christ has done. We can never undo what Christ has done. Say it to yourself...over and over. Say with John Bunyan...My righteousness is in heaven...the same yesterday, today and forever! Listen to John Piper once more from the same sermon...

So I say it again: what God wants us to understand from Romans 8:1 when he says through the apostle Paul, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus," is that all of God's condemning wrath and all of his omnipotent opposition against us in our sin has been entirely replaced by almighty mercy and omnipotent assistance. In Christ Jesus God is always for you. Always! This is where Paul is going in Romans 8. He gets there in verse 31 and says, "What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us!" His point is that in Christ Jesus "no condemnation" means that God is always omnipotently for us and not against us. Always!

Hold on to that truth. Rejoice in it. Exalt it. Love it. Live it today.

You're just not that special

2009-03-11T09:11:00.009-05:00

One of the most disabling deceptions that Satan perpetrates over the church is being revealed in so many women around me. And I am not immune. How is it that we can be in a crowd of people committed to our Savior and still feel so alone?

In large part I'm coming to see that it is because we all believe that where we are is unique to us. No one struggles with the things we struggle with. No one would believe it if we told them the truth of who we are. No one would stand with us if they knew...I mean, really knew...who we were.

What if they knew about...

the apathy that fills you each Sunday morning during worship?
the fact that you haven't been one on one with God in a decade? Or two?
the bitterness you still feel at the loss of a loved one?
the unbelief that leaves you questioning what everyone else seems to grasp so easily?
the fact that you say I'll pray for you almost every day and can't remember it five minutes after you leave them?
the fear you have not for yourself but what God might do to your children?
the envy that fills your heart for what God's given another?
the marriage that feels more dead than alive?
the fact that you've been a Christian for decades but have never...never...even tried to learn His Word?
the deep despair you feel about yawning blackness that stays only just off to the side but threatens to pull you under every day?
how hard you work, hoping to earn just a little favor for God...while knowing all along that it'll never be enough?
the fact that you don't even give God a thought really as you go about your day?

And through it all, the loneliness grips you even among friends who love you because no one struggles like you. So, you go through the motions of life. Asking the same question and getting the same answer...Hi. How are you? Good. How 'bout you? Good. And you walk away once more knowing deep within you that she is good, but you lied. Oh, how Satan would love for you to believe it.

But the truth is you are not alone. Nothing you're going through is any different than what we all struggle with. I mean it. But I'm not sure I can convince you. I've learned that even if I shared every struggle I've ever had, you'd probably say that I overcame it, but you never will. Or I may have felt it a little, but I have no idea how bad it is in you. Or you'll just flat out deny it because you've never seen it in my life. Even if I share that I'm going through the very same thing you are right now, you'll have confidence that I'll get through it, but leave still knowing that you never will.

So, let me see if I can convince you from His Word that you are just not that special...that the way you are is not something new to God...that the way you're wired or what you're going through is something that He's already made provision for.

First read this with me...

None is righteous,
no, not one;
no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
All have turned aside;
together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.
Romans 3:10-12

Your sinfulness is not a shock to God. Frankly, you have no idea how bad you really are. It is one of His manifold graces that He doesn't reveal all that we are in one huge lump for we, like Isaiah, would be undone. What has been revealed about you isn't any different than what resides in me. When you look at another and say that no one could possibly understand your sinfulness, your shortfalls, your struggles...you deny this very truth. You are one amongst us. A sinner. Saved by grace alone.

Again...

No temptation has overtaken you
that is not common to man.
God is faithful,
and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability,
but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape,
that you may be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13

It's just common, ordinary temptation. And it's common to all mankind. Everyone battles. Everyone has to fight. No one gets a pass. Not you. Not me. Not Paul...

For I do not understand my own actions.
For I do not do what I want,
but I do the very thing I hate.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh.
For I have the desire to do what is right,
but not the ability to carry it out.
For I do not do the good I want,
but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.
Romans 7:15, 18-19

Sound familiar? But are you dismissing Paul like you'd dismiss me? Don't you know that God wrote these Words so that you would find help in time of need? He didn't have to inspire Paul to write about his own personal struggles. What was written was for your sake as an example for you to persevere in the faith...to know that you are not alone. If an apostle struggled? One who'd seen Jesus face to face? Well then, you and I can be sure that it will happen to us.

So, how did Paul fight through it? Just know that it's common and keep trying harder? No, no, no. He did what Micah and Jeremiah taught him to do from the Scriptures he had learned. But now he could do it in a cross-centered way...

Wretched man that I am!
Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Romans 7:24

He knows that he is the lowest of the low. He knows that nothing good dwells within him. He knows that he will have to fight for the rest of his life to resist temptation. And he knows he'll never win on his own. What can he do? What hope does he have? His very next words reveal the secret...

Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!
There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 7:25a, 8:1

Believe it? It's His Word. Who's right...Him or you? You stand before the throne as a justified sinner. You are not yet what you will be. But you are not what you were. And you do not stand alone. The rest of the body stands with you at the foot of the cross having no righteousness of our own. We are all equal there both in our sin...and in the grace to withstand our sin.

It is the truth that we must walk in when we speak to one another. We need to say when declaring our own sin...I know you'll understand that I'm struggling to have the faith to believe that God can get me through this. Pray for me that I won't fall.

And if they do react in a way that makes you feel stupid, alone or far from grace? Walk away uncondemned and find another. They haven't changed the truth. And don't walk away angry with them. Have compassion. Remember to keep in mind that you are just like them as you know they are just like you. They just don't know it yet. They will fall one day. Be ready to meet them with the truth that will bring them hope.

And we need to say when someone shares with us their sin...Of course, I understand. I'm just like you. But I can see the way through it. Take my hand. I'll help you to walk. We'll get through this together in Christ.

No gasps. No shocked faces. Just a deep, deep awareness that we are them...and would be stuck in the mire with them today, if not for His grace. If you can see, help someone who's blind. And if you are blind, find someone who's been given some sight. After a while, we'll all be standing together...hand in hand...until we all attain to the unity of the faith...to mature manhood...no longer deceived by the craftiness of schemes to keep us believing that we are alone in the fight for faith.

Lord, I want to be out of breath for You

2009-03-09T12:34:00.005-05:00

Oh, what a message this little trailer carries. I would love to attend the conference it promotes, but that's not why I want you to see this. It will resonate with you. I promise.

Can you feel yourself right with them? Living your life...riding along...doing the next thing next. But we have inside of us a treasure, a hope of glory. We were made to know...let us press on to know...the Lord. And we don't need a conference invitation. He invites us to meet Him again right here, right now, right where you are, reading this. He has not changed. He is the same, yesterday, today and forever.

And He waits for you...not to punish you. He did that to His Son.
He waits for you...not to afflict you. He did that to His Son.
He waits for you...not to despise you. He did that to His Son.
He waits for you...not to wound you or to crush you. He did that to His Son.

He waits for you...to be gracious to you.
He waits for you...has exalted Himself for you...to show you mercy.

So, let's run to Him. Let's return to Him. Let's renew our passion for Him. Let's recall Him to mind and find hope and rest for our souls.

Took a second for this one to click

2009-03-08T08:14:00.002-05:00

And then it was so funny. If it takes you a minute to see the humor, focus on the score at the end.

I can't tell you how many times we've been watching some sporting event, usually football, when a guy breaks out into dance (and sometimes song and dance) after a play. If you're sitting beside Wayne you'll hear a disgusted mutter...Come on. Act like you've done it before.

We love to see guys who don't think a tackle is worthy of an Academy Award or one sack out of 75 attempts is newsworthy. Hilarious to see it so very vividly portrayed...and he's celebrating over PING-PONG! Down here in Texas, that's not a sport...that's not even a game. It's a...I don't even know what. A thing you send the kids to play so the grown-ups can talk sort of thing. Takes a real secure guy to dance after a ping-pong point...especially point one.

Worry free

2009-03-07T08:34:00.005-06:00

Me with Katharine and Emma Kate

What a joy it was to have the Williams (minus Lauren and Henry) with us this past weekend. It was so much fun to see the girls play together. It was encouraging to hear how God is working in the lives of those faithful, excited saints at Christ Chapel. It was sweet to sit next to them again in worship and under the Word. It was full of reminders of how far the Lord can take you in four short years...which was a reminder to me to press on to see how much He might be willing to do in four more.

Katharine is a real gift to me. She's running right with me. She's passionate...loving...encouraging...willing to be open to what the Lord might do at any time in any way. I found myself sad yesterday that we're not right beside each other every day...and grateful all at the same time that I had any time at all with her. She and another couple of friends are those that I can just be with... unremarkable except to love each other. Just walking buddies. I treasure them.

It was also good to sit with Katharine and talk about kids, husbands, friends, life, the Word, prayer, schedules, family and to talk about God in all of it. I love it so much because Katharine has a real gift for being able to pull God lessons out of daily stuff. She sees so often how we are or should be or should not be by watching her kids and mine. I love it!

One example from the airport. We got them to DFW right at the time the plane was supposed to takeoff. Usually a bad idea. Not that day. Her mom had called to tell us to check the weather because Atlanta was experiencing terrible weather...snow, rain, sleet, back to snow. Lots of flights canceled...many more delayed including theirs. So, instead of 5:30pm departure, we're at 6:15pm. Until about an hour into the drive to the airport when it was changed to 7:30pm with no let up in sight. Yeah! was what I was thinking. More time with Katharine is always a gift from my Lord. Sorry, John was the other thought. I knew he'd have to be at the office to see patients at 8am regardless of what kind of night they had.

We're in no hurry when we arrive and but the lines are pretty long at the ticket counter. We get them settled in through the downstairs curb-side check in pretty quickly (thank you, Lord for that idea!) but by that time the flight's been moved to 10:30pm!! That means that they'll arrive back in their home town by about 4am. Oh. Sigh...but...that does mean we can leave and get dinner!! Again, if you've gotta be stuck, it's good to be with people you love.

By the time dinner's complete and we're back at the airport we still have a couple of hours to kill...with a small child in tow and Brennan brought nothing to pass the time except a book. What to do? Not even a concern for those two. Emma Kate and Brennan had the best time together. They tossed rolled-up socks to each other and played a soccer-style game after that. Emma Kate performed cheers and tumbling for her adoring audience. They flew paper airplanes of four different types (I love my husband.) for what seemed like an hour. They made sock puppets out of other socks and markers. (What's the cost of a pair of socks for a time like this?) They spun in circles...rolled across the floor...played chase...crawled everywhere... and giggled, giggled, giggled.

Throwing airplanes

After a while of us talking and watching, Katharine leaned over and quietly talked to me about what she saw. Never once did EK seem bothered...put out...bored...worried. She was thrilled to be where she was. She was with her family and friends. If they're okay, she's okay. She wasn't worried about schedules. How she'd do the next morning at school. All that she needed to get done. She was fine being where she was until her dad said Come on. It's time to go.

I know you see it already. Katharine did. We need to be like that with our Father, don't we? Settled in...right where He has us. Not worried about what's to come or whether we're in the right place at the right time. Happy to do what we're made to do...wherever we are...with whatever we've got. I need to show the same trust in God that EK showed in her parents. He's got it, doesn't He? He knows what to do. He can move anyone at anytime to do anything. And I've got stuff to do, don't I? Learn His Word, love His people, display the Kingdom, call to the dying. None of that includes worrying about the trip. Yeah. A good one for me.

We both sighed together...hummed our agreement...settled that truth a little more deeply inside for a quiet moment...and turned to another topic. But I carried it with me as I drove home so Wayne could sleep. I settled into the drive...into the morning...into my week a little better because Katharine saw God through a child's laugh.

Miss you.

Why stop at 25

2009-03-06T15:04:00.000-06:00

Yes. I'm on facebook. And if you can see me here then you already know that. If you can't and can relate to this video...feel free to send a friend request. If you find yourself laughing in recognition? Seriously. Find another friend. Cassie would love you.

I just want to know when a pallet is headed my way

2009-03-06T09:11:00.003-06:00

The problem with large numbers especially when it comes to money is that it all seems so fake. When the news tosses around thoughts like "the stimulus package may exceed $8 trillion"...what are we supposed to do about that? Most of us have proved that we can't handle the $50,000 that we get paid much less something that's 20,000,000 times that. Then there's all those fantastic people in Washington who can't manage to pay their taxes even though they are the ones who passed those IRS codes into law. Seriously.

So, how do we get a handle on what a trillion dollars looked like? Well, around here we use a cash system for a lot of our purchases...just save up some money and literally hand it over in cash. (The look on their faces is so much fun to watch. You can really tell that cash is a disappearing commodity.) I say that not so you'll figure out where we are and rob us blind...though Hebrews 10:34 comes to mind...but to tell you that I know what a lot of cash looks like. (Well, a lot to us anyway.) But even our yearly salary bundled in hundred dollar bills would only stack about 2 1/2 inches high. Kind of puts everything in perspective. All we work for doesn't stack very high. And even if we work and work and work for 100 years straight, you'd have about 4 stacks all of about five feet high. A little disheartening frankly.

This was brought sharply into focus this morning with this post by Justin Taylor who found it from a guy...who found it from a guy, etc. I've seen it on several spots, but it never fails to startle. Click here to see what it looks like when those folks in Washington toss around figures like one trillion dollars.

Can I take my pallet home please? Half a pallet? One stack? Please?

We're going to be in the Hudson

2009-03-02T10:49:00.004-06:00

One last post (probably!) on the Hudson River landing. The video below is an animated reproduction of the flight with audio from the cockpit. Amazing to see what it was like to watch it happen and to hear the calmness in the voices of those involved.

For what it was like inside, see my posting of Andrew Jamison.

HT: A Boomer in the Pew

I hate thank you cards

2009-02-26T13:53:00.012-06:00

But sometimes I really do get why people send them. Sometimes you just overflow with gladness. You've told them, but it lingers even after they've left. But I'll say it again, I hate thank you cards. The obligation...the one-more-thing-I've-got-to-do feeling...the same words to everyone (They even have pre-printed cards!! Dear ______, Thank you so much for the _________. I'll use it every day! Love, _______ SERIOUSLY bad.). Please know when it comes to thanking me just say thanks. I can't stand the thought that because I did something for someone, they now have this task hanging over them.

But Paul didn't hate them. John didn't hate them. (No, Cassie...not the Beatles. You know...the Apostles? Jesus' friends? Yeah. Now you're with me.) They delighted to write to people about how grateful they were for them. Like they couldn't wait to do it. So there must be something to it. Perhaps...just maybe...their hearts were overflowing with wonder, love and praise. Maybe...just possibly...their words weren't forced but raced across the page as tears of gratitude to their Savior flowed. You think? So, maybe...just the slimmest chance...the problem isn't the cards, but my heart which is so lacking in thanksgiving that I fail at Psalm 145:43...to consider the wonder of God's steadfast faithfulness shown in the marvelous works to the children of men.

Well, given that my heart is overflowing now, let it not be so today. In that light, here's my takeoff on two guys who really got it right in Philemon 1:7 and Philippians 4:10-20 to some people who really blessed me today...

I rejoiced and marveled in the Lord greatly this afternoon that now after so short a time you have revived your concern for me. Not that I should be speaking of being in need, for I am painfully and joyfully learning in whatever situation I am to be content. I long to know how to be brought low, and...even more difficult to learn...I long to know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I pray God will teach me the secret of facing being able to eat out one day and having no money to go to HEB for milk the next week, being able to buy a truck one month and not being able to even host friends for dinner. But I know...deep inside, I know...I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
But even though what you gave was extra...just icing really on what God is already doing in our lives...it was so kind of you to think about us...to be moved to share my trouble. And you, our brother and sister in Christ, you yourselves know that in the middle of football season, when I was so very low, no one else saw me...really saw me and felt moved to enter into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in during the holidays you sent me help for my needs once and again.
Not that I seek the gift (though feel free to keep me in mind anytime the Spirit moves!), but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied (overflowing actually), having received from you the gifts you brought over, which will be a fragrant offering (when cooked anyway!), a sacrifice, acceptable and pleasing to God. And how amazing is it that my God and yours will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus so that you may abound in more good works from love for Him. To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.
P.S. I can not tell you how much joy and comfort fill my heart from your love, my friends, because the hearts of my girls have been refreshed through you. That means more to me than I could ever say.

Thanks for helping today.
It meant to me that I was seen. Nothing brings me to tears faster than that.
I love you, too.

Update on the last post

2009-02-24T08:32:00.007-06:00

ESPN picked up the story and gives us a look at those involved with the game between DeKalb and Milwaukee Madison...

A good loss for one who lost

2009-02-21T02:47:00.001-06:00

You know by now that I love sports stories. But only the stories that make me cry! There's a lot of yuck in sports at any level. Coaches who go too far. Players who couldn't care less about anyone but themselves. Fans who act like the 4th quarter is real life and worth destroying the reputation of Jesus Christ for.

But then there are those stories I read of kids who step beyond the game to show that life is what happens off the court and that relationships will always matter more than the score. I love those and the one below is a good one. If you want to read a couple of others I've posted check out the ones here and here and the video in this post.

And yes, Angela, I really do love this and believe it even though we tell our girls to make sure their opponents feel their presence on the court...and I mean feel their presence. After all, that's why they give you five fouls, right?

Amid the grieving, a rare act of sportsmanship
Associated Press

The coach never considered any other option.
It didn't matter that his DeKalb, Ill., High School basketball team had ridden a bus two and a half hours to get to Milwaukee, then waited another hour past game time to play. Didn't matter that the game was close, or that this was a chance to beat a big city team.
Something else was on Dave Rohlman's mind when he asked for a volunteer to shoot two free throws awarded his team on a technical foul in the second quarter. His senior captain raised his hand, ready to go to the line as he had many times before.
Only this time it was different.
"You realize you're going to miss them, don't you?" Rohlman said.
Darius McNeal nodded his head. He understood what had to be done.
It was a Saturday night in February, and the Barbs were playing a non-conference game on the road against Milwaukee Madison. It was the third meeting between the two schools, who were developing a friendly rivalry that spanned two states.
The teams planned to get together after the game and share some pizzas and soda. But the game itself almost never took place.
Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntel Franklin died at a local hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntel was taking his college ACT exam.
Her son and several of his teammates were at the hospital late that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha Franklin was just 39.
"She was young and they were real close," said Milwaukee coach Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. "He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn't have time to grieve."
Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play they did, even though the game started late and Milwaukee Madison dressed only eight players.
Early in the second quarter, Womack saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was Franklin, who came there directly from the hospital to root his teammates on.
The Knights had possession, so Womack called a time out. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same.
"We got back to playing the game and I asked if he wanted to come and sit on the bench," Womack said during a telephone interview.
"No," Franklin replied. "I want to play."
There was just one problem. Since Franklin wasn't on the pre-game roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul that would give DeKalb two free throws.
Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points. It was more important to help his senior guard and co-captain deal with his grief by playing.
Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn't so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.
"I could hear them arguing for five to seven minutes, saying, `We're not taking it, we're not taking it," Womack said. "The refs told them, no, that's the rule. You have to take them."
That's when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal's hand went up.
He went alone to the free throw line, dribbled the ball a couple of times, and looked at the rim.
His first attempt went about two feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.
It didn't take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on.
They stood and turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.
"I did it for the guy who lost his mom," McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It was the right thing to do."
Franklin would go on to score 10 points, and Milwaukee Madison broke open the game in the second half to win 62-47. Afterward, the teams went out for pizza, two players from each team sharing each pie.
Franklin stopped by briefly, thankful that his team was there for him.
"I got kind of emotional but it helped a lot just to play," he said. "I felt like I had a lot of support out there."
Carlitha Franklin's funeral was last Friday, and the school turned out for her and her son. Cheerleaders came in uniform, and everyone from the principal and teachers to Johntel's classmates were there.
"Even the cooks from school showed up," Womack said. "It lets you know what kind of kid he is."
Basketball is a second sport for the 18-year-old Franklin, who says he has had some scholarship nibbles and plans to play football in college. He just has a few games left for the Knights, who are 6-11 and got beat 71-36 Tuesday night by Milwaukee Hamilton.
It hasn't been the greatest season for the team, but they have stuck together through a lot of adversity.
"We maybe don't have the best basketball players in the world but they go to class and take care of business," Womack said. "We have a losing record but there's life lessons going on, good ones."
None so good, though, as the moment a team and a player decided there were more important things than winning and having good stats.
Yes, DeKalb would go home with a loss. But it was a trip they'll never forget.
"This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime," Rohlman said. "They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they'll remember what happened in that gym that night."

When a plane goes down

2009-02-20T13:20:00.005-06:00

Don't we all think about it? What would it be like to be involved in a crash? What would we do? What would we say to those around us? When the trial of imminent death arrives what will it reveal inside of us?

Andrew Jamison got to find out and provides a strong Christian witness for the presence and peace of Christ in that moment.

Andrew was aboard US Airways Flight 1549 that crash landed in the Hudson River. He's a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association and did an interview with them that you can listen to at the CMDA website. He admits to the fears that came mostly after the crash with the water filling the plane. It's amazing to listen to him speak of what it was like to live through it.

They also speak very candidly about how this has been used by God to grow them both personally. They talk about assurance of salvation...the sovereignty of God...worry about loved ones traveling...trusting in God for all things...and just about the way God pulls us to exactly the place he wants us to be to know Him better.

And there's even a connection to our little town of Temple. He and his wife, Jennifer, are both 4th year medical residents at Medical University of South Carolina and are doing their matches right now in dermatology and family medicine. They mention in the early part of the interview that Temple, TX is one of the places they've traveled to before this fateful flight. Maybe they'll end up sitting beside some of us someday, worshiping together at TBC. If so, I'll be so glad to be able to tell him that I praised my God today because of his testimony!

HT: Ligon Duncan writing at Reformation 21

You might be a redneck if...

2009-02-20T12:43:00.005-06:00

I really will get back to serious stuff! But for now, I'm needing some levity and God's providing...

Redneck Seafood

HT: The Blazing Center

For Patti

2009-02-19T11:30:00.002-06:00

Looking in the mirror

2009-02-18T06:27:00.005-06:00

Part 2

Yeah. Keep a close watch on yourself. Not someone else. I knew I should have turned it off then. But I was caught and I could feel it. No sense wriggling when the hook is set, you know?

Matt pointed out what he called the bookends of the chapter. At the front end you have the understanding that there will be those around you that are not believers, who will come and go in the church. At the other end is Paul's summary exhortation to Timothy that there is a way to live and preach the gospel that will as Paul says save yourself and your hearers. And in between instead of a bunch of things to tell them or to do for them, there are a list of instructions for Timothy. The focus is on us.

Here's the heart of what I received from his message...italicized sentences are Matt's...

Verse 6: Be trained in the gospel ~
Getting the gospel right matters. And mostly we have to distinguish between what the gospel is and what morality is. When we teach people what to do and how to live without the foundation of Christ crucified what you’ve done at best is restrain the hearts of people, but you won’t see their hearts transformed. If you don’t get the gospel right, you will inoculate your people to Jesus. You give them just enough of Him to never know Him. The gospel matters.

Translation: If we don't stop focusing on how people behave and focus them on what Christ has done, we will give them enough of Jesus to make them think they know Him, when all they will know is a how-to and how-not-to list that will never get them to the cross. We must give them Jesus. Let it stir up your affections. We must be experts in the gospel. Give them the cross so that when they see Him they not only recognize Him, but praise Him rightly.

When doctrine fades, worship fades. Seeing God rightly stirs the affections of the soul. If you see Him wrongly then even with affections stirred...to this clarify this, Matt gave a great analogy:

Let's say I just feel really stirred up toward my wife. I don't know what did it. I just know that all of a sudden I love that woman. So I walk into our house and she's sitting on the couch...and I get down on my knees in front of her and just grab hold of her and tell her, "Baby, I just love you so much. I mean my heart hurts, I love you so much. I don't know if it's your black hair or your deep, brown eyes...but I am crazy about you."

And some of you may go, "Well, that's really sweet of you Chandler." And it would be really sweet...except my wife is a blond and she has blue eyes...so it's going to go bad for me.

Seeing God rightly leads to us being transformed...leads to humility...leads to godliness.

God's already been working on me in this area. As I'm teaching through When I Don't Desire God, Piper is hammering this point right now. We must know the difference between justification and sanctification. We must know how to fight the good fight in a way that doesn't take the grace out of the gospel and replace it with all the stuff we do. Our goal must be to continue to follow Paul's example of being resolved to know nothing but Christ and Him crucified.

Especially in my home with the girls this can be so hard. How many times a day do we moms have to correct behavior? Stop hitting that. Eat that. Don't eat that. Don't say that. Say that. Don't touch that. Pick that up. Don't do that. You better do that. Don't jump on that. Don't throw that. Stop. Go. Come here. Come here. Come here! AAAAHHHH! Sorry...flashback to the toddler days...

But at some point as the girls grow in their ability to understand (which is much sooner than we realize) we have to move out of do's and don't's...well, it's not so much move out of them as reveal the undergirding of it all. We have to show them Christ. We have to reveal Him as lovely as He really is...as amazing as He really is...as worthy as He really is...so that there is reason to obey. They have to see the problem of sin in them and in me. They have to understand who they are in that sin so that they can see the cross of Christ as amazing as it really is that God would send His Son to become sin for them...His enemies...while they were still mired in that sin. Christ died to free them to obey. We do it for love of Him, not to gain us anything with Him.

Oh, how hard a message it is to overcome in our kids when we've told them for years what good girls they are...especially when they do good for us. Good girl, Cassie! You cleaned your room! Wow, Brennan! You did great! Then we turn the message on them somewhere (or maybe we'll just let the Sunday school teachers do it!) and try to tell them that they are dreadful sinners in need of saving. And that their good works have earned them nothing but wrath. Hard transition, isn't it?

It hit home to me that I am as guilty as anyone out there at giving my girls morality instead of the gospel...which can leave them with the taste in their mouths that doing matters more than becoming. Oh, how far from the gospel is that message. They must know the heart of their unworthiness of God to feel the impact of the cross rightly.

Understand, I want my girls to know we're proud of them...to be their biggest encouragers...to be the first to cheer and the first to celebrate them. But there must be an undergirding that it is who they are that we delight in not in their performance. I don't want to make wives who need to achieve and want men who will perform rightly for them. I want a generation of homes which permeate the grace of God that is given while we are yet sinners. Who pursue obedience because of His great love...not to earn it. Who stand for right though the heavens fall...not because it's the ticket to God's pleasure but because God is my right.

I can hear Candace in my head...so what's that look like? Well, to start it means focusing on ourselves just as Matt has taught. The problem is what's coming out of me. I need to focus hard on the gospel. I need to understand rightly what happened on that cross. I need a clear picture of Isaiah 6...and Isaiah 50-54...and Ezekiel 16...and Ezekiel 36...and Zechariah 3...and Romans 1-16...and Ephesians 2...Philippians 2...and so many more.

It is not as easy as say this and do that...or stop that and start this...we must be transformed by renewing our minds in the gospel of Christ. We must know ourselves who we were and be amazed at this Christ. We must have a word ready to identify with their sins...to lead them to Jesus. Not to say Jesus doesn't like that. But that Jesus died for that. We must be ready to rejoice when they do any good in this world not because it means they are good little girls, but because it reflects rightly the image of God in us. We must become students of Scripture. We must know, deeply know what it is when we say gospel.

Can you feel it like can that you need work in this area? I've begun by starting a new John Piper book called Finally Alive. You can buy it here...but if, like me, finances aren't available right now, join me in reading it free online. I can't say enough how much I appreciate Desiring God and the fact that almost all of their material is free online. Also, if you just really want the book in your hands, but can't afford it...just call them. They'll let you have it for whatever you can pay. Promise.

The work is not in our words but in our hearts. And I know it. But I can feel myself wriggling on the hook. But this isn't even the hardest hit I took from his message...I know...exhausting isn't it? Now you see why I can't blog when I'm under the knife...

Blogging

2009-02-17T21:38:00.001-06:00

Looking in the mirror

2009-02-17T06:33:00.001-06:00

Part 1

So, Matt steps up to the stage. I already know that he's going to be talking about the shepherd and his unregenerate sheep. I've watched the videos that talked about why Piper chose him to come. I know where I think this talk is going. Basically, he's there to answer the question what do you do about all those around you who say they're sheep, but don't act like it? We've all got those people in our lives down here in Texas. Almost everyone you know goes to one church or another. Or at least they say they do.

I went to jr. high and high school in a town with less than a thousand people in it. But still, there were six churches in town. You could find five more just by driving a few miles down the highway. Most Sundays all across Texas and the rest of the south the churches are filled with people. There may only be 14 people there, but that's because it's in the middle of no where, west Texas. There may be only five houses within 15 miles of it! But they're there...Sunday morning, Sunday evening, Wednesday nights...and if you're really religious, you're there for the business meeting before the service starts.

Down here, almost everyone in the stands on a Friday night would say they were a Christian. Truly. They might be able to name one or two people they know that "don't go to church"...and they'd be able to talk about that strange, white building that went up next to the jr. high. But not them...and not their friends. They're Christians. Unfortunately, too many of those claims for Christianity come from those that are basing it on what happened one summer at VBS or on the fact that their daddy was a deacon and their family has sat on the same pew at church since their great-granddaddy helped build it...see that plaque on the side? Going to church here is simply...what you do.

I heard Don Carson last night say...

The rising secularization...does not mean the diminishing of religion...secularization does not shut down religion. What it does is shift it to the periphery of life so that you can be ever so religious as long as it doesn't matter...so long as it's a just private thing...so that if anybody wants to say that their religion ought to change how people think and act and live, what laws should be passed and the like...No! No! No! You mustn't do that!

This is an attitude Matt Chandler knows too well in the Dallas area. He starts with the story of how he got to where he is at The Village. A funny, sad, angry story. At the end of it he says...

In December of 2002, despite my anger towards evangelicals, I became the pastor of a church of evangelicals in what Christianity Today called the “center of the evangelical world.” Despite the fact that my heart had always burned for the prodigal, God sent me to the older brother.

A little pang there. Isn't that true? Too often I'm just like the older brother in that story, wanting to know where my piece of the pie is. Not concerned, not burning with desire for the lost. Just sitting back at home, feeling proud of myself for keeping the faith, wanting my goat to throw a party for my friends. Yeah. Little pain there. I needed that.

But...onto those sheep...what about them? I'm ready. What's he going to tell us to do? How do you talk to them? How can I break through to those around me? How do you convince someone that they're not a believer when they think they are? Should you even try? I wait pen in hand for him to get started.

He tells us he's going to 1 Timothy 4. Really? I'm thinking. I start reviewing what I know of that chapter...don't let anyone think less of you because you're young...set an example...keep a close watch...on yourself. Uh-oh. I don't like where this is going. Yeah. I was right. I didn't like where he was going. But it's good.

Giggling in the dark

2009-02-16T13:48:00.008-06:00

I mentioned that I was recovering from surgery. My Mom informed me not to do this without being abundantly clear that I was talking about "spiritual" surgery and not in a hospital somewhere, lying in a bed, unable to CALL YOUR MOTHER!! Yep. We moms can get a little emotional over our little ones...even when the little one is 40 years old.

So, no...to clear up any confusion. I'm not recovering from any cutting on my body. But I am healing from some good surgery God did on my soul to sever some more flesh from the spirit he's sanctifying in me. And He got started while I was watching this talk from Matt Chandler. Before I post about his talk, let me tell you why all my girls were excited he had been asked to the conference.

Matt (May I call you Matt? Thanks.) has been used by God in an amazing way here in the Ransleben household. Brennan listens to him almost nightly. This came after months of trying to figure out how to settle her mind on truth as she lay in bed night after night, filled with anxiety...from what? You'll have to name it...because mostly she can't. Maybe it's something coming the next day. Maybe it's something happening 6 months from now. Maybe it's something that may never happen. But somewhere in that darkened room her fears would rise and her mind would race and the tears would fall. Night after night.

Then one night last summer, I was sleeping next to her in a hotel room and wasn't tired though I knew we had to turn the lights out for the girls. Don't you hate that moment? Well, I had come prepared with my iPod loaded with sermons. As we lay together in the dark, it was obvious she wasn't able to settle. We talked for a while about what might be concerning her...talked again about trusting the Lord...about talking to Him. I asked if she might like to listen to this guy I was listening to. He's pretty funny and was speaking about his kids which I thought she might like.

She pretty reluctantly agreed but soon started smiling along with me as we lay with our faces near each other, holding on to each other in the darkened room. Then giggles from her which, of course, caused her sisters to rise up to see what's going on. That made her relax even more. Mom and she shared a secret. Giggle, giggle. Her whole body sank into sleep as she listened because though Matt starts funny, interesting and even sarcastic and self-depreciating, it's not long before the truth of what he's saying penetrates deeply to the root of where I am turning from God. If you're like us, your body and mind quiet while the truth of God settles inside.

He's passionate about the Lord. His theology matches mine. His sarcasm makes me look kind. And his stories show that truth matters in real life. My kind of preacher.

Since that night, Brennan has gone to bed with earphones plugged in. She listens to the sermon from that first night over and over. She can literally quote most of it. But now she's heard almost everything he's ever said. She brings up the sermons when talking about life. She remembers them when she reads the Word. She tells me his points as well as her favorite lines as we drive together. But more than that, being under the Word through his teaching has settled the nights for her. As she listens, her mind shuts out the fears and fills with the Word. How grateful do you think I am for the gift of Matt Chandler to the church?

If you'd like to give him a listen click the link to the right under "Favorite People To Listen To". Brennan's favorite one is from 6.01.08 called "From Childish to Childlike". And when you get to the line, "That's old school, baby!"...think of her! That starts her laughing every time.

Another must hear is the series called The Cross (Parts 1-6). This was given between March and April of 2007. I can't recommend it strongly enough. I told this to Cassie shortly after Brennan began listening daily. She, I'm sure, thought like she always did when I tell her she's got to read this, listen to this, see this...Sure, Mom...whatever. I say it a lot. But she downloaded it to take on the Ukraine trip last summer with Wayne. She told me she thought she'd listen to them like Brennan does to go to sleep. Funny.

She griped at me when she got back for two reasons. First, she never got to sleep. How could I when they were so amazing?? And second, why didn't you tell me how great they were??? Everyone should listen to this!! I just said I was sorry. What can you do?

As I read back over this, you might get the impression that he's just a really good sleep aid! Promise that's not true. Even when Brennan does go to sleep during one, she immediately goes back to the last thing she remembers and starts from there. You won't want to miss anything he's teaching.

So, even though he is generally used to flay me open, I'm grateful...oh, so grateful...for the gift of teaching through Matt. Take a listen sometime and let me know if you agree. Tomorrow I'll let you know what I learned from 1 Timothy 4.

Wedding cake #1

2009-02-15T14:53:00.002-06:00

And hopefully the last. I'm not cut out for the pressure of a bride on her wedding day. Fortunately, she was happy with it. So for all of you who care...though why you would other than to have a chuckle, I'll never know...

Let's work on our parking, shall we?

2009-02-14T17:09:00.001-06:00

I know. I'm encouraging demeaning stereotypes. But given that I've driven with a lot of my friends...yes, you...there's a reason these things become well known. Here's just a few examples of why it's important to me to teach my girls how to drive well.

Heads up

2009-02-14T09:57:00.000-06:00

Sometimes I think of things that I wish I had known as a young mom. This is one of them, though it falls on the lighter side of parenting. And yes, I know that I mentioned it here before, but it bears repeating...

Be careful about doing things two times in a row for your kids, especially on holidays.

Anything two times in a row.

Sometimes you'll mean to. You've got something that you're longing to impart to them so you start doing something special around Christmas or their birthday. I promise that if you do, it's stuck. It doesn't take much. But sometimes, you won't mean to. You won't even remember what you did last year. But they will.

That's why tonight the girls are getting helium balloons and chocolate for Valentine's Day. Not because there was some grand plan to teach them something profound about love...but because one night at about 11pm on the day before Valentine's, Wayne and I remember that we had NOTHING to give the girls the next morning. Thus a trip to Wal-Mart's decimated aisles where we got the only things left...balloons and chocolate. They loved it so much that we remembered the balloons the next year. And who doesn't do chocolate. But that was years ago. You'd think they'd clamor for something better now. But no. Last week I overheard them talking to each other.

Can't wait to get my balloon, said Brennan.
And chocolate, said Aisley.
Yeah and remember we get a gift card, too, Brennan added.

A gift card? When did I throw that in? I ask.
Mom. Seriously. I hear back. You always get us a gift card.
Mom, the other adds, you know that. She's just being funny.

Well, no. I wasn't. But thinking back...sure enough...for the last couple of years we've gotten them various gift cards because frankly I'm tired of the junk that accumulates in my house and at least Chik-fil-a is consumable. Also, that's the only way they'd ever get Starbucks from me because there is something about paying $4 for a drink that rubs me wrong!

So there you have it. Balloons, chocolate and gift cards. Now the trick is to figure out some amazingly deep spiritual analogy that will make them think of Christ instead of consumerism and modern day romance. Any ideas, let me know. For now, I better start thinking about what we did for Easter the last couple of years...

Real Life Valentine

2009-02-13T08:25:00.004-06:00

There's nothing we women love more than a good love story. Sly glances, soft touches, the right words at the right time that tell you that he alone sees you as you really are...and that what you really are is all he's ever wanted. With a household of girls, there's a lot of sighing when Mr. Darcy walks toward Lizzy in the morning mist and says that if she speaks his love will forever be silenced...sigh...

But at 40 I find myself growing less enamored with love at its beginnings than in love that endures. Almost everyone finds the first...fewer than ever, it seems, find that which lasts to the end. Love that has met and faced, fought and striven, lingered and overcome. Love that has wounded and healed, worked and failed, stroked and soothed.

In August of this year, Wayne and I will have been married 20 years so that explains a lot of it. As sizes expand and blood pressures rise...as gray hair increases and winkles appear...confidence of that which once attracted wanes, but what remains is invaluable to me. I was reminded of this today when I read a posting entitled Love in the Time of Prostate Cancer. It's written by a man who's undergoing treatment for prostate cancer. In it he writes of his discovery of this very thing. It really resonated with me. (Note, moms, that it contains things which I wouldn't have Aisley and Brennan read yet.)

And since this is the day before Valentine's, let me just say here how grateful I am to love Wayne. He has endured with me patiently. He has cared for me tenderly. He has argued with me lovingly. He has corrected me gently. He has seen me through sick months and played with me through sunny days. The gift of him to me softened my heart to love my Father more. I could never tell you why Wayne looked at me that night and asked me to dance. But I know why I held on so tight. The joy in my heart today is that I still love to be in his arms everyday.

I love you, honey. Happy Valentine's Day.

Okay, okay

2009-02-10T10:26:00.002-06:00

I know that I really need to get better at posting while pondering. But I find I have almost nothing to say during those times. And I'm finally old enough to know that nothing said is far better than something said too soon. I'll try to get better at pointing you to where I am, so maybe I won't be alone in what I'm thinking...though when you read what it's like for me, you may take a pass!

I've had a busy week, but that's not really keeping me from computer time. Mostly I've been watching some amazing talks from last week's Desiring God Pastor's Conference. If you've not seen any of them, please don't miss the talks from Matt Chandler and Michael Oh. I love Mark Dever and am so grateful for his work during this conference, especially the first talk on the gospel itself. If I could get my Impact kids to see this before we begin next month's training, we'd be ready to hit the ground running. But Mark and Michael cut me to the bone...layed me out...then stitched me up again to send me on my way to healing. I'm so grateful.

I've also been working through When I Don't Desire God... Set-Apart Feminity... Valley of Vision...and studying hard on God's Sovereignty in all our lives through all of Scripture.

So, I'll post on how the surgery recovery is going when I can breathe again...and when the wedding cake is finished. Yes. A wedding cake. Have I ever made a wedding cake? No. Am I excited? Well...excited might be going a little far (right, Mom?). But I am grateful...truly. When the Lord gives you something to do, being happy about it can be a fight...but it's a fight that must be won. He's much more glorified when we look pleased with Him than when we look like this life in Christ is a begrudging, joyless trial that keeps us from doing what we really want to do. Pray for me to have this lived as truth.

On that note, let me leave you with this quote that I read today from the ladies at Titus 2 Talk. They are a group of Christian ladies out of the UK and while they don't post often, when they do, it's gems like this one. Join me in thanking God for Mrs. Spurgeon and her call out to us all...

When my soul is tossed on the rough waves of the troubled sea of this life, if I can but cast out the anchor of hope into the depths of God's blessed will, it holds fast at once and the winds and the waves are rebuked...

God's plans and purposes for me, and for you, dear reader, were all made and determined on from the beginning; and as they are worked out day by day in our lives, how wise should we be if, with joyful certainty, we accepted each unfolding of his will as a proof of his faithfulness and love! When once I, as a believer, can say from my heart, 'This is the will of God concerning me', it matters not what the 'this' is - whether it be a small domestic worry, or the severance of the dearest earthly ties - the fact that it is his most blessed will, takes all the fierce sting out of the trouble, and leaves it powerless to hurt or hinder the peace of my soul.

~ Susannah Spurgeon in Free Grace and Dying Love

Dr. Don

2009-01-28T08:01:00.001-06:00

There is so much that this present generation of teens and twenty somethings will never understand...

Why we would have ever had to call when we got somewhere.
How to reheat without a microwave.
Having to get up to change the channel.
Have to flip through all four stations.
Knowing that if the Indian Chief is on the TV, and I'm hearing the National Anthem then it's time for everyone to be in bed.
Never having a need for a password.
Why we all sniffed our tests with the weird purple ink.
What it was like to spend the car rides climbing all over the car and playing in the floorboard! Eeek.

One of those is how precious this announcement is. When God called me out of my pointless life and into life with Him, there was no internet...no iTunes...no way to hear from great men of God unless you spent lots of time reading and reading and reading. Good thing for me that I love to read! But today's generation of Christians have amazing access to teaching that so reveals Christ that we behold Him and are transformed.

Dr. Don Carson is one of those men. If you've never heard of him, I'm so grateful to introduce him. And if you have, then you'll know why I'm so thrilled that the Gospel Coalition is hosting a resource page that includes more than 400 talks he's given over the years. Topics include the Bible, marriage, culture, giving, the sovereignty of God...it goes on and on. There's also a listing of his books, his biography and other publications.

Take some time to download a few of these and give them a listen as you chop veggies, wait in the carpool line, take a walk or sit at the doctor's office. You will be so blessed.

Leader of the Free World

2009-01-21T09:41:00.005-06:00

I've seen many posts this morning that talk about the struggle we all feel as Christians when considering our momentous day yesterday. But this one by Thabiti Anyabwile helps me to see it in a wonderful way. If you don't know him, you need to. Click his name to get to his blog.

Thabiti Anyabwile

I am rejoicing this morning more than I was for my friends who like him woke to a day that others said may come, woke to a day where the promise of America is as true for them as for my girls...and woke to a day where the one who stepped into that role is one who is opposed to so much that they live for in Christ. "God help us, please help us."

Leader of the Free World

Woke up this morning
and the leader of the free world
was a black man.

Woke up this morning,
got myself dressed,
and marveled at what's happened in this land.

Brushed my teeth in the mirror,
smiled at a face made silly with tooth paste.

No more black face comedy,
there's a black man in the White House,
and so much of the world is subject to his tastes.

What will it mean,
to now be a black man in the free world?

Will anything change,
will everything change,
a million ideas in my mind all in a swirl.

I don't even write poetry.
But I woke up this morning
and a black man was the leader of the free world.

Prose won't do it for me,
describe this ended longing.
Can you believe an African-American leads the free world,
with a beautiful brown wife and two little girls?

My country tis of thee,
sweet land of liberty,
land where my fathers died,
land where black mothers cried,
land where we were so long denied,
on every mountainside,
freedom rings.

Barack Hussein Obama,
son of a black man and a white mama,
now leads the free world.

Heaven knows the plot twists of this drama.
God help us, please help us.
Protect every unborn boy and girl.

Can't wink at some things,
even as the joy is irrepressible.
The confluence of emotions are inexpressible.

Gil Scott Heron had it wrong:
The revolution has been televised, has been televised, has been televised.
And a black man is the leader of the free world!

I never believed my mama,
when she said I could be anything, even president.
But now the White House has a new resident,
Barack Hussein Obama.

Goes to show what I know.
On a cold January day, my mama was proved a prophet.
In God's economy, nothing could stop it.
And this morning, a black man is the leader of the free world.

Through me

2009-01-20T09:32:00.006-06:00

We know Jesus has remembered us through you.

The words were spoken by a pastor in Uganda in response to a team from Covenant Life Church who went to spend a couple of weeks preaching and serving the people near a church they support.

I can picture the scene. Uganda differs some from Nigeria in topography, but not much in hope, so I can see the dirt and brush surrounding this small group of people who have been waiting on Jesus. I can see their eyes shining as they pray in Jesus Name. I can feel their hands that clasp so hard to show their gratitude. I can hear the sounds of hope that sprang up throughout the villages that the building where they would be taught about Jesus would finally be built. And I can see through it all their countenances changed because Jesus had remembered them.

Those words penetrated my heart today as I think of all those around us who are longing in their hearts to know...to really know...that Jesus remembers them in their poverty, pain and suffering... in their tiredness, discouragement and grief... in their loss, disease and brokenness.

We all have those moments when the promises of God are true...but far off, it seems. We believe in His love, provision and care...but how different to know...to really know. It changes everything, doesn't it? So, how is it that we know?

Sometimes, He's so gracious just to touch out hearts...that quiet moment when our hearts settle, our minds clear and all seems steady for a moment.

Sometimes, His Word opens before us and we see...truly see...this Word that is for us, that calls to us to remember who He is, what He has done and what He has committed to do because of His Son, Jesus Christ...and our eyes clear and we see Him and so are changed one degree.

But sometimes...sometimes...seeing, we do not see...hearing, we do not hear...and in those moments all seems dark. Who has heard us? Who will help? Does Jesus remember me?

Those words are our sounding call...our trumpet blast...our call to arms...our signal to go, go, go.
In those words are the starter's gunshot to have beautiful feet. Feet which go, support, preach, teach and tell. Feet which love, heal, help and bind up. Feet which hold, hug, feed and provide.

Feet that bring the message...The Lord has heard your cry and remembered you. I come in Jesus Name. I come because He came. He remembers and He cares and He has provided for you. Remember Him. Praise Him. Hold on to Him. His mercies are new. His promises are sure. Remember Him for He has remembered you.

Do you hear it? Isn't there one near you? One who's lost someone. One who's suffering. One who's sinking under despair. One who's gasping for a moment of peace. Isn't there one?

Isn't there one far from you but whose heart you can hear beating from here? One who stands on foreign soil, but whose pain is close to you. One who is surrounded by land you've never seen, but whose troubles have pierced your life as well. One who lives as you live, loves as you love, fears as you fear, longs as you long. Isn't there one?

Make my feet beautiful, Lord. Open my ears to hear the cry, the call to go, go, go. Give me eyes to see and the confidence to believe, to expect that I will be met with what I need to meet what I find. Make me over, Lord, into the likeness of Your Son whom You sent to gather those who would go. Remember me that I might remember you so that others might know that you remember them through me. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Hope

2009-01-18T11:41:00.009-06:00

You got any tissues at hand? Get 'em.
Yeah. I know there are a couple of guys that read this that have already moved on without a though. Tears? Whatever.
Don't say you weren't warned.

There are some games in which cheering for the other side feels better than winning.

by Rick Reilly

They played the oddest game in high school football history last month down in Grapevine, Texas.

It was Grapevine Faith vs. Gainesville State School and everything about it was upside down. For instance, when Gainesville came out to take the field, the Faith fans made a 40-yard spirit line for them to run through.

Did you hear that? The other team's fans?

They even made a banner for players to crash through at the end. It said, "Go Tornadoes!" Which is also weird, because Faith is the Lions.
It was rivers running uphill and cats petting dogs. More than 200 Faith fans sat on the Gainesville side and kept cheering the Gainesville players on—by name.
"I never in my life thought I'd hear people cheering for us to hit their kids," recalls Gainesville's QB and middle linebacker, Isaiah. "I wouldn't expect another parent to tell somebody to hit their kids. But they wanted us to!"

And even though Faith walloped them 33-14, the Gainesville kids were so happy that after the game they gave head coach Mark Williams a sideline squirt-bottle shower like he'd just won state.
Gotta be the first Gatorade bath in history for an 0-9 coach.
But then you saw the 12 uniformed officers escorting the 14 Gainesville players off the field and two and two started to make four. They lined the players up in groups of five—handcuffs ready in their back pockets—and marched them to the team bus. That's because Gainesville is a maximum-security correctional facility 75 miles north of Dallas. Every game it plays is on the road.
This all started when Faith's head coach, Kris Hogan, wanted to do something kind for the Gainesville team. Faith had never played Gainesville, but he already knew the score. After all, Faith was 7-2 going into the game, Gainesville 0-8 with 2 TDs all year. Faith has 70 kids, 11 coaches, the latest equipment and involved parents. Gainesville has a lot of kids with convictions for drugs, assault and robbery—many of whose families had disowned them—wearing seven-year-old shoulder pads and ancient helmets.

So Hogan had this idea. What if half of our fans—for one night only—cheered for the other team? He sent out an email asking the Faithful to do just that. "Here's the message I want you to send:" Hogan wrote. "You are just as valuable as any other person on planet Earth."

Some people were naturally confused. One Faith player walked into Hogan's office and asked, "Coach, why are we doing this?"

And Hogan said, "Imagine if you didn't have a home life. Imagine if everybody had pretty much given up on you. Now imagine what it would mean for hundreds of people to suddenly believe in you."

Next thing you know, the Gainesville Tornadoes were turning around on their bench to see something they never had before. Hundreds of fans. And actual cheerleaders!

"I thought maybe they were confused," said Alex, a Gainesville lineman (only first names are released by the prison). "They started yelling 'DEE-fense!' when their team had the ball. I said, 'What? Why they cheerin' for us?'"

It was a strange experience for boys who most people cross the street to avoid. "We can tell people are a little afraid of us when we come to the games," says Gerald, a lineman who will wind up doing more than three years. "You can see it in their eyes. They're lookin' at us like we're criminals. But these people, they were yellin' for us! By our names!"

Maybe it figures that Gainesville played better than it had all season, scoring the game's last two touchdowns. Of course, this might be because Hogan put his third-string nose guard at safety and his third-string cornerback at defensive end. Still.

After the game, both teams gathered in the middle of the field to pray and that's when Isaiah surprised everybody by asking to lead. "We had no idea what the kid was going to say," remembers Coach Hogan. But Isaiah said this: "Lord, I don't know how this happened, so I don't know how to say thank You, but I never would've known there was so many people in the world that cared about us."

And it was a good thing everybody's heads were bowed because they might've seen Hogan wiping away tears.

As the Tornadoes walked back to their bus under guard, they each were handed a bag for the ride home—a burger, some fries, a soda, some candy, a Bible and an encouraging letter from a Faith player.

The Gainesville coach saw Hogan, grabbed him hard by the shoulders and said, "You'll never know what your people did for these kids tonight. You'll never, ever know."

And as the bus pulled away, all the Gainesville players crammed to one side and pressed their hands to the window, staring at these people they'd never met before, watching their waves and smiles disappearing into the night.

Anyway, with the economy six feet under and Christmas running on about three and a half reindeer, it's nice to know that one of the best presents you can give is still absolutely free.

Hope.

HT: My big brother!

Serious cold

2009-01-16T12:15:00.002-06:00

Now, come on. I know some of you are cold, but let's all get a little perspective.

HT: Between Two Worlds

If God gives you time

2009-01-16T09:12:00.004-06:00

You've got to check out the Cake Wrecks site today from the side bar to your right. The post today is one she often does which compares what people asked for from bakers...and what they actually got. Makes me feel better about my own wedding cake disaster.

Stephen Altrogge and his dad, Mark, run a blog called The Blazing Center which challenges me every day. (They are also listed to the right in the blog roll.) Today they are giving away lots of really good books for free to those who subscribe.

So, if you are saying to yourself, Subscribe? What? Again, here's a primer from Google.

One of my favorite guys to listen to is Ligon Duncan from Jackson, MS. I actually read him more than listen to him because he is one of the few that posts the entire text of his sermons online. A few days ago he blogged answering the question how to pray for your pastor. You'll really appreciate this list of ways and I know many pastors who would be humbled and grateful if we would pray for them in these ways.

Not to be outdone, I found this list from John Piper written in 1995 that answers the question What should we pray for? How about praying like the early church prayed? If this list is any indication, they took prayer more seriously and spent more time doing it than we do. See what you think.

And in the "what we really need is more time wasters" category...these are a couple of our family's newest fascinations...Eyeballing Game...and Bubble Shooter. That last one relaxes Wayne. Whatever.

Recipe Swap

2009-01-16T08:57:00.002-06:00

We've got the seniors from TBC coming over each Wednesday of this month, so I bought some extra baking supplies so I could make the normal brownies, chocolate chip cookies, etc. to go with the salty snack. But our grocery story had an after-holiday sale on some baking goodies so I picked up some mint chocolate chips (yummy in a chocolate cookie recipe last week) and some cinnamon chips. What to do with those? Regular chocolate chip cookie recipe and just substitute?

That's why I love Google. I just inserted the words cookie and cinnamon chips and got a bunch of offering, but lots of them were comments about this recipe from a site called Stephanie's Kitchen. For those of us always looking for new, good recipes, this may be a great find. Already, I'm tempted to try the Andes Mint Cookies next week!

For now, if you like cinnamon and chocolate, I think you'll really like these. When you bite in, it's a very good, but strange taste. Chocolate...almost a spice cake taste with it...chewy...yummy. The more I eat, the more I like it! Give it a try sometime and pass on links to your favorite places to look for recipes...I'd love some new ideas.

Oatmeal Chocolate and Cinnamon Chip Chipsters
recipe by stephanie
makes 4 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups quick cooking oats
2 cups cinnamon chips (I found Hershey's brand)
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat 1 stick (1/2 cup) of the butter in a mixer until smooth. Add sugars and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. In a seperate bowl, add flour, baking soda and salt and whisk until combined. Add the remaining butter (1 stick) to the flour mixture and using your hands break up butter into flour until well combined and the butter is at least pea sized within the flour. Slowly add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture until well combined. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and chocolate chips. Chill for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Scoop onto baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes or until lightly browned.

Tip: I baked 2 dozen and scooped the remaining dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place in the freezer until frozen and than place in a ziplock freezer bag and bake at your own convenience! Fresh cookies any time you want!

The god of our many understandings

2009-01-14T10:16:00.014-06:00

On my RSS feeder are a lot of blogs that I regularly check to see what's going on in the world. I'm pretty bad about keeping up with things. For example, until I got a call from a friend about some missionary friends of ours in Lebanon, I had no idea that any conflict was happening in the area...well, other than what happens daily there.

Anyway, one of my favorites is Al Mohler's. He's an unbelievably brilliant man whom God must have gifted with more hours in his day than mine has. It couldn't be that he's just smarter, more talented, more focused, more disciplined, right? Exactly. So now that God blessed him with those hours, he uses them to run a seminary, write books, preach, do conferences, a daily radio show and, of course, blog. Sigh...

I had heard rumblings about the furor Obama had caused by asking an evangelical (loosely termed) to give a prayer at the inauguration. But I hadn't heard until recently that he'd also asked an openly gay Episcopalian Bishop to do the same. Not a shock though. I mean, we all know that this is the true diplomat president. They said of him that during his days as Harvard Law that there was no one who was able to appease both sides more than Obama. He was friends with the conservatives and the liberals. Which, I'll admit, simply says to me that he stands for nothing at all.

So, I wasn't surprised to hear that he found someone to appease the left. He also got the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington to sing. Nobody's really surprised, right? Well, then, what's left that might shock us? How about a bishop from a mainstream, traditionally Christian denomination that doesn't even plan to pray a Christian prayer? Yeah. That'd do it for me. Naive, aren't I?
Dr. Mohler wrote about it today and led me to this article...The New York Times reports (emphasis mine):

Bishop Robinson said he had been reading inaugural prayers through history and was “horrified” at how “specifically and aggressively Christian they were.”

“I am very clear,” he said, “that this will not be a Christian prayer, and I won’t be quoting Scripture or anything like that. The texts that I hold as sacred are not sacred texts for all Americans, and I want all people to feel that this is their prayer.”

Bishop Robinson said he might address the prayer to “the God of our many understandings,” language that he said he learned from the 12-step program he attended for his alcohol addiction.

"This will not be a Christian prayer"? Then it's not prayer at all...it's talking out loud with your eyes closed. But I guess I shouldn't have been surprised to hear it. The god of our many understandings is very in right now. The big word is anthropomorphism. It simply means talking about God in human terms which is the only way we can. But what it comes to mean inside of us is that we make Him in our minds like us...only bigger, better, stronger, faster, more loving, more helpful, more like we want to be. He's our superhero God.

Which only becomes a problem when you read Scripture...

Isaiah 40:18...
To whom then will you liken God,
or what likeness compare with him?

Isaiah 40:25...

To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?

Isaiah 46:5...
To whom will you liken me and make me equal,
and compare me, that we may be alike?

The repetition should make the point to us...but how about one more? And just to show you I actually read other books besides Isaiah...

Acts 17:29 (emphasis mine)...
Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think
that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone,
an image formed by the art and imagination of man.

The issue is highlighted by the end of Isaiah 40:25 and 46:5. We make God "alike" with what we compare Him. He's like us. Which flips completely what we are told throughout Scripture. He is not the created one. We are. He is not created in our image. We are created in His. We are like Him...in small, small echoes. He thinks...so, I can think...but not like He thinks. He feels...so, I can feel...but not like He feels. He moves, speaks, purposes, plans, understands...so do I...but not like He does.

We must, must be led back to an understanding of God that puts Him as definer and us as defined. He as originator and us as derived. He as the Potter and we merely clay in His hands...having the right and ownership to do whatever He wills. God speaks to us clearly from Isaiah 29:16...

You turn things upside down!
Shall the potter be regarded as the clay,
that the thing made should say of its maker,
"He did not make me";
or the thing formed say of him who formed it,
"He has no understanding"?

We have turned things upside down. We have looked at the One who made us and proclaim to Him what He will be...how He may move...what He may feel and think. But what He really thinks is...

Shall the axe boast over him who hews with it,
or the saw magnify itself against him who wields it?
As if a rod should wield him who lifts it,
or as if a staff should lift him who is not wood!
Isaiah 10:15

And our response? Will you join me during the inauguration next Tuesday? Pray to God. Ask Him for mercy in light of what He'll hear. Turn to Daniel 9 and read it. Get the feel for what we need by listening to him pray. And pray. Please, pray. Say with me...

But now, O LORD, you are our Father;
we are the clay, and you are our potter;
we are all the work of your hand.
Isaiah 64:8

Reminds me I'm misty

2009-01-13T10:41:00.005-06:00

James 4:13-15

Come now, you who say,
"Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town
and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"—
yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring.
What is your life?
For you are a mist
that appears for a little time
and then vanishes.
Instead you ought to say,
"If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that."

One year in 40 seconds from Eirik Solheim on Vimeo.

HT: Josh Harris

Updated: Has the right Scripture reference now!

Rebel

2009-01-13T08:08:00.004-06:00

I love a good sale, especially when it's on something I really love. And this is one of those. Right now at Amazon you can buy the all of the tracks of Lacrae's Rebel for only $5.

If you enjoyed the songs from this post, I promise you'll love the album. I've listened again and again. As you'll see this is for download only...you don't actually get the CD in the mail. Think about giving up your Starbucks for a day and buying this instead.

HT: Challies

Recipe Swap

2009-01-11T10:28:00.005-06:00

I'm not sure what to say about this cheesecake recipe that would get across to you how incredible it is. Tangy, sweet, creamy perfection. Though my husband wouldn't agree because he's a huge chocolate fan. If you're like him then you might stick with this one. But if you like lemony goodness, give this a try. You'll love it.

Lemon Cheesecake

Lemon Curd:
Juice and peel of 2 lemons
6 Tbsp butter
1 c sugar
3 eggs

Crust:
5 oz Nabisco Barnum's Animal Crackers (Should make about 1 cup.)
3 Tbsp sugar
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
1 1/4 c sugar
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
1/4 c lemon juice
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened for 45 minutes
4 large eggs, room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c heavy cream

For the Lemon Curd: Grate peel from lemons careful not to remove pith. Put peel, juice and sugar in a small sauce pan. Stir over moderate heat until sugar is dissolved. Do NOT boil. Add butter and stir until melted. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Whisk eggs and pour lemon mix over eggs. Stir well and strain back into pan with a fine strainer. Stir constantly over low heat until mix thickens and just reaches boiling point. Again, do NOT boil. Place in a container and chill until needed.

For the Crust: Heat oven to 325 degrees. Crush cookies into fine crumbs either with a rolling pin in a ziploc bag or in a food processor. Pour into bowl and stir in sugar. Add butter and stir until evenly moistened and it resembles wet sand. Pour into a 9 inch springform pan and press down firmly and evenly over bottom of pan. Try not to get any on the sides. Bake for 15-18 min. until fragrant and golden brown. Cool pan on wire rack to room temperature, about 30 minutes. When it's cool, wrap outside of pan in two 18 inch square pieces of heavy foil and set pan in a roasting pan

For the Filling: Mix 1/4 cup sugar with lemon zest until sugar is yellow. Add remaining cup of sugar.

In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until softened. While mixing, add sugar mix in a steady stream and then increase speed and mix until it is creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed and add eggs 2 at a time, beating 30 sec. after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl. Add lemon juice, vanilla and salt and mix very briefly until just incorporated. Add heavy cream and again mix just until it's incorporated.

Scrape down sides one last time and pour into springform pan. Fill roasting pan with enough hot tap water to come halfway up sides of pan. Bake until center jiggles slightly, surface is no longer shiny and thermometer reads 150 degrees. It should take about 55-60 minutes. Turn off oven and prop open door wooden spoon handle or potholder. Allow cake to cool like this for 1 hour. Move pan from roasting pan and foil and place on a wire rack. Run a knife around the edges of pan to loosen sides of cake and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Spread enough lemon curd onto cheesecake while it's still in the pan to reach just below the top of the pan. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 4 hours.

Notes:

Microwave lemons for 15-20 seconds to get more juice.
5 oz of cookies is 2 of the small boxes or about 75-80 cookies.
The cheesecake won't get brown at all.
You can make it the day before, but the longer it sits, the soggier the crust becomes.
To make cutting easier, place cheesecake overnight in the freezer. Remove about 1 hour before serving and use a sharp knife dipped into hot water and wiped clean between each slice.

The angel of the Piper

2009-01-10T13:10:00.001-06:00

Well, I can't decide how to react. You won't be surprised to hear that John Piper is one of my heroes of the faith. After all, I'm about to start a study of one of his books. I listen to him, read his stuff, have driven miles to hear him talk many times...love it. So, I guess it's good to be reminded that he's just a guy...a guy who wears red pants, really large jackets and makes sure the edges are perfect. Hilarious.

Walking partners

2009-01-10T00:26:00.000-06:00

Thursday after Bible study some great women asked me to join them for lunch. Not that big of a deal, though I don't do it often because we've got school work waiting on us at home. What made it special is they are women I've been walking this journey with for 10 years but don't see so much now. You know how that is, right? These were the women I talked to every other day at least. The women whose children mine played with. The women I cried with, complained to, prayed with...who listened...laughed...hugged...helped. Just walking together through this life.

But the kids grow up and start school. Jobs are begun. One goes back to college. One becomes an aide at her elementary school. We still attend church together, but that's 3,000 people. Gets hard to see each other much less catch up. You still love each other. Still smile when you see them. Rejoice at the big stuff. Call over the hurts. But not the day to day stuff.

Then Thursday I saw them across the room after the study and they made their way over to exclaim that they're crashing another friend's house and I need to come. Too good to pass up...plus, I admit it...I wanted to see Angela freak out at all of us showing up unannounced! Yes. I'm that friend. And yes, she did. Kept cutting me looks that told me how much I'd be hearing about it later. Fun, fun, fun. Truthfully, though, Angela loves people so (though she'd like a little heads up from me next time!), she was very glad everyone came over.

As I sit here now, I was reflecting on how easy it was to be together. How different everything is around us and how much the same it is when we all sit together. We caught up on the various issues which have moved from potty training and spanking vs. timeout to college plans, teen attitudes, dating and cars...and whether the gray hair should be left alone or colored! (I still can't decide what I'll do when that hits...can't really see the hair coloring making the budget!) And we talked about what it's like when God starts you over on that road when you least expect it! Yikes.

They know me. They know what I'm like, what I like and what will set me off. They know my fears and my struggles and what to ask that hits right at my heart. They remind me of former days and how much Christ has taught me. They encourage me, challenge me and poke fun of me all at the same time. They are still working hard to honor the Lord. They are still pressing on to serve their King. They still love their husbands, bless their children and do good where they go. Isn't that such grace?

So, we sat for a couple of hours...talking, eating, monitoring little ones (okay, a couple of them are younger than me), probing, questioning, advising, encouraging, and laughing, laughing, laughing. Though only Angela has remained as a daily presence (for which I am so grateful...), I am overwhelmed by the grace of friends. They remind me that I'm not alone. That this body was given to make sure we all get there. Their faces reflect my Savior's...their words spur me on in the race...their joy makes my heart glad...their sorrow makes me more aware of everything outside of myself. But most of all, they remind me that we are all in this together. What a treasure it is not to walk alone.

Listening to this Jesus music

2009-01-09T11:32:00.003-06:00

Over at 22 Words, Abraham Piper asked for music that most people probably haven't heard of but you really like...well, this is what the Ransleben's are listening to right now so I posted it in the comments section. Probably a little surprising to most people, but these two videos will show you why we are fans...

Noise, hurry and crowds

2009-01-09T07:12:00.002-06:00

A woman named Lynn was my Bible study leader years ago. Her two boys were 8 years or so above my oldest. I was grateful to sit under her teaching, but more grateful for the time she spent encouraging me and guiding me in life stuff. One of the things she would tell me often came from my whining about my busy, hurried, constant-movement life. Three young girls...homeschooling with a toddler and infant on each hip. Not able to shower without one crying out...or better even, pulling the shower curtain aside to ask me if they could have the candy they'd already have smeared on the corners of their mouths. And the worst shower moment...

Mama, I helped her.
Who, baby? Who did you help?
Brennan, Mama. I helped her.
That's great, Aisley. Thank you for helping your sister.
Quick prayer while dripping water across the carpet: Please, God. Please let her be okay.
Rush to the crib to find various toys stacked around and on baby Brennan to "help" her stop crying. And there she is grinning...until she sees me and wants up NOW.

Okay, where was I? Lynn...that's right. Thank you. I'd be moaning about my life and standing amazed that she had all day, every weekday to herself. Boys to school and she'd be back home alone. Can you imagine what I could get done in that time? Things like...thinking whole thoughts...beginning and ending a meal during the same sitting...a phone call that wasn't interrupted by my saying: Don't interrupt Mama when she's on the phone (followed each time by a small voice saying: okay, Mama, but can I...). I wasn't looking to scrapbook, start a home business or write a novel. I just wanted to cook with both hands.

Lynn would look at me with understanding and sympathy, but would then reply with a strange, strange thought. It only gets harder, she'd say. Right, I'd sneer deep inside. But she meant it. She'd tell me that the older the boys got and the more she was able to do, the less she devoted of her time to God. It was easier and easier to claim more and more for herself. When she needed a minute, had to fight to get a minute with God, it was actually easier to sit before Him. Now that she could do it anytime, it became the thing she could put off doing. She could always do that later. She realized that the easier her life got, the less she needed God. I think at that moment what went through my head was...whatever, Lynn.

This all came back as I read a blog posting called Silence some days ago. It was written by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church. As sometimes happens, God's brought it back to mind over and over. It contains so much that's convicting as it speaks to my life as much as his, but this little paragraph stuck out to me...

In that moment, God deeply convicted me that I was addicted to the false trinity of our day, the gods known as Noise, Hurry, and Crowds. I remembered the words of missionary martyr Jim Elliot, who said, “I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, crowds . . . Satan is quite aware of the power of silence.”

There were so many days where I truly valued silence. The true peace of sitting, quietly waiting for God. That's because it was rare...so therefore precious. But even though I still homeschool and thus I'm still not alone much, I get silence more often in my life. Now I can slow down...now I can be alone...and guess what? Lynn was right. Need drove me to value Him. Ease never will. Time that stretches leaves a hole that my flesh longs to fill with nothing.

What needs to change isn't the addition of more little ones here (Please, no. I'll wait on grandkids.). It's an understanding of my need for God. An understanding of my continual dependence. A deeper understanding of my inability and an increasing devaluing of my competence. I need to see Christ as far superior to my own understanding. I need to need Him. Christ did. He depended on Him. Pulled away to be quiet before Him. Looked to Him in times of crisis and when things were going well. How much more so do I?

Will you take a quick moment right now to pray with me? That we would value rest less than we value rest in Him. That we would esteem Him more than our own understanding. That we by His grace would seek Him...would see Him...would therefore be changed by Him into His likeness. That silence would not be to feed us, but to feed our souls on the God of the Universe. That we would humble ourselves and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways...that we may be saved. Please, Jesus. For Your Name. Amen.

Out of the closet

2009-01-08T16:47:00.004-06:00

Sounds worse than it is. Promise. All I'm doing is admitting that I'm pulling for the Florida Gators to win tonight's championship. But to some of my more ardent GA Bulldog friends...well, let's just say, it's possible that they might be more sympathetic to the other use of "out of the closet" than this one.

I know that the SEC takes rivalry to an all new level. Most of them can't believe that Texas fans will pull for other Texas schools when they play outside the conference. John and Nathan can't even stay in a Florida town without counting the minutes until they go home.

But, come on, guys. Tim Tebow.

Please. He loves the Lord. He serves the poor. He mentors kids in the inner city. He even serves in prisons and talks about Christ wherever he's got a minute. Don't believe me? Read this. You'll see what I mean. Even that columnist who writes for ESPN says this:

It truly would be a shame to submit to cynicism and not fully appreciate the gift of Tebow -- the way he plays football with an unquenchable passion, and the way he approaches life with even greater ardor. If you think he hits linebackers hard on fourth-and-1, that's nothing compared to the way he tackles his higher calling to spread the word. In this one instance, what looks too good to be true really is true.

His passion for spreading the word is higher than his passion for sports? I mean, come on. Can't you just this once lay aside your hatred for all things Florida and root for a guy who represents Christ so well? Just this once? You can do it. I know you can.

(Besides, what do you want me to do? Root for Oklahoma?! Please. I don't think so. Jesus only asks so much of us.)

If you're in the area

2009-01-06T20:16:00.001-06:00

I wanted to give you all a heads up about what studies I'm thinking about teaching this Spring.

Kick off for the Spring Bible study at TBC begins this Thursday morning at 9am. We'll meet in the chapel and then break into our groups which will be in the same classroom as last year (Rm. 213, I think). If you didn't join us last semester, it's okay. We begin a brand new book this week that will cover more women of the Bible. We'd love to have you join us if you can in the mornings.

For those that can't make the Thursday morning time, I'm going to be starting a study on Tuesday nights beginning Jan. 20 from 7-9pm. I hope to have us meet for 7 weeks and then see what everyone's schedule looks like to begin another study right after. (Since I'll have Cassie graduating, I have no idea what the late Spring will look like!) My husband has graciously allowed me to have this at our house if we need to, but if you can host it let me know. I can flex on the time if we have it somewhere else, but 7-9pm works best for Wayne and the girls here.

For this study, we'll work through Piper's book When I Don't Desire God. It's a straightforward look at what we all wish weren't true...we don't desire God like we know we should. We don't pray. We don't read His Word. And worst of all, we go day after day with only a vague understanding of why we don't. This book is hard hitting, but oh, so practical. We'll watch a short video each week and then cover the discussion questions. The book is available for order from Desiring God ($8.96) and Amazon ($11.19), as well as Lifeway.

Please let me know if you're planning to do either option. It would help me to make plans for setting up each study. Well, that's it! I'm excited to get started and am working hard on your homework (keep the groaning down, please). Love you all...Kim

A good reminder from an unexpected place

2008-12-23T22:16:00.003-06:00

We Christians make much of the fact that this season is about Christ and His coming...about Immanuel and the truth that God made a way for sinners to know Him in His Holiness. But this video challenges me this Christmas to move out of my house with this knowledge and into the world with the thought:

If I really believe this stuff...I mean, really, truly believe that Christ came to make a way for people to live with Him forever...that a virgin was overshadowed by the Most High and gave birth to a Son who will reign forever as LORD...that angels really appeared to shepherds in that field proclaiming good tidings of great joy which are for all people...that wise men really traveled for weeks to find the King...that babies really died because they were destined to be born in a time and place that put them in the way of the sword...that the baby that was born grew to die because of my sin...

If I really believe that if people do not believe in Him, they are destined for an eternity apart from any joy, any comfort, any peace...receiving only the wrath of God forever...and ever...and ever...

If I really believe, maybe I'll act a lot more like they guy mentioned here.

FYI: Don't know who this guy is? Wiki has the answer here.

Losing it

2008-12-22T00:08:00.012-06:00

I thought it would be a cool picture if I could get their shadows on the water. And by the way, this is Texas in December...so, no...it wasn't cold. It was 78 degrees and sunny! Until the next day...but just wait! It'll be warm by Tuesday. Anyway...so here's how it went...

Me: Girls, just walk in the water a little so I can see your shadows.
Girls walk in carefully...icky moss on the rocks and cold water causes lots of protests and girly noises by Aisley which sets off this from Brennan...

Which brought about this from all...

Me: Okay, girls...that's enough...so of course...

Yeah...hair fixing time from the older two...Bren is still oblivious to things like that, but it won't be long! So, off we go...1, 2...nope...

Aisley loses it...but by now Bren (who started it all, remember?) has had enough...so though still laughing...

She's calling a halt...well until the frog jumped in...

Finally...Mean Mom comes out: Girls...for REAL! Stop it. Now.

Yes...you can see the fear in their eyes, can't you? All that just to get this...

Not sure this picture is any good, but I love the rest of them! Making memories, right girls?

Christmas card preview

2008-12-19T19:05:00.006-06:00

Yes. I know. Christmas is in just a few days.

But we just got around to taking these for the card. Read just a few posts below this to find out some of why that's happening...and then add a couple of cakes for friends on top!

I'm having a hard time deciding what will go on the card.

But I'm sure the girls will tell me.

Christmas Fun

2008-12-18T13:57:00.004-06:00

The girls are enjoying these sites today...

Make-A-Flake

The Weepies

The Elves' Game Chest

Have fun!

(Yes, Mom...I will get you that list...really...and the lemon cheesecake recipe!)

Why blogging is hard this week...

2008-12-16T14:23:00.002-06:00

Cassie's home...being a senior means no finals...which means that the computer is constantly occupied as she practices what this generation thinks of as community. Who knew that sitting alone in a room, staring at a screen would ever count as building relationships??
Teacher's gifts...if like me you sort of forgot for a while that you hoped to bless your kids' teachers, this recipe placed in a colorful bag is always a huge hit...and as mentioned we will, of course, always share the recipe...for a bit of a curve on that last test...
Bren is under the weather again...and is still young enough to want Mama to hover.
Choir practice with Bren, choir concerts with the other girls, basketball games, finals to help Aisley study for, Christmas buying, gift wrapping, something to do each night from 8 days ago until 4 days from now!
Time must be made to be in His Word so that all this stays fun and exciting and blessed instead of one more chore to deal with.

Sound like your house?

Recipe Swap

2008-12-15T19:24:00.006-06:00

I've had several requests for this recipe after it was served this past weekend at the Brindley's Christmas party. I got it from a friend who got it from a friend who got it...I actually have no idea where it started, but I remember where I first had it. Our senior pastor's wife hosted a Christmas gather of women who led Bible studies at TBC and she served it for dessert. I'm not even a fan of chocolate (yes...I know, but try to get past it and love me anyway.) and even I thought it was delicious. Enjoy in small portions...so rich...so good...and yeah, a little bit complicated, but well worth the effort, right ladies??

Brownie Bottom Cheesecake with Praline Sauce

1 cup butter, divided
4 squares semi-sweet chocolate
2 1/4 cup sugar, divided
5 eggs, divided
1/4 cup milk
3 tsp. vanilla, divided
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp salt
3 pkgs. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 cup pecans (or more, to taste)

Preheat oven to 325. In a large bowl, slowly heat 1/2 cup butter & chocolate in microwave until just melted. Stir often. Let stand until cool. Blend in 1 1/2 cup sugar. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time on low speed until blended well. Stir in milk and 1 tsp vanilla. Mix flour and salt together and add to chocolate mixture and combine until well blended. Pour into a greased and floured 9" springform pan. Bake for 25 minutes.

While that's cooking...mix cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp. vanilla. Scrape down sides of bowl and mix slightly. Add 3 eggs, 1 at a time until well blended. Mix in sour cream.

When brownie has cooked 25 minutes, pour cream cheese mix over the top of it and continue baking 50-55 minutes or until almost set...edges should be just slightly browned, if at all. Remove from oven and run a knife around the edges of cake then let cool for a couple of hours at room temperature. Place in refrigerator 4 hours or overnight (best).

Before serving, melt 1/2 cup butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan on low. Stir often until sugar is melted and it reaches the boiling point. Add 1/2 cup whipping cream and 1 tsp vanilla and stir. Mix in pecans and cook on low about 5 minutes. Serve warm. (If making the day before, place in refrigerator and reheat in microwave, stirring often.)

Joseph...I'm pregnant.

2008-12-10T11:06:00.003-06:00

This was written as Desiring God's monthly newletter by director, Jon Bloom. Cassie pointed it out to me and we both agree that it gives us so much to think on this Christmas and so much to hope in as we go forward thinking about her college plans. How we long to know deep within us that we won't get this wrong. How comforting for her today to be reminded that God Himself has pledged to keep her from stumbling. I hope it blesses you...

Mary wasn’t herself. Joseph had sensed some urgency in her request that he meet her at “their” tree. She was staring at the ground. She seemed burdened.

“Mary, is something wrong?”

She looked up at him intensely. “Joseph… I’m pregnant.”

A blast of shock and disbelief hit him, blowing away all his coherent thoughts for a moment. His legs quavered. He grabbed at the tree to steady himself. It felt solid, rooted.

He stared at her. He was numb. No words came. Everything seemed surreal.

Mary was still looking at him with her intense eyes. He saw no shame in them. No defensiveness, no defiance. Not even tears. They looked…innocent. And they were searching his eyes for an answer.

Mary broke the charged silence. “What I need to tell you next I don’t even know how to say.”

Joseph leaned harder into the tree, bracing himself. He looked down to Mary’s feet. Her feet. They looked just the same as they did when he believed she was pure.

That was what made everything so strange. Mary looked as chaste as she ever did. If she had been the flirtatious type or had some discernible character weakness, this news might have been comprehendible. But Mary was literally the very last person Joseph would have suspected of unfaithfulness. He could not imagine her with another lover. He didn’t want to know who it was.

“What I’m going to say is will be very difficult to believe. But will you hear me out?” Still looking at Mary’s feet, Joseph’s nod was barely detectable.

“I have not been unfaithful to you.”

Joseph lifted his eyes to hers. Rape? That might explain her innocence. But why wouldn’t she tell me—

“God has caused me to become pregnant.”

This statement flew around his mind, looking for a place to land. It found none.

“Joseph, I know how it sounds. But I’m telling you the truth.” Then Mary described an angelic visit and the message she had received. She was to bear a son, conceived by the Holy Spirit, who would be called the Son of the Most High who would sit on David’s throne forever. God was the baby’s father. Mary was pregnant with the Messiah.

Mary sounded as sane as ever. Nothing about her was different—except that she was claiming to be pregnant with God’s child. He felt like his brain was exploding. Was she adding blasphemy to adultery? He could not conceive of her being capable of either.

“I…I don’t even know what to say to you, Mary. I can’t even think straight. I need to be alone.”

Joseph spent the late afternoon walking up on the brow of the hill that overlooked Nazareth. Things were clear up there. From this 500-foot perspective he could see the Sea of Galilee to the east, and to the west he could just see the blue Mediterranean on the horizon. But he could not see how Mary’s story could be true. He could not recall anything like it in the Torah. “God, show me what to do,” he pleaded.

The sun was setting as Joseph walked back toward the nearly finished house that was to be their home—the house he had dreamed just that morning would someday know the happy voices of his and Mary’s children. That dream was now dead. He decision was made. Mary’s claims were too incredible, maybe even delusional. He needed to end the betrothal, but he resolved to do it as quietly as possible, shielding Mary from avoidable shame. He still loved her.

That night he fell asleep, exhausted from grief. And then the angel came to him and his world was again flipped right side-up.

There is an encouraging lesson to draw from this story. Joseph was a just man (Matt. 1:19) and assessed the situation in the integrity of his heart, and, I assume, with a deep trust in God. He made the best decision regarding Mary that he could, which turned out to be the wrong one. But God, full of mercy, intervened and gave Joseph the guidance he needed. And he will do the same for us as we trust him.

To encourage your trust in God’s merciful disposition toward your imperfect, sin-tainted decision-making ability, let me point you to John Piper’s message, “The Goodness of God and the Guidance of Sinners.”

Notice that God, through the angel, did not rebuke Joseph. He gently corrected him. As we prayerfully approach our difficult decisions, let’s be bold in our faith. God will guide us, and knows how to lovingly correct us if we get it wrong.

Princess Sydni

2008-12-10T08:39:00.003-06:00

Mom, here's what I couldn't describe well on the phone. At least I can show you why I didn't post Thursday-Saturday...

To my in-the-know readers, please remember anytime you view one of my creations (which will be a rarity given the spread of fun on the internet), CakeWrecks only takes submissions from baking professionals! Though I think I at least beat this one.

A baby who is larger than the universe

2008-12-09T10:54:00.005-06:00

A short time ago, our associate pastor, Stephen Cheung gave a sermon on 1 John 4:1-6 (number 9 on the list) in which he talked about the amazing understanding that God became flesh and dwelt among us. One thought spoke deeply to me when he expounded on the idea that in that manger scene we had the ultimate melding of sacred and secular. Now everything we do is no longer one or the other, but in Christ everything we do, say, think, feel is sacred. Everything we do is out of faith in Jesus Christ whether that's eating and drinking or whatever I do either in words or actions.

When I heard him say that I immediately thought of a video I saw recently. Do this with me in preparation for Christmas...

Watch the video here when you get a few minutes.
Think about this Scripture.
Then, finally, ponder and treasure this unbelievable thought as Mary must have done every time she felt her baby kick .

Really? A month?

2008-12-08T15:36:00.004-06:00

Doesn't seem possible. Truly. And I really have nothing to explain why I've not posted even an update. It just didn't make the cut. Can anyone relate? Got a few things that seem like really good ideas, but given their position on the daily to-do list...well, they remain in the theoretical realm.

But a couple of huge gaffs have been included...I have so much to be thankful for and will post about that soon. And I didn't post on Aisley's birthday...shame upon my head...but I'll make up for it soon, promise. Then there's the end of football (thus the screams of joy that shook windows in the nearby neighborhoods!). Now the challenge and joy of reintegrating Wayne into our lives (I forgot how much I get done in the evenings when he's not here!).

But for now, how about just what I've been pondering on today? I meet on Mondays with three amazing women who I met through a mutual friend (stay in bed, Jenn!). We're starting to look at 1 Peter which means that we might finish by the time their husbands are out of residency in 18 months! So, today, we blazed through the first 5 verses! But they know not to get excited...I may spend a week on vs. 6...you never know.

We noticed a couple of things that made us pause and think...first of all, here's the text...

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:

May grace and peace be multiplied to you.
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

We covered the basics of background, geography and moved to pondering the vastness of the foreknowledge of God, how the Spirit sanctifies us and what difference it would make if we truly understood that we are exiles FOR obedience to Jesus Christ...much less if I could grasp more fully today that I have been truly sprinkled by His blood and made clean.

But it was the next line...8 little words...that struck me. How often have you prayed for grace to be multiplied to someone? As we thought about it, it seemed that we were alike in asking for peace...comfort...strength...discernment...help...but not grace. Grace felt like something that we got before. Like Ephesians 2:8...by grace you have been saved. But Peter doesn't treat it like it's something behind him, but something he has and wants more of.

Then there's the nebulous definitions we give to help us remember the difference between mercy and grace. You've heard it, I'm sure. Mercy is not getting what you do deserve. Grace is getting what you do not deserve. But again, Peter's not speaking of it like it's just the favor of God, but of something that we need...would desire more and more of if we just new more of it.

Then God brought to mind 2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound to you,
so that having all sufficiency
in all things
at all times,
you may abound in every good work.

Which means that Paul also saw what I never put together fully. Grace isn't just what got us to life in Christ, but what sustains us, strengthens us, supplies us, moves us to abound in every good work. Can you imagine what a different Christmas season this would be if I was all sufficient in all things at all times? Can you imagine if I believed in the power and promise of God to grant what I ask? I want that...and I want that for you.

So, here's my Christmas gift to you...believe with me...May grace and peace be multiplied to you in Jesus name. Can I hear an amen?

Quick quote

2008-10-27T08:11:00.000-05:00

From the hymn "The Love of God"...

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above,
Would drain the ocean dry.
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.

HT: Challies

The Spirit of Adoption

2008-10-26T12:29:00.005-05:00

In honor of our GA friends...

But when the fullness of time had come,
God sent forth his Son,
born of woman, born under the law,
to redeem those who were under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
And because you are sons,
God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying, "Abba! Father!"
Galatians 4:4-6

HT: Between Two Worlds

A Family Woman

2008-10-25T18:22:00.003-05:00

I loved this video...it's message and the graphics...but what I especially loved was that it told the story of my life...well, if you could insert "family woman" into the story. (I wasn't a man...promise.) But the life I wanted is far, far, far from what I have...and I couldn't be more grateful. God knew me so much better than I knew myself...how thankful I am for all the times He said no to my prayers...

Words for the Wind

2008-10-22T09:36:00.004-05:00

Piper on Job, Part 2

During the first message, Piper reached the section of Job 2 after the sores covered his body...
"What's the result? His wife can't take it anymore...I have a lot of sympathy for this woman. And I think the author and Job do too because of the wording here. I mean, she's just lost her kids, alright? Ten children. And she's watched her husband who valiantly worshiped God be struck with boils. This is not easy. We're going to cut her a lot of slack, right? And if words come out of her mouth...there's this beautiful verse in chapter six that talks about 'words for the wind'. 'Will you judge a man for words that are wind?'

There are a lot of words for the wind in the midst of tragedy. Pastors need to discern what are words for the wind...and he doesn't correct them. He just let's them go off into the wind. He knows they will say better tomorrow."

Then after Job's wife says to curse God and die...
"But he (Job) said to her...now here's what he did not say: 'You are one of the foolish women.' He said: 'You speak as one of the foolish women would speak.' I think that's intentional. Giving her a break. 'You're not one of them, honey! This isn't you!'"

This comment on Job's wife was one of those moments that stick for a long time. All of our group mentioned it later and told of the impact this section of the conference had on us. I will admit...I've never had much sympathy for her. I never put myself in her place. I never cut her much slack. She just went into the category of the three friends and off I'd go until Elihu speaks in chapter 32. How grateful I am for this perspective.

Piper refers to Job 6:26 (NASB)...

Do you intend to reprove my words,

When the words of one in despair belong to the wind?

In the heat of the moment...when the impact of the suffering is still raging...when the news has just hit...when the pressure is still on...we all speak "words that are for the wind". Words that reflect our panic, our pain, our grief, our worry, our discouragement, our anger...but do not reflect our hope. Like Peter our eyes see the storm and not the Lord in the storm with us.

I can't do it anymore. I can't. I quit.
I want him gone. I'll never be able to forgive him.
There's no reason for me to even be here any more. I just want the pain to be over.
That's it. Forget it. If this is the kind of God He is...then never mind. I don't want anything to do with him.

And those are just my words. I've heard so many others from women in deep pain...one just yesterday. She can't see the way through. Why would God continue to pour grief upon grief? Nothing is working...it just seems to be getting worse and worse. And God isn't doing anything! If He loved me, wouldn't He do something? Why, Kim? Why isn't He helping me? I don't want to be here. I want this over. I'm so tired. Sobbing followed for long minutes...

Words for the wind. She knows the Lord. She's loved Him and served Him for many decades. She's just overwhelmed...and will be again. The tide did turn during our conversation. I was able to speak gentle truth to her (keeping in mind yesterday's post). I didn't berate her for her words...I just showed her His hand. Reminded her of the Cross and that Jesus is a man acquainted with grief and full of sorrows. That she has a sympathetic High Priest who is able to help her in her time of need. And held her as I said I'm sorry...over and over and over and over...

If the theology continues to be bad in six months or a year when the grief has abated a little? We'll work together to see the Lord clearly. There's time for mourning and words for the wind...there will be a time for laughing and rejoicing in our Father again. I want to be there for both.

And like the words Piper put in Job's mouth...This isn't her. This isn't who she is. She loves the Lord. She trusts Him. How do I know? She belongs to Him. I can remain completely confident not in her, but in God's ability to finish what He began. Did you know that God Himself is bringing her to completion? God Himself will sanctify her completely...her whole soul and body and spirit will be kept blameless until the Day Christ returns. It's true. He wrote it in 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. And the very last words seal it...He is faithful. He will do it.

It's my job to remain confident in His ability to bring everyone to the end...to see them not for who they are, but for who He is making them to be. To see not their grief, but their hope. Not their windy words, but their final proclamation that Jesus Christ is Lord. All I need to hear is their heart and know these words are a measure of their pain. They are not meant to make me worried, but compassionate...not angry, but seeing to the depths of their suffering and believing for them that He who began this good work is faithful to complete it until He comes again.

Like the friends who lowered their friend on the mat...sometimes in the midst of suffering, it is our faith that makes them well...if I can get out of the way enough...and bring out Jesus enough...and wait with them until the healing of the Lord comes...and let their words go to the wind.

Hallelujah!

2008-10-21T09:28:00.002-05:00

IT'S HERE!!
I'm so thrilled that this morning the doorbell rang and the Fed-Ex guy dropped off a package with my gift from Mom...my ESV Study Bible! YIPPEE!

And inside is a precious second gift to me...another Bible for Wayne. It's a good mama who builds up not only her daughter, but her daughter's house. We don't take lightly all that you do to bless us, Mom. And the gift of the Word is the best you could do.

I'm so very grateful today! Thank you!