Lately I have been thinking about what I will do when my children turn 18 or thereabouts. The reason I am thinking of this is 1. I am a planner, 2. I have always looked ahead (way ahead obviously), 3. Women are revealing their struggles to me with their own 18yrs old, 4. My son is over 14 so it is coming up. Mostly the struggle and anxiety occurs when the child does not go down the right path. But I wonder, is it the path we as parents want them to go down, or do we consider that there might be another path that of course, God knows. When the kid is failing a class, is it always bad? When she is moody and doesn't want to talk or is always out, does it rub us the wrong way? When he drifts from God and church, what is God doing (or to our thinking, not doing)? Is God not answering our prayers or are we just missing the answer? Can we trust Him? This is our kid! Or is he really ours? Can we love, trust and rest in God in all this? Can we love the kid through the rough spots? These are questions I ask myself and other women that our coming to me. We wish God would shout down the answer, but He is. He whispers, "I am enough". A current song on the radio lately thrills me every time I hear it. It's main phrase is:
"Your grace is enough for me". I just wonder, do I really believe that? Do you?
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Monday, December 03, 2007
Lots of things b/c I haven't written in a long time
I may ramble but need to get these things out:
I finished my last difficult, annoying class on Nov 10th and pulled off an A for which I am grateful because it was very challenging to me and took a lot of my time, energy and effort. I almost quit, but I will readjust some things when my next class starts in January (work less, less classes,etc)
My husband gave me our Christmas gift early-he bought the new Nikon digital camera with those 2 nice lenses on it. It is so much better than our old Kodak. So we are clicking away.
My house is all decked out-It is really beautiful this year!It has the most decorations I have ever had. I really enjoy Christmas. One of our Pastors this week in church reminded us not to lose sight of our need for the Savior-our horrible, ugly sin and our turning away from our Maker. Isaiah 9 and 11 have brought me to tears thinking about how my great God made Himself nothing (think about it-He started out as a little fertilized egg just like the rest of us) to save us from our filth and ugliness. How could I be proud after that when He is so humble? I could I be so aloof when He is so approachable? How could I want anything else when He is everything? So I celebrate Christmas with a great bang because of Jesus and His worthiness to be celebrated and enjoyed!
So we missed Thanksgiving in NYC-disappointing. My brother had to go to sea early. But we will go another time. We had our good friends over and ate a lot!
I just finished the book by Thomas Brooks, a puritan, written in 1652 (although it might as well been written today for its practicality) called: Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices. It was excellent. Here are some snippets but I would encourage you to read it:
Devices against the great and honorable of the earth:
Satan works them to make it their business to seek themselves, to seek how to greaten themselves, to raise themselves, to enrich themselves, to secure themselves.
Remedy 1:Self-seeking is a sin that will put men upon a world of sins, upon sins not only against the law of God, the rules of the gospel, but that are against the very laws of nature, that are so much darkened by the fall of man.
Remedy 2:Self-seeking makes a person become a servant to the creature. Self-seeking will make a man say anything, do anything and be anything to please the lusts of others, and to get advantages upon others.
Remedy 3:Dwell upon those dreadful curses and woes that are from heaven denounced against self-seekers.
Remedy 4: Self-seekers are self-losers and self-destroyers. He that is too much for himself, fails to be good to others.
Remedy 5:Dwell upon the famous examples of those worthy saints that have denied themselves and preferred the public good before their own particular advantage. (Moses, Daniel, Christ)
Remedy 6: Self is a great hinderance to divine things. Self-seeking blinds the soul so it cannot see the beauty of Christ nor an excellency in holiness. It distempers the palate so that it cannot taste the sweetness of the Word of God, the ways of God, nor in the society of the people of God. It hardens the heart against all the entreaties of Christ. There is not a greater hindrance to all the duties of piety than self-seeking.
Another remedy for disunity of the saints is:
To be much in self-judging.Were Christian hearts more taken up in judging themselves than condemning others, they would not be so apt to judge and censure others, and to carry it sourly and bitterly towards others that differ from them.
Labor to be clothed with humility. Humility fits for the highest services and yet will not neglect the lowest services. Humility will make a man bless him that curses him and pray for those that persecute him. Humility will make a man quiet and content in the meanest conditions...preserve him from envy. Did Christians more abound in humility, they would be less bitter, froward and sour... and more gentle, meek, and sweet in their spirits and practices. Humility will make a man have high thoughts of others and low thoughts of a man's self. Were Christians more humble, there would be less fire and more love among them than there is now.
This convicted me. What about you? This brings me to something my husband expressed recently. He basically thanked me for aruing with him! He was glad I was struggling to keep our marriage strong, but I thought it was quite humble of him. How often he takes my sharp tongue and is just silent or even blesses me instead. How much I have to learn from Jesus' example of humility, from Dave, and from others in my life. Here's a new year's resolution for us all: try to either be silent or answer kindly, gently, quietly when someone is sharp or even nasty to you. Whew! That will take not only all year but the rest of our lives.
I finished my last difficult, annoying class on Nov 10th and pulled off an A for which I am grateful because it was very challenging to me and took a lot of my time, energy and effort. I almost quit, but I will readjust some things when my next class starts in January (work less, less classes,etc)
My husband gave me our Christmas gift early-he bought the new Nikon digital camera with those 2 nice lenses on it. It is so much better than our old Kodak. So we are clicking away.
My house is all decked out-It is really beautiful this year!It has the most decorations I have ever had. I really enjoy Christmas. One of our Pastors this week in church reminded us not to lose sight of our need for the Savior-our horrible, ugly sin and our turning away from our Maker. Isaiah 9 and 11 have brought me to tears thinking about how my great God made Himself nothing (think about it-He started out as a little fertilized egg just like the rest of us) to save us from our filth and ugliness. How could I be proud after that when He is so humble? I could I be so aloof when He is so approachable? How could I want anything else when He is everything? So I celebrate Christmas with a great bang because of Jesus and His worthiness to be celebrated and enjoyed!
So we missed Thanksgiving in NYC-disappointing. My brother had to go to sea early. But we will go another time. We had our good friends over and ate a lot!
I just finished the book by Thomas Brooks, a puritan, written in 1652 (although it might as well been written today for its practicality) called: Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices. It was excellent. Here are some snippets but I would encourage you to read it:
Devices against the great and honorable of the earth:
Satan works them to make it their business to seek themselves, to seek how to greaten themselves, to raise themselves, to enrich themselves, to secure themselves.
Remedy 1:Self-seeking is a sin that will put men upon a world of sins, upon sins not only against the law of God, the rules of the gospel, but that are against the very laws of nature, that are so much darkened by the fall of man.
Remedy 2:Self-seeking makes a person become a servant to the creature. Self-seeking will make a man say anything, do anything and be anything to please the lusts of others, and to get advantages upon others.
Remedy 3:Dwell upon those dreadful curses and woes that are from heaven denounced against self-seekers.
Remedy 4: Self-seekers are self-losers and self-destroyers. He that is too much for himself, fails to be good to others.
Remedy 5:Dwell upon the famous examples of those worthy saints that have denied themselves and preferred the public good before their own particular advantage. (Moses, Daniel, Christ)
Remedy 6: Self is a great hinderance to divine things. Self-seeking blinds the soul so it cannot see the beauty of Christ nor an excellency in holiness. It distempers the palate so that it cannot taste the sweetness of the Word of God, the ways of God, nor in the society of the people of God. It hardens the heart against all the entreaties of Christ. There is not a greater hindrance to all the duties of piety than self-seeking.
Another remedy for disunity of the saints is:
To be much in self-judging.Were Christian hearts more taken up in judging themselves than condemning others, they would not be so apt to judge and censure others, and to carry it sourly and bitterly towards others that differ from them.
Labor to be clothed with humility. Humility fits for the highest services and yet will not neglect the lowest services. Humility will make a man bless him that curses him and pray for those that persecute him. Humility will make a man quiet and content in the meanest conditions...preserve him from envy. Did Christians more abound in humility, they would be less bitter, froward and sour... and more gentle, meek, and sweet in their spirits and practices. Humility will make a man have high thoughts of others and low thoughts of a man's self. Were Christians more humble, there would be less fire and more love among them than there is now.
This convicted me. What about you? This brings me to something my husband expressed recently. He basically thanked me for aruing with him! He was glad I was struggling to keep our marriage strong, but I thought it was quite humble of him. How often he takes my sharp tongue and is just silent or even blesses me instead. How much I have to learn from Jesus' example of humility, from Dave, and from others in my life. Here's a new year's resolution for us all: try to either be silent or answer kindly, gently, quietly when someone is sharp or even nasty to you. Whew! That will take not only all year but the rest of our lives.
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