Monthly Archives: November 2009

Why hear a missionary presentation?

Posted on by

What do you think when you hear that a missionary will be speaking at your church? Are you disappointed that you won’t hear the pastor? Or excited about a change of pace? Are you tempted to stay home because it is “just a missionary” after all? Or looking forward to dozing off during the video?

A few weeks ago a young lady spoke at our women’s meeting about her summer on a mission field, and I was blessed in so many ways even beyond just hearing what the Lord did that summer that I made a list of some of the blessings we can glean as missionaries present their work. Our church is having a Missions Conference this week, so it seemed like a good time to revisit these thoughts and post them.

1. Jesus told His disciples to “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields” (John 4:35b), and hearing a missionary presentation is one good way to obey that command.

2. We can see more fields than we could possibly visit in person.

3. Our hearts are stirred for the lost.

4. We are stirred to contribute both by prayer and giving.

5. We’re stirred to come alongside and help the missionary in his or her ministry.

6. It’s educational: we learn of other cultures from those who have actually experienced them.

7. We’re stirred up to serve the Lord in our own areas of ministry.

8. Our faith is encouraged as we see God’s hand at work in the lives of ordinary people who have stepped out in faith and yielded themselves to Him, and we are encouraged to do likewise.

9. Our faith is encouraged as we see God’s provision for funds, supplies, abilities.

10. Our hearts are knit together with brethren we might never meet in this life. We get to know our spiritual relatives whom we will meet some day in heaven.

11. We’re called to be willing to be used in whatever way God might see fit in the mission field He has for each of us, possibly even an overseas one.

How about you? How do you feel about missionary presentations?

Microfiction Monday

Posted on by

Welcome to Microfiction Monday,
where a picture only paints 140 characters.

microfictionmonday

Susan at Stony River has begun a Microfiction Monday wherein participants write a story in 140 characters based on a particular image.  Design 215’s Character Counter helps keep track of the number of characters. It’s a fun exercise in creative conciseness…or concise creativity…

creepybears

Imagination on parade
Through the dell, across the glade
Before the dream and daylight fade
And slumber to its rest is laid
Neath the shade.

I Could Not Do Without Thee

Posted on by

The first time I heard this hymn was from a ensemble visiting our church, and it spoke to my heart, especially the second verse. I thought it was a new hymn, but looking it up after I got home, I saw it was written by Frances Ridley Havergal in1873. I like the newer melody better, but I don’t know who wrote it. It’s on one of my favorite CDs, “A Quiet Heart” by Soundforth (you can hear sound clips or buy individual tracks here; you can hear longer sound clips here, you can buy the CD either place, and no, this is not a paid advertisement.)

The whole song text is here as well as alternative tunes; I have usually only heard it sung with these four stanzas.

I could not do without Thee
O Savior of the lost,
Whose precious blood redeemed me
At such tremendous cost.
Thy righteousness, thy pardon
Thy precious blood, must be
My only hope and comfort,
My glory and my plea.

I could not do without Thee,
I cannot stand alone,
I have no strength or goodness,
No wisdom of my own;
But Thou, beloved Savior,
Art all in all to me,
And weakness will be power
If leaning hard on Thee.

I could not do without Thee,
O Jesus, Savior dear;
E’en when my eyes are holden,
I know that Thou art near.
How dreary and how lonely
This changeful life would be,
Without the sweet communion,
The secret rest with Thee!

I could not do without Thee,
For years are fleeting fast,
And soon in solemn loneness
The river must be passed;
But Thou wilt never leave me,
And though the waves roll high,
I know Thou wilt be near me,
And whisper, “It is I.”

The first time I heard it I was struck with the repetition of “lone,” “alone,” and “loneness.” I was feeling very much  alone at the time because Jim was traveling a lot, and I was reminded that I am never alone with Christ, and that’s not just a trite saying but a meaningful reality. And then the second stanza has been a help to me so many times. We truly have no strength, goodness, or wisdom of our own, but because of the redemption mentioned in the first stanza, we can experience the strength in the second stanza.

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt: Veterans, Military

Posted on by

photohunters2mo1.gif

Theme: Veterans/Military | Become a Photo Hunter

I haven’t done a Photo Hunt in ages. I got super busy a few Saturdays in a row, and then just fell out of the habit — sometimes I’d look at the categories but couldn’t seem to come up with anything interesting.

But I have a few photos from a Veteran’s Day parade a few years ago plus a few in connection with my father-in-law.

PB110014

PB110026

image0

CIMG1984

Let no vandalism of avarice or neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations, that we have forgotten, as a people, the cost of a free and undivided Republic. ~John A. Logan

The Photo Scavenger Hunt is hosted by TN Chick.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on by

FFF fall leaves 2

 

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story hosts a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share our five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details, and you can visit Susanne to see the list of others’ favorites or to join in.

1. A whole evening to read. That doesn’t happen very often. Usually I read in snatches of time here and there. But one evening there was nothing on TV and nothing happening in the blogs I read or on Facebook, and I just wasn’t in a frame of mind to do anything physical, so I spent a lovely evening with a book.

2. A really good apple and orange. One problem with eating fruit is that you never know quite how it is going to taste until you start it, even if you buy the same variety. Sometimes it more dry or tart, etc., ulike a package of Oreos, which tastes the same every time. 🙂 But a really, really good piece of fruit is…really good!

3. A good ladies’ meeting. Somehow it has almost become a tradition to have the November meeting at a ladies’ home who has a home theater (installed and left by the former owners) and watch a film. Plus this hostess usually prepares a full meal rather than snacks, and she usually includes some kind of potato soup — one of my all-time favorite soups. We watched the film “Open My Eyes, Dear Lord” about the lives and ministry of Joe and Tanna Collins — dear, sweet, ordinary people who stepped out in faith. Her testimony about the Lord answering her objections step by step was both sweet and humorous. Unfortunately the film doesn’t share the “rest of the story” as included in the article (it was probably made before the events in the article), but I printed it out and was able to share a few things from it. Several things spoke to me, but this was particularly convicting:

In 1997, the wife of a witch doctor was repeatedly beaten for attending church after she came to Christ. In spite of beatings that would sometimes leave her in bed for two weeks, she would sneak out to be with other Christians for church services. Soon, she had led 22 of her fellow Nepalese to Christ, and she would risk more beatings by spending time with anyone after church who needed to be saved.

How often I drag my feet to attend church (even knowing that God will speak to me and it will be a blessing) because I am tired or whatever — and this lady wanted to attend so much she did so despite beatings.

4. Stocking the missions closet. Our church has a little closet where we take visiting missionaries so they can choose from a variety of items as just an extra little ministry to them. Our missions conference starts this Sunday, so I have been stocking it up. It’s a fun ministry, and it is especially a blessing when something is especially what they needed or something they’re really excited to get. It’s neat to know the Lord leads in even such things. Once a missionary family picked up a little tool which I was not entirely sure even what it was — for some reason I just added it in when shopping, but they needed it.

5. Baby time. My daughter-in-law, Mittu, is baby-sitting a little 8-month old girl. I met her for the first time this week. I haven’t been around babies in a while, and I’m not normally someone who just gravitates to babies. But oh, the sweetness! It was a little preview into what it might be like when grandkids come along. I can’t wait. No pressure, no hurry, all in the Lord’s timing — but I am looking forward to it even more than I already was!

Blogging for peace…repost

Posted on by

My thoughts this year were along the same lines as last year, so I figured I may as well just repost. The truths are timeless.

I have been tagged by several bloggers to participate in a “Blog Blast for Peace.” I am afraid they might be a little disappointed, though, because I can’t do it exactly like what they have in mind.

There are two reasons. One, I don’t think world peace will come because bloggers or others write about how much we want it. And two, the conflicts between nations stem from the same conflicts in individual human hearts.

James 4:1-3 (NKJV) says,

1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.

Wars come, ultimately, because nations lust, primarily for power or property. Of course, sometimes nations go to war to defend against that lust of other nations as Great Britain and the USA did against the Nazi regime. I think in some cases like that war is justified though every diplomatic means should be employed first.

But the point is, wars occur for the same reason individual human conflicts occur, and they won’t cease until individual human conflict ceases. And human conflict will not cease until human hearts are changed.

Ephesians 2: 13-18 says:

13But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.

14For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;

15Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;

16And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

17And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

18For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.

Isaiah 9:6 says, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” In John 16:33 He says, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”

In studying Bible prophecy, it is only when Christ comes to reign that there will be peace on earth. In fact the passage that says “they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” is in a prophetic section talking about the reign of Christ. As it gets closer to that time, He said, in Matthew 24:

5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

Until that time, though, individual believers can have peace with Him, first, and then peace with others. As the Ephesians 2 passage mentioned above, Christ Jesus made peace for those who will believe on Him by offering Himself, shedding His blood to suffer the punishment for those sins and redeem us.

Psalm 85:10 says, “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.” If a judge set free a guilty man out of mercy, we would say that wasn’t just — especially if we were the ones sinned against by the guilty man. But because Jesus took those sins on Himself and paid the penalty for them, He satisfied the demands for justice, and God is now able to grant mercy, and thereby peace, to those who believe on Christ as Lord and Savior.

Colossians 1 says,

19For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

20And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

21And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled

22In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

And then once we believe on Him, we have His peace in our hearts. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”

Jesus said in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

And once we have His peace in our hearts, we can have peace with others. Galatians 5:22-23a says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance.” Colossians 3:14-15 says, “And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.” “Flee also youthful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart” (II Timothy 2:22). “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14). Philippians 4:6-7 says, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

Certainly we do need to speak up against unjust wars, and it is good to be a peacemaker, but total peace won’t come until the Prince of Peace reigns, in individual hearts and in nations.

“Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.” Romans 15:13.

“Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” II Peter 3:14.

Booking Through Thursdays: Biographies

Posted on by

 

btt button The Booking Through Thursday for today is:

Which do you prefer? Biographies written about someone? Or Autobiographies written by the actual person (and/or ghost-writer)?

Biographies and auto-biographies are a couple of my favorite genres. (Personally I’d say something written by a ghostwriter is not an autobiography but a biography.) I like seeing what makes a person tick, what influences shaped his or her life and how he or she responded to them.

I look at the BTT questions early in the morning and think about them while getting ready for the day. My first response would have been that I liked them equally, but after thinking about it a while, I think I’d say autobiographies. No one really know what happened or what the subject thought as well as the subject himself. Biographies can be helpful because they include other people’s observations, background information, historical setting, etc. But sometimes if you read three different biographies of a person, you’re might get three different impressions. The information and story can’t help but be filtered through the biographer’s impressions and frame of reference. That said, I do enjoy biographies in general.

There are two styles of biographies I don’t like, however. One is the “just the facts, Ma’am” encyclopedic type, which I find dry and usually uninteresting. The other is the opposite extreme where the person’s life is so enmeshed in the author’s story-telling that you have no idea what is fact and what is the author’s imagination.

I’d say if you really want to learn about a particular person, read both the autobiography (if available) and two or three different biographies. You’ll get a fuller picture plus you’ll be able to tell if one author’s “take” is a little off.

Literary Meme Answers

Posted on by

Here are the answer’s to yesterday’s Literary Meme:

1. The Princess Bride

2. Climbing by Rosalind Goforth

3. In the Arena by Isobel Kuhn

4. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

5. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

1, 4, and 5 were guessed correctly. 2 and 3 were admittedly a little more obscure, but I have mentioned them on my blog before and I thought a certain segment of my readers might know or guess them.

Thanks for playing! If you do this let me know so I can come guess your answers.

Literary Meme

Posted on by

I saw this at Janet’s Across the Page, who saw it at Deb on the Run — and you can trace it back from there if you’d like. I don’t know who originated it. But I thought it looked like fun.

1. Pick 5 of your favorite books.

2. Post the first sentence of each book. (If one sentence seems too short, post two or three!)

3. Let everyone try to guess the titles and authors of your books.

I had to bypass a few favorites because a main character was in the first sentence, or, in a few biographies, the subject was named in the first sentence. And of course, A Tale of Two Cities is one of my favorites but has one of the most famous opening lines ever. But here are five.

1. This is my favorite book in all the world, though I have never read it.

2. The first picture can scarcely be called a memory; rather, let it be just a family legend.

3. “If you go to China, it will be over my dead body. I will never consent,” was my mother’s bitter remark.

4. In 1815 Monsieur Charles-Francois-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of Digne.

5. There was no possibility of taking a walk that day.

In a couple of cases there is a verse or quote at the heading of the chapter, but I quoted the first line of the actual text of the book. And in one case the first line is part of the introduction, but the introduction to that book is an essential part of it.

You can leave your guesses in the comments, but you might want to try to bypass looking at the comments if you’re trying to guess.

Let me know if you do this as well. And if you want to test your knowledge of more first lines, I found a fun quiz here. I got a 90% even though I hadn’t read all of the books mentioned.

Odds and ends

Posted on by

I love setting clocks back. I don’t like darkness settling in so early.

Jim’s mom’s house sold in Idaho this week. That is a relief on many fronts: we don’t have to worry about the upkeep or electric bills or keeping it heated during the winter while unattended. Plus this should help finance her expenses for years to come, hopefully until the Lord takes her home. Her other sources of income ran a few hundred dollars short of monthly expenses, so part of her savings was being used to supplement that. This, barring some unforeseen expense, should take care of things.

She has mixed emotions, of course. She loved seeing the check for the house! And she is relieved that it is sold. But there is sadness, too, at this last tie being severed with a place that holds such memories. Jim allowed time for her to talk through all of that and encouraged her that the place that had been a blessing to her for years can now bless others.

One frustration we have experienced is that a Power of Attorney doesn’t mean what we thought it meant. We thought that gave Jim consent to take care of her legalities. But some businesses and agencies will not deal with him. He’s had to go to her place and call some of these places, put them on speaker phone, explain to her what they’re asking and what information they want without telling her what to say (one guy from the VA yelled at him for that), all the while she can’t hear well and she gets very agitated at this kind of thing, which causes more confusion and agitation. I understand they want to protect the elderly from people who would bilk them out of their money and such. But the people who make these regulations would benefit from actual experience with elderly people who can’t hear, get easily confused, and suffer from some degree of dementia. He has to take her with him for a few things, and she not only really dislikes going places, but she can’t walk far even with her walker. We’re looking for a used wheelchair for her.

Mittu’s mom is here visiting, and we enjoyed spending time with her.

Finally saw Facing the Giants this weekend. It’s not bad. I had heard that the acting was not good, but it wasn’t as bad as I had thought. The message about right priorities and making sure one is right with God were good, but it is a little misleading that all your hopes and dreams are going to come true as a result of God’s blessing when your heart is right. I do share the concern Challies mentioned (I finally subscribed to him — a good many of the bloggers I read quote or link back to him, so I figured it was time to get it straight from the source 🙂 ) here that the producers of it and Fireproof were praying that their next film not be “a good movie [but] a God movie…” Those two should not be mutually exclusive: it should not be either/or. If it is a film for God, it should be made as well as possible. Christian films have a reputation for being a little hokey. Ironically, one of the messages of Facing the Giants was giving your best effort. Psalm 33:3 says, “Sing unto him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.” Instrumentalists were to be skillful in their playing. Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men,” and Ecclesiastes 9:10a says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” We may be limited by experience, finances, etc. but within that framework our work needs to be the best it can possibly be.

(Stepping off soapbox now.)

Our church ladies’ newsletter/booklet was due out this past weekend. I just want to testify again of the grace God provides when doing anything for Him. I keep thinking I need to finish this newsletter a week or so ahead of time so it can “incubate” — that would relieve some pressure and enable me to catch mistakes and see better ways to phrase things. But it just doesn’t seem to come together until the last week,  especially the last few days. This past week it seemed innumerable things came up those last few days (including an unexpected run to Jim’s Mom’s audiologist when her hearing aid wasn’t working right), yet on the busiest day, in the 30-45 minutes I had to work on it, several big pieces just fell together beautifully. I was able to get them printed off and distributed Friday, which I was hoping to do, because Mittu’s mom was coming in Saturday and I needed to get some things done at home. Thank you, Lord!

I wish you all a good week. I’ve been adding to my to-do list all morning — guess I’d better get to it!