February Reflections

Posted on February 29, 2024 by Barbara Harper

February has been a much better month that January. It’s gone by awfully fast, though, even with an extra day.

As a family, we enjoyed Valentine’s Day and my daughter-in-law’s birthday, as well as a visit from her mom and an excursion to the Ark Encounter, which I told about here.

Toward the end of last month, we watched Timothy early one morning while his parents went to a parenting seminar at church. That happened to be the day Jim takes the garbage and recycling out (we don’t have city pick-up where we live). He asked Timothy if he wanted to go with him to the recycling center, and he did. And he’s gone every week since then. 🙂 I don’t know if he liked watching the big machines that crush the garbage, or what. I imagine he’ll get tired of it pretty soon, but Jim has been enjoying the time with him.

Jesse, my youngest son, has had everything finally fall into place for his first house purchase. He’ closed yesterday after a couple of hiccups in the process. Shakespeare said, “The course of true love never did run smooth.” I think that could apply to house purchasing as well. Jesse is due to move in this weekend, so we’ll be helping with that.

Watching

We enjoyed the rest of All Creatures Great and Small, though the season seemed much too short.

The only other noteworthy program we saw was a movie based on a true story, The Hill. Rickey Hill had a degenerative spinal disease and wore leg braces as a child. But he loved baseball and was something of a batting phenom. His pastor father (wonderfully played by Dennis Quaid) wanted him to go into the ministry. He tried to discourage him away from baseball so he wouldn’t be injured. Rickey eventually signed with the Montreal Expos.

Creating

February was a busy month for card-making.

This was Jim’s Valentine card:

This turned out to be one of my favorite cards that I’ve made. The “To my Valentine” was done with the Cricut.

This was Jeremy’s:

He likes foxes, so I try to incorporate them.

This was Jason’s:

I had seen this design on the Cricut while looking for the wording for Jim’s and liked it. With this one, the Cricut sends the design to our prtinter, then calibrates how to cut out around it.

This was Mittu’s:

When I try to decide what to make, I might peruse Pinterest or the Cricut files, or I might just start looking through my supplies to see what materializes. I came up with Mittu’s card the latter way. The background paper and “Happy Valentine’s Day” were in a package of scrapbooking paper. I had the purple trim for the top and bottom in my supplies.

This was Timothy’s:

The heart is made of multiple layers of felt. I think I got the idea for this card fairly soon after finding a package of these hearts at Hobby Lobby.

This was Jesse’s:

I got the idea for this and Jim’s on Pinterest, but I try not to copy the cards there exactly.

I don’t think I have ever made one for my friend Melanie before, but as I was sorting through my supplies to make Mittu’s card, I thought Melanie would like this. They both like purple.

Then this card was for Mittu’s birthday:

Mittu likes sunflowers as well. The ones at the corners were multi-layered stickers. The greeting was done on the computer.

Then this time I wanted to share the cards I received.

The 3D card was from Jim. Cute!

For a closer look at the cards made by Timothy and Mittu:

I loved them all, but I am especially in awe of the one Mittu drew. I can’t draw much at all without it looking pre-schoolish, so I admire people who can. Jim looks a little like the older man in the movie “Up.” 🙂

Reading

Since last time, I finished (linked to my reviews):

Adorning the Dark: Thoughts on Community, Calling, and the Mystery of Making by Andrew Peterson. I loved this book. It both inspired me and brought me to tears. I immediately started reading it again after I finished.
When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser, fiction, audiobook. A desperate father takes on a hit job to get extra money for his son’s major heart surgery. But he succeeds only in putting his target in a coma. Then he finds out she is a best-selling author. So he starts reading her books. Meanwhile, the woman remembers her past while in a coma and eventually decides she needs to tell her family her secrets. Mostly good.
The Winter Rose by Melanie Dobson, fiction. An American woman who helps smuggle Jewish children out of Vichy France takes two of them to raise as her own. But the children’s trauma isn’t over just because they’re on American soil. Very good.
Dear Henry, Love Edith by Becca Kinzer, fiction. A romantic comedy of errors ensues when a man opens his upstairs to board what he thinks is an elderly widowed missionary lady. They keep missing each other, sustaining their mistaken impressions of the other. They leave notes for each other, which sets off their relationship. Not my usual fare, but it was okay.
Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren. Ivy Madison moves to Deep Haven, Minnesota as the new assistant county attorney. She unexpectedly falls in love with Darek, a single dad who helps his parents run a resort. But then she realizes she is the one who crafted a plea deal for the man responsible for Darek’s wife’s death, before she knew any of the people involved. Good..
Organizing for the Rest of Us: 100 Realistic Strategies for Keeping Your House Under Control by Dana K. White. nonfiction. Lots of good, practical tips.

I only listened to a bit of Susan Meissner’s A Bridge Across the Ocean, then I returned the audiobook. The story opened with a woman’s ghost roaming the deck of a ship just before it launches, and one woman senses her presence and speaks to her. I’ve enjoyed several of Susan ‘s books and was astonished to hear this. It’s not just that I don’t care for ghost stories. But Christian fiction (which I assume this was as everything else I’ve read from Susan has been) generally wouldn’t promote the idea of dead spirits on earth because that’s not what the Bible says happens to the dead.

I’m currently reading:

Be Skillful (Proverbs): God’s Guidebook to Wise Living by Warren Wiersbe, nonfiction
Be Comforted (Isaiah): Feeling Secure in the Arms of God by Warren W. Wiersbe, nonfiction
Isaiah for You by Tim Chester, nonfiction
Proverbs for Life for Women, nonfiction
Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life by Nick Vulicic, nonfiction
Dandelion Summer by Lisa Wingate, fiction, audiobook

Blogging

Besides the weekly Friday Fave Fives, Saturday Laudable Linkage, and book reviews, I’ve posted these since last time:

As we turn the Calendar page to March tomorrow, I’m looking forward to my husband’s birthday, “Pi Day” on the 14th, the official beginning of spring as well as more signs of it, and Easter.

How was your February? What are you looking forward to in March?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Review: Take a Chance on Me

Posted on February 28, 2024 by Barbara Harper

In Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren, Darek Christiansen is a single father working with his parents on the resort they’ve had for years: Evergreen Lake Resort in Minnesota. Darek had been a firefighter, but when his wife died, he worked at the resort to help take care of his son.

He and his wife, Felicity, and friends Jensen and Claire had grown up together in the area. But Jensen was responsible for Felicity’s death. Darek is angry at Jensen, at himself, at God.

Ivy Madison has just moved to the area as the new assistant county attorney. When she bids on Darek for a date at a charity auction, she doesn’t know what to make of his curmudgeonly behavior. But she sees a tender side of him when he’s with his son.

Ivy had grown up in the foster care system, and Darek’s family feels like the one she had always longed for.

But then she has a stunning realization. Before moving here, she had been asked to write a proposed plea deal for a man guilty of vehicular homicide. Since the incident was an accident, she suggested that the man do hours of community service rather than jail time.

After learning Derak’s story, Ivy realizes Jensen is the man whose plea deal she crafted. When Darek learns that Ivy was the one who kept Jensen out of jail, will he forgive her?

Meanwhile, a wildfire rages nearby. Firefighters are on it, but can they keep it from engulfing the town and resort?

Another plot line involves Claire, her unrequited love for Jensen, and her desire to stay in town while her missionary parents want her to go to college at age 25. There’s also a tussle when Claire’s grandfather has an accident. She wants to take care of him; her parents want to move him to a home.

I thought this was the first Susan May Warren book I had read, but I see I had read a few of her Christmas books in past years: Evergreen: A Christiansen Winter Novella (which I just realized involved the family from this book), The Great Christmas Bowl, and Baby, It’s Cold Outside.

The point of view switches back and forth between Darek, Ivy, Jensen, and Claire. One interesting thing about this story is that at first, Darek seems like the innocent wounded party and Jensen seems like the bad guy. But as we learn more of what happened and get to know them better, we see Darek (as well as Felicity) has done things he’s not proud of, and Jensen has good qualities no one appreciates at first.

I thought the faith element was woven in naturally.

Favorite quotes:

I knew your future would take you far from Evergreen Lake. I feared it would take you far, also, from your legacy of faith. Watching your son leave your arms has no comparison to watching him leave God’s. You never seemed to question the beliefs your father and I taught you. Perhaps that is what unsettled me the most. Because without questioning, I wondered how there could be true understanding.

“Small acts of justice can make great ripples in the community.” “Or tear it apart.”

We can’t hold onto something so hard that it destroys everything else we love.

I disagreed with one character saying that God acts almost entirely out of the emotion of love. Love isn’t just an emotion. And I wouldn’t say God acts primarily on emotion.

And I was disappointed Susan spelled out a metaphor that arose with the wildfire and something that was going on in the plot. It was kind of neat to make that connection, and I felt it would have been stronger if the reader had been allowed to make it for herself rather than being told.

But overall I liked getting to know the characters and their situations and where everyone ended up in their journeys. I enjoyed the audiobook narrated by Carol Monda. I didn’t realize that this book was the first of seven involving the Christiansen family. I was able to find several of them for free with Audible’s Plus Catalog,

A Visit to The Ark Encounter

Posted on February 27, 2024 by Barbara Harper

A few weeks ago, a friend of Jason and Mittu’s called to say he had five free adult tickets to The Ark Encounter in Williamstown, KY, and asked if they wanted them. They asked if we were interested in going, and then arranged to go on the weekend Mittu’s mom would be visiting so she could experience it, too. I’m not sure why their friend had these tickets, but we’re grateful for his generosity.

Children under ten got in free. The man at the door looked at us skeptically when we said Timothy was only 9. 🙂 But he didn’t question us.

If you’re not familiar with the Ark Encounter, it’s a life-sized replica of Noah’s ark built according to the dimensions in the Bible..

The Ark is a little over three hours away from us, so we drove in two separate cars. Jason and his family planned to stay overnight, but Jim and I came back that evening.

We met for lunch at Hansie Flip Burgers in Wlliamstown, not far from the Ark, Jason had looked up places nearby that had gluten-free options for Mittu and Timothy. It was kind of neat to visit a local place rather than a restaurant we’re used to. It’s in an area which is renovating a lot of old buildings. There were not a lot of choices on the menu–mainly just large and small burgers–but they were good. And their Hansie sauce was wonderful.

When we got done there, we headed over to the Ark. Thankfully, they had a shuttle bus from the parking spot to the Welcome center. We were able to find a parking spot not far from the shuttle.

The most impressive part of the whole day for me was walking up to the Ark itself and seeing how massive it was. Their web site says the structure is 510 feet long, 85 feet wide, and 51 feet high.

This doesn’t give you the best idea of the scale, since we’re closer to the camera and look bigger. But if you look back to the Ark, you can see the tiny people on the ground and how they compare to the structure.

The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the ark itself besides the size and materials it was made of. We don’t know how Noah and his family managed the animals, food storage, waste products, etc. But those who built this Ark used their best guesses based on research of ancient history. They had a lot of signage indicating where they took artistic license.

The Ark has three levels filled with displays and information. They had life-sized displays of animals and cages, food storage, an indoor garden, Noah’s family and their imagined living quarters. Many of the animals looked unfamiliar but were based on fossil records.

Imagined living quarters of one of Noah’s sons and his wife.

The people looked quite realistic!

Some of the animals were not like any we’re familiar with. The builders used fossil records to simulate animals that would have been around at the time. We saw part of one video while we were resting that showed how they did some of the art work and animal replicas. That was pretty interesting.

There was also an abundance of information on the walls: the story of creation, man’s fall, and the descent into violence and lawlessness that led to the flood; how big is a cubit; the difference between kinds of animals and species, and why that’s important; the after-effects of the flood, and so much more. I think we would have gotten much more from the experience if we had read more of the signage. I wish I had taken more pictures of it to read later.

We were there for almost four hours, I think. There was more we could have explored, but we were tired.

There were a lot of other attractions outside, but they were closed for the season. Jason and Mittu did take Timothy to a zoo area after Jim and I left.

There were also snack and gift areas on every floor, as well as lots of benches and restrooms.

Timothy and his grandmothers taking a break. 🙂

We kind of joked about some of the modern-day amenities that would not have been on the original ark. But I was glad for air conditioning and elevators and other modern touches.

I have to confess, years ago, when we first heard the Ark was going to be built, we wondered if it was a wise use of money. It would be neat and interesting, yes. But would Christians’ donations be better invested in missions or education or evangelism?

But I think the Ark is both evangelistic and educational.

On the downside:

The Ark’s fees are incredibly high: $50 for adults, $40 for seniors, $30 for kids ages 11-17. Children under 10 are free. They had other price combinations if you’re staying for more than a day or going to the nearby Creation Museum as well. And parking is $15 per car. I don’t think we would have ever gone if we hadn’t had free tickets.
Jason and Mittu had been before and said the buffet there was a little expensive then, but manageable. This time, though, it was $20 per person (which is why we ate elsewhere).
It did seem awfully commercialized. Maybe that’s just a part of an attraction like this. I was thinking that a Christian fiction novel has to be an excellent story, or it’s message will fall flat. So this kind of venue probably has to have all the usual things that come with being an attraction to be taken seriously.
The shuttle brought us to the Welcome Center (which housed a large gift shop, coffee shop, etc.), and then we had to walk quite a ways to the Ark itself. I don’t know why they couldn’t have put the Welcome Center closer to the Ark, or taken the shuttle to the Ark rather than the Welcome Center, or provided another shuttle.
They had a lot of staff around to direct or answer questions. They were helpful when we did ask them something. But a couple of them over-directed us needlessly (telling us to go where we were already going, etc.). The people wanting to take a group photo (to try to sell you later) were the most pushy.
One video depicting a skeptical, derisive “reporter” asking Noah what he was up to did depict the attitude the people at the time had toward Noah. But it was done in a light, almost flippant way that, to Jim and me, took away from the message.

Overall, though, it was a good visit, and I am glad we went.

Timothy was a little droopy, and we thought he was just tired from picking up his other grandmother from the airport late the night before. His parents thought perhaps he was a little dehydrated and got some apple juice and water into him. That night, at the hotel, he developed a 102 degree temperature. We felt bad for him that he was coming down with something during the day. He had a low fever over the weekend and sniffles since then, but otherwise is ok now. I think he still enjoyed the visit.

Have you been to the Ark Encounter? What did you think?

But I Did Everything Right

Posted on February 25, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Why do things go wrong when I did everything right?

In my early Christian life, I’d get frustrated when problems crept up while I was attempting to do something for the Lord. Even getting to church Sunday morning could be a battlefield as breakfast burned, one child couldn’t find a shoe, another was bereft over his lost Bible, and the baby had a blowout diaper just before time to leave.

I’ve known people who were actively serving the Lord ministering to others when disaster struck: a serious accident, a cancer diagnosis, a child’s death. We might wonder why God allowed this to happen when these people seemed to be doing everything right.

Of course, we know we don’t really do everything right. We fight sin every day. Our motives aren’t always pure. Jesus said the greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength—so the biggest sin would be failing to keep that commandment. And we all fail to do that daily.

But God, as a loving Father, chastens His children when they do wrong, cleanses them when they confess their sins to Him (1 John 1:9), and blesses obedience. Anything we receive from Him is due to His grace, not our “earning” His favor.

Most of us realize the “prosperity gospel” is wrong—the belief that if you obey God, especially in giving big offerings to their evangelists, you’ll be blessed with health, wealth, and prosperity.

But we unwittingly buy into a version of the same thought: if I am doing God’s will, then everything should work out. We don’t expect wealth or perfect health, but we feel there shouldn’t be any obstacles and God should bless us.

Job’s friends displayed the corollary of this idea. Since Job was suffering so severely, they reasoned Job must have done something really awful to deserve it. Much of their council tried to convince him to fess up to whatever he’d done wrong.

In Be Loyal (Matthew): Following the King of Kings, Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Many Christians have the mistaken idea that obedience to God’s will produces ‘smooth sailing.’ But this is not true. ‘In the world ye shall have tribulation,’ Jesus promised (John 16: 33).”

Trying circumstances aren’t always a sign that God is displeased with us.

How do we know this?

We see several Biblical people besides Job who suffered through no fault of their own: Daniel, Joseph, Paul, even Jesus.

Things might go wrong for any number of reasons.

We live in a world that’s been fallen since Genesis 3. That’s one reason Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal (Matthew 6:19-20). Tires go flat, metal rusts, moths and termites and mold destroy.

We also have an active enemy who tries to trip us up. Satan will attempt to put obstacles in our way or damage our testimony when we get frustrated.

God allows suffering to produce something in us. “We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5). Suffering refines us, purifies us, increases our steadfastness, prunes us to produce more growth.

Some suffering is not for our sake, but for others. Jesus said one man was born blind not because he or his parents had sinned, “but that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3). Peter wrote “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 1:6-7). After Jesus told the disciples that He must go away soon, He said, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father” (John 14:31).

Think of how Elisabeth Elliot and Joni Eareckson Tada and others have glorified God and helped multitudes through their trials.

Elisabeth Elliot wrote in Keep a Quiet Heart:

The disciples’ worst fears were about to be realized, yet He commanded (yes, commanded) them to be at peace. All would be well, all manner of things would be well–in the end. In a short time, however, the Prince of this world, Satan himself, was to be permitted to have his way. Not that Satan had any rights over Jesus. Far from it. Nor has he “rights” over any of God’s children… But Satan is permitted to approach. He challenges God, we know from the Book of Job, as to the validity of His children’s faith.

God allows him to make a test case from time to time. It had to be proved to Satan, in Job’s case, that there is such a thing as obedient faith which does not depend on receiving only benefits. Jesus had to show the world that He loved the Father and would, no matter what happened, do exactly what He said. The servant is not greater than his Lord. When we cry “Why, Lord?” we should ask instead, “Why not, Lord? Shall I not follow my Master in suffering as in everything else?”

Does our faith depend on having every prayer answered as we think it should be answered, or does it rest rather on the character of a sovereign Lord? We can’t really tell, can we, until we’re in real trouble (emphasis mine).

The Warren Wiersbe quote I referred to above doesn’t stop with Jesus’ promise that we’ll face tribulation. Dr. Wiesrbe goes on to say, “When we find ourselves in the storm because we have obeyed the Lord, we must remember that He brought us here and He can care for us.”

Asaph wrote in Psalm 73 that he was so confused and upset over the fact that the wicked seemed to prosper while the righteous suffered, it seemed like his attempts to do right were in vain (verse 13). “But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end” (verses16-17). God will deal with them in His own time. Meanwhile, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). God has “no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11).

God’s reckonings don’t all occur in this life. We’re not in heaven yet. Whatever we suffer here, whether minor irritations and obstacles or major disasters, God has promised to be with us and help us. And then, when He takes us up to be with Him, our troubles will seem light compared to “the eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison” that He is preparing for us (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

The middle stanzas of William Cowper’s poem, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way,” bring out these truths:

Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,

The clouds ye so much dread

Are big with mercy, and shall break

In blessings on your head.

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,

But trust him for his grace;

Behind a frowning providence

He hides a smiling face.

His purposes will ripen fast,

Unfolding ev’ry hour;

The bud may have a bitter taste,

But sweet will be the flow’r.

When things go wrong even when, especially when we think we’re on the right track, God knows, God is with us, and He will give grace and help to deal with the situation.

In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 24, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Here are some of the good posts found this week. The list is a little longer since I’ve had a chance to catch up on blog reading.

When You Don’t Want to Read the Word. “Remember when you couldn’t get enough of the Bible? Lately though, you make your coffee and start your morning; you’ve missed a few days of devotional reading. It’s not that you don’t love God’s Word—it’s just that in the busyness of life it doesn’t seem to have the same hold on you it once did. The craving isn’t there. The desire has dried up.”

Tunawa Leah. “Friends, another year has passed, and my heart remains burdened for this precious child of God. I first shared Leah Sharibu’s story of faith in the face of extreme persecution with you in January 2020. This year marks the sixth anniversary of this young lady’s captivity and enslavement at hands of ISIS-WA (aka Boko Haram) in Nigeria.”

4 Lesser-Known Women of the Bible {And What They Can Teach Us Today} “Sometimes in our day-to-day lives, in the struggles, we can feel unseen and underappreciated. More like those in the Bible who are not as well-known. Today I’d like to look at several of those lesser-known women in the Bible: Jehosheba, Abigail, Lois, and Eunice. You may not even recognize their names right off, which makes them perfect to discuss today.”

The Evangelist on the Titanic. “While the story of the Titanic is one of disaster, it is also a story of great heroism and of great faith. Numbered among those who drowned in the tragedy was a Scottish Baptist evangelist named John Harper.”

Worse Than Any Affliction: Why I Refuse to Grumble, HT to Challies. “My flesh is wasting away, and who would blame me if I complained? Certainly not the world — it’s natural for them to expect an old lady in a wheelchair to grumble over her losses. But followers of Jesus Christ should expect more from me. Much more.”

When the Walk Becomes a Crawl, HT to Challies. “The key to getting a long view of sanctification is to understand direction. What matters most is not the distance you’ve covered. It’s not the speed you’re going. It’s not how long you’ve been a Christian. It’s the direction you’re heading.”

Jesus Didn’t Diss the Poor: Making Sense of Matthew 26:11, HT to Challies. “In perhaps one of the oddest moments of the passion narrative, Jesus seemingly sets himself at odds with his disciples’ concern for the poor. Breaking ranks with the twelve, Jesus did not think Mary should have ‘given to the poor’ the money that she had used to purchase the oil needed to anoint Jesus’s feet.”

Westminster Abbey and the Danger of Inhospitality, HT to Challies. “Biblical hospitality forefronts our neighbor, not ourselves. Hospitality is about making someone else feel honored, loved, and comfortable.”

Applying Paul’s Great Commission Lifestyle Principles. “As we observe Paul’s life and teachings, especially 1 Corinthians 9, we see that he willingly laid aside ‘rights’ to his preferred lifestyle to be a more effective servant of Christ.” The context here is cross-cultural missions, but this is how we should be thinking and praying in all our interactions.

Why We Always Need More Books on Every Subject, HT to Challies. “‘Because we already have several good books on subject X, we do not need more books on subject X,’ the logic goes. I will push back on this logic for the following reasons below. You may not agree with all my reasons, but hopefully, they will deeper your appreciation for books.”

The Neurodivergent Believer, HT to Challies. “As believers, we acknowledge that God created each brain uniquely. The Apostle Paul describes this diversity within the body of Christ, emphasizing that each member has a distinct role (1 Cor. 12:12–27). Despite this diversity, being neurodivergent in a predominately neurotypical world can present unique challenges.”

Elisabeth Elliot The Secret is Christ in Me

The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.
–Elisabeth Elliot

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 23, 2024 by Barbara Harper

It’s astonishing to me that February is almost over. Busy days make the time fly faster. I’m pausing today with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story to share a few favorite parts of the past week.

1. Lunch with Melanie last Friday. We usually get together once every 4-6 weeks. But due to illness of one or both of us and bad weather, we hadn’t seen each other since early December. We had a lot to catch up on.

I had gift cards to Cracker Barrel, making our get-together a double treat. I usually choose from regular favorites there, but tried something new this time: a platter of sirloin tips, grilled chicken tenders, and shrimp. The sirloin was a bit disappointing, but everything else was delicious.

2. Mittu’s birthday. It was a joy to celebrate my daughter-in-law. (Jason made the cake!)

I have no idea about Timothy’s expression. 🙂 He’s at that age where he likes to make funny faces for pictures.

3. Church missions conference. In other churches I’ve been in, missions conference is three to six nights long. The church we’re in now has a missions conference on Sundays over three weeks with different missionary speakers. I love that it’s spread out rather than so much crammed together. The speaker last Sunday had been a missionary in China for several decades. Hearing how God was working and what people would risk just to be able to hear God’s Word taught was both inspiring and rebuking.

4. Scans done. Getting the yearly mammogram and biennial bone density test over with is always a pleasure. But it was especially so this year because they’d had to be rescheduled several times. It’s nice to have them DONE and off the calendar. I just heard back this morning (Thursday) that the mammogram results were fine, but the bone density test showed “a little thinning” for the first time. I’m supposed to go in next week to hear what to do about it–hopefully nothing worse than taking calcium supplements. I asked if we couldn’t just discuss it over the phone, but that doesn’t appear to be an option.

5. Fencing. Longtime readers may remember a few years ago that a row of 50 trees across our back property line got some disease and died. After the ordeal of getting them cut down and hauled away, my husband found some vinyl fencing on Craig’s list which he cleaned and put up in place of the trees for some privacy. We’ve talked about someday adding to the fence line to enclose the back yard and sides. But new fencing is expensive. This week, my husband found the same type and color used fencing for sale on Facebook. He drove two and a half hours today to pick it up.

Bonus: Good news. My oldest son had undergone a series of medical tests and got word this week that the problem is none of the scary things we were concerned about. My youngest son’s loan was approved for his first house purchase, so he’s all set for closing.

Happy Friday! I hope you’ve had a good week!

Assorted Stray Thoughts

Posted on February 21, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Some of the things that have crossed my mind lately, some mundane, some not:

During the holidays, I heard a radio preacher complain about people who only came to church at Easter and Christmas. Wouldn’t it be better to capitalize on their coming and make a special effort to welcome them and share truth with them?
_____

Why do so many main characters in novels have chestnut hair?
_____

It’s almost two months past Christmas. But when I sweep, I still find pine needles.
_____

The Internet seems to like blog posts that begin with numbers, as in X numbers of ways to do or celebrate or handle something. But honestly, I don’t look at posts if the number is above twelve or so. If you’ve got 25 or 100 things on a list, I might skim through them, but I am more inclined to skip the post.
_____

The term “bucket list” arose as people planned for things they wanted to do before they die (coming from the term to “kick the bucket” as a euphemism for dying). So I am a little amused when I see someone refer to summer or vacation bucket lists.
_____

In college and young adult years, I heard about time management. These days, though, we hear about productivity. I wonder when the emphasis shifted. Actually, I like “time management” better, because I am managing my time. “Productivity” seems more pressured, like I am not doing anything worthwhile if I am not producing something, even though all the productivity experts I’ve read include the need for rest.
_____

Lent is one of those things that we do or not as unto the Lord. The Bible doesn’t tell us to observe it or not. Some people find it deeply meaningful. For myself, I don’t see anything in Scripture about giving up something for 40 days, so I don’t. But it does speak about fasting, and some who can’t fast from food for physical reasons might benefit from fasting something else.

I do, however, like to read something about Jesus’ death and resurrection in the days leading up to Easter. Sometimes I’ve read the passages in the gospels about that period. Other times, I’ve read books, like Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross: Experiencing the Passion and Power of Easter. and The Women of Easter: Encounter the Savior with Mary of Bethany, Mary of Nazareth, and Mary Magdalene by Liz Curtis Higgs. I haven’t decided whether to reread one of those or look for something else. But it strikes me that I don’t think there are nearly as many Easter/Lent devotionals as there are Advent and Christmas. Or maybe I just haven’t seen them. Any recommendations?
_____

I’ve seen some say that we shouldn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day or Mother’s Day because we should be showing love and honor all year. That’s true. But the same is true of Thanksgiving, isn’t it? We should be grateful all year long, but having a day set aside especially for thankfulness reminds us of it. We’re happy to have certain people in our lives all the time, but we especially celebrate them on their birthdays.
_____

I’ve always found it odd that in John’s gospel, he refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. For years I thought that sounded like he was elevating himself above the other disciples, which was puzzling. But he was also inspired by God to write what he did, so God must have had some reason to have him call himself that.

It’s only been recently that I realized that this was not an example of pride, but of humility. I don’t think John named himself in his whole book. He was just one of the ones whom Jesus loved.
_____

I get tired of hearing that whether you see a glass as half full or half empty indicates your outlook on life. Just drink what’s in the glass already. 🙂

But lately I have thought of it this way. If you’ve just poured a glass of something, and all you wanted was half a glass, the glass is half full. If you had a full glass and drank from it already, the glass is half empty.

I wonder what philosophers would think of that. Am I the one overthinking, or are they? 🙂

Everyday Worship

Posted on February 18, 2024 by Barbara Harper

At a recent ladies’ Bible study, the topic of worship came up. We agreed that worship wasn’t just singing in church. But some of the women wondered how we can maintain a worshipful attitude while correcting our children or cleaning the house.

That’s where the rubber meets the road, doesn’t it? It’s one thing to worship while reading an inspiring passage, singing in church, or hearing preaching that opens our eyes to truth about God.

But how can we carry that into everyday life? Cleaning, errands, traffic, and computer problems don’t seem conducive to worship.

It helps to consider once again what worship actually is. I heard a preacher define worship as “worth-ship,” ascribing to God His worth.

Dictionary.com defines worship as: “reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred; adoring reverence or regard.”

Our Bible study is going through Isaiah using Tim Chester’s Isaiah for You: Enlarging Your Vision of Who God Is. Chapter 3 focuses on Isaiah 12, which is an example of worship even though the word isn’t used.

Isaiah had previously discussed God’s great anger towards His people who had disobeyed Him and sought help from godless people rather than Him.

Verse 1 thanks God that “though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me.
Verse 2 declares, “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.”
Verse 3 assures, “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”
Verse 4 reminds us to thank the Lord, call upon His name, make known His deeds, proclaim His name among people.
Verses 5 and 6 tell us to sing and make known His greatness and the glorious things He has done.

Thinking of who God is and what He has done for us turns our hearts to worship.

But what about those moments that seem contrary to worship?

We can do these things in the midst of traffic snarls, dusting, or waiting on hold on the phone. In fact, worship would redeem the time and change our mood and frustration. As we remember His salvation, our joy will overflow. As we remember who He is and what He has done, our hearts turn to praise. As we remember His greatness, we sing His praise with joy and tell others about Him. Those things can infuse all we do.

Since God is our strength and my song, we can ask His help and strength.

We have to remember, too, that worship is an act, not a feeling. After Job lost everything, “Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head and fell on the ground and worshiped. And he said, ‘Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord'” (Job 1:20-21). In the psalms of lament, the writers acknowledge who God is even while pouring out their hearts to Him about their problems. In fact, it’s because of who He is that they can tell Him what’s wrong. They know that He cares and can be trusted to help.

Singing not only springs from worship, but it can lead us to worship. Sometimes when we come into church Sunday mornings from a busy week and the trials of getting ready that always seem to come up on Sunday mornings, we plop down in our chairs and don’t feel worshipful. But once we start singing, our hearts are turned to God. We can do that at home, too. I love to have Christian music playing while I’m puttering around the house.

Another aspect of worship is yielding our whole selves to God. Romans 12:1-2 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” When we give Him everything, we’re acknowledging that He is worth yielding all to.

He redeems not only our souls, but our work. Elisabeth Elliot said in A Lamp for My Feet:

The job has been given to me to do.
Therefore it is a gift.
Therefore it is a privilege.
Therefore it is an offering I may make to God.
Therefore it is to be done gladly, if it is done for Him.
Therefore it is the route to sanctity.

Here, not somewhere else, I may learn God’s way. In this job, not in some other, God looks for faithfulness. The discipline of this job is, in fact, the chisel God has chosen to shape me with–into the image of Christ.

We could substitute task, responsibility, or even ministry for the word “job” there.

When dealing with a fretful little one, we can appreciate God’s fatherly care of us when we’re fussy. When a child is being stubborn, we can be thankful for God’s patience with us and seek His help to be patient with our children. We can remember that we’re modeling parental love and care that our children will hopefully one day translate into their relationship with God.

When cleaning the house, we can rejoice in imitating His bringing order out of chaos. We’re reflecting a God who does things “decently and in order” (1 Corinthians 14:40). We’re caring for our family by creating a safe, sanitary place, and a peaceful home. When I’ve gotten irritated at how often things need to be cleaned, I sometimes think about God’s patience in cleansing me every day.

When the car or oven or computer break down, it’s a reminder that this world and everything in it is temporary. All we have is His, and we can trust Him to supply our needs. Meanwhile, we lay up treasure in heaven, where moth and rust don’t corrupt and thieves don’t break through and steal (Matthew 6:19-21).

If we regularly spend time reading and thinking about God’s Word, reasons for worship and examples will come to mind throughout the day.

These things remind me of one of my favorite poems:

Lord of all pots and pans and things,
since I’ve not time to be
A saint by doing lovely things
or watching late with Thee
Or dreaming in the dawn light
or storming Heaven’s gates
Make me a saint by getting meals
and washing up the plates.

Although I must have Martha’s hands,
I have a Mary mind
And when I black the boots and shoes,
Thy sandals, Lord, I find.
I think of how they trod the earth,
what time I scrub the floor
Accept this meditation Lord,
I haven’t time for more.

Warm all the kitchen with Thy love,
and light it with Thy peace
Forgive me all my worrying
and make my grumbling cease.
Thou who didst love to give men food,
in room or by the sea
Accept this service that I do,
I do it unto Thee.

—Klara Munkres

How can we worship during everyday, mundane, or even negative circumstances? By acknowledging His worth and doing all we do as unto Him.

How about you? What helps you keep a worshipful attitude in everyday life?

(I often link up with some of these bloggers.)

Laudable Linkage

Posted on February 17, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Due to a busy week and not much blog reading time, I have just a short but good list of reads to share:

An Unexpected Love Calls You to Rise and Follow. Though this was written for Valentine’s Day, I think it’s good for any time of year. I’m often wary of Biblical fiction, but I loved Michele’s look into what Abigail in the Old Testament might have been thinking and feeling during her marriage to a fool and her quick thinking in intercepting David.

The Moral Perfection of Christ. “They followed Him without question because no matter what His appearance, His beauty was unmistakable. He possessed every grace, every virtue, in perfect tension and balance. Not one of them was missing. Think of that. We’ve never seen what sheer perfection looks like in a person. Perfect symmetry between the inner and the outer. Perfect alignment of heart and character. It’s almost impossible to envision such perfection. But there it is in Jesus.”

Bible Study Leaders Must Be Flexible. “Leading real Bible studies means that the Bible comes into contact with real people, and the lives of real people are often messy and difficult. But these difficulties are not interruptions to our plans—this is what it means to lead people and help them apply the Bible in their lives.”

Eleven Expressions of Gastronomic Humility, HT to Challies. “Keeping up with our kids’ ever-shifting food preferences, on top of their health issues, has been a difficult dynamic of this season. We talk a lot about food at this stage of our family life.”

The Ones Who Cook, HT to Challies. “We admire our preachers, for they way they teach us God’s words. We look up to our worship leaders, who inspire us to praise. Or the leaders who teach or administrate or organize or make plain spaces beautiful. But I’d like to suggest that one of the greatest gifts that God gives a church are the people who cook.”

Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds. — Shakespeare

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Barbara Harper

Happy Friday! I enjoy this weekly gathering to recount the good, the blessed, the positive parts of our week with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story. Please feel free to join in.

1. Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays. We enjoy celebrating it as a family with heart-shaped treats on heart-shaped plates, cards expressing love and appreciation, food, conversation, and fun.

2. Cute, creative garlic bread made by Mittu:

3. Parchment paper. Growing up, the only parchment I knew anything about was used for calligraphy. I didn’t know anything about parchment paper for cooking. Even once I knew about it, I never used it because I didn’t know its advantages. I’ve only recently begun to use it frequently to help food not stick to pans and make cleanup easier. Wonderful stuff!

4. Conflict resolution and good customer service people. There was a mix-up on eBay with something my husband sold, and it was going to cost him a few hundred dollars. Multiple attempts to communicate failed to yield any results. Finally he got hold of a real person who listened, understood the issue, and was able to rectify it.

5. Everyday love. As much as I love Valentine’s Day in all its expressions, it wouldn’t mean as much if love weren’t shown in everyday ways. I’m thankful for family and friends who are thoughtful, helpful, prayerful, loving, and kind in everyday ways.