About Barbara Harper

https://barbarah.wordpress.com

A Quiet Spirit

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Barbara Harper

This is something I wrote for our ladies’ ministry booklet for this month, and I thought I’d share it here:

I Peter 3: 3-4 tells us that “the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit…is in the sight of God of great price,” and it is to be more of what we focus on adorning ourselves with than outward ornamentations of jewelry, nice clothes, etc.

I think we have some idea of what meekness is: we’ve all heard the definition of “strength under control,” the illustration of a tamed horse. Meekness isn’t “wimpiness” or a lack of spirit. It is perfectly illustrated by Christ, who was “meek and lowly in heart.”

But I want to focus today on a quiet spirit. Does that mean a quiet person, an introvert? No, I think God created many different kinds of personalities to minister to many different kinds of people. There are certainly times to be quiet of mouth or to rein in an exuberant spirit, but I don’t think that is primarily what this is talking about. Some segments of Christendom have developed this idea into almost mysticism, but I don’t think that’s what the word “quietness” means, either.

Checking some of the Greek words translated “quiet” reveals synonyms like “peaceful, tranquil, restful, undisturbed.”

Why would we need instruction to have a tranquil, undisturbed spirit? Because we can get so easily disquieted in spirit. The Hebrew word for that has a much longer definition: “to murmur, growl, roar, cry aloud, mourn, rage, sound, make noise, tumult, turbulent, be clamorous, be disquieted, be loud, be moved, be troubled, be in an uproar, be in a stir, in a commotion, boisterous, clamorous.” That covers a lot of territory. Ever felt any of that? I sure have. There are numerous examples in Scripture, from the discouraged Psalmist in Psalm 42 to the clamorous foolish woman in Proverbs 9:13 to the contentious and angry woman in Proverbs 21:19 (the wilderness was preferred above dwelling with her) to the “devout and honorable women” who were nonetheless “stirred up” to persecute and expel Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:50.

Obviously, being disquieted in spirit can not only put us in a bad mood, it can negatively effect those in our lives, especially those whom God gave us to minister to.

So how do we cultivate a quiet spirit? I’m still working on it myself, and whole books have been written on the subject, but meditating on these and similar verses helps.

Psalm 131:2: “Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child” (when something beloved and comforting is taken away).

Psalm 1:33: “But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil.” (Listening to God and His wisdom can quiet us from fear of evil.)

Proverbs 17:1: “Better is a dry morsel, and quietness therewith, than an house full of sacrifices with strife.”

Ecclesiastes 4:6: “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit.”

Isaiah 30:15 is one of my all-time favorite verses: “For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength,” and sadly, the verse goes on to say, “and ye would not.” In whatever situation disquiets us, we need to rest in the Lord, confident that He has everything under control and has reasons for what He is allowing. To me that’s the essence of a quiet spirit — one that is resting in the Lord.

Isaiah 32:17: “And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever.”

Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Psalm 65:7: “Which stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.”

Matthew 11:28-29: “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.”

Peter begins the passage about having a meek and quiet spirit with the word ”likewise.” The verses he is referring back to there are at the end of I Peter 2 dealing with how Christ suffered at the hands of others without guile, without reviling. In the midst of pain and mistreatment by those whom He loved, He “committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.”

Drop Thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of Thy peace.

~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Laudable Linkage

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Hope you’re doing well this fine fall day!

Still have a lot to get done today, but I wanted to share some good things seen around the Web lately:

How can I know I have a heart for God at By Grace.

The waiting is the hardest part of waiting by Big Mama. Quotes: “…f you can’t find contentment and security as a single woman, then you’re not going to find it in marriage” and “Marriage wasn’t going to take away all my fears, insecurities, and worries….marriage tends to just amplify whatever junk is in your life.”

Homemaking Internship

Study to show yourself an SAHM

Being merry with our husbands by nannykim.

I am my husband’s girlfriend by Candy.

Bless others with food: practical ideas and organizational tools for helping others by bringing food.

What about the culture? by Jungle Mom: answers from a missionary against the charge that missionaries adversely affect the culture they minister to.

How far is enough? Wonderful testimony from a missionary (husband of Jungle Mom).

Craft station out of a crate.

How fiction can powerfully inform the practical application of truth, part one and part two by Jeanne Damoff, whom I had never read before, but whom I now want to read more of. Quote: “God is good in what He forbids.”

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on October 2, 2009 by Barbara Harper

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.

This is going to be short (which some would say is an improvement. 🙂 ) but hopefully sweet as I have a lot to get done today.

1. Cooler temperatures.

2. Good reports from doctor visits and lab work. Nothing wrong besides the usual issues — just catching up on check-ups.

3. The Lord lifting up and encouraging when I was down and frustrated and providing grace and strength and guidance for things I needed to do.

4. This cracked me up:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

5. And this touched my heart — one of the neatest things I have ever seen:

]

Hope you have a wonderful Friday!

Melli’s September Photo Scavenger Hunt

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Melli dreamed up and planned out a Photo Scavenger Hunt. She told us about it a month ago…but somehow time got away from me and I have only been working on it the last few days. And this happens to be one of the busiest weeks in a long time for me with my monthly ladies’ booklet due plus five different medical appointments for three of us (nothing wrong — just catching up with check-ups, eye exams, etc.) . All of that to say…I didn’t find all the items on the list. 😳 I wish I had started earlier. I don’t know if you have to have them all to participate — but I don’t want to waste the photos I do have — so I’ll post what I’ve got and then get my 50 lashes… (Edited to add: I did find more than I thought I would…but that’s one reason this is being posted so late in the day. 🙂 )

1.) Something in flight

2.) A gas pump

Sorry, nothing for this one. I was trying to find a picture of a toy one the kids used to love to play with.

3.) Graffiti … or street art

4.) Soap or soapy

5.) An herb

6.) Something vinyl

CIMG3186

7.) A bottle of perfume/cologne

Pretty uncreative here — Jim doesn’t care for perfumes or cologne and most of them give me a headache, so I just got a picture at a store. These caught my eye because I used to wear this in high school. I almost bought it just to see if it smelled like I remembered and wouldn’t bother me, but figured that would be a waste. I would have loved to have found one of those old-fashioned atomizer bottles.

8.) Snazzy Shoes

CIMG3166

Another store photo — all of our shoes are pretty basic.

9.) A worm

Sorry, nothing for this either. The only ones I saw were dead and shriveled. I was going to go to the children’s or babies’ section on W-Mart to see if there were any toy ones, and I forgot.

10.) A city bus

11.) Something curly

12.) A key

13.) Something cold

14.) Sports Memorabilia

From our school. NOT from me — I am totally unathletic!

15.) A feather/feathers

16.) Something twisted

17.) A hole

18.) A leprechaun

Sorry. Where else was I going to find a leprechaun this time of year? 😀

19.) Something lacy

20.) Something nutty

21.) Sheet music

CIMG3178

22.) A splash

23.) An apple/apples/apple something

24.) A shovel

25.) Something empty.

26.) A triangle

27.) Something purple

28.) Juicy

29.) Noisy

30.) Something sad

Veteran salute at my father-in-law’s funeral. Sad, but poignant and honorable.

I did enjoy this challenge very much. Next time I will start earlier — I like thinking outside the box a little bit and taking time to find something interesting or unique. I was very pleased with a few of these. Some are new just today! Some are from years ago.

It may be later tonight or even the weekend before I am able to visit the other participants, but you can find links to them at Melli‘s.

A Thousand Words In Idioms: The Cash Version

Posted on September 30, 2009 by Barbara Harper

If “language is the dress of thoughts” ( Johnson), then idioms must the wardrobe.

Jientje at Heaven Is In Belgium hosts A Thousand Words In Idioms on Wednesdays wherein she asks participants to illustrate an idiom or two with a photo.

cold hard cash

Cold, hard cash.

If you pay for something on cold, hard cash, you are using actual bills and coins rather than a check or credit card.

CIMG3127

Stopping on a dime.

If you stop on a dime, that means you have very little space or room to stop. An alternate is to “turn on a dime,” meaning it was an extremely sharp turn or there was little space in which to turn.

You can visit Jientje’s on Wednesdays for more creatively illustrated idioms. It’s fun to see what people come up with, plus every now and then I learn one I had never heard of before.

The Official Wedding Photos

Posted on September 28, 2009 by Barbara Harper

I had posted some unofficial photos here, but Jason and Mittu finally got their wedding photos Saturday! And bless their hearts, they brought them over for us to see that very night.

I won’t be able to post all 149, of course, but here are some of my favorites.

128

124

121

146

The groomsmen “scoring” the kiss, Olympic style. I wish we’d gotten a better picture of it, but the photographer didn’t know it was coming and wasn’t prepared. It provided much needed comic relief.

130

Love the colorfulness!

147

The wedding party at the reception. The girl in blue was the photographer. Mittu changed into this outfit for the reception made from the same fabric as the bridesmaids’ saris.

At first I thought this was showing how tired they were, but it was during the prayer at the reception. They probably were pretty tired, though!

Before the Throne of God Above

Posted on September 27, 2009 by Barbara Harper

This is an old hymn that is fairly new to me. I first heard it on the Soundforth CD Freedom Through Christ, then later on the CD A Quiet Heart. I wish it were still in our hymnbooks. I looked up and printed out the words soon after I heard it and listened to it over and over again. I can’t tell you how it has ministered to my heart.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in Heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

Behold Him there the risen Lamb,
My perfect spotless righteousness,
The great unchangeable I AM,
King of glory and of grace,
One in Himself I cannot die.
My soul is purchased by His blood,
My life is hid with Christ on high,
With Christ my Savior and my God!

– Charitie L. Bancroft, 1863

On asking God why

Posted on September 26, 2009 by Barbara Harper

Elisabeth Elliot wrote a book by that title which I read and learned much from years ago, though I don’t remember much specific about it now. But this excerpt comes from a chapter titled “Ever Been Bitter?” in Keep a Quiet Heart:

Is it a sin to ask God why?

It is always best to go first for our answers to Jesus Himself. He cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” It was a human cry, a cry of desperation, springing from His heart’s agony at the prospect of being put into the hands of wicked men and actually becoming sin for you and me. We can never suffer anything like that, yet we do at times feel forsaken and cry, Why, Lord?

The psalmist asked why. Job, a blameless man, suffering horrible torments on an ash heap, asked why. It does not seem to me to be sinful to ask the question. What is sinful is resentment against God and His dealings with us. When we begin to doubt His love and imagine that He is cheating us of something we have a right to, we are guilty as Adam and Eve were guilty. They took the snake at his word rather than God. The same snake comes to us repeatedly with the same suggestions: Does God love you? Does He really want the best for you? Is His word trustworthy? Isn’t He cheating you? Forget His promises. You’d be better off if you do it your way.

I have often asked why. Many things have happened which I didn’t plan on and which human rationality could not explain. In the darkness of my perplexity and sorrow I have heard Him say quietly, Trust Me. He knew that my question was not the challenge of unbelief or resentment….

I don’t understand Him, but then I’m not asked to understand, only to trust. Bitterness dissolves when I remember the kind of love with which He has loved me–He gave Himself for me. He gave Himself for me. He gave Himself for me. Whatever He is doing now, therefore, is not cause for bitterness. It has to be designed for good, because He loved me and gave Himself for me.

Friday’s Fave Five

Posted on September 25, 2009 by Barbara Harper

1. School’s out! Jesse’s school has a teacher’s conference for a couple of days.

2. The Biggest Loser. I only started watching the show last year. I don’t like the trainers’ yelling in faces, but I love seeing the contestants’ progress. I loved that everyone did well and no one got sent home this week.

3. Triple chocolate chip cookie from the Barnes and Noble Cafe. Jeremy brought one back for me when he went out there this week. It was perfect — fresh and soft. And no, the irony is not lost on me that I mention that after mentioning The Biggest Loser — or that I received it while watching that show.

4. Picking up my cross stitch again. I had set it aside before Christmas and just got it out again this week. I like working on it while watching TV — unless it’s something really suspenseful and needs full attention.

5. Jasmine rice. Jeremy, my oldest, has been teaching himself to cook in anticipation of leaving the nest one day. He’s very much a by-the-book cook whereas I tend to throw things together, substituting or leaving out ingredients I don’t have. He has taught me a few things! I’m finding out those little touches can make a big difference. Something he made called for jasmine rice, and I really liked it. It comes out better for me and takes a little less time than long grain, but has a better texture than Minute rice. I used it for the first time myself in one dish this week, and really liked how it came out.

I’m off to the doctor this morning — NOT a favorite thing. But it’s been well over a year since I have been there, and they won’t refill my prescriptions unless I come in. I know, I know, how demanding. 🙄 Just kidding. I don’t mind the not eating before the lab work that much, but not drinking is really getting to me. I almost always have something to sip on close at hand. This will be my first “over 50” appointment where I already know she’s going to want to discuss some of those over-50 things they like to schedule…so I am not looking forward to that. But, I’ll be around to visit you all later on today.

Helpers

Posted on September 24, 2009 by Barbara Harper

I’ve mentioned that I am rereading Becoming God’s True Woman, a series of messages to women edited by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Today I finished the latter half of the chapter “A Wife’s Responsibility to Help Her Husband” by Barbara Hughes, which was reprinted from her book Disciplines of a Godly Woman, which I’ve not read. One part particularly stood out and spoke to me this morning.

In Genesis 2:18, before creating woman, God said, “And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

This doesn’t mean, of course, that the man never helps the woman or that the woman never does anything else in life but sit beside the man waiting to see what he wants help with. The fact that we feel the need to clarify and explain this underscores the truth of what Barbara goes on to say:

So why does our blood pressure rise at the mention of the word helper? It’s a cultural norm for us to associate weakness and even inferiority with the one who assists. No one wants to play second fiddle. But the fact is, without a second violin there is no harmony.

And harmony, my friends, is a beautiful thing.

Then later in the chapter she points out that in John 14:16 Jesus promises His disciples that the Holy Spirit will come to them after He has ascended back to the Father: “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever.” Some versions use the word “Helper” in place of Comforter. The Holy Spirit is by no means an inferior member of the Godhead, yet part of His role is that of helping believers. Barbara goes on to say:

By addressing the Holy Spirit as a helper, Jesus forever elevated the position of one who assists. Trace the Holy Spirit’s actions through the New Testament, and you’ll find the Spirit repeatedly encouraging, comforting, coming alongside, and helping. The work of the Holy Spirit, the Helper, is beautiful!…

So Christian wives must never resent or despise the term helper or consider it demeaning. To help is divine!

Good reminders!