A Plea to Older Women

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A Plea to Older Women

The Bible tells us older folks to mentor, teach, and be an example to younger people.Though I’ve never had a formal mentoring relationship with an older woman, I have been blessed by the testimony, example, and encouragement from women just ahead of my own life situation. Sometimes a passing remark from one of them has stayed with me for days, even years.

Now being in the “older” category myself, I understand concerns about trends in our world today.

It’s good for older people to share from their experience or express their opinions. But how we share our concerns is as important as what we share.

I’ve winced at memes on social media from older people extolling the ways life was superior “back in our day.” But I wonder if we realize how that sentiment comes across. Some might be meant as a joke, but many have a bite to them.

I think those kinds of posts either make people roll their eyes or get defensive. These memes can come across as condescending or finger-wagging, causing unnecessary offense.

Before we post such memes, here are some things that might be good to consider:

We did many things differently from our parents’ generation, didn’t we? So why would we be surprised when the next generation does as well?

Our view of “our day” may not even be correct. We tend to wax nostalgic, reframing the good and forgetting the bad.

We need to remember the struggles we had as younger women–the feeling that we’re failing at motherhood, at life in general, that we’ll never catch up or measure up.

Sometimes the issues some like to gripe about reflect cultural changes that aren’t good or bad in themselves.

For one example, a particular meme said something catchy (though I have forgotten how it was worded) about how we survived without taking water bottles or to-go coffee cups with us everywhere.

My first thought was, “So . . . what’s so bad about that?” So people like to bring their drink of choice with them. Is that a character flaw?

Another meme (or maybe the same one) went on to decry the bringing of our beverages into church. However, some people may think it makes for a more hospitable atmosphere to bring beverages. Many churches have coffee brewing and offer to-go cups from before Sunday school until after the morning service. Some of us who have physical problems like postnasal drip, with its frequent throat-clearing, or dry mouth, call less attention to ourselves and distraction for others by being able to take a sip rather than having to go out to the water fountain during a service.

I’ve known people adamantly opposed to bringing food or beverages into the sanctuary. But this is a cultural rather than a biblical issue. Churches didn’t have sanctuaries in Bible times. They met in homes, where there well might have been something to drink. There’s nothing sinful about carrying beverages with us, even bringing them into church.

It’s true we might not understand some of the practices of younger folks. And our practices might even actually be better. I’ve seen memes about phone usage and discipline that I actually agreed with. But the sarcastic tone didn’t invite dialogue or conversation.

Instead of ridiculing or talking down to younger women, let’s edify them. Instead of sharing what we think of as our better ways, let’s share from our own failures and faults how the Lord gave us grace and helped us overcome. Let’s encourage them that God loves them and wants them to draw close to Him and seek His help. His grace is always available in times of need. Let’s look for the positive and the well-meaning intentions to praise. Let’s tell them they are doing a good job when they are and pray for them when they need help. Let’s make our speech healthful rather than stabbing.

Isaiah foretold of the Servant of the Lord, Jesus, “The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught” (Isaiah 50:4). May we meet each day with Him, learn of His truth and character, and share with others in humility and love. May our words–and memes–be full of grace.

Proverbs 12:18

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

Friday’s Fave Five

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Friday's Fave Five

This has been a challenging week, but one where it’s especially good to look for the highlights along the way. It’s not a matter of just “looking on the bright side,” but counting God’s blessings. I’m sharing with Susanne and friends at Living to Tell the Story.

1. Christmas decorating. I’m so thankful the whole family comes over to help decorate for Christmas (except for our out-of-state one 😦 ). Not only does everything get done in good time, but we have fun reminiscing over the decorations.

One tradition that arose over the years is that one of the boys–I think Jason, usually–puts one of our snowflake ornaments in an unusual place. Once it was on the ceiling above a chair. Another time it was on a shelf with some figurines. This time there was a whole line of them. 🙂

Snowflakes

2. Mittu makes dinner on decorating night, this time a chili with cornbread baked on top dish.

3. Heating pads. My lower back was hurting last week, which happens every now and then. Usually Tylenol and Icy Hot over a couple of days take care of it. But Saturday night, one particular muscle in my back kept spasming painfully. Tylenol and Icy Hot weren’t touching it. I spent a couple of days and one night in my desk chair with a heating pad. I know they say to ice muscles, but a heating pad usually works for me. It’s much better now, but still twinging a little. So I am moving slowly and carefully.

4. My dear husband outdid himself this week, making dinner, taking care of the house, fetching things for me.

5. Cyber Monday shopping. We got most of our shopping done, finding some great deals.

Bonus: Procedure scheduled. I finally got a call back from the cardiologist’s office and have the ablations for atrial flutter and atrial fibrillation scheduled for January.

Special Bonus: My heart rate went back to normal last night after being in atrial flutter for two weeks!

How was your week?

Review: Amy Snow

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Amy Snow

I found Amy Snow by Tracy Rees on my long list of reading recommendations with a link back to where I saw it. But the blogger who recommended it stopped blogging and took all her content down. So I don’t remember what inclined me to add it to my list. But I decided to give it a try.

The book is set in Victorian England. Eight-year-old Aurelia Vennaway is bored with an aristocratic ladies’ gathering in her home and escapes to play out in the snow. She finds an abandoned baby, alive but naked and blue. She wraps the baby up in her coat and brings it in, to her mother’s horror. Only two things save the baby from being sent to an orphanage or poor house: the other ladies and the visiting rector all comment on how fortunate the baby was to be found on Vennaway property, where it could be so well cared for. To uphold their reputation, the Vennaways agree the child can stay. But they consign it to the servants’ quarters to be cared for there.

Aurelia, however, becomes quite attached to the little one, names her Amy, after her favorite doll, and Snow, to commemorate where she was found. She comes down to take Amy out to play, despite her mother’s wishes.

Bright, vivacious Aurelia doesn’t like the strictures her parents try to place on her and almost always gets her way. When she becomes of marriageable age, however, her father puts his foot down that he will choose the husband he deems best for her, and Aurelia has no choice in the matter.

Then Aurelia becomes ill. The doctor finds that she has a weak heart and is not expected to live long. A pregnancy could kill her. Yet her parents still plan to marry her off.

She insists on one last trip with a friend and ends up being gone much longer than expected, almost a year. When she comes home, the man her parents wanted her to marry has found someone else, and no one else wants to marry someone so ill. Aurelia wants Amy moved up to her rooms to be her companion and nurse.

When Aurelia dies a few years later, she leaves Amy a sentimental piece of jewelry and ten pounds. Everyone is relieved: if she had left Amy a great deal of money, the Vennaways would likely have contested the will.

But the next day, a friend brings Amy a box from Aurelia with some money and a letter. Aurelia has a secret she wants to share with Amy, but she can’t tell her outright–she especially can’t write it down lest her parents discover it. So she developed a treasure hunt with clues, like she used to do when Amy was a child. This first letter contains Amy’s next step, which hopefully she can decipher but no one else who sees the letter could.

So Amy sets off alone for parts unknown, finding another letter from Aurelia, more clues, and more revelations.

The external plot is the treasure hunt and Aurelia’s secret (which I figured out just before Amy did). But part of the story, maybe the main part, is Amy’s coming into her own–her transformation from an unwanted orphan and servant to a young woman making her way into society.

I found all of that very intriguing, but I thought the story moved very slowly. The Vennaways seemed a touch too villainous to be believable.

The story is not from a Christian viewpoint, so the people were not going to act like Christians. But I found that the views of many of them about immorality and femininity were anachronistic for the era. It made sense for one old, powerful, rich, and scandalous woman, but not for so many. There was one brief paragraph bordering on vulgarity when some “gentlemen” were not acting gentlemanly. But I feel sure we could figure out their character without the scene going so far.

There were a couple of quotes I liked near the end:

After falling in love, actually being in love—marriage—those things require thought and sensitivity and patience. [He] was impatient, and that impatience was one burden too many for you at a difficult time, so you fled. You may be forgiven! Only his impatience came from loving you and caring about you, I think. Perhaps, then, he may also be forgiven?

I realize how sweet solitude is when it is not enforced, how contented it is possible to be in one’s own company when it is not the only possibility one has.

Though there was much about the book that I liked, the problem areas would keep me from reading this author again.

Is God Disappointed In Me?

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Is God Disappointed in Me?

When we’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, we’re sometimes dismayed that we’re still fighting battles with the same sins. We think, “Shouldn’t we be past that by now?”

Or perhaps we’ve gotten victory over some sins, but new ones crop up. Or regrets over past actions haunt us.

We might think God must be saying the same thing–“Shouldn’t she have made more progress by now? Is she ever going to get it right?”

Of course, God doesn’t ask questions like that. He knows us inside and out and knows our future as well as our past.

When I searched the Internet for articles about disappointing God, the first few discussed how God doesn’t have emotions as we do and is totally self-sufficient and self-satisfied in Himself.

I found that distinctly unhelpful in this context. Yes, God is self-sufficient and doesn’t need anyone or anything. But the Bible speaks of Him being pleased and displeased, angry or delighted.

A case study of what certainly looked like disappointing God came to mind: Peter’s denial of Christ. In Luke 22:31-34, at the last supper, Jesus told Peter that he would deny Jesus three times, even though Peter was sure he would follow Christ to the death.

In verse 40, Jesus told Peter, James, and John, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” But they fell asleep.

After Jesus was arrested, Peter followed behind and waited at the high priest’s courtyard while Jesus was inside. Peter was asked or accused three times of being one of Christ’s followers, but he denied it, denied even knowing Jesus. The Bible says, “And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly.”

We don’t know what was in that look of Jesus. I imagine it was something like the song, “The Look,” although that’s not about this situation.

We also don’t know what Peter was feeling, though we can imagine. In his place, I would have felt remorse, regret, probably some degree of self-loathing.

Later, though, the Lord was very tender with Peter.

After Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, the angels told the women who came to the tomb, “But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you” (Mark 16:7).

Tell the disciples and Peter. Special mention. Jesus hadn’t dismissed Peter or ejected him from among Jesus’ followers.

Jesus appeared to His followers several times after His resurrection. Then Peter and a few others went fishing. I’ve heard sermons scolding Peter for this, accusing him of going back to his old life instead of fulfilling his mission. That may be. He may have thought, “I failed at being a disciple of Jesus–I should go back to what I know.” But the Bible doesn’t really say. Maybe he was bored. Maybe they were running out of funds and needed to make some money–they’d been hiding out for several days.

But whatever Peter’s motive, the group fished through the night without catching anything. In a scene reminiscent of the time Jesus called Peter to follow Him, He appeared and told the disciples to cast their nets on the other side. When they did, they netted so many fish, they couldn’t haul them into the boat.

Then we have the famous scene where Jesus asked Peter three times whether he loved Him. Three times, Peter said yes. Three times, Jesus told him to feed His sheep.

Three times–the same number of times Peter denied Jesus.

Was Jesus rubbing Peter’s failure in? I think He was reassuring him that he was restored and still had a purpose in God’s kingdom. Was Peter’s failure at catching fish a reminder that Peter couldn’t even do the task that was his strength, his profession, without Jesus? Possibly.

Many years later, when Peter wrote, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:24-25). Perhaps he was thinking of his own straying and return to his Shepherd.

I don’t profess to have all the answers to whether God is ever disappointed in us, but, as I have pondered the question, a few things came to mind.

We won’t reach sinless perfection in this life. We receive a new nature when we’re saved, but we still have the old one until we get to heaven. We’re sanctified–set apart unto God–from the first moment we’re saved. But until we reach heaven, and sin and Satan are removed completely, we’ll still fight our old nature. Galatians 5:17 says, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”

The Bible makes provision for forgiveness of sin after salvation. John wrote, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1) and “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10). This isn’t a green light or an encouragement that sin doesn’t matter. It does. But when it happens, as God knew it would, there is forgiveness.

God sees us through Jesus. The essence of salvation is that Jesus took our wrong on Himself so that we might receive His righteousness. He lived a righteous life in our place because we couldn’t. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The Bible says in many places that once we repent of our sin and believe on Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we’re in Christ. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Again, this doesn’t mean that we can live any old way because God sees Jesus’ righteousness rather than ours. That feeling is incompatible with salvation. Our desires change when we’re saved to where we want to please God. Though we fail sometimes, our ultimate desire is to please Him. And when we do go our own way in rebellion, the Bible says God disciplines and chastens His children (Hebrews 12:5-13) to train them in righteousness.

Remember Satan’s influence. Jesus told Peter, “Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat” (Luke 22:31). We can’t blame Satan when we sin, because God has promised a way of escape (1 Corinthians 10:13). But it helps to know that some of the weird thoughts that occasionally assail us might be coming from an outside influence.

Don’t trust in yourself. Peter had good, fervent intentions. But they were not enough to keep him from falling. 1 Corinthians 10:12 warns, “Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Use the means God provided. Jesus told Peter to watch and pray, lest he enter into temptation. Paul told the Galatians, “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh” (5:16). God’s Word builds us up and strengthens us (Romans 16:25; Acts 20:32). Jesus defeated Satan’s temptations with Scripture.

A heightened awareness of sin develops as we grow in the Lord. When we first hear about sin, we might respond, “Well, nobody’s perfect.” Or we feel we’re not guilty of the “big stuff”–murder, adultery, stealing, drug dealing, etc.–so we’re not so bad. But as we read the Bible, we find that pride, self-glory, angry thoughts, and hatred are every bit as sinful. And we realize even more that sin is an affront to a holy God. We identify with David when he said, “My iniquities have overtaken me, and I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; my heart fails me” (Psalm 40:12).

God knows our frailties. David writes in Psalm 103, “As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.”

God’s posture towards His own is loving, merciful and faithful. David went on to say in Psalm 40, “But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, ‘Great is the Lord!’ As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God!” (verses 16-17). Another psalmist writes, “If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared” (Psalm 130:3-4). Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” “The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love” (Psalm 145:8).

Just before Jesus told Peter of his coming denial, He said, “I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail” (Luke 22:32). Even knowing that Peter would fail, Jesus said, “When you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” He knew Peter would fall, but He also knew Peter would repent.

Have you ever felt like God must be disappointed in you? What truths helped you? Do any of these thoughts resonate with you?

Psalm 130:3-4

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

Laudable Linkage

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Laudable Linkage

I have just a short list of good reads to share this week. Most of them have to do with Thanksgiving, but that’s all right–we can apply Thanksgiving lessons year round.

The Other Side of Human Rights, HT to Challies. “We’ve forgotten something our ancestors knew: there is a necessary flip-side to human rights. If I have the right to be treated fairly and respectfully, then that means you have the responsibility to treat me that way. It also means that I have the responsibility to treat you that way. And just like that, another R word has slipped in beside our golden rights: responsibility. Responsibility is not a popular word. It sounds like duty and obligation, and those concepts aren’t trending right now. But if you look closely, every single right we claim has responsibility attached to it.”

Corrupt Communication a Sign of Corrupt Hearts. “Whether scatological locker room talk, or taking God’s name in vain, or gossip, or lies, or cruel insults, there are things we say that stink. And these utterances reveal a corruption or rottenness that goes deeper than the lips, the tongue, or the mouth. Jesus observed, ‘Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh.’ (Mt. 12:34) Our words expose our inner attitudes and thoughts. We say what we say because we are what we are.”

Gratitude In a Hostile Land. “Even in this inconvenience, I had a choice. Interruptions like these reveal the state of our hearts. When unexpected circumstances come crashing in, are prayer and gratitude the conductor of our lives—or are they the caboose? Yet prayer and gratitude aren’t only for happy times; they are for every time, every moment, and every day.”

Forget Not His Faithfulness: Thanksgiving Begins with Remembering. “The danger of a hurried life is that when we don’t pause and reflect, we don’t remember. And when we don’t remember, gratitude struggles to make its way to the surface. But when we take time to look back, we begin to see what hurry had hidden all along: the grace of God, His unexpected provision and answered prayers, and His steady faithfulness woven through every ordinary day.”

Thanksgiving Gratitude: Receiving God’s Gifts with Joy. “One year Larry picked up some small gifts for some visiting children. Their delight in receiving them gave us as much, if not more, pleasure than if we’d received gifts. This reminds me how important receiving God’s gifts is to both our hearts and His. Gratitude is a gift. If our hearts swell when someone enjoys the gift we’ve chosen for them, I imagine God also smiles when we appreciate His gifts.”

C. S. Lewis quote

If you think of this world as a place simply intended for our happiness, you find it quite intolerable: think of it as a place for training and correction and it’s not so bad.–C. S. Lewis

Friday’s Fave Five

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Friday's Fave Five

This week is coming swiftly to a close, as is the month of November. I’m pausing for a bit with Susanne at Living to Tell the Story to stop, think, and be thankful for the blessings of the week.

1. Thanksgiving Day. We had a lovely time with all the family here and talked with my oldest son in RI the day before. Lots of good food, chatting, and fun.

2. Helpers. Because my heart rate is still elevated, Mittu offered to make all the side dishes for Thanksgiving–I think Timothy and Jason helped. Mittu made a beautiful gluten-free pie crust for my apple pie. Jesse made a pumpkin pie. And Jim cleaned bathrooms and vacuumed. He also always takes care of getting all the meat off the turkey bones after we eat and then washing the roasting pan. He also washed some of the bigger dirty dishes that wouldn’t fit in the dishwasher.

3. A nice Thanksgiving craft kit. I found this at Hobby Lobby–leaves that come with little bamboo sticks with which we can scratch designs. All the Thanksgiving items were half-off when I got them, plus I had a gift card.

leaf scratch kit

A couple of ours: Mittu’s swirly one and Jim’s veined one.

leaf art

4. This year’s thankful tree. It’s always fun to read everyone’s contributions.

Thankful tree

5. Getting the dates set for Jeremy’s visit. It’s always good when everything is confirmed. Looking forward to his coming.

I hope those of you in the USA had a meaningful Thanksgiving, too! I’m planning on staying within my own four walls this Black Friday. How about you?

November Reflections

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November Reflections

We’re a few days before the end of the month, but with Thanksgiving tomorrow and other posts scheduled, this seems the best time to reflect.

November has been a fairly quiet month. We enjoyed going to a play–actually a free dress rehearsal–at our church’s Christian school, then going out to eat afterwards. We enjoyed doing some Thanksgiving crafts with Tim.

Jim finished his shed, winterized the camper, and cleaned out all the dead stuff in the flower beds and planters.

I sorted through boxes from the shed as well as some parts of the house and have a pile set aside for the thrift store.

I am still dealing with an elevated heart rate, but my devices aren’t showing signs of atrial fibrillation. It may be atrial flutter. When I had that in July and August, it went on for several weeks and turned into atrial fibrillation, resulting in a cardioversion. I’m praying God will intervene and set my heart right so we don’t have to go that route again. I feel okay except I have to take breaks in-between doing things.

I only made one card this month, but it hasn’t reached its recipient yet, so I’ll share it next month.

Watching

We watched one season (six episodes) of Crossroad Springs, about a pastor in Chicago who comes home to help his father after the latter is injured. There are hard feelings because the father wanted his kids to take over the farm, which has been in the family for several generations. But one child became a pastor and the other a doctor. When the pastor gets reacquainted with a girl he used to know, he’s torn between going back to his church or staying. Meanwhile, there’s trouble brewing with a neighbor who may be up to no good. The show was clean and the story was good, but something was lacking. It had the same vibe as a lot of early Christian movies. One negative aspect: they equate salvation with baptism.

Where the Lilies Bloom was based on a book by the same name, written by Bill and Vera Cleaver. A poor family consisting of an ailing father and his four children live in the mountains of North Carolina. They used to own their home but sharecrop it now, fully believing that neighbor Kiser Pease stole it out from under them by paying the back taxes. Kiser wants to court the oldest daughter, but the father will not allow it. When the father knows he is dying, he makes fourteen-year-old Mary Call, the practical one, promise to keep the family together and not let Kiser date her sister. The children don’t let anyone know when the father dies, believing they’ll be taken from the farm. The oldest sister is kind of dreamy, and the other two children too young to understand what needs to be done, leaving the major burden to Mary Call until things come to a head. This was also a good, clean movie but also lacked something. I have a feeling the book is much better and want to read it some time.

We also watched the second season of House of David. It picks up right where the first left off, with the slaying of Goliath and the ensuing battle between the Israelites and Philistines. The series portrays David as not a skilled warrior at first, having to be taught by Jonathan and protected until he gains his footing. Saul thinks he has recovered from his madness, but he hasn’t. Intrigue arises from a couple of different fronts. This season ends with Saul discovering David has been anointed by Samuel, and David runs for his life. My understanding is there’s supposed to be one more season, culminating in David being crowned king.

As usual, some parts are in line with the Bible, some are not. I’ve read that a lot of material is drawn from the Talmud and other Jewish writing.

One episode that I especially liked showed everyone going to the tabernacle for the day of atonement. We had just been studying the tabernacle in our Exodus Bible study, so it was interesting to see a limited portrayal of the Day of Atonement portrayed and the solemnity of those looking on.

Reading

Since last time I have completed:

  • Bloom In Your Winter Season by Deborah Malone and others. A collection of essays on various women of the Bible, showing that God can be trusted to take care of us and can use us at any age. Very good.
  • Raising the Perfectly Imperfect Child: Facing Challenges with Strength, Courage, and Hope by Boris Vujicic, father of Nick Vijicic, who was born without arms and legs. Very good.
  • The Language of Sycamores by Lisa Wingate. A woman’s put-together life comes crashing down with the loss of her job and a bad report from the doctor. She goes to visit her sister, trying to set aside old rivalries. The neighbor, Dell’s grandmother is ailing, leaving Dell in the foster care system.
  • Drenched in Light by Lisa Wingate. Dell has been adopted. Being something of a musical prodigy, she’s enrolled in a performing arts magnet school. But her vastly different background gives her trouble fitting in. Meanwhile, her guidance counselor is at a crossroads in her life. Good.
  • A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate.These last three book finish Lisa’s Tending Roses series. Dell is an adult, but still struggles with wondering about her birth father. She drives to the Choctaw festival in Oklahoma to seek answers. An okay story but had some elements that troubled me.
  • The Man Behind the Patch: Ron Hamilton by Shelly Garlock Hamilton. Biography of musician and vocalist Ron Hamilton, aka Patch the Pirate. Very good.

I’m currently reading:

  • Exodus for You by Tim Chester with the ladies’ Bible study at church
  • James for You by Sam Allberry. Haven’t made much progress with this due to Bible study and Sunday School reading. But I hope to catch up over the holidays.
  • The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield
  • Amy Snow by Tracy Rees, audiobook
  • My Beloved by Jan Karon

Blogging

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

  • Why Do We Need Wisdom? Not just for big decisions, but for everyday life.
  • Inconvenient Holiness. Sometimes opportunities to serve the Lord or do the right thing don’t come at the most convenient times. But when we think of hows Jesus was inconvenienced for us, it inspires us to go the extra mile for Him.
  • When Spiritual Disciplines Seem Dull. Praying, reading the Bible, taking communion are not always exciting or inspiring. But even while we pray God will revive our hearts, we obey, knowing that God works through those means.
  • Thanksgiving Is Not a Feeling, it’s an action. But it can lead to feelings of gratefulness.

I hope those of you in the States have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Thou that hast giv’n so much to me,
Give one thing more, a gratefull heart:
See how Thy beggar works on Thee
                                              By art:

Not thankfull when it pleaseth me,
As if Thy blessings had spare days;
But such a heart whose pulse may be
                                            Thy praise.

From “Gratefulnesse” by George Herbert

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Psalm 92:1-2

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

Review: The Man Behind the Patch: Ron Hamilton

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Ron Hamilton and his alter ego, Patch the Pirate, are household names in some places but unknown in others. I wrote something of a tribute to him a couple of years ago after he passed away. His wife wife, Shelly, wrote a biography of him, published last year, titled The Man Behind the Patch: Ron Hamilton.

I first knew of Ron in college. He and Shelly were newly married and GAs (graduate assistants) during my freshman year. They were always active in music both on campus and at the church they attended, which I visited occasionally.

I remember when Rob debuted some new songs he had written at college. “It Is Finished” was inspired by a teacher pointing out that when Christ said “It is finished” from the cross, it was a victory cry. The other two were “Come to the Cross” and “The Blood of Jesus.” I had not known that these songs were part of his requirements to graduate in his major. It’s interesting that these songs continued to be well-known and well-loved all through his career.

I remember when Ron was diagnosed with cancer in his eye. When they did surgery, he wouldn’t know until he woke up whether they had to remove the eye or not. They did. Sometime after his recovery, he gathered together all the notes and verses people had sent him and wrote what became his signature song, “Rejoice in the Lord.”

As Ron wore his eye patch, kids in his church began calling him “Patch the Pirate.” He had written music for adults but then decided to write some for kids as well. He put together a story line with interesting character voices for a children’s recording. Kids loved it, and parents soon begged for more because they were tired of listening to the same album over and over. Thus a children’s ministry was born. A Patch the Pirate adventure has been released every year since then, over forty all together.

He continued to write music for adults and choirs, cantatas, books of music arrangements for his songs. He wrote the words, various people wrote the music, and Shelly arranged them.

One of the trials of their life was when their oldest son developed a mental illness over several years, ending with the taking of his own life. Shelly told his story in Always, Only Good: A Journey of Faith Trough Mental Illness.

Another severe trial came when Ron was diagnosed with early onset dementia. He passed away at his home in 2023.

Shelly tells Ron’s story in three sections, Becoming Patch the Pirate, Life with Patch the Pirate, and Patch’s Long Journey Home. She begins with his early childhood in Indiana, to attending college, meeting and dating Shelly, their marriage and children. Then Ron’s eye surgery and budding career. They took over and managed the music company her dad began, Majesty Music.

Many of the middle chapters are something of a travelogue, along with which recordings came out when, sprinkled with anecdotes. The whole family traveled to churches doing “Patch” concerts until the family grew too big. Ron traveled alone for a while, eventually cutting back to traveling just a bit while becoming the music pastor of a local church.

Shelly was warned that biographies of men by their wives often become hagiography, idealizing the husband. Shelly attempts to show all sides of Ron. He wasn’t perfect–no one is. He was a prankster, and some of his pranks backfired badly.

A couple of other interesting facts I had not known: Ron had a deviated septum, which gave his voice a slight nasal quality. He didn’t know if surgery would change his voice for better or worse, so he decided to leave well enough alone.

Also, he considered doing doctoral work in music at another school and was accepted, but he was told his music would need to be more academic. He considered the offer, but decided to decline. He wanted to “put the cookies on the lowest shelf”–make them accessible to everyone. Shelly wrote later that Ron “chose to compose biblical texts that united with simple, memorable melodies for everyday life and everyday struggles (p. 368).

Ron wrote about 700 songs. Some for children were fun, like “I Love Broccoli” and “The Poochie Lip Disease.” Others focused on character. All of his songs for children and adults were biblically based. I shared some of my favorites in my earlier post about him.

By all accounts, Ron was a humble man. When Shelly once mentioned how many lives he had touched, he said, “I’d like to think God did it.”

This book was nostalgic for me in many ways. I didn’t know Ron and Shelly personally, though I had met them each a couple of times. But since I was in school a few years behind them and lived in the same town for over fourteen years, I was acquainted with their ministry. Then my kids grew up on “Patch the Pirate” tapes, especially in the car and at bedtime. We listened to many of Ron’s albums for adults over the years and sang some of his music in choir. Finally, I followed Shelly’s public Facebook page the last years of Ron’s illness.

I think this book would be especially interesting to anyone familiar with Ron or Patch. But even for those who don’t know him, this is an inspiring account of a humble servant of God using his talents for His glory.

Thanksgiving Is Not a Feeling

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Thanksgiving is not a feeling

I often feel a little awkward when a group leader wants participants to share something we’re thankful for right off the bat. I hope she won’t call on me first so I have a little time to think.

In the midst of a heavy trial is another time it is hard to be thankful. The weight of what we’re going through overshadows thankful feelings.

Then other times, nothing bad is going on, but life just seems mundane, unexciting. If someone asks us what we’re thankful for at those times, we’d likely draw a blank.

These are all occasions when we might not feel thankful. But thanksgiving isn’t a feeling. It’s an action. And, ironically, giving thanks even when we don’t feel thankful often leads to feeling thankful.

It doesn’t usually take a lot of thought to find reasons to be thankful. And if you’re like me, once you get started, it’s hard to stop!

When going through a trial, I can be thankful that:

  • God is with me.
  • He promised to give me grace and help me.
  • He knows just how much to allow.
  • He loves me.
  • He is interested in my growth even if I am not.
  • He has a purpose in all He allows and works it for my good.

When life is mundane, I can be thankful that:

  • A respite is provided from busyness.
  • God is with me, even in the small moments.
  • When I do things as unto the Lord, they are important even if they are not big.
  • Quiet days provide time to listen to others.

When life is busy, I am thankful that:

  • God gives strength.
  • God quiets my racing heart.
  • God gives peace.
  • Rest is coming.

Any day, I can be thankful that:

  • God saved me.”Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:12-14).
  • God comforts me. “For the LORD shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody” (Isaiah 51: 3).
  • God helps me. “The Lord is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him” (Psalm 28:7).
  • God loves me. “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man!” (Psalm 107:8).
  • God forgives me. “I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me” (Isaiah 12:1).

We often look to our circumstances for reasons to be thankful. But we can be thankful for God Himself and His wonderful attributes:

  • “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!” (I Chronicles 16:34; Ezra 3:11; Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1, 29; 136).
  • “Sing unto the LORD, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness” (Psalm 30:4).
  • “Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods” (Psalm 95:2-3).
  • “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds” (Psalm 9:1).

Among the many admonitions and encouragements to be thankful in the Bible is this, from 1 Thessalonians 5:18: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (NKJV). In everything–all circumstances, the ESV says–there is something for which we can be thankful.

Thanksgiving often spontaneously overflows when news is good or something happy occurs. But when we’re going through something hard, thanksgiving isn’t easy. The Bible says sometimes praise is a sacrifice. When we remind ourselves who our God is, what He has promised us, and how He loves us, we can find abundant reasons to thank Him.

1 Thessalonians 5:18

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