Praying when you don’t feel like it

Posted on October 12, 2008 by Barbara Harper

From today’s reading in Joy and Strength:

Praying in Spite of Yourself by Mary Wilder Tileston

Ye said also, Behold, what a weariness is it.
–MALACHI 1:13

My soul cleaveth unto the dust; quicken Thou me according to Thy word.
–PSALMS 119:25

Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
–EPHESIANS 5:14

THERE are some who give up their prayers because they have so little feeling in their prayers–so little warmth of feeling. But who told us that feeling was to be a test of prayer? The work of prayer is a far too noble and necessary work to be laid aside for any lack of feeling. Press on, you who are dry and cold in your prayers, press on as a work and as a duty, and the Holy Spirit will, in His good time, refresh your prayers Himself.
–ARTHUR F. WINNINGTON INGRAM

Yielding

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I just finished reading Romans several days ago and Galatians this morning, and truths from both of them were in my thoughts.

There are two verses in Romans 6 that talk about yielding:

“Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God” (Romans 6:13).

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” (Romans 6:16).

While I understood and agreed with those verses, there was one aspect that troubled me in regard to my “besetting sins,” and that was the word “yield.” I was thinking of it as a synonym for “let” — in other words, don’t let yourself sin, but let yourself do right. “Let” seemed appropriate for yielding to sinful impulses — it is all too easy to let the flesh do what it wants to do — but it seemed I couldn’t just “let” myself do right. I rather needed to make myself do right, often with a lot of prayer and struggling with the flesh (remember, this is in the context of those “besetting sins” I have a continual problem with).

Tied in with those verses from Romans was this one from Galatians 5:16-17 that I just read this morning:

“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

I thought of the word “walk” in terms of taking a series of steps, and walking in the Spirit as taking those steps under the Holy Spirit’s control and direction while verse 17 acknowledges that confluict between flesh and Spirit.

A picture came to my mind of coming up to a yield sign in traffic. What do you do when you see a yield sign? You put on the brakes and you let the people in the other lane have the right of way.

And suddenly it became clear: the whole idea of yielding to God involved stepping on the brakes of my flesh and letting Him have His way, not just in the big decisions of life, but my everyday walk and choices.

I don’t know if that distinction helps or makes sense to anyone else, but it was a light bulb moment for me.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Thou art the Potter, I am the clay.
Mold me and make me after Thy will,
While I am waiting, yielded and still.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Search me and try me, Master, today!
Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,
As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Wounded and weary, help me, I pray!
Power, all power, surely is Thine!
Touch me and heal me, Savior divine.

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!
Hold o’er my being absolute sway!
Fill with Thy Spirit ’till all shall see
Christ only, always, living in me.

– Adelaide A. Pollard

(Photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com.)

Friday Fave Five

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Susanne at Living to Tell the Story has begun a “Friday Fave Five” in which we share out five favorite things from the past week. Click on the button to read more of the details.

I am late to the computer today, but here we go:

1. The cooler temperatures of fall!!! We’re just starting to be consistently a little cooler here, though our change of seasons goes back and forth between old and new for several weeks.

2. My new purse! I had been looking for one for a while.

3. Good Christian radio stations. We’re so blessed to have not one but two here that I switch back and forth between. I especially like to listen to them as I am cooking or cleaning in the kitchen or as I am falling asleep at night.

4. Fall decorations that I just put out yesterday. I don’t decorate a lot for fall — not nearly as much as Christmas — but I like to have something of the season around. I didn’t show pictures of them since they are the same as last year’s here and here. I was getting tired of the idea of scarecrows til I pulled them out again and was reminded how cute they are.

5. Our ladies’ meeting Monday night making cards. It was actually rough to prepare for just in the since of being a super-busy day, but I enjoyed it a lot. Plus we had leftovers of the refreshments I made, so our family has been enjoying them all week (Frosted Banana Bars and Oatmeal Cookie squares — I can’t find an online recipe for those, but they are made from a recipe that used to be on oatmeal boxes, only pressed into bar cookies, and I add a powdered sugar glaze over the top.)

Booking Through Thursday

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Barbara Harper

The weekly Booking Through Thursday question for today is actually a series of questions:

What was the last book you bought?

I bought three: The Longing by Beverly Lewis, Sunset by Karen Kingsbury, and Summer Breeze by Catherine Palmer and Gary Chapman. I’ve finished the first one and I am in the middle of the second one.

Name a book you have read MORE than once

Little Women and its sequels, the Little House series, David Copperfield, A Tale of Two Cities, Changed Into His Image by Jim Berg, Winning the Inner War by Erwin Lutzer, Amy Carmichael of Dohnavur by Frank Houghton, several of Isobel Kuhn, Rosalind Goforth’s, and Elisabeth Elliot‘s books.

Has a book ever fundamentally changed the way you see life? If yes, what was it?

The Bible primarily, and other Christian books have enhanced the way I see life, especially missionary biographies.

How do you choose a book? eg. by cover design and summary, recommendations or reviews

All of those have influenced my choice of books, cover design probably the least. Cover design may catch my eye if I am browsing in a store, but if the summary doesn’t sound interesting, I won’t get it. But recommendations and reviews often cause me to seek out particular books.

Do you prefer Fiction or Non-Fiction?

Christian fiction and biographies are my favorite genres.

What’s more important in a novel – beautiful writing or a gripping plot?

Seems like we’ve discussed this one before, but if you don’t have a plot you don’t have a story. Yet the writing has to be engaging to some degree or else it doesn’t draw you into the plot.

Most loved/memorable character (character/book)

Oh, so many…Beth and Marmee in Little Women, Jean Val Jean in Les Miserables.

Which book or books can be found on your nightstand at the moment?

My Bible and Daily Light for the Daily Path devotional book.

What was the last book you’ve read, and when was it?

The Longing by Beverly Lewis October 4.

Have you ever given up on a book half way in?

I did with The Tale of Two Cities a couple of times — probably less than halfway in — before I finally completed it. It became one of my favorites and I immediately read it again.

Making cards

Posted on October 9, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home has started hosting an opportunity for bloggers to show their cards, bookmarks, or other paper crafts on Thursdays. I’ve been enjoying Kelli’s cards and others for a long time.

I have posted this picture before, but these are bookmarks I made when our ladies’ group was making them to send to our missionaries to use in their ministry.

This one was made a couple of years ago as a thank you to someone who helped with our ladies’ banquet where the theme had to do with hearts.

This past week our ladies met to make some cards for our missionaries to use. Here are a few I made:

We had a lady in our church who I call The Card Master show our ladies some techniques to make cards last month, and one idea she gave us was to start with what she called “cheater cards.” They sell these by the box at craft stores: cards with different background designs which you can then add embellishment to. Our ladies who hadn’t made cards before thought this was a great way to get started. Here is one that one of the ladies made:

And finally, this is one The Card Master made:

You can see she is eons ahead of the rest of us!! But that’s one reason I enjoy doing this together — it inspires more creative ideas.

Kelli, I think I have been bitten by the card-making bug!

By the way, I created a Flickr group called Creative Cards here — if any of you use Flickr for your photos, I’d love to have you submit your cards there!

Purse-onality

Posted on October 8, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I finally bought a new purse today!

It was about time — don’tcha think?

I’ve been looking for one. I rarely spend more than $15 for one, but I couldn’t find one I liked at all my usual sources. I found one at the mall I loved for twice that price but just did not want to spend that much.

Finally I was in Wal-Mart today and looked again. I hadn’t remembered seeing this one before.

I had been wanting one with just one strap because if I have two straps one invariably falls off my shoulder. I like having different compartments inside, but I only wanted one zipper. When I have two I almost always unzip the wrong side for whatever I am looking for. So this will remove those two little everyday frustrations. It isn’t divided inside, but we’ll just deal with it and see how it goes. I like having a little outside pocket for keys and cell phone.

I’m a pretty basic person when it come to purses. I posted a while back that I had seen a headline somewhere saying “Your purse is boring,” and my immediate thought was, “My purse is not here to entertain you!” I can see how purses can be a fashion accent and I am not against that. On the other hand, I don’t want the first thing people notice when they see me coming is my purse. It’s just not that big a deal to me.

But I do want it to look “nice,” not too big or small, functional with some form — I don’t like the floppy “bag” kind.

I have a basic black one for every day but I do change and use a navy or cream-colored one to coordinate with what I am wearing when I am dressing up a bit.

This one is my one “outside the box” purse:

I love it. I have a few light solid color dresses that I wear in the summer and use this with those.

I hadn’t originally intended to write a whole purse post when I bought this one this morning! But then I remembered seeing a purse quiz somewhere a while back, so I searched for it and found this:

What Your Handbag Says About You

You tend to be relaxed throughout the day.

You are naturally at peace.

Your motto is : “Be prepared.” You don’t like to be surprised by anything.

You are practical and down to earth. You tend to be a rather reserved and quiet person.

What Does Your Handbag Say About You?

The last two sentences are totally true of me!

In the course of searching for that quiz I found this meme made up by the blogger at Communication FUNdamentals, whom I had never read before but who sounds like someone I’d like to get to know!

1. How many purses do you own?

5, though I primarily use one most of the time.

2. In general do you like small purses or large purses?

In between. I do like to carry a number of things in there, so, though the little ones are cute, they’re just not practical. It’s hard to find things in the big ones, plus they are awkward and heavy (to me). I do carry a tote bag if I am traveling, though, because I’ll also have a book and a few other things I don’t normally carry along with me every day.

3. In general do you like lots of pockets or just to dump stuff into one big pocket?

I like a few. With one big pocket it seems like whatever you’re looking for is at the bottom. With too many it’s hard to remember what you put in which pocket. I like a couple inside and at least one outside.

4. What is the color of your purse or, if you have more than one, what is the color of most of your purses?

Main everyday one is black, but I also have navy, white, cream, and floral ones.

5. Do you like leather or fabric purses?

Doesn’t really matter. I think my leatherish ones are probably “faux” leather.

6. If you didn’t have to be practical, what kind of purse would you LOVE to have?

I love the floral one mentioned above. That’s about as extravagant as I get with purses. 🙂

7. How old is your oldest purse?

Oh my…let’s see… some of the ones I don’t use every day are over 10 years old. My everyday one, of course, wears out much faster.

8. When was the last time you got a new purse?

This morning!

9. Did you play with purses when you were a kid?

I probably had some but I don’t remember. I wasn’t obsessed with them. I don’t remember playing any kind of dress-up.

10 Does your wallet have to match your purse?

No. It’s nice, but not a big deal. I don’t even think about that if I am buying a wallet or purse.

So…what’s your purse-onality?

Veggin’

Posted on October 7, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Whew!

Yesterday was one of my busiest days in a long time, preceded by a busy week last week.

Last week our ladies’ group newsletter/booklet (we never know quite what to call it) was due and takes the better part of the week, but I love it. Often I would like to lay aside other things I am involved in and just do that.

Usually there is a week between that coming out and the monthly ladies’ meeting, but we had to move the meeting up due to a conflict which I didn’t find out about til last week. It was a “work” meeting making some cards for our missionaries (I’m thinking I’ll show some of them on Thursday when Kelli hosts a time for doing that) which entailed some shopping for supplies, and we didn’t have a hostess, so I needed to supply refreshments, plus all that is usually involved in getting ready for a meeting. I was on my feet for the better part of the day (let’s just say I could never be a cashier or a waitress!) It was a fun meeting, but I am wiped out.

Not complaining — just “keepin’ it real.” 🙂

So today I gave myself permission to crash. I took a nap. I am almost caught up on my Bloglines. I played Scrabble and Word Twist on Facebook. I did get a little work done. But mostly I’m just vegging.

Every time I thought about posting today I could not come up with anything articulate. Or anything inarticulate for that matter. 🙂

But I am sure I’ll be rejuvenated by tomorrow!

Book Review: The Longing

Posted on October 4, 2008 by Barbara Harper

The Longing is the third installment in The Courtship of Nellie Fisher series by Beverly Lewis. I reviewed the first book, The Parting, here and the second, The Forbidden, here.

In the previous books, Nellie Fisher’s parents and several others in the community have embraced the truth of salvation. Their bishop has allowed an unusual time of for people to think and make up their minds, but that time is over, and everyone who has embraced the gospel is under the ban, which divides some families.

Nellie came to know the Lord in the previous book, dividing her from her Old Order beau, Caleb. Caleb’s father, a stubborn, authoritarian man, has disinherited Caleb for his involvement with Nellie, so now Caleb is without both his land and his girl, living with his grandparents.

Then suddenly Caleb’s father has a tragic accident — he is kicked in the head by a mule and becomes paralyzed. He calls Caleb home to help the family but makes it clear their relationship is not restored.

Caleb’s cousin, Chris, whose family became Christians years before and transferred to a Mennonite church, comes to help Caleb with the farm chores and in the mean time gets to know Nellie May, not knowing of Caleb’s previous involvement with her.

Nellie’s heart breaks for Caleb, yet his family shuns her family’s offers of help, so they still have no contact. Chris becomes more of a presence in her life, and she is attracted to him, delighting in the fact that they share the same faith, yet they live in different worlds, and she is not sure which, if either of them, would be willing to cross over to the other.

Meanwhile Nellie’s sister, Rhoda, has left home to deliberately go into the world, and Nellie’s friend, Rosanna, who has been unable to maintain a pregnancy and who suffered an unspeakable loss when the woman who gave Rosanna her twins to raise decided she wanted them back, finds herself once again pregnant and faces the fears and sorrow of what she feels will surely be another loss.

In previous series by Lewis, one or two family members would come to faith in Christ, trusting His grace rather than their own works, and either would have to leave home, or would remain quietly trying to be a witness as they were able. In this series, the father was the first to believe rather than the one opposing newfound faith. I was delighted to find in the author’s notes that this story was based on an actual revival in Lancaster Count, Pennsylvania, in the 1960s.

I rejoiced in the new believers’ steps of faith, their kind yet firm stand on the truth, and the joy and seriousness in the way they live out their faith.

Semicolon hosts a weekly roundup of book reviews on Saturadays, and Callapidder Days has a place here for those involved in the Fall Into Reading challenge to post their reviews here. They are both good sources for learning more about books you might be interested in or getting ideas for new books to read.

Poetry Friday: October’s Party

Posted on October 3, 2008 by Barbara Harper

I posted this a couple of years ago, and then didn’t post it last year because it seemed like it was everywhere. But I love it: it is one of my all-time favorite poems.

October’s Party
by George Cooper

October gave a party;
The leaves by hundreds came-
The Chestnuts, Oaks and Maples,
And leaves of every name.
The Sunshine spread a carpet,
And everything was grand,
Miss Weather led the dancing,
Professor Wind the band.

The Chestnuts came in yellow,
The Oaks in crimson dressed;
The lovely Misses Maple
In scarlet looked their best;
All balanced to their partners,
And gaily fluttered by;
The sight was like a rainbow
New fallen from the sky.

Then, in the rustic hollow,
At hide-and-seek they played,
The party closed at sundown,
And everybody stayed.
Professor Wind played louder;
They flew along the ground;
And then the party ended
In jolly “hands around.”

Poetry Friday is hosted by Two Writing Teachers today.

(Photo courtesy of stock.xchange)

Show and Tell Friday: Jesse’s room makeover

Posted on October 3, 2008 by Barbara Harper

Kelli at There’s No Place Like Home hosts “Show and Tell Friday” asking “Do you have a something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, an antique find. Your show and tell can be old or new. Use your imagination and dig through those old boxes in your closet if you have to! Feel free to share pictures and if there’s a story behind your special something, that’s even better! If you would like to join in, all you have to do is post your “Show and Tell” on your blog, copy the post link, come over here and add it to Mr. Linky. Guidelines are here.

We moved into a house that was about 30 years old at the time, and most of the wall and floor coverings needed to be replaced. Of course, you have to space those projects out as time and finances permit. So after ten years we are just now getting to the bedroom of Jesse, my youngest son who just turned 15. He had three days off due ro a teacher’s conference, so Jim took those days off as well.

I didn’t really get a “before” picture as it was before we started working on it because…I would have been too embarrassed. He has the smallest bedroom in the house but the most “stuff,” some of it from younger days and no longer really played with, some that his older brothers passed down to him as they cleaned out their things. We would sort through and purge a few shelves or drawers at a time, but it was overwhelming for both of us.

My husband’s strategy was to pack up everything into boxes and put it in the attic, because if we took time to sort through it before painting we wouldn’t get done in the time frame we had. As we packed things away, if there was something obvious that needed to be thrown away or put in a give-away box, we’d do that, but otherwise we’ll just take the boxes out one or two at a time as we have time later to sort through.

So…here are the “before pictures I took after most of the furniture was out and they had done some spackling:

The walls look a little greenish here, but they were actually a barely-there blue.

Of course, you notice the hideous carpet:

We were delighted to find nice hardwood floors underneath:

Jesse first wanted to paint the walls red, but we felt that would be a little too intense. Then he said brown: we weren’t sure how that would do in a small room, but we were okay with it. Then he said he wanted to paint the trim blue. I wasn’t sure about that at all. But Home Depot had a computer setup where you could click on the paint color and then on the walls or trim of a picture of a room, so we tried it out, and it wasn’t bad.

It actually turned out better than I thought it would:

It was hard to capture the right shade with the lighting in the room and this camera, but this is pretty close. The walls are Double Chocolate, the trim is Smoky Blue. The doors and dresser are supposed to be Oyster, which I had thought was a little tanner than this — this pretty much looks barely off-white. But it’s fine.

I think he was wanting to try for a look that was grown and masculine, and I think this definitely fits the bill. I probably would have done things differently…but then, he is the one living in it, so as long as it wasn’t too outlandish, I was fine with letting him make the choices.

It hasn’t arrived yet, but I ordered this comforter — I let him choose it out of a catalog. And this weekend we’ll look for an area rug — I found a couple that incorporate the different colors.

He’s very pleased!

I also wanted to show my “work in progress.” It’s about one-fourth done.