Christians are like the flowers in a garden, that have each of them the dew of Heaven, which, being shaken with the wind, they let fall at each other’s roots, whereby they are jointly nourished, and become nourishers of each other.” —John Bunyan This quote was particularly meaningful to me today as I was reflecting on the blog entries and comments of the last couple of days. And you know, it’s interesting, we can all go along or get along really well until one of us speaks up or speaks our mind on a matter. Then… suddenly we realize we’re…
-
-
As I inferred in a post or two ago… there is often great anguish over decisions we make or made or must make in marriage. Actually, more specifically, in the area of childbearing and/or “childbarriering.” I know I’ve made some very bold statements in regards to this matter – and I stand on them, though there are times I might even seem to bend or waffle on strongly held beliefs, I guess I desire to convey that I seek to hold my gaze fixed on the Standard of the Word. Being fallible, I do have times of fretting, of doubting,…
-
I was going along and got tripped in the school yard and the contents of my knapsack was strewn all over… but I’ll gather things up and attempt to get my papers in order and have something to share in the morning. I was going to write a bit more about the blessing of children and the brevity of seasons… time doesn’t allow for that right now. I spent it in reply to comments on friday’s blog.
-
…and there is really so much to say on this matter. As I was sharing yesterday and the day before on some pretty sensitive matters, I recognize that the matter of marriage, family size, the sovereignty of God and Lordship of the womb is probably one of the most volatile topics concerning marriage and family… and, sadly, is not embraced and promoted by the mainstream Christian writers/teachers/preachers in the church today and is seldom embraced by Christians in general — what a pitiful indictment against the church. Actually, I think that birth control and immodest and/or gender-neutral clothing are a…
-
I’m steeped in thought about this matter this morning – not just bcz of celebrating another birthday in our home and not just bcz I wrote about some non-optionals yesterday… but bcz another day passes that reminds me that the season of childbearing has passed on by and I’m beginning to walk through the leaves and am no longer sitting under the shade trees of summer. So, I think further on non-optionals – and today: the non-option of the lordship of the womb. The womb belongs chiefly and solely to the LORD, our Creator. We were created by Him for…
-
Time’s a strange thing… it has a wonderful and peculiar way of sort of settling things. Sort of like a river finds that level ground or a lake is formed with the pooling of water… people’s ideas or methods seem to me to tend to be like that. I think of the people who used to think like me and no longer do and people who never thought like me and do so now. People who, through a series of circumstances and events have changed their once staunchly held views and those who once held views in strict opposition to…
-
I’m sick. No, really I am… You thought I just might be launching into a rant about some political matter or societal issue or something, no? OR that I stepped off the face of the earth… No… really, I actually feel like I just stepped off a rollercoaster ride that’s been going loop-de-loop nonstop since last week. And, really, it’s been quite a delightful ride—it’s just that it sure was time to get off, make a big pot of chicken vegetable soup, and work at a plan to go to bed early tonight. We’ve had a houseful for the last…
-
I have a number of significant stones in my garden—stones that represent milestones, significant dates, achievements, answers to prayer, the names and birthdates of each of our children and grandchildren. There are stones that reflect ways the LORD has worked a special situation and there are a few larger stones—rocks, really, that represent some of the more difficult times or seasons. So, in addition to all the roses and some smaller flowering plants and bulbs, the garden is a collection of faith markers… stones that we’ve passed over. The stones tell stories—or at least they represent stories, for each event,…
-
and we are so grateful to the LORD for His wonderful provision, protection and care for her over the last several months she’s been gone working at an orphanage in Jinja, Uganda. I had intended to write about this last week when she first arrived home, but time didn’t permit much computer use and I was actually so wonderfully overwhelmed with her being home that I didn’t take the time to write about it. I can now look at her homecoming a bit more objectively and probably say more than the words: praise, praise, praise the LORD she’s home! She…
-
Andrew… “Mama, I know how to make people’s heads go away from me [lean back]!” He then licks his finger and directs it toward my face… and I lean my head back. He nearly falls down laughing. I laugh too. Then I watch him go into the other room and proceed to tell the others the same thing. They all lean back, too. He laughs, they laugh. Naomi attempts the same trick. Licks her finger, points it toward Andrew’s face, he unconsciously leans back. They both laugh hysterically. This truly is a slice of my life. It’s but one of…