have you been asking?

“Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. 

God does not tell you what He is going to do; He reveals to you Who He is.” 

::oswald chambers::

a snowy evening

s.n.o.w.

my 13-year old brother loves it 

(he is into anything hockey and has been bemoaning our dry winter)

my Mum could do without it 

(she has to drive in it)

my 16-year old brother appreciates it 

(more snow shoveling = more income)

my Dad would rather not talk about it 

(a five minute drive took close to 45 minutes)

my 20-year old brother is glad that it isn't typical 

(he ended up walking to work this evening)

as for this one?  No where to go 'till tomorrow.  And snow falling makes for such cozy evenings to sip tea, listen to classical radio and crochet.  Oh, and to read.  This and that and maybe the other. 

......................................

and here is an excerpt from the Valley of Vision. . .such a beautiful, rich and powerful collection of Puritan prayers.  It is so amazing to realize again that the truth and life found in Christ does not change from generation to generation.  

"Thou hast loved me everlastingly, unchangeably,

  may I love Thee as I am loved;

Thou has given Thyself for me,

may I give myself to Thee.

Thou hast died for me,

may I live for Thee,

in every moment of my time,

in every movement of my mind,

in every pulse of my heart."

"Christ is All"

delight

All of the sudden my Fridays have gotten busy. . .and so the 'five minute Fridays' have started turning into 'seven minute Mondays'.  So because I kept you waiting, here is a picture for you. . .

another yellow house. . .again

and the word is {delight}

go.

Joy.  Happiness.  Delight.

We have such a longing to live life filled with those words.  And it is one of the deepest tragedies to watch people seeking those things, rather than the Giver of all good and perfect gifts.  If we search after happiness and prosperity, if we fill our lives with things that bring pleasure to us, there will be that gnawing, aching void that only grows bigger.

"My soul is restless until it finds rest in YOU."

Things, places, circumstances.  Those all change.  What is here today probably won't be here tomorrow.  Nothing that we cling to here can we keep.  It is only when we turn from those things, those things we think will bring us happiness and joy, that we find the One in whom our soul can truly delight in.  He is unchanging, eternal and the same.  He is infinitely larger than anything we could comprehend.  Yet He desires to know us, for us to love Him, and for us to be transformed by Him.

Trading all that I have for all that is better. . .

delight.

stop.

*note. . .the quote that I very loosely quoted comes from this quote by Saint Augustine. . . "Thou hast created us for Thyself, and our heart is not quiet until it rests in Thee."  

walk by faith

Faith is sustained by looking at Christ, crucified and risen, not by turning from Christ to analyze your faith

Paradoxically, if we would experience the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. 

We must focus on the greatness of our Savior.

john piper

trust

. . .and the word is {trust}

go.
Trust is saying "THY will be done. . .with my today and my tomorrow."   Trust is stepping forward when you cannot see.  It is waiting when every thing in you wants to move, somewhere, someway.

The older that I get, the richer those 'Sunday School' Bible verses seem.  "For God so loved. . .",  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful. . .", "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. . ."

When you are six, there is such innocence and you wonder what trust means.  Over ten years later, you wish it was as easy to live the word as it is to define it.

Trust is singing songs in the night, knowing that His ways and thoughts are so much higher than we could ever comprehend.  Trust is not understanding, but believing.  It is not clinging to the known, but letting go before you are ready.
stop.
. . . . .

on your knees

Loch Ard, Scotland

"Brother, if you would enter that Province, you must go forward on your knees." 

           - J. Hudson Taylor

the importance of proper sentence construction

While reading the BBC news a week ago, I happened upon an interesting article explaining royal banquets through the centuries.  I was, however, confused by this last bullet point.

• Takes two days to lay the 175ft-long dining table at Buckingham Palace
• Each place setting measures 45cm and a rod is used to achieve the exact alignment of chair and table
• 1,104 glasses are used, six for each guest
• George IV's 4,000-piece Grand Service is used
• Takes eight people three weeks to clean the service
• 170 linen napkins, with the Queen's monogram, are folded by one man in the shape of a Dutch bonnet

Pasted from <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16659349> 

Does this mean that the man who folds the napkins is himself in the shape of a Dutch Bonnet. . ?  I do believe I shall save this as a humorous example of the importance of proper sentence construction in case I am ever called upon to teach grammar in the future.  It is always handy to have an example to whip out to prove your point.  Like with piano students who look like they don't believe you when you point out the fact that rhythm is indeed important and not merely a suggested guideline.  That is the perfect opportunity to point out that proper rhythm is the only difference between the opening line of "Joy to the World" and a descending C major scale.  


Meanwhile, I am happy that I am not invited to such a banquet as described above, for I am sure that I would be absolutely lost with what to do with my six glasses at my place setting.  And could you imagine setting a table for two days? 

Thy way, not mine

"He shall choose our inheritance for us"  Psalm 47:4

Thy way, not mine, O Lord,

However dark it be;

Lead me by Thine own hand,

Choose out the path for me;

Smooth let it be or rough,

It will be still the best;

Winding or straight, it leads

Right onward to Thy rest.

I  dare not choose my lot;

I would not if I might:

Choose Thou for me, my God,

So shall I walk alright:

The kingdom that I seek

Is Thine; so let the way 

That leads it be Thine,

Else I must surely stray

Not mine, not mine the choice,

In things or great or small;

Be Thou my guide, my strength,

My wisdom and my all.  

-H. Bonar

...

found in an old hymnal of my Grandpa's.

real

. .and the word is  {real}


go.
Remembering back years ago, when my friends and I used to traipse around in cast-off capes and be lost for hours in adventures of our own making, still makes me smile.  We would ford rivers, climb tree forts, discover new lands, fight battles and sleep under the stars.  There would be drama, and love and fighting for a cause so much greater than our eight-year-old selves.  The years have gone by, yet still the memories bring back the feelings of adventuring through the world. 

We didn't realize back then, that in a real-life adventure the night is long when you are out in the cold and that the rocks really poke your back.  There seems to be a lot of watching and waiting, and not so many exciting exploits. Simple things can often seem so hard, and no one realizes the heroic.  And you cannot manipulate the ending and tie together all the pieces before the afternoon is over.  

Yet, would we want it any differently?  Would we want a life in which everything is rolled together in an afternoon, after which you go home?  Or is it the very 'realness' of life, the every day hurts and growth and laughter, the living each moment in obedience to the King of Heaven, that makes this life that we are living a grand sort of unexpected adventure?    


stop
.......  

the world at your fingertips

Is this not a clever idea?  

Apparently you simply take an old globe and paint it with chalkboard paint.

Wouldn't it be a perfect way to remember to pray for friends all over the globe and a whimsical way to decorate?  And just made to mark places that have gripped your heart or places that you want to visit?  

.............