The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it. -Psalm 24:1
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From Martin Luther’s Lectures on Isaiah: He gives power to the faint. -Isaiah 40:29a …Reason willingly hears one thing–that God gives strength, but it does not want to be worn out and nothing. So all the self-righteous willingly receive strength from God, but they do not want to be faint… But God gives strength to the weary, the oppressed, and the troubled. The emphasis lies on the word “faint,” but we look for the stress on the word “power.” It is as if God were saying: “You must be weary and emptied, so that there is no way out for you. Then I will give you strength. First you must become nothing, then consolation and strength will come.” Therefore let us learn to console ourselves when we are afflicted and say, “What I do not have and what I cannot do, that Christ has and can do.” This, and other […]
I didn’t make my Spring Salad for Easter Sunday. In fact, this weekend really didn’t go as planned at all. As I write, I continue to feel weak and achy all over, trying to get my body on the mend before Cinco signals his arrival any day now. On Saturday, our family came down with the most terrible stomach virus I think we’ve ever experienced. We ruled out food poisoning as we and another family were both exposed at the same function a day earlier, with the same repercussions. Though clearly unintentional, it was a preventable disaster, making it all the harder to bear. At 39 1/2 weeks, dehydration and vomiting is not to be desired, not to mention, completely debilitating with the usual aches, pains, and contractions that come with this stage of pregnancy. Unlike many other times of illness and duress at our home, my dear Preacher could […]
I say I’m blessed, and am full of thankfulness. But sometimes I don’t act like it. Or speak like it. I need to be reminded regularly, to cultivate gratitude, that I might guard my heart from self-righteous grumblings and the sinful root of discontentment. I can truly say that I’m grateful for a husband who cares enough to send me the following…which I share with you with humility and love: Gratitude arises from a contemplation of the goodness of God. It is bred by serious meditation on what God has done for us… Gratitude and thanksgiving forever stand opposed to all murmurings at God’s dealings with us, and all complaining at our lot. Gratitude and murmuring never abide in the same heart at the same time. An unappreciative spirit has no standing beside gratitude and praise. And true prayer corrects complaining and promotes gratitude and thanksgiving. Dissatisfaction at one’s lot, […]
Here we are at our final week of the Simply Nesting challenge. Thank you for coming along, friends. I have something different for you this week. While there are still many areas of my home that could use simplification and a good clean-out (oh, let’s see…the bedroom, kids’ dressers, refrigerator, master closet…), I’ve decided to end our challenge focusing on an area that may perhaps be of the greatest importance in a mother’s life. More critical than a clean closet, an organized pantry, or a simplified utility space, is a de-cluttered life in the way that matters most: that is, in heart and mind. What I have learned the last four times I’ve been blessed with a new baby is that structure, schedule, and simplification in the home makes a huge difference in welcoming a newborn, but more than anything, it is how I’m prepared in the thoughts of my […]
I’m grateful to report that I survived my past week as a single-parent while the Preacher was out of town for a Pastor’s Conference. It was only 4 days and 3 nights, but at 33 weeks pregnant with four kids, it felt a bit more like weeks! I have no major disasters to report except for a bloody nose, some shattered glassware, a tipped-over grocery cart, later-than-usual bedtimes, more-dramatic-than-necessary fights, and a disturbing amount of chicken nuggets consumed. Oh, and there was that particular situation where a certain four year old feared he would not make it to the restroom in time, and frantically broadcasted the news to the entire store while wailing and clutching his backside. That’s all, really. Otherwise, my children were a blessing. My oldest, who turns 9 this coming week, rose early, served up breakfast to his brothers, administered band-aids, packed lunches on school day, gave […]
Last Monday I was sharing my heart about resting in Christ while laboring to see the Gospel transform others’ lives. I was so encouraged to read your many responses, and to be reminded that God is truly at work in each of our lives–finishing the work He has begun. It’s fitting, I suppose for these thoughts to be fieldnotes, observations that dominate my thinking at the start of a week, as Sunday is the day that my spouse’s weeklong wrestling with the Word of God culminates in the proclamation of that truth. Sometimes it’s a slam dunk; sometimes it’s not. And while it may appear that he has “one shot” each week at delivering the message, the work of God upon the flock is not a once-a-week engagement. Sunday is not “showtime,” a performance, or the sales-pitch. In fact, my sweet Preacher likes to think of the finish line each […]
The side of my life I don’t speak much of in this public arena, is the great rewards and heartbreaks of living and loving out the Gospel in ministry and service to others. For some, what The Preacher and I do day by day may be considered a profession, but for us, it is truly a calling and a conviction. John Piper has described it this way: “If you live gladly to make others glad in God, your life will be hard, your risks will be high, and your joy will be full.” I have never known this truth more greatly than I do in this season of my life. You don’t have to be a church minister, a mentor, a counselor, or a Bible scholar to know the weight of Piper’s insight here. You must merely consider the truth of God’s Word as more important than your own, the […]
This is just my opinion: It seems that summertime naturally brings about frivolity and lightness, while winter’s chill draws lengthy the cares of the heart and the concerns of the mind. We all seem to be waiting for warm weather and brighter days. Does it seem that way to you? Our natural man doesn’t need much help to be discontent and discouraged. Elyse Fitzpatrick says that our hearts are “idol factories,” and I tend to agree. We are so easily persuaded by gloomy skies and restricting temps. We look to “the next thing,” the next vacation, the next purchase, to get us over the proverbial hump of winter blues. The flesh is so quick to seek comfort in anything (circumstances, friends, good news, indulgences…) other than the “living water” that satisfies. “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that […]
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