Month: August 2008
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ONE APPEAL: HIS MERCY
“When I come to the Lord after I’ve blown it, I’ve only one argument to make. It’s not the argument of the difficulty of the environment that I am in. It’s not the argument of the difficult people that I’m near. It’s not the argument of good intentions that were thwarted in some way.
I come to the Lord with only one appeal; his mercy. I’ve no other defense. I’ve no other standing. I’ve no other hope. I can’t escape the reality of my biggest problem; me! So I appeal to the one thing in my life that’s sure and will never fail. I appeal to the one thing that guaranteed not only my acceptance with God, but the hope of new beginnings and fresh starts. I appeal on the basis of the greatest gift I ever have or ever will be given.
I leave the courtroom of my own defense, I come out of hiding and I admit who I am. But I’m not afraid, because I’ve been personally and eternally blessed. Because of what Jesus has done, God looks on me with mercy. It’s my only appeal, it’s the source of my hope, it’s my life. Mercy, mercy me!”
—Paul David Tripp, Whiter Than Snow (Wheaton, Ill: Crossway Books, 2008), 22 -
DAILY GRACE
Yesterday, God was very gracious to me;
tomorrow he will be very gracious to me;
and the same will be true the next day, and the next day,
and the next day, until there shall be no more days,
and time shall be swallowed up in eternity.
Between here and heaven, every minute that
the Christian lives will be a minute of grace.
From here to the throne of the Highest, you will have to be
continually supplied with new grace from the Lord who sits
on high.
Dear brother, you will never live a truly holy,
happy, blessed day, except by divine grace.
You never think a right thought, never do a right act,
you never make any advance heavenward except by grace.
I like to think that it is so, that every day I am a
monument of mercy; that every day a fresh display of
sovereign grace is made to me;
every day my Father feeds me,
every day my Savior cleanses me,
every day the Comforter sustains me.
Every day, new manifestations of the lovingkindness of the Lord
break forth upon my wondering soul, and give me fresh visions
of his miraculous love.
I could not find another word to express what I wanted to say,
that one seemed to leap into my mouth just then-
his ‘miraculous’ love!
And so it is, miracle-working love, making the Christian’s life
to be a series of miracles, at which angels shall gaze
forever in astonished adoration of the amazing love of God
to guilty men.
So I reckon that we may go onward with great confidence;
for, although every day will bring dangers,
every day will also witness divine deliverance.
~~Spurgeon
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Today is the 2nd day of homeschool. I just love new beginnings. I feel so fresh and organized…..tell me about this come January….LOL
I also like the more structured day. I accomplish so much more when I am busier…How can that be??
While Amy is starting her math, I have been surfing the net and found this …. I thought it quite good….what are you thoughts ??????
Home is the true wife’s kingdom. There, first of all places, she must be strong and beautiful. She may touch life outside in many ways, if she can do it without slighting the duties that are hers within her own doors. But if any calls for her service must be declined, they should not be the duties of her home. These are hers, and no other one’s. Very largely does the wife hold in her hands, as a sacred trust, the happiness and the highest good of the hearts that nestle there. The best husband—the truest, the noblest, the gentlest, the richest-hearted—cannot make his home happy if his wife be not, in every reasonable sense, a helpmate to him.
In the last analysis, home happiness depends on the wife. Her spirit gives the home its atmosphere. Her hands fashion its beauty. Her heart makes its love. And the end is so worthy, so noble, so divine, that no woman who has been called to be a wife, and has listened to the call, should consider any price too great to pay, to be the light, the joy, the blessing, the inspiration of a home.
Men with fine gifts think it worth while to live to paint a few great pictures which shall be looked at and admired for generations; or to write a few songs which shall sing themselves into the ears and hearts of men. But the woman who makes a sweet, beautiful home, filling it with love and prayer and purity, is doing something better than anything else her hands could find to do beneath the skies.
~ J.R. Miller Secrets of Happy Home Life 1874
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MORNING MANNA
”My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” Psalm 5:3
Morning is the best time for getting to know God. This principle was deeply impressed upon the children of Israel by His daily gift of manna. The angel food cake rained down from heaven early in the morning, six days a week, for 40 years. If one waited too long to gather it, the manna would evaporate in the heat of the sun. “And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.” Exodus 16:21.
Likewise, if we wait too long for our spiritual devotions, the cares and pressures of the day will get our attention before the Lord does. The busier we are and the more we have to do, the more we need to take time to pray. Let’s not allow the manna to melt.
Jesus, our example, practiced morning devotions. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and then prayed.” Mark 1:35.
As Charles Spurgeon well said: “The morning is the gate of the day, and it should be well guarded with prayer. It is one end of the thread on which the day’s actions are strung, and should be well knotted with devotion. If we felt the majesty of life we should be more careful of its mornings.
“He who rushes from his bed to his business and waiteth not to worship is as foolish as though he had not put on his clothes, or cleansed his face, and as unwise as though he had dashed into battle without arms or armor. Be it ours to bathe in the softly flowing river of communion with God, before the heat of the wilderness and the burden of the way begins to oppress.” — The Truth About Mary Magdalene , Doug Batchelor, p. 53
What is the best time for you to do your devotions???????Melissa Ringstaff is the Founding Director of A Virtuous Woman, a pastor’s wife, and homeschooling mom. She is the author of several titles including The Homemaker’s Journal: Keeping House, If It Were Not So…, and From Chaos to Calm: 15 Weeks to a Happy Home.
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WE ARE BACK FROM VACATION
Not sure what I am doing here…..
This is the porch of the our cabin..
Side view of the cabin….I love how it is surrounded by pine trees
overlooking Lake Arrowhead
We found a turtle
Feeding some ducks…others are watching under the pier
she is racing
this carousel is very old at the village
We have taken a pic of her with this bear every year since she was only 4
Here is a shot of Lake Gregory…we used to go there when I was a kid….lookspretty much the same
The love of my life Paul
Amy and her new found friends with their seaweed raft…or is it called lakeweed since this is a lake????
This is where we stay…..check out the hand carved bear totem pole….
Here is another shot of the carved bears
Another shot of my honey……what a man
This is Amy….waiting patiently for the internet….it was iffy at best but free….
Feeding a squirrel…..one actually stood up on her lap….did not have the camera out fast enoughWe had such a nice restful time. To be in the mountains, I just feel closer to God. Technically I guess I am. I learned a whole lot about myself and my family this trip. I will have to share about that in another entry. But all in all, it was just wonderful. Funny thing happened to me this time. My fibromyalgia was worse. I just could hardly walk around, much less go up and down the stairs that just about every store or restaurant had. I guess when you are built on a mountain, you just have to have stairs.
When I came home, I looked up why this funny thing had happen. Now we go there just about every year and I don’t remember this happening before. I read that the lack of oxygen could cause the muscles to tighten and hurt……maybe my fibromyalgia is progressing??? Some don’t believe it is a progressive disease. Now I am beginning to wonder. I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday and ask him.On the homefront, we started homeschooling again today. I did not know we would start so soon. Talk about back to reality. Amy is in the 6th grade….boy, I sure hope I am smarter than a 6th grader…….LOL
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LOOPTY LOOP
I got this in an email this morning…..wow….“Mommy, where is number eight? I can’t find number
eight.” I got up and walked over to her and helped her find the number
eight…but what she did next left me scratching me head, after all,
isn’t there only ONE way to do a dot-to-dot????I placed my
finger on the number eight. Ellie began pushing her crayon from the
number seven in a circuitous route, up, down, zig and zag, until she
loopty-looped around the number eight and finally brought her pink
crayon crayon to a halt at the eighth number.“Ellie, you are
supposed to go straight from the number seven to the number eight. If
you don’t, in the end you won’t have a beautiful picture. It’ll look
all jumbled up.”She answers me with a question, “Where is the
number nine?” I point and watch aghast as her crayon jaunts about the
paper only stopping at the number nine after dancing in as much white
space as possible. “This is the way I like to do it.” I watched in
amazement as we worked our way from eight to forty-six; me pointing,
her loopty-looping.“This
is how a stubborn child does a dot-to-dot,” I whispered to Tim,
SURPRISE SURPRISE! While talking to Ellie later in the day, she was
asking me a few questions…this one hit me “Mommy, God points the way
to heaven through Jesus right?” I was suddenly brought back to earlier
in the day going through the dot-to-dot with Ellie, and my Heavenly
Father whispered to me, “This is how a stubborn child does life”, And
once again, a lesson learned from an innocent child, it was clear. God
has blatantly pointed the way. Go here. This way. And I have said,
“This is the way I like to do it,” loopty-looping through life.Do you ever tell God…..I do it myself……
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ITS FRIDAY FUNNY TIME
Given
the current state of the economy, the U.S. has just issued a new dollar bill
soon to be circulating -
LAUS DEO
I
realize that some, if not all of you know the information contained
here, but it is good that we are all reminded of it on occasion.
One
detail that is never mentioned is that in Washington , D.C. there can
never be a building of greater height than the Washington Monument .
With all the uproar about removing the ten commandments, etc., this is
worth a moment or two of your time. I was not aware of this amazing
historical information.On the aluminum cap, atop the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., are displayed two words: Laus Deo.
No
one can see these words. In fact, most visitors to the monument are
totally unaware they are even there and for that matter, probably
couldn’t care less.
Once you know Laus Deo’s history
, you will want to share this with everyone you know. These words have
been there for many years; they are 555 feet, 5.125 inches high,
perched atop the monument, facing skyward to the Father of our nation,
overlooking the 69 square miles which comprise the District of Columbia
, capital of the United States of America
Laus Deo! Two
seemingly insignificant, unnoticed words. Out of sight and, one might
think, out of mind, but very meaningfully placed at the highest point
over what is the most powerful city in the most successful nation in
the world.
So,
what do those two words, in Latin, composed of just four syllables and
only seven letters, possibly mean? Very simply, they say “Praise be to
God!”
Though
construction of this giant obelisk began in 1848, when James Polk was
President of the United States , it was not until 1888 that the
monument was inaugurated and opened to the public. It took twenty-five
years to finally cap the memorial with a tribute to the Father of our
nation, Laus Deo. “Praise be to God!”From
atop this magnificent granite and marble structure, visitors may take
in the beautiful panoramic view of the c ity with its division into
four major segments. From that vantage point, one can also easily see
the original plan of the designer, Pierre Charles l’Enfant… a perfect
cross imposed upon the landscape, with the White House to the north.
The Jefferson Memorial is to the south, the Capitol to the east and
the Lincoln Memorial to the west.
A
cross you ask? Why a cross? What about separation of church and
state? Yes, a cross; separation of church and state was not, is not,
in the Constitution. So, read on. How interesting and, no doubt,
intended to carry a profound meaning for those who bother to notice.Praise
be to God! Within the monument itself are 898 steps and 50 landings.
As one climbs the steps and pauses at the landings the memorial stones
share a message.
On the 12th Landing is a prayer offered by the City of Baltimore; on
the 20th is a memorial presented by some Chinese Christians; on the
24th a presentation made by Sunday School children from New York and
Philadelphia quoting Proverbs 10:7, Luke 18:16 and Proverbs 22:6. Praise be to God!When the cornerstone of the
Washington Monument was laid on July 4th,
1848 deposited within it were many items including the Holy Bible
presented by the Bible Society. Praise be to God! Such was the
discipline, the moral direction, and the spiritual mood given by the
founder and first President of our unique democracy “One Nation, Under
God.”I
am awed by Washington ‘s prayer for America Have you ever read it? Well, now is your
unique opportunity, so read on!“Almighty
God; We make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States
in Thy holy protection; that Thou wilt incline the hearts of the
citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to
government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one
another and for their fellow citizens of the United States at large.
And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all
to do justice, to love mercy, and to demean ourselves with that
charity, humility, and pacific temper of mind which were the
characteristics of the Divine Author of our blessed religion, and
without a humble imitation of whose example in these things we can
never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech
Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”
Laus Deo!
When
one stops to observe the inscriptions found in public places all over
our nation’s capitol, he or she will easily find the signature of God,
as it is unmistakably inscribed everywhere you look. You may forget the
width and height of “Laus Deo “, its location, or the architects but no
one who reads this will be able to forget its meaning, or these words:
“Unless the Lord builds the h ouse its builders labor in vain. Unless
the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.”
(Psalm 127: 1)
It
is hoped you will send this to every child you know; to every sister,
brother, father, mother or friend. They will not find offense, because
you have given them a lesson in history that they probably never
learned in school. With that, be not ashamed, or afraid, but have pity
on those who will never see this because someone failed to send it on.
“Do not ask GOD to Guide your Footsteps if you are not willing to MOVE your Feet”
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