July 23, 2006
Stephen's BD
It's hard to believe he'll be 26 tomorrow! Here are a few pictures of our Sunday afternoon together. Unfortunately Carrie and Brent weren't able to be with us, and Doug had to work. Even so, we had a nice roast beef lunch with cake and ice cream for dessert. From left to right: Tacy and Mom; Stephen making the coffee; my dad; my mom, Stephen, and Tacy; The Fam; Stephen opening his presents and cards.
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July 19, 2006
More pictures
Here are a few more pictures that I've scanned this week. Aren't photos just wonderful! I love looking through them and remembering when the kids were little. (Click on the pictures to enlarge them.)
Two-year old Stephen is holding a neighborhood cat.
Freshly-scrubbed babies--oh, how sweet! They are 6 1/2, 3 1/2, and 1 week old.
Here, Stephen is taking a "cat nap." Ha! He's about 10 1/2 years old in this pic.
| By Sandy | 10:10 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
July 17, 2006
Getting to the Heart of the Matter
In our ladies’ Bible study, we are reading Live a Praying Life: Open Your Life to God’s Power and Provision by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. This morning, we talked about a “prayer list prayer life.” Do we make our lists, pray to God, happily check off and/or date the answered prayers, and then think, ‘You did good, God!” (whether consciously or unconsciously)? I don’t think it’s wrong to have a prayer list. A prayer list helps us to remember the things we want/need to bring before the Lord. However, I do think that we need to be careful not to regard a prayer list as a kind of to-do list or a shopping list for God. When we come before Him in prayer, we need to come humbly and without an agenda. Two more things we talked about this morning were “getting to the heart of the matter” and praying according to His will. I think that most of us understand the concept of praying according to God’s will, even though we may not always understand or even like what His will is. However, getting to the heart of the matter may be a new concept to some. We may pray for something in particular, when in reality, we are praying for something different. For example, one of the ladies in our group shared an example of someone whose car broke down. (I don’t know her name, but for the sake of the illustration, I’ll call her Lisa.) Lisa prayed that God would give her a car so she could get to work and provide for the needs of her children. Well, God didn’t drop a car into Lisa’s driveway. However, God did stir the heart of a co-worker who called to say that she remembered that Lisa was having car trouble and wondered if she needed a ride to work. Well the co-worker drove Lisa to and from work all that week, and while they rode together they were able to talk and fellowship for several hours. By the end of the week, someone else had found a car for Lisa. I’m not sure if it was given to her or if it was one that she could afford. The point is, when you get to heart of the matter, Lisa needed to get to work so she could provide for her children, and God provided for her need. It wasn’t just about getting a car. The author shared an illustration in her book. Dean's son had a football game on a Wednesday night, and he would not skip out on the game because he had made a commitment to the team. Her son had led two friends to the Lord, and they were going to be baptized on that Wednesday night. The only way her son would be able to go the baptism would have been for God to rain out the game. Dean and her son prayed that it would rain. Well, it didn’t rain. Instead, the game started and then...it became dark. The lights on the football field had some kind of malfunction, so the game was called. Her son was able to get to the church in time for the baptismal service. When you get to the heart of the matter, Dean and her son didn’t really want it to rain—they wanted her son to be able to go his friends’ baptism. They just couldn’t see another way that a football game would be called. So, the lesson here is to try to focus on what it is we really mean when we’re praying and try not to pray the solution. God knows the solution, and He will answer according to His divine wisdom and will.
I think “getting to the heart of the matter” especially resounds with me today. As I pray, I’ll be thinking, what am I really praying for? Am I praying for the answer I hope for, or am I getting to the heart of matter and really praying for the real need? Good thoughts at the Bible study today.
| By Sandy | 02:52 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 12, 2006
The Valley of Vision
I have been blessed this week by reading some of the Puritan prayers in the book The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions edited by Arthur Bennett. Here is one of the prayers:
Morning
Compassionate Lord, Thy mercies have brought me to the dawn of another day. Vain will be its gift unless I grow in grace, increase in knowledge, ripen for spiritual harvest. Let me this day know Thee as Thou art, love Thee supremely, serve Thee wholly, admire Thee fully. Through grace let my will respond to Thee, knowing that power to obey is not in me, but that Thy free love alone enables me to serve Thee. Here then is my empty heart, overflow it with Thy choicest gifts; here is my blind understanding, chase away its mists of ignorance.
O ever watchful Shepherd, lead, guide, tend me this day; without Thy restraining rod I err and stray. Hedge up my path lest I wander into unwholesome pleasure, and drink its poisonous streams; direct my feet that I be not entangled in Satan's secret snares, nor fall into his hidden traps. Defend me from assailing foes, from evil circumstances, from myself. My adversaries are part and parcel of my nature; they cling to me as my very skin; I cannot escape their contact. In my rising up and sitting down they barnacle me; they entice with constant baits; my enemy is within the citadel. Come with almighty power and cast him out, pierce him to death, and abolish in me every particle of carnal life this day.
| By Sandy | 05:34 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
July 11, 2006
Hedges for our Lives
I am a regular reader of Carolyn McCulley's blog, Solo Femininity--even though I am not single. Carolyn's blog for today is about "hedges" in our lives. I think it's worth sharing. In her blog, Carolyn mentions Nancy Leigh DeMoss's radio broadcast about hedges, and I think it is worth reading. Although the hedges to which Carolyn and Nancy refer are primarily related to morality and pure relationships with the opposite sex, there is another practical dimension to the concept of hedges in our lives. In addition to the hedges Nancy mentions, I think there are many other practical ways in which we can set up hedges based on our own personal weaknesses or struggles. If a believer struggles with being overweight, he/she may go home a different route in order to avoid that particular restaurant or donut shop that cries out to enter. If a Christian struggles with watching inappropriate television, that person may choose to eliminate cable in the home in order to reduce the temptation or use the blocking features of channels/ratings/programs in order to reduce the exposure to programming that may be a source of temptation or a dishonor to our holy God. If a believer struggles with visiting immoral or morally dangerous Web sites or with spending too much time surfing the Internet, that person may choose to eliminate the Internet in his/her home, subscribe to a pre-filtered Internet service, or install a very good filtering software like CyperPatrol. These are just a few examples of various hedges one can put up. Perhaps Christians don't set up hedges in their lives because they are overconfident in their abilities to withstand temptations, or perhaps it's simply because they just haven't thought about the needs and benefits of hedges. I think this is something we all need to be prayerful about--asking God to show us what boundaries we should erect in our lives that will enable us to resist sin and tempation--for His honor and glory.
Psalm 25
1To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in you I trust;
let me not be put to shame;
let not my enemies exult over me.
3Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
teach me your paths.
5Lead me in your truth and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all the day long.
6Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
for they have been from of old.
7Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!
8Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in what is right,
and teaches the humble his way.
10All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.
11For your name's sake, O LORD,
pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12Who is the man who fears the LORD?
Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13His soul shall abide in well-being,
and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes known to them his covenant.
15My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.
17The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
bring me out of my distresses.
18Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for you.
22Redeem Israel, O God,
out of all his troubles.
| By Sandy | 10:16 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
July 10, 2006
Memories
Memories. They can be warm, sweet, tender, funny. Or they can be cold, bitter, harsh, sad. Funny how some people remember certain things while others forget those very same things. It's also strange how people's memories of an experience, an event, etc. can be different--they see and experience the same things, but their perceptions are completely different. I have been reminded anew of this phenomenon, and in this instance, it makes me sad. I think that age, understanding, attitudes, and personalities all play a part in this kind of memory diffference. Understanding the reasons doesn't make it easier.
Speaking of memory, I have been taking a trip down memory lane this week. I've been going through our family photos and remembering sweet times when the kids were little. I have to admit that I'm a bit teary as I type. Children growing up is a good thing, but at the moment, it makes me sad.
Hmmm...too much sad here today. How about a picture of a beautiful baby to brighten this blog? Can you name this baby? (Click on the picture to enlarge it.)
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