Just a Thought in the Midst of Mania

"It's God's problem, not mine, to orchestrate the universe and make it all pan out. ....Am I fearful? Fear is a focus on phantoms of the theoretical future. But the future is God's, not mine; mine is only the present moment. I am fearful because I'm thinking I have to live the rest of my life. But I don't. I only have to live the next five minutes. To me belongs obedience; to Him belongs outcomes. "    Andrée Seu  World Magazine

God is less interested in answering our questions than in other things: securing our allegiance, establishing our faith, nurturing a desire for holiness. —D.A. Carson

Look Unto ME!!

I want to share with you tonight  the account of Charles Spurgeon's conversion. I have read it several times before and yet still it brings joy to my heart. I am thankful for Tim Challies posting it on his site tonight and so I found a slightly longer version to share with you. I chose the longer version, because I think many of us can relate to Spurgeon's struggle with sin and finding forgiveness.

Charles Haddon (C.H.) Spurgeon (June 19, 1834 – January 31, 1892) was a Baptist preacher who was and still is known as the "Prince of Preachers". He started preaching at age 19 in one of Londons largest Baptist churches. He was raised in a Christian home and was the eldest child. Spurgeon's conversion to Christianity came on January 6, 1850, at age fifteen. Here is his story.
(It's kind of long. You might want to grab something to drink.. or eat. )

The revealed Word awakened me; but it was the preached Word that saved me; and I must ever attach peculiar value to the hearing of the truth, for by it I received the joy and peace in which my soul delights. While under concern of soul, I resolved that I would attend all the places of worship in the town where I lived, in order that I might find out the way of salvation. I was willing to do anything, and be anything, if God would only forgive my sin. Read more here

God is in Control

I feel sad and heartbroken ....I read the headlines and I ask myself.... can this fallen world get any worse? Unfortunately, the answer is yes and it will likely get worse.

Home from work, groceries away, supper on, ahhhh sit and open my e-mails and get the headlines....

2 Canadian soldiers die in Afghanistan helicopter crash

China's Xinjiang province put under curfew

Suspected U.S. serial killer shot by police

UN condemns North Korea's missile tests

Teen who killed rugby opponent spared jail

Snowbird pilot's death blamed on 'false-lock' problem with lap belt

Body of fallen Canadian soldier returns home

I read this and I am in tears. I sit hear heartbroken - am I just tired? No I am sad, so many mourning, so many to pray for, so many need His peace and comfort at such horrible times.

It is just the news.... but somewhere two mothers just lost their

sons. I imagine the moments of terror for these two young men as their helicopter spun to the ground, knowing that this was it. Were they ready to meet their Creator? I imagine their mothers imagining the same. I think of the oppression in China. I wonder what demented turmoil in a person would cause them to go out and randomly kill. Yes we hate the killer - but what was going on in his life? How did he grow up - what in this fallen world made him like this? How do the families who lost loved ones to this rampage deal with this? How does the teen rugby player live out the rest of his life knowing he killed another player - what was going on in his life that made this happen? There is another story that is untold here. Are the family of the killed snowbird pilot reliving the grief all over again with this "story"? Could I ever cope with the horrible experience of standing on the tarmac to wait the arrival of one of my son's bodies from what to me is a senseless war in Afghanistan?

And yet.... God IS in control. Yes

He is in control of all things and that is good.... that is soooo good because I am weak and sinful and lost and hopeless and I am mortal and I too will die one day. I cannot change any of these events. I am helpless, but God is not and He is in control and I know (and scripture continually reminds me) that He is GOOD and He is righteous and He is perfect and while I may not understand why or how these things happen... I trust and know that He does and one day I will understand and it will all make sense.

Oh that all people suffering today would know the grace and love and goodness and perfectness of a God who is in complete control of this world.

sigh....back to reality - supper has to be readied, put a smile on my face and carry on. Something weirdly hypocritical in this...

Your thoughts??

Building Cathedrals.

This is wonderful!

I wish I knew the source so I could give credit...but she is, like many of us, an invisible mother.

My dear friend Lorraine sent me this. And I love it. It encourages me to keep being invisible as I build cathedrals.

here it is.....


Invisible Mother......

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask me a question.

Inside I'm thinking, 'Can't you see I'm on the phone?'

Obviously, not.

No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible. The invisible Mom. Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, 'What time is it?' I'm a satellite guide to answer, 'What number is the Disney Channel?' I'm a car to order, 'Right around 5:30, please.'

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated sum a cum laude - but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again. She's going; she's going; she is gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England ... Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, 'I brought you this.'

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription:

'To Charlotte , with admiration for the greatness of what you are
building when no one sees.'

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names. These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, 'Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it.' And the workman replied, 'Because God sees.'

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, 'I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.

You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become.'

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on.

The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's

bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, 'My Mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table.' That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, 'you're gonna love it there.'

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be

seen if we're doing it right.

And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

The world may not see, but our God does see all that you are doing.

... Being Busy!

No time left over for anything but sleep...so not much posting this week. And I have two more weeks of it. I am kind of exhausted and dear husband said to me tonight.."I think you are overdoing it dear"

He is probably right.

I suppose I could drop the 5:30 am trips to the gym...but I actually love starting the day with my workout. It gives me energy to get through the day. Really!
The problem is that I am nodding off at 7:30 pm. There is barely enough energy to get dinner made, served and cleaned up. Dear husband made the supper tonight and did the grocery shopping....and so I get to blog a little before my eyes close on me. I am also eating dinner as I type. mmmm

It is good to be busy, productive and contributing to the world in some way.
Hey, it is a bonus when you get paid too!

But there is good busy and bad busy. Generally I feel that every moment of the day spent wasting time is probably worse so I will err on the side of bad busy.

Some thoughts from my archives of scripture on busyness....

Benefits of being busy:

Prov. 31:17, 2, “She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness.”
If you ever want to read about a "super woman" read Proverbs 31.

Ecc. 11:6, “Be sure to stay busy and plant a variety of crops, for you never know which will grow-perhaps they all will.”

Dangers of being busy:

Prov. 19:2, “Zeal without knowledge is not good; a person who moves too quickly may go the wrong way.”

What I need to be busy with:

Ps. 71:8, “That is why I can never stop praising you; I declare your glory all day long.”
(which I can do even if I am busy with the world)

Heb. 4:14, “That is why we have a great High Priest who has gone to heaven, Jesus the Son of God. Let us cling to him and never stop trusting him.”
(I need to try and fit in every day along with the next one below)

Phil. 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.”

How to rest from the busyness of life:
this is the one I need more practice at...

Ex. 34:21, “Six days are set aside for work, but on the Sabbath day you must rest, even during the seasons of plowing and harvest."
You have to schedule in rests or you will fall apart. This wisdom was written 7 thousand years ago and it still stands today.

Ps. 91:1, “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.”

God’s Promise to the busy and burdened:

Matt. 11:28-29, “Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle and you will find rest for your souls.”

May you be productive and busy but still find rest for your souls.
Blessings!
Julie

I KNOW there is a God

“God is not a belief to which you give your assent. God becomes a reality whom you know intimately, meet everyday, one whose strength becomes your strength, whose love, your love. Live this life of the presence of God long enough and when someone asks you, “Do you believe there is a God?”
...you may find yourself answering, “No, I do not believe there is a God.
I know there is a God.”

~Ernest Boyer, Jr.

Il Divo - Amazing Grace

Please turn off the music to the left.

Wow - this is so incredible I went out today and bought the CD.

Hold on to your seats at about the three minute mark - you will have chills up your spine.

Amazing Grace was written by a slave trader who by the grace of God recognized his wretchedness before a glorious God who alone could save him from his life of sin. If you don't know the story behind this song and the writer, click here John Newton, Amazing Grace.

Hope you enjoy this. It brings tears to my eyes because I too was a wretched, lost, blind sinner, but for the grace of God. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Eph 2:8-9

The Heavens declare the Glory of God

The skies display His craftsmanship.

NASA

Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make Him known.




They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard.





Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
and their words to all the world.




The message bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding.
It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race.




For His unfailing love toward those who fear Him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.

Consider Him who made the heavens.....

photos courtesy of NASA

What you REALLY want for Christmas...

Come. Just unwrap the paper from this corner, peeling back the tape. Go ahead. Look. It’s all right—keep breathing. I know, I know … breathtaking, isn’t it?

visit this beautiful posting by Ann Voscamp at Holy Experience

Satan's Plan

Please turn off blog music on the left.

Worthy of consideration... how busy are you?