Weblog
Wednesday, 19 August 2009
-
reason #8
From 10 Reasons We Homeschool by Camille Kendall, Troy, Tennessee
Reason 8: I can't think of anything more intensely sanctifying than living together in the crucible of shared family experiences. In this context, none of us can escape the reality of our own sinfulness, and none of us has the opportunity to go too long without the correction, compassion, and/or encouragement of a brother or sister or parent or child. Each of us is challenged by those around us-those who observe us constantly and who see us without a facade-to align our practice with our faith, to love our Lord and our neighbor "not in word or in tongue, but in deed and truth." Call it Extreme Sanctification: Homeschool Edition. Where else will you find so many daily opportunities to run to the Cross, to repent, and to rest in the sufficiency of the work of Christ?
Couldn't have said it better, Camille!
Friday, 14 August 2009
-
To live is Christ and to die is gain. (Philippians 1:21)
Truthfully, the only Life IS Christ. Anything else we might think is life is nothing but a fleeting shadow. There is no life outside Him.
Painfully, the only gain we can find is death. This is true on many levels. So many things we call gain are actually loss. (Philippians 3:7-8.) Maybe we need to reevaluate our goal setting. If we understood that death is the only way to gain anything, our efforts would reach out with no fear or hesitation to others needs, instead of our own desires, comfort, and safety. Then ultimately, we would greatly anticipate and enthusiastically embrace the day we finally get to leave this earth behind.
In conclusion:
The only taste- the only experience of Life is Christ.
The only gain we can acquire is death.
So simple, but a knife through the heart.
Thus my Lover continues to kill me softly.
And therein, mysteriously, I gain.....
Thursday, 06 August 2009
-
Currently
Casting Crowns
By Casting Crowns
If We Are the Body
see relatedlyrics
If we are the body
Why aren't His arms reaching?
Why aren't His hands healing?
Why aren't His words teaching?
And if we are the body
Why aren't His feet going?
Why is His love not showing them there is a way?
There is a wayJesus is the Way
-Casting Crowns
Wednesday, 05 August 2009
-
Currently
Casting Crowns
By Casting Crowns
If We Are the Body
see relatedMy dear friend, Janet, sent me this message in response to my last post:
Seek God's Kingdom
Soren Kieregaard
''Pursue God's kingdom first? But what is it then that I must do? Shall I seek a job in order to do something?''
''No, you shall seek first God's kingdom.''
''Shall I give all my possessions to the poor?''
''No, you shall first seek God's kingdom and His righteousness.''
''Shall I go out into the world like an apostle and preach the kingdom?''
''No, you shall first seek God's kingdom.''
''But isn't this in a sense to do nothing?''
''Yes, certainly it is, in a certain sense.''
You must, in the deepest sense, make yourself nothing, become nothing before God, and learn to keep silent. In this silence is the beginning, which is first to seek God's kingdom.
In this way (and it is a godly way), one comes to the beginning by going, what appears to be backward. The beginning is not that which we begin with, but arrive at. One comes at it backward. The beginning is the art of becoming silent.
Man differs from the beasts in that he can speak, but in relation to God it may easily be his ruin that he is too willing to speak. In proportion as a man becomes more earnest in prayer, he has less and less to say, and in the end he is quite silent. He became silent. Indeed he became, if such a thing be possible, something still more opposed to speaking than silence is. He became a hearer. He thought that to pray was to speak. He learned that prayer is not only to keep silence, but to listen. And so it is. Prayer is not to hear ones self speak, but to arrive at silence, and continue being silent; to wait till one hears God speak.
Hence it is that the word of the Gospel, ''Seek ye first God's Kingdom,'' not only says ''No'' to every question as to whether it is ''this'' or ''that'' that we must do, but it says, ''You shall! begin by praying.'' Not as though prayer always begins in silence, but because when prayer really has become prayer, then it has become silence--and that is what it means to seek first God's Kingdom.
Tuesday, 04 August 2009
-
Currently
Living in a Foreign Language: A Memoir of Food, Wine, and Love in Italy
By Michael Tucker
see relatedmaking a list, checkin' it twice
Yeah, so I'm a list maker. Can't help it- it's in the genes. Anyway, it helps me clarify my thoughts to see them in writing.
So I was mentally making my list the other day as I pulled out the pen and paper. It's more like an outline, really- these are the categories of my life and the most important thing that needs to be done in each one. Now find the most important of the most importants, and viola! a prioritized list is born! The day suddenly bursts with new meaning and takes a step toward a satisfied feeling at bedtime.
But wait! I think I've forgotten my only priority! Truth is, nothing matters but Him.
I laid the blank piece of paper back down. No need to write a list. It's very short and concise, tho for some reason, I don't always seem to remember it. There is only one Priority, and all other ambition is folly. Somehow, I couldn't write down anything else. Anything less would have been a disgrace to the one Whose name I bear.
Fast forward to this morning. I picked up a book I bought at a thrift store the other day. 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace. I read the introduction which promised that once these 10 secrets were "mastered and practiced on a daily basis" -blah, blah, blah. I had to toss the book aside. I'm analytical, OK? I am drawn to read introspection. But, truth is, I already know the Way. He is not a secret. I pulled out my mental list, and, yup, it still only had one Name on it. Jesus. Why do I ever look anywhere else?
So many times I get this feeling that I am waiting for something. Something to happen, some new experience, something significant. I think I am really just homesick. Homesick to return to my Creator. Homesick for the end of meaningless lists and mind-numbing activity, wanderings and wonderings. Homesick for what's really real. Homesick for Jesus. Not sure why we are required to walk this earth before we go back home, but nevertheless, I shall keep my list of One and look forward to the day I see Him face to face.
TrueConnect
Weblog Archives
About Me
-
I'm happy to be a stay-at-home, unschooling mom. I love my family, my dog and the snow! I enjoy reading, writing, snuggling, playing games and cooking. Next on my list of projects to tackle is sewing, and helping dh build us a new house.
Subscriptions
Pulse
-
tired....
-
wondering....
-
back from the mall, trying on clothes with dd and ENJOYING it!
Chatboard (2)