O Lord, in the Morning...

Psalm 5:1-3
To the Chief Musician. With flutes.

A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O LORD,

Consider my meditation.

Give heed to the voice of my cry,

My King and my God,

For to You I will pray.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up.

(this was the view from my porch early this morning, and the song running through my heart and my head while I sat in that stillness before dawn...)

-ing on a Thursday night

watching- my across-the-street neighbor teach his 4 year old son how to cast a fishing line in the front yard.
listening- to two kids play Parcheesi.
sitting- in between two daughters.
waiting- on one soccer player to get home from practice.
eating- homemade German chocolate birthday cake.
singing- the birthday song.
laughing- at the dog on neighborhood watch at the front windows.
talking- to family on the phone.
celebrating- a new grand-nephew, Liam!
wondering- how to see the A Family and GrandBabyH sooner than later.
thinking- about the book I'm reading...
smiling- at my kids quoting The Princess Bride ("... I'm swamped!")
enjoying- it all

you?

Simple- August 24

FOR TODAY, Monday, August 24, 2009...

Outside my window... clear blue skies, gently swaying tree branches, shadows of morning sun.

I am thinking... about this and this by Andree Seu, and this, also from WORLD.

I am thankful for... open windows, cool breezes, days with no where to be!

From the learning rooms... formal classes not in session! But preparation starts this week.

From the kitchen... homemade waffles.

I am wearing... denim shorts, a green t-shirt and flipflops

I am creating... space, by cleaning up piles today!

I am going... no where any time soon!

I am reading... When Helping Hurts by Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett and this, still...

I am hoping... for thunderstorms tonight.

I am hearing... girls play Life ("Just let me live my LIFE!"), a lawnmower down the street, a breeze in the trees, cicadas (which remind me of this from the comics yesterday...)

Around the house... there are a lot of kids, and a dog, too. :-)

One of my favorite things... days when I have no where to be!

A few plans for the rest of the week: soccer game, volleyball practices, piano lessons, Wednesday night at church, thank you's, school planning, house cleaning, organizing.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... my family on the beach at the tip of the Puget Sound in Washington, taken at the beginning of the month.

Thanks to The Simple Woman's Daybook.

Finish the sentence

Lifted again from Facebook...

1. My ex is... ex?
2. I should learn to... grill, but then I wouldn't have to have someone else do it.
3. I love... watching my kids laugh with (not at!) each other.
4. People would say that I am... friendly?
5. I don't understand... how aspirin knows what hurts.
6. When I wake up in the morning... I check the time.
7. I lost... my military ID in the window gap in my car...
8. Life is... good.
9. My past taught me... God's grace is big.
10. I get annoyed... when people don't try.
11. Parties are... work.
12. I wish... it was simple.
13. Dogs and cats... yes and no.
14. My childhood... climbing the apple tree.
15. Tomorrow... more ESL training.
16. I have a low tolerance for... whiners.
17. If I had a million dollars... I'd buy my husband a 16gb itouch. (he told me to write that...)
18. I'm terrified of... nothing. (but I'm fearful of the tree in the front yard falling on my neighbors house.)
19. I've come to realize... you should never change lines at the grocery store. Ever.
20. I am listening to... my husband play guitar.
21. I talk... but mostly would rather listen.
22. My best friend... in 2nd grade was Carrie.
23. My first kiss... kiss and tell?
24. Love is.... patient.
25. Marriage is... hard work.
26. Somewhere, someone is... ?
27. I'll always be... seeking the Lord.
28. The last time I cried was... Wednesday.
29. My cell phone is... purple.
30. Before I go to bed... I check on my dog and shut my daughter's door so he doesn't escape and poop in the living room in the middle of the night.
31. My middle name(s) is... Lynne
32. Right now, I am thinking... this is a long quiz!
33. Yesterday I... drove a lot!
34. Tomorrow I will be... teaching ESL training all day.
35. I really want to... get to the border!
36. The person most likely to re-post this is...??
37. The person least likely to re-post this is... ??
38. My relationship with my grandparents...was the easiest thing in my life.
39. My most treasured possession is... my bible.
40. My favorite pictures... is my grandpa holding my first born.
41. I sing... all the time!
42. If I were a crayon... I'd be cobalt blue.
43. Someday I want to travel to... Africa.
44. I am wearing... the same clothes I've worn all day.
45. My favorite class...was English in my sophomore year in high school.
46. My favorite language is... English, but I wish I knew Spanish as well.
47. It hurts... when you step on a Lego in the dark.
49. My profile picture is... a Georgia O'Keefe poppy.
50. I need... a hot shower and coffee every morning.

The Rising Tide

In commenting on the waters of Ezekiel 47:1-12, and the power of a river current, Pastor Michael Ross writes:

"This Rising Tide shows forth the awesome power of its Creator and Guide.

So does the Gospel stream of mission. It appears at the surface to lope along slowly. But where no man can go and no instrument may meausre, it carves deep into people groups, cultures, nations and the flow of world history. The rising tide of the Spirit of God is changing the world before our eyes."

from Justice, Mercy, and Truth: 50 Days of Prayer for the PCA (2009)

(photo credit: Storm Rising, stugriffith at etsy)

Heroes

Rescue at sea!

One of our good friends, a wardroom mate from the old USS Michigan days, is now the Commanding Officer of the USS Rhode Island (SSBN 740)(Gold). The boat is currently deployed, but made news last week for rescuing five people from a capsized boat.

Way to go, Cmdr. Mooney and crew! We're proud of you.

And get home soon, ok? :-)

(photo credit to US Navy, www.navy.mil)

Market bounty

The Farmers' Market is, as chef Alice Waters quotes from poet John Hollander, "the slowly turning Lazy Susan of the seasons." And for those of us without a garden, that's a wonderful thing.

Speak O Lord...

As part of worship yesterday, we sang this song for the first time, and I came back to it throughout the day, and again today. The truth of the lyrics echo again and again. (and the music is beautiful, besides- go listen yourself! Just scroll down the page and click on Speak O Lord.)


Speak, O Lord, as we come to You
To receive the food of Your Holy Word.
Take Your truth, plant it deep in us;
Shape and fashion us in Your likeness,
That the light of Christ might be seen today
In our acts of love and our deeds of faith.
Speak, O Lord, and fulfill in us
All Your purposes for Your glory.

Teach us, Lord, full obedience,
Holy reverence, true humility;
Test our thoughts and our attitudes
In the radiance of Your purity.
Cause our faith to rise; cause our eyes to see
Your majestic love and authority.
Words of pow'r that can never fail—
Let their truth prevail over unbelief.

Speak, O Lord, and renew our minds;
Help us grasp the heights of Your plans for us—
Truths unchanged from the dawn of time
That will echo down through eternity.
And by grace we'll stand on Your promises,
And by faith we'll walk as You walk with us.
Speak, O Lord, till Your church is built
And the earth is filled with Your glory.

"Speak, O Lord"
Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2005 Thankyou Music

One Word

I copied this from Facebook. I like the blog better than Facebook... :-)

USING ONLY ONE WORD! It's not as easy as you might think! Copy and change the answers to suit you and pass it on. It's really hard to only use one word answers.

1. Where is your cell phone? upstairs

2. Your Job? job?

3. Your hair? brown

4. Your mother? hospitality

5. Your father? loyal

6. Your favorite thing? worship

7. Your dream last night? none

8. Your favorite drink? coffee? ice tea? limeade?

9. Your dream/goal? servant

10. What room you are in? dining room

11. Your hobby? hobby?

12. Your fear? tree-falling

13. Regrets? few

14. Where were you last night? porch

16. Muffins? raspberry

17. Wish list item? laptop bag

18. Where you grew up? Albuquerque

19. Last thing you did? study

20. What are you wearing? pjs

21. Your TV? old

22. Your pets? sleeping

23. Friends? true

24. Your life? good

25. Your mood? content

26. Missing someone? yes

27. Car? van

28. Something you're not wearing? socks

29. Your favorite store? books

30. Your favorite color? blue

33. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday

34. Last time you cried? yesterday

an exhortation

"If you are a servant of the Lord, let me encourage you to please, please, humbly watch that you don't slip into the same error I did. The Lord God jealously desires us for himself. He is the lover of our souls. If we ever put anything before our relationship with Jesus- even our work for Jesus- then we will be ensnared. If you are burned out, stop! Rest! Your lamp needs a constant infilling of the Lord's oil or your light will be snuffed out. Remember that "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it... Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:15, 18
- from The Heavenly Man by Brother Yun

Of course, Brother Yun wrote that in reflection of his service to the house-church movement in China in the early 1990's, and he wrote that before thanking God for being imprisoned for the Gospel for the second time, because it gave him opportunity "to suffer for what is right." (1Peter 3:13)

I'm not there yet...

Tamar- A Woman of Tragedy

The next chapter in the continuing series on Through His Eyes: God's Perspective on Women in the Bible by Jerram Barrs brings us to the study of chapter 12, "Tamar- A Woman of Tragedy," an examination of 2 Samuel 13.

This is a difficult chapter.
Barrs reminds us that Scripture "never glosses over the failures of God's people. Rather, right alongside the stories of faith, righteousness, courage, and faithfulness, we read of episodes of weak faith and impoverished obedience, for Scripture presents these stories with complete openness." (p. 190) Certainly, we are surrounded with similar stories in every day life, stories of brokenness and sin and hopelessness; stories where we are left to wonder, how can we find any good in this? Barrs comments that "Christians should be always ready to acknowledge the failings of God's people, so that the theme of God's grace and faithfulness becomes the central theme in the stories that we tell." (p. 190)

Perhaps the story of 2 Samuel 13 is one of the most clear illustrations of the consequence of sin among God's people in Scripture. But to look at chapter 13, it is necessary to consider the context of the story. Arriving at chapter 13, we have followed David through committing adultery with Bathsheba and watched him carry through a plan to kill Uriah. We have read of the judgement announced by the prophet Nathan on David's household. The events of 2 Samuel 13 are "one sad part of the fulfillment of that prophecy." (p. 191) We see the effects of David's undisciplined personal life, the effects of polygamy, the effects of an indulgent father towards his sons. The culmination results in disastrous consequences. And the one most effected by those consequences in the story of 2 Samuel 13 is Tamar.

Simply, Tamar is raped by her half-brother, Amnon. She is an innocent victim of his sinful lust. His passion is quite clearly self-indulgent. Though at first he makes claims to love Tamar (13:4), Barrs reminds us that "while genuine love can bring deep passion, even passion that makes one faint, it is also true that genuine love desires the good of the other person even more than the satisfaction of sexual desire." (p. 193) That stands out to me as a statement crucial to communicate to those, especially women, involved in abusive relationships. Amnon plots how to lure Tamar; a plot which, unknowingly, David becomes an accomplice to.

Barrs writes, "Tamar reveals herself to be a woman of faith and virtue." (p. 194) She makes several appeals to Amnon not to carry out the act. Nonetheless, he ignores her pleas, her wisdom, her fear and distress, and violently rapes her (p. 195) (13:14). Furthermore, he calls an attendant into the room to be a witness to the aftermath, making the act public and further humiliating Tamar. Tamar is left to "put ashes on her head, and (tear) her long-sleeve garment which was on her; and she put her hand on her head and went away, crying aloud as she went." (13:19) That description paints a vivid picture, one that tears our hearts, especially as we think of those who have been victims of sexual abuse and assault.

The second part of the chapter outlines the consequences of Amnon's act. David "was very angry" (13:21), but as Barrs recounts, "David had himself sinned grievously with Bathsheba so it is hard for him to act now without publicly condemning his own sins." (p. 196) David does nothing to discipline his son. Tamar's brother Absalom seeks revenge, in part motivated by his own desire to gain power for himself. Absalom ultimately has a servant kill Amnon in his own "ambition and self-love." (p. 197) As the prophet Nathan predicted, we are witness to the sins of David "working themselves out in the lives of his children and in his own life." (p. 197)

Does God forgive sin? Absolutely. However, Barrs reminds us that "does not mean that the consequences of our sins will disappear in this life." (p. 197) Barrs writes:
Our histories are significant. Our choices and actions, and our failures to act, have real results in the histories of our lives and in the lives of others. God forgives David completely. God forgives us completely. You and I will meet David one day, and he will be a man totally forgiven, just as you and I will be totally forgiven by Christ. However, David had to live with the shocking and distressing results of his choices- in his own life and in his daughter's life- and it is the same with us.
I confess, it is both a struggle and a comfort to me to know that David, despite his many sins and flaws, was still described as having a heart wholly devoted to the Lord his God.

So I am left asking, how do we resolve the ugly consequence of sin with Tamar, "the only character in this account who comes out of this terrible story with her virtue, her strength of character, and her wisdom intact"? (p. 198) Barrs points out that "this story of a ruined life shows the reality of a broken world." (p. 198) I would argue that although full of pain and hurt, Tamar's suffering is not necessarily futile or without purpose. In the next chapter of the book, chapter 13- "Tamar's Question- A Meditation on Tragedy," Barrs takes us to 2 Corinthians 1:3-5, and I think it is there that we can begin to better see how God can use even the most painful circumstance for His glory. Meanwhile, we rest in the hope of Revelation 21:2-5, as God promises us, "Behold, I am making all things new... Write, for these words are faithful and true."



(art credit to The Desolation of Tamar, James Tissot, 1896-1900. Christian Theological Seminary, Indianapolis.)

Friday Five- Scattegories

This week's Friday Five is brought to us by a Friday Five from last week...

This Friday Five is in the spirit of Scattergories, where you come up with an answer beginning with the same letter for all the questions.
(Truth is, really, I just love the idea of a random-letter generator!)

What random letter was generated by the online random-letter generator? (this doesn’t really count as one of your five questions) L

With what famous person, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, would you most like to be stuck on a desert island? C.S. Lewis (I love this quote of the day from the C.S. Lewis website... "Forgiving and being forgiven are two names for the same thing." I can think on that one for a while...) C.S. Lewis was a phenomenal story teller and a world class thinker, and he would insure life on a desert island would never boring.

What food item, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, can always be found in your pantry? Loaf of bread- 100% whole wheat. (ok- always is a bit of a stretch, because we are always running out of bread!)

What song, whose title begins with the letter in question #1, always makes you feel good? Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder is the first one that comes to mind.
(my favorite verse-
Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more...)

What is your least-favorite film whose title begins with the letter in question #1? Land Before Time. Cartoon dinosaurs times 13. Not a good thing.

What unusual animal, whose name begins with the letter in question #1, would be a fun pet? Lemurs. Well, these ones look pretty fun, anyway...

Hasta luego!

The Whole Gospel

We have an obligation and a responsibility to live a whole gospel before that world out there. The idea that there's a social gospel and a spiritual gospel is an invention of the devil. There is only one gospel, and it is a whole gospel for whole people. It is blasphemous to go out and seek to feed the hungry and not tell them about the bread of life, or to seek to house the homeless and not tell them that in our father's house are many mansions, or to seek to give water to the thirsty and not tell them about the rivers of living water. It is also a denial of the incarnation to go preach the gospel and ignore the fact that people are hungry and thirsty and naked and homeless. We are to do both.

- Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, interviewed in World Magazine, "The Man on the Plus Sign," August 1, 2009

(art credit to Daniel Bonnell, Feeding of the 5000)

Toward Jerusalem

O Father, help lest our poor love refuse
For our beloved the life that they would choose,
And in our fear of loss for them, or pain,
Forget eternal gain.

Show us the gain, the golden harvest there
For corn of wheat that they have buried here;
Lest human love defraud them, and betray,
Teach us, O God, to pray.

Teach us to pray remembering Calvary,
For as the Master must the servant be;
We see their face set toward Jerusalem,
Let us not hinder them.

Teach us to pray; O Thou who didst not spare
Thine Own Beloved, lead us on in prayer,
Purge from the earthly, give us love Divine,
Father, like Thine, like Thine.

by Amy Carmichael, from Toward Jerusalem

'Cause if I were an Oscar Meyer wiener...

Hate it when that happens. When you think you are in reverse, but you really are in forward...

But I do love the Wienermobile. I've toured the Wienermobile. (ok- "tour" might be kind of a big word- it's really just an RV. A wiener-y RV.) We had a Wienermobile Hot Wheel. And a Wienermobile whistle. I always thought that the college students that drove the Wienermobile around, the Hotdoggers, had a great job. Until this...

There's still hope for the Kissmobile...

"things of the soul"

Friends should be chosen by a higher principle of selection than any worldly one, of pleasure, or usefulness, or by weak submission to the evil influences of our lot. They should be chosen for character, for goodness, for truth and trustworthiness, because they have sympathy with us in our best thoughts and holiest aspirations, because they have community of mind in the things of the soul. All other connections are fleeting and imperfect from the nature of the case.
Hugh Black, Friendship

(credit to Spiritual Friendship at challies.com)

Hospitality

"Peace be with you," I said.

"And also with you," he replied. He looked at the bruise on my cheek and then said, "Come in."

I followed him through the courtyard to the guest room. He did not suggest I sleep in the mosque. He put a cushion under me, gathered twigs, fed the fire, and blew on it till it flamed fiercely. Then he asked if I would give him my socks so he could dry them. I did so gratefully. Then he left and returned with a pot of sugared tea and sat cross-legged in silence watching me drink. When I had finished, he brought plates of rice and spinach and said, "We are still the commandants in the valley, but the Taliban killed our flocks, so I am sorry that I can't give you meat. This food has been given by foreigners."

Only when he saw I was warm and had finished eating did he lean forward and ask, "And who are you? And where are you from?"

(from The Places In Between by Rory Stewart)

...stretches to the sky

Your love, oh Lord
Reaches to the heavens;
Your faithfulness stretches to the sky;
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains;
Your justice flows like the ocean's tide.
I will lift my voice
To worship You, my King.
I will find my strength
In the shadow of your wings.

Your Love Oh Lord by Third Day
(lyrics from Psalm 36:5-7)

(photo credit- me. :-) We were driving east last night, at sunset, and this is what was right in front of me. My camera and my limited ability do not show how spectacular it was! I had to stop and pull over. It was magnificent, and the lyrics of the song, of Scripture, immediately filled my mind and my heart with praise.)

Forward motion

"Straighten it out..., a little gas, a little gas, braaaaake, brake, BRAKE!!"

The road of parenting is a journey of constantly evolving degrees of movement and mobility. We wait eagerly for that first bit of motion, for our infant to roll from back to front to back again. Before our baby can crawl, we perceive that she is moving, imperceptibly, as if by stop motion photography, but moving, nonetheless. Somewhere around a year old, we breathlessly watch those first toddling steps, that quickly turn into independent cruising, and then in a flash, running, out of our grasp in a blink of the eye. And from that point on, the motion milestones fly by like mile markers along the highway, riding a trike and then a bike, somersaults and cartwheels, swimming...

Until they reach 15 years old. And then- driving.
Driving a REAL car.
(Or in our family's case, a Ford F350 12 passenger van. Which is the first-time-behind-the-wheel-preference over the Geo Tracker with standard transmission and no speedometer. We're not exactly offering great choices for the new driver around here...)

And then, as a parent, you give up any semblance of control you might have thought you had. That's when, quite literally, as your child veers precariously close to the next lane, you want to grab the wheel and keep her from careening into the car that's parked along the side of the road. But you know that you can't, that it won't really help, that she has to manage this one herself. And she does. You try to keep from screaming, but just a little squeal slips out. That was close.

Thankfully, there are big parking lots to practice in. We don't have to go on public streets quite yet, and the highway is a little bit down the road.

Truthfully, having another driver will be nice.

Love that leads the way

“Give me the love that leads the way,

The faith that nothing can dismay,

The hope no disappointments tire,

The passion that will burn like fire,

Let me not sink to be a clod:

Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.”

- Amy Carmichael

(photo credit to silyld at Flickr)