Thoughts about Children

From Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss, some thoughts about children...

Katy remarks about the ease of life without an infant to care for:
...we have had a delightful summer, not one sick day nor one sick night.  With no baby to keep me awake, I sleep straight through, as Raymond says, and wake in the morning refreshed and cheerful.

Mrs. Brown, Katy's hostess in the countryside, tells of a conversation about children that she had with her husband:
"Well," says I, "supposing you had a pack of 'em, what have you got to give 'em?"  "Jest exactly what my father and mother gave me," says he; "two hands to earn their bread with and a welcome you could have heard from Dan to Beersheba."  [I LOVE that last line:  "a welcome you could have heard from Dan to Beersheba."  That's fantastic!]

Katy responds:
"I like to hear that!" I said.  "And I hope many such welcomes will resound in this house.  Suppose money does come in while little goes out; suppose you get possession of the whole farm; what then?  Who will enjoy it with you?  Who will you leave it to when you die?  And in your old age, who will care for you?"
"You seem awful earnest," she [Mrs. Brown] said.
"Yes, I am in earnest.  I want to see little children adorning every home as flowers adorn every meadow and every wayside.  I want to see them welcomed to the homes they enter, to see their parents grow less and less selfish and more and more loving because they have come.  I want to see God's precious gifts accepted, not frowned upon and refused."

Katy writes later:
Home again and full of the thousand cares that follow the summer and precede the winter.  But let mothers and wives fret as they will, they enjoy these labors of love and would feel lost without them.  For what amount of leisure, ease, and comfort would I exchange husband and children and this busy home?


A few months later, she writes this:
It is not always so easy to practice as it is to preach.  I can see in my wisdom forty reasons for having four children and no more.  The comfort of sleeping in peace, of having a little time to read, and to keep on with my music; strength with which to look after Ernest's poor people when they are sick; and, to tell the truth, strength to be bright and fresh and lovable to him--all these little joys have been growing very precious to me, and now I must give them up.  I want to do it cheerfully and without a frown.  But I find I love to have my own way, and that at that very moment I was asking God to appoint my work for me, I was secretly marking it out for myself.  It is mortifying to find my will less in harmony with His than I thought it was and that I want to prescribe to Him how I shall spend the time, and the health, and the strength that are His, not mine.  But I will not rest till this struggle is over, till I can say with a smile, "Not my will!  Not my will!  But Thine!"


The next summer, Katy and her family return to the countryside and stay with the Browns:
We got there this afternoon, bag and baggage.  I had not said a word to Mrs. Brown about the addition to our family circle, knowing she had plenty of room; and as we alighted from the carriage, I snatched my baby from his nurse's arms and ran gaily up the walk with him in mine.  "If this splendid fellow doesn't convert her, nothing will," I said to myself.  At that instant, what should I see but Mrs. Brown, running to meet me with a boy in her arms exactly like Mr. Brown, only not quite six feet long and not yet sunburnt.
"There!" I cried, holding up my little old man.
"There!" she said, holding up hers.
We laughed till we cried; she took my baby and I took hers; after looking at him, I liked mine better than ever; after looking at mine, she was perfectly satisfied with hers.
[This exchange reminds me of the joy I had last summer when not only were we blessed with a beautiful baby boy, but so were our next-door neighbors.  It was delightful to be pregnant at the same time as Wilma, and it's wonderful to now see two yearling boys around:  her Jason and my Shav.]

Sons are a heritage from the Lord,
children a reward from him.


Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are sons born in one's youth.


Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their enemies in the gate.
~ Psalm 127:3-5

Security

Once we have set ourselves to be pilgrims and strangers on the earth, which is what Christians are meant to be, it is incongruous for us to continue to insist upon the sort of security the world tries to guarantee.  Our security lies not in protecting ourselves from suffering, but in putting ourselves fully into the hands of God.  The desire for physical and material security makes us sly and hard.  No.  We must be like little children.  The child in its father's arms is not worried.  It lies quietly at rest because it trusts its father.


We disobey sometimes because we say it is impossible to do what God asks.  Impossible?  Perhaps what we mean is impossible to do that and keep our security, impossible to obey without tremendous cost, or at least tremendous risk.  Where, then, will we find safety?  Is it likely that we will find it elsewhere than in the arms of the Father?


Teach me to rest in your everlasting arms.  Make me know that all other security is illusion.
~ Elisabeth Elliot

The eternal God is your refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms.
~ Deut. 33:27a

In God Alone

Today in a sermon on Colossians, I heard a reference to Psalm 62:8, "...pour out your hearts to him."  So, being curious, I turned to Psalms and read all of Psalm 62.  I was immediately gripped by the very first line, "My soul finds rest in God alone;" and although the rest of the psalm is very meaningful, too, I kept coming back to the first verse.  It seems wonderfully fitting for this year of my life.  As we have journeyed from church to church, searching for a congregation in which to settle down and put down roots, striving to hear God's voice clearly as He directs us, but not yet feeling peace about where we are to be, this truth has come alive to me:  My soul finds rest in God alone.  He has proven Himself more than capable of feeding me in the desert; but I, being human, long for more. I long for the human connection of knowing where I belong, of being able to say, "This is my church."  Is this why He's kept us wandering in the wilderness?  Does He long for me to learn this truth more and more?

My soul finds rest in God alone.

He Knows You Knew

Proverbs 24:11-12 - Each time I read these verses, I'm convicted to my core.  Lord, help me to live this out.

NIV -
Rescue those being led away to death;
hold back those staggering toward slaughter.
If you say, "But we knew nothing about this,"
does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?
Does not he who guards your life know it?
Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?


NKJV -
Deliver those who are drawn toward death,
And hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.
If you say, "Surely we did not know this,"
Does not He who weighs the hearts consider it?
He who keeps your soul, does He not know it?
And will He not render to each man according to his deeds?


NLT -
Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die;
save them as they stagger to their death.
Don't excuse yourself by saying, "Look, we didn't know."
For God understands all hearts, and he sees you.
He who guards your soul knows you knew.
He will repay all people as their actions deserve.


The Message -
Rescue the perishing;
don't hesitate to step in and help.
If you say, "Hey, that's none of my business,"
will that get you off the hook?
Someone is watching you closely, you know--
Someone not impressed with weak excuses.


CEV -
Don't fail to rescue those who are doomed to die.
Don't say, "I didn't know it!"
God can read your mind.
He watches each of us and knows our thoughts.
And God will pay us back for what we do.

Jerusalem

I've been missing Israel recently, especially Jerusalem.  Psalm 137 comes to mind often:

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion...


How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land?


If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
may my right hand forget its skill.


May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
my highest joy...

Christ Alone

Tonight I'm moved by this.

It makes everything else diminish in my mind, as Christ is exalted.

Go Where the Grace Is

I used to think that Jesus could heal anybody at anytime.  Luke 5:17 implies that there were times for healing.  In other words, there were times when grace was available for healing.  Jesus learned obedience to the Father's will by constantly maintaining an open ear to the Father's voice through the Holy Spirit (see Hebrews 5 & 8).


As disciples we must learn the same thing--how to manage the pouring out of His grace; learning to go where the grace is.  If we do not acquire this discernment, we find ourselves striving in limited human energy to serve God.  If we are praying when we should be serving or serving when we should be praying, we do so with minimal favor.  Disciples learn to pursue favor (a "grace" related word).  This process of learning can be frustrating because we often stumble.  Yet we learn valuable lessons when we make mistakes.  Ecclesiastes 3 shows that there are times and seasons for all of the activities of life.
~ John Elliott,
in a recent email devotional

...And the power of the Lord was present for him to heal the sick.
~ Luke 5:17

As They Began to Sing and Praise

Today I've been uplifted by an event that I've read about before but haven't thought about for a very long time.  2 Chronicles 20 tells the story, and the whole passage is just SO GOOD.  In a nutshell, three armies were coming against Judah; and King Jehoshaphat and the people sought the Lord for deliverance.  The role of worship through music was HUGE in this situation.  To quote just a few verses...


Jehoshaphat bowed with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem FELL DOWN in worship before the Lord.  Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites STOOD UP and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with very loud voice...


After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:
"Give thanks to the Lord,
for his love endures forever."


As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.
~ 2 Chronicles 20:18,19,21,22

Wow!  I'm in awe!  This is fantastically, wonderfully, incredibly phenomenal!  :)

And it changes my view of spiritual warfare.

Credit goes to my beloved husband for bringing this to my attention and to John Piper for his insight on this.

Stuff

While reading Polly's blog recently, I came across this convicting quote. It made me ask myself, "How am I doing in relation to stuff? Am I a slave to it? Am I longing to acquire more? Am I unselfish enough to let it go and bless others? How many books/clothes/toys/dishes/CDs, etc. does a family need anyway? What holds me back from getting rid of things?"

Author Tony Campolo says "The typical size of an American house has increased 40 percent in the last 25 years. It's not because we're having more children; we're having fewer children! We need bigger and bigger houses simply to hold all the stuff we don't need. What's even worse is that we're renting out space in storage bins because we can't contain all the stuff we have in the huge houses we have at our disposal. It has become an insane society as far as surplus is concerned."

-from "Laying it Down: Learning to Live with Less in a Culture of Excess," by Jesse Carey, May-June 2007 edition of Relevant Magazine

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

~ Matthew 6:26

The Unseen Is Eternal

If I had time to regularly read another blog (I don't, since I can't even keep up with the ones I currently have on my Google Reader), I would want to read Ann Voskamp's Holy Experience. As it is now, I occasionally pop in and breathe deeply of the beauty and peace and holiness found there. During one of my random visits to her blog, I read this post and nearly shed tears. I don't even know how to describe how I felt: refreshed, refocused, renewed. But so much more. Words fail me.

His Word speaks.

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

~ 2 Cor. 4:18

Well Content to Be Weak

An Elisabeth Elliot devotional,

with my thoughts interjected.

What weakness are you feeling today?...

Too many to describe.

A sense of inadequacy for some task laid upon you?...

Yes, yes, and yes. I always feel inadequate for my roles of wife, mother, homemaker, etc. Especially the mother one. Ani lo maspiqah.

Christ has been there before you. Every form of human limitation He knew, and out of that utter poverty we have been made strong. Yet, again and again, in the life of each disciple, comes the experience of weakness in order that we may live His life for others...

Again and again? Does it have to be that way? I'd like to just conquer this obstacle and be done with it once and for all and never be weak again!

This sharing of His weakness is one aspect of the death of the cross, one of the conditions of our discipleship, and hence cause for joy rather than bitterness...

I'd rather think about other aspects of the death of the cross--like the reward waiting us in heaven because of Christ's blood shed for us. But OK, I'll try to be joyful about the frailty of my human condition and not be bitter.

For we walk the road, not alone, but with Christ, "well content to be weak at any time if only you are strong" (2 Cor. 13:9 NEB)...

Thank You, Jesus, that You walk with me on this demanding journey.

The mystery is constantly being worked out--strength out of weakness, life out of death.

Lord, may any success I have along the way, any strength that flows from me, any joy that is evident to the world--may it be obvious that it comes from You, and not from my own self.

Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God's power we will live with him to serve you.

~ 2 Corinthians 13:4b

I Have Made Prayer Too Much of a Luxury

From Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss...

A conversation between Katy and her husband Ernest:

Ernest begins...

"Instead of fancying that our ordinary daily work was one thing and our religion quite another thing, we should transmute our drudgery into acts of worship. Instead of going to prayer meetings to get into a 'good frame,' we should live in a good frame from morning till night, from night till morning; and prayer and praise would be only another form for expressing the love and faith and obedience we had been exercising amid the pressure of business."

"I only wish I had understood this years ago," I said. "I have made prayer too much of a luxury and have often inwardly chafed and fretted when the care of my children, at times, made it utterly impossible to leave them for private devotion--when they have been sick, for instance, or in other like emergencies. I reasoned this way: 'Here is a special demand on my patience, and I am naturally impatient. I must have time to go away and entreat the Lord to equip me for this conflict.' But I see now that the simple act of cheerful acceptance of the duty imposed and the solace and support withdrawn would have united me more fully to Christ than the highest enjoyment of His presence in prayer could."

"Yes, every act of obedience is an act of worship," he said.

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.

~ 1 Corinthians 10:31

Overlook an Offense

Something happened a few days ago that I wasn't happy about, and I wanted to come out swinging--verbally, of course. However, I bit my tongue and didn't say a word, motivated by this verse:

A man's wisdom gives him patience;

it is to his glory to overlook an offense.

~ Proverbs 19:11

The funny thing is, after a few hours, I wasn't offended any more. All the heat went out of my blood, my anger was completely gone, I realized full well that the person wasn't trying to offend me or make my life more difficult, and I was SO glad that I had not let my emotions control my mouth, saying words that I would regret later.

It really was a glorious thing to overlook an offense.

I Corinthians 13 for Mothers

I posted this on my main blog some months ago; but today I was so glad to read it again, and I thought it would be helpful to post it here as well. The truth contained in this needs to be repeated periodically so that it will really sink into my head and heart.

I Corinthians 13 for Mothers

adapted by Jim Fowler

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,

but have not love,

I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,

but have not love,

my children learn cleanliness, not godliness.

If I scream at my children for every infraction,

and fault them for every mess they make,

but have not love,

my children become people-pleasers, not obedient children.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love accepts the fact that I am the ever-present "mommy,"

the taxi-driver to every childhood event,

the counselor when my children fail or are hurt.

Love crawls with the baby, walks with the toddler, and runs with the child,

then stands aside to let the youth walk into adulthood.

Before I became a mother, I took glory in my house of perfection.

Now I glory in God's perfection of my child.

All the projections I had for my house and my children

have faded away into insignificance,

and what remain are the memories of my kids.

Now there abide in my home scratches on most of the furniture,

dishes with missing place settings,

and bedroom walls full of stickers, posters, and markings.

But the greatest of all is the Love

that permeates my relationships with my children.

Fear of Death

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil--and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

~ Hebrews 2:14-15

This is one of my favorite verses about death because, once the fear of death is conquered, what else is there to fear? Praise be to Jesus for giving us the victory over fear of death!

The Accuser

One of the names of the enemy is the Accuser. It is his doing, when we have sought God's guidance and been as obedient as we knew how, and then remain in an agony of doubt as to whether God did guide, whether we really did obey. There is no end to the "proofs" the Accuser can present to sow doubt in our minds. "Hath God said?" (Gn. 3:1 AV) was the first seed he sowed in the mind of Eve, and he has had a great deal of practice at that kind of planting ever since.

It is to be expected that every decision made with the desire to be obedient to God will be attacked. Spread your doubts before the Lord. Pray for correction of any wrong in thinking or doing and for his word of assurance as to the action you must take. If there is nothing else required of you at this moment, leave it at that. Trust God. Put the whole weight of your doubts and cares on Him--that will foil the Accuser.

"It is God who pronounces our acquittal...It is Christ who pleads...our cause" (Rom. 8:33,34 EB).

~ Elisabeth Elliot,

from A Lamp for My Feet

Submit

Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

~ Colossians 3:18

This verse has been rolling around in my head, ever since it was mentioned in a sermon I heard this morning. I have much I want to say about it, but I think that will have to wait for another blog post. Until then, it will keep rolling around...

Cheap Grace

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ.

~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age.

~ Titus 2:11-12

A New Look at an Old Verse

While blog-surfing tonight, I came across a mention of this verse from Psalms:

Teach me to do your will,

for you are my God;

may your good Spirit

lead me on level ground.

~ Psalm 143:10

I can't even remember where I saw it, or I would certainly give credit; but the part that stood out to me is that this woman was asking God to lead her by His Spirit through the ups and downs of life, through hormonal changes (pregnancy and postpartum hormonal changes are hugely significant in my experience), through whatever mood swings came her way. She wanted to be on level ground.

I do, too. It's not that I don't want to ever feel times of intense joy or even times of pain--I know they are all part of the beautiful tapestry of life--but I do want to be controlled by the Spirit, and not my moods. Even in the times when I feel like one minute I'm up and the next I'm down, I still want to have the consistency of being directed by God, not by my crazy emotions.

The Death of His Saints

Today my thoughts have returned again and again to the sudden, completely unexpected death of a woman we knew through church. Driving home from Sewing Circle, with her two young grandchildren in the car, she possibly went into cardiac arrest, causing her to lose control of the car and drive into a barn. Although her grandchildren came through relatively unscathed, she did not.

Now she beholds His face and dwells in glory--a wonderful ending to such a tragedy. But oh, the shock and pain that her family must be feeling.

Her death has been such a sobering reminder for me--and for many others--that our days are numbered, the end is coming, and only God knows when it will be. It could be any day.

Precious in the sight of the Lord

is the death of his saints.

~ Psalm 116:15

The Sun Rises Because...

We assume the sun will always rise. It always has. But it rises because God continues to will it so, not because it must in and of itself. I breathe, not because I am a smoothly functioning breathing machine, but because He who holds my breath in His hand wills me to breathe...

The sun does no choosing. God chooses--every morning so far--to make it rise. Yet the Lord of the universe asks me to choose to follow Him--to participate, as Christ did, in the flowing action which is His will. "Dwell in my love. If you heed my commands, you will dwell in my love, as I have heeded my Father's commands and dwell in His love" (John 15:10 NEB).

~ Elisabeth Elliot

from A Lamp for My Feet

Take Strength

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

~ 2 Timothy 2:1

These strong, simple words can be spiritual adrenaline for us when we need them. They were written by a man who knew what he was talking about, as he himself was in prison. He was writing to a young minister who was also suffering and evidently tempted by doubt, fear, even uncertainty of his call. The older man admonishes him very lovingly to take his share of suffering, take his share of hardship like a good soldier, and to take strength from the grace of God (2 Tim. 2:1 NEB).

Where shall I ever find the strength I need to get through this experience, this ordeal, this day, this week? The answer is Take it! Take it from the grace which is ours already, in Christ Jesus.

"Here it is," He is saying, "Will you have some?"

"Yes, thank You, Lord. I'll take it."

~ Elisabeth Elliot

from A Lamp for My Feet

To the Weary

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

~ Isaiah 40:28-31

Sometimes I feel like I'm soaring; sometimes I feel like I'm running; and sometimes I feel like I'm walking. Isaiah didn't mention this, but sometimes I feel like I'm crawling along at a snail's pace, and sometimes I feel like I'm motionless, stuck somewhere and unable to make any progress.

How comforting to know that regardless of all of that, God does not grow tired. Instead He gives strength to the weary and power to the weak.

I need some of that!

Anything More than a Bee-sting

The Spirit-filled life is one that always begins with death and always leads to life...The death at Golgotha ends in a sepulcher deserted one Sunday morning by the Master of Life--One Whose Life-grip was far too strong for Death to be anything more than a bee-sting.

~ John Elliott,

in an email devotional sent yesterday

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

~ Galatians 2:20

Unseen Footprints

Psalm 77:19...

Your path led through the sea,

your way through the mighty waters,

though your footprints were not seen.

~ NIV

Thy way is in the sea,

and thy path in the great waters,

and thy footsteps are not known.

~ KJV

As I strive to follow my beloved Master, even in times like these when I don't seem to see where He's leading me, I'm comforted by the fact that even when His footprints are unseen, they're still there.

He's still here.

We Who Live in Material Bodies

How easily do we who live in material bodies devalue the world of spirit. It occurs to me that although Jesus spent much time on issues such as hypocrisy, legalism, and pride, I know of no television ministries devoted to healing those "spiritual" problems; yet I know of many that center on physical ailments. Just as I begin feeling smug, however, I remember how easily I feel tormented by the slightest bout with physical suffering, and how seldom I feel tormented by sin.

~ Philip Yancey,

from The Jesus I Never Knew

quoted in Grace Notes

Having just endured a touch of physical sickness, I can relate easily to Yancey's last sentence.

When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven"...

...he said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat and walk'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins..."

~ Mark 2:5,8-10

Happiness Is Not Dependent on...

I suppose to those who look on from outside we must appear like a most unhappy family, since we hardly get free from one trouble before another steps in. But I see more and more that happiness is not dependent on health or any other outside prosperity. We are at peace with each other and at peace with God; His dealings with us do not perplex or puzzle us, though we do not pretend to understand them.

~ Stepping Heavenward

by Elizabeth Prentiss

Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and your soul will delight in the richest of fare....

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the Lord.

"As the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts."

~ Isaiah 55:1,2,8,9

If Each Will Do Something

We may not be able to do any great thing; but if each of us will do something, however small it may be, a good deal will be accomplished for God.

~ D. L. Moody,

quoted in The Well-Planned Day homeschool planner

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

~ Ephesians 4:16

When My Pride Is Attacked

I am constantly praying that my pride may be humbled; and then when it is attacked, I shrink from the pain the blow causes and am angry with the hand that inflicts it.

~ Stepping Heavenward

by Elizabeth Prentiss

All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because,

"God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble."

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

~ 1 Peter 5:5-6

This One Horrible Sin

More from Stepping Heavenward:

Katy...

There are no words in any language that mean enough to express the anguish I feel when I speak quick, impatient words to you, the one human being in the universe whom I love with all my heart and soul, and to my darling little children who are almost as dear! I pray and mourn over it day and night. God only knows how I hate myself on account of this one horrible sin!

Ernest...

It is a sin only as you deliberately and willfully fulfill the conditions that lead to such results. Now I am sure if you could once make up your mind in the fear of God never to undertake more work of any sort than you can carry on calmly, quietly, without hurry or flurry, and the instant you find yourself growing nervous and like one out of breath, would stop and take breath, you would find this simple, commonsense rule doing for you what no prayers or tears could ever accomplish.

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

~ Philippians 4:5-7

Every Link that Dropped Away

Recently, in the spare moments that come my way here and there throughout the day, I have really been enjoying reading Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss. So many golden nuggets in it! Like this conversation between Mrs. Campbell and Katy...

Mrs. Campbell says:

"I was bound to my God and Savior before I knew a sorrow, it is true. But it was by a chain of many links; and every link that dropped away brought me to Him till at last, having nothing left, I was shut up to Him and learned fully what I had only learned partially, how soul-satisfying He is."

"You think then," I said while my heart died within me, "that husband and children are obstacles in our way and hinder our getting near to Christ?"

"Oh, no!" she cried. "God never gives us hindrances. On the contrary, He means, in making us wives and mothers, to put us into the very conditions of holy living. But if we abuse His gifts by letting them take His place in our hearts, it is an act of love on His part to take them away or to destroy our pleasure in them. It is delightful," she added after a pause, "to know that there are some generous souls on earth who love their dear ones with all their hearts yet give those hearts unreservedly to Christ. Mine was not one of them."

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple...Any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.

~ Luke 14:26,27,33