Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Desire = Behavior
Jeremy Camp, one of my fave artists, sings "My Desire" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04wLNGk8xxg, its chorus reverberating in my ears... one has to take a listen. In my day-to-day meandering, it's not what I think of but I ought to. As one author said, the flesh and the Spirit operate on the level of desire. What I want dictates what I do, and until what I want begins to change my behavior will not change. If I make it my desire to please God and be used by Him, then my hope is that my heart will be transformed. And if what I really want is to live according to His will then I pray for that desire in my heart to translate into thoughts and actions... it's never easy but it's worth the energy!
Sunday, July 24, 2011
My Little Nook
All it takes is a couple of white see-through panels and "Voila!" - a small corner in our bedroom converted into something I can call a space to myself. After agonizing over what to do with what was left behind when our baby's crib was moved to his big brother's room three nights ago, I finally got my little nook (thanks to an Ikea catalog). I must say that - with my husband's patience - it's good to look around for creative ideas to solve spatial problems. It would be nice to find some really fine designer's items on the dime, but everything seems to be inflated no matter how much one tries to save. Where can we get deals nowadays?
At any rate, I am satisfied to have a niche that is serene, quiet and undisturbed...at long last!
At any rate, I am satisfied to have a niche that is serene, quiet and undisturbed...at long last!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Spurgeon
After stumbling upon "Morning and Evening" devotionals, my curiosity grew about the man who wrote these prayers in nineteenth century English. Just to post a piece of it, let me quote:
"Behold the Emperor of Woe who had no equal or rival in his agonies! Gaze upon him, ye mourners, for if there be not consolation in a crucified Christ there is no joy in earth or heaven. If in the ransom price of his blood there be not hope, ye harps of heaven, there is no joy in you, and the right hand of God shall know no pleasures for evermore. We have only to sit more continually at the cross foot to be less troubled with our doubts and woes. We have but to see his sorrows, and our sorrows we shall be ashamed to mention. We have but to gaze into his wounds and heal our own. If we would live aright it must be by the contemplation of his death; if we would rise to dignity, it must be by considering his humiliation and his sorrow." http://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/today
Intrigued by the author, I googled Charles Spurgeon and clicked on this one in particular http://www.spurgeon.org/aboutsp.htm. Here's what it says about this preacher:
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification. In 1861 the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.
Spurgeon's printed works are voluminous, and those provided here are only a sampling of his best-known works, including his magnum opus, The Treasury of David. Nearly all of Spurgeon's printed works are still in print and available fromPilgrim Publications, PO Box 66, Pasadena, TX 77501.
"Behold the Emperor of Woe who had no equal or rival in his agonies! Gaze upon him, ye mourners, for if there be not consolation in a crucified Christ there is no joy in earth or heaven. If in the ransom price of his blood there be not hope, ye harps of heaven, there is no joy in you, and the right hand of God shall know no pleasures for evermore. We have only to sit more continually at the cross foot to be less troubled with our doubts and woes. We have but to see his sorrows, and our sorrows we shall be ashamed to mention. We have but to gaze into his wounds and heal our own. If we would live aright it must be by the contemplation of his death; if we would rise to dignity, it must be by considering his humiliation and his sorrow." http://www.biblegateway.com/devotionals/morning-and-evening/today
Intrigued by the author, I googled Charles Spurgeon and clicked on this one in particular http://www.spurgeon.org/aboutsp.htm. Here's what it says about this preacher:
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-92) was England's best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century. In 1854, just four years after his conversion, Spurgeon, then only 20, became pastor of London's famed New Park Street Church (formerly pastored by the famous Baptist theologian John Gill). The congregation quickly outgrew their building, moved to Exeter Hall, then to Surrey Music Hall. In these venues Spurgeon frequently preached to audiences numbering more than 10,000—all in the days before electronic amplification. In 1861 the congregation moved permanently to the newly constructed Metropolitan Tabernacle.
Spurgeon's printed works are voluminous, and those provided here are only a sampling of his best-known works, including his magnum opus, The Treasury of David. Nearly all of Spurgeon's printed works are still in print and available fromPilgrim Publications, PO Box 66, Pasadena, TX 77501.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Stormy Weather
It's summer and I hear thunder claps... there's going to be another storm, my husband points out.
I find it almost comforting, albeit scary, to see a flash of lightning and hear the rolling thunder that follows. It's comforting because it makes God more real, for who creates such a scene? It looks as though He's giving us a free fireworks event. As long as we're sheltered from it, the storm hardly affects us save our senses. But when we are in the eye of the storm, I wonder if we will ever survive.
This year marks our 10th wedding anniversary. Our mutual bliss has produced 2 young male hybrids, both under age 5. This year also marks our first time to see some turbulence in the forecast. God has somewhat sheltered us from the economic crisis this past decade. But we are not immune, and so the sky seems to be getting darker as lightning flashes across it, the din louder as we head into the eye of the storm...
I know that God did not promise a day without trouble, a life without extreme weather conditions. I can only pray that God will keep us strong and faithful in the midst of it.
I find it almost comforting, albeit scary, to see a flash of lightning and hear the rolling thunder that follows. It's comforting because it makes God more real, for who creates such a scene? It looks as though He's giving us a free fireworks event. As long as we're sheltered from it, the storm hardly affects us save our senses. But when we are in the eye of the storm, I wonder if we will ever survive.
This year marks our 10th wedding anniversary. Our mutual bliss has produced 2 young male hybrids, both under age 5. This year also marks our first time to see some turbulence in the forecast. God has somewhat sheltered us from the economic crisis this past decade. But we are not immune, and so the sky seems to be getting darker as lightning flashes across it, the din louder as we head into the eye of the storm...
I know that God did not promise a day without trouble, a life without extreme weather conditions. I can only pray that God will keep us strong and faithful in the midst of it.
Dust
As this is the beginning of my blog, I have no better way of starting it than by quoting a passage in Genesis.
Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
"... for dust you are and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:19
Indeed, I am nothing but dust - nothing glorious or mysterious, just made of inanimate "particles of earth or waste matter" - without life, without form...
but I have been made new by the Living God who breathed into my life and said, "Believe" and I did. I accepted Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior ... He is no mere man, He is God-made-man. Through this blog, I will proclaim my faith in Him and pray that I can write about my faith with boldness. Jesus is my hope and salvation, and I can look forward to life after death through Him, because of Him.
1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
Genesis 2:7 the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
"... for dust you are and to dust you will return." Genesis 3:19
Indeed, I am nothing but dust - nothing glorious or mysterious, just made of inanimate "particles of earth or waste matter" - without life, without form...
but I have been made new by the Living God who breathed into my life and said, "Believe" and I did. I accepted Jesus Christ into my life as my Lord and Savior ... He is no mere man, He is God-made-man. Through this blog, I will proclaim my faith in Him and pray that I can write about my faith with boldness. Jesus is my hope and salvation, and I can look forward to life after death through Him, because of Him.
1 Corinthians 15:47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)