The Winton Family

Passionate Housewives: Chapter 5 Questions

2011-10-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

OK, so I did begin this post on Monday, though by the time most of you will see it it will actually be Tuesday. :o) This chapter hits close to home and was a wonderful encouragement to me this week.
Please feel free to post questions and comments throughout the next two weeks as we look at Freedom from the Bondage of Perfection.

How can we avoid falling into the trap of perfectionism and comparing ourselves with others?

Jennie says, "At its heart, perfectionism is sinful pride." What other causes may contribute to a battle with perfectionism?

How can we still reflect God's glory and grace in our homes and lives without striving to live up to impossible standards?

Do your 'to-do' lists and schedules reflect a desire to be a help-meet to your husband or to accomplish unrealistic goals you have set for yourself and maybe even your children and family? Ask your husband this week what he desires for you to accomplish and for his help in striking a balance if you struggle in this area.

"God gets all the glory when weak and frail sinners succeed." While still striving to honor God and work heartily as unto the Lord, how can we live with humility and transparency and extend grace to others?

Resuming Passionate Housewives Discussion

2011-10-01T19:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

Last winter we began a discussion through the excellent book, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God by Stacy McDonald and Jennie Chancey. An extremely busy spring and summer derailed my ability to continue posting and responding to the questions, but things have calmed down and we're ready to resume. :o) I'd like to take the discussion a little slower this time to allow us as busy moms to really have the time to read, absorb and respond to each chapter. I know personally one week goes by so quickly I can hardly believe it's time to post the next section. :o)

So, please take this next week to review the guidelines and the first four chapters and feel free to interact with the questions and responses that were posted there when last winter when we began the discussion. You can find all of the previous posts here. Next Monday, October 10th, we'll begin by posting questions for chapter 5 here at www.thewintonfamily.com that you can read and think about through the next two weeks and respond to at your leisure. This is an open discussion, so please feel free to invite your friends. Anyone who is willing to comply with the guidelines is welcome to join us. We look forward to continuing this edifying and encouraging discussion as we seek to honor the Lord in the important task He has called us to in His Word; being keepers at home.

A Poem, A Prayer

2011-07-11T14:25:00.000-07:00

I've been reading The Best Loved Poems of the American People and came across this encouraging poem. I sent it to a friend but thought I'd share it here so others might be encouraged as well.

Blessings,
Lisa

A Prayer

Let me do my work each day;
And if the darkened hours of despair overcome me,
May I not forget the strength that comforted me
In the desolation of other times.
May I still remember the bright hours that found me
Walking over the silent hills of my childhood,
Or dreaming on the margin of the quiet river,
When a light glowed within me,
And I promised my God early to have courage
Amid the tempests of the changing years.
Spare me from bitterness
And from the sharp passions of unguarded moments.
May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit.
Though the world know me not,
May my thoughts and actions be such
As shall keep me friendly with myself.
Lift my eyes from the earth,
And let me not forget the uses of the stars.
Forbid that I should judge others,
Lest I condemn myself.
Let me not follow the clamor of the world,
But walk calmly in my path.
Give me a few friends who will love me for what I am;
And keep ever burning before my vagrant steps
The kindly light of hope.
And though age and infirmity overtake me,
And I come not within sight of the castle of my dreams,
Teach me still to be thankful for life,
And for time's olden memories that are good and sweet;
And may the evening's twilight find me gentle still.

Max Ehrmann

If...

2011-07-04T09:01:00.000-07:00

It's been quite a while since I've posted. We're currently on tour with our family bluegrass band and have just completed two of our four-month journey. I apologize that our book discussion was pre-empted by unexpected life happenings, but I hope to pick up where we left off in October and finish by the end of the year, so check back in the fall for updated information.

In the meantime, I've been trying to spend more time reading lately (something I love but have not been able to do as much the past few years) and while refreshing my mind with some worthy poetry came across this, an old favorite of mine I've read aloud to my sons many times. Enjoy.

If you can keep your head when all about you,
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise.

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master,
 If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim,
 If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster,
And treat those two impostors just the same,
 If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken,
 Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, 
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools.

If you can make one heap of all your winnings,
 And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 
And lose, and start again at your beginnings ,
And never breathe a word about your loss;,
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew ,
To serve your turn long after they are gone, 
And so hold on when there is nothing in you,
 Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!.'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, '
Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch, 
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
 If all men count with you, but none too much; 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute,
 With sixty seconds' worth of distance run, 
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it, 
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Passionate Housewives: Chapter 4 Questions

2011-03-10T10:39:00.000-08:00

Here are the excellent questions that Carmon wrote for chapter 4. Please feel free to respond to any of them, ask your own questions, or share with us what the Lord is teaching you!

What ways do you find to get the spiritual refreshment you need and time for Bible reading and prayer? How do you include your children in this?

What "season of life" are you in? Does it help to think of your life in these terms as you determine what is reasonable to accomplish?

Are there times when you have seen God's strength displayed in your weakness?

Do you have too many activities cluttering up your schedule? How can you reorganize things to set priorities in order and reduce the level of stress in your home?

Are there areas of pride in your life where you focus too much on your own accomplishments and look down on others who don't measure up to your standards? Has God ever humbled you in this area?

What are some of the "small" things in life that are weighing you down, cares that you need to cast on Him?

Carmon and Lisa

Passionate Housewives: Chapter 3 Questions

2011-02-28T15:53:00.000-08:00

Wasn't that an encouraging chapter? We look forward to more comments and questions as we get further into the study. Don't be shy, please feel free (if you're following the guidelines) to join in!

According to Martin Luther's quote at the beginning of the chapter, on what basis is our homemaking calling of great worth?

In what ways do mothers make idols out of their children?

How can we support and encourage our daughters toward desiring being a wife and mother? Are there ways we are passing on a feminist vision to our daughters regarding their future goals?

How can we be involved in church ministry while not forsaking the ministry to our own families?

Looking at Doug Phillips's seven culture-transforming missions of the home, what ideas do you have for ways your household could be productively involved in furthering God's kingdom?

What are some ways the privilege of childbearing can affect the culture around us?

In what ways is your family culture unique? How can you continue to build a family culture that brings glory to God?

Carmon and Lisa

Passionate Housewives: Chapter Two Questions

2011-02-15T13:46:00.000-08:00

These questions are intended to help you think through what you are reading in the book and encourage a discussion here. You are welcome to chime in on any or all of these topics which are taken from chapter two. Lisa and I will also be commenting to help get the ball rolling, although today has been a bit busy for both of us in real life. We have all week to talk about these things!

I will also be making some recommendations of other resources to help you persevere in this wonderful calling.

~Carmon

What are some resources you turn to for encouragement when you are facing trials or discouragement?

How have you sometimes stubbornly set up a standoff situation in your home: "I'm not budging till he does what HE is supposed to do?" What if everybody did this?

What non-essential things do you sometimes treat as essential to your happiness?

In what ways has your homemaking job given you opportunities to become more mature in your faith?

What are the difficulties and the benefits of being a mother of "homegrown children"?

In what ways have you learned to embrace paradox in your life?

Passionate Housewives: Chapter One Questions

2011-02-15T10:06:00.000-08:00

Here are the questions for chapter one. Carmon and I will both be posting notes in the comments section as we have time, but feel free to respond to the questions as you feel led.

~Lisa

There is a perception in many circles that the life of a homemaker is a kind of "slavery." In what ways is the homemaker actually enjoy MORE freedom than a woman who works outside the home?

In the preface, what are some the things Stacy says a homemaker is NOT? Can you think of any more?

How has your life been affected by "Me-ology"?

Passionate Housewives: Guidelines for Participation

2011-02-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome to the book discussion for Passionate Housewives Desperate for God! We want to give you a few guidelines for participation and introduce ourselves before the discussion begins.

1. Anyone is welcome to log in and read the posts and comments, but only participants who have read the assigned chapters should comment on the posts.

2. Please keep comments on-topic with the discussion questions and interact with items being discussed. Comments will be moderated, and anyone not reading the chapters, doing fly-by negative commenting, or taking rabbit trails off-topic will have their comments deleted. We do welcome genuine questions!

3. Next Tuesday, February 15th, Carmon and I will post our notes for the introductions, and chapters 1 and 2. From then on, we will be reading and discussing one chapter per week. Feel free to drop by the blog throughout the week as you have time to read the posts and participate in the discussion.

We thought you would enjoy hearing a little about us since we will be leading the discussions. We look forward to the discussion and pray it would be a profitable and fruitful time for everyone involved.

Sincerely,

Carmon and Lisa

Passionate Housewives: Introduction from Lisa

2011-02-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Hmmm. How do I top that introduction? I am glad Carmon wrote hers first, because unlike Carmon I don't have a wonderful way with words. Now I can copy her format and appear to have a little more prowess with the pen than I really have. ;o) In fact, after I finish writing mine, it will be the edited version Carmon has polished up for me that you will read.

Randy and I just celebrated our 22nd anniversary in January, and we have served in a ministry/pastoral capacity during 16 of those years. We have two older sons who are nearing 17 and 19, and two small daughters whom the Lord sovereignly gave us through adoption. They are about to turn three and five. We currently reside somewhere within a 200-mile range in northern California depending on the circumstances. We spent five months of 2010 in an RV on a 20,000-mile music tour with our family bluegrass band, The Wintons. Though the majority of my time is spent caring for the needs of our household and two little daughters, one of whom has serious special needs, I also help my husband and sons with our music ministry, online entrepreneurial website, and more recently the early stages of work on our family’s upcoming film about adoption, “Rescued.”

Despite my writing challenges, I am also journaling God’s amazing providences in our life so that in the future, if the Lord wills and time allows, I can write them in a coherent way in order to be a testimony of the graciousness of God for other women to read and hopefully be encouraged. Like Carmon, I am an also avid reader and love many of the classics, enjoy classical art, classical music, and old classic movies. (Are you seeing a theme here?)

Unlike Carmon, many of the biblical convictions that we now hold have not been in place since the beginning of our marriage. Cody and Jesse went to a private Christian school through first and third grade, and though at that point we took them out to homeschool them, it was more from a 'this is best for them” perspective rather than “this is what we believe is our biblical responsibility.” Now we do hold that conviction on the education of Christian children. In many cases in our lives, the Lord has led us in a direction from circumstances only to bring us to a solid conviction in His Word at a later time.

I worked outside the home part-time throughout junior high and high school, and began working full-time during my senior year of high school, continuing after our marriage until I became pregnant with Cody. At that point we were in an awkward financial situation, and had it not been the gift of God to make me so ill during my pregnancy that I could not work, though I always felt strongly that it was a good thing for moms to stay home with their children, we would likely have felt I had no choice but to continue working full-time and find child care for Cody after he arrived. I worked part-time outside the home throughout the boys’ early years, in food service and retail during Randy's hours home so he could be with them, and continued for many years to do whatever I could from our home as well to bring in income which included a myriad of different enterprises which were more biblically in line with a Proverbs 31 attempt to be a helpmate to my husband from our home.

Like Carmon pointed out, this is a difficult topic to discuss without stepping on toes. I know I've stepped on many, and I am still learning how to share with others what the Lord has shown us in His word with grace and humility. This discussion was actually birthed because I inadvertently offended several dear friends when I posted a blatantly anti-radical feminist quote on Facebook that unintentionally offended Christian women employed outside their homes. I hope that as we look at the word of God as our only standard of life and wrestle with these issues, that other women will be encouraged to see God's wonderful design for women working at home as His clear calling. We hope to show you in His Word the beautiful picture of industry and source of ministry to our families, communities, the church, and the world that a contented woman fulfilling her Titus 2 calling can be.

God in His infinite grace has also allowed me to go through many difficult trials since Christ called me as His own at fifteen, refining me and teaching me many things through his gift of suffering. Two serious accidents and debilitating pregnancies put me in bed or on the couch in pain for many long months that add up to years, along with two full years of physical therapy. Depression, church difficulties, financial struggles, my husband’s diagnosis of MS two years ago, extreme chemical sensitivities, two physically draining years of almost no sleep because of one of our daughter’s health issues and special needs, my own recent battles with early rheumatoid arthritis and just in the past month the diagnosis of both of my daughters with serious, potentially life-long medical issues have caused me to fall on my face at the throne asking for God’s grace and strength as I have come to the end of my own strength many times. His faithfulness, the kindness of brothers and sisters in Christ, a husband who loves the Word and is willing to submit to the Lord at any cost, and sons who have been continual servants and ministers of God’s grace in dark times have been pictures to me of the sufficiency of His grace and the love of God in action. When we are weak He truly is strong, and that becomes clearer to me each day and with every breath.

As we come here to reason together, to encourage each other as sisters in Christ to seek Him in faith and His word alone for answers, may our speech be full of grace, seasoned as it were with salt, and when God opens the way and reveals His truth to us, may we be willing then to apply it to our lives for the glory of God whatever the consequences may be, trusting that He is sovereign and will direct our steps.

In Christ,

Lisa

Passionate Housewives: Introduction from Carmon

2011-02-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

Dear Ladies,

Here is where I am supposed to talk about myself. I hate talking about myself (well, like any sinner, that’s not exactly true, so maybe I should say I hate writing about myself). But if I am going to help lead a discussion on this topic, a topic which is easily misunderstood and sadly controversial, I should share a bit about why I care about discussing it at all.

I have been married to my husband, Steven, for almost 30 years–our anniversary is in July. During those years, which have flown by, we have had 10 children together, seven sons and three daughters. Our oldest son is 27, our youngest son is 8. Three of our children are married, and we are now expecting two grandchildren. Hooray! Our family lives in the boondocks of northern California and we are members of a wonderful church in our community.

I used to blog regularly at Buried Treasure Books. I sometimes do editing of books and magazine articles to help out friends who are working on projects we support, with my husband's permission, and following in the footsteps of one of my role models, Anne Bradstreet, doing this extra work after my children are in bed. I have occasionally been a speaker at conferences and retreats, speaking to other women. I am an avid reader and book collector, and because of a kind and indulgent husband, I have a "real" library of over 12,000 books. And I apologize for all the "I's" in that paragraph. I need an editor!

We have always homeschooled our children, not as a choice among many educational choices, but out of a conviction that God has called US as their parents to teach them diligently God’s commands and precepts, discipling them so that if God wills they will respond to the Gospel we have daily preached to them, also impressing upon them their responsibility to do the same in their own families one day. We teach our children to take every thought captive, in every area of their lives, to the obedience of Christ. We try to model this for them with our daily lives as well as tell them with our words. We often fail to be the examples and teachers we should be, and we hope that our failures and repentance will also be part of the lesson our children learn about their total dependence on God’s grace.

I have never worked outside the home during our marriage. I also see this as not a choice I have made but a response to a conviction from God as I read in His Word that women are to be “keepers at home” (Titus 2:5, a verse we will be talking about a lot!) This is where it gets controversial :-). My conviction on this issue–where a wife and mother’s sphere of daily work ought to be–is unchanged from the day we married; however, I am greatly changed in my attitude of how I speak of it with others and how I relate to those who do not agree with me. This is a difficult topic to discuss without stepping on toes!

I sympathize with the many “what ifs?” that can occur in a myriad of families. I have friends and loved ones who have gone through some hard situations and yes, sometimes women we know have needed to work outside the home because of some very difficult circumstances. There are also gray areas that have caused consternation in our circles: What about unmarried daughters? What about women who never marry? What about some jobs (such as medical careers) where women might want women to be attending them instead of men? What if a husband will not or cannot work enough to support his family? I’m sure you can think of more questions.

LIsa and I desire to encourage those participating in this discussion, as well as those who are just listening in, to go back to God’s Word as the guide for how to wrestle with these and other issues related to our calling as wives and mothers. We believe that Passionate Housewives does a great job staying within biblical parameters, and Stacy and Jennie are very humble and gracious as they teach women to see the “wideness in God’s mercy” in giving them such a huge, wonderful, beautiful, and important job in making homes for our families that will be lights shining in this dark world.

I hope that we can come alongside you in whatever place you are in your life and circumstances, to be an encouragement to have a deeper trust in God and greater love for your family. Both Lisa and I have been through many trials in our own families, trials for which we can say we are truly thankful to God for His kindness in teaching us to cling to Him more closely and to continue to “mortify the flesh,” as we have been humbled through some very hard providences. And I know I needed (and still need) to be humbled! In my case, some of these lessons have involved a prodigal child, several health-related problems including over two years of my life spent on bed rest in my pregnancies, financial difficulties including the loss of a house, doubts and depressions, and the biggest trial of all...the dailiness of life. But I praise God for His sovereign orchestration of each circumstance to show me His strength in my weakness. All glory goes to Him for how He has blessed me through my job as the wife to my husband, the mother to my children, the keeper of my home. It has been a great adventure and even through many tears and heartache, I am filled with joy as God uses me for His purposes in this place He has given me to serve Him.

So let us love one another as we talk through these things, and know that even if we present a view that may differ from yours in some of our discussions, we desire to help you be a better wife and mother, and to see your home-centered calling as C.S. Lewis described: “The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only–and that is to support the ultimate career.”

Coram Deo ("Before the Face of God"),

Carmon

Great New Blog!

2011-01-27T08:08:00.000-08:00

Visit my dear friend Stacy McDonald at her new blog, The Common Scents Mom, and learn about essential oils for the home and family!

~Lisa

The Happiest Home

2011-01-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

Where is the happiest home on earth?
Tis not 'mid scenes of noisy mirth;
But where God's favor, sought aright,
Fills every breast with joy and light.

The richest home? It is not found
Where wealth and splendor most abound;
But wheresoe'er, in hall or cot,
Men live contented with their lot.*

The fairest home? It is not placed
In scenes with outward beauty graced;
But where kind words and smiles impart
A constant sunshine to the heart.

On such a home of peace and love
God showers his blessing from above;
And angels, watching o'er it, cry,
"Lo! this is like our home on high!"

From Golden Thoughts of Mother, Home and Heaven, compiled and edited by Gene Fedele *(emphasis mine :o) )

A Christian's Prayer

2010-11-12T15:47:00.000-08:00

We have truly enjoyed the book of Puritan poems entitled, The Valley of Vision. Most evening meals we have opportunity to read one aloud during family worship. We recently read this one which particularly encouraged me. May it encourage you to live for Him as well. ~Lisa

A Christian's Prayer

Blessed God,

Ten thousand snares are mine without and within,
defend thou me;
When sloth and indolence seize me,
give me views of heaven;
When sinners entice me,
give me disrelish of their ways;
When sensual pleasures tempt me,
purify and refine me;
When I desire worldly possessions,
help me to be rich toward thee;
When the vanities of the world ensnare me,
let me not plunge into new guilt and ruin.
May I remember the dignity of my spiritual release,
never be too busy to attend to my soul,
never be so engrossed with time
that I neglect the things of eternity;
thus may I not only live, but grow towards thee.
Form my mind to right notions of religions,
that I may not judge of grace by wrong
conceptions,
nor measure my spiritual advances by the efforts
of my natural being.
May I seek after an increase of divine love to thee,
after unreserved resignation to thy will,
after extensive benevolence to my fellow
creatures,
after patience and fortitude of soul,
after a heavenly disposition
after a concern that I may please thee in public
and private.
Draw on my soul the lineaments of Christ,
in every trace and feature of which thou wilt
take delight, for I am
thy workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,
thy letter written with the Holy Spirit's pen,
thy tilled soil ready for the sowing, then harvest.

Why is God Doing This to Me?

2010-09-25T08:37:00.000-07:00

This was today's Elisabeth Elliott devotional from Back to the Bible. It is from her book Keep a Quiet Heart. Enjoy.

Why is God Doing This to Me?

An article appeared in the National Geographic years ago which has affected my thinking ever since. "The Incredible Universe," by Kenneth F. Weaver and James P. Blair, included this paragraph: How can the human mind deal with the knowledge that the farthest object we can see in the universe is perhaps ten billion light years away! Imagine that the thickness of this page represents the distance from the earth to the sun (93,000,000 miles, or about eight light minutes). Then the distance to the nearest star 14-1/3 light years) is a 71-foot-high stack of paper. And the diameter of our own galaxy (l00,000 light years) is a 310-mile stack, while the edge of the known universe is not reached until the pile of paper is 31,000,000 miles high, a third of the way to the sun.

Thirty-one million miles. That's a very big stack of paper. By the time I get to thirty-one-and-a-half million I'm lost--aren't you? I read somewhere else that our galaxy is one (only one) of perhaps ten billion.
I know the One who made all that. He is my Shepherd. This is what He says: "With my own hands I founded the earth, with my right hand I formed the expanse of sky; when I summoned them, they sprang at once into being.... I teach you for your own advantage and lead you in the way you must go. If only you had listened to my commands, your prosperity would have rolled on like a river in flood..." (Isaiah 48:13, 17, 18, NEB).

Hardly a day goes by without my receiving a letter, a phone call, or a visit from someone in trouble. Almost always the question comes, in one form or another, Why does God do this to me?

When I am tempted to ask that same question, it loses its power when I remember that this Lord, into whose strong hands I long ago committed my life, is engineering a universe of unimaginable proportions and complexity. How could I possibly understand all that He must take into consideration as He deals with it and with me, a single individual! He has given us countless assurances that we cannot get lost in the shuffle. He choreographs the "molecular dance" which goes on every second of every minute of every day in every cell in the universe. For the record, one cell has about 200 trillion molecules. He makes note of the smallest seed and the tiniest sparrow. He is not too busy to keep records even of my falling hair.

Yet in our darkness we suppose He has overlooked us. He hasn't. I have been compiling a list of the answers God Himself has given us to our persistent question about adversity:

1. We need to be pruned. In Jesus' last discourse with His disciples before He was crucified (a discourse meant for us as well as for them), He explained that God is the gardener, He Himself is the vine, and we are branches. If we are bearing fruit, then we must be pruned. This is a painful process. Jesus knew that His disciples would face much suffering. He showed them, in this beautiful metaphor, that it was not for nothing. Only the well-pruned vine bears the best fruit. They could take comfort in knowing that the pruning proved they were neither barren nor withered, for in that case they would simply be burned up in the brushpile.
Pruning requires the cutting away not only of what is superfluous but also of what appears to be good stock. Why should we be so baffled when the Lord cuts away good things from our lives? He has explained why. "This is my Father's glory, that you may bear fruit in plenty and so be my disciples" (John 15:8, NEB). We need not see how it works. He has told us it does work.

2. We need to be refined. Peter wrote to God's scattered people, reminding them that even though they were "smarting for a little while under trials of many kinds" (they were in exile--the sort of trial most of us would think rather more than "smart"), they were nevertheless chosen in the purpose of God, hallowed to His service, and consecrated with the blood of Jesus Christ. With all that, they still needed refining. Gold is gold, but it has to go through fire. Faith is even more precious, so faith will always have another test to stand. Remember God's loving promise of 2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is all you need; power comes to its full strength in weakness" (NEB).

But Thou art making me, I thank Thee, sire.
What Thou hast done and doest Thou knows't well.
And I will help Thee; gently in Thy fire
I will lie burning; on Thy potter's wheel
I will whirl patient, though my brain should reel.
Thy grace shall be enough the grief to quell,
And growing strength perfect through weakness dire.

--George MacDonald --Diary Of an Old Soul, October 2

Refusing to Be Enticed

2010-07-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist a stop in Georgia after seeing multiple bulletin boards advertising the "$3 Book Sale" featuring new titles! Right off the highway was a giant Book Warehouse; we used to have one near our home and over the years I added some wonderful books to our library at excellent prices.

Though not every book was $3, I was able to find a few terrific gems under $5. One of my favorite finds so far has been Truth for Today, A Daily Touch of God's Grace by John MacArthur. In a society that highly values that which God calls evil in entertainment (have you seen what the newest top-grossing movies are about?), lifestyle, values, etc., I was encouraged by the July 9th reading. May we be characterized as believers by a hatred of ALL that God calls evil.

Abstain from every form of evil. 1 Thes. 5:22

Hatred of evil leads to avoidance of it. You can't dabble with sin and avoid falling into it. Refusing to be enticed by temptation, the righteous person's "delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night" (Ps. 1:2).

You can't pursue righteousness and at the same time tolerate evil. That's why Paul counseled Timothy and all believers with this message: "Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim 2:22).

A Poem in Celebration of the Fourth of July

2010-07-04T15:21:00.000-07:00

After nearly five months since I've posted here, I thought I would add something today in celebration of the Fourth of July. As we've been on the road I've been trying to read as often as possible, and this past week have once again been enjoying my favorite poet, Edgar Guest. This is from his book, Collected Verse.

America by Edgar Guest

God has been good to men. He gave

His Only Son their souls to save,

And then he made a second gift,

Which from their dreary lives should lift

The tyrant's yoke and set them free

From all who'd throttle liberty.

He gave America to men--

Fashioned this land we love, and then

Deep in her forests sowed the seed

Which was to serve man's earthly need.

When wisps of smoke first upwards curled

From pilgrim fires, upon the world

Unnoticed and unseen, began

God's second work of grace for man.

Here where the savage roamed and fought,

God sowed the seed of nobler thought;

Here to the land we love to claim,

The pioneers of freedom came;

Here has been cradled all that's best

In every human mind and breast.

For full four hundred years and more

Our land has stretched her welcoming shore

To weary feet from soils afar;

Soul-shackled serfs of king and czar

Have journeyed here and toiled and sung

And talked of freedom to their young,

And God above has smiled to see

This precious work of liberty,

And watched this second gift He gave

The dreary lives of men to save.

And now, when liberty's at bay,

And blood-stained tyrants force the fray,

Worn warriors, battling for the right,

Crushed by oppression's cruel might,

Hear in the dark through which they grope

America's glad cry of hope:

Man's liberty is not to die!

America is standing by!

World-side shall human lives be free:

America has crossed the sea!

America! the land we love!

God's second gift from Heaven above,

Builded and fashioned out of truth,

Sinewed by Him with splendid youth

For that glad day when shall be furled

All tyrant flags throughout the world.

For this our banner holds the sky:

That liberty shall never die.

For this, American began:

To make a brotherhood of man.

Christianity at Home

2010-02-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Christianity begins in the home. If not there, it is nowhere. We may attend meetings, and sing hymns, and join devoutly in prayer. We may give money to the poor, and send missionaries and Bibles to the heathen. We may organize societies of every description for doing good. We may get up church fairs, and tea-parties and tableaux and picnics. We may, in short, devote all our time and all our means to doing good, and yet not be the true and earnest Christians we ought to be, after all.

If they cannot say of us in the family at home; "He, or she, is a Christian, we know it, we feel it," --if home is not a better and happier place for our living in it, if there is not an influence going out from us, day by day, silently drawing those about us in the right direction, then it is time for us to stop where we are, and begin to examine our profession to the name of Christian.

Christianity. Christ-likeness. Is that ours? Are we possessed of that? Are we patient, kind, long-suffering, forbearing, seeking with all our hearts to do good, dreading with all our hearts to do evil? For if we are Christ's we shall be like Him; and the first fruits, and the best fruits of our daily living will be in the better and happier lives of those who are about us day by day.

~John Angell James in Golden Thoughts of Mother, Home and Heaven, edited by Gene Fedele.

Please note, you will now be able to find this blog at www.thewintonfamily.com, but we'll still be here as well. :o)

Happy New Year...a thought to ponder

2009-12-31T08:08:00.000-08:00

This is my New Year's prayer for all of those who follow Christ.

Follow Me from J.R. Miller's devotional Come Ye Apart (emphases mine)

"When he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow me." ~John 21:19

We have come now to the last day of the year. For a whole year in these daily readings we have been walking with Christ. Is there any better word with which to close this book and close the year than this invitation of Jesus--"Follow me"? This is thetrue outcome of all learning of Christ. Mere knowledge, though it be of spiritual things, avails nothing, save as it leads us to follow Christ.

We have seen Jesus in all the different phases of his life. We have heard many of his words. Now it remains only for us to follow him. The outcome of seeing and knowing should be living and doing. The last day of the year suggests also the same duty. Who is satisified with his life as it appears in retrospect from these evening shadows? The past, however blotted, must go as it is; we cannot change it, and we need not waste time in regretting. But the new year is before us, and if we would make that better than the stained past, it must be by following Christ more closely.

To follow Christ is to go where he leads, without questioning or demurring. It may be a life of trial, suffering, or sacrifice--but no matter; we have nothing whatever to do with the kind of life to which our Lord calls us. Our only simple duty is to obey and follow. We know that Jesus will lead us only in right paths, and that the way he takes slopes upward and ends at the feet of God.

The new year on which we are about to enter is unopened, and we know not what shall befall us; but if we follow Christ we need have no fear. So let us leave the old year with gratitude to God for its mercies, with penitence for its failures and sins, and let us enter the new with earnest resolve in Christ's name to make it the best and most beautiful year we have ever lived.

Life Worth Living

2009-11-05T07:24:00.000-08:00

This is taken from J.R. Miller's devotional, Come Ye Apart, dated November 5th.

"I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world." ~John 12:15

It would be a great deal safer, in one sense, for believers to be taken at once to heaven as soon as they begin to follow Christ. They would then have no temptations, no enemies to fight, no conflicts and struggles to pass through. But who would then do Christ's work in the world? There would be none to tell sinners about the Saviour, none to show to men the beauty of Christ in a holy life, none to witness for God and to fight His battles.

There is another reason why Christians are left here. They are not the most majestic trees that grow in the sheltered valleys, where no storms break, but those rather which are found upon the hill-tops and on the mountains, where they must encounter the fierce gales. It is so with men: the noblest are grown amid difficulties and hardships, not in pampered ease. Even Jesus himself was trained in the school of conflict and struggle. It may be the easiest thing to have no battles in life, to grow in some sheltered plain where the storms never blow, to meet no hardships, to have no burdens to carry; but what sort of life comes in the end from such a career? If we would reach the heights of blessedness we must be content to pass through the fields of struggle.

When armies return from victorious war, the loudest cheers are not for those who have fought the fewest battles, nor for the flags which are cleanest, but for the regiments which are cut down to a few men, and for the colours that are shot to pieces. So it will be in heaven when the redeemed are welcomed home: those who have fought the most battles, and bear the most "marks of the Lord Jesus," will receive the highest honors. It is better, then, even for Christians themselves to stay in this world, and to grow to strength through duty and conflict.

Exegetical Defense of the Woman as Keeper at Home

2009-09-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

"The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career."
~C.S. Lewis

quote and picture borrowed from my friend Jenny at Blessed Femina

Since the advent of feminism, the role of homemaker has been not only in question, but under attack. Unfortunately, over time the church has also embraced feministic ideals and no longer holds in high esteem the role of mother and keeper at home. This is evidenced by their paid staff positions for women and the often-working pastor's wife.

Here I offer William Einwechter's defense of the woman as the keeper at home, the long held-to standard of the church through the ages until the 20th century. I pray we would all return to holding God's Word as the only and final authority for our lives in all areas.

Exegetical Defense of the Woman as Keeper At Home
by William Einwechter, February 9, 2004
(Original article found here.)

In Titus 2:3-5 the apostle Paul charges the older women in the church to teach the younger women “to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” The instruction for women to be “keepers at home” generally has been understood by the church as teaching that the sphere of a married woman’s work is her home. This understanding is reflected by the Puritan commentator Matthew Poole, who interpreted the phrase to mean: “housewives, not spending their time gadding abroad, but in looking to the affairs of their own families.” ([1]) The Christian woman as a housewife, looking diligently to the affairs of her family, was the standard in Puritan New England:

In seventeenth century New England no respectable person questioned that a woman’s place was in the home. By the laws of Massachusetts as by those of England a married woman could hold no property of her own. When she became a wife, she gave up everything to her husband and devoted herself exclusively to managing his household. Henceforth her duty was to “keep at home, educating her children, keeping and improving what is got by the industry of the man.”([2])

However, this view went beyond the Puritans and was the perspective of all branches of the church and a central aspect of Western Christian culture. For example, Lenski, the eminent Lutheran commentator, stated that the phrase “keepers at home” indicates domestic responsibility and that the home is the place of a married woman’s work; she is a “housekeeper” who dispenses “all good things in this domain.” ([3])

Nonetheless, in accord with the spirit of our age that looks in disdain upon the notion that the sphere of a married woman’s work is her home, many in the church have rejected the earlier consensus understanding of “keepers at home.” Instead, to be “keepers at home” is interpreted to mean that a wife and mother is “to be busy at home” (NIV), i.e., she “should not be idle or derelict in fulfilling home duties.” ([4]) In other words, “keepers at home” does not define the married woman’s calling or the sphere of her work, but is simply an admonition not to neglect her domestic duties. Therefore, a wife and mother may pursue a career outside of the home — as a lawyer, teacher, sales clerk, etc. — as long as she fulfills her responsibilities in the home.

The difference between the traditional interpretation of “keepers at home” and the modern version is considerable. While the traditional interpretation established the home as the sphere of a married woman’s work and calling, the modern understanding says that the term does nothing of the kind. While the traditional interpretation defined a married woman’s “career” as homemaking, the modern view teaches that a married woman may pursue a career outside of the home as long as she does not neglect homemaking. While the traditional interpretation calls the woman to focus her energy, time, and talents in the home in the service of her family, the modern view says that she is not so “restricted” and may go outside the home for her employment. Which is the correct understanding? It is our belief that the traditional interpretation is the correct one. We base this opinion on the meaning of the Greek word translated “keepers at home,” and on the wider Biblical teaching on the roles of the wife and mother.

The Meaning of “Keepers at Home”
The Greek word translated “keepers at home” is oikourous. This word is derived from two Greek words. The first, oikos, means a house, a dwelling, or, by metonymy, a household or family. The second, ouros, refers to a keeper, watcher or guardian, i.e., one who has the oversight and responsibility for something. Thus, the basic significance of oikourous is that of a “housekeeper,” that is, one who watches over a household and family, seeing to it that all members are cared for, and all things maintained in good order. Oikourous is used only in the New Testament in Titus 2:5; therefore, in seeking to accurately discern its meaning we must look to the Greek literature of the New Testament era. There, the word oikourous meant watching or keeping the house. It was employed in reference to a watchdog and to a rooster, but more germane to the context of Titus 2:5, oikourous also meant keeping at home, and was employed as a substantive, “housekeeper,” to indicate the mistress of the house. Furthermore, it was specifically used in praise of a good wife. Interestingly, oikourous is utilized contemptuously of a man who refused to go out to war, designating him a “stay-at-home” man. ([5]) The verbal form, oikoureo, meant to watch or keep the house. It was used of women to indicate those who were at home to watch over the affairs of a household, and of men to designate those who stayed at home to avoid military service. ([6]) Other closely related words such as 1) oikourema, meant keeping the house and staying at home, and was used to refer to women as the “stay-at-homes”; 2) oikouria, referred to women as those employed in the work of housekeeping; 3) oikourios, meant the wages or rewards for the work of keeping the house, but also designated, significantly, keeping children within the doors of the house, i.e., keeping them at home. ([7])

On the basis of this word study, it is concluded that oikourous was primarily used in the positive sense to indicate both the nature and sphere of a married woman’s work. The nature of her work is to manage the affairs of her household, and the sphere of her work is the home. It is important to note that oikourous and its cognates all included the idea of staying at home. Therefore, we believe that the “keepers at home” are those who stay at home for the purpose of managing their households. Paul’s admonition is definite: Let the older women teach the younger women to remain within the sphere of their own households so that they might properly attend to their duties of caring for their family and managing its everyday affairs.

The Biblical Roles of a Wife and Mother
The fact that “keepers at home” refers to the married woman’s responsibility to stay at home to care for her family is confirmed when the Biblical teaching on the roles of a wife and mother are considered. Her role is so vital to the well-being of her husband and children, her responsibilities in keeping the home so demanding, that it would not be possible to properly fulfill them unless she devotes herself entirely to them. She cannot do what God has called her to do unless she abides at home.

God assigns three specific roles to the wife and mother. First, she is to be the helper of her husband. “And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him” (Gen. 2:18). Here is revealed the primary purpose of the woman in relation to her husband. The Hebrew word “help” (ezer) comes from two roots: the first meaning to rescue or save, and the second meaning to be strong. It indicates one who is able (has what it takes) to come to the aid of someone who is in need. Thus, God created the woman so that she would be able to come to the aid of the man and be his support and help. The word “meet” means corresponding to, suitable, or comparable to. The woman will be man’s counterpart equal to him mentally, spiritually, and physically. Note carefully that “meet” is a word of essence or nature, while “help” is a word of function. This means that in essence the woman is equal to man, but in function she is subordinate to the man — she is to assist and support him in his calling; or, her calling is to help enable him to be successful in his calling. As Calvin states: “Now, since God assigns the woman as a help to the man, he not only prescribes to wives the rule of their vocation, to instruct them in their duty, but he also pronounces that marriage will really prove to men the best support in life. We may therefore conclude, that the order of nature implies that the woman should be the helper of man.” [8]) Other important Scriptures indicate that the woman was made for the man to be his helper, and that his success in due measure is dependent on her love and support (1 Cor. 11:7-9; Tit. 2:4; Pr. 12:4; 18:22; 31:10-12, 23).

Second, the wife is to bear and nurture the children. The bearing and raising of children is one of the central purposes of marriage (Gen. 1:28). By God’s creative design, the woman is the primary caregiver for a child; she is called and equipped by him to nurture the life and soul of a child. She was created with the marvelous capacity of conceiving and carrying life within her. After birth, she is prepared by God to nurse the child and provide the tender love and affection the child so greatly needs. In conjunction with her duty to help her husband, the wife has the great privilege and high calling to nurture the children of the marriage. The English word “nurture” is a beautiful word to describe a mother’s role. It means to nourish both body and soul. It refers to the tasks of feeding and educating a child.

The Scripture is definite in regard to the motherly responsibilities of the woman. When Paul discusses the qualifications for those widows who will receive support from the church, he gives a list of “good works” that should be present in the report concerning her. The first good work on the list is “if she has brought up children” (1 Tim. 5:10). The Greek word translated “brought up” (tropheo) is extremely important. It means not only to raise, but also carries with it the idea of personal attendance, that of being with the child to care for and to train. Furthermore, the word “brought up” indicates that the rearing takes place in the home. The noun form of “brought up,” trophia, means “brought up in the house, reared at home.” In other words, the good work of the widow in view is that she stayed at home to raise her children! In Paul’s instructions to younger women, he admonishes them to marry and “bear children” (1 Tim. 5:14). To “bear children” means to bring them into the world, but also to nurture and train them. In another text, where Paul discusses the public ministry of the church, he says that women are not to teach but be in silence. However, he quickly points them to the place of ministry God has called them to — “childbearing” (1 Tim. 2:15). This word is a comprehensive term that comprehends all the duties of a mother — physical care, training, etc. — and could be translated as “motherhood.” Hiebert states:

“Childbearing” denotes the proper sphere in which woman finds the true fulfillment of her destiny. It speaks of the highest ideal of Christian womanhood. It brings out that which is noblest and best within her being. Paul’s thought naturally includes the training of children in a Christian home. It stands in opposition to the sphere of public teaching closed to her. ([9])

The motherly nurture of children in their physical and spiritual development is of utmost importance to the kingdom of God. The next generation of God’s servants is largely in her hands. If she is faithful in fulfilling her calling, God will highly honor her, and she shall be counted as one of the true heroes of the Faith.

Third, the wife is to manage the home. In Paul’s charge to the younger women, he exhorts them to “marry, bear children, guide the house . . .” (1 Tim. 5:14). The verb “guide” (oikodespotein) is an expressive term meaning to rule the household, to manage family affairs. It indicates that the sphere of a woman’s authority is the home (as opposed to the spheres of church and state). Furthermore, “guide” is a present infinitive indicating that managing the home is the wife’s constant occupation, her full-time job. In the Biblical description of the virtuous woman, we are told that “she looketh well to the ways of her household” (Pr. 31:27), meaning that she is a wise and diligent manager, supervising all aspects of family life. Additionally, the Scripture says that through her skill as a manager a wise woman secures the well-being of her household, while a foolish woman neglects her managerial responsibilities and her house comes to ruin (Pr. 14:1).

Thus the roles assigned to the married woman by God confirms that “keepers at home” refers to those who remain at home so that they might properly attend to their duties of caring for their family and managing its everyday affairs. When her duties are understood in all their scope and significance, it becomes clear that only by being “keepers at home” can a wife and mother fulfill her high calling from God to be a helper to her husband, a mother to her children, and a manager of her household.

What About the Virtuous Woman?
A common objection to the interpretation that to be “keepers at home” requires a married woman to confine her work, her “career,” to that of her home, is that the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 did not so confine herself. We are told that she was a “business woman” engaged in pursuits beyond the sphere of her own household, thus justifying the claim that a wife and mother is free to pursue employment and a career outside of the home. But the picture of Proverbs 31 is that of a woman managing her own household, not of a woman leaving the home for employment elsewhere. Actually, the portrayal of the virtuous woman provides strong support for the traditional interpretation of “keepers at home.” She is a wise manager of the resources her husband commits to her care (vv. 14, 16, 24). She is a true helper to her husband enabling him to rise to prominence (v. 11, 12, 23). She cares for the needs of her children and husband, assuring that they are well fed and well clothed (v. 15, 21). She sees that all their property is put to good use (v. 16). ([10]) She even engages in “cottage industry” by using any available time and strength to make fine linen and sashes to be sold to the merchants. ([r:>11])

Conclusion
May God be pleased to restore to the church the proper understanding of “keepers at home” so that the Christian family and the Christian church might once again benefit from having the wife and mother in the home filling it with her presence, love, care, and wisdom. We often speak of the home as being the foundational unit of both church and state. We often say, “As goes the family, so goes all else.” So let us give it the priority it deserves, and return the wife to her indispensable role of helping her husband, nurturing her children, and managing her household. We know that a well-ordered home is one of life’s greatest treasures. So let us act accordingly, and return the jewel that truly makes the home a treasure. Let us obey God’s law when he commands the wife and mother to stay at home so that she can properly care for her family and manage her household. Let us give honor to “keepers at home” for to such much honor is due. Our hope for the future of the church and society rests, in large measure, with the virtuous women who are “keepers at home.”

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1. Matthew Poole, A Commentary on the Holy Bible, 3 vols. (Edinburgh, [1685] 1990), 3:803.

2. Edmund S. Morgan, The Puritan Family (New York, 1944), 42.

3. R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of Paul’s Epistles to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to Timothy, to Titus and to Philemon (Minneapolis, 1937), 912.

4. Richard A. Taylor, “Who Are ‘Keepers at Home’?” Reflections (Spring 1982), 17.

5. Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. (Oxford, 1940), 1205.

6. ibid.

7. ibid.

8. John Calvin, Commentaries on the First Book of Moses called Genesis, trans. John King (Grand Rapids, reprint ed. 1989), 129.

9. D. Edmond Hiebert, First Timothy (Chicago, 1957), 62.

10. The true sense of Proverbs 16:31 is not that she purchases real estate, but that she puts the family’s property to good use. The virtuous woman sees a field belonging to her husband that is either sitting idle or is not being used in the most profitable way. So she, literally, “takes” it (not “buys” it; see Hebrew text, and the center column reference of KJV), and sets it to good use by planting a vineyard there.

11. But she herself is not a merchant moving in the marketplace. She is a woman working out of her home under the authority of her husband (not some other man) to provide extra income for the family as she is able.

Used With Permission - Chalcedon Foundation

Christ's Work Inside Our Doors

2009-08-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

I may have posted this in the past, but it is worth re-reading. :o)

"There is opportunity for every woman whose heart God has touched to be a ministering angel to those who need sympathy or help. There are many who are free to serve in caring for the poor, for the sick, for the orphaned and the aged.

But it should be understood that for every wife the first duty is the making and keeping of her own home. Her first and best work should be done there, and till it is well done she has no right to go outside to take up other duties. She is to be a "keeper at home." She must look upon her home as the one spot on earth for which she alone is responsible, and which she must cultivate well for God if she never does anything outside. For her the Father's business is not attending Dorcas societies and missionary meetings and mothers' meetings and temperance conventions, or even teaching a Sunday-school class, until she has made her own home all that her wisest thought and best skill can make it.

There have been wives who in their zeal for Christ's work outside have neglected Christ's work inside their own doors. They have had eyes and hearts for human need and human sorrow in the broad fields lying far out, but neither eye nor heart for the work of love close about their own feet. The result has been that while they were doing angelic work in the lanes and streets, the angels were mourning over their neglected duties within the hallowed walls of their own homes. While they were winning a place in the hearts of the poor or the sick or the orphan, they were losing their rightful place in the hearts of their own household. Let it be remembered that Christ's work in the home is the first that He gives to every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres will atone for neglect or failure there."

--from The Home Beautiful by J.R. Miller

Bible-based Wisdom must be our guide...

2009-06-28T12:21:00.001-07:00

This is a wonderful quote worth writing down and saving for regular review:

"Confidence that one's impressions are God-given is no guarantee that this is really so, even when they persist and grow stronger through long seasons of prayer. Bible-based wisdom must judge them." --J.I. Packer

Soul-Love

2009-06-25T00:55:00.000-07:00

I may have posted this sometime in the past, but it is worth repeating. May we be faithful to train our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord.

"Soul love is the soul of all love. To pet and pamper and indulge your child, as if this world was all he had to look to and this life the only season for happiness---to do this is not true love, but cruelty. It is treating him like some beast of the earth, which has but one world to look to, and nothing after death. It is hiding from him that grand truth, which he ought to be made to learn from his very infancy,---that the chief end of his life is the salvation of his soul." --J.C. Ryle from The Duties of Parents, my top pick for best parenting book of all-time. (You can print and/or read it online for free by clicking on the title.)

Elisabeth Elliot's Mother

2009-06-01T07:17:00.000-07:00

"Mother did not think of herself as deeply spiritual. She would have protested if anyone had said she was. But she was certainly hungry for God, deeply conscious of her own weakness and need of Him. Called to be a mother, entrusted with the holy task of cooperating with God in shaping the destinies of six people, she knew it was too heavy a burden to carry alone. She did not try. She went to Him whose name is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father. She asked His help--daily."

--from The Shaping of a Christian Family by Elisabeth Elliot, a wonderful book that every mother should read.

Serving God in the Mundane

2009-05-05T15:54:00.000-07:00

We had the privilege of having James and Stacy McDonald visit with us in our home last summer. Though the circumstances were not ideal as they were in California because of a death in their family, our time together was sweet and we truly enjoyed fellowshipping with one another, along with our dear mutual friend, Carmon Friedrich. Stacy posted this on her blog recently and I thought it worth repeating here, especially since she and Carmon are both examples to me of this kind of service to their families. Thank you for the wonderful reminder, Stacy, and the wonderful example, Carmon.

"As wives and mothers, we must learn to view serving our families as acts of service to God, rather than as acts that “get in the way” of serving Him. It’s so easy to get bogged down with all the mundane chores of everyday life. Changing diapers, scrubbing floors, repeatedly correcting children, teaching phonics, cleaning the rock collection out of your son’s sock drawer…all these things may seem insignificant, but it’s an illusion.

Martin Luther encouraged the housewife with these words…“[Christian faith] opens its eyes, looks upon all [the] insignificant, distasteful, and despised duties in the Spirit, and is aware that they are all adorned with divine approval as with the costliest gold and jewels. A wife…should regard her duties in the same light, as she suckles the child, rocks and bathes it, and cares for it in other ways; and as she busies herself with other duties and renders help and obedience to her husband. These are truly golden and noble works.”Remember, your obedience and joyful attitude toward your calling is precious to Him. Embrace it, rejoice in it, and know that God is there in the midst of it all."

The Law of Kindness...

2009-04-27T15:07:00.000-07:00

"If we would have a true home, we must guard well our thoughts and actions. A single bitter word may disquiet the home for a whole day; but, like unexpected flowers which spring up along our path full of freshness, fragrance and beauty, so do kind words, gentle acts and sweet disposition make glad the home where peace and blessing dwell. No matter how humble the abode, if it be thus garnished with grace and sweetened by kindness and smiles, the heart will turn lovingly towards it from all the tumults of the world, and home, “be it ever so humble” will be the dearest spot under the sun. --Circa 1882"

--taken from The Homemaker's Mentor website

A Few Recipes

2009-04-07T04:58:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends,

Here are a few recipes that some of my friends have requested recently. I thought it would be easiest to combine them all here in one post and then share them with you! Sorry it has taken me so long to get around to this, life is always busy. I'm praying that since my taxes are now done (hooray!) and I have a few other things beginning to slow down that I may have opportunity to occasionally blog again. :o)

Homemade Granola

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup honey
1 T vanilla extract
1 t cinnamon
1/2 cup raw sliced almonds
1/4 cup raw sesame seeds
1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup unsulfured raisins (if desired...I hate raisins) :o)
1/4 cup flaxseeds, ground into meal (optional)

1. In an ungreased 9X13" baking pan, mix oats, honey, cinnamon and vanilla until oats are coated. Add nuts and seeds.
2. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 15 minutes. Stir well. Bake 7-10 minutes longer, until golden brown. Make sure the granola does not over-bake and burn.
3. Remove from oven and let cool. Add flaxseed meal, raisins, or any other dried fruit as desired. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

I found this recipe at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/, A Year of Crockpotting, a wonderful site for finding crockpot recipes. I make about twice as much as comes in the containers and it costs about half the price (for organic). I'm making it out of organic milk that I recently began purchasing at WalMart Super Center for $4 per GALLON. That's a lot cheaper than I was paying before, though I'm hoping very soon to start buying raw milk and using it to make my yogurt and my own butter. Our local supplier is waiting for her cow to calve...

Homemade Crockpot Yogurt

8 cups (half-gallon) of whole milk--pasteurized and homogenized is fine, but do NOT use ultra-pasteurized.
1/2 cup store-bought yogurt as starter (I use organic)
Fresh fruit as desired

This takes a while. Make your yogurt on a day when you are home to monitor. I used a 4-quart crockpot. Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours. Unplug your crockpot. Leave the cover on, and let it sit for 3 hours. When 3 hours have passed, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt, then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Stir to combine. Put the lid back on your crockpot. Keep it unplugged, and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around the crock for insulation. Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours. In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened---it's not as thick as store-bought yogurt, but has the consistency of low-fat plain yogurt. If you prefer your yogurt thicker (like I do), whisk in 1/2 cup dry milk with the 8 cups of milk at the very beginning. Blend in batches with your favorite fruit. When you blend in the fruit, bubbles will form and might bother you. They aren't a big deal, and will settle eventually. Chill in a plastic container(s) in the refrigerator. Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.

Chicken Barley Vegetable Soup with Herbs
*I've adapted the recipe slightly to make it a little less expensive per serving

6 chicken thighs, skinned (*I use three)
2/3 cup barley (*I use a whole cup)
8 cups chicken stock or water (*I use 10 cups)
3-4 stalks celery, chopped
4-5 carrots, sliced
1-2 large tomatoes, peeled and chopped or 2 cans diced tomatoes
1 10-ounce package frozen corn
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. thyme
dash of cayenne pepper
2 T minced fresh parsley

Put chicken, barley, herbs and garlic in stock or water in large stock pot. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. Remove the chicken thighs from soup to cool and return liquid to a boil. Add vegetables and cut meat into bite-sized pieces and return to pot. Simmer until vegetables are cooked to desired tenderness. (We prefer slightly al-dente). Adjust seasonings and salt and pepper to taste; add fresh parsley and serve.

Homemade Mocha (or, how to keep from spending $2.85 at Starbucks!) :o)
*This recipe is really for homemade hot chocolate and comes from my nearly 40 year-old red-checkered Better Homes and Garden cookbook which I still use quite often.

1 cup milk
2 T sugar (I use slightly under this amount)
1-2 T cocoa powder (as desired)
dash of salt

Bring all ingredients to just under boiling in a saucepan while whisking. Pour into large coffee mug through small strainer until cup is about half full. Add hot, fresh, french-pressed coffee to mug, leaving enough room to top with whipped cream. Enjoy!

A Fabulous Quote

2009-03-17T06:59:00.000-07:00

Credit for finding this quote goes to my friend, Gail. What a lot to ponder.

"Son, whatever weakens your reasoning, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, or takes away your relish for spiritual things; in short, if anything increases the authority and power of the flesh over the Spirit, then that to you becomes sin, however good it is in itself." ~Susanna Wesley

May we be faithful to instruct our children in the Word and in the truths of Scripture.

Finding Christ

2009-03-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

I have had very little time to post the past few months, and since my reading time has been limited, so has my food for thought which is usually what provokes a new post. :o) However, yesterday's devotional reading from Come Ye Apart by J.R. Miller was worth sharing. Enjoy.

"We have found the Messiah." John 1:41

"We must notice the kind of argument Andrew used with his brother. He just went to him with a great joy in his heart--the joy of discovery and of satisfaction--and told him about it. An English preacher gives in a sermon this illustration, showing how much more convincing power there is in a little bit of real Christian life than there is in a large amount of apologetics. A minister delivered in his pulpit a very find course of lectures in refutation of some form of infidelity. He delivered the course chiefly for the benefit of one man that attended his place of worship. The man was skeptical, and the preacher hoped to remove his doubts. Shortly after the close of the lectures this man came and declared himself a Christian. The minister was very glad, and said to him, "Which of my discourses was it that removed your doubts?" The answer was, "Oh, it was not any of your sermons that influenced me. The thing that set me to thinking was a poor woman that came out of the chapel beside me one night and stumbled on the steps. I reached out my hand to help her, and she said, 'Thank you;' then she said, 'Do you love Jesus Christ, my blessed Savior?' I did not, and I went home and thought about it; and now I can say, I love Jesus.' An ounce of heart is worth more than a ton of head in winning souls.

When we have really found Christ ourselves, the best way to bring others is just to tell them what Christ is to us. One word of genuine and hearty confession of Christ by a person whose soul is full of the new-found joy, is worth more than the most eloquent sermons to lead others to believe in Christ. Let us be sure that people know from us that we have really found Christ; then they cannot but be impressed. It will surely be a sad pity if we should so live that they will not suspect that we are Christians."

The Cost of Discipleship

2008-11-29T15:29:00.000-08:00

"When Jesus called disciples, He carefully instructed them about the cost of following Him. Halfhearted people who were not willing to make the commitment did not respond. Thus He turned away anyone who was reluctant to pay the price--such as the rich young ruler. He warned all who thought of becoming disciples to count the cost carefully. "Which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'" (Luke 14:28-30)

About those verses, John Stott has written penetratingly:

The Christian landscape is strewn with the wreckage of derelict, half-built towers--the ruins of those who began to build and were unable to finish. For thousands of people still ignore Christ's warning and undertake to follow Him without first pausing to reflect on the cost of doing so. The result is the great scandal of Christendom today, so-called "nominal Christianity." In countries to which Christian civilization has spread, large numbers of people have covered themselves with a decent, but thin, veneer of Christianity. They have allowed themselves to become somewhat involved; enough to be respectable but not enough to be uncomfortable. Their religion is a great, soft cushion. It protects them from the hard unpleasantness of life, while changing its place and shape to suit their convenience. No wonder the cynics speak of hypocrites in the church and dismiss religion as escapism.

A Christian is not one who simply buys "fire insurance," who "accepts Christ" just to escape hell. As we have seen repeatedly, true believers' faith expresses itself in submission and obedience. Christians follow Christ. They are committed unquestionably to Christ as Lord and Savior. They desire to please God. They are humble, meek learners. When they fail, they seek forgiveness and move forward. That is their spirit and their direction.

The call to Christian discipleship explicity demands just that kind of total dedication. It is full commitment, with nothing knowingly or deliberately held back. No one can come to Christ on any other terms. Those who think they can simply affirm a list of gospel facts and continue to live any way they please should examine themselves to see if they are really in the faith. (2 Cor. 13:5)."

--John MacArthur in The Gospel According to Jesus

What is Home?

2008-11-14T16:47:00.001-08:00

"A roof to keep out the rain. Four walls to keep out the wind. Floors to keep out the cold. Yes, but home is more than that. It is the laugh of a baby, the song of a mother, the strength of a father. Warmth of loving hearts, light from happy eyes, kindness, loyalty, comradeship. Home is first school... for the young ones where they learn what is right, what is good, and what is kind. Where they go for comfort when they are hurt or sick. Where joy is shared and sorrow is eased. Where fathers and mothers are respected and loved. Where children are wanted. Where the simplest food is good enough for kings because it is earned. Where money is not so important as loving-kindness. Where even the teakettle sings from happiness. That is home."

--Ernestine Schumann-Heink

Take Two...

2008-11-09T17:10:00.000-08:00

With the advent of fall, we decided to go back through our favorite series, Road to Avonlea. We first happened upon this delightful series about six years ago when I purchased the opening movie on a bargain rack at WalMart for $5, recognizing the Kevin Sullivan name and already loving the Anne of Green Gables series. We were not disappointed, and I began searching for the next installment right away. I was able to purchase Season One in its entirety from E-bay for a reasonable price, and we began a weekly ritual of watching a single episode each Sunday, wanting to make the enjoyment last.

Our family fell in love with the King family, the main characters in the show. Its episodes are based mainly on stories from Lucy Maud Montgomery's The Story Girl (which I found recently at a local used bookstore and began reading) and The Golden Road. Murilla Cuthbert and Rachel Lynde are fairly regular characters in the series, and if you're a fan of Anne you'll recognize a few other characters. I'm not sure if families with very young children will enjoy them as well as we did, as our sons were older and not prone to imitate the sometimes regular bickering among the children; however, any major disagreements generally resolve satisfactorily by the end. There are also a few of the episodes that have a strong mystical element that we skip, so please don't take our love for the show as a full endorsement of all content.

To celebrate the beginning of the second viewing of our beloved 'Roads' as we affectionately call them, we had a 'Road to Avonlea Kick-Off Brunch' today. Jesse was not feeling well, so I stayed home from church with him. Since 'Beth' had her favorite playmate to entertain her, I was able to make a coffee cake, deviled eggs, and some tea-sized turkey sandwiches (Jesse came in and made these). We added a relish tray and some leftover pasta and salad, and when Randy and Cody returned home from the service we enjoyed feasting together in anticipation of the event. (I forgot to take a picture of our brunch, but I'm hoping to find time soon to post a few fall pictures of things we've been doing.) We waited until naptime then watched the opening movie. We're looking forward to taking up this weekly tradition again, and since there are seven seasons of Road averaging 15-20 episodes apiece, I estimate it will take us more than two years to make our way through them again. The anticipation of each week is part of the fun, however, and doing it this way makes the pleasure last a lot longer.

I love family traditions; they are worth the effort to make, and sometimes worth repeating!

Suffering...

2008-10-27T06:51:00.000-07:00

This is from part of October 18th's Streams in the Desert devotional, which is one of my favorite devotional books. The Lord always seems to use portions of this to encourage me at just the right time, and I hope it will encourage you that whatever the Lord is allowing in your life is for your good and His Sovereign purposes.

"An assured part of God's pledged blessing to us is delay and suffering. A delay in Abram's own lifetime that seemed to put God's pledge beyond fulfillment was followed by seemingly unendurable delay of Abram's descendants. But it was only a delay: they "came out with great substance." The pledge was redeemed.

God is going to test me with delays; and with the delays will come suffering, but through it all stands God's pledge: His new covenant with me in Christ, and His inviolable promise of every lesser blessing that I need. The delay and the suffering are part of the promised blessing: let me praise Him for them today; and let me wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen my heart."

--C.G. Trumbull

God, Be Merciful to Me

2008-10-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

We sang this beautiful hymn at church on Sunday. You can listen to the musical accompaniment at the link below:

Original Trinity Hymnal, #415
From Psalm 51:1-15

God, be merciful to me,
On thy grace I rest my plea;
Plenteous in compassion thou,
Blot out my transgressions now;
Wash me, make me pure within,
Cleanse, O cleanse me from my sin.

My transgressions I confess,
Grief and guilt my soul oppress;
I have sinned against thy grace
And provoked thee to thy face;
I confess thy judgment just,
Speechless, I thy mercy trust.

I am evil, born in sin;
Thou desirest truth within.
Thou alone my Saviour art,
Teach thy wisdom to my heart;
Make me pure, thy grace bestow,
Wash me whiter than the snow.

Broken, humbled to the dust
By thy wrath and judgment just,
Let my contrite heart rejoice
And in gladness hear thy voice;
From my sins O hide thy face,
Blot them out in boundless grace.

Gracious God, my heart renew,
Make my spirit right and true;
Cast me not away from thee,
Let thy Spirit dwell in me;
Thy salvation's joy impart,
Steadfast make my willing heart.

Sinners then shall learn from me
And return, O God, to thee;
Saviour, all my guilt remove,
And my tongue shall sing thy love;
Touch my silent lips, O Lord,
And my mouth shall praise accord.

Of Plymouth Plantation...

2008-10-15T15:15:00.000-07:00

This is the book we are currently reading aloud in the evenings as a family, preparing our hearts and minds for celebrating Thanksgiving this year. The history of the early Plymouth settlement written by William Bradford is a book that every God-fearing family in America should read aloud with their children before they leave home. Here is an excerpt from the introduction written by Richard 'Little Bear' Wheeler:

"The time has come for a resurgence of documented proof of the true Christian origin of our biblically inspired Republic as chronicled in
Of Plymouth Plantation. I am convinced that there is a need for our nation to reevaluate its very purpose by examining the infant Plymouth colony in the light of Scriptures. Thereby we can redisscover what God intended for our country through Christian self-government, as exemplified by the colonist's determination and conviction to be ruled by God's Word, rather than by the whim of man with his vacillating and often corrupt value systems. Without remembering our true roots, it is inevitable that we, as Americans, will lose sight of our original call from God.

The Pilgrims' goals were Christ-centered from the start. William Bradford details a four-fold plan for immigrating to the New World after their twelve year relocation in Holland. Quoting from his fourth visionary purpose, the author states, "Last and not least, they [the Separatists] cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundation, or at least of making someway towards it, for the propogation and advance of the kingdom of Christ in remote parts of the world, even though they should be but stepping stones to others in the performance of so great a work" (page 21).

After having fled from England, their motherland, because of religious persecution, and after reestablishing themselves in Holland, what would have possessed these Separatists to forsake the surety of a civilized society and embrace the wilderness of a barbarous land, plagued with dangers of all sorts, to become those stepping stones? One simple, yet compelling reason: for the sake of their children.

Their deep understanding of God's Word and their firm obedience to His precepts are reflected in the fact that the Pilgrims, although in this world, were not entrenched by the ways of this world. For this reason, they were grieved as they witnessed the vice, rebellion, and godlessnesss of the surrounding culture encroach upon their children, even though they enjoyed religious freedom in the Netherlands. Yet, even that precious liberty in the Lord Jesus Christ was being threatened on the political front as Holland was being harassed by Spain. Once again the decision was made to venture out to a foreign land where they could raise their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, even if it meant enduring the perils of a grueling, lengthy voyage, risking the possibility of a hostile welcome, and forging an arduous new beginning."

Buy it, read it, cherish it; it is our country and our children's heritage. The amazing story of William Bradford's writings and how they disappearred then Providentially resurfaced and were returned to America is also worth reading. I have a few other books that I have enjoyed at Thanksgiving through the years with my children when they were smaller. I would love to hear if there are any that have been special to your family.

Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey (two texts, one for younger and older children, with a beautiful music CD included that I listen to throughout the year)
The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dagliesh
The First Thanksgiving by Jean Craighead George
The Mayflower Pilgrims by Edmund Janes Carpenter, revised by Michael J. McHugh
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
The Legend of Squanto audio dramatization by Focus on the Family has been one of the boys' favorite audio stories through the years
An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Louisa May Alcott
The Great Stories Remembered series by Joe Wheeler has several touching Thanksgiving stories

Enjoy preparing now with your family before Thanksgiving is upon us!

Philippians 4:8

A Salvation to be Dreaded?

2008-10-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

"And be not conformed to this world." --Romans 12:2

"If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Would you attain the full assurance of faith? You cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? Your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian--you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world. It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king's enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one."

--Charles Spurgeon, Evening by Evening for October 14th

The Burden Bearer...

2008-10-12T00:40:00.000-07:00

"Oh, my shoulders grow aweary of the burdens I am bearin',
An' I grumble when I'm footsore at the rough road I am farin',
But I strap my knapsack tighter till I feel the leather bind me,
An' I'm glad to bear the burdens for the ones who come behind me.
It's for them that I am ploddin', for the children comin' after;
I would strew their path with roses and would fill their days with laughter.

Oh, there's selfishness within me, there are times it gets to talkin',
Times I hear it whisper to me, "It's a dusty road you're walkin';
Why not rest your feet a little; why not pause an' take your leisure?
Don't you hunger in your strivin' for the merry whirl of pleasure?"
Then I turn an' see them smilin' an' I grip my burdens tighter,
For the joy that I am seekin' is to see their eyes grow brighter.

Oh, I've sipped the cup of sorrow an' I've felt the gad of trouble.
An' I know the hurt of trudgin' through a field o'errun with stubble;
But a rougher road to travel had my father good before me,
An' I'm owin' all my gladness to the tasks he shouldered for me.
Oh, I didn't understand it, when a lad I played about him,
But he labored for my safety in the days I'd be without him.

Oh, my kindly father never gave himself a year of leisure--
Never lived one selfish moment, never turned aside for pleasure--
Though he must have grown aweary of the burdens he was bearin';
He was tryin' hard to better every road I'd soon be farin'.
Now I turn an' see them smilin' an' I hear their merry laughter,
An' I'm glad to bear the burdens for the ones that follow after."

--Edgar Guest

Not Yours to Give...

2008-10-09T12:16:00.000-07:00

In light of the most recent Presidential debate, I offer this piece about Davy Crockett. Enjoy.

From The Life of Colonel David Crockett,by Edward S. Ellis (Philadelphia: Porter & Coates, 1884)

"Crockett was then the lion of Washington. I was a great admirer of his character, and, having several friends who were intimate with him, I found no difficulty in making his acquaintance. I was fascinated with him, and he seemed to take a fancy to me.

I was one day in the lobby of the House of Representatives when a bill was taken up appropriating money for the benefit of a widow of a distinguished naval officer. Several beautiful speeches had been made in its support – rather, as I thought, because it afforded the speakers a fine opportunity for display than from the necessity of convincing anybody, for it seemed to me that everybody favored it. The Speaker was just about to put the question when Crockett arose. Everybody expected, of course, that he was going to make one of his characteristic speeches in support of the bill. He commenced:

"Mr. Speaker – I have as much respect for the memory of the deceased, and as much sympathy for the sufferings of the living, if suffering there be, as any man in this House, but we must not permit our respect for the dead or our sympathy for a part of the living to lead us into an act of injustice to the balance of the living. I will not go into an argument to prove that Congress has no power to appropriate this money as an act of charity. Every member upon this floor knows it. We have the right, as individuals, to give away as much of our own money as we please in charity; but as members of Congress we have no right so to appropriate a dollar of the public money. Some eloquent appeals have been made to us upon the ground that it is a debt due the deceased. Mr. Speaker, the deceased lived long after the close of the war; he was in office to the day of his death, and I have never heard that the government was in arrears to him. This government can owe no debts but for services rendered, and at a stipulated price. If it is a debt, how much is it? Has it been audited, and the amount due ascertained? If it is a debt, this is not the place to present it for payment, or to have its merits examined. If it is a debt, we owe more than we can ever hope to pay, for we owe the widow of every soldier who fought in the War of 1812 precisely the same amount. There is a woman in my neighborhood, the widow of as gallant a man as ever shouldered a musket. He fell in battle. She is as good in every respect as this lady, and is as poor. She is earning her daily bread by her daily labor; but if I were to introduce a bill to appropriate five or ten thousand dollars for her benefit, I should be laughed at, and my bill would not get five votes in this House. There are thousands of widows in the country just such as the one I have spoken of, but we never hear of any of these large debts to them. Sir, this is no debt. The government did not owe it to the deceased when he was alive; it could not contract it after he died. I do not wish to be rude, but I must be plain. Every man in this House knows it is not a debt. We cannot, without the grossest corruption, appropriate this money as the payment of a debt. We have not the semblance of authority to appropriate it as a charity. Mr. Speaker, I have said we have the right to give as much of our own money as we please. I am the poorest man on this floor. I cannot vote for this bill, but I will give one week's pay to the object, and if every member of Congress will do the same, it will amount to more than the bill asks."
He took his seat. Nobody replied. The bill was put upon its passage, and, instead of passing unanimously, as was generally supposed, and as, no doubt, it would, but for that speech, it received but few votes, and, of course, was lost.

Like many other young men, and old ones, too, for that matter, who had not thought upon the subject, I desired the passage of the bill, and felt outraged at its defeat. I determined that I would persuade my friend Crockett to move a reconsideration the next day.
Previous engagements preventing me from seeing Crockett that night, I went early to his room the next morning and found him engaged in addressing and franking letters, a large pile of which lay upon his table.

I broke in upon him rather abruptly, by asking him what devil had possessed him to make that speech and defeat that bill yesterday. Without turning his head or looking up from his work, he replied:

"You see that I am very busy now; take a seat and cool yourself. I will be through in a few minutes, and then I will tell you all about it."
He continued his employment for about ten minutes, and when he had finished he turned to me and said:

"Now, sir, I will answer your question. But thereby hangs a tale, and one of considerable length, to which you will have to listen."

I listened, and this is the tale which I heard:

Several years ago I was one evening standing on the steps of the Capitol with some other members of Congress, when our attention was attracted by a great light over in Georgetown. It was evidently a large fire. We jumped into a hack and drove over as fast as we could. When we got there, I went to work, and I never worked as hard in my life as I did there for several hours. But, in spite of all that could be done, many houses were burned and many families made homeless, and, besides, some of them had lost all but the clothes they had on. The weather was very cold, and when I saw so many women and children suffering, I felt that something ought to be done for them, and everybody else seemed to feel the same way.

The next morning a bill was introduced appropriating $20,000 for their relief. We put aside all other business and rushed it through as soon as it could be done. I said everybody felt as I did. That was not quite so; for, though they perhaps sympathized as deeply with the sufferers as I did, there were a few of the members who did not think we had the right to indulge our sympathy or excite our charity at the expense of anybody but ourselves. They opposed the bill, and upon its passage demanded the yeas and nays. There were not enough of them to sustain the call, but many of us wanted our names to appear in favor of what we considered a praiseworthy measure, and we voted with them to sustain it. So the yeas and nays were recorded, and my name appeared on the journals in favor of the bill.

The next summer, when it began to be time to think about the election, I concluded I would take a scout around among the boys of my district. I had no opposition there, but, as the election was some time off, I did not know what might turn up, and I thought it was best to let the boys know that I had not forgot them, and that going to Congress had not made me too proud to go to see them.

So I put a couple of shirts and a few twists of tobacco into my saddlebags, and put out. I had been out about a week and had found things going very smoothly, when, riding one day in a part of my district in which I was more of a stranger than any other, I saw a man in a field plowing and coming toward the road. I gauged my gait so that we should meet as he came to the fence. As he came up I spoke to the man. He replied politely, but, as I thought, rather coldly, and was about turning his horse for another furrow when I said to him: "Don't be in such a hurry, my friend; I want to have a little talk with you, and get better acquainted."

He replied: "I am very busy, and have but little time to talk, but if it does not take too long, I will listen to what you have to say."

I began: "Well, friend, I am one of those unfortunate beings called candidates, and – "

"'Yes, I know you; you are Colonel Crockett. I have seen you once before, and voted for you the last time you were elected. I suppose you are out electioneering now, but you had better not waste your time or mine. I shall not vote for you again.'

This was a sockdolager... I begged him to tell me what was the matter.

"Well, Colonel, it is hardly worthwhile to waste time or words upon it. I do not see how it can be mended, but you gave a vote last winter which shows that either you have not capacity to understand the Constitution, or that you are wanting in honesty and firmness to be guided by it. In either case you are not the man to represent me. But I beg your pardon for expressing it in that way. I did not intend to avail myself of the privilege of the Constitution to speak plainly to a candidate for the purpose of insulting or wounding you. I intend by it only to say that your understanding of the Constitution is very different from mine; and I will say to you what, but for my rudeness, I should not have said, that I believe you to be honest. But an understanding of the Constitution different from mine I cannot overlook, because the Constitution, to be worth anything, must be held sacred, and rigidly observed in all its provisions. The man who wields power and misinterprets it is the more dangerous the more honest he is."

"I admit the truth of all you say, but there must be some mistake about it, for I do not remember that I gave any vote last winter upon any constitutional question."

"No, Colonel, there's no mistake. Though I live here in the backwoods and seldom go from home, I take the papers from Washington and read very carefully all the proceedings of Congress. My papers say that last winter you voted for a bill to appropriate $20,000 to some sufferers by a fire in Georgetown. Is that true?"

"Certainly it is, and I thought that was the last vote which anybody in the world would have found fault with."

"Well, Colonel, where do you find in the Constitution any authority to give away the public money in charity?"

Here was another sockdolager; for, when I began to think about it, I could not remember a thing in the Constitution that authorized it. I found I must take another tack, so I said:

"Well, my friend; I may as well own up. You have got me there. But certainly nobody will complain that a great and rich country like ours should give the insignificant sum of $20,000 to relieve its suffering women and children, particularly with a full and overflowing Treasury, and I am sure, if you had been there, you would have done just as I did."

"It is not the amount, Colonel, that I complain of; it is the principle. In the first place, the government ought to have in the Treasury no more than enough for its legitimate purposes. But that has nothing to do with the question. The power of collecting and disbursing money at pleasure is the most dangerous power that can be entrusted to man, particularly under our system of collecting revenue by a tariff, which reaches every man in the country, no matter how poor he may be, and the poorer he is the more he pays in proportion to his means. What is worse, it presses upon him without his knowledge where the weight centers, for there is not a man in the United States who can ever guess how much he pays to the government. So you see, that while you are contributing to relieve one, you are drawing it from thousands who are even worse off than he. If you had the right to give anything, the amount was simply a matter of discretion with you, and you had as much right to give $20,000,000 as $20,000. If you have the right to give to one, you have the right to give to all; and, as the Constitution neither defines charity nor stipulates the amount, you are at liberty to give to any and everything which you may believe, or profess to believe, is a charity, and to any amount you may think proper. You will very easily perceive what a wide door this would open for fraud and corruption and favoritism, on the one hand, and for robbing the people on the other. No, Colonel, Congress has no right to give charity. Individual members may give as much of their own money as they please, but they have no right to touch a dollar of the public money for that purpose. If twice as many houses had been burned in this county as in Georgetown, neither you nor any other member of Congress would have thought of appropriating a dollar for our relief. There are about two hundred and forty members of Congress. If they had shown their sympathy for the sufferers by contributing each one week's pay, it would have made over $13,000. There are plenty of wealthy men in and around Washington who could have given $20,000 without depriving themselves of even a luxury of life. The Congressmen chose to keep their own money, which, if reports be true, some of them spend not very creditably; and the people about Washington, no doubt, applauded you for relieving them from the necessity of giving by giving what was not yours to give. The people have delegated to Congress, by the Constitution, the power to do certain things. To do these, it is authorized to collect and pay moneys, and for nothing else. Everything beyond this is usurpation, and a violation of the Constitution."
I have given you an imperfect account of what he said. Long before he was through, I was convinced that I had done wrong. He wound up by saying:

"So you see, Colonel, you have violated the Constitution in what I consider a vital point. It is a precedent fraught with danger to the country, for when Congress once begins to stretch its power beyond the limits of the Constitution, there is no limit to it, and no security for the people. I have no doubt you acted honestly, but that does not make it any better, except as far as you are personally concerned, and you see that I cannot vote for you."

I tell you I felt streaked. I saw if I should have opposition, and this man should go talking, he would set others to talking, and in that district I was a gone fawn-skin. I could not answer him, and the fact is, I did not want to. But I must satisfy him, and I said to him:

"Well, my friend, you hit the nail upon the head when you said I had not sense enough to understand the Constitution. I intended to be guided by it, and thought I had studied it full. I have heard many speeches in Congress about the powers of Congress, but what you have said there at your plow has got more hard, sound sense in it than all the fine speeches I ever heard. If I had ever taken the view of it that you have, I would have put my head into the fire before I would have given that vote; and if you will forgive me and vote for me again, if I ever vote for another unconstitutional law I wish I may be shot."

He laughingly replied:

"Yes, Colonel, you have sworn to that once before, but I will trust you again upon one condition. You say that you are convinced that your vote was wrong. Your acknowledgment of it will do more good than beating you for it. If, as you go around the district, you will tell people about this vote, and that you are satisfied it was wrong, I will not only vote for you, but will do what I can to keep down opposition, and, perhaps, I may exert some little influence in that way."

"If I don't," said I, "I wish I may be shot; and to convince you that I am in earnest in what I say, I will come back this way in a week or ten days, and if you will get up a gathering of the people, I will make a speech to them. Get up a barbecue, and I will pay for it."

"No, Colonel, we are not rich people in this section, but we have plenty of provisions to contribute for a barbecue, and some to spare for those who have none. The push of crops will be over in a few days, and we can then afford a day for a barbecue. This is Thursday; I will see to getting it up on Saturday week. Come to my house on Friday, and we will go together, and I promise you a very respectable crowd to see and hear you."

"Well, I will be here. But one thing more before I say good-bye. I must know your name."

"My name is Bunce."

"Not Horatio Bunce?"

"Yes."

"Well, Mr. Bunce, I never saw you before, though you say you have seen me; but I know you very well. I am glad I have met you, and very proud that I may hope to have you for my friend. You must let me shake your hand before I go."

We shook hands and parted.

It was one of the luckiest hits of my life that I met him. He mingled but little with the public, but was widely known for his remarkable intelligence and incorruptible integrity, and for a heart brimful and running over with kindness and benevolence, which showed themselves not only in words but in acts. He was the oracle of the whole country around him, and his fame had extended far beyond the circle of his immediate acquaintance. Though I had never met him before, I had heard much of him, and but for this meeting it is very likely I should have had opposition, and had been beaten. One thing is very certain, no man could now stand up in that district under such a vote.

At the appointed time I was at his house, having told our conversation to every crowd I had met, and to every man I stayed all night with, and I found that it gave the people an interest and a confidence in me stronger than I had ever seen manifested before.

Though I was considerably fatigued when I reached his house, and, under ordinary circumstances, should have gone early to bed, I kept him up until midnight, talking about the principles and affairs of government, and got more real, true knowledge of them than I had got all my life before.

I have told you Mr. Bunce converted me politically. He came nearer converting me religiously than I had ever been before. He did not make a very good Christian of me, as you know; but he has wrought upon my mind a conviction of the truth of Christianity, and upon my feelings a reverence for its purifying and elevating power such as I had never felt before.
I have known and seen much of him since, for I respect him – no, that is not the word – I reverence and love him more than any living man, and I go to see him two or three times every year; and I will tell you, sir, if everyone who professes to be a Christian lived and acted and enjoyed it as he does, the religion of Christ would take the world by storm.

But to return to my story. The next morning we went to the barbecue, and, to my surprise, found about a thousand men there. I met a good many whom I had not known before, and they and my friend introduced me around until I had got pretty well acquainted – at least, they all knew me.

In due time notice was given that I would speak to them. They gathered around a stand that had been erected. I opened my speech by saying:

"Fellow citizens – I present myself before you today feeling like a new man. My eyes have lately been opened to truths which ignorance or prejudice, or both, had heretofore hidden from my view. I feel that I can today offer you the ability to render you more valuable service than I have ever been able to render before. I am here today more for the purpose of acknowledging my error than to seek your votes. That I should make this acknowledgment is due to myself as well as to you. Whether you will vote for me is a matter for your consideration only."

I went on to tell them about the fire and my vote for the appropriation as I have told it to you, and then told them why I was satisfied it was wrong. I closed by saying:

"And now, fellow citizens, it remains only for me to tell you that the most of the speech you have listened to with so much interest was simply a repetition of the arguments by which your neighbor, Mr. Bunce, convinced me of my error.

"It is the best speech I ever made in my life, but he is entitled to the credit of it. And now I hope he is satisfied with his convert and that he will get up here and tell you so."

He came upon the stand and said:

"Fellow citizens – It affords me great pleasure to comply with the request of Colonel Crockett. I have always considered him a thoroughly honest man, and I am satisfied that he will faithfully perform all that he has promised you today."
He went down, and there went up from the crowd such a shout for Davy Crockett as his name never called forth before.

I am not much given to tears, but I was taken with a choking then and felt some big drops rolling down my cheeks. And I tell you now that the remembrance of those few words spoken by such a man, and the honest, hearty shout they produced, is worth more to me than all the honors I have received and all the reputation I have ever made, or ever shall make, as a member of Congress.

"Now, Sir," concluded Crockett, "you know why I made that speech yesterday. I have had several thousand copies of it printed and was directing them to my constituents when you came in.

"There is one thing now to which I will call your attention. You remember that I proposed to give a week's pay. There are in that House many very wealthy men – men who think nothing of spending a week's pay, or a dozen of them for a dinner or a wine party when they have something to accomplish by it. Some of those same men made beautiful speeches upon the great debt of gratitude which the country owed the deceased – a debt which could not be paid by money, particularly so insignificant a sum as $10,000, when weighed against the honor of the nation. Yet not one of them responded to my proposition. Money with them is nothing but trash when it is to come out of the people. But it is the one great thing for which most of them are striving, and many of them sacrifice honor, integrity, and justice to obtain it."

Wisdom from the Past...

2008-10-05T00:55:00.000-07:00

"For some odd reason progress usually makes people despise the past, as if it no longer offers anything of any relevant value. This mindset is particularly true of the present generation who live in a lonely age of space exploration, CD-Roms, the Internet and cellular technology. Even among today's professing Christians there is a subtle rejection of historic Christianity, at the expense of remaining restless in their shallow fads without knowing why. But what will return the Christendom of this present generation to a salty Christianity (Matthew 5:13)? What will return modern-day Christendom to a Christianity that will act as a preserving agent to a decaying society? What can offer certain hope to a nation of families that are in utter disarray? Answer: A present return to the old paths. It was the prophet Jeremiah who said, "...ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls" (Jeremiah 6:16). The Puritans in early America serve as a good example to orient us into our present discussion."

Here Jonathan Edwards speaks to his congregation on the matter of fathers instructing and leading their children, usually the primary factor leading a family to keep their children with them during Sunday services rather than delegating their spiritual oversight to a youth pastor or Sunday school teacher:

"Let me therefore, once more, before I finally cease to speak to this congregation, repeat, and earnestly press the counsel which I have often urged on the heads of families, while I was their pastor, to great painfulness in teaching, warning, and directing their children; bringing them up in the training and admonition of the Lord; beginning early, where there is yet opportunity, and maintaining constant diligence in labours of this kind."

--Jonathan Edwards"

--taken from the introduction to Rediscovering the Lost Treasure of Family Worship by Jerry Marcellino. I highly recommend every family read this excellent booklet strongly endorsed by John MacArthur, Tedd Tripp and Kent Hughes.

I've Been in the Kitchen...

2008-10-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

I am in the middle of so many projects at home that I haven't been able to finish one of the many blog posts that I have been working on, including one listing the many ways we are cutting back in the face of uncertain economic times. I spent most of today stocking up on basics for the freezer and pantry at Costco and picking up 35 lbs. of wheat berries at our local grain mill, then making food and tackling projects in the kitchen. I managed to make two loaves of bread, a big pot of chicken and barley soup, a batch of raspberry syrup, a dozen banana-nut oatmeal muffins, baked several sweet potatoes for special food for our two year-old (which I still need to finish), and get some strawberries and several bell peppers from our garden sliced up and frozen. I am also preparing for our monthly potluck fellowship meal at church tomorrow.

So, since I am still working hard in my kitchen at 9:30pm and don't see any end in sight, I offer my recipe for minestrone soup until I can get back and finish my other posts. I promised to give it to my friend Amy about a week ago, but just hadn't gotten around to it...thanks for being patient, Amy! :o)

I adapted the recipe from this cookbook I bought several years ago (it has many excellent soup recipes we love) to create a soup that our family, including little 'Beth', enjoys tremendously.

Hearty Minestrone

4 carrots, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1 1/2 cups green beans
2/3 cup green onions
6c water
2 vegetable bouillon cubes
1 tsp Italian herb seasoning
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans black beans
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 lb hamburger
salt and pepper to taste

Bring water and bouillon to boil while slicing vegetables and frying hamburger. Add all ingredients to stock and simmer for 30 minutes. (You can also put all the ingredients in the crockpot and simmer on low 5-6 hours.) Enjoy!

We Must Be Much Alone...

2008-10-02T06:02:00.001-07:00

"In order to grow in grace, we must be much alone. It is not in society that the soul grows most vigorously. In one single quiet hour of prayer it will often make more progress than in days of company with others. It is in the desert that the dew falls freshest and the air is purest."

--Andrew Bonar

I had a post all ready on reading to a two-year old and other activities to do with a toddler while homeschooling older children, but when I hit the 'publish post' button yesterday, I lost nearly all of my work! I didn't have the heart or the time to go back and re-do it then, but I plan to work on it again today, Lord willing. I also have some nice photos of early hints of fall around our house and yard to share, so check back later. :o)

The Influence of a Mother...

2008-09-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

I pray that this is the type of influence that I will have in the lives of my husband and children as I choose to obey the Lord's admonition in Titus 2:4,5 and remain 'just a homemaker'. Dr. Marshall writes to his mother, who remained in Scotland while he immigrated to the U.S. to pursue seminary studies and enter the full-time ministry. I do not believe he could've given her a more precious Mother's Day gift than this letter...

"...Last Sunday was Mother's Day in America. This day is observed all over the country as a day on which tributes are paid to mothers and gifts made, all eloquent of mother's place in human affections. The custom is a beautiful one, but is in danger from the American evil of commercializing even the sacred festivals.

Thoughts naturally are stirred on that day, and although the phlegmatic Scots are not prone to sending cards and all the excesses of Americanism, still the same feeling burns deep. Perhaps we ought to be more demonstrative, but somehow the most tender feelings of the Scottish heart are not easily spoken or written. They must be taken for granted--expressed in living rather than in talking.

But I felt during the day how much I owed MY mother, and although I was 5,000 miles away from you, your influence, youor faith in me, and your hopes in me were and are always near and real to me. You have planted well, and the seed which youo have planted is bearing fruit.

I esteem your pride in me more precious than all the honours I have received since coming here. When I come home, and you hear me preach, your "well done" will be sweeter music than the platitudes I hear continuously.

I am not in the position to send you gifts. I have no money... But I have what money cannot buy--namely, a great faith in the fact that seeking first the Kingdom of Heaven, all these things will be added unto me.

So I send you not gifts, but appreciations that must be taken for granted, until I can show you by my presence and my life that I mean what I say. You have given me memories that are precious. You have furnished me with the background upon which I am trying to paint the picture you have dreamed of. Anything accomplished by me is not the result of my own efforts, but the result of your prayers and your dreams for my success--not in material things, but in the things that count, that are eternal.

The values I have of life and eternity are mostly the heritages of some mysterious influence you have exerted in my early life. I must be faithful and exemplify the ideals you have always cherished in your heart. May you be satisfied some day when you see the fruits. Your grey hairs and your wrinkled brow are mute but eloquent tokens of your ministrations of patient and loving sacrifice, and I revere them as such.

I must close now, for I have to study. I send my love and tenderest solicitations. May God bless and keep you, Mother Mine..."

Excerpt from A Man Called Peter by Catherine Marshall.

The Work and Sphere of True Womanhood

2008-09-18T12:35:00.000-07:00

“Woman’s work is foundation work for society, for the state, for the kingdom of Heaven. In the homes of America are born the children of America; and from them goes forth American life. Who has the hand upon these springs of life? Woman. These children of American homes go out with the stamp of these homes upon them, and only as these homes are what they ought to be will these children be what they ought to be. …Woman may think her sphere and work are limited and contracted, but in this she was never found in a graver mistake. In the home she is imprinting herself upon the man; in him she builds up society, in him she builds up the state, in him she legislates, in him she executes, in him she rules. She makes man what he is, so far as human power can operate. Yes, if she never does anything else but “nurse babies,” she can do no grander work. May God impress upon our women the high, heavenly, holy duty of rearing the children of our country, and making our homes places of joy and comfort. Alas! for the state! if our women are to leave the work of our homes and run hither and thither in search of larger rights and larger powers.”

William H. Felix (1838-1912), from his essay “The Work and Sphere of True Womanhood”

--taken from a post by the Botkin sisters at Visionary Daughters.

As you may have noticed, now that our family blog is private and offline for a while, I am 'playing' with it a bit and trying to decide what I want it to look like when I re-open it to the public and link to it from our music blog after Anna's adoption. We will likely maintain two separate blogs, one with strictly our music ministry happenings and scheduling links, and this one as our 'family blog' with more frequent posts, links and info about homeschooling, Titus 2 issues, motherhood, family life, etc. I am taking an even harder public stance against feminism here than I ever have before; I, too, have been inspired by Sarah Palin, and even more inspired by this post at Visionary Daughters. Let me know what you think of the newer blog design...

The Need of the Hour

2008-09-17T06:16:00.000-07:00

What does our country need? Not armies standing
With sabers gleaming ready for the fight;
Not increased navies, skillful and commanding,
To bound the waters with an iron might;
Not haughty men with glutted purses trying
To purchase souls, and keep the power of place;
Not jeweled dolls with one another vying
For palms of beauty, elegance and grace.

But we want women, strong of soul, yet lowly
With that rare meekness, born of gentleness;
Women whose lives are pure and clean and holy,
The women whom all little children bless;
Brave, earnest women, helpful to each other,
With finest scorn for all things low and mean;
Women who hold the names of wife and mother
Far nobler than the title of a queen.

Oh! These are they who mould the men of story,
These mothers, ofttime shorn of grace and youth,
Who, worn and weary, ask no greater glory
Than making some young soul the home of truth;
Who sow in hearts all fallow for the sowing
The seeds of virtue and of scorn for sin,
And, patient, watch the beauteous harvest growing
And weed out tares which crafty hands cast in.

Women who do not hold the gift of beauty
As some rare treasure to be bought and sold,
But guard it as a precious aid to duty--
The outer framing of the inner gold;
Women who, low above their cradles bending,
Let flattery's voice go by, and give no heed,
While their pure prayers like incense are ascending
These are our country's pride, our country's need.

By Ella Wheeler Wilcox, from the book Verses of Virtue

Women as Civil Magistrates?

2008-09-16T07:09:00.000-07:00

There is an excellent review of Pastor Morecraft's sermon, Women as Civil Magistrates?, at my friend Carmon's site. You can download it for free at Sermon Audio; I plan to listen to it later this week. (We have a concert this evening.) While you're at Carmon's site, be sure and check out her other timely post, All Hands on Deck. Doug Phillips also has highlighted a U.S.A. Today article by a columnist who is asking the same questions many Christians who are endorsing Palin should be asking. Much to pray about right now.

We'd appreciate your prayers for Jesse who is the final casualty of the nasty virus that put Anna in the hospital two weeks ago. Sorry this is so short, but it will be a crazy day. More later...

Truth, War and the Church

2008-09-11T10:33:00.000-07:00

From the introduction to The Truth War by John MacArthur:

"The Church of Christ is continually represented under the figure of an army; yet its Captain is the Prince of Peace; its object is the establishment of peace, and its soldiers are men of a peaceful disposition. The spirit of war is at the extremely opposite point to the spirit of the gospel.

Yet nevertheless, the church on earth has, and until the second advent must be, the church militant, the church armed, the church warring, the church conquering. And how is this?

It is in the very order of things that so it must be. Truth could not be truth in this world if it were not a warring thing, and we should at once suspect that it were not true if error were friends with it. The spotless purity of truth must always be at war with the blackness of heresy and lies."

--C.H. Spurgeon

The Conflict

2008-09-09T07:51:00.000-07:00

This poem is by John Mason and is from the excellent book Worthy is the Lamb: Puritan Poetry in Honor of the Savior. Poetry from books like this and The Valley of Vision that contain works by the likes of Bunyan, Watts and Spurgeon always minister to my heart. Enjoy.

The Conflict

Oh, what a war is in my soul, which fain would be devout!
I am most weary with the fight, but may not yet give out.
The flesh and spirit both contend for this weak soul of mine,
That oft I know not what to do; but, Lord, I would be thine.

I would believe, but unbelief prevails the other way;
And I have constant cause of grief, a longer night than day.
I cry to God; those cries declare whose part my soul does take;
Accept my poor desires while I do this resistance make.

My evidence should be clear; but, ah, the blots of sin
Turn cheering hope to saddening fear and make black doubts within.
The laws of sin and grace will jar both dwelling in one room,
The saints expect perpetual war till ye are sent for home.

Although these combats make you fear they should not cast you down;
God will give grace to hold out here, and glory for its crown.

Women Sigh for Fame...

2008-09-02T08:13:00.001-07:00

Here is an excerpt from the book The Home Beautiful by J.R. Miller. I have his biography by John T. Faris on my list of books I'd like to purchase and read in the near future. He is one of my favorite authors, right up there with Spurgeon and Ryle, and beautifully states better than I could my thoughts on motherhood; especially in light of recent already high-profile women aspiring to greater fame and power at the sacrifice of family. May God give us wisdom.

"Women sigh for fame. They would be sculptors and chisel out of the cold stone forms of beauty to fill the world with admiration of their skill. Or they would be poets, to write songs to thrill a nation and to be sung around the world. But is any work in marble so great as hers who has an immortal life laid in her hands to shape for its destiny? Is the writing of any poem so noble a work as the training of the powers of a human soul into harmony? Yet there are women who regard the duties and cares of motherhood as too obscure and commonplace tasks for their hands. So when a baby comes, a nurse is hired who for a weekly compensation agrees to take charge of the little one that the mother may be free from such drudgery to devote herself to the nobler and worthier things she finds to do. O that God would give every mother a vision of the glory and splendor of the work that is given to her when a babe is placed in her bosom to be nursed and trained! Could she have but one glimpse into the future of that life as it reaches on into eternity; could she look into its soul to see its possibilities; could she be made to understand her own personal responsibility for the training of this child, for the development of its life, and for its destiny, she would see that in all God's world there is no other work so noble and so worthy of her best powers, and she would commit to no other hands the sacred and holy trust given her."

"But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine; that the older men be sober, reverent, temperate, sound in faith, in love, in patience; the older women likewise, that they be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things--that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." Titus 2:1-5

Carolyn Mahaney, in her wonderful book Feminine Appeal, shares why it is for the sake of the gospel that we obey the Lord's admonition in Titus:

"The commands found in Titus 2 have been given to us for an all-important reason that transcends time and culture. That reason is the gospel of Jesus Christ. These virtues are not about our personal fulfillment or individual preference. They are required for the sake of unbelievers--so that those who are lost might come to know our Savior....

Our conduct has a direct influence on how people think about the gospel. The world doesn't judge us by our theology; the world judges us by our behavior. People don't necessarily want to know what we believe about the Bible. They want to see if what we believe makes a difference in our lives. Our actions either bring honor to God or misrepresent His truth."

Amen. May we never misrepresent His truth to a watching world desperately in need of the saving and transforming power of the Gospel. To Him be the Glory.

Weekend Fun...

2008-09-01T06:47:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend at the hospital with our little Beth, who became dehydrated very, very quickly after contracting a nasty virus that began showing itself Friday morning. It was a pretty traumatic time for her, as it took five tries to get her IV started, she had to have a catheter, blood draws, and a ride in the ambulance for a transfer, as the hospital we chose to go to did not have a pediatrics department. (I really did not think we would be admitted, but her bloodwork came back showing she was in pretty bad shape...) Mom was a little traumatized when the doctor came to apologize that they had accidentally given Beth an adult dose of Tylenol...though they assured me it wouldn't hurt her, I was definitely concerned. Her fever only came down two-tenths of a degree even with that large dose!

Fortunately, throughout the very long day, Beth completely wore herself out crying and battling whenever some new person came in to take vital signs, so she slept soundly all Saturday night without a peep! We are home as of last night around 8 p.m., and will be taking Labor Day (at least) to rest and recooperate. I have a feeling after everything she went through this weekend that Beth will want to be held a lot the next few days.

Randy and the boys played music at Simpson University Saturday evening as we had already committed to do so, and we were blessed that the Pastor of our wonderful church, who is an excellent bass player, graciously agreed to step in and play bass with them for the evening. Thank you, Pastor Gene! We are also being blessed with meals last night and this evening from dear friends; what a joy and a help is the body of Christ to pray and bear our burdens as well as providing physical needs in times of stress.

Randy's mom continues to make slow progress from her stroke; thank you for your prayers as we continue to help as we are able.

I offer a little holiday poetry in honor of Labor Day. This poem is from an old copy of a book I really enjoy using in our home entitled Highdays and Holidays by Florence Adams and Elizabeth McCarrick. It is a book of poetry that is compiled and sorted by holidays, making it very easy to use. Most holidays (and it even has a few obscure ones included, like Arbor Day, Bird Day and May Day) will find it sitting on our dinner table where we read a few poems before Family Worship. Enjoy.

A Song of Work

Work while the sun climbeth high in the heaven,
Work in the noon-day's dust and heat,
Work till the evening its blessing hath given,
Work while the moon keeps vigil sweet.
Work while the verdant grasses are springing,
Work in the summer's radiant glow,
Work in the autumn with gladness and singing,
Work in the time of frost and snow.

Labor is noble and rich is its guerdon,
Sweet after toil comes peaceful rest.
Take on thy shoulders, rejoicing, the burden,
Pleasure is good, but work is best.
Great is our Lord, of labor the master;
Follow the path His feet have trod.
Strive, with the joy of all honest endeavor;
Then at the last, find rest with God.

Mary Blake

I hope to post some pictures of family happenings and recent times of music in this next week, Lord willing. Some of you may have noticed that my plan to do a monthly e-newsletter has not come to fruition. It may turn into a hopefully-quarterly newsletter if I'm able. :o) Caring for my home and family does have to take precedence to blogging and newsletters, and life has been very full the past few months. God is graciously giving us the strength to accomplish all that He intends for us to do right now. He is good.

It's Been a While...

2008-08-27T07:43:00.001-07:00

Things have been in a whirlwind around our home. Since my last post, Randy's mom had a stroke and we have been spending a lot of time on the phone and made our first of probably many trips to Sacramento to help out with his parent's care. She is making small steps of progress each day, but it seems that the road to recovery will probably take several months. The area of her brain where the stroke occurred has affected her balance and equilibrium, and though her mental capacities are 100%, her inability to get out of bed means that she will be unable to return home for care until she can stand and walk a little on her own. The doctors are also monitoring her heart, oxygenation, and blood sugar. She is in a lot of pain due to bursitis developing in her hips, so the pain medication she is on is counter-productive to her healing process as it keeps her sleepy and not wanting to get out of bed and progress in her ability to walk. We would appreciate your prayers during this very busy and overwhelming time while we help from afar during the week and make trips down on weekends as much as we are able. So if you have e-mailed me in the past few weeks and have not yet received a response, please be patient as we are in the middle of a very hectic time and are having to put a lot of things on the back burner out of necessity. Thanks for understanding!

In the middle of a lot of stress, we did have some terrific news yesterday. Two of the pieces of court paperwork needed to finalize our 'Beth's' adoption came in months earlier than anticipated, and we are on track to finalize her adoption in October or early November! We are very, very excited about this. We are also waiting to receive another adoption placement any time, and are praying for the Lord's perfect timing and for Him to place the exact child with us that He would have be a part of our family.

I have a million things to do so I must run, but I do have a small quote on the topic I've been sharing about the last few weeks. In my last two posts, both authors addressed whether or not children are capable of understanding the truths of Scripture at an early age. Charles Spurgeon, one of my favorite authors as you know if you've read my blog for very long, had this to say:

"We have heard it said by some that children cannot understand the great mysteries of religion...I do hold that there is no doctrine of the Word of God which a child, if he be capable of salvation, is not capable of receiving. I would have children taught all the great doctrines of truth without a solitary exception, that they may in their after days hold fast by them. I can bear witness that children can understand the Scriptures, for I am sure that when but a child I could have discussed many a knotty point of controversial theology, having heard both sides of the question freely stated among my father's circle of friends. In fact, children are capable of understanding some things in early life, which we hardly understand afterward."

--taken from the sermon Teaching Children in Volume 2 of Spurgeon's Sermons.

I highly recommend reading the entire sermon and considering adding a copy of Spurgeon's Sermons to your family library.

His autobiography is also very interesting and worth reading or listening to. It would be one of my top 'must reads' for Christian families interested in the history of great men of the faith and the history of the church. Have a wonderful week!

J.C. Ryle's Perspective

2008-08-16T17:16:00.000-07:00

"See to it too, if it can be arranged, that your children go with you to church, and sit near you when they are there. To go to church is one thing, but to behave well at church is quite another. And believe me, there is no security for good behaviour like that of having them under your own eye. The minds of young people are easily drawn aside, and their attention lost, and every possisble means should be used to counteract this....Neither do I like to see what I call "a young people's corner" in a church. They often catch habits of inattention and irreverance there, which it takes years to unlearn, if ever they are unlearned at all. What I like to see is a whole family sitting together, old and young, side by side,--men, women and children, serving God according to their households.

But there are some who say that it is useless to urge children to attend [the worship service], because they cannot understand [the sermon]. I would not have you listen to such reasoning."

--J.C. Ryle in The Duties of Parents.

J.C. Ryle was a gifted author and spent much of his time focusing on family issues. I have stated many times before that he is one of my favorite authors. Dennis Gundersen of Grace and Truth Books says, "An author with an ability to take profound and rich theological truths and reduce them to plain, easily understood family readings." I heartily concur. I highly recommend his excellent Thoughts for Young Men, Expository Thoughts on the Gospel (written for help with family worship) and Home Truths.

Elisabeth Elliot on Children in Church

2008-08-05T14:59:00.000-07:00

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing some quotes about children (of all ages) and church. In the passage I chose for today, respected author and gospel-loving saint Elisabeth Elliot shares a little bit of how she grew up, and whether or not it is reasonable to expect that a child can sit still through a worship service. This excerpt is from the excellent book, The Shaping of a Christian Family.

"In church the whole family sat together in one pew. My father felt strongly about this. We were a family. We were meant to stand and sit and kneel before the Lord together, and, all objections notwithstanding (we raised many), I believe he was right. When Moses went before Pharaoh with God's message to let His people go so that they might serve the Lord their God, Pharaoh asked which ones would go. "We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds we will go; for we must hold a feast unto thee Lord" (Exodus 10:9). Later, when Joshua read to the congregation what Moses had commanded, everybody was there, "the women, and the little ones, and the strangers that were conversant among them" (Joshua 8:35). We read of Cornelius that he was "a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house" (Acts 10:2).

Sitting still was a point of doctrine. Judging by the ceaseless wriggling, twisting, getting up and down, and traipsing out to the restroom that one sees in churches today I gather that most parents assume it is impossible for little children to learn to sit still, even for an hour, and therefore cruel to expect it. To this I say rubbish! In the first place, I know it's possible--we learned it, and I know some children today who learn it. (Let no one suggest that the Howard children did it because they were phlegmatic types--every one of us has struggled to control our hereditary bundles of nerves!) In the second place, I believe it's wrong not to expect it, for in addition to being a fundamental lesson in a child's submission to the will of his parents, it is also the best place to begin to train mastery of the body. To control movement in obedience to parents enables a child to control movement later in obedience to his own will.

My father understood that he was in charge--head of the house, priest under God, charged with the solemn responsibility of his children's spiritual health for which he would one day have to answer. He could not force us to absorb the message, but he could put us in a position to hear it, never mind whether we understood it or not--how much did the disciples grasp of what their Lord taught? We would have liked to sit with friends, but it was wise that we were rarely allowed to do so, for we would have been even more irreverent and inattentive if not under our parents' eyes.

We who could read were expected to follow the service in the hymnbook, the prayer book (in the church where there was one), and the Bible, and there was plenty of sibling rivalry in finding the place. A certain amount of diversion for the youngest was permitted--he could sit on the kneeling bench and use the pew for a desk on which to draw pictures during the forty-minute sermons."

(For a few other ideas on helping children learn to sit and pay attention during the worship service, see the article in the June issue of New Horizons, the magazine of the OPC denomination, called Let the Children Come... Quietly.)

Bless the Lord, O my soul...

2008-08-03T11:17:00.000-07:00

I am home from church this morning because two of our children are ill. Fortunately, before they were awake and we knew they were too ill to attend church, I had already begun food for the church's monthly fellowship meal. This is a real blessing, because now we already have a nice Sunday dinner prepared that we will eat together after Randy and Cody arrive home. Except for the one whose food won't stay down. :o( (My guys decided to come home right after church to help me care for the sick ones rather than stay for the potluck without us.) Potato chowder topped with bacon and chives, homemade cornbread and brownies from scratch will be a nice treat to share together. Especially after more than one night of scrambled eggs and toast this past week.

While my two ill ones sleep, I am being ministered to by the Word and lovely music from this CD. It is straight Scripture beautifully orchestrated and performed by the SoundForth Singers. Now lest you think that this post is a bit too cheery and taking-it-all-in-stride, know that this has been a very difficult week. One of my friends recently commented that our blog makes it appear as though our lives are perfect (hi friend! ;o) ). I hope we never comes across that way; sometimes I fail to share because I don't want to constantly complain about our difficulties, but rather, learn to bear them patiently as part of life with a joyful heart. I often fail at this. The past nearly two years has been riddled with many ups and downs. It would take a month of very long posts just to bring you up to speed and give you a little glimpse.

As I was walking up and down our hallway last night until 2am with an ill, over-tired and distraught two year-old for the umpteenth night in a row, I must admit that I was not singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. There are times when I am able to do so, and to be thankful and patient in the midst of constant trials, but this week hasn't been one of those times. After a month of smoke-filled skies, chronic family illnesses and sleepless nights, I was spent. Please pray for my continued sanctification through caring for our extremely sensitive, often ill little girl! ;o) My husband stepped in, took over and gave just the right kind of help when it was needed, and after she and I both slept for several hours, today looked a little brighter.

I am also thankful for the body of Christ who so ministered to me yesterday morning in what seemed at the time to be a major crisis. I'm going to call our little girl 'Beth' on our blog because she reminds me of Beth in Little Women, with her constant health struggles and gentle spirit, and since our adoption is not final, for her protection. We are not sure what our Beth is struggling with besides an ear infection that is clearing up and 2-year molars coming through, but I had a very difficult (that's an understatement) few hours with her yesterday morning after a sleepless night. Thankfully, Randy called from backpacking in time to hear her screaming and he and the boys packed up and came home as quickly as they could. After I dialed one of my friends to ask for prayer and wisdom to know whether to go to the hospital or what to do (with an out-of-control screaming, writhing 2 year-old apparently in pain in the background), two other friends buzzed through on call waiting in succession, having no idea that anything was even wrong. I was amazed that within about 5-10 minutes of the calls that prompted prayer and concern from sweet friends, she calmed down after about two hours of non-stop screaming. Had I been physically able to get her into the car, I probably would've taken her to the ER. Two of those friends showed up shortly afterward to help me. They arrived to an unshowered, teary and exhausted me in the midst of a disaster of a house which under normal circumstances I would have not allowed them to enter (well, I wouldn't have allowed it to get that bad...it was quite a lesson in humility and weakness), and they didn't care. One stayed with her daughter, playing with a calmer Beth and allowing me to take a shower and get some coffee, until Randy and the boys arrived home to the rescue. They played with Beth, went to the store, cleaned up the house and let me rest.

We are guessing that possibly Beth was having a reaction to the antibiotic she was on for her ear infection. This happened one other time, and very shortly after a very similar reaction, she broke out in hives from head-to-toe. I stopped the antibiotic, not giving her last night's dose, and this morning she is seeming like herself. She even 'asked' to go back to bed at 10am. (She had only slept about 5 hours, so I know she was still tired!) That is a complete change from the past few days since she began the antibiotic. Now we will just pray that the ear infection will continue to heal with only half the doses of antibiotics in her system.

Well, after sharing a book's worth, I am going to go clean up the dishes I used cooking up all that food this morning while Beth and Jesse are still sleeping.

Here is the portion of Scripture that spoke to my heart. I must say that I am so, so thankful that the Lord knows I am but dust, and that He is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. I pray that the Lord would make me slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness with the wonderful family He has blessed me with. Have a restful Lord's day.

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases;
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness
and compassion;
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
The Lord performs righteous deeds
And judgments for all who are oppressed.
He made known His ways to Moses,
His acts to the sons of Israel.
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward
those who fear Him.
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him.
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer.
But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting
to everlasting on those who fear Him,
And His righteousness to children's children,
To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.
The Lord has established His throne in the heavens,
And His sovereignty rules over all.
Bless the Lord, you His angels,
Mighty in strength, who perform His word.
Obeying the voice of His word!
Bless the Lord, all you His hosts,
You who serve Him, doing His will.
Bless the Lord, all you works of His,
In all places of His dominion;
Bless the Lord, O my soul!

Spiritual Food...

2008-07-30T13:37:00.001-07:00

Our sick little one is finally down for a much-needed nap, so I am checking in here to share some excellent food for thought before I take care of many undone tasks around our home. Enjoy, and I hope to have more to share when she is feeling well again.

"I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger." --John 6:35

How is Christ bread? We understand what the bodily needs are which common bread satisifies. What in the soul corresponds to these cravings? The most intense of the soul-cravings is for pardon. All men sin, but sin satisfies no one. Nor has the world any power to give peace to a troubled conscience. We cannot forgive ourselves, and no man can really forgive us. How is Christ bread to this hunger? He was the Lamb of God, taking away the sin of the world; and because he bore our sins he is able to forgive us. We remember how on earth the guilty crept to his feet when they saw him, and looking up into his face heard the word which gave them peace.

Another craving is for holiness. The world has no art by which human souls can be restored into moral beauty. Men can restore paintings, and buildings over which the fire has swept can be erected again into more than their original nobleless; but there is no human hand that can replace the glory of a ruined soul. Yet this craving Christ satisfies through the Holy Spirit, who enters the heart of every one who believes, and builds up anew the holy beauty which sin has destroyed.

Another of the soul's cravings is for life, spiritual life here and then everlasting life. Again, earth has no bread to meet the hunger. The searches for hope are among the most pitiable of this world's experiences. But those who receive Christ have eternal life. He has opened the doors clear through into the glory beyond. He said, "Whosoever liveth and believeth on me shall never die." He is the hope of glory to every one that receives him. Said a martyr as he was led to execution: "I have only two stiles to get over to reach my Father's house--one, the steps up the scaffold; the other, the ladder let down from heaven."

from Come Ye Apart by J.R. Miller

We Interrupt This Program...

2008-07-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

...to bring you a special message. The choking smoke, family illnesses and other circumstances beyond our control have continued to postpone the launch of our newsletter. (We do have some updates to our schedule and have more in the works, so you can check out the link in the sidebar.) I am really hoping to get to the newsletter this weekend, Lord willing. Thanks for understanding! In the meantime, enjoy this quote about prayer; and if you think about it, you could send up a few for us. :o)

"The Spirit has much to do with acceptable prayer, and His work in prayer is too much neglected. He enlightens the mind to see its wants, softens the heart to feel them, quickens our desires after suitable supplies, gives clear views of God's power, wisdom, and grace to relieve us, and stirs up that confidence in His truth which excludes all wavering. Prayer is, therefore, a wonderful thing. In every acceptable prayer the whole Trinity is concerned."
--John Angell James

Nevertheless We Must Run Aground

2008-07-20T15:31:00.001-07:00

I loved this thought from Elisabeth Elliot in Keep a Quiet Heart. Enjoy.

"Have you ever put heart and soul into something, prayed over it, worked at it with a good heart because you believed it to be what God wanted, and finally seen it "run aground"?

The story of Paul's voyage as a prisoner across the Adriatic Sea tells how an angel stood beside him and told him not to be afraid (in spite of winds of hurricane force), for God would spare his life and the lives of all with him on board ship. Paul cheered his guards and fellow passengers with that word, but added, "Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island" (Acts 27:36, NIV).

It would seem that the God who promises to spare all hands might have "done the job right," saved the ship as well, and spared them the ignominy of having to make it to land on the flotsam and jetsam that was left. The fact is He did not, nor does He always spare us.

Heaven is not here, it's There. If we were given all we wanted here, our hearts would settle for this world rather than the next. God is forever luring us up and away from this one, wooing us to Himself and His still invisible Kingdom, where we will certainly find what we so keenly long for.

"Running aground," then, is not the end of the world. But it helps to make the world a bit less appealing. It may even be God's answer to "Lead us not into temptation"--the temptation complacently to settle for visible things."

This scripture passage also ministered to my heart today. May He bless you with a wonderful day of rest.

"Because your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips." -Psalm 63:3-5

To Trust...

2008-07-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

This poem and the accompanying devotional thought were so heartening, I wanted to share them here. I have many friends who are going through struggles in their lives; this is an excellent reminder, for myself also, to continue to trust the Lord and persevere in the midst of the difficulties of life.

"It is easy to love Him when the blue is in the sky,
When the summer winds are blowing, and we smell the roses nigh;
There is little effort needed to obey His precious will
When it leads through flower-decked valley, or over sun-kissed hill.

It is when the rain is falling, or the mist hangs in the air,
When the road is dark and rugged, and the wind no longer fair,
When the rosy dawn has settled in a shadowland of gray,
That we find it hard to trust Him, and are slower to obey.

It is easy to trust Him when the singing birds have come,
And their canticles are echoed in our heart and in our home;
But 'tis when we miss the music, and the days are dull and drear,
That we need a faith triumphant over every doubt and fear.

And our blessed Lord will give it; what we lack He will supply;
Let us ask in faith believing--on His promises rely;
He will ever be our Leader, whether smooth or rough the way,
And will prove Himself sufficient for the needs of every day.

To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hairbreadth for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only lest faith should fail--such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed."

George MacDonald, from Streams in the Desert, July 15th.

I am a little behind in launching our newsletter; I had it completely typed up and ready to go two nights ago, when with one little touch of the wrong key, it was gone. I decided to go to bed rather than begin again. :o) I hope to finish it up in the next day or two and send it out. If you haven't signed up yet and would like to, or tried to sign up when the link was broken (I just realized that...), please e-mail us at thewintons@juno.com with 'newsletter' in the subject line.

We have many concerts coming up from now until the end of September. (See '2008 Schedule' in the sidebar.) We would appreciate your prayers for the Lord to do as He sees fit at each and every performance as well as continued strength for all of us in the midst of smoky skies and extreme temperatures. The air quality and heat have been difficult on Randy and the boys as they work outdoors, and nearly all of us have been fighting miserable summer chest colds. Thank you!

Samuel Rutherford on Affliction

2008-07-15T07:04:00.000-07:00

"Not one ounce, not one grain-weight more is laid on me than He hath enabled me to bear...Faith hath cause to take courage from our very afflictions; the devil is but a whetstone to sharpen the faith and patience of the saint. I know He but heweth and polisheth stones for the new Jerusalem."

"His cross is the sweetest burden that ever I bear: it is such a burden as wings are to a bird, or sails to a ship, to carry me forward to my harbour."

"Ye have God's promise, that ye shall have His presence in fire, water, and in seven tribulations."

"Be content to wade through the waters betwixt you and glory with Him, holding His hand fast; for He knoweth all the fords. Howbeit ye may be ducked, yet ye cannot drown, being in His company. Be not afraid, therefore, when ye come even to the black and swelling river of death to put in your foot and wade after Him; the current, how strongsoever, cannot carry you down; the Son of God, His death and resurrection, are stepping-stones and a stay to you; set down your feet by faith upon these stones and go through as on dry land; if ye knew what He is preparing for you, ye would be too glad."

from Samuel Rutherford's The Loveliness of Christ

Proper Estimation of the World and Its Culture...

2008-07-12T19:29:00.000-07:00

"...Let children be taught that God sent them into the world to do their duty, to fill up their life with usefulness, and thus to honor His great name. If this generous principle takes its seat in their hearts, they will enjoy greater real happiness than if they sit in the thrones of princes or become possessors of untold millions.

If parents know their children's hearts--and especially if they know their own--they will tremble for them at the prospect of career advancement. The wisdom that comes from above will lead them often to say to their child, as God did to the Prophet, "Do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not." (Jeremiah 45:5)

Let children be taught that God sent them into the world for the sole purpose of obeying Him, and bringing honor to His great name. If this principle rests in their hearts, and becomes a controlling influence on their lives, they will find contentment and satisfaction in the work God has given them. (Colossians 3:23)."

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 1:25 that people make an exchange. We exchange the worship of God for the worship of idols. These idols are not always statuary; they are idols of the heart. Common heart idols are love of possessions, pride and performance, power and influence, pleasure and sensuality. We make an exchange and worship and serve these things in the place of God. Sometimes Christian parents lose their perspective and inadvertently feed the idols rather than help children see that life is found in knowing and loving God. The antidote? Drink deeply from God's river of delights, feast on the abundance of His house (Psalm 36:8), and hold these joys up to your children.

Excerpt from Hints for Parents by Gardiner Spring; commentary by Tedd Tripp.

Church and Home Bible Teaching

2008-07-12T00:30:00.000-07:00

A sweet friend sent me this article and I thought it worth posting.

Intentional Parenting..Church and Home Bible Teaching.

Spurgeon's Morning by Morning, July 11th

2008-07-11T06:43:00.001-07:00

"After that ye have suffered awhile, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you."
--1 Peter 5:10

"You have seen the arch of heaven as it spans the plain: glorious are its colours, and rare its hues. It is beautiful, but, alas, it passes away, and lo, it is not. The fair colours give way to the fleecy clouds, and the sky is no longer brilliant with the tints of heaven. It is not established. How can it be? A glorious show made up of transitory sun-beams and passing rain-drops, how can it abide? The graces of the Christian character must not resemble the rainbow in its transitory beauty, but, on the contrary, must be stablished, settled, abiding. Seek, O believer, that every good thing you have may be an abiding thing. May your character not be a writing upon the sand, but an inscription upon the rock! May your faith be no "baseless fabric of a vision," but may it be builded of material able to endure that awful fire which shall consume the wood, hay, and stubble of the hypocrite. May you be rooted and grounded in love. May your convictions be deep, your love real, your desires earnest. May your whole life be so settled and established, that all the blasts of hell, and all the storms of earth shall never be able to remove you. But notice how this blessing of being "stablished in the faith" is gained. The apostle's words point us to suffering as the means employed—"After that ye have suffered awhile." It is of no use to hope that we shall be well rooted if no rough winds pass over us. Those old gnarlings on the root of the oak tree, and those strange twistings of the branches, all tell of the many storms that have swept over it, and they are also indicators of the depth into which the roots have forced their way. So the Christian is made strong, and firmly rooted by all the trials and storms of life. Shrink not then from the tempestuous winds of trial, but take comfort, believing that by their rough discipline God is fulfilling this benediction to you."

Conflict and Struggles...

2008-06-29T15:24:00.000-07:00

Today's devotion in Streams in the Desert was excellent. You can read it online here. Look for June 29th with the opening verse, Numbers 13:33. Here are a few short portions to whet your appetite:

"It is when we are in the way of duty that we find giants. It was when Israel was going forward that the giants appeared. When they turned back into the wilderness they found none."

"There is a prevalent idea that the power of God in a human life should lift us above all trials and conflicts. The fact is, the power of God always brings a conflict and a struggle...."

"Hard places are the very school of faith and character, and if we are to rise over mere human strength and prove the power of life divine in these mortal bodies, it must be through a process of conflict that may well be called the birth travail of a new life."

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

2008-06-27T19:49:00.000-07:00

Plums growing on the tree.

Bean pushing up the dirt.

Tomatoes ripening on the vine.

Hydrangea blossoms in the shade.

Shasta daisies stretching toward the sun.

Strawberry bed.

Late planting of corn sprouting up quickly.

Green onions up in foreground, peppers and strawberries in background.

Garden gate surrounded by stone-lined lavender bed.

Randy created this flower arrangement in the antique wheelbarrow in our garden for me. Lace-top hydrangea and dwarf orange tree in the background.

The Lord God Planted a Garden

The Lord God planted a garden,
In the first white days of the world,
And He set there an angel warden
In a garment of light enfurled.

So near to the peace of Heaven,
That the hawk might nest with the wren,
For there in the cool of the even'
God walked with the first of men.

The kiss of the sun for pardon,
The song of the birds for mirth--
One is nearer God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.

--Dorothy Frances Gurney

Leave it to Spurgeon...

2008-06-26T14:57:00.000-07:00

I was reading through a sermon by Charles Spurgeon entitled, How a Man's Conduct Comes Home to Him, in this set last night, when I came across this quote. Can I say it again...I LOVE Spurgeon! Enjoy.

"And [the good man] is independent of the praise of others. The backslider keeps easy because the minister thinks well of him and Christian friends think well of him, but the genuine Christian who is living near to God thinks little of the verdict of men. What other people think of him is not his chief concern; he is sure that he is a child of God, he knows he can say, "Abba, Father," he glories that for him to live is Christ, and to die is gain, and therefore he does not need the approbation of others to buoy up his confidence. He runs alone, and does not need, like a weakly child, to be carried in arms. He knows whom he has believed, and his heart rests in Jesus; thus he is satisfied, not from other people and from their judgment, but "from himself."

**LATE-NIGHT NOTE...I finally got around to updating the sidebar!! Hooray! :o)

Things Worth Pondering...

2008-06-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

I think since I am lacking in time to write any new posts, I will give you a few links of articles I recently found that are worth reading and reflecting on:

"Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you is an idiot, and anyone going faster than you is a maniac?" --George Carlin

George Carlin may have been onto something when he made this statement. Even many Christians are guilty of using this type of illogic. Christian-ese for this quote might be: "Anybody living a life that appears more "holy" than mine is a legalist and anybody using their Christian liberty in ways that I find "unbiblical" is a wretch." Read more...
Maniacs, Pharisees, and The Rest of Us

I have been greatly disturbed to see Christian women buying into the immodest clothing trends, especially the very deep, revealing necklines; it especially saddens me when I see this more and more on Sunday mornings. This series of posts addresses these trends and responds by addressing the heart issue and giving cute clothing alternatives:

"If girls were really concerned about modesty they would go the extra mile to find modest apparel. The majority of young women (my note: and older women also, who should be setting an example for the younger women) today are ignorant of, or willfully ignore, the impact their clothing has on the hearts and minds of men. More importantly, modesty needs to be taught as a heart attitude that pleases the Lord. When we have humble hearts set to honor the Lord in our apparel, our clothing will follow no matter how hard it is to find." Read more...
The Sparrow's Nest: A Month of Modesty Posts

If you need more food for thought, visit the 'my delicious links' section at the lower left-hand column of the blog. Enjoy.

Jesse is Fourteen!

2008-06-23T00:02:00.001-07:00

Last weekend while we were enjoying the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley, we celebrated Jesse's fourteenth birthday. It has taken most of this past week to recover and catch up from our wonderful trip, but I didn't want to miss out on this opportunity to share a little more about Jesse in honor of his birthday.

Jesse ADORES his little sister and is very good with her, entertaining her with goofy games and reading her favorite books aloud. He recorded himself reading several of her favorite books onto a CD so that when he is busy with school and can't read to her, she can look through the books on her own while she listens. She LOVES it. He has a servant's heart and is a tremendous help in our family business and in the day-to-day workings of keeping our household running.

Jesse loves playing in our family band and saved diligently for a long time, purchasing a high-quality mandolin and Martin guitar in this past year. Because he generally sticks with those two instruments during our performances, most people don't realize that he plays the fiddle and piano quite well, too. His favorite school subjects are reading and writing; he also enjoys spending some of his spare time in these activities and has talked about writing books in the future.

This cast on his arm serves as testimony to the fact that he is a very active young man and loves to be outdoors, whether he is cycling, playing croquet or badminton with Cody, making some project out of wood or riding his scooter.

This picture was taken less than three years ago and shows how Jesse has grown in the past few years! He was the youngest person to complete this entire triathlon when he was eleven, swimming 800 yards, riding 10 miles on the bike and then running 3.5 miles. Unfortunately, he over-trained and has been struggling with knee problems since this event so has been unable to compete in any sporting events since then. The plus side is that this injury is partially responsible for all the time he has put in to music rather than sports!

Here are both Cody and Jesse with Doyle Lawson at the Father's Day Festival. One of the reasons Jesse enjoyed Doyle Lawson's concert so much is that Mr. Lawson's group focuses their music talent on sharing the gospel through music and singing songs that glorify the Lord and are family-friendly. Jesse loves the Lord Jesus Christ and desires to serve Him faithfully with whatever the Lord would have him do in the future. As with most young men, he has considered multiple options of life work as he has aged, but in the past year he has focused more and more on the possibility of becoming a paramedic while continuing to pursue playing music, his definite first love at this point in his life.

Happy birthday, Jesse! We are pleased and proud of how the Lord is working in you and love seeing the special gifts and talents He has developed in you. You are a gift to our family!

"The father of a righteous man has great joy; he who has a wise son delights in him."

--Proverbs 23:24

O Day of Rest and Gladness

2008-06-22T15:12:00.000-07:00

We sang this beautiful hymn this morning. I had never heard it before, and it truly ministered to my heart. You can listen to it here, at the OPC's Trinity Hymnal online. Have a blessed day of rest and gladness!

O day of rest and gladness,
O day of joy and light,
O balm of care and sadness,
Most beautiful, most bright;
On thee the high and lowly,
Through ages joined in tune,
Sing Holy, Holy, Holy,
To the great God Triune.

On thee, at the creation,
The light first had its birth;
On thee, for our salvation,
Christ rose from depths of earth;
On thee our Lord, victorious,
The Spirit sent from heav'n;
And thus on thee, most glorious,
A triple light was giv'n.

Thou art a port protected
From storms that round us rise;
A garden intersected
With streams of Paradise;
Thou art a cooling fountain
In life's dry, dreary sand;
From thee, like Pisgah's mountain,
We view the promised land.

Today on weary nations
The heav'nly manna falls;
To holy convocations
The silver trumpet calls,
Where gospel light is glowing
With pure and radiant beams,
And living water flowing
With soul-refreshing streams.

New graces ever gaining
From this our day of rest,
We reach the rest remaining
To spirits of the blest.
To Holy Ghost be praises,
To Father and to Son;
The church her voice upraises
To thee, blest Three in One.

'Church Growth' Programs Needed?

2008-06-18T14:28:00.000-07:00

"If all Christians simply began to function as the New Testament would have us do, there would be no problem of evangelism confronting the Church. The matter would deal with itself immediately. It is because we are failing as Christian people in our daily lives and deportment and witness that the Church counts for so little and that so few are attracted to God through our Lord Jesus Christ." --from Spiritual Depression by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Charles Spurgeon on Teaching Children

2008-06-17T23:58:00.001-07:00

"I do hold that there is no doctrine of the Word of God which a child, if he be capable of salvation, is not capable of receiving. I would have children taught all the great doctrines of truth without a solitary exception, that they may in their after day hold fast by them."
--Charles Spurgeon

I just love Spurgeon...one of my all-time favorite authors. His Morning and Evening devotionals are excellent.

I plan to post pictures this weekend from the Father's Day Festival in Grass Valley. The boys DID make the Kids on Bluegrass team, and after grueling hours of practice performed on stage (can you see them in the picture?) both Friday and Saturday night. A highlight of the weekend for them was meeting bluegrass great Doyle Lawson, who, by the way, was a very kind and amiable man who spent time talking with them and answering their music questions. Pics and more details to follow soon. :o)

Always on Duty

2008-06-11T06:55:00.000-07:00

We are in the final days of our cram-packed last six weeks of music performances, birthdays, holidays and graduation celebrations. Tonight we'll be heading to the foothills of Sacramento to spend some time with family and friends, celebrate the final two of our five birthdays along with Father's Day, and close up the week by attending the Father's Day Bluegrass Festival in Grass Valley. The tickets to attend were a very generous gift from my mom and step-dad. (Thank you!)

After we had decided to attend the festival and see many great bluegrass bands, we found out about a fun program for bluegrass musicians under 18 called Kids on Bluegrass. Tomorrow morning Randy and the boys will head out to the Nevada County Fairgrounds around 10am where the boys will try out to participate in the program. The program is defined on it's website as an "activity that provides children between the ages of 3 to 18, the opportunity to join together at festivals to learn the various aspects and techniques of becoming a band and then performing on stage in front of a live audience." Cody and Jesse are very excited to try and out and hopefully participate in this wonderful program.

I was hoping to have time this past week to post some pictures from the Alliance Women's Retreat at Simpson University where we played recently and to update our schedule and a few other things here, but alas, time is short and my to-do list is long. :o) Since I did post a few heady quotes recently, I thought I'd share something lighter but still worthwhile today. This is our prayer as we attend bluegrass festivals and have opportunity to play music at various places; we ask that you would pray this for our family as well.

Always on Duty

"A certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat." --Luke 11:37.

Our Lord was not ashamed to be the guest of publicans and sinners, but neither did he reject the invitations of the rich and influential. He was ready to go wherever there was opportunity of doing good, even to social feasts and large dinner-parties. Of course we are safe in following his example; but we must read on a little farther, and then we shall see that he always used these opportunities as occasions of doing good.

We may go to any place where we can do the part of a messenger of God to other souls. We are never to be off duty as Christians, and as Christians we must be always Christ's servants, ready to bear blessings from him to others. We are to be sure, before we accept an invitation to any place, that our Master has an errand for us there. Then when we go, we are to improve the occasion for doing good in some way to some who are there. Christ never went to any such places of amusement as offer their temptation to young people in these days; and yet this same principle applies to these. "Is it right for me to attend the theatre or the dancing-party?" Well, can you go there as a Christian? Can you confess Christ there? Can you talk of him to others? Can you ask his blessing on your going? Can you go as his messenger, sure that he sends you there? It is time we began to look at these matters very honestly and frankly. If we are Christians, we are to be Christians seven days in the week and everywhere.

Then we are to be Christians always on duty. A young clergyman who had been reproved by his bishop for certain unministerial conduct, sought to excuse himseslf by saying that he was not on duty at the time. The bishop replied, "A clergyman is never off duty." This is true of every Christian. Wherever we go we represent our Master.

--from Come Ye Apart: Daily Readings in the Life of Christ by J.R. Miller (1840-1912)

(A quick note...we are getting ready in the next few weeks to launch a monthly e-newsletter letting others know where we'll be playing in the future. If you would like to be added, send us an e-mail with the heading 'newsletter' to thewintons@juno.com )

Selling Soap and Jesus

2008-06-09T06:00:00.000-07:00

This quote is from All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes by Kenneth Myers. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in studying or understanding popular culture from a Biblical perspective. Here Mr. Myers is discussing the 'sounds like' phenomonon that is pervasive in so much contemporary Christian music today:

"What is disturbing is that Christian performers seem at times to achieve popularity because they sound like "secular" originals who are not quite kosher...It's disturbing because it seems as if the "good guys" are working very hard to measure up to the standards already set by the "bad guys." And the reason they professionally need to do this is because the potential audience demands it....

But is it really wrong? After all, there is nothing new about stealing useful cultural forms and artifacts to serve the interests of the gospel. John lifted the idea for his Logos Christology from contemporary philosophy, Paul quoted pagan poets, and Luther borrowed tunes from drinking songs for hymns. A vocalist named Dave Boyer established popularity a decade or two ago because he reminded his fans of Frank Sinatra or Jack Jones or another fifties-style crooner. If we were in a seminary class on missions, we might call this "sounds like" phenomonon an example of contextualization.

But the key word in this business is useful. How useful is it to borrow a cultural form if that form effectively cancels out the content you're using to communicate? There are many instances of some very dubious borrowings in the history of the church. As missionaries have taken the gospel to new cultures, it has always been tempting to recast the message of redemption in familiar forms. But some of those forms have been inappropriate as vehicles of holy truth, either because they introduced fatal distortion or misunderstanding, or because they were so intertwined with ungodly practices that their affiliation with the gospel seemed to sanction the very behavior the gospel should have challenged....

What's wrong with this picture? Obviously (or maybe not so obviously...) the "of the world, but not in the world" strategy is not an adequate way of dealing with popular culture. The thin Christian veneer in such projects very quickly wears away, and what is underneath determines the response of consumers of such products. Such a strategy is a sad reminder that most of the Christian criticism of popular culture has focused on content [my note: it is questionable whether there is much Christian criticism these days even of content from many people claiming to know Christ] while ignoring form....the Church still behaves as if the forms of culture, especially the forms of mass media and the role they play in our lives, are value-neutral."

Like an Eagle

2008-06-05T00:24:00.000-07:00

"It need not be said that to carry out conviction into action is a costly sacrifice. It may make necessary renunciations and separations which leave one to feel a strange sense both of deprivation and loneliness. But he who will fly as an eagle and goes into the higher levels where cloudless day abides and lives in the sunshine of God, must consent to live a comparatively lonely life. No bird is so solitary as the eagle. Eagles never fly in flocks: one, or at most two, and the two, mates, being ever seen at once. But the life that is lived unto God, however it forfeits human companionship, knows divine fellowship, and the child of God who like his Master undertakes to "do always the things that please Him," can like his Master say, "The Father hath not left me alone." "I am alone; yet not alone, for the Father is with me." Whosoever will promptly follow whatever light God gives, without regard to human opinion, custom, tradition, or approbation, will learn the deep meaning of these words: "Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord."

--from George Muller of Bristol by A.T. Pierson

Biblical Love

2008-06-03T15:44:00.000-07:00

I've been referring for about a month to a very excellent but long quote that I wanted to post but hadn't had time. I'm finally getting around to it. There is much to ponder in this excellent and thought-provoking quote:

"Take, for example, a cup embossed with the word "coffee." Somebody fills the coffee cup with tea. Now, if the taster knew nothing about either coffee or tea, they would naturally assume from the label that the liquid content was coffee, and then would judge coffee by a tea standard. So it is with judging the moral actions of God by a non-biblical measure. it's judging coffee by a tea standard. The label may read "love" but the content does not match the label. The whole idea of "love" originates with God and nowhere else. Love is a term that encapsulates His moral nature.

In the Scriptures, for instance, we learn that "God is love" (1 John 4:16). The sum and substance of His moral being is summed up in that word. The aspects of God's moral personality cannot be atomized or separated into discrete moral particles, as it were. On the contrary, like a diamond, the love of God features many moral facets, but each facet remains part of one solid rock. Every particular face is colored by and imbued with all the other components. When my two girls were young and still in our home, my paternal love also wore different faces. At one time it manifested itself in an affectionate hug, at another time in a word of encouragement, at another with a word of correction or a measure of discipline, etc. Likewise, the love of God is multi-faceted, a "many-splendored thing." The total package is the sum that adds up to "love."

The world can write "love" on the outside of the cup and pour in any meaning, but if we are going to debate whether or not certain actions depict a God of love, we must start with the common ground of God's self-disclosure.

Let me illustrate how far we can drift when we acquiesce to street definitions of biblical virtues. It is no wonder we confuse the treasure for trash when it comes to God's ways. At a funeral we sometimes will hear folk eulogize some departed friend or loved one as a "very loving person." By way of confirmation, they will often add, "I never heard Uncle Willie (or Aunt Susie) ever say a bad word about anybody!" Whereupon all the friends and family will nod or smile with affirmation, as if that were the cachet of a loving person. Certainly, as the Scriptures teach, idle gossip, malicious slander, and unjust criticism fall outside the moral will of a God of truth (an aspect of love).

Other than that, a person who never has a "bad thing" to say about anyone, is frankly not a lover, but a bit of a louse. For the love of God in us does not allow believers the luxury of keeping silent in the face of evil. Those really possessed of the love of God do not sit by and let the wicked have their way. They condemn it, as God does. A loving person does not put on social blinders and because of cowardice or selfish interests, say in effect, "I hear no evil, see no evil, fear no evil." The love of God has moral sensibilities and does not hesitate to take sides. The God of love abhors what is evil and loves only what is good. Love then cannot be sweetly neutral and comfortably mute in the battle between right and wrong. The refusal to offend may not be a sign of Christian charity at all but rather a badge of moral deformity."

--from Polishing God's Monuments by Jim Andrews

I have no idea who authored this poem, but it goes along well with this quote.

No Enemies You Say!

"He has no enemies, you say!
My friend, your boast is poor;
He who hath mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes. If he has none,
Small is the work that he has done.
He has bit no traitor on the hip,
He has cast no cup from tempted lip,
He has never turned the wrong to right,
He has been a coward in the fight."

A Child's Education...

2008-06-02T07:07:00.000-07:00

"Many Christian parents have made the fatal mistake of entrusting their children's education to those whose gifts were wholly intellectual and not spiritual, and who had misled the young pupils entrusted to their care into an irreligious or infidel life, or at best, a career of mere intellectualism and worldly ambition. In not a few instances all the influences of a pious home have been counteracted by the atmosphere of a school which, if not godless, has been without that fragrance of spiritual devoutness and consecration which is indispensable to the true training of impressible children during the plastic years when character is forming for eternity!"

--From George Muller of Bristol by A.T. Pierson

Cody is in LOVE!!!

2008-05-31T23:30:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's true. He's fallen head-over-heels...do you want to see her? Scroll down...

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Here she is! His long-awaited Gold-Tone banjo, just purchased last week.

Here's her back...a beautiful, deep mahagony.

After playing a beginner banjo since January 2007, this lovely gal has been a treat for the ears. The Lord also provided Cody with a wonderful break in price. Thank you to the kind family who approached us and sold us this great instrument!

Well now, you didn't think I meant a young LADY, did you? :o) Speaking of young men, young ladies and love, I heard an excellent program last Sunday on Family Life This Week (aired locally on KVIP, 98.1 FM) that we wholeheartedly agree with and so do our sons. None of the concepts were new to us, but it was great to hear other families share their experiences with preparing their sons and daughters for relationships with a purpose, the goal being Godly marriages. It was also a joy and a privelege to hear the married children speaking of the blessings of consulting and praying with their parents about their future spouses and waiting to date until the Lord brought that person into their lives. You can listen online here. An excellent, uplifting program that all Christian parents should listen to.

Now for a little music news. We were blessed beyond measure to share in Pastor John's farewell evening at Neighborhood Church of Redding on May 13th. It was an uplifting evening where many of those who have been touched by John and his family's ministry through the years were able to share how God had used him in their lives and the lives of others.

Randy shares a few words with Pastor John.

We played a traditional bluegrass number, "Hallelujah, I'm Ready to Go."

Another joy of the evening was seeing so many friends, near and far, who we have not crossed paths with in a long time. Catching up with everyone was wonderful.

I hope to have a few pictures to post here of our time sharing with the ladies at the Alliance District Women's Retreat this evening. It was a lot of fun, and we were blessed to have many familiar and well-loved faces in the crowd from Randy's seven years as a pastor at an Alliance (Christian and Missionary Alliance; some may be familiar with A.W. Tozer and A.B. Simpson who are familiar names from this denomination) church here in Redding.

As I've shared in the past month, we are still in the middle of a very busy time for our family. We are back to a more normal music schedule after a crazy May and have three birthdays and Mother's Day past now. In the next two weeks we'll have two more birthdays, Father's Day, and Jesse's 8th Grade Graduation party to celebrate. After that we're planning to travel to a few bluegrass festivals (as spectators) and enjoy the slower pace of summer life as a family. I hope to appear here a little more often during that time and share more uplifting quotes from books we are reading and give a little more detail about how our homeschool runs.

Have a blessed Lord's Day tomorrow!

Children...

2008-05-25T09:53:00.001-07:00

are a blessing from the Lord!

Here's something to consider for a Sunday:

Children in the Meeting of the Ephesian Church

Our favorite poet, Edgar Guest, thinks this about children. We agree...

"Tied Down" by Edgar Guest

"They tie you down," a woman said,
Whose cheeks should have been flaming red
With shame to speak of children so.
"When babies come you cannot go
In search of pleasure with your friends,
And all your happy wandering ends.
The things you like you cannot do,
For babies make a slave of you."

I looked and her and said: "'Tis true
That children make a slave of you,
And tie you down with many a knot,
But have you never thought to what
It is of happiness and pride
That little babies have you tied?
Do you not miss the greater joys
That come with little girls and boys?

"They tie you down to laughter rare,
To hours of smiles and hours of care,
To nights of watching and to fears;
Sometimes they tie you down to tears
And then repay you with a smile,
And make your trouble all worth while.

They tie you fast to chubby feet,
And cheeks of pink and kisses sweet."
"They fasten you with cords of love
To God divine, who reigns above.
They tie you, whereso'er you roam,
Unto the little place called home;

And over sea or railroad track
They tug at you to bring you back.
The happiest people in the town
Are those the babies have tied down."
"Oh, go your selfish way and free,
But hampered I would rather be,

Yes, rather than a kingly crown
I would be, what you term, tied down;
Tied down to dancing eyes and charms,
Held fast by chubby, dimpled arms,
The fettered slave of girl and boy,
And win from them earth's finest joy."

Happy 16th Birthday, Cody!

2008-05-24T05:40:00.000-07:00

I thought on Cody's birthday I would share a little more about him with those of you who don't know him well. Here he is with Jesse. They are very close and enjoy playing music and hanging out together.

He has a passion for sailing, has read two very thick primers and multiple other books on the subject, and is currently refurbishing the 13-foot sailboat he saved for and bought two years ago.

He is a very attentive and loving big brother to his little sister. She lights up whenever he is around and loves to get piggy-back rides and have him read to her.

One of his biggest passions is playing banjo. Right now he is in the market for a higher-quality instrument and is actively searching to find one. This will be an 'in-between' instrument...better than the beginner model he bought a year ago and has learned on, but one he can live with while he saves up for a high-quality Huber. That will take a while...it will be worth more than the little truck he will be driving soon. :o)

He also really enjoys playing the fiddle, listening to audiobooks and working in our garden, which was completely designed by him last year. He even designed and installed a very effective watering system. (It helps to work with your Dad designing irrigation systems for a few years...)

He plays piano well but it is not his favorite instrument. (Mom loves to hear it, though.) Math is his absolute favorite subject. He has also loved learning how to defend creationism through science, is logical and methodical by nature and loves order. Reading the Word in the morning is a vital part of his day, and if it doesn't happen early enough, he feels like he's starving. Speaking of starving, he uses that word often and can rarely get enough to eat. :o) He loves tomatoes, hates lettuce, and is just beginning to like chocolate after a childhood hatred of the stuff. (Where did THAT come from? Not me, I assure you!)

He believes at this point in time that the Lord is calling him to the ministry of preaching and properly dividing the Word of truth. He is also very interested in the War for Independence and in books by David McCullough. (We got him a new one, John Adams, for his birthday. He's in the middle of 1776 right now.) Cody is a tremendous help to us in our family business and in our home. He is full of spunk and life and keeps us laughing. He has an amazing memory, which is a wonderful help to me since mine is going!

Happy birthday, Cody. We love and appreciate who the Lord has made you, with all your unique gifts, talents and interests. You are a blessing to our family.

"A wise son makes a father glad..." Proverbs 10:1a (and a mother, too!) :o)

Please Pray...

2008-05-22T07:39:00.000-07:00

for the Steven Curtis Chapman family whose adopted daughter from China, Maria, was tragically killed in an accident yesterday. My heart and prayers go out to them.

Garden and Music News...

2008-05-15T14:40:00.000-07:00

Well, summer is here in Redding, CA! The temperatures are into the 100's now and the air conditioner is running almost continually! Despite the heat, the boys have been out working in our garden hoping to maximize it's production this season. They spent a long time this week doing a second planting, thinning out other growth and pruning plants.

Here are a few of our tomato plants that the boys are training up the trellises for maximum output. We use the 'Square Foot Garden' method outlined in the book of that name by Mel Bartholomew.
Last year we ordered starter plants from an organic seed company. Cody meticulously spent all last summer pinching off all the blossoms so that we would have a better harvest this year. It seems to be working...

Our first strawberry harvest! Very sweet and delicious!

I had to throw in a picture of my daisies...they're trying to overtake the lawn. :o)

Now for some music news...I snapped this picture during the opening ceremonies at the Shasta Art Faire and Old-Time Fiddle Jamboree on Saturday morning. Rayola Pratt organizes this wonderful event and is the one in gray near the front introducing the history re-enactors. We were so pleased to be asked to play there, had a wonderful time and met many nice people. The weather was perfect...it was just before this heat wave struck! I don't have any pictures of our time playing because it is a bit hard to snap photos when one is on stage, and there isn't always a familiar face to ask to take photos. We did have a lovely audience to play to, though, and were honored to also be asked to sing 'The Star Spangled Banner' and 'God Bless America' during the opening ceremonies along with our traditional bluegrass fare.

It was also a blessing to be included in the farewell evening for Pastor John Wiseman of Neighborhood Church of Redding, a long-time friend who Randy also had the privelege of co-laboring with during seven of John's sixteen years of faithful service on staff at Neighborhood. We wish their entire family well and will be praying for the Lord's leading and direction for their next step in ministry.

Tomorrow morning we'll be heading out very early to the Asphalt Cowboy's Pancake Breakfast, a long-time Redding Rodeo Week tradition. It is well-known as 'The Largest Outdoor Breakfast in the World!' The event runs from 5-10am Friday morning; we'll be there early eating our pancakes and then kicking off some bluegrass tunes around 7am. We'll play as long as our fingers and voices hold out, probably about an hour or hour-and-a-half. Randy and the boys had fun playing during the Asphalt Cowboy's Redding bank and business decoration judging on Tuesday. The Cowboys came into the main branch of North Valley Bank with guns-a-blazin' and kind of mussied up the joint a bit.

Well, I need to hit the road for now. I'll get back here when I can for another update and hopefully a quote. I have a great one, but it's long and I just haven't found the time yet! :o)

I'm Still Here...

2008-05-12T07:35:00.000-07:00

OK, it's been a very busy weekend and I'm still trying to recover. Jesse said I should change the post title to "I'm still here...but just barely." :o) I have 40 e-mails in my in-box, so please be patient as I try to find time to respond to everyone! I'm also hoping to have time to share about the Shasta Art Faire this weekend, it was so fun! But this morning we are off and running at the beginning of another cram-packed week. We would appreciate your prayer for sustained energy throughout this time and for the ability to accomplish all that needs to get done. Thank you!

Music Update

2008-05-09T10:39:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends!

It's been a busy week, filled with family, errands, homeschooling, busy work days for Randy (one aspect of our business is growing daily, praise the Lord!) and just the normal stuff life is made of.

Cowboy Sunday was such a blast! We so appreciate Grant Garland who organizes and facilitates this great event coming all the way up to Redding to hear us and then giving us a chance to play!
Thank you, Grant! I wish I had some pictures to post, but I forgot to get the digital camera out of the car and give it to a friend to take pics. If anyone else out there took some, could you e-mail them to me?

Just a couple of weeks ago I read for the first time about the single mic contest after receiving an e-mail about their participation from my e-mail friend Amy, fellow bass player and mom of the family bluegrass Triple L Band. I thought, wow, I wonder how that works!? Well, we had our first taste of using a single mic at Cowboy Sunday! It'll take some getting used to, but it was really fun! John of John Senior Sound, who is an experienced professional and just a great guy to work with, did an amazing job running sound at the event and was SO helpful in giving us advice for our first time using the single mic, and has been a huge help and resource for us this week as we decided to order one to arrive in time for our performance tomorrow at the Shasta Art Faire and Old-Time Fiddle Festival! We were also recently asked to perform during the Asphalt Cowboys annual pancake breakfast in Redding as part of the huge festivities during Redding's Rodeo Week. After feasting on pancakes we'll be playing from 7-8am near the Cascade Theatre.

Well, I have a really wonderful quote to share, but it is long and my time is short so I must sign off for now. I'm hoping to share some very exciting family news this weekend, Lord willing. Have a blessed weekend!

Foster Parent Dinner

2008-05-02T10:24:00.000-07:00

Just checking in here to let you know that our time playing at the Foster Parent 'Family to Family' Dinner on Tuesday night went really well. We played for about 45 minutes while the meal was being served and enjoyed seeing many familiar faces as well as meeting some new people. We were pleased to have a small part in honoring the sacrifices these families make to help care for and love children who are going through turmoil and difficulties in their own families. When I think of the dear people in our community and elsewhere (like my big-hearted friend in Kentucky, Laura) that I personally know who do foster and adoptive care, this verse comes to mind:

"Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and windows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:27

Foster families do more than visit orphans in their distress; they take them in, give them a cup of cold water in Jesus' name and love them for His sake. Thank you to the many friends I know who take in these children and love them for His glory and for the Gospel. I am priveleged to call you my friends.

Our busy music schedule continues; we will be playing at the Verboom Ranch in Orland this Sunday around noon for Cowboy Sunday. There is a BBQ tri-tip dinner being served for $5 per person; the event is open to the public. Richard Winters will be sharing a devotional message, and there will also be a gospel concert by Frank Ray and Cedar Hill. Their current CD release, Poverty Row, is currently #6 on the bluegrass album charts and features a duet with Vince Gill and their lead vocalist Lisa Ray. Next Saturday, May 10th, we'll be playing for about an hour-and-a-half during the opening ceremonies at the Shasta Art Faire and Old-Time Fiddle Jamboree in Old Shasta, beginning at 11am. Come out and support one of these great events and join in the fun; we'd love to see some familiar faces!

As I have opportunity, I'll stop in again and let you know how things are going. I'll leave you with an excellent quote to ponder that I read today:

"The widest thing in the universe is not space; it is the potential capacity of the human heart. Being made in the image of God, it is capable of almost unlimited extension in all directions. And one of the world's greatest tragedies is that we allow our hearts to shrink until there is room in them for little beside themselves." --A.W. Tozer

Christianity at Home...

2008-04-29T07:30:00.000-07:00

"Christianity begins in the home. If not there, it is nowhere. We may attend meetings, and sing hymns, and join devoutly in prayer. We may give money to the poor, and send missionaries and Bibles to the heathen. We may organize societies of every description for doing good. We may get up church fairs, and tea-parties and tableaux and picnics. We may, in short, devote all our time and all our means to doing good, and yet not be the true and earnest Christians we ought to be, after all.

If they cannot say of us in the family at home; "He, or she, is a Christian, we know it, we feel it,"...if home is not a better and happier place for our living in it, if there is not an influence going out from us, day by day, silently drawing those about us in the right direction, then it is time for us to stop where we are, and begin to examine our profession to the name of Christian.

Christianity. Christ-likeness. Is that ours? Are we possessed of that? Are we patient, kind, long-suffering, forbearing, seeking with all our hearts to do good, dreading with all our hearts to do evil? For if we are Christ's we shall be like Him; and the first fruits, and the best fruits, of our daily living will be in the better and happier lives of those who are about us day by day."

--John Angell James, author of Female Piety and other works, quoted in Golden Thoughts of Mother, Home and Heaven compiled by Gene Fedele.

Simplicity...

2008-04-27T07:23:00.000-07:00

"The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found among us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations and a world of nervous activity which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart." --A.W. Tozer in The Pursuit of God

Weekly Quote

2008-04-23T23:31:00.000-07:00

This quote is from the excellent book, Polishing God's Monuments: Pillars of Hope for Punishing Times by Jim Andrews. It is an excellent study in suffering and the Sovereignty of God, the most amazing I have ever read about next to the story of Job. The true story the author chronicles of the life and struggles of his critically ill daughter and her husband and their Godly, patient responses over twenty years is almost unbelievable. This quote appears on pages 94 & 95:

"Christian common sense should also remind us that divine revelation is always a far more reliable barometer of reality than our personal perceptions, distorted as they are by how we think a moral and upright God is obliged to behave in this situation or that. Friends, my advice is this: discount personal feelings--rest in the biblical facts. Don't always be awash in how things seem; anchor your faith on how divine revelation says they are. Never allow blind emotions to float you off into the open sea of doubt. With that adjustment, one can trust His goodness even when God may not seem to be good; one can trust His wisdom even when He may not seem to be wise; one can trust He is acting in character even when He may not seem to be measuring up to His own revealed profile; one can trust His power even when it seems He is weak; one can trust His faithfulness even when it seems He is not being faithful. Is that blind faith? No, not at all. It is humble faith. But doesn't that seem like gullibility? No, it is patience--with a biblical memory."

This is one of many books I am in the middle of right now, but I should finish it very soon as it is difficult to put down! I put it on my wish list at Paperback Swap and hope to get my own copy someday so I can highlight some of the excellent points I'm reading. This one was borrowed from a very kind friend and I plan to return it in excellent condition. :o)

Speaking of books, I began reading All God's Children and Blue Suede Shoes: Christians and Popular Culture by Kenneth A. Myers aloud to the boys this week as a supplement to the music study we are watching. (See the 'we're watching' section in the sidebar--it has been an excellent study, and after eyeing it for a long time but being put off by the $90 price tag, I recently picked up the VHS version at a used curriculum sale for $5!!). I read Blue Suede Shoes several years ago, but am already gleaning new insights from his observations after the introduction and first chapter. It is a book I would highly recommend all Christians read, especially your older students. I am enjoying reading it with the boys rather than just handing it to them to read because there are so many great things to discuss in there.

To round out our music study, we'll be reading the "Egotism in Work and Art" chapter from Richard Weaver's Ideas Have Consequences, as well as the music chapter in The Philosophy of the Christian Curriculum by R.J. Rushdoony. There are a few sections I might pull out of How Should We Then Live? by Francis Schaeffer to add as well depending on time. There are so many other books I'd like to get through by the end of this school year, but there is only so much time in each day.

One of our biggest homeschooling 'secrets' is audio. I am very fortunate that both of the boys are strong audio learners, so we take full advantage of that by listening to many sermons, bible studies and books on tape as supplements to our traditional academia after our regular school schedule has been completed each day, usually while we're working on household duties like laundry and dishes or meal preparation. Also, when each of the boys works their one day per week with Randy in our landscape business they spend a lot of time in the truck driving between jobs, so they listen to audio then, too. The three guys just finished listening to Pilgrim's Progress narrated by Max McLean from this great audio set and are moving on to some of the other CD's.

I've been asked many, many times over our years of homeschooling 'how' we homeschool, meaning what method we use. I would call it an eclectic mix of a Robinson Curriculum-style schedule and self-teaching approach with a whole-books, Charlotte Mason/Ambleside bent, mixed with a strong emphasis on Scripture and theology studies and balanced out with several 30-minute music practice slots daily. (disclaimer: I don't personally recommend all the books listed at Ambleside Online for my own students...please use wisdom and discretion for your own family's needs.) That description may not make a whole lot of sense to some of you, but I think I will save my elaboration for a later post.

Tomorrow night begins a very busy music schedule for us throughout May and June, with four birthdays, Mother's Day, Eight-Grade Graduation for Jesse and another important date for our family all happening in the span of about six weeks, so I may not be showing up here too often. As I can, I'll try and post some pictures when we play and give some updates. Please be praying for us as we share the Gospel in our music performances. The Lord has opened many doors for us these next two months to play Gospel music in some very public places where there will probably be a large population of unsaved people. We'd also appreciate prayer for sustained health and stamina throughout this time. Thank you!

Weekly Quote

2008-04-17T20:40:00.001-07:00

I am finally feeling much more normal today after battling with that nasty virus since Saturday night. One younger member of our family is still battling with it, so you could continue praying for full recovery and no more hits to other members of the family!

When we began our blog last September, it was with a desire to share with others what is going on with our music ministry, but it has also become a place for us to allow friends and family to keep up on our family happenings when we can't connect individually with everyone. So thanks for bearing with us through the nitty gritty news!

More than just a place to share snippets of family life in our home, though, we also desire that this blog be an encouragement to other families as they grow in the Lord and strive each day to live to the glory of God. In the busyness of life our posts have been a little top-heavy with family news, but I'm hoping to have the time to begin posting more encouragement and quotes. I'll begin by sharing my 'weekly quote' which has not been as 'weekly' as it should be lately. So to make up for the deficit I'll give you two. :o)

The following quotes are both in regards to family worship. The first is taken from the excellent book, A Church in the House, a printing of an actual sermon given by Matthew Henry in 1704. No, this book is not a plea for or a promotion of the house church movement, but rather an encouragement to families to help fathers develop spiritual life in their homes. Matthew Henry says,

"It is better to be without bread in your houses than without Bibles, for the words of God's mouth are and should be to you more than your necessary food. But what will it avail you to have Bibles in your houses, if you do not use them? To have the great things of God's law and gospel written to you, if you count them as a strange thing? You look daily into your shop-books, and perhaps converse much with the news books, and shall your Bibles be thrown by as an almanac out of date?"

The lifestyle lived by the Pent family, whose commitment to daily bible reading and ministering to the lost was of highest priority, is one to be emulated. Thirty minutes of bible reading as a family at each mealtime produced eight children who, most by age twenty, could recite the entire bible from memory simply because they had heard it so often read aloud; they had also read it 30-60 minutes quietly to themselves each day as required by their father while they lived in his home. Today they are all God-fearing adults, living lives sanctified to the Lord and teaching their own children to do the same. We read the inspiring story of Ten P's in a Pod aloud as a family and recently purchased the audio version as well.

This second quote is from the book, Family Driven Faith, by Voddie Baucham, and includes a passage that Mr. Baucham quotes from theologian and author Arthur W. Pink:

"I can remember a time when we did not worship together as a family. I thought my children would get all they needed from church. After all, that's why we hire children's workers, isn't it? Then I came to grips with the fact that family worship is an essential part of family life. Arthur Pink (1886-1952) put it better than I could when he wrote:

"It is not enough that we pray as private individuals in our closets; we are required to honor God in our families as well. At least twice each day, in the morning and in the evening the whole household should be gathered together to bow before the Lord, parents and children, master and servant, to confess their sins, to give thanks for God's mercies, to seek His help and blessing. Nothing must be allowed to interfere with this duty: all other domestic arrangements are to bend to it. The head of the house is the one to lead the devotions, but if he be absent, or seriously ill, or an unbeliever, then the wife would take his place. Under no circumstances should family worship be omitted. If we would enjoy the blessing of God upon our family, then let its members gather together daily for praise and prayer. "Them that honour Me I will honour" is His promise."

At first blush, Pink's admonition seems a bit extreme. However, after a closer examination of passages such as Deuteronomy 6:7 we see that Pink is not off base at all. Moses commands God's people to teach His commandments to their children "when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up." In other words, family worship is ultimately an all-day, everyday affair....

Why is it that Christian families think nothing of a [sports and activities] lifestyle that demands hours per week traipsing across town, blood, sweat, and tears from our children, and thousands of dollars each year from our bank accounts, but the idea of a twenty-minute daily commitment to family worship immediately strikes them as too much to ask? I fear that we have lost our way. Christianity has become so marginal in our culture that even those who claim allegiance to Christ have very little to show for it in terms of time and commitment."

Family worship is an important part of our family life, and though we have tried different things throughout the years, we generally return to a simple pattern of scripture reading, singing and prayer. We have succeeded and failed at times with consistency, but have been encouraged throughout the storms and trials of life as well as in the good times to continue trying to set a pattern and example for our children to follow with their future families. If you need some helpful resources to get jump-started, these are a few we have enjoyed. Some titles are devotionals we have worked through and some are about implementing family worship. May the Lord bless you as you endeavor to make His word a priority in your day and in the life of your family.

Rediscovering the Lost Treasure of Family Worship by Jerry Marcellino

Training Hearts, Teaching Minds by Starr Meade

The Family Worship Book by Terry L. Johnson

Thoughts for Young Men by J.C. Ryle

Ugh...

2008-04-13T14:36:00.000-07:00

I've been hit by a nasty stomach flu; we'd appreciate it if you'd pray that Randy and the boys don't come down with it. Everyone else seems to be recooping and mending from those minor pre-illness complaints. Thank you.

Weekly Quote and more...

2008-04-12T19:31:00.000-07:00

After a day of rest there is some improvement and I have high hopes that we won't all be down for days on end...it was a very busy week and I think we all got run down and overly-tired. Cody is my main concern as he is again suffering with a sore throat, swollen glands, is quite pale and very fatigued. It began late yesterday and has continued into today, but we're making him rest and lie low. That nasty mono virus just seems to keep cropping up, but I suppose it could be allergies or just a normal virus. We'd appreciate your prayers for him.

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that we had celebrated a 'Country Night' in our home, something we hadn't done in a while. We decided to tackle a country that would be a little easier in food preparation, (last time I spent all day cooking 'Swiss' food, but it wasn't that good...) so we chose Italy since we had never highlighted it before.

This is a picture of the old 50's children's book that I mentioned in my first post about our 'Country Nights'. (see link above)

Here's a little confession...I don't make lasagna very often, but when I do I used jarred spaghetti sauce by Newman's. Jesse decided he would make the lasagna and pulled out a recipe from my old red-checkered Better Homes and Garden cookbook. It was delicious! Now that I know he can make that, we'll never have the easy version again!

Here's a picture of our table. The little decoration on the right is a cloth 'world globe' with four dolls dressed in different country outfits. I bought it several years ago at a Pier 1 Imports specifically for table decoration on Country Nights and when we have something in our home having to do with foreign missions. (Notice the whole-wheat *French* bread...it was homemade, but a little out of our theme. It went well with our dinner, though. :o) )

Hello Friends...

2008-04-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

I have been very busy and unable to update for a while. We had a nice time celebrating Randy's 44th birthday yesterday, but today several of us are very fatigued and there is a nice variety of early signs of illness cropping up amongst us. Sore throat, swollen glands, congestion and low-grade fever....need I say more?

I hope to be able to have some time to sit down tomorrow and do a real update, but right now I'm going to take a nap. If you haven't had a chance to look at our 2008 schedule recently, pop over there. We have several new dates posted for the spring and summer, and we'd love to have some of our local friends come out to listen and say howdy at some of the public events. Have a blessed weekend!

State Competition in Oroville

2008-04-02T00:04:00.001-07:00

I promised to post some pictures from the State Fiddle & Picking Championships held in Oroville in mid-March and I'm finally getting around to doing so. We don't have any pictures of the actual competition because it was very dark in the theater and they didn't turn out well, but here are a few fun snapshots Randy took.

Here are the boys jammin' with some old-timers in-between competitions. One of the best parts of any of the competitions we have attended is the opportunity the boys have to sit in with other musicians and learn from them.

Paying close attention to the other guys...

Another jam session...

As I mentioned in a previous short post, Jesse did very well in the competition, taking 5th in picking on mandolin and 7th on fiddle. Though Cody played very well, he was a bit nervous and made a couple of mistakes that kept him from placing. Oh well, there's always next year! Really, though, the competitions are for fun and ARE a lot of fun. The boys have made several friends that live out of town and this is where they get to meet up and hang out together. They also made a few new friends at this competition...one young homeschooled fiddle player about their age hailing from Roseville joined them in jammin' at the local ice cream parlor that was offering a discount if you played a bluegrass number! The next competition we will be attending is in Weaverville in September, and our family band will be playing just before the awards ceremony. In the meantime, we'll be practicing up a storm and playing around town as opportunities arise. If you are new to bluegrass, two of our favorite bluegrass albums are Salt of the Earth and Tell Someone. Try it, you may like it!!

Snapshots of Family Life...

2008-03-29T21:19:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd just take a few minutes to post some pictures of how we spent part of our weekend. Randy was able to take this Friday off from work, something he rarely does. We spent most of Friday and Saturday catching up around the house and working in the yard and garden. We had wanted to practice a little music, but we'll have to get to that tomorrow. There is only so much time in each day, and the miscellaneous catch-up work around the house was severely over-due.

Here is a picture of some our 'Square-Foot Garden' boxes, all ready for planting in about two weeks once the last predicted frost is past. (Note: We had an 'early planting' session at about 5p.m. tonight by default. Jesse was helping to move one of our starter seed boxes, and because it is awkward to carry things with his cast, it ended up all over the floor in the dining room about 30 minutes before friends were to arrive for dinner and fellowship. Oops! So, they're in the ground and we're hoping they won't freeze. I think most of them were colder-weather crops and should be fine. :o) ) The full box near the picket fence is all strawberry plants. Last year Cody pinched off all the blooms and let the plants grow strong and healthy. We hope to eat the fruit this year! The small tree in the pot is a dwarf-orange; there is another one just out of camera-shot.

A different view of the garden boxes. We'll be adding more trellises along the narrow boxes on the left-hand side for additional vertical growing space.

Here is a view looking at our garden area from middle of the back yard. We built the picket fence last year to separate the garden from the rest of the backyard and planted lavendar, foxgloves, daisies and sage inside a rock-lined border to add beauty, interest and color. It's difficult to see, but the daisies and lavendar are already blooming!

Here is the lavendar blooming in the front yard along the picket fence. I am waiting to see if last year's plantings of black-eyed Susan's and Shasta daisies are going to fill in, too.

The bottom of Cody's boat is now finished and he and Randy are preparing to paint the inside and add the name of the boat, the 'Osprey', to the side. The guys are looking forward to pleasant afternoons on Whiskeytown Lake this spring and summer.

And last but not least, here is Jesse in his cast. Last Wednesday marked a three-week countdown until its removal. Tonight he was able to play a little on his mandolin without any pain in the arm. Yes, the doc said it was O.K. :o)

I have a few more pictures to post, some from the State Fiddle & Picking Championships in Oroville and a few describing how we spent our Friday evening, celebrating a 'Country Night'. I hope to get to those early this week. Blessings, and have a wonderful Lord's Day tomorrow!

Weekly Quote

2008-03-27T15:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I have still not had a chance to take a picture of Jesse in his cast. You'll just have to imagine him in it...it's neon-blue with signatures of lots of friends for adornment. There isn't a whole lot of new news to report (thankfully!) other than the fact that Spring has sprung here in Northern California, though it is still a bit chilly off and on. Lots of flowers and plants are in bloom, and the longer days make it pleasant to take late-afternoon walks before dinner. We hope to do a bit of 'sprucing up' in the yard this weekend and work more on our garden.

This weekly quote is taken from the book, Come Ye Apart by J.R. Miller, also the author of the excellent book, Home-Making and other short family writings like Secrets of Happy Home Life, free online and also available soon in pamphlet form at Solid Ground Christian Books. I would someday like to read his biography, Jesus and I are Friends. I have mentioned before that I have a fondness for his books, and after enjoying his writings on home and family life I have recently discovered these daily readings in the Life of Christ very sound and thought-provoking. This section is taken from the March 19th reading entitled, "Trials Leading Us to Christ":

"We ought to remember always that when any trouble comes to us, whatever other purpose it may have it is certainly intended to send us anew to Christ. Perhaps we have drifted away from Him, or grown careless, or lost our first love. The trouble that touches us is the merciful hand of God laid on us to lead us back to our place of safety and blessedness at His side. A man was travelling and was hungry, but did not know where to go to find food. Then came up a sudden and violent storm, compelling him to seek shelter. Fleeing under a tree for refuge, he found not shelter only, but food, for the storm brought down fruits from the tree's branches for his hunger. Those whom trouble drives to Christ also find both shelter from the storm and food to meet their cravings."

He Lives!

2008-03-23T16:45:00.001-07:00

Peter and John Running to the Tomb

Eugene Burnand 1898

IF EASTER BE NOT TRUE

If Easter be not true,

Then all the lilies low must lie;

The Flanders poppies fade and die;

The spring must lose her fairest bloom

For Christ were still within the tomb--

If Easter be not true.

Then faith must mount on broken wing;

Then hope no more immortal spring;

Then hope must lose her mighty urge;

Life prove a phantom, death a dirge--

If Easter be not true.

'Twere foolishness the cross to bear;

He died in vain Who suffered there;

What matter though we laugh or cry,

Be good or evil, live or die,

If Easter be not true?

If Easter be not true--

But it is true, and Christ is risen!

And mortal spirit from its prison

Of sin and death with Him may rise!

Worth while the struggle, sure the prize,

Since Easter, aye, is true!

--Henry H. Barstow

"If we would live aright, it must be by the contemplation of His death." --Charles Spurgeon

Update

2008-03-21T10:02:00.000-07:00

I'm sorry I couldn't get back Tuesday night, it's just been crazy around here! I'll try to get back here sometime this weekend to add pictures and a new quote. We are looking forward to having family here for the Easter weekend so I only have a few minutes right now to let you know what's going on. Here's the quick update: Jesse's arm is in a cast for four weeks, then a few weeks of rest. He took 5th in picking on mandolin and 7th on fiddle at the State Competition in Oroville this past weekend. We are very proud of him and will be glad when he can get back to playing again. We had a nice time playing for the kind people at Valley Christian Fellowship on Tuesday evening, but will be postponing further music performances until Jesse is able to play with us again. It's just not the same with only three! Blessings, hope to be back here soon!

Stay Tuned...

2008-03-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

for news of Jesse's placements at the State Fiddle & Picking Championships this past weekend and a picture of his newest trophy...a cast on his left arm from a fall in the backyard yesterday. Ouch. It's been a busy week in the life of our family, hence the deficit of posts. I'll try to get back here later this evening...

Have you been fooled by feminism?

2008-03-11T10:49:00.000-07:00

"You don't need a master's degree to figure out what it means "to love your husband, love your children, and to work at home!" (Titus 2:4,5) How hard is that? By the way, there are no qualifiers there, no caveats, no footnotes--it is just what it says. "Go home, submit to your husband, have children, raise them in godliness, take care of your house." And that's what older women are to teach younger women--they are to teach it not only with their mouth; they are to teach it with their life...

I'm telling you what I said a few weeks ago is now becoming so vividly true. We are living in Romans one--aren't we? What's wrong with America? God let us go, and we are plunging down the path and the evidence of it is this reversal of sexual roles that Paul talked about in Romans 1:26."--Dr. John MacArthur

**Most Christian women don't realize that feminism has satanic roots. Read the entire sermon: A BIBLICAL RESPONSE TO THE FEMINIST AGENDA and visit LADIES AGAINST FEMINISM.

How To Add Years To Your Life

2008-03-10T06:40:00.000-07:00

No, it isn't some new herbal fad or health-conscious diet. The secret of how to add years of productivity to your life is found in the habit of faithfulness to meet with God each morning and rising early. The entirety of this March 2nd entry from Streams in the Desert can be read here. This observation of the lives of some very well-known Godly men through the ages was very interesting:

"The men who have done the most for God in this world have been early upon their knees.

Matthew Henry used to be in his study at four, and remain there till eight; then, after breakfast and family prayer, he used to be there again till noon; after dinner, he resumed his book or pen till four, and spent the rest of the day in visiting his friends.

Doddridge himself alludes to his "Family Expositor" as an example of the difference of rising between five and seven, which, in forty years, is nearly equivalent to ten years more of life.

Dr. Adam Clarke's "Commentary" was chiefly prepared very early in the morning.

Barnes' popular and useful "Commentary" has been also the fruit of "early morning hours."

Simeon's "Sketches" were chiefly worked out between four and eight."

In 2006, Carolyn Mahaney did a series about the seven habits of the highly effective woman. She and her daughters, who share tidbits of Godly wisdom for women on the Girl Talk blog, maintain that the number one habit of an effective, Godly woman is rising early. I know personally that there are seasons of life and periods of illness that make this almost an impossibility, but I have also seen that when I am able to consistently rise before my family, spend time in the Word and then begin my tasks for the day, I am able to accomplish so much more than at times when that isn't feasible. I also have a friend who is a night-owl, and I'm assuming the same principle would apply. By snatching hours that most people use for sleep and using them in productive pursuits, someone can impact others for the Lord and accomplish alone what seems like the work of ten people.

The famous Puritan poet Anne Bradstreet wrote her poetry in the wee hours of the morning, as noted in a biography about her life, Beyond Stateliest Marble, which, for the record, I am re-quoting from my friend's quote found here:

John Woodbridge noted that Anne’s poetry was written in hours snatched away from sleep. We may assume that her other literary pursuits, her studies which gave her grist for the mill, were conducted the same way. In other words, Anne was not reading and studying instead of caring for her family. She did not have her nose in a book when children needed to be fed and cared for.

Now this was a sacrifice she sought out and pursued. No one required this of her, and she had more than enough to do in her ordinary responsibilities. But apparently, the creative impulses in her were very strong and demanded an outlet. But there was no way to create this outlet without tremendous late-night sacrifices. The fruit of those sacrifices are still with us today.

May the Lord give you wisdom and direction as you attempt to fulfill the duties He has called you to throughout the day, and may we rise early to call on Him first before we go about those tasks.

"Be ready in the morning and come up...present thyself there to me in the top of the mount."
Exodus 34:2

"In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch." Psalm 5:3

VERY DISTURBING! Please tune in...

2008-03-07T00:42:00.000-08:00

Focus on the Family will be airing an important broadcast today, March 7th, in regards to this disturbing ruling of a California court of appeals declaring homeschooling unconstitutional. To find out where you can tune in, visit Focus on the Family here. Whether you homeschool or not or even agree with it, I urge you to stand up for the freedom of others to regulate their own children's educations.

I was up at 5am and listened to the early broadcast. The far-reaching consequences if this decision is not overturned are frightening, and it brought me to tears to think something like this could even come into being. Homeschooling parents would be guilty of breaking the law and could face criminal charges. Dr. Dobson and Home School Legal Defense are asking concerned citizens not only to pray fervently, but to take action toward having this ruling "depublished", meaning that the ruling would apply only to the case at hand rather than to all homeschoolers in California. Whether or not you homeschool or are a member of HSLDA, you can still sign the petition to ask the Supreme Court to depublish.

For more information, visit my friend Carmon's site. She has put together a more thorough post with additional resources and links. Please be praying and please sign the petition.

Miscellaneous Tidbits

2008-03-05T00:08:00.001-08:00

Cody and Randy worked on Cody's boat this weekend. They sanded it down and primered it with a first coat and will be working on it the next few Saturdays. He has been wanting to paint it ever since he bought it two years ago. He's an avid sailing enthusiast and has rigged and decked out (no pun intended) this boat and made it very sea-worthy. He's looking forward to many pleasant afternoons this spring and summer out on Whiskeytown Lake. We are blessed indeed to have such a beautiful lake within minutes from our home. Some of the other National Parks we enjoy in our area are Mt. Lassen and Mt. Shasta. The first we camp at and hike in, the second Randy and the boys ski at during the winter.

We had a very enjoyable weekend, spending Saturday resting while accomplishing a few things around the house that we had all been wanting to do. It was the first day in a long while that we all felt well. I was able to spend some time in the kitchen in the afternoon making some homemade bread and a few other things. Here's a picture of the Kitchen Aid kneading my dough while the Vita-Mix is hard at work doing something... Can anyone guess what's in all these containers waiting to go into the freezer? I took some other pictures to share, but I lost them somehow on the camera. I'm still learning all this techy-stuff. :o) One was of Jesse doing some recording. He created an arrangement of 'How Great Thou Art' on his mandolin and recorded it for his Grandma. I know she'll enjoy hearing it next time she's here visiting.

The other pics were of our garden and our seedlings. We started close to 250 plants about two weeks ago in peat-moss pot cell planters we bought at Lowe's. The guys mixed some organic potting soil with vermiculite to plant them in, and now they're stacked on a shoe rack (they fit on there perfectly, almost like it was made for them) and sitting near our dining room window where they can get indirect sunlight and stay warm since our weather seems to change between warm and cool days quite often lately. We had to take the lid off of the beans because some of the plants are nearly 8 inches tall already!

I guess the only other news I have to share on the home front is that Randy is getting sick again. We'd appreciate your prayers. I don't know if it's the flu or his sinus infection returning, but he felt poorly upon waking and continued to deteriorate throughout the day.

Something to be concerned about for homeschoolers here in California was this recent court decision. We will be watching this one closely. Even if you're not a homeschooler, it may still impact you eventually. My friend pointed out this poem as appropriate to this case. I think she's right. From wikipedia: " "First they came…" is a poem attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoller (1892–1984) about the inactivity of German intellectuals following the Nazi rise to power and the purging of their chosen targets, group after group." Much food for thought.

Here are some more specifics about the upcoming performance of the Anderson Family Bluegrass Band concert coming to Manton on March 17th if you are interested in attending.

Well, I don't have any other interesting quotes or news to share for now, but I do have several loads of laundry to fold and some dishes to do. It is the wee hours of the morning, so I'll sign off for now and go finish my tasks. Blessings.