God is Good...All the Time?

Scene 1: A happy-go-lucky Irishman sitting in his fields of ripe, golden wheat with a huge smile on his face.  The sun is shining brightly, the sky is blue with white, puffy clouds lazing around, and birds are chirping gaily.  It is the perfect day.  "God, You are just absolutely amazing!  This day is perfect, my fields are ready to be harvested, and I feel so happy to be alive!  Life is grand, and God, You are so good to me!  Yep, God is good."  He nods his head in affirmation of what he just said as he looks about his beautiful wheat once again.  "Yes, God is good, all the time!"

Scene 2:  The puffy white clouds have tuned black and menacing, while the sun no longer shines.  The wind begins to pick up dangerously as storm clouds threaten to unleash their fury.  The happy-go-lucky Irishman now has a furrow between his brow as he gazes up into the sky and then back at his wheat.  Harvesting was to begin tomorrow. Thunder roars, startling the Irishman.  He runs for cover as the clouds suddenly open up and let loose torrents of pouring, gushing rain.  He ducks into his barn, soaked to the skin.  Worry lines increase on his forehead.  What had happened to his perfect day?  Stark fear springs into his eyes as he hears an unwelcome sound.  He prays his ears deceive him.  But no, his eyes confirm it.  It was hail.  "No, oh no, my wheat.  God, why are You doing this?!  What happened to doing what is best for me?  Don't You understand, that wheat is my livelihood!  What will I feed my family with if I haven't any money?  God, You're supposed to be good all the time!  No, please no.  God, if You truly do what is best for me, stop this hail before it completely destroys my crop!  God?  God!"



Just what is a fair-weather friend?  Someone who is not steadfast; able to be relied upon only when things are going well, much like the Irishman in the story.  When everything was going according to his plan, he trusted and relied upon God.  Yes, God was good then.  But as soon as things didn't go according to the man's plan, he lashed out at God.

"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." -Romans 8:28

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When Dreams Come True

"Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, 

and obtaineth favor of the LORD." ~Proverbs 18:22

"To be a mother and homemaker and an environmental expert in designing a place for the particular blend of people which will be your family—to grow and develop—is an amazing possibility. To be at the same time a wife and a companion, an interesting, growing, changing, developing person in the eyes of the man you married—not for just two years nor twelve nor twenty nor thirty, but forty and fifty years—is an added portion of this career." ~Edith Schaeffer

Right now I'd say that my foremost wish (besides wanting to glorify God in all that I do) is to get married.  Yeah, that little-girl-dream all girls have.  Not because I want to escape the evil clutches of a tyrannical life at home, not because I want my woman's independence, not because I dislike being a daughter at home, but because I want to have a husband to have and to hold, to love and to cherish, to do his laundry, clean his house, make his meals, cook him scrumptious desserts, run to him and jump into his arms every day when he gets home from work, read a good book with him in bed, sneak chocolate and ice cream under the covers and giggle like secretive ten-year-olds, go walking in the park while holding hands and maybe even stop at the swing set, fall asleep on his shoulder under the stars on our front porch and have him carry me to bed, have him look deeply in my eyes and tell me how much he adores me as he whispers of my beauty (big imagination here), go on adventurous, romantic escapades, have our own candlelight dinners at home, give birth to his children, and on and on my simple list goes.

 

Okay.  I admit I have too many stars in my eyes.

 

Guess I forget to mention the countless times he will track muddy boots into the just-sparkling-clean house, the disagreements and arguments (hopefully those will be few and far in-between!), the time he will go to pick me up and drops me of all things (slow down on the chocolate, Rachel!), his grumpy mood after a long and tedious day at work, the nights he doesn't want to snuggle but goes right to sleep (bummer), the food I scorch, the times he is late coming home, my irritable moods, my impatience with the children when they are being too noisy in their play, the squalling baby who keeps me up every hour of the night, the day the washing and drying machine breaks down, the time I eat onions and he doesn't want to kiss me ("what's up with that, Honey?!"), the tears of frustration, the times when nothing in the house seems to stay clean,  and on and on this list can go.

 

It's a crazy world.  One moment we are living on the high of new love, and the next we are back to reality.  No worries.  That doesn't damper my desire to get married.  The good definitely far outweighs the bad.  Sometimes the cost is great, but the reward is just so much greater!

But because my aspiration to get married is greatly elevated, discontentment tends to seep into my life in paramount abundance.  Especially the older I grow.  God, my longing is too much to bear!  Marry me off soon...please?

 

Oh yes, I absolutely want to get married (and God, as a side note, soon...ahem...whenever You think best would be preferable!), but many times I approach my desire for marriage with the wrong attitude.  I'm telling God I know better concerning when I should get married, instead of submitting to His will.  Marriage is viewed with my two hungry eyes, regarding it as some earthly heavenly state more privileged than the one I'm in.  Not so.

 

Of course, as many married women can attest I'm sure, there is nothing compared to living with the love of your life, taking care of him, and all the benefits of marriage, but we unmarried gals still have a lot to learn that they already know.  Those married women already know that marriage isn't a bed of roses every day, every minute of the day (as wonderful as a bed of roses sounds).  There are problems to deal with, just as there are problems to deal with before we get married.

Oh well.  Life is life.  Life always have problems.  I for one am willing to take the problems with my dreams.  Dreams do come true, if you can recall Cinderella's story from back when you were five.  Maybe not in the fanciful fairytale Hollywood version of love, but dreams can become reality.  I know my dream to get married will come true one day, but in God's timing.  I simply have to trust Him with that epoch in my life.  I can feel the bliss just thinking about it...

 

If you think about it, dreams really do come true—the right kind of dreams that is.  Our dreams, hopes, desires, and expectations for the future must become God's desires (Psalm 37:4-5).  Only then will they come to pass.  We must give up ourselves completely to the will of God.  But guess what?  We will have a much more wonderful life because of it!  He will give us the desires of our hearts, because we will desire what God has in store for us—what He deems best.

When dreams come true.  It sounds like a fairytale.  Life is a fairytale of sorts sometimes, mixed with a heavy dose of realism and life (i.e. sin, fallen man, and the chore of daily living).  After all, life can't be all bliss and pleasure; life always has thorns with its roses.  Nevertheless, God is working all things for our good (Romans 8:28), and we should always remember that God's good is much better than our best.

 

 So I'll keep dreaming.  While living in the here and now.   One day my dreams will come true and I'll get to wear a fancy white dress and a veil with flowers in my hair and walk down the aisle on Daddy's arm to the man of my dreams who will be waiting at the alter. 

 

And I can hardly wait.

"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living."

"Many waters cannot quench love, 

neither can the floods drown it: 

If a man would give all the substance of his house for love, 

it would utterly be contemned."  ~Song of Solomon 8:7

I have always loved this verse, partly because I hope that one day when I am married this will be the description of the love between my husband and I.  "Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it."  The flow of the music in these words are mystically romantic, at least to a girl with extreme romantic inclinations.  Like me.  However, in our "girlish romantic inclinations" many times we can distort the view of true biblical love.  We develop a false misconception of happily ever afters, goosebumps and shivers down the spine, sentimentally romantic candlelight and flowers, irrationality, and...you know...all those things girls love.  Basically the belief that when two people fall head-over-heels there is nothing but happiness and passion and bliss and eternal peace is, quite frankly, the idea that has brainwashed our minds by romantic novels and Hollywood.

But don't get me wrong, there is happiness and passion and bliss in true love.  There are happily ever afters, goosebumps and shivers down the spine, sentimentally romantic candlelight and flowers, and so forth in true love and marriage, in a biblical, God-defined way.  We cannot automatically dismiss the love-making as off-limits to Christians as something irreligious, and make love into some hard-core lack-of-feeling mentality.  Definitely not.  God delights in love and marriage.  The Bible speaks many times on the aspect of love between a man and a woman, and even the romantic details that follow (Song of Solomon is an perfect example).

Nevertheless, girls are emotional.  Very emotional, very dramatic, very romantically inclined, and they we love every aspect of those wishy-washy feelings of love.  Why? We are women.  When a movie ends in a very happily ever after we get a feeling of gleesome "Oh I can't wait until that happens to me!"  Trust me, girls are oftentimes hard to understand, even for me being one of them, especially when it comes to our romantic tendencies.  Unfortunately we would sometimes rather live in a romance fantasy than the real world.

There is a destructive force of evil conforming the minds of young people today regarding love and marriage.  Not only are they encouraged to wait to get married until later in life, but when they do get "involved" there is a lot of fantasy regarding intimate relationships between young men and women, and it is initiated by Hollywood as a flirtatious and selfish type of love.  However, this is totally contrary to the biblical definition of true love.  

This post is not specifically targeting the differences between the world's version of love versus the Bible's, important though the subject matter may be.  Instead, I see most of all a disturbing amount of longing and sighing amongst girls wishing and hoping and praying for the right man to come along, especially Christian young women.  Perhaps it is because we are trying to live according to God's standards, which includes courtship and marriage, so we are often unhappy with our situation in life as we wait for "the one."  We may know what true love is, and we may be waiting expectantly for it, but sometimes we are so downright discouraged that we become discontent with our lot in life.

"Let not our longing slay the appetite of our living." -Jim Elliot

I come across the above quote one day in a book and it cause me to pause and wonder.  Jim Elliot was writing to his fiancee Elizabeth (who would later become his wife), and it surprised me that he would have such a surrendering attitude.  At that time they were both separated by many miles, and it was rare when they were able to see each other.  Yet still Jim Elliot wrote those words to her.  He understood how hard it was to surrender his life completely to God in every area, especially when it was concerning his love life.  More than anything he wanted to marry his beloved.  Nevertheless he understood that a person's intense longings must not slay the appetite of their living, or it will waste their life.

Because girls are eccentrically romantic we tend to look to the feelings that make us feel good.  In doing this we do not realize how easly we sow the seeds of discontentment.  Whether we are still waiting, or whether we know who God has intended for us, we all can have the same problem.  Our longings will absolutely destroy the moments we have for living a life dedicated to God—out of marriage or in marriage.  If we succumb to  disastrous feelings of longing that we cannot control, how will we ever be satisfied with what God has given us?

Trust me, I now that waiting and hoping is no easy task.  God gave every woman an inner desire to be loved by a man, but that is not a license for not living our lives.  In each of our lives—no matter our age or station—we can all invest in the families that God has placed us in, and develop the gifts He has blessed us with.  All too soon we will be starting families of our own, if it is God's will.  One day we will be enjoying an incredible amount of happiness as the man God has for us woos and wins us.  Then our womanly desires will be completed in an even fuller sense.

But until then, we are complete in Christ.  We have His love.  We are His part of His bride.  More than anything else, we are to be satisfied in Him.

And then one day we will be united in holy matrimony, and experience something grand and marvelous beyond our wildest dreams—biblical romance at its fullest.  In my opinion, that is far better than what the world has to offer.

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; 
and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 
Commit thy way unto the LORD; 
trust in Him; and He shall bring it to pass." ~Psalm 37:4-5

Must I Continue?

Selfishness, self-love, self-righteousness, jealousy, strife, conflict, rivalry, competition, resentment, anger, hurtful teasing, harassment, intolerance of fault in others, quarreling, backbiting, impatience, self-pride, degradation of others, sarcasm, disunity, obstinacy, narcissism, autonomy, selfish ambition, bitterness, grudges, hatred, discontentment, cruel remarks, rebellion, temper outbursts, rudeness...

Must I continue?

There are many reason why I have decided to write this book, the first and foremost being for the glory of God and the advancement of His kingdom.  Secondly, I write this book for my seven siblings (nope, seven isn't lucky for me because I still have to deal with the same problems that everyone else has to deal with).  They are a rather lively and unique group of kids, with many different talents and personalities and characteristics and gifts.  Grace (16), Kirstie (14), Katie (12), Maggie (11), Reb (9), Clara (7), and Liberty (2) are all very intelligent and clever, but you know me: highly prejudiced when it comes to my family.  I will defend them to the death...even if we aren't exactly getting along very well at the moment.  I want to give them an inheritance from their oldest sister, a legacy of love that can be passed down to offer guidance, edification, and sanctification amidst a crooked and perverse generation (Phil.2:5).  I want them to know what it means to struggle, yet overcome those struggles and move on toward success.  This is my prayer.

I also write this book for my children in the future.  Being a kid once myself [humor inserted], I know what it's like to go through sibling rivalry, and I don't want my children wasting years of their lives as bitter enemies with their [many] brothers and sisters.  I want this book to be a part of the heritage that I pass on to my children in future years as a part of their mother's love to them.  I'm trying to keep a multigenerational viewpoint in mind as I write as a vision of hope for my children.

This book is furthermore for other struggling siblings.  I know that my siblings and I are not the only ones who struggle, for rivalry is a common problem.  Why?  Well, you'll just have to wait and read my book.

Must I continue?

My heart beats with intense delight.  I do not know how long or when, but I do know, and I can't tell you how joyous that makes me feel.  It will be a dream come true when I am finally able to hold a freshly-printed copy of my book in my hands.  Then I will read it all the way through and count how many mistakes I made.  Oh dear...

Maybe I won't.  It may be too much of a painful project.  Then you can read it all the way through and tell me how many mistakes I made.

As I continue on my journey, my quest-like answering-all-of-the-problems (well, not really; I don't have all of the answers), I have to remember that it is not all my siblings' fault that we don't get along as best friends.  Ultimately, I am to blame.  We each individually are to blame.  If we are the oldest then we have an even greater responsibility, but no matter our sibling station—whether we are the oldest, the youngest, or one in between—we are to be accountable for our actions.  We can't simply throw all the blame on our siblings' shoulders and get away with it, because that proves our selfishness, self-love, and immaturity.  Do we really love ourselves so much that we can't admit when we are wrong?

I don't want to dishearten you, I want to encourage you!  I have seen examples of siblings who rose above the standard "just get along and don't kill each other" mentality, and become the best of best friends.  As a matter of fact, they become best friends forever.  Those stories stimulate me.  I want my relationship with my siblings to become just like that, and then in turn, encourage others so that they want the same outcome.

You can be an incredible help to me, with your prayers, your encouragement, and even your input.  Everyone has questions that they want answered, and while I am not the best qualified, I know the best place to look (John 5:39)—a place that we all can access, thanks to the blood and sweat of martyrs and Church fathers.

Any daughter at home has great potential to advance the kingdom of Christ.  I want to use the rest of my unmarried years to the fullest extent possible, doing everything I can to further my father's vision, be a help to my mother, and become the best friend of my siblings.  Surprisingly, I think that I have lost my vehement desire to get married as soon as possible.  Like I have any control over that anyway.  I won't kid you, I still want to get married...someday, believe me.  But right now I have an obligation to fulfill, and it cannot be fulfilled unless I focus on it completely, without the interruption of sighs, longings, and dreams that distract and hinder me.  Dreams I will keep dreaming, but for now I am excited about being a daughter and a siblings.  With the glasses that I wear, the grass looks greener here than it does on the other side.

I don't think I need continue.

With summer almost gone and school almost beginning, my days will be very busy.  Plus finishing pocket college, I'll be doing more work for Daddy, HTML, lots of reading, and working with my younger-schooled siblings.  I won't officially graduate so to speak until this school year ends so that we can do things right for the formal proclamation, but I'm thankful for one more chance to study hard and learn all that I can.  One more year, then I will no longer be a schoolgirl.  I wonder how that will feel...

Just What My Big Idea Is...

Just so that there isn't anyone confused about my big idea...

My topic will be dealing with the issue of brothers and sisters.  You know, why we can't get along, what the Bible has to say about sibling relationships, what the answers are to problems in the home, how we can actually like our siblings, all the trouble little brothers and sisters cause...

Oops.  Okay, all the trouble that oldests can cause too.

I know that there is already a tremendous book out there on the market, but because we can't have too much material on the subject (especially from different perspectives, and I have a good one with seven siblings)—and there isn't much to choose from anyway—I have been urged and propelled forward by my parents with a "go ahead" sign.  Or rather, "go ahead" words.  Anyway, there you have it.  My big idea.  Pretty big indeed.  So far things are looking good, but how can I say that when I know how critical I am of my own writings?  Well, okay, going good in the aspect that at least I'm finding things to write about.

On a serious note, I have determined to make this journey (let's call it a quest) one that will transform my relationships with my siblings.  I'm tired of the sub-par standard of just trying to get along.  It isn't enough any more, and it hasn't satisfied through the years.  As I grow older I see the damage I have caused in the lives of my siblings, and I don't want to live with the regret that I didn't fix the problem when I had a chance.  What are oldest sisters for (or brothers for that matter)?  So this book is a really a test of myself: do I have enough courage and fortitude to admit when I'm wrong, correct my mistakes, and press on toward making my siblings my best friends—truly?  For I genuinely want to be their best friend, and they to be mine.  But there are many bitter roots to weed out first.  Mostly from the deeds that I have done, because, after all, I am the oldest siblings who is the example (once I hated my mom constantly telling me that I was the example to the rest of my siblings, but just as it can be used for bad, it can definitely be used for good).

Pray for me as I write.  Pray for me as I attempt and resolve and conquer the obstacles before me.  I want to be able to persevere at the end of this book and say with all honestly, "My siblings are my best friends."  Of course, I may have many good outside friends, but I want my siblings to be my best friends.  Forever and ever.  Just like Anne and Diana in Anne of Green Gables.  They were inseparable.  They did everything together.  They shared secrets, passions, pursuits, hopes, dreams, ideals, expectations and thoughts for the future, fears, likes and dislikes, and spent all of their time together, from when they were little girls until they grew up.  Though they had other friends, they were the best of bosom friends.  That is how I want my siblings and I to be.

Just a summary so you don't leave my blog with a perplexed look.  Then again, you still might.  At least I tried.

"Thy Will Be Done"

I've decided not to get married.

At least not yet.

My charming little sister Clara once told me, "I'm glad you're not married.  I hope you never get married...at least not yet."  Boy did I feel loved!  As much as a young woman cannot wait to get married, right then and there I didn't want to.  I often long for the day when I will have a home of my own to care for, children to nurture, and a husband to love.  But if I miss the golden years at home, what will I gain in the future marriage years?  If I take these years for granted, who is to say I won't do the same later on?


Let's just say it's not easy accepting someone else's will other than our own.  We're selfish, and usually we will admit it in a not-so-subtle way.  We want what we want, and sometimes we will do anything to get our way.  We are kind of like a spoiled child throwing a tantrum because he wants something.  He will scream and kick his little legs, and do just about anything to get his way.  If his mother is too soft and lenient, she will eventually give in to his whims, instead of administering the whipping he really deserves.  We are that way with God many times.  We'll fight back because we want our way.  Why is it so hard to say "Thy will be done"?

“A great many Christians actually seem to think that all their Father in heaven wants is a chance to make them miserable, and to take away all their blessings, and they imagine, poor souls, that if they hold on to things in their own will, they can hinder Him from doing this. I am shamed to write the words, and yet we must face a fact, which is making wretched hundreds of lives.

"A Christian lady who had this feeling, was once expressing to a friend how impossible she found it to say, 'Thy will be done,' and how afraid she should be to do it.  She was the mother of one little boy, who was the heir to a great fortune, and the idol of her heart.

"After she had stated her difficulties fully, her friend said, 'Suppose your little Charley should come running to you tomorrow and say, 'Mother, I have made up my mind to let you have your own way with me from this time forward.  I am always going to obey you, and I want you to do just whatever you think best with me.  I know you love me, and I am going to trust myself to your love.'  How would you feel toward him?  Would you say to yourself, 'Ah, now I shall take away all his pleasures, and fill his life with every hard and disagreeable thing I can find.  I will compel him to do just the things that are the most difficult for him to do and will give him all sorts of impossible commands.'  'Oh, no, no, no!' exclaimed the indignant mother.  'You know I would not.  You know I would hug him to my heart and cover him with kisses, and would hasten to fill his life with all that was sweetest and best.'   'And are you more tender and more loving than God?' asked her friend.  'Ah, no,' was the reply, 'I see my mistake, and I will not be afraid of saying 'Thy will be done, to my Heavenly Father, any more than I would want my Charley to be afraid of saying it to me.'"  (Excerpted from The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, by Hannah Whitall Smith)

There's not just one aspect of life we are afraid of committing wholly to God.  We are scared over the smallest things.  We want a good and happy life, but we also want the things we want.  What we don't realize is that we will have the best life when we submit to God's will.  Most people have a false conception of God's will.  God is angry at wickedness, but He is loving and just toward those who follow and serve Him in obedience.  He isn't out to get us, or to take away every earthly and spiritual blessing.  Amazingly enough, He only wants what is best for us. (1 Peter 5:7; 2 Corinthians 8:9; 1 Corinthians 2:9)  We miss out on the best years of our lives by worrying about unnecessary things.  If we would only trust God, how much happier and blessed we would be!

We can't just submit one area of our life to God; we have to give him everything, including our hopes, dreams, and expectations for the future.  It's not an unachievable feat.  Just think of how much more peace we could have.  All those worry wrinkles would disappear.

Look at submission this way.  We find it hard to submit to our parents.  As we get older, we want more responsibility and freedom from authority. (That's our human rebelliousness working.)  If we are unwilling to accept God's will, we will most assuredly be unwilling to accept human authority.  If a young woman in the home will not accept her father's authority, she will not accept her husband's later on in life.  She may think that a different life would be better, but if we are not faithful in small things, we certainly will not be faithful in the bigger ones.  If we antagonize our siblings, we'll antagonize our children.   If we disrespect our parents, how could we be ready for a faithful commitment to marriage with a partner we are to respect "till death" do us part?   We would blow it, just like we did in our teenage years.

If we find it hard to accept human authority, how much more harder it is to accept God's will!  But why?  Why do we have such a problem?  All we are doing is making each situation difficult.  It does not have to be that way.  When we realize that man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, and that God wants only what is best for us (because everything is to bring Him glory -Revelation 4:11), then we can begin to say without hesitance "Thy will be done."

Yes, I plan on getting married someday (if it is the Lord's will.)  However, for now I'll accept God's plan for commitment in the home and accept whatever He brings my way.  We have a cheerful heart only when we submit to God's will.  I'll be content in the home.

A Change in the Wind

Hello all my adoring fans and readers! (Hey, I can dream, can't I?)

My blog posts have been pretty sporadic over the year that I've been blogging.  Apparently I can't stick to a specific schedule.  I've tried that several times.  I know that I'm not rhetoric, but what would you, my loyal fans, like to hear from me? (Please don't tell me you'd rather I shut my big mouth...unless you really mean it.)  What would you like to gain from this blog?  My purpose is threefold: to help fellow brothers and sisters (as well as myself!), show forth God's glory, and to convince y'all that there's a dork out there who makes plenty of mistakes...just like you and everybody else.  There's only one thing - we can conquer those things, whether petty or considerable in size.  I want to be effective in what I do, but I need some feedback.

My random (and sometimes sloppy) writing style is going through some major changes. (I have several articles on the horizon, but don't expect too much too soon.)  I'm going to write more often (something I love to do, so it shouldn't be a problem. However, considering the business of life...we'll see.), and more worthwhile.  What are your major concerns?  What do you struggle with most?  What are your dreams, hopes, thoughts, and expectations for the future?  What are your tastes, passions, pursuits?  As for mine, they're practically endless.  We'll not go into them just right now.

What do young women struggle with the most?  That's easy: acceptance.  Many different things fall under that category.  But what about young men?  For that I haven't an answer. (After all, we are different.)  We all struggle with many things, but since God created us male and female, there are hundreds of differences between us.  Surely you've noticed that if your household contains each gender.

What are your worries relating to America?  Do you now fully realize that she is sinking steadily?  Do you see the Constitution being torn apart into little pieces by the ones who have sworn to uphold it?  That's too much irony for me.  What would our founding fathers say?

Every life has a different story.  Is it beautiful or mournfully lonely?  Is it overflowing with happiness or perhaps full of trials?  Is it a victory that overcomes the world?  Just like a writer struggles with different styles for each character, so we live day to day with different characteristics in our lives.  What's your story?

I'd love to hear from you anytime at rachel@covenantdevotion.com with questions, comments, or perhaps a word of encouragement.  Hey, I'd even welcome criticism! (Give it a try.)  Feedback could also help me decide what to write about.  I'm not saying that I'll have all the answers (heaven forbid!), but with lots of study, and principle help from our Lord Jesus Christ, the major issues of life can be fought and won!  "I have not yet begun to fight!" said John Paul Jones.  Let our words be the same.

Lord, we give this day to You,

Bless it - come what may.

Guide us in what e'er we do,

Love us day by day.

Lord, we lift our hands to You in praise,

Bless us - come what may.

Grasp us as to You our hearts we raise,

Love us day by day.

Although many issues in our day and age are desperately serious, hope also remains.  Jesus Christ has promised that one day all the kingdoms of this world will be the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. (Revelation 11:15)  We don't know if America will be vanquished or not.  While hope remains, we are to fight and press on.  Christ will come out victorious in the end and all enemies will be His footstool.  Because we have something to live for, why not live?

Only A Fool Will Edit His Own Writing

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; but fools despise wisdom and instruction."  ~Proverbs 1:7

A long time ago, some very sound advice was given to my dad from a wise friend and mentor.  That same advice was passed along to me.  I like to think that I take after my daddy in many ways.

Only a fool will edit his own writing.

Even "big-shot" writers need an editor.  As my dad has taught me, everyone makes mistakes; we can't expect anyone to be perfect - even good writers.  We all need a little help.  Especially we who aren't as good as X.

I had to learn that lesson in a not-so-easy way.  Not that I consider myself better than any, I would write and edit my own stuff.  Needless to say, there were times when I could have given my articles a better shot.  Perhaps a little help?  Yeah, that's it.  I'd scribble my thoughts down on paper, type it up on the computer, paste it to my blog, and presto!  Completed.  That's me.  Impulsive.

Eventually, Daddy kindly but firmly told me that things needed to change.  And he was right!  Running my articles past Mom or Dad helps me see my mistakes so I can better them.  Besides, a second opinion is always a nice requirement.  Especially if one wants better success.  Honestly though, I could have responded to his kind rebuke with a prideful attitude and thought I knew better than my own papa. (Heaven forbid!)  Or I could have burst into tears and given up writing altogether, especially since I'm not perfect and can't do anything right!  (That's a laugh.  No one is and no one can.)  Emotional dramatic extreme is just too common for girls.  We can flood the house with tears over the silliest things.

Isn't life pretty precarious at times?  One minute we're dancing among the clouds...

...The next we feel lower than a worm.  I guess that's the way human beings were created.  Living in an imperfect world, in a flawed body, with a sinful heart, we must expect some things to seem like...unfair.  Others seem more blessed than we.  Others have different skills and gifts.  I can look around and find things that I'm at a disadvantage with compared to other people.  I can wish and cry and complain all I want, but I'm unique in my own way.  On the plain and unfashionable side maybe, but I can still live passionately for what I believe is right.

One thing in which we all measure up to is foolishness.  Remember the time you blurted out something incomprehensible and everybody just stared?  Or maybe when you tripped down a flight of stairs, walked into a wall, or stood awkwardly in the middle of a room and felt utterly lost, confused, and foolish?  We all do silly things, and we all feel uneasy at some point or another.  I myself used to be terribly shy.  I haven't conquered that obstacle completely, but I used to be much worse.  I would not initiate any conversation unless I was specifically engaged.  Even then I was short and to the point.  Some people may call that dull.  Yet no one knew the inner longing of wanting to be like so-and-so who was outgoing and a great conversationalist.  But I've always been that way.  Honestly, I've wished so many times that I could hold all of my conversations on paper.  Maybe that's unusual?  My pen has always been stronger than my tongue.

I'm not one who (literally) voices my opinions forcefully.  Although, if you were given a glimpse into my brain, the force of the thoughts might drive you hundreds of miles away.  I need drawn out somehow.  But just because I bottle everything up inside of me doesn't mean it’s the way I should be.  Too many times I want to say something and don't.  Life comes at each of us in different angles sometimes.

Rebuke can be given in many ways.  But no matter the tone of voice or display of feeling, we should always be as the wise son that Proverbs talks about, who "heareth his father's instruction."  (Proverbs 13:1)  "A scorner heareth not rebuke."

As human beings, we all want to "show-off" our goodness.  For "the way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that harkeneth unto counsel is wise." ~Proverbs 12:15.  Wouldn't life be fuller in every sense if we behaved in a wise manner?  Instead we are usually prone to foolishness.  Will we be as the wise man who built his house upon a rock; and the rains descended and the floods came, yet he remained fast and secure; or as the foolish man who built his house upon the sand, and was left homeless, destitute, and helpless after the rain and floods washed his house away into the sea?  Which choice will it be?

Remember, only a fool will edit his own writing.  Are we foolish enough to edit the pages of our lives, or are we wise enough to leave that to God?  Only He holds the future.

The Virtue of Patience

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law." -Galatians 5:22, 23

I know I have already written once on the Fruit of the Spirit, but as there is so much to cover in these two verses, I thought I would do so again, especially because I struggle so much in these areas.

Impatient really ought to be my middle name.  I know y'all have heard that expression before; however, I am in earnest.

I am redheaded. Does this mean I have a horrible temper? (...where does that come from anyway?...)  Well, to truly know that you would have to be around me for a few days.  I know my siblings could give you an accurate account of my temperament.  Very accurate.

Now to my point: Patience.  There isn't a day that goes by when I do not get impatient with something or somebody.  An example: Teaching Clara to read.  She has came along a bit since I last wrote of her progress, but she is still going kind of slow.  Perhaps it is my lack of teaching abilities and impatience which is hindering her? ...Probably.  Anyway, I know I shouldn't expect her to start reading perfectly after the first week because learning to read is a long process that takes time and patience.  Yeah.  Tell that to me again?  I'll need it for tomorrow.

Patience is a virtue.  All the gold and silver could not buy it.  It takes time (and patience!) to acquire it.  The most important thing: one cannot have any virtues whatsoever without first having Jesus Christ in their lives.  Not one person could ever display the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives without having Christ first and foremost. (Romans 11:36)

Want a funny example of my impatience? (I dearly hope others have had these moments so I don't feel left out.) 

Once when I was ten years old (well, yes, this has happened more than once..) I was desperately trying to situate my hair in a particular fashion. ( it was a simple hairstyle really.)  I had done it once before and liked it so well that I wanted to try it again.  But this time, however, my hair would. not. fix.

I worked...and struggled...and frowned...took it down...tried again...worked...and struggled...frowned...became angry...grew very impatient...felt like yanking my hair out (which I halfway tried to do) and finally gave up.

Sounds stupid and funny now, but is someone had came along just then, I would have bit their heads off. And if I recall correctly, my "particular fashion" was really a simple bun style, ye it had to be that certain way. (Funny how girls are so picky.)  My problem: I was very impatient.

Perhaps if I had took a deep breath, smiled at my reflection in the mirror, and tried again, I might have succeeded and not have  been so grumpy.  As it was, I gave up in impatience and anger.

Patience has always been a hard struggle of mine.  But then, I struggle in every area of life, so every struggle is a challenge.  I know I'm human and accept that, as we all should (Galatians 6:3), but there are times when my failures overwhelm me.  I cry, complain, become bitter and cold, think I don't deserve God's love and mercy (which I don't), weak, cowardly, a failure, the list could go on and on, until something reminds me...

But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places with Christ Jesus: that in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."  -Ephesians 2:4-9

"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." -Philippians 4:13

"For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth." -Hebrews 12:6

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." -James 4:7

"Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." -Galatians 2:16

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new." -2 Corinthians 5:17

"Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." -Romans 12:21

"For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but that which I hate, that I do." -Romans 7:15

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." -Romans 8:18

If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." -John 8:36

There are so many wonderful promises in the Bible that I cannot even begin to list them all for their numbering.  God is a righteous and loving Father, yet just and firm when need be.  After we are saved by Christ's atoning blood, that is what God sees when He looks upon us.  When we trust in Him, believe, confess our sins, repent, and look to Him as our Savior, our sins will be washed away.  All God sees then is Christ's blood that washed away our sins.  Isn't that wonderful?  Even with all our many failures, He is faithful and just to forgive us.  A better promise we cannot have than that He will never leave us or forsake us.  He is always here, always providing, always protecting, always loving.  Such a magnificent King!

I feel down a lot, but am always lifted up by my Lord.  There is no better place to be than in His arms!  How proud I am to be His child!  His love overwhelms me.  How could the All-powerful One love me, a sinner?  Such love, such mercy, such wonder, in such a King!

Next time your patience runs thin, think of God's patience with you.  Didn't He give everything for us?  We should be able to give our all for Him.  Even in our sin and disobedience, He is always faithful.  He remains patient with us; therefore we can try, through His help, to be a little patient with those around us.

Note to self: Do.Not.Fly.Off.The.Handle.Next.Time.