“Let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit the keeping of their souls to Him in well-doing.” 1 Peter 4:19
To choose to suffer means that there is something wrong; to choose God’s Will even if it means suffering is a very different thing. No healthy saint ever chooses suffering; he chooses God’s will, as Jesus did, whether it means suffering or not.
The saint who satisfies the heart of Jesus will make other saints strong and mature for God. The people who do us good are never those who sympathize with us, they always hinder, because sympathy enervates (weakens). If we accept the sympathy of a saint, the reflex feeling is – Well, God is dealing hardly with me. That is why Jesus said self-pity was of the devil (see Matt. 16:23).
Be merciful to God’s reputation. It is easy to blacken God’s character because God never answers back, He never vindicates Himself. Beware of the thought that Jesus needed sympathy in His earthly life; He refused sympathy from man because He knew far too wisely that no one on earth understood what He was after. He took sympathy from His Father only, and from the angels in heaven. (Cf. Luke 15:10.)
Notice God’s unutterable waste of saints, according to the judgment of the world. God plants His saints in the most useless places. We say – God intends me to be here because I am so useful. Jesus never estimated His life along the line of the greatest use. God puts His saints where they will glorify Him, and we are no judges at all of where that is.
-Oswald Chambers
“Let me know you, for you are the God who knows me…This is my hope…”
Husband leads and we follow, in unison from our printed liturgies the night before the Sabbath, around the table.
Little ones look us in the face curiously. “What is this rhythmic ritual?”
Our voices rise in song…
“For the joy of human love, brother, sister, parent, child…Lord of all to Thee we raise this our hymn of grateful praise.”
The swell and break of our voices, this family, together has a unifying effect…our eyes dart at one another.
“Tomorrow when we read our confession, listen to the words and make them yours.”
“I am righteous before God only by true faith in Jesus Christ; that is, although my conscience accuses me, that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God….yet God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, imputes to me perfect righteousness…”
Our souls are instructed, young and old, baby learns to sit quietly and though she doesn’t understand, she will.
“Our Father, Who art in Heaven…”
The liturgical exercise I once spurned has now become precious to me.
Its very constancy reflects the constancy of our faithful God.
The reading of truths out loud serves me twice as I see it and then hear it, and it strengthens the eyes of my faith more and more.
The affirmation of our faith at home as a family and then corporately with the rest of our family, week after week, begins to weave itself in and out of our lives like a tapestry that comes to life as God breathes over it.
“In joy of heart, in brotherly union, in Christian love we come to partake of Your table, giving thanks for the great love which You have shown to us through Christ our Lord.”
Little ones take their cues, hold their bread and wait….then together we remember His love and death and resurrection for us.
Hands lifted up…they don’t know why now, but they will.
“Praise God from Whom all blessings flow…”
One body, one Lord, one heart going out “to love and serve the Lord”.
Fortified for the week, strengthened for the task, we look forward to when we’ll meet again.
Here we go…bend with me a little here…
No one gives much thought to the term “being single”. We hear it all the time. And now, there are ministries for “The Singles”, programs for singles, expectations for singles.
A young woman interviewed on Return of the Daughters made a profound statement. She said, “I’m not single. I’m part of a family.”
The singleness mindset seems harmless, until we scratch a little deeper and find that
The Regenerate man is a holy man.
by J.C. Ryle
He endeavors to live according to God’s will, to do the things that please God, to avoid the things that God hates. His aim and desire is to love God with heart and soul, and mind and strength, and to love his neighbor as himself. His wish is to be continually looking to Christ as his example as well as his Savior, and to show himself Christ’s friend by doing whatever Christ commands.
No doubt he is not perfect. None will tell you that sooner than himself. He groans under the burden of indwelling corruption cleaving to him. He finds an evil principle within him constantly warring against grace, and trying to draw him away from God. But he does not consent to it, though he cannot prevent its presence.
In spite of all short-comings, the average bent and bias of his ways is holy—his doings holy—his tastes holy—and his habits holy. In spite of all his swerving and turning aside, like a ship going against a contrary wind, the general course of his life is in one direction—toward God and for God.
And though he may sometimes feel so low that he questions whether he is a Christian at all, in his calmer moments he will generally be able to say, with old John Newton, “I am not what I ought to be, I am not what I want to be, I am not what I hope to be in another world—but still I am not what I once used to be, and by the grace of God I am what I am.”
~ J.C. Ryle
A Regenerate man does not commit sin as a habit.
“He no longer sins with his heart and will, and whole inclination, as an unregenerate man does. There was probably a time when he did not think whether his actions were sinful or not, and never felt grieved after doing evil. There was no quarrel between him and sin—they were friends. Now he hates sin, flees from it, fights against it, counts it his greatest plague, groans under the burden of its presence, mourns when he falls under its influence, and longs to be delivered from it altogether. In one word, sin no longer pleases him, nor is even a matter of indifference—it has become the abominable thing which he hates. He cannot prevent it dwelling within him. “If he said he had no sin, there would be no truth in him” (1 John 1:8)—but he can say that he keenly abhors it, and the great desire of his soul is not to commit sin at all.
He cannot prevent bad thoughts arising within him, and shortcomings, omissions, and defects appearing, both in his words and actions. He knows, as James says, that “In many things we offend all.” (James 3:2.) But he can say truly, and as in the sight of God, that these things are a daily grief and sorrow to him, and that his whole nature does not consent unto them, as that of the unregenerate man does.
Reader, I place this mark before you. What would the Apostle say about you? Are you born of God?”
~ J.C. Ryle
We have been in Texas at The Baby Conference this week with some dear friends if you noticed the blog was a bit quieter (well, except for the 90 something comments on the last post ;-)) I pre-scheduled some posts and have hardly been on-line! (Challenging. But very good.)
The Baby Conference was awesome and you can expect to hear some of the great things we learned over the next posts.
But today, I am processing the unexpected. Yes, there were great speakers. There were great lessons and moments of inspiration. But I cried. A LOT. I felt broken…in a good way.
I felt my deep need for humility and grace. The cry of my heart throughout the conference was, “Lord, re-make me”.
After the second night as we met back at the house where we are staying, I was standing in the kitchen telling Robin about the serious reflections I had been having and all of sudden I looked, and she was shaking her head up and down, tears streaming.
She too, had felt a deep sense of renewal and we were both surprised at our encounter with a more honest look at our own hearts and a fresh desire to give over to the Lord some of those habits and sins in our lives that “so easily beset us”. And unless you think otherwise, brokenness over sin is a good thing.
Mostly I think it was just meeting and listening to other women who possessed a grace and humility I do not. There was a constant pointing to Jesus Christ as our motivation for everything we do. I saw a clearer look at the simplicity of the gospel lived out–walking with the Lord, in humility, and allowing Him to have the glory for whatever comes to us.
The Lord showed to me child-like faith that allows us to walk steadfastly and not be moved. To know that when we trust Him with all that we are and our heart’s deepest desire is to glorify Him, we can be sure and steady as the sun, come what may.
The Baby Conference was about babies. How ironic that the Lord would use my babies–my role as a mother–to show me I must consistently seek to know Him more and love Him deeper. The Christian life doesn’t end with us. We are always making disciples. We are ever speaking to those around us of His love.
We speak poorly, or we speak beautifully.
George Mueller was deeply in love with his wife. Once he wrote:
“Were we happy? Verily we were. With every year our happiness increased more and more. I never saw my beloved wife at any time, when I met her unexpectedly anywhere in Bristol, without being delighted so to do. I never met her even in the Orphan Houses, without my heart being delighted so to do. Day by day, as we met in our dressing room, at the Orphan Houses, to wash our hands before dinner and tea, I was delighted to meet her, and she was equally pleased to seeme. Thousands of times I told her—“My darling, I never saw you at any time, since you became my wife, without my being delighted to see you.”
So when she was diagnosed with a terminal illness, it shook him to the core of his faith. And this is where we may catch a glimpse of Mueller’s rare and extraordinary faith and peace:
“The last portion of scripture which I read to my precious wife was this: “The Lord God is a sun and shield, the Lord will give grace and glory, no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” Now, if we have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, we have received grace, we are partakers of grace, and to all such he will give glory also. I said to myself, with regard to the latter part, “no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly”—I am in myself a poor worthless sinner, but I have been saved by the blood of Christ; and I do not live in sin, I walk uprightly before God. Therefore, if it is really good for me, my darling wife will be raised up again; sick as she is. God will restore her again. But if she is not restored again, then it would not be a good thing for me. And so my heart was at rest. I was satisfied with God. And all this springs, as I have often said before, from taking God at his word, believing what he says.”
Loved this article from Jess at Making Home:
“Proverbs spends a lot of time talking about this “forbidden” (sometimes translated “strange” or “foreign”) woman. Much of the text is aimed at imploring the author’s son not to visit or be hoodwinked by her. But there are things we, as women who want to honor God, can learn from this woman. Just like TLC’s show, “What Not to Wear”, we can look at this negative example in God’s Word to see “what not to be”.”
“Hospitality, according to Jesus, is essentially being willing to be humiliated!”
Hospitality= Humble Service=”Caring for the needs of others”
Jesus’ last act as He knelt and washed the disciples’ feet–caring for their basic, unexciting needs, was the final, ultimate irony of His entire message to us: “Forget yourself, become the least, serve until you’re spent and you can be My disciple”.
I think it’s significant that He used the lowest of acts AND performed them for his “spiritual family”, those men who had become like sons to Him, as His “grand finale”. I don’t know about you, but I need to hang out in that story for a bit!
Once we understand the What, Why, When and How of Hospitality, it is easier to focus on the practical ways to carry out this important command. With all our notions of entertainment and impression aside, we should feel freer now to embrace real hospitality. Instead of being prompted by pride (impress them with my food, my house, etc.) Jesus reminds us that hospitality is essentially being willing to be humiliated! Ouch.
“Outward” Hospitality
I mentioned in the last post that phone calls, sending cards and carrying meals are a few ways to show hospitality. It’s very easy to make this a regular part of our lives with a little forethought. Hints:
- Keep a basket full of note cards, stamps, pens and address book. Keep the basket in a visible place as a reminder. Ask the Lord to lay someone on your heart and follow through with a kind word. If He prompts you to send a monetary gift, it can be a tremendous blessing to someone, if not just to say, “God has not forsaken you”. Consider those you may not readily think about–often the women who seem to “have it all together” don’t, and could use a word of “I’m praying for you today”.
- Occasionally make an extra meal/plate while you cook for your family to have on hand when a neighbor needs a meal. My Dad has the habit of fixing a plate from their dinner and carrying it to a widowed man down the road. It is about the only cooked meal he ever eats. It takes less than 10 minutes and it is a tremendous blessing to “Mr. Bill”.
- I’ve mentioned before the incredible gift that my friend’s daughters have given to me on more than one occasion. Sometimes they will bring a meal and clean the house for me, mostly because they just love to serve. Busy moms appreciate acts of kindness as much as the next person!
- Our neighbors usually bring a huge basket of breakfast food (cereal, bread, jam, fruit, etc.) when we come home after a new baby has been born. A very practical relief to sleepy parents.
Hospitality at Home
Having people over, though not the only way to show hospitality, is the area most people feel inadequate. There are several things our family thinks are important as we practice hospitality:
- If it’s too stressful, we’ll avoid it, so we must make it doable for our family in our season.
- If it’s stressful, Mom isn’t joyful. If Mom isn’t joyful the rest of the family isn’t either. If we can’t welcome others into our home with joy, there’s no point.
- A welcoming spirit is much more important than the menu.
- Be practical.
- Everyone serves.
- If we don’t plan deliberately (get out the calendar, call and invite someone) it remains something “we need to do”.
- An imperfect house is not only OK, but can be tremendously encouraging to another mom who (incorrectly) thinks you are perfect. Tidy is good; perfection is hypocrisy.
Food.
We recently concluded that a one or two dish meal needed to become our standard “company menu” for several reasons. One, it’s easier to prepare ahead of time and anything you can do early in the day relieves stress as time for guests to arrive approaches.
Secondly, if there are a lot of people, it’s much less chaotic at meal time to serve from one or two dishes rather than five or six.
Third, if the budget needs considered, this is usually the most economic route.
I’ve learned from more seasoned women that selecting one or two regular “guests menus” saves a lot of stress; also, you become more efficient practicing with the same menu. (See one of our menus below.)
Note: It’s perfectly wonderful to have people over just for dessert and coffee–especially at first if you just want to ease in.
Cleaning House
As I’ve mentioned, I’m learning that not only is it OK for our house to not be perfect (no point trying), but I am personally relieved to see someone’s house look a bit lived in as well. So I feel there’s a balance; we should honor our guests by presenting a tidy, pleasing atmosphere, but we should not feign perfection as it provides neither us nor our guests any benefit.
Tips:
- We designate Fridays as cleaning day. This is also the day we try to invite others over. Having company is added incentive for everyone to work diligently and cheerfully.
- Play soothing music during dinner–this is a biggie on our list.
- Light candles. Low lights and candles hide a lot of dust;-)
- Focus on the main areas and guest bath; don’t sweat the rest.
- Baskets and containers will help keep things looking organized and allow you to do a quick toss before guests arrive.
- It makes people feel especially welcomed if you or some of the family is waiting on the porch when they arrive. Likewise, walking them out and waving them off sends the message that you really enjoyed your time.
- Listen intently, ask questions and care about what your guests have to say. If your heart is set on loving the Lord, “out of it will flow rivers of living water”.
One of our menus:
Just for your information:
I estimated this entire meal to cost less than $12. It fed 14 people the first night (lots of children, mind you), 9 people again the next night (our family) and enough left over to send for hubby’s lunch the next day–total mouths fed=24
Menu
Creamy, Cheesy, Chicken Soup
Homemade wheat rolls
Pasta salad
Derby Pie
To make soup:
Pour 4-6 cups of chicken broth into large pot. Drop a peeled, whole onion and turn on medium. In a separate pan, sear 4 boneless/skinless chicken breast in olive oil. Remove from pan and chop finely. Add chicken to broth.
In the same pan, add more oil/butter and saute several cloves of garlic and diced mushrooms (I also added a Tbsp. or so of green chilies). Add those to soup. Add more oil/butter to pan and make a roux (add flour, stir a bit with a fork, then dip some of the chicken broth into flour mixture. I added Marsala wine, 1 cup of sour cream, 1 block of cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, whole cream (you could use milk)–I really don’t measure this, I just add until it’s thick and creamy.)
(Hint: you could add mashed potatoes to thicken and stretch this soup.)
Add white sauce to soup. Season generously with fresh, ground pepper and salt. Simmer for several hours to let flavors meld. I prepare this in the morning, turn off around noon and as long as it stays warm, leave it out until dinner time and reheat just before guests arrive.
Serve with cheddar cheese sprinkled on top–yummy!
Can’t wait to hear your tips and tricks!
“T he general state of Christianity is much more cultural than authentic. The advancement of the kingdom of God and His glory are scarcely embraced as the objects of our greatest passions. The pursuit of these treasures is no longer what we strive for. Christ is not Lord over all our lives. We have made ourselves our own masters.
Life gets confusing. What was to be our highest pursuit is lost as our minds and hearts become consumed with lesser issues. If our thinking and our power are our own, then possessions become property rather than objects of stewardship. At best, we give our leftovers to God and keep the rest, indulging ourselves in the full and free pursuit of personal pleasure…”
There is a fascinating dynamic in all of this. We all know that our faith in Christ is not merely a matter of internal belief. If our conduct does not conform to that belief, then our belief can be called into question. The latter validates the former. It is almost impossible to live as Christ taught if we do not have a transforming belief that changes the way we live.”
-William Wilberforce