NEW E*TRADE Baby -- Time Out

I love these commercials! Go E-trade!

Carrie Underwood - How Great Thou Art

Stand and Bear Witness

I love the way Spurgeon says things. I can picture a father figure speaking over his children with the charge, 'testify of His faithfulness. Has He ever left you or deserted you in a field of contention without His aid? No! Never! This is our Friend, our Savior. Is it any wonder we love Him so?'

Thanks to D. Ortland for quote below:

20 October 2010A Faithful Friend
'There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.' --Proverbs 18:24

Spurgeon:

Christ is 'a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.' And in order to prove this from facts, we appeal to such of you as have had him for a friend. Will you not, each of you, at once give your verdict, that this is neither more nor less than an unexaggerated truth?

He loved you before all worlds; long ere the day star flung his ray across the darkness, before the wing of angel had flapped the unnavigated ether, before aught of creation had struggled from the womb of nothingness, God, even our God, had set his heart upon all his children.

Since that time, has he once swerved, has he once turned aside, once changed? No; ye who have tasted of his love and know his grace, will bear me witness, that he has been a certain friend in uncertain circumstances. . . .

You have often left him; has he ever left you? You have had many trials and troubles; has he ever deserted you? Has he ever turned away his heart, and shut up his bowels of compassion? No, children of God, it is your solemn duty to say 'No,' and bear witness to his faithfulness. --'A Faithful Friend,' in Sermons of C. H. Spurgeon (New York: Sheldon, Blakeman & Co., 1857), 13-14

True Love-Phil Wickham (with Matt Chandler & CJ Mahaney)

Here's another reminder that we are drawn to the beauty of the Savior, not driven to obedience to a moral code.

Five Reasons to Have Children and Keep Them

Did you ever think you needed a reason to have children? Well, in case I have any readers who are childless, do press on. And for those who do have kids but wonder why they should keep them; press on.

1. Pets are cute, but they are not children. No disrespect meant to those who love their pets like a family member. I have my black lab who is the "baby" of our all female family, (except for my husband) She's cute; she's always in a good mood, but she has never left me a sweet note on my pillow about how much she loves me.

2. Children make you see life through a different lens...the lens of a child. You forget what it's like to be a kid when you are all grown up, have your career, and so on. Kids take you back to that time in your life. For me, it makes me incredibly grateful for the husband I share life with. He's a good dad. He's not perfect, but hey, he's in the game. He helps them with homework, instructs them about life, enters into their joys and sorrows. I had no such experience. I love having a reference point for what a good daddy looks and sounds like.

3. Having children gives you Attention Deficient Disorder. Hey...that's not a bad thing! Oh my gosh....I'm glad I get to jump from thing to thing. First of all, my kids think I am a walking dictionary and can't possibly not understand their math equations! I wouldn't want to disappoint them except for the ADD that pulls me away to the next child! Thank you ADD. You have rescued me from all these inflated expectations of my dear kids.

4. Children make you laugh! Come on, everything from the first time they winch their little faces to poop in their diaper! You know what I'm talking about. You know it makes you laugh. Then they start to read and want to play Scrabble with you. Great. A little awkward when your daughter only has the k-c-f letters left and puts them around the only available vowel...you guessed it. "Is that a word, Daddy?" I don't know what's funnier; their phonetic exercise or trying not to make eye contact with your spouse:)

5. Children are a gift. Plain and simple. Undeserved gift from the Creator who loves to bless us with what we don't deserve. It's what He does so well.

"Godly Rudeness"

I just listened to this message with my two oldest daughters. Very good! It's a mini- parenting seminar too, especially for daddy's raising daughters. I would encourage any young Christian man to listen to it as well. I will be listening to more from Mark and Gracie. :)

Enjoy.

"Let Your Doing Emerge from your Being"

This excerpt got me thinking....

"In the 1982 film Annie, the orphan is swept out of the vile clutches of Miss Hannigan at the inner city orphanage, where she and her friends spent their “hard knock life” mired in menial tasks, and delivered into the gleaming mansion of the billionaire Mr. Warbucks. When she first arrives, she is mesmerized by its size and beauty, and by the scores of cheerful servants. Her hostess asks, “Well, Annie, what would you like to do first?” Annie misunderstands. She says she’d probably like to start by washing the windows, and then she'll move on to scrub the floors. She’s thinking she needs to get to work. The hostess just wants to know what fun thing she’d like to start her new life doing.

Annie has not realized she is not an orphan any more.

Christian, you are a Christian. You have a new identity. You are in Christ, and Christ is in you. Let your doing emerge from your being. It will not work the other way around."

Is it so hard to believe that our God's disposition towards us is favorable? Not tolerable, not reluctant, not sluggish in his affections. On the contrary! He is swift to bless! He runs to us when he sees us far off in the distance. He chases us down with his blessings. His goodness and mercy, they shall follow me ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE! Dare you believe it Christian? You must if you are to go on in this life with joy and confidence. We extol God's virtues and magnify His goodness when others observe our unbridled confidence in His love for us at all times. All times.

Does God ever get disappointed with us? Does he give the proverbial parental sigh and wish we could "get it right?" What does Scripture say? "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me and the life I live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20 There was a great exchange and transaction. Jesus took on all of my penalties and I got to receive all the rewards from His work! I am treated as if I'm the one who earned these benefits. He was treated as if he deserved all of my punishments. He did the work of living a perfect life and suffering for my sin. So why then do I try to add to what is complete and perfect already? Doesn't the adding to it actually pervert the splendor and awesomeness of it all?!

Excuse me, but if I went to the Chrysler Museum tomorrow and pulled out my black sharpie and proceeded to "enhance" some work of art, well, no doubt I would be in serious trouble but worse still, I would have profaned a master's work. So how is it that I so glibly do the same thing when I try to add to The Master's magnus opus (The finished work of Jesus on the cross?) I do it daily. I do when I fail to remember my Father's immovable disposition towards me when I fall. Oh its so easy to remember He loves me when I'm acting so "good".

What about the moments when I'm angry and rude? Not feeling the love right then. Instead of apologizing, I begin to work harder. Perhaps I resolve to read my bible a little longer, write a larger check at the fundraising banquet, speak sweeter to my husband. Great things but am I doing them out of love for God or really because I'm trying to make up for my deficit? Wait! Am I really living this "life I live in the flesh I live by faith in the son of God who loved me..."

Seriously. Do I believe that? Do I live by faith? Do I fight to hold on to the truth..."the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me." Push it out a bit. Do I fear I will fall out of His good graces? Do I ignore Him like I do others who I have offended?

Do I interpret every bad detail in my life as His displeasure with me? Wait a minute? Doesn't that sound strangely familiar? Like the pagans who were always offering sacrifices to appease their gods. You mean I still do that too? After all of these years of following Christ. Surely I should be farther along than this? Oh God! Deliver me from my own plan for self-improvement! I HAVE BEEN CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST! I HAVE BEEN RAISED TO NEW LIFE IN HIM!

I really must be ruthless with my thoughts. I must tell my soul, "Enough! Stop your unbelieving striving. To hell with all your works! There is nothing left to do. What you could never do was done for you! Turn away and believe. Get on with being. Then your doing will be sweet."

I just can't seem to get out of my own way. That's okay. He's got that all figured out too.

Peace. I know the One who speaks to the waves and they listen.

What Should We Be Doing?

Recently, a friend of mine introduced me to a new blog. Dane Ortland's Strawberry Rhubarb Theology. I feel like I'm going back to the brownie pan every time I visit his blog. Do you know what I mean? Here's a "piece of the brownie" for you to sample. I bet you'll be back for more!


From Dane Ortlund:


"I don't want to be obnoxious about this (and if this is old hat to you thanks for your patience--though if it feels old hat, that itself is probably indicative of your need for the very truth I'm mentioning here), but I'm going to keep mentioning things that are currently helping me, and right now I'm working through this question of the intersection of the startling freeness of the gospel and Christian holiness.

How would you fill in the blank? "It ought to be the primary goal of every Christian to ________________."

Pursue personal holiness? Lead others to Christ? Serve others in love? Cultivate the spiritual disciplines?

Here's Luther's answer: "It ought to be the primary goal of every Christian to put aside confidence in works and grow stronger in the belief that we are saved by faith alone" (The Freedom of a Christian [trans. M. Tranvik; Fortress 2008], 55). The primary goal of every Christian."

Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology: How Do We Make the Huge Decisions in Life?

This guy writes great stuff! Come on. Trust God and take a leap!
Strawberry-Rhubarb Theology: How Do We Make the Huge Decisions in Life?: "With Calvinism and courage. Calvinism says: The God presented to me in the Bible is so massive, so much more life-encompassing than the pun..."