Thankful in November - 5

Giving thanks with Rebecca.

I am thankful for our Veterans. The commitment they have made to insure our freedom is invaluable. I can't begin to understand what it must be like to live with the memories that they carry home from war (those who live to return home). It takes a special type of man or woman to face whatever may be around the next hill. I pray that God blesses our brave men and women in uniform; those who have gone before and those who are serving now. I honor these as well as the ones who have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Father, keep them under Your wing of protection. Guide them into Your Truth, affording them eternal life, the highest blessing You give. Amen.

Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Browsers Matter...AKA Browser Matters

I just looked at my last post in Mozilla and was frustrated to see that there is a huge space between the picture and text and that the crickets video flows into the right hand column. If the format doesn't look right here, and you start to doubt my abilities as a blogger, you might want to visit me in Chrome.

Thankful in November - 4

Oh my. I am thankful for Beethoven!

AKA - A layman's review

I had never been to a symphony before Friday evening and when our son invited us, I was mostly just excited to spend time with him. Even looking back on my blog about it, I notice that I wrote about what was happening before and after the symphony, but nothing significant about the symphony.

We thought we were getting there plenty early, but by the time we arrived the parking lot was packed. So much so that we had to drive over a curb to park in a grassy area. We wouldn't have even thought of doing that, but there were a bazillion cars parked along there already.

I was overwhelmed at the beauty of the 9th Symphony, as well as the outstanding performance of those involved. Beethoven was deaf when he composed that piece and as it unfolded with all of its intricacies and complexities, I became more and more aware of what an incredible gift God had given him.

Watching and listening to the orchestra was completely delightful. I was close enough to the front of the auditorium to watch the bows quiver as they ran across the strings and later, the stitches in the mezzo soprano's golden sparkley dress. Don't worry though, the sound was superb. The concert hall has outstanding acoustics and apparently there are very few bad seats in the house.

This was the first symphony ever written to include vocals. On Friday, for most of the symphony, the choir just sat in chairs behind and on either side of the orchestra and listened to them play. Then, I believe between the second and third movements, the soprano--with the china-doll face, wearing a satiny red formal, the mezzo soprano in a golden dress with a bodice full of glitter and just one shoulder strap (like on the Flinstones, only classy), and the tenor and baritone in handsome tuxedos followed the conductor onto the stage...and sat down in chairs in front of the orchestra. They sat, and sat, and sat, and looked lovely, and sat, and seemed to be enjoying the music very much.

Then...they stood up, and all of the other singers stood up and the conductor began to direct their voices as though they were instruments too and what followed was a most spectacular performance of "Ode to Joy." There was one point at which the sopranos held a particularly loud note (and I believe my friend said it was an A of some sort) for a particularly long time that bothered my husband's bad ear very much, and it was around that time, when the sounds of the voices seemed almost chaotic to me, that I was reminded of the CD called "God's Cricket Chorus." Though as I listen to it now, I realize it is quite different.

It truly was a delightful experience. When it was over, I wanted it to begin again and when I found out it was going to be performed again on Saturday night in a nearby town, I wanted to go again, but the lease on our coach would be up before then and we had far too many miles to travel to try to make it home in a pumpkin.

P.S. If I did wear glass footwear, they would be Birkenstocks.

Thankful in November - 3

Rebecca is thankful and so am I.

I am thankful for my dear husband, who is devoted to our Lord. He loves me. When I was young, I did not expect I would ever find a person who would love me. He did. But even more, he loves me for who I have become. Neither of us were saved when we married and I came to know Christ first. The Lord didn't draw him to Himself for two more years. Those were a couple of tough years, but once we were again equally yoked (21 years under the same easy yoke), God began to grow us closer and better in Him.

Hold the milk. Hold the eggs.

Life just became a bit more complicated. I have suspected that I should not be eating milk or eggs for some time, but I just didn't want to face it or admit it. I have finally come to the point that I can make gluten free versions of food that are really good, really satisfying, and now I have to start all over again. I will survive. I will figure it out. Things could be worse. Tonight I am feeling a little pouty though. A lot of my recipes just became obsolete.

However, I am quite certain I am going to feel a lot better now. And for that, I am thankful.

Thankful in November - 2

Every day I have things I want to tell you about that I am thankful for, but I have a hard time getting here to post them. Just so you know - I am thankful every day and I am very thankful that Rebecca is reminding me to keep my thoughts turned toward thankfulness, because we are commanded to be so.

Today I am thankful that God chose to deliver me from original sin. Before a person is in Christ, he (or she) has no choice in the matter. People are born in sin. Born sinners. We are not sinners because we sin. We sin because we are sinners. We are sin's slaves. The devil's slaves. It is our nature.

Does that bother you? Do you reject that premise? Have a kid. Watch a baby. Do you teach him to do bad? Do you need to give her lessons on how to demand her own way or to be selfish? Nope. You have to train him to behave. Ground rules must be set and consistently enforced. Miles and miles of stacks of books have been filled with advice on how to make a child be good, but a parent doesn't seek out literature on how to teach a child to break windows or pound on a sibling.

And even after you carefully read and follow the directions, she winds up screaming bloody murder at the top of her lungs in the grocery store because you won't by her the egg-coloring kit she wants at Easter.

When he is little, he is so cute that you laugh when he colors on your newly painted walls, but as he grows, as the cuteness wears off, you find yourself living with a little monster who kicks you and yells, "I HATE YOU DADDY!" You wonder, how did this happen? It didn't. He came that way in the package. You got her "as is." We are rotten to the core and only God can make things right.

Thanks for being my only hope, Lord. Thanks for saving me from sin's dread sway.

I'd Rather Have Jesus

Words by Rhea F. Miller

Tune by George Beverly Shea

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold,

I'd rather be His than have riches untold;

I'd rather have Jesus than houses or lands,

I'd rather be led by his nail-pierced hands.

Than to be a king of a vast domain

Or be held in sin's dread sway

I'd rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today.

I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause;

I'd rather be faithful to His dear cause;

I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame,

I'd rather be true to His holy name.

He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom;

He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb;

He's all that my hungering spirit needs,

I'd rather have Jesus and let Him lead.

Thankful in November

Because it is the Thankful Month...

Because Rebecca does it and encourages the rest of us to join her...

Because the Lord says so, "Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

Because I am thankful.

I am thankful for an opportunity that is coming up at the end of this week. On Friday, my husband and I are going to travel to another part of the state to see our son, by invitation. He is taking us to a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

We will go early enough to meet some of his friends. We will meet one who owns a bookstore we will get to browse through. Maybe I will even find a book to buy!

We will then go to his regular Friday night haunt. The home of a couple who nearly every week puts out the welcome mat out and has plenty of pizza for whoever wants to come by (lots of college students take them up on the offer). They play games, watch movies, speak Nerd, or whatever comes to mind.

We will be spending the night at the home of his roommate's parents (a delightful couple with a delightful family). They have adopted our son and have him over a lot. And they have graciously offered us a place to stay. I anticipate a lot of laughter.

For having a well-planned Friday night, we have no plans for Saturday beyond just being together, which will be lovely, as we have not seen him since before school started. Also, both my husband and I have lived in the town and love to go back and visit. I am confident we will find wonderful ways to fill the day.

We will come home that evening, as we have duties in church on Sunday.

It is so good for a momma to know that her little boy (age 29) has such good friends, because even though he is 29, he is still my boy. Working on a doctorate is hard work and I am thankful that he has such a solid, godly network of support along the way.

To Russia with Love

Our pastor and one of our elders from church are off to Tambov, Russia on a mission trip. They will be teaching on the doctrine of God at a conference there. They also are delivering a whole lot of slippers for orphans.

While they were preparing to leave, there were a number of things that came up and came to mind that caused them to doubt whether they were even going to get to go. As late as Monday evening, they didn't think it was going to happen. I love how God often stretches our faith and then confirms it.

You can follow the blessings and antics here: Russian Mission Trip (read about how God did the stretching here).

On Psalm 111:2

"Great are the works of the LORD; they are studied by all who delight in them" (Psalm 111:2).

This is a statement of fact. Those who delight in the works of the LORD, study those works. Where do we find an account of His works? In Scripture. Do you consider yourself a Christian? Do you claim to belong to the One whose name is behind that title? Are you a slave of Christ? If so, it should be evident in what you do. You should delight in God's works and be studying those works. If you don't: if they bore you, if you are too busy to be bothered, if a sermon or message that delves too deep or takes too long drives you nuts, if you would rather be anywhere but face to face with God's Truth, if you don't spend time engaged in spiritual activities and deep down, don't want to, then you better re-examine who you are. Are you a Christian? Really? Do you really belong to Jesus Christ (the demons believe in Him and tremble, but they are not saved - see James 2:10)?

Jesus isn't the slave of mankind. He isn't sitting up in heaven waiting for yo to ring a bell so He can come running to do your bidding. The believer in Jesus Christ is a slave to Him. We are called to do His bidding. We are to be reading and studying His Word regularly, praying always, attending church on Sunday mornings, fellowshipping with other believers, sharing the Gospel with the unsaved and growing in Christ. This doesn't mean if you miss some Sundays because of circumstances you are not a Christian—it means this should be the pattern of your life.

If your life is too busy to afford this pattern, you better think twice before you call yourself a Christian. You better get to your knees and ask God to give you a delight for His works.

I feel used...

...by God whenever I am given the opportunity to proclaim His Truth to someone who doesn't know Him. What an amazing blessing that is!

It Is Well

This song was sung at my sister's funeral years ago (she was 39) and then later at a church where we attended, we did parts singing and sang it at my father's funeral. It has always stirred my spirit and helped me to be content. These ladies sing it beautifully.

Matthew 20:16

"So the last shall be first, and the first last."

I have always struggled with this concept. I pictured a line of people waiting to get in, where the order of people is reversed so that the guy standing at the back moved to the front and the guy at the first of the line moved to the back, but it never sat well with me and I couldn't work it out. Silly girl, context is king. I should have looked at the parable Jesus had just told to get my answer, since verse 16 is the conclusion to that parable.

Today I read this note in my MacArthur Study Bible: "In other words, everyone finishes in a dead heat. No matter how long each of the workers worked, they each received a full day's wage. Similarly, the thief on the cross will enjoy the full blessings of heaven alongside those who have labored their whole lives for Christ. Such is the grace of God.

My mind's illustration of the verse has changed. Now I think of the guy at the front of the line standing side by side with the second guy, who is side by side with the third guy, and so on until the last guy in line is standing side by side with the guy in front of him. All are equal. All are first in line. A tie of all who are in the race. Everybody gets in first. Nobody comes in later. That is how God is with His children.

But if you don't know Him, you can't even stand in the line, let alone get into heaven...only Jesus can get you in.

Pound Cake

This is well worth seven minutes and fifty-two seconds.

God is Amazing!!!

God is amazing and He has created mankind to be able to invent things to make life easier from the stuff He created, but we have become self-centered, I-want-what-I-want-and-I-want-it-now peeps who take everything for granted (including our Creator). Not a big fan of Conan--at all--but I agree with his last statement. Other than that, this guy makes a great point.

Speaking of Legacies

As we all know, legacies can be both positive and negative. Yesterday was the 305th anniversary of Jonathan Edward's birth and American Minute featured his legacy as well as the one of a fellow by the name of Jukes. I have heard of these before, quite enlightening.

What sort of legacy are you leaving for your descendants?

"Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God" (2 Chronicles 5:20).

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The picture is from the Library of Congress website, under Religion in 18th-Century America. The introductory sentence to the page is: "Against a prevailing view that eighteenth-century Americans had not perpetuated the first settlers' passionate commitment to their faith, scholars now identify a high level of religious energy in colonies after 1700."