Top Ten Things We Did Today.

(by Michelle and her Mommy Dearest:)

1. Ate a tasty breakfast with incredible people from all over the world!
2.Drove to Bethlehem to see where Jesus was born. (Thank you, Mrs. Hames, for driving!)
3.Took a walk beneath ancient olive trees in the Garden of Gethesemene
4. Were blown away by the stunning vew of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives
5.shopped at an Israeli grocery store!
6.Found out that going to Jordan from Israel won't be that difficult!
7.Delicious lunch at Christ Church Guesthouse with some folks from Holland.
8.Scrumptious dinner at Christ Church Guesthous with Jane and Paul Hames!
9.Got to put the books we brought on the shelf. Sounds wierd, but so much fun!
10.Got to help out in the kitchen of a ministy that God has used to encourage and strengthen the hearts of many over the past 200 years!

Flying over a sea of clouds!

The following was written in my journal about four hours ago....

Yikes! I'm on a plane to London. It's really hard to believe....the plane left about 11:15pm, and now it would be 3:30am American time.

What an adventure this is! My mom is sleeping beside me, and the whole plane is quite dark. I couldn't sleep much, so I watched Kit Kitterage on my own personal TV screen.

Now everything is quiet, and I opened up the window and I think we are flying over the sea! It's just begining to get light (it's probably about 8:00 in London, which is still a few hours away) and how strange and wonderfully sureal it is to hear nothing but the hum of the plane, and to look out at the darkness which is gradually growing into a morning blue.

At first I thought I could see the land ahead of us, but it wasn't getting any closer! Then I realized it was only the wing of the plane:)

***

It's definately getting lighter now, a beautiful blue-ish, misty grey outside, disturbed only by the bright light flashing at the tip of the wing and the pale, shimmering stars in the fading darkness.

***

I thought earlier that what I saw beneath us was the sea, but now I realize it is actually a sea of clouds! Simply breathtaking! And how amazing that it is already mid-morning in England, and we are flying into the dawn, rather than the dawn flying into us...everything is so beautiful!

I think I am finally beginning to believe this trip is for real! And I can't tell you how terribly thrilled I am...

***

Ah, how beautiful! Now there is a pale peach light breaking sofly on the glorious sea of cottony clouds, gently accenting their rippling beauty. It is almost like we are flying over a field of early morning snow, piled high and rippling with soft snow drifts. The whole sky and clouds below is soft and blue and bright, yet somehow still asleep.

The light dawns so slowly that I almost cannot notice it. I am only aware that there are now details on the wing, whereas before it was just a black sillouette against the sky.

Now the clouds are thinning out a bit, and they are quote more like the lumps of cotton I picked with with the neighbors around the block jsut a few weeks ago. Little bits of cotton floating in the sea...that's what it looks like! And futher out there is what appears to be an island of white softness that would be so lovely to sleep upon!

***

I switched on my TV and it announced that there is 1 hour and 53 minutes remaining on the flight...so I could get two hours of sleep, but oh! How could I sleep amidst such what such beauty is taking place? How delicious the clouds look...how magnificently soft. But I really must get some sleep!

***

Well, I shut the window for two minutes but opened it again to take a few pictures. I just couldn't bare to keep that window shut! And WOW! How brilliant the sky has become in only these few moments! It is even more angelically bright and soft, and just above the horizon of clouds there is a brilliant streak of violet-blue that fades into a pale, rosy orange.



There are big patches of clouds now, and so whispy! The pale light in the distance makes the tips of the plane burn with a glorious gold.

***

I managed to get a few minutes of sleep, and oh how lovely! Opening the window after laying my head down for a bit is just like waking up from you warm bed and stepping outside to find the world painted with the gloriously brilliant white of winter's first sweet snowfall.

It's so strange how it's gone from 11:15pm to 9:20am in only about 5 hours!

***


I would tell you more, but our internet time is just about up! Later I'll tell you about our walk about London....until then, farewell!

More than words

"A hope and a future..."

So October is getting closer....and on the 25th of that month I will be on a plane to Israel, if God's willing! It is sometimes difficult for me to articulate how I feel about this upcoming trip. But Larry Norman, at an encouraging blog I've been reading lately, wrote about how he is going on a trip to Martinique. He wrote what I wish I wrote! He puts into words so clearly the thoughts that are blundering about in my mind, reminding me of the truth that remains despite my anxious feelings or the circumstances I find myself in...the truth and security found in Christ. How refreshing it is to be reminded of that truth!
No matter what happens, God is good.

One of my favorite verses recently has been Psalm 116:7:

"Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you."

Yes, he has been good indeed! And in Jeremiah 29:11 I have the promise that he will continue to be good to me.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

God is good. And that is what I was reminded of when I read this post by Larry Norman earlier today. You can read it too, and be reminded of a God who gives us a hope, a hope that's bigger than the small scope of this world and the mountains we face. It is a hope won for us on the cross, and secured for us in the power of his ressurection. What a hope!

"I keep flitting around emotionally on what it will be like in Martinique. First and foremost my battle is trust God that everything will be for my good out there, even if everything doesn't go according to my plan! He promises me that and I know, in my sane moments, He will never, never, never, never break His word.

After that everything kind of just falls into place. I really, really, really will miss my friends and family I think. Yet again I know I shall not lack anything that I need, and hopefully this time will help me bring my wants closer in line to my needs.

So often life is a battle of the heart and the mind. In fact it always is really. Bringing my heart in sync with the truth and not letting it be brainwashed by all the messages this world sends out is really hard. Specifically this means not believing that I have to control everything or that friends, and family are God's greatest gift. They are great but not the greatest. God is the greatest gift. He will never leave me nor forsake me, He will be the strength of my heart and my Portion forever."

-Larry Norman
http://willingwriter.blogspot.com

Mere Dreaming? Or something else....

Somethimes when I think about my upcoming trip to Israel, I can't even believe it will be happening. It's too good to be true. Other times, I wonder if I must be crazy or something. My relatives seem to think so.

But a few days ago I stumbled upon a post by a new favorite blogger, Kath Arnold, that simply blew my mind. What a refreshing reminder! A reminder of what counts. Of what is real.

But read it for yourself, and be encouraged!

"Yes, once again I am ‘borrowing’ the internet from my old house, it’s very kind of them. And once again I feel the need to write something on this screen. Mainly to vent a few thoughts I’ve had in the last couple of days. These thoughts fall neatly into one sentence: Heaven had better be real. It affects everything. If there is no resurrection, if there is no world better than this one, if there is no reason to live beyond myself then all the decisions I and my mates are making right now are stupid ones. It makes no sense for my brother to head half way around the world, it makes no sense for one of my best mates to be in Ethiopia, it makes no sense for me to have left a brilliant place and lovely people and have moved out. And there is more, it makes no sense for me to have spent all my 20s doing jobs that pay little money in the belief that eternity matters more than right now. It makes no sense for me to have not spent time seeking to build perfection here (alright I have spent lots of time trying to do that but it hasn’t really worked out…), it makes no sense for me to be moving in with 3 other people, 2 of which I don’t know all that well and trying to be family with them.

If Christ has not been raised we are to be pitied more than all people. Why? Because these decisions are utterly foolish if there isn’t more to this world than all we can see, taste, hear, smell and touch.

7And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. 18Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. 19If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Phew. And so we carry on. I’ll carry on waiting for the dust to settle on my emotions and my random headspace right now. We’ll carry on working through the hard sorting out stuff of moving and trust that Someone else has schemes and plans that we can only wonder about. We are just creatures in the hands of One who really does know better than us. Mere dreaming? Or the result of an empty tomb 2000 years ago…?"

Because you've been so anxiously waiting....

Michelle Le Cuisinier: Episode 2

Michelle Le Cuisinier: Episode 1

My first cooking show! I've certainly learned some things I need to improve on, but it was an incredibly fun experiment anyway! I was inspired to do it by my new, ridiculously amazing and simple-to-use video camera, The Flip. My mom kindly offered to film my endeaver, and sam was the daring taste-tester.

The chicken I made on the show actully tasted pretty tasty, if I may say so myself, but the green beans were a bit tough. Ah well, C'est la vie.

No need to say goodbye.

"It started out as a feeling which then grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
Which then turned into a quiet word

And then that word grew louder and louder till it was a battle cry

I’ll come back when you call me, no need to say goodbye

Just because everything’s changing doesn’t mean it’s never been this way before
All you can do is try to know who your friends are as you head off to the war

Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light

You’ll come back when it’s over, no need to say goodbye
You’ll come back when it’s over, no need to say goodbye

Now we’re back to the beginning, it’s just a feeling and no one knows yet
But just because they can’t feel it too, doesn’t mean that you have to forget

Let your memories grow stronger and stronger till they’re before your eyes

You’ll come back when they call you, no need to say goodbye
You’ll come back when they call you, no need to say goodbye

---------------------------------------




I really love this scene- the lyrics to the song in particular. I'm close to crying each time I watch it, and I think it's because this song, and in a way the story of Narnia, reflects the hope that everyone on earth longs for.

"It stared out as a feeling, which than grew into a hope
Which then turned into a quiet thought
which then turned into a quiet word"

This part reminds me of Lucy. Aslan came to her quietly, by the river and in her dream, which reminded her of hope- the hope he had promised before. It came so quietly, that whisper, that some people didn't catch it.

I think sometimes God speaks to us like that, and sometimes like Peter and the others we miss it. We're waiting for some huge immediate victory that we are more inclined to be persuaded by the glamour of the White Witch and so fail to hear the whipser of Aslan (or God) - who really has already won.

"And then that word grew louder and louder, till it was a battle cry".

Wow. Aslan did come roaring in, just not how they expected it...and how much more victorious it was than when they trusted in themselves to win.

At first I was confused by Aslan, when he kept saying, "Things never happen the same way twice". I thought to myself, "Is that his excuse for all those Narnians being killed? He didn't want to things the same way twice?"

But then I realized he was right...in a way. Things won't happen the same way twice- like him rushing in and saving the day from the very begining.

But there is one thing that always happens the same way- more than twice. That is God's love. And sovereignty. This next line really reflects that I think:

"Just because everything's changing doesn't mean it's never been this way before".

Yes, things are changing. But God is not- not his love or his promises.

"Pick a star on the dark horizon and follow the light
You'll come back when it's over, no need to say goodbye. You'll come back when it's over."

Christ will return- victoriously. And he is the light on the dark horizon.

"Now we're back to the beginning, it's just a feeling and no one knows yet. But just because they can't feel it too, doesn't mean that you have to forget."

Sometimes we seem to be "back at the begining", maybe we don't feel all the close to God as we used to. Maybe it seems like he isn't there.

But he is. And just because we may not "feel it", doesn't mean he isn't there. After all, his love for us is not based on how we feel at a certain moment, it's based on who we are in Christ.

"Let your memories grow stronger and stronger,
till they're before your eyes"

We do have a hope that is certain, and it's found in Christ. Let them constantly be in our minds till they grow so strong they are before our eyes- so vivid that we can be filled with peace, because we know that God is in control.

And you know what's cool? God is so much more amazing than Aslan. His promises are so much broader, so much more beautiful. He didn't just die for one boy but for all the boys and girls and men and women that betrayed him. Like me. And you.

That's why I love this scene, I think. It sings of hope, and it makes me long even more for when Christ will return.

He'll come back, when it's over....no need to say goodbye.

Because in the big story of the world, there is a light at the end. There is a hope to cling to. Maybe that's what Sam Gamgee (or Tolkien) meant when he said,

"It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered, full of darkness and danger they were. Sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when there’s so much bad that had happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why."

I want to be like Sam. Even when the world seems to be crashing down around him, he remembers that there is a hope to cling to- that things will get better. That's the hope I see in Lucy's eyes as she looks back at the train station- she doesn't see him, but she can smile. She remembers the promise in his eyes, and she knows he'll call her back.


No need to say goodbye.

After some thinking.....

I've made a few decisions.

Decision #1: declining a position at the Cookie Shop.
Decision #2: deciding not to take a class at Wake Tech.
Decision #3: Decided to write this blog post.


There are so many good things in this world, so many fantastic opportunities, that it's quite hard to know what is actually best. I realized that right now my passion is art, and taking a class or a job would take time away from that passion, as well as from music and reading and gardening....and I think I take my time for granted.

Decision #4: To be intentionally and decidedly productive.

I've decided that since I'm not actually going to school, I'm still going to study diligently. Primarily in art, but I am also going to make a list of a few books to read. Particulartly on theology or biographies, but I also want to study the book of Collosians, reading through it and hearing what others have to say on it, and altogether soaking it in. If you want to read it with me, please do so! We can blog about it.

I also want to spend more time with friends. In October, I am leaving the country. For good. Just kidding....but it's for a year, which is "for good" for awhile! So I really want to build up my connections here at home this summer and the few months I have in fall. Why? Because I love my friends, but I also want to have a strong prayer team for me when I leave. There will be lots of suprises and difficulties when I get there, and your support will be invaluable!! Seriously. I'm going to miss everybody, but I'll definately be blogging from the Old City!

Another thing I'm determined to do this summer is blog more regularly. I know you don't believe me, but really, you should. :)

So now I'll leave you with some beautiful words written by Anne Steel. It's a song redone by Jars of Clay that I listened to while jogging the other day, and it really helps me to refocus. Sometimes I get so cauught up with my own plans here on earth, that I get discouraged...but God has a bigger plan, and it definately involves grace! When I remember his promises, what Christ accomplished for me at the cross, than to him "I breathe my souls desires", and I know he's got it under control.

JESUS, I LIFT MY EYES
traditional words by Anne Steele (alt. by Jars of Clay)/music by Jars of Clay

When sins and fears prevailing rise
And fainting hope almost expires
Jesus to Thee I lift my eyes
To Thee I breathe my soul's desires

Are You not mine, my living Lord
And can my hope, my comfort die
Fixed on the everlasting word
That word which built the earth and sky

Jesus, I lift my eyes
To Thee I breathe my soul's desires
Jesus, I lift my eyes
To Thee I lift my eyes

Here let my faith unshaken dwell
Immovable the promise stands
Not all the powers of earth or hell
Can e'er dissolve the sacred bands

Jesus to Thee I lift my eyes
Jesus, I lift my eyes
To Thee I breathe my soul's desires
Jesus, I lift my eyes
To Thee I lift my eyes

Here oh my soul
Thy trust repose
If Jesus is forever mine
Not death itself that last of foes
Can break a union so divine

Jesus, I lift my eyes
To Thee I breathe my soul's desires
Jesus, I lift my eyes
To Thee I breathe my soul's desires

"It’s like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered, full of darkness and danger they were. Sometimes you didn’t want to know the end, because how could the end be happy. How could the world go back to the way it was when there’s so much bad that had happened? But in the end it’s only a passing thing, this shadow; even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines, it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why."

-Samwise Gamgee

Bob Dylan: Mr. Tambourine Man

One reason why I posted that video of that song is because of the words. I especially love the fourth verse, "yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free"! There's something really deep and beautiful about it that flows so calmly with the simple music.

Mr. Tambourine Man
Bob Dylan

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

1.
Though I know that evenin's empire has returned into sand,
Vanished from my hand,
Left me blindly here to stand but still not sleeping.
My weariness amazes me, I'm branded on my feet,
I have no one to meet
And the ancient empty street's too dead for dreaming.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

2.
Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin' ship,
My senses have been stripped,
my hands can't feel to grip,
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be wanderin'.
I'm ready to go anywhere, I'm ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise to go under it.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

3.
Though you might hear laughin', spinnin', swingin' madly across the sun,
It's not aimed at anyone, it's just escapin' on the run
And but for the sky there are no fences facin'.
And if you hear vague traces of skippin' reels of rhyme
To your tambourine in time, it's just a ragged clown behind,
I wouldn't pay it any mind, it's just a shadow you're
Seein' that he's chasing.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

4.
Then take me disappearin' through the smoke rings of my mind,
Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves,
The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach,
Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow.
Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free,
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands,
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves,
Let me forget about today until tomorrow.

Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
I'm not sleepy and there is no place I'm going to.
Hey! Mr. Tambourine Man, play a song for me,
In the jingle jangle morning I'll come followin' you.

Bob Dylan - Mr. Tambourine Man

Ahhh....thankyou, Bob Dylan! This song makes me happy.

I want a date life.

badly.

You're probably thinking, "What on earth has gotten into Michelle!?!?!?" But that's okay, because I totally think that alot. Don't worry, though, my title doesn't mean what you may think it means.

I realized how terribly lacking I am and how much I want a date life after reading a few chapters in the book, "I became a Christian and all I got was this Lousy T-Shirt"*.

You see, the author of this book (Vince Antonucci) writes about when his wife and he first started dating and got married. They had something special- they always wanted to be together. They never got tired of eachother. After work they'd play tennis together and go out to eat together and talk for hours and hours.

After they got married people would ask, "Are you two making sure you have a date night? You have to have a weekly date night!" and they would just laugh behind their backs, because they had a date life.

Then, as time went on and new demands from work and children arose, something happed. He said, "The sense of adventure we once has was being snuffed out by a passionless daily routine. It was all just....disappointing."

After a few years, they realizes things weren't going to "just get better" and they decided to get counseling. The counselor told them that they needed to start doing the things they used to do together- when they had a date life. They needed to make whatever changes they had to so they could start spending quality time together- face to face. It had to be face-to-face.

So, they commited to a weekly date night- focusing on things that would bring them face-to-face. At first, it was awkward, but it gradually gained momentum and soon they once again had a date life.

So what was the point of all this? Vince Antonucci related it the Christian life. He said,

"The Christian life is about living life with Jesus. Living life with Jesus is about abiding in him. To abide means to live within. And so abiding is about living in the presence of: it's about depending on, it's about trusting in, it's about communicating with. To live life with Jesus, I must . . . get my face in front of his face."

He and his wife realized that, "We needed to start having a date night as the foundation upon which we built our date life. A date life was our goal, but a date night was a necessary part of establishing that.

What we're after with God is a life of abiding, a continual state of abiding. But to achieve that I need a concentrated period of abiding at some point in my day."


I want a date life...with Jesus. I want to be continually abiding in him. But more often I'm not! And I think alot of that is due to the fact that I don't always have an established time everday to spend time with Jesus in his word. I've never like the idea of a "quiet time", because it just seems so legalistic, as something to "check off" before getting on with my day, and sometimes it seems like prayer isn't much use. But I think that setting aside a concentrated time of abiding each day is a crucial foundation on which to establish that continual abiding.

Just like the date night was not the goal, it was what they needed to plan in order to get back their date life.

I want a date life. I want to get into the habbit of spending time with Jesus each day, face-to-face. I want to have such a relationship with God that when people remind me to spend time with God each day, I'd just smile, because I spend my entire life with God.

I want a date life. Don't you?





*I want to credit Vince Antonucci with this post, because even when I wasn't quoting him I was paraphrasing him or something! If you ever get a chance to read his book, do so! Seriously.

copy cat art and a dog that is smart.

So last night, at around 9:30, I sat down and began to paint. I've always loved the impressionists, but I can never manage to pull it off myself. I thought perhaps copying another impressionist's work would help me develop my own style. So............

The originial copy of this painting was done by Robert Vonnoh who lived from 1858-1933 and called this picture, "Beside the River". Unfortunately, I couldn't find the original anywhere online. With a oil paints and a sheet of watercolor paper, here is what I came up with:


I painted for 5 hours straight and, when it was finished, I finally went to bed at 2:30am. I just couldn't stop until it was done! By that time, I was covered nearly head to food with smudges of color....there's still a smudge of blue that just won't come off my elbow!

After I took a picture of it and uploaded it, I played around with the colors and thought it looked lovely in sepia tones:



So that's my copy cat art, and now for a dog that is smart. Unfortunately, I don't have one, because my dog apparantly doesn't meet all the qaulifications I set several years ago. These qualifications I set down in poem....a rather ridiculous poem, really. I think perhaps my former idea of smart dog was rather like Mr. Darcy's idea of an accomplished woman.....or not.

A Dog that is Smart
Michelle Bradburn, 2004

A dog that is smart,

Will know not to bark;
When neighbors walk
right past the house.

He won't beg at the table.
And he should be able;
To know to leave lone the shoe;
but never to let by the mouse.

A dog with a brain
Should know in the rain;
When going outside
give no fuss.

He won't chew up the hat
or chase way the cat.
And whenever it's dry;
He'll know not to kick up the dust.

A dog with much knowledge,
Should learn lots in college,
And always to do well
On his math.

He'll be good at division
and have a good vision.
And he should certainly
know how to laugh.

and peace suprise.

somewhere
in my troubled mind
resting there
perhaps I’ll find

that sweet taste
of mindless peace
that someone paced
and someone ceased.

I thought my eyes had recognized
the love I kept in dreams
but even as I idolized
those eyes were shut it seems.

notes of rainbows
in my ears
where the love flows
falls the tears

even as i breathe the sweet
dry wisteria air
laughter brings me to my feet
to stand upon my chair

sad the sky
it’s weeping so
sweet the tears
that makes love grow

depth of color
the torrents flow
streaks the paint
we’ll never know

dreaming up
i taste the sky
soaking sweet
the miles go by

shades of love
so filled with dreams
caught above
in endless streams

standing still
awhile with me
upon the hill
beside the sea

light unfolding
grace untold
love beholding
joy grown old

with the morning
songs will rise
the colors sing
and peace surprise.

stuff christians like....

My mum and I have been laughing out loud today at a new favorite blog: Stuff Christians Like.

Some people can write so much in so little, making you laugh and think about deep things at the same time. This guy is terribly good at that- you should check it out. Believe me. Or, if you don't believe me, believe Ragamuffin Soul, who said he is "a master of the tongue and cheek". On the right he's got a list of topics he's written about, which make it wonderfully easy to look around.

Seriously. If you have the time, check it out.

Registered to Vote.

Well, not quite yet, but I’m in the process of filling out the form. It’s a bit surreal, actually, because I clearly remember 4 years ago thinking, “Hey, I can vote next election,” and somehow it’s suddenly 2008 and it really doesn’t seem like that much time has passed. And now I just realized Sam is 14, and I said, “hey, you can vote next election!”

weird.

Anyway, I must say I would have been more excited to vote if there was anybody any good running, but apparently there isn’t. I guess that goes to show we can’t put our hope in presidents or countries or anything, really, except the gospel. At least that will never change, and at least the one who loves and saves us is much bigger than America, and the hope he talks about is a much greater reality than the hope that Obama likes to talks about.


I have a little card I found in my Grandma’s attica several years ago, just a little piece of paper yellowing with age, a simple decorative border and a poem under the title, “Unceasing Goodness.” I loved the antiquity of it, but better still are the words that just kinda shine with warmth or something, and every once in a while I turn back to it and and soak in the beautiful words. And though I know politics and that stuff is important and all, let’s just always keep in mind the bigger picture, and I think this poem is right on.


UNCEASING GOODNESS

Clouds drape the world; for God hath been neglected;
And unleashed evil forces seem to win!
The Arch Destroyer’s work may be detected,
For everywhere there stalks unbridled sin.

But God abides! His goodness is unceasing!
His sun still shines! His rain it still doth fall!
The earth its fruits is constantly releasing!
He hears and answers all who on Him call!

Unceasing goodness! Yea, ‘midst all life’s sorrow-
Midst all earth’s travail, tragedy and woe;
With all its dark, and so uncertain morrow-
We may unceasing goodness from Him know.

The flowers still bloom; the trees wear their adorning;
The little birds, untroubled, sweetly sing;
And we, His own, yea, children of the Morning,
Look for the day when Christ shall reign as King.

-J. Danson Smith

Music....

"My heart, which is so full to overflowing, has often been solaced and refreshed by music when sick and weary."
-Martin Luther

"When griping grief the heart doth wound,
and doleful dumps the mind opresses,
then music, with her silver sound,
with speedy help doth lend redress."
-William Shakespeare

"The best, most beautiful, and most perfect way that we have of expressing a sweet concord of mind to each other is by music."
-Jonathan Edwards

"Music is well said to be the speech of angels."
-Thomas Carlyle

"You know what music is? God's little reminder that there's something else besides us in this universe..."
-from August Rush

pondering God's faithfulness

"Great is thy faithfullness, O God my Father..." all throughout the day I've had this song playing through my head. I sat at the piano, a gentle coolness blowing through the open door, where the snowy blossoms of the neighbor's pear-trees glowed softly in the blue dusk.

As I played through the song, I was reminded of the worries of the day and was washed once more with the beauty of God's faithfulness. The words to this song, written by an ordinary man named Thomas Obadiah Chisholm, readjusted my focus once more to the cross, to what God has promised and the hope I have in him. "Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not"; what a comforting reminder! No matter what I do, not matter how selfish I am or how little I pray, God doesn't change....and he doesn't change in his love towards me. How liberating to know that my salvation does not depend on my spiritual accomplishments and strength, but on his unchanging grace.

Paul said, "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

All too often, I'm afraid, I do "set aside the grace of God", telling myself how much I must do to really win God's approval. I think to myself, "I hardly read my Bible as much as I should, I know I don't pray enough, and I don't really feel all that close to God....what must God think of me."

Oh, but how sweet to know that my salvation and God's opinion of me is not determined by anything I do....if it were, how hopeless I would be! But it's not- God does not look at me and see all my faults, all the ways I fail. No- he see's the righteousness of Christ, and that is how he judges me. God is delighted in me- not because of anything I've done to deserve it, but because of what Christ has achieved for me. How wonderful!!

This morning I was listening to a sermon on John 17 by Dan Hames- you can listen here if you have some time. He talks about the loving unity of the trinity, and how, because of what Christ did on the cross, we can enter into that unity as well. John 17:23 says:

"May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me."

He ends with a pertitent question that I think has alot to do with not setting aside the grace of God, like Paul said, and I think it is a question I ought to ask myself more often. That is: "Am I basing my christian identity and my feeling of security on the things I do for God, or on what Christ has done for me? Where is my assurance coming from?"

Let me end with the words of the song I played earlier this evening , the song that sweetly reminds me of God's unchanging faithfullness; not unchanging because of my faithfulness to God (nay, far from it!), but unchanging because of his grace, and his grace alone.


"Great is thy faithfulness, O God my father,
There is no shadow of turning with thee:
Thou changest not, thy compassions, they fail not;
As thou hast been thou for ever wilt be.

Great is thy faithfulness! Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see:
All I have needed thy hand hath provided—
Great is thy faithfulness," Lord unto me!

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,
Join with all nature in manifold witness
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth,
Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow,
Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside."

-Thomas O. Chisholm

Josh Rouse - Quiet Town

Defining worship....

I was over at worshipmatters.com this evening and was reading through some very encouraging and insightful articles Bob Kauflin wrote about worship, as I'm in the process of writing an essay for English on the subject.

I was reading through his one post called Defining Worship in which he, oddly enough, defines worship. He does this by quoting several other people on the subject, and there was one that stood out to me as so astonishingly simple, yet so powerful and true! It was written by William Temple (1881-1944) in "Readings in St. John's Gospel." There are so many debates on the subject of worship in the church that it's always refreshing to be reminded about what it's really all about.

He says:

"Worship is the submission of all our nature to God. It is the quickening of conscience by His holiness; the nourishment of mind with His truth; the purifying of imagination by His Beauty; the opening of the heart to His love; the surrender of will to His purpose – and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy for that self-centeredness which is our original sin and the source of all actual sin”.

-William Temple

Idols.

A rather looming and unpleasant subject, I agree, but one that I was faced with rather directly and a bit frighteningly as I was reading through Isaiah this evening. I was reading chapter 40 and up quite peacefully......until, that is, I realized it was talking about me! It was talking about God's glory(which is indescribable and everlasting), man's glory (which, of course, is not like God's glory and will eventually wither away into nothingness) and how man tends to put his hope in man's glory and not God's glory. I do that quite a bit.

Chapter 44:8 says, "You are my witnesses. Is there any God besides me? No, there is no other rock; I know not one."

So often, however, I behave as if there were another rock! In my longings and desires, I begin to put my hope in other things; I think, "If only I could go here...", or, "If only this dream would come true", and I have built up for myself a worthless idol, just like the people Isaiah talks about.

Of course, I won't quite admit to myself that I worship an idol. No, I'll pretend like everything is fine. I'll say, "God is in control. He knows what is best. Wherever he leads me, I will go."

And yet, deep down inside, I somehow believe the incredibly absurd notion that my way is actually the best way. After all, it is a very good thing!

I am just like the carpenter Isaiah tells the story of in 44:13-17. This carpenter has got some lovely trees growing in his backyard- some oak, pine, and glorious cypress. These trees are good things. He cuts some down and hauls them inside to light a big, beautiful fire to warm his house and bake his bread. These are good things! Great things!

But then, the carpenter makes a big boo-boo. With the wood he had left over, he decided to build his own personal god. A blind, deaf, wooden statue that didn't understand a thing. Yet, the carpentor prays to this lump of wood, saying, "Save me; you are my God".

Suddenly, this silly man has taken a good thing, a tree, and turned it into an idol- an idol that certainly cannot hear him, much less save him!

And yet, aren't we all silly people? Don't we all tend to forget the big picture and put our hope in worthless idols? Aren't we all idolaters?

One thing God hates is idolatry. He said,

"I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to another, or my praise to idols." (Isaiah 42:8)

So, if we are so fallible and prone to worship false gods, are we without hope? Not at all! Listen here:

"I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you did not acknowledge me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other God.
I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledge me...
...Let the earth open wide, let salvation spring up, let righteousness grow with it;
I, the Lord, have created it."
(Isaiah 45:4-5,8)

Later, in the whole of chapter 53, Isaiah paints a stunning description of this salvation; an unmistakable portrait of Christ, written hundreds of years before Chirst was even born! Verse 5 says:

"He was pierced for our trangressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,
and by his wounds we are healed."

We are so caught up in the flesh and in earthly desires that we put our hope and trust in our little dreams, in the little wooden idols we have created, instead of Christ. These idols will not satisfy; they will only make us more thirsty! When we put our hope things - people, positions, plans for the future, dreams we have our heart set on - they become our idols, and, though they are deaf and dumb and could never save us, we cry out to them, "Save me!", and we rely on them for strength. We won't find strength there. We won't find salvation there. We will only find further thirst and weakness and hunger and death.

But God has offered us something so much more valuable: Christ. A few chapters later, in Isaiah 55, there is a beautiful and exciting description of this new life in Christ! It is an invitation to the thirsty, an invitation to us silly people who continually seek to find strength, hope and comfort in our little wooden idols. If we continually seek salvation in these little idols of ours that we build, we will always be thirsty- we cannot save ourselves. Let us come to Christ, the only rock, our only salvation. What an invitation!

"Come, all you are thirsty, come to the waters;
and you who have no money, come, buy and eat!
Come buy wine and milk, without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the riches of fare.

Give ear and come to me,
hear me, that your soul may live."
(Isaiah 55:1-3)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"He gives strength to the weary,
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the Lord,
will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint"
-Isaiah 40:29-31

So I was reading through a bit of Isaiah the other day, and while looking through chapter 54, I began sense something familiar about the words. As I continued reading, I realized with great excitement that one of my favorite songs was based on this scripture! The song "Pensive, doubting, fearful heart" had always been a great encourage to me (I got to know it through Red Mountain Music)....especially the very last verse....but never did I realize it was based almost directly from Isaiah. Reading through this Isaiah 54 makes the song even more powerful, as I remember the context and earth-shaking truth of the words.
Here are some of the verses from Isaiah, each followed by the the verse of the song that evidently corresponds. The author, John Newton, was cleary inspired by these beautiful words!

Isaiah 54:1 "Sing, O barren woman,
you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy,
you who were never in labor;
because more are the children of the desolate woman
than of her who has a husband,"
says the LORD.

Pensive, doubting, fearful heart,
Hear what Christ the Savior says;
Every word should joy impart,
Change thy mourning into praise.

Yes, He speaks and speaks to thee,
May He help thee to believe;
Then thou presently will see
Thou has little cause to grieve.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaiah 54:4 "Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame.
Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated.
You will forget the shame of your youth
and remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

5 For your Maker is your husband—
the LORD Almighty is his name—
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
he is called the God of all the earth.

Fear thou not, nor be ashamed;
All thy sorrows soon shall end,
I, who heaven and earth have framed,
Am thy Husband and thy Friend;

I the High and Holy One,
Israel's God, by all adored,
As thy Savior will be known,
Thy Redeemer and thy Lord.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Isaiah 54:7 "For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with deep compassion I will bring you back.

8 In a surge of anger
I hid my face from you for a moment,
but with everlasting kindness
I will have compassion on you,"
says the LORD your Redeemer.

10 Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,"
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

For a moment I withdrew,
And thy heart was filled with pain;
But my mercies I'll renew;
Thou shall soon rejoice again;

Though I seem to hide my face,
Very soon my wrath shall cease;
'Tis but for a moment's space,
Ending in eternal peace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isaiah 54:11 "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted,
I will build you with stones of turquoise, [a]
your foundations with sapphires. [b]

12 I will make your battlements of rubies,
your gates of sparkling jewels,
and all your walls of precious stones.

13 All your sons will be taught by the LORD,
and great will be your children's peace.

14 In righteousness you will be established:
Tyranny will be far from you;
you will have nothing to fear.
Terror will be far removed;
it will not come near you.

15 If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing;
whoever attacks you will surrender to you.

16 "See, it is I who created the blacksmith
who fans the coals into flame
and forges a weapon fit for its work.
And it is I who have created the destroyer to work havoc;

17 no weapon forged against you will prevail,
and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.
This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,
and this is their vindication from me,"
declares the LORD.

Though afflicted, tempest tossed,
Comfortless awhile thou art,
Do not think thou can be lost,
Thou art graven on my heart;

All thy wastes I will repair;
Thou shalt be rebuilt anew;
And in thee it shall appear
What the God of love can do.