The Preacher's Wife

I made another addition to my Listmania list that I wanted to share with you. Since it's the Christmas season now, it's time for our family to keep our tradition of watching this movie over and over again. Sometimes we leave it on while we're doing other things, like wrapping gifts or making cookies, along with "It's a Wonderful Life" or "Miracle on 34th Street." This movie is the modern version of "The Bishop's Wife" and I actually like it better. The major difference is that it's set in the black community and the church culture is very similar to the one that I grew up in. Denzel Washington plays Dudley, the angel, (Cary Grant was Dudley in the Bishop version) and Whitney Houston is the preacher's wife, Julia (played by Loretta Young in the original). Putting aside the sadness of Whitney's life now (she needs prayer), she plays the part beautifully and Denzel is so funny, especially his interactions with Henry, the preacher, who is played by Courtney Vance. David Niven was the bishop in the first.

This is classified as a romantic comedy and we do laugh every time we watch it. It's funny how certain movies will make you laugh even after seeing them over and over. The "h" word shows up a couple of times, but there will be little else that you would find offensive, even though it was produced in this day and age. One reason I like it is that even though the church culture is clearly there, it's done tastefully, and not foolishly. Also, even though it takes place in an urban setting, the harshness of inner city life is not focused on as it is in many other movies. Sure, the hard stuff is a reality, but there are some pretty nice folks in the city too. If you do get this movie or rent it, tell me if you don't agree that Henry and Julia's son Jeremiah is adorable.

I like all these Christmas stories and have watched them so many times, but like most, this one has no clear gospel message of who Jesus is and why He came. The closest we get to it is during the children's musical near the end. How I wish someone would produce a good Christmas story with good acting and a good plot, and somehow incorporate the true meaning of the first coming of our Lord and Savior. If you know of any, please let the rest of us know about it.

Come, Thou Long-Expected Jesus

Well, for another year we find ourselves in the midst of the Christmas season. We put our tree up today and from now on until December 25th, I have to fight with myself, once again, not to get caught up in all the commercialism. (Did I spell that right?)

Maybe posting a favorite seasonal hymn/carol each week will help keep us on track and focused. Let's start with this one by Charles Wesley, who you may recall wrote over 6,500 hymns. These are wonderful words to meditate on as we remember our Lord's first coming and anticipate His second one.

Come, thou long-expected Jesus,
Born to set thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us;
Let us find our rest in thee.
Israel's strength and consolation,
Hope of all the earth thou art;
Dear Desire of ev'ry nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born thy people to deliver,
Born a child, and yet a King,
Born to reign in us for ever,
Now thy gracious kingdom bring.
By thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By thine all-sufficient merit
Raise us to thy glorious throne.

By the way, what's your favorite Christmas carol and what words in it mean the most to you?

Happy Thanksgiving

It's hard for me to find words these days for some reason. But I didn't want this Thanksgiving to go by without expressing my thanks to my God for all He's done for me. Last year, I had a lot to say. I even did a series of posts, one for each of the days during the week preceding this holiday which I love so much. In these posts, I thanked the Lord for seven specific blessings. Thanksgiving Day was the seventh post, and I've decided to copy and paste it here. You see, I have no more to say now then I did then. My sentiments are exactly the same. So here is my post from November 23, 2006. May the Lord bless each and every one of you this Thanksgiving and every other day.

Well, it’s Thanksgiving Day. Today, I complete my list of blessings. Of course, you know that I would save the best for last. If I had a calculator and would start adding them up, I could name so many more than I have on this list. My home, my health throughout the years, my dog Frodo, certain relatives, all of God’s provisions of food and clothing, and other material possessions, are all things I’m thankful for.

The other day I looked up the word “blessing” in dictionaries in our home. Today I looked it up on Dictionary.com. (After all, I’m a modern day grandma.) There were six results, and the second and third meanings are the ones that apply here. The second meaning is “a special favor, mercy, or benefit” and the third is “a favor or gift bestowed by God, thereby bringing happiness.” Nothing fits these descriptions as marvelously and wonderfully as my salvation. Of all that I could stand up and proclaim as blessings from God, none can compare to what He has given me in Christ. My salvation is a special favor, mercy and benefit. It is a gift bestowed by God, which has brought me happiness beyond measure.

Those of you who know and love the Savior, stand up with me today, Thanksgiving Day, and praise the Lord for this, our best blessing. The others that we have will fade away, or die, or disappoint, or leave. Jesus never will do any of these. He’ll never leave us or forsake us—He’s promised us this and He keeps all His promises. So as thankful as I am for the six blessings which I have outlined during these past seven days, I am not resting on them for eternity. I’m only resting on Jesus.

Thank you Lord, for my salvation.

Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Fairest Lord Jesus,
Ruler of all nature,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Thee will I cherish,
Thee will I honor,
Thou my soul’s glory, joy, and crown.
~Munster Gesangbuch, 1677; tr.1850, 1873

Rejoicing and Weeping

Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Romans 12:15

I know I've been missing of late and if I haven't been to see you, it's because my heart hasn't been into blogging. I hope to be back next week.

I've been busy with others--preparing for a happy event as we put together a bridal shower for some close friends who are to be married next month. A time for rejoicing. And in the meantime, praying and ministering to friends whom I spoke about in the last post. Today was Ben's funeral. A time for weeping.

Such is life, isn't it? I refer you to Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 which was read at the funeral today.

Hope you are all well and that I might visit you next week. Blessings.

Come, Ye Disconsolate

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16

Come, ye disconsolate, where'er ye languish,
Come to the mercy-seat, fervently kneel:
Here bring your wounded hearts, here tell your anguish;
Earth has no sorrows that heav'n cannot heal.

Joy of the comfortless, light of the straying,
Hope of the penitent, fadeless and pure!
Here speaks the Comforter, in mercy saying,
"Earth has no sorrows that heav'n cannot cure."

Here see the Bread of Life; see waters flowing
Forth from the throne of God, pure from above:
Come to the feast prepared; come ever knowing
Earth has no sorrows but heav'n can remove.

Stanzas 1-2, Thomas Moore, 1816

Stanza 3, Thomas Hastings, 1832

For our dear friends, Ken and Wendy, whose son Ben was killed in an auto accident early this morning.

My International Day of Prayer post is at my other blog.

Listmania!

I don't know how many of you have the struggles that I do with tv, but I would imagine that some of you do. Mine have gone on for many years now, and at times I have wished I could throw the old "boob tube" out the window. I've long ago given up the idea that I can find anything decent on it during the evening hours on the regular networks. We don't have cable or anything, so we're limited. Well, videos and dvds to the rescue! I am so thankful that we can have them; they have been so helpful to our family. I strongly appreciate the control they give us, and like many other families, we have compiled our own little library, which is made up of the ones we enjoy watching more than once.

Today, I was on Amazon for another reason and discovered that you can make your own list of Amazon products that you want to refer to others for whatever purpose you might have. I thought this was a nice forum for me to make recommendations from our little home "library." I've thought about doing that here at the blog, but this is even better because I can just leave the list there and add to it now and then. So I started it today.

So far the list has one item on it! That's as far as I could get today as I can only squeeze in computer time here and there (as I am now) throughout the course of the day. You know how it is, right? No longer do I wait to get a block of time to blog or comment. I just take quick snatches of time in the midst of household duties, which means that sometimes a post may take all day to finish!

Well, this first recommendation on the list is The Waltons series. Please, if there is any family oriented tv show that you'd like to have in your home to watch together, this is it. I would imagine that most of you are familiar with this show and like me, are thankful that it is now being made available on dvd. It's being recorded a season at a time and I believe they've just finished with the fifth season. We have the first four and I guess season 5 will be a Christmas present to ourselves! My daughter gave me a book last Christmas entitled Goodnight John-Boy by Earl Hamner and Ralph Griffin. It's Earl Hamner's stories about his childhood in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia which inspired the pilot film "The Homecoming" and then this beloved television series. Here is a quote from the back of this book:

"For nine years The Waltons entertained America and the world. But this television series was more than just entertainment. Each episode combined wonderful stories and 'teachable moments' in which adults and children alike learned the importance of honesty, hard work, respect, responsibility, self-sacrifice, and kindness."

I agree. And I say this is a worthwhile investment for your family to make. I'll be adding to my list as soon as I can, so visit my Listmania! list sometime. My hope is that it might be a help to someone at some point. Also, I'll probably post about some of my additions from time to time, especially when I make new discoveries.

Now, gather the family and bring out the popcorn! I hope you're prepared for the cold snowy nights that are coming!

A Special Testimony

Earlier this year I made a post about Johnny Farese, a man who puts all of us to shame as he bears up under his affliction. Today, I ran across a video of Johnny and I WISH you would please go look at it. While you listen, keep in mind that here is someone who is living a USEFUL life for Christ. I felt so convicted about having complained of my little discomforts of this day. Christina at Baptist Girl has posted this video and given me permission to link to it. Also read Christina's powerful words about the sovereignty of God.

We Have Not Known Thee As We Ought

It seems like a long time since I posted a hymn from my original Thursday Thirteen listing that got me started on this weekly Saturday venture. There are only four more hymns left from that list, and this is one of them. It may not be familiar to you, as it wasn't for me until the last fifteen years or so. It's a hymn of repentance, and it has become one which I dearly love. The lyrics are so powerful, and unfortunately, so true. Read them carefully and tell me if these aren't words that each of us could utter in prayer to our Lord. Apparently, there are several melodies, but I particularly like the one we use at our church, which is the one found in the Trinity Hymnal of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. Even though we are Baptists, our church uses this hymnal and I'm glad for that because I've learned so many hymns I didn't know before which are so rich in doctrine and meaning.

Meditate on the heartfelt words from this hymnwriter, as they could surely be expressed by each one of us:

We have not known thee as we ought,
Nor learned thy wisdom, grace and pow'r;
The things of earth have filled our thought,
And trifles of the passing hour.
Lord, give us light thy truth to see,
And make us wise in knowing thee.

We have not feared thee as we ought,
Nor bowed beneath thine awful eye,
Nor guarded deed, and word, and thought,
Remembering that God was nigh.
Lord, give us faith to know thee near,
And grant the grace of holy fear.

We have not loved thee as we ought,
Nor cared that we are loved by thee;
Thy presence we have coldly sought,
And feebly longed thy face to see.
Lord, give a pure and loving heart
To feel and own the love thou art.

We have not served thee as we ought;
Alas! the duties left undone,
The work with little fervor wrought,
The battles lost, or scarcely won!
Lord, give the zeal, and give the might,
For thee to toil, for thee to fight.

When shall we know thee as we ought,
And fear, and love, and serve aright!
When shall we, out of trial brought,
Be perfect in the land of light!
Lord, may we day by day prepare
To see thy face, and serve thee there.

Newest Sox Fan

This little lady, who was born last Thursday at Boston's Franklin Park Zoo, was named on Monday, one day after the Boston Red Sox World Series victory. She will officially be known as "Sox" in honor of her home team. At birth, "Sox" weighed 154 pounds and measured 6 feet 2 inches tall. Isn't she a darling? If you like kids and babies (and who doesn't?) go to this photo gallary and see some other really cute little Red Sox fans.

I would like to take this opportunity to humbly admit to my several friends who were on the side of the winners that they do indeed have the better team. I have a feeling that one fan in particular is going to try to make my life miserable over this whole thing, but he will not succeed. Congratulations to Boston, who I understand also has quite a few Christians on the roster, as do the Rockies. I admit to that also. (Sorry, inside joke.)

Maybe next year at least one of the teams will win that I root for in the playoffs. My goodness, this was a bad post season for me. Well, there goes October--I was so hopeful when it started.

A Halloween Note

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God... I Corinthians 10:31-32

Just a few years ago when I was a young girl, Halloween was a big holiday in the small town I grew up in. We had a big parade down the main street with all kinds of costumes abounding. Adults took part in it too. Late in the evening, after the parade was over and kids were in the bed, it was a big thing to have some silent masked person come to your home wherein an extended "guessing game"took place. You would actually let this "unknown" person into your house! I have to admit that this holiday was a good deal of fun for me and putting together a costume to wear required a good bit of creativity--it was before the factory made ones were as readily available as they are today. Normally we would use items from around the house.

Well, those days are a thing of the past. After becoming a Christian and thinking about the true nature of this day, especially now, my husband and I made the decision that we could no longer celebrate it with a clear conscience. Our oldest daughter was four then, so it has been her lot and that of her sister not to have this day be one that was on our yearly list of celebrations. Others I knew made a different decision and I'm not here to discuss the controversy over whether we should or should not observe this day. Like everything else, it's something we should pray about and make sure that we want to follow the will of the Lord as we pray.

But I am here to make a suggestion if I could. It may or may not be useful for someone, but I thought I'd tell you about something we did in the early years of our abstention. There were lots of children in the neighborhood then, and we had a general friendliness with the people on our street and those bordering us in the back. The gospel can be an offense to the unsaved in and of itself, yet we didn't want to be offensive. So, here's what we did: A lady we knew offered pretty pencils to children who would come back on Thanksgiving (which they never did), and we decided to expand on that idea. When our many trick or treaters came to the door, we would tell them as nicely as we could that this was the one holiday that we didn't celebrate, but if they would return on Thanksgiving, we would give them a little gift for that holiday. Of course, they didn't come for their gifts, but on Thanksgiving morning, we would go to the homes of the ones whom we knew well, and take little gift cello bags of novelty toys, a pencil or bookmark, and a lollipop. A simple gospel tract with a Thanksgiving theme would be included. We'd give the gift(s) to a parent, and I tell you, each and every time there was a positive response. We felt we had made a stand for our convictions, but were still leaving the door open to share the gospel with our neighbors.

I don't know what God ever did with all of that, but for us, we firmly felt that we were serving Him. There are very few children around our neighborhood these days, at least none that we know well. I think most of the people in our area only take their children to parties or to the homes of friends. So we don't do it anymore.

I hope some of you may be able to use this idea in your situation, or think of some other way to seize the opportunity to witness for Christ, without taking part. If you have any ideas, let others know with a comment. For our family, even if we didn't take our kids out and only gave out tracts when others came to the door, we still felt that we would be taking part in it so we took this route instead. Hope this helps someone who is struggling over the whole matter. And, of course, I'm not suggesting that there's anything wrong with doing nothing at all, to the glory of God. Many folks are most comfortable with that.

Standing in the Gap

Our friend Sparrow has done it again. You see, she has this gift which enables her to create beautiful banners and images. This time she has used her gift on behalf of the persecuted church, by creating the lovely image displayed above. The International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church is fast approaching and we're recruiting prayer warriers and bloggers who'll help make this known to others. Won't you help? The Day of Prayer is set for November 11th and our persecuted brothers and sisters surely would appreciate it if there were a multitude of saints storming the gates of heaven on that day. You could make a post about it and/or you could get a banner to put on your sidebar. Please skip over to Sparrow's site for more details and to get the banner.

I'll not post a hymn this week, because I want this post to stay on top for several days. I did run across a hymn that is called "Home of the Soul" recently. I have never heard it sung, but I was touched by the words of the final stanza. Some of our persecuted brethren have already been martyred; some are imprisoned; others live in fear in their homes. These words are for them and for us:

O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,

So free from all sorrow and pain,

With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,,

To meet one another again.

~Ellen H. Gates

Everything But the Kitchen Sink!

Everything has been working in our house this week--except the kitchen sink. We've had a TERRIBLE jammo deep in the pipes and the sink has been unusable. We couldn't use the washing machine either because when the water would spin out, it would go all over the kitchen floor! That's exactly what happened to me Monday night when I was making my corn muffins! What a mess! But now I'm happy because it's fixed!! My husband and his nephew got the the pipes unplugged, during which time pipes broke, etc. etc., but as of now my handyman hubby has done whatever and now I can use the sink again!!! (My husband's not a plumber, carpenter, mechanic, or electrician by the way, but he will hang in there with any of these things here in our own home until he gets it. Usually, he does, even though I often worry it will never get done. And often it happens after much frustration on both our parts, I must admit.)

But do you know what? This has been a blessing. During the past forty-eight hours my thoughts have gone to the people in California who have no homes left at all, let alone a kitchen sink. Then I turned my thoughts to so many people in all parts of the world who have never had running water. And now that I can use the sink and washing machine again, I ponder afresh how merciful God has been to us to give us what we do have, we being no more deserving than those who don't. So, I thank the Lord for having taken away my sink for a couple of days to help remind me how nice it is to have it. At least tonight, I won't take it for granted.

Now we're all a bit weary, but hope to relax this evening with the first World Series Game. Rooting for the Rockies!!!

Unstoppable Force

News reports are mind boggling as we read about the fires in Southern California. Fed by intense winds, these fires are chasing people from their homes at a rate that has never been seen in the state at any prior time. I think almost a million people so far. There is so much to pray for these days, isn't there? I have no close family in California, but request prayer for the people there. I have a very good bloggy friend at my other blog named Mishel who is very much impacted. Her husband is a firefighter and has been off fighting the fires in one area and their daughter Ashleigh is expecting a baby any time now. They are keeping us all on the edge of our seats in their family. Please pray for them and for the families of other bloggers who I know of who are out there too. Don't know if any have lost their homes yet.

Better Late Than Never

My son-in-law doesn't have a blog, but he sure does read ours!! In fact, we get teased a lot by him about it. He called me this evening to tell me they're adopting a new child, named "www." Even though he gets on our case (his wife, me and his sister-in-law) about our blogging, I know he enjoys reading what we've got to say.

Well, he had a birthday today and Mom forgot to give him his due here. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MR. S! The Lord bless and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you. We love you! If you want to read the cute little poem and picture his wife posted for him, visit over there.

Note: This is not a picture of my son-in-law, but a picture of men who are in his line of work. (He's a land surveyor, working in an engineering firm's office.)

Now It's Nigeria

He seems like a nice young man as we look at his picture here. Just 24 years old and a Sunday school teacher. The breaking news today at the Persecution blog is that he can be added to the list of Christian martyrs for this year. And it wasn't just him--there was another one too. They have been in Turkey, Pakistan, India, Sudan, Afghanistan, and many other places. Now it's Nigeria. Just thought you might want to go and read about it here. Some people skim over posts like this one; it's not pleasant to think about these things. Unfortunately, though, these are signs of the times and I think the Lord wants us to be aware and to beware.