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It's been the week of winter here. Five days out of the last seven we've had day-long fires in the fireplace, and that's never happened in the nearly ten years we've lived here. Wish I knew what I could do to make it stay...I just love fried chicken livers and cream gravy. It's a throwback to my childhood, one I've never gotten over. There aren't many places you can still get them, and making them at home is messy and unpleasant. This is just one of the reasons I still love Cracker Barrel. If there were one next door I'd be eating there three times a week. When I have done long stints in the hospital, John has kept me sane and nourished by bringing me a take-out meal of chicken livers from CB now and then. Anyone in the San Antonio area know of other places that are still serving them?
Hoping you are living fully right where you are today...have a great week.
Labels: Body of Christ, Family, Food, Movies, Sports, Weather
"normal". That's in quotes because normal is a family joke here at Granny's House and in our adjacent family households. It doesn't look like what you'd think...We still have a lot of straightening up and organizing to do, filling in holes left by our bride and putting away some of the decor. I haven't been too obsessive about it, as we still have big changes coming. Kristen and the elves, who are quickly growing out of elf stage, are moving out on Saturday and will be setting up their new home in Fort Worth. Sad as this makes me, I'm rejoicing with them that all the week-long separations are over and their family can be together full-time.
Have I mentioned how good it is to be rid of Windows Vista? The new computer is fine, but I don't have many new bells and whistles so it doesn't seem all that different...but oh, how I love you, Windows 7!
But in case I haven't said this yet, I am sincerely hoping my new HP survives me. I can't even tell you how much I detest switching computers. Every program, every application, every database has a different 26-step process for transferring it to the new computer. And two of those steps generally involve writing the help desk at the developers and promising them your firstborn child if they'll just find a way to magically get it all transferred. No, external hard drives and "Easy Transfer" cables have not been the panacea some promised me. I'm still dyin' over here.
And in other techy news, I continue to enjoy my new iPhone 4. NOW I see why so many people love their iPhones while I hated my old one. And I mean hated it almost from the month I got it. Now if we could just get 3G to work in San Antonio, that might help, huh?
I finally finished a book last week (see sidebar). My reading has been awfully sporadic this year, and I won't complete nearly as many books as I normally do in a year. Even with my Kindle, which is most of the time in the hands of my traveling husband, I haven't done all that well. This will be on my New Year's resolution list. Yeah.
School took a hit during the past three weeks, but because we got such an early and successful start this year, I'm not beating myself up. Tim's freshman year is perking along and I'm enjoying the increased one-on-one time with him.
Okay, I realized a couple of days ago that I will be traveling, as in AIR travel, on the morning after the election. How could this political junkie have managed to schedule THAT? I will need to be at the Honolulu airport by around 10 on the morning of the 3rd for my flight home, which leaves precious little time to catch up on late returns and close races. Ugh.
Don't ever, EVER go to Maggiano's and not get their Crispy Zucchini Fritte. I'm here to tell you that would be a very bad idea.
Every one of those Sister Wives deserves her criminal husband. Sheesh.
This weekend, The Papa and I had the pleasure of being with our church family, and I do mean family, at a retreat in the scenic (and cooler-than-San Antonio) Texas Hill Country. Meticulously planned and exquisitely executed by our deacons' wives, it provided a welcome refreshment for more than 80 of us. We came home after the first night, as John was tasked to preach at the worship service for the group who stayed behind, but even so we had a glorious taste of what "retreat" means :-)
TOMORROW is the first day of early voting in Texas. As soon as the day's schoolwork is finished, I will be at the polls casting one of the first votes for the firing of the majority and the reinstatement of common sense (See Atlas Shrugged, please.) No one will be more glad than I am to see Nancy P. collect an unemployment check. Okay, well, collect a six-figure pension. But still.
If you're one of my friends in Texas Congressional District 23, VOTE QUICO CANSECO!!
Hoping you have a most excellent week, savoring the blessings of God's grace!
Labels: Body of Christ, Books, Family, Food, Homeschooling, Political Action, Technology, Texas, TV
“The gospel creates the kind of community that is even now an imperfect preview of the kingdom’s marriage feast that awaits us. The church originates, flourishes, and fulfills its mission as that part of God’s world that has been redeemed and redefined by this strange announcement that seems foolish and powerless to the rest of the world.”
—Michael Horton, The Gospel-Driven Life (Grand Rapids, MI; Baker Books, 2009)
I am privileged to fellowship with a part of the body of Christ that is a beautiful preview of that feast.
Labels: Body of Christ, Church
7 Ideas for Teaching Toddlers God's Word
Labels: Body of Christ, Children
I don't know about the rest of Bluebonnet Country, but in San Antonio our rains came too late to give us a beautiful wildflower season. At least now we've had some good rain and the world is greening up nicely. I will refrain from commenting on what "green" means here as compared to other places I've lived and just say that the spring has been nice so far...I like having kids who love making homemade pizza.
The Papa is in Australia, adjusting to being 15 time zones away from us and, of course, working upside down. Does this make him part of the underworld? In any case, we miss him!
For those of you who joined my challenge to read Atlas Shrugged, I've finished it again this week. Hard to tell the difference sometimes between the novel and the country we're living in...and my question now is, "Who IS John Galt?" And will we find one...
This week we've employed son-in-law Dave to: change out two faucets, install a sliding shower door, paint a bathroom, caulk a kitchen sink, and order a door and a plate glass mirror (which broke in half as he and Nate attempted to remove it). Most of the stuff we're having him do isn't the fun stuff; it's the constant re-building and equipping of the house to mop up the messes the incompetent, substandard builder made. Good thing we know a good contractor :-)
Eleven weeks until our family vacation to Red River, New Mexico. We've gone several times before, and several of us went two years ago and loved it...can hardly wait to get up in the mountains and wear jackets and fish in the early morning. Well okay, not me personally, but I love hearing about it! Best of all, we hope to have all of our kids and grandkids with us, as well as great-grandparents and aunts and uncles and cousins galore!
Our little congregation had a record crowd this morning, even more than on Easter. What a joy! But it did make some of us muse about the mathematical formula that would predict the rise in temperature in a small space with the addition of each successive family...I think it's time to find a new building!
Well, it's apparent now more than ever that American voters, some through our actual pulling of a lever and some through stamping our foot and staying home, have elected and allowed Obama and Co. to go play in a very dangerous sandbox, one in which they are completely and laughably out of their league. This administration has worse problems than not understanding the rules of the game: they are convinced they can rewrite them as easily as they rewrite history. The trouble is that thugs don't abide by any rules--yours, the group's, or even their own. It's too bad that we don't elect men like Victor Davis Hanson, who clearly understand the threat in the light of both historical perspective and current political realities. Read what he's saying today about the mismatch between what our country needs and what it voted for itself.
I've been so blessed this week to see the Body of Christ caring for hurting members, standing by them in the most basic of ways as they walk through the fiercest of fires. May God return a hundredfold to all those who've given of what they have to ease the burdens of others, and may He grant comfort and rest to His children who are still experiencing the flames.
And may you have a week full of the blessings of life in Christ, even if those blessings come packaged in circumstances that look like anything but...
Labels: Body of Christ, Church, Food, Homemaking, ObamaNation, Political Observation, Sundays, The Papa, Vacations
We didn't have much of a winter in our part of the world, but at least we're having a fairly nice spring. Sometimes by mid-March we're already melting, but we had the heat on this morning and got to wear jackets to church. That probably ends tomorrow, but the cool wet air has been very nice...
Many of you have asked about my mother. She had a very successful knee replacement surgery on Tuesday morning and has now been moved to the rehab side of the hospital to learn to use that new knee. Her surgeon was surprised at how bad her existing knee was and the surgery took nearly twice as long as he had estimated, but she is doing fine now. The rehab is a challenge for a Parkinson's patient, but so far she's participating vigorously and looking forward to walking without pain again. Thanks to those of you who prayed for her!
If you've got a very good memory, you might remember me talking about getting an AeroGrow herb garden last year. For some reason (probably dozens of reasons) I never actually unpacked it and started using it. Until yesterday. It's now sitting and glowing above my kitchen sink and hopefully germinating seven different herbs. I can hardly wait!
We're also tossing around the idea of trying a real garden this year. San Antonio's early growing season makes it very tempting, but it can be very discouraging when everything is parched by June. Gives a whole new meaning to "Fried Green Tomatoes." We know we can't do it without devising some kind of elaborate shelter from the afternoon sun, but we might just be ready to try!
Our kids have enjoyed their spring break week, although it seems as though OUR spring break week and the ones they have in music, online classes, and their local science classes never seem to coincide with the one I schedule. And then of course two of them had to take their SAT on Saturday, which wasn't ideal either. At least they've all had a break from the normal routine and we'll dive back in tomorrow morning.
What a joy to welcome the Slaughters back into the membership of our church today. Kristen and Dave were charter members of our church nearly five years ago, so this is really a homecoming for all of us. Here are some photos from our membership vow ceremony this morning...
Pastor/Uncle/"Apu" Dirk welcomes Molly to the fellowship...
Henry is considering accepting the welcome but isn't quite so sure...
The family once again becomes church family as well...
...and what a tear-jerker to hear our church family's children sing "Welcome to the Family" to our newest members! (This song has become part of who we are at Covenant of Grace. Do click on the link and turn on your volume if you don't know the song! )
Another blessing is that Kristen has started baking our weekly communion bread. I don't have a photo, but I did hear some complaints from a certain unnamed music leader who was so distracted by the aroma in front of him this morning that he forgot where the downbeats were.
And from our morning together...
again our grateful tribute bring, our solemn vows record.
Here have we seen your face, and felt your presence here;
so may the savor of your grace in word and life appear.
In self-forgetting love be our communion shown,
until we join the church above, and know as we are known!
Labels: Body of Christ, Church, Family, Good Stuff, Homeschooling, Weather
If you are at all interested in the development of Africa, you'll want to read this amazing opinion piece by a British atheist. I believe it may be the most important piece written about the African continent in the past 40 years.
Matthew Parris on Africa
Labels: Body of Christ, Political Observation, Social Observation
Last night, CJ, Beth, and Shelley (21, 18, and 16) were invited to a sleepover (wake-over?) party celebrating Cheyenne's birthday. Cheyenne, the oldest of 7 kids in her family, turned 16 this week. Now, I'm assuming you know some 16-year olds. How many do you know that
would have a BIRTHDAY sleepover and invite everyone from their younger siblings to a married mom of almost four and all ages in between? FOR A SLEEPOVER? But that's the kind of connection that comes with a family-integrated church...your best friends are all ages! This group would think it pretty strange to have a party and invite only people born in the same year they were!Congratulations, Cheyenne, on turning Sweet 16. We're so glad to be part of the same "family" :-)
Labels: Body of Christ, Fun
No, not that kind of hope. HOPE is our group of San Antonio homeschooling moms that is entering its eighth year together. I sometimes succumb, for lack of more descriptive terminology, to calling it a "support group," and although it is in many ways that, I dislike the term because it smells to me of weakness and a soft, victim mentality. HOPE, standing for Homes of Parent Educators (and a score of other interesting variations), is a group of more than 30 strong women, mothers whom God has inspired and equipped to take responsibility for the education of their children. But in our group, education is only a part: these gals give support and strength to each other in countless ways every week. The group represents several churches and is made up of large families, small families, single-parent families, both English- and Spanish-speaking families, young moms, older moms, moms-to-be, long-time San Antonio residents and military families who stay with us for a few years and then break our hearts...
Each fall, HOPE kicks off our school year with a family picnic. This year for the first time we had a combination cookout and swim party, and I haven't heard a single dissenting opinion: it was our most successful, satisfying, and fun picnic ever. Sixteen families gathered to enjoy a beautiful late September day and would have stayed into the night if it weren't for kids needing naps and teens sporting a little too much pink on the cheeks and shoulders. It was just one of those perfect days.
Wanna peek in?
I didn't get a good shot of the food when we started. By the time this one was taken we had pretty much demolished the setup.
I am not sure what the story is about Pete's handful of food here, and not sure I want to know...
...but whatever it was he had to wash it down with something.
The gals sat around in groups, enjoying the sun and each other's company...
...pairs of teens popped up here and there...
...the guys talked sports and...and...all those other things guys talk about. Theology. Yeah, that's it, theology.
I'm beginning to see this look often. Hollie was looking into the future and KNEW she was going to end up on my blog.
Even the big kids enjoyed the kid pool....
...and the littlest ones were having a good time, too!
CJ spent the afternoon conducting rigorous academic research for an upcoming paper on homeschooling...
...and Rowan led his dad around the pool several times.
Some of the little ones gave out early...
Some took a little longer...
...and you can't tell from this picture, but Tiff was nearly gone here.
It was a blessed day. These families truly enjoy being together and it shows. They dare to love, to serve, to put their lives and resources on the line for each other every day.
And THAT'S the audacity of HOPE :-)
Labels: Body of Christ, Fun, Homeschooling
I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the process of sanctification and why its characteristics and its timelines are so varied in the Christians I've known.
Why, for example, are we always told that we will know believers by their fruits, and yet Peter tells us that Lot was "righteous"? If there was a "lot" of fruit in Lot's life, it's certainly hidden from readers of Scripture. I have to believe that there was, since the Word declares that he was righteous, and that he was distressed by the "sensual conduct of unprincipled men." And yet God chose not to let us know much about that side of Lot's life.
Could that be because He wanted us to accept that this sanctification we're undergoing is not...formulaic?
Throughout the New Testament, the spiritual maturing process is likened to the physical one, with immature believers being compared to children. There have been many times when I've wondered why my children are behaving so much like....well, like children. But I step back and remember their ages and remember that I, too, was once where they are and sometimes insufferably childish. God has continued to shape and grow me despite my early immaturity.
And yet often I expect a young or new believer to be instantly transformed into the likeness of Christ. At least, I reason, I should be able to SEE some progress toward maturity. When my imperfect eyes don't see progress, I naturally assume there is none. It's easy for me to deny that God can be working His "treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places" out of the line of my sight.
I wonder how many people would seriously consider the claims of Christ if they knew the standards to which God's people would immediately hold them once they came to Him, and how they'd be kept in some dubious "provisional" status until the mysterious fruit appeared. Yes, we're often very patient with new Christians, but when do you cease to be new? Three months? Three years? Ten?
And then I wonder how many years Lot hung around with no visible "fruit" of his righteousness. Granted, Lot's righteousness, as ours, was imputed to him and doesn't mean he acted righteously all or most of the time. But isn't that the case with all of us, sometimes for big chunks of our lives?
Actually, the teaching about "knowing them by their fruit" is often taken out of context. Matthew 7:15-20 says,
15Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them. [emphasis mine]
Now, make no mistake: I want you to see fruit in my life as evidence of the Tree into which I'm grafted. I am called to holiness, and so is every other child of the Father. But this passage that we so often use to condemn struggling Christians was not talking about struggling Christians. Clearly the "them" here is false prophets. We will know whether a prophet is false by the fruit he leaves behind. Lot wasn't a false prophet. He was a weak, sometimes despicable, immature believer whose behavior was often corrupted by the culture around him, but he was also a man God declared righteous by the same means that you and I are declared righteous: by faith.
John Piper describes the process of sanctification which begins with a believer who is still walking in the flesh:
But even though they are treated as being "in Christ" Paul calls them "fleshly" ([1Cor] 3:1). What does this mean?
It means, first of all, that a deep spiritual walk with God does not usually happen immediately after conversion. When the Holy Spirit invades the enemy territory of our lives and sets up Jesus Christ as King in the capital city of our heart, his strategy for conquering the rebel forces of the flesh that keep up their guerrilla warfare is different for each person. It may be fast or slow. God's clean up operations are very strange.
There are things I did (and indeed, didn't do) for much of my life after coming to know the Lord that were surely looked upon by mature (or just older) Christians as evidence that I couldn't have been saved. As I look back on some of those things, I'm embarrassed. But many of them I committed in ignorance, not yet convicted as I am now of their "wrong-ness." I am thankful that pilgrims who were farther along on the path of obedience than I was showed grace to me and didn't refuse to include me in the community of faith because of my immaturity. And now, I want to extend that same grace to those in my community of faith who don't share all my convictions but whom God isn't finished with yet.
If I mistake an unregenerate man for a regenerate one, I may help give him a false sense of security for a while but in the end my mistake will not affect his destiny or even much about his life here on earth. My increasing understanding of God's sovereignty is relieving my fear that I could keep a man from being saved by assuming, and therefore helping him to assume, that he is already "safe."
If, however, I err in the opposite direction and treat an immature believer as though I don't believe he could possibly be saved, I can easily crush his spirit and discourage his growth by placing hurdles in his path he isn't mature enough to scale. I may also be attempting to relieve myself of the responsibility to engage in the often frustrating and exhausting process of guiding an immature believer, "new" or not, to spiritual maturity. It's easier to write him off as lost.
In Matthew 13, Jesus gives us some sobering words about the dangers of our assumptions.
24Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
28" 'An enemy did this,' he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'29" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
Did you ever think about why we'd be in danger of uprooting the wheat, or true believers, by trying to pull the weeds? Wouldn't the weeds be self-evident and easy to pluck out without endangering the wheat? Evidently not. Our eyes are not the best judge, and Jesus is warning us that in trying to make the distinctions ourselves we can cause great damage to young, immature believers who might still look a lot like the world.
Just as we are called to evangelize the world not knowing who God's elect are, let us offer grace and dispense mercy not knowing where God may be in the sanctification journey with a soul. As Piper says, His "clean up operations" may seem strange and they may seem slow. But they lead inexorably to making His people into a perfect portrait of Christ...and not always on our preferred timeline.
Labels: Body of Christ, Devotional