Signs of spring are everywhere. Soon it will be time to clean up the Florida room and move all my plants. Some of them are getting to be rather large.
But we mustn’t get ahead of ourselves. We’re bound to have some more cold temperatures and maybe some more snow. One thing I have managed to learn over the years is to take one day at a time and enjoy its blessings.
As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.
Genesis 8:22
We haven’t heard from Anne for awhile, so here’s this. She reads all the things and is on X, formerly twitter, so I don’t have to be. She is brilliant and I am grateful. “[Madi is] screwed because she was born into a world where breakdancing was a thing, and worse, people following their hearts was the highest and best good. Her wretched father should have been a plowman with no better options. Madi herself should have been allowed to have servants and write a hefty amount of poetry. And all the people who walk across my parking lot should have been allowed to go to a store that figured out the through line between the self-checkout line and the bottom line.”
We’re halfway through February and spring is in the air. But don’t be fooled–winter is still here and it will turn cold again. And that’s okay. The end of winter is in sight. Baseball season is just around the corner.
Tonight we finish Pilgrim’s Progress in our community group. I really cannot recommend this great book enough. You will recall that John Bunyan wrote the book while he was in prison–he was imprisoned for twelve years because he was a nonconformist preacher (meaning not licensed by the state church). That he knew his Bible throughly is evident on every page. Charles Spurgeon famously said that Bunyan “is a living Bible! Prick him anywhere; his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him.”
Coming to the end of the book was very moving as several beloved characters come to the end of their journey and cross over the River of Death to the Celestial City.
The River has been a Terror to many, yea the thoughts of it also have oft frightened me. But now methinks I stand easie, my Foot is fixed upon that, upon which the Feet of the Priests that bare the Ark of the Covenant stood while Israel went over this Jordan. The Waters indeed are to the Palate bitter, and to the Stomack cold; yet the thoughts of what I am going to, and of the Conduct that waits for me on the other side, doth lie as a glowing Coal at my Heart.
I see my self now at the end of my Journey, my toilsome Days are ended. I am going now to see the Head that was Crowned with Thorns, and that Face that was spit upon, for me.
I have formerly lived by Hear-say, and Faith, but now I go where I shall live by sight, and shall be with him, in whose Company I delight my self.
I have loved to hear my Lord spoken of, and wherever I have seen the print of his Shoe in the Earth, there I have coveted to set my Foot too.
–Mr. Stand-fast
Here are ten things you should know about The Pilgrim’s Progress.
And here’s a Valentine bonus pic of Ida B. in a red jumper made by her great-grandmother.
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
We are off to another unseasonably warm week and I am not complaining.
I am slowly putting my house back together. I keep finding baby dolls and plastic cups and packages of wet wipes in odd places that remind me of our sweet visitors. Luckily now I do not have to pack up a box of odds and ends to send back to them but can wait until they/we visit again.
Also note: the amaryllis is blooming again. They are truly amazing plants.
I also caught up on my daily Bible reading. I was a tad behind.
Q: How is the word to be read and heard, that it may become effectual to salvation?
A: That the word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer, receive it with faith and love, lay it up in your hearts, and practice it in your lives.
Q: If the matter we read or hear be good, is not that enough for our salvation?
A: No, God requires that the word be read and heard in a due manner, and the manner of hearing is of special regard with God; Luke 8:18. Take heed therefore how ye hear.
–John Flavel (1627-91)
Here are a few good things to read…This is an interesting article about whether we should pray the “vengeance” psalms. The boy and I were just discussing the issue of vengeance and how it is right “to leave room for the wrath of God.” However, I am all for reading those psalms which some find offensive, especially Psalm 58. The Anglicans, no surprise, exiled the imprecatory prayers from the psalter after WWI.
Do you indeed speak righteousness, you silent ones? Do you judge uprightly, you sons of men? 2 No, in your heart you work wickedness; You weigh out the violence of your hands in the earth.
3 The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies. 4 Their poison is like the poison of a serpent; They are like the deaf cobra that stops its ear, 5 Which will not heed the voice of charmers, Charming ever so skillfully.
6 Break their teeth in their mouth, O God! Break out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord! 7 Let them flow away as waters which run continually; When he bends his bow, Let his arrows be as if cut in pieces. 8 Let them be like a snail which melts away as it goes, Like a stillborn child of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the burning thorns, He shall take them away as with a whirlwind, As in His living and burning wrath. 10 The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance; He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked, 11 So that men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; Surely He is God who judges in the earth.”
–Psalm 58
Food for thought. Read the article!
And this is about President Lincoln, the almost-Presbyterian. Very interesting.
And the inimitable Joni Eareckson Tada writes about grumbling.
What a strange two weeks this has been! Daughter #2 and DN are moved in, but not totally settled in yet. That will take some time. Their new home is great–unfortunately I took no pictures when I was there–and the University of Illinois is very impressive. I liked Champaign-Urbana a lot. It is the perfect sized small city with everything you want but without a lot of the stuff you don’t need.
After a few days in their new house, Katie said, “I think Mamu is living with us now!” Well, no dear. I certainly enjoyed all the bonus time with daughter #2 and her sweet family, but I am glad to be home. In my absence the OM did not burn the house down. Now I have mountains of laundry to do and sheets to change and the house to get back in order…but c’est la vie.
It was so good to be back in church on Sunday. We had a good sermon on the transfiguration and we sang some great hymns. I teared up twice. The twins seem very grown up after spending so much time with a three-year old and one-year old! They came over for bagels after church and played contentedly with their old toys. The bud sang the doxology without prompting to show me that he knows all the words.
Daughter #3 made this updated sweatshirt for me (Wheeler, Lottie, Katie, and Ida), which I think is pretty great, don’t you?
In other news, I was sad to hear that ol’ Toby Keith had died. He was one-of-a-kind. I liked his attitude: “How do you like me now?” And I did love that deep vibrato of his. We’ll toast him tonight.
You gotta saddle up your boys You gotta draw a hard line When the gun smoke settles we’ll sing a victory tune And we’ll all meet back at the local saloon We’ll raise up our glasses against evil forces Singin’ whiskey for my men, beer for my horses
Today daughter #2 and I are headed to C-U today with the girls.
DN left yesterday– He is very excited and happy to start work in person. The movers will also arrive today (allegedly) so there will be a lot to do. I am leaving my house in an absolute shambles and the OM in it, recovering from the dreaded virus which caught up with him Sunday night. He’s through the worst of it, eating rice cakes and drinking Gatorade.
“Listen. Your life is happening. You are happening. Think back on your journey. The music of your life…” (Frederick Buechner, The Sacred Journey)
All will be well.
Blessed be God, Who has not turned away my prayer, Nor His mercy from me!
Well, I didn’t end up driving to Champaign-Urbana, as it turns out daughter #2’s moving truck-full of stuff won’t arrive until next week so…the best laid plans of mice and men and all that. Thank goodness they made it there safely.
Meanwhile Garden and Gun had a link to this back porch concert which introduced me to singer-songwriter Larry Fleet. I really like this song which Morgan Wallen also covered.
We survived another frigid weekend in flyover country. At least the sun was out. Daughter #1 and I braved the arctic elements on Saturday to go to an estate sale where Lamar gave us our usual good customer discount and made our day. We then went out to lunch at our local pizza place which was hoppin’ with activity.
Later at home I worked on a puzzle I got for Christmas…
And the Amaryllis is blooming! Wowee! What a show!
We went to church–it was almost 10 degrees! Our Sunday School class was on Limited Atonement. We had a lively discussion in our 60s age group. The boy said they also had a lively discussion in their 20-30s age group, but some of them are still working out their salvation with fear and trembling. It is a blessing to be able to go somewhere and have a lively intellectual discussion.
After church we went to our favorite diner for brunch and daughter #1 met us there after her service. We wolfed down our food like starving Presbyterians after a worshipful morning. As Charles Spurgeon said, “There is hardship in everything except eating pancakes.”
We went back to church that evening for our annual meeting, which was pushing it considering the eternal threat of bad weather. But we had a quorum and conducted our business. Our new pastor starts in two weeks!
Meanwhile daughter #2’s daughters continue to enjoy outdoor winter activities to varying degrees…
Ida prefers to play inside and I’m with her…
We are bracing for an ice storm today. Here’s to further hunkering down.
*This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Psalm 118:24)
Well, news flash, the sun actually came out yesterday afternoon for a few hours. This was greatly appreciated. I ran a few errands. Meanwhile, my Amaryllis continues to grow…
I sent the next issue of the Kirkwood Historical Review off to the printer–always a big weight off my shoulders. And I received in the mail my copy of Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) which was published last year on its 100th anniversary. As Kevin DeYoung writes in the Foreword:
The bulk of Machen’s book is taken up with the exploration of five essential doctrines of the faith: the doctrine of man, the doctrine of Scripture, the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of salvation, and the doctrine of the church. In each category, Machen demonstrates that the liberal conception of the faith is fundamentally out of step with historic, biblical Christianity: Where liberalism teaches the goodness of man and the universal fatherhood of God, Christianity insists that Jesus did not come into the world to call the righteous to be better citizens but to save sinners and bring them into the family of God. Where liberalism teaches that true faith is founded on spiritual experience, Christianity insists that true religious experience depends upon the veracity of the historical events in the Bible. Where liberalism lauds Christ as a great teacher and our moral exemplar, Christianity insists that faith in Christ does not make sense apart from a supernatural, sinless, and divine Christ. Where liberalism finds salvation in man’s upward journey to spiritual betterment based on the noble self-sacrifice of Jesus, Christianity proclaims good news based on the propitiatory work of Christ to redeem sinners and save all those who put their faith in him. Where liberalism conceives of the church as a gathering of generally spiritual persons coming together to effect social transformation, Christianity holds forth the church as a group of redeemed men and women (and, for Machen, their children) gathering together to humbly give thanks to Christ for his grace and to find unity in the truth as they worship Christ and him crucified.
My mother grew up in a denomination (American Baptist) which very much embraced the liberal view of Christianity. I think she had her doubts though. I was also brought up in that liberal camp (Episcopal) and it wasn’t until years later that the truth began to dawn. I am looking forward to reading this book.
And this is very interesting. Good news and bad news in Canada.
How was your weekend? It snowed here on Friday evening so that slowed things down quite a bit. We watched The Court Jester (1955) in honor of Glynis Johns, who died last week at age 100.
Funnily enough, we had decided to watch it before she died, but it worked out just right and we toasted her and the rest of the cast and crew.
I don’t know where this movie has been all my life, but I just love it. It has everything–a great script by the team of Norman Panama and Melvin Frank (who both co-directed) and a sparkling cast of stars and veteran character actors. It also boasts art direction by the incomparable Hal Pereira, who, if you are a discerning movie watcher, you know was the supervising art director at Paramount and as such was responsible for the “look” of a lot of great movies–such as Shane, Double Indemnity, Rear Window, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and on and on. Nominated 23 times for an Oscar, he only won once, for The Rose Tattoo (1955). Typical. [Trivia note: Hal Pereira graduated from the University of Illinois!]
I finished putting away the last of the Christmas decorations and got things in relative order before the twins came over to wreck havoc after church to celebrate their Mom’s birthday.
At church we started on a new Sunday School unit on the 5 points of Calvinism (TULIP) starting with my favorite, Total Depravity.
T – Total depravity U – Unconditional election L – Limited atonement I – Irresistible grace P – Perseverance of the saints
Everyone is taking the same class, but we are divided up into four age groups with different leaders, i.e. 20s and 30s, 40s and 50s, 60s, and 70s and up. I was directed by my friend and style icon, Linda, to go into her room–the 70s and up. I said, “I’m not quite there yet.” She was embarrassed, but I’m like, who cares. I’m alive and breathing.
We also heard a good sermon about Bartimaeus, the blind beggar (Mark 10:46-52). Bartimaeus hears that Jesus is coming and he shouts out for Jesus, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Many rebuke him and tell him to be quiet. But he cries out all the more. And Jesus stops and calls him. Bartimaeus tells him he wants to be healed and Jesus heals him. “Your faith has made you well.” He responds to being healed by following Jesus “on the way”.
The simple cry for mercy by Bartimaeus has inspired countless prayers during the last two millennia. “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” the so-called “Jesus Prayer,” which has a variety of forms, is spoken millions of times each day by believers throughout the world, myself included.
As sinners, we need to experience God’s forgiveness. And this comes, not through our efforts, but through God’s mercy. Because of his love for us and his faithfulness, God’s mercy is new every morning (Lamentations 3:23).
Grant us grace to see you, Lord, mirrored in your holy Word. May our lives and all we do imitate and honor you that we all like you may be at your great epiphany and may praise you, ever blest, God in man made manifest.
I am picking up daughter #2 and DN (and the girls) at the airport this morning. I will see them for about 45 minutes and then they will pile into the OM’s SUV and head to Champaign-Urbana to go house hunting. It is a terrible time to be looking for a house and it will no doubt be raining/snowing…but I know it will work out. 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Pray for traveling mercies!
In the meantime here are a few good things to read/watch.
To us, in our need and wounds and darkness. To us, in our apathy and indulgence and pride.
But you did.
Here is Denny Burk’s annual roundup of the year’s best YouTube videos. I especially liked the dude who soundtracks his Mom’s life with his trombone and the Epic Trick Shots.
And who doesn’t love Sinclair Ferguson looking back on the year? “Count your many blessings/Name them one by one/And it will surprise you/What the Lord has done.”
Yes, even though we live in what Anne so accurately terms “a degenerate and fatuous age”, we are daily served up God’s mercy in generous quantities.
dual personalities 