Kindle.

Caught this in Springs in the Valleys today and it is the prayer and mission of my heart. 

"Thou thyself art…a light of them which are in darkness."

~Romans 2:19

We are kindled that we might kindle others.  I would like, if I might have my choice, to burn steadily down, with no guttering waste, and as I do so to communicate God's fire to as many unlit candles as possible, and to burn on steadily until the socket comes in view; then to light in the last flicker, twenty, thirty, or a hundred candles at once, so that as one expires they may begin burning and spreading light which shall shine until Jesus comes.

Let me burn out for Thee, dear Lord,

Burn and wear out for Thee;

Don't let me rust, or my life be

A failure, my God, to Thee.

Use me, and all I have, dear Lord,

And get me so close to Thee

That I feel the throb of the great heart of God,

Until I burn out for Thee.

(Bessie F. Thatcher)

~Springs in the Valleys,

Mrs. Charles E. Cowman,

December 18

The words of pilgrim William Bradford, the governor reelected 32 times to the Plymouth Plantation, come to mind:  "Thus out of small beginnings greater things have been produced by His hand that made all things of nothing, and gives being to all things that are; and, as one small candle may light a thousand, so the light here kindles hath shone unto many, yea in some sort to our whole nation; let the glorious name of Jehovah have all the praise."

Yes.
Be this.

Thanksgiving…is never late.

I spoke for a Thanksgiving dinner at my church a couple of weeks ago and wanted so much to have some time to really think…  To think through Thanksgiving.  But, responsibilities, family, church, life keep me from any moments of deep thought, lately.  Honestly, some of the obstacles are my own wasted time.  Life is full and I am glad, but I never write and this blog is way unattended.  I guess my decision to address it now is futile.  After all, it is Christmastime.  I have a rehearsal in 45 minutes.   Life goes on.

I did have "posterity" on my heart and, as a result, had much to talk about regarding a generational perspective and the whole "it's not about you" issue, so all was well.

I danced this weekend for a local Christmas program at our community theater.  It was really enjoyable.  An honor to worship the One I love yet again.  Thank You, Lord, for the opportunity.  At least He is somewhat welcome at a Christmas show.

So, I back up a couple of weeks to Thanksgiving.  I read an article in AFA Journal titled "Blessed, or Spoiled?"  Enjoy: http://www.afajournal.org/2013/November/112013thankful.html

Some excerpts that specifically caught my attention.

"America's government has been consistent for well over 200 years.  In that time it has been tested and tried. Sometimes it has walked away from a situation with a black eye, but other times it has stood as tall as the Statue of Liberty."

"Freedom is one of the easiest blessings to take for granted.  Typically, one generation fights for it, the next treasures it.  The following abuses it, and the next loses it."  Guess which generation we are in.

And this:

10 blessings easy to overlook

• Clean water: 884 million people lack access to clean water.
• A bathroom: 40% of the world does not have a toilet.
• Electricity: 1.6 billion people live without any electricity.
• Shelter: 2.5 million in America are homeless and 640 million children worldwide do not have shelter.
• Food: 28% of children in developing countries are estimated to be underweight or have stunted growth.
• Your stove: 2.5 billion people use fuelwood, charcoal or animal dung to meet their energy needs.
• Regular income: Most of humanity lives on less than $10 a day.
• Education: Nearly 1 billion people cannot read a book or write their names.
• Health: 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized. Annually there are 300-500 million cases of malaria including 1 million fatalities.
• Freedom to worship God: More than 400 Christians die for their faith every day across the world.
From J. Lee Grady’s column “10 basic blessings you should be thankful for.” Read the full column at charismamag.com

This Christmas, my mom handed the boys a catalog from Compassion International and asked if she could get the boys something from there this year.  "For the cost of a Lego set you could buy a family clean water,"  Grammy said.  Si replied, "What's more important: plastic or life?"  Si chose water.  B chose a goat for milk.  I personally find this a hilariously appropriate choice since B's favorite thing in life is milk.  His favorite animal is a cow because they produce milk.  He's very practical.  ;)

I know.  Nothing mind-boggling or life changing.  I am out of practice on my writing.  But I like to record what is on my heart and mind and rarely have the time to do it.  Have a great week.

noiseless clarity

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee." ~Isaiah 26:3

O master, let me walk with Thee

In lowly paths of service free;

 Tell me Thy secret, help me bear

The strain of toil, the fret of care

In hope that sends a shining ray

Far down the future's broadening way,

In peace that only Thou canst give,

With Thee, O Master, let me live. 

~Maryton

I'm feeling in desperate need of finding my true north (again) today.

Life for me is spinning 'round and there's a weight on one side that is causing the balance to suffer and I'm on the verge of spinning chaotically out of control...if not for the subtle checks of the Holy Spirit.

The above verse and hymn are from the boys' devotion that I read to them every day (Leading Little Ones to God by Schoolland- though, it leads mommies to God oftentimes also.).  Part of the prayer today: "Help us to understand how wonderful it is to fill our minds with thoughts about You and Your Son Jesus."  Yes, Lord, help me to come back to center.

Streams in the Desert, Oct. 3

"And after the earthquake a fire; and after the fire a sound of gentle stillness." (1 Kings 19:12)

A soul, who made rapid progress in her understanding of the Lord, was once asked the secret of her easy advancement.  She replied tersely, "Mind the checks."  And the reason that many of us do not know and better understand Him is, we do not give heed to His gentle checks.  His delicate restraints and constraints.  His is a still, small voice.  A still voice can hardly be heard.  It must be felt: a steady, gentle pressure upon the heart and mind like the touch of a morning zephyr in one's heart, but if heeded growing noiselessly clear to your inner ear.  His voice is for the ear of love, and love is intent upon hearing even the faintest whispers.  There comes a time also when love ceases to speak if not responded to, or believed in.  He is love, and if you would know Him and His voice, give constant ear to His gentle touches.  In conversation, when about to utter some word, give heed to that gentle voice, mind the check and refrain from speech.  When about to pursue some course that seems all clear and right and there comes quietly to your spirit a suggestion that has in it the force almost of a conviction, give heed, even if changed plans seem highest folly from the standpoint of human wisdom.  Learn also to wait on God for the unfolding of His will.  Let God form your plans about everything in your mind and heart and then let Him execute them.  Do not possess any wisdom of your own.  (Emphasis mine.)

Oh, how I appreciate the gentle checks and am so thankful for those rather than the humiliating, harsh discipline of rebellion.  My heart is to rebel, of course, because its default is that it is deceitfully wicked; but my heart renewed in Christ is to not rebel against Him, but to please Him...in all I do.  Awash in politics and current events - a place where I feel called - I often overwhelm myself by focusing and dwelling too much there.  And it is in these times - when the spinning top is swirling off-balance and is about to tip on its side and roll erratically this way and that, difficult to catch before it falls of the ledge - that God blows a gentle zephyr to cause pause.  In this pause, I realize my focus is off.

The whole purpose of my calling is to bring him glory, to win souls, not to win the argument.  Yes, I want to be true and right, but for what purpose?  It is this I must keep my sights on.  I must keep my eyes on the goal...and not be distracted by worldly pursuits of admiration, putting another "in their place," and just making myself look good.  "Do not possess any wisdom of your own."  Let everything be His.

I do love Him, and am so glad to know that I do.  I know this because I do hear the "noiseless clarity" of His checks.  It is surprising to me, because so often I feel like I am running heedlessly in my own wild direction; but there is a divine sensitivity within me that senses when things are going awry.  He is gentle.  He is love.  He does not wish us to be humiliated, but to be gently reminded.  My job is obedience.  This is His greatest desire of me.

My works will get me nowhere.  But my obedience to Him is key.

"You are My friends if you do whatever I command you." (Jn. 15:14)

"Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord:  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams." (1 Sam. 15:22)

"With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the High God: Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?  Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, ten thousand rivers of oil?  Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?  He has shown you , O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

My ministry, my calling, my work - these things become idols when not checked.  They become idols to me.  And so His gentle checks come.  Obedience more than the sacrifice of time spent proclaiming truth; more than fighting, fighting, fighting for righteousness in the nation.  He does not NEED me.  He WANTS me and let's me serve Him.  But I am not necessary.  His will will be done in spite of whether I am involved or not:

"For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place..." (Est. 4:14)

"The she sent and called for Barak and said to him, 'Has not the Lord God of Israel commanded, "go and deploy troops at Mount Tabor; take with you ten thousand men of the sons of Naphtali and of the sons of Zebulun; and against you I will deploy Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army with his chariots and his multitude at the River Kishon; and I will deliver him into your hand.'  And Barak said to her, 'If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!'  So she said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the Lord will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.' Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh.  (Jdg. 4:6-9)

He can and will use anybody.  If it's not me, then someone else.  I am dispensable.  But, I choose to not pass the buck, but to do my duty...so long as I can allow it to not become idolatry.


I know this is not the first time this imbalance has occurred in me.  I cycle through this all the time.  Ever since I took on politics and public policy, I find this.  A desire for my knowledge to be current.  A desire for politicians to stand for what is right and what is Constitutional.  A desire to urge others to do their part.  It becomes obsessive.  And when that occurs, God sends His subtle checks.  If only I could live in the balance and not swing so far to worldly extremes and overwhelming politics.

Father, help me.  And thank You for your gentle, quiet voice that beckons me to return to you and to rest.  "The world is too much with you, My child.  Your mind leaps from problem to problem to problem, tangling your thoughts in anxious knots." (Jesus Calling, May 25)  Yes, it does.

"Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." (Php. 4:6)

It really is that simple.  Here it is.  Clear.  Concise.  Am I anxious?  Then lay my anxieties before Him.  Then, peace will come and it will guard my heart and mind...the very things that are off-balance.

Obedience solves everything.  I keep telling my kids that.  This child needs to recognize her own disobedience.

The Presidential Oath of Office

Regarding the presidential oath of office:

Q:  What is an oath?

A:  It is a solemn calling upon God, who knows the hearts of all men, and will call every man to account for his conduct in this world, to bear witness that what a man says is true, or that what he promises he means to perform.

Q:  What is the President's oath of office?

A:  It is in these words ---  "I do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States; and will, to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."

~Elementary Catechism on the Constitution of the United States for the use of schools, by Arthur J. Stansbury, 1828

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"Controversy for its own sake is a sin;

Controversy for the sake of truth is a divine mandate." 

~Walter Martin

A few great quotes in my life the past couple of days:


"No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size.  Government programs, once launched, never disappear.  Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!" ~Reagan

"...before a moral society can arrive at depravity, it must first travel through absurdity.  We are certainly at absurdity now." ~Michael Kasper

Charity, Economics, and the Bible

The following post is in collaboration with Mark Ross at The Original Republican.  Enjoy.  And comment below if you'd like.

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Being an American, and having grown up in our predominantly Capitalist country, I have never really had the occasion to ponder economics as it related to my faith. I had always worked, gone to church, and, for the most part, like millions of other Americans, have taken for granted the economic system that we have grown up with.

 It wasn't until a few years ago that I began hearing some fellow Americans citing Biblical verses in a manner that was tacitly, if not explicitly, promoting Socialism and Communism. For a Christian person, like myself, who has always cherished the freedoms we have had in this country, and felt blessed for the standard of living that we have had in this country, it is beyond disconcerting.

 Over the last year or so, I have had some informal conversations with some fellow Christian friends, in regards to this subject; but, for some reason, over the last few months, I have felt compelled to make an attempt to try to truly understand God's true intentions, as written in The Bible, in regards to how Christians should be conducting themselves, economically, charitably etc.

 Recently, I began discussing economics with my fellow Christian friend Kori, as it related to our faith. In the past, myself and Kori have collaborated on the subject of Christianity and Marriage, which, with her permission, ended up as an insightful post on this site; and, to which we were fortunate enough to have many great comments. Since she did such a wonderful job at researching Scripture, and Biblical history, in regards to that subject, I was inclined to ask her to collaborate, once again, with me, on this subject.

 With Kori's permission, I would like to share her recent e-mail correspondence to me: