Mama Angela’s Favorite Song of the Day February 8, 2010

I am a lover of music.  Music moves me.  I am not musical, but I love music anyway.  It can be a wonderful expression of feeling, an outlet for emotion.

This morning as I drove to the doctor’s office by myself, I was able to concentrate on the lyrics I was listening to, the ones that made me cry.  The following words are the lyrics to Mama Angela’s Favorite Song of the Day.

MERCIES ANEW

Every morning that breaks,
There are mercies anew.
Every breath that I take
Is your faithfulness proved.
And at the end of each day,
When my labors are through,
I will sing of Your mercies anew.

When I’ve fallen and strayed
There were mercies anew.
For you sought me in love
And my heart you pursued.
In the face of my sin
Lord, You never withdrew,
So I sing of Your mercies anew.

And Your mercies, they will never end
For ten thousand years they’ll remain.
And when this world’s beauty has passed away
Your mercies will be unchanged.

And when the storms swirl and rage
There are mercies anew.
In affliction and pain
You will carry me through.
And at the end of my days,
When Your throne fills my view,
I will sing of Your mercies anew.

I will sing of Your mercies anew.

I am so grateful that God’s mercies are new every day.  I can never use them all up.  They will never be in short supply.  In his infinite wisdom and power God gives me the mercies I need each day.  He is all I ever need.

A Beautiful Story of Kindness and Redemption January 28, 2010

Bethany and I read and studied the entire book of Ruth today.  Moved to tears as I read aloud, it seems that every time I read this book, it becomes more wondrous to me.  The author tells a moving story of the trials faced by a woman who would one day become an ancestor of the Messiah.  It is a story of God’s mysterious providence.  This beautiful love story is a story of kindness and redemption reflecting the blessings made available to us through Christ.

The book of Ruth speaks boldly to me as I can so easily identify with the viewpoint, values, and feelings of a woman.  Ruth’s loyalty, steadfast love, and kindness are evident in the few words of dialogue afforded her in this story.  Ruth is a prime example for a woman of God to pattern herself after. 

Ruth finds herself widowed with only her widowed mother-in-law as a companion.  She has been left childless and is free to return to the house of her father, but she loyally and lovingly returns with her mother-in-law, Naomi, to Naomi’s homeland.  These women must fend for themselves.  Food and shelter are their own responsibility, and Ruth vows to take care of Naomi.  Ruth promises, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you.  For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge.  Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.”

This story is one that shows not only virtuous womanhood, but strong manhood in the example of Boaz, whose life reflects the kindness of the Lord.  Boaz is God’s answer to the needs of Ruth and Naomi.  Boaz willingly takes the responsibility of kinsman-redeemer bridegroom, though he is not required to do so by law.  This is in the image of Christ.  By redeeming Naomi’s property and marrying Ruth, Boaz also finds benefit.  He calls Ruth a “worthy woman,” and is impressed that she had not merely sought to marry an eligible young man.  Boaz takes care in preserving the reputations of himself and Ruth by acting in propriety.  This too shows love and kindness.

Through the marriage of Boaz and Ruth a son is born who becomes the grandfather of David.  This becomes the greatest family line in all of Israel.  Ruth, a foreign woman, is used to make up the geneology of Jesus Christ, the true Redeemer.  Ruth’s ten years of childlessness with her deceased husband are repaid to her as God opens her womb to carry out his purpose.  God’s plans will not fail.

Though there is unthinkable loss and hardship for the characters of this story, we are shown the blessings of God’s provision that abound.  At times Ruth chooses a position of insecurity and instability even though she is free to seek security and stability elsewhere.  This is a sign of the faith that Ruth has in Naomi’s God, the God who is her own.  Whether Ruth and Naomi knew it or not, their hardship would be a building block God would use for a bountiful future for them and for all God’s people. 

I urge you to open your Bible and do your own study of the book of Ruth.  As you read, look for the theme of God’s great restoration.  This timeless story tells of the ways God’s people experience his sovereignty, wisdom, and covenant kindness.  We may have difficulty seeing these things if we aren’t looking for them, for they often come in disguise.  Life’s afflictions and tribulations can be undercover sources of God’s provision and purpose, and the kindness of others is often God’s method of mediation.

Proverbs, Proverbs, Proverbs January 27, 2010

My morning reading of Proverbs 27 was plentiful.  Several times I stopped to ponder on these precious precepts.  My first lengthy stop was at verses 8-10.

Like a bird that strays from its nest is a man who strays from his home.  Proverbs 27:8

Oil and perfume make the heart glad, and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.  Proverbs 27:9

Do not forsake your friend and your father’s friend, and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.  Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away.  Proverbs 27:10

I value what these verses say about friends and family.  It is beneficial to stay near your family, but in times of need we can turn to a true friend, one with “earnest counsel.” 

Next, I thought long on verse 12 which says, “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.”  This is a tough one for me to get straight.  At times it’s difficult to determine whether I’m being brave or stupid.  Just because I have the courage to do something doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.  Going ahead with something may be the foolish thing to do at times while refraining is wise.  This is where wisdom comes in.

Finally, I camped out on verses 15-17.  I love verses on marriage.  I guess that’s because…I’m married.  Besides, I take marriage very seriously.

A continual dripping on a rainy day and a quarrelsome wife are alike; to restrain her is to restrain the wind or to grasp oil in one’s right hand.  Proverbs 27:15-16

These two verses were grouped together for study.  The notes then referred back to verse 12 (aha!) and the prudence issue.  I love this stuff!  It would be prudent for a person to see evidence of a person’s quarrelsome character before marriage.  Likewise, a person should examine his own behavior and how it will affect the spouse.  We then see that it is impossible to restrain such quarrelsome behavior.  Negative consequences come to such a marriage where each person is not working with and for the other.

I read on to verse 17, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.”  The image here is that interacting with a good person makes us better.  Keeping company with a person who encourages and corrects sharpens us and makes us more effective in all life’s challenges.  I found this to be a perfect tie-in for verses 15-16 on marriage.  When choosing a spouse, we should not only look to avoid that quarrelsome quality that is sure to be evident before marriage, but we should also look deeply into a person’s character to see if they are the one that will sharpen us and make us more effective in all areas of life. 

Oh, how productive the Proverbs are in teaching us wise principles for life.  What a privilege to have them to peruse each day.

Lesson for 6th Graders, Good for Us All January 26, 2010

Have I mentioned how much I like Everett’s 6th grade Bible curriculum for homeschool?  Well, I do.  We use a curriculum published by BJU Press and written by members of the faculty and staff of Bob Jones University.  I’m always on the lookout for lessons that may lean in the wrong direction or get off focus.  I want my kids to study the Bible for all it’s worth,  not just for historical facts.  This curriculum has not disappointed me so far.  Although I stay on top of what my children are studying and discuss it with them, I’m finding more and more confidence in this curriculum.  I’m finding it to be trustworthy.

The 6th grade version of BJU’s Bible Truths series is subtitled REDEMPTION–God’s Grand Design.  I have been so pleased with the lessons presented from God’s Word and from the hymns we study.  Today’s lesson presented the sin of pride for examination.  This is surely something every 6th grader should study from a biblical perspective, but it is no less important for any of us to study.  Pride is a constant battle for us all.

We’re first directed to Matthew 15:18-19.  “But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.”  These verses show us just how unhealthy our heart, the center of our thoughts and emotions, can be.  The condition of our spiritual heart determines what we say and do.

Next, we are told of the transforming work that happens when God changes a person’s heart.  This is what happens to those God chooses to save.  God changes a hard heart to one that desires the ways of God, and the Holy Spirit becomes our helper to resist the temptations of sin.  Pride is one of these sins which can control our heart and affect every other area of our life.  These verses are given as evidence of how God feels about pride and the effects it has on our lives:  

“By insolence comes nothing but strife, but with those who take advice is wisdom.”  Proverbs 13:10

“The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil.  Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.”  Proverbs 8:13

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.”  Proverbs 16:18

“When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.”  Proverbs 11:2

James 4:6 tells us that God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble.  1 Peter 5:5 restates that position, but gives us more of a concentrated focus.  “Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders.  Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”  This verse piqued my curiosity, so I looked deeper.  My ESV study Bible explained further that “younger” is probably referring to younger members of the congregation who are more likely to be headstrong and resistant to leadership.  This verse is a reminder to those to submit themselves to the elders.  I think this does not only apply to youth in age, but also to youth in terms of spiritual life, experience and growth.  We can all learn from those who have more knowledge and experience than we do.  This verse instructs all of us to deny our self-oriented nature and relate with humility to one another.

The lesson went on to say that pride can be seen on our faces, in our speech, and observed in our actions.  Pride is described as deceit.  We will deceive ourselves that we are better than we are, and we may succeed at deceiving others to believe we are better than we are which is much less likely, but we need not ever think we can deceive God.  God sees the pride in our heart even when no one else can.

Micah 6:8 tells us that the Lord requires us to do justice, love kindness (mercy), and to walk humbly with God.  These are the primary forms of love.  These are what the Lord expects of us in response to his redemptive acts.  These are what the Lord desires from his people.

We would do well to look to areas of our lives in which we have confidence.  These are prime targets for an attack of pride.  We must be on guard against this sin in our lives.  Upon recognizing this heart condition of pride, we must confess it and ask God for help in fighting it.

Upon discussion Everett and I were easily able to think of areas in each of our lives where too much confidence is a hindrance.  One thing I make sure my children know is this, I am as great a sinner as any person who ever lived.  My sins may not be the same as any other person, but they are no less horrific because they detract from God’s goodness and the glory that he deserves.  The good news is that God is faithful.  He continues to show himself to me in might and power that I might learn and grow in dependence on him.  It is through this dependence that He can use even my failures to glorify Himself.  Thanks be to a supremely good God for his grand design of redemption!

Another Facebook Soap Opera January 26, 2010

Russell came home last night after work with tons of questions about facebook.  I had to tell him I understand very little about it, so I directed him to our one family member who participates on facebook, making her the family expert on this particular topic.  You see, the use of facebook has now been a glaring disruption at the plant.  Oh, yes.  Even grown men with prestigious jobs and prestigious degrees of learning from prestigious universities who are responsible for running chemical plants get ignorant on facebook.

I can’t for the life of me figure out why a man who has a good job with good benefits that feeds his family well would post his emotional discontent or exasperation about said job when his boss happens to be one of his “facebook friends.”  Don’t even get me started on that term, because it is a misnomer in most cases.  If we all had that many friends, this world would be a happier place!  I believe if I were on facebook, I’d worry about being a mean woman because there would be many who might ask me to be their “friend” that I would rather not interact with.  Then what?  Am I a bad person if I say “No, I don’t want to be your friend.”  Juvenile.

Back to the soap opera of grown men.  Adam Chandler of All My Children fame had nothing on these guys back in the days before I felt convicted of how wrong it was for me to watch that filth!  Shoot, my husband works right in the middle of this real-life drama.  Russell filled us in on how these comments went back and forth between boss and employee, increasing in hostility and severity, until it just went too far.  Even one of their mother’s got involved in the commenting!  I suppose she had to stand up for her little boy.  Yikes!

Then, the next work day rolled around, and these foolish men had to face each other in real life where it is not so easy to bolster the courage to say the things we easily and thoughtlessly type into our computer.  Now the drama is really on.  The whole workplace is in turmoil because of these foolish internet interactions.  Russell, who doesn’t know squat-diddly-poo (hope that’s not an ugly word) about facebook,  is somehow unfairly drawn into the middle of this mess because he works closely with both of these men.  He’s in quite a pickle.  He doesn’t know what to say.  What he wants to say is, “Grow up!”  But the reality is that he now has become a counselor or mediator of sorts by no choice of his own, but by the irrational choices and behaviors of these supposed mature, highly educated men he works with.

Let this be a warning to all of you.  Be thoughtful, intentional, and wise about the way you use facebook and what you say on there!  You may not be aware of who is watching you, and they may not take kindly to what you are saying.  Also think about the children who are on facebook learning from all of you.  We can’t just go about doing whatever we want to do without realizing how it affects others.  That is not loving or kind.  I think it would be wise to think of these facebook interactions in terms of relationships.  Relationships matter.  Treat them with care.

Once again the horrors of facebook have stricken even those who don’t use it.  This would be one of the silliest, funniest stories I’ve ever heard if it’s implications weren’t getting so serious at the plant.  Maybe it will die down soon.  One of the guys involved will be leaving the plant as of Friday.  What a mess.  I’m just going to say it like my twelve-year-old son would say it.  Facebook is retarded!  :)

Funny Friday January 23, 2010

Ev was on his game yesterday.  His normal strategy seems to be to agitate and frustrate for a while, then bust out with something to make everybody laugh.  Each week homeschooling gets pretty stressful by Friday.  Apparently this is especially true for Everett.  I bet he said, “Ugh,” a hundred times before he finished his schoolwork yesterday.  He sounded like Charlie Brown come to life!

By lunch time I was already mentally and emotionally exhausted.  When Everett decided to be difficult about what he wanted to eat for lunch, I said, “Ev, you’re kinda bein’ a pain.”

“MOM!  I am NOT a pain!  You might THINK I’m a pain, but I’m not.”

Okay.  I suppose it’s all relative.  I have to give him credit for lightening the mood, although he was not intentional in doing so.  He was quite sincere in his rebuttal.  We were able to move along after that.  Everybody ate lunch, and after all schoolwork was completed, we readied ourselves to leave home.  Allie, Everett, and Bethany had scheduled a sleepover at Grandma’s house for last night.  Everett needed to get a haircut, so we planned to do that on the way to Grandma’s house.

I used to cut Ev’s hair at home, but it got to be such a fight every time that I decided to take him to a public place so he would behave better.  For years he claimed that the cut hair that got on him felt like “barbed wire poking into my skin.”  That sounds a little extreme to me, but it did cause him to pitch a rather large fit every time he had to get his hair cut.  He has grown up a little since then, but he still hates for the hair to get on him.

Everett got a haircut, and we immediately went to Grandma’s house after that so he could get the hair off of him.  This was about a 3 minute trip.  When we got there, Everett requested that I help him get all the loose hair off of his head so it wouldn’t continue to bother him.  I told him we needed to go outside to do it so we wouldn’t dirty Grandma’s house.  Once we were outside, Ev spotted Granddaddy’s air compressor.

“Wait.  I’ll just get Granddaddy to use the air compressor to blow it off.”

I was fine with that.  I’m sure that’s exactly why Granddaddy just bought a new air compressor!  I followed Everett back into the house. 

Upon entering the back door, Everett bellowed, “GRANDDADDY!”

“What?”

“I need you to do somethin’ for me!”

“What?”

“Blow my head off!”

At that point laughter erupted from all the girls in the house including Grandma.  Only Everett would say something like that.  We never know what is going to come out of his mouth next.

Loathsome Lizard January 22, 2010

I don’t know why anything ever shocks or surprises me around here, but for some reason, every time someone screams at the top of their lungs…I get startled.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!  A lizard just went by my bowl!!!!!” Allie screamed the other morning as she was fixing her bowl of cereal.

I ran to the kitchen to see a lizard calmly sitting right beside her empty bowl and spoon.  I got a wad of paper towels (because I don’t like lizards either) and proceeded to catch the lizard alive and put him outside.  Problem solved, right?

“What do lizards even DO?!  WHY…are they EVEN on this earth!?!”  Allie was still quite indignant about this mishap.

Little Brother Ev issued a solemn warning from the other room.  “Allie, you’re gonna get blogged.”

With no response to what her brother had just said, all Allie could say was, “WELL, (pause and then loudly) why are they!?!”

Everett, being the caring, considerate young man that he is, just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to help his sister out with a bit of wisdom.  “It just gets more embarrassing the more you say.”

That seemed to end Allie’s tirade over lizards, but she wasn’t about to eat from that bowl and spoon since it probably had lizard germs all over it.  She put the clean dishes in the sink and retrieved a new set so she could enjoy her morning bowl of cereal that this rude little lizard had so discourteously interrupted earlier.

My children have come to realize I WILL document their humorous actions.  My goal is not to embarrass them in any way, but to teach them to laugh.  Life is so much easier when we can laugh at ourselves and learn instead of being prideful and ignoring our quirks.  Laughter is good.  Try it.  Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!

Sign of the Times? January 21, 2010

I’m not sure whether I am prudent or just an old prude.  I’d like to say I’m a prudent woman, but I may have a blind spot about this.  I present to you another facebook situation for evidence.  You decide.  Prude or prudent?

I have yet to see real, true, lasting good come from facebook.  In fact, I have seen enough of the opposite to outweigh any good I’ve seen.  I have seen people deeply hurt because of facebook participation on their part or on the part of others.  But my story today is not one of hurt.  My story today is somewhat humorous, somewhat startling.  It’s another example of just how much we influence our children in all of our ways.

Per my usual Wednesday night activities, last night I was in class with my preschoolers to teach them from God’s Word.  It was only girls last night.  I had 2 three-year-olds and a six-year-old.  We were using glue, so we opted to make our craft first before we actually got fully into our lesson.  As we glued sequins on our memory verse cards, someone asked me if I saw something on facebook.

I was a little shocked at the question, but not completely surprised, so I answered honestly, “No, I’m not on facebook.  That means I can’t see the stuff on there.”  The conversation continued between the girls for a while as they talked about what they had seen on their mom’s computer.  I don’t think they know exactly how it all works (Neither do I!), but they are definitely familiar with it.

The thing that surprised me most was that the girls seemed to be astonished that I’m “not on facebook.”  I suppose everybody is on facebook except Ms. Angela!  This makes me laugh because it’s something I’ve chosen to stay away from in my life.  I don’t need it.  Most people seem to obsess over it, and I can’t afford this type of obsession in my life.  There are so many better ways to spend my time and energy and better things to fill my mind and heart with.  As it is I find I have to leave out a lot of good stuff that I want to accomplish because my time is insufficient for everything. 

This little interaction got me thinking.  Am I just a behind-the-times prude who is trying too hard to be righteous, or am I being prudent and using good judgement about how I spend my God-given time and energy?  It would be really easy to jump on the bandwagon and “do what everybody else does.”  I’ve been told to do that many times in my lifetime, and I’m ashamed to say I have heeded that unwise advice before, but do I need to do what everybody else does just so I won’t be a prude?  I don’t think so, but others might.

I am aware that my choice not to jump on the facebook bandwagon puts me in a seeming place of not being privileged to know what is going on in the world.  Usually I am completely okay with that even when people talk in facebook code in my presence.  Most of the time I think I’m better off not knowing all the private “junk” people can’t wait to make public.  But last night my preschool students taught me something.  They are way ahead of this old lady when it comes to being in touch with the times!  Mama A has totally missed out on this sign.

Unthankfulness January 20, 2010

Unthankfulness is another subtle sin which author Jerry Bridges describes in his book, Respectable Sins, Confronting the Sins We Tolerate.  I would say that we are all guilty of this one.  If not often, at least occasionally.  Even those who know God fail to honor him or give thanks to him.  It is easy to fall into habitual unthankfulness in the culture and time we live in, but we need to be careful not to ignore the seriousness of this subtle sin.

Bridges poses the question, “Are we to give God thanks when the circumstances do not turn out as we had hoped?”  Paul answers that question for us in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”  I’ll take that as a “yes.”  Bridges then directs us to Romans 8:28-29 and 38-39 for God’s promises. 

“We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.  For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers….For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Bridges expounds on these verses to say that God directs the outcome of all circumstances for our good.  The “good” as defined in verse 29 is our being conformed to the image of God’s Son.  Paul is telling us that God intends all our circumstances, both good and bad, to be tools used to sanctify us.  The goal is for us to grow to be more and more like Jesus.  This confirms that we are to be thankful to God even in difficulties because he WILL use the situation in some way to develop our Christian character.  Verses 38-39 give us assurance of God’s love.  Clinging to this truth by faith enables us to have a truly thankful heart whatever our circumstances may be. 

True thankfulness must come from the heart, not through gritted teeth.  Thanks is not something we can give God through sheer will power.  We can acknowledge how difficult our situation is, and still give God thanks for the good he is doing in us.  It is because of his love and wisdom that God has chosen things for us that we would not choose for ourselves.  Thankfulness takes faith.

I close with a concluding paragraph from this chapter:

“Now let’s return again to the primary purpose of this book.  As the subtitle suggests, it’s to help us honestly confront the subtle sins we tolerate in our own lives so that we will tend to walk more humbly before God and with respect to the unbelievers toward whom we may be so judgmental.  This purpose will be met only to the extent that we all, including myself, prayerfully examine our hearts and lives before God, asking Him to show us our own subtle sins.”

John Piper Tweet January 19, 2010

 

 

“To be caught in secret sin is a horrible thing.  Only one thing worse.  Not to be caught.”