My "Life Song"

Jessica posted song lyrics on her blog and suggested others do the same. Rebecca posted on her own blog and I decided to do the same.

This song has been meaningful to me for many years. In fact, in my funeral instructions, I have requested just two things: that I be buried, not cremated, and that this song be sung - joyfully!

Various verses have been especially relevant at different times. During this season of my life, I cling to Verse Two.

1. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
   When sorrows like sea billows roll;
   Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
   It is well, it is well, with my soul.
   
   
   • Refrain:
     It is well, with my soul,
     It is well, it is well, with my soul.
     
     
2. Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
   Let this blest assurance control,
   That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
   And hath shed His own blood for my soul.
   
   
3. My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
   My sin, not in part but the whole,
   Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
   Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
   
   
4. For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
   If Jordan above me shall roll,
   No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
   Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.
   
   
5. But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
   The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
   Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
   Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul!
   
   
6. And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
   The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
   The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
   Even so, it is well with my soul.

*SHOCKING* how much things have changed!

This is an

educational book
-mainstream-
that was published
in 1914.
The mention of a creator
and the scriptural references
were apparently
quite normal
and generated
no debate.

Wow.
Things have changed.

I think it's really
important that our
young minds today
realize things have
not always been
so *anti-God*.

We have a rich heritage.
Let's do all we can
to preserve it.

If My Faith is Fraudulent

I am taking a stand on personal things in my life right now that are very costly.

If my Lord Jesus Christ is just an historical figure and his dried bones heaped in a long-lost tomb somewhere in Israel, if the Scriptures that I have believed for 34 years are merely man's musings, if the cries of my heart are not heard from above, I am making painful sacrifices for a Lie.

Anyone who thinks being a Christian is like leaning on a crutch is mistaken. It is more like diving off a high cliff and trusting that you will be grasped before you hit the canyon bottom.

I am falling, once again, into His Everlasting Arms.

The Source of Traffic Laws

Have you ever grumbled while sitting at a l-o-n-g red light, watching a car two blocks down approach, going the other direction, and sail right through? ("Not fair!") ...I've done my share of complaining, and have thought about the reasoning behind traffic laws many times while waiting. I recently read the following short article in a favorite magazine of mine, Answers, and took the liberty of publishing it here. It succinctly presents the same conclusion I've come to...

It is impossible to pass a law that is free from moral implications. The real question is not whether man can legislate morality, but which system of morality will be legislated. All laws are either explicitly moral or procedures that uphold a moral concept. Even laws requiring traffic lights impose "morality". The purpose of traffic lights is to stop people from having accidents, thus protecting property and preserving life.

Even simple laws, like traffic lights, presuppose that:

a) order is good and chaos bad
b) property rights should be honored, and
c) life should be preserved

Each of these principles is rooted in the Genesis (Biblical) account of origins:

a) God the creator, who declared His work "very good" (Genesis 1:31), is not the author of confusion (I Corinthians 14:33)
b) He commanded man to bring order into creation by taking dominion over the earth, thus laying the foundation for property rights (Genesis 1:28), and
c) He established the sanctity of life as the first principle of lawful government (Genesis 9:5-6)

These are the unspoken moral assumptions behind a traffic light.

Name That Female Vocalist/Musician!

Listen and then, guess.

Don't look at the other guesses in the comments until you are ready to make yours!

I'll confirm or deny in a while....

Sunset

Out for a walk this evening, we saw this gorgeous sunset. Thank goodness for a camera phone!

Just Because I Love Him.

Click Here.

Pair-a-Docks

Ever wondered why a person who touts Tolerance can be so Intolerant of those he deems Intolerant?

How I am Feeling

In the The Silver Chair, a Chronicle of Narnia book by C.S. Lewis, there is a character named Puddleglum. His personality is much like mine. A pessimist. Always expecting the worst. An Eeyore.

Nevertheless, when the chips are really down, he knows where to look. Up.

In one significant scene, the characters -Puddleglum, Jill and Scrubb- have left the wonderful land of Narnia to search for its abducted prince, and are now captive in a distant dark Underworld. They have found the prince, but have hit an obstacle: the wicked Witch who kidnapped him. She is casting a spell, and Puddleglum's companions are quickly falling under her bewitching. Puddleglum is resisting with all his might. I'll quote the story from this point, beginning with the words of Jill, one of the good companions...

"I suppose that other world (Narnia) must be all a dream."

"Yes. It is all a dream," said the Witch, always thrumming on her magic fiddle.

"Yes, all a dream," said Jill.

"There never was such a world," said the Witch.

"No," said Jill and Scrubb, "never was such a world."

"There never was any world but mine," said the Witch.

"There never was any world but yours," said they.

Puddleglum was fighting hard. "I don't rightly know what you all mean by a world," he said, talking like a man who hasn't enough air. "But you can play that fiddle till your fingers drop off, and you still won't make me forget Narnia; and the whole Overworld, too. We'll never see it again, I shouldn't wonder. You may have blotted it out and turned it dark like this, for all I know. Nothing more likely.

"But I know I was there once. I've seen the sky full of stars. I've seen the sun coming up out of the sea of a morning and sinking behind the mountains at night. And I've seen him up in the midday sky when I couldn't see him for his brightness."



Lately, my world has seemed dark. But, I have seen the Sun. And I shall never forget the Son in His brightness...

We Three

(us at the rest area, 3-18-08)

What a day we've had!

We woke up this morning and decided we needed a day off work. Since Rick took an early retirement two years ago, we've had our noses to the grindstone, building our Offbeat business. Things haven't gone as planned exactly (in more ways than finances; children moving away, health, etc.) and I've been really blue lately. We thought a drive to the mountains to immerse ourselves in Spring and all the fresh green hills and colorful wildflowers would be comforting.

Right away, I sensed the Lord in our conversation. We talked easily of our dreams, our disappointments, our vision for our future, and how we trust the Lord to guide us. Can I just say that I am married to an amazing man?! I am so blessed to be partnered with this guy. He provides such a balance for me. I have a natural tendency to pessimism (don't look so surprised-HA!) and melancholy. The further we drove, the more optimistic I felt about things. I felt hopeful with a renewed sense of Christ's love for me.

About 40 miles up, we passed over a river bridge and noticed a little deserted rest area. Deciding to stop for a few moments, we turned off the road and doubled back to it. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw a car tucked back out of sight from the road. It looked familiar.

(Bryan, Ces, Mia and soon-to-be-born Baby)

Before I knew it, I was jumping out of the car and running toward some of our very best young friends, Bryan and Ces! What a random meeting! A Tuesday morning, far from home, on a work day. Coincidence? I think not...

We had such a pleasant interlude with them and their tiny daughter, talking about our lives and catching up. (They have filled some gaps for us since Bec and Josh have moved, and Shay and Charity live a few hours off.) This dear family was out there with their canoe, fishing, also enjoying the day, and reveling in their Creator.

As we drove away, Rick and I looked at each other and just smiled. It was obvious that our Silent Passenger had spoken; we were driving, but He was directing. We can count on Him to do that with us. Always.

And that is very comforting.

(continued...next post down)

~~

Further Up the Road...

(click on the picture to enlarge it)

We stopped at a country cemetery. It's really interesting to read all the headstones, and to realize that someday, all any one on earth may know of you might be what's written there.

When we walked back to our car, I caught a reflection of the cemetery in our back window, alongside a sticker, "Don't waste your life". That struck me as very symbolic.

I took a quick digital snapshot. When I got home, it looked really strange to me! The cemetery was completely whitewashed, due to the sunlight and the contrast between the black car and the bright background. I'm not trying to be overly artsy, but I did a one-step tweak (poster edges) in photoshop, and I thought this turned out kinda interesting.

You know you've lost your head to technology when...

...you wake up in the morning and check the weather on your Blackberry while still in bed, instead of looking out the window. Don't ask me how I know this.

Go ahead, comment. You can be anonymous!

He Answers To No One

A very dear family lost their young husband and father today. In these situations, one always asks, "Why?"



This morning, I was reading a book, "The Horse and His Boy" by C.S. Lewis. To synopsize the portion I am referring to here, Shasta and his riding companion, Aravis, are on a desperate journey to ride to Narnia to warn of an impending attack by the Calormenes. At one point, Aravis is stalked and wounded by an unseen animal, apparently a lion. She is thus unable to continue the expedition and is waylaid with a kindly dwarf to care for her.

Shasta continues on at a mad pace and is alone the next night in an unfamiliar mountain pass, hungry and exhausted. As he thinks of the unfairness of his life until that point, tears roll down his cheeks, and he is suddenly aware of someone or something walking beside him. Shasta is terrified yet strangely comforted. I'll pick up with the story here...

Once more he felt the warm breath of the Thing on his hand and face. "...Tell me your sorrows."

Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his real father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman. And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives; and of all their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert. And he told about the heat and the thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis. And also, how very long it was since he had had anything to eat.

"I do not call you unfortunate," said the Large Voice.

"Don't you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?" said Shasta.

"There was only one lion," said the Voice.

"What on earth do you mean? I've just told you there were at least two the first night, and-"

"There was only one; but he was swift of foot."

"How do you know?"

"I was the lion." And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the Voice continued. "I was the Lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

"Then it was you who wounded Aravis?"

"It was I."

"But what for?"

"Child," said the Voice, "I am telling you your story, not hers. I tell no one any story but his own."

"Who ARE you?" asked Shasta.

"Myself," said the Voice, very deeply and low so that the earth shook: and again, "Myself," loud and clear and gay: and then the third time, "Myself," whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all around you as if the leaves rustled with it.

Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice belonged to something that would eat him, or that it was the voice of a ghost. A new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.

~~~~~~~

I don't pretend to know why this great tragedy has befallen the Davises. All I know is that He is good, and He is terrifying, and He is safe -in my life. And, He answers to no one.

~~~~~~~

Is it Ramadan or Hanukkah or Christmas?

I'm don't mind "Happy Holidays" when it's wished in a general sense, and you're not sure which holiday someone celebrates.

But, this nonsense goes too far when it's December 18th, and Hanukkah and Ramadan are now behind us.

I received emails this morning from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, Borders, ToysRUs, etc., letting me know that if I order TODAY, I can get my delivery "in time for the Holidays". So, why don't they just say, "in time for Christmas"? Are there people that actually order ahead in December 2007 for Ramadan and Hanukkah 2008?

And, are the post office and your bank closed for the "Holiday"? Or are they closed for "Christmas"?

Why is everyone afraid to say, "Merry Christmas!!"?

A Christmas Essay

This essay was written by an acquaintance whom I greatly admire, Pamela LaChapell. She has inspired me as a stepmother and as a Christian. I invite you to read it. I've started the article here, and continued it in the comment section...

What Do You Want For Christmas?

Have you ever poured your heart and soul into a gift? Perhaps you searched and searched for just the right gift for a special person. Or maybe you spent hours creating it yourself, adding lots of TLC along the way. Your mind conjured up images of the delight on the recipient’s face as she would unwrap your labor of love. The moment you have been anxiously waiting for finally arrives. Your camera is fixed on her face, so determined are you to capture the grand moment on film. But wait... something’s wrong. Her reaction is not at all what you anticipated. Perhaps she doesn’t appreciate the immense effort you put into this gift, or the price you paid, or maybe she just didn’t grasp the significance of your gift to her. You feel dejected at her indifference. (continued in comment section)

This is the Corrupted Version?!

Rick and I have spent some time last week and this on two different trips to the coast. One to Northern California (Fort Bragg) and one to Central California (Santa Barbara and Morro Bay area).

As we were driving north of Santa Barbara on Highway 101 today, the sun was sparkling on the ocean, a cool breeze stirring tantalizing scents and teasing the palm tree tips, Rich Mullins filling our 4Runner with his classic Creed. I mused, "It doesn't get ANY better than this!"

Then suddenly I thought, "Oh yes, it does!"

This glorious earth with all its breathtaking beauty will one day fade away and be replaced with the Real Deal. This is only the corrupted version!

"All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay." Romans 8:21

"But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world where everyone is right with God." 2 Peter 3:13

"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared." Revelation 21:1

I can't begin to imagine what the new world will be like! All I know is that He will be there, and He is more beautiful than the finest day here...

Bittersweet Day

Today's is my youngest child's 18th birthday. Correction: she's not a child anymore!

Legally, in the U.S., you bear responsibility until they turn 18. But, actually, you never quit being a parent. In some ways, the role gets harder when your children are adults. The decisions they make are more weighty, yet your jurisdiction over them diminishes, and sometimes disappears!

It is comforting to me that my children have a Heavenly Father who doesn't take note of the "legal" ages. They have been in His care since conception, and He will continue to watch over them until He brings them to their eternal home.

So... today I celebrate my new-found freedom, but also mourn the passing of a season.

Pointing the Finger

Rick and I, and several young friends of ours, went to Sacramento today to attend a conference with one of our favorite people, John Piper. Time fails to give a fair overview of the exceptional teaching we enjoyed, but one jewel in particular glittered.

If you are a parent, or have ever had a youngster in your charge, you've probably had the following experience. Your very small child, perhaps the age of my grandson Caleb, is toddling by your side and you spot a fluttering butterfly some distance ahead. Excited to share this wonder, you point to it, exclaiming, "Look! Look at that!"

Catching your excitement, the youngster fixes his gaze onto your outstretched finger, not aware of its purpose. Smiling, you say, "No, no... LOOK at the butterfly! Not my finger..."

Poor little tyke... he's locked onto your finger! He can't understand that the finger is not the object, it's only a tool pointing to something beyond.

Everyone loves nature! It's amazing, glorious and intriguing. Who hasn't been transfixed by the nighttime stars and planets, marveled at the height and majesty of an ancient redwood tree, felt humbled by the roar of the ocean? Plants, animals, rocks and elements--- too many to number or comprehend.

All fingers, all pointing. Pointing to the amazing, glorious and intriguing God. He has taken great joy in creating nature to point us to Himself.

"God has put this knowledge in their hearts. From the time the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky and all that God made. They can clearly see HIS invisible qualities, HIS eternal power and HIS divine nature. So they have no excuse whatsoever for not knowing God." Romans 1:19 and 20, NLT, (all-caps: mine)

The next time you sigh as a gentle breeze caresses you, or your heart swells watching playful dolphins frolic, lift your gaze from the temporal to the Eternal... He's so much more!