Really compelling images from the Library of Congress, published on the UK Daily Mail’s website.
Check these out…
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There are so many more at the link. Don’t miss them.
What’s Going On Right Now (5/16/11)
Image by shazwan
(Moving from spring images to summer ones… I don’t know about where you are, but it was 97 degrees here last week!)
Speaking of, John Piper reminds us to think rightly about summer.
“You are immortal until your work is done” has always been one of my favorite maxims on the sovereignty of God. Fabs writes about famous Christian last words.
I’m sure by now you’ve heard about Ann Voskamp’s bestseller One Thousand Gifts (and some of the controversy that surrounds it). This review about its romantic panentheism is the best and most comprehensive I’ve read. (Found through Everyday Mommy’s blog, where she’s also conducted some great biblical discussion of the book.)
Tim Challies is resurrecting Reading Classics Together, and in June we’ll begin Christianity and Liberalism {Amazon Affiliate link}. Looking forward to it!
It was with sadness last week that I read Presbyterians (PCUSA) have removed celibacy as a requirement for single pastors. I wonder how they think “submitting joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life” allows for this. More here, like “Those attempts to invent new morality look for me like attempts to invent a new religion — a sort of modern paganism.”
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Seth Godin talks about the future of libraries. I agree–mostly– and think the Orange County Library System is doing a great job moving forward. I sure hope they keep all those “dead books”, though!
Continuing a thread of recent posts, over on Front Porch Republic Mark Mitchell writes about the attributes of a gentleman. I hadn’t thought about it before, but among several interesting points he notes that the concept of a gentleman only appears in Christian societies. (That makes sense.)
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I’m looking forward to a week where I can reset my clock a little bit and gather my scattered thoughts. The weekend, Lord willing, brings in sweet time with friends and a beautiful violin recital at Saint Andrew’s.
Categories: What's Going On Right Now
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What I’ve been cooking lately
This post has been a long time coming; partly because I’ve not been cooking every night but mostly because I’ve been in a rut and what I have been cooking you’ve already seen! I took some time to peruse Tasty Kitchen and now have several weeks’ worth of new recipes to try! Those are coming soon. 
Let’s see…
Bekka and I enjoyed mini cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze, inspired by these Itty Bitty Cinnamon Roll Bites
Easter went by without any special food. It was a great day in other ways. There were jelly beans, though!
I made a cheesecake for Mother’s Day, which I should have taken a better picture of! It had a graham cracker crust and I wound up topping it with chocolate ganache.
I made chicken with white wine cream sauce a while back
One Friday night I made roasted pork loin with balsamic vinaigrette
and popovers, which were delicious.
Then for the Kentucky Derby last weekend Kate and I made mint juleps, of course!
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What’s Going On Right Now (5/5/11)
Image by morning_rumtea
Today is the National Day of Prayer, with the theme A Mighty Fortress is Our God.
The new classic A Praying Life: Connecting with God in a Distracting World by Paul Miller {Amazon Affiliate link} is available on Kindle for a limited time for free!
Tim Challies is restarting his Reading Classics Together book club on his blog. If you’d like to be involved and have a Christian classic you’ve always meant to read (or one worth reading again), make sure to suggest it in the comments on his post.
It’s recently been announced that the C. S. Lewis classic The Great Divorce will be made into a film.
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My mom is featured as a homeschooling success story on the FPEA website!
Did you see friends posting the quote “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy” attributed to Martin Luther King, Jr. after the death of Bin Laden? Dr. King never said that, as explained in this article on the anatomy of a fake quotation.
My friend Kate and I went to see Atlas Shrugged on Friday, and were amazed we’d seen the same movie as the critics lambasting it. Really. Go see it.
If you weren’t at the George McPhee organ concert on Sunday you missed something really special. All the concerts in the Fine Arts at Saint Andrew’s series have been spectacular. You won’t want to miss any more, so mark these dates on your calendar for the rest of 2011 (and Like us on Facebook while you’re at it)!
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Finally, Mother’s Day is this Sunday. If that takes you by surprise, why not give Mom an Amazon gift card? {Amazon Affiliate link} Let’s face it: you’re running out of time!
Categories: What's Going On Right Now
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A Wrinkle in Time – LOST Bookclub
I wrote a post for LostBlog.com because I’m leading discussion for this month’s LOST Bookclub selection!
Start Reading A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Categories: Book Recommendations
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Books I Read This Month (April 2011)
Image by shutterhacks
I’m really not doing well on my goal to read 100 books in 2011 (see sidebar)… I need to catch up a lot in May!
Still, I did some reading in April…
The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis – awesome biography of his intellectual life
Millionaire Women Next Door: The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen – lots of interesting facts and statistics
Common as Air: Revolution, Art, and Ownership – a treatise on copyright or the lack thereof
Chronicles of Narnia (namely Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and The Silver Chair) – which hold up even better than I remembered. Truly great books.
At Home: A Short History of Private Life – Bill Bryson. I now have enough interesting facts and stories to last me at least the next few months of cocktail parties
{Amazon Affiliate links}
Categories: Book Recommendations
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Organ Recital Tomorrow!
”The riches of music are so excellent and so precious that words fail me whenever I attempt to discuss and describe them… In [sum], next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world. It controls our thoughts, minds, hearts, and spirits.”
-Martin Luther
Dr. George McPhee visits Saint Andrew’s from Glasgow, Scotland for a special organ concert
4:00pm Sunday, May 1
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Prayer is Conflict – Elisabeth Elliot & Amy Carmichael
Image by Lel4and
Prayer is no easy pastime. As I grow old I find that I am more conscious than ever of my need to pray, but it seems at the same time to become more of a struggle. It is harder to concentrate, for one thing. I was greatly helped by some private notes Amy Carmichael wrote to her “Family” (hundreds of children and their helpers, both Indian and European) in Dohnavur, South India, to help them prepare for a special day of prayer.
She quoted Paul’s letter to the Colossians (2:1, KJV): “I would that ye knew what great conflict I have for you.” He is referring at least in part to the conflict of prayer. The same verse is translated “how greatly I strive” in the Revised Version; “how deep is my anxiety” in J.B. Phillips; and, in the Jerusalem Bible, “Yes, I want you to know that I do have to struggle hard for you… to bind you together in love and to stir your minds, so that your understanding may come to full development, until you really know God’s secret in which all the jewels of wisdom and knowledge are hidden.”
Here are Amy’s notes:
WITH WHAT DID I STRUGGLE?
1. With all that says to me, what is the use of your praying? So many others, who know more of prayer than you do, are praying. What difference does it make whether you pray or not? Are you sure that your Lord is listening? Of course He is listening to the other prayers but yours are of such small account, are you really sure He is “bending His ear” to you?
2. With all that suggests that we are asked to give too much time to prayer. There is so much to do. Why set aside so much time just to pray?
3. With all that discourages me personally–perhaps the remembrance of past sin, perhaps spiritual or physical tiredness; with anything and everything that keeps me back from what occupied St. Paul so often–vital prayer.
WHAT WILL HELP ME MOST IN THIS WRESTLE?
1. The certain knowledge that our insignificance does not matter at all, for we do not come to the Father in our own name but in the Name of His beloved Son. His ear is always open to that Name. Of this we can be certain.
2. The certain knowledge that this is Satan’s lie; he is much more afraid of our prayer than our work. (This is proved by the immense difficulties we always find when we set ourselves to pray. They are much greater than those we meet when we set ourselves to work.)
3. Isaiah 44:22 and kindred words, with 1 John 1:9, meet all distress about sin. Isaiah 40:29-31 with 2 Corinthians 12:9,10 meets everything that spiritual or physical weariness can do to hinder. Psalm 27:8 with Isaiah 45:19 meets all other difficulties. And the moment we say to our God, “Thy face, Lord, will I seek,” His mighty energies come to the rescue. (See Colossians 1:2,9.) Greater, far greater, is He that is in us than he that is against us. Count on the greatness of God. But are we to go on wrestling to the end?
No, there is a point to which we come, when, utterly trusting the promise of our Father, we rest our hearts upon Him. It is then we are given what St. Paul calls access with confidence (Ephesians 3:12). But don’t forget that this access is by faith, not by feeling, faith in Him our living Lord; He who says “Come unto Me” does not push us away when we come. As we go on, led by the Holy Spirit who so kindly helps our infirmities, we find ourselves in 1 John 5:14,15 and lastly in Philippians 4:6, . It is good to remember that immediate answer to prayer is not always something seen, but it is always inward peace.
And if the day ends otherwise and we are discouraged? Then tell Him so, “nothing ashamed of tears upon His feet” [here she is quoting from F.W.H. Meyers's poem "St. Paul"]. Lord, Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love Thee. “Yes, my child, I know.” But don’t settle down into an “it will never be different” attitude. It will be different if only in earnest we follow on to know the Lord.
Categories: Weekly Devotional
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What’s Going on Right Now (4/28/11)
- Image by El Frito
You can hardly escape coupon-mania due to all the buzz around the TLC show Extreme Couponing. Those stockpiles are a little nuts, but if you’re like me you’re also a little jealous (guilty?) they’re getting household necessities for next to nothing (or in fact nothing)! I don’t know about you, but I don’t have 60 hours a week to devote to couponing or a spare room to serve as storage facility. Still, it seemed like there were some sound principles at the core of the extremity. I don’t need 250 deoderants just because they’re $.10, but can I get five or six?
A friend pointed me to the awesome site SouthernSavers.com, where someone does the legwork for you! There are lists of deals by store or product type; by under-$1 items and good-stock-up-price lists. You can make printable shopping lists by store right from the lists she gives. All for free!
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Chris Brogan wrote about storefronts, where he discusses how digital marketing coincides with traditional retail sales tactics. A great post to share with those who still don’t understand why they should market online. He also wrote a very practical list of tips for flying. He sounds like me at the airport, which makes me feel good! I can’t think of a tip to add, except to suggest that you buy a Kindle {Amazon Affiliate link}.
Seth Godin makes a poignant point on the way our economy is changing as a whole:
It takes a long time for a generation to come around to significant revolutionary change. The newspaper business, the steel business, law firms, the car business, the record business, even computers… one by one, our industries are being turned upside down, and so quickly that it requires us to change faster than we’d like.
It’s unpleasant, it’s not fair, but it’s all we’ve got. The sooner we realize that the world has changed, the sooner we can accept it and make something of what we’ve got. Whining isn’t a scalable solution.
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“If you really believe that those who don’t have faith in God will burn in hell for eternity, how much do you have to hate someone not to share the gospel with them?” An atheist (Penn Gillette) tells the story of a man who gave him a Bible.
Gene Veith discusses how a group of atheists is trying to get a chaplain approved for the military. I’m all for it. We already have Buddhist, Muslim, and other types of chaplains. Of course atheism is a religion. Faith in “chance” (the Big Bang, etc.) is definitely a religion. I’d much rather them be recognized this way than always trying to pretend (like in the school system) atheism is the lack of a religion when in fact it probably requires more faith than the rest of them put together.
Categories: What's Going On Right Now
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He is Risen!
A metropolitan (bishop) of the Orthodox Church in Russia was faced with an atheist in the congregation who loudly declared, “Today nobody believes in the resurrection of Christ.” Instead of answering the claim, the metropolitan cried out, “Christ is risen!” and the hall, which was supposedly filled with atheists, responded with a roar, “Indeed He is risen!”
This is the proclamation of faith. It is often a waste of time and energy to argue with doubters–including ourselves. If we are assailed with unbelief, let us return to the bedrock of faith: the resurrection, for without this our faith is certainly vain. Let us shout (even alone with our private doubts) Christ is risen! It is a fact. Everything else is trivial by comparison.
-Elisabeth Elliot
Categories: Faith
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