International Fantasies

I am perplexed, bewildered, confused. This link http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2007/12/27/un_to_team_up_with_marvel_comics/3128/ tells me that the UN, yes that would be the United Nations, has decided to partner with Marvel Comics to depict superheroes cooperating with the United Nations to solve knotty problems around the world. According to the article, the purpose is

“to bolster its international image damaged by the unilateral diplomatic efforts of some Western countries by teaching children the value of international cooperation.”

I know, I know—we live in a world where anyone can stand up and say anything and call it truth, but the United Nations entering fantasy land of image maintenance baffle me. My flummoxed thinking comes to rest when I remember this—

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”

Hallelujah to the Lamb of God!

What is Jesus doing now?

Ending a 3 1/2 year study of the gospels in my Sunday School class, we addressed the question, "What is Jesus doing now?" As I read the passages describing Jesus' present activity, I realized that though Colossians and Hebrews depict Him as sitting at the right hand of the Father, I usually think of Him as standing. Then I read the account of Stephen being martyred where he said,

"I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

And I wondered--when those rocks were flying through the air toward Stephen did Jesus stand up? I muse, "When life gets really hard, when I lose control, or when accusations are spoken against me, does Jesus stand up?

My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
--1 John 2:1

Promises

On Monday Bert and I were stranded in the Houston airport for several hours. I spent my time wandering through the shops and he caught up on his reading for seminary classes. At one point I saw him chuckling--not the typical reaction for a run-of-the-mill seminary textbook. From the book _Divorce and Remarriage in the Church_, he read to me the following from a marriage service authorized by the bishop of Salisbury 1085:


"One vow has changed: in the earliest English marriage services the bride's vows included a promise to 'be bonny and buxom in bed and at board.'"

The book then clarifies that 'bonny' and 'buxom' had different meanings then.
'bonny' - from the French for good 'bon'
buxom - from an old German word meaning pliant or obedient.
board - the table where food was served
bed - nighttime

So in the end is meant: "behave properly and obediently through night and day."

Church and "Christian" Music

"Christian" has quotation marks in the title, becuase I am positive music cannot "be a Christian." Nevertheless I am trying to communicate to the culture so I use the term. Of course, neither can a bookstore or a book or a T-shirt.

While visiting in Texas, I am reading a borrowed copy of "An Arrow Pointing to Heaven." I was a young adult when the first mainstream Christian radio stations appeared on the scene. I remeber how happy people were and how much better they thought they could worship God. I wondered what they would ever do if some dictator shut down all the stations. Something in the book struck a chord with me:

"He [Rich] was afraid that many people listened to his music as a means of spiritual growth, when in fact he believed his music to be simply entertainment. He would become very discouraged that people knew more lines from his songs than they did from the Scriptures" p. 32-33.

I pass this same principle on to Christian books. Although I wrote one, I would be saddened if people only got their spiritual nourishment, from my book. Someone recently gave me two books to read on prophecy. One was titled something like, "That They May All Prophecy." When people give me books I usually give them at least a cursory reading. These books did not need to be written. Anyone who opens the Bible and reads and reads and reads will learn what prophecy is. There is not a thing we need to know about relationship with God that is not in the Bible. I pray God rescues us from a steady diet of spiritual pablum.

I am aware that many of you do not believe in women preachers. To you I offer my sincere apologies.

"If you are pleased with me--"

When I was about 35, I came to the unwelcome realization that I would always have problems and struggles. To that point, I spent much of my life trying to get to reach a place where there would be no struggles. (I think that would be called Heaven). In past days I have been thinking on this theme.

God had called Moses to lead Israel and had told him to lead Israel and said, "You have found favor in my eyes." Then Moses returned to the Israelite camp to find the people worshipping a golden calf, Moses said to God, "If you are pleased with me--" I stopped when I read that and thought, "How would I finish this sentence? In my heart I knew I would have negotiated with God. But Moses' request demonstrates his understanding of God's sovereignty. He says, "If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways, so I may know you and continue to find favor with you" Exodus 33:13.

I wondered, "What do I really know that I know about God's ways?" Not enough, because my natural inclination is to manage, not surrender. This morning I read this quote by Samuel Rutheford, a Scottish minister in the 1600's:

"Come all crosses, welcome, welcome! so I may get my heart full of my Lord Jesus."
--Samuel Rutheford (1660-1661)

Is there anyone out there who isn't struggling?

A Birdhouse in Your Soul

It seems that They Might Be Giants has been singing for 20 years and I've never heard of them--until tonight. I think when you are 61 that might not be unusual. If someone is familiar, I would like to hear some interpretatioin of this song:
Thanks--
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW_hSNHZiBc&mode=related&search=

Good Ole' Boys

I have never put my finger on what I don't like about good ole' boy systems. Yes, I know the regular nepotism or corruption charges. This twist floated up in my mind this week:

When those in charge change, so do the good ole' boys.

It makes for an unstable system, no matter the organization.

Just thinking.

Colossians 1:15-23

My small group is studying Colossians. During this week's study, Colossians 1:15-23, I began to realize that this short passage answers a host of life questions. Here are the ones we came up with. Can anyone add others?

• Questions which are answered by this passage
  Where did I come from?
  Why am I here?
  Where am I going?
  Is Jesus the Son of God?
  Is anyone stronger than God?
  How did the earth get here?
  How does the earth sustain itself?
  Where does the church get its authority?
  How did Jesus get supremacy over all things?
  How much of God is in Jesus
  Where does peace come from?
  What is life like without Christ?
  How do I have relationship with God?
  

Legalism and Witchcraft

If witchcraft is a process that says, "Do this and that and this, then you will get a prescribed outcome," can we say that legalism is witchcraft? Just thinking.

What I Am Reading

• Finished reading the Bible in May and began again in Genesis, Psalms, Matthew and Acts.
• Poking Holes in the Darkness by Jaki Parlier - She grew up in Newark, NJ and she & her husband who was from Tennessee moved to Papua New Guinea (from a skyline view of Manhattan to the jungle) to translate the Bible for the Managalasi language group.
• When I Don't Desire God: How to Fight For Joy by John Piper - I'm not too far into this book, but I find these ideas: We are commanded to joyfully desire God. We cannot produce this joy on our own. It is like gardening. We dig and weed and plant and water, but God grows the seed. Comforting. One thing I know how to do is keep putting one foot in front of the other.
• I am reading for 3 lesson preparations a week: Sunday School - the Harmony of the Gospels. We are just finishing the crucifixion. Then we go onto Proverbs which I am studying for now. Then there is my small group studying Colossians. And I am presenting a short teaching to our one youth each week. We finished the book of Esther, talked about the war between the flesh and the spirit and will attempt to answer the question, "Why d0es my haste and anger not work the righteousness of God?"

Unity

Thinking about unity--
Unity, like living organisms, doesn't grow without proper conditions. In general, I think any kind of unity has to rise out of a common hope. If in a group of people between 2 and ten zillion, everyone plants their hope in something diffeent, a tug of war results. Likewise, in the church, without the common hope of seeing Jesus and through that being transformed--and that hope being in the center--we will not find sustainable unity. So if we find disunity, we should consider the basis of our hopes.

Spiritual Gifts Inventory

Many evangelicals have taken a spiritual gifts inventory. Despite the positive aspects of such an inventory, I am wondering if it might also serve to narrow a person's view of the work of the Holy Spirit in one's life. I don't want to rag on such inventories to totally denigrate them, but does anyone else have a view on this?

Worship

My husband is finishing up a class on worship at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, so we have had lots of discussion the past month on the subject. Following you will find a few quotes on worship and something that happened in our church kitchen on Father's Day.

"--worship is 'Setting our mind’s attention and our heart’s affection on the Lord, praising Him for who He is and what He has done.'"
--Dr. Bruce Leafblad
Retired professor of Church Music and Worship
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas

"God’s cleansing from sin should lead us to the place of worship. We must become a people that follow true, objective Biblical worship—not just anything."
--Bert Newton

“Worship is essentially about the priority of God. It is predicated upon the reality of God's being in the supreme position in relation to everything that exists within the created order. Worship is a personal, human expression of that relationship by which we honor and praise God as supreme. The results of such worship include a greater understanding of who this unique God is and an increased desire to make Him first in all of life.”
--Dr. Bruce Leafblad
Retired professor of Church Music and Worship
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable (or well-pleasing) to God, which is your spiritual (or rational) service of worship.”
--Romans 12:1 (NASB)

“Worship is celebration. All of life is a festival: being persuaded that God is everywhere present on all sides, we praise him as we till the ground, we sing hymns as we sow the seed, we feel his inspiration in all we do.”
--Clement of Alexandria

“Worship is a lifelong process of knowing and being known by God.”
--Anonymous

Finally, each Father's Day, we have a Dad's & Grad's Strawberry Feed at church, because that is the middle of Oregon strawberry season. Now, Oregon Strawberries and small and sweet. On Saturday, while two other women and I were preparing the strawberries, we discussed whether or not to add sugar and decide not to. On Sunday morning as we stood in the kitchen, I listened to worship. It sounded like this--

Mmmmm-- Ooooo-- These strawberries are delicious. Ahhh-- Mmmmm-- Oh, I think they are better this year than ever. They didn't need any sugar, did they? Oh, these are so good. Yes!

Would anyone share a time when you have heard such worship, not in a church service?

Where Is The Goat Farmer?

I have a son who is a goat farmer. He comments on blogs, but never mine. He comments on blogs that link to mine. I don't know what it is--

--Could it be uncool to comment on your mother's blog?

--Could it be he has time for everyone but me?

--Could it be he is mad about something?

--Could it be he is too busy with his goats?

--Could it be he doesn't like the name of my blog?

--Could it be he doesn't know I am a quilter?

I can't even guess. But if anyone knows, I'd appreciate a head's up!

A Book

Last summer, I was thinking about how to structure my small group for the fall. We wanted to study prayer and I knew what I wanted to cover, but didn't want a long book to begin with. I contacted L. G. Parkhurst in Edmond, OK who had written a devotional book titled Prayer Steps to Serenity Daily Quiet Time Edition. I told him I was considering using his book as a starting point, then writing a study guide. He told me if I would write the study guide, he would publish it, so now, at

http://www.amazon.com/Prayer-Steps-Serenity-Workbook-Journal/dp/0977805395/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/002-3476137-2764068?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1181681615&sr=8-4

you can read some things about the book in the Editorial Reviews. Thanks for looking.

Ten Things I Need to Remember

I have been thinking about things on which I need to reflect and continue to work out, then make effort to recall . Like Jeremiah--or whoever wrote Lamentations

--This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him. --Lamentations 3:21-24.

So here's my list. Does anyone else have some thought to add?
1. Joy is rooted in eternity.
2. The Holy Spirit who lives in me does not take on my pers0nality, but I am to take on His.
3. Christ in me is the hope of glory
4. God loves all people. I need to agree with Him.
5. It is fruitless to try to get God to agree with me.
6. The Valley of Achor is a door of hope.
7. Faith and love spring from hope (Colossians 1:5
8. Find some cheer in tribulation (John 16:33)
9. My thoughts are not always my friends.
10. My need to control shrinks or grows in opposite proportion to my view of God's greatness.

New York City

Since I live a boring life and love it, NYC was a little upbeat, but probably not as exciting as some who visit the Big Apple. We walked and walked and my blood sugar was good with half the dosage of medicine the doctor has prescribed. I should take a hint. The two highlights for me were walking around the Statue of Liberty and eating at Mesa Grill. I had taken a 5 year old roll of black and white film that I shot at the Statue. We'll see if it develops.

A couple of observations--
The first day out I wore a red shirt. Only two other people I saw in a 10 square block area were wearing red--a street sweeper in a red jump suit and a little old lady topped off with a red tam. Lots of black and brown and gray on the streets. However, yesterday I did see a woman in a lime green coat and a woman in a brown skirt with scallops around the bottom conforming to a teal blue design. Pleasant to my eyes in a sea of drab.

On CNN this morning (No FoxNews at our hotel) I saw coverage of a clinic in Moscow where people, for hundreds of thousands of dollars can be injected with stem cells and the doctor believes when this method is perfected, people could live 1200 years. Consider that this programming was sandwiched in between over coverage of the Virginia Tech killings. Like I would want to live 1200 years in a broken world?

Betrayal--The Power of Suggestion

The lesson in my Sunday School class today had Jesus, sitting at the Passover meal with His disciples. After settling a dispute about who would be the greatest, washing their feet and explaining servanthood, He said to them, "One of you will betray me." Though I have betrayed Christ, I can't imagine being in that room. I am the person who when at WalMart, and the person on the PA system says, "Security, scan aisle 15," looks around to see which aisle she is on. So if I had been the the room when Jesus announced that one present would betray Him, I would have been combing through my mind and motives. I wonder if this comes from being the youngest child. My sister says I was the "perfect victim."

A Special Nutrition Anniversary

Since I lost the hang of posting pictures, I will just add a link, but will keep working on this. It is important for all to know that on April 6, 1930 the Twinkie was invented. For all the Twinkie Trivia you will ever want to know, go to http://encyclopedia.tfd.com/Twinkie.

Oscar the Grouch?

Oscar the Grouch has always been a curiosity to me. I understand the approach that what the majorioty calls bad is not always bad and that you can't necessarily judge a book by its cover. After all, I moved onto a college campus in 1964. I saw the culture shifting, without an inkling that we would come to a point where black is white and white is black or even orange or purple or green if you like. Not that I think Oscar necessarily damages kids. He makes them think. But I wonder if he grew up and his name is now Howard Stern.

It came to my attention that Howard Stern, (not the Howard K. Stern of Anna Nicole fame), but the shock jock, is encouraging listeners to vote for the worst singers on 'American Idol.' Now, I'm not really an Idol fan. About as far as I go is to ask who got kicked off this week and to watch snippets here and there. And--we must realize that the title 'American Idol' doesn't really define that the winner must have talent. So I don't really have a beef about that. Is Howard Stern a grown-up version of Oscar the Grouch or could Oscar the Grouch be living a double life?

No Dark

Has anyone ever noticed that there is no such thing as "a dark." If there was, we could say,
"Can someone turn on the dark?" or
"Here, use my dark." or
"Let me borrow your dark."

No, there is no such thing as a dark--because we don't need one. Life is naturally dark and we spend our whole lives trying to get light. Sometimes our attempts at light only intensify our darkness.

The good news is that the nature of light is to consume darkness. When a door opens from a light room to a dark closet, the dark does not fall out of the closet, but the light falls into the darkness.

More About Mt. St. Helens

I had so much trouble with the photos, I forgot what I wanted to say about Mt. St. Helens. Jessica told me--she's taking geology right now--that if the dome in St. Helens continues to grow at it's present rate, in 50 years it will be the same height as it was in 1980 when it blew. My calculations say I will be 110 years old--well probably not. What about you?

By the way--

If anyone would like to offer advice on what I might be doing wrong on pictures, I'll be glad to hear.

Mt. St. Helens and The Grand Canyon

Two of the most amazing sites I have ever seen are the hole in Mt. St. Helens--70 stories deep and The Grand Canyon. Two amazing things now.




Mt. St. Helens--well, if the photo spot is blank, try this link: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=portland,or&ll=46.200943,-122.188997&spn=0.086346,0.126686&t=k&hl=en

And The Grand Canyon--Now would you walk out 0n this? I wouldn't. I can see everything just fine by sitting on a rock. And since the photo didn't copy, try this link:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/070308-skywalk-picture.html

Baking Cookies in Maryland

March 3-10, 2007, I will be in Maryland to visit Jason & Rachel. Rachel has a voice recital and the mothers are supposed to make cookies. So--I am going to bake cookies! Monday I plan to mail their Christmas presents, that is Christmas presents for 2006. I didn't get them mailed in December, but I didn't manage. When I found out I would be in Maryland, I delayed sending them until I go. Then we can have Christmas. I wonder if Rachel still has her Christmas tree up?

January Snow

The Sleds Are Out

We've been cold for a few days with a little snow, but it snowed most of all night last night. We have about 4 inches on the table on the deck, and the sledders are out! Some one sleds, others on innertubes, and others on garbage can lids. I had been wondering if we needed to shovel the driveway, but alas, the sledders wanted a little more snow, so I lent them a snow shovel and they are shoveling the driveway! I will now try to add a photo.

Saturday Night

Yesterday my hoarseness went away a bit, but I made the mistake of going out with friends and talking a lot, so we have had a quieter day again today. In the morning I'll teach Sunday School, then be quiet again.

I just finished reading Pop Goes Religion by Terry Mattingly and am halfway through Sacrament of the Present Moment. Someone recommended it to me a few years ago and I started it, laid it aside, and have started again. It was written by Jean Pierre de Caussade. He was Spiritual Director to some nuns in France many years ago. The book is translated by Kitty Muggeridge.

Silence

Today marks my 3rd day without a voice. Well--I have a little bit of a voice, but I answered the phone today and the caller said, "Bert?" It is strange, I just haven't had the heart to talk and talking actually makes me really tired. I wondered if Bert was enjoying the silence. Jessica asked him, but he denied it. What a smart man!!!

What do you do when you can't talk? For two days I sat because I felt terrible. Today I emptied the dishwasher, finished a teaching for next week, finished a woobie bag. I looked for a picture on the internet, but apparently a woobie has many definitions.