Testing of the Picture

I haven't been able to access my blog all day, and I thought it may have had something to do with the picture I have on it.

I have put the picture back up temporarily, and will be taking it back down again sometime this evening.

So basically, this post is just a test.

Anchors Aweigh

We have had a very busy day today. We made a trip to Walmart to replace one daughter's broken glasses, and a trip to the library.

This evening my husband and oldest daughter went to Winter Jam, while our younger daughter and I stayed home, and had a lot of fun together. We baked brownies, sat outside in the beautiful weather, played dolls, ate pizza, and read a little bit of poetry together.

My younger daughter and I love poetry, and I read to her this lullaby poem bye Eugene Field.

This poem touched my heart because I'm the daughter of a man I was very proud of, who served in the Navy, and was himself a sailor at one time. He didn't see me until I was five months old because he was serving overseas at the time. Maybe it's nostalgia, but tonight my daughter and I listened to the Anchors Aweigh song. Before I post the poem, I am posting the lyrics to Anchors Aweigh, plus a link found here, that provided music to go along with the song.

Anchors Aweigh

Stand Navy down the field, sails set to the sky.
We'll never change our course, so Army you steer shy-y-y-y.
Roll up the score, Navy, Anchors Aweigh.
Sail Navy down the field and sink the Army, sink the Army Grey.

Get underway, Navy, decks cleared for the fray,
We'll hoist true Navy Blue o Army down your Grey-y-y-y.
Full speed ahead, Navy; Army heave to,
Furl Black and Grey and Gold and hoist the Navy, hoist the Navy
Blue

Blue of the Seven Seas; gold of God's great sun
Let these our colors be till all of time be done-n-n-ne,
By Severn shore we learn Navy's stern call:
Faith, courage, service true, with honor over, honor over all.

My father passed away on November 13, 1998, and I miss him so much. Because my mother passed away in 1991, the passing of my father left my brothers and I adult orphans. Sadly, I don't know whether he, or my mother, were saved or not. I do pray that one day I will see them in Heaven.

So in keeping with Rebecca's children's poetry month for the month of February, here is the song that so touched my heart tonight.

Swing High and Swing Low

Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow----
It's off for a sailor they father would go;
And it's here in the harbor, in sight of the sea,
He hath left his wee babe with my song and with me;
"Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow!"

Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow____
It's oh for the waiting as weary days go!
And it's oh for the heartache that smiteth me when
I sing my song over and over again:
"Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow!"

"Swing high and swing low----
The sea singeth so,
And it waileth anon in its ebb and its flow;
And a sleeper sleeps on to that song of the sea
Nor recketh he ever of mine or of me!
"Swing high and swing low
While the breezes they blow----
'Twas off for a sailor they father would go!"

This poem was from The Classic Treasury of Best-Loved Children's Poems, which I bought here.

If by chance a veteran, or a member of the Armed Forces reads this post, I want to thank you for the job you are doing. I want to thank you for making the sacrifices you are making for our country. You are putting your lives on the line for us here in America.

What some people fail to realize is that the families of those in the Armed Forces make sacrifices too. There are mothers left behind, who are raising children alone, holding down the fort on the home front while their husbands are out fighting for our freedoms, and to you, I want to say thank you as well.

More Thoughts on Trials

Until recently, I never understood the verses in the Bible that talked about suffering, and trials. I still don't understand it all completely, and I probably won't until I get to Heaven, but I have a better grasp of it now than I did before.

About ten years ago we were members of, and attended regularly, an Assemblies of God church. During that time I did a lot of praying, and searching the Scriptures. The Lord did bring us out of there, and I have since learned to how to pray in a way that honors God. I also wasn't searching the Scriptures to learn about God, but rather I was searching them to get my needs met. I highlighted many verses that I believed were promises that specific prayers would be answered in a favorable way, as in my way. I won't post the verses, but there were many from Isaiah, as well as Jeremiah, and the Psalms.

When I didn't see those favorable results, and the trial continued year after year, I began to get discouraged. I began to doubt God, believing that He was not going to answer my prayers. He is answering them, but in a very different way than I originally had believed He would.

I've been reading James 1, and 1st Peter lately. Look at these verses in 1st Peter 1.

1 Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as aliens, scattered
throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, who are chosen

2 according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the
Spirit to obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled with His blood: May grace and peace
be yours in the fullest measure.

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His
great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.

5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,

7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,

9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.

What I am beginning to understand now is that God has been answering my prayers from so long ago, just not in the way that I thought He would. He had, and still has, a higher purpose for them.

I can rejoice knowing that the proof of my faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor. And when will that be? As it says in verse 7, at the revelation, or the appearing of Jesus Christ.

Soli Deo Gloria

Why should we make it our aim to please Him?

Yesterday in my Biblical Education class we discussed 2 Corinthians 5:9-10. It really made me think about the reasons why I try to make it my aim to please God. In case you don't know what the verses say, here they are:

2 Corinthians 5:9 Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

I had to think again about what it is that motivates me to please Him. Do I make it my aim to please God because I love Him, and am grateful for what Jesus did for me? Or, do I try to please Him because of the benefits that might come as a result of my obedience?

Suppose your trials come in the form of needing a physical healing, and you aren't healed. If your motivation for pleasing Him were for the benefits you would receive, a complete physical healing, you might possibly get discouraged if you don't see the results of that physical healing. You could lose hope, and become angry with God for not healing you when you believe you have done all the right things. You might think you have a right to be healed. So, if your motivation is for the benefits you will receive, that would be a wrong motive.

Our motivation to serve Him, and to be pleasing to Him, should be out of love for Him, and because we are commanded to. Our motivation should not be for what we can get out of when we do love and serve Him. All that we do should be done for the glory of God.

1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

Colossians 3:17 Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

What about you? What motivates you to do the things that you do?

The Library

In keeping with the theme for children's poems as Rebecca suggested, here is one called The Library, by Barbara A. Huff. This was out of the book, Favorite Poems Old and New, by
Helen Ferris, which can be purchased here.

The Library

It looks like any building
When you pass it on the street,
Made of stone and glass and marble,
Made of iron and concrete.

But once inside you can ride
A camel, or a train,
Visit Rome, Siam, or Nome,
Feel a hurricane,
Meet a king, learn to sing,
How to bake a pie,
Go to sea, plant a tree,
Find how airplanes fly,
Train a horse, and of course
Have all the dogs you like,
See the moon, a sandy dune,
Or catch a whopping pike.
Everything that books can bring
You'll find inside those walls.
A world is there for you to share
When adventure calls.

You cannot tell it's magic
By the way the building looks,
But there's wonderment within it
The wonderment of books.

Unsettling Happenings

I've been trying to post something at least every couple of days since I began blogging. I haven't posted since Wednesday because of something unsettling that I discovered was happening.

I frequent a voice chat program, and found out a few days ago that someone has been cloning my nics, and they have been doing this for a long time. Not only cloning my nics, but pretending to be me to those who know me. And that has weighed heavily on my mind since then.

If the Lord brings you to my mind, please pray not only for me, but for my family as well.

I hope to get back to posting tomorrow, or Monday at the latest.

An update on the cake story

No, I didn't attempt to try to bake the cake again tonight. I'm saving that for tomorrow when I will try again. I did, however, attempt to make supper.

We were going to have fish filets, so I turned the oven on, and let it get hot. While I was spraying the cookie sheet, my oldest daughter came into the kitchen. She looked into the oven, and said "Mom! The oven's on fire!." I opened the door of the oven, and blew on the flames, and they went out.

The funny side of this is that my husband was taking a shower at the time. I told my daughters that if we had actually had a fire, he would have had to run out of the house naked. That just made my little 8 yr. old daughter just giggle, and giggle.

I do give praise to the Lord for bringing my daughter into the kitchen at the time He did. I had not been paying attention to the oven at all. I praise the Lord for His protection.

Happy Valentine's Day

Since today is Valentine's Day, I had plans to bless my family by baking them a chocolate cake from scratch, which I did. I'm sure it would have tasted good, but unfortunately, we'll never know. Prior to today, I bought a new cake pan, a heart shaped one. I got my mixer out, and my ingredients together, mixed it all up, and then before I put it into the pan, I tasted the spoon. From the taste of the spoon, I just knew it was going to taste really good, and it would have. Except, yes that one little word.......except. Except after I added it to the pan, and put it into the oven, something happened. My daughters and I began to smell something burning right before the timer went off. I looked in the oven, and there was the cake overflowing into the bottom of the oven. And it's still sitting there as I type, since it's too hot to take out. Unfortunately, the pan did not come with instructions on how much of the batter I needed to fill the pan with. And all I was thinking about was the fun we were going to have decorating it. It was very disappointing to have spent three hours on something that didn't come out right. But, after I got over the initial upset, I thought about these verses, and that helped to keep my focus where it should be, on the Lord:

Psa 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;

Psa 37:24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.

To my family,..........Happy Valentine's Day. I love you guys. And, thank you for the cards, and the flowers, the huge stuffed animal, and the cookie. As far as the cake goes, I hope you remember it's the thought that counts, lol.

I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day.

James 1:2-4

Everybody goes through trials in life, and I have certainly had my share of them. It seems there has been one trial after another for the past several years. It's only been in the past 18 months that I am beginning to understand the purpose that trials have in our lives. This morning I was meditating on the below verses in James.

James 1: 2-4 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Look at the first part of those verses - consider it all joy. We are to consider, and to think about the trials we go through, all of them, with joy. Much to my shame, I can't honestly say that I've counted any of my trials with joy.

Below is just a bit of what Matthew Henry had this to say about verse 1:2:

"One Christian grace to be exercised is joy: Count it all joy, James 1:2. We must not sink into a sad and disconsolate frame of mind, which would make us faint under our trials; but must endeavor to keep our spirits dilated and enlarged, the better to take in a true sense of our case, and with greater advantage to set ourselves to make the best of it. Philosophy may instruct men to be calm under their troubles; but Christianity teaches them to be joyful, because such exercises proceed from love and not fury in God. In them we are conformable to Christ our head, and they become marks of our adoption. By suffering in the ways of righteousness, we are serving the interests of our Lord's kingdom among men, and edifying the body of Christ; and our trials will brighten our graces now and our crown at last. Therefore there is reason to count it all joy when trials and difficulties become our lot in the way of our duty. And this is not purely a New Testament paradox, but even in Job's time it was said, Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth. There is the more reason for joy in afflictions if we consider the other graces that are promoted by them."

I have to remind myself daily that there is a purpose behind every trial I go through. Knowing that God is working them out for my good, and His glory does make them easier to go through. It doesn't make it easy, but it does make it easier.

Romans 8: 28-29 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.

I long to have that joy in the midst of these trials, and I'm thankful that it is God who works in me both the willingness, and the doing of His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

The Land of Story-Book Poem

I haven't been feeling well since Thursday, so I have decided to post another favorite children's poem of mine in keeping with Rebecca's theme of the month.

THE LAND OF STORY-BOOKS

At evening when the lamp is lit,
Around the fire my parents sit;
They sit at home and talk and sing,
And do not play at anything.

Now, with my little gun, I crawl
All in the dark along the wall,
And follow round the forest track
Away behind the sofa back.

There, in the night, where none can spy,
All in my hunter's camp I lie,
And play at books that I have read
Till it is time to go to bed.

These are the hills, these are the woods,
These are my starry solitudes;
And there the river by whose brink
The roaring lions come to drink.

I see the others far away
As if in firelit camp they lay,
And I, like to an Indian scout,
Around their party prowled about.

So, when my nurse comes in for me,
Home I return across the sea,
And go to bed with backward looks
At my dear Land of Story-Books.

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

A Thought Provoking Poem

My pastor's wife sent this poem to me, and it reminded me of something my mother used to say. She frequently told me never to make fun of people, especially those who were older, because they were somebody's mother, or loved one. We wouldn't want others to make fun of us, or one of our loved ones, and we shouldn't make fun of others either.

Poem

When an old man died in the geriatric ward of a small hospital
near Tampa, Florida, it was believed that he had nothing left of
any value.

Later, when the nurses were going through his meager possessions, they found this poem. Its quality and content so impressed the staff that copies were made and distributed to every nurse in the hospital.

One nurse took her copy to Missouri. The old man's sole bequest to posterity has since appeared in the Christmas edition of the News Magazine of the St. Louis Association for Mental Health. A slide presentation has also been made based on his simple, but eloquent, poem.

And this little old man, with nothing left to give to the world, is now the author of this "anonymous" poem winging across the Internet.

Crabby Old Man

What do you see nurses? What do you see?
What are you thinking......when you're looking at me?
A crabby old man,.....not very wise,
Uncertain of habit .......with faraway eyes?

Who dribbles his food.......and makes no reply.
When you say in a loud voice....."I do wish you'd try!"
Who seems not to notice the things that you do.
And forever is losing a sock or shoe?
Who, resisting or not...........lets you do as you will, With
bathing
and feeding ....... the long day to fill?
Is that what you're thinking? Is that what you see?
Then open your eyes, nurse......you're not looking at me.

I'll tell you who I am...as I sit here so still, As I do at
your
bidding, as I eat at your will.
I'm a small child of Ten......with a father and mother,
Brothers and
sisters ......who love one another

A young boy of Sixteen with wings on his feet Dreaming that
soon now.
..........a lover he'll meet.
A groom soon at Twenty my heart gives a leap.
Remembering the vows........that I promised to keep.

At Twenty-Five, now .....I have young of my own.
Who need me to guide, and a secure happy home.
A man of Thirty, my young now grown fast, Bound to each other
with ties that should last.

At Forty, my young sons have grown and are gone, But my
woman's
beside me........to see I don't mourn.
At Fifty, once more,.......... babies play 'round my knee,
Again, we
know children......... my loved one and me.

Dark days are upon me .......... my wife is now dead.
I look at the future I shudder with dread.
For my young are all rearing .young of their own.
And I think of the years......and the love that I've known.

I'm now an old man.........and nature is cruel.
Tis jest to make old age ......look like a fool.
The body, it crumbles..........grace and vigor, depart.
There is now a stone........where I once had a heart.

But inside this old carcass .....a young guy still dwells,
And now and
again my battered heart swells.
I remember the joys..........I remember the pain.
And I'm loving and living.............life over again

I think of the years .all too few......gone too fast.
And accept the stark fact........that nothing can last.
So open your eyes, people..open and see..
Not a crabby old man. Look closer....see.........ME!!

Remember this poem when you next meet an older person who you
might brush aside without looking at the young soul within.....we
will all, one day, be there, too!

PLEASE SHARE THIS POEM

I don't know whether the story of this poem happened or not, but it really doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because it's one that reminds us that older people are to be valued, and not to be treated as though they are burdens.

Lock and Key Poem

Rebecca, at Rebecca Writes, has made the theme for February children's poetry. Here is my favorite children's poem, and with this poem, it is crucial to read it aloud with someone, and alternate reading each line:

LOCK AND KEY

"I am a gold lock."

"I am a gold key."

"I am a silver lock."

"I am a silver key."

"I am a brass lock."

"I am a brass key."

"I am a lead lock."

"I am a lead key."

"I am a don lock."

"I am a don key."

I hope you enjoy this poem as much as my youngest daughter and I did. She and I share a love for poetry. I tried to center it, but it didn't work. I decided the poem was worth posting, whether it was in the center or not.

This poem is from The Real Mother Goose book.

Romans 5, Limited Atonement

My pastor preached on Romans 5 this morning. He talked about the sufficiency of Christ, and that when we are regenerated, and born again, we are saved through His blood, and His blood alone.

He went on to say that we must understand why we are sinners, and that we're all born in original sin. This sin nature was imputed to us through Adam.

Romans 5:17 "For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ."

We also must understand the depths of sin, Jeremiah 17:9 exposes our sinful hearts:

Jeremiah 17:9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?"

As Dr. Belcher said this morning, Christ bore the fulness of God's wrath that I, or we, should have had. And, it's only the blood of Christ that can satisfy His wrath that burns against us.

As I was following along in Romans 5 with him, I noticed these verses:

Rom 5:15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.

Rom 5:16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification.

Rom 5:17 If, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

Rom 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Rom 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

I believe in a limited atonement, and this morning I saw it so clearly in the above verses. Lorraine Boettner had this to say:

Let there be no misunderstanding at this point. The Arminian limits the atonement as certainly as does the Calvinist. The Calvinist limits the extent of it in that he says it does not apply to all persons...while the Arminian limits the power of it, for he says that in itself it does not actually save anybody. The Calvinist limits it quantitatively, but not qualitatively; the Arminian limits it qualitatively, but not quantitatively. For the Calvinist it is like a narrow bridge that goes all the way across the stream; for the Arminian it is like a great wide bridge that goes only half-way across. As a matter of fact, the Arminian places more severe limitations on the work of Christ than does the Calvinist. (Lorraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 1932) p. 153.)

If you want to read an excellent post on limited atonement, read James White's piece on "Was Anyone Saved at the Cross?"

The two words that I noticed were the all and many in Romans 5:18-19. I hear often from others that all always means all, but that isn't true, because you must look at the context. If all always meant all, then all men would be saved, and justified, and we know that not all men are not saved, nor will all men be saved.

Rom 5:18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.

Rom 5:19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.

I love it when God opens up the Scriptures to me like that. I encourage you to go over to James White's site, and read his post on "Was Anyone Saved at the Cross?"

The Heart Changer - Chapter 4

Okay, I cheated.........sort of. I did read Chapter 3 in Idols of the Heart, but haven't done the study questions yet, nor studied it in depth, meaning I haven't looked up the Scriptures. I read Chapter 4 this morning instead, and what a powerful chapter it was.

The focus of the chapter is that it's the Holy Spirit who changes our hearts. Here is one paragraph from the chapter:

"When we fail to believe the truth about who Jesus is and miss the impact of His astounding work in suffering and dying for our sin, it will be impossible to resist the allurement of the gods of this earth as they whisper their promised pleasures to us."

There are so many things that compete for our attention, that compete with our putting God first in our lives. If we could only grasp what Christ did on the cross for us, and the riches we have in Him, what a difference that would make in our lives. It would be so much easier not to give in, and yield to whatever stronghold, or bad habit that we struggle with. We look at the pleasures of this world and they do their best to entice, and allure us. The problem is, they don't satisfy, nor can they because we can only be fulfilled, and satisfied through a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Psalm 81:16 But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.

Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 91:16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.

May we, as Elyse Fitzpatrick says in the title of the Idols of the Heart book, learn to long for God alone. He alone can satisfy us.

Pharoah

This morning it snowed. It wasn't very much, but enough for my children to make a tiny snowman, and a tiny bird.

While it was snowing, I was reading Exodus 7 - 9. The main thing I noticed was that it was God who hardened Pharoah's heart first. I read that same thing yesterday in Exodus 4:21:

Exodus 4:21 The LORD said to Moses, "When you go back to Egypt see that you perform before Pharaoh all ^(A)the wonders which I have put in your power; but ^(B)I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.

God hardened Pharoah's heart for one reason, for HIS power to be displayed. To me, it shows clearly the sovereignty of God. We may think we are in control of things, but the truth is that we are not. I take great comfort in that, especially today when our van broke down on my husband this morning while he was on his way to work, and it costs more than what we have to fix it.

I take comfort in the fact the Lord protected our family last night when we went to church, and allowed the van to break down with only my husband in it. And, I thank the Lord for His protection.

Psa 68:19 Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up; God is our salvation. Selah.

Thank you Lord for daily bearing us up, and for carrying our burdens.