Thoughts on 1 Peter 1:3-5

The Lord has directed me to begin a Bible study for the younger ladies in (and not in!) our fellowship here. Small beginnings, as there were 2 of us last Sunday evening. However, as He always does, God really blessed my study time and has much more to teach me than I am capable of teaching others. We will be studying 1 Peter...please pray for us!

I Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

I love Peter (who knew from firsthand experience how easy it was to fall) and how he recognizes that it is in God's hands to keep you, and that it is God alone who has that power. It's so easy for me to get wrapped up in "all that I do for the Lord"...as though somehow He needs some assistance from me! So my focus the last couple of weeks has been to think about the "living hope" that Jesus has given to me. It's alive!

That alone is all the evidence I need for the mercy of God!

Going Crazy on Ebay

I wonder how much he got for the dog?

The Dangers of Wishing You Were Somewhere Else

One day last week, I was trying to make myself feel better during the frigid cold. So I did a little internet research. Seemed like a good idea at the time.

Here in our new hometown it was -11 when we got up on the 12th of January. Over the course of the day the temperature dropped to -18. Nice, huh?

On the same day at McMurdo, Antarctica it was 37. Need I say more?

Quote of the Day: Jane Austen

I think I may boast myself to be, with all possible vanity, the most unlearned and uninformed female who ever dared to be an authoress.

~Jane Austen (1775-1817)

Oh, Jane, I beg to differ...

I certainly have my opinions of uninformed writers...care to share some of your favorites?

On Raising the Minimum Wage

Here is a poem regarding wages and expectations from Ogden Nash (1902-1971). I think Nash is meant to be read aloud, and I love his creative spelling. My mother has contributed to my love of Nash's quirky humor with some wonderful editions over the years. I read Nash at bedtime so I can giggle in bed, as Nash consistantly makes me laugh.

So here are a few thoughts on people looking for cushy entry-level positions. Please keep in mind that this was written in the 1930's.

WILL CONSIDER SITUATION

There here are words of radical advice for a young man looking for a job;
Young man, be a snob.
Yes, if you are in search of arguments against starting at the bottom,
Why I've gottem.
Let the personnel managers differ;
It's obvious that you will get on faster at the top than at the bottom because there are more people at the bottom than at the top so naturally the competition at the bottom is stiffer.
If you need any further proof that my theory works
Well, nobody can deny that presidents get paid more than vice-presidents and vice-presidents get paid more than clerks.

Stop looking at me quizzically;
I want to add that you will never achieve fortune in a job that makes you uncomfortable physically.
When anybody tells you that hard jobs are better for you than soft jobs be sure to repeat this text to them,
Postmen tramp around all day through rain and snow just to deliver other people's in cozy air-conditioned offices checks to them.
You don't need to interpret tea leaves stuck in a cup
To understand that people who work sitting down get paid more than people who work standing up.

Another thing about having a comfortable job is you not only accommodate more treasure;
You get more leisure.
So that when you find you have worked so comfortably that your waistline is a menace,
You correct it with golf or tennis.
Whereas is in an uncomfortable job like piano-moving or stevedoring you indulge,
You have no time to exercise, you just continue to bulge.
To sum it up, young man, there is every reason to refuse a job that will make heavy demands on you corporally or manually,
And the only intelligent way to start your career is to accept a sitting position paying at least twenty-five thousand dollars annually.

~Ogden Nash

Quote of the Day: Charles Spurgeon

Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. ~2 Chronicles 15:7

God deserves to be served with all the energy of which we are capable. If the service of the Lord is worth anything, it is worth everything. ~Charles Spurgeon

For more on Charles Spurgeon, click here.

Having a Form of Godliness: Book Review of The Curate of Glaston trilogy

There is much food for thought in this trilogy by George MacDonald, edited by Michael Phillips. To focus this review, I would like to turn your attention to what I learned from the second of the books, The Lady's Confession.

Much of this book deals with our perceptions of ourselves, or what we wish others to see. For example, the rather pompous rector is described here:

Indeed, the entire effect--including his own hat and the coachman's--gave to the observer that aspect of indifference to show, which, by the suggestion of nodding acquaintance with poverty, gave it the right clerical air of being "not of this world".

How often do we (I) do that...put on a mask of spirituality and humility before putting myself out in public?

Here is another quote from the book, dealing with the rector's heart-issues, and where his focus lay:

How indignant he would have been at the mere suggestion that he was, after all, only an idolater, worshipping The Church instead of the Lord Christ. But he was a very good sort of idolater, and some of the Christian graces had filtered through the roofs of the temple upon him--especially those of hospitality and general kindness toward humanity.

This sums up the book for me, and was the quote that pierced my heart. It is a great warning to me of how often it is easy to appear godly, while my heart may be far from the Lord.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness, but denying its power.

Happy New Year

Be always at war with your vices,
at peace with your neighbors,
and let each new year find you a better man.

~attributed to Benjamin Franklin