Another Case of my Quotes Smacking Me Around A Bit...

This is why I need to pay attention to what I put on my blog...
I just wrote (and then deleted) a long, ranting, whining post about what I don't like about Christmas. Lest you think I am a total humbug, there are lots of things I do like...I am just in a self-pitying, self-absorbed, self-I-think-I-see-a-trend mood.
And then as I was posting it, I reread the quote from Spurgeon that I posted this morning. Interesting how the Lord uses things that I have said (or, in this case, quoted) to smack me upside the head.

Quote of the Day: Charles Spurgeon

If we cannot believe God when circumstances seem to be against us, we do not believe Him at all.
~Charles Spurgeon

Quote of the Day: Anne Morrow Lindbergh

"I am reading Jane Austen to calm my nerves."
~Anne Morrow Lindbergh in a letter to her sister during a period of great busy-ness

That's the way I feel about Jane Austen...like a cup of tea with my feet up at the end of a long day.

Now Here is a Promise You Don't Ever Hear About...

When was the last time you came upon this verse in your Bible Promise Book?

Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12

But why isn't it among the greatly quoted promises?

Isn't it all about the results of the persectution and suffering? What happens in my life when I suffer? And what happens in other peoples' lives as a result of my suffering?

According to the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 4: 17-18: For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

When we are suffering, when we are persecuted, the Lord is working out His purposes in our lives. Suffering leads to dependence upon Him, it leads to godly living, and it leads to opportunities to minister to others. Really, it's not about me. It's about my response to the Holy God in the middle of trials. It's about how He is transforming me into His image through my brokenness.

It is for His glory. Not mine.

Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver;
I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.
For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it;
For how should My name be profaned?
And I will not give My glory to another.

Isaiah 48:10-11

I Was Feeling Smug Until I Compared Myself to Someone Smarter

Hey, this is funny. You can type in your URL and this magically determines your "readability". Apparently it didn't take the cartoons and goofy attempts at humor on my website.

By the way, Poiema, you scored a "genius", and I am torn by being very impressed, or very envious at my obvious lack of intellectual achievement.

Slightly Tacky Winter Humor

Thanks, Belinda...

I needed a laugh at work.

By the way, I always thought Frosty was a little "off"....

Christmas Q and A

I've had about a dozen people email me this list in one form or another...so I am posting it here. Enjoy my self-indulgence as I assume you all wish to read about me.

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Usually wrapping paper with my (now famous) recycled ribbons.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Tree...tree...I think we had one of those once. No room now. (I might be slightly bitter about that!)

3. When do you put up the tree? Read question #2.

4. When do you take the tree down? What's this?! More lemon juice on the papercut?!

5. Do you like egg nog? Oh, YES!

6. Favorite gift received as a child? I did have a green and yellow Tonka truck that I remember loving!

7. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, the old and much loved one that I grew up with.

8. Hardest person to buy for? My stepdad...but I think I finally nailed it this year!

9. Easiest person to buy for? My mom...hands down!

10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. Except for co-workers and local friends. They get an email...

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Oh, easy! My mom gave me her old waffle iron one year...I don't mind hand-me-down gifts, but this was the worst waffle maker ever. I remember it sticking everytime we used it when I was a kid. Worst of all, I hauled that thing around for years, never used it once, until Mom came to visit one time and said "let's make waffles" and I told her the sad truth. The waffle maker then hit the dumpster. And we still laugh about it. At least I do.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? "It's a Wonderful Life". And I cry at the end every time!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? I buy things when I see them, so I am usually done by December.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? (head hung in shame) Yes

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Turkey and the trimmings. And German Apple Pancake for Christmas breakfast!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? What's with the tree again!? OK, if I had one...white.

17. Favorite Christmas song? This year I am enamoured with "What Child is This?"

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Oh, I'm flexible...

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? You know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donner and Blitzen, but do you recall...the most famous reindeer of all...Rudolph... (is it cheating that I just sang that at my computer?)

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Sigh...I give up...

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One present Christmas Eve.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? People who don't work full-time telling me how busy they are.

23. Favorite ornament theme or color? I like color...lots of color!

24. What do you want for Christmas this year? A really, really good new digital camera and tripod and lenses.

On This Day in History: Pearl Harbor

The attack on Pearl Harbor, the event that got America off the fence regarding the "War in Europe", was 66 years ago today.

Here is an excerpt from Wikipedia: The attack wrecked two U.S. Navy battleships, one minelayer, and two destroyers beyond repair, and destroyed 188 aircraft; personnel losses were 2,333 killed and 1,139 wounded. Damaged warships included three cruisers, a destroyer, and six battleships (one deliberately grounded, later refloated and repaired; two sunk at their berths, later raised, repaired, and restored to Fleet service late in the war). Vital fuel storage, shipyards, and submarine facilities were not hit.

And here is an interesting (and somewhat surreal) photo perspective. This was taken from a Japanese plane early in the attacks:

Grace and Peace

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in snctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:

Grace to you and peace be multiplied.

1 Peter 1:1-2

I am beginning yet another personal study of 1 Peter because a) I'm a slow learner and b) it just seems so relevant to my life. So I picked up another Elizabeth George fill-in-the-blank book as a basis. In the evenings, I prefer to do my own study, but I find that the mornings for me are not conducive to clear thinking, so it's better to have a guide.

So this morning I picked up the book to begin, and this is the question that stumped me: How does the "grace and peace" greeting encourage you?

So I skipped it (avoidance being another problem I have in the morning) and moved on to my Proverbs and Psalms reading.

And here was my Psalm for today:

Psalm 27:1-5

THE LORD is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.
One thing I have desired of the LORD,
That will I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD
All the days of my life,
To behold the beauty of the LORD,
And to inquire in His temple.
For in the time of trouble
He shall hide me in His pavilion;
In the secret place of His tabernacle
He shall hide me;
He shall set me high upon a rock.

And it got me thinking...David wrote from experience of persecution and turmoil. Likewise, Peter wrote from that same perspective. He hadn't had an easy time in the years leading up to the writing of this letter, so he knew of what he spoke. And still, he was able to express the hope that God would bring grace to those who put their trust in Christ, and an inner peace that in spite of the outward persecution, God is in control.

Now that's encouraging!

Amazing Grace, Politics and other Ramblings

On Thanksgiving Day, I watched the movie, Amazing Grace, about William Wilberforce and his fight in the British Parliament to abolish the slave trade. Excellent movie, and I would highly recommend it, but one phrase kept coming back to mind as it relates to current events in Minot:

Mr. Wilberforce, we understand you're having problems choosing whether to do the work of God, or the work of a political activist.

We humbly suggest that you can do both.

Recently, on Main Street here in Minot, a strip club opened with the name of Sin: take a break from being good. Ironically, it was the name change that brought a huge community uproar...most people had no idea it had gone from being just a bar, to a "gentleman's club". So I am getting involved in the fight to move the clubs (there is another as well) to the industrial area of town, out of the sight of the families that patronize the downtown area. (Just a note: yes, I'd love to see them abolished altogether, but I believe that is the work of prayer and revival, rather than legislation).

Obviously, this is a big subject for me...for the obvious moral reasons...not to mention that I live on Main Street.

So here goes my first foray into political activism.