My Christmas Gift

This year once again, our family decided to focus on sharing 'presentations' instead of presents - either in word or music. I decided to write a poem on the obedience of Christ, and I found both the writing and the reading of it very encouraging. I hope you find it so too.

Advent Poem - The Lawkeeper
When long ago all things that are
Came into life from what was not,
It was submission to command
Of nothing to the word of God.
Time, light-years, sunshine, moonlight, stars
Green ivy, chattering parakeets
Fruit-heavy trees and brilliant flowers
Fish swimming shimmering rivers deep
Were fueled by atoms that obeyed
That word commanding them to be
They lived as wisdom's pow'r displayed
In slavery that made them free.

The tawny lion, bounding bold
Through high fields thick with golden grain
Knew not that his strong frame obeyed
A law that pulsed through all his veins.
Yet he was bound by that one law
That sounded through the milky way
In silence, in the bubbling brook
"All things their Maker must obey"

And after the unknowing things
Had come to be, God made a man
To image him, in thought and will
To understand and love His plan.
Here was creation's shining crown
Who could articulate that law,
Obey, not thoughtless, but with love
And of His Maker stand in awe.
To man God spoke his wise commands
That man might do them willingly.
And if he would submit and live
By them, he would be truly free.

But, woe! To man a voice declared
Dark whispers of another way,
Emancipating happy slaves:
"Your Maker you need not obey"
And willing man believed the lie
That he could rise above that law
By which he lived and moved and breathed
Thus came his death; thus was his fall.

Fruit from a tree? How could it be
That eating should be so condemned?
That biting was a mortal strike
Against a law which must not end.
This strike sent wailing tremors through
The universe of living things
The law that made and blessed them had
Been broken by their God-sent king.

So all was cursed, and bruised and dark
Before this sad law-breaking king
Yet shone a light, for promised God
Another coming conquering king.

Man's race increased and toiled with sweat
To rule the world his sin had cursed
Some toiled with greater sin. Some found
With God, a grace that loved them first.
To Abraham God sweetly swore
To make of him a nation great
And many nations bless through one
Though he must for the promise wait.

The promised nation came to be
And burgeoned in the desert land
Where from a life of slavery they'd
Been freed by God-sent Moses' hand.

Might Moses be that mighty one
Who'd crush the head of God's vile foe?
And save God's people from the curse
Law-breaking men were doomed to know?
For through him God declared the law
Unto His people. But they spurned,
That law, and Moses disobeyed
God's orders when his anger burned.

Yet God preserved the rebel race
And brought them to his promised land
From enemies delivered them
With merciful and mighty hand.
He gave them priests to come before
His presence in law-breakers stead
With lambs and goats whose bleeding throats
For these law-breaking people bled.

Perhaps a priest in Aaron's line
Would overcome the rebel way
And keep God's law and crush with joy
The serpent in one sinless day.
But neither did this line bring hope -
Old Eli's priestly sons, depraved,
Were laws unto themselves, and broke
God's holy law without dismay.

'A king!' The chosen nation cried
'To fight our battles, save our land!'
But this king also disobeyed;
God took the kingdom from his hand.
Obedience, God then declared,
Better to him than sacrifice
Of lambs, or works of men whose hands
Did what was right in their own eyes.

Oh who could right the cursing wrongs
That blighted all the world with night
And bring God's smile again to men
Whose works did not give God delight?
Why would each one so love his own
Decisions over God's commands
Fools, blind with self-adoring pride
Destroying joy with their own hands.

A baby in a feeding trough
With tiny, empty, helpless hands
Come see this one, a faithful son
Who comes to keep the Lord's commands.
Where Adam rose in rebel pride
To disobey God's law and die
This one will stoop by humble choice
Obey God's law and lamb-like die.
This child's a king whose only crown
Is glorying to do that will
That ordered all the universe
And calls men to submission still.
This man obeys, for this man loves
His God, and God delights in Him
"This is my well-beloved Son
In whom I'm pleased - listen to Him!"
This child is God himself, who came
To do what man had failed to do
In God-created flesh, to keep
God's perfect law his whole life through.

Yet he must make amends for many
Sons of Adam and their sin
Thus take their curse of death and know
God's favor turned away from him.
God's favor turned? Oh surely not
Pure reason could assault God's son
But serpent-reason crushed, he prayed
"Father, not mine - Your will be done!"

"Who's hung upon a tree is cursed"
God's law declared in somber tone
So Jesus, took the deathly tree
To be a curse, for us atone.

Fruit from a tree? How can it be?
That one death should atone for sin?
That dying was obedience
Unto the law that must not end.
That death sent mighty tremors through
The universe of dying things
The law that killed and cursed them was
Accomplished by their God-sent king.
And justice rose, and made alive
This once-dead and law-keeping king
Who promises to come again
And set aright all sin-cursed things.

- Alyssa Colby - Christmas 2009

"...no proof of humility"

"The very fact that pompous is now used only in a bad sense measures the degree to which we have lost the old idea of 'solemnity.' To recover it you must think of a court ball, or a coronation, or a victory march, as these things appear to people who enjoy them; in an age when every one puts on his oldest clothes to be happy in, you must re-awake the simpler state of mind in which people put on gold and scarlet to be happy in. Above all, you must be rid of the hideous idea, fruit of a widespread inferiority complex, that pomp, on the proper occasions, has any connexion with vanity or self-conceit. A celebrant approaching the altar, a princess led out by a king to dance a minuet, a general officer on a ceremonial parade... all these wear unusual clothes and move with calculated dignity. This does not mean that they are vain, but that they are obedient; they are obeying the hoc age which presides over solemnity. The modern habit of doing ceremonial things unceremoniously is no proof of humility; rather it proves the offender's inability to forget himself in the rite, and his readiness to spoil for every one else the proper pleasure of ritual."

- C. S. Lewis - Introduction to Paradise Lost

Fear Nothing

Fear nothing but the loss of that which is most dear to you.
Let nothing be so dear to you as Jesus' love.
Remember that this will never be taken from you.
Then, fear nothing.


"...nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."
- Romans 8:39, ESV

Submission Better than Sacrifice

"I am not appealed to on the line that I am of 'more use' in certain places. It is me where He wills. Bless the Lord, He guides! Pay attention to the source and He will look after the outflow....


He is preparing us for what He is preparing for us. ...[Christ said] 'As the Father sent me, so send I you'. His first obedience was to the will of God, not the needs of mankind. The voice of the age that says 'Here you will be most good,' is to my mind the voice of the tempter. It is where He places us."

- Oswald Chambers

Our reading from Jonathan Edwards in family devotions tonight gave me some encouragement in my blundering attempts at following the second greatest commandment. I once thought that I was a wise person, until I began to have a love for the Lord's people. Though perhaps I could pinpoint a theological error in a split second, I began to realize how often I am at a loss as to how to express love for others in a way that will edify them. But Edwards gave me hope in remembering that the Scriptural prayer "that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment" will one day be perfectly fulfilled, even as I work toward it today...

In heaven love will be expressed with perfect decency and wisdom. Many in this world that are sincere in their hearts, and have indeed a principle of true love to God and their neighbor, yet have not discretion to guide them in the manner and circumstances of expressing it. Their intentions, and so their speeches, are good, but often not suitably timed, nor discreetly ordered as to circumstances, but are attended with an indiscreetness that greatly obscures the loveliness of grace in the eyes of others. But in heaven the amiableness and excellence of their love shall not be obscured by any such means. There shall be no indecent or unwise or dissonant speeches or actions - no foolish and sentimental fondness - no needless officiousness - no low or sinful propensities of passion - and no such thing as affections clouding or deluding reason, or going before or against it. But wisdom and discretion shall be as perfect in the saints as love is, and every expression of their love shall be attended with the most amiable and perfect decency and discretion and wisdom.

...There shall be no wall of separation in heaven to keep the saints asunder, nor shall they be hindered from the full and complete enjoyment of each other's love by distance of habitation; for they shall all be together, as one family, in their heavenly Father's house. Nor shall there be any want of full acquaintance to hinder the greatest possible intimacy; and much less shall there be any misunderstanding between them, or misinterpreting things that are said or done by each other. There shall be no disunion through difference of temper, or manners, or circumstances, or from various opinions, or interests, or feelings, or alliances; but all shall be united in the same interests, and all alike allied to the same Savior, and all employed in the same business, serving and glorifying the same God.

- Jonathan Edwards, Heaven, A World of Love

"May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
- Romans 15:5, ESV

"I am more and more convinced that the personality of Jesus Christ is the truth, and anything about Him that does not lead to Him is not the truth." - Oswald Chambers

"I am the way, and the truth and the life..."
John 14:6

the feast of love

"Sincere and strong love is greatly gratified and delighted in the prosperity of the beloved object; and if the love be perfect, the greater the prosperity of the beloved is, the more is the lover pleased and delighted; for the prosperity of the beloved is, as it were, the food of love, and therefore the greater that prosperity, the more richly is love feasted."

- Jonathan Edwards

Only in union with Christ, God's beloved Son, can we be recipients of the love of God.

"From God, love flows out toward all the inhabitants of heaven. It flows out, in the first place, necessarily and infinitely, toward his only-begotten Son; being poured forth, without mixture, as to an object that is infinite, and so fully adequate to all the fullness of a love that is infinite."

- Jonathan Edwards

Autumn Loveliness

I finally figured out how to re-size some of my photos to fit a 1280x800 laptop screen for desktop wallpaper. Here are four of my recent fall shots.

William Cowper and...Homeschooling?

Indeed!

I love William Cowper's poems, and support home-schooling but did not discover till recently that Cowper wrote a lengthy poem on The Institution of Schools. As I read, I was amazed at his insights on a subject that I did not think was discussed back then. Here a few excerpts from Cowper's"Tirocinium"

William Sweerts "Portrait of a Boy"

"Would you your son should be a sot or dunce,
Lascivious, headstrong, or all these at once;
That in good time the stripling’s finish’d taste
For loose expense and fashionable waste
Should prove your ruin, and his own at last;
Train him in public with a mob of boys,
Childish in mischief only and in noise,
...
Such youths of spirit, and that spirit too,
Ye nurseries of our boys, we owe to you:
Though from ourselves the mischief more proceeds,
For public schools ‘tis public folly feeds.
The slaves of custom and establish’d mode,
With packhorse constancy we keep the road,
Crooked or straight, through quags or thorny dells,
True to the jingling of our leader’s bells.
To follow foolish precedents, and wink
With both our eyes, is easier than to think;
And such an age as ours balks no expense,
Except of caution and of common sense;
Else sure notorious fact, and proof so plain,
Would turn our steps into a wiser train.

Oh! ‘tis a sight to be with joy perused,
By all whom sentiment has not abused;…
...A father blest with an ingenuous son,
Father, and friend, and tutor, all in one.

He will not blush, that has a father’s heart,
To take in childish plays a childish part;
But bends his sturdy back to any toy
That youth takes pleasure in, to please his boy:
Then why resign into a stranger’s hand
A task as much within your own command,
That God and nature, and your interest too,
Seem with one voice to delegate to you?
Why hire a lodging in a house unknown
For one whose tenderest thoughts all hover round your own?

The ostrich, silliest of the feather’d kind,
And form’d of God without a parent’s mind,
Commits her eggs, incautious, to the dust,
Forgetful that the foot may crush the trust;
And, while on public nurseries they rely,
Not knowing, and too oft not caring, why,
Irrational in what they thus prefer,
No few, that would seem wise, resemble her.

Now look on him, whose very voice in tone
Just echoes thine, whose features are thine own,
And stroke his polish’d cheek of purest red,
And lay thine hand upon his flaxen head,
And say, My boy, the unwelcome hour is come,
When thou, transplanted from thy genial home,
Must find a colder soil and bleaker air,
And trust for safety to a stranger’s care;
What character, what turn thou wilt assume
From constant converse with I know not whom;
Who there will court thy friendship, with what views,
And, artless as thou art, whom thou wilt choose;
Though much depends on what thy choice shall be,
Is all chance-medley, and unknown to me.
Though wouldst not, deaf to Nature’s tenderest plea,
Turn him adrift upon a rolling sea,
Nor say, Go thither, conscious that there lay
A brood of asps, or quicksands in his way;
Then, only govern’d by the self-same rule
Of natural pity, send him not to school.
No—guard him better. Is he not thine own,
Thyself in miniature, thy flesh, thy bone?

Fascinating, isn't it? The poem in its entirety can be read here.

Democracy, Authority, and Education

from my Learning Theory class post

Democracy is popular in America. It runs the nation. John Dewey, whose progressive learning theories have been largely influential on the nation's current learning practices, was a proponent of democracy. He wanted to see democracy not only in the nation, but in the public classroom, beginning at the elementary level. This would mean that, as in the nation, so in the classroom - students should have a say in their education, so that educators teach them what they are most inclined to learn, or in the way that they are most inclined to learn within the necessary bounds of the curriculum. This, it was proposed, will make the students more engaged in their education, and prevent children from becoming passive sum-scribbling serfs under the despotic rule of a loveless lecturer. Best of all, it would equip children to grow up to be good citizens of a democracy, having been immersed in its practices from their earliest years.

Now, in a fallen world, where all people are sinful and fallible, democracy has proven to be one of the best political set-ups for a nation. This is mainly because an authoritarian government has often proven deadly to both the ruler and the ruled. Absolute power absolutely corrupts the already innately corrupt. Therefore, a nation may choose to counter the particularly concentrated corruptions of the one by parceling out the power into the hands of the many. This constitutes a democracy - the governors of a nation receiving their just power from the consent of the many who are governed. If democracy has proven the best way to politically organize a nation, why not the school? Why not have teachers receiving their just power of instruction from the consent of the educated? This is in measure what Dewey was asking for.

Here the answer to the question becomes a question of authority. Putting aside secondary and higher education, in which this proposition may have credibility, I want to focus the question on the education of the young, which happens to be my particular area of study, and answer it from the Scriptures. According to the Scriptures, the environment in which children are to be nurtured and trained is not one of democracy but of authority. The one basic command given to children in the Scriptures is "obey your parents". Christian parents and teachers must therefore see this mandate as the first and most important thing for a child to learn. This does not constitute a democracy. Of course, in a democracy, citizens must submit themselves to its leaders and its rules, and obedience to parents will prepare children to be cooperative citizens. But Christian parents are not to train their children merely for good citizenship of an earthly nation. They are to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of "the Lord". Here is a term of authority: "the Lord"! Christian parents are ultimately training their children to live under the rulership of the Lord Jesus Christ - to submissively do what he says and learn to love it. And it starts by learning to obey their parents, because Christ has commanded it. Sometimes this will mean doing things in which they do not see a point, or to which they are not innately inclined. But we are not cultivating the instincts of evolving homo sapiens, we are training young men and women in the knowledge of their Creator. This is the point of education. A good teacher will, of course, seek the good of their student by trying to make the learning enjoyable for them, even as a good governor seeks the good of the citizens. But when learning is not enjoyable - as it must necessarily sometimes be - the parents' authority wins the day, and the child must obey. When children obey their parents, they will be blessed. It's a promise. And it will not fail, even when democracies have crumbled.

On technical terms...

Technical terms really can get troublesome at times, can't they? And they don't do you any good unless you know what they mean. Once you know what they mean, then they can become quite useful, but only then. I think an important skill in teaching is the skill of being able to define previously boring and obscure technical terms in a way that people can really understand and remember. The technical term then becomes a handy little bag in which they can condense and carry that understanding. Of course, every time someone accumulates lots of handy little bags, they can start waving them around as if everyone knows what is in them. Fellow bag-carriers might appreciate it, but everyone else needs the bags unpacked. I guess higher education sometimes consists of a teacher handing students one bag after another and saying "Unpack that one and tell me what's in it". Then we can unpack the bags for others.

A Precious Lesson

There is nothing that requires such gentle handling as an illusion, if one wishes to dispel it. If anything prompts the prospective captive to set his will in opposition, all is lost. And this is what a direct attack achieves, and it implies moreover the presumption of requiring a man to make to another person, or in his presence, an admission which he can make most profitably to himself privately. This is what is achieved by the indirect method which, loving and serving the truth, arranges everything dialectically for the prospective captive, and then shyly withdraws (for love is always shy), so as not to witness the admission which he makes to himself alone before God--that he has lived hitherto in an illusion.

If real success is to attend the effort to bring a man to a definite position, one must first of all take pains to find him where he is and begin there. This is the secret to the art of helping others. Anyone who has not mastered this is himself deluded when he proposes to help others. In order to help another effectively I must understand more than he--yet first of all surely I must understand what he understands. If I do not know that, then my greater understanding will be of no help to him. If, however, I am disposed to plume myself on my greater understanding, it is because I am vain or proud, so that at bottom, instead of benefiting him, I want to be admired. But all true effort to help begins with self-humiliation: the helper must first humble himself under him he would help, and therewith must understand that to help others does not mean to be sovereign, but to be a servant, that to help does not mean to be ambitious but to be patient, that to help means to endure for the time being the imputation that one is in the wrong and does not know what the other understands.

--S. Kierkegaard

a random thought on the art of writing...

The skillful commentative writer takes his pen like a scalpel to cut through the hardened skin of societal norms and expose the beastly cancer beneath.

"The essence of the prosperity gospel is that it leaves people unchanged in their appetites and then provides 'Jesus!' to meet them....Better business, better marriage, better kids - better everything I wanted before. Then you don't know Him. He did not come to serve your unregenerate appetites; He came to give you new appetites. That's the meaning of being born again."

- John Piper on John 6

The present ministry of Jesus

"We speak of the perseverance of the saints as if that were some innate quality which is placed in us. But that is not the case. The perseverance of the saints means that for every second of your life, Jesus will hold you and and Jesus will keep you and Jesus will guard you. We will persevere because we are being preserved." - Ted Donnelly

"You hold me by my right hand, you guide me with your counsel and afterward you will receive me into glory." - Psalm 73

"The psalmist doesn't say 'I hold you'. The psalmist says, 'You hold me'." - Ted Donnelly

"...because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold." - Matt. 24.12

But oh Lord, not mine, please, please, not mine!

"If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love..." - John 15.10


Scripture from ESV

"Waking on a Fall Morning"

Morning
Soft gray light steals
Through cold and gentle curtains and
My bundled sleep
Swaddling, grave-clothes, bedclothes wrapped
Me now unwrapped to
Face the shiv’ry morning
But heat now greets
Me rising warm
With roasty air that boasts of toast
And coffee
And hearts that should be
Thankful

- AFC - 10-6-09

Fall

O Summer, do you leave us and so soon?
And take from us your pleasant, sunny days
That linger into twilight, after noon
Has filled earth’s treasure with its warming rays?

The brilliant skies of autumn utter cries
Of triumph’s hope, in Earth’s futility,
To which it yearly clearly testifies,
As blazing leaves fall from each conquered tree.

No sunny prospects now before us lie,
As summer fades, and Winters’ trumpet blows
Through frosty windowsill and wild goose cry,
And dark skies bode the coming of the snows.

What light shall cheer the winter-darkened panes
Of windows once illu’med by evening rays
Of summer sun, or dewed by spring’s sweet rains -
Shall gladness shrink as shorter grow the days?

Oh no, my soul has treasures deep and true
That spreads their mighty gladness through the year
And cheer my poor heart all the winter through
And trump decays and triumph over fear.

My soul has Jesus, maker of the sun
Whose love is warmer than the summer’s rays
Who’s loved by him need never feel alone
Nor desolate the soul that sings His praise.

Let love cheer all the windows of our home
And of our souls when cold and darkness fall
Around, outside - inside they need not come.
Our hearts have Christ, our light, our joy, our all.

And when the spring returns with flowers bright
And life awakes, and birds sing high and clear
We’ll see foretold the setting all things right
That’s echoed in the turning of the year.

- AFC, 9-22-2009

In humble vale...

In humble vale, ‘tween mountains high

I saw a shepherd passing by

A flock of sheep behind him went

With steady feet and still intent

I saw one lamb who came away

From them and to the shepherd say

“My Shepherd it is pleasant here

But shall we always linger here?

I see above us mountains high

And wild and green…sometimes I sigh

To go up to the dazzling heights

Which beckon me with new delights.

The Shepherd looked with mercy sweet

Upon His eager little sheep

And answering with tender voice

Told it to wait upon His choice:

“Be content my sheep to go

Where the quiet waters flow

Through the flat and grassy plain

Fed by common sun and rain.

Every place where you are led

I will see that you are fed.

Is it not enough for you,

That I choose what’s best for you?

Someday to those mountains steep

I will lead you, little sheep

And the grassy plains behind

May come fondly to your mind

While above the dazzling heights

Beckon you with new delights

You will find a humbled will

Taught to trust me and be still

Will sustain you on the steep

And rugged pathways, little sheep.

Wait on me, your Shepherd true

I promise to do good to you.”

This eager little lamb is me

This wise and patient Shepherd He

Who once did give Himself to save

Me, wandr’ing toward a rocky grave

He has become my faithful Guide

Who calls me to walk by His side.

And I will follow patiently,

For He will do what’s best for me.

Tied-up Joys

I am always being tempted to tie my joys to changing circumstances instead of to my unchanging God.
In happy times I am tempted to wrap my heart around the present joys - nervously, knowing that they may be snatched away at any time.
In hard times, I often find my joys nearly drowned, as if they had been tied to a rock, only to have the rock thrown into a dark and turbulent ocean.
What then am I to do? I must continually be aiming, in every situation, with the help of God, to wrap up all my joys in Christ, and in His love and His will - to tie them fast to Him and keep them there, come what may. He does not change; He lives forever, no longer able to be touched by the power of death. Joys tied here cannot be moved, and here I find the secret of contentment

Ever-Increasing Cause for Thankfulness

How much cause do I have to be thankful? The mercy which I have to anticipate from the hand of my God will never grow less, and yet today I have experienced a day's portion of mercies more than what I could say yesterday I had thus far received. Thus my debt to divine mercy will forever increase, thus I ought to be increasingly thankful with each passing day to Him whose lovingkindness is everlasting.

"And be thankful."
- Colossians 3.15, ESV

"Yet all with wings..."

"My God, I thank Thee, who hast made
The earth so bright,
So full of splendor and of joy,
Beauty and light;
So many glorious things are here,
Noble and right.

I thank Thee, too, that Thou hast made
Joy to abound;
So many gentle thoughts and deeds
Circling us round,
That in the darkest spot of earth
Some love is found.

I thank Thee more that all our joy
Is touched with pain,
That shadows fall on brightest hours,
That thorns remain;
So that earth’s bliss may be our guide,
And not our chain.

For thou who knowest, Lord, how soon
Our weak heart clings,
Hast given us joys, tender and true,
Yet all with wings;
So that we see gleaming on high
Diviner things.

I thank Thee, Lord, that Thou hast kept
The best in store;
We have enough, yet not too much
To long for more:
A yearning for a deeper peace
Not known before.

I thank Thee, Lord, that here our souls
Though amply blessed,
Can never find, although they seek
A perfect rest;
Nor ever shall, until they lean
On Jesus’ breast."

- Adelaide Procter, 1858

The Role of Good Works in the Life of Believers

“When the point considered is the constitution and foundation of salvation, believers, without paying any respect to works, direct their eyes to the goodness of God alone….Conscience being thus founded, built up, and established is farther established by the consideration of works, inasmuch as they are proofs of God dwelling and reigning in us. …Wherefore, when we exclude confidence in works, we merely mean that the Christian mind must not turn back to the merit of works as an aid to salvation, but must dwell entirely on the free promise of justification. But we forbid no believer to confirm and support this faith by the signs of the divine favor towards him.…The fruits of their calling convince them that the Lord has admitted them to a place among his children….As the fruits of regeneration furnish them with a proof of the Holy Spirit dwelling in them, experiencing God to be a Father in a matter of so much moment, they are strengthened in no slight degree to wait for his assistance in all their necessities. Even this they could not do, had they not previously perceived that the goodness of God is sealed to them by nothing but the certainty of the promise.”

- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion. III.XIV.18-19

the most important question

“The question must be, How shall we answer the heavenly Judge when he calls us to account? Let us contemplate that Judge, not as our own unaided intellect conceives of him, but as he is portrayed to us in Scripture…with a brightness which obscures the stars, a strength which melts the mountains, an anger which shakes the earth, a wisdom which takes the wise in their own craftiness, a purity before which all things become impure, a righteousness to which not even angels are equal (so far is it from making the guilty innocent), a vengeance which once kindled burns to the lowest hell (Exod. 34:7; Nahum 1:3; Deut. 32:22).”

"Thus Augustine says, “Of all pious men groaning under this burden of corruptible flesh, and the infirmities of this life, the only hope is, that we have one Mediator Jesus Christ the righteous, and that he intercedes for our sins.”

- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.XII.1,3

oh zucchini...

With the recent out-poured donations of many zucchini into our home, and with a loaf of zucchini bread in the fridge, and more of the green walruses on the counter, I was trying to think of something else to put them into that would be actually good and not look to much like zucchini. I ended up with this highly tweaked version of a quiche recipe from Allrecipes.com. It's really easy because all the work is done in a blender or food processor before baking.


Crustless Zucchini Quiche

• 3 small (or 1 large) zucchini, coarsely chopped
• 5 or 6 eggs
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 1/3-1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
• 1 tsp onion powder
  
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup flour (I used a combination of rice and oat flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• Additional goat cheese, chopped fresh chives or parsley

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a quiche dish or a 9-inch pie pan, and set aside.
Place the zucchini, eggs, olive oil, goat cheese, and seasonings into the bowl of a blender or food processor, and process for about 1 minute, until all the ingredients are finely chopped and blended. (I found it necessary to add the zucchini chunks gradually in order to fit the bowl) Add the flour and baking powder, and process 1 more minute, scraping the side of the bowl if necessary.
Scrape the mixture into the prepared quiche dish, and bake for 1 hour, or until set. The quiche is done when a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with additional crumbled cheese and chopped fresh chives or parsley. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
(If there are any, leftover slices of quiche are good cold.)

"...a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head"

In his Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis points out the danger of some educators who seek to do away with all that is emotional and heartfelt in education...

“I think Gaius and Titius may have honestly misunderstood the pressing educational need of the moment. They see the world around them swayed by emotional propaganda—they have learned from tradition that youth is sentimental—and they conclude that the best thing they can do is to fortify the minds of young people against emotion.

My own experience as a teacher tells an opposite tale. For every one pupil who needs to be guarded from a weak excess of sensibility there are three who need to be awakened from the slumber of cold vulgarity. The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts.

The right defence against false sentiments is to inculcate just sentiments. By starving the sensibility of our pupils we only make them easier prey to the propagandist when he comes. For famished nature will be avenged and a hard heart is no infallible protection against a soft head.”

–C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man

Yesterday I was reading a sweet little book, Diary and Selection of Hymns of Augustus Toplady, and was impressed by a note in his journal about God's providence. He was speaking of how God had been guiding him to begin ministering in a town called Broad-Hembury...

"There is one thing that pleases me much, about Broad-Hembury, and makes me hope for a blessing on the event, viz. that it was not, from first to last, of my own seeking: and every door, without any application of mine, has hitherto flown open, and all seems to point that way. As a good man somewhere says, "A believer never yet carved for himself, but he cut his own fingers."— The all-wise God, whose never failing providence ordereth every event, usually makes what we set our hearts upon unsatisfactory; and sweetens what we feared: bringing real evil, out of seeming good: and real good, out of seeming evil: to show us what short-sighted creatures we are, and to teach us to live by faith upon his blessed self."

Broadhembury

"You can readily speak of yourselves, and do often, either directly or obliquely, commend yourselves, which reveals your great self-love. How little do you commend your Lord and Master and extol His excellencies with your lips! And does not this evidence that you have but little love to Him in your hearts?"
- Thomas Vincent, The True Christian's Love

How is it that I am so eager to commend and speak of myself when my self has deceived me, cheated me, led me astray, stolen my peace, confused and betrayed me, corrupted my joys, tainted all my good deeds, distracted me and clouded my heart with anxious fears? (Surely it has proven itself worthy of all the devotion I give it!) When I consider how I esteem myself, I can attribute it to nothing but the most contemptible blindness and folly.

And Jesus Christ, of whom I speak so little, has given me every pleasant thing that I enjoy and every good and necessary provision; He has faithfully stayed with me as He promised to do always, despite the countless ways in which I try His patience with my unbelief, ingratitude and stubborn pride; He forgives all my sins because He has paid for them with His own blood; He softens my heart with his grace so that I repent of my sins, love my neighbor and brother, help those in need, rejoice in God, sing, pray and work unto Him - all of which I could not do in myself; He answers my prayers, restores my health and protects my life; He guides the path of my life into good ways when I would have no idea where to go, and does the same for all His own. Should I not think and speak of Him and for Him rather than myself? I often feel, wrongly, that to speak of Jesus is the task of the preacher and my friends would rather hear me speak of myself. But Jesus is mine, my own God, my Friend, Helper and Savior. He is my only honor, and without Him I would have nothing in which to glory, but only shame. He is my all and my very life, so that if someone did not wish to hear me speak of Him, I should consider them not to be my friend.

O that the Lord would set my crooked heart straight, that He would heal my heart's eyes of their distorted vision that I might see things as they are - Him as everything and myself as nothing, that He would restore my imbalanced affections so that all the weight of them may be set upon Him. And this He must do, for His name is Jesus and He saves His people from their sins.

Calvin on our Life's Calling

I found some encouragement in Calvin's teaching on how Christians ought to view their lot in life. Knowing that God has called to be faithful with what He has given us, we can pursue that commanded faithfulness wholeheartedly without a discontented longing to be doing something else or a restless anxiety that we are not doing enough...

“The Lord enjoins every one of us, in all the actions of life, to have respect to our own calling. He knows the boiling restlessness of the human mind, the fickleness with which it is borne hither and thither, its eagerness to hold opposites at one time in its grasp, its ambition. Therefore, lest all things should be thrown into confusion by our folly and rashness, he has assigned distinct duties to each in the different modes of life. …Every man’s mode of life, therefore, is a kind of station assigned him by the Lord, that he may not be always driven about at random. So necessary is this distinction, that all our actions are thereby estimated in his sight, and often in a very different way from that in which human reason or philosophy would estimate them….In all our cares, toils, annoyances, and other burdens, it will be no small alleviation to know that all these are under the superintendence of God. The magistrate will more willingly perform his office, and the father of a family confine himself to his proper sphere. Every one in his particular mode of life will, without repining, suffer its inconveniences, cares, uneasiness, and anxiety, persuaded that God has laid on the burden. This, too, will afford admirable consolation, that in following your proper calling, no work will be so mean and sordid as not to have a splendour and value in the eye of God.” (35)

Super-Hearty Wheat-free Man-size Lunchbox Cookies

One of my favorite activities these days is making cookies for my brother - who has both food-sensitivities to gluten and sugar, and the appetite of a large war-horse - to pack in his lunches. He seems to have enjoyed all of my experiments thus far... Here is one example

Mix together in large bowl:
1 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup flax-meal
1/3 cup toasted coconut
(the flax and coconut help to replace some of the lost bulk of the sugar asked for in the original recipe)
1 T stevia
1 T molasses (gives a brown sugar taste, but less than 1g sugar per serving)
3 eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
(The original recipe asked for a cup of dried apricots, chopped, which are quite good, if fruit is not a problem.)

Combine in second bowl :
3 cups rolled oats or quick oats
1 cup oat flour
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 cup buckwheat, sorghum or teff flour
2 tsp. xantham gum (to make cookies less crumbly)
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cloves
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 375. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly. Shape 1/4-1/3-cup-size hunks of dough into cookies about 3/4" thick and place on greased cookie-sheets. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes, or till lightly browned on the bottom and set in the middle. Remove and cool. Makes about 10 cookies.
For lunch-box packing convenience, I put each cookie in a small sandwich bag with a twist-tie and then put all the bagged cookies in a big ziploc bag and stick them in the freezer.

Resting Satisfied With Our Own Good

“If we obey God only because it is necessary, provided we can escape, we shall cease to obey him. But what Scripture calls us to consider in the will of God is very different, namely, first justice and equity, and then a regard to our own salvation. Hence Christian exhortations to patience are of this nature: Whether poverty, or exile, or imprisonment, or contumely, or disease, or bereavement, or any such evil affects us, we must think that none of them happens except by the will and providence of God; moreover, that every thing he does is in the most perfect order. …If the equity of God is undoubtedly displayed in affliction, we cannot murmur or struggle against them without iniquity. We no longer hear the frigid cant, Yield, because it is necessary; but a living and energetic precept, Obey, because it is unlawful to resist; bear patiently, because impatience is rebellion against the justice of God. Then as that only seems to us attractive which we perceive to be for our own safety and advantage, here also our heavenly Father consoles us, by the assurance, that in the very cross with which he afflicts us he provides for our salvation. …In bearing them patiently we are not submitting to necessity but resting satisfied with our own good. The effect of these thoughts is, that to whatever extent our minds are contracted by the bitterness which we naturally feel under the cross, to the same extent will they be expanded with spiritual joy. Hence arises thanksgiving, which cannot exist unless joy be felt.” (23)

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, II.VIII.11

"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

- 1 Peter 1.6-8, ESV

This, Too, is His


While reading on the patio, I noticed this tiny and beautiful plant clinging to the mossy bricks and was impressed with the thought that this, like all things, was "created by Him and for Him" (Col. 1)

On Not Being a Wasteful Servant

Today I was reflecting on my attitude in the workplace. Since I am aware that I am being paid to do the work that is assigned to me, I am diligent to be busy and not be guilty of wasting or stealing the salary which I am being paid to do that work. Knowing what is expected of me, my attitude toward my supervisor is: "I am here to work. What would you have me do?"

But I realized that this sense of purpose and stewardship should not be left in the workplace. For my Creator gives me all that I have for the purpose of my serving Him with gladness, obeying His commands and magnifying His Name on the earth. If I should take the life, breath, strength, health, possessions and knowledge that He has given me, and should use them for my own selfish ends, I am guilty of being a wasteful, pilfering servant!

In reflecting on this, I am brought to see how I sin every day in not giving my Master his rightful due. Thus I am brought to see my need of Christ, the One and Only Faithful Servant who has perfectly fulfilled the obligations of man to God, and not only for Himself, but for me, paid the enormous debt I owe to God for my wasteful stewardship. And now this Faithful Servant walks beside me, to help me to be a faithful servant like Him. Oh the gospel is good for everything! Let me now, knowing that my debts were paid so dearly, be altogether unwilling to waste a minute of the life God has given and restored to me. It is foolish and evil use what is God's for myself. He is such a kind and gracious Master, and deserves more than all I could devote to Him.

Slow but Steady Wins the Race

Reading John Calvin on the Christian's pursuit of godliness in this present life, I was encouraged by his realistic view: sometimes we are only "crawling on the ground" towards godliness, but we must still keep our eyes on that goal. God has predestined and called us to be conformed to Jesus image, He will bring us there. He will help us to crawl, and one day He will complete the work altogether when we stand in His presence....

~ ~ ~

“The spiritual commencement of a good life is when the internal affections are sincerely devoted to God, in the cultivation of holiness and justice. But seeing that, in this earthly prison of the body, no man is supplied with strength sufficient to hasten in his course with due alacrity, while the greater number are so oppressed with weakness,that hesitating, and halting, and even crawling on the ground, they make little progress, let every one of us go as far as his humble ability enables him,and prosecute the journey once begun. No one will travel so badly as not daily to make some degree of progress. This,therefore, let us never cease to do, that we may daily advance in the way of the Lord; and let us not despair because of theslender measure of success. How little soever the success may correspond with our wish,our labour is not lost when to-day is better than yesterday, provided with true singleness of mind we keep our aim, and aspire to the goal, not speaking flattering things to ourselves, nor indulging our vices, but making it our constant endeavour to become better, until we attain to goodness itself. If during the whole course of our life we seek and follow, we shall at length attain it, when relieved from the infirmity of flesh we are admitted to full fellowship with God.” (5)

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn,
which shines brighter and brighter until full day."
- Proverbs 4.18, ESV

My Lunch Recipes

While I was packing a lunch this evening, Mother stated that she thought I should keep a journal of all the lunches I make (!) This would be a rather large task, considering my many experimental and never-to-be-exactly-repeated concoctions. But since I spend quite a lot of time preparing my lunches sometimes, I thought I should try to record a few of my favorite recipes. I hope that making lunches for myself will make me better prepared to serve my family in food preparation.

One of my staples is tuna salad. (I have made it probably 20 different ways.) I often have it by alone, or sometimes on Ezekiel bread with canola mayo. Here are a few of my favorite inventions, notated in recipe form for the first time.

Garden Tuna Salad
In a pint-sized container, combine
- 1-2 T oil (I used combination of olive, sunflower, flax...whatever)
- 1 t red wine vinegar
- 1 T white vinegar
- dash of salt
- dash of hot pepper sauce (Tabasco)
- 2-3 chive 'leaves', finely chopped
- 2-3 sprigs of parsley, finely chopped
- 1 can of tuna, drained
- 1 small carrot grated

Mix thoroughly, cover tightly and refrigerate several hours. (i.e. the night before)

Italian Tuna (or Chicken!) Salad
In a pint-sized container, combine
- 1-2 T. olive oil
- 1 T. red wine vinegar
- 1 clove of fresh garlic, minced
- dash of Tabasco sauce
- 1/2 t. dried oregano
- 1/4 t. onion powder
- a pinch of dry basil, or a few leaves of fresh basil, minced
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh parsley, minced
- dash of black pepper
- 1 can of tuna or chicken, drained, or 6-8 oz. cooked, chopped salted chicken breast
- 1/4 cup diced red pepper, or diced fresh tomato (usually I put red pepper with tuna, tomato with chicken)
- sliced black olives (maybe?)

Mix thoroughly, cover tightly and refrigerate several hours.

Other ideas: I once made a tuna salad with dill that was very interesting. My brother likes his tuna salad with lots of mayo, grated carrot and chopped green olives (to each his own!) Chopped green pepper is a very nice addition to almost any combination, so are any fresh herbs. For extra protein, I've added canned, drained chickpeas, or white beans....It doesn't get boring very quickly! :o) The best part is that this stuff is hearty and nutritious, which gives you more energy to serve the Lord and His people. Happy lunch-making!

...A song that helps to pull along my wandering heart to where it ought to be

O Lord, I would delight in Thee
And on Thy care depend,
To Thee in every trouble flee,
My best, my only Friend.

When all created streams are dried,
Thy fullness is the same;
May I with this be satisfied
And glory in Thy Name.

No good in creatures can be found
But may be found in Thee;
I must have all things and abound
While God is God to me.

O Lord, I cast my care on Thee,
I triumph and adore;
Henceforth my great concern shall be
To love and please Thee more.

- John Ryland, 1777

Calvin on Repentance

"Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations."

- Luke 26.46-47 ESV

~ ~ ~

“Repentance is preached in the name of Christ, when men learn, through the doctrines of the Gospel, that all their thoughts, affections, and pursuits, are corrupt and vicious; and that, therefore, if they would enter the kingdom of God they must be born again. Forgiveness of sins is preached when men are taught that Christ “is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption,” (1 Cor. 1:30), that on his account they are freely deemed righteous and innocent in the sight of God.”

- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion III.III.19

Mother was waxing eloquent on Sunday afternoon, and looking up from her reading, declared with a chuckle:

"To avoid confusion we use confessions, and we use catechisms to define our dogmas."

....Hebrew or poetic parallelism may be defined in turn, but I think Mother's defies classification.

Self Smitten and Annihilated

I was quite struck by these words of John Calvin on the nature of true repentance:

"It is a most difficult and arduous achievement to renounce ourselves, and lay aside our natural disposition. For the flesh must not be thought to be destroyed unless every thing that we have of our own is abolished. But seeing that all the desires of the flesh are enmity against God (Rom. 8:7), the first step to the obedience of his law is the renouncement of our own nature.
...As we are naturally averse to God, unless self-denial precede, we shall never tend to that which is right. Hence we are so often enjoined to put off the old man, to renounce the world and the flesh, to forsake our lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind. Moreover, the very name mortification reminds us how difficult it is to forget our former nature, because we hence infer that we cannot be trained to the fear of God, and learn the first principles of piety, unless we are violently smitten with the sword of the Spirit and annihilated, as if God were declaring, that to be ranked among his sons there must be a destruction of our ordinary nature."

- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.III.8

The Death of Athaliah - Gustave Dore