Reading for history class, I came upon this interesting viewpoint. At the moment I'm not sure what to make of it, but it seemed worth taking note of:

"On the matter of female prayer...Beecher argued that praying in public distorts the sensibilities and therefore the moral character of women - with actresses as the leading example of such corruption:

There is generally, and should be always, in the female character, a softness and delicacy of feeling which shrinks from the notoriety of public performance. It is the guard of female virtue, and invaluable in its soothing, civilizing influence on man; and a greater evil, next to the loss of conscience and chastity, could not befal the female sex, or the community at large, than to disrobe the female mind of these ornaments of sensibility, and clothe it with the rough texture of masculine fibre....and, if we need further testimony, the general character of actresses is a standing memorial of the influence of female elocution before public assemblies."

- from Gospel Hymns and Social Religion by Sandra S. Sizer

In God's Work of Redemption, we have Clear and Endearing Views of His Wisdom and Love

"In [Christ] we behold the wisdom, goodness, love, grace, mercy, and power of God acting themselves in the contrivance, constitution, and efficacious accomplishment of the great work of our redemption. This gives an unutterable luster to the native amiableness of the divine excellencies. The wisdom and love of God are in themselves infinitely glorious, infinitely amiable; nothing can be added to them; there can be no increase of their essential glory.

Howbeit, as they are eternally resident in the divine nature and absolutely the same with it, we cannot so comprehend them as to have an endearing, satiating view of their glory except as they are exerted in the work of the salvation of the Church; as they are expressed, communicating their blessed effects to the souls of them that believe, which is done only in Christ; so the beams of their glory shine unto us with unspeakable refreshment and joy (II Cor. 4:6). "

- from The Glory of Christ by John Owen (emphasis mine)

"The ancient lie is put into men's hearts again and again and again that the only way to attain a state higher than innocence is to have experience of sin in order to see what sin is like....
Do you know how that lie can best be shown to be the lie that it is? Well, my friends, I think it is by the example of Jesus Christ. Do you despise innocence? Do you think that it is weak and childish not to have personal experience of evil? Do you think that if you do not obtain such experience of evil you must forever be a child?

If you have any such feeling, I just bid you contemplate Jesus of Nazareth. Does He make upon you any impression of immaturity or childishness? Was He lacking in some experience that is necessary to the highest manhood?... If that is the way you think of Jesus, even unbelievers, if they are at all thoughtful, will correct you. No, Jesus makes upon all thoughtful persons the impression of complete maturity and tremendous strength. With unblinking eyes He contemplates the evil of the human heart. "He knew what was in man" (John 2:25), says the Gospel according to John. Yet He never had those experiences of sin which fools think to be necessary if innocence is to be transcended and the highest manhood to be attained. From His spotless purity and His all-conquering strength, that ancient lie that experience of evil is necessary if man is to attain the highest good recoils naked and ashamed."

- from "The Fall of Man" by J. Gresham Machen

"Dear Christian, in affliction abide in Christ.
When thou seest it coming, meet it in Christ;
when it is come feel that thou art more in Christ than in it,
for He is nearer thee than affliction ever can be;
when it is passing, still abide in Him.
And let the one thought of the Saviour, as He speaks of the pruning, and the one desire of the Father, as He does the pruning, be thine too:
"Every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth, that it may bring forth more fruit."


So shall thy times of affliction becomes thy times of choicest blessing, - preparation for richest fruitfulness.
Led into closer fellowship with the Son of God, and deeper experience of his love and grace, -
established in the blessed confidence that He and thou entirely belong to each other, -
more completely satisfied with Him and more wholly given up to Him than ever before, -
with thine own will crucified afresh, and the heart brought into deeper harmony with God's will, - thou shalt be a vessel cleansed, meet for the Master's use, prepared for every good work."

- from Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray

I'm at Bible College

More later! (I hope :o)

At Last!

The quilt is finally done! Basically, I did all the piecing and Mother did all the quilting. (just because she really likes to quilt). Here we are with it -

We're Back!

We returned last week from a full and interesting two-week trip/vacation. With college less than three weeks away now, life is busy. I sometimes wonder if I should still take the time to blog. But if my few readers have as little time to read blogs as I have, then they won't mind bi-weekly posts! :o)

A few pictures from the trip...

beautiful Michigan

Tahquamenon Falls

Lake Superior - sparkling and cold...

...but not too cold for the boys to take a swim.





By Clark Lake - a place that seemed like the hollow of God's hand

"Thou art, O God, the Life and Light

Of all this wondrous world we see;

Its glow by day, its smile by night,

Are but reflections caught from Thee;

Where’er we turn, Thy glories shine,

And all things fair and bright are Thine."

- Thomas Moore