The Wise Men - G.K. Chesterton

For you on this Merry 10th Day of Christmas!

"Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a man of extraordinary wit, intellect, and insight. He was a prolific writer who engaged the leading intellectuals of his time in debates, always defending the cause of orthodoxy. It was his good and affable nature that made his adversaries also his friends. Chesterton was a master of conveying truth through paradox, and this poignant and pointed poem is a fine example of his rare gifts." ("Christmas Spirit" by George Grant and Greg Wilbur)

"The Wise Men" by G.K. Chesterton, 1874-1936

Step softly, under snow or rain,

To find the place where men can pray;

The way is all so very plain

That we may lose the way.

Oh, we have learnt to peer and pore

On tortured puzzles from our youth,

We know all labyrinthine lore,

We are the three wise men of yore,

And we know all things but the truth.

We have gone round and round the hill

And lost the wood among the trees,

And learnt long names for every ill,

And served the mad gods, naming still

The furies the Eumenides.

The gods of violence took the veil

Of vision and philosophy,

The Serpent that brought all men bale,

He bites his own accursed tail,

And calls himself Eternity.

Go humbly...it has hailed and snowed...

WIth voices low and lanterns lit;

So very simple is the road,

That we may stray from it.

The world grows terrible and white,

And blinding white the breaking day;

We walk bewildered in the light,

For something is too large for sight,

And something much too plain to say.

The Child that was ere worlds begun

(...We need but walk a little way,

We need but see a latch undone...)

The Child that played with moon and sun

Is playing with a little hay.

The house from which the heavens are fed,

The old strange house that is our own,

Where trick of words are never said,

And Mercy is as plain as bread,

And Honour is as hard as stone.

Go humbly, humble are the skies,

And low and large and fierce the Star;

So very near the Manger lies

That we may travel far.

Hark! Laughter like a lion wakes

To roar to the resounding plain.

And the whole heaven shouts and shakes,

For God Himself is born again,

And we are little children walking

Through the snow and rain.

You Alone

My Lord, I know not what I ought to ask of You.

You and You alone know my needs.

You love me more than I am able to love You.
O Father, grant unto me, Your servant, all which I cannot ask.
For a cross I dare not ask, nor for consolation;
I dare only to stand in Your presence.
My heart is open to You.
You see my needs of which I myself am unaware.
Behold and lift me up!
In Your presence I stand,
awed and silenced by Your will and Your judgments,
into which my mind cannot penetrate.
To You I offer myself as a sacrifice.
No other desire is mine but to fulfill Your will.
Teach me how to pray. Pray You, Yourself, within me.

Amen.

~ Philaret of Moscow

Freedom in Captivity

This past week, my daily scripture reading brought me to the book of Daniel. Also this past week, the stock market became wildly manic swinging 400 points up, then down, then up and then down again. I think the whole world became seasick on that crazy ride. Other things happened, too, this week - America mourned the loss of 30 Special Forces in Afghanistan, a field of Republican (mostly) hopefuls flocked to Iowa for the Straw Polls all touting ideas and principles strongly opposed to our present government policies, and the phone call we had hoped to get about a job never came. So what do those things and the book of Daniel have to do with one another? Quite a lot, actually.

Consider Daniel and his friends. They and a host of others were taken prisoner from Jerusalem when it fell to Nebuchadnezzer, king of Babylon, the mightiest nation on the earth at the time. The scripture says that the boys were youths, most likely in their teens. They were chosen to be trained as servants to the King, and thus were to be re-educated in the ways of Babylon. They were even given new names. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah became Belteshazzar, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their identities as Israelites, God's people, were to be erased and they were to be absorbed into the fabric of Babylon. These young men, however displaced, continued to put their trust in God, and through wisdom and discretion continued to serve God in a heathen nation before a ruthless king, ultimately leading that King to declare of God, "His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation." Daniel 4:3.

Despite the dangers of political intrigues, Nebuchadnezzer's ragings, fiery furnaces, and lions' dens, Daniel and friends remained faithful to their God even as they served a heathen king in a heathen land. Because of their faithfulness, wisdom, and discretion, they became leaders in Babylon, to the praise and glory of God. They continued to lead righteous lives even as the Babylonian throne changed hands over and over again, so that when the time of Israel's captivity ended, there were still faithful men and women living in the land (see Esther), who were ready to go back to Jerusalem and rebuild 70 years later. (Nehemiah)

In many ways, Believers today - though freer than most - live lives of certain captivity. Our nation retains only shadows of its Christian heritage and we are to mind our P's and Q's politically and culturally speaking. More and more our government encroaches on our freedoms to where we cannot even mention the name of Jesus at public school events, many public gatherings, and even at funeral services in Veteran's cemeteries. All aspects of our lives have become and are becoming more and more regulated by public policies designed for "our national good". Healthcare, the car industry, banking, energy, manufacturing, education and more have seen more government regulation, and indeed out-and-out takeover.

These are frustrating times for the Believer. We can beat our heads against the wall fighting the arbitrary ways of men, or we can, like Daniel, remember that it is God who is sovereign, it is God who orders the way of men and nations, and that if we walk faithfully with wisdom and discretion, we will see that God's purposes are never thwarted, that he doesn't need perfect conditions in which to show forth his glory. He will see his people through.

In John 14, Jesus tells us, "Let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me." and "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." In John 15, Jesus reassures us that we can live as Daniel did long ago in Babylon when he tells us, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you." The promises of God are not dependent on any particular political, economical, or cultural condition. They are dependent upon God Himself, for "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world." (Jn.16:33) Because of this I can be courageous, be at peace, live righteously in all things, serve the king, live in the land, and know that our sovereign Lord holds all things in his hand.

The Shield of Humility

Have you ever experienced that flush of anger, of pride hurt, when facing accusation? It can be the emotion of fierce self-defense or of deep, aching sorrow if the accusation is unjust. What can I do when I face accusation, whether just or unjust? How do I resist the temptation to inflict my own justice? I want so much to be understood. Thomas a Kempis comes to my aid, helping me get my thoughts together so that I may see a bigger picture.

In "On the Passion of Christ" a Kempis writes "On Jesus before Annas the high priest."

"Lord Jesus Christ, Guide of our life and Author of our salvation, I bless and thank you for your first arraignment before the high priest Annas, where, after you had been interrogated about various things, you were harshly struck on the cheek for your humble and truthful response.

I praise and glorify you, Christ, glorious King, for enduring the insulting and disgraceful affront by the hand of a shameless servant; when the response left your lips, he directed a heavy blow to your face, saying: Do you thus answer the high priest?"

Kind Jesus, ever calm in spirit and speech, you did not hesitate to answer him with gentle words: If I have spoken evil, give testimony of that evil, but if well, why then do you strike me? O vile and wicked servant, did you not fear to strike the lovable face of your Creator with such hateful hands?

My revered Jesus, how wonderfully you manifested your inexpressible meekness on this occasion, rather than immediately avenging so heinous an insult, you deliberately and calmly corrected the one who struck you.

You, who are one of Christ's followers, reflect and ask yourself whether for the love of God you are able to endure such a slap on the cheek? You, who are unable to endure harsh criticism without yielding to anger, how can you bear such a blow in the face?

You are saddened because of the unjust treatment shown your Lord, but yours is still greater sadness because you feel yourself incapable of bearing even small injuries for the honor of Christ.

You set great goals for yourself and let your thoughts float on high; but at the first words of reproach that you hear, you become terribly disturbed and discover that you are weaker than you first thought. Therefore, go to Jesus and plead more earnestly with him for the virtue of patience.

Good Jesus, strength and power of a soul suffering tribulation, teach me to accept all criticism and reproof with a calm spirit, and let me never show resentment in defending myself because of complaints unjustly made against me. Rather, let me respond to them with gentle silence and, if I must speak, then let me answer my accusers in a pleasant and friendly tone. When I am in the presence of my enemies, put the apt and right words on my lips, and when the hand of the wicked is raised against me, kind Jesus, let a humble, calm, and constant mind be my invulnerable shield."

John 18:22-23

On How the Lord Jesus Went to Meet His Betrayer

I am so easily distracted, even from the most important things. Perhaps especially from the most important things. During Advent Season, devotional books are pretty easy to come by, but devotionals for Lent on the Passion of Christ? Not such a cozy story, is it? It's just not as easy to find a good devotional tool to help my distractive nature during this time of contemplation and repentance. But I did find one ...

Thomas a Kempis (1380-1471) wrote an extraordinary little book entitled "On the Passion of Christ - According to the Four Evangelists". His book makes one of the best Lententide devotionals that I've found, and I'd like to share Chapter 4 with you:

"LORD JESUS CHRIST, Savior and Deliverer I bless and thank you for your readiness and willingness to undergo your Passion. After you had offered your thrice-repeated petition to God, your cruel enemies arrived amid the night's darkness, with your betrayer the evil Judas-a large crowd with staves and swords, arms and torches, as if to apprehend a thief.

At that moment you went out to meet them saying: Whom do you seek? ... I am he. If you seek me, let these others go.

At your first word, so filled with power, their proud defiance was discomfitted and brought to utter confusion, and immediately they all fell backward, collapsing to the ground. What would have happened if you had summoned twelve legions of angels? Since you had come among us to suffer, you chose not to use your divine power but to make known your benign patience. By a single word you showed what power is actually yours, and for a time you permitted the impious to have the upper hand in grievously insulting you. Thus you made it clear that you were willingly entering upon your Passion to bring about our redemption and, thereby, to fulfill the writings of the prophets.I praise and glorify you, Jesus Christ, most innocent Lamb of God, for your unspeakable meekness and overwhelming kindness in not being aroused with wrath against your most deceitful betrayer or angrily turning away from him. Rather you kindly deigned to engage him in friendly conversation calling him, in your usual gentle manner Friend, and you gave him, though unworthy, a tender kiss with your lips and lovingly said: Friend, why have you come?With such words as these, you admonished his rashness, his iniquity, and his disloyalty: Judas, do you betray the Son of Man with a kiss? Even more sadly, he, who once was numbered among the apostles-neither fearing the divine justice nor swayed by your friendship-did not refrain from extending his hands to the most heinous of crimes, and now, as head of this band of ruffians, he gave them as the signal: Whomever I shall kiss, it is he. Take hold of him. O most wicked disciple and most loving Master! O base servant and most faithful Lord!
How admirable your behavior, how wonderful your patience, most gentle and kind Jesus! In the very act of his carrying out this shameful betrayal, you did not forget your old friendship and affection, but in return for so great an injury done to you, you exercised your healing power, for when a disciple cut off the ear of one of the high priest's servants, you restored it by the touch of your sacred hand.You restrained Peter, then defending you from those attacking you, saying: Put back your sword where it belongs. Am I not to drink the cup which the Father has given me to drink? Thus it is to be.

I now ask you, my God, grant me, since I am but a frail reed, greater patience amid my trials, and may sudden anger never overwhelm me, nor the spirit of revenge inflame me, when my enemies utter insults against me, or when accusations are made of which I know I am innocent. Grant me not to fear my accuser but to receive his allegations in good spirit and to look upon him, who so discourteously blames and slanders me, as a friend.
Let no indignation arise in me for any harshness shown me, nor let any remembrance of unjust offenses remain in me. May your most benign bearing of such evil treatment strengthen my will by granting it patience, as well as the desire to endure even greater trials for love of you.

John 18:7-8, Matt.26:50, Luke 22:48, Mark 14:44, John 18:11

A Providential Visit

Sometimes we think we've planned things out so well ... and then we discover that we were just fitting in with God's plans the whole time. This past weekend was a good example of that. Several weeks ago, we scheduled a visit with Eric, Kelly, and Omari, so off we went on a Thursday for the visit. During the drive there, Eric called to say that he'd just learned he is deploying in 3 weeks rather than in July! Once we got past the shock, we were so very thankful that the Lord had ordained our trip, for that particular weekend was the only weekend it could have possibly worked for us to visit.

So we had a wonderful, bittersweet time together, celebrated Eric's birthday, and enjoyed Omari over and over and over again!

One of Omari's favorite things is a balloon, and this windsock looks an awful lot like one!

For his birthday, Eric wanted to play 9 holes, so off we went to the municipal course. It was a beautiful day and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - even us non-golfing types!

Omari watches his Papa drive that ball down the green.

Omari and his Mama.

Look! There goes PapaJohn ... let's go, too!

We were celebrating John's birthday, too; and he celebrated big by hitting an Eagle on a Par 4! Woohoo!

And I saved the best for last - our little man of a thousand expressions bids Adios!

Barns on Hillsides

We've lived here at High Meadow Farm for 19 years and how quickly that time has flown! It's been long enough now that when I look about our land, I see many memories and hear many stories. Children were raised here and now grandchildren come. Our children's friends that came now come with their own children, taking riding lessons on the same pony that my children rode. What a blessing to my soul!

Our farm is only 10 acres and is evenly split; 5 acres of flat land in front, and 5 acres that consist of a hill in back. Our home sits down on the 5 flat acres, along with paddocks, kennels, gardens and a tiny orchard. The horse barn and pasture sit on the hillside. Originally, about 100 years ago, the barn was a dairy barn. About 25-30 years ago, horse-owning residents did some remodeling to make the barn horse-friendly, and we've done more redmodeling over the years, too. It's a pretty cool barn all-in-all, but having barn and pasture on a hill is a continual battle against the effects of nature.

As has happened many times, we had a hum-dinger of a storm roll through a few days ago dumping a few inches of rain in a short period of time. The gravel lane rutted out - again - washes were evident in the barn and pasture - again. And again we have to go back to work to restore the damage. Not that we didn't work hard to prevent the damage in the first place! It seems we are constantly striving to maintain a barn and pasture on a hillside!Another big storm is predicted for this evening, so this morning I was busy doing all that I could to prevent further washouts. As I was lugging rock around, it occurred to me that it will be the land that wins in the end. It will be the forces of nature that win in the end. Despite all our work, we cannot make nature take another course.

It brought to mind the words of God to Job, who had questioned God's justice and goodness. In various places in the book of Job, God said, "Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" (38:4) "...who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb?" (38:8) "Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place?" (38:12) "Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?" (38:16) "Where is the way to the dwelling of light?" (38:19) Have you entered the storehouses of the snow, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail?" (38:22) "Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt?" (38:25)

Towards the end of the questioning, God asks Job, "Shall a faultfinder contend with the Almighty? He who argues with God, let him answer it." (40:2) And Job answer Him later, "I know that you can do all things, and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted."

And we toil on, working hard to live within the forces of nature, but never able to fully tame her. So how is it that so many believe that what we do in our daily lives will kill the planet? Should we be good stewards of God's good earth? Yes! Christians should be the first to proclaim it, but do we really think that mankind can cause the glaciers to melt and the oceans to rise? We think far too highly of ourselves when we do, and we ignore example after example that we are not the ones in charge of natural forces. Too many earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, floods, tornadoes, blizzards, and on and on tell us that we are small indeed.

And yet God invites us to Himself. He establishes us and gives us a hand in the glory of creation. We see this in what the Psalmist has written:

"When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is man that you are mindful of him,

and the son of man that you care for him?

Yet you have made him a little lower

than the heavenly beings

and crowned him with glory and honor.

You have given him dominion

over the work of your hands;

you have put all things under his feet ...

O LORD, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!" (Ps.8:3-6, 9)

So we will keep working to make our own little garden a glory to God and a haven for man. But in the end the land will win, and all of it - including us - go back to Him who gave it.

Vaya con Dios

They come to us helpless, weak and utterly dependent. Their very survival is our responsibility. Training them to be God-loving, humanity-loving people is our responsibility as well, and it's a very sobering, life-consuming, all-encompassing parental mission.

For 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, month in, year out, we give our all to raising these little gifts of God; and often we feel as though we're lurching around in the dark hoping that we're going the right direction! We have golden successes and abysmal failures, but every molecule of our being and every beat of our heart goes into raising our children. And then we have to let go.

As completely as we welcomed them, we must completely let them go. Having experienced both ends of that stick, I can tell you which is harder and it isn't welcoming that helpless babe into your arms; it's sending that young man or woman out into the world. Far harder. Love is a paradox. It embraces and it sets free. These things have been on my mind a lot in the last few months. A son is deploying again. It will be the 2nd deployment in less than a year and he has to bid adieu to the young son who was born while he was away the first time. My heart breaks for him and his little family.A daughter has faced dire financial challenges far from home and far from our ability to help. Major life decisions await her as she works hard to find her place. Another daughter lives across the ocean with two young sons and a new baby daughter. Her husband is deployed, too, serving those who serve. We want badly to assist and support in person, but we can't.Another son has chosen to serve his country, too, and will be deploying before the spring is out. He will be gone for a year to a land filled with challenges and difficulties, and we won't be able to help him there."Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!" ~ Psalm 127:3-5"And as for me, this is my covenant with them," says the Lord: "My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of yours children't offspring," says the Lord, "from this time forth and forevermore." ~ Isaiah 59:21Children are a gift from God. It is God's covenant that is with them; His Spirit that is upon them; His Word that will never depart from them forevermore. Therefore it is possible to let them go, for they only go with God. Vaya con Dios, mis ninos.

Bird Observances - Three Stories

We began with twelve Guinea Fowl last summer and here in February are left with only two. I expected to lose a few to hawks and owls, but I think I've lost them mostly to their own lack of intelligence. A Guinea's head is quite small compared to it's body, hence it's brain is even smaller; about pea-sized would be my guess. Perhaps this is how the Pea-Fowl family earned it's name!

We have thick pine trees and shrubbery here for the Guineas to roost in, but they chose to roost atop an old basketball goal by the Little Barn, effectively transforming the flock into a Guinea-popsicle for any resident owls. Their number began to dwindle quickly. They moved their night roost to our roof. Same result. Finally we were down to four, they began to roost in a tree, and the attrition rate seemed to stabilize. That is until two of them, on two different occasions, decided for some odd reason to fly into the dog run where Labs were being boarded. Those Labs now think that High Meadow Kennels has greatly improved it's offering of doggie-fun! So then we were down to the two lone survivors.

We've put in a dog park, and yesterday a young, huge German Shepherd was romping in there. One of the Guineas decided to check it out and flew up on the gate to peer down at the dog who loved the idea of a toy coming his way! I knew if I ran over there to try and rescue the dumb bird he would fly right down into waiting jaws, so I began calling him with the dinner-time call - "chick, chick, chick". He turned to look towards me and began to clumsily turn himself around on the top of the gate. It was a precarious few moments, but he made his turn, hopped down and ran over for some feed. Whew! Dumb bird.

We've been luckier with chicken-attrition and have five out of six left. When we got them, the idea was to let them free-range all over our acreage and in the adjoining woods. But where did they choose to go? To the flower and veggie beds! You wouldn't believe how quickly a chicken can de-mulch entire flower beds. So we built a chicken yard to contain the girls - they can roam around and my beds stay mulched.

Then they discovered they could fly out since we hadn't built a roof, so I began clipping wings. Every time one escaped they got a nice little haircut. One of them, a redhead named Lucy, continued to fly out despite all configurations of wing-clipping, and I was getting really perplexed as to what to do about it. I'd clipped her wings so much that I'd was down to the quick and could see it hurt her. What to do???

Having a pilot for a husband pays off. As I considered the little knowledge about flying that I'd learned from him, I remembered that it takes more than two wings to fly - it takes a tail, too! So, off came her tail feathers and she hasn't flown out since! Now I occasionally call her Baldy as well as Lucy.

And finally, a story about one of the most beautiful bird behaviors I've ever seen. In fact, I'd never witnessed this before. It was a rare mild winter day that Saturday, and John and I were out working. I was going up the hill to the horse barn and heard the oddest noise. I knew it was some type of bird-calling, but could only guess that it was the Guineas down below. It was a calling, a chattering-type of sound that I'd never heard before.

Then I saw it. A flock of geese very high in flight, and they were heading east. Now I've heard countless flocks of geese honking as they flew over - it's loud and carries a good distance, but this was something totally different, something chattery. As I stood watching and listening I began to hear it again, somewhere else, very far and faint in the distance. At that same moment, the flock that I was watching heard it, too, and suddenly wheeled their flight north. Then again I saw it.

Another flock, so far up I could barely see it, was heading north and making that chattering call. As soon as the east-bound flock wheeled towards them, the north-bound flock found a thermal and began circling and circling. Not until the formerly east-bound flock joined them in the thermal did they continue flying north, both flocks together. It was amazing to watch and I was thankful to have seen the beauty found in migrating geese.

My Ordinary Sin

Ordinary things are wonderful. A good cup of coffee, conversation among friends, daffodils peeking through the snow. Ordinary things can also be the things we daily tolerate or excuse, not realizing that they are actually sin.

In our Women's Bible Study this winter, we've been going through Jerry Bridges' book Respectable Sins: Confronting the Sins We Tolerate." Ouch. It's amazing that what I pass off as normal behavior is really sin in the sight of God, things like: frustration, discontentment, unthankfulness, selfishness, irritability, anxiety, judgementalism, and - oh, dear - sins of the tongue. Either spoken or written, I would assume. As I am confronted by these "little" sins in my life, it's helped me to see how far I continue to fall short of what God intends for me, but it's also helped me to see how patient, faithful, and loving the Lord is to me as He daily enables my sanctification. He is a tender Shepherd after all.

The latest chapter we've gone through dealt with the sin of anxiety. Double, even triple, ouch! As this particular study was being taught, it occurred to me was that this is a hard one for most people, not just me, because: 1. The Lord is always telling us in Scripture "Do not fear." and 2. it was a very lively class discussion! Our teacher described anxiety as "fearful uncertainty about the future", and what really struck me through the heart was when she noted that anxiety is a lack of trust in God, i.e. saying to God, "Sorry. You can't cover this one for me." In my heart, I fell on my face before God in repentance as the truth of her statement sunk in. I had elevated myself above the Lord Himself by thinking and acting as though I were outside of his care, too much for him to handle. The God who made heaven and earth and holds all things together in Christ is not big enough to care for me? Hardly; and not only that, He tells me that's not so;

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him because he cares for you." ~ 1 Peter 5:6-7

Anxiety is also my lack of accepting God's providence in my life. Despite the fact that Christ suffered and died to pay the penalty of my sin, do I really think that He doesn't care what happens to me? That events in my life are random and purposeless? Ah, repentance time again! Anxiety causes me to take my eyes off Jesus and focus on myself and my circumstances, and that's when I lose all equilibrium of faith and trust. I must intentionally peel my eyes off of myself and look to Him, remembering Who he is and that he fashions my difficulties in such a way as to bring about my good.

Realizing these things and repenting of them, how on earth do I now live so that I don't continually fall back into sin, but instead learn to trust God? He tells us how in Philippians 4: 4-7

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ... The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

Ask the Lord for help, tell him of your trouble, and be thankful - rejoice! He is with you. (Note to self: look at your hand. That's how close the Lord is.) Additionally, I - in cooperation with the peace of God - am to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus. This is the actual retraining of my thoughts that are so susceptible to corruption by the world and the devil, and like athletic training, it's hard work! I must continually, intentionally run back to the Word to remember who God is and that He cares for me. It's in the Word that I'll find the truth of the matter. Philippians 4: 8 goes on to instruct us:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."

So, this week I made a little card to post on my bathroom mirror to remind me of all these things. (We never really outgrow flash-cards, do we?) As I commit the words on the card to my heart and mind, I am confident that the truth of those words will set me free from my sin of anxiety. I also am sure that I'll fail, and worry, and sin again; but thanks be to God

... the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you." - 1 Peter 5:10

So what have I to fear?

And the words on my little card?

"As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions (anxieties, worries, frettings) of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct (and in all my thinking) ...knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways you inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot." 1 Peter 1:14-15, 18-19

Antithesis in Leadership

Mankind has not changed since Adam and Ever were cast from the Garden. The things which surround mankind - technology, commerce, culture - have changed, but the heart of man remains as it has always been, prone to sin and wickedness and in need of a Savior.

That being the case, we see in Isaiah 32 that the antithesis residing in man's heart can be seen in the office of leadership. As Isaiah lays out warning and promise to an errant Israel, he also lays out for us what leadership is and what it is not.

In Chapter 32, verses 1 - 3, Isaiah gives us an example of virtuous leadership and how it behaves.

Behold, a king will reign in righteousness,

and princes will rule in justice.

"Each will be like a hiding place from the wind,

a shelter from the storm,

like streams of water in a dry place,

like the shadow of a great rock in a weary land."

First and foremost virtuous leadership governs with righteousness and justice, but - especially in our own age of relativity - we must take care to define what that means, and we can derive that definition from Chapter 32 by seeing what righteousness and justice do.

"Each will be like a hiding place from the wind ... a shelter from the storm ..." A virtuous leader protects and defends those he leads. In our day, in our nation, we can see how that is outlined by the U.S. Constitution; our leaders are to defend our nation from enemies within and from enemies without, as well as from oppressive tyrannical government. In our churches, virtuous leadership is to protect the flock from false teachings and idolatry. Righteous and just leadership is ever watchful, ever alert, and ever active in the duties of defense and protection.

A virtuous leader also sees that the weak, the helpless, the truly needy are provided for and cared for. He is "like a stream of water in a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land." Later in Chapter 32 Isaiah describes it as being "a stronghold to the poor...to the needy in his distress." (25:4) This kind of leadership is compassionate, a servant to those he leads. He feeds his flock rather than feeding off of them. By protection and provision, a virtuous leader will guide those he governs to walk in truth and wisdom which leads to righteousness and peace. (v.4,7)

Conversely, we can also see in this passage of Isaiah what leadership should not be or do. He should not substitute deception for truth (v.5) calling "evil good and good evil...darkness for light, light for darkness...bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter." (Is. 5:20) In fact, unrighteous leadership will actively pursue injustice by seeking new ways to pervert truth and intentionally teach falsehood (Is. 32:6). And because this kind of leadership denies truth, it cannot possibly protect and defend as it should. Instead, it deprives the hungry and thirsty (v.6), devises ways to ruin the poor and needy through deception, denies justice to those he governs (v.7), using his position of power to oppress (Micah 2: 1-2) He does not serve, but instead demands to be served. This is not true leadership at all - it is tyranny.

Today, as in Isaiah's day, there is a continual tension and struggle as to what type of leadership will prevail. As Christians we often feel that the unjust and unrighteous usually win the day, but God's Word encourages us to standfast on what is good, true, and beautiful and to continue doing good works. "...he who is noble plans noble things, and on noble things he stands." (Is. 32:8) And while standing nobly may often seem like a lost cause, it is good to remember what God Himself has to say about unrighteous leadership:

"The LORD will enter into judgement with the elders and princes of his people:

"It is you who have devoured the vineyard,

the spoil of the poor is in your houses.

What do you mean by crushing my people,

by grinding the face of the poor?"

declares the Lord GOD of hosts." (Is. 3:14-15)

It's not difficult to see, therefore, that there is a clear antithesis of leadership before us today as there was in Isaiah's day. The question for us is to which kind of leadership shall we consent, and what kind of leadership shall we be?

Thanksgiving of a Different Sort

It has been 32 years since there were no children at our Thanksgiving table. This startling thought occurred to us a few short weeks ago (funny how things sneak up on you that way) and we began to ponder how to celebrate a Thanksgiving that was bound to be different no matter what we did. We don't live near any family, so that wasn't an option; but we do have numerous friends that we could gather with if we wanted to, but it began to dawn on us that it just might be pleasant to celebrate on our own - just the two of us. And a couple of dozen animals. Now this idea didn't derive from "Woe are we - our children are flown", but a recognition that we are truly grateful for what God has done in our own lives in these past two years. We have seen that true abundance is found in Christ, just as His Word promises.

So, we are doing farm chores, preparing a feast, preparing a Christmas box for our children in Germany, eating delights, relaxing, doing more chores, eating again, and relaxing again. We are thankful, for those things and for much, much more ....

Horses munching evening hay.

The soft clucking of chickens.

The comic lives of the Guinea Fowl.

Beautiful autumn colors.

Flower beds prepared for winter.

The strong south wind promising coming cold.A cup of fresh ground coffee and pecan pie (made by John!)

The fresh free-range turkey in the oven.

The first of the Christmas baking already in the kitchen.

The dogs out in the yard gnawing on their own treats.

For dear family.

For friends old and new.

For our grand-blessings who never fail to delight us.

For the newest grand-blessing who is soon to arrive.

For our grand-blessing who awaits us in heaven, along with our own grandparents.

For the Word of God who daily feeds us.

For the loving-kindness of our Father Who redeems all things.

For the work on the cross of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For the Holy Spirit, who daily guides and leads us.

Lord, for all these things and more may we ever be thankful to Thee.

The Littlest Lambs

Jesus told his disciples to let the children come to him and hinder them not, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven. I found this delightful little print of Jesus and the children, his lambs. The artist depicts the children not only as human children, but as lambs who are watched over by the Great Shepherd himself. Note that both children and lambs are looking to Jesus and resting at his feet. It's a beautiful picture.

It was natural that at the anniversary of Beau's birth and then death, the baby in this print - the littlest lamb - was being brought to Jesus who tenderly receives him. Because Jesus received the children unto himself and blessed them while He was here on earth, we can know for certain that He still receives his children in Heaven, for He never changes. What a sweet assurance to know that our Lord tenderly received his little lamb on the day of Beau's entrance into eternity, and this print offers a sweet idea of what that must have looked like. All praise to Jesus, our hope of glory!

Happy Birthday, Beau!

It's not as raw this year. The searing, ragged grief has subsided. We still sorrow for our loss, but there's the key - "our loss." Beau is growing up in the presence of the Lord Himself - knowing and being perfectly known. He knows none of earth's ills; no sickness, so sorrow, no pain, no tears. He knows perfect joy. He knows Jesus face-to-face.

I'm sure it wasn't a coincidence that my daily Bible reading was in Isaiah 25 and 26. Verses 6- 8 of Chapter 25 tell us:

"On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine will-refined.

And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations.

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the LORD has spoken."

And in Chapter 26 verse 19:

"Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!

For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead."

Though we only had Beau with us for a very brief time, he continues to point us to Jesus. His life's purpose was quickly fulfilled and the effects of his life are eternal and many. Not only did Beau's life open up new vistas of life and of knowing the Lord for us, but his work will continue in the halls of knowledge and of searching out the Lord in all of creation, for a scholarship was named after him at New College Franklin. Who knew a tiny infant would do so much.

So today we will celebrate Beaus' life by supplying Ronald McDonald House with toiletries and by visiting Beau's grave to decorate it with fresh flowers and a little red fire truck. We will shed some tears, but we will also thank God for giving Beau to us. For though we had him with us for only a short time here on earth, we will ultimately have him for all eternity. Because of Christ's work on the cross we have redemption of our sins and the promise of life eternal. What hope! What joy!

My Dignity, Please?!

(Disclaimer: Having been on vacation, I only heard the recent uproar in the news about body-scanners after this was written. This came strictly from personal experience.)

As I write this, I am sitting out a 2-hour layover in Houston while making my way home from a really wonderful trip. My vacation was relaxing, refreshing and restorative in every way. When I prepared to begin my journey home, sporting a happy and thankful heart, I entered airport security only to be confronted with one of the new full-body scanners that are being installed in airports across the country. Because of the articles I'd read about the scanners exposing people to unnecessary radiation and of the digital body images being broadcast (against regulations) into cyberspace, I had already decided that if I were ever confronted with one of these imaging monstrosities, I would opt out for the pat-down instead. So today when I came face-to-face with the latest freedom-stripper, double entendre intended, I declined entry into the scanner and opted for the pat-down. I'd had one before when I was randomly selected by the all-knowing TSA gods of airport security. No big deal, right? Right .......

After choosing the pat-down instead of the scan, I was given the choice of having it given in public or in a nearby cubicle with a female officer and a 2nd female officer as witness. Thank goodness I chose the cubicle because the pat-down I got should never be done in public. It was intrusive and offensive, certainly not the brief, light-touch experience I'd been given in the past. As I stood there suffering humiliations galore, I grew more and more incensed that, in the name of national security, I was being treated like a criminal. I allowed myself only one carefully-controlled comment to my offenders to express my outrage and when it was finished, I gathered the shreds of my dignity along with my assorted laid-aside possessions and huffed out of there. The sweet glow of a great trip was rudely stripped away. "The Land of the Free..." indeed.

Our national worship of the gods of tolerance has led us to extreme points of absurdity and abuse. The National Guard has been sent to protect our border with Mexico because of the real and serious threat there, and yet they aren't even allowed to apprehend a suspected illegal alien. Our government and society allow the invasive, tenacious tenants of Islam to sink it's deadly tentacles into our American legal system and way of life, and we bend way over backwards as we seek to not offend our Muslim neighbors. If we refuse to identify the enemy, we will never be able to defend our lives, liberties, or property; and for that matter, we will be exceedingly stupid. Well ... are exceedingly stupid.

Now please don't go reading that I'm singling out Muslims. I believe that all people are to be afforded dignity and respect for we are all made in the image of God. I also believe that we should not blindly follow the dictates of socio-political prophets and pretend that things are not what common sense tells us obviously IS. The Emperor has no clothes, dear. Admit it.

Our national enemy is real and definable, and he is the radical Islamist Fascist who will not hesitate to kill anyone and everyone who does not bow the neck to Allah. The enemy is not John and Jane Doe, American Citizen. In the name of all that is good and decent STOP treating the citizen as criminal and the criminal as citizen. Let true justice and true freedom ring across our land lest we sink into the oblivion of servile desperation.

My Shepherd

The God of love my shepherd is,

And he that doth me feed:

While he is mine, and I am his,

What can I want or need?

He leads me to the tender grass,

Where I both feed and rest;

Then to the streams that gently pass:

In both I have the best.

Or if I stray, he doth convert

And bring my mind in frame:

And all this not for my desert,

But for his holy name.

Yea, in death's shady black abode

Well may I walk, not fear:

For thou art with me; and thy rod

To guide, thy staff to bear.

Nay, thou dost make me sit and dine,

Ev'n in my enemies' sight:

My head with oil, my cup with wine

Runs over day and night.

Surely thy sweet and wondrous love

Shall measure all my days;

And as it never shall remove,

So neither shall my praise.

The 23rd Psalm by George Herbert