My Romans assignment

Mutiny.
A full-orbed rebellion,
Complete with slander, libel, and betrayal.

Eternally beholden,
We kicked the goads and tried to make a break,
Only to find ourselves inextricably caught in our own web.
Utterly guilty, utterly hopeless, utterly doomed.

But He.
Inexplicably,
He did not just damn us to our fate,
Though we still schemed and swore behind His back.

But He
Plotted His own course.

We were blindsided,
Scandalized
To realize what He meant to do.

His own Son.
Flawless.
Quiet.
Fearless.

He took a post in the middle of us all,
In the midst of the rebels.
He loved us,
Like no one ever did.
To tell the truth,
We hated Him.

Hated for His kindness,
Hated for His justice,
Hated for His ruthless trust
In the Father who put Him there.



In the most horrific twist,
He came to give us life,
And we took His.

Never guessing
That when He fell,
The blood that soaked His skin and matted His hair,
Would be the ink
That the Father used
To inscribe on our guilty sentence
Paid In Full.

And then at last,
The fingers of Death
Met a Man they could not hold.
He broke free,
And ripped the chains from our hearts
So we could breath and live and love
The One
Who made enemies into friends.

Cutie Pies

Victor, shaking his fingers and speaking to the crumbs on his plate as he attempted to finish his grilled cheese sandwich: Hey guys, get off. Hey guys, get off of there...
(At least he's asking nicely, right?)


Victor, holding up 3 fingers and tapping his other palm with them: Dad, this will be the sign that I need to do a neb treatment when we get home, okay?
(Gangsta symbols... yo.)


Josiah is full of words. Among his recent expressions:

With great enthusiasm: Caneen! (candy)
Cabeb (cousin Caleb)
When he is requested to say a polite, "Okay, Daddy.":  O Daddy
Kutch (Chuck)
Ah lahv euw (I love you)
Dee koo (thank you)

 
 

Thinking True Things

September is almost here. Ben's first week of classes is done (aand... he's feeling that familiar sensation of homework overload again/already).

I love fall.
But, today I'm feeling kinda melancholy.

The school year feels a little lonely after the long and lovely weeks of summer, having Ben here and available so much. And I miss my sisters (especially with my little sister walking this crazy road of Guillain-Berra). And there's a lot of hurt in a lot of people.

So, some words of truth to hang onto.

He does not delight in the strength of the horse; He does not take pleasure in the legs of a man. The LORD delights in those who fear Him, who put their hope in His unfailing love. (Psalm 147:10-11, half NASB, half NIV)

The LORD is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them. (Psalm 145:17-19)

Therefore, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord. (1 Corinthians 15:58)

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (Galatians 6:9-10)

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)

And something I read earlier and wanted to remember:

When we suffer, we long for God to speak clearly, to tell us the end of the story and, most of all, to show himself. But if he showed himself fully and immediately, if he answered all the questions, we'd never grow; we'd never emerge from our chrysalis because we'd be forever dependent. ... No one works like him. He is such a lover of souls. (Miller, The Praying Life, p 193-194)

Summer Videos

This summer's very popular Old McDonald...

How Sweet a Summer

I apologize for a month of silence.

To be honest, we have just been soaking up the weeks of Ben being off school.

It was a very busy time.

Two little crazies

Laundry doesn't take a summer vacation

"Precipice": the favorite rainy day activity

Lots of fun things to see and do at the Dakota County Fair

Including Victor's first time on a horse! 

Seeing this may have been a highlight for Mom too...

Quite a lot of Old McDonald's Farm read and sung

Walks at Lebanon Hills

To be perfectly frank, it was delightful. Refreshing.

And very, very fast.

Monday was Ben's first day of class, so we're back in the saddle again (so to speak).

There's grace for this season too, one day at a time.

Happy birthday, Mom!

To a Mom who has always poured out for others (and mostly us girls!), may the Living Water fill you up fresh for a new year of life! You are an amazing mom and wife and follower of Jesus.

We love you!

DAD:

Always there.

Laughing. Over your forgotten name stories. April Fool's pranks. Family classics. "Don't worry, we're laughing at you, not with you." Til the milk squirts out our noses.

Supporting. On the best and worst days. With time for a cup of coffee, a card, an ear to hear, a hug. You are an oak against whom we all lean.

Helping. Available 24/7. Ready with a fresh tank of gas, tax advice, relationship wisdom, a paint brush. [Banger and twister not included.]

Present. For the basketball practice, track meet, recitals. For ER visits and new babies. For Sunday morning runs and Monday night Bible study.

[You think he's gone? He's never gone.]

You reflect God, who is always there. Thanks.

MOM:

Always giving.

Time. Making homemade bread. The Christmas chain. Saturday waffles and pizza. Good News Clubs and hospital visits. Always time for grandchildren. Costly time, freely given.

Thought. Personal love, making note of preferences. Skim milk and whole. Our own little section of homemade pizza toppings.

Prayer. When you cannot fix it, you pray. Heaven alone will show the mountains that have been moved.

Love. You have never stopped pouring love into our lives, pressed down, shaken together, running over. We have been deeply shaped by your love.

You reflect God, who is always giving. Thanks.

The Grace of the Lord Jesus Christ

For several months I have been picking my way through Philippians. Today I'm at the very last verse:

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Phil. 4:23)

"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ."

What is this grace?

I would say it is the grace He purchased dying on the cross for us.

We deserved hell, and the only way God could give us anything better and still be a just God is if the punishment were taken by a perfect substitute.

There was certainly no perfect substitute in this world. Just a planet full of deceivers, self-centered cravers, haters, and comfort worshipers.

So God sent God into the world, His Son, a little, helpless, bloody baby. He didn't get the welcome He deserved. He got the welcome typical of a bunch of self-centered haters and idolaters.

He lived 33 years, not easy years.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Is. 53:2).

He did not catch our eye, since He did not have good looks, a winsome way of spinning popular opinion, or a magnetizing persona. He had God's own perfection--which we found unimpressive and non-compelling.

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Is 53:3)

We esteem the charmed life. We love to look at--and covet--those whose fortunes fall to them sweetly. We'd prefer to ignore a tragic story, lest it be contagious and we catch it. If we do notice, we offer one diagnosis: he got what he deserved.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried. Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted (Is. 53:4).

Truth be told, He got what we deserved. He joined our broken world and absorbed in Himself all the shards of pain and punishment that should have sliced through us.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Is. 53:5-6)

What a staggering cost for this grace. What an immeasurable purchase.

At the cross, the written record of our debts against a holy God were pinned on Jesus.

And at the resurrection, God blazened "Paid in Full" across that note.

Then the second half of grace comes in.

Where God looks at us cloaked in the cape of Christ's own goodness.

His charity.
His patience.
His zeal for God's name.
His tenderness to the needy.
His gladness.
His humble service.
His loyalty to the Father.
His self-forgetfulness.
His quiet receiving of God's will.
His ceaseless prayer.
His true care for others.
His peace.
His faithfulness.
His self-control.
His tremendous courage.

Applied to us in Christ.

And we are accepted, welcomed in, adopted, granted full access to the throne.

Never treated as we deserve ever again.

Destined for a future of God's matchless power bent toward us for our good, in a demonstration of His glory.

...so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (Eph. 2:7)

This is a mighty grace.

And for those in the Lord Jesus Christ, it is with us, to our very heart of hearts.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. (Phil. 4:23).

Amen.